Endeavor grimaced when he saw the cover of the sensationalist newspaper showcasing his face.

'Number 2 Hero: Endeavor, endangers civilians!'

If he knew better he would think the newspaper was run by a villain organization considering the wording of the cover. It made him look like a reckless fool.

So far the media had  been tight-lipped about the fiasco that was Smiley's capture. He appreciated it at first, but thanks to the leaks, live interviews and clips showcasing every single detail and failing of their plan of capture… his appreciation quickly turned to irritation

He grunted as he involuntarily moved his left arm in its cast causing a jolt of pain surge through it.

It was a matter of time before his ranking went down because of those fools.

He still remembered the insistence of the press as they tried to squeeze every single detail they could. His part in the plan, why he thought attacking Smiley while civilians were nearby was a good idea and more importantly his injury and how much time it will take him to get back into action.

He had underestimated the vigilante's speed and now he was paying for it. His only reassurance was that Smiley was left in a worse state than him.

Enji Todoroki growled as he slowly massaged the place where the pain came from.

This injury… It was a minor setback, he told himself. Eventually Smiley will have to appear in public once more and when he does he won't underestimate him again.

The red haired hero looked at a family photo on his desk while sporting a frown.

He wondered if he should push Shoto further.

He was his legacy, the one who would surpass him.

Enji knew his son's dislike of him, but it mattered little in the grand scale of things.

Shoto needed the training so he couldn't fall on the same mistakes his father did.

With his mind made up, the current number two hero exited his office and passed the room where he would pay his respects to his departed son Toya.

Once he found his son his gaze met his and without another word he signaled him so he could follow him.

---

Manami Aiba made a face as her fingers flew at high speed across her keyboard as she went through the files she managed to get from the police archives through her hacking. It was easier said than done but after an entire sleepless night she managed to get into files, archives, names and phone numbers.

She was now going through the tedious process of going through everything she got her hands on and seeing what could help her beloved.

She could feel the bags under her eyes grow darker and larger but that didn't deter her. She wouldn't rest until she sorted through all the documents involving meetings with heroes that were made on a monthly basis.

Manami frowned as she kept reading and changing archives when she found some of them irrelevant.

It was then that she found what she was looking for. Her frown deepened when she read the contents. It seemed that they had been preparing the capture attempt since the Sky Egg incident.

The red haired girl remembered where she was that day. Commanding a clone through the other side of the city as the terrorist conducted his attack on the same place a huge amount of heroes were gathered for the event.

Her eyes narrowed as she saw the photographs of the 'crime scene' in which they identified Gurē and Iwao's blood samples along with the body of the villain who was labeled a 'victim'. Her lip trembled in anger the more she read.

The reason they were so invested into capturing Smiley now was because he killed an unidentified person who was a terrorist who tried to kill her beloved in cold blood.

"Hey… Is everything ok? I don't think that expression suits you," a voice came from the side. She turned before her expression softened when she saw her beloved standing next to her while holding a tray of sweets and a cup of tea. "There you go. Much better isn't it?"

It was a clone of the original Gurē who decided to stay by her side to serve as a watchdog while the real Gurē stayed in the mountains while he tried to recover to the best of his abilities. 

She let out a trembling breath before responding.

"I'm sorry. I just learned something that made me agitated."

"The investigation, huh?" he muttered as he lowered the tray and offered a few cookies that she took and shyly began to nibble on. "That intense? Are you sure you can't let me know?"

"I could… But then you would go straight to the original and make him train," she responded after swallowing the cookie she was holding then her hand went towards the cup of tea. "Gurē needs time to recover, we can't have him train his body to exhaustion… Not now…"

"I see…" The clone responded, offering her another cookie which she took before setting the tray on a nearby table and took a seat on the floor next to her. "It must be hard, not only the original is going through this but so do you and the others… Everyone knows but us clones. I'm sorry if any of our actions caused any problems to you."

"N-Nothing of the sort! Think nothing of it!" she stuttered. She then took a sip from the tea and hummed as the sweet flavor went down through her throat to her stomach. Manami gave the drink with a contemplative look before her gaze met the eyes of the clone. "It's… No. Don't worry about it. Think of this as a date."

"Hahaha," the copy of her beloved laughed before sighing. "I don't think this counts as a date, with you grunting and growling every two seconds whenever you read something you don't like."

The redhead blushed at Gurē's clone's words.

Then she went back to work while the white haired male to her side started to meditate to let the time pass.

The records of the meeting that started it all. Eraserhead, the quirk erasing hero, compiled a lot of information about her beloved and shared it with the police. It was almost laughable how after all this time, the hero still thought Smiley had a quirk that he couldn't erase.

She read Mirko's statement and then everything made sense.

She knew why everyone was so well coordinated. They had a year to train and prepare themselves for the capture plan that Manami was grateful that failed.

But that didn't erase the fact that her beloved was now labeled a villain that needed to be apprehended on sight.

How long until on a patrol he finally crosses paths with All Might?

She was the biggest Gurē supporter, but even she knew he wasn't ready to face the number one hero, especially after having trouble with other heroes plus Endeavor who burned his left arm.

With a pained expression, her gaze went towards the clone who had his eyes closed, then her eyes went back to the screen where the archives were staring her right in the face.

She drank the rest of the tea and set the cup aside before getting back into action.

It wasn't until hours later that she found what she was looking for.

Dread creeped up her spine.

"Oh no…"

"Hm? What's wrong?" The clone questioned from his position.

---

"Hrng…" Iwao Oguro grunted as he lit his cigarette while he waited for Eizo Tanuma, his informant in the police force that he worked with ever since his golden years as the High Speed hero, O'Clock.

It has been a few days since the kid was burned by the number two hero, Endeavor and he needed answers to a few questions.

He inhaled, feeling his lungs burn with the smoke of the white stick. He retained the smoke for a few seconds before exhaling a huge trail that dispersed in the air.

He closed his eyes.

"You're late."

"You are early, that's all." said a voice close to him.

Iwao was smoking in an alleyway while Eizo, his informant, put his weight on the wall facing the street and began to smoke alongside him.

"I heard there was a huge commotion a few days ago…" The retired hero said cryptically. Fetching for information while being completely casual. "Heard anything about it?"

The man who calls himself Knuckleduster grunted when he heard Eizo inhale, then exhale before he responded.

"What sparked this curiosity?" His informant asked while acting nonchalant.

"Hrng… A bird told me there were civilians involved. Just making sure everyone is okay as any concerned citizen should," he inhaled and held the smoke for a few seconds before letting it go.

"Hmm… You heard right. Civilians were on the scene during a villain attack. Some of them were near… Mmm… No, forget I said anything."

His gaze went towards where he knew Eizo was smoking while holding an unreadable expression.

"I think I read something in the news about the number two hero doing something reckless," Iwao said as his thumb tapped the cigarette, letting the ashes fall to the floor. "Makes one wonder if whatever he was trying to do was worth it."

Silence took hold of the conversation for a few moments.

Then.

"Depending who you ask. In my honest opinion… He and his team could've handled the situation with a little bit of more tact," Eizo responded as he also inhaled from his cigarette. He could feel his easy going smile. "Who knows what goes on the number two's head?"

'The way he said team… So the whole thing was handled poorly from the start, huh?' Iwao thought as he rubbed his chin while holding onto a contemplative look.

"How's your partner?" he asked, trying to fetch information and gain the remaining pieces of the puzzle. "Last time I heard he was busy with a case."

"Direct to the problem, huh?" he heard the detective mutter. "He put it aside. A bigger fish appeared and now he's following a lead. He seems to want to close this case as soon as possible."

'So they haven't connected the dots yet…'

"The previous case. Haven't heard anything about it?"

"Only that the culprit disappeared without a trace," Eizo informed, already knowing where the conversation was heading to. "Makes one wonder where it all went…"

"It's closer than you might think," he said as he took another drag from his cig and exhaled a long trail of smoke.

"Hm, I see," the detective replied. "I had my suspicions but I'm glad you confirmed some of them."

The man known as Knuckleduster let out a sigh.

"It was him who stopped it, wasn't he?" Eizo's question lingered in the air as he inhaled then exhaled a trail of smoke that disappeared in the air. "I see he might have his reasons but it's still classified as murder."

"He was the Sky Egg bomber," Iwao grunted, frowning. "It was kill or be killed."

"But that's not how the police or heroes work, do they?" The informant asked as he played with the cigarette from time to time. "Well, now I feel bad for him."

Oguro grunted before taking another drag from his cigar.

"You know him?"

"He's just a kid," Iwao revealed, unafraid of revealing the age of the kid that helped find her daughter, Tamao.

"Ahh… That might be a problem," the detective replied as he moved his head towards the alleyway and locked eyes with him. "My partner is really set on bringing him to justice."

Silence.

Then Iwao Oguro opened his mouth.

"Do you think he might get in contact with the number one hero?"

"It's a possibility," Eizo responded before returning to his previous position. "I'm not involved. So I only know what they write in the archives."

"Is that why you never told me of the plan?" he asked as he dropped what was left of the cigarette to the ground and stomped on it.

"Like I said," the detective said. Iwao could see his informant move until he revealed his face with an apologetic expression. "It's my partner's case. And he wants to close it as soon as possible."

Knuckleduster growled but didn't let his anger rise. Instead he left the alleyway and stood next to the informant who worked with the detective who was responsible for the failed capture plan.

"I have some errands to run," the ex-hero informed, ending the meeting. "Here."

He offered Ezio a 'pack of cigarettes' containing the latest information on the trail of trigger and his findings on the thing that fought Smiley.

Without another word Iwao began to make his way towards home.

It's been a while since he has seen his daughter, has he?

---

"Ahh… Ahh… Ahh…" I panted while shaking and covered in sweat as I tried to stand up, only to fall on one leg and grit my teeth. "Shit… Ahh… Ahh…"

I didn't need to lift my gaze from the floor to see that my clones stopped their assault after they saw me fall and now they were standing around as they gave me space to recover.

They all stood in silence as I let out ragged breaths. Spit mixed with blood fell from my mouth. One of my clones landed a hit on my nose with enough force to pulverize a rock into dust, breaking it. I long since fixed it but it still leaked blood that fell to my mouth.

I let out a cough before spitting out saliva mixed with blood to the floor covered in grass.

I closed one eye and let out a long breath before inhaling an extreme amount of air. My lungs expanded along with my chest.

Then I let out the air, stabilizing my breathing.

I opened my eyes and my gaze went from the floor towards my right arm. It was dislocated from the socket and some of my fingers were mangled.

But not beyond recovery.

I breathed in.

And with a swift movement of my muscles I relocated my arm back into its place and made a fist at the same time making my fingers return to their previous position. My pain receptors flared as I let out a low hiss but retained my breathing.

My teeth pushed against each other.

Then I let out the breath I was holding onto.

The sound of a loud kettle could be heard as air left my lungs through my teeth, resounding through the entire clearing.

I just needed to clear my mind, once I did so, the pain would go away.

I closed my other eye and stood up from my position and moved my right arm, testing it so I could feel if anything was wrong with my movements. Seeing was one thing, feeling was another whole deal.

I let out a sigh of relief the moment I didn't feel anything wrong with my right arm. Then I concentrated and began to do the same with my left arm.

Only to wince in pain as I felt not only the pain of my burns, but all the pain from the kicks and fists I had to endure and parry with that arm. It was a miracle that it was still in the right place.

I breathed in.

'The pain is only temporary. It will go away soon,' I thought to myself as I moved my left arm and did the exact exercises and movements as my right arm, ignoring the pain in the process.

Once satisfied with it I cracked my neck and stomped the earth. The grass covered patch gave in and cracked. My arms moved like a stream between the rocks until they were positioned in front of me.

"Are you sure you want to continue?" "Yeah, I think you should take a break." "You just relocated your dislocated arm." "Whatever it is troubling you can't be that important to put your body to so much stress, can it?"

Before I could open my mouth my eyes went to the side until I pinpointed a clone who just appeared outside the clearing and was making his way towards the other clones.

"Excuse me. Let me through," he said power walking towards me. The sea of clones shifted and made a space for the clone to move until he was in front of me.

I relaxed my features and let out a breath I was holding onto.

"I hope it's good news."

My exact copy opened his mouth but then he closed it and looked to the side.

"It's news alright," he said as he began to scratch the back of his neck.

I sighed, feeling a headache form. I brought my right hand to my head and instead of scratching it like I wanted I decided to rub it just to lower my irritation.

"What is it then?"

"Manami sent me. She was researching the police files in hope to find something that would help us," he revealed, making me go livid.

"And you just let her do that?! Are you crazy?!" I shouted as the image of the redhaired girl in cuffs appeared in my mind. "The last thing we need is for the police to sniff around and arrest her!"

My clone made a face, but he stood his ground regardless.

"I told her that and she did it on her own volition anyway. This is not her first time." I tried to not outright kill my perfect copy when those words left his mouth "Hey, don't get mad at me, I tried to stop her!"

"Such a good job you've done so far, huh?" I asked sarcastically, sneering, then I let out another sigh. "Just… Tell me what she found."

"It's All Might," My copy looked to the side and made an expression as if he ate a particular sour lemon. "The detective in charge of the operation has his contact and they're going to recruit him next."

My eyes widened, my mouth went dry, a chill ran down my spine as dread creeped up around me.

Fuck.

---

His fur covered hand found its way towards the small spoon and slowly began to stir his tea. He found it… Calming. Considering the revelation of last night's investigation he needed to keep himself… Entertained.

He hummed an old tune he heard once as he waited patiently in his office while watching the clock from time to time.

'He should be here already… But then again, the life of a hero ain't easy, is it?' The white haired creature dressed in formal clothing and brown sneakers thought, stopping the stirring before his hand took the handle of the cup and brought it to his mouth. Warm liquid entered his mouth and traveled to his stomach. He let a content sigh at the sensation.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the calm before the storm.

Then his nose twitched as the smell of sweat, spandex and blood assaulted his nostrils.

 

'He's here.'

The door opened and a lanky man of blond hair and dressed in a blue marine suit entered his office while holding an apologetic expression.

"Sorry I'm late," the man said as he slowly made his way towards him and then took a seat in the nearest chair in front of his desk. "There was a problem in Saitama that needed my utmost attention."

"Right. I hope the ride here wasn't an inconvenience," the rodent replied as he took another sip from his cup.

"Not at all," the lanky man, Toshinori Yagi also known as All Might, responded, moving his palm from side to side. "I couldn't miss this meeting for anything, so I rushed as fast as I was able to."

"Indeed," the white creature, also known as Principal Nezu, agreed, his expression blank. "Well, let's get to business shall we?"

His hand went towards a button in his desk and pressed it, lowering a small projector from the ceiling and then he pressed another, turning off the lights. The projector came to life and both turned to the side to watch the image that was being projected.

The image was a static picture of a man dressed in a white and black suit that resembled a chess board, one black shoe and a white shoe. A yellow mask with a smiling face hid his true identity. The man was waving to the camera as he stood in the air.

"By now I believe you already recognize the individual in this picture, yes?" The principal of U.A. high school asked Toshinori who gave him a slow nod as he looked at the photo with a more focused expression.

"Smiley the vigilante. Now villain I suppose. Yes, I'm aware of him. A pity… To throw all those years of good deeds away for a life of villany…" The number one hero replied with a sad expression that marred his face. "Recently I've been requested to participate in his capture as a last resort, so I've been given all the information they had on him"

"In that case I don't need to debrief you on his achievements, abilities or my own findings. Good," Nezu nodded as he grabbed the remote control and began to press the forward button showcasing a few pictures of Smiley fighting villains or pictures of the vigilantes from different angles. "However…"

He stopped showcasing static photos, only to press the forward button once more and show a clip of the vigilante fighting what appeared to be a suicidal villain of purple skin that blended with the night sky.

The rodent noticed the man in front of him sober up and looked at the clip with more attention than before the moment he noticed a glaring detail.

The villain had more than one quirk.

"It seems that they glossed over these fine details while they were debriefing you on Smiley," the principal informed with a calm expression, making the blond man direct his attention back to Nezu. Toshinori had the expression of someone who had been told a family member died in a car accident. "But please, pay attention to what I'm about to show you."

The clip that followed it was of Smiley standing over the body of the villain only for a purple miasma to expand in the air behind him, a hand reaching out from the rift in space, landing on the vigilante's head. Nezu's ears caught the sharp inhale coming from All Might, followed by a series of wracking coughs. Once again, the air was thick with the scent of blood.

The vigilante, now labeled villain, immediately turned and with a swift motion cut the fingers of the hand that took a hold of his head. The hand retreated to the portal, not before Smiley moved his hand at high speed and sent what it seemed to be some sort of air blade that cut the hand that disappeared within the portal before it too disappeared into thin air.

What followed was the masked man looking in all directions trying to pinpoint the person that tried to touch him, only to give up and then hold onto the villain he fought and loudly cry while muttering 'I'm sorry' and 'Emiko' between sobs.

With a push of a button the clip ended in a static image of Smiley crying over the downed villain.

"I assume that you already know what happened to him next. But regardless I want to share some obvious conclusions you might have already deducted from watching the clips I just presented," the rodent nodded with an eerie calm expression. "As you could see, the villain that was fighting Smiley had more than one quirk. What's more, their appearance doesn't look like someone in their right mind considering the exposed brain."

Principal Nezu saw the 'Symbol of Peace' violently cough the moment the word 'quirks' left his mouth.

He brought the cup to his lips and drank the rest of the now cold tea.

The white creature put the cup back on its plate and set it aside.

"And then a hand out of nowhere lands on Smiley's head when he's distracted. Isn't that curious?" He asked as he interlaced his fingers and watched Toshinori's grim expression. "Makes one wonder, what was that all about?"

"He's alive." Were the words of the blond man as he took a wet wipe and began to clean the blood that traveled from his mouth to his chin.

"Indeed."

"I thought I… When we… I was sure that…" the 'Symbol of Peace' said to himself as his eyes went towards the ground, defeated.

"It seems that both of you lived to tell the tale. How unfortunate," the creature in white fur calmly replied, closing his eyes. "We should count ourselves lucky that he wasn't able to take Smiley's quirk, his quick reaction time saved him from losing it."

"R-Right," All Might agreed, playing with the now stained red wipe with his hands.

"I believe bringing Smiley to justice for his crimes seems to be the most logical solution. But, I would prefer to propose another approach to the situation we have in our hands," the rodent opened his eyes and put its weight on his reclining chair. "All For One is alive and it was this close to stealing Smiley's quirk, someone who has proven time and time again to be stronger than he lets on."

Nezu sighed.

"Why not join forces? After all, the quirk thief is the bigger threat and having someone like Smiley on our side would definitely improve our chances should things go haywire."

Toshinori Yagi let out a cough and looked to the side.

"He's a killer… Do you really think-"

"Yes. I do." Were the collected words from the principal who then closed his eyes and smiled. "It's quite obvious that the victim of the crime is no other than the terrorist who caused the Sky Egg incident. Wouldn't surprise me if the police got to the same conclusion but decided to keep the secret to themselves."

"What? Why would they do that?"

"Smiley is a repeating offender, he has been breaking the law for eight? Nine years perhaps?" The fur covered talking rodent asked, locking eyes with the 'Symbol of Peace'. "It's no wonder they want him behind bars. To serve as an example so nobody repeats his actions ever again."

Silence.

The only sound that was heard was of the muted call of a bird nesting in a tree close by.

The long silence was interrupted by the sound of All Might's phone buzzing.

Duty calls.

"Please, consider it." Nezu gave the blond man an easy going smile. "That's all I ask."

"I…" He began letting the words hang in the air as he fetched his cellphone and brought it to his face. "I'll think about it."

He made his way towards the door and answered the phone halfway there.

It was the detective in charge of the operation to capture Smiley, the vigilante, now classified as villain.

As All Might retreated from his office he could barely hear the conversation, but one thing he could deduce from the whole exchange.

Smiley has been seen in the area.

---

A/N: (April 14, 2026) I apologize for the long wait, mom visited me for my birthday, I enjoyed her visit, but a fucker in a motorcycle stole my phone and I had to resort to my savings for a new phone. I dunno how to feel really. I almost decided to stop writing altogether, but luckily for you I get paid to write and draw, so I'll keep doing it until further notice.

(April 27, 2026) Man it's hard writing Nezu. He's a smart character, while I'm just a fart character (not very smart) and for some reason my characterization of him appears to be more cold and calculated than the calm and amicable little fella, but since the situation is tense I didn't see the need to add comedy to the scene.

Anyway, here's my plug:

: https://www..com/c/QtaroCujoh

Discord: https://discord.gg/6bE7gbKFbc