"Kacchan!" - Speech

'Shitty Deku!' - Thoughts

"I AM HERE!" - All Might Speech

"Detroit Smash!" - Special Technique Usage

Beta'd by BigCC

Chapter 6: Movements in the Darkness

Just After the Defeat of Zanki

Hidden Location, Japan

"I am…honestly just disappointed, really." All for One offered slowly. The newest series of Quirks that Doctor Garaki had provided were finally settled in and fully incorporated into [All for One]'s vast web, and he had been restored…to a certain point. He was now blind, his eyes had been crushed and utterly destroyed by All Might's final punch, the same punch that had left his skull little more than a mangled mess. Were it not for a few very specific Quirks he'd acquired over the centuries, that blow would have been undoubtedly lethal, and no regeneration or healing Quirk in the world was strong enough to undo the sheer amount of damage done to him, not after it had taken so long just for the Doctor to stabilize him. As it was, he now had to suffer the indignity of constantly being forced to wear a mask with an inbuilt respirator when he was not directly hooked up to the Doctor's life support equipment.

Yes, it was becoming blatantly obvious that his ancient, broken shell of a body was fast approaching its ultimate end. Fortunately, he already had plans in motions to acquire a new one; one that would be not only young, powerful, and perfectly conditioned to carry [All for One] but would also be perfectly suited for ripping [One for All] from its current host. It would require a fairly large investment of time and resources to fully cultivate his newest project to perfection, but as one who had lived for centuries, All for One was a man who understood the value of patience and carefully cultivating investments. It would all be worth it in the end, of that he was sure.

For now though…

"I…I apologize, sire. I…" the doctor that was standing before him, not Garaki (or as the other doctors knew him as, Tsubasa) offered hesitantly.

"Have no fear, you are the not the one that carries the blame for Zanki's failure." AFO responded absently. Fear was a useful tool for controlling one's underlings, but it was a tool that had to be used…precisely to get the best effect from it. Too little and those beneath him may forget their place, but too much and they would be too afraid to be of effective use, or they might do something truly foolish in an attempt to escape or avoid displeasing their master. Far too many villains fell because their minions were too terrified of them 'shooting the messenger' that it let them be caught unaware by approaching threats. "Zanki's blatant arrogance was his own undoing, thus his failure rests entirely on his own head. That is all there is to it. For now, there will be too much attention on that Dojo and Ran Xiaoyu for a second attempt to be made to acquire her and her Quirk within the time-frame that we require. Were there any other [Shock Absorption] Quirks that you know of?"

"Y-Yes, my lord. There are over a dozen similar Quirks in Japan alone." the Doctor offered with a slight gulp. "Ran Xiaoyu's version was simply the most compatible one with the project's current stipulations. All of the others are either too weak to suit Project Nōmu's primary directive or have activation requirements that we would need to work around. H-However, if we move to acquire several of them, then it should be well within your ability to edit and merge them into a single viable Quirk for the Project."

"Then that is simply what we shall do, good doctor. Look through your registry and select those Quirks that have the qualities we need and I will make arrangement for them to be acquired." the Emperor of Darkness ordered. "Project Nōmu requires a [Shock Absorption] Quirk capable of holding off All Might's strength, and it is a Quirk that I have never bothered to acquire for myself."

Or rather, all of the copies of that specific type of Quirk had been overwhelmed and destroyed by his clash with that Americana-obsessed idiot (So many wonderful Quirks, each a work of art perfectly tailored to his needs by the power of his own Quirk, all of them utterly ruined because of that Smash-happy buffoon!) or had been distributed to one or more of his minions over the years. And, unfortunately, the ones he had 'gifted' couldn't be reclaimed since their holders had all been either killed or captured and sent to Tartarus while he was recovering from his near-brush with death.

He might have been able to recover their Quirks from the corpses, but unfortunately his enemies seemed to know this as well and had made it standard procedure to cremate the bodies of any of his underlings that fell in battle. Breaking into Tartarus was also not an option at this time. It would require too many resources for too little gain, and it would announce his presence to the world and let the fools that dared defy him know that he had survived, something that he did not desire at this time.

He was going to ensure that that muscle-brained oaf suffered before he died. All Might had earned All for One's wrath like no one had managed to in centuries, and the Emperor of the Underworld was going to ensure that the world knew why one did not piss off the Demon Lord by the time he was through with him.

"It shall be done." the doctor quickly bowed before leaving the room.

Alone again, All for One silently contemplated the death of one who should have not been able to die. Zanki Shinnosuke had come to All for One's attention only a few months after his apparent death and reanimation, the newly undead martial artist's new state allowing him to completely wallow in his love of violence and combat and leading him on a binge of bloodthirst and destruction throughout several different cities. The reports he'd received from his web of informants about a supposedly dead low-level street fighter with a weak Quirk suddenly coming back to life with a new and far more powerful ability, all without any involvement from him, had piqued his curiosity enough for him to personally investigate. What he'd found was a truly unique Quirk unlike any other he'd encountered before, something that had utterly fascinated the Quirk Connoisseur within him.

It was honestly a shame that the Quirk actually required its host to physically die in order for it to fully activate, or All for One would have gladly taken it for himself then and there. As it was, he had become a patron for the newly renamed 'Zanki the Relentless' from then on, partially because the violent brute was an extremely effective leg-breaker when called upon and partially just to keep such an intriguing Quirk close at hand.

Zanki himself had been both low-level enough (The undead battle maniac was simply too volatile to risk bringing him any closer to his organization then as a ready and reliable source of hired muscle), and had enough base cunning (It was honestly astounding how easy it was to make yourself completely disappear for a few months when you did not need to eat, drink, or even breathe) that he was able to escape All Might and his allies' hunts. And yet, shortly after taking his first job for the Dark Emperor of Japan in close to two years, something had managed to kill the zombified fighter a second time.

Unfortunately, thanks to All Might's alliance with the police officer that had earned the title of 'Truth Man', they had managed to ferret out almost all of his agents within the Japanese Police Force and all of them were now residing in Tartarus. Apparently even the Rat and those dunderheads in the HPSC could agree on something, and that was willingly serving him basically amounted to 'terrorism' and merited a life-sentence in the most secure prison in the world.

A part of him was honestly flattered that the threat he represented was apparently enough to bring even such bitter enemies together.

Those few that remained were either too highly placed to be seen digging into a 'minor' case like this without arousing suspicion or were not close enough to Musutafu (whose Police Department had been particularly hard hit in All Might's purges) to be able to directly involve themselves in the case. So, he had little knowledge of the details of the case itself, let alone how someone had managed to kill that which was already dead.

Regardless of the matter, whoever had ended the existence of Zanki the Relentless had interfered with his plans. That was not something that the Emperor of the Underworld could allow to go unanswered. Still, he was not in the habit of acting without gathering proper information, one did not survive for over two centuries by being bullheaded after all, particularly when he was already operating at a…less than optimal capacity.

No, he would be patient for now and let things lie fallow. Let the incident drift from the minds of all involved while he rebuilt his network of informants. Then, in a few years time, he would look into the matter again. Whoever had interfered with his plans could rest well tonight, but their future was far from safe…that was simply fact.

Three and a Half Years Later, April

Sarasuto Junior High, Musutafu

Izuku hummed slightly as he picked a desk in his new classroom. It was the first day of the new school year and he was finally starting Junior High. Better yet, both of his best friends, Kendō Itsuka and Jirō Kyōka, had decided to attend the same school as him, which was several different kinds of awesome.

After the Dojo Destroyer Incident just under four years ago, there had actually been a brief period where it looked like the Enryū Dojo would be shut down due to the negative press caused by the incident. Then Itsuka's father, a retired Pro Hero formerly known as the Battling Hero: Stern Fist, and Kyōka's mother, a popular local musician, had both given interviews absolving the Bushi couple and Ran Xiaoyu of any blame for the incident. Kendō Ichiei had gone so far to state that he himself would have had been hard-pressed to stop a villain with the kind of abilities that Zanki possessed, and pointed out that smearing the dojo's good name was exactly what the ones who had hired a brutal and dangerous thug like 'Zanki the Relentless' to attack the Dojo and its students had wanted in the first place.

Jirō Mika had spoken more in favour of the Dojo masters' actions; pointing that both attending instructors had willingly put their lives and safety on the line to protect their students even against a monstrous threat that neither could hope to defeat. She had pointedly reminded the world that neither woman were trained Pro Heroes, instead they were simply martial artists who were facing off against a very dangerous criminal with a powerful Quirk that he was more than happy to use against anyone who got in his way.

The Dojo might have still lost some students, but it never got as bad as it could have been, and new students had jointed after the incident had settled. In the end, the Enryū Dojo had survived the incident mostly unchanged.

"Hey Izuku!" Itsuka called out in greeting as she stepped into the classroom, quickly sliding into the seat directly to his right, while Kyōka quietly took the one to his left. They likely wouldn't be able to keep their current seats because of the seating chart, but for now they could just enjoy each other's company until classes officially started.

"Morning Itsuka." Izuku smiled back before turning to his other friend. "Morning Kyōka."

"Yoh." the punk girl offered a lazy wave in return before yawning. Kyōka, he had learned over the years, was very much not a morning person.

As they chatted, Izuku silently mused about how much the three of them had changed over the past four years. Itsuka had hit a growth spurt just under two years ago and had shot up like a weed, much to her annoyance. It had taken a while for her to adjust to her newly increased height and reach, as well as her…other developments. Kyōka on the other hand, hadn't changed all that much, something that honestly depressed the young rocker after she'd watched her female friend 'blossom.' It certainly didn't help that puberty had hit Itsuka like a runaway truck and that, even now, she now had the most womanly figure in their class outside their teachers.

Izuku himself was slightly taller than Kyōka now, but still a bit shorter than Itsuka, which was kinda irksome. His mother had mentioned that his father hadn't actually gotten his final growth spurt until his last year of high school, so there was still hope in that regard, but it was still a bit annoying.

"Hey, isn't that big test to establish your own style going to be this evening?" Itsuka asked, a grin on her lips.

"Yeah." the verdette agreed with a nod. "Kanzashi-sensei herself is going to be the one testing me, so I gotta be at my best."

"Ouch." Kyōka winced. Bushi Kanzashi could be downright brutal when it came time to push her students to their limits. "Man, that is going to be all kind of fun." she added sarcastically.

Snickering slightly at his friend's sass; Izuku couldn't help but briefly think of his most hidden teacher, the spirit of Baron Zeppelli. The ghostly instructor had been teaching him the ancient martial arts that was associated with Hamon in his own world, Sendō (Way of the Hermit). Rather than a proper fighting style, Sendō seemed to be more of a general approach toward combat itself and an outlook to take while fighting, as well as a focus on understanding the nature of Hamon and how to utilize it in battle, which the practitioner would then develop into actual techniques on their own.

Baron Will Anthonio Zeppelli's actually fighting style itself seemed to be mostly based around the martial arts he had learned from the same Tibetan monks that had originally taught him how to use Hamon; whereas his student Jonathan Joestar, had instead apparently learned to incorporate Hamon primarily in combination with his training as a proper English Boxer, with a few kicks incorporated that he'd picked up from the street fights he had been involved in during his 'rougher' years.

Izuku's own fighting style had developed into primarily a mix of Gosoku-style Karate that he had learned from Masuo-sensei, Chen-style Tai Chi taught to him by Kanzashi-sensei, Yin-style Baguazhang which Ran-sensei had taught him, and the Ancient Sendō which he had learned from Baron Zeppelli; with small aspects of Yang, Wu, and Sun styles of Tai Chi, that his first mentor had helped him learn, and some Shōtōkan-style Karate, that he'd picked up from training with Itsuka, mixed in. Izuku had taken to calling the slowly forming martial art Gendai Sendō (Modern Way of the Hermit), in respects to the Kodai Sendō (Ancient Way of the Hermit) that his hidden mentor had originally learned.

In no small thanks to the invisible guiding hand of the highly experienced martial artist and warrior that was Baron Zeppelli, he had been able to smoothly mix all of these different martial arts forms into a new and singular style far fast than nearly anyone had expected. So much so that his first mentor was now intent on testing his newly born style, a test that most didn't take until they were at least eighteen, to see if Gendai Sendō was ready to be formally added to the official list of derived Mixed Martial Arts that hung from one wall of the Enryū Dojo.

His mother and both of his friends' parents, as well as his friends themselves, were going to come and watch, which was honestly only making Izuku more nervous. Aside from once or twice when he was first starting, Midoriya Inko had never attended any of his martial arts classes; although he did join her Exercise Tai Chi classes often enough.

As the teacher came in and lead them all out towards the Orientation Ceremony, Izuku's mind was still miles away on the test that he would be going through after school and wondering just how it would turn out.

After School

Enryū Dojo

Midoriya Inko was happily chatting with Itsuwa and Mika as they sat and waited for the match to start. She had grown closer to the other two mothers over the years after their children had become friends. She still met up and spent time with Mitsuki every so often, mostly to let her old friend vent her complaints about Katsuki still being a 'foul-tempered little brat' and 'refusing to grow the fuck up' to use her own wording.

Oh, the boy had certainly made some progress, he was verifiably less of a violent thug-in-the-making than he had been back when she and Mitsuki had first separated their children, but he was still worryingly aggressive and hostile. She honestly couldn't blame her old friend for being worried about her son's future.

"Have the pair of them still not made their move on Izuku?" she asked, keeping her voice low enough so that neither of the nearby girls would overhear.

"Kyōka's been a bit self-conscious as of late, particularly since puberty started to work its dark magic on Itsuka. It looks like my daughter will be taking after me when it comes to body type and growth rate." Mika noted with a shake of her head. "As much as she likes and admires Itsuka, I'm afraid that her recent growth spurts have left my daughter more than a bit intimidated and jealous."

"And Itsuka is absolutely terrified of the idea of alienating either of her best friends." Itsuwa added with a sigh. "Izuku-kun and Kyōka-chan are the closest friends that she's ever had, she had a few problems making friends her age back in Chiba thanks to her tomboy streak and she really doesn't want to lose either of them."

"And meanwhile, Izuku is completely oblivious to the fact that his two best friends are both crushing on him." Inko finished with a shake of her head. "I know that boys are supposed to mature a bit slower than girls, but this is still…"

"Bah, plenty of time left for him to grow into it. Let them keep being kids for now, I say." Kendo Ichiei grumbled, sounding exasperated by the gossiping of the three women. The former Pro Hero wore a set of worn, battered, but clean karate gi that everyone present knew had once been a part of his hero costume. "Knowing Izuku-kun, once he does figure it out, the kid won't be able to do anything about it anyway. Let him at least get into U.A. first, then the kid worrying about being pursued by our daughters."

"Gotta agree with the Pro on this one." Kyōtoku agreed with a nod. "I'm just bummed that I'll never be able to give the 'shovel speech' I've been practising for years. Not after he protected Kyōka-chan from that damned zombie."

His wife just rolled her eyes at her husband's attitude.

While the adults had been talking amongst themselves, Kyōka and Itsuka were both eyeing them warily from across the hall. Both girls had a feeling that they should be very glad that they couldn't hear just what they were talking about.

"So, do you think that Izuku'll be able to do it?" Itsuka asked, still keeping a careful eye on her mother.

"Once he manages to get going, he should be just fine." Kyōka answered bluntly, giving her dad the stink eye, some unnamable instinct telling her that he'd just said something stupidly embarrassing. "The question is if he will actually manage to get started before sensei knocks him out."

The orangette nodded, agreeing with her friend's point. Even after all this time, Izuku was still annoyingly non-combative at times. He was fine with friendly spars most of the time and when he actually felt threatened, but stuff like test matches and challenges were still one of his biggest weaknesses at the moment.

After a few minutes, Izuku marched robotically out of the boy's changing room, his face and posture clearly proclaiming just how nervous he actually was about this.

Kanzashi merely offered her student a reassuring smile as she stepped into her position opposite of him in the sparring ring.

Bushi Masao gave both his student and his fellow master a calm nod as he stepped just inside the centre of the ring before drawing himself up. "Today's match is to determine if the Mixed Martial Arts Style developed by Midoriya Izuku, the Gendai Sendō, has reached a level worthy of being added to the Enryū Dojo's Honour Roll. Victory in this fight is only optional; what matters is that the creator of the style demonstrates that he has a full understanding and development of his style to the satisfaction of the examiner." he stated formally. "Examiner, are you prepared to begin?"

"I am." Kanzashi agreed with a nod.

"Midoriya, are you ready?" Masao asked a bit more carefully.

The green-haired boy took a deep cleansing breath, held it for a moment, before letting it out. "Hai, sensei." he agreed.

"Then both of you, bow to your opponent." the Karateka ordered both of them. Master and student quickly folded their hands into position and then bowed to one another, just deep enough that it was polite. Bowing too deeply before a match began could be dangerous depending on the type of opponent you were facing, so the Enryū Dojo, as a place that embraced practical martial arts, favoured polite but shallow bows, even between teacher and student.

"Assume your stances." the [Bulk Up] Quirk user continued, raising a single arm and taking a step back out of the ring.

With a flowing elegance, both Izuku and Kanzashi assumed similar starting stances. Kanzashi slipped into a neutral stance from the Chen-style of Tai Chi, one that favoured neither attack nor defending. Izuku, on the other hand, fell into a slightly modified version of an offensive stance of the same style. To the experienced eyes of both masters in attendance, the stance was slightly more rigid than what would be expected of a Tai Chi style.

"Fighters, Hajime!" Masao barked, chopping his arm down and officially beginning the match.

Almost instantly, Izuku was enveloped in the glowing aura of his [Hamon] Quirk's energy. After eight years of training and countless hours of practice, Izuku had learned to utilize the breathing techniques that allowed him to use his Quirk freely and effectively almost instinctively. He had trained hard to be able to use those techniques at any moment he might need them, and particularly while he was fighting.

In a sudden surge of motion, the green-haired pre-teen leapt forward to attack, aiming a punch at his teacher's chest. With a single flowing usage of the Kakei defensive method, Kanzashi smoothly redirected the blow. Izuku didn't even slow down, instead twisting with the movement and stepping forward into her space and slipping a palm blow directly into her gut. Amplified by his Quirk, the relatively light blow was still strong enough to break her stance and send her stumbling back a couple of steps.

"Hoh, that wasn't a Tai Chi technique…that actually looked like Baguazhang, I think." Ichiei offered with a curious eyebrow raised. He knew that Izuku studied both Tai Chi and Karate, but hadn't know he'd also learned Baguazhang as well.

"Izuku's style is supposed to be a mix of several different style of Tai Chi, some Karate, Baguazhang, and some fourth martial art that he is being particularly tight-lipped about." Inko offered, even as Kanzashi changed stances. She didn't recognize it (fighting did not interest her in the least) but it was a more offensive stance from the Wu Style. "Even Masao and Kanzashi haven't been able to recognize it from the bits they've seen. According to both of them, it is honestly amazing that Izuku has managed to take all of that and form it into a single coherent fighting style so quickly."

'A fourth style that even a pair of martial arts masters of their calibre can't recognize?' the Pro Hero hummed in surprise. 'I'll have to keep an eye on that.'

The fight continued for some time while Izuku demonstrated a nigh-seamless ability to switch between Karate, Tai Chi, and Baguazhang technique and stances. However, Kanzashi had been the one who had helped him form the basis of his new style, which, combined with her far overwhelming amount of experience, allowed her to easily keep pace with Izuku's enhanced speed and strength.

Then something happened, Izuku tried launching another straight punch at her, with Kanzashi easily stepping backwards to dodge, only for Izuku's arm to extend outward after her, crackles of golden lightning dancing along its length. The unexpected extension caught the Tai Chi Master off guard, though her reflexes were fast enough that she still managed to brace her forearms in front of her in time to block and mitigate some of the blow's force.

Ichiei actually winced at the sight. "Izuku-kun just completely dislocated his arm and overstretched every tendon in his arm with that move. How is he not on the ground screaming in pain right now?"

"Izuku calls it his 'Zoom Punch,' and it is all thanks to his [Hamon] Quirk. The self-healing effect it generates is strong enough to easily reset his arm, restore any lost cartilage, and heal any damage to his tendons all while mostly numbing the pain of the injury." Inko explained, not looking at all happy even as she watched her son's arm instantly reset itself. "The doctors have all confirmed that [Hamon]'s ability to self-heal is absolutely extraordinary, nearly on par with some high-level regeneration Quirks, and that it should fix just about any form of physical injury without lasting effect. I still wish he wouldn't use it like that."

"Having a trick like that up his sleeve could be a real life-saver for a Pro Hero, particularly if he can use it without any negative side effects or consequences." Ichiei disagreed. "Most villains will take one look at [Hamon] and see it as just another 'booster' Quirk; having something unorthodox like that 'Zoom Punch' will catch a lot of them completely off-guard and give him an opening."

"Sunlight-Yellow Overdrive!" Izuku shouted out, his golden aura blazing bright for a moment as he surged forward with an absolute barrage of punches in a classic 'rush attack.' The technique, which Izuku described as using a sudden, concentrated surge of [Hamon] energy to briefly enhance his speed and strength even further, was difficult for even someone on Kanzashi's level to deal with due to the sheer speed that Izuku was now capable of punching at.

Pushing her Kakei technique to its natural limit, the Master of the Five Main Styles of Tai Chi managed to fend off all but one of the flurry of blows, which slammed right into her diaphragm. Given that Sunlight-Yellow Overdrive enhanced not only the speed of Izuku's blows but also their strength and force as well, that single blow was enough to send Kanzashi skidding backwards several steps while she desperately sucked in several deep breaths to recover.

"That's enough." she called, dropping her stance and raising an arm to halt Izuku before he could continue. "I have seen more than enough proof. I fully accept Gendai Sendō Ryū as both ready and more than worthy of being added to the Enryū Dojo's Honour Roll."

Izuku froze in shock for a second before breaking into a wide, excited smile. Almost immediately afterwards he was tackle-hugged by an ecstatic Itsuka who was swiftly joined by Jirō. The trio of pre-teens were too busy celebrating to notice their mothers taking out their phones and snapping a quick dozen pictures before quickly hiding them away again with a practised efficiency.

Minutes later, Izuku watched, filled almost to the point of bursting with pride, as a wood-burned nameplate bearing the kanji of his style (現代 仙道), along with a notation to him as the style's creator, was placed on the wall holding the Honour Roll.

"Haha! Knew you had it in you, Izuku-kun!" Masao offered with a laugh, slapping the small boy on the shoulder with enough force to bend him over slightly. "It's honestly a shame that a great part of your style seems to rely on using your Quirk, it looks like a good solid and practical style. Not to mention that strange fourth style you've been picking up, the one you've been keeping under you hat for so long."

Izuku let out a sigh, his masters had been curious about that for a while now, but he had come up with a story that had just enough truth to it that he hoped he could sell it. "It's actually based on some very old styles of Tibetan Martial Arts. I met someone who claimed to be a practitioner and researcher of ancient martial arts while I was practising with [Hamon] in the park one day not long after the Zanki Incident and they noticed how my Quirk and fighting style relies on breathing techniques. He honestly seemed fascinated by my Quirk and he even offered me a book on a particular series of styles that were supposedly specialized in using breath control to bring out the body's full potential. That got me a bit curious so I looked through it. It was fascinating and I pretty much memorized most of it over the course of a few weeks. Then one night, the book just seemed to vanish. I don't know if it was his Quirk or something but…"

"Some kind of timed or maybe conditional recall Quirk…interesting." Masuo mused aloud. "I can certainly see how a style that focuses heavily on breathing techniques would catch your interest. I can also see why you've only incorporated a few pieces of it into your own style, learning a style from a teacher and self-instruction are two very different kinds of beasts."

"Yeah, I'm sorry I never showed it to you and Kanzashi-sensei, but I guess I got lost in my own head again. By the time I thought to, the book had already vanished." the verdette offered apologetically.

"Bah, no harm, no foul I say. Just be careful about stuff like that in the future. There is a lot of nonsense out there that some people try and pass off as martial arts." the large man instructed. "Wouldn't want you to end up trying something that gets you hurt become of some gibberish a random kook came up with."

"Hai, sensei." Izuku ducked his head, acknowledging the gentle rebuke.

"Good to hear, now I think your mother is already planning a celebration so you had best go get changed." the large martial artist encouraged his student, who hastily bowed and then hurried off.

"That kid is going to go far." Masao chucked as he briefly returned his attention to the Dojo's Honour Roll. Including Izuku's newly placed plate, there were now a dozen wooden plates mounting the wall, each of which belonged to a famous martial arts style in the modern age that followed the same path as the Enryū Dojo, a to teach martial arts to any and all without discrimination or favour, to the Quirked and Quirkless alike.

That kind of mentality was getting rarer and rarer with each year. Quirkism was starting to become a bigger and bigger part of their modern society at a level that most people didn't even realize. Only those that he and his wife deemed worthy in both skill and spirit ever got the opportunity to earn themselves a place on the wall.

Not all of them were even former students of the Dojo. One in particular, the Gunhead Martial Arts, founded by the Battle Hero: Gunhead, was near the top of the wall in a place of honour. He was one of the few Pro Heroes these days that was just as much a martial artist as he was a Hero, someone that relied not only on his Quirk to fight, but on his strength and his skill as well, unlike what was so common these days.

'Izuku is going to show them all why the martial arts remained such a vital skill after the advent of guns, and why it remains so even with the rise of Quirks.' the Karate Master thought with a proud smile. 'Heh…those asshats in the Hero Public Safety Commission aren't going to know what hit them when he shows up.'

Later

Living Room, Ran Xiaoyu's Apartment, Musutafu

Biting her lip, the Chinese Martial Artist reread the letter that she had received from her family. The writer, her father no doubt, had been utterly blunt and to the point; she was to submit herself to the will of the family on pain of death. She had a month to set her affairs into order and then the branch family would be dispatched to either escort her home or bring back her head.

'Father…you have truly stopped seeing me as person, haven't you?' Xiaoyu thought sadly, a tired sigh leaving her lips. Ran Gaoren, her father and the head of the Ran Family, a powerful family with roots dating back to the days of Imperial China, had never been a particularly compassionate man, his position demanded a certain level of harshness and cold detachment after all, but he was at least loving when it came to his family and particularly his children and wife. That was until his wife, Ran Yunying, had died in an attack launched by a rival family when Xiaoyu had been only twelve. After that incident, her father's heart had seemingly turned to stone, treating even his formerly beloved children with nothing but harsh expectations and clipped demands.

In her father's case, the old wisdom really did speak the truth; heartless men were once the ones who had loved the deepest. Her father had been hopelessly besotted with her mother since the moment he had first laid eyes on her (if one was to believe her mother's old stories anyway). She had been the light of his world, the spark that made his spirit sing, and the passionate fire that fuelled his very soul. When she had been stolen from him all that remained was a hollow puppet full of cold darkness, simply following the motions of the living in the name of his position and family honour. There was no love or familial affection left in him, merely the cold expectations that were demanded for the good of the family.

What Xiaoyu couldn't understand was why her father was even bothering to try and force her back after he had been the one to banish her in the first place. She had five siblings, two from her own mother, Zhang and Fei, and three from her father's concubines, Chen, Xiaomei, and Yunfei. She was the only one of the five to possess a passive Mutation Quirk, all of her siblings had instead inherited one of the active Emitter or Transformation Quirks that her family favoured. She was simply the youngest daughter born of her mother, and the middle sibling of the six; which made her father's sudden overbearing demands all the more puzzling. She was simply a banished girl that had nothing to offer the Ran family, so why…?

"You look completely and utterly lost, Jiějiě (Elder Sister)." a familiar voice, one that she hadn't heard in nearly five years now, suddenly brought her out of her thoughts. Xiaoyu instantly started to her feet, turning to face the voice and falling into a combat stance quicker than most people could blink. Leaning against her living room wall was…

"Xiaomei!?" the confused holder of the [Shock Absorption] Quirk whispered out in stunned disbelief at the sight of her younger sister. The two shared similar looks, both having taken after their shared father's side of the family, though Xiaomei was bustier and a bit shorter than Xiaoyu. Both had inherited their father's slate grey eyes. "What are you doing here!? I've been banished, if our father ever learns that you have sought me out, he'll-!"

"Heh. You still worry more for other people than you do yourself. Some things truly never change." Xiaomei chuckled mirthlessly before offering her sister a sad smile. "Jiějiě, Father is completely serious about killing you should you refuse to bow to his wishes this time. The Branch Family members that will come for you are going to be armed with bladed weapons specifically to overcome your Quirk and ensure that they can do just that."

Xiaoyu's eyes narrowed at that, reminded of her brief battle with that monstrous brute a few years ago. "I never doubted that Father was serious about this. What I cannot comprehend is why it is happening at all. He was the one who banished me after I refused to marry that utter swine Wang Chilong. Father never goes back on his decisions, so why is he attempting to bring me back?"

"Zhang, Chen, and Yunfei are all dead." Xiaomei stated bluntly, the cold words making her elder sister almost stagger in shock.

"D-Dead…? That…? No, that can't….They can't be…!?" Xiaoyu murmured in disbelief for a moment before shaking herself back to reality. "How? Our brothers were all capable and skilled martial artists and each possessed a Quirk of not-inconsiderable power honed under a lifetime of training and discipline. They would not have…"

"The Su Family decided to make a large push about half a year after you left China. They hired snipers, hitmen, and bomb-makers, dishonourable filth of every stripe, and had them all aiming for a single strike in the hopes of decapitating our Ran Family in a single day. Father and I both managed to survive the attempts made on us, but our brothers were not so lucky. They were murdered!" the younger woman spat out, naming the same family that was responsible for the murder of Xiaoyu's mother. "It was a decision that they soon came to regret, our Ran Family has spent the better part of the last few years ensuring the rats of the Su Family and any others involved in the attack were wiped out utterly and completely."

"Oh no…" Xiaoyu murmured sadly, mourning her brothers. They not been perfect, but they had still been decent men and her brothers besides. Zhang had been a blowhard with a big mouth, but he was also a passionate cook that loved to see people enjoy his meals. Chen was a fight-happy brawler, but he was also a lively and playful soul with a soft spot for children. Yunfei had been unapologetic womanizer down to his very core, but he had also always been the kindest of her siblings. None of them deserved to die to such dishonourable tactics… "B-But still, what does that have to do with Father wanting me back…even with our brothers gone, that still leaves you and Fei to carry on the family…wait, you never mentioned Fei surviving the attack, she didn't…?"

"Fei is still alive for now; she's currently hiding somewhere in Mongolia from what our family's trackers have found." Xiaomei spat onto the floor. "She fled the same day as the Su's attempted attack. When we searched her rooms, we found that she was the one who had sold out all of our locations on that day for five million Yuan."

"Fei…why…?" the banished woman whispered, once more sent reeling from the revelation. Her elder, full-blooded sister had always been such a quiet woman, why would she…

"You know as well as I did that Fei always had a terrible inferiority complex, Jiějiě. She always felt that she was overshadowed by the rest of us." Xiaomei retorted coldly. "Always the least talented in the martial arts and the weakest Quirk amongst our family. Never with enough work ethic to actually try and improve herself, instead she merely wallowed in bitterness at her own weakness. She apparently had enough of being constantly 'trodden upon' and decided to sell out all of us in a fit of jealously and spite. Now she has a lifespan that will be measured in weeks. I personally hope she gets some joy from her blood money; it will be the last she ever experiences in this world."

"And…and that leaves you as the Heiress to the Ran Family." Xiaoyu finally offered shakily, forcibly pulling herself together. There would be time to mourn and process everything later. "So again, why am I being called back?"

"'An heir and a spare', I think that those words best summarize Father's current line of thinking." her sister answered with a sigh. "He wishes to have you back at hand in case something was to happen to me while our family is still rebuilding. He has become even colder since you left, Jiějiě."

"He has also lost some of his senses as well!" Xiaoyu snapped out, dropping back into her seat. "I can't very well be his 'spare' if the Branch Family takes my head, now can I?"

"I agree, and I can see that you are much happier now with this new life you have made for yourself. You seem to enjoy being a martial arts teacher." Xiaomei offered. "Jiějiě, I came here tonight to try and convince you to formally divorce yourself from the family."

Xiaoyu's eyebrows shot up as she turned to her half-sister in shock. To do what Xiaomei was suggesting was to turn her back on her family formally, legally, and permanently, to the point that she wouldn't even be able to acknowledge Xiaomei as her blood-sister any longer.

She recovered her bearings after a moment though. "And how will that help me? I sincerely doubt that Father will acknowledge any declaration I make. He has always utterly scorned any official government intervention into what he considers 'Family Matters.'"

Her sister grimaced, but nodded. "I am aware, but by outright denying him in such an obvious and unquestionable way, you will force him to confront you in person rather than allowing him to use the Ren Family as pawns."

"…why are you trying to help me, Mèimei (Little Sister)?" Xiaoyu finally asked the question that had been weighing on her since her sister had appeared. "If my memory serves me, you were never that fond of me before I was banished."

She and Xiaomei had not gotten along. Xiaomei had been jealous of the attention that she, Zhang, and Fei had received as her father's 'legitimate' children, while she had felt pushed to the sidelines as the daughter of a concubine. Xiaoyu had tried to bridge the gap between them before, but her half-sister had always stubbornly rebuffed her attempts.

"That was before Father finally turned his full attention onto me. It turns out that what I had always wanted was nothing like I had dreamed it to be." Xiaomei answered with a grimace. "Now that I have been named the Heiress, he is even worse. I…I have come to regret how I treated you back then, Jiějiě. I let a child's blind adulation for their father colour my perspectives and hurt you because of it."

"Xiao'er…" Xiaoyu sighed softly. "But this plan means that we will become all of strangers to one another. I have my issues with Father and would honestly be glad to be rid of him after all he has done, but I would not wish to cut you out of my life as well."

"We cannot have everything that we want in this life, Jiějiě." the current Ran Family Heiress offered softly. "I too do not wish to lose my one remaining loyal sibling, but I would also much rather see you alive and not back under Father's yoke. We are all of the family that we have left, after all."

Obviously, she wasn't counting Fei in that.

"I have put a great weight onto your shoulders tonight, so I think I should retreat for the time being." Xiaomei offered, standing up straight again. "I hope that you will heed my advice, Jiějiě. I know how capable you are with the martial arts, but the Ren Family will be able to overcome you through sheer force of numbers if nothing else."

Pressing a hand against the wall, Xiaomei activated her own Quirk. A jade green, ovoid doorway appeared, rippling with a darker coloured energy as Xiaomei stepped through it before vanishing again a few minutes later. That was Ran Xiaomei's Quirk, [Jade Portal], an Emitter Quirk that allowed her to travel between two points in an instant as long as she could conjure a strong mental image of her destination.

"…now what do I do?!" Xiaoyu muttered, hands fisting in her skirt.

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Next Chapter: Heartless Attack: Ran Gaoren

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