In Class 1-A's homeroom, a scene of excited teenagers talking was taking place. Heroes in training grouped up with their friends to discuss their internships.
"And then I jumped onto the boat and I landed so hard, I capsized it. Hahaha!" said Kentaro, laughing so hard tears were forming.
"Haha. Sounds like fun, wish I was there." said Yuuichi, chuckling at Kentaro's antics.
"I'm guessing your internship wasn't all that eventful then?" said Kunio while Kentaro continued laughing like a madman.
"It was, just in a different way than Kentaro's. Not a lot of action, per se. What about you? You learn anything from Tuna Fish Man?"
"Boy did I. He taught me all about the hero stuff obviously, but he also taught me a lot about cooking. His cooking skills are crazy! I know he's a celebrity chef and all but it's just a treat for the eyes to watch him cook." said Kunio with stars in his eyes, "And he said that if I wanted to, I could do my hero studies under him next year."
"Nice. By the way, did you-"
"Yeah, here, sis-con." he said, taking out a small signed headshot of Tuna Fish Man.
"Sweet. Appreciate it." said Yuuichi, taking the signed photo and ignoring his sis-con comment.
"So, what did you actually do with Lady Nagant?" he asked.
"Went over the basics of being a hero and some sparring. She's definitely not a villain apprehension specialist for nothing. Really helped me think about my fighting style and how I use my quirk." he said while putting the photo away carefully, so as to not damage it.
"How?" asked Kentaro, who had stopped laughing and was listening with interest at hearing what Nagant had to say about Yuuichi, the person that beat him in the Sports Festival.
"Mostly that I have too much variation in my fighting style which in most cases is a good thing, but can also be a bad thing. I have to think about how I want to respond instead of just knowing what I'm going to do." explained Yuuichi.
"Don't get it." said Kentaro.
"It's like having too many cooks in the kitchen." said Kunio, "More cooks mean more variation in the food, but it also means you have to spend more time thinking about what food you're going to cook."
"Ah. Okay." said Kentaro nodding in understanding.
"What? You understood that but not what I said. His explanation is more complicated." said Yuuichi while chuckling.
"Food easier to understand." he said.
"Anyway, that's what she told me so I've started working on that in my mind. Planning out my core move set before I start training them."
"What are they?" asked Kunio.
"My bread and butter will be my Hand/Palm/Fist/Foot Constructs, useful in almost all situations, some animal ones, and some other things I'm working on."
"Like a dragon?" asked Kentaro.
"Mm, that is one of them. The other ones are all animals related to Buddhism since that is part of my hero persona. Which is why I'm also changing the Iron Maiden into a Bell, though it functions in pretty much the same way." explained Yuuichi.
"Oh right, I always forget you have the whole Buddha thing going on. Smart to make your moves fit thematically with your hero persona." said Kunio.
"All part of being a hero. Be flashy. Helps sell merch." said Yuuichi while winking.
~
Later that same day, when night had fallen, Yuuichi, Kiyomi, Ren, and Nagant were back in the soundproof and barriered study to discuss what their next move would be.
Ren and Kiyomi both looked like they had a sleepless night, evident by the bags under their eyes, but they had confident expressions on their faces, which put the slightly tense Nagant at ease.
"Before we get into things, did anything happen?" Kiyomi asked Nagant.
"No. I tried to get some more information about why Yuuichi was being considered so heavily but I got nothing. Sorry." she said.
"Sigh, too bad. Would've been good information to have. Still, thanks for trying." said Ren.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
"Mm. Now, let's discuss the plan we've come up with." said Kiyomi.
"Finally." said Yuuichi, who was on the verge of falling asleep.
"We've done extensive research on the President and the Commission, trying to find all the possible ways to deal with this while causing minimal damage to the overall system as a whole. We had to bring in some employees from the company to help us deal with it, but they're all extremely loyal to the company, so there will be no problem there." said Ren, assuaging any fears about potential problems.
"What did you find?" asked Yuuichi.
"It turns out the President of the Commission is quirkless." said Kiyomi.
"Quirkless?" said Nagant, surprised.
"And he made it all the way to President as a quirkless? Man's got talent." said Yuuichi.
"Indeed, he does. His charisma and natural talent for manipulation allowed him to get to the top of the Hero Commission even being quirkless. Along with some luck." said Ren.
"Back then, the record-keeping of quirks wasn't as thorough as it is today, so it's not unheard of that some older people's quirks were left unregistered and/or records were lost. And since Hero School weren't as prominent as they are today, he was able to get through all his schooling without ever having to use his quirk. Leaving everyone none the wiser.
We also found out that his upbringing was not the best. He grew up in a broken family and was physically abused. Of course, this is all word of mouth so whether it all holds true or not is another matter altogether." said Kiyomi.
"Wait, you got all this information in one day?" asked Yuuichi.
"Don't underestimate the power of the company, son." said Ren with a proud smile.
"I guess not. So what are we going to do with all this information?"
"First, Ren and I will ask the President of the Commission for a meeting to discuss possible cooperation between the Yaoyorozu Conglomerate and the Commission. They've been pushing for us to help them more for years now so it'll be easy for him to agree to the meeting.
We'll have the meeting at our HQ and we'll have Nagant with a clear shot at him, just in case." said Kiyomi looking at Nagant, who nodded in affirmation.
"Good, during the meeting, we'll discuss the details about actually cooperating for a while before we let it slip we know about his deal with Nagant. We'll record Nagant's confession and show it to him so he knows we're not bluffing.
Then we'll give him only one choice, resign.
The stipulation behind that would be that his resignation will be because he was being controlled by a villain whose unregistered quirk is a parasite that burrows into the brain, leading to him slowly losing his mind. The villain was caught with the help of the Yaoyorozu's tech, but the damage was done to the President. Obviously, the villain is fake, but it should do. That's if he cooperates." said Kiyomi.
"And if he doesn't? Someone with that much ambition doesn't seem like the type to cooperate easily." said Yuuichi.
"In that case, we will use all the information we have found on him to create a narrative that he hates people with quirks and using Nagant was his way of getting some form of revenge. We have everything ready to make the narrative seem real." said Ren.
"But if he cooperates or not, either way, he will confess everything that happened to Nagant." said Kiyomi.
"Won't that cause what we're trying to avoid?" asked Yuuichi.
"It will, but not nearly on the same level as if we were to just outright expose the Commission. Either option puts the distrust of the Commission on a person, not the Commission. Though it is very likely some of the distrust will fall onto the Commission itself, it won't be too much." explained Kiyomi before looking at Nagant.
"But you will receive some hate, Nagant. Some people won't see that you were manipulated to do what you did. All they will see is a killer. Are you ready to receive that hate?"
At her question, Nagant looked down at her hands and saw them shaking and stained with blood. But rather than freak out, she took a deep breath in, tightly closed her hands, and looked at Kiyomi.
"Yes."
~
"We are live at the emergency press conference that the President of the Hero Commission called for. There has been no word as to why he called the meeting. Speculation is running rampant at the moment. Some believe that he will resign, but all we can do is wait. Oh, here he comes now!" said the reporter as the camera shifted from her face to the stage.
Walking up the podium among the flash of cameras and the barrage of questions was a group of people, including the President of the Commission, the Vice-President, the Yaoyorozus, and Lady Nagant.
"Ahem." he said, clearing his throat as he adjusted the microphone, "Thank you all for gathering here today. I'm sure you all are wondering why I've called this emergency press conference."
Going silent for a few moments, he stared at his notes, looked back at the Yaoyorozu couple, and turned back to look at the crowd.
"I'm announcing my resignation, effective immediately."
KA-CHIK KA-CHIK KA-CHIK KA-CHIK
The sound of dozens of cameras going off at the same time, and the shouting of reporters filled the room.
"I have been compromised." he said, causing the room to fall silent, "Unbeknownst to me, or anyone for that matter, sometime in the past decade or so, I was put under the influence of a quirk. One that allowed a parasite to burrow into my brain, making me slowly lose my mental faculties and becoming more aggressive and more paranoid as time passed.
And while it was not immediately noticeable, it did cause damage to me and changed me into a person that did things I would otherwise never do. That includes manipulating a hopeful young heroine into becoming a contract killer for the Commission. Lady Nagant."
KA-CHIK KA-CHIK KA-CHIK KA-CHIK
"Lady Nagant was manipulated into becoming a killing tool for the Commission. Any villain that I deemed was too dangerous to be left alive, I tasked Lady Nagant with killing. I know it was not me who forced her to become a killer, but I can't help but feel responsible and sorry.
Sorry, that my carelessness caused a hopeful young heroine to be led down a path of murder." he said, wiping away crocodile tears.
"I will cooperate fully with the police investigation, and I can only hope that the damages I have caused do not make your trust in heroes waver. I hope it will only make it stronger."
~
CLINK
GLUG GLUG GLUG
In the Yaoyorozu study, Ren poured himself a glass of scotch while his wife looked out the window.
Downing the whole glass in one go, Ren turned to look at his wife.
"Are we going to tell him?"
"We don't know for sure." said Kiyomi.
"He deserves to know."
"He's my son! I decide what he deserves to know!" she shouted.
"He's my son too." he said, the room descending into silence.
"Not until he's 18." said Kiyomi.