The Bloodstained Blade

Recovery & A Favor

A week passed, Izuku carefully nursed the rest of them back to proper health. They had not been kept in great condition, as two small meals a day was making them wither away from hunger. Izuku didn't wear the mask around the Nurse, who he was currently visiting.

"How are you doing?"
"I'm doing great. How long did it to take to build this place?"
"About a week. I don't exactly need to sleep anymore."

"Please take better care of yourself."
"I should say the same to you."

She laughed. "It feels so good to have an actual bed... I just hope Chiyo's alright. The regime was making use of her quirk to the extreme..."
"Chiyo?"

"Recovery girl. We went to medical school together. She did a double major into heroics as well."
"Amazing..."
"Indeed."
"I wish I could chat... but there are things I need to do. I'm just glad you're ok."
"Thank you for everything Izuku... You're going to fight him?"
"Yes. Toshinori is a tyrant, and they all must fall."
"Godspeed to you, young man."

He smiled as he left the room.

Native was already back at full strength, with Mirko not far behind. Truth be told, he spiked his food with regeneration and saturation potions, in order to speed up his recovery the most. Because he was the linchpin to his entire plan.

"Alright, Native, do you think you're ready?"
"This is the terms for living here?"
"All I want is a favor. I won't tell you to do anything. But I did rescue you from prison, so all I ask is for you to find my allies."
"Give me a list, and I'll track them down."
"Here..." He gave the hero a list of Class A's names. "I also want you to find Inko Yagi's location. Don't try to retrieve her. I am giving you a map of all of my portals within Tokyo. Direct each of the people on the list to them, so they can make their way to me. This fortress is the center of all the roads. It's easy once they know where they are going."
"Inko Yagi? She's an easy one. Toshinori isn't allowing her to leave the rebuilt hero commission tower. I met her a year ago, so I'm always tracking her."
"Thank you. Get the others on the list, and we'll be even."
"Don't worry, I will."
"Good..." He left the room, eager to start working against the man who betrayed his principles.

Mirko was in the room as well, bored beyond her mind. "Ugh, why does he get to do something?"

"You still need to recover. He was ready. Besides, there is nothing you can do on your own... that's how you always worked, right?"
"I..."
"Face it, Mirko, you cannot win this war alone. You have to adapt. Which is why I am going to train you personally when you are recovered."
"Training? From a kid?"

"You rely on your legs too much. I want you to be able to fight with all parts of your body well, even under the toughest of circumstances. I have a foolproof plan that will train you with weapons to extend your reach, the instincts to strategize, and overcome any obstacle. By my estimation, you will be ready tomorrow. Understood?"

"Yes..."

"Good, rest now, it'll be the last time in a while..."

Toshinori was perplexed by the explanation of events, "So, he only arrived for one of them? Which one?"
"Sir, he was after the ex-pro hero Native."

"Why? What was his quirk?"
"His quirk has the ability to track anyone based off of one piece of information. He found stain from an audio recording, and those he has met he can keep track of permanently. It's useless in combat, but excellent for manhunts."

"I see... but why would the mistake need him? He knows where we are..."
"Perhaps he needs to find other people? It would make the most amount of sense..."
"Which of the others were with him?"
"Mirko was kept in the same cell, so that was a freedom by coincidence... and prisoner Yūshūna Kankoshi was also freed by him. She was used as a hostage due to her... personal connection with him."
"Personal connection?"
"She was a nurse at Aldera Middle School..."
"Which is where Izumi and the mistake went to..."

"She has made several protests to your anti-quirkless legislation... probably due to her experience with Technoblade."

"Indeed... is there anyone else of note with connections with Izuku?"
The guard did a quick search on the main database, and reported his findings. "There is a young girl by the name of Eri... she was the main victim in the Shie Hassaki's quirk erasure drug incident... he was apparently her bodyguard and they developed a close bond."

"Where is she now?"

"She was Izumi's responsibility, due to the girl's trust... but that responsibility fell to Shota Aizawa..."
"I want a meeting with him at the tower tomorrow. For now I have to check on something else. Keep up the good work."

The guard nodded, and went back to what he was doing before.

Meanwhile, Katsuki was in more pain. The experimental arms dug into his flesh, and put enormous strain on his bones. His bloody tears ran down his face, but the tech staff did nothing to alleviate it. Toshinori arrived, and he quickly wiped them away.

"How are the arms working?"
"Not too well yet..."
"It'll take practice... I'm sure you can do it!"

"Th-thanks..."
"Is something wrong?"
"..."
"Something is wrong, isn't it?"

"It hurts... I can feel every connection, and my bones feel like they're being crushed..."
"They didn't give you painkillers?!" To the scientists, he chidled them. "C'mon you guys, can't you get any painkillers for him?!"
"Uh..."
"He's not an experiment, go! Get some! I'm sorry Katsuki..."

"It's not your fault, Allmight..."

He could tell that he was still defeated inside. "I know, if you can master your arms, I'll let you get revenge on those who put you down when you were younger... would you like that?"
"Revenge...?"

"Didn't Mitsuki always tell you that you weren't strong enough?"

"Yes..."

"Then you deserve a reward if you can pull through this and master them. They are the top of the line engineering. You'll be stronger than before!"

"I will... I will beat him... I will kill that deku..."
"Yes... use your anger to triumph over all who doubted you!"

"Sir..."
"Yes, My boy?"
"I have a new... costume design I'd like for you to prepare... and I'll need some weapons..."
"Anything."

"Here it is..."

After giving the details, Toshinori grinned. "No problem, I'll pass it along to the UA support group! You focus on getting stronger, I'll focus on helping you along the way."

He nodded, then went to sleep, exhausted from the pain. Toshinori left, confident in the fact that he had secured his most valuable weapon's loyalty.

To think, the mistake knew these tactics far before me. I'm glad I read Sun Tsu just like him... I'll be able to counter his strategies... if he thinks like I believe he will.