Notes: Yes, there it is - the prelundium to the Vigilante Arc, which will last around 5 - 6 Chapters. And with this we will be done with Act 1. Act 2 will also resolve around the build up but with Act 3 things will go down fast. But a bit of warning here for Act 2 - it's going to be way more brutal, dark and even grotesque at some points of the story. After all, the warning isn't here just for the show.
Chapter Summary: After Izuku trains his new Quirk, a plan is put up to escape officials watchful eye. Shouto has nightmares of his time in the past and that sparks the idea to become a Vigilante, Izuku talks with Arisa and Iris discovers that she can communicate with the Vestiges inside her head. After that the prelundium to the "Eclipse" Vigilante team begins.
TW: Discrimination, PTSD
Shouto's PoV
I felt like I was drowning in the depths of endless black sea - salty water was in my nose, my ears and in my mouth. I struggled to get to the surface but to no avail - I slowly drowned in the bottomless pitch black Void. I coughed violently when the water effectively took away my ability to catch a breath. I tried to scream but only bubbles came out of my mouth.
Then I noticed - countless people attached to my ankle. People whose faces I couldn't recognize. After a second , I remembered - those Quirked civilians who tried to get away from the Japanese Military forces who were working for the Rogues. I was alone, without my support gear or any kind of backup. So...I ran. As fast as I could, while watched people getting killed. One by one until very few were left alive. I was in this minority.
While trying to escape, I fell into the river. I almost drowned and I lost my consciousness. Then I woke up, washed ashore, shivering and bruised up but still alive. Not dead, not a corpse - like Touya. I made out of this massacre and survived by sheer luck.
-"WhY diDn'T yOu SaVe Us?" - multiple voices asked at once
-"There were so many soldiers, I didn't stand a chance - especially because they were armed with Anti - Meta bullets!" - I yelled terrified
-"YoU hAd a PoWeR tO sAvE uS. WhY dID yOu LeT uS DiE?" - those voices questioned me again
-"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry" - I apologized and I almost started to cry
-"SoRrY IsN'T gOiNg tO bRiNg Us BaCk!" - the voices screamed back -"YoU lEfT Us To DiE! YoU sO - CaLlEd MaStErPiEcE!!!"
Multiple hands appeared and the darkness of the water began to swallow me up. I tried to escape their grasp but I was powerless. Nothing could erase the sorrowful, gutting feeling that I felt when I woke up, right out of the river. They were right - my apologies won't bring back them back to life. And it was all my fault.
I left them to...
...DIE.
I woke up from the nightmare, screaming and feelling sweaty all over my body. I was so fricking grateful that I could meet up with Izuku - Kouji was a fine kid, I could see why Izuku wanted to bring him to Tokyo. The kid just had to survive. But some new feeling appeared when I met Iris - like I was looking back at myself in the past. The same eyes - the same attitude, right before Sports Festival. It was a unsettling, and honestly I didn't know how to handle Iris.
Sure, she helped Izuku and Kouji on multiple occasions but still...the way she looked at the others, people around her. Like she was watching movie and not a real thing. Maybe this way she was reacting to seeing past playing out right before her eyes.
Maybe there was something I could do? To repent for those people who died back then? Maybe this will be my perfect road to atonement - for my inability to just act. To do something not to run away from those fricking mass murderers. The issue lied elsewhere - there were no Pro - heroes, the japanese goverment being practically in shambles. Chaos and fear ruled over confused and terrified society.
No.
There was something I could do. Becoming a Vigilante - to fight crime at night and to strike back against those terrible Rogues. Against those fucking mass killers who got away from their crimes on multiple occasions.
My heart was racing. It wasn't just an idea, it could become an actual plan.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iris PoV
I don't who was more shocked - me or Yoichi. But the fact remained was that One for All Vestiges could enter my mindspace and talk to me via telepathy. Some Vestiges stayed with Izuku, others - for example Yoichi and En decided to enter my mindspace. As it turned out, my mindspace was a large room with a table with UNO card game, basket full of unhealthy food and had more or less 7 comfortable chairs.
It was quite an experience to have ghosts speaking inside my mind. I could say my worries to them - Second decided to enter my mind with Yoichi, so he found out about the officials were paying a bit too much attention to our team. Meaning, that we had no time to lose and needed to come up with an escape plan. On the run, again - fucking perfect, I wanted to say.
-"You need to be prepared, Iris" - Second warned me -"The government might be currently in shambles, but soon they will turn Anti - Meta. Though this period didn't last long but I'm sure that soon all of you will be forced into hiding. So when you run away, do your best to lay low".
-"I get it, Second but we don't have money or resources. Besides I cannot stand government's inability to do much of anything besides open discrimination towards the Quirked" - I whispered
-"So you want to become a Vigilante?" - Second caught it almost immediately
-"I mean, I already was an Vigilante back in my times" - I explained -"Getting back to the same old shit wouldn't change much. Fighting again at night with injustice but during different times"
-"I can see your reasoning" - Yoichi sighed deeply -"But how are you going to survive next months without being hunted down by the officials?"
-"Well, first we need to change our looks. Eye color can remain the same in my case, but I need to get my hands on eye contacts for Izuku, Shouto and Kouji. Then we dye our hair and come up with fake identities. Because of the panic that is sweeping through Japan, it will be easier to blend in. Besides, the chaos is going to be much worse during AFO's reign if I remember correctly" - I said quietly, trying not to raise any suspicions
Well, it was for the best that I actually stole some of the Quirk's energy from Izuku. I could shape it into a fickle teleportation Quirk - though I had other, permament Quirk's within my storage but I had no time to get comfortable with my permament zapping Quirk. So I drew some stolen Quirk emerald energy and began to modify it. I looked like I was playing with thin air - the Quirk's energy is only visible for me or for the person I stole aura from.
After 20 minutes of undisturbed focus, I was able to shape up the Quirk. I grasped changed violet aura with my right hand and then I checked the location where I wanted to go on my map that I stole from one official. I cleared my mind and focused myself on the destination - I felt like something was pulling me inside my stomach and then I was where I wanted to be.
With the money I saved, I bought the eye contacts - pine green (with bits of brown) for Izuku, dark blue for Shouto and dark gray from Kouji and brown for me. Then I picked up the hair dye - dark brown for Izuku and Shouto, black for Kouji but none for me. I didn't have enough money for such expensive shopping. After that I bought everything I needed for hair dying, I zapped myself back to the camp with the remaining Quirk energy. Once I was back in the camp, the fickle teleportation Quirk disappeared.
When I was packing up the stuff I bought, I heard Second's voice inside my head.
-"What about the fake identities? Did you think about it?"
-"For that I need to ask Shouto, Izuku. But I know the fake identity for myself and Kouji. For me, it's going to be Ariake Kurose, the fake name I used back in my times. And for Kouji, Hikaru Matsuri - that was the name of my dead best friend. What do you think Second?" - I whispered
-"Why though Ariake Kurose?" - Second questioned, a bit agitated
-"To be honest, I have no idea. It was the first thing that came to my mind, when I came up with my fake Vigilante name, not the codename" - I anwsered honestly
The silence inside my mindspace was defining.
-"What? Did I say something wrong? Or did I bring up some traumatising memories?"
-"It's nothing" - Yoichi replied tensed up
This "nothing" sounded like the worst thing in the entire world.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Izuku's PoV
-"So you and Shouto want to become Vigilantes?" - I asked surprised
-"Yeah, pretty much. Besides, we need to run away from this camp as soon as possible" - Iris replied
-"And why's that?"
-"Izuku, the officials are starting to pay more attention to our team. More than usually and if the truth comes out that we don't exist within the system...death will be the last of our worries. Believe me, the government hates the Quirked individuals and they won't hesitate to get rid of us" - Iris hissed in reply
-"Besides, I need make up to for my inability to act..to do something" - Shouto added grimly -"And this way, we can help people"
-"What about Kouji?" - I questioned them
-"He'll be homeschooled and using our fake identities we'll be able to do dayjobs. Vigilantism is going to be a night job - and that won't be an issue. I bought eye contacts, makeup accessories and stuff for hair dying. Using the current chaos, it'll be easy for us to blend in" - Iris explaine the plan -"So, what do you think, Izuku? You're in?"
-"Yeah, I'm in. And I also thought about my fake identity. Izuku's gone - call me Akatani Mikumo, codenamed Kumo" - I said after a 10 minutes of thinking
-" I'll stick with Iris, Shouto says he wants to be Touya Himura as a fake name. His codename it's going to be Frostfire" - Iris replied - "It's time for the Vigilante Team - Eclipse".
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Report from March 29th, 2021
4 individuals from the 5th Tokyo Refugee Camp have escaped. Those individuals possess dangerous Meta - Abilities. 3 individuals don't figure in any of the system, they're like ghosts. Full force is allowed when taking them down. Spare Kouji Nakamura, he'll be transported to the 20th Meta Centre in order to conduct research.
Reported by Mayor Renji Mutsuki.