Sir Nighteye sat on his couch as he watched the broadcast. His eyes were on one man. Kakurete.

All Might, Toshinori Yagi might have retired, and the title of Hero might have been disbanded, but the country still honoured him. In the last session of Parliament before the election, the Prime Minister Kiyoshi Takenaka had declared a minute of silence to mark the occasion of Toshinori's death.

Yagi had been found by one of the people who helped to maintain his house. An ambulance, with a quirk user paramedic had been called, but it was too late. He had suffered a massive heart attack, sometime the night before. He'd obviously felt it, because he'd fallen, and Sir Nighteye had read the police report. All Might had been reaching out for something when he'd fallen. His phone. Yagi had left his phone in his jacket pocket, and his jacket had been hanging up on the rack.

According to the Police, there was no sign of foul play. Sir Nighteye wasn't sure. Toshinori wasn't that old but he was, and had been, ill for many years. Well, not so much ill, as injured. Retirement had helped, but the battles against All For One had left their scars. Given Sir Nighteye's visions, Toshinori had done well to live as long as he had.

But All Might's former sidekick couldn't help the feeling that something was wrong. The timing was just too fortuitous for Kakurete. Mirio had been making a come back in the polls with Toshinori's support, and now he was dead.

Except, Sir Nighteye had checked. Every member of the League he could find had been exactly where they were meant to be at the time of Toshi's death. And if the League was going to kill All Might, they wouldn't have let underlings do it. Spinner was up in Sapporo. Toga was in Miyazaki. Kurogiri in Kyoto and Dabi was in Tokyo but he had definitely been in one of the holes he used to hide from society. Besides, if any of them had killed Toshi, there would have been evidence.

Imoku was having dinner with his frail mother. The woman had a few stints in a private hospital recently. He'd tried to get the records, as an insight into Kakurete but they had good security. Unlike BioSimip.

Sir Nighteye looked at the screen. Imoku Kakurete was standing with the rest of the House of Representatives and had his head bowed. He was the very picture of respect. The former sidekick knew it was false. Underneath that saddened mask there was a smug smile. And soon enough, he'd prove it.

BioSimip, with their QERI contract with the government, had to give up various records on request. He had made a request and the records had been forwarded to him in good time. At least, those in charge of that at BioSimip knew how to do their job. He hadn't read through them yet. Instead, he'd managed to find a disgruntled employee from BioSimip. The man was a pharmaceutical chemist and for some reason he was pissed at what they were doing. Pissed enough that he would break contract and speak to him.

Sir Nighteye had agreed to ensure that man's grievances were taken care of, and given that they were with BioSimip, that was likely to be a relatively easy job. Heroes might have had to integrate but he still had contacts, and if BioSimip were breaking the law, then that had to be dealt with. No matter what contracts they had.

That meeting was tomorrow. In the meantime, he had been investigating Toshi's death and reading online articles about Kakurete. They hadn't been able to find information about him legitimately, so for the moment, hearsay and speculation were potential resources. There was some truth in hearsay. The trick was finding it. Because Imoku Kakurete had appeared on the scene so suddenly, to take over the running of Kunshu and then becoming a Representative, they weren't the only ones who had looked into his past. Most of the others had found the information Sir Nighteye was sure had been planted and left it at that. Why wouldn't they? They were only looking to know the man better, they weren't looking to bring him down. Others had added speculation as to his motives. That was what Sir Nighteye was reading.

The most interesting one was by someone who appeared to have an interest in psychology. They had written about Imoku's policies towards those who were quirkless. That was possibly the one good thing Imoku had done.

After Eraser Head's accusation, Sir Nighteye had researched what it was like to be born quirkless. He hadn't liked what discovered. The lucky few were supported by their parents, and by understanding individuals. Most were ostracized. There were even cases of quirkless individuals feigning having some minor quirk to be accepted. Once the lie was detected, it did not end well, and several had been murdered by their outraged friends. Of all groups of society, they had the lowest education, and the highest rate of suicide. Feeding in from the lack of education was the lack of jobs. The quirkless formed the dregs of society, unless they were very, very lucky.

Imoku had changed that. Not completely. He couldn't do it all by himself but he had definitely highlighted their plight and had made steps towards alleviating the worst of the problems. He offered employment, education and respect. And across the country most quirkless people would vote for Imoku, if they could. Those who did not live in his electorate lamented the fact, but they took their cues from him. If he supported a candidate, then that candidate had their vote. Within his electorate, close to 80% of those who were quirkless and of voting age said in polls that they would vote for him. That might only represent 16% of the electorate, at best, but others, those with less useful quirks also liked his message. Those with useful quirks liked it as well. He was a very popular man. And since Imoku had risen to power, many, many quirkless people had moved into his electorate. There was a reason he was considered practically unbeatable in his electorate because in his electorate, he had more volunteers, to help get his message across, than any other candidate.

But that was just the fall out of his decisions. What Sir Nighteye was interested in was why he had made the decision in the first place. How had Imoku, who had the quirk Spark, seen the plight of the quirkless? That very question lent credence to Bakugou's theory that Imoku Kakurete was actually Izuku Midoriya, a young man who was quirkless.

Which is sort of what this online commentator was saying, in a roundabout way. They were implying that the way Imoku Kakurete dealt with Quirks was reminiscent of someone who was quirkless. It was an interesting conclusion and quite an odd one to make given the public history on Kakurete. Sir Nighteye was interested in speaking with the author to see if they could shed any further light on Imoku's reactions. Maybe there was something they could use there, in conjunction with the other evidence. There had to be a smoking gun somewhere.

He looked back at the screen. Imoku was sitting again, with the rest of the government. He had on a grey suit with a black arm band for this occasion. The state funeral was tomorrow. Imoku wasn't going to be there. Sir Nighteye wasn't sure what he thought of that. On one hand he was thankful, but on the other, it would have given him an opportunity to look the Representative in the eye and judge him. He'd never had that chance but without Imoku, tomorrow would be a chance for Mirio to shine.

If he was right, and Toshinori had been killed for his support of Mirio, then it was up to them to make sure that it was in vain. Yagi would want that. They needed that. Mirio was known as Toshinori's friend, and as a fellow Ex-Hero, he was going to be front and centre during the funeral. So would he. Sir Nighteye knew he'd have to be more visible in Mirio's campaign now. Toshinori's support had been giving Mirio a boost. As All Might's only sidekick, Sir Nighteye could hope that his presence would also provide a boost.

And with enough boosts, Mirio would win a place in the House of Representatives, and they could start to directly fight Imoku Kakurete.

He clicked the screen off. Kakurete was not going to give any visual clues.

"Oh, I was watching that!"

Sir Nighteye spun to stare at the speaker. "You!" he identified the woman who was grinning at him. Himiko Toga.

She frowned at him but continued to tap a knife against her leg.

He reviewed what he knew of her. Her quirk was shape shifting which didn't give her any special fighting abilities, just as his hadn't. He could take her. He just had to be wary of the knife. Over the years he had kept in practice, and he was pretty sure she hadn't. She could take people by surprise but Toga had never been known for her fighting ability.

"Why are you here?" He asked. It was obvious why she was here, but the way she phrased any reply would tell him a lot.

She grinned at him. "Izu said not to bother with you," Himiko told him.

"Wait... Izu? As in Izuku?" Sir Nighteye couldn't help but interrupt.

"I'm not meant to call him that," the League of Villain's member said almost timidly.

"It's okay. I know who he is," Sir Nighteye said soothingly. He never thought he'd ever use that tone of voice when speaking to the League. But he filed the information away for further use. If Himiko knew Imoku was Izuku then maybe the League would be their way of bringing him down.

Himiko gave him another smile. It was almost as if she was saying thank you. "Izu said not to bother with you," she repeated. "But since he took out All Might, it's better that we get the whole team," she added.

The words struck his heart. It confirmed what he suspected but what the Police assured him had not happened. The League had killed Toshinori. And they had done it in such a way that the world was not even looking at them.

"Why?" He asked. The question probably wasn't what she was expecting.

"Because you are getting too close to Izu!"

"No," Sir Nighteye shook his head. His phone was on the table in front of him. He couldn't reach it without her noticing. She had answered the obvious why, but that wasn't what he meant. "Why does the League not want to be known as the killers of All Might?" he clarified.

Himiko shook her head, but her eyes never left him. "Why would Izu want to be known as the killer of an old man?" she mocked with the question.

He was surprised by her answer. It made sense, but beyond that, there was an implication there. "He's going to make himself known?" he asked.

"Of course not!" Toga giggled. "Izu is the hidden one!" She added.

Sir Nighteye froze. His mind was no longer in his lounge. It was in the past. It was on the moment he lost his quirk. In that single instant, he'd had a vision so strong, so vivid that he could only remember one thing from it. The hidden one. The unseen enemy who was controlling everything.

He'd warned Mirio about it then. He'd warned Centipeder, he'd warned Toshinori but they had never found anything to really prove it. Over the years he had seen the similarity between Imoku's name and his vision but over the years, the stark intensity of his vision had been lost in the reality of losing his quirk. It came back now at full force.

He could see everything again. The hidden one. This time, his vision was of a chess board. There was a shadowy figure sitting on the black side. They were moving the pieces. Sir Nighteye looked to the white side and his eyes widened. The seat was empty. The shadowy figure was moving both the white and black pieces.

When he had seen this vision the first time, he had thought the figure was All For One, given that the black queen had been wreathed in shadow. That had been the hidden one, except All For One was dead. His vision had changed. He still couldn't see the figure sitting there clearly but he could see the pieces clearly.

Katsuki was the white queen. Mirio the King. Aizawa was still on the board, as was Hizashi. They were Castles. He was still there too, a bishop but he was riding a horse! Was he a knight or a bishop? He wasn't sure. To the side of the board, fallen was Midnight. She was a Knight. Her armor was cracked. Her horse was dead. All Might was there as well. The broken mitre of a bishop was beside him.

Sir Nighteye focused on the other side. The black pieces. It wasn't much comfort that more appeared to be at the side of the board. Twice was a fallen Knight and both the castles were shattered. He recognised Mustard and Ujiko. Tomura was there as well. Except that left some powerful pieces still there. Both bishops, Spinner and Kurogiri were there, as was Dabi as King and Toga as Queen.

In the instant of his vision, Sir Nighteye saw the shadowy being reach out and he flicked his finger at the black King. Dabi fell and the being grinned at him.

And then everything ended. Sir Nighteye gasped as he returned to his living room. He blinked to see Toga there, and then his memory caught up.

"Izuku is the leader of the League," he said clearly, wishing for nothing more than to be able to close his eyes and think. He couldn't with her here.

"He's such a good leader," Toga told him. "He doesn't ask for much. He makes sure we are making money, so it's up to us to make sure he gets some rewards every now and then."

"I'm a reward?" Sir Nighteye asked.

"For Izu," she grinned. It was not a nice grin. He wondered if the woman could smile nicely. "Now, hold still, this will be easier if you don't move!" She flipped the knife and lunged at him.

He was ready for her movement, and dodged to the side. The knife went straight into his couch, giving Sir Nighteye time to rise. He kicked at Toga but she was quick, and abandoned the blade to jump back. Another knife appeared in her hands. Since she still wore a high school uniform, Sir Nighteye wondered how she concealed them, and how many she was carrying. They were not strapped to her legs so it had to be on her torso.

He grabbed at the knife in his couch but it was stuck. It had probably hit the wooden frame. He didn't waste time after giving it a tentative tug.

Toga felt into a battle stance. He was surprised. He didn't think she knew how to fight. Not properly. He had been trained, and his reach was long. He felt into his own stance, and feinted towards her, sending a punch towards her abdomen. Himiko hissed and flipped her knife so that it was against her forearm as she dodged.

She swung at him, slashing her knife. It caught the edge of his shirt but didn't touch his skin. Sir Nighteye used the moment to get around the couch. It gave him more space to move in. He kicked, Toga raised her knifeless arm to block but he was stronger. It pushed her off balance. The woman flailed and staggered but in the time it took him to regain his balance, Toga had regained hers. She no longer looked amused.

Sir Nighteye attacked again. Toga leapt back, trying to get out of range. He'd seen the footage of her from Ujiko's execution. She had throwing knives somewhere. He kept the distance close. Her preference was close combat but he had to be better than her. Over the years, she had obviously added the throwing knives to give herself some versatility. He wasn't going to be so stupid as to try to take them out midair. Better to never let them be thrown.

Himiko slashed again with her knife and Sir Nighteye caught the glint of steel. He lunged into the swipe, catching her hand. He tried to wrench the knife from her hold. Toga retaliated by lifting her arms and pulling back from him. Sir Nighteye went with her. He was taller and stronger. The stretch put her at risk, not him. He got one hand on the hilt and then there was a pain in his stomach.

Instinct made him look down. Toga pulled her hand back, a short blade covered in blood held within it. Sir Nighteye pulled back, taking the knife with him. He wanted to throw it away but it was a weapon. Himiko tried to push her advantage. He slashed his newly won knife, and felt it catch on her cardigan.

She hissed. "Not nice!" She growled.

He'd drawn blood. Sir Nighteye flicked the knife into roughly the same hold she had taken, pushing it up against his forearm. It was a hunting knife with a long blade on one side and cerations on the other. He slashed it at her again. Toga was wary and was out of range. She countered with a smaller knife but he avoided it.

"I didn't want to do it this way, you know," she told him.

"You don't have to do this," he snapped back. "You could just surrender."

She bared her teeth at him, her canines catching on her lip. "I meant to ask Mustard to come help," Toga told him.

Sir Nighteye immediately knew her plan. It would have worked. Mustard could have filled his room with gas, and he would have fallen asleep. At that point, she'd have cut his throat and there was nothing he could have done to stop her. His mind flashed to several unsolved murder cases. They'd done that before.

"That bastard ExplodoKill killed him... but at least Dabi got the bitch," she added.

It was an obvious attempt to rile him up. Sir Nighteye didn't react. Midnight knew what she was getting into. Blood seeped into Toga's cardigan but he could tell the wound was sluggish. It wasn't going to be fatal.

He slashed again. He was surprised when this time she didn't dodge. Instead she met his slash and there was the ring of steel against steel. She had one of her throwing knives in her hand. He slashed again and caught her arm. Himiko cried out, dropping the smaller knife, and Sir Nighteye quickly kicked it away.

She pulled a new one from somewhere and he noted that she was using her other arm. Sir Nighteye examined the League member. The slash on her arm was deeper than he thought. Her knives were sharp.

"That's not nice!" She growled again and her eyes hardened.

She moved quick. He dodged but cried out as something hit his abdomen again. He looked down. There was a knife there. She'd thrown it, with the arm that was cut. The knife had blood on the handle.

Himiko closed with him. She slashed hard. Sir Nighteye tried to block. Toga was stronger than she looked, and she followed up the slash with a kick.

He cried out. The knife was driven further into his guts and he fell to his knees. His mind screamed at him to move. He slashed out blindly with the knife. She avoided it and kicked again. He lost the knife. Sir Nighteye rolled, trying to avoid further attacks. He heard more knives. They hit the floor and him. He heard them thunk into his body and pain radiated outwards.

Sir Nighteye tasted blood. He spat it to the floor and rolled again as Himiko tried to finish the job. He wasn't going to go down that easy. Before he could rise she jumped on him, straddling his body. Toga sat on his stomach, her legs hooked over his arms, pinning them to his side. He couldn't breath with her weight there. Sir Nighteye tried to buck her off, but Himiko wasn't light.

"You're heavy!" He growled, hoping to make her angry.

It worked but not the way he wanted. She hit him, and drove another knife into his chest. He could feel blood pooling in his lungs. The taste of it filled his mouth.

Sir Nighteye looked up. Himiko smiled down at him. Her arm was bleeding, as was the cut to her side. "Now you won't be in Izu's way!"

"He won't be happy," he managed to say. If this wasn't a sanctioned hit then there was a chance he could talk her out of it. A slim change but one nevertheless.