Aizawa hated funerals, and it seemed as if all he'd been doing lately was attending them. First Midnight had been killed. Then Toshinori had died. That had been a State Funeral. The rigmarole involved in that fiasco had been headache inducing. There had been so many politicians there, all looking for a photo opportunity or something to help their election prospects. It was no way to honour anyone.

Then Sir Nighteye's. At least that had been a smaller affair. People had been able to show their respects but it had also shown him how fragile Mirio was.

It was understandable. The young man had gone through a lot in the last few days, losing both his mentor and the person who had built the society Mirio was meant to be protect. Except that society, Heroes, were gone. At least Mirio didn't blame himself for that. Shouta would never have supported him if Mirio was that stupid. But now they were at a bit of a loss.

All Might had been supporting Mirio on the campaign trail. The retired Hero was on public record as giving the Candidate his blessing. It had lifted Mirio's polls. When he died, Sir Nighteye had stepped in. It had only been for one rally before he was murdered. It suggested that, despite what the Police record said, that All Might had been murdered as well. Except, there was no denying that All Might had been damaged, was the nicest way of putting it. His body was fragile, and a heart attack had been a real possibility for a long time.

It was the timing that was suspicious. At least Mirio knew Sir Nighteye had been looking into Kunshu and Kakurete. Given it was Toga who had murdered him, it was entirely possible he'd found something.

Yet he hadn't told Mirio! No, what the former sidekick had said at the end made no sense. You have to save Da-

Who or what was Da? In order to save it, Aizawa shared the opinion it was probably a who. Which was one of the reasons he was standing here, before Sir Nighteye's grave, trying to gain inspiration. He had a feeling, that in time, they would look back and think it obvious. But Shouta also had a feeling that if it came to that, they'd be looking back from prison if they were lucky, or not looking back at all because Kakurete would have won it all.

There was one ironic answer to the question of who was Da that Aizawa wasn't sure he wanted to think of. Dabi.

Except Dabi was no threat to Kakurete. Assuming everything about Imoku was the truth, the Dabi had been leading the League for Kakurete for the last ten years at least. And with the recent gains Bakugou had made, it made no sense that Imoku would want to remove the one who was still loyal to him. Everything Aizawa had seen indicated that Dabi was loyal. If anything, the villain was in danger from Bakugou but the vigilante didn't want to kill him. Katsuki recognised that a dead Dabi couldn't reveal Kakurete. He wanted to beat the shit out of Dabi, but not kill. Did Sir Nighteye mean they needed to leave Dabi in place?

That's if the Da stood for Dabi.

Aizawa huffed, looking down at the name marker. "Couldn't you have made it clearer?" He muttered. He hated riddles. Couldn't Sir Nighteye left what he knew about Kunshu available to them as well? The files from BioSimip were in his house but nothing was highlighted. Aizawa couldn't even be sure they'd been read. And he knew what that meant. He'd have to do it now.

He turned to go. Even with his known insomnia, he had too much work to do and looking at a gravestone was not bringing inspiration. They'd have to find this Da the old fashioned way, and they'd have to focus on getting Mirio into the House of Representatives. It would be nice to take down Kakurete, and that was the ultimate goal, but he was experienced enough to know that sometimes you couldn't do everything at once.

Aizawa pulled out his phone as he walked.

"Good," the voice startled him. It was gravelly and seemed to come from over his shoulder, but there was no one behind him. "Call the stronger one here," it continued.

Shouta threw himself forward, executing a dive and somersault that would have done anyone half his age proud. He felt several twinges which he couldn't pay attention to as he looked over at the speaker.

It was huge. That was the first thing he noted. Aizawa didn't recognise the jagged teeth or the leering grin but when he saw the exposed brain he had a sinking feeling he knew what it was. This one was hunched over, and he could see layers and layers of muscle covering its neck and shoulders.

"You called stronger one?" The Noumu asked.

Shouta had never heard these things speak. He thought the report the Police had composed years back was that they couldn't but this one was. It's jaws moved with the words, though with teeth like that, it was no wonder the words were malformed. If it could talk, then maybe it understood, maybe he could talk it out of a fight... Not likely but he could get information.

"I'm pretty strong," he replied.

The Noumu cocked its head at him. The shroud of skin moved, but never truly fell away from its head. Aizawa was thankful for that.

"Twiggy," it announced. "No strength. Like Master."

Shouta knew it was an assessment of his build. He felt vaguely insulted. Still he couldn't deny that comparatively, he was rather slender. Apparently like this thing's Master. He didn't know what to think of that.

"Called stronger one?" It asked again.

"Why would I call someone else?"

"Master said we fight. Master said you weak but you call someone stronger."

Aizawa bit the inside of his lip as he looked at the creature. He still had his phone in hand and he could tell that it had one eye on it. "How about I call them if you tell me who your Master is?" He offered. The Noumu was loyal but it was obviously rather stupid.

The creature cocked its head at him. "Master is Master. Call!" It demanded.

Shouta just looked back, trying to assess what quirks the Noumu had. He couldn't remember much from the report. Accelerated healing was probable. Most of the Noumu's seemed to have that. Strength, even if it just came from the layers of muscle the Noumu had. And this one had at least some intelligence. He couldn't win.

He was realistic in his assessments. He had always had to be, and while he could defeat more opponents than most, he knew his limits. Especially since it had managed to get behind him without him noticing anything. Except... It wanted him to call someone. Did it know who'd he'd call?

Initially Aizawa had thought of Bakugou but the vigilante was still laying low. And if it became known he was involved in a fight with something known to be connected to the League then Aizawa couldn't imagine how that story would be twisted. He wasn't sure if Bakugou could deal with the wall of muscle this thing represented. That left Mirio. These Noumu's had been created to kill All Might, and that meant dealing with One For All. Plus Mirio had a bit more capital to spend if he was caught here.

"Who do you want?" Aizawa asked. Maybe he could get more information?

"Strongest," the Noumu told him without hesitation.

He made some show of typing into his phone. "Do you have more than one Master?" He asked idly.

"Master is Master," the Noumu replied. "Master is new, but Master better."

"New?" Shouta asked.

"Called stronger one?" the Noumu ignored his question.

"One last question," Aizawa countered. The Noumu looked frustrated. "What do others call your Master?" He held out the phone to show the message was ready to send, though he wasn't sure if the creature would understand that or could read. The message was simple.

Help. Noumu attack Sir Nighteye's grave

The Noumu twisted its long neck to look at him. Then it seemed to grin. There were no lips covering the jagged teeth so it was always grinning but somehow it seemed more amused at this. "Boss." It growled at him. "Call stronger, or we fight!"

Aizawa wasn't stupid enough to say he felt no fear. He felt plenty of fear but as an underground hero, he had long ago reconciled himself to the fact that he would get hurt in the course of his career. He felt fear when he acted then, but most of that fear was towards the one he was trying to save. He hoped he'd be strong enough, fast enough, good enough, for their sakes. Fear for himself was less, but was there.

Now, confronted with this thing, Aizawa felt fear. He knew with absolute certainty that it was not going to let him get away, and if he refused to call then it was just going to kill him and walk away. It wouldn't even think twice about it. But it would probably try to do the same to Mirio, or Katsuki and in that singular instant he wasn't sure if either of them could defeat this thing. They were both strong, inhumanly, insanely strong but this thing... He remembered the one from the USJ.

All Might had won, but Mirio wasn't All Might.

There was a flash of movement from the corner of his eye. "Fight!" the creature roared and Aizawa felt himself flung to the side as it swept one huge arm at him.

His phone was jolted from his grip but his thumb swept over the send button, and it beeped.

Aizawa didn't hear it, and didn't care. He crashed into several family markers, going straight through them with the force of the blow. The Noumu snaked its long neck around to track his movement and then it stomped after him, ignoring the grave markers that it destroyed. "You no call, so fight now!" it growled.

Shouta had practice with dealing with stronger opponents. He had been flung into a wall or two in the past. This was worse. He gasped for air, trying to bring as much into his lungs as possible as he rolled from the rubble. He felt groggy. He hurt. But he knew he had to move if he was going to survive. As he moved, he activated his quirk, staring at the Noumu. Nothing changed on it. He didn't expect it to but he wasn't sure if it had any projectile abilities. Thinking this one was the same as the previous would be bad. He had seen enough of them over the years to know that they were all different.

The Noumu didn't stop. "Weak," it told him and Aizawa realised it knew he was attempting to use his quirk on him.

It made him scramble upright all the faster, and then he looked around. He took two steps towards the Noumu, gaining momentum and then jumped over a low gravestone and ran.

He couldn't fight this thing. Being dumb enough to try would probably have killed his younger self. He was older now. Wiser. He knew his limits.

Something hit him in the stomach. Shouta had a brief sense of weightlessness as he was thrown through the air, and then he hit the ground forcefully again. He rolled with the movement, trying to see despite the way the sky and the dirt kept changing places so quickly. It allowed him to see the Noumu. It was just a flash of movement, but it was enough of a warning for Aizawa to brace himself before he was thrown in the other direction.

He tasted blood. If there was ever any thought that he could defeat this creature, it was extinguished. The world flashed around him. The grave stones tumbled around him and Aizawa felt cuts and scratches form on his arms and legs. So much hurt that he couldn't tell if anything was broken.

Aizawa felt nauseous from the continuous movement. It was a shock when he came to a halt. The world still spun for a while, and it took Shouta a moment to realise he was dangling from the creatures huge hand by his head.

"Weak," he growled again. "Even Master stronger!"

Shouta felt bones grind together, bones that were just not meant to grind together as he hung in that grip. He tried to kick, but the Noumu just squeezed his head harder. It was going to kill him. It was going to kill him as easily as he killed an ant and then walk away. He couldn't even scream in pain. All he could manage was a pained groan.

Then everything suddenly felt lighter, even as Aizawa felt his legs crumple as they hit the ground. He lay there for several long moments, not even caring that he was bent like a pretzel as he gasped for air. He realised something must have happened, and groaned* as he moved, rolling over painfully to see what it was.

Once, as an underground hero he had sworn he would never be happy to see All Might coming in on his work. Today, he was grateful that the holder of One For All was here.

Mirio was standing some distance away from him. His arms were raised for combat, and Aizawa noted the marks on the ground which meant the former sidekick had skidded to a halt. The huge Noumu was picking itself up from the ground, shaking its long neck. He could hear it growling to itself and only belatedly realised that it wasn't growling, it was laughing.

"Stronger one." It said finally. "We fight!" It declared before charging.

Mirio didn't get a chance to check on him before the creature was on him. Aizawa scrambled out of the way as stone from the name markers went everywhere. There were a lot of lost souls created today. Shouta felt a shock wave pass over him as their fists met. Mirio wasn't holding back. Shouta was thankful for that. The man had enough maturity to recognise that the Noumu was dangerous and to not hold back, though Aizawa was sure he had not yet shown his true strength.

Aizawa would have tried to give Mirio an advantage but they were moving too fast for him to lock his eyes only on the Noumu.

The initial tussle ended when the Noumu's fist passed through Mirio's chest and the former sidekick jumped back slightly.

"I'm okay!" Aizawa shouted.

Mirio nodded but didn't take his eyes off the creature.

It drew itself up. Mirio was not a small man. This creature was huge. Aizawa hadn't really gotten a good sense for it before. It had been crouched over when it spoke to him. Now it uncoiled. It's arms and shoulders were huge and its neck elongated. It towered over Mirio, looking down at him. It was very oddly proportioned. The arms and shoulders were massive, and while the Noumu's lower body wasn't anything to be scoffed at, comparatively it was smaller.

The Noumu shrugged, and for a moment, Aizawa thought he was looking at things. He shook his head but the vision didn't change. There was suddenly another, smaller Noumu there.

"Report to Master," the larger Noumu ordered.

The smaller one nodded and moved away. Mirio made no move to stop it since the bigger one turned its attention back to him. "You strong," it said.

Mirio did his best to glare back. He hadn't yet perfected All Might's look. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Fight!" the Noumu replied immediately.

"Is that all you want?" Mirio pressed.

"Master said we fight!"

Aizawa hoped Mirio wouldn't press the Noumu about its master. He doubted that the Candidate would have any better luck. Instead he watched the other Noumu. It had backed away but didn't appear to be making any attempt to leave. It was watching. Wasn't it meant to be report? Unless the Master was somewhere close? He cast his eyes around, ignoring the damage to the grave yard. There was no one else here.

"Why?" Mirio asked.

"Want fight!"

Thankfully Mirio also saw the way the Noumu tensed and the former sidekick was ready when one huge arm lashed out. He chose to meet it head one, grunting with effort but it took both his arms. Shouta couldn't do anything as the Noumu's other arm was swung over arm. Mirio phased, vanishing into the ground. The Noumu caught his suit, flinging the material into the ground.

Mirio reappeared behind the Noumu. Thankfully for his modesty his underwear was still on. Aizawa raised on eyebrow, but quickly dropped it when it hurt, as he realised what that meant. He resisted the urge to rub at his own undergarments. The former sidekick slammed both hands into the back of the Noumu's neck.

Or at least he tried to. The creature was fast and it dashed forward. Aizawa thought he heard the sound of jets but he couldn't see anything. The Noumu spun one foot at Mirio. Again he blocked the strike but the Noumu reacted, bringing its other foot around. It balanced by slamming its arms into the ground. Given the way Mirio strained, the creature's legs might look comparatively weak but they weren't.

The test of strength lasted only a few moment, before they both pulled back.

"You strong!" The Noumu was happy. "Master was right!"

Shouta didn't know what to think of that. Master was right. It had implications that were not good. It might only be a simple sentence but it opened many possibilities. It could be nothing. It could be everything. He hated the unknown he always felt when dealing with the League these days.

Before he could think much further, the Noumu swung again. Mirio dodged, vanishing into the ground again. Aizawa had the feeling that this fight would be decided in an instant. He wasn't sure he'd be able to see that instant. Or it would be long and drawn out. He hoped Mirio had the viciousness required for it.

The Noumu was looking for Mirio and as it did, it hunched over again, snaking its neck around as it searched. Mirio exploded from the ground behind it. This time he didn't attempt to strike it but allowed himself to be propelled upwards. There was no noise but the Noumu could sense him and turned its head upwards. The former sidekick came down, arms extended to punch at the Noumu.

Like most people in the world, and especially in Japan, Aizawa had seen All Might's quirk in action. It gave the man a glow. But commendators and online speculators had noted that Toshinori hadn't glowed all the time. Shouta was in the privileged position to know that he only glowed when he wasn't using the entire power available from One For All.

Aizawa wasn't sure if that was the same for Mirio, but he could see that Toogata wasn't glowing. The Noumu raised its huge arms and the two began punching at the other. Shouta felt each hit in his bones but he had the feeling that just punching this Noumu wasn't going to defeat it. He remembered the USJ and wondered how this one could be defeated. Then, All Might had won because he was stronger, and had literally blown that Noumu away but the former underground hero was certain this Noumu was stronger.

Wait... the original Noumu had been killed recently. How had they done that? Katsuki had told him it was... Oh, yes. Half 'n' Half, as Bakugou put it. Todoroki had burned the Noumu alive. Neither Mirio or he could do that, so how did they defeat this one? Especially since it could regenerate... Toogata could punch it away but that wouldn't be good enough. Shouta doubted that this one would be as docile as the other one, meaning it would kill whoever it found in the area it landed.

"Fifty percent!" Mirio said and landed a hit that actually drove the Noumu back.

It crashed through several, miraculously still standing grave markers but was quick to recover. Aizawa could see that there was no damage to the Noumu but he suspected it possessed accelerated healing.

"Fight good!" The Noumu said. There was a genuine note of happiness in its tone.

Aizawa couldn't reciprocate. It was good that Mirio was still fighting but how were they going to win? "Can you use your quirk?" Shouta yelled at Mirio.

"I am!" the Candidate shouted back.

"I mean permeation to trap it," Aizawa clarified.

"It doesn't apply to others."

That sort of made sense. If Mirio could extend permeation then he wouldn't lose his clothes when he used it. It didn't help them now.