Chapter 47 – Discussion
The sound of wooden pieces being moved on the board echoed through Nezu's office. As he had promised, Izuku was playing a game of chess with the school's chimerical principal, both composed, despite Izuku capturing Nezu's king after only five moves.
«Checkmate» he stated calmly.
«Oh my, this is already the fourth time you've beaten me.» Nezu said amusedly «Then you really can read other people's minds.»
«That's a trick only psykers can do.» Izuku replied, rearranging the pieces on the board «Even though chess is a simpler version of Regicide, it still demands planning and anticipation. Which you do well too, principal. After all, you managed to beat me twice.»
ith«Hahaha. I think I only succeeded because you went easy on me in those two games.» Nezu said, sincerely amused «By the way, have you decided who you're going to do the intern with?»
«I was nominated by Mt Lady.» he said, continuing to fix the board «But I gladly handed over my appointment to a classmate of mine who was more… interested in doing an internship with her.»
«I understand. And the young Shield-san?»
«I'm keeping an eye on her. After that header at the Festival, I make sure she doesn't repeat it.» he said, looking up at Nezu «Now, enough games and pleasantries. Let's get to the heart of the matter, Principal Nezu.»
It's difficult to read an animal's expression, to understand what it feels; difficult, but not impossible. Nezu took three cups and began making tea. Silence returned to the room, broken only by the clock's ticking. Five minutes later, there was a knock on the office door. Izuku barely looked up: something was about to change.
«Come in.»
The person who came in, breathless, was Toshinori.
«I-I'm here, Principal Nezu.»
«Very good. Come, sit down.» Nezu said, playfully patting the seat next to him «Izuku Midoriya Valorian-san, I have summoned you for an exchange of information on three matters, two of which have immediate consequences for you and the school.»
Izuku accepted the cup of tea the principal had prepared for him, his attention completely fixed on the chimaera and Toshinori. Something official, huh?
«Starting with the less challenging and more immediate things, we've made sure you and Shield-san go on an internship together so you can continue to keep an eye on her and educate her.» Nezu said over his tea.
The statement raised Izuku's eyebrow in disbelief. His green eyes fixed on Toshinori.
«We can't do otherwise.» Toshinori said resignedly «Since I've officially asked you for help training Melissa and given the results, this is the best option to avoid further problems.»
In other words, you can't hide your hand now that you've thrown the stone «Who will be our teacher?»
«Gran Torino.»
Even though Toshinori uttered the name, Izuku noticed the skin-and-bone man in front of him trembling, almost as if he were having a severe epileptic seizure.
PTSD? thought Izuku, slightly worried.
«Gran Torino is a former UA professor and was also my teacher.» Toshinori said, shaking more and more «He knows One for All, and probably because he saw Melissa's fight, he recruited her. I had completely forgotten about him because he had long since retired.»
No, I don't think you forgot about him because he retired… «Did you inform him that I too am aware of the nature of the Quirk of Melissa?» Izuku asked, trying not to give voice to his thoughts.
«Of course. I made sure he got the details about you myself.» Nezu said over another sip of tea.
«How much he knows?» asked Izuku, his sharp gaze
«What happened to you, except for the medical details of your 'condition' and that you are also training Melissa Shield-san in your way.» Nezu stated calmly, though his white fur had stood on end.
«I see.» Izuku said, relaxing.
«Well, now moving on.» Nezu took another sip of tea, intending to calm down «Your opening speech was... quite successful, and its repercussions are already changing several situations.»
«Let me guess: Quirk supremacists have started condemning my story and using it to propagandise against quirkless or to censor it, resulting in demonstrations in the streets and on social media.»
«That's the downside.» Nezu said amusedly «But your speech rekindled the spirits of many people, Heroes and even Villains, and made them more active than before in a positive sense. They have suddenly woken up: applications to universities have surged, recovery centres have received new patients and volunteers, employment agencies have filled up with new and old clients, and many police stations no longer know where to place the criminals and Villains who have voluntarily turned themselves in.»
«Not bad.» Izuku said, massaging his chin «Awakening this stagnant society isn't one of my main goals, but I'm honestly surprised.»
«So you had a second reason to tell the story of that place... Cadia, right?» Toshinori asked, having recovered from the tremor.
«Also, but the real reason I told the "Fall of Cadia" is to prevent the memory of those souls from being lost.»
«A tribute to the fallen, huh...»
Izuku smiled, nostalgic and amused, at that statement, nodding positively.
«Now, what's the last thing?»
«Tsukauchi-san shared some findings about the attack on USJ, including things about the Nomu.» Nezu said.
«Ah, that black mutant huh?» Izuku remembered himself by raising his cup «What did he discover?» he asked while taking a sip
«Simply put, its DNA appears to integrate four different individuals.»
At the revelation, Izuku spat the tea back into the cup. His gaze remained fixed on the pair, full of attention, caution, and… fury.
«Explain yourself better.» Izuku stated coldly.
«According to Tsukauchi-san, the Nomu has been identified as an ordinary criminal, whose record includes minor crimes. But the strange thing is that his DNA matches four other individuals.»
«You explained practically nothing, Principal Nezu.» Izuku said coldly «You just gave me a longer version.»
«Don't warm up and listen to me.» Nezu tried to calm him down «In normal cases, something like this is impossible, and implanting DNA incompatible with your own would not only cause rejection, but also prevent you from learning other Quirks. Here comes the strange factor: not only was Nomu able to use multiple Quirks, but its hybrid DNA is stable and works perfectly.»
The statement struck Izuku. He sharpened his attention further and began processing everything in his head, generating one hypothesis after another, each more unlikely than the last.
«In the 41st millennium, it's called Genetic Alchemy, the same one used for my ascension.» Izuku stated with icy notes «Even if the timing doesn't match, the fact that someone is already using it and has reached this level... doesn't bode well.»
«Genetic Alchemy?» asked Toshinori.
«Extreme bioengineering, gene splicing, and cloning. Apart from the last one, the Imperium widely uses it to create the Adeptus Astartes and the Adeptus Custodes. According to the imperial archives, this knowledge appeared during the Dark Age of Technology. Compared with today's date, it shouldn’t have been discovered yet. It would take at least thirteen thousand years.» Izuku explained thoughtfully. «But from how you described the Nomu, it looks terribly like a Grotesque used by those Drukhari bastards.»
«Grotesque? Drukhari?» asked Nezu when he heard the alien words.
«Do you remember the Eldar I mentioned before the sports festival?» asked Izuku, receiving a positive response «That race is divided into three factions: Asuryani, Drukhari and Ynari. Without getting lost in too many explanations, the Drukhari are narcissistic xenos who prey on and enjoy the suffering of others, sadistic and cruel bastards to the core. Their attacks always aim at kidnapping the inhabitants of a world, whether humans, mutants, or xenos. The fate of those unfortunate people is unknown, but given their nature, I think death would be thousands of times preferable to imprisonment.»
At the statement, both Toshinori and Nezu swallowed loudly, their expressions paling.
«The Grotesques are a creation of the Haemonculi Drukhari. Mad and sadistic 'Doctors' who consider torture an art. There are various theories within the Inquisition's Ordo Xeno on the subject, but the one that most closely matches reality is that Grotesques are living beings mutated through convoluted surgery, stimulants, and chemical growth in vats, making them colossal and efficient assault troops, as lobotomized as they are obedient.»
«Of everything you said, I only understood that you faced opponents virtually identical to the Nomu.» Toshinori said, concerned by the revelation.
But why focus on stable DNA? Even though Toshinori had made that statement, Izuku was now locked in thought. The Nomu is clearly a prototype copy of the Drukhari's Grotesque. If the goal is to create violent but effective assault weapons, there's no point in refining details like DNA... one moment, Quirks... assault troops... DNA... unique Quirks... multiple Quirks do not exist in a single person...! By the time his superhuman mind reached its conclusion, only a second or two had passed for Toshinori and Nezu.
«...Ossa Imperatoris albi.» Izuku cursed in high Gothic «Either some bastard from the League of Villains is trying to artificially create Supervillains with multiple Quirks. Or either there is someone capable of stealing and implanting Quirks, and the Nomu was created with the intention of obtaining a vessel capable of withstanding and using multiple Quirks.» he ended by looking at the couple in front of him.
Toshinori not only felt uncomfortable with the conclusions Izuku had reached, but his forehead had begun to sweat profusely, almost as if the venerable Custodian had given even more validity to an unpleasant theory that he prayed would remain so.