Chapter 45: Shadows of Rehabilitation
All Might quickly jumped over hundreds of buildings or entire districts with a single leap. He was trying to get to the location of the operation to catch Tokima and Tsukima, organized by Nezu, as quickly as possible.
His heart was filled with disappointment and regret over his morning decision — to refuse to participate in the operation. At that time, he thought it was just two criminals who could be easily captured without much difficulty, especially knowing that several professional heroes would be involved in the operation, and the plan created by Nezu would undoubtedly lead to the successful completion of the mission.
All Might convinced himself that his help wouldn't be needed there, and he could spend the time he would have spent on the operation helping people all over the country.
Jumping over another district, he involuntarily touched the wound left by his arch-nemesis — All for One. Because of this, he could only remain in his hero form for three hours a day, and that time was decreasing every day.
The realization that he had only a few minutes left made him speed up. He needed to reach the operation site as quickly as possible, before it even began, and make a few adjustments to the plan in order to be able to participate directly.
Although it was an incredibly bad decision on his part, especially after his refusal — when Nezu had likely been forced to bring in a few more professional heroes — but he couldn't do otherwise.
When he learned from his close friend Tsukauchi that Tokima was Kimika, someone he had known as the friend of the heir to his quirk, and a girl who could have become an incredibly powerful hero, he couldn't allow anyone else to fight her and inflict unnecessary wounds on her.
Especially knowing that this mission would involve Eraser Head and Midnight, and fully understanding their methods, he pushed himself to speed up even more.
All Might knew some details of the plan — that first, Nezu would try to talk to them and ask them to surrender, and if that didn't work, heroes would join the operation. However, during the battle, unnecessary casualties or injuries could occur, and only his presence would make Kimika and her partner surrender immediately. Even if he had only a few minutes left, he would manage to achieve victory.
Jumping from city to city, he nearly landed in the right place in less than a minute. Luckily, the operation hadn't started yet, and the heroes were in the building next to the theater.
Landing next to them, he made no noise, which was nothing difficult for him. Having incredible strength, he had long ago learned to fully control it, and he hoped that young Midoriya would be able to do the same. "It's fine now. Why? Because I am here!"
Eraser Head, next to whom he had landed, only gave him a piercing look and sighed heavily. "And now you... Why are there so many of us here? Three... four... professional heroes and Recovery Girl. Who's next? Best Jeanist, Endeavor, Ectoplasm?"
"What... what's wrong with him?" All Might whispered quietly, completely surprised by Eraser Head's behavior, with whom he would still have to work at the Hero Academy.
"Here, have a candy," Healing Lady said, handing Eraser Head a few candies. "Don't take his words to heart, All Might. He's just not happy that someone other than him will be fighting Tokima and Tsukimo. He's got something personal with them." With these words, she handed a few candies to All Might.
"Although, you know, I'm not too thrilled about being here either. I'm getting too old for these nighttime escapades, and while this will probably end in a fight and our victory — because I think they won't surrender to Nezu, no matter what his words are — they'll be the ones to blame for the injuries they get after fighting all of you. And I'll have to... Ugh, why do I have to deal with all this at my age?"
"At least it'll be an amazing and loud party! The more of us, the crazier and better," Present Mic whispered barely audibly through the bandage over his mouth.
Before All Might could say a word about the bandage, Midnight interrupted him. "Nezu gave it to him so he wouldn't blow our cover before the operation even started. And I totally agree! The more of us, the more fun for those who break the law!" she said excitedly, cracking her whip through the air with a sadistic grin. "Especially for those two unruly girls! I can't wait for the moment when I get to whip them properly!"
Eraser Head, standing next to his colleagues, couldn't help but express his displeasure at the fact that they were also involved in such a plan. He sighed heavily, feeling that things wouldn't go as Nezu had planned. He absolutely disliked that he wasn't the only one participating in this operation. He wanted to face Tokima and Tsukimo in battle again to get his revenge. "Why do I have to deal with all this..."
"If you've already arrived, then you probably want to change our plan, am I right? If so... and it really is so, here's a quick summary of the plan: we wait for a signal from Nezu, after which we infiltrate the theater as quickly as possible and start the fight. I was supposed to fight against Tokima, and these two — against Tsukima. As soon as one of them loses, we quickly deal with the remaining one together. Then they'll be treated by Recovery Girl, and we'll transport them to the academy grounds without anyone noticing. The most important thing is that no one finds out they'll be at the academy, because the police and citizens want to arrest them for life, and that doesn't fit into our rehabilitation plan. I hope you understood everything?"
All Might silently nodded, which pleased Eraser Head, and then he began to contemplate what he had heard. In his opinion, this plan seemed quite good: as he knows, from this pair, only Tokima has a useful quirk for combat, and Eraser Head, with his Quirk, would easily defeat her.
Meanwhile, Tsukima, lacking a combat quirk but possessing good close combat skills, would fight against Midnight and Present Mic, who could attack her from a distance, keeping her at bay. They would either wait for Eraser Head's victory or for a chance to deliver slow strikes, playing on stamina, until she collapsed from exhaustion.
But he didn't want to see Eraser Head fight Tokima, knowing his methods and now realizing that this was something personal for him. Therefore, he was even more determined not to let that happen.
"As you said, I would like to make a small change to the plan. At the beginning, everything will go as you planned, with their separation, but I would prefer to fight Tokima instead of you"
"Well, of course, it will be me... Do whatever you want," Eraser Head said angrily, feeling robbed of the chance to take revenge on at least one of them.
But he couldn't simply refuse the change in the plan, knowing that this way their plan would definitely end in their favor, since his mere presence would guarantee their victory by lowering the opponents' morale. Still, he didn't like this decision.
The dissatisfaction in the atmosphere became increasingly palpable. Eraser Head stood silently, gloomily hunched over, feeling that his role in this operation had changed, and he had become nearly useless. Now, all that was left for him to do was either stand back or assist in the fight against Tsukima.
Meanwhile, in the midst of this silent tension, the calm yet convincing voice of Recovery Girl was heard.
"Calm down, Nezu is risking his life for this plan. Though I still can't understand why he would put his life in danger... if something goes wrong with his plan, he'll be directly on the battlefield. Therefore, we cannot afford to jeopardize his safety due to emotions."
"We're not aiming to 'lash them with a whip' or entertain ourselves, our goal is to catch them. We must act carefully because if we're not cautious, our actions could lead to unnecessary injuries. They still need to undergo the rehabilitation program. Whether it's voluntary or not, that's another matter, but we still can't afford to leave extra scars on future heroes."
"Alright, alright. You're right, we don't need to cross the line... But don't forget, I'm still the one assigned to guide them on the path of rehabilitation, like a second mother. So no matter how gently you try to handle them, I'll still have a chance to have some fun with them both." She said with the same sadistic smile.
"First, I'll dress them up in maid outfits with cat elements like ears or tails and make them clean the entire academy until not a speck of dust remains! And let them try to slack off... though, you know, it's better if they do. Then I'll pile even more tasks on them and, of course, special punishments!" She started spinning in place, hugging herself. Her face flushed with excitement, and her eyes sparkled with a strange fire.
"Punishments... how I've been looking forward to this... A bunny costume? Of course! A cat costume? No doubt about it! I have a whole wardrobe of various costumes just waiting for them both! And then... tickling until they beg for mercy... And the shock collar? Yes, it's an essential tool for those who stubbornly refuse to listen. One press of a button, and they'll instantly remember who's in charge. Oh, and also — night training! Jogging around the academy courtyard in these cute costumes. You can be sure they'll even enjoy it. After all, they'll thank me for teaching them real endurance. Who knows, maybe they'll even start calling me their second mother?"
Her sadistic smile grew even wider, and a true spark of inspiration ignited in her eyes.
"And this is just the beginning! I have so many more ideas... I'm sure they'll quickly realize how great it is to be obedient heroes, especially under my attentive guidance."
All Might stared at Midnight in shock, who seemed completely immersed in her fantasies, waving her arms as though she were already conducting her own punishment theater. Her eyes sparkled, and her smile kept widening, making him involuntarily flinch.
He swallowed air, trying to hide his embarrassment. 'Do they all really think this is normal?' he thought as he glanced at the other heroes. No one even tried to intervene or seemed to feel a shred of sympathy for Tokima and Tsukimi like he did.
It was too much. He couldn't allow these methods to become a reality. He already imagined the faces of those two who had agreed to this rehabilitation, only to later look him in the eye with silent despair, knowing their future now depended on a woman who took pleasure in such "pedagogical methods."
'As soon as this operation is over, I need to talk to Nezu. We have to find someone... less sadistic. Someone who understands the difference between discipline and torture.'
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw how Midnight seemed to bloom even more in her fantasies, making it harder for him to hide his growing concern. He took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure, and perhaps for the first time in his life, he wished that the criminals would escape from the heroes.
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Write punishments you'd like to see from Midnight in the comments! As long as they don't cross the line, of course. But let's remember that maybe Nezu was just joking with her and won't actually let her mentor those two, especially considering her personality… Or will he? Actually, who even said they'd manage to catch them in the first place? Though, there is All Might… but his quirk… Man.
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