MHA AU
“We struggle to change not just the future of reality, but its fate too.”
It is just after the Kamino incident. Bakugo has only just recently discovered Midoriya is All Might’s chosen inheritor of One for All and the world is focused intensely on UA and its following actions as it dedicates itself to the safety of students by changing to a dorm room lifestyle, monitoring for safety and to further enhance the development of Heroes within Japan. Their pledge to do so went out on TV all over the world.
The League of Villains, after the defeat of All for One at the hands of All Might, now retired and teaching at UA, has gone underground, but whispers of their activity and voice have gained the ears of those downtrodden by society.
However, as always, many things happen through a live world. Things unpredictable and unseen, creating new stories of their own.
This is one of them.
UA FACULTY OFFICE: 01 06:05 Monday Morning Faculty Meeting.
On the screen of the teleprompter of the meeting space, a video plays upon the screen as the UA teachers look up around the curved desk that fills the room. A voiceover from the video speaks on in a calm but torse tone as silent video recorded in very faded color from cheap cameras plays out the scene of a wild, large wolf morph wearing tattered clothing rushing and tearing through the hallways of a school, barreling other students and teachers aside with its body before it eventually decides to fling itself through a window. It then switches to other video footage of heroes in a forest hunting it down, still silent but the beast appears to dodge and evade every oncoming obstacle with ease while some only graze and miss it by inches.
“Ruli Kinnari.” The voice began at the start of the video, “A believed Quirkless wolf morph of 15 years old who has been attending public schools geared towards the Quirkless and those with Quirks suitable for public use and service, has manifested a Quirk after experiencing an unfortunate trigger event a few months past.”
The video plays on as several heroes attempt to corner the beast within an abandoned building. It grabs onto stone support pillars near itself with its hands and then yanks, ripping off about twenty feet of the concrete beams in just a handful of seconds, and then brings them both down swinging at the camera wielder. The video goes dark. It’s very clear that one of the heroes chasing it down just got smashed between both the pillars, and then the video rewinds to pause just between when the pillars are smashing down. This view gives the teachers of UA in the room a very clear view of the creature's face for a good ten seconds; wide green eyes and a manic grin across the grayish black furred muzzle, gaze staring right at the hero. Rows of the boy’s sharp canine teeth are visible, his lips pulled up tight into a lunatic grin.
“I’m for some reason glad it’s not directly at the camera…” Midnight hums, “It’s like a feral All Might smile.”
All Might doesn’t say anything, but his eyes don’t blink from the images for about five seconds into the pause, his boney jaw squared tight at what he sees and then glances gently down at the small group of papers President Nezu had given to them all about this new case that’d been brought to his attention by a far north region’s local high school principal.
The video flickers into a new image, and sound is suddenly added to the output, immediate grunts. The huge wolf is strapped to a table in a stretchy suit, wrists and ankles bound by ropes that appear to have been Quirk enhanced to stretch and then snap back down to the table like gooey taffy. Despite its situation, its eyes are still wide like saucers and that smile still on its muzzle, though it’s not as large as the frozen image of before in its apparent frustration. Its teeth gleam in the light of the room that hangs above it while thrashing. A detention room. It grunts and growls as it keeps pulling, going somewhat over the voice that talks to it, a man in casual clothes, light black with brightly striped red tie sitting nearby in a chair. “Who are you?”
The wolf snarls in response, its voice quick, deep but somehow shrill in its syllables. “QUACKS! QUACKS! ALL OF YOU ARE QUACKS THAT’S ALL YOU DO!!! DUCKS QUACKING QUESTIONS ALREADY ANSWERED!!! QUACKS!!! QUACK QUACK LITTLE DUCK!!!” All while continuing to pull and tug on its restraints. The video pauses and the first voice takes over again.
“Ruli has seriously injured 15 people and caused 70 other cases of minor injuries as well as minor property damage in his rampages. What you’ve just seen and are seeing is recorded footage from two schools who have attempted to handle and treat his newly developed Quirk over the last five months.”
The video switches again to the image of the same looking wolf at least in fur pattern, but now far smaller wearing a black shirt and red shorts. He sits stiffly while somewhat glaring at whoever is behind the camera in a bright lit school room, but no one else is in the background of the large and empty space. His hands grip on the sides of the chair tightly. “What do you remember of that first event?” A calm voice asks in the back behind the camera.
“I remember what they were going to DO to her, if that’s what you mean.” He growled back in a huff, eyes narrowing. “I’ve already told you, I don’t remember all of that…those recordings…what it did to them. Every time it’s out I’m not the one there.” Ruli’s hands, human in shape but with fur and thick black nails at the ends grip onto the chair, and the newly manifested strength his Quirk has given him lets his fingers and claws easily break into and start digging deeper gouges through the wood.
“Do you think they deserve Tartarus?” The other person asks lightly, but quickly.
“Don’t you?” The wolf morph growls back pointedly, throwing the last word with the question. “You know what they wanted to do. They outright fucking said it after they were caught, he wanted to hit her…” His paws keep gripping. The fur on the back of his neck and shoulders stands up on end and the muscles along his arms suddenly tighten. “PLEASE…” He barks it out tightly. “Leave me alone…you have no idea how fucking bad I wanna start smiling right now…”
At this point, the video pauses again and the previous voice goes on. “I send this to UA, on behalf of myself and his family, in the hopes that you might see to take this wild child from us, and give him the direction and support we are unable to. His Quirk is unstable and chaotic, uncontrollable. We have so far experienced enough to give a rough summary that it massively increases his reflexive capabilities and gives him a medium to large reinforcement to his own strength and speed. As events have continued we’ve observed his body undergoes drastic transformations the more stress continues to be increased–”
“I mean no wonder when they’re binding him down like an ANIMAL IN AGRRRAAAGE!!!” Hound Dog’s voice starts calm then builds slowly into his yells and howling growl he then lurches up from his chair.
“SSSSSSH” Present Mic hisses, and the larger hero suddenly just sits back down like a trained dog quickly, but his quiet growl rolls on with teeth showing and lips curling as the video goes on, what was interrupted is lost. Beside him, Aizawa’s eyes haven’t left the screen, his mind already realizing what’s happened here today to then give a tired look towards President Nezu, who is turned around and looking up at the video with that calm but slight smile still.
‘All of the rest of my stress after Kamino and now this Nezu…I’m doubling my nap schedule.’ He thinks, but then his eyes go back to the screen as he continues to listen to the voice go on.
“--own control and cognitive responses slowly become less worldly responses and more feral as time advances, or, if something happens that appears to spook or frighten these enhanced animalistic senses or instincts. From loud noises to even steadily piled stressors such as undue attention and even being asked to do multiple tasks while in this form. These cause him to almost immediately become semi-feral in mind, responding with mildly crazed frantics like the “quacks” you heard him yelling. In the final stages of the transformation he becomes unresponsive and violent towards anybody except his sister and mother, Uni and Terresa Kinnari. It’s in only being around them that he even calms down enough to revert to his normal form at will, at which point he experiences the aftershocks of his Quirk. This includes stiff tension of the muscles that lingers for several seconds to nearly half an hour long, depending on the duration and severity of the activity he undergoes while using his Quirk. He describes this sensation as a full body experience of “Pin Needles” like when one’s limb is asleep, and it does clearly submit him to intense sensation whenever he makes more than the tiniest of movements.
“Ruli describes his Quirk as something that he can see when he looks inward upon himself. He claims he’s taken into a darkness where the visage of a large wolf beast with glowing purple eyes is there. He described in previous sessions with councillors that in the moment of his manifestation, he had looked down and saw he was holding something in his hand, a blue leash. This is where his memory of the day seems to black out, as he repeatedly claims he cannot remember anything that happened “On the outside” past that point except the following point of him hugging his sister; however, the results of the days are there. He has assaulted up to 15 individuals, torn through the hallways of his school, and many other events injuring several more, and claims to remember none of it. In a second major incident where he got into a large fight with other youths, he fled into the woods, and teams of local heroes spent hours trying to pin him down.”
“He explains that in controlling his Quirk, Ruli envisions the blue leash from that first event and is taken into what he deems his “Mindscape” where he meets the wolf. In the moment of coming into that place, he is holding the leash with the beast at his side, but it’s almost always agitated by him merely being there. He claims sometimes, he’s able to get it to listen to him by telling it of things he’s experienced and we have recorded footage of him simply sitting -very- still while in his enhanced form or performing tasks calmly that appear to mirror the moments he claims to do this. It appears the beast is the clear driver of his Quirk while Ruli becomes a passenger to the hypersensitive instincts it provides him.”
“This is your house Hound Dog.” Present Mic then says, suddenly right with the councillor beast, but then gets his own quick “SHSH” from Recovery Girl.
“However, he has also explained that in the moments in which his Quirk goes out of control, that the beast drags him by the leash in its haste to run, dragging and even pulling him through the air if it runs fast enough, and it then sometimes gets pulled completely out of his grip in which case he has to run after it. This has led us to believe that this leash of his is the connection factor for his Quirk, except his body, and also his own words from the record, tell a different activation. Like how you saw earlier and heard him threaten, it’s while his fur stands on end and he then smiles that this other side truly begins to show.”
“Out of term to how it appears to behave and transform him, we have coined it “BeastMode”. On the onset, there’s an almost immediate cognitive decline. BeastMode shouts, screeches, and says inane things in response to queries and stimulation, and frightening or surprising ones, as mentioned, immediately cause it to lose all verbal communication skill either for a brief moment or, if it becomes too stressed, all together for the duration of his transformation. If he can maintain control, BeastMode is able to communicate in sensible sentences of mostly simple words, sometimes bordering on normal conversation, and perform tasks and actions with precision. He’s also been able to actively focus on attacking specific targets when directed before activating BeastMode, and can then slowly cancel out of it if his surroundings remain completely calm. Attempting to get BeastMode to attack another target while he still channels it has proven difficult and with mixed results.”
“Not just this, but we have observed that this alter-ego appears to possibly be an entirely different personality. Despite claiming to favor hand to hand combat, when it was presented with an array of weaponry to choose from, it quickly and eagerly picked up a pair of twin swords while shouting exclamations of glee,”
“This kid has a puppy…” Hound Dog growled out evenly, and beside him Present Mic nodded, as well as Midnight from across the room as the voice went on.
“and then quite quickly developed a new method of attacking. It can swing the blades at such speeds that they create fierce air pressures or “wind blades” that appear to slice through inorganics but act as blunt force on flesh. We immediately removed the weapons and he became upset and triggered yet another feral episode.”
“All such episodes have, in time, steadily increased in how long they last depending on the level of activity being done while in BeastMode and perhaps dependent on stressors around him; however a standard thirty to forty minutes of heavy activity appears to be his limit. Easy activity can last up to about an hour and sometimes just a few minutes beyond, at which point BeastMode seems to ‘stutter’ out and Ruli is placed back in control, but he immediately faints should he reach this limit, the time he’s out cold has lasted roughly between 15 to 23 hours, with those being the minimum example and maximum example.”
“Our running theories are that BeastMode is either; a hyper-regression to instinct status aggression in favor of brute force, a separate entity like Quirk that is channeled, or somehow a strength and speed enhancer that reacts oddly to him being a wolf morph. The Wolf and his Mindscape simply appear to be his drivers for it and lean heavily into the separate entity theory, but since it’s a space in which we cannot directly assist…Unfortunately for us, any three avenues all lead to the same result. Ruli is uncontrollable at least by our lacking methods in a public school, and in the recent few weeks surrounding Kamino…I look to UA to show its purpose.”
Suddenly the still paused video played on from the moment of Ruli being frustrated in the chair again, his shoulders suddenly slump and there’s a visible shudder as huffs and looks away. “Look…I think my Quirk happened to be the kind that just showed up when it knew it was needed…late bloomers are like that right? What they wanted to do to her and me, it wasn’t gonna let em do. I felt that from it, so I trusted the rope it threw at me.” The entire time he says it, his expression calms as he takes more breaths, then he just jumps down off the chair while growling, “If you’re sending this where I think you might be sir based on all your questions today…let that be my last statement. I have a video of my own to prepare…”
At this, the video clicked off. President Nezu spun around as Thirteen turned the lights back on. “This video was over 12 hours long when I first got it! The other principal really piled it on!”
He begins laughing while Midnight stutters and All Might slumps. Aizawa narrows his eyes, “And let me guess, you want him in Class 1-A, where simply looking at him makes him heel.”
“Better with you than my kids-” Vlad started as Nezu jumped up.
“Why exactly! I knew you’d be on my side in what I see in this!” President Nezu clapped the desk while he then went on, “With the current state of the attention on our school, taking in a student like this is a must! Asides any outside influence, this is simply just a case we cannot ignore! If such a developing adult were allowed to struggle as such, he’d become an innocent villain locked up in Tartarus!” His voice was persistent, but squeaky and light.
“He’s right.” Thirteen stated, her agreement clear as she nodded. “My Quirk was just as dangerous, and so was yours, Mic.”
“I don’t think anyone here’s actually opposed to this because the point does stand,” Snipe lifted a hand in conjecture, “we can’t afford to ignore him. He's a local problem now and held up in the school's privacy, but if he gets out in public and has a scene it’ll paint villains into an even better light still.”
“No no this isn’t about trying to prevent that kind of light, it’s about an amazing power that can turn the tables!” Nezu jumped up on the desk then instead. “His Quirk’s timely activation and his struggles up to today can be coincidental, but when nature steps up and gives you gifts you have to take the chance to jump! That this has been brought to our attention now of all times is the blessing!”
“That’s your animal side talking Nezu.” Hound Dog growled, “The kid needs constant supervision or he’s gonna have an episode. Do we tell the kids about this kid’s Quirk ahead of time?”
“That would be telling them how to act and that would make whatever experience he feels here inauthentic.” Midnight pointed out, pointing one finger into the air, “All children see the Festival on TV. You heard that last message of his, he knew how to point the message out. He wants to be here, he knows this is the only place that can contain and direct him.”
“One top of that, if that was him on the edge of slipping into BeastMode like that other principal claims in their audio, that sudden settle down he did shows he -does- have control potential.” Cementoss added in with a nod, though his face showed grimness.
A pause.
“What’s family like?” Hound Dog asked after only a second longer, eyes looking back to Nezu.
“His mother is a delight and his sister is sweet. Terresa’s Quirk actually makes her a perfect candidate for transfer to our city, there are many businesses I can advertise to that would be interested in her ability in the suburbs hospitals!” Nezu squeaked on, “There were messages from them both throughout the whole video. She seems hopeful but she too senses the edge of the limit, UA is her only option. I edited this video from the whole 12 hour long presentation after watching the whole thing to what I’ve shown you. If you want the whole thing, as our councillor I’m happy to give it to you, but in a video towards the end…Ruli asked me not to give it to any of you and trusted me to show what I deemed needed-should I accept.” President Nezu ended with a bright smile.
Hound Dog’s eyes squinted, “What? Excuses” He started shaking, “Did he give you.”
“The same one Midnight just told you.” He pointed at her and she smiled and giggled. “Your reactions to him would be inauthentic. He knows that.” Then he saluted up with one paw as he continued, “Besides! I’m the Principal!”
This made Hound Dog start gnashing his teeth while Present Mic pointed out a finger at the animal principal. “”Should you accept” and so “you” already accepted him, didn't you?” It was only phrased as a question but said as a statement.
“Indeed I did.” He fixed his gaze onto Aizawa then and did bow to him. “I know your class has all the attention fixed on it recently Eraser, but your Quirk is now his own leash.”
Midnight snorted a ‘snrk’ and huffed, “His scarf could do it. And if there’s a case where Eraser’s not nearby, it’s not like the kids here are helpless. Also there’s me. Whether or not it’s about villains we’re simply the best match up.”
“There is lots of hero potential in that power if he can learn control and direction, and I am one who can help understand those feral urges better…grrrrrr...” Hound Dog agreed. He took a deep breath and let out a slow growl. “Fine. I’ll base my reactions on what I’ve been shown and trust this. While ignoring the want to know so I can help him better…”
“All of us see personal stakes in him.” All Might concluded, and his fingers let loose the papers that they’d been given a steady gaze on his face as he looked around at them all. He’d started reading as soon as the lights came on. “Did you -read- about the trigger event? I see why you didn’t include any parts of the videos about that detail, Nezu. At least it wasn’t the worst I had been thinking at first. Clever rodent.”
“HAHAHAHA!!! It was a fun slip!” Nezu laughed. “I think watching some of the chatter footage with BeastMode in the videos inspired that. They weren’t going to do -that- haha no. Other people out of control with their Quirks, emboldened by the League, targeted him and his sister. She was going to be killed in front of his eyes.” He went still for a moment and breathed.
“It’s in moments of hearing people talk about things like that I remember the early memories of that place” He said, pulling up his paw over his scarred eye. Even before he said that, the room sensed that was where he was going and they let a silence hang for a long time.
Aizawa simply broke it, “I accept, but I get two extra nap breaks.” His voice was even and controlled. He’d broker no argument.
“Deal!” Nezu shouted, jumping down into his chair again as he giggled, looking down at the papers. “I think he will fit in very well here. I do have one final clip to show you. It’s the event of his Quirk’s manifestation. A trump card for All Might to enjoy if any of you did cling to any reasons we shouldn’t accept him.”
Attention was back to the screen as Nezu rolled one final bit of media, and the camera of a street corner was shown. In it, Ruli and Uni appear to be walking down towards that corner when they suddenly start stepping backwards. From the other end of the camera, a car with several wheels comes at them, the driver shooting cds from what appears to be a radio that comes out of his chest at them while leaning out of the window. Ruli and Uni fall back and then the video slows as Nezu edited it to start doing. The car appears to begin leaning towards Uni.
Steady frame by frame, Ruli rises to his feet trying to rush to Uni, his gaze passes across his hands as he stumbles, and the picture shows Ruli suddenly grinning, his fur bristled up over his shoulders like bushes, and then jumping towards Uni after a near tumble, he seems to gain sudden strength to kick greatly off the ground with. Grabbing her in his arms in his lunge to throw themselves out of the way into a ducking roll. Right after the roll ends as the car passes he drops her into the grass and then immediately jumps back towards the car as it sailed past right where they’d just been, jaws snapping through the car to clamp onto the front side part of the windshield to rip it clean off. It gets tossed and the driver swerves in response, then jumping back off to land close and actually tumble, rolling across the grass to stop close to Uni, but then appearing completely normal as the video speeds back up, though shocked and confused as he looks around in a daze. He finds his sister behind while she doesn’t even hesitate to run towards him to hug him tightly. The timer shows the entire scene happened in about six seconds.
“The instincts of a hero.” All Might stated, grinning widely.
