During Lunch, students could either opt for the School's Cafeteria or they could also go out and have lunch outside, given they returned on time to attend after-lunch classes.
With an alarming hurriedness inside, Luke stepped out of the School's premises, submitting a note to Erasure Head just before the lunch hour.
He had no hate or love for the Villains.
One could even say that it was the Heroes who despised Luke now.
Regardless of whom he liked or disliked, he could trust neither of them.
However, one thing was sure — Tomura Shigaraki would cause devastation in Japan in the coming year, becoming the second All For One.
And no one knew how great a threat this Villain was more than Luke.
Momo had extensively talked about this day… less because of the press incident and more because of her getting chosen as the Class Rep.
This was how Momo was with him.
She didn't show, but there was great pride within her regarding these accomplishments.
Coincidentally, this happened to be the same day when the UA Barrier was destroyed, letting the journalists storm into the school.
Momo had only passively mentioned that, from the nature of the UA Barrier's destruction, it had felt like the work of Tomura Shigaraki.
Luke wasn't sure that he was strong enough to resist All For One; now or ever.
Moreover, there was no saying if All For One would meet the same fate as in his previous life.
Things had already deviated so much by this point that Luke had been having trouble putting the sequence of events at the right place in the timeline anymore.
Much less needed to be said about such a fate-overturning moment.
What if All For One came out to be the victor in the upcoming battle, successfully taking over Tomura Shigaraki?
Luke needed time to carry on with the investigation regarding the Spirit World and those red and blue Spirit Particles. One year didn't seem enough, even if everything went as per his wishes.
So, Luke had decided to buy time for himself by — killing Tomura Shigaraki.
If the Villain died, then All For One would need even more time to decide upon the next successor.
Not to mention, All For One's state might not be optimal because of Quirk Singularity — a field Luke had done extensive research on.
By killing Shigaraki, he could push All For One's incident indefinitely.
So, just as the Lunch Period began, Luke walked out of the school and silently disappeared into the darkness of the forest.
…
"Haha…" Shigaraki laughed, scratching his neck. "… That should do the trick…"
UA High School sat atop a hill, a thick layer of trees claiming the slope on all sides.
The tree line began just beyond the main road outside the school's fortress-like walls.
Tomura Shigaraki saw the people rushing in from the broken patch of UA Barrier that he had decayed and couldn't help but smile at his accomplishment.
There was a thrill in it.
He just couldn't stop smiling.
All Might will be next… Shigaraki thought, a redness claiming his neck.
He took out the mobile from his pocket and dialed the number. "Kurogiri," he said. "Take me back. Yes. Outside UA's main gate."
To not attract unwanted attention, Kurogiri had marked four locations outside UA, in the forest, in four directions.
Shigaraki melted away in the forest before the Pro Heroes could calm down the situation and come out to search for him.
Laughing, he ran down the hill, already eying a tree with a red circle on its trunk.
A black vortex was manifesting there as Kurogiri used his Quirk — Warp Gate, from the hideout.
From the distance, hiding behind another tree, Luke eyed the Villain.
He had already put on his Hero Costume, turning the black greatcoat white. However, this time, his face was lacking the black mask.
Luke already knew very little about the past events from his previous life.
There were some facts that the Blue Site's scientists had told him for research. Then there were things that Momo had told him after marrying him. Combined, there wasn't much, to begin with.
So, he needed to take advantage of every piece of information he did know.
This event was one of those things that wasn't out of his knowledge.
Thus, right after joining UA, he had Nyx scour the entire forest in hopes of finding a clue.
If Tomura Shigaraki had arrived today, then there was no way he would have disappeared from right outside UA, given there were hundreds of cameras there. So, he must enter the forest before using Kurogiri's assistance.
And that's what Luke had been counting on, ultimately finding the red-circled tree using Divination.
"Nyx…" Luke said, feeling her claws digging into his shoulder with excitement, "… ready? We have never tried this Quirk before…"
Nyx grinned. "There's a first day to everything… like the time you lost your virginity…"
"Nyx!" Luke gasped. Laughing a bit, and as his lens-covered black eyes let out a determined glow, he snapped his fingers.
…
[
Quirk Bestowal Successful
…
Quirk: Body Manipulation
Complexity: S
Consumption:
— Spirit 110
— Stamina 29
Contact Time: 10 seconds
Activation Time: 5 minutes
]
…
Learning from the Jaku Incident, Luke had decided to let Nyx play his failsafe for everything, effectively keeping her hidden and outside the battle.
Meanwhile, he could also keep her nearest to himself, just in case he ever needed that last helping hand.
Nyx's feathers thrummed as if she could feel each one of them.
Her red pupils glowed, and then, as muscles wriggled within her, she latched herself to Luke's face, becoming a mask.
The black, feathery mask covered Luke's entire face from chin to forehead.
Two red eyes appeared over Luke's own, letting him see the world in a red filter.
He would think on working over it more, but, for now, it was enough; enough to take on one of the worst, but also the strongest Villains.
Then, just as Shigaraki was about to enter the black vortex, smiling smugly, Luke snapped his fingers again.
…
[
Quirk Bestowal Successful
…
Quirk: Intelligence
Complexity: B
Consumption:
— Spirit 30
— Stamina 15
Contact Time: 3 seconds
Activation Time: 18 minutes
…
Quirk: Flexibility
Complexity: B
Consumption:
— Spirit 45
— Stamina 16
Contact Time: 4 seconds
Activation Time: 16 minutes
…
Quirk: Oil Secretion
Complexity: B
Consumption:
— Spirit 50
— Stamina 16
Contact Time: 5 seconds
Activation Time: 15 minutes
]
…
If there was one thing Luke had learned better than science in his previous life, then it was using Bioalchemy.
The Quirk had many weaknesses. Many.
If it didn't have any weakness, then Luke wouldn't have almost died against a Nomu.
However, on the opposite spectrum of these weaknesses stood a fact — Bioalchemy shined the most when the user had enough time to plan…
Just as Tomura Shigaraki was about to enter the black vortex, one foot already inside it, the tree with the red circle squirmed.
A bright shine coursed over it, as if someone had cast a mirror on it from very, very far away.
In the next moment, a gaping hole tore open in its trunk, the entire tree shaking as if a hurricane had arrived on top of it.
From the gaping hole, a voice boomed out, making Tomura's eyes go wide.
"I AM —," A thin branch lashed out like a whip, tearing through Shigaraki's stomach, blood squirting everywhere. "— Tree!"
**************
AN: Original Images of Luke (with Nyx as mask) and the tree coming alive are available
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