Summary: Shifting futures...

  Warning! Chapters 112 and 113 were posted back-to-back! Make sure you don't miss 112!

  Chapter 113: Consolidation

  The Cluster Fuck that the takedown of the MLA had turned into had meant that a full week had passed between the operation and any sort of truly coherent debriefing. Reports had flowed up the chain of command, of course. Such as it was on the Hero Side and far more fluidly on the JSDF's part. When a collective comprehensive debrief had finally been possible, the results had at least been…acceptable. The death toll at Toyama was something no one was happy with. But there was literally nothing they could have done about it, none of them having imagined that the MLA were demented and fanatical enough to attempt employing a scorched earth policy.

  The damage to the city itself had, at least, not been as bad as it could have been. There had been initial worries they'd have to completely evacuate the city, straining logistics that were already at their breaking point in many ways. Aside from the burned-out northern district, however, the city had come through surprisingly intact. The sheer numbers of civilians that had risen up against the MLA, along with a significant chunk of MLA defectors, had put the MLA loyalists on the back foot from the start. Izumi's quick arrival and brutal takedown of any point that the MLA tried to rally around had finished any attempt at an organized fight by the MLA, and their running retreat hadn't destroyed more than a few dozen buildings all told.

  With the city salvageable and the Rift Bubbles eventually brought down by Heroes cycling in off injuries they'd taken in the Yokohama Greater Gate closure, things were looking up. More or less. The closure of that Gate and the much-quicker-than-expected destruction of the MLA had started to free up the forces they had been aiming to free up in the first pce. It wasn't happening quite as smoothly as they'd hoped, as the original pn against the MLA had been for a protracted campaign over a week or two. Not the day-and-a-half nightmare blitz it had turned into. Diverting still more forces to handle the consequences of that blitz had temporarily drawn their strength down instead of bolstering it. But, now that things had been stabilized, the gains they had expected to see were coming to fruition quickly.

  Izumi and Momo had both mostly recovered, the tter more than a little embarrassed by the video going around of her epic and deranged beatdown of Re-Destro. Thankfully, she hadn't truly had a psychotic break. When she'd awoken, she'd expined that the second and third holders of One for All had reacted poorly to Re-Destro's purge order, it having been the sort of thing they'd lived through during the early Quirk Wars. Normally, the other previous holders would have been able to restrain them, but they were all just as righteously furious…and Momo hadn't been immune to the anger either. With literally none of them mentally in the pce to pump the brakes, Keystone's Epic Rampage, as the viral videos were calling it, had been the result.

  It was a potential concern, certainly, that the previous holders could exert that much influence. Now that Momo was aware of the possibility, however, it was unlikely to happen again, even if the same sort of extreme circumstances repeated. The fact that the public response to her rampage was mostly a gloriously horrific amount of dark humor aimed Re-Destro's way, combined with the MLA's listing as a Terrorist group, also meant that Momo also wasn't facing any repercussions. Despite what would probably normally have called for an investigation into excessive force.

  Thus mostly healed, properly debriefed, and facing a short mandatory rest, Izumi and Momo were called back to UA. Notably, this time, they were not alone. Every remaining member of Groups A and B from the UA First Years, along with a smattering of students from other years and surviving students from other schools, had been recalled. For the first time, a proper and somewhat sobering reckoning of who remained was had.

  Out of the UA First Years, only 27 out of 39 students remained from the start of the Invasion.

  Not all of those who were gone had died, thankfully. Individuals like Koda, Aoyama, and Asui had dropped or transferred out of the Hero track. Others, such as Sato, had been badly injured enough that they wouldn't be returning to the field unless Eri eventually got sufficient control of her Quirk to risk using it on them. A few had died in the line of duty, however. Sero was the only one from Group A that had actually died, even if Ojiro and Sato were both on the crippled list. Sero himself had been killed defending a hospital that he was a patient of while injured himself, and he had saved quite a few people with a sacrifice that had bought time for a response team to arrive.

  Group B had been less lucky. Monoma, Shoda, and Shishida had all died in the line of duty. Tetsutetsu had been crippled by some sort of metal eating acid that had affected his base form and was unlikely to return to duty any sooner than Sato. Bondo had shifted to working with a local militia, Rin had returned to China to be with family, and Komori had been all be drafted into the efforts to build vertical hydroponics farms. Her ability to grow highly nutritious mushrooms at an insanely accelerated rate was simply too valuable to use her as a combatant.

  The UA contingent had a few extras, including Nejire and Togata. But by far the bulk of UA representation was from the First Year Groups. What remained of them, anyway.

  As for the dozen outliers, students from other schools present in the auditorium they'd all been summoned to, Izumi only recognized only four. Two girls from Seiai Academy, both of whom had helpful support Quirks that had seen them aiding Nedzu with organization. Mist Me was the third, along with another Shiketsu student she'd met in passing and instantly wanted a restraining order against to protect herself from his exuberance.

  Those two were a surprise despite Izumi having worked with Mist Me multiple times now. She hadn't been aware that Nedzu reached out to Shiketsu for this project. It made sense, given that it would need widespread adoption in time. Most likely, those two and another pair she'd spotted from the same school were meant to participate in testing the system. Then they could help spread it to a simir program at the only other rge Hero school which had come through everything more or less intact. Other schools, she knew, were reforming and combining elsewhere, but they'd be some time in getting back up to even regur operational levels. Even with plenty of government backing. For the moment, only UA and Shiketsu remained fully operational within Japan, as far as Hero Universities went.

  As for what they were all there for…Izumi was almost certain she knew, even if she didn't yet know what her own choice was going to be regarding the forthcoming announcement. She would be forced to choose, soon. Though for today she just had to sit back and watch the idea be presented. Hopefully without mentioning her just yet. She sighed as the lights dimmed, driving everyone to their seats, and Nedzu appeared at the podium.

  "Welcome, students! Both those of our own who are finally returning to our hallowed halls, and to our guests here for this presentation! In these trying times, where we all have burdens to carry and all of you are due some rest, I won't take up too much of your time. However, as you go through your mandated rest periods, we want all of you to think about this presentation, as it will be key to both your individual and collective futures. First and foremost, let me inform you all of something you may not yet be aware of. With the Terrorist Groups eliminated and the situation with the Gates under control…all of you will be going back to school once you come off your leave time."

  While the visitors had clearly already known, it was equally clear that many of the UA contingent had not. Several of them lept to their feet, shouting protests, but they were silenced by the crack of Midnight's full combat whip. A ghastly, armored thing no one had even known she had before the Invasion started. Before they could get over being startled by the noise, Nedzu spoke over their potential protests.

  "This will be somewhat optional. But also somewhat not. None of you will be returning to the Front Lines. However, if you no longer see yourself as wanting a Heroic education, transfers to militia duty will be avaible. As will applications for a new JSDF unit intended to potentially take the fight through the Gates. Though that battle will be long in coming and you would be brought up to military standards first, including basic training. A very different career choice, but some of you may believe it is right for you."

  Many still looked unhappy, but the revetion that they weren't simply being shoved back into a cssroom without choice temporarily silenced them. Long enough, at least, for Nedzu to get to the main thrust of the announcement.

  "However, those are not your only options. UA will be piloting two new programs. One is a wide-ranging revision and upgrade to the traditional Heroics track. One designed to account for the reality of the Invasion by the Empire of Kurrick. Heroes' roles are changing rapidly, and our altered program will seek to fast track a new breed of Heroes who are specifically trained to handle the subtler incursions of the Empire alongside more traditional Hero work."

  A screen fred to life behind Nedzu, showing a number of monsters that didn't exactly look like they belonged on the Front Lines. Which, to be fair, was entirely because they didn't.

  "Some of you may have already encountered spy, sabotage, and even more esoteric Empire enemies that used tactics ranging from poisons to possessions. Such groups of foes are most simir to Villian operations of the past and will become part of the new paradigm for traditional Pro-Heroes to deal with. The new cadre of Heroes from the revised program will be the first trained to track and deal with such issues from the ground up. Leaning, in fact, heavily on the experience and expertise all of you have already accrued in the field. Those that join this program will be directly contributing to building its methodology for future generations yet to be trained."

  Remaining frowns were straightening out at the description. Many of those here had already participated in training new models of containment teams. Meaning they had some idea the sort of thing Nedzu was getting at. Changes to the basic program that would leave them as the new experts in dealing with their alien enemy. Even for those that hated the idea of leaving the Front Line, they could see the logic. They could also see the importance, having witnessed how much more effective the units cycling through joint JSDF/Heroics containing team training had become.

  "The other new program is far more radical, but we here at UA believe that it is the next step in dealing with our new reality. All of you have been out in the fighting, or supported it from critical positions in our ad-hoc chain of command. That means that all of you also know that the Heroes have faced one massive problem from the first day of the Invasion. Specifically, that we don't have a chain of command! Heroes have always been independent operators. Even the rgest agencies rarely having more than thirty Heroes and Sidekicks. This worked well in the past, providing agile responses across the nation that worked well for the previous paradigm. But you've all seen the problems with it now, haven't you?"

  This time, there were nods all around. No one that had made it this far was an idiot, and they'd all been dealing with the same issues. Heroes didn't have chains of command, logistics pipelines, mass transportation pns, etc. They'd needed to lean heavily on the military just to get around, and only the foresight of the new HSN Hub system had given them any sembnce of an organized command and control. The Hero system simply wasn't designed to fight on this sort of scale. It had always been designed to act mostly on a city scale, with only the World Heroes Association really having any sort of general regional authority, and that quite minimal. Mostly, before the Invasion, even that organization had been used primarily as an Interpol for joint country operations, or else to organize mass rescue efforts for major disasters.

  "UA will be at the forefront of pioneering a potential long-term solution! An entirely new System that will seek to fill the gap between Heroes and Military! Just as, in the era where the Hero System was codified to fill a simir gap, we too now recognize that there is a hole! The Military is not suited for non-uniform tactics and methodologies. They train for uniformity and firepower, so that one rifleman may step into any other rifleman's shoes and perform simir tasks. A methodology poorly suited for the individuality that is Quirks."

  The dispy behind Nedzu had shifted, now showing the hierarchy of both problems and solutions. Police for regur criminals and public order. Military for rge scale defense against external foes or anti-terrorist actions. And the Heroes…

  "In the age past, this was the gap in which Heroes lived. Providing individual and small, agile task force tactics suited to specific Quirk combinations. Used to great effect as a method to surgically tackle a problem, when removing a building via superior firepower in your own backyard was a poor choice."

  That comment won a few chuckles, which Nedzu let py out.

  "Now we are faced with a simir issue. There is a gap between individualist Heroes that can handle investigation, tracking, and threats of retively small numbers…"

  A new image repced the hierarchy chart behind him. This one showing a new spot between the Hero tier and the Military.

  "…and the sort of numbers needed to close a Rift Bubble. Larger Rift Bubbles require teams of dozens of Heroes to close, along with occasional military combined arms support. The Hero System is not designed to produce teams that work on that scale. The few who exist, such as the Idaten, Endeavor, and Gang Orca agencies, have all proven critical anchors for closing Rift Bubbles. Other, ad-hoc teams often fall painfully short on teamwork, losing good people or even outright failing to close Bubbles despite multiple attempts."

  The faces of the students in the auditorium were now a mixture of grim acknowledgement and intrigue. Clearly, Nedzu was leading to a solution, he'd said as much. But…was it what it sounded like? The new tier on the dispy developed a name, which showed that yes, it was what is sounded like.

  "Into this gap, UA is pioneering an entirely new system. Called the Guild System. Instead of focusing on individualistic Heroes, we will be focusing on training Raid Teams who are specialized for combat inside Rift Bubbles. These teams will be formed into Guilds rather than Agencies. Guilds will be formed to include far greater logistics support, command and control training, backline support staff, and a dozen more things we've identified as being critical to long-term Rift Bubble containment, harvesting and suppression."

  Nedzu let that settle in, watching faces shift and change as they processed the idea. Then he pushed the new party line that they wanted people to accept. One that was, thankfully, truthful enough to be an easy sell.

  "The Guilds will be the new Front Line, tasked with protecting the world from the Empire of Kurrick's invasion. And all of you have the opportunity to help form the very first Guild in Japan. Those who do so will pave the way for fully reciming our world, defending it from all comers, and developing and deploying new weapons and tactics!"

  Backs had straightened all over the auditorium at the reveal, and Nedzu's smile was matched in hunger by several of the quicker-of-thought who were starting to put the pieces together.

  "Now, I'm sure you all have questions! So I will open the floor for them now. We have the next several hours to go over what your future options will be…"

  Izumi settled back in her seat, one hand each linking with Kyoka and Momo's own. Her pn, refined and built upon by Nedzu and many others since she'd proposed the general idea, was out there now. She knew it was a good one, was certain it was the first big step in the right direction. The only question that remained, was which path she and her girlfriends now wanted to take…

  ... ... ... ...

  A/N 1: Alright. So, when I first posted this for by patrons at the start of February, it was immediately followed by a poll to determine where the story went in the future. I provided three options for where the 'primary focus' would head. If Izumi and Momo would join the Guild, if they'd stay in the Hero Track, or if they'd do...something else which I won't describe just yet since it would constitute a spoiler at this point. I legitimately expected the poll to go toward them joining the Guild, and got pretty blindsided when the third option won :-p. I'm mentioning it now just so that you don't set your expectations too much. I'd prepped all the foreshadowing for the Guild more than anything, so don't be to shocked if you end up surprised where it actually goes instead...

  A/N 2: Yep, you're probably already expecting this bit. Once per release, I remind people that there is Early Access content avaible On My Patreon Page. Note that NONE of my fanfiction works are paywalled permanently. If you don't feel like supporting me, that's just fine, it will end up here eventually :-). If you DO feel like supporting me, currently chapters 114-119 are avaible over on Patreon, adding another 16,000ish words to the fic! As well as simir amount of early access content for my other fics. All for just a single dolr a month! I'm not trying to be super greedy here, just trying to support the writing time I need to maintain several ongoing fics ;-).