Chosa looked over at his boss. The editor was pale. It wasn't a state he'd seen her in before. She edited one of the biggest magazines in the country. It was one of the few hero magazines that had successfully made the transition to a new normal. As a result, he'd seen her take calls from lawyers threatening legal action, from the police demanding to know who their source was, from the government doing the exact same thing. Chosa had seen her break scandals, romances, births, deaths and marriages.

He'd seen her face down everyone without breaking a sweat. Now she looked pale, like death.

"Who the fuck was that?" Chosa asked when she put down the phone. He noted the way she did it. Gently. Like if she was harsh the person she'd been speaking to would know.

Chosa watched as Hensha swallowed. She looked up at him. "That was Imoku Kakurete."

Chosa frowned. He knew that name. "Representative Kakurete?"

"That's him," Hensha agreed.

"And?" he prompted. The man was without doubt the most powerful independent in the House of Representatives. He was up for reelection this year but from the numbers Chosa thought he was a shoe in. His constituents loved him. What he didn't understand is why Hensha looked like she'd seen a ghost.

She huffed. "This is why you aren't going to get anywhere," she muttered. "Kakurete owns Phoenix Wave," she told him.

"Oh," Chosa murmured. "Oh!" He understood.

Phoenix Wave was their parent company. It was their management which meant that Hero Weekly had transformed into News Weekly and that was mostly due to the policies of Kakurete. Policies which were very unpopular at the time but had been born out as successful. Even if he was the one to get the rules changed to make them successful.

"So what does he want?" Chosa asked. Kakurete hadn't put Hensha in that state just because he called.

"He wants us to do an exposé on Candidate Mirio Toogata."

"Exposé?" Chosa asked carefully, putting particular emphasis on the syllables.

"Exposé," Hensha confirmed.

"What does he want us to find?" Chosa wasn't an idiot. When a man like Kakurete told them to do an exposé, he was expecting a particular outcome. Though it was odd. He had no idea why Kakurete might want that. Toogata wasn't running against him after all. Chosa put that thought from his mind. It was above his pay grade.

"He didn't say, but he did suggest we have a close look at his years in UA." Hensha took a deep breath.

Chosa nodded. UA used to be a popular topic. "I'll go pull out the archives," he said. That was the best place to start. They might have something there already. And if they didn't... well, it wasn't that hard to find interesting information. It was all about how you framed it, and if the boss was saying frame it one way, he wasn't going to question that.

-afp-

Imoku looked over at the vid call.

"Are you sure about that?" Yatou Rida, the current opposition leader, asked him earnestly.

"I'm sure," he replied softly, focusing his words carefully.

The man sighed. "I just can't help but think that if Heroes were still around then-"

Imoku helped up one hand. He let his expression shift to one of faint disappointment. "Nothing would have changed," he told Yatou.

"You don't know that," the man objected. "And I'll soon be in a position to ensure things can change."

That response made Imoku smile. "True, but I assure you, nothing would have changed at my rally. Mrs Midoriya would still-" He couldn't say it.

"Maybe a hero could have done something," the opposition leader insisted.

Imoku felt a stab of annoyance at the man. Nothing displayed on his expression but for emphasis he shook his head. He extended himself a little with the gesture. Yatou did trust him, after all. "Against another hero?" he asked the question sharply. His best work was done with changing cadences and tone. People responded to that almost without knowing that they were.

The opposition leader winced.

Imoku cocked his head. "Everyone is overlooking that. She was a hero, but obviously not a true hero. If she was, then... well, she'd have never been in that position. There are still evils in this world, I know," he said reasonably. "But giving people the title of hero just makes them come out more, or just covers up the face of evil," he added, letting the opposition leader stew on that thought for a while.

There wasn't much that could be said against that, not with the history that had been dug up just before the vote to reintegrate heroes into society, to take them down from their pedestal. Endeavor was the prime example but other, lesser examples had been found, and now the former Pro-Hero Mount Lady had simply proved the point again. Even Tomura had proven the point, with his story. Tomura would be happy that his history had been one of the final nails in the hero's coffin.

"Inko wouldn't want things to change because of her death," Imoku continued.

"So you think it's better to deal with them quietly?" Yatou asked.

"Yes," Imoku nodded. "And you know the numbers support me. In the last few years, quirk related destruction during arrests has been down. For once insurance premiums actually came down as well! It was only going up with heroes making arrests. Reintegrating heroes into society, has saved both money and lives."

The stats were very clearly with him. Insurance, especially along transportation routes and in the cities had gone down because there were no longer heroes wantonly destroying them as they tried to apprehend someone who simply needed some compassion. Crime rates were down, and deaths caused by hero versus villain fights were down to zero, mostly because there were no heroes. The equivalent these days was police versus criminals, and they didn't attract anywhere near the amount of attention, they were planned better and the rates of accidental death were down. So it was still a win there with the numbers.

More importantly, confidence in the system was up. In that aspect of governance the public believed the government had gotten it right. They had gotten it wrong in too many other aspects though which was why Yatou would be the next Prime Minister. Barring any huge scandal, and Imoku didn't know anything worthy of that. He'd checked. Besides, it was time for a change.

Still, there had only been benefits from reintegrating heroes.

"Yes, but there are still villains out there," Yatou objected.

"Like?" Imoku asked, knowing full well what the answer was going to be.

"The League," the opposition leader told him.

Imoku smiled. "The League actually prove my point. Did you ever study their dogma?" he asked.

"No."

"It was to destroy heroes," Imoku told Yatou. "But I think it was more that they wanted the attention, and to get that attention, they flashily attacked. That's what they really wanted. Now, I'm not saying that they are good people, and I'm not condoning what they did but since heroes have been gone, the League has been gone too." It was the naive view of the League, but sometimes it was best to explain things that way. Complications just made more complications.

"They still exist," Yatou said defensively.

"They still exist," Imoku agreed. The Police knew it, and the Opposition Leader was most likely soon to become the Prime Minister. He would have been included in some security briefings which probably included the little stunt at BioSimip. "And they are still breaking the law but they are no longer attacking schools, and where they do attack there is a clear focus.

"The police are now free to pursue them without the public getting hurt, and isn't that what society is about? Not some licensed, costumed individual taking the law into their own hands."

Yatou took a deep breath. Imoku could practically tell what the politician was thinking. They had been friends for years, after all. He was thinking about the League Member the Police had caught, who had then been killed, by the League. It was undeniably true that while the League member was dead, no one else was. That was a change from the past. Pragmatically, it was the better situation.

"Heroes are an easy answer. They are a flashy answer, but they are not the right solution for the long term. Living with quirks is the right answer, not holding up some quirks to be more equal than others."

The opposition leader caught the reference. His lips twitched. "I just..." he sighed. "I just don't like to see you in pain," he said. "And it's obvious to everyone how much you miss Mrs Midoriya."

There was no inappropriate suggestion there. Imoku nodded. "She was a great woman. Stronger that most will ever be." The story of what she had gone through had been public news. Yatou knew now. "But she was killed by a former hero, so reinstating heroes is not the answer. I don't think there is an answer for that." He added.

There was no answer Yatou could give him. Toga however, was a different matter but not now. Not yet. In time. Then Yū Takeyama would suffer the consequences.

"If you are sure..." the opposition leader said softly.

"I am sure," Imoku replied firmly, pushing his power towards the man. He was sure, and he didn't need the soon to be government interfering.

"All right," Yatou relented. "People wouldn't like it if their insurance premiums rose again."

"The government budget wouldn't like it either," Imoku pointed out with a smile, knowing he'd won.

Yatou groaned theatrically. "And that's something I'm gonna have to think about. Sure you don't want to be my treasurer?"

"Positive. Independence suits me." He hadn't joined the government. He wasn't about the join a different party and he'd finally managed to quieten down those rumours that he should start his own party. He did not need others.

"Well, the door is always open."

"Even after the election?" Imoku questioned slyly.

"Especially after," Yatou told him.

Imoku smiled. He always knew he'd be in this position. He just never expected the sacrifices. But this was for the good of all and that sometimes required pain. He'd gone too far now to turn back, so he would endure.

After her sacrifice, he owed it to her memory.

-afp-

Jouho looked up at his boss. "You look troubled, Sir?"

"I am."

"The meeting?" The boss had been called to a meeting today. One of those meetings that management had to go to, because higher management said they had to. Jouho was thankful he wasn't that far up the totem pole.

"The meeting," came the confirmation.

All Jouho knew about the meeting was that it had been on and that it was with the highest levels of management. You didn't need higher levels of management telling you to go to it when it involved meeting with the owner.

His boss, Utsuna gave him a look. "You know who owns Phoenix Wave?" he asked.

Jouho nodded. Phoenix Wave was owned by Kunshu. Kunshu had bought a controlling interest in the company about 15 years back. They had been known as Wave then. The media group focused on delivering hero news. Some parts, like Hero Weekly magazine focused on the trashy, while they had been Wave's Hero news feed. And they were good at it. They provided high quality but more importantly, accurate news about heroes. A sub feed, one they sponsored but didn't guarantee had been the best place to find information on live hero versus villain fights.

When Heroes had been reintegrated into society, the group had changed their name to Phoenix Wave. It had been an instruction from Kunshu, supposedly from the top, and was meant to symbolise the fact that the Wave group would rise like the Phoenix from their adversity.

And they had.

Hero Weekly had become News Weekly, though it was still trashy. And their news feed had changed to regular information, which they actually had spent a fair bit of time reporting on anyway. Now they included things like a traffic report, which was feed by their users. They also carried warnings when any wanna be villain made an appearance. The police usually swarmed them so it was never a big deal.

"So a representative from Kunshu was there?" Jouho asked.

Utsuna shook his head. "Not a representative."

That meant the owner. Imoku Kakurete himself. "Shit."

"Shit." Utsuna repeated.

Jouho took a deep breath. It appeared Utsuna wanted to. "What did he want?" It had to be something Kakurete wanted that was making Utsuna troubled.

"He wants us to report on Mirio Toogata," Utsuna replied.

It took Jouho a moment to remember who Toogata was. Mirio Toogata. Candidate for the House of Representatives. He was young. Younger than anyone else running and be represented a lot of heroes. It hadn't been explicitly stated but pretty much the entire hero community was behind him. He would probably want to reinstate them.

Jouho wasn't sure how that would go. He wasn't sure the Government would allow it but if the opposition won, maybe there was a chance. And Kakurete had been the one to propose the original reintegration bill, or what had become the bill. It had been the then Deputy Prime Minister Kiyoshi Takenaka who had initiated the vote that had actually lead to the reintegration of heroes. "Well, Toogata is news," Jouho said diplomatically.

"He wants us to report negatively on Toogata," Utsuna clarified.

"Toogata or the opposition?"

"Toogata."

"Oh," Jouho murmured. "Did he give a reason?"

"There is no reason!" Utsuna raged. "He's never done this in the past. We've built our reputation on being a factual, and bipartisan feed. If we suddenly start skewing our feed people will notice. They will leave us."

"You told him that?"

"Of course I did," Utsuna said. "His reply was, and I quote, "Not if what you report is the truth"."

That was technically true but it sounded very much like a convenient excuse. "So why does he want this now? As you said, he's never attempted to influence us in the past."

Utsuna started pacing. "I am frustrated by the very fact that he is asking. Even if we find something damaging about Toogata, the fact that Kakurete has asked us to report it changes everything. Up until now, I've been able to look people in the eye and honestly tell them that Kakurete has never influenced our publishing policies. Now I can't."

"You don't like the implication of corruption," Jouho summarised. He was used to this. He had been Utsuna's sounding board for a long time. Most people thought Editors and publishers sat above the mere journalists but Jouho recognised it was a partnership. If Utsuna had been less scrupulous, Jouho just would have written and article and either found it rejected, or altered to fit the new instructions.

"No, I don't. And I don't like the control. I get that he's the owner, and that we've been lucky that he doesn't interfere."

"Yeah, we're not-"

Utsuna gave him a look before he completed the sentence. "Indeed. He hasn't interfered and it is frustrating me that he wants to now."

Jouho nodded, before he half closed his eyes. "How about we look at this a different way?" He questioned. "Instead of focusing on Kakurete telling us what to do, let's look at what you'd do if Sonoho walked in right now with a damaging story about Toogata? I mean something really bad, something that would completely invalidate him as a candidate? What would you do?"

"Before or after checking her facts?"

He nodded. He'd allow that. Sonoho was sometimes a little bit loose with her interpretation of fact. "After," Jouho clarified. "And they are all true," he added.

"I'd publish!" Utsuna declared.

"Then let's focus on that," the reporter suggested. "We aren't just gonna make up crap about Toogata, and Kakurete knows that. So let's see what we can find. Maybe he told you to do it because there is something?"

Utsuna didn't look convinced but there wasn't much else he could do. "See what you can dig up. Focus on Toogata's relationship with All Might and Sir Nighteye."

Jouho gave him a look. Even if he found out that Toogata was bonking either of them, it wasn't going to be much of a story. At least, not against Toogata. It wouldn't look good for All Might or Sir Nighteye.

"Not that," Utsuna snorted.

"Mind out of the gutter, right," Jouho gave him a smile. "Though... this has got to have something to do with that assassination attempt," he muttered.

Utsuna looked at him sharply and Jouho could see his editor's mind working. He grimaced.

"What is it?"

"It's barely possible that Toogata knows the accused."

Jouho pulled up the file on his tablet. "Yū Takeyama, former Pro Hero Mount Lady," he read. "That's not surprising, given Toogata's history," he said, unconvinced that there was any story there. "If I'm going to pursue something that obvious, I might as well pursue the rumour that Kakurete was about to propose to Inko Midoriya."

That rumour had come up a few years back on one of the news feeds they didn't even consider a competitor. It was a trash feed. Only the most outrageous, or scandalous things made it into that feed. Or had. Some idiot had asked Kakurete. The man had looked physically sick at the suggestion, before he looked absolutely livid.

And then he'd sued them. They'd actually put up a pretty good defence, and it was rumoured that several of Kakurete's political enemies had put up the funds for it. Their defence had admitted that they had reported the rumours, but that they had reported them because that's what their feed was. It was one that didn't focus on news, but focused on rumours. Pretty good really to try to use what they were to defend their actions.

It hadn't been enough. He'd crushed them. But never for himself. Not once in the whole proceedings did Kakurete say he was offended. He actually admitted that as a public figure, this sort of rumour and innuendo was to be expected. He sued them on behalf of Inko Midoriya.

And now she was dead, having used her quirk to pull the bullet and gun meant for him to her. The rumour mill was going to be going insane again. Though it wouldn't be in public but that didn't stop people talking.

"Don't you dare!" Utsuna snapped. "Toogata probably does know Yū Takeyama, but see if there's more of a connection."

"He wouldn't have-" Jouho didn't finish the sentence.

His editor understood his meaning. "No, I don't think so, but the others I'm not so sure about." His eyes were on the picture of Sir Nighteye on his tablet.

Jouho nodded. He didn't say anything. There had been a lot of emotion involved with dismantling the Hero system. Some Heroes had turned villainous at it. And some, he supposed could have been biding their time. They were, after all, only human. And all humans had baggage.

-afp-

"Well, we've got problems."

Mirio looked sorry.

Katsuki snorted. "Who cares? It gives us a reason to go after that fucking Deku directly."

"And get arrested directly," Sir Nighteye countered.

The former pro-hero and the vigilante glared at each other. There was no friendship there.

Aizawa rubbed at his eyes. This is why he didn't like meeting like this. There were always clashes. They shared a similar goal but definitely did not share the same idea of how to achieve that goal.