The air in the conference room was thick—tighter than it had any right to be. The lights overhead cast a sterile glow across the long table, around which sat a collection of Japan's most experienced pro heroes, law enforcement officers, and medical specialists.
Four days had passed since the USJ incident.
Four days since Kael Ishiro was found lying next to the mutilated corpse of an artificial human—a Nomu—his body scarcely breathing, his frame shattered.
Now, all eyes were on the woman standing at the head of the room.
Doctor Reina Takahara—chief trauma surgeon at Musutafu Central Hospital—straightened her back and adjusted her clipboard. Her white coat was crisp, but her expression was weary. She'd been awake more than asleep since the operation.
"I appreciate your time," she began, her voice calm but steely. "I'll begin with a summary of the patient's condition—Kael Ishiro."
Aizawa sat near the corner, arms folded. He said nothing. Next to him, Present Mic shifted in his seat, visibly uncomfortable. Beside them, Naomasa Tsukauchi took notes quietly while the Commissioner sat at the far end, brows knit.
"Kael arrived in critical condition," Reina continued. "Massive internal bleeding. Multiple organ contusions. Left femur shattered. Both arms broken in at least two places. Right scapula fractured. Five ribs crushed on the left, two more on the right. Punctured lung. Subarachnoid hemorrhaging—likely from a violent head injury."
She paused, letting it sink in.
"I'm not exaggerating when I say he was moments from death when he arrived. If the paramedics had been one minute later, we'd be having a very different meeting."
There was a low murmur around the table. Endeavor narrowed his eyes, scoffing under his breath. "And he still killed the Nomu?"
"Singlehandedly," Reina confirmed.
"This… isn't normal," murmured Detective Tsukauchi, his pen stopping mid-word. "Even with a strong Quirk, that kind of resilience…"
Reina nodded. "It's not. Which brings me to the main reason I asked to speak to you all."
She set her clipboard down.
"I've reviewed every detail from his scans. Monitored his biological response post-op. Studied his tissue reactions, neural feedback, and Quirk signature logs run during stabilization."
Her gaze swept the room.
"Kael Ishiro has multiple Quirks."
The silence was absolute.
Then—a sharp, audible intake of breath from someone at the far end of the table.
"Excuse me?" Midnight asked, her tone suddenly sharper.
Aizawa's fingers twitched.
Reina continued, professional but firm. "At least 7 distinct Quirk markers were identified during his regenerative response. One of them we believe accelerated his clotting just enough to prevent death from the lung puncture. Another signature indicated a stealth-based field—likely a passive evasion enhancer. But the most active signature was a energy-type emission Quirk."
"That's what he used on the Nomu," Aizawa murmured. "I saw the aftermath."
The Commissioner leaned forward. "Let me be very clear—are you saying this boy is some kind of natural-born fusion? Like Endeavors kid?"
Reina shook her head. "No. It's not like Todoroki. These Quirks aren't part of a hybrid bloodline. The neurological nodes in his brain-light cortex show retroactive grafting. These Quirks were not present at birth. They were acquired over time."
A hush fell over the table again. This time darker. Sharper.
All eyes turned slowly toward Tsukauchi.
"…You don't think—"
"No," he cut in. "It's not All For One. That man's been in hiding for years, and the Nomu Kael fought would've killed any normal Quirk thief instantly."
"Then how?" Endeavor asked. "How does a kid show up in our system, fly under the radar, and no one knows he's got more than one Quirk?"
"Because he passed his Quirk registration with a binding-type Quirk, like thousands of others," Reina answered. "But his biology is something else entirely. Even his healing response looked… unnatural. I've only seen something like it in cases where Quirk singularity was accelerated."
Midnight leaned back in her seat. "So what does that mean? That he's dangerous?"
"I'm not saying that," Reina replied carefully. "But if a student is walking around U.A. with multiple Quirks and no one knows how or why… then yes. It's a security concern."
Everyone turned to Aizawa.
The Erasure Hero's eyes were half-lidded, but sharp. "He fought a Nomu. And he won. He protected the others by drawing it away. That's not someone looking to cause chaos."
"Intent isn't the point," Tsukauchi said evenly. "It's ability. Secrets."
Reina added, "I'm not here to accuse. But the biological evidence doesn't lie. Kael Ishiro isn't normal."
The room fell silent again.
Somewhere down the hall, a clock ticked.
Finally, the Commissioner spoke.
"Run his name through every old registry we have. Family, Quirk history, even vigilante databases. If there's a connection to anything buried—we'll find it."
"And if we don't?" Midnight asked.
The long table fell silent, all eyes turning toward Aizawa.
He leaned forward slowly, voice low but sharp.
"I should've reported this earlier."
There was a pause—weighted, expectant.
"I've had suspicions about Kael Ishiro since the entrance exam."
Tsukauchi raised an eyebrow. "What kind of suspicions?"
Aizawa's gaze narrowed.
"I believe Kael is the vigilante known as Equinox."
The room erupted.
"Equinox?!"
"He was real?"
"Didn't he vanish years ago?"
"That vigilante who could take Quirks?"
"I thought that was a rumor just to scare kids."
Aizawa didn't flinch.
"It wasn't. I followed his trail back then. Dozens of villains turned in to the authorities—most uninjured. But their Quirks? Gone. Extracted. As if they'd never had them."
Endeavor crossed his arms. "And Kael… why do you assume he's him?"
"Equinox's Quirk was a binding-type. Black tendrils from the body—same as Kael's Shadow Tether, only his are deep blue. Same movement, same precision, same control. Too precise. Too familiar. I watched Kael during the entrance exam. He fought like someone used to fighting. He held back—not out of fear or inexperience, but to avoid being noticed."
"I never saw him fight at USJ," Aizawa added. "But It makes sense, doesn't it?"
That silenced the room for a beat.
Then, the doctor stood abruptly, voice firm.
"If I may—there's more."
Everyone turned to her.
"While preparing Kael for surgery… I discovered he had been using synthetic dye in his hair and colored contact lenses. Temporary, but convincing. His public appearance—green eyes, snow white hair—was altered."
She clicked her pen against the tablet in her hand.
"His natural hair is black with white ends. His true eye color… is pitch black."
Gasps rippled across the table.
Midnight leaned back in disbelief. "He was disguising himself?"
Aizawa nodded grimly. "Exactly. The Equinox reports described a teenaged male with that same hair—black with scattered white tips. No one ever got a clear photo of his face, but everything else lines up."
Tsukauchi exhaled slowly, eyes darting as he processed it all. "So to sum up: Kael's Quirk matches Equinox's. His fighting style is honed. His appearance was falsified. And now, thanks to your medical analysis…" —he looked to the doctor— "we have confirmation that he isn't who he claimed to be."
"He's still a student," Midnight said quietly. "A kid."
"He's also someone who could take our Quirks," the Commissioner growled. "And we have no clue how many he has already."
Aizawa folded his arms. "We can't treat him like a normal student anymore."
"Then we need All Might," the police chief said. "His insight. His experience."
"And his judgment," added Tsukauchi. "If anyone can speak to Kael's potential—and his danger—it's him."
The order was given.
As phones rang and the message was relayed to bring the Symbol of Peace into the room, one truth settled among them all:
Kael Ishiro wasn't just a mystery.
He was a lie—built from shadows.
…