Chapter 10
Izuku landed on the hard ground with a thud. Slowly he picked himself up off the ground, looking around as he stood up on shaky legs. The first thing he noticed was that the ground was made of tanned rock and soil, seeming to slope downwards towards various buildings sticking out of the ground. The sort of thing he would expect to see from a landslide. Had he been taken out of the USJ? Quickly glancing upward, Izuku let out a sigh of relief when he saw the domed ceiling of the building meaning that the villain hadn't warped him to someplace on the other side of Japan or even the world!
Looking around again, Izuku was able to spot the entrance of the USJ far off in the distance. What's more, he could just barely see the figures of people standing near the doorway. Were they his classmates? Ones that the villain didn't take? Or was he the only one who got caught up in that warp?
'I'm too far away to tell,' thought Izuku as the weight of the situation began to fully take hold. 'Oh man, what should I do? Should I assume I was the only one taken and make my way back? Or should I be on the safe side and assume that others were taken with me? They could be hurt and-'
Izuku's thoughts were cut off as a shadow suddenly loomed over him. His eyes widened for only a moment, watching the darkness around him before rolling to the side just as a massive fist made of sludge slammed into the ground where he stood. The force behind that punch had been great, the amount of dirt and rock thrown into the air creating a dust cloud that obscured his vision for a moment.
"Ah, I missed. Better try again." The sound of the voice that spoke unnerved Izuku for some reason. It had a wet, sadistic tone to it that sent shivers down the teen's spine as he looked at the outline of a lumbering figure within the cloud of dust. Just as he raised his shield to prepare for whatever, he caught sight of a sweeping motion by his attacker. Except , the arm seemed to stretch out to cover the distance between them!
Thankfully, just before the attack made contact, Izuku felt something wrap around his waist. Suddenly the teen was pulled backward just as a fist made of sludge hit the air where his head had been just moments before. With his feet sliding against the dirt floor, Izuku turned his head to see who had saved him: Tsu! The frog girl had her long tongue wrapped around his waist which she unraveled as soon as he was next to her.
"Thanks for the save Tsu!" exclaimed Izuku.
"Don't mention it. Ribbit," came the reply from the frog girl. Yet, as she spoke, she kept her gaze focused on the villain before her with a worried look. "But we're not out of the woods yet."
Tsu then pointed off to the side, down the slope towards the ground below. Turning his head to look, Izuku saw to his shock that there were more people down there. At least over a dozen people who were clearly not students were slowly making their way up towards the two heroes.
"Oh, don't worry about them. I'm the only one who gets to play with the three of you until All Might gets here!" The words of the villain drew the attention of the two heroes in training, both of them turning their heads to look at him as the dust began to settle. And what they saw turned their stomachs inside out. Standing before the two was a man made entirely of sludge, his yellow eyes trained on the pair. But, that wasn't what was so upsetting. Like out of some twisted nightmare, Kirishima was wrapped up in that thing's upper chest. The sludge villain's mouth covered most of Kirishima's face, plastering an evil smile over it while allowing the redhead's fearful eyes to be seen. Their fellow classmate looked like he was struggling with everything he had to get free, but with his hands bound within the body of the villain, all he could do was thrash his head about in vain. Even Tsu could not contain the disgust she felt as her skin began to turn a sickly shade of green.
"Hehe," laughed the Sludge Villain. "That's it. Struggle. Fight to stay alive for as long as possible. I want at least one of you to be alive long enough for when All Might shows his face! I wonder how he will react when he sees the corpses of two of his students, the third one begging to be saved. But, then again, accidents happen."
The sludge villain then leaped into the air towards the heroes. Thankfully, their disgust at what they saw did not freeze them in place, both teens racing upwards and away from the villain as he crashed to the ground. Once he landed, the villain slowly turned around to look at the two teens with an open-mouth smile. Made all the worse as Kirishima's eyes begged for someone to save him.
It was that look that made Izuku clench his fist. He had to do something. He was going to do something. And he had a plan.
"Tsu. I'm going to try something," he said, eyes fixed on his red-headed friend. "If it works, I'll need you to grab Kirishima the moment he's freed."
Izuku didn't wait for Tsu to respond, just charging toward the sludge villain with all the speed he could muster while his cape fluttered behind him. The villain grinned at the sight.
"Oh? A volunteer?" came the mocking tone of the villain. The Sludge Villain then raised his arm, but rather than stretching it out to slam into Izuku dozens of thinner tendrils shot out. The green-haired teen could tell just by looking at them where they were heading. Some were heading towards his arms while others were heading for his legs and torso. They were meant to bind him, to ensnare him like Kirishima so that he would share his friend's fate. But, just as the tendrils were about to come into contact with him, the gem in his shield began to glow a bright green. That same glow then began to surround his entire body, the sludge tentacles breaking apart moments after they wrapped around him. The villain, shocked by what he witnessed, took a step backward. His eyes said it all: this was supposed to be impossible.
Well, they lived in a world where the impossible was made a reality after all!
Before the villain could do anything else, Izuku was right in front of him. Placing a hand on Kirishima, Izuku grinned at the one holding his friend captive.
"Air Strike Shield!" cried out Izuku, his voice brimming with confidence.
From right behind Kirishima came Izuku's energy shield, slicing through the sludge and cutting Kirishima out from the majority of the mass. As the redhead began to fall, Tsu's tongue shot out and wrapped up not only Kirishima but Izuku as well before pulling the two of them back. As they were pulled through the air, the sludge on Kirishima's body began to fall off allowing the teen to gasp for air. It was…unsettling to see the villain's teeth falling to the ground while making a 'splat' sound while his eyes looked up at them in shock. Even more so when the rest of the body of the villain just seemed to collapse into a large puddle.
When landed, Kirishima fell to his hands and knees as he began to cough out small bits and pieces of the sludge still in his throat.
"Dude…thanks…for…the…save," Kirishima managed to say between pants.
"Sorry it took so long," apologized Izuku. "I needed to be closer since I couldn't tell how he had positioned your body into himself. If I used my Air Strike Shield on you and he had you bent in a weird angle, then I might have hurt you if you couldn't activate your hardening in time."
"Hey, I'm just glad it worked. That was super manly of you," said Kirishima as he finally managed to stand back up.
"I hate to break it to the two of you, ribbit, but we're not out of the woods yet," interrupted Tsu.
Both teens looked down the slope, realizing that Tsu was right. The various villains would soon be upon them in just a few minutes. However, that wasn't the end of their troubles as the sludge began to move. The three teens watched as the villain began to reform itself, throwing back its head to let out a cry of rage once it had formed!
"Forget letting one of you brats live! I'm going to crush all of-" began the living pile of sludge. But whatever he was about to say was cut off by Izuku's words.
"Shield Prison!" The sludge villain's eyes widened in terror as he was instantly captured with the sphere of shield, chains wrapping around it from the outside to hold the whole thing together. But that terror didn't last long as he began to punch at the shield and liquidate himself, looking for any small crack he could find or make that would allow him to escape. Something that the teens noticed, tensing up.
"Midoriya, do you think you can hold onto him until me and Tsu finish up with the rest of these villains?" asked Kirishima.
Izuku shook his head, a bead of sweat forming on his brow as the sludge villain made another powerful strike on the inner shell of the prison. Glancing over at his classmates, the young Midoriya saw that Kirishima had activated his quick, his body now hard as rock while holding out his arms in a fighting stance. At the same time, Tsu flinched as the sludge villain tried again to free himself but managed to keep her gaze focused on the throng of villains making their way ever closer.
"Not sure we can take down all those villains by ourselves. Ribbit," said Tsu truthfully. A small army marched in front of them while a villain who could capture their bodies could explode from his prison behind them at any moment. Yeah, the odds weren't in their favor.
"Like we have much of a choice. If only there was a way to-" Izuku was cut off as the captured villain struck the inside of the sphere with so much force that it lifted into the air for a moment where it then began to roll to the side. Seeing that, the gears in the shield user's mind began to spin rapidly to form a plan.
"Kirishima! Have you ever gone bowling before?"
The redhead turned to look at his friend in confusion before realization dawned on him. "Ah! I got ya bro!" replied Kirishima, a grin appearing on his face as he hurried over to the Shield Prison.
With a grunt, Kirishima began to push the sphere with all his might towards where the villains were coming up. It took a moment, but with his strength, the prison began to roll downwards with gravity helping to increase its momentum. The villains saw this, some managing to jump out of the way, but crashing into their comrades and knocking them down as they too rolled down the side of the mountain training zone. Others, well, were not so lucky. And as all this was going on, the captured villain cried out as he was unaware of what was happening to him. All he knew was that the world was spinning faster and faster, his body breaking down into a large puddle of sludge that splashed around in its confined area.
In the wake of all of this, the three heroes in training rushed downwards. With the villain's numbers more manageable, Izuku, Kirishima, and Tsu began taking down whatever villain they came across with their own set of skills. Tsu used her long, frog-like tongue to wrap around a villain before flinging him or her into another while Kirishima punched and chopped his way to knockout after knockout. And as for Izuku…he just smashed his shield into the heads of whatever villain he saw until they were at the base of the mountain training zone.
-x-
"Damn it! Out of all the extras I had to get stuck with, why did it have to be you?!" With a scream of rage, Bakugo thrusted his palm outward towards a charging villain with a knife, the force of the attack flinging the attacker back and into a heavily cracked wall.
"Believe me, I'm not happy about it either!" As Raphtalia said this, she kicked her own attacker right in the chin with enough force that his head crashed into the ceiling before falling into a lump at her feet. Two other nearby villains saw this, giving them pause just long enough for the tanuki girl's blade to soar through the air and make contact with their stomachs before they too fell to the ground. Of course, she used the flat side of her sword as Raphtalia wanted to be a hero. Not a villain.
For a moment, the two stood there, back to back within what appeared to be a ruined apartment building. Neither of them had any idea where they were, though they did have a good guess. Since nothing was on fire until Bakugo started setting off explosions to defeat the villains attacking them and there was no rain, they could rule out the heavy storm and fire rescue simulations. And given how everything looked cracked, with part of the building they were in missing entire walls, this might be the collapse zone. But that was just a guess.
"That looks like that last of them," said Raphtalia, sheathing her sword before letting out a sigh of relief. As she then wiped away some sweat from her forehead, she turned to Bakugo who was watching her with a keen eye. "We should get moving. If we're still in the USJ, then chances are that the rest of the class is here as well. They might have been sent to various areas with ambushes waiting for them."
"Tch. If you want to track all those other extras down, then fine," replied Bakugo with a scowl. "Do whatever you want. But I'm going to destroy that warping freak."
As Raphtalia rolled her eyes at this, her ears began to twitch. Slowly, her hand went down to her sheathed blade and detached it from her belt. "Bakugo, what makes you think that the next time you fight him will be any different from that last time?" she said, tone serious as she kept her eyes on the blonde. "Your attack just went right through him. And what if he decides to send you to the bottom of the shipwreck zone or something like that when your attack fails?"
"Grr. Don't you get it?!" snapped a visibly annoyed Bakugo. "He's their way in and out of this place! If we take him down then all those shitty villains will be stuck here and then we can make them pay for what they've done! We just need to figure out how!"
Raphtalia said nothing as Bakugo was now in her face, yelling at the top of his lungs. But she wasn't looking at him as her grip on her sheathed sword tightened. Then, faster than the eye could blink, she lifted it up and jabbed the handle right past the ashen-blonde teen's shoulder. Rather than hitting the air, it struck a villain with a chameleon quirk right in the face. As the villain fell to the ground, Bakugo gave the foe a disinterested look showing that he too had noticed the would-be assassin.
"Besides, if all these villains are this weak, then the rest of those extras should be able to handle themselves," commented the explosive teen.
Raphtalia stared at the ashen-blonde as he turned and began to walk towards one of the doorways.
"I think that's the nicest thing I've ever heard you say," she said, causing her fellow hero-in-training to pause mid-step before spinning around to glare at her.
"I'M ALWAYS NICE!" Bakugo raged while Raphtalia simply reattached her sheath to her belt.
-x-
Meanwhile, back with Izuku and company, the trio had finished dealing with the villains there. While Kirishima wanted to go and help Mr. Aizawa fight off the hordes of intruders, Izuku and Tsu pointed out that they would more likely get in his way if they did so. Their best course of action was to get to the entrance and coordinate with anyone still there. Perhaps sending a few students to each of the zones in the USJ, assisting any of their classmates who had yet to return, or trying to escape the building until help arrived or they were able to escape. Maybe even trying to figure out why the alarms weren't sounding.
With great reluctance, Kirishima agreed. However, in order to make it to the entrance, they would have to move close to where Mr. Aizawa was fighting. Keeping to the edge of the center plaza, as well as keeping themselves as low as possible to keep from getting noticed, the trio made their way around while watching the ensuing battle.
While Tsu kept her neutral expression and Kirishima had to grit his teeth hard to keep himself from rushing in to help, Izuku felt an odd mixture of emotions. On the one hand, he wanted to go back on what he had told his red-headed friend as his body was screaming at him to rush in there and help. He could see Mr. Aizawa was struggling to keep going, panting hard as he pushed his body and his quirk to their limits. How much longer could he go on like this before they just overwhelmed him with superior numbers? Perhaps they could help out, taking on the villains along the edges in order to take away some of the burden while also staying out of their teacher's way. After all, none of them were too badly banged up. The other part was trying to be rational. They had a plan. They had to keep the others safe. Mr. Aizawa was doing everything in his power to buy them time so it would be foolish to waste it.
Maybe if he had a shield that could cancel out people's quirks or something like that then maybe he could…
Just then, the villain covered in hands, shot towards Mr. Aizawa. Izuku paused where he was, watching as the villain's hand wrapped around the elbow of their teacher which then began to slowly disintegrate once all five fingers were touching it. However, the process stopped at the skin level as Mr. Aizawa's eyes began to glow red.
"You managed to stop my quirk. You're so cool," said the villain. Izuku, who managed to hear this, found himself gulping at the almost childish way the hand man spoke. But what chilled him to the bone was what he said next. "Now, allow me to introduce the big boss of this raid: Nomu."
Faster than the hand man, a large dark-skinned humanoid with an exposed brain and a beak for a mouth appeared before Mr. Aizawa. This monster, this Nomu, pulled back his fist to deliver a massive blow to Mr. Aizawa's head. And then another. And another. Unable to take it any longer, Izuku raised his shield to create an Air Strike Shield over the bloodied teacher only to have it destroyed so quickly that he doubted that either villain noticed it! None of the teens could hide their horror at what they continued to witness as Nomu pounded their teacher's head more into the ground, the dark-haired man's goggles broken and laying in an ever-growing puddle of blood.
As Izuku and Kirishima shook from where they remained hidden, the black mist villain appeared next to the hand villain.
"I apologize, Shigaraki, but one of the students managed to escape," said the elegantly spoken warp quirk user.
"WHAT?! How could you let this happen, Kurogiri? If you weren't our way out of here, I'd kill you!" Suddenly the hand man, now known as Shigaraki, began to breathe deeply as he brought both his hands to his neck. The three teens then watched as the villain began to scratch his neck, his breathing becoming almost violent while looking down at the ground. For the length of a heartbeat, Izuku thought that this man would claw out his own neck in his frustration. But, just as quickly as he started, his scratching ceased as his arms fell to his sides.
"Let's just go home," said Shigaraki. "There's no point in continuing this level if the boss isn't going to appear when he should. And with the other heroes coming, it'll be game over for the League of Villains should we stay. Best to just save what we can and try again later."
Izuku's eyes widened when he heard this. He should have been relieved to hear they were going, but instead, he was just confused by everything Shigaraki was doing. First, it looks like he was about to throw a temper tantrum just because one thing went wrong and now he's just going to leave? Didn't he realize that security would be upgraded right after this?
Then a thought crossed Izuku's mind, his heart nearly stopping as he realized the implications.
'U-Unless he knows he'll be ready for whatever upgrades we try,' thought Izuku in horror. 'Like how he knew All Might was supposed to be here today! Meaning he might have someone at U.A. working for him!'
"But before we go," continued the leader of the League of Villains, "let's leave some dead brats for All Might to find." Once more, in the blink of an eye, Shigaraki closed an incredible gap in the distance so he was right in front of the three teens with his arm outstretched towards Tsu. The green-haired teen's world began to slow as he watched the scene unfold before him, knowing exactly what would happen once those fingers made contact with his classmate. Finally allowing his body to move on its own, Izuku's arm reached out so that his shield blocked the villain's path. Once more, the gem on the shield began to glow brightly as Shigaraki made contact with it. And the shield remained intact.
With a swipe of his arm, Izuku tried to land a blow to Shigaraki's gut while Kirishima went over to help protect Tsu. However, the villain leapt backwards avoiding the attack from Izuku…but not the mucus that Tsu spat in his face. Not like it did much.
Quickly getting to his feet, Izuku stood in between the villain and his classmates with the shield raised in a defensive stance.
"What's this?" asked Shigaraki, tilting his head to the side as his red eyes began to examine Izuku closer. Eyes that lingered a bit longer on the still-intact shield. "Your party managed to find itself a tank? Ah man, I'm so jealous. It takes me forever to get one. Pity that this is PVP." With that, Shigaraki lunged forward towards Izuku with his palm outstretched.
'My shield seems immune to his quirk,' he thought while leaping back, doing his best to keep his distance until he came up with a plan. 'Probably some sort of resistance to it. But, it could be just the shield that's immune and not the whole body. And I'd rather not test that theory out. Still, if I can block his quirk, then I have a chance.'
"Animal Needle Shield!" Izuku's shield changed shape once more, gaining several small spikes on it. Seeing the change must have startled Shigaraki as he made a swipe at the shield a bit too soon, hitting only the air in front of it. But, that didn't stop a series of needles from the shield to come flying out and embedding themselves into the villain's flesh!
"Cute trick," chuckled Shigaraki, his voice only holding amusement rather than pain. Izuku watched as the villain began gripping the needles one by one, turning them into dust that fell around him. He also revealed that he was barely bleeding with only a few dots of blood around the already closing wounds.
"Chimera Viper Shield!" cried out Izuku, knowing he had to change up his strategy. He had hoped that those needles would be enough to at least make the villain wary of him, not treat this as a mild inconvenience.
As his shield changed once more, Izuku charged at the villain. However, Shigaraki easily sidestepped Izuku. Before the teen could stop himself or do anything to protect himself, the open palm of the villain filled his vision as it grew closer. Within a few seconds, it would touch and then-
It stopped.
"Wow," whispered Shigaraki, head turning to look away from Izuku. "Even in that condition, you're still fighting. You really are cool."
That's when Izuku noticed something from between Shigaraki's fingers. It was Mr. Aizawa! His eyes were glowing red, his quirk no doubt activated to block the villain's own quirk! Not wasting another moment, the vipers on Izuku's shield moved in on their target as Izuku swung his body to the side so that his shield made contact with Shigaraki's ribs! The villain let out a howl of pain as the vipers dug into his shoulders, injecting a weak poison into his veins.
"Nomu! Kill-" began the villain, but Izuku managed to cut him off.
"Shield Prison!" yelled Izuku. The teen watched as a prison of shields appeared around the Nomu, locking him away before Shigaraki could finish the command.
Quickly, before the leader of the villains could attack once again, Izuku turned to look over at his classmates. "Quickly, let's get Mr. Aizawa out of here before-"
A loud crash could be heard as all of the shields used in Izuku's Shield Prison went flying through the air before vanishing completely. The green-haired teen only had time enough to raise his shield over his chest before the Nomu's fist collided with him. The blow was unlike anything he had ever felt since gaining the shield, his bones cracking under the pressure of the attack until his feet finally left the ground. The world spun all around him as Izuku was sent flying through the air, landing on the ground with a thud before he continued to roll uncontrollably for several more yards.
When it was over, his shielded arm felt like it had been shoved into a press or something to the point where it felt numb. Breathing hard, Izuku felt blood dripping from his lips as he used his opposite hand to help lift him off the ground. Now he could see Kirishima running towards him, his body hardened while Tsu hopped next to him. Then, all Izuku could see was the towering form of the Nomu above him. It looked down upon him with unintelligent eyes before letting out a beast-like cry.
'There has to be something I can do,' thought Midoriya. But there was no time for him to go through his options as the creature raised its meaty fist, ready to strike down with all its might into Izuku's head.
But, before it could, the doors to the USJ crashed open stopping everything in its tracks.
Chapter 11
For several long moments, everyone turned their heads to the now-opened gates of the USJ. Wincing through the pain, Izuku looked up to see either a cloud of dust or smoke obscuring his view of who had arrived. Most likely created by the amount of force from opening the door.
Then, from out of the smoke, came an arrow made of some sort of lime-colored energy. It flew through the air with the speed of a bullet, making contact with the Nomu's raised arm. However, whatever this was didn't seem to faze the creature much. All it did was turn one of its eyes towards the spot where the arrow struck, seeing that it didn't even so much as leave a scorch mark before the arrow exploded into something akin to sparkling dust.
"What the?" Shigaraki's words were cut short as the smoke cleared, revealing four students and one teacher. Three of the students, each dressed in their hero costumes, were the other holders of the legendary weapons. Itsuki, the one who had fired the arrow, was standing at the edge of the steps with his bow still at the ready. As for Ren and Motoyasu, the pair stood on either side of the bow hero. While Ren held his sword in a defensive stance, ready to take on any villain who might have wanted to charge them, Motoyasu stood there with his spear behind his head with his hand lazily holding onto it on both ends making him appear cocky. And standing behind them was Ida along with an All Might who, in a very rare instance, could be seen not smiling.
"Help has arrived!" announced Ida loudly, his arms outstretched.
"Surrender now!" yelled Itsuki, pulling back on his bow as another energy arrow was formed. "More teachers are on their way and they will be here soon. If you lay down your arms then I'm sure the law will show you mercy."
None of the villains seemed to heed this warning. Rather, many who had fallen to Mr. Aizawa began picking themselves up, shaking off their injuries as they glared at the new heroes before them.
"Ah, man. Looks like they want to do this the hard way, which is fine by me," said Motoyasu, moving his spear over his head as he spoke to begin swinging it around several times until he ended in a stance ready to pounce. Now his cockiness was on full display as a wide smirk could be seen on his face.
Ren seemed impassive by the actions of his fellow weapon users, simply turning to look at All Might. "You don't need to waste your time on the small fry," the sword user said. "We'll take care of them and make sure everyone down there gets to safety."
All Might nodded grimly as he tore off his tie. "Very well Young Sword Hero. Let us show them why it was a mistake to invade this fine school!" Then, in a blink of an eye, All Might vanished from atop the stairs before appearing right above Izuku! The young shield hero watched in amazement as he saw his hero punch the Nomu right into its beak-like jaw with enough force that several of its jagged teeth flew from its mouth before falling to the ground. Nomu seemed to stumble back a bit, but other than that didn't seem too bothered by the attack. In fact, its teeth were already regrowing!
"Regeneration?!" exclaimed All Might, unable to keep the shock out of his voice.
"That's right All Might," exclaimed Shigaraki gleefully. The hand-covered villain was off to the side, completely ignoring Tsu and Kirishima as they backed away from the brawl. No doubt wanting to stay out of All Might's way. "Allow me to introduce you to the anti-symbol of peace: Nomu. Not only does he have high-speed regeneration, but he also has shock absorption on top of being naturally as strong as you are. Perhaps… even stronger."
A chill washed over Izuku as Shigaraki said that, his face twisting into a smile behind that hand mask of his. Even though Izuku couldn't see it, he could see the villain's eyes. They looked so depraved, so sickening that it made the green-haired youth's stomach turn. Even killers in movies didn't make the sort of look that this guy had!
But that smile didn't last long as a look of annoyance overtook his features as the other legendary weapon users took to the field. Itsuki was the first to make his presence known, firing multiple arrows from the safety at the top of the stairs. Each arrow seemed to sparkle with electricity, shocking the villains until they fell to the floor. Meanwhile, Ren raced towards the villains, slashing away like crazy at all the villains who had gotten up. On occasion, one of his swings would send forward a wave of fire or electricity that would sweep across many different foes at once. As for Motoyasu...he had leaped into the air and sadly landed next to Izuku. The blond spear user looked down at the teen, his expression displaying a mix of repulsion and anger.
"So, where the heck is Raphtalia?" asked/demanded Motoyasu. "Don't tell me you sent her off to fight your battles for you!"
Izuku could not help from shaking his head as he simply ignored the random accusation of his peer in favor of staying alive during this battle. Instead, he reached towards his belt pouch, pulling out one of his vials containing his healing potion. After taking off the cap, he quickly drank it in one go, causing the pain in his arm to lessen.
"Is now really the time for that?" asked Tsu, the suddenness of her voice causing Motoyasu to jump in surprise. When he landed, the spear user turned to point his weapon at both the frog girl and Kirishima as they approached. What amazed Izuku was that Tsu, who normally had a very neutral expression, was giving their upperclassman the same deadpanned and exasperated expression as Kirishima.
Upon seeing that they weren't villains, Motoyasu lowered his weapon while reaching out with his free hand to begin waving their words away. "W-Well you see I heard that Midoriya uses Raphtalia to fight his battles and takes all the credit. And since she normally sticks to him like glue…well, you know."
Izuku just let out a sigh as he tossed the vial aside. "That mist villain over there teleported a bunch of us to random locations," he said, gaining everyone's attention as he stood up once more. "I have no idea where Raphtalia is. Or any of the other students in our class for that matter."
As he spoke, Izuku briefly wondered if he should bother asking who told him that he used Raphtalia like an attack dog. However, as he glanced over the fight between All Might and Nomu he realized there were more pressing matters than the high school rumor mill. Like getting Mr. Aizawa out of there and finding the rest of their classmates.
Once Izuku was back on his feet, he motioned to the eraser-hero before telling everyone in a low tone that they needed to get to him while the villains were distracted. Indeed, the villainous Shigaraki was watching the battle between his monster and the symbol of peace with something akin to awe. It was like he was watching the series finale to his favorite show, with the action not failing to disappoint. If they were going to sneak past him and get their teacher to safety, now was the time.
Sadly, only two members of the group agreed with him.
"You have got to be kidding me!" exclaimed Motoyasu loudly as he pointed towards the back of Shigaraki. "The leader of these villains is right there, backturned. One good attack from my spear and he's down for the count!"
"Isn't attacking someone from behind unmanly?" whispered Kirishima with a frown.
"Hey, he's the one letting his guard down!," yelled Motoyasu. Before Izuku or Tsu could bring up that evacuating the injured should be their top priority right now, the blond upperclassman was already in motion. Once more he began to twirl his spear around, only stopping once it was overhead while the teen took up a position ready to throw it. "Lightning Spear!"
The group gasped as Motoyasu's spear began to brightlyglow an electric blue color while the sounds of electricity crackling could be easily heard over the sounds of the fight between All Might and Nomu. The three younger teens reached out their arms in an attempt to stop him but it was too late. The Spear Hero pointed his weapon at the back of Shigaraki before thrusting it forward and spending a stream of electricity right at him. The attack was so powerful that Izuku had to hold up an arm to protect his face, his feet sliding against the ground as he was pushed back by the force. The attack seemed to hit, creating a massive cloud of dust with rubble flying all around.
However, before the dust had a chance to settle, Shigaraki came flying out of the cloud of debris at the same terrifying speed those from class 1-A had seen before. While shocked to see this, Motoyasu managed to leap backward just as Shigaraki finished closing the distance, swiping an open palm at nothing but empty air with a look of annoyance.
"You dodged?" gasped Motoyasu, still surprised. "But how?"
As Motoyasu shouted this, spear raised in a ready fashion, Shigaraki just tilted his head to the side in an almost comical fashion.
"How could I not?" deadpanned the villain, now sounding like he was talking to a child. "You were so loud and bright that it was distracting me from seeing All Might getting killed."
Then, Izuku noticed something in the villain's gaze. Between the fingers of his face mask, Shigaraki seemed to be taking in all of Motoyasu's appearance before his eyes narrowed in disgust.
"You know something?" began the villain, his previous immature tone returning with hate laced in his words. "You remind me a lot of one of those harem protagonists in the dating sim games I play sometimes. The kind of pretty boy that I really hate!"
Once more, Shigaraki lunged forward towards a now very confused Motoyasu. However, this time Izuku was ready as his Air Strike Shield appeared right between the battling hero and villain. The sight seemed to snap Motoyasu back to reality and just in time as Shigaraki slammed his open palm onto the shield, destroying it!
"Be careful!" called out Izuku as Shigaraki continued his charge. "He seems to have the power to decay whatever he touches!"
At Izuku's words, Motoyasu jumped to the side dodging an open-palm strike from the hand-covered villain.
"Thanks for the tip," said Motoyasu, no doubt trying to make a pun during the fight as he sent the tip of his spear towards the villain's arm. A move that the villain saw at the last moment, moving the appendage out of harm's way. "Guess you can be useful after all."
From there, the battle became a blur. Izuku, try as he might, tried to follow the relentless thrusting of Motoyasu's spear and the quick footwork of the villain. But, try as he might, it was just no use. He just couldn't keep up.
That is until Shigaraki somehow managed to get a handful of dust which he then flung into the spear-hero's eyes. Motoyasu let out a cry as he moved back, now holding the spear in one hand while his other began rubbing his eyes as a few tears formed. That was when Shigaraki pounced, knocking his foe onto the ground and placing his hand right over the student's heart. Before everyone's eyes, Motoyasu's breastplate crumbled into dust followed quickly by some chainmail the blond had under it. The decay would have probably reached the teen's chest had not Izuku and Kirishima stepped in, both rushing the villain on either side as they swung their fists aimed at either side of Shigaraki. Shigaraki saw this, leaping into the air and away from the teens.
"Damn it!" yelled Kirishima in frustration.
Izuku could only briefly glance back at Motoyasu who slowly stood up, using his spear as support while one hand tremblingly touched his now unprotected chest. The spear wielder was sweating, no doubt realizing just how close he had come to death.
Meanwhile, things weren't looking good with All Might. Kurogiri had the hero partially within one of his warp tunnels, slowly closing it while the Nomu held onto the bleeding, yes bleeding, All Might! They were all doomed if they didn't finish off Shigaraki soon and help the symbol of peace.
Luckily, before Shigaraki could make his next move, so many things happened at once that it took Izuku by surprise. Ice traveled across the ground as loud explosions rang through the air along with a very familiar battle cry. Just as Bakugo propelled himself through the air, colliding with Kurogiri's metal neck plate, Todoroki's ice moved over half of the Nomu's body. Due to a combination of the extremely cold temperatures and All Might's strength, the monster's frozen body shattered as it fell to the side. As the creature floundered on the ground, All Might took this opportunity to escape his confinement. And, the cherry on top of everything, Raphtalia appeared right in front of Shigaraki to plant the pommel of her hilt right into the middle of the villain's face.
"No, no, NO!" cried Shigaraki as he stumbled backward, his hand mask falling down to the ground. The decaying villain then raised his hand to his face, though not before Izuku noticed blood dripping from the League of Villains leader.
"Raphtalia! You're ok!" cried Izuku as he moved over to her, relief heavy in his voice while raising his shield.
Raphtalia, despite not turning her head as she pointed her sword at Shigaraki, gave her green-haired friend a smile. "Sorry, it took so long. But it seems we made it here right in the nick of time."
Izuku could not help but grin back as he watched more help arrive. Coming from the direction of the water zone were Todoroki and Mineta. Todoroki was walking towards them slowly, a long trail of ice leading towards the center of the lake behind him. It would have looked bad ass….had it not been for Mineta. The grape-themed hero had somehow managed to wrap himself around one of Todoroki's arms, holding onto him like some demented Koala while looking around nervously. Meanwhile, the taller of the pair was doing his best not to notice. At the same time, Ren and Itsuki were walking towards the group, having taken down all the villains in the surrounding area. As for Bakugo, he was kneeling beside Kurogiri with one of his hands sending out small explosions on the collar of the villain as a warning.
All Might then looked from Motoyasu to Ren and then to Itsuki, a deep frown on his face as he clutched at his wound to try and stem the bleeding. The man then opened his mouth to say something, but before a single word could be said, a change began to occur with the Nomu. Everyone watched in horror as not even losing half of its body could stop its regeneration as it was back to its original form within seconds!
"Looks like you all forgot this is a boss battle," cackled Shigaraki as he picked up his mask. However, Izuku noticed that he was holding out a pinkie as he did so. Like he didn't want to touch the object with all five fingers. "And now, you're on the second stage. Nomu, free our ticket out of this place."
With a cry, Nomu shot toward Bakugo with the intent to strike the blond bomber down. But, before he could, Izuku activated both his Air Strike Shield and Second Shield, placing them in between the villain and his childhood friend. Sadly, this had the same effect as it had when Izuku had tried to protect Aizawa. With a single punch from the Nomu both barriers were destroyed at the same time, the force of the attack being so powerful that the air pressure sent Izuku as well as everyone else within the area flying backward. The Shield user cried out as the world spun around him with his feet kicking in the air until he landed back down on the ground with a heavy thud. It didn't stop there for Izuku continued to roll on the ground until finally landing near the spot where the Nomu had almost finished him off, the teeth still lying there on the ground.
Before the teen could fully pick himself up, more wind swept through the USJ causing the teen's cape to billow out of control. Looking up, he saw that All Might was once more fighting the Nomu. Only this time, it looked like he was using more power than he had ever seen the hero use before in any of the videos he had watched. The man's punches were relentless, calculated, and powerful. Enough to start pushing the villain back despite the shock absorption.
And all the while, Izuku was there on the ground feeling helpless. His fingers clawed at the ground, teeth grit as he lay there with only his thoughts. There was nothing he could do to help All Might. All of his shields had been smashed to pieces by that monster effortlessly. Even if he did try something, it would be like using a piece of paper to stop a cannonball. That and he would probably just get in All Might's way.
But, that feeling quickly passed as Izuku grabbed one of the Nomu's fallen teeth.
'No Izuku, you're not useless,' the teen told himself as he stared at the tooth belonging to the creature that was giving the Symbol of Peace such a hard time. 'You were able to protect your classmates against real villains out there! You even stood up to Shigaraki! I may not be able to help All Might out now, but I will continue to get stronger. So strong that nothing will be able to break my shields!'
As Izuku got to one knee, dropping the tooth into the shield and taking the monster's power for himself, the green-haired teen noticed something. All Might and the Nomu weren't the only ones fighting! Off to the side, Raphtalia was fighting Shigaraki! The hand-covered villain had just lunged forward with his hand outstretched, ready to make contact with the Tanuki girl. Raphtalia, thankfully, saw the attack coming as she sidestepped it at the last minute. Midoriya then watched as his friend sent the tip of her blade into Shigaraki's leg before leaping backwards in a way that showed off her skill and grace. The hand-covered villain cursed, loudly complaining that she was using a cheap hack or something before moving towards her again, though slower now due to his injury. Seeing this, a smirk appeared on Raphtalia's face before she moved out of his reach again only to then leave a long slash along the villain's arm. Not a deep one, but just enough so that blood was escaping. When she landed, the Tanuki girl flicked her sword to the side so that her foe's blood dotted the ground before raising her sword once again was swinging her sword at the hand-covered villain using all of her grace and skill.
Midoriya couldn't help but marvel at how well Raphtalia was doing. Unlike Motoyasu, her blows were connecting. He didn't know if it was just because she was a more skilled fighter with her weapon than the spear user or if it was because Shigaraki was tired. Which would make sense seeing as the decay quirk user had fought Aizawa, Motoyasum and was now fighting an experienced swordswoman.
Then, as All Might and Nomu took their battle into the air, Izuku watched in horror as Shigaraki grabbed the blade after it had left a nasty gash across his upper chest. Blood leaked between his fingers, but the villain held onto it, his red eyes focused on Raphtalia's as the blade decayed into dust that was blown away in the windstorm around them. Raphtalia could not hide her shock, though she did not hesitate to reach for her sheath to use as a weapon. To continue fighting with everything she had. But, Izuku could see it in her eyes that she was worried, fighting desperately to stay alive. What was worse was that there were people close by who could help! The closest trio was their upperclassmen who all seemed to have tunnel vision at this moment as they watched the fight between the two battling titans. All that they had to do was just turn their heads to the side and they would see that Raphtalia was in danger! Well, he saw it. Gritting his teeth, Izuku leaped to his feet before charging forward as fast as he could.
"Air Strike Shield!" called out Izuku as he ran, his green glowing energy shield appeared in the air. Only this time, it was on its side the same way Izuku would use it like a platform. Trying something new, he willed the energy construct to shoot forward with all his might. And it did! The shield he created flew forward against the wind and crashed right into Shigaraki's side! Then, as the villain stumbled backward with his hands waving around wildly, Izuku closed the distance between them.
"Two-Headed Black Dog Shield!" The young hero in training could see the shock in the villain's eyes as the shield took on its darker form, two dog heads jutting out. Then, at the exact moment that All Might punched the Nomu with every last bit of his strength to send him flying through the roof of the USJ, Izuku bashed his shield against the face of Shigaraki! While the blow was nowhere near the same level of might that All Might used to defeat his foe, the amount of force Izuku used was enough to knock Shigaraki back while his mask flew off once more. What's more, while the villain was stumbling back, Raphtalia appeared behind him. With her illusion quirk now dropped, she slammed the sheath of her sword right into the villain's side with enough force that the sheath snapped! At the same time, the twin dog heads on the Izuku's shield stretched out and bit hard into Shigaraki's shoulders, drawing blood until he fell to the ground.
For a moment, nobody said anything. Izuku just stood there panting with his shield at the ready. Beside him was Raphtalia, gripping the remains of her sheath more tightly as she got into a lunging stance. No doubt so she could use it as a dagger or something. As for Shigaraki, he lay there staring at Izuku with his face completely exposed showing nothing but disdain for the young hero. Their eyes locked, green ones focused on red, hate-filled orbs. Neither looked away from each even as a portal underneath Shigaraki appeared allowing the villain to slip back into the same darkness he used to invade the school.
And then, he was gone.
-x-
The cleanup afterward was somewhat chaotic. Police and emergency medical professionals rushed to the scene along with the rest of the staff of U.A. Everyone there was questioned and asked to recount what had happened. It was during this time that Izuku learned that Todoroki had been in the flood zone along with Mineta, freezing the water along with the villains. Yaoyorozu had been with Jiro and Kaminari up in the mountain zone dealing with a small army of villains. While they had managed to defeat them, Kaminari had become stupid after using his quirk too much and was then caught by the person who had been jamming the signal. Thankfully, unexpected help came from Aoyama who used his naval laser to knock out the villain.
As for the three upperclassmen, Izuku watched as they did their best to sidestep the police's questions on why they were there. That, however, ended when Nezu showed you to explain that their arrival at the USJ had not been about sending help but rather as a punishment. While the three were doing well in most of their subjects, their grades in heroic rescue were in 'desperate need of improvement'. As such, Nezu had decided that they were going to receive some remedial lessons with Thirteen. All Might was simply giving them a lift to the USJ for some after-school lessons. Along the way, Ida had shown up after escaping from the USJ to warn about the villain's attack. And since they had their provisional hero licenses as well as the fact that time was a factor, All Might had decided to bring them along as backup.
As for All Might himself, the U.A. staff seemed to have helped him vanish from sight for some reason.
Later, after they were finished talking to the police, the class 1-A students were brought back to campus. Though most were not there for long. With the setting sun painting the horizon with a flurry of gold and red, Izuku watched as classmate after classmate quickly changed out of their hero costume before heading out the door in a mad dash not to miss their train. However, Izuku hung back waiting for Raphtalia in their homeroom with his recently purchased egg on his deck, his backpack open.
Eventually, Raphtalia entered the room. "Hey, Izuku. Were you waiting for me?" she asked with a smile when she saw her green-haired friend, waving at him.
"Y-Yeah," replied Izuku as he felt his cheeks beginning to burn hotter than ever before…and he noticed that she was blushing as well while averting her eyes slightly to look down at the ground. Yet, that only lasted as she quickly looked up at him.
"Thanks," she said softly. "After a day like today, I wouldn't mind some company. And I feel safer when I know you're by my side."
"R-Right," said Izuku. "But b-before we go there's s-something I-I need to do."
Now Raphtalia gave him a look that showed she was clearly worried about him. But Izuku didn't linger on it for too long as he instead reached into his bag, intending on keeping the promise he made to himself before the whole USJ incident.
It took Izuku only a moment to find the box he was looking for, pulling it out with one hand before presenting it to Raphtalia.
"I made this for you when I found out you had gotten into U.A.," he said. "Something to say congratulations. I just hope you like it."
With that, Izuku opened the box earning a gasp from Raphtalia. Sitting within the box was a bracelet with a zigzag pattern engraved into it while a large orb rested at the top. The light of the still setting sun reflected off of it, gleaming brightly. For a moment, Izuku was too nervous to even look at Raphtalia to see her reaction. But, when he did, he saw that her hands were covering her mouth with a few tears in her eyes.
"For…me?" she asked.
Izuku only nodded as he took the bracelet out of the box and held it up with a shaky smile. He then closed the distance between the two, Raphtalia holding out her hand to allow Izuku to slip it on. He did so with only slight difficulty, the band resting on her wrist perfectly.
-x-
At the same time, within a bar, Shigaraki sat on a chair shirtless as Kurogiri wrapped bandages on his shoulders as well as along his waist. The decay quirk user sat there, staring at the wall through the fingers of the hand the mist villain had retrieved for him.
"So. The mission was a failure," said a voice, cold and cruel, from a flat-screen TV hanging on the wall. There was no picture that could be seen, only noiseless static. "While the forces you amassed were taken in by the police, they are of little consequence. Little more than filth that can be easily replaced in time. What is more concerning is the fact that you lost the Nomu provided to you as well as returning injured. By first-year students no less."
"It wasn't my fault Master!" insisted Shigaraki, almost standing up in protest but was held down by his ever-faithful misty bartender. "All Might! You were wrong! He hasn't gotten weaker at all! He's still as strong as ever!"
"Is he?" asked the duo's dark master, chuckling as he did so. As if Shigaraki had missed something important that was plainly obvious to him. But, if Shigaraki was hoping to find out what that was, he would have to keep on waiting. "In the end, it was a valiant first step for you. For now, rest up and come up with a new plan. Take as many times as you need for I shall assist you in all of your endeavors."
"And while I'm at it, I'm going to find a way to get back at that kid," seethed Shigaraki. "The one with the shield who did this to me! He's going to pay for getting in my way! I'm going to make him watch as everything he holds dear crumbles into dust! Everything he loves will be destroyed! Then it'll be his turn!"
"Oh my. Such an ambitious desire. Looks like you'll be needing my assistance again." Upon hearing the new voice, one that was laced with sickeningly sweet falseness, Shigaraki glared over at the entrance of the bar where a red-haired girl in a U.A. uniform walked in with a wicked smile plastered on her face.
Chapter 12
The day after the USJ incident, Izuku found himself laying on his bed as school had been canceled for the day. Honestly, this was not all that surprising to the young shield hero. Given the fact that there was a villain attack on such a high-profile area like U.A., the heroes no doubt had their hands full talking to the police and double-checking the USJ to ensure that nothing else, like a bomb, had been left behind. They were probably also looking into a way to prevent people from just warping into school grounds. Sure, warp quirks were really rare, but given what had just happened…
Izuku also thought that they might also be doing this to help the students relax, something the teen was finding very difficult to do right now as he nervously scrolled through his phone while one eye darted at the clock. Slowly he chewed on his lower lip, barely even reading any of the numerous articles that talked about what had happened at the school as he instead focused on the sounds of his mother cooking tonight's dinner. Even through the closed door, he could hear the sizzle of the pans and the tuneless hum his mother was making. The one she only used when she was fixing up a larger meal.
A part of him wished with all his might that his mother was only doing this because she wanted to celebrate her son coming back alive from such a massive villain attack. But he knew that wasn't the case. He also knew that he shouldn't be this nervous and yet he couldn't help himself.
Just then the doorbell rang causing Izuku to sit up straight on his bed so quickly that he might have tumbled forward! Without another thought, Izuku jumped off the bed and raced to the front door before his mother could even turn away from her craft. With his heart beating swiftly, the green-haired teen opened the door to see Raphtalia standing in the doorway wearing a red blouse that reminded him of her hero costume and jeans. And in her hands was a small cake box.
"Thank you for having me over tonight," said Raphtalia, a bright smile on her face. "I hope I'm not too late."
"N-No. You're just in time," Izuku managed to say as he took the boxed dessert without really thinking about it, just staring at Raphtalia. The moon's glow was right behind her, almost giving her this angelic look that highlighted her features. He watched as she raised a hand, the same one that had the bracelet he had given her yesterday, to her cheek as she looked away while a blush crept over her face. Also, Izuku noticed that her tail was swaying slightly.
"So…are you going to invite me in?" she eventually asked.
"Oh! Right! Sorry," apologized the teen, nearly jumping as he did. Quickly, Izuku stepped aside allowing the Tanuki girl to walk in. Once inside, Inko quickly approached the teenage girl just as Izuku closed the door.
"Raphtalia! Sweetie!" cried the Midoriya matriarch as she opened her arms in order to wrap their guest in a warm hug. "It's been so long since I last saw you."
"It's only been a few months Mrs. Midoriya." replied Raphtalia, her tone slightly amused as the hug ended.
As Izuku approached the two women, Inko released Raphtalia from the embrace before waving off the remark. As if to say it that was a perfectly acceptable length of time to say what she did and to act in such a manner. Then, as she began to turn back toward the kitchen, Izuku caught his mother giving him a knowing smile. An act that caused the teen to feel somewhat worried for reasons he could not explain.
"Still, thank you for inviting me over for dinner," said Raphtalia.
Inko waved off the comment as she gestured for the pair to follow them into the kitchen. Which they did, walking towards the source of various mouth-watering scents.
"Oh, think nothing of it," said Inko as they approached the dining table. Three plates had already been set up, Izuku quickly noticed that his mother had made sure that she would be seated across the table in order to watch both teens. "After what happened yesterday, I was just so worried about you! I know you two are strong, but you're still only students and first years no less! Taking on that many villains must have been a scare! Oh, if I had been there I would have fainted from dehydration a dozen times! The thought of a sweet, young girl like yourself going to an empty apartment after going through all that… Well, I'd feel much better knowing you were alright. Have you talked to your parents?"
As the teens took their seats at the table, Raphtalia looked ready to hide her face behind her hands.
"I did," she replied, her voice laced with embarrassment. "As soon as the news hit, my parents called. As you could imagine, they were naturally very worried about me. My dad even had this insane theory that those people who kidnapped me were trying to get me back and that the entire USJ incident was just some big cover-up! Even more so when he remembered that Izuku was there as well. It took me hours to get him to calm down and not have him pull me out of U.A."
Izuku turned to look at Raphtalia with a mixture of shock and horror. "He was going to do that? Why?"
"To be honest, it wasn't just him but my mother as well," explained Raphtalia. "They seemed to think that U.A. wasn't taking the safety of the students seriously enough if that many villains could sneak into the school. I had to remind them that the only reason they could even get in was because of a warp quirk which is very rare. Not to mention this was the first time something like this has happened."
"Well, it's hard to blame them," said Inko with a sigh. This comment caused both teens to look at the woman as she used her quirk to levitate dishes filled with food while holding two glasses of water, one in each hand. Gently, Inko placed the drinks in front of the teens while giving Raphtalia a knowing smile before walking over to her green-haired child.
"I can understand where your parents are coming from," Inko continued as she sat down. "After what happened, whenever I was out with my little Izuku and lost sight of him I had those same fears your father had. And even after all these years, that fear still pops up from time to time. It must be so much worse for your parents considering how long you were with those villains and the state you were in when they found you. Perhaps it might help if they knew someone nearby was checking up on you. Maybe even joining us for dinner more often? I would be more than happy to do that if it would help put their minds at ease."
Raphtalia's face brightened at that as she leaned forward a bit. "That would be wonderful!" she whispered happily.
Smiling, Inko clapped her hands. "Great! Now that we have that settled, let's enjoy the meal while it's still hot. It's been so long since we had company like this."
As Inko spoke, both she and Izuku couldn't help but glance over at a picture on the nearby wall. One showing a very young Izuku, from a time before he got his shield, sitting next to an equally young Katsuki. Both boys were smiling brightly at the camera, holding up their forks as if proud they had learned how to spear their food. And it seemed that Raphtalia had followed their gazes as she looked at the picture with surprise.
"Is that…Bakugo?" she asked, slightly tilting her head to the side as if she were trying to comprehend what she was seeing. "It's so weird seeing him smiling so kindly like that. He usually just scowls at everyone."
"Yeah," responded Izuku with a small smile. One filled with old, fond memories of a time long past. "Kacchan used to come over here all the time with his mom back when we were little."
Inko let out a little laugh as everyone began digging into their food. "I remember when I took that picture," she said as her eyes held a look like she too were remembering the past. "Katsuki was so sweet, telling me that my cooking was a thousand times better than his mother's. Though Mitsuki didn't care too much for the comment. Izuku, do you remember how they started yelling at each other at the table?"
Izuku couldn't help but laugh as well, remembering Mitsuki roughly grabbing Kacchan's head as she yelled at him for the insult to her cooking. Then how Kacchan had fought hard to turn and look at her, saying it wasn't his problem if she couldn't handle the truth.
"Kind of hard to forget any of their fights," Izuku managed to say through his chuckles, doing his best to not have food flying from his mouth. "I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen them together and not yelling at each other!" Hearing that, Inko managed to hold back a snort of laughter.
"Izuku, you told me that you and Bakugo were childhood friends," began Raphtalia. "But the way you're both talking now…did something happen?"
As Raphtalia asked her question, the mood at the table became a bit more somber as both Midoriya's looked down at their meals. It took a bit, but eventually, Inko raised her head to look at Raphtalia with a saddened smile.
"To be honest, it was a little heartbreaking for both of us," began Inko in a somber tone. "After Izuku was originally declared quirkless, their friendship became somewhat rocky. But when Izuku came back from the hospital after that night, Katsuki seemed…different. His mother thought that he was just acting distant, but to me, he seemed nervous. The whole time he was here, Katsuki barely said a word. Naturally, that was a huge red flag for everyone. Not only that, he would do everything he could to avoid looking at Izuku. He wouldn't even go and play heroes anymore. As time went on, Mitsuki would have to drag Katsuki here kicking and screaming until, finally, she gave up. Then, shortly after that, she stopped coming over as often." Inko then let out a sigh. "It's not like we're complete strangers now. We sometimes meet up for coffee and to chat or talk on the phone. I just wish I knew what happened to that sweet boy."
"Well, I haven't given up on Kacchan," said Izuku, his voice brimming with positive energy. "Even after all this time, I still consider him a friend."
Inko and Raphtalia smiled at the statement, though Raphtalia's was a bit forced. From what she had seen of the blond in class, it was hard to believe that he could be friends with Izuku. The two were like oil and water.
"Anyways, enough of this depressing talk," stated Inko as she turned to their guest. Raphtalia, Izuku told me that you once caught a swordfish! That sounds so exciting!"
And from there, the night went off without another word about Bakugo…along with minimal embarrassment for Izuku.
-x-
When classes resumed, Izuku and Raphtalia walked into 1-A to find that most of the students were discussing how the news had handled the events of the USJ. Some people, like Kaminari, Ojiro, and Sero, had brought up the way some people were staring at them and whispering to each other as they no doubt recognized them from the news. At the same time, Mineta bemoaned loudly that not a single 'hottie' had approached him.
What had drawn the ire of some students, like the pink-skinned Ashido and Kirishima, was how some sites were focused on the three other weapon users. Most of those articles featured a photo of the three standing together, waving proudly to cameras and seeming to bask in the praises they were receiving before focusing on their deeds during the attack while leaving out certain details. This ticked off Ashido in a way Izuku had never seen before.
"Can you believe it?!" Ashido practically yelled, her dark eyes glued to one of the articles displayed on her phone. "They're making it sound like we did nothing until those three showed up! Kirishima fought a villain made of living sludge along with Tsu and Midoriya!"
"Uhh, thanks for reminding me.," groaned Kirishima, sticking his tongue out in disgust. "I still haven't gotten the taste out of my mouth."
"Todoroki froze a whole bunch of villains before heading over to save All Might!" continued Mina.
"Hey, what about me? I was there too you know!" demanded Mineta, waving his tiny fists in the air while also blowing out angry steam from his nose.
"Yaoyorozu, Aoyama, Jiro, and Kaminari not only fought a whole bunch of villains but were also the ones who took down the creep that was keeping us from calling for help," said Mina, ignoring what Mineta had said. "Let's not forget Raphtalia and Bakugo! They also fought their fair share of villains before heading out to try and help All Might! Raphtalia even fought their boss!"
"That's true, but what I did wasn't much of an accomplishment," said Raphtalia in a disheartened tone. "It's not like I brought him to jail."
"But you totally cut him up a bunch!" insisted the acid user of the class as she got out of her seat to stand before the Tanuki girl. "I bet you landed more hits on him than anyone else! And don't think I haven't forgotten about your partner in kicking butt! Midoriya totally tanked a blow from that monster before getting right back up and smacking that hand-man jerk with his shield! So why are some people focusing so much on the three who showed up late to the party?"
"Well, when you stop and think about it, it does make a bit of sense. Ribbit." Several people in the class turned to look at Tsu who was sitting in her seat, looking at the group with her usual neutral expression while also placing a finger on her cheek. "Those three already have their provisional licenses and have rare, weapon-type-quirks. Pretty soon, they're going to be leaving U.A. and entering into the hero business. It would make sense that there would be people out there who would prefer to read about them. Besides, it's not like every article out there is focusing on them."
"Not to mention that they all look good for the camera," added Jiro as she pulled up one of the articles on her phone with a lazy expression on her face. "Shots like these can really help make the next big name."
At that moment, Ida approached the group. "Asui is correct," he stated loudly while making a chopping motion with his arm.
"I told you to call me Tsu," stated the frog girl.
However, Ida continued his little lecture as though Tsu had never said a thing. "These three, brave upperclassmen came to our aid when we needed them the most. And how do you repay them? By complaining that some sites are focusing on them, giving these three the righteous credit they deserve?"
"That's not what I'm saying at all!" Mina said, raising her voice as she looked back at Ida.
"Yeah, man. No one here is saying that they shouldn't get any credit," added Kirishima.
Before Ashido, Kirishima, or Ida could say another word, the door to the classroom opened.
"Oh my, such naughty boys and girls not in their seats. Whatever shall I do?" As the students all quickly took their seats, Midnight strode into the room in her full hero garb. As she took the spot in front of them, all but one of the students could feel a wave of worry for their normal homeroom teacher. They all knew that Recovery Girl was a master at healing, mending most injuries anywhere between a few seconds to a day or two! Were Mr. Aizawa's injuries that severe? Or was he injured beyond the abilities of Recovery Girl to heal?
The only one whose mind was not going down this path was Mineta, who was already drooling all over his desk while his eyes traveled up and down the pro-heroes costume.
"Ma'am, is Mr. Aizawa alright? Ribbit?" asked Tsu as she raised her hand.
Much to everyone's surprise, Midnight let out a chuckle. "Well, he certainly thinks he's alright. Despite all the brutal damage that man took, he thought he could just walk out of the nurse's office this morning and continue teaching like nothing happened! Something about not wanting to waste time. Thankfully I was called in to help stop the man from pushing himself too hard."
Izuku nodded, his mind going back to the notebook he had written many years ago about Midnight's quirk. She had the ability to produce a powerful sleeping gas from her skin. Something like that was the best way to restrain a person without hurting them…provided there was someone nearby to catch Mr. Aizawa when he fell.
"For the time being, I will be taking over as your homeroom instructor!" continued Midnight. "Though this is only temporary. Just until Recovery Girl gives Aizawa the all-clear and asks me to help un-strap him from his bed."
Out of the corner of his eye, Izuku could see several faces turning either slightly pink or full-blown red. No doubt they were imagining what she meant by that.
"Now, I want all of you to keep your eyes and ears on me since I have an important announcement to make," stated Midnight as her tone became slightly more serious. "In two weeks, the U.A. Sports Festival will begin!"
"What?! Are you serious?! We nearly all got killed a few days ago!" screamed Mineta at the top of his lungs as he jumped onto the top of his desk, pointing a finger at Midnight, a few other students began to mutter in agreement. Midnight, however, stood there for several long moments with a smile that slowly began to fade until it was nothing more than a thin line upon her face. Faster than most of the student's eyes could see, the pro-hero had pulled out her whip and cracked it. Instantly, the class became silent except for Mineta who had fallen to the floor.
"Silence!" commanded the R-Rated hero as she pointed her whip at the one who had started the outburst. For his part, Mineta began to tremble and sob as he sank back into his seat. "You are all being too naïve if you think that the school would cancel something as important as the U.A. Sports Festival after one villain attack! And you are all being especially foolish to think that after said attack we would not be upping security for the event! While I am not at liberty to discuss the finer details of all the upgrades we are doing to make sure everyone is safe, I can tell you we are calling in a number of additional heroes to help patrol the grounds. And those will be on top of the heroes that will be in the audience."
Midnight, seeing that the class was absorbing her words, let out a sigh before visibly relaxing.
From there, Midnight reminded the class of just how important the U.A Sports Festival was. Not just to the world at large, the event being watched all over the world like the Olympics, but to the students as well. This was their chance to start getting scouted by the pros, who would then offer internships to those who showed potential in their eyes. Getting these offers, and gaining these experiences, might make the difference for their futures: either going pro themselves one day or remaining a sidekick for life.
"In the end, all of you need to give this Festival your whole heart and soul!" said Midnight in conclusion. "Show the crowd your passion burning inside of you! Make sure you shine brighter than anyone else there!"
Then, the bell rang.
Later, after school, Izuku and Raphtalia were heading out through the gates of U.A. only to find a figure waiting for them with a smile on her face. It was Malty Melromarc! She stood there, looking a little nervous as she shifted from side to side while lightly biting her lower lip.
"Excuse me. Midoriya?" asked the redhead, her tone seeming nervous. "I-I was hoping we could t-talk. Ah, in private if that's ok."
Izuku blinked in surprise, taken about by this display. He could still remember how she acted when they first met, full of fake sweetness as she latched onto Motoyasu. But now, that girl had been replaced by someone who seemed to be a completely different person. Was she scared about something? Embarrassed?
He then remembered the look Principal Nezu had given her, wondering what that had been about.
"Look, ah, now isn't-" began Izuku as he began to back away, but stopped when Malty closed the distance with a single step.
"I promise it won't take very long," she said urgently. "I need to speak to you about something important."
With a sigh, Izuku looked over to Raphtalia who gave him a quick nod of understanding. And so, the two walked away from the school grounds, with none of them aware that a certain furry principal was watching them from his window.
Twenty minutes later, Izuku found himself standing in the corner of a park full of lush vegetation and trails leading into nearby forested areas. Despite the beauty all around him, the green-haired could not shake the eerie feeling he was getting right now. Not only was the park empty, but the streets surrounding the park seemed barren. The only signs of life that his ears could pick up were the buzzing of insects. Wasn't this going a bit too far if she just wanted some privacy? So, as he stood there looking at the red-haired girl who had brought him here, a hand went for his phone as a precaution. If something happened, he'd use his Shield Prison on himself before sending his location to Raphtalia and the local…
"I'd like to apologize to you." Malty's sudden words, along with a bow, caught Izuku off guard. So much so that he nearly stumbled backward.
"I-I was the one that told Motoyasu about the rumor going around," continued the redhead as she righted herself. Malty then followed this up by quickly reaching out with her hands to clasp one of his own. "The one about you and Raphtalia. How you were using her to fight your battles for you. It w-was just a silly rumor going around, you know. Honestly, I had no idea that Motoyasu would take it so seriously and that he would stop in the middle of a rescue to accuse you."
Izuku blinked as he slowly absorbed this information. To be honest, he had already mostly forgotten about that silly rumor.
"Why are you telling me all this now?" he asked.
"Because I don't want Motoyasu to get into trouble," said Malty as tears formed in her eyes. "Ever since the USJ incident, he had been contacted by various hero agencies trying to recruit him when he graduates. Some of them are even big names like Gang Orca and Yoroi Masha. Motoyasu has worked really hard over the years to get to this point and having his skills recognized by such big names means the world to him. But all that might get taken away if they ever found out how he behaved during certain parts of the USJ incident! And if he lost all of that because of a rumor I told him about…I don't know how I could ever forgive myself!"
Izuku nodded, now understanding the situation as he relaxed. Now it made sense why she wanted to be so far away from prying ears.
"Alright, I won't tell anyone about that," said Izuku as Malty's eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement. Though there was something else there that didn't sit right with him, making the boy want to end the conversation as quickly as possible. "Just tell him to think twice about what he hears from now on."
With that, Izuku high-tailed it out of the park at full speed heading towards the train station in the hopes that he could make his train.
However, the next morning, as Izuku was eating his breakfast there was a knock at the door. Confused, Inko walked over to open it, finding a man wearing a tanned trench coat standing at the door flanked by two police officers.
"Ma'am, can we ask you and your son to come down to the station?" asked the trenchcoat-wearing man as he opened up his wallet revealing himself to be a detective. "We need to ask him some questions."