The League of Villains' hideout was silent that morning.
The dim lights of the bar left the room submerged in dark tones, reflecting off the dusty bottles behind the counter. The chairs were empty. The floor creaked softly whenever Kurogiri moved, but aside from that, there was almost no sound.
The old television on the counter was on, while All For One's distorted image appeared surrounded by shadows and faint interference.
Kurogiri stood before him, with his usual respectful posture.
"The preparations are nearly complete", Kurogiri said. "All members have already been gathered. We have also received the materials sent by your friend."
On the other side of the screen, All For One let out a low sound of satisfaction.
"Excellent."
His voice was calm.
"I am pleased to know our resources arrived without issue."
"Yes. Everything has been stored and distributed according to your instructions."
"Excellent."
There was a brief pause.
Then All For One added, in an almost regretful tone:
"Although I admit it is a shame we did not receive that previous toy."
Kurogiri remained still.
"Are you referring to the Omnidroid and the Sentinels?"
"Naturally." All For One's voice carried a trace of amusement. "Such interesting tools. Durable, adaptable, useful for facilitating our operations... Unfortunately, it seems certain 'unforeseen circumstances' made it impossible to receive them."
The screen crackled for a moment.
"But no matter."
His voice grew a little lower.
"I will fill that void myself with a toy I made not long ago."
Kurogiri inclined his head slightly.
"Understood."
All For One seemed satisfied with the answer.
"And Tomura?"
Kurogiri turned his face slightly toward the ceiling, as if he could see through it.
"Tomura has been in the attic since yesterday."
"Oh?"
All For One sounded interested.
"He has not come out?"
"No. He appears to be preparing eagerly for the mission."
"Even after I told him the boy should be captured, not killed?"
"Yes."
Kurogiri hesitated for a brief moment before continuing.
"Tomura-sama said he does not care. In his words, if he cannot kill Rito Takeda, that does not mean he cannot kill the other students."
For a few seconds, the television was silent.
Then All For One laughed.
"I see..."
His voice carried a cold pride.
"So that is what he intends to do..."
Kurogiri did not respond.
All For One continued:
"It seems Tomura is finally beginning to understand that, sometimes, destroying a person does not require killing them."
Kurogiri remained silent.
All For One seemed almost pleased.
"Very well. Let him prepare."
The image on the television darkened slightly.
"I can hardly wait to see what kind of despair he will offer the boy."
----------------------------------------
The next morning, the medical wing of the N.C.R.C.D.Q. complex was busier than it had been in many years.
Doctors entered and left Yuuko Tanaka's room with clipboards, tablets, and increasingly confused expressions. Nurses checked monitors, technicians reviewed results, and more than once, some doctor asked to repeat a test that had already been done.
Yuuko was sitting on the bed, wearing clean patient clothes, her short hair slightly messy after so many tests. She looked tired, but conscious.
And that, for everyone there, was precisely the problem.
"Normal blood pressure."
"Normal neurological response."
"Normal muscular activity."
"There is no systemic inflammation."
"The degenerative markers... are gone."
One of the doctors looked at the tablet as if the device had lied to him.
"Repeat the blood test."
"We already repeated it twice."
"Then repeat it a third time."
Yuuko grew tense when she heard that, tightening her fingers slightly over the sheet. The doctors' mood made her nervous. They all spoke quietly, but not quietly enough for it to seem natural. They all looked at her as if she were an enigma sitting in a bed.
But whenever her gaze went to the back of the room, she smiled.
Ryo was there.
Standing near the wall, watching everything in silence.
He had not left her side since she woke up. Not for a single minute. Even when the doctors asked for space, even when a nurse said he should rest, Ryo remained there.
Quiet, attentive, and firm.
As if, if he looked away for too long, she might disappear again.
Yuuko smiled at him.
Ryo tried to smile back.
It was not a perfect smile, but it was a good attempt for someone who was very nervous.
One of the doctors approached her with a small device.
"Mrs. Tanaka, we are going to do one more ocular reading. Please look at the light."
Yuuko nodded.
"All right."
She obeyed, but soon after, she looked back at Ryo again, as if wanting to make sure he was still there.
He was.
He always was.
After almost an hour of exams, measurements, and questions, the doctors finally stepped away. They still had no answers, but there was no sign of emergency. No active damage. No immediate reason to keep her trapped in an endless battery of tests.
At least not at that moment.
"We'll let you rest for a while," said the head doctor, still clearly dissatisfied with the lack of explanation. "We'll come back later."
Yuuko nodded politely.
"Thank you."
As soon as the team left, the room became quieter.
Ryo approached immediately.
Yuuko carefully lay back down, letting out a tired sigh.
"I don't remember these exams being so exhausting..."
"Are you okay?"
She looked at Ryo and smiled.
"I am. Just tired of being poked."
Ryo pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat down beside her.
Yuuko watched him for a few seconds, as if still trying to accept the sight of her son one year older before her. To her, time seemed to have taken a cruel leap. The little boy she remembered was now there, tall, defined, with green eyes instead of the black ones she had always been used to seeing.
Even so, it was Ryo.
Her Ryo.
"So..." she began, trying to make her voice lighter. "Have you been doing well in your studies?"
Ryo froze.
"My studies?"
"Yes." Yuuko tilted her head. "You're still studying, aren't you?"
"I am."
"Are you doing well?"
"Yes, I'm literally one of the best in my class."
Yuuko smiled, excited.
"That's good."
She seemed truly happy with that answer.
"And what school did they put you in while I was..." She hesitated for a moment. "...while I was asleep?"
Ryo opened his mouth.
"U—"
The word died before it came out.
He almost said U.A.
Almost.
But then he imagined her reaction.
Yuuko waking up after years, discovering that the son who once hated his own Quirk was now in a hero school. A school where he trained in combat. Where he had faced villains. Where he had taken part in dangerous exams, attacks, battles, and situations she would never accept without panicking.
He could not say that.
Not now.
Not right after she had woken up.
Ryo cleared his throat.
"They put me in some school in Musutafu."
Yuuko blinked.
"Musutafu?"
"Yes."
"Is it good?"
Ryo thought about Aizawa, the training, the Sports Festival, the final exams, and almost everything that had happened since he entered U.A.
Then he made a dry expression.
"It's... strict."
Yuuko laughed softly.
"Don't be like that. The school can't be that bad."
Ryo stared into empty space, remembering giant robots, teachers fighting them, and Bakugo screaming as if every day were a personal war.
"You have no idea."
Yuuko raised an eyebrow, curious.
Silence filled the room for a few seconds.
Ryo fidgeted with his fingers, nervous.
"Actually..." he began. "The school planned a summer camp. My friends and I are going tomorrow."
Yuuko blinked.
"Camp?"
"It's... Something mandatory from school... They're going to do some activities and—"
Yuuko's two hands suddenly grabbed his face.
Ryo froze.
Yuuko pulled his head slightly forward, her eyes wide.
"Ch-chotto matte!"
Ryo looked at her, confused.
"W-What is it?"
"What did you say before that?"
"Camp?"
"After that."
Ryo thought for a second.
"...Friends?"
The next instant, Yuuko pulled him into a hug.
"My baby made friends!"
Ryo went completely stiff.
"Mom—"
"You made friends!" Yuuko repeated, radiant, squeezing him against herself with all the strength she had. "Ryo, you made friends!"
Her voice was full of happiness. Tears shone in her eyes, but her smile was enormous.
Ryo turned red.
"It's not that serious..."
"It is very serious!" She pulled away to look at his face. "How many are there? Are they nice to you? Are you nice to them? Do you go out with them? Have you been eating properly with them?"
"Mom..."
"And is there any girl among them that you like?"
Ryo froze.
Yuuko stopped.
Seeing how her son reacted, her face slowly changed.
First curiosity.
Then surprise.
Then a playful smile.
"Ara~"
Yuuko rested her chin on her hand, still smiling.
"So there is someone, huh?"
"There isn't."
"No?"
"No."
Ryo tried to keep his expression neutral.
But his mind chose that moment to betray him again.
Melissa.
Ryo's face turned red.
Yuuko opened a victorious smile.
"Bingo."
"It's not what it looks like..."
"What's her name?"
"She doesn't have a name because there isn't any girl."
"Do you two talk a lot?"
"Mom."
"Have you held hands yet?"
Ryo turned his face to the side, completely flushed.
"Y-You're misunderstanding!"
Yuuko kept looking at him.
Then she started laughing.
Ryo looked at her, confused and a little embarrassed.
Yuuko kept laughing for a few more seconds before finally calming down. But when the laughter passed, the tears remained.
She brought a hand to her face.
"You've changed so much..."
Ryo stayed quiet.
"And I missed so much."
Her smile trembled.
"I wasn't there," she said, her voice growing weak. "I wasn't there to take care of you."
Ryo straightened in the chair.
Yuuko tightened the blanket over her lap.
"I wasn't there when you were sad. I wasn't there to hug you. I wasn't there to make your favorite food. I wasn't there to ask if you slept well or if someone had hurt you."
The tears began to fall.
"I should have been there."
Ryo opened his mouth, but she continued before he could speak.
"You had to grow up alone while I was here. And now you're talking about friends, about school, acting much more lively than before..." She tried to smile, but could not. "And I didn't see any of it."
"Mom, stop..."
"I'm sorry." Her voice broke. "I'm sorry, Ryo. I'm sorry for not taking care of you. I'm sorry for not being there. I'm sorry for not being a good mother."
Ryo stood up at once.
Before Yuuko could say anything else, he hugged her.
Tightly.
But carefully.
"Don't say that."
Yuuko froze.
"Ryo..."
"Don't say that," he repeated, his voice low and trembling. "That isn't true."
She tried to answer, but the words got stuck.
Ryo tightened the hug.
"You were always with me."
Yuuko closed her eyes, tears falling against his shoulder.
"I wasn't..."
"You were." Ryo swallowed hard. "Every time I went through something difficult, I thought of you."
His voice faltered a little.
"When I wanted to give up, I thought of you."
Yuuko slowly moved her hand to his back.
"When I was scared, I thought of you. When I didn't know what to do, I thought about what you would say."
He shut his eyes tightly.
"You may not have been there physically, but you were in my heart the whole time."
Yuuko began to truly cry.
Ryo kept holding her.
"And that gave me the strength to keep going."
"R-Ryo..."
"You were the best mother in the world to me."
Yuuko let out a sob and hugged her son tighter, as if finally understanding that he was there. Alive. Grown. Hurt by things she had not seen, but still capable of holding her as if she had never stopped being his safe place.
Ryo rested his forehead on her shoulder.
For a few minutes, neither of them spoke.
They just stayed like that.
Mother and son.
And that embrace.
Ryo closed his eyes.
I wanted to stay like this forever.
Tomorrow, he would have to go to the camp.
He would have to leave that room.
He would have to move away from her again, even after finally getting her back.
The thought hurt.
But this time, it was different.
He knew he had already adapted to it.
Ryo tightened the hug a little more.
"I hope she can handle being away from me for a while..."
He took a deep breath, feeling her hand caress his back.
"Just like I handled being away from her."
----------------------------------------
The next morning, U.A.'s enormous parking lot was full of voices, small bags, teachers, and two buses parked near the main gate.
The sky was clear, the sun already beginning to warm the asphalt. Even though it was still early, Class 1-A was gathered in front of Professor Aizawa, who looked about as excited as someone being forced to attend a meeting at eight in the morning.
Meaning, not at all.
Aizawa stared at the students with his usual tired look.
"It's exactly eight o'clock. I'll be brief."
Some students straightened their posture.
"Your luggage was already sent to the camp yesterday. Anything else you needed to bring should be with you now. If you forgot something, that's your problem."
Kaminari quickly looked down at his own pockets, as if only now thinking about it.
Jiro noticed.
"Did you forget something?"
"I hope not."
"That's not a good answer."
Aizawa continued:
"Once you get on the bus, we're going straight to the location. No chaos, no switching seats every five minutes, no stupid games in the aisle."
His gaze moved across the class.
Then it stopped on Dash, Kirishima, Mina, and Kaminari.
"And as for those who received extra lessons..."
The four of them went stiff.
"They start tomorrow."
Kaminari immediately deflated.
"Tomorrow..."
Mina put her hands on her head.
"There's really no way for us to escape..."
Kirishima tried to smile.
"Well... extra lessons are a chance to improve, right?"
Kaminari looked at him.
"You're saying that because you want to sound tough."
"Maybe..."
Aizawa closed his eyes for a second.
"That's all. Get on the bus."
Iida immediately entered class representative mode.
"Very well, everyone! Form an orderly line! Let's avoid unnecessary delays and maintain appropriate conduct while boarding!"
"He was waiting for this," Sero murmured.
"Definitely, ribbit," Tsuyu replied.
The class began moving toward the 1-A bus. Ryo walked near Dash, his hands in his pockets and his expression quieter than usual.
Dash, on the other hand, looked excited.
"So, training camp, huh?" he said. "Finally. That usually means trees, training, food made over a campfire, and someone getting lost in the middle of the night."
Ryo looked at him.
"You, probably."
Dash placed a hand on his chest.
"I felt judgment in that word."
"Because there was."
"I improved my sense of direction."
"I heard you got lost eleven times on I-Island."
"It was a very complicated island. That place was like a maze!"
"You got lost inside an almost straight hallway."
Dash opened his mouth to answer, but a loud and familiar voice rang out from the other side of the parking lot.
"What?!"
Class 1-A turned their faces.
Near the second bus, Class 1-B was also gathered. And, as if the universe had decided the morning was too peaceful, Neito Monoma was standing there, looking at Class A with a smile far too wide to be healthy.
"Did I hear that right?" Monoma brought a hand to his ear theatrically. "Some students from Class A are going to receive extra lessons?!"
Monoma took a step forward, pointing at them.
"So that means some of you failed? What a surprise! And to think everyone says Class A is stronger than Class B!"
Kendo, beside him, was already raising her hand.
"Monoma, stop."
But he continued, becoming more and more excited by his own provocation.
"And what now? Will the world finally see that Class A, despite all the noise, incidents, villains, explosions, and exaggerated fame, is also made up of students who can't even pass through—"
A punch hit his stomach.
"Ugh—!"
Monoma doubled over instantly, his eyes turning white before he fainted.
For a second, everyone was silent.
Class B automatically turned to Kendo.
But Kendo was standing beside them, her hand still half-raised in the air, just as surprised as everyone else.
"It wasn't me."
Everyone looked forward.
Pony was standing in front of Monoma.
She kept a small smile on her face, her eyes closed and her expression frighteningly calm. Her hand was still extended, exactly where she had landed the blow.
"Monoma-kun," she said in a sweet tone, despite the coldness on her face, "you shouldn't say those things to my dear friends, especially Dash..."
Monoma let out a weak groan on the ground.
Pony tilted her head.
"Sleep a little."
She grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and began dragging him toward the 1-B bus as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
Class B remained silent.
Reiko blinked.
"Since when did Pony become so scary?"
Setsuna looked at Monoma being dragged away.
"She said... dear friends?"
Yui followed Pony's gaze.
The American girl, still dragging Monoma, raised her free hand and waved cheerfully at Dash.
"Dash!"
Dash froze.
Pony smiled as if she hadn't just knocked out a classmate in public.
"See you later!"
Dash slowly raised his hand, completely pale.
"S-Sure..."
Ryo looked at him.
Dash began walking faster toward the 1-A bus.
"Let's get inside."
"Are you scared?"
"N-No..."
"You look scared."
"I look like it, but I'm not..."
Ryo kept pace with him, glancing one last time at Pony, who was still cheerfully dragging Monoma away.
"...When did she become like that?"
Dash didn't answer.
He just sped up.
Kendo sighed, bringing a hand to her face.
"At least someone stopped Monoma before I had to today."
On Class 1-A's side, Kaminari watched everything with wide eyes.
"Dash is living in a different genre of story."
Sero slowly nodded.
"Romantic comedy, the kind with physical threats."
Mina smiled mischievously.
"Pony is cute."
Jiro looked at Monoma being thrown inside the 1-B bus.
"Cute and dangerous."
Kirishima placed a hand on Dash's shoulder as soon as he passed.
"Man, your girl is intense."
Dash tripped over his own step.
"She's not my girl!"
From the other side of the parking lot, Pony waved again.
Dash turned red.
"...I think."
Ryo got on the bus right behind him.
"I think you're going to get pregnant, man."
Iida boarded last, still trying to pretend that all of this was a normal situation.
"Very well! Everyone seated! Seatbelts on! We will not delay our departure because of... inter-class incidents."
Aizawa got on the bus, looked at the class, and then at Dash.
"We're already starting with drama?"
Dash pointed at Ryo.
"It was his fault."
Ryo slowly turned his face.
"Mine?"
"I panicked."
"That doesn't explain anything."
"But it makes me feel better."
Aizawa let out a heavy sigh and sat at the front.
"This is going to be a long ride to the camp..."