Koji Koda was someone who was easily flustered. Ever since he was a young boy, he was addled by the tamest of stimuli, causing him to grow into an intense introvert. He was shy around everyone; strangers, teachers, friends, even with his parents and siblings he was quiet. So, it's understandable as to why it would be a surprise when he one day proclaimed to his father, rather abashedly to be sure, that he would be a hero.

It's not that he didn't have the potential. He was tall for his age, and hours spent helping his mother bring in the daily catch from her crabbing advents had left him strong and sturdy. Furthermore, his Anivoice quirk had heaps of potential. He could use birds, cats, and spiders to scout out villains and injured civilians, have sharks and whales protect naval convoys, even enlist the aid of bugs and predators such as bears. Needless to say, he had the makings of a effective hero.

But crouching there within the bushes, amidst the smoke and the fire, the reek of ash and listening to the terrified screams of his classmates near and far. Well, Koji was willing to admit maybe he should stop for a moment and really think about his choice of career. Because despite all of the ambiance, what had him scared the most was the scene in front of him.

The villains weren't the most intimidating, to be fair. The girl looked barely an adult, and she wasn't even wearing a suit of any kind, just a normal outfit. The guy was a bit more the part, with his wicked black mask and rusted equipment.

No, what was terrifying was the fact that they were each holding bloody blades, and had Kenji pinned to a tree, lacerations covering his beaten and bleeding form.

The tall, mysterious, strong Kenji Madarame was bent and broken, and it looked like he hadn't really put up much of a fight. The girl had a nasty bruise on her cheek, and the guy was limping, but comparatively it was nothing. Kenji was defeated.

And despite himself, despite having every intention to move, to act, to save… He couldn't bring himself to initiate, to not even use his quirk. Hell, he could barely swallow, his breathing the only sound he was allowing to escape in fear of being detected. The memories of Mandalay's message whispering for him to make use of his combat pass ignored as primal fear coursed through his blood like poison.

The male villain spit some blood on the ground, grimacing as the iron taste lingered on his tongue. Whipping his sword to the side, some of the ichor staining it was flicked into the grass, though the steel was still painted red.

"Who woulda' fucking guessed you'd put up this much of a fight Ken." Kenji barely responded, a faint slurring sound passing through swollen and cracked lips as he barely remained conscious. "And here I thought you were useless after that Handy Man made ya' a cripple. Guess you always were one to turn your nose to the status quo eh?" That elicited a faint giggle from the other villain, full of sinister undertones. "Made ya' less… handy yourself tho'."

"Come on Toshi, let's get this over with. I'm pretty sure we're missing out on the main event. We were supposed to be at the point like five minutes ago." Her blade was a wicked thing as it was raised high, a serrated khopesh that glinted amongst the moon and flame light. A wave of unbridled killing intent washed over the forest, freezing even the rodents that had come to comfort the trembling Koji. Every instinct screamed at him to run, to hide, to get as far away as possible. For he knew if he got closer to this person, it would spell death.

So, it was jarring when a whistling clang rang out through the woods, and the sensation of violence was washed away as the villain looked confused at her compatriot, his own blade having impeded its' downward trajectory. She growled, her eyes burning with furious questions that would judge if she would cut him to pieces or not.

"Patience Green, I've been thinkin' ya' see. Sure, we could gut him here," he gently pressed his own blade underneath Kenji's neck, a faint red line opening up beneath the defeated boy's chin. He clicked his tongue, a vicious grin spreading across his face. "T'would send those heroes a message, ya' know." He then swiped, the blade creating a long superficial cut along Kenji's jawline. "But tha' Handy Man gave me an idea. He's making us work so hard, but all we be getting out of this whole escapade is a bit a' cash flow. Nah, that ain't satisfying ya' feel? So, while he's snatching up his own prize, I say we bring bro a gift ya' know?"

Green's previous disposition instantly washed away, another biting giggle escaping her lips. "Oh Toshi, that might just be the best idea you've had in a long while." Breaking into more hysteric laughter, she flung her head back, cackling into the night sky. Her form flickered, shoving her face inches from Kenji's half-lidded eyes. "How do you like the sound of that, Kenji-kun. Want to go say hi to the boss man? He sure does mis-"

She yelped as she jumped back, her hand bleeding where she had intercepted an iron nail from piercing her eye. She began cussing incessantly as she stared at the foreign object imbedded in her flesh, ripping it out with a scream before tossing it to the masked villain. He caught it, the nail rusting over in a matter of moments.

"That's quite enough outta' you, Kenji. A Madarame should know better." He approached slowly, before reeling back and bashing the downed student overhead with the flat side of his blade. The hero-in-training was out like a light, finally fully slumping over. He looked over to his accomplice to see her arm deep in a random tree, shuddering and heaving. "Are ya' done over there? We sho-agck"

He choked as he was suddenly caught around the throat with a brutal lariat, spun and then sent flying with a follow-up roundhouse to the chest, the blade that came to parry shattered from the force. Hidden in the foliage, Koji let loose a shaky sigh of relief, before keeling over and vomiting over a pair of poor squirrels that had curled up in his lap.

Noticing the sound, the hulking form of Vlad-King shouted back at a trio of students he had brought with him. "Kaibara, Shishida, go check out that disturbance, and Shio- Shiozaki get the hell back over here!" He watched as she cradled the unconscious form of Kenji, her hair flying around to entangle the surrounding area in a maze of barbed greenery. She pressed her ear next to the beaten students mouth while looking at his chest, relieved yet still anxious at the weak breaths and shallow contractions of his chest.

The teacher made to move closer when he heard a shout from Sen, before the shattering of a thin shield of air alerted him of the assault from his flank. Spinning quickly, he created his own shield out of blood, blocking the blade aimed at his jugular from striking. Mentally noting to give his student some brownie points for probably saving his life (not that he would let anyone know, lest Midnight use it as blackmail,) he looked at the young girl that had just tried to kill him, before responding with a wave of blood that sent her flying back into the tree she had just lunged at him from.

To his shock, she passed right through the large oak, and he barely had time to search before he once more had to counter the villain he had launched back before. Ducking under the open hand that obviously had something to do with the masked individuals quirk, he launched two hard and fast punches into his sternum, avoiding the bile that leaked through the black mask. Following up once again with a kick, this time the opponent anticipated the strike and blocked with his forearm, and only skidded back a few feet. He then laughed.

"Holy shit! You're fuckin' good, ya' know that? I'm pretty sure you broke a rib or two with that first kick, but with tha' last bout, I'm pre' sure I've gotcha' timing down." Vlad-King snorted at that, blood surging out of his gloves to form a convulsing field around his form. He took quick note of the blood leaking from various locations amidst his armor, and the dark purple of his exposed chest where he had been struck by the kick.

"Big words coming from someone who can barely stand. Seems like Madarame managed to warm you up just for me." Through the mask came a growl. "Besides, as an expert I can tell you that despite the strong look, you're in pain. You're hemorrhaging like crazy, probably got a minute or two before you pass out from shock. But most importantly," and with a yelp the villain was yanked from his feet by a long green vine. "You pissed off a golden egg."

Flung around like a ragdoll for a few seconds, various other thorny extensions converged on the villain, wrapping painfully tight around his body. His left arm was yanked into the air, the vines knotting so that there would be no contact with his palm. As he writhed in an attempt to escape, the vines were manipulated so that his head was the only exposed part of his body. Ibara was glaring daggers at the bound enemy, a rare, confident smirk on her face.

"I saw you try to grab sensei with that hand; no doubt it has to do with your quirk. I'm not going to take any chances with you heathen." Turning back to Kenji, she continued to attempt to patch him up with torn lengths of a mix of both of their clothing. He really did have an extreme amount of blade wounds covering his body, the one across his chest particularly deep. He was also missing the usual metal appendage that made up his left arm, though seeing as he was brutalized it had probably been lost during his scrap with the villains.

Attempting to hide his pride in Ibara's perception, Vlad-King saw his two other students coercing a shivering Koji Koda back towards the camp, the faint glimmer of Sen's air shields littering their surroundings in preparations for an ambush from the female villain. Knowing that either Eraserhead or some other students would be drawn from the sounds of conflict, he felt content with letting them head back by themselves. Turning back to the squirming captive, he slowly approached.

"The jig is up villain! Your caught, your accomplice has fled, and the rest of the league have abandoned you here. Submit for questioning, and when the police arrive I will tell them you were cooperative." Releasing control of his blood and sending it back to his costume, he reached forwards and ripped the mask off of the adversary's face, raising an eyebrow as his opponent's identity was revealed. Dirty blonde hair, brown eyes, a scar across his left cheek, and a resemblance he couldn't place.

He would have examined more if it wasn't for the sword that suddenly plunged into his calf, causing the hero to gasp and retreat a few feet back. The female villain's torso had molded out of the vines that kept her compatriot captive, and she was grinning as she looked at him.

"Thanks for the heads-up Mr. Vampire. Since the League has jumped ship, it is time for us to vámanos!" With that, never mind the swirling hive of vines that were converging on the two's position, she reached over and dragged the prisoner through the very vines that held him at bay, and the two disappeared into brambles.

With that, it was quiet. The flames had been put out at some point during the fight, so the only sound was the faint rustling of branches as a wind flew through the trees. The various vines littering the field slowly retracted back to Ibara, her full attention returning to the boy covered in patchwork bandaging. Rushing over, Vlad-King quickly placed his hand on Kenji's chest before all of the blood leaking from stray cuts began returning into his body. Ibara looked up at her teacher, confused as to what he was doing. "Sensei?"

Vlad-King waved her off. "I've focused the blood in his body, streamlining it's healing properties. His lighter wounds should be scabbing over soon, but he needs some serious attention for his chest if we don't want a scar there. Let's go, Shiozaki."

Hefting the teenager on his shoulder, he began to sprint back to camp, Ibara doing her best to keep up. They moved through the forest quickly, various thoughts pervading the pro-hero's mind as he rushed the injured student to safety. Just out front of the lodge, they ran into Eraserhead who was thanking his own students for bringing Koji to him, alongside a tired and resting Shoto and Tokoyami. Gaining their attention, the class 1-A teacher rushed forward to ease Kenji off of Vlad-King.

"Don't activate your quirk, I've got his blood pumping." Eraserhead nodded, before rushing him inside. Ibara made to follow, but the pro stopped her. "Not now Shiozaki. Go back to the girl's dorm and get some rest, we'll be heading back to town the moment the police are finished with their questioning. Better to be level-headed for that." The verdette looked like she wanted to argue, but with the adrenaline finally fading, she felt the weight of all of her stress. She let loose a shaky breath, before heading towards the living quarters. Sighing, he turned to look at the only witness to the altercation before he arrived, but seeing him huddling in a blanket, flanked by two of his classmates… Well, he'd wait till the police arrived. Better to only have to recount it once.

He'd speak with Hound Dog; the poor boy might need some counselling after this. Hell, both classes might after this fiasco. The media are already going to want their heads for young Bakugo's abduction, if it turns out they also traumatized an additional 40 kids, well, U.A. was going to have a lot of PR are to do. Here's to hoping Snipe's pet project also wasn't ruined.

Shoto watched as the sister class teacher headed inside of the compound, most likely following his own teacher's path to check in on the more heavily injured students. From what he knew, Izuku and Kenji had the worst of the physical injuries, while Tooru had been hit hard by the gas attack. A lot of class B had also been taken out that way but hadn't been as close to the origin when the villain had activated his quirk.

Shoto shook his head, thinking on what Koji had told them. It was somewhat strange hearing the student speak so much, and so fervently. But her understood why; there was no way the animal hero was going to be okay with speaking to the police. Better relay it to classmates then intimidating government officials.

Nevertheless, what he had to say was troubling. Shoto was a rather straight-forward and level-headed person, so he was very willing to accept some ideas that others might find uncomfortable. One such idea would be how strong Kenji is. While Katsuki loves to remind him, he didn't even make it to the final four, he did make it to the final round without an arm and having to use his quirk on the fly.

Kenji is strong, not quite on his own level but definitely a top tier fighter amongst Class 1-A. So, to both hear and briefly see just how maimed his fellow student had been… It was certainly an eye-opener to the Half-and-Half user. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he saw Tokoyami pointing towards Koji who was heading towards the door.

"Vlad-Sensei was right when he spoke to Shiozaki-san. We should go inside, get some sleep if we can. Tonight's been an event full of darkness and trickery, we must be ready to face the light." Shoto nodded, not one to take note of the strange way with which Tokoyami spoke.

It wouldn't be for another two hours before the police arrived, and another two hours of questioning before any of them were allowed to board a bus and leave. The obvious exceptions where Izuku and Kenji, alongside the various gas victims, who were rushed to the nearest local hospital.

And it would be within the sterile walls of the hospital that the device of salvation would be created.

Hey so I wrote these two chapters just for fun, including some OC's. Don't expect more; ask anyone who read that shitty Rising Triumvirate and learn about dissapointments.