Yaoyorozu pulled her legs up to her chest, eyelids weighed down by anchors, and stomach sinking into her body. The graphene sword laid forgotten at her feet. Houseki watched the younger girl, wishing she could do something to help. But it wasn't like she had any food on her.
The Everything Hero kept whispering to herself, "Humans can survive up to three weeks without food," over and over again. But she was too afraid of falling asleep because she thought she might never wake up again. She was already starting to hallucinate. The sound of hooves galloping across the quarry in the distance seemed to get louder and louder. Did the Grim Reaper ride a horse?
"Over here!" Houseki yelled.
"Yao-Momo!"
Yaoyorozu's eyes snapped open. "Hagakure-san…?"
A horse came to a sudden halt, whinnying and bucking, nearly throwing off the two riders. Hagakure dismounted, tearing open the Ziploc bag of apple slices though there weren't many left. She quickly started feeding her starving classmate but it wouldn't help much. There wasn't exactly a lot of fat in the fruit but it would at least help a bit.
"Why did you have to skip lunch?" Hagakure winced.
Before everything became as chaotic as it did, class A was still shooting a movie. Yaoyorozu was nervous to do the wedding scene and didn't want to throw up so she chose not to eat anything. It was clear that she had been suffering but as a hero, she had to prioritize the others that were in trouble.
Still, Todoroki didn't like having to leave her alone. So he shot off fireballs towards the sky like flares, even writing the hiragana for food in hopes that someone would understand. Houseki had seen it for herself even if Yaoyorozu was too out of it to.
"We should take her back," said Koda. "Once the others break through the door, we can get food."
Hagakure nodded. "By the way, did your birds find Jirou's group?"
Koda sent the doves that were for the wedding scene to look for their scattered class. Hopefully, each of them would be able to figure it out and follow the feathery creatures all the way back to Satou. As if on cue, a melodic tweeting could be heard in the distance, signalling Koda that almost everyone had been found.
"Jirou-san's team…," Koda muttered before gasping. "Hagakure-san, watch over them! I'll be right back!"
"Huh? Wait!"
Unfortunately, Koda took off on the horse despite her protests. They couldn't really figure out what he was thinking but Hagakure knew that she couldn't carry both girls back. So for the time being, they would just have to sit and trust that Koda knew what he was doing.
Satou had told the other two that he would be okay on his own but it seemed his mental and physical state was far worse than he had expected. Not long after they'd left, he passed out against the metal door before he could even search for a mechanism to undo the forced lockdown. Thankfully, a couple of other class A students showed up, led by white birds.
Shouji slowly let down Uraraka and Hebime from his arms before setting Gorisaki free from the gaze of the snorting horse. Tokoyami commanded Dark Shadow to place Juroku down beside the other two enemies, if they could even be called that anymore. Meanwhile, Tsuyu hopped over to Satou's side, making sure he wasn't dying before laying him down flat on a bed of flour so that he could rest easier.
"Guys!" someone called out.
"Kirishima!" Uraraka would've waved but she hurt too much. "You're okay too!"
"Hm? Where's Bakugou?" asked Shouji.
"You know him," Kirishima grunted before putting down Souichi, "ran off to help All Might." His expression changed when he saw Juroku's enormous stature, almost as big as their six-armed classmate. "Whoa, did you guys take down the big guy?!"
Juroku shook his head. "Uraraka and Asui were the ones to defeat me."
"Seriously?! You guys are so manly!"
Tsuyu cocked her head to the side. "We're not men though, ribbit." Although she knew what he meant.
They did a quick head count to figure out their current situation, deciding to call their location home base. Uraraka and Satou required immediate medical attention. Shouji and Tsuyu were mostly okay but not in the best shape. Tokoyami pretended that he was better than he actually was while Kirishima seemed to be generally unscathed though not exactly proud of it.
"I'll see if I can break down the door," said Kirishima.
Tokoyami nodded before following along. "Let me help."
"Shouji-kun and I will watch over everyone, ribbit," said Tsuyu.
Across the dome, over at the ruined set, Jirou was leaning against Kaminari for support because she would fall over otherwise. Ojiro carried Souji tucked in his tail but before they could move, they saw Iida and Aoyama coming from the other side of the stalagmite wall. The pair was relieved to see that their friends were alive and well and vice-versa.
Iida was freaking out when he saw Jirou, asking if she was okay. Aoyama, not having the strength to hold onto Gosun on his own, especially with the weight of the armor, dropped him. Since the heroes were a little preoccupied, they didn't really notice the fallen knight slowly rise up, holding out a hand, reaching for Jirou's back, intending to ask for support. He was abruptly knocked out of the way by a horse charging into the scene.
"Koda?" Jirou blinked.
Kaminari let the girl slip off his shoulders, leaning into Ojiro's side. "That bastard, trying to attack while we're not looking!"
"Jirou-san, are you okay?" Koda asked.
After Kaminari knocked out Gosun with electrocution, he went back to check on Jirou as well. Both he and Koda tried to talk over one another, wanting to ascertain whether or not she was touched by the enemy. The others watched from the background as this went on for a while before Jirou assured them loudly that she was fine.
Iida adjusted his glasses. "What was that about?"
"It's l'amour," Aoyama sparkled.
After hearing their flashy classmate's voice, Koda remembered why he had rushed all the way there. "Oh right, Aoyama-san, did you bring a meal on you?"
Somehow, Aoyama produced a silver platter from seemingly out of thin air, balanced on the palm of his hand. The delectable aroma of steak and mashed potatoes wafted out from underneath the lid, causing their stomachs to growl. He always packed his own food under the claim that he didn't like the food that Satou served.
"Oui, but why do you ask?"
-X-
Even going at five percent, Midoriya moved at an incredible speed. But the panda he was pursuing was not one born in nature. It didn't even seem like Kantoku was running at all but gliding through the air, feet just barely touching the ground. But the pervasive thought that All Might could be killed by this bipedal beast made Midoriya raise All for One all the way to ten percent to catch up.
"Stop right there!" Midoriya shouted.
The freckled hero skidded to a stop directly in front of Kantoku, cutting him off from escape. He then tried to land a kick on the enemy's head. But like Kantoku's body was made out of putty, he bent out of shape without getting hit. As soon as he straightened up, he headbutted the human square in the face, knocking him back.
"You shouldn't underestimate me," Kantoku smirked. "My script calls for my victory today!"
Midoriya pinched his nostrils shut, blood leaking down his bottom lip. "He's fast…"
Without his hero costume, Midoriya didn't have his iron armor soles. That meant even Shoot Style would be risky as he wouldn't have any means of defending against the recoil from his attacks. At the same time, using his arms was an issue as well. The words of the doctor telling him that if he damaged them again, then he would never be able to use them again, returned full force.
Kantoku noticed that Midoriya was incredibly still. "What's wrong? Realized the futility of your efforts?"
"I have to lower All for One for now," Midoriya decided. "Five percent should be plenty for now."
The young hero shot around like a bullet, going one way and the other, trying to confuse Kantoku with his rapid movements. Every time he got close, he'd throw a heavy punch or kick. But the anthro bear twisted his malleable body in unnatural ways, easily dodging the swift attacks and laughing boisterously as he always did.
Kantoku flexed his hand, long claws popping out from his fingertips. They looked strong and sharp enough tear right through iron. Midoriya almost got slashed when he rushed in too fast but he kicked off the ground at the last second, leaping high into the air to avoid getting cut.
"It's like he can see me from an aerial view," Midoriya remarked.
The student landed on his hands and knees. Now that he thought about it, this guy wasn't supposed to be real. Someone was controlling him.
Kantoku opened his maw, saliva dripping from his teeth, fangs extending and glinting in the light. "I wonder how you taste."
"The real enemy must be watching me from somewhere else," Midoriya muttered, looking around.
"Hey, focus on me-doriya!" the panda shouted before bursting into laughter.
Midoriya's eyes twitched. "I guess his personality was the same…"
Kantoku shot forward in the strange way that he moved. Midoriya ducked underneath the claw swipe and covered his chest from the knee that impacted him.
He was relatively unharmed as he flipped through the air, landing on his feet and kicking off, shooting back at an incredible speed. But as he got closer, he saw the panda open his jaw wider. If it were a normal person, then they would have to unhinge it but on this fake, it was like his jaw was grotesquely hanging off his face. If the boy continued at his current trajectory, he'd be eaten alive.
Midoriya threw a punch downwards the way Bakugou would aim an explosion to redirect his pathway. This pushed the green-haired teenager upwards and over the panda. Upon landing, without wasting a second, he tried to do a roundhouse kick on Kantoku.
The panda suddenly split into two parts, torso and legs. Midoriya's eyes widened as he missed his attack by going through Kantoku.
"What the heck?!" Midoriya exclaimed.
Kantoku spun around and tried to claw into his opponent's face but Midoriya jumped backwards. He was only barely able to get out of the way, getting nicked across the chest. It wasn't a deep wound but three dark red lines showed through the parallel tears in his shirt.
"Just give up!" Kantoku cackled. "You can't win!"
"I can't lose either," Midoriya huffed.
In order to get victory though, Midoriya would first have to figure out where the camera were which he was certain there would be. But while it was obvious for him to be watched from above, the ceiling was so high that it was hard to see anything other than the hanging lights. There was no way that All for One at only five percent would get him up there either.
Kantoku rushed forward once more, biting and hacking away in an attempt to rip the boy to shreds. But Midoriya was able to play keepaway effectively by jumping from one place to another. He could cover large distances in a second with ease. Although, as impressive as that was, it wouldn't matter much if he couldn't hit—.
"Midoriya!"
"DEKU!"
The young hero came to a halt, immediately recognizing those voices. An idea instantly formulated in his head as he called out to his oncoming classmates. One sliding on a trail of ice and the other using explosions to propel himself through the air. "Todoroki, Kacchan, make a wide-range explosion with your Quirks!"
"Right!" Todoroki called in response, creating flames in his left hand.
"Don't tell me what to do!" Bakugou snapped, gripping his wrist and pointing his palm forward.
When their individual attacks connected, a destructive cloud of intense heat and ashy smoke erupted. Todoroki and Bakugou covered their faces to keep from inhaling the contaminated air but they saw Kantoku leaping sky high vertically. At the very last second, their target had dodged their attack. But simultaneously, Midoriya used the explosion to help boost his jump though it did burn him a little.
"The smoke obscures the cameras," Midoriya said to himself. "And at this height… there!"
The shine of a camera lens was pointed at the ground. Midoriya then continued on his trajectory until he slammed a punch into Kantoku's stomach, sending him off towards the machine. The collision broke the electronic and without visuals for the puppeteer, Kantoku dissolved into a golden mist, vanishing from sight.
"Damn it, Deku!" Bakugou shouted. "You used us!"
"At least he beat him," Todoroki sighed in relief.
Midoriya would've had a rough landing had Todoroki not created a crude slide of ice to slow the boy's descent. Once he was safely on the ground, they convened to discuss what had happened as they head for the control room. When Midoriya saw his friends up close, he saw their injuries and blood.
"Are you guys okay?" he gasped. "You're both hurt!"
"Tch, nothing I can't handle," Bakugou scoffed.
"The blood's fake," said Todoroki. "The rest of me is a little numb but okay."
Once the door came into view, they saw three figures blocking their way. As they got closer, their forms became increasingly familiar to them. But when they realized how they knew them, the shock made their bodies seize up.
"It can't be…," said Midoriya.
-X-
All Might cheered uproariously when the last of the battles came to an end. Eigaku slammed his hands down on the control panel and swore loudly at a screen that was replaced with the image of static. Aizawa could infer from these reactions that this meant all of the kids were safe and victorious in each of their battles. Now the all they needed was for someone to rescue them.
Eigaku stared down at first, hands in his hair and nails digging into his scalp. Dandruff fell from atop as he scratched, slowly snowing onto the counter until it was nearly completely covered. With a curt and aggravated sigh, they blew away, returning back to the glossy wood it was before as he looked up at the screens.
"You should use better shampoo," All Might commented before sniffing the air. "And bathe in general."
Eigaku burst into a fit of laughter. "Salt in the wounds is it? All my allies lost so now you're going to make fun of my hygiene!"
"That's not—look, I've just never been in a hostage situation where I'm the hostage," said All Might.
The expelled student started scratching at his arms which were all dry and flaky and turned red raw. Since a year ago, he had grown out his facial hair so that he looked more like a caveman than a bum. Like a living caricature of a man lost at sea, found months later. Like a homeless man living under a bridge without any razors.
"It's over for you, Eigaku," said Aizawa. "It's like I said, those kids are far stronger than your class."
The teenager laughed again, throwing his head back and stomping his feet. "Sensei, do you really think I would let this be the end of the line? I was the top of the class even if it was for only one day. As if I'd trust them over my own capabilities."
Aizawa frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"How many imagined beings can I create at once?" asked Eigaku.
"Your file… said two," Aizawa replied. "Don't tell me you've increased that number…"
"Of course I have!" Eigaku cackled. "My control over my Quirk has increased several times over since we last met, sensei!" He typed in a few commands and the screens all changes so that there was only one place the cameras were pointed at. "So long as I have visuals, I can control them all." Slowly, gold mist left his ears and traveled out from under the doorframe. On screen, new figures appeared.
All Might's eyes widened in horror. "It can't be!"
In the center was a muscular man with blond hair, standing with a broad smile, fists on his hips, and feet apart, the former number one hero, All Might. To the right was a hero of a similar body type but with flames bursting out from his face and boots, the current number one hero, Endeavor. And to the left was a hero dressed in denim from head to toe with swooping hair and an elegant aura, the number four hero, Best Jeanist.
These three were the top alumni of U.A.
"No matter how strong young Midoriya and the others are," All Might muttered, "they don't stand a chance against them."
Aizawa wasn't sure he could agree. "Those fakes aren't as strong as the real things. Besides… you should believe in your students more." He knew that the ones standing before the fakes were Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki, and Todoroki Shoto. "Especially those three. If anyone can win, it's them."
"Who would've thought that the pro hero Eraserhead could show this much faith!" Eigaku laughed. He didn't look away from the screens but he might as well have been staring the teacher directly in the face. "You didn't give a flying fuck about any of us! Do you know what we even went through after you expelled us?!"
Even though he had such a wide smile, tears were rolling down and sinking into his shaggy beard. What was the cause for such an expression?
-X-
Eigaku Geki and Kantoku Jou set up their cardboard castle in the backyard. They set up their video camera which they received for Christmas on a tripod and pressed film. Neither could act. At five years old, they could barely remember their lines and every time they performed, they would dissolved into laughter. Every now and then, Kantoku would tell a bad pun and they'd both throw their heads back in response.
At night, after shooting one of their movies, they would lie in the grass and stare up at the night sky. A tent would be right beside them, waiting for them to turn in for rest. They'd listen to the crickets and watch the stars, connecting the dots until they formed pretty pictures of constellations they didn't know the names of.
Nearby, Eigaku's father would set up a sheet to project the movie onto. Inside, his mother would be making snacks.
"This is the part where I beat up the bad guys!" said Kantoku.
"And this is the part where I rescue the princess!" added Eigaku.
Even though the films contained nonsensical scripts with terrible acting, his parents always gave them a standing ovation. Eigaku always smiled when they did.
His parents were also thrilled that the kids seemed to enjoy doing this all the time. They had been worried because Eigaku was told that he was Quirkless which resulted in bullying from his classmates and sometimes isolation. But then Kantoku appeared in his life and he was never alone again after that.
One day, they invited Kantoku to stay for dinner. But to their shock, when he tried to eat, the food got chewed up but couldn't be swallowed so they fell down onto the floor in a splattered mess. Eigaku didn't understand why it happened and due to his confusion, Kantoku went limp in the seat, like he just… died. In a way, he had.
"Interesting," the doctor had said. "It would appear that this… Kantoku, was an imaginary friend come to life."
"But how is that possible?"
"Perhaps… that is Geki-kun's Quirk."
On any other day at any other time before then, Eigaku would've been ecstatic to hear that he was just like everyone else in class. He would've been celebrating the fact that he had a Quirk. But why did it have to be at the cost of his best friend?
"Jou-chan is real though," Eigaku insisted, tears rolling down his cheeks. He tugged on the hems of his parents' shirts. "You saw him! Jou-chan's real!"
How were they supposed to respond? "Geki…"
For about a week, the teasing stopped at school. Everyone wanted to see this rare and powerful Quirk for themselves but he refused to show them anything. So then they started up by saying he was lying about it. But they stopped when strange things happened to them like metal tubs falling from above and hitting their heads. Of course, it was Eigaku who got punished for violent behavior.
At home, Eigaku almost never left his room. He just watched all the films he ever made in an infinite loop on the computer, trying to figure out just what about Kantoku was fake. The panda child always knew the right thing to say, always had a joke on hand, and he had showed up when Eigaku needed a friend the most. When he was lonely and crying and wanted to watch a movie together with someone other than his family.
"Jou-chan," the Eigaku on screen said, "we're going to be friends forever, right?"
Kantoku nodded. "Of course, Geki! Friends forever!"
They had promised one another, sealing it by hooking their pinkies together. The real Eigaku held up his hand, his little finger twitching, remembering that the fur on his best friend hadn't felt real. It never felt real. But it never really bothered him because he genuinely believe Kantoku was real. Now he understood the truth.
"You're a liar Jou-chan," Eigaku muttered.
Eventually, Eigaku grew older and left his imaginary friend in the past. Or at least, he finally figured he should try to live a normal life. It happened one day when their teacher asked the class what each of them wanted to be when they grew up. More than half the class shouted out one word, "Hero!"
When he believed he was Quirkless, Eigaku would've said, "I don't know."
The enthusiasm of his peers and the heroes he'd seen on screen had influenced him though. So he went home that day and started practicing using his Quirk. The surprised expressions on his parents' faces were branded into his memory when they saw All Might standing in their kitchen one day.
"I'm going to be like him," Eigaku had said pointing up at the smiling figure.
"You'll definitely be the number one hero with your Quirk!" his father laughed.
"We'll support you all the way, Geki," his mother smiled.
Eigaku packed his cameras, films, microphones, and tripod into cardboard boxes, hiding them away in a corner of the hallway closet. They soon became replaced with hero magazines and study material so that he could research as much as possible for his future. Most days, he was out training in the backyard, imagining various objects and making them more complex as time went on.
"Number one hero," Eigaku decided. "That is my goal."
For the following few years, things were going fine. Eigaku never quite forgot about his childhood best friend and the films they did. So every Friday night, he and his parents would go watch a movie together. One evening, as they were driving back home and talking about the adventure movie they watched, a man a few blocks away stumbled out of a bar and into his car.
The crash happened about ten minutes later.
The only reason Eigaku survived was because in a panic, he imagined an enveloping cushion for himself. It was like a mattress that closed around him, encasing him in a cylinder. It didn't feel as soft as it should be but he lived because of it.
"I'm sorry."
Those words played over and over again in Eigaku's ears. Each one was tinged with sadness, heavy words wrapped in a croaky whisper.
They put their hands on his shoulders, gave him squeezes like that could replace the embrace of a mother or father. They cried and sobbed like the couple meant more to them than their son. They gave speeches like it would make him feel better if he knew how important they were to others. It made his ribcage close around his heart and lungs, trying to cut off the life he hung onto by chance.
"I could've saved them," Eigaku whimpered. "I was supposed to become a hero."
He didn't want to move in with his aunt. He fled from the house and hid away at his previous home, the furniture covered in white sheets like the entire structure was now inhabited by ghosts. He tore the sheets off everything and sat on a dusty table, waiting for something to happen. For his parents to come through the door with big smiles and waiting arms and groceries for dinner that night.
"Geki-kun?" his aunt called from the entrance.
"In here," Eigaku replied.
Her footsteps got closer as she spoke. "I know this is a big change but you—." A blood-curdling scream cut her off, filling the empty space.
Standing in the kitchen, in front of the stove was the late Mrs. Eigaku trying to cook on a machine that no longer got gas. Sitting across the table from the child was the deceased Mr. Eigaku in a pristine suit and a newspaper and a cup of fake coffee. Their son had a big smile as he turned to his aunt, eyes red and puffy.
"See Auntie?" he said. "They came back from the movies."
Because Eigaku looked away from his imagined humans, they went limp like marionettes without their controllers. His aunt fell to her knees in abject horror at the sight of her sister and brother-in-law looking like corpses that stood on their own. She fled the scene without her nephew. She couldn't stay there for a second longer.
From that point on, Eigaku lived on his own. He found a spot under a bridge beside a river with another homeless man as his neighbor. It was also close to school, a laundromat, and a convenience store. All he had to do was keep a part-time job and sell off his prized possessions from the hallway closet to survive. His aunt also sent him money from time to time.
Once he got into U.A., his life would turn around, he was sure. If only that had been the case.
In order to cope with the expulsion, Eigaku did what he always did but more frequently. He talked to the faces of Kantoku and his parents in the river. He snuck into movie theaters instead of buying tickets, sometimes getting kicked out, sometimes able to watch the whole film. He stood outside shops selling television sets to watch the news.
All Might in Kamino.
How can a victory look so much like a loss?
All Might in Kamino. He looked like a shadow or hollow shell of his former self even as the people around him cheered.
The symbol of hope had been extinguished, deflated to the point where he was almost unrecognizable. It was then that Eigaku also lost the remainder of his hope. It was impossible for him to ever turn his life around. So why not take off running down the path he was already on? That path that had been paved by people like Stain and All for One.
In his mind, All Might was pointing to him. He was next.
