A/N: I'm grateful to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. Apologies for being late; life just happened and I'm not going to sit here and make excuses for it. Please enjoy the long chapter.
Special thanks to my Beta Readers, TeaPlease1717 & Kamil the Awesome.
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia.
Rated "M" for Mayhem
Chapter 2: Outlier
Minutes before the fire…
Todoroki felt stupid, standing in front of Yaoyorozu's room. It had already been ten minutes since he arrived. He raised a fist to knock on the door, but stopped midway, unsure if he should proceed. Maybe it was best to wait until morning. Yet his mind wouldn't stop itself from thinking. What if she needed him for something and he ignored her? He knew he would regret it. It's why he was there in the first place.
Back in his room, Shouto woke up to a series of text messages. He wasn't fond of group texting, especially ones so late in the morning, so he decided to ignore them. But something peculiar caught his attention. There was a separate message from Yaoyorozu, one that wasn't in the group chat. Curious, the fire and ice user looked at his phone. I think I may need your help, it read. The text was too vague for Shouto to understand and it worried him. Yaoyorozu wasn't the type of girl to message him so late (early?) without a valid reason. Knowing he wasn't going to get an answer by being in bed, Shouto got up and headed over to the girl's wing with nothing but basketball shorts and socks on.
"Todoroki-kun?" Yaoyorozu asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. Momo was surprised to find him standing in front of her door with only his bottom half covered in clothing. She was sure the most handsome boy in her class didn't come all this to show off his mighty fine body.
"I was looking for you," the half-cold half-hot user said nonchalantly, trying to ignore how Yaoyorozu looked at him. The fact he forgot to put on a shirt was a poor mistake on his part, but her lingering stare made him feel…self-conscious? He wasn't sure if that was the right word, but he knew he felt different being around the raven-haired beauty. Normally, Shouto didn't care what others thought of him, but that was the total opposite with her.
"I got your text," he added. Whatever he was thinking or feeling, he needed to hide it.
"O-oh right!" Yaoyorozu blinked a few times, attempting to find the right words to explain the situation. 'Stop it! Stop checking him out. Now is not the time to be admiring Todoroki. You texted him for a reason. You don't want to have him think you're the type of girl to message boys at this hour; it's unclassy.'
"Are you ok?" Todoroki asked when nothing else followed her short response. 'I can't believe I forgot to wear a shirt. I'm an idiot.'
"Todoroki-kun."
"Yaoyorozu."
They spoke the other's name to break the sweltering awkwardness growing between them when a blinding light pierced the floor and split it open.
Todoroki and Yaoyorozu jumped back instinctively, nearly a loss for words when Bakugo sprouted from below where the light had come from.
The flame burned with colors he never thought it would. Aoyama watched with terrified eyes as his hand formed bright orange-yellow flames that launched directly towards Bakugo. The swirling inferno burned hot, but Aoyama remained unharmed by the scorching heat. It would've been a beautiful sight were the flames not so violent and uncontrollable. Aoyama sobbed, tears forming at the corner of his eyes. This wasn't his fault.
The painted walls quickly became ash and the vinyl siding melted like chocolate in the summer heat. The acridness of the fumes stung Bakugo's eyes, making him cough. He evaded a direct hit from Aoyama by breaking into the next room over. All the action figures and posters of All Might made it evident whose room it belonged to.
"Figures," Bakugo coughed again as he got on one knee. He attempted to stand, but his balance was off. He was lightheaded; if he stayed any longer there was a high chance he would pass out. Bakugo grit his teeth at the thought of losing consciousness because some extra used his own quirk against him.
'Fuck that.'
Bakugo forced himself on his feet. He was going to make sure Sparkles lived long enough to answer all his questions.
"Now how the hell did he make this thing work again?" The blonde racked his brain for what he could remember about Aoyama's peculiar quirk.
"Did the light come from his stomach—wait, how did he even get it out?" Bakugo thrusted his pelvic area, grunting as he did so, but nothing happened.
He repeated the motion. This time he thrusted his hip and pelvis together with more force like he was ramming his lower body into a wall, and again, nothing happened.
Bakugo cursed obscenities at the burning space around him. He was going to be cooked alive if he didn't figure out how to activate the light or whatever it was that came out of Sparkles' lower half.
Out of more anger, Bakugo screamed from his core where he suddenly felt a tingling sensation at his pelvic area. He yelled louder and the feeling grew more and more until finally a light so bright emitted from him.
He felt floaty, almost like he was in the air. When his eyes reopened, Bakugo was greeted by Todoroki and Yaoyorozu's alarmed looks. The tingling sensation rose from his lower half once again and Bakugo knew there was no controlling it. Before he could warn the two, something hard and cold caught him. A foot had moved slightly, a trail of ice crawling away from him and into place under Bakugo, binding his legs and torso in place.
Bakugo was ready to curse Todoroki until the blonde saw the half and half's shocked expression. If Icyhot created the wall of ice, there would be evidence of it. Bakugo's attention veered over to the raven-haired girl.
A plume of white steam emerged from Yaoyorozu's lips as she exhaled. Her right arm was missing beneath the ice, encased as if she wore pale shimmering armor. Trickles of it reached up over her collarbone and across her cheek. She glanced at the ice, then at Todoroki.
"I—" she began, but was swiftly cut off as smoke and blaze leapt up to join them. The ice expanding from her continued to form around Bakugo, though it slowed, changing directions. A moment passed as Todoroki reached out for her, uncertain, and then the ice emerging from her flung itself into the hungry, greedy flames seeking to ensnare the entire building around them.
Burnt wood and smoke confirmed the worst of Kirishima and Kaminari's assumption. Before Iida could warn any of his classmates, they were already evacuating. They were all quick to react, except for him, it seemed. It was what they were trained for as heroes, after all.
Iida ran forward to avoid chunks of the collapsing ceiling, his movement slowed by debris. It felt like he was in running underwater. Iida cursed his lack of speed, knowing it would only be a matter of minutes before the burning, crumbling building around them blocked off the exit. Without his quirk, his only choice was to run as if he was normal. He had to hurry before the entire second floor collapsed upon him.
The President felt something thick wrap around his waist. His eyes darted to Sero, who used his quirk to rope Iida out of the living area. Iida grunted as he was hauled away by tape.
"Glad I got to you in time," Sero smiled in relief. Iida aimed to express his thanks to Sero, but found the words caught in his throat when he saw Midoriya run past them, headed in the opposite direction.
Deku activated Full Cowl, channeling One For All throughout his entire body. Streaks of green energy crackled around his form, emitting sparks of electricity. He jumped and scaled one of the erect walls near the crumbling staircase to propel him forward, landing firmly on his feet.
Most of the second floor had already collapsed, leaving gaps between the hallway's entry point and the rooms. Deku quickly covered his nose with his shirt to avoid inhaling the smoke. He glanced above him to find the fire sprinklers completely scorched by the fire, which explained why they didn't turn on. There were supposed to be pull stations on each floor. One of his classmates must've seen one downstairs.
'Unless something is preventing them from accessing it. Hopefully someone has already called the police. If not, the fire is sure to get the attention of the staff on site. Help is on the way, I'm sure of it,' Deku thought.
He was caught off guard when a sudden beam of light pierced through what was left of (his room) and the molten wall of Aoyama's room. Deku cautiously tapped the floor with his foot to determine if it was sturdy before proceeding forward. Slowly, he crept through the decrepit hallway like a ninja and made it far enough to where he heard voices.
The volley of curse words made it clear who it was. To Deku's surprise, it was not Bakugo but rather Aoyama he found. The latter had his knees curled up to his chest, crying.
"Aoyama-kun!" Deku's outstretched hand appeared before the scared blonde. The flooring of Aoyama's room and the area where Deku stood was gone. If the two made any sudden moves, they would fall right through.
Aoyama released an unearthly cry at Midoriya's unexpected arrival. Deku cringed.
"It's not my fault! I didn't mean to do this. I don't even know how this happened! Suddenly I woke up and…and I-I can make things explode. Now there's a fire and everything…everything is burning. I don't know what's wrong with me!" Aoyama blurted frantically. He was paralyzed with fear, wondering how someone could control such a wild and dangerous quirk.
The fear in Aoyama's eyes incited a familiar feeling in Deku. He knew exactly how intimidating it was to wield something so powerful and the pressure it can have on a person. He reached a hand out to Aoyama once again.
"No one is blaming you, Aoyama-kun."
"B-b-b-but Bakugo! He was so angry! He kept asking me about his quirk a-a-and I didn't know what he was talking about. I-I-I panicked...and now look at what I've done!"
Midoriya remained calm as he listened to Aoyama. "Kacchan is always like that. Don't let him get to you. Besides, several of our classmates are dealing with the same problem. You are not alone."
Aoyama's eyes widened in disbelief before he asked, "Whose quirk do you have?"
Deku blushed. "I got lucky—I still have mine."
"How?" Aoyama frowned, though there wasn't any sense of disbelief from his expression.
"I…I don't know," Deku replied. He hoped Aoyama didn't notice his momentary grimace. He had a suspicion as to why he wasn't affected—One for All couldn't be stolen. If he had been born with a quirk of his own, then perhaps he would have someone else's. However, he didn't and that fortunately meant he still had access to his own power.
Behind them, Ochaco frowned. She had quickly determined her quirk had been exchanged for Hagakure's, since Deku hadn't noticed her when she tried to step before him and ask about what was going on. She had heard their entire conversation, and while she agreed with Deku that what was happening wasn't Aoyama's fault, she didn't believe for a moment that Deku didn't know why his quirk hadn't been affected. He was too smart, too knowledgeable about quirks to not have at least seven theories.
Before she could step forward and announce herself, the ceiling about cracked. White powder fell through, dust and something else—something chilly. There was a long, straining groan and then the ceiling broke apart as wood and stone and ice fell down upon them.
"There he goes," Sero stated as if it was the most normal thing in the world when Midoriya left his field of vision. He turned to Iida and Mineta. "We should get moving as well."
"My room…all my stuff is up there…and now it's on fire," Mineta mumbled besides Iida. The short male was also wrapped around in Sero's tape and like Iida, was being carried to safety.
Iida frowned, but refused to get discouraged. "We've been through worse. We'll find a way, we always do."
Mineta's lips trembled. This was all happening because of him.
Iida looked around for the others, pupils zooming in-and-out of different parts of the first floor. "I may not be able to run fast right now, but at least my vision is useful."
"Can you see anything, class rep?" Sero spoke in-between breaths while running. "Does anyone else need help?"
Up ahead, Iida saw Jiro and Kaminari running together. She had her tongue cradled in her arms like a mother holding an infant, unable to retract it back inside her mouth. Ashido and Kirishima were directly behind the two as Ashido was struggling to run without her tail getting in the way. Kirishima acted fast and lifted Ashido off her feet to carry her instead. Luckily, they weren't too far from the dorm entrance.
Iida smiled briefly. "It looks like the group in front of us is—"
Iida, Sero, and Mineta had the wind knocked right out of their lungs when two bodies plowed through the adjacent wall and collided with them.
A loud monstrous roar emanated from Hagakure as a large shadowy creature emerged from her body, materializing in a form that was almost identical to the Dark Shadow she'd seen come from Tokoyami many times. Its outstretched wing, its blade softer than normal, charged straight for those within proximity.
With no time to react, Sato and Shinji flew fast like bullets, bodies driving through the wall as if it was made of paper. They were immediately rendered unconscious from the attack. Koda immediately rushed to their aid.
"No…this is bad…" Tokoyami stepped back, terrified for Asui and Ojiro as they were left to deal with his own quirk. Most of the lights in the first floor had blown out causing Dark Shadow to run rampant. Tokoyami had to warn them.
Acting fast, Tokoyami pulled on Ojiro's shirt to draw him away from Dark Shadow's piercing claws. Asui jumped back, avoiding the attack.
"Stay back! She's dangerous like this!" Tokoyami shouted at Ojiro. The martial artist was rattled, unable to believe the bubbly cheerful girl in front of him had transformed into a beast.
"H-how do we stop it, kero?!"
"We need to go somewhere with a lot of light," answered Tokoyami.
Kaminari, Jiro, Kirishima, and Ashido immediately stopped in their tracks.
"We need to help!" Ashido pounded against Kirishima's chest so he could put her down.
"Wait!" Kaminari glanced at his female classmates with an idea. "You two go and tell the teachers what's going on. Kaminari and I will check on Iida, Sero, and Mineta."
Jiro and Ashido didn't spare a second thought and ran to the entrance to find help.
Kaminari and Kirishima raced to their friends shortly after. When they arrived, they found Koda checking on an unconscious Sato and Shinji sprawled atop their three other classmates.
"What the hell happened?" was the question of the night as Kaminari dropped to his knees.
A loud roar from the adjacent room seemed to answer the blonde's question as he stumbled backwards, afraid.
Kirishima couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Is that Dark Shadow? But wait, I see Tokoyami over there," he pointed, confused. "…what the hell is going on!"
"There's no time to explain," Koda yellowed. "Can you get all of them out of here? The fire is spreading."
Kaminari and Kirishima gaped at Koda as said male ran back into the room to help Asui, Tokoyami, and Ojiro.
Asui flashed Tokoyami a concerned look. Where could they find enough light to stop female Dark Shadow? Half of the building was on fire. 'Fire…that's it!' Asui's eyes lit with hope. She turned to her feathered friend. However, Tokoyami's sights remained on Hagakure as she prepared for another strike. Ojiro, Asui, and Tokoyami braced themselves for a hit.
Koda ran forward in attempt to aide his classmates but was a second too slow. In a panic, Asui unwittingly discharged electricity from her body, shocking not only female Dark Shadow, but Ojiro and Tokoyami as well, rendering them immobile.
Koda instinctively raised his arms in defense, expecting to be electrocuted. To his surprise, his entire body hardened like armor that protected him from Asui's electrification.
The attack reverted female Dark Shadow back to her human form revealing an unconscious Hagakure. Koda exhaled deeply before collapsing on his knees from exhaustion. The fire was still an issue and he needed to get his classmates to safety. He wasn't sure if he could carry everyone with the strength he had left. Just when Koda was about to get up, Ectoplasm's clone appeared before them.
'Oh good, the teachers are here,' a small smile briefly appeared on Koda's face. His last thoughts were on his other classmates before blacking out.
To Be Continued