Ever since my announcement, my class began to treat me as an outsider. Though I hated being treated this way, I figured it was all for the best, and I wanted to clear up any issues right away.

Rumors spread around quickly. The next day, Eraser Head asked me to stay for a few extra minutes. "If there's anything that you need help with, let me know."

"It's Kurogiri." By then, I had enough time to search every island of Japan.

"He's not going to attack again, is he? I'm not sure if we're even ready for that." Eraser Head sighed.

"No. He's disappeared off the face of the earth. I've tried looking for him everywhere, and he's nowhere to be found. Using his portals, he can't possibly travel to any other country. His records don't show that he knows any particular exact location, and he probably doesn't want to either."

"God..." Eraser Head closed his dry eyes. "What were your classmates saying about you going home?"

"TL;DR, If I can use Kurogiri's particle accelerator to get me back home, I won't be staying in this world for long." I explained the situation to him, except reversing the order of events so it would be easier for him to understand.

"Really?" His normally tired face started to show emotion. "I'm sorry to hear that. You're a good student, you know."

"Half of that's only because I have no choice but to cheat on every test I take."

Eraser Head smiled. "I forgot about that. Have a good day."

For the rest of the day, I reread Kurogiri's notes over and over again. Now, I just had to hear what others had to say about internship.


Midoriya watched as the others slowly filed out of the classroom. When he was about to leave himself, All Might suddenly appeared out of thin air. "Young Midoriya, come with me."

What's this about? They stopped at a narrow hallway.

"You have an offer." All Might held up the papers. "It's from Gran Torino. He only taught at UA for one year, but he was actually my homeroom teacher."

"Why can't I train under you instead?"

"Ugh..." All Might's smile seemed to drop for a second. "You've already trained well under me, Midoriya. This internship will give you an opportunity to see your Quirk in a different perspective." His hand shook convulsively before giving Midoriya the form.

"Okay, thanks." He looked at it briefly before bidding All Might goodbye.

The next day, he started his first day as an intern by following the address on the card All Might gave him. He stopped at a tall set of front doors. Tentatively, he pushed it open to find total darkness. "Hello? I'm Izuku Midoriya, your new intern." He looked down to see an old, frail man with his head covered in something that appeared to be blood. Midoriya screamed and shut the door.

"I'm alive, don't worry!" Torino brushed off the things on the floor, grabbed his cane, and stood up to his full height of 120 centimeters. Midoriya noticed that even with the support of his cane, he was still shaking slightly.

He's All Might's teacher, so he has to be pretty old. I didn't know that he would be that absent-minded... Torino started shuffling through the items that Midoriya brought in his suitcase. "Hey, that's my stuff!"

"Why don't you, uh, throw me a One for All smash so I can see how strong you are?" Torino didn't bother to look up. Huh? Without another word, Torino jumped in the air at a terrifying speed. Midoriya's eyes tried to focus on him, but he was too fast to follow.

"Now show me what you've got, newbie!" Torino latched himself to the ceiling. "I watched the UA sports festival on TV. From what I could see of it, you're not using your power as it's intended. I'm surprised that you didn't get yourself killed."

Izuku clenched his fist. He's right, you know. He took out the costume parts from the suitcase and put them on, taking a quick glance at the user manual.

"Well?" Torino anticipated Midoriya's next attack. When he saw that it wouldn't come, he jumped in the air, using the wall to maneuver himself and deliver a kick to Midoriya's back.

"All Might may be the Symbol of Peace, but he's not a very good mentor!" Torino stopped before starting his next attack. He grabbed Midoriya from behind and threw him to the floor. I need to think. He's gone behind my back twice... Feeling the power flow through his arm, Midoriya turned around and saw Torino flying at him. He winced, expecting the punch to connect.

Torino dodged at the last second. "You're still a bit stiff, aren't you?" He grabbed Midoriya's face and finally stopped his dizzying attack.

"I thought that was going to do it for sure..." Midoriya lay on the floor feeling disappointed.

"I know you're loyal to All Might, but that's holding you back. Don't let that shackle you."

"What should I do about it?"

"Think about it yourself. I'm getting lunch."

Midoriya recalled the fragments of his memories. He called me stiff... what makes a move flexible? I've seen All Might's big punches. They're like special moves. He whipped out his notebook and started to write. "I just need to think about One for All as being a part of me. That's definitely going to make things easier."

Over the next few days, he tried to put this knowledge into practice. "In theory, I should be able to wall-jump. I just need to alternate between applying my Quirk to my hands and feet." It was easy on paper, though he bruised himself trying to wall-jump for three hours straight during the night.

"Sir, I tried using the techniques you said, but it didn't work. I still have a lot of work to put in." He massaged his arms.

Torino shrugged. "It's your first time. Don't beat yourself up over it." He took the fried pastry out of the microwave and handed a plate to Midoriya.

"We don't have much time here. What should I focus on?"

"For one thing, how about eating first? I'll show you some more tips after." Torino cheerfully bit into the bread before wincing. "You idiot, it's still frozen! Look, with a big plate like that, there's no room for it to turn, and only one part of the food gets heated!"

"Sorry, we don't have a microwave like that." Midoriya looked at his own pastry before he had an idea. "Hang on... this pastry is me!"

"No, it's not."

"That's not what I meant." Midoriya crouched. "I've only been using One for All where I needed it and when I needed it, like flipping on some switch. Doing that slows down my reaction time and doesn't let me build up enough power."

Gran Torino's eyes widened; he didn't have to teach that part to him.

"I shouldn't be switching the power off!" Reddish veins began to appear on Midoriya's skin, giving him an unearthly glow. "I just need to use the 5% that I can and spread it through my entire body."

"Nice job, kid. That pastry analogy is kind of boring, though."

"All Might said the same and that's still fine with me." Speaking seemed to come at a greater energy cost than before.

"Good. Let's get started."


Azumi looked at the time: 8:30. Unconsciously, she had already packed her bags and walked out the door. In her head, she was still counting the days since her son had disappeared.

She worked at a normal office job, and she was perfectly fine with it. As long as all of her work was finished, she was allowed to pack up and leave early. Today, she started to do the same thing. After going past the nearly identical cubicles, she found her own and sat down.

While pouring herself a cup of coffee, she looked at the news. Looking to see that no one would bother her, she turned up the volume and listened. "We're bringing you current updates on the anomaly that is sweeping the US."

The news reporter was standing next to a map of the United States. Certain cities were being displayed with purple dots. "These purple dots are areas that have been devastated by attacks from a mysterious fog." The screen cut to a scene in Portland, Oregon.

It was supposed to be a normal day, and people were going about their business as usual. Suddenly, it began. The clouds surrounding the sun were suddenly tinged a shade of dark purple. Pedestrians stopped walking to see what was going on, and one driver, who was busy looking up, crashed into another car. Just as soon as it appeared, the clouds began to snake their way to ground level. One tendril clipped through the side of a department store, and pieces of concrete and dried paint fell to the ground.

Only one person had to run and start screaming before creating a ripple effect. Mass hysteria took control of the crowd, and Kurogiri, in their confusion, launched his next attack. The fog started to lower itself on the city, and the tops of the highest buildings started to crumble. Nothing could get in the fog's way, and the people were standing there helplessly, left to the mercy of flying debris.

She turned off her computer and went to get a drink. Something felt off, so she did a double take and took her stuff with her.

"How's your day?" The low-level coworker gave her a cup of coffee.

"Could be better." Azumi tried to keep her voice as light-hearted as possible.

After taking a sip, the entire building lurched violently. Some of the coffee spilled on the floor, leaving a sizable stain. Heads were suddenly visible from the tops of the cubicles.

"What was that?"

Azumi looked outside and saw a dark purple cloud lowering itself onto the buildings below, just like the news. "I have to go." She ran outside and got in her car before driving away as fast as she could. Looking in her rear-view mirror, she saw that she was part of the lucky ones. A purple hand extended itself from the mass and crushed the office, splitting her cubicle in half.

Other coworkers took this as a signal to move. Soon, the streets were nearly impossible to navigate. More than several accidents had already happened, and the police were doing their best redirecting people around them. Azumi had to stomp on the brakes to avoid hitting a cyclist.

"I swear, if these people don't move-"

An updraft of wind slowly gathered enough purple material to create a small tornado in the middle of the intersection. One unlucky car was at the center of it all, and the metal was torn apart like it was nothing. Some of the pieces flew outwards, embedding themselves in the walls and bouncing off of the ground. Of course, this caused even more crashes, and traffic ground to a halt.

Azumi got out of the car and noticed a bicycle leaning against a lamppost. Figuring that this was better than nothing, she pedaled her way home. There was no limit to the fog; it seemed to be another part of the horizon. Around her, chaos erupted. The air became thick with dust, and she resisted the urge to cough. Buildings were now dominoes, ready to be knocked over in an instant.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally ran to her front door and dropped all of her books once inside. She was saved again by her house's location. Most of the damage occurred downtown, where her workplace was. Places on the outskirts of the city weren't affected as much.

It took some time before her heart stopped beating so quickly. She turned on her computer and checked the news. All of the headlines said the same thing; this was the worst attack so far.

"Bunseki, I don't know if you're out there, but I really need you back."