The girl—no, the animal threw herself right at the boss and took him down, her jaw snapping shut over his shoulder. He let out a cry of pain and she literally threw him aside, his blood splattering on the floor as he crashed a few meters away.

"No- Nomu, protect me…!"

Just as it had been about to crush their teacher, the creature's head snapped upward and, next thing everyone knew, it had rammed right into the wolf's body. Albeit huge, the wolf didn't stand much of a chance against its strength-enhancing Quirk. She crashed onto the ground, the impact leaving cracks in the concrete, but she instantly jumped back to her feet and rushed to stand protectively over Aizawa, who was lying half-conscious on the floor, his broken and battered body unable to move on its own.

"Is- is that Rukia?" gasped Uraraka, only now reopening her eyes.

"I thought she was unable to make a full transformation," remarked Asui, surprised.

"A sudden evolution sparked by intense emotional distress," simply replied Shinso, breathing a little more easily. "It won't last long, though."

"Then- then what do we do?" asked worriedly Uraraka. "We can't- we can't just leave her and Aizawa-sensei! We need to do something!"

"Do what?" snapped Shinso, trying to think. "These guys aren't like the other thugs we just took care of. If we attack openly, we'll just get killed. We—"

"Wait, look!" Asui subtly pointed ahead. "That's the Villain who scattered us earlier, isn't it?"

Time seemed to stop as the shadowy Villain suddenly warped into existence next to the apparent boss. They were too far for the three students to understand what they were saying, but it didn't take long for the man covered in hands to grow agitated. He started scratching his neck more harshly, ripping away layers of skin without even noticing—then stopped, as suddenly as he started.

And then, he was looking directly at them.

"Shit!" cursed Shinso. "Fall back—"

The boss moved fast—too fast. In the blink of an eye, he was standing before them, killing intent radiating off of him as he reached out to grab Asui's face.

He was going to kill her.

He's going to kill Asui.

And neither Shinso nor Uraraka would be able to save her.

Damn it damn it damn it DAMN IT—

The Villain grabbed Asui's face… and nothing happened. There was a moment of absolute tension and silence as the three students could only gape at him in horror and confusion, but he simply cursed under his breath and tilted his head to look behind him.

"Damn. You really are cool… Eraser Head…"

Intense relief washed over Shinso when he realized that their teacher had erased the Villain's Quirk just in time. He was gravely injured and couldn't even move on his own, but he had somehow managed to raise his head and was now glaring at the boss, unblinking so his own Quirk wouldn't stop working.

We need to save Asui-san now!

"Oi! What do you guys want!?" snapped Shinso, his voice trembling slightly.

"Aah?" The boss turned back to look at him. "What are you—"

Gotcha!

Shinso's Quirk activated, and the man instantly relaxed, a somewhat glazed look entering his only visible eye. The boy paused for a moment, worried he might be immune like that Villain who had broken into U.A. before, but he was truly brainwashed.

"Release the girl," he ordered, doing his best to keep his voice steady.

A pause.

A heartbeat.

The boss slowly retracted his hand.

"Shigaraki Tomura!" snapped the warping henchman.

"Uraraka-san!" exclaimed hurriedly Shinso.

"Right!"

She touched Shinso's back and Asui's shoulder, and the frog girl wrapped her tongue around Shinso while she held Uraraka's waist, and the three of them pounced. Thanks to Uraraka's anti-gravity abilities and Asui's enhanced leg-strength, they managed to jump high enough to avoid the following attack of that monstrous creature, and a cloud of dust rose beneath their feet. They somehow managed to escape safely, though, and they landed barely a few meters away from a barely conscious Aizawa-sensei, and the still-growling wolf-girl standing protectively over him. Panting a little because of the sudden surge of adrenaline, Uraraka was the first back on her feet.

"Ru- Rukia-chan!" she exclaimed, moving toward the wolf. "We need to—"

"Grrrr!"

The three students stiffened when they realized that the white wolf was now growling at them, baring her teeth threateningly, as if she didn't recognize them at all.

Which was probably the case, now that Shinso thought about it.

"Rukia-chan, it's us!" protested Uraraka, worried.

"She's an animal, Uraraka-san," warned quietly Shinso. "She transformed with the full intent to save Aizawa-sensei, so I doubt she's able to think about anything else right now."

"Do you think she might hurt us?" whispered worriedly the girl.

"We shouldn't take any chances," simply replied Asui. "We should—"

"Man, kids these days sure are something, uh?" They tensed up as the boss stood up, now back to his senses. There was a fair distance between him and them, but they knew he was fast, and his monster was even faster. "I completely forgot about that Quirk… You know, it's the kind of power that's more suited for a Villain, uh?" He was scratching his neck again, staring intently at Shinso. "You sure you don't wanna switch camps, boy?"

Shinso gritted his teeth. "Pretty sure."

"A shame. Then, you'll die with all of your friends. Nomu—"

Just as he was apparently about to sick his monster pet on the students, an explosion echoed at the top of the stairs leading to the entrance of USJ. Then, through the smoke stepped out none other than All Might, and a single thought ran through the students' head.

We're saved!

"All Might… I've been waiting, Hero," stated plainly the boss, who had been identified earlier as Shigaraki Tomura. "You trash of society…"

All Might stood atop the staircase, practically glaring at the Villains below… and disappeared. In a matter of seconds, all of the second-hand thugs whom Aizawa-sensei hadn't managed to beat because of the higher up's interference were taken down, and—

"W- wait! All Might, that's Rukia-chan! Don't hurt her!" exclaimed suddenly Uraraka.

Her warning reached him in the nick of time, and he stopped just short of punching the gigantic white wolf that had been standing atop Aizawa-sensei. He paused, genuinely taken aback, his fist barely centimeters away from the growling animal's head. Slowly, he backed down, and knelt before the wolf.

"Take him to safety, young Aizawa," he demanded, lightly patting her head. Her growls receded slightly at that, and he nodded. "I'm counting on you."

After a few seconds, a seemingly human-like glint entered the wolf's eyes, and she slowly backed away from Aizawa-sensei. Nodding again, All Might carefully picked up the now unconscious man and placed him onto the wolf's back. Once certain he wouldn't fall off, the wolf spared one last glance for the Symbol of Peace and her fellow classmates… before taking off into the trees, quickly disappearing from view.

"You three, you should also head for the entrance," ordered All Might, rising back to his feet. He was talking to the students, but his eyes never left the Villains. "Make sure to help the other students on the way, and be careful! I'll take care of things here!"

"Y- yes!" gasped Uraraka.

"Let's go, Shinso-kun," urged Asui, lightly pulling on his sleeve.

The boy resisted for a moment—there must be something I can do, something, ANYTHING—but the girl's insistence snapped him back to reality: they didn't stand a chance against Villains like that, not as they were now. They needed to leave everything to All Might and regroup. Gritting his teeth, Shinso finally followed after the others and ran to take cover.

As soon as the students managed to safely get away, All Might cracked his knuckles.

"Alright, Villains. Let's finish this!"

"Yosh! Take that!"

"A- amazing…"

"Those guys are underestimating All Might too much!" grinned Sato, pumping his fist.

"They don't stand a chance!" added cheerfully Sero.

"They're—holy crap!"

At Mina's sudden exclamation, the other boys finally managed to tear their eyes away from the ongoing fight, just in time to see a large, white wolf land barely a few meters away from them. At first scared out of their minds, they then noticed the beast was carrying an unconscious and very-much injured teacher.

"Aizawa-sensei!" gasped Mina.

"Wait!" gasped Sero, gawking at the wolf. "Then that means that this wolf is—"

"Rukia-san," recognized Shoji, as cool as always.

There was something wrong, though, they could tell. She was tensed, and there was a somewhat animalistic aura emanating from her—as if she didn't fully recognize them.

"Is- is she okay…?" asked worriedly Sato.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is her first full transformation," replied Shoji, tensing up a bit. "Meaning that, right now, she has probably given in to her animal instincts. The chances that she recognizes us in that state are slim, if not nonexistent."

"Wait, are you saying she'll attack us too!?" protested Mina. "She'd never do that! Airu-chan is—!"

"Asleep. Or at least, that's the way my cousin described it to me. When someone with an animal-affiliated Quirk performs a full transformation—normally under duress or because of intense emotional distress—they lose control and their human side goes to sleep, leaving the animal in them take control," explained the octopus-like boy.

That made Sero gulp. "So- so right now, enemies and friends are- are the same for her?"

"Probably. I'm guessing Aizawa-sensei is an exception, considering the special bond they seem to share."

There was a moment of tense silence. After a few seconds, though, noticing none of them was making a move, Rukia—no, the wolf—relaxed slightly, and looked at Mina. She stiffened under the intense gaze but, after a moment of hesitation, she slowly reached out her hand. The other boys watched while holding their breath, fearing the worst, and the wolf sniffed her hand… before moving past it and licking the girl's face up and down.

"Eeeeew! Airu-chan!"

She had apparently been recognized as a friend, though, for the wolf was no longer growling threateningly. Instead, she approached the girl, whose face was now smeared with saliva, and lightly nudged her side, before throwing her head back, as if gesturing to Aizawa-sensei. Understanding what she was trying to say, Ashido got over her disgust and jumped back to her feet to pull the teacher down. When Sato made a move to come and help her, though, the wolf snapped her jaw and bared her teeth, making him freeze.

"We should let Ashido-san handle this," simply stated Shoji, taking a careful step back.

A little hesitant, Sato and Sero however did the same, and the wolf relaxed once more. Thankfully enough, Ashido had scored fairly well in the strength test on the first day of school, so she didn't have much trouble lifting Aizawa-sensei and putting him down as gently as possible. As soon as he was laid down on the ground, the wolf's ears flattened and she started nudging him with her snout, whimpering pitifully.

"Don't worry, Airu-chan," murmured Ashido offering her a tentative smile. "Aizawa-sensei's strong, right? He'll be fine—he and Thirteen-sensei, too."

Because, unfortunately, the Space Hero hadn't been spared, and practically half of their body was now missing, the warping Villain having dealt quite a fair bit of damage to their suit. But then, another explosion echoed downstairs, and the boys instantly returned to watching the ongoing fight.

"Holy—that's Bakugo!" exclaimed Sero.

"He didn't waste any time," drawled Shoji.

"And he took down that shadowy bastard, too!" cheered Sato. "And look, Todoroki's there too! He completely froze that other Villain!"

"And now All Might's free. And isn't that Kirishima, too?" Sero's expression was a mix of excitement, horror, and worry. "They're crazy!"

"What? Thanks to them, All Might can fight again—"

"But they've put themselves in a very precarious position," cut off Shoji, carefully examining the new battlefield. "There are three top-tiers Villains, but All Might has his hands full with the muscular-type one. The warp guy is currently incapacitated by Bakugo, but that also means that Bakugo cannot move, which leaves him in a very vulnerable position. And the last one, the leader, is obviously very unpredictable."

"Even- even if it's two against one, we're still just students," gulped Ashido watching from further away. She preferred to stay by the injured teachers, in case something happened. "At this rate, Bakugo-kun, Todoroki-kun, and Kirishima-kun might really get killed!"

Something in the air shifted. Ashido stiffened, her eyes instinctively snapping to the wolf still beside her, and their eyes met—hers and Rukia's eyes. For one reason or the other, the wolf was no longer in control, or at least, only partly.

Ashido also knew what she was about to do.

"Airu-chan, don't—!"

But she didn't even get a chance to finish her sentence. With a loud howl, the wolf sprung past the three boys and started running down the stairs. In barely a few leaps, she made it down the staircase, and started making a beeline for the main battlefield.

"Whoa, what's gotten into her!?"

"She woke up! Just now, she definitely woke up!" assured Ashido trembling a bit. "I- I think she went to help them!"

Shoji's frown only deepened at that. "A reckless decision, albeit surely influenced by her current state, which is controlled more by instincts than reasoning."

"Do you think she'll be okay?" asked worriedly Sato, clenching his fists. "Should we—"

"D- don't…" All eyes instantly snapped to Thirteen, who was somehow still conscious. "Leave… Leave it to… All Might…"

It was a direct order from their teacher, meaning they couldn't rush to the help of their fellow classmates, no matter how much they might want to. However, as Shoji gazed upon everyone now gathered in the center of USJ, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of genuine worry for the wolf-girl who had just run off. If he was right, if thistruly was her first full transformation, then it was currently putting an incredible strain on her body. Of course, it was an unconscious effort because of the animal instincts that had taken over but, if their pink classmate was right, then Rukia had woken up—meaning she was now in control of this strained body.

In other words, the longer she kept up this form while conscious, the harder it would be on both her body and her brain.

Here's hoping there won't be any lasting damage…

Admittedly, Bakugo, Kirishima, and Todoroki hadn't really thought things through, or at least nothing beyond the "help All Might, take down the warp guy" plan. Now that they found themselves facing the Villains head-on, though, a single thought ran through their heads: "now what?" All Might was freed, albeit injured, Bakugo was keeping the warp guy in check, Todoroki had managed to freeze the muscular monster, which had just regenerated itself, and the enemy boss didn't seem all that bothered by the sudden development.

"First… we need to get our gate back."

All three boys instantly stiffened, understanding he was about to aim for Bakugo and the warp guy. What they hadn't expected, however, was the sheer speed of the one they called "Nomu". In barely two seconds, he managed to bypass All Might and brought down his fist upon Bakugo, who didn't even have the time to react. But then, a flash of white caught everyone's eye and, just as Nomu was about to hit his target, the boy was violently knocked out of the way by a heavy weight, which promptly fell atop of him.

"Bakugo!"

"Young Bakugo!"

"Wait, is that… Rukia!?"

Bakugo's eyes widened slightly when he realized that whatever had knocked him out of the way was actually a big wolf with familiar white fur, and even more familiar yellow eyes. They appeared almost human, though, as they gazed down on him. Then, the wolf removed itself and helped him get back on his feet.

"… it's really you, then," he stated flatly, unsure whether to be impressed or annoyed.

She simply nodded, apparently understanding what he was saying. Kirishima quickly joined them, awe clearly written over his face.

"Rukia, that's awesome! I didn't know you could do full transformations!"

She simply shook her head this time around, as if saying "Me neither". Unfortunately, they didn't have any time to linger on that, because there were still Villains on the loose.

"Well, that was a close one," stated quietly All Might, staring at the hole the impact of Nomu's fist had left in the ground, just where Bakugo had been standing a moment earlier. "Do you not know how to hold back?"

"It was to rescue my companion," replied idly Shigaraki Tomura. "I had no choice. I mean, just look at the mess this one made just earlier…" They all stiffened a bit when noticing the blood clearly running down his arm and chest, from where a large animal had bitten him—most probably Rukia. "Violence for the sake of others makes it admirable, eh…? Isn't that right, Hero? But you know what, All Might? I'm angry. I'm angry at this world that categorizes the same violent acts as heroic or villainous, deciding what's good and what's bad. Symbol of Peace? Ah! You're just a device to repress violence, but violence only breeds violence. The world will know this once we kill you!"

"That's preposterous," retorted All Might, obviously tensed. "The eyes of white-collar criminals like you burn silently. You just want to enjoy this yourself, don't you, you liar?"

Rukia barked a few times, apparently agreeing with what the Hero just said. Beside her, the rest of her classmates took defensive stances, readying themselves for a face-off.

"It's three against five, hm?" stated plainly Todoroki, his eyes narrowed at their opponents.

"And Bakugo's already exposed the warp guy's weakness, too," added Kirishima, hitting his fists together. "These guys are obviously crazy but, if we back up All Might, we can push them back!"

"Don't." They all instantly looked at All Might, who started advancing toward the enemy. "Run away. This isn't your battle to fight—"

"You would've been in trouble if I hadn't done anything earlier, right?" pointed out Todoroki, unperturbed.

"That was a different story, Young Todoroki. I thank you for your support, but it's fine!" Clenching his fists, All Might crouched, ready to pounce into battle once more. "Just watch as a Pro gives it everything he's got!"

"How… inspiring."

The tension seemed to rise, if possible, as another figure suddenly appeared from behind the warp guy. About as tall at Shigaraki Tomura, if not a little more, he was also wearing a very simple, black hoodie with the hood up, from underneath which only a few, dark green locks of hair fell out, and he had a black medical mask covering the lower half of his face. Despite the somewhat normal, even plain appearance, though, they could tell that guy was dangerous. His green eyes were alit with maliciousness as he stared at the Symbol of Peace.

"So we meet again, All Might," he simply greeted, hands hanging loosely in his pockets. "Never thought I'd see the day, really."

"I'm afraid I do not recognize you, Villain," the Hero replied, tensed. The odds appeared to be less and less in their favor, and he was running out of time. "Care to identify yourself?"

"Hmmm… Nope." His eyes crinkled because of the humorless smile hidden underneath his mask. "I'm sure you'll come to recognize me over time. No worries, no worries~."

"Oi, you're talking as if he actually had a chance of getting out of here alive," replied Shigaraki Tomura, scratching his neck again. "Why did you come here, Talion? I thought you wanted to enjoy the show from the sidelines…"

"Yes, well, I thought I'd pop in to say hi, after all."

His gaze swept over the growling wolf, the red-haired boy, the scowling teen, and the dual-haired one, before settling back on the scowling teen. His scowl deepened, and the Villain appeared to smirk, before looking back to his fellow Villain.

"Well, should we get started? I don't want to be a killjoy, but I'm afraid someone let a student escape, meaning we're running short on time~," he remarked lightly.

The warp guy lowered his head a bit, and the boss tilted his head. "You gonna help?"

"Maybe. Depends if I find the show too boring," he mused, backing away a little. He then gestured to Nomu. "Well, what are you waiting for? Have at it."

"Right… Nomu, kill All Might."

Upon hearing his new order, Nomu rushed ahead without a second thought, and All Might instantly moved to meet him head-on and… to say the fight that followed was breathtaking, shocking, and even a little terrifying would be a terrible understatement. Moving even faster than the eye could follow, All Might started raining blows on the muscular Villain even faster than he could regenerate, and the power behind each punch sent blast after blast that almost knocked the students off their feet. Then, before they could even comprehend what was happening, All Might kicked Nomu into the ground, which made the entire USJ tremble on its foundations. Not giving the Villain a chance to fight back, All Might then proceeded to casually throw him through the roof and into the horizon.

Needless to say, that guy wasn't coming back anytime soon.

"Is- is this a comic book or something…? It's like he completely nullified the shock absorption…" gawked Kirishima, shuddering a bit. "His brute strength is crazy…!"

"What insane power… Does this mean he rushed at him even faster than he could regenerate?" understood Bakugo, for once looking somewhat subdued.

"So this is the top, uh…?" muttered Todoroki.

Beside Kirishima, Rukia barked a few times, appearing somewhat intimidated. Before any of them could think of anything else to do or say, however, All Might rose from amongst the rubbles and the smoke to face the Villains once more.

"Now, Villains… I'm sure we'd all like to end this as soon as possible. Shall we?"

As for said Villains… well, Shigaraki Tomura was practically shaking with barely restrained anger, the warp guy appeared genuinely terrified, and the new one with the hoodie… was smiling even more broadly, if the crinkles around his eyes were anything to go by.

"He did that to my Nomu… Did he use a cheat!?" The boss started scratching his neck again. "Oi, oi, oi, this wasn't supposed to happen…! He's not any weaker at all! Did you lie to us, Talion…?"

"What's wrong?" called out All Might. "You're not going to finish what you started? You said you'd clear this, or whatever… Come and get me, if you can!"

At that, Shigaraki Tomura actually stumbled backward with a yelp of fear, blood still oozing from the wound Rukia had dealt him earlier. While she hadn't managed to bite him enough to deal any lethal damage, he was still losing a fair bit of blood.

"Now, now, calm down, Tomura," mused his friend in the hoody, lightly patting his shoulder. By doing this, he revealed his hand, and it was hard to miss the numerous scars adorning his knuckles and his fingers. "Don't get desperate. I mean, look at him! I'm ready to bet he can't move anymore. Adding to that the numerous underlings who can still fight, and even the students over there who seem determined to get in the way…" He smirked underneath his mask. "I daresay we still have a fair chance of killing him today. What do you think, Kurogiri?"

"A logical conclusion, Talion," simply nodded the warp guy.

At that, Shigaraki stopped scratching himself and paused to consider the option. "I see… Yes, I see it now. That's right, we have no choice but to do it, uh? I mean, we have the last boss right in front of our eyes…"

As if on cue, some of the henchmen Aizawa-sensei had previously beaten to a pulp were now rising back to their feet, slowly coming to surround the battlefield. While All Might was stuck facing the main Villains, the students would have no choice but to get rid of the small fry. But then, Shigaraki pounced at All Might, followed by Kurogiri, while Talion simply stood aside and watch everything unfold with palpable glee.

All Might still wasn't moving, standing firmly in place… and Rukia could smell the blood.

Can't move. Can't- can't- can't—

Formulating thoughts through the haze that her mind had become was hard, she could hardly see anything other than colored blurs, but she could somehow understand what was happening around her without really registering anything… and damn, she was growing more tired by the second. Everything hurt like hell, and she could feel something clawing at her guts, her animal instincts and her human will clashing against one another.

He—can't move. All Might can't—won't.

I need to—something. Anything. Help him—!

So, she did the only thing she could think of at the moment: she let out a howl. It surged through her throat and pierced the air, almost like a gunshot. The powerful sound wave practically blasted away the few thugs who had started approaching her, and it effectively knocked both Shigaraki and Kurogiri off-course. Landing a few meters away, they both curled up on themselves, the boss slapping his hands over his ears as he let out pained moans, and Rukia finally stopped howling, panting like… well, like a dog.

Hand Man down. Shadow Man down. All Might—All Might safe.

But, through the sudden silence that followed her howl, she heard it.

"Well, I suppose now is a good time as any to test this, uh?"

And, next thing she knew, her head practically imploded with pain.

No one had expected the large wolf to suddenly start howling, and what they expected even less was for said howl to be almost as powerful as the backlash of All Might's earlier attacks. Just as she finally stopped her sound-based attack, however, Talion pulled out a small, silvery tube. Muttering something under his breath, he then brought it to his lips and started blowing into it.

No one heard anything… but the wolf instantly collapsed, whining in pain.

"Rukia!" exclaimed Kirishima, worried.

Todoroki narrowed his eyes at the object Talion was holding. "Some sort of dog whistle, uh? It figures it'd affect her."

"Talk about a cheap trick," grunted Bakugo, slamming his fists together.

At that, Talion stopped blowing in the whistle and sent a look at the fiery boy, apparently amused. Rukia stopped whining in pain, but she didn't get up.

"What did you expect? We're Villains, future number one. We're supposed to play dirty, you know~?"

Bakugo visibly stiffened at that, and their eyes met once more. A cold sweat broke out and a chill ran down his spine as the boy took a better look at whoever he was facing.

This can't be…!

Before he could ask anything, though, actual gunshots echoed in the air. There was a moment of absolute tension as Talion stumbled forward, his blood splattering on the ground, and everyone instantly looked up. At the top of the staircase stood none other than Snipe, one of the Pro Heroes who worked as a teacher at U.A. High School.

"They're- they're here!" gasped Kirishima, relieved.

"About time, isn't it?" sighed Todoroki, albeit relaxing a bit.

Snipe wasn't alone. He was accompanied by none other than their Headmaster, Nezu, and his fellow teachers and Pro Heroes Midnight, Blood King, Cementoss, Ectoplasm, Present Mic, Power Loader, and Hound Dog. Also, none other than Iida Tenya stood beside them, so they easily guessed he was the student who had managed to escape from Kurogiri earlier. Almost instantly, they all jumped into the action, with the students as their top priority.

"Ah, they're here," grunted Shigaraki, slowly backing away. "It's game over now. Shall we go home and try again later, Kurogiri, Talion? We—ugh!"

He was cut off as more gunshots echoed and bullets pierced his arms and his thighs. In the span of a second, Kurogiri enveloped him in his dark mist.

"We must go! Talion!" he called out urgently.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming." Albeit injured himself, he leisurely made his way toward the warp gate, unperturbed by the bullets still flying his way—which, for some reason, could no longer reach him. "I guess I'll see you later, wannabe Heroes." His eyes twinkled as he glanced at Bakugo. "Later, Kacchan."

The goodbye seemed to knock the air out of Bakugo, who actually took a step back, his eyes wide with dawning horror. He didn't have the time to reply anything, though, for Talion stepped into the shadowy fog and got swallowed up by it. Just as Thirteen started using their Quirk to try and capture them, tough, Kurogiri managed to escape in the nick of time.

The silence that followed their disappearance made Kirishima's head spin.

"That- that was crazy," he let out, a tad more shaken up than he wanted to admit. "I mean- I mean, that was an actual Villain attack. Again! Oi, Todoroki! I think this is becoming a pattern!"

The dual-haired boy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you know! You and me and Rukia, getting stuck in those crazy situations—gah! Rukia!"

The wolf collapsed on her side, still panting harshly. Then, bones cracked as the fur started slowly receding, leaving place to normal human skin. Her shape shrunk down, and the process was… mildly disturbing to watch, but she fully shifted back to human form. Blood was trickling down her nose and her eyes, though, and bruises were already blooming all over her skin.

"Shit, Rukia!" Kirishima quickly rushed over to her side. "She's unconscious!"

"Keeping up a full transformation like this put a serious straining on her body," easily guessed Todoroki. His frown then slipped as he quickly averted his eyes. "… Kirishima, you might want to cover her with something."

"What are you—geh!" Not wasting a second, he tore off the large pan of red cloth that was attached to his belt and threw it over her, blushing madly. "I- I didn't see anything!"

Because, of course, the girl's Hero costume hadn't been made with the thought of a full transformation in mind. So, it had been torn to pieces when she transformed earlier. Thankfully enough, it had been made out of her stretchy material, so she was still wearing something… but, well, whatever was left didn't leave much to the imagination, so to speak.

"Is everyone alright, here?" suddenly called out Midnight, running up to them.

Further away, Cementoss suddenly raised a dirt wall, shielding All Might from view, but none of the students noticed, thankfully.

"We didn't sustain any injury, but Rukia-san…" Todoroki trailed off, unsure of how to explain it.

Midnight paled when seeing the state of the young girl, instantly checking her pulse and evaluating the worst of her injuries. Once certain she wasn't in immediate danger, she relaxed slightly and looked at the boys.

"What happened to her?"

"She- she turned into a wolf, ma'am," answered Kirishima, still blushing a bit, though he tried his best not to think about what he hadn't seen. "Like, a full transformation. Todoroki said it probably put a strain on her body, or something like that."

"A full transformation!?" Midnight quickly shook her head. "That girl… Alright, I understand the situation. Can you boys head back to the entrance? We're trying to round up everyone as quickly as possible."

"But Rukia is—"

"I'll take care of her," assured the Hero, smiling a bit at the red-haired boy. "Thank you, but you've done what you could. Just leave the rest to us, alright?"

"R- right."

He was still a little hesitant to simply leave Rukia behind, but he also knew that she was in perfectly capable hands, and that the Heroes would surely be able to do a lot more than he could. So, sparing one last glance for the unconscious girl, he then quickly went to join Todoroki and Bakugo, who had already started heading for the entrance.

"Hey, Bakugo!" he called out, patting his shoulder. "You were great out there! We should—"

"Shut up!" The blond roughly shrugged him off, accelerating his pace. "Leave me the hell alone! I need to think!"

"Okay…?"

Both his attitude and his words were uncharacteristic of the Bakugo the students had grown to know and hate. Frankly, if Kirishima had to take a wild guess right there and then, he'd dare to say that Bakugo looked scared.

"Oh, it's them! Kirishima-kun, Todoroki-san, Bakugo-san!"

"Way to go, guys!"

Up the stairs, their classmates were cheering and waving their way, obviously relieved everyone was safe. Kirishima instantly started waving back, pushing Bakugo's attitude at the back of his mind for the moment.

Shigaraki Tomura collapsed on the floor of the pub they used as their headquarters, muttering and cursing under his breath. He had been shot in both arms and both legs, and that stupid mutt had bitten him hard enough so that the wound would leave a scar once it healed. Beside him, Talion leisurely walked out of the warp gate, while Kurogiri quickly reformed beside him. He, too, had been shot. Rubbing his sore shoulder, his muscles shifted by themselves and slowly pushed out the bullet lodged in it. As soon as it fell out, the blood stopped dripping and the flesh mended itself.

"Talion… You should have helped… Why didn't you help? Argh, this is a disaster… a failure… A total failure…! Even Nomu was defeated… The Symbol of Peace was still healthy and strong!" Shigaraki lifted an accusing gaze at the television in the corner. "You were wrong, sensei!"

"I wasn't," replied simply a mildly robotic voice. There were no images on the television, though, only audio. "We simply weren't prepared enough."

"Yes, it would appear we underestimated them," remarked lightly a somewhat more nasally voice. "It's good that we did it under that cheap League of Villains name. What were you saying about Nomu, Master and I's joint creation?"

"It failed," replied casually Talion, going to sit on the nearest stool. He pulled out a notebook and eagerly started writing down his new observations. "It was completely blown away by All Might, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Heroes had already retrieved it."

"Without precise coordinates, I could not locate it, even with my warping Quirk," added Kurogiri, visibly pissed. "I'm afraid I did not have the time for that."

"After all of the work we put into it…"

"Now, now, no need to fret, Doctor. Need I remind you that our true masterpiece is still underway? True, losing Nomu is unfortunate, but it cannot be helped. However, I trust that Talion managed to gather all of the data we required…?"

"Yes, yes, already working on it," assured the green-haired man, a tad distractedly as he focused on writing down his observations. "You'll have it as soon as I'm done. Though, if you ask me, we did have a shot at killing All Might… until the students interfered." His eyes glinted slightly. "So many different and powerful Quirks… And, truly, attitudes worthy of wannabe Heroes. Had they not gotten in the way, All Might would be dead by now."

"Those dumb brats… And that stupid wolf, barging in at the last moment… And that boy, trapping Kurogiri like that… Argh!" Shigaraki was still bleeding out on the floor, and he'd already be scratching his neck raw if he could actually move. "What a waste, what a waste…!"

"Of course, you have regrets, but this was not a futile exercise. Now that you've experienced failure, learn from it, and grow: take your time, gather the elite. We cannot move freely as of yet, which is why we need a symbol, like you. Shigaraki Tomura, next time… show the world that you are to be feared."

"I mean, so long as he doesn't die first," deadpanned Talion, sparing a mildly uncaring glance for his injured companion. "Not much of a symbol if he bleeds to death on the pub's floor."

"Stupid brat," grunted Shigaraki.

"You know you love me."

"Ahem. Yes, it would be ill-advised to leave your injuries unattended any longer. Kurogiri, if you would?"

"Of course, Master. Right away."

While the shadowy Villain instantly got to work with Shigaraki's wounds, Talion reported his attention on the notebook before him. It was already filled to the brim with notes and drawings of all sorts, but it was now opened on a very specific page:

Bakugo Katsuki

He couldn't help but grin slightly as he thought back to their impromptu meeting, at USJ.

Finally made it into U.A., didn't you? Now, let's see how long you'll keep playing pretend, Kacchan.

.

.

"… 15, 16, 17, 18, 19—alright, everyone's here, then. Other than Aizawa Rukia, everyone else appears uninjured. Now, I simply request your full cooperation for the duration of the investigation. The teachers will soon give you further instructions, so please wait here until that happens, alright?"

"Yes, sir!" saluted Iida.

The police officer and investigator, who had introduced himself as Tsukauchi, simply nodded with a slightly tight smile, before walking back toward his fellow officers. As soon as he was gone, the students heaved out a breath they hadn't realized they had been holding, before quickly gathering into small groups to discuss what had just happened.

"I see, so the people you fought were also just hooligans?" nodded Tokoyami.

"They underestimated us 'cause we're kids," grunted Kirishima, slightly annoyed.

"Though, it's not such a bad thing, is it?" pointed out Kaminari. "Thanks to that, almost everyone managed to get out of it unscathed. Speaking of which, though, what happened to Rukia? Is she okay?"

"Over-exhaustion, mostly," answered Shoji.

"She was hit by that thing they called Nomu, though…" frowned Uraraka, shivering a bit as the thought back to the scary Villain. "And he transformation appeared… painful, too."

"Yeah, Shoji said something about it being her first full transformation and all that," explained Sero, crossing his arms over his chest. "She'll probably be out of it for a while."

"She's still better off than Aizawa-sensei and Thirteen-sensei," sighed Sato, rubbing the back of his head. "Any news about those two?"

"They're both hurt pretty badly, but they'll be fine—ultimately," answered Tsukauchi, suddenly coming back to them. "It was decided that the students would return to their classroom, since we won't be questioning you right away. So, please, head back at once."

"Understood, sir! Everyone, get on the bus in a timely manner, please!"

Iida instantly started relaying instructions to his fellow classmates but, frankly, most were too tired to care and simply climbed onto the bus. A little further away, though, Bakugo remained standing still, staring thoughtfully at the facility before him. His mind kept flashing back to the fight from earlier and, most importantly, the Villain they called Talion.

That bastard was…

"Oi, Bakugo! We're going back to the classroom!" called out Kirishima.

"I know that, you red-haired dunce!"

Gritting his teeth, Bakugo spared once last look for USJ, before following after his classmates. He didn't know if what he had seen had merely been a hallucination and, frankly, he hoped it was. Because, if it wasn't, then it simply didn't make any sense… or at least, no sense that he was ready to accept.

You bastard… This is some sick fucking joke!