This is a long one! I didn't want to split the POVs, so I just kept on trucking, ending in almost 12K words of a chapter. OOF. But I had fun writing it, and I hope you enjoy readying it!
And why yes. This does take place in conjunction with Bringing in Brainwave. Kind of. Events of this fic, specifically this chapter, get referenced in Bringing in Brainwave eventually.
Enjoy!
Chapter 5: It Was Bound to Happen
"Do you think it's full enough?" Ojiro asked nervously. He, Asui, and several other classmates were hunched before a cabinet that Yaoyorozu had cleared the night before.
"We have to leave room for some things he'll want to add," Asui assured him.
She gave a thoughtful ribbit and backed away, looking over the checklist they'd all made after class. The last few days of the week had passed much the same as the start of the week. Minus a secondary window jump from Aizawa (prompted by Aoyama trying to help him pick his wardrobe for the day and Aizawa opening the apartment window and promptly propelling down with his Capture Weapon when Aoyama turned away) the week had gone by quietly. The four fastest students had done a rotation of who "escorted" Aizawa between classes. The girls had been in charge of making sure he was present at lunch the last days of the week, including the half day on Saturday. Bakugou and Satou had gone to the cafeteria after lunch hours, whilst Lunch Rush was cleaning and prepping for dinner, to grill the Pro about what Aizawa might like to eat.
It had yielded marginally better results. The most they could glean was that he seemed to eat almost anything put in front of him, but he had some things he favored. Those select favorites essentially being "home cooked" and "simple". That did nothing to help the pair figure out what food to store in the cabinet, but it had given Bakugou a few dinner ideas whilst Aizawa was still impaired. Satou had gotten more out of the experience than Bakugou or the rest of the class the second Lunch Rush had said the words "he likes sweets". As a result, half of what was in the cabinet was packaged sweets that would most likely fall within Aizawa's tastes. Alongside a silent promise from Satou to Satou that Aizawa was joining the taste testers club. The rest of the cabinet was jelly packets and a few dry items that Aizawa could snack on.
"Do you think he'll like it?" Yaoyorozu asks. Bakugou gave her shoulder a little squeeze and a peck on the cheek as he passed.
"He better," he says. He slumped down between Kirishima and Ashido at the table, knocking knees with Midoriya under the table in his slouch. Kirishima wrapped his arm around Bakugou's shoulders lazily. Ashido sidled up next to him, typing away on her phone.
"I still think we should have put a joke snack in there," she says.
"Hell no," Bakugou snapped. "The Sensei Cabinet is serious kitchen business. We're filling it up completely tonight."
"You have the shopping list?" Iida asked, assessing the cabinet himself.
"Of course I fucking do, I'm not incompetent like half this class."
"Oi," Kaminari called from the counters. Bakugou flipped him off, sticking his tongue out at the boy. Kaminari snorted, flipping him off in turn.
"He could be like this for another few weeks," Hagakure says suddenly. Several eyes turned to her. She shrugged her shoulders, her hands raised though no one could see, and swayed on her heels. "I overheard it when I was waiting outside the infirmary."
"He said that?"
"He must be very upset about it," Asui says quietly. She sat on the counter, swinging her feet. "That's a long time to be blinded… he could get hurt."
"Like with the windows…" Midoriya grumbled bitterly, scribbling away in his notes, a recent hero fight playing on his phone. He clicked his tongue. "We'll need a rotation. How long did he say it'd last?"
"He said maybe three," Hagakure confirms. She skipped over to Uraraka, leaning against her as the girl was trying to figure out the shopping costs for the groceries alone, with Aizawa's cabinet included in the mix. She rested her head on her chin thoughtfully. "Do you think he'll keep more eye coverings if we give them to him? I was thinking a flower design."
"Floral?" Midoriya asked, pausing his video to turn to her. "Why decorated ones?"
"Well…" Hagakure trailed, mischievousness lacing her voice. "He can't see them…"
"Let's do a glitter one!" Ashido chirped up, pausing whatever she was doing on her phone. Aoyama cheered at the suggestion.
"Absolutely not!" Iida said immediately. The class as a whole started to deflate at the complete shut down until he continued, lifting their hopes once more. "The glitter might irritate his eyes. It would have to be a fabric pattern."
"Iida," Uraraka said, drawing the boy's attention. She smiled. "I knew there was a reason I love you."
Uraraka laughed when Iida turned away sharply, blushing to his ears, and marching towards the stairs. "I-I'm going to get Aizawa-sensei! Everyone be ready to leave within the next half hour!"
"Oh, let me come with!" Aoyama shouted, racing up to Iida by the time he'd hit the stairs.
Aoyama didn't have much time for idle talk, given Iida was flustered and therefore walking faster than necessary up the stairs rather than opt for the elevator, just to work out some of that fluster. Needless to say; Aoyama had wanted to discuss the flirtatious attitude Yamada had displayed at breakfast the other day with anyone. But Aizawa would know. Aizawa always knew.
They stopped outside Aizawa's door, Iida's hand raised, when they heard Yamada's laugh.
"Stop," Yamada laughed. "Shou, you're being ridiculous."
Shou? Aoyama wondered, perking up and inching closer to the door to listen. Iida was similarly frozen, but not by the causal naming convention, more by the casual way Aizawa answered.
"I am being logical," Aizawa said back. "So, get your ass back over here."
"We have to get ready! Get out of bed!" Yamada said back. Aoyama turned to Iida, smiling broadly, gesturing wildly, trying to be as silent as possible. Iida looked completely lost on what to do.
"Make me."
"Shouta," Yamada wheezed. There was the sound of what Iida could only assume was Yamada slapping a counter. "Are you going to laze around all morning?"
"Hizashi, I don't care what you call it, just get your ass back in this bed," Aizawa ordered. Aoyama set his hand over Iida's mouth to muffle the other boys' scandalized gasp.
"You just want me for my body heat!"
"Body heat and abs—"
Iida knocked harshly on the door, shoving Aoyama's hand away at the same time, ignoring Aoyama's whispered protests. "Aizawa-sensei and Mic-sensei, we are ready to leave when you are!"
There was a brief pause on the other side of the door before Yamada opened it, smiling obliviously at the two boys. "Got it, kids! We'll be down in a second!"
"Yes, sensei!" Iida said stiffly, his face flushed, movements robotic as he swiftly turned around for the stairs. Aoyama was smiling mischievously up at Yamada.
"Bezaubernd," Aoyama says coyly. Yamada stared at him until Aoyama turned and followed Iida down the stairs. Raced him, more accurately, because Yamada could hear how fast Aoyama was moving the second he was out of his sight.
Yamada closed the door and sighed, leaning his forehead against the wood.
"Why the long sigh?" Aizawa asked, finally sitting up in bed and stretching. Yamada shook his head against the door, remembered the present issue plaguing Aizawa for the past week, and groaned.
"Nothing. C'mon, let's get you a decent set of clothes. Jeans or slacks?" Yamada asked, spinning from the door to stand before Aizawa, fixing up his hair.
"Jeans. Black."
"Top?" Yamada asked, running his fingers through Aizawa's hair. The man deflated instantly with a happy sigh.
"Whatever, just don't give me anything of yours or glitter."
Yamada gave a faux gasp of offense. "You wound me! I have incredible fashion sense!"
"For a rock star."
"Exactly."
Yamada was quick to finish combing through Aizawa's hair and skipped to the dresser. He pulled out the clothes and set them in Aizawa's arms. Aizawa stretched more before slipping into them, tossing the eye covering while he did.
"Write something down for me?" he asked. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand, Yamada having retrieved it for him days ago, and he was not leaving it on the mattress a second time.
"Hit me."
"Hound Dog visitation. Me, Tokoyami, Problem Child, and Todoroki. Asui, too," Aizawa says slowly, giving Yamada time to write. A short 'uh huh' and he continued. "Bakugou, Shouji, and Uraraka, too. Make sure they haven't had any recent relapses. If they are having nightmares and are they coping with them."
"Uh huh, uh huh?"
"And…. That's it."
"This about a few nights ago?" Yamada asked, pinning the note to the fridge. He slunk back to the bed, where Aizawa was sat waiting with hairbrush in hand. Yamada climbed onto the mattress, settling down behind Aizawa. He bit a hair tie off his wrist and started to brush Aizawa's hair properly.
"Yeah."
"You had any more nightmares since then?" Yamada asks. "You didn't get out of bed, but did you wake up last night?"
"No."
Yamada started work on putting Aizawa's hair in a tasteful bun. "Good," he says. Maybe he'd do matching hair styles today. "That's good."
"Mm. …."
"What?"
"Should I check on Toshinori, too?" Aizawa asks. Yamada shrugged, finishing up Aizawa's bun and starting on his own.
"To be honest? I think Hound Dog has been seeing him regularly," Yamada admits. He finished his own bun and patted Aizawa's shoulders. "Alright, let's book it!"
Aizawa turned to him, wrapping his arms around him and dragging both of them down.
"Shou! No!" Yamada laughed, swatting at his side. "No, we have to leave!"
"Five minutes."
Aoyama hit the common room first, ready to burst. Iida slammed into him, knocking both to the ground. The entire class turned to them. Aoyama shoved Iida off, jumping to his feet with a fervor. He was completely justified to share this. Neither Yamada or Aizawa had told him to keep this exchange secret. He was ready to burst to share some of these moments with his class and truly gossip. And for the betting pool Ashido was still desperately trying to figure out a way to keep afloat.
"I HAVE AN UPDATE, MI AMOR~!" he shouted. Ashido was in front of him in an instant, rivaling Iida in speed, gripping Aoyama's shoulders and vibrating with excitement.
"SPILL!" she screamed. Aoyama was screaming too, incoherently, and in French. It took Ashido a few moments to finally calm him down enough that he could take a breath and collect himself. He took a deep breath.
"Yuuga, no, no, no," Iida begged from the floor. Aoyama ignored him.
"THEY SHARE A BED," Aoyama announced. Ashido paused for about a second before she squealed loud enough that Bakugou shouted at her for hurting his ears.
Whilst Aoyama and Ashido started to spin in the common room, again, Todoroki looked to the room at large. Straight faced he addressed them all. "Izuku, Fumi, and I saw a wedding ring around Aizawa's neck the other night."
"And you said nothing?!" Hagakure shouted, slapping the counter.
"It… didn't seem appropriate," Tokoyami confessed.
"Ok, but was it really a wedding ring?" Uraraka asks.
"Would Aizawa-sensei really be the kind of person who wears a random ring around his neck?" Jirou asks. She leaned forward, looking intently at Todoroki. "Say it. I know you have a theory. Share it!"
"…They're married," Todoroki announced.
Half the class immediately started debating it. Todoroki sat down beside Midoriya, sliding Midoriya's notebook away from him, since he wasn't currently using it, and then plucked his pen from his hands. Midoriya hardly seemed to notice, as he was just as invested in the debate. Todoroki started to take notes. His phone, and Midoriya's (because he could see it buzzing along the table), was being blown up in time with Ashido screaming about the betting pool. Midoriya snatched his phone up, muting the chat temporarily and then stared at his phone for a moment longer.
"Oh!" He shot up and headed for the door. He tried to shush his classmates on his way past. "Shh! Shh, Shinsou is almost here!"
"Oh, your new crush~?" Uraraka teased. Midoriya started to blush, the color only deepening with each tease he got as he passed the class.
"Oh, the brain washing guy? You're into him?" Kaminari asks.
"Did you fall in love when you flipped him or when you faced off in the gym last month?" Jirou asked loudly.
"Who, Troll Hair?" Bakugou asked from the table. Midoriya was flushed entirely red by this point, at the door and banging his head against the wood.
"I-It's not like that!" he claimed. Bakugou snorted.
"Yet."
"Kacchan!"
"Oh, come off it, you're dating half the poly!" Bakugou shot back.
"You're a part of that," Kirishima said. He grunted when Bakugou elbowed him. Kirishima didn't bother to harden himself for the hit. He knew it would be coming the second the words left his mouth. He was also part of that group in the poly so really, he had no room to tease, but Bakugou made it too easy sometimes.
"H-he's a friend!" Midoriya insisted.
"For now," Todoroki said frankly. He glanced up at Midoriya. "Tokoyami ratted your plan out."
"Fumi!"
"I couldn't keep it from Todoroki forever," Tokoyami claimed. Which, he wasn't wrong. Todoroki was doubtless already starting a page about Midoriya's plan to include Shinsou into their poly in his own theory notebook.
"He is attractive," Todoroki mumbles.
"You can't just say stuff like that so deadpan," Ashido teased. "But…" she stopped twirling Aoyama, both stopping before Midoriya.
"He's right," both said in unison. Midoriya slammed his face into the door again.
"You all suck."
"I know I do, but—" Ashido was cut off by a knock on the door. Aoyama giggled, dragging the deflating girl away, as Midoriya quickly flung open the door.
"Shinsou!"
"Hey, Mido," Shinsou greeted. Midoriya flung the door open further, allowing him to slip inside. Ashido and Aoyama both waved at him first.
"Bonjour! Ça va?" Aoyama asks.
"….What?"
"It means 'hello, how are you'. Hey, kids," Nemuri calls, waving as she and Snipe approached the dorm.
Midoriya was halfway to closing the door and flung it back open again. It was strange to see their teachers, aside from Aizawa and debatably Yamada, in casual clothes. Snipe's was predictably closer to cowboy western in style whereas Nemuri was in a sleeveless sweater dress and ankle boots. Even stranger was to see Snipe without his mask.
"Oh, sensei! Sorry, I didn't think you'd be here so early," Midoriya admitted. Nemuri snorted, ruffling his hair.
"We're not early," she says. "But I appreciate the attempt to save face for me."
"What?"
"She almost slept in," Snipe began, shoving past Nemuri to get inside. "I had to drag her out of bed, and she practically sprinted on the way here, dragging my ass down the sidewalk—"
"Oh, stop complaining! It was that or we both get drop kicked by Shou when we got here late!" Nemuri shouted after him, kicking the door shut behind her. She sighed, remaining in the doorway while Snipe moved further in, texting Yamada they had arrived. Ashido and Aoyama descended upon him immediately.
"Snipe-sensei! You have to let me style your hair, s'il te plait? S'il te plait?" Aoyama asked, practically bouncing on his heels.
"PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!" Ashido chanted. She was legitimately jumping. Iida had to sandwich himself between them and Snipe, apologizing profusely to the man as he did so. Snipe looked utterly lost. Nemuri snorted, leaning on the wall.
"Good luck with that!" she shouted.
"You're an ass!" Snipe clipped back.
"So, does this trip have four chaperones?" Shinsou asks Midoriya quietly. Midoriya shrugged.
"I think Mic-sensei had patrol today. It's across town, though," he says. As if called upon, Yamada was at the stairs, Aizawa trailing behind him, cane over his shoulder.
"Hey, guys!" Yamada dragged Aizawa before him, presenting him to the two other teachers. "Keep him safe or I swear to God I will break your ear drums."
Jirou, the unfortunate girl having taken the worst time to take a sip of her water, promptly spit it out and started to choke. Asui reached over, patting her back. "Breath, Jirou. Breath."
"You're going to kill my students," Aizawa groans.
"I'm going to be salty all patrol is what I'm about to be," Yamada whined. "I wanted to see the concert…"
"Concert?" Nemuri asks, perking up immediately. Jirou cleared her throat, turning to them all.
"I got to pick the location this time," she says. "There's a shopping district is close by, it's a really good one, and they're holding a benefit concert today. Three for three win."
Yamada gestured to her wildly. "And I can't come!"
"Hey, you wanted three jobs," Nemuri teased. She came up to Aizawa, ruffling his hair until he smacked her hands away, straightening it out himself. "Well, hello to you, too, sleepyhead."
"Leave me be."
Aizawa left them all to discuss their plans. He wasn't exactly excited about the prospects of the trip. If it weren't for the fact he'd have nothing else to do, and his current predicament meant he'd actually been getting a good amount of sleep so napping through the day was out of the question, he wouldn't be coming with them at all. He hated crowds any day of the week. Being blind and stuck in a crowd, with the possibility of losing his way and being stuck waiting in one spot until someone phoned him and found him, was even less appealing. At the very least, he could cling to Nemuri or Snipe.
He was zoning out, only half-listening to the conversations, when Yamada gave him a quick one-armed hug around his shoulders on his way out. Aizawa grunted his good-bye. Nemuri was next, linking their arms as she dragged him out the door. She, like Yamada, had become far too used to reading when he was feeling bitter about something. She was going to ease his mood by the time they hit the shopping district or die trying. The shopping district was close enough they could walk to it within ten minutes. Far as Aizawa was aware, it was the same one that they usually shopped at for groceries. His suspicion was confirmed when Nemuri dragged him to the right once they'd hit the gates. He hadn't really gone to the more retail shops there, now that he thought of it, so he wasn't sure what was there.
Midoriya gave Uraraka's arm a squeeze before he drifted over to Bakugou's group, arm to arm with the explosive boy, with Shinsou drifting along with him like a lost duckling. Ashido had linked her arm with Kirishima, taking full advantage of the fact Nemuri and Aizawa were almost at the front of the pack and doing the same. Iida had planted himself firmly in the front, with Jirou, as the defacto leaders to the district.
Kaminari eyed up Aizawa's back. He turned to the squad and took a deep breath. "I'm asking him," he announced. Bakugou cocked a brow at him, unconvinced.
"Bet," he dared. Kaminari got a sudden look of determination on his face, his eyes flicking to a (pathetically confused) Shinsou before he sped up his pace and planted himself firmly beside Aizawa.
"So, Aizawa-sensei, does Mic-sensei help you get ready in the morning?" Kaminari asks. Nemuri tried to fight off her smile. Snipe sighed quietly in the back of the pack. Kirishima and Ashido both facepalm behind him. He waved the last two off, intent on listening to Aizawa's answer.
Aizawa himself would never understand why they insisted on referring to so much of the staff by their Hero names. He was just grateful no one had known his name at introductions, or they'd probably be calling him some variation of "Eraser-sensei". Small mercies.
"No," he says flatly, and Nemuri snorted beside him.
There was an uncomfortable silence following his answer. He knew, since his students insisted on having one of them posted outside his room every morning (on the stairs or in the hall), that Yamada had been seen exiting his apartment every day this week. Aizawa at least had to commend his dedication. Even with three jobs and the extra duty of tending to the cats at least once a day or so, the man insisted on spending his nights at the dorm building whilst Aizawa was stuck there (even on Radio Host nights). Aizawa left the group to the silence, elbowing Nemuri before she could start laughing.
They can figure it out on their own, he thought.
The actual shopping district wasn't entirely indoors. Many of the shops were outdoors in stalls, or at the bottom of taller buildings that may have been (he assumed, he was never certain, nor had he ever tried to figure it out) apartments. Only about half the long streets were comprised of those, however, the rest of it comprised of stalls or open areas where shoppers could relax. There was one area at the center, with a massive stage, where a larger crowd was listening to the music of the band.
Jirou was practically jumping. She eyed up the speakers that helped play the music of the band across the district. "Not a bad brand," she had commented, gesturing to the poles that doubled as decorative arches, "But they could have done better."
"It's a shopping district, Jirou, but they're not going to try that hard," Sero says.
"Whatever. I can listen to live music while I shop. This is a win!" Jirou declared. She spun around, grabbing Yaoyorozu's hand. "Let's get you some rocker clothes!"
"What?!" she asked, just before Jirou carted her away in a flash. Kaminari was soon racing after them as well. Nemuri made a note to join them later.
"Don't go too far!" Nemuri called after them. Jirou shot the group a thumbs up, ducking them all into a shop. Nemuri turned to the rest of them. "Okay, just tell us where you're all going. Before you head off somewhere else, let us know so we don't lose you."
"If we forget, just ask Bakugou," Shoji assured them. Nemuri and Snipe alike shot him a confused look. "He always knows where everyone is."
"Just tell the group chat, Jesus," Bakugou grumbled. He pulled Midoriya away, towards a random store within the group's sight. Midoriya stopped them short, telling him something quickly, and dashing back.
He stopped before Shinsou, leaning towards him to whisper, taking advantage of everyone else busily relaying their plans to the teachers. "Take Aizawa-sensei to that one music shop you wanted to go to."
"What?!" Shinsou whispered back. He shot a glance at Aizawa. The man looked rather bored already. "Are you nuts?!"
"You already train with him, right?"
"That's different than just… hanging out," Shinsou stressed. His shoulders deflated a little. "Besides, we haven't been able to train all week."
"No one will let him, I know," Midoriya whispered. He sighed heavily, leaning on Shinsou's shoulders. "Especially after the windows…"
"Heh. I remember that," Shinsou says, recalling the panicked and offended texting rant Midoriya had sent him that very morning when Aizawa had leapt out of the window. And the second time. And how Midoriya had personally declared he fully supported Yamada and Nedzu's decision to restrain Aizawa from any form of training whilst under the Quirk's effects.
"But," Midoriya stressed, dragging him back to the present, "this is the perfect opportunity! I get to see All Might all the time now, and it's great! Aizawa is great outside of lessons and training, trust me."
"You're playing a dangerous game," Shinsou warned him. "I might embarrass myself and never try to get into the Hero Course again."
"He's blind, you can't embarrass yourself."
"Lies," Shinsou was quick to retort. He narrowed his eyes the second Midoriya looked more determined than he had any right to be. The green-topped boy got a smile on his face—one that Shinsou was very much against—and he was justified the moment Midoriya then opened his mouth.
"Aizawa-sensei! Can you chaperone Shinsou to a shop?" Midoriya asks. Shinsou harshly kicked him, on instinct, getting a barking laugh from Bakugou. Aizawa didn't hesitate, however.
"Sure."
"Wh—really?" Shinsou asks.
"Let's go," Aizawa says, shoving Nemuri off. The woman pouted at him for doing so.
"Can I come with?" Ojiro asks. "I want to grab a gift early for Jirou's birthday."
"Yes," Shinsou said immediately. Ojiro smiled, gingerly taking Aizawa's free arm to guide him down the shopping district walkways.
"Yes, because I can't go anywhere without at least two bodyguards," Aizawa drawled. Nemuri cackled behind them as they left, Ojiro and Shinsou both flushing embarrassingly.
The shop itself was further than either thought it would be. Ojiro sent a quick message through the chat once they had disappeared from sight of the group thanks to the crowd. Shinsou tried to focus on where he was going and making sure Aizawa was still behind him. He couldn't very well focus as much as he had wanted to because he kept noticing people shooting Aizawa quick double takes. He wasn't sure if it was because of the eye covering, the more recent media attention he'd gotten this past year or so thanks to Class A's horrible luck, or something else. It just put him on edge. Didn't matter it was all civilians—a few clearly doing a double take simply to look—and he was fairly certain it was a good thing Yamada wasn't attending with them or the blonde would probably have some choice words to say on the lingering gazes. Especially since Shinsou would be money that it was Yamada who picked out Aizawa's attire, and therefore why he didn't look like a hobo today. Of all days, it had to be when they went out and about.
Shinsou led them into the shop after a few minutes, ducking in and dragging Ojiro by his sleeve so they wouldn't be separated. The music of the event wasn't heard nearly as well inside the shop, mostly due to the store boasting its own tunes.
"Okay," Shinsou began. "What music does Jirou like?"
"Rock, Hip Hop, Indie, a few less mainstream bands," Ojiro rattled off, glancing around the store.
He spotted the genre aisle he'd need and slipped away. Shinsou watched him go, unsure if he wanted him to drag them both with him, or if he was more grateful for the possible one on one time with Aizawa. He settled on "too nervous and too high strung on not embarrassing himself to care". He turned to Aizawa, tugging on the man's sleeve.
"I have to go this way," he said.
Aizawa just nodded, swinging down the cane so he could move more freely without Shinsou having to tug him along. Frankly, he'd gotten rather good at using the cane in Shinsou's opinion. They stopped mid-aisle, Shinsou's shoulder contacting Aizawa's arm as his cue to halt, and Shinsou started to browse.
"Sorry for not training you this week," Aizawa eventually said. Shinsou stopped browsing to turn to him incredulously.
"Are… are you serious?" he asks. Aizawa raised a brow at him, tapping the cane on his heel. The silence was more than answer enough and Shinsou laughed. "What were you going to teach me blind?"
Ojiro glanced up at them, a look of incredulous disbelief on his face. Both boys knew well that Midoriya had relayed the "pen" stories to him. But Shinsou was one to poke the bear that was Aizawa's pride. Within reason.
"Watch it, kid," Aizawa snapped, a teasing tone lacing his voice. "I can do a lot blind. Like training you for situations in complete darkness."
That, frankly, sounded terrifying. But it also sounded interesting. He also knew he would fail spectacularly at the start. Something told him, aside from Aizawa doing night patrol, the man had taken the time to train in the dark just in case. Because of course it would never be enough that he knew how to navigate half the school blind. No, the man would be psychotic and train to fight blind as well. Shinsou would bet his entire school tuition on that. The paranoia alone would be enough of a justification for the man—and the current situation certainly didn't help that paranoia—for that and for having multiple phones. And learning how to treat a thousand different injuries of varying degrees just enough to make it to whatever hospital was nearest to his location. All very useful, but very concerning, set of skills. But Shinsou wasn't one to pry about it. Yet.
He picked up an album, scanning the front and back, while Ojiro came up to them with a CD in hand. "Do you think she has a CD player?" he asks.
"You don't know already?" Shinsou asks.
"She does," Aizawa confirms. There was a short pause as the two stare at him before he continues. "I've seen it doing the dorm checks. It's on her desk."
"Did it look functional?" Shinsou asks.
"Everything music related that she has is functional," Aizawa says confidently. "I think she has a gramophone at home that still plays."
"I need to see that," Ojiro mutters.
Shinsou would say that there was no way a gramophone—an original, anyway—would still operate but his train of thought was cut off. A rumble was starting to get louder from outside. He could hear it faintly under the store music at first. Other customers and the clerk paused their own actions, trying to source the rumble's origin. Aizawa had even turned towards the shop door once it started to hit the same volume as the store music. Soon, screaming was accompanying the rumble, and then it started to overshadow the music.
Shinsou leaned around Aizawa to peer out the store door. A large crowd of people were rushing past the shop door. The floor lurched, sending all three into one the display shelves. Shinsou hit his back to the shelf, knocking albums to the floor. Ojiro managed to keep his balance with the aid of his tail. Aizawa, by contrast, had faster reflexes, and at least kept upright. Shinsou had slumped down to the floor, his attempt at readjusting his footing causing him to step on albums and slip.
The floor lurched a second time, some of the ceiling starting to fall with the sequence of shakes that followed. Shinsou pulled Aizawa down so he was forced into a crouch. Ojiro had braced himself between the two display shelves. Shinsou looked past Aizawa towards the door. A man, dressed rather flamboyantly, was hopping along the street, shooting off what looked like some sort of laser. Each shot hit above the shop doors, blasting away the concrete and wood mixtures, blocking any easy attempt to exit and forcing large cracks along the ceiling.
Plaster dust rained down, forcing Shinsou to cover his eyes. He could hear pieces of lights and ceiling falling to the floor. Something knelt over him, a hand pulling his arms over his head, and something bounced off whoever it was (he hoped Ojiro) and then off his back. The yelp that followed immediately after dashed that hope as Ojiro was definitely not the person leaning over him based on where the yelp came from. He didn't have time to really question it, however, because more of the lights were coming down around them and merchandise was crashing onto the flooring in time with the shakes. Eventually, though, the shaking finally subsided.
"That guy was definitely in a costume," Shinsou says, coughing through the dust.
"The door?" Aizawa asks. Shinsou flinched at the raw sound to his voice.
"Yeah. Some sort of Laser Quirk. Not like Aoyama, though," Shinsou says. "Looked like it grew the further it got before hitting a target…"
Shinsou stopped short, droplets of blood slowly hitting the carpet at his foot. The frequency steadily increasing. Aizawa leaned away, pressing a hand to his head.
"Aizawa-sensei?" Shinsou looked up to find Aizawa trying to stop bleeding at his head. "Sensei?!"
"I'm fine," Aizawa assures him. "Ojiro?"
"I'm fine. Was it the League?" Ojiro suggests.
"Oh, he was definitely not that well-coordinated," Shinsou sighs. "Plus, I'm pretty sure I've never seen him before. The League usually works with established villains, don't they?"
"Never assume an opponent won't change their tactics," Aizawa says sternly. "But, far as we knew, the League was still dormant, activity-wise."
"Regardless," Ojiro says, climbing over them easily, "We should leave before the whole building collapses."
He pulled his phone out, checking it and then stashing it back with a frown when he saw a complete lack of signal, before walking towards the clerk. As he checked on her, Shinsou checked his own phone. No service bars. Of course. Because what else could go wrong? Aizawa stood, hands in his pockets, despite the shake still present in his legs. Shinsou shot up, ready to berate him, but his voice caught in his throat when Aizawa spoke, the man's voice still sounding raw.
"Ojiro, how bad is the structure damage?" Aizawa asks, head still bowed to keep dust from getting under his covering. Shinsou started to look for anything to press against the cut that—in all likelihood, looked worse than it was—was still gushing blood. Ojiro looked over the ceiling. Dust was still falling occasionally, but he couldn't hear any groans from a bad weight distribution.
"Not great, but it's holding. Could look worse than it is. There's a hole in the pile of rubble at the doorway that's pretty small, though. Maybe Shinsou would fit, but it'd be tight," he says. He turns to the civilians he'd started to gather at the counter. "Is anyone hurt?"
Rubble shifted in the doorway, grabbing everyone's attention. A woman's voice called into the shop. "Is anyone in there?"
"Oh! Yes! There's eight of us!" Ojiro called over.
"Oh~!" The voice came again. "How many injured, do you think~?"
The grateful smile slipped off Ojiro's face. The gleeful cooing was followed by a few laughs from other voices. Ojiro looked back towards Shinsou and Aizawa. Shinsou was slowly shaking his head, waving his arm for Ojiro to back away from the entry. Ojiro was pushing the civilians back as a strangely colored, thick fluid that reminded them of cooling lava, started to flow through the hole and cracks of the rubble blocking the door. It pooled on the floor in a large puddle, building up into towers that eventually formed bodies until a woman formed first, her and subsequent bodies linked in a chain of holding hands. Once they'd formed, she shook their hands off and sighed.
"Oh, that's a tall drink of water," she purrs, eyeing up Aizawa's back.
"How many?" Aizawa whispers, low enough for Shinsou to hear alone.
"Five. One with an Emitter Quirk. Rest look like they're Mutant Quirks," Shinsou whispers. Aizawa's mouth formed a thin line.
"Hey, tall and dark, let me get a good look at you~!"
"Looks like rock, a lizard guy, four-arms, and a massive guy at the back."
"Focus on the Emitter," Aizawa whispers lowly.
"Can you just focus for ten minutes?" one of the others asks—the large man in the back. He turned to regard the civilians and Ojiro with a sneer.
"Let me have some fun. I'm your easiest ticket out of here," the woman clipped back with a huff.
"I can get out just fine," a four-armed man said, pounding his fists.
"Hey, let me at that kid," another says, pointing to Ojiro. Ojiro looked him up and down. He was… kind of fish-like. More like a salamander if he had to peg the appearance. Ojiro's tail flicked once. Aizawa jerked his head in the man's direction, his grip tightening on the cane.
"Hm? Why?"
"That's a UA kid," the man says. More of the eyes turned to Ojiro, save for the four-armed man, who was staring Aizawa down.
"Oh, is it?" the woman asks. She smiled devilishly at him. It sent a spike of ice through his veins. He watched as the four-armed man started to stalk towards Shinsou and Aizawa.
"Sensei!" Shinsou hissed.
"Go ahead and kill him first, or he'll just make the civies a hassle," the woman says.
"Ojiro, this counts as self-defense," Aizawa says casually.
"Yes, sensei!"
"Sensei… shit you're—!" the four-armed man exclaimed, taking a quick step back.
Aizawa spun, swinging the cane out, colliding it solidly with the four-armed man's head. Ojiro wasted no time in engaging with the last Mutant Quirk user who seemed to have some sort of weird rock-like skin, with the Salamander Man joining in. Aizawa, meanwhile, was striking the four-armed man in rapid succession. After the lucky temple strike was ribs, arms, ankle, and then face. There was a resounding crack as the cane splintered on the man's other temple in Aizawa's last strike. Shinsou sucked in a hiss, grimacing. The man stumbled, already unconscious, but before he could fall, Aizawa kicked. His foot landed solidly against the man's chest, sending him backward into Rock Man, who had been spin-kicked by Ojiro right into his path. The woman jumped out of the way with a curse, the two colliding with the rubble wall in the entryway.
The shake of the impact dropped more dust from the ceiling. The woman looked up warily, frozen in her half-crouch position, watching the dust and cracks. Shinsou backed up quickly as the final Mutant Quirk user rushed them. Ojiro was taken up by The Salamander who had, quite grotesquely, torn off his own arm and grown it back to get a farther reach.
Aizawa had already taken up a different fighting stance. He'd slipped into a stance of braced feet, fist behind him at his lower back, and cane ready. The broken, jagged end facing towards his opponent. From what Shinsou could tell, the last villain's Quirk was just Gigantism. He was certainly taller than any normal man and had broader shoulders. Just as Shinsou suspected, as the behemoth got close to them his body beefed up even more.
Blissfully, he caught sight of Ojiro grappling the Salamander man into a choke hold. The woman was edging towards the doorway, looking rather frazzled.
Think, think, think!
"Hey, lady!" Shinsou shouted. The woman looked up at him, confused.
"Wh—"
Shinsou smirked, shooting her a finger gun. "Freeze."
The woman jerked once before standing straight, looking dazed. Ojiro detached from Salamander, dragging him along with his tail until he could drop him by the other two. Shinsou turned his attention back towards the Gigantism user. He stepped on the albums as he neared Aizawa and that was the moment Aizawa struck.
The cane swiped at the man's shoulder. Likely, Aizawa had aimed for his head and just aimed too low, allowing the other to reach for Aizawa's head instead. At the same time, Aizawa had dragged the jagged cane over the shoulder and right into his neck. Ojiro leapt onto his back, knocking him off balance. The man's hand only managed to graze Aizawa's temple. But he had grabbed onto anything his fingers brushed up against and Shinsou watched in muted, slow horror, as the eye covering slipped from Aizawa's head.
The reaction was immediate. While Ojiro was busy grappling the man, eventually using the combination of a lack of balance and his own momentum to slam the man backward onto the shelves and vault off his shoulders, Shinsou could hear the hiss of pain Aizawa let slip when he stumbled back. The stumble was short lived and Aizawa was back on his feet again, but still, the eye covering was gone.
Shinsou slunk along the shelving, getting closer to the front of the shop where his "puppet" was still standing and waiting. He barely missed seeing Aizawa's kick to the man's side. And he had kicked hard. Despite the misaligned stance, the force alone sent the man stumbling back, and Aizawa followed up with a leg sweep. Ojiro was dangling from the ceiling light by his tail very briefly, catching the man's shoulders. He released his tail's hold, falling down, and landing square on the man's chest. One solid headbutt and the man was sent reeling. Ojiro leapt off, landing beside Aizawa.
Aizawa, never to half-ass any ass whooping (as Shinsou had learned rather quickly when they trained), grabbed an entire display shelf and threw it at the man. Shinsou couldn't help the smile that pulled at his lips when he watched the man take the shelf full on in the face and chest and into the wall.
"I think he's down," Ojiro says when the man didn't get back up. Aizawa sighed, leaning against one of the spare shelves, reapplying pressure to the head wound. Shinsou turned his attention to the woman.
"Use your Quirk to get us out of here."
She moved robotically, grabbing the hands of two of the villains, and melting right before his eyes. She was bending their mass out of the hole moments later and then returning to do it again with the last two of her cohorts. When she returned again, Shinsou was beckoning the civilians over. Ojiro guided them up, regarding Shinsou.
"If she's doing them two at a time, but had all five of them came in before, I think they need to be holding hands in an unbroken chain to get everyone," Ojiro says. Shinsou nodded, turning to her.
"Nod if it's true: is that how your Quirk works?" Shinsou asks. She nods, aimlessly holding a hand out. As Ojiro convinced the civilians to link hands and not let go until they were outside and unaffected by the Quirk, Shinsou turned back to the woman. "Tell me the truth: are you affiliated with The League of Villains?"
"No. We're with the Hidora Gang."
"The who?"
"Massive gang," Aizawa drawled. He was able to hold himself up well enough to walk over to them, his eyes squeezed shut. "They have dozens of smaller gang affiliates. Been almost impossible to completely dismantle them because of it. Hence," he waved his free hand, "the name."
Ah, that explained it. Ojiro grabbed the woman's hand. Shinsou grabbed Aizawa's hand, then the opposite hand of the woman.
"Take us out of here and outside."
Being, essentially, melted and then lifted off the ground by an unseen weight was quite the experience. He'd trained with Uraraka at least once before and this was hardly the same. Oddly enough, he felt like he was dreaming. He couldn't really figure out where his started or began until the Quirk was taken away and his body formed again. Once on solid ground again he released his hold on the woman 's hand. He braced his feet, catching Aizawa when the man stumbled.
"Aizawa-sensei?! Shinsou!"
Shinsou whipped his head around at the voice. "Midoriya?"
The band was still in full swing by the time Midoriya and Uraraka had made it back to the crowd to meet Asui. She'd taken up a spot on the fountain next to Snipe and waved them over. Uraraka sat beside her, giddily opening her shopping bag to showcase the fancy candles she'd splurged on. Her mother was going to love them.
Midoriya sighed contently, sitting between Snipe and Asui. The man nodded to him in greeting and returned to eyeing the crowd.
"Are you okay, sensei?"
"I'm fine, little partner," Snipe assured him with a smirk. "Just waiting on Kayama."
"Oh, ok. Were you able to enjoy any of the shops yet?" Midoriya asked, hearing the band enter into a song that he recognized. He sat straighter, turning to watch the stage.
"Nah, but I'll get there," Snipe answered. Midoriya smiled.
"I know this one. Jirou listens to it," Midoriya says Snipe shot him a sideways glance and smirked.
"You kids remind me of the staff," he says. Midoriya turned to him curiously.
"What is that?" Uraraka asks, looking above the stage. Midoriya and Snipe both turn, looking past the fountain's water shoots, where… something was falling from the sky, just coming down from an arch as the small group turned to where Uraraka was staring.
It hit the ground with a blast of concrete and smoke. Midoriya had enough time to see it was a person. A person that was slamming their fists down with a manic sort of glee. The impact effects were immediate. Aside from the violent shake of impact, debris was sent flying.
Midoriya activated his Quirk, the green lightning spreading over his body, as he forced Snipe and Asui's heads down. Uraraka dived down herself, hitting the concrete just after the other three, pieces of concrete soaring over them. The ground beneath them shifted violently. Midoriya his grip firmly on Snipe and Asui's sleeves. Only once the ground had stopped shaking did Midoriya release Snipe from his grip, the man taking out his revolver and setting his sights on the villain before the stage. With nothing to block his view, he got one shot off into the man's shoulder, halting the Quirk, before another villain rushed in, pulling the smoke with them.
Snipe cursed under his breath, ducking Midoriya and Uraraka back under the lip of the fountain. Asui crouched between them, covered in dust. Midoriya figured he was probably just as covered, as well as Uraraka, but he was more focused on analyzing the Quirks of the villains.
"His Quirk is clearly making earthquakes, but I don't know how far out its reach is. It could have affected the entire shopping district with a landing like that. Maybe the height he falls from affects the power? His accomplice was probably picked for this mission since she can pull the smoke around with her own Quirk, making smoke screens where they need them," Midoriya rattled off to Snipe.
The man nodded along, waiting for the smoke to clear a little naturally before he peered over the fountain briefly. He took his phone out with his free hand, smashing buttons with a strong sigh. "Listen, kids," he began, re-pocketing his phone and cutting Midoriya off. "I can see more of them in the smoke screen. I sent a message out to any Pros in the area. You all have your Provisionals?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Then let 'em rip," Snipe said with a smirk. He vaulted over the fountain, kicking one villain in the kidney and leading away two others. Midoriya turned to Asui, who was crouched beside Uraraka, the other girl frantically typing away on her phone.
"Are you in the class chat?" Midoriya asks, trying to briefly ignore the level of noise around them as civilians ran from the scene.
"I'm trying to warn everyone. Jirou and Kami took Nemuri-sensei to a band shop but they're not in the chat… Tokoyami is taking down villains with Fat Gum in the East sector but moving around fast... Todoroki is close by, he's on his way."
"Do we know where Shinsou took Aizawa-sensei and Ojiro?" Midoriya asks, taking in the area around them. Most of the civilians had already ran away, leaving the area mostly empty. He spotted a few Pros bounding into the battlefield (because that's exactly what this had become) in the distance. From various entrances, however, villains were flooding in. Most of them with mutant Quirks. He couldn't locate Snipe.
"I didn't see where," Asui explained. Uraraka nodded dejectedly beside her.
"Where's Katsuki?" Uraraka asks.
"He joined Kiri, Sero, Satou, Momo, and Mina to the food stalls," Midoriya rattled off. He checked his own phone, seeing Bakugou rattling off where their other classmates likely were. Midoriya caught "dad" and settled the chat to read the message. He shoved his phone back into his pocket, turning to Asui. "Tsu, come with me to find Shinsou. Aizawa-sensei should still be with him and Ojiro. Kacchan says they went to a shop a ways down the strip."
"Bless Katsuki's honing obsession," Uraraka mumbled. She touched the fountain, the bricks making up the decorative edge lifting at her touch, breaking away from where it had been held in place.
"Hey."
Midoriya yelped, spinning around to where Todoroki was kneeling next to him. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry. I ran into a few villains on my way here," Todoroki says, pointing behind him. Midoriya leaned around him, spotting at least one villain frozen in place at his feet, up to his knees. "He'll be fine."
"…He's going to get frostbite," Uraraka mumbled. She peered back over the fountain edge.
"…he'll be fine," Todoroki repeats. Uraraka suddenly swatted at the pieces of concrete, sending the two pieces flying into a rather large villain through the smoke. Midoriya hooked his arm around Todoroki's, hefting him up alongside Asui.
"We're going to try and find Aizawa-sensei. Ochako, find Iida. He isn't far from here," Midoriya says.
"On it!" Uraraka lifted a few more pieces of stone, swatting them off towards her targets.
"Shou, can you be our back up?" Midoriya asks. Todoroki nodded, already looking around them and freezing a few villains in place. "Tsu, you take the right, I'll take left."
"On it, kero!" Asui jumped, landing on an awning and using it was a rebound point to start jumping back and forth across the district.
Midoriya wasn't far behind her, pushing his Quirk through his body to ricochet off the walls. Todoroki wasn't far behind him, sliding around on his ice when he could and sprinting over the broken rubble of the street or walls when he couldn't. Iida sped past them, straight towards where Uraraka was fending off a villain from civilians behind them. He reached her just as she touched a display shelf, using it was a bat just as she had against him in their first Heroics exercise. Iida felt a chill up his spine for a brief second.
"Ocha—uh—Uravity! I passed Deku and Froppy on my way here."
"They're looking for Sensei! On your left!"
Iida spun into a roundhouse kick, right into some poor shmuck's nose. He winced and turned back to Uraraka when it was clear the man was out cold. "Civilian evac?"
"Civilian evac," Uaraka confirmed. She pointed to a shop, ushering the civilians that had been present towards a Pro that was hurrying towards them. Uraraka double checked her phone. "Yaoyorozu says you and I would be two of the best for that, so… let's not disappoint the Class Goddess, hm?"
Jirou shoved a piece of debris off her leg, swearing a storm up under her breath. Kaminari groaned under her. Half the shop had collapsed when the earthquake hit. Her phone had been crushed, Kaminari's had shattered, and Nemuri was still pushing debris off her back by the time Jirou had regained consciousness. Jirou rolled off Kaminari.
"You both okay?" Nemuri asks, finally wriggling free of the debris. She grunted, rubbing at her hip. She definitely did something to that, and Recovery Girl was not going to be happy with her.
"I'm ok. Kami?"
"Peachy," Kaminari said, holding up a shaky thumbs up. Nemuri snorted. "Did you see the guy land?"
"Yeah. Barely. Couldn't see the stand well from here, but he was definitely using a Quirk when the quake hit," Jirou said, rubbing at her head. She stuck an ear jack into the ground. "…I don't hear any groaning in the structure, so it should be done falling."
"Great. Because Chiyo is already gonna kill me," Nemuri mumbled. She ignored the pain for now, as she could still stand, and picked her way to the front of the shop. "Head count! Anyone else here?"
"Here! I'm over here!"
Nemuri pushed past the rubble to the register. The cashier—and God, they were just a kid—was cowering under the register stand. She helped guide them out, checking them over for injury. Thankfully, they seemed untouched.
"You're a hardy one," Nemuri said, patting their shoulder.
"M-my Quirk is just enhanced durability," they said shakily. "It's really weak…"
"I'd say it was just very useful," Nemuri said, patting them again. She turned back to her students. "Was it just us in here?"
"Oh, yeah," the cashier said. Nemuri turned to Jirou who retrieved her jack.
"I hear a lot of commotion outside," she says. The words punctuated by Nemuri's ears picking up the litany of voices outside now that she was aware of them and the ringing in her ears was subsiding. She'd have to make sure to get Jirou checked for that, even if her Quirk seemed to be working fine. "And no other heart beats in here. So, I think it is just us."
Nemuri clapped her hands. "Oh, good! Now…" she fished out her phone. The screen was cracked, but it was getting a signal. She opened the first chat she saw, her private messages with Aizawa. He hadn't responded, obviously, but she could try calling and… the call failed to connect.
Nemuri bit her bottom lip, worry worming its way into her gut. Logically—ah, how he would tease her for using that word—she knew he was safe. He was with Ojiro and Shinsou. Even if they were just as caught off guard, so long as neither were too injured, Shinsou was a great student to be with in this situation. Villains loved to talk. And by Aizawa's own words, Ojiro was a prodigy with hand to hand, especially since he could use his tail as a fifth deadly limb. She pocketed her phone for now, instead focusing on getting out of the store so that she could have some actual agency in finding Shouta and his kids.
"Hey, Kaminari?" Nemuri asks quietly. Kaminari looked up at her, rubbing his head and neck.
"Yes, sensei?"
"Don't try using your Quirk, alright? You might have a concussion," Nemuri orders. She turned to Jirou next. "You on the other hand… can you use regular speakers like your boots?"
"Yeah, but I can't control it as well. It'd have to be done manually," Jirou says.
"I can control them," Nemuri says with a smile. She pulled the store clerk along with her to the back. "Grab the amps."
Jirou plugged into the main amp once Nemuri and the clerk had dragged them over, the latter spending a few minutes to hook them up together. "Sensei, can I ask what your plan is here?"
"Well, my plan was to clear the doorway with a good enough blast," Nemuri said. "Kind of like how Hizashi can."
"Okay, but… the ceiling might collapse," Jirou pointed out.
"I'm working on that…" Nemuri says. she looked over to some of the display tables. One long one, that she could easily drag over, had survived the bits of ceiling that had landed on it. Nemuri smirked and started to drag it over, biting back any grunts from the pain in her hip. The clerk rushed over, helping to shove the ceiling bits off the top to ease the weight and pulled it with her. Once it was in place she stopped and smacked the top. "Okay. We're going to get under this when you blast the amp. It should protect us from the debris. Like an archway."
"The storage room door—"
"Too far away, doll, you'll get trapped back there more likely than not, so we're gonna do this and hope the whole ceiling doesn't fall in front of us," Nemuri said, patting the clerk on the back. They stared at her, horrified. "Well, if it does, my phone works so I can always call Snipe."
"A-are you sure this is safe?" the clerk asks. "C-can't you call your friend now?"
"He's probably busy right now," Nemuri says. She shoved them under the table as gently as she could, throwing Kaminari under there just as quickly. She gestured for Jirou to get under as well. The girl extended her ear jacks so she could press against Kaminari.
"I'm a Pro Hero, sweetheart, if It's not, I'll get us out another way," Nemuri assured him. She got under with them, sighing. She reached up with her hand, resting on the knob. "Okay, Jirou, whenever you're ready tell me."
"….Now!"
Nemuri turned the knob, the speakers shooting out the rhythm of Jirou's heartbeat against the rubble. Nemuri yanked her hand back under the table as dust started to fall on it. She just needed Jirou's Quirk to make a large enough hole and pray that it didn't get covered in the aftermath, and they could crawl through. After four beats the hole opened, and Nemuri shot her hand out to shut the amp off. She wasn't as fast bringing her hand back in, however, a piece of debris crashing onto her wrist as she pulled it back. She bit back a scream, only managing just enough, instead letting out a pained grunt. Jirou retracted her ear jacks and shot Nemuri a concerned glance.
"Sensei? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, it didn't get my arm," she assured Jirou, sounding more strained than she'd like. The pain would pass in a second. She cleared her throat, gesturing to the hole in the entrance now that the dust had settled. "Okay, kids and plucky clerk first."
Jirou paused a moment, stabbing her ear jack into the ground for a moment before squeezing Kaminari's arm and ushering him forward. Nemuri was last from under the table. She helped boost each of them through the hole as best as she could with one good hand. The clerk had tried, bless their heart, to go last but she had none of it.
"If I had my whip, you'd be singing a different tune," she teased. "Not git."
They didn't debate her much after that. Once they were all out, she eyed up the hole. She could fit—barely. She reached her good arm out, squeezing her shoulders past the opening as Jirou and Kaminari both (mostly Kaminari if she were honest—the kid had put on some muscle) pulled her good arm to drag her out. Once free she sighed heavily, wanting to rest on the ground, but knowing she couldn't. Example numero uno: there was still a villain attack going on. Numero dos: a gang of said villains were already on their way over.
Nemuri stood in front of her students and the clerk. The gang of individuals were mostly male, with two women off to one side. Nemuri turned to Kaminari with a small shake of her head. He deflated a little, but given he was still nursing the back of his head, she wasn't taking any chances.
"Hold your breath, kiddos~" She sings quietly.
She'd been waiting to break out her Quirk. It was quite funny to see Kaminari in particular rush to cover his nose and mouth with his shirt. Jirou was instructing the clerk to do the same, copying Kaminari's method. So long as they held their breath until her Quirk dispersed, they should be fine with the extra cloth filtering the pheromone.
"Well, well, well, we have a couple of cuties…. Here… ugh…"
The largest of the gang collapsed before he could fully reach the small group. Nemuri smirked devilishly as the men started to drop one by one, four of the five hitting the ground before the women started to feel the drowsiness as well. She halted her Quirk, deeming the area sufficiently gassed, and opted instead for some quick hand to hand to take the last three down. The final male had to have some sort of resistance to her Quirk type, because he just wasn't passing out as easily as his cohorts were. A swift roundhouse kick to the jaw, however, and he was out. There was a satisfying 'crack!' when her heel met his jawbone.
One of the women raised her hand, stumbling in her steps, before a track of lighting shot out of her fingers. Nemuri didn't have to dodge too far to avoid the concentrated shot. The lightning itself was oddly held together in its stream. It sent her hair on end and made her wrist ache awfully, but it wasn't so strong that Nemuri couldn't punch the woman out. The second woman held her hands up, already dropping down to lay in the dirt.
"I'm good…" she mumbled, curling up next to her K. friend. Nemuri couldn't help but snort at the display.
"Okay. Okay, you three are fine now," she chuckled, waving at them. She paused, staring at her wrist, which was already turning ugly shades of blue and purple. She really hoped she could get to Recovery Girl before Aizawa found out about this. She was really praying for it, actually. It was swelling and the pain was starting to form a deep throb that, frankly, was almost just as painful as before so really, it wasn't improving.
Jirou sighed heavily, walking up to her. "Sensei—"
"Is your wrist okay, sensei?!" Hagakure's voice suddenly sounded off beside them.
"CHRIST!" Nemuri jumped away, whipping around to where Jirou stood. Hagakure was nowhere in sight, which meant… "Hagakure, are you naked right now?!"
"Wh—well, yeah, but! I CAN'T WALK AROUND UNNOTICED IF I'M DRESSED, OKAY?!" Hagakure shouted, the blush that was no doubt covering her face evident in her voice.
"N-naked?" the clerk squeaked.
"Don't look!" Hagakure shouted.
"Hagakure… never mind," Nemuri sighed, not in the mood to point out the fallacy in Hagakure's embarrassment. "Do you have your phone?"
"…. Sensei…"
"Right. Do you know where one of your classmates with a working phone is?" Nemuri asks instead. She pulled her own out, looking it over. "Snipe texted me he called Pros in, but I haven't gotten anything from Aizawa and I'm not in your kids' group chat."
"Oh! Izuku and Tsu are going around with Todoroki looking for him. So is Tokoyami. None of them have found him, yet, though," Hagakure reported. Nemuri looked up at her slowly as she continued. "Iida and Uraraka are in the West sector rescuing civilians and evacuating. Bakugou is with an entire group, and they're all fine, but they're stuck in one of the multi-storied shops last time I checked into the chat when I was stopping by Iida and reporting. Bakugou is a little mad he can't just blast his way out—"
Yeah, that sounded just like the kid.
"—but he did give Izuku and Tsu a direction to find Aizawa-sensei in," Hagakure took a breath and Nemuri held up her hand.
"I think I've got it, dear. Be careful going back to the Pros, alright? I'm taking this nice young man to the evacuees," Nemuri said, gesturing to the clerk.
"Okay! Jirou, Momo wanted me to find you and Kaminari. You think you can hear Aizawa-sensei's voice with your Quirk if he's in a building?" Hagakure asks.
"Definitely."
"Awesome! She's not far from here, she's just past that corner, where the wall of ice is," Hagakure said, pointing off in the direction they needed to go. When Jirou hesitated to turn, she tilted her by her chin instead.
"Oh."
"Okay, bye!"
Hagakure bounded off down the street, careful to sidestep areas with too much debris or dust that could result in either a bloody footprint or a footprint in a pile of dirt and dust. She could at least do a round of the area to report on when she got back.
Hagakure wouldn't say that she was easily frightened or embarrassed. Despite being flustered undressing for her Quirk, she had grown quite confident, thank you very much. She ducked against a wall as a rather large Mutant Quirked man bounded past her. Chased immediately by Bakugou who was using his blasts to propel himself down the street fast enough to roundhouse kick the man in the back of the head. He dropped to the street hard enough to sound like an elephant dropping as nothing but dead weight.
Hagakure pursed her lips in a hum. Bakugou looked… a little too ecstatic to be free to use his Quirk again, in her opinion. She shimmied along the wall. Spotting Kirishima and Sero getting civilians out of collapsed shops across the street. Satou was holding up the heavier bits of rubble alongside Kirishima, who would dart in and grab injured civilians while Sero grabbed uninjured with his tape to yank them out faster.
She went past them, spotting Iida and Yaoyorozu focused on their phones in an area of quiet. She rushed up to them, retrieving her phone from Yaoyorozu's bag.
"Oh! Toru! Did you find Kyouka and Denki?"
"Yes indeedy!" Hagakure says. She grimaced, catching up on everyone's status, and disappointed to see that Ojiro and Shinsou had yet to join the chat. She quickly relayed Kaminari and Jirou's status and slipped it back into Yaoyorozu's bag. "They're both okay and Jirou is on her way. Kami might have a concussion. I'm more worried about Midnight-sensei. Her wrist looked broken."
"She'll be okay with a trip to Recovery Girl or an EMT," Yaoyorozu assured her. She bumped sides with Hagakure, eliciting a hidden smile from the girl.
"Okay, I'll be back! I'm going to check the South sector. I haven't been there, yet."
"Midoriya's group came back and went that way," Iida called after her.
Hagakure weaved through the destroyed walkways and streets. She had to side-step more than one villain-Pro battle. She ducked a stray blast from one villain, skirting across the street and under an awning.
This was one of the worst and best jobs he'd ever been a part of. The gang was making a name for themselves, sure, but none of them had really planned for these many Pros to be in the vicinity of the event. He'd tried to warn them, but noooooo, no one listened to a low-level grunt about planning ahead. He sighed heavily, perched on top of one single level shop, pistol tapping against his knee.
His ear-piece crackled to life: "Hey, Goro, you got anything else?"
"Nope."
"Aw, c'mon, there's gotta be civs somewhere down where you are."
"Gimme a sec, then, god."
Goro activated his Quirk, the street immediately becoming alight with orange, red, and yellow bodies milling about or running. He could see, far down the street, several Pros and his own gang members in a battle. No way was he getting anywhere near that. Closer to his own location, down the opposite side of the street, was another group. A rather large one, in fact. Mostly civilians, with some kids ushering them to the sidewalk. He wasn't sure if any were Pros… de-activating his Quirk he took them in casually. None of them were costumed, anyway, so perhaps not Pros.
He activated his Quirk again, turning to the other side of the small building. There was a lot of one-on-one action on this side of the street. A smaller body was racing down the street on the far left of him. He could ignore them for now. On his right he saw something… strange.
Was… was no one else seeing that girl? Was she in a skin-tight suit or something? He couldn't see any warmed strips of clothing hanging off her. Perhaps it was a body suit.
Goro blinked, staring as she just waltzed around his comrades and their opponents as if carried on the breeze. No one even spared her a glance. The closest any of his comrades got was Boshito catching a quick scent with his Wolf-based Quirk, but he was distracted by a Pro rushing in to clock him across the jaw. Shame.
Was it a perception altering Quirk?
"Yoooo, do you have anything worth my time or not? Boss wants a few more hostages in that sector—"
"Shut it and gimme a second."
"Oh, so maybe?"
Goro de-activated his Quirk, only for the girl to completely disappear. One moment she was ducking under a man's swing, and the next she was completely gone. Just vanishing from sight. He quickly activated his Quirk again, catching her further down the street.
Well, he'll be damned…
"Maybe I do."
Goro ignored his fellow member's chortle and teasing at him for being "dramatic". He'd be as dramatic as he wanted to be if he was being dragged out to be arrested in a botched mission with half his neighborhood's forces.
Maybe they could recruit her. A girl with a Quirk like that was invaluable. Maybe, if they had to, they could find her family and use them as leverage. Maybe she just wasn't afraid of being attacked. Clearly, she wasn't concerned about her Quirk wearing out, so it had to be Mutant-type, right? He wondered. If it never shut off, that'd be a pain in the ass for keeping a watch on her. He would definitely get shafted with guard duty.
Either way, that was one hell of a prize for this entire debacle of a mission.
Goro jumped down from the rooftop, landing just behind the girl. She jumped in surprise at his sudden entrance, but her immediate relaxation only confirmed his suspicions. She was not at all concerned about being seen so much as heard or felt. He shot his arm out, intending to grab her hair. Her surprised yelp and immediate parry were… a little surprising. She had better reflexes than he thought she would.
He tried again, aiming to pistol whip her instead. And what did he get for his troubles? A blinding flash of light that was shot right into his eyeballs.
What the hell was that?!
Goro stumbled back, aimlessly throwing out a kick, and it was caught under her arm. The girl lifted—she was lifting him—and tossing him aside. He was heavier than he looked. He was mostly muscle. But he would be damned if he lied and said that girl wasn't impressive in that she at least got his foot off the ground a few inches.
And almost immediately he was being hit from the side and into the wall.
Hagakure blinked down at the man. He kind of reminded her of Snipe if she were being honest. Snipe if he were far more European looking and had horrifying eyes. The man slumped against the wall, out cold. Hagakure looked up to Tokoyami, who was looking just past her right. She giggled, getting him to look at her direction properly.
"Thanks for the save, Tokoyami!"
"No problem. I figured out rather quickly who he was attacking," Tokoyami says. "Not many Quirk users are invisible, I don't think."
"I appreciate it," Hagakure sighs. "I don't know how he saw me…"
"We can ask Aizawa-sensei for that part of the police report after he's arrested," Tokoyami says.
"That works. Oh! Hey! I'll be the eyes on the back of your head if you want, I can follow you!"
"I'd rather go to where Midoriya is," Tokoyami says. Hagakure tilted her head, about to ask where, but Tokoyami pointed towards a small connecting alleyway behind him. "He found Aizawa-sensei—"
"Let's go! Let's go! LET'S GO!" Hagakure cheered, pushing Tokoyami in the direction of the alleyway. Dark Shadow chortled beside him.
"Hagakure, you're going to make me trip."
"You can fly!"
"….Only kind of?"
Hagakure ignored him, snickering as he ushered her towards where she could already hear Midoriya's voice floating towards them as they neared. They rounded the corner to find Midoriya fussing over Aizawa, flitting around him in circles, and mumbling up a storm. Hagakure couldn't really make out what he was saying. She could see that Aizawa, sat on the sidewalk and resting his arms lazily on his knees, was rubbing at his eyes tiredly with a grimace.
"—ithout your Capture Weapon! Without Shinsou's Quirk you'd have been at a massive disadvantage, they were mostly Mutant Quirk users! She was the only Emitter! Sensei, you could have gotten shot! Or stabbed! Or beaten to death!"
"I'd have beaten them to death," Aizawa grumbled.
"AIZAWA-SENSEI!" Midoriya screeched.
"Problem Child, I am fine."
"He's so not fine…" Hagakure mumbled.
Tokoyami sighed, walking up and dragging Midoriya away. The boy was mumbling something about first aid, which finally drew Hagakure's attention to Aizawa's head.
"Oh my god, he's bleeding," she whispered. She rushed over, almost tripping into Ojiro, screaming. "OH MY GOD, SENSEI! YOU'RE BLEEDING!"
"Hello, Hagakure," Aizawa says tiredly. He laid back on the sidewalk.
He really needed a coffee.
Translations:
Bezaubernd = Adorable.
Hidora = Hydra (a mythical monster where, when a head is cut off, two grow in its place)