The first class of the second week at UA was Hero Basic Training, which Aizawa had stated would be focused on rescue training at an off-site facility. Aizawa had offered everyone the choice of whether to use their hero costumes or not, since even though the costumes were designed with each student's quirk in mind, they also had certain limitations that may or may not be a hindrance to rescue training.
After everyone got changed into either their costumes or gym uniform, they gathered outside UA where a bus was waiting for them. Iida, who had taken his role as deputy class representative very seriously, was loudly organising the class into a line of pairs to board the bus and sit in the double seats he had expected. Much to Iida's dismay, only the back part of the bus had double seats, and the rest had a line of seats on either side facing inward to the middle of the bus. The end result was that none of Class 1-A's loud conversations were particularly secret.
At one point, Tsuyu, who had been sitting across from Izuku, bluntly remarked that his quirk resembled All-Might's. As amusing as it was to see Izuku stumble to deflect the suggestion, Akiko was also equally hopeful that others wouldn't figure out why . At the moment, nothing good would come from people discovering that particular secret.
Soon enough, the bus pulled to a stop and everyone disembarked. The location they had arrived at was a large, dome-shaped building with the letters 'USJ' sitting above the entrance. Standing just in front of the entrance was none other than the Space Hero, Thirteen. Akiko looked over towards Uraraka, who was predictably glowing with excitement.
"Welcome everyone, I have been waiting for you," Thirteen declared with open arms. They led Class 1-A inside the building, and Uraraka made her way to the front, to be as close to her hero idol as possible.
As they stepped inside, Akiko took a look around to see what was inside. The space was separated into several distinct sections, each featuring a realistic imitation of a scenario that would require the involvement of heroes for rescue missions. There was a ship in a large pool of water, which Akiko guessed would sink during a shipwreck scenario, two mountainous regions - one of which had been the victim of a landslide, a section imitating a city in ruins, and two smaller domes. One of the domes was red and had a fire pattern painted on the outside, and the other was blue, and was probably somehow water or rain related.
"A shipwreck, a landslide, a fire, a windstorm, and more. This is a training ground that I made with different types of accidents and disasters. Welcome to the 'Unforeseen Simulation Joint', also known as USJ!"
Aizawa sauntered towards Thirteen, with his posture a lazy slouch. He said something quietly to them that Akiko couldn't hear at all. Thirteen said something in response at an equally low volume, and then the two teachers turned to face the class.
"Let's see… Before we begin, let me say one thing… er… or two, or three… or four… five… six… seven…" Thirteen kept counting upwards and Akiko sighed - as did many of their classmates. "Everyone, I'm sure you're aware of my quirk, Black Hole. It can suck in many things and turn them to dust."
"You've been able to use that quirk to save people from all kinds of disasters, right?" Izuku added, beaming. Uraraka nodded vigorously beside him.
"Yes, that's right," Thirteen confirmed. "But it is a dangerous quirk which can easily kill people with one wrong step. Some of you also have quirks like that, right? In a superhuman society, personal quirks have been certified and stringently regulated, so that doesn't seem to be a problem at first glance. However, please do not forget that there are many quirks that can kill people if you aren't careful. Over the last week you have learned many things about how you can use your quirks to fight. In this class, you will take a different perspective, and learn how to use your quirks to save people's lives. You do not have powers so you can harm others. I hope that you leave here with the understanding that you have powers in order to help others. That is all, thank you for listening."
Thirteen earned applause for their speech from many of the students, and they bowed graciously in response. Aizawa then tried to get everybody's attention to begin the class, which was exactly when everything started going wrong.
First, the lights went out. Then, the fountain in the central plaza started spurting water irregularly. A purple mist appeared out of nowhere in front of the fountain, swirling outwards until the fountain was completely obscured from view. The mist started forming into tendrils that lashed outwards, and a hand reached through it.
"Gather together and don't move!" Aizawa ordered with a tone of urgency. "Thirteen, protect the students!"
And then, the villains came.
Led by a tall, pale man with several disembodied hands clamping onto his body, an entire army of villains marched through the purple mist. Akiko looked closer, and they were certain they saw a pair of yellow eyes set into the top of the mist. Is that mist a villain with some kind of warp quirk?
A few of the students who hadn't caught Aizawa's hint stepped forward to get a closer look, and he shouted them down. "Get back! These are real villains, not part of the lesson. The trespassing last week must have been their doing, huh?"
"Senseis, what about the trespasser sensors?" Yaoyorozu asked. It was a good point - all UA owned facilities had sensors installed so that nobody without a valid ID or entry pass could get in undetected.
"We have them of course, but…" Thirteen trailed off.
But somehow they're able to get in without setting off the sensors, Akiko realised. If they have someone with a warp quirk, and the sensors are just set up around the perimeter, of course the sensors wouldn't get set off.
"Did they only appear here, or around the whole school?" Todoroki questioned. "Either way, if the sensors are not responding, that means they have someone with a quirk who can travel undetected. An isolated area separated from the main campus during a time when a class is supposed to be here - they might be fools, but they're not dumb. This surprise attack was carefully planned, with some sort of goal in mind."
"Thirteen, start the evacuation," Aizawa instructed. "Try contacting the school. These villains have something to counteract the sensors, so it's possible someone with radio-wave type powers is interfering, but we need to try anyway."
"What about you, sensei?" Izuku called out. "Will you fight by yourself? With that many, even if you can erase their quirks… Eraser Head's fighting style is capturing an enemy after erasing their quirk. A frontal battle isn't your style, is it?"
"You can't be a hero with just one trick." Aizawa tilted his head, and his scarf started rising up into the air. "Well, I'm leaving the kids to you, Thirteen."
And then, Aizawa pulled up his goggles over his eyes and launched into the fray. It was an incredible sight to behold. Aizawa ran forward, gripping his scarf weapon in both hands, charging at the first villains he saw. A villain with a gun-barrels for fingertips tried to shoot at Aizawa, but nothing happened. The same went for the two other villains who tried to use their quirks to attack him. Leaving the villains no time to recover and come up with a new plan, Aizawa entrapped all three of them in his scarf, hoisted them into the air and then slammed them into the ground.
While Aizawa kept the army of villains occupied, Class 1-A made their escape. Or, at least, they tried to escape. As they ran towards the main exit, the purple mist villain warped to them, blocking their path.
"Nice to meet you, I am Kurogiri," the mist villain spoke with a low voice. "We are the League of Villains. It may be presumptuous of us, but we have invited ourselves into the home of the heroes, UA High School, in order to have All-Might, the Symbol of Peace, take his last breath. Now, I believe that All-Might should have been here. Has there been some kind of change? Well, that is neither here nor there. I suppose we will have to start killing the children - that ought to garner his attention."
Bakugou and Kirishima charged forward, and Akiko couldn't decide if it was brave or foolish. They knew nothing about this villain other than that he had a warp quirk, so it would have made more sense to wait and see, and let the substantially more experienced Thirteen handle the fighting. Kirishima swiped at the purple mist with a hardened arm, and Bakugou set off a sizable explosion that kicked up a cloud of dust and smoke.
"Kill us? Maybe you should consider the possibility that we'd beat you first!" Kirishima taunted, but as the cloud began to dissipate, Kurogiri revealed himself to be completely unharmed.
"Oh dear, that was close," Kurogiri scoffed. "For a bunch of first year students, you're quite skilled. A shame, then, that you'll have to die here today."
"You two, get back!" Thirteen shouted, as they popped open the cap on one of their fingers and began to activate their quirk.
"My job is to scatter you all and torture you to death!" Kurogiri announced as his purple mist spread out into tendrils that surrounded the entire group of students. It was hard to see anything through the mist, and although Akiko's first instinct was to find Hitoshi and grab onto him, they were too late.
The mist dissipated, and Akiko was surrounded by crumbling buildings, and definitely not alone.
Akiko wasted no time in assessing their surroundings. They were most likely inside the Ruins Zone of the USJ, and they had no allies in sight. Surrounding them were at least twenty villains, each looking ready and raring for a fight. Akiko was incredibly glad that this was the first lesson they had scheduled for the morning, even though it was no longer an actual lesson. This was a fight for survival, and Akiko was thankfully full of energy.
They didn't have time to be overtaken by fear - they could freeze up and definitely die, or make a stand and possibly survive. They could try and run, but not only did they not know how to get out of the Ruins Zone, they also didn't know what quirks the villains had, so running was even more risky than fighting. Besides, Akiko didn't finish the UA entrance exam with the top score for nothing.
Instead of waiting and giving the villains a chance to put them on the defensive, Akiko rushed straight in, immediately putting their own quirk into play. Using augmented speed, they attacked the first villain they saw, and lashed out with an enhanced roundhouse kick. The villain was caught off guard by Akiko's speed, and the kick connected right into their gut.
One down.
Akiko landed, and pushed forward, not letting up. They flew forward at another villain with a fist outstretched, and it planted itself against the villain's face.
Two down.
Then, Akiko realised that this strategy wouldn't keep working. It wouldn't be long before the villains snapped out of their shock and converged in on Akiko. And so, they fled. Akiko launched directly up into the sky, and then redirected their own motion to fly through an open window of a nearby building.
Running wasn't an option before, but when Akiko was able to gain the element of surprise to jump away, the option opened itself up. They could bait some of the villains inside the building, and then flee out the same window and run with less pursuers. Even better, if they climbed to the top, they could find a way out of the Ruins Zone. Unfortunately, that plan had to be put on hold when one of the villains - a large, muscular woman wearing a torn denim jacket - jumped up through the same window, landing behind Akiko.
"Where do ya think yer going, kiddo? Time fer ya to get a piece of these FISTS!" The woman had huge muscles that appeared to be the result of some kind of strength enhancement quirk. Akiko would have to be incredibly careful - one clean hit would probably be the end for them. All the same, Akiko could use this strength to their advantage if they were nimble enough. Never before had they been this grateful for Aizawa's suggestion that they focus on agility training. After the Quirk Training lesson, Akiko had continued practicing the agility exercise at home in their spare time. The improvements were small, but hopefully enough to keep them alive here and now.
"Well then, come and get me!" Akiko taunted, hoping it would be enough to get the villain to make the first strike.
It was.
The villain's fist cut through the air, and it was fast. But Akiko was faster. They stepped forward and turned on the ball of their feet, getting behind the woman and pushing into her back. Then, using their quirk to launch the villain forward even faster in the same direction, they sent her hurtling into a wall.
The wall didn't stand much of a chance.
Once again, Akiko was presented with an opportunity to escape, and they took it - without even checking to see how many villains had pursued them inside.
They jumped out of the window and then changed directions midair to fly upward. Akiko realised quickly that they wouldn't make it to the top of the building by flying, because they would just run out of energy - fighting against gravity was an added challenge that they simply could not surmount. Instead, they turned to find the side of the building, hoping dearly that there would be something to climb.
Akiko breathed a swift sigh of relief when they saw emergency stairs that rose almost all the way to the rooftop. They landed on the nearest level of the staircase and started climbing. Instead of running up all the steps, they used their quirk to jump from level to level, which was far easier than just flying upwards. It took half a minute, but they finally made it to the top, and the villains hadn't been able to follow.
From this new vantage point, Akiko was able to assess what was going on in the rest of the dome. Over in the Landslide Zone, they could see Todoroki handily defeating any villain they came across with simply excessive blasts of ice. In the Mountain Zone, Kaminari Denki was coursing with electricity, frying any villain that got too close. He had help, but Akiko couldn't see who else was there. There was something going on in the Shipwreck Zone, but it was too far away for Akiko to discern anything useful.
As much as Akiko wanted to make sure everyone was safe, that was well beyond their current ability, and so they made a decision. There were two people they prioritised above the rest of the class, and Izuku could definitely take care of himself. So, Akiko resolved to search for Hitoshi.
Since the nearest zone was the Flame Zone, Akiko went there first. They leapt across the rooftops of the Ruin Zone until they were closer and could locate an entrance. There were several doorways at the ground level of the dome that covered the Flame Zone, so Akiko picked one and ran in. Following the sounds of shouting, Akiko quickly discovered that they had made the right choice. Surrounded by burning buildings and a ring of agitated villains were Hitoshi and Ojiro Mashirao, a classmate they hadn't gotten to know at all yet, and someone that Akiko could only assume was a villain Hitoshi had put under his control. All Akiko knew about him was that his quirk gave him a large, powerful tail that he used to fight with.
"Hitoshi!" Akiko called out, getting not only Hitoshi's attention, but also the attention of many of the villains surrounding Akiko's classmates. If they had to estimate, Akiko would say they had about half of their total energy remaining. It would be enough - it had to be.
"Keep attacking the other villains using your quirk," Hitoshi ordered the one under his control, and the controlled villain started hurling blades of wind into the crowd. Both Hitoshi and Ojiro had taken Akiko's arrival as an opportunity to renew the fight, wasting not a single second of Akiko's distraction. Akiko launched into the fray, and between the four of them, they were able to draw the fight to a close.
"Hitoshi… I'm so glad you're safe…" Akiko pushed out between heavy breaths. Then, everything went black.
When Izuku fell out of the sky and into the water, the first thing he saw was what looked like a shark swimming straight for him. For a moment too long, he panicked. He had no idea how to fight underwater, and would probably just drown himself if he tried. As the shark got closer, Izuku was able to see it better and realised that it was actually a villain with a mutant-type quirk. Before he could come to his senses and try to fight back, something wrapped around his waist and yanked him out of the water.
His body was hoisted through the air, and he landed on his back on a solid surface. Adrenaline coursing through his body, Izuku jumped up, and realised he was on the ship in the middle of USJ's Shipwreck Zone, and Tsuyu had just rescued him. It was just the two of them, and they were surrounded by a team of villains all of whom had quirks suited to water combat.
"It's not looking good," Tsuyu pointed out, sounding surprisingly calm. "Do you have any ideas?"
Izuku stopped to think. He looked around, trying to figure out if there was anything they could use around them. He could definitely jump out of the Shipwreck Zone while carrying Tsuyu, but it would cost him his legs. Given the large group of villains that still stood in the central plaza, that hardly seemed like a good idea. There was nothing he could use to fight the villains, but…
"Midoriya! We don't have time to stand around, so do you have any ideas or not?" Tsuyu shouted, now far less calm, snapping Izuku out of his thoughts. He nodded.
"At the strength I can currently control my quirk, I can jump about half-way across the water while carrying you. If you wrap your tongue around me again, and I throw you midair, you could pull us the rest of the way," Izuku explained quickly. The two of them heard a loud thud coming from below them, and the ship started sinking.
"Okay, I don't see any better options," Tsuyu declared, and her tongue flicked out of her mouth and wrapped around Izuku once again. He focused on pulling back on One For All, just like Akiko had taught him, and jumped. Just as he reached the peak of his ascent, Izuku moved the energy of his quirk to the upper half of his body, and threw Tsuyu with all his available strength.
As Tsuyu flew through the sky, her tongue began to slip from around Izuku's waist. Although the plan had partially succeeded and Tsuyu made it safely to land, Izuku's descent fell several metres short. The water broke his fall painfully, and he began to sink. But this time, Izuku wasn't going to freeze up. Letting the power of One For All flow across his whole body, he pushed his arms and legs through the water as hard as he could without sustaining injury, and broke through to the surface. The villains were closing in, but he was almost on land. There, he could fight them. So he kept swimming, and quickly joined Tsuyu's side on the dry land, safe.
Tsuyu grabbed Izuku and pointed towards the exit. "We should avoid the central plaza and head straight for the exit now. Sensei has drawn many of the villains there, so we should be able to slip through safely."
"Yeah, sure," Izuku nodded. But he wasn't really paying attention to what Tsuyu said. There were too many villains, and Aizawa wouldn't be able to handle them all on his own. "Wait, no! Aizawa is trying to take the villains down, but there are too many. I know he did this to protect us, but I want to go and help. If we can find an opening to even take on some of the weaker villains, that would help Aizawa. If you want to evacuate, I understand, but I'm going to the plaza!"
Tsuyu nodded, and opted to follow. What Izuku and Tsuyu saw when they reached the plaza made both of them want to throw up. Aizawa's body was being pressed into the ground by a giant beast, and blood was splattered all over the ground. The beast in question was a muscular giant with a beak and what looked like an exposed brain for a face. He had to watch as the beast effortlessly snapped Aizawa's wrist, and the man screamed. Izuku took a sickening relief in the evidence that his sensei was alive, and felt awful for it.
The villain covered in hands said something to Aizawa that Izuku couldn't hear, and the beast stomped on Aizawa's arm, breaking it just as effortlessly as his wrist before. Izuku edged closer, looking for an opening, any opening to jump in and rescue Aizawa. As he did, the mist villain, Kurogiri, appeared next to the hand villain.
"Shigaraki Tomura," Kurogiri said, and then paused.
"Kurogiri, did you kill Thirteen?" The hand villain named Shigaraki asked.
"I put Thirteen out of action, but there were students that I was unable to disperse, and one of them was able to run away," Kurogiri stated.
"What?" Shigaraki snapped. The man raised a hand to his neck, and started scratching violently . "Kurogiri, you… If you weren't a warp gate, I would turn you to dust right now! We can't win against dozens of pros, it's game over. It's really game over this time, so let's go home."
They're leaving? Izuku questioned silently, stunned at the change of events. No, I have a bad feeling about this. To just retreat, after all this? They wanted to kill All Might, and if they just leave, UA will bolster its security straight away.
"Oh, yeah," Shigaraki muttered, turning to directly face Izuku. "Before we leave, let's smash some of his pride as the Symbol of Peace!"
Shigaraki leapt towards Izuku with a hand outstretched. There was something about him that was more terrifying than anything Izuku had ever experienced, and he froze again. He had thought he was mentally prepared this time, and now he would pay for his overconfidence. And then… Shigaraki halted with his hand inches away from Izuku's face.
"Tch, damn it," Shigaraki whispered. "You really are cool, Eraserhead!"
Despite his severe injuries, Aizawa had managed to activate his quirk and protect Izuku. The beast holding him reacted quickly by slamming Aizawa's head into the ground, and Izuku took that moment to react. He ducked under Shigaraki's hand, and twisted his fist into a rising uppercut.
"SMASH!" Izuku yelled, and completely lost control of his quirk. His punch struck forward at 100% power. And yet, it didn't feel right. It didn't feel like it had connected properly. When the cloud of dust cleared, Izuku immediately saw why. The giant beast had left Aizawa behind, and positioned itself in between Izuku's fist and Shigaraki. And the punch, which had been at 100% of Izuku's current power, barely pushed the beast back a centimetre. It was completely fine. And Izuku was fucked.
The beast struck back at Izuku in retaliation, and he should have died . It was so fast, Izuku could barely see the punch coming. He flinched, eyes shutting hard, but didn't feel the bone-shattering strike he had anticipated. Instead, he felt a push come from his side, and then he was blindly tumbling across the hard ground. When Izuku opened his eyes, he saw All-Might blocking the beast's punch with one flexed arm.
"Young Midoriya, are you okay?" All-Might called out. Izuku struggled to get the words out in response, so instead he gave All-Might a thumbs up with his unbroken arm. The first year student looked around, and saw a trail of unconscious villain bodies leading from the stairs to where All-Might currently stood. Help was finally here, and yet Izuku didn't feel entirely reassured. He had hit the beast at full strength, and it had barely done anything .
"Young Midoriya, Young Asui, I leave Aizawa to you. Take him and run to the exit!" All-Might commanded, his eyes remaining trained on the beast. "He's severely injured, you'll need to hurry!"
"Y-Yes, sir!" Izuku stammered out, his words finally returning to him. Tsuyu and Izuku carefully hoisted up Aizawa's body, each having one of his arms over their shoulders, and Tsuyu used her tongue to keep his legs from dragging along the ground. As they turned to leave, Izuku heard some muttering and made the mistake of looking.
"No good, no good, no good, no good!" Shigaraki muttered, as he paced across the plaza with one of his actual hands covering his face. The villain leaned over and grabbed the disembodied hand that was on the ground, and restored it to its original position. "I'm sorry, father. He hit me as he was saving them. So this is the violence of a government official?"
At this point, Tsuyu started moving away before any villains could endanger Aizawa further, and Izuku had to turn and leave. As soon as Aizawa was safe, he was going back. He had to go back.
As soon as they had made it to the bottom of the stairs, Tsuyu spotted Uraraka at the top and waved her down for help. Uraraka sprinted down the stairs faster than Izuku had ever seen her run, and almost lost her footing a couple times. Once she'd reached Izuku, Tsuyu and Aizawa, she pressed a hand gingerly on Aizawa's body so that he would float up and be easier to carry.
"I'm sorry, you two, but I have to go back!" Izuku ducked his head down so he wouldn't have to meet their eyes, turned, and ran. As if the day wasn't bad enough already… As if the sight of Aizawa being crushed almost to death by the beast wasn't bad enough, what Izuku saw on his return was somehow worse.
All-Might was bent over backwards, grabbing the beast around the waist as though to shove it into the ground. Immediately below him was a purple, misty warp gate. Instead of being suplexed into the ground, the beast's upper body emerged from under All-Might and was clawing into his side, and its lower body was a metre away coming out of another warp gate. No, that's his weak spot!
And the beast was pulling. If it succeeded in getting even part of All-Might's body into the warp gate and it closed… All-Might would be cut in half. Broken arm or no, Izuku had to do something. He ran forward, with his good arm outstretched. If he could just grab onto All-Might and pull him free…
Kurogiri appeared in his way. Was it all for nothing? And then, kaboom. A firm hand shoved Izuku to the side, with no care for his broken arm, and Kurogiri was exploding. Bakugou? Izuku looked up, and his suspicion was confirmed, Bakugou was pinning Kurogiri's metal armour to the ground, and keeping him there with the threat of exploding his actual body.
At the same time, Todoroki had appeared, and frozen the beast's entire right side. This gave All-Might the opportunity he needed to escape as the beast's grip loosened, and the Number #1 Hero jumped up to solid ground.
"All I heard was that you all are here to kill All-Might. I cannot allow that to happen," Todoroki declared, resolute.
Just as quickly as All-Might recovered, so did the beast. "Get back, everyone!" All-Might called out, putting a protective arm in front of his students. As the beast pulled itself upright, the frozen limbs snapped away, and regenerated fully in seconds .
"What? Its quirk wasn't shock absorption?" All-Might questioned.
"I didn't say that was all it had," Shigaraki revealed with glee. "Nomu has been modified to take you at 100%; he's a super-efficient human sandbag. Now, I think it's time to get our warp gate back and accomplish our goal before the heroes arrive."
The beast called Nomu made a beeline towards Bakugou, and Izuku could barely follow the movements with his eyes. There was no way he could make it to Bakugou in time. Nomu slammed a punch into where Bakugou was, and shook up a giant cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, Bakugou was gone. In his place was All-Might, standing tall with arms crossed defensively. Izuku turned, and saw Bakugou land on his ass beside him and Todoroki. "Kacchan! Thank goodness you're okay!"
"You know… that plain-looking kid over there tried to punch me with all he had, just to protect one of the others." Shigaraki stepped forward towards All-Might, and spread his arms out wide. "Violence for the sake of others makes it admirable, isn't that right, Mister Hero? You know what, All-Might? I'm angry! I'm angry at this world that categorises the same violent acts as heroic or villainous, deciding what's good and what's bad."
A voice in the back of Izuku's head suggested that if Akiko were here, they would jump in without a second thought and shut down this villain's 'arguments'. But they weren't here, and Shigaraki kept talking. "They call you the 'Symbol of Peace', but you're just a device to repress violence using violence, which continues the cycle. The world will know this once we kill you!"
"That's preposterous," All-Might countered. "You're just using these words as an excuse to act however you please without care for the repercussions!"
"It's three against four," Todoroki stated quietly. "And Bakugou has already exposed Kurogiri's weakness. We should-"
"NO!" All-Might barke without once looking away from the villains. "Run away, and leave this to me!"
"You would have been in trouble if I hadn't done anything earlier, though," Todoroki protested.
"That was a different story, Young Todoroki, and I thank you for it. But it's fine! Just watch as a pro gives it everything he's got."
"All-Might, you're bleeding… Besides, time's-" Izuku stopped himself before he revealed All-Might's secret by mistake. All-Might gave Izuku a thumbs up, and turned to face the villains.