Izuku found himself waking up sore the next morning. Mr. Aizawa hadn't held back in his assault on him the day before. The thought jarred his memory to the early morning meeting the class was supposed to be having with their homeroom teacher. Izuku dressed quickly and grabbed a piece of fruit before heading to the main school building. When he arrived, he greeted Iida and Yaoyorozu on his way to his desk and the rest of the class filed in soon after, each anxious at what the post exam announcement would be about. Predictably, the yellow sleeping bag entered almost approximately at the start of the meeting time.
"It's time to get to business. I have a few announcements, and then you will be released for the day. Is that understood?" Nobody responded, and Aizawa took that as his moment to continue speaking. "Due to the actions of a particular student, I wasn't able to announce this yesterday; but those who passed are going to be joining me for a summer camp." Some of the class' louder members seemed to deflate at the comment. "And those of you who failed will also be joining me." Cheering, from Kaminari and Ashido specifically, erupted through the classroom, but was silenced in an instant with Aizawa's quirk. "This will be a quirk improvement summer camp and you'll be leaving in one week to give you time to prepare, pack, and whatever else you need to do. This isn't a fun trip. Prepare for hell on earth as I rip you apart and put you back together. And those of you who failed will be joining me for mandatory extra classes. The location won't be discussed until we leave for security reasons. If that's understood, you're all dismissed."
Aizawa's announcements had thoroughly curbed the enthusiasm for the summer trip for most of the class, but some of the class still found excitement in going on a trip. And within an hour of leaving the meeting, a trip was planned to the mall to buy anything that people might need for the trip. Izuku agreed, quickly thinking of a few things he'd like to have for the trip. The only members of the class who didn't agree were Bakugo and Todoroki. And so the majority of class 1-A headed to the mall.
Iida took the lead on the trip, organizing a route through the mall that would take everyone to each of their desired locations in the minimum amount of time. It was taking a bit of time to wrangle everyone together, but for the most part the students were grouped together. Suddenly, Izuku felt a wave of killing intent coming from behind Uraraka and Asui. He moved swiftly and saw a black hoodie reaching towards them. He caught the hoodie in a headlock and was surprised at who he'd caught.
"If you tell them I'm here, Kurogiri will release Nomu into the mall and tear this place to the ground. Why don't just you and I have some tea?" As the two girls turned to see Izuku, they questioned why he had someone in a headlock.
"It's a friend from my hometown. I was surprised to see him all the way out here. This is just something we do, right?" Izuku said speaking confidently with a large smile on his face. The hoodie also nodded soon after. The girls dismissed them, assuming it was a cultural difference. "Could you tell Iida I'll go to my store with them?" Uraraka nodded and they left to join the rest of the group. Izuku waited for a bit before making a move. He had to act carefully to not reveal to spectators he had activated his quirk. Shigaraki could feel flames covering his body beneath his clothing influencing his movements.
"We're going to go straight to that tea shop in the corner and you'll tell me what you want here." Shigaraki said nothing as he was directed to the tea shop and the two were sat down at a table. An inexperienced waitress took their orders and brought back two coffees before leaving the two to their own devices.
"So, what do you want Shigaraki?" Izuku asked as he took a sip of his coffee. He had retracted his flames from Shigaraki, but his eyes still glowed ready to burn him in an instant. Shigaraki also took a sip of his coffee before he spoke. Making sure to keep one finger off of the cup.
"I came here wanting to kill time, then kill your classmates, but now I want to know the difference between myself and Stain. I have new recruits in the league, but they joined because they thought Stain agreed with my goals, not because of anything I am bringing to the table. Between him, and me, and All Might what's the difference?" Shigaraki stated as he continued to sip from his cup. Izuku took note of the way Shigaraki moved his fingers.
Izuku thought for a moment before he responded. "It's your ideology. All Might's is to fight villainy and save lives. Stain's is to fight the problems with heroics. Yours is to destroy. I don't think that resonates with people because it doesn't sound noble." Shigaraki seemed to be visibly shaking at the comments. "I sort of understand you though, I think." Shigaraki's eyes shot to Izuku forcefully and Izuku pointed at his eyes to remind Shigaraki not to make any sudden movements towards him.
"But the people here don't they smile thoughtlessly and gather like idiots. If you weren't here, how many people do you think I could kill before a hero could stop me?" Izuku stared at Shigaraki carefully. As much as he hated to admit it, Izuku knew Shigaraki was strong. Him managing to hurt Aizawa was a testament to that. To find a hero capable of stopping him quickly would be hard. At least a couple dozen would be dead due to the nature of his quirk. And if any Nomus appear, it would turn into a slaughter.
"I think it all connects to All Might. The hero killer talked about him being the example he used to measure heroes. And All Might is so forcefully the number one hero right now that no one is worried. He puts people at ease even though bad things could still happen." Izuku trailed off in the thought, not noticing the disturbing smile that formed on Shigaraki's face.
"That's right! It's All Might. The problem with society, the way they're able to live like ignorant sheep despite being so close to disaster. But you're different than them. You've experienced hardship. As annoying as you are, this has been surprisingly pleasant. You've helped me in an unexpected way." Shigaraki leaned over the table carefully. "If you try and follow me, don't forget that there will be Nomu here in an instant." Izuku nodded as Shigaraki walked out of the place and towards a shadowy corner across from Izuku where he disappeared.
Izuku allowed his quirk to rest and pulled out his phone immediately calling the police. When he finished his call, he paid for the two drinks and waited in the shop for the police to arrive. He also sent a quick message to his classmates telling them not to worry and that he'd catch up to them later and that he had something to deal with today. And then he was taken into police custody.
Izuku then found himself in a familiar waiting room. And then a more familiar face greeted him, looking more tired than usual as he came to interview him. "Mr. Midoriya, good to see you again. How are you?" Detective Tsukauchi greeted as he sat across from him.
"I'm good I wish we didn't keep meeting like this." Izuku joked, receiving a dry chuckle in return for his efforts. "So what do you want to know?"
"I need to know everything that happened between you and Shigaraki and no detail is too small. Don't forget that my quirk is lie detector so don't try and slide anything past me." The detective told Izuku. He nodded as he recalled the story to the detective. Tsukauchi listened carefully to every part of the story asking Izuku to elaborate piece by piece. And eventually, Izuku reached the conclusion of their interaction
"You displayed good judgement in managing Shigaraki and not allowing the hostage situation to get to you. Most pros would struggle in that situation, but you made it out alive and no one is hurt. We've evacuated the mall and investigated for any traces of the League." The detective told Izuku. "We've also notified both the school and your mom that you're here. The school is sending Eraserhead to pick you up since your mother wouldn't be here for several hours. She agreed to the arrangement." Izuku nodded as he patiently waited for his teacher.
Izuku sat patiently as he waited and played on his phone. Because of the evacuation of the mall, he had received several messages; but he assured his classmates that he was alright. Eventually Aizawa showed up and he was unreadable as he simply made a gesture for Izuku to follow him. As they arrived at the car, Izuku was gestured to the back seat while Aizawa took the passenger side. Once they were secured, Present Mic drove towards the campus. "So, do you want to explain how you ended up in a hostage situation?" Aizawa asked after a few moments of silence.
Izuku stiffened and then met Aizawa's eyes "To be completely honest, I'm not sure what happened. One moment we were on a mall trip the next I'm having coffee with a sociopath." Izuku tried to look as innocent as possible, but with so many incidents so relatively close it was hard to not look like a problem. Aizawa sighed as he contemplated Izuku's response before posing another question.
"What happened?" Aizawa asked trying to gain a grasp on the situation.
"It started with Uraraka and Asui being attacked, and eventually he was threatening to drop Nomu's in the mall. Although, I did manage to gain some information. The league has new members, and they are using Stain to attract those members." Izuku offered hoping to appease Aizawa. Suddenly, Present Mic interrupted.
"Shota, stop acting like you're not happy he's ok." There was a quick jab and suddenly the questioning stopped. Aizawa gave him a look that said 'if you tell anyone I'll kill you' and Izuku resigned himself to playing on his phone. If someone were to say either were happy, they'd both vehemently deny it.
When Izuku arrived at the 1-A dorms, he was immediately swarmed with questions about what happened. It was harder to explain to his classmates, specifically Uraraka and Asui, who were in danger, but Izuku decided it would be for the best to let them know the truth. And so he told them everything about the situation from stopping Shigaraki to him leaving via a warpgate. It seemed to make some of the class anxious being that close to danger without ever realizing it. And eventually much of the class split up for the day, some choosing to do recreational activities and others choosing to make appointments with Hound Dog to discuss the matters of the day.
Izuku chose to take the rest of the day to relax and let the day's events pass. The situation itself was stressful, but the fact that the league had gained followers of Stain was ridiculous. As he was unwinding, he received a knock on his door and opened it to find two familiar faces. "Maki, Hatsume what are you two doing here?" Izuku asked. Maki and Hatsume didn't respond instead opting to circle Izuku.
"See anything?" Maki asked. Hatsume shook her head and plopped down in her usual spot in Izuku's room, bringing one of her projects out to work on. Izuku watched in amusement as they situated themselves in his room. "We aren't leaving you alone today because you got into trouble again." Maki stated. Izuku resigned himself to the arrangement and called his mother quickly to let her know he was alright. Eventually, they settled for sitting and enjoying each other's company. Maki and Hatsume had to throw Izuku in his bed themselves when he fell asleep between them. They soon let themselves out and Izuku was awoken the next day by repeated knocks at his door. Izuku made his way to the door to see Mineta and Kaminari at his door.
"Good morning." Izuku greeted groggily. He rubbed the tired out of his eyes as they began to talk.
"Hey, Midoriya, would you be interested in training at the pool today?" Kaminari asked suddenly. Izuku pondered over it for a moment and Kaminari continued. "We got permission from Mr. Aizawa if that's what you're worried about." Mineta nodded quickly supporting the statement.
"It's not that. I'm just wondering why me?" Izuku asked cautiously. Mineta responded before Kaminari had the chance.
"We are on a noble venture. We're going to see the girl's in bathing suits if we say you'll come. Everyone trusts you so they won't question it as much if you come. So, what do you say?" Izuku paused for a moment ready to shoot the idea down, but he had a thought.
"Sure, I'll go just give me some time to get ready. What time are you going?." Izuku questioned.
"We planned to meet there in an hour and a half." Kaminari responded. Izuku nodded and closed his door to get ready. He wasn't particularly fond of water for obvious reasons, but he felt like spoiling Mineta and Kaminari's fun was worth it. Izuku then made a quick stop by a certain dorm before making his way to the school pool himself. He also sent a text message along the way before arriving first. Maki and Hatsume arrived soon after in school swimming uniforms.
"So you're challenging me to a swimming race?" Maki asked. Izuku responded with a simple nod. The two began stretching while Hatsume set up a board to measure the times of the races. The competition began soon after. 20 races and the results were 15-5 in Maki's favor. Izuku was exhausted from racing up and down the pool against her, especially without using their quirks. Maki had a twinkle in her eye as she looked back at Izuku. "Your quirk might have the edge in combat, but I'm still league's above you in physical strength." While Maki was teasing Izuku, Hatsume leaped into the pool surprising both Izuku and Maki.
"If you're going to keep me out of my lab so much, I'll do what I want." Hatsume responded incredulously to their looks. The two merely shrugged and followed her lead, enjoying the pool for a bit before the class arrived By the time the class had arrived, the three had all dried off and were waiting near the pool. Kaminari and Mineta looked betrayed as Izuku introduced the training to the entire class rather than just them and the girls of the class. Hatsume brought work from the lab to the pool so she and Izuku were seated off to the side as the competition began. Yaoyorozu taking the lead on keeping the scoreboard.
Eventually, the races whittled the competition down and the final match was between Bakugo, Todoroki, Iida, and Asui. Before the race could start, however, Bakugo delivered a challenge. "If you're so good Deku, come out here and face us!" Izuku stared for a moment before he responded.
"Does anybody object to me participating?" Izuku asked as he made his way to the starting line. No one had any objections as Izuku lined up to race against them and eventually Izuku was staring down Bakugo. Before the race was called, Izuku noticed something in the corner of his eyes. When he felt his quirk simmer out, he realized it was Mr. Aizawa. The rest of his competition had already leaped and gotten a face full of water.
"Good work on the training. Unfortunately, the pool is needed by another group soon. I've been sent to collect you." The class quickly packed their things and left. Izuku was among one of the last ones to leave and was surprised when wind kicked up behind him in the pool area. Turning suddenly, he and Mr. Aizawa were greeted by All Might and what appeared to be a smaller All Might. Izuku left quickly following their arrival and Aizawa shared in the sentiment. Meanwhile, All Might and Mirio began training at the pool thinking nothing of the looks from the two.
Izuku made sure to go straight back to the dorm. Once he was in his room, he allowed his quirk to flow freely for the most part. Being in the water for so long had never suited him much, but allowing his quirk to flow made the feeling more manageable. Izuku found himself packing and dedicating the remainder of the day to rest. Tomorrow, he and the rest of Class 1-A would be enjoying the training camp from hell.