The first twenty-four hours had been the hardest. He'd died. As in his heart stopped beating. For five agonizing, painful, minutes, she had to watch as the paramedics scrambled to resuscitate him. But, before they'd even gotten him out of the tank, his heart had started beating again, under it s own power. It was the strangest thing she'd ever seen before. Stranger still, by the way the ring around his necklace, which had miraculously survived the conflict, glowed brightly for a moment. Mandalay had never known someone capable of putting such a strain on her mental faculties as Percy Jackson was capable of, yet he managed to do it even as he lay broken and battered.

Once they'd gotten him to the school, she had lost sight of him. He had been dragged into immediate surgery. Recovery Girl had needed to call in extra help all the way from Tokyo; someone who specialized in spinal reconstruction. Thankfully, whatever the water did to help him heal, had already started on his back by the time they'd arrived at the school. Since the wound on his arm had already recovered sufficiently enough not to be an immediate concern, they had instead focused on fixing his broken spine.

The worst of it was they couldn't even rely on Recovery Girl's quirk until he was a little more stable. Her miraculous abilities relied on her target's own stamina in order to heal. Since Percy's body was broken so badly, all of his unconscious energy was being depleted far too rapidly to utilize the quirk.

Thankfully, they had managed to fix most of the immediate damage. After his back, they had to focus on his internal injuries. One of his lungs had been punctured by skeletal fragments when his ribs had been broken. His spleen had damn near ruptured, and his kidneys were shot. When she had been told the full extent of his injuries, she could only sit silently and thank whatever god or gods that were out there, that Percy was seemingly the most stubborn bastard on the planet.

In total, he had endured twelve hours of reconstructive, live-saving surgeries, before he was dumped in a special tank designed by Power Loader himself. The tank was little more than an overgrown barrel of water, but they assumed since his body naturally healed in the liquid, it was his best chance at recovery.

Apparently, the support hero had been busy, because that wasn't the only thing he'd been working on. Supposedly one of his first years was something of a savant. She'd overheard Power Loader talking about potential prosthetics before insisting she be allowed to take on the project. According to Power Loader, the girl had been slaving away for the past several days, working with the man on something to replace Percy's missing limb.

If he ever woke up to use it anyway.

She had to physically shake her to clear the thought away. Of course, he would wake up, he hadn't survived as long as he had to live out the rest of his days in a coma. Which had been the case for the past four days. They weren't even entirely sure why he was still unconscious. His body had healed to the point where Recovery Girl had finally been able to use her quirk on him, speeding up the repair process. By her estimate, he should have woken up days ago, yet there he was, eyes still closed as he floated in that god-awful tank.

He had three large tubes protruding into his back, essentially large IV's that were feeding medicine and antibiotics to prevent infection directly into the bloodstream. In spite of his ability to breath underwater, a large mask covered the bottom portion of his face. Mostly it was just a large microphone, allowing him to communicate with the medical personnel in the room, whenever he eventually woke up.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she fished it out. Taking a look, she bit back a sigh. Rumi had been texting her non-stop since the day of the attack. There had been rumors and speculation that one of the students had been grievously hurt during the attack, and the rabbit seemed to know instinctually that it had been Percy. She had also been less than pleased when Mandalay had refused to give her any information about what was going on. Had the situation been different, Mandalay would have laughed and mercilessly teased the poor woman. Whatever Percy had said or done to her, had left one hell of an impression. But Mandalay's hands were rather tied. It wasn't like she didn't want to tell her friend what happened, she just legally couldn't. Part of her contract with U.A. had been a very long, very detailed nondisclosure agreement. She wasn't allowed to leak any information regarding the well-being of the students, faculty, lesson plans, or anything else, under penalty of immediate termination and legal recourse.

She responded the same way she had to the battery of questions for the last four days.

"I can't comment."

Which, of course, just set the little rabbit off even worse. Mandalay rubbed at her temples and fought off the beginnings of a headache. Luckily, the perfect distraction came in the form of the door to the infirmary opening. Ragdoll stepped in, shutting the door softly behind her, and padded over to the open chair beside Mandalay. The room had been vacated of a traditional bed, in order to make room for the tank, and the Cat's had filled the empty space with chairs for the four of them. They had been taking it in turns to watch over their young charge, to ensure that when he did eventually wake up, he wouldn't be alone.

It worked out, since they didn't teach any other classes, and their only other obligation to the school was the summer camp they were hosting at their cabin. So more often than not, all four of the Cats could be found lounging in the infirmary, waiting for their student and friend to finally wake up.

Ragdoll spied the phone in Mandalay's lap and sighed.

"Rumi?" she asked, and Mandalay just nodded in annoyance.

Ragdoll just pat Mandalay calmly on the arm, "She's just worried about the little lion is all."

"I know," Mandalay groaned, "I just wish she'd understand the position we're in."

Ragdoll just hummed in acknowledgement, before her gaze flickered to the tank. "No changes?" she asked,

Mandalay shook her head, "Nothing. His recovery is coming along well. Most of the damage to his spine has been fixed, so he won't need a back brace, but his ribs are still bruised and his foot has been slow to recover. Thankfully, the skull fracture he sustained doesn't look it caused any permanent damage, so that's a good sign. No idea why he's not awake yet though."

Ragdoll continued humming to herself, tilting her head back and forth as she gazed at the tank, "Maybe he's just dreaming." She pondered,

Mandalay almost snorted. She loved her friend, but she was a bit…fanciful at times.

Mandalay needed a change in topic, "Any leads on the bastards that did this?" she asked, During the course of All Might's fight, two of the villains had managed to get away. Apparently one of them had a warp quirk, which explained how they got into the facility, and had extracted the man responsible for Percy's missing arm.

Ragdoll shook her head, "Tiger's been hitting up some old contacts, but he hasn't been able to turn anything up. The name we have for the guy with the hands, Shigaraki Tomura, is apparently an alias. That name and his quirk don't show up anywhere. But I'm not worried. We'll find the bastards."

Oh wow. She's more upset than I thought.

Ragdoll very rarely cussed. Said she could say what she needed to without being vulgar about it. But when she was very upset about something, the occasional coarse language was usually a pretty good sign of her feelings.

"Think he'll be ready for the festival?" she asked and Mandalay shrugged off the change in topic,

"If he wakes up?"

"WHEN. Shino. WHEN he wakes up,"

"Right," she agreed, hating that she sounded so unsure, "When he wakes up, he'll have two weeks to fully recover. So, I would imagine so. He's lucky that the school decided to push things back."

"He'll be ready. He promised Rumi he was going to win after all, and we know Percy doesn't make promises lightly."

That much was true. In the few weeks she'd known him, she understood that Percy took his word and promises very seriously. Viewing them as a personal betrayal and insult if he should break them. It was honorable in a way, but equally aggravating. That kind of thinking and personal loyalty was what was holding him back from being able to move on.

"Have the kid's tried sneaking in again?" Ragdoll asked.

"No, not since we caught them the first time." Mandalay stated. The day after Percy was out of surgery, they had caught several of his classmates trying to sneak into the infirmary. It was touching honestly, how worried they had been for their wayward classmate. But Nezu and Recovery Girl had stated in no uncertain terms, that visitors be kept to an absolute minimum. She could understand it. Those kids, heroes in training or not, had been through something horrifically traumatic. Seeing their classmate as hurt as he was could be problematic to their continued mental health.

They were drawn away from their conversation, as something tapped nearby. Like someone was rapping at a window. Hesitantly, the two woman's gazes shifted from one another, to the tank. Floating in the tank, they saw his eyes, tired and drooping with exhaustion, were nonetheless open. The women were up and out of their chairs immediately. Mandalay rushing over to the tank as Ragdoll bolted from the room. Recovery Girl and Nezu had given standing orders to summon them when Percy was finally conscious.

His hand was flat against the glass of the tank, his eyes still drooping slightly as he came to full alertness, and Mandalay put her own hand up against the glass, over top of his. A silent gesture to ensure he knew that she was really there.

"You can speak, that mask allows you to communicate with us out here." she said softly,

"…Kids….ok?" he said, his voice modulated and slow, coming from the speakers of the tank. His shoulders were tight in worry, and his eyes held the undercurrent of fear that he hadn't been able to stave off the monster he'd fought.

Her heart beat a little quicker at the question. Of course, the damn stubborn and heroic fool would be more worried about the kids than himself.

She graced him with a smile, "All ok, thanks to you. All Might got there just in time. You managed to hold it off for long enough." she said, smiling at him, relief at seeing those bright green eyes again left her feeling light on her paws. "One of them, Midoriya I think, was a little banged up, but he was discharged the same day as the attack."

"…How…long…?" It was a little unnerving if she were honest. His every breath was coming through the speakers, and the modulated pitch along with the sluggishness of speech, was off-putting.

"Four days," she said, she wasn't sure if he was asking how long he'd been asleep, or how long ago the attack had been. "How're you feeling?"

"…Sore….tired…but good…had a lot to think about while I was under…" he paused, as he took the time to breath a little, "Came to a few…personal revelations…"

"Oh?" she asked softly, "Like what?"

"…Mostly that…I'm an idiot,"

"Could have told you that myself sonny," Recovery Girl announced, as she meandered slowly into the room, Ragdoll and Nezu fallowing in close behind her.

"Mr. Jackson," Nezu said happily, parking himself in front of the tank and looking up at him, "It is wonderful to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

Percy shrugged, "Been worse, I suppose." He had seemed to recover his ability to speak without pausing for breath. He then glanced down at his stump of an arm, wiggling it a little bit, "Kind of annoyed if I'm honest."

Mandalay couldn't help the exasperation that clouded her mind. He'd been in a coma for days, had most of his body broken, lost an arm, and had been legally dead for five minutes. Most people wouldn't be 'kind of annoyed.' But she supposed that was just him.

"I can imagine. Worry not though, I can assure you that everything is being done to ensure that you don't have to go without that arm for too long." Percy just quirked a brow at that but didn't comment. He rolled his shoulders slightly, and seemed to fidget his joints. Wincing in pain when he realized his right leg was still broken.

"Any chance I can get out of here any time soon. I want to see how the kids are doing."

"You'll stay put until I damn well tell you sonny," Recovery Girl grumbled, examining a readout of his vitals on the tablet in her hands.

"Until then Mr. Jackson," Nezu said, crossing his arms behind his back, "I wanted to see for myself that you had woken up, so I won't take up much more of your time. I did however, want to take a moment to apologize."

Percy blinked, confusion in his eyes, "Apologize, sir?"

"Indeed." Nezu chirped cheerfully, bouncing on his paws, "I must admit, when I brought you in, I didn't know whether you would even last a week at U.A." Percy just looked more confused, "I feared the worst, a man of your experience must understand. A scared young man, telling me these incredible stories that all seem just too good to be true, while having enough raw power to sink our little island into sea? You terrified me beyond measure Mr. Jackson. However, when we spoke, I saw your drive to do good, to prove yourself, to try and be the kind of man who inspired hope. It was the reason I offered you a chance in the first place. Now, after seeing what you were willing to sacrifice to protect your classmates, I can see that I made the right decision."

Nezu smiled softly at Percy, "You're a good man, Mr. Jackson. But you're going to be a better hero."

Even with the mask covering his face, Mandalay could see Percy's brow crinkle as he smiled.

BREAK

So apparently, a lot had happened while he was out. During his debriefing with Nezu, he discovered that of the one hundred and twelve villains that had been involved in the attack, only two managed to escape. The ghost guy that had been their transportation, and the annoying little shit who stole his hand.

Oh yeah, he'd almost forgotten that minor detail. Apparently during the scuffle between All Might and what he'd been told was something called a Nomu, the bastard had freed himself from the ice, and cut Percy's hand off of his dismembered arm, which was why they couldn't simply reattach the lost limb. He'd been annoyed about that. Not necessarily about the arm, saving Tsu's life was worth the loss, but he hated the idea that someone had a trophy of HIM with them.

If he were honest, he wasn't nearly as broken up about the lost limb as he probably should have been. He didn't know what that said about him, that he was handling the loss of his arm as well as he was; he was more annoyed than anything. Sure, the reassurance that a prosthetic was being made helped, but there was more to it than that. To be frank-and as grotesque as it might sound-a part of him was, not necessarily thankful, but accepting of what happened. It wasn't so much an injury, as much as it was a permanent reminder. For the rest of his life, he would have a reminder, not of what had happened, but what could have happened. What he might have lost. He'd come to the realization during his time with Annabeth, which had apparently been a lot longer than he realized. Who knew that time moved differently across planes of reality? Nonetheless, Percy viewed the limb as more than the stump it was.

Whenever he looked at it, it served to remind him that there were people he cared about. People, he was allowed to care about. That he didn't have to feel guilty about forming attachments, and moving forward with his life. In that same vein, it was also a harsh reminder of what he had to lose. Going into the fight, he'd deluded himself into thinking that the only thing he had left to lose was his own life. Something he didn't even really put that much value in if he were honest. It was a little callous, but it was difficult not to be. Especially when life expectancy for his kind was short, and he had potentially eternity in Elysium waiting for him.

But the fact remained, that he had been wrong.

There were people in his life he couldn't afford to see hurt. People he cared about. People he wanted to protect. It had been an important bit of personal discovery, and he was beyond thankful that nobody else had been seriously injured.

Of the twenty-one students in class 1-A, only he and Midoriya had suffered any injuries. Although Midoriya's had been rather tame in comparison, which he had been relieved to hear. The kid hurt himself enough without someone else to break his body for him. Aizawa had apparently recovered enough that he was going to be teaching again, which was equally relieving to here. The man's distrusting nature aside, Percy couldn't help but respect the hell out of anyone, who would fight as hard as he had to protect the students. Thirteen had managed a full recovery as well, though Percy couldn't even remember seeing the woman get hurt.

The school had been shut down for an entire week. Nezu decided that the entire security system for the whole school needed to be restructured, so classes had been cancelled as Power Loader and other support heroes were brought in to reconstruct the school's defense grid. Nezu was fairly adamant about never having something like the USJ happen again.

Shock of shocks.

They had also pushed back the date of the sports festival a week, which Percy was also rather thankful for. He had been worried, once he was more coherent, that he would be laid up for the entirety of the event. He'd made a promise to Miruko to make things right, and he was nothing if not a man of his word.

Plus, he was competitive as hell, and he didn't want to miss the opportunity to flex on the entire school.

It wasn't until the third day of his being awake that he was coherent enough to fully remember the fight. More importantly, he remembered his father's words, and the power he'd been gifted with. What in the hades had that been? Had he really taken on some of his father's power? Was he taking up the mantle as the god of the seas? Or was it simply a power boost? He had so many questions, so many concerns, and nobody to answer them. He'd tried praying, to anybody and everybody he could think of for answers. But as he'd suspected, he'd received no replies. Eventually, he'd settled for setting the concerns aside, and focus more on the strange message his father had left him, for when he was healthy enough to try and use the power again.

His days since his reawakening had been a rather monotonous affair. Sleep in the tank, wake up, get removed from the tank, have recovery girl use her quirk, rinse and repeat. He spent three days doing that, and by the time the new week came around, his body had been strong enough that he was deemed fit for class again.

He was thankful for a number of reasons. Not the least of which was that he was slowly going stir crazy. He'd never been a particularly good patient. Sitting still for too long made him antsy, like he should have been doing something. But more importantly, he wanted-no needed-to reassure his classmates that he was alright. Alive and still able to kick ass.

To his amusement, he seemed to have a rotating personal guard made up of the Cats. He couldn't even go to the bathroom without one of them following him around, though mercifully only Tiger seemed to follow him there. Perhaps, in other points of his life, he would have found the hovering to be suffocating. But in light of what had happened, he was comforted by the gesture. The Cats were just showing they cared, and he appreciated the gesture immensely. After spending so much time isolating, the feeling of being able to rely on others was the kind of refreshing change he desperately needed in his life.

That didn't mean he wasn't above teasing his self-appointed bodyguards a little though.

"You know," he drawled out to Ragdoll, as the pair slowly meandered through the halls to his homeroom. "Just because I'm hurt, doesn't mean I'm an invalid. I can carry my own backpack."

"Awe what's wrong?" she asked, her large eyes blinking owlishly at him, "Don't you like spending time with me?"

"Pretty sure I've basically been living with the four of you since I woke up," he said dryly, though not unkindly.

"Don't expect it to go away any time soon little lion." she said with a big grin, "You've woken up the mama cat in all of us, Tiger especially." Percy laughed, because that was the truth. As much as Mandalay hovered over him, the big man had all but appointed himself Percy's personal chauffeur. Apparently, he'd grown accustomed to finally having another man around full time, and was not willing to give him up any time soon.

Percy meandered slowly as they approached the large door to his homeroom. His body still didn't quite have the stamina yet to utilize Recovery Girl's quirk to fix all of the damage done to him. It had taken all of his energy to repair the more grievous injuries, such his arm, ribs, back, and the internal damage, so some things were taking longer. That, and his back and ribs were still a touch on the tender side.

Ragdoll, without a word, just opened the door for him, and allowed Percy to take the lead into the classroom. His foot was still a little on the sore side, though no longer in a brace, and as a result, He was a few minutes late to the classroom. He didn't care all that much, they never really did much in their homeroom to begin with.

Walking in, he immediately felt twenty-one pairs of eyes on him. He was pretty used to stares at this point in his life, so he just ignored them,

"Sorry I'm late," He said to Aizawa, who looked more mummy than man at the moment. Both his arms were bandaged in slings, and his face was covered with so much medical tape, Percy didn't know how the man could even see, "I'm moving a little slow at the moment."

His words seemed to break the spell over the kids in the class, as there was a small eruption of noise, and Percy quickly found himself quickly surrounded by excitable teenagers.

"Shut up and get back to your seats." Aizawa commanded, and the order was fallowed. Ragdoll just giggled as she walked to the back of the room to deposit Percy's bag at his desk. Aizawa turned his attention to Percy, who restarted his limp to his desk.

"You should be resting Jackson," he said,

"So should you," Percy shot over his shoulder, as he deposited himself into his desk. He muttered a quiet thank you to Ragdoll, who bid him adieu and left the room with a small wave.

He caught Yaoyorozu's eyes as she looked at him in shock from over her shoulder. He gave her a cheeky wink, and leaned back in his chair.

"Anyways," Aizawa said, continuing as though Percy hadn't interrupted, "The U.A. sports festival is in two weeks' time. It's one of the most televised events in the entire country. Students here only have three opportunities to show pro-agencies they have what it takes to be potential pros. Your performance during the festival will determine the kind of offers you receive for an internship in the coming weeks. Take your preparations seriously and don't slack off! Homeroom is dismissed." With that the man limped out of the room.

As soon as he was out the door, Percy was swarmed by his classmates.

"Guys, guys," he waved them off, "Relax. I'm a little tired, and sore as hell, but beyond that, I'm fine."

"Dude…" Jiro said, leaning against a desk as she looked at his empty right sleeve, "You lost an arm. Pretty sure you're allowed to be not all right,"

Percy just gave her a confused look, "I'm not all right," he said slowly, and every eye turned downcast, ducking to avoid his gaze. Then, he smiled cheekily and waved his left hand, "I'm all left these days. See," he wiggled his fingers around.

Several pairs of eyes just blinked at him, and then someone groaned, and Yaoyorozu slammed her head into her desk. "This is our class representative."

"Oh, come on," Percy complained, "That was funny,"

"Um, man…" Kirishima said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck,

"Too soon?" Percy asked, and the boy just nodded, as Shoji, who had taken up his usual position at Percy's right flank just pointed in the direction of Tsu across the room. She was looking down at her desk, her shoulder's shaking slightly, as she refused to meet his gaze.

"She's been blaming herself," Yaoyorozu whispered to him, "The teachers weren't telling us anything, so Midoriya informed us what happened down by the fountain. She's spent the last week thinking you were dead or crippled, because she got attacked. I even heard from Uraraka that she tried to talk to Aizawa about having herself removed from the Hero Course. More importantly, she thinks that you'll hate her for what happened. That you blame her for…" her voice trailed off, and her gaze flickered to his right shoulder.

Percy let out a breath and stood up, motioning for the others to pack up, he walked over to Tsu. Propping himself against the side of her desk, he frowned as he watched her shrink into herself. He shot a look at Ashido, who was watching the interaction with an interested look on her face, before she got the message, grabbed her stuff, and joined the group of kids in the back.

Percy sighed, looking down at his watery eyed classmate, "You know," he said, doing his best to sound aloof. Tsu flinched slightly at his voice, "I don't know what's more disappointing, your lack of faith in me, or how little you value yourself."

Tsu turned a stunned expression his way, unable to keep the surprise off her normally expressionless face.

"W-what?" She asked,

Percy just arched a brow, "Well, Yaoyorozu over there tells me you've been blaming yourself for what happened. Like I'd be mad or something, about what happened."

She flinched again, and averted her eyes, tears dancing in the corners of her dark irises, "It-it was my fault…If I hadn't frozen up, if-if we hadn't been there."

"Tsu" Percy said, his tone soft, yet with an undercurrent of command, "Look at me Asui." he said, using her full name, which really got her attention. Percy never called her by her full name. She re-met his gaze, "How long have you been training?"

"Wha-what?" She asked,

"Training, how long have you had real, pro-hero training?" Percy asked again

"Two weeks…" she answered back quietly,

Yuh-huh," Percy nodded, "You've been training for two weeks to be a hero, and even still, in the first life-or-death battle you were faced with, you came out on top. You want to know what happened the first time I had to fight for my life?"

She nodded,

"I froze up too, and I nearly got my mother killed." He said bluntly, and Tsu looked at him, wide-eyed. Percy knew his reputation in the class. It was hard not to, now that he was actively thinking about it. He hadn't had a difficult fight against any of the students he'd really gone up against. He all but taught the hero course with All Might. He knew that it was hard for the kids to look at him, and see anything but the hardened veteran that he was. He knew the look. It was the same way he'd looked at Luke once upon a time.

The kids in his class were using him, most likely unconsciously, as a frame of reference. A guiding post for what heroes did, and how they acted. For such an inexperienced group, while it wasn't surprising, it was a dangerous way to think. They thought they needed to, and possibly could, emulate him instantly. They never saw the battles, the victories, the defeats, that had turned him into what he was. It was unrealistic to assume that he simply grew the instincts he did overnight, and he needed them to understand that.

He continued speaking, "It took a long time, a lot of training, and a lot of experience, before I was able to trust my instincts to guide me. You can't blame yourself for what happened, because it was one-hundred percent, not your fault. The only one to blame, are the cowards who tried to use us to get to All Might."

She looked like she was about to argue, so Percy cut her off. He knelt down, so the he was more even with her, and put his hand on her shoulder, "Tsu, some crazed bastard threatened your life, tried to hurt you, and he wouldn't have stopped there. That thing, that monster that I fought, it would have killed as many of you as it could before All Might got there."

He gently cupped the side of her head, so he could guide her eyes to meet hers, "Don't devalue your life, by thinking that you're to blame. I sure as hell don't, because I would do it again in a heartbeat. You're important to me. Everyone in this class, is vitally important to me. And it pains me that you'd think so little of me; that you'd think so little of me that I'd be angry at you for what happened. The only one's I'm angry at, are the bastards that tried to take you from us, from me. This class, the friends I've made here at this school, are literally all that I have left. The only things anchoring me to reality. So don't you dare, marginalize my feelings by blaming yourself, or thinking you are at fault for what happened."

The tears streamed down her face, as her lip quivered, a low ribbit echoing in the back of her throat. She threw her arms around his neck as she hopped out of her seat. Percy laughed, staggering a little at the sudden impact, before stabilizing himself on the desk behind him. He didn't know much about Tsu beyond what he'd observed. She was as reserved about her life as he was. But from what he had observed, the poor girl didn't seem to have many people she could call a friend before coming to the school.

It was the way she clung to those like Midoriya and Uraraka. The way she insisted on everyone using her first name. She cherished the bonds that she had here, tenuous as they were. Percy knew that she needed to know that, more than anything, Percy was her friend. First and foremost, and before anything else.

"You want to make it up to me," he said softly, her tears staining his uniform, "Then you work your butt off and prove that you're the hero I know you you're going to be. Can you do that for me?" He felt her nod against him shirt, and he chuckled again.

After a few moments, she released her arms around his neck, and he gently lowered her back to the ground.

The room was silent, and he was uncomfortably aware that the entire class had just watched the interaction, he just ignored it, focusing instead on the way his stomach rumbled.

Finally, Tsu pulled away from him, dabbing at her eyes, "Better?" he asked, and she nodded, "Good, now come on," he said, "I'm starving, let's go grab something to eat, hey Shoji," he called out, "Mind grabbing my bag for me?" The large boy nodded, and Percy slowly made his way to the door, Tsu matching his steps. He figured she would be a little clingy for a couple of days, but that she would eventually forgive herself, especially now that she'd seen him alive, and that he was not blaming her for what happened.

Opening the door with his hand, he swore.

"Oh, what the fuck is this?"

Clearly the message had gotten out to the rest of the school about the festival. Standing outside the door to 1-A must have been the entirety of the first-year population.

"Tch" Bakugo scoffed, sidling up to Percy's side as he gazed at the assembled students. "Must have heard about the villain attack and wanted to see what real heroes looked like. Here to scout out the competition?" He asked rhetorically, "Well get out of the way you extra's, I don't have the time to deal with all of you," He strode out of the room, the throngs of students parting slightly to make way for the aggressive boy.

Percy heard Kirishima sigh beside him, before the redhead shot him an apologetic look, "I'll catch up with you later man, good to see you're moving around." He thumped Percy on the back and took off after Bakugo. At some point, Percy didn't really know when, Kirishima had become one of only two people in their class Bakugo seemed to tolerate. The other being Percy himself.

"Wow, I had heard rumors that 1-A was pretty strong, but I should have realized they'd be arrogant too." Someone said, and Percy saw a flash of purple hair, as a lanky young man, with tired eyes, and a skinny frame, pushed his way to front of the throngs of students.

"Are all the students in the hero course this arrogant?" he scoffed, "It's pretty disillusioning, but I guess it doesn't matter." he looked Percy in the eye, "Did you know that that there are a number of students here, currently enrolled in the general studies program among others, because they didn't make it into the hero course?"

Percy just blinked, "And apparently this is now happening," he grumbled under his breath, "Ok, and?" he asked, "Not really seeing how that's my problem,"

The skinny kid scoffed again, "Typical, those with powerful quirks think so highly of themselves while the rest of us have to struggle to get by."

Percy stopped listening; he could feel something trickling through the bandages on his stump. Looking down, he noticed the small splotch of red seeping through the material. He cut off the kid as he was ranting, shouting behind him, "Hey, Yaoyorozu, can you make me a new set of bandages, I started bleeding again," It had been doing that on and off for a few days. He wasn't sure why, the wound had healed over well enough, but every once in a while, it would just start bleeding again. It was annoying.

Propping himself up against the doorjamb, he unbuttoned his dress shirt, so he would have better access to the wound. There were a few muted gasps, as he exposed the mess of bandages that made up his torso. He felt Yaoyorozu come up beside him, and he saw the supplies held snugly against her chest. He nodded his thanks as he unwound the bandages on his stump, the crowd murmuring in shock as he did so.

He looked up, seeing as the kid had stopped to watch him in utter fascination and muted horror, "By all means," Percy prompted the kid, idly tossing the blood-stained bandages into a garbage can behind the doorway, "Please, continue your posturing,"

"…" for a second the boy seemed too flummoxed to speak, but credit where it was due, he continued on with whatever little speech he had prepared. Percy honestly wasn't listening to him. He was too focused on rebinding his arm. He caught something about the festival, and how if the gen-ed kids had a good showing the staff might transfer them in and some of the hero-course kids out or some crap.

He finished his chore, and handed Yaoyorozu back her supplies, just in time to catch the tail end of the kid's speech. "…So consider this our declaration of war."

"Uh huh, fascinating pal," Percy nodded, pulling his shirt back on, "You done? Cause I'm starving and-"

"Do you think I'm joking?" the kid demanded, the first real emotion showing on his face, "Are you truly so arrogant that you would not take this seriously."

Percy just gave him a look, "Far as I can tell, the only arrogant one here is you kid," he said,

"W-what?" the teen asked, flummoxed,

"You're the one thinking he's hot enough shit to throw down a 'declaration of war' whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. Also, calling them," he gestured to his classmates behind him, "Arrogant because they're in the hero-course? Bold, they all took the same test as you. They're all here because they earned their spot, they worked hard for it. Who are you to come here, and start making all these 'declarations' and threats about transferring?"

The kid's-Percy was going to call him Aizawa junior, because really the resemblance was kind of uncanny-expression turned dark.

"That exam was rigged to benefit those with powerful quirks. Just because some of us weren't lucky enough to be born with a powerful, or a 'heroic' quirk, means that we've been deprived of our dreams. We have to work twice as hard as you people do."

Percy just stared at him, then at his stump, then back to the kid. Aizawa junior at least the good grace to look away slightly.

"Uh-huh…" Percy said slowly, "How many villain points you get in the exam?" he asked abruptly.

Aizawa junior blinked slowly at him, "Twenty…" he said after a moment,

"Uh-huh, and how many rescue points?"

"What?" Aizawa Junior asked, confused,

Percy reiterated, speaking slowly as though he were talking to a small child. "How many rescue points did you get, you know, points for helping others during the exam? Rescuing someone who was stuck, offering support to other students? Acting, you know, like a hero?"

There was some muttering around the collective students at that. Apparently, those who hadn't been accepted hadn't been told about the other potential points in the exam.

Aizawa junior continue to stare at Percy with that blank look on his face. Percy called out behind him, "Hey Joan,"

"What dude?" Jiro asked from somewhere to his left,

"How many villain and rescue points did you get in the exam?

"Nineteen villain points, and forty rescue points." She called back,

"Hagakure, same question."

"Twelve and thirty-six" she cheered.

"Midoriya!" he barked out,

"Z-zero villain points…" he stammered out, to the shock of the gathered mass of students, "And sixty r-rescue points…"

Percy continued to stare at the kid in front of him. "Wow…" he said, slowly and sarcastically, "Sound's like they really have those big and powerful quirks you were talking about." He felt his expression darken, as he allowed some of his divine essence to eke out of him. The air pressure in the hallway seemed to fill, as the air grew heavy, and muggy.

He stepped forward, right into the boy's personal space, "Sometime life hands you a shit deal kid. It ain't about what's fair, it ain't about what's right or wrong. It's about taking the hand you're dealt, and working with it to make something of yourself. Everyone who's in this class, has fought tooth and nail to earn it. They're acceptance, wasn't the result of luck, or favoritism, but sheer drive, hard work, and more effort than I think you've ever had to put into anything."

He took another step forward, and the kid stepped back, "In this life, nothing is going to be handed over to you. I know your type. Always whining and moaning, because they can't just be given everything they want. Well, tough luck pal." He jerked his head back to the class again, "As for your little declaration of war." he barked out a dark laugh, "A week ago those kids faced off against actual villains. They stared death in the face, and came out on top, and stronger for it. You think your little intimidations and petty threats are gonna scare them?"

Percy smirked, "That's cute," He stepped away,

Limping away, he called one his shoulder, "Shoji, Tokoyami, come on, I'm finally allowed solid food, and I'm not missing lunch. Hey Shoji, if I play the cripple card, think I can get Lunch Rush to make something special, I'm dyin' for a burger."

BREAK

He followed the sounds of fighting into the training facility. The academic day had been over for about an hour, but it had taken him some time to limp across the large campus. He knew this was where they had their private practice facility. Mirio had proudly showed it off to him a few weeks ago. He walked through the spectator's entrance, the sounds of combat had only been getting louder and more erratic, and he had no desire to get caught up in whatever the hell was happening down there.

With a grunt, he hefted his backpack off of his shoulder, as he plopped himself down on the top row of bleachers in the viewing section. He didn't know why someone had built bleachers into a training facility, but he wasn't going to complain.

He'd missed them. His friends. Missed hanging out with them, talking and laughing and goofing around. He also knew they must have been worried. He didn't have a phone, it had been destroyed in the fight, or any other real way to get in touch with them, and he knew they had heard about the attack. Heard someone had been hurt. Heard that he was not in class. They were smart, he knew that they must have put the pieces together. Which was why he was there. He wanted to assure them he was still kicking. That he wasn't about to lay down and give up. More importantly, he wanted to thank them for being there for him. For being better friends than he'd been.

All three of them were in the pit below him. They were having some sort of a free-for-all spar. It was the first time he'd ever really gotten the chance to even see their quirks in action, and he was fairly interested. He knew Nejire could propel energy from her body in the form of those weird spirals, and Amajiki had a quirk that had worked with animals or something to that effect. But he had no idea what Mirio could do.

He watched in appreciation as they duked it out. Nejire would propel herself through the air, flying in and out as Amajiki tried knocking her out of the air with his arms. Ok, so he could transform different parts of his body into animal parts? Amajiki transformed his arms into long octopus tentacles. One of his tentacles just missed Nejire, when he was socked in the jaw, as Mirio somehow materialized behind him. Percy's eyebrows furrowed in concentration. As interesting as Nejire's and Amajiki's powers were, he was more interested in trying to figure out what Mirio was doing.

It took a few minutes of prolonged combat, but he finally figured it out, somewhat. He wasn't certain, but judging by the way the tall blonde was able to seemingly melt into the floor, he had some kind of bastardized Kitty Pryde type of power. Only time's like a hundred, since he could drop through the floor on one side of the room, and materialize on the other end of things.

The fighting hit something of a stalemate, as Mirio was unable to hit Nejire as she rocketed through the air above him, right up until she got distracted. She had been trying to avoid a large chunk of rubble that Mirio had tossed through the air, and she ended up on the opposite side of the room from him, facing in his direction. She saw him, and her concentration faltered and she fell out of the sky.

Only to be clocked by Mirio, who took advantage of the momentary lapse in concentration to his advantage. She recovered smoothly, and soon enough, there was a blue-haired blur slamming into his chest. He grunted at the collision. His ribs were still recovering, but he took it in stride.

"Easy there, Pixie," He said with a smile, even as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Lot's of hugging today apparently, "Still a little tender. But it's good to see you too."

"We'd heard you were hurt, and then they wouldn't let anyone see you, and we heard from Yaoyorozu that you'd-"

Her words trailed off, as she noticed his missing arm. She stilled in his arm, before leaning back. Her hand rose and gently pawed at the missing limb. He grimaced a little as her fingers danced along the bandages. Lost for words for the first time since Percy had met her.

"Got a little in over my head." He explained, "But on the bright side, apparently the support course has a couple of real genius' enrolled, a couple of 'em are working on a prosthetic for me." She was still frowning and staring at the missing limb. Percy's own expression twisted somewhat; he didn't like not seeing the smile that was otherwise permanently plastered to her lips.

"Hey," He said, trying to get her attention, "Remember what you told me, before? No matter what happens, I won't have to through it alone? You're right, 'cause I got you guys. Got my classmates. The last couple of day's have been a real eye-opener, and I'm going to need some help to get through all of this" he wiggled his stump for emphasis, "So, still gonna be my hero?" he asked with a cheeky smile.

She turned away from his arm and stared at him. Meeting his gaze curiously, and speculatively. Then she cried out, and wrapped her arms around him again, "You're not being dumb anymore," He just laughed and nodded,

"Not anymore," he agreed.

Looking up, he saw that Mirio and Amajiki were both standing there, their eyes wide at the sight of his injury, but then Mirio grinned awkwardly at him, "Guess I'll have to wait a little while before we can finally have that spar, huh? he asked, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

Percy chuckled, and Nejire finally detached from him, stepping away so that Mirio could wrap Percy up in a hug himself, "Good to see you up and about buddy," He said softly, thumping Percy on the back.

"Appreciate you man," Percy responded, and Mirio released him, leaving his hand on Percy's good shoulder, and looked at him worryingly, "I know you're tough Percy, but are you going to be ok continuing like this? An injury like that can be…difficult to get past."

Percy understood that Mirio was speaking from a place of kindness, he was just trying to look out for him.

He nodded, "Like I told Nejire, I'm being fitted for a prosthetic, I don't know what it'll be like, but I won't let something like this slow me down. You can count on that. I'm just going to have to train twice as hard to overcome it!"

Mirio stared for a moment, before a megawatt smile threatened to split his face. He pumped his fists excitedly, "That's what I like to HEAR!" he cheered, and Nejire giggled softly, as even Amajiki smiled softly. Percy turned his attention to the socially inept member of the triumvirate, and he suddenly stiffened at Percy's sinister smile.

Opening his arm wide open, he approached the final member slowly, who froze in place, and looked like he was preparing to bolt. "Alright 'jiki," Percy said, "Open up, because you got a free, one-way ticket to hug-city, USA. Population: you bro."

Amajiki stiffly started to back up, only to run into the brick wall that was Mirio, "Nuh uh," Mirio chided, smirking down at the terrified Amajiki, "Team bonding!"

"Group Hug!" Nejire cheered, and Percy found himself smothered up, as the four teenagers were all pressed together in a large mass of limbs.

Percy let out a delighted laugh, seeing the uncomfortable look on Amajiki's face turn into a small smile.

Yeah…things were looking up.

AN: Alright! We're back! Got this arc written up nice and good, it's a little shorter than last time, since the Festival arc isn't that long, but it's a lot of fun. Which is desperately needed since things got kind of heavy in the last arc. I'm very excited because we're finally going to have Rumi back too and she's so much fun to write. I have something planned to mix things up so get excited! Also, just a heads up, there will be a minor hiatus for this fic after the end of this arc, because I want to be able to do some of my other story's justice. I feel a little guilty because I have been neglecting them in favor of this. One-Seven in particular needs to catch up. It's just that I really love this story, and wanted to get as much of this written while I was hot, that way you got my best energy for the story. Anyhoo, except the next chapter to come out tomorrow! Thanks as always for the love and support, you guys are awesome!

Love,

LilDB