EMBERS
CHAPTER #4:
A UNICORN, A CAT AND A WOLF?!
Fire Force, My Hero Academia and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice belong to their respective authors, creators and publishers.
Early Evening
-Streets of Musutafu-
Still a bit surprised by what just occurred, Tamaki widened her eyes once they landed on the small figure that bumped into her her. The child, a little girl, stared up at her with wide, ruby-red eyes, her face covered in sweat while she panted for breath. She couldn't have been older than five or six, with long, choppy white hair and a small horn on the right side of her forehead. She was wearing a short-sleeved dress with no footwear, but what really caught Tamaki off-guard was something else.
Specifically, the bandages that covered the child's arms and legs.
Breaking out from her stupor, she got closer to the little girl.
"I'm so sorry!"
She quickly apologized, crouching down onto her knees to check if she was okay.
"Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"
She initially cringed away from her, but froze when Tamaki tenderly took one of her dainty hands into her own. She let herself be pulled onto her feet, with Tamaki taking in her full appearance once again.
Now that she took a closer look, she noticed the rather scruffy state of her "clothes". Not to mention the dirt and dust that were fully caked onto her skin and hair. Tamaki frowned.
"A runaway, perhaps?"
*pooof!*
{Aaawww! That's a cute little stray you just found, girl!~}
Nekomata cooed once she saw the little girl, but the latter could only let out a frightened yelp at the sudden appearance of the talking cat, and briskly closed the distance to bury her face onto Tamaki's chest.
"Great, now look what you've done! You scared her!"
The ravenette scolded her feline companion, who for once had a guilty expression on her face.
{Oh, crap! Sorry about that, girl...}
She floated closer to the now slightly trembling little girl.
{And you too, sweetie. I didn't mean to scare you...}
The girl slowly turned her head towards Nekomata, peering at her with one of her ruby eyes. She opened her mouth to talk, but-
"Eri! Where are you?!"
-a loud and somewhat frantic voice yelled, making the small girl flinch and seeking refuge into Tamaki's embrace once again.
A gesture that did not go unnoticed by either Tamaki and Nekomata. The latter quickly dissipated into flames and re-entered her master's body.
A man emerged from the dark alley where the little girl, Eri, came out. He was tall and lean with light, almond-shaped eyes and small irises with prominent dark circles around them. His hair was chin-length and a bright golden-blond color, worn parted to his left so that it obscured his right eye.
A pretty normal look for someone to have, were it not for what appeared to be a plague doctor mask covering his face from the nose down. The man's hand clenched a little, as though he was irritated and trying to stop himself from making a fist.
Again, a gesture that Tamaki did not fail to notice. The stranger's eyes rested on the ravenette before he spoke.
"Who're you...? Is my daughter bothering you?"
"Oh, no! Tha-"
"You know, what? Nevermind. I apologize for any offensive behavior she may have displayed towards you."
He bowed so quickly that Tamaki almost failed to see the motion.
"Come now, Eri. It's time to go home."
Once those words came out of the stranger's mouth, Eri couldn't stop herself from flinching. Hard. Her hold on Tamaki's shirt only thightened as she muttered something under her breath.
"What was that?"
She asked her, and it was then Tamaki realized that Eri was shaking. Her voice was hoarse and he could hear the tremor in every word she spoke.
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"H-He's not my papa..."
"..."
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.
Tamaki's pupils constricted ever so slightly.
{Tamaki, look at his right hand...}
Nekomata said to her, and once Tamaki did it, she made up her mind.
Clutching Eri safely to herself, she stood up. Her eyes never leaving the man in front of them. The latter, judging by the incessant tapping of his foot, was getting impatient.
"Listen, girlie, I don't have all night. Just hand over the kid and we'll be out of your hair."
He almost barked out, his voice now having an edge that wasn't there a moment ago. Tamaki remained there, not uttering a word. The man, meanwhile, had an "irk" mark on his forehead.
"Are you fuckin 'deaf or what?! Jus-"
"Before I do that, tell me one thing, good sir."
Tamaki cut him off. Her eyes trailed downards.
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"Where does that blood on your fingers come from?"
The stranger-no, kidnapper-widened his eyes as he quickly glanced at his hand...
He almost growled.
"You were just being annoying little bitch a moment ago, but now you're seriously getting on my nerves..."
Now fully glaring at the teen in front of him, the stranger completely changed his attitude.
"Oh? Is that a threat?"
Tamaki spat back with narrowed eyes.
"Nekomata."
{At your command.}
"Send a slight pulse of that. Not too hard to hit the creep in front of us, but not too weak either. Make sure Izu or Jin sense it."
{Gotcha.}
"Good girl."
Once she was done conversing with Nekomata, Tamaki did not waste time.
"Eri."
She gently called her name, making the frightened child look up to her.
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"Trust me."
The white-haired girl had no time to question Tamaki, as the latter tossed her upwards, high into the air.
The action also took the kidnapper by surprise, and that was exactly what the ravenette wanted.
She dashed forward, right towards him-
*fwhip!*
-then she spinned-
*WHAM!*
"GARGH!"
-and delivered a vicious kick to his abdomen, sending him flying backwards.
"NEKOMATA!"
{On it!}
A single fiery tail bursted out, and stretched out to grab the now falling Eri, before retracting and handing her over to Tamaki.
"Guh... you little bitch...!"
The kidnapper snarled, before standing up and fixing his now crooked mask. From the back of his shirt he pulled out a tanto knife.
*schiiik!*
Unsheathing it, he tossed the wooden scabbard aside, and aimed the glistening blade towards Tamaki.
"I'll carve you up like a fuckin' pumpkin, you damn Hero wannabe! As for you, Eri..."
He glared at the now whimpering child.
"... I'll make sure that oyabun will go extra hard on your next session, so look forward to it!"
The man spat, and Tamaki didn't need to see his face fully to notice the hideous grin he was sporting.
{Grrr... just smash his balls with the next kick and let's be done with this sack of shit!}
Nekomata growled, and her master fully shared the sentiment. She was just about to get ready, when something caught her eyes.
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.
She relaxed her posture, much to the kidnapper's confusion.
"Huh, what's wrong, bitch?"
He sneered.
"Got cold feet all of a sudden? What happened to all that bravado from earlier?!"
He kept on ranting.
"You should've done as you we-"
"Behind you."
Was all Tamaki said, before turning around and calmingly walking out of the alley. She also picked up the bag of groceries that she dropped when she bumped into Eri.
The kidnapper was stunned for a moment, before barking once again in rage.
"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOI-"
*SBAM!*
*CRASH!*
Out of seemingly nowhere, a fist backhanded the kidnapper into his face. Hard.
Hard enough to smash it completely and sending him flying into the wall he was next to, leaving a clear imprint on it.
From the darkness of the alley, a third figure came out.
"She did warn you..."
Lo and behold, Izuku grumbled as he flicked away the blood on the hand he just used to demolish the creepy-looking kidnapper.
Walking out of the alley, he spotted his best friend trying to calm down a little white-haired girl who was crying histerically into her chest. He hurriedly ran to the two, his eyes filled with concern.
"Tamaki!"
He called out, and fought the urge to place his hands on her shoulders, since she was still carrying the little child in her arms.
"Are you two okay? What happened? I was in my room when I sensed you, and I came as soon as I could!"
He said, but Tamaki shook her head with a small smile.
"I'm fine, Izu. You arrived just in time. But..."
He glanced to Eri, who by now had stopped crying and was slightly hiccuping.
"... I can't really say about her."
Tamaki told everything she knew to Izuku, all the while holding Eri close to her. She was staring at the green-haired boy with wide eyes, as though she couldn't believe her captor had been crushed so easily.
Izuku put a hand on his chin.
"I see, that's… let me call All Might, he'll know what to do for sure. I'd like to get her to an hospital, tough."
He looked at Eri.
"Those bandages look... dirty..."
Tamaki nodded in agreement.
"You do that, I'll call mom and Jin to inform them."
Later
-Musutafu's City Hospital-
Luckily, All Might wasted no time and met the two teens at the hospital as soon as he could. Just to be sure and for safety reasons, the Hero called up a friend of his from the police, who quickly set up a small patrol at the building's entrace. Once inside, Izuku and Tamaki made it through the doctor's examinations in no time. Neither of them had been hurt in the fight, so they were deemed fine after just a few minutes.
Unfortunately, Eri was a completely different matter.
She absolutely refused to let go of Tamaki, and as soon as one of the nurses picked up a needle to take a small blood sample, she started sobbing until they put it away. She was utterly traumatized and it took Tamaki's and Izuku's soothing words and reassurances to calm her down enough to take the medical tests necessary to verify the poor girl's identity.
When the two finally convinced her to let them remove her bandages, however...
"...!"
Tamaki quickly covered her mouth with both hands, while Izuku widened his eyes before frowning heavily.
Marring Eri's limbs along the inside of her forearms and thighs were a number of scars that looked an awful lot like stab wounds caused by a small blade, a scalpel most likely. After witnessing the crude state of the little girl's arms and legs, the doctor and the nurses decided to wrap everything up so she could leave the hospital as soon as possible.
Now they understood her reaction when she saw the needle...
Quickly checking her for infections, they gave Tamaki a few alcohol wipes to clean any open wounds, since Eri had been adamant about not letting anyone but the ravenette touch her, and some fresh bandages.
After that, Izuku and Tamaki both walked the child to the hospital lobby, where All Might was waiting along with Hana, who by then had arrived.
The woman, as soon as he noticed the two, rushed towards them and engulfed them into a hug.
"Tamaki! Izuku!"
She cried.
"I'm so glad you're both okay! All Might said you were alright, but I couldn't help but worry!"
Izuku returned her hug with a smile, while Tamaki did the same while still holding Eri's hand.
"It's ok, auntie."
"Yeah, sorry for scaring you."
The two apologized. Hana released them from the hug, and sniffed. She wiped away her tears with a handkerchief and looked at the frightened child holding onto her daughter.
"And who's this?"
"This is the girl we just rescued. Her name's Eri."
Tamaki replied, before smiling down at her.
"Eri, this is my mom, Hana."
"H-Hi..."
The girl managed a small squeak, but remained attached to Tamaki's side. Hana smiled tenderly at her.
"Hello there, Eri. Nice to meet you."
The little girl blushed slightly and buried her face onto Tamaki's side. Hana giggled at the cute sight.
Meanwhile, All Might finished talking to the doctor and the nurses in charge of Eri's examination, nodding as the man turned and left to tend to his other patients. The Hero approached Izuku and the others.
"Well, she's clear to leave. They don't think it's wise to keep her here, since it stresses her out so badly."
"But, where do we take her?"
Izuku asked with a frown.
"I mean, we don't even know who her parents are, or where they are..."
"That's a serious problem, indeed..."
All Might sighed.
"But if Kotatsu-san or Midoriya-san agree to it, I was thinking she could spend the night at one of your places. She's obviously more comfortable with you two than anyone else right now. I'll talk to Nezu and the other teachers about her situation at U.A. tomorrow, but I think it's best if she's with someone she trusts for tonight. She's been through a lot."
"I agree."
A sudden, unknown voice made itself known, spooking the other five. Turning around, they saw Jinemon, dressed in a formal black suit with a green tie, standing behind them with his hands in his pockets.
Hana pouted.
"Jin! You seriously have to stop that habit of yours of popping out of nowhere!"
She scolded him, but he merely shrugged.
"Sorry, but I was in a hurry. I would have arrived earlier, but you have no idea the pile of work we had at H.Q. today."
The man eyed the small child who was hiding behind Tamaki, and tilted his head.
"So that little snowball must be Eri, yes?"
The others nodded. Jinemon also noticed how the child was lightly shaking in fear, probably due to his sudden appearance. Sighing, he decided to remove his red shades to at least make himself appear less intimidating.
Safely putting them in a black spectacle case, he looked at the others with his light blue eyes. All Might almost spat blood.
"So you do have eyes, Midoriya-san...!"
That was enough to make Izuku, Tamaki and Hana laugh a little, easying the heavy atmosphere. Jinemon merely rolled his eyes.
"If I had a hundred yen for every time someone made that joke... *sigh*"
He shook his head.
"Anyway, as All Might had just finished proposing, I was thinking of letting the little one spend the night with us. We don't lack space, and it would be safer there than anywhere else."
He glanced at Hana.
"Is it okay if Tamaki joins too?"
"I don't mind."
The woman replied, smiling again.
"Of course she can spend the night."
All Might nodded.
"It's settled then. Bring her up to U.A. tomorrow and we'll figure out where to go from there. More than likely, the police will find a foster home to take custody of her for a short while until her parents can be located."
"Gotcha."
Izuku knelt down so he was eye-level with Eri and smiled at her.
"Does that sound good, Eri? We'll have a sleepover tonight at my house with Tamaki."
"...?"
Eri didn't have the foggiest idea of what a sleepover was, but she didn't really care as long as she got to stay with this kind girl and the boy who saved her. She had never felt safer with anyone else in her entire life. The feeling was completely alien to her, but she never wanted it to go away. So she gave him a shy smile and nodded her head.
"Mhm."
"Good girl."
Tamaki smiled as she patted her head.
Later
-Midoriya Abode-
After a short stop at the Kotatsus' house to allow Tamaki to take what she needed to spend the night elsewhere, the quartet made up of Jinemon, Izuku, Tamaki and Eri headed to the Midoriyas' residence.
Once inside, the little group was welcomed by Yuriko and the other servants of the house.
"Welcome back, young master, Jinemon. You too, Tamaki-chan, and..."
The elderly woman glanced at Eri with kindness in her eyes.
"... Eri, correct?"
Shrinking a little behind Tamaki, the white-haired child nodded shyly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, dearie."
Yuriko smiled warmly, before addressing the others.
"Dinner is almost done, should I get the bath going?"
Jinemon nodded.
"Please do, Yuri. While you're at it, can you prepare some spare clothes for the little one? I'd rather have her wear proper pajamas instead of that worn down piece of cloth."
Izuku perked up at this.
"She can have some of my old clothes, if that's the case. We still have them, right Yuri?"
Slightly widening her eyes at the realization, the woman hummed. Jinemon checked his watch before addressing the others.
"Very well then. Kids, you go on ahead. I'll just take a quick shower and then return to the office."
Izuku already saw this coming from a mile away, mainly due to his uncle being always busy and therefore, had little time to be with him and Tamaki. However, knowing this didn't make him feel any better because it's been a long time since they spent some quality time as a family.
"Already? Can't you even stay for dinner?"
Izuku asked, unable to stop himself. Jinemon bowed his head in a solemn manner.
"Sorry, Izuku. If only it was that easy..."
He sighed, before rising his head.
"I'll be busy with work for the next few days. As soon as the situations eases up, I'll do my best to make some time for you all."
He looked at Eri, before crouching down to her height, and...
*pomf*
... resting his big hand on her small head. Strangely, the child didn't mind the action.
"You're safe now. Don't worry about a thing, okay?"
Jinemon said, the he stood up and finished greeting everyone before retiring to the bathroom to freshen up. Sensing Izuku's disappointment, Tamaki tried to console him by gently rubbing his back in a comforting gesture.
Eri, meanwhile, touched the spot where Jinemon had patted her and looked at Izuku with longing eyes.
"That man's touch..."
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"... it's just like his..."
Guiding Eri to the dining room, Tamaki turned to her.
"You hungry, sweetie?"
Eri nodded shyly at her.
"A-A little..."
*grooowl!*
Alas, in that very moment her stomach decided to betray her, as her tummy rumbled loudly, causing the little girl to squeak and blush heavily. She looked away from Tamaki out of embarrassment, but she only smiled at her.
"Me too. C'mon, let's get something to eat. Yuri's cooking is heavenly, believe me!"
"*cough* Unlike someone's... *cough*"
One of Tamaki's eye twitched in irritation at Izuku's comment, but she decided to let it slide. She didn't want to kick him in front of Eri.
Maybe later, who knows...
"There you go, girls."
Izuku said as he placed their food, katsudon to be exact, on the table. Thanking him, Tamaki led Eri to their seat, with the latter staring at the delicious food with drool coming out of her mouth. Immediately after that, however, she glanced at the two teens nervously, as though she wasn't sure if it was okay for her to have it. They both smiled at her and nodded, much to her delight.
Both Izuku and Tamaki began eating in peaceful quiet, but they soon realized that Eri hadn't touched her food.
"What's wrong, Eri?"
Izuku asked her, and then he realized what the problem was.
The child was holding the still closed chopsticks with a confused expression on her face, as if she had no idea what the objects she was holding were.
Tamaki and Izuku eyed each other with concern for a moment, until the former decide to help her once again.
"Here, let me."
She said as she took the utensils from the girl's dainty hands. Then she used them to pick up a slice of the pork cutlet, she blew on it a couple of times, and finally brought it closer to Eri's mouth.
"Say 'aaah'."
The white-haired girl did as told, and let Tamaki feed her. When she finally took a bite of the food, her eyes sparkled and she hummed in pure bliss.
"Is it good?"
Izuku asked while chuckling.
"Mhm!"
She hummed back, her mouth stuffed full of food, earning giggles from both Tamaki and Nekomata.
They ate in relative silence until Yuriko came back into the kitchen.
"Eri-chan, the bath is ready. Let's get you cleaned up, shall we?"
Eri swallowed and looked at Tamaki nervously, waiting until she smiled at her reassuringly before she answered the older woman.
"O-Okay..."
She tugged on Tamaki's sleeve as she got out of her chair and it took the ravenette a moment to realize that she wanted her to come along. He glanced at Izuku, who nodded silently, smiling somewhat in amusement.
"Alright, I'll come too."
They got Eri into the bathroom where Yuriko had her take off her dirty dress and underwear before helping the girl get into the tub of warm water. Tamaki was a little flustered by the whole experience, she didn't know a lot about children and she knew even less about bathing them, so Yuriko, being a an expert in this matter, took the lead. She got Eri cleaned up with body wash while Tamaki poured some shampoo into the girl's hair and gently worked the soap through the messy white locks. Eri was halfway leaning out of the tub throughout it all so that she could hold onto the ravenette's shirt sleeve, only letting go when Yuriko had to clean her arms and hands, and then she immediately reattached herself to the teenager.
"She sure is clingy. Then again, after everything Jinemon told me, no one can really blame her..."
The elderly woman though sadly.
As soon as Eri had been cleaned up, Yuriko helped dry her off with a towel and then got Eri changed into some fresh pajamas while Izuku and Tamaki took turns with the showers. As soon as she was changed, Yuriko took a brush and carefully worked it through the girl's hair.
Izuku, being the last to wash himself, walked out of the bathroom just as Yuriko was done combing Eri's hair. After that, the trio brushed their teeth, and helped Eri doing it in the process.
Once they were done with that too, Eri held her arms up towards Tamaki in the universal gesture all children made when they wanted to be picked up. Tamaki did so after a short pause to figure out how to do it right and got the little girl bundled up safely in her arms. Eri wrapped her small arms around the teen's neck and clutched at her shirt, her eyes barely open.
Izuku led them to to his room, and prepared a futon for the two.
"You sure, Izu? I really don't mind using the guests' room."
Tamaki asked with a tilt of her head, but her best friend shook his head.
"Nah, it's fine. Just make sure Eri gets some good rest for tonight, okay? I'll see you two in the morning."
Exchanging one last smile with Tamaki, Izuku got closer to her and patted the sleepy girl's head.
"Goodnight, Eri. If you need anything, just ask me or Tamaki, okay?"
Having said that, Izuku turned around to leave the room-
*rustle*
"Huh?"
-until he felt a slight tug at his back. Turning around he saw Eri, who was still in Tamaki's arms, clutching the fabric of his tank top. Izuku tilted his head.
"Eri?"
"D-Don't go..."
Was all the small child said, her big red eyes quivering. The greenette's eyes widened a little at her words, whereas Tamaki giggled.
"Looks like you're stuck with us for the night, Midoriya-san."
Izuku was flustered by all of this, but he replied nonetheless.
"I g-guess..."
He scratched his head sheepishly.
In order to have enough space for everyone, Izuku added a second futon to the one he previously prepared. After making sure that everything was set up correctly, he turned off the lights of the room so they could go to sleep for good, but as soon as he did that, the two teens heard Eri whimpering.
"I-It's dark..."
"Would a little light make it better?"
Izuku queried. Eri nodded jerkily and both he and Tamaki made a mental note that she didn't like dark places.
"Izu?"
Tamaki asked the boy, and he nodded.
Bringing his hand together as if in a prayer, Izuku closed his eyes. After a couple of seconds, he opened them, and they were shining lightly.
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"Will-o'-the-wisp."
Just like that, he opened his hands, and from within them a small orb of emerald fire emerged. It's faint glow was enough to keep the room from being uncomfortably dark without blinding it.
With a small flick of his fingers, the orb moved itself above the two girls, and remained motionless there.
"Better?"
Izuku asked, and Eri nodded wordlessly as she watched in awe the spectacle. Tamaki, meanwhile, got them into the futons and situated Eri so she was lying next to her, but that proved to be pointless because she crawled over and buried herself into her shirt as much as she could, tucking her legs up into her stomach. Izuku joined the two, positioning himself on the other side of the girls, spooning Eri in the process. Tamaki got her arms wrapped around the little girl and curled her body around her, shielding her as best he could.
"Goodnight, sweetie."
She managed some mumbled, incoherent reply, but the two teens knew she was more or less asleep now, so they just closed their eyes after wishing each other a good night and slowly drifted off to sleep.
.
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Unbeknownst to them, a certain talking cat came out of her master's body and snuggled her way in between Tamaki and Izuku, getting closer to the now sleeping child. Curling her body against Eri's, she used her fur to keep the white-haired girl warm throughout the cold night.
The Day After
-Class 1-A-
The students of Class 1-A were already in their seats for homeroom, but Aizawa had yet to walk in, as well as two of their classmates, much to their confusion.
"Midoriya-san's not here, yet?"
Momo asked, as she glanced around the room.
"That's quite odd."
Tenya put a hand to his chin.
"I would have never pegged him as the type of students who shows up late. Is he sick, perhaps?"
Eijirou spoke up after the bespectacled boy.
"Yeah, and Kotatsu is not here either... weird..."
"Oh, is it now...?"
Mina said with a devilish grin on her face, while Toru was squealing in her seat. Luckily, Kyoka was there to swiftly stop their fantasies with her jacks.
Their other classmates began to voice their thoughts, some more worried than others, until the door of the classroom slid open, revealing their scruffy-looking teacher and Izuku.
"Good morning, class."
"Morning, guys."
Both the adult and teen greeted. The others opened their mouth to start asking questions, but Aizawa raised a hand to silence them.
"Quiet down, everyone. Before starting with the normal lessons, there is an announcement to be made."
He glanced at Izuku.
"Go ahead."
The greenette nodded in appreciation, before addressing his classmates. The room was now silent, intently listening to the boy.
"As sudden as it is, there's someone here who I want to introduce you to. I have to warn you, tough. Don't make any loud noises and sudden movements, or be overly in her face. She's very shy, quiet, extremely nervous around strangers, and tends to feel in danger when around said strangers for too long..."
He then gestured at the door, as if inviting someone to come in. Everyone looked towards it, finding Tamaki walking through, and so far everything seemed normal, but they weren't expecting the small child attached to her left hand peeking out from behind her. Specifically, Eri.
She was wearing a white dress shirt with a frilled collar and a plain red pinafore with two large, golden buttons on either side of her chest. Under that, she wore gray tights and a large set of tan boots, and a small dark red messenger bag with the strap sitting over her right shoulder, and a little floral pattern decorating one of its sides.
The class, now wide-eyed at the little girl's sudden appearance, stared intently at her.
"It's ok, Eri. These are my and Izu's friends. Say 'hi' to them."
Tamaki said encouragingly. Eri peeked out from behind her leg and gave the class a nearly-silent greeting.
"H-Hello... my n-name is Eri..."
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Silence.
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Mina brought her hands flat against each other, up against her lips, then nodded.
"She's the cutest and most adorable thing I've ever laid my eyes upon. Sorry, Koji. You've been replaced."
Said boy tilted his head in confusion.
"Uh, guys? Are you gonna tell us the reason she's here, or...?"
Denki questioned with both eyebrows raised.
"What he said, kero. She's really cute, tough."
Tsuyu sent Eri a closed-eye smile. Izuku scratched the back of his head.
"Er, actual-"
*fwooosh*
"I AM HERE TO EXPLAIN!"
Tamaki and Eri both yelped and jumped in perfect sync as All Might popped up behind them, striking a pose in the meantime. They had met with him upon arriving at school, but they had thought he was still speaking with Hana in the faculty office.
Aizawa's eye twitched.
"All Might, don't barge in so early in the morning. You almost gave the kid an heart attack."
"Sorry, Aizawa! You too, Young Eri!"
The Symbol of Peace apologized.
"I know you're all confused right now, but for purely confidential reasons I can't spend too many words."
All Might said as he looked at his pupils.
"As I think they have already told you, little Eri has just gone through an experience that to define 'traumatic' would be too simplistic. After a series of circumstances, we decided to entrust her, at least for the moment, to the care of U.A. . She expressed a particular desire to stay close to Young Midoriya and Young Kotatsu."
He nodded at the two.
"All I ask of you is to be on your best behavior when she's around, and try to make her feel comfortable, alright? Thank you!"
All Might ended his speech and called Aizawa out of the classroom, while Izuku smiled somewhat awkwardly.
"Aaand that's it... So, uh... this is Eri! Eri, these are my classmates and friends. They're nice, just a little... 'overbearing', sometimes."
"Mhm."
Eri nodded silently, prompting more cooing from the class. Once the situation was settled, and Aizawa returned from his talk with All Might, class began in full force. Momo was kind enough to use her Quirk to craft a small-sized desk and chair for Eri so she could sit close to either Izuku or Tamaki.
She ended up choosing the latter.
"Pick a Class President."
Was all Aizawa told his class after homeroom ended.
"I don't care how you decide it, just get it done before the period is up."
Instantly, pretty much the whole class was up and clamoring for themselves to be elected. Even Izuku wouldn't deny he was kind of interested in the idea, but in the end he decided to relinquish the position to some of his most capable classmates.
"Enough!"
Tenya suddenly interrupted.
"This is no small decision that can be made just because you want the position for yourself! The presidency is a sacred office that only the chosen may find themselves tasked with! Therefore, it should be decided by a democratic vote!"
"Uh... you said it with your hand raised up as high as the rest of us..."
Mina sweatdropped at the sight. Tsuyu held a finger to her chin.
"It's a bit early to have developed any trust in each other, isn't it? Everyone will probably just vote for themselves, kero."
"Is that not why the person who earns multiple votes will be truly worthy of the task?!"
Tenya demanded.
"If their persona is such that they can earn the trust of many classmates this early in the school year, they must possess the qualities worthy of class president!"
Tamaki sighed and leaned back in her seat with Eri, who in the meantime had completely abandoned her small chair to crawl into the ravenette's lap and comfortably sat there.
"Let's just get this over with, guys."
The votes were made anonymously so no one could be singled out for their vote, but by the end of the next ten minutes, all the votes were tallied and written up on the blackboard. And they were:
Izuku Midoriya - 5 votes
Eri - 3 votes
Momo Yaoyorozu - 2 votes
Tamaki Kotatsu - 2 votes
Katsuki Bakugou - 1 vote
Eijirou Kirishima - 1 vote
Mashirao Ojiro - 1 vote
Minoru Mineta - 1 vote
Koji Koda - 1 vote
Mezo Shoji - 1 vote
Denki Kaminari - 1 vote
Hanta Sero - 1 vote
Fumikage Tokoyami - 1 vote
Rikido Sato - 1 vote
Yuga Aoyama - 1 vote
"Go figures..."
Izuku mentally groaned.
"What the hell!? Did someone seriously vote for the brat?!"
Katsuki demanded, flabbergasted. Denki looked at the blonde teen with a blank look.
"More like who the hell voted for you of all people...?"
"What was that?!"
"Guys, why didn't you vote for me?!"
Minoru screeched to his fellow male classmates.
"Didn't you hear my policies for all the girls to expose at least thirty centimeters of thi-"
*SHINK!*
Out of nowhere, a compass came flying towards Minoru, embedding itself onto his desk.
*gulp!*
Gulping loudly and shivering, he looked up from the deadly object, and saw Izuku, who still had his back turned to him, flexing his hand.
"Mhm, weird... my hold today sure is slippery, huh..."
The rest of the boys looked at him with varying degrees of fear in their eyes, while the girls all sent him a mental "thank you".
"Izu looks scary..."
Eri whispered to Tamaki, who merely patted her head with a smile.
"Yup. But the midget deserved it."
"Mhm."
The little unicorn nodded in understanding. Tenya had his fists clenched in frustration upon his desk..
"Zero votes... It's only fair since I insisted upon the sacredness of the role..."
"Why didn't he vote for himself despite wanting the job so badly...?"
Hanta raised an eyebrow in confusion. Aizawa got out of his sleeping bag and stood up, giving the class the final announcement.
"So then, it's class president Midoriya and vice-president Yaoyo-"
"Sensei, if I may?"
Izuku interrupted his teacher, gaining his attention.
"I thank everyone who voted for me..."
He bowed his head slightly.
"... but if possible, I'd like to relinquish the position of class president to Iida-kun."
That brought mixed reactions from his classmates, except for Tenya.
"Midoriya-kun?!"
He exclaimed, standing up from his seat.
"You're clearly the better candidate for the position! Why would you give it up to someone whose not worthy of it?!"
"Dude, chill..."
The rest of the class sweatdropped, but Izuku dismissed his concern with a small smile.
"It's fine, Iida-kun. You're more than suited to the role, trust me. I'm afraid that the commitments the position of class president requires could negatively affect my training and studies, that's all."
Aizawa, who was listening attentively, chimed in.
"Well, you've heard him. Do you accept, Iida?"
Feeling conflicted, Tenya looked down for a few moments, before raising his head with determination burning in his eyes.
"I accept! I'll do my best to uphold the trust that Midoriya and you all put in me!"
*chop!* *chop!* *chop!* *chop!*
"Maki, look, look! He's like a robot!"
Eri pointed at the bespectacled boy with wide eyes. Tamaki laughed, both at the silliness of the child and the nickname she just used to call her.
End Of Homeroom
Once the whole class president affair ended, Aizawa quickly explained the upcoming lessons that they'll have to take for their Foundational Hero Studies. Specifically, rescue training and dealing with environment disasters. Once he was done, he quickly left the classroom to have a word with the faculty.
As the scruffy-looking man was out, half the class got up from their seats and approached Tamaki's, as they were both eager and curious to get a look at Eri. The girl yelped at the sudden crowd that formed around them, cringing away from them and burying her face into Tamaki's neck.
The latter wrapped her arms around Eri and smiled apologetically at her classmates.
"Sorry guys, but could you give us a bit of space?"
"Oh, okay."
Ochako, who was at the front of the group, backed up with the others so Tamaki and Eri weren't boxed in and then crouched, sitting on her heels. She could see that the little girl was really nervous, so she offered her a bright smile.
"Eri, right? Hi, Eri! I'm Ochako!"
Tamaki gently rubbed Eri's back, reassuring her that everything was okay. The white-haired child shifted just enough so that she could peer at the brunette with one eye and tried to return the greeting.
"H-Hi..."
She said with a small voice, but that was enough for Ochaco, who beamed at her. One by one, the other students, save for Katsuki and Shoto, introduced themselves to Eri, making sure to not scare the poor girl more than she already was.
While this was happening, Tenya approached Izuku, who was watching the scene very carefully.
"Midoriya-kun, what exactly happened? What led you and Kotatsu-kun to cater for that child?"
"Yeah, man. I'm curious too!"
Exclaimed Eijirou, having walked closer to the two as he was done with his introduction. Izuku nodded.
"I'll spare the details, since I don't know exactly if I should talk to you about it yet, but..."
So the green-haired teen told about the previous evening. From when he received Tamaki's "message" to him meeting with Eri and what followed soon after.
"That's so manly, Midobro! Taking out a Villain and saving a kid?!"
"Midobro...?"
Izuku sweatdropped at the nickname, while Tamaki snorted. Shaking his head the former dismissed the redhead's praise.
"Let's not blow things out of proportions now. He was no Villain, just a thug who probably kidnapped a kid for a ransom."
"But still!"
At that moment, Tamaki's phone vibrated. Fishing it out from her skirt's pocket, she read the content of the message she just received. She nodded once she was done.
Firmly holding Eri in her arms, she stood up and called Izuku over.
"Izu, it's time! Nezu is waiting for us in his office."
Nodding back, Izuku excused himself from his friends and classmates to meet the principal and discuss the matter about Eri.
.
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.
"By the way it's your turn to hold her."
"But I held her while we were on our way to school..."
"And I held her 'til now. No complaints, mister!"
"Yes, yes..."
*pooof!*
{Oh my god! Just get married already!}
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.
And so, Izuku and Tamaki left the classroom behind them with the thunderous laughs of their classmates while adorning the fiercest blushes of their lives on their faces.
-Principal's Office-
Inside Nezu's office, in addition to the latter, there were also Aizawa, All Might and an unknown man. But judging by the unmistakable uniform and the beige raincoat, he was undoubtedly a policeman or someone affiliated with the force.
"Greetings, children!"
Nezu cheerfully greeted his guests.
"I know what you're all thinking! Am I a dog? A mouse? A bear?"
"Yes."
Izuku deadpanned. Tamaki fought back a smirk as she nudged him with her elbow, while Eri was looking around the unfamiliar room.
"Nice try, Midoriya-kun."
Nezu admitted with a smirk of his own, before gesturing to the seats in front of his desk. The two teens sat down, with Izuku placing Eri on his lap.
"Anyway, welcome, Midoriya-kun and Kotatsu-kun. You too, Eri."
He nodded towards the white-haired girl, this time with a gentler smile.
"You already know why you're here, so let's not waste anymore time and let's address the issue at hand."
He gestured to the unkown man, who walked closer to the desk, standing behind the principal.
"Hello, I'm Naomasa Tsukauchi. I'm a detective working for the police force. It's a pleasure to meet you."
He bowed with a smile.
"I'm an old friend of All Might, and because of that he already gave me a summary of what happened. However, I'd rather hear what happened directly from those who were present, if you don't mind."
Following the detective's advice, Izuku and Tamaki repeated the events of the previous evening once again, this time trying to be as detailed and meticulous as possible. Tsukauchi was listening intently and taking notes in a notebook.
Just as they were about to wrap it up, Tamaki's eyes lit up in realization.
*smack!*
She facepalmed hard enough for everyone in the room to hear the sound. Izuku raised an eyebrow at his friend's behavior.
"I'm an idiot..."
"Tamaki...?"
Izuku asked worriedly, but the ravenette merely shook her head.
"It's nothing, just... I remembered something about what happened before you arrived. The guy who was chasing Eri said something quite... peculiar..."
Naomasa frowned a bit.
"Peculiar? How?"
Tamaki mimicked the man's frown as she spoke.
"'Oyabun'."
That single word made the three adult, plus chimera, widen their eyes. Also, Izuku felt the ever so slight flinch coming from Eri as she gripped his shirt.
"He mentioned an oyabun and something about some 'sessions' with Eri."
Quickly scribbling down this piece of info, Naomasa closed his notepad and smiled at the girl.
"Thank you, Kotatsu-kun. This will help us immensely."
"All Might."
Nezu addressed the Symbol of Peace with an alarmingly even tone.
"Got it. I'll contact him as soon as possible."
Now it was Izuku's turn to frown.
"Something we should know?"
Nezu waved one of his paw.
"Not now, no. All I ask is that you keep looking after little Eri for now. We'll take care of it."
Izuku wanted to ask other questions, but he decided to relent. This was probably the best course of action, since Eri was getting gradually more uncomfortable with the discussion's subject an the presence of the three strangers.
After exchanging other pleasantries, the two teenagers left the office with Eri in tow, opting to have lunch in their classroom in order to not overwhelm the child with the crowd.
.
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.
.
All Might sighed.
"Things just got a little bit... complicated…"
Two Days Later
With the promise that All Might would show up with hopefully good news about Eri's situation, Class 1-A went through the next couple of days normally, or what one might define "normal" for a class of aspiring heroes.
Specifically, the day after Izuku, Tamaki and Eri were summoned to Nezu's office, Class 1-A found themselves in a crisis situation in the cafeteria during their lunch break. Following a somewhat daring unauthorized access by a horde of journalists and paparazzi, who once they learned that All Might would teach at U.A. they threw themselves on the school like a pack of hungry lions on a helpless gazelle, the students were thrown into utter disarray as the building's alarms blared at full force.
Tamaki had to restrain herself from kicking a few students, as Eri was this close from having a panic attack, and if it weren't for Tenya, who managed to calm the agitated and searing spirits of the crowd, things might have taken a very bad turn.
In that moment, Izuku realized he had made the right choice in handing over the position of class representative to his bespectacled friend.
Once they got past the journalist menace, the day proceeded smoothly. Although Izuku's and Tamaki's time was mostly occupied by Eri, none of the teachers had a problem with her in the several classes since she was more or less dead silent the entire time, choosing to focus on whatever Izuku or Tamaki were doing above anything else. She seemed content to just watch them take notes and do their work. From time to time, Nekomata tried to entertain the little girl with her usual shenanigans.
The next day, as Aizawa had anticipated, Class 1-A was going to participate in a rescue simulation outside the school. For this reason, Tamaki was forced to leave Eri in the care of Yuriko and her assistants, much to the little unicorn's chagrin. Both the ravenette and Izuku promised that they'd return to her as soon as they were done with school activities.
That did manage to lift up her mood a little bit.
Now, clad in their costumes, the hero course students were riding the bus that would've taken them to the designated training grounds.
Some were passing the time either by talking to each other, fiddling with their phones, gazing out of the windows or by taking a short nap. Izuku and Tamaki were seated next to each other, with Tenya and Ochaco being not too far from them. In fact, Nekomata was resting blissfully on the brunette's lap.
"It's a shame that Eri couldn't come..."
Ochaco commented with a sad frown as she petted Nekomata. Mina followed up.
"Right?! I'm sure the little unicorn would have loved seeing us in our costumes being all heroic and stuff!"
"Kero. You just want to see Midoriya-chan and Tamaki-chan playing house with her, don't you?"
True to herself, Tsuyu said what was exactly on her mind, earning a flustered groan from Tamaki.
"Tsu-chan, come oooooon..."
She covered her face with both her gauntlets in order to hide her reddening cheeks. Izuku merely smiled and patted her head. Mina smiled gleefully, but decided to put a halt to her teasing for now, lest she receive a whip from Kyoka's jacks.
"Midoriya-chan?"
"Please, Asu-"
"Call me Tsu, kero."
"Right."
He chuckled.
"Please, Tsu-san, 'Izuku' is more than fine."
Tsuyu hummed with a smile as she put a finger to her chin.
"Izuku-chan, you know I always say what's on my mind, no matter what it is, yes?"
The boy smiled.
"We just saw proof of that, so I'd say yes."
Tsuyu tilted her head.
"I feel like I've seen your Quirk somewhere before."
.
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.
.
.
Oh.
"Really? Well, I mean... Ember isn't particularly unique. There are a lot of fire-based or pyrokinetic Quirks out there..."
Izuku tried to keep his voice leveled. Tamaki panicked ever so slightly, but she regained her composure soon enough.
"Midobro's right! They're all over the place!"
Eijirou commented and held his arm up, using his Quirk to harden his skin.
"There are tons of Pro Heroes with Quirks like that. I'm kinda jealous, tough! My Hardening is great and all for brawls, but it's not all that flashy..."
Izuku raised an eyebrow at the redhead.
"What are you even worried about, Kirishima-kun? If a Pro favors flashiness over the effective usefulness and practicality of a Quirk, they shouldn't be Pros in the first place."
He nodded towards Eijirou's hardened arm.
"Your Quirk is a perfect mix of offense and defense, so if someone can't see how helpful it can be, hey, it's their loss. Not to mention the hundreds of applications it could have in several scenarios, be them combat-related or not, and even then *mutter* *mutter* *mutter*"
Tamaki rolled her eyes.
"Way to go, Kirshima-kun. You've awakened the muttering beast!"
The redhead blinked.
"The what."
Tamaki laughed.
"Izu is a Quirk nerd through and through, remember? Don't breach that topic in a conversation or he won't stop talking about it for... well... a lot."
The rest of their classmates either smiled or laughed at the greenette's behavior. Eijirou raised his hands in mock surrender.
"Duly noted."
He smirked. Tamaki picked up where Izuku stopped before starting the muttering storm.
"Anyway, what Izu was trying to say is that your Quirk is definitely Pro material."
Eijirou shrugged, but he was still smirking.
"Hah, thanks! But Heroes are also rated by their popularity, y'know? Flashy Quirks tend to do better with that kind of stuff."
Yuga sparkled his way into the conversation.
"Vrai! My Naval Laser is Pro material in both power and flashiness!"
Mina grinned and put a hand on the blonde's shoulder.
"A shame that you get a stomachache whenever you use it too much, though."
That sentence was enough to shot the sparkling boy down. Eijirou meanwhile gestured towards the students sitting at the front of the bus.
"If we're talking about power and flashiness, then you can't forget Bakugou and Todoroki!"
Shoto ignored that, but Katsuki spared them a brief glare and huffed before looking out the window.
"Sure, but Bakugou's always angry and he's mean."
Tsuyu said bluntly.
"So he'll never be that popular."
Katsuki was on his feet instantly, ready to vault himself at the frog girl.
"What'd you say?! You wanna fuckin' go?!"
Tsuyu hummed and pointed at him.
"See?"
Denki smirked at the sandy blonde teen.
"Y'know, we basically just met you, so it kinda says something that we already know how shitty your personality is."
"You're gonna regret the day you applied to this school, you Pikachu rip-off!"
Katsuki barked at him.
"Huh... Bakugou being teased and made fun of. I guess there's a first for everything..."
Tamaki though, before lightly elbowing Izuku to stop him from his mutterings. At the right moment too, since Aizawa just got up from his seat.
"Everyone, quiet down."
Aizawa called his students to attention.
"We're almost there."
Later
Soon, the class arrived at their destination, getting off the bus and getting a good look at the building. From the outside, it looked like a giant dome, but once they were inside, they saw a number of disaster zones ranging from shipwrecks to widespread fires.
"Amazing... It looks like Universal Studios Japan..."
Tamaki thought, looking all around the building.
Once completely inside, their class saw someone waiting for them. A short figure who was wearing what appeared to be a white space suit, complete with a black helmet with white eyes, and a pair of yellow boots.
Izuku immediately recognized the stranger, and began his trademark fanboying.
"That's the Space Heroine: Thirteen! She has rescued tons of people from natural disasters with her Quirk, Black Hole!"
"Oh my gosh, I love Thirteen!"
Exclaimed Ochako, excitingly shaking both Tenya and Tamaki.
The Heroine gestured towards the area that sprawled behind them.
"A shipwreck, a landslide, a fire, a windstorm and a mountain."
She then opened her arms.
"All of this is a training ground conceived and designed by me to better prepare myself in many different types of natural disasters and accidents! It is called the Unforeseen Simulations Joint!"
She raised a finger up.
"Or U.S.J. for short!"
Izuku glanced around at the different sights, but when he saw the fire area, he couldn't help but frown. Aizawa approached the Space Hero and quietly talked to her.
"Thirteen, where's All Might?"
"Well, you see..."
She motioned Aizawa to get closer and whispered to him.
"It seems that he did a lot of Hero work on the way and burned himself out..."
Aizawa sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I can't believe that guy..."
Shaking his head, he turned to his students.
"Everyone, All Might won't be joining us today. Unfortunately, a last-minute issue held him back. For now, let's get started."
He nodded at Thirteen.
"Alright, so first off, let me explain my Quirk."
The Heroine raised up her arm.
"I'm sure that many of you are aware of my Black Hole, but let me explain it to those who don't know. I can suck up everything and turn it to dust."
"That's why you're the natural disaster expert. You can use your Quirk to save anyone from rubble or other natural objects."
Tamaki commented. Thirteen nodded.
"Yes, but alas, it is also a power that can kill easily"
She put her arm down.
"I'm sure some of you know that you have Quirks that can easily take a person's life."
The moment she said this, Izuku looked down and shivered slightly. Thirteen carried on.
"Many of you may not think of this, but even though this superhuman society gets a good hold on their Quirks or don't use them at all, there are many powers out there that can easily maim or outright someone. You are all here so that you can learn to use your Quirks for saving people, so I hope you leave here with at least some experience of using them to help others."
Thirteen then bowed.
"That is all."
Many within the class cheered at her speech, with some of them even clapping. Tamaki noticed the discomfort on Izuku's face. Without a shadow of a doubt, Thirteen's speech must have brought back memories that were far from pleasant.
Walking closer to her best friend, she softly called him.
"Izu, you okay?"
The greenette remained motionless, much to the ravenette's growing concern. Making her way in front of him, she tried to once again catch his attention, but-
"I-Izu...?"
-she stopped once she saw his face.
.
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.
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"Something's not right..."
Izuku said, his voice deep. His eyes no longer the bright green they were known for, but they were now blacked out with the sclera burning a bright red.
*sniff* *sniff*
Sniffing the air as if he were a hound, Izuku quickly walked towards the top of the stairway that gave access to the main plaza, and began to carefully observe the surroundings.
Now alarmed, Tamaki tried for the third time to call Izuku, but Aizawa was quicker.
"Midoriya, Kotatsu, what's the mat-"
Before Aizawa could question the duo, sparks starting flying through the lights surrounding the room, slightly darkening the entire area. The fountain in the middle of the room suddenly started to stop spraying water and appeared distorted.
Izuku's eyes narrowed and he growled slightly as he saw a black, purplish portal swirl right at the fountain and grow in circumference. From inside it, a single figure emerged.
He was a slim young man completely clad in black. He had pale skin and messy grayish-blue hair. Aside from that, not much could be seen, since his face and some parts of his entire body were covered by what seemed to be severed hands.
Immediately after him, a flood of other people of the most disparate appearance emerged from the portal. To say they didn't have a particularly recommendable air would've been an understatement...
Aizawa wasted no time.
"Everyone! Regroup and don't move! Thirteen, protect the students!"
The man instructed.
Kirishima and the others saw the intruders emerge and only looked curious about the situation.
"Cool! You also have fake Villains!"
"No, damn it! Stay put!"
Aizawa then put on his goggles.
"Those people down there are real Villains."
Those words were enough for everyone to recoil in shock. To hear that Villains, real Villains, were there suddenly made their bodies shiver from the thought of the danger they were about to face.
Tamaki narrowed her eyes. Nekomata gave her own input.
{So much for rescue training...}
Dozens upon dozens of villains emerged from the portal, glancing around at the area they were in. The last to come out of the portal was a large, black humanoid monster with a very muscular body that had many scars on it. His brain was exposed on the top of his head, while his large eyes were around it. He was wearing a pair of beige pants and metal knee-pads adorned with skulls.
Out of nowhere, a voice was heard among the portal.
"Thirteen and Eraserhead head, huh? The teacher's schedule we received the other day said that All Might was supposed to be here."
The mist-like portal said as it shrunk smaller. The students were now panicking.
"How did they even manage to get in here?!"
Denki exclaimed.
"Sensei! What about the trespasser alarms?!"
Momo asked.
"We have them on of course, but..."
Thirteen said.
"That must mean someone has a Quirk capable to interfere with communications. We are completely isolated from the main campus."
Finalized Shoto.
Tamaki clenched her fists as her pupils constricted into slits. She stood next to Izuku, whispering to him.
"How strong do you think they are?"
"Not much."
Izuku replied without missing a beat.
"Cannon fodder at worst, small fries at best. They've been coerced or forced to come here. The leader is no doubt that blue-haired guy in the middle."
He looked down in the back of all the villains and saw the leader standing next to the humanoid monster. He glanced at the latter.
"That one is clearly different than any other Villain here, so it may be the most powerful. Do not let your guard down around that thing for even a second."
Tamaki took a look at the beaked monster and frowned.
"He looks as big as All Might..."
"Exactly."
Izuku said.
"That's probably their trump card..."
Aizawa muttered, taking hold of his capture scarf.
"I will engage them. Thirteen! I'm counting on you to protect my students! Get them out of here and alert the others!"
Thirteen nodded.
"Be careful. This isn't some random ambush. To show up when they did, where they did… this was definitely planned. There's something major behind this."
Aizawa dove towards the oncoming crowd of Villains and began to wreak havoc amongst their ranks. Izuku could see Aizawa using his Quirk to shut down the villains as he went and stun them in groups.
"Izuku!"
He jerked back to attention as Tamaki grabbed his shoulder.
"We need to go, now!"
Izuku remained motionless, much to the girl's dismay. His hand clutched Kusabimaru. Widening her eyes as she realized the boy's intentions, Tamaki tried to stop him from doing anything reckless, but once again, she was interrupted.
*SWOOOSH!*
As the rest of the class made for the door, they stopped dead when black mist materialized in front of them, blocking the exit. In mere moments, the same Villain who had let the others in the facility was in their way. Thirteen got in front of the class to shield them from whatever harm may come their way.
"I'm afraid I can't allow you to leave."
A pair of glowing, slit eyes formed in the fog above a metal plate of some kind and glowered down at them. His voice just seemed to emanate from the fog.
"Greetings. We are the League of Villains. I apologize for the intrusion, but we took it upon ourselves to invade U.A. and fight All Might. We have come so that the Symbol of Peace may draw his last breath."
The glowing eyes studied the students below him, some quivering in fear, others in rage.
"I was under the impression that All Might was supposed to attend this class, was he not? Did something hap-"
Suddenly, a vortex of all-consuming suction began to tear at the mass of fog, sucking it and anything else into the oblivion of Thirteen's Black Hole.
"Ngh!"
The villain's eyes narrowed again as he tried to resist the pull, but then his voice rumbled low and deep.
"I think not!"
Suddenly, a gate opened up directly behind Thirteen, causing the suction of the Black Hole to tear apart her back. The Heroine cried out in pain and stopped her Quirk before she destroyed herself.
"Thirteen!"
Mina cried, panicking.
"Quite the formidable Quirk..."
The villain muttered.
"But now that it's out of the way, I can do my duty. That is… to scatter and torture you all to death."
The fog was suddenly covering everything and everyone, drawing them into a twisting void that threw off all sense of balance and turned space into a black abyss. Izuku didn't have time to call out for Tamaki or his screaming classmates, as he was too far away from the main group.
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Darkness soon engulfed them, as they began falling.
-Conflagration Zone-
Tamaki's eyes widened as she saw a street drawing ever closer, and a quick glance made her realize she'd been teleported into the Conflagration Zone. All of the buildings around her were on fire and parts of the street as well. She twisted so that she'd land on her feet and activated her power.
"Now or never, Nekomata!"
{Gotcha!}
With the aid of her tails, she managed to land safely. Taking a moment to assess the situation, her mind began racing.
"How did they get in here?! And they want to kill All Might? That should be impossible… unless…"
Something awful began rising within her. She frowned at the though. It sounded crazy when one considered that All Might was literally the strongest Hero in the world, but even then...
She had to give it to them, these villains were clever. They knew that All Might was supposed to be here. Suddenly, she wondered if the press invasion the day before had something to do with this. Had the Villains provided the news with a chance to get inside and taken advantage of the chaos to get their hands on a class schedule or something?
Assuming they'd gone to all that trouble, it only made sense that they'd plan for a way to deal with All Might's and his legendary prowess.
"Oh, look what we got here, guys!"
Tamaki was interrupted as she heard an unknown voice. She jerked her head up to look further down the street and realized that there were Villains closing in around her. He looked over her shoulder and grit her teeth. They were behind her, too.
"Huh, it's just some wannabe Hero..."
One of the villains exclaimed.
"Oh well, she can warm us up until we get a shot at killing All Might. Although..."
One of them gave Tamaki a look that almost made her want to throw up.
"... maybe we could've some fun with her first, yeah?"
He sneered. His companions either laughed creepily or cheered at his proposal.
Tamaki rolled her eyes.
"Seriously? I guess times are hard even for Villains nowadays."
She said, a mocking look on his face.
"Cheap gangstas now have to get by from attacking high schoolers. Guys, I know the economy is bad, but come on! Villains back in the days used to have standards, unlike you clowns."
The Villains frowned in anger. One of them snarled at the girl.
"Oooh, you heard that, people? Looks like the little bitch has a very sharp tongue! Let's make sure she-"
*SLAM!*
Tamaki wasted no time listening to yet another criminal monologue and jumped at him, hitting him in the face with a hard knee strike, sending him flying away from the main group.
She then turned towards the others, who were now at least showing a modicum of concern and fear at the ravenette's actions.
"We can solve it in two ways, people."
She growled.
"One, you tell me what I want to know and then I'll kick your ass until you can't sit properly on the toilet anymore, or two, I'll kick your ass without you saying anything, because y'know, Villains and stuff..."
A few moments went by without anybody moving or talking.
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Then out of nowhere the Villains charged at Tamaki, who rolled her eyes.
"Of course..."
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"Please, be okay, everyone..."
Meanwhile
-Central Plaza-
*CRASH!*
"Argh...!"
Aizawa grunted in pain as the hulking beast that invaded the plaza earlier slammed him into the hard, concrete ground.
It didn't take long for the Erasure Hero to deal with the weaker punks that made up the larger forces of the Villains. After a very close encounter with their leader, from which he had the bad luck of being on the receiving end of his Quirk, Decay, Aizawa was quickly overwhelmed by the brute that was now pinning him to the ground.
"Let me tell you a little something before you die, Eraser Head. This one is the Anti-Symbol of Peace, the one that will kill All Might today!"
He waved a hand to said monster.
"The bioengineered Nomu!"
The latter let out an inhuman cry as he turned Aizawa's arm and snapped it like a twig, twisting and causing it to bleed orribly. Aizawa let out a cry of pain the second his arm was broken, but managed to muster enough strength to turn his head and activate his quirk on the Nomu, but he just seemed to ignore it as he raised his other arm and slammed it onto Aizawa's other elbow, crushing it.
"That's it? I expected more..."
The blue-haired villain scoffed. The Nomu grabbed Aizawa by the back of the head, forcing it up before immediately slamming it down, more blood splattering and creating enough force to crack the ground.
"How boring..."
The young Villain drawled.
"Just kill him and let's be done with it... We'll save your strength for when All Might comes."
A wicked chuckle made its way out of his mouth.
"Just thinking at the Symbol Of Peace's expression as soon as he enters only to find-"
*SLICE!*
*splat!*
"-the corpses of his stu-Huh?"
The blue-haired Villain stopped himself as he felt something wet making contact with his back. Annoyed, he turned around towards Nomu.
"Watch it, you lobotomized freak! You almost drenched me in his blo-"
He stopped at the sight in front of him.
The Nomu was there, yes, but he was using his massive left arm to hold his right shoulder-
"W-Wha..."
-as a river of blood gushed out of his severed right arm. Aizawa was nowhere to be seen.
"Wha-WHAT HAPPENED?!"
Screaming frantically, the Villain looked around himself, and soon enough found the culprit of what just transpired.
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"You..."
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"Yes. Me."
Izuku spat, as he held an injured Aizawa over his left shoulder while holding Kusabimaru with his right hand. The blade was still dripping blood.
*SWOOOSH!*
Once again, the same misty Villain with the Warp Gate Quirk appeared, and addressed his leader.
"Shigaraki, I'm deeply sorry, but there have been complications."
He spoke with a low tone, but the other one, Shigaraki, merely waved him off.
"Yes, I'm aware, Kurogiri. One of them is right in front of me, and he damaged my Nomu!"
He screeched, before he began scratching his neck, irritated.
While the two Villains began talking back and forth, Izuku gently placed his teacher to the ground. He noticed the dire state he was in, before flicking his fingers towards the man.
"Forgive me, sensei. The heat might be a little uncomfortable, but bear with it for a while."
A ring of emerald fire circled around the wounded Aizawa, then flames bursted out and engulfed him into what appeared to be a dome of fire. Knowing that Eraser Head was safe, Izuku turned back to his soon-to-be opponents, who had just finished arguing.
Shigaraki nodded at Kurogiri, and the latter opened yet another portal, from which another large group of Villains came out.
"Do what you were paid for and get rid of this brat... I have neither the time nor the desire for this bullshit..."
Shigaraki said, while the other Villains took notice of the lone student in front of them, and either smirked or chortled confidently.
And Izuku?
He was standing there, motionless, eyeing his enemies one by one.
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"What's the matter brat? Why don't you get closer?"
"Bring it on!"
"This is way too easy..."
"You gonna cry?"
"Come now, we don't bite!"
Mocking laughter followed after that last line...
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"I do."
The sharp and low reply from the greenette was enough to make everyone else flinch.
Having observed enough, Izuku began moving.
Holding Kusabimaru with an iron grip, he assumed his Te Ura Gasumi no Kamae stance, and pointed the tip of his katana at the Villains.
*... anf...* *... fssssss...*
Inhaling and exhaling deeply, Izuku opened his eyes, and fully glared at the criminals with his red eyes, and that was enough to make some of them step back in fear.
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"Come forth..."
The air around the square began to warm up.
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"... Katō."
An then, a flash of emerald light momentarily blinded everyone, as a torrent of green flames erupted from Izuku's body and began swirling in front of him.
The flames continued to dance and move chaotically, until they began to slow down and diminish, then clustered together, and finally ...
*FWOOOSH!*
... dispersed, leaving something in their place.
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*grrrooowl*
A white wolf, with bright, glowing emerald marking on his body. He had what appeared to be a metal disk on his back completely engulfed by viridian flames. Now, he was standing in front of Izuku, glaring and growling at the group of Villains of front of them with his bright green eyes.
The wolf kept on his aggressive behavior, then he lowered his head-
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"Let's go, boy."
-before raising it upwards and letting out a ferocious howl that echoed throughout the U.S.J.
Next Chapter:
The Wolf Bites
MARTIAL ARTS TERMINOLOGY
Te Ura Gasumi no Kamae:
A katana stance where the sword is held over one's left shoulder with the blade curving downward. Primarily used in Ninjitsu and Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū.
EMBERS WORLD COMPENDIUM
NEKOMATA:
A cat yōkai described in Chinese and then Japanese folklore, classical kaidan, essays, etc.
It is known to have the abilities to speak the human language and shape-shift.
A/N:
Happy new year, everyone!
*pops confetti into the air*
With everything that has happened in the previous year, I can only hope 2022 will be a little better. As a New Year's resolution, I made it my point to try to be more consistent with my story writing and updates. I will do my best!
Now, onto the chapter!
Eri:
Our favorite smol unicorn makes her appearance! Waay earlier than canon, but hey, the sooner she gets away from Overhaul, the better, am I right? How will she fare now that she's surrounded that caring and loving people? Will the shadows of her past still haunt her? Keep reading to find out!
Tamaki:
The twin-tailed fiery cat-lady suddenly finds herself in the shoes of a big sister, or even a mother, when Eri gets suddenly thrown into her life. We'll have to wait 'til next chapter to see her kick some serious ass!
Izuku:
Speaking of the past's shadows, we caught a glimpse of Izuku's true abilities and "power". But will that be enough to go toe-to-toe against Nomu?
And with this, I'm officially done with this chapter! Now onto An Asura Is Born!
I hope you enjoyed the read! Have a nice weekend, everyone, and stay healthy!