Hello everybody! AK here with a new chapter! I'm all moved into a new apartment, work is going well, and season 6 of the anime starts in two days! I am STOKED!
More author's notes are down below. Also if you wanna see some new art for this story along with some social media links of mine, head over to this story on archivofourown. Oh! Also a huge hat tip to dreamingnewpeace for looking through and editing! You rock! That being said, let's get going.
Patterns of speech:
Normal – May the Plus Ultra be with you.
'Inner thoughts with single quote marks', "Radio speak, transmissions for double ones" – May the Plus Ultra be with you.
All Might – May the Plus Ultra be with you.
R3 – May the Plus Ultra be with you.
I only own my OC and the plot of this here story. All characters and locations in the MHA world are property of Kōhei Horikoshi. Star Wars is owned by Disney. Enjoy the new chapter!
Binding the Galaxy Together
Chapter 29 – One War For Another
The saying always went, "It's five o'clock somewhere." The excuse many gave to themselves to pour a drink was widely known. When the clock struck five PM, a drink was indeed being poured. In a discrete and boarded-up bar miles away from U.A., a whiskey on the rocks was slid in front of a man as he looked over some papers with a look of glee hidden underneath the disembodied hand attached to his face.
"I take it today's operation went well, Tomura Shigaraki?" the one who poured the drink asked.
"Kurogiri, it couldn't have gone any smoother," Tomura happily proclaimed.
Tomura then reached his hand to the glass and downed a hearty sip of his whiskey.
"Those idiot reporters were the perfect distraction. What Master said turned out to be right after all. Make enough noise and no one will notice the quiet ones."
He looked up to his bartender, Kurogiri. The yellow eyes within a head of purple mist could hardly emote, but emotions were never this guy's thing anyway. It didn't matter anyway. His feelings weren't important, only his quirk. Tomura's attention then shifted over to the paper he swiped from the school today and gave it another look.
"And now we know exactly where All Might is going to be tomorrow. It's almost like setting the difficulty to easy."
"Shall I send word out to our recruits about the meet time then?" Kurogiri asked.
"Obviously," Tomura replied.
"It looks like someone is excited to cause a little chaos. Not that it's a surprise anymore."
Tomura's attention was redirected to a TV mounted on the wall.
"Well of course I am, doctor. Master always told me I can destroy things I don't like, and I intend to do it. Speaking of, will it be ready by tomorrow?"
"You needn't worry, Tomura."
From the TV, a second voice spoke:
"The Nomu you take with you tomorrow will respond to any and all orders you give it. The doctor and I are just putting some finishing touches on it as we speak."
Tomura felt his excitement build.
"But try to not let your ambition blind you," the doctor advised. "After all, creating these creatures can be taxing and I'd rather not lose it."
And just like that, a tinge of annoyance crept its way into Tomura's brain. What was this doctor trying to say? That he might lose? No chance in hell. It was just gonna be a couple of nobody teachers, a bunch of weakass kids, and one symbol of peace. As far as Tomura was concerned, tomorrow there was going to only be one enemy and over twenty inconveniences. He had over seventy villains on his side ready for this raid, and he was all but certain by this time tomorrow, he would be having a celebratory drink toasting the death of All Might.
"I promise you, doc. Tomorrow, your work will speak for itself once it ends All Might's life."
This was not a good day.
Camilla kept repeating that over and over again on the train, on the walk back home and kept doing so as she closed the door to her apartment behind her. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't even bid R3 hello once he rolled out into view. Even the droid could pick up that something was wrong.
All she did was head to the bathroom and turn the shower on without even a word. As the water hit her body and ran down the drain, Camilla felt at least physically cleaner. That was as far as her cleanliness went. Mentally, she felt like she had just fallen in mud, and not even All Might or Master Yoda was strong enough to get it off her.
Never mind the fact that she was now being plagued by nightmares. Now she had to add the fact that there was a classmate of hers that actually came from a quirk marriage. And the only reason she was told about it was that Shoto thought she was too. The young Padawan already hated herself for having to tell such a despicable lie to her classmates just to cover up the true nature of the Force. But now the hole she had dug for herself had given out at the bottom and she was still falling. He trusted her. Of all the things he said, Shoto just had to say that. If there was a bottom to this hole, no rope could ever be long enough to reach her. Of that she was certain.
With a turn of the knob, the water in the shower turned off. Camilla wrapped a towel around her body. Then she went to her bedroom and sat on top of her bed without even bothering to put her pajamas on. She just sat there cross-legged, in a towel, with no other company other than her faithful R3 unit. As comforting as her oldest friend could be, she still wished she could talk to Ryukyu or even Mirko about this. The rabbit hero was still not home and wouldn't be until tomorrow leaving her alone for another night.
The phone Izuku and Ochako got her for Christmas was still in her hand. Camilla wanted so desperately to dial Ryukyu and talk. But she couldn't now. She already lied to Shoto and then swore not to utter a word about Endeavor. Breaking her promise just to get a few comforting words from the hero who first took her in would only make things far worse. Besides, Ryukyu wasn't off today and she had a busy workload as of late. Camilla was certain she shouldn't bother the pro with this. She got into this mess herself when she decided to use the cover story, now she had to find a way out. Even if that way out was the riskiest thing she could do.
Tell the truth.
She very much wanted to at this point. Not because she thought Shoto thought he deserved to know, but because it wouldn't be the Jedi way to carry on with this deception. But no matter how many different ways Camilla thought about doing it, it always led to the same result; disaster. What was she supposed to do?
She couldn't just go up to him the next day and say, "Good morning, Shoto. So you know how you trusted me enough to tell me about your father and your life as a quirk marriage baby? Well, I lied about mine because I'm really not from this planet and my power isn't really a quirk."
It would practically be a slap to Shoto's face if she said that now. It was easy to tell the guy had trouble connecting with people thanks to his harsh life, so what he did today had to be a huge step for him. She couldn't just undo that. Not like this. So as much as she hated to do it, Camilla had to keep up with the lie for the foreseeable future.
She didn't know what to do. She didn't know anything anymore. All Camilla knew at this moment was that she was done with this day. She had already forsaken dinner, so she just opted to switch from just a bath towel into her pajamas and go to bed early. Before she could grab the sheets, she stopped as her senses picked up two people approaching her door. She did make a promise, but part of her was hoping they forgot so she could avoid this. They didn't knock. They knew they didn't have to. Camilla walked over to the door and opened it up. Sure enough, Izuku and Ochako were standing outside, the former holding a paper plate with some food covered in plastic wrap.
"Start talking," they both said.
That firm tone they used was a clear signal that they weren't just going to go away if she shut the door. With a sigh, she gestured for them to come in. Once their shoes were off, Izuku walked to the fridge and placed the plate inside before joining the girls in Camilla's bedroom. From there, the young Jedi began to explain the other thing that was bothering her that didn't involve a massive act of dishonesty.
"Visions of a monster?" Ochako wondered.
It wasn't a good trade-off.
"Not just a monster. A huge monster. A powerful monster. A monster with multiple lights in its body just like Izuku and All Might."
"Multiple lights? How?" Izuku all but demanded an answer.
"I only know what I saw, Izuku. But that wasn't all there was to it." Camilla took in a breath before she started again. "In this vision, I'm on the floor. I don't know where I am. The monster is right in front of me, and behind it, I hear this…raspy voice saying that it wants to take me along with them. Where I don't know. Then there was Mister Aizawa's body…"
Izuku and Ochako both grew pale at that last word.
"…b-body?" Ochako was barely able to squeak it out.
"Yes." Camilla gravely nodded. "I was on the floor but in my arms, I could feel a body bleeding onto me…and I'm certain it was Aizawa. I recognized his Force connection. Before it could go on, I woke up. The rest of the night I didn't fall back to sleep."
This did concern the two Earthborn humans. Not just for Camilla but now for their homeroom teacher. They were well aware of Camilla's ability to sense both the short and long-term future. It was just unclear how far ahead this event she saw would be.
"Maybe you're reading too deep into it. I mean it was only a dream," Ochako proposed, hopeful that maybe this event was far off.
Camilla's shaking head put that hope in the grave. "No, Ochako…no I've had nightmares before. They felt nothing like this. It felt so real…too real. This wasn't a dream. This was some sort of warning. It had to be. I wouldn't have been getting glimpses of it all day if it weren't."
Glimpses? That was new information. Izuku and Ochako's gazes turned to each other with shocked fearful expressions as they processed this information. Now their alien friend's behavior today made so much more sense. She wasn't just having panic attacks. The Force was showing her a horrible preview of what was yet to come. Even when she returned from the nurse's office after lunch she was still out of it. Calm, but noticeably weary.
"So what does that mean?" Izuku nervously asked. "If you've been getting visions all day about this monster, then does that mean that whatever this is could happen soon?"
"I honestly don't have a clue," Camilla replied. "This is the first time I've ever experienced anything as intense as this. Normally the only time I sense the future is for the immediate future to avoid attacks coming my way. I've never seen anything this far ahead. And...and without my master here to help me understand it, I don't know how to fully make it out."
Both of Camilla's hands went to her face to rub her forehead as she could feel a headache coming on. This plus everything that happened with Shoto made her feel on the verge of exploding all over the walls of her bedroom.
"I'm sorry, you two. Truly I am. This isn't how I wanted our time at U.A. to start."
Izuku and Ochako glanced at each other for a moment then back at her, both wearing a similar look of confusion as they heard Camilla's words.
"What? What are you apologizing for?" Izuku asked.
The ruby-haired girl let her hands fall on top of her legs before she sadly answered, "This was supposed to be a fresh start. I joined you two on your quest to become heroes because I thought that would be the best idea for me. Yet all it takes is one premonition to cause panic attacks in the middle of school. I'm a Jedi. I'm supposed to not let fear overpower me. But…look at me. I'm a mess."
"Well…yeah. We already knew that."
Ochako's immediate reply made Camilla stop tugging on her hair and raise an eyebrow in her direction.
"Huh?"
It was Izuku who spoke first.
"Camilla, you spent two years in a war. I may not be an expert on the human mind, but I at least know that nobody comes out of fighting a war without some mental scars. I know you haven't talked much about it, but the things you've probably had to experience might just outweigh everything our class has done put together. And that's including Mister Aizawa."
Ochako nodded in agreement. It wasn't very often, or often at all, that someone their age came along with experience that could rival a veteran pro hero's but here Camilla sat on her bed. Moving from the floor, Ochako got up on the mattress alongside the young Jedi and took her hands into her own.
"Jedi or not, it doesn't matter to Deku or me how big a mess you are. If you break, then the both of us will pick up a broom and help you pick up the pieces. Right, Deku?"
"Absolutely." Izuku sat at the edge of the bed on Camilla's other side. "Friends, real friends, are there for each other. Remember yesterday when you helped me realize that?"
Camilla kept swinging her head back and forth between Izuku and Ochako's forms, not knowing which one to land on. When she couldn't decide, she bowed her head and her Force vision now only picked up the outline of her own feet. Time and time again, these two were there for her at her low points, and she knew she could trust them with more than her life. While in some cases it quelled her fears, in others it only made them increase.
"Has anyone told you two you're way too accepting for your own good sometimes?" Camilla asked with a shaky voice. "I'm thankful for the both of you sticking by me. Truly I am. But sometimes even the best of brooms can't clean something up. What if the next time I break, more happens to me than just a panic attack? What if I hurt someone? What if, Force forbid, I hurt one of you? That's the last thing I want to do."
"We know," Izuku promptly replied. "We know you don't want to hurt anyone. And even if you do you'll still have us. It's just not who I am to leave someone when they need help. And I'll help with a smile on my face."
Ochako determinedly nodded alongside Izuku. "We're training to be heroes not just for other people, but for each other too. Sometimes heroes, even Jedi, I bet, need saving. So if you need saving, let us save you."
These two might as well have dipped themselves in glue because no matter how much Camilla tried to shake them off her, Izuku and Ochako clung to their place as her friends. Giving into attachment on this level between friends was strictly forbidden in the Jedi code. Had the young Padawan mentioned that yet? No. She learned really quickly from Nejire back when she first arrived on Earth how much the majority of people here cherished the ones closest to them. How was Camilla supposed to tell the two young heroes in front of her that even having close friends wasn't the Jedi way? It felt almost like she was also telling herself by thinking about telling them. Don't act like this. It isn't proper. It's against the code to care this much. It was her creed. But even with all that weighing down on her, Camilla just couldn't give up the people she had grown to care for so dearly. Ryukyu, Mirko, Nejire, Ochako, Izuku, Inko, and even R3 were in that group. The more she fought herself on this, the more it hurt every time she imagined a life alone in this world.
Slowly Camilla bowed her head and a silent stream of tears ran down her face, dripping off her chin to the fabric of her pajama pants.
"I…*SNIFF!*…I don't deserve you two," she weakly said.
Before long, she found herself in the comforting grip of Ochako's arms wrapped around her body.
"Well then, it's a good thing you don't get to make that decision," the round girl gently replied.
The mattress creaked just the tiniest bit as Izuku moved from the floor to sit on Camilla's other side. One of his hands rested on her shoulder while her own went around Ochako and rested on her back. She was still confused, but at this moment, she decided to worry about it would probably do more harm than good.
"Thank you," Camilla whispered.
It was here that Ochako parted herself from the hug and kept sitting on Camilla's bed.
"What you need is to get your mind on something else entirely. Deku and I both have some time to kill before we need to go. Is there anything you wanna do?"
Camilla didn't take very long to think about her answer. "Well…I haven't meditated yet. But I don't know if you guys wanna be around for that."
"Are you gonna be using one of your holocrons while you do?" Ochako immediately asked.
Both Camilla and Izuku smiled a bit knowing why she asked that with so much excitement.
"Yes I am," Camilla answered.
"Then I'm staying!" Ochako happily declared.
Being the space enthusiast she is, Ochako asked nearly every question she ever had about space towards Camilla since the day she found out she was a Jedi. They ranged from: "How long does it take to travel from planet to planet in hyperspace?" to "How long ago did you guys first discover space travel?" Of course, Camilla answered them to the best of her abilities. But afterward, Ochako was still left reeling over the many things Camilla brought with her: lightsabers, R3, the gear in her belt, and of course, the many training holocrons she had packed.
In Camilla's bedroom, the décor was simple with a bed, nightstand, desk, and dresser being the only big furniture items. Atop the dresser, the seven holocrons the young Padawan possessed sat neatly in a row. Their dim blue glow never turned off. One of them held the warning from Obi-Wan Kenobi. Five more contained recordings of Anakin Skywalker giving training tips on multiple lightsaber forms. The seventh and last was one Camilla had gotten used to opening up nightly. Within it was a recording with a master guiding one through meditation. The master who was recorded was known as the Order over for having a gentle and patient voice.
"Meditate, huh?" Izuku rubbed a finger across his chin. "May I join you?"
The question resulted in both girls raising an eyebrow in confusion, saying, "Huh?"
"I told you a long time ago that I had considered trying it out. I just never got around to it."
"Ooh! Can I join too? It might be cool to feel all zen and centered."
Now both of them were asking to join her on this. It certainly did feel alien to include others in on something she had been doing by herself for nearly a year. Feeling there would be no real harm, she shrugged and readjusted her position by crossing her legs.
"Alright. Both of you get up here and get comfortable."
Ochako wasted no time crossing her legs and mirroring Camilla's position entirely. However, Izuku appeared frozen from where he sat at the foot of Camilla's bed.
"Deku, what's wrong?" Ochako asked.
The first part of Izuku's answer was his face slowly flushing over red.
"Um…well it's…I'm just realizing where I am right now is all…" He shyly chuckled. "I've…uh…never been in a girl's bedroom before…or…asked to sit on a girl's b-bed…"
Out of the two girls, Ochako was the only one who blushed. It wasn't as intense as Izuku's but it would have been definitely noticeable if Izuku were looking at her or Camilla's Force vision could make out her skin.
"It's alright, Deku. We're not doing anything like that. It's just gonna be meditating. Yup! Just meditating and absolutely nothing else. Right, Camilla?"
"Yes, of course," Camilla answered, confusion obvious in her voice.
Though it wasn't that obvious to either of her friends for some reason. She just shrugged and scooched herself back a small bit to make room for Izuku to join them atop her mattress. It took a few false starts. But the stuttering boy managed on the fifth try to swing his legs over the edge of the bed and cross his legs as well. Even after he did, he still stuttered a bit.
'Holy crap this is not happening! I'm sitting on a bed with not one but two really cute girls. They're both….really close! So close! I gotta calm down! This is meditation right?! Isn't that supposed to calm someone down?! Why am I freaking out about meditation?! Just…just relax. It's just Uraraka and Camilla. Your friends. And we aren't doing anything wrong. If we were, Mirko would probably be able to smell it with that nose of hers. Oh God she can't smell this, can she?!'
"Uuuummm….Izuku? Are you alright?"
As Izuku finished closing the gap between him and the girls, his breathing slowed down just a bit and his blush only slightly went away. It wasn't much but it was at least enough for him to cross his legs like they were. Once Camilla saw they were all ready, she extended her arm in the direction of her dresser. The holocron furthest to the right lifted off the surface of the dresser, floated across the room, and came to a hovering stop in the middle of the small circle the three teens made.
"Still so cool," Ochako whispered as she gazed at the otherworldly device. "The Jedi who's recorded on this one, what's his name again?"
Camilla smiled fondly at the small cube as she answered. "Yoda. Jedi Master Yoda. He wasn't just another master. He was the master. He was the Grandmaster of the entire Order for hundreds of years, and one of the few on the council who actually believed in my ability to be a Jedi."
Deciding to get things along before she started crying again, Camilla pulled her arm back and waved her hand over the holocron. All together the corners twisted off and separated from the cube just as the hologram of a very elderly and diminutive-looking creature was projected from the top. The kind and patient-looking expressions were comforting. But the long pointy ears, the three-fingered hands, the walking stick, Izuku, and Ochako couldn't help but look upon this projection of a real alien with wonder. No human this time like Anakin, but an actual alien species. They had heard Camilla list off some other species she had encountered in her tenure as a Jedi but to actually see one, even if it was just a hologram, was a whole other feeling entirely. They didn't have much time to gawk though as the holo-Yoda began to speak.
"To understand the path of the Force, meditate, every Jedi does. Practicing this without proper dedication, only frustration will it bring you. Clear and centered your mind must be. Block out all unnecessary thoughts. Then, when your heart is calm, close your eyes. And begin, we will."
Together, the three teens heeded the advice of the projected Yoda and closed their eyes. Breathing in through their noses and out through their mouths was the only noise for a few more seconds until the master spoke again.
"About more than just forging a deeper connection to the Force, meditation is. It is about gaining a deeper understanding of yourself. A means it is, of obtaining greater control over your thoughts and emotions. Peace. Serenity. Harmony. Master yourselves you must, before you can hope to master the Force."
"Master myself…" Izuku whispered.
"Relinquish your mind to the Force and allow it to flow through you. Then repeat after me."
All three of them sat together cross-legged and hands to their knees as they awaited Master Yoda to continue.
"There is no emotion, there is peace."
There was a pause in case there was someone who wanted to follow along as instructed. Camilla was the only one to do so immediately. Ochako and Izuku did as well, but they both hesitated a bit. They had heard this mantra a few times before and wanted to ask more about the whole idea behind it, but they never found the right time…or level of comfort. There were a lot of insinuations packed away in that first line alone.
"There is no emotion, there is peace."
Nevertheless, they went on with it for the sake of trying to reach momentary inner peace.
"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge."
"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge."
"There is no passion, there is serenity."
"There is no passion, there is serenity."
"There is no chaos, there is harmony."
"There is no chaos, there is harmony."
"There is no death, there is the Force."
"There is no death, there is the Force."
As Yoda's voice went on, Ochako found herself listening to it less. Keeping her eyes closed, she focused on her uppermost thoughts. She was in U.A. High now. She was going to be a hero, but not for herself. She always dodged the question whenever Camilla or Izuku would ask, but thinking about the reason she wanted to be a hero in the first place made two very important people appear in her mind. The two people who supported her dream ever since the day she was born.
Her mother and father always put their support on display for her whenever she tried something. Her dream of being a hero was no different. From the day she decided years ago, her mom and dad immediately gave her full support of it. Both of them were there with her when Nezu appeared on her holo disc to give her the good news. She remembered how happy they looked. She wanted those looks to never leave their faces for as long as they lived. Being a hero so she could support them, was the best way she could think of doing it.
Thoughts of being a hero suddenly made another figure appear in her mind next to her parents. There in his fluffy-headed glory stood Izuku Midoriya. What Camilla had gone through to get to where he was now was no easy task. She could never deny that. She had also taken fair notice of what Izuku had put himself through willingly to get himself worthy of One For All and a desk in U.A.
In some places, Izuku had worked himself even harder. He was still very much behind a lot of his classmates in terms of control over his power. But the fact that he's starting from scratch with his quirk as opposed to everyone's ten-plus years and still somehow keeping up with them, was something to be more than commended.
Izuku had come from nothing, yet here he was: a student at the most prestigious hero school in the country, the personal successor to the strongest hero in the world, and the newest owner of the most powerful quick in all of existence. And he trusted her. He befriended her. He treated her with as much kindness as he would show anyone unprovoked.
Camilla heard rumors that people with a reputation like that, whether it be known or not, always tended to let it go to their heads and treat people like they were less. Katsuki Bakugo certainly fit that role, but Izuku was the opposite. He was just a nice guy. Take away all of that stuff listed before and he'd still be that same nice guy. It's what Ochako always considered to be the main reason she started admiring him. He cared about others more than himself, albeit sometimes to a fault. He always tried to see the good in everyone, and his reason for being a hero? To save everyone with a smile that will let them know it will all be alright.
How could anyone look at this boy knowing all those things and not think he's the biggest catch in the seven seas?
'…oh God…'
Camilla may be blind to skin tones, but for some reason, Ochako was still very much glad when she opened her eyes to peek and noticed the Jedi's eyes were still closed. A quick glance to Izuku to see if his were closed too, which they were, and Ochako squeezed her eyelids shut once more, hoping her blush would go away by the time they were done.
While remembering her drive with such clarity had put Ochako into a state of somewhat relaxation, only for her realization of a crush on her friend being real to ruin it, Camilla was a different story. She was certain that if it weren't for her talk with Shoto earlier, she would have no problem trying to center herself. But all she could think about was how much is going wrong right now. Her glimpses of what was coming, the lying, everything made her brain feel like it was being tugged in about four or five different directions at once.
She had her friends with her, sure, but again, that brought up a whole other issue she didn't feel ready to tackle yet. Those two words suddenly found a place over her head to hang. Not ready. Was she really ready for anything? Even though it had been close to a year since that day, she still didn't feel ready to live a life without her master. At this moment, she didn't feel ready to train to be a hero. She just…didn't feel ready for anything. Yeah, she had a great support system here with the people who care about her. But it pained her to think that sometimes even they weren't enough to help her. With these thoughts, one thing was certain: meditation tonight was going to be a bust. Camilla was sure that would've been the result whether Izuku and Ochako were here or not. Still, she kept her eyes closed and stuck to her breathing to at least try and center something. Maybe if she got lucky Master Morlev's voice would come again. Though at this point, she had her doubts.
For another ten more minutes, the hologram Yoda kept talking and guiding the practitioners through the rest of the exercise. When it was finished, the eight corners of the holocron rejoined its main body and twist-locked back into place. Then it fell to the bed resting between Ochako's and Camilla's feet.
"So how do you feel?" Camilla asked.
Ochako reached down and picked the holocron up to get a closer look and feel of it. "Honestly really relaxed. It helped to get some uh…some things in clarity."
"You don't sound so sure. And you're feeling a bit nervous right now. Did you see something we should know about?"
Suddenly the grip got tighter on the cube-shaped device as Ochako's face turned red again.
"Nope! Nope, not at all! No, I didn't see a thing. Just realizing something very personal. So no, you don't need to know about it! Thank you!"
Camilla just shrugged. She wasn't buying one bit of it, but she surmised that if it were truly bad, she wouldn't be sounding so desperate. Besides, it wasn't like she would see anything worse than what she had seen already.
"Alright. But other than that?"
"Oh I mean what I said. That thing aside I honestly can't remember the last time I ever felt more in tune with my own thoughts."
'Though I'm afraid maybe I got a little too in tune!'
"That's what meditation is all about, Ochako. You heard Master Yoda at the beginning. You need to figure yourself out first before you figure out the Force. Or I guess your quirk in this case."
At the mention of her quirk, Ochako took one hand off the holocron and held it up to her face. Her gaze landed on the pads on her fingers. As she ran her thumb over them, feeling the bumps roll over each other.
"I just wish I could get through one full-length fight without throwing up my lunch. So far in U.A, I'm one for two on my attempts. Some first impression, huh? I scored fourth on the entrance exam and a lot of people were probably watching me with high expectations during hero basic training. And I end up finishing mine and Deku's battle by almost puking on Iida. I'm just happy I at least missed him." Ochako went right back to fiddling with the holocron as she continued to pour out some self-depreciation. "I look around and see some of the company I'm in. There's Iida, a legacy student, Todoroki, the son of the number two hero, Yaoyorozu, probably the richest girl in all of Japan, and even you and Deku. The two of you along with everyone else in our class are unbelievingly amazing. Then you have me. Just some poor girl in a crappy apartment all on her own because her parents can only afford so much already. I…Camilla, I can't help but feel so out of place at school sometimes."
It didn't bring Camilla any joy to know her friend had her own turmoil going on and she completely missed it. All the stress with Shoto and these visions had left her so tightly wound that she hadn't even been paying that much attention to her friend's feelings or any attention for that matter. Ochako was usually so peppy and upbeat. She was always able to find a bright side to anything. Was this why? Was her attitude just a front so these insecurities wouldn't flood her? Whatever it was, the Padawan reached out her hand and rested it soothingly on Ochako's shoulder.
"I don't think you should be so hard on yourself, Ochako. Whether you've noticed it or not, you've become a lot stronger than when I first met you."
A tiny smile cracked on Ochako's face as she rubbed her eyes. "That's sweet, but you're just saying that."
"No, I'm not. If I can't put myself down, then you can't put yourself down either," Camilla firmly replied. "Ochako, you've worked hard to have as much control of your quirk as you do and you shouldn't let yourself forget that. And putting that aside, you've taken to swords training faster than I ever thought possible. I'm not kidding about that. Back on Mandalore Island, it only took a month before you were able to take me in a full-on sparring session. Trust me, that's fast progression! You even almost got me a couple times! And you've only kept growing from there with your skills and your quirk. So what if you have less money or clout than some of our classmates? For some people like that, that money or clout is the only thing about them that's interesting. But you. Ochako, you don't need any of that. You're amazing just by being you."
Ochako's little smile grew bit by bit as she listened to her alien friend speak.
"How long have you been feeling like this?" Camilla asked.
That made the smile flatten again. "Since we first walked into U.A."
"And you're only now bringing this up? Why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"Because between the three of us, my problems matter the least. Deku is All Might's successor and you're one of the last surviving Jedi. I felt like any problems I had compared to yours barely felt like it was worth bringing up."
A sigh passed between Camilla's lips as she mentally slapped herself for not picking up on this before.
"We really need to get better at this whole 'unbottling our feelings' thing, don't we?"
"I like to think we've at least taken a few steps in the right direction. What do you think, Deku?"
Only now did the two girls realize they were only talking with each other and not including their green-headed friend. When Ochako laid eyes on him again, she noticed that Izuku was very still. His hands were still on his knees. He sat perfectly straight with his eyes still closed.
"Deku?"
Still no response. The boy just sat as still as a log. It only made Ochako and Camilla both concerned as they slid over. The former just waved her hand in front of Izuku's face to try and get a reaction. Nothing.
"Izuku? Hello?" Camilla tried snapping her fingers next to his ears.
Izuku was still frozen in place. After a moment's hesitation, Ochako reached her hand forward and then she gently pulled open the boy's eyelid. There was Izuku's emerald iris and pupil just like normal. But it seemed completely unresponsive to light or feeling. Ochako had the hunch that she could literally poke his eyeball and he wouldn't react.
"Okay…that's a little creepy," Ochako said as she pulled her hand back. "What's happening here?"
Camilla very much wanted to know the answer to that herself. It wasn't like Izuku to just flat-out ignore people right in front of him, let alone not react at all to someone touching his face. After holding up an open hand in front of his head, the young Padawan stretched out her senses and zeroed in on Izuku trying to read his emotions, and found…something she definitely wasn't expecting to find. Ochako was met with a surprise when Camilla jerked her hand away and threw her eyes back open.
"Wha…why…how…what is even happening?"
"What is it? What do you feel?" Ochako was concerned.
From the look on Camilla's face, it seemed like the Jedi herself wasn't even sure of that. But she answered anyway.
"You're not going to believe this, but I'm sensing more than one mind inside Izuku's head right now."
Izuku clearly remembered himself saying that meditation would be something he'd like to try one day. Given all the physical labor All Might and One For All itself had put him through lately, some nice relaxing breathing exercises sounded like a good change of pace, not to mention a painless one. He looked up once or twice before about different practices and what to expect when going through with it. But he always forgot to actually try. Besides, it was Camilla who put the idea in his head in the first place, so it only felt right to try for the first time with an experienced practitioner with him. The websites he visited before said that meditation usually gives one a very strong sense of calmness. Also, some of the text read that over time, constant meditation improves crucial parts of the mind such as memory and attention.
Nowhere in those articles did it say anything about waking up in a foggy void with most of your body covered in smoke.
Before Izuku could think about suing the websites for bad info, the first thing that came to his mind was how he got in this place, followed by how to get out, and then just what the heck even was this place?! He tried to call out for help, for whatever good it would do but found that he couldn't due to his mouth being covered in fog. In fact, the only parts of Izuku's body that weren't covered were his nose, eyes, and above.
'What's going on? Why can't I move? Why am I covered in smoke? And where the heck am I!?'
His eyes darted around in as many directions as they could without any leg movement. No matter where he looked, Izuku only saw different clouds of black smoke with no seeable end to them.
'I don't get it. How did I get here? The last thing I remember I was on Camilla's bed and we were…we were meditating. Is that it? Is this some sort of inner peace mindscape or something? If so then how come I can't speak in my own mind? Or maybe I just fell asleep and I'm in some sort of weird dream? Does meditation do that? Make you have odd dreams? When I wake up I should ask Camilla about it. Question is: how do I even wake up?'
"Well, this is unexpected."
A gentle voice rang out through the void in all directions. No matter where he shifted his eyes, Izuku couldn't tell where it came from. All he saw was smoke, smoke, and more smoke.
"But certainly not unwelcome."
That time when Izuku was able to discern the voice was directly in front of him. When he refocused his eyes, he was met with the sight of a distorted silhouette walking through the fog. Then the figure cleared it and came fully into view. What Izuku now saw before him was a grown man with a pale complexion, white hair, and a very frail-looking body. The clothes he wore were a simple white shirt and dark pants.
'Who…who is that? What is going on here?!'
The man appeared to notice how freaked out Izuku's eyes looked because the look he flashed back was one of kindness and understanding. When he was within a meter of Izuku, he stopped.
"You haven't really progressed far with controlling One For All that much yet. Yet somehow you're here. And I have a guess for how it happened. It's good to meet you, ninth."
The only sound that registered Izuku was a sharp gasp as his eyes widened in realization.
'Ninth? He knows about One For All? Could…could this guy be one of the people who had it before me and All Might? And if so, does that mean I've somehow stumbled into One For All itself right now?'
"I know you're probably confused about a lot of this. To be honest with you, I'm still trying to make sense of a few things going on myself. You shouldn't have been able to come here until you started to better grasp One For All. But now there seems to be a catalyst in play. I don't know how long we have until the connection is broken, so I'll be brief. The great enemy of One For All still lives. The eighth thought he defeated him permanently but he was wrong. He lives. Even now he's out there, waiting for the right moment to strike. I fear the time when that will happen is soon. And when that time comes, I will need you to do one thing for me, ninth."
The white-haired man leaned in close to Izuku as if to make sure his point got across.
"No matter what happens, trust in the Force."
A moment ago, Izuku thought his eyes couldn't get any wider. One short sentence from a total stranger living inside his head proved him wrong.
'He knows about the Force too?! How is that even possible?!"
"Judging by the look on your face, you're surprised I know about the Force. Well, I guess now's as good a time as any to say I know your friend is a Jedi too."
Many questions ran a marathon within Izuku's aching brain now. He wished his mouth was uncovered so he could let them out but alas, all he could do was stand there and listen. The man before him looked like he had more to say, but his body began to slowly become enveloped in fog too.
"It looks like our time together is already up. Ninth, heed my warning and pass it along to the eighth when you can. One For All and the Force has always been intertwined with each other. And now the destiny they share is drawing near. You need to learn to master your power quickly if you are to be ready for it. Do well."
Just like that, the man vanished. Izuku couldn't process another thought quickly enough before the darkness overtook him.
Suddenly Izuku could feel light from Camilla's bedroom against his eyelids. As he slowly opened his eyes, his ears were also beginning to reorient themselves by picking up the sound of the two girls there with him.
"What do you mean you're sensing more than one mind?"
"I don't know how I can get clearer than that. Currently, there are two minds in the head of Izuku."
"How is that even possible? Has this ever happened before? Is he possessed?"
"I'm sure he's not possessed. Like…almost completely certain."
"Almost?!"
"Well, what do you want me to say? I don't have a clue what's going on. Maybe it's a One For All thing."
"One For All? You mean he was talking to All Might?"
"No, these feelings I felt were definitely from someone else. Whoever was in his head, it wasn't All Might."
"Well that doesn't help. Also, I find that hard to believe. All Might's always in his head."
That late statement made Izuku narrow his gaze at Ochako. "Hey, you don't need to say that like it's a bad thing."
Both girls jumped from a slight startle as Izuku's voice was heard.
"Deku, you're awake!"
"What happened to you?!"
Izuku suddenly felt a lot more alert to his surroundings as both Ochako and Camilla leaned in to the point where their faces were inches from his which was once more burning red.
"Well I…..I….I d-don't really know…"
Ochako nearly fell off the bed. "What do you mean you don't know?!"
Izuku on reflex now inched himself away from the two girls to give himself some space.
"I….just….it's…oh how do I put this? Like…I know what happened but at the same time…I don't? It was really weird."
"Well, tell us the best you can and we'll try to figure it out," Camilla suggested.
Izuku knew from the start he wasn't getting out of here without some explanation. With a quick readjustment in his position, he took in a deep breath and started from the top. By the time he finished, Izuku and Ochako were both looking at him like they were a couple of cows staring at the headlights of an oncoming train.
"Well…that uuuhhh…certainly explains the whole second mind thing," Ochako said, stupefied.
"I…I don't understand," the young Padawan started. "A past user of One For All is inside your head? Not only that, he knows about the Force and the Jedi too?"
"I guess. I don't understand, either!" Izuku didn't mean to start raising his voice but found he couldn't really stop himself right now. "All Might never told me about anything like this. All he said was, 'Clench your buttcheeks, kid!' How is that supposed to help me here?!"
"Okay okay okay. That's enough." Ochako waved up her hands in defense. "Let's just try to remain calm here. Alright?"
Both Camilla and Izuku looked more than ready to take that advice. Not even a second later, both of them were trying their damndest to calm their nerves.
"Okay. Good. Now let's try to be a little level-headed about all this. Obviously, none of us saw tonight unfolding quite like this. Things are all super weird now and mega confusing. Can we all agree on that?"
The nods from both Camilla and Izuku were enough.
"Good. That being said, I think now would be a good place to call it a night. It's been a long day for all of us."
"Call it a-but Uraraka after what just happened, you want to just stop?" Izuku asked, surprised.
Ochako shook her head. "Of course, I don't. But this piled on with Camilla's visions and the break-in, I think sleeping on it might be the best call."
As much as she wanted to try more to get to the bottom of things, Camilla did have to agree with Ochako. Trying to strain their brains more on things they just didn't know about was just going to give them a headache.
"She's right. Besides, before we speculate further, you should probably get in touch with All Might and tell him about this. Maybe there's something he knows that he's not telling us."
Ochako nodded in agreement, while Izuku thought about that a bit harder. If that man he spoke to in his mind knew about the Force and the Jedi, did that mean All Might did too from the beginning? It hurt to think that his mentor and idol would keep something like that from him but at the same time, he couldn't really blame the man if he was. He had his secrecy for a reason. But there was one thing that Izuku remembered.
"He was the only one of us to not believe Camilla on the day we laid everything out on the table," Izuku mumbled. "I don't think he was acting. Either way, you're right. I'll call him when I get home."
Izuku stood up off the bed and Ochako was quick to join him.
"I'll walk out with you. I should start heading to the train station. It's already dark."
Izuku nodded and started to make his way out of Camilla's bedroom with Ochako on his tail.
"Wait."
Turning around, Ochako looked down at her arm which was softly grasped by Camilla's hand.
"See uh…well…oh this is embarrassing so here it is. Ochako, will you please stay with me tonight?"
To say Ochako was surprised would be an understatement. "You want me to spend the night?"
"Y-you don't have to really if you don't want to. It's just I…um…I…I'm still kinda freaked out over those visions."
Sympathy washed over Ochako's face as she looked at her Jedi friend up and down. It wasn't just her face, but her posture too, it was obvious this girl was exhausted. If she got as little sleep as she said last night, then it was a wonder she was still awake now. She couldn't just shirk away and let her possibly go through it again tonight. She needed help and she was asking for it. As a hero in training, she should give it, right? Plus it would be easier than taking the train all the way back to her empty apartment. Her frown turned up into a soft smile as she placed her other hand over Camilla's.
"It's fine. I can stay," Ochako reassured.
The response was enough to get a smile out of Camilla in return. While she opened up her dresser to look for some pajamas for Ochako to borrow, Izuku bid the two girls good night and started to walk back to his house. Thankfully for Ochako, she and the young Jedi were very close to the same size so nearly everything Camilla had would fit her perfectly, something she envied. Thanks to Nejire being the one choosing the majority of her wardrobe, she made it a point to stick to Dragoir brand products as much as possible. Camilla couldn't tell the difference but everyone else could. Ochako was definitely jealous. Ryukyu's own line of clothing was so expensive she couldn't afford so much as a pair of socks from it. Even as she held the pajama shirt and shorts in her hands, she could tell from the softness, this fabric was top quality. She was certain she could sleep on the floor and still be comfortable while in them.
After a quick shower and change of clothes, Ochako then began to give Camilla a lesson about being a teenage girl on earth. The lesson being the art of the sleepover.
Break
The following morning came and Izuku was in his usual waiting spot outside the front gate of Camilla's apartment complex. He hoped to see the ruby-haired girl in a better mood this morning. Some good news would be more than welcome. He had called All Might the moment he got home last night in the hopes of getting some answers. But alas, the number one hero didn't pick up his phone. So Izuku had no choice but to be left in the dark for the night. He tried again on his way out the door, but again it went to voicemail. He left a message asking All Might to call him back as soon as he could and hoped he would get a response soon.
All Izuku could do now was wait. At least waiting for the girls didn't take too long. In a matter of minutes, both of them were out the door and Camilla carried Ochako bridal style as she did her usual jump from the balcony. The short shriek from Ochako on the way down was probably loud enough to wake the whole complex. But most notably, Camilla landed the jump with nary a problem this time and she did look to be in higher spirits than the previous morning. That was a good sign. After she set Ochako back on her feet, the two girls walked out the gate and joined Izuku who greeted them with a smile.
"So…how did you two sleep?" he asked.
"Much better than the previous night," Camilla answered.
"Like a baby. Camilla's bed is super comfy."
Trying to take the thought of both the girls in front of him sleeping in the same bed together, Izuku gave a harsher nod than necessary. He then looked down just a bit to take a look at the uniform Ochako was wearing. It looked no different whatsoever from the ones she wore herself despite it being Camilla's.
"Good thing you and Camilla are the same size huh?" Izuku commented.
Ochako beamed especially wide at that. "Yup! The first alien to land here is my size! Now I can cross that line off my list of dreams!"
"You dreamt of an alien crashing to Earth just so you could borrow their clothes?"
"Hey! You don't diss my bucket list, and I won't diss the shrine to All Might in your bedroom."
Izuku put up his hands in mock surrender as the three of them, for the first time in a couple days, walked together to the train station, smiling.
The morning went by pretty routinely. They arrived at school and dealt with their homeroom which was an interesting show of Tenya furiously chopping his arms like a madman going over things. Class 1-A knew they were in for an interesting year with him as their leader. Shortly after he stopped, other classes with Present Mic, Midnight, Cementoss, and Ectoplasm each took a turn with the class for a fifty-minute interval. Throughout most of these classes, Camilla could learn by listening and reading her own Braille copies of the texts. The only one there was a real problem with was art history with Midnight. Since some of the pieces they examined were two-dimensional, her vision with the Force couldn't make out the pieces, only the frames they were in. Fortunately, Nezu informed Camilla at the start of the year that he was currently developing a workaround for her. Hopefully, by a few weeks, it would be ready.
That was hardly a concern. The real concern she felt starting to grow was with Shoto. During the first few days of school, he had hardly said a word or even acknowledged anyone else unless directly spoken to. This morning though when she got to class, the son of Endeavor actually greeted her with a "Good morning, Camilla." What's usually a friendly gesture made Camilla feel sick and anxious. She could feel his sense of calmness. Shoto really trusted her, which made the fact that he believed in the lie that she was like him only sting that much more. It ached how badly she wanted to tell him. But for his own good, and maybe a bit of her own, she had to keep quiet. Maybe soon she could come up with a solution, but she had to run it by the others first without letting them know about Shoto's family drama. Maybe talking with Ryukyu over Mirko about this would be the better option.
After the morning, lunch, and afternoon periods, Class 1-A sat yet again, waiting for their next basic training lesson. Some of them couldn't contain their excitement completely when Aizawa came through the door and stood at the front of the room.
"Today for heroics class we're going to do things a bit differently. Instead of just All Might, I, and another hero will be joining him."
Not one second passed before a few murmurs stirred up.
"Three teacher's for one class? Isn't that a bit overkill?"
"You think maybe this could be because of the break-in yesterday?"
"Why would they do that?! Are we in some sort of danger!"
The red shine from Aizawa's eyes and the rising of his hair drew everyone's attention.
"Quiet down!"
Instantly the class was silent, and Aizawa released his quirk before getting back on the subject.
"You guys have had combat class. Now you're gonna be practicing the other big part of being a hero. Today is your first day of rescue training."
Immediately, Ochako began to tremble in her seat completely out of giddiness. She was about to let loose a squeal but kept it in by the skin of her teeth. She refocused herself just as her teacher pressed a button, and from the wall, out extended the twenty-one hero suitcases for Class 1-A.
"We're going to be taking a bus to get to where the training will take place. So hurry up and change. Wearing your costumes isn't mandatory this time but you can anyway. In my opinion, it would be irrational for you to not though. You need to get a feel for them in different environments and this is a good chance to do so. That way if you need to make changes, you'll have a better clue as to where they should be made. Now get moving."
"Yes, sir!"
"Wow! Bakugo really tore your costume apart, didn't he?"
Ochako did speak the truth. It was only a matter of minutes before Izuku was out by the bus in his costume. Or more accurately, what was left of it. The only things from his costume that had survived the battle with Katsuki were his mouthpiece, gloves, elbow and knee pads, belt, and red shoes. Izuku would be lying if he said he wasn't expecting something like this. His mom poured her heart and soul into it, he could tell, but a support company she was not. Izuku would've been more than surprised if he got through even one lesson with it fully intact. Now all he had to do was wait for the support company to finish mending it, and he would be good to go.
Soon enough, the girls joined him in their own suits. The only thing Ochako didn't bother to bring along was her visor. The rest was all there. Her belt, boots, wrists, faux sabers, and the very very snug bodysuit. Upon remembering that little detail, the skin on Izuku's face began to turn red all over again. Thank goodness Camilla's costume was the complete opposite. She elected to leave nothing of her attire or gear behind for this. Her cloak fluttered in the gentle breeze and both lightsabers hung from her own belt.
"Yeah, but the support company should have it done soon. I did ask them to put in some upgrades for me to bring it up to par with everyone else's."
"Let's hope they pull through," Camilla said. "Your quirk taxes you enough. You shouldn't let your gear do the same."
Izuku could only shrug in defeat at that.
"Speaking of your quirk, were you able to get in touch with All Might last night?"
Izuku leaned in and lowered his own volume too.
"No. I called like three times and never got a response. I was hoping to find him before school or during lunch but he wasn't here. If I'm lucky I'll be able to sneak a few questions during class."
"Probably better to just wait until after class is over," Ochako whispered. "You don't want people catching on to you."
Again, Izuku shrugged in defeat this time accompanied by a sigh. He really wanted the answers to this mystery and waiting was starting to get to him.
"Yeah, alright. I've waited nearly a full day. What's a couple more hours?"
"Attention, class 1-A! Please form two neat lines in the order of your student numbers so we can load the bus quickly and efficiently!"
The sound of Tenya's voice, dialed up to eleven, drove them all to look at the boy holding his arm up like a toy soldier. The guy may be tightly wound, but he sure took his duties seriously. However, once he got a look inside and saw it was much more open rather than tightly packed seats, everyone just piled past him and took a seat on their own. Frustrated, he too sat down and didn't even notice the bus beginning to move. As he lamented over the loss of his boarding strategy, the students conversed among themselves again.
"Well, as long as we're waiting I might as well get a couple things out that I wanna ask." Tsuyu looked at Izuku, who sat next to her. Ochako was on his other side and Camilla was across from them with Shoto next to her. "My first question is for you, Midoriya."
"Huh? What's up, Asui?"
"Just call me, Tsu."
"Right. S-sorry, Tsu."
"I wanted to ask about your quirk. It reminds me a lot of All Might's."
Suddenly Izuku was wishing he could be anywhere but on this bus as he internally scrambled to think of an answer.
"O-oh! It does? Well I…I guess I never really thought about it that much…"
'Please just take that as a good enough answer and drop it!'
"But All Might's power doesn't break his bones, Tsu. So their leagues are different."
Izuku sighed in relief and thanked whatever higher power there was for Eijiro Kirishima right now.
"But still, you got it made having a quirk like that. Augmenting-type quirks are always noticed. My own Hardening quirk is pretty useful in a fight, but as far as being flashy or noticeable goes, it lacks pretty big."
Eijiro raised his arm and used his quirk to demonstrate his point but it only made Izuku excited to see another power up close. Since he slept through every battle trial other than his own, he still had yet to see some of his classmate's quirks up close.
"Oh no way! A quirk like that is perfect for a hero! Not many people have quirks that can be both offensive and defensive at the same time!"
"You really think so? Thanks, Midoriya."
"My own gorgeous Naval Laser is the perfect combination of flash and pizzazz," Yuga confidently boasted.
"Maybe, but it won't do you much good if you get a stomach ache every time you use it, sweetie," Mina teased.
Yuga glowered at Mina with a "Humph!"
"But if any of us were to have quirks that are already pro-grade, it's gotta be Todoroki, Bakugo, and Sharro," Eijiro commented.
The three mentioned students lifted their heads to Eijiro as he called them out. Only Katsuki took his attention away after a second.
"Sure but Bakugo's always angry so I doubt he'll even be ranked in the top 50 as a pro."
And just like that, Katsuki's attention was roaring full throttle on Tsuyu. "Say that to my face, frog legs! I'll blast you the hell out of this bus!"
"Ribbit. See?" Tsuyu was unfazed.
"Dude, we literally first met you a few days ago. But even after that, it's pretty obvious to tell that your personality is practically road-kill set on fire mixed in with raw sewage."
While Katsuki continued to yell profanities at Denki, Izuku tried to keep himself from freaking out at the fact that his friend was the one being teased now. Next to him and across from him, Ochako and Camilla both groaned at the sound and sight of Katsuki yelling like a spoiled child.
"Seems like he only wants to be a hero to satisfy his ego," Shoto calmly said.
"You don't need to be able to sense emotions to get that right," Camilla replied.
"Well while he's yelling, my second question is for you, Camilla." Tsuyu turned her gaze to the redhead. "The symbol on the back of your costume, what does it mean?"
The blind girl tilted her head in confusion, which was not the reaction Tsuyu was expecting.
"Symbol? What symbol?"
"Ribbit. You mean you don't know? There's a big symbol on your back under your cloak."
"Izuku, what are they talking about?"
Realizing now that most of the class had their eyes on him waiting for an answer, Izuku nervously sputtered out his reply.
"W-well…see I helped design Camilla's costume since well…she can't. And I…I may have added a couple things without telling as a surprise for her…"
It barely took any time at all for Camilla to fathom a guess after hearing that. Her hand reached down through the neck of her tunic and her fingers began to fish around for something. The act did make Minoru perk his head up and where the hand was positioned but didn't get to see much else before the hand came back with a chain grasped in her fingers. Shortly after, what was attached to the chain came into view and shined in the sunlight.
"Does it look like this?"
Leaning in, Tsuyu took a better look at the necklace and nodded. The big wings and the spike up the center matched what Camilla had on her back to the letter.
"Yeah, exactly that."
"It's so pretty," Mina complimented.
"What does it mean?" Shoto asked.
One of Camilla's thumbs traced over the surface of the charm as she smiled at the thing fondly.
"For me, it means…home."
She certainly didn't intend for it to happen, but quite a few people around her could sense the pain in her voice as she got through that short sentence.
"If it means home for you, what does it mean for everyone else?"
Camilla's motion to put the necklace back under her clothes stopped for a bit as she looked at Shoto. The boy with the swirling red and white light in his heart just wouldn't cease being near her, and now he was starting to want to know more about her. That could lead to trouble not just with him, but with the whole class too.
"W-well…"
"Alright. Everyone off. We're here."
Silently, she thanked the Force for Aizawa as everyone began to stand up and walk out of the bus.
"I'll tell you later," Camilla answered Shoto as she stood up.
'Hopefully much later.'
Once the class was off the bus, most of them marveled at the size of the dome-shaped building they had been driven to. A few others, namely Izuku and Ochako, had their eyes locked onto the person in the large white astronaut-looking suit standing in front of the door.
"Deku...Deku is that…?" Ochako could hardly contain her excitement.
"It is!" Izuku whispered. "It's the space hero, Thirteen!"
The squeal within the gravity girl was only just barely kept inside her mouth. It was still there even when Camilla nudged her on the shoulder.
"Space hero? Uh, hello?"
"Hush you! Don't take this from me!"
Camilla chuckled as she looked at this figure before her with her own vision. She deduced correctly that it was whatever suit this Thirteen was wearing that gave her that large shape. There was a light in her heart symbolizing the Force connection but it was so dark and near black, it was barely noticeable.
"Hello, everyone! Welcome to your first day of rescue exercises! Let's all head inside and we'll get right to it!"
"Alright!" shouted most of the class.
Aizawa just rolled his eyes as he tailed Thirteen inside the dome. His twenty-one students followed in tow.
"Ohhh I can't wait! This is gonna be so cool!" Ochako cried.
"Save that energy for-NGH!"
Before she could finish, Camilla lurched forward and slammed her eyes shut while an ache in her head brought about flashes of what she was shown two nights ago. The monstrous creature with multiple lights, the raspy cackling of that madman, and the weight of her own teacher's mangled body weighing down her arms. The experience lasted only a few seconds before Camilla was released and the Force let her see where she was again.
Her stumble was caught in time by Ochako who steadied her by the shoulders.
"Camilla, what's wrong?"
Izuku and Shoto both stood in front of her.
"What just happened?" Shoto asked.
"I don't know," Izuku answered.
The concern Camilla felt radiating off these three surrounding her did little to alleviate her worries. If it were just Ochako and Izuku, she would talk, but with Shoto still sticking next to her, her hands were tied.
"Nothing. It's probably nothing." She brushed it off.
None of them believed her seeing since she was still wincing. But they didn't want to incur Aizawa's wrath should they hold up class. So for now, they let it go. As they rejoined the rest of the group, Camilla tried and failed to completely suppress her fears.
'Be nothing. Oh please be nothing.'
As she and her friends walked through the door, Camilla was certain nothing would be able to take her mind off things now. But she had to admit, once she got inside and she used her senses to view what was there, it was a pretty good distraction. The area inside was huge and wide open leading to various areas around the perimeter of the dome.
"A shipwreck, a landslide, a fire, a windstorm, and the list goes on and on," Thirteen explained. "This facility is my own creation. I designed it to be able to train young heroes like you on how to handle different types of natural and manmade disasters. I call it the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. But you can just call it the USJ!"
While most kids thought about how similar it was to a certain amusement park, Aizawa noticed something else.
"Thirteen, where is All Might? He's supposed to be here by now. Wait, don't tell me. He blew us off to go on some talk show, didn't he?"
Inching herself closer, Thirteen talked quieter so the kids wouldn't hear her. But Izuku definitely saw three fingers raised up by the space hero's hand.
'All Might must have used up all his time for today already. Dammit. Looks like Uraraka is right. I'll have to wait until after class to talk with him.'
"The number one hero, ladies and gentlemen. He is the height of irrationality," Aizawa mumbled. "Whatever. We can still do this lesson just fine with the two of us. Let's get started."
Aizawa then walked to the side giving the "stage" as it were to Thirteen.
"Before we go to our first disaster area, let me ask you all a question. Who here knows what my quirk is?"
Izuku and Ochako's hands were the first to shoot up like gunshots. A few others followed suit, but Thirteen pointed to Ochako first.
"Yes you, miss…"
"Ochako Uraraka. And your quirk is called Black Hole! You can suck up any object no matter how big and turn it into dust in seconds! You've used it at plenty of disaster sites to save countless lives!"
Izuku curled his lips in, wisely holding back his laughter at the display. For his own sake, he decided not to remark on how funny it was to be on the outside of an interaction like this.
"That's correct, Uraraka! But that's only looking at the positive side of my quirk," Thirteen began. "While it's true my quirk can be very useful, it can also be fatal if used in the wrong way."
The excitement of the class dropped a little after hearing that.
"Some of you have quirks like mine. While they are powerful and can be applied in many different situations, there is a flip side to them. They can cause damage to the environment and people around you. Sometimes that damage can be catastrophic and maybe even fatal. This rescue training I will conduct with you shall be your introductory lesson into thinking about how you go about using your powers in different ways than you have before. Not to fight villains but to help people. Never forget, that is what being a hero is all about. Show me you can live up to our school motto and go beyond-"
"GNGGAAAAAHH! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
The excitement the class felt from Thirteen's speech ground to a halt as their blind classmate fell to her knees, clutching her head in agony. While Izuku knelt down to hold her steady by the shoulders, everyone else, Thirteen and Aizawa included, looked at the girl with varying levels of confusion and concern.
"Camilla? Camilla!" Izuku tried to snap her out of it.
"What's wrong with her?" Kyoka wondered.
"Is she sick or something?" Denki asked.
"I think she's in pain," Mezo answered.
"Well, what's causing it?" Mina approached and started to kneel down.
More questions and comments came with no answers. Camilla was too blinded by this pain in her head to speak. Her limited vision became more and more disoriented as she tried to fight back the pain. Then as quickly as it came, the pain subsided, and her senses were now screaming at her one thing.
DANGER
"No."
Izuku's hands were suddenly grasping nothing. Camilla had dashed away with a burst of Force speed past the teachers and to the very top of the stairs leading down to the central plaza.
"Sharro, what are you doing?" Aizawa asked, sounding more concerned than frustrated.
As he approached, Camilla didn't answer him back. She just stood there staring down the stairs. When he followed her line of sight, he saw nothing. The plaza was still empty.
"Sharro, I don't know what's going on with you but this is-"
The lights flickered and died. Once again, the level of confusion began to spike amongst the other kids and the teachers. Camilla though, just kept her vision focused on what was at the bottom of the stairs.
"Forgive me, Mister Aizawa."
The mentioned teacher slowly turned back to his blind student who was slowly raising one of her arms and pointing down to the plaza.
"They are coming."
Once more, Aizawa let his eyes trace back to the plaza. It wasn't long he had to wait before what Camilla was presumably talking about began to occur. A vortex of eerie black smoke suddenly twisted into existence right in the middle of the area. Then a man walked out. A man whose upper body and face were covered in disembodied hands. From behind him, more people followed out of this portal.
"Hey, who are those guys?" Eijiro asked. "Are they part of the training?"
"None of you move!"
Aizawa's urgent tone got everyone's attention. Looking over, they all saw their teacher raise his goggles to his eyes.
"This isn't training! These guys are all real villains!"
Different emotions washed over the class as that sentence registered in their ears. They were beyond confused but for the most part, they were afraid. Real villains? Like actual people who wanted to hurt them? Why? Immediately they all broke into another cacophony of questions. Where did they come from? Was the rest of the school being attacked too? How come the alarms weren't going off? It kept going on and on but one student, in particular, didn't hear a single one of them.
"Sharro, get back with the rest of the students, now," Eraserhead ordered.
Looking over, the underground hero saw Camilla was still frozen in her spot.
"Sharro, get out of here!" Aizawa raised his voice.
Camilla still didn't move. Over with her, she felt her breath freeze inside her throat as a new figure stepped out of the smoky gateway. One much bigger and bulkier than the rest with multiple lights throughout his body and a very distinctive beak-shaped face. The monster was here.
"Sharro! Sharro!"
The breath she had been holding finally escaped as her teacher's shouting finally broke her out of her trance. Looking over, she could see her teacher with a firm grasp on his oversized scarf.
"You need to get back with your classmates! Do you hear me?"
She heard him alright. And she was just about to oblige with his request until her mind traveled back to them. So many of them were afraid of these intruders that they weren't thinking straight. Even some of the smarter ones couldn't seem to settle on one specific feeling. It was like they were flipping through a book at high speed. Then she looked back to the silhouette she recognized as her teacher. Even though now she wasn't in that vision, that feeling of his blood on her neck still felt very real.
'I can't just leave him alone to fight that monster. If I do, then my vision has a very real chance of coming true! But…on the other hand, if I fight against these people like I've been trained, then I run the risk of blowing my cover!'
Back and forth, she went between looking at her teacher and the rainbow of lights that were her classmates. Fight with him, or stay with and protect them?
'Master, what do I do now?!'
A/N
Truthfully, I rewrote the ending of this chapter so many times and this was the final product I landed on where I felt somewhat satisfied with it. I hope you all enjoyed it, next chapter, the fight truly begins. Question is, where will our friends end up scattered and who shall they be with? (Spoiler: It ain't gonna be like canon. I wanna try different combos and interactions.)
Anyway, I'll see you guys next update!