A/N: Thank you to those of you who sent some very lovely messages to me around the last chapter to wish the fic a happy birthday! I am frankly amazed that I managed to keep to some semblance of an upload schedule for this story for a whole year, but there we are. It means a lot, and it means a lot to see that we reached 800 reviews on the story as of this week- the momentum keeps up, as we reach such a crucial stage in the story, and I am so grateful for that.

Before I start, a couple of words. The first is that by now, hopefully, most of my regular readers realise just how much I appreciate the fic "Through Trial and Error", which puts Izuku into 1-B. That is the story of Invictus Icarus, a story you should all check out, and funnily enough Invictus got a little shout-out in the last chapter. Continuing the trend of OCs being tributes to favourite authors of mine, Giran's associate Taiyou Hamahai of last chapter is my tribute to Invictus. There's plenty more where that one came from.

The reason I raise TTAE here is because the story has reached a very similar focal point of the narrative to mine, within the same two week window. Everyone will know that the point of this story is for me to try to build a world which is wide, fleshed-out, nuanced and shows different reactions from different factions (ha!), with several moments acting as a "dark mirror" of canon; essentially, events which I consider to be such a key part of the My Hero Academia story that I wanted to include them in Incident Zero to bring my story in line with canon and give it some familiarity. These next few chapters have been built up to for quite some time, as a pivotal part for the story, and so we hit another dark mirror this time around…

Ever heard of a little thing called the USJ?

(***)

"Is it just me who got excited and thought we were actually going to get to go to Universal Studios Japan? Just for a minute?"

Izuku couldn't help but laugh at hearing Himiko's comment, as she sidled up beside him with a little smirk on her face. "I-I almost forgot that UA had its own specialist training facility on the campus! I thought for sure that they would have had to close it with all of the cuts they've made to their budget in recent years-"

"I guess they don't want to compromise on what sort of training they can offer people," Himiko replied, staring over at their assorted classmates as their teacher waved from the opening door of the bus that had pulled up just outside of the main building on UA's sprawling campus. "Quality over quantity is good if they wanna get the best future Heroes possible out of us-"

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" There was a part of Izuku that didn't completely agree with what Himiko had said, if only on the level that he felt it was a shame that UA had become more exclusive, limiting the number of people each year who would benefit from such a stellar education. That said… it did make him feel far more grateful that he of all people had made it there, of all the applicants in Japan that year, let alone with all of his friends with him. Perhaps, Izuku reasoned, it wasn't so selfish to be appreciative of that. ""We're lucky, when you put it that way!"

"Right? I never thought I'd ever get to do stuff like this!" Himiko's cheer gave way to an impish look in his direction. "I can't say I'm not disappointed though, just a lil' bit. I mean, come on! I thought we were gonna ride rollercoasters!"

"If it makes you feel any better…" The slight chuckle from beside them made both of them turn to look at their companion, taller than both of them and flashing them a very small smile. "Until I remembered that UA had access to such a facility, I too believed that we were being treated to a day at the theme park. I can't remember the last time my family went there together, but I was too small for the Gojira ride back then-"

"You were too small, Yaomomo?" Himiko blinked, looking the class vice-representative up and down as she stood by them in her gym uniform. "Huh. It's hard to picture that. You're basically like an Amazon right now-"

"H-Himiko!" Izuku squeaked, as Yaoyorozu's cheeks flushed ever so slightly at Himiko's comment. "You can't just say that about someone out of the blue-"
"What? She's literally perfect, what am I supposed to say?" Himiko, oblivious to Yaoyorozu practically beginning to steam beside her, squinted at the pair of them before looking over to their classmates who were beginning to board the bus. "Say, aren't you two supposed to be front and centre as class reps organising people? You're not gonna be able to do much back here-"

"Oh! I thought so too!" Yaoyorozu coughed, composing herself after Himiko's comments temporarily knocked her mental balance. "But Midnight-sensei seemed pretty keen to count everyone onto the bus herself! She's a very active teacher, so… I suppose she makes our jobs a little easier, right Midoriya?"

"Right!" Izuku paused for a second, taking the scene in as the teacher waved briefly over at their group. "She really cares about us as a class, doesn't she?"

She's concerned for your safety, too, as much as she likes you. Who can blame her?

As much as Izuku wanted to dismiss that treacherous thought out of hand, it infuriated him that the world had gotten itself into a state where he could not. In times like these… it wasn't hard to see the way Midnight's gaze flitted frequently over each of them, keeping tabs on their individual locations at all times and not letting anything slip even from those who had safely boarded the bus. It was a slightly different plan for today, after all. She was bound to be a little twitchy about making sure that it went well.

Their assorted class had been given very little explanation by Midnight about what was going on that day, when she arrived in the classroom with a spring in her step and a sense of palpable excitement hanging off her every word. They had known what was on the agenda, of course, because it was hard to miss a class which had been blocked out in their entire day; the complete failure to expand on what "Rescue Training" meant had left many of them eager for an explanation. That hadn't been forthcoming, right away, with Midnight instead informing the troops to suit up either in their Hero costumes or their normal gym uniforms, and head outside to the front of the class for a briefing. The vagueness in of itself had generated a buzz, not least with Izuku- it felt like the sudden start of an urgent Hero mission!- and it had been impressive how little encouragement he and Yaoyorozu had needed to get the excited group up and into the dressing rooms to get changed.

Izuku had been one of those who had opted for his Hero costume, along with a mixture of those who were most keen and those who had the easiest task of putting theirs on. Iida's ability to change into his full Ingenium armour ahead of everybody else had surprised nobody, given the boy's impressive natural speed and his zeal for academics; what had surprised him was how the likes of Kodai and Setsuna had gotten dressed into theirs, while people with simpler costumes like Tenko and Himiko had just given up and opted for the regular uniform. There was no consistency among his class.

Even so, the ragtag group that made up Class 1-A had made it outside in pretty spectacular time, and there Midnight had laid it on all of them. Their Rescue Training wasn't just going to be exercises like the Combat Training, something which still formed the subject of many conversations after the fact from just how crazy several of the matches had been. They weren't just heading for Ground Beta, running variations on the same theme. They had somewhere special to head that day, somewhere so far on the other side of the gigantic campus that the teachers had lined up a small and stuttering bus to ship them over in a group, somewhere named with three simple letters that caused murmurs to ripple through the gathered students in anticipation…

The USJ.

Izuku would be the first to admit that his knowledge of the Unforeseen Simulation Joint was, in comparison to other things he knew about UA, fairly limited. It wasn't generally something which UA had advertised to its prospective applicants, or something which had grabbed considerable headlines when it had opened. The most he had ever learned had been from none other than All Might extolling its virtues on a few classic video clips he had found from the glory days, from the times before Incident Zero. If All Might sung the USJ's praises, that meant two things; that it was a UA institution, and that it was clearly something special which would help him become a better Hero. Whatever Midnight had planned here, he couldn't wait to get started.

A change of scenery can never hurt. It's good to be kept on your toes.

Yaoyorozu caught a glimpse of a wave from Kendo, and turned towards Izuku and Himiko with a slight bow; it struck him how genuine the girl was from how she felt the need to be apologetic when asking to go and sit with her usual friends. "It appears Kendo would like my company for this bus ride. If you'll excuse me, Midoriya, I assume you'll bring up the rear-"

"Trust me, if Himiko's around and his eyes get the chance to wander, it's a guarantee Izuku is gonna be bringing up the rear." The risqué comment signalled the arrival of Setsuna, whose lazy grin only widened at the way both Himiko and Izuku flashed slightly red, and how Yaoyorozu's cheeks coloured ever so slightly at the barely-concealed implications. "Men, huh?"

"... Ahem." Yaoyorozu wasn't practiced at dealing with the trademark Setsuna eyebrow-waggling, and coughed, averting her eyes and turning away. "I'll see you all on the bus!"

"I know Set is cruel and all, but man that girl is pure." Tenko snorted to himself, following behind Setsuna as Yaoyorozu made her tactical getaway. "One of these days, you'll make her glitch out with some of the shit you say."

"I'm telling you, she's hiding something under that delicate face of hers. The richer they are, the rougher they like it." If Izuku had been drinking something, he would have spat it out at Setsuna's bold theorizing. "Yo, Himiko. Do you think you've got enough, or did you need a little more? We can always top you up when I'm there-"

"Nah, I'm good. Don't want you to get too drained before we start the class." Himiko's sharp canines were on full display as she beamed back in response. "Thank you though. Should be enough whatever Midnight throws at us-"

"Hang on..." Izuku realised what they meant, and turned to his cousin happily. "You donated? To Himiko?"

"Sure thing! No time like the present, right?" Setsuna shot him a look. "And before you say anything, she took it from my arm. I don't want you getting jealous because I let her nibble at my neck or something when that's your thing-"

"Set…" Izuku groaned, not enjoying Himiko's snicker at that comment. "Don't make it weird."

"But I'm so good at that!"

"Wait…" All eyes turned to Tenko, whose face had gone even paler than his usual standard. "You took her cold blood for a power-up? So you can copy the reptile now as well?"

"Yup!" It took Himiko a second, biting her lip in thought, but in a brief flash her facial features morphed before their eyes in a strange ripple, almost like being moulded from clay. Holding it for just a moment before swapping back, a second Setsuna smirked with sharp teeth in front of them. "Pretty identical to the real thing, if I say so myself!"

"This is getting out of hand…" Tenko hung his head in defeat. "Now there are two of them."

"If you're about to say that you don't know whether to be aroused or confused, you're not kidding me." The real Setsuna grinned at Tenko, as Himiko snapped back to her normal face. "You and I both know you've dreamed about this before-"

"O-Okay, we're moving!" Izuku practically shouted, the speed at which he moved to push a hand into the smalls of Tenko and Setsuna's backs and push them towards the bus impressing himself. It was almost as if he'd applied a little of Air Force to close the gap, sending them as the last four to board the bus towards Midnight. "I'm happy you two are sh-sharing, but we are leaving before Setsuna gets any more out of hand-"

"Hey, it's an endearing character trait thank you!"

"Is lateness another character trait I should love?" Midnight had been standing at the bus door, waiting for them to make their way over as the last of the class to board. "And here I was thinking I'd have to get the whip out for Tokage, at this rate."

"Oh, so you can cross the line, but little old me gets beat for the same thing?" Setsuna was clearly joking, but Izuku didn't expect anything else other than her trying to spar with their homeroom teacher. "Is that how this rule works? One rule for you and another for me?"

"Tokage, honey, I'm the teacher. Of course that's how it works." Midnight's clearly-fake stern tone was betrayed by the glint of amusement in her eyes. "Now get seated, before you feel my wrath as well as Iida's for being tardy-"

"O-Okay!" As his group of best friends slid past Midnight to get seated, and as the automatic doors slid shut behind him as he boarded, Izuku looked over to his teacher. "Um, Kayama-sensei?"

"Oh?" Midnight sat down, and as the bus began to pull away looked at him, intrigued. "How can I help, Midoriya?"

"You said we're going to a special facility, right? The USJ?" Izuku resisted the urge to pull a notebook out of the side pocket of his backpack, as he asked his questions. "But that would mean that, since you're already here, and we're going to somewhere to do specialist Rescue Training, that the exercises might need to be set-up beforehand? So does that mean that another teacher is coming to join us today-"

"Ooh, good observation!" Midnight clapped her hands together, and gave him a conspiratorial wink that made him only the slightest bit flustered; dealing with the R-Rated Heroine as a teacher on a daily basis was improving him, if only a little. "I'll keep it a secret as to who, for now, but since you asked, yes. One of my colleagues is joining us to assist with the exercises, since they're a little more hands-on than some of what we might do this year. We've got to get the best out of you when there's lives on the line, after all! Right?"

You can't save everyone, you know-

Izuku's rogue train of thought was promptly shaken out of his head as he nodded vigorously, accepting her answer. "Right! Thank you! I look forward to meeting whoever is helping us!"

"I'm glad. Now take a seat with your friends for the rest of the trip, Midoriya." Midnight waved him off. "Just make sure the others don't get too rowdy for me, would you?"

"I will! Thank you, sensei!" With their conversation over, Izuku made the short trip down the bus away from the teacher and to his gathered classmates, slipping into a seat beside Himiko; true to form, as he sat down, Himiko stretched her legs out over the top of his to make herself more comfortable. "H-Hey, guys. What did I miss?"

"Hello, Midoriya." The gentle voice of Yanagi, seated with Kodai in the pair of seats behind him and Himiko, was not who he expected to answer the question on behalf of the class; in the brief time of getting to know her since classes started, it had struck him how faint and yet how eloquent she was. "We were discussing as a class how the deliberate ambiguity of Rescue Training leaves us wholly unable to prepare for what is to come with any degree of certainty. It's a little spooky, when we have very little else to go on."

"Spooky is kinda right, Reiko!" For a second Izuku had thought that Shoji had kept an empty seat beside him to allow him to stretch his Dupli-Arms, before the wildly gesticulating gloves and voice of Hagakure revealed her presence. Izuku couldn't help but curse the fact she was one of the ones to decide to opt for her costume. "I couldn't even make the most of the Combat Training when nobody could see me coming, but now we're doing Rescue Training I'm kinda confused what I can use Invisibility for to help with a rescue! Can't help but feel a little useless, y'know?"

"I think you are being harsh on yourself, Hagakure." After his close-calls with Tenko in the Combat Training exercises, Shoji's costume had remained in the hands of the Support Course awaiting a fitting replacement, meaning that the tallest member of Class 1-A had stuck with his gym uniform to wear on the exercise; Izuku couldn't help but smile at seeing that somewhere along the way, the boy had swapped his ubiquitous face mask for one which mimicked the pattern of the gym uniforms, in a nice piece of symmetry. "Kodai's strategy to completely hide the hostage from sight was smart, but even so, you nearly had the beating of both her and Awase on your own-"

"Don't remind me," the bandana boy groaned from further back on the bus, his headband slipping over his eyes to hide his embarrassment at just how easily he had been subdued by Hagakure, forcing Kodai into a two-versus-one scenario against two invisible opponents. "Talk about never seeing it coming-"

"Exactly. You did remarkably well in the exercise, even if the timer went against you that round." Shoji's head dipped slightly in a nod, as one of his extended Dupli-Arms smiled, something Izuku still found himself amazed at each time he saw it. "You might see the USJ as an environment where you may struggle in comparison, but I believe you can do well here too."

"Aww, thanks Mezo!"

"He's right, you know!" Tetsutetsu piped up, from further towards the back of the bus at the side of Shiozaki. "I thought I read somewhere that this USJ place has loads of different zones! Even if it's just one zone, you'll find somewhere you can do yourself proud, I'm sure!"

"Wait, rewind that a little, Heavy Metal," Setsuna called, across the aisle from Izuku with her detached head parked unashamedly on Tenko's lap, the older boy reluctantly fiddling with her hair in his gloved hands. "I thought you were just a meathead, but you're telling me you can actually read?"

"Hey! Just because I'm not as smart as you, Lizard Brain-"

"As much as I disapprove of your name calling, Tetsutetsu has a point about the USJ!" Iida's voice had cut across both his classmates before their teasing escalated, and true to form he had risen up from his seat with his hand straight up in the air, as if planning to chop it down on the head of Honenuki beside him. "I'm sure that by now, most of you know that my older brother Tensei is the current holder of the mantle of Ingenium-"

"Yeah, no shit." Himiko laughed, a sparkle of something in her eyes as she looked over at the boy in his armour. "You share the same surname and your costume looks exactly the same, I think we all realised by the end of day one-"

"Urk!" Iida stiffened ever so slightly as those around him laughed, but soldiered on regardless. "Right! It may also not surprise you to hear that Tensei attended UA before he became a Hero, which is one of the reasons why I too decided to come to UA. Anyway… Tensei had previously told me about the USJ from when he was a student here, and had classes in Rescue Training in this very facility!"

"Ooh, insider deets!" From the very back of the bus, Ashido seemed interested now. "What've you got for us, Ingenium Junior?!"

"From what I can remember… Tensei mentioned that, as Tetsutetsu said, there are multiple zones to the USJ. Each of them is based around a different scenario of a disaster which could happen, and has different mechanisms in place to simulate an escalation of that scenario. I suppose that's where the 'Unforeseen' element of the name comes from, after all!" Iida hung his head slightly after that. "Regrettably, I don't recall each and every scenario which the facility intends to emulate. I know that some are based on inner city disasters, since a lot of our work will take place in heavy population centres, but beyond that I can't give you examples of what we might face-"

"I may be able to assist on that front, Iida." Yaoyorozu hadn't risen from her seat, but everyone's attention was diverted straight to her as Iida sat down. "I too have relatives who previously attended UA. The USJ may have changed since they were students here, but I know that, for instance, there is a Shipwreck Zone to emulate marine disasters, an Inferno Zone, and I believe... there may have been one called a Typhoon Zone? I am sure I was told the full list at some point, but unfortunately the remaining zones escape me-"

"You've given us more information than we had before, ribbit." Asui had a tendency to speak her mind, sat beside Tokoyami on the back row of four seats that was also currently home to Kirishima and Ashido. Izuku couldn't help but agree with her assessment this time. "I hope I get some time in the Shipwreck Zone. It would be good to test my costume there-"

"Unfortunately, I kinda feel that isn't a decision we get to make, Tsu." Honenuki's dry voice made him the centre of attention now. "I think we're all potentially going to be out of our depth, here."

Izuku had realised, since starting the class, that there were certain types of intelligent people within his class. Iida and Yaoyorozu were by far two of the most intellectual students in their mix, even if Izuku felt he could keep up with them just about. Setsuna was also annoyingly smart, given how little effort she put into some things at times. Honenuki, however, was a sleeper hit of a student, with composure and maturity and an ability to break difficult situations down that Izuku couldn't help but admire; 'wise' was probably the best word to describe the lipless boy from Kanagawa. Today was no exception. "You see it too, H-Honenuki? The word 'Unforeseen' is the most important!"

"Exactly, Midoriya." Honenuki paused briefly to shoot him a skeletal smile, respecting that someone else had seen it, before continuing on for the rest of the class. "Rescuing people as a Hero isn't going to be something we get much advance warning of. The situations we have to deal with are going to surprise us, and we might be out of our depth. That's the point of the different variables to alter the simulation, but it's also the point of the different zones. We have to be creative at times when we don't like the situations we find ourselves in, and get past that to save people."

"I see…" Asui paused, a finger to her lips. "Midnight may deliberately put us into zones which don't suit our Quirks."

"That's what I mean, yeah. Take Tokage, for example-"

"Oooh, I'm the example!" Setsuna's head bounced a little. "I'm honoured, Mudman!"

"You're welcome." Honenuki resisted a laugh. "Her control over Lizard Tail Splitter, the way she can split herself apart and levitate so many of her pieces? It's very good. But that's in normal scenarios. Put her into the Typhoon Zone, and those conditions make it ten times harder to control her different parts, to concentrate on not losing an arm or leg to the wind. That's an obstacle Tokage has to overcome in case she needs to help with rescues or combat in gale force winds, and work on her focus so that it isn't fatal to her as a Hero."

"Good assessment, Honenuki," Tenko said, his cracked lips twisting into a smile. "Who knew all we needed to do to nerf the reptile was change the environment settings-"

"If it takes something as harsh as extreme weather to take me down," Setsuna laughed, "I'll take the compliment!"

"As much as we don't need to inflate her ego any more," Himiko piped up, to laughter from both Izuku and Tenko, "Honenuki is right, and it's the same for everyone, not least the people who did the best in the exam. I mean, take Yui for example-"

"Mmm?"

"She was one of the best people on our exam, with the way she ended up using Size." Izuku couldn't help but breathe in, excited at watching Himiko join in with the Quirk Analysis. It was how they had bonded after all, and he couldn't help but like that about her. A lot. "I still don't know how and where you ended up hiding the hostage, in all that madness. What did ya do with it?"

"Hmm." Kodai's normally stoic face was betrayed by the slight glimmer in her eyes; Izuku couldn't quite tell whether it was mischief at keeping her secret, or some small joy at Himiko using her first name and promoting her to friend status. "... Old fashioned misdirection."

"Gah! We'll figure it out one day!" Himiko laughed. "And that's the thing. Size was really useful in an urban environment where she's got access to rubble, so if you put Yui in an earthquake to clear debris, she'll be one of the best Rescue Heroes ever. But if that Shipwreck Zone Yaomomo described is still here, and we end up chucking Yui in the water… I mean, Size works on inanimate objects, but I don't think it works on water, does it?"

"Mmm…" Kodai paused, looking thoughtful for a second, before nodding. "... Yeah. Harder to improvise."

"A true test of our abilities to be a Hero…" Tetsutetsu clenched a fist. "How manly! And how fitting for UA to push us to go beyond like this!"

"Everything we do is Plus Ultra, huh?" Kirishima, surprisingly muted up until this point (Izuku had realised he and Tetsutetsu were by far the loudest in the class), sharpened his fist with the use of his Hardening Quirk. "I may not have the strongest Quirk here, but I'll give it my all no matter what's thrown at me!"

Such a versatile and powerful Quirk, and yet he doubts his own potential? That Quirk could make someone a juggernaut.

Izuku didn't entirely disagree with that thought, because he had seen what Kirishima was capable of during their classes and he was impressed. He had a tendency to rush headlong into situations, without thinking of a plan, but his resilience and determination to give everything he had to each exercise was honestly quite encouraging. His Quirk, with the proper training, would turn the red-haired boy into a Hero for the ages. But the thing Izuku didn't like was how his Quirk influenced how he thought about that; the thought that it would make someone a juggernaut, and not Kirishima.

As aware as Izuku was of the power he truly held… there was no way he would take Kirishima's power for his own.

"Guess it's the time for those of us who have the less flashy powers to show that being an all rounder is a good thing, after all." Kendo was sat beside Yaoyorozu, and Izuku wasn't quite sure that description was fitting of the ginger-haired girl; she had clearly spent years training in martial arts to supplement her Big Fist Quirk, and she was more than a match for Tenko in the most brutal of the matches in Combat Training. "Time to catch up with Midoriya and the front runners, eh?"

"M-Me?!" Izuku couldn't help but squeak as several heads turned to face him. "W-What did I do-"

"Dude, you're the one who got us all going in Quirk Apprehension, and we all saw yours and Himiko's fight in the Combat Training. You could level whole buildings if you wanted." Kendo shot him a challenging grin. "You're clearly the biggest threat here-"

"I wouldn't entirely agree with that assessment, Kendo."

At the sound of a familiar voice piping up, Tenko's head turned with the purest look of confusion. "Okay, you stepping into an argument to argue against this? That is one hell of an unexpected dialogue choice."

A surprise, to be sure…

Izuku hadn't seen that coming at all. "M-Monoma?"

The blonde boy, with his feet up on the back of his chair besides Awase (much to the significant distress of Iida), shrugged. "What? Just because I don't like you much, Midoriya, what Kendo just said is incredibly naive. Are you basing that solely on the destructive potential of his Quirk?"

"Alright, I'll bite, despite you being kinda rude about how you put it." Kendo was more than a match for even the most biting comment from Monoma, and she didn't appear offended by him in the slightest. "It's kinda based on that potential, yeah, although there are other reasons. Midoriya has the most astute mind for Quirks in the class, and he's one of the best tacticians with Tokage and Toga. Couple that with his Quirk, and, well…"

"She's kinda got a point, Neito." Awase was completely unfazed by the idea of having an argument with Monoma despite being sat right beside him. "He's dangerous in the field, when you think about it like that-"

"Dangerous? Compared to who?" Monoma's comments had now drawn the attention of everyone, but if he was enjoying the class hanging on every word of his, he was doing a remarkable job of not showing it. "Clearly you were watching a different combat class to me. Midoriya was smart because he was able to use his Quirk to effectively counter at the right moment, but he was smart as well because he held back. He stuck to the task, didn't just bring the building down or blast Tokage at full power, and only used his power when absolutely necessary. The raw potential of his Quirk is dangerous, but then again… we're all dangerous, if you want to judge us based on that."

"All of us?" Hagakure seemed to shift in her seat. "Are you sure about that, Monoma-"

"Absolutely! Did you forget that we're the first year class at UA High, the twenty strongest candidates they had? Each Quirk in this class is dangerous in its own way, but it's how we use it that defines us, separates us from the rabble out there who think society is fair game after Incident Zero." Monoma smiled, darkly. "Any one of us would make a very good villain."

"Don't you think you're going too far, Monoma?" Shiozaki asked, slightly trembling in response to his last comment. "To say such things about our class, with all the work that we put into getting here-"

"Oh I don't doubt that. But my point still stands. Take Shimura, for example." Monoma gestured to Tenko, who blinked at the sudden attention. "As much as your Quirk was a dud for me, I've seen it in action. Five finger activation, means it can erode anything it touches. Right?"

"Right…" Tenko looked uncertain at where this was going. "Your point?"

"You were paired with Ashido for the Combat Training. Acid and Decay, together. Two Quirks which have near-limitless destructive potential. You could cause serious harm to a human if you used it on them, couldn't you?"

Izuku shot a look over Tenko in alarm, knowing what he knew about Tenko's past, but as the murmurs rose it was Ashido who stepped in to answer. "Yeah, totally! I know we have good medical facilities and all, but when I'm sparring with you guys, I worry about that every time we come out. I have to dilute down my Acid each time so I don't go overboard-"

"And that's my point. That's just two of you who have dangerous powers, but have the immense self-control to make them work for good." Monoma pointed at a few people in turn, his hand brushing over Kodai's as he did so. "What if our dear Yaomomo made an explosive and underestimated the potency of the blast? What if Iida took a wrong turn at speed and hit a pedestrian? What if Kodai crushed someone because she released her Quirk a second too earily, what if Shiozaki's vines were just a little too tight around someone and cut right through them? The point is, without any responsibility in how we use our powers, each of us can be dangerous-"

"Even you, Monoma?" Yaoyorozu had grimaced slightly at the Copy user's comment, but she had retained enough composure to parry his argument back at him. "Do you count as dangerous, too?"

"Especially dangerous. And I don't say that because I'm proud of it." Monoma swiped Awase's headband and in a second, it expanded to the size of a tablecloth, showing the class that he had borrowed Size from Kodai. "I'm around each of you on a daily basis to work out how to maximise the use of your Quirks when I borrow them, but that also means I have to think about how to hold back something. That's easier for those of you who live with that ability, but I have to come up with that on the fly. If I copied Hellflame, or Gigantification, or even Somnabulist without thinking about it… without some serious effort, I could hurt more people than I save."

"I… actually understand what Monoma is saying." It surprised Izuku for a second to hear his own voice agreeing with the boy who had pretty much declared himself Izuku's rival from day one, and judging from the couple of sharp intakes of breath he heard from their peers, he wasn't the only one. "In the Quirk Apprehension, I was only focused on showing the upper limit of what I could do, to do as well as I could and not hold back. That was about showing how strong I could be. But tasks like this Rescue Training… it's not about raw power, it's about knowing how much to use, when to use it, and being wise enough to know when to hold back. Anyone can be a threat to villains with a strong Quirk, but knowing how to take that and turn it into something which can save as many people as possible too? That's what makes Heroes who they are."

"Precisely." For the briefest of moments, something other than distaste flickered in Monoma's eyes, as he released Size and handed back Awase's signature bandana. "I knew I could count on you to understand, Midoriya."

"Th-thanks. I guess?" Izuku scratched the back of his head, acutely aware that everyone was looking at them. "I… I know I've got to work on being able to save people even when Aerokinesis isn't the most useful Quirk for the job. I'm kinda excited to l-learn what I can do to overcome its limits, and if this is the first of many lessons to help with that… I can't wait."

"You know what?" Kendo, the original target of Monoma's disagreement, smiled genuinely at him. "Me too. If even these two can agree on something, then I guess that helps us all know what we need to do, right?"

"Hell yeah! Tetsutetsu roared, as other people voiced their agreement around him. "Rescue Training here we come, guys!"

"I KNEW THERE WAS A REASON YOU BEAT ME TO CLASS REPRESENTATIVE!" Dark Shadow had remained dormant the entire way through the conversation, emerging at the very end to lend its voice to those already eager to get started, before Tokoyami yanked on the shadowy tether to bring it back down from the roof of the bus. "HEY! JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ANTI-SOCIAL, DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T JOIN IN TOO, FUMI!"

As Tokoyami waved in embarrassment to apologise for his Quirk getting involved, several conversations across groups in the back of the bus started up again, the whole class sounding a lot more excited to get going at the USJ than they had been a few minutes ago. For his part, Izuku paused for just a second, wanting to look across to Tenko and see how he was. Monoma didn't know a thing about Tenko's past, but Izuku did, and any reference to Decay being used on humans reminded him of the memory he had accidentally witnessed through a Quirk that had never resurfaced since.

His worries were fortunately short-lived. It was almost as if Tenko had developed a sixth sense to read his mind, because the second that he glanced over, Tenko met his gaze. The brief smile, and the meaningful look from Tenko gave Izuku all the reassurance that he needed that his friend was okay, just as much as the subtle nod Setsuna gave him while squeezing Tenko's gloved hand. "Heh. I'm good, Izu. Thank you, though."

"Hey, not at all!" Izuku smiled, as Setsuna mouthed a quick thank you towards him. "All of this talk made me realise that there's a few situations which my Quirk won't be that useful for. I don't know exactly what zones we will have to face in the USJ, but… I'm gonna learn a lot, I think."

"Honestly, same!" Himiko chimed in, leaning forward. "I don't know how much my Quirk can offer for some of it, but I've never had to deal with anything like what Iida was talking about-"

"And Honenuki kind of had a point about my Quirk, too," Setsuna admitted, smiling sheepishly. "I've always looked at high winds and made the choice not to use my Quirk, but I'm not gonna get the choice all the time if people need help, right? If there's a Typhoon Zone, I've gotta get used to it real fast."

"Given how much they're cramming into the tutorial stage, this is gonna be a nuts three years at UA." Tenko grinned at Izuku. "You know the one thing that confuses me though?"

"Huh? What's that?"

"This USJ place is supposed to be on campus, and yet this is the longest bus ride I swear I've ever been on in my life." Tenko jerked a thumb at the window. "I thought this was supposed to be the fast travel option-"

Before Tenko could even finish his sentence, the quiet hum from the electric motors of the bus died down, crawling to a halt, and Midnight sprung from her seat at the front of the bus to wave to her gathered class. "We're here, students! Who's ready to show me what they've got at Rescue Training?"

Setsuna smirked at Tenko, whose mouth remained open in surprise. "Anything else you wanna make happen while you're at it?"

For a second, Tenko looked like he was trying to come up with something clever, before he simply gave up. "... Yeah, I've got nothing. Universe just wants to spite me. Are we doing this?"

"Yeah!" Izuku got up, raring to go and eager to see what UA had in store for them in the heart of the USJ. Nothing he had ever experienced in his entire life beforehand came anywhere near close to Rescue Training at a specialist UA facility, and it was hard to contain his excitement to the point that he wasn't crying tears of joy. This was the highlight of everything he had expected to get out of UA, and he couldn't wait.

Time to see what you're made of, Izuku.

"Let's go, everyone!"

(***)

It was impressive, really, how the place that shared the initials of its name with a theme park gave Izuku that same sense of wild, childish glee on arrival. He would have defied anybody else to feel differently about the USJ, too. It was like every dream come true for what he wanted to get out of going to UA, and he hadn't even left the entrance gate to get started in the exercises!

The scale of the training area had blown him (and many of his other classmates) away the second that Midnight led the way through the doors at the top. It had been strange to climb so many stairs, as if they were entering a stadium, but the second they emerged onto the entrance plaza at the top and got the view down over the whole set-up, it had been worth it ten times over. Down the stairs from their entrance, a myriad of locations which surrounded the central plaza like the lands of a theme park awaited, sprawling across the entire complex. It looked like heaven.

Perhaps a theme park wasn't the perfect analogy to describe it, because the scenario locations in front of Izuku and his class looked like serious business. Some of them weren't exactly clear to him upon his arrival- he didn't have a clue what the huge dome was down to their right, although judging on the way that conditions needed to be managed, he suspected this was something to do with the Typhoon Zone mentioned on the bus- but he couldn't help but be excited at the sight of others. Between the Shipwreck Zone and the immense lagoon beyond the dome, and the enormous mountain to their left, with a collapsing city at the very edge of the USJ… all of it looked like the perfect way to be tested, to be pushed to improvise and grow, to reach their limits and still find a way to go beyond.

It was no wonder that despite all their cuts and hardship since Incident Zero, UA had fought tooth and nail to keep a place like this open. It would be worth its weight in gold, and he knew he was going to learn a lot here.

The enormity of the USJ wasn't the only thing that had caused a stir among the class, although the second reason for their excitement was much, much smaller in size. Hero costumes were designed to be distinctive as a default, so they would stand out in a crowd and symbolise somebody being trained to help, but their second teacher's costume was one of the most distinctive in Japan right now. Izuku wouldn't have been the only person to see the pristine white spacesuit crop up on the news, one of the most active Heroes among the UA staff because of how versatile her Quirk was and how much help she could be when deployed to a disaster zone.

He should have seen it coming, when Rescue Training was mentioned. Who else but the Space Hero, Thirteen, would be perfect to teach classes like this? "Thirteen and Midnight are teaching us! This is amazing!"

"She's not far outside the Top Ten these days, if I remember correctly!" Himiko said, her cheeks ever so slightly tinted red in awe at the sight of the Space Hero. "She does so much disaster relief, and she's still able to come here and teach us!"

"Pretty neat skin as well, with the helmet and everything," Tenko said, trying to play it cool and failing to hide the little smile at the sight of the puffy-sleeved spacesuit in front of them, waving to the group. "You can tell she's the real deal."

If Thirteen heard any of the appreciative comments about her from Izuku's group or the rest of the class, she was way too modest to acknowledge it, even if her helmet hid her face entirely. "Greetings, Class 1A! It is my pleasure to welcome you to your first Rescue Training class here at UA High, and I look forward to seeing how you grow over the many more classes after this!"

"Students, I'm sure you're all familiar with Thirteen." Midnight stepped to the front of the class, putting an arm over her colleague's shoulders. "She's one of our busiest faculty members, since her powers are so in demand, but that means she's one of the most qualified Rescue Heroes in the world, let alone Japan! That makes her a perfect instructor for classes like this-"

"And there was no way I was missing this first class for the world!" Thirteen's helmet distorted her voice somewhat, making it warble as she spoke. "Please accept my apologies if I do not make it to some of your future classes, but the sort of scenarios you will be trained to deal with in these sessions can happen at any time. All the more reason to make sure that you get the most of these lessons, right?"

"I couldn't agree more!" Midnight practically wiggled as she turned to Thirteen; clearly even she was excited. "Did you want to tell them what we'll be up to?"

"Right! Of course!" Thirteen saluted, a strange sight to see with the way her sleeves moved. "There's plenty of facilities here at the USJ, designed to mimic plenty of real-world scenarios you may be faced with as Heroes! I had a hand in creating these zones, based on my experiences, and since we've got the full day of classes in here today, I want to make sure everyone here has a chance to experience every zone by the end of the day!"

"That means the ones you may be suited to, and the ones where you might be out of your depth. I'm sure you all gathered that, from your conversation on the bus ride here." Several people looked at Midnight in a panic at realising she overheard, which made their teacher giggle. "Oh aren't you all adorable! You were so loud, of course I heard! But don't worry, I was quite impressed with how you all realised that you wouldn't just get the zones you were suited to."

"Oh really?" Thirteen asked, interested. "That reassures me to hear! It is one of the hardest things as a Hero that sometimes, no matter what you do, you can't change the situations you're thrown into sometimes. When the priority is saving lives, it is a reality of the job which you just have to prepare for!"

"Guess I'm finding about how my Quirk holds up in the Typhoon Zone sooner than we thought," Setsuna said, for the first time in a while looking ever so slightly nervous. "If I die, remember me as I was?"

"A pain in the ass?"

"Feeling the love, Ten!"

"For any of you who are worried about how being outside of their comfort zone plays out," Midnight intervened, rolling her eyes at the pair of Tenko and Setsuna, "there are all sorts of systems in here which can be put in place during each simulation. We have a list drawn up for each zone of the people we expect to thrive, those who face a disadvantage, and those in between; to borrow Shimura's gaming analogies, we will slide the difficulty levels up for those in their comfort zone, and offer a reduction for those we expect to be facing an uphill battle."

"I should say," Thirteen volunteered, raising a hand sheepishly, "this list is very much my idea, and I made it based on your Quirk profiles and a brief review of your Combat Training footage. It really isn't an exact science, and I will be over the moon for anyone who goes beyond to prove they can handle a scenario which I thought would be a challenge. This is your first time here, so… I can't wait to learn from you all for next time!"

"What an excellent idea…" Iida's armour was practically vibrating with pride. "This way, everyone gets to participate equally, and set a benchmark from which we can create individual targets to aspire to! An admirable study plan, as expected of an organisation like UA!"

"That's the enthusiasm I expect from an Iida!" Midnight shot a thumbs-up in Iida's direction. "I think the Landslide Zone is our first destination, but before we begin… I note that you all had quite an interesting discussion on the journey here about the potential of your Quirks. Monoma's views may align with your views about the use of Quirks, Thirteen."

"Hmm? Me?" Monoma looked confused at being brought into it. "What about it?"

"O-Oh! My little speech!" Izuku would never use the word adorable out loud, but it was the only way he could describe the stutter from the teacher. "I normally do this every time I take the first class with the new first-year class, so please forgive me for my little tendencies. It's just a couple of things. Three, maybe. Or four?" Midnight coughed, and the other teacher started. "Right, s-sorry! Do any of you know what my Quirk is?"

"I know this one!" Normally Izuku and Himiko would leap in to any discussion on Quirks, but to their great surprise it was Ashido who beat them to it. Perhaps she was a fan? "Black Hole! You can suck up matter, dust, debris, anything to clear a path! You've saved people using it, I've seen it on the news!"

A useful Quirk, indeed. How easy would it be to use?

"That's correct!" Thirteen did a little bounce at the right answer. "I can use that power to save people from disasters, to get them out of trouble, but it's a power which could cause serious harm if I used it in the wrong way."

"Anyone else getting a sense of deja vu?" Setsuna asked, under her breath, but Izuku was too intently focused on the teacher to respond.

"Quirks are medically assessed from the moment they develop, and stringently monitored. Even though the laws have changed on the punishment for causing unnecessary collateral damage…" Thirteen paused, and Izuku could have sworn he heard her mutter 'for the worse' before continuing. "The fact remains that Quirks are one of the most regulated parts of our society. You'll have learned this week how your powers can be used to win fights, from all that Midnight has been teaching you, but as far as I'm concerned that's your last resort as a Hero, and your priority always has to be the people you're trying to save. What you can do with your powers, for them."

Thirteen gave a little bow. "Your powers are not meant to inflict harm. I hope that you leave here today with the understanding that you're meant to help people, and a desire to continue to train yourselves to help no matter what you face. If I can help you, the next generation, to achieve that, then I'll be proud of the great future careers you will have ahead of you!"

"S-So manly!" Tetsutetsu and Kirishima had grabbed each other with a tear in their eyes, as several of those gathered around burst into spontaneous applause. "We won't let you down, Thirteen!"

"She seems like a really good teacher," Izuku said aloud, as Tenko nodded beside him. "We're lucky to have her!"

"Agreed. Black Hole is like a ranged version of my Quirk, when you think about it…" Tenko shot the teacher an appraising look. "I could learn a lot from her."

"Right, with that all sorted, let's get onto the task at hand!" Midnight pulled a list of paper from somewhere down her top, and Izuku couldn't help but wonder why she didn't invest in pockets to store stuff like this. "We're heading to the Landslide Zone first, which means there's a few of you who need what Shimura would describe as a nerf. Kodai and Shimura, you're two of them, since your Quirks are so good for debris clearance-"

"Rather like my own!" Thirteen said, cheerfully, before suddenly jerking and checking her wrist, where some strange device was attached to the back of her suit like a communicator. "Huh? Nemuri? Did you just feel that? My communications array just completely..."

Whatever Thirteen had said after that, Izuku was completely oblivious to it, because what happened next threw him completely for a loop. Staring down at the central plaza, and the large ornate fountain that formed the exact centre point of the sprawling facility, there was a strange feeling that washed over Izuku as if he had just wandered underneath a cold shower, and the hairs on the back of his neck all stood up in alarm, as for just a second something appeared to flicker in the surface of the fountain's water, something deep black and alien.

Oh… surely not? After all this time?

Izuku's confusion at why he had thought that was thrown completely out of his head as Himiko jolted upright; apparently her instincts had served her well, because she had noticed it too. "Midnight-sensei! Is that… what is that down there? Is that part of our exercise?"

Before Midnight could open her mouth, the black flicker that Izuku had seen bloomed like an ink blot, widening into something the height of an average person. Izuku didn't know what was worse; the fact that two horrible yellow slits emerged from the darkness and blinked, revealing themselves to be eyes, or the fact that the dark and honeyed voice that followed, so terrible and so immaculately precise, sounded way too familiar. "... Oh, good. You're all here. Forgive me for being impolite, but it was rather important I made sure that we could proceed as planned."

At long last.

"Oh, no…" Midnight's face flickered with uncertainty before turning to Thirteen. "That's not part of our exercises, is it?"

"No, definitely not!" Thirteen sounded ever so slightly agitated. "And whatever it is, I just lost my line to the campus. We're cut off here."

"Dammit. Students, stay close, and keep behind me. I don't know what we're dealing with here, but whatever you do, don't engage. Not unless I tell you to." Midnight's hissed warning was met with agitated whispers throughout the student body, before she turned to face the spectre that had appeared before them. "I am a Pro Hero of the Nezu Agency and UA High, R-Rated Heroine Midnight. Who are you, and why are you here trespassing?"

"I am fully aware of who you are, Nemuri Kayama." Izuku was just close enough to hear the sharp intake of breath from his teacher, and realise that the stranger had thrown her. "My name is Kurogiri. As for why I am here… I believe it would be better from the mouth of another."

Without warning, the darkness billowed, making the assorted students gasp as the shadow's form seemed to expand from the arms and shoot out to his sides. Travelling a short distance to each side of the fountain, swirling shadows ignited like a firework at the tips of the arms and began to coalesce into a writhing vortex. To Izuku's great horror, shapes began to appear in the darkness, indistinct at first, before several people began to follow in a crowd- none of them were particularly recognisable, as mean and gleeful as they looked but all of them emerged from the shadowy voids at the tips of Kurogiri's arms to take their positions. "His Quirk… teleportation?!"

"Assorted F-Rank and E-Rank Villains…" Thirteen was scanning the crowd. "Wait a minute… that can't be!"

"Who is she talking…" Izuku trailed off, as in the middle of the crowd, as one distinctive face made his way to stand at the side of the spectre, as all of the thugs who had arrived took up positions in a line between Kurogiri and the students. There was no mistaking it, not after all those years, after the worst day of his life when he thought that all of his dreams had been shattered and he'd never become a Hero. He'd never forget that face, the bald head, the strange goggles, the fierce brown moustache and the cane that made such a loud tapping noise.

The face of the man who told him he was Quirkless.

Brilliant. Hello… old friend.

"It's you! Doctor Tsubasa! What are you doing h-here?!"

At the sound of Izuku's cry, Honenuki seemed to start just a little. "Tsubasa? You know this guy?"

"Yeah, he assessed my Quirk when I was younger…" Izuku saw the look that flickered across the other boy's skull-like face. "He did yours too?"

"He did, but…" Honenuki grimaced. "I thought his name was Ujiko?"

"That can't be right! He has a grandchild called Tsubasa! I went to school with him before UA-"

"You guys recognise him too?" Hagakure chimed in, waving her arms in confusion. "But that's my Doctor Nakamura! He's been at our hospital for years!"

"Hold on," Yaoyorozu interrupted, her face paling. "But that's… no. That can't be. That's Kenji Hajime. He's been my family's physician for years-"

"And yet here we are," Monoma added, "with me telling you he's Doctor Shiga. I'd remember, after he spent so long testing Copy out and telling me I could be greater than I could possibly know-"

"I can't tell you how flattering it is to be recognised, but perhaps I may provide some clarity?" The voice of the old man carried some distance across the USJ, and interrupted the discord among the students. "For those of you who have never met me, and those of you labouring under one of many names I have used across a long life, may I introduce myself? My name, truly, is Kyudai Garaki, and it is a pleasure to see so many of you I have examined over the course of many careers have made it to UA. Truly, this new generation of Quirks has produced some genetic marvels."

"That's all well and good, sir, but you shouldn't be here." Midnight began to step forward ahead of the group, an ever so slight sway to her walk; Izuku recognised the suggestion of the sadistic edge she showed sometimes in her most brutal battles as a Hero, and realised that she was trying to intimidate Tsubasa/Garaki (if that was even his real name). "You are trespassing on UA property. Your friend's powers are impressive, but you need to leave, Villain."

"Oh, I'm afraid that isn't an option for me, I'm afraid. I've waited oh so long for this moment, you wouldn't understand." Garaki adjusted his goggles, carefully, as he spoke, and Izuku could have sworn that when the man looked up again, he was looking at Izuku. "I must say, I hadn't intended to allow myself to be drawn into the limelight and appear in person, but some things are just too important. I have to be here in person."

"For the past…" The baritone voice of Kurogiri resonated throughout the USJ, as a shape began to writhe within the void of the portal on his left arm and take form. "And for the future, we come here today."

Kyudai Garaki chuckled as the surface of the black fog was breached, and to the horror of all the gathered members of Class 1A a monstrous bird-like head with a shining exposed brain began to emerge under the floodlights of the USJ. "You'll understand, at some point anyway. I couldn't wait any longer, now that I know. And now that I know, I can act.

"Everything I do… is for my master."

(***)

A/N: USJ, USJ (chants).

This is one of the defining moments of My Hero Academia, in my view. I remember watching the anime for the first time and seeing Shigaraki emerge from the Warp Gate with Rampaging Evil playing on the soundtrack, and it cemented my view that this series was one I needed to devour. The whole USJ set of episodes was some of the best anime I've watched, so… I had to ensure that Incident Zero contained a dark mirror of this incredible event. Garaki just got too damn impatient.

This set of chapters is huge for the story, so honestly, I'm not doing a long author's note this week. This is just briefly going to say that I have an exam on 24 June, and am due to upload on 21 June with the next USJ chapter- if I am at late in my schedule, please be understanding that real life is sometimes unfortunate at timing.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter. Please, please review (as long as there's no flaming I love to read them), and favourite/follow this story if you have not done so already. Please feel free to check out my other work- I have some interesting content I want to post in the next couple of weeks around Incident Zero, not least a Decay update and some new stuff I love- and yeah, feel free to come talk on the Ignite to the Call Discord in the Incident Zero channel. Link code to join is at- VY53GaGK.

Until next time, ya boy, out.