Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia/Boku No Hero Academia, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Vlad King's Green Bean
Chapter thirty-seven: Eri in Magicland
The scene opens with Togaru, Shihai, and Setsuna all dressed in costumes to denote that they're playing roles as children in classical Victorian-era London. Each of them had a toy of some kind that they are playing around with. As they are playing, Eri comes walking in, also dressed to match the apparent time period that the characters played by Togaru, Shihai, and Setsuna are all playing.
Seeing Eri walk into the scene, Setsuna pointed to her and said, "Look boys, it's that weird girl who doesn't have a cool toy!"
"Eww," Togaru said, "She's unpopular and a loser and everyone hates her because she doesn't have a cool toy."
Eri, her character having not heard what the characters played by the older students said, finished coming over to them. "Hey guys," Eri said, "Can I play with you?"
"We don't want you to play with us," Shihai said, "You don't have a cool toy which therefore makes you a nobody."
"And we don't wanna hang with nobodies," Togaru further taunted.
Pointing at Eri, Setsuna said, "Ha ha, you're a loser who doesn't have a cool toy!"
Eri gave a sad pouty expression. "You guys are mean!" Eri then turned around and ran away, or rather ran of stage.
...
In the next scene, Eri was walking alone, sniffling sadly. "How come the other kids don't wanna play with me?" Eri said, "Why does me not having a cool toy mean I can't make friends? It's not fair." As Eri stopped walking, she sat down on a rock (really a durable plastic fake rock), and proceeded to look sad. "I wish that I had a cool toy," Eri said, "I bet that would make the other kids stop being mean to-"
"Gotta get going! Gotta get going back to Magicland!"
Eri stopped short and looked up when she heard someone talking in something of a hurried panic. Looking over, Eri saw to her (character's) surprise Jurota's character, a bear wearing a suit jacket and top hat while holding a pocket-watch that he was checking to see what time it was. Jurota's character was clearly in a hurry to get going back to where he said he needed to get going to.
Eri watched as Jurota ran over to a large tree (scene prop for the play) as he said, "I can't be late for the cupcake party that King Caterpillar is throwing! He always throws the best parties!" Jurota then went into the hole in the tree, despite how the tree didn't look like it could be hollowed out enough for a person the size of Jurota (or his character) to fit in, and didn't come back out.
Seeing this Eri got curious. Getting up from where she was sitting, Eri, her prior sadness gone, went over to the tree and looked into the hole. "How this that Mr. Bear fit into this hole?" Eri said in a curuous tone, "It doesn't seem like-WHOA!" Eri then 'lost balance' and fell into the hole in the tree, not coming back out. The scene then went to black, showing that the play's setting was changing.
...
In the next scene, Eri came stumbling out of a hole in another tree, but unlike the one she stumbled into which looked normal, this second tree had a pink trunk and purple leaves. Getting on her feet, Eri looked around in awe-struck wonder. "Wow!" Eri said, "This place looks so pretty! Speaking of, I have no idea what this place is called. I wonder if someone can tell me-"
"Ah! A human child had followed me into Magicland!"
Eri was cut off when Jurota came walking back onto the scene. "Oh dear," Jurota said, "Oh dear oh me oh my oh dear, this isn't good. This isn't good at all."
Looking up at Jurota, Eri said in a sad tone, "You don't wanna play with me, Mr. Bear?"
"Oh, ah, umm," Jurota began, "It's not exactly that little human girl, it's just that-"
"It's because I don't have a cool toy, huh?" Eri asked.
"What do you mean by that, little human girl?" Jurota asked.
Sighing, Eri said, "Well Mr. Bear, none of the other kids want to play with me. They all think I'm uncool because I don't have a cool toy."
Jurota held a hand to his mouth in a gesture to express shock. "Why that's terrible! That is no excuse to not let another kid play with them!" Seeing that Eri is upset, Jurota went on, "Little human girl, perhaps if you make your case to King Caterpillar, he'll let you join the cupcake party he is hosting."
"He'll let me come to his party?" Eri asked, "Even though I don't have a cool toy?"
"King Caterpillar doesn't believe one needs to have a cool toy in order to be his friend," Jurota said, "Come, we'll see him now." Taking Jurota's hand, Eri went with him off stage as the scene faded to black, showing a scene transition.
...
After things were set up, Eri and Jurota walked back onto the stage, where the girls of Class 1-B aside from Setsuna were dressed in costumes meant to make them look like magical forest animals of some kinds. They were all seated at a table, at the end of which sat Izuku dressed as a caterpillar and wearing a crown on his head. "Ah, you made it just in time for the cupcake party, my good bear friend," Izuku said to Jurota, "But who is the girl with you, might I ask?"
Gesturing to Eri, Jurota said, "This little human girl followed me from the human world into Magicland, Your Highness. None of the other kids where she came from wanted to play with her because she doesn't have a cool toy."
"Balderdash!" Izuku exclaimed, "I assure you, young human girl, that such meanness doesn't exist here in Magicland! Not while I, King Caterpillar, the king of Magicland, have anything to say about it!"
"So can I..." Eri asked, "...Can I join your party?"
"Oh, I wouldn't have it any other way, my dear!" Izuku said, "There's always room for one more at King Caterpillar's table!"
Eri let out a happy cheer as she ran over to sit next to Izuku, with Jurota sitting down next to Eri. As the characters were enjoying the cupcake party, they suddenly heard troubling marching music coming from the far end of the stage. "Oh no!" Kinoko, apparently a fox girl if her costume's ears and tail were any indication, "It's the Grumpy Frumps!"
"The Grumpy Frumps?" Eri said questioningly, a hint of worry in her tone.
Suddenly, Juzo, Yosetsu, and Nirengeki all came onto stage in a slow march-like dance; all three of them wore black long-sleeved shirts, black pants, black shoes, white lengths of white cloth coiled around their necks, and they wore long black wigs. As at least a few voices in the audience began to burst out laughing, Juzo, Yosetsu, and Nirengeki chanted in unison, "We are the Grumpy Frumps! We are the Grumpy Frumps! We are the Grumpy Frumps!"
"The Grumpy Frumps are big ol' meanies who make everything boring," Itsuka's character, a deer girl, explained, "If they take over Magicland, the first thing they'll do is get rid of all the cupcakes, candy, and other sweet treats!"
"Oh no!" Eri said while the 'Grumpy Frumps' remain standing off to the side while dancing and continuing their chant, but at a lower volume so Eri and the others in the play could be heard by the audience, "We need to stop them!"
"The task of getting rid of the Grumpy Frumps shall fall to you then, young human girl!" Izuku said, then went on after pulling out the scepter toy he had Yaoyorozu make, "And with this, you shall succeed!"
Recieving the toy scepter from Izuku, Eri said, "Ooh, it's pretty!"
"It is the Apple Scepter of Magic," Izuku said, "To use it to banish the Grumpy Frumps, simply wave it at them while saying 'magical meanie begone'!"
"Got it!" Eri said with a determined nod, then got up and ran over to where the 'Grumpy Frumps' were all dancing around while chanting. Waving the toy scepter she was given at the bad guys, Eri called out, "Magical meanie begone!"
The boys playing the bad guys suddenly recoiled away and backed of, giving pained, angry hisses as they slinked away. "Hooray!" Yui, dressed as an owl girl, cheered, "Our human friend has banished the Grumpy Frumps!"
As some cheers came from the children in the audience, Izuku said to Eri, "Well done, young human girl! We shall make you the biggest and most awesome cupcake to celebrate your bravery in defeating the-"
"Not so fast!" Kosei's voice called out, before he walked onto the stage, dressed like the 'Grumpy Frumps' but he also wore a black cape and a black crown set with red stones. "I am King Grumpy Frump!" Kosei said, "King of the Grumpy Frump Kingdom! I'm the grumpiest and frumpiest of the Grumpy Frumps!" Dashing over to Izuku, Kosei grabbed him and proceeded to drag him off stage while saying, "And now I am kidnapping you, King Caterpillar!"
"Oh no, King Grumpy Frump is kidnapping King Caterpillar!" Itsuka said, "Someone has to go rescue King Caterpillar!"
"I'll do it!" Eri declared as she ran after Kosei and Izuku, the toy scepter in hand. The scene then faded to black.
...
When the next scene started, Eri ran into a castle room where Kosei stood in front of a cocoon. "It's no use, King Caterpillar!" Kosei taunted, "Soon I shall take over all of Magicland, and when I do I'll get rid of all the sweet treats, and also make everything look ugly and boring!"
"You let King Caterpillar go!" Eri shouted, getting Kosei to turn to look at her.
Kosei first let out a taunting laugh. "You? A human child? What can you possibly do to stop me? Especially since you clearly look like you don't even own a cool toy!"
Growling in angry annoyance, Eri said, "I don't need a cool toy! I found friends who like me despite that fact! And a I won't let you be mean to them ever again!" Waving the toy scepter at Kosei, Eri shouted, "Magical meanie begone!"
"Ah! The magic of the Apple Scepter of Magic hurts me!" Kosei cried out, then growled while saying, "But I am stronger than the average Grumpy Frump because I am the grumpiest and frumpiest of the Grumpy Frumps! I won't give in so easily!"
"Magical meanie begone!" Eri said again while waving the toy scepter at Kosei, only this time she said it louder and more forcefully.
Going down on one knee, Kosei said, "Ah! It hurts even more now! I don't think I can take a stronger force of this friendship magic!"
Waving the toy scepter at Kosei a third time after pressing the button on it to make it light up, Eri called out, "MAGICAL MEANIE BEGONE!"
"Ah! I am finished!" Kosei cried out, "I'm melting! Melting! Melting, what a world, what a world..." From off stage, Tetsutetsu threw a black sheet over Kosei to make him look like he was now a puddle of melted meanie.
After Kosei had 'melted', Eri stood there. "I defeated the king of the Grumpy Frumps!" Eri declared, "Now I can rescue King Caterpillar and-"
Suddenly the cocoon burst open and Izuku stepped out, now dressed as a butterfly. "I am now King Butterfly!" Izuku declared, "Look at how pretty I am!"
"Hooray for King Butterfly!" Eri cheered, right before she exited stage left with Izuku as she scene faded to black.
...
The citizens of Magicland were seeing Eri off back to the world she came from. "With the Grumpy Frumps defeated forever," Jurota said, "Peace and happiness has been assured for Magicland, and we have you to thank for it, little human girl!"
"As a token of thanks, you may keep the Apple Scepter of Magic," Izuku said, "Although you can't use its powers in your world."
Eri looked at the toy scepter that she held. "It's still pretty," Eri said. Walking up to Izuku, she gave him a hug while saying, "Thank you, King Butterfly." The citizens of Magicland then waved Eri off as she went back into the tree she had stumbled out of, saying their goodbyes as she went back to her own world.
...
In the next scene, Eri stumbled out of the tree in her world that she had followed Jurota into, and when she came out she saw Togaru, Shihai, and Setsuna looking around for her. "Hey, it's the girl we teased earlier," Togaru said, pointing Eri out to the others.
"Yeah, we feel really bad about teasing you earlier because you didn't have a cool toy," Setsuna said, "We're really sorry about that."
Nodding once, Eri replied, "It's okay, and thanks for apologizing." Eri then went went off with the 'other kids' to go play with them, now happy that she had friends in both her own world and in Magicland. The stage cutrain was pulled over, then a few moments later was pulled back to show all of the people who took part in the play, bowing to the audience in unison as they all cheered for the good performance.
After the play was over, Izuku was surprised to find that not only had his mom Inko been in the audience and watched it while recording it on a video camera, but she was joined by Mandalay (who also recorded the play on a video camera), Pixie-Bob, Ragdoll, and Kota. "Izuku, that was a really cute play," Inko said, "I think it's nice you and your classmates wanted to entertain the children coming to your school's festival."
Nodding once, Izuku said, "Yeah, I figured it'd be nice to do something Eri would like, although I kind of didn't expect her to actually want to take part in the play itself."
"The nice lady here said that you and your classmates went to great lengths to make a girl around my age feel better," Kota said while looking up at Izuku, "I take it that the little girl in the play is the girl in question?"
Izuku nodded once in the affirmative. "Yes. Her name is Eri."
Pixie-Bob, chuckling a bit, remarked, "You know, the 'Grumpy Frumps' in the play kind of looked like Eraserhead."
Izuku, a bit of an embarrassed look on his face, said, "Yeah, well, one of the-"
"You're a comedy genius, Green Bean!" Emi, otherwise known as the pro hero Ms. Joke, laughed out loud as she walked over, carrying a video camera in her right hand. "I knew that coming to see the play would be worth it!"
"Ms. Joke?!" Izuku said, "What are you doing here?!"
"I originally wanted to see the improv stuff that Shouta was having his students do," Emi said, "But it got so crowded that I couldn't get in. So I decided to come see the play that you and the rest of Sekijiro's students were doing." Laughing a bit more, Emi said, "I loved how the Grumpy Frumps were clearly a reference to Shouta and how he can be quite the grumpy frump himself!
Izuku nodded to Emi once in understanding. "He... kind of served as inspiration there, yeah." Turning to look at Inko, Izuku asked, "So how are you enjoying the festival so far, mom?"
Gesturing to her son with a wave, Inko said, "Oh, it's very nice, sweetie. I came here with Mitsuki, Mika, and Rei so we could support our respective kids, so the other ladies are over where Katsuki and his classmates are doing their improv performance."
"I hope that one of them gets a video of it," Emi said, "I love me some good improv."
Izuku gave an understanding nod but stopped short, a look of realization on his face. "Hey mom, I only counted three ladies you mentioned by name, but you hang out with four ladies."
Inko wore a somber look on her face. "...Oh, Beru couldn't make it. She has to handle some business related to the loss that she suffered."
"Oh snap," Pixie-Bob said, "I hope that Beru lady, whoever the hell she is, will feel better soon." Izuku then invited the group to come with him to the 1-B dorm, as his class was going to have something of a post-play party.
Seeing as how the play was over, Class 1-B reconvened for the candied apples that Izuku and some of the others made as a post-play treat to share. Inko, the Pussycats, and Kota also came along, and seeing that there were only enough candied apples for all of the 1-B students, Eri, and Sekijiro to have one each, Sekijiro offered his to Kota, saying that he can't enjoy treats without his dog, who lived on campus with Sekijiro, try to beg some off of him. As such, everyone aside from the adults all enjoyed candied apples, with the one Izuku had made special given to Eri.
As the students and two little kids all enjoyed candied apples, Sekijiro talked to Inko and the Pussycats. "Yo Vlad," Pixie-Bob began, "The next official ranking in the Hero Billboard Chart JP is coming out soon. Do you have any ideas on what could be expected?"
Sekijiro folded his arms over his chest, gave a look of consideration. "Well first off, Endeavor is more or less guaranteed to be officially ranked as the number one hero in Japan, mainly due to how All Might had to retire. Due to how Hawks, Best Jeanist, Crust, Yoroi Musha, and Gang Orca were killed in the Battle of Kamino Ward, there's a lot of open spots in the Top Ten. I estimate that popular talent like Shishido and Majestic will most likely make their debut into the Top Ten because of that. Hell, Kamui Woods would have been a shoe-in for the Top Ten this time around if it wasn't for how he was also killed in the Battle of Kamino Ward."
Inko gave an unamused scowl. "And what about that reckless rabbit woman who's also ranked in the Top Ten?"
"You mean Mirko?" Sekijiro replied, "Oh, it'd be a miracle if she remained ranked anywhere at all in the Top Ten. I'm sorry, but after her recklessness caused an incident where twenty-two vehicles were totaled and forty-five civilians were killed, there's no way that-"
*WRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYY*
Everyone took pause when an alarm suddenly went off. "...Ah hell, that's the call-off alarm," Sekijiro said, "Something must have happened to warrant calling off the UA school festival."
"The festival's being called off?" Inko said in alarm as the 1-B students, as well as Eri and Kota, all came over, "But there's still a few hours left according to the schedule that was provided."
"Kan-sensei, what's happening?" Itsuka asked, "Why is that alarm going off?"
Turning to address his students, Sekijiro explained, "I am so sorry that this happened kids, but that alarm going off means that the UA school festival is being called off effective immediately."
"It's being called off?" Izuku said, "Why? What happened?"
The Blood Hero wore a grim look on his face. "I'm about to find that out." To the women, Sekijiro said, "Mandalay, given that you and the other Pussycats are licenced pro heroes, can you assist with escorting civilians off of UA grounds?"
Giving Sekijiro an affirmative nod, Mandalay replied, "You can count on us, Vlad King. Oh, someone will need to watch Kota while the ladies and I work."
Gesturing to his students, Sekijiro explained, "My students can do it. They're already helping with looking after Eri."
"Wait, I got it that Eraserhead was put in charge of the girl," Pixie-Bob, "It's part of why I found it odd that your students incorporated her into the play they put on, given that they're 1-B and Eraserhead leads 1-A."
"We... can talk about the whys in that case later," Sekijiro said, "For now, we've got to assist with escorting civilians off of UA campus." Sekijiro then turned to look at Inko. "Mrs. Midoriya," Sekijiro said, "I'm going to have to ask that you come with me so that I can safely escort you off campus. There's an emergency going on, as you can clearly tell."
"Wait," Inko said, "My friends Mitsuki, Mika, and Rei are either watching the improv performance their kids and said kids' classmates are putting on or are hanging with the kids after the performance. What about them?"
"Given they're the mothers of some of Aizawa's students, he'll have a hand in escorting them off campus," Sekijiro replied, "There's no need to worry." Sekijiro and the Pussycats then got to work, with Mandalay entrusting Kota to the 1-B students (Izuku specifically as she gestured for Kota to go to him), and Sekijiro leading Inko out of the 1-B dorm, although the Blood Hero did assure Izuku that his mother was safe with him before leaving with her.
Izuku, as Eri and Kota crowded around him out of a need for safety, could only look on with a worried look. "...What could have happened to cause the school festival to be called off so abruptly?"
Later that evening, as Eri and Kota were watching a movie that was put on for them, Izuku who was watching the movie with them turned to look at the door leading into the 1-B dorm as Sekijiro and the Pussycats came walking in, clearly exhausted. Sekijiro let out a tired breath as all of the 1-B students, plus Eri and Kota, gathered around their teacher and the Pussycats. "So what's the sitch, Kan-sensei?" Yosetsu asked, "Why was the school festival called off abruptly?"
Letting out another sigh, one that sounded more troubled than tired, Sekijiro explained, "The UA school festival had to be called off as abruptly as it was due to a safety concern that popped up."
"Safety concern?" Itsuka repeated, "What do you mean safety concern?"
"It was a safety concern brought about by one of the people visiting the festival recording a video of the whole of the improv performance that Class 1-A did and putting it up on the internet," Sekijiro explained, "The video also had footage of a few side things, but the improv performance took up at least three-fourths of the video that had been uploaded."
Shrugging, Togaru said, "So someone uploaded a video to the internet of footage they got of the school festival. Big whoop. I fail to see how that's cause to immediately and abruptly call off the festival."
Sekijiro gave the mantis boy a stern look. "Here's the thing, Kamakiri. The people who recorded and uploaded that video?" Letting out a breath, the Blood Hero said, "Yeah, it was Spinner, Gentle Criminal, and La Brava of the League of Villains."
"The League of Villains?!" Class 1-B exclaimed in unison.
Nodding in the affirmative, Sekijiro said, "Yeah, the League of Villains. The three of them put on disguises that allowed them to infiltrate UA, passing for civilians merely visiting the campus for the festival, although for Spinner he had to wear a hoodie with the hood up, plus a gaiter mask, a pair of gloves, and a pair of sunglasses. He still managed to get in despite how suspicious his disguise looked."
"What were the villains doing, sensei?!" Jurota asked, clearly alarmed that members of the League of Villains had actually been successful in infiltrating UA.
"If their video they uploaded to the internet is any indication," Sekijiro said, "They merely wanted to make UA look ineffectual by proving that they, being villains, could get in. They then showed in their video themselves merely enjoying the festival, with that La Brava girl getting some funnel cakes while saying she'd give one to Spinner later since he can't risk eating it while on UA grounds. They then went to the improv performance that 1-A did, and recorded pretty much the whole of it. Oh, at one point during the performance, Ashido, Sero, Kaminari, and Kurata were doing a skit that involved getting a volunteer from the audience." The Blood Hero then let out an exasperated sigh. "They ended up getting Gentle Criminal."
A number of the 1-B students sucked in cringing breaths. "Ooh, I bet Aizawa-sensei ain't gonna be happy about that," Shihai said, looking and sounding worried for the sake of Class 1-A.
"Well given that nobody knew that the villains were villains until AFTER the video was posted, some leeway ought to be permitted," Sekijiro said, "I mean they did wear disguises that fooled even the pro hero teachers that were doing patrol and security duty."
Izuku wore a serious expression on his face as he folded his arms across his chest. He very much doubt that Aizawa, despite how he himself also counted among those who were fooled, was going to let this one go, given that three members of the League of Villains were not only at the improv performance Class 1-A did, but 1-A even got one of the disguised villains, without knowing that it was a villain wearing a disguise, as a volunteer from the audience to help with an improv skit. The green haired boy had no doubt that the underground hero was going to be letting his students have it for how they had been in such close proximity to villains who, if only in theory, could have seriously hurt at least one of them.
Things were not looking all that bright for hero society right now.
END, CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Author's notes;
This chapter sees Class 1-B's contribution to the UA school festival here, that being a play aimed at entertaining the children who were brought to the festival by parents and older siblings. Given that it was a play aimed at young children (around Eri's age), it of course had to be toned down to a level acceptable for children. I'm... not all that used to writing for children that age, so I'm not too sure if I did a good job at writing the play portion of this chapter or not. Please be understanding, it was my first time writing something that can be safely aimed at young children for them to enjoy.
But after the play things kick into gear. Sekijiro has a discussion about the upcoming Hero Billboard Chart JP with the Pussycats when the call off alarm suddenly went off, meaning the festival had to be immediately called off. It was later revealed that the reason why the festival was called off so abruptly was due to Spinner, La Brava, and Gentle Criminal had all successfully gotten into the festival; that means that villains were successful in infiltrating UA. They also successfully got back out, given that they had uploaded a video they recorded of their adventure at the festival to the internet, something they probably wouldn't be able to do at least while on UA campus.
The next chapter will see the fallout of three members of the League of Villains successfully getting in and out of UA without a problem, as well as cover the business with the Hero Billboard Chart JP. Don't turn that dial.
