To begin the USJ, I'd like to quote Mr. Compress:
'If I'm flaunting something in front of your face, it's because there's something else I don't want you to see.'
All this time, we've been focusing on Izuku and Class 1B... Let's bring our attention elsewhere for a bit, shall we?
This is where my story really begins to diverge from cannon. As such, this chapter is long, and there are a lot of things happening. I've included some time stamps after certain scenes to help make sense of the flow of time. Additionally, I've changed the rating to M, just to be safe.
As always, there will be an optional Author's Note at the end. This one might be a little longer than normal, but again, you do not have to read it if you don't want to.
Thank you for your continued patience and support, everyone! They mean the world to a poor bastard like myself!
Enjoy! :D
CHAPTER WARNING: this chapter contains bullying scenes, body horror, and gore.
I do not own My Hero Academia.
"-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 with them, instead."
"That is all! Thank you, everyone, for listening!"
Neito politely clapped along with the rest of 1A as Thirteen finished her rousing speech. It was a far cry better than Aizawa Sensei's 'welcoming speech', and admittedly, offered a bit more substance than All Might's did a couple of days ago. He truly did think that her speech was wonderful, but… he couldn't help but be a little cynical.
After all… how was he supposed to use his power to help people, when he couldn't even help himself without their power?
Normally, he would have brushed off thoughts like these in an easygoing manner, working through their negative undertones with the grace that an open mind allowed. He usually would've laughed at himself for even entertaining these thoughts in the first place, before striding forward to prove them all wrong- and using their powers to prove his point.
But… ever since the Battle Trials… his normally open mind had succumbed to something worse.
All it took was a couple conversations, some wounded pride, a 'sparring match', and a fight for Neito to begin listening to the bitter little voice inside his head. It usually liked to make an appearance whenever he faced bigotry and adversity, but he put in a lot of effort to actively keep it silent for all these years. And now, with all that had happened so far, the bitter little voice decided the time was ripe to twist the knife further into his psyche.
Neito's first solid footholds into heroism began like a dream come true. He had made it into the esteemed class of 1A, and on day one, made his mark by getting first place in the assessment test. He even outperformed both of the recommendation students in his class! The blond felt vindication blooming in his chest as he took in the results, because now more than ever, all those years of people telling him he couldn't be a hero were finally paying off. His day got even better when his teacher pulled him to the side, after giving them their results. The teacher didn't say much -nor did he say it with much inflection- but he made it clear that he acknowledged his student's potential, and expected these kinds of results from here on out.
For the first time in his life, Neito went home from school with a wide smile on his face. How could he not? The world was, at long last, giving him a chance to prove his worth, and he was going to absolutely make the most out of this opportunity!
Or... so he'd hoped...
In hindsight, he should have seen what was coming from a kilometer away. Life was never kind to him, and he should have known better than to press his luck during the Battle Trials.
In an attempt to keep his momentum going, he went on to talk big, dream big, in the face of someone who was his greatest envy personified… And not even a full eight minutes later, his face was getting repeatedly slammed into the ground. In both a metaphorical sense, and a literal one.
Usually, he would have taken this defeat with a smile, before arming himself with the knowledge he just gained, and moving on to rise above the next obstacle in his path. Usually, he would have held out his hand to congratulate the explosive blond on his win, and declare that next time, he would be the victor. But instead... Bakugo's words were put on a continuously repeating loop, and made his loss all the more profound, especially after the day he had yesterday. The taunts, the jeers, the sheer disdain and savagery that his opponent directed at him made the bitter little voice inside his head cackle with delight... because that was all it needed for it's presence to flourish like a weed.
It all came to a head on the next day of school.
Maybe it happened because he realized that even with brand new faces to impress, nothing had really changed since middle school. After all, despite having the top score, many of his peers remained wary and suspicious of him -and only him- while they fawned over the likes of Bakugo, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu and Iida. Or, maybe, it was because that bastard had gotten deep under his skin with his comments and his actions, more so than anyone else in his past.
All Neito knew was that yesterday, he had acted in the heat of the moment... and the rest of his classmates were left looking on with wide eyes and hanging jaws…
Yesterday...
As 1A waited for their homeroom class to start, Neito busied himself by staring out the window in a feeble attempt to tune out his neighbor in front of him.
Currently, said neighbor was on his feet, facing the class, with his arms open wide and his mouth set in a snarl of confident dominance. He thumped his chest with pride as he bragged about achieving absolute victory yesterday, and openly challenged anyone in the room who contradicted his claim.
Katsuki's boasts had been in response to Denki ribbing him about how well he played the part of a villain. Even though the lovable idiot's words were obviously all in good fun, it didn't stop Katsuki's anger from rapidly flaring as a few more students joined in the laughter. From there, it hadn't taken long before the volatile teenager began to yell over the 'extras'.
After telling them all to shut the hell up, he made sure everyone knew that he was already on his way to becoming the strongest hero the world has ever seen. Stronger, even, than All Might himself, he proclaimed. He dared them all to keep on laughing, because no matter who he fought- whether it was the powerful IcyHot bastard, or the shittier version of himself- he was going to keep on winning, and there wasn't a damn thing any of them could do to change that.
The reactions to his bold and brash words were varied. Some of his peers were... slightly awestruck. Even though his words were callous, it was still one hell of a statement to make, and it was said with so much conviction and resolve that they just… couldn't help but be drawn to him. Others were rather skeptical of his claims, thinking that this outburst was just the result of his inflated ego going wild... and otherwise, just wanted him to shut up.
But Neito… Neito's steadily brewing anger began to turn into mirth, and suddenly, he was trying his hardest to keep his own pettiness in check.
As Katsuki finished declaring that absolutely no one was going to taint his path to greatness, Neito let out a small 'pffft' of amusement.
The volatile young man rounded to him in an instant, telling him to shut up before he made him. And normally, the Copycat would comply, just to keep the peace.
But today… Neito had no intention of 'playing nice', if his own venomous sneer was any indication.
"I wouldn't worry about anyone tainting your path to 'greatness', Bakugo-san; you've done that plenty yourself." Neito made sure to stress the honorific in a mocking tone, taking pleasure from how a vein began to bulge on the other boy's forehead. "You? The 'Greatest Hero' the world has ever seen? Don't make me laugh. Kaminari-san may have been kidding around, but his words do have a ring of truth to them- "
"A-Ahh, come on, man. I was only messing with him..."
"Sure you were," Neito said loftily, refusing to drop his gaze from Katsuki's as he did. "After all, what kind of 'hero' would be so petty to use a wide scale attack against enemies who have already surrendered? What sort of 'absolute victory' is achieved when you willingly leave your partner alone, flailing in the sky, as you topple half a building purely out of spite? Give me a list of all the greatest heroes you know, and tell me, would their actions sink to your level, just like you sunk into that slime villain when you became his hostage? -"
Amidst the 'oooooh!s' and the intakes of breath, Neito knew he was being a huge hypocrite. As mush as he wanted to be an upstanding hero, he knew that a guy like him with a quirk like his would have to resort to a few unsavory acts to be one. But the same shouldn't be said about a guy like Katsuki; someone like him, blessed with and given so much from the start, should've known better. What bothered him the most, though, was knowing that Katsuki was probably going to get off with nothing but a slap on his wrist for his performance yesterday, if his experiences from the past were anything to go by. If he'd have been the one to cause all that mayhem, there wouldn't be any doubt in his mind that he'd have been reprimanded for the 'reckless use of a borrowed power…'
Neito also knew that he had crossed a line with the last of his statement, if the volatile blonde's livid expression suddenly appearing centimeters away from his face was any indication. But, he was already too far past the point of caring.
He pieced together who Katsuki was after seeing his quirk in action during the assessment test, and decided to strike up some conversation with him in an attempt to make some friends (and, admittedly, to also try and Copy his quirk). It started out decent enough, with Neito doing most of the small talk and Katsuki either grunting along or ignoring him… but then the copycat made the mistake of mentioning the sludge villain incident. He was part way through admitting how he admired his bravery in the face of imminent death when the other boy roughly shoved him aside and stormed away, but not before making it clear that he 'didn't need any fucking sympathy from anyone'.
The day afterwards- before the Battle Trials began- Neito had once again approached him, this time with the intent of making amends. As he apologized for bringing up a sensitive subject, and tried to explain how he hadn't meant to offend, he was suddenly yanked forward by the front of his costume. In all honesty, Neito was caught so off guard by the act that he hadn't quite registered whatever spiel the volatile blond was threatening him with… but he got the gist of it loud and clear:
'This subject is off limits'… 'Keep talking and I'll kill you'… 'Don't fucking pity me, you're scum'… 'I survived because I was strong, and I, am stronger, than you'…
It was such a stupid thing to get worked up about, but combined with his loss, this confrontation, and his mind heading into a darker place, it became too much.
Enough was enough. Today, Neito was done with all of this bullshit, and it was high time that he gave his antagonizers a piece of his mind, starting with the volatile boy in front of him.
"-Shut. Up. Right now, loser."
"Why? Are you uncomfortable with how someone voiced what everyone else in this room has thought at least once since yesterday? Or, do you not like being reminded of how helpless you were against that villain, despite all your 'amazing power?'"
The room had fallen deathly silent, with every pair of eyes being drawn towards the two oblivious boys.
"I don't give a fuck what anyone thinks, you pathetic little thief! And why the FUCK do you keep bringing up that damn slimy bastard, huh?! That small fry couldn't do a damn thing to me! Just like you couldn't do anything except run away and surrender like a coward!"
"That's rich, coming from the victim who struggled so bad that a bystander had to leap in to save you."
Neito saw the way his classmate froze at that comment, with rage boiling over tenfold behind his eyes. The rational part of his mind knew he just struck a nerve; bigger, even, than the one connected to the slime villain.
And in his anger, like a complete buffoon, Neito indulged the nastier part of his mind that said to strike it again.
"You know what I think, Bakugo-san? I think that, had the real hero not shown up- the one all the news articles barely give any recognition to- the villain would have taken over your body. Even with All Might just around the corner- "
"-I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP! That worthless piece of SHIT didn't do a GODDAMN thing!"
"That 'worthless piece of shit' was a greater hero in the fifteen seconds he took to save you than you will ever have the capacity to be. Really, you ought to be thankful that he spared you some pity. Otherwise, you'd have probably died- "
WHAM!
Suddenly, Neito was seeing stars, and as the ringing in his ears subsided enough to hear the uproar of his class, he felt something grab him by the front of his uniform and yank him upwards. As his vision cleared, he saw that Katsuki was now right in his face, with an expression so full of hate that for a brief moment, Neito regretted having pushed him so far. Unfortunately, this moment of clarity wasn't enough to shake off the spiteful influence of his mind as he was pulled out of his seat.
Neito, of course, had no way of knowing why those specific words had pushed the other boy over the edge, but at the moment it didn't matter. He wasn't about to take the beating he knew was coming like some meek little lamb.
As the volume rose, Katsuki continued to growl something about 'not needing help or pity', but Neito didn't waste any time listening to him. He had automatically Copied Explosion the moment the other boy's fist connected with his face… And with his head still reeling from the blow, Neito shoved both of his palms straight into Katsuki's chest and ignited them into a mild, yet forceful explosion.
Katsuki's back hit the blackboard, and the classroom's uproar transformed into cacophony, with many of the students jumping in to intervene. Eijiro and Denki had all but sprinted towards Katsuki to restrain him as the volatile boy shot up to his feet and lunged forward with murder in his eyes. For similar reasons, Hanta moved to grapple Neito as Mezo quickly interposed himself between the two fighters. It was hardly a second later before Tenya finally sprinted into the classroom, saw what was happening, and moved to intervene too; his outraged and affronted voice boomed over the ruckus as he tried to restore order.
There were others nearby but who were moving- like Tooru who had dived onto the floor at the last second, and Kyoka, who was swearing up a storm as she scampered away- but Neito couldn't focus on anyone except the furious blond who stood opposite him. In all honesty, it was hard to register anything else at the moment, especially as Katsuki roared out the truth at the top of his lungs.
"You are nothing but a FUCKING PARASITE! You hear me, you LEECH? You are NOTHING, and anything you accomplish will only be because you're too goddamn weak to do anything yourself! Learn your place, and don't you dare lecture me about being a hero- you're not even good enough to be a decent VILLAIN!"
The door to homeroom suddenly slammed open, and their pissed off teacher wasted no time dragging them both out into the hallway. After interrogating the two blonds on what exactly happened, the following hour or so became a blur of emotion as their homeroom teacher thoroughly chewed out their asses like a stick of bubblegum. Their teacher stated that they were both impossibly close to expulsion; any more altercations were guaranteed to get them kicked out of the hero program. Possibly the school as well. Eraserhead finished his lecture by telling them that he would decide on a proper punishment after he cooled his head, and told them they were not allowed to see Recovery Girl for any injuries they got in their fight.
But as they sulked back into the classroom, Neito's bruised jaw was the last thing on his mind for the rest of the day…
Back in the present...
Neito winced as his cheek throbbed from the memory. He gently rubbed his face and let out a quiet snort of disappointment as the class's applause for Thirteen's speech began to die down.
He knew he had no right to mope; he had stooped to his antagonizer's level and brought this upon himself, after all. Still, he hated how the bitter voice in his head had grown so annoyingly insistent, and active, and worst of all right over the course of the last few days. It intensified the hollow feeling in his gut, and mocked him for his feeble dream when others could so easily accomplish it without the help he needed. And most of all, it chastised him for being soooooo naïve for having the audacity to tamper with the natural order of things over something as silly as an assessment test ranking…
Neito frowned and shook his head to chase those thoughts away. Goodness, he was being quite depressing today, wasn't he?
With a decent amount of effort, he forced the bitter voice into a corner of his mind, and began to focus once more on his class. Idly, he scratched at the elbow of his gym uniform and pretended that he didn't care about being the only one not in costume. Unsurprisingly, he discovered that his own had been partly reduced to cinders when he woke up in Recovery Girl's office two days ago. Thankfully, the most important piece of his costume- the white leather belt with two pocket watches attached to it- came out mostly unscathed, and he was content to wear it around his waist in addition to his gym attire.
The feeling of being watched made him fidget, and as he glanced in the direction he felt the gaze, he was surprised to find his teacher observing him. For a brief moment, the pro only looked on in silence, his expression unreadable from under the bundle of deceptively strong cloth around his neck. But then a second later, the pro stirred from his place by the rails and slumped over to discuss something with his colleague.
As he watched the two teachers converse, Neito once again struggled to keep the bitter voice inside his head at bay. The young blond had noticed that, for the past couple of days, his teacher- someone he recently discovered to be one of the most successful underground heroes in Japan- had been keeping an extra eye on him, more so than he did with his classmates. He wanted to believe it was because someone had finally looked past the discrimination, and saw his latent abilities for what they were... But then yesterday had happened, and his teacher's tangible disappointment and irritation crushed whatever hope had remained.
Eraserhead turned away from Thirteen and began to speak to the class, and Neito had to force himself to focus once more.
But little did he know... his attention, and everyone else's, would be elsewhere in just a few short moments...
"Great. Now, first off- "
The entire dome suddenly buzzed, then dimmed, and an arc of electricity leapt between many of the light fixtures that ringed the building. The hero reacted mid-sentence, his eyes going wide as a hand instinctively snatched the weapon around his neck. Eraserhead whirled away from his class, and Neito followed his movements with an unexpected sense of alarm.
As his gaze fell upon the Central Plaza, the hairs on his neck began to stand on end. Even though his eyes stayed glued to that area, he knew many of his peers were doing the same as they audibly reacted to what they saw…
… And what they saw made their hearts freeze in fear.
Black mist was rapidly appearing and expanding in front of the water fountain, and out of that mist came forth dozens of people. As more and more individuals appeared from nowhere, his classmates started to murmur among themselves as their teachers began to yell orders over them.
Neito understood what was happening just a fraction of a second before Eraserhead confirmed his suspicions.
Class 1A… was being ambushed by villains…
00:00- The start of the villain invasion.
Neito was brought out of his haze by the sound of his teacher's voice.
"Thirteen! Begin evacuations and try calling the school! One of these villains has to be jamming the sensors, so there's probably an electric-type causing interference."
"Kaminari!" The blond jumped as his teacher barked an order. "Try using your quirk to signal for help!"
"Got it!"
Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Neito watched the hero named Eraserhead pull down his yellow goggles and unfurl his scarf. And after entrusting his coworker to take care of his students, Aizawa jumped down the staircase, alone, and into the fray.
For a moment, Neito was envious- with a power like that, he would have liked to think that he, too, would have been heroic enough to do the same thing. Once he caught on to his train of thought, he mentally kicked himself- he literally could have had his quirk, if only for a handful of minutes. It would have been incredibly useful to have in this situation.
Shaking off the missed opportunity, he turned around to join his peers as Thirteen headed for the exit. As they moved, he instinctively started to head towards two certain individuals; he wasn't about to waste another opportunity to Copy some powerful quirks in a situation like this.
Their progress came to a halt when another cloud of black mist enveloped the space before them. Two yellow slits reflecting a keen intelligence appeared amidst the swirling darkness, and as a voice filled with insidious intent reverberated in the air, it dawned on Neito that the mist itself wasn't a quirk in action; it was a person.
"Greetings."
Thirteen and the twenty students behind her froze as the villain addressed them with a cold formality. Two students then began to slowly advance in the small crowd, and Neito did his best to continue to follow them.
"We are the League of Villains. Forgive our audacity, but today we have come to Yuuei High to end the life of All Might, the world's Symbol of Peace and Justice."
Neito paused for just a moment as he processed the sheer absurdity of what was just said, and the two he had been following quickened their pace.
"We were under the impression that All Might would be here today. But… it appears his schedule has been revised… well, no matter. My role, and your fates, remain unchanged."
Thirteen chose that moment to step forward and ready her attack, while Neito reset his watches and hurried to touch the two people in front of him…
… But Katsuki and Eijiro were already lunging to strike the man made of mist.
Neito felt his heart stop as he watched his best chance for offense, defense, and mobility slip through his fingertips, but in the wake of their assault, he saw something metallic gleam through the black cloud for just a moment.
In the next, it was gone.
Over the taunts of his assaulting classmates and over the shouts of their teacher, the insidious voice reverberated through the air once more.
"Now that was close… students though you may be, you are the best of the best."
The mist rapidly expanded, enveloping everyone in sight. In seconds, all Neito could see was darkness closing in from every side.
"Begone. Writhe in torment until your last breath, heroes."
No sooner were the words spoken did Neito feel himself start to become weightless, almost like he was falling. But right as his stomach began to drop, something huge tackled him to the side, and he was sandwiched between two others as they groaned and shrieked in his ears.
For a few moments, the world was as dark as a starless night, and Neito was helpless to hear his classmates scream in terror… and then suddenly, it was quiet.
Too quiet.
The darkness receded, and as Mezo got off of him, Neito shot to his feet and frantically looked around.
There were only eight people left by the main entrance. Rikido, Ochaco, Mina, and Hanta were still on the ground, trying to recover from the villain's attack. Mezo, Tenya, and himself were already on their feet, braced for whatever came next. And Thirteen stood protectively a few meters in front of them, ready for conflict as the man made of mist shrunk back down into his previous size.
Everyone else was just… gone.
With a cry, Tenya sped forward to attack the villain with a flurry of kicks, and Rikido lurched to his feet to help him out. As Thirteen frantically tried to get the two attacking students back behind her, Mezo unfurled his arms into his trademark satellite pattern and began to concentrate.
Out of the corner of his eye, Neito saw Hanta and Mina still recovering on the floor. He hurried forward and extended his hands to help them up. "Guys, come on! Get up, get up!"
His two classmates heard his plea, and both reached out to take a hand. But once they looked up and realized who they were about to touch, they both flinched and recoiled, pulling their hands away from his as they did.
For just a second, Neito stood over them in shock, his heart hurting as he took in Mina's panic-filled eyes and Hanta's guilty expression. Unfortunately, all three of them realized what had just happened in the midst of a crisis.
But in the next second, Neito's eyes hardened before he pointed to the man in the mist.
"I said get up! I am not the villain, he is! So take my hand, and help me take him down!"
This time, when he extended his hands, they both reached out to accept his help. As he hauled them to their feet, he decided to ignore the way Mina's hand trembled in his, and the way Hanta still hesitated for the briefest of moments. Right now, there were bigger issues to deal with.
The instant they touched his hand, Neito Copied both of their quirks. As soon as he got them to their feet, he was moving past them and towards the villain in the mist. He started one of his watches as he traced the movements of the shrouded villain, observing how his gas-like form swirled around the attacks of his classmates with hardly any effort.
When he saw an opening, he activated Acid, and his skin turned a bright, bubblegum pink in response. A gob of Mina's quirk began to pool into his palm, but before he could fling it at the villain, Thirteen rushed forward.
"NO! Stay back! All of you!" Thirteen commanded as she re-positioned herself so that her students wouldn't get caught in the crossfire of her quirk.
The villain was silent as he moved in tandem with her, keeping Tenya and Rikido between them with ease as he continued to dodge their attacks. And as he lazily avoided Tenya's rapid kicks and teleported away from Rikido's tackle, Neito saw the glint of metal once more in the middle of the mist.
(There it is! What is that, some sort of brace?)
Neito flung his built-up acid towards the area where he last saw the metal…
…But instead of hitting it dead-on, the acid simply disappeared into one of the smaller clouds that orbited the villain. Almost instantly, it reappeared from another cloud close to the ground, and hit it with a hissssss.
Great… this guy can redirect attacks just as easily as he can avoid them-
"Hey! Iida, Sato! Your physical attacks aren't doing any good!" Hanta said from behind them, his elbows primed to send tape flying after taking Monoma's words to heart. "He'll just warp away! This guy's quirk is too tough to handle! -"
"No! Physical attacks can work!" Neito heard himself shout as he built up acid once more in his hand. Tenya glanced at him in surprise, and Neito saw the villain's yellow slits turn to him in silent appraisal. "He has some sort of metal brace hidden under all that mist! If we can hit it, then we can restrain him! And if he gets caught, the rest of the villains won't be able to escape as easily!"
'Ohho,' thought the villain as he dodged another ferocious kick from the one with glasses. 'It appears there may be an actual threat in their midst…'
"Shoji!" Thirteen cried out to the tentacled teen. "Where is everyone? Can you confirm their locations?"
The tall teen released his satellite pose and flexed his arms menacingly towards the villain. "Yes, Sensei. They've been scattered, but they're all still in the facility. And Monoma's right! I detected some kind of metal in the heart of all that mist."
"Thank goodness." Thirteen turned towards Tenya and Rikido, steadied her breathing, and quickly opened and closed her finger cap. The brief, but powerful, gravitational pull of her quirk hauled the two teens back as Ochaco and Hanta moved forward to catch them. Almost as soon as they were forcibly pulled backwards, Neito began to run around the villain, flinging acid and insults at him intermittently. After watching her classmate in awe for a few seconds, Mina strode forward on shaking legs to do the same thing.
As Tenya tripped over himself in Ochaco's grasp, he got ready to charge back into the fray with his Engines revving. The sharp voice of his teacher made him falter before he could take another step.
"Class President!"
The proud young man abruptly turned towards his teacher as Thirteen issued her orders.
"You need to run back to the school and report what's happening! The alarms haven't gone off yet, even with Senp- Eraserhead continually nullifying quirks! Whoever is interfering with the alarm system has hidden themselves well, and we need you," she pointed at him, while keeping her eyes on the villain who effortlessly dodged clumps of acid and streams of tape, "to run as fast as you can back to the main campus, and get help!"
Tenya hesitated, and a pained, upset look appeared on his face. "But… Sensei! The Class President can't just abandon his peers! -"
"Iida! This isn't about abandoning us!" shouted Neito as he flung more acid to no avail.
"Go, man, go!" Rikido shoved the other boy roughly towards the direction of the door.
"Yeah, we'll make sure he won't follow you!" Hanta said through his helmet as he finally saw the metallic brace Neito had mentioned, and aimed for it. "Use that speed you're so proud of and get us some dang help!"
"Iida-kun," the speedster turned, conflicted, towards his teacher as she raised her finger and aimed for the elusive villain. "Use your power to save us all."
Trying his hardest to not feel ashamed for running away, the young man set his sights towards the exit. The final push he needed to get going came from his friend, Ochaco, who appeared by his side to send him a wobbly, determined smile.
"Jus' like the cafeteria, Iida-kun! We'll getcha all the support ya need!"
"Get going, Iida-kun! AND YOU TWO!" Thirteen shouted to Neito and Mina as they continued their fruitless assault, "GET AWAY FROM HIM, NOW!"
As the two students scrambled to obey, the villain narrowed his yellow slits into a sneer, and a low chuckle came forth from the darkness.
"Aside from having no hope of success, what sort of fools discuss their strategy in front of the enemy?"
"It hardly matters, villain," Thirteen said, her voice as hard as steel, "because there's nothing you can do to stop us!"
Not a moment later, one of her finger caps flew open and her quirk, Blackhole, was used to lethal effect. She dragged the villain into her singularity with the same ease that a vacuum sucks up dust and hair. At the same time, Tenya shifted into his fastest gear and headed for the exit, with the cries of his peers fueling his legs and urging him onward.
As Neito watched the scene unfold, his gut kept insisting that something wasn't right. He couldn't figure out what it was; everything should be relatively fine, now that Tenya was getting help and Thirteen had the villain firmly in her grasp…
… And then, he realized the villain wasn't even slightly bothered by his predicament.
Sure, he was trying- and failing- to escape her hold. But otherwise, he seemed… fine.
That was when Neito somehow knew the villain's yellow slits were upturned into a smirk... and when he remember that the villain could redirect attacks, the sense of urgency within him intensified.
As fast as he could, he switched from Acid to Tape, and threw his elbow forward.
"NO! Sensei, stop using your quirk! He'll kill you!"
Thirteen turned to her student just in time to see his tape hit her puffy astronaut suit. The moment they connected, Neito yanked the teacher sideways with everything he had, right as a portal opened up behind her. Her eyes widened as she realized what was about to happen, and as she recovered her balance, she quickly closed the finger cap before her own quirk could destroy her.
Thirteen let out a shaky breath as she righted herself again. But before a sense of relief could wash over her, the villain spoke… and the way his tone changed from politely reserved to indifferently malicious chilled her to the core.
"You are truly blessed with capable students, Thirteen. They make up for your lack of battle sense as a rescue hero."
"However… no matter how commendable your efforts, it'll all be for nothing..."
The mist suddenly surged towards the blond copycat, and the teacher's heart almost leapt out of her chest when she realized a gate was opening horizontally beneath him.
"... Because all I have to do is be just a little more… creative."
With a few meters still between her and the student, Thirteen furiously swiped her hand horizontally through the air while opening- then closing- one of her finger caps. The brief gravitational pull of her quirk, coupled with the quick movement of her arm, pulled Neito away from the danger as the portal came into existence.
With the children firmly now out of harm's way, Thriteen thrust out her other hand and steadied her aim. As she prepared to open three of her finger caps this time, she kept herself vigilant in case the villain got any more ideas...
But by then, it was already far too late.
She hadn't realized that the portal under Neito's feet had stayed in existence, even when her student was safely out of harm's way.
She had no way of knowing that this portal had a particular exit point- directly underneath her.
And as she felt her body go into a free fall, the last thing she was aware of was how the gate seemed to be shrinking around her.
-(TTAE)-
Tenya was more than half way to the door when he heard the screams and yells of terror and panic. He did his best to ignore the sounds, and his eyes watered as he continued to hurry for the exit.
He had only taken a few more steps when a black cloud appeared above him. As he looked up in surprise, something dropped onto the floor before his feet, and he tripped and fell before he could react.
As he rolled to a stop, he scrambled to stand up and continue running… but as his eyes took in the objects before him, he felt his legs begin to shake…
A pair of legs.
A pair of skinny legs, with puffy white pant legs, and a pair of yellow boots attached to the feet.
Except… the boots weren't completely yellow anymore, and the pant legs weren't even white; they were slowly becoming the same brownish red as the expanding pool of liquid around them…
Tenya's world suddenly went black, and he was falling, falling, until his back slammed against the ground with his breath stolen out of him. All at once, light returned to the world, and so did the screams of his peers, much louder than they were before.
As Tenya hurried to stand on shaking legs, he took in everything that was happening at once. Hanta, Mezo, and Rikido were trying their hardest to capture the evasive villain as Neito and Ochaco knelt next to Thirteen. They were frantically wrapping her bleeding stubs with makeshift tourniquets, made from the tape that came from his elbows. Mina stood a meter or so away from them, unmoving but trembling, with her eyes wide and locked onto their fallen teacher.
As he willed himself to move, Tenya heard the polite, yet wicked tone of the mist reverberate through the air. "My dear, scattered children…it would hardly be to our benefit if you called for your teachers. Now, please behave before you meet the same fate as-"
Tink!
"What? No- No! Get off of me, child! -"
"I got him! I got him! Guys, help me out! And Iida, get the HELL outta here, man!" Hanta screamed, his arm flexed and his tape taut.
Rikido rushed to tackle the villain as Mezo bee-lined towards the tape user, but before either could make it to their destination, the villain tore himself free with a well-placed warp gate.
Tenya shook himself from his stupor and took off, shifting his Engines into second gear as he did. This was not the time for inaction- they needed help, and they needed help now.
-(TTAE)-
Neito kept an eye on his classmates as he helped Ochaco bind Thirteen's wounds. As he encouraged the crying girl to keep applying pressure, he wrapped up their teacher's legs, and noted how Hanta was the key to ensnaring the villain long enough to let Tenya escape. As he finished all the first aid they could accomplish, Mina finally moved, sinking to her knees next to him and asking what she should do.
As Neito guided her hands to Thirteen's stump, he gave both of them instructions to elevate her legs and keep applying pressure no matter what. After they both frantically nodded in understanding, Neito swiftly stood and observed the scene before him. His mind frantically tried to find a solution, one that would get Tenya- and hopefully Thirteen Sensei- back to safety as soon as possible.
Absolutely nothing came to him.
Frustrated, he strode forward to help the other boys restrain the villain. With as slippery and dangerous as the villain was, Neito knew trying to touch him was out of the question. He began to throw his elbows out in an attempt to try and catch the villain with the streams of tape he sent his way.
As luck would have it, one of his potshots hit the villain square in the chest. Smack dab in the middle of the space between his brace, and above the necktie he swore he saw before.
But amidst the cheers of his classmates and the cry of outrage from the villain, Neito's heart began to wildly thump in his chest as his eyes widened in disbelief.
(Wait, wait, wait, w-what just happened?! Did I just… Did I… Am I able to Copy this villain's quirk?!… Through Sero's Tape?!)
Whenever Neito copies a quirk, he feels a sensation that can only be described as magnetic. Like his skin is an electromagnet, with a high and low setting, and the quirk he's copying is nothing but a bunch of iron fillings. If he wants to copy a quirk, the electromagnet is set to 'high' and the iron fillings zoom straight to him on contact. Otherwise, his electromagnet is set to 'low', and even though the iron fillings won't budge, he can still feel them shift around with his touch, letting him that the quirk is available for Copying.
And right now, through Hanta's Tape, he was feeling the villain's quirk twitch and writhe around the area he was connected to.
Neito's mind was briefly bewildered at how this was even happening, but he quickly forced those thoughts away. At this moment, the how's and the why's didn't matter. What did matter was that, through a proxy, Neito's skin was touching the villain's, and he had a choice to make.
Even though the choice was obvious to him, there was no way he could ever know just how much the world would change with his decision…
…And as his hand swiped down to start his second clock, Monoma Neito made his choice.
Instantly, both of his elbows returned to normal, and the tape that was used to connect to the villain was torn away from his body. Once again, Neito felt his eyes widen in surprise as something happened that he wasn't prepared for.
(What the -!? Acid and Tape just got booted out of my body! With this villain's quirk, I should only have three altogether, and I've only had the other two for about a minute! What the hell's going on!?)
"Monoma, what the hell man?! -"
"Iida, watch out! -"
Neito looked up just in time to see the villain warp away from the trio of boys who were chasing him. An instant later, he appeared before Tenya, and interposed himself between the speedster and the door. Tenya tried his hardest to shake him off, but even with all the speed he had, the villain was simply faster.
It hardly took nothing but a couple seconds before Tenya was falling through a portal in the floor; a moment later, he landed on his face a few meters behind Hanta.
Realization suddenly slapped Neito in the face. This villain was toying with them, and every second they 'fought' the villain was a second more they wasted.
This was getting them nowhere. Tenya needed to break free now or else Thirteen was going to die, and quite possibly a few of their classmates too. Ironically, the mysterious quirk that Netio had Copied suddenly became their best chance for survival.
Driven by the circumstances before him, Neito stretched out his hand to call forth the new power…
… But something… wasn't right…
The quirk just felt… downright unnatural. And it wasn't acting like a normal quirk, at all.
This was the first time he ever felt… sick, just from Copying a quirk. Though, he wasn't sure if sick was the right word to use here. It was more like… repulsive prickliness. Like having thousands of insects crawling under his skin, twitching and nipping and biting as they pleased. And with each failed attempt to use the power, that sensation only grew, making his anxiety and heart rate dramatically spike with each failure.
Neito shook his head as he watched Tenya get warped away from the door for the third time.
This wasn't the first time that he couldn't use a Copied quirk right away. There was always a trick, and more often than not, all he had to do was carefully watch the original user to get a general idea of how a quirk operated. Luckily, it seemed like the villain hadn't noticed that Neito had Copied his quirk, so the blond took a few precious seconds to watch and learn. And as he did, he recited his quirk's limitations in his head; it was an old habit that helped him to get the most out of a Copied quirk for the short time he had it.
As much as Neito was proud of and loved his Copy, he knew it had very specific limitations that he had to learn to account for.
The first limitation was also his greatest, barring his time limit: while his body could hold up to three quirks at any given time, he could only actively use one at a time. Holding more quirks in his body was something he believed he could expand upon in the future. He was optimistic; every time he trained, he was able to hold in a fourth quirk for just a few seconds longer before his body finally kicked out the oldest one he had.
But… when it came to using multiple quirks at the same time, his progress was effectively at a standstill. No matter what he did, no matter what he tried, any attempts to actively use two or more quirks simultaneously always resulted in failure. For whatever reason, the corresponding quirk factors he Copied would just spasm out during these attempts, and a migraine was quick to follow as soon as he stopped trying. He found that it was simply easier to just rapidly switch between different quirks than to deal with the debilitating aftereffects of his efforts.
Another hard limitation of Copy was that Neito's power directly correlated with the original user's. If he Copied a four-year old's newly manifested quirk, the Copied quirk would only be as powerful as the four-year old's. Conversely, if he Copied a quirk that had years and years to naturally grow and mature, the power of his Copied version would reflect that growth, despite his body lacking the development needed to make that growth necessary.
Luckily, it appeared this limitation wasn't skewing his ability to use the mysterious quirk. Still though… Neito couldn't help but feel like certain parts of this quirk were more developed than others. Like a car that still used it's original engine block having a brand new transmission and alternator installed in it. (Maybe the quirk actually has a broader use, but the villain only focuses on teleporting? Regardless, it doesn't matter- focus, Neito.)
There was a singular exception to this limitation, but thankfully, this quirk didn't appear to be an accumulation type.
There was a third limitation, but this one was more subtle than the others. Whenever Neito Copies a quirk, his body adapts to take on all the qualities it has to offer. All of the beneficial ones… and all of the unfavorable ones too. Quirks like Eijiro's Hardening were simple to use and fantastic in a fight, but suffered from a lack of utility and mobility. Ochaco's Zero Gravity had a lot of useful and wonderful applications, but it was hindered by both a weight limit and touch activation. And then there are quirks that are both bolstered and restricted by their design, like Momo's Creation.
With a normal quirk, Neito can instinctively use it as his own, similar to how athletes rely on muscle memory for performances. But that wasn't the case with complicated Quirks like Creation; even if his body could still perform all the basic tasks the quirk was capable of, the power was, simply, still beyond his skill to emulate. In the case of Creation, Neito's body had no trouble converting his lipids into various material, and pushing the foreign objects out of his skin. However, when it came to knowing an item's molecular breakdown, shaping it accordingly, tracking lipid usage, chaining lipids together for more complex designs, calculating correct conversion ratios for efficiency, and the seven other things his classmate had to keep track of in her head… well, he was just simply out of his league…
…And 'out of his league' was definitely Neito's current situation, as he continued to try and activate the villain's quirk to no avail.
"Come on, come on, work with me dammit…"
As far as operations go, Creation was definitely far more complicated to deal with. But that was the thing: he'd at least been able to use Creation, clumsy as his attempt was, so why the hell was this quirk refusing to activate?
His entire being was falling further into discord with itself, and he couldn't figure out why for the life of him. It was like his body and mind were fighting each other: his mind kept claiming that the quirk worked one way, but his body insisted it worked another.
Confusion was setting in, but he refused to let it turn into full-blown panic. He gritted his teeth, dug in his heels, threw out his arms, and forced every iota of willpower he had into the task at hand as he went through the steps he needed to activate this quirk one more time.
For the sight-range variation… I should only need to imagine a pathway between my starting point and my ending point… the starting point has to be within my body, or touching my body, I think?... Next, I need to envelop my hand in mist, and… merge them together?... and then mist should appear at the end point… DAMMIT I've done this at least seven times already, so why the hell is it not working?!...
Calm down, focus, think… what if… what if I focus on the mist, first?…
As Neito followed through with his idea, he stumbled in surprise because it actually worked… but… not in the way he imagined…
…Because as the mist came forth into existence, it came out blueish-white and dense instead of black and wispy.
(W-What the hell?!)
His surprise made the cloud in his hand dissipate, and for a moment all he could do was stare dumbly at where it used to be.
(Later. Think about it later.)
He desperately shook off his surprise and began to focus once more. This time, he began by creating the… mist (if it could even be called a mist- honestly, it looked more like a cloud), and as it appeared and enveloped his hand, he designated his starting point and ending point. As soon as his endpoint was established, the same blueish-white cloud that wrapped around his hand appeared, unnoticed, above the villain. At the same time, the dull throb in his mind turned into a steady hum at the base of his skull, making his body involuntarily shake and twitch in protest.
Neito ignored it the best he could, but when he focused on the next step- somehow merging the cloud and his hand into one entity- his mind suddenly caved under the strain of his efforts.
As he awoke a few seconds later to the sounds of Mina and Ochaco screaming at him to get up, he found himself sprawled on the floor.
(I…I blacked out? But… But why…)
A chill ran down Neito's spine as the final hint about the true nature of the villain's quirk settled in the pit of his stomach. His breathing grew shallow as he unsteadily rose to his feet, his eyes never once leaving the villain shrouded in mist. With each passing second, they seemed to only grow wider with fear and horror as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Many questions were answered as many more were asked, like 'What is this guy?!' and 'How is this possible?!'… but still, Neito felt like he now had a basic understanding of why things were happening as they were.
In retrospect, his body had been telling him what was going on all along; he just hadn't been listening. The abnormal sensations, the mind-throbbing numbness, the different ranges of development within the quirk he detected, and the fact that he blacked out- while doing two, three different tasks, he realized- could mean only one thing…
… Somehow, some way, this villain had multiple quirks inside of him…
… And if Neito's assumptions were right, then this villain's quirk, or quirks, or whatever the hell was going on with him, needed simultaneous activation for the black portals to function properly…
… In other words… it was impossible for Neito to use this quirk…
Despair began to take root deep within his heart as he realized that there was absolutely nothing he could do to help. He slowly lowered his shaking hands as a few stray tears leaked out from the corner of his eyes.
Oh no… oh nonono… there's- there's nothing I can do… I… I can't… I can't do anyt-
"MONOMA! YOU WERE TALKIN' ALL BIG EARLIER, WHAT HAPPENED?!"
"COME ON MAN, WE NEED YOU!"
"HELP US GET IIDA TO SAFETY!"
"MONOMA-KUN! PLEASE!"
Neito screwed his eyes shut as he heard his peers cry out for help, and something great and dormant within him stirred.
For the longest time, he lived his life believing that his strength would never truly be his own, nor would his achievements. He would forever need the power that others could offer in order to even consider attaining his dream; no, scratch that, in order to even survive. Despite Katsuki's taunts from the day before, as well as countless others who weren't nearly as loud or vicious, he had made peace with this fact, and accepted that there was simply no way around the biggest obstacle in his life.
But right here, right now, with his peers all but helpless and needing his help to survive, he saw the truth. Needing help wasn't an obstacle to overcome, nor was it a sign of weakness- it never was. In this moment, he didn't feel a shred of the anguish he was used to; instead, strength, and resolve, and desperation surged forward in spades with each call for help he could hear, and he directed every ounce he could to saving his classmates.
As Neito opened his eyes and yelled with all his heart, he knew he was done being a side character; from here on out, he was stepping up to become a main character.
After all, what kind of main character waits for help to come to them?
They don't- they run forward, and bring help to others.
"HOLD ON FOR JUST A BIT LONGER, EVERYONE! I'M ON TO SOMETHING!"
With that declaration, he stepped closer to Thirteen's prone body, and poured everything he could into the activation of this quirk. Maybe he was influenced by his desperation, by his need to save his classmates, but he found himself rethinking his earlier opinion: it was going to be difficult, not impossible, for him to use this Copied quirk.
Previously, before he blacked out, he realized he was clearly operating two quirks at the same time. If he had been able to somehow accomplish that, then there was a chance he could activate the rest of them too. But to do that… he would need some assistance.
As he began to focus on creating his cloud, he stepped closer to his pink classmate, who had placed both of her knees on one of Thirteen's stumps in an effort to stop the bleeding. It was a huge gamble, but…
"Ashido-san! I need you to burn my leg, please!"
The pink girl whipped her stricken face towards him, her black and gold eyes wide as her body shook from the statement. "M-Monoma-kun! W-wha-? W-Why- !?"
"Ashido, please!" he begged, as the throbbing and shaking worsened when he chose his starting and ending points. "It's- It's hard to use this quirk, and I-I need some-something to ground my focus! Pain- Pain could help, so, please! B-Before I blackout a-again! Help me out, Mina!"
Mina only hesitated for half a second longer before she reached out to grip the boy's closest calf with a shaking hand. She turned away with tears in her eyes as she began to hear the sizzle of flesh and cloth, and as the boy's groaned, she whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"
She didn't need to apologize, however, because the mild acid burn did wonders for the boy whose head felt seconds away from crumbling to pieces.
Clenching his gut and bracing against the internal strain, Neito focused on the burn as he forced his hand to merge with the cloud once more. This time, he remained conscious as his body obeyed and the two became one. His leg was in agony, but it was nothing compared to how vehemently his body protested his actions. Like a ship lost at sea, he used his hurting leg as a lighthouse to guide him through the final step: initiating the teleportation effect.
Muscle memory and instinct told him to picture a closed door at the starting point in his mind. As his hand reached out to open the door, he pictured the ending point as clearly as he could just on the other side. And as the door swung open, his cloud-hand suddenly darkened and thinned until it finally became the black mist that the villain wielded. At the same time, alarm flooded his body as he felt his hand just… cease to exist.
But he didn't have a moment to process what happened; right as he realized he couldn't feel his hand anymore, a wave of overwhelming nausea overcame him and his vision suddenly began to splinter, making his head feel… untethered…
… And if he had been capable of noticing Mina's and Ochaco's horrified reactions, he would have realized this 'untethered' feeling was more literal than he would have liked.
The boy's head had become a gruesome mix of his normal face and the villain's shrouded features. Most of his pale-blond hair had darkened into a mustard brown shade, and random strands began to lazily dance like smoke tendrils. His face, usually quite handsome and adorned with a fair skin tone, now resembled something of a clay sculpture stuck in river rapids, as blotches of black spread upon his skin. Some parts were smeared and warped but otherwise normal, yet others were constantly shifting and reshaping from solid to gas, making blood fall freely and randomly from different areas. It made his skin look like it was trying to evaporate as little wisps of mist trailed from every square centimeter of his features.
His eyes were similarly affected. The left one could have been normal, if you ignored how dilated and bloodshot it had become. The other, though, suffered the same effects as most of his face, with the sky blue of his eye misting out of his socket and turning into something akin to the villains' yellow slants.
The most unnerving portion of his transformation, though, happened around where his head connected to his neck. For all intents and purposes, he had no neck- just a column of mist the color of dark skin that bloomed upward from the neckline of his gym uniform. It made his semi-solid head appear like it was floating- and wobbling- dangerously on top of a smoky spring.
Both girls were so transfixed by what they saw that they jumped at the sound of his strained, warbly voice.
"Ashido! Ashido, please! Pour… pour acid onto t-this cloud!"
Mina looked at him in horror as her grip on his calf eased up significantly. His voice had changed with the rest of his body, shifting between his normal tone to the same hollow quality the villain had adopted. "M-Monoma! Oh, oh God- Y-You're- !"
"I know!" Neito spat out, his vision blurring as his body screamed at him to stop. "I know! Come on, please, Mina! This- This quirk is sketchy, and I don't wanna send Iida through if it doesn't work! But if- if this does work, then w-we have a chance to- to save Thirteen! To s-save everyone! And whatever you do, don't-don't stop burning me!"
Mina could only stare at him for the space of a heartbeat before she nodded, wiped her eyes, and shifted her grip on his calf and the placement of her knees. She stretched her other hand forward to let a lazy stream of acid flow onto the mist in his hands…
…And in the next instant, the villain howled in pain as the sound of sizzling metal filled the air.
Everyone froze to watch the villain writhe in agony, and all eyes trailed upwards to follow the leaking liquid that had been poured onto his neck brace back to its source. At first, no one understood what was happening- the acid came from a black portal that looked just like the villain's. But as the stragglers of 1A turned to their pink classmate, comprehension began to grow on all of their faces as they saw who was next to her.
And as Neito shouted his strained orders, hope and relief, at long last, began to bloom in all of their chests.
"MINA! OCHACO! ONE OF YOU, PLEASE, GET ME AN ADDRESS FOR YUUEI! IIDA! GET OVER HERE WHILE YOU CAN! I'll SEND YOU STRAIGHT TO THE SCHOOL!"
"If you think-!"
The villain never got to finish his threat.
He had begun to surge forward to personally deal with the boy who just became the League's biggest problem when the hulking teenager with six arms rugby-tackled him, hard, into the ground. In that moment, the man in the mist swore he heard his neck brace creak and groan under the blow. He immediately chastised himself for ignoring the blond and thinking that his quirk was safe from his, due to it's… unconventional nature.
Still though… despite how dire the situation just became for the League… this was one intriguing discovery…
As Mezo wrestled the villain, he wasted no time forming a mouth, urging the speedster into action. "Go, Iida! Get to Monoma! This is your chance to escape!"
The sentence wasn't even fully formed before Tenya shifted from low gear to high, and sprinted towards the slowly growing portal born from Neito's body. The rest of their peers yelled and screamed words of encouragement at the two of them, and the villain could do nothing but watch the scene unfold with calculating eyes.
With only a few steps between the speedster and the portal, Neito locked eyes with Tenya. When they each saw the fierce, determined gleam in the other's eyes, they came to a silent, mutual understanding. Tenya knew that his classmate was going to do every conceivable thing in his power to keep the gateway open for as long as he could, while putting up with the horrific side effects of this Copied quirk. And Neito knew that his Class Representative was going to suck up his pride and lead the heroes straight to them, with all the speed he could muster.
As daunting as it was for them to realize that failure was not an option, both boys found some solace knowing the other had no intention of letting that possibility happen.
"Let's be heroes… Iida!"
With one foot already in the portal, Tenya shouted out his resolve to his peers, his mind already focused far ahead on his current goal. "JUST HOLD ON, EVERYONE! JUST A LITTLE LONGER!"
And with one final step, he vanished into the portal.
There was a startled yelp, and everyone's attention whipped towards Mezo just in time to see him fall to the ground from about four meters in the air. As he clambered upwards, grunting in pain, the man in the mist quickly warped away once more, reappearing at the edge of the staircase that led to the plaza. His deep, refined voice echoed in the air, and everyone could feel the underlying promise of violence that came with it.
"I applaud you, children, for your valor and your spirit. Particularly you, Young Copycat," the villain addressed Neito as his yellow slits narrowed into a sneer. "Although it appears that your body cannot quite handle the strain of my quirk… you are still, somehow, managing to pull off a remarkably heroic act."
"However… you have much to learn if you actually believe that your actions have turned the tide of this battle."
The villain bowed low to the students as his black mist billowed out around him.
And without another word, he receded into the mist and disappeared.
02:32- The villain tactically retreats.
About 47 seconds since Neito Copied Warp Gate.
The lanky figure stood on the outskirts of the battle before him, scratching his neck as he watched how a singular hero made quick work of the mobs he had brought along. They'd only been fighting for a minute or two, and Eraserhead had already knocked out more than a handful of mooks. His mob, in turn, had yet to place a single scratch on the hero.
It was starting to get to the point where he was going to have to deal with this guy himself. If it came down to that, though, he'd probably have his new toy do all the legwork.
Pro heroes… ruin everything!…
Ever since he started his invasion, Tomura had kept a watchful eye on the hero before him. He began to notice a peculiar pattern among the hero's blur of movements. There were brief, brief moments where Eraserhead's hair would suddenly fall flat on his face as he weaved and tumbled through the crowd of mooks. During that time, the hero took more defensive actions. A few seconds later, his hair would be standing on end as it did before, and random quirks would once again stop working for the duration.
He also noticed that it was starting to look like the quirk-erasing duration was getting shorter, while Eraserhead's need to rest became more frequent.
Just as Tomura began to test his theory by counting out the seconds, he felt a familiar presence suddenly appear behind him. A quiet, yet refined voice spoke out to him with a sense of urgency he hadn't heard before. "Shigaraki Tomura."
"Kurogiri!" Tomura ceased his scratching for a moment as he slightly turned to greet his aide. If he was back, that meant his job was surely done. "Is Thirteen dead?"
"… She's bleeding out and incapacitated. Forgive me, but there were some students that I failed to Warp away. One of them has escaped."
"… Oh?..." Tomura's pleasant mood immediately began to sour. His hands began to twitch, his left reaching to scratch his neck as his right habitually flexed when things didn't go his way.
"But there's more, Tomura," Kurogiri pressed on before the master's ward could lash out. "One of the students… he bears a quirk similar to Sensei's. And somehow, he managed to replicate my quirk."
"… Oooooh?..." The interest was apparent within the young man's voice, though he still scratched his throat in irritation. "… But you can still Warp… so why should I care, Kurogiri? Hmmm?"
"Because, Shigaraki Tomura, despite his body not built to withstand my quirk, the boy still managed to open a portal straight to the school," the villain in the mist emphasized.
They were truly stuck in a risky situation. Retreating was a must, especially with a gate to the school open and reinforcements coming within the next few minutes. It didn't help that their main objective appeared to be unreachable at this point of time either.
But, with as much danger Tomura was in… there was just as much opportunity to behold.
The main school was now ripe for assault. The Young Copycat would be an incredible test subject for the Good Doctor and Sensei to have. And, if they played their cards just right, they could draw out All Might and accomplish their goal; a public execution, to end one era and begin another.
Whatever Tomura chose to do, Kurogiri would be there to guide and advise him, just as Sensei instructed. Regardless of what he chose, though, speed was of the essence, and vital for their success.
Kurogiri knew Sensei's ward and his tendencies. When Tomura began muttering something about 'a secret level', Kurogiri knew he was going to choose to seize these opportunities for himself. As he watched his red eyes drift over to his silent, towering guardian, Kurogiri knew how he intended to do so. The light in Tomura's eyes shifted from angry to sadistic as his tone changed from irritated to malicious…
…And the villain in the mist had no doubt in his mind that behind the embalmed hand he used as a mask, Shigaraki Tomura was grinning ear to ear.
In an effort to bring Tomura's will to fruition, he began to expand his mist… only to find that his quirk wasn't responding in the slightest.
"Say, Kurogiri… What do you think would happen if we sent Nomu to clear the secret level? Surely, wrecking his beloved school- and killing a few kids and colleagues along the way- would get his attention, right?"
02:59- Tomura tells Kurogiri his idea.
About 01:14 since Neito Copied Warp Gate.
A few minutes before the invasion began…
"Kendo!"
The young redhead looked up from where she stood, in front of and facing most of her peers. She had been leading them through a series of stretches and warm-ups as Vlad King focused on the eight individuals before him.
"Ectoplasm and I have to go get some more training dummies and materials for today's lesson. You're in charge until I return." He paused, and raised his voice to add on, "And if anybody starts to act out of line, they will be stuck doing Soul Crushers tomorrow instead of doing Rescue Operation Basics with everyone else!"
"You got it, Sensei!"
In response to his taunts, some of his students sent worried and sympathetic looks towards the eight individuals behind him. They had just finished their bout of… intensive training, and many of their peers gulped as they pictured themselves in their place.
The Blood Hero let out a sadistic chuckle as he watched his wards pale and shudder at his remark. Vlad was totally messing with them, and he wasn't about to let them skip out on something so fundamentally important to their careers. But, they didn't need to know that just yet.
"Shiozaki!" The class snapped to attention once more, and the vine-haired girl beside Itsuka stood a little straighter at the call out. "You're coming with us! Bring two of your classmates to help carry some equipment," he said with a wave of his hand.
The two heroes then headed towards the nearest storage sheds outside, about a few hundreds meters to the east back by the Support Course Labs. Ibara turned to give an apologetic smile to Pony and Jurota; they suddenly became the two students nearest her, as most of the others scurried away before they were volun-told for the task. To their credit, they both seemed more than happy to help her out. When all five of them had left, the group of remaining teenagers relaxed a little more, stretching and milling about with their new friends as they idly chatted in little groups.
Izuku was content to lie on the floor for a little while longer as he let his breath get steady again. The other seven who got low scores on their Quirk Assessment Test must have had a similar train of thought, though everyone besides Sen and Hiryu seemed to be faring a bit worse than him. He closed his eyes, took deeper breaths, and let the gym floor he laid on cool his sweat-doused body. When he opened them back up, he found Nirengeki standing over him with a smile, offering a hand to help him stand. Izuku took it without hesitation, and was hauled to his feet by the other boy's surprising strength.
"How you feeling, Midoriya-kun? Those, uh, Soul Crushers don't look fun. At all."
"O-Oh! I'm fine, thanks for asking, Shoda-kun!" Izuku paused briefly to stretch his arms, enjoying the feeling of relief as it muscles lengthened and burned. "The- The Soul Crushers are, uh… something else…"
"I can tell," Nirengeki said dryly, pointing to the other seven people still recovering from the 'exercise'. "At least you'll be done with them after this week, right?"
Before Izuku could respond, a gruff voice spoke interrupted their conversation. "Yo. Midoriya."
The surprise on Nirengeki's face was enough for Izuku to turn around in interest, and he found himself jumping back with a yelp.
Togaru towered over him, his mandibles glinting in the gym's light as he leered down at the smaller boy. Izuku felt sweat begin to drip down his back again as he quickly waved his hands back and forth before him, trying to appear smaller than he already was out of sheer habit.
"O-Oh! K-Kamikiri-san! Y-You look a lot b-better today! S-Sorry about, uh, y-yesterday, t-that was, uh, a-a complete accident on-on my part- "
"Huhhh?" The taller boy's head tilted to one side as his eyes narrowed slightly. "Of course I'm better today. I ain't no bitch."
"Yeah- AH! I-I-I-I mean no! No! O-Of course you're not! I-I would n-never think of you like that, K-Kamikiri-san!- "
"Then the fuck you apologizin' for? We were fightin', shit happens," the insect-like teen dismissed with a wave of his hand. A frightening smirk grew on his face as his waving hand suddenly flexed, and a thick blade grew on his forearm, from elbow to pinky. "Speakin' of fightin'… we got a few minutes before Sensei comes back. Plenty of time for a nice little spar. You in?"
"… H-H-Huh?..." Izuku managed to squeak out, his eyes growing wide as his heart skipped about six beats in a row.
"Come ooonnnn," Togaru coaxed as he waved his hand in the universal 'come on' motion. He couldn't help it as his smirk grew and highlighted his anticipation. "This class is gonna blow, so let's have a little fun, yeah? Besides, that Takumoke chick kept intervenin' in our fight yesterday because you were all busted up-"
"- A-Ah, sorry, w-wait a second…" Izuku interrupted, looking a little confused, "do you… do you mean, Tokage-san?"
He pointed to the green haired girl, who was currently lounging in a chair off to the side of the gym, eating from one of the many food containers she brought today as Itsuka and Reiko conversed nearby. She was still dressed in her school uniform, with her crutches leaning on the wall behind her, and her almost-but-not-quite-healed leg propped up on another chair in front of her. It was hard to tell since she wore stockings today, but her healing leg looked like it belonged to the body of a malnourished eight year old. From what she said this morning, apparently Recovery Girl told her that her leg should be fully healed by the time school ended today… and if Izuku remembered her exact words, she was going to 'milk this opportunity for all it's worth.'
"… Yeah. Gimpy. But she's outta the way now, and we've both healed up! So whaddya say, Midoriya? A simple sparring match could make things a little interestin', no?"
Izuku's emotions were a conflicting mess within. This guy was so eerily reminiscent of his old friend that Izuku found his body subtly acting to years of ingrained reflexes and habits. A lot of things about Togaru- from his brash mannerisms, to his aggressive body language, to even the similar way that Izuku admired them and their talent- made it way too easy for Izuku to remember his past… Which, in turn, made many of the things he hated about himself resurface like a chronic illness, and define him like an ugly scar.
But at the same time, he was so different. As weird as it was, this guy had actually gone out of his way to make it known that he respected him… or, at the very least, his power. Regardless, all of the tall teen's intentions and interactions so far were laced with recognition and challenge, and not with the disdain and malice Izuku was so used to facing. And even if Izuku still wasn't sure what to make of his motivations, he remembered what he felt last night, after school.
Was it… was it weird if he still wanted to actually accept his challenge, even after the heat of the moment had passed?
As Togaru impatiently waited for his answer, Nirengeki approached from Izuku's other side. He didn't get in between them, per se, but he did briefly divert attention away from the freckled boy.
"Hey, uh, Kamikiri," Shoda began, recoiling in surprise when Togaru whipped his head towards him with narrowed eyes. "What's… What's the deal, man? Do you have beef with Midoriya, or something?"
"Huuuhh?" Togaru narrowed his eyes at the chubbier boy, before relaxing a little as he remembered something. (Wait… he's the guy who knocked out Midoriya a few days ago…) "I ain't got beef with Midoriya, uh… Sho… Shoooda."
"Then why do you want to fight him so bad?"
Togaru simply snorted as he turned back to look the freckled boy in the eye. His back straightened out as his smirk elongated into a savage smile, and he spoke as if the answer were obvious.
"Why else? 'Cuz he's strong, and I wanna beat him."
Togaru said it with so much certainty that it almost sounded like a well-known truth, like saying the sun rises in the east. Izuku wasn't quite sure how to respond to the tall teen's statement- but apparently, his mouth already knew what to say.
"…I-I want to beat you too, K-Kamikiri-san…"
The downright feral glee on his classmate's face made Izuku flinch back in surprise. A part of him wished that he could've phrased his words a little better… but now that they were out, he realized he was glad to have spoken them, no matter how clumsy they were said. He couldn't help himself as he shook a little, the adrenaline in his blood preparing him for his inevitable loss in their sparring match… but, still…
…He found that he didn't regret accepting his challenge, even if it meant defeat.
"Huh. Never took you as that kind of guy, Midoriya-kun."
Izuku ducked his head in embarrassment as a shaky laugh escaped his throat. "S-Sorry, Shoda-kun, I-I-I-I uh, I just want to get better. I, uh, I got a long way to, to go, and-"
"Oh, you don't have to apologize or explain anything, bro. Just saying, I thought it was surprising. And, uh… well, sorry if it's weird, but... I'm glad you're going for it."
"Y-You are?"
"Yeah! For the last few days, you've been wanting to get started on improving your fighting skills. And, honestly, what better way to do so than through a little sparring? It's one thing to say you're going to do something, but when you actually set out to do it... it makes me want to root for you. And, well," Shoda rubbed his neck sheepishly, looking down and away as he did. "I-If you're being serious about this… If you want, I-I could be in your corner? Give you pointers and tips and whatnot when you're going through the ropes. I-If you want them, that is."
Izuku visibly lit up at the offer, much to the other boy's relief. "Oh! Shoda-kun, that would be so great if you did! Thank you so much!- "
"-Yo, are we fightin' or what?!"
"O-Oh! Y-Yes, we are! S-Sorry, Kamikiri-san!"
The taller boy only cackled gruffly in response, his mouth set into something between a smile and a snarl. He shifted himself into a proper fighting stance, and blades began to grow from out of his palms and forearms. But before he could even think about attacking, Nirengeki stepped forward to fully interpose himself between them with his hands splayed out to stop the blade user.
"Hold up, hold up. Kamikiri, can you blunt your blades? It's only a sparring match- "
"- I blunt my blades for no one, Shoda." Kamikiri growled. "Especially against someone who can beat my ass with a single flick of his finger. If we're gonna spar, we're sparrin' the right way." His blades lengthened and, if anything else, looked like they grew sharper.
Seeing Togaru manipulate multiple blades at once reminded Izuku of the idea he came up with yesterday, and suddenly, he was even more eager to spar his opponent. (I can use this as an opportunity to finally try out my Dozen Eggs technique!)
Out loud though, he said, "U-Uh, i-it's fine, Shoda-kun! I-I think it might be, uh, good practice for a-a real life scenario, and- and it's sort of like negative reinforcement, where you learn to dodge and-and evade because there's the risk of being cut- "
"- Bro, what?!- "
"- But, uh, Kamikiri-san? Can you, can you wait a few m-minutes? I'm still a little shaky with my power, and… I'm trying to stop my bones from breaking when I use it. And to do that, I need a weapon, and, uh- "
"HEY, TETSUTETSU! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!" Togaru yelled across the gym as the other boys flinched at his volume. As Izuku recovered from the noise, he noticed that the other boy had unzipped his gym uniform, and something that looked like a wicked, meter-long cleaver with a thick, rectangular spine was beginning to grow outwards from his stomach.
Many of the students in the gym turned to watch on in interest as the cleaver finished forming, with the smooth, cylindrical handle still attached to Togaru's stomach. When Tetsutetsu had arrived, Togaru wheeled towards him holding the cleaver's base with one of his hands. With an excited smile, he practically demanded, "Yo, Tetsutetsu! Break this cleaver off of me, would ya?"
"... Do what now?"
The bladed teen ignored him and turned back to Izuku, his eyes alight with rabid anticipation. "Hey, Midoriya! This will do, right? Can you make this work!?"
"Uh… y-yeah… but, um... is-isn't it gonna hurt, if Tetsutetsu breaks it off of you?" Izuku meekly asked.
"Naaah, it's just like ripping off a scab," he boasted, before turning to the boy with a steel quirk. "The hell you waitin' for, Tetsutetsu!? Come on, time is wastin'!"
"…What the heck do you need a cleaver for, Midoriya?" Tetsutetsu asked as his arm took on a metallic sheen.
With a good yank and a grunt, the cleaver was ripped off of Togaru's body. The insect-like teen hissed as the cleaver was removed, and just as he had said, it was like ripping off a fresh scab. He began to slowly bleed from where the base was connected to his stomach, but Togaru absently wiped it off as he took and examined his creation. Before Izuku could rouse himself to answer, Togaru roughly shoved the cleaver into Izuku's arms; as he did, he addressed Tetsutetsu with a gloating voice and a smug expression.
"He needs the cleaver… 'cuz we're goin' in for round two. Get it, dumbass? Me and him? Are gonna have a rematch."
Outrage shone on Tetsutetsu's face as he whipped towards the freckled boy, who paled at the sudden change of disposition. "YOU GUYS ARE FIGHTING?!- "
"-I-It's just a quick s-sparring match! -"
"-WITHOUT MEEEEEE?!"
"U-Uh… w-w-well…"
The rest of Izuku's words were lost as more than a few whoops across the gym were made at that announcement. A moment later, most of his classmates were eagerly swarming the four of them, ready to see how their match would unfold.
The commotion went on for just a few more seconds before an irate Itsuka came barreling through the huddle of students. Her stern voice made it clear that absolutely no one was going to be fighting today, and emphasized her point by leveling her hard gaze onto the ones she suspected were the instigators. There were grumbles of disappointment all around, but the redhead stuck to her guns.
Over the course of the next minute or so, Itsuka eventually learned what was going on from Izuku and Nirengeki, and adjusted her stance to be a better mediator. In the end, she got her rowdy classmates in line by proposing a compromise: if they calmed down enough to get through this class today- without any more incidents- she would be more than happy to try and persuade their teacher for some extra combat training afterwards, probably after school. For the most part, it looked like the majority of her classmates were warming up to the idea, and all parties involved were more or less satisfied (Izuku and Nirengeki were fine with it; Togaru and Tetsutetsu were not) by her proposal…
… But as the doors to the gym were ferociously kicked open, all thoughts on her proposal were quickly forgotten…
… Because in a singular, unending moment, Class 1B's world came crashing down around them.
-(TTAE)-
Tenya briefly stumbled as his eyes adjusted from utter darkness to sunlight, and he had to take a moment to reorient himself and see where he was.
He knew he was at Yuuei, but where in Yuuei did he end up, exactly?
Looking around, he saw a group of buildings organized around the iconic main campus, and he quickly realized that he had appeared somewhere on the northern gym grounds, close to the gate he knew shipments and supplies came through. (Monoma-kun had asked for an address… is this Yuuei's shipping address!?)
As soon as he got his bearings, he rushed forward and headed straight for the first building he could find, about 50 meters in front of him. He had wasted enough time as it was, he couldn't afford to waste anymore. His classmates needed him, and Thirteen's life was on the line. Every. Second. Counted.
But as he ran, indecision raced through him. Would it be better if he went straight to the main campus? Should he check one of these buildings first for a teacher? Did he even have the time to check?
As he came within 10 meters of the closest building, he came to his decision: if he couldn't find a teacher here, he was going straight to the main campus.
As he ran, he realized that the building he was approaching was the same one Aizawa Sensei had brought the class to yesterday, for general physical conditioning and basic martial arts lessons. That had to mean this building was frequently used; there was bound to be someone here… right?
He didn't have the luxury of second guessing himself. He closed the distance and kicked the gym doors open as hard as he could; hopefully, his predecessors would forgive him, and understand that this was an emergency.
The doors rattled from the force of his kick, and as they crashed into the gym walls, nearly everyone inside jumped and turned towards him. Air was already filling his lungs as he bellowed for help.
"EVERYONE! I AM IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE! VILLAINS HAVE ATTACKED THE USJ, AND MY CLASSMATES IN 1A ARE IN GREAT PERIL! PLEASE, WHERE IS THE CLOSEST HERO?!"
Slowly- too slowly- the group before him stirred in confusion as they processed what he said. A redheaded girl he recognized quickly came forth from the crowd. "Wait, is that you, Iida-kun? What do you mean villains have attacked? The alarms should have sounded like they did yesterday- "
Tenya quickly closed the gap between him and his counterpart in 1B as she spoke. As she said 'yesterday', he reached out to grab her upper arms, and spoke over her with a desperate voice and pleading eyes. "KENDO-KUN! PLEASE, I NEED YOUR TEACHER! THIRTEEN IS MORTALLY WOUNDED, AND I FEAR FOR THE SAFETY OF THE REST OF MY CLASSMATES!"
Teal eyes widened as the gravity of the situation finally caught up to her. "Oh- Oh! Ok! Ok, follow me, I'll take you straight to Vl- "
She never got to finish her sentence. Or rather, she could have… but surprise, and dread, and dismay caught the words in her throat as movement came from the corner of her eye.
A mop of green curls drew everyone's attention as it blitzed past the two Class Representatives. Suddenly, all of the teenagers were watching him, stunned and startled and with held breaths, as he sprinted straight for the swirling cloud of darkness.
A part of him knew what he was doing was downright reckless. But right now, that didn't matter to him.
The moment he heard that 1A was being attacked by villains…
The moment he understood that the Space Hero: Thirteen was in critical condition…
And the moment he realized that the nice girl, Uraraka, and Kacchan- who both had to be placed in 1A- were in danger…
… his body had begun to move on its own.
Izuku was already well past the gym doors by the time the first person recovered from their shock... And with his fists clenched at the downright manly sight before him, he, too, ran for the portal.
A couple of steps later, someone else was spurred into action. He quickly began to follow their lead, and with each step he took, a gruff cackle began to slowly bubble out from his chest.
About 20 meters away from the portal was when Izuku's classmates began to collectively cry out in panic, and worry, and anger… And by then, a third person had begun to sprint towards the portal, screaming and pleading at the top of her lungs for the three of them to come back.
But Izuku never noticed a single thing. He only had eyes for the flickering, swirling cloud of darkness before him, which had to be some sort of transporting quirk. Otherwise, the scary boy- Iida- would have been out of breath from sprinting over three kilometers to get here. And, he would have arrived from the southwest, not from the north.
Before he knew it, Izuku had found himself a few steps away from the portal.
And as he sprinted through the darkness, he tightened his grip on the cleaver, and braced himself for whatever was to come.
-(TTAE)-
Tenya was numb.
He didn't even notice the green-haired boy until he had started running towards the portal. And one good look at his face confirmed the hollow feeling in his gut.
Tenya knew exactly who he was; how could he forget? This was the same timid boy he had admonished from the entrance exam.
And he knew it was the same boy because… because…
…Because once again, just like the entrance exam, the green-haired boy was running to save lives… as Tenya ran away to save his own skin…
Sure, Tenya technically ran so that he could bring help for his classmates… but seeing the other boy act for the benefit of others, without any hesitation, while he stalled and argued for, admittedly, his own desires… Goodness, what would Tensei have to say about his actions?
The hollow feeling only worsened as he watched two boys, one with chrome skin and another with a mohawk, dash forward to follow the first in his footsteps. His legs began to quake as the redhead suddenly chased after them too, yelling at them to come back.
Tenya only had one thought as he watched the four of them run towards the danger that hid behind the veil. It was a memory from just over a month ago, during his entrance exam. At the time, he had believed that he, too, wouldn't hesitate to save another if he were placed in a real-life scenario…
…Only now… he was in a real-life scenario… and he was still running away, thinking only about himself…
As the numbness crept in and formed a fog around his mind, he became blind to the world around him. All he could do was watch the retreating figures head for the portal.
He didn't see the green-haired girl on the sidelines try to run after them, only to fall on the floor in failure while screaming a name he couldn't hear.
He didn't notice as a boy with shaggy hair and no visible lips rapidly approached from behind, and he didn't feel him yanking on the shoulder of his costume, trying to get him to focus.
And he most certainly didn't realize that a short girl- who looked remarkably like Uraraka- and chubby boy with icy-blue hair had both managed to shove their way towards the front of the group of panicking teenagers.
Those two in particular never took their eyes off of Izuku's retreating back. They were all but awestruck as his actions left an impression in their minds… and portions of themselves that they never knew existed slowly began to flare to life.
Kinoko… wasn't a brave person.
She knew it, her family knew it, her friends knew it… and as she grew up and told the world of her aspirations, they all told her that she should choose another dream. The world of heroes was scary and mean, and meek little Kinoko, born with a gentle heart, would never last in such a violent world.
'But that's fine!' she always said with a bashful smile, 'because I don't have to fight!'
Which was true: she could just pour her focus into helping people out, in the little ways that they needed. Idol heroes, like Uwabami and Pop-Step, do it all the time, so why couldn't she? Not every hero sought to fight the big, bad, scary monsters of this world, after all- there were plenty out there who helped to find missing dogs, or helped to clean up the trash in a city park. There were even a few who made sure that the homeless had proper food and shelter every week or so. She could be a hero like that, in a way where she didn't need to be brave… and for the longest time, she was content with her outlook.
But as she watched the green-haired boy run head-first into danger… something changed.
This was the same green-haired boy who jumped at every conversation, who stuttered and shied away from physical contact… the same boy who was probably terrified of his own monstrous power...
And at this very moment, he was throwing his fears to the side to do what heroes do…
... Suddenly, Kinoko didn't want to feel content anymore…
She wanted to be brave, too.
Nirengeki… wasn't born with talent, nor with power.
He grew up envious of those who were blessed with natural talent, and of those who weren't but still had the means to come out on top against the world. Even with all the work he put in so far to achieve his goal, there were times where he still felt like everything he did simply wasn't enough. Compared to the naturally talented who put in just as much work as he did, and especially compared to those whose raw power allowed them to expand their horizons by simply being awesome… all he and his efforts could ever hope to be, was just… mediocre.
It took a while, but he eventually learned that he didn't have to be envious of others anymore. He had a good, supportive family, an amazing trainer who believed in him and pushed his limits, and a handful of wonderful friends who were there when times were rough. Slowly but surely, he began to realize that what he had was more than enough. And with the people he had supporting him, being mediocre was, honestly, something he could live with.
But right now, being mediocre wasn't enough.
Nirengeki knew in his heart that there was probably nothing he could do to help… but as he watched Izuku dash to rescue their classmates, he came to realize just how wrong he was. For all intents and purposes, the two of them were as average as it gets, with the freckled boy having much more of an extreme contrast in his abilities. And yet, even with so many factors working against him, Izuku hadn't wasted a single moment when he realized that there were people who needed help. Despite all the adversity being shoved in his face, he still chose to charge forward and do his best, no matter how good or successful it turned out to be.
For the first time in his life, Nirengeki felt inspired by a person rather than envious of them...
... And for the first time in a long time, the boxer wanted to be more than mediocre.
And if Izuku, with all his flaws, was going to charge forward into the unknown to do more- to be more- then he would too.
I… I want… I want to be brave too! I can help too!
I… I need… I need to help Midoriya-kun! I can't do that if I just stand around, so… so, take a step forward! If he did it, you can too!
As the two of them wrestled with their heads, and as their lipless classmate was telling the armored boy to run to the main campus and get the heroes, a familiar voice could be heard coming from the portal, over the chorus of noises. But as everyone shifted their attention to listen to Itsuka, a chill ran through their hearts as her normally friendly voice now sounded frantic and anxious.
"Somebody! Go get the heroes! Villains are here, and we need help NOW!"
Suddenly, she was gone, disappearing through the other side as shocked silence spread throughout the gymnasium. Despite her plea for action, no one was able to move a muscle for the next few seconds…
…And then, they moved.
Both Kinoko and Nirengeki felt their bodies dart forward before their second-guessing could root them in place. And together, they followed their classmates into the swirling portal of darkness, breaking the spell that was placed over class 1B.
As they ran, their peers cried out their names, and footsteps were heard as many of their classmates quickly tried to catch up to reach them.
They were a few meters away from the portal when the ground began to suck them in like quicksand. But before they could be contained, Nirengeki activated Twin Impact on the soles of his feet, and Kinoko grew a few Armillaria Ostoyae to get her out of the muck.
With one final leap, they disappeared into the swirling gate of darkness...
...And seconds later, two of their classmates successfully followed them through the gate, in a desperate attempt to bring them back.
03:20- Izuku and three others go through the portal
03:48- Kinoko, Nirengeki, and two others go through the portal
About 02:03 since Neito Copied Warp Gate.
"Shishida-san, are you alright?"
Jurota jumped as his concentration broke, and he turned his attention towards his concerned classmate. Both Ibara and Pony were giving him funny looks, and he couldn't blame them. His elder siblings had told him, many times, that he often got carried away whenever he was sniffing something out. This time was definitely no different.
With uncertainty written all over his face, he admitted, "I… do not know, Shiozaki-sama… I've been smelling smoke for the last minute or so, and I can hear some sort of commotion going on in the gym- "
"You smell smoke?" Ibara raised her voice sharply, the worry thick in her tone. Pony gasped belatedly, and she turned towards the gym they just came from. Behind them, Ectoplasm and Vlad King whipped their attention towards the students, with training materials stuffed in their arms.
"It's… difficult to explain… But smoke isn't the right word… it's more like, tainted rainwater. And it's coming from just outside the gym."
"And what was this you said, about a commotion?" Ectoplasm inquired as he and the other teacher placed their items on the ground and stepped forward.
Suddenly, the beastly teen tensed and began to run towards the gym; the other four individuals were quick to follow. "Sensei, I can hear yelling! Many are shouting Midoriya-sama's name, as well as Kendo-sama's-" He flinched as he processed what he just heard. (Oh, goodness… I had no idea Tokage-sama could sound so… raw…)
As the gym's entrance came into view, still more than 100 meters away, the student's faltered in their steps and the heroes suddenly sprinted forward.
The three of them hardly heard Vlad King's final words- they were too busy watching four of their classmates disappear into a cloud of darkness all at once.
"GET BACK TO YOUR CLASSMATES, RIGHT NOW!"
-(TTAE)-
Juzo swore under his breath. To think that those two had managed to escape his quirk, and were now probably neck-deep in danger…
He shook his head. Now was not the time for thoughts like this. Besides, the other two who followed them could probably bring them back with ease... Hopefully...
"Everyone! We need to regroup!"
"What?!" Hiryu exclaimed, meters away from the portal. He was about to jump through it to help bring the others back, but the recommendation student still had his quirk activated. "They might need help, Honenuki!- "
"And we might have to play defense!" Juzo rationalized, as his mind played out different scenarios in his head. "Kendo and the others are probably surrounded by villains, and that," he pointed to the pool of darkness as it flickered again, "is obviously a two-way portal! What do you think will happen if villains come through, and no one is here to intercept them?" (Before we do anything else, we need to get some heroes here, fast. The closest heroes would be Vlad King and Ectoplasm, and the person best suited for notifying them is-)
"Fukidashi! Go outside and make a siren sound! Make sure Vlad and Ectoplasm hear it."
Manga jumped when his name was called, his head reading "quiverquiverquiver" as he shook like a leaf. But still, the boy nodded and bolted for the doors, doing as his classmate asked without any hesitation.
"And you!" Juzo rounded to the boy in armor, the one he remembered from his recommendation exams. "Get to the main campus, and raise the alarm!"
The moment he spoke, he realized it was pointless. The boy clad in armor stood on shaking legs, staring emptily at the portal, without showing any indication of having heard his request; if he wasn't in shock already, he was going to be soon. (Gotta prioritize raising the alarm. Sorry man, I'll help you as soon as I can. Hang in there.)
Juzo searched for an alternative, and quickly found an answer in the form of a fire alarm pull station on a nearby wall. But before he could move, a few things happened all at once.
Three figures emerged from the darkness and hit the ground with a roll, almost as if they were thrown through the portal. Then, a huge surge of white gunk appeared from the east; in a matter of seconds, three identical figures sprang to life from it. As Ectoplasm bent over to check on the three people who were still curled up on the ground, a figure in red came sprinting into sight, only stopping long enough to shout out a warning with his thundering voice.
"STAY HERE, HIDE, AND CALL THE OTHER HEROES! IF ANYONE ELSE DECIDES TO APPROACH THIS THING, THEY WILL BE EXPELLED!"
Without another word, Vlad King and an Ectoplasm clone turned on their heels and charged through the darkness. One of the clones that had stayed behind had pulled out his phone, and spoke urgently with whoever was on the other end. The other two took on the jobs of triaging for injuries and initiating first aid.
Moments later, an alarm was sounded throughout the school grounds, just like it had yesterday during lunch, and Juzo let out a sigh of relief. (At least that's one problem taken care of…)
"W-What do we do now, Honenuki?" Manga asked fearfully, as he returned from his task.
Juzo had no idea how to answer... but, he didn't have to.
An earth-shattering CRUNCH rang through the air, and those who had remained behind stumbled back as a shockwave rippled through their bodies. The lipless teen recovered just in time to see a hulking figure bent over in a crater of his making, beginning to stand up straight through the dust he stirred.
The Living Legend had arrived… and Juzo could firmly say that he, and probably everyone else around him, had never felt so relieved in their life.
But the teenagers never got the chance to hear his iconic saying.
Ectoplasm was rushing forward, gesturing to one of the figures on the ground, and All Might bent over to pick them up with surprising gentleness. Juzo never got to see who it was, but they must have been hurt beyond words. The next thing he knew, he blinked, and All Might was gone, kicking up dust and leaving the Ectoplasm clones alone with one of them pointing to a specific direction. (Probably pointing to the closest hospital.)
A second after he left, the black portal flickered twice before it rapidly shrunk and disappeared altogether.
'What do we do now?' Manga had asked. Juzo didn't believe for a second that they were in the clear, but still he took a moment to think of all the possibilities that could happen. In all honesty, the best move available at this point of time was to regroup and recover.
He quickly took a head count to see who all was left.
Manga was in front of him, fidgeting from indecision and occasionally glancing back at him, probably for reassurance.
Yui had approached from his left, looking at him expectantly in silence.
Kosei could be seen slowly walking backwards after his failed attempt to catch Nirengeki. As he shook his head in disbelief, keeping his eyes on the spot where the portal had been, Kojiro was keeping pace, trying to comfort him to no avail.
Ibara, Pony, and Jurota were all by Ectoplasm, hovering around him, waiting for instructions so that they could help out in any way they could.
The armored boy finally got a grip on himself, and jogged over to where Ectoplasm was; the individuals getting checked on must have been his classmates.
Hiryu was helping Shihai back onto his feet; he had dived in his attempt to grab Kinoko, but his reach had missed her by centimeters. He had spent the last few seconds staring numbly at his hand.
And Reiko was helping Setsuna back into her chair, doing her best to keep her from hyperventilating, rubbing her back and murmuring comforting things into her ear.
Regroup… and recover…
They could do this, but… he reaaaally wished Itsuka, or Ibara, or even Setsuna would have taken over the leadership role. He always thought he was a bit too lax to be one. It didn't help that he wasn't exactly 'inspiring' in the slightest.
What he wouldn't do for just a sliver of charisma…
"Listen up, everyone! This situation's not over, not by a long shot- "
Almost as if to prove his point, the portal opened up again in the exact same spot as before. Juzo could hear everyone's intake of breath, so he hurried to finish voicing his idea while he strode closer to the portal.
"-So here's what we're going to do: until the heroes arrive, we are going to keep an eye on that portal. If villains come through, we defend the school. If our classmates come through, we keep them safe. We work together, we watch each other's backs, and we're going to get out of this alive. Any questions?"
No one had anything to say. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but at least they had followed him and listened. Hopefully.
Either way, there were more important things to worry about right now… like how chunks of rock and cement just burst through the portal, low to the ground, and rolled to a stop just a handful of meters away.
"Alright, everyone. Here we go."
04:09- Vlad King and Ectoplasm go through the portal.
05:17- The portal reopens at the school.
About 03:32 since Neito Copied Warp Gate
Author's Notes:
First and foremost, I hope I identified Thirteen correctly. Please let me know if I didn't, that way I can edit the chapter appropiately.
Another thing I'd like to clear up in this section: I'm conducting this USJ under the premise that, canonically, it took Thirteen's group at least 5-8 minutes to get Iida free. I say this, because the Flood Zone was probably cleared in around 2-3 minutes, and Izuku, Tsu, and Mineta were watching Aizawa beat some ass (and get his ass beat) for a solid couple of minutes before Kurogiri showed up. With that in mind, I hope it has been implied that this version of the USJ has, and will have, certain events passing by much faster than they were originally.
Now, many of you were wondering why I had Neito in Class A, and for good reason. I'd like to present reasons 1, 2, and 3 of 5.
1) I wanted to have a way to bring Izuku to the USJ without it seeming like too much of an asspull. And! I don't think I've seen a story where Neito copies Warp Gate! So, two birds with one stone.
2) Neito is a literal gold mine of a character, and I personally think that he has what it takes to bring out the best in 1A, just as Izuku does. In my mind, moving Neito to 1A in exchange for Izuku helped to not only keep 1A relevant, but to make 1B better as a whole. Plus, between Katsuki and Izuku, I'd rather have Neito interact with the former; I think Neito is one of the few people who can keep Katsuki's ego in check, and vise versa.
3) I have big plans for him, and to make them work, I needed him to at least have one interaction with the League of Villains. Spefically, with Kurogiri.
I'll get around to the other reasons when they become relevant- hopefully, this satisfies most of your inquiries for now.
Speaking of inquires, if any of you are wondering why it took so much effort for him to use Warp Gate, please have a little patience. That explantion will appear in the story within the next three chapters, as will a better explanation of my interpretation of what Warp Gate really is. Also, if you guys are confused about the whole acid burn thing, think of the burn as a focus point, like how Percy Jackson focused on Annabeth to stay alive while crumbling to pieces in the River Styx.
Now, onto Class B!
I'm sure many of you were wondering why I didn't have the whole class go through the portal. That answer is pretty simple: that's too much work, even for me XD Also, many people forget that even though these kids are powerful, they are still kids. Most of them aren't going to have the mental fortitude to react appropiately in this situation, and I wanted to capitalize on that.
As to why I sent certain individuals through the portal, and why I kept others behind, those answers vary with the students themselves. For Ibara and Jurota, I felt that their power would have tipped the scales too much into the hero's favor. I felt similarly about Juzo and his power, plus, I felt like he would be the one to see the dangers of leaving the portal unguarded. I sent Nirengeki because everyone almost always forgets he exists, and I wanted people to know that he could be awesome too. And, I sent Kinoko because I actually have something really neat planned for her, and this event kinda segues her into this role.
Again, sorry for the long ass chapter, but I do hope you all enjoyed this as much as I have! Thanks for reading, and I hope to hear your thoughts soon!
