The episode started with Shigaraki telling Kurogiri to get rid of the new recruits, since he found them irritating. Kurogiri urged him to give them a chance at least, since Giran (the man who brought the recruits in) was known to be reliable.

Hope started to swell when Shigaraki dismissed the new comers. It would be pretty helpful if Shigaraki managed to run off potential allies with his own sour attitude. That hope was quickly dashed when Kurogiri spoke.

"I guess we should have known it wouldn't be that easy." Mineta said miserably.

"Yeah, our luck just ain't that good when it comes to these guys." Kaminari agreed.

"Hm, the appearance of this Giran person is interesting." Nedzu commented. "If he's as well known as Kurogiri's words seem to imply, then perhaps the police will already have some information about him."

"I could reach out to Tsukauchi after we get back and see if there's any information he could get for us." Yagi said. Learning the exact location of the bar and going after the League head on while they were unawares would be ideal in his opinion, but he knew they likely couldn't jump into that right away when they got back. The only evidence they would be able to produce for all this knowledge would be their own word after all, and a large scale assault would need more solid ground than that to stand on. Perhaps getting more information about people like Giran would lead to them finding more evidence to back up their claims.

Giran said he would be satisfied as long as he got paid, then stepped up to introduce the new recruits. He said that the blond girl was a suspect in a several deaths that happened by bloodloss. She introduced herself as Toga Himiko. She eagerly started going on about how she wanted to make the world an easier place to live in. Then said she both wanted to become Stain and kill Stain.

People instinctively leaned back as Toga grew more manic and begged to join the League with a flushed face.

Izuku was one of the few people that didn't do that. Instead, he bent over his notebook, writing down what had been said about her and by her and whether or not it might be related to her quirk. "She said she wants to make the world easier to live in, does that mean her quirk makes it hard to get by, or does that have more to do with her strange attachment to Stain? Maybe both? And if both the bloodloss and her fangs are related to her quirk then what does..." the mumbling grew incomprehensible after that.

Uraraka and Iida shared a look of exasperated fondness over his head. It was so very like Midoriya to ignore everything else in favor of trying to parse out the exact details of a quirk, no matter who wielded it.

The teachers made a note to remember Toga Himiko's name and face. If she truly was responsible for those deaths, then perhaps they would be early enough to do something about them. And keeping an eye on someone who willingly joined the League was just a good idea in general.

Shigaraki asked if she was crazy. Giran said she could at least hold a conversation.

"That is neither reassuring, nor does it answer the question." Tokoyami said.

Giran moved onto the young man, saying he hadn't committed any flashy crimes, but was still very much into Stain's ideology. The young man, whose name was listed as 'Dabi', wondered if the League really had a just cause or not.

"No, they don't." Sato immediately said.

"Might depend on what you think 'just' is. Stain thought his was." Shoji pointed out.

"Yeah, but not even Stain thought the League had a decent cause. Hell, he didn't think they had a cause at all."

"Fair point."

"Hmmm, he said no 'flashy' crimes, kero. I wonder what kind of crimes he did commit then."

"And were they not flashy because he doesn't have a quirk suitable for that, or just because he knows how to keep things low profile and not draw attention to himself?" Izuku mused. He thought maybe the scars were from his quirk, but they could also be the result of someone else using their quirk on him. The places where the scars stopped and started seemed a little too specific for him to have just been caught in a house fire or something.

Dabi was dubious about a place that would let the crazy girl next to him in. Shigaraki pointed out that the girl at least had enough manners to introduce herself. Dabi said that 'Dabi' was what he currently went by. Shigaraki asked for his real name. Dabi said he wouldn't give it until the right time.

"What, pray tell, could he be waiting for?" Aoyama wondered.

"Well, if I was gonna join place like this, I don't think I'd give my real name or background until I was sure I could trust them. I mean, that Giran guy pretty much admitted the girl killed people by blood loss. I wouldn't want someone like that to be able to look me up if things didn't turn out, not to mention what the other members can do." Ojiro said.

"I- I'd leave right away." Koda admitted, clearly disturbed by Toga's scary level of fanaticism.

"As someone who lives in the shadows, he likely has different standards for who he can tolerate working with." Tokoyami pointed out.

Dabi said he would follow Stain's ethics. The mention of Stain seemed to set Shigaraki off, he started complaining about how people kept talking about him and how he didn't feel good at all. Kurogiri sensed Shigaraki's move and told him to stop, but Shigaraki launched himself at the new recruits anyway. The pair moved to defend themselves, but it all became moot when Kurogiri used a series of portals to direct all of their hands away from each other.

Jirou let out a low whistle. "Dang that was a sweet move. Also, anyone getting the impression that the only reason the League works at all right now is because of Kurogiri?"

"He does seem to put the most work into keeping Shigaraki from destroying everything." Momo agreed.

"Yeah, I mean, I know that All for One said he wanted Shigaraki to destroy things he didn't like, but if that's everything then how is he gonna build up the League into something that can destroy other things?" Uraraka wondered.

"He likely installed Kurogiri at Shigaraki's side to keep that from happening."

Midoriya was writing at lightning speed once again. "There seemed to be sparks coming from Dabi's hands, and now there's smoke, so his scars being from his own quirk seems more likely. I wonder if there's any way to treat or prevent further damage...and the knife Toga has could be related to her quirk but could be there for regular self defense too..."

Iida wasn't the one to break Midoriya out of his mutterings this time, because he was too busy frowning at the screen. He too had been upset by the idea of people following Stain and wanting to join the League because of him, but was also disturbed by how his feelings seemed to match Shigaraki's in the moment. Granted he had very different reasons for hating Stain, but the similarity was still discomforting.

Kurogiri told Shigaraki to calm himself, and reminded him that they had to expand their numbers when given the chance if they wanted to achieve anything, so they should accept the new recruits. Then he whispered to Shigaraki that they should also take advantage of what Stain left behind. Shigaraki backed off, but also told him to shut up before stomping out of the room. Giran commented that Shigaraki was young, too young.

Moments like this reminded both the students and teachers of that fact. It had been stated before that Shigaraki didn't seem to be that much older than the students themselves, but just how close in age was he?

'I wonder what happened to him, and how he ended up allied with All for One.' Izuku mused. 'Just how long has All for One been building him up to be the leader of the League? How young was he when it began? Was there a reason All for One chose him specifically?'

Izuku wasn't the only one to wonder these things, Yagi did too. But there was not enough information for them to even guess at answers at this point.

Toga commented that she thought he was going to kill them, and looked excited about it. Dabi just said the man made him sick. Kurogiri asked them to wait for an answer later, because he believed Shigaraki knew what his answer had to be and left for that exact reason. He'd been humbled by both All Might and Stain, so he knew what answer he had to give even if he didn't like it.

"Well, even if Shigaraki agrees to take them on, at least they don't seem to get along. Beating them will be easier if they spend time fighting with each other right?" Kirishima said.

"The nerd and I don't 'get along' either, but we still passed that stupid exam." Bakugo pointed out.

Kirishima frowned. That was true, but it was different wasn't it? Bakugo and Midoriya still had a really long history and knew each other well in some ways, while the League didn't. Then again, knowing each other so long also meant his classmates had more to get past, and they still managed to do it once they were given a common goal. They took a beating on the way there, but they still did it.

The scene changed to UA, where the students who failed the entrance exam were bemoaning their inability to go to the training camp. Ashido was especially distraught, and Midoriya tried to cheer her up by saying there was still a chance they might be allowed to go. Sero told him not to jinx it.

The real life counterparts of those who had failed suddenly became downtrodden. With seeing the League, they had forgotten they were the only ones who hadn't passed.

"You really think there might still be a chance?" Ashido asked.

"Well, we all thought one of us would get expelled on the first day, and then we weren't, so it could happen." Midoriya said, though he didn't sound especially confident about it.

Kaminari wailed that they would be stuck in 'summer school hell' and that Midoriya was dumb if he didn't get that. He got so worked up that when he pointed at Midoriya he also jabbed him in the eye.

"Ow!"

"Oh geeze, sorry Midoriya!"

Sero told Kaminari to calm down too, then admitted he didn't know if he was going either since he slept while Mineta won their match.

"You're welcome." Mineta said smugly.

"Yeah yeah, don't let it go to your head, it's already big enough." Sero smirked and gave the other boy a playful shove.

Kaminari's continued freak out was interrupted by the arrival of Aizawa. Once the class was settled, Aizawa started to go over the results of the final exam. He admitted that some students failed the practical, but that everyone was going! Those who had failed cried out in delight.

"Thank you so much!" Ashido, Kaminari, Sato, and Kirishima cried out.

While Aizawa told them to calm themselves, Bakugo let out a small relieved huff. The training camp would be more interesting if Kirishima was around.

"Huh, you really were right, Midoriya." Sero said in surprise.

Aizawa revealed that they were allowing everyone to go because everyone passed the written portion at least, even if some failed the practical. He also revealed Sero failed the practical too.

Sero gave a huff of self deprecating laughter. "Unfortunately, I was right too."

Aizawa went on to say that the exam was about the teachers watching to see how the students would approach the problems and what solutions they chose, and that saying they planned to crush the students was just to add to the pressure.

"Are you sure you gave everyone the same memo about that?" Recovery Girl asked, sending meaningful looks at Yagi and Yamada. Both teachers wilted under her gaze.

Aizawa explained that the training camp was about getting stronger, so those that failed the practical would actually need it the most. It was another logical ruse!

The class seemed to let out a collective sigh when that phrase came up again.

"You know, if you keep using that explanation they might eventually just stop believing you altogether." Mic pointed out.

"Maybe in that timeline, but in this one they know I wasn't kidding about expelling people. So it will keep them on their toes." Aizawa argued.

The future Iida seemed to have similar thoughts, declaring that continued lying would cause their faith in him to waiver. Uraraka teased him for being so serious, but Aizawa admitted he had a point and that he'd consider it. He wasn't completely lying though, because there would be consequences for those who failed. They would get extra lessons in addition to the strength training.

"Thank you for listening to my concerns sir!" Iida gave Aizawa a bow, which the teacher returned with a nod.

"You mean, you're gonna combine summer school with the training camp for us?" Kaminari asked in dismay.

"Noooooo!" Ashido whined.

"Well, even if we get extra lessons, at least we'll get to see everyone now and then, that will make things easier I bet." Kirishima said, ever the optimist. Sato nodded in agreement.

The time skipped ahead to the end of the school day. The kids gathered together to talk about the training camp. Ojiro said it would be nice that they all get to go together, while others talked about all the different things they would need to pack. Hagakure suggested they all go shopping together the next day, and people jumped onto the idea. Bakugo refused to come, and Todoroki said he visited his Mom on his days off.

"Aww, come on Bakubro! You're gonna miss out on all the bonding!" Kaminari teased.

"Don't call me that!"

"You don't wanna hang out?" Kirishima asked with fake hurt tone. Bakugo snorted.

"You wanna hang out then find a time when you aren't in your loser lessons at the camp."

"I'm glad things are going well with your mom Todoroki." Izuku said, and Uraraka nodded her agreement.

"Thank you." Todoroki was glad to hear it too. If he was still going, then his previous visits must have gone smoothly. It gave him hope for when they finally left here, and he could see his mother again for real.

The scene changed to the shopping center, everyone excited to be there. A random person in the crowd recognized them as UA students and pointed it out to his friends, who danced in excitement from seeing kids who had been on TV.

The kids either blushed or puffed up in pride when they saw that people were so happy to see them, even though it had been a while since the sports festival.

"Getting recognized like that is still gonna take some getting used to." Uraraka said.

The students talked about what they wanted to buy, and started breaking off into groups to go to different places. Mineta wondered where he could get stuff for lock picking or drilling holes.

Numerous people turned to give Mineta reproachful looks, and he put his hands up in surrender.

"I promise not to do anything like that in real life, or even buy the things for it!"

"You'd better not!" Jirou declared angrily.

"Don't make me make a rule that will force everyone to have their bags inspected before going on trips like this." Aizawa warned.

Thinking about what kind of 'literature' his teacher might find if stuff like that started happening, Mineta frantically nodded and repeated his promise.

Kirishima proposed they all agree to meet back up again in about two hours, and everyone agreed. Everyone dispersed quickly, leaving Midoriya and Uraraka as the only two still standing at their starting point.

Ashido's face lit up with a huge grin. She quickly looked to Aoyama, whose eyes sparkled as he smirked. Given how Uraraka had reacted to Aoyama's words during the final exam, they were eager to see how both the on-screen and real life Uraraka would react to spending time with Midoriya.

Izuku turned to Uraraka and said he wanted to get some wrist weights, and asked what she needed to get. Uraraka started to answer, but then the memory of Aoyama asking about her crush suddenly came back to her. She then ran off while shouting she needed bug spray, while telling herself Aoyama was wrong, leaving a very confused Midoriya behind.

"I don't know, would it freak you out enough to run off if it wasn't true?" Ashido asked in a teasing voice, while several other people snickered or proclaimed the whole thing to be cute.

"Oh shut up!" Uraraka said with a laugh and a blush. She glanced at Midoriya, and found he was looking at her while blushing himself. That made her own blush worsen, but she also remembered the talk the two of them had had about this. So she pushed past her own embarrassment to smile at him, and got one from him in return.

"Well, at least now I know you don't think I'm a bug." He said, which made her laugh much more genuinely than she had before.

Midoriya bemoaned the fact that he ended up getting left all alone after they came as a group. He didn't get to mull over it long though, because a man from the crowd suddenly came over. He said he recognized Midoriya from the sports festival, and slung an arm over Midoriya's shoulder, making the boy instantly uncomfortable.

When more of the man was shown, the playful mood that the last scene had left vanished in an instant. He may have had a hood up, but with the combination of the voice and the hair, it was hard not to recognize the man for who he was.

"Sh-shigaraki?!" Uraraka gasped. She left Deku alone just in time for Shigaraki to come by?! Or, had he been watching and waiting for Midoriya to be alone?

"Holy Fuck Deku the hell is up with your luck?" Bakugo asked, somewhere between anger and disbelief.

"Oh god oh god oh god." Hagakure whimpered. She was very much regretting her other self suggesting this idea now. "How is Midoriya not freaking out more? It's Shigaraki!"

"He hasn't got a chance to really look at him yet, he doesn't know." Iida said, tension lining his body and keeping his hands still for once.

"It- It will be okay right? I mean, Midoriya has gotten a lot better at using his quirk, so he could handle a one on one fight, right?" Kaminari tried to reason. Tsuyu shook her head.

"Maybe, but I don't think trying would be a good idea."

"It certainly wouldn't be. There are far to many people around to make that a viable option." Aizawa said, keeping his voice even despite the fear coursing through his veins. Maybe Midoriya could fight Shigaraki off if he lead the villain away from the mall, but Aizawa got the feeling that Shigaraki wouldn't let that happen.

Yagi felt like he was standing in the control room again as young Todoroki froze the building above them. Was this truly bad luck, as young Bakugo had said, or was this planned? They'd known about the USJ after all, so did the villains somehow find out about the class trip and planned to kidnap Midoriya? Suddenly unable to stand the distance between them, Yagi went and knelt in front his successor.

"Young Midoriya, are you alright?"

The boy's eyes were wide, and his lips moved slightly with silent mutterings. He was probably wondering about all the same things that Yagi was.

"I-I'm okay, he hasn't hurt me...not yet."

That was true, but the anxiety he had about what might happen next was clear. Yagi lay a grounding hand on his shoulder.

"It will be alright. No matter what happens." Yagi would make sure of it. Midoriya looked into his eyes, and nodded once. Yagi vowed to do his best to never break this boy's trust.

Midoriya, still unaware of who he was talking to, marveled over being recognized once again. Shigaraki then pointed out that he was also involved in the incident with Stain. Midoriya said he knew a lot. Shigaraki said it was unbelievable that they would meet again like this, and that's when Midoriya realized something was really wrong. Shigaraki said it was almost like fate, while he moved his hand to grip Midoriya's throat, keeping only one finger away from his skin.

The tension became thicker with each word spoken, and ratcheted up several degrees when Shigaraki's hand touched Izuku's throat. Izuku swallowed. He knew he shouldn't, but he swore he could feel those fingers against against his skin. He reached up to touch his neck, just to be sure nothing was there. When he lowered his hand again, Uraraka grasped it with her own. He managed to give her a grateful smile, and she nodded at him seriously. Iida did the same on his other side a moment later, and Yagi sat on the ground with his shoulder resting against Izuku's leg. With all that to focus on, the phantom sensation of Shigaraki's fingers seemed to fall away.

'Dammit Deku, you wanted to run through our whole exam! Get out of there already!' Bakugo yelled internally. Unbeknownst to him, Todoroki was sitting stiffly in his seat and having very similar thoughts.

"First the USJ, then Stain, now this! I'd suggest sending a chaperon out with these kids whenever they leave, but that didn't seem to help with their internships." Mic said, venting his own anxieties.

Nedzu was unsure how much chaperones may or may not help, but that did get him thinking of other things they could do to keep the students safer. Honestly, it may not be a bad idea to give Midoriya some kind of panic button that he could press when he got into a dangerous situation like this, so he could more easily call for help.

Shigaraki admitted that, from Midoriya's perspective, they hadn't met since the USJ. It was at this moment that Izuku was able to look up at the man, and confirm what he was thinking, that this really was Shigaraki Tomura.

"You haven't met him from either perspective since the USJ. Your creepy obsession doesn't count as you meeting each other!" Jirou hissed.

The scene jumped back in time a little bit, showing Shigaraki arriving at the mall. He was shown to be thinking about what Stain said to him, and how people would blissfully continue on with their lives despite all that Stain and the League had done.

"Isn't that how it should be? Aren't heroes supposed to make it so people can still be happy despite all the bad stuff going on in the world?" Ashido asked.

"That is usually considered a part of the job yes, making people feel safe despite the world being very unsafe in many ways." Nedzu agreed. "Though, I can see how that can be frustrating as well. For someone who has put so much time into such events, it would make it seem like it had no affect and that people don't care about anything but their own lives."

Shigaraki noticed a store that was actually selling some merchandise based off the hero killer, which a few boys were getting excited over. It made Shigaraki wonder how Stain got so popular and got followers, despite Shigaraki doing similar things. They were both just destroying things they disliked after all.

Iida scowled when he saw the store selling Hero Killer merchandise.

"That's messed up man. How can they sell stuff like that?" Sato said, shaking his head.

"Hm, it's curious how Shigaraki views himself as so similar to Stain yet Stain viewed himself as very different." Recovery Girl said.

"And neither of them are exactly wrong about their assessment." Nedzu said, sounding far too casual for the tense atmosphere.

Just as Shigaraki wondered what was different between him and Stain, he spotted Midoriya. That made the scene change back to the 'present', where Shigaraki held the boy hostage. He calmly instructed Midoriya to act naturally, and calm down, because he just wanted to talk.

Despite the situation not being anywhere near resolved, Yagi found himself breathing just a little bit easier. That small flashback meant that Shigaraki coming across Midoriya had been a coincidence, which meant this wasn't a planned kidnapping. That didn't mean it couldn't still happen, but not having a plan made a successful kidnapping less likely.

"Talking, sure, I can do talking, sometimes I can't stop talking." Izuku said, his voice just a little too high to sound natural. It made those around him huddle in closer to him. Todoroki got up at that point, suddenly feeling the need for reassurance that his friend was here and in no real danger.

Shigaraki warned him that if he tried anything, he'd lay his last finger down and use his quirk on Midoriya's neck, turning him to dust in less than a minute.

Any relief Yagi had felt earlier came back ten fold as the villain so casually talked about killing his successor.

The tension in the room became so thick that it felt like they were breathing it in like smoke. Some were so still they barely moved, while others began to fidget with whatever was available or did things like biting their nails in an effort to relieve the stress.

"Geeze, does he have to hold up his middle finger like that? He's so rude to flick off everyone there." Kaminari joked, dealing with the stress via humor.

Despite his obvious fear, Midoriya tried to challenge Shigaraki. He pointed out that if he killed someone in the middle of a busy mall like this, then a hero would come right away. Shigaraki admitted that was true, but that people being here also worked against Midoriya. After all, no one in the crowd would try to stop him, they'd all wait for a hero, and by that time he could kill quite a few people. Realizing that what the villain said was true, Midoriya forced himself to give in, and asked what Shigaraki wanted to talk about.

"You're making the right choice here." Aizawa said. "A quirk like Shigaraki's could put a lot of lives at risk in a very short amount of time, including your own. It's best to go along with what he wants for now, and stall for time until you can signal for help or find a way to escape without endangering yourself and others."

"And like you said, you're good at talking, and thinking. You'll figure something out." Todoroki said.

"Y-yeah! He's right, plus there's me and the others around. Since he didn't see you with anyone, he doesn't know to look out for us, so we could see you and help you still." Uraraka said, trying to sound confident.

"There is a possibility he truly could be placated with words, especially since he won't want to cause enough fuss to be caught if he can avoid it. You can do this." Iida added.

Izuku nodded, taking strength in his friends' words.

Shigaraki made Midoriya sit down on a bench with him. He started off by talking about how much he hated everything, especially Stain. Midoriya asked if Stain was with the League, and Shigaraki confirmed he wasn't. The problem was that the media was so taken with Stain they were overlooking everything Shigaraki had done. He wanted to know why that was, and leaned in close to ask Midoriya what the difference was between himself and Stain.

"Why isn't anyone worried about him?" Ashido demanded. "Look how scared Midoriya looks! Shigaraki clearly isn't an 'old friend' and Midoriya isn't acting natural!"

"Do you notice everything happening around you when you go to public places like this?" Nedzu asked "It seems obvious to us that something is wrong, because we are forced to focus on this, and we know the history of the individuals. However, very few people have the kind of situational awareness needed to pick up on the hints that these two are giving off while just passing by. Both are looking down more than up, so their expressions wouldn't be obvious. Plus, people often see what they expect to see. These people don't expect to see a hostage situation at the mall, not one so subtle at least, so they would look at this and see one young man with an arm slung over the others shoulders, which is surely a friendly gesture, no?"

"But he has a hand on his neck! That's not friendly at all!"

"At a glance, most people wouldn't even notice that. They'd probably just see it as the hand resting on his upper back or the base of his neck, which is still a fairly common gesture. Eye witness testimony is considered one of the most unreliable sources of evidence for a reason after all."

Nobody seemed happy about that.

"This is why you should all learn more situational awareness, so you'll be able to pick up on this kind of thing easier than other people." Aizawa lectured. He was surprised to see so many students nod seriously, then looked at the screen and decided it wasn't so surprising after all.

"Why the fuck does he think Deku has whatever shitty answers he's looking for? He's just a nerd, not a therapist or psychic or whatever." Bakugo grumbled.

"No, but he his smart, and good at analyzing things. Though I'm not sure how well acquainted Shigaraki would be with his analysis skills." Momo said.

"Well now I'm worried about just how closely Shigaraki has been keeping up with Midoriya." Jirou muttered.

The scene changed to Uraraka as she walked along the upper level of the mall. She lamented over leaving Deku like she did, and told herself she should go back and apologize.

"Yes, going back is definitely a thing you should do right now. The sooner the better." Hagakure urged.

"B-but, you heard what he said about crumbling people! What if her going back makes him start doing that to create chaos so he can get away?" Mineta fretted.

"He seems to want to avoid attention as much as possible, given how he's chosen to approach young Midoriya. So I think he is unlikely to cause a scene just because another hero students noticed them. Hopefully, he would just act casual to make his own escape." At least, that's what Yagi desperately hoped would happen, considering how likely it was that young Uraraka or another student would happen across the pair.

Uraraka bowed her head. "I'm so sorry I left you there with him, Deku."

"It's okay, there's no way you could have known he was here."

"Yeah...but I still left you all alone on a group trip. I shouldn't have done that either, even if I was feeling embarrassed."

Izuku gave her hand a small squeeze. "It's okay, I mean, just look at how I acted for even talking to you on the phone and stuff! Your thing is nowhere near as weird as my thing."

She huffed a laugh. "Nah, I'd say they're about the same level of weird."

She talked herself into going an apologizing, then told herself that it wasn't because she wanted to go shopping with him specifically, she just really admired him! What Aoyama said was ridiculous!

"Oh really?" Ashido asked, suddenly distracted by relationship developments.

"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much." Aoyama added.

"Please, restrain yourselves from such superfluous comments until after the hostage situation is over!" Iida scolded. "And after that as well, if you can manage."

Both Uraraka and Izuku blushed and looked away from each other, but didn't let go of each other.

Back with Shigaraki, Midoriya started to answer his question. He said the difference was that he didn't like either Stain or Shigaraki, but while he couldn't understand Shigaraki, he could understand Stain. That's because, for both Stain and Midoriya, things started with All Might.

"Midoriya, bro, don't compare yourself to Stain ever again, you're too good for that." Kirishima protested.

"I don't think I meant it like that, I just meant we have something in common, whether I like it or not. So that means I understand where he's coming from more than Shigaraki." Even with knowing more about AfO now, Izuku still didn't understand how Shigaraki figured into everything or why he was doing all of this.

Midoriya went on to say that Stain didn't just destroy because he wanted too. Even if he did it the wrong way, there were still ideals he was trying to follow. Midoriya looked up at Shigaraki then, and the look in the villain's eyes made him freeze in terror.

It hadn't seemed possible, but the tension in the room spiked once again. Everyone instantly started to worry about what the look meant, and if Shigaraki would take whatever he was feeling out on Midoriya.

Shigaraki said he felt unburdened, like he'd connected the dots.

"You didn't connect shit." Kaminari couldn't help but grumble. Sero let out a short, hysterical laugh.

Shigaraki's voice grew manic as he declared he understood why both Stain and Midoriya irritated him. It was all because of All Might!

People recoiled at the close up of Shigaraki's crazed smile.

"Gracious! Somebody get this man some chapstick and face cream." Aoyama said.

"Some water too, it makes him look really dehydrated." Ojiro added.

"Why do we get so many close ups of people making creepy faces!?" Hagakure complained.

Shigaraki pointed out at the crowd again, saying how they were able to thoughtlessly smile because All Might did the same. It was all because of him. Shigaraki's hand tightened on Midoriya's throat, then a strange scene was shown. The image was gray and grainy. A severed hand lay in a pool of blood, and someone looked down on it while blood dripped from their own small arm and hand. It was gone in an instant, and Shigaraki raged at the thought of All Might smiling, like there was no one he'd never saved!

Yagi felt his blood freeze as Shigaraki started getting more and more crazed and started to blamed All Might for everything.

"Urk!"

Yagi jumped up and whirled around when he heard Young Midoriya make that pained noise. It seemed Shigaraki tightening his grip had been enough to set off the pain factor. "It's alright my boy, just breath. You still can, whatever you might feel."

With his back turned, he didn't see the screen anymore, but he heard Shigaraki's last comment. It made something bitter twist in his chest. He never pretended he had saved everyone, or at least he never meant to. He knew darn well there were plenty of people he hadn't or couldn't save, and despite all the effort he put in to becoming a symbol that others could rely on and gain strength from, those he'd missed still haunted him. Now that haunting was becoming literal instead of just figurative.

Bakugo stared at the crazy hands bastard, and thought about his talk with All Might. He'd been reluctant to believe All Might ever really failed, even with the man saying so himself. Was this further proof? Did Shigaraki really end up where he was because All Might had failed to save him?

The teachers all sat up straighter when that strange grainy scene came on, trying to take in every detail in the few seconds it was shown.

"The person who was looking over the hand and bleeding, they looked small." Mic said.

"The hand on the ground was much bigger than their own." Recovery Girl agreed. "Placing that scene there seems to imply that it was an event that happened sometime in Shigaraki's past, something he hadn't been saved from. Could he have lost someone during a villain attack? A parent, or both parents?"

"It did seem to imply a loss when he was young, though it's hard to say how that happened just based off that one image. It could have been something done by another, or it could be something he or another family member did by accident. He does have a very destructive quirk after all, and the initial activation of such quirks has been known to lead to bad accidents."

"Could it truly be his quirk? It seemed to produce very little blood when we saw it being used on Aizawa, despite how much skin he lost."

"I'd say its possible, he's had years to refine his quirk after all, and find ways of using it without creating quite such a mess."

Shigaraki continued to casually strangle Midoriya as he talked. He gleefully thanked the boy for talking to him, and helping him realize he didn't need to do anything different. Midoriya was unable to stay still anymore, and shakily reached for Shigaraki's hands.

The class silently begged (or demanded) that the next scene be of Midoriya managing to break out of Shigaraki's hold and get some air. They had to keep watching to make things progress, but they could hear All Might giving Midoriya instructions on breathing deeply.

Uraraka rubbed soothing circles into Midoriya's back, just like Recovery Girl had done to her for her nausea. Iida quietly helped his friend count to the numbers All Might instructed as he breathed in and out. Todoroki felt his grip on his own knees might end up bruising him but couldn't be bothered to care just then.

Shigaraki caught on to what Midoriya was doing, and pulled him to the side to stop him. He reminded him not to struggle, there were still plenty of innocent people around after all. Shigaraki told himself that the ideals of the hero killer would be used as a stepping stone for his own goals.

There was a lot of internal, and some external, cursing when Shigaraki stopped Midoriya from breaking free.

'That's it, I'm never talking about stepping stones ever again.' Bakugo thought, disgusted that Shigaraki reminded him of himself for even a moment. 'I wonder if this is how Deku felt back when we watched the USJ arc.'

Suddenly, a soft voice broke through Shigaraki's internal rant. The pair turned to see that Uraraka had just arrived. It only took her a couple of seconds to realize that the person Midoriya was with was threatening him, and she quietly demanded that he get his hands off him.

It was like the entire room was holding its breath, unsure if they should be thrilled at the intervention, or panicking that another classmate was now in danger.

'Come on Uraraka, you can do it! Save him!' Ashido silently urged.

Midoriya saw Shigaraki start to move. Fearing the worst, he cried out that he was fine and for her not to come any closer. But it turned out to be unnecessary, as Shigaraki suddenly released him, and started acting like he really had just been having a friendly chat with him. He quietly warned Midoriya not to follow up, before getting up to walk away.

Ever since Shigaraki had appeared and put his arm around Midoriya, tension had been building in the room, like someone blowing up a balloon until it was almost ready to pop. When Shigaraki let go and got up, it was like the balloon had been released. Everyone seemed to suddenly deflate, letting out every ounce of air they'd been holding in since this whole scene started.

Everyone save for Midoriya, who greedily took in air now that it didn't feel like he was being strangled.

"It's okay, you're okay." Uraraka said, uncertain who she was trying to reassure more, herself or Deku.

When Shigaraki had taken a few steps away, Uraraka rushed to Midoriya's side, concerned by all the coughing he'd done after being released. Midoriya wasn't done yet though, and called Shigaraki's name. The young man actually stopped, and Midoriya demanded to know what AfO was after.

As exhausted as everyone felt, they couldn't help but perk up curiously at the question. Would Shigaraki actually answer?

This was especially true of the teachers. Both because it was their responsibility to do something with any information that was given, and because they hadn't relaxed as completely as the kids had after Midoriya had been let go. Midoriya was no longer being strangled, but two students were still in the presence of a dangerous villain.

Shigaraki's only response to the question was 'who knows?'. Then he warned Midoriya that the next time they saw each other would likely be when Shigaraki decided to kill him.

"Oh sure, next time, but I bet you won't get out so easily when you don't have a bunch of random people to threaten you coward!" Bakugo raged.

"Yeah! You come meet us on equal ground and we'll see how things go!" Kirishima agreed.

"He seriously doesn't know? Why would he go along with someone as scary as All for One if he doesn't even know what he wants?" Jirou demanded incredulously.

"He could be lying." Tsuyu pointed out.

"Possibly. It could also be that he simply doesn't care. Shigaraki has been shown time and time again to only care for his own wants, after all." Iida said. Momo nodded.

"If what All for One wants allows for what he wants, then it probably doesn't matter to him what else his...mentor or boss or whatever the man is to him, is doing."

Yagi cursed under his breath at the threat Shigaraki laid out against his successor. If only he'd done his job right the first time, then none of this would be happening. If he'd finished off All for One for good, then Midoriya wouldn't have to deal with any of this. 'I'm so sorry my boy. I never meant for this to pass on to you.'

Uraraka stood up to do something, but Shigaraki was already lost among the crowd. Shigaraki was shown leaving the mall, thinking about how Stain's criticism of him having no real goals. He denied it, saying he'd had ideals and convictions from the start. From now on, he would shape his actions around making a world without All Might, and exposing how fragile their justice truly was.

No one boasted how Shigaraki would be beaten this time. It was one thing to think about just Shigaraki vs just Midoriya, but this threat had the power of AfO and the rest of the League behind it. They'd already seen how close All Might had come to losing, and that was when he was only facing part of the League. Sensing this trend of thoughts, Nedzu spoke up.

"Shigaraki will be difficult to beat with the power of the League behind him, which makes it fortunate that All Might is not alone in this fight either. There are many competent heroes willing and able to back him up, and while All Might is not at his prime anymore, it is clear that All for One is not either. Plus, we are now receiving all this information about what the future may hold, which can give us an advantage the other side doesn't have."

The kids started to relax as the principal went on talking, and were close to feeling back to normal by the time he was done. He was right, it would be difficult, but it was far from impossible!

Midoriya narrated that Uraraka reported the incident and the mall was shut down for a while, but they couldn't find Shigaraki. Midoriya talked to Tsukauchi about the incident at the police station.

Only now, with the students away from Shigaraki and with the police, did the teachers fully relax.

"You did it Uraraka! You saved him!" Ashido cheered.

"I didn't, not really. Anyone could have shown up and he would have run off, and we didn't even find him afterwards." She said sullenly.

"Well, that may be true, but I'm certainly glad you came back, my neck was really starting to hurt!" Izuku tried to joke, but it just made Uraraka look more miserable.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have left you alone in the first place, or come back sooner!"

"Hey, hey, it's not your fault. Shigaraki probably would have found a way to get me alone no matter who I was with, or would have used me to threaten anyone from saying anything if he couldn't. Plus, he probably wouldn't have wanted to leave until he got his answers, so coming back sooner might not have helped anyway. You coming back in time to break him out of his crazy ramblings was probably the best time you could have come back. It saved my neck, literally."

She let out a huff that sounded like it could have been a laugh if she had more energy.

"Uraraka, if Midoriya is not allowed to blame himself for things unnecessarily, then I must say that you are not either!" Iida interjected, and that made her smile a little.

"Good point, I'll try not to."

Tsukauchi said that they now knew more about how the organization was likely structured, and that Shigaraki's goal of killing All Might hadn't changed. He thanked Midoriya, and the boy replied that he wished he could have detained Shigaraki. Tsukauchi told him not to worry about it, and said he held up very well given how many lives were on the line, including his own. There were no victims because he was able to stay calm.

"What did I just say about not blaming ourselves unnecessarily?" Iida teased, making his two friends laugh.

"Seriously though, he is right, young Midoriya. You did everything you could under the circumstances, and we're all relieved beyond words that you're alright." All Might reassured him. Aizawa made a noise of agreement, and any guilt Midoriya may have had about the whole thing was snuffed out before it had a chance to form.

The two went out through the back door of the police station, and were met by All Might. He patted Midoriya head, and said how glad he was that Midoriya was okay.

Midoriya wondered what he could do to get All Might to do that in real life., hopefully it wouldn't require him meeting another villain like that. Little did he know that he could have just asked and All Might would happily given him a head pat and fluffed his hair.

All Might apologized for not being there to save him. Midoriya said it was alright, but then thought of Shigaraki. Tentatively, he asked All Might if there were times when he couldn't save everyone. All Might bowed his head, and admitted that it happened a lot.

That stunned the children in the room. It seemed like, no matter how many times they were confronted with All Might's vulnerabilities, the idea of him failing much or often was still a surprise to them.

"That is something you'll have to come to terms with, if you all plan to be heroes for any length of time." All Might said gravely. "There will be times where no matter what you do, or how hard you try, you won't be able to save everyone."

"Becoming a hero won't stop you from being human." Present Mic agreed. His voice felt weighted down, far from it's usual cheerful lightness.

"As much as the media might try to make civilians and heroes think otherwise." Aizawa said.

All Might's words went on to mirror the ones the teachers just spoke. He said that there were people in trouble somewhere right now, but that he was only human. He couldn't save people he couldn't reach. But that was all the more reason to stand tall and smile, because that kept the light of justice alive in the hearts of heroes, civilians, and villains alike.

Recovery Girl nodded. "There's a lot that's wrong with the world, and that makes it easy to get discouraged when trying to set things right. But not being able to save everyone, or solve all the problems the world faces, doesn't mean you should stop trying. Because then nothing will ever get better, and some things getting better is better than nothing getting better."

The detective explained that Midoriya was worried about what Shigaraki said, and that the villain was likely harboring unjustified resentment.

'Not necessarily.' All Might thought to himself. It was possible it was unjustified, but it was possible it was justified too. All Might had just admitted there were people he couldn't save, after all. Could he really blame a child for feeling abandoned or betrayed if others were saved while he was not?

Tsukauchi said All Might never failed to save anyone after he arrived on the scene.

The students would be completely willing to believe that, it would even be easy to believe that since they'd believed it all their lives already. But the way All Might hung his head while it was said made them all wonder if it was actually true, and if that meant Tsukauchi was lying, or if there was something All Might hadn't told his friend.

The detective said someone was waiting for Izuku, and the boy turned and saw his mother at the end of the alley. She rushed forward to meet him, immediately taking his arm in hers. She told him that her heart couldn't take this, and started crying. He tried to comfort her, saying he was alright and that the heroes and police did a good job taking care of him, but it didn't seem to help much.

Izuku felt a pit form in his stomach. Nothing ever managed to make him feel guilty quite like seeing his mother sad or in pain because of something to do with him.

"Poor mamadoriya." Hagakure murmured. The people around her nodded in agreement.

The Midoriya's were driven home. Tsukauchi told All Might that today's incident seemed to be a coincidence, but that the possibility of him or another student being targeted was high.

Everyone that had felt bad for Inko Midoriya now felt their worries grow to include themselves and their own families. Imagining their parents or siblings or other family having the same look on their faces as Inko just did...they all felt their own sense of dread and protectiveness flare up.

Tsukauchi said the school should consider what measures to take to protect the students better.

"Oh I've had that percolating in my mind for some time now. You can expect implementation of them as soon as we can find a way to make it seem justified to the media and parents. Which may not be that hard given that the USJ incident has just happened back in our timeline." Nedzu said.

The detective said All Might should consider leaving the school too. He said he'd only been a teacher three months and Tsucauchi joked he'd been right when he said All Might wasn't cut out for it.

'I can agree to that.' Aizawa thought. Maybe he wasn't as terrible as he thought he was at the beginning, but he still had a lot to learn. If he was serious about teaching, it would help to get some actual classes for it under his belt.

The pair made a solemn promise that they would definitely get AfO this time.

If Nedzu's words hadn't reassured the students before, that promise between the two friends would have sealed the deal.

The semester closing ceremony was shown, as Izuku's voice spoke about all that happened. The semester was over, and summer vacation was about to begin, but that didn't mean they could only think about having fun. The needed to prepare for the evil that was to come. As he said this, Iida was shown walking down a street, then Todoroki was shown talking to his mother.

'They should be able to focus on just having fun, or mostly focus on that anyway. They're kids, they should be able to do that.' Present Mic thought to himself. The other teachers were having similar thought, bemoaning how quickly such young students had been thrown into the thick of things, despite their best efforts to protect them.

Todoroki was glad to see his visit with his mother seemed to be going well. He did worry at some point that his father might try to stop him from going, but he hadn't seen anything to suggest that he'd tried to do that so far.

Iida told himself again that he'd be sure to live up to his family name when he got out of here, and wouldn't let himself fall so low like he'd seen in this possible future.

Izuku was shown running down a beach to train. His voice stated that they didn't have time to stand around. When he stopped to catch his breath, All Might was there to give him a bottle of water. The pair smiled at each other.

"Just remember, young Midoriya, you don't have to do this alone either. You have myself, your classmates, and your teachers. We are all willing to stand with you." Yagi said, smiling just like he was on screen.

A chorus of agreements went up around the room, and Izuku smiled and blushed. "I'm honored to have so many amazing people to stand with."

Things couldn't end on a completely happy note though. The scene changed to the tall building where AfO resided. A man stated that AfO seemed happy recently, and asked if it was because the League was growing. AfO chuckled, and stated it was because Shigaraki now had conviction. He'd let Shigaraki decide everything, though he would help the young man if he asked. He was even preparing for the time when Shigaraki could become the 'next him'. As he said this, a room full of tanks with Nomu looking creatures was shown, glowing eerily.

Everyone was left feeling anxious and unsettled as the episode ended. Shigaraki had gotten his own questions answered, but they'd gotten none of their own answered, and that scene just gave them even more questions to deal with!

"Well! I think this calls for another long rest. We've got plenty to think on, and some food would not go amiss I think. Let's get to it!" Nedzu ordered, breaking the mood enough for people to get up and moving.

"I don't suppose you have any idea what All for One meant by making Shigaraki 'the next him', do you?" Aizawa asked All Might, once he'd finished assigning the students tasks for making an actual meal.

"If you are asking whether or not he means Shigaraki to succeed him in the same way young Midoriya is succeeding me, I don't know. My own mentor never mentioned him having the ability to pass on All for One the same way we can pass on One for All, but it could simply be that he's never had reason to do it before now."

"That is the problem with a quirk like All for One." Nedzu mused. "Quirks run a very wide gambit on what a single one can and cannot do, not to mention the possibilities that arise if he possesses the ability to combine their affects. That means we can't say for certain what All for One himself can or cannot do. That will make coming up with a plan to confront him difficult."

"I don't want to see him show up and show off, not if it means the students will be in danger, but seeing it now might be our only chance to get a clue on how to take him down for good." Mic said.

Recovery Girl hummed in agreement. "I think All Might has a point. We've seen so little of All for One himself, and he's always surrounded by machines and stays fairly still, not to mention how little face he has left. There's a good chance he's decided to find a way to pass on his abilities now that he's in such a poor state, similar to the reasons for passing on One for All to Midoriya."

Yagi grimaced at that. More and more he and his successor seemed to mirror All for One and Shigaraki. "If that is the case, I wonder if there's something he's waiting for. I had to train Midoriya's body so he could inherit One for All. Has my nemesis done something similar to Shigaraki? Did he take him in and start training him to inherit his power from a young age, and if so, what would such training entail? Even more important, at what point will he be ready?"

"All questions we will have to answer surely, either by looking for clues or waiting for this viewing to directly enlighten us. Given how the League is building its numbers, it could be a matter as simple as needing Shigaraki to establish himself and gain respect, or something else entirely. Either way, we will simply have to wait and watch." Nedzu said. Mic groaned.

"I hate having to wait."

"I hate not being able to nap." Aizawa said, making Mic laugh. Aizawa was serious though, he couldn't afford to miss anything, which meant no naps, which was hard since he was so accustomed to them now. Getting a full night of regular sleep helped at least.

When he got back, he might have to rework his patrol schedules. It seemed he'd been missing things with his own class, so he might have to give up some of his regular hero work to make sure they were fully attended to and protected.

"Ugh, I don't know how our other selves are dealing with all this." Hagakure complained, flopping forward onto the table. "I'm only watching this stuff happen and I feel more wrung out than that washcloth Bakugo was using to aggressively do the dishes."

Ojiro, who was sitting next to her, gave her a comforting pat on the back.

"I imagine it has something to do with the range of what we are seeing." Momo said between bites of food. "For example, our other selves would be made aware of what happened to Midoriya during our trip to the mall, but they didn't have to witness the event from start to finish. They didn't have to live through wondering how it would end, because it was already resolved by the time they learned about it."

"That's a good point. Our other selves don't know about All for One either." Shoji said.

Koda shivered a bit. A part of him was jealous of his other self for not knowing about that villain. Then again, another part of him was glad to have the forewarning, even if it did keep him more on edge when they got back. Better to know than be blindsided right? Still, that didn't make the gnaw of worry any more pleasant.

"If we do go out like that when we get back, we should use a buddy system or something, so that we don't get caught off guard like Midoriya did at the mall." Ojiro said.

Shoji nodded. "And make sure everyone knows where everyone else is going, maybe keep a group chat going with updates."

They continued to chat about practical ways to use their advanced knowledge until the break came to a close.


A.N.

Both Shigaraki and Iida: Shut up about Stain! Shut up about Stain!

The end of another arc so we're gonna take another break. Might not wait to finish the next arc before I start posting again, so hopefully it won't take so long this time. Thanks for reading everyone! Hopefully see you again soon!