I'm not going to say much for this chapter other than get ready for the hype!

The next few chapters are going to be crazy.

My Hero Academia Untold: The Fafnir Knight (Remastered Edition)

Saga I: Dusk

Arc II: The Incident

Chapter XX: The Nightmare Begins

"Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it."

-Judy Blume

Tomura sat alone in the comfort of the bar.

Well, except for Kurogiri who was busy taking inventory of the bar's stock and supplies. The meeting a few days back had exhausted most of it. Tomura, however, was busy talking on his cellphone. Tucked between his head and shoulder with another one on the bar counter, waiting on an update from Giran.

Meanwhile in the room of the room was Tomura's new pet. A silent creature constructed from the many bits and pieces of his defeated foes and the occasionally unwilling volunteers. It was lovingly referred to as a Noumu.

"I got the intelligence," Tomura said lazily to the phone while sneaking a peek at the progress of the game he was playing on the side. "A shame you couldn't get more information, but it will have to do."

"Listen, Tomura, I think we need to delay the invasion by at least another week, maybe even a month. Security's gotten tighter, and it would give me more time to gain more intel on how to isolate, All Might. Master said that he's supposed to be weaker, but that doesn't seem to be the case."

"That would be too long of a wait," Tomura said in a steady voice, trying to control his temper despite the sheer audacity of his brother's request.

The Pale Prince had enough trouble trying to keep the goons who planned to join his assault under wraps while keeping his other projects moving forward. Plus, keeping, Overhaul placated with a small laboratory, that Dr. Garakai had provided would only go so far. Tomura was still searching for the white-haired brat with several eyes and ears on the ground looking for her.

However, Tomura knew his brother, The Broken Prince, all too well. He knew there had to be another reason for this request, with the dead giveaway being his efforts to sound monotone. He was either warming up to his classmates or going soft. Regardless of which, it still annoyed him to no end.

Either way, the Ministry of Education was one of the few branches of the government that Tomura had full access to, thanks to the Master's foresight during the height of his power. He already knew UA had become more cautious since his little visit. But there have been no reports of increased security other than system updates that could be easily remedied.

"You're not here in the trenches like me, Tomura. Between keeping my cover and coordinating my free time, delaying the assault so we're both ready would be the best course of action."

His brother was stalling. Tomura was sure of it now; their shared plan was to get in and kill All Might. However, he personally wanted to kill several students to send a message, and then get out. Yet, now it seems like the Broken Prince wanted to play the waiting game. The Master often allowed for plans to change if new opportunities presented themselves.

However, before Tomura could answer, the second phone began to vibrate.

The update he was waiting for had finally arrived.

"Hold on for a second," Tomura said flatly; as he unlocked the phone and began reading the message. Slowly but surely, he decoded it and began to realize what a goldmine of information he had just been given. His eyes widened as a grin slowly began to form on his face.

Bingo.

Now he was sure why his brother had requested the delay; he always had a soft spot for children. The fool had even risked missions before to make sure kids wouldn't have gotten caught in the crossfire. This was it; this was going to be his chance. The opportunity to kill so many birds with one stone. All of that time spent waiting for a sign was now paying off.

Tomura followed up by turning the second phone into dust as it had served its purpose.

"Sorry about that, my dear brother," said Tomura in a newly found voice filled with confidence and yet dripping ever so slightly with hints of venom.

"About fucking time," his brother answered, clearly annoyed and yet sightly unnerved by Tomura's new tone of voice.

"You win, something just came up that bought you the time you wanted," Tomura replied softly. He knew that his brother would find his new demeanor concerning. Armed with that knowledge, he had to end the call quickly. "Stop by the bar in two weeks; we'll coordinate from there."

"Wait...what changed your mind?"

"Never you mind. Just be grateful that your dear older brother has decided to heed your warning," Tomura continued casually. Rising from his seat, motioning for Kurogiri, who was still in the middle of his inventory check, to follow him.

"Have a good night, brother," Tomura said coolly, making sure the call would end on his terms.

"Wait, Tomura WAI-" The phone cut off as it slowly turned into dust.

Tomura faced Kurogiri with uncharacteristic glee. "Take me to the lab. I think I can finally convince the plague doctor to join us for the fun."

"You're not really planning on delaying, are you?" Asked Kurogiri as the smoky man opened up a portal, as he had listened in on the conversation.

"No, and now I have an even better reason to move forward with the invasion without his idiotic desires to play the hero. It's a chance to kill three or even four birds with a single stone!" Tomura laughed as he slowly marched on into the portal.

"I'd be insane to pass that up!"

Kurogiri looked at the tall thin man as his eyes narrowed slightly; before following closely behind. He had known Tomura and all his other siblings since they were children. He knew that face all too well, Tomura had made up his mind.

The bets had been made, pieces were in place, and the die had been cast.

The first move in a long game for who would rule the Underworld was about to be made.

As the new week started in UA, things settled into a state of what would be considered general normalcy.

Class 1-A had just finished up; a joint day session with the business course. The battle trials for Class 1-A and 1-B had just been shown to the school. The whole thing had been edited into a summer B-movie action drama by business course students. Much to the amusement of almost everyone. For those in the Hero Course. It was a chance to see their performance from an outside perspective –with the more popular ones actually being treated like real Pros.

For the business course, it was their chance to show off their own skills to these future pro-heroes, be it for public relations work, marketing, and even catering! Many of the Business Course Students hoped to latch to some of these potential future pros in the making. The class 1-B Business Course Liaison, Kiyoko Mikami even mentioned the possibility of doing full interviews with everyone in the Hero Course.

"Oh, man!" Denki exclaimed, holding onto his sides, barely able to control his laughter as he returned with a few others from the screening and performance reviews. "Hey, Kirishima, it isn't unmanly hitting below the belt!"

"Shut up, Kaminari!" Eijirou called back with a fresh wave of embarrassment and shame etched on his face.

"You're one to talk ~Wheyman~" Kyouka shot back in Eijirou's defense while laughing.

"I can't even believe you actually shouted, 'PIKACHU!' When you shocked Tentacole!" She added, wiping a tear of laughter from her eyes, "Holy crap, that killed me!"

"Man, everyone lost their shit at that part!" Hanta followed up as he also wiped a tear from his eye.

"Guys! Not in front of Eri!" Mina chastised the group as she quickly covered the little girl's ears, her golden eyes boring down at them. Eri was sitting on Mina's lap. The latter had finally gotten permission from the former to hold her. While Ochako and Izuku were both still out of the classroom for their own performance reviews.

Thankfully, Eri was busy with Katsuki's cellphone, watching an older episode of Animals Buddies with Anima and Comicman. Add in the noise-canceling headphones she was wearing courtesy of Momo, and she couldn't hear anything. Katsuki, however, simply growled at the group. After all, if he couldn't swear in front of Eri, no one else would be allowed to do so either, especially with his mood being so foul at the moment.

He should have been over the moon right now, having taken the top spot with his performance in the battle trial.

He had not only had he managed to become MVP but made it had made him one of the most popular potential heroes with all the votes he received from the general studies students. However, the looming threat of his probationary status threatened to ruin all of that if revealed. It did not help that Midnight had to remind him that had the trial had been a real thing.

His actions would have directly led to Izuku's death since it had been his plan to make Izuku carry the bomb out of the city.

"Sorry about that, Ashido," Eijirou quickly answered with a pleading look in his eyes. While everyone else made their own apologies, having forgotten about their tiny young guest.

"What did you guys do now?" Fumikage asked with a gentle voice, trying his best to sound less intimidating while Eri was still present with them.

"I'm guessing that they swore in front of Eri again. Ribbit, you know Uraraka or Midoriya would kill you guys if you did that, right?" Tsuyu guessed correctly, walking right past Fumikage as she made her way to Eri with some apple sauce she had managed to snag from the business course food cart.

"Only if I don't kill them first," Katsuki interjected, still glaring at the group.

"Besides, I would do them in cleaner; Uraraka and Izuku would make them suffer." He added to the laughter of everyone else.

"I said I was sorry!" Eijirou pleaded, remembering the gen-ed student who had sworn during their first joint class with them. Needless to say, no one wanted to feel the wrath he had been dealt with by the two.

"I am still surprised that Ms. Kayama allowed for that small amount of carnage to occur without raising so much as a protest," Fumikage stated flatly with a smirk. All while he read the expressions of his frightened classmates.

"Because she's a total softy for the Eri, but then again, who isn't?" Rikidou added as he entered the room with a slight look of disappointment on his face. With middling votes and lukewarm performance review the big-lipped student received, he couldn't help but feel a tiny bit disheartened.

"I'm back, Eri!" They all heard Ochako's voice call out, making Denki, Kyouka, Eijirou, and Hanta all go pale. The four looked at everyone else, silently begging them all not to rat them out to a potentially wrathful Ochako Uraraka, who had proven was not someone you wanted to trifle with lest you end up in Recovery Girl's office.

As Ochako appeared, Mina paused the video Eri was watching and spoke with a teasing whisper.

"Your mama's here, Eri."

In an instant, the white-haired child looked up to Ochako and hopped off of Mina's lap to make her way to her chocolate-haired surrogate mother.

"Here's your phone back, Bakugou," said Mina handing the phone back to its owner.

"Thanks," said Katsuki with another growl; before looking around Ochako and not seeing Izuku with her. "Oi! Uraraka, where is Izuku at?"

"Her husband's at a meeting with Yaoyorozu," Ryu answered for her as he appeared right behind her. Making his way past them both with Minoru in tow. He looked bored and tired while sporting a new black emergency bag strapped to the small of his back.

"Hey!" Ochako huffed at the dark-haired boy with a cherry-red face; before managing to calm down enough to pick up Eri.

"I wasn't talking to you, As-" Katsuki was about roar out before cutting himself off before he could finish his insult. Seeing the silent warning, Katsuki was getting from the lass, that even made him wary.

"Oh good, you do have a weakness," Ryu said with a mocking laugh, taking full advantage of Katsuki being tongue-tied, before sitting down with the remainder of his friends.

"Don't push it either, Kasei," Ochako instantly followed with the same stare. She did not want Eri to pick up habits from all the infighting the two constantly had with each other.

"Whoa there! I'll back off! No need for a threat!" The boy immediately said defensively, raising his arms in surrender to make his point clear as he took his seat. With time, the room slowly began to fill up with the remainder of their classmates, save their class president and vice-president.

"I hope you guys had fun with the business course students," Midnight said as she walked inside the classroom. "Midoriya and Yaoyorozu should be back just before lunch as they're having their first council meeting with the representatives from class 1-B. I do hope you learned a lot from this."

"It was indeed informative, Miss Kayama," said Tenya with a big smile on his face. He was pleased that he had his performance had rated well with the student body, earning him high marks.

"Excellent! Now for the remainder of the period, I just wanted to highlight a few extra things that I noticed that could work well for the class as a whole, you see when an Operation starts..."

Izuku and Momo both made their way to the student council room; it was a short brisk walk.

The meeting was more or less a general introduction to their Class 1-B counterparts. It would also list their general shared duties with their respective classes. The most important part of this meeting however was learning to coordinate with their counterparts for future joint-training exercises.

"Are you nervous, Midoriya?" Momo questioned as she walked along aside her class president, noticing his pale face.

"A little bit, if I'm being honest." Izuku managed to breathe out. His life had taken a rather interesting turn in the past year. He just never imagined anything like this would have happened, given how rough the last six years had been.

"I just can't believe I'm the class president that…sI just don't feel like I'm the right person for the job," Izuku answered sheepishly.

"After seeing you in action during the battle trial. I have to respectfully disagree with you, Midoriya," Momo retorted, unable to understand where Izuku's lack of self-confidence was coming from. Still, it made her feel just a bit better to know that she wasn't the only one with self-doubts in their heart.

"It was Kacchan who got us through in the end. I made too many mistakes during my time as Operator."

"Midoriya, we were all caught off guard by the trial," Momo stated, looking a little depressed. "If anything, it was my own blunders that almost led us to our near downfall. Almost everyone who had been killed was under my watch."

Izuku could see just how bleak the conversation was getting, seeing that it wasn't the best start as they prepared to take on their duties as the leaders in their class.

'What would All Might or my dad do in this situation?' He wondered before trying something that came to mind.

"Then let's get better," Izuku simply said, trying to piece it together on the fly.

"What?"

"I mean, even if we didn't get the best results, everyone still seemed to trust us enough to elect us as class representatives, right?" Izuku explained honestly.

Momo nodded slowly but still didn't completely understand where Izuku was going with this.

"Then we simply owe it to all of them to try harder, right?" Izuku continued as he held up a victorious fist. . "You said so yourself. I don't think anyone could have won that trial flawlessly, and, even with all of our mistakes, we still pulled a win."

"So the next time we have a trial like that, we'll be more ready for it." He finished with his best smile.

Momo couldn't help but laugh as she saw his smile.

"I think I now know why Bakugou was so adamant in having you serve as Operator in the first place."

Maybe with the two of them working together: they could form the leadership Class 1-A needed. So, with the mood improved, the two arrived at the Council Room. It was a simple spartan room, with Eraserhead standing by with a bored look on his face. He wasn't alone as standing next to him were two others that they could only vaguely remember from the first day of school.

"About time you two got here; let's make this quick," Eraserhead stated flatly as he pulled out a few different items from his pockets.

"These manuals list all of your general responsibilities, plus a few general items," He began while laying some small pocket guides and items such as a whistle and sheet with the names of other key personnel for UA. He finished up by placing down four small lapel pins. Two gold and two silver mini versions of the UA's Hero course emblem, with a small centered 'Hero Class Year One' etched underneath it. "Finally these are your class rep pins; wearing them is optional, but encouraged."

As the four newly minted class representatives gathered their respective gear, Eraserhead spoke up to make one last announcement.

"Now that we got that settled," The baggy-eyed man continued with a drawl.

"Tomorrow, Class 1-A and 1-B will be doing their first joint-training together. Rescue training at a special facility off the main campus," the man then held up a hand. "Keep this to yourselves for now, and try to coordinate on how you would want to divide up the work. Take into account the strengths and weaknesses of your classmates."

"I got a map of the site and locations you'll be expecting to train in throughout the day on the table," Aizawa added, pointing at the paper in the center of the table. "You'll be will me, your homeroom teachers, and All Might. Plus, a special lecturer along with the Big Five to assist and help divide up the work so everyone would get a chance to try out every location. I expect this will take up most of the day tomorrow, so be prepared."

The four students all nodded as they began to study the material and information given.

"That's it for now, talk a bit among yourselves to get to know each other," The teacher move to leave, only for him to say.

"Oh, before I forget. Midoriya, follow me for a moment." Shouta finished up while motioning Izuku to join him.

"Yes, sir," Izuku quickly answered, leaving Momo with the orange-haired girl and the boy with blue hair from Class B.

The two stepped out of the door, and Shouta started without pause.

"Given all the progress that Eri has made the last few days, I have decided to sign off on the second phase of her evaluation. The third and final phase of her evaluation is simple enough; it can be tested during the trip to USJ tomorrow. If anyone gets injured during training," the man then looked out the window overlooking the entrance to UA. "If everything goes right, I'll sign her off tomorrow, and she'll be good to go."

"Oh! That's great!" Izuku exclaimed with relief. It had been a few nerve-racking days given all the testing Eri had to do for the last few days, add in the weekend of no answers, and Izuku couldn't help but wonder if she had failed.

"Calm down, Midoriya," the man held up a cautioning hand.

"Even if I do sign off on the final phase, there are still her psyche reports to consider," Shouta added quietly."I would still recommend that she gets a prescription for medication like the EQ pens Kasei recently got permitted to carry with him."

"I guess that could come in handy," Izuku said to himself, slowly starting to mutter to himself about the annoyance of the department head.

"Midoriya," Shouta snapped out, quickly getting Izuku back into the present. "Best not to overthink this. It's just a precaution to consider."

"R-right! I'll let my mom know about it then!" Izuku managed to squeak out.

Shouta simply hummed in response before remembering that he had yet to inform the Big Five about their involvement.

"Finish up inside with the other reps and then head back to class."

"Yes, sir," Izuku responded before bowing to his teacher and returning back to the council room.

"Ah, there you are," Momo said, welcoming Izuku back inside. "I managed to get a head start on the plans; is that okay with you?"

"It's fine, sorry about the delay," Izuku answered back with a nervous laugh while scratching the back of his head before he looked to his Class 1-B counterparts to introduce himself properly.

"I'm Izuku Midoriya, Class 1-A's president," Izuku said with a bow to the two, prompting both of the Class B reps to stand up and return the gesture before introducing themselves.

"Itsuka Kendou, Class 1-B's president; nice to meet you, Midoriya." The orange-haired girl with bright teal eyes said warmly, she was around his height, she was beautiful with a simple albeit long ponytail.

"Shino...Shino Mizuoji, Vice-President of Class 1-B." The blue-haired boy with golden eyes answered in a slightly more professional tone. The type of guy some would call a "pretty boy" given his rather handsome, sharp features. He had short, well-groomed blue hair and was possibly wearing some kind of fragrance that made Izuku's nose wrinkle a bit in protest due to how strong it was.

'Geez, I'm pretty sure this guy could be on a poster or something.' Izuku thought after looking at him.

"Well, it's nice to meet you both, Kendou and Mizuoji," Izuku said, trying to put on an air of confidence. "I look forward to working with you,"

"Same here," Itsuka answered before sitting back down and motioning to the plans on the table, "Now, how should we plan for dividing up the classes for the USJ?"

Alex was in a rather foul mood as he sat with his tray in front of him, mixing his food while his friends nearby looked on with concerned looks on their faces. They could tell Alex was hungry, yet had no appetite to fill the void that plagued him. To say that it had been a rough week for Alex was putting it mildly. It had gotten to the point that others in the Hero Course that were not part of the Big Five had started muttering behind his back. Like sharks that smelled blood in the water, many saw his new setback as a way to knock him off his current rank.

Hoping for a chance to usurp the fifth seat for themselves.

"Cheer up, Alex! I'm sure it will all work out," Mirio spoke up, trying to reach out to his friend. "Heck, your Japanese is really good! You barely have an accent anymore!"

"It's easy for you to say," Alex mumbled back before he sighed and rested his chin on his left hand. "You didn't get your provisional license suspended just for being a foreigner."

A law that had passed the last week had finally gone into full effect.

The law forced all foreign Pro-heroes and Pro-Hero Students with licenses to take a new language proficiency exam. And until the exam was complete with a passing grade, they were all placed on suspension with no recourse to contest this new requirement. Even those who had received Japanese Citizenship weren't exempted from taking the exam. It didn't help that since Alex wasn't a native Japanese citizen and was still a high school student, it put his immediate future in a very precarious position.

Having a license was a requirement to graduate from the Hero Course.

"The backlog is prioritizing all the active Pro-heroes first; I might not be able to take the exam for months! That's going to cost me a lot in work studies time!"

"Your frustration is understandable given this is our last year in UA," said Mezou, as he made two of his arm pods form mouths, one to talk and the other to eat. "At least you'll still be eligible for new internships after the Sports Festival."

"Yeah, but I wanted to continue working under Comicman! The dude really helped me out by setting me up with contacts! Especially after being on his TV show." Alex exclaimed proudly. The show had not only helped his general popularity. But it even got featured back in the United States with an English dub, making him a bit of a celebrity back home.

"It's a kid's show, Springfield," Tamaki interjected, not being the biggest fan of being in the limelight.

"Shaddup mister, I choked on a mushroom and got caught Amajiki," Alex jabbed, making everyone at the table laugh.

"I almost forgot about that!" Nejire giggled.

"Class B really pulled a fast one on us with some of those quirks," the bluenette then tapped her lips thoughtfully before asking. "But Springfield, didn't you fall for that girl with the illusions?"

Alex looked hurt from that comeback.

"What was I supposed to do?! I closed my eyes because I thought she was taking her top off! Do you know much willpower that took?" He answered with a splash of red on his face as he couldn't help but think. 'Cause damn, homegirl was rocking in all the right places...'

"You feeling better at least?" Mirio asked, trying to dodge a particular sore spot for Alex.

"I'm... fine..." The American made a pained groan. "I'm getting my costume modded because I didn't learn my lesson the first time," Alex deadpanned, staring right at him with a slightly irked expression.

"That was…unfortunate," Mezou commented with a slight tone of amusement. "Getting hit in the same spot by two people with hardening quirks."

"Oh har de har har, keep kicking a guy while down, why don't you?" Alex groaned before managing to let out a light chuckle. Having been made a laughing stock due to the last two battle trials having repeated that accident which resulted in his defeat both times. At least he was feeling somewhat better after being able to laugh at himself.

Mirio was right; he'll get through this and come out for it better. Taking a bite out of his food, Alex managed a small smile.

"Thanks, guys."

"That's the spirit," Mirio proclaimed, while everyone nodded along in solidarity.

"Yep... it can't get any worse than this..." Alex said, only to immediately eat his words as he spotted Eraserhead making his way to their table.

'Oh fuck me, what now?' Alex thought, seeing their Department Head standing before them, dreading what he had to say.

"Tōgata, I'm going to need you and your team suited up tomorrow," Shouta stated, much to everyone's surprise.

"A mission?" Mirio questioned, out of concern that they had been called upon an assignment.

"No, you'll be helping me; and a few other teachers do a joint training lecture at the USJ. Yes, Springfield, you'll be able to join us as well," Shouta answered flatly before looking at the paling boy.

"Ummm...Mr. Aizawa, sir...who are we helping train?" Alex asked, praying it wasn't the first-year classes.

"Class 1-A and 1-B."

"Oh...umm..." Alex stammered, his fears beginning to hound him as the jewel-crushing pain from his last two encounters with those students came flashing back to him twofold.

"You know what, sir..." Alex attempted a fake cough and a forced sneeze.

"I think I'm coming down with something, yeah..." Alex hoarsely said to sell the act. He even considered trying to crash through one of the windows with his quirk to try and make his escape as his nerves started to get the better of him.

"You're going Springfield," Aizawa flatly stated. "You can't afford to miss training, especially since I managed to secure you a place to take the language exam for your license next month."

Instantly, Alex shot up at the news; his face went from nervous to beaming with excitement.

"How?!"

"I was owed a few favors and made a few calls. Don't make me regret it now, Springfield." Shouta answered by walking away; he would never admit it. But Shouta Aizawa had always had a soft spot for students who had always worked extra hard. Mirio and Alex were among them. He would do whatever he could to stop moronic politicians from interfering with their careers so flippantly.

Alex couldn't help but smile, as he was in a much better mood.

He stopped thinking about making a crashing escape through the window and saw his luck already turning around. He felt like he could tackle everything that came his way, and now that he was riding this sudden high. Alex decided to do something daring, sitting back down, the American looked right at Nejire, who was in the middle of eating without care.

"Hey, Hadou?" Alex called out to her getting her attention.

"Yes?" She answered after taking a quick drink. Looking up and tilted her head ever so slightly to the right.

"Would you please go out with me?" Alex asked with a straight face but was internally shitting himself. 'Oh, what the fuck did I just do?'

"Nope," Nejire promptly answered without batting an eye, making the whole group burst into laughter. Yet Alex still couldn't help but feel the sting of the rejection. But at the same time, it was kind of liberating just getting it out there. "Sorry, Springfield, I don't feel that way about you."

"Fair enough," Alex laughed as he started to take bites of his meal. "Knew it was a long shot! But I hey, I tried!"

'It was worth a shot at least.'

Still, rejection aside, the foreign boy had a renewed sense of hope that tomorrow and beyond would lead him to better days.

The next day came in a blink of an eye as everyone was suiting up for their first joint training with Class 1-B.

"Alright, everyone, divide yourselves up by teams and form an orderly line to the bus, please!" Tenya called out to the boy's locker room while rapidly chopping at the air with his arms.

"Hey, Iida, last I checked, Midoriya was Class Rep," Ryu called out as he finished adjusting his emergency pack over his costume.

"Actually, Midoriya has asked me to assist him on the boy's side. Given that he is prioritizing Eri's comfort for the trip," Tenya promptly answered before blowing a whistle to have the remaining boys in the locker room speed it up.

"Ah, never mind me then," Ryu responded before walking out of the locker room with his friends.

It was still early in the day, but almost everyone had been very excited to go over rescue training. Some students like Tsuyu had explicitly set out to become Rescue Pro-Heroes, over general combat Pros. As everyone lined up outside with the teachers. The Big Five made their appearance in their full costumes; some even sported additional support gear that they didn't carry during the battle trial.

"Morning, everyone!" Mirio cheerfully exclaimed in a loud voice that was full of energy.

"GOOD MORNING, SIR!" Inasa boomed out in response, much to the annoyance of everyone else. Others simply gave lighter greetings, with some not being fully awake yet. A couple of students, namely Eijirou and Tetsutetsu, avoided looking at Alex. Given their shared guilt at striking their upperclassman below the belt.

Meanwhile, Alex made sure to keep his distance from the two. Now he may have gotten new padding to protect himself. But he would still like to avoid additional trauma to the family jewels.

"Okay, is everyone all set to leave? Or are we missing anyone?" Shouta asked out before someone from Class 1-B raised their hands.

"Kodai?" Shouta picked out a young dark-haired girl in a bob-cut, wearing a red bodysuit with a matching hat that had what appeared to be a white fin protruding from the top of the hat.

"Umm...why is that child with Class 1-A? Will she be joining us?" The commonly reserved Yui asked out of concern upon seeing Eri in Izuku's arms without anyone else questioning it.

Eri, seeing that the attention was now focused squarely on her. Quickly became uncomfortable from the many stares of Class 1-B and the Big Five now staring at her and buried her face into Izuku's chest. Class 1-A; quickly moved around to block Eri from view to try to mitigate the stares she was now getting.

"I see. I'll make this quick. Yes, Kodai. The child will be joining us as part of her own quirk evaluation," Shouta answered her for the other class.

"Her name is Eri, and she is currently under Midoriya's guardianship while she's here," the department head turned to the other students.

"So if you have any further questions or concerns regarding her, you may ask him. If he is available and willing. However, if everything goes well, today will be her last day here at UA." As he finished, Izuku waved with his free hand when mentioned as Eri's guardian.

Several 1-A students couldn't help but groan at that news as many of them had grown fond of the Unicorn.

"Now, does anyone else have any more questions?" Shouta asked one last time; when no further questions were raised, everyone began to board the buses to make their way to the site.

Midnight grew excited to have her own part in the rescue training with her homeroom class. After being relegated to teaching about art so far, she reveled at the chance to be with her homeroom today. As everyone began to chat up amongst themselves on the bus. Eri took a chance to look around and got to see just how nice everyone looked in their colorful or unique costumes, just like the heroes she saw on TV. It wasn't long until Eri actually grew a bit excited when she saw someone else that was familiar.

"Blinky?" Eri questioned, looking at Alex, who seemed to be napping in his seat.

"What was that, Eri?" Izuku asked as his and Ochako's attention was now focused on her. Eri rarely ever called out to someone or something unless she was already familiar with it.

"I... think that's Blinky from the show; the one with Anima and Comicman." Eri managed to breathe out, either out of nerves or possibly excitement.

"Umm," Ochako turned to her still napping senior and called. "Hey, Springfield?"

The American promptly woke up with a sleepy snort as Mirio shook him lightly before pointing him to the three juniors. He simply looked at them with a confused face.

"Just Alex is-" he let out a hand-covered yawn.

"Fine." He sleepily responded with smacking lips. He could never get used to being addressed by his last name ever since coming to the country. "What's up?"

"Do you know about the TV show Animal Buddies with Anima and Comicman?" Ochako asked, making the two upperclassmen laugh.

"He was actually a guest star more than a couple of times when he interned with Comicman," Mirio answered, flashing a smile to Eri. "Looks like you got yourself a fan, Blink."

Alex couldn't help but grin; he had to admit, it felt nice to be recognized for something outside of getting punched in the nuts twice at school.

"As Lemillion said, I've been on the show a few times. I was mostly in the segments that featured foreign guests as a way for kids to learn about foreigners and some of the differences between our cultures," he chuckled contently. "It was a great time."

"That's so cool!" Izuku exclaimed excitedly, having only recently started watching the show with Eri to gauge the range of her interests. "Are you still interning with Comicman, Springfield?"

"Alex is fine, Midoriya," Alex managed to sigh out. "Springfield is a mouthful, and so is Alexander. Hell, just call me Blink if that makes it easier for you guys."

"So-sorry, Blink," Izuku said sheepishly.

"Ah, it's cool, just busting your chops," Alex laughed, knowing the boy was just trying to be polite.

"Anyways, I hope to continue interning with him, I just..." a grimace briefly came upon his face. "Well, I gotta weigh my options after the next sports festival, ya know?"

Then without warning, he snapped his fingers with a grin growing on his face. "Tell you what, since you got me in a good mood...I can maybe see about getting you guys a discount on some tickets for one of the live shows."

Eri actually gave Alex her full attention; having seen the commercials for the live show, they always looked like a lot of fun.

"Would you like to go to a showing someday, Eri?" Izuku asked when he saw Eri's wonder-filled eyes. He also saw an opportunity for Eri to have fun and maybe even smile for once. It was still one of his top priorities to see the young girl happy, to be free to experience joy.

Maybe this show could be the chance.

Eri looked at him with a slightly hopeful expression, "Could we?"

Izuku smiled, "I'm pretty sure we can find some time if you really want to go to a show."

"I guess we'll take you up on the offer to you Spring- I mean Blink... if it's not too much trouble." Ochako chirped.

"Nah, it's nothing," Alex waved off her concern. "If anything, Comicman actually pushes all his sidekicks and interns to offer discounts on tickets. Believe it or not, the guy just loves to entertain kids. He normally just eats the cost with his actual hero work money, alongside Anima. Well, that and the moola the TV show rakes in," Alex laughed. "Just let me know when you got time after the training day, and I'll set you guys up."

"Look alive, everyone! We're here!" Midnight proclaimed as the bus began to slow down.

They finally arrived at the site.

When the students were gathered and entered the facility, they were amazed by the sight of the USJ. Even the class officers who had seen maps of the area beforehand were still left stunned. As the map they have been provided didn't do the sights justice. The scale of the central plaza was the size of a large public park, and surrounding it was several specially made training zones.

Each themed to a different type of crisis they might have to respond to in the future.

"I didn't think it could be this large," Momo commented as she marveled at the sheer scale of the location.

"Well, it's about the size of Universal Studios Japan," Itsuka mused with a smile. "So the USJ name seems quite apropos in hindsight."

"A Hero's theme park," Shino remarked, adding to his president's commentary. "I am personally looking forward to that water area."

"This is so cool!" That was all Izuku was able to say, happy to just be here. Let alone participate in the same type of training that All Might and his father had once done.

"Hello everyone! It is very nice to meet all of you." A voice called out to them, a voice that almost made Ochako gasp like the fangirl she was. The Astronaut Space Hero Thirteen had been waiting for them, alone, much to the confusion of everyone else.

'Wasn't All Might supposed to join us today?' Izuku wondered when he saw Eraserhead walk up to Thirteen and while he couldn't hear what they were saying between them. But he saw Thirteen raise up to three fingers, allowing Izuku to guess what might have happened.

'Did he reach his limit today already? I know he was helping with some incidents earlier, but...'

When Eraserhead turned back to face his students, there was a slight agitation on his face. It spread among some of the students.

The baggy-eyed man was about to speak when suddenly, the lights in the area began to flicker on and off as their fuses made high whines before finally dying out with a pop. Then the fountain began to warp and distort, with a massive purple-black mist overtaking it. Within the thick, dark mass, a portal slowly opened up. Allowing several people to enter the facility. The interlopers looked nasty; some even started to laugh like hyenas as they bared all sorts of Quirks and weapons toward the students.

Among them was a tall man with periwinkle hair whose body was covered with hands. Next to him was a large violet creature with an exposed brain acting as his shadow and a short brown-haired man with hawkish golden eyes who wore a beak-like mask.

"What's going on?"

"I thought we were going to do rescue training?"

Eri looked around nervously as she tightened her grip on Izuku.

"It's going to be okay, Eri," Izuku whispered to reassure her as he tried to convince both her and himself with, "This is probably just-"

However, the teachers and the Big Five knew better.

"Stay back! We're being invaded," Eraserhead ordered the first years as his scarf rose from his shoulders, and his red gained a red glow.

"Those are real villains! Thirteen, Midnight, protect the students! Vlad, you're with me! Lemillion! Get your team and evacuate your juniors right now!"

"RIGHT!" The Big Five answered in unison as they instantly formed around the two first-year classes. All while Eraserhead and Vlad King charged forward to begin their assault. The various villains were not ready for the onslaught the two pros sent their way.

"You are sure she's here, Shigaraki?" Overhaul flatly asked as he watched the two pro-heroes begin to decimate Tomura's numerous underlings.

"Oh, I am. The girl should be with one of the students up there," Tomura answered nonchalantly.

"No worries though, Kurogiri will make sure to split everyone up, and once he does, we can pick everyone off one by one and claim our respective prizes." The young man made a wide grin visible beneath the severed hand covering his face. "Now it's time for us to have some fun."

When the first years began to attempt to evacuate the facility, they were confronted by the black mist villain blocking their way.

"I'm afraid I cannot permit anyone to leave," Kurogiri stated in a cold calm voice, his eyes spying a familiar face among them all. He was unsurprised to see him with a look of cold fury etched clearly on his face. He had just been backstabbed by Tomura after all. However, a small number of students from both classes A and B tried to attack Kurogiri. All their attacks did was stop Midnight and Thirteen from using their quirks for fear of accidentally harming their students.

"BEGONE!" Kurogiri roared as he raised his hands. Unleashing more dark mist, engulfing several students with a massive force and repelling the students that were farther back as their classmates began to disappear.

"ERI!" Izuku yelled as he felt Eri getting pulled out from his grasp. Her fearful cries pierced the air before suddenly silencing as dark clouds overtook his vision.

Leaving him in a world of darkness.

Author's Commentary.

Phew! Hope you like the twist I added to the USJ arc.

I am combining elements of the USJ Arc with the Overhaul Arc. Expect other significant shake-ups to occur as the story continues.

ZX