Midnight, out in the dark, to a strange place, with a villain on the loose… easy! The sound of gravel under his feet and crickets chirping somewhere in the bushes made it easier. What made it easiest of all was having someone by his side.

Since the start of school two years ago, Ochako Uraraka fell twenty-seven places in Izuku's official ranking of people he was afraid of. From 5 down to 32.

"So," she said, "did Katsuki talk to you yet?"

31.

"Uh… a-about what?"

"You know… being a jerk. Did he apologize?"

"Kinda… yeah, I guess, when he suggested we find out what was happening here."

"He suggested it to you?" Ochako looked around for nothing in particular.

Finally reaching the garage, Izuku pulled on the knob without a thought. Not expecting it to be unlocked, he fell forward quickly, losing some balance.

"Whoa," he stumbled into the darkness.

Suddenly a light came on. Izuku looked up to find Ochako's hand resting against the wall. The place reeked of oil but it was oddly a smell that Izuku enjoyed. After spending so much time in Mei's workshop it became a little addicting. When it was gone, everything else just smelled like a stranger's home.

Ochako scanned the room, but could barely see anything over the top of the broken truck in the center. On each side of it were metal desks full of tools.

"Just find some rope," she said, "and get back to the house as quickly as possible."

Izuku nodded and stumbled further into the garage. He felt he could just step forward right into bed.

My head would probably feel a lot better laying on something soft… then I can just close my eyes.

And he did close his eyes, but quickly opened them again when he found his head still in the air and his feet still on the ground. Ochako probably noticed…

"Hey, if you need to sleep you probably should. Just… a few more minutes, okay?"

How is she still not tired?

"Okay," Izuku said, "I think I found some…"

The word he was looking for was "rope" but he could barely flip the pages of his mental dictionary at the moment. His fingers were getting sore.

But sure as the sun coming up, there was rope at the far end of the garage, held up on some kind of furniture that Izuku didn't know the name of. He quickly grabbed it and hobbled along back to the door.

"Got… it…"

"Oh, cool," Ochako said, following him out.

Noticing how slow he was going—how tired he'd actually been—Ochako felt bad about making him rush. She looked around wearily. The sound of the crickets made her feel like she was in an old cartoon, their chirps underscoring an awkward silence that she felt obliged to break.

"So… he didn't apologize, right?"

"It doesn't really matter, we got this far," Izuku said, "besides, I'm feeling a lot better now thanks to—"

Izuku only stopped for a split-second. His eyes took a trip around space and went straight back to the front door of the mansion along with his steady steps. It all happened before Ochako could stop to imagine what frightful thing he spotted. She turned around and found they were still alone. It was something Izuku was about to say.

"Thanks to…?" Ochako asked.

"Uh…"

30.

Ochako gave him two hours' worth of interrogation with a single smirk. Sure enough, Izuku was blushing.

"Thanks to Tsu?" Ochako guessed, "Yeah, I kinda heard what happened."

Izuku sighed with relief, She didn't ask if I like her.

"Do you like her?"

29.

"UH NO UH I MEAN N-NOT LIKE THAT SHE'S COOL YOU KNOW BUT YEAH! YOU KNOW THAT, YEAH? YEAH!"

Izuku tussled wildly with the mess of ropes in his arms. The sudden burst of energy he'd gotten propelled him ever forward to the front door.

"Hey!" Ochako called after him, "It's okay, Izuku, just chill out."

Izuku—just like the rest of us—deserved happiness. He didn't need to feel stressed out about 'liking' someone like he'd get in trouble for it. His childish approach to everything like that, everything outside of focusing on schoolwork and becoming a Pro, was always one of the most endearing things about him. He was still just this innocent little boy. Granted, it got grating after about five seconds but it was part of what made Ochako 'like' him in the first place. But that was in the past and now she couldn't see him as anything more than just the brother she never had. And she was glad that's all he'd even been. If they'd been a thing in the past, this would be so much rougher. At least she imagined it would be.

Even before she decided that her and Izuku would be better off as just friends, she had a feeling there was… something between him and Tsu, specifically after the theme park incident.

Of course, being around them the most, she could 'notice' the most about them. In private talks with Mina, Kyoka, Momo, and Toru, the topic dared to rear its head once in a while. Ochako made sure it never did when Tsu was part of the discussion, not wanting to embarrass her.

When Ochako first brought it up as a "real possibility," the others just guffawed. They always imagined it would be Ochako and Izuku. But every time it came up again, the others found themselves more and more warmed up to that "real possibility." Of course, the others couldn't just leave it at that. There were of course suggestions of actually getting them together or trying to figure out if Ochako had feelings for anyone, and who.

Those usually ended with Mina spending the rest of the night on the ceiling.

Ochako never talked about it with Tsu, she didn't want to. What if there was nothing there to begin with? And if there truly was, wouldn't it just ruin their dynamic? She'd just be a third wheel.

Ochako felt the air change around her. She looked up to realize she had followed Izuku into the mansion while deep in thought.

Neito was taking a nap on the stairs, leaning against the railing. Itsuka was sitting in the chair. She looked up when she saw the two come in the door.

"Oh," she said groggily, "rope… okay."

Izuku went straight for the study door while Ochako lingered in the open for a while, unsure of what was next. Her eyes floated to the book Yui had earlier, then to a painting of some kind of battle, then to the door of the study.

"When the others are back," she said, "what's the plan?"

Itsuka barely looked up, her face weighed down by weariness and fatigue.

"I'm really tired, Ochako… I don't know how much longer I can stay awake."

Ochako was tired too, but she was even more tired of hearing everyone say how tired they were. And now that they had something to tie up the doctor, she felt there was nothing else left she could do. She wanted to just call the police and sleep in the van. Was there a phone around?

"Yeah," she said, "I'm sorry…"

"Sorry for what?" Itsuka suddenly grasped some energy.

"For dragging you into this," Ochako said the words but she spoke like there was nothing behind them.

"Tch, you didn't, don't go and blame yourself for nothing, okay?" Itsuka smiled.

How had she changed her tone so quickly? It seemed to be enough to wake Neito up. He smiled, warmly, like he meant it.

"You really make up for a lot of Class A," he said, then his smile dropped, "I love Class A, you know? It's not like I hate you, it's just that we're all jealous of you being so damn famous all the time."

"Get some sleep, Neito," Itsuka said, "you're right but that's not like you."

"Oh, jeez, thanks," Neito grinned this time, almost laughing, "I'll stay up all night if I have to. I don't care if I have to borrow Bakugou's Quirk in order to bring that thing down."

"That's… better?"

"Thanks, guys," Ochako said, "as weird as it is to say, sorry, but… you make Class B tolerable."

Itsuka looked ready to jump ship, her eyes somehow wider than Tsu's.

"I wouldn't go that far!" she shouted.

Izuku never really understood the mechanics of tying rope. Sure, he got through the courses, but he didn't exactly excel. He settled on a series of simple loop knots to tie the old man together. Hopefully it would stay. But yet again, Tsu had to step in.

Izuku now found himself on his knees, in the middle of the dark study, tired and sweating. It was after midnight… what was next?

"Are you okay, Izuku?" Tsu asked.

"Tired…"

Tsu got up and looked around. Maybe there was something in here that could point to a means to beating the doctor's accomplice. Then again, it wouldn't hurt to ask the doctor…

"Dr. Ujiko," she started, "do you care to explain everything now?"

The old doctor shrugged underneath the mess of ropes and shook his head.

"If you don't find Kurogiri," he said, "you could leave him to his own devices… or he will come find you first."

Kurogiri? Is that what he called that thing? Or person?

"Then that's what we'll have to do," Izuku said, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Do what?" Tsu asked.

"Oh, uh, I mean we'll have to wait for him to find us, that."

He looked back at Dr. Ujiko. He examined his head, his eyes, his mustache, his shoulders. He was physically defeated but… it was after midnight, Kurogiri was still at large. The safest way out of this was to call the police—

"Hey," Ochako said from the doorway, "is there a phone somewhere?"

"Huh? Kacchan's cellphone," Izuku said, "but I don't know if he has it."

"Ochako," Tsu said, sounding disappointed, "there's a phone right here."

She walked over to the smaller desk in the corner of the room. Sitting on it was an old rotary phone. It wasn't dusty so it must've seen some use. Then again, Dr. Ujiko and Kenji Hikiishi seemed to do a good job of keeping the whole place spotless. Tsu picked up the phone and listened for any tone. None.

"Oh," she said, "it's broken."

"Dang it," Ochako said, "he must've cut the lines or something."

"No, actually," Dr. Ujiko said, "that phone hasn't worked for years."

"Maybe one of the others has a phone," Izuku suggested.

Ochako took a step back into the foyer.

"Hey," she called out, "do either of you have a cellphone?"

They both nodded and Neito stood up, pulling something out of his pocket.

"I didn't think of calling anyone," he said, "this was supposed to be an isolated incident."

"We can't keep it up forever," Ochako said, "eventually the police will have to know. I'm sorry if this gets in the way of everyone's vacation."

Izuku looked down. A deep frown painted itself across his face.

This is all my fault. I shouldn't have said anything in the first place. I'm just ruining everyone's summer. What might be our last free summer… but there might be no other way out of this.

Neito sighed heavily.

"If you want to call the police," he said, "go ahead."

He held out his hand, offering the cellphone to Ochako.

CREEEAK… a muffled echo. Twisting metal. Even as faint as it was, Ochako couldn't help but to cringe.

"What was that?"

The area beneath the stairs was mostly structured around support for the upper floor, but weaving through it was a maze of odd hallways and seemingly meaningless corridors.

Yui ran her finger along a light gray surface along the wall. Where her finger once was, the surface had turned a dark reddish brown.

"Yeah," Kenji Hikiishi said apologetically, "we never cleaned this part of the house cause, well, no one really goes here."

A thick mass of dust, like loose cloth, wrapped around Yui's finger. She wiped it away but it left a rough texture on the skin. She kept walking in the dark, the flashlight bouncing around the dusty hallway.

"Just up ahead," Hikiishi said.

Yui furrowed her eyebrows, cautiously, scanning everything in sight. What if this was a trap? What if Kenji Hikiishi brought her here to get rid of her?

She felt her heart skip a beat, then beat twice as fast. Three times as fast. It was hot enough here already, but the moment she had that thought a single bead of sweat came down the left side of her forehead.

But her legs moved forward.

"D-door?"

There it is.

The door was tall, taller than Tsuragamae-sensei. The metal was worn and spotty, but sturdy as ever. In the center, at just about Yui's height, was a handle shaped like a steering wheel. Around it were plates and bolts and tubes that held the locking mechanism together. There was a keyhole, but no key.

"So," Hikiishi said, "you can shrink it, right?"

Yui sat and listened for a second. Faint, but audible, footsteps. Breathing.

She knocked on the steel door. It was much thicker than she imagined, the knocks barely registering.

"Hey!" she shouted, just in case the knocking was too quiet.

"Hey!" came back a muffled shout, a boy's voice.

"Step back! I'm gonna shrink the door!"

"She's gonna do what?" Kousei asked, now much closer behind Katsuki.

Kenji Tsuragamae had already stepped back some distance, having heard her quite clearly.

"Step back," he said.

The two boys stepped back without another word.

Yui placed her whole hand on the steel door. Shrinking objects of this size was difficult but doable, she found. The real challenge here was the door being attached to other things, part of a complex puzzle. There had to be individual parts that—

"JUST DO IT ALREADY!" someone shouted… Katsuki.

All she needed was for the door to be small enough to make an opening.

And so, she got Size going on the door.

Tough metal twisted and bended, the door itself began to shrink but the latches and hinges that held it to the wall wouldn't come easy. Yui cowered, squinting instinctively. Those things might come flying right at her. The divorce between the door and its hinges was hard on everyone, especially the little bolts that whined and whirred under the increasing pressure of the door's compacting weight.

RRRRRRKKKKK!

Only a little… more…

Silence. Yui opened her eyes to find the door, barely different in size, still intact. But now that it was smaller than the frame, it could be pushed open.

"Was that it?" Kousei asked.

Tsuragamae-sensei approached the door, cautiously. Afraid that if he so much as breathed on the door, all the nuts and bolts would erupt from their precarious places like a frag grenade. Pushing against the involuntary hesitation, he opened the door and sighed in relief.

Kousei stumbled out next, a soft grin on his face and a subtle blush.

"My hero—"

"LET'S GO!" Katsuki ran off.

"GODDAMMIT BAKUGOU!"

"Come on," Hikiishi said, leading the others out.

Kousei cleared his throat, "So, who's gonna pay for that?"

"I hear someone coming," Itsuka said.

"It's gotta be the others," Neito said.

The three waited in silence as the echoing footsteps got louder and louder. It sounded like a crowd. Five people… was that a crowd?

"Ochako!"

The first one out of the dark was Katsuki. He looked pale, exhausted, almost sick. He was soon followed by Kenji Hikiishi, then the others.

"Where's Midoriya?" Tsuragamae-sensei asked.

"In the study with Tsuyu and the doctor," Itsuka said.

The study's door swayed and Izuku emerged into the foyer.

"Kenji! Tsuburaba!" he called out and ran to Tsuragamae-sensei.

Somehow already out of breath, he reached for his knees and panted.

Katsuki looked all around, seeing the whole group together at last. Through the doorway of the study he could see Tsu staring at Dr. Ujiko, tied up with rope.

"Alright," he said, "this time we stick together. Any idea on how to catch this creep?"

Hikiishi scratched her chin.

"If I can figure out where he is, I can magnetize him."

"How are we gonna find out where he is?" Ochako asked.

"One of us can check the cameras," Itsuka said.

"I'm staying out here," Kousei said, "if he or it—or whatever—comes back, I can try to trap 'em in an Air Prison."

"It has to be a person," Izuku said, "Ujiko called him 'Kurogiri.'"

Hikiishi tightened her fists.

"If this Kurogiri's already skipped," she said, "we're in some deep shit."

"Then what's this?" Katsuki asked, "A shallow amount of shit?"

"We'll call the Pros," Ochako said, "it's the only way."

Tsuragamae sniffed the air.

"Aw crap," he said, "call the police, he's not going to give us any time."

Neito fumbled for his cellphone, dialing the number as fast as he could without a thought.

The black mist was already filling the room.

Smelling the air, Kousei noticed now that the mist was odorless. Tsuragamae must've smelled a person. Wherever that mist was, the Quirk user couldn't be too far away. Kurogiri must've been in the room.

I gotta find that guy… he's using this fog to conceal himself.

Izuku could see through the mist, Kousei had some kind of thinking face on. If any time was thinking time, it was right now…

Maybe I can use Danger Sense to find Kurogiri. But Danger Sense didn't activate earlier so… what if he's not a threat? I haven't exactly mastered it yet but… I can't possibly have to strain that hard to use it now, right?

'If you don't find Kurogiri… you could leave him to his own devices… or he will come find you first.'

Leave him to his own devices? Who exactly is Kurogiri?

'Security room.'

Wait… what if he wasn't talking to him… what if he was… commanding him?

Before he could think any further, his body moved on its own. To the study!

As the world around him was wobbling and fogging up, he saw Tsu and Dr. Ujiko getting closer. The fear had returned to the doctor's old face. Izuku grabbed his shoulders and shook him ever so slightly.

"YOU NEED TO TELL HIM TO STAND DOWN! NOW!"

Some dark thought set sail across Dr. Ujiko's mind but only washed up to the surface as a devious and humored smirk.

He was not going to budge.

Those were the ones Izuku hated the most, the ones who didn't say anything. And how smug they were, knowing nothing could be done. If only Shinsou were here. He could make him talk.

I doubt that Kurogiri will follow my commands, there's always a catch like that. He'll probably only listen to the doctor…

Izuku's eyes did that thing again. He smiled oddly, as if unsure if he should be smiling.

"What?!" Tsu asked.

Izuku's face went red. He struggled for words and…

There was a gust of wind—

"A LITTLE HELP HERE!"

Izuku turned to face the doorway, the others were standing in a semicircle. Itsuka was waving her hands around to dissipate the mist. Good idea. But then again, it was like a tornado had came through the door.

And what if Kurogiri made more portals to separate them all again?

Kenji Hikiishi was weaving around the foyer like a ballerina. What was she doing? As she swung from side to side, Izuku began to notice some kind of blue glow, almost electric, flowing all around Katsuki, Neito, Kousei, and Kenji.

Was that her Magnetism at work?

"WHOA! WHAT THE HELL?!" Kousei screamed as he was lifted into the air.

Soon enough all the guys were floating together in a clump.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Katsuki yelled.

"I've gotta try to grab him!" Hikiishi said, "I need you all in one place for the moment before I can!"

Izuku watched on, the gears in his head turning ever quicker…

I need to coordinate with Hikiishi, but I can't let Dr. Ujiko know what I'm planning. I have to make this quick, but I have to time it correctly. Perfectly. It's a really long shot and it might not even work but I have to try it. I just hope Tsuburaba can and will use his Quirk at the right time.

"Hey! Let Tsuburaba go!" he shouted at Hikiishi.

She turned to face him. She was obviously confused but seeing the determination on his face and knowing how smart he could be, she let the boy go.

"WHOA! OOF—"

"KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR A SUIT OF ARMOR!" Izuku called to him.

Kousei nodded and stood up.

"AW COME ON!" Katsuki yelled down from the spiraling blue mass.

Ochako and Yui were grabbing onto just about anything to keep their feet on the ground. Yui's eyes bounced around the room like wild.

"Hey!" Ochako yelled, "Why didn't you magnetize us?!"

"If I did, you'd be repelled off of the others! The polarity is based on sexes! It doesn't affect me so… I have a plan! I think!"

Yui finally found what she was looking for: the book. It was sliding across the floor, its pages fluttering in the wind. The bookmark had been lost somewhere.

She wanted to tell Itsuka to stop waving her hands around but it was the best bet they had at the moment to try and find that guy. How long would the police take to get here? Did Neito even manage to call them before the mist came in again?

To keep her balance, she would have to walk slowly. One big step at a time. She could also crawl. A third option would be to stand by and wait for the wind to stop but… she felt she needed to be doing something at the moment.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the suit of armor. With the black mist mostly dissipated, she could make out his movements. Jumping and dashing around like a fighter plane with arms and legs. He did use the mist to move around but with how Itsuka was handling it, he didn't look like he had much left to keep moving.

Izuku steeled himself steelier than he'd ever had before. His whole body seemed to harden. He looked like he was about to pass out, his head about to explode. He took in a big, deep breath and… pulled the doctor's shoes off.

"IZUKU WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Tsu screamed.

It was at the same time the scariest and the funniest thing Izuku had seen in a while. Tsu had always been so calm and collected that screaming just didn't seem befitting to her. Unless it was something dire. That's what made it terrifying.

"TICKLE, TICKLE, TICKLE!"

"WHAAAAAT?! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Dr. Ujiko couldn't believe it either. Why the hell was he tickling his feet?!

Izuku looked back up at Tsu. At first it was the most defeated he'd ever looked in a long time. Then a moment passed and Tsu began to see something… this was part of some kind of plan. For some reason, Izuku was throwing his head back repeatedly. It was like he was trying to… tell her something…?

Tsu looked behind. She saw the door to the security room.

"STOP, PLEASE! AHAHAHA!" Dr. Ujiko roared.

The security room. The doctor. The security room. The doctor—

"STOP!"

Tsu ran for the security room and found the microphone. There was a cord. Was it long enough? Without a second to spare, she grabbed the microphone and took it as far as she could into the study.

Seeing her struggle, Izuku pulled the doctor closer, tickling his feet all the way there!

"STOP! PLEASE! AHAHAHAHA!"

The suit of armor stopped.

Itsuka gasped and held her hands still.

"WHAT?!" Ujiko screamed.

Izuku quickly covered his mouth while Tsu covered the microphone.

"GOT HIM!" Hikiishi reached out and grabbed Kurogiri with Magnetism.

"Tsuburaba!" Izuku yelled.

Kousei took in a deep breath and cupped his hands on either side of his mouth. A big finishing blow straight at Kurogiri. The air around him solidified, and he was trapped in a see-through box.

"HELL YEAH!" he shouted, arms way up in the air.

"Phew," Yui picked up the book.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!"

Hikiishi let out a big sigh and let the others down. Neito grabbed a hold of his knees as they wobbled…

"I think I'm gonna…"

"Aim at Tsuburaba, he's over there!" Katsuki pointed to Kousei.

"Hey, I just saved all your asses," Kousei said.

"You didn't stop the bastard, you just put him in a little gift box."

Izuku stumbled out of the study.

"I hate to admit it but, yeah," Kousei said, "it looked like Midoriya had some kind of idea so I assume he did something. Say, what did you do?"

All eyes were on Izuku.

"Uhhh, I-I…"

Katsuki looked behind him and saw Tsu covering the doctor's mouth. He noticed his lack of shoes.

"I won't ask… now, let's see who this bastard is."

"Wait!" Neito shouted and ran to the study, "We can't be too careful."

Kousei looked over his masterwork, hands on his hips.

"What do you think?" he asked, specifically Yui.

Yui narrowed her eyes at Kurogiri. He wasn't struggling at all.

Neito returned, smacking his lips, "Okay."

Kousei kicked the air box, making a small dent. It reminded Izuku a lot of plastic or glass. But softer. It was weird.

After peeling enough away, Neito wrapped his tongue around Kurogiri.

Katsuki went behind his back and pulled the helmet off, revealing… light blue hair. A bandage on his nose.

…

"OBORO SHIRAKUMO?!"

"I knew it," Yui said.

"What do you mean you 'knew it'?" several people asked in unison.

Yui opened the book to the page on Oboro Shirakumo.

"Quirk: Cloud," she pointed out in the book.

"Buh," Neito tried to talk with his tongue around the guy, "heh dieh…?"

"The book says he died in 1988, but his body was never found. He wasn't missing for ten days. He was missing for fifteen years."

"Ah," Katsuki said, "I knew there was something weird about this. Well, now that this case is closed, let's get back on the road, shall we?"

"You really want me to make you float AGAIN?!" Ochako shouted.

Kousei waved his hand in front of Shirakumo's face.

"Uh, guys," he said, "he's not responding or anything… is he… okay?"

All they could do was stare back at him. He was breathing.

"Dr. Ujiko," Izuku said, "was telling him what to do through a microphone."

Kousei, still close to Shirakumo's face, looked into his ear and found an earpiece.

"Oh shit," he said, "what the hell?"

"Hm," Yui made a noise, "there was no word about teleportation in the description for his Quirk. I'm not sure how to explain that one. But other than that… I thought the Cloud was obvious."

Katsuki marched over to the study. Tsu's eyes found his. He felt sick to his stomach. After everything… catching this guy didn't make things better.

"I wanna hear it from you," he told the doctor, "what the hell is going on?"

Dr. Ujiko looked into the foyer and saw the image of his defeat. It was no use now.

"All my work… I tried to save the boy, you know?"

"Do you even work for the museum?"

"It wasn't obvious that something was off?"

"No, it was, I knew you were up to something from the start. Well, now that things are fair, I'm taking you in."

"Bakugou," Tsu stood up to him, "I'm not gonna let you take the credit for this."

"I'm not, jeez, I just wanna get back on the road, okay?"

Tsu frowned.

"I did more than you did," she said, "just cause you throw yourself around like you're the leader doesn't mean you—"

"I don't care! I'm not the one who got us in this mess! Plus, I didn't even wanna be around you morons in the first place! So shut up about it!"

He turned around to face the others. Most of them had their arms crossed. Izuku looked like he was about to cry. Like his parents were about to get a divorce… all over again.

"Stop staring at me," Katsuki said and walked out the front door.

He was greeted with a small fleet of police cars. Red lights flashed in the dark.

"We already got him," Katsuki called out to them, "we've got our licenses so don't whine about it."

Something large cast a shadow on him from behind. The two Kenjis.

Kenji Tsuragamae pulled a badge out of his pocket.

"U.A. staff," he said, "we have a villain in custody."

The policeman that managed to approach them first scratched the back of his neck. His eyes went to Katsuki, then to the group. His eyes were tired but still managed to widen.

"The Mystery Gang of Class A," he muttered, "I'm a big fan but… it's nearly one o'clock and I got a lot of paperwork to do. Aw, man."

He turned around to face the others.

"Villain in custody! Possible search warrant needed!"

"And one other thing," Tsuragamae said, "we're gonna need to admit someone here to Central Hospital. It's… urgent. I'll.. have to call U.A."

Katsuki looked up at the night sky. 'Nearly one o'clock.'

He was done with this night, this day.

What a day.

He turned to look at the mansion. Officers rushed in the front door.

Everyone else was still inside, unsure of what was next.

He saw Ochako, staring at him.

What a shitty day.