"Forty… five."
It was a surprise to find another student still lingering in U.A.'s exercise room this late in the day, Toru thought, having made her way there after an extended study session Momo had set up with the other girls of class 1-A in preparation for an upcoming exam in a few days' time. Most of the school's busybodies would normally be long-gone a couple hours after the end of classes, providing her some much-needed alone time after a full day of classes and socializing.
"How long are you planning on staring, Invisalign?" Of course, if anyone were to take their training serious enough to last into the evening, it would be Katsuki Bakugo. He'd tilted his head back to see who'd opened the doors, fiery red eyes glaring directly at her, cheeks flushed with exertion and his mouth set in his signature scowl.
"I wasn't staring!" Toru tugged on the hem of her tank top, suddenly wishing she hadn't chosen to wear one so small. Her midriff was… not showing, per her invisibility, but exposed. It was stupid to worry about being stared at when there wasn't anything to see, wasn't it? Especially when her 'hero costume' only consisted of gloves and shoes. At least then she could put all her focus on the task at hand. In a more casual setting, the anxiety began to set in. What people thought of her. What they imagined looking at her. She didn't even know herself. No way to correct them. No way to—
"Invisalign?" He'd been talking to her, apparently. The barbell had been racked on the bench and Katsuki now stood in front of her, waving a hand in her face. Up close it was easier to see the sheen of sweat covering his skin and the rippling movements of his muscles, left bare by a worn-out top not dissimilar to what she was wearing. Just like Izuku, who Manami and a few other girls had been gushing about at one point or another during a study break, Katsuki kept himself more than in-shape.
"Sorry, what were you saying?" She tried to defog her brain, keep it from jumping topic to topic as it had been for the past few minutes.
"I asked what equipment you were planning on using. I can spot you if you want." Katsuki sounded about as irritated as usual, maybe a little more considering she'd made him repeat himself, but the offer seemed genuine, which took her somewhat by surprise.
"Are you sure? I mean, I wouldn't want to interrupt—"
"Don't read into it." He growled, crossing his arms and huffing, "I spot you; you spot me. Can't max without a spotter, and if you're already here there's no reason not to work together. But if you were only planning on running some cardio, I'll go back to what I was doing." Gruff and straight to the point, it was a Katsuki 'offer' through and through. He wasn't wrong, though. It wouldn't be safe for either of them to max out on the bench press or squats without someone to spot them if that's what they wanted to do. It wasn't exactly what she'd been planning on for the day, but it'd been a while since she'd tested her max so it couldn't hurt while the offer was there.
"Sure, Bakugo-kun. Mind spotting me on the bench?"
Katsuki nodded without saying anything, turning away to begin racking the weights he'd been using and wiping down the bench and bar with a clean towel he pulled from his gym bag. Toru followed him, setting up the bar with light weights on either side to warm up before working her way higher. Once the area was prepped and the weights clamped in place, she took a seat on the bench, lying back and readying her hands on the bar. Katsuki's face soon loomed over her from above.
"Ready?"
"Mhm. I'm gonna warm up with sets of five. Can you add ten after each set?"
"Yeah. How high are we going?"
"I'm aiming for a hundred-fifteen right now."
"Alright. Ready when you are." His face disappeared from her field of view as he leaned back, watching but leaving her to her own devices for the time being while she wouldn't struggle much with the weight. It was almost relaxing, Toru couldn't help but think, rapidly falling into a rhythm of completing her set and taking a minute to rest while Katsuki added more weight to the bar. It seemed he was the quiet type of gym partner, unlike Mina who always wanted to chat her ear off or Momo whose verbal encouragement was always welcome if a little overwhelming.
Katsuki only spoke up to ask her if she needed a break or wanted more or less weight. Once to remind her to reposition her hands when they were slightly misaligned (how he knew they were was a mystery in and of itself, but she assumed he must have bumped her hands without her noticing). Otherwise, he appeared content to glower at her or whatever it was he called what he was doing ('What's so funny, Invisalign?' 'Nothing, Bakugo-kun.'). Only when the bar's weight climbed closer to that of her body and each rep became more of an effort did his hands permanently enter her field of vision, helping set the bar in position and hovering near her own in case she needed assistance.
Toru wondered why Katsuki wasn't always this easy to be around. More often than not in class he seemed unapproachable, glaring scaldingly in the direction of anyone who dared provoke his ire and using his acid tongue to lash at Tenya, who'd self-appointed himself a hall monitor of sorts and whose respect for authority clashed severely with the explosive blonde's antagonistic attitude.
"One-ten." He reminded her, adding an even amount of weight to the bar. Toru was definitely feeling it at this point, having gone slightly over her previous max and now moving into new territory. She nodded, placing her hands back on the bar and working with Katsuki to move it into position above her chest. His hands stayed hovering just close enough to help her if need be, and he called out her reps for her with each cycle.
"One. Two. Three. Four… Five. Last one, take a two-minute breather." With the bar back in place Toru allowed herself to relax once more, breathing heavily and allowing the air conditioning to do its work and cool her down.
With her goal in sight, the burn in her arms seemed to fade into the background. One more rep and she'd be done. Katsuki set the bar up in record time before leaning over once more to look down at her. Whatever embarrassment she'd normally have felt being seen flopped down over the bench in an ill-fitting shirt was washed away by the desire for rest.
"How are you feeling?" It was a very un-Katsuki-like question and there was no way of telling if he genuinely wanted to know or if he was doing it out of obligation as her spotting partner. In either case, she guessed he only asked because there was no way of telling her condition without being able to see how flushed her face was or if she was straining herself. The only visible indication she'd been exerting herself was the way her top clung tighter to her skin now that she'd broken a sweat.
"Fine." She huffed, wiping her face with a gym towel of her own, "I think I'll actually be able to do this!"
Katsuki's response was something between a hum and a click, and Toru was unsure if it was congratulatory or patronizing. Maybe both? He'd been pretty nice by Katsuki standards throughout this whole ordeal, so her heart wanted to believe in the former.
"Ready to go?" It seemed break time was over. She resumed her position beneath the bar and allowed Katsuki to assist her in lifting it off of the rack, his hands returning to their spotting position on her mark. He stayed silent through the entire process, patiently watching as Toru brought the bar slowly down to her chest before making her final push. Her straining arms struggled against the new weight in addition to what she'd already been repping, but it wasn't long before they were once again extended fully forward on the back of a lengthy exhale of strong effort.
"One-fifteen. Good job, Invisalign." With his surprisingly sincere felicitations, Katsuki brought the bar back to the rack, allowing Toru to relax once more. The soreness would come later, she was sure, but for now she felt accomplished after hitting a new milestone on her physical fitness goals.
"Thanks." She panted, taking in as much air as her lungs would allow. She heard Katsuki moving the weights above her head, a quick glance confirming that he was increasing it more to his likeness. "Your turn?"
"Mm." he grunted, lifting a forty-five onto the bar with ease, "I was at it a while before you got here so we'll start right next to my max. Two sets."
Toru contented herself in watching him work while she caught her breath. Once it seemed Katsuki was satisfied with the weight he put on the bar and begun clamping them down, she sat up to wipe down the bench with her towel. They traded places soon after. Her impromptu gym partner's glare was no less intense from below, but at least Toru was satisfied at this point that it wasn't directed at her—that was just how Katsuki Bakugo always looked.
"I'll do five reps at two-thirty-five and then bump up to two-fifty." He told her, reaching for the bar and pushing up. Toru nodded, forgetting he couldn't see her response, and set her hands up to spot, hoping Katsuki wouldn't leave her totally on the hook if he needed assistance considering how much weight was currently attached to the bar.
Katsuki's reps were slower than hers, Toru noticed. More controlled, in a way. He seemed to take every care to pull the bar to exactly the right height every time and lower it slowly and carefully. Once he'd completed the first set, he placed the bar back on the rack without assistance and took a rest, Toru returning the favor of placing more weights on the bar while he caught his breath.
"You can do it, Bakugo-kun!" She encouraged once he'd grasped the bar once more. He didn't respond verbally, although the miniscule smile that crossed his face wasn't one she missed. Really, Katsuki's last rep was a bit anti-climactic. Though he seemed to struggle just as she had, he didn't allow himself to stall, pushing the bar smoothly off his chest and back onto the rack with a victorious exhale.
"Thanks… for the spot." He huffed between breaths, lying his head back and closing his eyes much as she had. Toru held back a laugh at seeing the ever-aggressive Katsuki Bakugo looking so peaceful, knowing he would somehow take offense. If she was honest with herself, it did wonders for his image, but there was still something about his usual scowl that was attractive in its own way.
'I did not just think that Bakugo-kun is cute.' She shook her head, feeling a heat come to her cheeks. Invisibility's main saving grace, it seemed, was that no one could ever see her embarrassment in physical form.
"N-No problem, Bakugo-kun. Thank you, too, for the company. It's been a while since I've had a gym partner." Toru did her best to keep her voice level. She wasn't lying about it being nice to have someone at the gym with her, though. Katsuki was surprisingly pleasant to be around outside of his normal environment.
"I usually fly solo, but you're… not annoying to be around." It was about as 'Bakugo' as a compliment could be, but she'd take what she could get. Especially when it sounded like he'd been about to say something nicer before getting a better sense of himself. Toru couldn't help but smile at the progress.
"You're 'not annoying to be around' too, Bakugo-kun." She fired back with a giggle, earning herself a glare in the process. "How'd you like to join me for a jog to cool down?"
She half-expected Katsuki to turn her down and sulk away as he was wont to do, but this new Katsuki that she was slowly getting to know merely shrugged his shoulders and stood from the bench, grabbing for his towel to wipe it down a final time.
"Why not? I could use a little cardio."
"Today, we're going to get started on the next two phases of your training, Manami-chan." Izuku announced, gesturing at Manami to come closer while he pulled Hero Analysis for the Future: Volume Fourteen from his gym bag and opened the notebook to her pages. "If my theories are correct, they'll go hand-in-hand… how much do you know about your quirk?"
"Not much, honestly." She admitted, drifting her way over to Izuku's side where she received her first good look at his analysis of her since they'd begun her training two weeks prior. "I never had much reason to use it at home or test its boundaries until—" her eyes widened when she finally comprehended what she was seeing—an entire web of ideas now circled the name and basic description of her quirk he'd added after learning about it; potential explanations of brain chemistry and biology for how Love functioned, strategic value, possible variations and abilities that she'd never even thought of before, all laid out in an intricate network of thought bubbles and connected theories. "Izukun, this is…"
"I… may have gone a little overboard." It was probably an understatement. Izuku had spent the better part of the last two weekends brainstorming about Manami's quirk. Figuring out how to utilize it in combat would skyrocket her performance in the field, even more if his theories turned out to be correct. "I did something similar after I used mine to fight for the first time. You'd be surprised how versatile most people's quirks are, they just never look past the most obvious uses."
"Overboard doesn't cut it, Izukun. This is amazing!" Everywhere she looked was another potential application of her quirk she'd never even considered before. Debilitating others, mass application of her quirk, enhancing others quirks on top of their physical abilities… but one idea underlined with red pen pulled her attention the most: "Applying my quirk to myself?"
"I think it's the most likely idea to work." Izuku pointed to a few almost illegibly small columns of notes in the corner of the page, "I couldn't think of any good reason you shouldn't be able to. Since your quirk seems to enhance the other person at no 'cost' to you, it's not doing anything like sapping your own strength to add it to theirs, so my theory is that instead it has some kind of biological effect. Maybe similar to a burst of adrenaline? In that sense, you should be able to trigger it on yourself with some practice."
"That makes a lot of sense, actually." The notes he'd pointed to expanded further on his theories, with a list of potential chemicals and hormones that her quirk could have been triggering people's bodies to manufacture that would grant its effects. "It may seem kind of ridiculous, but I've never actually tried using my quirk on myself. I always just sort of assumed it wouldn't work."
"It took until I started training my quirk for U.A. to actually test if it activated off of my blood. It's not that uncommon to think that your own quirk wouldn't affect you. Ashido-san's skin seems resistant to her own acid, for example, and my quirk doesn't activate if I drink my own blood. I think yours might be different."
"Well, let's find out then, I guess." Manami took a few steps back from Izuku, trying her best to think about how she felt before she used her quirk on others, "I love myself."
The two looked at each other for silently for a few moments. Nothing happened.
"That felt so awkward." Manami complained, heat creeping up her cheeks. Izuku gave her an encouraging smile.
"Well, the first attempt usually isn't the one that works out." He pointed out, returning his eyes to his notebook and skimming its contents, "Maybe try it with your name?"
"I love Manami."
…
"No good?"
"Nope."
"Darn. Back to the drawing board." Izuku bit into the side of his cheek as he thought about what else they could try, his eyes roaming his notes for more ideas. "What if it's less about the phrasing and more about expressing your feelings in a way that you believe?"
"So, it's more about the way I say it than the exact words? Kind of like self-actualization?"
"Yeah, something like that. When you express your feelings to someone else, you believe in them wholeheartedly. It might be harder to turn that sort of confidence inward; I certainly struggle with it." He gave her a crooked smile, and though she felt as though her boyfriend was being too hard on himself, Manami couldn't help but nod. "Let's try something easier. Repeat after me: 'I am strong.'" Izuku plastered a confident smile on his face as he said the words, reminding her of his determination when he'd fought Katsuki during the team battles.
"I-I don't know if—" Manami wasn't so sure. Shoto's words from before their training exercise haunted her.
"Your physical strength is below par. Your combat abilities will likely be similar."
"Conclusion: it is better for you to remain here."
"No." She was swiftly interrupted by Izuku, who'd just about growled the word at her; it may well have been the angriest she'd ever heard him. He approached with a stern look crossing his features and came to a stop just close enough to poke her admonishingly between the eyes. "You. Are. Strong. You got into U.A. with only a few months of preparation. Your test scores were outstanding and you had a good enough head on your shoulders to not panic in a practical exam that was entirely unsuited to your abilities. You fight back against Kacchan, one of the most aggressive people I know, when he gives you crap. You even stood up to Aizawa-sensei with me on the first day of classes."
Izuku placed his hands on Manami's shoulders, looking directly into her eyes.
"All the 'strength' that you need, you already have. Your quirk will do the rest for you." He patted her shoulders once before stepping back. "You just need to believe it too, Manami-chan."
Manami opened her mouth, but found nothing came out. She floundered for a few moments, searching for her voice. Izuku made it sound like she'd accomplished something great, but were those really such amazing achievements?
"I… am strong."
The U.A. exams still felt like a fluke.
"Again."
Katsuki honestly just pissed her off.
"I am strong."
Aizawa-sensei was being unfair. She couldn't let that slide, right?
"Again!"
There was that voice in the back of her head that told her she was being ridiculous—that she'd done all of this for a boy. Was that the truth? Maybe a little bit. Maybe at first. But she'd done the research. She'd put in the time watching heroes save lives, absorbed every clip she could find. She'd started a workout routine, learned the proper way to throw a punch, designed her own costume, brainstormed hero names. She'd done all of that herself, hadn't she? Even if it all started as some stupid slip of the tongue to relate to the boy who'd saved her, hadn't she made the journey her own somewhere along the way? Found the desire to save lives herself? To pass on the hope that was given to her after she'd all but given up?
Yes. She had.
"I am strong!"
It was… strange, at first. Nothing like using her quirk on others. She felt giddy and warm and strong. Some form of pink vapor slowly began to envelop her closed fists, following their movements in an almost neon trail.
"Whoah." This was her power? She could hear Izuku cheering for her finally getting it, but his voice sounded so far away. It was like all of the blood was rushing to her head. The heat grew until she almost couldn't stand it, and then—
"Manami-chan?"
"Hmm?" The heat faded and her faculties returned to her in short order. The vapor continued to rise from her skin, though its color had dulled considerably to a more pastel shade. Izuku's vibrant green eyes were filled with worry.
"I think you may have started to overload yourself. There must be some kind of limit… maybe you've never run into it before because your quirk's output is usually determined by the depths of your feelings for a certain individual? Maybe you bypass the psychological limit when using it on yourself? Is it due to the amount of self-confidence or is it the nature of your quirk itself? I wonder if—"
"Izukun." As much as she loved to hear her boyfriend ramble, now may not have been the greatest of times, especially until she got a handle of whatever it was that just nearly boiled her from the inside-out. Manami gently poked him in the chest, a much easier target to reach than his shoulders due to her height. What she certainly didn't expect to happen was for him to be shoved back nearly five feet, sent tumbling over the sand in about as ungraceful a launch as you could get. "O-Oh goodness. Are you okay, Izukun?"
She looked at her hands, expression a cross between awe and contempt. They'd betrayed her for sure, sending poor Izukun flying with a 'gentle' push. On the other hand (so to speak), that certainly meant the strength-enhancing properties of her quirk were in full effect, and the boost was not small.
"Success!" Izuku's spontaneous stumble hadn't taken the wind out of his sails in the least. In fact, he seemed even more animated than before, leaping to his feet with little effort and dashing back to Manami so that he could fawn over her quirk's new abilities.
"Enhanced physical strength!" He lifted her arm to inspect the vapor exuding from her skin, "Unknown chemical or hormonal compound as catalyst… probably goes along with enhanced durability to prevent torn musculature. Based on the force of that push I'd say… two-hundred percent, minimum. Much more than I felt when you used it on me. You're amazing, Manami-chan!"
"Amazing and probably going to need my arm back. As much as I love to hold your hand…" She rolled her eyes when Izuku jumped back, immediately opening his mouth to apologize. "Don't apologize, Izukun. Like I said, I love holding your hand. Plus, you're the one helping me with my quirk, only makes sense you'd want to analyze it, too."
She bent down to pick up Hero Analysis for the Future: Volume Fourteen from where it'd fallen to the sand when Izuku had been sent askew.
"Wanna run some tests?"
Izuku's eyes lit up with adoration as he took the notebook from her.
"I'd love to. And after that, I have a present for you!"
Manami got the distinct feeling that Izuku's 'present' had something to do with the next phase of her training that he'd spoken about earlier—the one that came after enhancing herself with her quirk. In any case, she wouldn't learn what it was until they got these tests done, so she set to work as Izuku directed her where to begin while he jotted down their newly-acquired information in his notebook.
"First, I'd like to see how much damage an enhanced punch will do…."
"I… will be teaching a special class today!"
Possibly the only consistent aspect of All Might's classes were his entrances, which tended to be some sort of quip based off of his popularized catch phrase: 'I am here!' Today, it seemed, would be a special day. This of course immediately sparked discussion amongst class 1-A about what could possibly count as 'special' in the class where they already regularly traveled across the campus to some of the most extravagant training areas they'd ever seen to do everything from battling each other to working individually on improving their quirks.
All Might allowed them their gossip for a minute or so before clearing his throat, gathering their attention.
"Today will be your first foray into a major staple of a hero's livelihood: rescue training! We will be traveling by bus to one of U.A.'s farthest corners housing a training ground created specifically for this type of training. I would like you all to suit up and meet me outside the main entrance; we'll talk specifics when we arrive. Any questions? Good! Let's get moving, heroes!"
Retrieving their hero costumes and equipment was by now a routine process for the students of class 1-A. One-by-one they plucked their issued cases from the displays before making their way down to the locker rooms for a quick suit up.
Manami and Izuku had sat next to each other as the rest of their classmates piled into the bus that would take them to their destination. They spent the ride looking over the newest addition to Manami's costume, Izuku's 'present,' designed by him and brought to life by the U.A. support department for her personal use as a hero.
"It's so heavy." Held in Izuku's hands was what appeared to be a miniaturized fictional Warhammer, with blunt, heart-shaped edges on both sides of the pink and white head and a leather grip on the base of the shaft. It was barely a foot long, but by his estimate weighed almost a full ten pounds. "I'm surprised they could actually make it, to be honest. I knew U.A.'s tech was top-of-the-line, but this is unreal. I got the inspiration from an old video game, so I wondered if it would even be feasible, but it looks like the numbers added up in the end."
Handing the weapon back to Manami, Izuku couldn't help but feel a little proud that she didn't so much as dip her arm at the sudden weight. Her training was paying off in spades. She brought the weapon back to her hip, where it clipped onto her belt via a strong magnet and leather strap, fitting the aesthetic of the rest of her costume. The belt itself had needed modifications to support the hammer's weight, but it was nothing compared to the construction itself, and with the added support she would 'barely feel the extra weight' as its designer claimed.
"I am so excited to try this baby out!"
"Yeah, I can't wait to see it—"
"We're here." Aizawa-sensei's voice interrupted whatever Izuku had been about to say, "Make your way off of the bus and into the training center, where we'll be meeting some other teachers to help us with today's exercise." The class followed their teacher's orders, although Izuku couldn't help but notice that All Might was no longer with them. Perhaps he was waiting inside?
Inside the large half-dome of a building there was no All Might, but there was something else to wow the class.
"Welcome to the USJ." Aizawa's unenthusiastic drawl was not enough to diminish the incredible architectural wonder currently set in front of them. Izuku's eyes wandered from corner to corner, catching sight of a cruise ship docked in a man-made lake, a snowy, mountainous area, a rocky cliff-face and not one, but three miniature cities not unlike Training Ground Beta, all contained within a single, super-massive dome.
"Amazing." He whispered, hearing similar sentiments from his other classmates. Kirishima even shouted 'manly,' although at this point Izuku couldn't help but feel the two words were on equal ground in the red-headed boy's mind at this point. Manami next to him was also looking around with wide eyes.
"The tech needed to maintain all of these different climates at the same time without interfering with each other…"
"I'm sure it's quite the sight. Now, if you'll all quiet down, our guest instructor will inform you about the USJ and introduce you to the idea of recue training." Aizawa pointed them towards the stairs, where a space-suit clad figure was now ascending, just cresting the top.
"Thank you for that, Aizawa-san. Hello, everyone, I am the pro hero, Thirteen! I'm here today to introduce you to U.A.'s most advanced rescue training ground, the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, also known as the USJ."
Surprisingly, it was Ochako gushing about their pro hero teacher for once, not Izuku.
"Thirteen! She's one of the top search and rescue heroes in the country. Just last week, she rescued almost forty people from the rubble after an earthquake; no casualties!"
Thirteen seemed to take the young heroine-in-training's adoration in stride, the bobbing of her helmet indicating she was nodding.
"Indeed, I spend most of my time as a hero leading search and rescue efforts after disasters, both natural and man-made. My quirk, Black Hole, is a very powerful tool. But that is the one thing I would like to make clear to you all before we start this training: your quirks are extensions of yourselves, yes, but they are also tools. Like many tools they can be used and abused in ways that lead to more harm being done than good. Black Hole can save people, yes…" Thirteen's helmet seemed to stare almost forlornly at her hand, shaking gently until she closed it into a fist, "… but it is so very easy to hurt people with it. For many of you, your quirks will be the same. Contrary to our school's motto, rescue operations are about learning your limits and staying within them. I worked with the school to design the USJ for the purpose of experimenting with those limits in a safe, closed environment. Today, we will—"
"Die, most likely."
The distorted, disembodied voice seemed to come from all around, interrupting Thirteen's speech and immediately putting the pro heroes on edge. The students were slower to react, the school's sense of safety at first made them think it a joke or part of the training. But that hope quickly faded one Aizawa pulled his visor from beneath his scarf.
"Stay behind me. Stay close." He growled, looking wildly around for the source of the voice, "Who are you and what do you want with U.A.?"
"I already told you, did I not? You will be dying today. As for who we are…" A vortex of dark purple mist appeared from thin air in front of the group, from which a man-shaped mist wraith appeared. His eyes glowed yellow, narrowed with macabre amusement. "We are the League of Villains. It is ever so pleasant to meet you."
"Izukun, look." Manami tugged on Izuku's arm, pointing past Thirteen towards the center of the USJ.
Far behind the new enemy more mist formed in the USJ's central plaza, from which dozens upon dozens of men and women were emerging—villains. Leading the charge was a man covered in—Izuku almost felt he was going to be sick—severed hands. By his side was a hulking beast with tar-like skin and its brain visible from the top.
"You really think you'll get away with invading U.A. in broad daylight?" Aizawa's voice was a rumbling storm, moments away from unleashing its fury. Izuku had never seen the man so determined. It had been one thing to know the pro hero's achievements, it was another entirely to see him stripped of his 'lazy teacher' persona and showing the strength lying just beneath the surface. "Reinforcements will arrive in short order. We've more pros-per-square-mile here than anywhere in the country."
"Oh, and here I thought you'd be smarter than that, pro hero Eraserhead. Did you not think we would anticipate such obstacles? No, this dome has been sealed, in more ways than one. No communications in, no communications out. And none of you shall be leaving. I will make sure of that." The mist wraith seemed to cock its head to the side, its eyes roaming the heroes diligently, "The only matter we absolutely must discuss is the location of All Might. Really, our young leader is just dying to meet him."
'So their target is All Might…'
"I'm afraid that is none of your business." Aizawa didn't take his eyes off of the villain in front of him, but tilted his head ever so slightly to address the students, "You've all been thrown into the deep end. You have my full permission to use your quirks to defend yourselves. Stay close, we don't know what we're up against. Kaminari, do you have comms?"
"Nope. Can't get a signal out. They gotta have some kind of interference quirk working against it." Denki had been designated the caretaker of their communications equipment seeing as his quirk, Electrification, allowed him to use his electricity to channel wireless signals at a greater range than a standard radio or phone.
"We need to get a message out somehow. Iida, that one's on you; you're the fastest one here. I'll cover you while you get to the doors. From there, you run as fast as you can and get help."
"Yes, sensei!" Iida revved his engines, pulling his helmet down to fully cover his face.
"Now!"
To everyone's surprise, while Aizawa had certainly been signaling for Tenya to start running, he'd also slowly been moving himself and the students away from Thirteen, who activated her quirk, opening the fingertips of her suit which started to suck the mist in, along with the villain himself.
"So droll." The villain whined, "And so predictable." The mist appeared from thin air behind Thirteen, seeming to redirect—no, Izuku corrected, transport—her attack back at her. She cried out in pain as her space suit was immediately shredded by the power of her quirk, and it undoubtedly would have taken the rest of her body if she had not ceased its use.
The villain cackled eerily as Thirteen fell to the ground, unmoving but for a few shallow breaths.
"Th-Thirteen…" Ochako and the rest of 1-A were beyond words. A pro hero had been taken out before their eyes in mere moments.
"As for you…" The mist wraith's eyes turned themselves toward Iida, already more than halfway towards the doors.
"None of your concern!" Aizawa's scarves lashed out, searching for a physical body to grab onto, but found no purchase within the purple haze. The pro hero's eyes widened when he heard a tell-tale sparking beginning behind him. "Stop!"
"DIE!"
It was too late to stop Katsuki and Eijiro from charging the villain, who let Eijiro pass through him harmlessly, but suspiciously floated himself away from Katsuki's explosive grab.
'He dodged!'
"I have had just about enough of this." Any illusion of amicability was long gone. The mist quickly expanded to cover Eijiro and Katsuki, who disappeared without a trace. It then lashed out at the rest of the heroes present, faster than any of them could react.
Izuku's only thoughts before he was swallowed by the darkness were hoping that Tenya had reached the doors and Manami would be okay.
I… am… ALIVE!
Not really, but hey, it's only been a month longer than I told you it'd take to get this chapter out. I'm going to stop making promises about chapters and just tell you 'eventually.'
Toru and Katsuki working out together is in serious contention for my absolute favorite scene in this story so far. It was a much-needed break from scenes focusing on Izuku/Manami, and it actually felt kind of nice to ignore the larger plot in favor of a little fluff. Minor disclaimer I haven't lifted weights in years so everything about that is probably wrong. I guesstimated their maxes off of body weight/height averages (apparently Toru is only five feet tall) and put them both at an intermediate/advanced level to suit their training.
Hope you're all ready for Manami/La Brava 2.0! Of the many ideas I had/was given for her upgraded quirk, I felt giving her a self-buff was the most logical route because it keeps her quirk theme in-universe the same. Mostly. As for her 'present' I will not hide that "Izuku's" idea came from League of Legends. It is probably not difficult to see where this is going. That said, you can not imagine how hard it's going to be not make any 'Bonk, go to horny jail' jokes now that I've literally given her a hammer.
And finally the USJ and introduction of the League. Thirteen was… interesting? I never knew whether to use he/her/they because of translation jank and a misleading interview by her english voice actor but according to the Ultra Archive (which is canon) she's a woman. I learned something new today.
The USJ incident will be fun, I'm sure. Lots of fighting, some major consequences, and knowing me I'll throw in some fluff somewhere in there somehow. I'm not sure how close my Kurogiri is to the canon version. We're past the point now where I clearly remember everything that went on in canon and I'm avoiding going back and reading/watching so as not to dry up creatively. Him and Shigaraki will probably be a little different. My assumption is all the villains will be a little more bloodthirsty and menacing than canon.
I humbly ask that you leave a review if you enjoyed. We can even make a game of it. Leave your predictions for the USJ chapter(s) and those 'major consequences' I mentioned!
Much love to you all, and thank you for sticking with me despite my ineptitude at meeting deadlines.
