PassiveNox: Yep :P
TheGreatBubbaJ: Aye! I really like writing her. Too bad she was almost absent for the Cure of Evil, but ever since then... yep. Core character.
Raw666: If he wanted Eri, he would attack elsewhere :P I believe he has no idea that Midoriya is attending UA.
Detrametal: laugh all you want, it's kind of the point of my writing ;v also if death by public embarassment is possible, then Izuku is clearly courting death xD
The Archivist of Nyx: At least you don't have to wait for long! It's a new chapter every two-three days ;) Quick question: What made you think that Hana Shimura is alive? She is for Answering the Call (the fanfic that I posted a single chapter here), but thus far I didn't plan for her being alive in Ties that Bind (then again, I'm still in a position to make her be alive) so I'd like to know that.
(***)
"Oh, it's an honour to finally be able to meet you, Ms. Midoriya!" Nedzu announces as All Might and Inko enter his office.
"Likewise, Principal Nedzu." She gives him a faint smile. "I heard a lot of good things about your taste in tea, and I'm looking forward to finding out what brands you serve to your guests."
All Might, whose taste in drinks was always tilted towards coca-cola and other carbonated drinks, decides to not take part in THAT talk. It's bad enough that he is missing a lesson, just because Nedzu had a brain aneurysm and scheduled the private lesson review meeting at such an hour.
Nedzu absolutely beams at the discovery that Midoriya Inko has a rather exquisite taste in teas. Oh, if only he met Gentle Criminal. That man can recite and review (from memory) almost every type of tea known to Mankind, and All Might is somewhat shocked that he did that while still having time to be a villain.
Eventually they all sat down, only Yagi without a cup of some rather high-class tea.
"So, Nedzu…" All Might still wants to make it for the second half of the lesson (using One for All remnants to sprint there feels wasteful, but it's his son they are talking about! Nana would understand), and decides to not waste any more time. "... what's your opinion on Izuku after the first two private lessons?"
"Oh, he's absolutely wonderful!" Nedzu exclaims and Inko smiles a bit. Hearing a teacher (the principal, even) actually praising Izuku is probably somewhat a cathartic moment to her. "An unpolished diamond when it comes to strategy and planning in general. I can assure you that by the time he graduates, he'll be playing in the same league as me and Sir Nighteye."
All Might more or less expected that. He knew that Izuku had a brilliant mind. Although hearing the confirmation from someone who was probably a top brain in the country certainly helps his confidence in that.
"I assume that you already more or less analyzed my son's strengths and weaknesses." Inko says. "And this meeting is about that."
"Correct!" Nedzu says. "Every mastermind of this level has their own specializations. For example, I'm unmatched when it comes to analyzing copious amounts of data. My quirk allows me to search through thousands of pages of text in a matter of seconds, analyzing it down to the handwriting style. However, my understanding of social cues and human actions and psychology outside of what I have cold, hard data for is… lacking. There is a reason why I'm leaving the majority of interactions with the students to the faculty members."
"Sir Nighteye, in the meantime, excels in investigations." All Might adds. "He works slower than Nedzu, because he lacks the High Spec ability for analysis, but his understanding of people is much better. He is much better at guesswork and figuring out the motives of people. This is why he is better at investigative work than Nedzu - because the principal has problems with operating without data to base his theories on, while Sir excels in data gathering."
Inko looks at him a bit strangely, so he shrugs.
"I talked with him about it once, back before we had a fallout." All Might explains. "This is why having them in my team allowed us to corner All for One. Sir Nighteye excelled in gathering data, while Nedzu was a master of analyzing it and figuring out the truth behind it."
"What a coincidence that you mention All for One…" Nedzu starts.
(***)
Thirteen finished her short speech about the dangers of quirks. For the first time in history, Izuku Midoriya was the second most enthusiastic person in front of a hero (Uraraka has clearly met her idol and it was just painful to watch).
Eraserhead sighed. Two seconds later, he realized that something was wrong. He looked towards the main square of the USJ right in time to see a small circle of black mist emerge in the middle of it… and then grow rapidly, with figures stepping out of it.
Villains. Lots of villains. Dozens of them. And even if they are small-fries, this doesn't look particularly good.
"Oh, is that part of the training?" Kirishima is among the first ones to spot the new arrivals.
"No, those are real villains." Eraserhead says while putting his goggles on. He ignores the shocked gasps.
"Eraserhead, Thirteen and… Present Mic?" The man built from the black mist (a warp quirk user, no doubt, he was the one to bring them here) announces. Despite the distance, he is clearly audible. "How odd. We came here expecting to meet the Symbol of Peace. He should be here according to the teacher's curriculum we procured two days ago."
"Plans change." The black-haired man wearing a black dress shirt, black dress pants, and a gas mask covering his mouth and nose announces. There is some sort of voice amplification feature built into it. "We'll slaughter the kids instead. Maybe that will make him show up."
He sounds utterly disinterested. He just stated his willingness to kill twenty-four children like Eraserhead would state his willingness to take a nap.
No alerts. Yaoyorozu is inquiring about that in the back, but Thirteen clearly has no idea why they didn't go off. The comms are jammed. The attackers came prepared.
"You can't fight them!" Izuku shouts and leaps off his position towards him and Present Mic.
"We have to." Eraserhead promptly replies. Present Mic is looking down the stairs with a look of determination on his face.
"No, you don't understand, it's..." Izuku says, and Eraserhead immediately realizes that he is speaking with the kid that has private lessons with Nedzu (even if only two thus far) and knows several supervillains personally. If he says it like that, then he must have a reason. And probably has better intel on many fields than Eraserhead does.
"Talk to me." Eraserhead postpones his attack for a few more seconds and interrupts Izuku.
"The villain with a gas mask is called Overhaul." Izuku speaks quickly. He is almost in his rare mumbling mode, but somehow he managed to stay understandable. "We need All Might or the entire faculty save for him to take him down. And if it's the latter, we'll probably fail to do it without casualties."
This sounds bad. Eraserhead never heard of him and he will have LOTS of questions to ask Izuku after this fight is over. If they all survive. He isn't the only one with questions, judging from the fact that some of the other students are close enough to hear their conversation.
"Quirk?"
"Matter-reassembly on touch." Izuku replies in a hurry. "Instakill if he touches you. Can heal himself and others. He will destroy or reform your scarf if you let him touch it too, and he can alter monomaterial surfaces around him to pretty much do what Cementoss-sensei can."
Eraserhead suddenly realizes that if he didn't stop to listen to what Midoriya had to say, he would be already dead. Oh, great. He is going to have to give the problem child extra credit for that, isn't he?
"Weaknesses?" He needs to buy time, because the first villains are already scaling the stairs.
"Mysophobia." Izuku quickly replies. "If you take his mask off or throw some dirt or blood on his exposed skin, he should freak out for a moment."
Not much, but he can work with that.
"Thirteen, get the students out of here!" Eraserhead shouts. "If Midoriya says something, listen to him. He is Nedzu's student!"
He leaps forward. Present Mic times his first attack perfectly, blasting the small-fries around right before Eraserhead gets to them. The fight starts.
(***)
"... because Izuku's particular specialty resembles All for One the most." Nedzu says. "I'd risk saying that it's practically speaking his carbon copy, just without the evil."
All Might does his best to appear surprised. He isn't explaining to Nedzu the part where All for One was Izuku's stepfather for most of his life. Inko doesn't want people to know, either. Especially the heroes. Gran Torino knowing is everything she is ready to agree to on that field.
"If I were to summarize this specialty in the smallest amount of words…" Nedzu continues. "It'd be 'creative problem-solving'. Or, perhaps, 'creative application of tools'. All for One's entire empire was tailored alongside his particular brand of genius, which is the main reason why it remained strong for so long."
"I feel like he created more problems than he solved." All Might decides to point out. Inko gives him a tired look.
"Yes, undoubtedly!" Nedzu chuckles a bit. "However his empire always lacked any sort of organized structure. It was quite literally All for One and his inner court, surrounded by numerous semi-independent organizations that he held indebted or terrified enough to follow his wishes. When he wanted something done, he looked through his list of contacts for those with the necessary skill sets and quirks and assembled a proper operation plan. Izuku, perhaps unconsciously, is already doing something very similar."
"I believe that I'd notice my son assembling an empire of crime." Inko comments. "So I'll take that as a hyperbole. Or a metaphor." This pulls out another brief chuckle from Nedzu.
"Oh, there are no crimes involved, I assure you, Ms. Midoriya." The principal says. "Are you perhaps aware of the incident that occured in the school cafeteria two days ago?"
"I am." Yagi says. Inko is clearly surprised by it. "There was a panic following a security alert caused by the media breaking in. A few students were lightly wounded due to everyone trying to leave the building through the same door at the same time."
"Yes, but are you aware that the incident was solved by your son?" This time Yagi joins the surprised group. Izuku hadn't mentioned it. Then again… it was something positive about him, and he was problematic on that field. "When the alarm sounded, he was in the cafeteria together with his friends. Namely, Uraraka Ochaco, Inasa Yoarashi, Tenya Iida, Tsuyu Asui, Hitoshi Shinsou and Himiko Toga. They didn't join the ongoing chaos next to the exit, and instead were a bit behind it."
Nedzu drinks some of his tea. He is clearly overjoyed to narrate this event, despite some of the students being wounded. Then again, they already made changes to the security and there were going to be some evacuation drills in order to prevent the panic from occuring again.
Inko drinks some of her tea. She is clearly overjoyed to hear about Izuku having friends. Especially when the list is this long. It takes most of her self-control not to start crying out of sheer happiness in front of Nedzu. That and, well, she prefers not to cry over tea.
A matter of aesthetics, really. It makes tea parties rather awkward.
"I believe that Tenya spotted the press through the window, and informed the others." Nedzu continues. "Izuku almost immediately conjured a plan to calm the crowd. He had Uraraka make Inasa and Tenya weightless. Then he had Tenya propel the two of them towards the exit doors over the crowd, with Inasa using his quirk to stabilize their flight. Inasa could go there on his own, but considering the situation, him using his quirk excessively might have only amplified the panic. Once they got to their destination, Inasa used his rather… overbearing voice to draw the attention of the students that were now facing him, and explained to them that it's just the press, not an attack."
"Ah." All Might still marvels at the quick thinking when Inko makes the face of sudden understanding. "Application of tools, was it?" Nedzu smiles at her.
"Precisely!" The rodent announces. Thankfully, he realizes that All Might is still kinda lost, and decides to help him. "Your son analyzes everyone he meets, noting down their quirks, abilities, personality, strengths, weaknesses and so on. When he encounters a problem, he immediately looks through the list of available 'tools' and finds the best way of solving the problem with what he has on hand. The cafeteria incident is a great example - he realized that the panic had to be calmed down, so he analyzed the quirks and abilities of his friends and devised a plan to deal with the problem. We had a talk about it already, and he actually had two plans prepared. If Inasa failed to calm the crowd, Izuku would have Himiko Toga shapeshift into Eraserhead in order to use the teacher's authority to diffuse the situation. This was his plan B, due to Aizawa's generally low profile. If she could impersonate Present Mic, with his much louder voice and greater ability to influence the crowd, he would make it his plan A."
Nedzu pauses for a few seconds, letting All Might come to an understanding with what he just said.
"Frankly speaking…" the rodent then adds. "I'm looking forward to Izuku Midoriya leading hero agency team-ups against larger villainous organizations. Creating plans on how to maximize the strengths of his assets and how to exploit the identified weakness of his enemies to the maximum." He chuckles. "Oh, this will be beautiful to watch. It'll be like having All for One acting as a strategist and tactician for the heroes."
All Might looks back to the moment on the rooftop and wonders what might have been if he hadn't changed his answer. What if Izuku started pulling people like Hitoshi and Himiko out of their problems, only to offer them something else than heroics. Something significantly more… villainous. He doesn't like the images that his mind conjures.
(***)
"I'm afraid that I can't allow this." The cloud of black mist says to the students who were just about to get to the exit door. How did he get there so fast?! Uraraka saw him down there like a second or two ago!
They all take a step back, even Thirteen. This messy blackness with lines for eyes is… intimidating.
"We are the Paranormal Liberation Front." The cloud announces. "I apologize for interrupting your lessons, but we have come here to meet and… extinguish the Symbol of Peace. As for why I'm here, in front of you, it's because…"
"Thirteen-sensei, don't!" Izuku suddenly shouts, startling the teacher that was just about to use her quirk on the villain. "Yoarashi, blast him sideways!"
Inasa doesn't wait to think about it. He doesn't ask questions. He remembers how Izuku outplayed him during the combat training, he remembers Izuku figuring out how to calm the raging crowd before him. He probably decides that there is a plan, just that he is yet to figure it out and it's obviously time sensitive. Besides, Aizawa-sensei told Thirteen to listen to him, right?
So he does what Izuku told him to.
The gust of wind is powerful. Several of the students are almost pulled by it, but their stronger classmates react in time. The cloudman curses while he is pushed sideways, his body reforming closer to a humanoid form a few meters away, still clearly struggling against the wind.
Thirteen takes the moment to run past it and open the exit door. Students lunge towards it. They heard what Izuku told Eraserhead about the head villain and they realize that this isn't the time to be heroes.
"YOU. WILL. NOT!" The mistman shouts and spreads his blackness again, pushing Inasa's wind back. They will not make it, they don't have time for it, maybe at least some of the students…
"Thirteen, don't fight him, don't use your quirk, just run away!" Izuku shouts. "IIda, alert the school!" Uraraka hears. She is among those who made it to the door in time.
(***)
Tsuyu Asui is fast in water. Sure, she is a frog, and they might not be the best in open water like this, but she is also human enough to compensate. She is fast enough to beat back the shark villain that was about to assault Midoriya, and pull him and Mineta out of the water.
She throws Midoriya (and Mineta too) to the ship that they emerged next to, and then scales the ship's side herself.
"Well, aren't we in a pickle." Tsuyu says, eyeing the waters surrounding the ship. There are some villains down there.
"Yeah, quite so." Izuku says. He is already thinking about something. Tsuyu has so many questions about what happened earlier, but this is clearly not the time.
"But we just have to wait for All Might to arrive, right?!" Mineta pops up. "Once he does, he'll just go like… pow! and bam! And it's over, right?"
"No, I don't think it will be that easy." Midoriya replies. "They thought that they would meet him here, together with Aizawa-sensei and Thirteen-sensei. Overhaul is a perfect counter to Aizawa-sensei, while that black mist villain is a perfect counter to Thirteen. I also saw some big, black… thing with an exposed brain standing right next to Overhaul. I think that whatever it is, the attackers think that it's a counter to All Might."
"Is that why you told Thirteen to run?" Tsuyu asks. She doesn't know how that black mist villain is a counter to her, but…
"Yes." Izuku replies. "Thirteen will die the second she uses her quirk on that black mist villain." Mineta is thoroughly panicking next to them. Tsuyu prefers to ignore him. "Okay, we need to start moving."
"Might be hard considering the part where we are surrounded by villains." Tsuyu points out and Mineta freezes. "What's your plan?"
She is curious about Izuku Midoriya. More than she is willing to let people know. Despite the arguments to the contrary, his quirk still resembles All Might's to her. He risked facing other heroes to save a complex mutant and a kid with quote unquote villainous quirk. That alone is saying a lot about him.
"As much as I hate to admit it…" Izuku says, facing her. "Students might be the key to winning this fight."
Oh. Tsuyu understands it now. Bold, she has to admit. But it makes sense.
"They sent me to the water zone." She says, and he confirms her suspicions with a fervent nod.
"What?" Mineta fails to get it.
"They prepared perfect counters for the teachers." Izuku replies patiently. "But they tossed the frog mutant into a flood zone, instead of the avalanche or conflagration zone. They either don't know the quirks of the students or they didn't consider us a threat. And considering the fact that Tsuyu easily outmaneuvered and beat up that shark-villain to save us, they are mostly cannon fodder that even we can fight against. We just need to figure out how to use our quirks to get out of this, and we'll be alright. We might even be able to help the teachers."
"Are you kidding me?!" Mineta almost shouts. "Didn't you see my quirk during the battle trial? It's useless! Completely useless!"
She sees some odd flinch on Midoriya's face. She isn't sure what to think about it.
"Mineta, there is no such thing as a completely useless quirk!" Izuku shouts back. "And certainly not among the people who got to the UA and passed Aizawa's quirk test! I already have a plan, and you're the key part of it so stop shouting and help me out!"
Oh?
"You… you do? And I what?" Mineta is shocked, almost to the point of crying.
The villains get impatient. One of them uses his quirk to damage the ship, which starts sinking slowly.
Three minutes later the three hero students are leaving the flood zone, leaving behind an entire ball of villains glued together with Mineta's balls. Tsuyu is incredibly impressed.
(***)
The second fight that ends is the one between Todoroki Shoto and a crowd of villains within the Landslide Zone. It isn't even a fight, really. Shoto freezes everyone and then has them spill the beans about their plan, before unfreezing them. He doesn't want them to die.
The cold in their body steals their willingness to fight. Shouto heads towards the central area, just like Midoriya and his group does.
(***)
In the Mountain Zone. Kaminari, Momo, Kyoka and Himiko are engaged by a crowd of villains. Himiko feels like a fifth wheel in the fight: Kaminari stuns people with a touch. Kyoka blasts them with her own heartbeat. Momo conjures things from thin air. What can Himiko do?
She is fast and agile, but ultimately not very trained in combat. She doesn't even carry any weapon and they are a bit too hard-pressed for her to ask Momo to make something for her.
It turns out that she can do quite a lot, once she has someone who knows how to apply her particular skill set next to her. After Kaminari short-circuits while stunning everyone in the vicinity, and they deal with the one villain that tried to take him prisoner (Himiko running towards Kaminari right after the blast to check if he was alright saved them from a hostage situation), Momo has an idea. She tells Himiko to shapeshift into the electric villain, while she produces fake handcuffs.
Their entire group passed by the villain reinforcements unmolested, Himiko explaining to the villains that they are urgently needed as hostages in the central square.
(***)
Kirishima didn't know what to think about the Rehab Course folks. He can understand trying to make your life into something better. He has a history with that. Sure, he wanted to change out of being weak and indecisive - this isn't the same as committing whatever crimes they did commit.
He landed in the Ruins Zone with Tenko and Bakugou and almost immediately understood one thing. That he certainly prefers those two to be heroes, or at least civilians. Because what he witnesses isn't a fight. It's a methodical, one-sided massacre that he barely gets to participate in.
Tenko moves silently but freakishly fast. He doesn't even use his quirk, whatever it is. He appears out of nowhere but right next to thoroughly shocked enemies and then either rams their heads into the wall or does something similarly nasty.
Bakugou does all the shouts and taunts. Half of them are directed at some undefined 'stupid nerd Deku', which is kinda odd, but Kirishima isn't going to ask.
Kirishima expected something else when he heard about sweating nitroglycerine. Instead he discovers that he landed in the Ruins Zone with a living explosion that can explode whatever and whenever it wants.
That's kinda awesome. Perhaps manly too, but he is waiting with that assessment until he finds out what made Bakugou into a supposed villain.
When the Ruins Zone runs out of villains, they proceed towards the exit.
(***)
Eraserhead eliminated most of the villains in the central area. By that time he is acutely aware of two things. First is the fact that they aren't going to make it. Two, is that they only got that far because All Might's absence meant that Present Mic was there… and because Eraserhead stopped to listen to Izuku Midoriya's intel.
Eraserhead keeps Overhaul's quirk locked in at all times. Present Mic knows him well enough, they fought alongside each other many times. Each time someone is about to attack Eraserhead from the back or side, he gets hit by a highly concentrated soundwave.
The few villains that tried to go after the Voice Hero are interrupted by Inasa Yoarashi. Who, by some freak (and happy) coincidence is still there. On the stairs behind Eraserhead, right next to Present Mic.
Eraserhead has to blink from time to time. Overhaul tried to use that by putting his hands on the ground and waiting for him to blink, probably in order to reassemble the floor underneath him. He is a bit behind his villains, but Aizawa Shouta has a counter to that. He shouts to Mic right before blinking, and each time that happens, Hizashi hits Overhaul with one of his blastwaves.
Not strong enough to damage him, but strong enough to push him back a bit, forcing him to stop touching the ground with his hands. Enough to give Aizawa time to blink.
"Well, damn." Overhaul decides to speak finally. "Someone sold me out, huh? You clearly know how my disease works."
Eraserhead uses his capture scarf to throw one villain into another. He is slightly winded, but that's not exactly the problem right now. The real problem is Overhaul and that big, muscular something next to him that doesn't even flinch when Erasure hits it.
Also what the hell was that part about the disease?
Overhaul leaps forward. He is fast. Probably as fast as Eraserhead, if not slightly more. But Eraserhead is prepared. When Overhaul gets close enough, the hero throws a handful of fresh blood and dust that he gathered on his hand earlier.
The villain no longer carries a mask. Present Mic's sonic blasts shattered its glass visor, so he threw it off. He didn't seem to like that at all.
Midoriya's intel is spot on. Overhaul freaks out and shouts something, trying to clear the mess from his face despite being right in front of the enemy. The capture scarf is waiting for it, wrapping itself around the villain's body. If Aizawa manages to wrap him up in a way that keeps his arms immobile while hands can't twist enough to touch the scarf, he'll…
"NOUMU!" Overhaul shouts. And Aizawa sees red.
(***)
Nedzu apologizes for interrupting their talk about the future of Izuku Midoriya and picks up a phone.
Hound Dog.
Iida WHAT?
"Villains are attacking the USJ." Nedzu says, and All Might tenses. "Don't forget the phone, I'll send you what we know en route. Go!"
All Might jumps through his window with enough strength to send Nedzu (and his coffee table) flying. Inko moves fast enough to catch him with her quirk.
(***)
Izuku Midoriya is the source of 99,9% percent of canon divergences, ngl. Thus far. As I said, USJ is going to be (mostly) canon compliant except for different cast, it's after that Izuku stops restraining his inner chaos gremlin at all goes creative.
In case you were curious, Eraserhead probably let Himiko bite him as a part of showing her that yes, she is accepted in that family. Even if he is a bit grumpy about it.