The next day, Naoko returned Todoroki's notebook to him a few minutes before class began, proudly showing him their compiled work. Pleased with the result, they nodded at each other when Aizawa began calling up groups to submit their assignments. As their group was called, Naoko stood and padded towards the front of the classroom. She handed the folder to the ever-tired teacher.

"Was it fun choosing the scenarios, sir?" she asked quietly, her smile as bright as always.

Aizawa glanced up. An amused smile briefly flashed across his expression as he took the folder from her, placing it on top of the stack. "Very."

Afterwards, class resumed as usual, and while they were thankful to no longer be subject to the foreboding mountain of essays, the aspiring heroes seemed just a little more worn than usual.

A few days later, class 1-A was gathered on a bus, heading towards UA's rescue training facility. It was preparation for rescue missions they might face as pro-heroes, as Aizawa had said. The class listened eagerly as he explained the kinds of exercises they would be participating in and their importance to a hero's job, though after a while, the excited chatter of the students began drowning him out a bit.

"This is so cool!"

"It'll be fun to practice some rescue situations, huh?"

"I call dibs on saving all the girls!"

"I'm just happy we get to wear our hero costumes again!"

"Quiet down, everyone. We're here."

The class looked up to see a large dome-shaped building beyond the window, and standing in front of it, waiting eagerly to greet them, was the pro-hero, Thirteen. Buzzing with excitement, the students messily filed out of the bus and followed closely as their teachers led them into the training facility.

"Welcome to USJ! We have a number of simulation disaster zones here, from mountainous terrain to aquatic zones and everything in between! This will let you experience a wide variety of rescue situations and build upon the different skills needed for different terrains. For those interested in specializing in rescue, this will be especially valuable!" Thirteen explained enthusiastically as they headed towards the disaster zones on the lower floor.

Upon reaching the edge of the stairs, however, something unusual caught their eyes. The students paused, curiously leaning over the railing for a closer look.

A swirling purple thing appeared in the center of the open space on the ground floor, and something appeared to emerge from inside.

It was... a person?

An emaciated-looking man with artificial hands all over his body climbed out. He glanced around as someone else appeared behind him. Then another.

Then another.

Then another.

Dozens of people flooded the building in an instant, and judging by the looks of it, they weren't up to any good. One of the people- if it could even be called that; it was definitely not human- that had emerged from the swirling portal looked like... some kind of large black creature with an exposed brain? Naoko had never seen anything like that before.

"Huh? Where's All Might? All Might is supposed to be here…" the thin, blue-haired man wondered aloud, scanning the stunned group of students and teachers.

"Get back, everyone! Don't move!" Thirteen yelled, stretching a hand out in front of them defensively.

"What the...?" Aizawa narrowed his eyes at the unannounced guests, shifting his stance as he lifted his goggles into place.

"Wait, what's happening?" Midoriya asked in confusion, glancing back and forth between him and the people below.

Aizawa grit his teeth. "Villains…" he spat. "Thirteen, protect the children."

He stepped forwards and leapt down towards the mass of intruders, the abrupt, shrewd sound of weaponry filling the air.

"Hey! I can't get a signal! I think something's wrong!"

"It must be jammed: the alarms aren't going off either…"

"Everyone, take shelter! Leave this to the teachers!"

Taking Iida's lead, the class turned on their heels and dashed back towards the entrance.

"Quickly! This way!" he waved urgently.

They didn't get far before the same purple portal appeared in front of them, cutting off their path and stopping them in their tracks. The portal warped and stretched into a towering, writhing black mass, then two glowing eyes appeared.

"It's nice to meet you," it spoke as the students took a cautious step back, "We are the League of Villains. We've invited ourselves into UA, the breeding ground of heroes, to defeat the Symbol of Peace: All Might! Now, where is he? Has there been some kind of change?"

Midoriya frowned at the mention of the name, hands balling into fists.

"Well, it doesn't matter, really" the creature continued, his form growing threateningly, "I'll play my part..."

"Get back!" Thirteen yelled from behind them. She quickly lifted a hand, finger unlatched and prepared to attack, but before she could, Bakugo and Kirishima suddenly leapt forward, blasting the figure hard enough to kick up a thick cloud of dust.

"Like we're just going to let you do that!" Kirishima shouted, grinning proudly as he landed a shuddering blow.

Their attacks seemed to work.

For a moment.

"Oh my, that's dangerous," the figure spoke mockingly as it reformed itself, a strange metal object now suspended in its mass, "I suppose even if you are students, you're still quite the impressive golden eggs. My job is to scatter you and torture you to death." A flurry of startled gasps escaped the class. "But first…" It flicked its glowing eyes to Naoko, a swirl of purple gas suddenly surrounding her.

The students next to her shank away in alarm.

"W-what-?" her eyes widened as she instinctively stepped back, hands automatically swatting at the thickening mist.

"Hey! What-?!" Bakugo faltered in confusion for a split second before the terrible implications hit him, and before he knew it, he was dashing towards her.

Just as the swirling gas grew larger, stretching higher and thicker and fully enveloping her, they locked eyes. Then, in an instant, it all disappeared, taking Naoko with it.

"Fuck!" He stumbled into the space where she just stood, missing her by just a inch. His blazing glare snapped back to the creature, and in a second, he pivoted, charging at it with sparks alight in both hands. "Hey! What's your fucking deal?!"

"The rest of you…" it raised its hands as more gas appeared around the remaining students, "scatter!"

The dark mist grew quickly into a dome and enveloped them all.

Bakugo cursed as he suddenly felt himself fall through the ground, landing hard on his back. He recovered quickly, shooting up to his feet, head swiveling to see he was now inside what appeared to be an abandoned building.

"Ow!"

He turned to see Kirishima sprawled a few feet away, clearly just as disoriented, groaning and rubbing his sides painfully as he managed to push himself up.

"Damn, what was that thing?"

"Fuck if I know," Bakugo sneered angrily, jaw locked.

Suddenly, a portal opened right in front of him and an arm shot out at his face. He leapt backwards and nearly fell through another portal behind him, narrowly avoiding the gleaming swipe of a dagger. More and more gates quickly began appearing all around them as the villains from before poured through.

"Fuck off!" he hollered, charging at them with gritted teeth. He met the first one with a blast to the face, leaping over him to grab another by the throat and smashing him into the ground. Two more appeared behind him, and a high-pitched, metallic sound pierced the air. He flinched and recoiled before aiming a scorching blast at the men, sending them flying into the far wall and snuffing out the noise.

"Watch out!" Kirishima jumped towards him, smashing down the creature who had crept up behind him in his distraction.

Bakugo sneered and turned back towards the remaining villains. He ran forward, dodging the vines that shot out around him, and grabbed the man by the back of the head, slamming him into the ground. Kirishima took on the last one, blocking the man's sword before punching him in the stomach and sending him flying across the room.

They breathed heavily, and after it was finally quiet again, they glanced over the scattered villains.

"Well, if the rest of them are this weak, the others should be fine," Kirishima huffed, thinking aloud.

Looking around, they saw they were trapped on all sides by walls of concrete. One side of the room was caved in, blocked by a mountain of rubble, though fortunately, there were two still-standing exits behind them. Bakugo stomped towards one of them without a word.

"Hold on! Where are you going?" Kirishima called, scrambling to keep up with him.

"Getting out of here- what else?!"

"That portal guy must have done this to try and take us out while we were separated. We should try looking for the others!"

"Next time I see that fuckin' bastard, I'm going to blast him into his next damn life!"

Naoko groaned, arms drawing in to push herself off the ground. She rubbed the back of her head as it throbbed painfully: she must have hit something on the way down. Wincing and shaking the blur from her eyes, she pushed herself to her feet, glancing cautiously around the room.

It seemed to be... a bar of some kind? The wall behind the dark wooden counter was filled with miscellaneous bottles of tinted liquid while sets of red barstools lined the near side. There were two doors in the room: one on each side of the bar.

After a minute of listening carefully, remaining as still as she could, she slowly approached the large metal door on her right. She craned her neck, trying to see through the caged window slot. It seemed to be completely black on the other side, however; she couldn't make out a thing. After a moment of hesitation, Naoko carefully reached for the metal handle.

A dark portal appeared inches from her face, and she recoiled, scrambling backwards. She grit her teeth, bracing herself as it warped and stretched into the ominous, gaseous creature she had seen earlier.

"W-who are you?!" she demanded, trembling arms raised defensively in front of her.

Another portal opened behind the entity and a man stepped through: the emaciated, blue-haired man from before.

"Hey, I'm Shigaraki Tomura. I hope Kurogiri wasn't too rough with you," he rasped with a casual wave.

Naoko pressed her lips together nervously, taking another step back.

"W-what do you want?"

Shigaraki ambled over to the counter as she shuffled backwards to put space between them. He slouched into one of the bar stools.

"I want to talk," he said, the hand latched to his face obscuring his expression, "I think you'll be interested in what I have to offer."

"I would never accept anything from people like you!" she grit her teeth, "Just- just let me go!"

Shigaraki sighed, shaking his head and reaching up to scratch his neck. "Hey, can you drop the act? It's getting annoying."

She frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"We wish to make an alliance with you," the figure named Kurogiri spoke from behind him. "There is no need to act in front of us, Unknown."

Naoko paused at the man's words.

"Oh," she said, dropping her defensive stance.

The fear drained from her face, replaced by something of a blank stare. She turned, stepping towards the wall opposite the bar and shifted to sit on the ground, propping a leg up and resting her arm across it. She leaned back with a sigh and turned her uninterested gaze to the strange man before her.

"I don't believe we've met," she mused.

"No, we haven't, but I know you. I like what you do," Shigaraki lowered his hand and stared down at her with a wide grin, "We could use someone like you."

"No thanks. I have no interest in your 'League of Villains,' was it?"

"We're not some petty criminal group, you know. We have big plans, and your abilities would be useful."

"Big plans? What, killing All Might?" she scoffed, "That's not exactly aiming for the stars, is it?"

"It's the first step in reforming a world that has lost its order. Something needs to change or we're all bound to rot away with it. We have to save those who can't save themselves, don't you agree?"

She raised an eyebrow at the man unamusedly. Sighing, she brought her wrist up to eye level, examining the hem of her costume's sleeve as she slowly traced her fingertips over the stitches. "You said you know me, didn't you? Then you should know that even if I somehow wanted to join your pathetic organization," she smiled humorlessly, "I'm not exactly a free bird. You're wasting your time."

"Kurogiri," he groaned, leg shaking unevenly with impatience, "you said she would be easy to convince..."

"Unknown," Kurogiri focused his glowing eyes on her relaxed form, "you do not yet understand our purpose, but that will change in time. There will be evidence of our words soon enough, and we will speak again when the time comes that you and your family recognize our goals. For now, we must return to our task. Come, Shigaraki Tomura."

A portal opened behind the floating entity, and he slipped through in one smooth motion.

Shigaraki sighed. Standing from his seat, he padded over to the portal.

"You'll understand soon, right?" he glanced back at her with piercing eyes, stepping a foot through as well. "Because if not, I don't think I'll like you anymore."

"Fuckin' hell!" Bakugo yelled, blowing up a pile of rubble.

"It's like the rooms just keep on going. I'm starting to think this place doesn't have an exit at all..." Kirishima sighed as the blonde ahead of him blasted through another wall.

"Shut up and keep looking!"

The redhead sighed again and followed him through the hole. His logic seemed to be to keep punching through walls until they found a way out. It made some sense, Kirishima thought, after all, walking in a straight line in one direction is bound to reach the outside eventually. Though personally, he would have tried looking for the stairs first.

"You're pretty good friends with Naoko, right? The girl that got warped away before us?"

"As if I'd be friends with that loser! And why the hell do you care?!" he sneered, blasting through another wall.

"I mean, I was just guessing. I've only talked to her a few times, but she seems nice. I hope she's alright. That portal guy must have singled her out for a reason."

"Damn it!" Bakugo cursed under his breath, "That dumbass can't do shit for herself. She fuckin' better be ok or I'm going to rip that warping shithead to shreds!"

Another blast punched through a wall, and this time, light poured in from the other side.

By the time All Might finally arrived, the class was barely standing their ground. He came just in time to save Midoriya from the blue-haired man's decaying touch, carrying him and two other students off to a safe distance. After rescuing Aizawa, he faced the strange black creature that screeched and leapt towards him on Shigaraki's command. He strained to keep up with the thing whose strength was frighteningly impressive, though in the end, All Might managed to get an edge, sending him flying through the roof with one final "Smash!"

The villains quickly retreated after the other pro-heroes arrived, warping through the portals, disappearing back to wherever they had come from.

They gathered the wounded teachers for immediate medical attention and rounded up the mostly-unharmed students by the main entrance. The police officers arrested the remaining villains who had failed to escape in time.

"...17, 18, 19... that one kid was taken to Recovery Girl, so that's 20..." Present Mic looked down at the clipboard again, "Hey, aren't there 21 of you? Is someone missing?" he scanned the group again, trying to match names to faces.

"It's Naoko, sir! Ito Naoko! I haven't seen her since the portal villain took her away!" Uraraka spoke up, her hands clasped in front of her chest worriedly.

As if on cue, a purple swirl appeared above them, much to everyone's alarm. After a second, figure fell out of it, landing directly on top of Present Mic and sending them both crashing to the ground.

"Hey what the-!"

"Ow…" Naoko groaned, pushing herself up once again. She rubbed the back of her head before opening her eyes, only then noticing the man beneath her, "Oh! Sorry!" she apologized with round eyes, quickly scrambling to her feet.

"Are you Ito Naoko?" he groaned, rubbing his back.

"Yea, I-"

"Where the hell have you been, idiot?!"

She was caught off guard as Bakugo sprinted over to her, gripping her shoulders as he harshly jerked her around, seemingly checking her over for injuries. Upon finding none, he glared up at her, smacking her over the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" she shielded herself defensively, wincing up at him.

"Don't just disappear like that!"

"It's not like I had a choice!"

"You're so dumb I'm surprised you're still alive!"

"Quiet!" Present Mic grabbed them by their collars and pulled them apart, "Bicker on your own time! Right now, everyone needs to follow me outside! Let's go!"

Bakugo sneered and angrily followed the rest of the class outside, while Naoko, who was still rather disoriented, trailed a step behind him.

They were led back onto the bus, along with the remaining teachers, while the police cars and ambulances flashed their lights all around them.

Naoko sat in the same seat she had occupied on the way here, Jiro quickly sliding in next to her.

"Are you ok? What happened? Where did that guy send you?" she frowned in concern. The two sitting behind them, Asui and Kaminari, leaned in as well.

"Oh, I'm fine! Don't worry! And I'm not sure where it was, really; I didn't recognize the place," she admitted sheepishly, "It was just some room, I think."

"Did any of the villains come after you?" Kaminari asked, having just snapped out of his quirk-induced stupor a few minutes ago.

"Yea, I think they separated us to try and take us down easier."

"That's what we thought too," Tsuyu nodded, "Luckily they weren't very well prepared, ribbit."

The chatter on the way back was quiet- rather unusual for the class. Everyone was still processing the attack, with Midoriya and their teachers' injuries weighing heaviest on their minds. They tried not to show it, however, keeping up a positive face for the sake of their friends. For many, this was their first experience with real villains, and it was all a bit too much to grasp, even given the ultimately favorable outcome.

After they arrived back at UA, the students headed back to change out of their hero costumes. They returned their cases to their assigned slots, collected their belongings, and just like that, they were free to head home.

Naoko was one of the last to leave the classroom. She waved goodbye to her remaining friends before heading in the direction opposite the school's exit.

"Excuse me," she called out, pushing open the simple white door and stepping into Recovery Girl's office.

"Naoko!" a surprised Midoriya looked over from where he lay behind the white curtain, "What are you doing here? Are you hurt?"

"No, not at all; I just came to see if you were ok," she smiled sympathetically, padding over to the side of his bed. "Where's Recovery Girl?"

"She went to talk to All Might, I think."

"Oh, ok. How are you feeling?" she glanced at his arms, currently heavily bandaged in a double sling.

"I'm a lot better now! Recovery Girl healed me up already, but she said I'll have to stay like this for a while," he grinned in embarrassment.

"You must have been through a lot. I wish I could have been there to help somehow," she breathed, glancing down with a sad smile.

"No, no! I'm really glad you're ok! I wouldn't want anyone else to get hurt!"

She laughed halfheartedly, "...yea. Thanks, Midoriya."

"Actually, I'm kinda embarrassed you have to see me like this again..." he smiled sheepishly.

Naoko had visited him here after the Battle Trial a few weeks ago when he had also injured his arms. She had brought him some apples then, and he mentioned recognizing her from the entrance exam, thanking her for her help.

"I guess you're in here a lot, huh?" she laughed quietly, "It must be difficult."

Midoriya looked down, a small, hopeful smile on his face. "It is a little frustrating, but I'm sure it'll pay off in the end. After all, we all have to try our best, right?"

"Right," Naoko nodded in agreement, mirroring a grin. "Well, I was just dropping by. I don't want to bother you for too long, so I'll get going now. I hope you feel better soon!"

"Ok, thanks for coming by! I'll see you in class tomorrow!"

"See you!"

The door squeaked shut behind her as she stepped out of the nurse's office, turning to start back towards the main entrance.

The empty hallways felt strange with only the rhythmic clicking of her school shoes to fill the silence. Many of the lights had been turned off as well; besides a few teachers, the building was empty.

She stepped out of the main doors and felt the chill of the impending evening sink into her skin. Adjusting her backpack and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Naoko continued towards the gate, when-

"Bakugo?"

The usually explosive blonde was leaning against the metal gate, arms crossed, with an annoyed frown on his face.

"Took you long enough, loser," he huffed, kicking off the wall as she reached him.

"Were you… waiting for me?" she blinked curiously.

"What? You got a problem with that?"

"Well, no, it's just that you've never waited for me before."

"Shut up and let's go," he tsked, turning around dismissively and stepping past the gate.

Naoko snapped out of her momentarily daze and hurried to catch up to him, smiling as she reached his side.

"Hey," she leaned forward to glance up at him.

"What?"

"Thanks, Bakugo."

"Whatever."