Welcome back! I thought I'd update today in honor of the Season 5 finale and the announcement that Season 6 is in production! War Arc, here we come! (I am so terrified.)

Thanks for all the new favorites/follows, and thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! Please let me know your thoughts - it helps a lot to know what y'all are thinking!

Chapter Seven

Prelude

With their classes canceled the next day, Nomi took the opportunity to sleep in, even if the events that transpired the day before kept her from truly getting any rest. Agitation, anxiety, and fear plagued her thoughts, and questions circled her brain endlessly: Who wanted to kill All Might? What if the attack on U.S.J. was only the beginning of something much, much bigger? And who was the half-burned man she had spoken to?

Eventually, she gave up on sleep and played around on her phone instead, plugging in her earbuds to listen to music and hopefully drown out her screaming thoughts. She must have dozed off at some point, though, for when she next opened her eyes, the sun was well and truly up, and the city outside her window hummed with chatter and car horns.

She pulled out her earbuds and sat up, kicking off her covers. Her window AC unit rattled to life with a groan, blowing on the cold sweat that had formed on the back of her neck. She shuffled into the bathroom, rubbing at her demon eye the whole time. It ached something fierce, and she fumbled in her medicine cabinet for her trusty bottle of aspirin and the pain-relieving eyedrops she had as backup.

She hadn't mentioned her Quirk's freak-out to anyone, not even her father. She wasn't sure what to make of it herself. The only person she knew she could depend on for any answers was currently in the hospital, and she didn't know when Aizawa would be released. She gently probed at the scars around her demon eye and scowled.

"Don't do anything like that again," she warned it, "or else I'll get rid of you for good."

Fortunately, her eye did not speak back.

Her father was gone when she ventured downstairs for food, but she wasn't surprised, considering it was still a weekday. She had the whole apartment to herself for the day, which meant that she could forego her eyepatch. It was an entirely different experience without her eyepatch, and as much as she despised her eye, it still amazed her how ordinary things became extraordinary when she could truly see. She could count every individual grain in her cereal, and watch the dust motes dance in the slivers of sunlight that peeked through the curtains as she ate. It was times like these when she didn't mind her demon eye. She didn't have to worry about frightening anyone when she was alone, and the exhilaration of her enhanced eyesight became a wonder instead of a reminder of the power it held. She could just be.

She flipped on the small television in the living room and settled on the floor with her cereal. The screen flickered to life just as the mid-morning news started its broadcast.

"Good morning, Musutafu," the anchorwoman said, blinking her startlingly large and purple-faceted eyes. "Police are still investigating the incident that happened yesterday at U.A. High School's Unforeseen Simulation Joint, where a coalition of dozens of villains under the self-proclaimed banner 'the League of Villains' attacked a first-year class of students. While only one of the twenty students was injured during the incident, two U.A. teachers were taken to the local hospital with severe but non-life-threatening injuries."

Nomi ceased her chewing at the reminder of Midoriya and her teachers. Her cereal suddenly tasted like ash.

"Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi gave a press briefing late last night confirming that the villains' goal had been to lure out All Might—Japan's Number One Hero and a teacher at U.A. as of this year—in an effort to kill him and shake the public's faith in heroes. Though All Might himself did arrive at the incident, he swiftly put an end to the attack, and more than two dozen villains were arrested by local police.

"U.A.'s Principal Nezu is expected to give his own comments later today with classes suspended, so stay tuned for those further updates."

Nomi switched off the television as the news went to the weather, her appetite now gone. Dread weighed in her gut like a stone as she recalled Principal Nezu's words mere days ago: that someone, or a group like the League of Villains that had attacked her classmates, was declaring war. Against U.A., against All Might, or against hero society itself, she didn't know, but she had a feeling that all of it was connected.

She stared at her fuzzy reflection in the black screen, searching for answers she would not find.

"NOOOOOMMIIIIIII!"

Tae's shout pierced the air like a gunshot as the blonde girl hurtled into Nomi at the speed of light, wrapping her in a tight hug that was sure to leave her bruised.

"Thank goodness!" Tae cried, accidentally burying her face in Nomi's cleavage as she sniffled and clutched her tighter. "I was so worried! Villains, and the police, and the news, and – and – and—"

Nomi gently pried off her friend, ignoring the strange looks they received from passersby exiting the train station.

"Tae," she said, cutting off her rambling, "I'm fine. Just like I told you the first hundred times." She smiled, gesturing to herself. "See? Not even a scratch. You can stop worrying now."

Tae clasped her hands, her blue-green eyes bright with unshed tears. "I know, I know, I'm sorry! But I was so worried—"

Sanda walked up behind her and gave her a light chop to the back of the neck. "Oi. She's fine, all right? Quit crying."

The emerald-haired girl turned to Nomi and gave her a once-over with her usual bored gaze. "So. Villains, huh?"

Nomi nodded as Senzo joined them, eclipsing the sun with his tall frame. "Yep."

"The news called them the League of Villains," Senzo said. He put a large hand on Nomi's shoulder. "I'm just glad you're safe."

She remembered the conflagration zone and the advancing villains with a shudder. "Yeah. Me, too."

Sanda snorted as they wordlessly fell into step, heading in the direction of U.A. "League of Villains. What a stupid name. It's like a walking advertisement."

"Maybe that's the point," Nomi said, frowning at her feet. "Advertisement," she added to her friends' curious looks. "So they can recruit more people."

Tae chewed her bottom lip. "But why would anyone join a group of villains with All Might around? He's the best. That would just be silly."

"Whoever it was, they had a plan to get rid of All Might," Nomi said. "Obviously, they thought it would work, or else they wouldn't have been emboldened enough to attack."

"That bioengineered freak that the police found," Sanda surmised. "That was their big plan to take down All Might."

Nomi nodded and shared a grim look with her friends. "The Nomu. Their plan didn't work, but their leader is still out there somewhere. I don't doubt that he'll try again."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Tae said quietly. "Let's just…stop here, okay? The important thing is that you're safe, Nomi, and the villains' plan didn't work. Everything's fine now."

Nomi frowned but didn't say anything. She disagreed with Tae, but she didn't want to upset her friend further, so she kept her mouth shut until they had reached the school.

"I'll see you guys at lunch," she said, waving at her friends as they took the staircase and she headed down the hall to 1-A.

She slid the door open and slumped inside, keeping her head down while her classmates chatted with each other. The atmosphere was tense, but she could tell they were trying hard to get things back to as normal as possible. She bypassed a silent Bakugo, not even sparing him a glance as she stopped next to Midoriya's desk.

"Midoriya," she said in relief, smiling at the freckled boy when he glanced up. He appeared completely fine—there weren't even traces of any bruises or bandages. Recovery Girl must have done her job well. "I'm glad to see that you're okay."

"Oh, yes," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Nomi. I'm glad you are, too."

"Everyone!" Iida said pompously from the front of the room, waving his arms in the erratic, robotic way that he did. "Homeroom is about to begin! Please find your seats at once! That means you, Katsuragi!"

"You're not seated, either," she said, pulling a face, but she went to her desk anyway.

This brought him up short. "Oh. Yes. Quite right, Katsuragi."

He returned to his own desk just as the bell rang. Nomi wondered who their substitute would be with Aizawa still in the hospital, but her jaw dropped when the door opened and Aizawa himself entered, wrapped head to toe in bandages, but upright and walking, nonetheless.

"SENSEI?!" the class shouted in unison.

"Morning," he greeted, his voice muffled by the bandages over his face. He looked like a mummy as he shuffled to the podium, his right arm in a sling across his chest.

"Glad to see you're doing well, Sensei," Iida said, breaking the shocked silence, though he sounded awfully concerned.

In front of Iida, Tsu watched their teacher wobble worriedly. "Are you sure you're all right to be back here so soon, Sensei? It's only been a few days, ribbit."

"My welfare isn't important," Aizawa said as Nomi stared at him, aghast. "Not when your fight is just getting started."

"Our fight?" Kaminari said, anxious.

"More villains?!" Mineta cried, gripping the balls of his hair in anguish.

Nomi's heart pounded. What did Aizawa mean? What was their fight?

"U.A.'s sports festival is fast approaching!"

There was a beat of silence, and then the classroom exploded.

"Sports festival?!" Uraraka echoed.

Kirishima pumped his fist in the air while next to him, Kaminari whooped. "That's so totally ordinary!"

Nomi hunched in her seat, her shoulders loosening. Of course, the sports festival! The attack on U.S.J. had all but pushed it from her mind, but it was the time of year for the annual event. Suddenly, the log of dread in her gut transformed into one of nervous excitement.

Across the room, Iida raised his hand and spoke over the chatter. "Sensei, is it wise to have the sports festival so soon after the villain attack?"

The excitement quelled instantly, their previously unacknowledged tension returning tenfold as they all watched Aizawa expectantly.

"This isn't something to be canceled over a few villains," he said. His eyes were hidden behind bandages, but Nomi could still feel them sweep over the class, solemn. "U.A.'s sports festival is the biggest event in Japan. The nation's top heroes will be there as scouts, looking to select candidates to work as their interns and potential sidekicks down the line. All eyes will be on you."

The class held its breath.

"Naturally, you'll gain valuable experience and popularity if you're picked up by a big-name hero, but your time is limited. Show the pros what you're made of here, and you'll make futures for yourselves. This only happens once a year, so you've got three chances. If you're hoping to become a hero, then this is an event you can't miss."

Nomi hunkered down in her seat. Three chances…

She was lucky. She got four chances if she managed to not get expelled after this year. She had already wasted her first one. She couldn't afford to do the same thing again. Things were different this year. Being attacked by villains had already proved that. She wouldn't repeat her mistakes.

This year, she would win.

Naturally, the announcement that U.A. would go ahead with the sports festival was all anyone could talk about that day. Senzo, Tae, and Sanda were already deep in discussion about it by the time Nomi joined them at their usual table for lunch.

"Ugh! I have to get an internship offer this year!" Tae wailed dramatically as Nomi peeled apart her chopsticks. The blonde girl gripped her hair in anguish. "I'm so screwed if I get zero offers again!"

"You'll get an offer," Senzo said bracingly.

Tae pouted. "Easy for you to say. You and Chizuru had sponsors eating out of your hands!"

Next to her, Sanda shrugged. "True."

Senzo laughed while Tae put her head in her arms and moaned. "Wow, you sure are humble, Chi."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" Sanda snapped.

"What are you going to do about it?" Senzo asked, waggling his eyebrows. "We both know I'll just beat you if you try to challenge me."

Sanda scoffed. "I don't challenge you because I know you'll just enjoy getting beat to a pulp by a girl."

Nomi's mouth quirked at Senzo's incredulous look. "She has a point."

"You, too?" he said. "Since when are you and Chi ever on the same side?"

"When it comes to teasing you," Nomi said. She stuck out her tongue and giggled when Senzo mimed falling out of his chair.

"Don't do that, Katsuragi," Sanda chastised. "No one wants to see that."

Nomi rolled her eye and picked up her food again. "And no one wants to hear you complain."

Fortunately, before things could get any uglier, they were interrupted by a nervous voice.

"Um, hey, Katsuragi," said Mashirao Ojiro. He stood beside their table holding his lunch tray, the tip of his tail twitching anxiously.

"Ojiro, hey!" she said brightly, turning her back on Sanda's murderous glare. "What's up?"

At the new arrival, Tae's head popped back up. "Ooh! Are you one of Nomi's classmates? Hi! I'm Tae Momote!"

Ojiro blinked at the bombardment of words. "Yeah. Mashirao Ojiro. Nice to meet you."

"Pull up a chair," Nomi said, indicating the vacant table to her left.

When no one rejected her idea, Ojiro slid a chair over with his tail and sat down, placing his tray on the end where Nomi had made room for him. "Thanks. You didn't have to invite me to sit with you. I just wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" Nomi asked.

Ojiro rubbed his shoulder. "For what you did for Aoyama and me at U.S.J. Staying behind and all; making sure we got to safety first."

Nomi's face began to burn as all eyes turned to her. "Oh. You don't have to thank me for that. Anyone else would've done the same."

He shook his head. "I didn't even consider it. I'm ashamed to admit it, but all I could think about was running away. I wasn't like a hero at all. Not like you were."

Nomi's chopsticks clicked together uncomfortably. She hadn't considered her actions to be heroic; just something that anyone in her shoes would've done. But to move on from the awkward conversation and the curious looks her friends were giving her, she instead forced a smile to her face.

"Thank you," she said. "I appreciate your words, Ojiro. I'm just glad everyone is all right. Especially you and Aoyama."

Ojiro smiled, looking relieved. "Yeah. Same here. Well, thanks again, Katsuragi. I just wanted to stop by and say that."

"Sit," Senzo said when Ojiro made to get up. "I promise we don't bite, first-year. Eat with us. You're already here."

Nomi nodded at Ojiro's conflicted look. "Stay."

"Okay. Thanks," he said, returning to his seat.

Tae nearly thrust herself across the table, smiling broadly. "This is so exciting! It's usually just the four of us at lunch, but now we have a new person!"

Ojiro grinned nervously. "You were all classmates of Katsuragi's before, right? What about the other second-years? Don't they eat with you?"

Tae cleared her throat. "Well, they would, but…"

"Sanda typically scares them off," Nomi finished.

Sanda sipped from her bowl with a neutral expression. "I don't know what you mean."

"Chi just doesn't like a lot of people," Senzo said. "Or, well, people in general."

Ojiro seemed as if he was beginning to regret staying. "Ah. I see."

"Anyway!" Tae said, clapping her hands. "Are you excited about the sports festival, Ojiro-kun?"

"Definitely!" he said, perking back up. "I'm pumped!"

"We should probably start training soon," Senzo said. He took a bite from his katsudon and chewed thoughtfully. "Make sure we're in top shape again."

Nomi nodded. "I was gonna go to the weight room after classes were done for the day. All of you are more than welcome to come with."

"Pass," said Sanda immediately.

"Of course," Nomi replied, rolling her eye as she reached for her drink only to realize that she had never purchased one. "Ah, damn. I forgot to get a drink."

"You going to the vending machines?" Ojiro asked when Nomi stood. "I'll come with. I forgot to buy a water bottle for later."

They made their way to the vending machines near the entrance to the dining hall, weaving through the crowds of chattering students until they joined the queue to wait for their turn to buy their drinks.

Nomi opened her mouth to say something to Ojiro before a flash of red-and-white from in front of her caught her eye. "Todoroki! Hi!"

A few places in front of them, their classmate Shoto Todoroki turned, and Nomi and Ojiro both waved, though Nomi was a bit more enthusiastic about it. She hadn't had an opportunity to speak with him more after their brief conversation during the Quirk assessment, but she always found herself staring at the back of his head during class, mesmerized by his perfectly split half-red, half-white hair.

"Hi," he said, his tone and face neutral.

Nomi was undeterred. "Ready for the sports festival?"

"I guess."

Ojiro coughed awkwardly beside her.

"Oh. Well, cool." Nomi raised her fist. "Let's do our best, all right?"

"Yeah."

He turned back around, and she deflated. "Did I say something wrong?"

"It's not you," Ojiro assured her. "Todoroki's awfully quiet. I'm sure he meant no offense."

Nomi sighed. It was a shame he was so flat and aloof. She'd thought he was rather handsome, too.

"He's wicked strong, though," Ojiro continued as the line shuffled forward. He kept his voice down, and Nomi leaned in. "Hagakure and I were against him and Shoji in the battle training. He froze the whole building itself and just waltzed in to take the weapon like it was nothing." He looked pained. "The whole thing didn't even last five minutes."

Nomi stared at Todoroki's back. "That's amazing." She cringed at Ojiro's look. "Sorry. Sucks that you lost."

Ojiro chuckled. "Asui was right the other day. You're not the classmate we all expected you to be."

"What can I say?" she said airily, waving a hand. "I'm not another Bakugo, that's for sure."

"And thank goodness for that," he said. He paled. "Just don't tell him I said that."

Nomi started laughing, and after a few seconds, Ojiro joined in.

Lost in the giddy feeling of having a newfound friend, she didn't notice the pair of mismatched eyes on her in silent contemplation before they retreated, taking the red-and-white-haired boy with them.

After school, Nomi found herself hesitantly knocking on the door to the faculty lounge room and waiting anxiously until a voice said, "Come in."

The hallways had cleared out in less than ten minutes after the final bell, and the door squeaked loudly in the sudden silence as she slid it open and shut it behind her. The room was small and quaint, equipped with a few tables and couches and a miniature kitchenette. On one of the couches sat Aizawa, still wrapped head-to-toe in bandages and seeming for all the world like a Halloween decoration.

"Sensei," she said. "Thank you for speaking with me." She spotted an electric water boiler on the low table nearest the window, and she perked up. "Would you like me to make you some tea?" Her gaze flicked to his arms, wrapped in bandages and casts. "Er, I mean…"

"I'm fine," he said to her embarrassed look. "Feel free to make some for yourself."

She nodded and busied herself with the appliance, setting out a cup and tea leaves as she waited for the water to boil. She sensed Aizawa's bloodshot eyes on her back, and she cringed when he spoke again.

"Don't dawdle, Katsuragi," he said tiredly. "You said you wanted to speak with me about your Quirk. What is it?"

She fiddled with a packet of sweetener and bit her lip. "It's...complicated."

Aizawa waited. She sighed. "It's about what happened at U.S.J."

Aizawa settled back into the couch with a barely concealed grunt of pain. "Go on."

"My Quirk...it did something it had never done before." The appliance dinged, and she pressed the button to dispense the hot water. It dribbled into the cup, and steam rose up to settle on her cheeks. "When we were trying to escape the fire zone, I thought we wouldn't make it. I looked at the villains and screamed for them to stop-I didn't know what else to do. I was desperate, and I panicked." She touched a finger to her eyepatch. "But when I told them to stop - they did. The villains they just - just froze in place."

She turned to her teacher, her eye beseeching. "Sensei, did I...did I do that to them? Did I control them with my Quirk?"

If Aizawa was surprised by her admission, he didn't show it. Instead, he watched her carefully, his gaze calculating. "Have a seat, Katsuragi."

Taking her tea, she obeyed and sat down on the couch opposite of him. The cup warmed her hands, but she suddenly felt very cold as her teacher surveyed her, not speaking for several long moments.

"Do you remember what I told you all last year before I expelled your class?" he asked.

She balked at the reminder. "You told us that we weren't taking the hero course seriously and that if we wanted to be heroes, then we had to prove it to everyone, including ourselves."

He nodded, the movement stiff from the bandages around his face and neck. "And when I re-enrolled you all, your attitudes had improved drastically. You were finally ready to learn."

Nomi shook her head. "No offense, sir, but what does that have to do with my Quirk acting strangely?"

"Because you're ready to learn again, Katsuragi," he said, his eyes boring into her. "We're all taught from a young age that Quirks can adapt and mutate. The phenomenon in which stressors can induce a change in Quirks - the Quirk Evolution Theory. Every child is taught about it in school now since around the third generation of Quirks; it's rare, but cases have been recorded of it happening, particularly in heroes, who put their lives on the line every day."

She stared. "So, that's what happened to me? I underwent a Quirk evolution?"

"I'm ninety-nine percent positive," he said. "We've discussed the idea of exploring beyond your Quirk's boundaries before, haven't we? You were placed in a situation where your Quirk had to exceed its limits - it had to change and adapt. We just always assumed it would be tied to other emotions, like how your Quirk evokes fear."

"But what does it mean?" she asked, staring into her tea. "I can control people now? I-I don't want that."

"As of right now, it's a possibility," said Aizawa. "We can only guess and learn through experimentation from now on. Your training may have just gotten a lot harder."

Her shoulders hunched. Aizawa watched her carefully when she didn't say anything, her lower lip trembling.

"Katsuragi," he said, and his normally flat tone held something almost akin to sympathy. "I need to know if you're ready to handle this. If not…"

The unspoken words hung in the air like swollen storm clouds, ready to burst: if she wasn't ready and willing to use her Quirk's new power, then she could kiss her dreams of being a hero goodbye. Aizawa wouldn't let her continue at U.A. if she even had the tiniest sliver of doubt. She would be expelled again-this time, permanently.

Her fingers tightened on her cup. Had she really come so far only to be thwarted by herself-again?

For some reason, her conversation with Katsuki Bakugo after the U.S.J. incident came back to her just then, and she remembered the scowl on his face, the determination in his eyes, as he'd told her "Just watch me." A promise, a declaration, and a challenge all at once. It filled her with indignation.

"Whatever it takes," she said, lifting her head. Her eye locked with Aizawa's dry, red gaze, and she straightened her spine. "I'm going to be a hero. Just watch me."

Beneath the bandages, she could have sworn Aizawa smiled. "Good. Because from now on, I'm going to push you harder than anyone else, Katsuragi. Plus Ultra."

And what terrified her the most was how much she believed him.

If her life wasn't hell before, it sure was going to be now.

"Plus Ultra."

Kind of living for Ojiro and Nomi's unexpected friendship. I always thought Ojiro was a fun and underrated character.

Stay tuned! Next chapter is officially the beginning of the sports festival!

Until next time!