Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia
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Early rays of dawn glistened against an ocean blue sky. Aerial balls of feathers and beaks chirped their morning ballads in what could only be described as a cacophony of sound as they fluttered about in the sky and perched on outstretched branches. A steady, warm breeze brought with it the smell of freshly mown grass and the floral fragrance of spring flowers. It was nothing if not a beautiful morning, invigorating to those fortunate enough to be immersed in the great outdoors. Unless of course, that person happened to be Shouto Aizawa.
Blinking rapidly against the too bright light, Shouto glared up at the feathery noise makers who were currently giving him a goddamn headache. He brought his one morning essential, coffee, to his lips and took a generous swig as he made his way to the dormitory of class 1-A. His only remaining duty as the first year's teacher was to ensure the group of troublemakers were cleared out of the dorm by noon. He would certainly miss the students; he's grown fond of each and every one of them over the past year. They didn't need to know that though, and he would take that piece of information with him to his grave.
Another swig as he turned onto the path leading to the dorms but before he could swallow the bitter elixir he stopped in his tracks, staring wide eyed at the unexpected view before him.
The whole building….
Without a second thought, Shouto threw his head back and delivered a substantial dose of his trustee eye drops to each eye. He blinked rapidly while giving the saline drops a minute to properly wet his eyes.
Okay, let's try this again.
….
His eyes widened in disbelief. He slowly moved his head from side to side, verifying he was in fact in the correct location before zeroing in on the empty space where his student's building was supposed to be. The only evidence suggesting there was ever anything there was the cut off foundation and broken water pipes poking out of the ground. It was a clean, precise cut, not a jagged edge in sight.
Dumbfounded by this completely unexpected development, the instructor of 1-A remained rooted to the spot, annoyance blooming in his gut. He sighed, resigning himself to his fate as he pulled his cellphone from his pants pocket.
These kids are going to be the death of me.
What age is retirement again?
XXX
Apprehensive eyes gawked at the winged creature soaring through the sky, its large form slowly dwindling in size as it continued to distance itself from them. Once the beast was out of sight, a collective exhale released through the air as the students let out the breaths they didn't realize they were holding. Izuku placed a shaking hand against his chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat beneath the black cotton of his t-shirt.
"This… this doesn't make any sense" he whispered mainly to himself before going into a full blown mumblelogue about the impossibility of their situation. His emerald green eyes darted around their surroundings frantically, taking it all in while trying to make sense of what was happening.
"I mean, I know we're in trouble here, but that bird thing was so cool!" Mina bounced up and down as she spoke, probably the least frazzled of the group.
"What was that thing? What if it comes back?" Ochaco wrapped her bare arms around herself in a tight hug, feeling cold despite the damp heat that enveloped them.
"If that thing comes back then obviously I'll blast it back to the stone age." Though trying to come off as cocky, Katsuki's wide eyes and pale complexion betrayed the unease he felt. He glanced in the nerd's direction, frowning at the spew of hushed words pouring from the teen's mouth. A part of him wanted to go comfort Deku, who appeared quite shaken. Years ago, when they were just brats who could barely tie their own shoes, they'd run off together to go on epic adventures every day. Those adventures would often result in scrapped knees, getting lost in the woods, or some other minor 'tragedy' that quickly reduced Izuku into a fitful mess.
Katsuki always felt pulled to Izuku during those times. He, as if driven by instinct, felt a commanding need to cheer him up so they could once again smile and laugh together.After his quirk manifested, he distanced himself from his friend. He chose to bully Deku to quell that godforsaken urge to comfort him.
Frustrated, he raked his fingers through his blond strands which were already damp from the considerable humidity sticking to him. He was about to spew profanities at the useless nerd, once again opting to degrade him instead of the less comfortable alternative when a soft rustle of leaves followed by clumsy footfalls caught his attention. His classmates must have also noticed because their gazes were all locked in the direction it was coming from, their bodies enduring the internal war of their adrenaline induced fight or flight instincts.
Both Katsuki and Iida took a step forward, placing themselves on the front line. Izuku and Kirishima soon joined them, the four close range powerhouses readying for whatever was coming their way. Sweat coated Katsuki's heated flesh, an ideal reaction to the danger at hand given he would need it to fuel his quirk. He glanced to his side to see Kirishima's soft skin harden in an instant and the Nerd's focused face come alive with his quirk's green current. Chest heaving and fists clenched, the hotheaded hero listened intently to the rustling of leaves as it grew slightly louder, the sound of footfalls coming steadily closer.
"It's a lot smaller than that thing in the sky" whispered Jiro as she used her quirk to track their incoming visitor.
"Doesn't make it less of a threat" Momo whispered back.
Everyone stilled when the rustling stopped just in front of them. No one dared move a muscle and it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. The air was thick with the collective, anxiety driven anticipation emanating from the students and they held their breaths as whatever it was finally stepped into their clearing.
A frail hand reached out from the cover of the jungle, gripping onto the rough, moss covered trunk of a tree for support. A shoe covered foot poked out next from behind the thick tree and was soon followed by a tall, lanky body stumbling forward into view. He squinted his eyes, slightly blinded by the flashlights nervously pointed at him.
"Its… a man." The relief was evident in Ochaco's voice and they all relaxed considerably upon realizing it was not another monster.
As Katsuki released some of his tension, he noticed Deku had at some point taken another step forward, partially shielding him from what they assumed was danger. Anger rolled off him in waves and he reached out to shove the stupid nerd but stopped when Iida's voice drew his attention back to the matter at hand.
"Hello. I am Tenya Iida, student of UA high school and class representative of class 1-A. Who are you?" He paused as he took in the heavily disheveled appearance of their visitor. There were scratches and deep purple bruises marring his exposed skin and he was covered in a layer of dirt and grime. He wore a navy blue button-down shirt, and khaki slacks. The right sleeve of his shirt had been torn off and the smooth fabric of his slacks was ripped and stained. His chin length white hair was matted and greasy with twigs and dirt entwined within the fine, thin strands. It probably had not been washed in several days and the crimson glow cast off from the moon gave it an almost pink hue. "Are you in some kind of trouble sir?"
"Oh my god. Who are you people? How- how did you get here? I didn't think…" he shook his head like a crazed lunatic before taking a moment to settle himself. "I-I'm sorry. My name's Shogi, like the chess game. Anyway, I just wasn't expecting to find anyone else here. When I saw the Kemurōflying overhead, I made a run for it, searching for a safe place to hide."
Upon hearing Shogi refer to the bird beast by an actual name, Izuku couldn't help but wonder what else the stranger might know about their circumstances. "Kemurō" He tested the foreign word on his tongue looking like it was the most intriguing bit of information he received all day. "How do you know what it's called?"
"Heh, it's not official or anything. I just call it that so I have something to address it by in my journal." Shogi pulled a small journal out of his pants pocket and waved it in front of them.
"Oh! So, you're keeping a log of-"
"Enough of the chit chat already! You've clearly been here for a while so why don't you tell us where the fuck we are?!" Little explosions were popping within Katsuki's closed palms. They didn't have time for Deku to get excited over the man's journal. There were more important questions to address first.
Shogi eyed the fiery pops emitting from the teen's hands warily, taking an unsure step back to put much needed space between them. "I uh, don't really know to be honest. I was working in my lab when-"
"You have a lab?! Does that mean you're a scientist? What kind of research do you do?"
"Deku!" Katsuki swung his fiery glare toward the nerd, issuing an unspoken threat to his rival.
"No Kacchan. Maybe his research has something to do with this place. We should ask him about that first."
Katsuki crossed his arms in front of his chest, his hands clenching into fists. If he needed to beat the stupid nerd into submission, then that's what he would do. "I'm asking the fucking questions. Shut. The. Hell. Up."
Before things could escalate any further, Kirishima stepped between the two with his back to Midoriya. "Okay you two, we need to work together not against each other. You both have good questions so why don't we just quiet down and let our new bro here answer them."
"Tch."
"You're right. I'm sorry." Izuku at least had the decency to appear embarrassed of his behavior while Bakugou continued to glower silently.
All eyes turned back to Shogi, watching him expectantly. "Oh um, is it my turn now? Ha, okay so to answer your first question, I'm researching a special device used for transportation." He pushed his spectacles back up the bridge of his nose as he continued. "I was attempting to modify it to extend its range and abilities, but something must have gone wrong. It activated on its own and brought me here. I know its somewhere in the forest and I've been trying to find it for at least a week now, but the forest is so dense and the creatures here are feral and dangerous. I'm afraid I haven't gotten very far."
"And do you know where here is exactly or how we got here?" Shoto asked.
"I do not." Shogi gave a disappointed shrug.
"Fucking useless" Katsuki spat, already dismissing him as just another extra.
"Not useless" Momo corrected. "He has an entire week on us and even kept a journal documenting the local wildlife he encountered. I think he has much to offer."
"I agree" chirped Deku, flashing a bright smile to the scientist. "Besides, as future heroes we are going to come up against all different kinds of scenarios and situations. Searching for his device while protecting him will be a good way for us to put our skills to the test."
"Its not like we have any other options" Mina added while winking at the sexy scientist guy causing a shy blush to spread over his sunken cheeks.
"Excuse my rude behavior but uh, do you guys happen to have any food? I've been pressing my luck and eating pretty much anything that didn't outright look like it would kill me. Except for the one plant that gave me horrible stomach cramps and hallucinations its been going okay, but it would be really nice to eat real food for a change. That is, if it's not too much to ask?"
"You needn't worry, Sir. We are heroes and would be remiss if we were to deny you rations when we have a kitchen full of food. You don't seem like you are getting around well. Would you like some assistance as we head back?" Iida reached a hand out to Shogi as he spoke, offering his aid. The scientist accepted his offer, wrapping his arm behind Iida's neck so the engine hero could help him offset some of his weight.
The students of class 1-A turned to head back to the dormitories, each footfall sinking into soft earth as they trudged back to safety. Their ever-observant eyes carefully surveyed their surroundings as they made the short trip back, more then just a little creeped out by the red hue cast over every inch of the forest. Once in a while foliage would rustle slightly as something unseen passed by, sending a few of the students into a near heart attack every time it occurred. What started out as a fun celebration had ended abruptly, casting the students into unknown territory. For now, they would eat and replenish their strength because in the morning they had serious work to do.