虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず

Koketsu ni irazunba koji wo ezu.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained; No pain, no gain.

The class began running towards the exit doors. Izuku, however, was paralyzed, staring at me with wide eyes, as if the world had just crumbled under his feet. Darting forwards, I snatched his wrist, tugging him towards Thirteen. The Space Hero was guiding everyone away, bringing up the rear of the fleeing crowd.

"T-Tenya!" I called out, rushing forwards. Tenya had been trying to get Izuku's attention, and failing. "R-run ahead! Y-you have to g-get n-news to the P-principal q-quickly!" Tenya was the fastest one here, so it made the most sense. I glanced over my shoulder at Mister Aizawa.

Eraserhead was in full swing, throwing villain after villain around with ease. Mister Aizawa had explained one-versus-group battle tactics to me before, but seeing it in action was very different. He used his eyes to create disarray, making a group collaboration almost impossible. The few people that got close to him were taken down in a rapid flurry of kicks and punches. His hair and scarf floated around him, and there was a faint glint of red behind his goggles. Mister Aizawa looked awesome, and I was proud that he was my mentor.

Tenya nodded, turning to run. "Alright, Ichigo," he said firmly, taking off with a burst of speed. Izuku and I paused for a moment, eyes wide at Tenya's never-seen-before burst of speed, before taking off after him.

"I WON'T LET YOU LEAVE!" A vortex opened up on the floor in front of the class. I skidded to a stop, staring in horror as the vortex guy rose from the floor, slowly taking shape. The off-black, purple tinted mist he was made of swirled ominously, swallowing the nearby light. His head took shape far higher than any normal human, yellow eyes gleaming ominously. "Nice to meet you," he began politely, despite his thunderous tone. "We are the League of Villains. It may be presumptuous of us, but we invited ourselves in to Yuuei Academy. We are here to battle All Might, so he might take his final breath." His voice remained even, as if he wasn't threatening the life of the Symbol of Peace himself. I tensed, hearing my suspicions confirmed. "That is neither here nor there, however," the villain continued, swelling to even loftier heights, wing-like constructions swelling. "This is the part I am to play."

Bakugo and Kirishima leaped forwards, attacking the living vortex. With a loud explosion, smoke when flying into the air. "Hah!" I heard Kirishima bark from somewhere ahead of me. "Didn't consider you'd get beaten by us first, huh?"

There was a moment of silence, and I clutched Izuku's hand. I didn't like this at all. It was too easy, there was no way a villain who snuck into Yuuei would be taken down so quickly by a pair of amateurs.

Sure enough, the villain's voice rang out again through the dust cloud. "Oh, that's dangerous," he remarked mockingly. The dust cleared as the vortex reformed, wavering slightly, as if the villain was unbalanced. "That's right, even if you are students, you are excellent golden eggs." He was seemingly unaffected by the large bomb Bakugo had just set off in his face.

"No," Thirteen started, sounding panicked. "Get away you two!" He ordered. Kirishima and Bakugo barely had time to glance over, wide eyed and shaken by the uselessness of their attack.

The vortex guy grew even larger, pulling the entire class into his shadow. "My job is to scatter you all," tendrils of purple tinted mist shot forward, swelling and wrapping around the entire class. I threw myself backwards, barely managing to avoid being caught. "AND TORTURE YOU TO DEATH!" Izuku, still tied in the tentacles, reached out to me. His eyes were wide and fearful. I flung myself forward unstably, hand outstretched, as the tendrils grew into a large dome, swallowing my friend whole.

"NO!" I turned to see Tenya, on the ground next to Ochako and a few other classmates. He must've pulled them out in time, I realized dully, stepping back from my futile charge towards the now shrinking portal. Tenya had saved several people, and I had failed at saving one. Mister Aizawa had trusted me.

He had trusted me to save them, and I still could try. "T-TENYA!" I screamed desperately, turning to see the boy still on the ground. He glanced at me, wild eyed. "G-GET OUT OF HERE WHILE YOU S-STILL C-CAN!" I ordered, pointing at the now unguarded doors. The portal-dome was starting to shrink.

Tenya scrambled to his feet, jaw set with determination. "Understood, Ichigo!"

"Here!" Ochako fell forward, barely managing to touch Tenya's ankle with her outstretched hand. She smiled brightly. "I can help you like I did before. Good luck, Tenya!"

Tenya stared at her a moment, starstruck, as the portal further shrunk. Then he smiled, facing the doors as the engines in his legs revved. "I will return!" He shouted, vanishing even faster than before, gone in a burst of engine smoke and loud revving.

I smiled tearfully, and hoped he was right. I turned to my other classmates. "Sh-Shoji! Is e-everyone here s-still?"

Shoji spread his tentacles, eyes and ears forming as he scanned the building. "Everyone is in the building," the masked boy confirmed, voice quiet and even. "But they are scattered." What was left of the group of students sighed in relief. I couldn't relax in the slightest, because I had already pieced their plan together. Obviously, this League of Villains had no shortage of members. They had adopted a "divide-and-conquer" strategy, spreading my classmates throughout the building, likely with goons waiting to outnumber and kill them.

I turned to Thirteen. "M-Mister Th-thirteen? W-what do w-we d-do now?" I begged, hoping that the Pro Hero could pull some inspirational trick like he did before and re-instill confidence in everyone.

"This damn bastard's quirk is the worst!" Sero snarled, glaring at the vortex-guy, who was slowly reforming. "Physical attacks are useless against him, and he can just warp us away - his quirk is the absolute worst!"

Thirteen stepped forward. "I shall do my best," he called, uncapping on of his fingers. "Black hole!" The off-black mist of the villain was instantly pulled into the Space Hero's own vortex, reeling him inwards easily. I stepped out of the way, unwilling to risk getting sucked. Tenya was long gone, it was our job to hold out for now.

I set my jaw, and turned towards the stairs. Down below, Mister Aizawa was still fighting, but the mob of villains was endless. I could speed down there and help him but… "Then your goal is to avoid activating your quirk as much as possible. With a quirk like yours, your goal is to activate your quirk as late into a battle as you can manage." This wasn't a practice exercise, but the same rules that Mister Aizawa said applied. I didn't need to activate my quirk yet. Hardening my resolve, I turned back towards Thirteen.

"Black hole, a quirk that sucks up everything in its path and turns it to dust," The villain observed, unperturbed. I recoiled, disturbed by how unaffected the vortex guy was as he was slowly absorbed by the Thirteen's black hole. "I see. That is an astounding quirk," the villain complimented. "However, Thirteen, you are a hero who works to save people from disasters. As expected," Another vortex opened behind the Space Hero. "Your battle experience is less than half of other heroes. You will turn yourself to dust."

Thirteen turned around, shocked. "A warp gate!" The vortex carried Thirteen's own gravity over. I watched in stupefied horror as cracks appeared in Thirteen's spacesuit, before finally the back half vanished into the vortex. "He got me…" The Space Hero muttered, falling forwards. I heard one of the other students scream.

Blood was pounding in my ears. Thirteen had failed. He had lost, he was dying. My brain scrambled for a plan. I rushed forward, skidding to a stop on my knees. Hearing Thirteen's breathing, I sighed in relief. Grabbing the Space Hero's suit, I dragged him backwards, towards the edge of the stairs. "Please don't die, please don't die," I chanted softly, calculating my next move.

"Little girl," the vortex villain didn't bother trying to stop me, sounding very amused. His yellow eyes were angled upward, as if he was smiling. "What are you trying to do?"

I glared at him from the edge of the stairs, despite the fact my knees were shaking. "M-Mister Aizawa said t-to wait, b-but th-this seems l-like a good t-time. Sato!" The kid in the yellow costume jolted, sprinting towards me. The other students moved to block the way, which was a futile gesture at best, but at least they were trying. I felt better with their support. "W-when I s-say go, I need you to th-throw M-Mister Thirteen t-towards Mister Aizawa. He n-needs help," I could see my mentor slowing down as the battle carried on.

Sato stared at me with wide eyes. "But how-"

"Don't!" I interrupted. Taking a deep breath, I held my hands out. Wisps of steam tricked up between my fingers as my quirk activated. Sato pulled a sugar pouch out of nowhere, activating his own quirk, Sugar Rush. "P-please help Mister Aizawa," I pleaded, pressing my hands into the suit. Sato grabbed Thirteen's arms and shoulder, muscles bulged insanely. I pushed the energy through my hands. "GO!"

Sato threw Thirteen into the air, and the Space Hero flew. I could see the moment the hero regained consciousness, righting himself as he landed in the middle of a crowd of villains, facing Mister Aizawa. There was barely a pause, before he activated his quirk. With his suit broken, his back also acted as a part of the vortex. Over half of the horde of villains was absorbed instantly. Deactivating the black hole, Thirteen approached Mister Aizawa, turning his back and attacking as he went.

I faced the vortex villain, grinning proudly. The vortex guy looked shocked at Thirteen's sudden recovery. "Th-that's what I'm t-trying to do!" I said cheekily, holding up a peace sign, before darting down the stairs as fast as I could. The other students were at my back, laughing and smiling madly. We had actually managed to pull one over a real villain! "W-we need t-to rejoin M-Mister Aizawa! H-he can c-counter th-the vortex quirk!" I shouted to the others, grinning proudly. I felt giddy, the adrenaline pumping through my veins building the hype.

Sato gave me a thumbs up. "You got it, Kurosaki!" My classmates ran ahead of me, using their quirks to gain speed. I tried to keep up, but I fell behind anyways. Gritting my teeth, I tried to quell my frustration - and then I noticed the pale villain charging Mister Aizawa's exposed back. A bolt of fear ran down my spine. This was the villain in charge, and Mister Aizawa hadn't noticed him yet. Mister Aizawa was going to be attacked. I couldn't let that happen.

I moved before I could ever finish thinking, mind focusing on one fact: He wasn't touching my mentor.

I threw myself off the staircase, breaking both my legs as I landed in front of the villain and blocked his path. The grey haired man barely paused his charge, grabbing my wrist. I gasped as I felt the skin tingle, dry, and break. The villain grinned, jumping over my fallen form. He fell flat on his face.

Holding his ankle, I bared my teeth in a weak imitation of a smirk. I pushed myself to my feet, legs entirely healed. "Y-your q-quirk, it works on o-organic objects? I-is it like a d-decay?" I walked forward, blocking his way again as the villain pushed himself to his feet. I raised my fists. "Y-you w-won't get p-past me!"

The eyes behind the hand narrowed. "You aren't affected. A healing quirk?" He lunged forward, grabbing my wrist. "That's cheating," he mumbled through chapped lips, leaning in. His other hand slowly clasped over my face, trying to overwhelm my quirk's abilities. "But I can do better."

I grinned as steam poured out from under his hands. "C-can you?" I questioned, shoving him backwards. We both toppled forwards, and now I was kneeling over him. The last vestiges of steam rolled off my skin, perfectly healed. "S-so your quirk is d-decay?" I punched the villain in the face, feeling triumphant. "H-how useless!"

The next punch I aimed was blocked. "Regeneration!" The villain hissed, flinging a hand towards my throat. Four of his fingers touched my skin before I could grasp his wrist. Mister Aizawa's drilling took effect, and swinging myself to the ground, I bent his elbow back with a loud crack! The villain screamed in pain, throwing me off of him, but the damage was already done.

"Your quirk o-only w-works w-when all f-five fingers t-touch," I noted with delight. "Y-you w-won't stand a ch-chance against Mister Aizawa!"

The grey haired man climbed to his feet, scratching his throat antsily. He glared at me from behind his hand-mask. "You are definitely cheating," he mumbled childishly, turning to look over his shoulder. "Noumu!"

I barely had the chance to register his words before I was sent flying. Something heavy slammed into my side, shattering my ribs and most of the bones in my left arm. The world around me blurred, until I crashed into a wall. Falling forwards limply, I felt my body temperature rise as the injuries healed. I pushed myself up, and gasped in shock.

Noumu was a gigantic black skinned creature, who towered over every person on the battlefield. His head was deformed, angular like an animals, and the top half of his skull was missing, revealing his brain. His eyes bulged like a bugs, spinning madly. He clenched his fists rhythmically, appearing anything but human. His tongue lolled out of his mouth, which fell open mindlessly.

The grey haired man pointed at Mister Aizawa. "Noumu, attack him," he ordered. The monster vanished in seconds, appearing over Mister Aizawa with his arm reeled back. I gasped at the show of speed, throat choking up as I tried to scream my mentor's name. Flinging myself forward, I raced back towards the battlefield, but I knew I would be too late. I could heal anything short of death, and that beast could kill with one punch.

Mister Aizawa flung himself backwards, barely managing to dodge the creature. His eyes flashed, clearly trying to weaken the monster, but Noumu was unaffected. With that odd, vapid look, he grabbed Mister Aizawa's head, and slammed his face into the ground. It was all faster than I could see, but the sight of Mister Aizawa face down on the pavement was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen.

Mister Aizawa was a hero. He was so very strong, and he'd been defeated by this creature like he was nothing. The monster was mindless. I shook with rage. My mentor had been defeated by a child with a toy. And toy's were on fun to play with if they had direction.

I changed course. The grey haired man's back was towards me, as he smiled garishly at the Noumu, who was steadily pouding Mister Aizawa face into the ground. My vision tunneled, and suddenly I wanted this man dead. I wanted him gone, where he could never hurt anyone I cared about again. I had so few precious people as it was.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I cinched the chokehold. With a rough tug, the man fell backwards, laying splayed on the ground with my arm crushing his throat. "Call it off n-now," I ordered, tightening the choke slowly. "B-because I w-won't ever h-have to move." The villain reached up, hands grasping my arm. I barely felt the skin tingle, and more than ever I was glad my quirk suppressed pain. The deadly decaying quirk felt ticklish, rather than harmful. "C-call it off," I repeated, digging my knee into the man's back, making the choke even more painful.

"N-noumu!" The man choked out. The beast let go of Mister Aizawa's head, and charged me instead. It's footsteps thudded heavily on the pavement, cracking the concrete with every heavy pound. Eye rolling, tongue lolling, it extended a meaty hand towards my face. I prepared myself, knowing it would crush my skull, and knotted my fingers together, shutting my eyes -

There was a loud sucking sound, and a guttural scream. I opened my eyes to see Thirteen with an uncapped finger extended. Behind him, most of the ground was missing as well. Thirteen's voice was surrounded with static as he said, "It is the duty of heroes to save others," he turned, and gave me a thumbs up. "Good job, Miss Kurosaki!" He then turned back to my classmates, who were still battling what was left of the goons.

I gave a small smile, still focused on the villain in my grip, who was now struggling even more. In an unexpected move, the villain elbowed me in the side, forcing the air from my lungs. Free, the villain shot to his feet, throwing me as far away as he could. I bounced on the pavement, shoulder dislocating, before rolling to a stop. My skin poured off steam as the new scratches and abrasions closed. The vaporized water brushed my skin gently, spinning gracefully into the air. I felt my swollen lip shrink, and grit my teeth in frustration. My body temperature had risen even further, I could practically feel the burning heat in my gut. My time was growing short. Shutting my eyes, I tried to think of a way I could beat this villain alone.

"You may regenerate, but you can still be winded," the villain observed, smiling behind his hand. "Not so unbeatable, hm?"

I glared at him. "M-maybe, b-but you forgot one th-thing," I pushed myself onto my knees. I couldn't defeat this villain on my own, but there was another way. I reached out for Mister Aizawa, who was laying comatose where Noumu left him. Latching onto my mentor's wrist, I grinned at the villain, whisps of steam pouring out of my mouth from my bloody gums. "I c-can sh-share my power w-with others!" Shutting my eyes, I visualized pushing a spark of energy into Mister Aizawa's body. Feeling the flames in my gut rise as I taxed myself further, I opened my eyes and watched as the hero was engulfed in a burst of steam.

Eyes watering from the sudden smack of burning water to the face, I crawled backwards. The steam was swirling in a thick, white cloud, but I could see a shadowed figure rise inside. As the vapor slowly danced upwards, Mister Aizawa exited the thick cloud, steam still curling off of his shoulders. His goggles were broken, but his eyes flashed a red brighter than before.

"I have to say," he drawled, scarf spinning in the air around him. "That was unexpected."