The USJ
Sorry I took so long to make this update, everyone. I got distracted really badly by the new destiny 2 expansion and the grind in competitive. Good news is I got the Luna's Howl, for anyone that knows what that is. I did update my Your Name fic twice in the downtime, though, so in case you missed that, It's still coming along. Anyways, here comes this chapter, I hope you enjoy.
Izuku woke up with a jolt for the third night in a row, and he startled Riolu in the process. The pokemon was used to Izuku's night frights by now, so he didn't instantly get defensive anymore like he used to. He just sat up and looked around, finding Izuku.
Izuku could feel his palms teeming with sweat, and his hair was a mess. Despite the sweat, he still felt slightly cold, so he bundled up under the covers. He didn't even know what the nightmare was this time. He couldn't remember it.
And that was fine, because he didn't need to remember it. All Might's words echoed in Izuku's mind.
"Take the next step." Izuku mumbled, "Do better next time." He told himself, clenching his fists. It was hard to not feel that constant guilt hanging over his head, but damn he was trying. Every time his mind started to play tricks on him, he didn't let it pull him down. He let it push him up.
Eri needs me. I need to fight on, for her sake Izuku told himself. He got up out of his bed and went to go get a drink of water. It usually helped with not only cooling his mind down, but also his body. When he woke up from a nightmare, he was always sweating uncontrollably.
Izuku looked at the time on the kitchen oven.
Only four o'clock? It was an hour and a half before he'd normally get up to run before school anyways, so waking up a little early wasn't that bad, all things considered. Izuku walked back to his room and sat down on his desk in front of his computer.
He pulled up news articles of hero fights from the last few days, taking down notes to pass the time. He probably should be focusing on how to make his own battle style with Riolu work better, but some things never change. It wasn't all bad, since Izuku was able to pick up on a few tricks that the heroes used in battle that he could possibly employ in his own scenarios.
Things went on like that for some time, Izuku immersing himself in the videos, scrutinizing every little detail, until Izuku felt a tug on his arm. Pausing the video, he tore his eyes away from the screen to see Riolu's paw on his hand. Riolu yawned, rubbing his eyes with the paw not on Izuku's hand.
"Oh sorry, buddy." Izuku said, "I forgot that you were here."
Riolu grunted lightly, just moving into a sitting position. Izuku was on the rackety wooden chair while Riolu slumped lightly on the ground, leaning against the side. It couldn't be that comfortable, but Riolu seemed to be fine.
Izuku pushed play on the video again, but this one was without sound. It was a battle between Kamui Woods' Trevanant and some villain's persian. The villain had robbed a nearby atm and was trying to make off with the money.
Izuku watched as Kamui vaulted himself off of a crate, landing on the roofs of the small shopping strip that he was pursuing the villain down, his Trevanant scuttling along on the ground level. Luckily pedestrians parted the tide in order for the chase to take place.
Kamui caught sight of the villain and his persian, and Izuku saw his mouth move, giving his pokemon a command. The area around Trevanant glowed a dark green, as well as the ground surrounding the villain. Suddenly, dark brown tree roots sprang up from the ground, grabbing ahold of the villain and his pokemon, immobilizing them completely. That was the end of the video.
"That must have been either frenzy plant or forest's curse. More likely that it was forest's curse, as that is a move exclusive to trevenant." Izuku mumbled, jotting the notes down in his notebook. He moved to click on the next video, but stopped in his tracks.
There wasn't another video. He had exhausted his entire stache, and it was only five o'clock. Izuku leaned back in the chair, baffled that he'd been able to get through so many videos in just an hour's time.
"Well, what are we going to do for another hour?" Izuku asked Riolu. He felt the body next to the chair move slightly, and he assumed it was a shrug.
"Riolu." Riolu yawned lightly, using the floor to push himself off the ground. He stretched, working his sleepy muscles to the waking world.
"Ready for today?" Izuku finally asked. If he was gonna have to waste some time, may as well make some small talk. Riolu just tilted his head in confusion.
"The field trip." Izuku clarified. Riolu tilted his head back and nodding, understanding what Izuku was referring to. He tilted his head, bringing a paw up to his chin, clearly thinking. Eventually, he just shrugged.
"Yeah, me too." Just another day at Yuuei, a mix of constant anxiety and excitedness. Izuku tried to bring up a few more topics, but small talk was hard when only one of the two parties could speak. Not only that, but Izuku and Riolu had exhausted nearly every topic there was to talk about over the last year.
Eventually, Izuku stood up and stretched his legs as well. He got dressed in his normal running clothes. It was only five fifteen, but they could go a little early. Riolu stretched once again with Izuku, and soon enough they set off through the door.
When Izuku met Uraraka at the station, he couldn't tell if she was shaking from anxiety or anticipation. Possibly both. They walked to the school, making small talk along the way, most of it lighthearted.
"Eevee was super unhappy that she was soaked!' Uraraka exclaimed, "She acted like a brat the entire rest of the night." Eevee, who was ever present in Uraraka's arms, squirmed in protest.
"Don't give me that! You SO acted like a brat!" Uraraka scolded. Izuku stifled a laugh. The entire situation was just too funny not to.
"Anyways," Uraraka turned her head to Izuku, "Did you follow up on anything yesterday?"
Izuku took a moment to respond, but he slowly nodded.
"I did just what you said I should do. I...got help. It wasn't easy, but I really think it helped. I know what I have to do now." Izuku steeled himself. Eri was waiting for him.
"So poetic!" Uraraka chirped, eliciting a blush from Izuku. It was Uraraka's turn to laugh.
"You're always so serious, Deku! Lighten up a little! It's field trip day!" She punched him lightly on the shoulder with the hand that wasn't holding Eevee. That shaking earlier was definitely from excitement. Izuku smiled back.
"It is pretty exciting, huh? I just can't wait to finally get started on some more hero work!" Uraraka pumped her fist in the air. Izuku nodded in agreement.
"I'm interested to see where we are actually going today. Aizawa was very secretive about the destination ." Izuku noted. THey continued the walk to the school.
Once they got to the classroom, Izuku noticed that the same air of anticipation that shad surrounded Uraraka that morning was filling the entire room. Everyone seemed like they were excited for the field trip. Even Bakugo looked a little giddy.
"Maybe we're going to a hero agency for a tour!" Kirishima exclaimed, "If we do, I hope we go to Fatgum's agency. The dude is so manly!" Izuku snickered slightly at that. Kirishima was always so peppy and hyped up over 'manly' things.
"I hope that we get to see heroes in action! I could use some battling tips…" Uraraka said, still holding Eevee in her arms. That pokemon must really hate the pokeball if Uraraka is willing to carry it around all the time.
Izuku was about to open his mouth to give some input when he was torn from his thoughts by the sound of the door slamming open.
"Everyone shut up and get in your seats." Aizawa said. The entire class knew better now than they did at the beginning of the semester, all choosing to make a mad dash to their seats.
Aizawa scanned the room and grunted, "A few seconds faster than last week, but still not good. Get better and quicker." the class stayed silent at this criticism. Aizawa walked up to the podium and set his things down.
"Today, as many of you know, is our field trip. If you didn't know, then start paying more attention in class. Now, I don't want to be here all day, so everyone get changed into your hero costumes and meet me outside. The bus will be waiting." The class sprung into action at his words, scrambling to the side of the room to grab their costume briefcase and leaving to go get changed.
Izuku made his way to the front of the room cautiously. "Sir, I-"
"Your costume was ruined in the battle training. That's your fault, so it's up to you to get a new one made by the support department." He paused, reaching down behind the podium and throwing a blue bundle at Izuku, "For now use this."
"Thank you, Sir." Izuku bowed. The thing AIzawa had thrown at him was one of the blue jumpsuits that they'd been required to wear on the first day for their fitness assessment.
"Go." Aizawa said sternly, pointing to the door. Izuku scrambled to catch up with his classmates.
Izuku felt out of place in his simple attire compared to the others' as he loaded onto the bus. Everyone had their costumes on, with their belts full of slots for pokeballs, healing items, support items, and the like. Meanwhile, Izuku just wore a simple blue jumpsuit with a slot on his hip for Riolu's pokeball. Nothing more.
He stepped onto the bus to see that it was one of the luxury ones. It had the comfy seats, more than enough seating for everyone, even armrests on each individual seat. Izuku walked the aisles, looking for a seat to-
"Hey Midoriya! Come sit with us!" A familiar loud voice called from halfway down the bus. Izuku looked up and found that the voice belonged to Kirishima. He was waving with one hand while pointing to the seat across from him with his other.
Izuku sat himself down on the seat. Next to him was the girl with dark green hair that he'd seen fight against Kaminari and Jirou in the battle trial, Tsuyu Asui. Across the aisle were Kirishima and Uraraka.
"Hello, Midoriya." Tsuyu said, offering an abnormally large hand to shake.
"O-oh hi, Asui." Izuku responded, taking her hand. Her hand was bigger than Izuku's and by a significant margin, too.
"Call me Tsu." She said blatantly.
"Oh, okay, Tsu." Izuku corrected himself.
"Aren't you guys excited? It's our first hero related field trip!" Kirishima said, pumping his fist in the air.
"I'm so ready!" Uraraka said from next to him, pumping a fist in the air similarly.
"How about we introduce ourselves a little better? I know we've met and all, but I haven't really gotten to know all of you yet." Kirishima suggested. Suddenly, the seats in front of Izuku moved around.
"Let me in on this, too! I'll go first!" The girl said, "My name is Mina Ashido! I'm super outgoing and I love basically everything! I have a skin condition that makes my skin super sensitive to light, so I basically always have pink skin!" Izuku recognized Mina, as he'd seen her a few times in class. He'd missed her battle trial, but he also knew her from the fitness test on the first day.
"You have a goomy, right?" Izuku couldn't remember quite properly.
"My partner is a Sliggoo, but close enough! " Mina not only had a loud voice, but also a loud personality.
"I shall go next, moiseur!" The boy sitting next to Mina said, spinning around in his seat. His hero costume was nothing short of ridiculous. He looked like a medieval knight in shining armor if that amor was covered in glitter and as bright of polish as humanly possible. The shoulders, knees, and elbows seemed like they had laser lenses on them.
"I destroy the villains with the power of my fabulous beam attacks! My Persian and Clawitzer have style like no other! My name is Yuga Aoyama!"
Nobody said anything after Aoyama introduced himself. Not because they were stunned, but more because they didn't know what to say to such an introduction.
"Moving on…I'm Ejirou Kirishima. My partner Boldore and I are tougher than rock, and love anything that's manly. The manlier the better! Show off that power!" Kirishima emphasized his point by flexing.
"I'm Tsuyu Asui, but call me Tsu. I say things that come to my mind. I've been told I have no filter." Tsu tilted her head, "Something I've noticed, now that I have you here Midoriya, what kind of move did Riolu use during the battle trial?"
Izuku's mind went blank. He was too caught up in other issues to even begin to think about what he should say in this type of situation. He ran through a list of learnable moves by Riolu, and none of them could explain away that raw, unfiltered power.
"I-uhh, I'm-I, he…" Izuku stammered.
"Come to think of it, Riolu is the pre-evolution of Lucario, right? All Might's Lucario throws some massive power around, too. Maybe it has something to do with an ability?"
"Or maybe it was just some kind of last resort type thing." Uraraka suggested. Izuku was still stuttering to come up with an answer. He couldn't say it was a move, because none of the moves Riolu got even came near to that level of power, and Riolu's abilities were normally nothing to look at. Technically One for All was an ability, albeit a very special one.
"So, what is it, Midoriya?" Kirishima egged on.
"It-It's…-"
"We're here." Aizawa's voice droned from the front of the bus.
Thank god Izuku thought as all of is classmates' attention was drawn to the front. Looking out the window, Izuku could see a giant dome. There was a set of giant doors on the front of this enclosed dome with three giant letters engraved on it.
"USJ" Izuku read out. It was obviously an acronym.
"Get up and follow me." Aizawa said, stepping off of the bus. Everyone scrambled to follow.
The walk inside was short but awkward. Everyone was silently anticipating what was awaiting them inside of the building. Aizawa walked up to the giant doors and scanned his Yuuei teacher ID. The doors swung open automatically.
The inside was a sight to behold.
Six different areas, each taking up a sixth of the massive circle, like pieces of pie, save for the circle in the middle that marked the center, topped off with a fountain. There was a boat in the center of a small lake, a red dome that had the hint of fire emanating from within. A blue dome with nothing but darkness on the inside, a broken down and destroyed set of buildings, a side of a mountain that looked like a landslide had plowed through it, and finally, a small mountain area surrounded by trees.
Izuku's mouth dropped as he realized what each separate section represented.
"Welcome, to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, or USJ for short!" a voice that we decidedly not Aizawa called out. It was more robotic, like the person was speaking through a mic and it was being amplified. Izuku's head snapped off of viewing the other sections of the USJ to listen to the new person. As he turned his head, his jaw dropped.
"The Space Hero, Thirteen!" the excitement in her voice was immense. She had been so excited that she'd beaten Izuku to the chase on identifying the hero, "I'm your biggest fan!" She called out.
Izuku looked over and saw Uraraka bouncing up and down lightly on her heels. The look of absolute glee on her face was infectious.
Thirteen had a very interesting hero costume. Their entire body was encased in a modern-looking spacesuit, while their feet, long and skinny, were housed in simple sneakers. They didn't look like much, but Izuku knew better than that. Standing next to Thirteen was their signature partner, a gardevoir.
"Today, you will all be doing rescue drills. As you can see, around you there are six separate zones, each having their own respective type of rescue that you may have to face while working as a hero. Today is to prepare you for those situations."
Izuku watched Aizawa walk away from the group, coming up to Thirteen and whispering something in their ear. Izuku strained to listen, but couldn't hear anything over the chatter of his classmates. All he gleaned from the situation was Thirteen putting up three fingers, and at that, Aizawa seemed to understand.
"Before we get into today's lesson, there is one major thing I must go over." Thirteen gestured to their Gardevoir standing next to them, "If you all would let out your partner pokemon, that would be fantastic."
Everyone in the class obliged, and the air filled with the sound of pokeballs popping open. The free space between people suddenly vanished as everyone's pokemon took up the spots. Riolu popped out of his pokeball and stretched his arms and legs, taking up a spot on Izuku's right side.
"As some of you may know, I am primarily a rescue hero, though I do know how to fight a little. There is one thing that I've noticed over my years being a hero." They paused for dramatic effect, "Pokemon are extremely dangerous. Take my gardevoir for example. Gardevoir have the special ability to create miniature black holes that suck in objects and turn them into dust. This is a double edged sword.
"While it can be useful for rescue situations by clearing away rubble easily, it is also potentially dangerous. If someone or some pokemon is sucked in by these black holes...well, I don't need to say the rest."
There was a collective shudder from the group as everyone thought about what Thirteen was insinuating.
"So, today, part of the exercise will be to grow more cautious with the use of pokemon for-"
Whhoooosssshhhhh Thirteen was cut off by the sound of the air splitting apart.
Shouta glanced over the various sections of the USJ as Thirteen gave their speech on the importance of control in rescue operations. It was something that seemed intuitive, yet they still seemed to have at least one problem with it each year.
Then again, Aizawa usually had to expel three students in the first week for showing no promise. This was the first group to not have anyone be expelled, so perhaps there wouldn't be any unforeseen accidents this year.
Perhaps.
Shouta vaguely listened to the conversation going on behind him while also enveloping himself in his own thoughts. First and foremost was the fact that All Might had somehow managed to run out on his time limit on the way to school. How many stops would you have to make in order to turn a twenty minute walk into three hours? Aizawa shook his head disapprovingly. The man was sometimes to virtuous for his own good.
Maybe if-
Shouta's thoughts were cut off by the sound of the fabrics of reality itself splitting. His head snapped up and he saw the source of the noise.
A giant wall of swirling purple mist had appeared out of nowhere, swirling mysteriously for a moment. Soon enough, the fog started to part.
And people stepped out of the mist.
First up was a man clad in a black shirt and pants, covered from head to toe in gray, severed hands. They didn't look to be real, at least, Shouta hoped they weren't real. He was followed soon by a man in a simple suit, similar to what one would see a bartender wear, and then, a massive monster.
It looked like something from a nightmare. A science experiment gone wrong. It was a pokemon, but Shouta had never seen such a horrifying amalgamation in his life. It had the extremely muscular body of a Machamp, the head looked like if someone had forced the beak of a honchkrow onto the Machamp's face. The worst part of the head, however, was the fact that the entire top portion of the pokemon's head had been sliced off, exposing its brain. The body was an off-color as well, taking on a dark navy blue instead of the normal light blue of machamp.
Finally, there was the rest of the subtleties of the monster that almost made Shouta sick. It had hints of a what looked like a Conkeldurr's arms, parts of the shell of a Blastoise, and a few other minor hints of other pokemon. To top it all off, it had weird markings all over its body.
After the first three came through the mist, then the entire mass of purple mist parted way and person after person stepped through. They didn't stop coming. It had to be in the hundreds.
"Is that part of the exercise?" Shouta heard a student ask, the noise tearing him from his shock. He had a job to do.
"Those are villains! Thirteen, get the students out of here, I'll hold them off!" Shouta threw his one main pokeball into the air, simultaneously grabbing the binding cloth around his neck.
"Darkrai, let's go!" Shouta called, running down the steps to meet the horde of villains.
Izuku felt the words to tell his teacher that he couldn't take them all alone on the tip of his tongue. Yet, he stopped himself. Aizawa was a pro hero, and he was making the decision that he thought best, and Izuku should trust it. For now he should just focus on getting out with the rest of his classmates.
"Everyone, get out the door and load the buses as fast as possible. I'll try to contact the school." Thirteen instructed, ushering everyone towards the door. Everyone started to move, but was once again stopped in their tracks by the sound of the air itself splitting and purple mist filled the area.
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. I have specific instructions to not let you leave." a man's voice said. Coming out of the purple mist was the same man in the suit. Standing at his feet was a pokemon made of the purple mist that was around the area, except that it seemed to me emanating from a small, odd looking stone.
"A Spiritomb…" Izuku breathed, recognizing the pokemon. "Everyone, Spiritomb has the ability to create portals with its mist! Watch out!" Izuku called out to the group. Not only was it research proven, but it also now made sense has to how he had been teleporting around like he had.
Izuku snapped his head away from the villain for a split second to check on Aizawa, and it was a sight to behold. At least twenty of the villains and their pokemon were already knocked out, lying around in piles on the ground.
Shouta and Darkrai moved like water, flowing together like a river. Every action was calculated and perfectly coordinated. They really were a true team.
Darkrai would disable a pokemon when they were about to attack, and Shouta would use his binding cloth to take them out as swiftly as possible. When Darkrai wasn't covering Shouta's back, he was also fighting.
"Darkrai, behind you!" Shouta shouted as he saw a group of villains sneaking up on his partner. Darkrai whipped around, already using his attack before any of the villains ever had the chance to attack. Six dark purple orbs shot out of Darkrai's hands, each connecting with a villain or their pokemon, causing them to drop to the floor, sleeping.
Shouta continued to fight off the villains, hoping he was holding off the villains for long enough for the students to escape. As he fought, he caught a glance of the man with the hands covering his body. He stood completely still, watching the fight go on not caring enough to move. The horrible monster was standing next to him, face blank and emotionless.
He must be the leader. Shouta thought. There was one thing he noticed, though. The man in the suit with the Spiritomb was gone.
Shit!
"None of you shall leave this place. I am sure of that!" The man said, shooting out his hand. Izuku saw Thirteen's gardevoir step forward to face the spiritomb, but something else moved first.
"DIE!" Bakugo's voice called as a massive ball of fire shot out of nowhere, soaring towards the spiritomb. Next to the fireball was another pokemon, and Izuku recognized it to be Kirishima's Boldore.
The fireball connected with a massive explosion, and Izuku could only assume that Boldore did as well. Kirishima and Bakugo were standing at the front of the group, confident grins on their faces.
"I'll have to admit, that caught me off guard. I did not plan for any counterattacks." The man's voice said from somewhere in the smoke generated by Typhlosion's attack. "But I'm afraid you were just too weak. Now scatter!"
The entire area was taken up once again by the same deep purple fog from before. Kirishima and Bakugo's attack had done nothing to the enemy Spiritomb, and now the entire area was filled with a thick layer of fog. Izuku could barely see three feet in front of him.
"Move, you two! Gardevoir, suck up the fog with a black hole!" Thirteen called out. Gardevoir moved to do just that, but it was just a moment too late. One moment he was standing on flat ground, and the next moment he was falling through the air. Falling straight to a blue expanse of water below him.
"AHH!" He screamed in the manliest voice possible. He fell into the water, plunging into the liquid. The impact stung a little bit, but luckily it didn't hurt too bad. Izuku reoriented himself and started to the surface for air.
Izuku was about halfway there when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Whipping around, Izuku's eyes went wide as he saw what was swimming at a very fast speed, directly at him.
A Sharpedo.
Izuku tried to scream in fright, but it came out as just bubbles in the water. He frantically tried to swim up, but the pokemon was closing in and Izuku knew he wouldn't make it in time. He closed his eyes and waited for the worst.
"Aerial Ace!" The voice was muffled through the water but he could still hear it well enough. A different pokemon shot through the water, creating a ruffle of bubbles. It was a frogadier, Tsuyu's pokemon. It whipped its foot around, connecting with the top of the Sharpedo's head just before it got to Izuku.
Frogadier turned, shooting its tongue out and grabbing Izuku by the waist. With a heave, it threw Izuku out of the water where he soared into the air for a few moments before landing with a thud on the wooden deck of the boat. Tsuyu's Frogadier shot out of the water, landing gracefully on the deck as well.
Izuku turned to see two people on the boat with him, as well as two pokemon. First off, there was Tsuyu there with her frogadier, and then the boy that looked like he was wearing a diaper with his shuckle.
"Thanks for the save, Asui. I was-"
"Call me Tsu. And it's no problem." Tsu interrupted. Izuku was so used to formalities that calling someone by their first name, a nickname no less, would be a wake up call.
"And you are…?" Izuku inquired.
"Mineta Minoru." The boy said. Izuku nodded. He'd heard the name before. Particularly from overhearing one of the girls gossiping that he was a massive pervert. Izuku decided to ignore that fact for now, as it didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was assessing the situation. Izuku turned around to face the boat and-
"Give up, you twerps! We've got you surrounded! If you just jump in, my Sharpedo won't hurt you...too bad." The villain called out. It was more than one villain, actually. There were at least six people in the water, all wearing diving gear and wetsuits. Along with the villains, however, were their pokemon. Two Sharpedo, A Tentacruel, a Starmie, and two Gyarados.
"That's…a lot of pokemon." Izuku muttered. They were all water pokemon, so obviously whatever group of villains this was had planned it all out as to where each villain trainer needed to be.
"Midoriya, is Riolu still in his pokeball?" Tsu asked. Izuku shook his head, turning his attention to the girl.
"He was right next to me. He wasn't in the water?" Tsu shook her head and Izuku's heart sunk. He frantically looked over the edge to make sure that Riolu wasn't still stuck in the water with all of the villains. Though, finding that he wasn't made the situation equally worse.
"We must have gotten separated. When the villain teleported us away, we must have gotten split up! This is bad...Really bad." Izuku muttered. All of the villains just sat in the water, floating at the surface with their pokemon. They were waiting, but Izuku could tell that they were getting impatient.
Izuku was stuck, out on a boat, surrounded by villains with no way of escape.
And Riolu wasn't there to help him.