Chapter 14: To Try and Save Him (Ep. 46-47)

When his best friend's body exploded in a sea of red, Shinsou Hitoshi didn't even scream.

His hands moved on their own accord, using the capture rings to catch the body before it hit the floor and pulled him into his lap. Blood stained Midoriya all the way up to his hair, a softball-sized hole replaced the center of his chest, and his eyes stared at the sky, utterly lifeless.

That's when Hitoshi screamed.

"IZUKU!"

No, no, no, this can't be real, this can't be happening. I can't lose Izuku, I can't, he's all I have left. Everyone I've ever cared for is dead or near it, Korosensei's going to die, I can't lose my best friend, I can't, I can't, I can't—

He cradled Midoriya's head in his lap, too scared to touch the rest of his bloody body. He could literally see the ground through friend's chest, everything stained red. Or maybe Hitoshi was seeing red. Maybe both. Probably...both.

Korosensei crawled over to them despite how wounded he was. Hitoshi looked up at his teacher, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Korosensei, sir, you have to — you need to — he's —"

His voice cracked and he broke down in sobs, placing his forehead against Midoriya's bloodied one, and that's when Korosensei snapped.

Hot red light ebbed off him like flames as their teacher roared in fury. The ground started to tremble at the sheer power he was emitting.

"Alas, your true colors on display!" Shiro cackled, and Hitoshi felt like the same hot rage was coming off his own skin. "Show them, show them what a truly destructive beast you are! You good as killed that pathetic boy, teaching him that he could be strong while being quirkless. You were arrogant, thinking one could be great without a quirk; thinking you were something amazing when you were the quirkless Reaper. Before you became my guinea pig, you were nothing!"

The class looked on in horror. The waves of anger coming of Nagisa were near-visible, piercing their already infuriated hearts. The frost on the ground surrounding Karma indicated the boy was using the full extent of his quirk, the cold air freezing the dew; whether it was to counteract the heat of Korosensei's red light or was done subconsciously, Hitoshi didn't know.

Shiro reached out and injected the Reaper with something, making the beast emit his own purple waves of light. The powers of the two superbeasts were oppressive, to the point where it was hard to breathe. Hitoshi carefully scooped his best friend's body in his arms and stood, his legs quaking.

"We need to get out of here!" he shouted at his class. "If we stay here any longer, it's only a matter of time before Shiro or the Reaper kill us all!"

The class seemed hesitant to leave their teacher, but fortunately, Karma had his back. "Retreating to fight another day is a perfectly honorable battle plan. Let's go!"

The class took off for the treeline in a desperate attempt to escape Korosensei's raging fury and the Reaper's roaring hatred. Nagisa came up to Hitoshi and gently closed Midoriya's eyes, and the brainwasher felt like screaming all over again.

This couldn't be happening. Midoriya couldn't be dead. He couldn't, not now, not so young, not before they finished what they started. Why did he push Hitoshi out of the way knowing full well he'd get hit instead? How could he throw everything away? For him? They were supposed to go to U.A. together, become heroes, save the world, first by stopping Korosensei and then by protecting one civilian at a time. They were supposed to take down villains together, not be taken down by one.

Midoriya was supposed to be the best of them all.

Hitoshi gently placed a kiss on his best friend's forehead. "I'm so sorry...Jolly Green."

-.-.-.-

They watched from afar as Korosensei and the Reaper went head to head, red clashing with purple. Hitoshi only felt more fury watching the monster of his nightmares and the murderer of his best friend be engulfed in such a familiar color. The Reaper went out to strike Korosensei, and then suddenly everything around their teacher became overwhelmingly...white.

And then it was yellow. And red again. And green. And blue. And purple. And then, once again, that all-encompassing white. Pure white energy, all harnessed in his tentacles. The energy exploded, knocking Shiro into the particle barrier and vaporizing him while it dissipated the Reaper's tentacles. Korosensei launched forward wielding an anti-sensei knife — the same one Midoriya had been holding — and stabbed the Reaper, his original pupil, through the heart. The monster roared and vanished in a flash of light.

And just like that, it was over. But no one was celebrating.

They gathered around Hitoshi and Midoriya, now finally given an opportunity to grieve. A funeral-like mood settled in on everyone, and Nagisa didn't even need to Project it. Terasaka hid his tears in his mane. Sugino fell to his knees. Kurahashi sobbed into Yada's chest. The brainwasher blinked away tears, telling himself to be strong. Midoriya would want him to be strong.

"Shinsou," Korosensei said, capturing everyone's attention. "You kept Midoriya's body from ever hitting the ground, yes?"

Hitoshi blinked at the odd question, sniffling. "Uh, yeah, but sir—"

"Good," Korosensei interrupted. "I would prefer his cells remain as uncontaminated as possible."

Thin white strips, similar to tentacles appeared holding a strange red sphere. "I've made many mistakes, but I've learned from them. You can't change the past, but you can always use it to better yourself moving forward."

Okuda gasped, her eyes flashing between Midoriya and the sphere. "Is that…?"

"Yes. I gathered as much of Midoriya's blood and cells the moment the Reaper struck him and stored them in a sterile membrane for safekeeping while I was battling. I set a few tentacles aside to protect you, but I was foolish to think that alone would be enough, and I'm sorry. But I promise to fix it."

He gently took Midoriya's body out of Hitoshi's grasp and the little white tentacles got to work, repairing Midoriya's wound cell by cell. "I swore to myself after Aguri that I would teach my tentacles to heal. There are still some gaps in Midoriya's DNA, cells I wasn't able to recover, but quite frankly, that may work in my favor."

At their confused looks, the octopus sighed. "After Midoriya's bout with the tentacles, I made a promise to myself that before I died, I would leave him with a parting gift, from one once quirkless man to another. A tool to only strengthen his skill set for becoming the world's greatest hero: my speed."

Flashes of their conversation a month earlier, after they got back from outer space, came rushing back to Hitoshi. Korosensei has asked him what he would do if he was offered a great power. The brainwasher has brushed off any possible implications of the statement, thinking them to be outrageous at the time. But now...

"What?" Takebayashi asked. "You can do that?"

Korosensei nodded. "While my form is a byproduct of anti-matter buildup from the increase of quirks, it's possible for me to isolate just one of my quirks and pass it on through the exchanging of DNA on a cellular level, giving Midoriya a normal level of anti-matter within him and therefore a quirk. The fact that his body has already been exposed to anti-matter with the tentacles will only make this process even smoother. I choose to give him speed as that is by far the most heroic of my many quirks."

"You're giving Midoriya the ability to move at Mach-20?" Sugaya asked with wide eyes.

"No, not entirely," Korosensei clarified. "Since I am only replacing small patches of his DNA, I'm afraid I can only give him a percentage of my quirk — between five and ten percent. By the time I'm done, his top speeds should only be somewhere around Mach-2; still plenty fast enough for a Pro-Hero."

That was an understatement. For Korosensei to bless Midoriya with such a gift...he didn't even have to question if his best friend wanted it. Given who it came from, Midoriya would likely honor this quirk with his life.

"I'm short on blood. Type O blood donors, if you'd please." Isogai and Kurahashi held out their arms as two of Korosensei's tentacles swooped into to safely extract some of their blood. "Nakamura, I need you to feed me that cake. I know it's been smashed on the floor, but I need to replenish my energy!"

Her nose scrunched up, the blonde begrudgingly handed over the dirty cake. Hitoshi watched in fascinated horror as Midoriya's chest was sewn back together cell by cell until the hole was finally gone.

"I tried to prevent scarring, but I'm afraid I don't have enough unharmed cells to do that," Korosensei said, gently placing Midoriya on the ground. His chest was closed, a grotesque scar left behind. At certain angles, Hitoshi swore it looked vaguely like a crescent moon. How morbidly symbolic.

"According to my handy dandy 'What to Do for a Gunshot Student' manual I picked up after Shinsou's scare, his heart should start beating any moment, but I think it best we give it a bit of a jump start. It's going to have to keep up with a very accelerated body, after all."

With his tentacle hands lighting up with electricity, he placed them on Midoriya's chest, making the body jolt. The whole class waited with bated breath for what was next.

C'mon, Jolly Green, c'mon…

Midoriya Izuku came back to life breathing the same gasp he died with. The class jumped and Hitoshi wanted nothing more than to tackle his friend to the ground but held back, almost not believing his eyes.

"Koro...sensei?" Midoriya croaked slowly, opening his eyes — his bright, vibrant eyes — and the entire class erupted in screams.

"Izuku!" Hitoshi cried, pulling his friend into a harsh hug. He heard Midoriya squeaked and say, "Ow, Hitoshi, my chest, you're squeezing too tightly!" so the brainwasher resorted to violently shaking his friend's shoulders.

"You idiot, you fucking idiot, jumping in front of the tentacle like that! You died, you'd still be dead right now if it weren't for Korosensei!"

Midoriya gently cupped his face, and Hitoshi froze. "Well, yeah, but if I didn't do that, you would've been the one who died."

Hitoshi's eyes brimmed with tears. Self-sacrificing bastard.

"Yo, Pipsqueak! I outta pummel you for giving us a scare like that!" roared Terasaka. Midoriya jumped and held up his hands.

"I'm sorry, I really am, I promise it will never happen again — huh?"

Midoriya, who had been frantically shaking his hands, suddenly started moving supersonic, making his hands nothing but a blur of motion. The whole class froze as the green-haired boy cautiously tried it again, shaking his hands so fast it was almost impossible to see with the human eye.

Korosensei giggled. "My parting gift to you, Young Midoriya. Take this small piece of my power and do with it what I never could: become a hero."

Midoriya went shock still, as if having a quirk was more shocking than coming back from the dead. For this kid, it probably was.

"S-Sir, I…" Midoriya trailed off, staring at his hands in wonder before looking at Korosensei with a grin that'd make All-Might jealous. "I will, sir! I'll make you proud!"

"I know you will." Their teacher smiled back and then promptly collapsed.

-.-.-.-

It was time. They all knew it was. Korosensei was exhausted, laying on the ground, completely defenseless. He always told him the easiest way to overpower him would be to hold him down by each of his tentacles, and now the chance to do that was right in front of their eyes.

So why was no one moving?

"Come now," Korosensei sighed. "I didn't teach you all to hesitate at such a crucial moment. I know it's hard, but at this point, we're just waiting out the clock. I'm sorry. Our time together has come to an end."

He was right. The government's laser was glowing bright, threatening the inevitable. They only had about thirty minutes before it went off.

In the end, Isogai had them take a vote, asking who didn't want to kill him. They all raised their hands. But when he asked who wanted to kill him...with tears in their eyes and broken hearts, they all raised their hands too.

After all, what choice did they have? This is what they've trained for; dedicated an entire year toward. Their knives and guns were apart of them, as was the teacher who taught them how to use them. At the end of the day, they were assassins, and their target was their teacher. It had to be done, no matter how much it hurt.

Midoriya's whole body was shaking like a leaf, subconsciously using his superspeed when suddenly he coughed up blood, alarming everyone.

"Izuku!"

The green-haired boy waved the brainwasher off. "I-I'm fine." He said, spitting the blood out like he was spitting out a bad drink.

"S-Shit," Korosensei hissed weakly. "I didn't account for how my quirk would affect you in this weakened state. You'll likely be throwing up blood every time you use your quirk with your full body for months. If only I had enough energy left, I could—"

Midoriya, ever the angel, shook his head. "Don't worry sir. I'll heal soon and then I'll be able to use this power to its full extent. Until then, I have my second blades. Just like you taught me."

Korosensei smiled, his pride so great it couldn't be put to words. "Yes. You do."

-.-.-.-

They gathered around their teacher, everyone working together to pin down his tentacles. Hitoshi's hands shook and he couldn't calm them, the tentacle firm under his and Midoriya's grips. The green-haired boy had his eyes closed, unable to even watch what they were about to do.

"Your heart. It's under your tie, right?" Kataoka asked, and Korosensei nodded. "Who's gonna...Midoriya?"

The green-haired boy jolted to alertness. "I-I don't think I can," he said, eyeing his hands. "I'm not quite sure I can control my body enough to do...that. Maybe Hito—"

"I'll do it. Please," Nagisa volunteered, and no one objected. No one wanted the job anyway. The blue-haired boy straddled Korosensei's chest, knife in his hand and ready. Hitoshi couldn't even imagine what it must be like, staring down at their teacher's face, about to end the life of the greatest man they ever met.

"Irina, Karasuma," Korosensei, and Hitoshi turned to find their other teachers watching from afar. "Please, watch over the children. I fear they'll need protecting from the world once I'm gone. Guide them for me."

The blonde woman looked down and nodded silently, while Karasuma stared their teacher right in the eye.

"Of course," he said. "Rest in peace, Korosensei."

Korosensei smiled sadly. "Okay, class. I know we don't have much time left, but please indulge me. I'd like to call roll one last time. All I ask is when I call your name, answer in a loud voice and a brave face. When I'm done, then you can commence the assassination."

When no one objected, their teacher began.

"Akabane Karma."

"Here," the red-haired boy responded hoarsely.

"Isogai Yuma."

"Here."

"Midoriya Izuku."

"H-Here!"

Hitoshi took his friend's shaking hand as a means to calm him down, but it didn't help that he couldn't stop shaking himself. His hands trembled no matter how hard he tried to get them to stop. He was so focused on trying to regain control of himself that he almost missed his own name.

"Shinsou Hitoshi."

"...right here."

It went on like that, only getting harder and harder to hold back tears as their teacher continued down the role. Realization of what they were about to lose settled in. This man, this creature, this mentor who brought them up from their darkest time; trained them in the unlikeliest of ways; cheered for them and comforted them when they needed it most. This is what they were losing. They weren't just losing a teacher, or a friend, or a hero. They were losing someone so much greater.

They were losing Korosensei.

Memories of the year came rushing back, from meeting Midoriya to meeting Korosensei. From taking naps during P.E. to taking down Pro-Heroes. From facing monsters like Takaoka, to nightmares like the Reaper, to mysteries like Principal Asano, to challenges like Principal Nedzu. To forging bonds and friendships with even the unlikeliest of people and making enemies with the most dangerous.

"I say this with all sincerity," Korosensei said once he was done calling role. "It's a privilege to be assassinated by you all."

Nagisa then drew his knife and poised it over Korosensei's heart. His hand trembled, growing worse by the moment. Emotional distress began to eep off him in waves as he raised the blade. Hitoshi winced at the mental attack and built a wall in his mind to block it just as Nagisa drew back with a scream.

"Nagisa," the brainwasher said, making the distressed boy pause.

"Wha-"

"Calm down," he said, taking control of his mind. "You're Projecting your anguish. Don't kill Korosensei like that."

Nagisa's Projecting went away, the unnatural pain and anguish dissipating from their heavy hearts. When he deemed it was safe, the brainwasher slowly let go of Nagisa's mind, and the empath started sobbing to himself.

"I — I can't — Shinsou, I need you to —"

"No, you don't," the brainwasher said. "You can kill him by yourself, as yourself. I know you can. Just smile."

Please don't make me be the one to bring about the finishing blow.

Even though he wasn't being brainwashed anymore, Nagisa did just that, a small smile gracing his lips. "G-Goodbye...Korosensei."

Their teacher smiled back. "Goodbye, Nagisa...Goodbye, my students. I wish for you all to live beautiful lives."

New emotions came over them. Gratitude. Regret. Love. Pain. Everything the Nagisa was feeling, he put it into that blade, channeling his soul into theirs. Into Korosensei.

And then he drove the knife down.

Bright, white light overcame their senses as Korosensei glowed. His tentacles turned into small yellow particles, floating away, caressing them as they took flight, telling them: Congratulations. They did it. The lights celebrated for them, cheering them in the way only Korosensei knew how; as if Korosensei was still there, whole, giving them hope, teaching them to be amazing. The yellow lights floated up, disappearing in the light of the permanent crescent moon until they were completely gone.

Korosensei was gone.

Nagisa sent out a Projection of pure pain, and that's when they all lost control. Hitoshi screamed, cried, clutching the empty grass where their Korosensei once laid, searching for his tentacle, wanting it to touch his shoulder one last time, to comfort him, to cheer him, but all he found was dirt. His face was a smear of snot and tears and even some of Midoriya's dried blood. Korosensei didn't bleed. The only trace he left behind was his beloved school uniform, the knife still embedded in his tie.

Midoriya lost total control of his body, uncontrollably shaking at super speed, making him choke on blood and tears. The brainwasher reached over and wrapped himself around his best friend in a full-body hug, wincing as the supersonic limbs rubbed against him as if he was getting a rope burn.

"Izuku. You need to reply to me, you need to—"

"K-Korosensei!" the boy cried and Hitoshi took control, stopping his best friend's newfound quirk, easing his mind of all the pain so all Midoriya would feel was a blank nothing. So that all the pain he was experiencing was locked away in this out-of-body feeling. Hitoshi wished he could do the same for himself; wished there was a way to turn his quirk on himself so he didn't have to feel this anguish, didn't have to experience this horror. Without realizing it, he released Midoriya of the brainwashing, but the green-haired boy was too emotionally distraught to even move again.

The heroes, some having woken up from the tranquilizer, some new ones being called in, found them like that, All-Might surprisingly leading the charge. They looked horrified at the sight: thirty school children, bawling their eyes out over the clothing remains of their teacher. What had happened here was obvious, and it was too late for anyone to save them. Many of the heroes had to look away, unable to witness the disturbing distress of these poor kids. All-Might wasn't smiling.

Hitoshi vaguely registered being picked up and carried by Cementoss. Karasuma had them taken to their school desks where they found two massive books sitting on each desk waiting for them, as well as their diplomas. One book was the E-class yearbook, and another was Korosensei's rules to live by. They were left alone as the laser went off, its original target already vanquished.

His classmates slowly began to fall asleep at their desks, using the books as pillows, but Hitoshi couldn't sleep; not after a night like this. He flipped through the 4000 paged yearbook, taking in every picture, every moment. When he came across an entire spread dedicated to the time he wore drag, he didn't get mad or try to tear it to shreds. He smiled, thinking about how that saved the mission, and therefore half the classes' lives.

He saw pictures of him learning to throw a baseball with Midoriya, remembering how terrified of everything his best friend had been back then. Midoriya would've rather died than play a baseball game against A-class, and now...he really has come so far, Hitoshi noted fondly.

There was even a manga style photo spread of the time he and Karma pranked Terasaka. They bought a stuffed lion cub and left it lying on the floor in dirt and hid in the trees while they waited to see the delinquent's reaction. Terasaka walked up to it, tried to make sure no one was looking, and then picked it up and cradled it.

There were so many photos, so many moments memorialized: from Isogai running them through drills, to Itona trying to build a remote control mini tank to take out Korosensei (only for it to be ultimately bested by a squirrel), to Nakamura and Karma both flirting with Nagisa dressed as a girl. Moments he remembered fondly and moments he'd almost forgotten even happened, all captured by Korosensei because he was there.

He was always there. For them.

-.-.-.-

Against all odds, the sun still rose the next morning. Graduation day.

Karasuma let them go to the ceremony at the main campus so they could honor Korosensei by walking the stage in his memory. The ceremony itself was entirely uneventful; mostly everyone avoided them, too scared to approach. Hitoshi walked up to pick up his diploma from Principal Asano with his head held high.

"I see you're doing well for yourself, all things considered. There's no doubt you gained this confidence from your teacher," the principal said with a surprisingly kind smile. "Your father would be very proud of you."

Hitoshi grinned softly. "Yeah, I think he would."

It wasn't until the ceremony was over that things turned to hell. The media stormed the building, an army of cameras and story-hungry reporters. Hitoshi smirked when he noticed they were all pointedly avoiding him — no doubt learned their lesson — but that didn't stop them from swarming his classmates like bees.

"Is it true you took out multiple Pro-Heroes in your craze to kill the Tentacle?"

"How did the monster die? Did he fight or hurt you in any way?"

"How are your parents feeling about what's happened? Did they know?"

"What do you have to say about the government releasing a statement claiming they plan to make your class into an elite military squad? Is it just another example of them forcing you to do things against your will?"

"Wait, what?" Hitoshi asked, and the reporter suddenly looked scared shitless. Fortunately, another much braver (or maybe more stupid) reporter stepped up.

"The government said that to appease public concerns that your class is a danger to society, they will be closely monitoring you by having you function as a type of military police force. What do you have to say to that?"

Before Hitoshi could respond (because, like, what the fuck?) Karasuma stepped in, telling the media to get out of there, but they wouldn't listen, instead turning their questions to their P.E. teacher.

"Are you the handler for this new military program? Can you explain what it is that these children will be doing acting as government agents?"

"Do you think it's wrong that children are going to be forced to become dogs for the government? Aren't you worried about their safety?"

A brick wall appeared out of nowhere, cutting off the media from the class, and suddenly they found themselves surrounded by the Virtuosos.

"Asano? What is this?" Hitoshi asked.

"A rescue escort, obviously," the principal's son. "Now let's move it. Your bus is waiting for you outside."

With A-class and the Virtuosos acting as a human wall (or a literal one in Seo's case), E-class was painlessly led away from the mass of reporters to their bus. Koyama used his snake hair to nip at the ankles of any belligerent reporters, while Sakakibara, who was probably supposed to be using his Charm Speak on the media, was using it to flirt with Kanzaki, much to Sugino's chagrin. Just before he loaded the bus, Hitoshi paused in front of Asano, arching an eyebrow.

"Pretty cool for such a 'ruthless' guy," he teased. Asano scowled.

"Whatever, I'm just doing what any good future leader would," he stated. "Oh, and Shinsou? Next time you plan on raiding a mountain to kill a super creature, just tell me and use the front door. Your sneaking out was entirely unnecessary and worried the maid."

Yeah, sure. The 'maid.'

"Aw, so you do care," Hitoshi cooed and disappeared on the bus before Asano could retaliate. He plopped in a seat next to Midoriya, who was staring out the window in horror.

"I always thought the first time I'd be mobbed by reporters was my hero-debut," he said numbly. Hitoshi snorted.

"Well, hopefully when that happens, they'll be a lot nicer than this."

-.-.-.-

Once everyone was on the bus, Karasuma got on and they pulled away. Hitoshi, way past beating around the bush, wasted no time asking the question on everyone's mind.

"What the hell were they talking about back there?"

When the man didn't immediately answer, Hitoshi bristled. His irritation was shared by many.

"Please tell me it's just a rumor, sir," Kurahashi begged.

Kataoka nodded. "If this is some kind of sick joke, we need to know."

"It's not," Karasuma said. "It's not a joke."

The class was stunned silent, not knowing what to say. Fortunately, Karasuma did.

"The original plan was to pretend we had no idea Korosensei was teaching you, and to play you up more as victims," the man explained. "When that failed and the media started getting out of hand, we had to act fast. The people were calling for you to be rounded up, contained and isolated from society. The president decided to appease them and declared you all a new military force: the Emergency National Defense. END for short."

Hitoshi felt like his mind was moving through putty. Military...force…

"You can't do this to us!" Mimura shouted.

"Yeah, we're not some toy soldiers for the country to play with!" added Yada.

"We're kids! You can't expect kids to be government agents! How stupid do you have to be to think this is a good idea?" snapped Sugaya.

"Sir, we want to go back to living normal lives!" Midoriya pleaded. "It's what Korosensei wanted, it's what—"

"Well, it's because of Korosensei that you can't!"

The whole class tensed and flinched at the outburst and Karasuma sighed, pinching his nose. "Think about it. You've been trained at an elite level high enough to neutralize the world's greatest threat. You took out Japan's top heroes — even if you did have the vast home-field advantage — and have been trained to fight in ways not even hero students can. Society thinks you're dangerous and they're right; you have skills that make you incredibly dangerous."

Okajima made a choking sound. "That doesn't mean we'll act on them!"

"Yeah, we're not going to go around terrorizing cities!" Nakamura said. "We just want to go to high school!"

"I know that. The problem is that the world doesn't. They don't know you, they don't know your heart, they don't know what your capable of. What they do know is that you're incredibly strong and you just killed the Tentacle. Which means they fear you." Karasuma crossed his arms. "Look. I know you don't want this. I argued against it as much as I could, but the moment you set foot on the mountain last night, the decision was made. As the person who encouraged you to do so, I feel tremendously responsible. I know this is the last thing Korosensei would've wanted, but I'm afraid he's not here anymore."

The reminder was just another slap in the face. Hitoshi rubbed his eyes, wishing he could wake up from this nightmare.

"So that's it, huh?" Karma asked, his voice tense and dangerous. "Just like that, we're military dogs, soon to be shipped out to do the government's bidding? What do they want us to do, end the war on terror? Eradicate Japan of its villains?"

"No," Karasuma said sternly, a silent warning for Karma to back down. "You will act more like a police force, only being called altogether in the country's most desperate moments. Until then, you will operate not much different than before. You will all still be able to go to school wherever you want, pursue the education you wish, and live relatively normal lives. Assignments will be given out occasionally, but not often, and only in small groups at a time. The government has already bought the mountain to build a base of operations where you can train and recuperate.

"Look, I know you don't want to hear this, but I honestly believe this is the best thing we can do for our country right now. With Korosensei gone, the Number One Villain spot is up for grabs, and who knows what kind of monsters will come up trying to snatch it. There's no doubt in my mind the world will need saving again, and at this rate, you're the only ones I trust for the job."

The class was silent, taking in Karasuma's words. Hitoshi hated to admit he had a point. While crime rates spiked when the moon exploded, the appearances of big-name villains plummeted, many people too scared to challenge the beast that took out the moon. With him gone, it was only a matter of time before all hell broke loose.

"As of now, it's only for a year," Karasuma continued. "Assuming the world has come back to order by then, by March 13th of next year, END will no longer exist and you can all go back to leading the lives Korosensei wanted you to. The government won't interfere anymore, and hopefully by then you will have proved yourself to the media and the public enough to be left alone."

It wasn't what they wanted to hear, but at this point, it was the best they were going to get. They played their hand, and the government played theirs. Now they just have to hope there's still a chance for them to win this in the end.

After another long draw of silence, Hitoshi finally spoke up with an exasperated sigh. "END, huh?" he said. "Were you trying to be poetic, or did the government just not want to buy us new uniforms without the E?"

The class chuckled at the distraction and Karasuma mouthed him a silent thank you. Hitoshi just closed his eyes and prayed their lives couldn't get any worse.

-.-.-.-

It got worse.

"What the fuck do you mean I'm not in the hero course?"

Hitoshi was livid. He was going to kill this furry. The mouse bastard had gone too far this time.

Just when they thought they were finally settling back in with their lives, Karasuma gave him and Midoriya a call, saying Nedzu wanted to meet with them. Their old P.E. teacher took the liberty to drive them all to U.A. himself to see what Nedzu had to say.

AKA a whole lot of bullshit.

"I understand you're angry, dear Shinsou, but I'm afraid my hands are tied," the mouse explained. "Not only is the public outraged hearing that we allowed two E-class students to apply to the school, but the school board as well. They were trying to prevent me from letting either of you in the school at all, much less the hero course. U.A. has a policy that only four recommendation students can make the hero course each year, and they refused to let either of you take one of those spots. I was barely able to argue my case to make an exception for there to be one extra this year. And, well, since Midoriya scored one question higher than you on the written, the placement defaulted to him."

Hitoshi slammed his hands on the table. "That wasn't the deal! You said if we killed Korosensei instead of saving him, you'd let us into the hero course."

"I know I did, Shinsou, but I'm afraid this is the best I can do for you boys right now. We're lucky they're letting you attend the school at all. The lengths I had to go through to keep up the bargain to this extent was immense."

Hitoshi was about negative three seconds from stabbing his eyes out, but stopped when Karasuma gripped his shoulder.

"Principal Nedzu," he addressed, clearly trying to sound civil to hide his own anger. "These young men are more than deserving of being placed in your hero course, and you know that. Why are you letting others deprive Shinsou the chance to become a hero? He's a damn good fighter and an even better kid. I'd bet my life that he'd make a better hero than every kid on that roster."

Hitoshi's heart soared (said like a proud papa!) at the praise, but Nedzu just sighed and poured himself more tea.

"I never said I wasn't giving dear Shinsou a chance to become a hero," he stated. "I merely said I wasn't able to start him in the hero course right away. You see, the school board may have forgotten, but U.A. will move up deserving students who have proven themselves in class and, most importantly, the Sports Festival. I believe you understand what I'm getting at."

"And do you actually mean it?"

The whole room snapped to Midoriya who hadn't said a single word until now. The boy's face was hidden by his green bangs, but the clenched fists in his lap showed his true emotions.

Nedzu blinked. "Excuse me, my boy?"

"If Shinsou does well enough in the Sports Festival and beats out other hero course students," Midoriya continued, lifting his head to meet Nedzu's eyes. His green eyes were practically glowing. "Will you guarantee he gets into the hero course like he deserves, no matter what the board or public says?"

Nedzu actually looked somewhat affronted.

"Well, I—"

"Will you?"

Midoriya's eyes were definitely glowing now. Nedzu's tail flicked pensively. "Yes. If he proves himself to me, the school board, and the public, I will make sure of it."

The green glow disappeared as Midoriya sunk back in his chair, looking way too depressed for someone who just achieved his dream. It broke Hitoshi's heart to know his problems were the cause, and he grabbed his best friend's hand, giving it a tight squeeze. Midoriya squeezed it back.

At the end of the day, this was just another challenge in their way; another roadblock on their path to becoming heroes. And just like every other time, they were going to use their wits, strength, and assassination skills to overcome it.

Together.

-.-.-.-

They were given one week of break to recuperate. It was during this time that they were finally paid the bounty money. 30 billion yen split between 30 students if they counted Ritsu (which they ultimately did, given how the AI girl was well apart of their class. They figured the money could be put toward good use to give her upgrades).

Before they went wild, they all consulted Korosensei's massive handbook. They initially planned to buy the mountain themselves, but seeing as the government had already done that, they decided to put that money toward charities that helped troubled kids that just needed someone to have faith in them, like Korosensei did for E-class. Yet even after this, everyone was still left with 900 million yen each; more than high schoolers ever needed, that was for sure. As per Korosensei's request, they all put a huge portion toward funding their future education and any other financial needs before agreeing to leave anything left in a savings account, only to be used for absolute emergencies.

Shinsou used it to buy a new apartment.

"You do realize this is completely unnecessary, right? My father owns three apartment buildings in Musutafu," Asano said, watching him pack and, of course, not offering to help. Asshole.

"Yeah, well I'm apparently a millionaire now, so I need something to spend it on," Hitoshi retorted, sitting on his suitcase in an attempt to zip it up. Since when did his luggage overflow? It was barely filled when he got here. He thought he imagined it when he saw clothes appearing in his dresser, but clearly that was Asano's passive-aggressive way of saying his clothing collection was pitiful.

When it became evident that it wasn't going to zip, Hitoshi cursed and began grumpily unloading the suitcase, deciding to only pack the things he needed. He survived off a limited change of clothing for years, and he can do it again.

"Useless," he heard Asano mutter before the boy left the room. Hitoshi rolled his eyes. Yeah, screw you too.

But then the principal's son came barging in the room with a very large, very expensive piece of luggage and began shoving all of Hitoshi's things inside without even asking permission. "Hey!"

"When something doesn't fit, you don't take away your assets. You get a bigger box," Asano snapped, almost sounding like Korosensei except, like, way snootier. The boy paused as he picked up Hitoshi's clean-pressed U.A. uniform. "You know, I don't understand why you're going there. If you stayed at Kunugigaoka, you'd easily be placed in 1-A."

The brainwasher snorted and snatched the uniform back. "Yeah, well, your 1-A isn't a hero course, which is kinda the goal here, remember?"

Asano scowled. "My father could make it a hero course. He'd probably think it'd be fun, running a hero school."

Hitoshi shuddered at the thought.

"Yeah, but then you wouldn't be in 1-A. I don't think your prideful heart could take it," the brainwasher retorted, (justifiably) earning himself a face full of clothes.

-.-.-.-

For some reason, Bitch-sensei insisted she help him move into his new apartment. And for some reason, Hitoshi agreed.

What a fatal mistake.

"Will you stop trying to make everything pink?!" he screamed, finally snapping after catching his ex-English teacher attempting to redecorate his living room with her atrocious decorations for the nth time.

"Oh, Shitsou, I'm just trying to add a little color in your life," she cooed. "Pink is the color of love, you know. Karasuma's been kinda like you about my decorating tastes, but I think the color really brings out the mood. Why bother living in sexual tension when you can bring it all out so vibrantly and—"

"ENOUGH! I don't want to hear about you or Karasuma's sex life! Ever!"

Bitch-sensei pouted. "Just you wait, Shitsou. Soon you'll find a blond bombshell all for yourself and then we'll see how you behave."

"You have about two seconds to stop talking and start helping before I brainwash you out of my apartment."

-.-.-.-

His first night alone in his new apartment, Hitoshi woke up convinced he was drowning in blood — Midoriya's blood — as the Reaper's tentacle ran him through, again and again and again until there was nothing left of his best friend.

He spent a good half hour screaming and crying in the shower, fully clothed, as he tried to rinse away that imaginary blood.

His capture rings were now permanently stained red. He made a mental note to ask Itona to make him new ones; he's not sure he can even look at those old ones again, much less touch them. They threw out his and Midoriya's uniforms, saying there was little point in trying to clean and repair them when it was easier to just replace them entirely. Shinsou was very grateful for that.

He would blame it on the mixture of insomnia and emotional distress caused possibly by PTSD, but the next thing he knew, he was sitting on the bathroom floor soaking wet and calling Midoriya.

"H-Hello?" the boy rasped after the third ring, clearly having just woken up. "Hitoshi? Is everything okay?"

Hitoshi put his hand over his mouth in a pitiful attempt to muffle his sobs. Just hearing Midoriya's voice was enough to send him spiraling. Was he breathing? He couldn't tell.

"Hello? Hitoshi, answer me," Midoriya sounded much more awake, and Hitoshi bit on his tongue to stop a cry but failed. He could hear Midoriya flailing on the other side of the line. "Hitoshi? Oh god, are you...wait right there! Don't move!"

The call went silent and Hitoshi did what he was told and didn't move, not even to lower the phone. His body felt out of his control. Is this what being brainwashed felt like? Had he brainwashed himself? Was that even possible?

Minutes later, there was the sound of his apartment doorknob being wiggled violently, and suddenly Midoriya was right in front of him, hacking up globs of blood. The sight of red did nothing but make Hitoshi hyperventilate more.

"Oh my god, Hitoshi," the boy whispered after spitting the blood in the toilet, gently crouching down in front of the brainwasher. Hitoshi blinked, partially convinced this was all a dream.

"Did you run here all the way from Tokyo? Did you break into my apartment?" he asked numbly as Midoriya reached out and gently grabbed his arm — the touch felt solid, so this probably wasn't a dream, right?

"Yes to both," Midoriya said, helping the brainwasher to his feet and supporting him all the way out of the bathroom and onto the bed. "My best friend is having a PTSD induced panic attack and I have super speed now. Of course I'm going to be here."

The green-haired boy began rummaging through his unpacked suitcase, pulling out a pair of dry clothes. Hitoshi stared at the wall.

"It was just a bad dream. Nothing new," he mumbled, and that made his friend's stop in his rummaging. Midoriya turned to him eerily slow.

"You're saying you've had this happen to you before?" His green eyes were wide with fear. Hitoshi hated it, hated that he was the cause.

"Not this bad," he admitted. "Normally I'd wake up and go sit on the roof to clear my head, but this time...well…"

Midoriya approached him with the clothes. "Arms up," he ordered, and Hitoshi obeyed, letting his soaked shirt get peeled off his body. "How long has this been going on?"

A warm, fluffy sweater with cats on it was shoved over his head, somewhat muffling his response. "Since the Reaper."

Midoriya hissed like he was burned, pulling the sweater all the way down. "And you didn't tell anyone? Didn't tell me?"

Feeling a bit more like himself has the conversation dragged on, the sweater safe and warm, Hitoshi bravely responded, "Well, if I recall correctly, it was around the same time you were growing your green tentacle friends, so…"

His best friend scowled deeply before slapping Hitoshi upside the head at Mach-2. "Hey!"

"You need to tell people about this kinda stuff. It's dangerous, Hitoshi! You could get yourself killed if you're not careful," he lectured, throwing a pair of boxers and sweats at the brainwasher before turning around.

Hitoshi sighed and swapped out his clothes. When he was done, he asked, "And what about you? You can't tell me you've experienced becoming a science experiment or getting impaled and dying and you're not fucked up by it."

The silence he received was more than an answer. With a sigh, the brainwasher kicked his wet clothes into his laundry hamper and crawled into his bed, patting the spot next to him. "C'mon, we're getting some sleep."

Midoriya jerked, turning back around. "Huh — Wha?"

Hitoshi laid out an extra pillow, silently grateful Bitch-sensei made him buy the two-person bed, even if this wasn't her intention. "We're going to bed. I need a good night's sleep but can't without getting nightmares of you dying in my arms. You owe me now. Besides, all of Fuwa's cringy angst mangas have this trope that sleeping with someone helps you not get nightmares or some shit. Let's test it out."

Midoriya blinked but took off his shoes and crawled into the open space. The brainwasher scowled crossly.

"You wore shoes in my house. There's no way your mother didn't teach you better."

"I had other concerns, okay?!"

"Yeah, sure. Not like you move at Mach-2 and could've easily taken them off in .01 seconds. By the way, if I wake up and find my doorknob broken, you're buying me a new one."

"Oh. Okay…. Um. Where do you buy one?"

"You piece of shit."

-.-.-.-

"Shitsou! Are you okay? I was going to knock, but your doorknob is totally ruined and I got worried — oh!"

Hitoshi blearily opened his eyes and could just barely make out Bitch-sensei standing in his bedroom doorway through a mob of green hair.

Wait. Green hair?

"Shit!" the brainwasher hissed, trying and failing to untangle his limbs from Midoriya's still sleeping form — how was he not awake yet?!

"Oh, Shitsou, you dog!" his ex-teacher said, grinning maniacally. "You just couldn't wait a single night? Look at you, breaking your door just trying to get inside; I warned you about sexual tension! I feel like such a proud mama. You used protection, right?"

Hitoshi grabbed the lamp right off his bedside table and chucked it at her head. "It's not fucking like that! Are you blind, we're not even naked! Why are you so disgusting?!"

"What, you're trying to tell me you two were 'just sleeping?'" Bitch-sensei teased and the brainwasher bristled.

"That's exactly what it was!" He took a deep breath, knowing a screaming match wouldn't get anywhere with her. "Look. I-I had a pretty shit night last night and Izuku came to make sure I was okay. That's all this was. I'm not sleeping with my best friend or something scandalous, so get your mind out of there. It's not like that with us."

Bitch-sensei's face turned somber. "Nightmare, huh?" she guessed and Hitoshi didn't deny it. "I always asked Karasuma if he knew what he was getting you kids into. You weren't born in a place of war like me or Korosensei, quickly desensitized to the world of monsters and killing out of necessity. I always assumed it would take its toll on you guys. I was naive to hope I'd be wrong."

Hitoshi stared at his arms, the scars from the Reaper still visible. Bitch-sensei stared too. "You know, I think I'll take the Reaper incident to my grave as my biggest failure," she continued. "Up until that point, I was kidding myself to think I was a real teacher. Watching that man toy with you just made me realize what a joke I was. I couldn't save you or protect you like I was supposed to. All I could do was go and get brainwashed."

Hitoshi gently pulled down his sleeves to hide the scars. "S'not your fault. The Reaper is the monster here. I don't blame you in any way."

Bitch-sensei smiled, cold and sad. "You should."

It was in that tense moment that Midoriya finally started to stir to life, slapping around his hand like he was looking for something and smacking his lips. When his hand found Hitoshi's face, the boy jolted awake at Mach-2.

"Who the! Oh! Right! Hey, Ms. Jelavić, I didn't know you were coming over!" the green-haired boy cried, not so subtly wiping away a trickle of blood from his mouth. The ex-teacher grinned wickedly and Hitoshi braced himself. Here we go again.

"Oh, you know, I was in the neighborhood when I noticed Shitsou's doorknob was broken. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, right?"

-.-.-.-

By the time the week was up, they were told to meet up at their new END building: a state of the art, military-grade and beyond facility with top-notch weaponry, training equipment, and technology that belonged only in a super spy's dream. They built it right next to their old building. The government wanted to tear it down and replace it, but they were met by adamant objections. The new place was total overkill. Training mats filled the main floor, while climbing material lined the walls to grant them access to the second floor where the mission control base was: a huge screen surrounded by even more little screens and a keyboard Hitoshi couldn't even begin to understand, much less use.

They were equipped with all new weapons and technology. Everyone got a new Ritsu-programed phone and smartwatch that they were ordered to never take off unless instructed since the watch monitored their vitals and would send an alarm to everyone if something went wrong. Both devices were everything-proofed. They also got new comm sets that were basically invisible when in the ear and a sheet they could fill out to request any special equipment or weapons.

And then they were handed real knives and guns.

"Um," Midoriya began, the reality of their new position settling in. "Are we going to be expected to…"

"That's up to you," Karasuma said. "The government has given these out to you as common practice, but if you wish — and frankly, I'd highly encourage it — to make weapons of your own that are non-lethal, you're welcome to. It seems that tranquilizer formula Okuda created should be more than useful for you."

They all released a relieved breath of air. The idea of actually killing other people...it was far too much to mentally handle. They were kids for crying out loud. Some of them just barely turned 15. Despite what the media liked to play them up to be, they weren't ruthless killing machines. They were normal kids. Sure, they could run on buildings and jump through trees and hit impossible targets and occasionally surprise takedown superheroes, but that was all training. It wasn't serious until the government decided to make it.

"I know you're all wondering, so let me clarify it for you," Karasuma said, tapping away at the keyboard. "How END will operate is simple. You will be acting as a special police force, meaning you will help protect people in a variety of ways. A few examples include acting as middlemen during high priority negotiations, being the backup team for military squads on missions, monitoring the city when there are threats of attacks, and even taking down criminals and villains. The last responsibility, while technically defaults to the police and Pro-Heroes, is well under your jurisdiction if needs be. If you witness a criminal or villain attack, you will report it to Ritsu, and she will give you the green light if you are the nearest and best option for the job. You're all already licensed by the government to use your quirks in public. Think of it as being constantly off duty and undercover until the moment arises."

"Well, who's to say we'll even do your dirty work? What if we just refuse?" Terasaka asked. Their ex-P.E. teacher turned handler smirked.

"Well, while I hope you would all be eager to serve your fellow man, I did take into consideration that there might be push-back. We are forcing this job upon you, after all. Which is why I've devised a system."

The screens behind Karasuma changed from showing them video examples of the types of missions and assignments they'll be given next to a chart with all of their faces on it. "For every mission you participate in or criminal/villain you stop, you'll get a point. The five students with the most points at the end of the week get to miss out on intensive training for the following week."

The class whispered noisily amongst themselves. "Um, just curious. How intense is intensive training?" Muramatsu asked, and the smile Karasuma gave them sent a shiver down their spines. That was more than enough of an answer, but their teacher said it anyway.

"Let's just say if you thought training in E-class was hard, intensive training will be hell."

The coyote boy whimpered as their handler continued, "We ask that you report to the base once a week for intensive training, as well as when we call you for special missions, but you are free to operate here as much as you'd like. You can even sleep in the bunk room if you want. The facility is completely open to all of you, but it's against the rules to bring anyone here without specific permission from me. Is that clear?"

The class nodded. "Yes, sir!"

"Good. Any other questions?"

Kanzaki raised her hand. "Um, sir, on your chart thing. What are the names listed under our pictures supposed to mean? And the weird symbol next to it?"

Hitoshi looked and noticed what she was talking about. Under his picture (they were in seat order, he noted) were the words 'Agent Control' and next to it in parenthesis was a strange jagged 'E' symbol.

"Is that the Greek alphabet?" Midoriya wondered aloud, and Hitoshi realized he was right, recognizing the symbols from their calculus unit. The symbol next to his name was sigma. There was also the alpha, beta, gamma, and delta symbols randomly placed by people's names. Scanning further, he realized that only he and Midoriya had the sigma symbol.

"What, are we being forced to join sororities to?" Nakamura mumbled, but Karasuma didn't pay any attention to the sly comment if he heard it.

"The names are the codenames you will be referred to on missions. I know your faces have already been dug up and published by the media, but it's still best to try and keep you as anonymous as possible, especially in high profile situations. After the interesting little experiment with codenames we had in class, I took the liberty to name you all myself to...ensure professionalism," Karasuma explained. "I didn't go too deep so the names would be easy for you to pick up quickly. I mainly based them on your quirk, strengths, appearance or well-known traits."

Hitoshi had to bite his tongue when he saw Midoriya's codename. "Agent Quirk?" he whispered, cackling. His best friend blushed and elbowed him profusely.

Honestly, Karasuma wasn't known for his outright sense of humor, but maybe that's what made some of these 'professional' codenames so funny. 'Agent Devil' for Karma or 'Agent Snake' for Nagisa? While he could see where they came from, they were lowkey shady. He snorted at 'Agent President' for Isogai or 'Agent Sunshine' for Kurahashi.

"Why am I Agent Tentacle and not Midoriya? No offense," Itona asked, and Hitoshi arched an eyebrow, genuinely curious too.

Karasuma shrugged. "First impressions. Also to help you fit into Terasaka's gang a little better."

Okay. Nevermind. Highkey shady. Who knew the man had it in him.

"Hey, I'm not complaining! Agent Freeze sounds pretty cool!" Okajima cheered, trying to sling his arm around Kataoka who promptly dodged and shoved him to the floor, sneering.

"I think Agent Pervert would've been a better fit."

"Sir, you still haven't explained the symbol yet," Isogai pointed out. Karasuma nodded.

"Yes, of course," he hit a few more buttons and their pictures moved so they were separated into groups based on the symbol. "As I said before, full class missions will be incredibly rare. Typically you will go in small groups. The largest missions will be when we send out unit squads."

Another button was pushed and the screen zoomed in on the 'Alpha' unit, showing pictures of Karma, Isogai, Terasaka, Sugino, Okano, Kataoka and Kimura next to videos of the military fighting and heroes battling.

"The Alpha unit is our attack team. In cases of a mission where the top fighters are needed, this will be the first team to respond. Common missions will include military ops and assisting heroes in large scale villain attacks. They will also likely be spending the most time in the public eye, which is why Kataoka and Isogai will take roles of PR heads, so to speak, in terms of interacting with the public. This team will be led by Karma, with Isogai as first lieutenant."

The screen changed, pulling up the 'Beta' unit, which included Nagisa, Yada, Okajima, Chiba, Hayami, and Muramatsu. The videos played look like scenes out of a spy movie.

"The Beta unit is our backup and covert ops team. When missions are too much for just Alpha to handle, Beta will go in to lend support. They will also be participating in more of our secret, get-in and get-out type missions you'd most commonly find assassins and spies doing. This team will be led by Nagisa, with Hayami as first lieutenant."

The Gamma unit, Karasuma went on to explain, was the control and intel team, and consisted of Nakamura, Ritsu, Okuda, Takebayashi, Mimura, Itona, Fuwa, and Hazama. They would mostly be located either at home base giving out orders and keeping those in the field aware, or they'd be staking out the enemy and gathering as much intelligence as possible. The team was captained by Nakamura with Fuwa as lieutenant.

The Delta unit was the defense and rescue team, which meant they were going to be dealing most directly with the citizens during a mission. It was made up of Yoshida, Hara, Maehara, Kurahashi, Kanzaki, and Sugaya. They would be in charge of making sure no bystanders were hurt during missions and that no one tried to sneak up and hurt the other units. Maehara was in charge, with Kanzaki as second in command.

"And then we have Sigma," Karasuma said, changing the screen to pull up his and Midoriya's faces. There were no mission example videos accompanying it. "As you can tell, it's our smallest unit. Their job is to act as a failsafe. When a mission goes bad and every team is down for the count, Sigma is the unit that will step in. I picked who made up this team for a very special reason."

The screens changed to show videos of E-class throughout the year during training or assassination attempts against Korosensei, and even some from their raid of the mountain. Hitoshi had no idea how Karasuma acquired them, and figured they probably came from Ritsu's harddrive

"When I was creating the other teams, I went off your strengths and specialties. Though all of you could easily be a part of any unit, I went with the one I thought you'd perform the strongest in. When I created Sigma, however, the process was different. This needed to be the absolute strongest, most well-rounded team even when they'd get the least formal missions. Since these two will be attending U.A., the lack of missions will better suit their schedules, and they'll get constant battle training. But I want you to understand what a failsafe team is. I'm not going to sugarcoat it.

"I told you they will come in during the worst of battles, but the circumstances it takes to require a failsafe is no joke. When I say every team is down for the count, it could very well mean it's because the enemy has eliminated or incapacitated everyone else. I chose Midoriya and Shinsou because I hope their training and connections with heroes will mean they'll be able to save the world when END is no longer there to."

The room went tense. When END is no longer there? In case they've all been eliminated? Just what was the government planning to do with END? Did they forget they were just fifteen?

"Are…Are you anticipating that being in END will get us all killed?" Nagisa breathed. Karasuma shook his head.

"I pray not. I know your skill, and I believe in your capabilities. But unfortunately, we live in a very evil world with people who seek to corrupt and destroy. We have to be ready for every possible outcome, even if the likelihood of it happening is less than 1%."

Less than 1%. Korosensei had less than 1% chance of actually exploding according to the moon data, but that didn't stop the government from demanding his execution.

The foreboding mood didn't go away, to say the least.

Karasuma, sensing the atmosphere, sighed. "I understand it's a dark thought, and I'm sorry to bring it up." He tapped the keyboard and the screens turned off. "Just some final clarification. While the world knows about END and will soon see and hear of you in action, you must keep how we operate a secret. Though we'll try to avoid it, there may be times you'll get an emergency mission in class and you'll need to leave immediately. Your teachers will all be debriefed and should understand that you leaving is a government order, so hopefully you don't catch any grief. If you do, tell me and I'll handle it. If someone does find out or stumbles across something they shouldn't see, it'll be a lot of paperwork that no one wants, so please, be discreet for our sanity. That is all."

Their handler left, leaving them all standing together in awkward silence. Hitoshi couldn't help but feel all eyes were on him and Midoriya. Just when he thought this END thing couldn't get any worse, Karasuma had to go put him on his stupid failsafe team.

"So," Kurahashi said. "Karasuma-sensei said you're both going to U.A. Does that mean everything with Nedzu worked out?"

His brain now thoroughly distracted from Sigma, Hitoshi scratched the back of his neck and sighed. "Oh, boy, this is a story."

-.-.-.-

"That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard!" exclaimed Mimura, the boy kicking over a training dummy in frustration. "We just stopped the Number One Villain, and this is how they repay you?"

Needless to say, the class didn't take the news of Hitoshi being in General Education very well. Quite the opposite, actually. Everyone was now fired up by Nagisa's blatant (and probably deliberate) Projecting. Ritsu had to activate the emergency interior locks to keep Terasaka and his gang from going out and murdering the school board or Nedzu. Hitoshi was bummed she did, desperately wanting to see Terasaka go all lion on Nedzu in a full-blown furry vs furry battle.

"I can't believe they'd do this to you," spat Sugino. "So what if some parents are scared about their kid's safety? They're sending their child to a school taught by heroes and they're scared you two will somehow find a way to hurt people?"

"Well, in their defense, we did take out a ton of Pros, most of them making up U.A.'s staff," Hayami pointed out.

Maehara scoffed. "That was only because we got the jump on them and knew the territory better. If we were to have a rematch in any other situation, we wouldn't stand a laughing chance."

"That doesn't matter to them," Yoshida said. "What matters is that we're scary, which means we don't matter."

The class sighed unanimously. Over the past week, the media coverage just kept getting worse and worse. Once it was confirmed that the E-class assassins were now END agents, the public had...mixed feelings to say the least. Some people were grateful they were being monitored. Some people were excited, hoping to finally see the mysterious students in action. And some (a lot) of people still wanted them shipped off to a remote island.

"You know, I don't think this is about public opinion or the school board at all."

Everyone turned their attention to Karma. The red-haired boy, who was leaning again the second-floor metal balcony, jumped down to the main floor with a flip to give his theory.

"I mean, think about it. The dude invented the SPEAR of Heaven laser and the SHIELD of Earth. There's no way Nedzu hasn't heard about Midoriya inheriting a bit of Korosensei's speed quirk, even if it's been declared a state secret." The boy in question tensed up at the idea. "The guy openly admits he fought for Midoriya and really only Midoriya to get in the hero course. I think the reason is that he's scared of him."

"Um," Nagisa flubbed. "Haven't we established that Nedzu seems pretty scared of both of them?"

"Well, yes, but this is a whole different ballpark. Just think about." Karma crossed his arms. "Before, Midoriya was just an extremely skilled quirkless boy. Now he's an extremely skilled super sonic assassin who got his powers directly from the man Nedzu could never stop." Karma laughed cruelly. "To put it simply, there's no denying Nedzu is scared of you both — it's likely the only reason he's fought to let you U.A. in the first place. I bet if it was his call, he'd make us all go to U.A. so he could closely monitor our future education. The guy is obsessed with the idea that being taught a certain way sends you down a specific path, and the only reason he's going against the public and the school board is that he wants to make sure the dangerous, skilled young men that he's so scared of never become his enemy.

"But the reason he got Midoriya into the hero course immediately is that he wants to — has to guarantee that Midoriya doesn't become anything like the creature that taught him in the first place and gave him his legacy. So while he's still scared of Shinsou, he's scared of Midoriya a hell of a lot more."

The theory was even more unsettling than Nedzu's initial explanation. To think Nedzu was only 'routing' for them was to watch them in some weird 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' like fashion was infuriating and degrading. It seemed after Korosensei was killed, the world needed a new threat to unite against, and that honor was instantly bestowed on the very people that stopped the old one.

"Well," Midoriya said, staring down at his hands. "If that's the case, we'll just have to prove he has nothing to fear. Nedzu or the public can think what they want of us, but that's not going to stop us. We're assassins, which means when your first blade gets blocked, you just pull out your second one. Korosensei gave his life for me and Hitoshi to live this dream, and I'm never going to let anyone stop us."

Hitoshi smirked and reached out, putting a firm hand on his best friend's shoulder. They looked at each other in the eye and a new, silent promise was made between them.

Korosensei didn't sacrifice so much just for them to fail. They couldn't fail, not when they were so close. No matter what happened, they were going to get through this. They already stopped the Number One Villain and saved the world. Not even All-Might could say that.

So no matter what anyone said or did to stop them, they wouldn't stop pushing for their goal, fighting for their dream. It didn't matter if someone axe-kicked them into submission or held them at gunpoint, they would never give up. They were going to become heroes. Because they had to.

For Korosensei.