Okay brain, what are we doing, studying to get that out of the way so my anxiety isn't as high when I write, or writing first, to calm myself down and be more efficient when I write later?
Lol neither. Rewatch the same youtube videos you seen 100 times.
Relatable and understandable. Have a good day.
BEEENCHBEEEEEYOLKING HERE. A week late, maybe. Shorter chapter then normal, you know it!
Midterm prep has been a pain, sorry you all! I'm not going to make any promises I can't fufill about when the next chapter might come out, but know I am working on it! And thankfully, I have a feeling these next few chapters are going to be a real blast to write (and hopefully to read as well)
As always, feel free to leave your thoughts as a review! I try and reply (when I can, and if I see something that warrantsone, granted) and I take each one into careful consideration! Also, feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any questions or suggestions! Or you just want to yell at me! I don't care!
Okay ya'll hope you enjoy this bridge chapter, T&T has been pretty all over the place, and I do apologize for it, even after 15 chapters I still haven't quite figured out if I want to have Lazarus 100% abandon the Cannon plot and go off and do his own thing (with the main plot involved as machinations in the background) or do a more traditional OC story WITH all the original stuff slotted in whenever it would make sense for Lazarus not to be involved.
If you got any thoughts on my inability to make a strong choice and stick with it (heh, sorry), feel free to let me know in any of the ways listed above!
Thank you all for sticking with me, I know I'm a little bit of a pain to deal with, but it means the world to me that you are all still sticking around for each new chapter! This ones for all of you awesome readers (new and old) other there! Plussss Ultra!
Without further ado...I'll let the chapter, speak for itself...
"Excuse me! Do you know anything about All Might teaching at UA?" The reporter screamed, startling Lazarus out of his internal running monologue as a camera was thrusted in his face. Out of instinct, Lazarus almost thrusted his hands in front of his eyes to shield himself from being recognized, before remembering that he didn't have to hide his identity in Japan.
"Excuse me?" Lazarus politely retorted, which he immediately regretted as more reporters seemed to appear out of thin air and surround him on all sides, microphones and cameras obscuring every inch of his vision.
"How is All Might as a teacher!"
"Is it true that his smile has already blinded four students?"
"Do you have anything to say about what kind of man the pro hero really is?"
Lazarus blinked as he was swarmed with questions from every angle, finally, he cleared his throat loudly enough to quiet the group, before smiling widely. He didn't mind the attention one bit.
"Well I haven't seen too much of All Might, seeing as I'm part of Class 1-B but…" Lazarus was cut off by a loud groan from every reporter around him.
"Ah great, it's another one of the useless ones. Lets go look for the important kids!" A female reporter shouted from somewhere in the group.
Within a few seconds, all the reporters had scurried away, leaving him standing completely alone.
"Screw all you too then!" Lazarus called out after the retreating reporters, making sure none of the cameras were facing him before throwing the middle finger at their backs. Adjusting his backpack strap before stomping past the gate and into the school.
"Oh! You managed to escape them too Lazarus!" Hanta called out, popping out from behind a tree as he quickly jogged over to him. Lazarus chuckled.
"More like they escaped me, guess they're only interested in you folks. Lucky." Lazarus smiled as Hanta shrugged, looking away.
"Yeah, lucky, sure." Hanta sighed, before giving Lazarus a steely glare.
"What?" Lazarus asked, knowing fully well what was about to happen.
"Did you try and throw yourself out the school window yesterday after I left?" Hanta's direct question startled Lazarus, (and to his humour, several general studies students who were walking within earshot suddenly looked very concerned).
"I plead the fifth!" Lazarus cried, speading his pace up slightly, Hanta quickly moved to catch up.
"I don't know what that means, but you did you little shit!" Hanta called out as he began to sprint, Lazarus laughed and sped up himself as the two of the weaved through the crowd, until Lazarus stopped, letting Hanta catch up and jump up onto his back, throwing Lazarus into an impromptu headlock.
"Oh dear~ I have been assaulted, oh what a cruel fate to have befall me at a hero school." Lazarus swooned as he easily carried Hanta on his back.
The two of them kept laughing as Lazarus piggybacked his friend into the school. Lazarus, even in his joy, couldn't shake a feeling from his gut. It was a dark feeling years of patrolling the streets had taught him. Something bad was coming.
"Japanese literature." Cementoss announced again, before speaking about what had been covered last class.
Lazarus looked to his left and right, the two other fourginers of class B had moved desks for this class, forming a group of three in the back corner. All three of them looked the same, their eyes empty as they attempted to comprehend the jiberish on the pages of their textbook.
"Study group?" Pony whispered, Lazarus nodded along with his new acquaintance, Hiryu, who was indeed from China. The three of them returned to looking at the book, hoping that some flash of inspiration would occur in at least one of them.
Nothing did.
"So wait, you're saying you'll let us kill you in training?" Kendo spoke in horror, Lazarus continued eating his rice.
"Hmhm." Lazarus mumbled through his mouthful of food.
"That seems...unethical." Tetsutetsu spoke, glancing around to see if anyone was watching them. Lazarus shrugged, he had decided to start eating at Kendo's table, considering that he wanted Hanta to have the chance to bond with his own classmates. Lazarus finally swallowed.
"Nothing unethical about it. I'm just saying, if any of you wanna test out your moves after school, you can always hit me up. Unless I'm running short on regenerations, you can beat me up all you want, I'm a tough nut to crack, don't feel pain, and more importantly, I cost a hell of a lot less then buying a training dummy you'll reduce to bits and pieces." Lazarus watched the other students at the table exchange glances.
"I'll take you up on that!" Neito smiled widely, "It'll be nice to have a chance to not hold back at all!" As Neito began to laugh, Kendo shot him a glare, silencing his mirth.
"Obviously, Lazarus, we appreciate the offer, but well…" Kendo trailed off, Lazarus looked at her impatiently.
"But what?" Lazarus finished, urging her for a response.
"But I'm sure I'd have some nightmares if I ended up crippling you and causing you to choke on your own blood, honestly." Kendo finished with a sigh and a shiver. Lazarus acknowledged the thought.
"Fair enough. Not going to force you into it, but you don't have to kill me, you know? Even if you just beat the crap out of me, I'll be fine for school the next day." Lazarus was about to launch into a story about his siblings, before the sharp sound of an alarm interrupted him.
"What?" Tetsutetsu quickly stood, the alarm continuing to blair. The other students around the table threw their hands over their ears, while Lazarus began to look around for the source.
"What is this? Some kinda fire drill? I guess you'd still have to do them in Japan…" Lazarus mumbled, knowing his voice wouldn't be hearable over the noise. A student from one end of the cafeteria finally spoke over the alarm.
"The proximity alarm! Someone's broken into the UA campus!" The student's cry carried over the cafeteria instantly, the noise from the students suddenly growing louder then the alarm itself. Lazarus felt his gut twist as he knew what was going to come next.
"Let's go. Now." Lazarus spoke, trying to grab the attention of the table. They quickly snapped out of their stupor, and followed Lazarus as he moved briskly towards the door, pasted tables of stunned students. Just as Lazarus reached the door, he heard the sound of a hundred chairs shifting at once.
"Crap." Lazarus muttered as the sound of feet pounding the ground grew behind him. He threw open the door and bolted, his friends following behind them as the growing swarm of panicked students washed through the double doors behind them.
"What's happening!" Tetsutetsu yelled, Lazarus tried to shout back at him.
"For a bunch of heroes, they've got a hell of a flight instinct! That's what!" Lazarus felt his legs burn as his heart threatened to beat itself out of his back pocket, he quickly took it out and reached under his shirt, shifting Stain's dagger to push his cube into the soft flesh of his chest, a burst of energy accompanying the gesture as he picked up a little more speed.
"Where should we go?" Kendo yelled, to Lazarus surprise, she was easily able to keep pace with him, Lazarus shrugged, trying not to glance over his shoulder at the approaching mob.
"I'm heading to the front gates!" Lazarus called out.
"Crazy...that's...probably...where...the...intruder!" Neito huffed from somewhere behind Lazarus, clearly lagging slightly behind the group.
"True Neito! But! Counterpoint! I don't care about dying! So just follow me and worst comes to worse, I'll be your meat shield!" Lazarus saw the corner up ahead, leaping and kicking off the wall to maintain his momentum as he turned down the hall and jumped up onto the rail, sliding down the staircase.
"That doesn't fill me with confidence!" Kosei yelled from the top of the stairs, taking the slightly slower but safer passage down the stairs. However, as Lazarus looked back, he stopped in his tracks.
"Lazarus! Don't stop!" Kendo yelled slowing down only slightly as she was about to pass him.
"Where'd everyone go?" Lazarus asked, causing the five other students to freeze (giving Neito the chance to catch up, and catch his breath).
Lazarus slowly climbed the stairs again, getting to the landing, looking both ways down the hall, only to see that the chaos behind them had disappeared. A wave of unease passed over him. This could have been a very good sign, but he doubted it was.
"...should we go back?" Kosei finally asked, breaking the silence as the six students shared a glance between them.
"Obviously." Lazarus scoffed, quickly switching to a jog, only for his shirt collar to be grabbed by Kendo.
"Hold on." Though Kendo's voice was firm, there was a fear in it Lazarus had heard many times before from his siblings.
Without thinking, Lazarus shook off her hand and continued to run.
"Death waits for no man!" Lazarus cried as he turned the corner, only to come face to face with a familiar student, leading two orderly lines of students behind him.
"Oh hey, it's you. Ilda right?" Lazarus pointed, trying to recall the boy's name. The boy froze in shock.
"Are...are you…the one who threw himself out the window yesterday?" The boy asked, his voice stiff, but still concerned, Lazarus clicked his tongue and patted the boy twice on the shoulder.
"No idea what you're talking about, you got the wrong guy, well, it seems like everything has calmed down, meet you guys out in the field I guess!" Without another word, Lazarus turned on his heels and walked off, leaving Ilda behind as he turned the corner.
"No one's dead today! Everyone's calmed down, so I assume it's all-" Lazarus began to speak to his friends, only to see Aizawa standing at the top of the landing, the rest of his friends gone from the top of the stairs.
"Poe-kun." Aizawa spoke, his eyes burrowing into Lazarus in a way he didn't really appreciate.
"Oh! You can just call me Lazarus, Aizawa-sensei, it's uh, nice to see you." Lazarus smiled thinly, moving to sidestep around Aizawa, only for Aizawa to match his movement.
"Just a question for you, Lazarus, about something American... Does the name, Deep Well, mean anything to you?" Aizawa's question was innocent enough, but it's very mention spread ice through his veins.
Before Lazarus could think up a retort, or anything, Aizawa looked him over from top to bottom, taking in every part of Lazarus's being in that moment.
"Never mind, I just got all the information I needed. I do think we'll meet again soon, Lazarus." Aizawa said nothing else, walking past him just as Ilda turned the corner.
Lazarus couldn't hear the conversation the teacher was having with his student over the sound of his own pounding heart.
"Lazarus!" Kosei spoke, nudging Lazarus as he did, finally snapping him out of his self-reflection.
"Hm, what?" Lazarus dumbly replied in turm, trying to gather his grip on reality again. Kosei sighed, placing a hand on his brow. Looking around the 1-B classroom they had all returned to.
"I said, you've been like this since the evacuation this afternoon, you alright? Lunch is almost over and you're still off in your own world." Kosei's concern was heartwarming, and Lazarus smiled to mask his growing worry on the Aizawa front.
"Yeah. Totally! Just got some non-school stuff on my mind, no biggie. Once hero training begins, I should-" Before Lazarus could continue, Kan's voice shot across the classroom.
"Poe-kun! Can I have a word." Kan was standing by the doorway, Lazarus let out a breath he had been holding for half a second, though Kan's words were direct and curt, his posture was far more open and relaxed. Lazarus quickly nodded to Kosei again, dropping his bag at his desk before moving up to his teacher.
"Sensei, something you need?" Lazarus kept his tone even, hoping that his teacher had already moved past the embarrassing events of the day before. Kan's face was a mix between apologetic and hopeful, not a good sign in Lazarus's books.
"Poe-kun, you see, class-A is over at USJ, a simulation building on the far side of the campus, they left just a few minutes ago... but due to some...mix ups, All-Might couldn't make it at the last moment, and Thirteen forgot some paperwork in their office…" As Kan continued on, Lazarus felt a pit grow in his gut.
"You want me to skip on basic hero training to go deliver some paperwork?" Lazarus phrased it like a question, but it was very much a statement of fact. Kan's sympathetic smile only grew.
"You should be back in time to do some of the work, obviously, I'd get a faculty member to run it out but everyone's busy with their own class...and uh, you seemed to be…" Kan began to struggle to phrase the next statement in a polite way.
Lazarus felt his anger bubble in his gut, and then guilt wash over him and instantly cool his temperament. He gave Kan a genuine smile.
"I've...given you a hard time, Sensei, you don't have to sugercoat it. I've got a few different quirks and only one of them is the helpful kind. I don't mind at all, just try not to have too much fun without me." Lazarus felt his guilt too wash away as Kan let out a relieved sigh.
"Thank you, Poe-kun. Don't be too hard on yourself though, I can see potential in you, even with your, er, difficulties. I promise, this isn't some trend of punishment I'm going to put you through. After this, we'll just call the board clear, eh?" Kan finished, placing a kind hand on Lazarus shoulder, Lazarus smiled up at the bigger man, nodding enthusiastically. Kan laughed.
"Okay, I better get going, or else I'll end up missing the entire class...and fail to get the paperwork to them on time. See ya Sensei!" Lazarus turned to walk out the door, getting several steps past the doorway before Kan politely cleared his throat.
"Lazarus, I believe you'll want these." Kan spoke, holding up a stack of paperwork. Lazarus snapped his fingers and reddened slightly.
"Right." Lazarus carefully took the Papers from Kan and moved down the hall, away from his class. As soon as he made it outside the building, he found the crossroads to the different areas of UA and started jogging down the one to USJ, after all, how large could the UA campus really be?
"Please...someone...kill me...now…" Lazarus gasped, collapsing against a tree as he finally stopped jogging, the USJ building finally visible just a short way down the road. He rested for a moment, now fully knowing why UA had a fleet of buses for inside the school grounds.
Giving himself only a moment to complain, he quickly returned to his pace, if nothing else, he had his endurance to rely on.
He was surprised how calm and quiet this part of UA was, it was entirely isolated, he assumed it was because of noise from the simulation joint, or maybe the fact that if something went wrong, nothing else of value would get caught in any flooding from the building. Yet it hardly seemed like the building was even open, it was dead quiet from what Lazarus could tell.
Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his pocket, Lazarus took it out and stared at the message.
"A blocked number is attempting to send you a text, would you like to view it?" Lazarus read aloud, noting his Deep Well contact's regular contact info. Without another thought, he rejected it, quickly, several more messages popped up, until Lazarus put his phone on silent all together. Getting back to the task at hand.
After making his way down the last bit of the path and climbing the stairs, he found himself staring down the massive metal doors to the facility.
"These look more like the doors to a nuclear bunker then a school site…" Lazarus muttered to himself with a dark chuckle, grabbing the handles with all his might and pushing them forward, then pulling them back when the first action produced no results.
Lazarus continued for a moment longer, before catching his breath, and noticing that the doors did not have hinges, and instead appeared to be designed to slide outwards. Much to his embarrassment and displeasure.
"It's like they build these things to screw with me…" Lazarus sighed as he grabbed a handle in each hand and yanked, the doors moving at an incredibly slow pace as they finally parted ways, allowing Lazarus to slip in between them, the doors slamming closed behind him.
Lazarus turned around, pulling the paperwork out of his pocket as he stepped forward into the USJ building, seeing what he assumed to be the entirety of class 1-A before him, all staring back at him.
Lazarus suddenly felt uneasy with all eyes turned towards him, it wasn't the intention, it was something primal behind all their eyes, fear. Several students tensed as he entered, and he saw who he assued was either Thirteen, or the Michelin Man turned pro hero; and Aizawa, both turning aggressively as soon as Lazarus took a step forward.
"Lazarus?" He heard Hanta speak from somewhere in the group, his voice unsure, Lazarus smiled, but no one relaxed, quickly turning back to look over the edge down into the pit of USJ
"Lazarus, stay back." Aizawa ordered, but Lazarus's curiousity had already been peaked, without thinking, Lazarus moved to join them. His breath was suddenly caught in his throat.
Thugs, rough looking men and women pooled down in the center area, materializing from some misty gate centered at the fountain in the middle of the area.
But more then that, a single image, even from so far away, burned itself into his brain, of a young man, a white gloved hand covering his face, a single eye visible as he emerged from the gateway. In that eye, Lazarus saw something dark, something twisted, something he had hoped to never see again. It was the eyes of someone who had seen their own darkness, and decided to embrace it without care.
His heart leaped into his throat as he pulled out his phone, his hand shaky as he quickly navigating to the blocked number on his phone, unblocking it to read the messages he had been sent just moments ago.
CONTACT: PLEASE READ. URGENT!
CONTACT: ...Please respond Lich.
CONTACT: I'm begging you.
CONTACT: I know you're mad at me.
CONTACT: I don't want you to die.
CONTACT: For REAL I mean.
CONTACT: YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!
CONTACT: DAMN IT.
CONTACT: IF YOU CAN READ THIS.
CONTACT: GET OUT OF U.A.
CONTACT: NOW.