Koji dithered nervously behind his partner as they headed towards one of the many little council rooms scattered throughout the training facility. It's not that he was… afraid of Jirou-san, she was just… a little intimidating? Then again, he'd thought Shinsou-kun was intimidating at first too, and Iida-kun, but they'd both proven to be very nice in their own ways. Maybe Jirou-san was the same?

"And here we are," the short girl sighed, stepping into one of the empty rooms. There was a small conference table and a whiteboard covering the entirety of one wall, so fairly standard all things considered. There was even a little TV in the corner, already on and tuned into the current battlefield. It looked like a city, barren and completely abandoned.

Koji really hoped there were animals in their arena.

"Here."

Koji blinked, a little bit startled to find Jirou-san thrusting a black dry-erase marker at him. His eyes flicked between her and the marker a couple of times before she rolled her eyes impatiently, stepped forward, grabbed his hand, and pressed it into his palm.

"Look, the other class officers and I looked at your file when we got voted in, so I know talking is scary for you," she sighed, "but I don't understand Sign. So if we're gonna work together for this exam, we need a way to communicate."

Koji blinked a couple more times, then smiled shyly and nodded. So she is nice after all.

"Okay," Jirou-san nodded in turn. "So we're up against Present Mic. I've always just thought of him as the announcer guy, but it'd be stupid to brush him off after everything we've seen this semester. So, what do we know about him?"

Koji thought for a moment, then uncapped the pen and wrote, He's loud.

Jirou-san snorted softly. "You got that right. So why d'you think we were paired up against him? If there's one thing I've learned as class rep it's that Aizawa-sensei never does anything without a reason."

Another long pause, then Koji uncapped the marker again, drawing a couple of lines underneath his first statement, then adding, It's scary.

"Being loud makes him scary? How d'you mean?"

Animals don't like loud noises, especially noises they don't expect. They'll run away.

"So he's a perfect counter for your quirk," Jirou-san realized, eyes widening.

…Yours too.

"What?" the dark-haired girl frowned as she read Koji's latest comment, eyes flickering towards him. The shy boy fidgeted awkwardly for a moment, then pointed shakily towards her ears. "…Oh. I guess you're right," Jirou-san frowned, lightly twirling one of her earphone jacks around her finger. "Blasty said something about that the other day, actually. That I should think about getting earplugs as part of my costume, like him. Dammit, why didn't I think to submit a request already?" she grumbled.

Koji paused, then tapped the short girl's shoulder to grab her attention. Could you ask Yaoyorozu-san to make you some?

"…It's a thought," Jirou-san admitted, "but I don't know if that would be considered cheating or not."

You could ask?

"Yeah, but who? All the teachers are already in their arenas."

Midnight and Recovery Girl are still in the observation area. Aizawa said we were allowed to go there. There should be time before our turn comes.

"Okay, fair. But I don't wanna rely on that plan, just in case it's not allowed. So what else can we do? What else do we know about Mic?"

I'm not sure. I've never seen him use his quirk before. Can he direct it or does it cover an entire area?

Jirou-san raised a hand to her earjacks again, twirling them around and around her fingers. "The speaker system around his neck," she said slowly. "It's a directional speaker. My parents have used them for outdoor concerts before. That kind of weight wouldn't be easy to remove, so we can bet that he's gonna have it on. That means it will be in a single direction, not filling up the whole space."

Do we know how big the arenas are?

Jirou paused, looking towards the TV in the corner, which was still showing a wide-shot of Kirishima and Satou's arena before the start of their test. "At a guess, I'd say that looks like… two or three kilometers each way? Assuming they're all about the same size, that's a fifteen or twenty minute run for an average person. On top of that, we're gonna be dealing with opposition."

Would we have time to run around the edge instead of going straight across?

"I'm not a math expert, but I doubt it," Jirou-san shook her head. "Following all the way around the fence would add at least two kilometers to our time, and frankly I'm not the most physically fit of our class. We'd have to run flat-out most of that way and by the time we got around to the end, our time would be almost up and I'd be too exhausted to do much."

Koji shook his head, quickly sketching a square with two lines drawn at either side, which he labeled 'Entrance' and 'Exit'. Then he drew two arrows, one left just outside of the entrance towards one of the corners, then another from the tip of that one towards the exit. He then drew a small stick figure by the exit, which he labeled 'Sensei' and a small cone heading back towards the entrance. Then Koji capped the marker and stepped back, glancing nervously towards Jirou-san, watching as she examined his basic drawing thoughtfully.

"So if I'm understanding this right, we could try to run at an angle towards the gate, cutting off some of that extra time I mentioned, and because Mic would almost definitely be puppy-guarding the exit we wouldn't be in the direct line of his shouting. Good idea," she smirked, and Koji blushed furiously. "It might be hard if we wind up in an open arena without cover-he'll still see us coming-but we'll keep it in mind just the same. What else could we try?"

They continued to discuss things back and forth, including the possibility of Jirou-san using her speakers to counter Present Mic-sensei's yelling, which she didn't seem certain would work.

Todoroki-san and Yaoyorozu-san's turn to fight was at the thirty-minute mark, so at twenty minutes, Koji and Jirou-san took a break and hurried to the observation room.

"Ah, hello you two!" Recovery Girl-sensei flashed them a quick smile before returning her gaze to the big screen. There were several fights shown up there. At the moment, the largest screen was focused on some kind of building filled with hallways and pillars, where Shinsou-kun and Tokoyami-san stood back to back, Dark Shadow flaring in the shadowy corridor, clearing their path, while Shinsou-kun's capture scarf-identical to Aizawa-sensei's-flicked towards one of the clones trying to bear down on them from behind.

They're working… really well together.

"All finished with your planning, dearies?" Recovery Girl-sensei asked.

"Almost," Jirou-san replied. "We wanted to ask your permission for something."

"Oh?" Recovery Girl-sensei cocked her head towards them.

"Can I ask Yaomomo to make me earplugs for our fight with Present Mic?"

Recovery Girl-sensei frowned, and Koji's heart sank as he anticipated her response. "Young lady, if you ever ask me if you're allowed to wear personal protective equipment again, I might just smack you for it. Of course you can get earplugs."

Koji perked up, eyes bright and relieved.

"Unfortunately though, you won't be able to catch young miss Yaoyorozu at this point. She and Todoroki just left to catch their bus to their arena. But, I might have something else for you," the little doctor hummed, hopping off of her chair and walking to the corner of the room, where a white box marked with a red cross was mounted to the wall. Recovery Girl-sensei rested it on the seat of her chair, then popped it open and rummaged inside. "Here you are, dearie," she smiled, pulling out a small baggie with purple styrofoam earplugs. Nothing fancy, but they would do the job. Although, why they were in a first aid kit, Koji wasn't sure. But, he supposed that their sensei would want to be ready for any possible eventuality.

"Thank you, sensei," Jirou-san nodded, taking them. "By the way, is she… okay?"

Koji glanced curiously in the direction of his partner's pointing finger, to where Midnight-sensei was seated nearby, staring at her phone, breathing much more heavily than the tall boy thought she should have to. Was she sick?

"Honestly dearie?" Recovery Girl-sensei sighed, "I haven't the faintest idea what goes through that woman's head most of the time, and the few times that I did know, I wished that I didn't. Now run along; you don't have much time. Fifteen minutes before your test, head back to the front of the building so the bus can take you to your arena, understand?"

"Yes, sensei."

They had another fifteen minutes to kill before going to the bus, so Koji and Jirou-san spent it working out basic hand signals so that they could communicate more effectively during the test. "Honestly with how much you, Shinsou, and even Blasty have been using it, I wonder if I should just learn JSL," she grumbled at one point, which for no apparent reason caused Koji's face to light up in a fiery blush (none of his friends had ever actually learned Sign for him, although Uraraka-chan and the others had picked up on understanding quite a bit just from watching him and Shinsou-kun).

Eventually, their prep time was up and they headed to the bus, which dropped them off at an entrance gate within-Thank God-a forest.

"Test Seven, Kouda Koji and Jirou Kyoka," a mechanical voice announced. "Ready? Go!"

Jirou-san stepped forward, slamming her earphone jacks into the ground and closing her eyes. "He's nowhere nearby. He's probably at the gate, like we thought," she announced after a moment, retracting her jacks and inserting the earplugs Recovery Girl-sensei had given her. "There's just one problem. The arena is round, not square like Kirishima and Satou's. If we try to head at an angle like we planned, we could easily get lost."

Koji quickly shook his head, Signing rapidly.

That's not a problem, I-

"Whoa, slow down there," Jirou reminded him. "Basics, remember?"

The shy boy blushed, nodded furiously, and started again, moving more deliberately.

Animals find sensei.

Jirou nodded, understanding this time. "Let's go then."

The two of them cut right at a quick jog-fast enough to help them make good time, slow enough that he wouldn't be too out of breath to use his quirk.

"Creatures of the forest, hear my call!" he cried, blushing as Jirou-san shot him a wide-eyed look. Had he never used his quirk around her before? A moment later, a small flock of oriental turtledoves swooped into view, flanking Koji like an honor guard. They were the first to respond to his call, it would seem. "My friends, there is a human man in this forest that we must find! He will be the cause of much trouble if we cannot stop him! I ask that you help us find where he is and lead us to him!"

The birds wheeled in place, scattering to fulfill Koji's command. Jirou-san was still staring at him, stumbling slightly as she tripped over a root she hadn't noticed. Koji squeaked, holding out a hand to help her, but she shook her head, pushing forward with a small smile.

"I'm fine," she panted. "You just have a nice voice is all."

Koji's face lit up bright red.

A short while later, two of the turtledoves returned, trilling softly at him. Human. Yellow. Strange. Follow. Koji lightly tapped his partner on the shoulder, then hurried after the two birds, cutting left into the forest, towards their sensei and presumably their goal.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The turtledoves screeched in alarm, scattering too quickly for Koji to order them to stay. He and Jirou-san each cried out in pain, clapping their hands over their ears.

"Dammit, even with the earplugs," his partner grimaced. "That speaker must give him a wider range than I thought. At least we don't need the birds to tell us where he is. The screaming will do that for us. Kouda, you're sure you can't get any animals to attack him for us? Even just for a few seconds, to buy time?"

I can try! "Forest friends, now is the time to-!"

"I'M GETTING BOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEED!"

Koji whimpered, pressing his hands over his ears once again, completely drowned out by their sensei's screaming. Jirou-san's mouth moved in some distasteful curses Koji couldn't hear, plugging her earphone jack into the speakers on her boots to try to negate the deafening screeching, but she could barely even minimize it. "He's like a super-powered death amp," she groaned when the sound finally cut off again. "We have to think of something else or our time's gonna run out. We only have about fifteen minutes left!"

Koji wracked his brain, but came up with nothing. Without access to any animals, there wasn't much he could-

"Kouda, look at this!" Jirou-san suddenly called, lifting her gloved hand his direction. "An ally!"

A small black speck sat on her white glove.

A black speck with six legs, long, twitching antennae, and no voice.

Koji shrieked in terror, darting behind a nearby tree.

"Uh. Kou-?"

"COOOOOOOOME OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!"

"Agh!" Jirou-san yelped, cowering behind a protruding boulder. "K-Kouda, is it possible or not?! Can you control bugs!?"

Shakily, Koji nodded, eyes squeezed shut against the ringing in his head.

"Good!"

His partner slammed her earphone jack into the boulder, the vibrations of her heartbeat causing the stone to shatter and expose a seething mass of voiceless creepy crawlies.

Koji yelped again, cringing as he pressed against the bole of the tree he was hiding behind.

"Look, I know it's scary!" Jirou-san cried as another scream from Present Mic-sensei ripped through the forest, "But right now this is the only plan we've got! Come on, Kouda, you want to be a hero, don't you? Then let's win this! Please Kouda, I can't do this without you!"

Koji stared at his classmate, eyes wide as he stared at her pleading, dark gaze. He didn't think he'd ever heard her say please before, and-as quiet as he was-he heard a lot of things that people didn't think he'd heard.

She's in pain! he realized. Even with the earplugs, her ears are too sensitive to sensei's yelling! And yet, she's still… She's still fighting! I… I have to help her! I made it into UA, even though I was scared! I have to… go Plus Ultra!

Gritting his teeth, Kouda knelt over the patch of ground where the boulder had been shattered and delivered his instructions to the only animals he'd never been able to understand, the only creatures he'd ever met that didn't have a voice, trembling all the while, and finally slumping in relief when they disappeared underground-presumably to do as he had instructed.

Jirou-san took it one step further: she collapsed, breathing heavily, hands still clasped over her ears. Koji rushed to her side, hands flapping as he hovered over her, uncertain of how to help. "M'okay," she mumbled, accepting his hand to pull her up. "Just… really dizzy all of a sudden. Happens sometimes when there's lots of noise."

Koji hesitated again, then Signed cautiously, Carry you?

Jirou-san stared at his hands, blinked a couple of times, then vehemently shook her head. "No, no, I'll-" she stumbled, catching herself on his hurriedly extended arm. "Yeah, okay," she grumbled. "But only as far as the gate. I want to walk through myself if I can."

Koji nodded, then scooped the girl into his arms. She was small-boned and pretty light, so it wasn't terribly difficult to run holding her. Thankfully, Present Mic-sensei didn't scream anymore and by the time they reached the exit gate, they found him lying on the ground twitching, mumbling something about "Bugs everywhere!" under his breath. Koji could relate, but for now he was just relieved that the test was over. He set Jirou-san down just inside the gate, by which point she had recovered enough to walk through by her own power.

"Kouda Koji and Jirou Kyoka have passed the exam. Time, nineteen minutes, fifty-seven seconds," the mechanical voice announced.

"Hey," Jirou-san grinned, lightly punching Koji's arm. "Good job, partner."

Koji flushed, flailing in wild gestures before he managed to stutter-Sign, Y-y-you t-too!

Jirou-san just chuckled, leading the way back towards the bus, leaving Present Mic-sensei collapsed on the ground, still quivering.

"Kyoka-chan, Kouda-kun, save meeeee!" a voice wailed the moment they reentered the main building. Koji squeaked in surprise as a bright pink blur flashed between them, then flushed as he recognized Ashido-san clutching his costume, apparently trying to hide behind his admittedly-considerable bulk. When he glanced up in bewilderment, it was to discover a short, yet terrifying figure marching towards them, pink light swirling menacingly around her arms and upper body, the very air seeming to rumble with her threatening aura.

"You're not getting away, Mina," Uraraka-chan snarled.

Koji squeaked in fear, quickly shook off Ashido-san's clinging form, then hurried towards the observation room, ignoring the pink girl's screeches of betrayal.

He knew better than to get into the middle of a girl fight.

"Bwahahahahahaha!"

Koji startled, staring in bewilderment as he entered the room to find Midnight-sensei half-collapsed in her chair, cackling helplessly.

"Oh really now," Recover Girl-sensei huffed irritably, "you know as well as anyone that he didn't mean it like that."

"B-But he-! He j-just… A-and h-he's so f-flustered, and- Ahahahahaaa!" the other woman squealed breathlessly, tears leaking from her eyes as she curled in on herself, still dying with laughter. Cautiously, Koji sidled up towards Shinsou-kun, who was standing as far from their sensei as possible, next to Tokoyami-san.

What's going on? Koji Signed.

Hagakure and Shoji just finished their fight, Shinsou-kun replied.

But why is sensei… like that?

Snipe-sensei accidentally touched Hagakure's breasts at the end of their exam.

Koji squawked, flushing as bright as a tomato as he flailed, covering his face in embarrassment.

Shinsou-kun just snorted. "You asked," he muttered, turning towards the screen. "I don't think Tsuyu and the Pomeranian are doing so hot."

Cautiously peeking between his fingers, Koji turned his gaze up to the main screen, where only Tsu-chan's and Bakugou-san's fight was still being displayed. Their arena was already a mess, dozens of building faces and their windows shattered beyond repair, scorch marks littering the asphalt, explosions and dust clouds bursting up everywhere in sight. Koji quickly tapped Shinsou-kun on the shoulder.

What's happened?

They were doing well, Shinsou-kun replied. Facing All Might head-on was a bad idea so they went through the alleyways. They stayed close to the main street so they wouldn't get lost. Then All Might started talking. We couldn't hear him but whatever he said really set Pomeranian off and here we are.

Koji looked back at the screen, wincing as All Might-sensei caught Bakugou-san in the stomach and literally punched him across the street, sending him slamming into one of the other buildings. Tsu-chan was struggling to her feet nearby. Before All Might-sensei could attack again, she snatched her partner with her tongue and fled back into the alleyways, probably hoping to regroup. The camera angle changed to follow them. It was a little disorienting honestly, watching them rush past a camera that was connected to a street corner, only to have the view change in rapid succession to accommodate their pace. Finally the pair stopped, and Tsuyu-chan placed Bakugou-san gently against one of the walls.

They were both obviously in rough shape; Tsuyu-chan was covered in a fine layer of dust and soot and her hair had come undone while Bakugou-san was trembling and had a vicious bruise forming across his cheek. He… didn't seem fully aware of his surroundings actually, just staring down at his shaking hands. Tsuyu-chan stepped forward, reaching out to grab the boy's shoulder.

Bakugou-san flinched, his hand flailing outward, an explosion flying from his palm, barely missing her face.

"What the hell is he doing?!" Midnight-sensei yelped, leaping to her feet, instantly sobering up from her laughing attack, already instinctively reaching to tear her sleeve open.

A panic attack, Koji realized, eyes widening. Of course Bakugou-san of all people would react to unexpected stimuli with violence instead of just completely shutting down like I do.

"He's having a panic attack," Recovery Girl-sensei gasped, echoing Koji's thoughts. She was on her feet too, scrambling for her phone. "Damn that man; he doesn't know how to hold back! We have to shut down the test!"

"Wait," Shinsou-kun said, drawing ire-filled looks from both his teachers, which he responded to with a baleful look of his own and a finger pointed towards the screen.

Bakugou-san was huddled against the wall, knees pulled up to his chest, hands drawn as close to his body as his oversized gauntlets would allow, his chest heaving rapidly as he fought for breath. Tsuyu-chan was kneeling just within arms reach of him, hands resting on her knees-not touching him, but close enough that he could touch her if he wanted-and her lips were moving. They still couldn't hear what she was saying, but the longer she spoke, the easier Bakugou-san's breathing seemed to become. Eventually, the young man gave a jerky nod, and Tsuyu-chan crept close enough to take the hand closest to her, slowly pressing her thumbs back and forth across his palm, her lips still moving in what was likely a comforting mantra, counting out the rhythm-Koji knew from experience how grounding that could be.

"Yes, Principal," Recovery Girl-sensei was saying when Koji returned his attention to his more immediate surroundings. "Asui-san seems to have things under control now, but they might need a time extension for the exam. Yes. What?! Ugh. Fine!" the old woman grumbled, pulling her phone away from her ear and tapping viciously at the screen. "Damn rat," she growled.

"What did he say?" Midnight-sensei frowned.

"That we need to 'consider the pride of the students' and let them continue with the time they have," Recovery Girl-sensei spat. "We'll just have to put our trust in Asui and Bakugou for now."

On-screen, Tsuyu-chan was helping Bakugou-san to his feet. He still seemed somewhat unsteady and there were tear stains on his cheeks, but judging by the way he vehemently brushed them aside, he was game for action. Koji watched as his and Tsuyu-chan's lips moved rapidly as they discussed their next move, then Bakugou-san unclipped his left gauntlet and passed it to her.

With seven minutes remaining on the clock, they went to face off against All Might once more.

Koji felt like he was watching some kind of action movie as the rest of their fight unfolded, jumping and gasping with each unexpected twist and turn, from the fake out when Tsuyu-chan used the gauntlet instead of Bakugou-san, to the instant that Tsuyu-chan grabbed Bakugou-san with her tongue and flung him towards the escape gate, him setting off the second gauntlet almost in the same instant both to further blind All Might-sensei and propel him towards it at greater speeds, to the third oversized explosion Bakugou-san created even without his gauntlets to send him flying through it just a moment after All Might-sensei seized Tsuyu-chan and slammed her into the ground with an inaudible cry of pain.

"Asui Tsuyu and Bakugou Katsuki have passed the exam. Time, twenty-nine minutes and thirty-five seconds."

"Well, damn," Sero mumbled from his place on the other side of Tokoyami.

That about summed it up.

The entire room released a sigh of relief as the announcement came over the intercom. Even Shinsou-kun looked more relieved than he would usually be comfortable expressing. Recovery Girl-sensei was already hurrying out of the room, snarling threats against All Might-sensei and all of his theoretical progeny under her breath as she rushed towards the first aid room.

They'd done it. Barely, but they'd done it. Tsuyu-chan and Bakugou-san had beaten the odds and completed the exam against All Might-sensei with twenty-five seconds to spare.

"Such a passionate partnership," Midnight-sensei whispered. "I have a new ship."

Okay… Whatever that means…?

.oOo.

Four people didn't pass the exam: Kirishima-san, Satou-san, Kaminari-san, and Ashido-san.

"W-Well g-guys," Ashido-san sniffled in the dorm's common area as the announcement was made. "H-Have fun at the S-Summer Camp wi-with-thout us!"

"Oh yeah, about that," Aizawa-sensei yawned, scratching the back of his neck. "That was a logical ruse. You're all going to the camp."

"WHAT!?"

"YESSSS!"

"Sensei, this is the second time you've lied to us! Aren't you concerned about losing our trust eventually?!" Iida-kun squawked indignantly.

"Uh, a little blunt there, Tenya-kun…"

"I didn't lie," Aizawa-sensei smirked. "Failure is failure. The summer camp will involve intensive training of your quirks, physical abilities, and strategic prowess. Those of you who failed the final exam will need that training more than anyone else. Don't get me wrong, you will be having extra lessons with me, and I assure you that it will be hell."

"YAY SUMMER HELL!" Kaminari-san cheered, apparently missing the point of Aizawa-sensei's warning. Yuwai-chan flinched in Koji's lap at the unexpected noise, but aside from curling up a bit tighter there, didn't attempt to escape.

"Anyway, here's your packing lists," their homeroom teacher sighed. "Make sure you have everything you need before Monday. I'm going to take a nap."

"Hey sensei!" Hagakure-san called, leaping up and down judging by the movement of her clothing, "could we all have permission to go to the mall as a class tomorrow to get what we need?!"

"Yeah, I guess so," Aizawa-sensei yawned. "Guess I'll have to chaperone."

"Alright!"

"This is gonna be awesome!"

"Kaminari, you should totally invite Sachi! I wanna meet her in person!"

"Yeah, I'd like to meet 'er too. I have some words I'd like to share with her."

"Uh, on second thought Kaminari, that might be a bad idea with 'Chaco on the warpath…"

"And whose fault is that Mina?"

Koji smiled to himself, quietly stroking Yuwai-chan's back to calm her as he watched his friends banter. They were a wild bunch, loud, rambunctious, and sometimes a little terrifying, but…

He wouldn't change it for the world.

Outtake:

"Aizawa. Thanks for coming," Naomasa grunted as he rose to his feet, taking the underground hero's hand and shaking it briefly.

"Don't mention it," the other man sighed, equally weary, before sitting across from his desk and pulling out his eyedrops.

"Everything good?"

"Yeah. Just prepping for finals week with my hell class. Thankfully they haven't attracted any more chaos since Hosu. So, what've we got on this yakuza/vigilante business?"

Naomasa grew instantly sober, pulling out the appropriate file from his stack. "A mess, that's what," he grumbled, flipping open the file to reveal the face of a young-ish man with short brown hair. In one picture he looked like a teenager,wearing a simple black medical mask. In another, he was wearing some kind of plague doctor's mask. In the third, he was still wearing the mask, but his sharp gold eyes were empty, and his skin was stained with blood and covered in hives. There were a number of other photos as well, all depicting other yakuza members, both alive and dead. "I have this man and about two dozen other affiliates of the yakuza either in the hospital or prison, another twenty at least on the run somewhere, and a body count of over fifty people, most of them stabbed to death, others showing signs of suffocation and frostbite damage."

Aizawa's jaw tightened. "So who is this guy?" the underground hero asked quietly, tapping the top few photos.

"Until recently, it seems that he was the young boss of the Shie Hassaikai yakuza, the designated villain group involved in the incident. His name is Chisaki Kai, aka Overhaul, at least according to the drive left on his body."

"Body? Was he killed?"

"No, but he was suffering from severe blood loss; both of his arms were sliced off."

"Well shit," Aizawa sighed, rubbing the space between his eyes. Naomasa could sympathize.

"Yeah. He's been in a coma for two days now," the detective nodded grimly. "Thankfully whoever did it gave him an impromptu tourniquet with zip ties, or we would have lost an important suspect and witness. Whenever he wakes up, we'll have quite a few questions for him."

"What about?"

"To start with, about who attacked him."

"I thought it was this… 'Vigilante Network'?" Aizawa frowned, quirking an eyebrow at him. "At least, that's what the media's been saying."

"Yeah well, we know that the media loves to take speculation and present it as fact," Naomasa sighed. "The truth is that Chisaki and five of his men were attacked by who we assume to be the Vigilante Network. The battle scene surrounding them shows signs of their work, in particular that of the Gentle Criminal. Additionally, Chisaki's injuries are very similar to the ones that killed the winged Nomu in Hosu."

"You think it was Wraith," Aizawa frowned, eyes narrowed. "What reason would he have to go after the Shie Hassaikai?"

"By the looks of it, Trigger, among other things. As I mentioned before, there was a thumb drive left on Chisaki when we found him. I don't know if it was left by the vigilantes or if it was research compiled by Chisaki himself, but there was substantial evidence on the drive and in the compound itself of illegal drug manufacturing. The weird thing about it is I've never seen this formula before, or anything like it. It seems that Chisaki was in the process of developing an entirely new drug, effects unknown as of yet."

Aizawa's expression darkened. "Is this some kind of Villain Factory succession scheme?"

"Possibly, but from statements given by some of his subordinates, it seems more likely that this Chisaki's goals were very different. was one of the groups that tried to fill the power vacuum that they left after they disappeared," Naomasa corrected. "However, that battle doesn't account for the number of bodies found in the compound itself. The Vigilante Network as we've profiled them in the past year have made a point of avoiding casualties. Whoever charged in at the front of the compound didn't have those reservations. But for now there's still a question of whether or not the two groups were working together, or one just took advantage of another situation."

"Any leads on who the third party is?"

"In some ways, that's the most interesting part of all of this," the detective frowned, shifting around the rest of the stack and passing them to the underground hero.

"Kizuki Chitose?" Aizawa frowned thoughtfully. "Well-known journalist. No sense of privacy. Never taken her for the militant type, though."

"Neither had I. Then she turned up at the scene of the yakuza compound with half her arm missing and several dead yakuza with injuries matching her quirk profile."

Aizawa's head snapped up, his eyebrows arched-the equivalent of an exclamation of surprise from the stoic underground hero. "Not necessarily proof of guilt," he hedged carefully.

"No," Naomasa agreed, "but enough to open up an investigation. And with these, we have a place to start," the detective said, sliding a pair of thumb drives across the table: the one marked by the letters MLA left for him the night Deku appeared at the Todoroki estate, and the one found tucked in Kizuki's boot at the hospital, devoid of fingerprints.

"What's on them?"

"Information linking Kizuki Chitose and a number of other significant societal figures with the new Meta Liberation Army. Gran Torino finally made the connection just before we got the second drive confirming it."

"The Meta Liberation Army was that militia group that opposed quirk regulations, right?" Aizawa murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly. "So what was the Shie Hassaikai doing to attract the attention of a new operation going by the same name?"

"That's one of the things we're trying to find out," Naomasa frowned, leaning against his folded hands.

"Alright then. Where do you want my help?"

"Do you still have connections to the old drug trade?"

"Yeah, I have some people I can ask."

"Then we need you to try to figure out if there were any rumors about this new drug that Chisaki was developing. If you can, I'd also like you to reach out to some of your old vigilante contacts as well, see if you can figure out what the VN were after and if they have any connection to the new MLA or if it really was just a coincidence that they were there at the same time. In the meantime, my department will open up a full investigation into Kizuki and the other individuals named as members of the Meta Liberation Army."

"I can do that," Aizawa agreed readily. "Anything I should keep in mind while I'm asking questions?"

"Be careful who you trust," Naomasa replied grimly. "According to these notes, there's been a literal army growing right underneath our noses. That doesn't just happen. These people are organized, and they mean business."

"There's a storm coming," Aizawa agreed, equally grim. "We'll need to be ready when it hits."

Okay, so first things first! A bit of good news, I've been able to rebuild my buffer, so we're going back to updates every ten days! Whoo! Now, touching on this chapter, I know this is a much-debated topic, but I am firmly of the opinion that Kouda is selectively mute (I mean in canon, Jirou, who has a HEARING QUIRK, didn't even realize Kouda could talk until they were partnered together in an exam; obviously he has issues with speaking). I hope I managed to adequately capture Kyoka's growth as the Class Rep in this chapter, too. She's still her lovably grumpy self, but she's also trying to reach out to her individual classmates more and learn more about them.

For our next chapter, is anyone in need of a Handyman…? We'll see you all January 7th! Until then, go be-

Tenko I'm the author you're not allowed to kill me now get your hand away from me!

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