I don't own My Hero Academia or Kill la Kill, please don't sue.

Ryuko Matoi slowly opened her eyes, wincing as a bright light shone into them. She felt... weird. It wasn't that anything hurt, that was the strange part. In fact she felt pretty refreshed. Wasn't waking up after a fight supposed to hurt more? Especially one as brutal as her fight against Nomu.

Fight against Nomu... shit! She must have passed out while fighting that thing. What happened again? The last thing she could remember was All Might arriving. Everything that happened after that was a mystery.

Hopefully no one else got hurt. Then again, she was here and not in a morgue, so it was unlikely that anyone else could have gotten seriously injured. Especially with All Might on the scene.

Also, where the hell was "here" exactly? There was a lot of medical equipment in the room, making Ryuko tense up. She wasn't in a hospital was she?

Taking a second look, she realized that the room was too small and cramped to be an actual hospital. A variety of cheesy health related posters decorated the walls, so definitely not a hospital.

It felt like she was lying in bed, but there were no casts, no IVs, not even a single bandage on her body. Even her UA tracksuit was still on, as damaged as it was. If Ryuko didn't know any better, she'd say she wasn't injured at all.

Next to her bed, a small old woman sat at a desk with a computer. The woman, who couldn't have been any younger than ninety, turned her head and noticed that Ryuko had opened her eyes.

"Oh! I don't think we've met yet. I'm Recovery Girl, the school nurse at UA." she introduced herself. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Ha ha, very funny," Ryuko groaned. "Seriously though, how long was I out?"

Ryuko braced herself for her answer, though she knew she wouldn't like it. With her injuries, she must have been out for a few days at minimum. Likely more since she broke both her arms, several ribs, and even her freaking spine. It was really a miracle she was even alive. So how long was it? A week? A month? A whole year?

"Hm, about thirty minutes give or take."

What.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed, throwing off her bed sheet and leaping out of bed in shock. Wait, how was that possible? She should have been paralyzed!

"Shh!" Recovery Girl scolded. "You're not the only one in here!"

"Sorry. Anyway, what the hell?" Ryuko whispered.

There was no way she was only asleep for less than an hour. There was also no way she should have been able to walk without like, eighty surgeries. Someone must have used some kind of healing quirk on her.

"Did you use your quirk on me?" she asked, remembering that Uraraka said something about Recovery Girl healing Midoriya's broken bones in seconds during the entrance exam. To her surprise, the school nurse just chuckled softly.

"Nope, I didn't need to. You were found unconscious after the incident, but other than that you were perfectly fine."

"Well, something's obviously wrong with my hearing because I thought I heard you say I was perfectly fine," Ryuko said only half-jokingly.

"You heard correctly," Recovery Girl confirmed. "Perfectly fine."

"That... that can't be possible! I felt the bones in my arms break! I was coughing up blood! I couldn't feel my legs!"

"Quiet please!" Recovery Girl reminded her. "It's probably just the trauma that's making you remember the events as worse than they really were. The school's guidance counselor is open if you need to talk about it."

"Trauma?" Ryuko asked incredulously. "I know what I felt, and what I felt was my frickin' spine breaking!"

"I know it doesn't really make sense, but I don't know what else to tell you," Recovery Girl admitted. "I checked your entire body for even the slightest injury and found nothing. Unless these life-threatening injuries healed themselves, there's no other explanation I can think of."

She couldn't really argue with that. Hold on, what exactly did "entire body" mean?

"Wait, when you said entire body, did you mean entire-"

The infirmary's door slamming open interrupted her question. Iida, Uraraka, Kirishima, and Mina all barged into the now crowded room at the same time.

"Hey! She's awake!" Kirishima exclaimed excitedly. "Asui and Mineta told us the whole thing, you were awesome! Cutting that brain guy's head off and then spiking it into a crater and burying it in a rockslide? So hardcore!"

"Glad to see you too Kirishima," Ryuko greeted him. "Where's everyone else?"

"Most of our class went home, but a few are in homeroom. I think the police have some questions for them. Thirteen and Aizawa had it rough though, they had to be sent to an actual hospital. As for All Might, he kind of just disappeared after the incident," he explained. "Man, I wish I'd gotten to you in time. If I wasn't so slow, this never would have happened!"

"It's alright, there wasn't anything you could have done," she said.

She meant to reassure him, but her words only made him grimace and nod in acknowledgement. Did she say something wrong?

"I too would like to apologize," Iida said stepping forward. "While you were risking your life protecting our classmates, I was fleeing from the danger like a coward. I hope you can accept my apology."

Protecting their classmates was a rather generous way of putting it. She only fought that thing because there wasn't another choice. Though she could tell that wasn't what Iida wanted to hear, and she certainly didn't want to hear a lecture on "courage" and "honor", so she stayed silent.

"Don't beat yourself up about it Iida, you did amazing!" Mina slapped him on the back. "If it weren't for you, All Might and the teachers would have never arrived on time!"

"That was you?" Ryuko asked. "Dude, I'd be dead if All Might didn't get there when he did. I'm not exaggerating when I say you saved my life!"

If Iida acknowledged her gratitude, he didn't show it. It was like he didn't even hear her. He just stood still, staring at the floor in shame. In fact, they all looked pretty miserable.

"Alright, what's with the long faces?" she asked. "We won right? Apparently I'm not even injured."

"We're all happy you're ok, but you're not the only one who got hurt," Uraraka spoke up, gesturing to the beds on the other side of the room.

Ryuko's blood ran cold. Izuku Midoriya was lying in the bed across from her, his hands bandaged and an IV in his arm. And next to him was some kind of... blonde skeleton?

"Holy shit, what happened to him?"

She was tempted to ask about the emaciated old man as well, but decided not to. He probably wouldn't want his medical history given out freely while he was still asleep. She shouldn't meddle with things that had nothing to do with her.

Before any of her classmates could answer, Recovery Girl stood up from her desk and began shooing them out.

"You can explain everything outside of my office. I know you're all worried about Midoriya, but what he needs right now is rest. I had to use as much of my quirk as possible on him, so he won't be out for at least a few hours," she told them. "You're free to leave as well Matoi. Classes have been canceled for the rest of the day, so feel free to go home."

Ryuko thanked the nurse and walked out of the infirmary with the rest of her classmates. She breathed a sigh of relief the instant both feet were out the door. Recovery Girl's office was fine for the most part, but hospitals and medical equipment in general always freaked her out. One of her recurring nightmares was being cut open and stitched back together.

She stayed silent as they walked through the vast halls of the school, not paying attention as Mina explained what happened at the entrance. Sure it was important and all, but she didn't really need to hear an entire dramatization of how Iida ran back to school to get help. Still, she smiled softly and nodded along for Mina's sake.

The question that really burned inside of her was what happened to Midoriya. He looked fine the last time she saw him, give or take a few bones. Did he injure himself or did the villains hurt him? And why was he fighting anyway if All Might was there?

Speaking of the villains, what happened to Shiggy and Nomu? Surely All Might was able to capture them. Because if he didn't, they'd likely be learning from their mistakes, preparing for their next attack.

"Shot in both arms and legs, all those underlings wiped out, and even Nomu was beaten! We failed," Tomura snarled. "Those kids were so strong! One of those little brats almost beat Nomu by herself! And the symbol of peace wasn't weakened at all! You were wrong Sensei, so wrong!"

Tomura's sensei said nothing while his apprentice ranted over video call. Of course, the video was only on Tomura's end, he couldn't risk anyone knowing the location of his lab.

So the plan was a failure. Oh well, killing All Might was a long shot anyway. He was actually almost glad it didn't work. Killing All Might in a secluded facility would have been a waste of decades of planning. It wouldn't be enough to just kill him, he needed to break him, take everything he held dear first.

The plan wasn't a total loss either, they had learned some very crucial information regarding All Might. And striking fear into the heart of UA was a welcome bonus as well.

"No, I wasn't. We just weren't prepared as we should have been," he responded.

"I agree, we underestimated them," Dr. Garaki chimed in. "Thankfully we failed under that cheap 'League of Villains' name and not our own. And what about the creature the master and I created? Where is Nomu?"

"Yes, why is he not with you?"

Nomu wasn't with them? He couldn't see who was actually present in Tomura's hideout, on account of his face being mutilated beyond recognition six years ago.

Garaki had done his best, but his specialty was in quirks, not constructing bodies. He had Infrared to help sense his general surroundings, but seeing what was on a screen was an impossibility these days.

Super Regeneration did a good job of keeping him alive and healthy, but it couldn't fix the damage that had been done before he acquired it.

If only his old scientist hadn't left him. She would have been able to fix his face or even make a stronger vessel for him. Then again, that was more than a decade before his fight with All Might and she seemed to be occupied with running her own empire anyway.

"He was blown away," Kurogiri answered.

"What?" Garaki shouted in a mixture of shock and anger.

"It was All Might's doing! Without coordinates to his precise location I couldn't use my warp to bring him with us. We didn't have any time to search for him!" Kurogiri justified.

"This is a travesty!" Garaki yelled, not accepting Kurogiri's excuse. "And after all we did to make him as powerful as All Might!"

The blind villain wasn't nearly as upset as the doctor was about losing Nomu. Yes he was very powerful, likely the strongest of his kind, but there would soon be even stronger Nomu. And All Might continuing to be a thorn in his side was hardly anything new.

"Well I suppose it can't be helped unfortunately," he said, calming Garaki down a little. "Tomura, you mentioned that one of the students was able to combat Nomu. Tell me more."

"Yeah, one of them had a sword shaped like a scissor. She wasn't alone though, she had this green-haired brat helping her. He was just as strong as All Might!" Tomura growled. "In fact, he got in the way trying to protect him too! If it wasn't for those two, we might have killed the symbol of peace!"

Strong as All Might? Now that was very interesting indeed. It seemed that he wasn't the only one who had found a successor.

"Those damn kids, one of those little runts made me trip with some stupid ball! They made me look like a fool! I hate them so much!" Tomura continued. "I'll kill them, I'll kill anything that pisses me off!"

He smiled widely as he reveled in his successor's declaration of rage. Perfect. Tomura's hate was what made him strong, so perfect of a successor.

It was just a shame that his hatred was so wild, lashing out based on nothing more than Tomura's whims. He'd have to grow out of it eventually and find his conviction if he truly wanted to become the king of crime in Japan.

"Naturally you're upset, but this was not a futile mission," he consoled his young apprentice. "We've learned many things. Gather the villainous elite, take all the time you need. I must remain hidden in the shadows, which is why I need you to be my face. A symbol of your own. Tomura Shigaraki, next time you will show the world that it should be afraid of you!"

Garaki left to continue his work on the Nomu as soon as the video call ended, leaving the villain alone with his thoughts. What should he do next? There wasn't a lot he could do, being confined to the shadows.

He sighed, contemplating how he once ruled over Japan for more than a century, the undisputed master of the criminal underworld. All of which had been smashed to pieces by All Might in a few short years.

Now his empire had crumbled and his name had all but faded into obscurity, most people seeing him as nothing more than a fairy tale. The few who did know of his existence likely believed him to be dead. And who had replaced him as the Demon Lord of Japan? Nothing more than an arrogant teenager.

"Demon Empress continues conquest: Experts call war 'Unwinnable'"

"Independent Japan is shrinking at an alarming rate, could be under complete Kiryuin control by the end of the year"

"Satsuki Kiryuin is now the first and only villain to receive the rank of SS"

He hated All Might more than anything, but Satsuki Kiryuin made for a distant second. Tomura would have to fight an uphill battle to make a name for himself, even with his help.

But what would that help be? He couldn't do everything for him, Tomura needed to learn and grow on his own. He'd done adequately at the USJ, but the media at large was passing it over for yet another city conquered by Satsuki Kiryuin and her Life Fiber uniforms.

The power of the Life Fibers, if only Tomura could have that kind of power. And perhaps he could.

"Garaki! Go retrieve all the data we have on REVOCS transport routes," he ordered, snapping the doctor to attention.

"With all due respect master, you can't seriously be considering attacking a REVOCS convoy," Garaki said. "If you haven't noticed, we just lost our most powerful Nomu. And the high ends won't be ready for several months."

"There will be no need for that, I'll be handling this myself," he reassured his companion. "Prepare any stealth-based quirks we have for transfer. I'd also like to try Springlike Limbs and our newly acquired Air Cannon, I think they have the potential to make a powerful combination."

"Are you sure about this master?" Garaki questioned. "You haven't stepped outside of your hideout in years!"

"Hero society is due for a change, it's only fair that we change as well," he answered. "Now I believe I gave you a task, did I not?"

"Yes master, I shall do so at once!" Garaki replied enthusiastically, running off to retrieve the quirks the two had collected over decades.

All For One smiled. It was time to knock Japan's so-called "Demon Empress" down a peg!

"There was like a hundred villains, surrounding us on all sides, but we started to totally kick their asses!" Kirishima boasted. "Then one of them tried getting a sneak attack on Bakugo, but before he even knew what happened, Matoi had him on the floor!"

Ryuko Matoi rolled her eyes, it was really more like forty. Mina and Uraraka looked on excitedly as Kirishima told them what happened when they got sucked into the portal. Iida looked impressed too, but he was more tempered in his excitement.

"So then the three of us were all fighting at the same time. Bakugo blew up a whole crowd of villains, while Matoi shook the entire building!" Kirishima continued, conveniently leaving out how those attacks weren't directed at the villains.

The five of them had gathered outside of school after being kicked out of the infirmary. They chose to stay so they could catch Ryuko up on what happened while she was unconscious, but the sun was setting and they hadn't even gotten to the Nomu fight yet.

"I know what happened, I was literally there," she interrupted Kirishima's story. "Can we get to what happened after I got knocked out?"

"Heh, sorry about that. I was getting to the good part though," Kirishima lamented. "I wasn't able to see the whole thing, so I think Mina might be able to fill you in better."

"Yes! It's my turn!" Mina exclaimed. "You fell asleep right after All Might arrived right? So he runs down the stairs so fast it looks like he's teleporting, then he starts smashing villains left and right! And then Nomu tried stopping him, but All Might just kept punching him so hard it blew the hand guy and mist guy away! The hand guy was all like 'He has Shock Absorption, you can't do a thing!' but All Might said 'I JUST HAVE TO PUNCH HARDER THEN!' And then he did that and blasted Nomu out of the USJ!"

"Afterwards he tried to get the villains to surrender, but Shigaraki attacked him anyway," Kirishima continued for her. "That's when Midoriya jumped in the way, breaking his legs in the process. I don't really get why he did that, All Might would have been fine. I guess Midoriya just loves All Might that much. Then the teachers arrived and captured the rest of the villains, but Shigaraki managed to escape through a portal. After everything wrapped up, the police found Nomu outside and took him in."

Damnit, so the bastard behind everything was still out there. At least they managed to capture Nomu, having that monster on the loose would bring nothing but trouble.

"I still can't believe you were able to fight against that monster, especially without using your quirk," Iida said

"Well, I had my scissor blade with me," she replied. "Can't really absorb shock if there's no shock to absorb."

"Yes, but I was told you were even able to match its punches, something even All Might struggled with. I know that even people without strength-enhancing quirks are capable of superhuman feats of strength with enough training, but nothing like that."

"I guess I'm just built different. And I still broke my arm," Ryuko reminded him. "If only I had Senketsu with me, then I could have ended the whole thing in a second!"

"Senketsu? Is that what you call your costume?" Iida asked.

"I almost forgot!" Uraraka facepalmed. "I overheard how upset you were that you left him at the cleaners, so before we went back to school I took a little detour."

She took her backpack off and started to open the main compartment. As soon as the opening was a few centimeters wide, a familiar face leaped out of the bag and into Ryuko's arms.

"Ryuko!" Senketsu cried. "Oh you don't know how glad I am to see you! I'm so sorry I wasn't there! I'll make it up to you, I promise! Eat as many croquettes as you like, I won't say a word!"

Ryuko gladly embraced her sailor uniform, not even caring that she was getting soaked from his tears.

"It's good to see you too buddy," she said. "Were you able to hold up without me?"

"It was fine at first, but then..." he shuddered. "Don't ever leave me like that again! Do you know how long I had to wait to be picked up? Not to mention what could have happened to you without me!"

"You don't need to tell me, I think I got a pretty good firsthand experience."

"I know he's alive and everything, but does anyone else think it's really weird that she's talking to a sailor uniform?" Mina asked.

"I think it's cute!" Uraraka shushed her. "Let them have this."

Ryuko ignored them as she took the remains of her UA tracksuit off, replacing it with Senketsu. She felt a wave of bliss wash over her the instant he touched her skin. It made her feel complete again.

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is your quirk?" Iida cut in. "I was under the impression that your quirk allowed you to transform articles of clothing and that Senketsu was just the costume you used. But now it seems that it's actually a living being?"

"She said that she's the only one who can talk to him," Uraraka told him. "But that still doesn't explain what he is. Or why he can transform to make you stronger."

"I'm not really sure how to explain this," Ryuko admitted. "Do any of you know what Life Fibers are?"

All four of them shook their heads. Figures, they were a novelty for her too when she arrived at Honnouji.

"Well you're probably familiar with the Goku Uniforms Honnouji Academy uses," she assumed based on the number of headlines featuring her old school. As she expected, there were many more nods of agreement. "The reason they're so powerful is because they're made of Life Fibers."

"So what you're saying is that Senketsu is a Goku Uniform?" Kirishima asked. "And that your quirk lets you communicate with them?"

"Not exactly. Most Goku Uniforms are only ten percent Life Fiber. The stronger ones can be twenty or even thirty percent Life Fiber. Senketsu is a Kamui, a uniform made entirely of Life Fibers," she explained.

"Whoa whoa whoa," Mina exclaimed. "So the villains that can go head-to-head with All Might can do so because they wear uniforms with only thirty percent of these life fibers? And you have one that's a hundred percent?"

"Yep."

"But if Senketsu doesn't have anything to do with your quirk, couldn't anyone wear him?" Kirishima asked, a hint of envy in his voice.

"I didn't say he had nothing to do with my quirk," Ryuko corrected. "And yeah, anyone can wear him as long as you're not embarrassed. But I'm the only one who can really synchronize with him. My best guess is that I have a quirk that gives me some kind of connection to life fibers, and that's why I can talk with him. For better or for worse."

She could feel Senketsu bristle with indignation after that last part.

"Relax, I'm just teasing you," she told him.

"But why does he turn into a stripper outfit?" Mina asked bluntly. "None of Honnouji's Goku Uniforms look like that."

"He's not a stripper outfit!" Ryuko shouted, a little flustered by Mina's comment. "And yeah, that's one of the things I still don't understand. What I do know is that you can't be embarrassed while wearing him, otherwise he's much weaker and consumes much more blood."

"So you were enrolled at Honnouji Academy, and you have a uniform similar to the ones they use," Iida made the connection. "You weren't part of Satsuki Kiryuin's army were you?"

"What? Of course not! I hate Satsuki Kiryuin more than anyone," she answered. "I got Senketsu from my father. I guess 'found him in my father's basement' is more accurate. If you wanna know why he was there, I really don't have the answer for that."

"Why can't you just ask him?" Mina asked.

"Because he's dead."

"Oh... I didn't know. I'm sorry for bringing it up," Mina apologized awkwardly.

"I'm sorry for your loss Ryuko. If you ever need to talk about anything, I'm always available," Uraraka offered, placing a hand on Ryuko's shoulder.

"You have my condolences as well," Iida sympathized. "I can't imagine how hard it must be to lose a loved one."

"Hey, if you ever need anything, we're here for you," Kirishima said. "Just remember that your friends will always have your back."

Ryuko was at a loss for words. This was certainly a first for her. She appreciated what her classmates were trying to do, but their words just went in one ear and out the other. It had barely been a week since she met them, how could they possibly understand what she was going through?

"Ryuko, they have a point," Senketsu told her. "It might be good for you to just talk with someone, just so you know you're not alone,"

Alone? She wasn't alone, she had tons of friends now! Granted, most of those friends barely knew anything about her and she wasn't feeling inclined to share more with them. It wasn't exactly like she could just tell them that her father wasn't just dead but killed, she didn't even want to be at UA, and that her only goal was to find her father's killer.

Ok, so she was pretty alone.

"Thanks guys, but I'm fine," she lied, completely ignoring Senketsu.

"Well, just let us know if you ever change your mind," Kirishima replied, not sounding very convinced. "I guess that's it for today then. I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

"I should probably be going too," Mina excused herself. "Hopefully we can go back to normal classes. Bye!"

Ryuko waved softly as Mina ran down the hill to catch up to Kirishima. To her surprise, Iida and Uraraka didn't follow them. They stayed in place, looking wistfully toward the school building.

"Hey Uraraka," she called out to her roommate. "Are we gonna head home?"

She simply shook her head.

"We're still waiting for Deku."

Oh right, Midoriya was still in there recovering from his injuries. His hands were already pretty messed up, breaking his legs too had to hurt like a bitch.

"Is it alright if I wait with you?" Ryuko offered.

"Of course! The more the merrier!"

The three of them stood together in silence. Waiting for their friend.

She wasn't exactly sure why she made that decision. Waiting outside for Midoriya wouldn't somehow make him recover faster. And it would likely take hours.

Maybe it was because she just owed him that as a friend, they did make a pretty good team fighting Nomu together.

"I refuse to just stand here and watch you die!"

Ryuko smiled softly to herself. That kid just didn't know when to quit. He'd practically just met her, yet he was willing to fight that giant monster by her side, all for her sake.

Maybe Senketsu was right. With friends like that, how alone could she be?

"I'm glad you could all come to this meeting on such short notice," Principal Nezu told his colleagues. "Unfortunately Eraserhead and Thirteen will be unable to join us due to their injuries, as will All Might."

The remaining teachers took their seats, which was startlingly few. Not much of UA's staff was part of the inner circle, and it was even smaller without All Might, Eraserhead, and Thirteen.

"The attack at the USJ has made it clear that UA is in dire need of security upgrades," he said. "Our current security system was built to repel individual villains, not a coordinated attack like this."

Eraserhead's injuries bore an eerie similarity to the damage done to the UA barrier. The villain named Shigaraki must have been the one who let the press into the school earlier today. Then he was able to capitalize on the chaos and steal UA's schedules.

Gathering all those villains and even somehow making a creature to combat All Might must have taken a significant amount of time and resources as well. Deplorable as those villains may be, Nezu couldn't help but be impressed with how much thought went into the attack.

"I'm already working on it, but there isn't much we can physically do to combat quirks like the ones the villains had," Power Loader pointed out. "I mean, how can we stop someone who destroys anything they touch, or warp wherever they want?"

"It's true that Shigaraki's power caught us completely off guard, but I was thinking more along the lines of an increased number of patrols," Nezu suggested, causing many groans amongst the teachers. "The police have agreed to help patrol the campus for the next week, but once they leave we'll need all hands on deck, so no complaining!"

He pulled a stack of papers from his briefcase and passed at around the table to each teacher.

"This sheet will inform you of your new patrol schedule. I've designed it to maximize the ground covered with the fewest amount of teachers. Hopefully this will let us stop villains before they infiltrate the campus."

"We rounded up most of the goons, but their leaders managed to get away," Present Mic pointed out. "We can't just assume that they'll give up. What are we going to do about them?"

"The police department are conducting a manhunt for the two villains that seemed to be their leaders," Nezu informed him. "But so far they haven't found any information regarding either of them. We're also contacting as many local hero agencies as we can to search for the villains."

The Voice Hero shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but said nothing. It wasn't just him either. No one wanted to speak out against their boss, but Nezu could feel the air of discomfort in the room amongst the teachers. He couldn't exactly blame them for that. Their friends and students had been put in grave danger, all while they had no idea what was happening.

He didn't like it any more than they did, perhaps even less. He'd spent all afternoon running calculations, figuring out what went wrong, trying to somehow justify the fact that UA's supposedly unbreachable defenses had been smashed apart. He couldn't.

There wasn't much he could say to alleviate their concerns, but he could try.

"Regrettably, there is much that is simply out of our control at this moment. We have no choice but to table this discussion until the police get back to us with their findings. However, there are decisions that we can make right now."

It wasn't much, but taking control of what little they could would certainly give them all some sense of security, as small as it may be.

"That brings us to the main reason I called you all here. We need to decide what to do about the UA Sports Festival," he announced.

The Sports Festival was scheduled in two weeks, just as it was every year. It was supposed to be a huge opportunity for both UA and its students, a chance for them to put themselves in the spotlight for the pros to see. Unfortunately, this was not like every other year.

"Given the large scale attack we just had, I can't see how we could possibly justify holding such a large event so soon," Midnight spoke up. "Doing so would practically be putting a target on our backs and hiring the pro heroes necessary to provide security would cost a fortune. It's certainly a shame that the first years won't get that experience, and that the third years will lose their last chance to make an impression, but we can't risk our students' well being."

"On the other hand, canceling the festival would be showing weakness to the villains," Vlad King countered. "It sends the message that they managed to scare us, that we can be broken. What we need is to show our strength in the face of adversity, that's what we're trying to teach our students after all."

"That's because they did more than scare us, they broke in and attacked our students!" Midnight shot back. "We can't teach them anything if they're dead!"

"We can always hire extra security, the earnings from the Sports Festival should cover the cost," Vlad King replied. "Earnings we won't have if the festival is canceled. It's not worth canceling such a huge event over a few villains."

"I hardly think what happened at the USJ qualifies as 'a few villains'!"

"I think I've heard enough," Nezu said, quieting the quarreling teachers. "While it's true that the Sports Festival is a valuable opportunity for the students, it's not worth the risk of inviting another attack. We'll still have work studies later on in the year, so the students who missed the chance to get scouted still have the opportunity to work with pros. Does anyone wish to object?"

The room was completely silent.

"Well then I guess that settles things. I'll start contacting the hero agencies-"

He was cut off by the phone ringing in his pocket. What inconvenient timing, who could possibly be contacting him directly? Nezu didn't bother to check to see who it was as he accepted the call to give the caller a piece of his mind.

"Who is this? I'm in the middle of a very important- Oh, I see. I humbly apologize for my outburst."

The teachers all tilted their heads in confusion at Nezu's complete shift in attitude.

"Well, we just weren't sure if holding the festival after the attack would be such a good idea- Now now, there's no need to be so hasty! The festival will proceed as planned, as you wish. We look forward to the cooperation between our schools."

Nezu breathed a sigh of relief as the call ended, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"It looks like there's a change of plans," he announced. "UA will host the Sports Festival as scheduled!"

"Who was that?" Midnight asked, though the realization eventually dawned on her. "No, it wasn't-"

"I'm afraid it was," Nezu answered for her. "We'll also need to accommodate a few hundred more entrants in the festival as well."

"So much for not showing weakness to the villains," Vlad King grumbled.

Satsuki Kiryuin gripped her phone hard enough to crack the screen as she turned the device off and laid it on the table at her side. What a mess.

"Would you like some more tea miss?" her faithful butler Soroi offered, sensing her stress.

"There's always room for your tea Soroi," she said. "I just have a lot on my plate right now. Could you summon the Elite Four to my chambers?"

"Of course miss."

"Thank you, Soroi."

While holding the Naturals Election was nothing but a fantasy at this point, courtesy of the constant scrutiny from REVOCS security forces, Satsuki had thought of a solution. She would be able to train the Elite Four against Ryuko Matoi under the guise of humiliating UA so her mother wouldn't bat an eye.

And it was almost thrown into disarray due to the attack on UA.

She thought that the break in would be the end of it, but those villains just had to actually attack UA. Fortunately they were able to repel the attack, but the Sports Festival was almost canceled as a result.

It was only because of a last minute update from Inumuta that she was able to salvage the situation.

Being forced to contact Principal Nezu directly so she could convince him to hold the festival angered her greatly. Though the brevity of the negotiations helped to calm her a little. The threat of a Honnouji invasion tended make people more agreeable.

However, she couldn't really blame UA. It wasn't as if they wanted to be attacked after all. No, the people she was truly enraged at were the idiotic villains who had initiated the attack in the first place.

They had come dangerously close to messing up almost a decade of careful planning. If a student or teacher was killed, UA would have to shut down. If UA shut down, then Ryuko Matoi would come back to Honnouji. If she came back to Honnouji, her mother would almost certainly learn about her Kamui and scissor blade. If she learned about Ryuko's Kamui, then she'd wonder why Satsuki was using it to train her troops. And that was a possibility Satsuki couldn't allow.

That was without even mentioning that they had almost gotten the Sports Festival canceled, which would have ruined her plan to have the Naturals Election without her mother's knowledge.

Just thinking about it nearly made Satsuki's blood boil, Soroi's tea being the only thing that soothed her to a seething hatred. She would find whoever this "Tomura Shigaraki" was and kill him. He and whoever his supporters were would most certainly regret messing with Honnouji Academy.

The elevator doors to the Student Council's chambers opened, and the Elite Four stepped out. The four of them strode confidently towards Satsuki in unison, then bowed and met her with Honnouji Academy's salute.

"Lady Satsuki, the war is proceeding even better than planned. Without Matoi to worry about, we've been able to conduct raids much more frequently and efficiently," Sanageyama spoke first, a cocky smirk on his face. "We now have complete control of the Saitama and Chiba prefectures, we're practically on the heroes' doorstep."

"Even though a certain toad decided to go for a swim instead of annexing Kashek," Jakuzure snarked, eliciting a chuckle from Sanageyama and Inumuta and a fierce glare from Gamagoori.

While good news about the war was always appreciated, the truth was that they were extremely behind schedule. The heroes of Independent Japan were annoyingly stubborn. It was unlikely that Japan would be under their control in time.

"That's good to hear, but we can go over reports later," Satsuki told him. "I brought you here for a different reason. Something far more important."

"Whatever it is, the Elite Four are at your command," Gamagoori said, the other three agreeing with him.

Satsuki expected nothing less from them.

"Very well. Pack whatever you need for the next two weeks," she commanded. "Jakuzure, Sanageyama, gather the most competent students under your command, they'll be coming with us too. Inumuta, make arrangements for us to stay in Musutafu. And Gamagoori, I have a message for you to deliver to Ryuko Matoi."

"My lady, what is all of this for? Where are we going?" Inumuta inquired.

"We're taking a school trip," Satsuki smirked. "To UA High."

"Goodnight!" Izuku Midoriya said to Recovery Girl. "Thanks so much for your help!"

"My pleasure, be careful on your way home."

"Yes ma'am!"

Izuku's legs and fingers had finally been healed, though he'd been in the infirmary for a long time. So long that the sun had set, leaving him running through the empty halls lit only by moonlight.

He had to get home quick, his mom had to be worried sick about him by now. It was just a shame that he didn't get to see any of his classmates. Apparently Ryuko had woken up much earlier than he did and didn't even need Recovery Girl's quirk.

All Might had left before him as well, he got the impression that having to be healed was hardly a new experience for the symbol of peace. What worried him was that his time limit had decreased.

One hour. Barely enough time for him to get across Japan, much less fight afterward. The injuries he got from Nomu were part of it, but some of it had to be because he transferred One For All to Izuku. All the more reason he had to learn to master his power.

All Might was right though, those villains had made a mistake. The USJ had still served its purpose of preparing them for the real world. He'd had his first encounter with actual villains and didn't just survive, but thrived. Just a week ago he was still scared of Kacchan, now he was fighting actual villains without giving it a second thought.

Not that he'd do it again, but at least something good came out of the attack, as morbid as that may sound.

He finally made it to the school's exit, ready to make the rest of the long trip home. What he didn't expect was Uraraka, Iida, and Ryuko waiting for him.

"Deku! You're here!" Uraraka exclaimed excitedly.

Izuku smiled as he ran to his friends.

A/N: Well there we go, a relatively short interlude chapter before the Sports Festival. As excited as I am to write my favorite arc, I'm going to be taking a short hiatus. Sort of.

Before the Sports Festival, I'm going to rewrite chapters 1-4. Honestly, they're really not good. And I'm worried that their not-goodness is turning potential readers off. I'll be reuploading them at the same time as chapter 11, so give them another look once it comes out.

Also, Ryuko is somehow completely healed? How could that have possibly happened? Who am I kidding, you all know why. It also probably doesn't take a genius to figure out who AFO's old scientist is.

Fun fact, the villain name I gave Satsuki, Demon Empress, is a reference to Oda Nobunaga, who I believe shares quite a few similarities with Satsuki. They're both conquerors who sought to unite Japan for noble reasons, and Honnouji Academy is a reference to Honnouji Temple, where Nobunaga was betrayed. His "villain name" was the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. But AFO doesn't care about any of that crap and wants to be called the Demon Lord because he's a nerd who reads too many light novels (that's actually canon now).

Finally, I'd like to thank all of my readers. I can't believe that over a hundred people actually like a fic that essentially boils down to me taking two things I like and smashing them together to exponentially increase my enjoyment of them. Your reviews are all so positive and kind, and no has told me to kill myself yet so I consider that an absolute win!