I don't own My Hero Academia or Kill la Kill, please don't sue.
"The UA Sports Festival?" the Elite Four exclaimed in unison.
"That is correct," Satsuki confirmed. "Unfortunately our plans for the Naturals Election had to be canceled due to the increased amount of scrutiny from REVOCS. I requested that our students be allowed to compete in the UA Sports Festival to train our forces away from my mother's eyes."
Uzu Sanageyama couldn't believe his luck. The current top ten heroes in Independent Japan were getting boring. He'd beaten Endeavor for what, the twelfth time now? Invading cities didn't give him the same rush either, most of the time they just surrendered as soon as they saw the Honnouji crest. Ever since Navarro he'd been bored out of his mind until Matoi showed up.
But now he'd have the chance to fight the most promising future heroes in the world! He'd heard a lot about UA's third year students, like how every one of them was on par with a top ten hero. Probably an exaggeration, but Uzu was ready to see for himself.
His colleagues seemed to share his enthusiasm. Jakuzure had a smug smile on her face, though it wasn't much different from her normal expression. Inumuta's face was covered by his collar, but Shingantsu let him detect a faint smile. Even Gamagoori seemed marginally less stiff than normal.
"Unlike UA, our students will be organized by star status instead of year," Satsuki explained. "Our one-stars will compete against their second years, our two-stars against their third years. And you Elite Four will have the chance to battle UA's prized first year class."
What the hell?
"I just got back from serving Endeavor his own ass on a silver platter and you're making me fight freshmen?" Uzu exclaimed.
"Come on Satsuki, this is beneath us and you know it!" Jakuzure agreed.
"BOTH OF YOU, DO NOT QUESTION LADY SATSUKI!" Gamagoori shouted. "I'm sure there is a reason you would have us fight mere first years, my lady."
"Do not underestimate them," Satsuki responded. "As you know, Class 1-A was recently the target of an actual villain attack and managed to survive. They took their adversity and turned it into experience. It is my hope that you do the same."
Uzu would have rolled his eyes if he physically could. What qualified as "villains" in Independent Japan were an absolute joke. Any one of his old gang buddies could have been considered an actual supervillain. He was sure he was doing just the right amount of estimating.
"And I hope you haven't forgotten about a particular student in Class 1-A: Ryuko Matoi."
Uzu perked up. Now that was more like it! All around him, his fellow Elites smirked as well. Except Gamagoori. That man had two expressions: Scowling or screaming.
"But my lady, the UA Sports Festival requires that all entrants wear a tracksuit," Inumuta realized. "We won't be able to use our Goku Uniforms!"
"I am aware of the rules for the festival. Rest assured that when the time comes, each of you will be able to test your uniforms against Ryuko Matoi. It is the main purpose of our trip after all," Satsuki assured them. "Though it is true that for the first few events, you won't be able to wear them."
"Then how are we supposed to get past the first events?" Inumuta asked.
"Did I make you one of the Elite Four because of the power of your Goku Uniform?" Satsuki responded with her own question.
"No my lady-"
"Each of you were chosen not for your Goku Uniforms, nor for your quirks, but your own power," Satsuki continued. "Remind me why I did that."
Uzu couldn't have agreed more with what Satsuki was saying. His quirk was useful and even more so with a Goku Uniform, but it would have been useless if he didn't train himself to use it properly.
The Elite Four gave their president one final salute before separating to prepare for the festival. Organizing a sizable portion of their entire army would be a pain in the ass, but it would all be worth it to fight Ryuko Matoi.
Uzu grinned. Things were about to get interesting.
Aikuro Mikisugi crouched by the window his tiny apartment, watching transport vehicles drive up to the main courtyard at the peak of the island to be stocked with supplies.
Ever since Ryuko Matoi's sudden departure from Honnouji Academy, his job of feeding her the bare minimum amount of information she needed to survive went out the window. For the past week he'd gone back to his old routine of taking notes and reporting back to base. That all changed when the Disciplinary Committee conscripted a few of his students in the middle of class for a school trip.
Aikuro had been spying on Honnouji Academy for over two years, so he knew that the only time this happened was when they were preparing for a raid. Due to Ryuko's absence, the Student Council had grown increasingly bold with their raids, so it should have been business as usual for him. Only this time was different.
In a strange twist, Honnouji Academy would be visiting Independent Japan not as invaders, but as guests to the UA Sports Festival. Or at least that was their official stance. The general consensus amongst the Nudist Beach leadership was that it was their way of showing dominance over the hero school, forcing them to hold the festival after being attacked and then making their students look like chumps.
But that didn't sit right with Aikuro. Showing dominance over UA was pointless, they'd already shown dominance over the entire country at Navarro. A three-star single-handedly defeating thousands of pro heroes backed by the National Guard sent the message that their conquest of Japan was a matter of when, not if.
There had to be something more to it. And Aikuro was convinced that something was Ryuko Matoi, who just so happened to be currently attending UA High as a transfer student.
On their own, neither sending Ryuko to UA nor attending the Sports Festival made a lot of sense. But when put together, the pieces started to fall in place. It was abundantly clear that the Student Council needed Ryuko. Aikuro was skeptical at first, but the fight with Uzu Sanageyama confirmed his theory. If they wanted her gone, they were definitely capable of killing her or at the very least kicking her off the island.
But for some reason they waited until just a few weeks ago. And now they were planning to visit the school she was at. They were continuing with whatever they were planning, just somewhere else. Almost as if they wanted to get away from Honnouji. The question was why.
As much as he would have loved to pursue Honnouji Academy on his own, Aikuro wasn't much of a fighter. Additionally, he had a cover to maintain as a teacher at Honnouji, he couldn't risk being recognized at the festival. Luckily he had the perfect partner for the job.
"Ah, you're right on time," he said, not needing to look at the figure standing at his doorway.
"There are two things you need to know," Tsumugu Kinagase spoke. "One: I always arrive on time. Two: The security in this place is garbage!"
"You can't expect Satsuki Kiryuin to give us no-star scum the good stuff," Aikuro chuckled. "And you owe me a new door."
Tsumugu dropped the door handle to the floor and kicked it off to the side.
"You can just bill HQ, maybe you'll even be able to get a decent lock," he grumbled. "Anyway, what's the mission? We haven't been in contact all week."
"I'm sure you've figured out by now that Satsuki Kiryuin plans on crashing the UA Sports Festival, which coincidentally is where they sent Ryuko Matoi. And you're going to figure out why," Aikuro informed him.
"I'll be on my way after I get my Dotonbori Robo," Tsumugu grunted.
Aikuro's eye twitched. What did he just say? Before Tsumugu could turn around, Aikuro sprinted across the room and grabbed his mohawk, pulling his face down and looking into his eyes.
"D. T. R. It's called a DTR," he said softly, enunciating every letter. "And you won't be riding in it anyway. We need to travel stealthily for this mission."
"We?"
"That's right! Our mutual friend Ryuko is going to be there, and I want to see how much stronger she's become."
The truth was, he actually kind of missed the girl. Isshin was a good friend of his and as his only living relative, he promised to protect her. That didn't mean telling her everything though, there were some things she wasn't ready for yet. She already thought he was crazy, if he told her that life fibers were aliens, she'd dismiss him entirely.
"You know that she's no ally of Nudist Beach," Tsumugu pointed out. "If she sees us, it's more likely than not she'll out us to the Student Council, even if she doesn't mean to."
"Don't worry, I have a disguise!" he said, holding up his pair of tinted sunglasses. "And if you're planning on using that little toy of yours, you'll need a good shot."
Tsumugu instinctively held his case in his hands a little closer to his body. It held the Special Adhesive Bullet, a one-of-a-kind weapon that could disable a Goku Uniform or Kamui with one shot. And punch clean through a battleship without slowing down. Hey, it still had to penetrate the Goku Uniform to work.
Aikuro didn't actually doubt Tsumugu's ability to make the shot, he was one of the best marksmen in Nudist Beach for a reason. What he did doubt was his judgement. Aikuro liked being naked. Tsumugu hated clothing. Especially Kamuis.
Tsumugu grunted as he handed him the case containing the bullet. "So what now?"
"Now, we got a ship to catch!"
Principal Nezu rubbed his temples, trying to relieve some of the stress he'd felt over the past few days. While luckily he was spared the logistical nightmare of canceling the Sports Festival, what took its place wasn't much better.
Having to adjust the festival to accommodate for hundreds of Honnouji students was no easy task, even for a being of his intelligence. As powerful as they may have been, it was clear that logistics were not a strength of the Elite Four. Half of their roster was written in bubble font and the other half looked like it was written by a blind person!
They also refused to adhere to UA's tradition of separating students by class year, choosing to stick to their star-based ranking system instead. That would have been fine, or at least tolerable, if they stuck to some kind of logical ranking of power. It made sense for the one-stars to compete with the second years and the two-stars with the third years, but Nezu couldn't figure out why they insisted on having the Elite Four, and only the Elite Four, do battle with the first years.
Satsuki Kiryuin was very particular about that last part. While Nezu couldn't ignore the not-so-veiled threat from the most powerful woman in the world, he didn't have to like it. At the very least he didn't have to worry about security. No villains would be foolish enough to attack an event hosting the Elite Four and Satsuki Kiryuin herself.
On the topic of villains, Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi from the Police Force had finally gotten back with the investigation into the League of Villains. That was why he and the rest of the UA staff were having a conference at almost 10:00 pm.
"Our investigators are trying to learn everything they can about this so-called 'League of Villains'. We've made some progress, but we can't find anything on this Shigaraki so far," the detective said. "We've searched our records for men in their twenties or thirties who are registered as having some sort of disintegration quirk, but so far we've come up empty. Same for the Warp Gate villain, Kurogiri. So either they're not citizens or they're using aliases. Hard to find either way."
"So what you're really saying is we don't know anything," Vlad King grumbled.
"We've gotta track 'em down," Snipe said. "I shot their ringleader, but once he heals up he'll probably try pulling something like this again. What a pain."
"He did seem like the type..." All Might muttered.
"Is something on your mind All Might?" Nezu asked, curious what about this "type" he was referring to.
"The attack on the USJ was too bold, no sane adult would ever attempt it. The ringleader kept monologuing about the reasons he was there and he bragged about Nomu's many quirks, but he never said a word about his own powers," All Might mused. "And when things didn't go his way he was visibly upset, like he was gonna throw a tantrum! Though I guess bragging about Nomu's quirks was a quick way to draw me into a fight..."
"That might be true yes, but strategically it was foolish to reveal his quirks upfront instead of keeping them a secret," Nezu pointed out.
"Shigaraki made wild, immature claims, but did so with a completely straight face," All Might continued. "And he talked about Nomu like he was some of a pet. It seemed like he'd never been told 'no' before, like he thought things would go his way no matter what. He has the personality of a spoiled little brat. A manchild."
"A child with incredible power though!" Vlad King exclaimed.
"It's possible he never got the quirk counseling students receive in elementary school," Midnight suggested.
"Maybe so, but it doesn't really matter now," Snipe added.
"There were seventy two villains arrested in the aftermath of the USJ attack," Tsukauchi interrupted. "They were all small-time thugs who usually lurked around back-alleys. What worries me is that this manchild got them all to follow his crazy plan, they viewed him as a real leader. Criminals are starting to feel more pressure now that their niche in society is rapidly fading. The Kiryuins hunt them down ruthlessly and the heroes are becoming too powerful for them to deal with. That could be why they were so quick to back such a simple-minded villain."
"A manchild huh?" Nezu mused.
All Might might have been on to something. It didn't make sense for the mastermind behind the attack to behave so immaturely. Perhaps he wasn't the mastermind after all, but being mentored by a more experienced villain. It was certainly upsetting that so many were turning to villainy at such a young age, but there were also the youth who pursued the path of a hero.
"In some ways he shares common ground with our students, they both have so much potential," he realized. "And like our students, I suppose it's possible that someone is guiding him, trying to nurture his malice and villainy."
He didn't come up with the idea that Shigaraki was being mentored without a suspect in mind. Nezu prayed that he was wrong, but it seemed unlikely. While the other teachers thought nothing of it, All Might knew who he meant.
"I don't want to think about what that could mean..." he shuddered.
Ryuko Matoi took her seat in Class 1-A for the first time since the day of the USJ attack.
After everything was wrapped up, the school had shut down for a week. Ryuko appreciated the break they gave the students, but not having school made for a pretty boring week. She never thought the day would come when she was actually glad to go back to school.
"Did you guys see the news channels? We're pretty much celebrities now!" Kaminari exclaimed.
"Yeah, it's kinda crazy right!" Kirishima agreed.
Watching the spotlight on the USJ attack was pretty much the only thing interesting that happened during their "vacation". It took a few days for the panic around Honnouji Academy taking over the Saitama and Chiba prefectures to die down, but when it did the USJ was the only thing the news talked about.
Ryuko wouldn't go as far as to call her class celebrities though. All of the focus was on the attack itself and All Might's last minute arrival. None of the students had been asked for interviews or even appeared on TV for more than a few seconds.
"Get over yourselves," Jiro said, almost as if she read her mind. "The hero course that pumps out pros was attacked and that's what they care about. They've only interviewed the pro heroes, they're the ones who actually stopped the attack."
"Who knows what would have happened to us if the teachers hadn't shown up!" Sero exclaimed.
In Ryuko's case, she'd probably be dead. She should have been dead anyway. Just thinking about it made her instinctively run her hand down her rib cage, which was supposed to be in fragments. While she accepted Recovery Girl's explanation due to the lack of alternatives, she could still remember Nomu cracking her ribs like it just happened.
"Why would you say that!" Mineta whined loudly. "I"m gonna pee myself just thinking about it!"
Geez, being scared of the attack was one thing, but he didn't have to be so whiny about it. And no one needed to know about him peeing himself
"Aw shut up! Grow a pair you loser!" the person behind Ryuko yelled.
Now that was one of the things she certainly did not miss while on break. Just hearing Bakugo's voice again made Ryuko clench her fist and grit her teeth. Choosing who to rage at was a hard call. On one hand, Mineta was a creep and a coward, though he was useful in taking down Shiggy. On the other hand, Bakugo was Bakugo. Actually it wasn't that hard to decide.
"How about you shut up and jump in a ditch?" she shouted at Bakugo.
"What? Go screw yourself bitch!" he raged back.
The two were about to get up and exchange blows. But before their conflict could escalate further, the clock ticked to 8:25 and a tall boy with blue hair and glasses swiftly marched to the classroom's podium.
"Attention!" Iida yelled. "Homeroom class is about to begin! Everyone stop talking and take your seats!"
"Dude, you're the only who's not sitting down," Ryuko pointed out.
He took a look around the room and sure enough, everyone except him was in their assigned seat. Realizing his hypocrisy, Iida sat down in his seat with frustration.
"I wonder who will be teaching your class today," Senketsu said. "From what I recall, Aizawa should still be in the hospital."
He was right, even with a week to recover it was unlikely that Aizawa would be in any state to teach a class. While he didn't take as much damage as Ryuko thought she did, it wasn't like getting his face smashed into the ground tickled.
"Yeah, we'll probably have to get a sub or something," she told him. "Looks like we're gonna see who it is."
The classroom door opened, revealing who their teacher for the day would be. A man who looked shockingly similar to a mummy walked in, his bandages covering everything except his long black hair and tired eyes...
"Morning class," the mummy man said, his voice muffled by the bandages.
Wait, was that Aizawa?
The man who Ryuko now unmistakably recognized as Aizawa walked up to the podium, though he had to limp with every step. She had to admit, being in a state like that and still coming in to work was seriously impressive.
"Mr. Aizawa, I'm glad you're okay!" Iida shouted out.
He called that okay? It looked like a strong breeze could have knocked the teacher over.
"My wellbeing is irrelevant," Aizawa said. "What's more important is that your fight isn't over yet."
What the hell did that mean? Her "fight"? They weren't gonna have to fight more villains were they?
"The UA Sports Festival is about to start," Aizawa finished.
"Let's go kick some ass!" Kirishima shouted, jumping up from his desk the instant the word "festival" left Aizawa's mouth.
Ryuko hardly shared his excitement. The festival honestly just didn't impress her as much after her time at Honnouji. Any one of the many club presidents she disposed of with contemptuous ease could have won the thing with their hands tied behind their backs.
The last time she could remember watching it was when she was still in elementary school, watching it with... her dad. She never had the best relationship with her old man, but there was a time when she could say without question that he loved her. Then he sent her off to boarding school, and the rest was history.
"Wait a second!" Kaminari interrupted, shoving Kirishima's face to the side. "Is it really such a good idea to hold the Sports Festival so soon after the villains snuck inside?"
"Yeah, they could attack us when we're all in the same place!" Ojiro agreed.
"Those are all valid concerns. Believe me when I say that this wasn't my decision to make, or anyone at UA's for that matter," Aizawa grumbled. "But you can also believe that the security for the event will be... handled. There isn't a villain in Japan who would dare attack this event."
What was that supposed to mean? How could UA not be allowed to decide if their own event should be canceled? Was someone forcing them into holding the festival? But who could do that?
"As you know, the UA Sports Festival is one of the most watched events in the entire world. Top heroes will be watching the students to pick their favorites to take on as interns," Aizawa continued. "But this festival isn't like any other. As I said earlier, UA isn't holding the festival by our own choice, but Honnouji Academy's. They'll be competing in the festival alongside you as guests."
No. Freaking. Way.
"What? Are we being invaded?"
"Why are they allowed to compete in the festival?"
"Can't we get All Might to stop them?"
"Quiet please!" Aizawa shouted, his eyes glowing even underneath his bandages. "Last year, UA made a peace treaty with Honnouji Academy. This was just after Navarro, so we were in a panic and accepted without really thinking about it. Honnouji would leave Musutafu alone and in exchange, they could ask for a single favor from UA whenever they wanted. This was that favor."
"But Mr. Aizawa, the Sports Festival is separated by year. Will Honnouji Academy do the same?" Midoriya spoke after raising his hand.
"I was just getting to that. Part of Honnouji's request was that they separate their students by star status. You first years will be competing against the three-stars, also known as the Elite Four," Aizawa answered.
Ryuko couldn't believe what she was hearing. She thought that she'd finally get a break from Satsuki Kiryuin's bullshit, but now she was bringing the bullshit to her? The timing couldn't have been a coincidence, not to mention the fact that the Elite Four would be fighting freshmen. They were coming here for her, there was no doubt about it.
At first, she couldn't have cared less about how she did in the Sports Festival, since the only benefits would be getting scouted by pro heroes. Now things were different. She had a score to settle with the Student Council, and the Sports Festival was the perfect opportunity.
"Ryuko, your blood pressure is rising," Senketsu pointed out.
She knew. Her blood was about to reach boiling temperatures. Why? Why couldn't Satsuki just leave her alone? Ryuko pounded her fist on her desk, cracking it. If Satsuki wanted a war, she'd sure as hell get one!
Ryuko sulked at her desk as class ended, her mind still occupied with her hatred for Satsuki Kiryuin. Just who the hell did she think she was? And why did they bother sending her to UA if they were just gonna come back for her?
"Yeah this whole Honnouji Academy thing kinda sucks," Kirishima said. "But I'm so pumped for these games! Besides, we only have to go against the Elite Four. Sure they're strong, but there's only four of them. And with guys like Todoroki and Bakugo, we'll show them that UA is stronger than they think no sweat!"
"I'm glad someone feels so confident," Mina rolled her eyes. "Remember these guys make pro heroes look like those thugs at the USJ! Hey Ryuko, you were at Honnouji, what were the Elite Four like?"
Mina's question snapped Ryuko back to reality. Did they really think they had a chance against the Elite Four? Yeah they'd probably have to give up their Goku Uniforms to compete, but Ryuko had a feeling that didn't make them any less dangerous.
"Well, the only one I fought was Sanageyama. But he was strong," she answered. "And fast. So fast I didn't even touch him a single time the last time we fought. Then he just about broke every bone in my body. I couldn't walk right for a week after that."
The color had just about drained from Kirishima and Mina's faces.
"Well, I'm not gonna be able to sleep tonight!" Mina exclaimed, faking her cheeriness.
"Guess that means I have to train extra hard then," Kirishima nervously chuckled. "I wonder if I can use the gym instead of going to lunch..."
"Let's do our best in the Sports Festival!" a new voice shouted all the way on the other side of the classroom.
Whoever it was certainly didn't sound like anyone Ryuko knew, but for some reason it still sounded very familiar. She turned to look where the voice had come from, which was... Uraraka?
Unlike her normal cheerful demeanor, she now had a determined expression and a fierce glare. Ryuko could practically see the energy radiating off of her.
"Whoa seriously, what's up with this?" Mina asked. "You're normally like, the most laid back girl ever!"
Uraraka didn't pay any attention to Mina's comment as she stomped her foot on the floor and raised a fist to the sky. "Everyone! I'm gonna do my best!" she shouted, her face now obscured in shadow. "I don't care if I have to fight the Elite Four, I'll take on Satsuki Kiryuin myself! I'm gonna win this thing no matter what!"
She definitely had spirit, that was for sure. But Mina was right, this was so unlike her. Why was the Sports Festival of all things such a big deal for her?
After a few... very intense chants from Uraraka, Class 1-A all left for the cafeteria. Kirishima was set on spending his lunchtime training, so that left Ryuko to go with Uraraka, Iida, and Midoriya. She'd also get the chance to ask Uraraka what that whole... thing was about.
"Hey Uraraka, why did you decide to come to UA?" Midoriya spoke first. "What made you want to be a pro hero?"
"Oh, well you see..." she started to explain. "Being a successful pro hero pays well. That's why I want to be one!"
"Wait, so you want to be a pro hero to get rich?" Midoriya asked incredulously.
"If we're cutting to the chase, then yeah!" Uraraka confirmed sheepishly. "I'm sorry if it sounds greedy! I'm sure your motivations are all far more admirable than mine. I hope you don't think less of me now!"
"Not at all!" Iida assured her, making over-exaggerated hand motions while doing so. "Your goal is to support your wellbeing which is a perfectly admirable ambition to have!"
Ryuko didn't want to say anything, but she was pretty surprised. Not that she thought Uraraka was greedy, but she just never thought that she'd be the type to become a hero for the money.
"Well you see, my family owns a construction company," she said. "But we haven't gotten any work lately so we're flat broke! Anyway, this isn't something I usually tell other people."
"So you want to get licensed so you can use your quirk to help with construction," Ryuko started to realize.
"I know right! I've been telling my parents that since I was a kid!" Uraraka exclaimed. "But that's not how they saw it. Dad said that he didn't want to hold me back, that I should follow my own dream. As long as I took them to Hawaii at least. So that's why I'm gonna be a pro, I'll sign on with a good agency and make plenty of money! Then I'll be able to let my parents have an easy life!"
So she wanted to look out for her family, that's why she wanted money so badly. Just like... just like Mako did. Sure she kind of ended up going overboard with the money thing, but initially all she wanted was a good life for her family. It was the only reason Ryuko stayed with the Fight Club for as long as she did.
"Hey, you're looking out for yourself and your loved ones, that's like the most noble thing you can do!" Ryuko exclaimed. "Well, as long as you don't betray your friends for money. Honestly, it's kind of refreshing to see someone who's grounded in their goals. Heroes today are all about that 'save everyone' crap but they never actually mean it. I never understood it anyway."
"Wait, what do you mean?" Midoriya asked, turning the attention onto Ryuko. "What don't you understand about saving everyone?"
"I mean that it's completely ridiculous!" Ryuko suddenly shouted, her emotions getting the better of her. "The whole idea of devoting your entire life just to saving some complete strangers, why would anyone do something so stupid? Even if you don't die you're pretty much giving up your life. And what about your friends and families? You'd be hurting them for people you don't even know!"
Midoriya flinched as she finished her rant, like he was personally offended. Iida on the other hand, wasn't so rattled.
"If that's how you feel, then why did you apply to UA in the first place?" he asked. "Why do you want to be a hero?"
Well, there was no hiding it now. The mental toll of Honnouji Academy coming to UA made Ryuko too angry to lie anyway.
"I don't," she said bluntly, making all three of her friends jump back in shock. "Remember when I said my dad was dead? Well he's not just dead, he was killed. One day I got home and I found this planted in his stomach."
She pulled out her scissor blade and expanded it to full size, showing off the blade entirely.
"I spent months drifting around North Kanto until I got a lead that someone at Honnouji might know what it was, so that's where I went. Satsuki Kiryuin said she'd tell me everything I wanted to know if I beat her and her goons. Then I got suspended from Honnouji and transferred here for a semester. Once my suspension is over, I'll go back to Honnouji and find the bastard who killed my dad. That's my goal."
Her classmates had to take a moment to process what she just told them. Midoriya in particular looked like a ghost. To her surprise, it was Iida who spoke first.
"I can't imagine how hard that must have been for you, having a loved one taken away so suddenly and violently. If something like that happened to my brother Tensei, I can't even fathom how angry I would be," he said. "But you have so much potential and talent, you'd be wasting them on vengeance. I'm not saying you should stop trying to find your father's killer, but this level of obsession isn't healthy. I'm sure there are ways for you to channel your frustration into a more healthy ambition."
Iida was right. He couldn't imagine how she felt.
"I don't care about 'potential' or 'talent' or 'ambition'! I don't care about saving people!" she snarled. "I care about finding out who killed my dad! If anyone gets in my way, I'll destroy them! And when I find his killer I'll... well, I'll figure that part out later! I'm not like you three. I ain't a hero."
Ryuko didn't notice, but during her rant she grabbed one of the metal guardrails and snapped it clean off. She looked at the twisted metal pipe she destroyed while lost in rage and dropped it to the floor.
"I can't say that I agree with you or even that I understand you, but I know that I can't stop you," Midoriya started, having gotten over his shock. "And I know that you'll find your father's killer and you'll do whatever it is you want to them, but what then?"
Now it was Ryuko's turn for her brain to stop working. What would she do? She didn't have parents or a house and while the Mankanshokus were nice, it wasn't as if she could stay with them forever.
And that was just the beginning. Finding her father's killer had been the most motivated she'd been in her entire life. School was boring as crap and she didn't have any talents other than fighting. She didn't have ambitions or a future.
There was no place for her in this world.
Ryuko stood there stammering for several seconds, trying to think of an answer to Midoriya's question. She couldn't. So she did the next best thing: Rage.
"Leave me alone!" she shouted, storming off to the cafeteria by herself.
Izuku Midoriya sat in the teacher's lounge with All Might, listening to the Symbol of Peace go on about what a big opportunity the Sports Festival was and how it should be his "I am here" moment.
He couldn't pay attention though. Not after what Ryuko had just told him. That she didn't want to be a hero. That she couldn't understand trying to save everyone.
"Some heroes always aim for the top, while others happily settle," All Might went on. "The difference between those two mindsets has a big impact on how far- Are you listening young Midoriya?"
"Oh yeah, of course!" he snapped back to focus. "It's just, there's something that Ryuko told me that's stuck in my head. All Might, why do you want to save everyone?"
"Well, back in my day society was a lot rougher. Heroes were far outnumbered by villains and everyone seemed to live in constant fear. I became a hero so I could give them hope, be a Symbol of Peace to inspire people," All Might answered. "I like to think that it's worked, given that you're living proof young Midoriya!"
Any other time, Izuku would have been ecstatic over receiving such high praise from his idol. But not now.
"But what about you?" he asked. "Do you have friends? Or a family? What do you do for fun? What are your hobbies?"
The number one hero was taken aback by the barrage of questions from Izuku, but he couldn't stop. Ryuko said that being a hero that saved everyone meant hurting friends and family, essentially giving up your life for the sake of others. But that couldn't be true, could it?
"If I'm being honest, I don't have any of those," All Might responded, much to Izuku's dismay. "Being a hero means that I don't have time for hobbies or starting a family. Even if I could I'd be putting them in danger just by existing. I have a few close friends, but they're all work-related. There are other heroes who do have all of those things, young Todoroki for example is Endeavor's son, but not me. That's the price I pay for being the Symbol of Peace."
So it was true. Saving everyone meant giving up any chance of a normal life.
"Don't get the wrong idea though, I certainly don't regret being the Symbol of Peace," All Might continued. "Seeing the gratitude of the people I save and the fear of the villains I fight, it makes it all worth it. This world is beautiful young Midoriya, I want to protect it and everyone in it. And while I may not have a family, I think I've found the next best thing."
Izuku smiled. All Might was right, he didn't want to be a hero so that he could live a normal life. The world was so much bigger than him, that's why he wanted to save people! But he still couldn't forget the look of rage, grief, and pain on Ryuko's face. The way she violently rejected the idea of fighting for anything beyond herself.
"I wish everyone saw things that way," he mused. "But Ryuko, she said she doesn't understand saving everyone. She said that she wants to find her father's killer and that's the only reason she's at UA."
The moment the words left his mouth, Izuku realized his mistake. Was it really his place to bring All Might into Ryuko's personal life? Though she wasn't exactly secretive during her outburst, so he'd find out eventually. And besides, if anyone was trustworthy it was All Might.
"Not everyone will understand, and that's fine," All Might said. "Though if what you say is true, young Matoi is a more... complicated case. I have no doubt that you want to help her, but I think this is something she needs to deal with on her own. Trying to intervene might just end up making things worse. Besides, you have the Sports Festival to focus on!"
Izuku nodded, but he didn't plan on following All Might's advice. If anything, he was more determined to help Ryuko than ever. Because how could he save everyone if he couldn't save his friend?
At the end of the day, Ryuko Matoi was eager to get out of school. But as usual, fate had other plans for her.
Blocking the classroom's exit were dozens of students, crowded around the doorway. They looked close to her age or even younger, so they had to be first years. The first years from the other classes. Come to think about it, she'd never actually interacted with any of the other first year classes before, so why were they all here?
"Um, why the heck are you all here?" Uraraka exclaimed.
"Do you students have some sort of business with our class?" Iida asked.
None of the students blocking the door responded. They all just stood there staring at them like goldfish. Until someone walked right up to the doorway like they weren't even there.
"They're scouting out the competition idiots. We're the class that survived a real villain attack," Bakugo growled. "They want to see us with their own eyes."
Bakugo's mere presence made the students flinch. Ryuko was hardly surprised that he was making an ass of himself yet again, but she had to admit she was a little interested to see what happened.
"At least now you know what a future pro looks like," he said. "Now move it extras!"
Iida and Uraraka went nuts over Bakugo's casual douchebaggery, but for once Ryuko wasn't that pissed. While she'd die before she'd admit it, Bakugo did kind of have a point. These people really just didn't matter. Not when they'd be competing with the Elite Four.
"So this is class 1-A," a new voice said. A boy with messy purple hair and dark bags under his eyes pushed his way to the front of the crowd. "I'd heard you guys were impressive, but you just sound like an ass. Is everyone in the hero course delusional or just you?"
Ryuko stifled a chuckle. Alright, so this guy was pretty funny. But why was he here?
"How sad to come here and find a bunch of egomaniacs," he drawled. "I wanted to be in the hero course, but like many others here I was forced to choose a different track. Such is life. I didn't cut it the first time around, but I have another chance. If any of us do well in the Sports Festival, the teachers can decide to transfer us to the hero course. And they'll have to transfer people out to make room. Scouting the competition, maybe some of my peers are, but I'm here to let you know that if you don't bring your very best, I'll steal your spot right from under you. Consider this a declaration of war."
Ryuko's eye twitched. Forget what she thought earlier, this guy was pissing her off. Just who the hell did he think he was? And a "declaration of war"? How seriously did this guy take himself?
"Oh get over yourself sleepy!" she shouted. Ryuko marched up to the door to face him, pushing Bakugo out of her way. "Who do you think you're impressing with your 'declaration of war'? In case you didn't notice, you're gonna have to compete against the Elite Four! And you think the best use of your time is hassling us? You don't matter. So get out of my way!"
Ryuko intensified her glare, but the purple-haired boy kept staring at her with his emotionless eyes. Since he wasn't moving a muscle, she had to roughly push him out of her way to leave. What a tool, hopefully no one else would be dumb enough to-
"Hey you!" a boy who looked like Kirishima with grey hair shouted. "I'm from Class 1-B next door to you! We heard you fought some villains and I came to see if that was true! But you're just a bunch-"
"Don't care!" Ryuko growled, walking right past the boy.
Izuku Midoriya stared as Ryuko walked away, the boy from Class 1-B running after her screaming about not ignoring him. He'd never seen her in such a bad mood before. She must have really been serious about her father's death. And it certainly couldn't help that the people who knew but refused to tell her were coming to UA.
But did she really have to make everyone hate his class?
"Hey where are you going? You gotta say something! It's your fault that they're all hating on us!" Kirishima called out to her, but she was already long gone.
"These people don't matter," Kacchan grumbled, getting off of the floor and brushing himself off. "The only thing that's important is that I beat them."
Kacchan pushed his way past the crowd, following Ryuko's footsteps. So he was acting differently too. While his classmates probably thought that was perfectly in character for him, Izuku knew better. There was no boasting, no condescending laughter, just cold determination.
He was pushing himself now, doing everything he could to achieve his goal. He was right too, it didn't matter what these people thought of him. Even if they loved his class he'd still have to beat them.
"You won't beat me again! I'm just getting started! Got that? I'm gonna end up the number one hero no matter what!"
"I'm gonna become a pro, I'll sign with a good agency and make plenty of money! Then I'll be able to let my parents have an easy life!"
"I couldn't care less about money or fame, I just want to be a hero! So I can make the Iida family's hero agency proud!"
"Once my suspension is over, I'll go back to Honnouji and find the bastard who killed my dad. That's my goal."
Everyone had their own goals. And if Izuku was being honest they were all so devoted they made his "become a hero" goal seem pretty flimsy in comparison. Even if he didn't agree with what those goals were, his friends believed in them wholeheartedly.
Izuku was no different though, there was no way he'd happily settle! He'd aim for the top and win anyway!
But that wasn't his only goal. Winning would be nice, but that wasn't why he wanted to be a hero. He wanted to save people, no matter the cost to himself. Ryuko said that saving everyone meant hurting his friends, but he'd prove her wrong. Saving everyone meant saving his friends too, starting with her!
Ryuko Matoi walked out of UA. Alone.
What a rotten day.
Satsuki Kiryuin and the Elite Four competing in the festival brought out all sorts of emotions. Most of it was just rage, but there was a small glimmer of hope too. She got so damn close to finding out who killed her dad, only to be sent back to square one with her suspension. As much as she liked it at UA, it was still nothing but an obstacle.
Now that Satsuki was coming to her though, she could finally get back on track with her goals. At the same time though, maybe she shouldn't find her father's killer. If she did she'd have nothing left. Midoriya was right, she'd find the killer eventually, but afterwards she had no plans.
Why did she tell everyone about her dad? Did she really expect any of them to understand? No, none of them could ever understand her. The only ones who really understood her were Senketsu... and Mako.
Hearing about Uraraka's desire to provide for her family reminded Ryuko so much of her best friend. And made her miss her even more. Mako understood her, Mako supported her efforts to find out who killed her dad! Why couldn't her other friends just do the same?
"Ryuko! Oh my god it's really you!" Mako's voice cried out.
She must have missed her so much she could have sworn she just heard her voice. Off in the distance, she could even see a girl who looked exactly like Mako. Was she going crazy now?
"Ryuko, she's getting closer!" Senketsu warned her.
The illusion of Mako sprinted towards her at full speed. A month of instinct took over Ryuko as she grabbed Mako and spun her around, safely placing her on her feet next to her. There was no mistaking that she was holding a physical person though. And the only way that could be true was if...
"Ryuko! You look so different! Actually you don't, but it's been so long that I forgot what you looked like! I've already tackled five different people that looked like you!" Mako exclaimed. "And wow you have a UA jacket! That means you're in the hero course right? What's All Might like? Is he even more muscley up close? And did you fight a bad guy yet?"
Ryuko cut off the barrage of questions by pulling Mako in for a tight hug.
"Hey Mako," she greeted her friend, wiping a small tear of happiness from her eye. "Did you miss me?"
"I did! I missed you so much I tried talking to my sailor uniform like you do! He's actually a pretty interesting guy," Mako said. "But what about you? Did you make any friends yet? Because I've made lots of friends while you were gone! I'm so good at it, I even got my own friendship bracelet! Look!"
Mako held up her ankle to Ryuko's face, showing her a monitor with a blinking red light.
"Um, you know that's not... never mind. Yeah, I have a few friends. Not any that could replace you though!"
Speak of the devil and he will appear. Midoriya came running out of the school building toward her, followed by Iida and Uraraka.
"Ryuko! I- Whoa, who's this?" he said, stopping in his tracks when he saw Mako.
"Guys, this is Mako Mankanshoku, my best friend from Honnouji," Ryuko introduced her. "And Mako, these are my friends from UA."
"Greetings! I am Tenya Iida! It is my pleasure to-" Iida tried introducing himself before being cut off.
"Whoa look at your hair! It's so green! Are you a human-broccoli hybrid?" Mako ran over to Midoriya, running her hands through his hair. Midoriya looked very uncomfortable, while Uraraka looked on in shock.
"And is this a clone of me? I always wanted a clone!" she continued, now getting very... intimate with Uraraka. "And this robot boy looks so realistic! He even has nose hairs!"
"Mako, that's enough," Ryuko stopped the hyperactive girl by pulling her back by the collar. "Now let's take a deep breath, and you can explain what you're doing here."
Mako inhaled a comically large amount of air, puffing up her cheeks and holding her breath until her face turned blue. And now she was passing out.
"Um, is she gonna be alright?" Uraraka asked.
Honestly, Ryuko didn't have an answer to that. With Mako, there was no telling what "alright" even meant.
"Hold on honey!" a new voice shouted. "I'll save you!"
"Yeah, go give her CPR dad!"
"Guts!"
Barazo Mankanshoku kneeled over his ambiguously conscious daughter and began performing CPR on her as his son and dog cheered him on. Well, it was actually more like punching her in the ribs repeatedly. While Ryuko's UA friends collectively dropped their jaws, a small three-wheeled truck pulled up to the entrance. With the entire Manakanshoku residence in the cargo bed.
"And this is Mako's family, I've been staying with them while I was at Honnouji," Ryuko attempted to somewhat explain the situation. Not that she understood what was going on herself.
After numerous chest punches, Mako sat up straight and gasped loudly.
"Oh my god, did I die?" she screamed. "It was actually kind of fun! What were we talking about again? Oh right, we're here because Satsuki Kiryuin invited us to watch the Sports Festival! Or she invited me at least. They only paid for me to come, which is why my family brought the whole house with us!"
Wait, she'd be watching the Sports Festival? But that meant she'd be staying in Musutafu for at least a week! She'd be staying in Musutafu... for at least a week...
Ryuko smiled for the first time that day. Maybe things weren't so bad after all. How could they when Mako was around? She also remembered her other promise to her. She opened her guitar case/backpack and pulled out the All Might chibi plush she bought during her first week in Musutafu. Even though she thought it was kind of stupid and the thing was way overpriced, it didn't matter. It wasn't for her, it was for Mako.
"Here, I didn't forget," she said, handing Mako the stuffed toy. "Try not to break it."
"Whoa, is that a limited edition All Might doll?" Midoriya interrupted. "It's so cool to see one in person!"
"I know right?" Mako agreed. "All Might's so cool, now I get to take him wherever I want! Like one of those balls with monsters inside!"
"I don't think that's how it works," Midoriya tried correcting her. "But wait, they stopped making those five years ago and just brought them back this year! They're sold out everywhere, how did you get one?"
'Well it wasn't easy. I had to camp outside of the mall the day before they got their shipment," Ryuko told him. "And even after that I had to wait in line for like, two hours. But that makes it all worth it."
She pointed to Mako playing with her new toy, flinging it around without a care in the world. She was happy. And Ryuko was too.
"You're not the only one who brought a gift!" Barazo chimed in.
He ran back to the truck and grabbed something out of the truck's cargo bed. He placed his gift in front of Ryuko, a white and blue moped. How that managed to fit with their entire house was a mystery to her.
"You know, you really don't have to-"
"Nonsense!" Barazo cut her off. "Besides, it's not exactly like I paid for it if you know what I mean! How about you take it for a spin?"
Fortunately, her hero friends were willing to overlook her adoptive father casually admitting to... some kind of crime. Or maybe they were still paralyzed with shock.
Ryuko sat down on the vehicle and gripped the handles. It was no replacement for her old motorcycle, it was actually a piece of junk, but it would serve its purpose of taking her where she wanted to go. And she had just the location in mind.
"Midoriya!" she called out to him. "You wanna take a ride?"
A/N: I guess that wasn't much of a hiatus.
Mako's back baby! I thought about having her compete in the Sports Festival with her two-star Goku Uniform, but that idea had to be scrapped. I'm already strapped for spots in the finals and she'd have to lose the uniform by the end of the arc somehow. Besides, having her comment from the stands like she did in the Naturals Election with UA students in place of the Elite Four is a better use for her in my opinion.
Finally, chapters 1-4 are now rewritten. I think it's a massive improvement, so check them out!