As the chapter name suggests the big fight that is USJ is coming, but how is it for Izuku to know what is coming for days before?
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Comments:
Flashyyyyyyy: You always want Kirishima in your group.
IzuTogaBanzai: No. I'm not personally interested in pairings, shipping or romances and the whole story is already built upon strong non-romantic friendships.
Dsman: Through yes, (just ask UA gate), think...
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Proofread by 3DPhantom
Chapter 26: To the USJ
Izuku stepped out of the warp gate in front of his father and the large Nomu. Izuku looked up at the creature and gulped, remembering Tomura's mention of broken bones.
"To improve you must face opponents above your current level that force you to surpass your limits, to go beyond, as the heroes at UA like to say," his father said, "especially if you are going to skip training sessions. You don't even need rest days to recover."
"I know," Izuku said and looked at the Nomu again. "Seems it has recovered too."
The Nomu had regenerated the red marks left from Izuku's attacks two days before, its skin was back to its normal dark colour.
"It finished regenerating late last evening. The doctor believes that the sheer heat and vibration of your attack caused some deeper damage and charring that hindered the regeneration even below the surface. There were even some chemical traces that could link to your Venomous Nails quirk, an intriguing discovery."
"At least I didn't leave any permanent damage and it could still fight."
"The Nomu doesn't feel much, so it was still able to move, but a human with regenerative abilities would likely suffer too much pain to effectively use the partially regenerated limbs. You might possess an exceptional counter to regenerative quirks son. Of course, you should also take this as a warning to not rely on your regeneration abilities too much. Every quirk has its counter."
"Even One For All?" Izuku asked.
"Of course. The current power of the quirk might be overwhelming, but in the end what the quirk provides is raw physical ability since All Might didn't have a quirk of his own. This Nomu was designed to counter physical impacts. On the other hand, absorption does little against your or Tomura's quirks, which is why you were able to injure it. You should always know how you match with your enemy."
"Right," Izuku rubbed his chin, falling deep in thought. "It's not just about power, but what kind of match you are for your opponent, like challenging Kirishima in boxing compared to a running contest."
"The difference being that most people only have one or a few styles of using their individual quirks and physical abilities, only a few types of situations where they are a strong match to their enemies. You can and should build up your quirks in such way as to be an undefeatable match to everyone at all times. Speaking of which, have you considered what quirk you will have next?"
"If you mean at USJ, yes," Izuku responded. "The league doesn't have many options actually, but this one person has a quirk called shoulder mounted jets. From what I gathered he has mostly used it to get away with small crimes like purse snatching street fights and some gang activity he hasn't talked much about. Not sure why he is in the league, but he doesn't seem to be looking for any change in the society."
"And you think his quirk would serve your needs."
"It is the most mobility enhancing quirk in the league and would also let me fly. I think that would give anyone an advantage over those who can't do it in most situations, at least outside," Izuku said. "It might be difficult to balance and control, but I am already helping Tenya train similar issues with his quirk."
"As long as you do the most difficult training away from them. Flight quirks are often dangerous to their users, at least in the phase where they haven't yet learned to use them well, and we don't want your friends to see your bones healing right after a crash."
"No, and it would be embarrassing to fly through the wall after telling Tenya not to do that."
"Your agility has developed at an exceptional rate since we began your training. You will certainly master use of such a quirk as well… but not by skipping training. Nomu."
After several broken bones for Izuku and several marks on the Nomu's arms, the evening's training was over. Izuku shook his legs every few steps after he returned home. The broken bones and open cuts might have healed quickly but they left an itching feeling behind. The healed parts tended to be lot more sensitive for a while after.
He ate a quick snack and headed upstairs, stopping briefly next to what he had named 'the sleepover room' before going to his own room. As soon as he finished his homework it was time for bed…
… Everything around him was dark and misty, not like the warm protection of Kurogiri's warping mist, but an unending porridge trapping Izuku within. There was movement next to him. Without thinking and unable to control his body Izuku swung his arm and Dragon Blade cut deep into the woman. The blade penetrated her body and cut through it as the corpse fell in front of him. An arm transformed into a swordlike blade emerged from the mist, swinging in an attack against Izuku, but was no match to the Dragon Blade that first cut off the blade arm and then the neck of its owner with a single swing. Someone shouted somewhere, but it was muffled by the mist. Two other human forms stood behind the falling decapitated corpse. Izuku's body again moved against his will and charged past them, cutting through both their bodies. More and more human forms appeared around him, some attacking him, some just standing there. A few had faces, like All Might and Death Arm. Two of the men that had kidnapped him a year before emerged from the mist, reaching out to him, their faces twisted.
"What did you do to us?"
They were cut down just as everyone else.
Many others seemingly didn't even have faces. Izuku didn't have time to be sure as burnt blood splattered on his face and he shouted without making a sound. Someone was behind him. Reaching towards him. He swung his blade and then everything stopped.
Finally in control of his body Izuku turned to look at who it was and froze as he did. Hitoshi and Tenya were laying on the ground, dead, deep torched gashes across their chest right at the height where their hearts had been. Izuku grabbed his head with both hands and screamed.
His eyes opened and he screamed into the empty bedroom until his lungs were empty and left Izuku gasping for air. His head spun around, looking for anyone. Without thinking he even turned to check the floor on the sides of the bed before getting up to sit on its edge, staring at his shaking hands, still having some difficulty breathing. He had already lost count of how many times that dream had repeated. Him fighting alone in the darkness, killing, constantly surrounded and the moment he wasn't alone in the darkness he…
Even if it was a dream, the thought of what he did to Hitoshi and Tenya almost made him vomit. What if one of these days they really got caught up and hurt in some battle because of him? What if that happened on Friday?
Izuku wiped the tears off his eyes and looked at the luxurious but sparse room with empty eyes. He got up, took his phone from the night desk, and left the room. He walked down the hall, dragging his feet until he got into the sleepover room. He laid down on the bed he usually used between the two other empty ones. For a long time, all he did was stare at the ceiling of the quiet room. There were no calming safe sounds of others' breathing.
A shadow moved at the edge of his vision. Izuku grabbed the sides of the bed to not do as he had in his dream. Some of his tenseness disappeared as he recognized Kurogiri's silent shadowy form standing in the corner.
So maybe he wasn't completely alone even in darkness. Izuku reached for the Calm Mind quirk within him and pushed everything out of his mind except for the safe presence of the Nomu. It took time, but eventually he fell back asleep under Kurogiri's watchful eyes.
In the morning the first thing he did was to head downstairs to a fancy espresso machine he got for sleepover mornings and made himself a triple dose of the black stuff. It was a routine he'd developed for every morning after a nightmare. Unfortunately, the caffeine didn't do much for him in the long run. Its effect probably seemed like a poison to the regeneration.
He filled two extra thermoses just before leaving for school. Both his chauffeur and Tenya were already waiting outside. Izuku stopped for just a few seconds to look over his speedster friend. No charred wounds across his chest or anywhere else.
"Did you have difficulty sleeping again?" Tenya asked.
"Huh…" Izuku blinked before the words sunk in. "Yes, it… has been worse since we got into UA."
It wasn't technically a lie. Bakugo's and All Might's presence had made things worse.
"Have… you ever considered getting a therapist to talk about things with?"
"I already have two, but I can't hog them every hour of every day," Izuku responded, trying to smile as he sat on the middle seat.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but you know that isn't what I meant."
"I know," Izuku said and leaned back. Tenya looked at him for a few moments from the door before giving up and getting into the car with Izuku. A bit later they stopped by Hitoshi's house. Izuku was already holding one of the thermoses for him when he got in. The smile the gesture got from Hitoshi warmed Izuku more than the coffee ever did. Convinced both of them were alive and uninjured, Izuku dozed off between them despite all the earlier caffeine.
The crowd of media at the school was just as large as the previous day, but all of them had either Izuku's description or a picture. Even trying his best, the driver couldn't get past the crowd so the trio had to get out and walk.
"It's the quirk stealer."
"Are you his classmates? How do you feel attending class with someone like the quirk stealer?"
As the questions started flooding at them, Hitoshi grabbed Izuku's arm and Tenya stepped in front of them sharply as if they had practiced the whole process in advance.
"Only despicable bullies have ever called him a quirk stealer," Tenya declared with, for him, a surprising lack of politeness. "His name is Midoriya. He is a highly respected member and the newly elected class representative of the hero class 1A."
The last point made the reporters quiet down for a moment. Tenya started moving with Izuku and Hitoshi following in that order. They were almost through when Eraserhead and Present Mic pushed aside the last reporters and ushered them past the threshold where the UA barrier kept the reporters out, or would have normally. The pile of dust that used to be their gate was still present with police tape around it. Security guards and entrance exam robots had taken its place in keeping people out.
At least the rest of the day went by calmly with the only especially notable thing being the partially ceremonial job of the class rep. People were fully capable of getting in their seats for classes on their own. Despite the suggestion to the contrary, Tenya tried to give Izuku as an advice about the job.
Then the night came again with a nightmare where Hitoshi and Tenya got swarmed by villains and seemed to only be further away no matter how fast Izuku ran towards them. Another night of sleeping under the watchful eyes of Kurogiri, a morning quadruple dose of pitch-black coffee, and the drive to school while Izuku couldn't even think about sleeping.
It was Friday.
At least the school had gotten its act together with robots and police officers having pushed the remaining media further away from the gate and kept the door open.
During the lunch hour Izuku and Tenya got separated from Hitoshi, but the brainwasher soon reappeared with a familiar redhead. Surprisingly he did not sit on the free seat next to Izuku, but instead specifically directed Kirishima to sit there. Izuku, his mouth full, glanced at Kirishima and then focused on Hitoshi.
"Exposure without danger," Hitoshi said. "You are still avoiding people too much and Kirishima is supposed to train with us tomorrow. Also, he promised to not make jokes."
"Yeah, heh… Shinso warned me that you haven't had good experiences of some things. Listening to those reporters I'm starting to understand. Sorry if I hit a sensitive spot the other day."
Izuku looked at Kirishima in the eyes for a long moment and something in the look he got back said the redhead was being genuine. After all, Izuku had already deemed him worthy enough to make sure he'd survive the day.
Well, that was a cheery thought. Izuku hid his feelings behind a yawn.
"You already apologized back then," Izuku said once he could talk again.
"Oh, right."
"How's your practice with Toshi going?"
"Oh that. I've been trying to imitate the sword… hand… quirk whenever I got the chance," Kirishima held his fingers together and hardened his arm. "He doesn't react much unless I catch him by surprise so… it's going well, I guess."
"It still reminds me of that time, but I can tell the difference before reacting, if that makes sense."
"It does," Izuku said and yawned again. "Lets... have you two spar tomorrow."
"He's not bored with the idea," Hitoshi told Kirishima, "just sleeping badly."
"It hasn't been a good week," Izuku added and quickly swallowed his last piece of food. "Speaking of which. I could use a nap."
"If you want," Hitoshi said.
"Yes," Izuku responded, and soon everything went black. For the first time since Tuesday morning he was free of the fear and stress of what was coming.
It didn't last for long.
Izuku was still groggy as they got to the class just before Aizawa. Tenya had almost panicked that they might be late for the lesson.
"Today's training will be a little different," Aizawa began.
"We are going to do rescue training!" Kaminari interrupted. Despite his earlier experiences with the blonde Izuku could at least be happy to note he seemed similarly excited for the rescue training as for combat training. The rest of the class expressed similar feelings. Kirishima even called it the 'real hero stuff.' Izuku mentally gave him points for that.
"Kaminari," Aizawa said quietly, but in a tone that made the boy shut up and freeze in an instant. "How do you know that already?"
"All Might," Izuku said and yawned. He was too tired to even grit his teeth at saying the name, or perhaps it was because All Might wouldn't be around much longer.
"Of course," Aizawa sighed. "Yes, you will have rescue training dealing with natural disasters, shipwrecks, stuff like that, but today's training will be a little different. You will have three instructors: Me, All Might, and another faculty member will be keeping tabs on you."
That information managed to grab Izuku's attention. Three teachers for one lesson sounded unusual. Was it normal for off campus trainings like this or were they being careful thanks to Tomura's little adventure? Even three shouldn't have been too bad. The whole point of attacking a whole class was to distract the other heroes.
"Now, what you wear in this exercise is up to you. I know you are excited for costumes." Aizawa pressed a remote controller and the racks holding their costumes came out of the wall. "But keep in mind that you haven't gotten used to them yet, so they may limit your capabilities. This training will take place at an off-campus facility so we will be taking a bus to get there. That's all. Start getting ready."
He walked out, leaving the class to prepare on their own.
"Izuku," Tenya whispered from behind Izuku, "this is where you as a class rep need to keep order."
Izuku rubbed his head, annoyed.
"I assume everyone can get dressed and find their way outside in reasonable time without needing any more instructions?" He said out loud.
"Already on it," Kirishima said, walking past them with his costume suitcase. Izuku got up, facing away from Ida who would probably have forced the whole class into a useless queue or something if he had been the class rep. Maybe it wasn't so bad that the job had been pushed onto Izuku.
Izuku didn't bother taking the empty suitcase of his destroyed costume as they headed to the dressing rooms. He separated from the group at the entrance to stop by the dressing room toilet. He pulled his phone out as soon as the door snapped locked. He sent a quick encoded message and then deleted it from his phone before flushing and joining the others.
"Izuku, what are you going to wear?" Hitoshi asked. "Your last costume wasn't exactly in a decent condition… unless you like it that way. I heard some girls talking about Kirishima's hero costume the other day, and one of them mentioned seeing you after the battle training. She sounded pretty excited about it."
Hitoshi grinned while Izuku's face started mimicking Kirishima's hair.
"No… I actually got a new one made privately. It just came last evening," Izuku responded and opened his unusually bulging backpack to pull out the costume. "It is pretty much the same as the last one, but should be more durable, especially against fire."
"You got something better than the support company had?" Hitoshi asked. "Wait, don't answer that, stupid question."
"Speaking of better," Izuku said. "We need to talk about your arm guards someday."
"Sure."
"You should also take this," Izuku tossed Hitoshi a small pouch like those attached to his belt.
"What is this?"
"A compact foldable gas mask. You never know when you have to face someone with a gas quirk like Midnight's. In your case it should also help you speak and use your quirk in dust or things like that. Tenya, I have one for you too."
"Thank you. I am grateful for your concern and help as always."
Tenya received the gift and then turned, confused, trying to figure out where in his costume to put it in in a way that it wouldn't fall off.
"You might want to consider an equipment belt," Hitoshi said.
"Or pockets. You could hide closable pockets in many places on that armour," Izuku added.
"Perhaps."
"That's pretty cool," Kirishima said from nearby. "I never considered having my costume prepared to protect against gas."
"Not surprising," Izuku said, pointing at the entirely shirtless Kirishima. "You didn't even prepare it against the winter."
"Heh, I guess I'll have to figure that out later. I thought this would last longer. My quirk has a lot of sharp edges… Where were you keeping that?"
"Huh?" Izuku asked, looking up from his notebook. "Sorry, I've been taking notes to plan tomorrow's training."
"Cool. I can't wait."
"Hey, what are you talking about?" Kaminari asked.
"Oh, they invited me to get some of that Midoriya training this weekend."
"Cool, can I come?" Sero asked.
"No," Izuku said and turned away from them.
"Please forgive his rudeness", Tenya hurried to say. "We thought it best to not have too many people we don't know well yet. These weekend training sessions are quite important to us."
There was a short silence and Izuku could feel eyes in the back of his neck.
"Oh, that is okay. I hope you have fun. Don't lose your quirk Kirishima."
"He's not careful enough to do that," Ojiro said.
There was a long silence.
"Dude, you should know that isn't cool. Midoriya doesn't like it, especially with how those reporters come after him, and why should I be careful," Kirishima said. "Midoriya is cool."
Had anyone ever said that before? Izuku wasn't sure.
After that they got their clothes changed in silence before heading out. The bus arrived soon after most of them got there.
"Izuku, this is your time to show you can have the bus loaded efficiently," Tenya whispered. Izuku looked around at their classmates.
"Okay. Everyone, the bus is here! Get in."
Tenya might have died a little inside, but the entire class was in the bus quickly. Most gathered in the front section with an open layout where it was easier to chat. Izuku sat on a window seat in the back with Hitoshi taking the other seat. Izuku tried to mostly look out of the window so people wouldn't notice the tension on his face.
"Izuku, is everything okay?"
"Huh?" Izuku jolted and luckily yawned. "Yeah, I think I spaced out listening to them talking."
Every word tore Izuku apart inside from being lies and no amount of regeneration could heal that. He leaned back and closed his eyes before they could expose his lies. Instead, he kept reviewing the plan to keep people he didn't want dead alive. Kurogiri was going to do his part and Izuku could always command the new Nomu if nothing else, but he didn't trust Tomura if things went wrong, and the mass of criminals Tomura had assembled would attack them just like the rest of their class.
At least that was a problem Izuku could punch away. He just hoped Tokoyami, Shoji and Kirishima could do the same. The redhead was just commenting something about his quirk not looking impressive.
"Don't evaluate yourself based on how your quirk looks," Izuku said out loud without opening his eyes. "If you are here to look good in front of cameras you should quit and give your place to someone else."
"Izuku," Tenya said, probably facepalming as he did.
"No, he's right," Kirishima said. "I'm just worried how much my quirk can do outside of beating villains."
"That is a more reasonable concern," Izuku said. "At least it keeps you alive. You can't help anyone if you are dead."
"Eh, I guess that's right. Kind of a dark thought though."
"The world is a dark place. If you haven't noticed that before you are one of the few lucky ones who have only seen the shiny surface."
Apparently his words had hit a cord since no one talked after that. At least it had been a bit of a distraction.
"Okay, we are here," Aizawa said. Izuku finally opened his eyes again to witness the massive dome structure they were approaching, the USJ, the place where everything would change.
The bus stopped right in front of the main entrance where a person dressed like a strange astronaut was waiting. Izuku recognized the space hero Thirteen. So, she was the third teacher, as expected. The class got out of the buss and gathered in front of her.
"Hello everyone, I have been waiting for you. I am Thirteen. Please come in."
They followed her into the dome and it really was just a single massive open interior space with multiple areas that were the size of entire city blocks. They were standing on a large podium, or a bridge overlooking the entire space at the top of a long stairway. The class was stunned and chatting excitedly not for the first time that week as Thirteen stood at the end of the stairs facing them.
"A shipwreck, a landslide, a fire, a windstorm, et cetera, I call it the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, but you can call it USJ."
Aizawa approached Thirteen. "Hey, shouldn't All Might be here already?"
Thirteen stepped a little closer to Aizawa, clearly trying to tell something to him and him alone. Izuku leaned a bit to the side to see better. Thirteen seemed to be holding up some fingers, not very informative. Was she showing minutes All Might was going to be late, or hours or something else? There wasn't much time. Now that they had been seen entering the attack could start at any moment, their target wasn't here and there was nothing Izuku could do to stop what was going to happen. He struggled to not show his anxiety and focused on looking down at the different training grounds. He didn't pay much attention when Thirteen started explaining things, though her warning about how quirks could be dangerous even when intended to help people was a good one.
There were a series of a sparks among the lights that illuminated the large space. A dark swirling point appeared down above the floor of the dome, right in front of a fountain, and then started spreading into a warp gate. Usually that would have given Izuku great comfort, but now it just meant their time was up. At least the thought gave him a more appropriate expression as he stared at the forming warp gate. Aizawa turned to see the warp gate just as Tomura stepped out, followed by the mass of villains he had assembled.
Aizawa spun around holding his arm out to tell the class to stay back.
"Protect the students," he shouted to Thirteen.
Now the rest of the class also started realizing something was going on.
"What is that thing?" Kirishima asked. Aizawa put on his goggles, not turning his eyes away from the arriving villains.
"Those are villains."
The words sent an electric shock through the class and they could only stare as the Nomu stepped out of the warp gate. Everything was ready and in place, except for their target that all this was done for. Izuku squeezed his hands into fists.
"Don't even think about fighting," Aizawa said, misunderstanding Izuku's reaction. His capture scarf spread out around his head like gravity didn't exist to it.
"What, villains? There's no way they could get into a hero school," Kirishima said, dumfounded.
"Teacher, what about the security system?" Yaoyorozu asked Thirteen.
"We have one of course, but…"
"If alarm sensors aren't being triggered then one of them must have a quirk that is masking their presence here?" Todoroki said.
He was completely ignoring the potential of technological jamming or hacking, showing how focused he was on quirks' role in life, but he wasn't wrong considering Izuku had helped to recruit the person he was speculating about. Todoroki continued.
"They attacked an isolated area away from the main campus at a time when a class is supposed to be here. They may be fools but they aren't dumb. This surprise attack was carefully planned with some sort of goal in mind."
"Kaminari, try to contact the main campus with your quirk," Aizawa ordered. The electric quirk student held his hand against a headset he was wearing as part of his costume, but seemed to get nothing.
Aizawa stepped right up to the edge of the stairs.
"Get them out of here and alert the main campus."
Izuku glanced at Aizawa. Was he really going to go fight alone? Sure most of the league members weren't too impressive individually, but there were dozens of them just on that central area and with the length of the stairs… as far as Aizawa should have known they should have had a good chance of reaching the door before any of the villains could climb the stairs.
And yet no one was moving.
Tomura was really putting a lot on Kurogiri's shoulders to make this work.
Izuku bit his teeth together. The events were beyond his control. Aizawa jumped down the stairs without hesitation. Izuku watched as he reached the bottom in an instant and quickly took down several of the villains, despite being a poor match against large groups.
"Izuku!" Tenya shouted. "This way! We are leaving. Don't try to get involved."
He probably didn't expect Izuku to listen considering the surprise on his face as Izuku turned around and ran after the class. He couldn't change anything going on below them, that was now in Tomura's many hands, but he could still control what was the most important to him.
They were perhaps halfway to the door when a warp gate spun into existence on the floor in front of them and dark mist began flooding out of it. The class came to a dead stop. Hitoshi was just ahead of Izuku. Izuku could see in his stance that he was ready to move quickly, but his hands were also shaking like many others'. Kurogiri wouldn't hurt him. The Nomu was physically unable to seriously hurt him, compelled by a rare order from Izuku, but Hitoshi didn't know that.
"There is no escape for you," Kurogiri declared.
Izuku pulled on Hitoshi's shoulder and slipped in front of him for perception of safety. He had to admit Kurogiri could sound quite menacing, even if he was unable to experience such feelings about his long-term guardian.
"We are the league of villains. I know it is impolite, but we have decided to invite ourselves to this haven for justice to say hello. And besides, isn't this a fitting place for All Might, the Symbol of Peace, to take his last breath. I still have a role to play."
Thirteen raised her hand to use her quirk but Kirishima was already in motion with no hesitation and charged at Kurogiri. Unfortunately, that put him in Thirteen's way. He hit something and Kurogiri's mist twisted for a few seconds, but then Kurogiri's voice came from within the mist as it took its shape again.
"You live up to your school's reputation, but you should be more careful child. Otherwise someone might get hurt."
"You, get out of the way right now!" Thirteen shouted to Kirishima, but it was too late. Tendrils of mist burst from Kurogiri at them.
"I'll scatter you across this facility to meet my comrades and your deaths!"
"Crap, what is this!"
Izuku felt the ground disappear below his feet and he fell through the floor, listening to Hitoshi yelp next to his ear. At least they were together as planned. Everything went dark as they fell into the misty warp gate and it didn't get much brighter as they emerged out of it. Wind and rain hit Izuku's face. A second before hitting the ground he adjusted himself a bit and landed on his feet slightly crouched. Hitoshi landed on his feet but staggered from the momentum. Izuku spun around and caught him, but rather than ask if he was okay, Izuku looked around, eyes narrowed like a predator ready to pounce on its prey.
There was a thump near them. The Dragon Blade lit and swung towards the direction. Izuku squinted in the darkness but only saw a large black mass. Then a familiar bird face emerged from it. Tokoyami had landed on Dark Shadow.
"Thirteen…" Izuku started. The Dragon Blade he had pointed at Tokoyami flashed and fired a blue Hellfire Arrow. Dark Shadow tried to move in front of Tokoyami to take the hit, but it flashed past them. There was an explosion.
"Aach, put it out put it out!" A villain screamed as the close hit had not just launched asphalt pebbles at him but also lit his pants on fire.
"Dark Shadow," Izuku said. "If you want Tokoyami to live through this, you need to work with us."
"Don't tell me what to do. I'll tear these guys apart!"
So maybe having Tokoyami with Izuku's group wasn't his best idea.