Hello again, everyone! It makes me so happy to know so many of you liked last weeks' chapter. I can only hope that such momentum can carry forward, even though we're now returning to established manga material with this chapter. However, I feel there will be a surprise within this chapter that the most die-hard MHA fans among you may be intrigued by, and something that may interest or inspire some of the more casual fans out there to look into. Anyway, I won't bore you all with further chatter, so let's just get into it.
If you like what you read here today, please take the time to leave a review to express your thoughts, as I do love to hear how you guys think I'm doing, whether it be fully original material, or my takes on pre-established material.
And I would like to give a special shoutout to my two beta readers, Mizu Hikikomori and Jonny Sjölund, who have been regular helpers and perspective-providers when I found myself in tough spots while writing portions of this story. They combined services have been downright invaluable, and I cannot thank them both for their contributions, even when dealing with real life at the same time. You two rock so hard!
My Hero Academia is the property of Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. I only own my original characters, the original events surrounding them, and the alterations to pre-established events that occur as a direct result of their existence in this universe.
A/N: [[]] denotes that characters are contextually speaking Russian.
Chapter 36
End of Term
(Конец Срока)
It was to the surprise of no one, that the next veritable hour after the end of the final test of the end of term exam had been spent in Recovery Girls' field tent, before having to transfer over to her actual office at Yuuei when it came to those with much more compounded injuries, namely Tunguska. Even Nikolays' injuries to his shoulder and arms had proven comparatively less than the myriad of internal injuries the Quirk History teacher himself had suffered.
A few healing kisses, solid casts and slings to both arms, and bandages around the chest would have Nikolay good as new in a couple of days. However, Tunguskas' condition was going to require him to be under constant supervision, even overnight on school grounds, before his ribs would finally be settled back into place and he would be okay to walk again.
Of course, even if he was her patient for the moment, that didn't stop the elderly nurse from letting the brunt of her own feelings out on the Russian Hero, while Toshinori Yagi stood vigilantly at the door to her office, arms crossed over his chest, and head bowed in thought.
"Honestly, I still can't believe you actually thought such a reckless excuse for an idea was actually a good one! Do you even realize just how easily you could've crippled, let alone killed one or more of those kids if you made even a single misstep?! Did you ever even stop for one second to think about that before you proposed that insanity to Nezu-san and the others?!"
This was just one of the many ways the nurse kept chastising Tunguska for the exact same thing, but he wasn't about to set her off further by pointing out her continuous repetition. Honestly, he couldn't blame her for acting like this, now that the dust had settled. It was her responsibility to keep those kids safe and healthy, and he had gone and jeopardized that. So, accepting his responsibility and deserving of this verbal lashing, he let the nurse blow out her steam until he was certain she was actually expecting him to answer.
"Of course I'd thought about that, Recovery Girl. That was the one thing I'd been thinking about the most ever since the idea came to me. It was the one thing that left me hesitant to even bring it up at all. If circumstances were any different, I happily would've let the teachers stick with their two-test structure and leave it at that." As he reached this point, Tunguskas' eyes shifted over towards Toshinori, still standing silent as the grave. He could tell from the way the mans' already rigid posture went even stiffer, that he knew Tunguska was watching him specifically.
"However, we all know, just as many of us have said before by this point, that the Villains out there are only getting bolder and more violent, especially with this League of Villains being the talk of the airwaves right now. Those kids are going to have to face those same Villains one day, and they needed to experience what a real war-like battle between Heroes and Villains is like…and I would rather it have been from me, than from a legitimate Villain who definitely wouldn't have given them the benefit of a warning beforehand. In the end, I still stand by my position: this was for the best, for all of them."
Both his counterparts were silent for a moment, before Recovery Girl gave a tired sigh as she continued working on him. "Well…for all their sakes, let's just hope you never feel the need to cook up such an insane scheme ever again. Even excluding them from the equation, your body isn't getting any younger, and for as powerful as my Quirk is, it's not going to be able to keep you in tip-top shape forever. Eventually, it's going to be less effective for you…for both of you. So for both your sakes, perhaps try to avoid doing something that extreme again."
However, in response to this, Tunguskas' grip on the sides of the medical bed only tightened. "You may not have been sitting in the conference hall when it was decided, but you knew about this plan of mine nearly as long as everyone else did. You easily could've convinced Nezu-san to change his mind regarding my plan…either one of you could have. Any one of the teachers could have talked him out of it, and contrary to what you all think; I would have completely understood and accepted it; even begrudgingly, I would have. And yet…none of you did.
"Nobody told him to say no…and we all know the reason why. It's because, in the end, you all know that I'm right. You don't have to accept it; hell, I don't want to…but we all know it. The world of Heroes is only growing more and more terrifyingly unpredictable…and the sooner those kids were given a taste of an intense battle like that, in a controlled environment and against an opponent that still had their best interests at heart…the better prepared they'll be for when the real thing inevitably comes."
Tunguska instinctively winced once he started getting a touch more animated in his expression, forcing him to stop while Recovery Girl and Toshinori both looked notably contemplative now that he had called them both out like that. After a minute of finishing up the last touch on the last of his wounds, Recovery Girl gave a defeated sigh. "I won't say you're wrong, Tunguska-san…but I'm not going to just say I approve of what you ultimately did, either. I just hope for all your sakes you'll think these things through more from now on."
Tunguska gave the elderly little nurse a thankfully understanding nod, and with that, Toshinori finally broke his own silence, clearing his throat to get both their attention. "I'm sorry, Recovery Girl, but would you be able to give us a minute to talk alone?"
Recovery Girl, fortunately, gave him an understanding nod before he stepped aside to let her out of her office. "You're still in no condition to be up and about with your ribs all busted and broken, and you likely won't be until well into the morning, so you're staying here for the night, Tunguska-san, no arguments."
Tunguska gave her the confirmation she was looking for, and with the resonating echo of the office door closing, he and Toshinori now found themselves alone in an admittedly uncomfortable silence.
"I'm not going to insult you by lying, Oleg-san; I understand fully why you did what you did, putting that whole surprise test together. Your reasoning is understandable, but I can't say I approve of your mindset, trying to get all those kids as close as you think they can get to 'ready' for the dangers sure to come." As soon as Toshinori got to this point, Tunguskas' head perked up, urging his colleague to get to his real point.
"I had it figured from the moment you first proposed the idea, and especially when you explained your reasoning to Nezu-san. The only reason you came up with this idea was because of what I said about Midoriya-shonen one day having to face All For One; how he had to go about it on his own. You put this together to gauge how well the kids could hold their own, to see if they would stand a chance fighting alongside him when that day comes…didn't you?"
Tunguskas' instinctive reaction was to try getting back to his feet, but an immediate bolt of pain through his chest had Toshinori rushing across the room to keep him seated. "If you understood that much already, Toshinori-san; then you must know that my idea proved to have some merit. I know Recovery Girl couldn't have been the only person watching the whole battle. You and the rest of the teachers had to have seen it, too; just how well those kids all conducted themselves and put their strengths and minds together to finally take me down. In the end, Class 1-A became the veritable cohesive force I knew they could be."
Toshinori gave a tired sigh at his comrades' insistence on the matter, pulling up Recovery Girls' chair to seat himself before the older Russian, looking him square in the eye. "I'm not disagreeing with you, Oleg-san. It's true, when the chips were down, they all performed beautifully. Frankly, given your skill set, and considering how powerful you've proven to still be even in your advanced age, at least compared to me, I likely wouldn't have been able to come up with a better strategy than they did. But you will never be able to fully understand the kind of threat All For One poses like I do, and why sending any number of Heroes to face him is an insane, if not downright suicidal, idea.
"You need to understand that, no matter how much training, planning or simulated experience those kids receive or come up with, they would be going up against an opponent who could take away all of their Quirks and be able to wield them all himself at will without even breaking a sweat. Once that would happen, every single one of our students would be left completely helpless, entirely at his nonexistent mercy. In the end, One For All is the only Quirk that stands a genuine chance against his kind of power, and that's exactly why Midoriya-shonen has to be the one to inevitably face him…just like I, and every other previous wielder of One For All, did. I know you don't want to hear this; I don't even want to say it, but I can't in good conscience send any of those kids to face such a powerful threat…even to help my own disciple…and I need you; I beseech you to try and understand and accept that, Oleg-san, for all their sakes."
Toshinori could feel a glowing of hope build in his chest as he could clearly see the wheels turning in Tunguskas' head as he took this all in. When the man finally met Toshinoris' gaze again, the scrawnier blonde man could only hope that he'd gotten through to him somehow.
"Toshinori-san, if you truly, truly believed in the powerlessness of those students as much as you're suggesting, then you easily could have talked Nezu-san out of accepting my idea, just as I told Recovery Girl. I know why you didn't, though: the fact is that you wanted to see just how well those kids would fare, just as much as I did."
Toshinori leaned back in his seat, his sunken eyes clearly showing a bitter surprise that not only had he not gotten through to his colleague, but that the man was starting to pry under his surface to a place he really didn't want to go. Tunguska continued as he once more tried to get up from his spot: "It's not only that, either, Toshinori-san. Remember back at the Sports Festival, when malenkii Midoriya told us about what he saw during his first round fight? He said he saw shadows when One For All took complete control of him, and when he was gone, you even admitted you'd never experienced such a sensation yourself. You wielded that Quirk for decades, and yet in less than half a year, that boy already discovered an aspect of it you never even knew existed.
"That fact alone could be a sign that, despite your own self-imposed confidence in the matter, perhaps you don't understand as much about this grand conflict as you think. How can you possibly say with any degree of certainty that, perhaps, that lack of knowledge could carry over to our students' chances in helping him fight All For One? There could be a real chance they would all be able to stand strong alongside him and help him end this threat once and for all…and for how much you insist it's not possible…you can't say it with 100% certainty anymore, can you?"
In the wake of Tunguskas' growing insistence, Toshinoris' sunken expression visibly began to grow more intense. Tunguska could feel those sunken blue eyes burning right through him as the man began trembling, clutching his pant legs tighter and tighter. "You, of all people, should know better than to place all your stock in one possibility for success, Oleg-san. That kind of unfounded confidence ultimately only ever leads to trouble, no matter who it comes from. Your confidence in Vukodlak not turning back into a Villain cost countless lives in the long run. Your confidence in your one last-ditch effort to stop those Villains in Siberia…led to a cost no Hero in our history had ever taken on before, and I can only hope won't take on again."
The whole office went as silent as a tomb once those last words escaped Toshinoris' lips. He didn't even need to look Tunguska in the eye to feel the sheer pain the man was exuding, having to hear the closest thing he had to a friend bring up something he knew to be so indescribably painful, and not just to him personally.
"Please, forgive me, Oleg-san. I did not want to have to pry the bandage off that wound, ever. However, you've ultimately left me no other choice but to have to ask you: are you truly, truly willing to risk all of our students' lives on what is, at the end of the day, nothing more than a glorified hunch? Knowing the kind of dangers our profession puts us in, are you really willing to risk having those kids pay that same kind of price on something that ultimately has no solid proof to back it up with?"
Tunguska still looked like he was on the verge of shedding some very painful tears, and perhaps even reflecting the urge to hit Toshinori in the face for bringing up such awful memories for him in such a way, even if just for a moment. Seeing this emotional conflict on his colleagues' face, Toshinori hung his head in shame and let out the heaviest sigh, knowing he now had no choice but to tear the bandage off a particular wound of his own.
"With everything you've come to learn about this overall situation so far, Oleg-san, you deserve to know at this point: since the beginning, every wielder of One For All has had to watch their predecessor and countless other loved ones lose their lives as their knowledge of their power and responsibility continued to grow over the ages…and I was no exception. It was still rather early into my Hero career, but I also had to watch my predecessor…my friend, die in front of me, even though I had sworn I would do everything in my power not to suffer such losses when I first received One For All. In the end, there was still nothing I could do to stop it.
"Even after that, over the years there were still too many instances where, even when I used all of my power, I still wasn't able to save everyone. I've had to watch people I cared about…far too many, die; regardless of how much stronger I got, and how hard I tried to push myself. That's why, if there's even the slightest chance that I can somehow prevent Midoriya-shonen from suffering those same kind of losses as I did…as every other wielder of this power did, then I will gladly do so…and I'm certain that, if circumstances had been different, if you had been the one to wield One For All, and Bezpalov-shonen were the one to have inherited it from you, you would do exactly the same."
Suddenly, Tunguska brought a frustrated fist down onto the medical bed, making Toshinori momentarily flinch in surprise, especially when he saw the likewise imploring look in Tunguskas' eyes. "That's just it, though, Toshinori-san; we are in each others' shoes already! Kolya and malenkii Midoriya are in each others' shoes; all those kids are in each others' shoes already! They all came here for the purpose of learning to become the kind of Heroes this world needs! Anyone who goes into the world of Heroics thinking they can save everyone, or never suffer any kind of pain, is either a fool, or lying to themselves, or both! We can only try the best we can, but we can't keep the people around us from suffering some kind of loss, and we both know it.
"However…you're right; I would do everything in my power to keep my son from suffering those kinds of losses…even if he hadn't suffered the ones he already had because of me. That hope that everyone feels when they first step into the Hero costume is a precious thing to hold onto…and if we have any kind of ability to at least help them make those potential losses even a little less likely…then it's worth every ounce of effort it takes."
With that, Tunguska finally extended an understanding hand to Toshinori, who didn't hesitate to take it in his own with a firm single shake. "I'm sorry for my bullheadedness, Toshinori-san. I still stand by my reasoning…but I understand where you've been coming from with all this now, at least. I promise you, even if we find ourselves standing on two different viewpoints in the future, I'll gladly continue doing what I can to help prepare malenkii Midoriya for what the future holds. I give you my word on that."
It was usually hard to tell exactly what Toshinori was feeling with his face as sunken as it usually was; but this time, Tunguska couldn't have mistaken the deeply grateful smile on his face if he'd tried. "Thank you, Oleg-san. I realize I haven't exactly said this with the pace at which things have been happening, but I do truly appreciate everything you've been doing to help me and Midoriya-shonen on top of having to deal with everything you and Bezpalov-shonen have been going through. I just want you to know that I'm deeply grateful for all your help…and your friendship in the midst of our respective circumstances." The admittance of this brought an equally emotional smile to Tunguskas' bruised, aged face.
Knock, knock
Both men turned to the office door with surprise at the sudden intrusion, only to be awash with relief and curiosity alike when the door opened to reveal Headmaster Nezu, clutching two envelopes in one of his paws. "My apologies for the intrusion, gentlemen. First off, let me personally say congratulations to both of you for the success of your tests, and the students facing you, alike. It was no secret I had my fair share of doubts in the possibilities of success in both, but the fact that you not only gave it your all in both cases, but that you drove the students to put their skills, hearts and minds together to emerge victorious, only goes to further cement my confidence in your capabilities as teachers, and in this years' students capabilities to become truly exemplary Heroes. So for all of these things, I want to thank you both for all your efforts."
Both Toshinori and Tunguska couldn't help but feel an instinctive swelling of pride in themselves as well as their students in light of the headmasters' praises. "Thank you very much, Nezu-san. It was very hard for both of us, just as much as it was for those students, but we never had any doubt they could pull it off." Toshinori opened up, with Tunguska nodding in full agreement.
"That's right, and besides, I should be thanking you as well for your efforts in helping my son and his teammates find their perfect means of working together, Nezu-san. He'd really been struggling with how he wanted to approach situations for a while, and you managed to finally help him find the answer, so thank you. Now, I get the feeling those envelopes are another reason you're here?"
The headmaster couldn't help but instinctively chuckle at the large Russians' instinctive bluntness, eagerly handing both envelopes to the two men before him. "Yes, indeed. They're from different parties, but the fact they both came here at the same time, I believe, is far from a coincidence. Now then, I'll leave the two of you to rest up. After what you both went through, you more than deserve it." With that hearty farewell, Nezu left just as quickly as he had come, while Toshinori and Tunguska proceeded to open their respective envelopes with almost childlike curiosity.
However, when Toshinori looked through his, his sunken eyes widened in a manner Tunguska hadn't seen since the day of the internship nominations when he saw Gran Torino had nominated Izuku well over a month ago. "Is something the matter, Toshinori-san?"
"No, nothing's the matter. In fact, it's actually quite the opposite. This letter is from Melissa Shield; the daughter of a very old friend of mine, David, from America. He and I used to be partners back when I was first starting out my Hero work back there, even before the first time you and I ever worked together! He's been working as a scientist in Heroics-based technology for a good number of years now! Goodness, I haven't seen or heard from him in some time, though Melissa and I have maintained semi-regular contact over the years."
The palpable nostalgia in Toshinoris' voice couldn't help but bring a happy smile to Tunguskas' face, not having seen the man glow like this since the old days. "Well, that's wonderful to hear you've gotten a letter from her, but if you've been in correspondence already, I'm assuming through email, then why would she be sending you a physical letter now?"
As Toshinori proceeded to keep reading through, prompting Tunguska to finally do the same for his own, the man perked up in surprise. "It's a letter of, I suppose you could say, informal invitation to something called the 'I-Expo'. It says she and her father are preparing for it to be held on I-Island this coming weekend. I've only ever seen the place a couple of times over the years; it's an entirely man-made mobile island that serves as a place for scientists from around the world to study Quirks and develop technology meant for assisting Heroes in their work. Apparently, there's going to be a great number of Pro Heroes invited there as well."
Toshinori was explaining this scenario for himself just as much as for Tunguska, and when he finally took his eyes from his letter, he was surprised to see a similar look of shock on Tunguskas' face, before the Slavic Hero finally met his gaze in kind. "My letter…it's from the Support Company that provided the materials for the Department of Support here to make my prosthetic fingers. They're inviting me to attend the I-Expo as well, with them offering to sponsor me during my time there."
Toshinori instinctively began to nod the more he thought about it. "It makes sense; it sounds like this I-Expo will be a chance for multiple different Heroics development companies to showcase their newest inventions and projects, not just in the field of active Heroics, but also Heroics-based medical technological developments as well; improvements that can help Heroes stay active in their duty, even when dealing with debilitating injuries that would have normally forced them to retire while still in their physical prime otherwise. Given how advanced your prosthetics are in the grand scheme of things, I suppose it only makes sense the company that helped make them possible would want you to be there to help showcase them to the general public."
Toshinoris' explanation made perfect sense, Tunguska couldn't deny that. However, he still had an unmistakably uneasy look on his face. "I suppose I should feel honored they would go so far as to invite me to come…but I still can't help but feel like I would just be serving as some…some glorified window mannequin."
Toshinori suddenly shot up from his seat, enough to snap Tunguska out of his own head, while his colleague looked him in the eye with fierce focus. "Oleg-san, don't you see what this really means? Regardless of actions you've taken since coming here, officially speaking, you're still not a registered Pro Hero. As far as the paperwork is concerned, you're still informally retired from the field. The fact that, despite this, you're being officially invited to stand alongside fellow active Pro Heroes for such a prestigious first time-ever event, is proof that your efforts are ultimately still being recognized by some very important entities in this society. They've seen and recognized your efforts, both in teaching the students of Yuuei, and in your efforts out in the field when they've been put in danger.
"With the buzz that those events have already stirred up in the news and on the internet, it's honestly no surprise that you've been approached for this. Who knows, there could be people out there that are involved who respect you just as much for all your old efforts years past, as much as for the things you've already done in your time here. If nothing else, your being at the Expo alongside a number of widely recognized active Pros could give you the widespread recognition you would ultimately need in order to fully register as an official active Pro Hero again. Surely that possibility is worth the exposure, wouldn't you agree? We both know how much you've wanted to get back in the field, at the very least so you can help give your guidance to the students that much more personally when the next internship period comes."
To Toshinoris' unspoken relief, his words really seemed to be striking a chord, as Tunguskas' expression changed from apprehensive to excited as clear as day turned into night. Without another word, the large Russian looked into his envelope, before reaching in and pulling out two rather prestigious-looking laminated cards.
"Well, how about that; it even came with two official invites; plane tickets and hotel rooms included. I guess it's no surprise they put two and two together from the Vukodlak incident coverage and realized Kolya is my son."
In reply to this, Toshinori looked into his envelope, and immediately pulled out two identical invites of his own. "I had mentioned Midoriya-shonen to Melissa a couple times in our correspondence. Clearly she decided to take likewise initiative. Perhaps this is exactly what the lot of us could use right now, Oleg-san. After today, we've all been put through far too much, physically, emotionally and mentally. Perhaps a change of pace like this is exactly what those boys need, as well. You and Bezpalov-shonen should come with us, at least meet us when we land and we can experience it all together. I can introduce you and your boy to David and Melissa; I really can't think of a reason you both wouldn't be able to get along with them. Besides, one can never have too many bridges with others in our world."
Tunguska didn't even have to think it over before his bearded face had a smile of almost childlike anticipation, which gave Toshinori an expression of grateful relief. Out of nowhere, an invitation to an event and location like this was starting to sound like a true breath of fresh air. Tunguska could only curse the fact that his injuries were going to force him to have to stay here overnight, instead of being able to tell Nikolay about this sudden turn of events in person. He could only hope that the boy would be as excited for this as he was.
Class 1-A
The overall exhaustion the majority of Class 1-A was going through upon their return from getting patched up after their final test was undeniable, but it had quickly been replaced with both relief and excitement for many, when the students that had previously been left incapacitated and therefore unable to participate (i.e. Izuku, Bakugo, Hanta and Rikido) had finally returned.
From there, the classroom had become abuzz with excitement yet again, not only at the realization of their own victory and guaranteed passing of the semester, but also in everyones' desire to fill in the absentees on everything they had missed out on. Of course, there was the surprising revelation that Izuku had watched the entire thing alongside Recovery Girl, so with his return came his own share of congratulations to all of his classmates, expressing relief for their victory, and genuine impression at some of the tactics they had come up with in order to win. That alone left everyone with very proud smiles of their own, if one of their class' biggest underdogs was congratulating them for their efforts.
Then there was Hanta and Rikido, who at first were in disbelief that the rest of their classmates had gotten blindsided with a surprise test that they had missed out on (which of course brought the fear that they would have incomplete grades, and therefore fail the final exams), but then found themselves awash with relief when learning everyone else had to actually engage in a genuine fight all together against Tunguska, and that just like the practical test, one person managing to win extended that victory classification to the entire class. Of course, that relief was equally balanced with both boys' sense of excitement to hear everybody else tell the whole story of how they fought and won.
However, while everyone else was simply basking in all these other positive emotions, Bakugo was visibly seething with frustration as he remained planted behind his desk, shoulders hunched over, and his whole body just barely trembling with anger to hear everyone talk about it. It definitely wasn't helped when, despite his numerous threats of pain when being approached, Eijirou insisted on filling him in on the entire story; still smiling that big sharp-toothed smile the entire time, only compounding his hotheaded classmates' frustration.
"I can't believe this shit! It's bad enough I missed out on a chance to put that smug old nobody in his place…but to think that little weepy pantywaist of a son of his actually had a part in beating him? I'd at least have believed it if that damn Deku had been there…but he wasn't, and that goddamn crybaby and creating bitch helped you all win without either one of us? Goddammit!" Bakugo was grinding his teeth even more than he usually did, and it was honestly hard to tell if Eijirou was just ignoring it, or was still so euphoric in knowing he'd had a huge part in their winning, that he just genuinely didn't notice his classmates' visual display of seething rage.
"Well, if you wanna get really technical, I was actually the one who delivered the finishing blow, but I wouldn't have been able to do it without Kolya-san and Jirou-sans' help; but yeah, if you want to assign credit based on roles, then Kolya-san and Yaoyorozu-san are the real stars right now, since they put the whole plan together step-by-step. But c'mon, man, don't let it get to you; I'm sure you'll be there the next time we end up in a scrap. Then our opponents will really have something to worry about!"
However, Eijirous' encouragement was falling on deaf ears, as Bakugo was glaring daggers at his other classmates from over his shoulder, mostly Nikolay among them. It just wasn't right; he was a coward right from the beginning, and ever since he tried to run away, he was going around acting like he'd made some ever-continuing breakthrough, and he was consistently getting stronger and more capable. And yet, where was Bakugo by comparison? He wasn't sure if he could keep blaming his waste of time that was his internship with Best Jeanist, or some other nebulous force in the universe that was causing all these other people to start catching up with him, but the thought of it still pissed him off to no end.
'What the hell is this?! He should be lower than the dirt I walk on…so then why does it keep feeling like he's catching up with me?! Him and Deku both! How is it he's gotten good enough to actually help this damn class win anything when he's had less than a year to actually get used to using his Quirk? I lost to All Might and had to have Deku win for me, and yet this asshole actually wins with all these other idiots who can barely keep their shit together, without needing either one of us? What friggin' sense does that make?! I'm not gonna lose my place at the top, and especially not to the likes of that little pansy-ass! No freakin' way!'
At the same time as this, Izuku was enthusiastically extending his congratulations to a likewise still-ecstatic-looking Nikolay, Mina, Ochako, Momo, Shoto, Kyouka and Tenya, all gathered at the double desk, since the Russian boy had been advised to not be too mobile while his arms were done up in matching casts and slings over his shoulders, having broken every bone in both his arms thanks to combining his Quirk with Kyoukas' for the penultimate blow. Nevertheless, that was doing nothing for extinguishing everyones' mutual happiness at their victory.
"I was legitimately worried about you guys for a while through it, everything was happening so fast, and Tunguska-sensei looked so intense all throughout; not that any of you were lacking for intensity or focus, yourselves. I just wish I could've been there to help somehow." Izuku both complimented yet lamented all at once, turning his attention between all his classmates gathered around to try and express every thought he still had in regards to what he'd seen.
"But still, some of the ideas you came up with near the end, I don't think I would've been able to think of in all that chaos! I mean, both between the final test and the practical test alike! Kolya-san, that last ditch idea of yours to use that shockwave mechanic I theorized about on Ashido-sans' sliding fluids to knock Nezu-sensei off course and into the nets; whether that was accidental or not, that was honestly a stroke of genius!
"Still, that was really nothing to what you guys all pulled together throughout the final test! I mean, the idea of amplifying your blasts with Jirou-sans' earphone jacks to launch Kirishima-san like a cannon was incredible! And Todoroki-san, the idea of combining Kolya-sans' concussive effect on the ice with your fire to create an encroaching wall of steam, that would be a great way for mass crowd control the next time you guys ever found yourselves outnumbered by Villains! And Iida-san, combining your Recipro Burst with Uraraka-sans' Zero Gravity and Yaoyorozu-sans' creating ability and Todoroki-sans' fire, I never would've been able to put that together before I saw you all actually pulling it off. I think you guys have all come up with some really solid team tactics you can use in the future after this. Maybe that was another potential Tunguska-sensei was hoping to help you all discover by coming at you all like that!"
Even if Izuku was starting to delve back into his habitual observant mumbling the further he went, his classmates were all still just happy to be here together and with him again, basking in all their respective victories they'd fought, sweated and bled for today. Of course, out of all of them, Mina was the one most at the ready to start throwing around compliments and congratulations of her own: "Hey, don't go leaving yourself out of all the pats on the back, Midori-kun; you still somehow managed to win against All Might, even with that explosion freak Bakugo on your side! I mean, as super tough as Tunguska-sensei is, that's still nothing next to the biggest Hero in the world! You're a superstar right now, too! All of you guys are, you all beat Pros with your own kickass Quirks and skills, and that's so awesome! We all fought to go to that lodge together, and it's gonna be so much more fun, knowing how hard we all worked to get there!"
Of course, none of the others were nearly energetic enough to meet Minas' almost limitless supply in kind, but that didn't stop Ochako, Momo, Kyouka and Tenya from likewise bringing their fists up and meeting her reflexive cheer for victory in their own way, all smiling happily from her infectious enthusiasm, while Shoto was remaining as quiet as usual, but still with an unmistakable faint smile on his face.
Of course, the universal sense of festivity couldn't possibly last forever, as once the congratulations and recaps died down, a little bit of a grim reminder reared its ugly head, when everyone noticed Rikido and Eijirou were looking a touch less excited than before. Naturally, they couldn't possibly lie about nothing being wrong once everyone started asking.
"We're happy for you guys that you'll all get to go to the lodge, but I don't think Aizawa-sensei's willing to go off a 'best-two-out-of-three' rule as far as the exam was concerned. Even if the whole class passed the final test through one student winning, neither Sato-san nor I passed our practical test. Unless Sensei says otherwise, I think it's safe to say we're remedial school-bound." Eijirou was bravely trying to maintain an upbeat smile on his face, but his eyes betrayed it all, while Rikido looked similarly forlorn. "You guys just make sure you have a ton of fun, even without us, and don't leave anything out when you tell us how it went, okay?"
In the face of such very understandable disappointment, nobody was willing to just straight up insult the two with some naïve speech about how they could actually get lucky and get to go regardless. Aizawa had given his class no reason to think he would ever expect anything less than their very best, and by definition, Eijirou and Rikido had failed to deliver.
"Well, if it's any consolation, you two; considering how you both scored on the written portion of the exam, and how Kirishima-san performed in the final test, I can't imagine remedial school will be too much more challenging for you. After all, you both managed to score far better than Kaminari and Sero-san did, and they don't seem at all worried, for whatever that's worth coming from them." Shoto finally broke the silence, to everyones' surprise; still speaking as blunt and nonchalant as ever as he jerked a thumb back over his shoulder, drawing everyones' attention to find Denki and Hanta were both in the process of laughing heartily with each other, both visibly unconcerned about their own personal standing in the final exams. If it weren't for the fact they were two of the commonly lowest scoring students in the class, that positive attitude of theirs would've almost been admirable.
Turning about in his seat from looking back, Nikolay momentarily winced from a sharp pain in his sternum, snapping Mina, Momo and Kyouka to immediate attention before he gave them all a reassuring attempt at a smile. "I'm fine, really. That'll probably have gone away by tomorrow, according to Recovery Girl at least. Besides…could've been a lot worse. Let's not ruin the moment."
"Just try not to move around too much today, Kolya-kun. It'd really suck if you ended up hurting yourself even worse and weren't able to go, after everything we did." Mina advised him concernedly. Nikolay nodded in full agreement before noticing Kyouka had her eyes downcast, as though she were too ashamed to look him in the eye.
Unfortunately, the purple-haired girl could just feel his and others' gazes on her, prompting her to speak up without lifting her own: "I can't speak for your shoulder and your ribs and the bruising to your gut, Bezpalov-san, but I'm sorry for hurting your arms. If I'd known my jacks would end up making your blasts strong enough to destroy your bones like that, I wouldn't have suggested it."
Nearly everyone around was simultaneously on the verge of trying to reassure Kyouka right off the bat as she kept her head bowed, but Nikolay giving a simple clearing of his throat as he readjusted himself so he could look her dead in the eye, stopped their classmates from doing so. Once again feeling eyes on her, Kyouka sucked in a hitched breath and reluctantly met his gaze. Nikolay was looking considerably serious, clear as day; but there was compassion in those eyes as well, which was what kept her quiet long enough for him to find the words he knew he needed to say, and she needed to hear.
"Kyouka-san, we very well couldn't have won without you stepping in and doing what you did for us. You're just as responsible for helping us all win and pass as everyone else, if not even a tiny bit more so; don't ever try to convince yourself otherwise, alright? And besides, it's not like my arms are going to be crippled for life; Recovery Girl said to my face they would be back to normal by the end of the week, so don't worry yourself about what our Quirks together did to me. Injuries or not, it was ultimately necessary.
"The point I'm trying to make is that I owe you one, Kyouka-san, we all do, big time." Kyouka looked completely stunned to be the recipient of such intense-yet-heartfelt praise from a classmate she knew she deeply respected, but to see that look of friendly compassion and gratitude not only in his eyes, but in those of everyone listening in, left Kyouka Jirou turning completely red in the face. This was the first time she'd ever been the center of so much attention before; it was frankly more than overwhelming, as she brought her hands to her cheeks, once again sinking her triangular eyes to the floor.
Of course, witnessing this visible change in the normally so reserved short-haired girls' demeanor from where she was sitting, and especially seeing her blush so intensely with even the beginnings of a smile beginning to form at the corners of her mouth, Mina couldn't help but start grinning mischievously as she started leaning over the desk towards her. "Hey, now, Kyouka-chan, don't leave us all hanging. Kolya-kuns' thanking you on all our behalf, what should you say when someone thanks and compliments you so earnestly?"
Kyouka didn't dare lift her head so the others could see the childishly annoyed look in her eyes at what Mina was really trying to push her to do. The cheeky grin on her pink face showed she wasn't going to let it go until Kyouka finally followed through. 'Dammit all…if only you weren't so open and I could embarrass you back.'
She eventually sucked in the deepest breath through her teeth that she physically could before finally bringing her head back up, trying her best to maintain her normally stoic and unreadable demeanor, while still remembering to show her appreciative smile. "Thank you, Bezpalov-san…thank you all. It…i-it really means a lot to hear you all feel that way for what I tried to do. I'll of course try to be more careful about it from now on, but I…I still want to thank you all for your support."
The likewise smiles on everyones' faces made Kyouka feel considerably better on their own, but when she saw the even deeper smile on Nikolays' face, Kyouka could swear she felt her face heat up that much more, and for a moment, even feel a hitch in her chest. Realizing this, and looking back to see the knowing grin on Minas' face as she took her seat beside the Russian boy, Kyouka found her head going somewhere she hadn't before:
It was true that she wasn't really much to look at, whether it were in middle school, or even here, in comparison to her other female classmates. Boys didn't come flocking to her with immature confessions or offers to go out; hell, she never gave them reason to, herself. She was the kind of student who simply liked to be alone with her music. What did she know about girly emotions and attraction and all that mushy stuff she'd already been paying witness to from the likes of Ochako with Izuku?
And yet despite that, despite making it this far into her teenage years without ever really paying any boys that kind of attention, then why was it she suddenly found herself thinking about the Russian boy across from her so much more often? Why did his compliments and appreciation make her feel like her heart was about to break her ribs these days? And dammit, why the hell was all of Minas' constant teasing about it playing through her head on a continuous loop?!
'Seriously, even Ashido-san herself is way more lovey-dovey with him here in class, she's so obvious, so why does she keep teasing me about it? I mean, it's not even like he and I have had anywhere near as much time to get to know each other as he's had with her. All I know is we're both passionate about music…and I went to him instead of Tunguska-sensei for learning Russian…and I personally made him a personalized MP3 player to share music with him, when I easily could've just written him a list…and I've done it more than once now; more than twice, in fact. And his compliments actually make me feel stronger feelings than when everyone else has done the same, so far…uh-oh.'
Before Kyouka could dwell on the dreaded conclusion she'd just led herself to any further, the door to the classroom suddenly swung open, and Aizawa came forward intently, focusing his tired eyes on everyone as they scrambled for their desks. "When the teacher comes in, everyone should already be seated beforehand. Now, we've all been through a very long and trying day, so let's just get right to it. The end-of-term exam is finally over for you, Class 1-A, and I regret to inform you that there are a few of you who have ultimately failed."
Nobody dared say a word, nor did they even need to, as Eijirou and Rikido alike bowed their heads in solemn defeat. Without missing a beat, Aizawa continued on: "So, with those kind of results, that means that all of Class 1-A will now be able to embark on the forest lodge trip for the summer."
From where he was sitting, Nikolays' head perked up to look at his teacher, half-ready to ask if he'd just misheard the man, or if the homeroom teacher had misspoken. Before he could, however, Eijirou and Rikido both let out their own mutual exclamations of emotional relief, and disbelief at the fake-out their teacher had just pulled until the very last second: "UNBELIEVABLE! WHAT A TWIST!"
It almost sounded like both boys were about to start crying with relief, while many of the other students were beginning to likewise express their relief that they wouldn't have to be separated after all, with Nikolay and Mina both giving their red-haired mutual best friend a congratulatory thumb-up (at least as much as Nikolay could with his arms completely casted).
As soon as he was sure the cheering was just about died down, Aizawa continued with the same gruff tone: "With that little turnaround, I'm sure the rest of you have come to realize by now that the threat of remedial school for the summer was yet another logical ruse; intended to push you all to do your very best in all the tests put out in front of you. And for the most part, a lot of you did just that."
As everyone let out sighs of relief, Tenya immediately shot up from his chair, standing as rigid as ever: "Sensei, while we're all grateful to know we will all be attending the lodge as an entire class, are you sure these logical ruses of yours are truly for the best? Do you not worry that relying on such a tactic may eventually damage our inherent trust in you as our teacher?"
"And there goes Emergency Exit Iida with the wet blanket routine." Hanta muttered from his own desk, while everyone else was silently urging Tenya to get back in his seat and not interrupt their teacher, who simply continued to stare him back down, only to then get back to his routine like nothing had happened.
"Now then, moving on, nobody failed the written portion of the exam. A couple came very close, but just passed the measuring mark by the skin of their teeth. You both know who you are. As for the practical exam, nearly everyone passed, except for Kirishima, Sato, and Sero." The aforementioned tape boy jerked up in surprise in his seat, but as everyone looked to him in likewise shock, he actually looked to be thinking on it with an air of surprising acceptance.
"I guess it does kinda make sense when you think about it. Just because they said one student winning would mean the whole team wins, that doesn't necessarily mean the passing grade goes to all students involved individually. I mean, in the end, Mineta-san did all the hard work, all I really did was sleep."
Aizawa stifled an annoyed grunt at all of the interruptions before proceeding yet again: "Regarding the practical tests, depending on the kind of environment you were placed in, a good number of you even took the theoretical scenarios of your battles into consideration, and used your brains and Quirks to try and keep the damage to the surrounding areas to as much of a minimum as possible. That's one of the first and foremost measures real Heroes need to take when they find themselves faced off against a genuine threat in a public setting.
"However, out of everyone who was involved in battles where such circumstances as potential civilians were to even be considered, Ashido, Bezpalov and Kaminari failed miserably, leaving their entire ground in ruins in the process. Now, Headmaster Nezu-san has insisted such statistics not be included into the overall grading for this exam, so I'm not failing you three on the practical test, but you would all do very well to take those hypothetical situations into consideration from now on."
Despite their teacher confirming they hadn't failed, to hear just how reckless they had been throughout their entire battle left Nikolay, Mina and Denki feeling like they might as well have genuinely failed. Some Heroes they had turned out to be, even for a mock-up battle. It was true, from the moment things got intense, they let their panic do the thinking for them, instead of trying to coordinate a strategy early on to try and end the fight as quickly as possible. That was something they all knew they were really going to have to figure out for their own good.
"And finally, in regards to the final test, the conditions were indeed that if one student was able to completely defeat Tunguska-san, then the entire class would be considered to have passed as well, that was not a lie. However, once again taking into consideration the conditions of such a fight, it would seem that Kaminari was the only student to fail the final test, due to his Quirk completely incapacitating him in the middle of it. If that were to happen in the middle of a genuine battle, you would ultimately leave yourself as an extra concern for the rest of your allies, and end up putting them and civilians in even further danger. It's just as Sero said before: the overall grade is for the class, not the individuals. So all in all, out of the entire class, the only students to ultimately fail are Kirishima, Sato, Sero and Kaminari."
Denki looked as though his own funeral bell was ringing as everyone looked at him sympathetically. Of course, Aizawa was unperturbed as he went on, ignoring the downcast looks on his failed students' faces. "Now then, on to the whole goal this exam was for: the forest lodge you've all been so excited for is in fact going to be a week-long boot camp training trip to take place on the first week of summer, starting next week on Monday. This entire final exam was to test you all and see who among you is in the most need of harsher training in order to improve themselves. Clearly, the four I've mentioned have proven themselves to be those most in need."
From there, Aizawa pulled out a packet of identical papers, handing them out to each student as he traversed the aisles, only giving them momentary glances as he passed them by. When he came to the protruding double desk from among all the singles, he came to a momentary stop, bearing his gaze down on Nikolay and Mina specifically, leaving them both visibly intimidated in his presence. "You two…you started out with considerably pitiful grades…but, even if it may have just been born from your desperation to go on this lodge trip, the fact is you clearly have been pushing yourselves to try and improve little by little, both with your Quirks and your smarts. Good work."
Aizawas' expression gave absolutely no indication to go along with his surprisingly blunt encouragement, yet that didn't make his saying so to Nikolay and Mina feel any less genuine. Frankly, they both looked utterly shocked that he was taking this single moment to let them know their efforts hadn't gone unrecognized by their homeroom teacher. Nevertheless, they were both feeling especially lighter in their chests once it sank in, and Aizawa had already continued on his way, handing out the last of the papers to his students.
"What you all have before you is a list of supplies you're going to need in preparation for the trip next week. Tomorrow you'll all actually have the day free from school to go out and procure everything you'll need. Then the next day on Thursday will be your last school day of the semester. Look over everything and coordinate with one another what you'll need and where you can find it. Once you've done so, then class will be dismissed."
Everyone was already busily looking through the listings before them, and the further he went on, the more Nikolay realized just how truly ill-prepared he really was. "Oh, man, I don't think I have a single one of these things. I haven't actually had to use any kind of camping or hiking gear for a really long time."
From a sideways glance, he could tell that Mina was looking a bit unprepared for it as well, though clearly not as badly as he was sure he looked. However, before either of them could start trying to come up with a plan, Tooru was suddenly up and out of her seat, just as soon as everyone else was starting to gather up together to form their own plans. "Hey, since we've all got tomorrow off, why don't we all go shopping for supplies together? We can find stuff for each other we might not have even thought of for ourselves! I mean, we've already worked our butts off to pass already, we deserve a day off together like that! Wouldn't that be fun?!"
Of course, most of the class was fully on-board with the invisible girls' plan for an impromptu kids' day out, including Nikolay, while Bakugo and Shoto both looked utterly indifferent by comparison. Nikolay could only semi-jokingly hope his hands would be well enough to actually grab the stuff he needed by the time tomorrow rolled around, while he and his classmates were already beginning to coordinate where to meet up for the big shopping spree.
Even amid all the chatter, Nikolay could only feel an overwhelming surge of relief to know the fighting was finally over; the struggling was finally over, and he and all his friends and classmates had made it across the finish line, and could finally bask in their shared success.
Recovery Girls' Office
Nikolay had of course been left a touch disappointed, and even more guilty, when he learned that the wounds Oleg had sustained from their grand battle would leave him bound in the school nurses' office for the night. However, he didn't want to let that dampen the mood of his and his classmates' success; Oleg even told him as much when he saw the look on his sons' face at the start. The fact was that the older Hero couldn't have been more proud of Nikolay or his entire class, and he wanted the boy and those children to take that for everything it was worth.
With all of that settled between them, Nikolay was unable to contain all his excitement for the upcoming forest lodge trip, going into rapid-fire detail over the list of supplies he knew he needed by the end of tomorrow. From the outside looking in, especially for Oleg, it was almost like watching his boy going over his list of gifts he wanted for Christmas, it was honestly that precious in his eyes.
Of course, after about ten minutes of going at this pace non-stop, Nikolay had finally finished detailing exactly what he felt he needed most, eager to hear his fathers' opinion on if he had perhaps overlooked anything. However, instead of the thought out and fatherly rundown he'd been expecting, he found that Oleg actually looked to be in rather deep yet distant thought; his blue eyes looking off at something that clearly wasn't here. [[Dad, what's wrong?]]
Nikolays' voice suddenly speaking up much softer snapped Oleg out of his own head, looking completely embarrassed at how thoroughly he'd zoned out. [[I'm sorry, Kolya. I've just had some considerable things to think about since the battle ended. You see, All Might and I, we both received these invitations to an event called the I-Expo that's going to open to the public this coming Sunday, and we've been invited to come the day before. It's being held on this manmade mobile island called I-Island. All Might got invited by the daughter of an old American friend of his, and I got invited by the same Support Company that provided the materials for my prosthetics. They want to sponsor me while I'm there.
[[I just figured that, since he and I both received two invitations, and especially considering what a day we've all had, and with the rest of the school week to go before your lodge trip next week, I thought perhaps you and I could go together, meet All Might and malenkii Midoriya there and just enjoy the whole thing together. I mean, you two boys seem to get along rather well, all things considered, when compared to the rest of your friends. Who knows, this could be a good chance for you two to get to know each other better. If nothing else, it would make for a nice change of pace and scenery.]]
Oleg felt very pleasantly surprised when he saw his sons' green eyes actually light up with excitement at the news. [[That sounds like it would be a lot of fun, Dad. Maybe I should bring it up with some of the others, see if they would want to come along, too. It sounds like the kind of thing they'd be up for.]]
That was where Olegs' own delighted expression began to sink. [[I'm afraid that wouldn't really be possible, Kolya. The I-Expo doesn't open to the public until Sunday, and our invites are for us to arrive on Saturday, early in the morning. Even if that weren't the case, we'd have to get to I-Island either by plane or ferry, and even with how well Yuuei has been paying me, I just don't have enough to pay for tickets to the expo on top of travel tickets and hotel stays for all of the students. If I did, you'd best believe I would be inviting all of them right now. This is the first time this expo has ever been put together, they deserve to witness it just as much as we do, but right now, it's just not feasible. I'm sorry.]]
There was no mistaking the finality in Olegs' tone as he said this; for all intents and purposes, it looked like it was just going to be the two of them alongside All Might and Izuku. Nikolay couldn't lie to his father that he was disappointed the others wouldn't be able to come along, that much was clear on his face. But he still didn't want that to sour the mood as a resigned smile came to his face. [[Well…even if it is just us, it would be really nice to really get to know Midoriya-san better. He really helped me out in the long run, I should be able to know him better than I do when I say we're friends from now on. It's the least I can do as thanks.]]
Olegs' attempt at an approving chuckle was strained and painful as he collapsed back into his medical bed, staring up at the ceiling as he tried to catch his breath. [[Okay…okay, it hurts to laugh. Next time you see malenkii Kirishima, tell him I said he's got the hitting power of a real manly Hero. I'm sure that'll make him feel a little better. I can't imagine he's gotten over having to lay me out like that yet.]]
Nikolay couldn't laugh much better either with the pain in his midsection, but the shake of his head told Oleg all he needed to know. [[Well, think of it like this, Kolya: come Sunday, the I-Expo will be open to the public, and I can hardly imagine it's not going to be around for a while. If anything, perhaps you and the rest of the students could go again at a later time and get to take it all in together. I know they'd surely appreciate that. Honestly, once I get paid next time, I'd be happy to pay whatever expenses you would need then.]]
Nikolay couldn't help but look in his fathers' eyes with the utmost appreciation, giving a single accepting and grateful nod. [[Thank you, Dad. Hey, maybe we could go over the things I need for the lodge trip before I head back home?]] Tunguska gave an accepting nod of his own, and for the next hour, father and son went over everything the boy would need before the trip would commence next Monday; and all the while, Nikolay couldn't stop feeling a growing excitement for this out of nowhere island trip they would now get to take together in the next couple of days.
Kiyashi Ward Shopping Center, the next day
"Hey, Kolya-kun, what's got you looking so rigid?" Minas' playful voice broke through Nikolays' momentary surprise trip down memory lane once they and the rest of their classmates had arrived at the single biggest department store in Musutafu City. His momentary zone-out had come when, from the moment they had all arrived, he spotted the very same photo booth on the side of the courtyard where he and Mina had gotten their pictures before their internship nominations; the very same place she had given him his very first kiss.
To his embarrassment, when she spotted just what he was staring at, it all clicked in her head as well, only her expression was a devious little smile. "You feeling all nostalgic? Our big lodge trip is coming up soon; maybe we could step inside and get another five-photo set for good luck."
The way Nikolay went white as a sheet in the body, but red as a tomato in the face, couldn't help but make her laugh at the sight of him. "Oh, come on, I'm just kidding, Kolya-kun. I didn't think you'd be so surprised we'd be coming back here. I thought you would've remembered this place the moment Tooru-chan named it."
"Bezpalov-san, Ashido-san, come here, we still need to make sure we know where we're going!" Tenya called out to the two once the rest of the students had gathered together in the entrance court, spurring Nikolay and Mina to hurry over.
Just as Tooru had suggested, nearly all of Class 1-A had arrived right on the dot so they could get everything they knew or even thought they would need to be ready for the forest lodge trip. The only faces Nikolay didn't see among them were Bakugo and Shoto, to his relief and disappointment respectively. Nevertheless, this was a happy day, and he wasn't about to let a couple peoples' absence ruin that, especially seeing the excitement on everyones' faces.
"Alright, we know we're going to need proper clothing and supplies for hiking, camping and individual training altogether. Thankfully, this place has all of those available in droves. Now some of us are in need of different equipment from others, and we'll need to make sure we have all our things organized well ahead of time, so we can't afford to spend all day here. So with that in mind, I recommend we all split into groups, peruse and make sure we get the things we absolutely need, while staying in communication with each other, and once we all confirm we have everything, we meet up back here. Agreed?"
Tenya was of course taking full charge the moment it was clear everyone was here that was going to show up. However, while his approach was completely rigid and professional, Eijirou, Denki, Minoru and most of the girls were clearly not in the same mindset. "C'mon, Iida-san, we technically have the day off; we can afford to have a little fun while getting everything. Try not to be so rigid all the time, it's not healthy!" Tooru proclaimed, with Mina and Ochako in strong agreement, while the boys clearly weren't willing to make themselves quite as animated.
In the end, the whole class was able to make a compromise, and soon they had all split into their respective groups until only Izuku and Ochako were left alone in that lobby.
From the start, Nikolay, Mina, Eijirou and Kyouka had decided to dip into a store focused primarily towards camping goods, with Nikolay really visibly trying to debate between the different sizes of tents and campfire preparation tools. "You know, I think you might be taking the potential camping aspect of this trip a little too seriously, Kolya-san. Aizawa-sensei called this a trip to a forest lodge for a reason." Kyouka chimed in after five whole minutes had passed, and the boy didn't look to have settled his mind on anything, now finding himself planted in front of a shelf full of different aerosol cans.
"Kyouka-chan's right, Kolya-kun; even for as strict as Sensei is, I seriously doubt he expects us to hoof it day and night through a forest to get there. I don't think you need to worry about some big hefty tent." Mina agreed, trying hard not to laugh again at just how needlessly intense Nikolays' face looked as he grew more and more indecisive.
"Well, even so, I just want to make sure I'm prepared, especially if we do have to go hiking all the way there. I need to make sure I've got good bug spray and sun screen before anything else. Even in the summertime, Russia has always been considerably colder compared to Japan. So the last thing I want by the time we get to the lodge is to be burnt red, and eaten alive by mosquitoes."
Mina honestly couldn't help but find her Slavic best friend acting so neurotic around the idea of camping to be so ridiculously cute, while Kyouka couldn't help but instinctively roll her eyes at how needlessly intense he was acting. Of course, overhearing the boy, Eijirou couldn't help but get himself involved as well, already with a pretty heavy-duty-looking tent box under his arm. "Did you and Tunguska-sensei ever go camping together before in the old days, Kolya-san? I mean, at least he surely must have before. He looks rugged enough to take a full-grown bear down in a wrestling match as it is."
While he was clearly just trying to inject some humor to ease his friends' nerves, Eijirou was surprised when Nikolay momentarily froze and took a deep breath through his nose, now looking less anxious and more reminiscent; which Mina and Kyouka likewise noticed instantly. "I wouldn't exactly call it camping like what you're referring to, Kirishima-san. For a whole year after we fled the first city we were trying to lie low in, we had no choice but to try toughing it out in the countryside in order to get to Vladivostok, which was where we stayed up until we ended up coming here. Of course, when the winter hit, we pretty much had to dig our heels in and stay put until spring would come. That…that was probably the hardest time, since Dad had to do virtually all the work to keep us fed and alive back then. So I guess the answer to your question would be yes and no. But on the bright side, compared to that whole experience, I'm feeling rather confident this trip will be much more pleasant."
Despite the positive turnaround Nikolay made by the end of his little story, Eijirou couldn't help but feel considerably guilty, not for even having brought it up to begin with, but for having been so thoughtless as to virtually forget the near entire lifetime his Russian friend and admired teacher had spent living like fugitives before coming to Yuuei. It had been such a huge part of what made Nikolay the way he was. If Eijirou had been in his shoes in this moment, he couldn't help but be convinced he would've felt much more insulted that someone he called a friend would even temporarily forget something like that.
However, even when seeing the troubled look on his face, Nikolay didn't look nearly as upset as he surely would have been back in the beginning. "Don't worry yourself about it, Kirishima-san, it's okay. It was just an honest question. Now come on, I've at least got the protection I need, so let's go take another look at the camping equipment." Fortunately, the reassurance in Nikolays' answer was able to alleviate the guilt in Eijirous' gut almost instantly, and soon the plucky quartet was on the move once more.
As they began browsing through the assortment of proper tents and campsite supplies, now Nikolay found himself unable to keep his own curiosity to himself. "So, the list mentioned personal training equipment. You have any idea what you're going to get in regards to that?" Eijirou looked to be in considerable thought at the question.
"Yeah, actually. I mean, it's not as extensive or fancy as what I'm sure guys like Aoyama-san, Tokoyami-san or Mineta-san would need for training with their Quirks. I mean, my Quirk is pretty one-sided and self-explanatory. If anything, I would just need to find some weighted clothing to help build up my overall physical strength. What about you?"
Blocking out the nearby sound of Mina excitedly pestering Kyouka over a series of sunhats she personally was considering adorable, Nikolay had to think for a moment as well. "Some constant weights to build up muscle isn't a half-bad idea. But if I had to pick something I really need right now, I'm wondering if maybe there are some clothing stores that could have some items with shock-absorbing properties, or at least some shock-absorbing pads I can add to the clothes I already have. I want to try testing out something similar to this theory Kaminari-san told me about a while ago, where people applied constant transference of power through their limbs in order to gradually help them grow in strength and endurance.
"I'm not about to start firing my kicks against trees like he was suggesting, but I'm hoping that maybe by firing a very minor but constant flow of my kinetic energy up and down my arms and legs at all times, with shock absorbers to help take in the external force that instinctively comes out, that maybe it'll help my bones and muscles grow more resistant to the physical demand transferring that energy regularly has. It'd at least make me much more useful in a more prolonged fight at the very least. That whole battle with Dad yesterday made me realize how badly I need to be able to do that for much longer."
Before either boy could say another word, they found themselves suddenly being blinded, as Mina tossed two sunhats from practically across the store like Frisbees, landing perfectly on Nikolay and Eijirous' heads, before she just as quickly sprinted over, leaning in to address them with the most eager smile on her face. "Did I just hear you two talking about clothes for the trip and training? I know just the place near here that specializes in just that! Besides, you guys need to wear something lighter in color and material for the trip, or else you're both gonna eat dirt from heat exhaustion before the hike even gets started! C'mon!"
Nikolay, Eijirou and Kyouka had to practically run in order to keep up with their pink friend as she practically skipped the entire way to a nearby fashion store, all but literally beaming all the while.
Once inside, Mina was practically guiding her three friends by the hand from one corner to the next, picking up practically everything that caught her eye to see not only how they would look on each of them, but to see if they thought it would be good enough for dealing with the summer heat out in the countryside.
Of course, it didn't take long before Minas' driven pursuit to find the perfect hiking clothes for her friends soon turned into just another fashion shopping spree, as she soon began grabbing one pair of shoes after the other, either throwing them to Eijirou and Kyouka to see how they both felt they fit, or approaching Nikolay with one pair in each of her hands. "Okay, moment of truth, Kolya-kun, which of these do you think would look cuter: yellow with pink stripes, like a pink lemonade kind of vibe, or light red with light green, like strawberries and kiwis?"
Of course, not only did Nikolay feel completely out of place having to try and answer such a question when faced with a fashion enthusiast like Mina, but all the talk of clothing couldn't help but make him really start focusing on what she was wearing today specifically: a pair of strawberry pink tennis shoes, a pair of really short cut and tight fitting denim shorts that really showed off her especially healthy-looking legs, and an only slightly looser-fitting dark purple t-shirt with the word 'Pinky' written in dark pink, with a black tank top underneath, by the straps going over her shoulders.
On the one hand, it was nice to see she'd clearly taken to her official Hero name so quickly, but on the other, he couldn't just pretend not to notice what a clearly athletic and shapely figure Mina had, and the constantly returning memory of both those kisses she had given him before were not helping. The only thing he could really be thankful for in this awkward moment was that Denki and Minoru weren't here to somehow make it worse.
"Yoo-hoo, Kolya-kun, are you in there?" Once again, Nikolay had found himself getting more and more lost in his own head, as Mina was now leaning in especially close, waving her hand over his eyes to try and snap him out of it. Of course, once he had come back, her face was once again beaming with excitement, right before bringing her two choices of shoes right back up. "You should really try getting more sleep at night; you're gonna find yourself blacking out in public on a dime if you keep up like this. Now, which do you think would look cuter?"
With his mind back in the present, Nikolay began rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, trying and failing to replicate her own excitement over such a thing. "I don't know…maybe the red and green ones? Honestly, Mina, if we're going to be hiking for a while, I think you should consider something more practical, instead of just something you think looks cute. The last thing any of us would want is for you to potentially trip and fall off a cliff just because you were wearing the wrong shoes for it."
As well-founded as Nikolay believed this train of thought to be, Mina immediately answered him with yet further childish laughter. "Wow, way to go from zero to a hundred there, Kolya-kun. C'mon, you've seen the way I move. Even under pressure, I've never once tripped over my own feet. And besides, even if, knock on wood, I were to somehow trip and fall, I'm not worried…because I just know you'd come swooping right in through the heavens to save me if I did. I mean, you are my Hero after all, Kolya-kun. You wouldn't let anything get in the way if your friends were in danger."
The softness with which Mina said this left Nikolay breaking into a sweat, and instinctively swallowing a lump in his throat. She had to be messing with him again, there was no way she was using those specific words purely by coincidence.
For once, Mina didn't actually break the awkwardness in the air with teasing laughter, so Nikolay had to be the one to finally break it, forcefully clearing his throat while keeping his eyes averted, hoping to God all the while that he wasn't blushing too much. "Well, between us, maybe we should just focus on trying to avoid that, period. Agreed?" To his relief, Minas' understanding smile and enthusiastic nod said everything he needed to hear as she quickly went back to return one of the shoes she'd been debating on.
As time went on, they soon found themselves now being joined by Tooru and Tsuyu, and from there, all the girls began likewise perusing through all the more cutesy-looking shirts, while Nikolay and Eijirou were trying to keep themselves relegated with the shirts that looked at least a portion less diabetes-inducing in their colors and designs.
Of course, even for as obvious as the two boys were trying to look, that did nothing to dissuade Mina from putting yet another of her little teasing schemes into action, as she pulled out a top that looked like a cross between a bright pink and thinly sewn t-shirt, and a short-sleeved night shirt with slightly puffed up shoulders and frills. "Hey, Kolya-kun, maybe you can help settle a debate. Do you think this would look cuter on me or Kyouka-chan? Be honest."
The once again cheeky grin on her pink face made it obvious she wasn't being serious, but her own enjoyment at her teasing left her oblivious to the momentarily humiliated look on Kyoukas' face at getting roped into her little trick out of nowhere. All the while, Tooru couldn't help but giggle right alongside Mina at the sight of it, while Tsuyu was simply watching Kyoukas' reaction with unreadable curiosity, and Eijirou couldn't help but look embarrassed for his foreign classmate while trying to play the straight man. "Hey, c'mon now, Ashido, maybe give Kolya-san a break for a while? You've been teasing him and Jirou-san nonstop."
However, instead of seeing Nikolay reduced to a flustered mess like usual, Eijirou, Mina, and everyone else for that matter was surprised to find that over those last few minutes, Nikolay had once again delved back into his train of thought, looking out the storefront display with a distant glimmer in his eyes. "Hey, Kolya-san, what's up?"
Eijirous' hand being planted on his shoulder stirred Nikolay back to reality, as he hurriedly apologized for once again zoning out on his friends. "Sorry about that, guys. There's just been something I've been thinking about since yesterday, something my Dad brought up."
Of course, such a set-up was something none of his friends could ignore, as they all began to approach, all asking just what on earth their Quirk History teacher could have said that would leave Nikolay so distant and focused all at once. Of course, anything mentioning Tunguska had Eijirou fully invested, and anything that could make Nikolay look so focused was something Mina simply had to know. Figuring he'd brought it up, Nikolay figured there was no harm in simply asking: "Have any of you guys ever heard of a place called I-Island, or something coming up called the I-Expo?"
The reactions he got were an even mix between confusion and recognition, with Mina of course being the first one to speak up: "I've heard of the island at least. It's supposed to be this really crazy complex travelling island full of scientists or something like that. I've never heard of an I-Expo, though. Is that some kind of party they're holding there?" Of course, just the idea of a potential party, no matter where it was, had Minas' eyes practically glimmering with excitement.
Just the sight of which made Nikolay grateful for the answer he had, even despite what had been discussed between him and Oleg yesterday. "I guess that's one way of looking at it. I ask because yesterday, my Dad got an invitation for him and I to actually attend the I-Expo this coming Saturday. The Support Company that helped build his prosthetics is offering to sponsor him while he's there. According to him, All Might got an invitation as well, so we're basically going to be hanging out with him and Midoriya-san the whole time we're there until the Expo opens to the public on Sunday."
The knowledge of this unexpected big celebration and quickly approaching event left his classmates looking considerably excited; Nikolay couldn't help but wonder if he perhaps looked at all the same when he too had first learned of it. "That's so cool, Kolya-kun! You might get to see a lot of really cool Hero inventions in that case! Are you excited to go?"
Nikolays' likewise outward excitement was unmistakable, but there was a momentary twinge of hesitation in his eyes. "Well, yeah, I am, but I'm also a bit nervous. Going to a wholly new place without that many familiar faces around would make anybody nervous. I mean, I'm looking forward to it, but in the end, Midoriya-san and I don't really know each other as well as I know most of you guys."
However, Eijirou was right there with the save, a reassuring arm right over his shoulders and a supportive toothy grin on his face. "Aw, don't let that dissuade you from going in with your head held high, man! Yeah, you two might not have talked as much as you have with us, but when you think about it, you and Midoriya-san are already surprisingly alike. I mean, you both think a lot about the situations you're in and how to win them, you're both pretty nervous when you get all the attention, you both get picked on by Bakugo fairly often, and you're both tightly knit with some of the toughest and manliest Heroes I've ever seen. As far as common ground goes, for you guys, that's half the battle already fought and won. With some time to talk to each other one-on-one, I'm sure you two will become thick as thieves by the Expo's end!"
Nikolay couldn't deny that Eijirous' through-the-roof levels of confidence in his and Izukus' ability to get along even further was virtually contagious, and he couldn't have been more thankful for that. Of course, the sight and sound of the sharp-toothed young man going so all-in with the motivational speech couldn't help but get a mutual chuckle of amusement out of Nikolay, Mina and Tooru alike. "That was pretty cool how you sounded just now, Kirishima-kun! Maybe you should think about a fallback career as a motivational speaker if the Hero bid doesn't pan out!" Tooru chimed in through her laughter, leaving Eijirou smirking with embarrassed realization, leaving the whole group to laugh what little stress was left between them away.
As Nikolay began to turn back towards the entrance, he and the others caught a sudden glimpse through the door of Ochako sprinting down the way across from them, hands to her cheeks, and her whole face a light shade of red. And just as quickly as she had appeared, she was gone. "Whoa, what do you think has Urara-chan in such a rush?" Mina asked in surprise.
"Maybe she skipped breakfast and is now so hungry she can't take it. Or maybe she has to use the restroom, who knows-kero?" Tsuyu answered as blunt and nonchalantly as ever, with her, Tooru and Kyouka quickly getting back to browsing, thinking nothing more of it.
"You didn't see Midoriya-san with her, did you? She was so fast, I couldn't see clearly." Nikolay asked as he and Eijirou began approaching the entrance, still looking down the way she had come and gone respectively. "I don't think so, I'm pretty sure she was by herself."
With that, Nikolay momentarily looked back to his friends. "Hey guys, I'm gonna head back to the lobby, there's something I need to talk to Midoriya-san about. Just keep the stuff I picked out on standby and I'll come back to pay for it when I'm done, okay?" As soon as Mina and the others gave the okay that they understood, he was out and briskly making his way back, leaving them to themselves.
Of course, it wasn't long at all after, that Mina glanced towards Kyouka with a smirk beginning to form on her pink face. "Did you get a look at Urara-chans' face back there? I don't think I've seen her so red before…but I've seen that look before."
Kyouka dropped the travel boots she was looking at and looked back to her peppy classmate, a very suspicious look in her onyx eyes. "What are you talking about?"
Minas' smile only grew that much more as she finally turned to look Kyouka dead in the eye. "It's the same kind of look you had whenever Kolya-kun has complimented or thanked you for anything. It's the same kind of look you've had whenever you've even just been near him. It's the look of a girl with a major crush!"
Kyoukas' short hair nearly stood completely on end, her earphone jacks almost doing exactly the same, as her eyes grew wide with indignant shock. Of course, such an intense reaction got Mina giggling in amused accomplishment. "For Gods' sake, would you stop it with that, Ashido?! How many times do I have to say I don't have a crush before it finally gets through that head of yours?!"
Kyouka was practically stomping her way away, while Mina looked absolutely unperturbed. Kyouka could protest and yell her denial as many times as she liked. The fact that she reacted so animatedly in the first place said way more than any words would, as far as she was concerned. Frankly, for how cool Kyouka always tried to act, to see her act so embarrassed so easily was honestly really adorable where Mina was standing.
Of course, that satisfied air didn't last, as Tsuyu poked her head from around the corner of another nearby aisle, clearly having been listening in on the two, and staring up at Mina intently. "You know, Mina; you also blush really hard whenever Kolya-san compliments and thanks you, too-kero. Plus, today you've pretty much only been asking his opinion about which clothes would look better on who. You've clearly got a strong enough fashion sense, that I didn't think you would care what anyone but yourself thinks would look good on you. So what makes Kolya-sans' opinion about it so important to you, unless you had a crush on him, too?"
Now it was Minas' turn to instinctively fidget with embarrassed shock, which brought a self-satisfied smile to Kyoukas' face when she saw it, glad to finally have some of the heat taken off her shoulders. Of course, Mina still tried to put on as casual an air as she could, now caught between both girls' gazes. "Oh, c'mon, Tsu, you're reading too much into that. The only reason I blush when Kolya-kun compliments me is cause I'm still just trying to learn to stay humble, like our mentors from our internship taught us to. Getting that kind of unfiltered praise just isn't something I've gotten used to yet, that's all."
Now it was Eijirou who ended up poking his head up from behind another shelf, his own face now reflecting total surprise. "What are you talking about, Ashido? You've been getting tons of praise for all your efforts in helping people ever since our first year of middle school. What do you mean you're not used to it? I'm not judging if getting praise from Kolya-san means a little more than it does coming from a total stranger, but you don't have to make stuff up."
The fact Minas' back was turned to him kept Eijirou from noticing just how strong her face was glowing with embarrassed blush, but Kyouka, Tsuyu and now even Tooru were all able to see it clear as crystal.
Just before Eijirou could come in closer to make sure everything was alright, the sound of Denkis' voice calling in from the store entrance snapped him to attention: "Yo, Kirishima, Sato-san and I found some pretty nifty mobile weight training equipment over at the fitness place a little ways down. You gotta check it out!" with a hasty promise to return as soon as he could, Eijirou was out the door with Denki, now leaving the four girls to stew in the remnants of this incredibly awkward little conversation.
The crowds in the department store as a whole only seemed to be growing bigger and bigger, as Nikolay found himself actually having some difficulty spotting Izukus' curly green hair from among the people around him, even though he knew for a fact he was back in the entrance lobby. It took some time to get out of the throng of it all so he could keep looking, but fortunately for him, he was soon able to spot that unmistakable mop just around the bend of the lobby, looking with particular focus at a nearby directory as the Russian boy approached him.
"Hey, Midoriya-san, you already managed to get yourself lost? What are you looking for?" Nikolay eagerly greeted the freckled boy, who upon being snapped out of his focus, looked a touch embarrassed to have once again gotten so absorbed in his own head.
"Oh, hey, Bezpalov-san. Sorry, I've just been trying to run through a list of all the places I need to check out for the trip. It took a little time to really get started, plus Uraraka-san just kind of took off shortly after you guys all split into groups. She said she was looking for bug spray, but I didn't think she would be gone so long, unless this is the first time she's ever come here."
Looking back the way he had come, Nikolay couldn't hide his own confusion now. "Yeah, I saw her just outside a clothing store. She was running something fierce when I saw her. Looked pretty panicked too. But, knowing her, I'm confident she'll be just fine in no time. So, what are you thinking of grabbing for yourself first?"
Izukus' own boyish excitement came right back as he pulled out the list from his pocket. "Well, basic hiking and camping equipment aside, I'm really thinking of grabbing some heavy wrist weights to help with steadying my punches."
The suggestion sparked a flame in the Russian boys' head, his smile starting to reflect the same kind of confident planning that Izuku had. "That's not a bad idea. I was looking for either some clothing with shock-absorbent materials, or just some plain shock absorbers themselves to apply to the clothing I already have, but some weights for my wrists and ankles would be a great addition. Anything to help with the strength of my punches, kicks and launches can't be overlooked. What do you say we go take a look together?"
Thankfully, Izuku looked to be in total agreement, and with a mutual nod of acceptance of a plan, he and Nikolay were finally starting to make their way for a nearby fitness equipment store on the directory. To further add to their luck, it seemed like the crowds were just barely beginning to open up as well.
"Whoa, check it out; I thought you two looked familiar!" A completely new adult mans' voice suddenly called out from within the crowd, and from the direction they could hear it coming from, there was no doubt in either Nikolay nor Izukus' minds that it was intended for them. Looking back, the two boys found themselves being approached by a single unfamiliar man in a dark blue hoodie, waving at them eagerly as he closed the distance.
"Yeah, I remember seeing you two on TV at the Sports Festival over a month ago. Man, what a small world we live in, huh? Didn't think I'd get to run into a couple bona fide celebrities in this town on just any old day. Would it be too forward of me to ask for an autograph…at least, from one of you? Doesn't look like this one's much good for writing anything right now."
While this strange mans' tone was clearly excited and approachable, the choice of words did leave Nikolay looking regretfully at the slings his arms were still resting in. His hands themselves had started regaining their opposability overnight, and the pain in his torso had since disappeared, but he could tells his arms themselves still needed an entire day to finish healing.
He was snapped out of it when he suddenly felt this strange mans' arm come around his and Izukus' shoulders, pulling them both in as though it were for a group photo. The fact that it wasn't, and this person was acting so forwardly chummy, was nothing short of considerably uncomfortable for both boys. However, this man was not letting up on his casual little hold on them, his body language still clearly nothing short of excited. "It really is impressive what a splash you Yuuei kids have been making recently. I mean, first that Sports Festival, and then you two go on to run into that Hero Killer, Stain, and that crazy foreign Villain, Vukodlak, respectively? And you both live to tell the tale? I'm not psychic, but I would almost want to say that's the kind of thing that just proves at least one of you is aimed for greatness, wouldn't you agree?"
From the way the man turned his head, it was clear that last specific bit of praise was aimed towards Izuku in particular; essentially giving Nikolay the cold shoulder. If it hadn't been for how uncomfortable he already was in this position, he would've almost felt insulted or belittled.
"You know, I really have to admit my own surprise. I didn't think I would ever be running into you two boys again, especially not this soon."
'Wait…what does he mean again?' The moment that thought suddenly came to Nikolays' attention, he felt a deathly chill creep up and down his spine, as he could feel four especially intense-feeling fingertips beginning to creep their way around the side of his neck. He didn't even need to glance to see that the man was doing the exact same thing to Izuku; practically able to feel the instinctive trembling of his freckled classmate beside him.
"To just see this chain of events play out the way it has, I can't help but wonder…is it fate that I end up running into you two again? Is it destiny? I honestly can't tell. I mean, I've been keeping a close eye on at least one of you since the first time we met, but other figures at play here have insisted I keep my focus on both of you, even if I may not understand what makes the other so special. Regardless, it is still a pleasant surprise to be meeting you personally like this so soon. I mean, after all, the last time we were all together like this was at USJ."
'No…no, it can't be…there's no way in hell…'
Nikolay felt drenched in the most frigid of sweat, unable to stop his trembling from head to toe as he and Izuku both felt compelled to look up and finally see the face of this man, all the while silently praying it wasn't who they thought it was, even if they knew deep down they were only fooling themselves.
Staring right back at both of them with the most intense smile upon his face, was a young adult man with long, scraggly white hair, fearsome red eyes, and his deathly pale face was riddled with intense cracks and wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, making him more resemble a man on the verge of death by dehydration than a normal human being. This was the first time either boy had seen his face in its entirety, but that hair, those eyes, and that dried out rasp in his voice the more he spoke was unmistakable. It was the sound that haunted both their nightmares ever since the incident at USJ.
"Shigaraki—"Tomura." Izuku and Nikolay both muttered with a frightened exhale as the leader of the League of Villains' blood red eyes stared straight through them into their souls, that malicious smile never once wavering.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you both officially. What do you say we step aside and have some tea together…Nikolay Bezpalov-kun…and Midoriya Izuku-kun?"
Nikolay couldn't begin to speak for Izuku, but he was already beginning to feel an instinctive outcry come up his throat, but that chill he felt up his spine from the touch of Shigarakis' fingers on his neck stifled it dead in its tracks. Even despite the sheer terror in their eyes, he never lost an ounce of his calm demeanor, or an inch of his deceptive smile. "Both of you just take a breath, alright? As far as all these people around us are concerned, we're just a few close friends shooting the breeze, so maybe try a little better to convey that for your sakes.
"I'm sure at least one of you is wondering what'll happen if you try anything…well, you feel that sensation, like the hairs on the back of your necks are standing up? Like the world around you has gone ice cold? I know you've both seen what my Quirk does back at USJ. All I have to do is just twitch one finger enough to close my grasp on either one of you…and that'll be it. Your skin will start to crumble from the neck down, and you'll both be nothing but dust in less than a minute. So, if either one of you is as smart as I'm hoping, then keep that in mind and keep quiet for now. I'm just looking for a nice, civilized conversation with you kids."
Nikolay almost felt like he wanted to vomit, he was so scared right now. And from where he was standing, even as Izuku was trying to put on a brave face, there was no mistaking that the boy was just as terrified. "If…if you do try that…t-then a Hero…a-a Hero from the crowd…will definitely come out and get you."
The bone dry chuckle emanating from Shigarakis' throat was once again the stuff of nightmares, as he didn't retract one finger from either of the boys' necks. "Oh, I have no doubt about that. But why don't you two take a look around? Even though any one of them out in this crowd could brandish their Quirks like a weapon at any moment, why do you think they gather here? Why do you think they laugh? The laws, the rules, they're all based upon individual peoples' morals. So at heart, they think 'Oh, there's no way anybody would do such a thing.' And if there's one thing I'm sure at least one of your teachers at that stupid school has taught you both…it's that even a single moment of unpreparedness can mean disaster. You know…I'm pretty confident I could kill at least twenty…maybe even thirty of these people here before I ultimately got captured. Do you really want to see me test that theory out?"
Nikolays' gaze towards Izuku couldn't have been more clear: don't push him. He hated having to admit it at all, whether with words or a look, but given the reality of their circumstances, there was no getting around it: Tomura Shigaraki had them right where he wanted them, and they had just walked right into it, and the only way they had any hope of getting out of it alive was if they played by his rules, at least for now. Izukus' face was likewise twisted with conflict, but even for how frustrated he looked while grinding his teeth, desperately looking for some kind of solution…in the end, even Izuku realized the monumental disadvantage they now found themselves in. Recognizing this look, Nikolay finally worked up the courage to speak: "What…do you want to talk about?"
Once again, they were initially met with that bone-chilling chuckle: "That's the spirit. At least one of you is able to tell when they're beaten right out the gate. Now then, how about you both continue to be a couple of good sports, and let's take a seat somewhere we can be more comfortable, eh?"
From there, Shigaraki essentially forced Nikolay and Izuku to walk along with him like a veritable death march, before casually plopping all three of them down at the edge of the fountain adorning the center of the lobby. Both boys felt their hearts only continue to race faster and faster. Shigaraki may not have had his hands on their throats anymore, but they could both instinctively feel he had his hands poised right at their wrists. If they even flinched more than an inch from where he was, he didn't even have to move the rest of his body in order to grab them both and disintegrate them right where they sat.
Nikolays' mind was in a panicking frenzy as his eyes frantically looked through the ongoing crowds around them, desperate for a sign of some Pro Hero he could try silently signaling to. Surely Izuku had to be doing the same. With two sets of eyes on the lookout, surely they'd be able to find a way to escape and get this monster arrested like he should've been months ago.
However, at the same time, Nikolay was silently begging not to spot one of their classmates in the crowd. The thought of one of them approaching, and Shigaraki deciding to lay his attack on them instead…good god, that thought terrified Nikolay even more than the threat to his own life. 'Please…please, for the love of God, don't let any of them show up here.'
While the two boys at his sides remained stricken silent with fear, Shigaraki decided to finally break the silence; his dry rasping betraying none of his unsettlingly casual air: "To be honest with you boys, I hate mostly everything. However, two things that have especially been pissing me off recently are the Hero Killer and the Hunter of Heroes. I admit I never met the latter myself, but from what I've been hearing about him from my sensei and the news…I can already tell you he's just like Stain, the kind of person I can't stand."
Against the better judgment provided by his instinctive fear, Izuku actually found it in himself to speak up: "But…isn't Stain with you guys?"
Nikolay, in his head, couldn't believe that his freckled friends' speaking up had actually driven him to do the same: "Yeah, I'd heard the news saying the same about Vukodlak, too; that you'd actually reached out to him to draw him to this country."
The moment he felt one of Shigarakis' fingertips just barely grasp at his wrist, Nikolay nearly felt his heart stop with terror, with Izuku similarly going rigid as Shigaraki brought his right hand to his neck again. "I never agreed to Stain joining us, but he apparently is one of us, according to society. And goddammit, if there's one thing I hate, it's having to repeat myself: I never even met Vukodlak. My sensei just pulled some dumb strings to draw him here, but he's never even heard of us. Believe me, if I had to sit through the presence of some damn idealist like that, I gladly would've killed him myself, just like I nearly did with Stain at the start. Seriously, one self-righteous asshole being linked to us through the damn news is annoying enough. Just the fact they happen to have similar ideologies, therefore convincing the news they both came from our ranks is nothing short of infuriating.
"And so, therein lies the problem. Everybody in this country is going nuts for both the Hero Killer and the Hunter of Heroes. Just to think, the League of Villains getting overshadowed by a Villain from a whole other country who just comes in from out of nowhere; what kind of shit is that? The USJ invasion, and the Nomus' we released in Hosu City…all of it has been swallowed up by that bastard Stains' fame. And then Vukodlaks' little spree bombing and Agency attack in Erubi City just cast an even bigger shadow on what we are trying to do. Why is nobody looking at me?
"I mean, when you get to the bottom of it, no matter how much those two puffed themselves up, in the end, they were just destroying the shit in this world that they didn't like, same as me. So, between the three of us…Midoriya-kun…Bezpalov-kun…what do you think is the big difference-maker between me, Stain and Vukodlak, hmm?"
Nikolay couldn't believe that someone this terrifying was actually bemoaning something as petty as feeling like he was being denied his rightful claim to fame. Of course, he couldn't go much further down that train of thought, as he felt the jolt of Shigarakis' four fingers begin to coil around his wrist. He only chanced a momentary glance to see the man only had his pointing finger lifted, barely a couple centimeters from completing his grip.
Nikolay and Izuku only met eyes for a split second, but it was clear they both understood what was happening: this monster genuinely wanted them to give him an honest answer, and if there was even one bit of their responses he didn't like, then all he needed was just a single muscle twitch to end them both here and now.
It had barely been more than a couple of minutes since Ochako had taken off in a flustered panic from Izuku back in the entrance lobby. From the moment they had been left alone when the rest of the class had split up; her mind had immediately gone to those damned words Aoyama had thrown her way, back during their practical test: "Do you love him?"
And with that question playing on repeat, especially when Izuku had actually looked her in the eye, all she could think to do was run with nary an explanation. However, now that she had finally had the chance to actually breathe and recollect herself, she only now realized just what a scene she'd made, and especially how her actions had to have been leaving Izuku feeling.
'Ooh…I can't believe I did that, just running off without giving Deku-kun any kind of explanation. He must be so confused right now…or maybe even insulted. God, I hope that's not the case. I need to go and apologize right now. I mean, he has no idea what's been going through my head, he doesn't deserve me doing this kind of thing to him. I mean, just because I wanna go back and apologize doesn't mean I like him like him, it's just something normal friends do for each other. Yeah, that's totally it. I don't feel that way about him, we're just ordinary friends doing ordinary friendly things. I go back and apologize and we go on shopping regularly like ordinary friends do. I mean, this all started cause we both wanna be Heroes, so we can just laugh this off, say how cool it is that we'll both be Heroes and go on like nothing happened! Just gotta go back and that'll be that! Yeah, that silly Aoyama doesn't know what he's talking about!'
Ochako wasn't entirely sure when her own train of thought for apologizing had transformed into this repetitive nonstop feedback loop in her head, but when the sound of Minas' voice calling out to her had finally registered in her head, she'd already been halfway back to the lobby, and was now being hurriedly approached by her pink friend, with Kyouka close at hand, as they stepped out of a music store.
"Geez, Urara-chan, you're surprisingly hard to keep track of. First we saw you running like your life depended on it from inside the clothing boutique, and then you come marching right on back looking a thousand miles away. What's got you so fired up?" Just like that, Ochakos' blind determination turned to embarrassment that she'd made such a spectacle of herself in the process of trying to apologize for the last one.
"Oh, s-sorry about that, you guys. I-I didn't mean to worry anybody. I-I was just on my way back to the lobby to apologize to Deku-kun. I-I kinda…kinda ran off from him shortly after you all left." Ochako was scared to ask just what Mina was thinking when hearing this explanation, especially judging by the sly smile on her face.
However, that thankfully changed as her eyes widened with excited realization. "Hey, Kolya-kun actually went looking for Midori-kun after the first time we saw you, too. Why don't we all go back for them? Besides, Kyouka-chan and I found some really cool stuff for the hike to the lodge."
Kyouka was visibly trying to avoid making unnecessary eye contact as she could feel Minas' expectant gaze on her, driving her to dig through the little bag in her hands before pulling out a couple CD's. "I…I-I know road trips can be really boring when they go on long enough, so I thought we could all do with some music along the way."
Following that, Mina began eagerly rummaging through her own bag before holding out what looked like a single bundled up cord with two pairs of ear buds attached. "And check this out! This way we can both listen to the same music at once, once we're actually up and hoofing it through the woods! It'll definitely make that part a lot more fun, especially since, unfortunately for us and Kyouka-chan, Kolya-kun apparently refuses to sing."
Ochako couldn't even begin to express her delight at the idea of music for the trip, before Kyouka once again flinched from head to toe with her earphone jacks standing on end and her face turning dark red, finally staring intensely at a chuckling Mina. "Dammit, Ashido-san, would you stop?! Just because we both sing as a habit doesn't mean anything else, so just DROP IT!"
Of course, it only took Kyouka a second to plant her hands firmly over her mouth with humiliation once she realized what she had inadvertently admitted; not helped in the slightest by the delightfully surprised glimmer in Minas' black-gold eyes. "Whoa, Kyouka-chan, I was just messing with you before; I mean, I knew you write your own music and lyrics, but I didn't think you actually sing, too!"
Kyouka had half a mind and a reflex running up her arms to plant her hands over Mina and Ochakos' mouths alike, lest they both say something she didn't want further overheard by anyone, least of all any more of their classmates. "Promise me neither of you will tell anyone else what you just heard here, alright? PROMISE!"
Even through her own overwhelming amusement at getting Kyouka so flustered, Mina could actually tell just how serious the purple-haired girl was being right now, and so with her mouth still covered, she raised up a single pinkie finger in a sign of understanding, with Ochako quickly doing the same. Once she was sure in her heart they both meant it, Kyouka finally removed her hands, and with her face still flaring red, she hurriedly took her leave, while Mina finally got the last of her giggles out of her system.
"Mina-chan, why do you keep prodding and teasing Kyouka-chan like that? I mean, she could be telling the truth; maybe she really doesn't have a crush on Kolya-san." Of course, what seemed like a perfectly reasonable response on her part barely even fazed Mina, who still had that same confident smile while watching the direction Kyouka had fled down.
"Yeah, she says it, but if she really meant it, don't you think she'd react a lot less intensely whenever I bring it up, Urara-chan? That says way more than words will. It's kinda like whenever I bring up you and Midori-kun. Your reactions are so similar."
Ochako could already feel her cheeks firing up now that she was the one put on the spot. Every synapse in her brain was screaming for her to just run away again, but she stubbornly shook her head in refusal, instead standing her ground against her own embarrassment, much to Minas' impressed smiling approval. "This isn't about me right now. Did you ever think that maybe Kyouka-chan reacts that way because you keep bringing it up and embarrassing her? Look, I gotta find Deku-kun right now, but maybe I can take the stuff you found to Kolya-san too. In the meantime, Mina-chan, do you think maybe you could go apologize to Kyouka-chan and maybe just give her a break for a little while?"
Ochako was already taking the bag out of Minas' hand while she was left to think. She did admittedly have a tendency to get so wrapped up in her teasing, no matter how good-natured it was. Perhaps she had been getting a little too carried away with it where Kyouka was concerned. A smidgeon of guilt was building in her chest as she gave Ochako an understanding nod before heading off after Kyouka, looking to ease the tension and help them both go into the upcoming trip on a much better note. Satisfied with this, Ochako felt considerably more confident in her speaking skills and continued on her way to the lobby.
"What's the difference…between you three…?" Izuku was asking this question just as much to himself as he tried to find the answer, with Nikolay not doing much better. Neither of the boys could speak with confidence about both Villains Shigaraki was insisting on comparing himself to, but they could at least think back on their own personal experiences, and speak about the men they felt they had come to know with some measure of confidence.
"I…I neither understand…nor accept you…or your actions." Izuku finally stated, trying his best to sound as brave as he could, even through his nervous gaps in his speech. Shigaraki gave no physical reaction to such a bold statement, but when he spied Nikolays' right hand slowly starting to form itself into a defiant fist, he could just tell that was the little Slavs' way of stating virtually the same sentiment.
"Whereas, in regards to the Hero Killer…I don't accept him, either…but I do understand him. For we both…we both started out…by watching All Might. And back then…I was even saved by him, in the end…and he didn't give up…so fickly." Listening and watching his demeanor as he spoke, Nikolay could visibly see how Izukus' remembrance was filling him with a light of clearer understanding of the Villain of whom he spoke, even through his palpable fear in this moment.
However, he could just feel Shigarakis' eyes burn through him at the same time, and he knew the man was expecting him to speak up as well. However, after Izukus' example, his own answer came to him surprisingly clearly, as he sucked in a breath through his teeth, trying not to think about those fingers wrapped around his wrist, just what a literal razors' edge he was currently standing on.
"I don't approve of Vukodlaks' actions…any more than Midoriya-san approves of Stains'…but just the same…I understand why he is the way he is…unlike you. I understand, because…I used to think just like him." Nikolay didn't dare to look to gauge Shigarakis' reactions, if he had any to speak of. That was why he never saw how the mans' red eyes noticeably widened with intrigue.
"For the longest time of my life…just like Vukodlak, I used to think that Heroes…no, people with Quirks in general, had destroyed the world as I'd come to know it…and I genuinely believed that the world would be better off without Heroes…just like Vukodlak does. However, that's where the similarities between us end…because where Vukodlak actually managed to make the turnaround to become a Hero, only to ultimately choose to try and eradicate the world of Heroes in his return to Villainy, I chose to try and put all that past pain and anger behind me…because I wanted to try and prove that true Heroes could actually exist…for both our sakes. I want to try and become the kind of Hero that can make it so no one else ever has to live with the kind of resentment, pain and anger that Vukodlak and I have had to. If anything…I choose to see Vukodlak as a reflection of what I…of what I could very well have turned into if things had gone even slightly differently than they did for me. That's why I want to help Vukodlak see that true Heroes really can exist."
Much like Nikolay before, Izuku listened to every word his Russian friend said, and found his own understanding of the boys' experience with his own Villain become that much clearer. Both boys were inadvertently helping to inspire each other to hold fast to their courage, even when literally one muscle twitch away from certain death. In some strange way, the two boys found themselves feeling closer to true Heroes than ever before, as they still didn't dare look Shigaraki in the eye, but had managed to fight their way through their own trembling at the same time.
"If you really want to know what makes you so different from them…it's because neither Stain nor Vukodlak destroyed because they wanted to just for destructions' sake. It's because they were both trying to make a better world according to their own respective ideals: a world with only true Heroes in Stains' case—"And a world where those normally considered the weak and downtrodden wouldn't find themselves at the mercy of politicians and oligarchs and their Quirk-possessing attack dogs in Vukodlaks'."
Izuku balled both his hands into silently defiant fists; his green eyes now reflecting understanding and compassion more than fear. "While I don't agree with Stains' methods…he still tried to live according to an ideal…that's what I think."
At the same time, Nikolay breathed in deep, clutching onto the edge of his seat in a white-knuckle grip as he could feel those fingers just barely twitch against his wrist. "I don't approve of Vukodlaks' actions…but I do sympathize for everything he's gone through and lost. That's why I want to try and help him see that hope does still exist in this world. He was able to make the change and become a Hero once…even despite everything he's done…if he could see that there's still hope…perhaps it would be enough to help him make that same change again. Inspiring hope is what true Heroes are supposed to do for others…and in his own way, as misguided and deluded as it was, that was essentially what he felt he was trying to do. He had a personally driven cause to help the people he felt were the most in need, even though his own anger twisted that perception into what it is now. That's the biggest difference between Vukodlak, Stain and you…they actually had a purpose driving them…an ideal; a creed to live by."
Shigaraki didn't make a sound, but there was something in his demeanor that seemed to change out of earshot and out of sight, that Nikolay and Izuku both could feel creeping up their skin as the air grew deathly cold and unsettled. For but a moment, Nikolay could swear the man had finally closed his grip and was now applying his disintegrating touch to them for their words. In all honesty, Izuku couldn't help but fear the same for that brief moment.
However, when neither boy started to crumble into dust like he had said would happen, Shigaraki instead began to break into that same stomach churning raspy chuckle. "Aaah…I have to admit, my head feels much clearer now, like a bunch of disparate dots finally managed to connect and form a cohesive line. I feel like I get it now…why people like the Hero Killer and Vukodlak piss me off so much…why you're so annoying, Midoriya-kun…and why I was told to keep just as close an eye on you and your stupid old man, Bezpalov-kun, even though my sensei doesn't have the same personal connection to you two like he does with All Might. I finally get it."
Lifting his head to let them see his face once more, Nikolay and Izuku alike felt their blood turn to ice, as Shigarakis' dried out face was stretched into a nightmarishly large grin stretching from ear to ear; a twisted sense of glee reflected in those cold red eyes. "It's all about All Might…in every sense. You and Stain…are both inspired by him, Midoriya-kun. And your father, Bezpalov-kun, is really just like a mirrored image of All Might himself, more than just some cheap knock-off. He's practically his double, not just in terms of power, but even right down to his charisma and ability to inspire hope in even the lowest people. The fact you were able to be brought up from even your lowest pit of despair through his sheer influence is a testament to that…and where else could he have regained that once lost ability to inspire…than from All Might? Him and Tunguska working together…your case is just an example of the countless other potentially annoying kinds of inspiration they could bring about in the people."
At last, Shigaraki took those awful eyes off both boys, instead now gazing out over the crowds with a deathly sigh of relief. "Of course…in so many ways…of course everything revolving around you boys would all ultimately lead back to All Might. You could've easily just lived the rest of your life as an anonymous little nobody, and you and your old man could've easily just wasted away into obscurity in those frozen backwaters…but he ended up pulling you both here and making things that much more frustrating. It truly is all about him in the end. It all seems so obvious now…I don't know what I was so bothered about anymore.
"The reason all these people are going about their business, laughing with shit-eating grins on their faces…is because All Might is, as well." All of a sudden, Izuku let out an instinctive gasping choke, and Nikolay felt his heart momentarily seize in his chest, as Shigaraki tightened his grip on their neck and wrist alike, the very edge of his final fingertips just a millimeter from their skin, from applying his deadly touch.
"It's because of him, that they're always grinning, like there was never anybody he couldn't save! And by bringing in a virtual carbon copy of himself from a whole other nation, that insufferable influence will only become that much more widespread and palpable in the end! It'll practically be like having two All Mights out and about at once!"
The more animated Shigarakis' tone became, the more desperate Nikolay and Izuku alike felt themselves become; their free hands already begging to reach to somehow try and pry themselves free from his life-threatening grip. Somehow, it didn't seem like the man had noticed this change in their terrified demeanors yet. "Aah, I'm so glad you both agreed for us to have this little chat! For a while, I thought Midoriya-kun was the only one worth giving even half a shit about, and that Bezpalov-kun was just a spineless slug who got lucky in a fight, and got Sensei's attention through a fluke. But now I finally understand where you both fit in the grand scheme now! Thank you for that!"
All of a sudden, his grip on both boys grew that much stronger, ceasing their desperate struggling in an instant. "Hey, don't start struggling now! Do you boys really want to die that badly? Do you really mean to say you're okay with all these people dying with you?"
While the two boys continued to tremble at his mercy, Shigaraki was honestly overflowing with joyous realization. 'How ironic…the Hero Killer…the Hunter of Heroes…I may have only met one of you…yet you're both so infuriatingly similar in your own ways…making us polar opposites. Yet, despite that, I'll take your precious creeds of bettering the world with the removal of Heroes…and use them as my own personal stepping stones!'
"Deku-kun? Kolya-san?" In an instant, Izuku and Nikolays' mutual terror for their own safety went right out the window, as the soft sound of Ochakos' voice broke through the wall of noise in their heads. Turning to look, their frigid sweat and terror only intensified to find the gravity girl standing just a foot away, watching their whole interaction with full attention and curiosity.
"Who…are you guys talking to? He's not…a friend of yours…is he?" The look of obvious concern on her rosy-cheeked face was unmistakable, and as much as Nikolay wanted to just open his mouth and tell her to run, his mind was in too much of a frenzy to actually drive him to do so. 'Don't do anything rash, Uraraka-san! Please, I'm begging you, just run from here as fast as you can!'
"Sir…please…let go of them?" she asked, trying to be as brave as possible despite her own nervousness, and neither boy could tell if that was because she could see the terrified looks on their faces, or if she was just naturally this awkward when talking to strangers. None of that mattered. All that mattered was that a close friend was now in serious danger, and something needed to be done.
"IT-IT'S NOTHING! WE'RE FINE! SO DON'T COME ANY CLOSER-!"
Before the final syllable could leave Izukus' desperate mouth, he and Nikolay both suddenly felt that icy grip Shigaraki had been keeping on them, swiftly uncoil from around them. The man now had both his hands up in a playful show of surrender as he got up from between them, already hurriedly putting distance between himself and the three fear-stricken teens. "Oh, so you boys had company? My bad, my bad!"
Not even missing a beat, Shigaraki turned on his heels, putting his back to the trio as he tucked his hands back into the pockets of his hoodie. "Right, then; I'll be seeing you, kids. Go back to living your simple little lives with your simple little friends, however much longer those are gonna last. I don't think I need to tell either of you what'll happen if you try to chase after me. Just know it'll be your precious friends and loved ones' blood spilled before yours."
As Shigaraki made his way from them, Nikolays' heart and mind were in utter chaos watching him. 'What are you waiting for?! You're supposed to be a Hero, and you're letting that monster get away?! What am I supposed to do?! He'll kill everyone if any one of us tries it, and we know he means it! Goddammit…why can't I stop trembling?!'
As Ochako came rushing to tend to her two friends, Nikolay, in his continuing state of terrified shellshock, got up from his seat and began stepping backwards to put even more distance between himself and Shigaraki as possible, not even hearing Ochakos' confused calls for him to come back as he blindly took off running back down the way he came, hearing Shigarakis' final threat echoing deafeningly in his head.
All the while, Shigaraki simply listened to the one sound of panicked sprinting footsteps running away as quickly as humanly possible, bringing a slightly satisfied grin to his cracked, dry face. 'Yeah, that's what I thought. Guess he hasn't made that full transition like Sensei thought with the news. No matter.'
"Wait…Shigaraki…"
The sound of Izukus' voice calling back to him, even when desperately trying to breathe again, brought the hooded man to a stop, that smile never once shrinking despite himself.
"What…what is All For One's…ultimate goal?"
Even despite Ochako throwing her head up to look at the retreating man in horrified realization the moment Izuku called him by name, in that moment, the green-haired boy and Shigaraki were all that existed between them. What on earth would make the kid so bold as to ask something like that just seconds after having his own life threatened? Surely it had to just be another example of All Mights' damned influence. Whether that was really the case or not didn't matter. The kid had been polite enough to stay put and listen and answer, he might as well get an honest answer. This was what Shigaraki was thinking as he looked back to Izuku over his shoulder.
"Don't know. Don't care. But you should focus on taking care of yourself, instead. Be sure to tell your cowardly little foreign friend the same thing as well. Because, when next we meet, it'll be because I decided to finally kill you both; Bezpalov-kun for my Sensei's peace of mind…and you for the same reason…as well as it'd just feel really damn good to do so."
With that, Shigaraki turned back and proceeded forward, bowing his head down just enough so that the moment one of the countless bystanders broke Izukus' line of sight, he would disappear without a trace into the crowd, a veritable ghost in a sea of faces. Every step of the way, he felt his own chest swelling with a new sense of undeniable purpose and drive. 'Hero Killer…you and that Vukodlak asshole must think you're both so superior to people like me. But I do have a creed, I do have an ideal…I've had them from the start! Nothing's changed! But from here on out, my every deed will be linked to ridding the world of All Might and all those self-righteous posturing shithead Heroes just like him, and exposing just how fragile 'justice' and all that other bullshit they hold so dear really is. Starting today…I'll call that my creed.
'It's all about All Might! He's the cause for all of this hate of mine…and all those that try to follow and live up to his image…they just spawn that very same hate in others all over the damn place. It's no longer enough to just get rid of All Might…erasing him and all those that are like him will be the biggest step I can take…towards finally making this world the way Sensei and I want it.
'I finally get it now, Sensei…why you were so damn insistent I pay attention to more than just that Midoriya brat. The more Heroes there are that even come close to All Might's level…the more troublesome little wretches like Midoriya there are bound to be. You wanted me to learn that, so I don't get myself blindsided again. Well, don't worry, Sensei. From now on, I'll be ready, willing and able to take down any and all threats that come for me from all around…just you wait and see. Next time, we will win.'
Nikolay wasn't sure when his sprint had turned into more of a panicked jog. All he could think was what the hell he was supposed to do now that he'd gotten away. Yes, Shigaraki had let them both go, but he was already mentally cursing himself for having just taken off as his first course of action, instead of sticking alongside Izuku and Ochako, in case that psychopath had decided to change his mind.
'Maybe…maybe if I find the others and tell them, we can come up with a plan…NO! If you tell them, there's no question they'll want to give chase, especially someone like Yaoyorozu-san or Iida-san. Shigaraki meant what he said, I just know it! If any of us go after him…then all my classmates…all my friends…he'll kill every last one of them! God, what am I supposed to do?!'
The young Russian finally brought himself to a stop, trying desperately to catch his breath as his chest burned with exhaustion and agonizing uncertainty. 'Heroes shouldn't just let Villains get away…but what could we do against someone that powerful? Am I really supposed to just dig in my heels, and just wait for him and his…League of Villains to make their move? I wish Dad or All Might were here, they'd surely know what to do!'
"Kolya-kun!" Nikolays' panicked reverie was suddenly stricken down by the distant sound of Minas' voice, looking up to see her and pretty much the rest of their classmates heading his way, all looking more than satisfied with their own individual hauls of hiking and camping gear.
However, what Nikolay was now feeling wasn't relief at the sight of more of his friends…but an even greater sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. "It'll be your precious friends and loved ones' blood spilled before yours."
The sight of all their smiling faces as they talked amongst themselves, the joyfulness of life radiating off of them with every moment…every already irreplaceable memory he'd had with them, and the countless ones they could potentially share in the future…if he said anything about this to them…all of those could be swept away like dust in the wind, and he would be left powerless to do anything about it. There was no way he could possibly live with that. To know one wrong move could cost the lives of all his precious friends…would be even worse than death.
Upon initial approach, Mina didn't even seem to see the deeply troubled emotional look in Nikolays' eyes as she hurriedly pulled out her phone to show him something. "Check this out, Kolya-kun! Since you brought it up, I decided to look up that I-Expo thing you were talking about, and they're already selling tickets online to the public for when it opens, and I actually got lucky and got a covered plane ticket when I bought it! What a score, right?! Isn't that awesome? Now you don't have to feel so nervous being there! We can enjoy the whole thing together with Sensei, All Might and Midori-kun! Doesn't that sound like a blast and a half?!"
"Whoa, holy shit, Bezpalov-san, what's wrong with you?" Rikido suddenly asked with notable worry from among the other students, and with that being the first words Mina heard instead of the excitement she'd been expecting, she looked and felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach.
Even for as fair as he normally was, she had never seen Nikolay look this deathly pale before. His eyes were wide as dinner plates, yet his green irises were contracted back, as though he were scared for his life…and the trembling. Good god, it wasn't like when his hands would shake when he was nervous. It wasn't like he was suffering a seizure, but from head to toe, his whole body was visibly trembling just enough to be noticed. Plain and simple, Nikolay looked absolutely terrified.
And even as he felt the eyes of all his deeply concerned classmates looking at his current state, all Nikolay could think of was those same damn words: "it'll be your precious friends and loved ones' blood spilled."
It just seemed to keep echoing louder and louder with each face Nikolay looked to, desperate to ask for help, but terrified of doing so all the same.
Eijirou (your precious friends' blood)
Momo (your precious friends' blood)
Kyouka (your precious friends' blood)
Denki and Tooru (your precious friends' blood)
Shoto and Tenya (your precious friends' blood)
Mina (your precious friends and loved ones' blood spilled)
His eyes burning with speechless, agonized tears of fear, Nikolay did the very first thing his body could think of, and instantly threw his arms around Mina, pulling her in close and holding onto her tight as he could without hurting her. The pink girl was stricken speechless at this out of nowhere turn, as were the rest of the onlooking students, but that surprise quickly returned to unspeakable worry once she felt his whole body begin trembling even more against her, and the first sounds they all could make out from him were barely restrained choking sobs, as though he were trying to speak, but either couldn't…or wouldn't.
Nikolay didn't dare to loosen his embrace around Mina. If he were able to do so with all of his classmates right now, he happily would have taken them all in as well. All he could hope to focus on was just trying to hold her like this, in the naïve hope it would somehow be enough to protect her from the threat he now knew was hanging over all their heads like a veritable Sword of Damocles.
It was barely a handful of minutes later that the police came swarming into the department store, having been alerted by a call Ochako had made almost immediately after Shigaraki had left. They and a whole contingency of Pro Heroes were quick to start prowling and scanning the entirety of the building and surrounding area to find any kind of trace of the man…alas, in the end, he had slipped away with nothing left for them to go off of. It was like he had literally vanished into thin air as quickly as he had come.
Of course, the police weren't about to let their work end on that kind of note. As soon as Ochako had given her testimony of what she had witnessed in the lobby, it took no time for them to round up Izuku and Nikolay to be taken to the police station for questioning. It all made perfect sense in Nikolays' head that the police would go about things this way to see what they could learn. Of course, that didn't make it hurt any less, to see the looks of absolute shock and worry on his classmates and friends' faces, to have to learn secondhand like this, what had almost happened to him and Izuku without them even realizing it.
For what felt like a solid couple of hours after reaching the police station, Nikolay and Izuku had both given the questioning detective they both knew now as Naomasa Tsukauchi, every microscopic detail of their encounter with Shigaraki they could dig up, replaying the entire conversation, nearly beat-for-beat, more than once per person.
Unfortunately, just as they both felt like they were now running on fumes after all the emotional and psychological turbulence; the detective ultimately answered their shared testimony with a remorseful sigh. "Unfortunately, for everything you boys have given me, it doesn't give me anything particularly new to go on about our perpetrator. The fact we found absolutely no physical evidence to try and trace back to him and figure out where he was going doesn't help, either."
Nikolay nearly felt ready to just collapse and black out from the shared exhaustion and disappointment, before Naomasa closed his report filed with a resounding slap, jolting him back upright. "However, that doesn't necessarily mean we should count today's events as a complete loss. I have to commend you two; despite being held essentially at knifepoint by a fearsome and heavily wanted Villain, you both somehow managed to maintain a level head, and prevent a potential catastrophe from taking place. Any normal person in such a situation doubtless would have panicked, and such a thing could have cost countless lives in the process. You may not have been able to stop Shigaraki from escaping…but you still essentially saved numerous lives today. For that, I want to thank you both, Midoriya-san, Bezpalov-san."
It felt undeniably good to have at least some kind of victory be brought up so the two boys wouldn't feel entirely as useless as they did in that moment. Izuku was certainly able to reflect that with a grateful smile. Yet, despite how much Nikolay wanted to take that pointer for what it was worth, he couldn't help but clutch onto his pant legs tighter, eyes glued to the floor. "Thank you, officer. But…I-I just can't stop thinking about it; about how we should've done something. I know there was nothing we could've done. All our friends and countless civilians could've gotten killed if we tried…let alone getting killed, ourselves. But this feeling of uselessness…it just won't go away."
Contrary to the neutral look on his face, Naomasa sucked in a breath through his teeth, able to at least partially understand where the Russian boy was coming from. Hell, Izuku could, too. They were supposed to be learning how to become Heroes that could handle or outright prevent situations like this, and help put Villains like Shigaraki behind bars where they belonged. To have been forced to basically sit on their asses and do nothing for the sake of their own lives would've made anyone with such a lofty expectation of themselves feel particularly weak.
It was shortly after that, realizing there were no further questions he could ask the boys regarding what the media was already referring to as 'The Hero Incident', Detective Tsukauchi ultimately decided to give Nikolay and Izuku permission to go home. Of course, when they reached the entrance, both boys were stricken to find All Might, Tunguska and (to Nikolays' worry and regret) Mina all standing attentively outside in wait for them.
The moment both boys stepped outside, she was immediately on the move, pulling them both into a three-person hug. This time it was her turn to be the one trembling with pure emotion, sniffling and trying hard not to break down into worried sobs. All the while, Nikolay and Izuku couldn't help but look to their likewise concerned Pro figures. "After hearing what happened, of course we wanted all your classmates to head back home under police protection. However, malenkaya Ashido wouldn't hear it. She was very insistent on being here when you both were let out. Malenkaya Uraraka came very close to doing the same, but I was able to help her see reason in the end."
Mina finally let Nikolay and Izuku go, wiping the tears from her eyes before looking at them both sternly. "God, we were so worried about you guys! Next time you end up in trouble, you've gotta come to us for help, you understand? As strong as you both are, you can only do so much on your own, you know?"
Neither of the boys could feel anything short of guilt, not just in her case, but in that of all their classmates. However, All Might was thankfully quick to step in before they could wallow too much further into it. "I don't intend to speak on Ashido-shoujo's behalf, but we're all just grateful neither of you boys got hurt. Nevertheless, Tunguska-san and I…I'm sorry that neither of us was there to protect you kids."
"That's right. I know it's a bold statement, perhaps even irresponsible, but perhaps we might have been able to prevent this ugliness from happening at all if we had. Regardless, All Might and I are going to make a point of making sure you and the rest of the students are under protective watch at all times." Even though Tunguska was trying to maintain an air of professionalism, the raw emotion in the back of his tone, just knowing that his own son had come so close to death, was unmistakable.
However, Detective Tsukauchi was quick to interject as well. "I'm sorry for interrupting, gentlemen, but could I perhaps have a word with you both in private? I can have a police escort take Bezpalov-san and Ashido-san back home and stand as protective watch for the night. Midoriya-san, we've already gotten in contact with your mother, she should be here to take you home as well, momentarily."
Thankfully, both Heroes looked to be in complete agreement, as did the three teens. Soon, Nikolay and Mina were escorted into a single police car, and were soon down the road and out of sight. As soon as they were, All Might let out a relieved exhale, and in a sudden burst of steam reverted back to his scrawnier Toshinori Yagi form. "I'm really trying to avoid cutting my limit for the day that close. The next time any of the students try to insist on sticking around for these kinds of things, we should make a point of being even more insistent they do the responsible thing and head home, Tunguska-san." Tunguska could only give a feeble nod of agreement, frankly embarrassed he'd gotten talked out of doing so by a teenage girl of all people.
However, at the same time as this, Izuku couldn't stop thinking back to their confrontation, back to one particular thing Shigaraki had said: "It's because of him, that they're always grinning, like there was never anybody he couldn't save!"
"Midoriya-shonen, are you sure you're alright?" Toshinori suddenly asked, stirring Izuku from out of his thoughts. From the concerned looks in both his teachers' eyes, it was clear he had something serious to say. But how could he ask something like this of someone that always seemed so powerful and capable of anything and everything? All the same, he knew he couldn't keep quiet about this after today.
"All Might…have you…has there ever been a time when you…failed to save someone?" Such a difficult question struck Toshinori and Tunguska alike straight in the heart, and the desperate look in the freckled boys' eyes, all but pleading for an honest answer, left the blonde man at a great impasse, knowing he couldn't lie to the boy now of all times.
And so he said with the gravest of sighs: "Yes…many, many times, in fact. I know it's not what you nor anyone else wants to hear, having come to see me the way you do, but the fact of the matter is that I'm only human…and no matter how much I truly want to…I simply can't be there to save everyone."
Tunguska knew just how difficult a question like that could be for any Hero to answer. And with the experiences he himself had been put through, there was no justifiable reason he couldn't say his piece as well. "It's very sad, but it's also very true of any Hero, malenkii Midoriya. You know my story, I told you what happened to me and Kolya years ago…because I was trying to save as many people as I could in the bigger picture. Yes, Heroes try to save people when and where they can…but there's never been a single Hero alive who could be everywhere at once and save everyone from every possible danger. Such a feat is only feasible to a god…not a human being, Quirked or otherwise. And as much of a great Hero as you're aiming to become…accepting the limitations and capabilities of what you're realistically capable of is one of the most essential things you can ever do in life in general, Quirked or not. I've seen the despair that failing to save someone can create, break Heroes that I once thought unbreakable. All Might and I…we're trying to help it so that you never find yourself at that same kind of risk when you step out into the world. Do you understand?"
Toshinori and Tunguska could both see these words sinking into Izukus' head, and that it was clearly one of the hardest things for him to accept, the idea that All Might wasn't the embodiment of perfection in Heroism he'd spent his whole life viewing him as. Toshinori couldn't honestly blame him. It was one of the hardest things for the man himself to accept when he woke up every single day.
"The people that are immediately nearest me…they're the only ones I'm able to save with any certainty when danger reels its head, Midoriya-shonen. Even as we speak, somewhere out there, someone is in danger, or hurt, and in desperate need of help. That knowledge…that's precisely why I always smile when I'm out there."
As Toshinori instinctively looked up to the sky in remembrance, Izuku found himself looking to the man he admired most with that same childlike wonder, even through his painful realization of the limits of All Might.
"You see, the Symbol of Peace…he is meant to inspire people, Heroes…and yes, even Villains…to stand up and act out their roles. That way, in the end, more people will ultimately be saved. That is the responsibility inherent with the title…and the sooner you understand that, Midoriya-shonen…the more prepared you will truly be."
"IZUKU!" The serenity and power of this personal moment was suddenly shattered by the near hysterical wailing of a short, rounder woman with green hair sprinting over and nearly lifting Izuku off the ground in a terrified hug, even though he was nearly a foot taller than she was. "Oh, Izuku, you had me worried sick! When I heard what happened, I was so scared; I—I—"H-hey, Mom, it's okay! I'm alright, you see? You don't have to worry anymore, I'm okay!"
It took a good couple of minutes for Izuku to calm his mother, Inko, down from the point of her near hysterical sobbing, and then another couple of minutes of her begging the three adult men gathered around them to keep a closer eye on and protect her boy, to which Tsukauchi, Tunguska and Toshinori all wholeheartedly agreed and promised they would. As soon as she was seemingly satisfied with their answers, Izuku dutifully accompanied his mother all the way back home, while the two Heroes and the lone detective could only watch them shrink into the distance.
"I'm sure you both are well aware of this, but I think it goes without saying after today, that Shigaraki will almost definitely be looking to make a move towards the other Yuuei students in the coming months. As such, since the police have already started forming a special unit in response to the League of Villains' recent actions, I believe we should instruct the Hero schools in Japan to all start implementing countermeasures against any future Villain attacks, as well as start putting much more focus on their own personal security."
Tunguska took a deep, steadying breath that made his already large muscular chest puff out even more, as his hands balled into trembling fists at his sides. "You're absolutely right about that, Tsukauchi-san. The League of Villains is proving even bolder than I'd feared. We need all the help we can get to prepare for whatever it is they're planning next. That's why I intend to get myself registered as an active Pro Hero again as soon as possible. I'm not going to allow danger to get that close to those kids again, not on my life."
To this sentiment, Tsukauchi actually looked quite accepting of the idea, even despite not having known the burly Russian nearly as long as he had All Might. "Thank you for the support, Tunguska-san. You're definitely right, we need the help of all the Heroes we can get, sooner rather than later." From there, he glanced past his massive frame to find Toshinori, now with his head bowed; his sunken eyes in deep contemplation of everything they had just spoken to Izuku about, let alone what had nearly happened to him. "From what Midoriya-san and Bezpalov-san told me, it's clear that you're still the biggest target the League of Villains is gunning for, All Might. You surely must know that leaving your teaching position in Yuuei is still a viable option. It could perhaps help take the target off the students' backs."
Toshinori instinctively brought a contemplative knuckle to his mouth, looking back up to the infinitesimal stars above. "It's barely been more than three months since me and Tunguska-san started teaching there. Those children are relying on me to be able to help protect and teach them, just as much as they do all those other Heroes putting their lives on the line for them at that school every day. I couldn't possibly turn my backs on them now…not after this. I'm sorry, Naomasa-san, but I'm not leaving."
Tsukauchi let out a heavy sigh. Of course, how could he have ever even pretended that All Might would have made any other decision. Stepping forward so he could stand on equal footing with the two Heroes standing side-by-side, he looked back down both sides of the street both boys had left down. Only now, his deeply-rooted sense of worry was beginning to give way to a sense of hope, knowing he had two exceptional Heroes pledging their aid in a most desperate time. "All For One…this time, I can feel it. This time, we're going to arrest him for sure."
"Yes…yes, we will." Toshinori mused in agreement, feeling a likewise weightlessness of hope begin to return, while Tunguskas' bearded face grew firm with resolution. "And this time…this time you won't be facing him alone, All Might. You have my word on that. But for now, let's just be grateful no one was hurt…and get ready."
In the brisk chill of that summer night, these three men stood tall, silently readying themselves for any and all challenges that were to come.
From the moment they had started to leave the police station, Mina had been surprisingly insistent on asking the police officer driving them to simply let them off at Nikolay and Tunguskas' home. Since the police were to be stationed outside every Class 1-A students' home for the night, it surprisingly didn't take much to convince the officer to do just that.
Once they had been dropped off and stepped inside, however, the air of relief between Nikolay and Mina had swiftly dissipated. "I know it's been a long day, but I won't be here all night if you don't want me to, Kolya-kun. We can just wait until Tunguska-sensei comes back, then I can have the police take me back to my place."
It was clear from her tone that Mina had resigned herself to this possibility, that Nikolay would simply be too drained to want anyone around for too long. However, the boy himself couldn't have felt any more differently, as he shook his head in complete denial. "No…no, I-I want you to be here, Mina. You're right, it has been an…exhausting day, but I…I don't think anyone from our class should be alone right now. Thank goodness for the police standing watch in that case. But please…stay."
Mina wiped the beginning of a grateful tear from her eye as she and Nikolay practically collapsed on the living room sofa, sitting in an incredibly uncomfortable silence. Nikolay wasn't sure if he had the energy to even think of something to say to break this din between them.
However, Mina was already well prepared for that, as now that they finally had real privacy, she could finally express her worries and frustration to their fullest: "I don't understand why you didn't just try to tell us what happened, Kolya-kun. I know you had your phone with you, why didn't you try to text one of us what was going on? We would've gone to get help for you and Midori-kun, you know we would've. To think that you were both in such serious danger, and we didn't even know about it until after the fact…dammit, if *sniffle* if something had happened to you, and I didn't even know it…"
Already Mina was starting to devolve into tears the more she thought about the worst possible outcome, and trying to fight it was quickly proving to be a losing battle. However, as much as it killed him to hear his best friend cry for his sake, Nikolay couldn't allow himself to fall back into that state of helplessness and self-scolding for his own lack of action. What use was it to try and pretend he could've been able to accomplish anything by fighting back? He needed her to understand this more than anybody else right now.
"Mina…you don't understand what it was like. If it had been literally any other circumstances, I would've done exactly that. But that man…Shigaraki…Mina, as scared as you're feeling for me, believe me when I say that you are infinitely lucky that you weren't there to see, hear and feel what that man was like. The entire time, he had all but one of his fingers on us, and all it would have taken was one twitch on his end to close that grip, and he would've killed both of us. His touch was worse than that of ice; it was like being one breath away from shaking hands with Death itself.
"The reason I didn't try to text you about what was happening, no matter how much I wanted to; and believe me, I wanted to do that more than anything else…was because I was scared shitless; not just of dying, but of what would've happened if I'd told you, and you and the others had decided to try and step in to save us. Shigaraki even said it himself after he'd already let Midoriya-san and I go: that if any one of us tried to chase after him, he…he said he would kill every last one of you first, just so that we could have the blood of all our friends on our hands. There's no way in hell I could ever live with something like that; knowing you had all died because of me."
Nikolay let out the shakiest sigh as he ran his fingers anxiously through his hair, finally getting it out in the open. All the while, Minas' tears had stopped, but he could clearly see just how shaken that explanation had left her. No matter how devoted she was to helping people, especially the people she cared the most about, the idea that she could've ended up getting herself and the rest of their classmates killed in the process, and Nikolay being left behind to see it all happen and suffer with the weight of it, was a horrifying thought.
However, as she balled her pink hands into stubborn fists, she tried to bring back that brave expression. "Kolya-kun…you know none of us would've ever let that happen. Working together, we could've been able to—"But you don't know that for certain, Mina. That's just it, none of us do. This isn't like when we were fighting Vukodlak. That was scarier than anything else we'd encountered or gone through up to that point. But this…even after working together against a monster like Vukodlak, I was still too scared to try anything against this one man. I was scared into doing nothing, because I don't want to lose anyone else, Mina. I…I can't lose anyone else…least of all, you."
As Nikolay bowed his head in remorse and defeat, Mina could only watch, at a momentary loss of what she could possibly say to that. She couldn't lie to him and say that he wouldn't ever lose anyone else. He was right, there was no way for either of them to know what could or couldn't have happened then, or in the future.
As she tried to rack her brain for some kind of solution to help lift his spirits, she looked down and felt her heart momentarily seize to see his old habit of trembling hands had come back, even as he stubbornly tried to form them into fists to try and make it stop. It simply wouldn't.
She could clearly see he was trying so hard not to let his fear bring him back to tears again, but she knew the Russian boy beside her well enough by now to know he needed to let his feelings out for his own good. Without a moments' hesitation, Mina closed the distance between them, already preparing to try and place a comforting hand on his shoulder, simply to remind him he wasn't alone here, not now.
The moment Minas' fingers graced his shoulder, though, Nikolay sprung on pure reflex, pulling Mina into another tight, desperate embrace; one which she now found herself considerably more prepared for, as she immediately returned his hug in kind, holding him just as tight as he proceeded to let it all out, shedding his tears into her shoulder while she comfortingly nuzzled her now likewise crying face into his.
"I know neither of us can guarantee anything…but I promise you, Kolya-kun, we're going to keep trying. Trying to get stronger, get braver, whatever we have to do, so that we can face whatever danger comes, and kick its ass and keep each other safe…because no matter how scary things are, I know we're all strongest when we're fighting together. That's what Tunguska-sensei was trying to teach us yesterday, remember? If we could beat someone like him by working together, then I know we can face anything as long as we fight together."
As Mina whispered these heartfelt words of true confidence in herself, and in them and their friends as a team, she and Nikolay finally lifted their faces from each others' shoulders, grabbing from a nearby tissue box to wipe their eyes clear, before finally meeting each others' gazes in full support of one another; Mina even grabbing onto his still trembling hands in comforting support all the while.
"Right now, the most important thing for us to remember is that the police and the Pro Heroes know what happened now, and they're going to do everything to help keep us safe while we keep doing what we've been doing…and I promise I won't let anything hurt you if I have anything to say about it."
In a much-needed return to form, Mina lifted her right pinky finger up in a show of solidarity that Nikolay happily returned, linking his pinky around hers. "I know you will, Mina. I'd never expect anything less from you…and I promise I'm going to do everything I can to do the same for you. No matter what happens."
Mina couldn't have looked more relieved to hear the old confidence of Nikolays' make a comeback, as she rested her forehead against his with a satisfied yet tired sigh.
Once all had been quiet for a few seconds, she lifted her still smiling face from his as she began fishing around her purse for her phone again. "Hey, I don't know if you'd actually heard me before back at the store, but I was able to buy myself a ticket for that I-Expo you were talking about earlier, and I guess I got a lucky buyer number, because I ended up getting a free plane ticket to go to I-Island with it. You, me, Midori-kun, Tunguska-sensei and All Might, all hanging out over the weekend and seeing all the cool stuff there, doesn't that sound awesome? Besides, I think the change of scenery is something we could all really use right now, at least before our big lodge trip on Monday."
This time, Nikolay couldn't have been more excited for the prospect of the I-Island trip, knowing just one more of his precious friends was now going to be there to help ease the discomfort, as well as simply be there so they could all make that many more unforgettable memories together. Now, after today, all he could think was that the Saturday of their flight couldn't possibly come soon enough.
Class 1-A, Thursday
The air in Class 1-A in light of The Hero Incident was tense, to say the very least. It was pretty much all anyone could talk about. This applied to Aizawa as well, as from the moment he had stepped into class to start the day, the very first thing he did was to pull out the paper describing their plans for the forest lodge trip, and tear it clean in half in front of all the students' shocked eyes.
"In light of the recent incident involving two of our students at the Kiyashi Ward Department Store, and after careful deliberation with the police, it has been decided that not only will our original destination for the forest lodge trip be hereby cancelled, but that for the sake of brevity and secrecy, you will all only be informed of our new destination on the day we are to depart. So for your own sakes, make sure you have your phones with you and charged at all times. Despite all that, just know that after today, your first official term for this school year will officially have come to an end, and your summer break will be in full affect. So until you get the call for the commencement of the forest trip, enjoy your time off while it lasts."
This naturally put the entirety of the class into an uproar of surprise, with some like Hanta and Minoru expressing worry that they had already informed their parents of the original plans, while others like Momo and Tenya simply understood this change of plan was to ensure no information of the curriculum could risk potentially getting leaked. Meanwhile others further, like Ochako, Tooru and Mina, simply expressed gratitude that the trip in and of itself hadn't been cancelled outright.
However, with the subject of The Hero Incident once again being brought back up, all attention naturally found itself being diverted back to Nikolay and Izuku, with many of their classmates simply expressing a worry and fear as to what the leader of the League of Villains could've possibly wanted with either of them, before just as quickly expressing relief that neither of the boys had gotten hurt, or done anything to get themselves in that position.
Of course, not everyone in the class was of the same sentiment, as Bakugo (of course) was the one to make his opinion the most standout among the others: "It's not even a little startling that the commie took off and ran first chance he got; but what the hell was your excuse, Deku? You should've knocked that assholes' head clean off, even if it cost you a couple broken bones."
Frankly, at this point, Nikolay wasn't even in the right headspace to get peeved by yet another of Bakugos' insulting comments dished out towards him. Right now, all he was willing to try and apply his focus towards, was finding some way to further improve his fighting capabilities, so that if the day ever came that he would have to stand against those Villains again, he wouldn't let his fear overwhelm him this time.
And then, of course, there was just the knowledge that in two days' time, he, Mina, Izuku, All Might and his dad would all be on their way out of Musutafu and to a whole new place for a much needed change of pace and scenery, and an opportunity to put these worries to the wayside, if even just for a couple days, before the inevitable and long-awaited forest trip would eventually come.
And there it is, the new chapter of the week, everyone! I hope you all liked it. And that's right, in my attempt to try and cover the complete MHA timeline as best as I possibly can, the next arc getting covered in this story will be the events of the very first official MHA movie, Two Heroes! I'm sure this will be exciting for the veteran MHA fans wanting to revisit those events, and I hope it may prove intriguing to the more casual fans to perhaps seek the movie out while reading the chapters to come, as it is excellent as an anime series-companion film.
If you liked what you read here today, please be so kind as to leave an honest review. Until next week, stay safe, and I will see you all with the next chapter, and the beginning of this stories' take on MHA: Two Heroes, on 08/21!