Hey folks! Welcome back to the Heroes: Rising Arc of "Through the Rough"! We've had quite a bit of fun thus far with all of the characters getting involved in this ordeal. And now, we're finally about to get into the big action.

There's gonna be a lot of emotion going forward, especially with the Shining Star Heroes and the Dark Stars. Hope you're ready for it all. And I think you'll love what I've got in store. So let's keep things going!

Enjoy!

THROUGH THE ROUGH

"So…" Kyoka began the next morning as she adjusted her costume in the girls' bathroom, looking over at a teary-eyed Rebecca, "Midoriya saw your boobs," she noted.

"Mm-hmm…" the Cat Leaper Quirk user whimpered in response as she nodded.

"Because Bakugo ripped your top off…" her friend continued.

"Mm-hmm…" Rebecca confirmed with a mere nod again.

"And then Witch thought you and Midoriya were doing something since you had to wear his shirt…" Kyoka concluded.

"…Yeah…" the Cat Leaper Quirk user replied sadly, lowering her head. After a few seconds…

"Okay, I'm gonna go kill Bakugo," Kyoka decided, about to head off.

"Wait, wait, WAIT!" Rebecca yelped repeatedly, "It was just an accident, really!" she affirmed with her hands raised.

"Well, did he apologize for ripping your top off?" the Earphone Jack Quirk user inquired, arching an eyebrow.

"Uh… well… no…" her ash blonde-haired friend stuttered in reply, fidgeting with her fingers, "But seriously, don't go picking a fight with Kacchan!" she pleaded, clapping her hands together, "It'd only make me feel even worse…" she confessed sadly.

"Huh…" Kyoka sighed, "I still think you should kick his nuts later…" she advised to the Cat Leaper Quirk user's surprise. However, she giggled.

"I'll think about it…" she responded. As the two of them made their way downstairs, a phone rang.

"Hello there, you've reached the UA Hero Agency!" Mina answered upon picking up the receiver from her seat. She listened for a moment. "Oh, your suitcase has gone missing?" she inquired, "Sure, sure!" she repeated in understanding, "We'll send someone right away!" she promised, hanging up the phone, "We've got a tourist down at the shopping center who's lost her luggage, guys!" she called out to those in the room.

"I'm free! I'll go!" Toru quickly answered, raising her gloved right hand, "Aoyama, you should come with me," she recommended while standing up. The flamboyant teen got up from his seat.

"Wi~," he agreed, flipping his bright blonde hair back.

"Jeez… more lost luggage?" Minoru noted out of annoyance upon overhearing, catching Mina's attention. She had a rather devious idea to motivate him… "Come on, try lookin' for your own stuff…" the lecherous boy complained, not hearing the loving sigh coming from the Acid Quirk user.

"You should've heard her…" she noted, acting as if she was awestruck, "She sounded like a real cutie…" she remarked sweetly. Minoru's eyes jolted wide open as his cheeks went pink.

"Ka-ching!" he exclaimed, rocketing up from his seat, "I can't forsake someone in need!" he declared proudly, zooming off. Mina waved goodbye. Her plan had worked.

"Sending the perv off on a wild goose chase…" Kyoka remarked as she approached, getting the Acid Quirk user's attention, "Not bad, Ashido," she complimented.

"Heehee!" she giggled cheekily, "Oh, Rebecca," she greeted upon spotting the Cat Leaper Quirk user come over, "Couldn't help but notice you were wearing Midoriya's shirt last night…" she slyly noted, making her gasp as she blushed, "Something fun happen?" she wondered aloud with a wink.

"N-N-No!" Rebecca stammered out, waving her hands frantically.

"Shoji wants to know if anybody's available to back him up at the beach!" Momo yelled into the room as she turned her head from the couch she was upon.

"No problem, I can do that," Mashirao quickly replied, getting up from his seat.

"Me too!" Shiki chimed in while walking over, "I'll go ahead and fly us over there!" he decided, grabbing the Tail Quirk user by his arm before running out the door with him.

"Sh-Shiki!" Momo stuttered, only to watch her crush soar off with a yelling Mashirao, "Huh…" she sighed sadly, "And I was hoping we'd get to work together today…" she admitted as she glanced off to the side. Nearby, Ochaco gave off a blank, jealous stare.

"I'll see to the regular patrol," Fumikage said as he trotted by.

"As will I," Homura decided, walking with him. As the others bustled about, Witch approached alongside Pino.

"Rebecca," she addressed, getting the Cat Leaper Quirk user's attention as she had recovered from her embarrassment for the moment, "I apologize for the misunderstanding last night," she confirmed to her, making her blink in surprise.

"Oh, uh, i-it's no big deal…" she stammered in claim.

"That said, I am going to be keeping a close eye on you and Sir Izuku from here on out," Witch decided to her shock, "Shota was very clear in that he didn't want there to be any issues between you two as a couple," she explained.

"Oh, come on…" Rebecca grumbled as she slumped a little. Her teacher let off a little smile.

"I'm still happy for you, Rebecca," she affirmed, putting a hand onto her shoulder reassuringly, "Anyway, I just received word of an assignment that Sir Koji is planning on taking today," she pointed out, "Lady Kyoka, would you be willing to assist him?" she inquired of the Earphone Jack Quirk user.

"Yeah, sure," she responded.

"I can go, too!" Rebecca chimed in eagerly.

"Ooh, and me!" Mina squeaked, "I mean, hero work's always good!" she noted excitedly, "Especially when I can get away from Sister for the day…" she added with a grimace.

"I heard that," the Heal Atomizer Quirk user chimed in from afar, making the pink-skinned girl shiver with surprise.

"In that case, we'll have you split up in pairs," Witch decided, "Lady Mina can go with Sir Koji, and Lady Kyoka can go with Rebecca," she told the girls.

'So formal…' they noted inwardly. Rebecca then glanced over to spot her boyfriend at his computer, furiously writing notes in what she assumed was another hero notebook. She smiled, knowing that he was just eager to get going for the day.

"Alright, let's get a move on!" she insisted with a pump of her right fist.

"Yeah!" her classmates agreed as they mimicked her action. As those of Class 1-A moved about in preparation for the day, Hermit was curiously staring at her laptop, narrowing her eyes. Sister approached, arching an eyebrow.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Something happened out on the mainland recently," the Master Code Quirk user replied, showing footage of the raging lightning storm that destroyed much of a city. Her fellow Shining Star Hero widened her eyes.

"Well, damn…" she cursed, "Any idea who pulled this crap off?" she inquired of Hermit.

"If they had that info, I would've told you," she responded, "That's not the worst of this situation…" she mentioned, making the Heal Atomizer Quirk user blink in confusion, "Apparently, whoever's involved in this, there's a person who can take Quirks from people…" she added.

"Wait, what?!" Sister exclaimed out of disbelief, "How many people got their powers snatched?!" she questioned quickly.

"From the reports I looked into, four," Hermit replied, standing up from her seat and putting a hand onto her chin, "And there's also the fact that the latest victim wasn't a hero…" she mentioned, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, who is he?" her colleague inquired.

"They don't know," she answered, "I'm thinking that whatever his Quirk is, it's something that the attacker didn't want anyone to know about," she explained, "Otherwise, why bother taking his identification?" she questioned.

"Sheesh…" Sister grumbled, "How come they haven't gotten in touch with us about this?" she wondered aloud.

"I'm sure they can handle it themselves," Hermit affirmed confidently, walking off, "They've got the top heroes still in the country, after all," she pointed out.

"Yeah, guess so…" the Heal Atomizer Quirk user confirmed, rubbing the back of her head, "Might as well just let it be for now," she decided, walking off. Little did she realize that she and her colleagues would get involved in the worst way imaginable…

X

As he spotted Rebecca heading out with Kyoka and Mina, Izuku smiled. Last night had been quite an ordeal for him. Dealing with Katsuki so brazenly was something he had never done before. And it never would've happened at all had it not been for his girlfriend encouraging him to stand up for himself. It was thanks to her that he was so strong today.

"Hey, Rebecca!" he called out in greeting, getting her attention.

"Hey Izu!" she greeted back with a bright smile. He smiled back… and then his eyes drifted down just slightly. The memory of last night's incident hadn't fully set in until now. He had seen his girlfriend's bare chest. And he was looking at it. He immediately turned away, his face turning as red as a tomato.

"Uh, what the heck?" Mina said in confusion upon noticing, while Rebecca sighed, blushing herself. Kyoka growled under her breath.

'Bakugo's lucky to not be around right now…' she muttered inwardly. Shaking his head, Izuku tried to regain his composure. Seeing his girlfriend in a swimsuit was difficult enough for him sometimes, but half-naked? He was lucky he didn't end up smacked in the face from the embarrassment…

"Midoriya!" Tenya called out, snapping him away from his thoughts, "Have you taken an assignment for today?" he asked of his friend.

"Uh, yeah!" he stuttered in response, "I'm going down to the Nijimas' to help out with the fields," he told him, getting up from his seat. He jogged towards the doorway where the girls were. "H-Hi again…" he stuttered out.

"Hi…" Rebecca greeted, more nervously than before. They awkwardly glanced away from each other, while Kyoka and Mina watched on in concern. "We can talk about it later, okay?" the Cat Leaper Quirk user promised to her boyfriend's surprise, "Right now, let's just focus on being heroes," she advised, giving him a grin. He smiled after a moment.

"Right," he agreed, "I'll see you around?" he guessed. She smiled.

"Yeah," she assured with a nod. She then leaned up and kissed his cheek underneath a cluster of freckles. He actually didn't start blushing with embarrassment like Kyoka and Mina thought he would, much to their surprise. He then jogged off.

"Bye!" he called out in farewell. His girlfriend watched him go out the door, exhaling another sigh. Hopefully, things would be resolved quickly between them…

Outside, Katsuma was nervously peeking around the corner of the stone wall surrounding Iogi Heights. As Izuku ran into the street and turned left, he stopped and noticed the little boy there. He quickly ducked behind the corner in fright.

"Hey… uh, what's up?" Izuku asked as he walked over to find Katsuma crouched down behind the corner as he gasped in surprise, "Is something the matter?" he questioned on, seeing him stand up.

"It's just… um…" he stuttered out, turning around to face the freckled teen, "I wanted to say I'm sorry about what happened yesterday…" he apologized. Izuku was somewhat taken aback. But he smiled.

"That's so sweet…" he said in response as he leaned over to the little boy, "and really thoughtful of you, Katsuma," he added. "It's okay, I'm not mad or anything…" he assured to him while up on the balcony, Katsuki had just walked out, having his guidebook on hand while sucking on an orange popsicle.

"And the other heroes who were there…" Katsuma continued, catching the explosive teen's attention as he glanced over to see him talking with his rival, "will you tell them I'm sorry, too?" he requested of him.

"Sure, I'll let them know," Izuku replied with a chuckle, "But I'm curious…" he continued, raising an eyebrow as he crouched down to meet the boy's eye level, "why did you pretend that a villain had shown up?" he asked. Katsuma turned to his left, holding his hands together.

"The thing is… my sister… she hates heroes…" he pointed out in response, surprising Izuku a little, "She told me that even if I said there was a villain, the heroes around here would be too chicken to do anything about it…" he explained, clenching his hands tightly, "So that's why I had to…" he admitted, sounding ashamed of himself.

"You believed in us, huh?" he guessed, causing the little boy to perk up in surprise as he glanced over at the aspiring hero, "Even after what your sister said, you still believed we'd help you," he pointed out, "And that's why you came to get us, isn't it?" he inferred, smiling still as he tilted his head to the side slightly. Katsuma was astonished at how considerate and deductive the freckled teen was.

"Hmm," he responded with a little smile and nod. Izuku then glanced down towards the pin on his bag, quickly recognizing it.

"Hey, cool pin!" he complimented, "That's the Ninja Hero, Edgeshot, right?" he guessed upon closer inspection.

"Yep!" Katsuma replied with a laugh as he put his right hand over it.

"Do you wanna be a hero someday, too?" Izuku inferred, making the little boy blink in surprise again. He glanced down ashamedly.

"Not with my Quirk…" he admitted sheepishly, "It's no good for hero stuff…" he pointed out, "Besides, Mahoro says it's too dangerous…" he added as Izuku frowned with worry. He then realized something.

'UA High is so famous, and this is the best they have to offer?!' he remembered her shouting at him yesterday after they found her little brother.

'I get it…' he uttered inwardly, 'Mahoro doesn't hate heroes…' he noted to himself, 'Not really…' he added, 'She's just worried about her little brother…' he realized. And that worry was something he saw from others for him.

'Baby… you keep getting hurt…' he remembered his mother whimper the night after he was taken hostage by Tomura, 'I can't do this anymore… I don't think I can handle another scare…!' she had admitted to him, tearing up all the while. Those memories made Izuku want to become a hero more and more. He wanted to make everyone smile with joy instead of cry in fear. A determined glint appeared in his eyes. He knew exactly what to say to encourage Katsuma.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" he inquired, seating himself down next to the little boy as he got his attention, "If you could choose, what kind of hero would you want to be?" he asked him curiously. Katsuma grinned nervously as he glanced down in thought.

"I'd wanna be a super strong one…" he replied, "who could beat up villains…" he added cheekily.

"Oh yeah?" Izuku inquired with a chuckle, "You know…" he continued, "what I want more than anything is to keep people safe," he told the little boy, who blinked in surprise.

"But don't you have to beat up villains to do that?" he asked the aspiring hero. He let off a nod.

"Defeating an enemy is one way," he started to respond as Katsuki kept listening from the balcony, "but I'm more worried about helping people out," he admitted, "If that means beating up a bad guy, then so be it," he stated, "We might be looking at it differently, but we both want the same thing," he explained as Katsuma looked on at him with astonishment in his eyes, "We both want to be the best hero we can be," he pointed out, "Which means…" he continued, standing up with a grunt, "we'll have to give it our all!" he exclaimed to the little boy, giving him a bright smile as he extended his gloved right hand out to him. After a moment, Katsuma smiled and nodded. He reached his little hand up and firmly grasped Izuku's. "Oh… but we should try not to worry our families too much while we're at it…" he mentioned sheepishly.

"Right!" Katsuma agreed. He then ran off, waving goodbye to Izuku. He passed by the old woman from yesterday, who the freckled teen noticed as she was carrying a bag of vegetables in her hands.

"Little Katsuma's such a sweet boy and he really loves heroes, doesn't he?" she inquired as she looked back at the departing boy before approaching Izuku, "I've brought you this, dear," she offered, handing the bag to him.

"Thanks so much, Missus Suzumura," he said in gratitude as he took the bag of vegetables into his hands.

"You be kind to him, won't you?" the old woman implored of him, catching his attention as he blinked in surprise, "It can't be easy…" she remarked, "Poor dear lost his mother at such a young age," she pointed out as she and Izuku looked back in the direction where Katsuma had run off to, "And his father's away for work so often," she mentioned, "So he and his older sister Mahoro are on their own a lot…" she noted. The freckled teen gave off a worried, saddened expression. "Of course, those of us in the neighborhood look after them best we can," Mrs. Suzumura added as Katsuki continued to listen from the balcony, "But it must be so lonely, not having parents around at that age…" she concluded. After the Explosion Quirk user had heard the conversation from balcony, a good chunk of his popsicle fell off of the stick onto the floor. He took notice, looking at it with an arched eyebrow.

X

Elsewhere, rain was falling hard from the thunderous clouds overhead. A storm was blowing about fiercely as the winds blew about debris. Any normal person would've gone inside by now. But not Nine.

He found the storm to be calming rather than alarming. The feeling of the torrential rain hitting his face soothed his nerves. But why? Why was the downpour, the lightning, the thunder and the wind all relaxing him?

He wasn't wearing his suit. He was now dressed in black shoes, black pants, and a tattered white jacket over a plain shirt. His face was plain as the rain fell upon it.

"Nine," another voice said. At that moment, he awoke. He was sitting in the bridge of the cargo ship he and his comrades had stolen. Kiruka was at the wheel, while Chojuro and Hoyo were standing off to the side. Their leader had been asleep in his seat, recovering from the overuse of his power.

"Done with your nap, Nine?" Chojuro jokingly guessed with a smirk, seeing the masked man stand up.

"How close are we?" he asked as he looked over to Kiruka.

"Very," she answered simply, not turning to face him. The horizon was orange as it was now dusk. Nine could see the island in the distance.

"We're heading towards the harbor," Hoyo told him, "Once we sneak in, we'll fan out and find those kids…" he explained.

"No," his white-haired leader refused, much to his surprise, "We've waited too long to finally make our move…" he noted, balling his hands into fists, "We'll break through and prove our power," he declared firmly. Kiruka grinned.

"Okay…" Weisz said, setting down a couple of crates at the harbor before wiping the sweat off of his brow, "Think that's everything…" he noted with a relieved sigh.

"Thanks for the help, Arsenal!" one man called out gratefully, "Got a couple fish here for you and your fellow heroes to take home if you want 'em!" he pointed out, holding up a small ice chest.

"Oh yeah?" the Machina Maker Quirk user responded with a grin, "Thanks," he said gratefully as he accepted it, "Guess food's never a problem on this island, huh?" he presumed, earning a chuckle out of the fisherman.

"Hey, there's a freighter coming in!" he yelled, catching everyone's attention as they looked to see a large ship approaching the shoreline from the sea on the horizon.

"A supplier?" the fisherman uttered in confusion, "We weren't supposed to get one for another day or two…" he noted with an arched eyebrow. Weisz looked on curiously at the vessel. It wasn't even heading for the dockyard. And to add to it…

"It's not slowing down…" he realized, blinking in surprise. Meanwhile, Mahoro was at the playground hill overlooking the harbor in the distance, worriedly glancing around the area. Her little brother was out somewhere on his own, much to her concern. Thankfully…

"Mahoro!" he called out, catching her attention as she looked to see him run up to her, smiling in relief.

"Where've you been, Katsuma?" she asked as he approached.

"I went to see Mister Deku," he replied. She tilted her head to the side, blinking in surprise and confusion, "To say sorry for what happened yesterday," her little brother mentioned.

"But why?" she questioned curiously.

"Listen…" Katsuma began as he lowered his head slightly, "I love Daddy," he told her as she listened with a perplexed expression on her face, "And I wanna be as cool as he is someday, I really do," he added honestly, "But also…" he continued, lifting his head up to look her in the eye, "I wanna—!" A loud bang interrupted his declaration.

"AH!" Mahoro gasped in surprise, "Whoa!" she yelped as she turned around, "What was that?!" she wondered. Down at the harbor, the oncoming ship had broken through the concrete breakwater as it continued towards the shore.

"The breakwater!" one worker exclaimed in shock.

"What's the ferry doing?!" the fisherman Weisz had been speaking to questioned out of astonishment.

"We gotta get outta here!" another worked realized in a panic. The ship hit the shoreline in a flurry of dust, toppling over onto its side.

"Hurry!" one worker yelled as everyone else evacuated the area except for the aspiring hero. From afar, Mahoro and Katsuma went over to the fence to see what had happened.

"It crashed!" the former exclaimed in shock, seeing the washed-up vessel lying on its side in the harbor, "What's going on?!" she asked. Weisz let off a grimace.

"What the hell…?" he muttered in question, reaching into his pocket for his phone. Just as he was about to dial, he noticed eight figures standing atop the beached vessel. They didn't look like shipmen. They more resembled villains.

"Chimera, Mummy, you're in charge of diversions," Nine instructed of his cohorts as they stood atop the beached ship they stole, "I don't wanna be interrupted," he added firmly.

"So how should we do it?" Chojuro asked.

"However you want," Nine replied simply.

"We're on it," Hoyo affirmed. His eyes showed a desire for battle.

"Slice," Nine uttered.

"I'm ready…" Kiruka responded, eager as well to get the plan started.

"As for the rest of you…" the white-haired villain began to the Dark Stars.

"We'll do our best to fell any foes that may stand in your way," Wizard affirmed, "while also accomplishing our goals," he vowed on.

"Speaking of which…" Killer chimed in, getting his attention, "we already have a 'hero' on the scene…" he pointed out, tilting his head toward the harbor. His fellow androids glanced over and spotted Weisz there, whose eyes were shaking. "What should we do about him?" the Master Code Quirk user asked.

"Hohoho…" Clown chuckled, "Well, if he's a hero…" he started to say.

"Eliminate him," Nine advised, causing everyone to turn to him in surprise, "And eliminate anyone else in our way," he added firmly.

"…Understood," Wizard replied, "Killer?" he said. The Master Code Quirk user smirked.

"Thought you'd never ask…" he responded, lunging out toward Weisz.

"Whoa!" he yelped, hopping back as the android performed a three-point landing in front of him. He looked up and smirked.

"Machina Maker, right?" he presumed, causing the blonde-haired teen to gasp.

'He already knows my Quirk?!' he inquired inwardly in shock, grabbing his rifle off of his back and aiming it forward.

"Stop right there!" he commanded, only for Killer to grab his weapon.

"Automatic Break-Down Program," he said to the confusion of his foe, only to widen his eyes as his rifle came apart, disassembling into its base components that clattered onto the ground.

"N-No way…" one man stuttered, still on the scene with others. Weisz was stunned.

"Hey… that Quirk's just like…" he started to say.

"Ah-ah-ah…" Killer interjected, wagging his right pointer finger, "Don't spoil the fun, hero," he advised, "And let me enjoy the moment!" he insisted additionally, thrusting a mechanical tentacle from underneath his cloak out at his target. He had no time to react, getting struck and sent crashing into the nearby warehouse. Others on the scene gasped, hurriedly running off.

"We should expect the other students to get involved in these affairs," Wizard confirmed, "Clown, you and Killer take to the main district," he advised of his colleagues, getting their attentions, "Brigandine, you'll cut off communications and delay any foes that come in your path," he explained further.

"And what about you, my dear Wizard?" Clown inquired curiously.

"I'll be heading to the heroes' base of operations," the green-haired android responded, "Crippling them should let our comrades here complete their mission," he affirmed.

"Taking charge for us?" Hoyo presumed, "How considerate…" he commented.

"Don't think about it too much," Wizard assumed, grabbing his staff, "We have our own mission as well," he pointed out. He and the others aside from Kiruka jumped down from the beached ship, while she went ahead and sharpened her hair as it hardened. She shot out strands like needles, piercing into the boats docked at the bay, making them explode. From the warehouse as he wiped away the blood trickling down his head, Weisz noticed.

'They're attacking the boats?' he noted inwardly, 'What are they trying to do?' he wondered on. As he picked himself up, Killer spotted him.

"Well, guess some kids are tougher than others…" he realized, "I'll stick around here and make sure this brat's kept to the harbor," he decided, getting his colleagues' attentions, "Can't have him keeping an escape plan intact, right?" he presumed rhetorically.

"Do whatever you'd like…" Nine muttered out. Grimacing, Weisz grabbed his phone, seeing that it was damaged.

"Aw, crap…" he grumbled, only to see Killer zipping up to him.

"Don't think we're finished yet, you brat!" he roared, grabbing him by his throat and slamming him against the floor of the warehouse as they crashed into it. The Machina Maker Quirk user's phone clattered along the floor, while he himself was pinned by his foe.

"So… you got Hermit's Quirk, huh?!" he realized as he tried to grab Killer's arm, only for him to grasp his left wrist, holding him down.

"Heh," he chuckled, "You're one of the smart ones, huh?" he noted, having his tail-like apparatus wag threateningly, "Just so you know, I'm not a Hermit clone," he remarked, "I'm far superior to that brat…" he proclaimed with a sadistic smirk, readying an energy blade over his right arm.

"That so?" Weisz questioned as he grimaced. From afar, his phone lit up.

"Hello?" Momo's voice echoed from the device, causing Killer to perk up in surprise, "Steiner, are you there?" she questioned.

"Creati, villains are on the island! They just attacked the harbor!" Weisz exclaimed as loudly as he could, "There's eight of 'em on the scene!" he mentioned before the android atop him tightened his grip around his throat, "Send… backup…!" he managed to gasp out, making his yellow energy lines expand up to his wristwatch-like device. Noticing too late, Killer found himself kicked away. He landed in a three-pointed position, looking ahead with a grimace.

"I shouldn't have wasted time…" he grumbled aloud. Standing before him was the Machina Maker Quirk user, who donned his Arsenal armor, which now sported a coat-like apparatus that was black in color.

"Arsenal Mark Two… deployed!" he exclaimed, dashing out at his foe. Outside the warehouse, Kiruka could hear the rumblings occurring.

"Sounds like they're having fun in there…" she remarked, licking her lips. Meanwhile, the children atop the playground looked on at the scene in shock.

"Villains…" Mahoro uttered shakily, "Real ones this time…" she realized.

"Mahoro, we need to tell the other heroes that they're here!" her little brother insisted, getting her attention.

"What, you mean those useless students?" she guessed.

"Mister Deku won't be scared!" Katsuma argued in response, "He'll come and help us! I know he will!" he affirmed desperately.

Back at Iogi Heights, Rebecca let out a long yawn as she, Kyoka, Mina and Koji had just returned from their task to track down the missing farm animals. Outside, Tenya and Ochaco were speaking with the mayor about other jobs the aspiring heroes needed to do. As they were about to learn more…

"The Nijimas are all set!" Izuku called out, catching their attentions as they saw him jog over through the entrance.

"I'm sure they appreciated the help!" Tenya pointed out as his friend passed by them, heading into the building.

"Hello?! Steiner?!" Momo's voice exclaimed in panic, getting his attention as he took notice of her holding her phone in her right hand, sweating a little. Witch approached the Creation Quirk user.

"Is something the matter, Lady Momo?" she inquired.

"I think Steiner might be in trouble!" she responded immediately, causing everyone nearby to perk up in surprise, "He said that villains had arrived at the harbor!" she pointed out.

"What?!" Tenya exclaimed as he hurried over.

"You gotta be kidding!" Hanta yelled, "What would villains be doing here?!" he wondered aloud.

"Wait, there's more than one?!" Mina inquired out of shock.

"Everyone, please calm down," Witch advised, "Was Weisz able to relay anything else to you, Lady Momo?" she inquired of the Creation Quirk user.

"Yes…" she replied, "He mentioned there were eight of them," she confirmed, "and I think he was fighting one of them when he called," she added.

"In that case, we need a team to head to the harbor," Sister chimed in as she came over alongside Hermit, who was holding Pino.

"I'll go," the Master Code Quirk user decided, "Weisz might need help when it comes to his armor," she pointed out in remembrance.

"We should also spread ourselves out in case those villains are out and about," Sister advised, "Who's out on duty right now?" she inquired.

"Hagakure, Aoyama and Mineta are at the shopping district," Momo recalled.

"I know Granbell and Ojiro went with Shoji to help at the beach," Tenya added, "And Kogetsu and Tokoyami left together," he recalled on. Meanwhile, one of the phones was ringing elsewhere as a costumed Katsuki approached it. He had yet to even put on his grenade gauntlets, picking up the receiver.

"Yeah, what?" he answered in an annoyed tone, rubbing his spiky hair, "If it's something lame, then I'm hanging—"

"There are villains at the fishing harbor!" Mahoro's voice screamed frantically over the line, causing him to wince from how loud she was. But then he widened his eyes slightly as he held the phone away from his ear for a moment.

"I know that voice…" he noted quietly. Izuku came into the room alongside Rebecca upon overhearing. "You're the kid from yesterday!" Katsuki realized, catching their attentions as they saw him on the phone, "Well nice try," he muttered out, "but we're not falling for it this time, brat…" he grumbled disdainfully.

"I'm not lying!" Mahoro shouted, "There's a guy trying to fight some of them off, but others split up!" she pointed out in a panic, "Please, do something!" she begged of the Explosion Quirk user, who tensed up a little. Noticing that, Izuku quickly snatched the phone from him.

"Hey!" he yelled. His rival ignored him, more focused on whoever was on the call.

"Yes, hello?! Hello, this is Deku!" he exclaimed into the receiver.

"The fishing harbor is under—!" Mahoro's voice cut out as the phone beeped, signaling that the call had been stopped somehow. Rebecca jogged over.

"What was that about? Was it something about Weisz?" she asked out of worry. Her boyfriend turned to his rival.

"What did she tell you, Kacchan?" he asked him in a serious tone. Something was definitely wrong. Elsewhere on the island, the cell tower toppled over completely as Chojuro was leaving the area.

"The communications are down," he noted, "Ha," he chuckled, "That was fun," he admitted, "Now what's next?" he wondered, narrowing his wolf-like eyes. He then saw Brigandine appearing to be focused on the beach, seeing Homura there chatting with Mezo and Tsuyu, while Mashirao, Shiki and Fumikage were standing by.

"We take out the heroes," the bulky android decided, "Starting with the strongest ones," he affirmed on.

"Heh," Chojuro laughed again, "Then let's get to it…" he insisted.

X

"Hey, where are you two going?!" Kyoka called out to Izuku and Rebecca, who sped out from Iogi Heights. The fact that the call from the Shimano children had been cut off was a bad omen. And they had to make sure they were okay. Meanwhile, the trio of Toru, Yuga and Minoru had found the missing luggage in the shopping district. Though the former two celebrated their success, the latter was somewhat disappointed. Because as cute as the girl they found the suitcase for was…

"I'm so glad we found it!" the girl exclaimed, holding another boy's hands as they were smiling happily.

"Now we can have our island adventure together!" he pointed out excitedly. The two were a lovey-dovey couple. And that's exactly what pissed Minoru off…

'This cutie's already got a boyfriend!' he concluded, grimacing in frustration, 'Thanks for nothing, Ashido!' he yelled inwardly.

"Okay!" Toru said, stretching her invisible arms up, "That took a while, but we got it done!" she noted proudly.

"Wi," Yuga chimed in as he flamboyantly flipped his hair, "It's always so nice to make people smile," he pointed out.

"I guess…" Minoru muttered, glancing off to the side.

"Oh, lighten up, Mineta…" the Invisibility Quirk user insisted as they traversed down the street, not noticing the figure of Clown leaping from building to building, "Ashido's practically been suffering because of Sister being all over her," she pointed out.

"So why am I the one getting punished?!" the ball-haired teen questioned back, "You know, whatever," he grumbled, "I'm gonna go ahead and meet up with Steiner at the harbor," he decided, "Said I could help look strong and attract the ladies…" he mentioned with a cheeky grin.

"Of course…" Toru grumbled out, "I guess we'll see each other again later at—!" A loud bang interrupted her comment, causing them to all perk up in shock as they looked to see a plume of smoke rising nearby. Down at the center of the plaza, many people were running away from Hoyo as he trotted about. Some of his bandages wrapped around nearby inanimate objects, whether they were trash cans, vending machines, or even vehicles. Each one turned itself into a humanoid shape of different sizes, each having one purple eye.

"He did say however I want…" the villain noted in remembrance. He had one of his puppets lunge out towards some of the fleeing citizens.

"Watch out!" Toru exclaimed, tackling them aside to avoid getting struck. Hoyo blinked in surprise, seeing her get up with the civilians. "Get out of here as quickly as you can, okay?" she advised of them. They nodded in response, standing up and hurrying away.

"Hmph," the bandaged man scoffed, "I guess they did say there'd be heroes about…" he admitted as the invisible girl turned to face him, balling her hands into fists.

"Hagakure, are you alright?" Yuga inquired as he ran over alongside Minoru.

"More importantly, is that guy a villain?!" the ball-haired teen inquired, shuddering a little. Hoyo narrowed his eyes.

"Three little heroes out in the middle of nowhere…" he remarked, making more of his bandages spread forth, wrapping all sorts of objects: cars, vending machines, street lamps. The trio before him was left shocked.

"How many can he make?!" Yuga wondered, evidently astonished by the amount of puppets looming before them. They lunged out in an attempt to strike, only for them to dodge and roll aside as quickly as they could. The Navel Laser Quirk user was then firing off sparkling laser beams from the openings of his costume, destroying each puppet with a single hit. Minoru frantically plucked ball after ball off of his hand, hurriedly throwing them at the controlled objects wrapped in burgundy bandages. They stuck to them, also causing some to stick together, allowing Yuga to blast them to bits with his lasers.

"Hagakure, did you call the office?!" the Pop Off Quirk user yelled in question as he threw more of his sticky balls to try and immobilize the puppets. Three almost crashed into him as he yelped, leaping back in the nick of time and falling onto his stomach.

"I can't get through!" the invisible girl responded as she was holding her phone, "I don't have a signal!" she pointed out, showing that her device had no service in the area.

"Seriously?!" Minoru exclaimed as she sat up from the ground, "This is so bad!" he realized in a panic, while Yuga looked strained as his laser blasts appeared to be getting weaker.

"My tummy can't handle much more of this…!" he grunted out, catching his ball-headed comrade's attention, "Please think of something!" he pleaded. Unfortunately, Minoru didn't have any idea as how to deal with their foe and his multitude of puppets he conjured…

"Dammit!" he cursed in frustration, flinging more balls that he plucked off from his head, "What are we gonna do?!" he wondered aloud as he and Yuga continued to fight back the puppets. Suddenly, a dozen more were about to converge onto them. Meanwhile, there were fires spread about the forests and grasslands leading towards the beach.

"Froppy! Tentacole! Magimech King!" Mashirao's voice called out, "Hurry and let's get these people outta here!" he advised while running off.

"On it!" Mezo replied, carrying three children in his arms. Tsuyu then wrapped her tongue around them, quickly reeling them up to the top of the grassy hill.

"Stay calm, but move quickly!" she insisted after setting the kids down, letting them go with the other departing beachgoers before lashing her tongue down to grab more children gathered below. Shiki flew up a few others before glancing back toward the beach. Mashirao leapt up from the sand.

"Twirling Tail Dance!" he exclaimed, spinning around rapidly before swinging his tail out at Chojuro, who merely blocked it with just his left arm. He shoved his opponent off of him, causing him to jump back. "What are you after?! Why are you doing this?!" he immediately asked, taking a ready stance.

"You look a little young to be a hero, kid," Chojuro remarked in response, picking up a few boulders easily with his hands. He chucked them out at Mashirao, who quickly ran off to evade them. However, he found himself trapped between two as a third was closing in, about to crush him. All of a sudden though, Fumikage flew in and grabbed his comrade, yanking him out of the way as the large rock hit nothing but sand.

"Tokoyami!" Mashirao exclaimed.

"I've got this!" his goth friend assured, dropping him off before going to face Chojuro, "Dark Shadow!" he yelled out.

"Right!" the shadowy beast responded, protruding from its owner's torso as he lunged out towards the wolf-headed man. He punched the apparition atop its head fiercely with his right fist, causing its body to scrunch up before being blown back by a powerful shockwave of wind. The sudden burst of air also caused Fumikage to fall backwards onto the sand. Mashirao could also feel the wind, grimacing with frustration.

"Our phones have stopped working!" he pointed out, "Head back to the office and get the others!" he advised quickly, charging towards the villain.

"Are you sure?!" Fumikage asked, seeing his tailed comrade pass by him.

"I'll hold him off as long as I can!" he assured in response, "Besides, I won't be alone!" he added with confidence in his tone. At that, Chojuro perked up in confusion.

"Warrior Maiden Single-Sword Attack…" Homura began as she rushed forward with an energy blade drawn in her right hand, "Snake Strike!" she exclaimed, repeatedly thrusting her sword against her foe, making him grimace as he slid back. He chuckled a little.

"That's Valkyrie's Quirk, isn't it?" he presumed, causing her to tense up.

"Valkyrie!" Mashirao cried out, getting her attention, "Let's keep this guy until everyone's outta here!" he insisted.

"Right!" she agreed, tightening her grip on her blade. As Hermit left the office in a hurry, the others were gathered outside Iogi Heights.

"Contact the others on duty so we can be aware of the situation!" Witch advised of the students, who all had their phones in hand.

"Huh?" Ochaco uttered in confusion, looking at her cell phone, "Hey guys, I'm not getting a signal!" she pointed out to her classmates

"Me neither!" Hanta noted in shock.

"Same!" Denki exclaimed.

"Nothing…" Kyoka chimed in, holding up her phone. Katsuki looked at his. No service.

"What the hell's going on?!" Sister wondered aloud.

"Communications must've been severed…" Witch concluded with a hand upon her chin.

"And we just let Miss Hermit go…" Pino added worriedly. Just then, a motorcycle came to a screeching halt near the group.

"Hurry!" the man aboard it cried out, "There's a villain on the island!" he told the student heroes that had come outside.

"A villain?!" Rikido repeated in shock as he and the others were listening intently.

"He's tearing apart the shopping center!" the man noted to them, "Your people are trying to hold him back!" he mentioned as they grimaced.

"Reporting in!" Fumikage yelled as he flew down thanks to Dark Shadow, "We've got a villain down at the beach!" he pointed out to them before landed, retracting his shadowy apparition.

"What?!" Tenya exclaimed in shock.

"Ojiro and Kogetsu are holding him off," the bird-headed teen told his classmates, "but they need help!" he pointed out desperately.

"What's the plan?" Momo asked quickly.

"We act quickly and decisively!" Tenya immediately replied, "All right everyone, we're fighting on two fronts!" he pointed out to his comrades, "So we'll need to split up into teams!" he decided, "Bakugo, Kirishima, and Kaminari, intercept the villain at the shopping center!" he commanded of the trio, "Yaoyorozu, Jiro, and Ashido, go with them to help with first aid and evacuation!" he insisted, "Todoroki, Sato, Sero and Tokoyami, come with me to back up Ojiro and the others at the beach!" he continued, "Uraraka and Koda, you'll be our relief evacuation team!" he mentioned. Everyone seemed ready to take on the tasks they'd been given. "This is a race against time!" their class representative added to them.

"Agreed," Witch affirmed, "I'll head to the harbor to assist the Sir Weisz and Hermit," she decided, "Sister, you take to the shopping district," she advised of her fellow Shining Star Hero,

"Gotcha'," she replied.

"What about me?" Pino asked.

"And me, moscoy?" Mosco chimed in.

"Hold down the fort here, you two," Sister answered, "I'm sure we'll be back in a bit," she affirmed confidently, cracking her knuckles.

"We're the only heroes on this island," Momo chimed in, standing beside Tenya as the teams were ready to depart, "Which means we're the only ones who can save the people here," she noted, "So let's do our best, everyone!" she advised seriously.

"Are you ready, Class One-A?!" the class representative asked of his comrades, "We've got work to do!" he yelled, "Let's move out!" he declared firmly.

END

And that about wraps up this chapter! Next time, the action will really get moving for certain, and then we'll be rolling for sure. I'm looking forward to what you'll all think of the upcoming reveals and ordeals that lie ahead.

Thanks for reading, everyone!