Chapter 5: What Are We Doing?
The first meeting of the term was held a day late this year. Principal Nezu needed to deal with the situation with the press, and that took priority over the annual class 1-A report. There were two every term, one at the start and one at the end. Aizawa would visit the Principal and tell him of any progress or concerns he had over his pupils. The first one was the most interesting, of course, since it involved him finally giving his initial thoughts of the students he'd only seen on paper prior to the year's beginning.
Today was to be a busy day, hence it being rather annoying that the meeting was delayed, but Nezu was still seemingly keen to get it over and done with. The two heroes sat in silence, facing each other for a few seconds too long.
Aizawa sighed as he lifted the twenty files onto the desk before them. A little thicker than they had been when the Principal had last laid his eyes on them, but not by much. It had only been a week, after all.
"Number order?" Nezu suggested innocently.
Aizawa gave him a look, "I'll leave you to look over the files yourself. For a majority of them, there isn't much to say or discuss."
"A majority?" he repeated.
Aizawa was more than frustrated by this supposed naivety. Sliding the stack of files across the table to be dutifully ignored, Aizawa leant back in his chair and crossed his arms, "18 is becoming problematic."
"Quicker than expected," Nezu simply smiled, taking a sip of his green tea.
"Are you sure it was a good idea to put him in this class?" Aizawa dared to acknowledge.
Nezu put down his cup as he listened.
"The longer he stays here, the worse he'll get. He was so cautious for the first few days – but the moment he realised All Might was teaching here, something changed."
"He realised why he was enrolled in class 1-A," Nezu nodded. "I would expect a change in attitude after that. Midoriya needed the confidence to recognise his potential. He'll be a quite different person to manage from here on out."
Aizawa wavered, "He's not a genius."
"Oh, no," Nezu smiled, shaking his head. "He doesn't have an intelligence Quirk, nor does he have a fluke in his genetics to give him smarts to rival such an ability. Not to my knowledge, at least."
"Iida bests him in most subjects, and once Yaoyorozu finally began to apply herself, she quickly out did him too. Bakugo isn't someone to cast aside either. Midoriya is definitely in the top, but by no means is he the top."
"He had much bigger fish to fry in middle school. No, he has a different kind of intelligence – one with people."
Aizawa just stared at Nezu as he refilled his teacup. Aizawa's own lay abandoned, quickly getting cold.
"But it's because of him that the entire class is so close knit," the teacher explained. "Most of my classes took up to a month to finally start talking to each other. It took this one half a day – because Midoriya made them all write their names next to their student numbers back at the dorms. And then Mic said he promptly wrote everything down in a notebook and started collecting their strengths and weaknesses – and had previously done the same for many heroes, including him. Now the entire class is taking advantage of his stupid bug phobia whilst Midoriya sits back and watches it happen – did you see what they did during the alarm yesterday? Midoriya told them to ignore it and not a single one of them questioned him. He's achieved exactly what you predicted he would, and in one week."
"And Todoroki?" was all Nezu said in reply.
"Seems to be close to Midoriya. He's the only one he'll actively speak to."
Nezu's smile grew wider still, "How excellent! I suggest we leave them be for a while. The real test will be the Sports Festival, and the home visit that follows."
Aizawa rubbed nonchalantly at his temples, "Bakugo is definitely one of Midoriya's loose ends. The two despise each other and he's the only one that actively works against Midoriya. It doesn't help that the rest of the class jumps in to protect him from Bakugo – it makes him angrier. At this rate I can't see either of them graduating. Both are getting worse. Putting Midoriya in here may have caused more problems than it solved. The other students would probably behave a lot better if they didn't have Midoriya either intentionally or unintentionally edging them on."
"It'll be unintentional at this point," Nezu hummed to himself. "I think he and All Might should have a class together. We could send class A with class B during their rescue training. I heard that Midoriya had an altercation with someone from the hero course recently?"
"Monoma," Aizawa sighed. "Midoriya managed to convince him that he had the ability to steal other Quirks and all of class A played along."
Aizawa noted how Nezu's paw hesitated at his cup of tea, "Did he now?" he almost whispered, "I knew he'd convinced the hero course that he had a Quirk, but I was not aware of the nature of it. Remarkable – I wonder how long that will last… You didn't give up their game, did you?"
"No. I thought you would be interested in how that would turn out."
"I assume you are too."
"Naturally."
Another too-long moment of silence passed whilst Nezu finished his fourth cup of tea. Aizawa just stared at it, as though willing it to transform into coffee.
"How long do you recommend we wait until we do some therapy sessions with the individuals this year?" Nezu asked, glancing at an untouched form to the side of the files Aizawa had given him.
"We'll need some more time," Aizawa admitted. "None of them trust a single member of staff enough yet, let alone any stranger asking them about their mental health. It'll make them feel more insecure – and I don't want Todoroki to lock himself away from everyone again, especially Midoriya. We may have to wait until after the Sports Festival at least."
"I trust your judgment," Nezu agreed, sliding the form out of sight for now. He glanced at the files. "Tell me, what are your thoughts on little Miss Zero?"
Absolutely no one in class A was looking forward to the day, when Mr Aizawa announced that they'd be accompanying class B to a specialised training facility on the other end of campus to help with their rescue training.
This easily translated to various groups sitting in fake disaster zones, calling out "Help – my leg – it is broken," in the most bored tone in the world, whilst waiting for the amateur heroes to roughly 'rescue' them. And if that couldn't get any worse, they would be accompanied by not two, not three, but four heroes – Mr Aizawa; the head of class B, Vlad King; the hero in charge of the rescue facility they'd be utilising, Thirteen; and All Might.
Midoriya was wondering if the hero course could just let him die.
"So, hear me out right – Thirteen, the hero – and 13, the student," Mina giggled.
They were on the bus on the way to the training facility they'd be meeting class B at. They were all in their PE kits, grudgingly ready to be tossed around by the hero course for the rest of the morning.
"Sero, you've got to answer to 13 for the rest of the day," Kaminari insisted.
"Just imagine class B calling for help or something oh, Thirteen, can you – and then Sero swoops in front of them!" added Mina.
"Maybe they'll learn to stop calling us by numbers," Sero sighed.
"Speaking of numbers, anyone have any idea how to silence these stupid things?" called out Hagakure, waving her brick phone in the air, labelled 16 in red.
"I haven't figured out how to do anything except call and text," Jiro moaned. "I miss my music…"
The bus had a rather open planned layout, and on a long row of seats, Midoriya sat beside Shoto and Yaoyorozu. The taller girl leant over to Midoriya and asked, curiously, "What did Mr Aizawa mean by don't the other day? You never explained."
In a hushed voice, he replied, "I um… hack… stuff…"
"Oh… so, you could theoretically…"
"I could restore the phones to their original function, yeah, easily – allow us access to settings, deleting contacts, adding them, calling whoever we want… I might need to take it apart and put it back together. It could take a little longer to stop the teachers from being able to read our messages – and I wouldn't be able to connect them to the internet at all without a little more… err, pieces – the software just doesn't exist in these things."
Midoriya took his own phone out of his pocket. Everyone had taken theirs with them. They didn't need to but having them was like a little piece of freedom, despite their obvious limitations. After the initial fear of the Principal reading all their messages, they'd loosened up. The most recent conversation in the group chat had been held in the middle of the night, which had started on the topic of how sleep was a waste of time and ended a few hours later about the blood type preferences of mosquitoes.
The bus ride didn't last long. The UA grounds were massive – Midoriya gazed out the window nearly the entire time. The campus was surrounded by walls, and then mostly lined with trees. Beyond the main school, which Midoriya hadn't left for a week now, were numerous hero-training grounds, including what they were heading towards.
They dragged their feet when getting off the bus. Class B was waiting for them, just inside the large, dome-shaped building, all dressed up in their hero outfits.
"Line up," Mr Aizawa ordered.
Kacchan roughly pushed between Midoriya and Hagakure as they took the positions that they'd been forced to practise every day for the last week.
Whilst Mr Aizawa went to talk to the other two heroes present, Vlad King and Thirteen, class A awkwardly stood in their place, and class B turned to them.
"Look at them line up in number order," sniggered Monoma, and a good majority of his class followed suit.
"Wow," Jiro deadpanned, "Look at their pretty little outfits. Where'd you get yours, Monoma? A fancy dress shop?"
Now it was class A's turn to laugh, although, the trainee heroes didn't seem that bothered, not even Monoma.
"Does it have any… function?" Yaoyorozu asked him.
"What would the likes of you know about hero costumes?" Monoma scoffed.
He was wearing a suit, and an ugly one at that. Midoriya could barely do his own tie up properly, but he could still wrinkle his nose at what Monoma was sporting, at least in terms of practicality. His blazer was long tailed and that couldn't have been helpful in any feasible situation. His shirt collar was upturned, and his blue tie, although done up correctly, was covered in black polka dots. The only thing Midoriya could spy that was of any use whatsoever, were the stopwatches attached to his belt.
"More than you, apparently," Midoriya dared to speak up.
Monoma laughed. He had such a dull… mocking laugh. "You already know about my Quirk since you decided to have a go – I don't need any specialised items."
The entirety of class A knew about Midoriya's little trick from all the way back on the second day of term. After Mr Aizawa had warned him about what consequences may befall afterwards, Uraraka told the story of how Midoriya and Todoroki somehow got Monoma to believe that Midoriya could steal Quirks, after his Quirklessness cancelled out Monoma's copying ability.
"I could think of a dozen specialised items," Midoriya retorted. "For one – a jacket without tails that could easily catch fire. Since you do have a Quirk that allows you to copy fire Quirks, which are rather common, fireproofing should be one of the first things you thought of. It would also be a good idea to have some kind of weapon that you don't need to use your Quirk for. You're relying too heavily on your abilities that already rely on someone else's. You need to be able to fight Quirkless and be good at it – and your stiff costume really won't help, especially when you need to be able to move fast and get in close to touch someone and gain their power, and then likely move away to have the time to figure out how to use it. I hope your shoes don't give you blisters," he said in a way that implied that he hoped the opposite.
Everyone stared at him for a few moments, including the pro heroes. Midoriya tried not to cower under their scrutiny. But he could have sworn he saw Mr Aizawa smile.
"Wow, you really know your stuff," blinked a member of class B in an orange and black armoured costume. He held a similarly coloured helmet under his arm, so Midoriya could see his face. He didn't seem to have any lips, so all his teeth were on full show. It was kind of scary, but at least his costume was better than Monoma's.
"He would have to, with a Quirk like his," said the ginger-haired girl that Monoma had been with back when they first met. "Hi," she smiled, "I'm Kendo – I'm class B's new representative!"
"Your costume's pretty!" Mina called out.
"Hey, thanks!" she grinned, glancing down at her blue, knee-length qipao. She had free movement and practical boots. She also wore a utility belt and even black shorts underneath the short dress. Monoma should have taken notes – Kendo had clearly thought this through. Midoriya didn't even know what her Quirk was, but for some reason, he was thinking it would be something to do with martial arts.
"Kendo!" Monoma interrupted, "We shouldn't be associating with the inferior class!"
"Oh, come on, Monoma, just because you and 18 don't get along doesn't mean we all have to hate each other. Plus, you two have similar Quirks – maybe you could learn from one another," Kendo suggested with a bright smile.
Midoriya couldn't tell if she was faking being that nice or if it was genuine. She had told him off for scaring Monoma back then, but maybe she'd forgiven him…? Perhaps he'd simply been deprived of nice people who didn't have ulterior motives, didn't care, or who also happened to be villains.
Nice villains, huh? Midoriya would have once called that an oxymoron – the two words just didn't seem to fit together. Now it was nice hero that sounded off.
Midoriya had figured it out now – he'd had it wrong all his life. It made sense though, this whole world was run by heroes, so of course he'd trust them, worship them, even. But the system only worked because they pushed down those who resisted, that's what class A was for, right? For as long as he'd known, everyone had pushed him down, told him he was worthless – powerless.
But Mr Aizawa was right – there was power in what he thought was powerlessness. Midoriya may not have a Quirk; no strength, no… fire or ice or speed… but he had his mind. He could make a difference, just… not perhaps in the way he once thought. He didn't know what he wanted to do yet. He had the ammunition; he just didn't know where to fire the gun. But that ammunition made them nervous – them being the heroes. So, they slapped another label on him – on top of Quirkless and useless – villainous and dangerous. And that made him smile.
He'd found himself – and he was a villain, not a hero.
UA would have been better off just leaving him alone.
"Shut up! You don't know who the hell you're dealing with!"
Midoriya blinked, and suddenly Kacchan was fighting with Monoma. Midoriya had kind of lost himself to his thoughts, which was a common occurrence. The teachers didn't seem to be intervening either. He wondered if they were stalling, since All Might hadn't arrived yet, or perhaps they were just interested in seeing what would happen between class A and B – it sounded like something Mr Aizawa would do.
Before he knew it, Kacchan had grabbed the front of Midoriya's shirt and hauled him up to his height, "This is your fault!" he hissed for at least the fifth time that week.
Midoriya would have once squirmed and shrunk under his gaze, but since he'd been at UA, despite how short of a time that was, he'd come to realise there was no point in acting like that. A real villain wouldn't back down from a fight.
He pushed Kacchan's hands away with a sigh, so calmly that Kacchan almost backed away in surprise. "Yes, we've already established that, Kacchan."
"Seriously, Midoriya, are you ever going to tell us what you did?" laughed Kaminari, and class B just looked nervous.
He supposed that's where most of his confidence came from. He'd spent so long working on getting Kacchan into class A. Over around five months, Midoriya had bettered his skills in hacking, he'd read up on laws, spent hours shut up in his room, growing more and more bitter. There's no way he could have backed out after that.
"I should be on the freaking hero course!" Kacchan yelled, cupping little explosions in his hands, almost spitting in Midoriya's face.
"Oh really?" Monoma laughed, "Imagine, a villain in our class – you can't be a hero!"
"That's enough." Mr Aizawa stepped forwards, and they all went silent. His eyes did that thing where they glow red for a moment again. Midoriya could have sworn his hair floated that time as well. He sighed, "Your class president is right, you're here to learn from one another. Class B, as well as class A."
He stood in front of the line that class A maintained, crossing his arms as he faced class B sternly, "If you tell any of my students that they don't have a chance again, then maybe you don't deserve yours."
The cocky smile faded quickly from Monoma's face. He turned away, averting his gaze with a hint of embarrassment in his eyes.
"Anyone can be a hero – some roads are just rockier than others."
And Midoriya blinked at his teacher, the words striking a chord in his heart strings that he had been sure couldn't be played anymore. He stared at the back of Mr Aizawa's head, tilting his own to one side whilst he wondered how rocky his road had been. Because who better to teach class A than someone who had…
"Oh," Midoriya found himself saying out loud, and everyone turned to him. His eyes flickered to them all nervously, before settling back on Mr Aizawa, "Eraser Head – t-that's your hero name, right?"
He said nothing, but the chill in his eyes seemed to have faded.
"You… used to be in class A, didn't you?"
Mr Aizawa cracked a smile, "That took you longer than I expected."
Midoriya only frowned when his teacher turned back to the others, "Speaking of which, we're going to have to start without him. We've waited here long enough."
"W-Wait, where's All Might?" asked one of class B. Midoriya didn't register who, because he was too busy thinking.
He figures one thing out, thinks he can see the world clearly, and then something else trips him up and he finds himself kneeling in the dirt again. Mr Aizawa graduated class A. And he was a hero – an underground one at that. Midoriya didn't know much about him; he wasn't exactly the type to seek the spotlight, but maybe that was the point. He was quite sure he'd gotten into the class as a vigilante, and essentially ended his years at UA as a vigilante with a license and carried on with what he'd always been doing.
"He got waylaid with some villains," Mr Aizawa vaguely explained.
Midoriya knew that wasn't the whole truth though. His time limit must have run out on him.
Vlad King cleared his throat and stepped forwards, "Right, today we will be focusing on rescue training. Members of class A will be rescued by class B in fake scenarios using –"
"Wait, we have to be rescued?" gaped Jiro, Mr Aizawa's kind words immediately being lost to the past.
Midoriya had thought this was quite obvious, but apparently not as much as he'd thought.
Mr Aizawa ignored her completely, "One member of class B will be paired up with a member of class A. Vlad, you can choose who goes with who – we'll be changing it up next time anyway. Alright, Thirteen, did you want to explain the facilities here?"
"Looks like a theme park to me, Sir," Sero butted in before the hero Thirteen could say a word.
The teachers glared at him whilst class A chuckled under their breath.
"I have an idea," he continued, "To avoid confusion, why don't you be Thirteen, and I… hm… why don't you just call me by my name?"
"R-Right," Thirteen stammered, "Well, welcome to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint –"
"The USJ?" Mina said innocently.
"Yes, it's –"
"Universal Studios Japan? That's literally a theme park!" Sero exclaimed.
Whilst this conversation was batted back and forth like a tennis match, Midoriya's eyes wandered to his surroundings. The large dome was split into several zones, depicting different disasters – like fire, landslides or shipwrecks. Midoriya was trying not to smile, thinking about Kacchan being forced to participate in these fake rescue exercises, where he couldn't be the hero. The smile faded when he realised that he'd find himself in the same situation. He just hoped Monoma wouldn't be the one rescuing him.
Why was there a fountain in the middle? What was the purpose? Some rogue Quirk was bound to blow it up at some point anyway, and then they'd have to block the area off until it could be fixed up again.
"18, focus," said Mr Aizawa.
Midoriya snapped out of his daydreams and turned back to the class. He found himself standing next to Kendo.
"We partnered up," she whispered to him, "and we're going over to the landslide zone."
"Oh, thanks," Midoriya muttered in reply. He was just glad Mr Aizawa hadn't decided to teach him a lesson by pairing him up with Monoma, who was with Kacchan instead – Midoriya grinned.
They started walking in a line behind the teachers. He supposed they'd been paired up with the hero class like this to stop them from running off and doing something stupid, which sounded like something which could have easily happened before.
Finding the situation awkward, Midoriya tried to make conversation with the hero girl he was with. He nudged her side and indicated towards the fountain, "What do you think the point of the fountain is?"
"Hm…" she started after a moment's hesitation, "Not sure – because it looks nice?"
"But it's in the way. Wouldn't a central… battle arena or something be more useful?"
"Maybe – but there are benches. It's like a rest area."
"That doesn't warrant the presence of a fountain."
"Oh, would you shut UP?!" Kacchan yelled back at him.
This, of course, spurred Midoriya to keep talking, "And the greenery around it – they'd have to get people in here to look after it, which is unnecessary."
"Unless they had a, um, sprinkler system?"
"See? It's all so complicated – and what's the strange purple light? It doesn't even look nice."
Kendo glanced back over Midoriya's shoulder, "What purple light?"
Midoriya stopped, "That… one…"
"What's going on?" asked Yaoyorozu. They were at the back of the group, but everyone soon stopped. Midoriya's observation seemed to confuse the teachers too. And as that swirling, purple vortex grew bigger, it became clear that it wasn't supposed to be there at all.
A pale hand reached through, pushing the light apart like a set of curtains, stepping out like he were on a stage. And God, it was a large cast, because more followed – so many that Midoriya couldn't count.
"What's going on…?" asked Kirishima, taking a few steps back. The steel-themed hero student beside him mimicked his movements.
"Is this part of the training exercise?" asked a particularly optimistic member of class B.
"No," Mr Aizawa replied sharply. "No – those are real villains – stay back!" He pulled at his scarf – which Midoriya now realised was a hero support item and not just a portable pillow.
"Where is he?" rang out the voice of the pale man in the centre, covered in… detached hands. "Where is All Might?"
"Who are you?! What do you want?!" Vlad King called out, his gruff voice holding an unspoken threat.
"Such a pity," the villain sighed, turning to the two men either side of him. Well, Midoriya could hardly call them that – one towered above his counter parts, with a face like a beak and an exposed brain. The other seemed to be made of purple-black mist, with imposing, golden eyes. "He'll turn up, I'm sure… Why don't we complete our other target whilst we wait?"
Midoriya didn't like the sound of that.
"Class A – we're here to liberate you."
"Go – run, now!" Mr Aizawa called out, pushing a set of iconic yellow goggles over his eyes, once hidden underneath his scarf. "Thirteen – protect the students! Vlad, come with me!"
Thirteen immediately began to usher the students towards the exit, but it was clear they were unsure of what they should be doing.
"Wait, no!" Midoriya suddenly found himself calling out, "Mr Aizawa – your fighting style isn't suited for this!"
Mr Aizawa blinked back at him, "No hero's a one trick pony, kid." And the two teachers charged down the rest of the stairs at the swarm of villains.
Wait – why did Midoriya say that? Why – who – what side was he on?! Who should he be fighting against here?!
"Class B! Stick with your partners!" Thirteen ordered.
Midoriya felt Kendo's hand grip his arm and pull him backwards, "Come on!" she exclaimed.
Was she saving him or holding him prisoner?!
He wasn't the only one confused. Most of class A tried to lag back, glancing at each other as if they could find the answer there.
Midoriya gritted his teeth – no, this wasn't right. They needed to run, "We need to go, come on!" he exclaimed, allowing Kendo to pull him forwards, and the others soon followed.
Their hesitation, however, would be their downfall. Because in seconds, they were surrounded by a purple fog, and the gleaming eyes of the mist villain appeared before them, blocking the exit. "Why are you running?" he asked them all with genuine curiosity. "Come now – those who call themselves heroes keep you captive. We are the League of Villains – join us."
"…T-That's a stupid name," was all Midoriya could utter, almost choking on the words in fear.
"Stay back!" cried out Thirteen, stepping in front of them all, "I'm warning you!" They pointed a finger menacingly, ready to activate their deadly Quirk – black hole.
"Shigaraki is waiting for All Might," the fog villain said simply. "We shall leave only once he has met his demise."
They… want to kill All Might? Midoriya gaped; was that even possible? Maybe with his weakness… but did they know about that?!
"Then you leave me no choice!" and Thirteen's Quirk was activated, pulling the edges of the fog into the tip of their finger, obliterating it instantly.
But the villain was prepared. Immediately, another swirling, purple light appeared behind Thirteen, and their own Quirk ripped at the back of their astronaut themed costume. They fell to the ground with the despaired screams of Midoriya's classmates, class A and B alike.
The shock lasted barely a second, before someone leapt to Thirteen's rescue –
"KACCHAN! NO!" Midoriya cried out, as his old friend propelled himself forward with his explosions, ready to fill the villain with his own smoke and fire.
The villain reacted instantly. His fog spread around them once again. Midoriya shielded his face from the dust and rock caught up in the vortex that engulfed him.
All of a sudden, he felt the sound around him fade and the ground disappearing from beneath his feet. With no time to take a breath, Midoriya plunged into the… water?
In the surprise of it all, he tried to breathe, inhaling only liquid. He reached the surface with a kick of his legs, coughing and spluttering. He tried to get his bearings, pushing his soaking hair from his eyes as he tread water – he was in the shipwreck zone. He'd been teleported halfway across the USJ! The boat was closest. He tried to swim towards it, but within seconds, was pulled back under the water.
"The red bands! He's class A, idiot!" It was a villain with the head of a shark, snapping at another under the water, who held onto Midoriya's ankle as he struggled to get free, quickly running out of air in the panic.
"Midoriya!" called out a familiar, croaky voice. In a blur, the villain holding him down was pushed away, and Midoriya was flung above the surface. He'd been closer to the boat than he thought because he slammed harshly onto the deck, and soon after, Tsu leapt out of the water and to his side. "Are you ok, ribbit?"
Midoriya rolled over and coughed up the rest of the water in his lungs, taking in deep, cleansing breaths of air. He took a hand reached out to him, shaking as he got to his feet, "W-What just –"
"That warp villain separated us," explained the guy who had helped Midoriya up. It was the hero student with the scary teeth and practical armour, but he seemed to have lost his helmet. "It's easier to take us on in smaller groups."
Midoriya stumbled over to the edge of the ship and looked down. A disturbing number of gleaming eyes stared back up at him from just below the surface. He backed away.
"W-Well, we should be safe here for now – thank you, Tsu," Midoriya sighed.
"It's ok," she nodded. "Can you swim?"
"Yeah – I was just a little shocked, sorry for almost drowning on you…"
"Thank you for helping me too," said the hero student, rubbing his head. "I was the one supposed to be rescuing you, but it looks like it was the opposite way around today. I'm Honenuki, nice to meet you."
"I'm Asui, but you can call me Tsu. This is Midoriya, and that's Mineta, ribbit."
Midoriya turned to see short number 19, sitting in a soggy ball and shivering in the corner, obviously terrified by the experience.
After a moment of silence, Honenuki spoke up again, "I can't believe that just happened. They came out of nowhere…"
"Literally," Midoriya added, trying to shake the water from his hair.
Honenuki glanced at him. Midoriya noted a slight fear in his eyes – what had Monoma said about him to the rest of his class?
"…For a moment there, I really thought the rest of class A would run to the villains."
Midoriya and Tsu stared at him for a moment, until Midoriya bowed his head and said, "So did I."
"Then… why didn't you?"
"I don't know."
"…Well, thank you for not."
"Come on, kids, we don't have all day!" yelled one of the villains from the water.
The four of them (yes, including Mineta), wandered to the edge of the boat and gazed down.
"Toss the hero!" another laughed.
"Yeah – come on, we'll take you three home and dry! You know you want to!"
Midoriya saw how Honenuki tensed and glanced at Midoriya and Tsu, either side of him.
"…It's three against one."
And Tsu slapped Mineta across the ship's deck with her tongue. "We're not tossing you overboard, ribbit."
Honenuki breathed a sigh of relief, "Thanks."
"But this is a shipwreck simulation… It's only a matter of time before one of the villains figures out how to activate the sequence and this boat will sink, ribbit. There's got to be another way out of here," Tsu pondered, and she turned to Midoriya.
"W-Why are you looking at me?"
"I thought you were the smart one, ribbit."
"W-Well I-I wouldn't say that! I just –"
"You're 18, right?" Honenuki interjected, rather wary that Mineta had gotten back up and reached their side, "The one that could steal Monoma's Quirk? Could you use that on the villains?"
Midoriya smiled weakly and crouched down, out of sight of the villains. The other two followed suit, and Mineta didn't need to.
"I, err, well, about that –" Midoriya hastily cleared his throat – "I might have… tricked Monoma into thinking I could steal his Quirk…"
Honenuki stared at him, "But how –"
"My um, Quirk reacted with his and cancelled it out. I played along and pretended that I took it…" Midoriya fiddled with his thumbs, glancing back at Honenuki nervously, "You see, I'm actually… Quirkless…"
Honenuki blinked whilst Midoriya grinned anxiously at him, "So… Monoma copied… not having a Quirk... Huh, I didn't know it was possible to be Quirkless anymore – you really don't have a power at all?"
"Err – no… No, I'm extra ordinary – with a space in the middle."
It took a moment for him to laugh.
"What's your Quirk, can you use it to get us out of here?" Midoriya asked, painstakingly aware of the time they were wasting.
"Not really," he winced. "My Quirk is softening –" he reached back and sunk his hand into the boat – "I can make any non-living object softer. I can essentially turn it into quicksand." With a second tap, the wall became solid again.
"It's an incredible Quirk!" Midoriya exclaimed, "But… not very useful in the water."
"I know, I'm sorry – if only I could be of more use."
"My Quirk is frog," Tsu explained quickly, "I can do anything a frog can – swim fast, jump high, stick to walls – I have a really long tongue; I can eject my whole stomach and give out a weak toxin, but that's not particularly useful at the moment either."
"Wow, you'd make a really good hero with a Quirk like that," Honenuki insisted.
"Well, I did get put in class A for vigilantism, ribbit."
"Ah, I see…"
"I stick to stuff too."
The three of them turned to glare at Mineta as he took one of the purple balls on his head off and stuck it to the wall of the boat.
"Well, my hair can – I just bounce right off them."
They stared at him.
He seemed to well up, "What?! I'm just trying to help! Midoriya doesn't even have a Quirk!" he whined.
"But Midoriya didn't suggest throwing Honenuki overboard, ribbit," Tsu reminded him.
He sobbed louder, "I just want to live!"
"Ugh, this is taking too long!" was the voice of one of the villains.
Midoriya stood up to see him begin to clamber up the side of the boat.
"No! Go away!" Mineta cried, leaning over the barricade and tossing his hair balls at the villain, who in surprise, dodged and dived back into the water. The rest of them avoided the purple projectiles the best they could, washing them away carefully.
Midoriya narrowed his eyes, and then realised something. He turned back to the others, "They don't know what our Quirks are!"
"Ok, but how does that help us, ribbit?" Tsu questioned.
Honenuki grinned at Midoriya with a greater understanding, "Just like Monoma didn't know yours!"
"Exactly, we can fake having something we don't to give us a greater advantage," Midoriya smiled slyly.
"But what do we do?"
Midoriya turned to Mineta, "I have an idea."
Not long after, the villains were bombarded with dozens of sticky purple balls. They floated around in the water, sticking to their shoulders and hands. They tried to pry them off, but the effort was in vain.
Midoriya stood up beside Mineta, whose scalp was bleeding and eyes were watering. "Listen up!" Midoriya exclaimed. "With just a click of my fingers, those little bombs that you're stuck to will blow you sky high! So, I'd suggest not giving me reason to do so. And if you think that I'm bluffing, consider what class I'm in, and think again."
Midoriya may have looked calm and collected on the outside, his green eyes gleaming with malice, but inside, he was more terrified than ever. "So, back off – we're leaving."
After a tense moment of silence, the villains swam to either side, giving them a clear path to shore. Tsu jumped in without hesitation, wrapping her tongue around Mineta and pulling him in too. Honenuki and Midoriya were close behind, being careful to avoid the purple balls floating around them.
They started to swim as fast as they could. Mr Aizawa's words echoed in Midoriya's ears –
"Fabricated strengths can quickly become very real weaknesses."
If a single one of these villains took the risk, they were done for.
And they did.
They must have realised they wouldn't dare blow them up whilst they were in the water too, and one lunged at Honenuki.
Tsu darted back and kicked the villain in the nose, still dragging Mineta around like a buoy, his purple head just sticking out of the water as he panicked and blew bubbles, just unable to breathe.
But Midoriya had already thought through plan B. Honenuki grabbed Midoriya's arm and they sunk down – down – right to the bottom of the fake lake. His ears popping and air running out, Midoriya could only hang in there whilst Honenuki softened the floor and yanked Midoriya underneath the concrete.
Midoriya didn't dare open his eyes as Honenuki swam through the floor. He kept a firm grip on the hero student's wrist, trying to swim as fast as he could.
Seconds before Midoriya was sure he would inhale the stone, he felt Honenuki harden the ground, push off it, and burst through the surface of the water. Coughing and spluttering even worse than before, the two hauled themselves onto dry land.
As soon as he caught his breath, Midoriya said, "Where's –"
But his unspoken question was answered instantly when Tsu landed artfully in the water just behind him, Mineta clinging to her side in a rather inappropriate manner and crying. Within seconds, he was catapulted onto land, and Tsu hopped out and glared at him for a moment.
She then turned away, "And we're done here."
She hopped off in the direction of the main exit, where Midoriya had earlier instructed they should head towards, leaving Mineta behind.
"Well," Honenuki huffed, "That worked surprisingly well."
"Not… exactly," Midoriya winched, pointing out at the water. The villains were heading right at them.
Honenuki gritted his teeth and took a fighting stance, "I'm on land – I can take them now."
Midoriya hated that he didn't have more time to think this through, "Take Mineta and go after Tsu! Go the most direct way to the exit, around the central plaza to avoid the main fight! I'll go the other way – the villains are after me, I was the one who tricked them! We have a better chance if we split up!"
"But –"
"Just go!" Midoriya didn't give him the time to stop him. He didn't want Honenuki fighting them alone – they knew water well and liquidizing the ground might not be the best idea against such opponents.
He kept running – as fast as he could, and Midoriya was a quick runner for a boy who wasn't that athletic and had no superpower to help him. As expected, the water villains did not have the same skillset. They must have either remained in the water or got caught up in the fight around the fountain, because Midoriya was not pursued. He could see the others from across the plaza, and they were ok too.
That was when he spotted Mr Aizawa.
For an underground hero, not suited for situations such as this, he and Vlad King were doing incredibly well. There were so many villains, but none could lay a single scratch on the heroes.
Midoriya just needed to stay well out of the way. It was better for everyone that he didn't get involved.
But then he caught the eye of the villain with the hands – the one they first saw.
Midoriya stopped in his tracks as the villain turned to him. This couldn't be good.
The landslide zone was right behind him. Without a moment to waste, he turned tail and ran – up the rocky slope and as far away from that horrifying gaze as humanly possible.
He dove behind a large rock, hoping he'd be safe there – which was when the temperature plummeted, and he found his feet frozen to the ground, his damp clothes stiffening instantly.
Shivering, he fell over. Still unable to move, he could only watch as a figure marched towards him from the mist the low temperature had conjured. He winced, preparing for the end, when –
"Midoriya?"
He dared to look up, "Shoto!"
His friend hauled him up and unfroze his feet. His hot, left hand melted the ice immediately, and in a burst of hot steam, Midoriya was finally warm again.
"Thank you," Midoriya sighed, hugging his arms against his chest, "I was in the shipwreck zone – I got soaked." He glanced around, "Is anyone else with you?"
"No," he said simply.
"Great – then let's get back to the exit. Quickly, before –"
Shoto grabbed Midoriya's arm and held him back, "No."
"N-No? I-I don't –"
"I'm leaving," he said firmly. "Whilst I have the chance – I'm getting out of UA."
He let go of Midoriya, who just stood there and stared, "But… why?"
Shoto frowned, "Why? Midoriya, you must have said it yourself – this is a prison. I don't belong here. So, I'm leaving – before they try and turn me into something I'm not."
"But… where will you go?"
"Where do you think? Dabi will help me."
Midoriya didn't know Shoto's story – at least, not all of it. Not the truth that Shoto knew. But there was a strange excitement in his friend's eyes when he said this – Midoriya couldn't remember him displaying such emotion before, even if this was slight. And… he couldn't deny, the prospect of fleeing UA was… interesting. But he couldn't – not now! He'd never make it. The only way would be siding with this League of Villains, and he couldn't want that… right?
"Shoto you can't," Midoriya pleaded. "Not now!"
"I'm not asking for you to try and stop me," he snapped, the temperature dropping again as he said so. He sighed, exhaling steam, and then extended a hand to Midoriya –
"I'm asking if you wanted to come with me."
