Chapter 13

"So, I was thinking Tooru," Jirou said, while the girls changed themselves for the next class. Finally, another heroics class. "How do you see invisible clothing?"

While the support company didn't finish her suit yet, they outdid themselves to protect her modesty. They made a pair of shorts and a small crop top for her.

However, things like pouches and places to store knives would have to wait.

She had some knuckles braces, gifted to her by Izuku. If she had to punch something, it would be better that way.

"I can see myself, somehow. Izuku's theory is that my quirk made my body develop to perceive light differently than anyone else. I may have a fourth receptor in my eyes that allows me to see… light distortion? I just put it as Quirks are bullshit."

Tooru was way more pragmatic than her boyfriend on this, though she did like his rambling and how Izuku loved quirks. It was always funny to tease him by asking Izuku if he knew what was hugging him. The blushing was nice to see, though she would defuse the situation by fluffing his hair.

"On a side note, Izuku's hair. Is it that soft? Because we often see you ruffling it." Well, something was going through his hair when they were together.

"You have no idea. His mom makes killer shampoo. I asked for some, and apparently, she was thrilled at the idea. I'm pretty sure she already wants to meet me… And I'm worried: what if I don't look good enough for him?!"

"If what I heard from Katsuki is correct, you don't have to worry on that side. The worst would be her trying to plan your wedding." Mina had a small discussion with the exploding man on that subject and Inko seemed like a fun mom to be fair.

"I hope you're right. Izuku planned for us to go on a date near Dagobah Beach. Some people cleaned it, and it was there his new father asked for his mom's hand."

All of the girls could picture the romantic scene perfectly.

"And how did you talk about Izuku's mom and new dad, ribbit?"

"I asked him if Izuku's father had been sent to Aldera General Hospital when he had his accident. Because I remember my quirk activating for the first time while we were there. I had a lot of fun sliding on acid when I bumped into a guy who seemed like he was having a rough day and who had the same mushy hair as Izuku, sending him flying down some stairs. Twice."

Everyone stared at Mina, who felt her cheeks turning red.

"I was FOUR. It was an accident, honest! And it isn't related, right?"

"… It is probably as not related as Katsuki knowing the statute of limitation period. Ribbit."

—

While the girls suited up, the boys were also talking.

"So, nerd, what cards did you bring this time?"

"This time? Because he has more than his tarot deck?"

"He began a freaking collection. He has as many cards as All-Might goodies."

"Hey, you know that isn't true, Kacchan!"

"… You are right. You have enough All-Might goodies to turn your bedroom into a museum for All-Might's glory. I'm also certain you reactivated the hologram to have it in your room by asking that crazy girl in support."

"Mei isn't that bad, you know. Just a bit eccentric and crazy, but she has a lot of ideas and her stuff is top-notch."

Kaminari couldn't stop the next comment from coming out of his mouth with a playful little smile.

"I admit her stuff is… Top-notch. Does Tooru know you check other girls' goods~?"

"Kaminari, I have a Katsuki who owes me something. Don't make me use him."

The blond man thought it was a joke at first until he saw Katsuki, who had his make-up on and the biggest smile on his face, looking like he was ready to leap.

"… You have some very interesting arguments there, Izuku. You have to admit she's a tiny bit explosive."

"Maybe she's related to Katsuki? I mean, crazy, no common-sense, explosive…"

Kirishima was one of the few bold enough to banter with him. Being explosion-proof was also a big factor in his confidence that Katsuki wouldn't hurt him.

The kids had fun and had forgotten about Aizawa's first lesson.

It was easy to forget that being a hero was not always sunshine and smiles. Assistant instructor Tomura was going to do a reminder about real-life heroics.

—

Aizawa was tired, as usual. Since he was a teacher at the U.A., he had way less time for sleeping if he wanted to assist the police in local cases. Not to mention because of Todoroki's case, he had to do a whole background check on all of the students in his classroom. Thankfully, except for a bit of bullying in Izuku's past and his father, who wasn't a nice person, the class was clear of problems.

You didn't reach his age and have generally good health (except for not sleeping enough) if you don't learn to trust your gut instincts.

The children were playing in the background, as most teenagers do. It made him remember the old times, with Mic, Oboro, and Midnight. That made him sigh heavily.

Most people didn't know, but hero therapists were a thing. It was a highly confidential profession and most of them worked for the HPSC, sadly. It often meant they yeeted through the window any patient confidentiality once you learned more about their business. That is why his therapist was Hound Dog, so he knew who knew about his activities, which meant Nedzu.

Aizawa was still on alert, as his guts told him something would happen. Though, to be fair, while he did not agree with All-Might's method of teaching and he would have words with the former mentor of the #1 hero since he was emulating him but, well, Aizawa was reassured to know All-Might would be there. The man, though aging and with a time limit, was still someone reliable.

He changed his mind when Thirteen welcomed them. Alone, without the giant blond oaf who was supposed to be waiting for them to arrive. What the hell was he doing instead of being here?!

—

"TEXAS SMASH!" All-Might yelled, punching the ground in a very controlled way, making the ground shake enough to destabilize the villain just before drop-kicking him. He promptly threw the villain at the police officers before jumping away, knowing he was going to have a problem with Nedzu for being late.

—

"All-Might excused himself. He will join us later."

Thirteen was a nice person but seriously, it was annoying for her to have to take up All-Might's place for this course. Especially as All-Might was indeed good at rescues. Aizawa was not a slouch either, but his knowledge was mainly first-aid and correctly redirecting people to the real helpers. All-Might knew about how you should lift, destroy or maintain a structure to allow evacuation, for example.

Knowledge Aizawa did not have on the same level due to the difference in experience.

Aizawa knew the old man had to get his priorities straight if he wanted to form the Pillars of peace.

It was now time to form groups.

"Well, we will do without him for the…"

And at that moment, the lights went out except for the natural light around them.

——

Tomura had a complete suit and a mask that had his father's hand magnetized to it. Now that he thought about it, just having it on his face was asking for it to fall. Seriously, why didn't he think of that earlier?

Annoyed, Tomura stepped out of the black cloud while having a blue and black suit, to honor Sensei as a classy villain. He was not here to fight personally today, after all.

"Pay attention, children. Today, you have a special course! Let's see if you can save yourselves!"

He rehearsed it with Kurogiri during the week. Just as he finished his sentences, villains poured out from the cloud. Most of them were petty thugs who knew how this would end. They would most likely lose but those who got out would get a good chunk of money and better jobs from Giran. To them, it was a giant job interview, and they intended to rock it.

"We are here to teach something to All-Might, but he isn't here. Instead, we will teach you a bit about the real world."

Tomura was grandiloquent, but he had every right to do that: It was his premiere and he had to leave an impression.

To their credit, the teachers reacted quickly to his threats and when the villains attacked, Eraserhead quickly taught some mutants what the difference was between a hero who was used to fighting and a petty thug harassing citizens. Thirteen, not suited for battle, made the students retreat in a calm and orderly fashion.

"Not bad. At least there might be hope for the next generation if you have teachers like that. However… I said it was a lesson, and students should do their practical test."

"THEN HOW ABOUT YOU SHUT YOUR FUCKING TRAP!"

An angry blond man threw himself at Tomura who looked at him for an instant… Just before Kurogiri's fog covered him and threw him into one of the special zones.

Another red-haired man threw himself at Tomura, before also disappearing.

"Yes, the first part of the lesson. Fucking SPATIAL AWARENESS. I'm a villain with a suit who infiltrated one of your buildings. I'm above your level. That is why I prepared villains for your teachers and some for you."

"And what about All-Might? Since he was supposed to be here, you know?" Taunted Kaminari, with bravado.

"Noumu." As he spoke, a giant black thing emerged from the fog behind him, muscle bulging.

"Noumu, protect me. If anyone tries to attack me, you smash. Oh, by the way, Thirteen, is that right? You should prepare to block the villains on the right."

The casual tone of Tomura was off-setting while Thirteen, with her quirk, wasn't suited to block people. Not to mention she didn't like killing if possible. So when various thugs with emitter-type quirks threw objects at the student, she tried to protect them. In hindsight, she should have seen it was likely a ploy to distract her from the true peril.

"TOORU!"

"ZUKU!"

The real threat was the black cloud that surrounded the students from all sides, engulfing them.

She diverged a part of her attention to absorb as much of the cloud as possible with her quirk, but it was hard. First, they limited her hands by attacking one side.

The second thing was the fact the cloud attacked the student, engulfing them, which limited how much she could safely suck up with her quirk, which is why most of the students got warped somewhere else.

"STUDENT! I AUTHORIZE YOU TO DEFEND YOURSELF!"

This was the cue for most of the villains to attack Eraserhead or Thirteen. Students had the choice between being there and being attacked or getting taken away and having villains who were waiting for them and ready to attack.

Tomura had explicitly forbidden murder, to most of the thugs' comfort. Killing heroes and cops while working is a risk and something you would try to avoid. Killing Children on purpose? That was the best way to ask to get shot in the head "by mistake". Not to mention only crazy assholes from the Creature Rejection Clan or the S.M.A.S.H. would do something like that, and you did not want to be associated with them. Between those wanting to burn Mutants and those sometimes eating people…

"If I can make it better for you, I don't plan on killing anyone today, except by mistake or All-Might. See, I'm here today to prove the qualities of professional heroes. Being a hero shouldn't be a line of work, but a passion."

Tomura had been a bit influenced by what Izuku thought and how much they debated about it. After a year, even Tomura had time to think about what he thought and about cases like his or Izuku's. People should not fight for the Good because we paid them, but because they truly believed in it.

However, Tomura paid little attention to the students who were warped, as he had an Eraserhead who was fighting near him. Yes, Noumu was protecting him, but the self-dubbed "Assistant teacher" had to be careful with his actions. It would be dumb to get caught now.

This may be why he missed the whole "Zuku" earlier.

—

"So we got a magician to fight? Arf, I almost feel bad. Hey kid, how about you stand still so we can break your arms and legs! You will miss school for a year. It's cool, no?"

Izuku was in a perilous situation. He was alone and thanks to the warping quirk on the enemy's side, five villains were waiting for him: A big gorilla, a guy with a scythe for hands, a girl without limbs but with floating hands and a floating torso. Uh. Interesting. A man who looked a bit like a bull accompanied her. The last villain was a villain who had a baseball bat. When he tapped the ground, it produced a small purple shock wave.

"How about I balance the fight?" Said the young magician.

Izuku smiled as some cards appeared in his hand, making the villains ready themselves because of the playful tone in his voice… When a piece of loud music and a voice filled the room as he threw his first card and a face of the old-time attacked with a Lariat the Gorilla man to the surprise of everyone.

"AND HIS NAME IS JOHN CENA!"

It even had the air horn sound effect, Izuku noted. It surprised him as well, as he had a few humanoids cards ready to complement his tarot cards such as old WWE.

Scythe-man began his attack on Izuku, who entered inside the range of attack of the villain as most people forgot that bladed weapons had an effective range and someone inside of it had less to worry about. It was especially true with a cool-looking bladed weapon like a scythe. However, Izuku had no such limitation on how he could break a kneecap or dislocate shoulders.

"Knock knock." Another voice said behind Bat-boy, who turned around.

"Who is there?" A fist hit him in his chin. A fist which had the strength of a girl who worked out and was wearing knuckle braces. She quickly upgraded with a baseball and angrily attacked the other villains.

"IT IS AN ANGRY GIRLFRIEND!"

Suddenly, Izuku could somehow understand why Atsuhiro loved a terrifying but caring woman, while John Cena suplexed a gorilla in the background.

Because when you have a girlfriend who could knock out villains with you, you had it all. Now, more than ever, he wanted to be her partner to protect everyone.

"Tooru, please, just break bones that are easy to heal."

"Yes, I know, but nobody hurts you in my presence."

Villains were hurting, but even they found it strange when they saw the magician take off his mask for a minute to kiss the air. Even now, as they got their ass kicked earlier, they found it weird and Izuku noticed their stares, as he put the mask back on his face.

"My girlfriend has an Invisibility quirk."

"Oh, nice, happy for you."

"Daw, that's cute. Plan on making a duo?"

"God, I thought you just had a powerful telekinesis, and you were weird."

"Wait, does that mean she's…"

"DNA suit. Get your mind out of the gutter or the wrestler breaks the other leg."

Even the other villains threw daggers with their eyes at the villain who dared to say this and approved of Izuku's threat.

"Still, I think we should try to get back to the others."

Tooru nodded, though no one could see her and that is how people saw a man and a floating bat running toward the main plaza of the ruined city biome.

—

"Uh. Water biome."

Todoroki was as cold as usual about his situation as he appeared above the water and promptly made a platform of ice, so as to not fall into it. The villains present in the water thought about their chances to take on a student who could freeze the whole lake.

"We avoid him, right?"

"Right."

"We aren't suicidal."

"Grrooooooooar."

"Dude, was that you?"

The poor villains looked at each other before looking below them and saw tentacles swirling around them, trying to attack them.

If that was bad enough, suddenly, they were being hit in the face with the fins of the fish. One fiend had the idea of tempting fates by asking out loud …

"Oh fuck me, what is going to happen then? A predator?"

"Ribbit."

Frogs are predators. Human-sized frogs are even more terrifying and as predatory as the smaller version.

"WHERE DID THEY EVEN FIND A KRAKEN?!" A villain yelled before he got attacked by a rabid frog who was hunting them in the water.

Above the surface, Koda was on a boat, smiling quietly as he continued to speak to his new friends.

—

50 years ago, in a certain lab owned by a certain Dr. Garaki.

"Alert code red. Alert code red. A specimen has broken out. A specimen has broken OH GOD HE IS dlsfkdflsjkj"

The guard in the control room died, as something that was maybe a bear, maybe a mouse, or a stoat, but not yet the U.A. Principal ripped his throat with a mad grin.

He had with him a small jar with a cute little squid in it.

"Don't worry, little brother, we're almost out."

On the jar was written, "Squid with an unlimited growth quirk."

—

Back in the present, Nedzu wondered how Krazoku was doing, as the now giant squid was adorable and living rent-free within the vast pipes of UA, which were even connected to the ocean. They liked to see their brother once in a while.

As Nedzu always said, PLUS ULTRA.

—

"Now, Eraserhead, I hope you're worried for your students, as you can't help them! Alone and surrounded by villains!"

Tomura was cackling a bit as he was not aware of what was going on in the other parts of the USJ.

"Honestly, I'm more worried about the villains. I'm sure Thirteen has gotten out and help is already coming!"

"I have my doubts. My right hand is there."

Tomura was quiet as he seemed to wait for something. Something that came soon enough.

—

"CHILDREN! YOU HAVE TO GET READY TO RUN WHILE I KEEP HIM BUSY"

With the help of the students, Thirteen had been able to take down the various emitters on the field. However, the last survivor was excellent at fighting, she had to admit. The fog man was playing around them, but he did not seem too threatening either. The masked man was most likely telling the truth when he said that he wasn't aiming to kill them. However, they were villains, and they were at the very least trying to hurt the students.

Therefore, it was hard, but she used her quirk to immobilize Kurogiri. Too late, she noticed her enemie's strategy, her destruction turned back on her suit when…

The door opened. They felt a breeze all around the students and Thirteen, as her suit was destroyed progressively by her own quirk but not yet her skin… Now? The rescue hero was safe in big, heavy, and powerful arms.

"EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE FINE! BECAUSE… I AM HERE !"

Kurogiri noticed All-Might and disappeared to rejoin his charge, as All-Might sped to the main plaza to support Aizawa. The tired underground hero did not smile when that happened, because All-Might had been there earlier, they would have handled the situation already. With a quick sign, he asked how much time All-Might had left.

The big blond oaf made the sign for half an hour. More than enough for the situation…

"NOUMU. Attack All-Might. All the others continue to attack Eraserhead. He is down to ten seconds per usage of his quirk."

Finally, the big black muscle moved, as Shigaraki was waiting. His aim? Hurting Eraserhead, since Izuku used him to beat him at the shop semi-regularly.But also to test All-Might's current limit. Sensei told him he had weakened him, so it was true, however, he did not know how much power All-Might had lost.

So, Tomura was testing All-Might, his limits, and the true strength of Noumu, as his Sensei told him more were being created. Therefore, it meant he would need them, proving to Tomura that he was not supposed to win. Seriously, he wondered if he had been that dumb before.

Because the old oaf was fighting pretty much as an equal against the Noumu. After all, the big guy was relying on what instinct they left in him and All-Might knew how to fight after all. Tomura noted they were roughly equal as the regeneration allowed the Noumu to follow the rhythm. However, calling Nomu alone an All-Might killer was a stretch.

Tomura began to stretch, but it was his body.

If All-Might had trouble with simply Noumu and if Aizawa was too occupied to focus on him, who was he to waste such an opportunity?

However, Tomura was suddenly hit in the back of the head, to everyone's surprise… By a now disappearing John Cena.

Izuku, in his full masked magician suit, was staring at an angry Tomura. Ok, he had been nice with the students until then, but this one was going to get his ass kicked.

"IN THE NAME OF THE JUSTICE, YOU ARE GOING TO GET PUNISHED!"

—

A little earlier, prior to this scene.

Izuku was running with his girlfriend, taking down villains as they went.

Apparently, according to the explosions they could feel from their position, Kirishima and Katsuki had a few villains to fight, and it was difficult for them, because they were in the icy zone. Katsuki would have a harder time sweating and they needed Kirishima to take down the most powerful physical villains.

Since the door violently opened, Izuku deduced All-Might probably arrived and was kicking asses. However, something was strange. The villains knew they were here, as they brought low level thugs students could defeat. Aizawa could have set up the whole thing, but the magician had his doubts about this option, when he saw how panicked their teachers looked when the attack began.

So, they knew All-Might was supposed to be there. They were also certainly planning to make the students go somewhere else despite his presence. It was most likely this Noumu thing that was protecting Suit-man, but he couldn't be certain.

When he explained his reasoning to Tooru, he was happy to see her finish his thoughts. Nice. Apparently she was thinking the same, and both agreed they needed to speed up, if only to throw a spanner in the works of the enemies.

When they arrived at the plaza, they could easily see All-Might was exchanging blows with Noumu, who was taking the hits without problems but who also had trouble landing blows on All-Might. They were evenly matched, and it was also clear that Aizawa was going to be exhausted soon.

His movements were more and more sluggish and if he did not receive help quickly, the villains would overwhelm him.

Tooru prepared her knuckles and looked at her Izuku.

"I'm going to help Aizawa-sensei. Quick and silent takedown are my specialities. You think you can get the villain's attention?"

Izuku gave her, behind his mask, his greatest smile. It was show time.

"I have everything ready!"

—

"For this reference, I'm going to kick your ass, fucking Joker. Who are you?" Before a flying bat almost hit Tomura but got intercepted by Kurogiri.

Izuku could almost hear Tooru laughing when he did his presentation. She probably launched the bat, so it would be harder to notice her.

"… I was going to use All-Smile but I think Joker might be a better name! Thank you."

Something in the tone of his voice was both frustrating and familiar.

"How about you come closer, so I can beat the shit out of you?"

"I was thinking of running away instead of approaching you."

Tomura was going to say something… Before he narrowed his eyes, looking at Joker in front of you.

"Is that…"

"It's a reverse JOJO REFERENCE!" said the Magician, doing the Dio pose. Yes, that one.

"I'm going to punch you. I don't know if I will stop. Fog, the bat please."

"Not your quirk, Boss?"

"I don't want to kill him. I want to beat the hell out of him."

He was evil, not a monster. Wait. No. He was both, he just didn't want to be acknowledged as a murderer yet.

The fog gave him the bat with a smile before approaching Joker, who was sweating bullets…

Izuku was happy to have his eyes focused on the Boss, since he was apparently extremely fast. Did that guy use training weights or something? He almost closed the distance in the blink of an eye.

Well, time for magic. Izuku dodged the bat, which almost hit him, by falling under it. The sound it made assured Izuku that if Boss connected a hit, he would, without a doubt, not appreciate it.

Still, he now had cards in his hand and Tomura barely had time to block with his weapon when suddenly a giant in regal clothes spawned from below him.

The villain in training almost sighed as he jumped in the air and hit the summon as hard as he could.

To Izuku's great surprise, it had been enough to break the King's scepter and split his head too. Still, the bat was also bent in a way it shouldn't be. When its bearer noticed it, Tomura threw his useless weapon at his opponent before attacking without giving him a chance to breathe.

People forgot Tomura was a five-point fighter. He needed to connect his hand with his target. Of course, he asked for hand to hand training. So, when the magician tried to grab his hands, he quickly suspected something was fishy.

He punched Izuku faster than lightning in the stomach, making him go flying.

"Lesson two for the one who got close. Sometimes, the villain trained. Get good, bitch. Learn the pattern before you die, because I doubt you have a spawn point nearby."

"Yes, touché… But you know what?"

"Landmine?" Tomura who saw the card Izuku left at his feet, dodged it easily. A simple ten who got promptly smashed by Tomura. "You know, Joker. Despite being a wildcard, you need more strength if you want to win."

Izuku did not like the Boss, because that man had a point. This was not the average thug you could meet pretty much anywhere. It was an honest-to-goodness supervillain. One who had smarts and strength. Usually, when he was playing, Izuku either had superior tactics or the element of surprise. He had neither right here and now…

He had to take risks if he didn't want to be useless.

"I guess you planned everything, right? I mean, where the hell did you find that thing?"

"Noumu? We made it. That is why it can withstand so many blows. Regeneration, shock absorption, strength… A perfect warrior."

Tomura was calm, as he controlled the situation, his enemy being down in front of him. He would make a perfect hostage against All-Might.

"Put your hands where I can see them."

Shit, the villain knew about Izuku needing to touch his cards to activate his quirk.

It was just when Izuku was about to get grabbed when a wild Katsuki launched himself with a violent bang.

"HEY HANDJOB, ROUND TWO!"

Tomura actually had to block with his glow the blond man's attack, who quickly mixed kicks, punches and, of course, explosions, before another voice was heard.

"TIMBER!"

Katsuki promptly retreated, as Kirishima threw trees at Tomura, who dodged them quickly, needing to get away from them.

Tomura instantly knew the fight shifted, as Katsuki was clearly ready to stop him if he tried to rush in without using his quirk again. Between the exploding boy who had good moves, the one in the back throwing trees and Joker in middle range attack, their composition was balanced.

"Well, apparently more challengers are coming. It means I should take the gloves off! Also, let me call my own teammate. FOG!"

Kurogiri sighed, but to be fair, Tomura had tried to show restraint. Now his quirk was needed. His gloves had this sweet function that allowed his finger to be exposed with a quick wrist movement.

The three students quickly realized things wouldn't be easy, as the Cloud man and the Boss approached.

However, it was at this moment that everyone could feel a shock wave and a good old yelling from a Shonen protagonist.

"IF THIS BEAST IS EQUAL TO ME… I JUST HAVE TO BE EVEN STRONGER! PLUS UUUUUULTRA!"

The wind pressure blew away everyone around them, including some poor villains.

Tomura grumbled as he watched enough anime to know how it was going to end… Aizawa was still busy enough with the small fries, beating them faster than expected, as if he was not alone in his task. Once he was done, Kurogiri wouldn't allow them to escape.

"Joker, Explodo-man and Red Riot, one day, I'm going to make you pay! Or my name isn't Boss!"

Tomura yelled at his now nemesis who was… Gesturing bye to him… Before being hit by his blond friend who had lost his footing by trying to push against the air pressure, before losing.

Also, he called Kirishima Red Riot because he was red and had the same suit as the famous Crimson Riot.

His objectives technically accomplished, Tomura ordered his henchman.

"Fog, we leave."

They had a wonderful chance to run. You win some; you lose some. Just like Dark souls.

"However, we showed you heroes, THAT THE CURRENT ERA IS ENDING SOON, WITH THE AGING ALL-MIGHT! SO BE BETTER HEROES! Because we're better villains, too."

The black fog enveloped Shigaraki as Aizawa was just finally finished with his enemies. Damn it. The ringleader was gone. Retreating isn't the same as defeat.

When everyone was back at the main plaza, most students brought with them villains who had been beaten down properly.

Somehow, the ones who were treated the worst were the ones brought by Koda, Tsuyu, and Todoroki.

Everyone found Koda's smile as concerning as the situation.

To the fighters of the main plaza, it still didn't feel like a victory.