Okay, this is an author's note that I really wasn't expecting to ever write, but here we are. Don't worry. This isn't a negative one. Far from it actually, as this is the most amazing thing that I think has ever happened and ever could happen to someone like me. SOMEONE MADE A STORY, INSPIRED BY MY STORY! An author by the name of A New Pencil has taken it upon himself to create a KHxMHA story of his own, and had used this story as an inspiration for it! I have read it, and I believe it to be an amazing story, as while there are elements from this fic, as well as a few others, there are also original ideas that he has done and minor tweaks that make the story one of the my favorites that I have ever read, and I have read a lot of good fics on here. I have already seen a few of my dedicated reviewers start reviewing his story, and I highly recommend my guest readers and remaining reviewers to check that story out. It's still in it's starting stages, at the time that I have posted this, but I can see it rapidly growing, with how much passion I see put into every chapter A New Pencil makes. That aside, Here is the next chapter.
Chapter 80
[Silence]
Sora sat on one of the couches in the common area, with a glass of water in his hand. The others in the common area included, Mina, and Kyouka, who sat to the left on him on the same couch, Ochako, Tsuyu and Toru, who sat together on another couch to their right, and Momo, who sat on an ottoman that was across from Sora. All of them were out of their school uniforms and in casual outfits as Ashido groaned and leaned back. "Does it have to be this hard?"
"Well, it's not called intensive training for nothing." Hagakure pointed out.
"That's true." Yaoyorozu agreed. "But it's strange to think that there's only a week left before the exam."
"Yaomomo. How's your Ultimate Move coming?" Toru wondered.
"There's something I really want to do, but my body just isn't ready yet." The class deputy answered. "I need time to improve my Quirk and general endurance."
"Hey, if you want help, Momo, feel free to ask." Sora offered. "Least I can do, since you helped me out."
"I appreciate that. Thanks." Yaoyorozu was glad to hear that.
"How bout you, Tsu?" Hagakure wondered.
"I've perfected a move that makes me even more frog-like than before." Asui stated. "I'm sure even you'd look surprised, Toru."
"What's your story, Ochako?" The invisible girl asked, only to get no response.
"Hey, Ochako." Tsuyu poked Uraraka, which prompted her to yelp, as she was unusually startled. She looked at who poked her and Asui noticed something. "You seem a little tense."
"No, it's nothing!" She argued. "Everything's going awesome! I'm just getting started!"
"That reaction from before doesn't really say that." Sora pointed out, making Ochako sweat a little. "Something on your mind?"
"Eugh...I don't know." She answered, looking a little red in the cheeks. "The thing is, recently my heart has been all stirred up about something."
Sora sighed and was considering leaving now, as he knew what was about to come up. He didn't even need to look next to him to know what Mina's face was, as she called out "It's love!"
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST I'll Become a Hero]
Uraraka completely lost her composure. "What did you say!? Glove!? Shove!? Dove!? Never seen one! What's that!?"
Ashido pressed on. "So! Who is it? Midoriya or Iida? Or did you develop a crush on Sora too? You're always hanging out with those three boys."
Ochako put her hands on her face, as she was extremely embarrassed. "You've got it all wrong!" She said, keeping her hands on her face, and beginning to float in the air, at least until Sora stood up and grabbed her by the heel, keeping her from floating up further than three meters high. She didn't notice that though, as she was still muttering to herself in embarrassment. "That's not it, I swear!"
"Which one?" Toru egged on. "Or someone else? Come on, spill!"
"Yeah, out with it." Jiro was actually kind of curious this time. "You know we're not going to give up with it until we know."
"Ochako, can you turn off your quirk, so I can leave? I don't want to be here listening to girls talk about a crush." Sora requested.
"I swear, it's no one!" Uraraka yelled out. "Besides, it's not like I even know anything about dating." The Keyblade wielder was honestly tempted to let go, just so he could leave, but he didn't want his friend to potentially bump her head on the ceiling from floating, so he kept his grip.
"It's not good to force an investigation." Asui pointed out.
"She's right." Yaoyorozu agreed. "More importantly, it's late. We should call it a night."
Mina was not having it. "Auuuugh! NO! I wanna hear everything! You can't just spring a hint of romance on us and expect me to go to sleep!"
"What romance?" Uraraka uttered out before noticing something out the window. She could see Izuku outside, practicing his kicks and having a notebook close by. She seemed to calm down after that and released her quirk, dropping back down on the couch that she had sat on, as Sora let go.
The Keyblade wielder turned his attention to Ashido. "If you can't go to sleep because of that, then why don't I just show you another picture of Kairi or something?"
"Your romance life is already known, Sora." Mina argued. "I need something fresh and new. If not, then something to satisfy me."
"Okay, then what else would you want to hear that would make you go to sleep?" The boy asked.
After a moment of pondering, the pink girl had an idea. "How about a scary story?"
"What now?" Sora needed a repeat.
"Scary stories also help put me to sleep." Ashido said.
"...Uh. I don't..." The boy really had nothing for that.
"A scary story, huh? I mean, if we had a more ominous place, it could work" Tsuyu chimed in.
"Huh?" Sora looked at her.
"What about Tokoyami's room?" Mina suggested.
"That could work, if he lets us." Asui said.
"Then let's go, Sora, Tsu." Mina put an arm over the boy's shoulder.
"Why me?" The Keyblade wielder asked.
"Because Tokoyami will let us in if you're the one asking. Now let's go." Ashido pointed out as the three of them began walking over to the stairs, leaving the other girls to do whatever they pleased.
[Silence]
As the three of them reached the second floor, they noticed Denki, Mezo, Minoru, and Hanta, who were all discussing amongst each other, until Shoji noticed them. At first, they paid the three no mind, except Mineta, because he always looks at girls, until they saw the trio approach Tokoyami's room and Mina knocked on the door. The boys stopped their conversation and watched Fumikage answer the door. "What is it?"
Sora looked at the girls, seeing Mina silently egg him on. He sighed before speaking up. "Can we hang out in your room for a bit?"
"My...what? Why?" The bird boy was confused.
"We want to tell spooky stories, and your room has the perfect atmosphere for that." Ashido explained.
"Spooky stories?" Kaminari spoke up, before he and the other guys approached them. "That actually sounds kind of fun."
"Excuse me?" Fumikage was confused and slightly annoyed.
"It apparently helps her sleep." Sora added as he pointed to Mina.
"I've heard of that." Sero could see that. "Plus it could be a good way to bond as classmates."
"I'm in. Alone in a dark room with two girls who'll need a strapping man to comfort them when they get scared." Minoru began to drool, before he felt Sora kick him in the shin, making him wince in pain for a bit.
After a few minutes of thinking about it, Tokoyami gave his answer. "Come in. But don't touch anything, and don't be too loud."
"Thanks, Tokoyami! You're the best!" Mina cheered before the group of seven entered Fumikage's room and sat in a circle around the center of the dimly lit room.
Back in the common room, the rest of the girls there decided to still hang out, but they didn't really know what to do. "Hmm." Ochako was stumped, as she had no idea of what they could do together.
Toru then had an idea. "Hey, why don't we go to Jiro's room and learn some music?"
"Huh?" Kyouka's cheeks turned red for a second.
"Come on. It'll be fun. It's better than sitting down here doing nothing. And I don't think any of us are tired." Hagakure added.
"Well, you're not wrong." Momo agreed. "It could be entertaining."
"Oh yeah, that sounds awesome!" Uraraka agreed. "She could teach us how to do those cool guitar solos that people at concerts do."
"Guitar is not that easy to learn." Jiro pointed out.
"Then why not teach some of it to us? Please?" Toru begged.
After a while of thinking, Kyouka conceded. "Well...whatever. Why not? Just...don't tell anyone. Especially the guys. It's embarrassing."
The four girls then made their way to the stairs, up the stairs to the third floor and over to Jiro's room, where she let the girls in, then immediately closed and locked it.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Master Criminal]
Back in Fumikage's room, Hanta was in the middle of telling his spooky story, and he seemed to be selling it really well, as most of the group, save for Sora and Fumikage, were invested in it. "Of course the man was terrified." Sero said. "But he couldn't exactly turn back now, so he kept making his way down the dark tunnel, one trembling step at a time...Right when he'd made it halfway through, a warm puff of air tickled his throat. This was odd, since there shouldn't have been any wind blowing from up ahead."
"W-Why not?" A slightly spooked Denki questioned.
"Because the tunnel had been a dead end ever since the year before, when a landslide had caused it to cave in." Hanta answered.
"No way..." Mina muttered in astonishment.
"The man stopped for a second and felt something drip on his hand." Sero continued his tale. "Something cold...He'd been careful not to drain the batteries on his flashlight, but the dripping didn't stop. So he turned it on and shined the beam of light directly above him. That's when he saw it. A blood soaked corpse!"
[Silence]
"Gaaah!" Minoru yelped and grabbed a hold of one of Mezo's arms for protection.
"Quiet down, Mineta." Tsuyu told him flatly.
"Seriously!" Ashido agreed with her. "Your screaming killed the scary factor, Mineta!"
"H-How are you girls not scared?" Minoru replied. "Girls are supposed to be wimpy and all!"
"Big talk coming from the boy who's holding onto the big strong man." Sora pointed out.
"I can't help it!" Mineta argued. "Sero's story is way too spooky!"
"Why'd you even want to be here then?" Hanta brought up.
"If I know Mineta, he was hoping to grope us in the dark." Asui correctly assumed.
"Which is why she and I are sitting next to Sora." Mina added as the two girls were sitting to the Keyblade wielder's right, while Shoji, Mineta and Kaminari were on his left.
"Come on. All men are basically treasure hunters." Minoru retorted. "Always looking out for a lucky perv-chance."
"Don't lump the rest of us men with you." Mezo spoke up.
"At least he admits he's a creep." Sora commented.
"Yeah." Ashido agreed. "Good thing we'll be able to take our baths with some peace of mind, starting today."
"Agreed." Tsu chimed in. "That'll be a relief."
"Huh?" Sora didn't exactly know what they meant by that.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST An Abdominal Investigation]
"Tch. Damn support course chick with the sweet rack." Minoru grumbled. "Sticking her nose where it doesn't belong."
That clued the Keyblade wielder into what the girls meant. They probably asked Mei to build some security measure to keep Mineta from trying any peeping whenever nobody else was around to stop him, which is honestly a good call. "Oh! I know! Let's go back to Hatsume and have her whip up a 'stop Mineta from groping us in the dark' item!"
"Enough." Tokoyami spoke up from the corner he was leaning on. "Or else, find another room for your antics."
"But this is the only room that's pitch black." Mina replied. "Plus, you've got skulls and stuff to set up the mood!"
"I didn't furnish my room for you people or your ghost stories in mind." Fumikage stated, sounding annoyed.
"Pretty lucky you had candles lying around." Ashido added.
"Not lucky for me!" Tokoyami's scowl was evidence enough that he was close to throwing her out of his room.
"Mina. This is his room." Sora reasoned with her. "He has the right to kick us out if he wants."
"Wait, I've got it!" Ashido didn't really seem to take Sora's threat too seriously. "I'm about to tell a tale so spooky, it'll scare the feathers right off of you, Tokoyami!"
Fumikage highly doubted that, but he wouldn't stop her from trying her best.
Back on the second floor, Uraraka, Hagakure and Yaoyorozu were being taught a few things about how to play music by Jiro. Ochako had a guitar in her hand and she plucked the string, making a low note. "Ooh, I played a note!" She seemed proud of that small accomplishment.
Momo also had a guitar in hand, but was just figuring out how to hold it right. "How does one hold a pick properly, Jiro?" She wondered, as she had one in her other hand.
"Just how you've got it." Kyouka answered. "And the movement is all in the elbow and wrist."
Next to them was Toru, who tried something ambitious. "Listen to like, the wailing of my soul!" She tried, and failed, to do a guitar solo. "Okay, that was bad. Uh, hey, Jiro. Could you play a guitar solo and show me how it's done?"
[Silence]
"Uh...well..." Kyouka was a bit embarrassed. "Okay, maybe a short something or other." She took the guitar and made it quick.
[Play The Day - My Hero Academia (Opening) | MattyyyM Cover]
The next fifteen seconds were a musical masterpiece, as once Jiro began her brief solo, she showed masterful fingerwork on the frets. Even though she was embarrassed to do this at first, she quickly got into the groove and confidently finished her solo. She was then brought back to reality when she heard the other girls cheer her.
"Super rad!" Uraraka exclaimed..
"You're basically a pro!" Toru complimented.
"Encore, Jiro! Encore!" Momo cheered.
"Aww. Knock it off, geez." While her face turned a few shades redder, she decided to honor her friends with another solo.
Meanwhile, outside of the dorms, Izuku was training with Tenya, getting tips from him on how to properly incorporate kicks into his fighting style. "You won't achieve speed or power by just using your legs, Midoriya!" The class rep spoke up. "Put your entire body into it! Let me show you once more!"
"Right! Let me see how it's done!" Izuku watched his classmate with his notebook in hand. He then watched as Iida performed a series of kicks that made his look like nothing, in terms of speed and weight. "I see." He began to scribble down what he saw. "He drops his hips low for a firmer stance, like his body is coiled up."
"Hard at work again?" Shoto said as he was leaving the front door of the dorms.
"Oh, hey Todoroki." Izuku spoke up. "Leaving now?" Shoto nodded. "Anyway, hope you have a good time."
"Give our best regards to your mother." Tenya said.
"Sure. Thanks." Todoroki walked past them, letting the two continue their training while he went off to go visit his mother while he still had the chance to today.
Izuku then had a slightly guilty look on his face and he turned to the class rep. "I'm sorry, Iida."
"What for?" Tenya wondered.
"You know, for asking you to help me train for the day." The One For All user said. "I didn't even ask if you had other plans already."
Iida let loose a deep laugh before responding to that. "Nonsense! Midoriya, you wished to learn, so I am here to teach. It's the least I can do as the class rep, and more importantly, your friend. Besides, it gives me great pride to assist someone I respect so much."
"Wow, Iida." Izuku's guilty look was washed away and he now sported a smile as big as Tenya's.
"Let's try this again, shall we?" The class rep suggested.
"Sure!" Midoriya got himself ready to practice his kicks once more.
Meanwhile, upstairs on the fourth floor, Ejiro was in his room with Mashirao, letting his guest use his punching bag for a bit. "This feels great." Ojiro commented. "It feels like I'm strengthening my whole body."
"Right?" Kirishima agreed. "Perfect way for hard hitting guys like us to train!"
"Do you mind if I try giving it a kick?" Mashirao requested.
"Sure." Ejiro was fine with it, before he remembered something. "No, wait!"
It was too late, as Ojiro had kicked the punching bag and it sent the bag flying through the air and out of the red haired boy's door, slamming it open and letting the bag fly to the wall outside. "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO PIPE DOWN IN HERE!" Katsuki barged out of his room and screamed at the two of them.
[Silence]
Back in Fumikage's room, Mina was close to wrapping up her spooky story. "And then, the medium got the shock of her life! Because the closet was full of ghosts and stuff! Spooky, yeah?" While Minoru still clinged on to Mezo, the rest of the group just blinked at her, all of them plainly unimpressed. "Wait, was my story not scary?"
"I mean..." Sora began. "It could have been, but you didn't really set the mood."
"Sora's right." Tsuyu agreed. "The story itself had potential, but not the way you told it."
"Right." Hanta chimed in. "If you're gonna tell a ghost story, you gotta use your voice to up the spooky factor, the way I did. You've got to be a performer, basically."
"For real." Denki agreed with that. "You've got a real knack for making it real hair raising, Sero."
"What the heck!" Ashido pouted. "That was the spookiest story in my roster!" She then had an idea. "Well, what about you, Sora. Do you have any spooky stories?"
"Well, not really." The Keyblade wielder admitted, before remembering something. "Wait...actually, I might."
"You might?" Asui repeated.
"Yeah. But it's one that I was told by a friend of mine who lived near the place where this stuff happened." Sora stated.
"Wait. This story happened in a real place?" Kaminari realized.
"Yeah." The Keyblade wielder responded.
"Oh, this is gonna be good!" Mina commented. "Stories that take place in real settings are always more immersive!"
"Just try to tell it like a spooky story." Hanta recommended.
"Got it." Sora then looked over to Shoji and Mineta. "You ready to cling onto Mezo even more, Minoru?"
"Why do you feel the need to say that?" Mineta whimpered.
[Play FF7 Remake OST Train Graveyard]
Sora then leaned forward and began his tale. "So, my friend, Aerith lived close to this place called the Sector Seven Slums. It's a pretty run down place, with scrap and trash and some really nasty rodents. It didn't help that there was a big power generator that was sucking up a bunch of the fuel from underground nearby, so it wasn't really the best place to live."
Some of the group had some solemn looks on their faces, as they had a vague idea of what this place could be like. Slums were well known to everybody, and they were all over the place in some countries. The people that congregate and form these slums usually are poor, or have lost most of their belongings, jobs and property to natural disasters or Villain attacks. They've seen it on the news enough times to know just how crappy those places can be. "Oh, man." Denki muttered.
"Yeah. It was pretty bad, but the people down there stayed strong and helped each other out. A guy I know named Cloud had actually done some community service there, dealing with some aggressive pests, fixing some pipes, and finding some cats. He helped out a lot there. And Aerith met him shortly after he had left the slums." Sora explained.
"Okay. This is really sweet and all, but where's the spooky part of this?" Mina questioned.
"I'm getting to that, now." Sora told her. "So, you guys know about slums. Have you ever heard of train graveyards?"
"Those places where old and beat up train engines and carts are hauled off to?" Tsuyu replied.
"Yeah." The Keyblade wielder confirmed. "The slums had one of those right next to it. But it got fenced off due to rumors."
"Rumors?" Mezo repeated, kind of getting into this.
"Yeah. Some real spooky rumors." Sora stated before going into detail. "It goes like this. 'Those that lose their way out there, in the dark of night, will never, ever find their way back home again'. The people there mostly think that the place is somehow haunted. And it doesn't help that people did go missing there."
"They did?" Fumikage spoke up, actually taking an interest in this story.
"Yeah, and I heard it was mostly kids too." The Keyblade wielder specified. "I heard that when Aerith had to go through there one time, she said could hear kids, laughing, crying, like whispers in the wind."
The group was actually starting to get a bit creeped out. It kind of reminded them of Asui's story that she told on the bus, but on a more ominous and creepy scale. "O-Okay...and what else happened while she was there?" Denki wondered.
"Well, she wasn't really specific with me." Sora stated. "It was kind of like she didn't want to tell me about it. After I said that I really wanted to know though, she told me. She, Cloud and another girl named Tifa went through there and they all saw some really weird stuff. Some trains would move a little on their own and the engines would screech when they did. There were some really big rats and bugs that would pounce at them and try to bite at them. And then there's the REALLY creepy part."
"We're not at the creepy part already?!" Mineta whined.
The Keyblade wielder gave the answer. "This odd glow in the dark paint was used on some of the walls and it had arrows, handprints, and words that said 'this way' or 'keep going' or 'follow us' and it pointed towards this big warehouse where the trains could be stored inside. Aerith and the others went there and had to fight off some bats and rats that were in there. After getting out of the warehouse though, the groups started seeing things."
"W-What things?" Sero asked.
"Well, There was this ominous black wind, and Tifa saw a little girl she knew, I think her name was...Marlene?" Sora hopefully remembered correctly. "She saw Marlene crying just outside the place, but when Tifa approached Marlene, she vanished. This made Tifa more eager to find a way out of the train graveyard to go find Marlene and make sure she was safe. Cloud said that he didn't see anything, but I doubt that. He probably just didn't want to talk about it. But Aerith saw something honestly sad."
"Sad how?" Asui wondered.
"She said that she saw herself as a kid, and that she saw her trapped...by herself...with nobody, finding her. She felt completely alone and broke down crying, both her and the kid version of her that she saw." The Keyblade wielder explained. "But then after that, something crazy happened."
"What, What happened?" Mina was completely invested in this story.
[Play FF7 Remake OST Haunted]
"She said that she saw this massive looking flying ghost horse and an armored man on a chariot being pulled by the thing." Sora explained. "Cloud and Tifa saw it too and the thing apparently was what was making these rumors true. This guy had a quirk that could make you see your greatest fears and he would lure people into the train graveyard and would torture them with nightmares before...well I don't know what he did with the people. Aerith didn't tell me that part. But this guy was the cause of all of the missing people and why the train graveyard was considered haunted."
"What the hell!" Denki was angry that someone would even do something like that. "Please tell me that this guy got his just deserts."
"Yeah!" Ashido agreed.
"Nobody should do that to people!" Hanta added.
"Especially children." Asui agreed.
"What happened to Aerith and the others?" Shoji questioned.
"Did the guy get your friends too?" Mineta asked.
"What became of this man of nightmares?" Tokoyami wondered.
"Well, even though they weren't pro heroes, the three of them used their quirks to fight back against the guy, and they actually managed to beat him, even with him trying to shove their heads full of nightmares the entire time." Sora explained.
[Silence]
After a few sighs of relief, and a few cheers from some others, The Keyblade wielder spoke once more. "So yeah, that's my story."
"That was a really good story." Sero appreciated it.
"Yeah man. That was kick ass!" Kaminari applauded that.
"I'm just glad that it didn't end on a scare." Minoru was thankful.
"It had its spooks too. All that creepy train ambience and those bugs and rodents that popped out at random, eww." Mina added.
"That felt more like a story with spooks in it, rather than a spooky story." Tsuyu. "It was still a good story though."
"It got me a little spooked. I'll admit to that." Mezo said.
"Out of all of the tales told here, yours was the only one I had an interest in." Fumikage stated.
"Hey!" Ashido looked a bit offended by that. "If you think the rest of ours were so uninteresting, then why don't you tell us one and show us how it's done?"
"Ooh! Good idea." Denki agreed with her. "Tokoyami's normal voice is already scary enough for this sort of thing?"
"And what is that supposed to mean?" The bird boy was unamused with that comment.
"I wouldn't mind a story from Tokoyami." Asui agreed with the others.
"Come on, 'horror master'!" Ashido was persistent.
"Nothing too scary, okay?" Mineta requested. "Unless there's some sexy parts, then feel free to go nuts."
"This could be fun for you, Fumikage." Sora chimed in as a way to coerce him into doing it.
After a moment of consideration, Tokoyami grabbed the chair in his room, brought it over to the center, sat on it and spoke to the group while facing the opposite direction. "The following is a story told to me by my grandfather. Perhaps it will leave you all sufficiently terrified."
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST The Murderer's Eye]
As the group all had their attention on Fumikage, he began his tale. "Many years ago, the youths of a certain village amused themselves with 'The Hundred Tales'."
"I feel like I've heard of those." Kaminari recognized the name. "But what are The Hundred Tales about again?"
"It's a way of telling ghost stories, passed down through the ages." Shoji explained. "You light up one hundred candles before starting and blow one out after every story you tell throughout the night. When the final candle goes out, they say a real ghost is supposed to show up."
"Ooh! We've got candles right here!" Mina pointed out. "Perfect for The Hundred Tales!"
Tokoyami swiveled his chair to face them before continuing on. "In this particular village, The Hundred Tales was one of the few amusements these youths had available to them. Weary of summoning a real specter, they were always sure to stop at the 99th tale. One day however, a blonde woman came to the village from the city. As a world traveler, she had heard about The Hundred Tales and was eager to join the fun, so the youths happily welcomed her to their storytelling circle that night. Not one of her tales made her cry out in fright though. In fact, partway through, she began to grin, which only served to frighten the youths. At last, they got through 99 tales and decided to stop as always, but the visitor broke the silence and began to tell the 100th tale that night. The group implored her to stop, but she did not. When her tale concluded, the final candle blew out on its own."
"Probably just the breeze that did it...right?" Sero nervously said.
"S-So...did a ghost appear?" Ashido questioned.
Tokoyami gave them their answer. "One of the youths kept a brave face, and pointed out that no ghosts or ghouls had emerged, but when he tried to relight the candle, the blonde woman had vanished altogether. The next morning, the entire village and its police force conducted a search, but she was nowhere to be found. Perhaps she had simply gone home, some thought, while others whispered that maybe she had been spirited away. Time passed until most had forgotten about the blond woman, but one day, one of the youths present that fateful night claimed he had spotted the woman again. The others were convinced his eyes had deceived him, until the next day, when his body was discovered, twisted in an expression of sheer horror at the moment of death. And wrapped around his neck, a single blonde hair."
[Silence]
"Yikes!" Ashido wrapped her arms around Sora and pulled him closer to her.
"I'm guessing the story spooked you?" The Keyblade wielder assumed.
"What's with you?" Denki wondered.
"I don't know. This just makes me feel...safer, I guess?" Mina replied.
"Is it because you've rarely ever seen me lose?" Sora wondered.
"Maybe?" Ashido didn't deny it.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Vanguard Action Squad -Darkness-]
Fumikage then continued his story. "The next day, another of the youths from that night had turned up dead. Then another, and another, until everyone who had been present for the blonde woman's hundredth tale had been no more. The rest of the village was convinced that the woman had been a soul sucking demon of some sort."
"Eh?" Hanta was surprised. "Why'd they suddenly jump to the demon explanation?"
"Because of a certain legend in the village." Tokoyami answered, implying that this story had layers to it. "Long long ago, it was said that a local couple had given birth to a daughter with blonde hair. The dark haired husband assumed that his wife had been unfaithful, and despite his wife's protests, he abandoned her and their newborn daughter on the mountainside. Deep in the mountains, the wife sacrificed the baby to a demon, in order to lay a powerful, grudge filled curse upon the husband."
"So the baby turned into a demon and eventually came back to cause trouble...?" Mina summarized, tightening her hold on Sora.
"What the heck?" The Keyblade wielder sounded angry. "What is wrong with that woman? Giving her child up like it's some product on a shelf."
Fumikage nodded before going on. "However, the story did not end there. The friend who told my grandfather this tale had moved away from the village at a young age. As a grown man, he found himself nostalgic for his hometown, but when he returned for a visit, he found the town deserted and in ruins. According to those in the next town over, the village was afflicted by a terrible plague that killed off each and every resident. Was it really illness that destroyed them though? Perhaps not, as rumor has it that strands of blonde hair were found near the bodies."
"Okay, whoa! This is getting way too freaky for me." Ashido's face was pressed on Sora's cheek as she was legitimately getting scared. At this point, the Keyblade wielder got his arm loose and placed it around her shoulders in an attempt to give her some comfort.
The boy then felt his hand get grabbed by Tsuyu's hand which surprised him, as he didn't expect her to do that. "Sero had more of a straightforward story, and Sora's, while it had creepy elements, it wasn't getting more disturbing over time. This one just gets worse and worse."
"I'm afraid there's still more to come." Tokoyami stated.
Sora sighed before speaking up. "Tsu, just come over here. I'll hold you." The frog girl was willing to let that happen and she moved over to Sora's left, letting Mina stay to the right of him while she snuggled on the Keyblade wielder's left side.
[Silence]
"Let me hold you too, Sora!" Minoru tried to pull a fast one.
"You've got Mezo." The Keyblade wielder did not fall for it.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Tartarus]
Fumikage then went on. "After the man returned from the village and told my grandfather his story, he began acting strangely. Apparently, he had spotted the grinning blonde woman, and was afraid that spreading word of her had cursed him too. 'Maybe you were just imagining things?' suggested my grandfather, but the friend was convinced. He died suddenly, seven days later, with a single strand of blonde hair wrapped around his neck."
"I swear, if this story keeps going and you say that your grandpa died with blonde hair around his neck..." Sora began but the bird boy stopped him there.
"The story ends there." Fumikage stated.
"This one's gonna keep me up tonight." Hanta said out loud.
"This is fiction, yeah?" Denki got up and grabbed Tokoyami's shoulders, looking visibly terrified. "Totally made up, right?"
A slightly surprised Fumikage soon replied to them. "I apologize...if this was too scary. But no. My grandfather really told me this tale. As for whether or not he made it up, I cannot say."
At this point Minoru was close to soiling himself. "Shoji, stand guard while I go pee, okay."
"Your room is just down the hall. You'll be fine." Mezo commented.
"Just stand outside while I go! Come on!" Mineta pleaded.
Tokoyami decided to speak up once more. "The stories we pass down contain lessons. The lesson of my tale is that stories themselves should not be treated as more than mere amusements, or ways to pass the time. Wandering, cursed spirits wander closer to home than we might expect, and they are always listening, even here and now perhaps."
"Tokoyami's right. That seems like enough ghost stories for tonight." Tsuyu was ready to call it quits.
"Darn right! This just got a little too real!" Ashido agreed while Kaminari and Sero nodded to that as well.
"How about we forget the spooky stuff and go for some spicy stories next time?" Minoru offered. "I even have a few choice videos we could watch back at my room."
"No thanks." Both girls said before following the others out, still clinging onto Sora, who was starting to get a bit flustered from them holding onto him so closely.
[Silence]
Once they left the room, the boy spoke up. "Okay, we're out. You can let go now." He told them.
"U-Uh...right." Mina did so. "Why did I have us do this?"
Asui let go too. "Well it's too late to take it back."
"You'll both make it through this." Sora nonchalantly told the pair. "Besides, I'm pretty sure that Fumikage told us that story just to scare us out of his room."
"Well it worked and then some!" Ashido said. "I almost don't want to sleep by myself tonight."
"Bunk with Tsu then. Keep eachother company." The Keyblade wielder pointed out.
"Huh. I guess that would be an option." Mina realized. "U-Uh...well, how about it? You up for a sleepover?"
"I don't mind." Tsuyu agreed to that.
At that point, the group had split and all made their way to their dorms for the night.
A few hours passed by and everyone was in their dorm rooms. Most were asleep, but a select few were still awake. One of those individuals was actually Sora, but it wasn't for the reason one might think. Unlike the others, the keyblade wielder wasn't really scared of some monster demon thing from a spooky story. In actuality, he was up because he was looking through his phone. Namely the pictures and texts that he had taken and received during his time in San Fransokyo. He was more concerned about how the goggles he requested would be, seeing as they aren't being made by Hiro. He didn't doubt Moogle's skills as a developer, oh no. He just had a feeling that the goggles made by him won't be quite the same. Hopefully it'll be in a good way, heck, maybe he'll somehow upgrade it, who knows? He'll figure it out tomorrow. He then shut off his phone, laid in bed and closed his eyes.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
[Play KH3 OST The Nightmare -cutscene-]
"Huh?" The Keyblade wielder opened his eyes and sat up from his bed. At that point he heard what sounded like a light buzzing noise, which was weird. He didn't have anything in his room that would make that sound. He had a puzzled look on his face until he heard the buzzing sound seem to get louder. He got up out of his bed and then leaned his head on his door, listening to see if this noise was just outside or something. He couldn't tell though. Maybe? Either way, he summoned Oathkeeper just in case, then opened his door just a crack to peek outside.
When he did, the buzzing had sounded more clear, which confirmed his suspicions that it was in fact out in the halls. But he couldn't see anything. Maybe it was a stray bee or fly that got in here through someone's window? Regardless, it seemed to be nothing, so he closed the door, and went back to his bed to go to sleep.
The sound of something tapping on his door was heard, as well as an unfamiliar female voice. "...Sora."
"Huh?" The boy turned back to his door, looking alert and a little concerned. "Who said that?"
There was no response. None at all. Like nobody was there to begin with.
[Silence]
Things got weirder for him the next day, as he noticed that the others that were present during the spooky stories had also been sleep deprived, including Fumikage. During a break period between classes, he went up and asked him "Couldn't sleep last night?"
"Unfortunately not." The bird boy confirmed. "I had stayed awake last night, because I had thought I heard someone call my name."
"Wait? You too?" Denki and Mina said in unison.
"That happened to you guys too?" Sora questioned.
"Yeah, man." Kaminari replied. "I heard buzzing and then a girl said my name."
"I heard a girl say Tsu's and my name too." Ashido added.
"We heard that as well." Mezo chimed in with Tsuyu, Hanta and Minoru also confirming that they heard that.
Other students close by seemed to look confused, as they claimed that none of them heard anything last night.
Noticing that it was everybody that was present for the spooky stories last night, Mineta began to freak out a little. "Why'd she only call our names though? Please tell me one of you is lying and that it wasn't just our group specifically!" He turned to Izuku. "You seriously didn't hear anything, Midoriya?"
"Sorry, but no." Izuku stated. "I was so exhausted from training yesterday, so I fell right asleep."
"Heh, if we're the only ones who heard it, then maybe Tokoyami's tale really did curse us." Sero joked.
"Cut it out man!" Kaminari replied, as they both had nervous smiles on their faces.
Rikido let out a laugh before speaking up. "You guys really believe that? Sounds like that scary story has you imagining things."
"I-It's not like we're that gullible, but it was super scary, oaky? That blonde ghost lady is no joke?" Denki shot back.
"Oh? So how'd the story go, exactly?" Sato wondered.
While Kaminari was explaining this to him, others, like Shoto and Katsuki were in ear range of that, and the latter of the two spoke up. "Quit it with your weird-ass stories when I'm within ear range!" He said before storming out.
Kyouka then spoke up after hearing that, but she sounded nervous. "Um...I heard it too actually. The strange buzzing...it kept going until dawn."
[Play KH Re:Chain of Memories OST Disquieting]
"There! See? It must have been real then!" Denki jumped the gun.
"Hold on!" Sora stopped him there. "Was it just buzzing or was there anything else?"
"I only heard buzzing." Jiro answered.
"So buzzing, but no name calling." The Keyblade wielder pointed out. "It was probably a stray bee or fly that got stuck roaming around the halls."
"But you said you heard your name get called by a girl you couldn't see!" Minoru argued. "Explain that!"
"Well..." There could have been a few explanations to that, like a lost heart calling out to him, or some sort of message from a person on another world, or someone with the power of waking talking to him, but if he said any of those ideas, then he would run the risk of blowing the world order. It also wouldn't explain why the others heard their names get called, so he played dumb. "I got nothing for that."
"Regardless of what it is, the fact that you all heard this odd noise is concerning." Tenya spoke up. "There may be something wrong with the dormitory itself, so we need to get to the bottom of this." He stepped forward. "As Class representative, I will take responsibility and solve this mystery!"
[Silence]
"Hold on." Sora stepped in. "You're not doing this alone. I'll tag along with you after I do my extra training, okay?"
Iida wanted to object, but he already knew that there was no arguing with the Keyblade wielder when his heart was made up. "Very well. We'll both keep eachother alert and stay in the common room tonight."
"Gotcha." Sora shook the class rep's hand on that.
Classes went on mostly normal, save for the few times where the group that was stuck awake last night had some trouble paying attention, due to being partially sleep deprived. When the class went to gym Gamma to train however, that's when things felt more normal. But there was one big difference for Sora, and he was trying it out now.
[Play KH3 OST Time to Shugyo]
He had his new piece of equipment on. A recreated set of the AR goggles. When he put them on, they felt just like the ones from before, but once he started using them, he could already see that some changes were made.
The first thing was that he was given the option to change the visor color. It could stay the default blue color, or be switched to colors like red, green, yellow, purple, orange, white, pink or cyan. But aesthetic changes were far from the only modifications done.
Once Sora got into combat with a few Ectoplasm clones, he could see a few other functions begin to show, like target lock function, that allowed Sora to keep track of any enemy he previously spotted, regardless of whether or not they were still in his eyesight. The distance and direction of the target was shown via small arrows that didn't obscure Sora's vision too much, so he could still see what or who was in front of him. This extra perk would certainly help the boy out whenever he would have to face near overwhelming numbers, as while he was good at paying attention to his surroundings, there were times where he could use an extra set of eyes.
Another function he discovered was one that he really didn't expect. A zoom function. As the name implies, he could use the goggles like a set of binoculars and zoom in with it to see things from a far distance. He had a feeling that Mei might have had a say in that, as her quirk is that very ability, and it can most certainly have its uses.
Then there was a function that honestly surprised Sora. On the bottom right of the screen, when he put on his goggles, he could see his face pop up, along with a green bar that circled around it and extended towards the left when it reached the bottom of his picture. To the right of that was an orange bar that started from the bottom of his picture and circled around the green bar until it reached the top right of his picture. Below that was a blue bar that was currently full, but when he casted enough magic attacks, the bar would decrease until it turned pink and then, after a while would go back to blue when it refilled. Moogle made this to monitor Sora's energy levels and physical health, and show the Keyblade wielder his condition, as to help him better manage his power usage.
These new additions, along with the other preexisting functions that the AR goggles from before had, the boy's combat prowess would most certainly improve drastically. As Sora was getting acquainted with the new functions this had, he spoke to himself. "You guys went above and beyond for me. I'm gonna have to thank you guys when I get the chance."
[Silence]
As the training session was nearing its end, Sora spotted Ashido, who seemed to be having some trouble. The Keyblade wielder approached her and spoke up. "Hey, Mina. You doing okay?"
"Huh?" She just then noticed Sora. "Oh, uh...yeah! Just fine!"
"You don't look just fine." The boy pointed out.
She sighed. "Just tired. You know, from last night."
"Is your mind still on that?" Sora questioned.
"How could I not think about it?" She said, "It's weird and creepy!"
"Thinking about it isn't gonna help you right now." The Keyblade wielder said. "And did you forget that, Tenya and I are gonna look into it tonight? We got this."
"I know, just..." Ashido was still concerned. "I can't help it."
"Tell you what." Sora summoned the Kingdom Key. "How about you and I try to make an Ultimate Combo today? See if that'll help get your mind off things."
"Wha-Wha-What?!" She exclaimed, perking up almost instantly. "You and me?!"
"Why not? I did it with Denki and Shoto." Sora pointed out. "Might as well make at least one with everyone."
"Oh yeah! Let's do it!" She cheered before the two high fived each other and stood side by side.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Combat License]
Some students nearby heard Mina's excited yell, as well as her saying 'you and me' and they had a pretty good idea as to what was about to happen. The kids that had the pair in their eyesight decided to watch and see what new cool ultimate combo would take place here.
Ashido held the Kingdom Key in her left hand, while Sora had it in his right hand, and the two of them held it up in the air. After a brief moment, water began to form around the two and corkscrew around them. As the pair could tell, they were doing something water based, but then, Mina decided to take it a step further. She let go of the Kingdom Key and then began to twirl her body, next to Sora.
As the girl twirled around, the acid that she secreted was flung around, but got sucked into the water that corkscrewed around the pair and began to mix with it. Water on its own was practically harmless, unless used in a very large amount, or extremely condensed, meanwhile Mina's acid could be fatal, and she still had some trouble with changing the acidity of it. However, if one adds acid to water, in that specific order, the attack balances out.
As Sora poured more water into the attack, he could feel his hands getting wet, as the Kingdom Key seemed to have water form around it as well, like a watery shell. Then Ashido added in her acid once more with some breakdancing moves, just to add style to the mix. As the acid went into the water, the mixture was stable, and then Mina held the Kingdom Key again. "Whenever you're ready!" She called out.
"Let's do this!" The Keyblade wielder twisted the Kingdom Key and at that moment, the large orb of acid mixed water exploded above them and it began to rain hot water around them, when the droplets made contact with the ground or one of the nearby ectoplasm clones, it caused very minimal damage, slightly steaming up the area and only stinging the clones, but not melting through them.
"Oh yeah!" Both Ashido and Sora cheered.
"Now that's what I call a combo!" The Keyblade wielder exclaimed before the two high fived again.
"Tell me about it!" The pink skinned girl agreed. "We actually made acid rain! And the rain only stung Ectoplasm! It didn't melt through!"
"That's actually a good name for it." Sora spoke up. "Acid Rain. It's got a good ring to it."
"Acid Rain." She repeated. "Yeah. Yeah! I like it! Ultimate Combo, Acid Rain!" She struck a pose.
"Hope you have an umbrella, though it won't help you out too much." Sora also struck a pose.
[Silence]
After that little show, Mina was in much higher spirits. "That was so cool! Now I feel like I can take on anything! Bring it on, ghost lady! We'll shower you in acid rain if you try anything!"
"Eh...Mina, wouldn't that also mess up the walls and furniture in our dorm?" Sora pointed out.
"Oh, right." Ashido remembered. "Well, either way, I'm not as scared anymore."
"Good to hear." The Keyblade wielder said before the two of them fist bumped and soon left Gym Gamma with the rest of Class 1-A, as their scheduled training time was finished.
[Play KH2.5 Remix OST Gearing Up]
After the class was dismissed for the rest of the day, Sora made his way to the Development Studio and was immediately greeted with Hatsume. "So, Sora!" She got in his face. "How'd the baby do? Did you like the extra additions that we made?"
"It did great." He answered. "The new bits took some getting used to, but I can see them being helpful down the line."
"YEEEEEAH!" Mei cheered loud enough to make Sora, Power Loader and Moogle cover their ears. "Another successful baby! I'm so proud!"
"Yeah, Kupo. We can hear your pride so much that it hurts, Kupo!" Moogle spoke up as he fluttered over to the Keyblade wielder and spoke to him. "Alright, let's go, Kupo."
"Right behind you." Sora let the merchant leave and followed closely behind him.
"Come back if you want any more functions added on to that baby!" Hatsume offered.
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks." The Keyblade wielder responded as he followed Moogle. "She's in a very good mood."
"Well, I did let her help me make that, Kupo." The merchant told him.
"I figured once I found that zoom function." The boy commented.
"That's what gave it away, Kupo?" Moogle realized.
"Well, that's her quirk, right?" Sora remembered. "I thought that she'd added that in because of that."
"It's good, tactically speaking, Kupo." The merchant said. "But maybe she did want to give a part of her to you, seeing as you're a friend of hers and all, Kupo."
The Keyblade wielder smirked at that, feeling glad that he had made friends with Hatsume, even with her eccentric side being a bit much at times.
[Silence]
A few hours had passed by, and Sora had once again been flung out of the datascape by the Data Vanitas Remnant, landing face first on the wall in the Monetary room and dropping to the floor seconds after. "Ugh...as much as getting slammed into the wall happens to me, it never gets any less painful." He pushed himself up and casted cure on himself to heal himself up. "Thank goodness you reinforced these goggles."
"Considering that you were probably going to have them upon facing the real Vanitas in the future, it was just logical foresight, Kupo." Moogle stated. "Same goes with the health, magic and focus monitors, Kupo."
"Yeah. Thanks for those too." The boy replied to that.
The merchant then noticed something. "Are you doing okay, Kupo?"
"Hm?" Sora looked at him with a clueless expression.
"You look like you didn't get enough sleep last night, Kupo." Moogle pointed out, noticing the small bags under Sora's eyes.
"Oh, yeah. I stayed up a little late." The Keyblade wielder explained. "Hung out with some of my classmates and listened to spooky stories, and I also was excited to get the AR goggles." He didn't mention the buzzing or his name being called last night, as he still doubted that those were a big deal right now.
"Well, do you want to call it for today and get some shut eye early, Kupo?" The merchant offered.
"Oh, no. I'm gonna be up again tonight anyway." Sora said. "Tenya and I are gonna be looking out for some weird buzzing noise that was in our dorms last night."
"Buzzing noise, Kupo?" Moogle repeated.
"Yeah, some of us heard this buzzing all night and it kept them awake. It was probably just a stray bee or something." Sora speculated.
"O...kay, good luck with that, Kupo." The merchant was a bit confused, but decided not to question it. "So then, we should probably call it here, so that you can be ready for your little night watch, Kupo."
"Sure. Sorry." Sora apologized for cutting this training short.
"Don't sweat it, Kupo." Moogle said. "Just make sure to get extra sleep tomorrow, Kupo. That way, on the next day, you can do this at full strength, Kupo."
"I will." The Keyblade wielder said, letting Moogle power down the computers in here before leaving to go to his dormitory.
A few more hours had passed by, and night had fallen upon the residents of Heights Alliance. Most of the people were soundly asleep, but a few people were still awake at this time. Iida was one of them, as he had a coffee in front of him, and a blanket wrapped around him. He seemed to be drowsy, but then Sora, who was also there, tapped his shoulder and snapped him awake again. "Ugh! Oh my, almost nodded off again." He took another sip from his coffee.
"You know, we could take shifts, if you want." Sora offered, as he took a bite out of a chocolate bar that he brought with him to keep himself awake.
"No no no." the class rep denied that offer. "Two sets of eyes and ears are better than one."
"If you say so." The Keyblade wielder replied before hearing the buzzing sound. "Wait, there it is."
Both boys heard it and stood alert, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary right now. "Where is that coming from?" Tenya questioned. "I don't see any small flying bugs anywhere."
"Yeah, I know." Sora replied, before hearing footsteps and seeing Denki, Koji and Mashirao come downstairs. "What the? What are you guys doing up?"
"Were you all awake this whole time?" Iida wondered.
"After hearing that story, I couldn't sleep a wink." Ojiro admitted with a pained smile.
"Seriously though, what is that noise?" Kaminari questioned as he and Koda scanned around the area and couldn't see anything. They then heard a muffled scream from the floor above. "Was that Mineta?!"
[Play KH OST Villains Of A Sort]
"Let's check!" Tenya spoke up, taking point as the group raced up the stairs to the second floor to see Minoru clinging onto an awake Izuku's leg, while Yuga and Fumikage were there and awake as well, all looking drained. "What happened?"
"Sh-She called my name again!" Mineta stuttered.
"I heard it too!" The One For All user confirmed. "First a knock on Mineta's door, then a voice..."
"Seriously?" Sora replied, starting to get a bit creeped out. He saw Tokoyami and Aoyama agree with them and they were both very serious about that.
"What on earth is behind all this?..." Tenya pondered.
The buzzing was heard throughout the entire night and throughout the whole dormitory. It kept everyone awake and some people were grouped up together due to being too frightened to be alone. Sora, Iida, Midoriya, Kirishima and Todoroki had each looked through an entire floor of the building, trying to find the source of this mysterious entity, but either coming up blank, or hearing the voice say a classmate's name, and further unsettling them. "What the heck is going on?" The Keyblade wielder questioned as he kept searching throughout the night.
[Silence]
The next day was honestly not that productive, which had caught the attention of Aizawa, when almost the entire class was unable to do their assignments as well as they were usually able to, as well as being unable to make any progress on their Ultimate Move training on that day. This had made him approach his class when they all returned to the dorms, just as a storm had come over U.A. and was blowing really strong winds and pouring a lot of rain outside. When he demanded an explanation, they told it to him straight. "A noise...Really?" He did not hide his doubts. "You can't possibly believe in something so irrational as the paranormal though."
"W-We don't necessarily." Momo shakily said. "But after the series of inexplicable events, we can't help but be shaken."
Tenya shot his hand up and spoke up. "Mr. Aizawa, this is a real predicament! Some anomaly is afflicting our living quarters, and if this keeps up, I'm afraid it will affect our academic performance! I believe we ought to ascertain the cause of this and resolve the matter, posthaste!"
"I-I can't take it anymore!" Mineta yelled out. "No way am I getting a wink of sleep, with that ghost lady calling out my name! I mean, unless she wanted to join me for cuddles...wait! She'd probably try to murder me in my..." He got interrupted.
"Minoru, shut up." Sora bluntly said, not in the mood to deal with the pervert's thoughts right now, as he was just as tired as the rest of the class right now, from him using so much energy looking last night and finding nothing.
"Paranormal happenings..." Aizawa thought about it. "I remember hearing about that here at U.A."
The whole class looked at him wide eyed as Mina spoke up. "Seriously?!"
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Darkness In Heart]
"One of the 'Seven Mysteries of U.A.,' yeah." Aizawa calmly replied. "They say that the ghost of an alum that couldn't make it as a Hero haunts the campus, cursing anyone who spots it. Especially in the woods behind the main building, which is...Oh. Right where they built the dorms, actually."
That new bit of information caused most of the class to break out into pandemonium. "And now that ghost is haunting our new home?!" "Nooooo!" "Heights Alliance is like, totally haunted!"
Aizawa sighed, as he realized that he unintentionally added fuel to this fire. "Listen..."
The class didn't hear him, as most of them were still freaking out. "If the whole place is haunted, we've got nowhere to hide!" "S-Salt! We need salt to purify the place! Wait, crud, all we have is that gomasio salt full of sesame seeds!" "Do you think the ghosts will come after me, even though I'm invisible!? Please say no! PLEASE SAY NO!"
[Silence]
Aizawa activated his quirk and got all of the students' attention. "Enough, already!" Everyone shut up, but most of the class still trembled, as they were justifiably afraid of whatever this unknown entity that was plaguing them was. The Homeroom teacher calmed down and sternly spoke to his students. "If this disturbance is really such a problem, I'll drop by tonight to check it out. That's the rational approach, especially since it will be storming tonight. So be sure to be in your rooms when I come around to do the roll call."
"Thank you, Mr. Aizawa!" Most of the class said, feeling a little more at ease.
As night fell upon U.A. once more, The Homeroom teacher was there for his inspection of the premise. The furious winds outside as well as the constant tapping of rain droplets on the windows were all that was heard right now, but the Pro kept his ears open for the buzzing that he was told to listen for. There was one other thing that was calling his attention though, as the storm was certainly going to be a problem if it messed with the lights outside or caused a blackout, and considering the current condition of most of his students, he did not want to deal with them freaking out again tonight. As lightning struck outside, he double checked the location of the breaker box, in case the backup generators failed, as well as having flashlights and other emergency supplies ready, just in case said blackout happened.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzz.
And that's when he heard it. "What is that?" He wondered, as he went to the first floor to ascertain the source of the noise. He knew that this buzzing was the source of the student's worry, but when he reached the first floor and focused on finding it, he could tell that this buzzing wasn't coming from any direction. It was on the move. "Something alive?" The noise was louder in the dining area. "No, wait...Oh, you've got to be kidding me..."
[Play KH3 OST Strange Whispers -cutscene-]
As lightning struck outside for the second time, Tenya, accompanied by Momo, Shoto, Hanta, Rikido and Sora, were on the second floor, in front of Minoru's room asking him if he had seen their teacher, who was supposed to do roll call a while ago. "No, no Aizawa here." Mineta answered. "Maybe he started up top?"
"Nope." Sato stated. "He didn't show."
"Maybe he started on the girls side?" Sora guessed.
"He didn't show up." Yaoyorozu replied.
"Hey guys." Izuku came out of his room. "K-Kinda weird that Mr. Aizawa didn't come by, like he promised."
"P-Pointing it out just makes it scarier, Midoriya!" Mineta pointed out. "When it could be another 'rational deception' that he usually does!"
"Let's go look for him." Sora suggested, to which Iida agreed and once again took point, as the group went to the first floor.
Rikido then commented on the storm. "Crazy weather we're having today, huh?"
"Perhaps Mr. Aizawa is preparing for the worst outcome of this extreme weather event." Tenya theorized, as it would make sense for him to do that. "As U.A. students, we must ensure that we are ready to take action as well."
As the group reached the first floor, Izuku noticed a downed body in the dining area. "Wait! Look over there! Is that...Mr. Aizawa!?"
[Silence]
The group darted over and saw his unconscious body laying there. "How could this happen?" Momo looked terrified.
"Get everyone up and down here, NOW." Sora ordered, as he picked up their homeroom teacher and dragged his body over to the nearest couch in the common room.
[Play KH Re:Chain of Memories OST Scent of Silence]
Once everyone was awake and filled in on what happened, the first person to speak up was Kaminari. "Don't tell me he has blonde hair around his neck!"
"No, he didn't, Denki." Sora immediately replied.
"Don't start with that bull crap again, dunce face!" Bakugo barked at him.
"He got whammed by the curse, for sure!" Minoru guessed. "I mean, what else?!"
"It could have been a Villain attack." Mashirao said. "But they'd have to be one tough customer to take down Mr. Aizawa!"
"Everyone, just calm down!" Iida demanded, but this failed to get everyone's attention.
Asui then spoke up. "Paranormal occurrences aside, we should alert the other teachers about what happened to Mr. Aizawa!" That brought the class back to their senses.
"Well said, Tsuyu!" Tenya commended her. "There should be a land line in Mr. Aizawa's room so..." The sound of thunder lang loudly, and then a flash of lightning.
[Silence]
Everything then went dark, as someone shrieked, before Sero commented on this. "Just, what we need, a black out."
"Restrain yourself, Dark Shadow." Fumikage spoke up.
"Don't summon Dark Shadow now!" Mezo said.
"Everyone, stop moving!" Sora yelled out. "Momo, Shoto, anyone! Just make a light!" Yaoyorozu let out a startled shriek.
"Was that you, Yaomomo?!" Kyouka spoke up.
"Something scurried past my leg!" The class deputy exclaimed.
"What do you mean someAAAH! I felt it too!" Ochako replied.
"I can't deal with anymore somethings!" Kaminari freaked out.
"We need a light, now!" Iida demanded.
[Play FF7 Remake OST Noises in the Night]
At that point, Katsuki and Denki activated their quirks and illuminated the place. But at that moment, the groups saw something in white run across the ground before disappearing into the dark, which actually made Todoroki and Bakugo begin to look shaken.
"W-W-W-What was that?!" Hagakure freaked out.
"A ghost, definitely!" Kaminari responded. "That's what a ghost looks like, right!? Somebody back me up here!"
"M-Midoriya?" Shoto uttered out. "Which is more effective against ghosts? Ice or fire?"
"Huh? I can't say I've ever thought of that." Izuku tried to think of something. "But we think of ghosts as being cold, right? So, maybe fire would work? But honestly, I'm not sure physical attacks have any effects on spirits."
"Then what do we do?" Todoroki really needed to know as he was actually afraid right now. "What about you Sora?"
Sora summoned Oathkeeper and tried to keep calm, but it was becoming more and more difficult. "I don't know. I can't fight if I don't know what's going on."
"We're done for man!" Mineta freaked out. "We're about to die to a ghost for sure! Damn it! I wanted to go out being crushed by hot babe's bodies!"
[Play FF7 Remake OST The Whispers Attack]
The sound of the door being slammed open was heard behind the group and in a single instant, they saw a tall figure with blonde hair, only seeing it for a second, due to a lightning flash. But it was enough to make a few of them scream. "The blonde demon ghost!"
Minoru threw a volley of his purple balls in a frenzy. Mina flung some acid. Katsuki flung some sweat in that direction. Shoto blasted fire and ignited the sweat, making a chain set of explosions. Hanta flung some tape in the general direction. Yuga shot his naval laser. Sora casted a Blizzara spell. Fumikage summoned Dark Shadow and let him go after the blonde figure, as the quirk called out "This prey is mine!"
"Wait a second!" The blonde figure exclaimed, but it was beyond too late as the collective series of attacks made contact and did not stop until the blonde figure hit the ground.
[Silence]
After a few seconds, Minoru questioned something. "Th-The ghost didn't disappear?"
Still on high alert, the group slowly moved towards the downed figure, with Sora taking the lead. He then looked at the figure and recognized who it was. "Oh jeez. Oh no, we just..."
"What? What is it?" Mina asked.
"We just attacked Present Mic." Sora stated.
"Oh god!" Kyouka immediately used her earphone jack to check for a heartbeat, and was relieved when she heard it. "Phew. He's just knocked out."
"Perhaps he came to check on us during the blackout?" Tenya theorized.
"What's going on here?" The group heard another adult voice behind them.
"Mr. Aizawa?!" Almost all of the kids said at the same time, before uncontrolled babble started "We thought that the blonde ghost was here to murder us, so we attacked on sight!" "Mr. Aizawa, what knocked you unconscious? Was it a Villian, or a real ghost?" "Hang on! There really is a little white ghost running around the dorms!"
"Enough." The Homeroom teacher ordered his students, to which they all shut up and let him take control of the situation.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Professor Aizawa Theme]
After the students got the beat up and soaked Present Mic inside, Aizawa scanned the ceiling, while the class followed behind instinctively, although confused. "Wait, what about the buzzing?" Jiro asked.
"I figured it out." The homeroom teacher said, before seeing what he was looking for. "Asui, see that tiny thing up there? Get it down."
"The black thing? Okay." Tsuyu did as instructed and used her tongue to grab the object that their teacher wanted, and give it to him.
"This is the source of the sound, and it's what knocked me out, indirectly." Aizawa stated.
"What?! How!?" Some of the classmates questioned.
"I noticed it on the ceiling, but when I climbed on the table to get it down, I slipped on a kitchen rag that somebody left out." He explained.
"Oh, crap. That was totally me." Toru admitted. "I forgot to put it back when I remembered we had to be in our rooms."
After a quick glare to her from Aizawa, he spoke once more. "Nevermind that. Look." He showed the class the thing that Asui got down and it was revealed to be a tiny machine with its motor being the source of the buzzing.
"Where'd this come from?" Ochako asked.
"I have a pretty good idea. You don't recognize this?" Aizawa said to the females of the group, before taking the group to the entrance to the girls bathroom, opening up a recently added panel and tossing the small machine inside it.
"Recharging...Recharging..." The female voice spoke up from the machine.
Aizawa then got on the phone with Power Loader and asked him to put Hatsume on the phone. When he asked her what that was about she replied to him. "Oh that? That'd be my super cute add on baby that goes on scouting missions during the night! Since you've gotta live with that tenacious perv, Mini...Minu...whatever, you know who I mean. Anyway, my baby is programmed to fly around and make sure that mega perv is in his room, where he belongs! Pretty handy, huh? Anyway, I've got blueprints I need to get back to so byyyyyyyye!" She ended the call abruptly.
"That meddling chick!" Mineta realized. "I'm glad that it wasn't a haunting after all."
"Wait, but what about that white thing that ran past us?" Kaminari pointed out.
Just then, said white thing jumped into Koji's arms and it was revealed to be his pet rabbit. The animal lover looked embarrassed at that and spoke up. "I'm sorry. I must have forgotten to shut my door all the way."
"Geez. And here I thought I spotted my first ever live ghost." Denki replied.
With all mysteries solved the group had calmed down completely and some were even smiling now. "All's well that ends well!" Ejiro said.
"What exactly ended well?" Aizawa spoke up, giving the class a glare that had actually reminded Sora of Sir Nighteye, with how intimidating it was, rightfully scaring the entire class. The front entrance was a complete wreck and started to soak up rain from the broken windows. And Present Mic was still knocked out and banged up. "You barely just moved in and already, ugh...And ghost stories are to blame for all of this? Really? How could you let yourself go to pieces over fairy tales?" He activated his quirk in his annoyance, which made him look even more scary. "I want apology essays from each of you, tomorrow! And for the next few days, at least, it's light out at eight sharp! And no more ghost stories! Got it?"
"Yes, sir!" Everyone said in unison, all looking justifiably afraid of their homeroom teacher's bad mood.
"Now go to your rooms! Sora, heal Present Mic, then go to your room too."
[Silence]
"Yes, sir!" Everyone repeated in unison before all clamoring to do as he instructed.
[Play FF7 Remake OST Cultivating Darkness]
Elsewhere, in an abandoned warehouse, two people were split off from a small group and one of them seemed to be getting the opinion of the other on something. What was weird though, was that one of those people was Sora. "My friends are my power, and I'm theirs!" He said with a determined expression and in a battle ready stance, except he didn't have his Keyblade out. "So? How was that?"
"On a surface level, you could pass as him." The second person said, with an unamused expression on his face, hidden behind his mask.
"Oh come on, Vanny!" Sora said, sounding out of character. "You know you love it."
"I hate it." Vanitas corrected him. "You know how much I hate him, Toga."
Sora's body and clothes then began to melt and soon after, a naked Himiko was standing in front of him. "And that's why getting you to judge how well I can act like him is perfect." She booped his crack on his mask with her index finger. "Who better to tell me that I could pass off as him, right?"
The Dark Remnant didn't respond to the boop and just replied to her. "You can act like him, sure, but your presence will give you away almost immediately. You carry yourself very differently from him. Your only similarity is that you don't have any malice in you. You do this out of love, which is the same thing Sora does."
"Awww. So he and I have that in common?" She blushed. "I wonder what else we share, aside from his blood."
"Clearly not his sanity." Vanitas pointed out. "Or his modesty."
"Are you taking a look at my goods?" Toga wondered, while giving him a slightly judgy glare. "What's your face look like behind that mask right now, I wonder? You flustered?"
"I could literally not care less." Vanitas said as his mask glowed orange and revealed his neutral expression. "Just comparing you to him, as you were curious about your very few similarities with him."
She brushed off his remark and strolled over to her clothes and began dressing herself in front of him. "Well, I think that's enough practice for one night, don't you think?"
"Whatever." He was ready to be left alone, but he then felt a slight tingle in his back, which actually got him to emote for a second.
Himiko noticed this and spoke up as she had gotten her undergarments on and was putting on the skirt and school shirt on. "What's up with you all of a sudden?"
"Hmm." Vanitas thought about what he just felt and elaborated. "It felt like there was a collective feeling of terror spike up just now. I felt it before, but it wasn't that much at the time."
"You gonna go check it out?" Toga wondered.
After a moment of consideration, The Dark Remnant gave his answer. "No. It was probably just a bunch of kids afraid of lightning, or the dark." He leaned on the nearest wall, reformed his cracked mask around his face and left Himiko to join up with the rest of the League of Villains, who were mainly keeping to themselves.
And now, another chapter of School Briefs Volume Three is in the books. There is only one chapter left that I could do in Volume Three (Unless you guys want a chapter solely focused on Koda's rabbit's perspective after the license exam, or a bonus story of the U.A. Quest bonus chapter) Hopefully I did it justice, and had Sora's contributions to the ghost stories feel natural. BTW, I know that Sora never went to Midgar, so he wouldn't know about the Train Graveyard, but I have a headcanon that the Final Fantasy 7 characters (And Squall) probably told Sora a little bit about their own adventures, so who's to say that Aerith never told him about that time she, Cloud and Tifa ran through a train graveyard and fought ghosts and a big horse carriage nightmare guy? I probably could have had him tell a story about Halloween Town or something, but I wanted to add some Final Fantasy love in this story, as the Disney aspect gets plenty already. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and until I decide to upload again ;)