AN: Thanks for reading and leaving reviews everyone!
Compared to the first four rounds, the final match between teams E and F was almost anticlimactic. Mina decided to mimic Momo and laid traps with her acid while Mezo monitored their progress. Because of that, even with the help from animals and knowledge of the bomb's location, Koji and Rikido were unable to reach it in time and lost the match.
"Villains win!" All Might spoke into the microphone. "Now then, if you would return to the observation post we can discuss the day's results."
Within minutes, the two teams had returned from their battlefield. Doing a quick count, All Might smiled in satisfaction as he saw that all of the students had returned from the infirmary as well. He'd have to remember to thank Recovery Girl for her efficiency later.
"I know for many of you this was the first time using your quirks in combat, but I'd say your actions were exemplary today. I see promising careers ahead for all of you."
"Tch," Katsuki scowled from his position in the back.
All Might noticed the boy's foul mood immediately; he knew to keep an eye on him given his history with Izuku, and his actions against Aika lined up with that. He made eye contact with the explosive blond. "Your technique was impressive, Young Bakugo. It was your plan that was flawed. Instead of coming up with a plan that played into both of your strengths, you left your teammate on your own to engage both of your opponents at once. Two people who's quirks give them a certain immunity to yours, I may add."
Katsuki growled, the lingering pain in his arm a reminder of that fact. "You don't have to remind me. If it wasn't for that cheap shot, I could've overwhelmed their quirks."
"It's called teamwork!" Aika shot back. "One on one you may have won, which is why we teamed up on you! You couldn't hit both of us at once, after all!" She placed her hands on her hips and smiled proudly.
"Young Shizu is correct," All Might said. "If you stuck with your teammate, I believe the odds would have been in your favor."
Katsuki grimaced. All Might took on groups of villains all the time! Why couldn't he even take on two of his classmates at the same time? Was he really that weak?
Refusing to let his doubts show, he instead closed his eyes and bowed his head. "Yes Sensei, I'll try harder next time."
"The same goes for you, young Todoroki," All Might said as he turned toward Shoto. "You left your teammate behind and entered the building by yourself, only to be captured."
"But I was only facing Midoriya," Shoto said as he turned to look at his opponent. "It was a one-on-one battle. And besides, I froze the building - it would have been a handicap to have to worry about Aoyama."
"If Aoyama was there-" Momo interrupted before cutting herself off. Her cheeks heated up. "I'm sorry for speaking out of turn."
"No, please go ahead," All Might encouraged her. "It is good to hear your input as well."
"Y-yes sir." Momo straightened up and looked at Shoto. "Midoriya chose to engage you because he was capable of countering you. Meanwhile, Ojiro simply waited with the bomb on guard against your teammate; however, Aoyama had a ranged attack and was very close to defeating Ojiro on his own after your capture. If you coordinated better, you could have kept Midoriya distracted while providing an opening to allow your teammate a chance to capture the bomb. I don't know if it would have succeeded, but the odds were better than what happened."
"Very insightful," All Might agreed.
"Hmm." Shoto pondered her words. "I plan on working alone in the future, but the assignment was two-versus-two. I guess father does work with others from time to time…"
All Might let out a small sigh. He knew about the boy's troubles, but Izuku insisted that he would handle it. Deciding not to press the issue, he moved on. "Now then, as for teams who have displayed excellent coordination, Young Uraraka and Yaoyorozu displayed excellent coordination laying down traps for their opponents. Working together, they were formidable opponents for Young Jiro and Kaminari."
"We got wrecked!" Kaminari whined.
"While it is true you were at a disadvantage," All Might conceded, "as heroes it is your job to find a way to overcome the odds."
"Isn't that a little unfair?" Toru asked.
"Indeed it is," All Might said solemnly. "Being a hero isn't easy - and I believe you all know that already. Otherwise you wouldn't be here."
A silence settled over the class as All Might examined all of their faces. Some showed fear, some doubt. But one by one, the students all seemed to find their resolve, rising to meet his gaze. He rewarded each and everyone with a smile, letting them know that he, too, believed in them.
Once the moment had passed, All Might continued.
"Now then, where were we…"
All For One quietly meditated until he heard the sound of an incoming call.
Just what I was hoping for.
Reaching out, he pressed the button to receive the call. "Yes?"
"Our son just finished his first day of school," the voice of a man said on the other end of the line.
All For One cracked a toothy smile. "I hope it went well for him."
"It did. There was an unfortunate disagreement with his classmate during their heroics lesson, but nothing that will affect his grade negatively."
"I'm glad to hear it," the villain replied, "It would be a shame if he were to suffer for his classmates' indiscretion."
"I agree. The student in question is the son of Endeavor, so he thought that he didn't need any help in what was clearly a team exercise, and it cost them the match."
"The son of Endeavor you say? I suppose he would send his children to the best school in Japan. Were there any other students of note?"
There was a pause on the other line, as if the person considered what to say. "There is also a group of friends from middle school. I don't know much about the school they came from, but they all seem to have equipment and training far beyond the others in their class."
All For One paused. "My, that is interesting. I would love to hear more about them."
"We will let our son know," the man said.
"Wonderful. Hopefully he won't have any more… complications from classmates who don't know their place."
"We hope so too," the man agreed.
"Thank you for the update. I hope to hear from you soon," All For One politely said. He ended the call.
Spinning his chair around, All For One stood up, quietly left the control room, and walked through the facility. He passed through row upon row of tanks, each filled with a corpse gradually transforming into a Nomu as Garaki's procedure slowly filled their bodies with the perfect blend of quirks. Finally, he reached his destination, stopping in front of three massive tanks.
In the middle was Garaki's most successful experiment. The black-skinned creature hung there, its exposed brain pulsing as it waited to be activated. While All For One had his doubts, the creature would be an excellent test of All Might's current condition. In the adjacent tanks were two other Nomu each with their own unique blend of quirks. While they wouldn't do well against All Might, they would be more than a match for most heroes.
"If these students are as strong as they claim, perhaps I should prepare an extra surprise for them."
"How did we end up with a tie?" Aika asked as she looked at the results.
Much like in the previous timelines, the class had decided to hold a vote to determine the class representative. Due to their group of friends, Izuku and Ochako had expected one of them would win with the other likely scoring second place alongside Momo.
However, the results didn't quite go the way they expected.
Izuku Midoriya - 3
Ochako Uraraka - 3
Momo Yaoyorozu - 2
"I see," Tenya said. He adjusted his glasses as he shuffled through the slips of paper again, verifying the results. While part of him was disappointed in how the results went down, it wasn't unexpected - after all, he himself voted for Izuku due to his display during the battle trial, and Ochako's performance showed she was just as deserving of the role.
"So…" Ochako said playfully as she turned toward her boyfriend. "How are we gonna figure out who's Class Rep, and who's Vice-Rep?"
"Why not an arm wrestling contest?" Eijiro suggested.
"That sounds great!" Aika exclaimed. "Midoriya and Uraraka are both super strong! I bet it'd be super-impressive to watch."
"Wait, seriously?" Kyoka asked as she looked at her friend.
"Yeah!" Mina chimed in. "This'll be great!"
"So how about it?" Ochako asked sweetly as she gave Izuku her best innocent look. "Want to arm wrestle for the role of class president?"
"I-" Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat, extremely aware of the competitive glint in his girlfriend's eyes. But he wasn't about to back down either. "Let's do it!"
"Great!" Ochako jumped out of her chair and raced across the room to where their costumes are stored.
"Oh no." Izuku felt his stomach drop as he realized what was going on; soon, he too was out of his chair and racing toward the costumes.
"What's going on?" Tenya asked as he watched the two pull their cases from the wall, each retrieving a gauntlet from them.
"Uraraka can increase the gravity in her hands to simulate super strength, but she risks crushing her limb if she goes past a certain threshold," Momo explained helpfully. "Presumably, Midoriya has a similar drawback."
"Hmm." Shoto rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he thought about the explanation. "Midoriya did do something similar during our battle. I wonder…"
Everyone gathered around as Aika and Kirishima pushed desks together while Izuku and Ochako put on their gauntlets. Setting their cases aside, they sat down across from each other.
"Ready to lose Izu?" Ochako playfully taunted; her gauntlet began separating and wrapping itself around her hand and wrist.
"I'm not going to!" Izuku insisted as thin strips of material sprang out from his own gauntlet and wrapped around it, reinforcing his arm in a similar fashion.
"Are the desks going to survive?" Denki asked as he watched them lock their hands together.
"Only one way to find out!" Mina said as she threw her hand into the air. "Begin!"
They knew it might be a bit irresponsible, but they both immediately called upon One For All, their arms bursting to life with its power. A green glow ran down Izuku's arm while a matching pink glow ran down Ochako's as black lights flickered in and out of existence around her arm, mixing themselves with the red lightning arcing off of Izuku.
Everyone watched in awe as Izuku and Ochako were locked in silent competition, their arms swaying back and forth as they fought for control. Time seemed to stretch on for eternity as they were locked in a stalemate until Izuku appeared to gain the upper hand. Ochako's teeth clenched as she felt her arm slowly being pushed down, centimeter by centimeter…
Until suddenly, she felt her quirk vanish as Izuku slammed her hand into the desk with a loud crack.
"What do you think you're doing?" Aizawa demanded, eyes wide and red as he glared at the two students.
"Trying to figure out who the class representative would be, sensei," Izuku said sheepishly.
Aizawa let out a long irritated sigh as he stared at them. "If I walked in any later that desk would have been destroyed."
"You were always telling us how important seconds mattered yesterday," Aika said bravely - or foolishly.
Aizawa shot a withering glare at her and she seemed to shrink back before he returned his gaze to Izuku and Ochako. "So have you two come to a resolution then?"
"Yes sensei," both replied.
"Izuku will be the class-representative," Ochako said.
"And Ochako will be the vice-representative," Izuku finished.
"I can't believe how coordinated you two are." Aizawa shook his head. "I guess it didn't matter who won. If you're done, put this classroom back together. Classes are about to start."
After an exciting homeroom, the rest of the morning felt boring. Unfortunately, that meant Izuku and Ochako had plenty of time to think about what they were expecting to happen during lunch. They kept sharing glances and staring at the clock, watching as they slowly crawled through their morning classes.
The duo slowly stood up as their class was dismissed for lunch, prepared for the inevitable.
But first, Izuku had another problem to deal with. Himiko bolted upright, but unlike her usual routine, she didn't immediately dash out the door to find her girlfriend. Instead, she slammed her hand on Izuku's desk, causing him to jump in his seat.
"Izu, what's going on?" Himiko asked in a low voice. "You've been nervous all day."
"I- can't talk about it here," Izuku mumbled softly.
Himiko's expression immediately narrowed. "What can you say here?"
"Just… stay close to Song at lunch." Izuku gave her an expression that promised he would explain later.
Himiko gave him a subtle nod of her head, her mouth breaking out into a playful smile. "You don't have to tell me twice. Her friends are already sick of us."
"It's the second day!" Ochako said as she walked up to the siblings.
"You know how we are." Himiko smiled as she left the couple to their own devices. She knew to leave well enough alone when it came to future hero stuff. If they haven't clued her in, there must be a reason.
She'll just make them tell her… later.
After the couple watched Himiko leave, Ochako turned toward Izuku and gave him a tight smile. "Ready to go to lunch Izu?"
"Yeah." Izuku did a little better as he tried to muster false enthusiasm. "Let's go!"
The pair made their way to the lunchroom, controlling their desire to hold hands and be simply content with subtle touches for now. Knowing some of their classmates in particular, they knew it was only a matter of time until they found out. Probably because of Aika, but their blonde friend even went as far as to pinky-promise that she would keep their secret for them.
Still, they'd rather enjoy the peace for as long as they could.
When they reached the cafeteria, the pair ordered their food before joining their friends. Even though Himiko had joined the second years for lunch, there were still six people in their lunchtime group with the potential for more. With that in mind, they claimed a large square table as 'theirs' for lunch, and thankfully, nobody seemed to have a problem with that.
Although others may disagree, Izuku and Ochako were filled with relief when the alarm rang out.
"Warning, level 3 security breach. Please begin to evacuate the building in an orderly fashion. Warning…"
"A level three security breach?" Tenya asked.
"It means someone's gotten past the barrier and is on school grounds," Izuku said.
"Of course, you would know! I knew you were the right choice for class representative," Tenya declared.
"We have another problem though," Ochako reminded Izuku.
Izuku nodded his head, and suddenly, everyone realized what she meant as hundreds of students jumped out of their seats and charged toward the exit.
"Iida," Ochako started, turning toward their friend. "I've got an idea, but we need your help."
"What would you need my help for?"
Ochako pointed toward the exit, which had already turned into a chokepoint as people were trying to get out. "If I make you weightless, can you use your quirk to get to the exit? They need someone there to direct traffic!"
Tenya looked at the crowd then back at Ochako and gave her a single nod. "It is a solid plan. I will not let you down."
"We're counting on you," Ochako said as she removed her glove and extended her hand.
Tenya took it and felt himself begin to float. Activating his engines, he spun in a circle to get the hang of using them as maneuvering thrusters before making a beeline to the door. Izuku felt a sense of familiarity as he watched Tenya slam into the sign, striking a pose resembling an infographic image more than how a human actually looks.
"Everyone, please calm down!" Tenya called out. "You are all students at the most prestigious school in Japan! We were ordered to evacuate in a calm and orderly fashion!"
As the crowd stared in stunned silence - almost certainly more out of shock than actually listening to Tenya, a few of the upperclassmen noticed the commotion outside.
"It looks like it's just reporters!" an upperclassman said as she pointed out the window. "Somehow they got through the front gate!"
"Why would reporters trigger the level three alarm?" another student asked curiously.
"The alarm is an automated system," someone else explained - a support student judging by the toolbelt that was slung over their shoulder. "It triggers no matter what the cause was. It's up to us and our teachers to determine the level of threat."
As the students continued talking, the panic seemed to subside. Many students returned to their meals while others opted to follow instructions and leave the building.
While Ochako watched Tenya intently, prepared to release him from her quirk, Izuku turned back to the rest of the table - only to see Kyoka glaring at him. Her ear jacks were jammed into the protective sleeve she wore around her collar, and she began furiously signing him.
'You could have warned me an alarm was going to happen!'
Izuku blushed and sheepishly apologized.
'Sorry!'
Kyoka sighed and returned to her meal. "Whatever, the alarm wasn't louder than what I have to deal with on a regular basis," she said as she shot a glance to her best friend.
"Hey!" Aika demanded. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know exactly what it means." Kyoka smirked.
"I resent that remark!"
"You're resenting it is louder than the alarm itself, kero," Tsuyu said.
"Thank you As-Tsu." Kyoka smiled at the frog mutant, giving her friend a small smirk. "I rest my case."
"Hmph, fine then." Aika crossed her arms and looked away indignantly before suddenly remembering the lunch in front of her. Unfolding her arms, she dug in in an attempt to make up for lost time.
Once Tenya was safely closer to the ground, Ochako released him from her quirk and finally looked at Izuku. They didn't need words to convey their emotions - they had been waiting all day to see if the alarm would happen, after all.
Tomorrow will be their first real test.
"So how bad is it?" Nezu asked as he approached the school gate.
"It's just like you warned me." Power Loader let out a resigned sigh. "It looks like the whole gate just turned into dust."
"I see." Nezu bent over to look at the remains. "Well, as unfortunate as it was that we had to deal with the press breaching the walls, it could have been worse." Straightening up he turned toward the hero. "I'll leave you to it then."
Saying his goodbyes, Nezu returned to his office and brought up the school's security footage. He was curious what the cameras would reveal - and how his predecessors missed it. Tapping the keys on his keyboard, he brought up data from dozens of cameras for the window after the incident and began reviewing.
There.
Pausing a video, he saw a pale man in a disheveled UA uniform entering the Administration Office. Normally it wouldn't be an unusual occurrence - the only thing that was different was the timing. He entered several minutes after the teachers left, around the time when the alarm was canceled. Again, it would be within the normal range of human behavior. He could have simply been a student seeking shelter from the alarm and had decided to wait.
The following moments, however, were when it became obvious that they were not a normal student. They made their way to the desk All Might used and shifted through papers. Once he found what he was looking for, he pulled out his cell phone and took pictures before placing them back on the desk in order.
"I see…" Nezu mused. Perhaps this is why it was missed by his other selves. The intruder's behavior was suspicious, but not something too far out of the ordinary to raise red flags. If he were distracted - by the mystery of the decayed gate, for example - it would have delayed him spotting it. And if he missed it for a whole day…
Well, those two children told him what happened.
Rapidly shifting through cameras, Nezu searched until he found what he was looking for. A single slip up, lasting only a moment, but it was enough - the student was facing the camera. Pausing the video, Nezu examined the man in the pictures. It lined up perfectly with Midoriya's description of Tomura Shigaraki.
He folded his hands in his lap as he looked at the image. "I see you have taken the bait. Time to spring the trap."
Picking up his phone, he began the first of several phone calls.
"Looks like tomorrow's it then," Izuku said as he settled into their private couch in the vestige realm.
"Yeah," Ochako said as she waited for him to settle down before leaning into his side, her hand finding his as their fingers weaved together. "How'd Himi take it?"
"She… wanted to know if she was part of the attack," Izuku admitted. "I assured her that she wasn't. She felt better after that."
"That's good." Ochako adjusted herself to look at her boyfriend's face. "How are you feeling?"
"Nervous," Izuku admitted. "I know Nezu's plan, but-"
"You're worried it isn't going to work," Ochako finished for him.
"Yeah." Izuku nodded. "We - everything kept going wrong. We always won in the end but-"
"-but nothing," Ochako retorted. "I won't lie and say I'm not nervous myself. I'm sure something will happen. But we'll figure it out. Just like we always do."
Izuku opened and closed his mouth. His face softened as he looked into the eyes of his girlfriend. "You're right." Tilting his head, his lips found hers as he appreciated his gratitude. "Thanks, Ocha."
"Anytime Izu." Ochako smiled warmly at him.
"So what do you want to do tonight?" Izuku asked, hoping for a distraction.
Ochako shot him a playful smile before she adjusted herself, burying herself even further into Izuku's side. Taking his free arm, she grabbed it and threw it over her shoulder like a blanket. "Right now, I want nothing more than to cuddle with my boyfriend and forget about the outside world for a few hours and hope Nana doesn't bother us."
Izuku smiled as he tightened his grip on his girlfriend, feeling his worry melting away as he leaned into her.
It felt like they could do anything as long as they were together. Tomorrow, they'd finally put that to the test. But for now, they were simply content to hold each other.
AN: Tomura Shigaraki was furiously hammering buttons, trying to overpower the boss before his own health ran out. Eventually the screen turned red as the words GAME OVER appeared on the screen.
"DAMN IT!" Tomura cursed, feeling the plastic of the controller crack under his grip.
At least he's gotten better about Decaying them ever since his sister insisted he wear artisan gloves while gaming.
"Restless for tomorrow?" A voice asked from the door.
Tomura turned to see his sister at the door, her long black hair in a braided knot that ran halfway down her back. "No. Sensei has everything ready for us."
"You've always been a terrible liar," Homura said as she came in and grabbed a spare controller. "And I can't blame you - I'm worried too."
"What's there to be worried about?" Tomura asked, feigning annoyance.
"You saw the report. There's gonna be half a dozen extremely talented kids there."
"And Sensei has given us the resources to compensate," Tomura countered.
"Maybe," Homura said, a thoughtful look on her face. "Still… I can't shake the feeling that it's not gonna be easy."
Tomura grunted. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."
Homura smirked at her brother. "I'll try not to disappoint you."
Pressing the button on the screen, the words PLAYER 2 HAS ENTERED THE GAME appeared on the screen, and the siblings began to demolish the first stage together.