Chapter 16: Things Are Changing

Shimura opened his eyes, taking in the lights and the high domed ceiling above him. As the fog in his head cleared and his vision slowly adjusted, they opened wide in shock. He bolted upright and found himself in the middle of the pavilion at the USJ.

All around him were jeering villains, taunting him with every insult imaginable, slowly forming a tight circle around him.

He tried to break out of the ring but was harshly shoved back in. In desperation he grabbed at the leg of one of the closer villains, all five fingers closing on their ankle. He could see the villain jolt with pain, letting out a short scream before disintegrating entirely. The decay spread from the first villain onto the next, who similarly was reduced to ashes. One by one, slowly picking up pace, the decay that started on one villain spread, taking out every single one of them.

Shimura gaped at the horror, a terrible mix of blood and guts and ash pooled all around him.

He stared at the floor, watching the refuse combine and flow until it was touching his shoes. He knelt down, staring at the warped reflection of himself in the puddle. He could barely make out his features, but as his face got closer the image rippled, now changing into the disturbing face of the Nomu.

Shimura startled, jumping back but hitting something solid behind him. He slowly turned around, coming face to stomach with the Nomu. He immediately swept his hand at the Nomu, only for it to grab it again. He braced himself for the pain, but was lifted up in the air. The Nomu swung him around, his back hitting a wall, his arm pinned above his head.

The scene shifted to the storage room he found himself in earlier, but instead of the girl he came face to face with Kagero, his green eyes piercing into his red. He felt the grip on his pinned hand tighten, the sensation a few steps below what he experienced from the Nomu, as Kagero brought his face closer.

"Are you sure you want to be a hero, Shimura-chan?"

"How's the Little Listener looking?" Mic asked, worry evident in his voice.

An old woman, wearing a slightly too long lab coat over a yellow and red vest and pink boots with her greyed hair up in a high bun, hopped off her stool where she was sat, quickly referencing her notes before replying, "No sign of any physical injuries, no head trauma, glucose levels looking normal, he's perfectly healthy. At this point, all we can do is wait until he comes to again."

Present Mic nodded numbly, fully aware that Shimura wasn't in danger anymore, but he still couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong.

The older hero, Recovery Girl, studied him before nodding to herself, "What do you think of the students so far?"

Present Mic shot her a smile, appreciating the blatant distraction, "Oh, the little listeners are absolutely killing it! They're doing so good! Todoroki-kun has been dominating the competition with Bakugo-kun right on his heels. And then there are the absolute underdogs, like Shinso-kun and his team! They came out of nowhere in the second event.

"But I'm most excited for the final event. There are a lot of scrappers this year, in Aizawa's class alone! Did you see the line up? Twelve of the sixteen that made it to the final round are 1-A. Can you believe it?"

"I'm more relieved there haven't been any major injuries yet," she tutted, "Whose brilliant idea was it to put zero-pointers, a chasm, and a minefield in one event!?"

"Recovery Girl," Present Mic shushed, arms waving all around, "He'll hear you."

"I'm not scared of Nezu. He knows that without me he wouldn't get away with half of the things he does," she quickly retorted.

"And for that, I am forever grateful," one of the speakers spoke up, Nezu clearly keeping tabs on the situation. "How is Shimura-kun doing?"

Recovery Girl scoffed, "As if you don't already know. But-"

Before Recovery Girl could give her report again, movement caught Present Mic and hers' eye. Shimura tossed a little before sitting up straight, screaming in pain as he clutched at his hand. Present Mic immediately flung himself to Shimura's left, trying to calm him down while Recovery Girl flanked his right side, appraising his hand.

"Woah there, Little Listener," Present Mic started, "You're safe here. It's Present Mic, your favorite hero. Recovery Girl is here too, by the way."

"They were here. I saw him." Shimura gasped out, his head whipping around as if he were searching for something. "I know I did. And-" Shimura groaned in pain as his hand flared up again, "and there was this girl and…"

"Whoever was here, they're long gone now. You can count on it." Present Mic stated.

It was a poor move on his part, and he knew it. As soon as the words left his mouth, Present Mic knew he made a mistake. You never bring up a potential trigger to someone, especially if it was the direct cause for the problem. He internally winced as Shimura started to freak out even worse.

Shimura's breaths started to increase in frequency, becoming more erratic. He started to hyperventilate as his eyes bugged out as he renewed his frantic search, "How can you be so sure? They were here! They were in the cafeteria, in the announcer's booth, in the building, in the…"

"Deep breaths, Little Listener, deep breaths," Present Mic consoled, cutting him off before he could spiral any further. Present Mic set himself a little closer to Shimura exaggerating his breaths and slowly tapping on the bed's railing so Shimura could follow. Breathe in, tap, tap, tap; breathe out, tap, tap, tap.

Shimura slowly quieted, focusing more on Present Mic's breathing and tapping than anything else. He was aware Recovery Girl was in the room fussing about, but he couldn't spare her anything more than a passing glance. They fell into a spell of relative silence, the only sounds were the exaggerated breaths, one steady and strong while the other slowly changing from haggard and wild to quiet and calm.

Once he felt grounded again, Shimura was the first to break the silence, "Did you really call yourself my favorite hero?"

Present Mic squawked, "Wha- I am offended. How could I not be your favorite? I'm funny, likeable, approachable. I could keep going on, don't tempt me. I won't stop until you say I am."

Shimura chuckled lightly. Present Mic gave a small smile, silently saying he's happy he's feeling better. Shimura gave him a smile back, still not fully looking up, but his intentions were clear as day.

Recovery Girl took the lapse in conversation as her cue, handing a glass of water to Shimura, "Are you feeling alright, Dearie? Any dizziness? Hard time focusing? Headache?"

"Nothing of the like," Shimura hummed, taking a sip of the water, "My hand is a little sore, but that's it."

"I noticed you were clutching your hand when you woke up," she nodded, "I didn't want to touch you earlier to check it out. Do you mind if I do now?"

Shimura nodded, raising his hand up for inspection.

She turned it this way and that, asking him to flex and relax, ball it up and open again, stick one finger out at a time. Once she was done, she handed him a tongue depressor.

"Go ahead and use your quirk on this," she instructed.

He nodded and did as he was told, holding it with four fingers before pressing down his pinky. The wooden stick instantly decayed.

She concluded, "I'm not seeing anything wrong with your hand, Dearie."

"Then why does my hand hurt sometimes?"

"My best guess is you're experience phantom pains."

"Phantom pains? I thought you only get those when you get a limb amputated."

"It has been described as that way, yes," she nodded, "But there are also instances where those that have some form of post-traumatic stress felt pain at their point of injury when they were reminded of it. The simplest explanation of this is when you witness a man getting kicked in the groin."

Immediately, both Present Mic and Shimura's faces cringed at the picture.

"Exactly that. It's inevitable that it's happened to you at some point, and when something reminds you of that instance, you feel that same pain, or a version of it. With regards to your hand, I'm assuming that whenever you think of the USJ, whether it be of the Nomu, Shigaraki, or just the event in general, your mind is reliving that pain."

"So you're saying I just have to live with that pain?"

"I wouldn't phrase it as that, but it is something that you will need to address moving forward. I know for a fact that Aizawa and Nezu are trying to set your class up with some preliminary meetings with Hound Dog to help you process the USJ."

Shimura sat quietly, thinking over the new information. He looked at his hand, completely healed yet still hurting, "Will I still be able to compete in the Festival?"

Recovery Girl sighed in exasperation, but Present Mic cut her off, glancing at the clock, "There are still forty-ish minutes left in the recreational games. You should just spend the rest of the time here, but before that, you will need to tell us what happened."

Shimura's mood dropped significantly.

"I'm not going to rush you into it, and I'm not saying you do it right this instant, but the sooner you get it done the better. Nezu has no doubt already gotten what he could, so we can wait a little until you're feeling up to it."

"If I answer his questions, can I still compete?" Shimura directed his question to Recovery Girl instead.

Recovery Girl's eyebrow raised, "Only if you promise to rest here until the fifteen-minute warning."

"Deal," Shimura nodded resolutely.

Present Mic looked flabbergasted, "Did you just bargain your way back into the Festival?" When he received nod, he took a second to recover. Once he did, he took a more serious look, "Are you sure you're up to it? I don't want to push you too far or anything."

Shimura shrugged, "It's fine, nothing too bad happened anyway."

Recovery Girl and Present Mic shared a look, not liking how quickly Shimura bounced between moods. A casual dismissal of an event that caused him to pass out like that doesn't bode well for his state of mind, but it's something that can be dealt with in a more comfortable sense.

"Alright then, but feel free to stop or take a break whenever you need," Present Mic acquiesced, "Recovery Girl, can I borrow a pen and paper?"

Present Mic settled himself more comfortably in the chair, flipping to a clean page. When he was ready, he gave Shimura a nod.

"So where do you want to start?" Shimura asked.

The nerd's been gone a long time now.

When Shimura ditched and left him with Round Face and Glasses, Bakugo thought nothing of it. He might have been all smiles when talking, but he could see something simmering just below the surface. The nerd had that look in his eyes that said he needs to go think about something. Having long since learned that he prefers to be alone when he gets in those moods, Bakugo brushed it off as normal. As time kept creeping and there was no sign of him, that's when the faintest whispers of worry started creeping.

The nerd's thought walks always went a little long, but there was no way he'd knowingly miss the Festival. Even if it was as boring as the recreational games, he would've still made an effort to watch it. After all, it is UA, and even normal games can become something way cooler.

As if his thoughts were on display, Glasses had to speak up, "I wonder what happened to Shimura-kun. He's been gone for quite a while."

"Yeah, I wonder what he got up to," Round Face added on, her pointer finger brought up to her chin. "Hey Bakugo-kun, do you know where he went?"

Bakugo scoffed, "Why do you think I know where the nerd went? I'm not his babysitter."

"I just figured he might've told you or something."

"You were there when he left, Round Face," Bakugo rolled his eyes, "You heard the same thing I did."

"Well yeah, but you two always seem to know everything when it comes to each other. So I thought you might know more."

"Indeed!" Glasses cut in, "It's pretty evident you two knew each other before coming to UA."

Bakugo groaned, regretting giving the nerd's new friends a chance, "I'm not telling you shit about how we know each other. You wanna know? Ask him." He paused to gauge their reactions. Neither of them looked put off by his outburst, just looking like they were expecting elaboration, much to his dismay. "The nerd's probably out thinking. He gets into his head sometimes and just, wanders."

Glasses nodded along, "Ah, I see. He's probably nervous about facing off against Shinso-kun. He is the first fight in the third round, after all."

"Who?"

"Shinso-kun!" Round Face exclaimed, "The kid from gen-ed that declared war on us a few weeks ago. Don't tell me you forgot about him?"

Bakugo gave her a blank look despite knowing exactly who they were talking about. There was no way he'd forget anyone who had enough balls to declare war, especially on him. Bakugo would crush everyone in the competition regardless, but now he has to make sure to crush Eyebags even more for thinking he could stand in the same ring as him.

"No idea who you're talking about," he replied flatly. "Don't know why you're worried about the nerd when you should be worried about yourself."

Bakugo let loose a few sparks in his hands to emphasize his point, but Round Face didn't back down.

She faced him head on, eyes filled with determination but her wobbly smile betraying her, "Why would I be worried about winning?"

Bakugo barked out a laugh but didn't reply. He turned his attention back to the games, watching the extras try so hard in these was actually hilarious.

"I wonder what happened to Mic-sensei," Dunce Face mused aloud.

That caught Bakugo's attention. He looked towards the announcer's box trying to see what he meant, but couldn't see in. He listened to the commentary and was surprised to hear someone else.

He couldn't help himself, "The fuck? Isn't this like basically Loud Mouth's job? Where'd he go?"

So now two things weren't adding up. First the nerd disappears and stays missing, then the guy who does commentary for a living doesn't actually do his job? Something isn't right.

Bakugo stood abruptly, making for the aisle, but Shitty Hair caught his arm, "Where you headed Bakubro?"

"Out," Bakugo yanked his arm free.

Shitty Hair took the comment in stride, "Well alright. Can you get me some snacks on your way back?"

Bakugo thought for a second, "No."

Out in the main area, Bakugo noticed that something was different. There was a weird tension in the air that he couldn't place. Some people had their fingers up to their ears and were walking with purpose. The heroes he could see all looked just as serious instead of the faked carelessness you see on patrols. It was honestly astounding how everybody else just completely missed the signs that something was obviously wrong.

Heroes weren't as happy, the tension was getting thick enough to cut with a knife, and Present Mic, the Present Mic, who hosts a talk radio show and loves talking, isn't talking in one of Japan's biggest events.

What the fuck did you do this time, nerd?

The phone rang twice before it was picked up on the other side.

"Principal Nezu, I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon. I hope everything is alright?" Tsukauchi asked.

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Nezu replied, courteous as ever, "However, we've had a series of events that are most unpleasant."

"The League."

Tsukauchi phrased it less of a question and more of a factual statement. There wasn't a hint of a doubt in his voice, something Nezu appreciated.

"Were there any casualties?"

"No, but we may have identified one of their members."

There was a pause on the other line, "Well that's both a good and bad thing. Do you at least have them in custody?"

"Unfortunately, no. The intruder was very good at sticking to our blind spots. They presumably left, but if they were able to come in undetected, I wouldn't be surprised if they left undetected as well. However, I was able to get a description of them."

"Why didn't you start with that?"

"Because she is currently at Musutafu General for acute chemical inhalation. She was admitted shortly before the Festival even started."

"Shit. That opens up a whole new set of problems we'll have to deal with. Okay, give me her name and I'll follow up on that lead. Did they do anything else while on the premises?"

"Nothing that we can't handle. Shimura-kun encountered them. He's uninjured, but he did faint and is currently being looked at by Recovery Girl. It is my understanding that Present Mic has already gathered his side of the story."

"Guess I'll have to let Toshinori know about that as well."

"No, Detective, I'll tell him. This happened under my watch. It is only fair I break the news."

Tsukauchi sighed, "I'll leave you to that, then. Who was your supposed intruder?"

"Sachiko Namba, a second-year student at Zefuro High School. Shall I let the hospital know you are on the way?"

Despite the circumstances, Tsukauchi snorted. It was just like Nezu to be the perfect mix of order and chaos, "No, thank you. I'll do that. I'll update you once I speak with her."

"I'll look forward to your call."

Nezu hung up the phone, spun around and hopped off his chair. He clasped his paws behind his back as he gazed out of his window, appreciating the calmness of the city despite the excitement happening in the stadium below. He wondered how long it'll last now that truly horrendous villains are starting to make their moves.