This is a fan-made work. Anything mentioned belongs to their proper owners.
Despite being so recent, the UA trespass incident quickly came and went in the news cycle. It trended for a few days, with many comments lambasting the news-hungry journalists that stormed a well-funded Hero school for an All-Might scoop. UA made a public statement which blamed the temporary fall of defense on a computer error, and that the staff pledged to not only fix but update the system in question. There was no word of the hooded man who broke a hole in the wall, and nothing about the man's goals.
Officially, Principal Nezu couldn't do anything by the recommendation of the Hero Safety Committee. The most prestigious Hero school of Japan's security being bypassed by journalists was bad enough, but to reveal that it was an intentional break-in by a Villain. It would be catastrophic, the Committee said. The public would lose faith in Heroes, they would bemoan. So, the Committee took Nezu's evidence and told him to ignore it. The Committee would have everything under control, they told him.
Unofficial, Nezu decided to ignore that order and do things under-paw. After finding the document the Villain took photos of, a schedule for the first-year classes, Nezu discreetly contacted the places where Class 1-A and 1-B would be going throughout the month. Class 1-A were scheduled for the Unforeseen Simulation Joint on Wednesday, while Class 1-B had their trip to the USJ next week. So, Nezu called in his favors and got access to the security systems.
Today is Wednesday, Class 1-A's trip. Nezu was watching the feeds for any surprise Villain drop-ins before getting some tea. By the time he got back, Nezu noticed many more figures in several of the cameras. He checked through numerous angles to identify that, yes, the intruders were Villains, and this was not a part of the course. Nezu swerved to other angles to get a head count of the class. All twenty students of 1-A were present and accounted for, along with Eraserhead and Thirteen. Strangely, despite being signed on for the trip, All Might was nowhere to be seen.
Nezu couldn't simply call any of the students due to school rules of leaving phones off and at school for field trips. Nezu tried the Pro's special frequencies, but only static answered him. Nezu thought back to overseeing the Hero Costumes submitted by the students and the final designs by the Support Course. One boy, Denki Kaminari, had a built-in communications gear within his costume. His notes detailed that his Quirk could power the radio to tune in to some certain long-range frequencies. Nezu tuned into the frequency and tried to make a call. All that came out was static.
Well, this was certainly not good. Whoever these Villains were, they thought ahead to isolate the students from the outside world by jamming communications. However, there was one missing piece from the puzzle.
Nezu buzzed his secretary.
"Have you seen All Might recently, and if so, could you tell me where he is?" Nezu spoke into the speaker.
"All Might's in the teacher's lounge. He's resting after some morning Hero work." The buzzing voice responded back.
Nezu silently cursed his old friend's endless selflessness and heroism. Even in the state he's in, Toshinori will always put others before himself, even if it hurts him in the long run. Nezu fears that self-sacrificing nature will be the death of All Might, and Nezu hoped he's wrong about that. Still, enough berating his friends, Nezu needed to get to the teacher's lounge. It was too far of a walk for his tiny legs, so Nezu turned to something more familiar.
Nezu hopped to the ground and opened a grate underneath the desk. He dropped down and crawled in one of the many access tunnels he installed within UA. There was a part of him that likes the small dark corridors, like the rats he was often compared to. Nezu wouldn't deny that. In any case, Nezu made his way over to the teacher's lounge. From his private space, he could see Toshinori, in his smaller form, taking a small break on one of the couches. He was taking in controlled breaths and occasionally drinking from some juice pouches. He looked so deep in concertation that Nezu should make his presence known gently.
Didn't stop Nezu from literally dropping down into the teacher's lounge.
Toshinori was startled. "Gah! Principal Nezu! Don't surprise me like that. You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"That's the least of your worries, Toshinori. Class 1-A's field trip to the USJ is currently under attacked by an unknown group of Villains," Nezu explained calmly.
Horror dawned on Toshinori's face.
"What?!" Toshinori stood up in shock. "Who – I mean, when – I mean, gah, I have go. They need me!"
"Yes, to the field trip you were supposed to be at five minutes ago." Toshinori's face dropped with guilt over Nezu's words.
"I don't mean to be harsh, and as much as I would like to lecture you over balancing your responsibilities as a Hero and a teacher, those kids need you right now." Nezu stated. "We'll still have that talk afterwards."
Toshinori bulked up to his hero form.
"I got it!" The hero All Might answered. He then rushed out the door, kicking up a whirlwind in the teacher's lounge.
Nezu flatted some of his fur and straightened his tie.
"Well, it seems I have quite a few calls to make." Nezu said to himself.
Meanwhile, at the USJ, Izuku, Tsu, and Mineta huddled together on top of a hill. They watched as chaos unfolded in the building. Their homeroom teacher, Aizawa aka Eraserhead, was battling a swarm of Villains by himself. By the entrance, Thirteen and some students were facing off against the portal-creating Kurogiri. And lastly, scattered throughout the building were the rest of their classmates who were fighting their own group of Villains.
"So," Izuku started. "What do we do?"
"I'd say we head for the entrance and get out of here," Mineta squeaked. "It's what Aizawa told us to do."
"But what he needs help? Or what about our classmates?"
"I think Mr. Aizawa got himself covered," Tsu pointed to the center plaza. Sure, Aizawa was outnumbered five to one most of the time, but he was steadily defeating the Villains like a pro.
As for their fellow students, they seemed to be doing just fine. Straight ahead, a giant ice wall appeared in the landslide zone.
"There's Todoroki," Tsu commented.
To their right, a flash of yellow lightning danced along the mountain zone.
"There's Kaminari," Mineta pointed out.
And over to their left, a massive explosion rang out in the ruins zone.
"And that's Kacchan," Izuku muttered.
So, their classmates were doing better than expected.
"Ok, I guess we should just head for the exit. Are you guys okay with that?" Izuku asked.
"Yes! Yes, I am more than okay with that!" Mineta answered.
"Still, we better watch out for those two." Tsu pointed to the two remaining Villains. The ratty looking man with the hands and the beaked monster. They were hovering around the plaza like lions staking a gazelle.
Izuku nodded. "Let's go."
The three of them slowly made their way to the entrance. They circled around the plaza, keeping low to the ground. They watched as Aizawa defeated the last of his Villains. However, the man with the hands sent the monster to attack. Eraserhead was already worn out from his previous fights, and the hulking monster's superior strength overwhelmed the underground Hero. Anytime Eraserhead's hair rose, the sign of his Quirk activating, the monster would hit the Pro with a massive fist.
Aizawa was nothing but a ragdoll to the monster. It slammed him into the ground repeatedly. The sounds of bones cracking and Aizawa's screams of pain froze the trio in fear. All they could do was stand there and watch.
Eventually, the man with the hands approached Aizawa, beaten and bloodied, and being held down by the monster.
"Tsk, tsk," the man said. "I'll admit, Eraserhead, you're pretty good. You took down those guys like dominos. Sure, they were cannon fodder but winning against twenty-to-one odds is impressive. Too bad you won't see the end of today. Look on the bright side, your corpse would make for a pretty picture for the news. Nomu, kill him."
The monster, Nomu, raised a massive fist above Aizawa's head. With an eerie silence, the Nomu brought his fist down. The man waited for the sound of a Hero's skull being smushed, but it didn't come. Instead, the man found Nomu's fist about a foot above Aizawa's head. The arm looked like it was straining against an invisible force.
"What are you doing, Nomu? Kill him already." The man ordered.
The Nomu let out an inhuman grunt as it tried to obliterate the Eraser Hero's head. Still, no progress was made.
The man looked around and found Izuku, Tsu, and Mineta. While the other two were looked on from behind, Izuku's stretched out hands and concentrated face showed that he was the one causing trouble.
"G-go!" Izuku's shout was strained. "I don't know how much longer I can do this!"
Izuku would have certainly liked if his friends started to dash to the exit. Mainly because holding back the Nomu's punch felt like he was lifting a mountain. Unfortunately, Tsu and Mineta was frozen in place.
"G-go...," Aizawa gasped out. "Run…"
"Oh, looks like some meddling kids decided to stick around." The man said. "Nomu, get rid of the kid with the green hair."
The Nomu turned its head to identify its target: Izuku. The Nomu pulled its arm back, which made Izuku stumble. It felt like a weight had been taken off from Izuku's back. However, that didn't mean they were safe. The Nomu dashed, faster than the eye can see, right to Izuku's side. Whether it was adrenaline or something else, Izuku felt the whole world go into slow motion. The Nomu blocking out the light, arm pulled back to strike. Izuku had barely enough time to put up a barrier around himself.
The Nomu backhanded Izuku. The boy flew until he felt his back hit the ground and he rolled several times before coming to a stop. Even with the barrier, Izuku still felt like he got hit by a truck full force. It took effort just for him to open his eyes to see that he landed thirty feet away from where he was standing.
The man started to walk away, but not before his leg was grabbed by Aizawa. Despite his heroic defiance, it did little to faze the Villain. The Villain simply bent down and touched Aizawa's elbow with all five fingers. It was brief, but it was just enough for his Quirk to work. Aizawa hissed in pain as his elbow decayed. Skin and muscle rotted till bone was visible. His hand let go of the Villains foot. The Villain kicked Aizawa in the face, for what could only be described as petty reasons.
"Nomu, come back and make sure Eraserhead's not going to be using his Quirk anytime soon." The man ordered.
The Nomu bounded to its master. It shoved Aizawa's head into the dirt, not letting him get a good view of anything. The man then turned towards Tsu and Mineta.
"You know," The Villain mused. "Maybe if we decorate this place with dead kids, then All Might will get here quicker."
The Villain approached the two heroes-in-training. They were frozen in terror, unable to move or run.
"Let's see who's going to go first. Hmm…Eeny, meeny, miney, you."
The Villain pointed at Tsu. She had tears falling down her face as the man approached with his hand outstretched. Mineta cowered behind her.
Izuku looked up to see Tsu's impending doom. He was bruised, battered, and he could already feel the cooper taste in his mouth from his own blood. His mind pounded like crazy, and yet he was hyper focused. He was going to watch his friends die, and he couldn't do anything about it. He was useless, just like what Kacchan kept telling him all those years ago. Izuku wanted to cry, even though he might already be doing that from the pain. He wants to help but can't.
Then, a fire began to build within him. A silent voice goaded him to use his power, his Quirk. He wasn't useless: he can be a hero. Only if he goes beyond the pain and push! Izuku slowly lifted himself up. He palmed his right hand like he was throwing a ball. With a mighty cry, he thrust his arm with all his power.
It was like thunder in the building. A telekinetic blast roared straight towards the Villain's reaching arm. It sent the Villain tumbling across the field, far away from Tsu and Mineta. Izuku caught himself from falling with his arms and laid there, taking measured breathes. Still, the Villain was not down.
The results were not pretty. The Villain's arm was bent back unnaturally at the elbow. The forearm hung loosely to the rest of the body. The Villain howled in pain. His other hand was at war with itself; he wanted to cover the wound but did not want to decay his arm any further.
A portal opened besides him, and Kurogiri stepped out. Despite his wispy visage, the portal Villain seemed to show concern.
"Master Shigaraki, we must leave immediately. You are in need of urgent medical care." Kurogiri said.
"No…," Shigaraki strained through the pain. "Not…until…I see them… dead. What about…the rest of the brats?"
"The rest of them are still in the building. Unfortunately, one escaped while I was distracted."
"If you weren't our ticket out of here…I'd kill you. Now I'm not leaving…until that kid is dead for what he did to me." Shigaraki pointed at Izuku. "Nomu! Kill that one!"
The Nomu, who was still above Aizawa awaiting orders, sprung to life and followed his master's gaze towards Izuku. Izuku's vision was fading fast, and he knew he couldn't defend himself like this. Before the Nomu could charge, a thundering boom caught everyone's attention.
All eyes drifted to the entrance. Izuku could only make out the silhouette shrouded by the bright light behind him.
"He's here…" Shigaraki sounded giddy despite being in massive pain.
"How dare you?" The iconic voice of All Might echoed everywhere inside. "Attacking a school full of children during their field trip. A place of learning and sanctuary. Well, it's time for these students' nightmare to end. Do you want to know why?"
As the darkness of unconsciousness was taking him, Izuku smiled as he mouthed his mentor's words.
"BECAUSE I AM HERE!"
Midoriya groaned as his eyes strained against the bright light. With the soreness and the blankets, Izuku just wanted to roll on over back to sleep. Yet, he still found the resolve to sit up.
His eyes adjusted to the new room he was in. Izuku recognized it as the infirmary. Looking around, he did find manage to find two people: a busy Recovery Girl and a man decked out in a noir detective's clothes. The detective, noticing that Izuku was up, got up.
"Hello, how are you feeling?" The detective asked.
"I'm a bit sore." Izuku noticed how his voice sounded stopped up. Looking down, he pulled out two cotton tubes that were in his nose. He threw away the bloodied tubes before facing the detective.
"Well, I wouldn't be surprised. After all, Recovery Girl did use her Quirk on you."
The detective jabbed a thumb over to the Youthful Heroine, who either didn't hear or ignored him as she disappeared into another room.
"Anyway, my name is Detective Tsukauchi."
The detective tipped his hat.
Izuku gasped. "You mean the same one who worked with All Might and has a truth-telling Quirk?"
"The very same."
"I'm sorry I didn't recognize you earlier, sir. It's just, well…"
"I'm rather plain looking?" Detective Tsukauchi smiled. "Don't worry, I get that a lot."
Tsukauchi pulled up a chair next to Izuku's bed and took a seat.
"I hope you don't mind me asking so soon, but will you be willing to give your perspective on the recent USJ event?"
"Is this for a police thing?" Izuku asked.
"Yes, and this can be completely confidential. It won't be issued to the press and will only be used for solving the case," Tsukauchi assured him.
"Well, before we start, can I ask a few questions?"
"Of course."
"The last thing I remember before passing out was All Might showing up. What happened after that?"
"All Might engaged the creature called Nomu. From what we gathered, it was an artificial creation with multiple Quirks, such as Shock Absorption and Hyper Regeneration. The villains also described it as a weapon specifically designed to defeat All Might."
"What happened?"
"All Might beat it. Sent it flying 400 meters from the USJ where the police have detained it. As for the rest of the Villains, most of them have been arrested. However, the ringleader, the one called Shigaraki, and the one called Kurogiri teleported before the rest of the Heroes could apprehend them."
"What about my fellow classmates? What about Mister Aizawa? Are they okay?" Izuku asked concerned.
"Luckily, most of your fellow students managed to make it out with minor injuries or less. Especially thanks to young Iida intercepting the rest of UA's Heroes after escaping. As for your teachers," Detective Tsukauchi's warm smile dimmed a bit. "Both Eraserhead and Thirteen suffered critical injuries. Fortunately, they both are expected to make full recoveries in the next couple of weeks."
Izuku let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you." Izuku said. "It was just…everything that was happening, it was just a lot to react."
Detective Tsukauchi nodded. "I understand it has been quite an unpleasant couple of hours for you and your classmates. If you don't want to talk right now, that's fine."
"No. I mean, no, sir, I'm ready to answer your questions."
"Perfect," the detective pulled out a notepad and a pencil. "Would you tell me everything you can remember about the USJ incident?"
"Well," Izuku shifted in his hospital bed. "It all started when I was getting out of the bus."
Hidden inside an ambulance, the true form of All Might wrapped himself in a blanket. He coughed blood into a paper towel while cracking his aching bones. Despite the victory against the Nomu today, the Number One Hero certainly didn't feel like he won.
The door opened, and Nezu scurried in closing the door behind him.
"Hello, Nezu," All Might said before coughing into the towel again.
"And the same to you, Toshinori," The Principal said. "How are you feeling?"
"Physically? Fine, Recovery Girl made sure of that. Emotionally," Toshinori sighed. "Guilty, on one hand. And on the other, I'm starting to feel like my age."
The Symbol of Peace tried to sit up before another coughing fit took hold of him.
"Ugh. I know you want to lecture me, Nezu, but I've already learned my lesson. If I hadn't stopped to fix every little crime on my way here, if I just left it to the other Heroes, I would have been here and stopped this thing from happening at all."
Nezu's unblinking eyes told Toshinori nothing.
"It's just…ever since I got One for All, I feel like I have to help in any way I can. Because I have the power to do so. I am going to focus on my teaching career, Nezu, I promise. It's just hard letting other people help, I guess."
Nezu sighed. "Well, you may have dodged a rant from me, but that doesn't mean you'll be off the hook from everyone. Especially Aizawa."
All Might groaned, accepting the eventual scorning from the Eraser Hero.
"Anyway, I must say congrats are in order for defeating a monster designed to kill you. Not many Heroes are able to say that during their careers," Nezu continued.
"Yeah, and that's where my 'feeling my age' comment came from," All Might elaborated. "After learning that monster had multiple Quirks designed to counter my attacks, I went beyond the limit. In my heyday, it would have taken five mighty punches to down the beast. Now, it took over two hundred before I sent that thing flying."
All Might coughed into the towel again.
"My time as the Symbol of Peace is coming to an end. I have to choose a successor." All Might turned to face Nezu. "You are going to cancel the rest of the school week?"
"Sending children back to school after they were involved in a Villain attack near school grounds? What kind of dastardly fellow would I be?" Nezu said in a feigned injured tone.
"Right, well, as I can, I'm going to get in contact with young Mirio and offer being my successor personally. Then, I'll pray he'll actually accept the deal." Another groan from All Might. "I bet you're grinning ear to ear about being right, aren't you?"
"Honestly, this is one of the few times I wish I wasn't," Nezu admitted. "Still, I'd also recommend you getting in touch with Sir Nighteye. After all, he is Mirio's current heroic mentor, and he's put in a lot of time making Mirio the best Hero the kid can be."
"Yeah," All Might acknowledged.
After that, another knock was heard at the door. It opened to reveal Detective Tsukauchi, who gave a small wave before shutting the door behind him.
During his early years, All Might would establish a partnership with the then-rookie Tsukauchi in order to get a direct feed on police activity. While many Heroes worked with law enforcement, few had a direct relationship like with All Might and Tsukauchi. Their partnership led to success after success, with both men gaining fame and prestige. Still, both men would grow close as stalwart allies and good friends, with Tsukauchi being one of the few people to know All Might's true condition.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Tsukauchi tipped his hat.
Toshinori and Nezu greeted back.
"As of now, we've gotten witness reports from both the students and the teachers, not counting Eraserhead and Thriteen," the detective said.
"How are they doing?" Toshinori asked.
"They're being overseen by Recovery Girl herself, though I can tell Eraserhead hates being fussed over like that."
"Well, I'll be honest, I for one am glad things ended this way. Minor injuries on the students, no casualties on either side, and a majority of the Villains were arrested. Shame we couldn't catch the two at the top, but that's why we'll keep looking for them. Besides, things could have been much worse without the Heroes' arrival." Nezu said.
"Those two…" All Might mused. "The overdramatic, skinny man with the hands and the broken arm. Plus, that shadowy fellow who teleported both of them away. Do we know their names?"
"The man covered in hands was identified as Shigaraki, while the teleporter was identified as Kurogiri. So far, nothing we pulled up have any information on them." Tsukauchi answered.
"First time I've heard about the broken arm," Nezu commented. "I wonder who did that?"
"From at least three eyewitness reports, Izuku Midoriya with his Quirk," Tsukauchi looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "Do you mind if I ask a few off-the-book questions about Midoriya?"
"Of course."
"Sure."
"From school records, it lists Midoriya's Quirk as telekinesis. Do you two know if Midoriya ever displayed precognition?"
Hero and Principal quickly looked at each other before facing the detective.
"No, this is a new development for me," Nezu answered.
"Yes, I have never heard of young Midoriya showing precognition before," Toshinori added. "I, well, I did some unofficial training with the boy before the entrance exam, and he never showed anything about precognition."
"Did Midoriya see the Villain attack coming?" Nezu asked.
Tsukauchi flipped through his notebook before finding Izuku's report.
"According to Midoriya, he first started to hear a ringing noise after getting off the bus at the USJ. At first writing it off as low blood sugar, the ringing continued to stay with him and grew with intensity. During Thirteen's speech, Midoriya suffers from Quirk-related nosebleeds while the ringing increased. While questioning other students, they confirmed that only Midoriya was able to hear the ringing despite being in the presence of those with hearing-enhancing Quirks. The ringing stopped a few seconds before the Villains teleported into the USJ." Tsukauchi summarized.
"From what Midoriya described it as, this aspect of his Quirk did not tell him about the Villain attack at all. While it is not full clairvoyance, it does seem that Midoryia's Quirk has some sort of danger sense built into it." Tsukauchi finished.
"And what did your Quirk say?" Nezu asked.
"That Midoriya was telling the truth."
Detective Tsukauchi's Quirk makes him a human lie detector, able to tell if a person's statement is true or false. So far, it hasn't been wrong.
"Well, isn't that an interesting development." Nezu commented.
"The kid has a good heart and a strong Heroic spirit. With a Quirk as versatile as his, I can place my bet on him being successful. Still, I wonder how his Quirks works to include both telekinesis and a danger sense?"
All Might and Nezu once again looked at each other.
"Toshinori," Nezu warned.
"I trust him." All Might responded. He then turned to the detective. "I know about Midoriya's Quirk, as well as its origin. But you have to keep it a secret, ok? It's a bit too…out there to be public yet."
"I'm already carrying one monumental secret on my shoulders. Why not add another?" Tsukauchi teased.
"Okay. I hope you're in the mood for something of a strangle tale…"
Well, that's it for this chapter. Thank you for everyone who has liked, followed and commented! You guys have been great!
Sorry, these are taking so long. Finals are coming up, so expect a lack of posting for some time. Or maybe that's normal for you guys.
Thank you for all the support in the comments! They're always appreciated, so don't be afraid to leave your thoughts. Now onto comment answers.
AnimeFan13579: Told you I would address your comments! Hope you like it. If not, oh well.
11StoryReader11: There will be a rampage, however it won't be happening until quite a while from now (especially with my turn-out schedule). I am keeping it tight-lipped on who's going to be the main culprit, but it won't be Izuku. He will have a role to play in it, however.
That's it for now. See ya next time!