"Another shipment confiscated, more of my men captured by pro heroes, and it's becoming harder to smuggle the paralytic out of the country. Some supply has made it through to other countries, though now it seems the United Nations was getting involved to make sure all shipments are thoroughly searched through upon docking. I must commend those heroes, solely for the fact that they are tenacious in duty. Saving people, stopping crimes, locking away the bad guys, preventing disastrous expressions of frustration from blowing up the city. It takes a certain kind of person with special powers to always throw themselves into dangerous situations. My, my, all of this drama is unequivocally putting a damper on my day."

"S-sir, if I may…" A timid and quivering voice asked to the shadowed figure facing the expansive windows overlooking a sunset illuminated city. Endless hills weaved and dipped their way down the valley that led to the always bustling metropolis. A glass of blood red wine slowly swirled mindlessly in their hand as they contemplated the current predicament. It switched directions in anticipation of the person to speak. "I have just received some new information regarding that student from U.A. who was targeted by some of the paralytic. It seems their quirk has almost returned to normal apart from some occasional side effects. Should we increase the potency during the production phase? I was also able to get my hands on some newspaper articles though U.A. has their medical information locked down tightly to maintain privacy. Notes indicate the quirk was paralyzed for roughly a month or so."

"Ah, our little guinea pig. What other side effects were there apart from the loss of quirk?"

"It would seem the student nearly succumbed to the injuries sustained up in the mountains during the villain attack, at least according to what local news channels have reported alongside a vague statement from U.A.. There was another incident where a group of Rough Raiders attempted to kidnap the student yet a classmate of theirs foiled the plans. The trauma of the attack caused a mental breakdown until the pro Eraser Head arrived on the scene, he is also a teacher for U.A. and most likely that student. A third incident was reported recently in another city about the same two students stopping a major car pile-up which resulted in the girls' quirk being activated with little trouble. Seems she nearly lost her life to drowning in order to save a little girl. My informant managed to get a few pictures of the accident and both heroes."

The glass of wine suddenly stopped in its orbital pattern and the servant stiffened with bated breath, fear gripping his heart hard enough to briefly alter its beating. After a minute the glass slowly resumed its twirling as the sun lowered beyond the skyscrapers. Soft lights illuminated the room as soon as the sensors detected the programmed level of darkness. A creak from the chair screeched loudly in the thick air as the occupant shifted to cross a long leg over the other. A shined black dress shoe appeared just beyond the arm of the chair, dipping up and down gently.

"I see. Do we know the location of the two heroes currently?" The voice rumbled lowly with a bitter dripping of distaste coating every word. U.A. was notorious for keeping a tight lock and key on all information regarding its students, so acquiring accurate information meant miles of underground contacts to get even a rough draft. Having been in the game so long also meant he knew how to skip the long line for a direct source. Time was a valuable resource after all.

"They are currently residing within the walls of U.A., sir. It seems they were released to their residences over Christmas break and have now resumed their classes at the school. I have some of my men tracking their movements as we speak though accessing entry onto school grounds is proving impossible with their security systems and the sheer amount of pro heroes scouring the property. I've seen Detective Tsukauchi entering and leaving the premises on multiple occasions as well. It seems he's been in close contact with U.A. in order to track down the paralytic."

"Leave me those reports and get back out there. I want a close eye kept on those two students twenty-four seven along with the detective. And this time find some better villains than the scum that resides in the gutters, I'm tired of them all running away or being caught by the pros. One of them may squeal up the chain and then all of this will be for nought. Keep pushing the paralytic out of the country so our plan may continue unhitched. Don't fail me again, Ronaldo, or else you'll lose those closest to you, understand?"

"O-of course, sir, if you'll please excuse me now." Ronaldo carefully set the documents on his boss' desk before bowing and making a hasty beeline for the door. Just as his hand grasped the handle, a sharp tapping against the desk stopped him dead in his tracks. His boss wasn't done questioning. "Was there something else, sir?"

"The other student, what was his name?"

"Izuku Midoriya if I'm not mistaken, sir. He is becoming well known to the world as the next possible All Might, potentially even surpassing the former number one hero with his powerful quirk. He has already taken down large villains such as Overhaul and has continued skirmishes with those under the command of the League of Villains, including their top commanders and Tomura Shigaraki himself."

"Interesting. You're dismissed."

The door shut silently behind the servant and the man swiveled his chair around to examine the documents. A chain clinked softly as scarred fingers tugged a small lamp on. A warm glow illuminated the pile of papers nestled neatly on the mahogany tabletop and he began sifting through them with an almost bored gaze, stopping only to sip of his sinewy and smokey Bonarda imported straight from Northern Italy. Any paper that was deemed useless he tossed carelessly to the side, hesitating only to skim through the reports in case there was relevant information. He stopped short when a few pictures slipped from the stack he was holding and fluttered to the desk facedown. Setting aside the papers, the man slid the photos against the desk before holding them up to examine them. A boy with emerald hair and a girl with chestnut locks occupied the photos, each taken in a different location than the other. Some contained the girl using crutches or a cane while others had her walking perfectly fine. They were almost always in public spaces so they were easy enough to photograph, but something stood out with her expressions. An easygoing expression was usually the first thing people saw, yet as the man examined the pictures closer, he noticed the deep, scarring trauma lurking just beneath the surface of her eyes.

A grin tugged his lips upwards into a sinister smile. Oh yes, that little girl was definitely a good guinea pig and the experiments had barely scratched the surface. The research he'd done on her proved to be fruitful. She was strong, going against enemies with dangerous quirks and managing to hold her own. Martial arts skills covered those weaknesses her quirk failed to block so even at a disadvantage, the girl could easily swing the odds back to her favor. He organized the pictures until he reached the final photo. It was both teens crouched together on the snowy ground in close proximity with flushed faces and emotion filled gazes as they kissed. Young love was such a perfect and beautiful thing…to rip and break a soul to pieces, of course. Women always seemed to fall harder than the men so now his trump card was making its way to the table. He was close to getting a checkmate, just a few more pieces needed to fall into place before he could really get things rolling again. The Quantum Council would rise once more using the two heroes-to-be as the first steppingstones.

"Ochaco Uraraka, let's get this party really started, shall we?"


Ochaco smacked her head against the desk as all of the information just piled into her mind spewed back out through her ears. A month's worth of homework was overkill to say the least. Even with the help of her classmates, not much of the information was sticking and it was stressing her out just that much more. The physical portion of last semester's finals was cancelled so she only had to worry about the written portion after the remaining work was completed. Not to mention trying to keep up with the current curriculum that was completely opposite to what last semester was. An exasperated groan left her mouth. This was giving her a throbbing headache.

"Ochaco, do you need a break?" Tsu asked worriedly from beside the brunette, a hand moving to rest against her slumped shoulder. Tsu, Yaomomo, Mina, Jiro, Toru, Iida, Midoriya, Todoroki, Bakugo, and Tokoyami all sat around a table with their study notes to aid their classmate with catching up on the overdue studies. A few others had started in on the exciting lesson though soon left to pursue better interests or train.

"I think my brain fried," The brunette let out a numbed laugh before rolling her head against the notebook Deku gifted to look at her concerned amphibian friend. There was only so much information her brain could hold and it was beyond its capacity for the time being. Anymore and she might just short-circuit for the rest of the day. She swore some smoke was coming out of her ear at one point, too, though that was probably just a hallucination.

"A break would be a good idea, we've been going at it for a few hours now. It's almost noon so maybe it's time for lunch." Tokoyami pointed out with a flash of his phone screen. For the most part, he remained quiet until a directed opinion was needed or a deeper explanation warranted. He lurked in the shadows but that didn't mean he was a slacker when it came to schoolwork. Retaining position six overall needed constant diligence at all times.

"Why the hell am I wasting all this time with you idiots if we're not making any damn progress? Just squish it into your head already, Round Cheeks!" Bakugo griped angrily, shooting daggers at his childhood foe who merely accepted the sharp points stabbing into his head. There'd been about a dozen and a half of those already so Deku just accepted them with a face of defeat.

"You willingly joined the group, Bakugo," Tokoyami pointed out bluntly only to receive a fiery glare in return.

"Shut it, bird face!"

"Never heard that one before."

"Why you—!"

"Enough, all of you," Yaoyorozu interrupted the squabble with a rise from her chair, hands up pleadingly. "Let's just all take an hour break to destress a bit before we get back to it. Ochaco has a lot of catching up to do and it'll be hard to get her caught up in the short amount of time we have, but that's why we're here to help her. As classmates it's our duty to ensure that all students get caught up to the current curriculum—"

"I can't take this bullshit!" Bakugo screeched before kicking his chair aside and storming off with his hands in his pockets. Everyone just sighed collectively. The only thing he'd done throughout the study session was loudly correct the brunette when she missed a step or did the problem himself and shove it back at her to show the proper method. Then he started an argument with Todoroki about misunderstanding a portion of the previous chapter which caused Deku to get involved to calm the pyromaniac down. All in all, it was the least productive study session to date and it left Ochaco more confused than before.

"We'll come back together in an hour then. Uraraka, why don't you go walk around for a bit?" Mina suggested while casually slinging an arm over her friends shoulder, devious eyes dancing as she leaned in close to whisper. "With Midoriya?"

"A-ahaha, yeah a walk sounds good! G-good idea, Mina!" Ochaco shot out of her chair and quickly walked away with rigid motions, much to the pinkette's amusement. Heat spread across her cheeks like fire. The way her demeanor changed after break made the brunette suspect that Mina knew something about them yet continued the torturous teasing manner.

Well, something had happened after break though she wasn't about to tell anyone else about it. Up in the old science room was where she'd thought her feelings would be acknowledged, even returned, albeit all that happened was both parties expressing their failures the past few months and how they learned from them. That and Deku caught her after floating away again, but Ochaco didn't count that. But things had been strained between them since. While they spoke during class about school related things, neither had enough courage to speak up about what'd happened the first day back from break. They stood a little further apart from each other, averted long gazes, instantly flushed if they had to work together on mock missions. Three weeks had passed since that moment. Ochaco had been busy trying to distract herself from anything Deku related and so far it was working. Until Mina and the girls started acting a little odd by constantly bringing him up and how they both got flustered around one another.

"Let's all go for a walk, it'll do us some good to stretch our legs and get the blood flowing once more!" Ida announced and Ochaco glanced back to see the rest of the study group following not too far behind. Deku locked eyes with her before heavily blushing and turning away nervously, a hand covering his mouth. That was the way he always reacted now whenever they locked gazes, the same going for her. She'd even floated away on multiple occasions when they were in close proximity of one another which just resulted in him having to catch her, making things even more awkward.

"We should grab the sleds! The snow should be hard enough to ride on. Todoroki can just ice them over if they aren't!" Toru announced excitedly while standing to stretch.

"Wouldn't that hurt if someone flew off and landed the wrong way?" Todoroki asked seriously.

"That's the fun of it!"

"Yeah, that's a great idea! We never did get to sled before Christmas, so why not do it today?" Izuku agreed eagerly. Ochaco felt her heart flutter at his excitement but it soon quelled to a low ache. The feelings needed to be locked down tight, no matter how much it hurt.

"I'll kick your ass, Deku! You won't out sled me!" Bakugo barked from across the room, the pyromaniac already carrying his sled towards the front door. Apparently he'd been waiting for the opportunity to go. "I'll kill you if you even try to beat me!"

"That's a little harsh, Kaachan…"

"Shut it!"

"If we're going to do that, then we should gather the rest of the class to participate. I can make some more sleds so everyone can join in. This is going to be exciting! I've always wanted to try it!" Yaomomo clasped her hands together and nodded her agreement.

"Right, but we'll need to gear up since it's cold outside. Let's all gather back here in five minutes to go, okay?" Jiro decided and once everyone shouted their agreements, she turned back to the group of girls. "Let's all meet at the bench outside, it shouldn't be more than a few minutes to get ready."

"Roger!"

"No, no, Ochaco. We'll get your gear so you just stay down here and wait for us." Tsu held up a hand to her friend as she tried to head back upstairs to bundle up more. Ochaco looked at her strangely but nodded, nonetheless. That was strange. Tsu never acted like this. Maybe it was the cold starting to kick in hibernation.

"I'll get your jacket from your closet, Midoriya! No need to rush back upstairs for anything. Just leave it to your friends!" Kaminari called out from the couch before jumping to his feet and bolting towards the elevators with Mineta hot on his heels.

"What's…going on here?" Izuku asked with a hand scratching his head in confusion. The rest of the class was suddenly acting strange and he didn't know whether to be worried about them or what was about to happen. Bakugo scoffed then walked outside, slamming the door behind him. At least that wasn't any different.

"Play nice with Midoriya until we get back, Ochaco!" Mina whispered in the brunette's ear before prancing away with the rest of the girls.

Ochaco's face burst into flames and she quickly turned away from Deku before he could see it. Those girls were up to something! No doubt the boys were in on it too seeing as they all walked away to leave the two of them alone. She didn't like where this was going. Maybe if she snuck away then—.

"So, Uraraka, how are you doing with the homework? Do you have any questions?" Deku asked easily and she clenched a hand against her chest. Nope. No escaping Deku, especially when it came to classwork. She was thankful for his help, it's just the fact that her heart hurt every time they got close. They still had a few feet between them so it was physically tolerable for now.

"I'm just having a hard time trying to retain everything is all. I did a good amount of work during break, but there are some things I struggle with. Add onto that, Mr. Aizawa has me in remedial classes until I'm caught up but he thinks only a few more and I should be good." Ochaco turned back around and replied honestly with a carefree smile. It was just casual talk about school and homework, she could do this. So far he wasn't showing any signs of being flustered or nervous so it eased her own worries a bit.

"It's a lot to take in but I'm sure with everyone's help, we can get you on track. I've noticed you're almost back to normal with your quirk during practice. Have you been having any issues with it intermittently cutting out?"

"No, thankfully everything's back to working like it should. I've been making sure to practice daily to get up to speed. Being down for a few weeks made me lose a bit of muscle so I have to work harder to get it back."

"That's great to hear." The two smiled at one another before things started to become a hair uncomfortable. Deku rubbed at the back of his neck unsurely as Ochaco clasped her hands behind her back and looked anywhere but at him. She needed to find something to talk about soon. Glancing back at the table, she noticed a ribbon sticking out of her backpack and she let out an audible oh as she remembered why it was there.

"Wait a minute, Deku, I never gave you your Christmas present!" Ochaco exclaimed while running over to the bag to grab it out. She'd kept it in her bag since coming back to the dorms and hadn't really had the chance to give it to him.

"Christmas present?" He asked with a few blinks. It was already nearing the end of January so it was odd to get a gift now.

"Yeah! I forgot to give it to you before you went back home. So, here. Merry late Christmas, Deku!" Ochaco proudly produced the wrapped bundle in her hands to her awestruck friend. He carefully took it and began undoing the wrapping while she watched with eager anticipation. The paper fell away to reveal an All Might statue that he'd had his eye on for a while, but it always seemed to be sold out. It was part of a limited run so it was far more valuable to serious collectors than fanboys.

"U-Uraraka, this…this model has been out of stock for months! How did you manage to find it?! Even hardcore collectors have a hard time finding it!" Deku exclaimed while looking over the boxed figurine, hands shaking from excitement. It was a rare version with the former pro hero sporting his young age costume and posing with one finger up. That was one of the costumes David Shield pioneered while All Might was studying in America, the scientist later going on to develop the rest of his costumes as well.

"Well," Ochaco started with a finger lightly scratching her face. "It turns out that Sylvia's dad owns a pro hero memorabilia shop not too far from my house and he offered to let me have anything I wanted. I may or may not have asked your mom which one you didn't have yet. It took her a few minutes to tell me which ones you were missing. You have quite the collection of figurines, Deku."

"I-I I can't…Uraraka this…thank you so much! I'll treasure it forever!" Izuku blubbered as he held the figure close to his face. Ochaco beamed, satisfied he enjoyed his gift. There was a little guilt about going behind his back to see which one he was wanting, though Inko was very willing to tell her everything. She even offered that she was welcomed into her home if she was ever near.

"You're welcome! I'm just glad you like it. I didn't really know what else to get you that wasn't school related like a new notebook and pen set. Now you can look at it whenever you're in your room. Maybe All Might can sign it for you!"

"I actually have a late Christmas gift for you in my room…that I can't currently access," Deku trailed off with a slightly disappointed laugh. "I forgot to give it to you too. After sledding I can bring it down if you'd like."

"Sure. It's never too late for gifts! But I'm finding it a little odd that they won't let us into our rooms. Should we go up there? I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this." Ochaco offered but soon realized the way she said it meant go together. Thankfully he didn't seem to notice as he went to place the figure safely in his backpack hanging from the back of his chair. She latched her hands behind her back and clenched them together shakily. This was getting hard to ignore every little quirk of his personality that made her love him more. Maybe she needed to distance herself.

"Alright, kiddies, here's the deal! Girls versus boys in a sled-off! If you fall off, you lose the round. No quirks allowed to keep it fair and square unless it's for an emergency like avoiding a collision with another competitor. Since there are more boys than girls, we get to reselect who can go again even if they were out. First team to get fifteen points wins!" Mina loudly proclaimed as she strolled back into the common area all decked out in winter gear. Ochaco's items were held up by Tsu and Jiro who stood behind the pinkette taking command. Kaminari and Mineta had Deku's items at the ready and looked about ready to force them on.

"Before we start sledding, we're going to split into our groups to discuss the order to go in. So Iida will lead the guys to a separate location while I'll handle the girls. We'll meet back up when we're ready to start." Yaomomo declared in her class rep voice, to which all approved.

"Winner gets a special prize so let's get ready to fight! Ochaco, girlie, let's have a quick chat first, hmm?" Mina appeared in her vision with a sickly sweet smile moments before her arm linked with hers, Jiro taking up the other side sporting a matching grin. They forced on her jacket, scarf, hat and gloves while Toru helped her into a pair of boots.

"W-wait, hold on!" Ochaco wailed as the girls launched her out into the overcast day excitedly, arms locked in their grips. She could hear the boys not too far behind them and she looked back to see Deku being carried like a board the opposite direction, expression frozen in uncertainty. Oh no. "Where are you taking me? Why are they taking Deku, too?"

"Somewhere private for a bit of chat since you're both holding back something very important from us," Jiro grinned with a wiggling of her jacks. Ochaco swallowed heavily. Mina must've gossiped to the other girls as well meaning the teen was outnumbered and outgunned. They've been plotting for a while with the guys seeing as they've separated them. "Don't worry, we're actually going sledding, but we just needed to get something confirmed real quick."

"While I disagree with these methods, I will admit that even I have gotten rather invested on the matter," Yaoyorozu admitted with an apologetic smile to her captured friend. Tsu nodded with a ribbit.

"I saw something very interesting in the news lately, Ochaco dearest, so I've gathered the committee for a little meeting of the minds," Mina began as if she were presenting a big project to potential business partners, finger waggling in the frigid air at her invisible PowerPoint presentation. "Now, you may confess your sins to me and I shall consider forgiveness BUT, know beforehand that I have evidence as clear as day residing in my phone. Just answer my questions honestly and we won't have to resort to punishment. Now, where were you December twenty-fourth mid to late afternoon?"

"Uh, my house?" Ochaco blinked, dumbfounded at the casual question. Where was she going with this? The pinkette nodded her head in approval, a hand to her chin thoughtfully. Suspicion was rising within and the brunette glanced between the other girls. They all just smiled and motioned for her to answer the questions.

"You were with your parents, correct?" Jiro took over the next question with a neutral expression as she played with one of her jacks, the other wiggling slowly in her direction.

"Yes? Where are you both getting with this?" The brunette felt the panic rising in her chest as the two girls shared a secretive look. Ochaco bit the inside of her cheek. She had a heavy hunch as to what they were going to ask next, judging from the way they glanced at the rest of the girls as well, all of them sharing a similar gaze. What did they know that she didn't? So far the questions pertained to where she was and who she was with…on Christmas Eve…when Deku and his mother were over… "D-did I…forget something? A birthday? An after Christmas sale? Presents? Homework?"

"Telling you would ruin the interrogation now wouldn't it, Ochaco?" Tsu played along as well, much to the brunette's dismay. Even Tsu? Her closest friend?

"The information we've gathered here today is not intended to guilt trip or force you into a corner, Ochaco, we're just excited for you is all." Yaoyorozu started off easily though her excitement shone through clearly in her eyes. Realization hit Ochaco like that truck did and heat flooded every cell in her body. Oh no. Oh no, no, no…

"We've come across a certain article about how two heroes saving the day. They just so happen to be in your hometown, Ochaco," Toru pointed a finger at her before planting her hands on her hips.

"And the heroes just so happen to be from U.A.. Any idea how that happened?" Tsu asked with a little flicker of her tongue.

"Not only were they from U.A., but they also came from our class. I think you can guess where this is going, Ocha," Jiro grinned and Ochaco felt literal steam coming out from underneath her hat. THEY KNEW. Either from the local news report or the video someone posted online, they knew Deku was with her on Christmas Eve!

"W-w-wait, I c-can explain!" Ochaco blurted out while backing away from the gaggle of girls ganging up on her, waving her hands frantically in front of her. The heel of her boot hit a concealed rock and she fell back into a pile of crunchy snow with an oof.

"Go ahead then, tell us why Midoriya just so happened to be with you on the day of the accident. We'd love to know the reasoning for that. It seems you two worked pretty well together for that, at least according to the video released online. Take a look," Mina demanded while thrusting her phone into her victim's face. She shakily took it and pressed a finger on the play button.

The next five minutes were spent staring wide eyed at the video someone posted of them jumping into action at the scene. Most of it was Deku stopping the cars with his black whip, running around checking on people, and then looking around for someone before pulling out his phone. Ochaco knew that was about the time he called looking for her. She could tell the girls were judging her reaction so a free hand tugged the scarf up to her nose to cover the flush. The camera swung around the scene a bit more before it panned upwards into the sky. Somehow the cameraman caught her plummeting into the river with Sylvia latched on.

"It's a bit hard to see, but that was you wasn't it, Ochaco?" Yaomomo asked gently to which the brunette numbly nodded.

The cameraman began moving closer to the river as paramedics began arriving on scene. Whoever they were, they managed to record the spot where she'd hit. It was a hard impact, which she knew all too well, because the river rippled and swayed the anchored boats pretty good. It zoomed in and focused on the spot until police could be heard directing paramedics to the river's edge. Within thirty seconds of the ambulances parking, Sylvia popped up to the surface coughing and kicking her way to the shore. Police slid down the snowy bank and yanked her out of the water, immediately calling for the paramedics. But over the chaos of the accident, she could hear Sylvia yelling for Deku. 'Deku! Deku, where are you? I need your help, it's Uravity! She's still down there! Deku, please help her!'

Ochaco blinked the blurring vision away from her eyes. She hadn't realized how frantic Sylvia had become. How scared she sounded. The camera panned away from the river and focused on the police and paramedics flurrying around. Deku quickly ran into the area with two people following behind, what looked like Sylvia's parents. He met up with the paramedic holding Sylvia, talked for a few seconds, and then took off running towards the water. Without an ounce of hesitation, Deku dove into the water despite protests from the police and bystanders. They were warning him of the low temperatures and moving current but he ignored them. Ochaco could almost feel the tension in the air as people gathered around the river nervously. For her it felt like eternity before she surfaced, but on video it was only a matter of fifteen seconds or less. As soon as they both surfaced, she let out a held breath into the scarf. The crowd started cheering when Deku carried her out of the waters, determined to get her to safety. The video cut off shortly after so she couldn't see anything more.

"Ochaco, you were incredible! That was such a dangerous situation that you handled like a pro!" Toru praised ecstatically, jumping up and down in the snow beside her before plopping to her knees to hug her friend.

"We never knew this happened until Mina sent us the article. You two make the perfect team," Jiro praised with a thumbs up.

"I watched it over and over yet every time I saw you hit the water, I always held my breath waiting for you to emerge. It's lucky Midoriya was there to save you. The article mentioned you got tangled up in some seaweed when trying to surface. I'm so glad you made it through the situation, Ochaco." Yaomomo tearfully said with a cloth tapping at her eyes.

"You did a fantastic job, Ochaco, we're all proud of you." Tsu added in with a small ribbit.

"You guys…" Ochaco sniffled a bit and soon all of them were latching onto the brunette for comfort. The comforting embrace didn't last too long because Mina wasn't finished with her interrogation. The pinkette leaned back from the hug, swiped right on the screen, and showed it to her once more with a cheeky grin.

"So, is this the thanks Midoriya got for saving you?"

Ochaco Uraraka froze as soon as her eyes laid on the photo. She didn't know how someone managed to catch it, but there it was in all its glory. Uravity kissing Deku. In the middle of the street. Both soaking wet. In a wintery setting. With people flurrying around in the background. Auburn eyes instinctively searched over his expression, a low humming building in her chest. The first thing she noted was the astonishment practically filling his body. Eyes wide, arms half way extended as if to catch her, hands partially stretched out. Izuku Midoriya was the textbook definition of shocked speechless. Both hands slapped over her face as Mina's phone began floating upward, her quirk accidentally triggering. How in the world did she get this picture in the first place?!

"You're such a hound dog girlie, though we've always known that about you! Always straight forward and bold! Poor Midoriya looks so surprised! I'm sure he was completely speechless! Did he say anything afterwards?" Mina hollered while snatching her phone back before it flew into space.

"We were all waiting for the day to come, it's obvious you two really like each other," Tsu chirped happily with a finger against her mouth. The girls nodded their agreements eagerly while Ochaco kept her rubescent cheeks hidden. "I guess you didn't need a push from us after all!"

"Mina first spotted the article and sent it to the rest of us, including some of the boys. I'm sure by now they're cornering Midoriya to interrogate him about it as well," Jiro gave a pat on the brunette's shoulder with a proud grin but Ochaco was too shocked to even speak, let alone barely breathe. It was all becoming a bit too overwhelming and Ochaco weakly put a hand against her head as the snowy surroundings began to swirl. The pounding heart in her chest grew tight from the stress and her body swayed a little bit before auburn orbs lost all vision, causing her to fall back into the snow out cold.

"Ah, I think she fainted!"

"Elevate her legs, quick! She must've gotten too overwhelmed. Should we call a teacher?"

"Give her a minute to come to, I'm sure she'll be fine…maybe…"

"Maybe?! Toru, Ochaco is out cold! That's not a matter of maybe! Mr. Aizawa is gonna be pissed!"

"I hope the guys are doing better than we are. Ribbit."

_B_

"Midoriya, as you may know, the boys of classroom 1-A have sworn a pact with one another regarding the matter of the opposite sex. But somehow you seem to be the only one catching the eye of every female you encounter naturally. Now, normally it isn't a problem seeing as they are smoking hot babes in said situations BUT," Mineta strolled past the highly confused, and slightly unsettled Midoriya, with his hands clasped behind his back. The kidnapped teen was carried to a bench away from the girls and quickly surrounded by all boys in the class with no escape. He had no clue what was going on and tried to convey that, though Mineta shut him up so he could explain. A sharp turn of his heel had the small hero facing the bench Izuku was settled on. "Do you care to explain this? I've never experienced such a level of betrayal before, Midoriya! You've heard how each of us have yearned for the attention of the ladies, yet you go galivanting around and this happens!"

"You're just speaking for yourself, dude." Sero interjected to clear up the inaccurate statement. Most of the boys agreed save for Todoroki who didn't understand what was going on, Bakugo who didn't give two fucks, and Iida who was tapping his foot against the snow with growing restlessness.

"You can't say none of us haven't thought about hanging out with the girls more. Mineta here is just speaking the hidden truth, all men want the attention of a special lady. Especially if they're hot!" Kaminari defended his trembling friend with a casual shrug and easy going grin.

"You shouldn't be talking about women like that, Kaminari! Both of you need to learn to respect them and take the time to actually get to know them instead of ogling their bodies! Have you no shame? Heroes have a strict duty to protect the people of Japan, not disrespect them by flirting!"

"I'm…very confused right now," Izuku admitted as the purple haired hero thrust his cellular device into his face, the screen glowing brightly. Before he could even process the blurred image, it was yanked back to be shaken violently as Mineta lost his calm demeanor.

"How the hell did you end up getting Uraraka to kiss you?! The rest of us can't even get a single U.A. girl to look at us, but suddenly you're Mr. Popular!? What the hell, Midoriya, you're supposed to be one of us! Ashido sent Kirishima the link to the article the day it posted! Why were you in her hometown? What were you two doing on Christmas Eve out and about in the romantic snowy weather? When were you going to tell us you two were a thing?!"

Izuku blinked as he tried to process everything going on. Uraraka? Kiss? Christmas Eve? Kaminari yanked the phone from the nearly rabid Mineta before handing it to the stunned teen with a grin. "Damn dude, not sure how you got a cutie like her, but now you've become a true man! Seriously, give us the deets! Did you make the first move or did Uraraka? What was it like?"

"E-eh?" Izuku squeaked out as his brain finally processed the image on the phone residing in his trembling palms. Indeed it was a picture of them both crouched in the snow after Uraraka had saved Sylvia. There he was, still as a statue, soaked to the bone, with Uraraka grabbing his face out of nowhere and kissing him. Steam billowed from his hair as his entire being heated up to an unbearable level. How did someone manage to get a picture of it!? The teen slumped forward with his hands covering his burning face and spitting out incoherent explanations.

"That's not even all of it," Kirishima added in, to which everyone looked at him expectantly. "While Midoriya here helped out with a bad wreck, Uraraka managed to save a kid from getting hit by a truck! I've got the video from the article to prove it, too. The accident would've been much worse without those two there, and there's even parts of it that show Uraraka landing in the river to avoid injuring both her and the child. Ashido sent it to me a few hours after it happened. It was insane! You guys were totally manly! Especially when you jumped right into the river to save Uraraka! Now that's what being a hero is all about."

"While I don't approve of cornering a fellow classmate over his private activities, I will commend you on a job well done, Midoriya. Even outside of school you continue to uphold the values of a true hero. You should be proud of yourself." Iida relaxed a bit and gave his friend an approving grin.

"You've done well," Tokoyami added his two cents in as well.

"I'm not sure he can hear anyone right now…" Ojiro pointed down to the still muttering hero.

"Maybe he overheated," Todoroki pointed out as he procured some ice for the stuttering, incoherent mess that was his friend. The guys laughed, all sporting big grins, save for Bakugo who promptly grabbed the teen by his collar before flinging him into the biggest pile of snow he could find a good distance away.

"Quit acting like a damn child and just deal with it like a man! It's pathetic watching you like this, grow some balls and tell her how you feel already or I'm going to blow you to pieces for practice!"

"Wow, Bakubro actually has some legitimate advice for once," Kaminari snickered only to promptly face a raging pyromaniac with sparking palms. Kirishima yanked the raging blonde off of their classmate with ease, his eyes rolling as Bakugo continued to lunge for the electrified teen.

"You wanna try that again, sparkplug?"

"Settle down, this isn't even something to get that riled up about. Besides, shouldn't we just let Midoriya figure things out for himself with support from us? I'm sure the girls have already talked about this to Uraraka," Sato interjected as he pulled a sugary snack from his winter coat pocket, offering the treat to his classmates before taking a big bite of it. "Why not call them and see how it's going? Anything's better than this scene right now."

"Hey, speaking of, Ashido's giving me a call right now," Kirishima exclaimed as he showed the pinkette's number before tapping the answer button. "Yo, how's it…oh…seriously? Well, things are a little rough on this end as well—"

"Is everything alright on that end, Ashido? Is Uraraka safe? Do we need to get the teachers involved?" Iida butted in as he grabbed the phone to speak to her, accidentally pressing the speaker button in the process.

"—may or may not have fainted for a bit but she's starting to come around! I think she just got a little overwhelmed with the questioning. Yaomomo is making sure she's taken care of, but we should still be able to go sledding—"

"Fear not, Ashido, we're on our way to assist!" Iida proclaimed loudly much to the girls' dismay, their groans of frustration echoing through the phone. The call quickly ended as Kirishima received the device back. "I'll head there now to see how I can help assess the situation."

"We should probably go dig Midoriya out of the snow then," Todoroki shuffled towards the pile Bakugo had launched the teen into with Ojiro and Sato rushing forward to assist. Mineta felt his eye twitch violently as the rest of the class began diverting to the girls' location across campus. Had they completely forgotten why they'd dragged Midoriya outside in the first place?! Where had the brotherly bond between him and his classmates gone? A disgruntled sigh left his lips as Mineta stomped off in the direction the girls had gone. Maybe he could at least enjoy their winter apparel for a bit.

_B_

As soon as Ochaco regained her senses, the girls headed towards their destination after multiple reassurances that the gravity manipulator was fine. In fact, she felt better after fainting, almost like her body had a full reset. Thankfully the girls had backed off of the kissing incident for now though the flush still remained on her cheeks. She didn't know who took the picture or how Mina managed to get ahold of it, but now it was out to the whole class that she'd kissed Deku. Things were going to get even more awkward between them now that it was out. She didn't even want to know how the boys' interrogation went. Iida managed to catch up to them and make sure she was fine, which she was apart from feeling totally flustered and embarrassed, before heading back to regroup the guys and take them to the meeting point.

The plan for sledding was to pass by the main entrance of campus to a big hill outside of the Beta gym that was steep enough to race down. Yaomomo was ready to make a few extra sleds for those who didn't have them and even Ochaco felt excited. Between the mountainside attack, recovering from both a broken leg and loss of quirk, and dealing with typical teenage romance problems, she was ready to let loose and have some fun. The girls spotted a group of people walking towards the main entrance building with Present Mic and Midnight escorting them, not necessarily an unusual site, but lately they'd been gathering more often outside of the gates demanding answers. A few cameramen brought up the rear while reporters tried their best to get early answers from the teachers.

"You think they're here about the paralytic?" Jiro asked while looking over the group. Some of the reporters she'd seen before though a few new faces were mingled into the cluster. The teachers did their best to separate them from the students but they'd been getting sneakier lately.

"Most likely. Detective Tsukauchi has been working closely with Principal Nezu during the investigation so it's natural for reporters to show up demanding answers." Yaoyorozu responded with a tick of a frown. They should probably take a different route before—.

"Hey! It's that student who saved the little girl! What a scoop, can we ask you a few questions?" One of the reporters noticed the girls and immediately rushed over with a cameraman hot on her heels, ignoring the teachers' orders to not interfere with the students. Ochaco lurched back a bit as the female reporter shoved a microphone into her face while the camera zoomed in to get the best shot. "Uravity, right? That was an incredible rescue you did! What're your thoughts on it? How did you feel running in front of that truck to save a child? Did you plan to land in the river due to the winter conditions? What did the child have to say about your heroic efforts?"

"I-I uh…" Ochaco tried to interject with an answer yet the reporter didn't even give her ten seconds to respond.

"And how about that teamwork? Were you working with the hero Deku on an undercover mission? How did you feel about working with a classmate? Are you worried about working with someone who always gets involved with more dangerous villains? Should he be considered a threat to society?"

"Come on now, we warned you not to harass the students last time," Mic griped with a groan. He was getting tired of the vultures trying to pry answers from the students. His foot moved forward to intervene yet Midnight stopped him with a raised hand.

"Let's see how this plays out before we start handling their fights for them." Midnight spoke lowly without taking her eyes from the scene unfolding. This interaction would be a critical step for the young hero to not only reaffirm her goal to becoming a kind and strong hero, but to also stand up for those who support her. She'd been informed of Uraraka's condition through meetings with Nezu and Aizawa, so she knew how far down the ladder the hero had fallen. Though she was supported during her recovery, it was now time for the hero to stand tall on her own.

"You're wrong!" Ochaco blurted out which threw off the reporter, the woman tilting her microphone back at the loud feedback. "Deku isn't a threat to society, he's always throwing himself into dangerous situations to protect those around him. Yeah, he gets into his fair share of difficult fights but that doesn't make him a bad person! He's always fighting even with bad injuries, so how can you say that makes him a threat? I'm confident he'll be the number one hero some day and I'll support him wholeheartedly on the journey there. Deku is my friend and I'll always be there to help him if he strays."

"Wow, Ochaco," Tsu breathed out. The reporter looked taken aback for a moment before regaining her composure.

"It sounds like to me that you may be crushing on this soon to be number one. Give us the scoop on that! It'll make a great headline: two sweetheart U.A. students forging ahead to be top heroes together! Catchy, right?"

"Alright, listeners, that's all the time we have for today! We appreciate your calls but our privacy lines are all tied up for the time. Make sure to tune in next time for even more rockin' jams. Now let's get you to where you actually need to be." Present Mic finally stepped in and redirected the pushy reporter towards the main building, making sure to block the camera lens with a hand at all times. "Unauthorized recordings will have to be obtained and destroyed by U.A. to maintain the privacy of its students. Failure to comply with this rule will result in a pretty nasty airway jam, ya dig?"

"Damn girlie, jumped right on the boat to protect Midoriya there," Mina teased once the reporter began arguing about her right to interview a student involved rescue.

"Please don't start again, Mina…" Ochaco sighed tiredly with even more heat rushing her cheeks. Mina would keep bringing it up until the day she died.

"E-excuse me,"

Ochaco turned towards the voice to find the cameraman standing there with a nervous smile on his face. The camera was aimed down so she wasn't worried about him recording again, though it was a bit odd that he wanted to talk. Normally they were pushing for the perfect shot. "Oh, hi. Can I help you?"

"Yes, actually. I'm honestly a super big fan of yours and I wanted to say your battle skills are impressive to say the least. You risked your life to save that small child, something not many of us quirkless people could do. Is it…gosh this is embarrassing, but can I shake your hand, Uravity?" The cameraman flustered out while scratching the back of his head.

"Fanboy?" Toru whispered to Mina, the pinkette quickly nodding her head.

"Fanboy!"

"Shh, don't be rude you two." Jiro hissed behind her hand.

"It's nice to see people acknowledging our hard work." Yaomomo smiled with her hands pressed together.

"Of course! Thank you for your continued support!" Ochaco beamed and extended a hand out to the elated man. They locked hands for a firm shake, but when she tried to pull away after a few seconds, he tightened the grip under the pretense of holding out for a bit more. She looked down at their hands then back up to see a sudden hardness in his eyes that wasn't there before. A wave of unease washed over the hero, the hair on the back of her neck standing up because of it. Was he…?

"The Quantum Council looks forward to seeing you very soon, Ochaco Uraraka." The man rumbled lowly and tightened his grip even more to the point it made her wince. A sharp pain in the center of her palm shortly followed but before she could tell him to let go, his hand was already back against his side. His expression returned to that of an excited fanboy, completely opposite of the dark one that had just surfaced. "Thank you so much! You have no idea what this means to me! Please continue your path to becoming a great hero!"

"R-right…"

The teachers finally wrangled the reporters back into one group before moving them along to where they needed to go, leaving the group of girls to continue towards their long awaited activity. Ochaco quieted down on the walk, staring at the palm of her hand. Where the sharp pain originated began burning as time went on. She thought that maybe he'd gotten a bit of metal shaving on his hand from carrying around the camera, though that theory didn't seem too likely. If he had a quirk that would make sense but didn't explain what kind. And what he said…the Quantum Council? Were they a villain organization? What did they want with her? He said they would be seeing her soon…it wasn't making any sense and it kept a ball of unease in her core.

"Oh, there they are! Hey! Get ready to have your asses kicked!" Mina called out to the boys as soon as they came into view, the pinkette racing forward to start the sledding race.

"Someone's a little competitive today," Tsu commented and Ochaco hummed in agreement.

"We better catch up otherwise she's going to start without us. Come on, girls! Let's go kick their butts!" Toru grabbed Ochaco by the hand before chasing after the shouting pinkette, the gravity manipulator reaching out for her froggy friend. Jiro and Yaomomo followed right on their tails, latching onto the train of girls to avoid being left behind. Ochaco laughed when Mina grabbed a snowball and threw it at Kirishima only for him to duck and hit Bakugo in the face. Not taking kindly to that, the pyromaniac jumped for the nearest snow pile, formed a massive one, then dunked it on top of an unsuspecting Deku. Their sledding day had turned into one big snowball fight that had each and every hero fighting to survive.

In the distance, Aizawa observed his class with a set expression. Day and night the pros alongside U.A. had been scouring docks and shipping yards in search of more paralytic containers as the leads began running dry again. Some information had been spilled by the villains they'd captured, but it was never enough to trace back a line to the main source and the teacher was growing restless. Reports had begun trickling down the school's grapevine that unmarked containers were being received in other countries, some of the contents already gone once authorities opened them up. Despite their best efforts in cracking down on everything, the paralytic seemed to be slipping through their fingers.

"I know you're frustrated, Aizawa, but we're doing everything we can right now to track down the villains. Let's not worry them anymore until we have to. Besides, they're in the safest possible place to be right now. We'll let them be teenagers until the time comes when they need to fight again." All Might clapped his fellow teacher on the shoulder as he walked up behind him with a worn smile.

"That time is going to be sooner rather than later, All Might, we both know that. We're no closer to finding the big boss and now the toxin has made its way to other countries. No matter how many villains we capture, we aren't getting any closer to finding the Quantum Council. They're going to start bringing down every and any quirk holder. Uraraka got lucky her quirk returned while others may not be as fortunate."

"I'll be the first to say it aloud, but I've got a really bad feeling about all of this," Aizawa turned to glance at the former pro. The darkness lurking behind his eyes along with the tone of his voice echoed his own inner turmoil almost to a T. "These kids have been through a lot already, but this is on a whole new level for them. My best guess is that Young Uraraka was an accidental test of sorts for the Quantum Council and they're using that information to adjust their formulas to be even stronger. If they wanted a world where everyone was exactly the same then the toxin needs to be strong enough to permanently block a person's quirk, and what better way than to use it on someone still mastering their ability yet visible to the public eye."

"You've noticed it too then." All Might nodded tightly. Lately there had been some questionable instances outside of campus grounds that had the teachers and Nezu on high alert. While countless reporters continued to try and gain entry, a few unknown people seemed to lurk around in the shadows, evading the camera ranges and even going as far as to camp across from the property overnight. Authorities had been notified yet every time they searched the area there was no evidence of anyone being there. "If they are in fact using Uraraka as a guinea pig then that means they're watching her every move and waiting for the right time to strike. They're more discreet than the League and Overhaul using quirk blockers made from Eri's blood. We can't rule out the possibility of them working together."

"Principal Nezu would want to hear about this—"

"No." Aizawa cut off the man beside him with a hardened expression.

"No?" All Might asked in confusion, slightly disturbed by the harsh tone the pro was taking on. This was unlike the stealth pro. "What do you mean no?"

"Until we can fully verify that is their plan, this entire conversation needs to stay under wraps. It would be a good idea to contact Detective Tsukauchi so he can discreetly gather the evidence we need before the school gets further involved." Shota crossed his arms over his chest while looking at Toshinori sternly. "Alerting the school to what we think could happen only puts them further in the spotlight when we need to stay below their radar in order for this to work. If they're indeed watching her every move, who's to say they aren't monitoring the school and who enters or leaves the property as well? As of now we need to assume that the entire school is under watch from the Quantum Council."

"I understand where you're coming from, Shota, I really do but this…are you sure about going behind the school's back on this matter? Surely they're going to find out sooner or later and then we'll have to face the consequences." Toshinori rubbed the back of his hand anxiously. While he could completely sympathize with his fellow teacher, he wasn't exactly the kind of person to go behind an employer's back just for information. "What about Hawks? Isn't he still doing surveillance for Endeavor's agency?"

"Endeavor is becoming too pushy on the matter. If Hawks weren't reporting directly to him and the school then I would suggest that. But since the number one hero is suddenly zeroing in on this matter, that means he's going to be under their watchful eye as well. I have no doubt he's doing his own research into the gang of villains." Aizawa pushed a sigh out while adjusting the scarf around his neck. It was starting to get really cold and all he wanted to do was go back to his warm sleeping bag. Tired eyes trailed over his students as they began sledding down the tallest hill on campus. He noticed Uraraka laughing and smiling while cheering on her classmates. At least she had the support of her friends and the unwavering protection of his trouble child.

"You're delving headfirst into this because one of your students was severely injured and almost died because of those villains and had another kidnapped by the League. I understand how much those students mean to you, they mean the exact same to me. It kills me every time I should've saved them but couldn't because of losing my power. I've felt powerless more times than I can count even when I was in the field. Your reactions are justified." The pro barely flashed his eyes over at All Might who took in a deep breath through his nose. Hit the target. "Look—"

"Whatever you're thinking right now, All Might, I suggest you keep it to yourself. You're in no place to sit there and judge when you've been training Midoriya to handle your passed down quirk behind the other students. Comparing my personal emotions interfering with my judgement is like a pot calling a kettle black. You've been in the exact same situation before so you've no right to pass down your judgments." Shota retaliated evenly but quickly sighed as he tried to regain control of his pent up frustrations. Damnit all. It wasn't the former pros fault, he understood better than most. His attempt to get Bakugo back before his fight with All for One failed and it ate away at him for weeks.

"I won't argue that fact. I will argue that you're trying to do this on your own without the help of your allies. I'll make some calls so don't jump on anything just yet. We'll get to the bottom of this Shota, I promise you that." Toshinori flashed a brief smile before pulling his phone out to dial a few numbers, leaving the teacher to watch his students from a distance.

They were surrounding Uraraka and Midoriya who both appeared flustered, their hands flapping around wildly as the group of teenagers pushed sleds at them. He'd seen it all along yet his job as a teacher wasn't to dictate their personal lives outside of the classroom. Young love was a supposedly beautiful thing that never suited his tastes, but that didn't mean he would interfere with his problem child's love life. Though if he ever came up to him for advice…a grimace donned his lips at the thought. Better to leave that to the gaggle of girls currently hounding them. Just the thought of it made him shudder before he turned to head inside.

Teenage romance was disturbing in more than one way.


Things were moving smoother than they had in weeks and delight filled Paranoias as he watched on his many screens the villains scurrying around to transport the paralytic to every port in the world. The heroes had, for now, been diverted from the main supply of the toxin thanks to some decoy cargo containers that were placed on the far opposite side of Japan to give them time to discreetly move things out. Even his little test subject had fallen into his hands so easily with the help of an undercover villain with a teleportation ability, one that made even him a smidge uncomfortable when used. It was designed where the user had to puncture the palm of the intended victim and clearly state the intended destination. Then the wound would begin to go through stages of pain until a seal was fully formed on the palm with the victims blood, indicating the destination was set and ready. The further the destination, the longer it took to form.

But the absolute worst part of that quirk was that it dissected the victim thread by thread. Literally. As soon as it's ready, the person's skin would begin to unravel in endless ropes of red thread until there was nothing left. It didn't hurt to him, thanks to a lack of pain receptors, just had a long term traumatizing effect of being turned into a giant yarn pile that exploded into nothingness once the teleportation was complete. Probably the main reason he chose to be a villain. Good thing he was on the right side of that quirk.

Having grown up in a rather rough manner, Yoshizawa Isoruko had learned young how to pass the time with his own rather unusual quirk and its properties. It wasn't by any means a very exciting or powerful ability to be born with, yet it continued to prove its worth after all these years. Driving people mad with mind linking combined with learned light hypnosis was a favorite pastime of the villain. He considered them more like magic tricks, or casual experiments he did to pass the time. Combining the two took years to learn but once he had it, he could easily control people long distance just by exposing them to a special orb he carried. It even worked through a special camera he'd designed that would send a one-way signal to a specified location before killing off the link. All it took was about ten seconds for full control to kick over.

"Paranoias, please excuse the sudden intrusion," A servant spoke after knocking firmly on the open door to his conference room. The villain merely raised his hand in acknowledgement while keeping his gaze to the monitors. One of the ones facing the U.A. campus had his direct attention at the moment. Hacking directly into their system would result in an immediate lockdown that sent the offending coordinates to the local pro heroes. The expensive mahogany doors would be blasted apart in seconds and they would take months to replace. Imported and all that. "Everything is in line for our plan to go ahead and begin. We're just awaiting your word, sir."

"Excellent work, Ronaldo, your service has been very commendable lately. Gather the forces for the main attack in the war room, I shall be there shortly."

"Of course, sir."

The door closed behind the loyal servant as Paranoias continued looking over the monitors. Everything needed to move smoothly otherwise all of his hard work over the past six months would mean nothing. While the pros across Japan would be distracted by decoy containers, he and the Quantum Council would strike their first location overseas. Seeing as heroes were buzzing around like a hive of angry wasps, it best suited the operation to start abroad where it was less anticipated. One wrong slip-up and the number one hero Endeavor would be on his tail in a flash. He wouldn't deny the man had a drive and tenacity on par with All Might, though the hellfire user opted for a more aggressive approach. It was fortunate the former number one hero fell before their plans began as Paranoias knew all too well the strength and determination All Might possessed. He was, after all, one of the people who helped foil the Council all those years ago.

A miniscule flicker on one of the monitors caught his attention and Yoshizawa snapped a narrowed gaze to it. It was one of the cameras facing U.A., more specifically the one aimed towards the dorms. Hacking into the city surveillance system was the easiest way to keep track of the hero training school, though sometimes the two computer systems liked to clash over control before his equipment overwhelmed the city's. He couldn't even attempt to hack U.A.'s top security system or it would fry his equipment and give away his location easily. Leaning forward in his seat, the villain scoured the screen for any sort of disturbances only to notice a slight angle change in the lens. With a quick fling of his fingers over the keyboard he adjusted the camera around to check for an obvious interference. A scowl turned his lips down. Something wasn't right, he could feel it in his gut. There was nothing to—

"Error: 0xA0054168. Connection disrupted, please check cables before attempting to reconnect." The computer system monotoned out in warning, a red exclamation mark popping up on the screen. Yoshizawa sighed as he chewed on the tip of his thumb. There was no mistaking it. Someone was onto him using the camera systems and was messing with him. He attempted an override yet the system refused to budge as it was adamant the camera was disconnected. He'd have to drop the link completely in case the city started investigating into the error. With a click of his mouse, the camera was deleted from the city system and purged from his programming. "Well played. Seems the eyes at U.A. are starting to see beyond their fortress walls."

Paranoias stood from his chair while grabbing a mask from the desk with a loud scrape. It was specially designed to allow full use of his quirk by means of enlarged eyeholes, his eyes needing to lock onto his target fully before ensnaring them. When active, his quirk causes his eyes to flash like a quickening strobe light in order to draw in the person before linking to their mind. While it had been sitting dusty for the past fifteen years, the hypnotic patterned mask still fit like a glove as Yoshizawa pulled it down and over his face. The thin line over his lips muffled his voice slightly yet gave him enough room to breathe comfortably when active. Without another glance back at the monitors, the villain controlled his breathing on his way to the war room with squared shoulders. They wouldn't shake him so easily, not when they've come so far after all these years of trial and error. Mistakes were made back then because they were too naïve and careless in their experiments, but now? Now, they were fully ready for the world to drop to their knees for the greater good of humankind.

Ronaldo fell in line with his boss, deft hands attaching the hypnotic themed cape to the back of the proper gentleman's three piece black suit as they walked. A cane topped with a crystal ball was offered and immediately swiped from the servants hands with a twirl before gently tapping against the tiled floors. A buzz of excitement filled the air as villains from all over the area waited anxiously for their leader to make an announcement regarding the plans. Paranoias stopped before the doors leading to the balcony overlooking the war room. "Ronaldo, is everything set up and ready to go? I don't want any mistakes during our grand re-entrance into the world of heroes ready to tear our throats out."

"Yes, sir, the live broadcast is up and awaiting your signal. I've ensured the broadcast will hit all U.A. students and teachers first before hitting public communications. I must say sir, you've really outdone yourself with this plan and I am most impressed with your tenacity." Ronaldo gave a short bow with a gloved hand over his chest loyally.

"Tenacity? That's interesting that you've chosen that word specifically, Ronaldo," Paranoias mused behind his mask as he brushed some small pieces of invisible lint from his arm sleeve. "Tenacity is defined as the quality or fact of being very determined but can also be perceived as the quality or fact of continuing to exist. Determination or persistence. What I've worked so hard to create over this past decade and a half is due to neither of those definitions but of one other thing, the only thing that has kept me going so long. Do you know what that is?"

"Ah…I'm not entirely sure on that, sir, forgive me. I should have educated myself more thoroughly during your quest to reignite the Quantum Council." Ronaldo promptly bowed heavily towards the floor, hands trembling slightly at his sides. The villain stared him down for a moment before letting out an easy chuckle. The kid was young so he would forgive his discrepancies. This time.

"Revenge, Ronaldo. Revenge is a stronger force than determination or persistence to survive. It gives you a deep, burning rage that can seemingly never be satiated by conventional methods. No, this fiery emotion will never go away until I succeed in taking down every quirk holder who threatens humanities chance at peace in a quirkless world. One large obstacle has been fortunately knocked from our path to this glorious goal; All Might no longer rules the streets with an iron fist due to his sudden retirement, though his younglings at U.A. seem to be rebuilding the bridge that collapsed after his battle with All for One."

"O-of course, sir, forgive me for not thinking of that correctly."

"No need to worry, dear boy, for this will all be over soon. Now, we have an audience to attend to don't we?"


"Hey, hey, come look at this! There's some super weird broadcast on the tv!" Toru flapped her sweatered arms to her classmates as they all shuffled out from the baths, bouncing up and down on the couch cushions. "It's some villain or something announcing his plan to eliminate quirks from the entire planet! Do you think the teachers know yet?"

"What?" Midoriya jogged over to the back of the couch with the rest of his class, the towel dropping from his damp locks to rest around his shoulders.

Ochaco stood at the end of the couch with Mina and Tsu by her side, all three looking equally worried as the broadcast flickered across the screen. The bad feeling in her gut grew worse as the image cleared to reveal a man standing upon a balcony with arms thrown up in the air. Cheers erupted around the person, chanting him on and shouting praises. Even with the mask she could still clearly feel his gaze was directed at her so she wrapped her arms around herself tightly in an attempt to lessen the unease. Ever since meeting the cameraman just inside of the main gates, the pain in her hand had become nearly unbearable with a combination of sharp and burning throbs. Ochaco wrapped it up and put some pain ointment on yet the past half an hour consisted of consistent throbs that made it feel like it was about to burst wide open.

"Turn it up louder, Hagakure," Todoroki instructed as he took a space behind the couch as well, eyes narrowed in on the villain. Was this an isolated broadcast or a nationwide one?

"We shall bring peace and equality amongst those cursed with quirks and those blessed without. No longer shall there be heroes or villains, just simple human beings with no powers! Come, let us bring forth a new era of peace curtesy of the Quantum Council!"

"Quantum Council? Looks more like a ringleader of a circus to me," Mineta snorted only to be silenced by Sero standing behind him.

The screen flickered to show a busy city in the midday sun, cars zooming by and people hustling to do their everyday activities without a care in the world. Tense seconds passed before a low hissing filled the speakers and purple toxin soon filled the streets from every gutter, manhole, and ground opening possible. Midoriya gripped the back of the couch tightly as anger flooded his body. It had to be the same paralytic that Uraraka had been poisoned with months ago and now they were releasing it into busy cities, foreign ones first it seemed. Cars began crashing into one another as the smoke blocked the views of drivers, pedestrians caught in the crossfire being slammed into by thousands of pounds of steel and thrown through the air.

"This is too horrible to watch," Jiro moaned behind her hands as she tried to block out the bloodcurdling screams filling the room. Kaminari, standing nearby, quickly clasped his headphones over her head with a steely gaze locked onto the tv.

"Is that…?" Tsu trailed off fully knowing it was the same stuff her friend had inhaled. "This is really bad, ribbit. We need to let the teachers know right away—"

"Now that I have your attention students in Class 1-A of U.A. Academy," The video cut back to the villain with a closer view of his face and the air inside the commons thickened immensely as everyone's guards shot up. "I would like to formally introduce myself to you future heroes and what better way than a personalized broadcast. The name is Paranoias, a pleasure to meet you all. Though rather indirectly I've already met one of you already. Isn't that right, Uravity? Or rather, Ochaco Uraraka."

"You've met this guy already, Uraraka?!" Mineta squawked loudly as he looked back and forth between his stupefied classmate and the villain occupying the television. All eyes latched onto the nervous brunette in a flash. Deku gauged her expression with a strained one of his own. That villain, Paranoias, had to be the one behind the paralytic attack. Why was he directly calling her out?

"I-I haven't! I don't know anything about this guy," Ochaco rebutted quickly. He had to be the one behind the paralytic, what other reason would he have for naming her directly? He didn't look familiar but he certainly made her uncomfortable. She could almost see the twisted grin beneath his mask. Her palm throbbed sharply and a low hiss escaped as she curled it against her chest.

"You may be a bit confused right now, dear, but do not worry for I shall soon ease those frets of yours. You see, if it weren't for your generous help as our guinea pig then none of the video just shown to you wouldn't be possible. Oh but do not worry, Ochaco, for the paralytic released across the sea as we speak is far stronger than the dosing you received. So I thank you, future hero of Japan, for your contribution to the Quantum Council. And for you as well, Izuku Midoriya, for placing yourself in the public eye as an up and coming powerful hero thought to soon surpass All Might himself. You've both given me ample amount of information that I will surely put to good use." Paranoias gave a deep bow before standing upright. His cane tapped on the ground twice before tapping a third time after twirling from one hand to the other. The orb illuminated brightly causing everyone to shield their eyes yet Ochaco couldn't look away, gaze locked onto the screen. It was drawing her in somehow with an unbreakable chain secured to her mind.

The brunette felt a heavy curtain wash over so she placed a hand against her head before stumbling back a few steps once the glowing died down after about fifteen seconds. The taps resounded in her head again and again, all thoughts vaporizing as a dull lull took over. As soon as someone touched her arm, her mind cleared and she could think normally again. Tsu looked at her startled and confused friend, worry growing by the second. She hadn't been acting herself since sledding. Her right hand had been bandaged after she claimed it was strained from doing so much homework though she wouldn't let anyone look at it. It obviously hurt a lot since the gravity manipulator kept grabbing it with her other hand and wincing.

"Ochaco, is your hand bothering you again? Should we have Recovery Girl look at it?"

"I'm fine, Tsu, really. Maybe I just need to get some rest since it's been a long day. I think I've just sprained it so I'll take some pain killers here in a bit." Ochaco reassured her friend despite knowing it wasn't fooling either of them.

"And with that Class 1-A, I bid you farewell for the time being. Sweet dreams, Ochaco Uraraka, I'll be seeing you soon enough." Paranoias placed a hand over his chest before the screen flickered back to the original channel. The sounds of a drama show blasted out of the speakers and Toru promptly shut the TV off. The room remained silent as the heroes tried to process what just happened.

"He acted like he knew this would happen," Todoroki said quietly while leaning against the back of the couch, arms crossed tightly over his chest in thought. "The fact that he specifically addressed, then correctly assumed something like this would happen can't be coincidence. What do we know about the Quantum Council? I don't think I've ever heard of them or that villain."

"Paranoias…I've never heard of him before, but I know All Might mentioned something about the Quantum Council attempting something similar about fifteen years ago." Midoriya bit down hard on the end of his thumb as he tried to figure the next steps. Were things more intertwined than he originally thought? The pieces were just beginning to fall into place to paint a clearer picture. That attack on the mountain…it wasn't an accident like they all initially thought. Everything was planned, down to the very exact dosage. Quantum Council…Paranoias…he would make them pay for what they've done to Uraraka.

"Not like the bastard has mind control, right? There's no way he could've done that through a broadcast without affecting the rest of us or in the very least showing off how his quirk works and exposing himself in front of a bunch of heroes. Best bet is he got ahold of Cheeks outside of school grounds at some point." Bakugo pointed out and the boys murmured an agreement.

"Cheeks?" Jiro asked with a notched brow but the other girls merely shrugged, the same confusion littering their faces. Apparently Bakugo was using nicknames now.

"Since he acted familiar with Uraraka, doesn't that mean they've met somewhere then? The only time she's left the school property is during that mall trip and then over break so did he like, follow her or something? None of this is making sense anymore, it feels like we're missing something here." Sero scratched at his face unsurely.

"The only people Ochaco has dealt with this week was some reporters that were on campus earlier, but the cameraman was just a fanboy wanting a handshake. Nothing out of the ordinary there." Mina filled in with little hope that it would help.

"We were there along with Present Mic and Midnight, so even if they were a villain wouldn't they have caught on?" Jiro asked.

"Maybe?"

"Paranoias…it says here in the police archives that he drives people mad with mind control, often causing his target to lose sanity in the process due to the duration and intensity of his quirk after prolonged periods." Midoriya scrolled through the villain's arrest records with a furrowed brow. There wasn't much on the man but it was better than nothing at the moment. The teachers would know more about the villain than public records released. "Apparently they speculated he used to dabble in magic during his younger villainy days, but it doesn't mention anything about that being a factor in his attacks currently. These records are old, about fifteen years outdated, so it's possible he managed to train up his quirk."

"So he's a freaking mind controlling clown? These villains keep getting weaker and weaker," Bakugo snorted while shuffling into the kitchen for a drink. "Someone should alert the teachers unless they've received the same broadcast. I doubt they're going to let us leave the dorms now since it's a targeted attack."

"So we just sit around and wait to be attacked? They're releasing the paralytic around the world as we speak, so is the school really going to keep us locked up here?" Kirishima flung his arms out at the blonde's back.

"No, they're going to make us fight. That's almost a guarantee. U.A. and our entire class has been heavily involved with these villains for months now so they're probably going to take all of the help they can get." Todoroki shook his slightly damp bangs from his eyes before locking gazes with his classmates. "This is our fight now so we need to stop the villains before they release anymore paralytic into the world."

"What about Uraraka? There's no way they'd let her leave the campus to join the fight. I mean, she's been directly named by that Paranoias guy so that makes her an immediate target. If she goes outside then the villains will be able to snatch her up." Kaminari interjected and a heavy silence filled the air. He was right, if the class were sent to assist due to the large scale casualties then who would watch over Uraraka?

"I don't care if I'm being targeted," Ochaco spoke up with both hands clenched against her chest. "If there are people out there in danger because of that paralytic, then I'm going to do whatever I can to help. It may have knocked me down but now I'm stronger and ready to fight. I'm not going to stand back and let Paranoias get away with that."

"She's right. Trying to sit around and protect her won't do any good. If she's been targeted by this villain, then they've already made up their mind to attack U.A.. So let's give them one hell of a fight!" Kirishima roared with a fist high in the sky, the rest of the class joining in unison. Ochaco felt pride swell her heart at the sight. She truly was blessed to have such understanding and supportive friends.

The front doors slammed opened and Aizawa followed by All Might, Nezu, Midnight, Snipe and Present Mic entered into the dorms. Heavy expressions adorned their faces as they directed everyone back towards their seats. Ochaco shifted her hands behind her back as the pain began travelling up her arm. "I'm glad to see all of your students here, Aizawa, this makes the conversation a little easier."

"Everyone seems to be accounted for. This is going to be a long conversation so I suggest you all get comfortable." Aizawa instructed as he grabbed a nearby chair and sat down backwards on it.

"Things certainly have progressed faster than I've anticipated, I will admit," Nezu sighed from within Aizawa's scarf, the teacher scowling as the principal tilted his head to see the students better. "That broadcast was meant specifically for class 1-A and teachers only though I have no doubt Paranoias plans to show the rest of the world as he continues to release paralytics. Unfortunately, it was a one-way signal that we're unable to track back to the main source. This villain certainly knows how to keep under the radars."

"So, what do we do? We can't just sit around like ducks, they've named Uraraka and Midoriya specifically. They were targets from the very beginning, probably since the mountain attack." Kaminari ruffled his blond locks in frustration.

"Paranoias indeed used Uraraka as a testing subject from the very beginning, that much we know of now, but why he's targeting Midoriya we don't know yet. They were using the city's camera systems to keep an eye on the campus without giving their location away, though we caught onto one of the cameras pointed at the dorms so we destroyed it which in turn alerted Paranoias and potentially pushed him to release the paralytic across the world faster. He knows we're onto him." Aizawa explained in his usual serious tone yet there was a slight underlying bite to each word.

"Right now you need to prepare yourselves, class 1-A," All Might stepped forward and all eyes were on him. Time ran out faster than he liked, but now was the time for action, not reminiscing on what they should've done to be more prepared. "The world's in danger and as future heroes it's your job to ensure the safety of the citizens who depend on us to protect them. You all ship out tomorrow morning so get plenty of rest tonight because this is going to be one hell of a fight. You'll be split up into groups working under pros such as Endeavor, Mirko, Best Jeanist, Gunhead, and a few of the teachers here."

"Even Mirko? I thought she just did solo work across Japan." Jiro inquired as she held onto the headphones hanging around her neck uneasily.

"All pro heroes in Japan and across the world have been called to action regardless of their affiliation to an agency or not, even us teachers have been ordered to jump into the fray. Millions of lives depend on us being there for the citizens, quirks or not." Midnight stood from beside the couch and crossed her arms under her chest, chains rattling softly. "This is part of your training as heroes so get as much rest as you can tonight because tomorrow you're going to be thrown into the warzone. You'll receive your groupings when you swing by to pick up your gear."

"What about Uraraka? Is she going to be safe here?" Tsu asked worriedly from beside the brunette, the teen latched onto her friend's arm. Ochaco reassuringly squeezed her hand.

"Since Uraraka is the direct target of Paranoias, she would normally be kept in a secure location until the villains are brought down. Security measures have been implemented to ensure no one infiltrates the campus after your departure. I personally have made some heavy modifications to the security system using my own private funds to ensure the top safety of my students." Nezu informed them all with one finger up while his other paw patted Aizawa's face lightly.

"What do you mean normally?" Shoji asked.

"He's saying that it's her choice whether or not to stay. Right?" Bakugo finally spoke up after digesting the new onslaught of information. Izuku glanced between him and Uraraka, the latter showing more signs of distress.

"We can't force her to stay behind if she's willing and able to fight. If we hid every targeted student behind the walls of U.A., they'd never grow into strong heroes. The risk is still there, don't pretend it isn't, but that's Uraraka's decision to make. If she accepts the risks then she's free to go. It's no different than Midoriya being targeted by Shigaraki or All Might by All for One. It comes with the job." Aizawa offered with open hands.

"Now that we've settled that, alarms in these dorms will go off if any of the doors or emergency exits are opened, in which it will cause heavy duty shutters to slam down as precaution. A few extra pros will also be patrolling the premises so there's nothing to fear for the rest of your evening." Nezu nodded in satisfaction before leaping from Aizawa's scarf to rest on All Might's shoulder, the former pro dipping slightly from the heavy weight. "Aizawa, I entrust you to go over the details of tomorrow's mission with them before you leave since it's time for my nightly tea now. The rest of you have your orders so enjoy the rest of your evening, students, and prepare yourself for tomorrow."

Aizawa adjusted his scarf to even out the lopsided gap before crossing his arms of the chair back. They were all ready to fight, that he could see in their eyes, but the risk of losing their quirks permanently was a high risk for the up and coming heroes. Uraraka was lucky to get hers back, others wouldn't be as blessed. "Listen up, here's how this is gonna go down."

_B_

Izuku Midoriya tossed and turned for hours, unable to quell the raging thoughts. Whenever they were about to head into battle, sleep escaped him no matter how hard he tried. Working out usually wore him down enough to pass out but he just didn't feel like going outside in the snow. It wouldn't be possible to concentrate on proper form right now anyways. He rolled onto his side to stare at the digital clock beside his bed. Eleven forty-five. For nearly three hours the teen tried to sleep. A hand ran down his face and he pushed himself up. Maybe a walk around downstairs would help.

He squinted at the brightness of the lights as he strode to his closet for some warmer clothes. A sweatshirt and shorts seemed good enough for a short walk around, so with a grab of his phone the teen closed his door quietly and headed downstairs. He did his best to keep quiet since everyone else was still asleep. Instead of the elevator he took the stairs down and Midoriya finally shuffled his way towards the commons. It was empty, as was expected, despite a few of the lights still being on. He rubbed at his face tiredly. Maybe a glass of water would help calm his mind down a bit. Just as he passed the couches in the common area, a flash of brown caught his eye so he stopped.

"Uraraka? What are you still doing up?" Said person looked up in alarm with a hand coming to rest against her chest at the sudden voice.

"Deku! You scared me. I didn't even hear you walking by." Ochaco breathed out as her friend leaned over the opposite couch. Once everyone else went to bed, the teen exited her room to isolate downstairs. The pain was keeping her awake and it seemed fruitless to try and roll around in bed. Things were quiet down here and she could count on being alone. Until now.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Is everything alright? I noticed you were looking a bit distressed early after the broadcast."

"Mm, I was just a little shaken up when he called me out specifically," Ochaco tried to ease his worries but she knew there was no point. It was nearly impossible to hide anything from him. "Now we know who's behind the paralytic so we just have to find out where he is and take him down. We still don't know how far its spread so we'll have to do our best to stop him."

"Right," Izuku agreed wholeheartedly. It was good to see her in higher spirits again. He'd been constantly worried ever since the mountain attack and it eased his troubled mind. "So, what are you doing up? Just couldn't sleep?"

"Something like that," Ochaco trailed off when the pain increased in her palm. It was now all the way up to her neck and travelling downward into her chest, throbbing sharply like a heartbeat. She did her best to control her expression though Deku must've noticed because he was soon crouching down in front of her with brows knitted up.

"You injured your hand earlier, right? Can I take a look at it?" He asked gently, waiting for her permission. She debated for a few seconds before giving in and shakily extending the appendage for him to check over. Very lightly, Izuku cupped the underside of her hand for support and used his other to graze over the bandages. "Did you sprain it doing too much homework? Or was it from sledding?"

Ochaco bit her lip as he continued to examine her palm, face aflame. He was close, really close. Thankfully he was so intent on trying to diagnose her injury that he didn't look up. She started to say something trivial but the words died out and her lips pursed. Lying was just making things worse. Deku would understand completely and would do his best to make sure she was taken care of. She needed to stop letting her personal feelings take control of her decisions. "Deku, there's something I need to tell you. I…didn't injure my hand in a normal manner. There was a group of reporters here earlier and one of them asked to shake my hand saying he was a big fan. When I tried to pull away, he grabbed on harder and I think something stabbed me. It's been hurting since then and getting worse as time passes. I didn't want to worry anyone with it so I've been trying to treat it on my own. The pain is now travelling into my shoulder and chest. I'm sorry for keeping it from you, Deku."

"What? It's been hurting that long? Why didn't you say anything, Uraraka?" Deku shot his gaze up to meet hers, eyebrows nearly to his hairline.

"That's not all…he said the Quantum Council would be seeing me very soon. I think he was working for them. He managed to get through the gates and run into me. I think they're about to make a move, Deku." Ochaco spoke without looking at him. She was ashamed to have mislead them all for hours, but especially the person she cared for the most. Deku was silent for a minute before a hand hesitantly cupped her face. The brunette looked up to see him giving her a reassuring smile, face tinted pink. Auburn orbs widened as she stared at him in a dazed and flustered trance.

"We'll get through this together, Uraraka. Let's get your hand treated first then we can worry about them, alright? Your health is priority."

"S-sure," He. Just. Touched. Her. Face. It felt so gentle, caring, and warm. Ochaco felt her face heat up as she just stared in awe. He seemed to realize what he'd just done because he retracted the appendage to cover his own burning face and looked away, apologizing for suddenly touching her out of nowhere.

Izuku guided her towards the kitchen sink with determination to help his friend feel better. While he ran some cold water, Ochaco slowly unwound the wrap covering her hand and wrist. Shortly after they'd returned from sledding, the brunette removed her winter apparel in her room for something more comfortable and examined the entry point centered on her palm. It was about the size of a sewing pin head with clean edges and no signs of bleeding. As the last layer fell off, she sucked in a small breath of horror. The wound was no longer confined to the center of her hand, instead branching out into what looked like an odd symbol that pulsed rhythmically. The crimson glow raced past her wrist and underneath the pushed back sleeve of her sweatshirt. Ochaco swallowed hard as Deku took notice and looked up at her with alarm, no doubt mirroring her own expression. They needed a teacher…now.

"Deku—"

"What the fuck are you two doing in the kitchen in the middle of the night?" Bakugo's grating voice had both teens nearly jumping out of their skins as he entered the room with an empty glass in hand. Izuku took a few steps back from the sink with his hands partially up while Ochaco whirled around without pulling down her sleeve. His eyes locked onto the red tracing up her arm and narrowed. "And what the fuck is that on your arm?"

"K-Kaachan, I can explain…" Deku trailed off nervously before sighing and shaking his head in defeat. "Actually, I can't explain this one. Uraraka just showed it to me but we don't know what it is. We think this has to do with—"

"I know what this has to do with, Deku. I'm not a fucking idiot. Where the hell did you get this, Cheeks?" Bakugo cut off his childhood friend before rounding on the unsure brunette.

"From that cameraman I shook hands with earlier. I'm pretty sure he used his quirk on me then but I don't know what it does. It started off as a small wound." Ochaco explained briefly as the pyromaniac set his glass down beside the sink. He stared intensely at it for a minute before scoffing and turning away. Izuku shared a confused look with her before stepping towards his leaving classmate. It was odd for him to just quietly walk away without an explanation.

"Where are you going, Kaachan?"

"To get a damn teacher. It's probably set to self-destruct or something."

"S-self-destruct?! Don't say things like that! What if it actually does that? Think about how Uraraka feels!" Izuku called out as he made to go after his friend.

"Get the fuck off of me, Deku!"

"Not until you apologize!"

Ochaco felt a blanket of numbness wash over her body and she gripped onto the counter for support. Her mind started to get hazy just like earlier when the broadcast was playing. She grit her teeth to fight it but it was quickly overwhelming every sense so she gave in. Weakness took over her legs and she stumbled towards the opposite counter. A hand swiped across the counter and sent the glass flying at the two struggling heroes. Both narrowly dodged the glass and watched as it shattered into a million pieces in the entry way. Silence filled the room as Deku and Bakugo slowly turned back towards her, one with a stunned expression and the other showcasing rage.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing? You got a death wish?" Bakugo threatened lowly as his hands began popping menacingly. Narrowed vermillion eyes took in her haggard state and widened just a fraction. Something wasn't right. She hadn't even been moving in their direction when the glass was thrown. It was too precise of an angle to constitute a simple accident. Deku ran to help her and she lifted her head up slightly. Flashes of swirling black and white raised a red flag. So that was it.

"Uraraka, what's wrong? You don't look too good," Izuku fretted as he pulled one of her arms over his shoulder to support her sagging body, the other arm holding her up around the waist. Her breathing was harder and her body felt feverish against his exposed skin. Was it the strange marking causing her illness? "Kaachan, we need to—"

"Get away from her, Deku! She's been brainwashed!" Bakugo ordered while launching himself at the two, hand outstretched to separate the two. Izuku looked down at Uraraka to see her looking up at him with a Cheshire grin and hypnotic swirling eyes. A hand roughly shoved him back, effectively separating the two, and Bakugo pinned the brunette to the floor by the shoulder with an arm back and ready to unleash an explosion.

"Kaachan!" Izuku shouted while powering up. He tightly grabbed his forearm and about started pulling until an unsettling chuckle froze him in his tracks. Slowly he released his grip and stood back up, the hairs standing tall on his neck. That wasn't coming from either of them. There was no one else in the room.

"My, my. Such a brutish hero. Are you sure you aren't on the wrong path in life? You would make a fantastic villain, Katsuki Bakugo." A deep voice emitted from Uraraka's mouth and both teens raised their guards. The brunette beamed up at them while clapping her hands in applause. "Well done on the fast reaction time. I'd say you're the fastest one to figure it out in all my years of life. That's a gold star for you!"

"What the actual fuck," Bakugo laughed out in disbelief. Then it clicked. The broadcast. When everyone else had their eyes covered, Uraraka must've kept them open. The mind controlling freak actually managed to brainwash someone through the tv. Now he'd seen it all. "You brainwashed her earlier, didn't you? Through that damn broadcast of yours. The flashing lights were a part of that."

"Smart one you are, Bakugo. At least that saves me the time and effort of explaining how I'm speaking to you right now. Now if you don't mind, I'd rather like to stand and get a glass of water."

"Return Uraraka to her body. Now." Deku threatened lowly as Paranoias turned his hosts eyes towards him. Waking up the others now could put Uraraka in jeopardy if Paranoias decided to obliterate her mind completely so he had to play it safe and handle the situation carefully. Bakugo remained at the ready in case the villain tried anything funny.

"You know, young love is such a beautiful thing. Like the tale of Romeo and Juliet, have you ever read it? Beauty and tragedy combined as two families who hated one another finally came together. After both of their children killed themselves for love but you know, that's just how history plays out sometimes, Izuku Midoriya. And unless you want this to turn into another tragedy for the books, I suggest you not start making demands or else." Paranoias glared up at him and smirked when Midoriya pursed his lips together in frustration. "This is a nice place you kids have here. It was difficult enough to keep a good eye on the campus but this first person view is really something. U.A. never ceases to impress me, I must say so. Though the decorum could use an updating, much too bland for my tastes."

"What's your goal right now? Why are you here?" Bakugo demanded while glaring down at the carefree villain controlling his classmate. Uraraka shrugged beneath his pinning hold and merely starting whistling as if he hadn't a care in the world. Izuku placed a hand on Bakugo's shoulder and the pyro glared up at him.

"Let her up."

"Hah? Did you hit your head? Why the hell would I let this bastard up—"

"Because he has the power to completely destroy Uraraka's mind. There's no where for him to escape. Just do as he says."

Bakugo sneered but relented nonetheless, keeping one hand at the ready in case he needed to blow the villain straight out of the dorms. He shifted to the other side of the kitchen to block off any potential exit as Izuku remained rooted. Uraraka carefully got to her feet, brushed off some dirt, then headed for cabinet. The glasses clinked softly as she grabbed one out to fill.

"You're a smart one, Midoriya, you've done a great job with researching me. Can I call you Izuku? Or has Ochaco not called you that yet? Surely you're both a first name basis by now seeing as you've been pining over each other for a while now."

"Answer the question, Paranoias."

"Apparently," Paranoias started just before taking a sip of refreshing water. "You've forgotten about what was mentioned in the broadcast already. I don't blame you, it is nearing the middle of the night after all. Surely you're a bit tired. I've come for my guinea pig."

"The moment you try to leave this building, it'll go into a lockdown and alert the other students and teachers meaning you'll be trapped inside the dorms with twenty powerful heroes. You have nowhere to go so relinquish your hold on Uraraka." Deku pressed his hand against the counter beside Uraraka, leaning down to get his message across to the villain as OFA powered up. Paranoias forced the brunette to set the glass down behind her before straightening up to challenge him. He leaned back a little but refused to back down, virescent clearly conveying the threat in his words. What a cute display.

"You wouldn't lay a finger on this body right now, Midoriya, because you care for her too much to risk self-injury. A simple thing like this," Paranoias suddenly grabbed the glass from the counter, smashed it against the edge, and held it to Uraraka's throat menacingly all in one smooth movement. "Should be more than sufficient to get the message across. Ochaco Uraraka is coming with me one way or another though I generally prefer my guinea pigs alive, it's so hard to find good ones and she has yet to be fully broken. You're going to get me out of this building without setting off the security alarms."

Deku clenched his jaw while backing off, hands slowly raised. Paranoias wasn't messing around, he was really threatening to slice Uraraka's throat if he didn't help him out of the building. Without fully understanding how his quirk worked he couldn't just act carelessly in case he triggered a self-destruct option. "Okay, okay, just…please get the glass away from her throat. No one needs to get injured here."

"You'd seriously threaten to harm your guinea pig despite knowing I can move faster than her? She's no match against my speed! You must be a pretty dumb villain to underestimate me," Bakugo retorted with a menacing grin. Uraraka looked over at him with mild amusement then turned back to Izuku, the glass digging ever so slightly into her neck. The pyro didn't take to kindly to being snubbed and shifted forward while cracking his knuckles. It wasn't a bluff. Not even two seconds would be all it took to reach and disarm her. But Paranoias could clearly slit her throat before they even blinked. Bakugo grit his jaw. This villain knew how to play dirty and right now, he had the upper hand.

Paranoias studied the two teens for a moment before setting the glass shard back onto the counter, an easy going smile replacing the scowl on Uraraka's face. "Was that so hard? Now, the matter of getting this body out of here. I do believe the door is that way."

"I've told you—"

"At this point you've got two options: surrender and relinquish your hold on Uraraka, or I'll beat you out of there! I've got enough sweat built up right now to blow you halfway across the ocean." Paranoias chuckled while taking a step back, hands raised in mock surrender. There was no escaping these two so he would need to rethink his strategy. The pads on Uraraka's fingers caught his attention and an idea appeared. Having infiltrated her mind gave him the ability to utilize aspects of the teens quirk and any combat skills she had. Seems she's managed against the pyro before, surely it wouldn't be hard to do so again.

"Very well. A gentlemen knows when he's outnumbered and outgunned. You win. I'll return Uraraka's body to you as a gesture of good faith. But let it be known now that there is no escaping this path life has chosen for her." Uraraka bowed and tapped her hands together out of sight, using the movement to conceal the pink glowing of her fingers then stood straight to face the teens. "Allow me to show you a magic trick before I leave first, as an apology. It'll surely blow your minds."

"No more games, ya freaking clown!" Bakugo lunged forward to tackle the brunette while Deku shot out black whip to restrain from a distance.

Paranoias waited until the blond was close enough before narrowly dodging the outstretched arm and with a graze of fingers across his skin sent him weightlessly spinning towards the wall. Deku dodged and powered up as Uraraka sprinted lowly towards him, ready to stop her by force if needed. Paranoias winked at him and blew him a kiss, throwing his concentration just long enough to enact his plan. The brat before him was definitely fast and could stop him with ease, but the old villain still had a few tricks up his sleeves. He forced her legs to coil up as if to jump, watching as the hero picked up the cue just seconds before Uraraka got into his range, then jumped upwards while releasing the quirk with a foot slightly extended outward for a kick. Deku braced for the kick but the brunette feinted left to instead kick off from the cabinets, reactivating Zero Gravity then launching herself towards the kitchen windows. If all of the doors would seal off if opened, was the same said for the windows? It was possible the school thought that far ahead though not like it mattered. The quirk gradually taking over her body was nearing completion. Just a few more minutes of distraction were needed.

"Think you're smart for going for the windows, huh? Too bad they've alarmed those too!" Bakugo screeched in the midst of blasting his body straight at her like a missile, arm outstretched with an angry sneer. A fast sleight of hand sent an explosion towards the glass panels as Uraraka and Bakugo were moments from colliding mid-air. The explosive force shattered the glass outward in a massive blast, a piercing alarm going off less than a second later. Loud metal screeching filled the dorms as shutters began slamming down one after another, sealing off the building from the outside world. Uraraka whirled around only to be pinned in place by black, writhing ropes.

"It's over, Paranoias," Deku shouted over the blaring alarms, eyes ablaze with anger as he held black whip steadily in place. "The alarms have sounded so the pros will be here soon and every other student will be rushing down. You've lost."

Paranoias felt someone tugging on his physical body so he turned his head in that direction, forcing Uraraka to do the same. Both teens tensed up as they waited for something to happen only for a soft sigh to emit from the brunette's mouth. "Pushy, pushy people. Always intervening and demanding attention. Seriously, you'd think they'd see me in the middle of something and learn to leave me alone. Oh well, trivial matters I suppose. I'll commend you both for dealing with my little distraction long enough for the quirk to take full effect. I must say, I didn't realize it hurt this much. Like a…how's the best way to describe this? Almost like catching on fire, having every bone broken, then—"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Izuku demanded and Paranoias chuckled at his intense reaction. Seems Katsuki Bakugo was rubbing off on him.

"You're talking about the thing on her hand. Tell us what it does!" Bakugo demanded. A hand shot out and grabbed the controlled teen by the collar, pulling her closer to his twisted face.

"Easy, Kaachan! That's still Uraraka's body!"

"Might as well tell you since she's coming with me regardless. A type of teleportation quirk that shreds the persons body apart and turns it into a thread. Once the entire body has been woven into a rope, it explodes and dissolves into nothingness and rebuilds in a set location. I've experienced it once before and it was quite the experience. Though feeling the pain dear Ochaco does right now, I'm sure she'd be screaming in agony if it weren't for me. Should be thanking me, really…"

"You're not going to get away with this, Paranoias," Izuku threatened lowly causing both Bakugo and Uraraka to look at him. The anger surged in his body and he stared straight into the hypnotic patterned eyes that were once a gentle and kind auburn with glowing hatred. He grit his jaw as One for All kicked it up another notch, fueled by his raging emotions. "Even if I have to hunt you to the ends of the Earth, I'll find you and make you pay for what you've done. All of the pain and suffering Uraraka had to endure because of your sick experiment. I'll personally make sure you never see the light of day again, locked in a cell for the remainder of your life."

Uraraka's face flickered to neutral and Deku's heart dropped into his stomach as blood began dripping onto the floor in a fast growing puddle. The injured hand lifted up to reveal a glowing symbol etched into palm with a thread wiggling its way free from the hole he saw earlier. Paranoias grinned and latched onto the thread with the other hand, tugging at it gently. Izuku quickly released black whip and took a step back while Bakugo lowered his hand, neither sure what to do next. With a hard yank her body began unraveling rapidly, the string beginning to pile up on the puddle of blood. Deku stared in horror as Uraraka began to literally disappear before his eyes, her entire arm already gone as it tore through her shoulder and down her side. Flashing psychedelic eyes seemed blissfully uncaring as they stared into wide virescent ones, hints of auburn bleeding back into the irises.

"I told you I'd show a magic trick, didn't I? You think you've won, Izuku Midoriya, but Ochaco Uraraka will be in my possession soon enough. Even when you thought you had me cornered and trapped within these walls, I've already been three steps ahead of you heroes. And with this, the sipario finale is complete."

"Uraraka!"

"What the actual hell…" Bakugo breathed out as the gravity manipulator began disappearing before his eyes. How the hell was he supposed to react to something like this? Even if he tried to stop it, she was already halfway gone to who knows where. He glanced over to Deku. The nerd wasn't even moving, just staring in horror with tears in his eyes. There was never a point in stopping Paranoias. The villain played checkmate. "Damnit."

The rest of class 1-A rushed into the kitchen to watch as their classmate dissolved into a pile of crimson string on the floor. Midoriya looked at them helplessly with tears in his eyes, opening and closing his mouth mutely. There wasn't anything anyone could do as half of her body was already gone, leaving most of her face and the left side of her body left to dissolve. Mina shoved them all out of the way to lunge for the girl with arms wide, but Kirishima stopped her with both arms locking around her. She opened her mouth to yell at him but it died off when he shook his head with tears building up, eyes never leaving Uraraka. The pinkette trembled as looked between him and the disappearing Uraraka before letting out a sob and collapsing against him, knowing it was too late to save her now. Izuku fell to his knees in defeat as Uraraka's neck began dissolving, the last physical piece of her body remaining. Her eyes had returned to auburn albeit filled with anguish and tears of fear, the orbs shifting down to look at him. She moved her quivering lips as the thread unraveled faster, nearing the inevitable end.

"De…ku…"

The final thread finished twisting before falling into the already massive pile. Izuku shakily crawled towards it when it began dissolving into thin air, fingers snatching a small pile up and holding it gently. Inch by inch the thread disappeared until it reached the end cusped in his palms. The crimson particles lifted into the air leaving only Uraraka's blood that stained his skin. He clenched his fists tightly as grief washed over.

"Midoriya, are you alright? What happened?" Todoroki asked quietly as he crouched next to his defeated friend with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"That damn villain had a minion plant a teleportation symbol on her hand earlier. There wasn't anything we could do about it." Bakugo supplied quietly. Todoroki looked up at him with a hint of surprise. He'd even say the pyro looked traumatized by what just happened. The rest of the class arrived too late to know the full extent of the situation so it was all a guessing game.

"Where did she go?"

"To wherever Paranoias and the Quantum Council are hiding. I'm so stupid," Deku pounded his fists against the floor angrily, shattering a good sized crater into the tiles as his emotions triggered OFA. "Uraraka told me earlier about what happened, how she got the mark yet I couldn't do anything. There was no stopping it. There's no tracking it. I…I could've done something…I should've done something. Paranoias wasn't done using her, said he was going to break her even more and continue testing on her. Damnit! I should've seen this coming! God damnit!"

A rough hand slapped Midoriya upside the head and he whipped his head around in time for Bakugo to grab him up by the front of the shirt and pull him close, a stern expression on his face. He could tell his friend was trying to cover up his own disturbed emotions by putting on an angry façade, the fear and anger showing clearly in his eyes. "Crying won't get you anywhere, Deku, so shut the fuck up already with the woe is me bullshit so we can figure out what to do now. We need to figure out where their base is so we can get her back and kick that clown's ass. They brought the fight to us so now it's our turn to return the favor. Uraraka won't go down without a fight, we both know that, so just put your damn faith in her for once."

"He's right, we can't wait any longer knowing that the villains now have her in their possession. We need to grab our gear and head out immediately," Kirishima agreed over Mina's sobs, a hand rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her down but she only wailed harder. The other girls stood together anxiously in the entryway of the kitchen with teary eyes until Jiro reached out for Mina and carefully walked her back to the group.

"I'm sure the teachers and pros are on their way already, but I'm going to call Mr. Aizawa as a precaution in case he hasn't been alerted yet. They'll need to be the ones to shut the alarms off." Iida flashed his phone before stepping away to call their teacher and explain the situation.

"So, we'll get Uraraka back and take down the Quantum Council. Now let's go get our classmate back!" Kaminari pumped his fist into the air to a resounding battle cry. Deku hastily swiped at his face to dry the tears with his arms. There would be time to cry later, right now they needed to hunt down the Quantum Council and get Uraraka back safely.

He wouldn't let them get away with it again, never again.