Morning finds a certain group of four strolling out of the train station closest to their school. Spirits are high as the hero students chat among themselves, regaling their blonde friend with tales of the first heroics class.
She listens with stars in her eyes and a grin on her face. "So you got to go all out? On day two? That's crazy!"
"N-not entirely all out," Izuku stutters, blushing slightly in embarrassment and the fact that a cute girl is right in his face.
"Of course!" His blue-haired friend says, chopping the air. "If Midoriya-san went all out, he might accidentally destroy the building, not to mention the bomb!"
"Whaaa- really? When did you get that strong?!" She looks somehow even more excited.
He turns his chopping towards her now, lightly chiding. "You didn't forget what we said about the entrance exam, did you?"
"Well, no, but it's like hearing it from a different perspective!" She defends sheepishly.
He gives her a look that says he doesn't believe her. "Sure. But for now, we should-" His voice cuts off as he stares at the scene before them. "What in the world?"
There seems to be a bit of commotion in front of their school gates. The normally welcoming site is almost completely blocked by clamoring and squabbling adults all focused ahead of them.
Izuku looks at the group, frowning in thought. "That's a lot of cameras and microphones… reporters, maybe? Are they here because of All Might?" His eyes narrow slightly. "Wait, is that Kacchan?"
Iida stares as the blonde suddenly leans forward, audibly yelling even from this distance. "What did they say to garner that reaction?" He wonders aloud.
Ochaco turns her head. "Something about sludge?"
The green-haired teen immediately grimaces. "Ooh... I think they hit a sore spot..."
"He just has a... short fuse." Toga says with a smirk.
Bakugou goes quiet as the grave the exact moment she makes that pun, before he turns and stomps into the school, one of the reporters trying to follow.
They are stopped before they draw even with the gate by a familiar scarfed homeroom teacher giving them a deadpan stare.
"Ah, it's Aizawa-sensei! Surely he will get them to leave!" Iida says with a bright smile, watching as a few of the news people slowly shuffle away from the tired man.
Izuku grimaces, thinking about the tongue lashing the reporters must be receiving and feeling a bit of pity for them,despite their reluctance to leave. "…how are we going to get past them?"
"…I don't want to push through all that." Toga says flatly.
Their tall friend thinks for a bit, chin pinched gently between thumb and forefinger. "I'd happily welcome a way past them, if it makes all of you feel better."
Izuku blinks, remembering one of his Pokémon's moves and grimacing at the thought. "…I might have a way past them…" He looks at each of his friends in turn. "…does anyone have some candy?"
Himiko raises a hand, waving for good measure.
"May I please have some of it?" He scratches his head. "I don't know if I can take you all at once or need to do multiple trips..."
"You have a plan?" Ochaco asks as Himiko digs in her bag.
The green-haired teen glances in her direction. "You remember that Psychic type Pokémon I have?"
"Of course, Kirlia," Iida answers nodding once. "We're still looking for a replacement for the stone you need to evolve into Gallade."
Izuku tenses up slightly. "…so one of the first moves they learn is… teleport…"
"That's so awesome!" The brunette chirps, punching the air. "Have you tried it yet?"
"Not quite," he admits, avoiding her gaze. "I know how to do it, somehow, but I've never tried it..."
"Did you want a particular flavor?" Himiko interjects.
"Anything sweet should be fine," he replies, looking to her.
She nods and comes up with a small bag of gummy bears.
Izuku smiles gratefully and takes a small handful, chewing them all at once in the hopes of keeping his form activated long enough, and to ignore the slight iron taste. With a hard swallow, he's suddenly a Kirlia.
Seconds later he's kneeling on the sidewalk, coughing harshly.
"Hey! Did you choke? What happened?" Ochaco asks and she and the others crouch next to him.
"Sorry," he thinks to them while continuing to cough. "Forgot my throat is smaller like this..."
"Huh... never really thought about size changing..." Himiko hums.
"It never came up before," Iida points out, patting Izuku's back just before the transformed teen's hand wraps around Toga's wrist. A collapsing light, like an old television turning off, and the three of them have disappeared from the street.
The next second, Izuku is back, blinking rose-colored eyes in surprise as he struggles to stand up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to forget you."
"You barely gave me time to blink, let alone be mad." Ochaco says with a smile.
"I'm glad you aren't," he bows in apology. "Let's get inside, shall we?" He smiles, offering her his odd little hand.
She laughs and gladly takes it. "You know, compared to some of your other hands, these are really soft."
She watches his white face turn red with embarrassment before they're off, squeezing through a tube that feels much too small for them before ending up right in the nurse's office with the others.
Ochaco holds her head and shakes it softly. "O-okay... little too much like floating there..."
Izuku pats her leg in apology before the door slams open, a woman in a white leotard leaping through and ripping open her sleeve. The Pokemon less than half Ochaco's size stares at her in awe. "Oh my gosh, is that Midnight? Her quirk somnambulist affects those attracted to her more easily... than..." His thoughts trail off as the pink gas released gets to him and falls asleep on his friend's thigh.
Midnight stands there, herself and Ochako the only ones still conscious. She stares at the dissipating cloud from her quirk, the uniforms on those present, then at the message from her phone about intruders. "...well, shit."
Izuku groans as he stirs, finding himself in a strangely familiar warmth and pressure on his body. "…deja vu?" He mumbles to himself as he forces his eyes to open.
To his surprise, he's still in the nurses office and in a bed, but with no pain.
He carefully props himself up on his elbows, glancing around the room to see whether his friends are still nearby.
He spots them in their own beds nearby just before a voice comes from behind him. "Ah you're awake, good, wouldn't want you to miss your whole day."
Izuku jolts in place and turns around, wondering who is behind him and how he didn't notice.
An anthropomorphic mouse just shorter than him stands there. Despite the scar over one eye, his appearance is friendly and his clothes quite professional.
He stares blankly for a moment, his mind still slightly sluggish from the pink cloud he can remember. "…oh my gosh, it's pro hero Nezu… wait, I wasn't sleeping on you, was I? I'm sorry!" He quickly turns and kneels, bowing so far he rests his head on his hands.
"I'll take that as a compliment to the status of my coat today." The mouse responds with a smile. "Of course, as we are now I think my other title is of more importance. That of the principal of our UA high school."
"Oh, right, the principal. I've heard about this, he's the one who made UA into such a prestigious school. There are forums dedicated entirely to the school and he occupies so many of the threads since they can't figure out what kind of creature he is. Bear, mouse, neither of them sound right when looking at him up close. If anything, the white coat, dark eyes and teeth make me think he's more of a stoat or ermine, which is amazing, a respected leader from one of the most recent endangered species, especially one so known for being fierce…" His thoughts continue, barely muffled by his hand over his mouth. He hardly leans up halfway before his thoughts consume him, mumbles filling the air and causing his friends to stir.
Toga is the first other one to speak, mumbling. "What's set him off now? Wait, why am I in a bed?"
"I'm not sure," Iida says, sounding both drowsy and like his normal exuberant self, which is an odd combination for the ears. "Maybe it's a side effect of teleportation?"
Izuku cuts himself off to correct Iida, but pauses, eyes wide. "…wait, are we in trouble? I just wanted to avoid the media, and I offered to let my friends join?" His statement comes off more as a question and a plea.
"I hardly think it would be prudent to punish you for attempting to come to school." Principal Nezu sips from a small teacup he had on the nurse's desk. "We had hoped to avoid such an influx of the media, but they had better ears this time than we expected. That's why we had Mr. Aizawa out to deflect questions and keep an eye out for students."
"It is truly a mark of how wonderful this school is that such a case is accounted for!" Iida nods, sitting up to look at everyone. "So all of us made it?"
Ochaco yawns and stretches as she awakens. Himiko hums and nods. "That's our little group for today."
Izuku nods, sagging slightly in relief. "Thank you, sir. Though… if we aren't in trouble, could we possibly head off to class?"
Even as his face remains pleasant, the principal holds up a hand and speaks firmly. "In a moment. First, there's the matter of you four bypassing our security system. Granted, it wasn't fully activated, but this does still present a problem."
He can feel the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. "It does?"
"We were just trying to get into school, that's not bad right?" Ochaco quickly tries to interrupt.
"Maybe it isn't the why," Iida interjects, "but how. Warping quirks are rare, are they not?"
"Quite right." Nezu nods. "And this was not a combination of quirks, just yours, yes?" He looks to Izuku.
He quietly nods, his hands fidgeting. "Yes sir. Teleport, when I was in the form of a Kirlia."
"Right, well then, Mister Midoriya if you'd come to my office after school I'd like to talk to you about your ability so that we can improve our security against such things in the future." He pauses before adding. "I assure you, you're not in trouble."
He blinks, staring at him in surprise. "You'd want my help, sir?"
"Recovery Girl asks for your help," Iida points out. "Why is this any different?"
"B-because this is the principal, by extension all of UA, that is asking for my help!" He says, heart rate increasing with his panic. "What if I let them down?"
Ochaco and Himiko both reach out a hand at the saem time, patting shoulder and side respectively as it's what they can reach.
He blushes a bit, but accepts their reassuring touches.
"It's just going to be some questions and perhaps later some time with the support program." Nezu speaks once more. "Think of it as getting an early excuse to socialize with other aspects of being heroes. It's not just the faces that make the world safe, it's those behind the scenes too. Perhaps it might be easier if more knew that..." He seems to say that last part half to himself.
He blinks. "Oh, are they the ones who helped with our costumes?"
"No, those are made by a few companies we have ties with. Our support engineers are more... specialized." he explains.
"Oh." He considers this for a moment before nodding. "Sure. Safety is important, and if I can help, I will. Though," he glances at his friends, "can they possibly come with me?"
"I don't see why not." The principal nods.
"Hey, speaking of 'us' what happened to the lady with the..." Ochaco looks as though she's trying to find the words.
"The bondage lady?" Himiko blurts out, making the other girl's face turn beet red.
Nezu doesn't seem bothered. "Miss Midnight, while responding admirably quickly to a breach, needed a bit more work in identifying the cause and correct countermeasures. I've assigned her some... homework, on the subject." Whether it's the lighting or somethign else causing a small glint in his eye is hard to tell.
"Such responsibility speaks wonders to the shining reputation of this establishment!" Iida declares, chopping Toga's arm before him without thinking about it.
"Ow, hey!" She holds her arm and pouts at him.
"My apologies!" He quickly says, bowing to her in his seated position.
As Ochaco looks confused and lines her flattened hands up to try and figure out the almost unnatural angle of Iida's bow, Nezu pulls a small pocket watch out of his vest. "Your drowsiness from Miss Midnight should wear off in a few more minutes. I'll let your teachers know to expect you shortly." The watch snaps closed. "Be sure to keep your trips to my office for good reasons like we discussed."
"Yes sir!" Izuku says, startled when he realizes that Iida said the same thing at the same time.
The girls had settled for furious nodding and softer utterances.
Nezu chuckles. "Very good. Have a good day." He turns and makes his exit.
"Hey… I thought it'd be rude to look, but did anyone see if he had a black tip on his tail?" Himiko says in the silence that follows.
With a quick response that they hadn't, the kids hurry out to class.
Thank you all for reading! I know this is a short one, but the length of the next chapter, I feel, makes up for that. Of course, I hope you all enjoy, have a much better day than I do, and have a fun Halloween later this month! Spooky!
Anyways, let me know if I missed anything! I'm doing my best to improve this story!
Enigma out!
EDIT: So somehow I forgot to post this chapter earlier. I'm so sorry.