"Congratulations to all of you on passing your final exams," Aizawa said to the class. "Some of you might have expected this, but me saying that those who failed would not get to go to training camp was another logical ruse."
"HA! I KNEW IT!" Hilda laughed, nobody else in the class bothered to scold her since they also expected that.
Aizawa ignored that comment as he continued. "Not only did no one bomb the written exam, but you all passed the practical exam with flying colors. Honestly, I was expecting at least some of you to need to take the escape option. The fact that each of you successfully captured your teachers when the opportunity presented itself is an excellent display of both your decision-making skills and how far you've come in terms of controlling your Quirks."
"Still, I feel like the teachers still had to go a little easy on us. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for us to pass." Ben noted.
"We did have to hold back a little, otherwise it would have been impossible to pass, as Ben said." Aizawa nodded before continuing. "Now regarding the training camp, the point is naturally to improve your Quirks and combat capabilities. Expect this to be your toughest bout yet. Additionally, it will be a joint training with Class 1-B."
"Awesome! We'll have Shinso, Mipha, and the others!" Hilda cheered.
"The training camp will be held at the end of the month, just as summer vacation ends. You'll be staying a full week, so pack accordingly." Aizawa said. "You'll have a bit of a break before then. The I-Expo is coming soon, and each of you has been offered tickets. Some will even get the chance to see the preview. You'll be notified of whether that was the case."
"Sensational! The I-Expo!" Penny excitedly exclaimed. "My father provides support to the scientists there from time to time!"
"Guess I'll have to buy a bigger suitcase..." Izuku muttered.
"Oh boy, I can hardly wait!" Kirby chirped before a lightbulb went off in her head. "Hey, guys! Why don't we all go shopping together!?"
"Sounds like a great idea. We've never really hung out as a class." Tsuyu noted.
While at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall, there were a few surprises. The first of which was Tenya running into Mei and Fio.
"Ah! Iida! I can't believe I ran into you!" Mei said as she zoomed over, getting straight up in the boy's face. "I've been hoping to call you, but I never got the chance to ask for your number or even talk to you!"
"W-Why the sudden interest?"
Fio giggled as she waddled over. "Come on, a girl doesn't just kiss a guy without meaning it."
"Well, I should hope not..."
"Hey, Fio!" Hilda said as she came over. "Long time, no see! Are you and Hatsume still the terrors of the Support Class?"
"More or less!" Fio smiled. "Wanna go get something to eat? Preferably at that all-you-can-eat sushi joint?"
"You're on, big girl!"
As the two large lovely ladies waddled off to eat, Izuku was left to his own devices. Penny and Ben had gone to a cafe, Momo was getting drinks with Shoto, Katsuki ended up signing some autographs, Ochako went to get pest spray, and Kirby had joined Tooru and Kouji to go to a cute little plushie store.
So, the straw-hatted boy decided to just wander around. However, his Haki flared to life when he sensed a familiar dangerous presence behind him and turned around to see a guy in a black hoodie with his hands in his pockets.
"Hey, you're Izuku Midoriya, right? The 2nd place winner of the Sports Festival? Gotta say I'm a huge fan."
Izuku recognized that cold raspy voice anywhere, his eyes narrowing as the man lifted up his head to show his pale skin and chapped, scarred lips.
"Shigaraki...What brings you here?"
"...You're sharp."
"Yeah, and I'm sure you're not here to kill me, at least not anymore now that I know you're here."
"Actually..." Tomura smirked. "I was wondering if we could just talk."
The next thing Izuku knew, he was sitting in an American-style diner in the food court area.
"How can I help you?" The waitress asked, looking a bit nervous at Tomura's menacing posture.
"Don't mind the face too much, lady," Tomura said. "Just a skin condition, is all."
"O-Oh, I apologize sir. What would you like to order?"
"I'll take a strawberry milkshake." Izuku said, "And a bacon double cheeseburger."
"I'll have a cola." Tomura said, "And a turkey sandwich."
As the waitress left, Izuku and Tomura continued to stare at each other in silence before the former broke the ice.
"So...I guess you left all those creepy hands at home?"
"They're what's left of my family. Let's just say when you get a new Quirk as a little kid...accidents can happen." Tomura said before looking at his new metallic-clawed hands. "Thankfully, I don't have to worry about that old Quirk anymore. I got a little upgrade from Sensei."
"I guess you have me to thank for that as well, huh?"
Tomura chuckled. "More or less. After my little 'accident', I was left on the streets, nobody even bothering to help me since everyone expected some hero or other to do it for them. Society, right?"
"Yeah..." Izuku frowned. It was true that Hero Society was not without its many flaws.
"At the time I thought it horrendous, but I guess that's just my experience coloring my perception." Tomura shrugged. "Anyway, I didn't just come here to shoot the breeze with you, there were some other factors as well."
"Like what?"
"Like deciding to give you a sneak peek at the new League of Villains I'm building up," Tomura said, grinning. "I've got quite a few heavy hitters, some who felt cheated by society just like I was, and some who are just here because they have nowhere else to go."
"I can understand why they'd join your party." Izuku said. "But what about you? What's your goal as a Villain?"
Tomura paused for a moment before answering. "Sensei set me up to destroy everything I hated about this rotten society and build a better one in its place. A part of me still wishes to follow that goal, I mean take a look at all the people around us; I'm willing to bet you view their carefree, blissful faces differently than I do. That's why you're a hero, and I'm a villain. Because I can't see the peace around us without getting pissed off."
"I can understand you're angry." Izuku said. "But if you really want to be a Villain, you need to have some kind of goal that isn't just mindless destruction."
"Heh, the Dark Knights have been telling me how to properly channel the way of a Villain into Chaos." Tomura chuckled. "You know, I think Laughs actually told me something; some men aren't looking for anything logical like money, they can't be bought, bullied, or reasoned with. Some men...just want to watch the world BURN."
"And is that what you want? To set the world on fire?"
"I fully expect you and all the Heroes you love so much to put out the fires I make," Tomura said. "But even I know that just mindlessly destroying things won't bring long-term satisfaction. Take Bioshock for instance; Yeah, you get more ADAM harvesting the Little Sisters, but you still can't buy everything in the Gatherer's Garden. But for every Little Sister you save, they offer you a supply of ADAM later down the line, and a new Plasmid. It ultimately results in a much larger net gain by the end of the game."
"You sure enjoy your video game metaphors," Izuku noted. "Do you also go for the Paragon route in Mass Effect?"
"Sure, it helps bring more Galactic Readiness points in the third game," Tomura said before thinking about something. "You know, Midoriya, this talk has helped me realize something. Anyway, I should get going in case the police notice me and I might cause a bit of a mess."
Tomura stood up and made his point by turning his Gun Arm into a high-caliber machine gun. The frightened waitress came over with his and Izuku's orders as he smiled and took the food.
"I'll be taking this to go. And Midoriya...let me pay for everything."
Tomura fished into his pocket with his Blade Arm and tossed out a large wad of money before walking off with his order in hand. Izuku watched as his enemy left the diner before turning to the waitress apologetically.
"I'll take mine to go too, please."
Naturally, Izuku had to report Tomura's appearance to the police. He was speaking with Detective Tsukauchi, who was investigating the League.
"So what sort of epiphany do you think he came to? What sort of goal did he find?"
"I'm not sure, but I think he's decided that killing All-Might is no longer a concrete endgame for him," Izuku admitted.
"That would certainly be a relief. While it does mean his new goal would be more ambitious, and likely dangerous, at least he's not focusing his sights on so narrow a target." Detective Tsukacuchi said.
Toshinori soon came in, along with Hilda, who immediately rushed over and hugged her boyfriend close.
"IZUKU! YOU'RE SAFE!" The big girl cried as she peppered Izuku's face with smooches.
"Young Midoriya! I heard about what happened and came as fast as I could." Toshinori said. "I hope you're not hurt."
"Don't worry, All-Might, I'm fine," Izuku said reassuringly as Hilda let him go. "I think I've got a better look at Shigaraki's thought process. He doesn't want to kill you anymore...but well, he certainly has something bigger and more chaotic in mind."
"Whatever it may be, I know that you and your friends will be ready for it." Toshinori assured. "In lighter news, I got contacted by an old friend from America recently. I'll be heading to the I-Expo next week, and I was hoping you and Young Yasakani would like to come as my guests."
"Awesome!" Hilda beamed. "We'd love to go!"
Izuku nodded. "I'll probably have to ask my mom, but I doubt she'll have any problems."
"Things are proceeding well. The League of Villains' roster continues to grow." Dr. Ujiko noted.
"That's good, but the fact that my siblings are dictating so much of that roster is disconcerting." All For One noted. "I must find a way to bring Tomura back under my wing... Or I won't have anyone to replace me."
Suddenly, a light blue portal opened up, and out stepped a towering figure; THANOSEID.
"Father, what brings you here?"
"I wanted to give you an early birthday present, to show that I still see you as a son, despite your egocentric and rebellious nature," Thanoseid said. "Murder Machine has alerted me of a group of arms dealers who are traveling to I-Island. And if the information is accurate... They'll be arriving at the same time as All-Might.'
All For One grinned. "Is that so? I don't suppose you can direct their boss to me? I might be able to offer him something special for the occasion..."
In the next chapter, we begin the I-Island Arc! Hope you look forward to how the story of Two Heroes goes down!