Chapter 1: Announcements

(Izuku's POV except in scenes with heroes and parents)

I woke up with a knot in my stomach that I couldn't shake off. Something was about to go down—I just knew it. It had been a year since the "Incident," where my so-called friends and teachers turned on me because a girl wanted to be my girlfriend, and I said no. After that, I gave up One For All, passing it to Mirio Togata. I didn't want it anymore.

With a frustrated growl, I got out of bed and began my morning routine. Ever since the "Incident," I'd distanced myself from Class 1A—now Class 2A—and made real friends. I started hanging out with Class 1C, the international students from the United Republic of Animals, who were honestly just here for school credits. As I showered, I thought about today's schedule.

"We have Heroics today," I muttered, coming to an unpleasant realization. "Crap… we've got All Might."

As I carefully washed around the wolf ears that had formed on my head last night, I sighed. It all started when I was listening to a song called "Higher Than Heaven" by Powerwolf while studying with a real friend. That's when a glowing green orb appeared. My friend didn't see it until I began transforming into... well, a wolf.

I shook the memories from my head, finishing my shower. After drying off, I pulled on my uniform and looked in the mirror. A fine-looking wolf stared back, and for a second, I smiled. Then, reality set in. Today would be another long day. I grabbed my hoodie, pulled the hood over my ears, and headed out.

Walking through the halls of U.A., I braced myself for the chaos that was Class 2A. Sure enough, when I opened the door, Tenya Iida was already yelling for everyone to get to their seats and be quiet.

'And yet, you're being just as loud as the rest,' I thought with a smirk. But before I could sit down, the last person I wanted to deal with approached me.

"What happened to your face, Deku-kun?" Ochaco Uraraka asked. Her eyes searched my face with concern—maybe something more, once upon a time. But that ship had long sailed.

Feigning confusion, I asked, "What do you mean?"

"You look like a…" Uraraka began, but thankfully, Aizawa-sensei called for everyone to sit and took roll.

After roll call, Aizawa told us to head to the auditorium for an announcement. As we walked, I heard the heavy boots of Class 2B and 2C students behind us. My mood lifted when I saw her—Dakota Dalmatian. She was an anthro Dalmatian from Class 2C and my significant other. After everything that happened, she and her class were the ones who stood by me. Dakota was the one who took my first kiss, and she was there last night when I transformed into a wolf. I loved her.

She caught sight of me and instantly turned beet-red, looking away in embarrassment. I smiled and walked up to her, pulling her into a side hug.

"Hey, love," I said quietly.

"H-Hey, Izu," she stuttered, her face still flushed.

"Do you know why we're headed to the auditorium?" I asked, hoping she had some clue.

She shook her head. "Nope. Present Mic-sensei just said to meet there. No details." She began muttering in a way that reminded me of my old nervous habit, and I followed her rapid train of thought until the last person I wanted to hear interrupted.

"SHUT UP, YOU USELESS MUTT!" Katsuki Bakugou's voice echoed down the hall.

Dakota flinched at his outburst, and my wolf ears twitched in irritation. My hood fell back as I whipped around, glaring daggers at him.

"Wanna try that again, Bakugou?" I asked coldly, my hand instinctively resting on the sidearm Dakota had given me when we started dating.

"YOU WANNA GO, DEKU?!" Bakugou roared, his usual rage on full display.

Before things escalated, Vlad King, Class 2B's homeroom teacher, stepped in to break it up. "That's enough, both of you."

As we resumed walking, I caught the shocked stares from my former classmates, probably because of my new appearance. I didn't care.

When we reached the auditorium, Dakota sat on my right, and Kion Pride, an anthro lion and my best friend, sat on my left.

"Hey, bro," Kion greeted.

"What's up," I replied as the lights dimmed, and Principal Nezu appeared on stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. Today, I'm thrilled to announce the return of a classic U.A. tradition—the Hero vs. Villain War Game!" Nezu's grin was as wide as ever.

The room buzzed with excitement, especially among Class 2C. My foot tapped in anticipation. What's Nezu planning?

"To select team leaders," Nezu continued, "we'll use a randomized wheel." A giant screen descended, showing a wheel with all the students' names.

"Let's start with the Hero team!" Nezu exclaimed as the wheel spun. It landed on Katsuki Bakugou.

"HA! I'M THE HERO LEADER, YOU SHITTY EXTRAS!" Bakugou shouted obnoxiously from the back.

"And now, for the Villain team…" The wheel spun again, and my heart sank when it landed on my name: Izuku Midoriya.

I clenched the armrest of my seat, hearing the creak of wood beneath my fingers. Dakota's hand rested on mine, offering silent support. Class 2A and 2B looked at me with pity, and I hated it. Bakugou's voice echoed again.

"HA! THE TRAITOR OF U.A. GETS TO BE THE VILLAIN! HOW FITTING!"

I shot him a blank stare, then turned my attention back to Nezu, who was grinning. He planned this for drama, I thought bitterly.

"The team leaders, please come to the stage," Nezu called.

As Bakugou and I made our way down, Nezu explained that classes for the day would be suspended and outlined the game rules. We were then given two books, one labeled "Hero" and the other "Villain," containing the details of the War Game.

After 30 minutes of reading through the 500-page book, Bakugou was called up to Nezu's office. When it was finally my turn, I entered to find Aizawa, Vlad King, and Nezu waiting.

Nezu offered me a cup of tea. "Any questions, Mr. Midoriya?" he asked.

"To what extent can we harm the heroes?" I asked bluntly.

"Nothing permanent," Nezu replied with a casual sip of tea.

"Can our parents come to watch?"

Nezu nodded. "I'll see what I can do, but yes."

"And can we use students from other courses to help?"

"Of course! The whole point is teamwork," Nezu answered with a grin.

I smirked. "Expect one hell of a game."

Leaving Nezu's office, I headed back to Class 2C's dorms. Inside, I found chaos: Vitani Willson, an anthro lion, was trying to pull Jasiri Fisi, an anthro hyena, off her sister Madoa, while they argued about pictures for the end-of-year catalog.

"Am I interrupting something?" I asked.

"Madoa tried to take a group photo, but Switch crashed into Jasiri's face just as the camera went off," Vitani explained, snickering.

After chatting a bit, I realized I had a date with Dakota tonight. I hurried to my dorm room to get ready.

My room was nothing like my old one. Gone were the All Might posters. Instead, models of jet fighters and posters of the United Republic of Animals Navy Fire Hawks adorned the walls. I changed into a white T-shirt, jeans, and shoes borrowed from Jason Hollway, an anthro wolf I got along with.

Soon, Dakota knocked on my door, looking adorable in an oversized red hoodie and jean shorts.

"Hey, Izu," she greeted, waving shyly.

"You look beautiful," I complimented, blushing a bit.

"You're not too bad yourself, handsome," she said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

We spent the evening together, grabbing ice cream, then heading to a high-end restaurant before catching Deadpool Wolverine at the cinema. By the time we returned to U.A., it was 9:30 PM. We ended the night in Dakota's room, falling asleep in each other's arms.

Little did we know, someone was watching us.