Chapter Summary: Toshinori and Izuku face off against the U.S.J. and its intruders.

It was times like the present that reminded Toshinori of just how old he was. Despite bracing himself for the inevitable landing, his joints still creaked and ached when he stood up. With heaving breaths, he straightened his posture to the best of his ability and spared a look at his surroundings, only for him to nearly slip on the dirt. He grabbed onto a half-buried beam for purchase, ignoring the strain in his fingers to keep himself from falling again.

'Where am I?' he thought, squinting through a wince. Toshinori slowly pulled himself up, but didn't loosen his grip. 'Am I in another section of the USJ?'

His mind ran through the examples of simulations Thirteen offered up during her presentation, from wrecks to natural disasters. Toshinori's eyes widened upon spotting the corner of what looked to be a large building, as well as the underside to an upturned car buried front-first, then gripped the beam with realization. To confirm his suspicion, he slid his foot across the earth and nearly slipped again.

'I'm in the landslide zone,' Toshinori mused. Although it wasn't how he would've liked to see it, he had to admit, he was quite impressed with the construction of the zone. It was definitely realistic, if a bit too much. His feet threatened to slip again and he clung to the beam until his knuckles turned white.

"Hey, you!" barked an unknown voice. Toshinori turned in time to see a mutant man with the muzzle of a dog standing a few yards from him. His eyes widened when he saw the villain raise his long, sharp claws and bare his fangs in a snarl "You're doggy chow , old man!"

The villain charged towards him and Toshinori, much to the detriment of his pride, froze. His eyes darted left and right for any sign of an escape and to his disdain, he saw the silhouettes of villains in the distance. He couldn't risk transforming in front of them, not when there was a possibility one of them could sneak away from him and relay the information to their ringleader. If the supposed "League of Villains" truly was there to try to defeat him as All Might, then the last thing he needed to do was give them just that.

So, Toshinori did what he always hated to do the most: he ran.

However, the con to that plan was that he wasn't nearly as fast as All Might and therefore, he wasn't making a lot of headway on the slippery dirt. His dress shoes barely granted him any traction and before he knew it, he found himself spiraling onto the ground in a heap. Pain jolted up his limbs and Toshinori found himself spitting up a mix of iron and saliva from before he was warped. He flipped himself onto his back in order to face the coming villain and he grit his teeth with frustration as he drew closer.

"Ain't nowhere for you to run , old man!" taunted the dog man as he towered over Toshinori's form.

Toshinori's legs kicked out before he could think, striking the villain in both of his knees. He knew from experience just how painful a knee injury could be (he dislocated his right one a couple of months after his injury and it still ached from time to time), and he had no doubt that a strike to both would be crippling, if only temporarily. The villain let out a shout of pain and collapsed forward onto his damaged knees, sending his voice to new volumes. Toshinori felt no sense of mercy, however, and delivered another kick to his face, knocking his head backward.

"Bad dog," Toshinori rebuked. He landed one final kick into the villain's chest and sent him falling onto his back. "Someone ought to send you back to training school."

Despite the fire in his destroyed lungs, Toshinori forced himself to stand up, ignoring the way his legs shook briefly. He regarded the forms of the other villains in the distance with a grimace and straightened his posture as they turned towards him, their eyes hungry like a predator watching its prey. Terror threatened to creep its way into Toshinori's heart, but he shoved it down, not wanting it to get the better of him during such a high-tension situation.

'I have to get to the kids,' Toshinori thought, watching the villains as some made their way right towards him, 'I need to know where they all are so I can get them out of here.'

"What's the matter, old man?" jeered a masked villain. He was dressed in what appeared to be an umpire uniform with a skull across his chest padding and wore cleats to complete the ensemble. He slung a bat across his shoulders and rested his forearms on top of it. "C'mon, now. Take a swing. I dare ya."

"You just gonna stand there looking pretty?" taunted another from the corner of Toshinori's eye. He was a mutant bird, though Toshinori couldn't identify what breed he resembled. His feathers were jet black, almost like Tokoyami, but his beak was far longer and thinner, resembling the shape of a woodpecker. "What was U.A. thinking when they hired some sack of bones like you?"

Toshinori clenched his fists. "What are you all hoping to gain from this? Did you all really come down here with the foolish idea to take down All Might of all people?" He grimaced. "Are you that confident or just plain stupid? "

The bird let out a squawky laugh. "Oh, you'll learn soon enough , old man… we're just working up to the main event."

"Yeah," the umpire added, "but in the meantime, we're more than happy to get rid of these brats ."

A growl rumbled in Toshinori's throat. "You'd really kill children just to suit your own agenda?"

"We're villains ," the bird stated plainly, "what did you expect? "

One For All simmered deep within Toshinori, aching to burn its way through his limbs. However, he held his own, not wanting to give them an inkling of the storm that dwelled deep within him. He had to keep a level head, not just for his sake, but for everyone else's.

"What makes you so sure you can do it?" Toshinori questioned, hoping to buy time. "Did you get a hold of everyone's files in order to get a handle on their weaknesses? Is that it?"

The umpire scoffed. " Pfft , we don't need all that. It's like you said; they're kids . How hard can it be? "

"And you're just an old man," the bird jabbed, "what kinda power do you have for U.A. to want to get their hands on you?" He snickered. "Seems to me like you're some nobody ."

Hearing that nearly made Toshinori blink. In his file at U.A., he was listed as Quirkless under Toshinori Yagi; if they had checked, they would have known that. But since they didn't know, then that meant…

'They don't know what everyone's powers are,' he concluded to himself, 'which means that…' His heart lightened as it dared to hope. 'The kids might be able to use that to their advantage.'

"That so?" he drawled. Toshinori forced himself to relax and let out a chuckle of his own. "So you haven't done your homework, have you? That's not very smart of you."

The umpire's eyes narrowed through his mask. "Whatcha tryin' to say? That we can't handle some kids? "

Toshinori managed a smile. "You forget that these are kids who managed to make it into one of the most prestigious hero schools in all of Japan. They're not just run-of-the-mill neighborhood kids with flashy Quirks." He crossed his arms over his chest. "These are kids who have spent their entire lives training and bettering their power in order to make it to this point. Two of our students here even made it on recommendations." Todoroki and Yaoyarozu's faces popped into his mind and his grin only grew. "One of them has a hybrid Quirk."

"You're bluffing," the bird snapped, "hybrid Quirks are rare . What're the odds that one of them wound up at U.A.?"

All Toshinori did was tilt his head. "I don't know… Perhaps you'd know, though, if you all had checked ."

" Enough of this!" the umpire shouted. He brandished his bat and held it up. "Since you're so cocky, then step up to the plate, old man!"

Just as he was about to charge forward, however, a loud crack! broke through the air. Toshinori blinked as the umpire screamed and dropped his bat, his hands going to favor his knee. His eyes only widened when he saw the unnatural angle that it bent and he forced himself to look away as his insides churned.

"My leg!" the umpire shrieked. He looked up to face Toshinori venomously. "What did you do to me, you bas—"

Then, in a flash, the umpire's head snapped upwards, sending his mask flying off of his face. He let out another bloodcurdling scream before he was cut off by a vicious thud! His cheek suddenly caved in from an unknown force and he dropped to the ground in a hollering heap. He held onto his knee for dear life while tears gathered in his eyes, leaving Toshinori and the villain's associate staring in bewilderment.

"What did you do to him?" the bird breathed out.

Toshinori swallowed, still trying to process what he saw. "I-I—"

"Bastard!" the bird screeched as he charged towards Toshinori. His beak elongated and a horrifying set of sharp teeth popped out from inside of it, an unspeakable rage burning in his eyes. "I'll kill you for that!"

Forcing himself out of his shock, Toshinori grabbed a hold of the bird's beak and forced it close with both hands. The bird tried to wrench itself free, but Toshinori held firm, allowing just a flicker of One For All to warm up his hands. The bird's eyes widened and he stared at Toshinori with terror before Toshinori grit his teeth and tossed the bird away from him. He didn't go flying across the clearing, but he landed well enough away from Toshinori to feel comfortable making an escape. Then, something grabbed a hold of his arm and he jolted.

"Let go of me—" he began to demand before a sharp tug nearly sent him falling over. Upon turning to face his assailant, however, he was met with empty air. "What the—"

"Shh!" hissed out a quiet voice, further surprising him. "We have to move before more of them see us!"

Toshinori's eyes nearly bugged out of his skull. "Young Hagakure?"

"I said to shh! " Hagakure stressed. "We have to hurry and get out of here!"

The memory of the umpire's sudden injuries suddenly flashed across his mind and it all clicked into place. 'So she was the one who took him down.'

Despite his shock, relief washed over Toshinori. He was glad to see that at least one of his students was still alright, if only because she had to result to fighting. Righting his stance, he picked up the pace and allowed for her to guide him through the wreckage of the landslide zone, trusting her to pull them to somewhere less unsafe.

'She handled that very effectively,' he mused, smiling a bit, 'it seems she took what she learned during yesterday's exercise to heart.' His smile wilted. 'Such a shame she had to apply it in such a situation.'

"Over here," Hagakure whispered, breaking him out of his thoughts. She pulled him over to a semi-buried building and tugged on his sleeve to make him duck down. "I tossed my shoes and gloves somewhere over here so I could sneak around."

As soon as Hagakure released his arm, Toshinori let out a breath. "Thank you… for helping. I appreciate it, young Hagakure."

"No problem," Hagakure told him. Handprints appeared in the dirt as she palmed around for her things in the rubble. "I was on my way to try to find one of the teachers before I saw you dealing with those two. It looked like you were stuck, so I decided to get the jump on one of them so you could handle the other one." She produced one of her gloves and it suddenly shook, causing the dirt to fall from it. "It's a good thing Todoroki already managed to stop some of them when he warped here, too."

" Young Todoroki is here, too?" Toshinori questioned. His brows furrowed. "Is he alright?"

Hagakure giggled as she followed suit with the other glove. "Yeah, he's fine! He froze a bunch of villains in place the moment he landed here." The dirt shifted as she fished out her shoes. "He already ran off before I could catch up with him, though. I don't know where he is now."

Toshinori breathed out a sigh of relief. "I'm thankful he's safe… I suppose it's a good thing none of the villains knew what to expect from any of us."

"Yeah," Hagakure replied, "I thought it was weird that they sent me here. If they wanted to make sure I couldn't hide, they'd have sent me to the downpour zone." She knocked the dirt off her soles. "If they went through the trouble of planning all of this, then why didn't they check to see what our Quirks were?"

"It might have been a time constraint," Toshinori guessed, "they were only given a short window of time when the campus was infiltrated. They must have only grabbed the teacher's schedule and nothing else."

Hagakure fiddled with her shoelaces. "I guess they were less focused on us and more focused on trying to hurt All Might…" Toshinori could only guess how she must have looked, her expression a mystery to him. "They said they had a way to kill him."

Toshinori furrowed his brows and frowned. "I know you're probably worried, young Hagakure, but I assure you, whatever plans these villains have are probably not going to achieve that." His eyes flickered over to where he and Hagakure had run away from. "These villains… They're unorganized and sloppy. Their only strength is their numbers."

Then, Aizawa and Thirteen's faces popped into his mind and his grimace threatened to deepen. While he had faith in both of his associates to hold their own, he knew that it wouldn't last. Everyone's Quirks had their limits and it would be only a matter of time before both of them fell subject to exhaustion and fatigue. In conjunction with the potential of gaining injuries, time was limited, not just for his colleagues, but for everyone in the U.S.J.

"Sensei," Hagakure said quietly, "when Todoroki was handling the villains… I-I overheard them talking…" The ground beneath her shifted as she adjusted herself. "Todoroki asked them how they planned to kill All Might and…"

"And what?" Toshinori asked. When Hagakure didn't answer immediately, his jaw tightened. "Young Hagakure, what did they say? "

Hagakure let out a breath. "That… thing that was with them… I thought it was just someone with a mutation, but… They said it was literally made to kill All Might."

"'Made'?" Toshinori repeated. His eyes widened. "Are you saying that they created that thing?"

"The villain said he didn't know the why or the how," Hagakure told him, "just that they somehow made it to be able to withstand All Might's abilities." Toshinori wondered just how scared she must have looked by the way her fear crept into her voice. "I don't know if it's true or not, but… if it is, then what does that mean for all of us?"

Toshinori wished he had an answer. He wished that he could reassure her and tell her that everyone would be alright, that All Might would be able to handle whatever the supposed League of Villains had in store for him, that everything would be fine . However, he had already faced off against death before and not all of him was able to crawl its way back to the land of the living. If the League truly did make that thing to kill him without even knowing about his injury…

'No,' he told himself, disparaging the very thought, 'I won't allow it.' He clenched his fist as the faces of his colleagues and students flashed across his mind. 'This isn't where I die today.'

"The Symbol of Peace isn't going to fall prey to the delusions of grandeur the League has for his downfall," Toshinori answered definitively. His jaw tightened. "And we aren't going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Right now, we need to focus on getting out of here and making sure that the police and the teachers at U.A. are notified of what's going on here."

"How?" Hagakure questioned. "That mist guy is still hanging upfront."

Toshinori managed a smile. "I'm sure that Thirteen has already taken care in handling him. For all we know, she might have gotten some of the students out to get help while we speak." His smile faltered a bit. "But we should check to make sure that Aizawa is doing alright, as well. I'm sure he could use some backup."

Hagakure let out a hum of thought. "If I recall correctly, the landslide zone was on the east of the central plaza… We should be able to get there quickly if we avoid the other villains." She picked up her gloves and shoes, holding them up for Toshinori. "Can you hold these for me? I can't sneak around with them on."

"Of course," Toshinori replied, taking them from her, "I'll take care of them until we're in the clear."

"Thanks!" she told him. Judging from the way the dirt moved, he assumed she stood up. "C'mon. If we find the exit, we can make it to the central plaza in no time!"

Toshinori nodded, his smile growing. "That's the spirit, young Hagakure."

As the two of them made their way out of their hiding spot, however, Toshinori couldn't help but think back to what Hagakure told him. Had the League truly made a weapon solely for the purpose of killing him? How long had their plans been in the works? What was motivating them to lead such an attack, not only on U.A. but on what U.A. represented as a whole?

'One thing is for certain,' Toshinori thought as he followed the faint imprints of Hagakure's feet. He clutched his shirt, which hid his suit beneath it from view. 'Once I get the chance, I am going to make sure they know what a mistake it was to come here.'

Toru was used to walking around barefoot. She kind of had to be, considering how wearing shoes made her Quirk a bit ineffective. However, just because she was used to it didn't necessarily mean that it was a pleasant experience, and that was especially apparent as she tried to walk through the landslide zone. She resisted the urge to wince when she stepped on a rock and ignored the brief stab of pain that followed, forcing herself to keep moving alongside her teacher.

"You have to stay quiet," she could hear her grandfather's voice echo in her head, "no matter what you feel, you hold it inside to avoid being seen."

It was a simple rule that Toru was taught since her first day of training. The first day that she expressed interest in learning the art of ninjutsu under her grandfather's instruction, he made it clear to her that it wasn't as glamorous or exciting as some made it out to be. Training was not as quick or exciting as the montages that movies and TV shows would sell to children her age; it was long, arduous, and sometimes downright painful. Hagakure learned this during preliminary tests by walking through sand and gravel, leaving her with aching feet and burning soles.

"Leaving no trace on sand or gravel is extremely difficult," she was told, as her grandfather helped her clean up her dirty feet, "if you can power through that, then you can power through anything, Toru."

The pain didn't ever truly go away. It just became something she could manage, something she could compartmentalize away. Pain was a small price to pay in order to blend in with her surroundings and become an invisible fixture in a room while everyone was blind to her presence. Many people liked to say that they wished that walls could talk, but Toru had the special gift of becoming that wall and sharing the secrets the others wouldn't ever be able to tell. Such a shame she couldn't at least wear some comfortable shoes to make that a bit easier on her tired feet.

Toru's eyes trailed over to Sensei Yagi, who was hunched down in an attempt to make himself seem smaller. Even slouching, he was still so much taller than her and her classmates, his thin, bony frame leaving him looking like a combination of angles. The way his eyes searched their surroundings and he paused to listen for sounds alluded to experience in stealth, but not in a manner that made her believe it was his default. This was not a chameleon hoping to blend into its environment, but rather, a lion who was used to hiding in the tall grass left with nowhere to hide. She wondered briefly just how long it had been since he had been forced to go on the prowl like this.

'What exactly are we going to do when we get to the central plaza?' she thought as she walked with him. The two of them ducked down behind an amalgamation of support beams and paused, their eyes searching for any movement. When there was none, they continued moving forward. 'Are we just playing it by ear?'

Getting to the plaza was only half the battle, she knew. Once they got there, they were sure to be met with opposition from the League and would likely have to fight to get through the crowd, let alone to the rest of the class. The panicked part of Toru briefly wondered if the rest of the class would make its escape without her, but she quickly squashed it down with the swift reminder that she wasn't alone; he wouldn't let her be forgotten.

"Hagakure," Sensei Yagi said softly, breaking her out of her thoughts, "I was wondering… what exactly can you do?" He held onto the support beam to steady himself. "During yesterday's exercise, we didn't really get a chance to see what your Quirk was capable of. Is there anything you think might be useful to us?"

Toru was thankful he couldn't see her fight against a frown. "This… is really all I can do. My Quirk is my invisibility."

Her teacher let out a small hum of thought. "Hm. Well, I imagine you've had to train your combat skills, then. You've proven to be very stealthy." He tilted his head curiously. "Where did you learn to sneak around like that?"

"My family," she answered simply, paying mind to her step, "my grandfather, mostly. He has a lot of experience in stealth." She paused when she thought she heard a sound, but when nothing else came, she moved forward. "He runs a dojo that teaches ninjutsu."

"I see," Yagi replied, "he was your teacher, then?"

Toru nodded, then stopped when she remembered he couldn't see her. "Yes. He taught me everything I know, just like he taught my father." She fiddled with her hands. "But my dad had to put his focus away from the art when he met my mom and they had me. I'm the one keeping up the tradition now."

"That's good," Yagi told her, "keeping with a family tradition can be a good way to pass down knowledge throughout the generations." He smiled at her. "Your grandfather must be very proud."

A twinge of pain hit Toru in the heart at the mention of that. When her grandfather heard she was trying out for U.A., he had been perplexed, to say the least. That confusion soon turned into anger when he learned that she wanted to become a hero , of all things.

"You've spent years learning how to blend in," he snapped, "and you want to enter a world where everyone's eyes will be on you?"

She tried to explain herself. She tried to explain that it wasn't about being seen, it was about helping people, but he wouldn't hear it. He scorned her, telling her she was a silly girl for wanting public attention and refused to hear her any longer. In the time since then, he had barely said a word to Toru, ignoring her parents' pleas to at least hear her out. Still, as much as it pained her to do so, Toru didn't falter in following through and wound up with an entry into the top hero school of Japan. She came into class with a cheerful disposition, ready to make a mark, ready to ensure that her classmates saw what she had spent years training to do.

Then, to her painful realization, she wound up in the lower rungs of the Quirk Assessment test. She came third from last in comparison to the rest of her peers and only beat out Midoriya because he broke his finger during the ball throw, which hindered his performance. Toru told herself she would make up for it, that she would do better next time, and she saw her opportunity come with the battle exercise. It was robbed from her blind, however, stolen right when the match had barely begun.

U.A. was supposed to be different for her. U.A. was supposed to be better for her.

"Hagakure?" Yagi questioned, and it was then that Toru realized she stopped moving. His piercing blue eyes were soft with worry. "Is everything alright?"

It was so strange how someone expressing genuine concern could be so painful for her. She was so used to people not paying her any mind or dismissing her presence entirely that she didn't know what to do when someone actually asked her how she was doing. Toru compartmentalized it all, tucked it all away to be dealt with and managed later on, where there was no risk of anyone overhearing. But there was nowhere for her to go right now; she was stuck.

"Uh, sorry," she said, keeping her voice level. A perk to being invisible was that no one ever saw it when she wasn't smiling. "Just realized I forgot to do something before I left home earlier. You know, like when you remember you forgot to water your plant before you leave and you don't remember until hours later, when you're far away?"

Yagi's lips pursed slightly. "Are you sure?"

Toru was used to not being seen. She kind of had to be, because of her invisibility. It was a burden she was forced to shoulder since birth and it was one she knew she would live the rest of her life having to fight against. Ever since she was a young girl, she had endured being ignored as if it were part of breathing. When she was too little to know better, she once hid out during recess and spent the entire hour giggling when no one found her, only for her happiness to slowly ebb away when that hour turned into multiple with no one searching. It wasn't until Toru came knocking at the door that a staff member let her in and she was escorted back to the classroom, where her teacher was startled to see she hadn't been in class the entire time.

Suddenly, the fact that Toru's classmates were always startled when she walked up to them became less of a laughing matter and more of a reminder of just how forgettable she was to them. Once on a field trip, she had been forgotten because her teacher forgot she went to the bathroom and didn't check for her before the bus left. Toru was a crying mess in the waiting area and tried to find someone to help, but the museum was already so crowded, it left her voice drowned out. It wasn't until a woman with a heat signature Quirk spotted her that she was assisted by the museum staff and later returned to the school, where she was scolded for staying back, as if it were her choice.

She was always responsible for making herself be heard. For years, she has had to battle teachers who accused her of being truant and marked her with multiple absences even though she rarely missed school. One year, just to make a point, she wore a bell on her wrist and would raise it high above her head and shake it to get her teacher's attention so he couldn't argue she was absent during roll call. Still, very rarely was she seen by her peers, and even less was she truly heard. Even her best attempts to be disruptive were regarded with the same indifference one would show to a harmless pest outside their home.

It felt so strange to have someone ask her how she was feeling after so many years of being ignored.

"Well," she began, silently thankful Yagi couldn't see her wring her hands, "I… guess I was just wondering something…"

Yagi furrowed his brows. "What is it?"

"I… know it's only been a couple days of class, but…" she went on, "but… do you think my Quirk is good for being a hero?"

He blinked. "What? What makes you say that?"

Toru's hands anxiously picked at each other. "I… I was just thinking… I didn't do well during the Quirk Assessment test and… I barely did a thing during yesterday's exercise." She thought back to how Todoroki incapacitated all those villains like it was nothing while she stood by and hid. "I'm not strong like Todoroki… My only real advantage is sneaking around."

"You just got dealt a bad hand," Yagi told her, "win or lose, you can always take something from an exercise like that." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Besides, stealth is a strong advantage. Not all Pros are capable of it, you know."

"But it's not powerful ," Toru replied. She clenched her fists. "I know how to fight, but I'm not invincible. I mean, yesterday, Todoroki incapacitated me like it was nothing ." She nearly shivered at the recollection of how the cold surged up her exposed legs and left her helpless. "I guess I'm just worried I won't be very helpful."

She thought back to how Aizawa grabbed Midoriya during the Quirk Assessment test and rebuked him in front of the class. When he questioned Midoriya on how he planned on passing, Toru felt like he was also speaking to her , in a way.

"With a power like yours, you'd only be a liability," his voice echoed in her head, "you'd only slow everyone down."

Although she wasn't as noticeable as some of her fellow mutants, she knew that her mutation alone was enough to make her a hard sell in the hero world. That was how it always was for mutants, regardless of their profession or career. So, she acted right, she was a good kid, she had to be a good kid, otherwise, people wouldn't think of her when it really counted. But in the hero world, everyone was so spectacular and she was so… Not. If she were in a life or death situation, would anyone care to remember her or even look for her? Would she be worth the effort?

"Hagakure," Yagi asserted, causing her to look up, "I think you're being too hard on yourself. You're not measuring yourself up fairly."

Toru blinked. "Huh?"

Yagi smiled at her. "There's no one way to be a hero, young lady. There are plenty of ways for people to shine in their own way and still make a difference. Just because you can't battle like some of your peers doesn't mean that you're without merit." He tilted his head curiously. "I have to ask… why do you want to become a hero?"

"To help people," she replied instantaneously. That was why anyone became a hero, wasn't it? Their world could be so big and scary, but heroes made it less so. Anytime she saw their smiling faces on the news and their fists raised to the sky in victory, it reminded her that should things go wrong, there will always be people fighting for what's right. She knew what it was like to be ignored when in need and never wanted anyone to feel that way, either.

"There's no one way to do that," he told her. He held up her shoes. "You managed to help me earlier by sneaking in and taking those villains by surprise. Not everyone is capable of doing that like you."

"Well, it probably wouldn't be much help in a different situation," she told him. Yesterday's exercise was proof of that; all it took was one move and it was all over before it truly began. "If we were in a big street battle, I think we'd be in trouble."

Yagi smiled knowingly. "Hagakure… Do you remember what I told your class during yesterday's exercise about where most crimes tend to take place?"

Toru paused. "They… usually happen indoors."

"Not only that," Yagi went on, "but they tend to be handled in a more discrete manner… Which is why stealth is so important. But, they usually don't send in big-name Pros for that… so they send in underground heroes, instead."

Sensei Aizawa's face popped into her mind. "Like Sensei Aizawa. He's an underground hero, too, right?"

"Precisely," he told her. His smile was so kind as he looked down at her. "Maybe instead of reconsidering your career, you should reconsider the direction you want to apply it. After all, I know there are a lot of underground heroes who wish they could make themselves turn invisible. You'd be very suitable for missions like those."

Toru blinked. It sounded… so simple when he put it like that. This entire time she thought of hero work, it was always something flashy and loud like on the news, but this… It made sense. Why did it make so much sense?

"You… think I could be a good underground hero?" she asked. She thought of her grandfather and his words, the way he rebuked her and her dreams. Had he really been steering her towards something better suited for her abilities? Was that why he was so hard on her?

Yagi nodded. "I do. They're very valuable to Pros and the police. They may not get as much attention as everyone in the spotlight, but… they still matter. And I assure you, they're well-regarded in the Pro Hero community. You don't have to be seen in order to make a difference."

Some bitter part of Toru believed he was saying that to placate her, but the sincerity in his tone caused her to disparage the very thought. He wasn't speaking as an idealist, but rather, as a realist who knew better. She spared a look down at herself and noted the way her feet sunk into the dirt, the only true indication that she was even there.

"I… guess I never thought about that," she admitted. Then again, no one really talked about underground heroes as much, so perhaps that was just a fault of not knowing. "But I guess I'm gonna have to find a way to fight better while I'm barefoot. That was one of the things that stopped me yesterday."

Yagi chuckled. "I'm sure with the right gear, you'd be an asset to any stealth team you're on." Then, he arched his brow. "Say… Why did the costume department design your costume like this? Your shoes and gloves aren't made from the same material as your suit. Was that your choice?"

Toru blinked. "My suit? What suit?"

"Your costume," he said, his confusion only growing, "I don't really know how they made it– costume makers are engineers, and I'm not experienced in that front, but I imagine they could have found a way to at least make your shoes and gloves blend in with the rest of your costume."

"Sir, my… my gloves and shoes are my costume," she told him, "how else would I stay invisible?"

Yagi stared at her. He stared for what felt like a long time before his brows slowly unfurrowed and raised up to his forehead, his eyes wide with an unspoken horror. He looked down at her shoes in his hands and then back at her, then back at her shoes before he clapped a hand over his mouth.

"You're not wearing a suit," he realized out loud.

Toru shook her head, then stopped when she remembered he couldn't see her. "No. My family struggled with getting the paperwork done on time for the costume allowance, so I decided I could just use stuff from my closet–"

"You've only been wearing gloves and shoes this entire time? " Yagi blurted out, completely ignoring her. His cheeks bloomed into a rosy shade of red and he turned away from her, his hand slipping up to cover his eyes. "Oh, no… Oh, no, no, no, that's terrible ."

"Sensei, it's alright," Toru reassured him, "I'm used to walking around barefoot. Besides, it's not been that bad. I mean, it's not like anyone can see me–"

"Young Hagakure," Yagi cut in, still not looking at her, "I… I understand that this might not seem like an issue, but… You cannot walk around like that, it could be very dangerous." He dragged his hand down his face, revealing tired eyes. "Listen… When we get out of here, I'm going to have a talk with the costume department and see about having you a suit made to resolve this."

Toru couldn't help but blink. "Wait, really? But how are they–"

"I don't know," Yagi interjected, "and honestly, I don't care as long as they make sure you don't have to walk around like… this ." He dropped his hand from his face and let out a deep breath. "I trust the costume department to handle your… situation effectively. I'm sure they'll be able to figure out a way to make you a suit."

"Um, alright," Toru replied, "I guess it would be nice not to feel so cold–"

Yagi waved a hand. "Nope, no, we're not talking about this anymore. I don't want to think about it– I can't think about it." He pointedly did not look in her direction. "We'll meet up with the others and try to find a way out of here… let's just focus on that in the meantime."

Toru nodded. "Alright… We can do that. I think we're getting close to the plaza anyway."

"Good," Yagi said, though he seemed distracted, "good, good, that's good ."

Despite the awkward silence that lingered after, Toru felt the corner of her lips threaten to tug upwards. She hadn't been quite sure what to make of him during their first class together yesterday, but their little talk had been a bit more… affirming for her. Once they got out of their current situation, she was definitely going to have to look more into underground heroes and the type of work that they do. She spared a glance down at the footprints behind her in the dirt and smiled.

'It's not me that needs to change,' she realized, 'it's my surroundings… I just have to find where I shine best.'

After all, a light doesn't always shine its brightest unless it's in the dark.

Izuku was certain that if it weren't for Asui– ah, Tsuyu, rather– he would probably not have been able to get out of the shipwreck zone. However, he didn't dwell on the bleak thought, especially as he, Mineta and Tsuyu continued the last of their trek through the water. It was a bit touch-and-go there, but they managed to find a way out and Izuku was thankful he avoided breaking his finger when he used his smash. Things were looking up. Izuku dared to hope that they would continue to.

Then, it was all crushed with that god awful creature's first blow to his teacher's body.

Aizawa lay prone on the ground, his goggles broken and discarded beside his form. Above him, the creature hunched over him like a predator above its prey, though its body language didn't seem natural. Izuku briefly wondered if it was the result of a mutation, but it couldn't be that, could it? He had seen some strange Quick mutations, but nothing quite like what was threatening his teacher's life.

The ringleader of the group stood, his smile only made apparent by how he spoke. "What do you think of him, Eraserhead? He's the bio-engineered anti-Symbol of Peace…" He tilted his head and there, Izuku saw the corner of his lip peek upwards from the ashen hand that covered his face. "But you can call him Nomu ."

Nomu– the name literally meant "brainless." That seemed like a blatant contradiction, since the creature's head mostly consisted of just that. However, as it stared down at Aizawa, it lacked any sort of focus or drive behind it– it was completely hollow and blank. That somehow seemed far scarier than if it were to show any sort of sadistic pleasure in what it was doing.

Izuku covered his mouth and turned away when another sickening crunch broke through the air. He thought he tasted bile rising up, but he pushed it down, not wanting to lose his composure. His eyes peeked open in time to see Aizawa's arm within Nomu's grasp, broken and bent at an unnatural angle. Izuku had no doubt that the creature could kill his teacher– and yet it didn't. Why was that? What was it waiting for?

"You can erase people's powers," the ringleader stated calmly, his scratchy voice causing Izuku to shudder, "that's irritating, but not impressive… When faced with true, devastating power, you might as well be a Quirkless child ."

An involuntary whimper almost slipped past Izuku's lips. Just a year ago, he had been planning on trying out for U.A. with no Quirk to his name– how would he have fared against a creature like Nomu? The only reason Aizawa even made it as far as he did was due to his Quirk helping him to get the upper hand while he fought, but even that had its limits. That was further proven when he saw his teacher's eyes flash red, only to be met with violent indifference. His other arm was pinned and ultimately crushed in a display of power that made Izuku's stomach churn.

'The anti-Symbol of Peace,' Izuku thought, recalling the ringleader's words, 'is he the thing they brought to fight All Might?'

His teacher's frightened face as he was pulled into the mist flashed across his mind and he grimaced. He had no idea where All Might was or if he was even alright– how was he faring in the U.S.J.? Had he managed to get away from the villains? Where was he?

Izuku's questions came to halt when Aizawa's head was slammed into the ground by Nomu and he recoiled. Tsuyu stared in silent horror alongside him while Mineta could only whimper out silent pleas for them to just leave, and yet, he made no move. They were all frozen, unable to move away from their teacher and leave him to face the terror that threatened them all. Some part of Izuku was scared that if he looked away, it would be the last time he saw his teacher alive ever again, and he couldn't bring himself to even risk allowing it to come to fruition.

Then, that familiar flicker of purple broke through the air. It spread out and took on the form of the villain who scattered them across the U.S.J., his eyes a burning yellow as he took up a spot beside the ringleader.

"Tomura Shigaraki," he addressed with reverence, his voice sending shudders down Izuku's spine. Was that the ringleader's name? It felt so strange to hear an actual name instead of a villainous alias– what kind of life did he live in order to come to this point?

"Kurogiri," Shigaraki murmured, turning to his companion, "did you manage to kill Thirteen?"

Izuku's heart leaped to his throat. 'No… No, no, no…'

"The rescue hero is out of commission," Kurogiri replied, and just like that, Izuku found himself struggling to breathe. His eyes widened and he clenched his fists so tightly that it hurt. "But there were some students that I was unable to disperse and one of them got out of the facility."

His eyes shot open. 'Someone got out? But who…?'

It had to be someone fast enough to slip by and who the others trusted to get help. Who hadn't been sent to other parts of the U.S.J.? He didn't get a good look before he swept up himself. Was it Iida? He was a fast runner, so maybe…

Hope dared to make its way into his heart. 'He's gone to get help.'

However, as he looked back to Shigaraki, he went still. The villain's hands were scratching erratically at his face and neck, leaving the flesh pink beneath the assault. Was that blood beneath his fingers? Just how hard was he scratching himself?

"Kurogiri…" he snarled, his voice rising, "you fool… " His entire body began to shake. "If you weren't our warp gate, I'd tear apart every last atom in your body ."

Then, he went very, very still, his hands frozen in the air like claws. His expression was hidden by the hand on his face, so Izuku could only guess what was running through his mind. What was he planning? Was he trying to think of a new plan?

"There's no way we can win if dozens of Pros show up to stop us," Shigaraki growled, "it's game over. Back to the title screen." Then, he slumped forward, almost like a toddler whose plans were canceled at the last moment. "And I was looking forward to finishing this today… Damn it." He turned to Kurogiri defeatedly. "Let's go home."

Izuku blinked. That… That couldn't be it, could it? That was far too simple. That was far too easy . Why would they go to all of that trouble just to give up now? They had to know U.A. would be more careful and strengthen their security measures, didn't they?

"I have a real bad feeling about this, Midoriya," Tsuyu murmured beside him, breaking him out of his thoughts.

He nodded slowly. "It seems weird that they would retreat at this point, after everything…"

All Might was on his way– he had to be. He may not have been in his costume, but he wasn't the type to stand on the sidelines while this was happening. What was going to happen if he came in as All Might? Would he stay and risk getting hurt by that creature since he used a good portion of his time up earlier that day? Would it only make things worse if he made himself known?

'They want to kill him,' Izuku thought, 'so why leave…?'

Then, Shigaraki straightened up. "But first… let's leave the Symbol of Peace broken." When he turned his head towards Izuku and his classmates, he immediately froze beneath his crimson gaze. "Let's wreck his pride ."

Izuku wasn't sure what he was expecting to happen. In a blink, he saw Shigaraki make his way towards the three of them and his entire body went still. His body braced itself before his mind could, his limbs locked into place while his thoughts ran a mile a minute. He thought about Aizawa's elbow and how his skin crumbled like ashes at his touch. He thought about All Might and how he tried to reach out for them all, only to be swept away. He thought about Thirteen and what Kurogiri must have done to take her out. Then, he thought about his mother, who he hugged and kissed goodbye that morning.

She didn't know where he was. She didn't know he was in danger. She didn't know the evil that threatened him and his classmates because before today, he didn't realize just what they were willing to do to get what they wanted. He had been too blinded by All Might's light to know the darkness that he kept at bay with his fearless smile.

Just as Shigaraki's hand closed in around Tsuyu's face, however, he paused. He lifted his head up and let out a small scoff of disbelief.

"You really are so cool," Shigaraki adulated suddenly. He turned his head and Izuku tracked his gaze before his breath caught in his throat. Despite his injuries, Aizawa stared out with burning red eyes, his teeth grit with determination. "Eraserhead."

Then, Nomu lifted him up by the hair and Izuku felt One For All threaten to burn through his arm. His body started to move and he let it, the fire within him only growing stronger when he saw Nomu start to push Aizawa's head down.

"Stop!" a voice shouted, breaking through the tense air.

Everyone became still. The Nomu paused and tilted its head in confusion while Shigaraki stared out towards the source. Izuku stood with his fist raised as he searched and nearly choked on air when he spotted his mentor's familiar frame, though not quite in the way he expected. All Might looked so frail as he stood before the villains, his suit left dirty from god knows what and his hair a mess. He wiped away the remnants of crimson from his lips and Izuku took in a shuddering breath.

'No,' he thought, 'no, no, no, why are you here like this?' Terror gripped his heart. 'Did you already use your time on the other villains?'

"You again," Kurogiri drawled, turning towards All Might curiously, "I see you found your way back."

Shigaraki let out a hum of thought. "My, my… What's this? Is this the new staff member everyone was making such a fuss over?" He stood up, his attention turned away from Izuku and his classmates. "Did you come all this way to play hero and save your coworkers?"

All Might met Shigaraki's gaze, and although Izuku was not the focus of his ire, it still gave him pause. All those months ago, when Izuku first saw All Might's true form, he had a hard time believing that the skeleton of a man and his childhood idol were one and the same. However, at that moment, Izuku realized he had been a fool to think otherwise. The same fire that allowed All Might to shine so bright as a beacon burned within his eyes, though it did not seek to provide warmth or light. The fire that Izuku saw sought out destruction and retribution, tempered only by a resolve that showed that All Might had in fact fought evils far greater than he himself might ever know.

And now, Shigaraki was on the opposing end of his stare, unknowing of the power that he stood against.