When Izuku got to school the next day, the topic that seemed to be on everyone's mind was the events of the previous day. To those who had been in the cafeteria, the whole ordeal had been more embarrassing than anything else. So many of them were working to become the next generation of heroes, yet as soon as an alarm sounded they flew into a blind panic as they all fought to exit the room and head for safety. Thankfully Tsu had managed to keep a level head, calmly addressing the situation before asking Raphtalia if she could use her illusions to make something that would get everyone's attention. The Tanuki girl nodded, telling everyone around her to cover their eyes as she held her hands in front of her. A moment later, a bright, dazzling light filled the room. Then, before Tsu could ask him to do anything, Izuku used his Air Strike Shield to use as a platform for class 1-A's Class Rep. Once all eyes were on her, Tsu bluntly told everyone that they needed to remain calm.
"If this is how you're going to act when you hear a villain might be on the loose, then maybe you should rethink your career choice. Ribbit," the frog girl had finished.
Those words cut through the group with more force than anything a villain could ever hope to do as everyone lowered their heads in shame. More slowly now, they began to make their way out of the cafeteria in an orderly fashion. It wasn't until after everyone had left that Izuku, Tsu, Raphtalia, and Kirishima spotted the teachers outside watching as police officers escorted a large group from the press of the property. It didn't take them long to figure out what had happened, relief washing over them as most of them just got a good laugh out of it.
Though it seemed like not everyone got the memo of what happened. That or they just didn't believe it and simply made up their own stories. Walking down the halls with Raphtalia by his side as they made their way to the classroom, the pair couldn't help but overhear the various students around them talking. According to one student, the people who broke in were members of some supervillain gang made up of teens that the school had rejected seeking revenge. Another student, who seemed to be in a bit of a panic, thought that the zombie apocalypse was upon them as the people who had invaded the school were just the first wave of the undead. Eventually, the crowd was disregarded as the story became one where the teachers were busy fighting a green-skinned villain whose strength rivaled All Might's.
When the pair arrived at their class, they were greeted by an unusual sight. The entire class, minus Bakugo, was gathered around Yaoyorozu's desk. The tall, dark-haired girl stood there with such a happy expression while she gestured with her hands for everyone to see something.
"I thought this would be a fun little game to celebrate my family's latest business venture," exclaimed Yaoyorozu.
Moving up towards the desk, Izuku saw what was so interesting. On top of Yaoyorozu's desk were a dozen large eggs, each one bigger than his fist. All of them were laying in a special transport case which seemed to be designed just to accommodate them. Everyone was just looking at them while keeping their distance as if the slightest touch would shatter them.
"So what's the game exactly?" asked Kaminari as he inched his face closer to the eggs.
"I believe it's called a raffle. For the price of one thousand yen, you can pick out an egg. You're guaranteed a filolial. But you could get lucky and get your very own dragon! And those are being priced at ten million yen!" By this point, Yaoyorozu was almost bouncing where she stood as she spoke in a positively giddy voice. It was like she was having the time of her life. So much so that she failed to notice the shocked expressions on everyone's faces as they looked from her to the collection of eggs.
"Y-You're joking!" exclaimed Kaminari. "I mean, I heard rumors online that someone was creating dragons but I thought they were just rumors!"
"Well, we're calling them dragons, but from what I've seen they look more like the raptors from that old movie. Jurassic Park, I believe?" said Yaoyorozu as a thoughtful expression appeared on her features. Yet that only lasted a moment as the energy she had before returned with a vengeance! "But just imagine yourself on patrol as a hero, riding one of these creatures towards the scene of a villain attack! We already have a number of big-named heroes all around the world ordering them! Oh, and the one million yen? That's just the price for an untrained baby. According to my family's experts, if you train your dragon well, you can easily sell it for three to four times that amount!"
Izuku and Raphtalia had to take a step back as yen signs appeared in the eyes of all the students staring at Yaoyorozu. Almost as one, the gathered students turned their attention to the eggs as their imaginations soared. Some, like Mineta, imagined themselves riding on the backs of these dragons while picking up damsels they saved while others drooled at the thought of how big their bank account could get.
For a moment, it seemed like they were about ready to reach for their wallets and start throwing their money at the dark-haired rich girl. However, as soon as most of them touched their wallets, their expressions shifted to a more hesitant one. A couple even took deep, resigned breaths before taking a step or two back.
"Sorry Yaoyorozu, but I can't," said Kaminari with a sigh while a dejected look appeared on his face. "My parents would kill me if I ever brought home something that big."
"Given my speed, purchasing something like that would be unnecessary," responded Ida seriously as he began making chopping motions with his arm. "I hope you understand."
"My luck just sucks!" stated Jiro.
As Kaminari, Ida, and Jiro begin moving away, Yaoyorozu's happiness seemed to drop like a stone down an empty well. She looked at everyone around her, searching for anyone who might want to give this a chance. But many of the students there just looked away while scratching the back of their heads. However…
"I'll give it a try," said Izuku. Instantly he pulled out his wallet to pay for his purchase while many of the other students turned their heads to look at the shield user. Most of them gave Izuku either uneasy or worried looks as he handed Yaoyorozu the money. Tsu, chief among them, was the first to speak up.
"Are you sure you want to do this Midoriya? Ribbit," asked Tsu. "You live in an apartment so it won't be easy on you. Plus you might not get what you wanted."
Izuku didn't answer at first, just picking out one of the eggs at random while Yaoyorozu watched with sparkles in her eyes. Honestly, Izuku had never seen anyone look that happy from watching someone play a lottery game.
With egg in hand, the shield user turned to the class rep with a smile on his face.
"Well, when you think about it, it's a really good deal for someone like me," said Midoriya as he began to go into explanation mode. "I can't increase my speed with my quirk so having something I can ride will help me out when I go pro. And if I train it right, then it might be able to help me in battle or help me take injured people away from the villains! It might even be able to help in rescue missions. I heard that filolials love to haul carts, so maybe dragons will be the same. Also, U.A. does have a stable for filolials so I can just keep it here. All this for a far cheaper price than simply buying one normally! So when you look at it like that, no matter what I get will be use-"
"We get it, you damned nerd!" came the familiar voice of Bakugo. "You're utterly useless and need all the help you can get! We don't need to hear the whole lecture! So just take the damn egg and shut your trap!" Izuku, along with several other students turned to look at Bakugo. Said ashen-blonde had his feet on the desk, eyes closed while his hands rested behind his head. A few of the other students rolled their eyes in annoyance at Bakugo's words. Others were more vocal and annoyed for different reasons.
"Bakugo!" began Ida in a chastising tone. "Cease putting your shoes on your desk! Do you not have any pride or respect for the U.A. alumina who once used those very desks in the pursuit of their heroic aspirations?" As Ida walked towards Bakugo, making a chopping motion with his arm as he did so, a few of the other students gave a quick laugh while Kirishima looked thoughtful.
"I don't know about that," began the hardening teen as he looked from Bakugo to the green-haired vice-rep. "Midoriya made some good points there. You know what? I'm going to take a chance! Even if I do get a filolial, it'll be the manliest filolial that anyone's ever ridden on!"
In the end, Kirishima was the proud owner of one of the mystery eggs as well as three other students. The first was Mineta, who still hadn't given up the fantasy of looking cool riding a dragon and using it to pick up girls. In fact, you could practically see his delusions as he stood there with his mouth hanging open while trickles of drool escaped. Then came Uraraka, who had agreed with Izuku that this was a great deal. Too good to pass up! Also, she was hoping for a filolial with pink feathers to match her hero costume. The third, oddly enough, was Todoroki. When asked why he was buying it, the duel-haired teen gave an unusual smirk before muttering something about 'annoying his father'.
Before anyone could ask anything else, the door to the classroom opened at the same time the bell rang.
"Take your seats," grumbled Aizawa. Instantly, everyone got ready for class as their homeroom teacher took his place at the front of the class. As tired-looking as always, the man then held up a sign that had the word 'rescue' on it. "Today's training is going to be a little different. You'll be having three instructors: myself, All Might, and Thirteen. The three of us will be conducting rescue exercises. Shipwrecks. Natural disasters. That sort of stuff. This training will be held in an off-site facility so I expect you all to be on your best behavior."
At those words, the class briefly erupted in excitement. Especially Uraraka, loudly proclaiming that Thirteen was her favorite hero. It made sense given the space theme of her costume. As for Midoriya, he couldn't hold back his excited smile at what they were going to be doing today. Rescuing people in peril and saving lives was to him the most important part of being a hero.
'I wonder what they're going to teach us,' Izuku pondered, tapping a finger against his chin as he began to imagine the possibilities. 'Most likely, Thirteen is going to start us off with a basic lesson since we're all new to this. But, since All Might is going to be there and given his lesson the other day, there's a good chance that he might try to move us ahead. I wonder what that would mean. Would he already have ideas on how we can use our individual quirks to rescue people? Or would he ask us to figure it out ourselves and give us feedback? What kind of rescue work will we be doing?'
His thoughts, along with the excitement in the room, died down as Mr. Aizawa gave them all a powerful stare that sent shivers down everyone's spines. Once the room was silent, the man let out a sigh before pulling out a remote that would open up the wall revealing their costumes.
"I know you're all excited about costumes so you can wear them if you want," the homeroom teacher said, his tone barely hiding how he felt about this aspect of heroes. "But remember, you are still not used to them so they might affect your mobility. Get changed into them or your gym uniform and meet me out front in ten minutes."
-x-
The trip to the off-site facility was pretty uneventful in the grand scheme of things. Ida, being the overly serious person he was, presented a seating arrangement to both Tsu and Midoriya where everyone sat in order of the student number in order to avoid any potential conflicts. The two thanked him before showing him that it wasn't necessary since the bus layout was drastically different than what he thought. That and nobody was fighting over seats anyways.
"Curse this open layout!" bemoaned Ida from his seat, the bus already on the move.
"You really should learn to relax Ida," said Kirishima with a grin. "It's not good for your health."
Izuku let out a chuckle along with everyone else, scratching the back of his head as he watched Ida lowering his head dejectedly. After a moment, however, he began to feel eyes upon him. Looking around, he noticed that Kaminari, Mineta, Kirishima, and Ashido were staring at him. Or, rather, staring at his hand.
Kaminari was the first to speak up. "Hey dude," began the electric quirk user with a slightly nervous tint to his voice. "I've been meaning to ask you this for a while now. Those scars. Have you ever thought about wearing a glove or something to, you know, hide them?"
"Yeah!" added Mineta as he pointed a tiny, trembling finger at the scared hand while his tone was laced with disgust. "Doesn't looking at those gross and nasty marks make you feel, like, all uncomfortable?"
As Kaminari gave his grape-haired friend a disapproving look, the atmosphere in the bus began to change. Izuku could now see more people who had been relaxing on the bus suddenly taking more of an interest in the conversation, their eyes now fixed on the young Midoriya. Some of them, like Uraraka and Yaoyorozu, looked a little uncomfortable at where the conversation had gone. No doubt they feared that his scars were a sensitive topic. However, Todoroki, who had been staring out the window since he had gotten onto the bus, was looking at the many scars covering Izuku's hand with a sick expression on his face. As if he were imagining all the ways he had gotten those marks, each one more horrific than the last.
Then, before he could answer, he felt Raphtalia's hand on his own. Looking at her, he saw that her expression was soft. Gently, he raised the scarred hand up a bit.
"I've had these scars for a long time," Izuku admitted. "And, honestly, I've never been ashamed of these scars. Or what I did to get them. They've been a reminder of what kind of hero I want to be. And, if it meant saving someone, I'd gladly take on more."
"Dude! That's so manly!" declared Kirishima, his eyes tearing up while pumping a fist into the air while Izuku lowered his own. "Those scars are like your badge of honor!"
"Midoriya," came the sudden and unexpected voice of Todoroki. Izuku turned to see that the recommendation student had moved away from his seat by the window so that he was now standing in the walkway of the bus. His eyes were glued onto the green-haired teen. Well, more specifically, Izuku's hand. "Would you mind telling me how you got those scars?"
That caused Izuku to pause for a moment. Mostly because it wasn't just his story to tell. Briefly, he glanced over at Raphtalia to see that she looked slightly uneasy at the question. No doubt not wanting to relive the events of that day. Something that Izuku could understand and agree with. Now was the time for excitement, of learning how to save people from natural disasters. He didn't want to lower the mood with a dark tale of kidnapping, child trafficking, and their escape.
As Izuku turned his head back to look at Todoroki, he paused halfway as his eyes caught something else. It was Kacchan. His childhood friend was gripping the seat in front of him, his body trembling for some reason. All Izuku almost tilted his head, wondering why the explosive teen was acting this way. Why he looked almost scared.
Before Izuku could say anything, the bus arrived in front of a large domed building. Mr. Aizawa wasted no time in ushering them in where, standing in front of a massive set of stairs, was Thirteen dressed in her astronaut suit. And just behind the space-themed hero was something that could have been mistaken for an amusement park! In one area, the class could see a mountain region, a city in ruins, a large domed area with buildings on fire, what looked like a water park with a boat in the middle, and others! While all these spots look fantastical, what tied them all together was the open square in the middle that reminded some of the teens of a park. There were even white benches and picnic tables!
However, Izuku noticed something was off. All Might wasn't there. After glancing around, he spotted something that caused him to gently elbow Raphtalia's arm. Once he got her attention, he gestured to Mr. Aizawa and Thirteen. The two were talking in a low whisper, but what was odd was that Thirteen was holding up three fingers.
"What do you suppose that means?" he whispered to his Tanuki friend.
"I don't know," admitted Raphtalia, her ears twitching as if she were straining them to try and listen in to get some sort of hint on what they were saying. However, Izuku could tell that even she couldn't catch enough. "They could be talking about All Might. It could mean that there were supposed to be three teachers."
"That makes sense," the shield user said in agreement. "I remember reading some hero news this morning. Apparently, All Might has been going around all morning stopping crime after crime. Guess he's lost track of time."
While he was happy to know the Symbol of Peace was hard at work saving people, Izuku couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that he wouldn't be learning from All Might today. And it must have shown on his face as Raphtalia placed a hand on his shoulder while giving him that smile that made his heart flutter.
"Well, in any case, let's give this our all," she said. "I'm actually hoping that we get to do some rescue work in that water area over there. Then I can show everyone what I can do without a water-based quirk!"
As she said this, Raphtalia brought her fist up and flexed her slender yet firm arm.
"Y-Yeah," said Izuku, a slight blush appearing on his face as he gave her his full attention. "Your family lives by the ocean, right?"
Raphtalia nodded at that , as she did, Izuku felt his disappointment fade away. After all, this was still going to be an amazing lesson! Thirteen was a great rescue hero in her own right with an amazingly powerful quirk. There was plenty that the hero could teach them in any environment. And then there was Mr. Aizawa. The man would probably be teaching them how to rescue people without using flashy or strength-enhancing quirks, something that would be useful to both himself and Raphtalia.
And they would be doing it together.
That brought a wave of guilt within the young Midoriya. For the last two days, between their first real lessons and picking class positions, Izuku hadn't found the right time to give Raphtalia her gift. Sure she didn't know about it and probably wasn't expecting anything, but he felt guilty for not making more of an effort to give it to her.
'You know what?' thought Izuku with fierce determination. 'Today, when we get back to school, I'm going to give it to her. No excuses! I don't even care who sees me giving it to her!'
Just as the young teen made up his mind, Thirteen called for everyone's attention. Once all eyes were on her, the space-themed hero welcomed them to the USJ before giving an inspiring speech detailing how dangerous quirks can be and why it was important to keep that in mind when doing rescue work. A single mistake could make the difference between life and death. But as she finished, the class began to notice something.
"What's that?!" asked a shocked Raphtalia as she pointed at something further in the complex.
Appearing in the middle of the USJ was a large, dark portal that seemed to spiral endlessly. And from that darkness came evil. The first was a tall, darkly dressed man who looked like he was in his late teens with messy light-blue hair. But what shocked him the most were the hands. Several pairs of severed hands were gripping onto him with one even serving as some sort of mask! And behind him came more people of all shapes and sizes, quickly filling up the plaza.
"What's going on?" asked Kirishima, scratching his head as he looked at the growing crowd of people who were clearly not there to sell them cookies. "I thought we were doing rescue training."
"This isn't training," said Aizawa, his voice more alert and full of energy that had been absent until now. "Those are real villains."
Izuku's eyes widened at his teacher's words. Quickly, he turned to look at his classmates, finding that most of them were just looking on with horror and shock at the situation. All but two: Raphtalia and Bakugo. The Tanuki girl was looking down at the villains, a hand on the grip of her sword and the fur on her tail standing upright. Bakugo had his palms up with the green-haired teen expecting a series of explosions to occur at any moment and an almost sadistic smile on his face.
However, before either of them could do anything, Aizawa's voice cut through the air. "Thirteen, get the students to safety. I'll hold them off."
The class gasped at the teacher's words. How could they not? With how many villains there were down there, he didn't stand a chance. But, when Izuku turned to his teacher the words would not come out as he beheld a change in the man. From underneath his scarf was an odd pair of goggles that was worn by only one hero: Eraserhead! The underground hero whose quirk allowed him to temporarily erase the quirks of anyone he looked at! Still…
"But Mr. Aizawa!" began Izuku as his focus shifted between the pro hero and the mass of villains in the plaza below. "There are too many. Your quirk is most suited for one-on-one fights and sneak attacks."
That got a small smile out of the man as he took the white scarf in both hands.
"You can't be a pro if you only know one trick." Without wasting another second, Aizawa leaped down the stairs and into the mass of villains below. Izuku, despite hearing Thirteen telling everyone to start heading to the door, lingered for a moment to watch a real pro in action when the odds were stacked against him. What he witnessed was beyond anything he had ever seen in the streets, starting with a group of villains with gun-related quirks pointing their weapons at the underground hero…only to then look at them in confusion as they refused to work. They did not get the chance to wonder what was happening for long as Aizawa landed feet first into one of them before wrapping the next in his scarf. Izuku's eyes widened as the man then swung the villain he had captured into two others, knocking them all out before leaping into the air to avoid an attack from the side. The man moved constantly, the energy he was outputting from all of this being a far cry from his normal lazy demeanor.
"Let's go!" shouted Raphtalia.
Pulling himself away, Izuku turned with Raphtalia as they, along with the rest of the class, headed towards the door. Yet, before they even got halfway there, the same black portal they had seen in the middle of the USJ appeared before them. And from the portal came a figure that was made of black mist, its yellow eyes looking down upon all those gathered.
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," said the mist villain, his voice polite yet cold at the same time. "We are the League of Villains. I know it's impolite, but we decided to invite ourselves into this haven of justice. Besides, isn't this a fitting place for All Might, the Symbol of Peace, to breathe his last breath? Though it is strange that he is not around. The information we acquired said that he was supposed to be here. I suppose there was a change in the schedule that was unforeseen. How unfortunate. But I must still carry out my role."
Before the mist villain could say anything more, Bakugo and Kirishima leaped to the forefront before charging at him despite Thirteen's cries for them to get back. And yet, all that happened was for them to pass right through him.
"How foolish. Now SCATTER!" decreed the villain.
With that, the floor underneath Midoriya's feet vanished revealing an endless, dark pit below which he fell into.