The day after Izuku's speech, he made his way to class and sat behind a seething Bakugo. Since the battle training, he had made sure not to make eye contact with the blond, something he could tell Shinso and Tsu appreciated. Izuku patiently waited for All Might to arrive, talking excitedly with Shinso and Yaoyorozu about what Izuku's duties, and Yaoyorozu's by association, entailed. After a few minutes, Aizawa sighed deeply and stood up, packing up his sleeping bag. Izuku knew something was wrong just by that sigh, and turned around to face Aizawa.
"Aizawa, is something wrong?" Izuku asked.
"No. Well, yes, but it isn't an issue for you. We can still proceed with the lesson, we'll just have one less supervisor. It'll be fine," Aizawa said cryptically.
What could Aizawa be talking about? Could it be that All Might had burned through his time limit and had to rest? He had seen him in the news three separate times that morning, so it was likely. What could need three different heroes to supervise? Was it another battle training? Izuku was lucky, as his costume hadn't been too damaged in his first Foundational Heroics lesson, but he has just gotten it back. He didn't want it to be damaged again. It was too special to him.
"Alright, kids. Get ready for some rescue training," Aizawa said, holding up a card that said the word 'TRAINING' in a big, blocky font, with a succinct summary of what the lesson entailed on the other side, which Aizawa promptly threw away.
"For this, you won't need your hero costumes, since some of you may still be unused to them, so feel free to just wear your gym uniform. Meet me in the parking lot in ten minutes," Aizawa droned, before leaving without ceremony.
The students all grabbed their cases anyway, and Izuku couldn't help but feeling Ochaco's absence as he looked at the empty space her seat number's case should be in. He quickly pulled himself together and ran off to the changing rooms, where he quickly dressed himself, now knowing his way around his costume.
"Man," Kaminari groaned. "Some of you guys have some pretty cool stuff on your costumes," he whined.
"Oh, yeah? Like what?" Sero asked, placing the base of his helmet on his shoulders.
"Like Kirishima's head brace. Or Midoriya's knuckle dusters," Kaminari clarified, making Izuku choke in his breath.
"Whoa. Is something wrong, Midoriya?" Kirishima asked, ready to give him the heimlich maneuver if need be.
"Nothing's wrong, it's just that these …" Izuku pointed to the guides for Blackwhip, conveniently lined up with his knuckles. "… aren't knuckle dusters," he finished.
"What are they, then? They really look like knuckle dusters, dude," Sero asked.
"They're guides for my Blackwhip. Sometimes, a bit more power than what I want can leak out, so I need these to strictly regulate the amount of Blackwhip that gets through. It also streamlines the shape of the Blackwhip, helping it latch onto and wrap around things much smoother than the kinda … jagged shape that it comes out as normally," Izuku explained, pulling his cowl over his face.
"Oh, that makes a lot more sense," Sero said, nodding along.
"Does it?" Kaminari asked, snarkily.
"Well, yeah. I'd know; my Quirk works in a similar way," Sero explained himself, and something clicked for Izuku.
Sero's Quirk was virtually the same as Blackwhip, only different by name and the fact that his Tape was sticky. He should've been asking Sero for tips this whole time, but instead, he had been trying to figure things out on his own, and by consulting the notebook that All Might had compiled for him what seemed like months ago. It had been so long since he and All Might had sat down and had a real conversation, and Izuku missed it. He knew that his chance was coming, as the weekend was coming up and All Might probably knew it was the only time the two could talk outside of school hours.
"Hey, Sero!" Izuku called out, trying to catch him before he walked out of the changing rooms.
"Yeah?" Sero replied.
"Could you give me some tips about how to use Blackwhip like you use your Tape?" Izuku asked.
"Uh, yeah. Sure," Sero said, and Izuku hissed out a cheer.
"What do you want to know?" Sero asked, pressing a button and flipping the black part of his helmet up so that Izuku could see his face. Izuku responded in kind by flipping his cowl back over his head.
"Well, I've noticed that you do this little flicking motion with your arms when you want some pieces of Tape to have more impact. Do you think you could teach me?" Izuku asked.
"Yeah, alright. I know that you have a little bit of control over how Blackwhip is shaped, so I can't really help you there, but I'll try to get your firing technique up if I can," Sero said.
"Thanks a lot! I'll really owe you one," Izuku said, smiling widely.
"Nah, it'll be nothing. What kind of classmate and future hero would I be if I didn't help out my buds when I could?" Sero asked rhetorically.
Izuku blushed lightly at the word 'buds'. He hadn't been called that before, and it felt strange. He hadn't been called a lot of things before, like friend, pal, or even 'dude' before attending UA, and now those words were like his name. It was like a whole new status quo was forming right before his eyes, and he didn't know how to feel about that. On one hand, he didn't really deal with change very well, but on the other hand, this was a status quo where he had a Quirk, had friends and was living his dream. He'd take it.
Izuku and Sero emerged from the main building of the campus and made their way over to the bus that had parked in front of the gate. Izuku hurried over and cleared his throat, addressing the class.
"Okay, everyone! By seat number, board the bus in an orderly fashion. You may not like who you're seated with, but it isn't a very long ride, so hang in there and we'll all be better for it," Izuku said, before making way for Aoyama to board in his usually flamboyant way.
As the line shortened, and Bakugo boarded, Izuku stepped onto the bus and immediately sat on the seat next to the blond bomber. He refused to make eye contact until Bakugo said something that wasn't violent threats, and that delivered on his plea for the taller boy to think about his past actions. He could tell that Bakugo had something that he wanted to say, but was waiting until people started talking to say it, so that he wasn't heard.
"Listen up, Deku, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once. I'm not an asshole. I felt sorry after I saw what I had done to that girl, -" Bakugo said.
"Ochaco Uraraka," Izuku cut through.
"- and I've done what you wanted. I … thought about how I treated you, and I get how that was shitty. I know that how I acted was bad. Having Round Cheeks next to me while she started to bleed out because of something that I had done was a sort of rude awakening for me. I get it, now. I don't really know how to continue from here, but I'm looking for a way. I want you to know that," Bakugo said, staring at the floor.
"Bakugo, that's all I've wanted to hear for ten years," Izuku said, smiling softly as he looked out the window.
It seemed like Bakugo was about to say something, but he huffed and jumped out of his seat instead. He walked to the back of the bus and yelled at Tsu to get out of her seat so that he could sit there. One look from Izuku was all it took to agree to it, and Tsu instead came and sat next to Izuku and across from Shinso.
"What did he say?" Shinso asked.
"He just told me to stop looking down on him by refusing to look him in the eye, because it's annoying," Izuku said, barely keeping his joy contained.
"Uh … okay, man. I've been meaning to ask you something," Yaoyorozu said.
"Ask away," Izuku said.
"How did you figure out Blackwhip? You've told us how you channel your Quirk's energy into it, but you've never told the story of how you figured out how to do it," she asked.
"Oh. Well, it was actually in the entrance exam when I first figured it out. I was facing down the Zero Pointer, trying to rescue Uraraka from the debris that had fallen on her, when the Zero Pointer tried to crush me. Just then, I used my Quirk to jump up above the robot, wrecking my legs in the process, but I had been aiming for its hand. I reached back, and tried to get my arm to hold the hand back with everything I had. It was going to crush Uraraka, so I was putting all my energy into trying to hold back the hand. So, my Quirk responded to that and kinda … gave me Blackwhip. I don't mean to sound like I lucked my way out, but I guess there are hidden parts of my Quirk that only really reveal themselves when I'm desperate. Kind of like a case of hysterical strength," Izuku said.
"Wow. You really do have one of the most potentially versatile Quirks that I've ever heard of," Yaoyorozu said.
"What? No way. I can only really do one thing at the moment. I'm sure I'll develop more techniques in the future, but I'm not that good right now. Todoroki, on the other hand, basically has two Quirks. I've talked with Hagakure about how her Quirk may not be what it seems, and Bakugo, for all his … charms, is a talented combatant. I'm just not very special when it comes to the big picture," Izuku said.
The group took that as a declaration that he wasn't going to back down from his position on this subject. The rest of the bus ride was spent in silence, but as soon as the bus rolled over a hill and came to a stop at the entrance of a massive dome, the students began to get excited, more so when a costumed hero standing in front of the entrance waved to them, as some recognized her.
"It's Thirteen, the Space Hero!" Izuku said, pressing his face up against the window.
Ochaco had once mentioned how she took inspiration for her hero costume from Thirteen, as well as her aesthetic of space and rescue. She had wanted to meet her for her whole life, as Thirteen had been, for Ochaco, like All Might had for Izuku, an inspiration on so many levels. Izuku endeavoured to get her autograph to give to Ochaco when he saw her next, and ran out of the bus.
"Whoa. I love that energy, kid!" Thirteen laughed.
"Hi. I'm Izuku Midoriya. Can you sign my notebook and make it out to my friend, Ochaco Uraraka, please?" he asked.
"Uraraka. Why is that familiar?" Thirteen asked.
"She was supposed to be with us today, but she was injured during training. She'd really love it if she could get this autograph, and I'd rather get it to her sooner rather than later, because I know that she'll be bored out of her mind, and I just wanna help her in any way I can, so could you please sign here for me?" Izuku said, rambling.
"Maybe it's a little too much energy," Thirteen said, accompanied by a lighthearted chuckle as she signed a blank page in Izuku's hero analysis notebook.
The signature was special. It was the number '13' with little stars around it, as well as a shooting star trailing around the number in a circle before spinning out the other direction in which it had come. Izuku was sure that Ochaco would love it, just as he did. He was almost sad to have to give it up, but he decided that he would do almost anything to help her during this time in her life.
"Her, Eraser. Where's All Might?" Thirteen whispered.
Aizawa simply held up his hand and flashed three fingers at Thirteen, who nodded along to the words that Izuku couldn't quite hear. He knew those three fingers must have correlated to All Might using up his three hours as a hero due to his injury. Izuku looked back into the air in the direction they came from, wondering if All Might was okay. He decided that worrying would do nobody any good, and stayed focused on the lesson.
"Hello, students. Before we head in, I'd like to say a few words. I'm sure many of you know who I am, but my name is Thirteen. I'm a rescue specialist that UA has brought on to teach you how to do what I've done. I'm especially good at teaching those of you with destructive Quirks to use them to save, due to my own Quirk, Black Hole. I could use my Quirk to kill, very easily. I don't, and I have to work to make sure that I never cross that line. I strictly use my powers to save lives, not take them. In All Might's Foundational Heroics class, you've learned how your Quirks can assist you in a fight. In this place, which I designed, The Unforeseen Simulation Joint, you'll learn to use your Quirks to help you save lives and rescue those who can't rescue yourself," Thirteen said.
Izuku was fascinated by her words. He had come to that conclusion on his own, that with the raw amount of strength that should be available to him, Izuku would be able to kill with a single touch. He'd thought that was the reason he was able to, albeit subconsciously, control One for All enough that he didn't blow a hole in Bakugo's chest. He had been trying to recreate that feeling, but hadn't succeeded so far. Maybe this place would help him achieve that again.
Thirteen turned around and led the class through the gigantic double doors. Inside the USJ, it was like a theme park. There were seven main sections from what Izuku could see. First, was the part that wasn't a gimmick, the section the class were standing in at the moment. It was a general concrete floor, leading from the entrance and down a large flight of stairs to a fountain.
The different sections of the USJ were cordoned off by domes, all different colors. Each had something painted on the outside, likely representing what was inside. One had fire, one had water, one had a destroyed looking building, etcetera. There were six smaller domes inside the building, representing six different disasters that they could train for.
"Let's get this started with a question. How many of you are planning or considering being a rescue hero?" Thirteen asked.
Tsu, Sero, Jiro, Koda, Hagakure, Aoyama and Ashido all put up their hands. The thing that surprised most people, even Aizawa, was that Izuku put up his hand. He looked around, seeing the strange looks people had given him. Even Bakugo was looking at him strangely, but Izuku took that as him silently admitting that he'd be a good battle hero.
"Is something wrong?" Izuku asked, lowering his hand.
"No. It's just that you were really good in your battle trial. Why don't you consider being a fighter?" Kaminari wondered.
"Well, I want to do a little bit of everything. I know that with Blackwhip, I could manipulate rubble better than most. I know that with my strength, I could fight better than most, if I could handle the backlash. I want to put all of those skills together and be an 'everything hero', so to speak. I want people to see my fearless smile and know that they're safe. I want to be able to do anything, anywhere, at any time," Izuku said.
"Oh, that's right! Och-Uraraka is planning on being a rescue hero, too," Izuku added.
People around him noticed the slip up between names. Some, like Kaminari and Sero, snickered, but some simply smiled, knowing what had happened was an accident. The class moved on, walking toward the stairs.
"Alright. There are six zones. The Ruins Zone simulates a destroyed urban environment, with buildings in precarious positions and in various states of disrepair. The Landslide Zone simulates sloped terrain with scattered debris. The Mountain Zone simulates a rocky, mountainous environment filled with cliffs and sudden drop offs. The Conflagration Zone simulates an urban environment, again, but this one is constantly aflame. The Flood Zone simulates a maritime environment, with a lake, a ship and, for you playful ones, a waterslide to enter. The Downpour Zone simulates an urban environment caught in a heavy storm, with rain and hail pouring down, hence the name," Thirteen explained.
Izuku thought about which zone would suit him best. He thought that the Ruins Zone felt more like a disaster with the setting of a city, which he would be most likely to respond to. He wouldn't be likely to respond to a situation in the country, where the Landslide Zone was more qualitative to. He decided that he would go to the Ruins and work on his fine control of Blackwhip so that he could, as gently as possible, lift debris off injured civilians and the like.
"Alright, now, let's get started with assigning you all zones to train in," Thirteen said.
Izuku felt that something was off. It was like the air pressure inside the USJ had suddenly increased tenfold. He looked around, trying to find the source of his strange feeling. It seemed that Aizawa felt it, too, as the man was on edge as well, subtly searching as Izuku was. The two made eye contact, and surprisingly, Izuku could understand what Aizawa wanted to convey through his look. 'Get them out of here' was the message that Izuku got from his teacher's look. He turned around, and saw that Shinso was looking at the two strangely.
"I think we have to leave," Izuku said, slowly.
"What?" Shinso asked, getting the class's attention.
"You heard him. Something is wrong," Aizawa said, putting a hand on his goggles as peace of mind.
"Eraser, what are you-" Thirteen began to ask, but snapped her attention to the bottom of the stairs, in the central plaza.
Aizawa and Thirteen had reacted at the same time, looking down the stairs at something that had changed. Izuku stepped forward, not being able to see over the lip of the stairs, but was kept from going any further by Aizawa, who held a hand out to steady his students.
"You all need to leave," Aizawa said, gravely.
Izuku ignored Aizawa's warning, and approached the stairs. He saw a gigantic black and purple circle, seemingly made out of a strange mist, that was swirling at the base of the stairs. It suddenly bulged and expanded, and out of it walked a man. Then two men. Then three. Then ten. Soon, a small army of people, all dressed in elaborate costumes, were entering the USJ through what Izuku now understood was a portal of some kind.
"Are those … villains?" Izuku asked, getting the class's attention focused on him.
"What?" Kirishima asked, stepping up to the stairs. "Is this part of the training. I thought we were doing rescue stuff?" he asked.
"No, those are the real deal. Midoriya, get everyone out of here," Aizawa said, lifting his goggles to rest over his eyes.
"What are you gonna do?" Izuku asked.
"A hero's job," Aizawa grunted, leaping down the stairs.
Izuku panicked. He knew that Aizawa was an underground hero, used to fighting two or three people at a time. This was easily a hundred people, some with Mutant and Transformation Class Quirks, powers that were resistant to his ability to erase Quirks. Izuku knew that just one slip up could get Aizawa killed, so he did the only thing he thought he could. He summoned Blackwhip and shot it toward Aizawa's descending form, only to catch on his capture weapon and be repelled.
"I'll be fine, Midoriya. Go. Help you classmates," Aizawa said, continuing down the stairs.
Izuku turned to Thirteen, unsure of what to do. She looked to think for a moment, before snapping to attention and looking at Izuku.
"Who's your Class Representative?" she asked.
"Me," Izuku answered.
"Good. I need you to organize your class based on Quirk Classes. Speed, strength, stealth, support, that kind of stuff," Thirteen said, uncapping one of her fingers.
"What are you gonna do?" Izuku asked, feeling like nothing was making sense.
"I'm going to go and help Eraser," Thirteen said, her voice dark.
"No. You can't go back on your vow. If you go down there, you'll break," Izuku said, remembering how Thirteen had vowed to never hurt anyone with her Quirk.
"Kid, sometimes you've gotta break some rules to get something done," Thirteen said, taking off down the stairs.
In a frenzy, Izuku approached the class, looking for Kaminari. Once he found the blond, he beckoned him over.
"You mentioned that you have a radio in your earpiece, right?" Izuku asked.
"Yeah. I've tried it. Everything's been cut off," Kaminari said, downcast.
Izuku looked back to the class, who were looking at him expectantly. He really needed his notebook right now. Izuku scanned over the group, mentally separating the students by their strongest suits. He reasoned that people like Jiro, Hagakure, Koda, Shoji, Tsu, Shinso and Yaoyorozu and Kaminari slid better into support roles, himself, Kirishima, Bakugo, Tokoyami and Sato slid better into traditionally strength based roles, and Sero, Iida, as well as himself, again, fit into speed based roles. Doing some quick planning in his head, Izuku began to mutter to himself while he reshuffled his classmates into teams. He kept looking between people, and felt bad for judging them, but he had to . This was a crisis.
"Midoriya. What are you thinking?" Yaoyorozu asked, having approached while he had been planning.
"Yes. Everyone, listen up, please! I've separated you all into groups, Team Alpha, who are a strength based, combat team. Team Alpha includes myself, Bakugo, Kirishima, Tokoyami and Sato. Team Beta is a speed based, warning team. Team Beta includes Iida and Sero. Team Gamma is a combat based support team, including Kaminari, Yaoyorozu, Shinso and Tsu. You'll protect the non-combative support team, Team Delta. Team Delta includes Jiro, Hagakure, Shoji and Koda. Split up into your teams!" Izuku broke it down.
Once all of the teams were assembled, and to Izuku's liking, he continued.
"Team Alpha's job is to go and help Aizawa and Thirteen down in the central plaza! Team Beta's job is to move as fast as you can back to UA and warn the teachers. Team Delta's job is to stay here, collect information and report in to everyone else through the comms in our costumes. Gamma, you're protecting Delta. Does everyone understand what they need to do?" Izuku explained.
Izuku received a series of nods and cheers from his classmates. He was satisfied with the plan, but it was thought up in a panicked mindset. He may have placed a few people in a team where they couldn't shine as best as possible, given their personalities and other skills, but it would have to do, based on their general skill sets and powers. He looked back to the central plaza, seeing that Aizawa and Thirteen were handling the villains well enough. Izuku turned back to the class to call for their action, but froze in his tracks when he saw a wisp of swirling, black and purple smoke in front of the exit.
"Over there!" Izuku shouted, getting into a defensive stance.
The whole class looked over to see the mist, as it swirled around and formed into a man. The man wasn't solid, like he was in between states of matter. The only material thing about the man seemed to be his neck brace, which Izuku knew would be a massive weak spot, since it had to have something they could touch, and therefore hurt, underneath.
"Good afternoon, children. We are the League of Villains, and you are dead," the mist man said, his voice eerily calm for his words.
"FUCK THAT!" Bakugo yelled, dashing out across the gap between the class and the man.
"Bakugo, wait!" Izuku yelled, but it was no use.
Bakugo used his explosions to soar into the air, and change directions so much as to distract the mist man. The man, however, wasn't fazed. Izuku knew that the man could see every little thing that Bakugo was doing, and was prepared to do anything in return. Izuku barely caught it, but he saw Kirishima grin and Harden his arms, ready to jump in as well.
"Kirishima, no. That man is dangerous. He has some sort of warp Quirk that brought all these villains here," Izuku said, catching Kirishima with Blackwhip.
The class watched as Bakugo closed in on the villain, but went right through him, disappearing. A moment later, Bakugo could be heard crashing to the ground behind the class, and they turned to see him landing on the ground after getting spit out of a portal made of the same mist as the man.
Izuku looked back at the villain to see that he was preparing a larger portal. The air pressure changed again, feeling like a crushing force coming from every direction. Izuku could tell that it wasn't just him feeling this pressure, as everyone else looked to feel the same overwhelming force coming from every little thing around them.
"We can't fight him. We'll have to run away and rework my plan for this guy," Izuku said, ready to grab the closest people with Blackwhip and make a mad dash.
"Fuck that, Deku. We have to fight. That's what a hero is, right? Someone who tries, even when it's hopeless. You told me that. Live up to your own ideals, dumbass!" Bakugo said, jamming a finger into his chest as he screamed.
Izuku realized that Bakugo was right. He had been going against the ideal of a hero, the same ideal that he had shared with Bakugo, by suggesting to run away. That wasn't what a hero was at all. They needed to fight, to do something, otherwise how could they do anything in the future? If they couldn't even save themselves, how could they save lives in the future? Izuku gave Bakugo a knowing smile, and turned around to face the mist man.
"We aren't afraid of you," Izuku said, getting low.
"It isn't me you should be afraid of. It's them," the man said.
"What?" Kirishima mumbled.
Suddenly, a large black and purple portal opened beneath the group. Izuku barely had time to react before his world was in darkness, other than grabbing onto the two people closest to him with Blackwhip. He felt like he was in a low gravity environment, similar to being affected by Ochaco's Quirk. In his confusion, Izuku released Blackwhip, letting it sink back into his body.
Izuku was blinded by the change in light, closing his eyes tightly as he exited the portal in the air, judging by the fact that he was still falling. When he finally opened his eyes, he was falling above a body of water, the Flood Zone. He considered using Blackwhip to pull himself onto the ship in the centre of the lake, but he judged that it was too far, as Blackwhip would lose momentum and die down before it could land on the ship. That was something that Izuku had worked out through experimenting with his Quirk; Blackwhip operated under normal physical rules like gravity and inertia.
As he fell into the water, the coolness and harshness of the water rushing over him, as well as the sinking feeling, did a good job of bringing him back to reality. He was upset that his entire plan had been thrown down the toilet, but he wasn't giving up. He saw that now, that giving up meant betraying everything he;d ever believed in.
Izuku tried to swim to the surface, but spotted a figure swimming around in the water with him. He looked around and saw it again, this time heading right for him. It was a villain, with a shark's head and a tank on its back. It was like a hybrid of a fish and a man, and it was swimming for him with its maw open, as if it was going to eat Izuku.
Suddenly, Tsu swam in and kicked the villain in the face, sending it spiralling throughout the water. She looked over at him and opened her mouth, shooting her tongue at Izuku to wrap him up. Tsu swam up and pulled Izuku along, breaking the surface of the water and flying high into the air with ease, even while carrying two landed on the ship in the centre of the lake.
"Tsu, you're a lifesaver!" Izuku said, hugging her in a moment of uncontrollable joy.
Soon, he realized that he hadn't really asked to touch Tsu, and backed away, awkwardly wringing his hands. Tsu didn't look very upset by his actions, but he could tell that she definitely hadn't liked it either, he eyes wide and her mouth set in a line.
"Sorry," Izuku said.
"It's fine. I did save your life," Tsu said, brushing it off.
Izuku looked to his left to see that Shinso was also there. He realized that Tsu and Shinso must have been the two he had grabbed with Blackwhip, which meant that he was responsible for them being there. He looked over the side of the ship, trying to find a raft or lifeboat, but nothing was there. It was likely because anyone here would be supervised by a pro-hero under normal circumstances. These weren't normal circumstances, though.
"What do you two think of all this?" Izuku asked, hating the silence.
"I think this is all fucked. We were in middle school a month and a half ago; we shouldn't be going through this shit," Shinso said, emotionless and dull.
Izuku was surprised at how suppressed Shinso was at the moment, since he would understand if emotions were running high; they certainly were for Izuku. Then, it clicked. Shinso was in shock. Izuku thought back to a lecture he had listened to a few months ago that talked him through how to counsel someone in shock, but couldn't find anything in his memories.
"Tsu, I think Shinso's going into shock," Izuku said, and Tsu's eyes widened knowingly.
"I know what to do," she said, walking toward Shinso, who had sat down lazily against the wall.
Tsu crouched down in front of Shinso, slowly and carefully approaching him. She hesitated, but pressed on. Shinso looked up to her, still blank faced.
"Shinso, can I help you?" Tsu asked, getting a nod in response. "How?" she asked.
"Get me off this fucking boat! Out of this fucking place and back to school!" Shinso said, his voice breaking.
"Okay. I understand that this is scary, and that we shouldn't have to be here, but we are. We're going to get through this, and we're going to survive, Okay?" Tsu said.
"Okay. Okay. Okay, yeah. We're gonna survive. We're gonna win," Shinso said, slowly climbing to his feet.
As Tsu helped Shinso to his feet, Izuku looked over the railing at the waters. He saw multiple blobs under the water, and figured that there were villains surrounding the entire ship. He counted around ten on the side he could see, and there was likely an equal amount on the other side, so about twenty in total, probably. He evaluated each of the trio's Quirks, and came to the conclusion that Brainwashing would be of the most use here.
"Shinso, talk me through your Quirk, if you're up to it," Izuku said.
"If … If I ask a question, while thinking 'I want to Brainwash this person', and they respond verbally, they'll be Brainwashed. I … I can't make people do anything that requires real thought, like talking or remembering something, just basic motor functions, like walking and lifting things," Shinso said, regaining his wits.
"How many people can you Brainwash at once?" Izuku asked.
"Um … I'm not sure. I've never tried more than one," Shinso said, biting his lip.
"Can you try it now?" Izuku asked, getting impatient.
"I … think so," Shinso said, approaching the railing.
He looked over the railing at the villains, burying his fear. Shinso opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, one of the villains started chanting something. It was unclear at first, but as Izuku and Tsu looked over the railing, it became audible.
"Kill the kids! Kill the kids!" the villain was chanting, the water spinning around him like a whirlpool.
The whirlpool suddenly lifted, a spinning ball of water rising from the main body and floating into the air. Izuku had been scared of this. It was one thing to have villains who worked well in water. It was another to employ legitimately hydrokinetic villains to storm a facility with a seventh of its total area devoted to water.
The three students watched as the ball of water floated high into the air, and moved to be over the spot where they stood. Izuku started panicking, knowing that the villain was going to drop the water on them to flush them out, and probably tipping the ship as a whole at the same time, letting them have what they wanted; to kill the kids.
Izuku looked around, hoping to find something to cover the group with. Finding nothing, he began to run through each of their abilities. He quickly looked over at Tsu, and snapped his eyes to Shinso, trying to judge their weight together.
"Tsu, could you jump to shore?" Izuku asked.
"Yes," Tsu said, judging the distance with her eyes.
"Could you do it while carrying us?" Izuku asked.
"Maybe. If not, I'll figure it out," Tsu said, not sounding as confident as she wanted.
"Alright. Shinso, get ready," Izuku said, letting Tsu take his hand.
Tsu crouched down, as did the boys, and all three jumped, Tsu contributing the most power to the leap. Izuku had tried to summon the strength of One for All again, but hadn't succeeded. He had felt a small spark, but apart from that, nothing. The trio soared through the air, hearing the villains cackle below them, until they were about halfway to the shore.
As the three started to fall, their weight combined being too much to carry across the whole distance. As they started falling the three started to scream, falling toward the water faster than they could handle. As the three started to fall, Shinso's grip on Tsu's hand slipped, and he began falling faster than Izuku and Tsu, being bigger than the two.
"No!" Izuku screamed.
"Shinso!" Tsu croaked.
Izuku went into overdrive. He quickly put together a plan that he was sure would get him to Shinso in time to save him. Would this plan leave both of them unharmed? No. Would it end with them both alive? Maybe not, but probably. Izuku had no choice, though. He couldn't let Shinso die because he did nothing. It was his fault that his friends had been transported to the Flood Zone in the first place, so he had to do everything in his power to save them.
"Tsu! Push me with your legs!" Izuku yelled.
Tsu did as Izuku had instructed, and it worked perfectly. For Tsu, it pushed her toward the shore, giving her a boost of altitude and speed, keeping her safe. For Izuku, the force kicked him back, sending him falling at a speed greater than Shinso, who was about halfway to the water's surface. Izuku tucked every limb in, decreasing his air resistance and letting him fall faster.
As Izuku neared Shinso, he threw out his hand and released Blackwhip, flicking his wrist as Sero had talked about, giving the whip more speed. The Blackwhip latched onto Shinso's chest, and as soon as he saw that it had connected, Izuku reeled the strand back in, adding a yank to pull Shinso toward him as fast as possible.
Izuku cradled Shinso, who had fallen unconscious, probably from shock again, in his arms, using the momentum of their impact to spin around and shield Shinso's body from the water. Izuku apologized to All Might, Inko and Ochaco in his head, and closed his eyes tightly, praying for a miracle.
For a moment, nothing happened. The feeling of the wind on his back slowed, and eventually stopped. All was silent, even the ambient sounds of combat had died down, and he was almost frozen in fear, too scared to open his eyes, but too scared to keep them closed. Hesitantly, Izuku opened his eyes to see the roof of the USJ, but it wasn't getting further or closer. It was static.
Izuku looked around, seeing that it wasn't the USJ that was static; it was him. He was stuck, hovering in the air with water, which he had barely not crashed into, kicking around below him. Izuku spun around, trying to see around him, and made eye contact with Tsu, at the shore. She was looking at him with wide eyes, just as he was looking at her.
"Float," Izuku muttered to himself, smiling despite himself. "Nana," he mumbled, and chuckled lightly.
He thrust out a hand toward Tsu, and, even through the distance between them, the message was conveyed. Tsu shot out her tongue toward Izuku, getting about halfway before stopping, its entire length used to extend toward him. As Tsu's tongue extended to its full length, Izuku shot out Blackwhip at the same spot, and the tongue wrapped around the end of the whip, connecting them.
Tsu nodded to Izuku, who nodded back. Tsu began to reel her tongue back in, pulling Izuku and Shinso toward her. It didn't need much force to pull the boys toward Tsu, as however Float worked, it was like creating a slippery platform. He was sure that there would be more to the Quirk for him to discover later, but now, he was just glad to have manifested it when he did.
As Izuku reached Tsu at the shore, his grasp on Float vanished, and he fell into the water with Shinso. Tsu immediately sat Shinso up against the wall that acted as a lip of concrete to jump into the water from, saving him from drowning while he was still out of it. Izuku jumped back up and started figuring out how to activate Float again.
"Midoriya, what was that?" Tsu asked.
"I think I just figured out how to channel my Quirk's energy in a different way! It was just like Blackwhip! It manifested when I needed it. It was like, instead of filling my body with the power, I pushed it out under me, holding my up into the air to … Float!" Izuku marveled.
"That's great. Can we save our friends now?" Tsu asked, surveying the battle in the central plaza raging in front of them.
"Yeah. Let's go be heroes," Izuku said.