"You shitty little brat! What the fuck did you do?!"

"I-I was j-just hungry! I-I—"

A hand came flying down on a young Yoshihara as she was smacked across the face and sent flying into the stove behind her. She cried out in pain, as her mother, who was covered in shadow, narrowed her golden, hate-filled eyes, which were the only thing visible to her.

"I don't give a shit, you snot-nosed brat! You eat when I say you can eat, you sleep when I say you can sleep! I told you what would happen if you didn't obey. You know what that means, right?" As her mother said that, she reached for her pocket. The young Yoshihara's eyes widened.

Not that… anything but that! She'd even do it again if it meant not having that happen!

"N-No! P-Please I—"

"Too late, brat, you've pissed me off. You know the rules, now get over here!" As her mother said that, she drew out a knife, inched closer to the little girl, and then…!

Yoshihara jolted up from her bed, sweat travelling down her face as she hyperventilated. She hiked her blankets up over herself as her eyes scanned the room, only to find that she wasn't back there. She was home, and she was safe. Yoshihara sighed, letting go of the blankets as they fell haphazardly as she got out of bed.

Drowzily, Yoshihara got out of her pyjamas and got changed into her clean uniform. She was going to forgo the shower this morning, seeing as she had one when she got home, and immediately afterward she went straight to bed, skipping out on supper.

The Heroics 101 class yesterday had been rather boring. All Might taught it as usual, and all it had been was a test to see who performed best in a hostage rescue situation. It was a solo affair, and out of everyone in the class, she had scored toward the bottom, three spots away from Kirishima Eijirou.

She wasn't shocked by the outcome. Out of all the "hostages" she saved, only 3 out of the 7 of them survived, and she had been far too sloppy with how she had saved them. All Might had given her some tips, and she took them to heart. Next time such a class would happen, she'd do better. She knew she would.

Although, out of everything that had happened that day, she hadn't expected. At the end of the class, just as they were heading out, when she was walking with Kujo, Jirou had approached them. At first, she thought that something was going to down, especially with how hostile she was on the first and second day of classes toward Kujo.

But, instead of that, she apologized. Bowed her head and everything. Something came to light and she found out something that she, apparently, wasn't supposed to. Kujo, being a far better person than she would've been, accepted her apology, and Jirou followed it up by asking to talk again at a later date. And then, they returned to homeroom, got dismissed by Aizawa-Sensei, and the rest was history.

When she got downstairs, she greeted Kayama-san, or, Mom, with a quick wave as she walked upstairs to go do something. Whatever that something was, Yoshihara didn't want to know nor did she care. When she walked into the kitchen, she looked around for some eggs to make an omelet, and as she did, she mulled over recent events, specifically relating to her far too frequent for comfort nightmares.

How many times had she been having those nightmares as of late? At least three times in the past two weeks or so. She had one the night before she was attacked by Inko, and she had one the night before the incident with Taro happened. Once was a coincidence, twice was a pattern. On top of that, her shoulder had been acting up as well, and once again, it was in the same pattern.

She didn't know what to make of this, but whatever was going on, she wasn't liking it. Not one bit, especially considering both of those things happened during a horrible, unspeakable event. Was today going to be the same? Was she going to get into a life-or-death situation again? If she was, she wasn't going to be too happy.

Then again, things had been too peaceful recently, and it was something she didn't like. The supposed attack on U.A. by the press was more than it had seemed. She knew that much, and she had a feeling that she might know who the one responsible for it might have been. After all, the reporters couldn't have been the ones who had broken into the school.

Don't get her wrong, they had probable cause, but not probable ability. They were reporters for crying out loud, and moreover, none of them would be that desperate as to break the law to get the newest scoop, even if it was about All Might. There was no way in hell that they were that desperate. They'd be better off as Villains at that point. Attacking U.A. was tantamount to suicide for their papers' reputation. That was why she believed it to be stupid.

Her mind kept going back to the guy with teal hair. He had something to do with that attack. She knew that guy had to have been lying about his position as a janitor, at least now she did. Yesterday he had her convinced, which in hindsight was bad. She had never seen anyone like him before, and she'd never see a guy like that at the school again.

Whoever that guy had been, he had been the reason why the U.A. Barrier had been broken. However, as much as she wanted to focus on that, and as much as she wanted her brain to run amok with ideas, she had to get to school.

"Theorize about the mysterious man later. The last thing I want is to be late to school and to have Aizawa-sensei breathing down my neck because of it.". As soon as her thought finished, she finished making her omelet and had Killer Queen grab her a plate to place it on. Taking her plate, she had Killer Queen clean the pan she used to make her omelet, and she sat down at the coffee table with her food, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.

The elevator's light was on, and that meant someone was coming up. But who? Kayama-san was upstairs, and she had to assume Aizawa-Sensei was already at the school. She didn't invite anyone else over, so who else could it be?

When the doors opened, she blinked in shock when both Kujo—who had insisted on being called Fumi-kun now—and Sakunami-san walked out of the elevator, dressed in their school uniforms. Karera had a small grin on her face, while Fumi-kun's expression was more neutral than anything else.

"Heya, Kira-chan! It's good to see you again, It's been a minute, hasn't it!" Sakunami-san said, moving her hair over her shoulder. "How's 1-A been treating you?"

"Well, I'm sure Kujo—"

"—Fumi-kun!" Kujo interrupted as Yoshihara narrowed her eyes.

"Kujo-san," Yoshihara bit out, before continuing, "has told you most of what 1-A's been up to. But, I have to ask, why did you, yet again, invite yourselves over before double-checking with me? For all you could've known, I could've been in the hot tub, or Kayama-san could've been, or something like that."

"Sorry about that, Sakunami kinda just… dragged me here, so I didn't have a say in the matter," Kujo replied sheepishly, earning an annoyed sigh from Yoshihara. Honestly, she wasn't even mad moreso than she was disappointed.

It was strange. Despite being a sociopath, she could feel anger just fine—even embarrassment to an extent. But most other emotions, she couldn't. Maybe it was a side-effect of constantly being around annoying people who didn't seem to listen to what they were told, so her brain forced itself to learn how to emote with anger.

As for embarrassment… well, that she didn't know. But, it was progress. Progress to relearning how to properly emote. Frankly, she'd take that any day of the week over nothing. Though, she wished it were more positive emotions her brain chose to relearn rather than negative ones. But then again, beggars couldn't be choosers, so the saying goes.

"Very well. I suppose it's of no consequence…" Yoshihara muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose as she let out an exhausted sigh. Looking back up at the pair, Yoshihara yawned, covering her mouth with her hand, before speaking. "So, what is it? Is it something related to the investigation?" Yoshihara asked as Sakunami-san spoke up.

"Well, kinda. See, Vlad-sensei told us you and Fumi-kun were going to be on a field trip for hero training today, apparently somewhere in Downtown Musutafu, which is where gang activity has spiked, though specifically from one Gang, but we don't know the name of them. We also don't exactly know where you're going. Our undercover agent says that he's going to keep his eyes open to see if he can't gather some intel, so we hope to hear back from him later today once school goes out," Sakunami-san said as Yoshihara's expression became contemplative.

"Hmm. A coincidence, to be sure. But I wonder, does Aizawa-sensei know about the spike in activity? If Vlad King does, then Aizawa-Sensei should…. Bah, whatever. It's none of my business. However, I don't think it's a stretch to believe that something is going to happen today. With that scar on my shoulder acting up along with that nightmare, and with the gang-activity spike happening in downtown…."

"I see… and this Gang that, at the moment, has no name to our knowledge…. Are you certain it has ties with The Stand Bullets? I don't see why you'd mention them unless they were related," Yoshihara questioned as Kujo nodded.

"Yes. From recordings of the attack a few weeks back, and from recent recordings of them seemingly setting up another attack, they've been smuggling the bullets around. Our undercover agent has taken it into his hands to rid the world of a few of them and found out that, on their remains, they had the bullets on them. Meaning that they're part of the smuggling operation. He tried to capture one of them, but they popped a cyanide pill to keep from talking," Kujo said, as Yoshihara narrowed her eyes in thought.

To her, it made no sense for this gang to be so defensive about the bullets. Unless… "They could be the ones manufacturing them. In this case, that could pose a serious issue, and with our only known individuals being nameless grunts who kill themselves when caught…. These guys sure are serious."

"Something on your mind, Kira?" Kujo asked as Yoshihara finished chewing on some of her omelet, swallowing as she spoke.

"The grunts who kill themselves. Have you been able to do any background checks on them using their DNA from the corpses?" Yoshihara asked, prompting Sakunami-san to speak.

"Nope. Their bodies keep disappearing into purple mist. We don't know why, but they seem to have some kind of instant transport Quirk on their side, which could prove to be annoying in the future should we ever come to blows with them. Given that we're looking into these bullets, that will happen regardless of what we want," Sakunami-san replied as Kujo began to speak.

"Furthermore, we have reason to believe that this gang isn't just selling The Stand Bullets, but they're the ones making it. Think about it, why take your own life just to protect your supplier, right? Unless you're the one making the product that you're selling, most criminals would sell out their supplier for a lighter sentence. It happens all the time in America. Dad comes across it more than enough for that to be the case here," Kujo noted as Yoshihara nodded.

"I was about to say something like that. You took the words right out of my mind. You're right, it does make no sense for them to protect their supplier. Coupled with this teleportation Quirk User, another question arises. Do they even run their operation in downtown Musutafu? Or is that just where they do most of their business?" Yoshihara suggested as Kujo grimaced.

"I didn't think of that… Though, I suppose that makes sense. If they're just doing their business in downtown Musutafu, and only business, no wonder they haven't been caught yet. I also wouldn't be surprised if they have multiple bases…." Just as Kujo was saying that Kayama-san came walking down the stairs, and upon noticing Kujo and Sakunami-san, smiled.

"Well, I wasn't expecting guests," Kayama-san said, who was now dressed in her hero costume. "What brings you two here?"

"Hi, Kayama-Sensei! We were just popping by to talk to Kira-chan," Sakunami-san replied as Kayama-san walked toward the group of three, stopping just behind the couch Yoshihara was sitting on and leaning on the cushion next to her.

"Well, I hate to interrupt your conversation, but if you want to be at school before the first-period bell rings, you should probably get going. I can drive you three if you want. I know Yoshi-chan likes to walk to the train station, but I'm running late, and I don't mind taking you guys to U.A.," Kayama-san offered as Yoshihara stood up, forgoing the rest of her breakfast.

"Well, since you're offering, I wouldn't mind," Yoshihara said as Kujo and Sakunami-san bowed, thanking Kayama-san in unison. Not even a moment later, they exited the suite, and made their way to U.A.

[XXXX]

Within his office located in the main base of operations where Damnatio ad Bestias was located, Blackwell and the man made of mist, Kurogiri if he recalled, sat opposite to one another. Blackwell had a cigar burning in his right hand, with his left hand sitting in his pocket as he leaned into his chair, looking Kurogiri over with a skeptical eye. "So, you've received Makoto then, I take it?" Blackwell asked as Kurogiri nodded in the affirmative.

"That is current, sir. Although, Tomura asks why she is so… in his words, not mine, annoying," Kurogiri asked as Blackwell let out a belly laugh. He found that hilarious. That brat calling Makoto annoying… To be fair to him, Makoto did rub a couple of her cohorts the wrong way, but that didn't mean she was annoying. She just had an eccentric personality.

"Well, think of it like this. Why is your master so keen on attacking U.A.?" Blackwell asked in return, causing Kurogiri to hum. The way the black mist around his body shifted to look as if his glowing yellow eyes were narrowed in thought was interesting. He had never seen such a Quirk before, even if Blackwell viewed all Quirks as inferior to Stands, that didn't mean they weren't interesting.

"Because he wants to. He wishes to destroy as he pleases and doesn't care what others think of it…" As he spoke, a realization seemed to wash over him. "Ah, I see the point you're making," Kurogiri stated as Blackwell grunted.

"Then I see no point in continuing this dialogue. If there is nothing else you'd like to ask of me, then leave. I have other matters to attend to. More important matters, might I add," Blackwell stated as, without another word, Kurogiri evaporated from where he sat, collapsing into himself like that of a black hole. It was quite a fascinating thing to observe. He wondered if he felt pain when he did that.

Either way, Blackwell didn't care. All he cared about was making sure all of this went according to plan. Should The Symbol of Peace, All Might, actually meet his end today, then his plans would be able to excel far faster than once thought. That was, of course, assuming that it happened.

Chances were though, that All Might would live another day. Of course, he would, because this was All Might. It hardly mattered what you threw at the man, he would preserver. It was in his nature, even despite his injury, which was rather annoying. It was why he had such little faith in this plan, and why he was using such a disposable individual for this plan.

It was also why he was far more focused on his main plan rather than whatever crack-headed scheme Tomura Shigaraki had come up with.

Picking up his phone, Blackwell dialled a certain number and put it on speakerphone. When the person he was calling picked up, Blackwell smiled. "Overhaul. Status report on the next batch of Stand Bullets. You've been taking an awfully long time with this batch. Is there anything I should know? If it is the virus you need, I already have loads of duplicate veils you can use."

"No, sir. It has nothing to do with the lack of the virus you have given us. Its… It's Eri, sir."

"And what seems to be wrong with the brat?"

"I…" Overhaul paused on the other end. This again, was it?

"How many times do I have to tell you, Overhaul? Get over yourself. You know why I am making you do this, do you not? It is for the betterment of mankind. To rid the world of Quirks, and to gift the world the true path forward. That child has unlimited potential, which is why I forced your hand."

"With all due respect, sir… I am more than aware of your point of view. I am more than aware of what it is that you want. I am also more than aware that if I were to defy you, you would kill us all. I am not so delusional to believe that I could stop even if I wanted to…. But you must understand, she is just a child. She… I… we can only take so much before she becomes unsalvageable."

Blackwell frowned, chewing on the inside of his cheek. That made sense, as annoying as it was. They were using a living being to make these drugs. Overhaul had expressed his concern about something like this happening, but at first, he waved it off. Now, it was becoming clear he could no longer ignore it.

He had a way for that to change, though. All he'd have to do is talk to The Head of the Percussores Damnatorum, his assassination department, and he'd have the means to continue production for as long as he damn well felt like it.

The issue with that is it went against his contract with The Shie Hassaikai. He wouldn't meddle in their affairs so long as they handed over 100 Bullets every two to three weeks. It seemed as if he was going to have to alter that deal, and in a way that benefitted them both. To allow Eri to take a break and a longer one at that.

But, in the same breath, he needed an excess of those bullets. Selling them to other gangs to spread them around was costing them, and they only had so much left in stock. Which prompted him to do something that could be viewed as risky.

"Then I propose a new deal. One that will make this process easier," Blackwell said as Overhaul hummed. He sounded hesitant, which made sense. He had to twist his arm around in order to get him to go ahead with his idea two years ago. He viewed that little brat as being important to him due to his ties to his oyabun.

Not that Blackwell particularly cared. He didn't care if what he was doing disgusted Overhaul. He was a villain just like the rest of them. If they wanted to further their goals it would be through any means necessary. A fellow Yakuza man would know that better than anyone.

"Go on. I'm listening…" Not that he had much of a choice, of course.

"It's simple. Instead of 100 Bullets every two to three weeks, I want 50 Bullets every day in a single week. Then, you take a break week, the cycle repeats, and I pay twice the amount I was paying you before. Sound good?" Blackwell asked as Overhaul sounded like he spat up something, most likely a drink.

"T-Twice? Are you sure, sir? That's over 500 Million Yen! How do you have that kind of budget?" Overhaul asked as Blackwell's smile went from ear to ear. To think that Overhaul used to be very stingy when it came to taking his orders. That was two years ago. Now he completely owned his Yakuza and every other means of income that his Yakuza had. He really should've figured it out by now. Perhaps he was as dumb as his cohorts thought he was.

Either that or he was genuinely befuddled by how much money he was slinging around. When working within the seedy underside under the purview of heroes and police alike, especially while being one of them, the risk versus reward factor was rather high. It was why he had to make such daring deals.

It was why having an ally like Overhaul was needed. Even if Overhaul hated what it was he was doing, he couldn't ignore where the money went. To survive, you did what had to be done. For Overhaul, it was mutilating Eri to ensure they both survived. Because the moment it stopped, Blackwell would dispose of them like the gutter trash that they were.

Overhaul knew this. Eri, not so much. She was a child—a dumb, stupid, waste of air child. One of the millions that were born. The world would not miss a singular child in the ocean of many. The only reason he kept her around was because of her blood.

But that was for another time.

"I have a lot of assets that I can liquidate almost daily. I own several companies that span the world, and I have shared stocks in high-up places, to the point where I basically own those companies. And that's just where I get half of my money. The other half comes from a more illicit side. Rest assured, Overhaul, that you will get your well-earned money, so long as I get what I want," The Boss stated as Overhaul cleared his throat.

"O-Of course, sir. I understand. I accept this new proposal. You'll get your next batch of 250 Stand Bullets next week."

"Very good. Bye for now," As Blackwell said that, he hung up his phone, and smiled. Today was a good day. He got a better deal on The Stand Bullets, and All Might potentially may or may not be around anymore after today.

He loved this job.

Though that being said, he knew he'd have to prepare just in case Makoto was arrested or, somehow, died. Not that he believed the heroes had it in them to kill someone. They were soft. Too soft.

However, after looking over the class registry, he noticed that Kira Yoshihara was there, who was a Stand User. Same with Kujo Josefumi. That threw a potential wrench into their plans, but he said nothing to Tomura about it. He'd let him experience the taste of failure—assuming Makoto didn't kill both of them.

Taking a drag out of his cigar, Blackwell looked up to the ceiling and found himself lost in thought. With everything he was juggling at once, he found himself missing the good old days. Back before his clan was wiped out by The Speedwagon Foundation.

He found it ironic. Despite how thorough they were, they never bothered to confirm their kills. That, and… his monstrous Stand. It was stronger than his, and the idea of fighting it again… He gave him night terrors.

He had never fought against something so powerful. Both the lead researcher of the Chinese Branch's Stand and the CEO's Stand were monsters in their own right. Having to fight them back to back when he had, when he was weaker, had been what had done him in. But even now, the CEO's Stand would beat him down.

A part of him knew he was gambling with how he was targeting Kira and the CEO's son. But, he was a betting man. He never bet something unless he believed he would win.

And Blackwell was pretty damn confident that he would win.

[XXXX]

It was in the middle of the afternoon, 12:49 PM to be exact, and Josefumi had been tired. The combination of having a surprise pop quiz early in the morning, followed by another test in Yamada-Sensei's English Course didn't help things, but to make matters even worse, he made a stupid decision the night prior.

He stayed up almost all night with Karera researching the Stand Bullets. Pretty much everything they searched for concerning the aforementioned drug came up inconclusive. Josefumi's father suggested over the phone that The Speedwagon Foundation might have known a thing or two about the bullets, and to check in with the Japanese Branch Director to see if they could inquire about a few things relating to The Stand Bullets.

Unfortunatly for the pair, that had been quickly countered by the acting leader of the location who claimed to only know a small amount about the original Stand Arrow and that they were still trying to figure out the arrows' true origin. In other words, it would be impossible for them to know about the modern equivalent, despite having access to several samples the pair had sent their way.

In other words, they were back at square one. However, something interesting did catch Josefumi's and Karera's eyes. Local Gang activity in Downtown Musutafu spiked in one night, and it was around the Stand Bullet—specifically smuggling the thing from place to place. Their undercover agent had intercepted some of them and had reported back to them what happened.

According to them, he had partnered up with Yorai Musha, and had been informed that a former villain turned undercover agent was in the area, and they decided they were going to try and shut down the smuggling ring.

However, it went horribly wrong, extremely quickly.

During the fight, Yorai Musha was shot in the neck by one of the Stand Bullets, and it prompted the undercover agent to retreat with Yorai Musha to try and get him medical attention. Which, thankfully, was rather easy to do thanks to a Speedwagon Foundation pop-up base having been in the area.

When he brought Yorai Musha there for examination, his body had been covered in welts, his eyes were bloodshot and bulging, and his lips had turned blue. However, just before he died, a spark of electricity powerful enough to destroy all the electronic equipment in the operating room came out of his index finger, and then, he passed away.

The HPSC and The Speedwagon Foundation quickly covered it up, but the truth was now out there. Everyone knew what Yorai Musha's Quirk was. It was to sneak around with no sound to their footsteps, as well as the ability to nullify sound in general.

So for a Pro Hero with a known Quirk that nullified sound to suddenly blast out electricity straight from their fingertips, understandably, caused a panic. To say it was a cause for alarm for the public and an even bigger cause for alarm for both the HPSC and The Speedwagon Foundation was an understatement. The Hero Protection and Safety Committee urged the public that the rumours were false, and like the obedient little dogs they were, they listened.

But a few knew the truth, and those few wanted to spread the word that a group of people were going around and attacking people with bullets that somehow gave people new abilities.

Unfortunatly for them, but fortunately for those involved, their efforts were faulty in spreading the information, as The Speedwagon Foundation and the HPSC were censoring it—a brilliant move on their part.

Still, now with one of the Top 10 dead, all eyes at The Speedwagon Foundation were focused on finding the people who made the bullets, which was a relief. However, now with a wealth of resources allocated to the project, it was clear that the producers of the drug were going to go into hiding, making things much harder.

It was frustrating, but that was just how things went. It was how the cycle of crime versus law enforcement had always been. The only difference was the stakes at play. How things even got as bad as they had, Josefumi didn't know. What he did know was that they would eventually get better.

They had to.

"At least there will be more eyes on this than there were before. I just wish it didn't take the death of someone high up in the hero system to cause it," Josefumi thought as the clock ticked over by a minute. The bell for the next class rang, and as a result, Aizawa-Sensei got out of his sleeping bag, eyes narrowing at everyone before nodding to himself.

A small sigh escaped his mouth as he cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. Kujo and Kira knew that they were going on a field trip, but no one else did. "Now for today's basic hero training; this time, All Might, myself, and one other will supervise," Aizawa-Sensei stated, adjusting his massive scarf. No nonsense, just as per usual.

He always wondered why Aizawa-Sensei was so serious all the time. It wasn't a bad thing, in fact, he found it better than how Vlad King was reported to act. Although, if he had one complaint—and it was a minor one—it was that Aizawa-Sensei was almost… boring.

Josefumi kinda wanted their teacher to throw more oomph into how he talked, but he guessed he'd just have to be content with tired, grumpy, and always slightly annoyed Aizawa Shouta. He glanced over to Midoriya, who had been in deep thought, and then he glanced over to Kira-san, who was staring at Aizawa with a skeptical glare.

"I wonder what's on her mind? Is she trying to fish out any deception in his words? To be fair, these past few classes had been rife with trickery on his behalf, so I don't blame her."

Just then, one of the other students, Sero Hanta if Josefumi remembered correctly, shot his arm up into the air and asked the question that was on everyone's minds. "Um, Sensei, what're we doing exactly?!" Sero asked as Aizawa-Sensei dug around in his pocket for something, then responded in his usual tired tone of voice.

"We'll be preparing you lot for disaster relief, from fires to floods," then, with as much enthusiasm as a dying balloon, Aizawa-Sensei finished his sentence with a slightly less tired voice "We're doing rescue training today."

And with that, the class erupted into chatter. However, Josefumi simply glanced over to Kira-san, who had done the same thing. Unbeknownst to anyone else in the class, there was a hint of uncertainty in Aizawa's voice when he brought up All Might. So perhaps there had been a chance that he wasn't going to show up.

A wave of unease was shared between the two. Why was there uncertainty? Did something happen where All Might was needed for something? It wasn't uncommon for that to be the case, but—he was All Might, after all—but when Aizawa-Sensei spoke, it wasn't with regular uncertainty. It was more like a question than a straightforward thing.

Just then, Aizawa-Sensei spoke up, gaining everyone's attention with a sharp glare and the activation of his Quirk. "Hey. I'm not finished yet."

As his eyes wandered over everyone, making sure that everyone stopped talking, he huffed, deactivating his Quirk before continuing. "Alright. Now, as I was saying," he started, grabbing a remote off of his desk and clicking the big red button in the middle. "It's up to each of you whether or not you wear your costumes, as some of them are ill-suited to this sort of activity," Aizawa-Sensei continued as several panels from the walls opened up, revealing the suitcases that All Might handed out to them during their first few classes of basic hero training. "The training site is a bit remote, so we'll be going by bus. That's all. Get ready."

It didn't take long for the class to make the unanimous decision to take their costumes, much to Aizawa's surprise, although in the back of his mind, he smirked at the action. "They're becoming more rational. Good."

After getting changed into their hero costumes, they got outside, and when they did, they were greeted by Ida doing everything in his power to arrange a seating order. Yoshihara paid no mind to it, seeing as she used Killer Queen's enhanced eyesight to peer through the bus's tinted windows. The seating plan he was trying to use would fail, and everyone would more than likely choose where they sat, regardless of what Ida wanted.

It was funny how quickly things fell apart. All Ida had to do was look at the bus beforehand, but no. He was so caught up in his own idea of "neat and tidy" that he didn't consider the possibility that the bus wasn't the same kind of bus he believed it to be.

Yoshihara looked over to Izuku and noticed that he was wearing U.A.'s gym uniform instead of his hero costume. Well, she supposed it made sense. Bakugo did damage his hero costume pretty badly, so it was understandable. What she couldn't understand, however, were the gloves. What were the gloves for? Maybe it was to enhance his punches and reduce the recoil. Maybe?

Izuku was pretty secretive about his Quirk. That would have to be something she talked to him about. His Quirk was interesting, and also very volatile. One wrong move and his entire body would crumple under its sheer strength. She wanted to know more about it, or as much about it as he knew.

Given that he was a Quirk nerd, he probably already knew the ins and outs of his new Quirk. She wasn't nearly as bothered about it anymore as she had been originally. But either way, that didn't stop her from being curious.

"You're staring at Midoruya-kun, you know that?" A voice cropped up behind Yoshihara as she spun around, meeting face to-face with Ashido. "Do you have a crush on him~?" Ashido asked, a wicked smile on her face as Yoshihara's eyes darted over to Izuku, then back to Mina.

"Uh…" she paused to think. Did she have a crush on him? Was she even capable of mimicking that emotion? Love? Was that even possible?

Well, thinking back to that time when she had… slept with Izuku… in her bed… snuggled up to him like he was a large teddy bear… she remembered that her heart began to race and that she felt her cheeks heat up when she saw that. Did that… did that mean she had a crush on him? No. No. She couldn't. She couldn't feel that kind of emotion. It wasn't right. She wasn't allowed to. That would compromise everything.

"I… guess…." Yet her mind betrayed her as did her words. She hadn't even realized that she had said that as Ashido's smile widened.

"I knew it! Haha! Okay, you, me, we're going shopping. You're not backing out of this at all. Trust me, I'm a guru with this kind of stuff. I was little-miss-cupid in my middle school. I set up so many relationships, and I can do the same here. But you gotta have the right wardrobe. You free this weekend?" Ashido asked as Yoshihara stared at her, watching the excitement swirl in her eyes.

Well, there was no backing out now. That and Kayama-san did say she needed to broaden her wardrobe. Sakunami-san helped a little bit, but she had a feeling that Ashido would force her to get more than just a handful of things like Sakunami-san had.

"Yeah, as far as I am aware I am," Yoshihara responded as Mina nodded.

"Great! We'll meet at the mall in Kamino Ward. I'm going to try and bring Kirishima and Karera-chan, sound good?" All Yoshihara did in response was nod before boarding the bus.

The bus, much to Ida's dismay, was a different kind of bus than what he had been expecting which Yoshihara had already predicted, and just as she predicted, everyone sat wherever they chose, much to the class rep's disdain. Yoshihara sat to Izuku's right, while to his left, Asui Tsuyu if she remembered correctly, sat there. To Yoshihara's right was one Rikido Sato, who seemed to be listening to music while keeping his head low.

The bus ride was silent for the majority of the time. However, that was until Asui spoke up, specifically towards Izuku. "I generally say what's on my mind, Midoriya." Asui started as Izuku rubbed the back of his head, clearly not expecting to be addressed so abruptly.

"O-Oh! What is it, Asui—"

"Call me Tsuyu."

"Oh! Tsuyu, er, what is it?"

She looked over in the direction of Izuku, and with a totally not at all unnerving bug-eyed stare, spoke her mind to Izuku. "Your Quirk resembles All Might's."

And from there, all chaos broke loose. Yoshihara simply detached herself from the world around her and slumped into her seat on the bus, not keen on listening to the annoying conversation that was going to spiral about due to Asui's inflammatory claims.

However, much to her mind's chagrin, Asui did bring up a valid point. The only difference separating All Might's Quirk and Izuku's was that All Might's bones didn't break upon using his power. Although, Yoshihara had deduced that it was based on control, and not just a simple drawback.

Looking back on the times Izuku used his Quirk, both successfully and unsuccessfully, there was a clear line between him breaking his bones being a drawback, and it being an unintended consequence of not being able to control his own Quirk.

On the first day, as Aizawa was making an example out of Izuku—or at least, tried to, anyway—he channelled all of his power into his index finger when he threw the ball, the result being a broken finger instead of a broken arm.

Then, she compared it to when he battled Bakugo in the Combat Training exercise, where he acted on a whim, not bothering to channel his power, and as a result, not only blew up a majority of the building but also destroyed his arm in the process.

Therefore, her theory was sound—at least that part of it was. Izuku's Quirk's drawback wasn't breaking bones. Its true drawback was the difficulty in controlling the power. It was almost sad that nobody else picked up on it. She would have assumed that maybe Bakugo would've picked up on it, seeing as the two had a history together, no matter how unfavourable it truly was, but she must've put more thought in Bakugo's mental capacity than she had initially assumed.

Or maybe, like her, he was keeping his suspicions to himself. Which, in that regard, made sense. No one, no matter their history, wanted to accuse someone of anything, no matter how minor it was. Even so, it didn't seem in line with the Bakugo that she had met. Perhaps there was more to him than she thought.

She paused to think deeper about the implications that might have had. Izuku's Quirk was similar to All Mights, and the drawback was inherently based around control—at least she assumed—and Izuku was a massive All Might fanboy.

Either two things were happening here. Either All Might was the biological father of Izuku—which she didn't believe. If All Might was as bad a teacher as he is as a parent, that would mean that Izuku would be even more socially inept, so that wasn't possible and therefore, logically speaking, that wouldn't make sense. Then again, the second option was equally non-sensical but had a lot more merit.

Since Izuku was Quirkless all of his life, it would stand to reason that his Quirk didn't just "suddenly develop" as he claimed. She wasn't going to assume the possibility of that being the case, but at the same time, one did not simply lose a toe joint over time, develop a Quirk, then train with it only for ten months, go to the top hero school in all of Japan, and get this far without some sort of foul play being involved.

Which was why, she had come to a startling realization that only made sense to her, and to her alone.

Somehow, in some way, All Might, in some fashion, gave his Quirk to Izuku to allow him to become a Pro Hero and take his place as The Symbol of Peace.

As much as she tried to deny that being the more likely option, Yoshihara knew full well that if given the chance, Izuku would easily agree to that kind of strain just to impress All Might, or do the selfless thing and carry whatever legacy that All Might. However, there was just one thing that stopped her from fully believing her theory.

How?

How did Izuku obtain his Quirk? How exactly did he get it from All Might? Was there a trade that took place? If so, what trade? What did he give up to take the Quirk? Something was amiss with the situation, and to get the right answer, she would have to confront Izuku about it as soon as she got the chance.

And what better chance than now, seeing as he was right next to her? However, just as she was about to ask the all-important question to Izuku in a whisper, Aizawa-Sensei spoke up, causing her to straighten up.

"We're here. Look sharp now!"

"I guess I'll have to ask him later. But now, at the very least, I have something to think about while doing this mundane training exercise." Yoshihara thought, standing up from her seat on the bus.

Upon getting off the bus, everyone was quickly funnelled into a dome-like building, and upon entering, they were met with a truly disastrous view—in a good way. A lake with a massive whirlpool in the center next to a boat. A bunch of buildings covered in mud and half-buried buildings. A mountainous region. A dome with fire iconography, so something to do with a mass fire of some kind if it had to be contained like that. And finally, another place with a dome over the top of it with water and wind iconography—clearly, it had something to do with rain and wind.

And everyone within Class 1 – A saw it all, standing on top of a highrise platform, watching over it all with a keen eye. There was a fountain in the middle of the building, which was probably a resting area before getting back to training. After all, recklessly training one's body without taking breaks was a bad thing. No one in their right mind did something like that.

But, there was something else that was bothering Yoshihara. Something that she couldn't quite shake. She had been anticipating for something to go wrong the whole day, and yet, nothing had. It was starting to concern her, and while she did her best to not show it, she couldn't help but feel the overwhelming sensation of dread.

She adjusted her tie as an uncomfortable feeling washed over her. She looked over to Josefumi, who also had the same uncomfortable expression adorning his face. In front of them was a hero, whose helmet had giant white eyes, making it look like the suit itself was alive. Speaking of the suit, they looked like an astronaut wearing an overly bulky suit. A fitting touch, considering who they were.

"There's the flood zone, landslide zone, conflagration zone, etcetera…." The hero paused to look over the students, a smile hiding behind the space helmet. "Every disaster and accident you can imagine, all located in one place. Not to pat myself on the back, but I built this facility myself. I call it… The "Unforeseen Simulation Joint"!" The Pro Hero said, their voice muffled, and the ability to hear what gender of the person they were was difficult due to the static radio voice they used to mask it.

And, in true hero nerd fashion, Izuku began to geek out. "It's the space hero, Thirteen! They're a gentleman hero who does their best work in rescue scenarios!" Izuku said as Uraraka chimed in with her own opinion.

"Oooh! I love Thirteen!" Uraraka said, a million-dollar smile on her face as Yoshihara looked away, shaking her head with disappointment. How the hell did they not pick up on the foreboding atmosphere the place was giving off? Was it just her and Josefumi who could feel it? If so, why?

And then, it hit her.

"I get it now. The reason my anxiety is acting up…." Yoshihara thought, looking around the massive training area, trying to figure out where it was coming from until finally, she pinpointed the blue dome-covered zone with the water and wind motifs. She glanced over to Josefumi, who was doing the same thing.

"There's a Stand User in this building. But who? And how?"

Thirteen turned to face them all, her expression unseeable due to the mask. "Before we start the lesson, I have one or two points. Or three… or was it four? Bah, whatever," As Thirteen started, Yoshihara tried to distract herself from the malice that was building up in the building, but it was unavoidable, and as a result, Killer Queen summoned itself by her side, Josefumi's Soft & Wet doing the same.

"As I'm sure many of you are aware. My Quirk is called Black Hole. It can suck in and tear apart anything," Thirteen continued as Izuku spoke up.

"And you've used it to save people in all sorts of disasters!" Izuku said as Thirteen nodded.

"Indeed… However, my power could easily kill. I have no doubt in my mind that there are some among you with similar abilities." Yoshihara could've sworn she felt Thirteen's eyes land on her specifically, and her spine tingled because of it.

"In our super-powered society," Thirteen continued, turning their attention back to everyone. "The use of Quirks is heavily restricted and monitored. It may seem that this system is a stable one, but we must never forget that it only takes one wrong move with an uncontrollable Quirk for people to die. During Aizawa's physical fitness test, you came to learn of your hidden potential. Through All Might's Battle and Hostage Rescue Training, you experienced the danger that your respective abilities can pose to others. This class will show you a new perspective! You will learn how to utilize your Quirks to save lives!" Thirteen made a sweeping gesture to the area around them as everyone felt their adrenaline begin to pump. Specifically, Izuku, who now sported a massive smile on his face. "Your powers are not meant to inflict harm. I hope you leave here today with the understanding that you're meant to help people. That is all! Thank you for listening."

As Thirteen finished her speech, everyone, except for Yoshihara and Josefumi, gave praise to the speech. It wasn't because they were ignorant, but instead, their senses were too honed in on the threat that was within the building with them.

Somehow, a rogue Stand User was in the building. One neither of them recognized, and it was throwing them off. Sweat built up on Yoshihara's forehead as her expression morphed into one of worry and concern.

"Every second I stay here, the more danger I'm in. Something bad is going to happen here. I sensed it early this morning when my shoulder tensed up and when I had that nightmare. And now, I'm getting the same feeling, but stronger. Something is wrong. I can feel it." Both Josefumi and Yoshihara thought at the exact same time as Aizawa sighed.

"Great. First off…." Aizawa trailed off, glancing down the stairs as something within the center of the USJ began to swirl to life. The object started to grow, like a portal, and it continued to do so in the span of seconds. Aizawa's eyes slowly began to widen as a hand began to grip the edge of the portal as if it were clawing its way out of a dirt hole.

And then, a manic, hand-covered face peered out of the hole, a singular eye the size of a pinprick looking up at everyone as Yoshihara's eyes widened like saucers. The killing intent coming from that one man was suffocating. And to make things worse….

"Teal-haired guy?!"

She thought back to the time when she bumped into the hooded figure back at U.A. They both had the same hair colour…. They both gave off some form of killing intent, though this time it was much more egregious…. And then, everything snapped cleanly into place.

"He was the one who broke into U.A. Now he's here to attack us all? But why? No, I shouldn't think about that. He's a villain. He attacked the main building, and now he's here…."

"HUDDLE UP AND DON'T MOVE!" Aizawa's booming, angry and shock-filled voice rocketed all around the students as everyone in class 1 – A, outside of Yoshihara and Josefumi, was blissfully unaware of what was going on.

Panic, confusion, and terror filled the room as Aizawa began to give orders to Thirteen to "Protect the students." Just as she thought, things were going wrong. Oh so horribly wrong. Everyone began to chatter as the teachers began barking out orders, trying desperately to get them out of the USJ.

And amongst it all, Yoshihara's heart was beginning to go into overdrive. The killing intent soaking off of that man was too much. It was inhuman. It was suffocatingly strong. It made it nearly impossible to breathe for her. Her eyes shrunk and her breathing began to labour. Her chest tightened, and her hearing began to fail as a loud buzzing noise took its place, just as the panic attack set in.

Josefumi took notice and rushed to her side, wrapping an arm around the prone Yoshihara's shoulder as she buckled to her knees, her body shaking as she tried to keep herself from lashing out. He was speaking, but Yoshihara couldn't hear a word. People were running around, but it became a blur for her.

Why now? Why, out of all times, did she have to have a panic attack now? It didn't make sense. Why would she have a panic attack in a situation like this? She had been in life-or-death situations before, so why was she having a panic attack?

It was because of that malice. That raw, inhuman hatred for everything. It was animalistic, it was suffocating. All Yoshihara wanted to do was huddle up into a ball and cry. Cry like the child she was. She couldn't take it, she didn't want to be here anymore. It was too much. It reminded her of her.

Killer Queen's vision allowed her to see his face. And it was monstrous. The look in his eyes, the malice wafting off of him. The way he held himself. The way he scratched at his neck. The way how he smiled. It all reminded Yoshihara of her.

"Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stopitstopitstopitstopitstopitstopitstopitstopit!"

That tough façade of hers shattered as she could barely make out Izuku rushing over to her. In a split second, a massive shadow cast over them, and she could feel its sharp eyes zeroing in on her and her classmates.

But before she could do or say anything, all she could do was reach out, grab Izuku's shoulder, staring at him with eyes that showed nothing but pain, worry, and fear. His eyes had much the same expression within them, though far more subdued.

It was getting harder each second to fight back the urge to scream, to cry. She had only felt this kind of malicious intensity once before. But it was a memory so far suppressed that she didn't want to re-live it. But before she could do or say anything to Izuku….

Everything went black.