Chapter Twelve

Today's Lesson: Rescue!

The fourth day at U.A. High School was well underway, and as Izuku sat with his friends, his face was tucked close to the screen on his phone, his focus entirely on the articles he was reading.

"What'cha reading, Deku?" Uraraka asked, leaning into his side as she tried to see what was on his phone.

"Oh, n-nothing, U-Uraraka!" he yelped, turning his face away from the brunette, desperately hoping that she didn't see the crimson blush on his face. "I was just reading the news, that's all. Apparently, All Might stopped three separate incidents this morning; two hostage situations and a hit-and-run."

"To be expected of our teacher!" Ida praised, sitting across from Izuku. "To save the day while on his way to school is truly heroic!"

"Maybe, but I feel it's a waste of his time," Kurusu suggested, looking up from her own meal, seated between Ida and Koda. "Surely stopping a reckless driver is beneath his efforts."

"Why would you say that, Kurusu?" Uraraka asked, seemingly shocked by their classmate's view. "Being a hero is all about saving lives!"

"It is, don't misunderstand, but All Might is the No. 1 hero in Japan. He shouldn't have to respond to every possible call for help, not if there are other Pro's nearby who could answer the call instead, and especially not if he has other places to be."

"I mean, I don't see the issue if he was simply stepping in on his way to school," Izuku argued, feeling the need to defend his idol and mentor.

"Certainly, but he wasn't," Kurusu said. "The first two incidents, the first hostage situation with a notorious villain and the hit-and-run, were all within Musutafu City. However, the second hostage situation he responded to was in Ogothir City. Apparently he was late for a class as a guest speaker with the third-years this morning."

"Really?" Uraraka asked. "I thought All Might only taught us."

"While that would truly be an incredible claim to fame, All Might is the teacher for the Hero Basic Training classes for both first-year classes; our class, Class 1-A, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and our sister class, Class 1-B, on Wednesdays and Fridays."

"Oh, so that means we have All Might teaching us today!" Uraraka cheered, shaking Izuku's shoulder. "Isn't that exciting, Deku?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess," Izuku halfheartedly replied, poking at his meal with his free arm.

"What's the matter?" Koda asked in a quiet voice, a worried expression on his face. "You look up to him, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Izuku nodded, "it's just, I don't want to disappoint him is all."

"Disappoint him?" Kurusu asked in a confused voice. "How do you mean?"

"I still don't have control over my quirk," Izuku sighed, placing his chopsticks down by his plate. "Every time I use it, I wind up getting hurt. Mr. Aizawa is giving me a pass at the moment because I didn't bust up my whole arm yesterday, only a finger. But Recovery Girl isn't happy about it, and she always chewing me out everytime I have to go there. But the worst part is that she's right. I can't be a Pro with a quirk that damages me as much as it does."

"Actually, now that you mention it, your quirk does interest me, Midoriya," Kurusu admitted.

"Really?" Uraraka asked, tilting her head. "Isn't Deku's quirk just super strength that he can't handle yet?"

"No, I don't believe it is," Kurusu said. "Many people make the mistake of collecting all strength quirks under the same banner, but the truth is that there are many different types. Take All Might for example: his strength quirk allows him to be incredibly powerful, a fairly simple quirk."

"Right, I can see that," Izuku nodded, even though he knew the truth about All Might's quirk was much more complicated.

"Then you could look at my father," Kurusu continued. "Father has strength that could seemingly only belong to someone who has a strength quirk, but the truth is that he has a regeneration quirk; his strength is simply the result of his body repairing itself to a stronger state after his muscle fibres have been damaged.

"As for you, Midoriya, to be honest, I think your quirk…"

'Oh no!' Izuku thought. 'Don't tell me she suspects All Might and I have the same quirk!'

"...is strength amplification."

"Huh?" was all Izuku was able to say, the fear of someone discovering his deepest, most important secret being washed away, leaving only confusion.

"I only noticed it recently, but the energy that your body emits when you use your quirk, I believe is your strength being amplified."

"Then why does Deku hurt himself each time?" Uraraka asked.

"Simple, he's simply using too much of it."

Her simple answer stunned Izuku, as well as everyone else at the table.

"Has that really been Midoriya's problem all along?" Ida thought aloud. "It would certainly explain the self-injury."

"I know my body can't handle my quirk, but I don't know how else to control it," Izuku lamented, hanging his head. "The most I've been able to do is limit the damage to certain parts of my body, like my fingers. But it's really hard to try and pull back some of my power once I activate my quirk."

"What do you mean?" Koda asked, and nods from everyone else at the table showed they were wondering the same thing.

"Well, whenever I turn on my quirk, I imagine it like an egg in the microwave," Izuku explained, using the analogy he had told All Might months ago. "The problem is that there's simply too much energy being used. And if I try and stop some of that energy from being emitted, it takes up too much of my concentration to do anything else, and the power just dissipates."

"Wait, are you trying to control the full power of your quirk?" Ida asked.

"Yeah, but it's not going great," Izuku admitted. "At this point, all I can do is let the power flow through one finger at a time, just to stop me from becoming useless after one hit."

Silence fell across the table. Izuku looked around at his friends, only to be taken aback by the looks and confusion he saw on all of their faces.

"W-Why are you trying to use ALL of your quirk?" Uraraka asked.

"What?" Izuku asked, glancing at his friends. "What do you mean?"

"Oh heavens, now it makes sense," Kurusu muttered, fixing a stern look at Izuku. "Tell me truthfully, Midoriya. Is it true that your quirk emerged late in life?"

"Y-Yeah," Izuku admitted hesitantly.

"How late?" Ida asked.

"F-Fourteen," Izuku explained. "It appeared in my final year of middle school."

"So Bakugo was right. You being a late bloomer would explain your dismal control over your quirk," Kurusu sighed, looking Izuku in the eyes. "I'll be brutally honest. You, Izuku Midoriya, are using your quirk like an infant."

"What?" Izuku squeaked. "Dismal? Infant?"

"What I mean is that you haven't learnt to limit your strength," Kurusu explained. "At the moment, you're using no power, or all power. What you need isn't control over your full strength, but instead limiting how much power you're exerting, enough that it's sufficient for the task at hand, but not so much that it damages your body."

"Kurusu, you're a genius!" Izuku exclaimed, whipping out his journal and rapidly writing down notes. "Maybe this would allow me to completely avoid the damage done to my body!"

Izuku continued to furiously note down any ideas that came to mind, but as one fact reared its ugly head, the pace of his writing slowed down, until it stopped.

"Well, even if it does help me with my control, it simply replaces one problem with another," he sighed, sadly looking at the notes he had written.

"What's wrong, Deku?" Uraraka asked. "I thought that this would help you be a Pro."

"It could, but by limiting my strength, I'm just not strong enough. The time it takes for the energy to build up in my body is too long. I never needed to worry about it before, because one hit was always enough, but by limiting my strength, it would take many hits to get the job done. I don't think the villains are going to be willing to stand still while I turn it on again."

Once more, silence fell across the table.

"Are you turning your quirk off after each use?" Ida asked with a baffled expression.

"Well yeah, isn't that normal?" Izuku asked with a nervous voice.

"Midoriya, if I'm using my Engine quirk, I don't turn off engines whenever I don't need to use them," Ida explained, his voice becoming more and more exasperated. "Why, it would be as if a knight had to doff their armour every time they tried to attack their enemy, rather than simply leaving it on and continuing the fight, even if they aren't actively fighting at every moment!"

A jolt of electricity seemed to go through Izuku's mind.

"Leaving the armour on, even when there's a lull in the fighting, rather than taking it off after each attack…" he muttered, heedless of the rant that Ida had broken off into.

"That's it!" Izuku exclaimed. "Ida, I'm a suit of armour!"

"Uh, no you're not," Uraraka nervously chuckled. "Deku, you didn't hit your head in yesterday's class, right?"

"No no, not that," Izuku exclaimed, once more writing down notes in his journal. "What I mean is that Ida is right! All this time, I've thought that I needed to turn my quirk on and off each time I use it, like a light switch. But, what if I leave it on, like a suit of armour?! And the metaphor goes further! I've been struggling to control my power at 100%, but what if instead of fighting with the heaviest, most powerful suit of armour right from the beginning, I just wear a lighter suit of armour, one that I can move easily in, limiting how much armour, or power, is being used at once! Not so much that I break my body trying to move it, but enough to be an effective hero!"

"While it is a strange metaphor, so long as you understand it, I suppose that works," Kurusu admitted.

"Should I try it out in class today?" Izuku asked. "Do you think All Might will be pleased to see my progress?"

Of course, what the others didn't know was that Izuku was privately hoping that his mentor would be pleased to see how well Izuku had gained some form of control over One For All.

"I don't see why not, but I'd recommend private training as well," Kurusu suggested. "Try to use a controllable level of strength in your everyday life. Picking up a spoon, eating a meal, whatever it is that you do, use your quirk while doing so."

"Isn't that excessive?" Koda quietly asked. "He shouldn't need that much strength."

"Exactly my point," Kurusu nodded. "By doing such menial tasks with his enhanced strength, Midoriya would be able to more fine tune his strength. It is no different to how infants must learn that they don't need to use all of their strength to lift a spoon to their mouth, else the food will go flying from the force. Perhaps one day, amplifying your strength will become second nature, as easy to do as breathing or running."

"Yeah, that's an awesome idea!" Uraraka cheered. "Oh, Deku, maybe you could do an egg-and-spoon race to practise! And maybe we could help you! After all, Kurusu is really strong herself!"

"That sounds like an enjoyable idea, Uraraka," Kurusu nodded. "How about we create a group chat on our phones and organise a date for it. I'm sure my parents would be fine with us using some of the land on our estate."

"""Estate?""" Izuku, Uraraka and Koda all whispered.

"Oh, it's not that large," Kurusu shyly insisted. "It's mostly untamed forests, allowing my family plenty of room to run or fly around."

"One of Sarah's step-mothers is a Harpy heteromorph, as are two of her half-siblings," Ida explained.

"Wow, now I really want to go!" Uraraka cheered. "I can't wait to see my parents' faces when I tell them I've been to an actual mansion!"

"I'd like to see the animals," Koda whispered with a nod. "I could train my quirk as well."

"Then it seems we are all in agreement," Ida nodded, pulling out his phone as he spoke. "Now, what times suit everyone?"

-]l[-

The after-lunch classes rolled around without much fanfare, and throughout both of them, Izuku was buzzing with energy. He couldn't wait for their Basic Hero Training classes, couldn't wait for the opportunity to show All Might that he had managed to gain some form of control over the quirk that had been gifted him, to show that All Might hadn't made a mistake in choosing Izuku. And as the bell rang at 3 PM, Izuku knew that that time was now.

"Now, for Basic Hero Training," Mr. Aizawa droned, standing at the podium at the front of the class, "this time, All Might, myself and one other will supervise."

'This time?' Izuku wondered. 'So it's a special class.'

"So, what're we doing, exactly?" Kórinis Kurusu asked from the back of the class. "We usually have you teaching us, right? All Might teaches us every second day, so to have both of you plus someone else teaching us, it can't be usual, right?"

"That's partially correct, Kurusu," Mr. Aizawa nodded. "This will be a class that you'll have on a semi-regular basis, once a week."

He reached into one of his pockets, drawing out a plaque and displaying it to the class.

"Today, we'll be preparing you for disaster relief, from fires to floods."

"""""It's rescue training!""""" many in the class cheered, with Izuku noticing that Uraraka was one of the most excited.

"Rescue, huh?" Kaminari thought out loud. "Sounds like another rough day."

"Totally!" Ashido grinned, clearly more excited than her electric seating neighbour.

"Come on, man, this is what being a hero's all about!" Kirishima cheered, grabbing Kaminari's shoulder and shaking him back and forth. "I'm pumped!"

"And I'll be right at home in a flood, ribbit," Asui spoke aloud.

"Hey," Mr. Aizawa growled, quickly silencing the class, "I'm not done yet."

Pulling a remote out of another pocket, he activated the class lockers, automatically sliding out of the walls.

"It's up to each of you whether or not you wear your hero costumes," he explained, "as some of them are ill-suited to this sort of activity. The training site is a fair distance from the main campus, so we'll be going by bus. That's all. Get ready."

'Rescue training,' Izuku thought to himself as he collected his costume case. 'This'll help me become the great hero I know I can be! Being able to learn new rescue techniques AND show All Might my improvement with my quirk? I'll do my best!'

After changing into his costume, which now consisted of his gym clothes and some accessories from his original costume that had survived his explosive fight with Kacchan, Izuku and his classmates head outside, walking towards the bus that had been parked on one of the many roads that snaked through the campus.

"Hmm? You wore your gym clothes, Deku?" Uraraka asked, walking alongside him. "Where's your costume?"

"It didn't make it through the Battle Training class we had on Tuesday," Izuku explained. "Though it makes sense why you'd ask; afterall, we didn't need to use our costumes in Mr. Aizawa's B.H.T. class yesterday."

"B.H.T.?"

"Basic Hero Training," Izuku explained, looking down at his patchwork costume. "The school's support company is repairing it. Just gotta wait for now. But I did buy a new facemask."

"Attention, everyone!" Sarah Kurusu called out ahead of them, clapping her hands. Focusing his gaze forwards, Izuku saw the rest of the class gathered in front of the bus, with Mr. Aizawa, Ida, and Kurusu standing in front of it, facing everyone else.

"Please board the bus in a single file line. Seating order isn't necessary, but please take seats next to someone to make sure everyone has space. And while it might be a bit self-centered coming from me, make sure that any specialty seating places are given to those of us with abnormal body types, such as myself, my sister, or Ojiro."

"Single file, everyone!" Ida called out, a whistle held in his mouth. "We're wasting valuable lesson time by waiting out here."

Quickly boarding the bus, Izuku found the layout of it to be different than usual. Where there were normally two rows of double seats on the bus, the front of this one had seats that were placed against the wall, causing those who sat on them to face each other. Taking one of these seats, Izuku found himself sitting in between Sarah Kurusu on one side, who was lying lengthwise, using two of the seats as they were designed to be accommodating for those with non-human bodies, while Asui sat on Izuku's other side. Across from the three of them were Ida, Kirishima, Ashido, and Aoyama.

"I told you your seating plan wouldn't have worked," Kurusu said, trying to comfort Ida who sat across from her, his head hanging low in shame.

"I just thought that by boarding the bus according to our I.D. numbers, it'd be more efficient," Ida sighed. "I didn't consider the bus could be like this."

"Hey, don't sweat it, Vice-Pres," Kirishima reassured. "The way you and Pres got everyone on was really manly! You had a plan sorted beforehand and everything!"

"I generally say what's on my mind, Midoriya," Asui said out of nowhere, somewhat startling Izuku as he looked at the girl next to him.

"Oh? What is it, Asui?" he asked.

"Call me Tsu," the Bullywug insisted, turning to face Izuku. "Your quirk resembles All Might's."

"R-R-R-R-Really?!" Izuku stammered, his face pale and sweaty with nervousness. "No, I mean-"

"Sorry, Asui, but I think you're under a misconception," Kurusu disagreed, causing the Bullywug to lean forwards to look past Izuku, tilting her head at the Class President.

"What do you mean?" she croaked, placing an index finger on her lip.

"You weren't there when we discussed it, but the five of us, that is, Midoriya, Uraraka, Tenya, Koda, and I, believe that Izuku's quirk isn't super strength like it is with All Might, but rather amplification."

"What's the difference?" Kirishima asked, joining in on the conversation. "Other than, you know, All Might not breaking his body whenever he fights."

"Strength enhancing quirks come in many different forms," Kurusu explained, facing Kirishima. "A simple example would be All Might, who has enhanced strength. However, more obscure examples could be Midoriya, who's quirk seems to amplify his abilities, rather than simply increasing them at a baseline level."

"Oh, kind of like math," Kirishima stated, tapping his fist into his open palm. "While All Might's quirk is like a really high number, Midoriya's quirk is like an exponential, such as two to the power of itself. While it starts out small, being four, if you keep going it gets larger and larger, each multiplication being an even greater increase."

While chatter continued to sound out on the bus, Izuku and the others seated around Kirishima were staring at him with shocked expressions.

"Eikiri, when the hell were you good with math?!" Ashido practically screeched, clutching her head. "I struggled with math all throughout middle school, and there was a good looking guy who could help me with it all along?!"

"You think I'm good looking?" Kirishima asked with a shocked expression, a light blush on his cheeks.

"Plenty of girls thought you were cute, but that doesn't matter right now because I still haven't forgiven you for letting me scrape by in algebra!" Ashido declared, looking forward towards the window behind Izuku with a hmph, though Izuku's position allowed him to easily see the smile she was trying to keep down. Kirishima, on the other hand, only seeing the side of her face, didn't have the luxury to notice Ashido's amused expression.

"I'll make it up to you!" Kirishima promised, leaning forward to get Ashido to look at him, but this only caused her to twist around even more, now facing completely away from him, facing Aoyama.

"Uh, how about during the Final Exams before Summer Break, I help you with studying? We can meet up somewhere and study together!"

Ashido turned to face Kirishima, and after a tense moment of silence, her stern expression started to waver, then wobble, before Ashido folded over, clutching her stomach as she laughed, slapping Kirishima's exposed shoulders.

"Oh, Eikiri, you're so easy to tease!" she cackled, her laughter causing her to lose her balance, the back of her head landing on Kirishima's lap, her legs meanwhile kicking about, much to Aoyama's very clear annoyance.

Ashido's laughter eventually calmed down, the remnants of it resulting in small shakes of Ashido's shoulders. She pointed her arm upward, her finger directly in front of Kirishima's face.

"Alright, deal," she grinned, looking up at his now blushing face. "But remember, Eikiri, you've made me a promise, and bad things always happen to those that break their promises."

"Yep, promise made, got it," Kirishima nodded, nervous sweat running down his blushing cheeks.

'I wonder if that's what I look like when I'm talking to Uraraka,' Izuku idly thought, quickly being taken out of them by Kurusu clearing her throat to his side.

"Ashido's antics aside, Kirishima's correct," Kurusu nodded, bringing the conversation back onto its tracks after being derailed. "Another example would be my father; he has a regeneration quirk, one that causes his body to repair itself stronger each time it is damaged. According to one of my step-mothers, when Father was in high school, she was harassed by a quirkist couple due to her being a Lamia. Even at sixteen, he was strong enough to send them flying down the street a couple of metres just with a single punch. Nowadays, my father is able to crumple metal should he put much effort into it."

"As for Midoriya's issues with damaging his body, I believe that his current issue is due to the fact that he is using too much of his power, more than his body is able to handle," Kurusu continued. "This partially stems from the ludicrously high power that he is able to manifest, but also due to the fact that it is a recently manifested quirk."

"Wow, really, Midoriya?!" Kirishima exclaimed. "Damn, for you to have gotten into the Hero Course with a quirk that's so difficult to control, and you don't have much experience with it?! Super manly! That sort of simple, strength-enhancing quirk is awesome! You can do a lot of cool stuff with it!"

Kirishima looked down at his arms, a fond yet sad expression on his face.

"Not like my hardening," he said, holding his arms out in the air, tensing them and causing them to become sharp and rock-like. "I'm good in a fight, but it's real boring, not flashy in the slightest."

"I think that's pretty neat, though," Izuku argued. "Your quirk's more than enough if you want to go Pro."

"Going Pro, wouldn't that be amazing!" Kirishima imagined before coming back down to Earth, albeit with a cheerier expression than before. "But don't forget that heroes also have to worry about popular appeal!"

"Don't worry, Eikiri!" Ashido grinned up at him, her head still resting on his lap, waggling her eyebrows as she tapped his abdomen with a finger. "If popular appeal is what you're worried about, just keep showing off those washboard abs of yours, and you'll have the popular votes from plenty of girls, and some guys as well, probably."

"My Navel Laser is both strong and cool," Aoyama argued, also joining the conversation. "Perfect for a Pro."

"As long as you don't get a tummy ache!" Ashido teased, which Aoyama simply responded to with a deadpan stare.

"You wanna talk strong and cool? That'd be Bakugo, Todoroki, and the Kurusu sisters for sure," Kirishima said, pointing his thumb down the bus, where Kacchan and Kórinis Kurusu were seated just beside Asui. Further back, right behind them in fact, sat Todoroki alongside his partner from the Battle Trial, Shoji.

"Hell yeah we are!" the younger Kurusu sister grinned, flashing a rocker symbol with one hand, the other pulling Kacchan into her side. "Dynamite and I make an awesome hero team! Thanks for the confidence, Banjaku!"

"Tch," Kacchan scoffed, looking out the window instead of responding to Kirishima's praise.

"But Bakugo's so unhinged," Asui retorted with a straight face. "He'd never be popular."

"What'd you say, frog-face?!" Kacchan roared, trying to get out of his seat and lunge at Asui, only to be held back by his Arachne friend.

"See?" Asui said to Izuku, either oblivious to the efforts Kacchan was making to get out of Kórinis Kurusu's grip, or simply not caring.

"We've only barely started socialising and already you've made it abundantly clear to us the unpleasantness of your steamed turd of a personality," Kaminari said in a posh accent, seated across from Kacchan and Kórinis Kurusu, sitting next to Jiro, on of her earphone jacks plugged into her phone.

"Yeah, okay, Mr. Vocabulary, how about I pound you?!" Kacchan yelled, once again being restrained by Kurusu.

"Save it, Dynamite," she sighed, showing only the slightest amount of effort at holding back the explosive teen. "Just wait for one of our battle training classes, then you can lay the smack down on Sparky."

"How about I lay the smack down on him right now, damn it?!" Kacchan challenged, writhing in Kurusu's grip, who at this point had to use her pedipalps to restrain him.

"I don't think your mouth could get any fouler, Bakugo," Kaminari smirked, turning his attention back to whatever he and Jiro were watching on her phone.

"Now now, everyone, that's enough," Sarah Kurusu ordered, a firm tone beginning to enter into her voice. "While competition and challenges amongst us can be beneficial, let us not allow it to devolve into senseless bickering. After all, at the end of the day, all of us aspire to be heroes, and will likely have to work alongside one another in the field someday."

Kacchan didn't reply to Kurusu's statement, though he did noticeably stop thrashing and writhing in Kórinis Kurusu's embrace, opting to instead look out the window with a scowl.

"Kaminari, I'd like you to apologise to Bakugo for your words," Kurusu sternly instructed, fixing her gaze on the electric blond.

"Yeah, okay, so maybe calling you a steamed turd was a bit much," Kaminari admitted, remorsefully smiling at Kacchan. "Sorry about that, man, it kind of came out when I decided to be all posh and stuff."

Kacchan didn't respond, but given the flickering eye movement that Izuku noticed or the twitch of his lip, it was clear that he had heard the apology.

"Asui, you as well," Kurusu added, turning to face her fellow heteromorph.

"Well, there's a whole bunch of people out in the world with different views, so I guess someone out there would find Bakugo cool," Asui answered, tactically only half apologising. "And please, call me Tsu."

"Alright, Aunt Suu, that's probably the best I'll get," Kurusu sighed, hanging her head.

The entire bus was silent, every student, no matter if they were preoccupied or not beforehand, were now looking at their class president with confused expressions. Even Mr. Aizawa had gotten up from his nap, his eyes frowning as he looked at his student, like she was a puzzle he couldn't solve. For the person everyone's attention was on, however, her face had turned a crimson red, and she quickly buried her face in her hands, letting off a muffled shriek.

All were silent, though this was quickly broken by the sounds of merciless laughter that only a sibling could produce.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Kórinis Kurusu laughed, her pedipalps kicking out like they were legs. "YOU, YOU CALLED HER A-AUNT SUU! Ahaha, oh, I'm telling about that tonight!"

"Shut up!" Sarah Kurusu cried, her head shooting up from her hands, her blue eyes welling with shameful tears and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "You know exactly why it happened!"

"But it's funny because it happened!" the Arachne chuckled, her laughter dying down enough for her to properly speak.

"Right, well, perfect timing, Kurusu," Mr. Aizawa's slightly surprised voice said, causing Sarah Kurusu to let out another wail of protest, one that Mr. Aizawa ignored, stepping forward to address the class. "We're here. Look sharp now."

"""""Yes, sir!""""" the class chorused.

Stepping off the bus, Izuku and his classmates marvelled at the sight before them. A large, domed building dominated the area. Stepping through the doorway, everyone was taken aback by different sights they saw. A sinking ship in a watery area, a mountainous zone, an area where a bunch of buildings seemed to have collapsed into rubble, a landslide zone, and two other domes that hid what was inside. All that could be seen was one of them was red, with light seeming to emanate from parts of it, while the other was a greyish blue.

"Woah, this place is like a themepark!" Ashido cheered, her head moving all around as she tried to take in everything.

"There's the Flood Zone, the Landslide Zone, the Conflagration Zone, and many more," A voice called out.

The class turned around, taking in the sight of the speaker. Their costume looked like a space suit, the helmet a black dome with two white eyes drawn on the top of it, a white puffer jacket forming the suit, and a pair of yellow boots completing the look.

"It's the Space Hero: Thirteen!" Izuku exclaimed, his encyclopedic knowledge of Pro Heroes within Japan instantly telling him who it was.

"She's a gentle hero who does her best work in rescue scenarios," Uraraka gushed, fangirling over their teacher. "Ooh, I love Thirteen!"

"Hello, children," the Space Hero greeted. "Almost every disaster and accident you can imagine is represented here. I built this facility myself. I call it the 'Unforeseen Simulation Joint'."

'''''Just like Universal Studios Japan,''''' many in the class thought.

"Today, you'll have your first of what is sure to be many sessions here at the U.S.J.," Thirteen explained, stretching her arms out wide, the many areas behind her. "This will be a weekly session, where you will learn what to do in different disaster scenarios, playing as both the rescuers and those trapped in disasters. Even if you plan to be a battle hero, every Pro and sidekick needs to know the basics of rescue training. Otherwise, when disaster strikes, and make no mistake, it will, you'll be helpless to save anyone, unable to fulfil your role as a hero."

Having finished her declaration, properly changing the mood from theme park excitement to students realising the gravity of the situation, Mr. Aizawa walked over to Thirteen, the two of them having a quiet discussion of some kind.

"This place is incredible!" Izuku admired as he stood with his friends, all of them looking around at the different areas. "I wonder what zone we're going to start with?"

"I'm hoping for the Landslide Zone," Sarah Kurusu explained. "Due to my quirk, I find it doubtful that I'd do well in what looks to be a Ruin Zone, and I am not the most proficient climber either, so hopefully not the Mountain Zone."

"I think the Ruin Zone would be perfect for me!" Uraraka exclaimed. "I'd be able to make all of the rubble weightless, and pick it up like whoosh, like it weighs nothing at all."

"Let's get started," Mr. Aizawa declared, the private conversation between him and Thirteen clearly over.

"Before we do, I have one or two points…or three…four," Thirteen trailed off, counting the various points on her fingers, before shaking her head, turning to face the class. "Regardless, as I'm sure many of you are aware, my quirk is called Black Hole. It can suck in and tear apart anything."

"And you've used it to save people in all sorts of disasters," Izuku noted, Uraraka furiously nodding her head, so much so that she seemed to have two pairs of eyes.

"Indeed, however, my power could easily kill," Thirteen challenged, immediately causing the mood to become serious. "I've no doubt there are some among you with similar abilities. Abilities that in the wrong hand, used for the wrong purposes, could maim rather than mend, hurt rather than heal. Many criticise Japan for its laws that heavily restrict and monitor the usage of our quirks. 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 own hidden potential. Through All Might's battle training, you experienced the danger that your respective quirks can pose to others."

But what was a serious, somewhat dour tone quickly changed to a hopeful, anticipating tone.

"This class will show you a new perspective! You will learn how to utilise your quirks to save lives. 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, I thank you for listening," Thirteen bowed, the class giving the Space Hero a round of applause, with Ida in particular giving a loud, "Bravo! Bravo!" as he clapped.

"Great. First off…" Aizawa said, beginning to get the lesson underway, before trailing off, an odd feeling in his gut. Amongst the class, other students were having similar reactions. From Sarah Kurusu's ears flicking and swivelling around, as well as giving short, sharp exhalations of air out of her nose, to Kaminari, looking around in confusion, as well as Jiro, tilting her head, trying to pinpoint where, as well as what, she was hearing. Then, at the bottom of the stairwell, a small, swirling mass of purple smoke appeared, enlarging to the height of a man, then to the height of two. And out of this mass of smoke was a man with light blue hair, severed hands latched onto his face, head and arms. And following behind this man were a horde of individuals, each of them of different shapes, sizes, and styles.

"HUDDLE UP AND DON'T MOVE!" Mr. Aizawa yelled, the class taken aback by their normal quiet teacher's outburst.

"What the heck's that?" Kirishima exclaimed, a hand to his brow as he tried to see what was going on down below in front of their teacher. "More battle robots? Like during the Entrance Exam?"

"Don't move!" Mr. Aizawa reiterated, the golden goggles he always wore sliding down over his eyes. "Those are villains!"

"Thirteen, and Eraser Head, is it?" came a voice from the fog. The vague shape of a head appeared, eyes marked by yellow lights from within. "According to the staff schedule I received the other day, All Might is supposed to be here."

"Of course that whole incident was this scum's doing," Mr. Aizawa muttered.

"Where is he?" came the raspy voice of the Hand Man. "We've come all this way. We brought so many playmates. All Might, the Symbol of Peace, is he here?"

The blue haired man's gaze seemed to focus onto Izuku and his classmates, causing a shiver of terror to go down Izuku's spine at the madness as sensed in the villain's gaze.

"I wonder if some dead kids will bring him here?" the villain wondered aloud, his voice loud enough for Izuku and the others to hear it, the implication clear.

-]l[-

"Villains?! No way!" Sarah heard Kirishima yell in shock. "What villains'd be dumb enough to sneak into a school for heroes?"

"Ms. Thirteen, aren't there intruder sensors?" Yaoyorozu asked with concern in her voice.

"Yes, of course there are!" Thirteen exclaimed, looking around frantically, seemingly unsure why the alarms weren't sounding.

"Are they only here, or also at the main building?" Shoto thought aloud, ice forming on the right hand side of his mage-themed clothing, a frosty staff forming in his hand. "Either way, if the sensors aren't working, it has to be one of their quirks that's doing it. This place is on the far edge of the campus, and they picked a time when there'd be few people here. So maybe they're not as dumb as they seem. They must have an objective, because this is a well-coordinated sneak attack."

"Thirteen, begin evacuation!" Mr. Aizawa commanded, facing down the stairs towards the approaching villains. "And try contacting the school! Todorooki is right, one of these villains must be jamming the sensors, and there's a good chance that it's an electric-type causing the interference."

Turning his head to face his students, Mr. Aizawa locked eyes with Kaminari.

"Kaminari, try using your quirk to signal for help," he ordered.

"Already on it," Kaminari replied, a hand held up to the communicator he wore on his ear, the hand sparking with discharging electricity.

"But Mr. Aizawa, you can't fight them all alone!" Midoriya argued. "Against that many, even your quirk can't nullify all their quirks! As Eraser Head, your fighting style involves Erasure and a quick binding capture. Head on battle isn't-"

"No good hero is a one-trick pony," Mr. Aizawa declared, gripping his binding cloth in his hands. "Thirteen. Take care of them."

With that, their teacher leapt down the staircase, binding cloth at the ready. Three villains moved to intercept him, their quirks seeming to be suited for ranged combat. Against any other Pro, they'd likely have been successful in the villain's opening salvo. That is, of course, if they weren't facing off against the Erasure Hero: Eraser Head.

His binding cloth shot forward, wrapping around them while they were distracted by their quirks being suppressed. They were dragged up into the air, their heads slamming together, and were unceremoniously released, dropping to the group unconscious.

A Tetra Arms decided to try his luck next, his four arms covered in what appeared to be a rocky outfit. While Sarah knew that his quirk wouldn't be able to be Erased, due to him being a heteromorph, it didn't stop Mr. Aizawa from launching him back with a punch, only to wrap one end of his binding cloth around the villains leg, slamming him down into a group of villains.

"Come on, everyone, this way!" Thirteen exclaimed, catching the class' attention, drawing it away from watching their homeroom teacher display his skills. "The doors aren't powered, so they'll be easy to open! Once we're out, we can send out a call for help to the other teachers."

Sarah moved with the rest of her class, walking at a controlled yet hurried pace. However, her sensitive hearing was able to pick up the sound of quiet murmuring from behind her.

"Wow! He can hold his own even when outnumbered," Midoriya said to himself, his gaze transfixed on the fight that was going on down below.

"Midoriya, now isn't the time!" Sarah called out, idly noting that Tenya had noticed their quirk-obsessed classmate's absence as well. "Hurry up and evacuate!"

That snapped the vertet out of his thoughts, hurrying over to join the others.

"I won't allow that," came the booming, menacing voice of the fog villain who had caused the breach, appearing before them.

Everyone came to a screeching halt, many of them staring up at the villain with fear in their eyes.

The villain was formed out of a purple fog or mist, yellow, glowing eyes located on the vague shape of it's head. It loomed over them, and metal plates wrapped around the being's neck.

"Greetings," the villain said cordially. "We are the League of Villains. Forgive our audacity, but today, we've come here to U.A. High School, this bastion of heroism, to end the life of All Might, the Symbol of Peace."

Sarah was stunned by the declaration.

'They are here to kill All Might?' she thought in disbelief. 'What manner of Saturday cartoon villains are they?'

But as the thought left her mind, the words of her cousin registered.

'No, if they made all of this effort for the infiltration, knowing specifically that All Might were here, then they must have a plan, a reason to make them so bold as to attempt this.'

"We were under the impression that All Might would be here today, but it seems his schedule was revised?" the fog villain idly wondered. "Well, no matter. My role remains the same."

The villain was cut off as Sarah watched three of her classmates dashing towards the villain, being Kirishima, Bakugo, and her own sister, Kórinis. Kirishima rushed for the villains left, his arms hardening with blade-like edges. Bakugo ran for the villain's middle, his palm open, ready to deliver an explosion. Kórinis, with nowhere else to go, went for the villain's right, a line of silky thread shooting out from her wrist. Bakugo and Kirishima connected with an explosion from the blond and a swing of his arm from the redhead.

"Not if we end you first!" Kirishima declared. "Betcha didn't see that coming!"

However, despite the actions of the three, the villain reappeared, forming a short distance away.

"That was close," he said with a small level of nervousness. "Yes, students though you may be, you are the best of the best."

"No, get back, the three of you!" Thirteen yelled, her hands held out, fingers facing towards the villain, but her quirk was held back out of fear for the three overly eager students who were now in the way.

"BEGONE!" the villain boomed, his misty form growing exponentially large and inhuman, sweeping out to the sides, trapping the class and their teacher within. "WRITHE IN TORMENT! UNTIL YOU HAVE BREATHED YOUR LAST!"

"Kórinis!" Sarah yelled, rushing for her sister, or at least where she had been before the fog had descended upon them.

"Sarah!" came her sister's desperate reply.

Sarah rushed forward, hoping to grab ahold of her younger sister, ensuring that they stayed together, regardless of what the villain was planning. But as she swept out her arms, hoping to grab Kórinis in her embrace, all she grabbed was air.

"No," Sarah gasped, a sense of weightlessness taking over her. "Sister."

Looking down, Sarah was shocked to see that her sense of weightlessness wasn't metaphorical, but literal. Beneath her was the Mountain Zone, and fortunately due to the height of the fake disaster zone, Sarah's weightlessness only lasted a moment before roughly landing on the ground. Her ears picked up panicked screams from above, and looking up, saw the sight of Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, and Jiro all falling from a mass of purple mist, a mass that was rapidly shrinking after the three had emerged.

Calculating the distance, Sarah burst into a gallop, launching herself into the air, grabbing her falling classmates in her arms, safely landing back on the ground.

"Kurusu?" Yaoyorozu gasped, taking a wobbly step back as she stood on her own two feet. "Where, are we?"

"It looks like the Mountain Zone," Jiro observed, glancing around the area. "Did that villain teleport us here? And where are the others?"

"You three were the only ones I saw," Sarah explained. "It seems that the villains have decided to divide and conquer. As loath as I am to compliment such lowlifes, it is a commendable strategy."

"Hey, uh, ladies?" Kaminari asked with a worried tone. "I don't think these guys are wanting autographs."

Jiro and Yaoyorozu gasped as they looked over, taking in the sight of a group of villains surrounding them on three sides, the only protection being the rockwall behind them. Sarah was unperturbed, having heard their movement before Kaminari had noticed them.

"Prepare yourselves," Sarah instructed, arming herself with her mace and towershield, turning to face the villains. "They will show you no mercy, so none may be given to them."

"To gang up on students; simply disgusting," Yaoyorozu scowled, a metal bo staff forming from her exposed stomach that she quickly gripped, spinning it around in a display of her expertise with the weapon.

"So, uh, which dozen do you ladies want to take?" Kaminari jested, trying to keep their spirits up, even when surrounded. "Because if you ask me, they all look equally nasty."

Sarah didn't answer his quip, merely striking her mace's head against her shield in challenge, creating a loud clanging noise due to the wood having not yet been replaced.

'Just stay safe, Kórinis,' Sarah prayed, readying herself for the fight. 'I'll find you, wherever they've taken you. As the eldest child of Kimihito Kurusu, this I swear.'

Monica Rial: "If I had a dollar for every time I played an anime girl named with an 'SU' sound for their name, and they had water themed powers, I'd have two dollars, which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice."

Yeah, I kid you not, Suu's voice actor in Monster Musume and Tsu's voice actor in My Hero Academia are the same person for the English dub, hence the bit. The more you know…

So, when researching U.A. as a school, I discovered two things: first, U.A. has a six-day roster, meaning you get Sundays off, and that's it. Yikes. Secondly, All Might only teaches the first-years, classes 1-A and 1-B. I mean, I get it, wanting to make the biggest impression for the first-years, but come on, really?! Imagine being a second-year student, only to hear that All Might, No. 1 Pro Hero in Japan, is teaching the first-years. Not only that, but you missed being taught by All Might by a single year. Given the schedule for U.A. Heroics Course students, I could see All Might being rotated amongst the years. Since the Heroics Course is only classes A and B, and there are three year levels, I could easily see him teaching a class a day, giving their homeroom teacher a break, while also being really encouraging to the students. Also, what's up with the times that Class 1-A was assigned for their U.S.J. trip? In canon, this happens at 12:50 PM, which is twenty minutes into their lunch period. Also, Hero Basic Training is meant to be in the afternoon, at 3:20 PM. The times don't add up! Were they expected to miss TWO classes to have their extended Heroics class? Is this the norm, where each Hero Course class has an entire afternoon off with only a twenty minute lunch break? I don't know, just something I thought of. Hell, I've started another MHA story recently, so maybe I'll implement those changes then? I'd need to completely change how some events go, but it might be doable. If you'd be keen for that, let me know. Anyway, back to the chapter.

Kind of wanted to get this off my chest first, even if it's out of order, but Thirteen's speech was entirely hers, not mine. In my opinion, her view of Japan's quirk laws, how they are for the betterment of society, is complete bull. The system is literally designed to hide away people's abilities, make sure that people don't know how to use them, and then act surprised when someone without experience in how to use their quirk uses it in a high stress environment, potentially causing property damage, or worse, taking a life. Also the notion that every other nation in the world has the same quirk laws is also ridiculous. You're telling me that the U.S.A. would prohibit superpowers? The U.S.? Homeplace of superheroes as a concept? Freedomland itself? Yeah, not likely. While I absolutely believe that Japan has one of the lowest villain rates in the world, this is likely due to All Might being present, i.e. a massive nuclear deterrent, as well as the very strict quirk laws. Also, where does the government of Japan get off on the notion that it is considered a criminal act to use your quirk in self defence? Like, what?! It's probably the darker side of MHA, where those with a mutant quirk are inherently disadvantaged, not only due to discrimination, but also in terms of the law. If Mashirao is attacked by thugs and he fights back, not much happens, it's considered self defence. HOWEVER, if he uses his tail to defend himself, even if only as a reaction rather than conscious thought, he'd be facing charges of quirk misuse. Now, we don't know what kind of sentence this carries, and it likely is dependent on the nature of the quirk usage. In Vigilantes (which is getting an anime adaptation, hype!) we see that Koichi, the main protagonist, gets a slap on the wrist from an officer for using his quirk to get to work. So using it in a way that doesn't affect people is probably something similar to riding a bike without a helmet. However, I'd reckon that attacking someone while using your quirk, even in self defence, would be like pulling out a gun or a weapon, and be considered an escalation of the conflict, as you retaliating with your quirk would likely cause the attackers to do the same. Of course, this is overlooking the fact that if you're being attacked, the attackers are likely using their quirks anyway, so it's a moot point on Japan's part. I thought that it was a little disappointing that this was never expanded upon or addressed in MHA canon, so I've had some changes of my own implemented that occurred before hte start of the series, and details about this will be hinted at and introduced in a few chapters, then explained after the Hero Killer arc, since it's VERY topical then; the moral dilemma (cough cough not really) about if it's legal to use a quirk, even if you don't have a license, and if it is legal to attack someone if you're trying to save another life. Anyway, those thoughts were kind of going through my head when writing Thirteen's scene, so I wanted to expand upon that.

Now, for the Eijiro and Mina scene, I do not apologise for it, for multiple reasons. First and foremost, Eijiro x Mina is my favourite MHA ship, even more so than Izuku x Ochako. Vanilla is fine and all, but I enjoy different flavours. That and their dynamic is incredible, especially when you start to get into the backstory that the two share, really deepens their connection. Secondly, these are highschoolers on a bus, going on what is effectively a field trip, even if it's probably only a five to ten minute ride through the campus (the fact that U.A. is that large that they needed buses is insane). High schoolers are going to muck about, have fun, and generally irritate sleep deprived teachers who only want to sleep, all the while ignore their feelings for a cheerful fellow hero who lives further south (hint hint nudge nudge, you insomniac emo teacher, enjoy life every once in a while). And thirdly, I wanted to get a plot point established. During the final exams, Mina went to Momo's mansion to study, while Eijiro studied with Katsuki at a cafe of some kind. Well, Mina now has a promise for Eijiro to study together. Of course, this doesn't mean that others won't be joining in, resulting in a kind of filler chapter, just a friend group having some fun studying at one of their houses (I'll leave it up to y'all to guess who's house, though who's going to be in the group should be obvious).

Anyway, enough of that, time for the reviews.

Artorigus, thanks for the reviews as always. For Sarah and her ancestry, I'm pretty sure I got my eight generations detail from a 25 year gap average, fitting it within the 200 years timespan. While it's not perfect science, and there are going to be those who had children either later or sooner than 25, it's more of an indication for how far back Sarah and her people are able to trace their family line. For the Centaurs, more than any other race, family is incredibly important, a plot point that will be coming up in the future. As for her awkwardness, I've been planning that moment for months now, so I'm really happy with how it turned out. As for Izuku's admiration for Centorea, as you got a hint of this chapter, it will have some ripple effects, with a whole new line of moves. For your suggestions for Shinobu and Giyu, while initially I wasn't planning to have them, what with trying to keep the story to MHA and MM only (ignore the Avatar reference in chapter one), I had an epiphany for them, with not only how to introduce them, but also some interesting details for both their quirks, fighting style, as well as personality. They are only going to be minor characters, maybe in the International Arc, maybe later, but I have some ideas for them. As for the Four Cardinals, Todoroki's grandmother, Salamander, as well as Suu's mother, Undine (both of those are their hero names) are based off their manga appearance. As for Sylph and Gnome, I've definitely taken inspiration from their game characters, so you can look at those and get a good idea of what they look like. Obviously they'd be much older, since the characters in the game are students, while during the present the Four Cardinals are all in their 60s, but you get a good idea anyway. As for Shoto's design, yeah, out of the three, that one was definitely the weakest for me. The problem is that I didn't voice my concerns about it, like his expression just not being right at all, as well as his posture, but such is life. Hell, I might get another version of it commissioned, but that's a matter for the future.

Siarles, thanks for the reviews. I'm glad you noticed the reporter's name, it literally translates into Meadlesom News, while her cameraman was something to do with camera crew, though I can't remember exactly what. As for you concerns about Izuku ceding his position to Tenya, I genuinely couldn't see Izuku taking the position, not with the changes that have happened. As for Aizawa, my man doesn't really care, he didn't give the vote to Izuku because he was seen as the best candidate, but because he threw it to a student at random, letting the dice dictate the result. While for some stories that I have ideas/plans for, Izuku would likely retain his position, either as President or Vice-President, I can't see it happening in this one. I'm glad you liked some of the world building with the Centaur family, and trust me, their existence is going to have ramifications in the future. For your guess on what M.O.N. stands for, you are correct in that having the 'M' stand for Meta/Metahuman wouldn't be a great idea, and it's not the case. The full acronym will be revealed, maybe next chapter, but probably the chapter after next, given what's going to go down. And yes, we will have the appearance on the M.O.N. agency, and oh boy, it's going to put the spotlight on some things. Yep, we're also getting the Bicycle Cop harem being the inlaws (technically) of the Kurusu family, once again through Suu. I'm now realising how many connections have been through her, but I'm pretty sure it's staying at 2. I think (hope). One of the girls will be making an appearance during the Hero Agency Internship arc. I have some small details sorted with some of the girls, but I might figure out how to fit them in, even if only for a brief appearance or a cameo.

Right, once again, we have fanart! This time, the spectacular work comes from ANSKY, a new artist I'm working with. This time, rather than some character art, she's done some work featuring Enji Todoroki alongside his cousin, Tsu Kurusu, at the premier screening for one of the slime actress' films she starred in. Full credit for the idea goes to Sakumon16, whose idea festered in my mind, until I decided, "I'm an adult, I have an idea, and I'm financially irresponsible! Why the hell not?!" Unfortunately, as always, y'all on Fanfiction will have to mosey on over to Ao3 to see the fanart. Sorry, but that's what FanFiciton has decided.

And that's all from me. For your sneak peek, next chapter is called, "Danger at the U.S.J." We're really getting into the swing of things now!

See y'all next time…

- Jevm