"Right," Eraserhead said with an air of finality despite the fact that the meeting had only just begun in earnest. The professor placed his hands down onto the surface of the table and pushed himself up, his expression grim. The tight line of his mouth combined with his bloodshot eyes to give him a very unapproachable air, and several of the would-be students sat up a bit straighter out of fear or respect for the man.

"Let's get this over with. To lay it out for you plainly… you've all received letters, and they're all similar in tone. You're all aware that your statuses as prospective students at U.A. University are in danger, and you're all clearly nervous. I don't want this to take any longer than it already needs to."

"Hey, now," All Might interrupted, his iconic smile looking a little strained as he moved a hand upward to hold on to the back of his head. "Let's not rush into things too quickly, in the interest of fairness. After all, isn't that the main complaint leveled against everyone here? Recklessness without carefully considering evidence and ramifications?"

"Oh, we considered evidence," Amaya cut in as she locked eyes with Eraserhead. "We just don't care about the ramifications. Real heroes don't let red tape get in the way."

"Amaya," Vlad King said icily, only to earn his daughter's attention immediately.

"What, Dad?" Amaya spat. "Did you bring us here to defend ourselves, or do you already have your minds made up? Because if this is all just a formality and going to result in feeding us a line of bullshit before sending us home disappointed, then I'm with Eraserhead. Let's get it over with now instead of beating around the bush."

"Amaya!" Vlad King said a bit louder, his face turning an angry red. "I will not allow you to disrespect this institution by throwing out vulgarity and trying to strongarm professors into dancing to your tune! Show some respect, or I'll show you the door."

"…I don't know," Midnight mused as she cupped her cheek in her hand. "I like that one. Can we just vote her in right now?"

"I vote yes!" Minoru said immediately, raising his hand as he took the opportunity to check out Amaya's ample chest while she was leaning forward. "We are being allowed to vote too, right?"

"No," Eraserhead denied as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "But Miss Kan… you're not wrong, and neither is All Might. We did call you here to defend yourselves. We want to hear your rationale for attacking and destroying a very expensive mechanical construct that you were explicitly told to leave alone, impressive though the results of your actions may be."

"…wait," Katsuki said, his voice entirely flat. "This is about money? Are you kidding me?"

"I never said th-" Eraserhead began, only to be cut off.

"Of course it's about money," Amaya snarked. "It's always about money with hero schools. Don't you see the rec students across the table? They're your proof."

The tension in the air became almost palpable as Momo stiffened in her seat, doing her best to avoid all eyes. Shoto looked incredibly frustrated and rubbed at his forehead, while Tenya glowered back at Amaya. Toru's facial expression could have been literally anything. She may or may not have given Amaya the middle finger across the table.

"Whoa-ho, now, kiddos," Present Mic said with a nervous grin as he raised his hands up to shoulder level in a gesture of surrender. "Let's all just… cool down for a second. This is getting a little too heated for my liking, and I don't think I'm the only one. Uh, Miss Kan, since you seem to have elected yourself as the leader of this group for the moment, do you mind explaining what 'evidence' you were talkin' about before?"

Amaya simply shrugged, her wings shifting with the motion.

"It's gonna come out sooner or later. I heard from you people in my time hanging around U.A. that there was something more to this entrance exam than meets the eye. I shared that information with several people here before it even started, and then, once things got rolling, several of us found the hidden hostages scattered around the battlefield."

"…there were hostages?" Eijiro asked quietly, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid.

"You did what?" Vlad King asked, standing up out of his seat next to Eraserhead. "You leaked information and compromised the integrity of the entire exam process!?"

"That information leaked 'cause we're too loose lipped around here," Snipe mumbled, staying within his seat. "Been sayin' it for a while, and it's eventually gonna land U.A. in the kind of trouble we can't afford. Let's not pretend we don't know Amaya. Gettin' a little tired of hearin' 'Miss Kan' this and 'Miss Kan' that. What did you think would happen, given how friendly she's gotten with most of the adults in the room? She's practically lived here the past few years, on account of bein' Vlad's daughter."

"Don't just dogpile on her," Katsuki added as he narrowed his eyes. "Family connections aren't worth anything. Besides, like she said- several of us found the hostages, including people who didn't get that information from her. Lizard boy and grape-head were with me, and we found a group. Deku… Midoriya and whoever he was with also figured it out. The two of us led the charge on the Zero-Point Villain, so that would've happened anyway."

Izuku nodded, looking incredibly nervous as he tried to keep his voice steady.

"R-right. We both… uh, we found the hostages independently. I was the one who actually made the suggestion to stop the Zero-Point Villain, since it was specifically targeting the hostages. That part had nothing to do with Kan…"

"I rescued a group, too," Kyoka added as she raised her hand just above her shoulder. "I was totally isolated from everyone else here and started making my way toward the crowd once they assembled. It was a bit of a perfect storm."

"A-ha!" All Might said triumphantly. "You see? This all would have happened anyway, with or without Miss Kan's inside knowledge! Probably! I… think. Besides! What's important here is young Midoriya's reasoning for making the call that he did- he wanted to stop the loss of life occurring out in the field. Had those been humans, rather than robots, I think we all would have done the same!"

"Maybe so, but they were not humans, this was not a real situation, and these are not professional heroes licensed to act independently at the scene of a conflict," Eraserhead reminded. "I think I speak for both of us when I say that Vlad King and I are looking for a set of individuals to train who understand the value of discretion and following orders. They're barely adults, All Might. They aren't ready for snap decisions like that against enemies that dangerous."

"We aren't?" Mina asked, tilting her head and trying to seem innocent. "I thought I remembered us taking that thing down. Seems to me like we were plenty ready, after we decided to work together."

"To be fair, it was Bakugo and Midoriya, really," Tsuyu chimed in as she put a finger to her lips. "Those two were responsible for leading all of us and doing the majority of the damage. We mostly just ran interference."

"We took out the legs," Himiko said coldly. "Though Midoriya hit it hard enough that it probably wouldn't have mattered, anyway."

All eyes turned to Izuku, who slowly shrank down into his seat.

"N-no, I… we still needed the legs weakened, a-and without Kacchan's explosions to propel me… um… I don't know…?"

An uncomfortable silence hung in the room, prompting the brunette at the end of the row to lean slightly forward and hike a brow at Izuku.

"What is your Quirk?" Ochaco asked curiously. "I don't th-"

"Everyone here was needed," Katsuki interrupted, raising his voice to drown out Ochaco. "And don't pull that excuse that we aren't meant to think for ourselves while in training. Since when do things ever go according to plan out in the field? We showed adaptability and willingness to do what had to get done, regardless of whether or not that put us at risk. Isn't that what heroes are supposed to do? Or have I been looking up to the wrong people all this time?"

"Bold strategy," Snipe said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Callin' out the ones responsible for determining your future?"

Vlad King sank back down into his seat, his attention shifting to Katsuki as he folded his arms across his barrel chest.

"I, for one, am growing very tired of listening to a group of rebellious teenagers throwing around accusations all while asking for us to consider their viewpoints about heroism. If you want to speak of character when it comes to being a hero, tearing into other heroes won't get you very far."

Eraserhead pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes as he, too, returned to his seat.

"…there are rules at U.A. that I don't necessarily agree with. There are laws in Japan that I feel are unnecessary… but breaking those rules and violating those laws comes with a price. An unwillingness to swallow a bitter pill isn't going to impress us into giving you a chance at a career among heroes. It's going to cause us to question whether or not you are willing to deal with personal hardships for the greater good. I see the points you're all trying to make, but decisions of that magnitude are not the playground of first-year heroes-in-training."

"…if I may?"

All eyes turned to Tenya Iida, who had steepled his fingers in front of his lips as he rested his elbows upon the table.

"Go ahead," Eraserhead encouraged. "The four of you have almost as much say in this as the six of us. Whether or not you want to give these people a chance despite their performance at the entrance exam matters, in the end. After all- everyone on 1-A will be your responsibility, as well as Hagakure's."

Tenya nodded sharply and pushed his glasses a bit farther up his nose.

"Precisely. I can personally vouch for Katsuki Bakugo's character, and the necessity of occasionally bending the rules when there are people to be saved."

Katsuki himself was the first to raise a brow, his voice becoming a deadpan and confused monotone.

"…what? Do I even know you?"

Tenya's expression turned grim, doing little to hide his disappointment.

"I had a feeling you might not remember me. You saved me, years ago. I was being assaulted by a group of high school boys, shortly before you moved away near the end of middle school. You stepped in and rescued me… breaking several rules in the process. That same intuition and heroic spirit is what I believe drove your actions during the entrance exam. It also inspired me to take the possibility of becoming a hero more seriously."

"Aw, cute!" Midnight exclaimed with a devious grin. "Nothing wrong with a little mutual respect and… admiration between two boys on similar paths. The two of you should talk more, once this is all over…"

"…this is quickly going off the rails," Vlad King muttered while giving Midnight a squinting side-eye.

"Oh, now it is?" Eraserhead mocked with a roll of his eyes.

"Well!" Present Mic jumped in, all smiles as usual. "Things appear to be looking up for our U.A. hopefuls! But wheeeeeeere will it all go from here!?"

Eraserhead leaned forward slightly and turned to look at his colleague, seemingly stunned.

"Are you… announcing this meeting as though it was a sporting event…?"

"You know it!" Present Mic returned with a pair of finger guns.

"…Jiro?" Ochaco suddenly asked, causing the collective attention of the room to shift to the long-eared girl. "Is… something wrong?"

Kyoka sat staring down at her lap, the glow of the phone she held below the surface of the table semi-visible upon her face. The pallor of her cheeks had gone ghost white, accenting the red teardrop markings just below her eyes. She swallowed hard, totally unfazed by Ochaco's voice and transfixed by whatever she was looking at.

"Hey," Himiko tried as she poked Kyoka in the shoulder. "She's talking to you, you know."

Kyoka jumped in response, seemingly on the verge of tears as she stood up and slipped her phone down into her pocket.

"Young Jiro?" All Might tried, tilting his head. "Wh-"

"I have to go," Kyoka said quickly. "I-I'm sorry, I can't… I have to leave, I can't do this right now..."

"What?" Vlad King asked as the girl made her way to the door as quickly as she could. "Young lady, what's going on?"

"Nothing good," Daisuke declared as he stood up immediately and moved to follow Kyoka. "I know that look. Do… whatever with me. This is barely even a real conversation anyway. I get the feeling your minds are already made up. See you all when I see you."

"Wait!" Present Mic called out, looking worried. "Leave this to the pros! I'll go and f-"

"Mic, no," Eraserhead interrupted. "Jiro made a choice, a-"

"Made a choice?" Amaya sneered. "Did that look like the face of someone who had any say in whatever's going o-"

"Kacchan?" Izuku asked, seemingly unsure and nervous as several more voices joined in throughout the room. "Shouldn't we…?"

Katsuki brought a hand up to his forehead and squeezed, clenching his teeth as he closed his eyes. Within seconds, he had made a decision and stood up to make his way toward the door.

"Bakugo?" All Might asked over the din of the argument that had encompassed nearly everyone in the room. "Are you s-"

"I know that face, too," Katsuki snapped. "And I know what a single text can do to someone. I'm out."

Katsuki didn't bother to look back and check whether or not Izuku was following him as he left the conference room. He emerged into the hallway just in time to see a stairwell door swing open and Daisuke to step back into the corridor.

"Bakugo…?"

"Shut up," Katsuki snapped, his mind racing. He quickly shook his head and took a deep breath, feeling incredibly conflicted. "Have you seen her?"

"No, I was a second too late," Daisuke lamented as he ran a hand through his bushy hair. "Let's split up. I'll fly out of a window and keep an eye on the main entrance. Lemme give you my number. Call me if you find her!"

"Good idea," Izuku chimed in from behind Katsuki. "I'll head down to the main floor and check the halls. Kacchan, can y-"

"Depending on what she just saw, she might want to hide, rather than run," Katsuki asserted. "I'm gonna start checking rooms up here. Be quick about this."

Daisuke rattled off a phone number, waiting for Katsuki to enter it into his contacts before he nodded and headed for a nearby classroom. Izuku ran for the stairwell that Daisuke had emerged from and turned toward Katsuki just as the other boy replaced his phone within his pocket.

"…hey, why did you decide to do this?" Izuku asked. "You know we're probably putting our positions at U.A. at risk…"

Katsuki paused with his hand on a classroom door. He snorted and shook his head in response.

"…you know why. Besides… All Might owes us. We'll make this work."

Izuku paused for a moment before giving his friend a nod and disappearing into the stairwell. The conference room door opened just as the stairwell door closed, only for a myriad of other people to pour out into the hallway, beginning with Momo Yaoyorozu.

"Bakugo, yes?" Momo asked as he gripped the handle to the classroom door more tightly.

"Yeah," Katsuki seethed. "Stop wasting time with formalities- send some people to sweep the halls and classrooms and get something done!"

Momo blinked, taken aback by the orders as Katsuki opened the classroom door and stepped inside.

"…alright, everyone! Here's the plan!"

Author's Note:

The conclusion of the meeting will be next week… along with some character moments that have been building in the background for quite a while…

-RD