Katsuki kept his eyes forward as he continued to walk in time with Izuku's pace through the mall. Though he wasn't the type to make a habit of hanging out in such public places, he was familiar with the layout and general appearance of the massive complex. Izuku had made sure to drag him along several times throughout the years, and each time, Katsuki found himself more bored than anything. That day, however, he found himself angered by the place.

"Wow," Izuku commented, his voice full of wonder as he looked around at the renovated ambiance. "I'm glad we all decided to come here and see the grand reopening stuff. They've really cleaned the place up…"

"Yeah. I hate it," Katsuki spat. "It makes me feel sick."

Izuku shook his head and sighed before turning his attention over toward his friend.

"…you just hate everything fun."

The accusation caused Katsuki to take a deep breath in through his nose as he balled his fists. Despite his efforts to keep looking dead ahead, he couldn't block out those bright floating things all over his peripheral vision. On seemingly every railing, attached to every storefront, and trailing from the ceiling were colorful balloons, banners, streamers, and signs advertising the grand reopening. The fact that so many people were seemingly enthralled by the decorations only pissed him off more, to the point where he finally stopped walking and clenched his fingers around a nearby railing as he turned to face Izuku.

"No, I hate that they made the mall look like a fucking carnival a few months after people died here. It wasn't that long ago, Deku, and having a little candlelight ceremony the night they reopened doesn't just wipe that fact away. This is what people do in hero society- villains attack, heroes step in, everyone loses their shit over the latest incident for a few days, and then it's swept under the rug until the next one. I'm fucking tired of it. This is disgusting. The fact that they're advertising 'grand reopening sales' makes it even worse- yeah, let's turn a massacre into a commercial event. Anything to make more money."

Izuku stopped abruptly and stood across from Katsuki as his friend ranted. The more the other boy spoke, the more Izuku's stomach dropped, until gradually, the sight of the balloons all around him filled him with a sinking feeling. By the time Katsuki had finished, Izuku just felt numb and settled for looking down at his feet to avoid the decorations.

"…okay, you… have a point," Izuku muttered. "Maybe it's a little much…"

"Maybe the general public needs to stop pretending that people aren't dying in villain attacks almost every week, now," Katsuki seethed. "Maybe law enforcement needs to get off their asses and let us heroes do our jobs without so much red tape."

"We're not heroes yet, Kacchan," Izuku reminded. "But… I don't know. It's complicated when it gets into politics and stuff."

"Is it?" Katsuki asked as he turned and began to walk again. "Seems pretty simple to me. Things are getting more and more dangerous. We need to stop taking villains alive so often."

"You really think that's the solution?" Izuku asked quietly as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Just… killing villains?"

"Dead villains can't kill civilians and heroes," Katsuki said simply. "Stop sounding so worried. It's never gonna happen or be approved, so it's not like it matters. We'll be stuck putting people in cuffs and letting this cycle keep going fucking forever. I'm not gonna risk my license doing something stupid."

"That's… good," Izuku said uncertainly. "But still, I don't think that's the answer. As for the decorations and stuff… I mean, people can't just be sad forever, you know? Eventually, you have to move forward and get on with life. The world can't stop every time a villain attacks. Then, they'll have won."

"Would you say that to the families of the victims?" Katsuki asked.

Izuku declined to answer, instead waving at a small group gathered around a set of tables in the food court. Several people waved back, and finally, Izuku leaned in to Katsuki and spoke in a near whisper.

"Just… let's not get into it today? Please?"

"…fine," Katsuki agreed with a roll of his eyes.

"And… thanks for doing this," Izuku added. "I know this isn't really your thing, but it's imp-"

"It's unavoidable, is what it is," Katsuki interrupted. "You've already made the point that we'll be seeing them every day. Might as well get used to them."

"Greetings!" Tenya Iida offered enthusiastically as he rose from his seat and offered a hand, which Izuku took immediately. "Thank you for inviting us, Midoriya. Unfortunately, several people couldn't make it on such short notice, but the gesture is appreciated. Team bonding will be important moving forward, even across classes."

"Of course!" Izuku answered. "And yeah, I didn't think we'd get all 20 people here without planning in advance, but I figured I'd offer for anyone interested. Thanks for getting in contact with the other class leads, Todoroki!"

The boy with the two-toned hair and scarred face sitting next to Tenya simply nodded, looking somewhat uncomfortable to be surrounded by his classmates.

"This is Hanta Sero, a member of 1-B from outside of… I suppose we'll call it the 'Zero Point' group?" Tenya considered as he shook Katsuki's hand and nodded to the boy sitting on his other side.

Hanta Sero was a lanky boy with black, neck-length hair slicked back and an unwavering smile plastered upon his face. As he lifted his arm across the table to shake Katsuki's hand, his oddly-shaped elbow came into view. Where an unaffected person's joint would come to a point, Hanta's instead rounded into a circle with a depression on either side, and a slot upon the back of his forearm for dispensing something. Katsuki eyed the heteromorphic feature curiously, though he declined to ask.

"Hey there! You're Katsuki Bakugo, right?" Hanta asked, only to receive a nod. "Your replay footage was all over the monitors after the audition. Really cool moves out there."

Katsuki merely grunted and nodded as the next boy in the lineup stood from his seat, and instead of offering a hand, clapped it to his own chest and tilted his chin upward.

"Neito Monoma, Class 1-B," the blond with the overly gelled hair declared. "The superior class."

"…not a competition," Shoto Todoroki said softly. "We're in this together…"

"I dunno," Tsuyu Asui declared from her place at the table across from Neito as she lifted a finger to her chin. "A competition between 1-A and 1-B could be interesting. Not sure what we'd track, though. Grades?"

"Everything," Neito declared with a mischievous glint in his eye. "We compare everything, starting with Quirks."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Izuku said hesitantly as he finished shaking Hanta's hand. "Some people aren't exactly comfortable talking about theirs. We saw that already during the meeting we had with the professors…"

"That sounds like their problem, not mine," Neito asserted as he slid back into his seat.

"Monoma!" Tenya cried in disbelief.

"Let's not start a conflict before we even arrive at the dorms," Ochaco suggested as she moved over a seat to open a spot for Izuku. "I'd rather we just stay friendly, personally. Is anyone else coming?"

"I think this is it, as far as I know," Shoto answered. "Unless you two have heard anything else."

"I reached out to the three students you haven't met yet- Fumikage Tokoyami, Mashirao Ojiro, and Juzo Honenuki," Tenya added. "Tokoyami is currently out of the country, while Ojiro is busy training, and Honenuki just said he couldn't make it. Hagakure and Yaoyorozu are both occupied with family affairs."

"Kirishima's on his way," Katsuki said as he checked his texts once again and slipped into a set next to Izuku. "The lizard couldn't make it, and neither could Jiro. That's all we've heard."

"That's a bummer," Ochaco chimed in. "But it's still nice to see you all again and meet some new faces, too!"

"Yeah, of course!" Hanta said. "You guys gonna get some food?"

"Yeah, good idea. We'll be right back!" Izuku answered as he stood up once again. "You coming, Kacchan?"

"…yeah," Katsuki answered as he followed suit.

"Mind if I come along?" Tsuyu asked. "I actually just got here, too."

"Sure!" Izuku replied. "Anyone else?"

No one else gathered around the tables that had been pushed together replied, and so, the trio set out at a leisurely pace toward the various food stalls lined up against the walls of the open plaza.

"So, how have things been over break?" Tsuyu asked. "Did you meet up with your roommates to figure out moving in yet?"

"Kinda, yeah!" Izuku said enthusiastically as he looked over the restaurant kiosks. "I'm with Todoroki, so we've been texting back and forth. This is the first time we've met in person after that meeting we all went to, though. Who did you end up with again?"

"Hagakure," Tsuyu answered with a sigh. "I've been having a lot of trouble getting in touch with her. She's apparently really busy all the time, and just says she's 'helping out with the family business.' I think her parents are involved in the restaurant and pachinko industries? I guess there's a lot of management involved…"

"You would think that someone playing the role of class representative would take her responsibilities a little more seriously," Katsuki growled. "We haven't gotten any direction yet from either of the leads of 1-A. We're flying blind, so Kirishima and I just figured stuff out on our own."

"They're new to this, too," Izuku tried as he began to make his way toward a noodle stand with the other two in tow. "We don't even really know what a class rep does, to be fair."

"I'm sure we'll find out once we all move in," Tsuyu considered. "Still… I'm not planning on anything until I hear from Hagakure. I just hope she's reliable moving forward."

"If she isn't… then at least she isn't at the top of the chain," Katsuki reminded. "The professors are the ones ultimately grading us and holding our licenses in their hands. Iida seems to have some idea what he's doing, at least."

"Yeah, Iida seems like a good fit," Izuku agreed. "Todoroki and Yaoyorozu also s-"

Izuku jumped as his phone began to ring. The trio stopped in place as the boy fumbled with the device while fishing it out of his pocket. Somehow, before Izuku connected the call, Katsuki could feel that bad news was coming.

"…uh… hello?" Izuku asked, eyeing Tsuyu warily. "I'm not alone right now…"

"That… hardly matters anymore," All Might's voice answered through the receiver. Izuku physically recoiled at the exhausted, defeated tone, and found that he couldn't even imagine All Might's withered body making such a dour sounding voice. "We need to meet, immediately."

"…is that All Might?" Tsuyu whispered to Katsuki, who was busy listening in.

The boy hesitated as he looked at the amphibian girl, knowing that his options were few.

"…yeah. Deku had some problems with his paperwork, and All Might's been working on it. Doesn't sound good," Katsuki tried with a shrug.

"…of course," Izuku answered with a grateful nod toward his friend. "Where should I go?"

"I'll text you the address. Bring Bakugo with you, please."

Izuku swallowed hard, feeling more and more like something was very wrong.

"He's here with me now. I'll bring him along. We'll be right over."

"…well, good luck, you two," Tsuyu said with a frown. "I'll let the others know something came up. See you both soon."

"Yeah," Izuku answered absentmindedly as he turned away and began to walk at a hurried pace. "Thanks."

Katsuki whirled and moved to follow as Izuku picked up into a jog while he looked down at his phone. His eyes widened briefly as he read something, and then he pocketed the device and broke into a run.

"What the hell is going on?" Katsuki asked as he sped up to match Izuku's pace.

"He wants us at Sir Nighteye's office immediately," Izuku said breathlessly. "It's an emergency."

Author's Note:

I figured getting right into the aftermath of the previous chapter would be a little too heavy this week. For those keeping track now that both classes have been revealed, the rosters and roommates are:

1-A:

Katsuki Bakugo and Eijiro Kirishima

Tenya Iida and Juzo Honenuki

Daisuke Aki and Minoru Mineta

Toru Hagakure and Tsuyu Asui

Amaya Kan and Kyoka Jiro

1-B:

Izuku Midoriya and Shoto Todoroki

Hanta Sero and Mashirao Ojiro

Fumikage Tokoyami and Neito Monoma

Mina Ashido and Momo Yaoyorozu

Himiko Toga and Ochaco Uraraka

The missing canon members of 1-A will be showing up in the story… but maybe not where people expect…

-RD