Tamaki's eyes darted back and forth between Mirio and Overhaul as he stared the two down. The only sounds audible in the area were those of his falsely labored breathing and the wind whistling through the trees of the forest. No one dared to make a move as they all tried to assess the situation, though Tamaki continued to tremble ever so slightly. Mirio couldn't tell if it was all part of the act, or if his friend was legitimately scared. That notion scared him.

"Tamaki, it's alright," Mirio tried again, doing his best to sell the tension as he kept his hand up in a disarming gesture. "I'm still with the hero course… but doing this lets me get things done that heroes just can't do. You can't take revenge on the Nue alone… so come with us. The Shie Hassaikai aren't bad people… they're just more willing to bend the rules. After tonight, we never have to acknowledge that this happened, if you can't accept that. For now, let's work together and get this done."

"He's not coming with us," Overhaul said insistently. "He cannot be trusted… and neither can you."

"I can't?" Mirio asked as he turned around, showing Tamaki his back. "I'm the one that warned you all about this situation, and I'm the one suggesting that we go and kill some of these rival clan members right now. If I wasn't committed to your organization, I would've let the heroes do their thing and helped them arrest you. I'm a different person out of my hero suit. You should know that by now."

"…not different," Tamaki considered as he stepped forward to stand beside Mirio, keeping his fists balled at his sides. "Just… free. You are risking a lot bringing me in to this, and I don't know how I feel about it. We'll have to talk later, Togata. About what all of this means…"

"Then we'll talk," Mirio reassured. "But right now, that's not important. All that matters is that we get this job done and get out alive."

The sound of tumbling dirt and stones caught the trio's attention, and all three men looked toward the hill to find an annoyed-looking Rizumu sliding down into the forest. She approached the group in short order, her hand upon her forehead and hair matted with sweat. She quite nearly fell over as she touched down in the forest, her legs a bit shaky and her shoulders slumped.

"Fat Gum's been taken care of," the woman said before turning her eyes toward Mirio and adopting an icy tone. "Thanks for just leaving me up there, where anyone could get to my body while I was totally vulnerable."

"I…" Mirio began, knowing he had abandoned her and feeling genuinely guilty. "…I had to get to my friend to avoid a situation. I'm sorry, Dreamgirl. We should talk later, too…"

"Well, you created one hell of a situation regardless," Overhaul spat. "And now you're in hot water with both of us. You'd better deliver on this outing, or else A-"

As though it was planned, several explosions went off in the distance. No one but Tamaki noticed Mirio's sigh of relief at the sound.

"What was that?" Mirio asked.

"Trouble," Rizumu answered as she straightened up and shook out her hands. "Skirt the edge of the woods. We need to get a look at what's going on over there. Stay sharp- no more time for infighting."

Tamaki took the initiative and ran ahead of the rest of the group to stand partially obscured by the trees. Several fires had broken out on the pathway leading up to the cannery, and gunfire was peppering the sky in pursuit of a shadowy figure.

"We've got a problem," Mr. Compress' voice crackled over the group's earpieces. "That's Hawks, and he's carrying someone. Look like there's another group of heroes hitting this place tonight."

"What's going on?" Tamaki asked, looking to Mirio.

"…some pros are here. More than just Fat," Mirio let on as he kept two fingers pressed into his ear. "Shit. It's Hawks, and probably Mirko. They wouldn't know about Sir Nighteye yet… so what are they doing here?"

"Hawks and Mirko, huh?" Rizumu asked as she rubbed at her temples. "They both frequent my club, usually together. I can't be seen here, and neither can you two."

"Of all the times…" Overhaul began, clenching a fist. "It seems we were destined to fail regardless of whatever game you're playing, Togata. You're lucky."

"No games," Mirio assured. "I'm not thrilled about this, either. We need to leave. Back up the cliff? Dreamgirl, can you summon something that could take us up?"

"Not so soon after I just conjured a dream," the woman explained. "My head's killing me now. We need to retreat into the forest and just… take it slow. Stay out of sight. Compress, can you come to us?"

"On my way. Pull back and remain unseen. Get as high up as you can while still within cover."

Mirio pulled his mask back on just in time to hide his smirk as Rumi Usagiyama dropped from the sky into the cannery's parking lot, landing hard with a dropkick and shattering the earth below herself. Though they were too far to hear exactly what she said, the entire group picked up that she was yelling some kind of challenge before she dashed in, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the unlucky guards of the complex.

"…any other night, we would be charging in to help…" Tamaki considered.

"Not too late for you," Mirio offered was he walked backward, facing his friend and following Rizumu and Overhaul deeper into the forest. "You can still go."

Tamaki took one last look at the fight unfolding in the distance before turning around and jogging to catch up to Mirio.

"…no. I'm staying with you. I… trust you."

"That's cute," Rizumu remarked with a roll of her eyes. "Come on, we can get at least partially back up toward Compress here. There are some ledges where we won't be too obvious."

More gunfire echoed throughout the surroundings as Mirio followed his superiors up and around several ledges. Tamaki remained close by, and it was only then that Mirio noticed that some of his wounds were very real.

"Hey, you alright?"

Tamaki blinked in surprise at the question and took Mirio's hand to pull himself up onto the next ledge in the sequence.

"…I'll be fine… so long as we all get out alive."

"No guarantee of that," Overhaul said as he nodded back out across the trees. "Your friends seem to be making a mess of things. Perhaps better than we could have."

Mirio looked out over in the indicated direction as he reached Overhaul's ledge. Plumes of smoke were indeed trailing up into the sky, and armored vehicles had become visible over the tops of the trees.

"…Hawks and Mirko aren't my friends," Mirio replied. "Especially not anymore. Why would a cannery need artillery like that…?"

"Because it's not just a cannery," Rizumu explained as she leaned back against the rock wall of the cliff. "I thought that much was obvious."

"…what is it?" Tamaki asked. "Other than a front for the Nue, I mean."

"Unclear," Mr. Compress answered as he dropped onto the ledge from above. Mirio and Tamaki both jumped, while the others seemed unfazed by the man's sudden entrance. "We believe it to be their main facility, or at least, one of the primary ones… but what exactly they're doing inside is still a bit of a mystery. We were hoping to learn exactly that tonight by taking advantage of your Quirk, Togata."

"…right," Mirio acknowledged. "Sorry, I… wait, what's that?"

Out in the parking lot, another column of smoke had risen. The unfurling gas was moving much faster than the other pockets and was tinged an odd purple. As quickly as the plume had appeared, it widened to show off a black portal within its center. Droves of masked men began to pour through the opening, each brandishing a weapon and charging straight for the two pro heroes that had taken to fighting back-to-back. After a brief lull in reinforcements, one final figure stepped through the ethereal gate. At such a distance, their features were difficult to make out, but something about their bodily proportions seemed off.

"…get us out of here. Now," Overhaul ordered, his voice full of fear as he stiffened up.

"Shit," Rizumu cursed as her face paled. "It's him."

"What's happening?" Mirio asked. "Who i-"

The boy trailed off as he watched Mr. Compress reach out and touch Overhaul. As soon as the magician's fingers contacted him, Overhaul seemed to disappear entirely while a tiny ball the size of a marble manifested between Mr. Compress' fingers. He repeated the act with Rizumu, seemingly stealing her entire body as a second ball appeared perfectly held between two of his knuckles. Before Mirio could react, the man's hand was speeding out toward him.

"No time to explain. Trust me, kid."

And then, everything went black.

"Hey!" Amaya called as she pounded on the door in front of her. "If anyone's in there, open up! There's been a noise complaint!"

Kyoka raised a brow at the accusation. She stood a small distance away from her roommate, still unsure as to why they were there to begin with as the winged woman pounded on the unfamiliar door. Regardless, she thought it best not to question the situation. Slowly, the door creaked open, and a masked face Kyoka had never seen before appeared in the crack.

"…a noise complaint?" Juzo Honenuki asked with wide eyes. "How is that possible?"

"I'm out here complaining, and it's noisy," Amaya explained with a smirk. "Hi. I was hoping you'd be back, by now. I brought a friend, and a proposal."

Kyoka offered Juzo a small wave before she clasped her hands behind her back.

"Kyoka Jiro. I'm guessing you're… Honenuki? I know what everyone else in 1-A looks like."

"…right," Juzo agreed as he opened the door completely and offered a hand and adjusted his mask with the other. "Juzo Honenuki. What's the proposal?"

"Marry me," Amaya said without missing a beat.

Juzo blinked, otherwise remained unaffected.

"…I don't think I have time for a wedding tonight, and my schedule is looking booked for the rest of the school year, as well. Apologies."

"Damn. The actual proposal might have just fallen apart, anyway," Amaya lamented as she looked past the boy. Juzo and Tenya's room was completely unpacked and organized, with not a single box in sight. Everything looked as though the boys had spent several hours coordinating and cleaning, despite the fact that such a thing would have been supposedly impossible. "I was going to ask you to come help us move some shit around in our dorm in exchange for doing the same for you, but it looks like you're pretty much done…"

"I am, yes," Juzo agreed as he looked over his shoulder. "I… got back earlier than expected, and Iida had already taken care of his belongings. Even so, I wouldn't mind coming to help you…"

"You sure?" Kyoka asked. "I don't want to interrupt you from anything, especially if we can't really return the favor."

"I do," Amaya added shamelessly. "Some of my stuff is heavy as shit and I'm feeling lazy."

"No, it's fine," Juzo insisted as he stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind himself. "I haven't really been doing much, anyway. Iida is busy with some sort of meeting, so I've just been reading."

"Reading?" Amaya echoed. "What about?"

"Uh… stuff about campus," Juzo said slowly. "They have these pamphlets downstairs, so I grabbed one. I've been reading that, and some of the welcome packet stuff."

"…welcome packet?" Kyoka asked as the trio began to walk side by side, taking up the majority of the hallway.

"It should be in your email," Amaya explained. "I haven't gotten to it yet, but it's there. Trying not to think about school, honestly. I'm stressed out enough already."

"I don't blame you," Juzo empathized. "It's… a lot. Lots of rules, lots of scheduling information, lots of things to remember…"

"And a lot of things we don't know, too," Amaya added. "Which is why we all need to keep in mind that we're in this together, for quite a long time. It's the only way to avoid even more stress and having unnecessary bullshit snowball into something it doesn't need to be. So, if there's anything on your mind, don't hesitate to come to us."

Kyoka gave Amaya a quizzical look. She didn't return it.

"…uh, yeah," Juzo agreed. "Hopefully everyone's on board with being cooperative. I think we got lucky with our team. Not that 1-B is bad, but…"

"They have Monoma," Amaya finished.

"…yeah," Juzo said hesitantly as the group rounded the corner. "I wasn't going to name anyone specifically, but…"

"Let's just focus on who we do have," Kyoka suggested. "Right now, we've got each other, and that's good enough for me."

"Me too," Amaya replied as she threw open the door to her dorm. "So, let's get to know each other while we work. You seem like an interesting guy, Honenuki."

"I… do?" Juzo questioned as he eyed the field of boxes awaiting him within the girls' room.

"You do," Amaya confirmed. "There's a lot I want to know…"

Author's Note:

Next time- Bakugo and Midoriya have a little talk about what exactly is going on with One for All.

-RD