The rain pounded against the windows of Heights Alliance, turning the world outside into a watercolour painting of blurred lights and shadows. Three months had passed since the Final War, and Musutafu was still healing—both its structures and its people... The scars remained visible throughout the city: buildings under reconstruction, memorial sites dotting street corners, and in the eyes of those who had fought so bravely...
Inside the common room of Class 1-A's dormitory, however, warmth prevailed... The students had gathered around the television, blankets draped over their shoulders, steaming mugs clutched in hands. The storm outside only amplified the cosiness within...
"I still say we should've gone with a horror movie," Kaminari groaned, sinking deeper into the couch cushions. "Nothing beats scary movies during a thunderstorm."
Jirou rolled her eyes, earphone jacks swaying. "And listen to you scream all night? Pass."
"I don't scream!" Kaminari protested, earning knowing looks from the entire room... As Midoriya smiled from his spot on the floor, notebook open on his lap... Even during movie night, his analysis habit persisted. Though the stakes were lower now, old habits died hard. The weight of One For All was gone, but the responsibility of being a hero remained...
"I think this documentary about international hero systems is fascinating..." Yaoyorozu commented, leaning forward with genuine interest... "The reconstruction efforts worldwide have really changed how hero agencies function..."
Bakugo clicked his tongue from the armchair he'd claimed for himself... "Too much bureaucracy if you ask me..."
"Yeah nobody asked you..." Todoroki remarked flatly, which earned him a heated glare but surprisingly no explosions... That was new... The Final War had changed them all but perhaps none more visibly than Bakugo, whose fuse had lengthened considerably—though it certainly hadn't disappeared...
Asui placed a finger to her chin... "I wonder if Aizawa-sensei and the others are enjoying their night too, ribbit..."
Across campus in the faculty lounge, several teachers had gathered for their own version of a rainy get-together... Present Mic's laughter boomed almost as loudly as the thunder outside as he recounted a story from his radio show...
"And then—get this—the caller says he thinks Endeavor should start a cooking show called Hell's Kitchen!" Comedy gold... Midnight snorted into her tea while Cementoss chuckled quietly... Aizawa however, remained by the window, his reflection staring back at him from the rain-streaked glass... His eyes scanned the campus grounds methodically...
"Still on patrol duty even during downtime, ay Eraser?" Present Mic asked, lowering his volume slightly...
Aizawa didn't turn... "Old habits..."
"The security systems are functioning at optimal levels and the criminals are probably sleeping..." Principal Nezu chirped from his specially elevated chair... "All perimeters are secure... So yeah, you should try to relax, Aizawa-kun..."
But Aizawa's eyes narrowed slightly... "Is it just me or something feels off..."
"Paranoia is a natural response after what we've been through..." Recovery Girl said gently... "Sometimes the mind takes longer to heal than the body..."
She might be right... But Aizawa couldn't shake the prickling sensation at the back of his neck—the feeling of being watched as his eyes caught movement across the rain-soaked grounds: a shadow moving between buildings that didn't match the swaying trees...
"I need some fresh air..." He said abruptly, grabbing his capture weapon from the back of his chair...
"In this weather?.." Midnight raised an eyebrow... "Your dry eye will flare up again..."
But Aizawa was already heading toward the door, slipping eye drops into his pocket... "I won't be long unless I called it..."
Outside, the rain hammered against Aizawa's scarf as he silently walked down the alleyways... The storm provided excellent cover—both for him and for anyone who shouldn't be there... Lightning occasionally illuminated the campus in stark white flashes, creating disorienting strobe-like effects that played tricks on the eyes...
During one such flash, Aizawa caught sight of a figure moving along the perimeter wall—too tall to be a cat, too agile to be lost... The shape disappeared into darkness as quickly as it had appeared...
When suddenly his communicator buzzed... "Aizawa..." It was Midnight's voice. "There's a situation downtown... A bank robbery gone wrong, building's on a fiery rage despite the rain..."
Aizawa's eyes narrowed... The timing was all too convenient...
"Get me a few of the work-study students cleared for emergency response..." He replied, already calculating which students to bring... "I'll meet them at the front gate in three minutes..."
Lightning cracked across the sky as Midoriya, Bakugo, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu and Uravity huddled under the UA entrance awning, already in their hero costumes... The rain pounded mercilessly as Aizawa approached...
"Remember, this is still an observation exercise primarily..." Aizawa cautioned, though his tone suggested otherwise. "You've all passed provisional license renewal but you're still students..."
"With combat experience that exceeds most pros with a boom!" Bakugo countered, steam rising from his hands despite the downpour...
Aizawa didn't argue the point... "The bank on Shikinori Street is burning. Villains apparently triggered explosive devices during their escape... There are civilians trapped inside, the fire department is en-route but we're closer..."
"Rescue mission... Now that sounds like a job for us..." Todoroki said quietly, frost forming on his right hand.
"Move out..." Aizawa commanded as they disappeared into the stormy night...
The bank building was a beacon of orange flame against the dark sky, somehow burning fiercely despite the torrential rain... Police had already cordoned off the area, and panicked bystanders huddled under shop awnings across the street...
"Dear lord, it's worse than I thought..." Deku exclaimed at the fleeing civilians... "Todoroki, contain the flames from the exterior... Yaoyorozu, create fire-resistant blankets and oxygen masks... Uraraka, prepare for debris removal... Midoriya and Bakugo, we're going in for search and rescue..." Aizawa instructed as they got into formation...
The young heroes moved with practiced precision... This wasn't their first emergency response—the Final War had forged them in fire far more intense than this...
As they approached the building, screams could be heard from the second floor... Through the smoke-stained windows, desperate faces appeared and disappeared...
Todoroki immediately created ice paths up the side of the building, allowing Midoriya to leap up using his Quirk... With controlled explosions, Bakugo propelled himself to another window, blasting his way towards them... Their movements were fluid and coordinated—months of recovery and training evident in every action...
"I've got three civilians here!" Midoriya called down, carefully helping a coughing woman onto Todoroki's ice slide...
Bakugo's voice crackled through the communicator... "Two more on the east side, one's injured..."
Yaoyorozu rushed forward with thermal blankets and oxygen masks as the first civilians reached the ground while Uraraka used her Quirk to lighten falling debris, creating safer paths through the burning building...
The operation proceeded smoothly—almost too smoothly—until a deafening explosion shook the building's foundation but it wasn't from Bakugo.
"Secondary device!" Aizawa shouted... "Everyone, status report!"
The building groaned ominously as part of the eastern wall collapsed inward, sending a cloud of dust and smoke billowing out into the rain... Through the communicator came coughing and static...
"I'm trapped with two civilians..." Midoriya's strained voice came through... "Third floor, north corner... The stairwell collapsed find us a way!"
"On my way!" Todoroki responded, creating a new ice path toward Midoriya's location...
"Bakugo, status!" Aizawa demanded when no response came from the explosive hero...
After a tense moment, the reply came: "I'm fine... But there's someone else in here... I saw movement where there shouldn't be, such bastards..."
Aizawa's suspicions from earlier returned with force... "Do not engage, I repeat do not engage! Focus on civilian evacuation!"
Working together, they managed to extract most of the trapped civilians within minutes... Paramedics had arrived and were treating smoke inhalation and minor burns as the fire department was finally gaining control of the blaze with Todoroki's assistance...
As Midoriya helped the last civilian through a window, something caught his eye—a shadow moving independently of the flames, deeper in the building... But before he'd investigate, a slab of concrete hurtled through the smoke toward him which he dodged but it suddenly changed its direction mid-air as if guided—and slams down, sending him tumbling down the window...
"Deku!" Uraraka shouted, using her Quirk to catch him before he hit the ground...
Todoroki and Bakugo both turned toward the source of the attack but saw nothing but the thick smoke...
"I knew something was there!" Bakugo growled, palms sparking...
"Or someone..." Todoroki corrected, frost creeping up his arm...
Aizawa had also noticed the attack... "All students, withdraw immediately... Complete the evacuation and fall back."
To their credit, they followed orders without protest, completing the civilian rescue with professional efficiency... Ambulances and additional police cars lined the street, their lights cutting through the rain in red and blue flashes...
As the young heroes regrouped outside, Aizawa did a headcount... "Everyone accounted for, injuries?..."
"Midoriya took a hit to the back..." Uraraka reported helping the boy walk... "I'm fine... Just bruised..." Midoriya insisted before straightened as he winced...
Aizawa's eyes narrowed as he looked back at the smouldering building... The attack had been deliberate... It wasn't some random falling debris, but a targeted strike... "Stay here... All of you..." He ordered before approaching an officer who debriefed him about the situation...
After the conversation, he returned to the students... "Apparently the bank reports that nothing was stolen... The villains tried but triggered the alarms and explosives went off earlier than they expected, leaving with nothing but their failures..."
"A Failure of this scale?... It'd be a diversion!" Yaoyorozu suggested...
"Or a trap..." Todoroki quietly added...
Aizawa nodded grimly as if sensing something... "I'm going to do one final sweep."
"But sensei—" Midoriya protested but was silenced
"That's an order... I'll be quick..."
And before they could argue further, Aizawa had already disappeared into the smoke...
Inside, the bank was a charred skeleton of its former self... Emergency sprinklers had finally activated, creating an eerie mist that mingled with the smoke. Aizawa moved silently, his capture weapon ready, his Quirk activated intermittently to preserve his dry eyes. At last, he found what he was looking for on the second floor, in what had been the bank manager's office... A figure stood with their back to the door, seemingly unbothered by the destruction around them... Adorning a long trenchcoated despite the burning heat with the collar turned up, obscuring their face...
"Kid, if it hadn't been obvious... This's a restricted area..." Aizawa called out, his capture weapon floating around him, ready to strike... "Identify yourself, I won't ask twice..."
The figure didn't turn but their shoulders shifted slightly—a sign that they were aware of his presence... "Restricted? It looks more like... Abandoned to me..." The voice was male, rough, almost amused with an accent that Aizawa couldn't place...
"Perhaps this means that you're one of them who attacked it in the first place, aren't you..."
"Attacked would be a harsh word..." The man hurtfully replied, finally turning slightly though his face remained in shadows... "I prefer to think of it as a... Test... That they mostly passed... Three months after the big showdown and already back in action... Now that's some impressive kids you got there..."
Aizawa's eyes narrowed, activating his Quirk as a threat... "Who are you working for..."
The man chuckled... "Still assuming there's always a bigger fish, eh? Very prudent... Very heroic..."
Having enough of chatting, in one fluid motion, Aizawa launched his capture weapon... Slicing through the air where the man stood—but he had already moved, with speed that surprised even Aizawa...
"Too slow for someone who doesn't blink much..." He taunted from the doorway...
Aizawa spun around but the trenchcoated figure was already dashing down the hallway, moving with unnatural quickness... As Aizawa gave a chase, the man smirked back before crashing through a window as the glass shattered outward into the rainy night...
And by the time he reached the window, there was nothing to see but rain and darkness... The man had vanished... "I called it..."
Across the block, concealed in the shadow of an alleyway, the man in the trenchcoat pressed two fingers against his ear...
"Initial assessment complete..." He reported, voice low and controlled... "The students performed as expected though Eraserhead's suspicions almost got me..."
A voice crackled through his earpiece... "As expected... Any casualties..."
"None... As you ordered..."
"Good and the package..."
The man watched as the young heroes helped load the last civilians into ambulances, their faces etched with concern but also determination... Despite everything they'd been through, they hadn't hesitated to run toward danger...
"Safe and secured..." He admitted before continuing... "Also, they're stronger than before the war... But..."
"But...?"
He thinly smiled beneath his collar... "They still have weaknesses we can exploit..."
"Excellent... Return to base for debrief and remember failure isn't an option..." As the voice went static... "When was it..." He cursed, taking one last look at the heroes before melting deeper into the shadows, completely disappearing as if he'd never been there at all... The only evidence of his presence was a single footprint in the mud, rapidly filling with rain...