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Chapter 16: A Declaration and Invasion
🕑 Added 2024-02-27 15:39:01 +0000 UTCHello again! We are back with another chapter. As I said in the last chapter, stuff was cut, but it should be fine. This chapter was challenging, but I didn't do well. Anyway, there's nothing else to say other than enjoy, and please comment on your thoughts.
Chapter 16: A Declaration and Invasion
"I have to say, I wasn't expecting that class A kid to do that," Tokage said as the class returned to the classroom after a somewhat chaotic time in the cafeteria. They would have been swept up in the madness if not for that other student somehow getting atop the main exit and yelling for people to calm down and how it was only the press.
“Yeah, but he managed to calm everyone down. That is a win in my book.” Midoriya smiled as he and Kendo stood up front to address the class. He had been a little nervous there, and while Koharu told him to just change and yell, his therapist had been clear that doing something like that could cause more harm than good, especially since they thought it was a villain break-in.
Monoma scoffed at it from his seat, nursing a shiner from an elbow to the face from some 2nd year. “And to think, such a panic over the press? I was expecting more of our seniors.” For once, Kendo didn't bother correcting him, letting him vent after that hassle. Most of them didn't even get the chance to finish lunch because of it.
"Emergency Exit," Kodai uttered, which made some people laugh at the image when Kendo stepped in.
“Kodai, that’s rude.” She told the girl, who returned her scold with a passive stare.
“We don’t know his name, so he’s Emergency Exit.” Midoriya couldn't help but giggle into his sleeve at how blasé she sounded yet scathing simultaneously.
“I’m down for that.” Monoma smiled, getting more chuckles from others, which even Kendo joined in on.
"Don't encourage her, Monoma," Kendo told him, but the smile on her face made it a little hard to take her seriously.
"Maybe we can ask about him at the upcoming class rep meeting," Midoriya suggested, as he was sure they wouldn't be the only ones who wanted to know more about the kind that stopped things from devolving further.
Still, while the class was in a better mood than they had been when they first returned, Monoma wasn't the only one who took a hit or two; Honenuki couldn't help but ask a question. "Still, how the heck did the press even get in? We saw how intense the security is; there is no way they forced their way in." That kept them from bugging them once they entered the campus and a probable threat of legal action for trespassing.
Tetsutetsu, someone who not only had taken no damage during the panic but was the cause of it thanks to people running into or string to elbow him when his quirk was active, merely shrugged. Maybe they used their quirks. You know how lousy paparazzi can be when chasing down good stories." It was fun watching stuff like that as a kid, as you were always hungry for more information on your favourite hero, actor or celebrity. Still, when you get old enough to value your privacy, you realise how messed up that kind of thing was.
“You mean frivolous gossip,” Shiozaki narrowed her gaze, looking out the window. “How people can stomach working a job that requires you to publish other’s secrets and lives without their consent is beyond me.”
"I'll just kick them if they get annoying," Tsunotori added, lifting one of her hooved feet for show and kicking it out.
"And I have Koharu to scare them off; she can mean when she wants to be." Midoriya joined her on that front as his snake friend raised her head, ready to do just that.
“Please don’t use violence.” Kendo reminded them both, wondering why she had to keep the class rep in line and not vice versa.
"I'm not," Midoriya replied.
"I won't through the first punch." Tsunotori didn't back down, leaving the orange-haired girl to sigh.
Line Break
As they bantered about, the events of the break-in becoming a memory, their teachers weren't messing about as Nezu, along with Thirteen and Midnight, stood at the entrance to the, where the massive reinforced 4.5m tall, 74-ton steel door should be, but instead what they had was a crumbled mess of metal, most of it looking like the steel, the best on the market for defence, had been destroyed like wet tissue paper.
Stepping forward, the principal picked up a piece of the wreckage and noted that it was less destroyed and more decayed, as the steel was covered in rust; the entire piece looked rusty. It was like the whole thing had been hit with a quirk that aged it hundreds of years in mere moments. "It's safe to say that this was their sole entry point, but I doubt that it was the press that did this," Nezu stated.
Thirteen, their regular disaster expert, who was present to help assess the quirk used here, commented on that. "The police questioned all of them; they claim that one moment the gate was up, the next it wasn't, and they let themselves in."
“They didn’t even stop to question how that would happen? It’s not like it was a clean job.” Midnight asked, all traces of her sultry persona gone; in its place was a calm and professional pro with over a decade's worth of experience.
Thirteen, for her part, shrugged her shoulders. "Probably cared more for whatever details they could learn from being on campus than how they got on.” She hated those kinds of reporters, and now she could add starting a panic at their school as another reason.
Nezu dropped the piece of rust-covered metal, reaching into his pocket, and he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his paw clean. “And we can assume that whoever did this not only has a quirk capable of considering destruction in short enough time that no one noticed them but that they wanted the press inside." As much as he liked to merely suspect he was a prankster with a powerful quirk, that wasn't how he thought of things, especially when it came to the safety of his students, as he'd rather overprepare and not need dozens of contingencies than under prepare and flounder when the first and back-up plans fail.
"What could break through nearly 24 inches of steel that fast?" Midnight asked, as she knew they ordered that because it was insanely durable.
“That, I do not know. However, I am worried about why someone would do this, as my first thought is that they wanted the press to hide something else, like a break-in." Nezu voiced his suspicions to the two teachers as Thirteen shook her head.
"We've already checked the cameras, but every person that walked through that hole has been accounted for and questioned; they were all the media." That had been one of the first things done, as while Eraser head and Present Mic handled them in person, she and Midnight had checked on the security system, with the rescue specialist looking through the camera footage of the main gate twice to be sure.
"We can expand the search for the rest of the campus, though I doubt we'll find anything as there was not a single alarm tripped anywhere else in school." Midnight suggested as it would make sense to cause a distraction and get in another way, but one didn’t just breakinto U.A. The school had better security than most banks, even in its furthest reaches of the grounds. Robots, comparable in size to the ones used during the exam and tiny ones no more significant than medium-seized dogs, patrolled the grounds 24/7. If even one of them saw something suspicious, it was reported.
“Still, such a bold act, done the morning after it got out All Might was teaching here can only be a declaration of war, and we don’t even know the first thing about our enemies.” Nezu frowned, as he didn’t like not having something to think about.
“Sir?” Midnight asked him, waiting for his instructions as he finished cleaning his paw and put his now dirtied handkerchief back into his pocket.
"Continue to comb through the video of the gate. also, have Power Loader pull up all video from the patrol drones for the last 12 hours; I'll review it myself." He instructed them, turning on his heel to return to his office, trusting that Thirteen would clean the place before any students saw it. Wouldn't do to spook them, now, would it? "And have any teacher that isn’t busy with a class join the bots, prioritising any crucial infrastructure, blind spots and places someone can hide. I’ll also double the number of security bots just to be on the safe side.”
“You suspect that something will happen?” Thirteen asked as he walked away, the principal pausing mid-step before he answered.
"My instincts are warning me of that, yes. And I've come to trust my instincts like any animal."
Line Break
The next couple of days went by without incident; Midoriya would wake up, get ready, head to U.A. and learn from actual pros, then he'd spend time with friends, actual friends in his class! When the day ended, they would part ways and go home. Still, as his mother could tell him, that wasn't the end of it, as after he finished his homework and chores, he would be on his phone chatting with them in their newly created group chat.
That afternoon, he received more messengers than he had in years, and he didn't care how sad that sounded. Tsu even considered inviting some of her friends from class A to talk during lunch. While Monoma was against it, not even he could refuse her, so they eagerly waited to finally meet others from their sister class, especially Iida or, as they came to call him, EE for Emergency Exit. However, they ended up meeting him sooner rather than later at the class rep meeting for the school as he and another student, Yaoyorozu, were made class rep and vice-rep, respectively, for their sister class.
His reaction to Koharu was fun, as the guy was incredibly stiff and flexible. At the same time, he moved like an old-school robot and seemed to follow the rules to the letter. He had an issue with Izuku having a snake wrapped around his shoulders so much that her chin covered up his chin. But he had no further complaint when he learned he had permission to have her on campus. Yaoyorozu was also pretty friendly, polite and kind as she was eager to pet Koharu, having no fear for the reptile and even offering her treats, which instantly made the snake like her more than Iida.
This brought them to Friday, the break-in that Wednesday had all but forgotten; while the class was looking forward to the weekend, their first since they started the school year, one other major thing was set to happen. Another practical hero class, not just a lecture from Vlad with him asking them questions randomly and expecting them to answer as fast as they could. And as Vlad stood before them at the front of the class, he was only hyping them up more.
"Look alive, we'll have a practical hero class with 3 instructors rather than just one." Vlad them, as Honenuki raised his hand.
“Who will that be?” Vlad turned to face him before he answered.
"Besides myself and a teacher, we'll meet there, All Might." Hearing that proved to light a spark under them, as while he had missed them Tuesday, there was no way he could do that twice.
“You mean he’s; he’s going to teach us?” Tetsutetsu asked.
“We finally get to learn from him now?” Komori asked her smile a little more Cheshire-like with how her bands hid her eyes.
“Yes, now settle down. you don’t even know what you’re learning.” Vlad stated, getting them to quiet so he could continue explaining things as Shiozaki raised her hand, a little worried.
“And what will that be, sir? Will it be another combat test?” She asked as the man hid a smile with a grunt. Despite her quirk, she wasn't built for villain battles, as she was more of a gentle soul. That didn't mean she couldn't, as she handled herself pretty well during the combat test, but she clearly didn't like it.
So he was happy to lift a coloured card that read 'Rescue' in bright colours. "The opposite. Today, you'll be learning all things rescue. Shipwrecks, landslides, storms and everything in between."
Seeing that, Shiozaki released a soft breath of relief, which turned into a smile. "Oh, thank the lord, I would much rather handle such a role in heroics." She had wished to become a hero to save people and knew she'd enjoy this.
"Saving lives with a smile on your face takes more than being able to beat up villains, I'm pumped!" Midoriya threw a fist into the air.
"For this exercise, while you can wear your costumes, you're not required to as there'll be times when you find yourselves needed in a crisis off the clock. Does it suck? Yes, but heroes always lend a hand if they can, and it's needed." Vlad stated, pulling out the remote to open the wall for them to retrieve their cases should they wish to.
"That being said, it would also be a good time to wear your costumes as most of you might want to change them, and the best way to figure out what is by using them." As Vlad finished explaining things, the class got up to fetch their cases with Midoriya's mind thinking about that word, 'rescue'. That was what he wished to be as a hero, someone who rescued people and burned through a bad day. It was what he saw in his first All Might clip, what Ryukyu and Hado did for him, and what Koharu did when he had terrible thoughts that made him feel sad, scared or nervous.
She seemed to pick up on this as she snuggled close to his cheek, with Midoriya giggling as he grabbed his case and left the room, a spring in his step. He didn't notice that he was heating up as he moved, but others picked this up. "Does he do that every time he gets happy?" Tsuburaba asked.
“At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised. Come on, gentlemen. We best not take too long changing.” Monoma replied as he grabbed his stuff, his group being the last to leave the room.
Line Break
Later, the class waited outside, not off the property. Still, Vlad had already informed them that where they were going was near the edges of campus and with the U.A. campus being as stupidly large as it was, it made more sense for the students to board a bus and be taken there in a couple minutes then spend who knows how long walking there. As they waited for that bus to arrive, Izuku stood in full costume, bar his crown, which he held while he fed Koharu a little treat of dried meat.
“Midoriya, are you worried for class?” Tsunotori asked as she walked up to where he and Kendo stood.
"Not really; I'm actually pretty eager, as rescue is the coolest part of being a hero," Midoriya replied, smiling as he couldn't help but think about that day at the shrine. His good mood wasn't his alone, as Tsunotori seemed just as eager as he was.
"Right? Like, I like kicking all kinds of butt and making villains cry for their mommas, but helping someone in need? That’s the shit.” By now, they had picked up enough English to understand when Tsunotori would fall into it, at least most of that, as Kendo coughed into her hand, giving Tsunotori a look which had the girl a little embarrassed.
"I'm unsure if I'll refer to it like that." Midoriya started before a question seemed to pop into the American girl's mind.
"By the way, if this is a bad time for training, what if there are fires? Will do well there?" That…was a good question, as unlike everyone else there, he didn’t think of danger or threatwhen the fire was involved. Instead, he had to remind himself that it threatened others and that he should treat it as such.
"I think I will, though I will admit that the idea that people would be in danger in a fire is still an unfamiliar concept to me, but if people need my help, then I'll do what I can," Midoriya answered, as despite what he thought on it, he wanted to be a hero. At that moment, Tokage seemed to pop into existence, an arm wrapped around his shoulders while avoiding Koharu lest she hurt her.
"I feel you; people get so dramatic about a floating head; it's not like there's blood, and I'm always smiling. When was the last time we saw a severed head smile?" Both gave her confused looks, unsure if she was being straight or messing with them.
“I’ve never seen cut head before.” Tsunotori eventually answered, but that didn't seem to slow the lizard-loving girl down as she merely wagged her finger at them.
"That doesn't disprove my point," Tokage replied as Midoriya was about to ask when and why she just let her head float around when he saw their ride coming up.
“Oh, it’s here!” Getting out of Tokage's hold, he faced the scattered group of students. "Everyone, the bus is here; let's start boarding. The sooner we do, the sooner we can leave!" With that call, class 1-B started to move as the bus pulled to the stop, its door opening to let them in. As they piled into the vehicle, Vlad watched from the sidelines, seemingly to ensure all 20 got in. Still, he looked angry, like someone had messed up his morning coffee.
"I wonder what Vlad's upset about," Kendo asked, Midoriya turning his eye to her.
"You noticed, too?" He asked her, to which she nodded. “Whatever it is, I doubt he’ll tell us what.” The two boarded the bus, followed by Vlad, who sat by the front with the driver. For a couple minutes, the ride was silent as they kept their thoughts to themselves, took calming breaths or hyped themselves up for the coming, but eventually, the silence was broken. "Hey, this has been on my mind for a bit, but if we made the top 100, who do you think will rank the highest," Awase asked the group, who turned to the bandana-wearing boy.
"A little early to make such predictions, wouldn't you say?" Shishida asked.
"I don't think so. I mean, we've seen what the others can do; why not discuss it." Awase shrugged, as it sounded like an interesting, thorough experiment, especially as more younger heroes were finding themselves in the top 10 these days. The older pros being down the ranks meant there was a shot for them to find themselves in the upper ranks 6-7 years after they graduated.
Deciding to humour him, Honenuki started to think about it because it was an interesting question. "Well, whoever it is will be one of the guys with flashy quirks. So Shiozaki, Fukidashi, Midoriya and myself will all have a major advantage.” He stated that although he was the bottom of that last as while powerful, his quirk wasn't the typical show stealer.
“Hey, my quirk is plenty flashy.” Tokage raised a hand in protest.
"You split into pieces. I wouldn't call that as flashy as a sea of thorns or sound effects coming into being." He countered as Kaibara picked things up from there.
"But now you brought it up, our class doesn't have too many flashy quirks. We have 5, maybe 6 quirks that count and no, Monoma, you don't count as yours is situational." The blonde only rolled his eyes at that.
“He's not wrong. Most of our quirks would fall more into utility quirks. Stuff that's useful but isn't the main attraction, you know?" Kendo added that she wasn't bitter about it; she loved her quirk and had trained for years to use it to be a hero, but she wasn't blind to how people tend to focus on how flashy the quirk and pro were.
“Which doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. We'll prove ourselves the superior hero class without relying on all the flashiness of quirks." Monoma replied as Tsuburaba turned to him, an eyebrow raised.
"No offence, dude, but aren't you worth as much as the people around you?" At his question, Monoma met his gaze head-on. He had heard stuff like this numerous times throughout his life, and he had the same answer now as when he was 13.
"Your point? Heroes should be capable, and the quirk is only a tool. Unlike you, I can swap them out if they're useless." He didn’t care to be the main attraction, he knew his quirk would never let him anyway near the top 10, but he could work his ass off to make it into the 20s and prove himself invaluable.
“He has a glowing personality,” Kodai noted. “He won’t make it past the 50s.”
That seemed to get to him, how blunt the girl was as Monoma turned to her, even as some of their classmates snickered at his expense. “That was uncalled for.”
Komori decided to try to take some of the heat off Monoma and bring up another point besides flashy, powerful quirks. "Top heroes do need to be likeable, like crazy likeable. It's why the grouch Endeavour hasn't passed All Might yet." It was no secret that the number 2 hated that he was known as 'Forever Runner-up', but then again, she thought she'd be less than pleased to always come second to All Might, something he'd been doing for the last 25 years or something.
Tokage pointed towards Midoriya, who had remained silent for the most part. “Our Hebimi proves that fire doesn't make you bad or hard to approach, so he's definitely making it into the top 10."
“Tokage, please!” His blushing face only got the girl to crackle, proving her point as he was just adorable, and in that get-up, he was surely going to score pretty high in appearance with people.
Tsunotori got involved with the conversation now. “Hey, you don’t need to be made of sunshine and rainbows to make it into the top 10, you know. Shit on him all you want, but Endeavour is still number 2, and that’s only because All Might OP.” That was true. Endeavour was known for being less pleasant, prioritising the actual rescue or villain battles over anything else. Midoriya was sure there was even a Reddit thread on an old post all about how Endeavour made kids cry or were rude or some other failure at socialising and building a media presence.
Still, even though every other member of the last top 10 announcements had scored better approval ratings than Endeavour, his sheer number of resolved cases, experience, and highly flashy quirk ensured that he didn't even need to bother with approval rating to maintain his seemingly permanent spot behind the Symbol of Peace.
"Yeah, him and Mirko. Woman's hot, but damn as she had to be around-Ow!" Awase was interrupted when Shiozaki, who was seated next to him, smacked him over the head for his comment, meeting his offended look with a scolding one.
“Don’t judge someone merely for their looks.” She told him, which made it clear that she wouldn't appreciate them talking about how pros like Endeavour and Mirko could have scored because they were hot. Endeavour might be in his 40s, but you must be blind to hear how many people were thirsty for the married man. Mirko's stans were, sadly, more open about it as Awase swore that he once walked by a dude wearing a hat that had to be illegitimate Mirko merch which had her squeezing her watermelon with her legs and the caption reading 'I want this to my head.'
Yanagi looked up from her phone to add something to the conversation. "Well, I'm pretty sure most of us clear the personality department, except for Kamakiri. He is as pleasant as a rusty razor blade." In return for her comment, the boy in question flipped her off.
“Fuck you, ghostfa-Ow!” Both yelped when two vines smacked both of them upside the head; Shiozaki was not pleased with that either.
“If both of you don’t stop with the pointless insults.” Shishida chuckled as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh, came one, Shiozaki. While crass, I'm sure it's all a jest. Neither means to truly insult the other." He gestured to both as they rubbed the backs of their heads.
“Yeah, and I can at least engage with the media. I just choose not then when it’s a waste of time.” Kamakiri replied.
"We're in the same group. We insult one another all the time." Yanagi answered, which confused Shiozaki as insulting your friends seemed ludicrous. Shouldn't one uplift their friends when they needed it, praise them when they succeeded at something and scold them when they were about to do something immoral?
Shiozaki being confused by this concept of roasting the hell out your friends without hurting your feelings led to Awase and Tsunotori explaining it to her, with the latter bringing up how she still calls her friends from Okinawa and stateside now and then. They often talk shit about one another.
Midoriya didn't join in on that but did engage Monoma and Tokage in further conversation on how rankings worked, how they could work to climb them, and what sort of heroes they wanted to be; Komori, Kuroiro, and Kendo joined in. The first wishes to be an ideal focused hero, so she'll put more effort into appearances and working events like charities. Kuroiro was the opposite; he wanted to try hard to become an underground hero, as he'd work best in the shadows and at night. At the same time, Kendo thought she'd try to be an all-rounder, as her quirk was as applicable for rescue as it was in combat.
Monoma was the same; his Swiss army knife approach meant he could fit into whatever role was needed. At the same time, Tokage and Midoriya wanted to focus more on rescue. However, the girl wanted to also handle command and support, whereas Izuku thought he'd be best at combat and protection of people. While they chatted, the rest of the bus discussed whatever they pleased. Seeing his students so relaxed made Vlad take a breath, though he was still rather unamused with that he who wasn't present, as he hoped that All Might was merely running late or had decided to meet them there as it would be the second time, he missed a class with his kids.
By the time Vlad announced they had arrived, they were all floored by the sight that lay waiting for them as over the tree line, they could make out a massive dorm, one similar in height to the Tokyo Dome, only much…much larger. This wasn't so much a stadium; it felt like an enclosed town as the bus was still driving, and they hadn't reached the entrance. By the time they did, they could look to either side of the stairs leading in and not see where it ended. Midoriya had felt that the enclosed cities the U.A. used for its entrance exam and their first hero class were big, but this was another beast altogether.
Their attention was taken from the size of the place to the person waiting for them. A pro dressed in the white fusion of a pillow and space suit happily greeted them; they were someone they recognised from orientation. "Welcome, everyone. I hope you're as excited as I am for your first rescue class." Thirteen greeted them as Midoriya nearly went full fan-boy mode.
“It’s the Space Hero: Thirteen.” He said, holding himself back from asking for an autograph as she might not be a front-line or combat hero. Still, as a rescue specialist, she has saved hundreds, if not thousands, of lives from all sorts of disasters.
“She looks like a marshmallow.” Tsunotori giggled.
"I do, but we can discuss that later, so why don't you enter." Thirteen heard that but took it in jest as the class bowed to her, eager to start this, having not yet registered that All Might was absent.
“We look forward to learning from you!” With that, she led them inside and once again, they were left in awe at the size of the place as the outside made it look big, but the inside? The inside was a marvel of engineering and scale as they could make out at least 4 different zones, one covered in water with a boat in the middle of it, another was a mock-up of rocky mountainous terrain, the third was what appeared to be a landslide with pieces of buildings sticking out of it. At the same time, the 4thlooked like a city after a major earthquake. There was a fifth spot, and going by the paint they used to colour its domed exterior, it was probably for training in fire-related issues.
All this wasn’t even at ground level, as at the top of the stairs where they stood, they would need to descend a crazy long way into a massive central plaza area. From where they stood to where they could make out a large water fountain, it must have been at least a couple hundred meters. If Kendo and the rest were being honest, you could run up at least 5 football fields just to make it to the fountain. Thanks to all the trees that dotted around it, they couldn't even be sure if it was an equal distance from the fountain to the other side.
“Holy…this place looks like a theme park!” Kamakiri uttered out.
"You mean a theme park on all the drugs? This place is huge! How does the U.A. even have the space to fit all this without us ever knowing?" Awase yelled back as Thirteen walked forward, stopping at the top of the stairs before turning on her heel to face them, her arms raised like a presenter.
"Shipwrecks, landslides, thunderstorms and infernos. These are part of a facility I designed to train students like yourselves to become the best rescue heroes you can be. To be able to handle any disaster that life can throw at you." She listed the zones to them, their eyes tracking from one to another, their designs giving away which was which.
"I named it the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, or USJ for short!" Thirteen announced, leaving them surprised as the name sounded too close to another place with the abbreviation of USJ.
"I'm surprised they didn't sue," Tokage commented.
“They tried, we won!” Thirteen seemed a little too happy about that fact, making them wonder if part of the reason for the name was just to pick a fight with someone and win.
Vlad, who knew that was the case, ignored it in favour of walking up to Thirteen. “Thirteen, Where’s All Might? I haven’t seen him all day.” He asked, keeping his voice low so the students didn't hear.
“About that,” Thirteen did the same, lifting three fingers as he did. “Turns out he was busy doing hero work on the way to school and used up all his time. He’s resting in the teacher’s lounge.” She explained to him, with the blood hero grunting in annoyance.
"Really? It was his idea to have class B come here first to make up for his first blunder, and then he does this." He and Aiwaza couldn't just swap classes; there was work to be done, and after all that, 2 hours of reorganising the schedule, and the man who suggested it couldn't show up? He wasn't going to let this slide, and number one or not, he wouldn't talk to All Might about this.
“Trust me, I’m sure the principal is making sure this doesn’t become a running theme.” Thirteen wasn't any happier about it than him, as they had planned for him to be there to help as it would be harder for just the two of them to handle 20 students as they had wanted to take them all through 3 zones today, with each teacher posted to him and letting the students have 20 minutes in each.
Grunting, Vlad didn't say more as he could trust that, if nothing else, Nezu would sort the new guy out as he stepped back. At that moment, Shishida finally picked up on the absence of their third teacher. “Thirteen-sensei, where’s All Might? Wasn’t he supposed to be here?”
Thirteen stepped up and answered him. "He will be, but sadly, he got held up by the press on his way to school. We expected this when he was hired, but sometimes, the media can be ruthless and cunning. But he should still make it after we start." As she had expected, there were some groans and complaints about that.
“Again? How many times is he gonna flank on us?” Monoma asked as this was getting ridiculous. Meanwhile, Midoriya, who had seen Thirteen lifting 3 fingers, was again the only one who could figure out that All Might wasn't here because he was out of time.
“Monoma.” He tried to calm things down, but he wasn't having much success as the first time could be chalked up to bad luck, but the second time was suspicious. It didn't help that they had been told that they were the first to go through the USJ, ahead of class 1A, so it was starting to seem like All Might was just avoiding them.
Thirteen didn't bother fighting it; instead, she tried to control the narrative, even if she was going to make sure All Might understood after this; he was putting them into a challenging position with his inability to balance his hero work with his new responsibilities as a teacher. "He's right to be angry. This isn't normal, but we're all learning here. After all, it's not every day that a top hero takes a teaching job; there was bound to be an adjustment period."
Yanagi shook her head. “Regardless, wouldn’t the threat of legal action be enough to stop them? Surely, they can understand they're impeding him in his work as a teacher, which has already seen us miss out on a class with him," She stated, which got nods and words of agreement from others, only making the situation worse for the teachers.
Vlad stepped forward this time, directing attention to him with just how he carried himself. "Believe me, this isn't something we like to deal with, but as you learn as heroes, things don't always go as you planned." He framed it in the best way he could, with the students still upset but none willing to counter him, at least for now, so Thirteen took the chance to direct their attention to class.
“Moving on, there is something I want to say, maybe 2, or was it 4, definitely 5...” She started to mumble as the number only went up, leading the class to wonder if she had planned this before suddenly coming back from whatever rabbit hole she had fallen into. “Everyone, as I’m sure you're aware, my quirk is called Black Hole, but can any of you explain what that means."
Komori raised her hand. "Your quirk allows you to suck in anything you want. You always use it to clear away debris and wreckage in disasters."
“Truly God’s work.” Shiozaki bowed her head, which Thirteen appreciated, as she loved to help people, but she had a point to make.
"Correct, but that also means I can suck in people. Everyone would be incapable of resisting it and turned to dust like anything else." Her cold, brutal words were met with silence from the students, who didn't know what to say to that as they had never considered the lethality of quirks, certainly not those used by heroes, as the idea that a hero would take a life was insane.
"Some of you have quirks like that that can so easily hurt or kill if used incorrectly or irresponsibly. In fact, almost all your quirks could lead to harm or death regardless of their power. Even a well-meaning act can have devastating results," Thirteen continued, her helmet shifting from person to person, which either looked away or tried to nervously meet her stare. Midoriya looked away.
Thirteen continued. "It's not something we think about, even if we understand on some level that it's a fact. It's why we certify and regulate quirk usage. Because of this inherent risk. But I don't want you to forget that as heroes, there is even more pressure on you regarding your quirks as you're training for one of the most dangerous jobs out there, where you'll regularly be in situations that could result in harm."
"With Vlad's physical test on your first day, you learned about the possibilities of your quirks, and with Midnight's combat class, you got a chance to use those quirks on living beings and see the dangers of your quirks." She listed off, as they thought back to those encounters, seeing them as stepping stones on their path to being heroes.
"Here, you'll learn how to use your quirks not to fight but to save people. And you continue to train with your quirks so that you'll gain the knowledge to know when to use them, how to use and most importantly, shouldyou use them. I don't say this to discourage, but to lift you up so that you can continue to train so that such things never happen and you can save as many people as possible." Thirteen finished as she bowed to them.
“That is all, thank you for listening.” The students clapped for her speech, as while it started out in a place they didn't expect, she really struck that landing as they could take her words to heart. Midoriya smiles as he wholeheartedly agrees with her, as he's had it hammered into his head since he was 6 that he could kill or maim. Still, he also knows that he can do so much good with his quirk and that he has people like Hado, Ryukyu, Togata and Amajiki in his corner, not to mention his best friend, who never leaves his side.
"So, for this, you'll be split into groups" Vlad's statement was interrupted when the light started to flicker and die, one by one, till all were dead. The area was still lit, the dome being built to allow light in, and dozens of street lamps were dotted around the area, but it was still strange.
“What the?” Kaibara asked.
“An electrical short? Now of all times.” Kendo asked, as even those street lights started to die. Looking around, Vlad didn't like this at all. His gut was screaming that something was up, and that feeling only grew worse when he felt a shift behind him, like a 6th sense crying out as he turned to the central plaza, where before the fountain, the air started to shift and flicker before a massive dark cloud of mist forced itself into beating. And from it, he saw someone walking out. Even from this distance, he could see the malice in those eyes, hidden behind a severed hand grasping their face.
“Thirteen!” He yelled, turning to face the threat fully as more people came through, the pro tracking each and trying to get a good idea of their quirks.
“As those people down there?” Tetsutetsu asked, squinting to see better.
"I thought this was just rescue training. Are they here to help?" Shishida's brow creased, though Midoriya remained silent as Koharu grew agitated; when he looked down, she told him this wasn't training as those people carried violent intent, just like the weasel before she nearly found herself turned into its lunch. Midoriya turned his gaze back to the, a frown on his lips and his eyes hardening. If she was using that comparison…
“Don’t move!” Vlad seemed to agree as he held up a hand to stop some of his classmates from getting too close. "Those aren't workers for the school but villains."
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This is becoming a pattern I don't like, so I'll declare now: The next chapter is 5.5K words or less, no matter what!
