Chapter 19: Unforeseen
Izuku had never seen anyone get quite as excited about a hero as Uraraka was currently getting over Thirteen. Which isn't to say that he wasn't also on the verge of fanboying out over the space hero as well, just that he had never quite met his equal, let alone someone who surpassed him. Idly, he wondered if this was how he looked whenever All Might showed up, but the thought was quickly submerged under another wave of enthusiasm for Thirteen.
They were really cool, what could he say?
He did hear Kyoka next to him mutter to herself, "Oh god, there are two of them now." That wasn't exactly fair, but he was too excited about meeting Thirteen to say anything about it. He was so excited about meeting the rescue hero that he hadn't even had time to look around the USJ from their vantage point at the top of the stairs. But even if he had wanted to respond to Kyoka, he didn't have the chance as the space hero began speaking shortly thereafter.
"Welcome, students, to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint!" Izuku had to cock his head to the side at that name. It was almost certain that they had really wanted to use the USJ acronym and worked backwards from there. "Before we begin there's just a thing or two I want to mention. Maybe three things. Possibly four. Certainly no more than five." A gesture from Aizawa caught their attention, and Thirteen continued.
"I designed the USJ to be the ultimate training and simulation area for all kinds of accidents and disasters. As some of you obviously know," The hero's helmet swiveled to face Izuku and Uraraka. That seemed somewhat unfair to single them out like that. "My quirk is called 'Black Hole.' I can suck material in through my fingers and turn it to dust. It's perfect for removing wreckage and finding people who have been trapped in disasters."
"However, it could also easily be used to kill people. All of you possess quirks with similar destructive potential. If there is one good side about your first battle training being moved so early, it's that you have had experience with that side of your quirks. I understand that there was a close call even in so controlled an environment." Glancing to the side, Izuku could see Kamakiri grimace while looking away, mandibles clacking irritably. "That makes the training we do here even more important, to help you learn how to use your quirks for the sake of human life. Fundamentally, your quirks do not exist to hurt others. They exist to help people!"
Nothing that Izuku had heard yet at U.A had resonated quite so much as Thirteen's last line. Obviously there were times when in order to help civilians, he would have to use his quirk against villains directly, but keeping the goal of saving people forefront in his mind would always be important. It also forced into the foreground exactly what had been bothering him about learning that the HPSC had forced an increase in battle training upon U.A. It gave the impression, backed up by his research into their teaching goals, that villain encounters and combat were the true heart of heroism. A dangerous precedent to set for students.
"Today we will be holding introductory rescue lessons in each of the disaster zones we have set up here. The first hour will be a theoretical introduction by Aizawa and myself, and the rest of the afternoon we will be joined by All Might for the practical portion of today's exercises. He is currently in Tokyo on last minute commission business, but has promised that he will be back for your training." Izuku had been wondering where All Might was, considering that this was one of class 1-A's major hero class periods, but he supposed that even if the HPSC had some unfortunate ideas about hero education, there would still be urgent tasks they could have for the number one hero.
"Now then…" Whatever Thirteen had been about to say was lost as she gestured towards the rest of the USJ, trailing off as she noticed a swirl of black mist near the bottom of the stairs, several dozen dangerous looking people striding through it into the courtyard around the fountain in the center of the complex. The black mist coalesced into a vaguely humanoid shape that stood next to a man covered in what appeared to be human hands, as well as a massive monstrosity of a person, most notable for their exposed brain and bird-like features. Three additional villains with exposed brains stood nearby, still as statues.
The acoustics of the dome were fantastic, as they could all hear the voice of the hand-covered man ring out all around them. "I see Eraserhead and Thirteen, but where is All Might? The schedule said he was going to be here today." A brief pause before he continued, "Perhaps he'll come out to play if we kill a few of his students."
"Is this part of the exercise?" Kirishima asked, hope battling with fright in his voice. "Something to cause the fake disasters?"
"No. Those are villains. Huddle together and don't move!" Aizawa was already dragging his goggles up over his eyes and loosening his capture weapon from around his neck. "Thirteen, are you able to get in touch with campus?"
"No, I tried as soon as I saw them. None of the alarms are going off either." Aizawa looked disappointed, but not surprised at this information.
"I'd bet at least one of those villains has a jamming quirk. Those usually have limited range. Get the students out of here and contact the main campus for backup. I'll hold off the villains." Without waiting for an objection, Aizawa launched himself down the stairs and towards the front row of villains. His combination of quirk erasure and capture weapon kept his opponents off balance, and he began knocking villains out with what appeared to be great ease. Izuku knew that fighting large crowds like this was not his specialty, and that sooner or later one of the villains would last long enough to bring him down.
"Students, follow me, we need to evacuate as quickly as possible." The space hero's voice changed in a subtle way, carrying with it authority and calmness. Whatever they had done, worked, as the class slowly began to pull themselves away from the melee at the bottom of the stairs.
Izuku, however, was transfixed at the sight of Aizawa battling the thugs and villains below. True, his quirk allowed him to shut off any emitter or transformation quirks among his adversaries, but mutation quirks would still work just as well against him. And even if he could shut off every one of his opponents' quirks, he was still fighting at least twenty against one. Yet somehow, the man was not instantly mobbed by the enemies, but rather using their numbers against them, redirecting attacks to encourage friendly fire.
Distantly, Izuku heard Todoroki hypothesizing about what the villains were hoping to accomplish, Shiozaki praying for deliverance, and Thirteen's instructions to Yaoyorozu about what to create to help contact the rest of campus. He didn't listen, though, only stared in awe at one man standing against an army, facing them essentially quirkless. All Might had given him an incomparable gift in One For All, one that could only be given to a quirkless recipient, but Izuku still couldn't help but wonder how he would have done as a fully, openly quirkless hero.
"Green!" Kyoka's voice pulled him from his trance, and he turned to see that he was being left behind, Kyoka hanging back to make sure he came with. She reached out a hand to grab his hand and pull him away. "We've got to go! Aizawa's got this." Reluctantly Izuku allowed himself to be dragged away by his friend. The battle seemed to be in Aizawa's favor for now, but the longer it dragged on the more worn out he would become, and he would be less and less able to use his foe's numbers and inexperience against them.
Whatever worries Izuku had about Aizawa's safety were quickly replaced by worries about his own safety, as the black mist villain appeared directly in front of their class, blocking the exit. "Greetings." The villain spoke in a deep, sonorous voice that belied his apparently insubstantial form. "We are the League of Villains, and I apologize for the sudden intrusion, but we are here to kill All Might. We were led to believe that he would be here at this time, but I see neither hide nor hair of him. Has there been a change of plans? Ah well, I suppose it does not matter. I still have a role to play."
From his position in the back of the group, Izuku could see Kirishima try to rush forward to attack the villain, only to be held back by Ashido at his side. Instead, Kamakiri and Pony launched themselves towards their assailant, Kamakiri swinging blades through the mist and Pony firing horns towards the towering villain. None of it, however, seemed to have much of an effect.
"Get out of my way, dammit!" Kamakiri roared. "I almost had the bastard!"
"
"My, such language from the nation's top hero students." Jaws dropped as the villain revealed himself to be no worse for the wear after their attack.
"Both of you, get out of the way!" Thirteen yelled to the pair, finger cap dropped and ready to use her quirk on the villain.
"It's too late! You shall be scattered across the facility, tortured, and slain." Black mist raced amongst Izuku and his classmates, and he suddenly found himself falling. Kyoka clung to his hand and the mist rolled over them, and he pulled her close to make sure she wouldn't be hurt.
Surprisingly, the fall was not very far at all, and the two of them landed less than a second later on the roof of a crumbling three story building. The dome of the USJ remained above them, so Izuku assumed they were in one of the disaster zones in the facility. The ruined buildings all around them gave the impression of a city after a major earthquake or fire, and likely could not be counted on as safe havens. Indeed, standing on the roof of one such building was almost certainly a bad idea, as it could very well be designed to collapse at a moment's notice. Their first task would have to be getting down from their precarious perch.
"Green!" Izuku shook as he realized that Kyoka had been trying to get his attention for a moment now. He also blushed furiously as he realized he was still holding her close, and let her step away from him. "Thanks, man." She took a half step away, her own cheeks red as well, but still remained quite near to him as she shot out her earjacks to jack into the building.
Blushing up a storm, Izuku looked away before clearing his throat and speaking, "I'm glad we're both safe, but I'm worried about the rest of our class. Looks like we're the only two that got sent here."
"Not quite, dude." Izuku looked to Kyoka only to find fear etched on her face as she pointed out towards the city. Down below, near the entrance to the building they had landed on, stood at least a dozen villains. His stomach sank as he saw them look up towards the two of them, obviously expecting students.
What made him worry most, however, was the tall villain standing near the back of the crowd. Standing at least six and a half feet tall with rippling muscles all over, the villain would have been intimidating on their own. However, the pale green skin, four eyes, and exposed brain gave them the feel of a true monster. What truly struck him, though, was that this one villain, alone among the crowd, gave absolutely no reaction to his and Kyoka's arrival. Something was wrong, and this villain was at the center of it.
---
Yosetsu was currently cursing his decision to wear his full hero costume with all of his various support items. It had seemed to make sense at the time. He had expected to need some of his support units to stabilize collapsing buildings, rubble, and the like. In particular, he had thought his steel logs would be invaluable during many sorts of rescue situations. Now, though, as he fell through the black mist portal summoned by the villain, it suddenly occurred to him that extra weight and bulk could certainly be actively detrimental in a number of situations.
Such as, for example, being suddenly dropped into a lake.
True, not the most common situation, but one that was immediately worrisome. In the few seconds that he had while falling, Yosetsu began unstrapping the steel logs from his sides, letting them fall next to him. There was nothing more he could do before he hit the water, angling himself to slip in as smoothly as possible.
Even without the steel weighing him down, Yosetsu's costume was bulky enough to make maneuvering in the water a challenge. The padded leather sleeves and pants and the metallic breastplate that he had planned on using for protection in combat now actively fought him in attempting to surface, let alone avoiding the villain with the shark mutation that was rapidly approaching him.
Wait, what?
"My first catch of the day!" Exclaimed the villain as he neared Yosetsu. Staring down a gaping maw of razor sharp teeth, Yosetsu responded almost by instinct. He steadied himself in the water, prepared his quirk for when the villain got close enough for him to Weld him in place to the water. There was a careful balance: if he attempted to Weld the villain when he was too far away, it would sap all of his energy and leave him helpless to any other villains, and if he attempted it when they were too close, he might get the timing wrong and open himself up to an attack.
Tension built in his shoulders, only to be dispelled as Sen appeared. His friend shot through the water like a torpedo, feet spinning, to punch the villain in the face, knocking him out in one shot. Quickly turning, Sen sped back towards Yosetsu and towed him towards air. The two broke the surface with a pair of gasps before Yosetsu looked towards his friend with a glare.
"I fucking had him, you asshole." Yosetsu wasn't actually angry, but his adrenaline was running high and he had to vent some stress somehow
"Sorry, next time I'll ask before saving your butt." Sen's response was oddly detached, and as Yosetsu followed his friend's gaze, he saw why. At least a dozen other villains had surfaced in the indoor lake that he and Sen had fallen into, circling around the pair of students. Presumably one of the zones of the USJ based on the overhead dome. "Looks like we have more work to do, though."
"Shit. Doubt a sneak attack will work on the rest of them." Sen could move quickly, but even he would be hard-pressed to fight so many villains in the water, especially when their quirks seemed to be well suited to the aquatic environment. There was a boat floating in the distance, but getting aboard would be a challenge.
"Probably not. But you can lock them down right?"
"Only if I can get close enough. I can only do it once, maybe twice from a distance." That was perhaps even a little generous. Yosetsu had never really practiced from more than a few feet away, only on relatively small items, and even that had given him a massive headache from quirk exhaustion. He didn't want to imagine how hard it would be to lock down a dozen people from yards away.
"Well, then today is your lucky day." Sen adjusted himself so he was horizontal in the water, stomach down. "If I drive, you think you can lock them down?" The grin on Sen's face was full of infectious confidence. There wasn't any running from this, so it looked like they had to fight. Even if the villains knew their quirks, he doubted any of them would expect to be Welded to water. He swam over to Sen and clambered awkwardly onto his back, Welding himself into place to make sure he wouldn't fall off. "Now remember, Yo: Keep your hands in feet inside the ride at all times."
With that (vaguely) witty quip, Sen took off once again with enough acceleration to make Yosetsu glad that he had Welded himself to his back. The villains also seemed surprised by their sudden acceleration, with the two directly in front of them panicking and attempting to get out of their way. The pair of friends didn't give them the chance, with Sen swinging close to first one then the other, and Yosetsu Welding them in place. As Sen sped off, they left a pair of villains in diving suits bobbing helplessly in the water, locked in place by the power of Yosetsu's quirk. Using it on such large targets had given him a headache, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.
The duo was able to lock down ten villains, including the shark villain from earlier in a matter of minutes. Four additional villains began swimming away from them, preferring to risk their leader's wrath than be trapped by the pair of hero students currently rendering their comrades immobile. Yosetsu was more than happy to let them retreat, as he was currently nursing a splitting headache. While he could certainly have locked them down as well, eventually his quirk exhaustion was going to catch up to him.
From a distance, Yosetsu could see that the only remaining villain was one with a skull-like face, with sunken white eyes and red stripes running across the top of his head. This villain had been content to stay back, even while Yosetsu and Sen were taking out his comrades. In fact, he did not look the least bit concerned, even now. As Sen turned to approach their final foe, the villain raised his hand, water forming up around his fist.
"Sen, be careful with this guy." Something about his demeanor was telling Yosetsu that there was much more to this villain than met the eye.
"I'm always fucking careful." Not the answer he had hoped for, but Sen did at least change his angle slightly to make a slower, more cautious approach.
Yosetsu was immediately glad he did so as the villain swung his arm and a massive wave of water formed and shot at the two of them frighteningly quickly. Sen swerved away from the wave, only to find another one following closely behind it. Somehow, he managed to pick up his speed and dodge the second wave, but Yosetsu couldn't help but look back to see where they had ended up.
The first wave had crashed into the ship that had been, until now, floating serenely in the middle of the massive lake. The wave acted more like a blade, carving through the ship's hull at the thickest point, sinking the vessel quickly.
"Are you seeing this, Sen?" Yosetsu couldn't help the fear that crept into his voice.
"Kinda fucking busy right now!" Looking back towards the villain, Yosetsu was even further dismayed to see a gigantic hand made of water looming over them, the villain controlling the entire thing and attempting to swat them like an insect. Things had suddenly gotten quite dangerous indeed.
---
A chill hung in the air as Ochako maneuvered herself and Honenuki towards the ground in what appeared to be a landslide down the side of a mountain. Todoroki had fallen through the black mist portal with them, but she had only managed to remove Honenuki's and her own gravity before falling. Todoroki had caught himself using his ice, and had apparently preemptively frozen the dozen or so thugs that had been there waiting for them. The villains, in general, did not look particularly happy to be instantly frozen by a single teenager, but Ochako guessed that being that cold would not be particularly pleasant no matter who had caused it.
The only exception was a towering villain standing near the back of the group. He was at least seven feet tall, with skin as black as pitch. Despite the fact that he was only wearing a pair of pants and shinguards, the cold did not seem to be affecting him at all. Of course, it was difficult to tell due to his two most prominent features: an exposed brain and a complete lack of eyes. In fact, it appeared that the villain's brain started exactly above his lower jaw, leaving no room for the rest of a mouth, let alone a nose, eyes, or ears. As Ochako released her quirk to allow herself and Honenuki land softly on the ground, she couldn't help but shudder slightly at the sight of the hulking villain standing so placidly amongst the ice.
"Jeez, he really only has one move in his toolbox, huh?" Honenuki muttered next to her as he looked out over the icescape in front of them.
"When all you have is a hammer…" Ochako started the saying, but Honenuki cut her off before she could finish it.
"That's bull, he has a freaking multi-tool and uses it as a hammer."
"I … yeah, that's fair." He wasn't wrong, after all. There were so many things Todoroki could do with his ice besides recreate the last ice age, it almost seemed a crime that he didn't. "Let's go see how he's doing, at least." Honenuki rolled his eyes, but didn't object. There was strength in numbers, after all, and while Todoroki had neutralized the immediate danger, there was so much about the situation that was still unknown.
As they approached the two-toned boy, they could hear him speaking harshly to the villains that he had frozen in place. "Look at you, completely helpless. If you want to kill All Might, you'll need to do far better than that. You're all here losing to literal children." As he approached one of the thugs, a villain wielding a knife jumped out from behind a stray boulder aiming the knife at Todoroki's neck from behind.
Ochako's cry of alarm died in her throat as she watched yet more ice encase Todoroki's assailant, even as we stayed focused in a different direction. What kind of training had he gone through to develop that level of awareness and precision?
Ignoring the newly frozen villain behind him, Todoroki kept his eyes locked on those of the man in front of him. Ochako couldn't tell much about how the man looked due to the ice surrounding him, but he appeared to have some sort of a canine mutation, at least on his head. Aside from that, he was the only one of the villains, aside from the towering eyeless villain in the back, who did not appear particularly afraid of Todoroki. Odd, considering that he was currently at his mercy.
"You know, frostbite can begin in as little as five minutes, when encased in ice like you are. Once that happens, cell death is not far behind. I wouldn't be so calm if I were you." A snort from the villain was the only response Todoroki got, but he continued in his monotone voice. "You're lucky, though, because I want to be a hero. If you tell me how you plan to kill All Might, we can avoid that outcome."
By now, Ochako and Honenuki were next to Todoroki, but he had not acknowledged them yet. He was focused on the villain in front of him who had broken out laughing at his question. "You sure you didn't freeze him too cold, Todoroki?" Honenuki looked as disturbed at the villain's response as Ochako felt.
"I could tell ya, kid. Or I could show ya. See that guy back there?" The canine villain tried to jerk his head before remembering it was frozen in place and rolled his eyes. "Nevermind. Nomu! Free us from the ice!"
The ice surrounding the towering villain with the exposed brain started to shudder and vibrate in place before it suddenly exploded outward. Ochako's jaw dropped at the display of raw strength from the man. Strength was coupled with speed as Nomu began rushing from villain to villain yanking them bodily out of the ice. More than one seemed injured by the rough extraction, but none were complaining. The three students had to jump back as one as Nomu freed the canine villain before returning to a placid, neutral pose once again.
"Now then," A growl escaped the canid's mouth as his lips pulled back into a snarl. "Boss has a Nomu that's even stronger than this one with him in the plaza. All Might doesn't stand a chance! He'll pay for what he did to us!" A chorus of affirmations raised behind him from the various thugs. Notably, (the?) Nomu continued to stand impassive, unresponsive to anything around him.
"I'm afraid you are mistaken, then, if you think that can stop All Might." Todoroki countered. "I alone can hold off your secret weapon. Observe." Ice flowed from Todoroki's right foot towards the hulking villain, encasing him entirely in a block of ice.
"Nomu! Kill that kid!" At first it wasn't clear if he had heard from inside the block of ice, but a growing rumbling sound made Ochako's stomach sink. If that monster could break out of a solid ice tomb, what could they realistically do to stop it?
The upper half of the ice block exploded, chunks of ice and flesh flying in every direction. Ochako nearly vomited, seeing the gaping wounds in the sides of the Nomu, including most of its left arm. Honenuki made a gagging sound at the site, and even Todoroki's blank affect briefly wavered at the sight of such self-mutilation.
No sooner had they even registered the damage the Nomu had done to itself than it began to regrow the damage that it had done to itself. Red muscle fibers grew out of the wounds and the stump of its left arm, wrapping around themselves to reform the missing portions of the nomu's body. Within seconds it was whole once again, and focused on shattering the remaining ice around its legs.
"I will deal with this 'nomu.'" Todoroki said, acknowledging the two of them for the first time. "But it will take all of my attention. You two deal with the rabble." Another block of ice formed around the nomu, thicker and colder than before. As Todoroki exhaled, his breath frosted in front of him, and Ochako could feel the icy chill from where they stood.
Ochako felt a sinking feeling in her stomach once again. She didn't doubt that she and Honenuki could easily deal with the villains in front of them, but she wasn't confident of Todoroki's chances with the nomu. That was a problem for the future, though, as a wave of villains rushed at them.
---
It was official. The field trip to the USJ ranked solidly in the bottom three worst field trips Mina had ever been on.
She had had high hopes for their first field trip at U.A, even if it didn't technically go off campus. The USJ had looked like so much fun, even if she wouldn't say that around Aizawa after what he said at the quirk assessment test. Now, though, with the entire complex being invaded by villains, her and her classmates being split up, it didn't seem like quite so much fun anymore.
Still better than her middle school field trip to the Chiba Museum of Science.
Thankfully, she had been dropped into the mountain zone of the USJ along with Ei and Set. The three of them had fended off the villains so far, but could see them regrouping in the distance, blocking what appeared to be the only bridge that would allow them safely off the mountain they were on. Set had floated out part of her face to try and scout out another way down, but had informed them that there was only one safe way off of the mountain they found themselves on.
For now, Mina and Ei were focusing on how they were going to get past the villains without them damaging or destroying the bridge and trapping them here. Set added a comment here or there, but put most of her focus on scouting out what was happening in the central plaza and with the rest of their classmates.
"I say we just rush them! We showed that we can fight better than them. They won't stand a chance!" Mina wasn't surprised that this was Ei's first, last, and only idea. Just disappointed that she couldn't come up with anything better either.
"We could just hold up here for the time being. They're not going anywhere either. Once I find some backup below, I can tell them where we are." Set spoke out of the left half of her mouth, the right half of her face being used for finding said backup currently.
"Pfft, that's not a very manly approach at all." Mina loved her big, dumb boyfriend, but sometimes his obsession with manliness was just a little misplaced. Set's idea wasn't a terrible one, and was one that Mina would normally be all for.
But then she looked back at the villains standing in front of the bridge and remembered the sheer hatred that she felt in some of their glares. "I don't think they're going to let us just sit here too long." Mina brought up. "Look, it's like they're getting ready to rush us again." Indeed, the villains were straightening up and looking towards the three students with violence in their eyes. To Ei, she whispered. "It's just like the museum of science all over again."
He snorted before replying, "You and I remember that day very differently."
Mina wanted to retort, but there wasn't time for conversation following as once again the villains rushed the three of them. The three of them had quickly fallen into a rhythm the first time and stuck with it as the villains approached. Ei took point, using himself as a human shield against the villains with more destructive quirks. Mina held back and flung relatively low concentrations of acids into the faces and eyes of the villains, blinding them and taking them out of the fight temporarily. Set floated somewhere in the middle, pulling villains off balance, keeping them on their toes and generally off balance.
It was an effective defense, and even though they were out-numbered more than four to one, they were able to hold their own. It was closer than last time as the villains were actually working together this time, instead of each operating on their own. Eventually, though, the pressure on the three students began to lessen as more and more of the villains were removed from the fight, knocked out by Ei's or Set's fists and feet. Mina allowed herself to start to feel a little bit of hope at the dwindling number of villains before them.
She regretted that decision as soon as one of the villains she had lost track of, one with a flying quirk, pale yellow skin, and an exposed brain, swooped down and snatched Ei from where he stood. Mina was quick to douse the villain that Ei had been fighting in acid before he could move on to Set, but immediately let her gaze follow her boyfriend.
The flying villain moved too quickly for Set to catch up with, and even though Ei was strong, it seemed like the villain had him too tightly in his grasp to get out. At least until the villain reached the top of the USJ and dropped him back to the ground.
"Eijiro!" Mina couldn't help but cry out, even seeing him harden his body before hitting the ground. The flying villain let out a horrid screech and continued to circle high above the mountain. Keeping one eye on the sky, Mina broke away from the group of defeated villains and ran to where Ei had fallen.
She released a breath she hadn't even known she was holding when the rocks he had fallen into shifted and fell to one side to reveal him as good as new, scowling at the villain that had dropped him. "Well, I have a new record for height I can fall from, I guess." He looked at her and waved as if to say he was fine. A widening of his eyes was enough warning for Mina to throw herself to the ground as the flying villain swooped through the air, grabbing at where she had just been standing.
Only one villain remained standing at all, a man wearing a skull-shaped mask, blocking the bridge back to their classmates. However, with the flying villain still in play, Mina didn't think the three of them would be at all safe rushing him. Set had joined the couple near where Ei had landed, and the three of them began to plan once again how to escape the situation they were in.
---
Pony gulped for air, ducking behind one of the few building walls in the area that was not currently on fire. She tore yet another strip from the hem of her costume to wrap around her arm where she had been tagged by yet another knife from one of the thugs. It wasn't a deep cut, but it wasn't her first either. Grunting as she tied off the knot, she tried to glance around the wall to see where the villains were, only to find Kamakiri sprinting towards her cover as well.
"Get outta the way!" With a cry Pony threw herself to the side as the mantis boy slid behind the cover as well. He too tore a strip from his costume to wrap around a long gash in his thigh. Not that it was easy to tell exactly where he had torn the strip from given his ridiculous costume.
"Not fun when it happens to you, is it man?" Pony felt a little bit of satisfaction seeing Kamakiri with a similar injury to the one that had almost killed her just a few days before.
"Shut the fuck up!" Blood was pouring rapidly from his thigh, and Kamakiri's hands were already shaking as he tried to bandage himself.
"Fuck you!" Pony knew that she shouldn't yell, that it would just bring attention to their hiding spot, but she was apparently a bit more angry than she realized. "You think because I got all heals I don't care?! You think that makes better?! You almost killed me!" She knew her grammar was slipping but didn't particularly care.
"You think I don't know that?!" Kamakiri whipped his head to look at her as he knotted his own makeshift bandage and she was surprised to find tears lining his eyes. "I'm fucking sorry! I went too fucking hard and I nearly fucking killed you!" The two glared at each other for a moment before Kamakiri sighed and looked away. "I know this doesn't make everything better, but I've been trying to find the time to talk to you and actually apologize about that day. I'm not … good at talking, as you may have guessed." Pony snorted at the understatement.
"We need a talk." Kamakiri nodded at her words, continuing to look off to the side. "But we need to survive to do that." A deep breath settled her somewhat. The two of them had been fighting separately, trying to avoid each other more than anything else. The blood soaking her makeshift bandages showed how poorly that went. Kamakiri didn't look like he was in any better shape. If Pony was being honest, she thought he was in worse shape. That cut on his thigh was awfully deep after all.
"We're not doing so hot by ourselves." An understatement, but Pony wanted to make sure he'd agree. "Let's focus on getting out of here, together, then we can figure all this out. Truce?" Pony held her fist out to her classmate. They were two of the most dangerous in their class. If they worked together, the villains wouldn't know what hit them.
"Truce." Pony struck Kamakiri's fist harder than strictly necessary, eliciting a huff of amusement from the boy. "Let's show these assholes they messed with the wrong school."
---
Everything was going wrong, and Momo couldn't help to feel like it was at least partly her fault. When Kurogiri, the mist-covered representative of the League of Villains, had appeared, she froze. There must have been dozens of possible items she could have created that could have defused the situation, but in that moment her mind had been blank. She could not have even come up with a single molecule to create, let alone a larger structure.
And then the villain struck, scattering their classmates across who knows how wide a range. With a teleportation quirk that powerful there was really no way to say where they were. She herself had only been saved by Kendo diving to grab herself and Shiozaki when the portals began opening. The only other students remaining near the entrance were Shoji, who had managed to grab Rin and Kodai in a similar manner. Thirteen had managed to pin the villain down briefly with their quirk, but again Momo could do nothing as the villain had used a well placed portal to turn their quirk against them. Now all she could do was create bandages and other first aid supplies to try and staunch the bleeding from Thirteen's back with Shiozaki's help.
Rin and Kodai were reprising their joint technique from the battle trials, flinging scales of various sizes at the mist-shrouded warper. It was not the strategy that Momo would have taken, knowing that he could easily create a portal to send the projectiles back at the students, but curiously, the villain was content to let most of the scales pass through his insubstantial body.
But not all of them. Occasionally he would open a portal to send a scale flying back at the students, but Shoji was on high alert, eyes and ears on the ends of several arms, ready to intercept when needed. Kendo kept her eyes out for additional portals forming under their feet, prepared to once again save anyone that needed it. But the portals never came.
There was so much to the villain's quirk that Momo simply didn't know. Did he have some sort of limit to making portals that he had reached? Was he redirecting specific scales for a reason, or just when he could make a new portal? Why hadn't he tried to scatter the remaining students like he had the rest of the class? Did he have any physical body beneath the mist?
Shiozaki was providing first aid to Thirteen with practiced hands, and Momo had created every possible necessity, so she allowed herself the time to really watch what was happening. And suddenly she realized there was a pattern. The portals were getting smaller and further apart in time, but each and every time they appeared to redirect a scale, it was a scale that would have passed through the exact center of the villain's body. There must be something there that he was directing all of his energy to defending. Scattering the rest of the class must have taken quite a bit out of him, and now he must be recovering, only using his quirk to protect himself when absolutely necessary.
"Shiozaki," Momo whispered to the girl next to her. "How is Thirteen?"
"I've done what I can for now. We must trust in the Lord to see her through." The girl knelt with hands clasped over the form of their teacher, eyes clenched shut.
"I'm sure they will pull through. I think our classmates need your help with the villain." Shiozaki didn't respond immediately, instead shivering while continuing to pray. "He has a weak point, we just need to come at it from multiple directions at once so he can't use his portals to protect himself. You can do that with your hair!"
For a moment Momo thought that Shiozaki was going to continue her prayer, too frightened to do anything more. Just like Momo was, a small part of mind whispered to her. Thankfully, though, Shiozaki stood up, a firm set to her eyes. "I will play my part. I won't allow my inaction to cause any of us to be injured like Pony was."
Her conviction just made Momo feel worse for freezing when she did, requiring saving, and not being able to think of a damn thing that she could make that would help in this situation. Thousands of chemical formulas, hundreds of compounds and items and goods that she could make from them, and she couldn't settle on a single one to make in this situation.
She watched as Shiozaki's hair snaked along the floor before ensnaring Kurogiri from all sides. As the vines grabbed at his shadowy form, they apparently found purchase on something deep within the mist and tightened. The portals that had been forming as perfect circles were now jagged and rough, now appearing almost at random and just for moments at a time.
One portal appeared in the middle of Shiozaki's vines, severing them near the villain and causing the girl to yelp in pain. Shoji was quick to jump into action, though, grabbing the severed ends of the vines and pulling on them hard. The vines remained latched onto whatever they had found, and the villain seemed to recognize this as well, eyes widening in shock. Shoji pulled once again and found the villain moving as well.
Using the vines as a source of leverage, Shoji spun, dragging Kurogiri with him in a wide circle. Shoji began to speed up, the villain lifting off the ground, completely at the mercy of the multi-armed student. With a yell, he released his grip on the vines and sent the villain flying back towards the central plaza, well away from the group at the top of the stairs.
Momo allowed herself to relax, just a little. Thirteen had been stabilized and the immediate threat was gone. Even if she hadn't been able to contribute anything to the fight beyond medical supplies and an observation that anyone could have made, she was still happy they were safe for now.
"Yaoyorozu." Thirteen's voice was weak, but Momo snapped to attention immediately. She'd be happy to help any way she could. "You can get us help. If you can make a flare gun, any hero that sees the flares will come immediately." The pro broke off in a fit of coughing, before continuing. "The ring of ceiling panes exactly four from the outside is designed to break away if necessary. Break them and shoot flares as soon as you can. We need backup."
Momo stood up, reaching for the book on her back to find the chemical formula for a flare. Something that she was cursing herself for not having memorized before now. Regardless, it was a formula she would commit to memory if they got out of this alive.
Not if. When. When they got out of this alive. She would make sure of it.
---
"We need to get off of this building as soon as possible. It's unstable and those villains could try to knock it down at any moment. With my quirk, I should be able to jump down from here while carrying you and we'll both be fine. Once we get to the ground, we can try to sneak away to get back to the rest of our class, fighting only if we need to." While Kyoka internally thrilled at Izuku's snap into taking charge, and agreed that they needed to get out of danger as soon as possible, she had a few issues with this plan of his.
In particular, the fact that the first step of his plan was 'jump off the roof' was not a point in its favor.
Admittedly, he had a good point that they should get away from the building as soon as possible because it was designed to be demolished and being in or on the structure when that occurred would likely lead to them being killed. "Can you really jump down from here safely? Have you tried that?" His uncomfortable silence and shifting eyes gave her all the answer she needed. "That's what I thought, Green. We have a little bit of time before they demolish the building. Let's get to a lower floor, then we can get out through a window." She extended one of her earjacks to the roof and let out a low frequency pulse of sound, getting a rough mental map of the interior. "Follow me."
Izuku grimaced but ultimately followed her as she made her way down a level and through the labyrinth of the ruined building below. Unfortunately, they only made it down one floor before the building began shaking. Kyoka pointed to a window on the rear side of the building that was reachable. "That'll work. Hope you know your quirk, Green!"
Izuku knelt down in front of her, hands facing backwards and looked back to her, waiting for something. "What are you doing, Green?"
"I-I was going to carry you on my back?" His answer sounded more like a question than anything else. Kyoka flushed deep red, realizing that she had just been expecting for him to carry her in his thick, firm arms, and that she had been looking forward to it.
"R-Right. Of course." She climbed onto his back and tried her best to hold in a disappointed sigh. It was probably for the best to not get lost in fantasies of Izuku carrying her bridal style while they were in danger for their lives.
The shaking of the building got worse, and with Kyoka firmly on his back, Izuku took a running start, crashing through the remaining rubble between them and their goal before leaping out the third floor window. Thankfully, the noise and dust kicked up by the collapse of the building had covered their escape and Izuku was able to land safely, the building coming down just seconds after he had burst through the window. The thrill of flying through the air on his back was incomparable, though. She'd have to ask Izuku for a ride again once they made it out of this.
If they made it out of this.
"Can you use your jacks to figure out which way to get out of here? Or at least which way the central plaza is?" Kyoka shook herself before kneeling to the ground and plugging in, listening past the residual noises of the collapsed building and the footsteps of the villains to find the plaza.
"Bad news, Green. Plaza is that way." She pointed directly towards the building that had just collapsed, with the villains on the other side. "And they're already spreading out to see if we made it out of the building."
"Then we're going to need to fight. I'll take point, you help keep them spread out and from mobbing me. Sound good?" It did, but it wasn't like Kyoka had time to propose an alternative as a purple-skinned thug with dreadlocks brandishing a combat knife poked his head around the building and shouted an alert to the remaining villains. Izuku shot off towards him, green lightning flaring around him as he drew on his quirk.
In the end, it was surprisingly easy to deal with the villains they were isolated with. Izuku was faster, stronger, and generally more trained in hand-to-hand combat than any of the villains, while Kyoka's sound blasts kept them off balance. Eight of the villains were unconscious within the first minute, with the remaining five backing away with uncertainty. One of the villains yelled out, "Nomu, come kill these kids!"
Through the still settling dust of the collapsed building came barrelling the pale-skinned villain with the exposed brain that had stood out to her earlier. The man was fast, faster even than Izuku was, but with even less fighting experience than the earlier thugs. Regardless, Izuku was forced backwards by the sheer speed and strength of the villain's attacks.
Kyoka saw an opening and rushed forward, earjacks ready to jab the pale-skinned brute. While it wasn't her first choice of attack due to the risk to her jacks, she could stun essentially anyone by channeling her heartbeat into their body. This villain, however, was focused entirely on Izuku and enough of a threat that even if it wasn't Izuku he was focused on, she would still come to help. As it was, she didn't even have to think it through.
Her earjacks easily pierced the villain's skin and she hit him with as large a sonic blast as she could. As expected, the villain froze in place and Izuku immediately took advantage, launching himself at the villain delivering a solid punch to his face. Not as expected, the punch had apparently no effect, with the villain maintaining the same, vacant expression it had had the entire time.
Kyoka retracted her earjacks, plugging them into her boot amplifiers, ready to try a different approach. She never got the chance, as the villain began to hum and vibrate, first at a low frequency and volume, but quickly increasing in both. Her ears were sensitive to volume, and it did not take long for the noise to be first unpleasant, and then painful, even with her earjacks plugged in and dampened. The noise level rose so quickly and to such heights that she saw white for a moment and was forced back a step by the intensity of the sound pressure. Her ears rang from the sheer intensity of the noise.
Thankfully, the retaliation lasted only a moment in the grand scheme of things, a pulse of sound roughly as long as hers had been in the first place, but much, much louder. It was disorienting, but something she could fight through, eventually. Her hearing took longer to return to her than her vision. Once she could see again, though, the only thing filling her vision was the exposed-brain villain, raising both fists above his head ready to bring them down on Kyoka.
And then suddenly he was gone, tackled to the side in a blur of green lightning. Gaping, she saw Izuku tackle the burly giant, kicking and punching with lightning flying off of him at dangerous levels. It was working though. Izuku was pushing him back, his attacks having some apparent effect.
Kyoka's hearing began to come back, but there was still a low pitched, static-y noise that pervaded everything. It didn't matter, though, as she could hear every punch and kick from Izuku and the satisfying noises they made impacting the villains flesh. She could hear the few remaining conscious villains edging away from the melee in front of her, breathing rapidly in fright.
But suddenly something shifted. Izuku stopped dead, staring into the eyes of the villain. As she looked at the villain's eyes, she could see his pupils shifting and dancing at the same frequency as the sound suffusing everything. Too late Kyoka realized it wasn't just a ringing in her ears, but another aspect of the villain's quirk, and somehow, he had caught Izuku in his snare.