It had taken Izuku roughly an hour to figure out what exactly USJ was. When he looked it up initially, he had just found Universal Studios Japan but that was ruled out. Heroes don't routinely patrol a theme park. But maybe that was the point.
But as he dug, he stumbled upon a link that was a few years old. It spoke about how U.A. was building a new facility designed for a bunch of disasters in order to help prepare their students.
So he came up with a plan to get himself out of school.
As soon as he heard the two adults across the hall start to get up and do their daily routine, Izuku got into position. He had a large bowl on a towel next to his pillow. The bowl was filled with a chunky, liquid mixture he made last night. He just finished stirring the scent powder, and he gagged. Wow, that was strong.
He made sure that the fake chunks were safe to go down the toilet should one of them take the bowl.
He lay down, pulling the bowl close to him. He buried his nose into his pillow to mask out the scent. If he breathed it in one more time, he would actually vomit. The smell wasn't bad if you weren't literally right next to it.
He tapped the side of the bowl as he waited for his targets to come by.
Sure enough, ten minutes later there was a knock on his door. "Midoriya?" Yamada called. "You almost ready? We have to leave soon."
Izuku let out a groan, and shifted on his bed.
"Midoriya?" The doorknob twisted, and Yamada poked his head inside. He walked over to Izuku's bed and knelt down. He had already done his hair. It waved around as he tilted his head. "Are you feeling alright?"
The man caught sight of the bowl and winced. "Yikes."
"I think it was something I ate," Izuku whispered.
Yamada snickered. "Must've been Shouta's cooking."
"I heard that," a grumpy voice complained from the doorway. Aizawa was leaning against the frame, arms crossed. He was halfway dressed, just missing his black shirt that went over his white tank top. His eyes darted between the bowl and Izuku. "What's wrong?"
"I think he has food poisoning," Yamada answered. "You do tend to undercook the chicken sometimes."
"I do not," Aizawa defended. Both Yamada and Izuku chuckled. Aizawa sighed, running a hand over his tired face. "I'll call Nezu." The underground hero turned and walked down the hall, presumably to their room.
Yamada ruffled Izuku's hair and stood up, grabbing the bowl off the bed. "Get back to sleep, Little Listener."
Izuku watched as he walked out of the room. The door wasn't closed, and any one of them could walk by at any moment, but Izuku couldn't help but fist bump himself. His plan worked!
__________________
Izuku had waited an hour after Aizawa and Yamada left for the school to even leave his bed. At that point, he zoomed around his room, hurrying on his outfit. The shirt and pants were easy. The gloves were a bit harder since the fingers could be detached.
He picked up his mask. Once he had secured it on, he gathered his supplies. He made sure his web-shooters were full and had extra viles just in case. He double checked his stock of smoke bombs that Mei had given him.
He slipped on his black hoodie, which sported a red spider on the front and a red web on the back.
He also picked up his small pocket knife. It wasn't for fighting, but if he got caught in something whether it was rope, cloth, or even his own webbing (which happened more often than he'd like to admit) he'd like to be able to get out.
He was ready.
He looked at his phone for the time. Class had started, and he would take at least ten minutes to get there with full speed. He could use his webs to help, but he didn't want to run out of fluid before he even got there.
Tossing his phone on his bed, he ran out of the house. He made sure to lock the door. He hoped the pillow Izuku was convincing enough in case any of the adults came back early for whatever reason.
Luck seemed to be on his side that day, as traffic wasn't bad and there was hardly anyone out to see him. He wouldn't have minded, in all honesty. The mask hid his face and the vest was bulky enough to hide his frame. He was just worried they could pinpoint his "secret base" as the media liked to call it.
He didn't have trouble finding the building once he got close to the U.A. campus. It was a large domed structure. He was sure the glass was Quirk proof, so he couldn't just slam into it. Instead, he had to use the door like a normal person.
He pouted. He loved making big entrances. But it wouldn't work in this case. He had no idea what the villains were planning.
Izuku swung from a tree and launched himself towards the door. He rolled and sprung up, just in time to see a kid in a costume similar to Ingenium rush out of the building. They made eye contact; Izuku waved while the kid slowed down for the briefest moment in surprise.
Izuku looked back at the door. Whatever was going on had that kid terrified. He could see how he shook even with his speed. He quickly made it to the door, stopping it before it slammed shut. He pulled it open. It seemed like something was holding it in place.
When he peered his head in, he was met with a horrific sight. A group of students were huddled in front, most of them cowering with each other while some others were near a body.
Izuku narrowed his eyes. That was Thirteen! They didn't appear to be doing well. The back of their suit was torn open, and two students tried to hold it closed.
Then there was the huge black and purple mist surrounding the students. A few students met his eyes, and he held a finger up to his mask. He carefully snuck through the door and over to Thirteen and the others, who were out of sight of the mist.
"What happened?" Izuku asked.
The two girls looked up, startled. The pink haired girl spoke first. "We were supposed to be training," she whispered. "Villains attacked. Most of our classmates were thrown everywhere."
The girl in the pink and black outfit squeezed her eyes shut. "We're trying to keep this shut so they don't get worse."
Izuku looked at the torn suit. "Lean back."
The girls listened. Izuku popped off the tops of his gloves and held both hands over the suit, making sure his web-shooters were aimed at the tear. The angle hurt his wrists. He pressed his fingers down. Webbing shot out and covered the hole. It wasn't totally sealed, but it would help.
The two girls stared in awe, before realizing their hands had also been caught. Izuku smiled sheepishly and pulled out his knife, swiftly cutting their hands out. The pair shook their wrists, pulling off the remaining web.
"Stay here," Izuku ordered. "I'll go help your classmates." He stood up slowly, trying not to alert the mist's darting eyes. It seemed to be watching the students.
"I don't know about the others," the pink suited girl said, "but I saw Yaoyorozu, Jirou, and Kaminari fall into the mountains." She pointed across the building.
Izuku nodded. He jumped off the side of the stairs, landing on a pile of broken stone. He hissed in pain, not realizing the jump had been so big. He pushed through, though, and stood up. As he started running, two big explosions let off.
Ah, Izuku thought, Kacchan must be there. He should be fine, his Quirk is pretty good.
So he made his way through the torn and fallen buildings, making sure not to catch the eyes of whatever villains may be lurking. He made it through and prepared to climb the steep dirt. He took one step, finding that it actually held pretty well.
As he climbed, he looked around. He didn't see anyone nearby yet, but he did catch a glimpse at the fighting near the center. He paused, doing a double take. Eraserhead stood in the middle, swinging his capture weapon around and dodging attacks.
Izuku swallowed, hoping he could handle all of those villains long enough for him to rescue the students. If there were still any left when he was done, he'd join in.
Ice shot passed him as he made it to a small clearing. He ducked, standing up straight once the blast left. He stared at the cause. It was a boy with white and red hair. He seemed as shocked as Izuku was to see him.
Next two the boy was a pair of floating gloves. Huh. Was that a student?
It didn't matter. He had saving to do.
He bolted towards the students(?), digging into his pocket and pulling out a smoke bomb. When he was right in front of the villains attacking, he slammed it onto the ground. Smoke erupted around them.
Everyone started coughing, but Izuku didn't have time for that. He grabbed the glove and boy and ran back the way he came. He countered the arguments coming from the boy, stating that a villain wouldn't be rescuing him and that they didn't have the time to be petty.
Once they got to the slope Izuku had climbed up, he gently shoved them towards it. The gloves seemed to stumble, but the red/white haired boy steadied them. Izuku and the boy made eye contact.
"There's at least one person in those buildings," Izuku said.
The gloves had already started descending down the slope. The boy stared a while longer, before nodding in thanks. He turned and made a path of ice, sliding down the hill and grabbing one of the gloves. The glove squealed.
Izuku turned and started towards the villains. The smoke had finally cleared, but Izuku didn't have time. He just shot out a few webs, internally celebrating when both of their hands had been caught. They wouldn't be getting out of that any time soon.
Next stop, the mountains.
He could see bolts of electricity shooting out from everywhere. Either a villain or student was doing that. Or both. Hopefully the student.
Climbing the rocks was surprisingly a lot tougher than the dirt, although his fingers helped him stick to the solid surface a lot better.
He caught sight of two villains and three students. The student with yellow hair spoke to the two girls he was with. They seemed hesitant, but ended up nodding. The girl with black hair tied up materialized a blanket and covered them with it.
Izuku was lucky enough to jump right as one of them let their Quirk loose. He could see the electricity flow through the ground. The two villains, however, didn't catch the memo. They gasped and groaned, bodies seizing up before falling to the ground.
Izuku landed on a taller rock, concealing himself from view. The students lifted the blanket and tossed it away. The yellow haired boy seemed dazed. No, beyond dazed. He had his thumbs up and he stumbled whenever he moved the tiniest bit.
Izuku was about to help them down when another villain showed up seemingly from nowhere. He snatched the boy, holding electrically charged fingers near his head.
Izuku couldn't hear what was being said due to the chaos everywhere else. He peeked over the rock, catching the eyes of the two girls. Signalling them both to be quiet, he aimed his wrist at the villain's face. He only had one shot. If he messed up, the boy could get hurt or the villain could get away.
He took a deep breath. Pressed two fingers down. Shot his webbing.
It hit the villain square in the face. His Quirk stopped and he let the boy go in order to pull whatever had covered him. Izuku snorted. Good luck with that.
Izuku shot off another web, swinging down from his hiding space to scoop up the dazed student. He pushed off the boulder nearby and landed by the girls.
"Let's go," was all he said before taking off. He paused briefly to readjust the boy in his arms. He could hear the other two close behind. When they reached the ground, Izuku realized they'd have to go around in order to stay out of the big battle going on.
It took them a few minutes, but they had finally passed the red dome and were making their way by the pond when something made them stop.
A loud and sickening thwack echoed throughout the entire building. All three of them froze and slowly turned to the source. It would have been comedic if it weren't for the reason.
A large beastly creature stood in the center, towering over someone. Izuku saw the grey scarf and now broken yellow glasses, and came to a terrifying realization.
That monster had taken down Eraserhead in one move.
Izuku turned to the girls, shoving the boy into their arms. "Go to the others," he commanded, pushing them away from the nightmare inducing scene. "Go!"
They started to move, but their eyes lingered on the hero. Izuku watched as the creature lifted up his head. He nearly threw up at the sight. Blood covered his face and coated his hair. The monster then slammed him back down. The sound of bones breaking and choked screaming would never leave his head.
Izuku also noticed that the black mist from the entrance had now appeared next to a man covered in hands and had taken the form of a person. He seemed to be speaking to the Hand Man.
A voice pulled both Izuku's and Hand Man's attention. He watched in horror as he approached two students who had been hidden in the water. The man reached his arm out towards the girl.
Izuku ran, arm stretched and ready to web the man away. Only his webbing didn't touch the man. It touched something bigger.
Izuku looked up. He felt the color drain from his face as he stared at the creature that had taken out Eraserhead.
The creature didn't move. The webbing hung off the side of its face, swiftly falling away like it was just a sheet of paper.
"Oh?" Hand Man asked from the other side. Izuku heaved a sigh of relief as he moved away from the students. Hand Man stood up. The creature moved out of the way. "It seems a hidden enemy appeared. And a vigilante at that. Aren't we lucky, Nomu?"
The creature huffed.
"Too bad you're not supposed to be in this level. We don't have high enough stats yet." Hand Man seemed upset over that. Izuku really did not want to know what that meant. "Oh well. Nomu, get rid of him."
Izuku's stomach dropped as the creature--the Nomu--straightened up, and looked directly at him. Its huge arms swung at him. He jumped away. He danced around it, jumping and dodging its arms and mouth. For how big the creature was, it sure was fast. The arms alone looked like it should be holding it back.
Izuku tried to aim for any blindspots, but everytime he moved the Nomu matched him. Remembering he still technically had Eraserhead's permission to fight, he kicked the beast in the crotch. That should disable any man.
Except the Nomu wasn't just any man and didn't seem to be affected by it.
Hand Man appeared annoyed, grunting in frustration and scratching at his neck until it bled.
Across the building, the entrance door burst open. Izuku could hear the students' gasps and cheers. All Might stood at the top of the stairs. He wasn't sporting his usual smile. Izuku felt a swell of hope bloom in his chest, but that was quickly shattered when the Nomu took advantage of his distraction.
Both arms smacked into his stomach, sending him across the ground. He slid across the floor, jagged rocks and stones cutting into his arms. He hadn't landed too far from Eraserhead.
Getting onto his hands and knees brought great pain everywhere, especially his chest. Izuku was pretty sure he felt something crack under the monster's force. His breaths were sharp and shallow. Every move brought stabbing pain to his lung. If he moved weird or too fast, Izuku felt like his lung would get pierced.
All Might appeared and started fighting the Nomu. Izuku wasn't paying attention. He had to focus on getting Eraserhead out. The man may be a pain in his side, trying to catch and turn him in, but he was giving Izuku a home and Izuku couldn't let anything happen to him.
Izuku moved as slowly as he could without moving his broken ribs or alerting Hand Man. Once he was close enough, he gently flipped the hero over so he was on his back. He stood up. His legs shook, and he nearly fell with how much pain it brought. He was glad Eraserhead had taken out the villains. He didn't think he was in the best condition to fight any more.
He stood up once more, holding his arms out to steady himself. When he knew he wasn't going to topple over at the slightest bump, he leaned down and scooped his hands under Eraserhead's shoulders. With the extent of his facial injuries, Izuku really shouldn't be moving the man. But he couldn't just kneel down next to him and prevent him from moving with all of the villains around.
He began walking backwards, dragging the unconscious man with him. He tried his best to keep his breathing as even as possible. He passed All Might and Hand Man. Hand Man had started up his monologue, mentioning how the Nomu was designed to defeat All Might.
So that was the plan, Izuku figured, a grim expression on his face. They wanted to kill All Might.
He was a good distance away when he saw one student from the water jogging over to him. He stopped when he watched her lean down and pick up the hero's legs. Izuku adjusted his grip and smiled. He knew she couldn't see it, but the gesture was all that mattered.
"Thank you for your help, ribbit," she said as they started up the stairs. Izuku had chosen to be the one to go up backwards, so he had to keep his head turned so he didn't trip.
"Is he your teacher?" Izuku asked, although he knew the answer to that.
"He is," the green girl answered.
"I'm sorry you guys had to go through that. Nobody this young should." Wow, way to sound like a hypocrite.
Green girl didn't reply. Instead, they focused on getting the hero to safety.
Izuku looked up, and saw two figures nearing the fight. He squinted. When did Ice Boy and Kacchan leave the entrance? Wouldn't they try to stay safe?
Ok, well.
Kacchan made sense. He was always making rash decisions.
He wasn't sure about Ice Boy, though.
But he couldn't focus on that. Eraserhead was starting to stir, and they were only halfway up the stairs. The man started to mumble incoherently, occasionally grunting in pain from being jostled around.
Izuku placed a gloved hand over his mouth, shushing him. "You'll make it worse. Your jaw is probably broken."
Eraserhead blinked. He seemed to be coherent enough to recognize the vigilante. He mumbled something sounding like, "Kumo?" but the blood in his mouth muffled it.
"It's me, Eraser," Izuku said. "Too bad you aren't well enough to catch me."
Eraserhead blinked again, more sluggishly that time.
Izuku tapped the side of his head, careful to avoid the injured parts. "Hey, now. None of that. Can't have you falling asleep on us. Just make noises, don't strain yourself. Keep those eyes open."
Izuku kept talking to the man until they finally made it to the other. He noticed that Thirteen was now sitting up and conversing with a student. Another student sat knelt behind them, checking over the webbing Izuku had placed.
A group of students saw Izuku and Green Girl and rushed over, helping take their injured teacher from them and setting him down. They gave short bows in return. Izuku just waved them off.
He should really get going. He needed to check his injuries. Surely that boy he met outside would return with plenty of heroes any second now.
But.
Laying down sounded like a good idea too.
He stumbled forward, the green girl reaching out to help him to the ground. The pressure on his stomach and ankles was lifted. He patted her hand to show appreciation. He laid himself down.
Footsteps approached, and Izuku groaned as he lifted his head to see who was coming up. It was the girl who made the blanket in the mountain.
"I just wanted to thank you for saving us," she said. "Kaminari could have been hurt if not for you." Izuku's eyes wandered over the crowd of students until they landed on the familiar yellow hair. The boy seemed to be doing a lot better. He still seemed out of it, but he was no longer acting drunk.
"Are you injured? I can patch you up the best I can."
"You don't have to," Izuku said, his voice coming out distorted. The two girls stared, wide-eyed. Even Izuku was shocked. He tapped the screen on his mask. It glitched and popped. It was damaged. Great.
Wait.
That meant Eraserhead heard his real voice back there. Shit. He was probably too confused and out of it that he wouldn't remember, but now that was all Izuku could think about.
The black haired girl knelt next to him. "I'm Yaoyorozu," she said.
Izuku was taken aback. Did she think she would see his vigilante persona multiple times that she decided to introduce herself? He hoped not. He didn't want to run into them again. At least not in his suit. They were nice. If they met again while in costume, it would only mean danger.
Izuku was glad she didn't expect him to answer. He wouldn't have anyway.
She closed her eyes and rolls of bandages popped out of her stomach. Izuku stared in fascination. Soon, what looked like alcohol wipes appeared.
Yaoyorozu started with his arms. His sleeves had been torn from the creature, so it was easy to rip away and access the scrapes. He hissed when she applied the first alcohol wipe.
Izuku noticed the stares from the other students and couldn't help but blush under the attention. Sure, the media covered his fights and such but he never went out during the day. He didn't know how to handle it.
Instead he turned his attention back to the battle going on down below. From what he could tell, Kacchan and the ice and fire boy were trying to take on the mist man. All Might was still attacking the Nomu.
Yaoyorozu had finished his arms, and moved to lift his hoodie up. Izuku jerked back, wincing in pain.
"Sorry!" she exclaimed. "I should have asked. But I saw you take a hit from that thing."
Izuku calmed down, pulling his arm away from his stomach.
She inhaled sharply, causing Izuku to look down as well. Large bruises had already formed, black and yellow scattering across his abdomen. All she could do was wrap them.
Izuku lowered his hoodie the moment she finished. And it was good timing too, because suddenly the USJ door shot open, nearly flying off its hinges.
A bunch of pro heroes stood there. Izuku recognized most of them, either from research or from running from them. Snipe aimed his gun and fired right as All Might landed a punch on the Nomu so strong it threw it out of the building. Glass shattered, leaving a huge gaping hole. Snipe's bullet seemed to hit Hand Man.
Some of the other heroes consisted of Present Mic and Ectoplasm, both of which were not very surprised to see Izuku. The heroes started moving around to each location, rounding up villains.
Izuku watched as Hand Man stepped through the mist, disappearing into the black and purple swirls.
Villains were rounded up and herded outside.
Yaoyorozu placed herself in front of Izuku, effectively hiding him from the heroes. Izuku was thankful.
Kaminari walked up to them. "Thanks, man," he said, meeting Izuku's eyes. He took in the medical supplies around them. "I think Recovery Girl is out there, if you want her to heal you."
He appeared to be waiting for a response, so Izuku just pointed to his broken device and mask. He seemed to understand, and backed off. Yaoyorozu and Kaminari helped him stand up. The pressure from the bandages wasn't nice, but the slight lack of pain was.
Kaminari took Izuku's left arm and swung it over his shoulder. They slowly made their way outside. Sure enough, the first thing Izuku saw was Recovery Girl standing by an ambulance.
Police officers appeared to be nervous, their eyes tracking the group's movements. The paramedics looked dumbfounded at the appearance of one of the most wanted vigilantes in the country.
They led him to Recovery Girl, who was giving them an uncertain look. She sighed and had him sit down. The two students left them alone.
"Don't give me that look," she said, looking over his body to assess the damage. She ended up unwrapping the bandages. "I'm not handing you over to the police." She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his stomach.
He shuddered. He didn't think he could get used to that feeling.
"You'll be sore for a few days, young man," she went on.
Izuku sputtered nonsense. Did she know his age? No, of course not. It didn't seem logical. She probably just assumed based on his activities, or maybe her Quirk gave her an age range. Yeah. That was it.
He couldn't help but eye the police, who had somehow gotten closer.
"No strenuous adventures." She paused, taking in the approaching crowd. "Although, I will make an exception this time." She placed a few gummies into the palm of his hand. "Now go."
Izuku slid a gummy through the side of his mask, using his tongue to grab it and pull it into his mouth. He quickly chewed and swallowed. The effects were immediate.
He stood up and bowed before taking off. The officers shouted, and he could even hear some of them begin chase. Izuku just jumped up when he reached the gate, climbing up and hopping down.
He shot a web up onto a store front, pulling himself up. People from inside ran out, snaps from cameras faint. Well, if he was going on the internet he might as well pose.
He spun around and stopped, holding up two peace signs. He waited a few seconds to make sure they got good pictures before sprinting across the roof.
He leaped and dove onto building tops, seeing his neighborhood come into view. He didn't spot Yamada or Aizawa's cars as he approached the house, and he wasn't expecting to. At least not soon. They'd most likely go to the hospital and Yamada would get Izuku soon. He wished he could just make his way to the hospital right now, but there was no feasible way that Izuku should even be aware of the situation. At least he had his sick excuse for why he would look weak and tired.
He hopped onto the roof and slid down, holding onto the balcony ledge and swinging himself onto it. He pushed open the balcony door and stepped inside, immediately closing it. When he took off his shoes, he felt all of the adrenaline rush out of his body, despite having a gummy from Recovery Girl.
He sluggishly moved to his room. All he wanted to do was crawl under his blankets and pass out forever. But he couldn't have the heroes finding his outfit.
So he reluctantly shed everything, deciding to shove it under the bed instead of carefully putting it away. He threw on his white pajama shirt, not caring that it was inside out, and black shorts. He flung his blanket back and fell face first onto the mattress. He wrapped himself in a cocoon and closed his eyes.
God, tomorrow was going to suck.