Fear propelled through Izuku as he heard the sickening crunch of Shigaraki's grip on Aizawa's elbow, which decayed slowly, the teacher's flesh falling away like fragile leaves from a tree.
There was the sound of Thirteen's costume ripping away until it was ground into dust, as the dark purple mist of the villain Kurogiri warped the pro hero's own blackhole quirk against her.
The imperceptible, yet deafening sound of blood dripping to the floor as the cold, hard fingers of Nomu pierced All Might's side.
Screams of his classmates.
"Midoriya!"
Izuku's woke up with a jolt and he felt cold perspiration run down the back of his neck.
Then he saw Kaminari, who was sitting across from him on the bus, suddenly shrink in embarrassment as if feeling guilty.
"Oh... sorry, Midoriya, was I talking too loud?"
"Obviously," Mina slapped Kaminari on the head, "anyone would wake up if you screamed their name!"
"Sorry to wake you up," Tsuyu apologized, "we were just talking about your quirk when Kaminari decided to scream."
"I did not scream! I was just... talking at my usual volume..." Kaminari knew it was time for him to shut up as Mina glared at him.
"You seem awfully tired, Midoriya," Iida said with a concerned expression, "are you feeling ok?"
"I'm fine, just slept a little late last night," Izuku smiled, "by the way, what were you guys talking about when I was sleeping?"
"I say whatever comes to my mind," Asui replied, "so, I mentioned how your quirk is similar to All Might's."
"Wait what... What makes you think that?" Izuku smiled nervously.
"Super strength, air blasts... y'know, all that," Sato Rikido said next to Izuku.
"But their fighting styles are very different," Kirishima pointed out.
"True... plus, it looks kind of different, too," Kaminari added, "Midoriya's looks a bit more... flashier, right?"
"Yeah, but when you're talking about flashy quirks, it's gotta be Bakugo and Todoroki's," Kirishima jabbed a finger towards the two boys in the back of the bus.
Bakugo didn't reply. However, Izuku knew that his childhood friend was listening closely to their conversation.
"Bakugo's always mad, so he doesn't seem like he'll be popular, though," Asui said neutrally as if stating a fact, and Izuku instantly knew where this conversation was heading.
"What the hell?!" Bakugo shot up from his seat, "You wanna fight?!"
"See?" Asui didn't even look at the angry boy.
Kaminari, seeing his opening, began firing derisive comments as Bakugo yelled and cursed back, and Izuku watched helplessly as the conversation gradually shifted into a Bakugo-roasting battlefield.
"Quiet down," Aizawa finally called, "we're here."
•••
The space hero Thirteen, who was dressed in some sort of astronaut costume, gave a brief description of the facility.
USJ, the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, was a facility designed to imitate real-life disasters.
Katsuki glanced at Deku, who was looking around nervously.
Suddenly, Deku must've noticed Katsuki was frowning at him, as the nervous boy's expression instantly shifted into something more cheerful, masking his uneasiness from a moment ago.
Katsuki scowled deeper. The usual, crystal-clear Deku was long gone -- or at least, was gradually transforming into someone full of masks, full of lies.
And this place where their rescue training was about to take place, Deku was obviously very concerned about, maybe even afraid of. When Katsuki overheard Deku muttering on the beach, USJ was something the green-haired boy mentioned a couple of times over.
What does Deku know about this place that I don't?
"HELLO!" All Might's voice suddenly exploded from behind them, "I AM HERE! LATE!"
"All Might!" Deku was the first one to turn around, and the boy let out a breath of relief.
"I thought you weren't going to show up," Aizawa said, annoyed. However -- Katsuki didn't know if he was hallucinating -- the way Aizawa and Deku looked at All Might suggested something more than simply a teacher showing up late.
Something more dangerous.
"All right," Thirteen said, "now that All Might is here, we can start the training."
Nobody would've noticed. Even Katsuki wouldn't have if he wasn't paying attention. The way Thirteen talked... there was definitely something going on.
He tightened his fists, his quirk slowly warming up his palms.
Suddenly, the lights of the facility flickered, then blinked out.
"What the hell is happening..." Katsuki growled as class 1-A exchanged confused glances with each other.
Then he saw the dark, swirling purple mist down at the central plaza of the facility, and a person covered with pale white hands stepped out of the portal.
•••
"Gather together and don't move!" Aizawa roared at the class, his voice unusually loud and distinct.
Everyone seemed momentarily stupefied as they all stared at the growing portal, as more and more people swarmed out like ants.
"Is that part of the lesson?" Kirishima asked with a confused frown, his voice wavering slightly. "Who are those guys?"
"Don't move!" All Might said sternly, his constant smile twitching into a frown, "Those are villains."
The atmosphere changed instantly as fear washed over the students and they realized the severity of what was happening.
Bakugo whipped his head over to where Midoriya was originally standing, only to find that the green-haired boy was gone.
"Thirteen, Eraser, evacuate and protect the students," All Might ordered, then turned towards class 1-A, his reassuring smile back on his face.
"Fear not, everything is fine," the hero said, "I am here."
In a blink of an eye, All Might dashed across the facility, leaving behind a trail of wind. The low-class criminals didn't even have time to react before they were immobilized, lying painfully on the ground.
Only a few seconds later, the number one hero had made his way to Shigaraki, the guy covered in hands.
"CAROLINA SMASH!" Giant gusts of wind sliced towards Shigaraki, but the attack never connected with the villain as a huge monster appeared between Shigaraki and All Might, the blast of wind dissipating on impact like a breeze hitting a mountain.
"What..." All Might muttered, "Young Midoriya was right..."
What did the boy call it... right, the nomu.
The disgusting, bulging eyeballs of the monstrous villain rolled down and focused on the number one hero. Then faster than lightning, its muscular arms swiped the air where All Might's head was a split second ago.
All Might sent more forceful punches in the nomu's gut and on its face, but again to no avail.
Shigaraki laughed, his cold, maniac voice boasting with a sense of accomplishment and pride, "nothing will work, All Might!! Because Nomu is as strong as you are."
Near the entrance of the facility, the students watched in a sort of nervous excitement.
"You can do this, All Might!" Kirishima cheered.
"Everyone! There are still more villains, we have to evacuate! Leave this to All Might," Iida said seriously.
The students standing on the ledge watching the battle soon came to their senses and followed Iida towards the gate.
"Wait..." Iida looked around, "...where's Midoriya? Guys! Have you seen--"
His voice froze when a cloud of purple mist suddenly appeared in front of the class, blocking the exit.
Thirteen whipped her hand back, signaling the students to stop. Aizawa tightened his grip on his fabric weapon.
"I won't let you pass..." the deep voice of the villain resonated from the mist. Two glowing yellow eyes shined through the darkness.
"Nice to meet you, we are the League of Villains."
A/N: Happy holidays :))