"If you're prepared to adapt and learn, you can transform."
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(Izuku Pendragon's POV)
I crossed my legs as I put an arm around Stacy, who was sitting beside me on the bus that we were on. I glanced around inside and saw all of Class 1-A occupying the entire bus, their hero costumes filling it with color. We were all heading to a place quite a ways away from campus for our rescue training.
"Hey, Izuku-chan, I always say what I think no matter what's on my mind," Asui monotonously stated beside me.
"What is it, Asui?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Call me Tsuyu-chan..." I nodded lightly and gestured for her to continue. "Your Quirk reminds me of the vigilante that the police were after a year ago."
I stopped myself from letting out a gasp because of Asui's question. The vigilante that she referred to was my very own father, Gilgamesh. When he was destroying entire crime syndicates and villain organizations for targeting my mother or simply incurring his wrath, the only clues he left to the police were slash wounds from his victims and the fading golden dust from our weapons going back to the treasury.
"Is that so? I suppose they're quite comparable to each other..." I replied, trying not to give anything away. For all I know, Asui might be an expert in cold reading.
"Wait up, Tsuyu-chan, we've never even seen that vigilante in action before or even seen him... or her," Kirishima interjected.
"That vigilante disappeared a few months ago, right? Police and heroes never even found them. What was their name again? Uh, Dust Arsenal, right?" Kaminari informed our classmates.
"What a horrendously dumb vigilante name for him, of all people," Stacy whispered.
"I concur."
"That sort of emitter-type Quirk is awesome, though! There's a lot you can do with your weapons and stuff!" Kirishima raised his right hand and used his Quirk, hardening it. "Not like my Hardening. I'm good in a fight, but it's real boring."
"Whether or not your Quirk is flashy, it doesn't matter too much. As long as you fulfill your role as a hero and protect the populace with vigor, that will be enough," I said while sipping a cup of coffee.
The vermillion-haired boy showed an appreciative smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Izuku, but the hero world has a lot to do with popularity... By the way, where'd you get that cup of coffee? Isn't that a Starbucks?"
"Who knows?" I shrugged his question off as I took another sip of my coffee while the others continued talking. As I finished doing so, I passed it on to Stacy.
(Thanks, love.)
"Gracias, corazón... Mo-chan worked me to the bone last night, so I woke up feeling dangerous," Stacy said quietly, taking a sip of the piping hot coffee.
I lightly chuckled as I patted her head, the golden hair stick she wore glimmering faintly in the sun. "I know. You made that abundantly clear last night."
"If we're talking the double whammy of flashy and strong, you can't not mention Fujiwara-san, the Todoroki, and Bakugo twins!"
Katsuki merely gave Kirishima a slight glance before looking back out the window as he did a small "Tch."
"But Katsuki-chan is so unhinged. He'd never be popular."
The angry pomeranian in question abruptly stood up and gripped the railing in front of him. "WHAT'D YOU SAY, FROG-FACE?!"
"You see?"
Kaminari gained a smug expression as he pointed at Katsuki. "We've only barely started socializing, and already you've made it abundantly clear to us the unpleasantness of your steamed turd of a personality."
"YEAH, OKAY, MR. VOCABULARY. HOW ABOUT I POUND YOU?!"
I snickered as I turned to the explosive boy. "It seems as though even people who are not as academically bright as you can realize your very own flaws and do not ignore it."
Katsuki glared at me fiercely. "I DIDN'T ASK FOR YOUR OPINION, DEKU! I DON'T CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK! WHEN I BECOME THE NO.1 HERO, YOU'LL SEE THAT I'M THE BEST THERE COULD BE!"
'As a warrior, perhaps, but as a hero, never. What a ludicrous mongrel he still is.' I thought, sighing right after.
(explosive monkey)
"You know, bàozhàxìng hóu, an average person's brain weighs roughly 1,400 grams," Stacy started, deadpanned.
"One would think that is enough to make some room for common sense," I continued with a smirk.
Katsuki looked so furious that I swore I saw smoke erupting from his ears while some of my classmates chuckled. "You... Why you! DEKU, YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'LL FUCKING--"
"We're almost there. Settle down already..." Uncle Shota interrupted him with a glare. Reluctantly, he sat back down and calmed himself, letting go of the railing, which was now blackened, presumably by mini-explosions from his palm. I maintained my smirk as Katsuki kept glaring at me for the rest of the ride while Stacy snuggled up to me.
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"We were waiting for you!"
Once everyone had departed from the bus, welcoming us was a hero, Thirteen. The Space hero's costume consists of a white spacesuit design using what appeared to be a puffy jacket instead of an actual suit, a black helmet with white eyes, and a pair of yellow boots.
'The Space hero, Thirteen. A gentleman hero who excels at disaster relief. Although, I feel as though this hero is more of a gentlewoman than anything.'
"I love Thirteen!" Uraraka declared rather enthusiastically.
"Let's go inside," Thirteen instructed, pointing at the enormous dome-shaped building behind her.
Class 1-A followed her instruction as we thanked her before proceeding inside the building. The sight that greeted us was an awe-inspiring interior chock full of disaster simulations ranging from flood wrecks to massive fires. The rest of the students stood, marveling at the effort that built this place as they compared it to Universal Studios Japan.
"This is a practical training area I created to simulate all kinds of accidents and disasters, and its name is the Unforeseen Simulation Joint!" Thirteen announced, striking a pose.
Uncle Aizawa then started talking with Thirteen quietly as she held up three fingers. On the other hand, my classmates were still observing the myriad of disasters in this facility. With a slightly annoyed expression, uncle turned to us.
"That problem can't be helped, then. Let's begin."
"Before we begin, just one thing... or two... or three... or four... As I'm sure many of you are aware, my Quirk is called Black Hole. It can suck in and tear apart..." Thirteen continued her speech about the risks of using Quirks to harm others. "...That is all! I thank you for listening," she finished with a theatrical bow, earning the praise of my classmates.
"All right, first things first--"
Sparks suddenly flared from the lights encircling the entire facility, causing uncle to be interrupted. The little puppies known as my classmates looked around in confusion. I looked in Stacy and Mordred-nee's direction and saw them narrow their eyes at the Central Plaza.
I looked at their line of sight and saw the fountain's water fluctuate and a dark purple swirl materialize from thin air. Bright yellow eyes unveiled themselves as the ominous purple mist expanded until a hand emerged. The figure revealed himself, masked by a severed hand and a crazed expression.
The figure was one who I immediately recognized as Tomura Shigaraki, the most audacious destroyer I've ever met. Exiting the warp gate created by his chaperone, Kurogiri, Shigaraki cast an analyzing gaze toward us while dozens and dozens of low-class plebians also came from the warp gate.
"Huddle together and don't move!" uncle-- or rather, Eraserhead shouted at us, fear and shock lacing his tone.
Class 1-A had confused expressions as they looked at the Central Plaza, the sight of mysterious people catching them off-guard.
"Thirteen! Protect the students!"
"What the heck's that?!" Kirishima recoiled back, surprised. "Is this like the entrance exam? Has it already started?"
"Don't move!" Eraserhead equipped his signature goggles. "Those are... real villains."
"What? Villains? Are they dumb? They're stupid to break into a hero school!"
"Sensei, what about the..."
What Yaoyorozu said next, I didn't hear because Shigaraki's analytical gaze fell upon me. He glared at me with so much bloodlust that some of the villains around him shuddered. I did the same, matching his bloodlust with my own as I had the sudden urge to lunge at him. I'm sure he felt the same since he started assuming a running stance.
We kept glaring at each other with bottomless anger, and the urge to attack each other brutally increased with each passing moment. Moments turned to seconds as my hand unconsciously reached out for a weapon.
I was about to use the Wandering Tales of Shana-oh to close the distance until a hand found its way onto my shoulder. I turned my head back and saw Mordred-nee furrowing her eyebrows.
"Izuku, calm down. I won't ask a second time."
My eyes widened faintly before closing them and taking a deep breath. "Pardon me, Mordred-nee. That was out of character for me."
"Damn right it was, don't go rushing in like an idiot without a plan. We still don't know what those plebs' plans or strategies are. Like I said before, don't make the same mistakes I did." She removed her hand from my shoulder and smirked. "I'm not one to let you have all the glory! If we fight, we fight together!"
I let out a light-hearted chuckle. "It seems as though mother's lessons finally showed their results, though you're still the same Mordred at heart."
"Haaah? Of course, I am. Ain't no one like me, except me."
Looking back at Shigaraki, I observed that he had also calmed down. A surprise, really. It seemed as though he matured. "Well, the best way to know an enemy's plans is to ask them yourself."
"Yep. From what you told me about Shigaraki, he does seem like the type to tell you his evil plans without a care in the world."
I turned back to the rest of my classmates and saw Eraserhead giving out instructions before he prepared to jump into the fray. I also spotted Astolfo calming down Stacy as she took a deep breath and stopped glaring at Shigaraki.
"Kaminari, use your Quirk to make a call."
"Wait, sensei. Surely you don't mean to jump in that crowd of villains alone. Your stamina isn't infinite." Stacy stopped Eraserhead before he could charge in.
"Plus, you have dry eye," Izumi worriedly added.
"A hero must always overcome any hurdle thrown at them. Besides, my goal isn't to defeat them. I only have to stall. Take care of them, Thirteen."
With that, he jumped down and started using his binding cloth and his Erasure Quirk in tandem to quickly and efficiently dispose of every villain in his path. As Eraserhead was doing that, my classmates began running to the entrance door, excluding a few.
'My uncle is truly such a badass...'
"This is no time for analysis! We've got to evacuate!" Iida yelled at the group that stayed behind, which was me, Mordred-nee, Stacy, and Astolfo.
I exchanged glances with Mordred-nee and decided upon our next course of action. Astolfo and Stacy saw this interaction and nodded. All four of us summoned our weapons, mine being the harp-like bow, Failnaught. We were about to go and massacre the enemy forces, but someone gripped my shoulder again. I turned my head back with a slightly irritated expression.
"Izuku-kun, you and the others can't just fight those villains! Letting Aizawa-sensei stall those villains until other heroes arrive Is the most logical course of action! Even if we did want to help, we have no experience facing groups and real villains," Iida pleaded while doing his robotic hand movements with his free hand.
"Speak for yourself, Iida." I slapped his hand away. "Having our help would help stall the villains significantly. All the while decreasing the chances of failure."
"But..." He looked down at the fight with a frustrated expression. "We don't have permission to engage in combat! It's illegal and against the rules for people without hero licenses to use their Quirks to harm others."
"In this case, any harm dealt to those low-class cannon fodder would be considered self-defense. Don't even try to bring up the rules." I looked at him with a very haughty expression. "I am the rules."
"What does that even--"
Iida was suddenly interrupted by the ominous dark purple mist known as Kurogiri warping right in front of my fleeing classmates. Both Iida and I saw him appear in the corner of our eyes as we turned our heads in his direction.
"Tsk." I looked back at the fight below and saw that Eraserhead was still fighting the villains with great vitality. Fortunately, Shigaraki and the muscular birdlike monster with the exposed brain still hadn't made a move yet.
'It seems as though the street thugs' numbers lowered considerably. It's reasonable to assume that they separated into the different disaster simulations to attack us separately. Therefore, stopping Kurogiri from warping my classmates is now the priority.'
"Change of plans!"
All five of us that stayed behind immediately rushed to our classmates' side, with Iida trailing far behind since we got there instantaneously. We broke through the group and stood face-to-face with Kurogiri. Now that the situation's changed, the best course of action is to defeat Kurogiri here and now and quickly help Eraserhead.
"Well, well, well... It's been two and half months since our last encounter, Izuku Pendragon, Anastasia Fujiwara."
"Indeed, it has. You're still working hard as Shiagaraki's chaperone, I see." I slowly pulled out the twin red and white Aestus Estus swords of Emperor Nero from the treasury and pointed the red one at Kurogiri.
"I suppose I am, but the need for me to look after him has been decreasing, as we had hoped."
"You know this guy, Izuku?" Shoto asked from behind me.
"Yeah, he's a mysterious villain known as Kurogiri that works for-- never mind. All I know other than such is that he has a Warp Gate Quirk." I maintained eye contact with Kurogiri, trying to predict his next move.
"Spill it, Kurogiri. Why have you and Shigaraki come here? What's with all the street thugs you brought along with you?" Stacy questioned with a glare as he held up Excalibur.
"I have come before you as a member of the League of Villains. Forgive our audacity. Today we have come here to U.A. Highschool— this bastion of heroism... To have All Might, the Symbol of Peace, take his last breath..."
My eyes widened before I immediately composed myself— I couldn't let my guard down around Kurogiri. The rest of my classmates were also shocked by the revelation as they let out a simultaneous gasp.
"We were under the impression that All Might would be here today, but it seems his schedule has changed. Well, no matter." Thirteen stepped in front of me as she opened her index fingertip's lid. "My role remains unchanged."
I let Thirteen raise her right hand to use her Black Hole, knowing it would be the best way to ensure Kurogiri's defeat. However, she couldn't attack since three hot-headed fools struck first, expecting to defeat an unknown enemy with brute force and aimless explosions.
"Stay back, you impulsive fools!" I shouted but was too late as the Bakugo twins and Kirishima had already rushed at Kurogiri headfirst.
They let out war cries as Katsuki released the first explosion, with Katsumi following shortly after. Large amounts of dust had appeared from the Bakugo twins' explosions as we shielded our eyes from it, letting it settle. I saw Kirishima and the Bakugo twins standing ahead of us while Kurogiri's form was wavering, showing a metal plate amidst the dark purple mist.
"Did you think we wouldn't destroy you first?"
"Dangerous, so dangerous... Yes, students you may all be you're still gifted golden eggs."
"No, get back! The three of you!" Thirteen desperately called out, to no avail.
"BEGONE!" Kurogiri bellowed as he enveloped Class 1-A in the dark purple mist, hoping to warp all of us into the different disasters in U.S.J.
The first instinct I had within the direful darkness was to get as many people out of the mist. I immediately pushed some of my classmates out of the warp gate's range as I got out of there myself. Once the light entered my eyes again, I saw the area where we stood veiled with a dome of darkness.
"Damn it..." I looked around the pathway and saw that the pair I saved were, Shoka and Izumi— sitting on the ground, worried for the rest of our classmates. "Come on, get up."
While I reached out a hand for both of them, I continued scanning our surroundings and saw that Mordred-nee, Astolfo, and Stacy also saved a few students, but not everyone. I stabbed the twin Aestus Estus swords on the ground as I checked if Izumi had any injuries. When I finished checking, Kurogiri started reforming as I glared at him.
"Siscon..." Shoka whispered.
"With that, my purpose has been fulfilled..." Kurogiri warped away, I assume to Shigaraki's side. After he disappeared, all of my remaining classmates regrouped in the middle of the pathway, worry evident on their faces.
"Izumi-chan! Are you okay?!" Astolfo ran past me and held both of Izumi's shoulders quite firmly before checking her for any injuries like I did.
"Hmm...?" I narrowed my eyes at the sight of a blushing Izumi and an overly touchy Astolfo.
"Everyone okay?" Stacy questioned everyone as she walked by my side.
They all responded with a nod as they expressed their worry and panic about the current situation. Thankfully, Mordred-nee, Stacy, and I managed to calm them down using our Charisma skills. I analyzed the current situation and decided upon what was the best way to ameliorate this disaster.
"Alright, here's what we're going to do. Iida, you run outside and call for help while the rest of you split into three groups to help our other classmates scattered throughout this facility. I'll go alone and assist Eraserhead, is this arrangement clear?"
"Yes!" the group answered.
"As much as it pains me to leave you all behind, I'll do the role imparted to me with utmost care! Now that the situation's gotten far worse with Thirteen and the rest of our classmates separated, I must agree that this is the best course of action for us, this society's future heroes!" Iida fortunately agreed.
I grinned with excitement in response. "The rest of our classmates are counting on us to mitigate these despondent circumstances! Let us fight for their sake! Let us fight as true and proper heroes— their shining ray of grace!"
They roared with eagerness as the adrenaline flowed through their veins. Everybody proceeded to group up evenly, with Mordred-nee, Stacy, and Izumi leading each group. I grabbed the twin Aestus Estus swords as I walked to the stairs leading to the Central Plaza— where Eraserhead was still fighting. But just before I jumped down, Stacy ran over to me and planted a brief kiss on my lips.
(my darling)
"Keep yourself safe, mon chéri."
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(3rd Person's POV)
"Kurogiri. Are the students separated?"
Down at the Central Plaza, right after Kurogiri had fled from the Entrance Pathway, he reconvened with the orchestrator of this raid, Tomura Shigaraki. He didn't tear his eyes away from the battle before him as he was analyzing Eraserhead's fighting style by using the goons he gathered as bait.
"The students are separated, along with Thirteen, but there's still a group of students on the Entrance Pathway."
"That's fine as long as you didn't warp that kid with the Engine Quirk, then you've done your job. Just stay in the backline in case I need to swap characters."
Kurogiri looked at his surprisingly matured master. "I must say, it gladdens me to see you mature so much. You would've begun thinking irrationally, were it be you from two and a half months ago."
"...It was the one good thing that happened after I met that guy."
"I'm also quite impressed by your backup plan in the case if All Might was not here. It seems as though your sensei has been teaching you well."
"I'm grateful to be taught by her— she was one of the main reasons I matured so much."
'The backup plan...' Shigaraki remembered what he discussed with his sensei if All Might wasn't in U.S.J. 'Kurogiri will let one of the kids, specifically the one with the Engine Quirk, escape and call for help. Once U.A. gets a whiff of this raid, All Might will immediately rush to U.S.J. for his students, but he will leave the other teachers in the dust. Taking advantage of that, once All Might starts to run to U.S.J., Lancelot will intercept the other teachers, giving us the matchup I was hoping for— All Might here, facing this Nomu and maybe some of my other new characters.'
"But how can you be sure Lancelot will be enough to stall the other teachers?"
"Well, master recently gave him a fighter jet to use his Knight of Owner. If the teachers choose to split up or ignore him, he'll probably just go after the city."
"I see..."
Just then, the villains surrounding Eraserhead were blown back by the force of golden weapons striking the ground in front of them. The villains near the stairs to the Entrance Pathway suddenly got set ablaze, one by one. They kept combusting until the attacker stood still, revealing Izuku— holding the flaming twin Aestus Estus swords.
"Well, isn't this going to be interesting?" Under the severed hand, Shigaraki started grinning maniacally.
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(Izuku Pendragon's POV)
"Problem nephew, what are you doing here?" Eraserhead asked as we stood back-to-back, eyeing the villains that retreated to the water.
"I'm here to assist you. Don't force yourself to fight these street thugs just so you can reassure us." I launched a barrage of weapons using the Gate of Babylon toward the group of villains ahead of me.
"I'm that easy to figure out, huh? Is there anything you can tell me about that hand villain? I heard from the principal you know about him."
"How I met him is a story for another time. Just make sure you don't get near him— he's fast, and his Quirk is called Decay. It allows him to turn anything he touches with his five fingers into dust."
"I see... That hand villain is the boss of this raid, isn't he? He isn't doing anything but observe while his allies are getting knocked out."
"He was probably analyzing your fighting style... Let me take care of him, uncle. I can easily defeat him as long as there are no interruptions." I gave looked at him with a hardened expression.
Uncle Aizawa looked at me for a moment and sighed. "Fine, you have my permission." He looked at the villains I set ablaze that retreated to the water. "Not that it matters anymore."
I grinned at him before immediately making a beeline towards the fountain where Shigaraki and the birdlike monster were still standing. Defeating every villain along the way with a swift slash, I got to Shigaraki's location without a problem— blood evaporating on my blades. I cleaned off the remaining blood with a quick stroke, glaring at Shigaraki all the while.
"Oh, wow. If it isn't the great Hero Prince!" he said, his arms spread wide.
"If it isn't the childish defect. It's been quite some time. How is your leg doing? " I put the twin Aestus Estus swords back into the treasury with a smug smirk.
"It's doing fine. Thank you for asking after you drove a sword into it."
"Oh no, it was my pleasure, especially after you attacked Stacy's siblings."
"Hmph..." Shigaraki started glaring at me as I did the same, still keeping my smile. "Why don't we stop with the passive-aggressiveness and get onto the main course?"
"I would like that..." I reached out for a weapon, my smile fading, as a Gate appeared before me. "Gate of Babylon: the Executioner Sword of Charles-Henri Sanson..." I gripped a large, gray-black Ikakalaka sword, belonging to the first executioner to use a guillotine.
"Oh, but you won't be fighting me, not yet, anyway." Shigaraki pointed at me with a maniacal grin I could see even with the severed hand masking him. "Nomu. Kill this clown."
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A/N: I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. If you did, kindly leave a vote lol. Btw, the latest Spy x Family episode had me rolling on the floor. 🤣🤣🤣
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