"They are targeting students." "Our students?" "No, all students. We know from reliable sources that they want to eliminate the younger generation. They want to prevent new heroes from developing. We have to protect the students. Better security measures. We can't let them out on their own, only under restrictions." The heroes present knew that this was only the beginning. "Are we going to tell the students what's going on?" "We'll keep them in the dark. Society is in a state of transition. It is our duty to protect the children." "Is it likely that the villains will launch an attack on the school?" "We have to wait and see. When they gather, we will know. But for smaller attacks, for example when individual students are alone, we can't guarantee anything." "We will protect them, because in the event of a fight we must also protect the students from themselves."
...
"Why are there other heroes accompanying us on the Aizawa trip?" The students listened for the answer. They were on a bus on the way to the excursion destination, while two other heroes were riding along alongside Midnight, Allmight and Aizawa. "They will tell you some things while we do the tour." Izuku and Kaede exchanged glances. A few others also questioned this measure, but no one spoke their doubts aloud. "So, as you know, one of you suggested going to a horror house and escape room. I would have said no, but-" "Well, your reasoning convinced me! What else did you say? You learn to deal with fear and solve puzzles? Wonderful. You see Shota, the students know how to convince us." "They know how to convince you, Midnight. Anyway, we'll go in smaller groups with rooms assigned according to difficulty. Izuku, Kaede, Shoto and Katsuki are in Allmight's group. If I hear so much as a peep out of you, that's it for you. The others..." He also divided the other groups. "Wow." The room was extremely well designed. There were splashes of blood on the walls, some of the furniture had been overturned. "Everything so messy." Shoto put a chair back in place. "Wait!" A mechanism was triggered and an axe fell on Allmight from above. Izuku rescued Allmight. They lay together on the floor. "Are you all right Allmight?" "Yes, thank you young Midoriya." "Guys, the axe is made of cardboard. Nothing here would really kill us." "I already don't feel like spending hours stuck in a room with you extras, let's end this quickly." They looked for clues until Izuku explained something that struck him at the beginning. "We should look at where the blood is coming from, maybe that will give us a clue." "You have to enter a code here." "Where the hell are we going to get a code?" "Keep looking." After what felt like ages, they were able to enter the right combination. A compartment opened. "It's a fridge with... Blood supplies?" "Does that help?" "I have no idea." Kaede turned to allmight, who stood quietly in a corner. "What difficulty does our room have?" "Well, normally the operators don't offer this room because it's too difficult, but we were too many participants." Seeing the hopeless looks, he raised his hands briefly. "But I'm sure you'll manage." "Can you help us then?" "Me? I know absolutely nothing. Riddles have never been my strong point." The students sighed. Katsuki commented, "Super allmight, thanks for the help." They continued to search the room while Izuku studied the blood packs. "Guys, can someone help me pull the tablecloth off?" Shoto helped Kaede. Under the blanket, the table was completely the brown shade, except for a white line that drew the outline of a body. "Should we lie down in there?" Shoto picked up a piece of paper that had slipped out of the blanket. "Sacrifice to the holy one. Let the light burn for him that he may find the way." "Deku, lie down in the lines, we are sacrificing you now." Katsuki smiled, but Kaede just stared at him blankly and held Izuku tightly. "I think you should lie down Katsuki." He stared back at her unable to place the coldness in her voice. Before it escalated, Allmight intervened, "I'm going to lie down, sacrifice me." As he lay within the white lines, they turned red, but nothing else happened. "This shit is not helping us." Izuku looked around the room. "We need to turn on a light. The candles, get the candles." Every time a candle was removed from where it had been before, a click sounded. As Katsuki lifted the last one, a loud bang sounded. Izuku winced. Everyone turned to the freezer where the blood bags had burst. That wall was also now covered in blood splatter. "Now we know where the stains on the wall came from." "But if the stains are also there in front, it means the chest is movable." He shook at it. "We have to carry them all together." Each of them took a side while allmight coordinated the direction. "Put it down." They set the chest down. Nothing happened for a moment, then the floor collapsed. Strangely, though, not under the chest, but where the chest had been before. "A shaft."
They crawled into the shaft. "Every time I hate shafts more." "What shafts have you been in?" "Like I'm going to tell you now Icy-hot." "Will you all shut up? I need to concentrate up front here." "What do you need to focus on? All you have to do is crawl forward." They continued to crawl when a noise rang out. "Guys, that doesn't sound good-" The shaft came loose from its moorings. One by one they fell out and landed in a dark room. "Ouch." Katsuki stood up and confronted Kaede. "Why didn't you warn us?!" She glared at him. "Because I wanted every single one of you to fall on me once, because my tired bones are too rarely broken." Everyone looked at her. "BECAUSE I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING YOU IDIOT!" She slapped her fingers clean on her school uniform. "Ahh, I feel much better already. Let's have a look at this." "It's a mirror maze. It's probably part of the room." "Great."
"Not again," Kaede muttered as she ran into a mirrored wall again. "You never learn, do you?" "I can't see in the dark, I'm going to break my nose." "You'll hold us all up if you stay this slow bulb!" "I'm not going to run into the nearest wall at an even faster pace-" She felt a hand reach for hers. Katsuki's voice was closer than before. "Come now, go faster, I won't let you run into a mirror." They went down the corridors, her hand firmly in his as he pulled her around each corner. "I don't think this is the right place." Katsuki released his warm hand. "Where else Deku?" "We can't walk this maze forever, we need clues." They examined the mirrors. "They all look the same." The others continued to discuss as Kaede turned her gaze upwards. "The others are above us, right?" "What does that have to do with the others now light bulb?" "Something feels strange." Allmight had come to her. "What do you feel, young Miharu?" She frowned. "I can't tell anything for sure from this distance. But something is wrong, it's not like usual-" The ceiling vibrated. Only faintly at first, which still gave them a chance to stare at each other. A hole exploded and debris fell down. With the debris, three enemies. Some mirrors shattered, but there were still obstacles between the students and the enemies. However, they also had no means of escape. "Allmight, get behind us." The students lined up in front of the teacher. Allmight stared terrified at the backs of his students. "Oh Aizawa, what's happening again."