章節 54: Places Everyone!

(Aizawa)

There's a sensation of falling, and then I'm in the center of the USJ surrounded by what villains are still standing after Mirko's rampage. Luckily they seem just as surprised by my sudden appearance as I am. Unlike me, they seem to lack any actual combat experience. Exhibited by how I'm the first one to recover and launch myself at them, keeping my quirk going to make sure there aren't any surprises.

But the only surprise is how easy they are to take down. Not that I mind, but if they're all on this level, then my students won't be in too much danger as long as they don't panic. If they run into anyone as competent as the one guarding the exit though…

I twist my upper body to dodge a clumsy knife swing, bringing my arm up to disarm them, grab it, and drive it back into their shoulder. At least, that's what should have happened. Instead-

They trip.

It's so unexpected that I can't help but blink down at the curled form holding their hands against their nose. Unfortunately, due to that, I can't see their face, and their black jacket is loose enough that I can't tell much about their body. Still, regardless of what's going on, I can't let such an opportunity pass by.

But before I can kick them in the head to knock them out, I have to duck under a flying knife. I follow the direction it came from and my eyes sharpen. "Midosagi."

They wave at me, amusement dancing in their eyes. "Hell-o, Eraserhead! Sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't really let you take them out that easily. They need to show that they're worth the effort!" He shakes his head in mock sadness. "Though I have to say, he's not making a very good showing. We might have to apply him in…other ways."

A sense of danger flares against my instincts, so I roll to my right, looking over and seeing the person who'd previously been on the floor with their knife buried in the ground where I was standing. They stand, taking a firm stance as they face me and my eyes narrow. 'Was it an act to let my guard down?'

"Oh, so close!" Midosagi snaps his fingers and the person flinches. "You got this! Show everyone that the League of Villains made the right choice to take you in, little rabbit!"

Seeming to take reassurance in their encouragement, they shift their hold on the knife before they charge at me. This time I use my scarf to wrap their arm, twisting it to bring them to the ground. I go to one knee as I bring down my elbow, intent on taking them out of the fight. But they surprise me once again.

They twist their body, a deep crack coming from their arm as they snap it in order to twist themselves around me, their movements speaking of deep-rooted experience. With them at my back, they bring their knife to my throat and I freeze as my mind tries to figure out how deep a cut they would make if I were to escape their hold. Because I can escape it. The only question is whether or not they'd cut deep enough to damage my vocal cords or sever an artery. But my plans come to a screeching halt as they whisper softly into my ear.

"They came to kill All Might. That bird guy, Nomu, is a corpse they stuffed multiple quirks into to get the job done. My hand is going to twitch, and when it does you need to throw me at Midosagi. The rod in Nomu's head is the weakness. Take it out, and it'll die again."

His voice is filled with pain, his broken arm clearly not easily brushed off as he made it seem. But the message is clear, even if the reason isn't. Before I can question him, Midosagi's voice calls out to him. "Come on little rabbit, you know better than to hesitate. Finish him!"

True to his words, as soon as Midosagi speaks his arm twitches and the knife is out of position just enough for me to act without fear of injury. I sweep under his arm, wrapping my scarf around him and doing as he asked, flicking him in Midosagi's direction. They let out a yelp of alarm before he impacts, and they both go down in a heap.

If what he said is true, then I have to act fast. I charge towards the man covered in hands and the bird monster, Nomu, the kid called it. The thugs they came with are all on the ground, Mirko's in a worse state than the one's I took care of. That observation leads me to question what happened to the rabbit hero, and I can only conclude that she got teleported just like everyone else.

The question is; where did they all go?

`~`

(Mirko)

"What the fuck is this?"

I scowl at the person sitting across from me, a long and lit candle sitting on the center of the table between us. They shrug as they open a menu. "It's Quirk-la-Mel, the most prestigious restaurant in Japan."

"But WHY!?!?"

I have absolutely no idea how I ended up here. One minute I'm blowing through villains, enjoying my own personal all-you-can-fight buffet, and the next I'm standing in a restaurant next to this kid. She read a note that was on the table then told me to sit down and order something.

WHICH DOESN'T EXPLAIN ANYTHING!

She shrugs. "My friend said he didn't want me to have to deal with 'two-bit thugs', so he arranged for me to have a nice meal instead. I don't know how you ended up here though."

Groaning, I reach over and snatch up the note, ignoring the frosty glare Endeavor's daughter sends me. Reading it, I can feel my eye twitch.

{Hello, Candy Cane Princess. Sorry, but it's still too soon for us to meet again. I have managed to get some connections though, and I heard that the League of Villains would attack UA. So I pulled some strings to have their portal user send you somewhere you always said you wanted to try! Now, I know that you would have been fine, but you shouldn't have to waste your time on dealing with two-bit thugs. Plus, I do worry. So instead, sit back and enjoy a candle-lit meal!

A Bush

PS: Don't worry about the price, the people I work with will cover everything.

PPS: Don't listen to what anyone at the USJ says, I'm 100% ok.}

I scowl even as my eyes narrow, though I can't help but chuckle at the signature. "The hell kind of name is A. Bush?"

She snatches the note back with a frown before returning to the menu. "His hair is essentially a bush. I saw him sitting in front of a bush once, and since he had his head down it looked like he didn't have one. I panicked, and when he raised his head I nearly passed out from shock. So he started joking about how his real family were probably plants."

I snort, sniffing cautiously at the water on the table and taking a sip when I don't smell anything odd. "Funny. Though I'd like to know how they're connected to the villains who attacked."

She shrugs. "I wouldn't know. I haven't talked to them since their death."

I do a spit-take, the water putting out the candle and splashing on the girl's face. She grimaces and wipes herself off with a napkin while I gape at her. "Are you delusional or something?"

Clearly there's something wrong with her. If they died, they can't have set this up. So is she crazy or is it something else…?

"I'm not," she says after her face is clean. "He left a suicide note, and there was a lot of blood in the area, but his body was never found. And he's the only one who's ever called me Candy Cane Princess. So his death was a fake."

I blink at her blankly for a moment before a thought strikes me. "Did he fake his death to become a villain?"

"Doubtful. He's too nice for that. Even if he did become a villain, he'd still find a way to help people. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd tried warning someone of the attack before it happened, but wasn't believed."

My mind flashes back to my encounter with that weird brat, and how his girlfriend told me of the attack. 'Could it be…?' The entire reason I was at the USJ is because I'd told Nezu about what the girl had said, and that it would be the first trip the hero class would go on. If All Might had been there like he was supposed to, I have no doubt that we would have already mopped the floor with those villains.

Instead, I'm sitting across from one of the students in an incredibly nice restaurant. I shrug, filing away the information to tell Nezu later and just enjoy the experience. Especially if someone else is footing the bill. I burn a lot of energy, so my food costs tend to be my largest expense. 'But if it's a villain gang footing the bill… I can let loose and eat my fill! And it's not like I'd be able to get back in time to help anyways. Plus I can question this girl more about her friend. Let's see what she says to this.'

As the waiter approaches, I ask the question. "And if they actually did join the villains? Maybe they're at the school, attacking your classmates now? What would you do?"

She looks at me with a tilt of her head, and I don't know what it is, but something in her eyes unnerves me. "Like I said, I doubt he would do that. But, in the unlikely chance he did, why would it be a problem? No matter what happens, we're going to be together. And isn't that the only thing that's important?"

`~`

(Bakugou)

I scowl as I beat down some damn villain with my gauntlets, rain cascading down around me. The fucking mist bastard sent me to the goddamned storm zone. And the rain is fucking freezing! 'I can't produce any sweat when it's so damned cold!'

Shitty Bird and Rock Face got sent here too, but they're too weak to keep up with me -even with my disadvantage- so I ditched them. Rock Face can't even do any shit since there aren't any animals around! Meanwhile, even when I can't use my quirk, I'm still the best.

'Then couldn't Deku become a hero?'

''Fuck you!'

I mentally flip off the thought as I charge another villain, smirking as they flinch and take a step back.

Being a hero means always winning, and making the villains too scared to put a toe out of line. This is a good first step, but I'm gonna need a bigger audience so everyone knows that I'm the one sitting at the top, and not to fuck with me. Which means…

After slamming the last villain's head into the ground, cracking the concrete, I look in the direction where I know the leaders of this crappy group are. A savage grin stretches across my face as I flex my hands, getting ready for what I'm going to do to them.

"They're going to learn just how far above them I really am."

`~`

(Izumi)

"Oh shit, oh shit! I thought I was going to die!" I take deep breaths as I slowly lower myself onto the wall surrounding the ruin zone. I don't know why, but I'm the only one who was teleported to the roof of the building -on the inside!- and I'm not too proud to admit that I panicked. Anyone who can say they're calm suddenly being up so high with no warning is lying!

Thankfully I could use my quirk to let myself drift down. Stopping myself from falling as fast as I'm supposed to is much easier than trying to lift myself. It takes much less focus. But even still, I nearly lost concentration a few times and suddenly dropped several feet at a time. If my self-loathing had chosen to speak up, I might not have made it to safety.

It's just further proof to myself that I'm not actually suicidal.

As I look towards the fountain in the center of the USJ though, I know I don't have time to rest. Aizawa-sensei is fighting the big bird monster, Mirko nowhere in sight. Swallowing to settle my nerves, I take a wobbly step forward and let myself drop, carefully slowing myself to make the distance manageable. Once I'm on the ground, I sneak forward until I have a clear line of sight.

I wait for the moment to make my move. Dad showed me that someone strong enough can break through my telekinesis and barely notice it, and that bird definitely looks strong enough. So I only have one shot to help before they're ready for me. Not to mention that the hand villain hasn't even made a move yet, content to watch the fight play out.

But before I can even help, something hits my back and I'm pushed out of the brush I'm hiding in. I turn it into a roll, turning to look at who got behind me. It's the villain in green, putting his foot back down after booting me from my hiding place. Now that I'm closer to them, the sense of familiarity is even stronger.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here! Izumi Yagi, daughter of Toshinori Yagi. Also known as the Symbol of Peace, All Might."

My eyes widen at the familiar voice's words and they chuckle. "Ah~, why so surprised? Don't you know-" They reach up and drop their hood, revealing a messy head of green hair, mirrored by my own before it cascades down my back. I feel the blood drain from my face, and my body freezes.

'No. No, it's not him. He's dead. He can't be here. He can't be attacking us. He can't be a villain!' Slowly, as if savoring the terror on my face, they reach up and lower their mask. The mess inside my mind freezes as Izuku's freckled face smiles at me, his eyes sparkling with glee.

"There are no secrets from family, sister."