Quirky - OverMaster - 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia (2024)

Mahou Sensei Negima! is the creation and intellectual property of Akamatsu Ken and Kodansha.

Boku no Hero Academia is the creation and intellectual property of Horikoshi Kohei and Shueisha.

Quirky.

Part One.

Bakugo Katsuki was at the supermarket of his neighborhood, absently looking through the magazine racks for the latest Shonen Jump. Reading about Luffy and Zoro putting the hurt on idiots sometimes soothed his inner fury down.

At one point the blond young man overheard something that invariably did provoke that fury, though, rendering the search for Shonen Jump pointless. It was that annoying Deku's whiny voice. He appeared to be asking something to someone.

Bakugo looked towards the source of the Most Annoying Sound. Down the aisle, he could see the short, freckled, green haired boy talking to some girl as both of them bought groceries, each holding a large bag in a hand. The girl was good looking, Bakugo guessed. He'd seen far worse at their school, that much was sure. She was taller than Deku but not much, with a slender build, and long light brown hair pulled into a ponytail. She had large round glasses, which was a turnoff for Bakugo, but she was too good looking to be talking with Deku. What was going on there?

Since sometimes it was fun to prickle the geek, Bakugo made his way towards them. "Hey, Deku," he snorted.

As usual, the scrawny boy almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of Katsuki's voice. "K-Katchan!" he gasped. "Ah, good morning, this here is H-Hasegawa-san, my—"

"Cousin?" Bakugo snorted, looking at the young lady. She glared back at him, sternly, hate at first sight. She was too good looking to be directly related to him, either. Bakugo had known Deku long enough he'd already know if he had a sister, plus, in Bakugo's own opinion, Deku's mom was too much of a pig looking cartoon to spawn any decent looking children.

Deku nodded stiffly, gulping. The girl kept on looking at Bakugo with narrowed eyes, as if waiting for something.

"Y-Yes, my cousin, sh-she and some friends are staying over for—"

Bakugo and the girl stood in a tense contest of glares, as if measuring each other. This bitch was starting to upset him for some reason. Normally, by that point Bakugo already would be having some fun with Deku, but her presence made things… not complicated, as he wasn't afraid of any bitch and he could just start messing with the nerd any time he wanted, but… she'd start whining about it, and people would stare at them, and the guards would come around to ask what was happening, and all of that would be too much of a hassle to be worth some quick fun.

"Yah, yah, ask me if I care," Bakugo huffed, turning around and starting to walk away. "Whatever."

"Ah, yeah, bye-bye, Katchan," Deku waved weakly after him.

Soon he was out the front door, and only then Hasegawa Chisame spoke. "So that was him."

"Mmm-hmmmm," Midoriya Izuku nodded.

"I was expecting for someone bigger and taller," the girl told him. "Like, American quarterback sized. And you let him push you around?"

"He's still much bigger than me, Hasegawa-san!"

Chisame huffed, starting to go through the grocery list again, picking items Inko-san had put in it and putting them in her bag. "Your own fault, you should've started working out much sooner if you were being bullied."

Izuku sighed, starting to do the same thing again with his own list. "It'd have made no difference. He's got a Quirk."

Chisame said nothing, but once more began thinking back of the events that had led her there, several days ago…

"It's no good!" Anya gasped loudly as everything crumbled down around them, large chunks of rock falling everywhere. "They've destroyed the gate's keystone… the link between the worlds is broken, with us caught in the middle!"

"The displacement magic is going out of control!" Negi observed. "Everyone stay together!" he commanded to his forces and the confused hangers-ons. "Join hands tightly, and-!"

Then everything surrounding him exploded in an onslaught of light, smoke, flying marble, rubble, shattered ice and, for some reason, the taste of a bell ringing and the sound of baby cologne (synesthesia was a bitch). His lungs were filled by dust, and a massive impact hit him in the chest and sent him flying back and away from the others as his whole world went black.

He still could hear Asuna's voice desperately crying, "Negi! Take my hand!" before losing his hearing in addition to his sight. And then everything became quiet.

Chisame was still shivering when she and Izuku left the market, heading back home.

"Hey, Hasegawa-san," the boy asked her with obvious concern. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm not okay, I won't be okay until I'm back where I belong. We won't be okay until we're back where we belong," she grouched, as they walked down the street. Once again she tried to ignore the weird looking people walking all around them, the large flashy signs and screens showing off colorful men and women in spandex, and thought back of Mahora, sweet, good old Mahora. Normal Mahora.

Izuku lowered his head, unsure of what to say, for several minutes, until they reached the front of his apartment building. "I'm sure All Might will give you an answer soon enough," he said in a low voice as they entered the lobby of the building.

Chisame snorted non commitally. They went into the elevator and shared another uneasy silence until they reached the apartment of the Midoriyas.

"Mom, Sensei, everyone, we're home!" Izuku said, leaving his bag and shoes by the door, Chisame doing the same in unreadable silence. "Sorry we took so long! We ran into Katchan at the store and—"

Shiina Sakurako lifted her gaze from the cellphone Inko-san had bought for her. She had been laying on her stomach on the couch, bare feet swinging back and forth. "Oh! You mean your bully?"

Negi Springfield put the book he was reading down, with Chamo the white ermine sitting on his shoulder. "He didn't try anything, did he? I knew I should have gone…"

"Please stop blowing that out of proportion, Sensei," Izuku sighed, while Karakuri Chachamaru walked out the kitchen and bowed at him. "He's not that bad, and—"

"Dinner's almost ready, Izu-kun, Chi-chan!" Midoriya Inko's voice came happily from the kitchen. "And oh, it's delicious! I can't believe how much of a cook Chacha-chan is!"

"Welcome back home, Midoriya-senpai, Chisame-san," the green haired beauty said, humble and soft spoken as ever. "If you sustained any damage, please let me tend to your wounds and also point me towards the perpetrator so I can retaliate properly."

"He didn't even touch me…!" Izuku rolled his eyes.

"By now you've trained enough you should be able to land at least a hit on him," Inugami Kotaro, the final current inhabitant of the rather stuffed apartment, said from where he sat on the floor, watching television. "What's he gonna do after that, start a superpowered fight right at broadlight so he's arrested?"

"He really didn't touch him, why is 'punch punch punch' your answer to everything?" Chisame said, moving towards the laptop on loan from Izuku. "Geez, at least we've been able to restrain you from going out and picking fights with those meatheads so far. I bet you're itching to—"

"Um, yes, about that, Chisame," Negi rasped. The red haired boy put a fist on his mouth. "All Might-san called earlier, and he said that since we have spent almost two full weeks here already…" He paused for a moment, briefly looking really miserable, as he no doubt was thinking about the rest of Class 3-A again. "Well, basically, he says that since he doesn't know when he can help us finding a way back, maybe we should start fitting in and doing something so we… so we don't have to keep on leeching from Inko-san, and—"

"It's not a bother at all, you can stay as long as you want!" a jubilant Inko said. "Oh, this soup! I've never tasted anything like it!"

Negi sighed, placing his hands on his knees. Chisame raised an eyebrow at him. "Then, he more or less asked us if we'd like to start taking some training along Izuku-san, and that perhaps we'd like to take the test for admittance into UA, using our powers as if they were Quirks, and—"

"But I'm not a fighter," Chisame said dryly.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to," Negi raised his hands to placate her. "Sakurako said she'd be okay with it, and we'll be establishing a provisional alliance so we can see what kind of training would fit her best, but—"

"Good for her," Chisame said sharply.

Sakurako, impervious to sarcasm as ever, smiled and gave Chisame a thumbs up. "Thank you, Chisame-chan!"

Negi fidgeted. "But I also know your feelings on the matter, and your powers truly aren't those of a frontline fighter, and—"

"Sorry to be useless," Chisame said.

Negi gasped. "That's not what I meant!"!

"Sorry Kagurazaka can't be here. Or Miyazaki. Or even Iinchou, at least she could kiss you and get you something like a giant bazooka of love that would level a city down," Chisame said.

"A lot of respected Pro Heroes have made successful stints working with apparently lame powers, Chi-chan!" Inko said, briefly poking her head out the kitchen. "You only need to think out of the box with them!"

"Mom, please!" Izuku moaned.

"In any case," Kotaro said, taking another mouthful of chips from his bag, "you should work out with us a little, just in case. This place's got no mercy and you can run into a superpowered freak at any time. What if Negi and us aren't around to protect you then? At the very least, you should be able to take a minimum of care of yourself, Megane-Neechan."

"Don't call me that…" Chisame gritted her teeth. "Are you still doing that in that stinking beach full of trash?"

"It's only half full of trash now," Izuku replied.

Chisame took a hand to her face. "I can't deal with this. But mostly, I seriously can't deal with you guys!"

Yet again, her mind drifted several days ago, to try and make some sense out of her current situation…

Over ten days ago, Midoriya Izuku had been helping All Might cleansing a wide beach littered with junk all around.

All Might, the most powerful and beloved Pro Hero in all of Japan! A human beacon of hope and a paradigm of decency for everyone in the islands to follow. He stood, over seven feet tall, muscular and blond like a sculpted Adonis. His very tight white shirt hugged his torso to such a degree that it looked spray painted, and his tropical shorts showed his robust legs off, his feet clad in sandals.

He smiled, flashing pure white teeth, while Izuku panted in the background, moving large pieces of broken machinery towards a massive box.

"Breathe slowly, in and out, making sure to fill your lungs properly every time," the superhero advised his apprentice. "Half of the endurance training is about breathing adequately."

"Y-Yes, Sir!" Izuku wheezed, having taken his shirt off and sweating all over. The sun was setting in the horizon, but it remained as potent as by midday.

"Are you feeling okay?" All Might asked him. "You won't be getting anywhere is you push your body beyond its limits before receiving All for One."

"I'm fine!" Izuku reassured him, pushing one of the discarded engines into the box, then spitting on his hands and rubbing them together. He began pushing the next machine in while All Might looked at him in silence.

Finally, the titan of a man chuckled. "That's the spirit!" he said in English. "Then we'll keep on doing this for two hours more, then call it a day! You know, Young Midoriya, there's a lot of discussion about whether heroes work better at day or during the night. What is your opinion?"

"It's, it's all the same as long as people actually needs you, isn't it?" the boy asked back. "But, if you ask me, I guess I'm more of a daytime person..."

All Might nodded pensively. "Same with me. Daylights seem to bring the best of people out. Daytime rescues are often about saving people from accidents and catastrophes, while nocturnal emergencies are more about crime and those who would hide in the darkness to prey."

Izuku blinked and stopped briefly. "So you'd rather save people from accidents than villains?"

All Might's powerful shoulders shrugged. "Punching others out is actually the worst part of the job. It's necessary, of course, but I didn't get in this job to hurt others. I suppose that is kind of naive for an old man, isn't it? HA HA HA!"

Izuku wiped the sweat off his forehead with a fist. "N-No! You're right, in a perfect world there wouldn't even be anyone wanting to kill others, or steal from them..."

All Might looked at the sea. "Violence, Young Midoriya, begets its own vicious circle. All too often, it starts cycles of revenge, and that embitters even the most noble of hearts. When you find your nemesis, the guy or woman who gets under your skin, the one who hurts you the most- please try to keep a sound mind about him or her. Don't let them drag you into the abyss with them. Don't be tempted into more violence than strictly needed."

Izuku thought about the person who had injured All Might, damaging his body. What kind of monster could have done that to him? Was that person still around? Or had he... no, it couldn't be... but what if he had forced All Might to-

The hero frowned, looking into the sky now. "What's that?"

Izuku looked up as well, but he couldn't see anything but a normal reddish sunset sky. "What do you mean?"

"Behind me," All Might said, sweeping an arm behind his own back. Izuku gulped and hastily did as he was told, moving to stand behind the juggernaut. Only then, he saw the tiny twinkle in the sky. It was falling quickly towards the beach, like a shooting star, with a whistling noise that grew louder by the second until there was a large explosion of sand in all directions, mere meters away from where they stood.

"UWAAAAAAA!" Izuku shouted, stumbling back but not quite dropping, finding his footing in time.

All Might lurched ahead, granitic fists tightening. "A space alien?! Man alive, it's been a while!"

But then he stopped himself. True to his word, he hadn't attacked before making sure that what had just landed before them was not a threat. Izuku looked around the man's legs, puzzled, to see a short, red haired boy at the middle of a smoking crater in the sand. He couldn't have been any older than twelve, and he breathed laboriously, apparently injured and bruised. He wore tattered pants and a shirt with a huge hole at the middle, wrapped in rags that had once been a longcoat.

"What the...!" Midoriya gulped.

"Quick!" All Might instructed. "Call Emergencies!"

"Em- Ah, yeah, of course!" Midoriya scrambled around for his shirt, rummaging through it for his cellphone, while All Might crouched down before the downed child and took his pulse. With trembling fingers, Izuku dialed the number, but before he could speak, another living projectile arrived from the sky, landing with a splash in the water before him. "Another one!?"

And then, a person rose from the water. A tall, pale, gorgeous young woman with light, long green hair. Izuku blinked, but before he could even proccess what was going on, the girl flew back up, intercepting another plummeting person, and then, almost too fast for the eye to follow, a second one.

"What..." Izuku blabbered. All Might was approaching him now, with the fainted boy in his arms.

"Did you call them?" the hero asked.

Izuku blinked. "Uhh...? Ah, ah, sorry! Did you see that!? That girl just startled me, and-!"

All Might sighed patiently. "Yes, yes, of course I saw her. Here she comes, maybe she will explain," he said, eyes fixed up as the girl flew back down, holding an unconscious girl under each arm. One of them had long light brown hair, and the other one was shorter, her hair bleached blonde.

The flying girl landed gently on her feet, the rocket repulsors built into them turning off. "My apologies," she said softly. "Is he okay?"

"Looks that way, Young Miss," All Might said stoically. "And you would be...?"

"My name is Karakuri Chachamaru," she said, reading the vitals of the girls she was tenderly setting down on the sand. "Our class has just been attacked at the middle of a trip. There were several others with us, I should go looking for them right now..."

"You... You were having a class trip UP THERE!?" the bewildered Izuku looked upwards.

Chachamaru followed his pointing finger with her gaze. "No, not quite there. It is very strange, my readings indicate we would be back in Japan for some reason. But we just were in Wales..."

Then a much smaller comet came down, crashing down on Chachamaru's head and barely fazing her.

"Ouch!" a tiny voice yelped, and a white, small animal covered on fur bounced from Karakuri's skull and then down onto the sand. "Ow My spine!"

All Might looked down at it, and then blinked twice, his eyes widening at the sight of the creature. Izuku was surprised, as this was the most perplexed he had ever seen his hero until then.

"Sorry, Chamo-san," Chachamaru told the twitching ermine. "I didn't see you coming."

"It's.. It's all right, it... only hurts when I laugh..." the ermine spoke.

Another body hit the water, and one moment later, a knocked out boy around the same age as the first one came to the surface, floating with a bump on his scalp, which was covered on wild black hair and topped by furry ears. He also had a long tail to match. That part didn't shock Izuku at all, since had met many children with animal features before, and even gone to school with a few. But...

All Might was already returning from the water with the second boy, setting him down and starting to reanimate him with CPR. Izuku looked quizzically at the girl with green hair.

"That is strange..." she mused to herself, her green eyes glowing faintly. "I'm trying to call Principal Konoemon, but to no avail..."

"Who?" Izuku said.

She looked at the freckled youngster and asked him, "How far are we from Mahora Academy? My maps seem to be malfunctioning, as I can't locate our way back."

"Young Midoriya, sorry, but it looks like we're going to cut tonight's training earlier than expected," All Might said while the boy with a tail began coughing.

The memories of recent days were shaken off Chisame's mind as they reached the beach, next day after classes. Home lessons from Negi in the cases of Chisame, Chachamaru, Sakurako, and Kotaro (Kotaro was grumpy about it).

All Might waited for them in his lanky form while Deku paused only a moment in his pushing of stuff to wave at them, feigning to smile despite his exhaustion.

"Good afternoon," the man told them. In English. "So did you all decide to take it?"

"It should be fun!" Kotaro grinned.

"If we become notorious enough, there are good chances we'll draw attention of our missing friends, so we can reunite," Negi summed up. "Or the other way around, we'll have better chances to find them as active heroes."

"There is no good reason why I shouldn't do it," Chachamaru told him.

"I may be weak but I'll do my best to improve!" Sakurako promised.

Chisame groaned.

All Might perked an ear up. "Sorry, I didn't hear. What did you just say, Young Hasegawa?"

Chisame sighed. "I won't be useful at all, for myself or anyone else, if I just stay indoors for God knows how long…"

All Might looked at her. "Are you sure that's the way you feel?"

"Yes, it is!" she said.

"Because this isn't a safe job at all. You can't go into it with a half-heart. You've got to give your best, and even then, sometimes that's not enough! Just look at me!" He poked a finger on his scrawny chest and coughed blood up.

Sakurako and Negi both winced.

"Sometimes we've gotta do things even if ideally we wouldn't want to," Chisame said sourly.

"That's right to some degree, I suppose." Yagi Toshinori looked thoughtful. "If your willpower really isn't into it, the training should dissuade you anyway."

"So, what are we going to do?" Negi asked, eagerly. "I look forward to seeing how your training compares to Master Evangeline's, Sir!"

"First of all, I need to see what are you made of," Toshinori told the boy. "To assign you a training program I need to learn about the one you have been subjected to, and its effects on you."

He handed Negi a notebook and a pen. "Write a detailed account of how this Eva trained you."

Negi nodded, and very hastily wrote several pages' worth down, then passed the notebook to Toshinori.

The first thing the man noticed was how good Negi's handwriting was despite writing so fast. Then…

He glared at Negi. "Is this a joke?"

"No, Sir," Negi said.

"Because if it's a joke, it's not a funny joke," Toshinori said. "You need to be honest with me so I can gauge you adequately…"

"Every word of what I wrote there is truth," Negi promised with a hand on his heart.

Yoshinori looked at the account again. "What kind of… training was this!? For someone your age!? There's harsh training and then there's this!"

"That's how Eva rolls," Chisame informed the hero. "She once threw Asuna naked into a snowy mountainside and kicked her down a hill."

"You should go for a checkup," Toshinori told Negi. "Who knows what kind of damage she caused you!"

"That's okay, since we have a teammate, Konoka, who healed me with magic every time," Negi said.

Toshinori pondered that, stupefied. "I don't know or understand anything about magic," he confessed, "so if you say so…"

Then he pointed at one of two large containers next to each other.

"Young Negi, Young Inugami, physical testing comes next! Punch those containers with all your strength and we'll see how much hitting power is there in you!"

Kotaro chuckled, rotating his arm while Negi and he walked towards the containers. "Piece of cake!"

Toshinori, Chisame, Chachamaru and Sakurako watched on. Chamo whistled and looked at his paw nails.

"One…" Negi raised his arm.

Izuku stopped his own efforts, and he joined the curious onlooking.

"Two!" Kotaro did likewise.

"THREE!" Negi shouted, and both boys punched the containers.

They exploded sending trash everywhere, their surfaces as well as their contents pulverized into what might have been just confetti.

Chisame had to block with an arm to make sure nothing of it would hit her face. Somehow, none of the flying trash hit Sakurako, all of it just making its flying way around her.

"That was… I hadn't ever seen anyone without a Quirk hitting anything that hard," Toshinori admitted. "Are you sure you didn't start manifesting that strength when you were four or so?"

Negi and Kotaro shook their heads.

"Chachamaru is just as strong, but she is a robot, as you'll recall," Negi said.

"That… That was awesome!" Izuku said, his face full of trash and his eyes shining through the muck. "I want you to train me too!"

"One step at a time, Young Midoriya, or else you could stumble!" Toshinori warned him before coughing again. "Fine, I'll design a training program for you two, I should have it ready for tomorrow."

"What about us?" Sakurako asked.

"He is your teacher, I'm not entitled to tell him how you should be trained." Toshinori pointed at Negi. "I'm trusting him on it, since he knows you far better than I do."

"Thanks… I guess?" Chisame said.

Chamo stumbled around blindly, stuck into a can of tomato soup.

A lot had happened in a very short time since that day they first met.

In Negi's dream, he wandered aimlessly across a cold wasteland. "Asuna!" he called out. "Kotaro-kun! Kaede...! Ku-roshi?"

Then he stopped and shrieked. He had reached a valley filled with stone statues depicting his friends and his students. All of them stood in distraught poses, their faces marred by horror and shock, their arms trying to shield themselves.

He ran and moved from one to another. "Iinchou! Natsumi-san! Nodoka! Yue! Asakura-san!"

Until he saw him. The white haired boy, standing next to a statue of Asuna.

No. Next to the petrified Asuna herself.

"You made a mistake coming after me, Negi Springfield," Fate Averruncus told him icily.

"But... I never sought you out!" Negi said. "I only wanted to find my father, why did you get on our way!?"

"You'll never find your father, and you only dragged your friends into defeat and destruction," his foe told him in that bland voice of his. "Their downfalls are your fault. You involved them in your own selfish quest, and now look at them..."

"No! No!" Negi shouted. "Turn them back, now!"

"Or else what? Will you beat me up until I agree? You know you'll never defeat me," Fate said. "You are weak. Too weak. And you'll never be strong enough to best me, Negi."

"No! Don't do it!" Negi tried to move towards him as Fate readied his fist, but his feet wouldn't move. He was rooted to the ground, his own legs turning into stone already while Fate punched the petrified Asuna and shattered her into so much dust...

"NOOOOOOO!" Negi shouted, jolting up into a sitting position.

"Oh, you finally came back to your senses!" said a gigantic man who crouched next to him, along a short boy with green hair and freckles. Negi immediately realized that Chachamaru, Chisame, Chamo, Kotaro and Sakurako were there as well, thank goodness. "I was about to call for Recovery Lady..."

"Who?" the boy with messy hair asked.

"Bro, thank God you're alive and well!" Chamo wailed, leaping to his chest and hugging it. "My poor little Bro..."

Negi blinked. "Chamo..." He quietly petted his best friend's hair, and then asked, "Wh-Where's everyone else? Where we are..."

The huge man got up, dusting his hands off. "This is the Takoba Municipal Beach, at the coastline of Musutafu City."

"Musutafu?" Negi echoed dubiously.

"You know, in Japan," the man said.

Negi narrowed his eyes at him. At first sight, he had believed he might be Jack Rakan, the old friend of his father, the one he'd first seen in that picture back in Kyoto. Rakan was supposed to meet them at the Gateport, after all, and he looked just as tall and musclebound as this person. But now that he looked at him more carefully, the hair and the skin tone didn't match. "And you are..."

The man blinked. "You mean... that you don't know either?"

"Told you so..." Chisame almost sing-sang under her breath.

The giant took a hand to his own chest. "Have no fear! Why? Because I am here!"

"What?" Negi asked.

The man ran a hand down his face. "You all must have a serious case of selective amnesia..."

"We're telling you, man, we've never heard about you! And Musutafu City doesn't exist either!" Kotaro said.

"I live in that city that doesn't exist," the green haired boy said. Then he bowed at Negi. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! My name's Midoriya Izuku..."

The child blinked. "Ah... It's a pleasure. Negi Springfield..." He looked at Chisame. "Did they rescue us and flew us all the way back to Japan?"

"I don't think so. Nothing about this makes any sense," she told him.

"I believe," Chachamaru said, "that the magical pulses sent by the destruction of the Gateport have somehow transported us into a parallel plane of reality. Chao once theorized about the possibilities of encountering alternate worlds while traveling through time."

"You are time travellers!?" Izuku gasped.

"Like in a sci fi movie?" Sakurako asked her, ignoring Midoriya. "You were hiding all those things from us all this time!?"

"It couldn't be helped, we wanted to keep you safe," Negi sighed. "The world of magic is a very dangerous one, as you have just seen." He pulled several cards out of his breast pocket and exhaled in relief as he examined them. "Thank God, they all are alive, at least..."

"Magic!?" Izuku said.

"Magic," All Might said, frowning in disbelief.

Negi was putting a card on his own forehead and concentrating, then another one, and so on, until he was finished with all of them. "I can't contact any of them," he said gloomily. "They must far, out of reach..."

Izuku looked at All Might. "Surely, in all your years of experience, you must have encountered dimensional travellers before? I know there are records of that, but everyone knows that All Might's untold greatest stories are legion."

"There are no stories about travelling across dimensions in that legion," All Might said, stroking his square jaw of Justice. ""AH HA HA! But there is a first time for everything!"

"This isn't funny at all, our friends are lost and my teacher has lied to us for all of our lives!" Sakurako said.

"We have only known him for less than one year, where is this 'all of our lives' stuff coming from!?" Chisame told her.

"Our friends are still lost," Chachamaru said.

Negi slumped ahead, eyes sinking into his face. "I'm the worst..."

"There he goes again," Kotaro facepalmed.

"Not only I pulled my students into the line of fire of an enemy I couldn't defeat, and one I knew was still on the loose, but I lost them in ANOTHER DIMENSION to boot..."

Izuku blinked. "I don't understand, are you their teacher? Do you have a Quirk of Youth or something?"

"A what?" Kotaro asked.

"You know, a Quirk," Izuku asked. "Don't you know what a Quirk is either?"

Then All Might took a hand to his own forehead. "Nnnghhhh!"

Izuku looked back at him. "Sir!? Are you okay!?"

"I forgot the time was almost up!" the Number One Hero shuddered, starting to move away quickly. "Sorry, Young Midoriya, please look after them while I look for-"

Then he stumbled on his own feet, fell flat on his face, scattered sand everywhere, and appeared to deflate instantly, shrinking several sizes and losing most of his muscle mass in the blink of an eye. In seconds, a scrawny blond man with long twisted limbs was there in his place, facefirst on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding his face.

"What the-!" Kotaro said.

Negi uttered a wise "Uhhhhh..."

Izuku moaned. "Not now...!"

"Maybe we should just call for a taxi, head for the local Iinchou's house, and work our way from there," Chisame thought. "There must be an Iinchou in this dimension, right? Right...?"

"You are so cute when you are delusional, Sis," the ermine said.

"Well, dwelling back on all of that is useless, isn't it?" Chamo said in a peppy voice, drawing one of his magical circles with a sharp piece of metal, on a stretch of boulevard Izuku had cleared up. "Now it's time to give Sakurako-neechan her Pactio, isn't it, Bro?"

Toshinori looked at him from where he and Negi had been sitting, the man listening to the stories told by the boy. "Ah yes, that 'provisional alliance' thing, isn't it."

He got up with Negi's help and walked towards the proud looking ermine and his circle.

"Young Midoriya!" Toshinori called over. "Come here, you might want to see this! It's a life experience after all!"

"Hu what?" Izuku said, too busy pulling on a huge container of junk towards Toshinori's truck. Sakurako and the sweatdropping Chisame were sitting on top of said junk. "Ah, just a sec, okay, All Might?"

Sakurako and Chisame got off the junk, and Shiina giddily skipped towards Negi. "Oh, Negi-kun, finally! I'm so happy, tee-hee-hee-hee! Misa-chan will be jealous!"

Negi gulped. "If you're sure that's what you want, Sakurako…"

Toshinori folded his arms. "So let's see how this is done. You talked a lot about how they give people powers comparable to those of Quirks, but you never mentioned how are they achieved."

Negi gulped again. "It's not that it's a difficult procedure or anything, but… Chachamaru, what about you, are you interested—"

The green haired gynoid shook her head. "Thanks for your kindness, Sensei, but it's not necessary. Please do save your magic reserves for those in the most need of it. Besides… I'm not sure it would even function if I were to try contracting you."

Sakurako looked at Chachamaru's lowered head and pouted. "C'mon, Chacha! You're as human as any of us…"

"I'm not, sorry," Chachamaru said softly. "Please don't be deterred by this."

Sakurako sighed, moving to face Negi at opposite ends of the circle. "Eva-chan raised you wrong, too gloomy. Like this, isn't it, Negi-kun?" She smiled at him. "Am I doing it fine?"

Negi was sweating visibly, suddenly even more than Izuku. "S-Standing right there is okay, Sakurako. Y-You don't need to come closer than that, if you don't want…"

"You know what comes next, Sis," Chamo told the girl. "You remember the instructions, don't you?"

Sakurako rolled her eyes. "It's not like a manual is needed for anything that simple!"

She grabbed Negi's cheeks, pulled him towards her face, and stamped her lips on his.

Chu!

Toshinori sprouted a mouthful of blood while Izuku's face turned HOT PINK.

"Whaaaaaaaa!" the Pro said, tumbling back and dropping on his butt.

Chisame sighed.

"Oooooh, you're a good kisser, yum yum!" Sakurako finally pulled back from the dazed Negi. She wiped her mouth with the back of a fist, and then a card appeared in the air between them. Chisame leaned forward and picked it in midair, giving it to Sakurako. "Oh, thanks, Chi-chan!"

"Don't call me that, you airhead!"

Sakurako looked at her card, which showed the happy go lucky girl in a cheerleader outfit, raising a leg to expose a peek of panty, and holding a pom-pom in each hand. The text under her picture read

Siina Sacuraco

Hilaratrix Fortunans

Toshinori sprang back to his feet, shaking in outrage. "Y-Young Negi, Y-Young Shiina, this is immoral! At your age…!"

Izuku blinked. "But I thought you had spent years in America, the den of depravity? Aren't you used to this kind of thing by now?"

"It's not depravity, you prude!" the ermine growled.

"That's one of the reasons I came back to Japan, you know!" Toshinori fumed. Then it dawned on him. "So, all those other cards you brought…"

He looked at Chisame.

Chisame blushed. "It was an emergency! Listen, Chao was about to reveal magic to the world, and we had to do it! Otherwise we'd have ended up with a society of people using freak powers everywhere, just like yours!"

"Sir, I don't want to question you," Izuku said gently, "but All Might always taught us to respect all different cultures, no matter how their values diverge from us, it's in your Peace Around the Planet videos, and—"

Toshinori exhaled and ran his hand down his face. "Sorry, you're right, Young Midoriya. It's just… this comes as a shock, and I've been through a lot recently. My apologies." He looked at Chisame once again. "But you're sure that none of you ever abused him, aren't you!?"

"I can't speak on behalf of Eva, but the rest of us always kept Iinchou on a very tight leash," Chisame answered.

"A pity, she'd make for an incredible Ministra," Chamo said.

Kotaro snorted insolently. "And that's Negi's greatest pitfall as a warrior, he relies too much on the girls. I fight alone, and I'm that much stronger than him because of that!"

Negi frowned. "Would you want to spar and prove that?"

"You're on!"

"Ahem! Bro!" Chamo said. "Before you do that, what if we test Saku-sis' powers and see how can we use them for this hero thing?"

Toshinori was shaking his head. "Good thing no one's around filming any of this, they'd start thinking weird things about me. I don't sponsor early experimentation, but chastity through a clean healthy living…"

"I know a girl you would love. Her name is Setsuna," Chisame said. She doubted. "You don't have anything against lesbians, or do you?"

"Of course not. I fight for the tolerance and acceptance of all gender leanings, as long as they don't kiss minors in the mouth," Toshinori grouched.

"In Setsuna's defense, she was as obligated by her circ*mstances back then as I was when I had to do that thing," Chisame said. All Might facepalmed, and Chisame felt a pang of sympathy for the man. She had been there once, hadn't she? She was one of the weirdos now even when compared to Super Captain America on steroids, now that was a scary thought. But moving on…

Moving back to the first day our heroes met, Chisame winced as soon as Toshinori was done with his story.

"And you still keep playing hero after THAT?" she asked him. "Mister, you earned a retirement!"

"I don't 'play' hero, being a hero is what I am," Toshinori said. "Also, people everywhere still need me... I'm aware I'll have to retire for good someday, of course, but that's what I'm preparing Young Midoriya for."

Izuku sniffled. "Thank you so very much for that chance...!"

Kotaro and Chamo looked at him in a dubitative silence.

Toshinori stared at them, although Izuku himself was blissfully oblivious.

Negi sniffled as well. "You... You remind me of my father!" he said, moved to his heart. "He was a great hero, too! They called him the 'Thousand Master', the man who achieved control over a thousand spells..."

"Of course, if you're going to believe Evangeline, he was very strong, yeah, but he also was a lazy bum who only knew six spells by memory and got by on raw inborn potential!" Kotaro said.

Negi pouted. "Master Evangeline is a great woman, but she is a bit biased since he was her nemesis."

"Sensei, even Old Man Albireo and the Headmaster say he was indeed a lazy bum..." Chisame said.

"He still was great and very powerful, and no man is perfect!" Negi insisted.

Izuku blinked. "Who is this Master Evangeline you speak of?"

"Another of Four Eyes' students," Kotaro answered. "She is an immortal vampire in the loli form of an innocent cranky girl."

Sakurako huffed. "To think I studied with Mina from Interview with the Vampire that long, and I never realized it..."

Izuku sweatdropped. "You know vampires, too!?" He looked at Toshinori. "Vampires are real here too? Did you ever fight one behind the scenes?"

"No vampires, no leprechauns, no Loch Ness monster, nothing of that," the skeletal All Might said. "There are a few villains with quirks that resemble vampirism or lycantrophy, of course..."

"Yeah, but Evangeline's an actual vampire, seven hundred years old," Kotaro said. He touched his own furry ears, pulling on them. "And I'm from the wolf tribe species! I should know werewolves exist, I hail from Kami knows how many generations of them!"

"Cool!" Izuku's eyes shone.

Negi stood up and dusted himself off. "No offense, but I'm wasting my time here as the rest of my students are still missing. I feel better now, I should leave to look for them..."

He gave a few steps away from the others, then faltered and had to support himself on a pile of tires.

"Negi-san!" Izuku gasped. "Are you okay!?"

"Yes," Negi breathed in. "It was just some momentary dizziness..."

Chisame walked to him and touched his forehead. "You've got a fever! You should lie down, if the others haven't died yet, they surely can keep themselves alive a little longer!"

Negi shook his head stubbornly. "No, no, how could I do that...?"

Toshinori hummed. "Maybe I should take you to my headquarters. I can give you good medical attention there, and I could use my links to Official Intel to look for your friends. But..."

"What?" Sakurako asked.

"I'd also have to tell my fellow Pro Heroes and the authorities about you then," he admitted. "They would deploy the legal procedures for hypothetical transdimensional incursions..."

"I thought you'd said you never saw anything like that?" Sakurako asked.

"That doesn't mean that we haven't thought of measures for the event that ever happens. Be always prepared!" he added in English, wagging his finger. "And not even All Might pulls enough rank to single handledy prevent you from being taken into quarantine..."

"That doesn't sound too ominous. How long is that quarantine intended to be, Sir?" Chachamaru asked.

"It would last until they have finished dissecting you all for viruses and possibly to study your bodies and research any secrets from your anatomies," Toshinori said. "In your case, you would be taken apart piece by piece, your technology duplicated and adapted for our robotic labs."

Everyone else winced, even Chachamaru, albeit very subtly.

"That... That isn't very heroic!" Izuku understated.

"Young Midoriya, it's the way the status quo works, am I supposed to impose my will single handledy?" the man shrugged. "If it were up to me, I'd just let them chill with cocoa and cookies for months if necessary, but try looking at them from their perspective. The powers-that-be feel it's necessary to be extremely careful around anyone who claims coming from beyond. I can't fully fault them. Appearances can be deceiving, as that 'Evangeline' girl proves, right?"

He gave Negi a weary look.

The boy mage sulked. "I do understand, Sir. The mage society and their procedures aren't that different."

"Normally, they just turn you into an ermine if you commit a crime, don't they?" Chisame gulped.

Toshinori and Izuku looked at Chamo.

"I was born like this!" the furry mammal protested.

Midoriya raised his hands. "If you say so!"

"BUT!" Toshinori lifted a finger. "There is always a way! Fret not, All Might's ingenuity is here! I will provide you with funds secretly, and you won't be left without a roof over your heads! A subordinate of mine will graciously house you during your stay, as a true hero should!"

"I knew you wouldn't fail them, Sir!" Izuku gushed. "Which of your peers do you have in mind? Sir Nighteye? Eraserhead? Captain Celebrity?"

One hour later, Midoriya sighed, facing his mother. "Mom, Toshinori-san asked me to bring these young people in need here, on behalf of All Might. It is... part of my community service as a hero in training. I know I'm asking for a lot, all of a sudden, but... can they stay for a few days, please?"

Inko blinked, then looked again at the people on her doorstep.

A wheezing, feverish looking redhaired boy was supporting himself on a black haired child with wolf ears and a tail. A blonde girl waved at her and smiled. A green haired gorgeous girl bowed at her. Another girl turned away from her in shame and twiddled her fingers. An ermine already was slinking into the apartment, between Inko's legs.

Inko finally stepped aside and nodded. "Please put that poor boy on the couch while I go prepare a futon for him..."

And that was how they got there.

Presently, Sakurako stood before the others, unsure of what to do. "First of all," the ermine said, "hold your card up and say 'Adeat'."

"Adeat!" Shiina obeyed, waving her Pactio card up. In the blink of an eye, she was enveloped by a flash of light, and then she stood there, now wearing the cheerleader outfit seen in the card.

"Whoa!" Izuku said. "An instant uniform!"

Sakurako looked at her pom-poms. She bopped one against a trashcan at hand. "They don't even leave a dent, they aren't heavy. Do they shoot lasers or something?" she wondered. "I don't think they'll be of any use in a fight scene!"

"Sis, you've been doing cheerleading for years," Chamo said. "What do you think you should do with a cheerleader kit?"

She frowned at him. "Am I going to kill villains by cheering them?"

"Killing the villains is only the absolute last resource," Toshinori chided the girl.

"Sis, not all Artifacts are directly offensive," the ermine explained with patience. "Nodoka's, for instance, only reads minds, but that doesn't mean she isn't a priceless commodity and comrade on a battlefield, because she can tell you all the enemy's going to do before they can even pull it off!"

Izuku nodded. "Quirks are like that too! Many famous heroes made their way into the halls of heroism by sagely exploiting apparently useless Quirks."

"Brother, you sound like even more of a geek than Four Eyes," Kotaro said. "Ease down on it or you'll be bullied hard in school."

Izuku flinched. "A bit late for that advice, Inugami-san…"

"Why am I not surprised," Kotaro deadpanned.

"Try waving those pom-poms at something or someone, cheering on them for something, and see what happens," Chamo said. "That is the logical use for them from a glimpse! The Artifact's shape most often, well, shapes their use!"

Sakurako blinked, then pointed the pom-poms at Toshinori, hoping she wouldn't kill him. "A-All Might-san was an ace in a fight, but now he's lost his light. Please cure him from his blight, so he can be better overnight! Go Mahora?"

Toshinori jerked up, startling everyone. The others pulled back from him for a moment, surprised at his reaction. For a second, she sat straighter, and he appeared to bulk up very slightly, only to then recede back to his weakened state. He looked at his hands, trembling.

"A-A-Are you okay!?" Izuku cried.

Negi gulped. "Oh my goodness!"

"That… That felt actually good!" Toshinori said. "I've had very brief pangs of spontaneous recovery, the doctors said it was my metabolism acting, but usually it's only one or two a year. And they never felt so… nice…"

"I knew it!" Chamo boasted. "Neesan's always been lucky! If I'm not wrong, she is weaponizing her luck through the Artifact!"

"That makes sense, the Artifacts are to match the Ministra's already existing skills," Chachamaru said. "Hence, Saotome-san's drawing from her drawing, and Ayase-san's booking from her book reading."

There was a faint rimshot in the distance.

"What a SHAFT anime moment," Chamo sweatdropped.

Toshinori pointed at the boulevard. "Young Midoriya. Jump as far as you can while Young Shiina cheers for you!"

"Yessir!" Izuku ran there, joyous. He got ready to make a leap while Sakurako grinned, placing herself aside. "On your marks, Shiina-san! One, two…"

Sakurako gushed. The guy was kind of cute! Especially when he beamed like that, he wasn't too unlike Negi-kun. If anything he seemed more optimistic than Negi-kun. "Senpai, go as far as you can! You can be a Superman! Go, go, go!" she shook her hips in circles, skirt flaring up. Toshinori covered his eyes with a hand.

But he opened them a second later to see his protégé making the leap, and easily going a long further than he ever had before, shouting in delight. The hero stood up, walked to the boulevard, pulled metric tape from a pocket, and measured the distance from where he had leapt to where he stood now, panting after landing on his feet. "Impressive! That's almost twice as long as the last one." He held a pointer finger up. "On the other hand, the wind very suddenly and conveniently shifted to a way that favored your movement through the air the best…"

He looked at Izuku. "Now leap again, without Young Shiina cheering you."

He did so, and the leap was somewhat shorter now.

Toshinori measured again. "A bit longer than yesterday's jumps, but that's because you are improving through training. Young Shiina, cheer for him again as he jumps."

"Leaping like a grasshopper, Midoriya-kun! He's even green and everything; boy is this fuuuun!" Sakurako was getting into the spirit of things as she used to, while Izuku made another fantastic leap aided by another very noticeable shift in the breeze.

"A probability alterer," Chachamaru said.

"That's why we never bet against her at anything," Chisame said.

"Now let's see if that has offensive uses as well," Toshinori told the peppy girl. "Point them at any thing that can't hurt us and try seeing if it breaks down or anything like that."

"Haaaaaiiii!" Shiina giggled. She aimed the pom-poms at a very tall column of old pans and pots. "Taking down the house, cuter than a mouse, a cuture future spouse! Saku-chan's here and you'll plummet over there! Yay me, yay Saku-chaaaaan!"

The pans and pots suddenly lost all their balance, and they fell like a castle of cards, scattering all over.

"It took me half a day to put all of those together, Shiina-san," Izuku said.

"Ooops! Sorry, Midoriya-kun!"

"That's all very good, congratulations, Sakurako. However, you also need to work on your physical stats, and the same goes for you, Chisame." Negi rolled his sleeves up. "While Toshinori-san handles Midoriya-san, I'll handle you…"

"Oh, Negi-kun, you cad, you," Sakurako giggled coquettishly.

Chisame scowled. "You should think that stuff before you say it, you know!"

Negi blinked. "What? What did I say? Never mind." He smirked in a way eerily resembling Evangeline's, no doubt a successful attempt from the boy to imitate his mentor. "I'm not going to be gentle on you…!"

"You're doing it again!" Chisame barked.

Sakurako cooed and brought her knees together. "Negi-kun, stop it…!"

"Stopping what? I can't stop! I must whip you into shape! Test your bodies and make you give the best from yourselves! Even if it means we need to go all night long… Sweating buckets and—"

Toshinori raised a hand. "We got it already, thank you, Young Negi!"

Izuku was shooting steam out of his ears, his face flushed. "Sir, perhaps I should go take a refreshing shower? I feel overheating… must be that time spent under the sun…"

Senator Hiroyama thought of himself as a good man.

Hadn't he worked for three decades to bring his country and economy from the brink of collapse? He'd been part of a brain trust that made the new Japanese financial miracle possible. He had looked into the eyes of the American and European wolves and survived successful negotiations with them. He'd never turned his back on his children. His wife was well kept, with everything she could wish for.

Surely he was entitled to have his little pleasures without being condemned by them, he told himself as he entered the hotel room.

A girl sat on the luxury, wide bed, lined with fine pastel coloured sheets. She was just like he liked them, very young and fair skinned, with an European look about her. She wore a white dress and glasses, her thin legs crossed as she beckoned him playfully.

"Good evening, Hiroyama-han," she spoke to him in a sophisticated Kyoto accent. She was well bred, which excited him even more. She crooked a pointer finger towards him. "Come here, will you? Yomi-chan will give you a kiss..."

He walked over to her, smiling and already undoing his tie.

As soon as he was at arm's reach, her angelic smile changed, and she reached down, under the bed covers. Before the Senator could activate his Quirk to defend himself, with a velocity beyond anything he had ever seen in the flesh, the girl shoved a sword into his skull.

He fell, crashing on the floor, pulling on the sheets with his final jerky motion. The bodyguard, who had been standing outside by the room, stormed in, shattering the floor and activating his Quirk. Black stripes covered his body as his torso was covered by fur and expanded into stony muscle. The girl smiled wickedly at him.

"There's a kiss for you too," she said, and lunged ahead.

Minutes later, the young lady whistled, and calmly polished the blood off her blades with a curtain. Once again, she sat crosslegged on the bed, waiting until her partner for this enterprise arrived.

Finally, he shuffled in through the destroyed door. Breathing heavily.

"Took you long enough, so, let me guess?" she said conversationally. She sheated the swords in. "Were you eating? Bad form, spoiling your appetite."

"Good evening. Flesh, eat, thank you," the tall, thin man almost fully wrapped in black snapped his jaws, hovering from one of the dead bodies to the other one. "Good meat, very good meal, hehhhhhh! Both, let me have both."

She kept him apart from the Senator by pressing a foot on his chest. "Not this one, Dear Sir. He's important, and the terms of my contract were clear."

He foamed off the mouth at her. "But he's mine! So hungry! Eat you too then!"

The girl stopped smiling and gave him a piercing glare from right above the round glasses.

Moonfish seemed to be taken aback and stepped away from her. It was a trick she had learned while studying Shinmeiryuu. Put enough spiritual pressure into your glare and you can push weak minds back. "Hehhhhhh! Unfair," he said.

"Those are the ways of life, Dear Sir." She shrugged her shoulders delicately, and pointed the dainty foot at the corpse of the bodyguard. "Alas, blue collars like us still can eat other blue collars. He's got more meat on him regardless."

"FLESH!" Moonfish agreed, swooping down to devour noisily.

The girl sighed, throwing the Senator over a shoulder and going towards the window. "It's almost enough to make one miss Fate-han."

While leaping from one rooftop to another with ease, carrying her victim, she thought back of Fate-han. This was all his fault, wasn't it? For all of his intelligence, he hadn't predicted they would be caught on the backlash from the Gateport's destruction, much like Setsuna-senpai's team. Thanks to his oh so brilliant stupidity, now she was lost in another world, forced to take degrading jobs like this one to make ends meet and pay the bills. Next time she saw Fate-han, she would give him a piece of her mind! And take a few from his.

It never crossed her mind, to think he could be dead. If she had survived, so had he. She was sure it was a matter of time until they met again.

She stopped once she thought she was far enough, dropping the body into a stinking, lonely alley, scaring a few rats away.

"Well, here's where we part ways. It was fun, Senator-han," she said, dusting her hands off. "Sorry I couldn't give you sex, but I'm saving myself for someone else. You aren't my type, but-"

Then she tensed up, as she had just sensed someone else in the alley.

Slowly, she pulled the longsword and the dagger out and moved to face the other person with her. The contract had been clear on how she was to kill the target, leave a crime scene as confusing as possible, and drop the body far from the site of the assassination. And no witnesses. The first part had gone without a hitch, but now there was a spanner in the works for the second. She only hoped this person would give her a fight. She was getting tired of milk runs against weaklings.

Another girl stepped out of the shadows, and oh dear, she was beautiful. Almost as beautiful as Setsuna-senpai. What a waste it would be, to kill her.

The stranger smiled, and the swordswoman liked the smile, too. It was an erratic smile, matching those golden kitten eyes so well. Her hair was short and light blonde, but not as light as her own, very messy in comparison with her long, well combed, smooth hair. She wore a lightly smelly school uniform that appeared to have been worn for days, unwashed, and even so, she was so gorgeous that the swordswoman had to remind herself to stay professional.

The stranger waved a hand. "Helloooo-oooooo," she said, singing the word along. Her eyes gazed across the blood splattered Senator and the red spots all over the cute white dress. "Sorry to interrupt, whatever you were doing."

"It's not much, I was just dropping some trash," she replied, focusing her senses to locate any other nearby chis. It was entirely possible that she had been double crossed, and this girl was a decoy for the police, meant to entertain her until they got the drop on her.

"Aaaahhhhh-hhhh," the other girl slowly walked towards her, eyeing the blood pooling around her feet even more intently. "Then you won't mind if I take it, right? If it's just trash..."

Dear Kami-sama, what was wrong with this place? It was full of sickos, even for her tastes.

"You want the meat or the blood?" she asked her, going to the point. Had Moonfish brought one of his friends for the job? The mind boggled. How could anyone like THAT have any friends? Or was she a relative? Was this a Texas Chainsaw Massacre kind of thing?

The girl licked her lips, panting. "Just the blood, please. I kind of... need blood." She almost sounded embarrassed for a moment. "It's my Quirk, you see..."

"Ah," the girl answered. These freaks blamed everything on their stupid Quirks. Not her. She was more honest than that. She recognized that her wickedness was all her own. She stepped aside. "Then help yourself, Dear Miss."

"Thanks," she sighed with relief, moving onto the body and starting to lick the blood desperately. The other girl watched her in silence, paying the most attention to her cute raised behind, and she considered just leaving. What happened to the body after she dropped it wasn't meant to be part of her responsibilities, and this girl was so obviously out of her mind that she barely counted as a witness anyone could question.

And yet, she didn't leave. She kept on watching her, trying to understand those strange feelings in her heart.

Finally, the stranger rose from the feast, wiping her mouth with a fist. She faced her benefactor and smiled, more charmingly now, despite the blood caking her features. "Thank you very much. What's your name. Mine's Himiko! Toga Himiko!"

She sounded so strangely casual about it that the shorter, younger girl couldn't help smiling back. "Tsukuyomi." She offered her hand graciously, like the lady she was. "Iwai Tsukuyomi," she added after another moment, albeit she rarely gave her full name.

Toga Himiko shook her hand, not with refined politeness, but with the crude enthusiasm of a plebeian. Tsukuyomi's heart soared despite herself.

Then Toga Himiko grabbed her hand and licked the blood from it, suckling on the fingers, and Tsukuyomi cooed. She closed her eyes, and only opened them when, surprising her, she was kissed on the nose, right under the bridge of her glasses.

Toga Himiko swallowed, like a playful tabby. "You had some on your nose," she said.

Tsukuyomi only hoped she wasn't blushing as much as she felt.

"So... Do you live here, or-"

"For the moment. I had to run away from home. What a bore," Toga Himiko snorted.

"I wonder why. What could move anyone to expel someone so obviously personable from their home?" Tsukuyomi wondered, only half sarcastic.

Toga Himiko shrugged. "It's a looong story."

Tsukuyomi looked at her in silence for several moments. "I have a nice place across town, where I'm staying for the time being. Would you like to come?"

Toga's eyes shone curiously. "Are you serious?"

Tsukuyomi smiled and sheathed the swords back in. "I'm feeling generous tonight."

Please forgive me, Setsuna-senpai. I'm a bad girl after all.

Next: Welcome to UA.

Mahou Sensei Negima! is the creation and intellectual property of Akamatsu Ken and Kodansha.

Boku no Hero Academia is the creation and intellectual property of Horikoshi Kohei and Shueisha.

Quirky.

Part Two.

Midoriya Inko understood the need of her son to be a hero perfectly well.

She knew that, growing up, it had been a blow to Izuku's self-esteem to lack a Quirk. She knew that said absence of Quirk had been a long standing source of... friction between him and other boys (that Bakugo-kun had actually BRUTALIZED IZUKU MENTALLY for years sort of escaped her in full extent. She knew that Bakugo-kun was... coarse when addressing him, but a combination of Izuku not being willing to share all he had endured behind her back and traditional Japanese mentality on the issue of bullying had led her to somewhat ignoring or minimizing the issue. That, and Bakugo-kun's parents had wealth and she knew she'd never win a court showdown against them. So there was that too).

She knew that Izuku idealized All Might, but then again, who didn't? Even Bakugo-kun did, and he was... Bakugo-kun. Ah, those magazine centerfolds with All Might posing heroically, flexing all muscles, had helped Inko through many nights of loneliness...

So she was willing to give Izuku a lot of leeway when his chance to become a hero came along. When he showed up saying he'd met a guy who worked for All Might and who would train him to access UA, Inko had given said guy the benefit of doubt, despite that being the kind of bullsh*t every two bit pervert gave boys to take advantage of them. She'd invited Yagi Toshinori, realized that he was weak enough he couldn't even rape a squirrel, and allowed Izuku to spend a couple hours a day with him.

From what Inko understood, Yagi-san was making Izuku clean a beach. That wasn't so bad. Even if he was being duped, he'd learn a valuable life lesson from it and gain some muscle already.

And then he had shown up with those kids, saying Yagi-san had asked him to house them for a while.

It wasn't that they were leeching the Midoriyas' finances off. Every day, there was money transferred to Inko's account to pay for their expenses, which made her realize that All Might's money might actually be poured into this. But the fact remained, it was a small apartment, and there were a lot of them, and well...

There had been that time, for instance, where she had casually walked into Chisame-chan wearing a black leotard with a microskirt that didn't even cover her crotch, a domino mask, and little black bat wings on her back.

"..." Inko asked, staring at her while waiting for an answer.

Chisame-chan blushed and fidgeted. "... I'm cosplaying as Pop Step..."

"Who," Inko asked stoically, "is Pop Step, dear?"

"... a vigilante..."

"Okay..." Inko's eyes narrowed.

"I, I, I know that around these parts, being a vigilante is barely above being a villain, but that's a retired vigilante, nobody's seen her in months, and anyway, it's not like people can't cosplay as the Joker and Harley Quinn without getting in trouble, and I know that's different because the Joker and Harley Quinn aren't real, but... The costume is cute, okay? I like it!"

"It's also sexy. Cute and sexy," Inko said blandly, inwardly congratulating herself on how wonderfully patient she was being. "Very sexy, dear, especially to be worn in a small apartment around several young boys..."

Chisame blinked. "Do you think I'm sexy?"

Inko counted to ten mentally. "Any other reason beyond finding the costume cute, dear...?"

Chisame gulped. "I, I, please don't tell anyone, but it's for my webpage."

"Your webpage..."

"Y-Yeah, I had one back at home, and I've set a new one here, it doesn't harm anyone, and it's just a hobby, I've been through a lot of stress and I need-"

"Mom, I'm home!" came Izuku's voice from the front door. He had just returned from school, ready to dine before leaving for the beach. "How's everyone doing?"

Inko grabbed a table cloth and dropped it on Chisame's head, covering her all the way to the feet. "Don't worry about them, Izuku dear, I've got them covered."

"That's... very funny, Inko-san, congratulations," a humiliated Chisame said from under the cloth. "Ah ha ha, yeah, from now on I'll only do this behind locked doors..."

Izuku walked in. He looked up and down at the table cloth, then at the feet poking underneath. "Pop Step's boots. Is that you, Hasegawa-san? Are you doing that Chiu thing Negi-san told me about?"

Two large veins bulged from under the table cloth.

"NEEEEEEEEGIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Chisame roared.

"For the last time, Chisame, I had to tell him!" Negi protested, blocking her furious and constant blows with his arms. "What if he had just walked in on you ignoring everything about that!"

"You always have an excuse for everything, don't you!?" Chisame growled, unloading Tsundere Punch after Tsundere Punch on him. She was wearing a tight, black and yellow spandex top and matching shorts. Sakurako had to admit Chisame had quite the figure, despite being a shut-in. She'd seen the other girl naked several times in the baths of Mahora, but she'd never paid her much attention. "Stay still, damn you!"

"That would beat the purpose of the exercise!" Negi said, blocking every punch easily. "I'll let you land an extra punch as soon as you pass through my defenses, okay?"

"What if he did that just to provoke her into going all out on him during training?" Sakurako wondered, sitting at the sidelines with Kotaro, Chachamaru and Chamo. Toshinori was fanning himself under a beach umbrella, wheezing loudly. Izuku was dragging another haul of junk into the truck.

"You're giving him too much credit!" Kotaro gave a little grin.

Izuku moved on to take a big chug from his bottle of water. "Sir," he told Toshinori, watching as Chisame redoubled her efforts on Negi, "what if I ask Negi-san to teach me martial arts too?"

"On top of everything you're doing already?" his mentor asked him. "Normally, it'd be a great idea, but you're working yourself up enough as it is! Go overboard, and you'll end up collapsing from overexhaustion!"

"What is that?" Izuku blinked at the word in English.

"Burning yourself out from doing too much in too short a time," Yoshinori explained. "Young Hasegawa and Young Shiina have enhanced physical stats when they activate their Pactios, but that's an advantage you don't have. I told you, learn to walk before you start running. Put your body in full shape and then we'll think about martial arts."

"Maybe we can get him a Pactio from Negi-kun or Kotaro-kun!" Shiina raised her right hand. "Then he'll be as strong as us when we're on magic, won't he?"

"Geh!" Kotaro said. "I'm not kissing any guy, much less on the lips! Count me out!"

"It'll be just a short peck, Kotaro-kun," Sakurako pursed her lips towards him.

"Don't even joke about that!"

Izuku gulped. "I'm not ready to give my sacred first kiss yet, and I don't think Chamo-san would approve, either."

"Of course I wouldn't!" the ermine barked.

"But it doesn't hurt if I just teach him some basic moves, right?" Negi said, ducking as Chisame changed tactics to swing a kick at him. She was getting tired, breathing heavily now. "I'm not going to put him through the wringer, just a few minutes a day..."

Toshinori frowned, then said, "Only as long as I'm supervising, to make sure you don't overdo it."

"Word of honor!" Negi put a hand on his heart, rolling back from Chisame's attack.

"Don't make it look so easy, you're humiliating me!" Chisame whined.

"And Young Karakuri will record every minute of your activities while I'm away, to make sure you aren't disobeying," Toshinori pointed at Chachamaru.

"I already do it," the gynoid said, her eyes glowing faintly as she kept on staring at Negi.

"Don't worry, Chacha-chan isn't a shotacon because she's only two years old herself," Sakurako told Toshinori.

"Is that supposed to make me feel any better!?" Toshinori said.

Several weeks later, they sat after training hours, in Izuku's apartment. They had convinced Yagi-san to stay for a little before leaving for his home, and the man was too tired to protest too much. It surprised Negi to see how easily he grew exhausted while not in his All Might form. He only wished he could take him to a good magical doctor. Perhaps they could do something for him...

"Na na na na na na, All Might..." sang the opening theme in the television. Kotaro snickered at the quality of the animation on screen.

"Old anime were really stiff, weren't they?" he chuckled. "We've come a long way since then!"

"Hey, it's not that old! It's from only twenty years ago, and it still holds up!" Izuku scowled. "Plus it's technically not anime, it's an American and Japanese co-production."

"All Might wasn't all that well known yet," Yagi-san said nostalgically. "The budgets for superhero anime weren't that big back then. Even so, Dini and Timm more than made up for it with the inspired designs and stories."

"Oh, no doubt about that!" Izuku gushed, while the episode opened with All Might punching a guy with a pizza slice for a head. Chisame squinted at that. Good writing...? "The Alex Toth loving influence is evident in every frame!"

"Ah ha ha, I don't know that much about pre-Quirk superhero comics and animation, so that Toth name escapes me," Yagi-san admitted. "But the stories were actually better than the actual incidents All Might got into while living in America. Or so I heard," he added, sweating a little as he heard Inko humming from the kitchen. "I suppose that's unavoidable, since reality isn't scripted."

"Oh, I don't know," Kotaro said. "Not to boast, but our adventures would make for an awesome anime!"

"Manga," Chisame said, sipping her juice from a straw moodily. Negi had forbidden her and Sakurako from drinking soda and similar sugary drinks as long as they were training, and she hated it. "The manga is always better."

"It'd have too much nudity," Inko opined, coming along and starting to distribute snacks among everyone.

"Thank you, Mom," Izuku said.

"He already sneezed here, didn't he?" Yagi-san asked Inko.

Inko, Izuku, Chisame and Negi himself blushed.

Yagi-san sighed. "We need to think of a way to curb that while you're in the academy," he told Negi. "It won't do, having you strip everyone during a mission. Maybe you should wear a special mask..."

"What happened to that guy, anyway?" Kotaro pointed at All Might's juvenile onscreen sidekick. "Or is he just madeup for the show?"

"Sir Nighteye? No, he's still active as a successful independent superhero on his own," Izuku said. "He and All Might separated on good terms, no matter what the rumors may say."

Yagi-san rasped subtly to himself, yet said nothing.

"And the villains? Are American villains actually that corny?" Chisame asked. "The ones in the news look way scarier. Or did they just go grim and gritty over time?"

"The latter, to an extent," Yagi-san said, "but even then, there were real bastards around. It's just that the show only used the relatively harmless bad guys, the ones who reformed and made showbiz deals. Most of them were just attention seekers. A few even stayed on the straight lane! All Might still keeps on touch with Eartha, the Explosive Hummingbird. Great ol' gal, that Eartha."

"Some of them even played themselves in the animated series, like Roland Mc Garrison, the Mad Patissier," Izuku recalled fondly.

"Yeah, but showbiz chewed most of them out," Yagi-san said. "Roland died of a drug overdose, poor fellow."

Izuku blinked. "I thought it'd been a heart attack?"

"Never believe press releases," Yagi-san wagged a finger at him. "Unless they are All Might's, heh heh."

"Now that's a depressing turn of conversation..." Chisame said.

"I agree," Inko said, sitting down and starting to chew slowly.

"Sorry," Yagi-san said. "Not all of them ended up like that, of course. Eartha's still doing great, like I told you. Those ones were not all that bad. The real bad ones... we tried not to give them any publicity. I always thought it was wrong glorifying crime like that. Have you ever heard the story of Herostratus?"

Negi nodded. "The psychopath who burned the temple of Artemis in ancient Greece, hoping to immortalize his name."

"And the sad part is he succeeded, but at which cost? He was tortured on a rack and executed." Yagi-san pointed his finger at the children. "That's the lesson to be learned there, kids! Crime never pays! If you ever succeed in life after having been a criminal, it's not BECAUSE of it, but DESPITE of it!"

"You're barking up the wrong tree, Haruna is the one who should be hearing this," Chisame said. "Save that speech for when we find her, okay?"

As usual when reminded of his missing students, Negi folded into depression again.

"Never lose hope, Young Negi," Yagi-san said. "Our agency's still looking for clues about them every day. Why, I would go as far as to say we might be close to confirmation on one of them..."

Negi perked up. "Really!? Where!?"

Yagi-san smiled. "I'm not authorized to tell you anything yet. It might be a false lead. But there are some rumors about a peculiar enough young lady in South America..."

Several more weeks passed.

"Misorita?" the portly lady with thick brown curls framing a round face asked, appearing at the door. Literally. "You can talk with them now."

"Hmm?" the short, wiry young lady in the miniskirted nun habit tilted her head back from the autograps she was signing. "Oh, you mean... For real, this time!? Great!"

She turned back to the children surrounding her and smiled. "Sorry, amiguitos, but I've gotta run!"

"Are you gonna fight another bad guy, Hermana Misteriosa?" a dark skinned little girl asked.

"Kick 'em in the ass for me, Hermana!" another girl wagged her small fist around.

She laughed lamely, while the woman urged her with hand gestures. "Come back tomorrow, okay? I'll tell Marylin to give you extra passes so you don't have to pay again! Well, it was a pleasure! Bye!" She waved and dashed towards the door, while the children waved back at her.

She gulped while the obese lady led her down the hallway. "Why so nervous?" the woman asked her. "They're just your friends, aren't they?"

"W-Well, yeah, but it's been months, and I was starting to lose faith I'd ever see them again, and- Never mind, I'll tell 'em myself!" she decided, reaching the room covered on posters of the local Presidente. Marylin pointed towards the computer on a small desk at the other end of the room, and the girl sat there, trying to put on her best smile. "Hellooo! Negi-kun? Is that really you, Negi-kun!?"

"Misora-san...? MISORA-SAN!" the familiar face on the screen leaned closer, and actual tears started leaking from his eyes. It was him, no doubt. Even a shapeshifter couldn't be that convincingly... Negi-kun. "Oh dear God, Misora-san, thank goodness...!"

"Hey, hey, don't start weeping on a happy day, Sensei, that's bad for the luck!" Kasuga Misora tried to calm him. "Sorry about the delays, but we needed diplomatic clearance from the Presidente, you know! That... That's the way things are around here..."

Chisame's face appeared on the screen next to Negi's, slightly pushing him aside. "So that's actually you, Kasuga? I thought you'd run as fast from the explosion as possible, how comes it caught you too?"

Misora frowned. "Nice to see you too, Chisame-chan. Who else's there with you? Marylin, my manager, mentioned Chachamaru and Sakurako."

"It's only them, Chamo, and Dog Boy," Chisame said.

"Who are you calling 'Dog Boy'!?" Kotaro called from offscreen. "And then you don't want to be called 'Chi-chan'!?"

Misora whistled. "But Negi-kun's cards are fine, aren't they?"

"Yeah, so far," Chisame said. Sakurako was also trying to peek in now, pressing Negi down as if resting on his shoulders.

"Then they're fine, same thing with Cocone-chan," Misora sighed, briefly pulling her own Pactio card out and looking at it. "She's tough and resouceful! I'm sure she's taking good care of herself..."

"We were told you'd been making a name for yourself in Venezuela," Negi said, trying to stay on focus without shaking any of the girls off. "To be honest, I'm a bit shocked they let you operate as a public pro hero already..."

"Heh heh, well, yep, things here are a bit... different from how they operate in the States or Japan," Misora said. "I dropped by, I was a bit injured for several weeks, and as soon as they saw I was up and I had an useful... Quirk... they asked me to help around. I had nowhere to go, so..."

"When will you be coming?" Negi asked eagerly. "We are in touch with All Might, we can pay you a plane trip here as soon as possible!"

Misora shifted on her chair uneasily, with Marylin looking over her. "I'd love to, Negi-kun, but that takes diplomatic clearance too, you know? The relations between Venezuela and Japan aren't at their best right now, and..."

"But everyone's treating you well, right?"

"Who, the boys and girls? Of course!" Misora said smoothly. "I'm a celebrity here!" she boasted, no doubt inflating herself too much in Chisame's opinion. "I'm part of the Red Circle Revolution with El Perro, Beto Matraca, Popular Miriam, Rey Zamuro and Reina Petroleo. La Hermana Misteriosa, youngest and most promising recruit!" She grinned, with a hand on her flat chest.

"It's just stunning that you're part of a fighting team without just fleeing on them as soon as you could," Chisame said.

"Hey, I'll let you know that my peerless strategy of making villains chase me so the guys ambush them has netted dozens of villains already! How many villains have YOU caught by now?"

"We'll be enrolling into UA in a couple months, so we're working on that, Misora-san," Negi said warmly. He saw the woman who stood behind Misora tapping on her wristwatch with a finger, and he sighed. "Well, until then, we'll be in contact, won't we? It was a real relief, to see you are alright..."

"Same here, Negi-kun," Misora said sincerely. "Same here."

As the link was cut, Negi spun his chair around and drooped his shoulders. "At least she's alive and healthy, but..."

"Most heroes with powerful Quirks leave the country as soon as they can, so the local authorities are strapped for useful operatives," All Might said. "Don't lose hope, Young Negi! We'll keep on negotiating. If we can convince one of our younger pros to replace her for a time, as a goodwill ambassador, we'll have her in Japan before year's end. Of course, all of that depends on the evolution of our diplomacy."

"Who would want to go there in the first place?" Chisame asked.

"Hey, Kamui Woods has been talking about REALLY wanting to visit the Amazon jungle for a while..."

The final day had arrived.

No, not the last day of mankind where the fate of Earth would be decided by a climactic battle against all hopes. Heroes called those 'Sundays'.

Yagi Toshinori parked his truck by the entrance of the beach and unlocked its gates. Then he stood, entranced, at the sight of a completely clean area, other than the last pile of junk ready to be loaded onto the vehicle.

Izuku, shirtless and bathed on sweat, stood on top of said pile, squeezing his fists by his sides and shouting "I'M THE KING OF THE WOOOOOOORLD!"

Sakurako stood next to the pile, in her cheerleading uniform, clapping and with starry huge eyes. "Bravo, Izukun...!"

Chisame was resting on her face on a bench, groaning.

Negi stood nearby, sweatdropping, with Chamo sitting on his head. Chachamaru was sweeping the boulevard, and Kotaro smirked and waved at Toshinori.

The emaciated man sighed and walked to the pile as Izuku descended from it. "It did it, Sir! I actually did it in time!" the green haired boy crowed happily, and then he fell ahead to rest on Tashinori's chest. "I'm worthy of One for All now...!"

The hero slowly cracked a smile and rested his hand on Izuku's head. "You always were, Young Midoriya. I only needed to see proof of it. Please forgive this dumb old man."

"But Sir," Negi said. "Isn't it too late now? The entrance is this afternoon, Midoriya-san won't have any time to practice with One for All..."

"That's fine, he won't be subjected to any life or death situations on his first day," Toshinori said. "If he fails, he can train with One for All for another year, and... I'll vouch for him to get another attempt... It's not the usual procedure, but they should listen..."

"N-No... No!" Izuku tried to stand straight. "It's fine! I can do this! Katchan will be entering today, I need to prove him I can do it too!"

Kotaro and Negi traded a somewhat scrunched look.

"Paru would have a field day with this," Sakurako thought aloud.

"How about you, Young Hasegawa? Are you feeling up to the task?" Toshinori asked Chisame.

She pulled herself from the bench with a snort. "Give me a couple hours of sleep and ask again."

Toshinori looked at the hour in his phone. "There's enough time for that, I suppose."

"I can't help feeling... like I'm cheating, though," Izuku coughed. "I'm not going into it with my own Quirk... unlike Katchan..."

Kotaro and Negi traded another strange look that mixed disturbment with confusion.

"That's fine, Izukun," Sakurako said. "We're cheating by going without Quirks AND high on magic and we have no shame about it!"

"Please stop talking about magic as if it were cocaine, Sakurako," Negi requested blandly.

Toshinori grinned and bulked up into All Might. "No, no, you all deserve this, Young Shiina! You and Young Hasegawa worked out hard under Young Negi, and Young Negi and Young Kotaro had to train hard from childhood, even long before most of us pro heroes did! And Young Karakuri, uh, she worked hard to gain human feelings, I suppose, it's always an achievement when advanced AI pull past the 'Kill All Humans' stage."

Chachamaru nodded. "That is why Hakase-san and Chao-san didn't give me any limbs until I outgrew that phase, Sir."

"What," Chisame said.

All Might put a paternal hand on his protege's shoulder. "And you have proved yourself as well, Young Midoriya. Quirks don't make the hero, it's the other way around."

"Quirks unmake the hero?" Chisame snarked.

All Might squeezed a fist and sniffled loudly. "THE HEROES MAKE THE QUIRKS FROM THEIR HEARTS!" he shouted in English. Then he ripped some of the hair from his head and offered it to Izuku. "Now eat this," he told him.

Izuku blinked. "Ah?"

"You need to assimilate my DNA into you so One for All passes into you!" All Might told him. "If you eat it now, it should have been diggested by the time you get to the academy!"

Izuku grabbed the hair, looked at it for a second, and ate it.

"Is that all?" Negi asked.

"YEP!" All Might grinned, the sunlight reflecting on his teeth so much that Chisame and Sakurako shielded their eyes.

"Okay, then can you give some hair to my brother so he eats it and he becomes another All Might, can't you?" Chamo asked. "He's in way better shape than Izubro here, since he had too much of a headstart on him. So he can take it fine!"

"Are you crazy? You can't give One for All away as if it was candy!" the hero said. "It can't have more than two wielders at a time!"

"Why not?" Chamo asked.

"Because Reasons!"

"That doesn't explain anything at all!" the ermine cried.

"I could give you a detailed explanation on why, but we'd be done by tomorrow and Young Midoriya would lose his chance to enter this year and satisfy his worrying psychological reliance on the young man who made his life miserable for years," All Might said.

"Please stop talking as if I had a problem," Midoriya asked. "Because I don't."

Negi and Kotaro shared that look again.

"Will you two please stop doing that!?" Izuku said.

"Mahora is better," Chisame said.

"This one doesn't even have its own Library Island," Sakurako scoffed.

"The lack of a World Tree makes it esthetically unpleasant if compared to our alma mater," Chachamaru opined.

"What are you talking about, this is UA! Just look at all that awesomeness!" Izuku said. "It's breathtaking! How can you be so blind to it!"

Negi exhaled. "I never wanted to say this, but Merdiana is not only better than this, but it's also somewhat better than Mahora..."

"Them's fighting words, Mister Springfield!" Shiina angrily wagged a finger at him.

They stood now before the front gates of UA. They were shaped like a gigantic 'H' made of two buildings lined up at both sides of a long pathway in.

The sky was shiny, a clear blue. The clouds were harmoniously white and the breeze was gentle and yet dry. Students and would be students everywhere were walking in through said gates and chattered happily among themselves.

"Disgusting, nobody's even going on rocket powered scooters," Chisame said, oblivious to how much she had despised that months ago. "What kind of future is this?"

"This place really needs a Hakase Satomi," Sakurako nodded.

"Don't they all?" Chachamaru philosophized, walking along Chisame.

Somewhere in the Support Group Laboratories, Hatsume Mei sneezed.

She stared at the camera, smiled and waved. "Early Bird Cameo!" she said.

Then they were surprised by a loud yell from behind.

"STEP ASIDE, DEKU!"

"Yikes! K-Katchan!" Izuku yelped, leaping aside to let Bakugo Katsuki walk past him, even though there was plenty of space he could have used to go through, otherwise. The blond boy stomped with a bag slung over his shoulder, frowning and radiating menace and EDGE.

Then he stopped, blinked, and looked at Chisame with mild curiosity. "Have I seen you before?"

"I am Chisame, Izuku's cousin," she told him. All of a sudden the contents of her stomach were rebelling against her.

Bakugo blinked again, clearly not remembering. "Cousin?"

"That is, the child of your uncle or aunt," Chisame went out of her way to explain as if talking to a very slow child. "You'll see, when people aren't complete assholes their parents aren't repulsed enough to stop at having that single one child, and-"

Ignoring her altogether now, Bakugo began stomping again, heading into the majestic school. "f*ck, they are multiplying! What is this world coming to!"

And then he disappeared in the crowd.

Kotaro lifted an eyebrow. "He doesn't even have a badass scar across his face. What kind of bully is that?"

"I know, right?" Chisame said, starting to walk again. "Kakizaki makes for a meaner bully than that, at least she destroys your reputation behind your back after she's done smiling condescently at you."

"She's my friend and I love her regardless!" Sakurako proclaimed, very loudly.

A vein popped on Izuku's forehead. "I don't think you are understanding my Very Important Childhood Trauma at all!" he said, but followed them anyway.

He stopped right when he was about to step past the line separating the school grounds from the entrance, twitching.

"Now what..." Chisame said.

"Are you suffering another flashback, Midoriya-san?" Negi asked helpfully. "Breathe in and out slowly, it's what I do when I have mine..."

"It's not that," Izuku said. He lifted a foot, holding his leg in the air."It's just that... by giving this step, I am leaving my old life behind and getting into the academy of my dreams! It is the most important step I'll take in my life! I must savor the moment! I will set my foot down slowly... and become a hero through AHHH!" He stumbled and fell ahead.

But he didn't hit the ground.

Instead, a species of invisible force held him in place, then pulled him back, safely, to his feet.

"Was that... an invisible person?" Kotaro wondered.

A floating short skirt with a long sleeved navy blue blouse, a pair of matching high heeled shoes, and white gloves passed by next to them. "Hardly," a female voice said.

"Sorry, that was me!" a very cheerful girly voice said from behind them. They looked at a girl who smiled at them, around the same height as Sakurako, with short brown hair and a cute, rounded face. "I used my Quirk on you without asking first! That was rude! But you were about to plummet and break your nose in a grotesque explosion of blood against the cold pavement and none of your friends here seemed about to stop your fall!"

"..." Izuku said, his eyes expanding in vast circles. His freckles disappeared in a sea of red, and time ralentized around him. "...!"

The girl, in slow-mo, casually tossed some of her hair back, over a shoulder, with that kind of girl-next-door loveliness Izuku had only imagined from his most Guilty Pleasure readings of romantic manga ever before.

"...!" he said, and then hiccuped.

Sakurako frowned, looking back and forth between them.

"But then again, they must have been too nervous for that!" the girl said, slapping her hands together. "You're nervous too, aren't you? Of course you are, that's why you fell like that! Boy, I'm nervous too! Who wouldn't be? That's why I'm blabbering like a complete idiot at the middle of the way in while bothering everyone who has to take ways around me because I'm blocking the path! So are you, by the way, not that I have any room to criticize!"

"...?" Izuku asked.

The girl giggled bashfully, rubbing the back of her head. "Good luck with the exams! You're taking the exams, aren't you? Well, maybe not you two, you two look too young, although you might have dwarfism Quirks, you never know, not that there's anything wrong with being a dwarf! Well, bye bye!" she waved and took off into the grounds just as Negi opened his mouth to speak.

"...!" Izuku smiled goofily, waving after her. Sakurako fumed.

"Strong Makie vibes. Scary, in a way!" Chisame commented.

Sakurako pointed a finger at the back of the girl while she still could see her. "A hex on-"

Chisame grabbed her hand in a quiet way. "Shiina, no..."

"WELCOME TO MY CONCERT!" the man at the podium shouted at the top of his lungs. "EVERYONE SAY HEYYYYYY!" he added in a thundering, joyful and badly mangled English.

The students gathered all around the titanic auditorium fell into a stuned silence.

"CAN'T HEAR YOUUUUUUUUU!" the man shouted again, moving an arm in circles.

After a few moments, the young people shouted, hesitating, "HEEEEYYYYYYY..."

"YOU GOTTA DO BETTER THAN THAT!" he laughed, his extremely tall blond reverse pompadour bobbing back and forth as he moved his head. He wore yellow tinted shades and black leather, with a zipped up jacket. He looked like what happens when a DJ falls into a convention of punk bikers and then they are mobbed by rabid rockers and it all ends in sex, except that the sex wasn't sexy at all. "NO MATTER, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE HERE FOR! PAY ATTENTION, LISTENERS! I'M GONNA EXPLAIN THE ADMITTANCE EXAMS TO YOU! ARE YOU READYYYY!?"

"Who is this clown?" Chisame muttered under her breath. "All Might is hammy, but his head seems screwed the right way. This is just pathetic..."

"Shhhhhhh!" Izuku hushed her. Negi frowned. "That's Present Mic, the mythic Disc Jockey hero! I hear his radio show every day...!"

"What? When?" Chisame asked. "We live together and I'd never heard this loudmouth before!"

"His show is on when you do your Chiu thing, Chis-" Negi began whispering, and then had Chisame pressing her hand on his mouth.

Chisame gritted her teeth. "There are other ways to explain that, kid..."

"Shut up, Dekus! I want to hear the man!" snapped a voice from near them.

Negi and his students blinked, and craned their necks to see Bakugo sitting at the other side of Izuku, folding his arms and brooding.

"What, what are you doing here of all places!?" Chisame said, sweeping an arm to gesture at the jam packed auditorium. "Out of all seats in the house, you had to take that one!?"

"I'm starting to suspect that this obsession is a two-lane way," Sakurako mused.

"YYYYYYYEEEAAAHHHHHH!" Present Mic vocifered, making many look around for David Carusso instinctively. "ALL OF YOU LUCKY LISTENERS WILL UNDERGO A 10-MINUTE LONG BATTLE SIMULATION! YOU CAN TAKE WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH YOU, AS LONG AS THEY AIN'T NO LETHAL WEAPONS! AFTER CHANGING INTO YOUR BATTLE RAGS OF CHOICE, YOU'LL BE TAKEN TO A BATTLE CENTER OR ANOTHER TO ROCK ON, BABIES!"

"Taken? By whom? So we can't choose who will we go with?" Chisame whispered.

Kotaro shrugged. "Alone or working with you guys, I'm sure I can do it."

"If the staff tries to stop you from partaking, remember to show them the pass Toshinori-san gave you, Kotaro-kun," Negi told him.

"I know, Dad..."

"AT THE BATTLE CENTERS, YOU'LL FIND THREE, COUNT 'EM RIGHT, THREE KINDS OF 'VILLAINS'!" Present Mic held three fingers up. Every jumbo screen around the auditorium zoomed in on the gesture. "YOU'RE TO ELIMINATE 'EM AND YOU'LL BE GIVEN A SCORE ACCORDING TO HOW MANY YOU'VE WASTED! REMEMBER THAT SOME VILLAINS WILL GET YOU MORE POINTS THAN OTHERS! YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU SEE 'EM, YOUNG LOVERS!"

"Basically a war game, not too unlike some of the training at the Master's resort," Chachamaru said softly. "Sensei, you and Inugami-san shouldn't have any issues with it."

A very tall and strong looking young man rose to his feet several seats away from Negi's team. He had short and very well cut slick hair, with glasses, and an immaculate white suit, and a black tie."SENSEI!" he shouted, as if trying to sound as loud as Present Mic. He held a sheet of paper and pointed at it. "THE FLIERS SHOW FOUR TYPES OF VILLAIN, HOWEVER! I DON'T WANT TO BELIEVE THIS IS A PRINTING ERROR, NOT FROM JAPAN'S PREMIERE ACADEMY! ARE YOU TESTING US, THEN!?"

"OKAY, OKAY!" Present Mic replied. "THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT, NUMBER 711! GOOD EYE! IN TRUTH, THE FOURTH KIND OF VILLAIN WILL SCORE YOU NO POINTS! IT'S THERE ONLY TO BOTHER YOU ON YOUR WAY..."

"So a Deku," Bakugo snorted.

"THANK YOU! I UNDERSTAND PERFECTLY NOW, SIR!" the formal looking boy bowed deeply. "SORRY FOR INTERRUPTING YOU!" He sat back down.

"NAAAAYYYYY I SAYYYYY, YOU WERE RIGHT TO ASK!" Present Mic said. "HEROES CAN'T TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED! REMEMBER, THE COURSE IS THERE TO MAKE THINGS DIFFICULT FOR YOU! YOUR JOB, YOUNG HEROES, IS TO OVERCOME IT ALL! AS THE GREAT HERO NAPOLEON BONAPARTE ONCE SAID..."

Negi scoffed. "Bonaparte. Hero."

"Your Britishness is showing again, Sensei," Chisame snarked at him.

"TRUE HEROISM CONSISTS IN BEING SUPERIOR TO THE ILLS OF LIFE! PLUS ULTRA! BREAK A LEG, EVERYONE...!"

There was a loud snap at some other point of the audience. "OWWWWW!"

"NOT LITERALLY, NUMBER 578, YOU IDIOT!" Present Mic shouted. "FELLAS, SEND THE MEDICAL STAFF, WILL YOU...!?"

At the dressers for boys, Kotaro and Negi made small talk while changing into the jumpsuits they had brought.

"Are you nervous?" Kotaro asked.

"As if!" the dog boy said. "You?"

"I'm a little concerned about Chisame and Sakurako, but that's it," the prodigy said, attempting to stay calm under the pressure, as Evangeline had taught him. "Chachamaru is more than up to the task of acing the test easily."

He looked over at Izuku. "What about you, Midoriya-san?"

Izuku's teeth clacked together while he zipped his jumpsuit up. "E-E-Everything's great, I feel fine…!"

Kotaro slapped himself on a knee. "Aw, c'mon! You've made it so far, gonna get cold feet now!?"

"Be easy on him, it's his dream, not ours," Negi reasoned. "It's obvious that he'll feel more pressured than we do. Isn't that right, Cham—" He looked around. "Goodness. You take your eyes off him for a second!"

"Wanna go look for him?" Kotaro asked, tugging his boots on.

Negi sighed. "I'd like to, but I know what would happen. He's spying on the girls, if I go there I'll be spotted, the girls, mostly Chisame, will be furious, and then I'll sneeze. If they think he's just a normal ermine it won't be a problem."

Kotaro hummed. "Good to see you're finally wise about those things. Yeah, even if Megane and Shiina-neechan see him they won't spill the beans on him."

"Exactly!" Negi headed for the doors of the dressers. "Here, he's actually less prone to get himself in trouble than back at Mahora."

Several doors away, a tiny young man with an oversized round head and a very curiously stylized hairstyle crouched down and edged along a wall separating his own dresser from that of the girls next door. He looked carefully, feeling the wall with his fingers, a true expert. He knew that there always was a peephole somewhere in those walls. Kindred souls abounded wherever youngsters gathered to study together, and once he found such a hole, he thanked his predecessors in perversion.

He leaned in and put his eye on the hole. Most of the other boys had left already, and those still left weren't paying him any attention. He was too small and unremarkable for that, plus most people liked to keep a distance from him. Eventually he'd grown used to that, sort of. He grinned lustfully to himself, eyeing a young derriere in white panties.

"That's what I'm talking about, baby…" he whispered. And then he felt something small and furry tickling his head.

"Waaaahhhh!" the boy tumbled back, dropping sitting on the floor as a white ermine, who had been sitting on his head trying to peek in as well, fell along him, both tumbling across the floor at the feet of another aspirant, towering over them.

Scary shiny glasses shined down at them. Two strong fists rested on wide hips. The tiny boy gulped, recognizing that person. It was the stuffy sounding boy who had addressed Present Mic during that speech.

"And what do you believe you were doing looking through that wall, Mister?" he growled at him, and the smaller boy sweated bullets.

"L-Looking? Who, me?" he gasped, shaking under the shadow of that gigantic boy. At least, gigantic when compared to him. "No, you must be thinking of something else, Mister! I'm sorry, I, I was…" He grabbed the ermine, holding him before himself as a living shield. "Looking for my mischievous pet!"

The other boy raised an eyebrow. "Why did you bring a pet here?"

The tiny young man gulped, at a loss about what to say. But then he heard a very, very slight whisper, low enough the other boy could not hear it. "Luck," a male voice was saying.

"It's… for the good luck, Mister!" He shook, bowing his head. "I'm terribly sorry! I'm so attached to him, but he has a bad habit of spying on others and you know how curious animals get! Please excuse me! We didn't mean wrong!"

The other boy gave a step back. He seemed taken aback. "W-Well… You shouldn't have, but I can tell you're very nervous… an animal lover cannot be that bad, but that's still against the rules…"

"Is it? I had no idea, Sir, please don't tattle me!" the tiny boy wailed, throwing himself at his feet. "I knew I should have read the rules better first! But, but I was too busy studying other things day and night, and I have to support my ten little siblings, and and and!"

The huge boy sweatdropped, holding his hands up. "I understand! I understand! I'm not made of stone! Look… Just leave him somewhere safe and don't bring him again, okay? The battle arenas are no place for pets!"

Then he squinted at him. "Are you sure you weren't spying with him…?" He was not that sure, and he wanted to give him the benefit of doubt. He hadn't been paying attention to him before he stumbled, and misjudging others was a very unheroic thing to do.

The tiny boy paused, then crossed fingers behind his back. "Was not…!"

He frowned at him, pausing, but then looked at the clock on a wall. "No time to settle this. We'll talk later!" he promised, and headed out.

The tiny boy exhaled. He slumped ahead, sitting on the floor. Everyone else had left already.

"That was a close shave, wasn't it, Bro?" the ermine asked him.

The boy frowned at him. "You some shapeshifter?"

The ermine shook his head.

"You are… an animal with a Quirk?" the boy grew more intrigued. "Those are very scarce, wow!"

"Sort of," the ermine said. "I shouldn't have revealed myself to you, but I felt pity, that guy was going to turn you into mulch. All because of a harmless hobby! Some guys just can't understand, they are too repressed, right?"

The boy smiled. "You're right! Finally, someone who understands!"

The animal extended a tiny paw at him. "Albert Chamomile, but you can call me Chamo, Bro!"

"Mineta Minoru!" He shook the paw as best as he could. "What's a cool dude like you doing here?"

"I came to support a friend, but he'll be fine. You look like you could use some help, though."

"Can you… help with a test like the Battle Simulation?" Mineta doubted. "That guy said we couldn't bring animals…"

"As long as you keep me well hidden nobody will notice," the ermine said. "Trust me, I'm a professional trainer of heroes! I can smell danger from a mile away! Just wait until you see what my protégé is able to do!"

Mineta pondered all of that for a moment. What could he lose by trying? He smiled, picked the ermine up, and gently stuffed him down the front of his shirt. "Thanks for the kind offer, Chamo-san! Let's rock their world!"

"—and so, listen me out, this is my idea," the short girl with brown bangs obscuring her eyes was telling Kotaro, as they waited for the go signal. "A Visual Novel where a grand total of seven mages summon Heroes from the past to fight each other for the sake of an omnipotent artifact that grants wishes. I think I'll call it Tainted Moon, noko."

"Uh huh," Kotaro said, clearly uninterested. They'd separated him from Negi and the others for the exercise; so he'd be running on his own. Not on his own, actually, since he'd be running with these weirdos.

(THAT IS A GREAT IDEA, ACTUALLY) read the words on the balloon floating above the neck of the other student who stood with them at the start line. (GIVE ME A CALL IF YOU GET TO DO A MANGA ABOUT IT).

Kotaro rubbed his temples.

(SO, HOW OLD ARE YOU ANYWAY?) 'said' the boy with a word balloon for a head.

"Eh?" Kotaro blinked, looking up at him and reading the text. "Uh, I turn twelve next month…"

"Twelve? That's weird, noko," the girl said. "Why did they let you in so early?"

"Because I'm a prodigy," Kotaro smiled, pulling briefly on the front of his shirt as if he was doing so on the lapels of a fine jacket. "I've been fighting since I walked out my cradle!"

(AND WHAT IS YOUR QUIRK?)

"Wolf," Kotaro grinned, getting the claws of his left hand out, and flexing them in and out. It was the name he and Negi had agreed on for his non-existent Quirk, if anyone asked about it. Negi's was 'Magic', Chisame's was 'Hack', Sakurako's was 'Random' and Chachamaru's was 'Mecha'. Plain names but apparently the best Quirks had those.

(THAT'S COOL. WELL, GOOD LUCK, KID. WE'RE GONNA NEED IT).

"Not me," Kotaro flexed his arms. "Luck is what you need when you don't have the skills to cut it on your own."

The girl sighed. "It's not that I lack skills, noko, but they aren't the best fit for this kind of stuff, noko. It's unfair, I'm still good hero potential, but I'm not that good at running and—"

"Don't worry, Neechan," Kotaro said. "Just stick close to me and I'll help you out."

She smiled, the lower half of her face looking rather cute. He knew she was probably just manipulating him to get him to protect her, but he didn't mind, that was his duty as a gentleman, damn it!

Besides, she kinda reminded him of Nodoka-neechan. Once again, he had to wonder where she was…

Izuku breathed in and out, trembling on his feet at the middle of another startling line.

"Haaaaahh! Haaaahhhh! No Toshinori-san, no Negi-san, nobody to turn on for answers!" he said. "I'm all on my own now...! Uh, no offense, Chachamaru-san."

"Midoriya-san," the gynoid told him. She was the only one who had been assigned to make the test run with him, out of the whole group of friends. Several others wandered around them waiting for the exercise to begin and chattering among themselves. "Could I share a personal story with you? I think it fits this situation."

"Uh? Of course, Chachamaru-san," he said.

"When I first came to this wonderful life of mine," Chachamaru shared sagely, "I only did whatever Chao-san and Hakase-san told me to. Then I was handed over to Master Evangeline, and I only did what she told me to. I even hurt Negi-sensei and Asuna-san back then, something I regret dearly. Then I went back to doing what Chao-san told me for the Festival, and I also had to oppose Negi-sensei even though that wasn't what my heart wanted."

"And now?"

"Now I only do what Negi-sensei and Chisame-san tell me to. But that's not the point. The point is, you should do things on your own, not because Yagi-san or Negi-sensei tell you to. Spread your own wings and fly freely, Midoriya-san. Do things on your own. Enjoy this instead of dreading it."

"But you said-"

"I am a robot, Midoriya-san. My case is different."

Then she touched his forehead. "My sensors tell me you aren't properly hydrated for the exercise. I will go bring you a glass of water. Please don't move an inch, will you?"

"But you just told me that I shouldn't just do what I am t-"

"Just stay here, will you?" Chachamaru insisted, turning around and leaving.

Izuku sulked. At least Katchan hadn't been assigned to that course too. No, wait, that was a bad thing, wasn't it? This way he couldn't show Katchan how much he had improved, and he would keep on badmouthing him whenever they crossed paths again!

A little Negi angel showed up on Izuku's shoulder and began lecturing him on not caring so much about what Katchan thought. A little Katchan devil showed up right after and kicked the Negi away.

Izuku shook his head and, trying to clear his mind, looked at the course ahead. It was built like several blocks of urban landscape. Buildings as tall as real ones littered the ground ahead as far as he could see, and several mannequins labeled 'CIVILIAN' stood along the sidewalks. Izuku looked at the pamphlet of the rules again. As soon as they got going, they had to 'save' as many of those civilians from the enemies. That had to be easy, right? Carrying a dummy to safety was easier than carrying an actual living person. He had grown strong enough to lift huge piles of junk, so carrying several of those frail looking dummies on his shoulders should be a piece of cake.

He kept on looking around, trying to locate any other familiar faces. And then he saw her.

Slow sensuous music began sounding in Midoriya's head. The brown haired girl with the gravity powers stood with her back turned on him, her hands brought together as if she was praying or just concentrating. Izuku smiled, pastel bubbles surrounding him, and he gave a step towards h-

"Hey, you!" a very virile voice snapped behind him.

Izuku looked back over his shoulder. "Yes?"

The bespectacled young man who had spoken during Present Mic's speech huffed at him. He now wore a jumpsuit as pristine white as his formal suit. "I knew I recognized you! You were muttering and distracting others during Present Mic's highly important explanations! And now you're about to go harass that girl, aren't you? For shame! Did you get here only to have fun, or what?"

Several question marks appeared above Izuku's head. "You heard me from that distance...?"

The taller boy folded his mighty arms. "With that kind of attitude, you'll only get in the way and slash or get hurt! You should reconsider and leave before we start!"

Izuku stared blankly at him. What was up with this guy?

He began pacing before Izuku, holding a pointer finger up. "Please don't misinterpret me. I'm not bothering you for no reason, like that blond ape who sat next to you..."

Izuku growled angrily.

"But you should keep in mind that this tactical game is no game!" the other boy continued, unaware of the outburst. "This is a serious matter, probably the most serious of our lives! I simply cannot, in a good conscience, let you get distracted so easily and become a hindrance for the whole test. Easy distractions, as the old saying goes, are a fast way to... to... to...!"

Izuku blinked, seeing the weirdo's powerful jaw slack down, as his glasses fogged up. Then he saw Chachamaru approaching him with a full glass of icy water. "Sorry I took so long, Midoriya-san."

"Oh, thank you very much, Chachamaru-san," Izuku nodded and accepted the glass. He took a long drink and looked back at the still mesmerized boy. "You're still here?"

The tall boy gazed fixedly at Chachamaru, as slow sensuous music and large pastel coloured bubbles surrounded her. A random gale of wind blew, and moved her hair in a way that made her briefly look like a greek goddess being born from the foam of the sea...

Izuku frowned. "It's always sad when men act like this, isn't it?" he asked Chachamaru.

The tall boy appeared to hear that and blinked back to the real of reality, blushing. He clicked his heels together martially. "AHEM! Sorry, it appears I just suffered a mild sunstroke! Good luck in the test, Miss! Miss... Miss..."

She bowed. "Karakuri Chachamaru. Thanks and likewise, Senpai."

He bowed back so fast Izuku feared he'd snapped his back. "Thank you! Iida Tenya! You are... this young man's..."

"She is my cousin," Izuku said calmly, finishing the glass of water.

"Aahhhhh! That does explain the green hair!" Iida said, straightening back. Funny, suddenly he sounded far less stern to Izuku.

He probably was going to say something else, but then Present Mic's voice boomed all across the area.

"HEEEEEEEYYYY YOU GUYS THERE!" They all looked up. The Pro Hero stood on the rooftop of one of the nearest buildings, holding no microphones but shouting just as clearly as if he had been right next to them. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? THE GAME STARTS NOW, GO! REALITY DOESN'T GIVE NO STARTING SHOTS, AND YOUR TEN MINUTES ALREADY BEGAN, PARTNERS!"

Izuku blinked, and then felt everyone else run past him, towards the buildings, and leaving him behind in a blink, Iida and Chachamaru herself included.

After a second of shock, he began running after them.

I-Island.

An artificial island built at the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. A wonder of modern technology, populated by over ten thousand scientists and a comparable amount of security, maintenance and organization staff. By all appearances, a present day paradise isolated from superpowered crime, an example to follow by the rest of the world, and the base of operations for several of the best renowned researchers on Earth.

From her office, one could get a good view of most of the island. She liked working with her vast windows open, so she could enjoy the salty breeze coming from the sea, inspiring her. The beautiful, curvaceous blonde young woman with glasses currently sat at her desk, tapping on her laptop to design a new reinforcement for the electric fences around the perimeters. Father had stressed the need to improve on the security after the... recent incident. And it looked like no improvement ever fully satisfied him, as he'd kept on asking for more since.

Of course, she didn't feel there was such a need for it, since the alleged 'intruder' had proved to be completely harmless so far. But Father liked to have all of his bases covered, and Melissa thought there was no arguing against that. Although it was a bit strange had been adamant on the need of not telling Uncle Might about it. Well, Uncle Might did have a lot on his plate every day, that couldn't be denied.

One of her assistants peeked into the office. "Miss Shield?" the man asked. "She just woke up."

Melissa blinked and stood up immediately.

Quickly, she made her way to the medical wing of the shiny, silver tower. They had kept their 'sleeping beauty' there for several months, and by now Melissa was starting to fear she'd never wake up from her coma. But, much to her confusion, when she was ushered into the room, that girl was apparently fine and even mildly spry, although a bit on the expressionless side.

The petite girl with a wide forehead looked at Melissa from where she sat on her bed, wearing only a hospital gown. "Shield-san, I assume?" she asked. "The doctors said you'd be coming. That you are... the owner of this place."

"That's my father, actually," Melissa Shield smiled, shifting to Japanese, and approaching the bed. The girl looked at her carefully, analyzing her. She had Iinchou's long, light blonde hair, with Murakami's freckles, Haruna's figure, and Makie's aura of true, sincere happiness. She liked her instantly, but she knew the necessity to stand on guard against strangers and not trust her instincts blindly. "I'm Melissa. Glad to see you recovered, just like that... Do you feel okay?"

"As if I'd just woken from a nap," the short girl told her, looking at the IV in her arm. "My legs feel a bit stiff, that's all." There was a pause. "And I really need to pee..."

Melissa laughed. "The doctors tell me you're peeing all the time."

The short girl blushed. "Sorry about that. I've always been that way..."

Melissa Shield resisted the urge to play with her hair. She was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen!

She respected the girl's wish for as much privacy as possible and stood outside while the nurses helped her urinate. Afterwards, she was ushered back in. "Thanks," the girl told her. "How long have I been..."

"We found you crashed at the beach five months ago," Melissa said. "Your legs were damaged very seriously, and you've been unconscious ever since. The fact you're so eloquent and mentally able right after waking up... I won't lie, it almost seems... a miracle. S-Sorry, I don't mean to-"

"Five months..." the sleeping beauty said in a fainted tone, as if the breath had just been knocked out of her. For a moment she stayed very still, and Melissa started worrying.

"Do you... Do you remember everything? About your life, your family and friends, the events that brought you here?" Melissa asked carefully. "It's okay if you have some amnesia, that would be a natural result of your ordeal."

There was another pause of thoughtful stupor from the girl. "Amnesia? No... I don't think so. I believe I remember everything." She looked at her hopefully. "Wasn't there anyone with me? Two other girls, a boy? Or perhaps a-"

Melissa shook her head. "Sorry, but we couldn't find anyone else near you."

She looked at her legs. "Will I ever walk again?"

"We have the best specialists, and while your state was critical, you've already improved greatly, even before waking up. After a couple months of therapy, you should be able to walk on your own. Some of our doctors even have Quirks oriented towards healing."

"Quirks?" the girl echoed as if she didn't understand the word.

Melissa's smile faltered briefly. So she did have some amnesia after all. Better not to prod her about that yet.

"I believe I had a card on me," the girl said. "A very special card, which was extremely important to me. Maybe you saw it...?"

Melissa smiled again. "Somehow, I thought it'd pay off to keep it at hand." She reached for the drawer next to the bed and pulled something out. "You mean this?" she asked, handing it to her.

"Yes... Yes, thank you very much," the sleeping beauty said, accepting it tenderly.

She looked at the card in a very long silence, and Melissa noticed her eyes had started leaking tears, even though her expression remained neutral.

Melissa looked at the card for the first time in two months. It still looked the same, sure enough. Showing the sleeping beauty, wearing the pointy hat of a witch, and holding a broom in a hand, and an open book in the other.

"I'll help you, Ayase Yue," Melissa said, finally daring to put her hand on Yue's head.

Next: Albert and Mineta. The Story of a Bromance.

Mahou Sensei Negima! is the creation and intellectual property of Akamatsu Ken and Kodansha.

Boku no Hero Academia is the creation and intellectual property of Horikoshi Kohei and Shueisha.

Quirky.

Part Six.

A young receptionist, wearing very square glasses with black frames, and sporting shiny black hair pulled back into a bun, stepped out of the office.

"Yagi-san?" she said. "The Principal will see you now."

Toshinori looked at her, mildly surprised. "I hadn't seen you before, I think, Miss…"

She bowed. "Ririko Kasumi, Yagi-san!" she said. She had very fair skin, almost making her look like a porcelain doll, large round brown eyes, and rosy cheeks. "Still new here, I'm replacing Takahashi-san!"

The blond nodded slowly as she ushered him in. She stepped out and closed after herself while the Principal walked out from behind his desk to greet him happily.

"What am I? Am I a mouse, am I a muskrat, am I a bear or meerkat? Principal Nedzu, that's what I am!" the bipedal tiny animal laughed, pulling on the lapels of his fine suit. He had white fur and a long tail. Small ears and an even smaller nose, often twitching and sniffing. "What a surprise, having you call for an audience, Toshinori! Normally you seem reluctant to see me, for some reason."

Yagi pointed meekly at the door." Who is she, Sir? She seems too young for the job."

"Her credentials are peerless. You can say she has a bright future ahead of herself," Nedzu smiled knowingly. "You are in your skinny form! That means you came to milk for sympathies."

"I wouldn't try to be so shameless," Yagi said. "I'm saving the juice just in case, for the rest of the day."

"If you say so," Nedzu said. "What brings you here, then? I thought we already had settled all the terms of your tenure through our representatives."

"It's about… some of the new children, and their… possible relation to a case that is making the rounds in the news, but not the public news…" Toshinori said awkwardly.

Nedzu folded his small paws intertwined. "The petrifying marauder."

"Maybe," Toshinori admitted, fidgeting with his collar and tapping his feet.

"So start explaining yourself already," Nedzu said, his tone still affable and jovial but gaining more edge.

Yagi sighed and explained as best as he could, trying to leave no major details out.

When he was done, Nedzu seemed less aghast than he'd thought. That only made him scarier. "And you waited one full week to tell me…"

"It's worse than that, I kept the part about their origins a secret from you all those months. I have no excuse, other than a foolish overshooting of my concern for them. If you want to punish me for that…"

"What concerns me is the part about the Fate boy, why didn't you trust me on him as soon as you learned about that?" He took a paw to his chest. "Why, Toshinori, I thought we were better friends than that!"

Toshinori's shoulders sagged. He didn't even know what to say. A part of the back of his brain, however, kept on needling him about why Nedzu was so nonchalant about the children themselves. He didn't even seem to mind that much about magic, if he was even believing its existence. Then again, it was Nedzu, he had to suspect something was out of the customs about Young Negi and his friends as soon as All Might asked for their transfer to UA.

"It's not about you, Principal, but you still have to answer to others, and…"

"And do you think that I'd let my children be taken away from me that easily? Oh, they would try, alright, but let them try push that much against old Nedzu as long as I breathe!"

"Thank you, but there's also the fact that none of us suspected he'd be here as well. He appeared to be in control when that Gateport exploded, why would he strand himself in another world? And then he spent months without doing anything…"

Nedzu sighed. "All Might, No Brains!"

"I know it might have been wishful thinking to some degree, but what would be the point of coming here? Trying a takeover? That boy only seems interested on magical affairs, and there's no magic in this world. Other than that girl, there didn't seem to be anyone else with him, not after that Amagasaki woman was arrested. Even if he's that powerful, trying to tackle on the whole hero society on his own… he'd have to be insane!"

"There's never been a shortage of insane people in either side of the business, Yagi," Nedzu mused.

"If anything, and even if the marauder is him, he seems to target villains only. The MO is too different," Toshinori said. "That's not the way one would go if one wanted to recruit other villains as muscle…"

Nedzu shook his head. "You have too much of a heroic mind, your problem is you never learned how to think like them. You are just too worried about those kids, aren't you? I can sympathize. I will still punish you." His right eye glinted with glee. "But I won't let anything befall them if I can help it."

Toshinori thought, trying to be smart this time. What was Nedzu up to? He wasn't afraid the Principal would try going back on his word, but he knew something was off. Trying to outguess a chessmaster like Nedzu gave him a headache.

"Thank you, Sir," he ended up saying, humbly. And then something bothered him again, about her. About the receptionist girl. She felt strange and vaguely familiar even though he'd never met her before. Something about her reminded her of—

He remembered some of Negi's stories about his past. He hummed to himself, and glanced back at the door.

"Pay attention to me when I'm talking to you, Toshinori," Nedzu said.

"Sorry, Sir!" He turned back to him quickly.

"I'll have to start by docking your pay for… uh… let's say the whole length of your academic tenure…"

"I can live with that measure, Principal," All Might said.

"And you might have to give me foot rubbings every once in a while…"

"What?"

"Just thinking things over, to see what sticks to the wall. There'll be time for that later, I suppose!" He shrugged his shoulders with a smile. Then his voice grew serious. "Toshinori. I know that, as the Symbol of Peace, everyone expects for you to be right all the time. But no man can do that."

"I know that."

"You'll have to pass the torch, you remember that too, don't you?"

"It's why I've looked for a successor."

"Good! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll need a description of the suspect," Nedzu said diligently, pulling a toy sized notepad out. "Don't worry, I'll keep my sources a secret!"

Toshinori coughed. "Let's see… Young Negi said he was around his height… very pale… short white hair… golden eyes… slim and taciturn… always wore a dark grey uniform, and moved incredibly fast… Soft mannered but ruthless, not one to boast loudly…"

"I see, I see!" Nedzu said. "Well, consider actual motions put in order already!"

"My most sincere thanks, Sir," Toshinori said. "Please tell whoever is tasked with it not to confront him directly."

"He seems wanting to avoid confrontations so far. Then again, it's always that way when you're hatching a plan," Nedzu sighed. "You may leave now, Toshinori."

He blinked. "Just like that?"

"Unless you had something else you wanted to confess…?"

All Might shook his head and stood up. He'd been let go too easy, he knew it.

The young receptionist was standing outside, by the door. She bowed gracefully at him. "Have a nice day, Sir!"

He gave her a craggy smile. "Thanks, Ririko-kun. You're a nice young lady. Someday I'd like to introduce you to a boy I'm aiding out. You look like the type who would like British proper gentlemen…"

"They strike too close to home, I'm afraid, Sir," she said with an unfazed smile.

He nodded at her and left.

The young woman snickered.

After a week of being put the grinder along the rest of Class 1-A, Jiro Kyoka felt entitled to wake up late that Sunday. It mildly annoyed her, as a matter of fact, to find out Negi and Chisame were still asleep on the lower bunk as she descended from hers.

"You've gotta stop doing that, I'm starting to think badly of you," the girl said while walking out the shower, in a robe and slippers, and with a towel wrapped around her shoulders.

Chisame woke up, blinking heavily. "Uh? Uh? Whassap?"

"What kind of ten year old kid still sleeps with his big sister figure?" Kyoka asked instead of answering, drying her earjacks carefully. Negi was waking up, with a languid yawn. "If the rest of the dormitories ever learns about this you'll be the local laughingstock."

Chisame sat on the edge of the bunk, groaning. "He's got a trauma, okay? His hometown was burned by terrorists when he still was five."

"Sounds like the kind of stuff you should take to a counselor," Jiro advised. At least he hadn't snuck into her bed yet.

Chisame sighed. "I always thought superheroes were supposed to be unbalanced." Negi was about to pull his head back and prepare for a sneeze, so she swiftly reached into the drawer, pulled one of Hatsume's masks out, and secured it on his face.

A muted 'Atchoooo' ensued, and Jiro raised an eyebrow. "Why do you always do that?"

"I'm a germophobe," Chisame said.

"Funny, you don't act obsessed about germs otherwise."

Chisame huffed. This girl was getting less tolerable by the day, even if she never did anything loud, or openly obnoxious.

Negi's phone rang, and Chisame picked it up while he rubbed his sleepy eyes. "Good morning? Hasegawa here. Negi's still half asleep."

She listened. Kyoka, to respect their privacy, stuck her earphones in her own ears, blocking the conversation she'd have heard otherwise. Chisame was nodding slowly while Negi sat up in attention.

"I see," Hasegawa said. "He'll be glad to hear. Yeah. I'll tell the others too. Thank you, Inko-san."

She turned to Negi. "Inko-san wants us to spend the rest of the day with her. Looks like Yagi-san has something to tell us."

Inko put the phone down. "Chisame-chan got the call," she told her houseguest. "She'll be bringing everyone as soon as possible."

Yagi Toshinori nodded, sitting on her couch with a cup of coffee in his hands. "Thank you very much. Sorry for showing up so early, but I'm afraid I'll have a busy agenda for the rest of the day."

"Don't worry, I'm actually moved you keep concerning yourself over the children so much, even after they enrolled." Inko sat before him and poured herself a cup. "We'd better make the coffee disappear before Negi-kun arrives. He really hates it!"

Toshinori laughed softly. "I've noticed."

"It's about those friends of theirs who are lost, isn't it?" Inko grew serious again.

"Yeah, but it's not bad news, we found another one," Yagi said. "It'll be a bit difficult to bring her here, but-"

Someone rang the door.

"Those can't possibly be them yet," Inko looked at it. "It must be Kazuho-chan."

"Who?"

Inko got up and walked to the door. Sure enough, once it was open she was face to face with Haneyama Kazuho, who smiled at her, holding a large bag up. "Good morning, Midoriya-san! Since today's my free day, I thought I'd drop by!"

Inko smiled warmly. She kept on coming frequently even after Chisame and Negi had left for the academy. For a pretty girl her age, she must have been lonely. Or maybe she just loved mooching that much. Or both. They weren't mutually exclusive, although this time she had bothered to bring something to share with them. "Sure thing, Kazuho-chan. Come in, the kids will be coming along in a while... oh," she realized what that meant, even as Kazuho walked in past her.

"Thank you. So Chisame will be here, huh? I wanted to talk with her about doing a photo- Oh." She stopped at the sight of the scrawny man with wild dirty blond hair. "Sorry, I didn't know you had visits already...?"

He waved at her. "Good morning. I'm Yagi Toshinori from the All Might Agency. I'm Young Midoriya's agent."

"Oh... Right," Kazuho said faintly, setting the bag on the table. Even after all this time, facing people directly related to pro heroes up close and personal still made her nervous. "My name's Haneyama Kazuho..."

"Oh?" Yagi said. "Ohhh... I thought that face looked familiar. From a description I heard once. And that name..."

"Wh-What about my name?" Kazuho said while Inko looked back and forth between them.

Yagi pointed a finger at her. "Captain Celebrity told us about you once! You are a friend of Young Haimawari, aren't you? Skycrawler!"

Kazuho blinked gradually. "Ah, ha, ha... Yeah... Koichi. We... We are friends."

Yagi smiled. "He also told me you became a pop idol! I'm afraid I don't know much about that, I'm an out of touch old man, but..."

"Yeah, well... That didn't quite pan out," she said quietly, sitting on the chair Inko had pulled for her. "That's why I moved here from Naruhata."

Yagi paused uncomfortably. "Ah... I see. Sorry about that. You're very young, you always can-"

She waved a hand. "It's okay. I have a business of my own here. It's a living!"

"That's where she met Chisame-chan," Inko said, trying to break the ice. "Chisame-chan always goes to her shop, and it turns out they have common hobbies, don't you, dear?"

Haneyama nodded, her head low, but didn't say anything.

Despite himself, Yagi smiled again. "That's good to hear. Young Hasegawa really needs friends. She isn't as sociable as Young Shiina, but..." He trailed off, unsure of how to continue the sentence. He realized he knew virtually nothing about how to socialize in a personal level with young women, other than handing them autographs and giving speeches.

"Chisame's a good girl," Kazuho mused. "She reminds me of myself, when I was her age..." There she let the idea hang for a long moment before adding, almost fondly, "But better. I, I hope she learns from my mistakes, you know?"

Oh, now here there was something he could do. Even though Yagi never could cheer others up like All Might could. "Don't say that, you're sounding as if you were my age. Everyone makes plenty of mistakes when we're young! It's part of learning. Keep on advancing with your chin high and everything will improve!"

She nodded, although she didn't look very convinced. It was then that he noticed her left eye. He frowned to himself, wondering.

"I'll go cook some more snacks for you while Chisame-chan comes home, dear," Inko moved for the kitchen, trusting Yagi-san on how he would handle the talk with the children before Kazuho-chan, or if he would find a way around it without being rude to her. Frankly, she couldn't think of one herself.

Yagi sighed inwardly, being left alone like that. He couldn't blame Inko-san, though. He looked at the girl who refused to look at him for a moment, and then he asked uneasily, "Um, so, what kind of shop do you run? I might pay it a visit some other day I'm in the neighborhood, depending on what are you selling..."

It was a real lifesaving relief for him when Young Midoriya and the others arrived at last.

"Good morning, Midoriya-san," Negi said politely while walking in. "We came all soon as we could. I see Yagi-san is here already, and- Oh." He came to a halt. "Good morning, Haneyama-san."

"Chisame!" Kazuho waved happily at Hasegawa. "I was gonna ask you how you'd feel about a joint photo shoot!"

"Hey, Bro!" Chamo also waved, popping up on top of Kazuho's head. Kazuho grew two pulsing veins.

Yagi looked quizzically at Negi, in a discreet way.

"Animal with Quirk," Negi whispered out a corner of his mouth.

Toshinori nodded.

"Mom!" Izuku hugged his mother.

"Izukun!" she hugged him back.

They rocked back in forth on each other's arms, cooing sweetly, and Kotaro looked at them with a vague smile. Sakurako blinked at him, realized he probably never had a mother, and put her hand on his shoulder.

Chisame sighed and walked to Kazuho, both sharing a fist bump. "Nice to see you again, Senpai. Believe me, after this week, this is a fresh breath of normalcy."

Yagi cleared his throat. "Young Negi, Young Hasegawa, before we can discuss the matters that brought me here, could I talk in private with you two, please?"

Kazuho blinked. "Huh?"

"Academic garbage, Senpai, don't worry. You'd find it boring," Chisame said, moving along to follow Toshinori and Negi into another room.

Izuku and Inko were still hugging and rubbing cheeks lovingly. The woman played with her son's hair.

Once they were alone, Negi asked Yoshinori, "What is it, Sir?"

The man inhaled. "You know who that girl is, right?"

Chisame nodded. "A former vigilante known as Pop Step, yeah." There was no point on hiding that stuff from him, he probably had files on her already. "You aren't going to arrest her or anything, are you?" she added defensively.

"Why would I do that? I only wanted to make sure you knew. How much does she know about you?"

"She knows that we have several missing friends, we gave her descriptions in case she ever meets any of them," Negi said. "She also knows we have powers, but she thinks it's because of Quirks, Sir."

Toshinori nodded to himself. "Sorry you have to live in a web of lies. Recent events... have forced me to rethink how necessary some lies, and some untold truths, are. It must be difficult on your making friends."

"One grows used to it while living as a mage," Negi said humbly.

"Perhaps our worlds aren't that different. Even if we don't have secret identities anymore. Well, I do have one, but..." He shook his head. "Never mind. I think you can trust Pop Step, she's old friends with the sidekick of a colleague in America. If you think you can share something else with her... I won't stop you, but think it carefully, anyway. We're going to be talking about one of your friends, whom I received info about."

Negi's eyes shone.

"How open do you think I should be around her?" Yagi asked. "Or should we find an excuse to shoo her away without tipping our hand?"

The children stared at him, thinking about it.

After a moment, Chisame said, "If you really think it's fine... Do as you deem best. You should know better."

"I should, shouldn't I." Toshinori patted his legs and looked at the next room. "Well, we will have to handle it as we go along!"

They walked out again. Izuku was still answering to his mother's anxious questions- Yes, he had been assigned the same class as that adorable girl, no, Katchan hadn't been too aggressive with him- and Kotaro and Sakurako seemed to be discussing something. "Sorry we took so long," Toshinori apologized. He sat down, and so did everyone else. Kazuho put her fists on her knees and opened her eyes a lot. Toshinori put a letter that was very similar to the one with the All Might hologram on the table. "Also sorry we have to go through with this so quick, but I'm afraid I'm on a tight schedule. This was sent to All Might by Enlightenment, a Pro Hero who operates in India."

A video of Asuna fighting a muscleblound man with five arms in an arena sprang from the letter, making Negi gasp.

"Asuna!"

"I knew Sis would be alright! Just look at her!" Chamo laughed. "She fights even better than ever!"

Too good, actually, Chisame thought. Kagurazaka was moving in a way unlike anything she'd seen through the Mahorafest. It was difficult to describe, especially for a non fighter like her. But it was an apparent different style, much less enthusiastic, more... ruthless? From the way Inugami was narrowing his eyes, Hasegawa knew he was thinking the same thing.

"She's been working as pit fighter, moving through Asia, during months now," Toshinori said, moving a finger so the footage was swiftly replaced by a map of Southern Asia, with several coloured dots moving Eastwards, and currently at India. "The first reports we heard placed her in the Middle East, but we couldn't get any footage back then, so I didn't want to tell you until I was sure. She has slowly but steadily been making her way towards the East, under the Twilight Princess stage name. She's currently undefeated, and always stops herself from hurting her opponents too much."

The video was shown again, and Negi frowned, worried. "Her eyes," he said, gesturing at Toshinori to provide a closeup. The man tapped his fingers on the letter, and there was a tight zoom on Asuna's face. "What happened to her eyes?"

"What about them?" Kazuho dared to ask.

"That's not Kagurazaka's expression," Chisame said.

Sakurako nodded. "Asuna-chan, no matter what, was always full of energy, so full of life. There she is- even colder than Mana-chan. It's... scary!"

"Creepy, isn't it?" Kotaro frowned. "Maybe losing us soured her, that's all! She should go back to normal after we see her," he tried reassuring himself. "Hey, Negi..."

Negi already was up, grabbing his jacket and putting it back on. "I'm going there for her!"

"I don't think you should," Toshinori said.

"Why not?! I owe her that much! Why haven't you brought her here!?" Negi protested. "If you won't do it, I'll do it myself!"

"Enlightenment tried to make her come with us," Toshinori said. "He mentioned your name and everything. She... She attacked him, knocked him unconscious, and left. Sorry, Young Negi. For some reason... it looks like she does not want to be found."

Negi blinked slowly. "What..."

"But on the other hand," Toshinori showed them the map again, "She is still moving towards you, towards Japan. Maybe her mind is in a confused state, and she doesn't remember you, but she remembers Japan. Even so, it looks like she won't trust anyone. Enlightenment's powers should have put her in contact with her inner self, so she would remember everything, but..."

"She'll remember everything as soon as she sees me!" Negi was stomping for the door.

"And how will you make her see you?" Yagi said. "The way she moves, she could be anywhere in India by now. Or she could have just crossed a border. You might as well be looking for a needle in a haystack. Let our agents handle it. If anyone can find her through that path she's set for herself, that's them."

"But-!" Negi said. "I've failed her so much already...!" His eyes began watering. "She's always been there for me...!"

"What kind of friends you have, that they are scattered all over the world like that?" Kazuho asked curiously. "Exactly what happened to you guys?"

They all looked at her in silence.

"Am I missing out on something?" Kazuho asked.

Chisame drew a breath. "We come from another world."

The first week had been spent in the painful anguish of being literally torn apart.

When Aisaka Sayo dropped from the sky, the doll body Asakura-san, Evangeline-san and Negi-sensei had buillt for her had been destroyed in landing. Her spirit had flowed out of it, and she truly knew why she had been forced to inhabit it.

Out of Mahora Academy's grounds, her ghostly form was ripped into near nothingness. She wailed only to find out she had no mouth to speak of anymore, not even an astral mouth. She felt herself lapse in and out of consciousness and was jolted back by intense pitchs of soul pain.

Eventually, somehow, she stabilized. She ignored why. Sensei or Evangeline-san would know, if she ever saw them again. She pulled herself back, slowly. That took her another full month.

After taking a familiar invisible form she felt comfy with- even though she still ached all over, but the pain was now dull, and it was bearable- Sayo hovered across the wilderness she now inhabited, for a lack of a better word. She drifted in the wild, alone, lost and miserable. She had been abandoned in some kind of desert, although eventually she found the first signs of life in a pack of those ugly dog-like animals that appeared in movies, like The Lion King... how were they called? Ah, yes, hyenas.

Sayo was naive, but she was not stupid, and she figured out she was in... Africa? That was strange and she had no idea why she was in Africa now, but she kept her wits and followed the hyenas, making them slightly nervous even though they could not feel her. They led her to a long, lonely speedway, and the ghost followed her first sign of human civilization for over a full day, until she saw a tiny village in the distance.

She hovered across the locals, realizing she didn't know their language, and none of them seemed to know Japanese either. She doubted she was on Earth, actually, since some of those locals had animal traits, or they could fly, or throw their toenails like projectiles. So she couldn't even do poltergeist things to draw their attention, they'd only get scared and try to exorcise her. Eventually, a medical team visited the village, and they did know English, from what she could gather of their conversations, but she hadn't paid enough attention in Negi-sensei's English classes, something she regretted then.

Even so, when the doctors drove back to their city, Sayo stuck with them, hoping for the best. The city was huge, full of lights during the nights, and it had even more superpowered people, but it didn't seem to be Mundus Magicus either, at least it didn't look like the descriptions Negi-sensei had given of it.

After several weeks there, floating aimlessly, Sayo realized she'd never get anywhere that way, and that if she wanted to see Asakura-san and the others again she'd have to take matters in her own hands, even if those hands couldn't hold anything. Sighing and bracing herself, she tried possessing several animals, until she could take over a crane that flew around the outskirts. It took her another week to master the bird, apologizing to it for borrowing its life, but once she had it completely dominated, she could flew Northward with it, faster than she could have flown on her own.

After she thought she had taken the crane far enough, Sayo abandoned it and possessed another bird- she would rather not possess human beings if she could help it- and continued flying for the North. She had been left in the South of Africa, and her path was long and boring. But she had to do it if she wanted to make it to Japan- there had to be a Mahora in this version of the world, and if Asakura and the rest were anywhere in this planet, they should head there as well.

By that point Sayo had already made it to the Philippines, haunting a cargo ship and sitting on the lower decks every night, melancholically looking at the starry skies during nights. Without knowing it, she had passed by Asuna during their respective ways, although they never were close to each other. She had left Asuna long behind by now, perhaps because unlike her, Asuna was in no hurry at all.

Sayo hugged her knees and let the boat take her, slowly, towards Japan. She began singing quietly to herself, and the sailors once more began swearing about the ship being cursed, in need of a priest.

"Ahh. So what you are saying is... it's like an isekai?" Kazuho said. "A truck ran you all over and you ended up here?"

Kotaro made a sound with his tongue. "As if a truck had what it takes to take me down!"

Negi sighed. "It's like an isekai, for the most part... except that we didn't die, it was a mere matter of dimensional displacement!"

Kazuho rested her chin on a fist. Whether she was actually believing them after seeing too much or was just humoring them remained to be seen. "And that happened to you guys because..."

"We were going to travel to another world," Negi said.

"Well, then it obviously worked fine, so congratulations," Kazuho snarked.

"Take this seriously! Why would we bother to give you such a ridiculous story if it weren't true?" Chisame said.

Kazuho waved a hand at the younger girl. "You didn't even need to bother, it's not like any of you owes me anything, I'm just asking."

"We were actually trying to take a trip into another dimension, one that is actually well known by... some of us back at our world," Negi said. "But we were attacked and... the procedure failed and sent us here, scattering our team across the planet!"

"So you were explorers or something? Like challengers of the unknown?" Kazuho hummed.

"I didn't know anything back then, I was just hanging around with them because they were my friends. Friends who kept secrets from me, but friends anyway," Sakurako said.

"It was for your own safety," Kotaro said.

"And we know how well that worked out, don't we?" Shiina shot back.

There was a long shared silence.

"I'll go for more snacks," Inko announced.

"I don't know, can I ask why you were going into another world to begin with?" Kazuho asked.

"We were looking for clues on the whereabouts of my father, a great hero known as the Thousand Master," Negi said reverently.

"He disappeared when Negi was just a baby, but he came back for a moment to save him from his village burning when he was... five, right, Negi?" Kotaro asked.

Negi nodded.

"He saved you and then he went away again? Why?" Kazuho asked.

"That's part of what we are trying to find out," Negi said. "I know it may sound like he just left me on his own will and didn't want to be found..."

Kazuho took a hand to her chest innocently. "The idea never crossed my mind!"

Sakurako rolled her eyes. "Right..."

"At the very least, we know it's unlikely he is in this world," Chisame said. "From what Eva says, if he were here he'd have put on a goofy costume and started punching lava men in the mouth!"

"Who is Eva? Another lost friend of yours?" Kazuho asked. She tried recalling the list of names Chisame had asked her to keep an ear out for. "I don't remember you telling me about any Eva..."

"She is my Master," Chachamaru spoke at last.

Kazuho lifted an eyebrow.

"I am her domestic help," Chachamaru explained. She looked aside. "I hope she is coping well with my absence."

"She has a cabin full of maids, she'll be fine!" Chisame said. "No, she stayed home at Mahora. She's always been a smart devil."

"She also was the romantic stalker of Negi's dad," Kotaro smirked in an insolent fashion.

Negi frowned.

"So your dad was a challenger of the unknown of sorts, and he left you alone, but he returned to save you that time, and then he left again," Haneyama summed up.

"Basically," Negi said. "Do you see now, why didn't we talk about this before?"

"Thanks for saving me the headache until now," Kazuho began rubbing her temples. "Anyway, what Yagi-san is telling you is right, Negi. If you already fell into another world looking for someone, who knows what'll happen if you go on your own to look for this girl, maybe you'll end up falling into the sun."

Negi lowered his head and sulked.

"And in this other dimension, you also happen to speak Japanese..." Kazuho said.

"We come from a parallel Japan, so why wouldn't we?" Chisame asked. "It's not like the world is that different, it's still the same countries, basically, the history has changed a bit, since the Age of Quirks, and-"

Kazuho wagged a finger. "And that is because you don't actually have Quirks, that's actual magic you are using, right?"

Everyone stared blankly at her. Even Inko had popped her head out the kitchen, stunned.

Kazuho smirked. "I'm not that dumb! The first time I saw Negi he was flying on a literal broom, and I knew there was something odd about his Quirk, too general, with too many uses. Then there's Chamo," she looked back at the gulping ermine, "and how animals with Quirks are extremely rare..." She paused, falling into momentary bitterness. "Although they do exist."

She sighed, looked at her fingernails, and added quietly, "And it's not like anyone could travel from one world to another with a Quirk. If that were possible they'd have set a freaking dimensional tourism model business already."

Inko looked at Negi. "Have you been taking my broom out on flights without asking permission?"

"Priorities, please, Mom...!" Izuku groaned.

Several hours had passed since that.

The bar was quiet and almost welcoming.

Outside, the night was cold and the neighborhood was hostile and dangerous, a place where even most Pro Heroes thought twice before setting foot on it. But the bar, set on the top floor of a small, mostly unremarkable building, was well kept and warm. Well lit and far from what one would expect in a lair of villains. There was no denying that the atmosphere was somewhat tense, though.

That silent, simmering tension mostly seemed to drift from the young man sitting on a metal stool at a corner, absently playing a handheld videogame. He was tall and thin, and very pale, with longish shaggy gray hair. Wearing a long sleeved black tee shirt, with matching pants, and cheap white shoes, without socks. There was an indolent, passive air about him, and if not for the hands, he would have looked common, boring.

The hands were all over his upper half, holding him tightly. Severed hands, never letting go. Hands on his arms, on his shoulders, on his chest. His neck.

A single hand rested at the middle of his face, and along his hair, it covered one of his eyes, the other one a dull, half closed orb of redness. He had been silent all night long.

A black skinned giant sat on the floor, at another corner, just as silent. He was apparently male, from the figure of his shirtless chest. But he didn't appear human. His face was elongated and finished in a beak like mouth full of exposed sharp teeth. His eyes were a milky white and never seemed to blink. The top of his head was covered on a membrane that showed off his brain, pink and acuous, and he only wore khaki pants and skull shaped kneepads. His arms, bulging with muscle, were covered on thick scars, red and dry.

A tall man who seemed to be forged from shadows stood behind the counter, polishing a jar and possibly humming gently under his breath. His elegant white jacket suit contrasted starkly with the ever flowing black swirl of darkness that was the rest of him, topped by a head that as shaped like a pillar of shades. A tall white collar appeared to keep that head in place, and two bright yellow eyes were flashing over a mouthless abyss.

Someone knocked on the front door. The man sitting on the floor raised his head.

Slowly, the pale young man lowered his handheld. "Were we expecting anyone tonight?" he asked apathetically.

"No," the man made of shadows said, setting the jar down calmly. "Who is that?" he asked, raising his voice slightly.

"Fate," a voice that was flat and polite at once spoke from the other side of the door.

"A comedian. Fate came for us?" the young man full of hands stood up, leaving the handheld aside. "Show yourself."

A small fist broke through the door. The attached hand felt around, grabbed the handle, and opened, as a short boy, who was even paler than the boy full of hands, stepped inside, wearing a dark gray suit. "My apologies over your door," he said, stopping before them. "I intend to pay for it later."

The titan stood up and growled. "Quiet, Nomu," the boy full of hands told him. "Who the hell are you?" he asked the intruder. "Answer fast. You are to be killed in three minutes."

"Three?" the man made of shadows asked.

"It's a very boring night," the boy full of hands shrugged. "He'll help pass some time."

"Fate Averruncus." The child bowed formally. "You may know me by the name your rumors have given me. The Marauder."

The single visible eye in the other young man's face briefly flickered with something resembling interest. "Ah. Now we're talking. I thought you were some kind of vigilante."

"The locals I have approached so far have been uncooperative," Fate Averruncus said. "I trust you will be more reasonable than them. What I have heard is that you are the leaders of this community."

"In a way," the boy full of hands said. "What do you want?"

Fate Averruncus looked around the place. "What do you want?"

"I asked first, sh*tbag!"

Fate Averruncus made a subtle sound of exasperation. "What are your ambitions? Do you even have any? That is an important question to settle, if you are to be working for me."

The boy full of hands didn't seem to be interested on listening anymore. "Nomu, kill him."

The giant roared, a cry that was nowhere as deafening as one would have expected from his size. It was more like a tense noise that pierced the ears, a sound that was more dully shrill than thundering or booming. He leaped towards the short young man, swinging his massive fists at him.

The stranger jumped over Nomu's fists easily, then landed with both feet on the back of his neck, making him scream the same way as before. Fate ran down his back, swung a kick back, and smashed him against a front wall, shattering it. The other two looked on, taking notice of his speed. He didn't seem to be putting any effort, either. There was no strain on his detached expression.

Nomu pulled himself out with a single motion and turned around. He threw a punch at the boy, who blocked it with a hand. Now that did make the boy full of hands pay attention. The intruder shoved Nomu back, and then ducked under his arms, punching him in the stomach. Nomu growled and doubled back, but did not falter or fall, eyes bulging madly at his foe.

"Not entirely weak," Fate Averruncus estimated faintly, almost sounding like praising.

Nomu charged at him again. Fate Averruncus was faster than him once again, punching him in the jaw and sending him staggering back. It was then that the boy full of hands jumped on his back from behind.

Five fingers and a handpalm were pressed down on the face of Fate Averruncus. The single exposed eye through the scraggy bangs glinted maniacally.

"Game over, sh*tbag."

The boy stood there, still, under him. Nomu straightened up, ready to strike again, but the man made of shadows stopped him a with a calm gesture of his right hand.

The eyebrow over the single exposed eye twitched shakily. "You aren't dying," he said. "Why aren't you dying?"

He pulled himself back from the child, and while there seemed to be a fleeting pang of decay marring those delicate features, it passed soon, the flesh healing back almost as soon as it had decomposed. Fate Averruncus looked back at him. "Interesting Quirk. I can see why it would make you so antisocial. I can teach you to use it on manners other than murdering, if you will let me."

"How... How the hell could you- Are you some kind of robot?"

"I am an artificial human, and I was crafted through magical procedures unknown by your science," Fate Averruncus said. "Very well. Perhaps I overstepped my boundaries, dictated by basic decency, as I imposed myself upon you. Working... with me," he amended. "I believe that, if we work together, it might be a mutually beneficial enterprise, even if a brief one. Hopefully."

"It might be wortwhile, listening to him, Shigaraki," the man made of shadows said, stepping out from behind the counter and folding his arms behind his back.

Tomura Shigaraki bristled. "f*ck this," he sat, but sat back and frowned at Fate Averruncus "Start explaining yourself, Astroboy."

It was a beautiful Monday morning, and Negi Springfield was teaching English classes.

Present Mic sat at the desk, checking his social media. Through the prior week, he had noticed Negi was much better with English than he was, and so he had appointed him his assistant teacher. His function had esentially become that of imposing peace whenever the students got unruly on Negi, which, much to Mic's surprise, had been less frequent than he'd expected. Even Bakugo mostly acted bored and apathetic through the child's lessons, saving most of his outbursts for their time spent outside.

Chisame sulked, looking at her Neo Horizon book, the same one Negi was using to teach the lesson. Why does it have to be the same damn book? I hate this freaking book, the girl mulled. All the things that changed from one world to the other, and the book is still the same?!

Mina was struggling hard to stay awake. Setsuna copied studiously. So did Iida, and from the likes of it, so did Ochako, actually. Izuku occassionally struggled with one word or another, but mostly he seemed to be doing fine.

"Bakugo-san, could you please read the next few lines?" Negi smiled at the irascible blond, who stood up and read aloud in a flawless English.

"The shepherds remained on the fields all night long. They waited and waited, even though the wind was strong, and the weather was so cold. They remained streadfast on their faith."

"Very good, Bakugo-san. You may sit now!" Negi nodded.

"Bite me..." Bakugo muttered to himself. but it almost sounded like a contractual obligation, like he couldn't spend more than two lines without bile. It wasn't the same sort of vitriol he would give Midoriya.

Just like Midoriya had told her, Chisame reflected, that ass actually was good at studies. For all he seemed to lack any interest on classes, he still did well whenever he was tested. Chisame lacked a proper frame of reference for that kind of person, as Chao for all of her faults was invariably civil and cheerful through all of those lessons given by people who knew far less than her. For the first time in months, Chisame found herself wondering what would Lingshen be doing then.

Between classes, they headed to the cafeteria, a vast section attended by Lunch Rush, a tall and think masked man in a combination of power armor and a white chef's suit.

"It's not Yotsuba's food," Chisame said, digging in, "but it's not bad either!"

They were eating with Kotaro and Sakurako, who had brought one of the 1-B's girls with them. Chisame was a bit unnerved by the way the invisible girl's food was visible for a while after being chewed and swallowed, eventually vanishing after falling into her stomach, so she chose not to look too much her way, unless she really had to.

Kyoka was with them as well. "Yotsuba?"

"She is the cook at the Chao Bao Zi, the best restaurant in our alma mater!" Negi said proudly.

"What was the name of your school again?" Toru asked.

"Mahora," Chachamaru said before Chisame could stop her from doing so.

"Never heard of it," Jiro said. "Where in Japan is it?"

"In the South. It's not a very big or famous school," Chisame said to avoid further questions on the subject.

Kotaro helped by moving the conversation another way. "So they put you through the wringer that way, huh! Sounds fun. Vlad-sensei is much more tolerant, I guess!"

Toru giggled. "Let's just hope Monoma-san doesn't catch us 'eating with the enemy'!"

"He'd have a stroke!" Kotaro laughed.

"We'll be court-martialed," Shiina gestured in an ominous way, her voice booming mockingly. "Only Kendo-san will be able to save us!"

The three laughed together, then bumped glasses.

Izuku just looked too giddy to take much of a part in that conversation. After all, the next course once the lunch hour was over would be-

"DON'T FEAR! WHY!? BECAUSE I'M HERE!" the Symbol of Peace appeared on 1-A's doorstep, light shining from the hallway lamps behind him. "ALL MIGHT-SENSEI!"

The whole class, except for the still respectfully silent Chachamaru and Chisame, gushed. Even Bakugo sat with his eyes very open, which probably was as close as gushing as he could ever do.

"He brought the Silver Age uniform!" Aoyama said as the Pro Hero entered the classroom. "His best one...!"

Bakugo snapped back to form, turning on him. "What are you saying, idiot, everyone knows the Dark Age uniform's the best!"

"Sorry for not making a proper entrance through a window or skylight, but... there are no skylights here!" All Might laughed, pointing at the ceiling. Most of the class laughed, and albeit Chisame found the joke incredibly lame she still found herself chuckling a bit. "Alright, let's get serious, it's great to be with you today! As you know, I'll be teaching Basic Action Training!"

He grabbed a piece of chalk and dramatically wrote on the chalkboard, the word BATTLE in English.

"Sorry if it sounds a bit hasty, but the first class with practical! A Heroes versus Villains mock scenario!"

Bakugo grinned like a deranged shark, his eyes shining.

Chisame groaned to herself. Here we go again. It was a nice class we had. For one week!

"And for that," All Might said, "you'll be wearing your uniforms for the first time!"

"You mean-!" Kirishima said.

"Indeed, Young Kirishima! The uniforms you will be wearing, based on the specifications you gave, and developed through the week by our Support Department, are ready! They are bringing them here as we speak!"

"HE KNOWS MY NAME!" Kirishima almost fainted.

At the mention of the Support Department, Negi perked up. A fleeting image of a smiling face topped by pink hair appeared in his mind, winking an eye at him.

Chisame, Chachamaru and Setsuna all looked quietly at him. For a moment he didn't understand why, until Chisame reached over to angrily dispell the thought balloon over his head with a hand. He blushed.

Mineta blinked at him. "Kid, she's cute. Who is she?" he asked Negi.

"Please don't do that in classes, young students!" All Might stern yet benevolently wagged a finger at them. "We are not teaching a class of Deadpools here!"

"Why do I have to be wearing this?!" Mineta protested, gesturing down at himself. "It's not what I wanted!"

Jiro looked at him. "What's so wrong about it?"

"What's so wrong!? I look like I'm wearing a diaper!" He pointed at his shorts. "And baking gloves!" He held his hands up.

"Aw, you look like a cute big baby!" Ochako cooed, patting his head.

He looked at her body, clad in tight pink and black spandex. He blushed and smiled goofily, but with that perverted glint in his eyes. "Really?"

Jiro frowned. "Uraraka, no. You're enabling him."

"He doesn't look like a big baby. He looks like a tiny baby! More than usual, that is!" Bakugo grinned ferally.

"Grrrr!" Mineta hissed at him, making Bakugo laugh. "If Uraraka-san likes it, who are you to argue?!" He pouted. "Although you got the kind of gloves I wanted. Why didn't I get cool looking gloves like yours?"

"Young Mineta, not to put any blame on you, but the Support Department had a difficult time working with the designs you gave them." All Might held up a piece of paper, showing a very badly doodled Mineta with 'awesome sex god' written over its grinning features. "They are a bit... vague."

"I'm a genius at other areas but not drawing!" Mineta said. "What about him!?" He pointed at Bakugo. "Let's see his drawing then!"

"If that's what you want," All Might held a sheet of paper where a perfectly drawn Bakugo, wearing the exact same costume he had donned now, was visible to all.

"Damn, Bakugo really drew that?" Mina asked.

Iida adjusted his glasses to look at it. "I didn't think a soul that crass would have any affinity for the finesse of arts!"

"Suck my foot, Accountant! I'm full of layers!" Bakugo barked.

Dammit, other than not being a cretin, is there something this guy can't do? Chisame wondered.

Mineta folded his arms and fumed. "The shorts were supposed to hold a lot of items for support... And the overall look was supposed to meet the majesty of my codename!"

"Which is?" Aoyama asked.

Mineta gave a thumbs up. "Grape Juice!"

"That name is even more stupid than your costume!" Chisame said.

Bakugo snorted. "How about you, Deku Girl? That getup of yours isn't any better!"

"Don't call me that, I'm not his sidekick!" Chisame said. "What's wrong with it?" she asked, looking at herself. She had designed that costume, all pink with a red breast area and a heart shaped design across a side of her chest, herself. The face was mostly covered by a mask that showed her chin and mouth in a heart shaped hole. The suit was one piece, with a pink belt and red boots and gloves at the end of her long pants and sleeves. "It's Mahou Shoujo meets Functional Modern Superheroine! You wouldn't understand, you look like you fell in a bunch of other costumes and crawled out with all of them on you!"

"It could have been worse, I guess..." Jiro said. "What about your codename? Did you already think of one?"

Chisame smiled. "As a matter of fact, I did!" she said smugly. "You may call me... Love Guardian!"

They all looked at her blankly, even All Might.

"What?" Chisame frowned.

"It's a name... a little bit too girly for someone with your personality, Chisame-chan," Mina said.

Chisame's head grew a pulsing set of veins. At least I don't look like I'm about to go sell my body at a street corner... she thought, looking up and down at Ashido.

"I like it!" Aoyama nodded his approval. "A tres chic name for an enthusiastic young lady!"

"Gee, thanks..." Chisame said reluctantly. "Yours would be..."

Aoyama posed in his shiny suit of armor, with red shades. "Can't Stop Twinkling!"

"That one makes Mineta's sound good!" Chisame said, and Jiro nodded.

"Oh, yes?" Aoyama frowned. "Well, Kyoka shouldn't criticize," he stared at her, "she looks like she's just going to a party! She has absolutely no sense of adventure about her!"

"It's functional and allows me to blend in with crowds in a case of need," Kyoka stood casually, with her hands in her pockets. "You just look like you lost your way to the Renaissance Fair."

Iida sighed. "Bakugo-san? Did you already choose a hero name of your own? How should we call you through the exercise?"

"Just Bakugo, Accountant. I haven't found a name good enough for me yet. You can't rush genius!"

Ochako snapped her fingers. "Powderkeg of Violence!"

"Are you mocking me!?"

"Captain Outburst," Chisame said.

"Why, you...!"

"Sweaty Explodo-Hands, kero!" Asui said in her green and white suit.

"I won't be taking that from someone calling herself 'Froppy'!"

"Turbine of Hatred," Iida said flatly, thus proving he was not that above all.

"You know, that one is not all that bad," Bakugo said.

"Mister Foamy Mouth Mc Rage," Chachamaru said softly.

"STOP MOCKING MY TEMPER! I HAVE A PERFECTLY NORMAL TEMPER!"

"The Edge!" Kaminari held his hands up victoriously.

"Ooohhh, I like that one," Jiro gave him a thumbs up.

Bakugo seethed, eyes flashing and gloves sizzling.

Mina laughed. "And you, Chachamaru-chan?"

Chachamaru lowered her head and put her hands on her lap. She wore a long skirted French maid uniform with a white apron, as if she was still serving Evangeline in her cabin in the woods. "I am called Metal Maid, if that is okay with all of you. The codename and my choice of dress are intended to represent my duties as a public servant."

"Ah, the lovely, classic meido look." Kaminari kissed his fingers. "Full of poise and charming without being vulgar!"

Mineta nodded. "The skirt could use some shortening though."

"That goes without saying," Kaminari said.

Iida and Kirishima glared at them. "Keep that up and you'll receive some shortening yourselves," the latter said, as he seemed to be somewhat big-brotherly protective of Chachamaru, while Iida was Iida when it came to Chachamaru.

All Might laughed. "Ah, the exhuberance of youth! Such good friends!"

It was then that Negi stepped out the dressers, adjusting his white top hat. "Sorry I took so long..." he said.

He was wearing all white, actually. A white suit with a white shirt underneath, and white shoes and a white domino mask. The only non white things on him were Hatsume's transparent mask and a black rose on his lapel.

"And then," Chisame said, "are you Bizarro Tuxedo Kamen, or-"

"My chosen name is..." Negi smiled with the innocent petulance of a child, "the Black Rose Baron!"

Bakugo, Chisame, Jiro, Kaminari and Kirishima pointed at him. "NO CAPES!"

After a moment, Mina also pointed, and shouted "NO CAPES!"

Negi blinked. "But-!"

"What if a villain grabs you by the cape and starts walloping you!" Chisame said.

"But All Might wears a cape..." Negi sheepishly pointed at the Pro Hero.

"All Might can get away with that because he's All Might, little dumbass!" Bakugo said. "Do you wanna get yourself killed!?"

Aoyama blinked. "Uh, Mineta and I wear capes and nobody said anything..."

"Nobody gives a crap if we're killed," Mineta said with indifferent clarity.

"That's not true! At least five of us would be sad if anything were to happen to you, Mineta-kun, Aoyama-kun!" Ochako said.

"Now, now," All Might intervened. "The cape is easily detachable in the event it is snagged or caught. Don't doubt the Support Department! Young Hatsume said she put special thought in the elaboration of Young Negi's costume!"

Negi's eyes shone. "She did...?"

Chisame frowned. "What's with you and that girl, anyway?"

"What do you mean, Chisame?" Negi said innocently.

Chisame folded her arms. "It's just that for some reason now you start spacing out when she's mentioned. You shouldn't be thinking of that kind of stuff yet, what would your father say?"

"That stuff? Which stuff?" the boy asked Chisame. "I have no idea what are you... Oh," he said, as he and most of the boys stared at Tokage as she walked out the female dressers, tossing her hair over her shoulders and adjusting her curves-hugging spandex.

"Ah, almost everyone are finished already, sorry, I got distracted in my thoughts," Setsuna said, then grinned and winked, hands on her wide hips. "So can we start now, or is there anyone else still unfinished?"

"Deku's still trembling in there," Bakugo pointed apathetically at the dressers, one of the few boys unaffected. "And now that I think about it, the Princess hasn't come out yet either?"

"But I am here," Ochako said.

"That's such a stupid reply I'm not going to bother with a comment," Bakugo said.

"Well, my dad always says I'm his princess, and-"

"STILL NOT GOING TO COMMENT, YOU WON'T BAIT ME, GRAVITY HEAD!"

Yaoyorozu Momo finally stepped out, eyes downcast and firmly squeezing one of her arms.

Literally everyone stared at her this time, although All Might immediately moved his eyes away and thought of baseball. Jiro discreetly pressed a hand on her nose.

"It... It isn't too scandalous, is it?" Yaoyorozu asked. "I need to expose a reasonable amount of skin so my Quirk can be used to its fullest."

Kirishima was the first to lose interest. "Pfffft, it's fine!" He waved a hand at her. "It's not like I can talk!"

Mineta gave a long sigh. "Don't be discouraged in the face of oppressive outdated normatives trying to stifle the free expression of your comformity with your physique..." he lectured stiffly, panting, while staring at her with eyes that refused to blink. They already were so reddened that he was starting to look like Aizawa.

Chisame looked down at him. "Good thing that diaper is so thick...!"

The doors of the male dressers were pushed open from the inside, and Chisame, Kirishima, Bakugo, Tsuyu, All Might, Chachamaru, Iida, Koda and Shoji all turned their eyes that way. The rest of them were still looking at Yaoyorozu in silence.

"Y-You are all starting to make me uncomfortable..."

Midoriya Izuku stepped out heroically, bathed by a suitably epic sunlight.

"You are a rabbit," Bakugo said. A side of his face twitched. "Why are you a f*cking rabbit!?"

"Hey, don't discard the idea so fast," Kirishima said. "Mirko is badass! Midoriya only needs some work..." He looked at him again. "Okay, a lot of work..."

"He's a green rabbit, Mirko isn't a sh*tty green rabbit!" Bakugo said. "We'll be laughed at if we ever go out with this guy!"

Izuku blinked and felt the two tall appendages on the top of his mask. "Oh... Do they look like rabbit ears to you, Katchan? Now that you mention it..." He paused, pulling down on one of them to look closely at it. "No, they don't!"

"HAVE YOU GONE BRAINDEAD OR WHAT!?"

Chisame looked quietly at All Might. The man chuckled nervously and ran a hand down the two tall gold ahoge on top of head.

Chisame sighed. Hero worship has done so much damage to this society...

Ochako had finally stopped looking at Momo and blinked at Izuku. "W-Well, Midoriya-kun... How should I put this... The overall costume works? Maybe if you were to lose the headpiece..."

Tsuyu noded eagerly. "Excellent choice of colors, kero!" she said, clearly impressed.

Iida nodded. "That is a fair assesment."

Izuku blinked. "You think so?" He pulled his mask down. "Well, the mask was my favorite part, but-"

"If you want to keep it, please do so!" Ochako replied quickly. "It's your costume after all!"

"No," Chisame reached and stopped his hand as he was about to pull it back up. "It stays that way."

Ochako frowned. "But, Chisame-chan-"

Chisame pointed at Bakugo. "Look, this guy will never stop calling me Deku Girl, last thing I need is him calling me Pink Rabbit Girl now! Especially as I'm wearing no rabbit costume whatsoever!"

Those words snapped Negi back. He smiled fondly. "Oh, that makes me nostalgic! Remember that time, Chisame, when I took you to that party the class was having and you were wearing-"

"SHUT UPPPPP, I DON'T KNOW WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!"

Bakugo snorted and looked aside. "Don't worry. I have other, more colorful names for you I'm pondering like right now...!"

All Might laughed and clapped powerfully. "Ah ha ha, that's been fun, but we don't have all day long, young heroes! Stay in line!"

They all quickly did so.

All Might jarred his fists on his hips. "Step with energy and follow me! I'll take you to the special course for this day! Are you ready, younglings? You'd better be! The real game starts now... PLUS ULTRA!"

Next: Konoka.

Mahou Sensei Negima! is the creation and intellectual property of Akamatsu Ken and Kodansha.

Boku no Hero Academia is the creation and intellectual property of Horikoshi Kohei and Shueisha.

Quirky.

Part Seven.

They had been brought before a large building in the practice fields of the campus. All Might set a large cardoard box in front of them.

"There is a nuclear bomb inside of that building!" the Pro Hero said.

"Dammit, Hatsume-san," Chisame said.

"A false one!" All Might said.

"Are you sure?" Chisame asked. "If Hatsume-san worked on this..."

All Might thought about it. "Excuse me a moment, please." He walked into the building and came back out several minutes after. "It's a fake!" He gave them a thumbs up and a grin.

"Yaaaaayy!" they all said.

All Might nodded. "For the purposes of this exercise, you will be divided in two teams of eleven members each! Team Villains and Team Heroes!"

They all raised their arms. "I want to be a Hero! Me! Me!"

He laughed. "That's the spirit! Alas, not all of you can be heroes today. The villains will get a half hour headstart, heading into the building and preparing a defense. As soon as the half hour is over, a timer will start, and the heroes will have to take the building by assault, to defuse the bomb before it explodes."

Mineta raised a hand. "Wait a second, are you saying the villains have to stay in until the bomb goes off or they are routed?"

"Yes, that's the idea!"

"What kind of villains would willingly stay next to an atom bomb until it explodes?" Mina asked.

"Those who are wiling to be killed by their cause, and those who can survive a nuclear explosion, point blank. There's plenty of both types out there," All Might said seriously. "If the villains protect the bomb until the time is over, or they defeat all heroes, they win the exercise."

"That sounds like the villains have the game favoring them, kero," Tsuyu said.

"When approaching a villain situation, always assume they have the edge. If they don't, fine, you'll just have an easier time than expected. If they do, at least you will be prepared," the powerhouse lectured them. "This is going to help you settle into that mindset!"

"And we will decide who's on which team, by..." Todoroki said.

"By pulling papers from this box, of course!" the veteran said. "Inside, there are eleven 'Hero' pieces of paper, and eleven 'Villain' ones, too. Leaving it to chance is the most fair way of assigning roles!"

"Since Shiina's not here, that's true, alright," Chisame said.

All Might patted the box. "Whoever wants to come first..."

Mina stepped ahead, pushed her arm in, and fished one of the notes out. She showed it to All Might. "Villain," she said.

All Might nodded. "I see, go stand by the door, then."

As she did so, Bakugo shoved his arm in the box. He pulled out a... "Villain?! Freaking seriously!?"

"Well, it fits you, kero," Tsuyu said.

"Aren't you always saying you are a perfect hero already?" Aoyama chuckled, arms folded petulantly. "It's not like you need more practice at heroism then!"

Bakugo seethed. "Shaddap, Navel Boy!"

Tsuyu hopped over. "Hero, kero kero."

"Great, stand that other way then, Young Asui."

Mineta. "Villain..."

"I like these papers, they look like they judge people just fine," Chisame said. She bit her tongue. "Dammit, I should be more genre savvy than that!"

She took her turn, and sure enough... "Villain..."

"It's just like you said, they are great judges of character!" Tokage laughed, striding ahead. She pulled her own paper out, smirking. "See? Hero!"

Kaminari. "Hero."

Kirishima. "Villain!"

"Why the hell do you look so happy about that..." Bakugo grumbled.

"It's just a game, it sounds like a fun change of pace! Don't take it so personally!" laughed the redhead.

Koda. "Hero..."

"Aw, not even a piece of paper could picture Koda-kun as a villain!" Mina said.

Negi. "Hero..." he sighed with relief.

Iida. "Villain." He looked at the paper. "I'm not going to enjoy this, but since it is necessary for someone to play the part..."

Chachamaru. "Villain..."

Iida's glasses fogged up.

Kirishima smirked at him. "You still aren't gonna enjoy it, are you?"

"I have no idea what are you talking about..." Iida said uneasily.

Sato. "Hero!"

Ojiro. "Villain..."

Todoroki. "It would seem I have drawn a villain number as well."

Geez, most of the really strong ones are villains, Izuku thought, going to the bat. On one hand, I don't want to fight Chachamaru, Todoroki and Katchan, but on the other... I don't really want to work under Katchan either...

"Hero," he said with some relief. At least Negi would have his back. And it was a matter of principles, dammit! He had to play Hero!

All Might smiled and nodded while, behind his back, Bakugo made a throat slicing motion at Izuku. The greenette flinched.

Jiro. "Hero..."

Yaoyorozu. She looked at the inviting box briefly, sank a hand into it, and pulled her role out. "Hero."

Jiro looked at her for a moment, dazedly, and smiled to herself.

Mineta had started muttering. Tokoyami was next. "The gods of fortune have smiled upon the dark adventurer, for mine is the role of the hero," the bird headed young man said. "Dark Shadow and I shall intrude into the lair of evil and vanquish it, proving that darkness and evil are not necesarily synonymous, for alas-"

"Next, please," All Might sighed gently.

Mezo. "Villain," he said neutrally.

Aoyama smiled and twirled his cape. "Rejoice, fellow heroes! For I shall guide you into victory!"

Izuku's face darkenned. That meant that Uraraka-san-

Ochako was taking her own place, however, and pulled out- "Vuh-Villain!?"

"Well, duh, what else were you expecting?" Chisame said.

Izuku had gone to stand away from the other, facing a wall in teen anguish. Tsuyu patted his back sympathetically.

"Can I try again, Sensei, pleeze...?" Ochako made Bambi eyes at All Might.

The hero sweatdropped. "I'm afraid there aren't any other numbers left."

Ochako looked sadly at Izuku, then at Bakugo, who gave her a toothy devious grin. She yelped and turned to Setsuna. "Can we trade?"

"Sorry, but I don't want to be in the same team as certain people," Tokage said.

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing for some reason!" Chisame said.

"Now, now, like Young Kirishima said, it's only a game!" All Might clapped. Leaves flew all across the area, and the kids had to shield their eyes from the sudden wind. "The villain team is to head inside, plan a strategy for their defense, appoint a team captain, and prepare themselves for the attack. The heroes will stay there and plan their own strategies until we give them the sign to enter the premises!"

He handed each team a pamphlet. "These are the schematics of the building, but the villains also have the location of the bomb marked for them. The heroes will have to find it themselves. I shall monitor you from the impartial distance of a monitoring room equiped with cameras from each floor!"

Ochako had gone to stand miserably with the other villains. "Hey, cheer up!" Mina told her. "Being on opposite sides of the law hasn't ever been a definite obstacle for a relationship! Just ask Batman and Catwoman!"

"I, I don't know what are you trying to say, Mina-chan..."

"Aw, you and Iida-kun are birds of a feather! No wonder you both are villains!" Mina laughed.

"Guarding a fortress of evil for a tyrannical, ill tempered overlord..." Chachamaru mused while Bakugo rubbed his hands. "This is starting to make me feel nostalgia..."

"Eh?" Mina said.

"Please pay no attention to my eccentricities," the gynoid requested.

Team Hero gathered at a distance from the building after All Might left. They sat in a circle on the ground.

"First thing we need to do," Setsuna said, stopping the joking tone, "is naming a field commander and letting them establish a strategy."

Aoyama raised a hand. "I nominate myself!"

"Geez, at least try being a bit less shameless!" Kaminari said. "I vote Setsuna, I guess."

"I vote Midoriya, kero," Tsuyu said.

"I vote Negi," Midoriya said.

"That's a good choice. I vote Negi-kun as well," Setsuna nodded.

"Me? Oh no, I'm much younger than the lot of you, and—" Negi said.

"You can teach classes well and you already know more than we do. You also do great at the field!" Setsuna told him, with none of her previous teasing, all business.

Negi flinched. "I'm honored, but… you are remarkable, Tokage-san, I'd rather defer to you…"

"It's not a matter of personal choice, if you are the best person for the role, then you should take it," Jiro said. "I vote you as well."

Momo nodded. "I, I would put my vote on you too."

"What they said," Sato smiled.

"I can feel the fine makings of a legendary Dark Hero in you," Tsukuyomi put a hand on his shoulder. "It almost feels like you had already studied under a dark master of yore!"

Negi gulped. "What gave you that idea…"

Koda delicately poked a finger on Negi's chest.

Negi sighed. "If that's fine with all of you… Now, since we don't know where the bomb is, we need to cover all angles, both from above and below. We also will have to shoot blindly guessing which villains will be staying at each part of the building, but—"

"Katchan will be waiting near the entrance," Izuku said.

All of them looked at him.

"I know Katchan, and I know how he thinks," Izuku said. "I'd even dare saying he'll establish himself as the leader of his team, and dictate their strategies."

"As if anyone's going to be following his lead willingly," Aoyama said.

"They are on a tight schedule and Katchan won't stop pestering them until he's allowed what he wants," Izuku insisted. "Katchan—" There he realized, from their looks, that if he wanted to be taken seriously he had to man up. "Bakugo-san will basically whine and foam off the mouth until he's given the top spot because he pathologically feels he has to be the Alpha Male of every group he is a part of. Even if he can't overpower them physically, he will still yell and yell for them to obey him until they either agree or knock him unconscious, and we aren't hearing heavy fighting from the inside. Negi, I hate telling you this, but Chachamaru, who could dominate him easily, doesn't have enough initiative to do it without you telling her to do so, and Chisame doesn't have the power to impose herself."

"But Todoroki-san…" Momo began.

"Todoroki-san," allowed Izuku, "seems both competent and mighty enough, he is Endeavour's son after all, but—"

"Wait, what," Aoyama said. "The son of whom!?"

Izuku glared blandly at him. "How much have you studied about heroes? Todoroki Enji is Endeavour's real name, and Todoroki entered the academy on a recommendation. One only has to extrapolate, even if they have polar opposite Quirks."

Aoyama gulped. "We're going up against Endeavour's son!?"

"Bakugo-san wouldn't care if he had to impose himself over All Might's son," Izuku exposed calmly. "And Todoroki-san doesn't seem interested on leading anything. Why, he barely speaks! If you asked my opinion, he would be convinced he can succeed no matter the strategy, or who is supposed to be leading him. This is only an educated guess from my limited contact with him, of course. Perhaps any of you have grown to know him better?"

They all shook their heads, except Aoyama, who was too busy biting on his fingernails.

"Kirishima is, if you'll excuse my wording, in Bakugo-san's pocket," Izuku continued. "Ashido-san won't be able to impose herself even if she doesn't like him, Iida-san will no doubt push back but relent as soon as he sees they are running out of time with no results, and Uraraka-san…" He sighed very deeply. "She is Uraraka-san…"

Tsuyu clapped softly. "A capacity to see the loved one's flaws for what they are, without being blinded by their feelings, is the mark of a good leader, kero."

Izuku blushed and gave her a subdued stern glare. "This isn't the time for jokes, Asui-san."

"Call me Tsuyu, kero."

"Now, if my guess is correct, Bakugo-san will want to cover all angles too," Izuku went on. "He's the straightforward type who wants to be at the middle of the action to satisfy his ego. By the main entrance, but not too close, he can attack those who come from above and from behind, from his left and his right, but mainly, those who will charge through the front. He is a good strategist, but mostly as soon as he is forced into it. If not, he'll default to an impulsive, aggressive linear approach. His macho hero instincts make him feel he has to be at the forefront or he won't be comfortable."

Everyone was paying attention to him now.

"Now, if you were to ask me, I'd ask Negi to lead the attack from above, as he can fly and take others with himself while doing so. You can use something like a broom for the scenario, can't you, Negi?"

Negi smiled, reached for a nearby fence, and ripped a long steel pole from it.

Izuku nodded. "Good. You might do well on taking Tsukuyomi and Yaoyorozu-san with you, as they are well suited to aid you in such a charge with their Quirks…"

"Creati," Yaoyorozu raised a hand. "Please call me Creati while on the line of duty."

Izuku smiled. "Sorry, Creati-san. Now, Bakugo-san is probably thinking the same, and he'll put Chachamaru on the rooftop since she also can fly. She's the best element he has… Repelling attacks from above, I mean. But you can deal with her. Can't you, Negi?"

"I have experience fighting her. I'd like to think I have grown much more powerful since our last serious fight, Izuku."

"That, and she can't shoot her guns while carrying others, and she will refuse to go all out on you," Izuku said. "I'd like to volunteer myself for the frontal charge against Bakugo-san, as he'll focus on me as soon as he sees me, freeing the rest of you to-."

Aoyama raised his hand. "I'd like to change my vote for Midoriya."

Negi smiled. "I would do likewise!"

"So would I," Momo said.

Koda nodded and placed his hand on the blinking boy's green messy scalp.

Izuku blinked. "M-Me? But I was only offering—"

"You've known that guy since childhood, Chisame is your cousin, you've known Chachamaru for months too, and you've known the others just as long as we have, so you have the best knowledge of the enemies out of all of us!" Setsuna said. "If someone knows how to exploit their weaknesses, that's you!"

"That's what I was telling you, kero," Tsuyu nodded happily.

Sato gave him a thumbs up. "You can do it!"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Jiro said with a small smile.

Izuku blinked, and looked at all of them, who were nodding slowly at him.

He bit on his lower lip and suppressed his urges to cry. This was the first time in his life a group of peers trusted him… not only that, they looked up to him…

He ran a fist across his nose and went back to a no-nonsense tone. "If that's the way we're gonna do it, thank you all! Now, Bakugo-san doesn't like Chisame, Iida and Uraraka-san at all, so he'll put them right next to the bomb."

"Why?" Sato asked.

"Because his ego tells him no way any of us will get close to the bomb. He'll want to make them sit there twiddling their fingers while he basks on the glory." He was growing very intense, and Tsuyu leaned closer, her eyes shining. "They are the bomb's last line of defense, and we have to be prepared to counter anti-gravity and super speed as soon as we are there. He'll keep Kirishima by his side as he'll do what he says no matter what, and—"

They said nothing and kept on listening.

Konoe Konoka had been slapped a few times through her first days in that world.

Not in the tower, of course. All across her stay in the tower, nobody had laid a hand on her. But when she first landed in that small village in a war ravaged Eastern Europe, unable to get past the language barrier, a few of the local women had slapped her, perhaps on whims, perhaps fearing she'd seduce her men. If only they knew, if only they knew of Setchan.

Then they had brought several wounded soldiers, and Konoka had healed them. From that day on, nobody had hit her again. For several weeks, she was the golden child of the village, pampered by the mayor and his wife, but just when she was learning the local language, several armed men arrived, took the mayor aside, and returned with him less than one hour later. Then they gently escorted Konoka to an airplane landed on the outskirts and flown her away.

In the plane, Konoka had been made to sit before a beautiful blue skinned woman with black scleare, elegantly dressed in a way that reminded Konoka of Touko-sensei. She was far from being the strangest looking person Konoka had seen in that world.

"They told me that your name is Konoka," the woman said amiably, in flawless Japanese. "Please call me Curious. We are taking you to Japan."

Japan. The word had brought hope to Konoka. But then she had been taken to the tower, and she had been locked in her apartment.

It wasn't that they had treated her badly. Other than freedom, whatever she asked from them, she received it. If she asked for manga, they brought her shoujo so new, the ink felt still fresh on the pages. She had been given the best pastries she had ever tasted, and the finest clothes she had ever worn. Mostly, she had asked for books, and now her rooms were full of them, on every subject she had wanted. She had devoured tomes and tomes on the history of this world, although she suspected the selections brought to her were heavily biased in political terms.

Even back at Kyoto, Konoka hadn't ever been surrounded by that much luxury. But that only made wondering about Setchan and the others all that much more painful. The bracelet tightly placed on her left wrist was a constant and silent reminder of her condition as a prisoner. She knew it was supposed to be used to track her if, somehow, she ever escaped.

Every so often, Curious would bring her wounded men and women, bearing injuries that no hospital could heal, and Konoka healed them. She thought that everyone, no matter what, always deserved being healed, and they, and Curious, would act invariably thankful afterwards. Two months ago, she had been given a Blu Ray and her choice of movies. She loved romantic comedies the best, even if they made her cry, because they made her think of Setchan.

Then Curious brought that man.

He was very tall, with an angular and elongated face. He had the longest and sharpest nose Konoka had ever seen, and his appearance was nearly comical, with a vague, casual smile that made him look so harmless, so goofy. He wore a black suit with vertical white stripes, and as soon as Curious ushered him in, closing the door after them, he bowed deeply to Konoka. "

"Konoe Ojou-sama," he said. "Sorry I couldn't meet you before. My name is Yotsubashi Rikiya."

Konoka looked over his shoulder, noticing the slight nervousness on Curious' face as she stood behind him, and she bowed back. "It's a honor," she said, "to finally meet my jailer."

Curious' face tensed up, as Konoka had expected it to.

The man straightened back and let out a short easygoing laugh. Curious relaxed only slightly. "Oh, a bold child, Curious wasn't lying! My apologies over the forced arrangements. They have been for your own safety. We located you mere hours before the government of Merkovia did. They intended to execute you over war crimes, you know. Imagine! Using your gifts to heal others. A war crime!"

"And quite a waste, since healing Quirks are so rare," Konoka mused aloud, looking at her shelf of medical books.

"That would be, of course, if you weren't a Quirkless," the man said, half closing his eyes at her.

Konoka winced despite herself. Perhaps, during her conversations with Curious, she had revealed too much in her attempts to negotiate information about the others from her. But the part about her being Quirkless, surely she couldn't be blamed on it. Right after being brought to the tower, some doctors had taken small samples of her skin, and several samples of her blood, and no doubt, from them they had learned that, unlike everyone else in the tower, she had no 'Quirk'.

Yotsubashi Rikiya looked at the sole book on the table. "So you have read the manifesto," he told Konoka.

"I have tried to assimilate it several times," Konoka said.

"What do you think about it?" he asked her.

"It is rather... naive."

Curious almost choked in her saliva, backing away. Re Destro had killed for less than that, when it came to questioning the project. You could get away with insulting his appearance, his public image, his speech patterns, his choice of clothing, but never the dream. Never the dream.

Much to Curious' surprise, he only laughed at the insolent child. "The most trascendental forces of history have been 'naive'," he told Konoka. "When the son of a carpenter preached ideals that were unreachable to sinful man, in a desert lost amidst the Middle East, he forged a faith that destroyed empires and crowned emperors. When a cowardly Austrian ranted hateful vitriol, baseless propaganda, to a hopeless Germany, he shook the world. I am no Jesus and I am no Hitler, naturally. History will judge me, like it does to everybody. I only mean to tell you, Ojou-sama, that the naivete of an ideology has never been an obstacle for its success."

Konoka smiled. "I guess! I think of myself as a Communist at heart, and yet I have to admit Communism is as naive as they come."

"Communism!" Yotsubashi sounded amused.

"Yeah. Hypocritical of me, right? I mean, if Curious-san has told you what I've told her..."

"Not at all, several notorious Communists came from privileged lineages," the man said.

"My beloved," Konoka said, "is very much unprivileged when it comes to material wealth."

"Ah, the matters of the heart," the man sympathized.

"Iinchou, our Iinchou, she is very Capitalist, she has this outdated view on social progress and-" Konoka realized she had started to get too much into the spirit of it. "Never mind. I shouldn't criticize her behind her back."

"I suppose that's for the best," he said. "Now... from our texts, you probably have reached the same conclusion as many. That we are classist. That we discriminate the Quirkless, and those with weaker Quirks."

"It is a possible interpretation of some of the texts," Konoka allowed.

The man sighed. "We aim for a world where everyone are free to use their gifts as they please. A world where no child has to be stifled anymore, from living their life to its fullest. And that, of course, might pose a slight problem, in that some are born with gifts that are... let us say more practical than others."

"And some are born with none," Konoka said.

"Indeed!" He pointed a finger at her. "I ask you, now, aren't they being discriminated already?"

Konoka remembered that girl from the village, the one they had assigned to her as her servant. She bit on her lower lip. "Of course they are."

"It is hypocritical of that society, then, accusing us of that when they not only do that already, but extend said oppression to everyone else as well," he moved his hand around. "This gilded cage I have had to put you in, Ojou-sama? In its own way, it is not that different from ours."

Konoka narrowed her eyes at him, at his fine clothes and his rich perfume.

He paced around. "With each generation, the number of Quirkless decreases. I'm building for the future. Soon enough, no Quirkless will exist, for them to be discriminated to. That's not our doing! It's nature's! But if we do nothing, this society, these regimes, will keep on oppressing the gifted, the children of tomorrow..."

Konoka lowered her head.

Yotsubashi stopped and looked at her. "Don't think of yourself as a Quirkless. You have something that more than makes you for your lack of a Quirk. In a way, you are as gifted as any of us, if not moreso. You, too, are a child of the future."

Konoka faked a smile. "Flatterer."

He laughed again and looked at Curious. "Isn't she adorable?" Nervously, Curious laughed back. He looked at Konoka again. "Ojou-sama. Do you really want to help the Quirkless? You hold the key."

"Me?"

"You and your friends," he answered. "Magic. What a wonderfully whimsical word, one I never placed any faith on. And yet, your presence here changes all of that, you alter, single handledy, the rules of the game. You and your friends. Magic. Who knows? Maybe, in your world, it took the evolutionary place of Quirks in this one. We have so much to learn from each other."

Konoka looked at him very cautiously.

He stared out her window, placidly. "Look at that world beyond our haven. What do you think the rightful governments of this world would do to you, if they knew about you? They'd dissect you, then file you away, Ojou-sama. You would change the status quo that keeps them on their places. We? We are different. We want change. And you can be a part of that change."

"Mmmmm."

"Imagine a world where everyone can have power of their own, whether born from Quirks or acquired through magic," he mused aloud. "The ultimate expression of our philosophy, our forefathers' dream of liberty through empowerment. Everyone in your world can use magic, right?"

"Almost everyone..." Konoka said, thinking of Takahata-sensei. "If they are trained into it..."

"A world where magic is taught on every school, an ultimate equalizer," the man smiled, his smile not so innocent or goofy now. "The Liberation taken to its most glorious logical consequences. You can make it happen, Ojou-sama. If you would help us."

"Once, I met a girl who had a dream like that..." Konoka said vacantly.

"Oh, tell us."

Konoka smiled sadly. "I always wondered if she wasn't right. We had to trump her, because her success would have hurt Negi-kun, but-"

"Ah, yes, Negi-kun," the man said. Konoka tensed.

He put a few photos on her table. Konoka all but lunged towards them.

"Do you recognize any of them?" he asked, very gently.

She held the pictures up. "Negi-kun... Chacha-chan... Saku-chan! Kotaro-kun... Chisame..." They all were wearing blue sports uniforms, with white U and A letters on them. "How, how did you get these!?"

Re Destro smiled benevolently. "We have eyes everywhere."

"Is... Isn't there any other girl with them!?" She ruffled through the pictures, madly. "Slim and pale, with black hair!?"

"Sorry. We haven't found anyone else matching your conversations with Curious," he said, shrugging vaguely.

"Are they okay!?"

"For now. Alas, they have been carried directly into the jaws of the beast. They stand among the false heroes of this world."

As she hugged the pictures, he added, "By the way, we also heard of that white haired boy who attacked you."

Konoka froze.

Yotsubashi sneered. "The so called League of Villains, a group of lowlifes and rabble, hooligans all, are looking through the Japanese underworld for more integrants for some ridiculous stunt or another. That's how we learned about him. They call him Fate, don't they?"

Konoka trembled violently, taking a hand to her mouth.

Yotsubashi looked at her. "Sorry for disturbing you. I'll return tomorrow, if you don't mind, so we can continue this conversation when you feel more at ease."

Konoka said nothing.

He bowed again. "Thanks for saving the lives of so many of our finest men and women. The cause is already indebted to you, Ojou-sama."

And they exited. Clicking the door closed after them.

Konoka fell to her knees. What am I supposed to do...?

Iida Tenya finished arranging objects brought from through the building on the floor around the bomb.

He stood up, put on his mask, and dusted his hands off. "Ammo for you, Uraraka-san. If anyone makes it here, you'll have plenty to hit them with."

Ochako gulped. "T-Thank you, Iida-san..."

"We're dead meat as soon as Negi makes it here," Chisame predicted, sitting at a corner and staring at her fingernails.

"Such faith on him!" Iida said. "But Karakuri-san is the perfect counter to him."

Chisame sighed. "Karakuri likes him too much. You don't know her like I do."

Iida stood still for a few moments. Then he said, "I still trust her to put her duty over personal interests."

Chisame shrugged. "Think whatever you want."

"C-Come on, guys!" Ochako tried to defuse the tension. "We don't have to quarrel among ourselves just because we are a team of villains!"

"You are correct, Uraraka-san!" Iida said. "There are better ways to get in character!"

Ochako blinked. "Getting in character?"

"Naturally!" Iida said. "If we have to be villains, we cannot half-do it! Let's put all our heart into it!"

"You are too much of a white hat to make a convincing villain," Chisame told him.

"That's a good start!" the undeterred boy pointed at her. "Being heartless and blunt with your words, excellent way to act like a villainess!"

"This is my natural way of acting!" the offended Chisame said.

Iida folded his arms behind his back. "Psychological warfare is important too! Negi-san is only a child and he'll be thrown off balance if he sees us acting evilly!"

Ochako pointed down. "You're about to step on that ant."

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Iida pulled his foot quickly. Then he stared at the giggling Ochako. "No, I can do this! Just listen to my evil laughter... Ohh, ho ho ho!"

"You sound like a little rich girl with a sore throat," Chisame sneered. She stood up. "This is how you do it!" She threw her head back, put a hand on her mouth, and then channeled her best cosplay as Biblion Black. "Ohhh, ho ho ho!"

Iida and Ochako stared at her, impressed.

Chisame frowned. "What?"

"You are our evil leader," Iida told her.

"Like heck I am!"

Then Iida's phone beeped. He looked at it." All Might-sensei," he told the girls. "The exercise has started." He walked to the bomb, a large device with the words 'Dr. Strangelove' painted on it. He pressed a few buttons on it and a countdown began. "The timer starts its run!" he announced, bombastically. "Soon our evil plans will reach fruition! Ohhh, ho ho ho!"

Chisame sighed, but then joined him, regardless. "Ohhh, ho ho ho!"

Ochako looked back and forth between them, cringed at their chuuniness, and ran a hand down her face.

Then she pointed at Iida's feet. "You're about to step on another very cute ant!"

Iida pulled his foot up. "Aaaaahhh! Again!?"

Meanwhile, Todoroki and Chachamaru stood on the rooftop.

"..." he had been saying.

"..." she had been saying.

Neither of them bothered to actually look at the other. They only waited.

Such good friends, those two.

Then Chachamaru's eyes faintly glowed in green. "Negi-sensei," she said. She pulled a stun rifle out of her right arm and looked up.

Todoroki squinted and followed her gaze with his. He saw them, first as a sparkle in the sky, and then more clearly.

Negi Springfield was riding a long steel pole, with Tsukuyomi sitting right behind him. All around the bird-headed boy, Dark Shadow was deployed, extending itself widely, and blotting the sun.

Chachamaru rocketed up to meet them, taking aim.

At the same time, Izuku, Sato and Tsuyu approached the front doors. "Sitting duck time, kero," the girl slammed her knuckles together.

Midoriya breathed deeply. "Sato, if you would please."

The Sugarman grinned, ripped a nearby bench off the ground, and tossed it through the door.

It spun across the lobby's floor and only came to a halt when it crashed against a wall.

Izuku squinted and waited a few moments. Nothing happened. He gestured with a hand. "Behind me," he said, and ran in.

Jiro stood by a side of the building, applying one of her earjacks on the wall and listening carefully through it. She moved along slowly, and Kaminari moved along with her, standing shortly behind her with his hands in his pockets.

Jiro finally stopped by a closed window. "This is the best entry point. Nobody anywhere near," she said, and tried to force the window open. She winced and pulled her hand back, shaking it off. "Geez! Electric shock! Chisame must have worked on the security, she's good with electronics..."

Kaminari put a finger on the frame of the window, casually shot a bit of lightning through it, and shortcircuited it. He pulled the window open, smiled, and blew on his finger.

"Good job." Jiro nodded. She went in through the window. "Don't stray away."

"Aye aye, Boss," Kaminari said, entering after her.

Down in the basem*nt, Chisame made a call. "Tailman, Mineta, one of the windows in the West side has been shut off, I'll send you the coordinates." She reviewed the images from the cameras she was receiving through her artifact. "It's just Jiro and Kaminari, you should suffice."

On the rooftop, Todoroki squinted as he saw Chachamaru propelling herself up. The way Dark Shadow was projected all around Tokoyami, while the sunlight bathed them directly- that made little sense, from what he had observed, Dark Shadow didn't work all that efficiently when exposed to the sun. He had expected them to use it for an attack on the lower sections.

Chachamaru began blasting at Negi with her stun bullets, but he kept on dodging her, his ride moving from one side to another quickly. "Please don't make this any more difficult than it has to be, Sensei," she told him. "I can catch you easily if you fall, but I'd rather not having to-"

"Likewise, Chachamaru," the child clenched his teeth and used a hand to point his wand to her. "Iovis Tempestas Fulguriens!"

Todoroki frowned to himself. That had to be the strangest Quirk he had ever seen. Versatile- far too versatile as a matter of fact- it looked like Springfield constantly unveiled new uses for it. If he wanted to be tops of the class, perhaps him, and not Karakuri, would be the actual obstacle on his way.

Tokoyami stared in awe as Karakuri dodged the impressive display of lightning. "You have the most amazing power these eyes have ever beh-"

"Tsukuyomi-san, please!" Negi said. "Focus! You too!" he told someone else, and Todoroki frowned. He pointed at Chachamaru again and used another "Iovis Tempestas Fulguriens!"

Then something rippled in the surface of Dark Shadow. Todoroki's eyew widened. There was an opening, small and narrow, the being's mass shifting to allow the pass of something, and that something was flying through it, flung by something... or someone... who had been hidden behind Dark Shadow.

"Ah...!" the young man understood, just as a steel bar zoomed down and hit Chachamaru in the face, as the spell had forced her to move right into the trajectory of the projectile. Briefly stunned by the unexpected hit, probably more confused than actually hurt, she didn't move fast enough to avoid the throw of another metal bar, colliding right against her forehead.

That put her in the right place for Negi to aim again at her. With a knot in his stomach, he forced himself to say, "Sagitta Magica Series Lucis!"

Chachamaru was hit point blank by the barrage of light arrows, and she dropped on the rooftop, crashlanding not far from Todoroki. He looked down at her, knowing that she was too strong to be hurt, and thus this would not disqualify the child. He frowned calm but coldly, as above him, the three people and the symbiotic being on the pole descended quickly towards them. Yes, three, as Yaoyorozu threw back the large blanket she had been using to shield Dark Shadow from the sun, but only enough to reveal herself, along with the Shadow shifting enough to show the girl sitting behind the boys.

They landed on the rooftop, and Yaoyorozu pulled a rifle out of herself, putting it against Chachamaru's head. "B-Bang, you are... neutralized," the heiress said, while breathing deeply.

"Oh, woe is me..." the gynoid closed her eyes and bowed her head docilly.

Todoroki assumed a fighting stance. "So. Who comes first?"

Dark Shadow made a loud, inhuman sound, lunging towards him. Even though he wasn't blocked from the sun anymore, he wouldn't be depowered instantly. Tsukuyomi trusted his faithul life companion would defeat his classmate easily enough.

Todoroki moved his hand ahead, and allowed the power out.

Izuku, Tsuyu and Sato advanced through the quiet hallways of the building.

"Too quiet," Midoriya whispered. "I don't like it."

"Too cliche, Midoriya, kero," Asui replied.

Izuku frowned. "This isn't like Katchan. I expected him to have jumped on us by now. He lacks self control."

"If he's with Kirishima, maybe he's holding him back," Sato said. "He wouldn't think an ambush is manly."

They came to the turn of a corner. Izuku raised a hand, and his allies stopped behind him.

"What is it?" Sato asked.

Izuku breathed slowly. "Katchan," he called out. "Do you think we're still children?"

"Eh?" Tsuyu said.

Izuku raised his voice. "The cat and mouse game only works when the mouse's afraid of the cat, Katchan!"

There was a loud whoosh of air, and Bakugo Katsuki leaped out the corner, a fist first, and swinging down on Izuku.

Midoriya and his partners leaped out the way, in opposite directions, and dodged the explosion as Bakugo's fist hit the floor.

Izuku squinted as his tormentor stood straight, his gauntlet still sizzling.

Bakugo grinned almost demonically. "Deku... Why to pretend? Trying to save face before your friends? They're gonna see you crying like a baby, just like always!"

Izuku breathed in and out, readying his fists. "Okay. If you say so."

Kirishima walked out from behind the same corner, shaking his head. "I knew this was a stupid way to-"

"Shut up and handle those two," Bakugo hissed. "Deku's mine."

Kirishima whistled. "Could've been phrased worse, I guess! Like 'Deku's ass is mine', or-"

"Just shut up and do as you're told!"

"Yeah, yeah, Boss." The other boy grinned at Sato and Tsuyu and assumed a combat stance. "Sorry I don't have anything witty to say. Maybe after we're done, huh?"

Sato grinned back. "Hey, I'm not one for one liners either. Don't sweat it," he said, and lunged at him.

Bakugo threw a punch at Izuku. Izuku blocked it with his forearm, trying to remember Negi's instructions to the letter. He held his ground and endured the force of the push against him, then swung his knee upwards, trying to hit Katsuki in the chest. Bakugo hopped back and smirked, shaking his head.

The blond screamed and swung at him again. Izuku barely ducked under his fist, then grabbed Bakugo's arm right above the gauntlet. He gathered his breath, pushed upwards, and managed to lift Bakugo off his feet, tossing him against a wall.

Bakugo blinked, slid to the floor landing on his head, and flipped back to his feet. "Piece of sh*t...!"

Izuku kept his calm. "Temper, Katchan. Temper."

He was trembling inside. He was once again the child in the playground, facing his bully. But he wouldn't show it, dammit. No matter how much Katchan tried to push his buttons, he wouldn't give him that pleasure.

"Do you think you're so chill now, Deku!?" Bakugo howled, punching fiercely, Izuku barely rolling out of the way enough; he still was grazed on a cheek, and he was sure it'd sting like crazy in a short while. Izuku sent two fast jabs on Bakugo, missing the first one, but hitting on a shoulder with the next. Not good; Bakugo's costume had metal shoulderpads there, and they absorbed most of the impact. Izuku pulled his arm back, measuring him up. "You still can't punch me without hurting yourself, pansy!"

The greenette flexed his fingers in and off to show him. "Temper, Katchan. Temper," he repeated. This one, he'd learned it from Kotaro, and how he could get rises from Negi. If it worked on a fine little English gentleman, it'd work on Katchan...

"DON'T MOCK ME, MOTHERf*ckER!" Bakugo activated his Quirk and sent another punch.

Okay. Maybe it had worked a little too well.

The fist sizzled through the air as Izuku jumped over it, the gauntlet barely missing his privates. He sent his feet downwards, planting them on the exposed parts of Bakugo's shoulders, where the arms started them. He pressed down, trying not to cripple, trying it so hard. Not that his efforts were appreciated.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU, LUCKY BASTARD...!"

Izukui said nothing as he pressed him down, pinning him on the floor, and then moved back from him to avoid his retaliation. Not enough, as he was punched in the jaw, but while he reeled and briefly saw stars, it didn't truly stun him. It didn't hurt as much as it used to. Bakugo had paused for half a second to savor that moment; Izuku used said moment to hold him by his wrist, twirl him around before he could yank himself free, and throw him towards Kirishima.

"BOMBS AWAY!" he said. Tsuyu leapt out of the way, Sato staggered back from the redhead, and the living projectile hit its intended (not by the projectile himself) target, sending them crashing against a wall.

Bakugo sprang back to his feet immediately. "DEKUUUUUUUUU!"

Izuku sighed, rotating his fists in place. "Temper, Katchan, temper..." he repeated the mantra.

Bakugo threw himself on him again.

The back door dropped inwardly while a slight sizzle of smoke came from Aoyamas' midsection.

"Move in, fast!" Setsuna said, rushing in with Aoyama and Koda in tow. She wished there had been a stealthier way of getting access, but they had tried every way in and Hasegawa, no doubt this was her doing, had tricked all of them forcing them to make a violent entrance before they ran out of time. Now they had made themselves easy targets, and the only thing Tokage could do was trying to gain as much ground in as they could before they were intercepted.

"Anima should have taken the roof," Aoyama was saying. "At least there, he could control birds..."

"Birds aren't going to cut it against Chachamaru and Todoroki," Setsuna said, eyes ahead. "Be quiet and don't waste breath."

"You are fully believing Midoriya's guesses, aren't you?" Aoyama asked. "What if he's wrong, then the whole plan falls apart..."

"Well, share yours then," Setsuna snapped. She only heard his breathing behind her now. "Thought so."

Before long, Mina and Shouji were standing on their way. Ashido flipped them a perky grin and a two fingered salute. "Heya! We're the welcome committee!"

Tokage waited a few seconds as her boys went into a halt behind her. When no reinforcements for the villains showed up, she smiled back. "Alien Queen. Looks like we have you outnumbered."

"Do you?" Mina said. "We know I'm bad at Math, but I think eight arms are more than six. Mezo-kun? Let's dance!"

Shouji charged ahead.

Meanwhile, up on the rooftop, Todoroki had encased the whole lower half of Dark Shadow and then some else on ice, pining him effectively. Now that Momo couldn't provide shade for him anymore, Dark Shadow was too weakened to break free, and Tsukuyomi had been deprived of his best option. While Tokoyami still gasped in shock at the sudden disabling of his best friend, Todoroki jumped over the ice he had just created and kicked him in the face, knocking him out.

He hadn't even landed when Yaoyorozu was on him, pulling two long polearms off herself and swatting them on him. He dodged the first blow easily, but Momo made a feint with the second one and hit him in the face as hard as she could. Todoroki only winced.

"I have been hit much harder..." he told her calmly, grabbing the polearm and freezing it instantly, forcing her to let go before the ice would creep up on her. Todoroki, without missing a beat, showing no real emotion, kicked her in the stomach and sent her back, pulling the other polearm from her, freezing it, and shattering it on his fist. He threw the ice shards on her face, further disorienting her, and then Springfield was all out on him,or perhaps he was still holding back, unleashing a barrage of rapid blows on him.

Now that did hurt. A lot. Todoroki flinched and put on some distance between them, slamming a hand on the floor and creating a wall of ice between them. Immediately, he heard the child's punches on the ice, which started creaking, and so he repeated the procedure, making an even taller and thicker ice wall this time. He also pushed it towards Negi. "I don't want to hurt you, but..."

He heard the child being pushed back by the advancing ice, the glaciar shoving him from Todoroki, and for a moment he thought that he'd either surrender or try a way around it. Instead, he listened to a gentle, " Chachamaru, can I, please?"

"In my current state I can offer no resistance, Sensei."

"Thank you."

Todoroki lifted an eyebrow, and then he was sent flying back as Chachamaru was swung on his ice, shattering it all, with Negi grabbing her by the ankles. The child gently put her down and smiled. "Sorry."

"Think nothing of it," she said, her hair now full of ice. Standing not too far from them, Yaoyorozu blinked to herself.

Todoroki had only started getting up when the child was on his face again, hitting him with a chain of martial arts strikes. All he could do was putting a defense to block most of them, but the ones that made it through were wearing him down quickly. The young man wondered about that. What kind of training had he been put through, if the results could more than match his?

"You're very good," the child complimented him earnestly. "Ku-roshi would be happy to train you!"

Todoroki felt compelled to ask him who in the world was 'Ku-roshi', but then he was punched in the chest and he knew he couldn't keep on fighting.

Chisame lowered her artifact and told Iida and Ochako, "Negi just took down Chachamaru and Todoroki."

Iida's glasses fogged up in silence. After a moment, he asked quietly, "Is she okay?"

"Of course she is okay, Negi wouldn't ever hurt her," Chisame said. Ochako nodded, and Iida breathed easier. "Still, that is like losing your Queen as soon as the chess game starts. Unless..."

"Unless what, Chisame-san?" Ochako asked.

"I don't like resorting to this," Chisame waved a finger, "but I know a way to beat Negi if he makes it here. It plays on his biggest weakness."

Iida adjusted his glasses. "And you would tell us about it, just like so?"

Chisame threw her hands up. "You'll figure it out on your own eventually, anyway!" She sighed. "But it's a weakness only 3-A can exploit in full. If we time it just right, it'll stop him right on his tracks. Now pay attention, Uraraka. It'll work much better if you do it, rather than Iida..."

I-Island.

"—so that's it for the moment, Young Melissa," the emaciated face of Yagi Toshinori was saying on her main screen. "Sorry I can't be of more help for the time being, but I'll keep my eyes and ears open, and as soon as I hear something, anything, about her friends, I'll inform you."

The freckled blonde smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Uncle Might…"

Then she noticed someone approaching her door. She spun on her chair and smiled as she heard the gentle rapping of knuckles on it. "Yue? Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me, Melissa…"

"Just wait there, there's someone I want you to meet!" she told her. She wouldn't tell her about his secret identity, of course, but she truly wanted them to meet regardless, and surely he would inspire Yue even in that form.

Melissa got up from her chair, opened the door, and helped Yue in, the short girl supporting herself on her crutches steadily. Once again Melissa was awed on how quickly she was recovering, even surpassing her adjusted expectations. In no time, she would be walking on her own again.

"Ayase Yue, please meet Yagi Toshinori, and old friend of my father, and my honorary uncle!" Melissa happily gestured towards the screen. "Uncle Toshinori, this is Yue…"

Yue nodded and tried to smile at the man on the screen , but he didn't smile back. He grew still for a moment, and Melissa lifted an eyebrow.

Then he spoke, somewhat stilted. "Well, sorry I have to leave, Young Melissa, but there is an emergency I've just been told about. Please take care."

The image disappeared, and the screen switched to Melissa's puppy screen saver. The blonde was frowning now, thoughtfully.

Yue blinked. "Melissa? What's wrong?"

"Please wait a second, Yue." She sat back before her main computer and her fingers began tapping skillfully on the keys. She deployed several transmissions from the same man from previous files and discussions, and began replaying them in the screens around them, comparing visuals and audio. After several minutes, nearly half an hour, she said quietly, "I am a fool."

She got up and began walking out of the office. "Please wait for me there, Yue!"

"What? Oh, no!" Yue began heading after her, surprisingly fast for someone on crutches. "What is going on? Why are you acting like that?"

"Please, don't worry about this!" Melissa said, quickly reaching the office of her father, which was close to hers down the hallway. She pushed it, saw it was locked, then pulled her ID card out and slid it into the reading. The door opened itself and she stomped in. Was she furious? Yue had never seen Melissa furious before. "Dad!"

David Shield looked up from his computer. "Yes, Dear?"

Melissa bristled. "First of all, Dad, I'd like congratulating you for completing that AI so readily, and before the schedule! It fooled even me. A truly lifelike Uncle…"

The bespectacled man blinked slowly. "I don't know what are you—"

"Every call I've shared with Uncle since Yue arrived has been staged!" Melissa accused. "It has to be your doing, who else could've done it?! Please tell me, Dad, why?!"

He paused, the clear quiet eyes widening. Yue watched from the doorstep, perplexed. Then his tone broke, and he tried to start talking in whispers. "Melissa, no. Please don't force this issue. Your Uncle is indeed too busy, and he shouldn't be bothered right now, and—"

"David, please," a smooth, deep voice said from behind Yue. The schoolgirl froze, recognizing it. "Your daughter is too intelligent for that, don't insult her that much. It is inconvenient to have her in our secret, but I suppose there is nothing that can be done about it for now, other than moving on."

Yue turned around. "You," she said.

Melissa blinked. "Yue? Is this man… from your school?"

David Shield breathed in and out tumultuously. His hands gripped on his desk.

Not that hitting the panic button would halt the man standing before them.

"A pleasure meeting you again, Young Lady," the old man with the long white beard bowed chivalrously, taking his hat off. He wore all black, from his boots to his long coat, and his eyes were gray. "I see David indeed never told you about me at all, Young Melissa, which pleases me greatly, and guarantees your continued survival for the time being. As a matter of fact, I am not from your friend's school, but we once met there."

He stood straight, put the hat back on, and served them all a smile. "You may call me Count Wilhelm Joseph von Herman."

Bakugo kept on slamming at the walls as Izuku moved from one side to the other, trying to concentrate on the aspect of One for All that enhanced speed. Even that was difficult. "What's the problem, butterfly!? You only know how to dodge but not how to dish out!?"

While Tsuyu leapt over Kirishima's head to dodge his fists and Sato landed a grazing punch on his face, Bakugo hammered at his classmate, bashing holes in the walls and floors as he tried to hit Izuku. "Do you think you can tire me out, Deku!? I've got breath to last me all day long!"

"All of it hot, right?" Izuku said, jumping high enough to latch onto a lamp above them. Some of Chisame's snark had rubbed on him through the months after all. He swung ahead and kicked Katsuki in the chin, forcing him to stagger back. Then he landed on his feet before him and tried to strike one of the kenpo starting poses Negi had taught him.

Bakugo sneered. "You're f*cking Bruce Lee now?"

Izuku decided not bothering to waste time with a reply other than a somewhat clumsy but effective barrage of hits on him. But Bakugo had also trained on boxing, and he blocked most of them with his fists, the gauntlets absorbing most of the impact.

Izuku winced in pain at the sensations of hitting metal. Even so, it was obvious from his reactions that Bakugo also was being worn down by the blows, his breath running faster and puffing.

Not as much as Izuku had hoped for. To buy himself time, he pushed him back with a kick on his chest.

Sato was forced on the defensive as Kirishima advanced on him, powered up and ignoring the side kicks Froppy threw on him to try and steer him apart from her ally.

This isn't good, Sugarman realized, with each hit we're only making him better! We're shooting ourselves in the foot!

But then again, hitting is all we're good for. So what do we do!?

"Sonuvabitch!" Bakugo aimed a gauntlet at Izuku. "Where's that damn Quirk, then?! If you're a hero, act like one! Or don't mind if I do!"

"Bakugo, are you thinking of blasting him?" Aizawa asked through the speakers. "That close, and charging your sweat, you might disable him or worse."

"Young Bakugo!" All Might said. "Any attacks with killer intent merit an expulsion and criminal inquiry!"

"It won't kill him if he dodges!" Bakugo scoffed, too mad to truly care. "And you will, won't you, Deku?! That's all you know to do!"

Kirishima blinked at that sight, then paused, and allowed Sato to punch him in the face, sending him down and out. Perhaps literally allowed him to, Sato himself suspected.

Asui, bless her simple soul, was already jumping to stand right behind Izuku, placing herself firmly by his side. After a moment of doubt, so did Sato, taking his other side.

"If you shoot him you'll be shooting us too, kero," Tsuyu told Bakugo. A vein popped on his head.

"Deku..." he hissed. "Hiding behind others, that's low..."

"We are the ones hiding behind him," Tsuyu said. "If you must take it out on someone, do it on us, kero."

Midoriya blinked. "Asui... Tsuyu-san, no..."

"Young Bakugo!" All Might said. "We are NOT joking here! If you really injure any of them, you will have forced our hands!"

Bakugo lowered his hand reluctantly. He gestured at the girl and the big boy to stand apart from Izuku. "Fine. Let's brawl one on one. Quirk on Quirk."

"You have damaged enough of the walls and ceilings," Aizawa said sternly. "We reserve the right to take disciplinary actions if you destroy enough of the structure to threaten all of your classmates. You won't be using more of your Quirk indoors today, at least not in that area!"

Katsuki huffed.

"So that's the way you want it?" he asked.

He swung a fist through the nearest window, a wide and tall one covering most of that wall, and shattered it. Grinning, he stepped right outside the building and gestured at Izuku. "Not inside the building. Let's finish it here, then!"

Aizawa facepalmed. "You didn't tell him anything about that. He thinks outside the box, at the very least?" Midnight said, shrugging.

"Young Bakugo, remember, both villains and heroes are only allowed five minutes outside! If you remain out a second longer you'll lose by ringout!" All Might's voice boomed.

"That was in the pamphlet?" Sato asked.

Izuku nodded. "Page three, the fifth paragraph."

"More than enough time to deal with the nerd!" Bakugo raised his fists. His sweat boiled inside of the gauntlets. "So be a man for once, Deku! It won't truly hurt you if I burn some of those freckles off!"

Izuku stared at him in silence for a moment, then turned around and began walking down the hallway. "Let's go, team," he dryly told Froppy and Sugarman.

Tsuyu smiled, and began hopping after him. Sato followed him more slowly, giving Bakugo a cautious look over his shoulder.

Bakugo bristled and aimed his gauntlets at Izuku's back. "DEKU! Don't you f*cking slip away on me, you miserable, no good, slimy coward!"

Izuku spun back on his heels. Angrily. "You don't get it yet! Do you, Katchan? That's okay, for the longest time I didn't understand either. But I do now! "

"Midoriya," Tsuyu said, grabbing him by an arm. "Don't bother. He's not worth it, kero…"

But then Sato gently grabbed her by her arm and turn and pulled it back. He shook his head at her.

Tsuyu rolled her eyes. "Boys, kero."

"Not understanding what?!" Bakugo yelled back. "You playing smart now? You've always been the dumb one, Deku!"

"Maybe! But at least I understand being a hero isn't about oneself! It took many friends teaching me, but I'd like to think I did learn! All of this feud between us, what is the point, Katchan!?"

Bakugo seethed. "The nerve of you…! The point is getting through your thick skull what your place is, Deku!"

"I decide my own place, thank you very much!" He took a fighting stance again. "And my place is here, with my team! Gotta problem with that… punk? Then come in here and talk it out where we both should be… villain!"

Oh my gosh, what in the freaking world am I doing?! Izuku freaked out in his mind. He's gonna kill me, I'm so full of bluster and even worse at it than him, since I can't back it up!

Bakugo sneered and gave a step back into the building, through the window. "You aren't even making any sense anymore!"

"Mess with me, insult me, pick on me, I don't care!" Izuku shouted. "But the moment you start betraying the ideals of heroism it's the moment you make me furious, Katchan! You're making a mockery of heroism here, Katchan! You are—"

"SHUT UP!" Bakugo roared, and ran at him with a fist high.

Kirishima pulled himself back to his feet. "Okay," he told Sato and Froppy. "I gave you that much time because I didn't approve of that. But I'm not knocked out yet, and I still have to win..."

Froppy lashed her tongue out, towards him. Kirishima blinked. "Do you really think that-"

But then he noticed, the extremely long tongue was flying past him, by his side, and grabbing onto a pipe, yanking it off. As he glanced back at it and the tongue and the pipe flew back in his direction, Sato suckerpunched him in the face, just as the pipe hit him in the back of his head. Before he could recover and harden his skin, Sato grabbed the pipe, twisted it around, and loosely tied it around Kirishima's neck.

"You're strangled out," Sugarman told him. "Does Hardening help against that?"

Kirishima grinned. "Dunno. I never tried! But hey, heroes don't kill, Sugar. But I guess you're the antihero type, who would have guessed." He raised his hands.

"Good job, team!" Izuku called out from where he and Bakugo had resorted to exchanging punches again. Like children in the playground. So far, Bakugo had been having the advantage, but not a decisive one. "Keep on ahead! I'll hold him here!"

"But-" Tsuyu began.

"Just go, please!" Izuku shouted. After a moment, she nodded, and he and Sato ran past Kirishima, who waved after them. Izuku smiled. "Good!"

"Eyes on me, Deku!" Bakugo roared, hitting him in the jaw. "I don't even need the Quirk to flatten you, flatscan!"

Kirishima leaned back against a wall and folded his arms. "It's great to be alive, huh? If they hadn't killed me, I'd be helping you."

"With that attitude you won't get anywhere!" Bakugo said, his next punch being intercepted by Midoriya's knee.

Izuku breathed deeply and hoped for the best.

Omake: If Only I Knew you are Okay.

She had been weeping for a while when she noticed the eyes of the ermine on her.

Inko recomposed herself. "It's not polite to spy on a lady like this."

"Sorry, I couldn't help it," he said with a shrug of inexistent shoulders. "I can hear anything anywhere in this apartment. Animal senses..."

"I know it's stupid. I can't hold him stuck to me forever." She put her fists on her knees.

"It's not stupid at all. It's the most natural thing to feel, ma'am," the ermine told her softly. "He has wandered on his own into a dangerous world."

"He's never fought back against bullies with any success, and now he's expected to fight those horrible villains," Inko wiped her left eye.

"I know. Please be strong. The kid will be strong too! You should know that better than me! Better than any of us!"

"Oh, you don't know. You couldn't possibly know. How... How this feels. You don't have any children, do you?"

"No," he said. He thought back of Nekane. "But this isn't the first time I've comforted a worried mother."

He hugged her.

After a moment, she put a hand on his head.

They sat in silence.

Omake: Super Villain Team-Up.

Inko passed by them, holding a basket of clothes to wash.

Seeing Chamo and Kazuho leaning over a table and frantically writing on stacks of papers, she stopped and asked, "What are you two doing now?"

"We are planning Negi and Chisame's love life," the two said in unison, without looking at her.

Inko kept on walking. I wonder when should I start calling the pros?

Next: Asakura.