Chapter 17 - Unforeseen Swords Judgment
"Don't move, this might hurt."
Shirou nodded as the locally dispatched police technician held his ankle tracker.
After he returned home from his training session with Yaoyorozu, Yu had appeared and dragged him to the local police station to get his tracker removed.
His probation period had ended, which meant that he no longer needed to wear the thing. It wasn't intrusive at all, it was somewhat comfortable actually, but it restricted his movement.
He was eager to get rid of it if only to allow himself some freedom of movement around the city. As long as he didn't do anything that could be reprimanded then he won't have to wear it again.
He did have to promise the police though, they didn't want him going off and fighting villains, without supervision, seeing as he was a student at U.A. now.
From within the police infirmary, Shirou let out a sigh of relief as the chilling touch of air returned around his ankle. He gave it an experimental stretch forwards and back, relishing in the newly acquainted freedom it gave.
"That's done and dusted. We can leave now, right?" Yu asked with a smile.
"Everything seems in order, we'll be by your home later to remove the other part of the tracker." The officer supplied before standing to leave, "Have a good day you two, and no getting into trouble young man."
"Don't worry, I'll be sure to keep him safe!" Yu cheered out, but the officer barely gave acknowledgment. Probably for the best, they were all pretty busy as of late with the escaped villains about.
Not that Shirou knew that, thankfully. Yu didn't want him running out again to a life-or-death party with villains.
Shirou and Yu exited the police station and started making their way home. It was sort of familiar to the two of them, not that it was unwarranted. The two of them truly remember the day that they met.
It was the day that Yu found a weird and quiet kid, it was the day that Shirou found out what a professional hero was, and it was the day that they first got to know each other.
Walking down the same street from a few months ago, but with their relationship transformed from simply guardian and suspect, into mother and child.
Granted he was adopted, but it was still surreal, to say the least.
It didn't take long for them to make it to their apartment, even though the daylight had all but faded with the peaceful night sky taking its place.
"Should I cook something quick?" Shirou suggested as he took off his shoes.
"It's okay, I prepared something before we left. The beef should be done marinating by now!" Yu exclaimed in excitement as she made her way into the kitchen.
Shirou chuckled, "I hope you didn't get the salt and sugar confused, again."
The first time it happened, Shirou had berated her for a solid hour. Sugar was good on meat because it was a natural tenderizer, used to prevent the meat from becoming too chewy once cooked. However, considering the fact that she had used a whole jar of the substance…
It wasn't a pleasant experience, to say the least.
"I didn't Shirou!" She said, scandalized. "I learned from last time!"
"For your sake, I hope so," Shirou muttered as he made his way into the dining room. "Otherwise I'd reconsider your kitchen privileges."
"I own this apartment you know? I can kick you out." Yu muttered bitterly as she placed the beef steak at the center of the table.
"We both know you wouldn't do that." Shirou snickered.
"You've been getting a little too chipper with me lately, young man." Yu berated in an attempt to be a scolding mother, which didn't really work. "I'm not sure whether or not I like it…"
"It might have something to do with the 'alterations' you made to my costume design." Shirou informed, "Why did you change the color scheme?"
"You don't like it?" Yu asked in mild surprise, "The colors fitted you well so I just went with it. I can't really imagine your hero costume in other colors now."
"It was pure black for a reason," Shirou informed, "It helps with stealth missions and such."
Yu snorted, "Yeah I guess, but unless you're planning on becoming a hero with Aizawa's work ethic, then you need to be more flashy! Look at my costume, it's colorful and effective!"
Shirou was sure it was just her quirk that was effective and not her clothing.
"I'm still displeased with that decision, Yu."
"And I'm displeased with your fashion sense. I swear, all boys have terrible taste." Yu complained, "Besides, you can change your costume design in the future. If you don't like the coloration then I guess we can change it, even if that'd be a terrible decision."
Shirou had to suppress the need to berate.
"By the way, Shirou," Yu called, interrupting his thoughts before they could even begin. "I heard your class was going on a field trip tomorrow."
Shirou blinked as two rice bowls were set on the table. "We are? I don't think Aizawa told us yet."
"He didn't?" Yu muttered in surprise before rubbing her chin, "Oh right, I was supposed to keep it a secret. Damn…"
Shirou felt his eye twitch, "Why would you keep that a secret? It sounds counterproductive. Aren't we supposed to be informed of trips days in advanced?"
Yu shrugged, "Yeah, that's true for the general course students. However, remember that you're in the U.A. Hero course now. You need to be prepared for unexpected variables!"
"A lesson that I can't learn because you gave me a warning."
Yu flinched and whistled slightly. "Oh look, a steak! I wonder how that got there? Well, we shouldn't let it go to waste, hurry up and eat!"
Shirou chuckled and smiled softly to himself. Well, at least he knew what to expect tomorrow.
Shirou took a bite out of the meat and frowned.
Yu had marinated it correctly… but she had screwed up the seasoning. The salt seasoning was non-existent and only the pepper remained, at a substantial amount, which meant that the steak was heavily… spiced.
It took a while for both of them to finish the steak.
"For today's hero basic training," Aizawa started from his podium, "It's turned into a class with three instructors. All Might, me, and one more person."
Shirou sat in his seat at the back without much confusion when compared to his surrounding classmates. Yu truly butchered any surprise factor he'd be having.
At least he'd be surprised at what the field trip was going to be about.
"Excuse me! What'll we be doing?" Sero shouted from his seat.
Shirou swore he saw Aizawa smirk in somewhat childish glee as he fished out a white card from his pocket and displayed it to the class. It said 'RESCUE' in big, blue, and bold letters.
"Disasters, shipwrecks, and everything in between. It's rescue-training."
A wave of quiet yet excited murmuring flooded the class. Shirou was pleased to see that they were excited as he was.
Rescuing was the essence of a true hero, protecting lives and safeguarding the individual's hopes and dreams. It was what Kiritsugu did for him, even when he didn't have a hope or dream at the time.
"Looks like it'll be a lot of work this time, too…" Kaminari muttered with a wry smile.
"Idiot, this is the duty of a hero!" Kirishima berated from behind him and Shirou couldn't disagree. "My arms are ready to rumble!"
"No one can beat me in water, ribbit."
At the frog girl's words, Asui Tsuyu if Shirou remembered correctly, Aizawa coughed to retain everyone's attention. "Hey, I'm not done. You can decide if you want to wear your costume or not this time. Because there are probably costumes that limit your abilities, too."
To Shirou's side, the walls extended to reveal their hero costumes in their respective suitcases. "The training will take place off-campus, so we're taking a bus. That is all, start getting ready."
No one really delayed and went to grab their costumes, except for Midoriya who sat in his seat for a while with a fist clenched.
Shirou paid no heed to it and grabbed his costume case once more. Inwardly he was debating on the benefits of wearing it and the possible downsides of not.
Unfortunately, he found more pros for his knock-off Archer outfit than cons. His personal distaste giving way for efficiency to take a stand.
Another day to wear the Archer costume.
Shirou truly disliked it.
Within a few minutes of changing, Shirou made his way out of the classroom.
"Emiya?"
Shirou swiveled and caught the sight of Shinso sending him an odd glance, still in his uniform. Class-B seemed to not be getting the disaster training just yet, unfortunately.
Behind him was Monoma with a frown, Kendo with a smile, and Kodai without either.
"Hello!" Kendo greeted, "Where're you going in that outfit?"
"Class-A is having rescue training off-campus, we could wear our costume if we wanted." Shirou informed, "Is Class-B having the same soon?"
"Not to our knowledge," Shinso said, "However, now we can expect that we will. Thank you for the information, Emiya."
"I guess Class-A students are good for some things…" Monoma muttered, earning a small smack from Kendo, luckily without enlarged hands.
Shirou felt something within him twitch at the realization that he had ironically committed the same blunder that Yu did.
"Emiya, hurry up to the main entrance!" Jiro shouted as she raced down the hall, with Sato on her tail.
"Well then, have a good day you guys," Shirou offered as he left.
"See ya later Emiya!" Kendo shouted, "Good luck with the training!"
"Good luck," Kodai said.
Shirou smiled their way and made his way to the main entrance.
It didn't take long so Shirou stood outside with the rest of the students, awaiting the arrival of the bus. It seemed that everyone elected to use their costumes, save for Midoriya.
Shirou could understand why. He knew it was ripped and battered from last time.
"How unsightly…" Shirou heard Yaoyorozu muttered as she covered her mouth, sending a glance at the shortest one in their class, Mineta Minoru… who was looking up Uraraka's rear?
After a quick step to move in between Uraraka and Mineta, much to the smaller boy's dismay, Iida blew a whistle up ahead, the bus right behind him.
"Class 1-A, gather around! Form two lines by your student numbers in order to make boarding the bus go smoothly!"
Shirou smiled, they had chosen their class representative correctly.
"… I didn't think it'd be this type of bus…" Iida muttered.
Compared to the common and traditional bus, which had chairs facing the front to save space, this one instead had chairs off to the side facing each other with a few more chairs at the back facing the front.
There was a lot of space, surprisingly.
"There was no point, huh?" Ashido Mina said from Iida's side.
Shirou himself sat at the center of all the rear seats. Sero and Shoji being to his right and Uraraka and Yaoyorozu to his left.
He had boarded the bus rather late so most of the other seats were filled. He basically had the remainder seat, which he found no issue with, even if he'd rather be in one of the center seats. There was more space there to react to trouble.
"What the hell!? You wanna fight!?" Bakugo roared from his seat, Jiro flinching away nervously beside him.
Kaminari snickered and pointed a finger the pale blond's way, "We haven't known each other that long, so it's amazing that everyone already knows that his personality is crap steeped in sewage."
"What's with that vocabulary you bastard!? I'll kill you!"
Shirou just sighed and rubbed his forehead. Even as they were going to a place where they'd have to behave, his classmates were still acting like children.
He hoped that they'd mature somewhat already, if only so that they'd learn that being a hero was not a game, far from it.
"What a vulgar conversation…" Yaoyorozu muttered from her seat.
"But I like stuff like this, too!" Uraraka claimed with her usual bubbly expression. "What about you, Emiya-san? What do you think?"
"What I think?" Shirou had to blink at the sudden inclusion. He took a while to consider his answer, "I suppose that Bakugo-san could work on his attitude."
"I don't want to hear that from you!" He shouted in continued anger.
"Oh yeah, weren't you two tied for first?" Kirishima mentioned offhandedly. "How did that happen? I don't think you can use swords to destroy that many robots."
Bakugo fell silent and sent a narrowed glare his way.
Terrific, thank you Kaminari.
Shirou sighed as he proceeded to answer, "It's not like that. I only ended up passing by obtaining enough rescue points."
"Oh yeah, kinda forgot about that." Kaminari muttered in minor embarrassment, "I guess you and Bakugo aren't very equal now, right?"
"Damn right you are!"
"Just like how I'm right about your shitty personality."
"That's it! I'm fucking throwing you off this damn bus!"
"As much as it'd entertain me to see that, I'd advise against it." Aizawa called loudly, "We're here! Stop messing around, brats!"
"Yes, sir!"
Shirou sighed as the class quietened down and sent a glance out the window. A giant dome of concrete and glass was there, overbearing the surrounding area with its sheer size, breaking past even the tallest native canopy of trees.
Rescue training had begun.
Yu sighed as she sifted through the paperwork in her office.
Sometimes she hated her job. She loved the fact that she saved people from villains and contributed to protecting society as a whole, but she truly disliked the amount of paperwork that came with it.
She wondered how the rest of the Newbie Heroes handled the paperwork, did they do it like her, namely offloading half of it to her secretary, or did they do it all themselves?
Then again, most beginner heroes don't have as much paperwork as she did.
Pamphlets from organizations around Japan, invitations to join parties exclusive to well-beloved heroes, and even a few birthday invitations from child fans.
She didn't even know she had child fans!
It seemed that Shinji was right, she was a well respected professional hero with a reputation that she couldn't even fathom. Granted, there was an entire echelon of heroes who were more well-known than her, but this popularity she had was unprecedented!
She had her debut with the intent of using her raw sex appeal to bring her to the top, which was just pandering to a specific group of fans. It was apart of a plan she had to raise in Japan's hero rankings.
She had forsaken the 'appealing' approach when she adopted Shirou because it didn't feel right for a single mother to do that, even if she was just an adoptive one.
She truly didn't expect that her initial fans had continued to support her when the reason they were her fans had faded, nor did she expect the surprising amount of praise she was getting from the single mother's associations. She really didn't.
What did they see in her? Yu didn't know one bit, but she knew that she had to work hard to meet those expectations.
She knew that it felt bad to see your idol not meet your expectations at all so she chose to not go down that same path. As to who that idol was, the memory of it faded, only the embers of those feelings remained. That was enough for her.
"Excuse me, Mount Lady?" Her secretary's voice blared from a speaker. "You have a visitor."
Yu pressed a button on her table, "Can you tell them later? I'm kinda busy with the paperwork."
She didn't want to deal with any sort of liaison or delegate at the present. Any other day it would be fine, but if she left the paperwork for too long then it would be called the 'Mount Lady Agency' but instead the 'Mount Paperwork Agency'.
"It's Uwabami, ma'am."
Yu stopped her pen before it could even touch the paper. She struggled between a smile and a frown for a while but settled on a sigh. "Fine, send her in."
A few seconds later, the door opened and a jovial looking Uwabami stepped in. "Hey girl! How's the kid doing?"
Yu sighed, "Shirou's doing fine, can I ask why you're here? Not that I don't appreciate the company but I need to finish the paperwork."
Uwabami sent a look at the mound of paperwork before frowning in horror, "Okay, wow. I think you should have really done them as soon as they appeared."
"You think?" Yu muttered, "Sorry, I'm getting stressed. Why're you here again? It better be important."
Wow, she sounded like a big-shot hero now… what a pleasantly liberating feeling.
"You know how I'm advocating for the rework of the hero course entrance exam?" Uwabami started which drew a nod from Yu, "Right, so it turns out that I need some support from professional heroes in order to push the change. That's where you come in."
Yu raised a brow, "Me? Wouldn't it be better for you to choose a more popular hero like All Might or even Endeavor? His son goes to U.A."
"It probably would," Uwabami admitted, "However, the number one pro hero is kinda busy teaching at that school and Endeavor won't bother with something as 'pointless' as this. Flaming prick… So after that, you're the next best thing."
Yu still had her brow raised. "I'd think that Hawks or even Yoroi Musha would be better heroes than me, not to mention more influential."
"Yeah but they're like apart of the top ten and will always be busy," Uwabami said, "I've already gone down the list and got some people to sign it. You were close by so I decided to ask too~"
So the reason devolved from her being influential into her just being close by…?
Eh, good enough for me.
"Okay then," Yu started, "You have my support. Do I have to write down a note or something?"
Uwabami fished out a folder from her purse, "Just put your signature and name on this list. Thanks for this Yu, you're saving me a lot of time!"
Yu sighed and wrote her name with her signature beside it… under a few noticeable names. There was Shinji's signature, Aizawa's signature, a few others she didn't recognize, but judging from the rank number next to them, it was pretty high.
Yu was pretty sure she still didn't have a rank number but who knows, she could be wrong.
"There, that's done." Yu said, "Can I go back to the paperwork hell now?"
Uwabami snickered, "Yeah, yeah, okay go ahead. I got a few more places to stop by."
"You really want them to change those exams, do you?" Yu muttered. "That Shinso kid really made you want to do this?"
"Of course not!" Uwabami berated, surprising Yu somewhat. "You should know better than anyone else why I'm doing this."
She should? Yu tried to think up a reason but so far she was drawing blanks– oh wait.
"It has to do with the Beast, right?" Yu asked.
"Got it in one, girl." Uwabami congratulated. "That's right, if we had more heroes, with quirks that aren't solely based on flashy battles with villains, then maybe we could have stopped some of the victims…"
Or rather, stopped Shirou from getting hurt at all.
More heroes are good, even better if they could resolve cases without violence like what the Shinso kid could do.
It was just common sense, something which Yu was somewhat sure that the world was lacking it at the moment.
"I guess that's reasonable…" Yu muttered, "Take care of yourself okay? I wouldn't want Shirou to come to save you again."
Uwabami snickered and waved a farewell as she left the door, "Take care of yourself, Yu! Tell the kid to take care of himself too!"
Yu didn't need to be told that because she was already planning to do that.
Although he was safe for now, he should be with Aizawa and All Might. As much as Yu disliked Aizawa, he had her respect when it comes to his work ethic and efficiency.
Also, there was All Might so they'd be fine~
Now, where did I leave my pen?
Once they had all stepped out of the bus, what greeted them was a… man in a space suit?
Shirou wanted to muse about the surreal situation but just reasoned to himself that this man was a professional hero. Not unreasonable to assume considering the other costumes that he saw from the newbie meet.
"Everyone, I have been waiting for you!" The space suit wearing hero greeted.
His classmates all released sounds of slight awe, confirming to him that this was a professional hero.
"It's the Space Hero, Thirteen!" Midoriya muttered from in front of him, "The gentlemanly hero who rescued tones of people from disasters!"
Shirou raised a brow at the description. The man in front of him had respect from him due to his status as a hero, but now even more so.
"Oh, I love Thirteen!" Uraraka cheered loudly.
"Let's go inside without delay." Thirteen ordered, and the class complied.
"We look forward to working with you!" The class said loudly in unison, with a few exceptions like Bakugo and Todoroki.
It didn't take long before they had all stepped within the establishment, and the full splendor of the room was revealed to them all.
There was a replica of a ruined city to their left, a slope of mud and rock that simulated a landslide, a huge range of mountains, a smaller dome with what seems to be fire patterns etched on it, a giant lake to their right, and a dome with clouds etched onto it.
It was a large range of disaster points that Shirou found himself in awe at. He was sure that by the smiles he saw that his classmates had, they were excited too.
"Wow! It looks like Universal Studios Japan!"
"A shipwreck, a landslide, a fire, a windstorm, and etc––" Thirteen said as he – or was it a she? – took strides to face the group, with the landscape as his background.
He spread his arms out, "It is a training ground that I made with different types of accidents and disasters in mind! It's called the 'Unforeseen Simulation Joint'!"
Shirou felt that he missed a collective thought. He should really ask Yu about this, it felt wrong to miss it for some reason.
"Look at that Emiya!" Jiro shouted, "It's a damn landslide! You think they'll let us slide down it later? With protective gear of course."
"I don't think they'd have protective gear for that, Jiro-san," Shirou said slowly.
"Don't be such a sourpuss!" Kaminari exclaimed from Jiro's side. "We can have Momo make us some, right!?"
Yaoyorozu looked contemplative, "I suppose it would be an interesting idea to venture into…"
Please tell me they're joking.
Shirou felt like they weren't.
"Let's see…" Thirteen started, "Before we begin, let me say one thing… er, or two, or three, or four… five… six… seven–" Once Aizawa sent him a look, Thirteen nodded and stopped counting, "Everyone, I'm sure you are aware of my quirk, Black Hole. I can suck up anything and turn it to dust."
"You've been able to use that quirk to save people from all kinds of disasters, right?" Midoriya said… but the cynical part of Shirou's mind heard one thing only.
Turn it to dust.
"Yes, but it is a power that can kill easily." Thirteen continued, "Some of you also have quirks like that, right?"
The smiles that his class had faded entirely. Shirou found himself frowning too, but not at stunned the teacher like everyone else but at his class.
Information like that should be a given. Accidents happen in their chosen line of work, Shirou knew that. However, his class seemed to have completely forgotten about that.
Iida's kick could easily snap someone's neck, Midoriya's punch could easily turn someone's insides into mush, Uraraka's quirk could send someone out of orbit, even Mineta's quirk could be used to suffocate someone if needed to.
As much as Shirou knew that none of them would ever bother, let alone consider doing it, but it was a reality they had to face someday. It was good that they were learning of it early.
"In a superhuman society, personal quirks have been certified and stringently regulated so that doesn't seem to be a problem at first glance." Thirteen started, a glance from Shirou was all that was needed to tell that he had his classmates attention.
"However, please do not forget that there are many quirks that can easily kill with one wrong step. With Aizawa's physical fitness test you found out about the possibility of your own hidden powers, and with All Might's person-to-person combat training, I think you experienced the danger of using those powers against others."
Thirteen gestured to the landscape of carefully constructed destruction, "This class is a fresh start. You shall learn how to use your quirks to save people's lives. You do not have powers so you can harm others. I hope you leave here with the understanding that you have powers in order to help others." With a showman bow, Thirteen ended his speech. "That is all. Thank you for listening."
Following that were cheers from his classmates, Shirou allowed a small smile to escape at that. Perhaps now his classmates would learn to take their aspiring job more seriously.
Probably not now, they were still kids so they had to cut loose and have fun for now, but in the future when it matters.
Shirou did wonder how he could use his 'quirk' to save lives. Other than the usual combat-the-enemy, intercept attacks, and throw himself in the way of attacks, he didn't really know how. Perhaps this class would have insights for him.
Aizawa smirked. "Alright then, first––"
Lights flickered around them which brought them into a near darkness. The glass still gave light so they could still see, thankfully.
A blackout? At this time?
Shirou didn't really think so, but he held out hope.
His hope faded when he focused his eyes down at the plaza area. What he saw was a simple broken fountain, turning itself off and on at random intervals…
… and a swiveling rift of reality tinged in black.
A portal.
Aizawa noticed Shirou's gaze without delay and swiveled on his heel to gaze at the plaza. He didn't have Shirou's enhanced vision, but even a blind man could tell what it was.
The portal slowly grew in size before bursting outwards to the sides, enveloping a wide section of the plaza. On the fog of black were two glowing yellow eyes.
Shirou grit his teeth and took steps forward, admittedly pushing a student or two out of the way in order to get a better look.
A pale hand reached out from the portal, pushing the membrane aside to reveal a single baleful stare from a man, whose head was covered by a hand.
A severed hand.
Shirou could only tell one thing and it was the only thing that mattered.
Villains had arrived.
"Gather together and don't move!" Aizawa shouted, which startled the students completely. "Thirteen, protect the students!"
Before Thirteen even reacted, Shirou was in front of the group with Kanshou and Bakuya gleaming in the sunlight, the edges not blunted in the slighted. They were as sharp as a Noble Phantasm should be, and it was what was going to be needed.
"Don't you dare brat!" Aizawa shouted as he pulled his goggles up, "Stay here and don't you dare move!"
Shirou sent a rueful glare towards Aizawa, "I'm not leaving you to fight alone, Aizawa!"
It seemed that their words spurred the students behind them to send their glances to the plaza.
"What's that…?" Kirishima, Shirou hoped he got the name right because right now, he couldn't be bothered to remember. He had to focus on the threat down at the plaza.
From the portal in the plaza, the man with severed hands walked out, followed by a swarm of other malformed beings.
Shirou knew that monsters did not exist in this world, so those were people whose quirks must have unfortunately deformed them.
"Is this like the entrance exam where the lesson's already started…?"
Shirou honestly felt a piece of him snap from the callous statement. Did they truly not realize the situation!?
"Are you serious?" Shirou started in a deathly calm tone, one that attracted the attention of the teachers and students alike, "Why would Aizawa shout for Thirteen to protect the students? This isn't apart of the lesson."
His claim seemed to send a riveting shock to most of the students, all which had been silent until now. They sent each other unsure and confused glances.
"The brat is right." Aizawa muttered as he took steps to the front, "This isn't a lesson. Why? It's because those aren't our people, they're villains."
It seems like Aizawa's words did the trick and all the students let out gasps of shock and some even entered a combat stance, namely Bakugo and Todoroki.
"The trespassing the other day was the work of these scumbags after all huh…?" Aizawa muttered as his eyes drew to a familiar figure.
Shirou's grip tightened to the point that his knuckles were white, his deathly calm demeanor gave way to ever so subtle panic at the sight…
… The sight of an almost tar-black man, standing with snickering confidence as he glared back at where they stood. The black tattoos on his body, while being darker than his own body which let them see it, laughed loudly as he held two daggers to his side.
Tawrich and Zarich.
No… It's not possible. He should still be locked up!
The bandages around Aizawa's neck expanded and wrapped at the sight, but Shirou could not help but grit his teeth in frustration.
This class was a fresh start, they said. You'll learn how to use your quirks to save people's lives, they said. You do not have powers so you can harm others, they said.
It was unfortunate that after a speech like that… he'd have to use his magecraft to harm others so soon.
Avenger was here.
Truly, unfortunate.
"Thirteen and Eraser Head, huh?" Kurogiri muttered as his mist coagulated back around his body. "The teacher's curriculum we received the other day said that All Might was also supposed to be here."
"But it doesn't seem like it right, boss?" Angra Mainyu cackled with a smile.
"Where is he…" Shigaraki muttered, "I went through the trouble of bringing this whole party, too… All Might – the Symbol of Peace – I can't believe he's not here. I wonder if he'll come if we kill some kids?"
"Keep wondering about that," Angra Mainyu said, "I've got my eyes on my prize already."
"He is here then? The one who bested you in combat." Kurogiri asked, "I find it hard to believe that a child bested you."
"That kid had no problems trying to impale my gut," Angra Mainyu retorted, "I'd like to see you try coming out of that unscathed. Besides, we were interrupted. I was nearly going to take his head off."
"You keep telling yourself that, Angra." Shigaraki muttered, "Just remember your role here and what you're trying to prove to Sensei."
Angra Mainyu smirked and sent a glance to his target, "I didn't forget, don't you worry about that."
The smile he left on his mouth sent shivers down some of his 'allies' spines, which they had none of.
Ready for round two, kid?
"What? Villains?" Kirishima exclaimed, "There's no way they could get into a hero school!"
Yaoyorozu stepped up from behind, "Teacher, what about the trespasser sensors?"
Thirteen shook his head, "We have them of course… but,"
"Did they only appear here, or around the whole school?" Todoroki asked to no one in particular, taking steps forward as a chill enveloped his palm, "Either way, if the sensors are not responding, then that means they have someone with a quirk that can do that."
He sent a glance at their surroundings, "An isolated area separated from the main campus, during a time when a class is supposed to be here… They might be fools but they're not dumb. This surprise attack was carefully planned with some sort of goal in mind."
Those words sent another wave of unease through the students.
None of that unease reached Shirou who stood tall in the same spot he had been. He was contemplating what he'd do. There was a horde of villains down there. Individually, Shirou was sure he could take them, but he had close to no information about what kind of quirks they'd have.
It was risky, something that Shirou disliked with a passion. He desperately wished that he still had his ankle tracker, at least he could have hit it and trigger a signal for the police.
Right now? He didn't have a lot of options.
"Thirteen, start the evacuation." Aizawa ordered, "Try calling the school, these villains even had something to counteract the sensors. It's possible someone or some people with radio-wave-type powers are interfering."
Aizawa sent a glance to Kaminari, "Kaminari, you try contacting the school with your quirk, too."
Kaminari complied and instantly tapped his large earpiece.
"What about you, sir? Will you fight by yourself?" Midoriya asked with panic in his voice. "With that many, even if you can erase their quirks, Eraser Head's fighting style is capturing after erasing the enemy's quirk. A frontal battle is…"
"That's why he's not going alone," Shirou enforced.
"I thought I told you brat, no means no!" Aizawa berated, "Besides, you can't be a hero with just one trick. I'm leaving it to you, Thirteen."
After he received a nod from the fellow Professional Hero, Aizawa sent another glare at Shirou, "And you, don't you dare move away from here! Do you understand me brat!?"
Shirou had no time to refute as Aizawa leaped all the way down the stairs in a single bound. Within seconds he took out three villains before being surrounded by others.
"Damn it, Aizawa!" Shirou shouted in frustration.
"Come with us, this way!" Thirteen shouted, but Shirou would not move.
"But Aizawa is–" Shirou tried to argue, but a strong and sturdy arm clamped down around his right arm like a vice and forcefully tugged him.
"No time!" Sato shouted, panic clear in his voice, "I know you want to help him out, we all do, but we have to follow his orders!"
"Sato, let me go!" Shirou shouted as he struggled out of the grasp. He didn't really make any progress, which meant that Sato had ingested some sugar and strengthened himself.
"Aizawa is specialized in quick and swift capture, not large scale skirmishes like this." Shirou tried to reason, "He needs all the help he can get, otherwise he'll be overwhelmed!"
He needed help.
Shirou grit his teeth and began to channel prana to reinforce his body to break free–
"You trust in Aizawa-sensei, right!?" Sato shouted, his grip remaining as hard as steel, "Then trust in him to be able to hold on until we get help! He's a Pro Hero, he can handle them!"
Did he trust Aizawa? That was an iffy question, but when it came to a battle, Shirou would undoubtedly trust in the man to hold his own.
"Sato is right," A new voice entered, this time it was Midoriya who had been peering down the stairs, "Aizawa sensei is doing fine, not even the Heteromorphic-quirk users are doing much to him. The villains don't seem to have good teamwork so he's exploiting it."
Midoriya stepped away from the stairs and began to jog towards the others, "He can last thirty minutes or so! More than enough time to get help and come back!"
Sato smiled his way and tugged Shirou again, "Come on, we need to respect Aizawa's wishes. He can handle them, we need to do our part and get help."
Shirou frowned as he took a step back.
Aizawa definitely needed help, there was no mistake in Shirou's mind. He'd be overwhelmed, his logical mind would tell him that. He knew that. It was a reality that he could not ignore.
… However, Aizawa needed help. It was not just small fry down there.
Avenger was there. Shirou knew that the servant could overwhelm him with his nature of being the best at killing humans.
Shirou was the only one who stood a chance with his magic. He had lost the first time around but now he had more training with his current body, a better battle sense, and – not to mention – more prana to use better-suited Noble Phantasms.
With his mind set, Shirou took a step forward to aid his teacher–
"Sorry about this!"
Shirou blinked as he felt himself hefted into the air.
He didn't feel himself falling back down.
"Sorry, but you guys were taking too long!" Uraraka complained, "Sato-kun, can you drag him with us!?"
Sato smirked and gripped Shirou's wrist just as tight as before. "Don't hate us for this, Emiya!"
"Wait–!"
Shirou's words fell on deaf ears as he was dragged weightlessly like a balloon. It didn't take long before they had caught up with the running group. They sent glances at him but realized why he was floating.
"Let me down, Uraraka!"
"I'm not letting you run down there!"
"But–!"
"Enough," Thirteen interrupted from in front of the group, "One of the roles of a Pro Hero is to follow orders from your superiors. Aizawa-senpai told us to evacuate so that's what we're doing."
Shirou grit his teeth in frustration, even if he used reinforcement to escape Sato's grip now, he'd essentially be useless until Uraraka undid her gravity quirk!
This was just… every part of his body screamed in violent protest.
He was leaving Aizawa against hundreds of villains, he could only pray that he was going to be okay.
Although it seemed that there was a silver lining in everything. From Shirou's angle, he could see ahead of the group. Which meant he could see the danger ahead.
The flickering embers of black ectoplasm.
"Sato!"
"I'm not letting you go man!"
"In front of us!" Shirou warned.
It only took a moment before Sato and the rest of the students to notice as well. Showing judgment that Shirou approved of, they all stopped in their tracks and spread out evenly as the flickering embers raged into an inferno.
The inferno of black expanded to cover the walkway from side to side, cutting off any chance of walking around it. Finally, two sinister yellow eyes formed above it all, sending a glance all over the group.
"It is nice to meet you all." The portal creator said, "We are the League of Villains. It may be presumptuous of us, but we have invited ourselves into the home of heroes, U.A. High School, in order to have All Might, the Symbol of Peace, take his last breath."
Shirou took a slow and calming breath.
"Uraraka-san, can you let me down?" Shirou said, "I'm not going to run now."
Between saving his teacher and his classmates, the answer was as obvious as it was painful to admit. Aizawa was fighting the henchmen, this one…
… It may very well be a boss.
"Alright," Uraraka muttered.
Shirou felt his weight return and landed on his feet. Sato held him for a moment but nodded when he sent Shirou a glance. He wasn't running off, his classmates needed him.
"I believe All Might should have been here… Has there been some kind of change?" The ectoplasmic villain asked, not really expecting an answer. "Well, not that it would have supposedly mattered. After all, this is the part that I am to play.
Shirou noticed Thirteen uncork one of the stubs on his fingers. He was no doubt going to use his quirk against the enemy villain.
But he knew that it would probably not be enough, so Shirou instantly traced his favored pair of twin married blades as sharp as they could be. No longer blunted like during the indoor exercise.
All that was needed now was a plan. The being could no doubt be anywhere he pleased, sort of like Caster's teleportation. Archer had circumvented it with Caladbolg, which would be a viable strategy, but he was far to close to his peers to consider it. He didn't want them to be hurt.
Whatever plan he would go with, he knew that rushing without thinking was going to be a bad idea–
––Bakugo and Kirishima bolted to the front of the group and charged with furious vigor.
No!
An explosion rocked the area, prompting Shirou to squint his eyes to prevent any stray dust getting in. The explosion was large, covering the area with smoke as Shirou fought to get his bearings.
"Did you consider that you'd get beaten by us before you did it!?" Kirishima shouted in smug glory.
There was a moment of calm and Shirou thought that the reckless charge might have yielded some sort of fruit, but that thought ended once the black miasma formed once again without a sign of harm.
"Oh dear, that's dangerous." He said, "I suppose that's right. Even if you are students, you are excellent golden eggs…"
The miasma shot forward.
Thirteen threw his caution away. "No! Move away, you two!"
"... My job is to scatter you all and torture you to death!"
A wave of black enveloped everyone around him. Shirou did the only thing he could think of and leaped away before the mist could grab him.
He was outside of the cloud of black where he was met with the worried and fearful gaze of their Iida, their class representative. Sato and Uraraka were behind him crouched as if they had been tackled.
Iida took one heavy glance at the orb of black miasma before them. It didn't take long before panic grasped his heart.
"Everyone!"
All the while, Shirou could only stare helplessly as the mist faded…
… and only a few of their classmates remained.
Archer let out a hard sigh.
He felt the familiar feeling of something being wrong.
He didn't like that feeling, it always happened whenever he went on one of Alaya's more 'special' missions. When he saved lives only to have to kill them later, or when he had to kill and only kill.
Such worrying memories didn't affect his outer demeanor of course. He was a master at hiding his own emotions. He maintained a soft smile for the customers who would glance his way and he poured hot water through the coffee mixer.
"Boss, is something wrong?"
… Then again, he had a strangely over-perceptive employee at his side so his usual facade wouldn't be helpful whatsoever.
Archer sent him a glance and sighed, "It's nothing to worry about Setsuno, don't mind me."
Setsuno Toya, a man Archer had found off the street and dragged him into a job.
Before he had found him, the man was contemplating various ways of self-murder. All it would have taken was a single push to send him over the edge.
Luckily, Archer didn't push, he pulled instead.
Apparently, he had been betrayed by his lover and put under a large debt. It was one he wouldn't be able to pay with his dead-end job at a convenience store.
Archer's bleeding heart forced himself to hire him right then and there. It gave the young man a renewed chance at life. As of now, it would only take a few more months of working overtime to pay for his debt.
Granted, Archer paid him slightly more than usual to shorten that time, but he was the owner so he could overpay his employees as much as he wanted.
Although the crippling debt wasn't the only thing that made the young man pitiable.
Archer narrowed his eyes at the wary glances some of the patrons sent him as he took orders.
The young man was well known in the area for having a certain quirk. It was one named 'Larceny'.
Exactly as its name implies, it allows Setsuno to move anyone's possessions within his sight, into his own hands. It's limited to what it can obtain based on the size of the object, but it's perfect for taking valuables and money.
Misunderstandings piled over accusations, it probably had been plaguing him for his entire life, none of which mattered now. Archer had taken him in and that was that.
"Is that the black coffee for table seven, Farran-san?" Todoroki Fuyumi asked him.
"Yes, make sure you don't spill it again." Archer reprimanded.
Fuyumi nodded and tried to gently and elegantly make her way to the table.
She was his first employee. If the circumstances revolving Setsuno were complicated, her's was equally so.
Archer turned on his heel and began to clean some dishes. He picked up a teacup and rubbed it in soap.
–Crack.
Archer slowly raised the cup, only to find just one side of it suddenly sporting a thin chip, almost as if a small dagger had hit it perfectly.
He didn't even use any strength when cleaning it.
Archer sighed and placed the cup away from the dish area.
… He truly hated that feeling of something being wrong.
"Shoji, is everyone here?" Iida asked, "Can you check?"
"Everyone is scattered, but they're in this building."
A slight breath of relief flowed through the rest of the remaining students.
Everything was going badly. In one lapse of judgment from the two most hot-headed students in their class, they had all gotten scattered around the various danger-zones in the building.
They were all most likely fighting villains wherever they were.
Shirou could only pray for them. If he left to search for them like he usually would, then that'd open the rest of the students to attacks from the teleportation quirk villain.
He was far more dangerous when compared to the henchmen villains that littered the building. It'd be wise to deal with him first.
"Damn it…" Sero muttered in frustration, "Physical attacks can't hit him and he can warp things– His quirk is the worst!"
"Class Rep! I entrust this duty to you," Thirteen shifted his stance ever so slightly, "Run to the school and tell them about what is happening here."
"P-Pardon?" Iida muttered in surprise.
"The alarms are not sounding and out phones have no signal. The alarm system is based on infrared rays." Thirteen started, "Even though Eraser Head is erasing people's quirks left and right, they are still not working. This means that they must have someone with an interference quirk who hid right when they arrived. It would be faster for you to run than for us to find that person."
It made sense to Shirou. At their current predicament, with so many villains around the building and with so many possible hiding places, it would unrealistic to find the villain quickly.
The best option was for Iida to run.
Iida winced, "But it would be a disgrace as the class rep to leave everyone behind–"
"A disgrace would be to not run when others are relying on you," Shirou berated, Kanshou and Bakuya gleaming in the light. "A hero's role is to save lives. We need you to run to save everyone that are fighting for their lives."
There was no time for consideration.
"You heard what he said, Emergency Exit!" Sato interrupted as he took a stance before the reformed villain, "If you can get outside, there'll be alarms. That's why these guys are only doing it inside, right?"
Sero nodded as he stood beside him, "As long as you go outside, they won't follow you! Blow away this fog with your legs!"
There was no time for hesitation.
Thirteen nodded and focused on the villain before him. "Use your quirk in order to save others!"
Uraraka cheered as she took her stand with the rest. "I can totally support you like I did in the cafeteria– I will!"
There was no more time for thought.
Shirou took a glance to his right and saw Shoji stand beside him. He offered no convincing words of courage, all he offered was a stern gaze and his arms raised for battle.
"Please, class rep!" Uraraka begged one more time.
Iida still seemed indecisive, his own mind fighting a battle with his sense of honor. However, that faded once his eyes set into determination. A soft click echoed from his heels as his quirk deployed itself.
Honor took a backseat, while the lives of his classmates were put ahead.
There was no more time to waste.
"Even if you have no other choice, are there really idiots who talk about their plans in front of the enemy?!" The villain shouted in indignation.
Iida took a stance, ready to sprint at the highest speed his quirk could manage–
"It's not like we're any better though. I mean we practically shouted it out to the world when we arrived~!"
–A new voice,
Iida stumbled in subtle panic, but retained his balance and sent a glance behind himself. A new sense of dread filled the group as a new arrival had made his appearance.
They were boxed in between two exit ways.
"There's another one!?" Thirteen shouted in frustration as he tried to turn and see who it was. However, in doing so would have left an opening for the villain to exploit so instead, he took steps to the side of the group in order to get a view on both of the villains.
Shirou did the same, if only because it was the optimal strategy.
The villain sighed, "I don't really have time for your pointless banter. I have a job to complete."
The rest of the students though, they were inexperienced. So they had turned away from the villain entirely.
"I can't really help it, you know? It's just how I am~!"
This arrival wore nothing but tattered pants, leaving himself completely shirtless. His skin was pitch black, shoulders broad and sturdy in direct opposition to his lithe frame. He wore a bone white mask that covered the entirety of his face, not even a strand of hair escaped.
However, the most defining feature… were the black tattoos that covered his entire body.
Shirou gripped the married blades tighter than ever before.
How did he manage to get up here?
Wasn't Aizawa down there to stop him?
Did he get defeated this quickly!?
What happened!?
"Who the hell are you!?" Sero shouted to grab his attention, "Some kind of clown?"
"Did you call me... a clown?" The man muttered. He shook slowly before laughing to himself, "That's a good one! I haven't been called that before! However, there is one thing that I've been called, I think you'd like it better than what you said~!"
"Yeah, and what's that? Tinkerbell?" Sato insulted, trying to display no fear whatsoever. However, nothing hid the glances he was sending between the two villains.
Avenger tilted his head to the side as his hands fell loosely to his sides. Even with the mask covering his face, the students could tell that a smile had stretched across from ear to ear.
"I'm pretty sure that the media gave me a little nickname," He started, "It was only a few months ago so you little brats might remember. They called me–"
Shirou heard the ground crack. He had only a moment to bring up the married blades to his front. He had only a second to see the same bone-white mask flying across the distance between them, the Right and Left Fang Grinders held out to either side.
"–The Beast!"
Tawrich locked with Bakuya and Zarich locked with Kanshou. Sparks flashed between the blades as Shirou's muscles strained against the push. Avenger had no such issue, his legs having already rooted themselves against the concrete.
"Emiya!"
Shirou wasn't sure who it was that shouted, he couldn't truly tell without having his focus waver. He was already straining, even with reinforcement, he could tell that Avenger had more power than him, something that the supposed servant was no doubt happy about.
Avenger cackled as the Fang Grinders held strong against the blades, "We have a lot to catch up on, you shitty little brat!"
Shirou truly wished that he didn't have his ankle tracker removed.