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my-rewrite-academia · 14 days ago

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Week 25 (Training Camp - Part 1):

Where We Went Wrong

After the final exams, Momo and Tenya are called upon by Aizawa to explain their plans in class. Tenya goes first, explaining that they were going to cover more ground by splitting up, with only Mashirao and Rikidou being together as everyone else had far stronger quirks. Tenya had stayed back at the base with Shouto as his guard. Everyone else was to go all the way to one side, then return back. The plan was to thin Team A's numbers, and have a greater number of their team when Team A came for Tenya.

Momo explains Team A's plan: everyone was split into groups of two or three and went in different directions. Upon getting there, they'd start heading to Team B's base. The duos/trios either had a varied skill set, or their abilities worked together well. Momo decided not to stay at the base, both because she didn't want to be a sitting duck, and because it wouldn't do for a leader to not serve as an example.

Their methods were completely different: Team A valued teamwork, while Team B valued singular strength. This worked for some in Team B – Eijirou, Shouto, and Bakugou worked well with it, but others… not so much. That isn't to say that Team A's plan was perfect: there were plenty other ways to go about it. Mezou, Kouji, and Hanta may have been a varied group, but their abilities didn't work together well.

On the plus side, everyone passed. A few of them had points docked for harming/scaring the civilian bots: Yuuga, Ochako, Momo, and Bakugou. Although Momo was tackled into a bot, it still counts as harming a civilian, especially as she didn't do anything to calm the civilian bot down. There were also points taken from poor performance in battles, specifically from Rikidou and Hanta.

Nevertheless, everyone passed the test… But it doesn't change the fact that Team B lost.

As soon as Aizawa says that, everyone goes still.

"I told you before the exam that the losing team will not be going on the trip. As such… Team B, led by Iida, will be staying behind."

… Crap.

They knew this already, of course. Still, there was some form of hope that it was just a lie. It's not.

Aizawa is unmoved – he warned them, after all. While Team B are on the class trip, Team A will be taught by Thirteen and Mic. The trip will be a week long, and Aizawa expects both teams to improve by the time he returns.

When that day is over, things are… awkward in the dorms, to say the least. 1-A aren't the only ones to have only half of them attending – 1-B are in the same predicament. Twenty are going on that trip, and it's not even a complete class.

With his friends, Izuku wants to apologise, but he's cut off by Ochako. She scolds him for feeling sorry for them, when he would be happy for them if the reverse happened. The idea that he would have held back and just given them the victory if he knew for sure that they would be left behind; it's not a comforting one.

Tenya agrees, telling Izuku that the best way to make it up to them is to make the most of the trip. They chose to fight Izuku, they requested for him to be on the opposing team, they knew what they were getting into. It is not his fault, and he should not feel guilty for winning fair and square.

Shouto puts the final nail in the coffin, asking Izuku if he would change the results if he could. If he would go back in time and make his own team lose. And Izuku says no. He wouldn't.

One by one, everyone comes to terms with the results. Oddly, Yuuga expresses relief.

A Tale Long Ago

With the exams out of the way, All Might gets a chance to speak to Izuku. He summons him one day, taking him to an office. He doesn't waste any time, getting into the meat as soon as.

"I heard you made contact with Shigaraki Tomura."

"I did," Izuku confirms. "During the summer break, he… found me." He frowns, feeling an uncomfortable sensation around his neck. "He wanted to talk… I… couldn't resist him."

"That's fine," All Might assures. "When you're held hostage, the best thing to do is listen, not to fight. You did the right thing."

Izuku looks away. "Tsukauchi-san said the same thing. But… it didn't feel right." He jolts. "Oh, Tsukauchi-san is–!"

"A detective." All Might smiles. "Yes, I'm aware. He's also a close friend of mine." Izuku is shocked, of course. He didn't realise that they knew each other. "The reason I brought you here is… Well. In Hosu, three noumu were rampant, yes?" Izuku nods. "Those noumu – did you notice anything about them?"

Izuku frowns, thinking about it. "It's… clear that they weren't born. They were created, right?" All Might nods. "I don't know how but someone manufactured them as a weapon. From what I remember… they all had different quirks… Multiple… quirks…?" Realisation appears in his eyes, and All Might's lips thin gravely.

"Exactly," he says, and Izuku feels horrified. "This is… top secret information, young man. If you wish to live without it, you may leave and I shall never speak of it again."

It's a chance. To escape this future horror. Anyone with a level of sense would take it. They would stand up and leave, acknowledge that there are some things that they just don't need to know.

But, Izuku is a fool. Human experimentation. Multiple quirks. Noumu. Tomura. He should be long gone. He doesn't even move.

All Might waits for a minute, before he realises this too. "200 years ago, when quirks were first appearing, there was a man. We do not know his real name, just that he now goes by All for One. The name of his quirk."

"All for One…" Izuku's eyes widen. "One for All."

"Yes." All Might clenches his hand into a fist. "All for One had a brother he presumed to be quirkless, and gifted him One for All – a quirk that would allow him to stockpile power, to help combat his weak body. What neither of them knew was that the First had a quirk that allowed him to pass it down to another user through DNA transfer."

Izuku pales. "Blood?"

"No, no. Hair."

"… That doesn't make it sound better, sensei."

All Might flushes. "I'm… aware." He clears his throat. "The reason All for One was able to give his brother a quirk in the first place is his own quirk. All for One allows the user to take and give quirks." Izuku's lips part in shock. "The only exception was One for All, which can only be taken and given with the user's consent. As such, One for All has been passed down for those two hundred years, all with the express purpose of defeating All for One."

Izuku bites his lip. "So… you're the forth?"

"No." He gestures at himself. "I am the eighth user, though I understand the confusion. In truth, the past users all died young – in the heat of battle. I believed I had ended the cycle." His hand trails down to his stomach. "I thought I killed him."

Izuku gulps. "That enemy you fought… six years ago now."

He nods. "I thought that was the end of him, hence why I didn't bring it up when I offered my quirk to you. I didn't think it would be necessary." He sighs, shaking his head. "However, with the noumus, it seems that… That is not the case. All for One is the only one I know of who can take and give quirks, just as it seems happened to the noumus." His fingers dig into his scar. "He is still alive.

"And you seem to be a special interest."

As horrible as it sounds, Izuku can't even argue against it. Of everyone, the noumu went for him. Of everyone, Tomura spoke to him. Of everyone, he has made contact with them the most.

All Might leans forward, and takes Izuku's shaking hands into his own. "All for One is still alive. He is out there. But, I swear, I will ensure that he is my problem to deal with. Not yours. I tell you this, not to invite you to join in my battle, but because you should know who it is that you may end up facing."

Izuku nods, his heart still beating a bit too fast.

"I apologise for putting this on you. I do not expect you to do anything with this information, nor do I want you to." He bows his head towards Izuku. "Just… please. Stay safe."

Izuku breathes in, and it's shaky, hard to do, but very much needed. His hands settle. "I will." He bows back to All Might. "Thank you."

Training Camp – Start!

The bus ride is… awkward. Despite coming to terms with it, everyone is still a bit upset that half of their class aren't with them. Izuku doesn't even have his closest friends!

But, well, they all swore to make the most of it, for those who cannot be there with them.

And so, they go, bags packed. Aizawa explains, as they get onto the bus, that they'll be going to a camp for training, hosted by a hero group. The bus stops at a cliff, where the Wild Wild Pussycats greet them. They introduce themselves, with Pixie-Bob flirting with the male students until they refer to her as an old lady.

Kyouka notices that they've stopped, but there's no housing. One by one, everyone realises that they're not safe. Something is up.

They run to get back onto the bus, only for Pixie-Bob to morph the ground beneath them and throw them off the cliff. Fortunately, Momo reacts quickly, creating a layer of sorbothane to absorb the impact. Although, it doesn't matter much as an Earth Golem greets them, attacking instantly.

"Your goal is straight ahead," Mandalay informs via telepathy. "You have four hours to get there! Good luck!"

With that, the Wild Wild Pussycats leave with Aizawa, and Team A are faced with unfamiliar, dangerous territory.

But, hey, they already have experience as a team. Let's see if they can put it to use!

Momo and Izuku work together to create strategies. They try to see if Kouji can control the golems, and when he can't, they have him keep other creatures away from them. Kyouka, Tooru, and Mezou are in charge of combatting the golems, with Kyouka using her vibrations to make them fall apart, Mezou being the beefiest of the group, and Tooru manipulating the temperature to make it brittle or soft.

Hanta and Tsuyu are on scouting duty, both being sent ahead to check the path in front of them, as they're able to get high enough to look. Yuuga attacks from afar, along with Minoru.

Momo creates a weapon for herself and for Izuku, and they're in the middle – in front of Yuuga and Minoru, but behind Kyouka, Tooru, and Mezou.

They have four hours, and the golems are not easily taken down.

…

They arrive after six, bruised and battered. But they arrive.

1-B are already there, after going straight there due to Kan not being sadistic enough to make them go through that route.

Well. Half of 1-B are there.

Itsuka's group: Yosetsu, Manga, Juuzou, Yui, Shihai, Neitou, Tetsutetsu, Yanagi, and Pony. The rest of 1-B are back at U.A., after they lost against them. Much like 1-A, they have also come to terms with this, but it's still saddening to think about.

Horrified somewhat, 1-B just like 1-A pass by them, spotting not a single one without some sort of injury. At least, none of their injuries are severe, so… Silver Lining.

Aizawa meets 1-A, properly introducing the Pussycats as well as the objective of the camp. To train their quirks. (Or, in Izuku's case, everything else.)

They're shown around the house they'll be staying at… and meet a young boy as they do. Mandalay introduces him: Izumi Kouta. Her nephew; she took him in after his parents passed away.

Trying to make nice, Izuku greets him, leaning down to him. Kouta reels a fist back, and punches Izuku's balls.

Mandalay freaks out, apologising for Kouta and scolding him at the same time. Whimpering, Izuku falls to the ground, clutching his privates, and wheezes out, "It's okay!" It's not, and the lads take Izuku away, comforting him.

Soon, they relax in a sauna, (with 1-B), Izuku less offended about being punched in the nuts and more concerned about why it was the first thing a child did upon meeting someone knew. Hanta encourages Izuku to let it go, or else he'll have to wear a protective cup. Neitou and Yosetsu immediately laugh at the implication, Tetsutetsu and Juuzou quietly protecting their own jewels, Manga and Shihai offering sympathies.

As they speak, wondering how their friends are handling things in U.A., and wondering what's to come tomorrow, many things happen. Next door, the girls get in, loud, and Minoru immediately moves far away from the dividing wall, but is suddenly faced by the fact that he is surrounded by buff people. It's to the point where he ends up passing out.

Up on the wall, Kouta leans over, wondering what the hell is going on as the boys panic over Minoru, only to slip.

He screams as he falls, and Izuku and Neitou react at the same time. Izuku runs forward, hands out to catch Kouta. Neitou taps Manga and yells out, "Fukafuka!", creating a 'fluffy' surface of words underneath Kouta. Izuku manages to get to Kouta in time, bearing the brunt of the fall as he crashes back into the 'fukafuka' creation.

[Fukafuka – Japanese onomatopoeia used to describe a soft or fluffy object]

"Are you okay!?"

Kouta stares up at Izuku, Hanta slowly inching close in case Kouta goes for Izuku's inches. It doesn't happen. Instead, Kouta blubbers and blubbers until Izuku takes him to the side with Minoru, where the latter is recovering from his crisis and near-drowning.

As Izuku fans Kouta, he truly does wonder what happened to this young boy.

Notes:

Yeah, All Might actually gave a chance for Izuku to turn away from the information about All for One. He's a good man.

Okay, seriously, I know that All Might hasn't been that involved lately, and that's most because he has no reason to be, but he will be more involved in upcoming arcs. For now, I'm mostly focusing on Izuku and the main quartet, with some character development for others sprinkled in-between, (Bakugou, Minoru, Tooru, Momo, Yuuga)

How many of you thought Aizawa's threat would be a logical ruse? Be honest. Hehehe…

I don't know how obvious it was, but, despite being in charge of fighting them, Kyouka, Tooru, and Mezou did not have an easy time. None of the golems were really destroyed, considering they don't have a core to destroy

Conclusion:

All Might tells Izuku about All for One and apologises

Team A attend the training camp

Izuku tries, and fails, to reach out to Kouta

#my rewrite academia #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #mha critical #my hero academia #rewrite #horikoshi critical #plot #week 25 #training camp arc

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my-rewrite-academia · 7 days ago

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Week 25 (Training Camp - Part 2):

Training Time!

The morning after the Sauna Incident™, 1-B, (half of them, anyway), wake up at 7 AM, only to find that the 1-A students are already out of bed. Vlad King takes them outside for training after breakfast, revealing that 1-A have been awake since 5 AM, and are in the middle of training.

Yuuga trains his endurance by blasting his navel laser into the air repetitively, until he eventually throws up, takes a five minute break, and returns to doing it again.

Tsuyu strengthens her limbs to maximise her flexibility and agility, as well as how far her tongue can stretch and how much it can lift.

Tooru uses her quirk to heat up a pot of water until it boils, then cool it until it freezes. When she isn't doing that, she's learning how to silence her breathing and steps with Aizawa.

Kyouka strengthens her earlobes by penetrating stone, and trying to create as many vibrations as she can within each jab.

Kouji screams into the forest, increasing the output of his voice, basically learning how to create noises at a pitch only animals can hear.

Izuku trains with Tiger to strengthen his reaction time, speed, strength, and his thinking on the fly, as he has no quirk to train.

Minoru peels off ball after ball on his scalp, even when he bleeds, to propagate healing to allow the balls to keep its adhesiveness longer, and to make more grow.

Hanta shoots his tape as far as it can go, then some more, as well as using his tape to pull increasingly heavier objects. On the side, Aizawa helps him learn how to navigate dense areas.

Mezou trains his senses to the max, having Tooru help him when she can, and he trains how fast he can change each limb to an eye, an ear, a mouth, or hands.

Momo is tasked with creating as many items as she can, only allowed to eat after she's exhausted her quirk to its theoretical limit, to help increase her load.

1-B are already terrified at the sight of them, and that fear is only strengthened when Vlad grins down at them, declaring that it's their turn.

Yosetsu welds objects together, both organic and non-organic, bettering his reaction time and speed of welding.

Manga creates as many onomatopoeia as he can, each different from the previous, to increase his palette and reduce the time between each creation.

Juuzou has a mountain-side for his use, having to soften the ground but halt it in time to not cause a landslide, to help his control.

Yui is faced with many objects, having to resize them, some giant and some tiny. Her goal is to make an object the size of the house and one the size of an ant, potentially smaller.

Shihai has to merge with shadows from the forest, slowly working his way into the lighter shadows until he cannot feel any sort of pull, and push for it anyway.

Neitou's main goal is to juggle through everyone's quirks, (those he can copy, in any case), without gaining any information from the person as to how to use their quirk.

Tetsutetsu strengthens his hardening with help from Pixie-Bob's quirk, as she has golems attack Tetsutetsu at each end, until he cannot hold it up any longer.

Reikou moves as many objects as she can, pushing past her weight limit, and increasing the velocity of which she can move them.

Pony has to increase how far she can throw her horns, as well as how much they can carry, using boulders and tree trunks to aid her.

It's a hell of a time, but it'll be worth it – to become stronger.

During one of Izuku's breaks, he takes the chance to observe his classmates, mind busy with two different things. Kouta, and All for One.

Kouta is hostile to anyone and everyone, and he nearly seriously injured himself just the day before in the sauna. Shortly after he brought him, (and Minoru), to the infirmary, he managed to ask Mandalay about Kouta, and was told about his parents. The Water Hose heroes, killed in duty when Kouta was only three. Mandalay had considered it a noble way to go, especially for a hero. But Sosaki Shino has always wished they ran away instead.

It's not heroic. In fact, some would even call it cowardly. But she would rather they be alive than to die, selfish as it is. They died saving people, which is a pretty good way to go. Kouta, however, has never seen it like that. He didn't know his parents as heroes, he only saw them as his parents. To him, they chose to die as heroes, than to live on as his parents.

When he was told, Izuku didn't know how to feel. On one hand, as heroes, it's their job to put their lives on the line and fight for those who can't fight for themselves… On the other hand, when do heroes stop being heroes and start being human? When is it okay for them to admit defeat? Will it ever be okay?

He sees Kouta's hostility now, and he doesn't see a volatile brat. He sees a damaged boy, who has no idea how to grieve in a world where his parents' deaths were called noble rather than tragic.

… Then, of course, there's the conversation with All Might. About All for One.

It's been on his mind since that day, really. Someone who could take and give quirks as he desired. It's cruel to take others' quirks, yet Izuku knows that the him of last year would have given anything to have a quirk of his own. It plagues him: this question of if he would have taken a quirk a year ago, given the chance, if only so he had a shot of making it into a hero school.

As he thinks about it, his eyes flicker around his friends and classmates, observing their quirks, and just imagining for a moment. What would happen if he got any of their quirks? Most of their quirks only worked with them because of their secondary or tertiary quirks. Everyone had some form of them; even the quirkless had them.

Unnatural hair, eyes, and skin were often tertiary – barely considered a quirk considering how normal it all was now. Secondary quirks often allowed the main quirk to function as they do. Tsuyu's biology allows the merging of a frog's, specifically with the stomach and joints. Tooru's biology allows her body to handle radiation at such a high level. Kyouka's ears resisting loud noises, unable to be ruptured by her own sounds. Kouji's larynx allows him to reach such high decibels, his voice louder than what is usual – if not for his larynx, he wouldn't be able to use his quirk at all.

Of course, it's not infallible. Quirk backlash is still a thing. Ochako becomes nauseous after using her quirk more than she can; Tenya's legs cramp up after a while of using his engines, and they can overheat; Shouto can get both hypothermia and hyperthermia if he's not careful. It's like straining a muscle after overworking. Quirk backlash only occurs after strenuous use, due to the secondary quirk supporting it.

If Izuku received any of their quirks, there would be nothing to support his usage of it. Heck, he'd just end up like Yuuga, who can't use his quirk for more than a second without risking damage to his… body…

Izuku's mind races, eyeing Yuuga as he crumples, face scrunched as he fires into the sky, legs shaking horribly, mouth crusted with vomit, eyes red.

… The human body isn't designed to support any quirk other than your own. The noumus proved that. Quirk backlash certainly exists, but not to this extent. Not unless the quirk is either incredibly destructive… or if the quirk doesn't suit the user's body.

There was a meeting. Shortly after the USJ incident. Midnight hadn't been there. No, it was Mic. Before he started the meeting, he had warned them that the contents may induce paranoia, and specifically warned Izuku that he wouldn't like the implications. Fool that he is, he stayed.

And he was informed of a traitor.

It had taken all of his strength to not reveal it to his classmates, and take the burden onto himself. They didn't need to spend every minute together suspecting others of betraying them, of betraying their trust. Izuku had spent those weeks leading up to the Sports Festival examining each of his classmates, including 1-B. 'Just in case,' he swore to himself, as if didn't know what that case was.

He… He had to tell Mic, when they got back. It was nothing definitive, and he'll have to keep All for One out of it, but even a small chance meant so much more.

Hopefully, it's just a coincidence. If not, then… then he'll deal with it when the time comes.

During the night, Kouta disappears. Mandalay isn't too concerned, as Ragdoll can still feel him within her radius, faint as it is, but Izuku is. It's dinner, and he didn't see Kouta eat anything, distracted as he may have been. So, he finds an insulated bento box, fills it with the curry whipped up with the might of Tsuyu, Izuku, Hanta, Yui, and Neitou.

It takes far longer than he thought it would, but he manages to find Kouta on the mountainside.

"It's cold, you know."

Kouta shrieks, throwing out some water from his hands as he does. It does little, splashing on Izuku's shoes. He regains his sense of sense shortly after, hugging his knees and glaring at Izuku. "What do you want? How did you find me? Stalker."

Izuku brushes the insult off, approaching him with the bento. "I want to give you some food. I found you by looking around – it took me thirty minutes. This is a good hiding spot."

Kouta rolls his eyes. "It only takes ten minutes to get here. And go away. I'm not hungry." Betraying him, his stomach grumbles.

Izuku doesn't bring any attention to it, only opening the bento. "In that case, then I guess I can eat it," he teases, unwrapping the tissue holding a spoon. "Ah, I can't wait! This curry is so delicious! Mild but with that amazing tang. A hint of apple to add some sweetness to it!" He scoops some rice with the curry, bringing it to his mouth. "Aaaaahhh–"

Kouta, face red, grabs the spoon and shoves it in his own mouth. Izuku smiles as Kouta takes the bento off him, eating with vigour. "… It's good," he mumbles, eating it until it's all gone.

"…" Izuku takes a deep breath, scooting closer to Kouta. "Mandalay-san told me about your parents."

"Huh!?" Kouta glares at him. "… Why does that matter? No, let me guess: you think they died a noble and heroic death, huh? That I should be proud of them!? Is that it!?"

"I'm sorry," Izuku says instead, silencing Kouta. "I'm sorry that happened to them, and to you. None of you deserved it."

Kouta is stupefied. "Why… Why are you sorry? Everyone…" He looks down, hands balling into fists. "Everyone always says that they were heroes. That they died as heroes. To save people… If they really cared, then… Then!" He shakes his head, tears in his eyes. "Then why did they leave me!?"

Izuku jolts. Of things he expected, it wasn't that.

"Why did they care about a bunch of strangers more than their own son!? Why did they care more about being heroes than loving me!?"

'Oh,' Izuku realises. This is a child. This is a young boy in front of him. A kid who wasn't allowed to grieve or mourn his parents, for the world around him commended their deaths. A kid who doesn't know how to handle loss, for the world around didn't see it as one. They call it glory in death, a heroic sacrifice. Anything but a tragedy.

This is a boy trying to make sense of something that has no explanation.

"Kouta-kun…"

"Don't!" Kouta snaps, eyes and nose red. "All you heroes are the same! Keep saying you want to save people, but you don't even think about the ones you leave behind. I hate you. I hate you all! Leave me alone!" He throws another ball of water, striking Izuku in the face.

Izuku doesn't bother dodging, or trying to wipe it off. Instead, he collects the empty bento. "For what it's worth," he says as he leaves, "I don't think your parents wanted to die. I don't think they wanted to leave you."

Kouta jumps, and Izuku smiles at him.

"I think they were trying to make a safer world for you."

Roguish Interception

Skipping through the dense streets of Tokyo, one Toga Himiko is on her way to the Rogue's base of operations. Yes, there's a bit of blood on her, stuck between her teeth, but that isn't so important. What is important is a certain someone she spots walking into an inconspicuous bar. Her first thought is, 'wow, I didn't realise our bases were so close together.' Her next thought is that she should probably tail them.

That feeling only doubles when she sees three others walk in, two of them she recognises as pretty well known villains. And if they're with Tomura, then the League of Villains are making their move.

Sneaking by, she stays as close as she can without being spotted, shoving metal rod between the door as it closes, keeping it slightly open for her to hear.

It's not entirely clear, but it's enough.

With new information in hand, Himiko turns away. As a Rogue, she will follow her beloved Stain's footsteps, and fighting against the League of Villains, whom Stain proclaimed to be wrong, is her first step. Their first step.

The second day passes, then the third, fourth, and, finally, the fifth. All goes as normal: wake up, eat, train, eat, train, eat, sleep. Well, it would have gone as normal, except for that last bit about sleeping.

Instead, they have a test of courage. A fine test for heroes. 1-B are up for scaring first, and 1-A will do the scaring afterwards. The Pussy Cats are all in different points in the forest, with Ragdoll at the start. They're all paired up, making for five pairs. Izuku choses Yuuga as his pair, keeping an eye on him, especially with how nervous Yuuga appears to be. He claims that he doesn't do well with horror, but Izuku can imagine another reason.

The pairs are: Yuuga & Izuku, Tsuyu & Kouji, Tooru & Mezou, Kyouka & Momo, and Minoru & Hanta.

Minoru and Hanta go up first, with Minoru clinging onto Hanta for dear life. They disappear into the forest, and Minoru's screams echo in the night, followed by giggling and laughter from the 1-B students.

After two minutes, Kyouka and Momo enter, Momo shyly admitting that she's bad with horror. Kyouka teases her, stating that she'll protect her honour. They go in, and it's a boy who screams first, followed by Momo's incessant apologies. When she said she's bad with horror, she meant she chooses fight over flight.

Tooru and Mezou go in and, only a minute later, there's a shriek. "Sensei!" Tooru screams, unseen. "There's something wrong!"

Aizawa stirs, hand on his scarf. Nearby, Ragdoll gasps. "Intruders!" she declares, Search reaching all around her. "Unknown individuals have arrived on the site!"

Izuku and the remaining three stiffen. Aizawa curses under his breath. "Find Mandalay," he says to Ragdoll. "Have her inform the students." He turns to his students. "Do not do any reckless."

As Izuku is about to agree, he remembers the time. More specifically, he remembers who always disappears around this time, for the past five days. "Sensei, Kouta-kun! He's not here – he's up in the mountains!"

Ragdoll frowns. "How likely is he to be found?"

"Likely," Izuku reports. "Especially if they're not walking."

"… Ugh." Aizawa palms his face. "Midoriya. Get to Kouta. Take your weapons. Do not engage unless necessary."

"Yes, sensei!" Izuku doesn't waste a moment, and Tsuyu helps. As soon as Izuku comes back with his weapons, Tsuyu grabs him with her tongue and gets up high. Izuku immediately points in the direction, needing no prompting.

"Good luck," Tsuyu says, before throwing him far away in that direction. He runs, and runs, desperate, praying to any God out there that Kouta is okay.

Ragdoll runs off shortly after, focusing on the energy she knows belongs to Mandalay. Aizawa, meanwhile, stays behind with the kids, reluctantly allowing Tsuyu, Yuuga, and Kouji to aid him if necessary.

It takes only a minute before something happens. Two marbles land by them. Aizawa's first instinct is to push the kids behind him, activating Erasure at the objects.

"Now, now," a voice says, from the trees behind him. "I was under the impression that your quirk does not work on objects." The man, Mr. Compress, snaps his fingers and the marbles glow, disappearing to leave behind a burly woman, Magne, and a blonde teenager, Himiko.

"Bit tacky," Magne remarks, not bothering to even look at Aizawa or the kids. "This ain't the League, Compress."

"I'm aware," Compress says, twinkling. "But Spinner-kun did request that we protect the students, so long as they aren't posers."

"Don't worry!" Himiko sings, knives glinting in the moonlight. "You guys look super cute. Especially you," she waltzes up to Tsuyu, who instinctively backs away, Aizawa stepping in to shield her. "Aw, don't worry! I'd say I don't bite, but that would be lying. But I did make a promise not to hurt anyone Spinny doesn't want me to."

"Who are you?" Aizawa says, cutting to the chase. "Are you part of the League of Villains? What are your intentions with my students?"

Mr. Compress jumps from the tree, landing strongly on his feet. "We are not part of that group. In fact, we are here today to take them down, and to protect your students as much as we can. As for who we are…"

A pillar of blue flames rises in the distance, colouring the trio in a blue light.

"We are the Blemished Rogues."

My Hero

Kouta said it takes ten minutes to get to the mountain-side. It probably does for a little boy. For Izuku, however? Now that he knows how to get there, it doesn't take thirty minutes. It takes six.

Six minutes is a lot when it comes to a fight, which is exactly what he comes upon when he arrives.

Kouta by a villain, muscles wrapped around his limbs, creating a dense weapon and shield that could break from nothing. Muscles on their own are soft, but when they've been layered like so, it becomes a lot harder.

"You killed them!" Kouta is screaming, and Izuku runs as fast as he can. "You killed my parents! You're the reason they're gone!"

Muscular, the villain, only laughs, full of sadistic glee. "I did!" he declares, like one would present a trophy. "Your parents gave me this eye, you know? Hurt like a bitch." He squeezes Kouta tighter, who screams, unable to thrash in such a tight grip. "And they died just like this. Crying, screaming, and pathetic."

"Shut up…!" Kouta gasps, tears falling from his eyes, splashing Muscular to no avail. "Shut up! Don't you dare talk about them! They… They were my parents! Give them back!"

"Don't worry, brat." Muscular chuckles, squeezing tighter. "I'm sending you to them!"

Izuku remembers Aizawa's orders. Do not engage unless necessary.

It seems pretty necessary.

Unsheathing his katana, he rushes in, blade at the ready, and he cleaves into Muscular's arm.

Muscular screams, letting go of Kouta in his fit of pain. Izuku aims his grappling hook, shooting it onto the edge, and grabbing onto Kouta. As Muscular regains his barings, Izuku jumps off the cliff, Kouta in a fireman hold in his arm, the rope lowering them down the mountain as fast as he can without harming either of them.

"M… Midoriya…" Kouta croaks, body bruised, face streaky with tears. "You came for me?"

"Of course!" Izuku says, kicking off a bit of the wall, away from the slope of it. "I'm not a hero yet, but I don't have to be one to save someone in need!"

As he says that, Muscular cries out atop the cliff, and punches straight into the ground, right where Izuku's hook is tethered. It comes off, snapping back to Izuku's wrist.

Cursing, he grabs Kouta with both arms, tucking him in as they fall onto the sloping terrain, rolling across it. He yells out in pain at each drop, Kouta screaming in fear, until they finally land on grass – by the edge of the forest.

"Crap…" Izuku mutters, body battered and bruised.

Kouta grabs onto Izuku's shirt. "Midoriya! Midoriya! Are you okay?"

Izuku coughs wetly, and he's sure he may have punctured a lung, which means a broken rib. It takes a great amount of effort, but he manages to get up, feeling a bit ashamed as Kouta helps him. "We have to go," he says, instead of answering Kouta's question. "He's going to follow us and–"

"Midoriya!?" From the forest emerges Neitou, along with Reikou. "What the hell happened to you?" Neitou asks.

"Not important," he stresses, Kouta looking between them with wide eyes. "Villains are here. We need to get back to Aizawa-sensei!"

A loud bang. Dirt thrown up from the landing. Muscular emerges from the cloud of dirt, right behind Neitou and Reikou, pissed as his arm bleeds sluggishly.

"You brat," Muscular growls. "You'll pay for this!"

Neitou and Reikou step back, falling into a stance. "Nevermind," Neitou says, grinning nervously. "I think I have my answer now."

"Kouta-kun," Izuku says, drawing his katana once more. "Get behind us. Find some shelter."

"But–!"

"Don't worry." He smiles. "We won't die."

Kouta bites his bottom lip. "You better not!" He turns to run away.

Muscular reaches out to him, and Reikou reacts first, pulling on his tightly wound muscles, ripping them from his skin. "I don't think so," she states, cold and certain. "You'll have to go through us!"

"You bitch!" Muscular screeches. Neitou taps Reikou's skin. "I'll kill you!"

"Will you now!?" Neitou pulls too, just as Reikou does, working in tandem to unravel his muscles. To their credit, they only cringe at the sheer amount of blood that spills as they do so.

Muscular screams, his agonised shrieks echoing. But, he grits his teeth, grinning crazily. "I get it. I get it!" He grunts, stumbling back. "You brats… You can't use that telekinesis to lift a human, right!?" Reikou clicks her tongue. "I'm right! In other words…" He reels his fist back, moving towards Reikou. "You can't stop me from killing you."

"They can't," Izuku says, breathing raggedly as he angles his katana, "but I can!" He steps forth, aiming low, and he cuts right across Muscular's achilles tendon on both ankles. As he imagined it would, Muscular falls to his knees, unable to support his legs. "Yanagi-san! We need something to keep him down!"

"On it!"

Muscular roars with rage, lashing out and grabbing Izuku's arm, entwining muscles around both of them. Neitou immediately tries to pull his muscles out, only for Muscular to both create more and swipe a leg under Neitou's, tripping him up, and pinning him down with the same leg, blood dripping all over Neitou's chest.

"You…" Izuku grits his teeth, dropping his katana. If he was in costume, he could use his arm brace to cut the muscles from within. Unfortunately, he's not in costume. He's only got his grappling hook and katana, the latter of which is on the floor.

As such, he goes for a different method, wrapping his fingers around Muscular's prosthetic eye and pulling.

It's gruesome and bloody and downright cruel, but there's no time to consider the morality of it as the eye comes out, Muscular writhes and screams in agony, snapping Izuku's wrist as he does. Neitou reaches out with Reikou's quirk, dragging Muscular's back muscles to the ground, and Reikou reaches under the ground, pulling the roots of trees, dragging and warping them until they fit around Muscular's build, tying him to the ground.

In the end, Muscular succumbs to the pain and passes out, muscles retracting and forcing Reikou to tighten the roots around him.

Izuku falls to the ground, wrist firmly broken, and it hurts like hell, but he can't stop now. They still have to get Kouta to safety.

"Come on, Midoriya," Neitou encourages, his chest still feeling heavy with the imprint of Muscular's foot. "We need to get out of here."

"Yeah," Izuku grunts, his breaths short and wet. He coughs and, lo and behold, blood comes out with it. "C-Crap," he says, grabbing at his shirt with his relatively uninjured hand, pulling at it to no avail. "Gotta… splint my wrist."

"Don't speak," Reikou orders, pale from both the events of the fight and how beaten Izuku and Neitou are. "Hey, kid!" she yells, for Kouta. "It's safe now! We gotta get outta here!"

Kouta peeks his head out from a corner, face wet with tears, and nods shakily, running up to join them.

Neitou takes Izuku's shirt, ripping off the edges. "I'll splint this. I'm no pro, but I know a bit about first aid." He taps Reikou again to replenish her quirk, using it to rip some barks off a tree and wind the cloth around it and Izuku's wrist, pushing on even when Izuku's grimaces and grunts at the pain. It takes a minute, maybe less, then they're back on their feet, re-entering the forest with a single goal in mind.

Get to safety.

Anti-Villain

As Izuku, Neitou, and Reikou fight Muscular, some of them are caught unaware as a sadistic, cannibalistic villain finds them: Moonfish.

Juuzou and Manga, ready to scare some 1-A students, Momo and Kyouka, trying to not throw hands at a jumpscare. As Kyouka and Momo walk by, Juuzou and Manga are ready to scare them… Until someone else does it for them.

Blades shooting from the forest, stabbing right where Momo and Kyouka would be, had Kyouka not heard the rustling of the leaves and pushed herself and Momo out of the way.

"What the hell!?" Kyouka snaps. "Who's putting up lethal scares!?"

"We didn't!" Juuzou rushes to assure, stepping out of his hiding space. "None us are aiming to hurt you. That wasn't us."

"Then," Momo says, creating an object in her hand, "it must be an outsider." She tosses the object, battery-powered lights, catching them on the branches. Moonfish stands there, straight-jacket firmly strapped around his body, a dazed look in his eyes.

"Who are you?" Juuzou asks, summoning as much bravery as he can. "Depending on your answer, we'll either take you down, or escort you out of the premises."

Instead of a straight answer, Moonfish watches them, bloodlust wafting from him. "Yes… Yes, this is good… No, not good. Not here. Can't find them… But this is good for me… Your flesh… will help me concentrate." He chuckles, manic despite how low it is. It sends shivers up the quartets' spines. "I am Moonfish. You are my meals."

His teeth glisten, and blades shoot from them, precise and sharp. Juuzou falls to the ground, slamming his hands on the floor and softening the ground beneath Moonfish. Moonfish dodges, using his teeth blades to propel him up.

Momo creates a shield over one arm, and creates a bola in her other hand. With a wind-up, she tosses it up at Moonfish, aiming at his feet, only for him to use his teeth to block it, sending others at Momo, who blocks it with her shield, taken by surprise at how strong they are.

Manga goes next, as Moonfish lands on the ground, yelling out 'FWOOSH!', creating a large amount of wind underneath Moonfish's landing, destabilising him.

Seeing this, Kyouka shoves her lobes into the ground, sending a harsh vibration into the Earth and directing it towards Moonfish. He responds by trying to use his teeth on the ground to push himself to safety, only for those vibrations to carry into his teeth, to his gums, to his head, to his brain.

He warbles in pain, wobbling as he slowly pushes himself up. Juuzou tries to take the chance to soften the terrain underneath him, only for Moonfish to, without an issue, shoot his teeth at Juuzou, stabbing into his arm. Juuzou reels back, and the teeth retract, Juuzou's blood coming with it.

"Perfect," he moans, licking up every bit of blood, much to the groups' horror and disgust. "No, not perfect. I need to concentrate. Need to find the kid… Need… I need flesh…" He grins, laughing crazily. "I need your flesh!"

Teeth-blades shoot in every which direction, forcing everyone to dodge, including Kyouka, resulting in her lobes coming out of the ground, though they can't escape all of them, blades cutting into their flesh. Before anyone can react, Moonfish is already up, leaping up to the trees, cackling madly and each of them bleed, his blades catching a good portion of it. He licks it all, savouring each bit.

"So delicious… So good. Give it to me…! Give me your bodies! Your blood, your flesh, your bones. I need it!"

"You need to cool down."

All four of them turn, just as a burst of blue flames shoot out, slamming into Moonfish and sorching him.

"You're way too hot-headed." Dabi snorts, hand outstretched. "Get it?"

None of them can answer. Instead, they prepare to fight against him, four against two. Or one, maybe.

"Who are you?" Moonfish asks, head tilting all around. "You're not in the League… You… Why are you stopping me?" His voice pitches up, psychotic. "This isn't fair. I need their flesh. I need it. Why are you stopping me?"

Dabi shrugs. "I'd say it's nothing personal, but I'd be damned if you don't freak me out." Blue erupts from his hands once more, and Moonfish dodges this time, now aware of the threat. "I have a… special interest in keeping these kids alive. And taking you fuckers down."

"In that case," Momo turns away from Dabi, "I can assume you're on our side?"

"Probably."

"Good." Momo holds her shield up, empty hand at the ready. "Then, as they say, I'll leave my back to you."

Dabi grins. "Got it, ojou-chan."

Moonfish strikes, a large-scale attack, and Manga responds with a loud, "THUNK! BAM! CLANG!", creating a wall of words to block the attack. As he does, Juuzou gets to the tree, softening the material and forcing Moonfish off it. Kyouka creates vibrations in the ground to trip him up, Momo getting in close with her shield, and creating a jar of acid and shattering it on Moonfish's teeth, corroding and eating away at it.

"Dodge!" Dabi yells, and Momo barely gets out of the way in time for a haze of flames to attack Moonfish.

He screeches, teeth-blades snapping off with a "BANG!" from Manga, body burning from Dabi's flames. Momo backs up, creating a gas bomb with chloroform and chucking it at Moonfish, before running back, creating five gas-masks and passing them to the others. As soon as they put it on, the bomb goes off, chloroform erupting from it.

Moonfish writhes, lolling from side to side, before creating more teeth-blades, the ends jagged and burnt from Momo's acid, and twisting it around, and around, until the chloroform clears away. But, it did its work – he's dazed. Dazed enough for Dabi to land a perfect strike of flames, right at his chest and face, searing the clothes off and attacking the skin.

Faced with this torment of pain, Moonfish collapses to the ground, Juuzou softening it up and solidifying it to trap him in the mud.

Dabi approaches him, glaring down at him. "You know, they say that burns are one of the most painful injuries you can get." He smirks sardonically, pushing his foot against Moonfish's burnt face. "Especially second degree burns," which he made sure to give him, "on the hands, feet, and the face. Until those heal, you'll be in complete agony." He digs his foot in deeper, reveling in Moonfish's sob of pain. "But I think this is a more fitting punishment."

A spark of flame, straight into Moonfish's open mouth, kissing his tongue and burning. No, not burning, torching. Moonfish shrieks, thrashing in his bonds.

"What are you doing!?" Kyouka snaps. "Stop it!"

"Too late," Dabi states, hands in his pockets. "His tongue's already burnt. For good fucking reason."

Momo's eyes narrow. "A good reason? There's no good reason to torture someone!"

He sighs, rolling his eyes. "You kids don't know shit about the real world. Besides, unless you can think of a better fitting punishment for a damn cannibal, you can't say shit about my methods."

"A cannibal?" Juuzou asks faintly. "I mean, I kind of got those vibes with all the crap he was saying, but he actually…"

"Ate someone?" They flinch at Dabi's straight-forwardness. "Yeah. He's pretty well-known among villains for being a disgusting freak. With that tongue of his," he grins sadistically, "he'll never be able to taste anything. Not even his favourite meal."

Manga shakes his head. "Even so… he won't be able to eat humans in prison. You didn't need to go that far."

"Prison's a short-term solution," Dabi rebukes. "Now, even if he breaks out, he can't do it again. Or, at least, he can't gain the same pleasure of doing it again."

They're still not convinced. But that's honestly the least of their worries right now. The League are here, and they're far more competent this time around.

Notes:

ABOUT IZUKU FIGURING IT OUT: He's only able to figure it out because All Might told him about All for One's quirk, and because he knows a lot about quirk science. Additionally, if Yuuga hadn't been in sight while he was thinking about it, it would have taken him longer to put the pieces together

Kouta!! I always felt like his trauma was just poorly handled in canon. Mandalay basically just says that he'll understand why heroes put their lives on the line, and that isn't a healthy way to deal with a kid's trauma. Empathy works wonders, and Izuku has plenty to spare

The Rogues!! I was actually really excited to get to this. The difference between heroes and vigilantes isn't just that a hero follows the laws, but that vigilantes have more gray morality than black and white, and that is personified in Dabi especially

Izuku finally broke a bone. Canon Izuku would be so proud

Conclusion:

Izuku places suspicion on Yuuga and his quirk

The LOV attacks the camp, and the Blemished Rogues intercept them

Muscular is beaten by Izuku, Yanagi, and Neitou

Moonfish who is taken down by Momo, Kyouka, Juuzou and Manga, with Dabi's help

#my rewrite academia #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #mha critical #my hero academia #rewrite #horikoshi critical #plot #week 25 #training camp arc

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