Chapter 7

If Izuku had thought he could get away with it, he would have done a little dance of excitement. Only the second week of school, and already they're going on a field trip. His first field trip at Yuuei – and something tells him it will be different from the field trips he took throughout elementary and middle school. For one thing, they're only going as far as an off-campus school facility. For another, he's here to learn more hero skills instead of take a tour of the city or learn about history.

(And for a third, he has actual friends now, so his chances of getting ditched in a bathroom while his group sneaks off to laugh about it with the rest of the class are considerably smaller.)

His costume is still in tatters after the battle exercise, so Izuku gets into his gym uniform and dons his gloves, belt, and the new mouth guard he bought to replace the previous one. Rei whisks around him, admiring the odds and ends, and he holds out his hand and lets her inspect one of the gloves. Inwardly he's nearly vibrating with excitement. For the first time, they'll be taught jointly today by All-Might and Aizawa. It's always a joy learning from All-Might, and even Aizawa seems pretty okay with him ever since he narrowly avoided disaster on the first day of school. The thought is encouraging; after talking to Narita and Mrs. Kitayama yesterday, Izuku knows with little doubt that Aizawa's approval is something to strive for.

He makes his way outside, chatting with Uraraka. A chilly breath of air passes him by, and a familiar figure falls in step with him.

"Morning, half-pint."

Izuku blinks up at Ms. Shimura briefly. She's here, but All-Might isn't. It's not as rare to see that when they're at Yuuei, but it's still odd.

She must recognize the confusion on his face, because she shrugs and gives him a rueful look. "All-Might's gonna have to sit this one out. He ended up, uh, running a few too many errands this morning. His three hours are pretty much up, and it looks like Nedzu's gonna make sure he stays in the teacher's lounge instead of running off into more trouble. And I swear, that guy could talk villains to an early grave if he put his mind to it, so." She quirks a half-smile at him. "I think he's got his babysitter for the day, so I might as well tag along. I'm curious, you know?"

Izuku gives an almost imperceptible nod, but he can't help pulling a long face at the news. He'd really been looking forward to this joint class, too…

"Deku?" Uraraka's voice pulls his attention back to his living friend. "Something wrong? You kind of spaced out there." She follows the direction of his previous gaze, and stares straight at Ms. Shimura without seeing her.

"I'm fine. I, uh, thought I saw a bird or something."

She takes him at his word. Of course she does; she has no reason to believe that he would lie to her over something so small.

Less than a year ago, Izuku would have been overjoyed to be so easily believed, but now all he can feel is a sharp pang of guilt. For whatever reason, Uraraka trusts him unconditionally. She takes for granted that Izuku is worth trusting, that everything he says to her is true. It makes her so much easier to lie to than his bullying classmates throughout junior high.

Izuku has never felt so desperately uncomfortable with deceiving someone before. Maybe it's just because no one ever made it so easy by being his friend.

Under Iida's maximum-efficiency guidance, the class files onto the bus. Izuku passes close to Aizawa on his way in, and tries not to wince when Rei growls and tries to bite him when they get too close. Narita glares at her from where he stands at Aizawa's flank, but she ignores him.

"Wow," Ms. Shimura says dryly. "Your little friend there really knows how to hold a grudge."

Izuku dawdles while stepping onto the bus, mouth barely moving as he murmurs back. "Still hasn't forgiven him for the first day."

"Did you say something, Deku?" Uraraka looks over her shoulder.

"Just talking to myself," he lies again.

Before he has the chance to feel bad about it again, Kirishima gives his shoulder a friendly thump, and they get settled in their seats. "That's our Midoriya," Kirishima laughs. "I bet your hero name'll be the Mumbler."

Izuku flushes red when the others laugh, but it's not shame or hurt this time. They aren't laughing at his expense, or to look down on him, and Kirishima's teasing comment wasn't an insult; it was an honest-to-goodness joke. They're laughing with him, and Kirishima just called him "our" Midoriya. Like he's honestly one of them.

It's a lot to take in.

Everything here is backwards, he thinks. His classmates laugh with him, include him, talk to him, and treat him like someone worth befriending. Less than a week ago, when he ended up with three votes in the class rep election, they even seemed… genuinely happy for him? And now Kirishima's pulling him into a conversation, complimenting his quirk, and beaming when Izuku returns the favor, like Izuku's opinion is something that matters to him.

They like him. It's like they've mistaken him for someone cool.

"Bakugou's personality is pretty terrible," Tsuyu pipes up in the middle of a conversation. "I can't see him getting popular." Bakugou explodes, literally, while the others have a chuckle at his expense.

And now, the one getting teased and mocked is Bakugou.

"This is so weird," he mutters to Rei, who looks like she's having way too much fun watching.

"What's weird?" Tsuyu asks. Luckily, she keeps her voice down, and Bakugou's ranting is loud enough to keep anyone else from hearing their conversation.

"Uh, Bakugou," Izuku murmurs back. "Bakugou's getting bullied, and it's weird."

"It's all in fun," she says.

It's Bakugou, and that means Izuku has a few mental blocks about feeling sorry for him, but Tsuyu's specific words still turn his stomach, if only because he's heard them before, back when he was the one getting bullied. "Is it?"

"Sure." Tsuyu tilts her head. "We're not trying to put him down. He just makes it easy to rile him up. See? He's not hurt or anything."

And it's true; he's not. It's hard to imagine Bakugou with hurt feelings. And… everyone else seems to think so, too.

What they're doing isn't mean-spirited or cruel, the way it was for Izuku. Even when an eloquent, verbose comparison between Bakugou and "crap steeped in sewage" rolls effortlessly off of Kaminari's tongue, Izuku understands with a jolt that they aren't doing it to be mean.

"It's friendly teasing," Tsuyu says.

"Oh." Izuku watches as Bakugou pouts, and glares daggers at Kirishima when he tries to reach over and pat him on the shoulder. "I… didn't know you could do that."

He's not sure if Tsuyu hears him. Ms. Shimura does, if the odd look she sends his way is any indication. She doesn't question him, and neither does Tsuyu.

No, Izuku thinks as he sits on a bus, surrounded by living, breathing friends. This field trip is nothing like the ones he took in middle school.

Definitely nothing like them, he thinks as he tries not to work himself into an excited panic over meeting the Space Hero Thirteen.

Nothing like them, he thinks as he and his classmates gasp in awe and excitement over the Unforeseen Simulation Joint facility.

Nothing like them, he thinks as a black hole opens in the middle of the air, and spirits howl and scream as they pour through.

Izuku takes a step back, and Rei presses close and opens her jaws wide. Beside them, Ms. Shimura steps in front of Izuku, placing herself between him and the oncoming wave of ghosts. "What the hell—"

The howling mass pours forth from the black hole, scattering as they sob and shriek and wail.

Izuku looks to his friends. They're all staring curiously in the direction of the black hole, and only the black hole. No one looks afraid or alarmed, just curious.

The dead fly over their heads, and their howls form words.

"They're coming!"

"Run! Run or you're all dead!"

"Oh God… Oh God there are children here…"

"Get out of here!"

"Run!"

"They can't hear us!"

Without thinking, Izuku steps forward. "What's going on?" he calls, trying to get the attention of at least one of them.

He tries to take another step toward the portal and its ghosts, but a firm hand in front of his chest stops him. Rei lets out a growl. Aizawa has moved forward, placing himself between the students and the black hole. Thirteen is doing the same.

Aizawa speaks then, his voice almost lost beneath the cacophony of the dead. "Villains," he says simply, and a moment later Izuku sees them emerge. They're very much alive, formed into loose, disorganized ranks, and they're stepping through the black hole like something out of a nightmare.

"Thirteen and Eraserhead," a voice booms. "That's odd. The schedule we received told us that Thirteen and All-Might were supposed to be teaching this class."

"Where is he?" The unfamiliar voice cuts through the din so cleanly that for a moment Izuku is sure it can only be another ghost. But no—Izuku sees the ghosts turning, hears their voices quieting. They are all looking in the same direction, at the same person.

A man stands at the back of the villains, shoulders hunched, hands hanging loosely at his sides. At least, the hands that belong to him. There are many more pairs of hands, disembodied and pale, hanging from him as if part of a grotesque costume. On his arms, his ribs, around his neck as if strangling him. One hand covers his face like a mask.

"I went through all the trouble of bringing them," the man with severed hands says. "And he's not even here. Where is All-Might? They said he would be here." His head tilts to the side. "I wonder if he'll come if we kill some kids?"

A sharp intake of breath turns Izuku's head, and his blood runs cold. Ms. Shimura was standing beside him before, but now she floats several meters back, standing stock-still as if… well, as if she's seen a ghost. Her eyes are still blank and white, but the outline of her form wavers, and her face is a mask of frozen horror.

Her lips part, and her voice is so, so small. "No." She's shaking from head to toe. "No, no, he can't have—"

Izuku edges closer to her, zeroing in on her so that all other voices fade into the background. "Ms. Shimura?" he says under his breath.

Her hand moves to cover her mouth, and she doesn't answer.

"Everyone get back to the bus," Aizawa says. The scarf ripples around him as he walks forward. He reaches for the goggles hanging around his neck. "Thirteen, start the evacuation. Try calling the school. If the sensors are out, then they may have someone with a radio-jamming quirk."

"Ohhh man," Narita murmurs, his voice tight with excitement. "You're gonna see him cut loose now. This is gonna be so cool."

"He's outnumbered," Izuku says under his breath. "His style is ambushing, erasing, and then capturing, not fighting a crowd by himself…"

With the ghosts' screams burning in his ears, he misjudges how quietly he speaks. Aizawa glances over his shoulder and briefly meets his eyes. "Back to the bus, Midoriya," he says, and slips the goggles into place.

"But-"

Without a backward glance, Aizawa launches himself off the top of the steps. Narita follows close behind, whooping in excitement. Izuku can only watch, frozen where he is, until Iida shouts at him to flee with the rest of the class.

Ms. Shimura is still standing at the edge of the steps, motionless as she watches the scene below. She only moves when Rei flies in her face, screaming and dragging at her until she lets herself be pulled along.

They almost make it to the doors. Rei shrieks as the same darkness that formed the black hole suddenly appears in their midst. It's not just a black hole, or moving shadows; it's a man made of darkness, with only a pair of glowing eyes and the vague impression of clothing to prove that he's a person at all.

A warp quirk, some tiny little voice says in the back of Izuku's mind. That's rare.

The students are in a flurry of frantic energy. Most of them stay dutifully behind Thirteen. Others are frozen either in fear or confusion as the man made of darkness blocks the way and menaces them.

The Villain Alliance, he calls this group. Their purpose is to find All-Might, and kill him.

Ignoring their teacher's warnings, Bakugou and Kirishima charge forward to fight back. Izuku is too distracted to try to stop them, or join them. Ms. Shimura is in a panic; she flickers and flits about, as if she can barely keep herself together. Rei lets go of him to chase after her and try to corral her.

"Ms. Shimura," he whisper-shouts. His classmates are too distracted to notice or hear him, and he's too alarmed to care. "Ms. Shimura, please. What's wrong? Do you know what's going on?"

"Let go," she says, because Rei has her arms wrapped around her waist to keep her from blinking in and out of view. Her face is tight. "I need to go. I need to—" She stops short, casting a glance toward the fight in the center of the facility.

Izuku follows her gaze. His classmates are distracted, fighting off panic or focusing on the warp gates forming around them. They need to escape. "Who are they?" he asks. "Do you know them?"

A strangled sob cuts off whatever answer she might have given him. Izuku feels his heart clench in his chest. "I have to go," she tells him. "I have to find Toshi." Her wide, blank eyes turn to him, boring into him as tears gather. "I'll bring him—he'll help."

"But you said—and Aizawa and Thirteen, they were signaling each other. He's out of time." An explosion—one of Bakugou's—shakes the facility and sends up a cloud of thick smoke, and Izuku flinches and speaks through the ringing in his ears. "And he can't even see you anyway!"

"I know. I know. But I have to try. I have to try. I can't let this—I can't let him—" She breaks off, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes before the tears can spill over. After a moment she lowers them and turns to Izuku, pale with desperate fear. She cups the side of his face with a hand that feels like ice.

He tries not to shiver at her touch. "Ms. Shimura," he whispers.

She rushes forward into an even colder hug. Her whisper brushes by his ear, so softly that he shouldn't be able to hear it, but he does.

"Don't die, little one. Don't let them kill you."

The breath catches in his throat. "I won't," he whispers back. "I have too much to do."

And then she's gone, and the darkness surrounds him like a blinding fog. He runs, but the ground no longer feels solid, and he barely makes it back to the light when he sinks into the pool of darkness with a cry of alarm. More ice-cold hands clutch at his, and he looks up to see Rei's face twisting and contorting with fear that borders on savagery. She clutches him so tightly that it hurts, but her form is weak and the pull of the warp gate is so much stronger.

"Rei—" His hands slip from hers. The last thing he sees before the warp swallows him whole is his friend's nightmare of a face, jaws opening wide to give vent to her fury.

Little Brother is afraid.

I know this because I see it in his eyes, and I hear it in his breath, and I smell it on him. He is rank with it.

That's not good. Little Brother is never afraid, not unless the bully comes too close to him. He wasn't even afraid of me, when I first found him back when he was still little, even littler than me. He's not so little now but he is still my Little Brother because I will protect him, I will watch him, and if anything tries to hurt him I will tear it to shreds and break it to pieces because he is mine, mine, mine.

But he is afraid now, and I am also afraid, because the darkness is here and it's not my darkness, it's not the same, it's someone else's. It belongs to someone who wants to hurt him and I won't let them, Ì̷̟̳̜̤ ͙̜̣͇̗̫̕w̧̜̖͕͍̗̜̠o̷̮͕̕n̴̖͖̜̠͝͝'̴̼̩͉̟̺̦ṯ̷̥̟̟̯ ̴̘̯̗̰͎̜͜l͏̗̼͈͙͇̠̮͎e̵͖̤͉̰̘̫͓̞̳ṭ̯ ͉̞̀t̖̠͉̼̝̀͟ḥ̝͎̦͚͘e͔̣̜͘m̲̖̟̳̜͢͝ͅ.

But it is too fast, and I am dead and I have been dead for so, so long, and I cannot remember being anything else. I cannot touch this dark, I cannot stop it as it surrounds Little Brother and he starts to fall.

I catch his hand in both of mine, and I scream and I want to cry and he looks at me with big, big eyes and he is a f r a i d.

The darkness takes him. It takes him and swallows him whole and he is gone, gone, gone and I cannot find him in the dark.

There are many people here, big people, living people, surrounded by those who are dead. They are killers, they spread death and death follows them. They came and brought dead things with them, and they brought the darkness that stole him away.

They TOOK him.

They took Little Brother they hurt him they took him away and it's NOT FAIR and they aren't allowed to take what isn't theirs.

He is MINE. I found him. I picked him. He talks to me and he gave me a name and he isn't yours, he's mine, mine, M̷͕̞͉̰I̝͠N̩̬̬͍̲̤̕͠E̠͔̙̖̞͓.̛͈̘͍͢ͅ

G̶̠̩̯̻̬I̻̮̮͚V̶̲̰̬̯E̼̱̝̩̻̠ ̦̫̹̼H̙̻̜̱̙̜̟͟I̘̤̞̖͎Ḿ ̗̤B҉Á̪̞̠̙̪ͅC̼K̙͇͚̯͡.̹̰̦͔

̞͕͙̥̲

̠G͚͔I̶̭̙̯͉̺͎V̳̻͚͍͓͎E͇͍͇ ̸̫̝̩H̨̫̹̰͇̦̺̯I̩M͏͎̘̬͉ ̣̬͕̕B͇̝̺A̡̮C̛̤̰̜̬̝K͏̗̞̜͚ ̭̹̼O̪̦̪͖̪̖̠R̞̣̼̯ ̛̝̺̩̤͇̦̖Y̞͎̖̣̘̱̼OU̗̲̞'̨̜̣̙͕L͔̥͘L̸̳̳͎ ̥̭̗̻̤̜̜B̹̀E͙͖ ̵͉̼͖̜̫̬̯S̨̤̹O͎̻̦͡R̤͎̰̭͙̟R͏͙̟̭̗̺Y̛͎̣.̘̯̯͔͙

̳͉̱̺͕

͉͔̤͇̬̫H̯E̷͎'S̜ ̕N̶̮͔O̡̳̫͖͈T̼̦̱̟̜͝ ̷̱͖̮͚͈ͅͅYÓ̗̜̖U̩̣R͙̟̻̗͝S̱͓͔̤̹̤̺͘.̦̗̰̹̝

̧̞̰̱

͍̫͟H̫͖̥Ę͍̼̳͖̼ ̥͔̻̥͈̗I̳̲͎̳͔̖Ś͙̳͙̪ͅ ͓̞̳̹M̜̩̖̹̰͔̠͢I̢̹͓̪͕̞̟NE̵͕̫̥̩̘̺͇. ̬ͅM͉̲Y͈̺̹̟̰ L҉̤̮̹͈Í̞̥̞͙T̞̖͙̩T̪̲̣̙ͅL͖̹̣E̳̠̘͠ ̭̘B̳̯͇̙͓̻̀ͅŖ̮̩̫̖̩̠̫O̦̝̥̘̣͔̳Ṭ͍͡H͜E̬̱͕̫̥R̤̹̖.̷͙̺ ̘̭̭͙̦̀Ḿ̫Y̗̘̣͚͍̜ ̣̖F̣̦͎̀R̭̦I̙̭̤̤̫E͓̤͇͈N̛̩̺̺͓D͉̠̫.̘̮͙

̦̳̱̗̣̝

̴͉̦̭͇̙̙ͅM̮I̮Ǹ̞̺̘̣̣̱E̬̳͈̙͎.͝

Izuku would probably be dead without Asui—either drowned, or bitten and left to bleed out in the water. But his classmate's powerful kick sends the shark-faced villain flying underwater, before her tongue wraps around his chest she tows him back to the surface. Coughing and spluttering, Izuku scrambles to be more helpful than a dead weight as Asui lifts both him and a dripping Mineta to the momentary safety of the boat.

The first thing he hears when his ears are cleared of water is the screaming. He can't even discern the voice that's responsible, because it doesn't sound like a voice at all. There is an almost physical weight to the noise, and it keeps him crouched low to the deck of the boat, clenching his teeth as it rings painfully in his skull. Is this someone's quirk? Does one of the villains have a vocal power the way Present Mic does? Tears gather in his eyes as his head aches, but thankfully he's too soaking wet for anyone to notice.

"H-hey," Mineta says, prodding at him worriedly. "Midoriya, you're not hurt, are you? What's the matter?"

"Do we know who's doing all the screaming?" he manages to gasp out. How can they stand it? Asui doesn't even seem bothered by the noise at all.

Mineta cocks his head, confused. "What screaming?"

Closer to the railing, Asui tilts her head this way and that. "I think I hear it, a little. You must have really good ears, Midoriya." She croaks worriedly. "It might be some of our classmates. That villain had warp powers—he must have scattered us all over the facility. I hope they're all right."

Izuku forces himself to his feet, swaying a little as the painful noise pervades his bones and vibrates the very marrow at their core. Asui and Mineta are talking to each other, unaffected. They don't hear it, he realizes dimly. And that can only mean one thing: whoever is doing it is dead.

He makes it to the railing and leans there, focusing his eyes on the scene around them. The warp villain has dropped them in the flood simulation zone; all around, the water surface ripples as various aquatic villains close in on the boat. And beyond that, toward the central plaza of the facility…

Bile rises in his throat, and his breath hitches. "Rei."

Across the water, in the distance, there is another black hole, far different and far more familiar than the warp villain's portals. At least the warp gates had some semblance of order and control. This darkness lashes and roils, shifting and heaving like it's alive. Like it's angry.

Her threat displays whenever Bakugou comes near cannot compare to this. Her temper tantrum after Aizawa erased his quirk cannot come close.

He's seen this before. Perhaps not at this scale, but he's seen it. Rei is angry. She is terrified. And if he doesn't get to her, she might get angry and terrified enough to hurt someone.

"Mineta," he hears Tsuyu say. "Don't you think, if they put together this whole plan to kill All-Might, then it's probably because they have a way to do it?"

Kill All-Might. Why would they do that? Because he's the Number One? Is it for renown? Or is it to get rid of the main deterrent against crime?

Rei's screams reach a fever pitch, and he shakes himself. There's no time to worry about that anyway; besides, they're out to kill the man that Izuku has looked up to since before he could read, the very man who gave him his one chance to achieve his lifelong dream. The "why" doesn't matter. "We have to get over there," he says, gripping the railing until his knuckles are white. "We have to help them." He glares fiercely at his classmates. "And if they want to kill All-Might, then we have to do everything we can to make sure they fail."

Asui—Tsuyu, rather—balks, and Mineta panics, but Izuku's mind is more than made up. In his mind, he's already on the other side of the water, finding Rei in the midst of all that darkness, calming her and bringing her back. She's afraid. She needs him. She needs to know he's okay.

Their only advantage is surprise, and what they can assume is a lack of knowledge on the part of the villains. It will have to be enough. The three of them compare quirks, Izuku fighting to block out Rei's cries so that he can hear them. He eyes the villains, and the beginnings of a strategy knit themselves together in his head.

In a matter of moments, he throws a plan together. He'll have to sacrifice a couple of fingers; there's no getting around that. But it's only two fingers. He's seen ghosts with missing limbs, half-severed heads and slashed throats. He can make it through this with only eight.

He launches himself from the boat, and with one flick he shatters the bones in his thumb and third finger, and sends a shock wave of force straight at the surface of the water. The villains go tumbling helplessly as the water surface rapidly spreads apart from the point of impact; those that aren't knocked out by the initial strike are left flailing in the current and fighting just to keep their heads above the water. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he yells for his classmates. Tsuyu performs a spectacular leap and catches him around the waist with her tongue. Hanging from her arms, Mineta screams in fear and defiance and hurls sticky balls into the water until blood runs down his face.

The water converges again, bringing villains and sticky orbs with it. In a matter of moments, the menacing force is trapped in a struggling pile, stuck fast to each other as they bob in the still heaving water. Tsuyu carries them clear of the villains. They hit the surface at a safe distance and swim the rest of the way to shore.

"So what do we do?" Tsuyu asks, as they approach the edge of the water. "I mean—Midoriya, we're just students. What can we do against all these villains?"

"Whatever we can," Izuku says distractedly. "Look, you don't have to come with me, there's just something I need to do."

"You're crazy," Mineta mutters, clinging to Tsuyu with a bit more enthusiasm than their current situation really warrants.

Tsuyu hesitates. She doesn't quite frown; her mouth isn't really shaped for frowning. But her brow furrows thoughtfully. "I'll come with you," she says. "You're the one with the plan, Midoriya."

Izuku bites his lip. He doesn't have much of a plan now. He's surrounded by armed villains and screaming, howling ghosts. The presence of the latter pounds a single cold, hard fact into him: these aren't just criminals he's dealing with. These are killers, cutthroats, and murderers all. They're here to kill All-Might, they're here to kill his classmates if it means drawing All-Might out, and if Izuku is too slow, too weak, or too hesitant, then they'll kill him too.

He'd rather not die today, if he can avoid it. Ms. Shimura asked him not to, and besides, he has far too much to do.

"I don't have a plan," he says.

"You got us out of that," Tsuyu points out, jerking her head back at the ruined boat in the shipwreck zone.

Rei's screaming presses against his brain, squeezing the heart in his chest. The darkness lashes; he can't see where she is, and he can barely see the fighting that's still going on among all these villains.

He looks back and meets Tsuyu's eyes, stares at her long and hard until she blinks first. "Tsuyu," he says quietly, so quietly that he can barely hear his own voice over his friend's hideous cries. "Don't follow me."

Turning, Izuku runs straight toward the battling villains, straight into the thrashing darkness that only he can see.