Chapter 76 - 8-9

Chapter 8

AN: Professor Donger: here's another chapter for y'all nice and spicy! See the end of the chapter for Damian's authors note! 

Shouto was not a very emotive person, at least outwardly. He tried, and pardon the pun, to keep his cool through most situations. He had to, because of his father. He could get away with running his mouth somewhat, his father wanted his "creation" to be strong in all things, including willpower, so he excused most cases of insubordination, as long as it didn't impede his plans.

But losing his temper was something he didn't want to do, his quirk required anger, so he wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

So why was this loss against the American so… jarring? Why did it bother him more than anything else that had happened to him so far at UA? It bothered him more than Bakugou's attitude, more than his classmates…friendliness and Aizawa's "logical ruses…The answer to his question eluded him but he still asked his empty room anyway.

"How did I lose?" He leaned back in his chair pondering the question.

How indeed. He had been trained his whole life. Day after day of the same exercises, the same spars, the same hell, all increasing in intensity over time. He had trained his mastery over his mother's ice as much as he could, and he believed he had perfected his control and maxed out its strength. He didn't need his fire, and the battle trial should have been undeniable proof of that fact.

So how did he lose? How did he lose when he had the stronger power? How did he lose when his opponent was quirkless?

Not that Shouto looked down on quirkless for their lack of powers, but by all logic, both his fathers and his own, he should have won that match. By the rules of nature, Shouto was stronger and more powerful. He had her trapped. He had all but secured the win.

So how did he still lose?

The question refused to leave his head. And rightfully so. His loss, in a way, worried him. If his father discovered that he was bested, and by a quirkless person, what sort of repercussions would there be? Would he be forced to train harder?

He was meant to be the strongest, that's why he endured his father's "training", that was his purpose. To be strong. Stronger than All Might. And he swore he'd make it there with just his mother's ice.

But if he couldn't even beat someone who had no quirk to speak of…

He wanted- no, needed, to know how he lost.

And there was only one person who could answer that gnawing question for him.

The woman who had defeated him.

"Gym Gamma…" He recalled, before standing up and moving to leave his room.

It took some time to find Gym Gamma. Shouto kind of just… wandered for a bit, hoping to stumble upon it eventually. He seriously underestimated the size of UA's campus. Eventually, he ran into some Second Years and decided to just ask… only to find out he was heading in the wrong direction the whole time.

So after getting proper directions, and making twice as long of a trip as it should have been, he finally found Gym Gamma. Other than its size, it looked relatively normal from the outside. Definitely not as extravagant as he initially assumed it would be, but he figured UA had to have some normal facilities that weren't basically 1 to 1 scale-models of cities.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Shouto walked up to the doors and entered…

And immediately, any dash of normalcy that the gym may have had was destroyed.

Speaking of destruction…

"DIE!"

Bakugou was, for Bakugou-related reasons most likely, extremely mad at a pillar of cement.

"Hey, Kacchan, I said 'try to hit Iida', not 'blast him to bits. Watch it!" Shouto heard the voice of Flintlock from…somewhere in the gym. There were pillars everywhere, so she was most likely within the cluster.

"Why the fuck did you put up so many pillars then?!" Bakugou yelled as he chased Iida, who Shouto saw was weaving between the pillars, occasionally slipping up on the tighter turns.

"It's to help both of you!" Flintlock was busy showing Uraraka proper punching forms but she expertly split her attention to all her students, "Iida needs to work on his maneuverability and you need to work on your aim and target acquisition, so he can try and dodge your explosions while you try and blow him up! It's a win-win!" She carefully adjusted Uraraka's stance and had her repeat some punches with a nod.

"I find nothing beneficial about being blown up!" Iida is heard yelling as he continues to run for his life.

"Then you better keep those legs moving. He's right on your tail!" Flintlock yelled out to them, before shifting her attention to a blonde kid Shouto didn't recognize, sitting off to the side near the gym wall. "Monama, how are those scenarios coming along?"

Monama hummed as he looked down at his notebook. "Definitely challenging. Not many quirks to work with. And with my time limit, I can't drag out these fights, but backup will take too long to arrive."

"Keep working on it. You'll figure it out." She said before dodging a strike from Uraraka. "Oh ho! Trying to get a sneaky one in aren't ya!?" She turned her attention back to her wayward student and raised her hands. "Try and hit my hands this time, not my head."

"Sorry." Uraraka apologized.

"Don't be. Take any chance you get to strike. It's a mindset you'll have to have as a hero."

"Are you sure I need to learn how to fight as a Rescue Hero though? I mainly want to focus on saving people from natural disasters…" Uraraka threw another punch which Flintlock took in her non-prosthetic hand before motioning for Uraraka to continue.

"Even Rescue focussed heroes need to learn how to fight Uraraka. Ask Thirteen or the Wild Wild Pussy Cats, they've had to square up against their fair share of villains. Sometimes there will be a guy between you, and the people you're trying to save, so you're gonna have to clock 'em!"

Shouto simply watched for a minute, trying to take in the controlled chaos of what was happening around him. He looked over to and saw the man he remembered as Twice, on roller skates. He seemed to be coaching Tsunotori, who was clearly having trouble keeping balance.

"This is hard!" She yelled as she almost ate concrete, only for Twice to catch her and right her stance, all while keeping his own balance. "How are you so good?!"

"I am a man of many talents. I turned my hacks on." Right, he's weird, Shouto remembered.

Shouto looked back at who he came to talk to but saw that Flintlock was still working with Uraraka. He knew better than to step between two people during a spar, so he continued to patiently wait and observe. He heard strained noises coming from around a pillar, so making sure he wasn't about to run into Iida running for his life, he walked around it and saw what was probably the weirdest thing going on in the gym. And that's saying something when you've got Bakugou trying to commit die to Iida, with no one batting an eye.

He saw an indigo-haired guy who looked like he needed sleep, currently trying and struggling to do a rep from a weightlifting bench.

But the weird part was the blonde skeleton currently spotting him.

"Come now, Young Shinso! Five more reps! Keep pushing forward!" The skeleton encouraged.

The newly named Shinso gave out a strained sound of exertion as lifted the bar once more before his arms gave out and he nearly dropped it on himself. Luckily, the skeleton, in a surprising show of strength, caught the bar easily, without effort.

Shouto was confused but didn't let it deter him, He was about to turn to see if Flintlock was free to talk when his quarry beat him to the punch.

"I'm glad to see that you joined us, Mister Todoroki." Flintlock cheerily said as she appeared seemingly out of thin air.

Shouto immediately jumped and he felt his control over his flame half slip for a split second, generating a few licks of flame on his right side before he could get it back under control.

Flintlock whistled in appreciation. "I knew you had some firepower in you, literally, but damn, those flames look like they could give my Pa a run for his money and he uses his fire breath to weld metal."

Shouto, instead of being immediately offended, raised an eyebrow at her as he tried to calm down. "What do you mean?"

Flintlock grinned at him, "My Pa can breathe fire hot enough to reach the melting point of most of the metal he works with, and I work with ballistics and other fire-causing substances for a living since you know…" she gestured to the gun on her hip. "Quirkless, but your fire, even though it was only active for a split second was hot, you didn't notice it but It was hot enough to cause Mineta to flinch and he's five feet away." It was then that Shouto noticed the shaking form of Mineta, nervously holding up a water bottle for him.

He took it with a nod of thanks, Mineta rushing off afterward towards where Tsunotori, Uraraka, and Monama were last. Shouto then turned to Flintlock. "Sorry, I didn't mean to use it."

She waved him off. "Eh, no harm, no foul."

"But I still shouldn't have." Shouto looked down at his left hand, before shaking his head. He can worry about control later. He came for answers to a different question. "I came to ask you a question, about the battle trials."

"Hm?" Flintlock tilted her head. "Weird time to ask about those, but sure. However, you'll have to wait a minute." She said as she started walking off, Shouto followed close behind.

"I've been waiting since I've gotten here." He told her.

"Yes, but you got here late, and it's just a question about something that happened hours ago. Your classmates here came because they wanted to attend the class." She told him, before turning to face a spat going on between Yaoyorozu and a Twice.

They were both fighting with bow staffs, Yaoyorozu holding her own against the duplicator, but Twice was, surprisingly, incredibly skilled with a staff. The man had just managed to sweep Yaoyorozu off her feet, and as he was bringing his staff up to bring it down on top of her, Yaoyorozu's hand glowed, and she created a handgun, which she shot Twice in the shoulder with. The man screamed in pain as his shoulder exploded with a spray of weird goo, and Yaoyorozu dropped the gun, looking horrified.

"No no no! I'm so sorry! That was supposed to be a rubber bullet! I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine." Flintlock calmly said as she walked forward to the now melting Twice. At both present students' looks of confusion, she answered. "Twice's clones aren't exactly the most durable things. Even a rubber bullet will rip right through them."

"I'm meltiiiiing!" The clone said as he slowly melted down into a gooey puddle.

"Wizard of Oz reference. I didn't know you watched that movie Jin." Flintlock turned to a nearby Twice, who had a bandana on, denoting him as the original. He was just standing there, staring at the now dissolving puddle of what was once a clone of himself. "Jin?"

"I… I think I need to take a break." He said, his voice monotone.

Flintlock looked at him in worry, before nodding. "Sure thing. Go right ahead."

"Thank you, Sis." He then walked off.

"Is he okay?" Shouto asked.

"He'll be fine. Seeing his clones dissolve doesn't sit well with him sometimes." Flintlock explained with a hand wave.

"I'm sorry." Yaoyorozu once again apologized, bringing a hand up to her chest. "If I had known…"

"Hey," Flintlock placed a hand on her shoulder, "There's no way you could have known what would happen. Besides, the gun wasn't a bad idea. It was quick thinking, which is something you needed to work on anyways. I'm more impressed by how you not only made that gun quickly but also loaded it with rubber bullets and managed to quickly aim and hit him in the shoulder. In a real-world situation, that's entirely viable."

Yaoyorozu blushed at the praise, but a smile formed on her face nonetheless. She bowed slightly. "Thank you, Sensei."

Flintlock hummed. "I wanna try something if you're okay with it."

Yaoyorozu blinked. "O-Oh, of course."

"Right this way." Their teacher started walking off, but Shouto was starting to get just a little impatient.

"Flintlock-Sensei, my question." He tried to tell her.

"Look, Todoroki," She turned to him and placed her hands on her hips. "If you showed up here when this class began, I'd be more than happy to answer whatever question or questions you may have. But the fact is, you chose to show up late, so I don't want to sound like – and excuse my language – a bitch, but that question of yours doesn't take my priority." She gestured to Yaoyorozu, who was standing next to her and patiently waiting, while also looking a bit uncomfortable, bearing witness to what was happening. "Your classmates who showed up on time, they are currently my priority. So you have two options. The first one is to pick a corner of the gym that's out of the way and wait patiently, or you can shadow me while I work with the others. The second option is that you head back to the dorms, and try to catch me at a later date to ask whatever it is you want. The choice is yours."

"Bakugou!" Iida was heard yelling in panic. "You nearly brought that pillar down on top of me!"

"No, I didn't! You nearly ran into it! Not my fault you're blind!"

"Boys!" Flintlock yelled out into the gym. "Play nice, or I'm coming over there!"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Fine, Deku!"

"On second thought," Flintlock said as she sighed, "if you choose to stay, it might be best if you just shadow me."

Shouto honestly didn't want to have to walk all the way back to the dorms, especially after wasting so much time trying to find Gym Gamma in the first place. "I'll stay and wait."

"Alright then. When I have a free moment, you can ask your question." Flintlock then turned back to Yaoyorozu. "Now, Miss Yaoyorozu, since Twice is…indisposed, where were we?" She started walking again, the two recommendation students following her.

"You said you wanted to try something, Sensei." Yaoyorozu reminded her.

"Ah, yes. So, you've had some form of combat training, clearly, does that extend to firearms?" Flintlock asked as she led the two to a stretch of free space.

"To an extent. I've learned how to fire ranged weaponry in the event that I make a tranquilizer and need to shoot it." Yaoyorozu explained.

"That explains the good aim a minute ago. Twice, can I get a Cementoss over here?!" The green-haired woman called out to one of the clones nearby. He gave a thumbs up, and a second later, a clone of Cementoss manifested next to him, who then made his way over to Flintlock. "Sit tight for a second." She told them, before walking over to talk with the clone.

As the Gunslinger talked with Cementoss, Yaoyorozu looked at Shouto with a bit of curiosity. "Why did you come here late?" She asked him. "And if it's not too much to ask, what is your question?"

Shouto simply stared at her for a bit before looking back at Flintlock, who was instructing Cementoss on what to construct. "Coming here was a recent decision I made while in my dorm room. And my question has to do with how I lost the battle trails."

"I see. But, didn't they cover how we lost in the post-match reviews?" Yaoyorozu brought her hand up to her chin. "I thought they covered our faults pretty well. There shouldn't be a need for further questioning on how we lost."

"No," Shouto said, making her blink at him in confusion. "There has to be more to it. I want answers."

Yaoyorozu looked at him for a bit, before humming. "Well, I hope you get your answers, Todoroki."

Flintlock left Cementoss to finish up his construct, making her way back to the two students. "Alright, sorry about that. So, Yaoyorozu, what guns do you know how to make?"

"Oh, the handgun I made earlier is the only 'true' firearm that I know how to properly make. I do know how to make different variations of tranq rifles, tasers, and shotguns fit for bean bag rounds." She explained.

Flintlock gasped in shock, looking like she had just heard blasphemy of the highest order. "Okay, we're fixing this, now."

"I'm… sorry?" Yaoyorozu looked confused.

"Twice, go to the weapons locker nearby and get Miss Yaoyorozu here a gun!" She yelled out to the same clone as before.

"But… Sensei… I have a gun." She gestured to the handgun she still had in her hand.

Flintlock didn't seem to hear her though and started looking more and more excited by the second. She then yelled in English, "Get this bitch a cannon!" Her words earned a shocked gasp from Yaoyorozu, who seemed to have understood her words.

Flintlock then crossed her arms, a wide smile on her face. "Bitches love cannons."

Shouto had a feeling he'll be waiting for a while.

Izumi wasn't crying prideful tears.

She wasn't!

It had been thirty minutes since Jin returned with Izumi's Barrett M82A1 and one hundred rounds of ammunition. Since then all the students had stopped what they had been doing and with ear protection on, watched Momo at their makeshift gun range as she went from an amateur, too scared to even fire the massive gun, to a pro sniper in under five minutes.

Izumi was so proud!

"Deku? Are you… crying?" Katsuki asked in disbelief. "I thought you grew out of this crybaby shit!?"

"I'm not crying! You're crying!" She yelled while not crying. She sniffed and rubbed her eyes with her natural hand. "Shut up!"

Before anyone could formulate a response to their teacher's act of… not crying, Momo set the rifle down and got up, before running over and hugging Izumi. "Sensei, that gun is amazing! The accuracy! The precision! The power! How much does one cost? Will you sell it to me? Let me borrow it? I need to study it! Intimately! Name your price Sensei!"

Oh God, she was about to "not cry" again.

Tenya interrupted with a chop of his hands. "Yaoyorozu! You can't just purchase a firearm from our teacher! She isn't even certified to distribute firearms in such a way!"

Izumi raised a finger. "Actual –" Unfortunately Tenya wasn't done.

"You aren't even licensed to own a firearm! For shame! Trying to get around the law in such a way!"

It was Momo's turn to try and talk. "Well, actually –" Tenya, like always continued to race forward.

"You both should be ashamed –" And that was as far as he got before Izumi had enough and smacked him upside the head with a newspaper that Jin had handed her.

"Right, first, I am certified to sell firearms in any NATO country as long as the person is certified." She crossed her arms and frowned. "Second if you had let Miss Yaoyorozu speak, she'd tell you that she is legally certified to own firearms in Japan."

Momo looked at Izumi, surprise evident in her eyes, "Well, yes that's true… How did you find that out?"

Izumi chuckled nervously and shrugged. "Nezu."

"The all-knowing rat," Jin says dramatically. "He sees you when you're sleeping, and he knows when you're awake." He sang only to be whacked with the newspaper.

"If anyone decides to join him in the heresy he calls singing," Izumi held up the newspaper threateningly, "Just know I'm not afraid to use this."

None of the students joined in.

"Anyways, with that out of the way," She turned back to Momo. "My Barrett has been modified, by yours truly, so I can't sell it to you. But I can let you borrow it for study, so long as you keep it exclusively on school grounds. Just please try not to break my baby." She smiled. "I can also show you a couple of excellent dealers online when we're done here! Though I don't see why you'd buy the guns when you can literally make them, but I won't complain."

Momo shrugged "I like to own the objects I create, I own the few airsoft guns I've learned to make, as well as the one or two shotguns and handguns I know how to create." She frowned. "I tend to destroy anything I create to prevent damage to the economy or stop people from getting access to something dangerous, so I like to have the originals on hand more out of integrity than anything."

Ochako frowned "Why do I get the feeling I'm witnessing something illegal…" She looked to her right, where Pony was a second ago, only to find her American friend had vanished. "Pony? Where did you go?"

A sound of awe drew her attention to where Momo had been firing the high-caliber sniper, and Ochako wasn't surprised to see Pony standing over the Barrett. The horse girl had a look of pure want on her face, and her hands were held out towards the .50 cal, but not quite going to grab it.

"What did I tell you guys?" Izumi laughed as she saw Pony holding back from grabbing the gun. "Bitches love cannons. If you want, Tsunotori, you can try it."

Pony gasped in pure disbelief. She gets to shoot the gun! Before she could stop herself, she threw herself at Izumi and hugged her tightly. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Izumi blinked in surprise, but giggled nonetheless and smiled as she petted Pony's hair.

Pony then realized what she was doing and turned red in embarrassment. She immediately backed off of her idol, who she saw was laughing in good nature at her reaction. Pony then pointed at the .50 cal. "I going… I gonna… I'm going to go shoot the gun now." She finished in English.

"Sure thing, Tsunotori." Izumi watched as she sped off towards the "gun range". She looked at her watch and frowned. "If you all want to start cleaning up and heading out you can. It's just about dinner time and I don't want to have you all out past curfew." She pointed at where Pony had gone. "I'll make sure this one makes it back, and if any of you do stay longer to wait for her I'll cover for you with Aizawa." She directed that at Ochako with a wink, causing the girl to smile radiantly at her and nod in appreciation.

With that everyone began cleaning up in their own ways, with Minoru doing most of it, as per his punishment. Everyone seemed to immediately leave, thanking Izumi and Yagi for the extra lessons, while Neito handed her the notebook she had him working on with a nod.

"I think I see what you want me to try, Sensei. " He said.

"Oh?" Izumi raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. I'll of course ask all my classmates for permission, as well as explain the reasoning behind such a… request." Neito cringed at the thought of how awkward that conversation would be.

Izumi chuckled. "Asking someone if you could have a piece of their hair is inherently going to be awkward. Let me know how it goes or if anyone gives you problems."

"Thank you, Sensei." And with that, he left.

A groan of pain drew Izumi's attention to the other 1-B student. "How are you feeling, Shinso?:

Hitoshi rubbed his arms and moved them around a bit. "Like Hell."

"Then that means you did good today."

"Yes, he did." Toshinori walked up to them, a packet of papers on hand. "Young Shinso, I've compiled together a workout regimen, as well as a diet plan to help with muscle growth. Follow this to the letter, and you'll see changes in seemingly no time at all! We'll have you caught up with your peers in no time!"

Hitoshi took the packet and skimmed through it a bit. "... Thank you. For doing this for me."

"You're our student, Shinso," Izumi told him. "It's our job. And we want to help you."

With one final nod, Hitoshi left the gym. Toshinori gave his goodbyes to Izumi as well, patting her on the shoulder affectionately before making his own exit. The next person to come up to her was Katsuki.

"Gotta say Deku, you're not bad at this whole teacher gig." He muttered with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Aww, Kacchan!" Izumi cooed with a massive grin plastered on her face.

"Don't make it weird! I'm trying to be nice!" He yelled and turned away from her and Izumi could see the makings of a slight blush on his cheeks,

"Admit it. You're happy that I'm back." She told him, her smile never leaving, only growing bigger.

"I already said that shit earlier today. I ain't repeating myself." He growled. "But you got some shit to explain. Starting with him." He jutted his thumb over to Jin, who was directing his clones to clean up rubble and broken pieces of concrete. "'Brother'? 'Big Sis'? Since when? You're an only child!"

Izumi sipped her water and shrugged. "Long story… well, not exactly long, but the explanation makes it long. I'll explain later when we have the whole family together." She frowned. "I doubt Aunty Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru would want to miss the explanation, and you know how your Ma gets when she's excluded from family things." They both shuddered at the thought and Katsuki growled in frustration.

"Fine, we'll wait for the Old Hag and Old Man, but I want that explanation!" He pointed at her "And what's with this 'Ma' shit?!"

Izumi though just laughed and grabbed Katsuki in a headlock with her prosthetic before giving him a noogie. "Never change, Kacchan!"

"Gah! Let go of me!" After a few more seconds of not being let go, Izumi let him go so he could head back to the dorms. On his way out, he stopped and stared back at her, his eyes drifting to her prosthetic arm. "You've got that to explain to."

Izumi looked down at her arm, her smile slowly shifting into a small frown. "... Yeah. Yeah, I'll explain this," she waved her prosthetic hand. "When we have the family around too. Now head on back before you miss dinner. I doubt your classmates will want to see a hungry Bakugou."

Katsuki grunted, before leaving the gym.

"Alright, and that leaves me with…" She looked around the gym. Jin was there for cleanup, Minoru was let go a minute ago, Pony was firing the Barrett while being observed by Ochako… and Momo? Huh, she must have chosen to stay. Probably for the .50 cal.

Oh, and then there was Shouto. Right, he had a question for her.

She walked over to where he was standing and plopped down onto the floor next to him, before patting it down with her good hand. "Pop a squat, Mister Todoroki. You had a question for me?"

Shouto, not really understanding the terminology or slang she had just used on him, decided to take it literally and squat down next to her. He was about to ask his question when he heard Izumi giggle.

"It means to sit down, sorry it's an American thing." She giggled again before once again patting the ground. "Take a seat, and ask your question."

Shouto sat down and looked at her. "How did you beat me?"

Izumi blinked. "... Okay, straight to the point. Well, while you were distracted by my little surprise, I slipped away and took out your partner, then I mislead you to where I was, and while you were distracted again, snuck up on you-"

"That's not what I meant," Shouto said, cutting her off.

"Oh? Then what did you mean?" Izumi raised an eyebrow.

"I've trained almost my whole life. The same thing every day, all so that I could be strong. Strong enough to surpass All Might himself. I trained my quirk to be as strong as it is. So how did you beat me?"

"Ah, how did I beat you. I see." Izumi brought one knee up to her chest and hooked her arms around her leg. "Well, for starters, you were predictable."

"Predictable?" Shouto asked.

"Yup. I knew with a quirk like yours, you'd try to trap me and end the match like that. So I planned to get trapped. Did I expect such fine control of your ice? No, but it didn't change my plan. You showing up alone wasn't part of the plan, but it was a nice convenience. But I think your biggest mistake, which allowed me to win, was that you either underestimated me or were overconfident in yourself. Either way, you only had one trick up your sleeve, which was to trap me in ice. It's easy to counter someone with only one trick."

"You sound a bit like Aizawa Sensei." Shouto couldn't help but compare the two teachers.

Izumi chuckled. "If there is one thing Aizawa and I agree on, it's that a hero shouldn't be a one-trick-pony. I had tricks up my sleeve. I was unpredictable. "

Shouto thought over the explanation in his head. "So, I lost because you were unpredictable?" Shouto asks.

"That, and because you were predictable." She points at him.

"I see." Shouto nods.

"Yep. Like I said, I figured you would just try to use your ice to trap me and think that'd be it. So during the prep phase, I planted explosives to catch you off guard. You need to expand your arsenal, both in strategy and in terms of your personal abilities." She gives him a serious look. "That also means, stop handicapping yourself."

Shouto narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"When I snuck up on you at the end of the match, you could have easily warded me off with your flames, maybe even turned everything around and defeated me at that moment. But you didn't. You didn't use your fire, and it cost you the win." She explained.

Shouto's look turned cold. "I won't use it."

"What do you mean?"

"I refuse to use his quirk." Shouto sounded... agitated.

"What do you mean 'use his quirk'? I'm not telling you to use someone else's quirk, I'm telling you to use yours." Izumi lowered her leg and crossed her arms.

"My father's fire. I vowed never to use it in combat. I won't use his quirk."

"... You think that your fire belongs to your father?" Izumi questioned.

"Yes. He gave it to me, but I won't use it. My mother's ice is all I'll need, all I'll use."

Okay, so clearly there was some familial drama going on. Izumi put a pin in that because right now it wasn't a therapy session. No, this was now a lesson.

Izumi looked at him, silently, for a long while, before speaking again. "Then what's going to be your excuse?"

"Wha-" He was cut off.

"What will happen when your 'mother's ice' isn't enough to stop a villain? What if that villain managed to kill someone because your 'mother's ice' couldn't defeat him in time? What will be your excuse? What will you tell that dead person's family, their loved ones? 'I'm sorry for your loss. I tried but I didn't want to use half of my quirk.' Is that what you'll tell them? That their loved one is dead because you have some grudge against your own father?"

"I- that won't happen!" Shouto raised his voice to defend himself but she plowed on.

"Won't it? Are you so certain, so overconfident in half of your quirk, do you underestimate others so much that you'll make that gamble, that you'll risk other people's lives, and all because you think your fire belongs to Endeavor, so you won't use it?"

"I... I-I..." He didn't know how to respond.

Flintlock stared at him before she sighed and closed her eyes. "Look, Todoroki," She opened her eyes and he was surprised to see compassion in them, instead of anger as he expected. "You need to learn quickly that your personal goals and grudges are just that, personal. You need to keep them exclusive to your personal life, and not let them get in the way of your job. You will be responsible for protecting the lives of people. You have the power to protect those who can't protect themselves. But, what good is that power if you don't use it?"

Shouto was at a loss for words. The thought that his mother's ice would not be enough…

"Okay," Izumi got up and offered Shouto a hand. "How about you think about what we talked about today? In the meantime, go head back to the dorms and get some food in you, think on it and come back to me later."

Shouto stared at the offered hand for a bit, before grabbing it and allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. Without another word, he walked out of Gym Gamma.

Izumi sighed "He's a good kid. He has issues, but is a good kid." She turned only to see Jin, Momo, Ochako, and Pony staring at her. "Uh, you guys heard all that didn't you…?"

They all nodded and she sighed "Just, keep it to yourselves okay? I'm trusting you here…" She glared at Jin for a second "Jin." 

He nervously saluted her. "You got it, sis! Hot N Cold's secret is safe with me!"

Izumi nodded and was about to say something when she paused and face palmed "Oh shit…"

"What's wrong Sensei?" Ochako asked nervously, hopefully, she wasn't about to say she forgot to hand out homework or something… that would suck.

"I forgot to go get Himiko!"

Everyone looked at her for a minute before Jin laughed and waved her off.

"I sent a clone to get her, she's eating in the dorm right now so don't worry. Be worried, Himiko has unrestricted access to our beds."

"Oh, Jin, you're a lifesaver… wait, a clone of me?" Izumi asked.

"Well, duh." Jin sassed back.

"Does she know she's with a clone, and not the real me?" Izumi crossed her arms.

"... Well shit."

Izumi sighed. "Well, may as well go surprise her. You three," She looked at the girls. "I'm gonna have Twice walk you girls back to the dorms, that way if anyone sees you carrying my gun, he can explain. Also, leave all the ammo for it behind."

"Yes, Sensei!" The girls all nodded.

With that, Izumi left to go check on her sister. Meanwhile, Pony, who was still holding the gun, unloaded the magazine and was about to remove the bullet in the chamber, when Ochako tapped her shoulder.

"Uhm… can uh… c-can I… try?" She asked shyly.

Pony slowly gasped as her eyes widened. "Of course you can!" She immediately handed Ochako the high-caliber sniper rifle and moved to help her get set up on the range.

"Uhm, Tsunotori, Uraraka, maybe we shouldn't use it while Flintlock-Sensei isn't here with us," Momo told them.

"Just one bullet." Pony said.

"Yeah, and plus, Twice-Sensei is here." Ochako nodded her head in Jin's direction, who was busy with the cleanup. "It's just one shot, I promise.

Momo was still unsure but figured it couldn't hurt. "Well, okay. But be careful, it has a kick to it." She warned.

"She kicks like a horse!" One of the Jin clones shouted causing the girls to jump.

Pony finished helping Ochako learn how to hold the rifle properly, before teaching her how to turn the safety off. Her excitement to see her best friend shoot the gun was so strong that she defaulted to English. "You've got this, Ochako!"

Ochako blinked at Pony. "Uhh…"

"She's giving you encouragement," Momo explained, "Specifically saying 'you can do this." motioning for the other two girls to put their ear protection back on.

"Oh! Thanks, Pony!" Ochako took aim with the rifle, setting her sights On the bullseye of the cement target. Then, following Pony's instructions (which Momo had to translate some of), she took a deep breath, then squeezed the trigger.

The sound echoed throughout the gym, and still caused their ears to ring just a little, despite having proper protection on.

Ochako wasn't an eagle-eyed marksman by any means, but she only missed the bullseye by a few inches. She pulled her eye away from the scope, a look of pure disbelief on her face as she slowly looked down at the powerful sniper in her hands.

Everyone was quiet as Ochako kept staring at the gun.

Pony nervously approached her friend in concern. "Ochako?"

Momo was about to flag down Jin when they heard Ochako, mild-mannered and kind Ochako Uraraka, utter something they never expected to hear come out of her mouth.

"Oh, fuck the hell yes~" The gravity girl purred, hugging the gun with delight, a glint in her eye.

All of the Jin clones had stopped to watch and one of them could be heard whispering. "Holy shit she's just as scary as big sis…"

"Oh, my," Momo held a hand up to her chin. "I didn't expect her to enjoy shooting a single round that much." She looked over to Pony, only to furrow her eyebrows in confusion. "Tsunotori, are you okay?"

The American girl was staring at Ochako, her cheeks turning just a bit red. "H-Huh? Y-Yeah, sure. You do that."

Pony was… distracted.

Momo stood there, looking between her two classmates until she decided to speak.

"So… can I have the Barrett back so that I can study it now?"

Her words seemed to have triggered something within Ochako, as she held the gun more protectively and hissed at Momo. "Mine!"

"Uraraka, I asked first," Momo argued.

"But it's so cool!"

"You can ask Flintlock-Sensei after I'm done with it."

"But Yaoyorozu!"

"Girls!" Jin yelled. All the girls turned to him, and he was shifting his gaze between all of them. They briefly thought that he'd confiscate the gun, not allowing anyone to have it, but his next words surprised them.

"Why don't you just share?"

The girls blinked at him, before looking between each other.

"I'm fine with that," Ochako said.

"Yes, this seems the best solution to this predicament." Momo agreed.

"Communism!" Pony threw a fist into the air.

Meanwhile, Jin stood with his fists on his hips looking proud of himself.

"Jin, you genius!" One of his clones said.

"Thank you." Jin nodded to himself, literally. "Sometimes my genius, it's almost frightening."

Chapter 9

AN: Professor Donger: Damian wrote most of this chapter honestly, I just edited and made suggestions XD I'm getting ready for my two weeks of vacation at work so they're working me hard, so I haven't been able to write as much sadly... I do hope you guys enjoy this chapter though, brainstorming it and making sure it was up to standard was a lot of fun.

Damian02: Hey! What's this?! A new chapter within a week of the last one?! It must be Christmas!

But seriously, I had random bursts of hyperfocus, and I wrote a lot in single sittings, so this didn't take as long as other chapters, yet the length is no shorter, so no need to worry.

This fic is always a blast to write, and we enjoy seeing how people love it.

So, without further delay, we hope you enjoy!

Also, massive thanks to Professor Donger for helping me keep the chapter flowing smoothly. He, like always, deserves just as much credit as I do.

The next day was relatively tame for 1-A all things considered, they went to class, selected a class rep, and all in all it was a normal school day, the only noteworthy event being the rest of the class taking their turn against Flintlock, but nobody else won. So yeah, nothing out of the ordinary. That was saying something for a hero school, especially one as prestigious as UA.

The following day though was when things really started getting amped up and a bit insane. The students woke up and began walking to class, only to stop and watch as what could only be described as a mob of reporters swarmed UA's barrier, trying desperately to gain access to the school grounds and by extension the students and teachers who could give them the scoop of the century.

Namely, why All Might was teaching at UA.

It was a bit of a wake-up call for the students of UA about how much fame could really affect your personal life. All Might, being the Number 1 Hero, can't do anything without the press demanding answers. It was honestly a wonder how he could get anything done in his free time.

Luckily, the mob wasn't able to get past the gate. Flintlock and Aizawa were seen telling them to disperse, and a quick threat to their jobs and possible detainment seemed to have deterred any of the reporters from trying anything drastic.

And so the day went on as normal. Heroics class was less hectic, as Flintlock didn't even have them change into their costumes. The class just consisted of a lecture about proper rescue procedures, situational assessment, evacuation zones, communication, and prioritization in the event of disasters. Ochako was especially enthusiastic about the lesson, more enthusiastic than Tenya was, and that's saying something.

Even Katsuki was interested in the lesson, not nearly as interested as Ochako but enough to surprise most of the class, since he gave off the impression that he only cared about beating the crap out of villains. When asked about it, all he said was, "I'd be a shitty hero if I didn't know this shit."

Lunch eventually came around, and established friend groups sat with each other, but 1-A as a whole still sat in relatively close proximity with each other. Momo was helping Pony to translate notes from the lecture, as the American girl couldn't catch everything that was said and talked about.

"Why Japanese hard?" Pony pouted.

"It's, 'Why is Japanese so hard', Tsunotori." Momo corrected with a small smile, Pony repeating after her with a groan.

Ochako was busy stuffing her face with food. "I didn't know there was so much involved with dealing with disasters. I thought it was mostly just saving people, but it's a lot more complicated than you'd think."

Tenya, who was seated nearby, heard her and offered his own insight. "When working on such a large operation such as disaster relief, it is important to know all of what must be done to ensure the safety of those we as heroes must protect. It isn't simple, teamwork is a requirement, as one person alone cannot hope to carry the burden of saving so many people."

Mina pointed her chopsticks at him, and spoke with a full mouth, "Didn't All Might save like, over a hundred people on his own when he debuted?"

"Do not speak with a full mouth, Ashido!" Tenya chopped his arm at her, but before he could answer her actual question, Katsuki did.

"Even All Might didn't do all that shit alone. Yeah, he got the people out, but he couldn't treat all of them and go back for more survivors without wasting time." He picked up a piece of curry chicken and looked at it. "While he was busy getting people to safety, it was the other heroes on-site treating their wounds. Number One or not, he can't be in two places at once."

Ejirou, who was seated next to him, laughed. "Hard to remember that you're able to say stuff like that without yelling."

"Yeah," Denki butted in. "You're usually yelling some variation of 'die'."

"No, I fucking don't!" Katsuki yelled. "Go to Hell, Dunce Face!"

Denki pointed at him. "You just did it again!"

"No, I said go to Hell!" Katsuki gripped his chopsticks so hard that one of them snapped.

"It's basically the same thing!"

"No, it isn't!"

"Kinda is, bro." Ejirou chimed in.

"Shut it, Shitty Hair!"

"Bakugou, you are causing a disturbance! Cease this aggressive behavior immediately before we get into trouble!" Tenya reprimanded him. Katsuki merely growled before sitting back down and eating his curry. Tenya pushed up his glasses and continued. "But yes, Bakugou is correct. Even the best of heroes require the assistance of others in times of great conflict."

"You seem to know a lot about the importance of teamwork, Iida," Momo noted. "Even yesterday, you coordinated with Sero well during your match."

"Almost had her!" Hanta slammed his fist against the table. "I forgot she had a knife!"

"As did I." Tenya took a bite of his food before addressing Momo again. "I suppose you could say I have been exposed to individuals who know the value of teamwork more than anyone." He cryptically said.

"His brother's Ingenium." Katsuki bluntly said before continuing to eat.

That earned a shocked "What?!" from a few people at the table.

"Iida! You're related to Ingenium?! Like, The Turbo Hero: Ingenium?!" Ochako yelled out in disbelief.

"I… I didn't feel the need to flaunt my familial connection to him." Tenya admitted. "Honestly, I wanted to make a name for myself, with my own actions while here at UA. Being affiliated with my amazing older brother immediately would give me a reputation that wasn't my own." He explained.

"Ah, that's understandable." Momo nodded. "As the heiress to the Yaoyorozu family fortune, I understand the desire to make genuine friendships with peers."

Ochako blinked at her, then turned to Tenya, then back to Momo, and repeated the process a few more times, before looking down at her food with disbelief on her face.

"I'm surrounded by rich kids…" She said in a sort of daze.

"Ochako?" Pony nudged her, but her friend was still unresponsive. "Ochako?!" Pony, worried, started shaking her a little too aggressively. "Snap out of it!"

Ochako luckily did, then her eyes shifted over to Pony and narrowed in suspicion. She then grabbed the sides of Pony's head, and squished her cheeks together as she asked, "Pony! Are you a rich kid too?!"

"Waa?!" Pony said through her face being squished. "No!"She managed to shake her head a bit.

"Oh, thank god!" Ochako breathed a sigh of relief as she let her friend's face go, and slumped in her seat. "I was starting to feel way out of my league." Pony patted her on the back.

Ejirou, though, couldn't help but ask, "Wait, Bakugou, how did you know Iida was related to Ingenium?" Others seemed to have the same question as they paid attention for his answer.

Katsuki was halfway to taking another bite when he put his chopsticks down and took a deep breath through his nose. "Fucking dumbasses," he breathed out quietly, before saying in a normal (for Katsuki) volume, "I'm gonna list things I want you all to think about, and if you can't put the pieces together, then I'm honestly gonna wonder how you passed the written exam to get into this school."

He started listing, holding up a finger for every new thing he said. "His last name, his costume, his fucking quirk."

"... Oh!" Everyone realized at once.

"Idiots." He grumbled.

"You know," Tsuyu said from nearby, "If you keep calling people mean things like 'idiots' and 'dumbasses', then no one is going to like you."

"Piss off, Frogger! There are people here who like me!" Katsuki yelled at her.

"Flintlock-Sensei does not count. Kero."

Katsuki growled but went back to eating after giving one last retort. "Go fuck yourself."

Tsuyu put a finger to her chin. "You know, I did that once."

Everyone screeched to a halt with what they were doing, and everyone turned their heads to look at Tsuyu with wide eyes.

"Kero... I have a long tongue."

Tooru started choking on her food.

"You know, it was, oddly enough, pretty satisfying. Kero." Tsuyu just kept going.

"Too much info, Tsu!" Tooru yelled between coughs. "Too much info!"

"Oh please," Tsuyu said, "As if you wouldn't have tried it at least once if you could. Kero."

"What the…?" Ochako said, blushing heavily in embarrassment. "I mean, maybe I would, but I wouldn't just openly talk about how I did it. And during lunch, no less!"

No one noticed Minoru muttering something about keeping his promise to Flintlock-Sensei while plugging his ears…

Tsuyu shrugged, not feeling an ounce of shame. "I'm blunt, what can I say?"

"Nothing!" Katsuki yelled. "Say. Nothing!

"Hmm, I could… but I won't. Kero."

"Is Iida okay?" Pony asked, and everyone looked at the aforementioned man.

He was stock still, completely unresponsive, and didn't budge when someone tried to shake him out of it.

"I think I broke Iida." Tsuyu said.

"You think?" Kyouka tried poking him with her jacks, but they didn't work. "I'm thinking we should get him to Recovery Girl."

Before anyone could say anything else, a loud alarm went off through the speakers in the cafeteria.

"ATTENTION. SECURITY BREACH DETECTED. ALL STUDENTS PLEASE PROCEED IN AN ORDERLY FASHION TO THE DESIGNATED RENDEZVOUS ZONES. THIS IS NOT A DRILL."

The alarm had ripped Tenya out of whatever trance he was in, and he grabbed a passing 2nd year. "Excuse me! What is happening?!"

The student, looking panicked, shook his head. "I-I don't know! A break-in, maybe?! This hasn't happened before! Just get to the rendezvous zone for your class and let the heroes handle it!" And with that, he ran off.

"Uhm, didn't they say, 'orderly fashion'!?" Minoru yelled and was almost swept away by the rush of students before an arm grabbed him and pulled him up. "Wha!"

"I've got you." The calm voice of Mezo said as he placed Minoru on his back, above the rush of people. His size kept him from being swept away in the chaos.

Others weren't so lucky. Tenya got pushed and shoved and eventually found himself up against the windows. Kinda having nowhere else to look, he looked outside and saw that there was a large crowd of… reporters? The same ones that were mobbing the gate that morning.

"The press… they tripped the alarm!" He realized. He looked around, spotted Momo nearby, and yelled for her attention. "Yaoyorozu! We aren't under attack! The news reporters tripped the alarms!"

"News reporters?!" She yelled in disbelief. "Then- oomph! Then this panic is for nothing!"

"We must calm the crowd before someone gets hurt!" Tenya advised.

"On it!" Momo tried to lift her shirt just high enough to make a megaphone so she could be heard, but the pushing and shoving were making it impossible. She was once again swept up by the crowd, losing Tenya and getting the occasional elbow to her stomach.

Her hand, which was in the hair, was suddenly grabbed, and she felt weightless as she was pulled into the air. She looked up to see Ochako, who was being held around her waist by Pony, who was using her left hand to hold onto one of her horns.

Ochako had negated their gravity, allowing Pony to use one of her horns to easily fly above the crowds.

"Gotcha!" Ochako yelled as she pulled Momo higher. Another horn, courtesy of Pony, came around for Momo to grab.

"Thank you!" Momo thanked her friends, before proceeding with her plan. She made the megaphone and pointed for Pony to take them to the front of the mob. Once there, she activated the megaphone and yelled. "Everybody stop!"

Due to mob mentality, once a good portion of people stopped to stare at the flying girls, others followed suit. With their attention on them, Momo continued.

"Nobody is in danger! It's just the press! They broke onto campus and activated the intruder alarm. There are no villains! This panicking is all for nothing! Now, do as we were told, and calmly proceed to the rendezvous zones. Thank you."

Chatter spread amongst the student body, but they all complied and started to leave, much calmer than before.

The three girls sighed in relief, before Ochako spoke, a little queasy. "Can we get down now? I'm starting to feel nauseous… and I just noticed that if people wanted to, they could see up our skirts." She said quietly.

All three girls blushed at the realization, and Pony wasted no time getting them back down. Once down, Ochako returned their gravity before nearly falling over from using her quirk on herself right after eating. Luckily Pony caught her and kept her upright. Much to the gravity girl's embarrassment, but she smiled and thanked Pony, anyway.

"Everyone make sure nobody is hurt, then get to the rendezvous zone, hopefully, the teachers can get this all sorted out soon." Momo reiterated to her own class.

Mina patted her on the back as she walked by with a smile "See Momo! This is why we made you Class Rep and not Bakugou! He'd just explode everyone and call it a day!"

Katsuki didn't even deny it as he walked by, which concerned everyone but they let it slide.

Ochako was about to start walking when she realized Pony hadn't let her go yet. Shuffling nervously she cleared her throat, "Hey uh, Pony you can let me go ya know?"

For a moment it seemed like Pony wasn't even listening, muttering something about "Mochi" and softness before coming back to her senses with a blush and immediately letting Ochako go. Her eyes widened in realization as she muttered in English, "Oh my God…" With that, she rushed out of the building.

Ochako tilted her head in confusion, before looking toward Momo. "Can I get a translation?"

Momo cleared her throat. "It was… uh… nothing too important."

Minoru, who was walking by, snickered. "Sure it wasn't."

Ochako pouted. "You guys are unhelpful."

"You'll figure it out eventually," Minoru assured her with a thumbs up. "Just wait."

Ochako frowned at her friends (and who would have thought Minoru would count within that small list of people) but shrugged and moved to follow Pony.

She failed to notice Momo bending down and fist bumping Minoru's outstretched fist.

A few minutes ago

Izumi was in the teacher's lounge with the rest of the staff, talking with Toshinori and both homeroom teachers of Classes 1-A and 1-B. They were just going over what the plan for tomorrow's heroics class was, and how the USJ trip would take up half the day for each class.

"You know, it may be best to just cancel the other classes for the day." Izumi said. "We can have 1-A be the first half of the day, then we can have 1-B be the second half."

"Canceling all their other classes?" Toshinori raised an eyebrow. "Is that such a good idea?"

"Disaster relief is a long process, not one that can be properly simulated in under an hour," Aizawa told him with a disinterested shrug. "Not everyone can be you." He blandly said much to Toshi's embarrassment.

Vlad hummed. "Yes, it usually takes hours, hell, even days. Obviously, that won't be the case here, but I'm sure missing one day of the other hero course-based classes wouldn't hurt."

"Hm, I suppose you're right." Toshinori nodded. "And it will give us time for the students to get experience with every zone."

Before the teachers could deliberate more, the intruder alarm went off, and everyone in the lounge jumped to their feet.

Ch-Chk!

Aizawa barely heard the sound but looked to his left where he knew it came from, and nearly jumped back at the sight of Izumi holding an M4A1 assault rifle that she definitely did not have on her person before!

"Where the hell did you get that?" He quickly asked.

"I'm sorry, I've been here in Japan for how long now? You should know I have guns!" She responded with a grin.

"I know that, but where were you even hiding that?" He clarified gesturing to the gun.

"Concealed carry motherfucker."

Before anyone could question further, or move to secure the school, Principal Nezu fell from the ceiling, suspended and hanging from his tail.

"Not to worry! There are no villains!" He quickly explained, before pulling out a button and pressing it, which stopped the alarms from blaring. "It's merely the press, who somehow have gotten past the barrier."

Groans were heard around the room. Izumi sighed, "Seriously? They're that desperate for an interview with Uncle Might?"

"Damn vultures," Aizawa mumbled, then noticed that the assault rifle Izumi had was gone. "Okay, where did it go?"

"I put it away," Izumi said as if it was obvious.

"But where?"

"Concealed. Carry." Izumi slowly replied.

Midnight nearby put a hand to her chin in a questioning gesture. "Do you just… have guns on you the whole time?"

"Yes. And no, I won't tell you how many." Izumi answered.

"It's a lot." Toshinori chimed in helpfully, Izumi nodding along in confirmation.

"Aizawa, Yamada," Nezu called for the two's attention. "Would you kindly get those heathens off of my campus?"

"Sure thing, boss." Present Mic stood up. "Come on Shouta, let's go greet your favorite people."

As Aizawa walked by Izumi, he looked at her and asked, "Could I borrow that rifle?"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Izumi gave an over-the-top laugh, before she paused and looked Aizawa dead in the eye, a smile on her face but a serious look in her eyes. "No."

Aizawa shrugged before following Mic. "Eh, it was worth a shot."

Everyone went back to finish up what they were doing before they went to meet their respective classes at the rendezvous zones. Izumi sighed and sat down, as did Toshinori.

He looked up at Nezu, still hanging from the ceiling and now drinking a cup of tea, and said, "I deeply apologize for the trouble my presence here has brought, Nezu."

"No worries, Yagi." Nezu somehow took a sip while upside down. "It was bound to happen."

Izumi smirked and asked, "How do you drink that without spilling any?"

Nezu slowly brought the cup to his lips, "Carefully."

Izumi chuckled and accepted that answer, before turning to Toshinori. "But yeah, don't sweat it, Uncle Might. It was bound to happen. It's not like you could have done what me and my Pa have had to do back in the States."

"Oh? You've had this issue as well?" Toshinori asked.

"Yep! When your dad is the CEO of a multi-billion dollar support company, and you're not just a quirkless hero, but the Number 10 in the whole United States, then reporters are bound to come knocking." She explained. "Luckily, the government helps by giving misleading tips and sources, so the press never really are able to find out where we actually live. They expect the Midoriyas to live in some high-end mansion, but we don't."

"Brilliant, Miss Midoriya," Nezu nodded, "But you're right. Once word got out that All Might is teaching at UA, it's not as if we could deny it or mislead them. I just wished humans weren't so stubborn and idiotic."

Before they could continue the conversation, Izumi's phone started ringing. The ringtone sounded… kinda Gothic, with the tone and the choir. Izumi pulled her phone out with a confused expression, before noticing the others and answering their unasked question.

"It's music from a game Himiko likes to play, about beasts and great ones and blood. I had it set as her ringtone as a joke. But…" She looked at her phone with slight worry, "She shouldn't be calling right now, I think."

"Hm, perhaps she just wants to hear your voice?" Toshinori guessed. "You said she's nervous about the new school. Maybe she thinks you can calm her down."

Izumi shrugged before answering her little sister's call. "Hey, Grem… lin… Himiko?" Izumi sounded worried, and though the others in the room couldn't hear what was being said on the other side of the call, they could barely make out panicked rambling and possibly crying.

"Hey, hey, Himiko, stop, slow down. What's wrong?" Izumi's tone was soft and comforting as she listened to the call. The others saw as whatever she heard seemed to make her… angry would be an understatement. She looked more enraged.

"Where are you?" She kept her calm and sisterly tone, already grabbing her stuff and moving to leave the lounge, before turning and looking up at Nezu, mouthing "I have to go" to her boss, who nodded and waved for her to get going. "Okay, sweetie, just stay on the line. Keep talking to me. I'm on my way." That was all they heard before the door closed.

The lounge was silent after that. No one really knew what to say.

"Himiko's her sister, right?" Midnight broke the silence. "I think I remember meeting her once. Sweet girl. I hope she's okay."

"Honestly? I'm concerned for the safety of whoever made Flintlock mad."

"Agreed," Toshinori said with a nod

In the short time, they've known her, everyone knew two things about Izumi Midoriya.

Never piss her off, and never hurt her family.

Someone managed to do both at the same time.

"... Well, I better get to my office and look into funeral services then." Nezu then disappeared into the ceiling.

"I hate the Press," Aizawa grumbled as the reporters continued to demand All Might, despite being told of their trespassing and ordered to leave.

"We could detain them you know," Mic whispered. "This is private property, and they're trespassing."

"As tempting as that is, you'll end up having your rep ruined by fake news. We'll need to wait for the police, or figure something else out." Aizawa groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Just then, they heard rapidly approaching footsteps. Turning Aizawa glanced behind him and saw Izumi speed walking while talking on her phone.

"Okay, just breathe, don't hyperventilate. In, count to four, and breath out." She said.

She pushed past Aizawa and Mic and went out into the crowd of reporters, not giving a damn about them. They all recognized her as the woman that had stopped them at the gate that morning, they were about to swarm her with questions when they caught the look of quiet rage in her eye, and wisely let her pass through without harassment.

Except for one reporter, who was so desperate for a scoop that he ignored his primal instincts screaming at him to maybe not. Seeing as no one was mobbing Izumi, He rushed up to the gunslinger and motioned for his camera guy to get ready. "Excuse me! Miss! What can you tell us about-"

Before he could finish, in a fraction of a second, the camera was snatched away from the cameraman and was held in what Aizawa recognized as Izumi's prosthetic hand. Wordlessly, Izumi crushed the camera in her hand and let the pieces fall to the ground. The reporter was about to yell at her for breaking his equipment but flinched back when he saw Izumi's lone glowing green eye glancing at him from the corner of her eye. A dark aura seemed to radiate out from Izumi, causing the mob to wilt under her glare, and if Aizawa didn't know for a fact that she was quirkless, he would have thought the intimidating aura was her quirk.

Izumi spoke, in a quiet voice that contained the fury of a thousand suns. "Go on. Someone else try to shove a camera in my face." When no one else tried, when no one else even dared to move, she continued. "Get the fuck out of UA right now, or you're gonna end up like that camera. Now move it!" She barked out that last order, before turning and continuing towards the parking garage.

She spoke into the phone again, this time in a more gentle voice. "No, no sweetie, I wasn't talking to you. It was reporters. Just keep talking with me, tell me what you want Jin to make tonight for dinner."

Everyone stood silently as she walked off before the mob turned back to Aizawa and Mic. Mic was just as shocked, his mouth hanging open and his sunglasses hanging off his nose, revealing his wide scared eyes, while Aizawa was less so. He shrugged and said, "Well? You heard the woman. Get out."

Every reporter listened to him after that.

Up in the windows of the building, A few straggling members of Class 1-A saw what had happened. Though they couldn't quite hear, they got the gist of what happened.

Pony gave a fangirl scream. "She's so badass!"

"Flintlock is scary. Kero." Tsuyu said.

"Tell me something I don't know," Katsuki growled out, before moving on and turning back to his conversation with Ejirou.

Izumi used her eye to track the call, specifically the GPS in her sister's phone, and quickly zeroed in on her little sister's location. She wasn't at school anymore; she was in an alley near it.

She quickly pulled her motorcycle to a stop at the entrance to the alley, and disembarked, taking off her helmet and roughly placing it on the seat of the bike. She rushed into the alley, checking behind every piece of cover she passed, not leaving a single nook or cranny unchecked. Eventually, she heard the sounds of erratic breathing and crying and sprinted towards the source.

"Himiko?!" She called out, and the crying got louder. It came from behind a dumpster, and Izumi quickly grabbed it by its corners and shoved it to the side easily, and gasped at the sight before her. "Himiko!"

Himiko, her little sister, was curled up in a ball, with blood all over her uniform.

Izumi crouched in front of Himiko and held her hands. "Hey, hey, Himiko. It's me. It's Izumi. Look at me."

Himiko slowly, shakily, lifted her head. As she did, Izumi could see the blood that was all over her face, the tears had left marks on their paths down her face as she cried. When she saw Izumi, she threw herself at her and hugged her tight, her crying going from a stifled sob to a full-blown bawling fit. She tried to talk, but her words were unintelligible.

"Shh, don't talk. Focus on breathing and calming down." Izumi told her, stroking her hair, which had come loose from the bun they put it in that morning. "I'm going to ask yes or no questions. Nod or shake your head, but don't talk. You don't have to talk, okay?"

Himiko nodded. Yes.

"Okay. Are you physically hurt?" She asked.

Himiko shook her head. No.

"This blood isn't yours?"

Again another shake No.

Izumi was about to ask if she had hurt anyone but thought better of it. Instead, she asked. "Is all this blood from your drinks?"

A nod. Yes.

Good, so she didn't hurt anyone or at least didn't make anyone bleed.

Before she could ask her other question, the sound of hissing reached her ears. She gripped Himiko tightly and looked around only to find nothing. She didn't relax. Instead, she looked up the side of the wall to see what looked to be a six-armed girl about Himiko's age glaring at her with eight multicolored eyes as she crawled on the side of the building.

"What are you doing to Himiko!?" The girl hissed and Izumi stopped herself from reaching for her gun and sighed.

"Don't do that intimidation shit right now kid, especially not with me." She grumbled as she went back to hugging Himiko. "I'm her big sister, and she called me. I'm trying to figure out what the hell is going on and you trying to protect her, while adorable, isn't helping!"

"Sister?" The spider-like girl questioned, her eyes squinting before they widened in realization. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry! I threatened a Pro-Hero!" She skittered off the wall before standing up properly and fidgeting with her multiple sets of hands. "Am I going to jail? Shit, what will mom think!?"

Himiko, much to Izumi's surprise, giggled a little at the girl's antics, and Izumi smiled at her sister before looking at the new girl, putting the pieces together. "You're… Kumo right? Himiko's friend?"

The newly named Kumo nearly fainted at being recognized, though Izumi couldn't tell if it was from hero worship or fear. Maybe a bit of both? "A Pro-Hero knows my name…"

Just then a boy walked into the alleyway carrying Himiko's backpack, which had bloodstains on it, a worried look on his face. "Did you find her Kumo?" He called out, then his eyes widened when he saw Izumi staring at him. "Oh, hey Miss Flintlock. Here's Himiko's backpack. Sorry, it has blood on it." He handed it to her nonchalantly and Izumi squinted at him, "Is she gonna be okay?"

"I hope so… You're Samidare right? Tsuyu Asui's younger brother?"

He nodded with a cheerful grin. "Big sis has talked about you over the phone," before he turned serious. "Though from what I've heard from her and from Himiko, you're pretty scary."

Kumo frowned at him and started pounding on his back "You can't just call a Pro-Hero scary, Sami-Chan! And how come you recognized her, but I didn't!?"

"I'm observant, Kero."

Himiko's cry's had turned into happy giggles at this point and Izumi's cautious grin turned into a soft smile, happy that these two could get this response out of her sister. She was still trembling and breathing heavily from crying but she was on the way to recovery and that was all that mattered. Picking Himiko up she turned to the other two with a frown. "Can you two follow me to the Principal's office? I'm going to go find out what happened to my sister."

"No!" Himiko immediately panicked and gripped tighter onto Izumi. "I don't want to go back! Don't make me go back! I'll just hurt someone!"

"Himiko, you won't hurt anyone." Samidare said.

"Yeah!" Kumo nodded vigorously. "Okay, so maybe you pounced onto Sami-Chan when he opened that closet door, looking like a vampire straight out of a horror movie," Himiko whimpered, and Kumo quickly added, "B-but you didn't hurt him!"

"Closet door?" Izumi furrowed her eyebrows. She looked down at Himiko, who looked like she was attempting to merge her body with Izumi's to escape. She didn't want to go back to school, and forcing her to wouldn't help, but she couldn't be left alone either, even with friends. "Okay, you two." She ordered pointing with her free hand at Himiko's two friends.

Samidare ribbited and Kumo straightened up. "Yes, Ma'am?"

"Can you tell me what happened? Everything you know." Izumi asked.

A few hours earlier

"Kumo, you better have brought more than muffins for lunch this time." Samidare said as they sat down for class. "If not, then tell me now."

Kumo pouted as she sat down. "Of course I did! You and Himi-Chan got mad at me yesterday for not having any 'actual' food." She used air quotes when she said "actual".

"Muffins have never and will never be actual food." Samidare told her.

"Says you."

"Says a lot of people, actually. Kero."

Kumo rolled her eyes and got comfortable in her seat. One would think that having eight arms would make sitting at a desk awkward, but Kumo was used to it, so it didn't bother her. But there was one thing bothering her.

"Is Himi-Chan going to make it to class in time?" She asked.

"Kero. Hopefully. Maybe we should have waited by the restrooms for her." Samidare thought out loud. "Kinda feel bad for leaving her like that, even though she said she was fine on her own."

"Should we go check on her?" Kumo suggested.

Samidare shook his head with a croak. "I'm sure she's fine. If she's a little late from using the restrooms, Mister Fiji will understand."

"Yeah, you're right." Kumo nodded in agreement. "He's cool like that."

Soon enough class started, with Himiko not yet seated. Fiji continued on with the class, but Kumo and Samidare silently worried about their friend. The class just kept going, and hours later, when it was time for lunch, there was still no sign of Himiko.

"Okay, something is wrong." Samidare stood and motioned for Kumo to follow. The two walked up to Fiji. "Mister Fiji?"

"Hm?" The giant man looked down at them. "Asui? Takeuchi? Is something the matter?"

"Himiko never came back from the restroom," Kumo explained. "Is she okay? Did she maybe go home?"

Fiji looked at them in confusion. "Midoriya? She was here today? I didn't know, I thought she was absent. Though I suppose if she was, I would have been notified by the office."

His words only worried the two more. Kumo was the one to take initiative. "Alright, come on Sami-Chan. We're going to look for her." Samidare ribbited in agreement, but before the two could leave the classroom, Fiji called out to them.

"Hold on, you two. You can't go wandering the halls during lunch."

"But-" Fiji stopped Kumo by holding his massive hand up.

"Not without a hall pass, which I was about to give you. Let people finish their sentences, Takeuchi." He jotted them a hall pass before passing it to Samidare.

"Sorry, sir." Kumo apologized with a bow.

"Thank you, sir. Kero" Samidare also bowed.

"Make sure she's okay, will you?" Fiji requested, before motioning for them to leave.

"Yes, sir!" They both shouted out as they left.

The first obvious place to check was the girl's restroom that Himiko went to, so that's where they started.

"I'm not going in there." Samidare stated.

"Why not?" Kumo pouted at him. His response was nothing but gesturing with his hand to the sign that stated it was the girl's restroom. "... Oh."

"Let me know if you find anything. Kero."

Kumo went into the restroom while Samidare waited outside. Not too long after she went in, Samidare narrowed his eyes, and taking a guess at what Kumo was doing, called out into the restroom, "Kumo, you better not be crawling on the ceiling to look into the stalls! Kero."

"... I'm not… anymore." He heard her sheepishly reply.

"Kero…" He sighed in exasperation.

Kumo soon came out, shaking her head. "She's not in there." She said,

Samidare ribbited in slight frustration. Then, he smelled something, his quirk having given him a heightened sense of smell. Taking a few sniffs of the air, he turned to Kumo. "Do you smell that?"

Kumo looked at him confused. "We're in front of the bathrooms, Sami-Chan. You're probably gonna smell something."

"That's not what I'm smelling. Kero." He sniffed again. "It smells like… iron? This way." He quickly ran down the hall, Kumo right behind him.

The smell was strong and new. It wasn't much, but it's all they had, so may as well follow it. To their confusion, the trail led to the next floor up. They continued to follow the smell, and turning a corner, saw a familiar bag on the ground.

"That's Himiko's!" Kumo rushed ahead and kneeled next to the bag. She gasped at the red stains on it. "Did she get hurt?! Did someone hurt her?!" She started hissing as her eyes narrowed. "If someone hurt my friend, I'll-"

"Calm down," Samidare told her as he bent over, picking up a discarded box that seemed to have been stepped on, spilling out a strange red liquid. He sniffed it before he held it away, his face scrunched up. "A blood drink?"

"Huh?" Kumo looked over and saw the can. "Oh, I saw Himiko drink from those boxes a few times. That's blood?"

"Smells like it. Kero."

"Let me see?" Kumo took the can and gave it a quick sip. "Yep, that's blood."

"I forget that blood doesn't bother you. Kero." Samidare mentioned.

"Spider quirk, bloods a pretty tasty treat for me." Kumo reminded him, then frowned at the can. "Honestly, I'm surprised Himiko needs to drink blood since I thought her quirk was shapeshifting, but that doesn't matter right now."

"Right. Kero." Samidare looked back at the bag. "So the blood was from the can, and Himiko's bag is here… so where is she?"

Thump!

A noise coming from a nearby door made the two freeze in place. They both turned their heads to look at the door, which seemed to have been boarded shut.

"Uhm… correct me if I'm wrong," Kumo started, pointing at the door, "But I'm pretty sure a broom closet doesn't need to be boarded up like that."

"They're not. Kero." Samidare moved forwards. "Help me out here."

"Right." Kumo walked up, and using the strength of her six arms, tore the boards off the door, pretty easily too.

Samidare grabbed the door handle and quickly pulled it open. It surprised both of them to find nothing out of the ordinary in the broom closet. Definitely, nothing that would warrant it being barricaded. Releasing the breath they didn't even know they were holding in, Kumo walked back over to the bag.

"I don't get it!" She said in frustration, looking through the bag and finding Himiko's phone. "Where is she?! She wouldn't skip school!"

"Definitely not without her bag and phone. Kero." Samidare gave the broom closet one last scan, before turning to Kumo.

When he turned his back to the closet, however, a figure, shrouded in the closet's darkness, landed behind him with no sound. Glowing, yellow, cat-like eyes narrowed in on their prey, and the figure got ready to jump.

Kumo looked back in Samidare's direction just in time to notice and warn him. "Behind you!" She yelled in panic.

"Kero?!" Samidare turned around just in time to catch the figure as they pounced on him. The two fell to the ground just outside the closet, and the light of the hallway revealed who Samidare's aggressor was.

Himiko, with her teeth bared, baring sharp elongated fangs, had her eyes focused entirely on Samidare as she tried to scratch at him with her nails. Her entire demeanor screamed feral as she mindlessly tried to cut into him, but he was holding her arms back, though it was a struggle to do so, as she was deceptively strong. With her arms held back, she instead tried to bite him, but just as she went in for a bite at Samidare's head, four arms, two grabbing each of her shoulders, stopped her.

"Himiko! Stop!" Kumo yelled as she pulled the feral girl back. Her two remaining hands went to hold on to Himiko's arms. Himiko continued to snarl and scream and try to bite at the two, but couldn't while being held the way she was. Her crazed eyes darted around until they landed on her bag…

And the blood…

Blood…

Blood…

Blood!

She snapped her head back and hit Kumo square in the nose, causing the spider girl to yelp in pain and surprise, as well as let go of Himiko. Once freed, instead of trying to attack them again, she threw herself at her bag. She grabbed the crushed juice box of blood and held it above her head, letting its remaining contents spill out of it and into her mouth, and some of it onto her uniform as well.

But she wasn't satisfied. It wasn't enough for her. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out another juice box, but instead of opening it properly, she sank her teeth into the side and ripped it open, allowing the blood to spill out into her mouth, on her face, and onto her clothes.

Once the blood stopped flowing, Himiko dropped the box and panted heavily while on her knees. Her body slumped and seemed to relax, a smile of pure bliss on her face. Her eyes drifted around and landed on her phone, which had been dropped next to her bag. She lazily reached over and picked it up. As she brought it up to her face and was about to turn it on, she stopped at what she saw in the reflection of her black screen.

The sight of her with blood all over her face.

"What?" She reached a hand up to her face, and the reflection did the same. Her eyes widened as her breathing slowly became shallow. "No… no no no no."

"Kumo, are you okay!" Himiko heard from behind her, and she turned around to see Samidare checking on Kumo, who was holding her forehead and shaking her head to get rid of dizziness.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Kumo said. She then set her eight eyes on Himiko, and Kumo's eyes widened in fear when she noticed Himiko looking at them.

Seeing the fear in her eyes, the blood all over her… Himiko felt her own eyes burn as tears ran down her face, making their way through the blood. She opened her mouth and tried to apologize, to say sorry, beg forgiveness, anything, but nothing came out but strangled sobs and hiccups.

How could she when her only friends looked at her like… like…

Like she was a monster.

Fight or flight kicked in, and with her feral instincts gone, Himiko chose flight and ran. She had no plan or destination, she just knew she needed to get away.

Himiko ignored the pleas for her to come back. She just kept running. She ran out of the school. Ran across the streets. Eventually, she ran into the alleyway next to the school and took shelter behind a dumpster. Her breathing was erratic, and her body felt numb. She was having a panic attack, and she knew it.

She brought her knees up to her chest and cried into them. It was only then that she noticed her phone was still clutched in her hand. With shaking hands, she turned it on and scrolled through her contacts.

Izumi. She just wanted Izumi.

She needed her big sister.

"And that's pretty much all we know. We ran out here looking for her. Kero." Samidare finished explaining.

"Sami-Chan tracked her down by following the smell," Kumo noted.

Izumi, meanwhile, had her eyes closed and was busy trying to stay calm and not commit murder. Hell, she had to focus on keeping her own breathing normal, as with every detail from their story, she just became more enraged. Her blood boiled when she heard about how Himiko was boarded up and locked in a closet like some kind of animal. The recount of how she attacked her friends made Himiko once again start crying her eyes out, a stream of apologies spilling forth as well.

Instead of raging though, Izumi focused on the two other children in front of her. "Thank you both, for looking for her, and worrying about her." She stroked a hand through Himiko's hair. "I… I'm going to take her home and help her clean up. Are either of you hurt?"

Both Kumo and Samidare shook their heads, and Izumi nodded. "Good. Head back to class, and let your teacher know what happened, and that I took Himiko home."

"We'll tell Mister Fiji. He'll understand. Kero." Samidare nodded.

'Fiji? Fiji… Why does that name sound familiar?' Izumi thought, before shaking her head. She had more important things to worry about.

"Thank you. Both of you. Now get back to class before you get in trouble." She told them.

"Yes, Ma'am." They both bowed before leaving. Kumo, though, stopped and looked back. "She's… She'll be okay, right?"

"She will. I'll make sure of that." Izumi said.

Kumo nodded, gave one last worried glance at Himiko, then left.

Himiko's breath hitched, and Izumi once again stroked her hair. "Shh, it's okay. I'm right here. It's just us. You don't need to hold it in front of me." At her words, the dam broke, and Himiko let out a wail as she cried even harder. "That's it. Let it out, Himiko."

Izumi, not ceasing her comforting strokes, walked back towards her bike.

"Everything's gonna be okay. I'm here."

"Who the hell is Flintlock?" A pale-blue-haired man bluntly asked as he scratched at his neck.

"Tomura Shigaraki, please stop scratching at your neck." A man made of shadowy mist, dressed as a bartender, scolded him. "You'll make your condition worse."

"I didn't ask for skin-care advice, Kurogiri," Tomura growled out. "I asked who this random mob is." He gestured at the teacher's schedule, which he stole earlier that day. "I recognize Thirteen, Eraserhead, and All Might," he spat out the last name. "But who's this Flintlock guy?!"

"I do not recognize the name either," Kurogiri admitted. He then looked over at the TV, placed at the edge of the bar they were gathered at. "Sensei, could you perhaps provide insight?"

The TV showed no image, only the words "Audio Only." From it, a voice spoke. "Not a name I recognize. But the word… flintlock. Centuries ago, long before quirks, people would fight wars using firearms that operated using flintlock mechanisms to fire. It's likely the name is related."

"Doesn't matter." Tomura looked to the corner of the bar, where a hulking black figure with an exposed brain sat in the corner. "Nomu will crush anyone in our way, and with him… we'll kill All Might." A child-like giggle escaped his lips.

"Do not underestimate your enemies, Tomura." Sensei warned. "This will be a mission of utmost importance. You will be the one to do what none have managed before. You will kill the Symbol of Peace."

From his seat, Tomura bowed his head to the TV. "I won't fail you, Sensei."

The TV was silent for a moment before Sensei spoke. "I know you won't."

Without another word, it shut off. Tomura looked toward Kurogiri and gave a simple order.

"Let everyone know," a maniacal smile spread across his face.

"Tomorrow's raid day."