I'm exceedingly rarely chilling in JaxWolf4's (Author of Nah, I'd Adapt) Discord Server. It's a chaotic lobotomy mess. Not for the faint of heart.
Here's the link:
Disc: HrPrTeam
-Story Start-
U.A.'s rather high-class faculty room was within its full capacity, as the day outside had turned into night with the light-polluted dark blanket above the campus.
The staff, teachers, and a unique guest that garnered a few looks were gathered at large as they sat with notes of uncertainty and impatience - their gazes darting between the special and unexpected guest and the cheerful yet enigmatic Nezu.
Midnight was the first to break the silence, arching her eyebrows, "So? What's with this impromptu faculty meeting? It can't be that small security breach, can it?"
His hands folded, and with naught a change in expression, Nezu nodded. "It is!" He confirmed all upbeat.
"Weren't all the reporters apprehended and questioned?" The skinny figure of Toshinori trembled with his word that left his frail lips as he turned to the stoic Cementoss, "You had patched up the breach they made, had you not?"
Cementoss nodded silently, to which Nezu elaborated. "Questioning every illegal trespasser, who we will press charges against, to be sure, has implied a rather... worrying hole in the story."
He gestured towards Cementoss as well, "You had seen the damage firsthand before applying a temporary solution, how would you describe it?"
"Destroyed. Disintegrated. Any term of annihilation would suffice. U.A.'s Barrier, reinforced steel, was broken down into specks of dust."
Present Mic gave voice to everyone's thoughts, "So it's a destructive quirk... are you insinuating that the perpetrator wasn't arrested?"
"Exactly so!" Nezu extended both hands with glee towards Present Mic, "The best we have is a hooded figure who walked away."
Confusion washed over the expressions of most of the staff, as they were still not seeing the Principal's point.
"Why? What's the goal?" Aizawa's voice sharpened as he gazed directly at the oddly bejoyed rat-bear thing.
"Oh. That's exactly what I'm asking. Initially, I would have posed it as a... harassment attempt of sorts. But I'm certain none of us are naive enough to believe that." He gestured towards the large panoramic screens that showcased camera footage of the earlier breach. "Which brings me to this fascinating observation."
The view wasn't anything strange, in fact, it was quite run-of-the-mill-
"Did it just replay the same footage?" Vlad King pointed out aloud, to which murmurs among the other staff and teachers grew only louder and louder.
Looks of understanding crossed everyone's features, and they turned to look at Nezu with a note of seriousness.
"Thus! I've brought you all here to present two inquiries!" He lifted two fingers to emphasize.
"First! Had you noticed anything missing? Anything at all?"
"And second! What do you think is our lovely hooded figure's goal with this strange infiltration? I'd love to hear your opinions."
The room turned still as the teachers exchanged glances as they fiddled with the day's memory, trying and failing to find anything amiss.
Humming, Nezu offered, "Well, take it as an extra assignment for all of us to do an inventory check, especially you, Power Loader. I'd hate it if we were missing any support tools within the millions of yen they might cost."
Power Loader, as expected, appeared the most uneasy of them all, as sweat trickled down his face.
He was the one managing inventory and technology worth in the billions of yen; anything missing is a... grave issue.
"Alright, if nothing is amiss, then what about any theories? Take your time to think it through. We've got an hour to the end of this meeti-"
Nezu's words were cut short by a booming, self-assured, and indomitable tone.
The unique guest, the one none of the present staff had any idea as to his reason for being here:
"No more than ten minutes, as per our deal, rodent. Missing Takada-chan's first live show in Musutafu Hills is an unholy transgression." Aoi confirmed with a determined thin line on his stoic expression, his arms folded impatiently.
Nezu was undaunted, whilst everyone could only watch with a slight stupor at the audacity of the young man and were only still processing his casual disrespect, "And who had obtained you this 'prestigious' ticket for you?"
"I know not how you have access to such a ticket not available to the public; however, it is worthless if I am not punctual."
He huffed indignantly, with the resolve of a true man. "Takada-chan would be disappointed if she did not see me there. I cannot let that happen."
"Does she even know who you are, kid?" Present Mic retorted skeptically.
"I was meaning to ask, but why is my student present in this? This is our mess to deal with." Aizawa, despite his bittersweet but mostly bitter and not at all sweet mentorship with his macho student, was expressing worry for the "15"-year-old dragged into this mess.
"To clear any doubts regarding Young Todo's presence here, I will firsthand vouch for his intellect being a worthy opponent to my own."
"I find it disdainful that a rodent could grow so arrogant to believe itself the intellectual equal of man."
Toshinori roared with chastisation as everyone else could only stare in shock once more at the raw disrespect oozing out of the young man. "Young Todo! That is not how you speak to your elders and principal!"
"Damn, he's ballsy." Midnight whistled with a wide-eyed look, her impression of the eccentric boy who made quite the impression, seizing first place in the entrance exam with the usage of dramatic claps and the tearing off of his shirt.
In hindsight, perhaps Midnight was focusing on the wrong thing.
"Well then, kid, what's your theory?" Present Mic adapted quickly with Nezu's unoffended smile, gesturing at the unimpressed and impatient Aoi.
...
"I don't know." Aoi had a deadpan, empty look on his face.
Everyone blinked as Present Mic could only turn to the amused Nezu with a cringing frown and a thumb pointed at the brat who was making himself comfortably useless.
Aizawa seemed to enjoy it as much as Nezu, but likely for a different reason, as he snorted. "Let the kid go. He's clearly not fit to be here, and he should worry about his studies and training; it's still too early for him to be present-"
Nezu cut him off as he knowingly offered, "I can guarantee another exclusive ticket to Takada-chan's next event if you cooperate-"
The reply came immediately and mechanically:
"Given the lack of information, generally, there is little to surmise unless anything was truly amiss, so an inventory check is prudent, and thus, due to the lack of information, this case must be split into two possibilities that themselves diverge ever further into more options." He lifted two muscular fingers.
"The first, nothing amiss from inventory. Now, this is a question not only of worldly possessions but also of observable information. The cameras were hacked, and it would be prudent to presume that the academy network, which contains a lot of information and such was also a victim. This case assumes that nothing was observed or taken. Unlikely."
"The second is that something was taken. What is it? A support item or raw materials that could be worth the median income of an upper-middle-class family of 3 for a year or two? The goal would be mostly clear-cut - financial gain. Bold and unorthodox target, but it might as well be why this monetary heist succeeded."
"If not a physical possession, then certainly information. But what information? Curriculum, the time-table of all courses, etc... Now it would remain to ask why they would want that information?"
Aoi's lips slowly curled into a hopeful, manic grin. "Unlikely, very unlikely, and bold given that All Might, as telling as his absence in this meeting as it is, he is still a teacher in this Academy, and none can match him."
"Thus? An attack aimed at the school in a time of isolation, either directly against All Might or at one of the classes he teaches, all to spite him."
"Whichever the case, the possibility of an insider and a response test for an actual future agenda against U.A. high school is the least likely and has not been proposed, much less a pointless declaration of hostilities. That is all."
Aoi had not mentioned one singular possibility regarding a traitor related to the current situation, however.
...
Everyone took a deep moment to contemplate and digest Aoi's many options that he had presented.
To which he added at the end with a shrug as his grin sadly died down, "Unfortunately, the latter option is unlikely and easily resolved with a simple change in the timetables or adding security to out-of-campus school activities."
Nezu nodded gratefully, "Thank you for your input. In any case, we will be changing the timetable for the next two weeks temporarily."
Groans echoed in the faculty room at that admission.
Pained, exhausted, depressed - the works.
Each of the teachers wanted to complain that it would be troublesome to rearrange certain activities and cancel specific events, and out-of-school internships, particularly for the second and third years of all courses.
Even so, they all fully understood the importance of safety.
The conversation ensued for a few more minutes as Aoi quietly hurried away; Takada awaited his fateful arrival and support.
And thus, unknowing of Aoi's input, Class 1-A got the message that the USJ event they were looking forward to would happen three days earlier than anticipated.
...
"Dude, we're doing the USJ tomorrow!" Kirishima exclaimed as he stood beside Yuji, who was benching... what amounted to literal cars in weight in the technological wonder and, most importantly free U.A. Gym.
Yuji paused mid lift to hum curiously at Kirishima, "Really? I'm actually looking forward to it!"
"Shoosh, All Might's sperm donation! I can finally fucking compete! I've been getting sick of all the damn combat-related training!" Mineta cried tears of joy as he approached the two boys with a pair of three-pound dumbbells he was curling with noticeable struggle.
"You really gotta tone down the language, man. It's not manly." Kirishima muttered in a disappointed shake of his head.
Yuji let down the weight as he rose up with... not a sweat on his face as he snickered at Mineta, pointing an accusatory finger at him, "He's just utilizing the opportunity of Aoi not being here to do what he wants."
"AND FREEDOM NEVER TASTED SO FUCKING SWEET!"
Snorting, Kirishima approached Yuji with a strange air around him, "Say... is it uncomfortable to train with that missing finger?" He pointed at Yuji's most glaring scar - the missing finger.
Even Mineta grew silent at that sudden atmosphere shift, to which he arched an eyebrow, "Seriously, dude? We're fishing for his trauma now, of all times and places?"
Blinking in momentary confoundment, Kirishima noticed his blunder as he blinked and apologized profusely, "O-Oh! Sorry dude, I didn't mean it like that, it's just a genuine question!" He clarified with an apologetic smile.
Yuji waved him off as both Kirishima and Mineta saw an expression they had never seen on him before.
A complex smile.
A sad smile.
A nostalgic smile.
A regretful smile.
Oh, yes. It was deeply regretful.
And it was pained, but the pain seemed to be... a lingering, faint one.
Whatever event had given birth to that smile must've been hell on earth when it had actually occurred.
And a moment later, it was gone, back with his usual friendly and approachable look.
"It doesn't bother me at all. And I don't need support gear since I can simply do this-" The finger, nay, his entire hand and fist quickly converged in blood to form a rather menacing red claw.
"Damn."
"Badass."
Shaking his head, Kirishima offered to change the subject as he straightened himself, "Let's head on out, we shouldn't overtrain. Tomorrow's a tough day. We need to be at our manliest."
Later down the line, in retrospect, Kirishima wished he hadn't been so horribly right.
-------------------------------
May 14th, 2234.
Afternoon.
It was a beautiful and warm late spring afternoon over in Musutafu. The sun blazed brightly above the clouds.
Within one of the courtyards within U.A.'s spacious campus was a bus that had quite the exciting destination for the Hero prospects.
The Unforeseen Simulation Joint Facility.
"Everyone! Enter in an orderly manner!" Momo's mood was as ecstatic as the rest of her classmates as she stood beside the bus's entrance.
Adhering to the Vice President's command, even the jittery classmates formed the line and started entering the bus one by one-
"Open your phone."
"Pardon?" Tokoyami inquired with his usual moody gruffness.
He was stopped at the entrance, Aoi's hulking and intimidating figure blocking the entrance.
"Are you subscribed to Takada-chan's YouTube Channel?"
"No."
"Then it would be wise to correct that grave error."
Tokoyami's eye twitched as he growled. Or more like, his shadow growled. "Why, if I get my hands on that-" He controlled the darkness within him, "Calm down! Dark Shadow!"
Seeing Yaoyorozu's eyes slowly losing their life again at Aoi's antics, Yuji adhered to his own role and approached.
"Oi PinkMight! No cutting in line." Ashido chastised loudly.
"She's dying over there!" Yuji retorted.
"Meh, you get used to it." His 'cousin' threw his own two cents on the matter of Yaoyorozu's gradual cognitive demise.
To Yaoyorozu, the melody of his approaching steps sounded like the bells of salvation. "I'll take care of it from here... just, maybe make sure the line is orderly or something?"
"Y-Yaoyorozu-san?!" Yuji backpedaled in shock as he noticed tears, genuine tears, streaming down her face.
Tears of gratitude, no doubt. "Itadori-san, t-thank you." She stuttered quickly as she ran from the scene, leaving a nonchalant, unashamed Aoi and the unamused Tokoyami, who was arguing with the muscular menace.
"Do you realize that doing that will ruin the great and powerful darkness that envelopes my recommended feed?! You would dare make me blaspheme-"
"You spout blasphemies by even associating Takada-chan's divinit-"
Yuji snatched Tokoyami's phone and clicked subscribe, much to the bird-headed teenager's visible gasp and horror.
He leaned in and whispered something that would force Aoi to perhaps reconsider their brotherhood for but an instant:
"If it bothers you that much, you can unsubscribe later. Just play along."
Ladies and gentlemen - The Diplomat.
Fighting against his deeply ingrained, irreversible, edgy nature, Tokoyami reluctantly presented his phone to their renowned democratically elected dictator President.
"With notifications on." Aoi insisted.
"The demons of hell envy your own wickedness, Class President..." Tokoyami could only grind his teeth as he pressed the bell to allow Takada-chan-related notifications.
Pleased, Aoi nodded with a proud smile and let the boy pass.
It was in this very moment that Yuji Itadori seemingly hit a Black Flash with his brain cells and had struck upon Aoi's not-so-subtle ploy, veiled in his righteous goal.
After a few more victims who were, oddly, actually subscribers of Takada-chan.
Now that he found himself suddenly filling in for Yaoyorozu. Yuji inquired with a sharp look in his eyes:
"Aoi... you're not usually this pushy... are you trying to get Yaoyorozu-san to quit so I have no choice but to take her place?"
Aoi had the most poker face of all poker faces. "Baseless accusations."
And that was that, as Yuji could only sigh in exasperation with the occasional glances of suspicion settling on Aoi's figure.
He was up to something, he's sure; he just wasn't smart enough to prove it.
Eventually, they set sail on the sea of asphalt towards the distant USJ facility to embark on their disaster training, donning their carefully and expertly crafted Hero Costumes.
-------------------------------
It was a grand thing, really.
Larger than any stadium in the world, in the shape of a dome, with different environments custom-decorated and crafted to simulate all the major disasters heroes have to deal with, separated into seven main sections that can be seen from a distance:
Central Plaza: The central area that connects to the simulation areas as well as the main entrance.
Ruins Zone: Located in the northeast.
Landslide Zone: Located to the east.
Mountain Zone: Located to the south.
Conflagration Zone: Located to the southwest.
Flood Zone: Located to the west.
Downpour Zone: Located to the northwest.
Indeed, even prior to getting any actual in-depth explanation, the awe and excitement only grew among the students.
"This is going to be good." Bakugo sneered excitedly.
"It's so spacious! I can really let loose here!" Ashido agreed, spreading her arms wide to try and encompass the entire dome.
Tokoyami murmured pragmatically, "The dome that simulates the flames of hell... that wouldn't be ideal."
"Aizawa-sensei, if there's a choice in assignment, can I train in either the lake or rainy zone, ribbit?"
Their teacher sighed audibly, indulging the students in their momentary awe before he ground them to dust in training. "We'll discuss this when Thirteen gets here."
With the excitement festering and the air electric, so did a certain obvious conclusion grow.
The conclusion of how... expensive this whole facility is.
"U-Uraraka-sensei, are you seeing this?!" Yuji's expression was pale, and his feet wobbled; he was one nudge from falling on his knees in despair.
A comforting hand settled on Yuji's shoulder as he noticed his poverty mentor smiling confidently at him.
Yet her voice did not mirror her expression, "Hmph. The only reason I'm still standing is because I can't shame myself in front of Thirteen. Otherwise, I fear I'd lose hope in humanity at how many billions of yen this place costs to create, much less how much it costs to run consistently-" Her stomach stirred, as bile rose to her throat, "URGH!" She physically recoiled.
The sheer numbers, the sheer wealth.
It was too much.
"URARAKA-SENSEI! HANG IN THERE!"
"...It is not that expensive, is it not?-" She paused, feeling glares as sharp as knives directed at her, "My apologies. It appears I was insensitive again."
"It's okay, Yaomomo, we love you as our sweet, rich, naive summer child~" Toru teased, the only indication of her existence was her voice, given that she was completely invisible.
The excited murmurs persisted until a familiar figure in an astronaut suit approached.
"Thirteen!" Uraraka squealed like a fan girl.
The astronaut costume waved back in a friendly manner, to which Uraraka brightened up like a child gifted candy.
The costumed hero made her introductions with that muffled voice due to the suit, "Good afternoon, Class 1-A. I am Thir-"
"Thirteen, the Space Hero!" Ashido completed the sentence with a bright smile.
"We all know who you are, get on with it, sensei," Bakugo remarked impatiently.
Huffing, Thirteen shook her head and proceeded on, "Well. Welcome to The Unforeseen Simulation Joint! The labor of my passion in hopes of teaching the future generations of Heroes to be better prepared to tackle any disasters and rescue as many innocents as they can!"
She gestured her gloved hand towards the vast dome sectioned into a myriad of biomes and situations. "The most common of all disasters and environments that you may encounter in your career is to be found here. Even so, just because this is a training camp doesn't mean the hazards aren't there. The fire burns hot, the rain and winds overwhelming!"
Aizawa nodded and approached, "They've been briefed."
Blinking and seeing the rapid nodding and excited air around the collective of 1-A, Thirteen nodded in acknowledgement. "Alright then-" She blinked once more, "Where's All Might?"
Exhausted as per norm, Aizawa's disappointed sigh explained it all.
Approaching to whisper to Aizawa's ear, much to everyone's perplexion, she asked, "He's overworked himself again?"
"He was confident we'd be okay as long as we were within campus grounds... if he's deciding to teach, he needs to commit to it, juggling won't do any good-"
"Whoa, hey, is that a portal?" Sero pointed out with a casual remark.
At his casual remark, everyone turned to the central plaza, where, much to everyone's surprise and to specific others' dread... a myriad of purple mist portals converged and opened.
With them, a literal army of quirked individuals stepped out. The most notable of the figures was a slouched individual with a hand stuck to his face.
The purple mist heteromorph was covered with some kind of armor in one of its sections.
And a hulking, monstrous, purple bird creature, nay, abomination with its brain exposed.
...
Letting loose a whistle, Denki sliced through the innocent silence that enveloped his classmates, "Sheesh, they've even got budget for fake Villains."
The following statement, however, was what shifted the air from one of excitement and intrigue.
To fear.
"Those aren't fake villains. EVERYONE HUDDLE TOGETHER!" He barked orders towards the suddenly alert Class 1-A.
His bandages flew up and his eyes flashed red, as he turned to the already on the move Thirteen. "PROTECT THE STUDENTS!"
Time seemed to slow into a crawl, as adrenaline surged and dreadful realization washed over the faces of the students, sobering up most of them with fear and trepidation.
Even the students who were more eager to prove themselves, more eager for combat, like Bakugo and Todoroki, couldn't help but feel chills run down their spines.
Combat, live combat.
Villains against them.
No, not yet.
They need to evacuate; they should succeed, right?
The thoughts rapidly raced in each of their inexperienced minds.
Panic spread quickly as their Quirks and bodies flared up.
However...
Amid the drowning sound of fearful trepidation, a sound resonated.
The sound of a shirt being torn clean apart.
"Young man?" Thirteen inquired in perplexity as a muscular boy stepped forward just before Aizawa launched himself toward the sea of enemies.
The largest, most maniacal grin had found itself plastered on Aoi's face. "Shall you join me in this dance, my brother?!"
Strange, positive energy coursed through Aoi as he spoke.
But, undoubtedly, he hadn't stepped forward alone.
Yuji's expression was of a cold, distant stare. The kind that reminded Thirteen of the look of a traumatized, exhausted Hero or soldier.
He didn't even need to ask or hear of Aoi's request.
His right fist extended back, reinforcing his fist with a nauseating amount of Cursed Energy, preparing a brutal haymaker.
One of the invaders spoke with a husky, disturbing voice. The tone was the definition of something you felt the itch to scratch away, to slice apart into oblivion.
"I thought All Might was supposed to be her-"
He never got to complete his sentence.
There was no warning.
The was no clap.
And yet...
He found himself suddenly where one of those U.A. students was, the ones he was thinking of turning into corpses as a surprise gift box to the not-present All Might.
A sharp, nay, hellish pain crossed his right cheek. The hand stuck to his face shattered like glass as Yuji's right hand dug into his face with the force of a sledgehammer and then some.
The crack of the lanky figure's jaw popped audibly enough for all to hear, as his body was sent flying like a bullet shot from the barrel of a rifle with a resonating boom.
Aizawa's eyes widened as his red eyes followed the trajectory of the, now unconcious, villain as he turned to search for Aoi, finding him just a few seconds later, exchanged with the flying figure of the lanky victim of Yuji's fist.
"Shigaraki!" The purple-mist figure roared with genuine distraught.
The now-named Shigaraki fell on the ground where he had first stepped, sprawled out like a puppet whose strings were cut. His face caved in, his jaw broken, and most of his teeth, shattered.
All that, in less than four seconds, as everyone, even Aizawa and the army of Villains, could only pause to process the situation.
Aoi landed gracefully at the edge of the southwest region, leading into the conflagration zone with a resonating clap that, in fact, did nothing at all.
Indeed, this was...
[Cursed Technique Reversal - Woogie Boogie]
[When utilizing Positive Energy, instead of swapping targets instantly, Boogie Woogie's reversal, Woogie Boogie, designates a Future swap EXACTLY four seconds after selection. If the User claps before the four-second mark, the future swap is cancelled, and positions remain unchanged. If no clap occurs, the swap activates automatically.]
To Be Continued!
-Author Note Start-
Hello lovelies, the next chapter estimated within 2-3 days likely.
Also hope you enjoyed it.
Also, also - you might be confused on two fronts.
1 - Why is All Might still not here due to the earlier USJ?
Because he overworks himself, and frankly, I dont want him here lol.
2 - Why did the Villains still attack with a faulty curriculum?
Aoyama is a snitch gang lmao.
Also, the subtle reveal of Todo's reversed technique has come!
Why reveal it so early? To make it even more menacing and confusing to those aware of his capabilities.
Also, binding vow of exposure soon go brrrrrr.
Relatively soon.
Relative is a strong word, honestly.