Styx, Lethe, Acheron, Phlegethon, Cocytus

Kurogiri flowed around the sofa like a badly animated air elemental.  “Watch closely, Shigaraki Tomura.  Even among hero students, you may find those who share your ideals and interests.”

“... What.  Are you glitching out even worse than usual?”

“To become the embodiment of destruction you desire, you must have allies.”

“What, like the scrubs that got wiped by All Might and a bunch of middle schoolers?”

“High schoolers, technically.”

“Whatever.  You think any of them have the same interests as me?  They’re hero students, sycophants.  There’s no way any of them could become villains.”

Kurogiri touched his neck, or the fog where his neck would be, and for the first time, Tomura noticed he wasn’t wearing his collar.  Weird.  Tomura hadn’t thought Kurogiri could take it off.  

“Sensei was looking for you, by the way,” said Tomura.  

Kurogiri stilled.  “I see,” he said, then vanished through one of his portals.  

“Due to damage to the arena, we will be delaying the next and final match by fifteen minutes while repairs are made… again.  Our students are certainly enthusiastic this year!  Plus Ultra!”

Tomura groaned and started to look for another replacement video game.  

.

Recovery Girl bustled around the nurse’s station, first shooing Todoroki back to his own space, then drawing the curtains tight around Izuku’s bay.  Izuku could hear the stretcher robots as they brought in Kacchan and Uraraka, but, although Kacchan kept trying to get off the stretcher, neither of them seemed to notice him.  

Izuku would have liked to congratulate Uraraka, but he also didn’t want to draw Kacchan’s attention… or get out of bed… 

But his brain needed something to do.  His eyes drifted back down to his phone.  He flipped it over and tapped through his lock screen and password screen, then, feeling guilty, flicked away the notifications from his parents.  But… he should let them know he was okay.  With some apprehension, he opened the family group chat–

.

“Why does he even have that?” asked Banjo, tugging at his nonexistent hair.  It was surprisingly effective, given that all of him was essentially a figment of his imagination.  

“More importantly, why am I not part of it?” demanded Yoichi.  

“Because you don’t have a phone?” suggested Hikage.  

“Isn’t the bigger problem that he’s dead?” asked En.  

.

– and typed out a quick note saying that he was alive and also could they increase his spider budget?  

… Did he have a spider budget?  He felt like he should have a spider budget.  While he was at it, he wanted to increase his All Might budget.  He deserved it, for getting third place in the UA Sports Festival.  Also, he thought he might be able to actually afford All Might now.  He had an in.  Mr. Yagi would give him a discount.  Oh!  And he asked his dad if he’d kidnapped Iida.  That was important.

He stared at his messages.  He was definitely missing something.  

Grammar, definitely.  Also spelling.  Neither of those were important.  

Oh, right.

Izuku: also recovery girl fave bme painkillersa

Izuku: superfood not burting 

.

All for One felt some of the tight panic in his chest ease when he saw (metaphorically) that Izuku had texted him, and swiped away from the latest set of instructions for little Navel Laser.  At least those buffoons at UA hadn’t harmed his dear Izuku to the point where he couldn’t even text.  Quickly, he used his screen reading quirk.  

Within seconds, his relief turned to bafflement.  What was ‘a;ll might busfget?’  Something to do with All Might, surely, but what?  What did he mean when he said ‘thinka OI but hum noq?’  Or ‘iafo fivea me a discount gamily and friends.’  Of course, the part about the ‘increase the spider budget’ was immediately understandable and commendable.  All for One made a note to do just that.  Then he made a note to increase his own spider budget.  As a treat.  

A new text came in ‘dad sid you disnP IISa???????’  

Yeah.  All for One had no idea what that meant.  

If UA had given his precious son brain damage, he would go on a rampage.  He was sure Inko would agree.  

Luckily, his phone vibrated again.  

Izuku: also recovery girl fave bme painkillersa

Izuku: superfood not burting 

Ah.  Alright.  Painkillers.  That made more sense.  And permanent brain damage was unlikely.  UA did have Recovery Girl, after all.  

Inko: Thank you for texting us, dear, I’ll be able to pick you up when the festival ends!

Inko: Your teacher called me 😊

So, All for One probably shouldn’t go on a rampage.  Drat.  

Not that he really wanted to go on a rampage.  

Much.  

“Sir,” said Kurogiri, startling All for One badly enough that he crushed his phone.  “I am told you have been looking for me.”

All for One tossed the remains of his phone to the side.  He could get a new one easily, but it was so inconvenient.  And he’d wanted to talk more with Izuku!  

Although…  He’d originally wanted Kurogiri to get Izuku (and deliver him to the stadium for rampage purposes), but Inko would be upset if she arrived at UA and Izuku wasn’t there.  He couldn’t do that to his wife.  

“Yes,” said All for One.  “I need you to get me a new phone.  Preferably one with good accessibility features for blind individuals.”

“Yes, sir,” said Kurogiri before vanishing again.  

Hm.  Wasn’t there something else about Kurogiri?  Something the doctor wanted?  Oh, well, All for One was mad at the doctor for not finding Kurogiri faster, so he’d just have to deal with it.  

.

Midoriya: hey rincilpe nezi

Midoriya: are you a syat?

Midoriya: a syoat

Midoriya: a syoat

Midoriya: a sypat

Midoriya: a SROAR

Midoriya: STOAT

Nezu raised an eyebrow (or rather, the whiskers that served him in place of eyebrows).  He had given Midoriya the number to this phone, for emergencies related to his quirk, but, perhaps foolishly, had not anticipated this turn of events.  Namely, that Midoriya might text him while under the effects of some of Recovery Girl’s more potent painkillers.  

Midoriya: you should ragebait shiaro

Midoriya: shigaraki

Midoriya: super easy then Iida can have his match 

Midoriya: Iida shoule baghe his match super sad dwarves ir 

Hm.  

Nezu: Perhaps you can explain your thoughts, Midoriya.  

Midoriya: ita 21000&% that Iida and Inheniom were kidnapped by the fih hou qith the portals and he was with shigaraki with the hands yea

Midoriya: because who else ????

Midoriya: so rage bait shiaraki

Midoriya: say his hands are ugleeee

Midoriya: he probable doesn’t care about that thoau

Midoriya: an he used hamer slang when he was at the uso

Midoriya: for like mmorpj and stuff so there are forums for that and chats and stuffff

Midoriya: go on there and call him a fake amer and see who freaks out and threatens to swat you or dust you or maby he dusta himself serves him rigjt

Midoriya: and then swat HIM UNO REVERSE GOTCHA

Midoriya: Iida time victory pose plus ultra

Not a terrible plan, overall, but one with a number of flaws - chiefest among which was that baiting such an unstable villain could have disastrous consequences.  Shigaraki Tomura could very well decide to take his frustrations out on nearby civilian populations.  Or, more likely, see straight through such transparent baiting on the part of heroes.  

Now, after the reports from the USJ, Nezu had been monitoring a number of MMO-related forums and chatrooms, particularly those for MMOs that had features that allowed powerleveling and other tactics students and Aizawa had overheard Shigaraki mentioning during the incident.  There were a few accounts that were of interest to Nezu, but, of course, he couldn’t act against them decisively without crystal clear evidence.  It wouldn’t do to arrest and traumatize random civilians whose only crime was behaving suspiciously online.  

Goodness, if acting suspiciously online was a reason to arrest people, then everyone - apart from individuals living in extreme poverty or in select religious communities - would be a criminal!

Not to mention, the commission had to be informed of raids on notable villain groups, except under certain very specific circumstances.  But Nezu could manufacture such circumstances at leisure, so it didn’t really matter.  

Nezu: A bold proposal, Midoriya!  However, we have already been monitoring those channels, among others.  

Midoriya:  but ?Iddaa :( :( miss him

Midoriya: siz says to tell you immm bid saf

Perhaps Nezu ought to ask Recovery Girl to take Midoriya’s phone, just until he was more rational… and ask her to refrain from giving Midoriya this particular variety of painkiller in the future.  

.

En shrank from the regard of his peers.  

“‘Big sad?’” said Yoichi, incredulously.  “You used our precious moment of communication with my favorite–”

“Only,” interjected Hikage.  

“--nephew, to get him to tell Nezu, his principal, that he’s big sad?”

“In my defense, I didn’t know he’d tune in at that exact moment!”

.

“AND WE ARE HERE!  BACK AFTER OUR EXTENDED REPAIR BREAK!” 

“Please tone it back a little.”

Izuku leaned forward, pen and pad of paper in hand.  He had traded his beloved phone for them, because although his phone did have a note taking feature, even he could tell his spelling was just awful right now.  Completely disgusting.  Something had happened to his spell checker, clearly, because he had never spelled that badly before in his life!  Not even when Kacchan decided to prank him by giving him the wrong spellings and kanji for all the words on their vocabulary test!  

Not that Izuku was holding a grudge over that or anything.  

He made a note to order more spiders.

No, he’d decided already.  No spiders.  That was too mean to the spiders.  

Todoroki and Uraraka were on the TV in the corner of the room.  Izuku didn’t know which one he should cheer for…  Well, he could cheer for their quirks!  He wanted to see all sorts of amazing and creative uses of both Todoroki’s and Uraraka’s quir–

Todoroki opened up with a small glacier.  Which Uraraka dodged by using her own quirk.

“Aw, Todoroki,” said Izuku.  He’d had such high hopes…  

Uraraka released her quirk, vomited (it was censored), and broke off a large crystal of ice and attempted to hit Todoroki over the head with it, like it was a large baseball bat.  Flames licked out from Todoroki’s left side, but he wasn’t able to melt the whole piece of ice before it hit him.  

He stumbled, going down on one knee, and sent out another burst of ice.  Uraraka wasn’t fast enough to dodge completely, and her foot was trapped.  She slapped the ice and kicked it with her other foot, shattering it, but instead of launching into another attack, she doubled over, hands on her knees.  

Both of them were tired and still suffering from injuries, despite Recovery Girl’s quirk.  Uraraka had pushed herself to her limit in her last match, and Todoroki’s hesitance to use his fire - plus Endeavor grandstanding so much that Izuku could hear it even through the television broadcast - was palpable.  

Somehow, though, that just made the fight more interesting.  It showcased their endurance and determination to keep going.  It limited their tactics - neither of them could use their biggest, flashiest attacks, so they had to use more efficient ones, smarter ones.  

With things like this, either of them could win.  

Uraraka started moving, and Todoroki gritted his teeth, swiping his hand sideways, spreading ice over the whole ring, making it slick and slippery.  Uraraka’s feet flew out from under her, and she went sliding with a shriek.  She bounced herself up with her quirk and managed to hit Todoroki in the face with her entire body.  Meanwhile, Todoroki had apparently frozen his feet to the ground, so he was knocked clean out of his shoes.  

What an interesting method of attack!  

Together, the momentum wasn’t enough to push them out of the ring.  They slid to a stop about a meter away from the edge.  Uraraka slapped Todoroki across the face, and he started floating, only for him to use his ice to freeze himself to the ground.  It was obvious from his face that he realized his mistake a split second before Uraraka released her quirk and drove her elbow into his stomach.  

Unfortunately for her, he was fast enough to freeze her as well.  

“Um,” said Midnight.  “I’m not sure if this counts…  since they’re both frozen…?  Who do I call it for?”

Both Todoroki and Uraraka started to wriggle frantically.  Todoroki started to melt his ice, scooting out from under Uraraka as he did so, small fires licking up his hair… and setting Uraraka’s on fire.  Uraraka visibly startled, Todoroki started to apologize, and then Uraraka headbutted him, right in the face.  This movement broke the rest of the rapidly melting ice, and Uraraka and Todoroki went sprawling. 

Shakily, Uraraka climbed to her feet…  Todoroki flopped a bit, then stayed on the ground, the meltwater around him slowly becoming pink-tinged with blood from his nose.  

“URAVITY WINS!”

There was hesitant clapping from the stands.  Izuku applauded, too.  Even though Uraraka couldn’t hear him, he just had to.  What a great–

“WHO THE HELL ELSE IS IN HERE, GRANNY?”

“LIE BACK DOWN, BAKUGO!”

“Please stay tuned for our awards ceremony, and be sure to come back tomorrow for our second years’ competition!  And don’t forget - if you’re a pro hero and you liked the spunk of our students, you can send them internship offers!”

“I WANNA KNOW WHO’S IN HERE LOOKIN’ DOWN AT ME!”

“SIT DOWN OR I’LL SEDATE YOU!”

Izuku tucked his invaluable notes on the last match into his pockets and swung his legs off the bed.  Recovery Girl would be mad at him for sneaking off, but she was survivable.  Kacchan… maybe not so much.  

.

“Danger sense isn’t even going off, though,” said Nana.  “Is it?”

“Unclear,” said Hikage.  “I never tried any mind-altering substances during my lifetime, so I do not know how they interact with the function of Danger Sense.  As some of them affect anxiety, it stands to reason that some of them might affect super anxiety as well.”

“See?  I told you that type of painkillers was bad news.”  He paused.  “Hilarious, though.”

“Wait,” said Banjo.  “You never had any mind altering substances?  Not even sake?”

“No.”

“What about beer?”

“No.”

“Vodka?”

“No.”

.

Izuku had successfully reached the door when Danger Sense told him to jump back.  This saved his nose from being caved in by Midnight energetically opening the door.  

“Oh!  Midoriya!  You’re already…  Not quite ready, but up!  What youth!”  

“Uh,” said Izuku, looking up at the screen.  Midnight was clearly still there, helping shift Uraraka and Todoroki onto the stretchers.  

“Our broadcast is on a five minute delay after the… incident, last year.”

“With… the guy with the intangibility quirk?”  

“That’s the one!  Move over for a moment?”

Izuku scooted sideways so that the robot stretchers could carry Todoroki and Uraraka in.  Recovery Girl was still threatening Bakugo.  

“... don’t need to be carried, I can walk,” said Uraraka.  

“Yes, but Recovery Girl gave me an earful over the radio for letting Midoriya walk on that foot after Todoroki froze it…  But it was so sweet, seeing the two of you support each other like that.  You have to cherish your youth while you have it.  Anyway!  While you two heal up, I’m going to get our third place winners ready for the awards ceremony.  It’s just more efficient that way.”

Kacchan burst out from behind the curtains, shredding them in the process.  “WINNERS?  THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?  THIRD PLACE ISN’T WINNING!”  His lips were pulled back so far that all of his molars were showing.  It looked distinctly unnatural.  

“Well, you’ll have to do better next time,” said Midnight as Todoroki and Uraraka both propped themselves up on their elbows.  “You and Midoriya–” (Izuku slid behind Midnight as Danger Sense became very alarmed, but couldn’t bring himself to just run off) “--still get a medal and to stand on the podium, so–”

“I REFUSE!”  Kacchan leveled a finger at Izuku.  “I won’t share a podium with him!  We’re not the same!  I’m the best, and–”

“But you’re not,” said Midnight.  “Uraraka won.  Chiyo–?”

“He has taken a few blows to the head,” said Recovery Girl. 

“SHUT UP!  You, deku, fight me.  I’ll show everyone who’s better, who deserves to be here.”

“Uh,” said Midnight.  “Slow down there.  I can understand working out conflicts with a fight, but this really isn’t the right place.  Or time.”

“Then we’ll do it in the arena!  I’ll show all of you extras that there’s no way that deku is on the same level as me.”

Izuku saw Midnight mouth the word ‘deku’ with a confused expression on her face.  

“He means me,” said Izuku.  “It’s an-another way to read my name, it’s a kind of–”

“Insult,” said Uraraka.  “Obviously.  Why dontcha take a long walk off a short pier, Bakugo?”

“Hey, hey, the fights are over.  There’s no need for any smack talk here.  It’s possible to be too passionate.”  Midnight raised the end of her whip to her lips.  “Now, considering that passion, and in the interest of allowing you to experience your youth in full, dispelling tension and all that, it might be possible to arrange an exhibition match or a friendly spar…”  She glanced at Izuku, then trailed off, pursing her lips.  “But neither of those would be part of the sports festival, so it’s kind of beside the point.  You’ll have to be satisfied with sharing, Bakugo.”

“DIDN’T YOU HEAR ME, I WON’T SHARE A PODIUM WITH HIM!”

“I-I can just– I don’t need–”  Izuku remembered that All Might was giving out the medals.  And hugs.  Izuku distinctly remembered hearing about hugs.  He wanted that hug.  That was a limited edition hug.  Bakugo could go die in a hole.  Preferably one filled with spiders.  “I g-got this far fair and square–”

“Okay, Bakugo,” said Midnight.  “I’ll let Nezu and the announcers know that you’re resigning from the festival and forfeiting your place.”

Kacchan stared.  Izuku sympathized.  He felt shocked, too.  

Then Kacchan shouted, “I’M NOT GIVING UP!”

“Bakugo, the only two choices you have here are to share third place with Midoriya, or bow out of the awards ceremony entirely,” said Midnight.  “Rules are rules.  You’re both in third place.  If you’re aggressive to Midoriya about it, then you won’t be on the podium at all.  And potential mentors will notice and wonder what happened.  It’ll affect your internship offers.”

“Just like that?” asked Uraraka, with an undercurrent of what might be glee.  Kacchan appeared to have been stunned into silence.  

Midnight shrugged.  “Sure.  If he were in first, we might force the issue, but no one really cares that much about third place, you know?  Not that it isn’t a great achievement, Midoriya, it just isn’t as closely scrutinized.  Speaking of which, Uraraka, that’s something you’ll have to brace yourself for, it’s definitely worse for girls.”

“Oh,” said Uraraka, blankly.  “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“STOP IGNORING M– OW!”

“Why don’t you go ahead with Midoriya, and Bakugo can make up his mind here?” suggested Recovery Girl, dragging Kacchan backwards by his ear.  “And then hopefully things will quiet down…”

.

“Are you really going to remove Ka– Bakugo like that completely?” asked Izuku as Ms. Kayama lead him to another small side room where he was given a sink, a towel, a fresh uniform and Ms. Kayama picked at his hair with a comb.  Make up optional, he was told.  

“Eh,” said Ms. Kayama.  “Probably not.  I don’t entirely remember our rules about not participating in the awards ceremony.  There are definitely allowances for things like family emergencies.  I was hoping it’d bring him back to his senses, but…”  She shrugged.  

Izuku rubbed his hands on his legs.  “Are exhibition matches a thing at UA?”  He didn’t remember seeing anything about them during his research.  But if they weren’t actually a sports festival thing, then he wouldn’t have.  He knew that pro heroes sometimes did public sparring as special events - with proceeds going to charity - but he’d never heard about that for students, other than the sports festival itself, and–

“Not for hero students, usually.  I was making stuff up!  It sounds exciting, though, doesn’t it?”

.

“That’s a bit too carefree for a teacher,” said Yoichi.

“You say that like you’d know.”

“I’m going to ghost murder you.”

“I’d haunt you.”

“You’re haunting me now.”

“What about gin?” asked Banjo.  

“No,” said Hikage.  

.

Standing on the podium in the middle of the arena, surrounded by cheering crowds and flashing lights was amazing, but Izuku was having a hard time appreciating it, because Kacchan was doing his level best to breathe down his neck.  Not to mention the teeny, tiny, barely audible explosions crackling on his hands.  Plus, Ms. Kayama kept trying to catch his eyes, which was like– He really didn’t mind Kacchan being on the podium with him!  It was a bit of a compliment that Kacchan would even deign to share third place, given his… everything.  

It just wasn’t enjoyable, was all.  

And, really, hadn’t Izuku had that whole discussion with him in the bathroom?  He’d already decided to stand up for himself.  But…  After all that, without actually fighting Kacchan…  His resolve felt a little hollow.  

He swallowed.  It didn’t matter.  It really didn’t.  He had his resolve.  And he was here.  And whatever Kacchan was doing or not doing, or feeling or not feeling, it didn’t matter.  

… Unless he decided to blow Izuku up for daring to share his space.  That was a possibility.  One that Danger Sense might agree with, but he couldn’t really tell because Kacchan being that close made him feel like he was about to melt into his shoes and what if that feeling meant that something was happening to Iida instead?  Also, he was starting to feel like he might have said some really strange things to his parents and Principal Nezu right after he got the painkillers, and, oh, no, what if he’d sent something crazy to Mr. Yagi, too?  What if All Might decided he hated him and didn’t come out to give the medals?

But before Izuku could stew in extremely unlikely what-ifs for much longer (like his dad being All for One!  What a weird thing to hallucinate when under the effects of painkillers!) All Might in his full glory jumped from the very top of the stadium, above even the top row of seats, and landed in the ring, slightly cracking the newly-repaired concrete.  

The crowd absolutely went wild, and All Might gave them a sweeping wave.  “THANK YOU, EVERYONE!  BUT THIS ISN’T ABOUT ME!  THE STARS OF TODAY ARE THESE YOUNG HEROES!”  

Somehow, the volume of the applause increased.  So did Izuku’s heart rate.  

All Might raised the bronze medals first.  “OUR THIRD PLACE WINNERS, WONDER AND B-17!”  

Even though Kacchan and Izuku were on raised platform, All Might had to bend down to put the medals’ white ribbons around their necks.  “Congratulations, young Wonder.  You’ve accomplished much in such a short time.”

Kacchan made a noise like a choked snarl.  All Might turned his head to look at him and…  Izuku blinked.  That expression…  It was still a smile, but…  It had a lot more in common with his expression at the USJ than his normal smile.  

“You’ve done well, also, young B-17!”  He patted Kacchan on the shoulder, a little hesitantly - probably a good idea, since it looked like Kacchan might start biting at any moment - and then pulled Izuku into a tight hug.  

Izuku squeezed back, trying to hold back his tears.  It was impossible, of course.  Even with Kacchan there, glowering at him, and Iida missing, he was just so happy.  

This was his dream, and he was living it.  

.

In the mindscape, Yoichi was back to chewing on his hat, tears running down his own face.  “I wish I could give him a hug, too!  I’m so proud!”

“What about cognac?  I know I got you a bottle of cognac that one time.”

“Never got around to it.”

“Stop ruining the moment!”

.

In his hideout, All for One wished he had a hat to chew on, although for entirely different reasons.  

He was so jealous.  How dare All Might hug his son when he couldn’t?

.

Tomura, forced to pay attention to the festival awards ceremony against his will via a detestable absence of video games, leaned forward, eyes narrowing.  He raised a finger and pressed its tip against the screen.  

“Those eyes…” he said.  “Those eyes are full of hate…”  He raised his other hand to the back of his neck and started to scratch, digging his fingernails deep into his skin.  “I want to know who it is that can make All Might hate him so much.”

.

Many miles away, in an Apple Store in Hokkaido, Kurogiri stopped to watch the last minutes of the first year UA Sports Festival on a screen in the corner of the store.  The store employees were also watching.  All Might moved on from the two third place podium, and gave the student there, Endeavor’s child, the silver medal and a hug.  The child received both with an air of faintly baffled stoicism.  The first place winner, meanwhile, was an exuberant girl who practically bounced as she received her medal, and threw herself into the hug with All Might, wrapping both of her arms around his neck.  

There was something about the scene…  Not something he remembered, but something…

“Ah, sorry about that, sir, it’s just, the sports festival only happens once a year!”

“Unless you count the other two years of students competing,” said another employee, shaking her head.  

The first employee waved her off.  “Anyway, how can we help you?  I’m sure that whatever you’re looking for, Apple can provide everything you need.”

“Actually,” said Kurogiri, “I hate Apple.”

“Oh,” said the employee, a little taken aback.  Kurogiri was also taken aback.  He’d never had a phone other than the burner All for One provided him with.  

Behind him, the other employee was looking at Kurogiri with a frown.  “Have I seen you somewhere before?” she asked.  

Kurogiri ignored her.  “It’s for my boss,” he continued.  He wasn’t sure why he said that.  All for One was more of a ‘master’ than a ‘boss.’

“Say no more!” said the first employee, laughing.  “To tell you the truth, I kind of hate working here myself.  I’m sure we can still get you what you need.”

“My boss is looking for a phone with good accessibility features.”

“Got it.  Well, none of our stock have terrible accessibility - that new law, you know? - but on this one, it’s really annoying to change the settings.  I know, because my grandma has one, and guess who she’s always calling to fix it?”  The employee put the phone down on the counter.  It looked identical to every other smart phone Kurogiri had ever seen.  

“I would like to buy it,” he said.  

“Great!” said the employee.  “That’ll be two hundred thousand yen.”

“I don’t have any money,” said Kurogiri.  

“Wait!” said the other employee, pointing.  “You’re that villain that’s been in the news!  One of the ones that attacked UA!”

Kurogiri flowed around the sofa like a badly animated air elemental.  “Watch closely, Shigaraki Tomura.  Even among hero students, you may find those who share your ideals and interests.”

“... What.  Are you glitching out even worse than usual?”

“To become the embodiment of destruction you desire, you must have allies.”

“What, like the scrubs that got wiped by All Might and a bunch of middle schoolers?”

“High schoolers, technically.”

“Whatever.  You think any of them have the same interests as me?  They’re hero students, sycophants.  There’s no way any of them could become villains.”

Kurogiri touched his neck, or the fog where his neck would be, and for the first time, Tomura noticed he wasn’t wearing his collar.  Weird.  Tomura hadn’t thought Kurogiri could take it off.  

“Sensei was looking for you, by the way,” said Tomura.  

Kurogiri stilled.  “I see,” he said, then vanished through one of his portals.  

“Due to damage to the arena, we will be delaying the next and final match by fifteen minutes while repairs are made… again.  Our students are certainly enthusiastic this year!  Plus Ultra!”

Tomura groaned and started to look for another replacement video game.  

.

Recovery Girl bustled around the nurse’s station, first shooing Todoroki back to his own space, then drawing the curtains tight around Izuku’s bay.  Izuku could hear the stretcher robots as they brought in Kacchan and Uraraka, but, although Kacchan kept trying to get off the stretcher, neither of them seemed to notice him.  

Izuku would have liked to congratulate Uraraka, but he also didn’t want to draw Kacchan’s attention… or get out of bed… 

But his brain needed something to do.  His eyes drifted back down to his phone.  He flipped it over and tapped through his lock screen and password screen, then, feeling guilty, flicked away the notifications from his parents.  But… he should let them know he was okay.  With some apprehension, he opened the family group chat–

.

“Why does he even have that?” asked Banjo, tugging at his nonexistent hair.  It was surprisingly effective, given that all of him was essentially a figment of his imagination.  

“More importantly, why am I not part of it?” demanded Yoichi.  

“Because you don’t have a phone?” suggested Hikage.  

“Isn’t the bigger problem that he’s dead?” asked En.  

.

– and typed out a quick note saying that he was alive and also could they increase his spider budget?  

… Did he have a spider budget?  He felt like he should have a spider budget.  While he was at it, he wanted to increase his All Might budget.  He deserved it, for getting third place in the UA Sports Festival.  Also, he thought he might be able to actually afford All Might now.  He had an in.  Mr. Yagi would give him a discount.  Oh!  And he asked his dad if he’d kidnapped Iida.  That was important.

He stared at his messages.  He was definitely missing something.  

Grammar, definitely.  Also spelling.  Neither of those were important.  

Oh, right.

Izuku: also recovery girl fave bme painkillersa

Izuku: superfood not burting 

.

All for One felt some of the tight panic in his chest ease when he saw (metaphorically) that Izuku had texted him, and swiped away from the latest set of instructions for little Navel Laser.  At least those buffoons at UA hadn’t harmed his dear Izuku to the point where he couldn’t even text.  Quickly, he used his screen reading quirk.  

Within seconds, his relief turned to bafflement.  What was ‘a;ll might busfget?’  Something to do with All Might, surely, but what?  What did he mean when he said ‘thinka OI but hum noq?’  Or ‘iafo fivea me a discount gamily and friends.’  Of course, the part about the ‘increase the spider budget’ was immediately understandable and commendable.  All for One made a note to do just that.  Then he made a note to increase his own spider budget.  As a treat.  

A new text came in ‘dad sid you disnP IISa???????’  

Yeah.  All for One had no idea what that meant.  

If UA had given his precious son brain damage, he would go on a rampage.  He was sure Inko would agree.  

Luckily, his phone vibrated again.  

Izuku: also recovery girl fave bme painkillersa

Izuku: superfood not burting 

Ah.  Alright.  Painkillers.  That made more sense.  And permanent brain damage was unlikely.  UA did have Recovery Girl, after all.  

Inko: Thank you for texting us, dear, I’ll be able to pick you up when the festival ends!

Inko: Your teacher called me 😊

So, All for One probably shouldn’t go on a rampage.  Drat.  

Not that he really wanted to go on a rampage.  

Much.  

“Sir,” said Kurogiri, startling All for One badly enough that he crushed his phone.  “I am told you have been looking for me.”

All for One tossed the remains of his phone to the side.  He could get a new one easily, but it was so inconvenient.  And he’d wanted to talk more with Izuku!  

Although…  He’d originally wanted Kurogiri to get Izuku (and deliver him to the stadium for rampage purposes), but Inko would be upset if she arrived at UA and Izuku wasn’t there.  He couldn’t do that to his wife.  

“Yes,” said All for One.  “I need you to get me a new phone.  Preferably one with good accessibility features for blind individuals.”

“Yes, sir,” said Kurogiri before vanishing again.  

Hm.  Wasn’t there something else about Kurogiri?  Something the doctor wanted?  Oh, well, All for One was mad at the doctor for not finding Kurogiri faster, so he’d just have to deal with it.  

.

Midoriya: hey rincilpe nezi

Midoriya: are you a syat?

Midoriya: a syoat

Midoriya: a syoat

Midoriya: a sypat

Midoriya: a SROAR

Midoriya: STOAT

Nezu raised an eyebrow (or rather, the whiskers that served him in place of eyebrows).  He had given Midoriya the number to this phone, for emergencies related to his quirk, but, perhaps foolishly, had not anticipated this turn of events.  Namely, that Midoriya might text him while under the effects of some of Recovery Girl’s more potent painkillers.  

Midoriya: you should ragebait shiaro

Midoriya: shigaraki

Midoriya: super easy then Iida can have his match 

Midoriya: Iida shoule baghe his match super sad dwarves ir 

Hm.  

Nezu: Perhaps you can explain your thoughts, Midoriya.  

Midoriya: ita 21000&% that Iida and Inheniom were kidnapped by the fih hou qith the portals and he was with shigaraki with the hands yea

Midoriya: because who else ????

Midoriya: so rage bait shiaraki

Midoriya: say his hands are ugleeee

Midoriya: he probable doesn’t care about that thoau

Midoriya: an he used hamer slang when he was at the uso

Midoriya: for like mmorpj and stuff so there are forums for that and chats and stuffff

Midoriya: go on there and call him a fake amer and see who freaks out and threatens to swat you or dust you or maby he dusta himself serves him rigjt

Midoriya: and then swat HIM UNO REVERSE GOTCHA

Midoriya: Iida time victory pose plus ultra

Not a terrible plan, overall, but one with a number of flaws - chiefest among which was that baiting such an unstable villain could have disastrous consequences.  Shigaraki Tomura could very well decide to take his frustrations out on nearby civilian populations.  Or, more likely, see straight through such transparent baiting on the part of heroes.  

Now, after the reports from the USJ, Nezu had been monitoring a number of MMO-related forums and chatrooms, particularly those for MMOs that had features that allowed powerleveling and other tactics students and Aizawa had overheard Shigaraki mentioning during the incident.  There were a few accounts that were of interest to Nezu, but, of course, he couldn’t act against them decisively without crystal clear evidence.  It wouldn’t do to arrest and traumatize random civilians whose only crime was behaving suspiciously online.  

Goodness, if acting suspiciously online was a reason to arrest people, then everyone - apart from individuals living in extreme poverty or in select religious communities - would be a criminal!

Not to mention, the commission had to be informed of raids on notable villain groups, except under certain very specific circumstances.  But Nezu could manufacture such circumstances at leisure, so it didn’t really matter.  

Nezu: A bold proposal, Midoriya!  However, we have already been monitoring those channels, among others.  

Midoriya:  but ?Iddaa :( :( miss him

Midoriya: siz says to tell you immm bid saf

Perhaps Nezu ought to ask Recovery Girl to take Midoriya’s phone, just until he was more rational… and ask her to refrain from giving Midoriya this particular variety of painkiller in the future.  

.

En shrank from the regard of his peers.  

“‘Big sad?’” said Yoichi, incredulously.  “You used our precious moment of communication with my favorite–”

“Only,” interjected Hikage.  

“--nephew, to get him to tell Nezu, his principal, that he’s big sad?”

“In my defense, I didn’t know he’d tune in at that exact moment!”

.

“AND WE ARE HERE!  BACK AFTER OUR EXTENDED REPAIR BREAK!” 

“Please tone it back a little.”

Izuku leaned forward, pen and pad of paper in hand.  He had traded his beloved phone for them, because although his phone did have a note taking feature, even he could tell his spelling was just awful right now.  Completely disgusting.  Something had happened to his spell checker, clearly, because he had never spelled that badly before in his life!  Not even when Kacchan decided to prank him by giving him the wrong spellings and kanji for all the words on their vocabulary test!  

Not that Izuku was holding a grudge over that or anything.  

He made a note to order more spiders.

No, he’d decided already.  No spiders.  That was too mean to the spiders.  

Todoroki and Uraraka were on the TV in the corner of the room.  Izuku didn’t know which one he should cheer for…  Well, he could cheer for their quirks!  He wanted to see all sorts of amazing and creative uses of both Todoroki’s and Uraraka’s quir–

Todoroki opened up with a small glacier.  Which Uraraka dodged by using her own quirk.

“Aw, Todoroki,” said Izuku.  He’d had such high hopes…  

Uraraka released her quirk, vomited (it was censored), and broke off a large crystal of ice and attempted to hit Todoroki over the head with it, like it was a large baseball bat.  Flames licked out from Todoroki’s left side, but he wasn’t able to melt the whole piece of ice before it hit him.  

He stumbled, going down on one knee, and sent out another burst of ice.  Uraraka wasn’t fast enough to dodge completely, and her foot was trapped.  She slapped the ice and kicked it with her other foot, shattering it, but instead of launching into another attack, she doubled over, hands on her knees.  

Both of them were tired and still suffering from injuries, despite Recovery Girl’s quirk.  Uraraka had pushed herself to her limit in her last match, and Todoroki’s hesitance to use his fire - plus Endeavor grandstanding so much that Izuku could hear it even through the television broadcast - was palpable.  

Somehow, though, that just made the fight more interesting.  It showcased their endurance and determination to keep going.  It limited their tactics - neither of them could use their biggest, flashiest attacks, so they had to use more efficient ones, smarter ones.  

With things like this, either of them could win.  

Uraraka started moving, and Todoroki gritted his teeth, swiping his hand sideways, spreading ice over the whole ring, making it slick and slippery.  Uraraka’s feet flew out from under her, and she went sliding with a shriek.  She bounced herself up with her quirk and managed to hit Todoroki in the face with her entire body.  Meanwhile, Todoroki had apparently frozen his feet to the ground, so he was knocked clean out of his shoes.  

What an interesting method of attack!  

Together, the momentum wasn’t enough to push them out of the ring.  They slid to a stop about a meter away from the edge.  Uraraka slapped Todoroki across the face, and he started floating, only for him to use his ice to freeze himself to the ground.  It was obvious from his face that he realized his mistake a split second before Uraraka released her quirk and drove her elbow into his stomach.  

Unfortunately for her, he was fast enough to freeze her as well.  

“Um,” said Midnight.  “I’m not sure if this counts…  since they’re both frozen…?  Who do I call it for?”

Both Todoroki and Uraraka started to wriggle frantically.  Todoroki started to melt his ice, scooting out from under Uraraka as he did so, small fires licking up his hair… and setting Uraraka’s on fire.  Uraraka visibly startled, Todoroki started to apologize, and then Uraraka headbutted him, right in the face.  This movement broke the rest of the rapidly melting ice, and Uraraka and Todoroki went sprawling. 

Shakily, Uraraka climbed to her feet…  Todoroki flopped a bit, then stayed on the ground, the meltwater around him slowly becoming pink-tinged with blood from his nose.  

“URAVITY WINS!”

There was hesitant clapping from the stands.  Izuku applauded, too.  Even though Uraraka couldn’t hear him, he just had to.  What a great–

“WHO THE HELL ELSE IS IN HERE, GRANNY?”

“LIE BACK DOWN, BAKUGO!”

“Please stay tuned for our awards ceremony, and be sure to come back tomorrow for our second years’ competition!  And don’t forget - if you’re a pro hero and you liked the spunk of our students, you can send them internship offers!”

“I WANNA KNOW WHO’S IN HERE LOOKIN’ DOWN AT ME!”

“SIT DOWN OR I’LL SEDATE YOU!”

Izuku tucked his invaluable notes on the last match into his pockets and swung his legs off the bed.  Recovery Girl would be mad at him for sneaking off, but she was survivable.  Kacchan… maybe not so much.  

.

“Danger sense isn’t even going off, though,” said Nana.  “Is it?”

“Unclear,” said Hikage.  “I never tried any mind-altering substances during my lifetime, so I do not know how they interact with the function of Danger Sense.  As some of them affect anxiety, it stands to reason that some of them might affect super anxiety as well.”

“See?  I told you that type of painkillers was bad news.”  He paused.  “Hilarious, though.”

“Wait,” said Banjo.  “You never had any mind altering substances?  Not even sake?”

“No.”

“What about beer?”

“No.”

“Vodka?”

“No.”

.

Izuku had successfully reached the door when Danger Sense told him to jump back.  This saved his nose from being caved in by Midnight energetically opening the door.  

“Oh!  Midoriya!  You’re already…  Not quite ready, but up!  What youth!”  

“Uh,” said Izuku, looking up at the screen.  Midnight was clearly still there, helping shift Uraraka and Todoroki onto the stretchers.  

“Our broadcast is on a five minute delay after the… incident, last year.”

“With… the guy with the intangibility quirk?”  

“That’s the one!  Move over for a moment?”

Izuku scooted sideways so that the robot stretchers could carry Todoroki and Uraraka in.  Recovery Girl was still threatening Bakugo.  

“... don’t need to be carried, I can walk,” said Uraraka.  

“Yes, but Recovery Girl gave me an earful over the radio for letting Midoriya walk on that foot after Todoroki froze it…  But it was so sweet, seeing the two of you support each other like that.  You have to cherish your youth while you have it.  Anyway!  While you two heal up, I’m going to get our third place winners ready for the awards ceremony.  It’s just more efficient that way.”

Kacchan burst out from behind the curtains, shredding them in the process.  “WINNERS?  THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?  THIRD PLACE ISN’T WINNING!”  His lips were pulled back so far that all of his molars were showing.  It looked distinctly unnatural.  

“Well, you’ll have to do better next time,” said Midnight as Todoroki and Uraraka both propped themselves up on their elbows.  “You and Midoriya–” (Izuku slid behind Midnight as Danger Sense became very alarmed, but couldn’t bring himself to just run off) “--still get a medal and to stand on the podium, so–”

“I REFUSE!”  Kacchan leveled a finger at Izuku.  “I won’t share a podium with him!  We’re not the same!  I’m the best, and–”

“But you’re not,” said Midnight.  “Uraraka won.  Chiyo–?”

“He has taken a few blows to the head,” said Recovery Girl. 

“SHUT UP!  You, deku, fight me.  I’ll show everyone who’s better, who deserves to be here.”

“Uh,” said Midnight.  “Slow down there.  I can understand working out conflicts with a fight, but this really isn’t the right place.  Or time.”

“Then we’ll do it in the arena!  I’ll show all of you extras that there’s no way that deku is on the same level as me.”

Izuku saw Midnight mouth the word ‘deku’ with a confused expression on her face.  

“He means me,” said Izuku.  “It’s an-another way to read my name, it’s a kind of–”

“Insult,” said Uraraka.  “Obviously.  Why dontcha take a long walk off a short pier, Bakugo?”

“Hey, hey, the fights are over.  There’s no need for any smack talk here.  It’s possible to be too passionate.”  Midnight raised the end of her whip to her lips.  “Now, considering that passion, and in the interest of allowing you to experience your youth in full, dispelling tension and all that, it might be possible to arrange an exhibition match or a friendly spar…”  She glanced at Izuku, then trailed off, pursing her lips.  “But neither of those would be part of the sports festival, so it’s kind of beside the point.  You’ll have to be satisfied with sharing, Bakugo.”

“DIDN’T YOU HEAR ME, I WON’T SHARE A PODIUM WITH HIM!”

“I-I can just– I don’t need–”  Izuku remembered that All Might was giving out the medals.  And hugs.  Izuku distinctly remembered hearing about hugs.  He wanted that hug.  That was a limited edition hug.  Bakugo could go die in a hole.  Preferably one filled with spiders.  “I g-got this far fair and square–”

“Okay, Bakugo,” said Midnight.  “I’ll let Nezu and the announcers know that you’re resigning from the festival and forfeiting your place.”

Kacchan stared.  Izuku sympathized.  He felt shocked, too.  

Then Kacchan shouted, “I’M NOT GIVING UP!”

“Bakugo, the only two choices you have here are to share third place with Midoriya, or bow out of the awards ceremony entirely,” said Midnight.  “Rules are rules.  You’re both in third place.  If you’re aggressive to Midoriya about it, then you won’t be on the podium at all.  And potential mentors will notice and wonder what happened.  It’ll affect your internship offers.”

“Just like that?” asked Uraraka, with an undercurrent of what might be glee.  Kacchan appeared to have been stunned into silence.  

Midnight shrugged.  “Sure.  If he were in first, we might force the issue, but no one really cares that much about third place, you know?  Not that it isn’t a great achievement, Midoriya, it just isn’t as closely scrutinized.  Speaking of which, Uraraka, that’s something you’ll have to brace yourself for, it’s definitely worse for girls.”

“Oh,” said Uraraka, blankly.  “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“STOP IGNORING M– OW!”

“Why don’t you go ahead with Midoriya, and Bakugo can make up his mind here?” suggested Recovery Girl, dragging Kacchan backwards by his ear.  “And then hopefully things will quiet down…”

.

“Are you really going to remove Ka– Bakugo like that completely?” asked Izuku as Ms. Kayama lead him to another small side room where he was given a sink, a towel, a fresh uniform and Ms. Kayama picked at his hair with a comb.  Make up optional, he was told.  

“Eh,” said Ms. Kayama.  “Probably not.  I don’t entirely remember our rules about not participating in the awards ceremony.  There are definitely allowances for things like family emergencies.  I was hoping it’d bring him back to his senses, but…”  She shrugged.  

Izuku rubbed his hands on his legs.  “Are exhibition matches a thing at UA?”  He didn’t remember seeing anything about them during his research.  But if they weren’t actually a sports festival thing, then he wouldn’t have.  He knew that pro heroes sometimes did public sparring as special events - with proceeds going to charity - but he’d never heard about that for students, other than the sports festival itself, and–

“Not for hero students, usually.  I was making stuff up!  It sounds exciting, though, doesn’t it?”

.

“That’s a bit too carefree for a teacher,” said Yoichi.

“You say that like you’d know.”

“I’m going to ghost murder you.”

“I’d haunt you.”

“You’re haunting me now.”

“What about gin?” asked Banjo.  

“No,” said Hikage.  

.

Standing on the podium in the middle of the arena, surrounded by cheering crowds and flashing lights was amazing, but Izuku was having a hard time appreciating it, because Kacchan was doing his level best to breathe down his neck.  Not to mention the teeny, tiny, barely audible explosions crackling on his hands.  Plus, Ms. Kayama kept trying to catch his eyes, which was like– He really didn’t mind Kacchan being on the podium with him!  It was a bit of a compliment that Kacchan would even deign to share third place, given his… everything.  

It just wasn’t enjoyable, was all.  

And, really, hadn’t Izuku had that whole discussion with him in the bathroom?  He’d already decided to stand up for himself.  But…  After all that, without actually fighting Kacchan…  His resolve felt a little hollow.  

He swallowed.  It didn’t matter.  It really didn’t.  He had his resolve.  And he was here.  And whatever Kacchan was doing or not doing, or feeling or not feeling, it didn’t matter.  

… Unless he decided to blow Izuku up for daring to share his space.  That was a possibility.  One that Danger Sense might agree with, but he couldn’t really tell because Kacchan being that close made him feel like he was about to melt into his shoes and what if that feeling meant that something was happening to Iida instead?  Also, he was starting to feel like he might have said some really strange things to his parents and Principal Nezu right after he got the painkillers, and, oh, no, what if he’d sent something crazy to Mr. Yagi, too?  What if All Might decided he hated him and didn’t come out to give the medals?

But before Izuku could stew in extremely unlikely what-ifs for much longer (like his dad being All for One!  What a weird thing to hallucinate when under the effects of painkillers!) All Might in his full glory jumped from the very top of the stadium, above even the top row of seats, and landed in the ring, slightly cracking the newly-repaired concrete.  

The crowd absolutely went wild, and All Might gave them a sweeping wave.  “THANK YOU, EVERYONE!  BUT THIS ISN’T ABOUT ME!  THE STARS OF TODAY ARE THESE YOUNG HEROES!”  

Somehow, the volume of the applause increased.  So did Izuku’s heart rate.  

All Might raised the bronze medals first.  “OUR THIRD PLACE WINNERS, WONDER AND B-17!”  

Even though Kacchan and Izuku were on raised platform, All Might had to bend down to put the medals’ white ribbons around their necks.  “Congratulations, young Wonder.  You’ve accomplished much in such a short time.”

Kacchan made a noise like a choked snarl.  All Might turned his head to look at him and…  Izuku blinked.  That expression…  It was still a smile, but…  It had a lot more in common with his expression at the USJ than his normal smile.  

“You’ve done well, also, young B-17!”  He patted Kacchan on the shoulder, a little hesitantly - probably a good idea, since it looked like Kacchan might start biting at any moment - and then pulled Izuku into a tight hug.  

Izuku squeezed back, trying to hold back his tears.  It was impossible, of course.  Even with Kacchan there, glowering at him, and Iida missing, he was just so happy.  

This was his dream, and he was living it.  

.

In the mindscape, Yoichi was back to chewing on his hat, tears running down his own face.  “I wish I could give him a hug, too!  I’m so proud!”

“What about cognac?  I know I got you a bottle of cognac that one time.”

“Never got around to it.”

“Stop ruining the moment!”

.

In his hideout, All for One wished he had a hat to chew on, although for entirely different reasons.  

He was so jealous.  How dare All Might hug his son when he couldn’t?

.

Tomura, forced to pay attention to the festival awards ceremony against his will via a detestable absence of video games, leaned forward, eyes narrowing.  He raised a finger and pressed its tip against the screen.  

“Those eyes…” he said.  “Those eyes are full of hate…”  He raised his other hand to the back of his neck and started to scratch, digging his fingernails deep into his skin.  “I want to know who it is that can make All Might hate him so much.”

.

Many miles away, in an Apple Store in Hokkaido, Kurogiri stopped to watch the last minutes of the first year UA Sports Festival on a screen in the corner of the store.  The store employees were also watching.  All Might moved on from the two third place podium, and gave the student there, Endeavor’s child, the silver medal and a hug.  The child received both with an air of faintly baffled stoicism.  The first place winner, meanwhile, was an exuberant girl who practically bounced as she received her medal, and threw herself into the hug with All Might, wrapping both of her arms around his neck.  

There was something about the scene…  Not something he remembered, but something…

“Ah, sorry about that, sir, it’s just, the sports festival only happens once a year!”

“Unless you count the other two years of students competing,” said another employee, shaking her head.  

The first employee waved her off.  “Anyway, how can we help you?  I’m sure that whatever you’re looking for, Apple can provide everything you need.”

“Actually,” said Kurogiri, “I hate Apple.”

“Oh,” said the employee, a little taken aback.  Kurogiri was also taken aback.  He’d never had a phone other than the burner All for One provided him with.  

Behind him, the other employee was looking at Kurogiri with a frown.  “Have I seen you somewhere before?” she asked.  

Kurogiri ignored her.  “It’s for my boss,” he continued.  He wasn’t sure why he said that.  All for One was more of a ‘master’ than a ‘boss.’

“Say no more!” said the first employee, laughing.  “To tell you the truth, I kind of hate working here myself.  I’m sure we can still get you what you need.”

“My boss is looking for a phone with good accessibility features.”

“Got it.  Well, none of our stock have terrible accessibility - that new law, you know? - but on this one, it’s really annoying to change the settings.  I know, because my grandma has one, and guess who she’s always calling to fix it?”  The employee put the phone down on the counter.  It looked identical to every other smart phone Kurogiri had ever seen.  

“I would like to buy it,” he said.  

“Great!” said the employee.  “That’ll be two hundred thousand yen.”

“I don’t have any money,” said Kurogiri.  

“Wait!” said the other employee, pointing.  “You’re that villain that’s been in the news!  One of the ones that attacked UA!”