The dust hadn't even settled when the silence pressed down.
Uraraka's coughing cut through first as she staggered upright, helping Asui drag Midoriya to his feet. His right hand was twisted horribly out of shape, fingers bent at angles they were never meant to go, both legs trembling violently just to keep him standing. His lips were white from biting down against the pain, but still he tried to steady himself.
"Deku—are you okay?!" Uraraka cried, looping his arm over her shoulder. "That doesn't look good."
"I… I'll manage," Midoriya wheezed, though every word came out broken.
He forced his head up, scanning the others. "Is… is everyone else okay? Iida? Sato?"
"We're fine," Iida answered stiffly, though even he looked pale at the sheer force of what he had just witnessed. Sato gave a small nod, though his wide eyes betrayed his disbelief.
"Ribbit. But ... I thought we agreed you wouldn't use your power." Earlier, everyone had explained their abilities to understand what roles they would best serve. Midoriya was no exception.
Everyone had seen his actions during the unanimously agreed he wouldn't use it. Now, they could clearly see why that had been the right choice. Midoriya swallowed hard, sweat dripping into his eyes. His gaze turned back toward the drifting wall of dust. "I… This was the only way I could think of to win," he admitted, voice ragged but honest.
"Win? Ribbit." Both girls were startled, turning to the cloud of dust as if remembering something.
"Did we ... Win?"
For a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath. The swirling haze rolled, lifted, broke apart. And ....
"Not quite." ... Unfortunately, he was still there. Standing amid the wreckage, not a scratch on his costume.
"I ... He .. "
He flexed his shoulders, cracked his knuckles, and let his eyes wander over the shattered landscape.
"…That was impressive," He called out through the settling dust, gaze settling on Midoriya's mangled limbs, then back to the crater around him.
"But it looks like the price you pay for it… isn't small."
Midoriya's pupils shrank, a cold pit forming in his stomach. Not even shaken… by that.
Uraraka tightened her grip on him as his knees gave a little. Asui's throat bobbed as she croaked, "Ribbit… he didn't even move."
Ken's eyes lingered on Midoriya for a beat longer. Then he cracked his neck lightly, and said.
"So, do I go on?"
No one answered.
Midoriya Included. 'I ... I was initially worried that would kill him.' His thoughts wandered. 'But .. Even after all that .. Nothing ..'
He examined his surroundings.
'So .. This is it huh?' Was there any need in fighting further? Obviously not. Neither Uraraka, nor Asui had any chance. Resisting just meant they would get stabbed with his restraining quirk. This scene, fell into the eyes of All Might in the monitoring room. The man leaned close, squinting at the murky feed. The angle was bad; the dust obscured almost everything
"Sigh! Young Midoriya ..."
Truth be told, he shouldn't have allowed him to fire that blast. If Ken's barrier couldn't hold it ... It might have left him seriously injured.
However,
The display of One For All's destructive release, .... The damage it incurred ... The sacrifice. Yet coming down with results far from ideal. He could imagine what he was going through right now. Failure, however brutal, was an important touchstone for everyone in life.
Now, he could only hope his protege would quickly rise above this setback and channel it t fuel his growth.
All Might's gaze shifted to the villain.
'Still ... To take a full power Smash and remain unscathed ...' He has known this exercise would be difficult for the Hero Teams, but this display ... 'His Quirk really is special.'
Before he could think further, one of the neighboring screens flickered. Snow filled the image, hissing softly.
"Hmm?" All Might tapped the monitor. The image wavered, static dancing across the edges. "Technical difficulties?"
He switched to the East District feed, where Team B had been pursuing Bakugo. The screen showed nothing but snow.
"That's odd..." All Might tapped the console. Then reached for a battered-looking operations manual buried at the edge of the desk. "Let's see now… Section six, subsection three… technical malfunctions during training scenarios…" He flipped furiously, scanning the text. "Blast it—what's the part about simultaneous feed failures?"
___
In the East District, the street had gone dead silent.
The static in their comms burst at the same moment the stranger appeared.
"What the ..." Jiro winced, as did everyone else.
Then nothing. Only the quiet scrape of footsteps.
He stood in the center of the road, pale skin cracked like dried earth, hands twitching at his sides as if they couldn't decide whether to claw or grasp. His red eyes dragged lazily across the group, and though he said nothing yet, the weight of his stare made the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end.
"Uh… who is that?" Kirishima asked, voicing the thought locked in everyone's throat.
Yaoyorozu straightened, though her knuckles whitened against the staff she held. "Perhaps… this is an unannounced stage of the exercise," she said carefully, half to them, half to herself. "Another proctor, maybe."
But even she sounded unconvinced.
The man who stepped from the portal looked nothing like the proctors, nothing like a teacher, nothing like a "test." His voice too raw and his presence, ominously heavy.
Even Bakugo stopped thrashing.
At that point, the stranger tilted his head, scratching at the side of his neck with broken nails. When he finally spoke, the voice was a rasp—thin, grating, the kind of sound that burrowed under the skin.
"Students." He rasped. His voice scratched the air like sandpaper. "Not what I was looking for. But maybe useful."
A ripple of unease ran through the group. Tokoyami's Dark Shadow stirred restlessly behind him.
Then the stranger stopped, gaze snagging on Bakugo. A shiver ran down the boy's spine even before the words came.
"You smell like gunpowder," he said, lips curling. "I think I'll keep you."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Bakugo snarled, thrashing against Kirishima's restraining grip.
Before anyone could demand answers, the air itself bent. A pitch-black void irised open beside the stranger, roiling like liquid night. Ominous yellow eyes gleamed from within the darkness.
From the void, a deep, metallic voice rumbled: "Tomura."
"Kurogiri," the pale man crooned, irritation mingling. "Let's get to work."
The black mist thickened, spilling wider, and with it stepped more figures—two men wrapped in mismatched gear, both sneering as though this were already won. One had the crude frame of a brute, the other's gauntlets sparking faintly with contained electricity while holding a device that made the static in their ears scream louder.
"Have you found Their location yet?" Shigaraki asked.
"Almost done boss. Hacking into the surveillance feeds ... Now .." The device lit up, showing and switching between several surveillance footages.
"We're in." The Villain, Tesla said.
"Excellent." Shigaraki's lips peeled into a smile that was too wide. The mist expanded, and more figures poured out. Three, six ... Ten .. One amongst them, towered over everyone else. Black skin, bird beak, and an exposed brain.
"All Might's here. I can feel him." Tomura spread his arms out and looks upward. "We'll kill him… tear the Symbol of Peace apart in front of these little toys."
The words were casual, cruel, real. And it was in that moment that Yaoyorozu's breath caught, that Kirishima's eyes widened in horror, that every student understood—this wasn't part of the training.
'These ... These guys ...' Momo's fist clenched, her heat beating wildly within her chest. "Villains."
The word came out with difficulty. Confirming everyone's worst fears.
"Not like this, Tomura Shigaraki." The voice cut through Tomura's delusions of Grandeur.
Those glowing eyes above him narrowed.
"Do not forget the purpose. This location is too close to U.A. Any loud action would draw their reinforcements on us instantly." It extended, coming closer to him. "A frontal assault is not our goal. Patience is key."
The blue haired man, Tomura Shigaraki, remained silent for a moment before lowering his hands.
"Fine then. You're right. I almost forgot master's teachings." He reached out and began scratching his neck lightly.
"The Most important factor .... Control ... To control All Might, put him in our playing field ..."
Those red eyes, shone with a frightening intensity. "It starts ... With them ..." He said, pointing towards the group of Seven.
Instantly, everyone's faces changed drastically.
"Scatter!" Momo yelled. "Take them," Tomura ordered. Countless black tentacles shot towards Team B and Bakugo. Encasing them before they could move out of the way.
The dark shadows engulfed everything, turning into a gaping maw that swallowed sound, light, and finally the entire team.
Momo's startled "What—" was cut short as the void consumed her.
Kirishima's attempt to activate his hardening quirk proved useless as darkness engulfed him.
Jiro's earphone jacks sparked uselessly as she vanished into the portal.
Even Bakugo, still bound and struggling, disappeared into the swirling abyss.
The portal snapped shut with a sound like reality healing itself. The street stood empty, as if six students had never existed.
"The one that smells like gunpowder," Tomura noted, his tone slightly amused.
"The one tied up?" Kurogiri asked.
"Yeah. I think I'll keep that one." He replied, posture slouching. "That's seven brats down. More to go. You. Give Kurogiri the coordinates for the rest of em."
He scratched his chin.
"And Kurogiri ... Make sure the Hero Wannabe gets there too."
Tesla immediately went to work. Kurogiri was silent for a moment, before following. In different areas of Ground Beta, Warp Gates opened up. Following which, more villains began to pour out.
"Just you wait All Might."
Shigaraki uttered with a crazy gleam.
"There's no stopping it."
Shigaraki's grin widened, the red in his eyes glinting with unrestrained hunger. "Unless you're ready to have these brats die. Today… will be your death."
The words hung in the air like a curse.
And then, as if nothing more needed to be said, his hand slipped into the back pocket of his jeans. The movement was almost casual. He pulled out a thin, creased paperback—its glossy cover catching the dim light of the street.
The title read: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book Two — Limited Edition Volume.
He flipped it open with twitching fingers, eyes dropping lazily to the first page.
"Now then," he muttered, voice rasping low as if the destruction around him were nothing more than background noise. "Where were we?"
___
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