----6:47 AM - Ryuu's Room...
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Uhhhhhh"
Ryuu woke to his alarm feeling sore
The festival had been exhausting but good. His quirk had held up better than expected—no signs of burnout, no concerning fluctuations. Recovery Girl would be pleased when he reported for his weekly check-in on Monday.
He stretched, joints popping pleasantly, and checked his phone.
A few messages in the Class 3-A group chat, mostly people complaining about having to help with cleanup duty today. Mina had sent a string of tired emojis at 6:30 AM. Momo had already posted a detailed cleanup schedule.
Normal. Everything was normal.
So why did he still feel uneasy?
Ryuu shook off the lingering discomfort and headed for the showers. Probably just residual stress from the past few weeks. The Collector attack, his father's death, the emotional weight of everything—it made sense that he'd be on edge.
The hot water helped. By the time he was dressed and heading downstairs, the strange feeling had faded to barely a whisper.
The common room was already occupied. Kirishima and Kaminari were arguing over what to have for breakfast. Todoroki sat at the counter with tea and a book. A handful of other early risers were scattered around.
"Morning," Kirishima called. "You helping with cleanup?"
"That's the plan," Ryuu confirmed, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl.
"Most of us are meeting at the main grounds at eight," Kaminari added. "Aizawa-sensei said three hours of work and we're done for the weekend."
Three hours. Manageable. Then he could actually relax.
More students trickled down. Mina appeared around seven-thirty, hair still damp from her shower, immediately claiming the spot next to him on the couch.
Ochaco arrived shortly after, followed by Tsuyu.
By 7:45, most of Class 3-A had gathered, everyone in comfortable clothes ready for manual labor.
"Alright," Momo announced, clipboard in hand because of course she had a clipboard. "Cleanup assignments have been posted. We're divided into six teams covering different festival areas."
Groans echoed through the room.
"It's three hours!" Iida added, his hand-chopping already in full effect. "Minimal effort for maximum efficiency! Let us show the dedication that makes Class 3-A superior!"
"It's too early for speeches, class rep," Jirou muttered, but she was already standing.
They filed out into the morning air. The campus looked different in daylight after the festival...the decorations slightly wilted, grass trampled in high-traffic areas, the general evidence of thousands of people having passed through.
But it was still beautiful. The morning sun painted everything gold, and despite the cleanup work ahead, the atmosphere was relaxed.
Ryuu's team was assigned to the main festival grounds, that's to take down booths, collect trash, restore the grass where possible.
His group included Mina, Ochaco, Tsuyu, Kirishima, and Sero. Easy work with good company.
They spread out. Sero's tape made dismantling booths quick. Ochaco floated heavy equipment so they could move it without straining.
Tsuyu's strength helped with the structural elements.
"This is way easier than I thought it'd be," Kirishima said, helping Ryuu carry a table toward the storage area.
"Quirks make everything easier," Ryuu agreed.
"Yeah, but I mean—" Kirishima gestured around. "Yesterday was intense. I thought we'd all be dead tired today. But everyone seems good, you know?"
"..."
Well...he was kinda right though.
The energy was positive, almost cheerful despite the work. People were joking, helping each other, enjoying the simple task of putting things back in order.
It felt good.
But
He couldn't shake off the nagging unease he kept feeling.
---
8:23 AM - Festival Grounds
The first sign that something was wrong came as a temperature drop.
Ryuu was helping Mina sort through recycling when he felt something...a sudden chill that made his breath mist in the morning air.
The pleasant warmth of sunrise vanished, replaced by cold that seemed to seep into his bones.
"Did it just get freezing?" Mina asked, rubbing her arms.
Around them, other students had noticed too. People stopped working, looking around in confusion.
The temperature continued to drop, frost beginning to form on grass that had been perfectly fine seconds ago.
"That's not natural," Sero said, his tape quirk already activating instinctively.
Then the alarms started.
REEEEE! REEEEE! REEEEE!
The emergency sirens were unmistakable...three long blasts meaning immediate danger on campus. Lockdown protocol.
"EVERYONE TO EVACUATION ZONES!" Aizawa's voice boomed across the grounds, amplified by the campus PA system. "NOW!"
But even as the words echoed, figures appeared at the perimeter.
Not one or two. Dozens.
Villains poured through breaches in UA's walls like water through a broken dam. They moved with coordination, spreading across campus in organized groups. This wasn't a random attack...
"Contact front!" Kirishima shouted, his hardening already activating.
Three villains broke from the main group, heading straight for their position. One had a mutation quirk that gave him stone-like skin.
Another moved with inhuman speed. The third generated some kind of energy from her palms.
"Protect the civilians!" Iida's voice carried from across the grounds. "Students, defensive positions only!"
But there were no civilians. Just students who'd been doing cleanup.
Just targets.
The speedster villain reached them first. Ryuu barely saw the movement before the attack came...a blur of motion aiming for Ochaco.
Kirishima intercepted, his hardened arm taking the hit with a sound like cracking stone. "Not on my watch!"
"Sero, restrain!" Ryuu called, his mind already shifting into tactical mode.
Tape shot out, wrapping around the speedster's legs.
The villain stumbled, momentum carrying her into a tumble. But she was back up in seconds, tearing through the restraints with enhanced strength.
The energy manipulator fired at Mina. She dodged, rolling behind cover, her acid already forming in her palms.
"Ryuu!" she called. "Amplification?"
He moved to her position, hand finding her shoulder. His Resonance activated, flowing into her quirk factor. Her acid generation increased, control sharpening.
She threw a stream of enhanced acid at the approaching stone villain. It struck his shoulder, eating through the hardened exterior faster than he expected. He roared in pain and rage.
But more villains were coming.
Across the grounds, chaos erupted. Explosions from where Bakugo was fighting. The distinctive sound of Midoriya's Full Cowl engaging. Ice spreading where Todoroki created barriers.
This wasn't a small attack. This was an invasion.
"Where's sensei?!" Ochaco shouted, floating debris to create obstacles.
"Fighting at the main gate!" someone yelled back.
The stone villain charged them despite his injured shoulder. Kirishima met him head-on, hardening meeting hardening in a clash that cracked the ground beneath them.
Ryuu's mind raced. They were third-years, trained and capable. But this was different from training exercises. These villains weren't holding back, weren't following rules. This was real combat with real stakes.
Through his connection with Mina, he felt her fear mixing with determination. She was pushing her quirk hard, maybe too hard, but there wasn't time to be careful.
The energy manipulator fired again. This time the blast caught Sero in the side, sending him sprawling.
"SERO!" Kirishima broke away from his fight, rushing to his friend.
That moment of distraction was all the stone villain needed. His massive fist connected with Kirishima's jaw, enhanced hardening or not. The redhead went down hard.
"NO!" Ochaco's scream was raw.
She used Zero Gravity on the stone villain without thinking, lifting his massive bulk off the ground. He flailed, disoriented by the sudden loss of stability.
But the speedster was already moving, circling around their defensive position. Heading straight for Tsuyu, who was helping injured students evacuate.
Ryuu released Mina's shoulder and ran.
His Resonance was at full capacity now, adrenaline burning through any remaining recovery limitations. He pushed his quirk, reaching out not for amplification but for that newer ability—the distance sensing he'd gained post-evolution.
He felt the speedster's hostile intent like a spike against his awareness.
"TSUYU, DOWN!"
She dropped instinctively. The speedster's attack passed over her, missing by inches.
But now the villain was committed to the attack trajectory. Exposed. Vulnerable.
Mina's acid stream caught her dead-center. Enhanced by Ryuu's earlier amplification, the corrosive liquid ate through the villain's protective costume in seconds. She went down screaming.
The temperature dropped further.
Frost spread across the ground in intricate patterns. The grass crunched underfoot, frozen solid. The air itself seemed to crystallize.
And then he appeared.
Kurogane Takeshi walked through the breached wall like he was taking a casual stroll. His metallic skin shifted colors in the morning light—chrome to copper to something darker. Each footstep left frost patterns on the ground.
But something was different. Worse.
The Collector's movements were less fluid than before. His skin didn't shift smoothly but spasmed between states. Dark veins were visible beneath the metallic surface, pulsing with something that didn't look healthy.
He was deteriorating. Fast.
"There you are," The Collector's voice carried across the grounds, finding Ryuu through the chaos. "I've been so patient. Watching. Waiting. But I'm afraid time is no longer a luxury I possess."
Ryuu's blood went cold.
"STUDENTS, FALL BACK!" Aizawa's voice boomed again. But The Collector moved one hand in a dismissive gesture, and suddenly capture weapons from multiple directions snapped and fell limp. He'd copied Aizawa's quirk. Improved it. Made it affect multiple targets simultaneously.
"I don't want to hurt them," The Collector continued, walking slowly toward Ryuu's position. "I only need you. Come willingly, and I'll call off the attack."
"Don't listen to him!" Mina shouted, moving to stand beside Ryuu. "He's lying!"
"Am I?" The Collector tilted his head, an eerily human gesture on his metallic features. "Look around, Resonance. How many of your classmates will be hurt in the next five minutes? How many will be seriously injured? How many might die?"
As if to emphasize his point, a massive explosion rocked the training grounds. Smoke billowed into the sky.
"But if you come with me right now, I'll give the withdrawal order. Everyone walks away. No more fighting. No more casualties." His smile was cold. "All it costs is you."
Ryuu's hands clenched. Around him, his classmates were fighting for their lives. Kirishima was struggling to stand, blood streaming from a cut on his temple. Sero was clutching his side, face pale with pain. Across the grounds, he could see others engaging villains, could hear the sounds of combat, of people getting hurt.
Because of him. They were being attacked because villains wanted him.
"Ryuu, don't," Ochaco said, her voice shaking. "Don't even think about it."
"She's right, ribbit," Tsuyu added, moving to his other side. "We fight together."
"How touching," The Collector said, still advancing. "But ultimately futile. My deterioration has accelerated. I have perhaps a month before my quirk kills me. Which means I have nothing to lose and everything to gain." He spread his arms. "I will tear this entire school apart if that's what it takes. Or you can spare them the suffering."
"Boss!" One of the villains called from across the grounds. "Heroes are responding! ETA three minutes!"
"Then we don't have time for negotiations." The Collector's demeanor changed, desperation showing through his composed exterior. "Last chance, Resonance. Come willingly, or watch everyone you care about bleed."
Ryuu felt the weight of every eye on him. His classmates looking to him for guidance. The Collector waiting for his answer. The sounds of battle continuing around them.
Through his Resonance, even without direct contact, he felt their emotional states. Mina's fierce determination mixed with fear. Ochaco's desperation to protect him. Tsuyu's steady calm masking deep concern.
And across the grounds, hundreds of other emotional signatures. Pain, fear, anger, desperation. His friends and classmates fighting because villains wanted him.
"I—" he started.
BOOOM!
A massive explosion of green lightning erupted from the direction of the main gate.
Midoriya burst through the smoke, moving at percentages Ryuu had never seen him use before. Full Cowl at what had to be at least seventy percent, maybe higher. The power radiating from him was staggering.
"YOU'RE NOT TAKING HIM!" Midoriya's voice cracked with fury.
He closed the distance to The Collector in seconds, fist drawn back for a devastating strike.
But The Collector simply touched the ground.
Ice erupted in massive spikes...a ice quirk, copied and enhanced.
The frozen barrier appeared so fast that Midoriya couldn't dodge. He slammed into it at full speed, the impact creating a shockwave that rattled nearby buildings.
"Futile," The Collector said. "I've copied dozens of quirks from your previous attacks. I've studied you all. And now—"
"HOWITZER IMPACT!"
Bakugo descended from above like an avenging angel, his signature move fully charged.
The massive explosion engulfed The Collector's position, heat and force combining in devastating effect.
When the smoke cleared, The Collector stood in a crater, his metallic skin smoking but intact. "Creative. But insufficient."
He raised both hands.
Suddenly, gravity reversed in a wide area—Ochaco's quirk copied. Students and debris lifted off the ground, floating helplessly.
Then he generated explosions from his palms—Bakugo's quirk. The floating students became targets in a shooting gallery.
"NO!" Ryuu screamed.
His Resonance exploded outward. That distance sensing ability he barely understood, that fifty-meter range he'd only used once or twice—it activated with force he'd never managed before.
He felt everyone. Every student in range. Every emotional signature. Every person in danger.
And instinctively, desperately, he reached out.
His quirk shouldn't work at this distance. Shouldn't activate without contact. But desperate times, evolved abilities, and sheer overwhelming need combined into something new.
The amplification hit everyone in range simultaneously.
Ochaco's Zero Gravity suddenly worked in reverse, slamming everyone back to the ground safely instead of leaving them floating.
Bakugo's explosion generation spiked, his counterattack growing powerful enough to clash with The Collector's copied version.
Midoriya felt his percentage limit expand, control sharpening beyond what he thought possible.
Todoroki's ice spread faster, creating barriers between students and villains.
Tsuyu's strength increased enough to pull injured classmates to safety. Mina's acid became strong enough to melt through villainous defenses.
Across the entire battlefield, Class 3-A suddenly became exponentially more dangerous.
The Collector's eyes widened. "Impossible. That range. That many targets. Your quirk can't—"
"MY QUIRK PROTECTS MY FRIENDS!" Ryuu roared, something primal and furious taking over. "AND YOU CAN'T HAVE THEM!"
He'd never used his Resonance like this. Hadn't even known it was possible. But the emotional need, the desperate desire to protect everyone, had pushed his ability into new territory.
The amplification surged through everyone. But there was a cost.
Pain exploded through Ryuu's skull like white-hot needles. His nose started bleeding. His vision blurred at the edges. Maintaining this many simultaneous connections was destroying him from the inside.
But he held on.
Because his friends needed him.
And this time, he wouldn't fail them.
The Collector's expression shifted from surprise to something almost like respect. "I see. Your quirk has evolved further than my projections suggested. How magnificent."
He took a step forward, and Ryuu felt it—through the amplification network, through every connection, he sensed The Collector's intent.
He wasn't going to fight them all.
He was going to go straight for Ryuu, regardless of who got in the way.
"Everyone, get ba—"
The world tilted.
Darkness erupted around The Collector's position...like some copied shadow manipulation quirk. It spread like liquid, blinding and disorienting everyone in range.
Through his Resonance network, Ryuu felt his classmates' confusion. Heard their shouts. Felt them trying to regroup.
But he'd lost visual contact.
A hand grabbed his arm in the darkness.
Cold. Metallic. Inexorable.
"Gotcha," The Collector whispered.
Then came a pulling sensation, something spatial and disorienting. The world lurched.
And when the darkness cleared, Ryuu was no longer on UA's campus.
He stood in an unfamiliar location—looked like an abandoned warehouse. Industrial district. Maybe ten kilometers from school.
The Collector stood before him, breathing hard, his metallic skin flickering unstably. The teleportation had clearly cost him.
"It's just you and me now, Resonance," he said. "No interruptions. No distractions. Just a dying man and the only person who can save him."
Behind him, the warehouse door slammed shut with a sound like a prison cell closing.
And Ryuu, quirk exhausted from the mass amplification, body screaming from the overuse, stood alone facing the villain who will kill at any moment...
This was very, very bad.