Chapter 55: It Keeps Turning

The world keeps on turning, and somehow it also repeats itself. With things being open, it's like Izuku and the rest are back in the past.

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

Line Break

Like the rest of the institution, U.A. University's cafeteria was top-notch. It was a wide multi-level space with airy interiors, tall ceilings, and large windows, allowing plenty of natural light to pour in. The tables were all sleek, polished wood, with cushioned and clean seating and individual adjustable heights, distances from the tables, and backrests to accommodate students' sizes and body types. Tables were set up in varying places, sizes, and seat counts, allowing only 2 to 12 people to share one.

The food served was top of the line, prepped by experienced and renowned chefs, all under the supervision of U.A.'s own Lunch Rush, with options available for any dietary preference and requirement in abundance to ensure students could have a nutritious and delicious meal to keep their strength up for their studies, no matter which course they were in. Such a large space didn't have a single line for food, but instead had several digital stands where students would place an order, take a number, and wait at a table for one of the dozens of robots to deliver their meals.

Such a space was rarely full, as on most days, at least a third of the students chose to have lunch in town, hitting up bars, clubs, cafes, and restaurants that might not have had the same quality as U.A.'s facilities. Still, their unique and own brands of tasty dishes kept students coming back time and again.

But it hadn't been regular days for a while now. With the town still being rebuilt, students opted to remain on campus, meaning that the cafeteria was nearly full, yet quiet. Many conversations were muted, spoken in hushed tones. If not, some chose to eat in silence as tension existed in the air, impacting everyone in some shape or form.

"Here is your food; enjoy." A robot brought the last of their plates to them, and Midoriya sat with his group, which consisted of his best friend, Yuya; their fellow dormmates, Ojiro, Hagakure, Tetsutetsu, and Kamakiri; his love, Kyoka; and the rest of their friends in Iida, Kirishima, Mina, Uraraka, and Komori.

“Thanks.” Ojiro accepted his plate and joined the rest as they ate their food. It wasn't like the Mexican place they had come to like, but it wasn't bad either, far from it, and if he was honest, they should try taking more nutritious meals anyway.

“Got anything lined up?” Uraraka asked, snacking on some white rice.

“Not really,” Kirishima scratched his head. At his side lay a small folder identical to those the rest of them received. "It wasn't a small list, but I'm not sure I'll find an agency I like on it."

"I can't be helped, with how things went, hero agencies didn't have much of a chance to really scout us." Iida took a moment to sip his orange juice. "But they did make changes to the school-supplied list."

Things had been thrown off the rails since the attack, but U.A. wouldn't let them merely stick around. They had gotten permission to continue onward for their internships, as late as they were being held.

Perhaps it was more accurate to say that U.A. was being strong-armed into this, as with things as they were, the commission was eager to add to their experience and skills. But with the festival interrupted, they couldn't rely on pros sending offers as they would in any other year.

“Yes, I mentioned it to one of the second years, Fuwa, and she said it's twice as big as what she got," Ashido noted, having gone to the 2nd year in particular as she knew Midori and Yuga. According to her, those who wanted to look through the school list last year had only gotten a single page compared to what All Might and Eraser gave their current first years, which were folders 4 pages long.

Well…most of them, Midori and Yuga didn’t so much get choices as instructions.

“You think they lowered their standards for it?” Kamakiri asked, to which Jiro shook her head.

"They probably just included agencies involved in the cleanup, and I'm pretty sure most of us did something to impress them." She suggested that even Bakugo seemed to keep his ego in check for that entire thing. Didn't make him any more pleasant off the field, but it was nice to know he was being a purposeful asshole when he could.

Iida agreed with that thought. “Yes, but I looked through the names and saw several other agencies of note which do not specialise in rescue.”

"Are you looking for your brother's agency, Iida?" Aoyama asked him, to which he grew a little bashful, but he laughed it off, the sound seemingly louder than it was with how quiet most other tables were. "Hey, no shame in that. He seems like a real stand-up guy. I can totally buy you to look up to him."

"He was so pretty too; shame he doesn't work without the helmet…" Ashido mentioned that Iida's big brother and many other heroes had shown up to help. She could tell he was a great guy—super polite, handsome, genuine, and attentive.

"I hope you're not planning on requesting his agency just to spend your time eyeing him up," Ashido didn't deny it, only fluttering her eyelids at Iida, who looked agape by it. “Be more serious about your studies.”

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding, Iida." She couldn't hold in her laughter at his face, joined by others at the table as Iida…he was a good man. He would be a great hero one day, but sometimes he took things far too seriously, making it easy to mess with him. "Guys like him stand out over other agencies, but it'll still be a big choice."

"No joke, we've got to choose in just 2 days. Not a lot of time to look into your choices, right? And that's on top of our classes." Tetsutetsu groaned, as if nothing else, their classes hadn't slowed down, and that meant needing to pay close attention, take notes, ask questions, and get back to their dorms to study.

The only real benefit of being college kids was the impromptu group study sessions, which could form in an hour, if not less. All it took was someone suggesting it in the group chat, and if enough had time, they'd pick a spot, grab their stuff, and go there.

Midoriya asked for Kirishima's folder, and once he got it, he flipped it to the first page, skimmed through the names, and saw plenty of big ones. “All Might, Endeavour, Jeanist, Ryukyu-somehow they managed to rope in Mirko for this. She never takes on interns.”

Unlike other top pros, Mirko didn't even have an agency; instead, she traveled the country, fighting crime as she went. She was one of the most independent, famously turning down team-ups with others and calling those who joined teams long-term weak. This started a rivalry between her and Ragdoll of the Wild Wild Pussycats. She didn't even take on interns; they'd slow her down and rely on her to do all the work.

"Same as Hawks, and yet I recall seeing his name on the list," Hagakure mused as she snuck some carrot sticks. Hawks was currently the youngest hero in the top 10, and he had gotten there at the fastest rate, even beating out All Might and Endeavour's previous records. But despite his youth, he, like Mirko, didn't make internship offers. The man just worked too fast for most to keep up.

"Part of me thinks it's because we impressed them, but…" Midoriya, knowing all that, was sceptical about why they had broken their habits to offer to train them. But more than that, his mood was being impacted by the current company, as around them, others remained silent, yes. Still, their eyes seemed to bore into him and Aoyama like they were bombs or pariahs.

“Yeah…” Not even Aoyama could keep the smile up. It was growing strained before he sighed and covered his face with his hand, Iida patting his shoulder in support.

“Doesn’t it bother you?” Ashido asked, frowning as she looked to another table. She mainly supported students with a nasty glare, which made most shamefully turn away. However, the same matched her look, as if she were the rude one.

"It's…not as bad as I thought it would be," Midoriya replied, picking at his peanut butter-glazed roast pork.

Aoyama nodded, though he seemed displeased all the same. “It was an unavoidable outcome, considering what was shared.”

Line Break

“And that's all, students. Now, any questions?”

Nezu's chipper tone and cute stuffed animal look regularly threw people for a loop, particularly when they recalled he was in his mid-40s and the dean of one of the greatest hero-producing schools in the world. Nezu regularly made good and bad announcements in the same tone of voice, so third years would have built up something of a tolerance for him by now.

But even they were as slack-jawed as their freshmen counterparts, and for good reason. After the events of the now-coined 'Musutafu incident,' many were left confused, shocked, appalled, and, most commonly, angry.

They had demanded answers and regularly sought them from those they could trust in their teachers and the media. Still, none could explain how or why so much destruction and death happened in their town, to people they had known, befriended, and regularly saw when they went out and about.

And they've just gotten them, and now they have no clue how to handle it.

Confusion gave way to the natural instinct of wariness and the first inklings of fear, towards this new threat-yes, but also to those who stood among them.

Fuwa, a second-year student who had made connections at U.A., friends, and people she could rely on, was the worst off, as she had never so much as hinted at this greater world. Those she could call on now seemed confused, angry, and hurt by her choice to remain silent about this. The only sign this was getting to her was how her lip twitched, and she pulled and relaxed her pointer and middle fingers on her left hand.

In contrast, Aoyama and Midoriya had been placed at the centre of their group, which made sense in hindsight as it shielded them from the worst of their fellow students' looks. However, it didn't mean they didn't see it, that they couldn't feel the heat and weight of their glares, stares, and gazes on the back of their heads.

Aoyama appeared unbothered by this, his eyes closed with a soft, relaxed-looking smile. Still, Jiro, who stood between him and Midoriya, could hear how his heart beat and breath shifted. He was on edge, as much as Midoriya, who just looked down, his arms clenched at his side.

She didn't know how to handle this, and glancing at those who seemed more socially aware, like Tokage, Honenuki, and Ashido, she saw they were just as in the dark as ever.

Before she could do anything about it, a hand shot up from the general studies section of the students.

"What are you going to do about this? What can be done to keep U.A. safe for those who can't fight?"

“How are we supposed to make things to counter this when the threat isn’t even human, much less visible to people or cameras?”

"How can we be sure our neighbourhoods are safe? I have 3 siblings at home, now I need to worry about some monster just deciding to wreck my house, and I can't even see it happen?"

"How can we trust people like them?" "Things were fine for years, but as soon as we accept people with… lab-made quirks, this happens-what about the USJ? Was that linked to this as well?"

“Yeah! How are they still here? If they’re some protectors, they should be out doing just that!”

Questions came out in a flood from their fellow students, some sensible, others accusatory, most laced with fear over things, and Shoji couldn’t blame them. Still, this wasn’t ideal for anyone.

“This is getting bad.” Shoji created a mouth on one of his tentacles and whispered to his classmates.

"No shit. They look close to rioting, and I don't want to fight the entire school." Sero whispered back, nervously looking around and trying to tell how good their chances would be to fight their way to the exits—not very good, as they weren't close to any of them.

“We shouldn’t reach for our swords, even in self-defence at such a critical junction.” Tokoyami joined the conversation, though his gaze was also wary of things, as the rest were raising their voices just to be heard over others, creating nothing but noise, anger, and fear in the auditorium.

"He's right. We start throwing hands, and it'll only make things worse." Tokage agreed. The hero course was always separate from the rest. They were the proverbial stars of the show, the main thing people thought of when someone mentioned their school.

Now, thrown in that they had known all this beforehand, and Nezu had admitted to it, it was almost too easy for them not to be the most favourite people right now.

"Well, any bright ideas then?" Kamakiri asked, only for someone’s shouting to break over the rest.

“How do we know she didn’t make them? This could be her fault.” They pointed, not at them or the staff as it had been when the year started, but to their latest member, Professor Midoriya, who stood to the side, having aided Nezu with explaining things and bringing proof of it.

Midoriya, who, along with Aoyama, had remained silent until now, bristled at the insult. How…how could someone dare imply his mother would have any hand in this? That she would endanger people's lives for any reason? Izuku was about to defend his mother's name, just like Yuga, only for Inko to beat them both to the punch.

“Enough!” the small, mousy, motherly woman yelled, silencing the entire room. She looked at the group, over the students she would know had a part in teaching, and despite such an insult, she didn't seem angry; she didn't seem outraged. How could she when she had been dealing with it for days now, ever since they had to reveal what they knew to the police, the commission, and then the prime minister's office?

In some shape or form, each had questioned her honour, morals, and competence. Now, she was just growing into it, perhaps a little jaded by how quickly people seemed to make that assumption. “Just…enough.” She sighed, her mic still on and allowing the entire space to hear her groan as she walked back to the ground, whatever nerves she might have had over addressing them buried by exhaustion and irritation.

For some, she very much looked like their mothers when they were done with their shit, and that similarity was just enough to cow them, giving Inko time to speak. "This is scary for you, me, and all of us. Nothing like this has ever happened, and we're still learning what can happen every day, but one thing is clear." She spoke loudly, clearly, and bluntly as she placed a hand over her heart.

"We're all on the same side! We're all doing what we can, all that we can to make things better. We're telling you all of this so you can better prepare because you deserve to know why your town, why people you must have known were hurt." She continued, as she wasn't blind to their fears, their anger, and how they were all born from that same place of pain and loss. She had seen the reports, including on-field video, about things.

"I'm not asking you to like me or my work, but I am begging you to keep an open mind and not let yourselves become divided; otherwise, if another tragedy were to befall us, it'll rip through all of us." With that, she stepped back, allowed Present Mic to continue, and walked off the stage.

She had work to do, so much so that she couldn't respond to her son's text, which came an hour later, until well into the evening.

Line Break

"Her speech helped; no one has tried pranking or fighting you two." Uraraka tried to find a bright spot in how gloomy things had been.

Midoriya nearly scoffed at that; instead, he just stabbed into his pork a little harder, rattling his plate. “It’s not even the worst part,”

“What do you mean?” Kirishima asked, as yeah-things weren't great, but they’ll pass…right?

Aoyama looked at him, a smile on his face, but one that didn't reach his eyes. “We’re training to be heroes; the limelight was destined to fall on our heads as we captivated the masses…” He spoke as if he were much older, much more jaded, and recalling times of optimism, of hope.

He glanced to the side and spied a table of support course students pointing at him and Midoriya, whispering to each other in hushed tones he couldn't make out, but he could give an educated guess. "But this isn't that. They look at us…like people used to look at us when discussing our dreams."

“From when you…you know?” Tetsutetsu didn't know how to ask, particularly when he, Hagakure, and Jiro recalled how their USJ bus talk had gone.

“Quirkless, yes, Tetsutetsu, it’s like that.” Midoriya didn't sugarcoat it, because this wasn't an issue that needed such, and he was a little offended that they all assumed as such. But his annoyance faded nearly as quick as it flashed into being. “They look at us like we’re diseased, contagious even.”

“Well, at least they’re keeping such thoughts to themselves. I would be unimpressed and eager to…correct them should such sentiments be voiced.” Aoyama muttered, looking to the side where they could see their senior, Fuwa, who had plenty of friends before, now seated at a table with just one other person.

“I don’t think it’s just that!” Uraraka spoke up much louder than she intended, which drew more attention than she wanted. Still, she couldn't back down now, so she continued. "I mean, it could also be a little jealousy, you know? How many people can say they have tailor-made powers? Or quirks as pretty and powerful as yours?"

Jiro joined in, as things were far too tense for her liking. Speaking loud enough that the next couple of tables heard, she added, "I know I heard some people talking about it. I bet you 20K that they're waiting for someone to get the balls to ask the new teacher if they can't get a second quirk."

As she said the last bit, she looked at another group, who all turned away, one red-faced, no doubt one of those who were curious about the idea of gaining a secondary power, one which, as far as they believed, would be tailored to their desires.

"It's useless to debate or want such things; there is nothing wrong with the quirk or lack thereof you were born with," Iida corrected his glasses, but also included something else. “But, it does seem like karmic justice that they’re so greedy for them.”

Iida wasn't used to such outlandish and blatant disrespect from people. People assumed it was because he had gone to private schools. Still, they would be wrong, as private schools attracted children from wealthy and influential families—children who were used to getting what they wanted, rarely being told 'no', and, most importantly, never held accountable.

But those brats and teens had been smart about it, and rarely were they this open about breaking rules or glaring at their fellow students. He half suspected someone who tried to approach them and start something. Perhaps an argument, perhaps a fist fight, he didn't know.

"I bet they're also making about your assignments for our coming internships. How many people get scouted by top heroes?” Komori giggled. Midoriya and Aoyama might not be well-liked, but only by those who didn't know them. Their teachers treated them the same as always, and she was sure the pros would be the same.

“Dude, I’m jealous. You know how hard it is to get a chance to work with Endeavour? I remember one of his sidekicks giving an interview about how it made getting his hero license seem easy. Man has crazy high standards.” Tetsutetsu flashed Aoyama a smile about that.

"He has to have it when he's the number two hero. And with the most resolved cases to his name, he does lead by example," Midoriya chuckled. He could work on his smile, though. I swear the one time he did, it would match one of Eraser's for how creepy it looked."

The hero nerd he was, Midoriya had seen that clip from the news, and oh boy, was it not pleasant. Endeavour would smirk. That was fine, as while he didn't like it, his persona and face matched smirks more than straight smiles. Of course, it could be the fire mask he wore, which made his attempted smile seem like a devil, as you sign away your life for something worthless.

“No kidding. You think he's as serious at home as on the job?" Hagakure asked, as she and the rest turned to where Todoroki sat. As always, he seemed alone and completely unbothered with things as he ate his lunch.

“That would explain so much…” Jiro quipped as she couldn't make heads or tails of the guy. She thought he just didn't like people comparing him to his dad, which made sense, or even that he thought others only wanted to get close to get close to Endeavour. Still, as time passed, it became painfully clear he didn't like his father. She swore his heartbeat rose in anger at the mere mention of his name.

“You looking forward to working with Todoroki? Seems like a given he’s gonna pick his old man.” Uraraka turned things away from their class's second island and back to the topic.

“Weird quirks to mix, don’t you think?” Kirishima asked What could a fire user like Endeavour teach his ice-using son? In fact, how the heck did that work?

“He does have fire, remember?” Kamakiri reminded him. “Guy just never uses it.” With that, the second mystery around Todoroki: Why did he never use his flames for anything besides cleanup? He couldn't be weak with them, as they've seen him melt car-sized chunks of ice in seconds with what looked like no effort. There was even their first hero class to recall.

“Well, not like he’s gonna tell us. Just getting him to talk is like pulling teeth.” Ashido pouted, to which Ojiro let out an awkward chuckle, having been close by when Ashido, being what he was starting to accept, was her unapologetic self, and asked Todoroki about it.

The look he gave her was like he wanted her to freeze over and burst into flames. His blunt refusal to respond and his order, not request, that Ashido never speak to him again before he walked out of class made it clearer that he was not a good person.

Ashido hardly cared for it, as she was surprised by how well she'd handled her share of tough nuts in the past. Shoto was just a particularly cold one. "He's just shy; give him time."

Line break

Lunch ended, and much like their meal, it was largely a quiet affair as they returned to their buildings for class. Typically, those in the hero course would split to head to their respective electives now. Still, they had been instructed before lunch to head back together as they would for their morning classes.

They didn't know why, but didn't question it and returned with time to spare. When Aizawa entered, accompanied by two others, he found everyone in their seats waiting for him. “Good, you’re getting better at this,” they said, taking that as his version of a compliment.

Sero raised his hand. “Aizawa-sensei, is there a reason you’re here with Present Mic and Midnight?”

“Not that I’m complaining about Midnight?” Mineta whispered low enough that none heard him. His gaze locked on the Rated-R heroine, who stood like a model presenting the latest fashion.

"Because we have something important to discuss that relates to your choice of internship," Aizawa replied, spreading some fear among them. Still, they didn't let it get to them. After all, he had done something similar about the assembly, even if it had turned out more impactful than they expected.

‘Extra training? With all 3 of them?’ Uraraka wondered, as it seemed likely, though she did wonder why it was these 3 in particular.

'A surprise test based on both their classes? Are we going to need to answer in English only?' Kaminari hoped it wasn't so. He struggled enough with English as is, and adding work he also struggled with was sure to end with him getting a fat F.

“Code names,” They sighed when Aizawa replied. “You’ll be choosing your hero names.”

"That's right, baby heroes, you're about to take another step to become as cool as us." Present Mic smiled, giving a double finger gun at the group.

"While things have been different and difficult for many of you, we can't send you into the field without. Having a hero name would make it easier for you, your chosen agency, and those around you to see you as a rookie hero in training." Midnight added further context.

"This is typically related to the Sports Festival, as you'll get offers and head out for that. However, with how things ended that day," Midnight's seductive persona shifted, just a little as she spoke about that tragedy. Still, it was back up without a real incident. "It was decided to keep internships going, only with some changes. The first was the list of agencies and heroes you can pick from, which had little to do with your performance during the festival but was based on your work helping with the disaster recovery and cleanup."

Present Mic was similarly keeping to his upbeat self, contrasting how exhausted and grief-stricken some had seen him during quieter moments after things had gone wrong. "Yup! Sure, it's not as flashy, but it's just as important, if not more important, to hero work. And you, little listeners, impressed many influential people out there."

"The second reason relates to the incident's inciting factor," Eraser said. "Like it or not, you all are in the know and have seen what this threat can be like. So, it was decided to spread you to as many agencies as possible, along with liaisons from Professor Midoriya's lab to help prepare heroes for any possible further attacks."

“Couldn’t they just handle that?” Todoroki was the next to question things. “Professor Midoriya has given out plenty of quirks over the years, right?”

“She has, however, most were to people in your age range, and only a small fraction are even in the hero courses. You can’t expect us to enlist civilians into this.” Aizawa answered, his tired and yet uncompromising gaze shutting any thought to the contrary.  “As for those who were older and already handling things, there’s not enough.”

"Japan's a pretty big place, and a few agents just can't handle such a thing. A city like Tokyo, for example, has hundreds of heroes, big and small, and it's not like they can stop every crime happening." Midnight reminded them that pros might not be as numerous as police, but that still meant that there were thousands of them, close to 12,000 last she checked.

"Ideally, nothing happens, and you'll be able to conduct your internships as any regular student would, but we can't afford to just hope for the best. As heroes, we must ensure we can handle everything thrown at us." Eraser picked things up from there, as he did not favor this. Most of the staff had been against the idea, but they had little choice when the commission president made the…request.

It didn't help that things had changed, leaving U.A. perhaps the most prepared for this looming threat through no fault of their own.

"You'll be spending a week away from school for this, shadowing the pros in their day-to-day, learning the ropes of things, but despite the situation, you will not be primary responders." Eraser continued, as perhaps that was the only thing he was somewhat okay with, as the rest of the student body was letting illogical impulse and fear distance themselves from the hero course.

He was confident they would return to their senses once they had time to cool off with his students gone.

“What the hell?” Bakugo stood up, enraged that they would be denied combat.

“Sit down,” Aizawa's glare stilled him, before he begrudgingly took his seat again, arms across as he tried to salvage some of his pride. However, Aizawa didn't care as he got back into things. "You're still a freshman, barely trained and lacking much of the knowledge even a rookie hero would know. So, you'll be mainly handling minor tasks and serving as an assistant. Of course, the pros will be responsible for those tasks, but don't pick one because you think they'll let you loose because they can…and whatever happens will be on your head."

Again, his gaze seemed to pierce into them, a reminder of what he had told them the first day—of what they had seen at the USJ and what they had to handle in the aftermath of a massive quirk beast attack. This was not some game, nor was it a harmless joyride. Their lives, and more importantly, the lives of others, relied on them.

Sure, it would be fun to play the sidekick role, but when shit hit the fan, could they trust they'll be able to handle it? Most of them weren't sure and hoped they wouldn't need to find out the hard way.

"For those of you who want to start up your own agencies, it'll be good practice to see the admin of one. Heck, plenty of you will first become sidekicks, so it'll help if you know your A, B, and Cs for that stuff. It frees up time for the more exciting bits of hero work." Present Mic tried to add some levity to things, as yes, it could be hard, but it wasn’t all there was.

"You'll also be able to refine the skills you picked up recently. As you all experienced, when tragedy strikes, you're not just the person who pulls people out, you're the one who tends to their wounds, keeps them warm, helps them stay sane and safe by being the one rock they may have to hold on to. Hospitality is very much an essential tool.” Midnight's smile was much more genuine, as she had been one of the teachers who interacted with them the most during those days, and she had been incredibly proud of them for all that they did.

Present Mic pulled out some whiteboards and markers. “So, with that said, it's time to work on your hero names. It'll be me, Midnight, and I, as Eraser here, have no creativity."

Line Break

I started this earlier on Sunday, mainly because I will be busier than I was during the week with 2 assignments that require my attention. I'm already half done with one, and I'm hoping I won't need to pull any late-nighters, but that would mean making some sacrifices.

I had some plans for Hosu, but… what can I do with it? Iida's entire plot can't happen, Stain was literally seen as a lower priority for Ingenium who never even saw the guy, and while Shiggy could still throw a fit, to upstage an violent mass villain attack on U.A.’s stronghold on the day of their biggest showpiece would doom the League as they can be tracked and caught by regular pros and law enforcement-hell, they would have greater reason to as to show the public a win after such a disaster.