Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

By the end of the phone call, Dazai knew he would regret waking up for the day. Mori had just requested that he make his way to his office to discuss a new mission; any day with Mori automatically makes it an awful day. But alas, what is he to do? Say no to the port mafia boss? Well, he could, but that would just make Mori even more insufferable. So off he goes to Mori's office, nodding a greeting towards Kouyou-san on his way. The pit of dread pooling over his heart doesn't go amiss as the elevator ascends. Did he mention how much Mori ruins his day? Fiddling with his bandages, the elevator comes to a stop; dragging his feet, he makes his way over to the guards stationed by the office doors. Dazai comes by so often that they don't even bother to stop and question why he's there, so they open the doors to whatever grisly plan Mori has cooked up.

Stepping into the office, Dazai is taken aback by the sight of Chuuya, his fiery hair a familiar beacon, kneeling before Mori in a show of respect. Dazai strangely feels a little more relaxed seeing Chuuya here, but he just chalks it up to not having to deal with Mori alone. The room is filled with tension, the silence broken only by the sound of Chuuya's soft rustle of his clothes as he shifts slightly.

"Chibi, why are you kneeling in front of Mori... I thought you were my dog?" Dazai asks, feigning an innocent tone as the shorter boy starts to practically explode in anger, forgetting any professionalism he strives to show in front of Mori. It almost makes this meeting even better now that Chuuya focuses solely on Dazai. Of course, Mori had to ruin Dazai's fleeting good mood by opening his mouth.

"Unlike you, Dazai, Nakahara here shows respect to his boss. Maybe you could learn something from him." And if Dazai hadn't had previous training to keep his mouth shut, he would puke in this office. Showing respect? To Mori? When hell freezes over. Dazai remains silent before sitting down with a huff in the closest chair to him. Chuuya eyes the two before following Dazai's lead and sitting down.

"Get on with it, Mori. I have more important things to do. For example, diving off a bridge is becoming more and more appealing the longer I'm here." He drones on, waving his hand in a circular fashion to show his boredom. Chuuya glares at Dazai, tensing slightly in his chair before looking back toward Mori. Dazai shrugs slightly before shifting his focus to the window displaying Yokohoma in all its nightlife glory.

"Of course. Though after this meeting, unfortunately, you won't get the chance, Dazai." He gives a disappointed faux sigh as Dazai gives him a brief glance before staring at the window again.
"This mission will be a little different from what you both are accustomed to... What do you both know about UA High School?" That piques Dazai's interest, though he doesn't show it. Chuuya glances in Dazai's direction momentarily as silence permeates the air. Dazai feels Mori's gaze bore into him as the silence continues; he bristles slightly before opening his mouth.

"It's a hero school in Musutafu... What? Wanting to change career options, Mori-san?" Dazai speaks with as much of a bored tone as he can muster, keeping his gaze locked on the window. He could hear Chuuya's clothes rustling as he changed positions, muttering a quiet 'Hero school?' under his breath.

"Correct Dazai! Though I'm quite comfortable in my position, a career change isn't necessary. No. I am bringing up the hero school because this mission involves you two attending said school!" A wicked grin splits across his face at the reaction of the two seated before him. Chuuya's response is evident as he clenches his seat and tenses visibly. He almost seems to go red at the idea, anger building yet not being released; he never does when it comes to his boss. Dazai is much more subtle, his eyes widening a tiny fraction at the news. Dazai never likes to show what he's thinking, especially in front of Mori. Still, unfortunately for him, due to the amount of time he's spent with Dazai, Mori can spot these minute expressions with ease.

"Attending UA High School? In Musutafu?... Why would we need to go there? Won't that be dangerous since... Y'know?" Chuuya asks, gesturing to the room around them. The idea of mafiosos in a hero school sounds like a bad joke! And the different laws and quirk regulations in Musutafu only add to the complexity. It's common knowledge that Yokohama is a world apart from the rest of Japan. Quirks are still not the norm in the city, and it's increasingly unlikely that they ever will be; they are not even called Quirks in Yokohoma, but Abilities instead.

"I understand the risks, Nakahara-kun, and have planned accordingly! Unfortunately, however, I have a favour cashed in, and even if I wanted to, I just cannot refuse. This rat's favour has been hanging above my head for quite a while, and I would prefer to have it over and done with." Mori slightly grimaces as he talks. He leans forward in his chair, bringing his hands together and interlacing his fingers under his chin. "You two will be going in to protect the upcoming first-year students of UA as there have been rumours of movement in the Mutusafu underground, which seems to be directed to the school."

"And what's your other motive?" Dazai almost interrupts as Mori finishes his speech. He tears his gaze away from the window to stare at Mori, who smiles and feigns innocence. Dazai just squints his eyes further at Mori. Chuuya sits up and looks between the two, trying to figure out their secret conversation.

"Whatever could you mean, Dazai?" His voice was laced with sickly sweet tones that almost made Dazai gag. Dazai rolled his exposed eye and looked back to the window, knowing that Mori wouldn't give anything more away. It's fine. He'll just figure it out himself. Silence once again permeates the space, drowning all in its tension. Chuuya shifts uncomfortably in his seat, becoming more agitated as it continues.

"So... Mori-san.. When is this mission going to happen, and how long is it going to last?" Chuuya asks, gaze switching between Mori and Dazai in quick excesses.

"The entrance exams start about a week from now. You'll leave Yokohoma tomorrow with information packs to get accustomed to your living arrangements. I hope you study those packs well. They are imperative to your mission. The agreed-upon time you'll spend on this mission is about 6 months... However, depending on the situation, that period may lengthen." Mori leans back in his seat, gesturing leisurely as he speaks. "I expect reports weekly, understood?"

"Yes, boss!" "Whatever." The two spoke simultaneously, agreeing to the terms with their own levels of interest. It didn't matter if they agreed or not anyway. It wasn't like they could say no.

"Great! You're dismissed. I recommend getting a good night's sleep. You will need it!" Mori says in a sing-songy way before waving his hands to gesture for them to leave. They rise, Chuuya bowing while Dazai rolls his eyes and turns to leave, Chuuya following quickly behind. They stay close together as they move to leave the building; having no more jobs or assignments, they might as well pack to go. Once outside, Chuuya looks at Dazai, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Wanna stay at my place tonight? Might as well stick together if we both need to leave tomorrow," Chuuya asks, stretching his back slightly as they fall into a practiced walking pace. Dazai hums momentarily as he considers what he has left in his shipping container. Would any of it need to be packed for the mission? He hasn't got much, to begin with, in that sorry excuse for a home, and he can always buy bandages and other necessities from a shop if need be. Coming to a decision rather quickly, he messes with Chuuya.

"Why Chibi so forward in your advances! I'm flustered! How could I say no to a proposal like that? But buy us dinner first! If you eat, you might finally grow enough, so you won't need a booster seat at the restaurant!" Dazai exclaims as Chuuya grows more and more red, he might even need to use No longer human if Chuuya carries on.

"Shitty Dazai! You know that's not what I meant!! As if I'd ever want to think of you in that context! You disgusting Beanpole!" Chuuya explodes as his cheeks fluster from... embarrassment! Yeah! It's embarrassing to even be near shitty Dazai, the disgusting, pathetic waste of bandages! Chuuya quickens his pace to his motorbike, leaving Dazai behind slightly. As he got on his motorbike, he turned to look at Dazai, who looked a little... hurt?

"You coming or not?" Chuuya's words break the momentary fog in Dazai's mind. Why had that hurt Dazai? Dazai doesn't feel, Dazai isn't even human. He hasn't felt anything since... Well forever! Mori made sure of that. Besides, it was usual Chuuya-Dazai banter. He shakes the fog from the forefront of his mind before following Chuuya onto the bike. He grimaced momentarily as he's never been particularly fond of it as a mode of transportation. Too much noise, in his opinion. He wraps his arms around Chuuya's waist and gets ready for Chuuya to set off. He doesn't notice the pink dusting on Chuuya's cheeks as he rests his head on Chuuya's back. Kicking off, Chuuya drives to his apartment, not caring about the speed limit.

It doesn't take long for them to ascend the apartment elevator when they get to Chuuya's building. Their usual bickering and bantering leave them to nudge each other around the elevator before Chuuya drags Dazai on the floor as they exit the elevator.

"Oh, how sad! I won't be able to join the mission because Chibi is such a brute and won't buy me any canned crab!! I'm just positively withering away," Dazai exclaims, holding the back of his hand to his head in fake distress. Chuuya grunts in response before unlocking the door and chucking Dazai at the back of the sofa, smirking.

"I fancy pizza tonight, so I'm ordering pizza. If you have a problem with it, order your own damn food!" Chuuya walks around the sofa and sits down with a jump. He then pulls out his phone, ordering food, and peeking over the back of the couch at Dazai, who is fiddling with his bandages. "Fries or Wedges?"

"Fries," Dazai huffs before standing up and heading to the fridge, scanning its contents. He grabs a bottle of wine with some expensive-sounding name and two wine glasses, joining Chuuya on the sofa. Dazai poured the wine, holding Chuuya's glass out towards him, and then poured his own glass, taking a sip with a grimace. "I don't think I can ever understand how you like this stuff," Dazai said with an exasperated sigh.

"It's not my fault you don't have an expensive taste like I do," Chuuya says with pride in his chest, gesturing to his pricey outfit. Dazai grabbed his hat and threw it up and down as Chuuya tried to grab it back. "Give it back, asshole!"

"Chuuya is too obsessed with the tacky hat; maybe I should throw it out the window," Dazai teased as Chuuya grabbed it back and placed it upon his head again, steam practically bellowing out of his ears. Chuuya pushes Dazai off the sofa, and Dazai lets it happen. He lies on the ground and whines, causing Chuuya to yell at him to shut up.

A little while later, the pizza arrives after a few more arguments and bruises. Chuuya sets his pizza on the coffee table and hands the fries to Dazai; he has trouble eating on the best days, so something simple would hopefully be easy on him. Turning on the TV, Chuuya and Dazai munch on their respective foods, commenting little on the show they are watching. Halfway through eating his pizza, Dazai leaves the fries bag next to the pizza box, only a quarter of it missing. Chuuya grimaces, a little concern coursing through his body, but doesn't comment on it, grabbing the fries bag and eating them with the rest of his pizza. Looking on the bright side, at least he ate something, Chuuya surmises, sighing slightly.

"So, what do you think about the mission?" Chuuya asks, trying to distract from the situation at hand. He shovels a handful of fries into his mouth and looks in Dazai's direction. Dazai is sitting on the sofa with his knees to his chin and staring at the TV. He uncurls his hands from wrapping around his knees and looks back at Chuuya.

"I think... That Mori is hiding something." Dazai mumbles, spreading out on the sofa a bit more, throwing his head to rest against the back of the couch.

"Do you think he's lying about the favour?" Chuuya asks, mouth full of food, as he sits up alertly, trying to scan Dazai's face for any betraying emotion.

"Mmm... No, he's telling the truth, at least about that." Dazai shakes his head slowly. "But the favours are not why we're going, at the very least. If it was just about the favour, Mori would send more... expendable people. Sending us is just overkill," He explains, moving his hand in a circular motion as he searches for the right words.

"But we're the right age to go, right? And we're capable of doing the job, so why not send us?" Chuuya questions, finishing his pizza.

"True, but there are others of our age in the mafia that are not as high status as we are and have not done as many crimes as we have. So, if caught, it is not as bad of a sentence as we would get and not much of a loss to Mafia assets. There's something else about UA, maybe even the class itself or the 'underground movement', as Mori said, that quantifies the need for Double black to take the mission." Dazai spells out, holding his hands out in air quotes when repeating Mori's phrasing when explaining the mission. It grows silent for a moment as the words sink in. Once again, Chuuyas breaks the silence.

"Are we gunna have to wear school uniforms?" Chuuya grimaces at the thought, causing Dazai to burst into laughter at the thought of it. "I'm still gunna wear my hat! I don't care if I get dress-coded or whatever." This just caused Dazai to laugh more, holding his chest. Chuuya started to smile at Dazai's laughter before joining him a little as well.

Chapter Text

Waking up the following day caused a deep ache in Dazai's bones. Chuuya was already up and about, packing the last of his stuff needed for the mission. Groaning, Dazai sat up and stretched his body, popping multiple muscles. Chuuya glanced towards Dazai, asking with only his eyes if Dazai was okay. His only response was a noncommittal grunt. After Chuuya feels confident that he has packed everything, he joins Dazai on the sofa. He waits to be collected by the mafia grunt to be taken to Musutafu.

"Excited for the trip? I've packed all my clothes and hats, some cash... hmm, spare bandages you've left around my apartment... oh, and my hair products." He lists each item on his finger as he relaxes on the sofa. Dazai doesn't even seem to be listening, still in the throes of waking up, but mumbles nonetheless. Chuuya carries on anyway. "I know we're going to live together, so don't go touching my hair products, alright?! You can use your own shitty shampoos. It's not like your hair can handle the good shit anyways."

Slowly, Dazai starts to become more aware of his surroundings, yawning and relaxing on the sofa as well. Chuuya is still nattering about something, but Dazai doesn't care to listen as a knock sounds on the apartment door. Chuuya grabs his stuff and opens the door, nodding to the mafia grunt. Dazai follows him, and they descend to the street where the car waits. Shoving his luggage into the car's boot, Chuuya takes his place in the back of the car next to Dazai. They conversate lightly as they watch the scenery change.

One long trip later, the boys arrive at a small apartment complex deep in a congested part of Musutafu. The apartment blends nicely into the environment, specifically chosen not to catch anyone's eye. The duo stares at where they'll stay for the next six months with apprehension, trying to pick out any suspicious or crucial details. Dazai spots at least five escape routes where he stands, including jumping out the windows for the most desperate situations. Chuuya is instead looking at the buildings and people around the complex, trying to spot any immediate threats. After standing around enough for the cold to start creeping along their skin, they take their business inside. Keeping as close as physically possible, the two mafiosos stalk their way to their designated apartment on the second floor, staying on alert as much as they can. It's always challenging to go to a new place. One can never be too cautious in the mafia, after all. Once they reach their new apartment, they quickly sneak inside and lock the door behind them, keeping an eye on each other's blind spots. Placing down their stuff, Dazai and Chuuya quietly take in the apartment. It is smaller than Chuuya's place in Yokohama but big enough to not cause complaints. The kitchen and living room are on an open floor plan, separated by a breakfast bar. Four doors can be seen, two by the side of each other on the complete opposite side of the apartment from the front door, one connected to the kitchen, and one on the living room's side wall. Moving around to get a better look, they open each door to see what's there. The two doors next to each other turn out to be their bedrooms, both about equal in size with little furniture difference between them. The door connected to the kitchen seemed to be a little storage closet, with some cleaning supplies and tools hidden there, and finally, the last door was their bathroom, including a separate shower and a bath. After a sufficient scope around the apartment, the duo sits on the sofa hesitantly, holding the information packs that Mori had supplied.

"The place looks nice, and it's packed with food, so at least we don't have to go shopping immediately." Chuuya hummed as he started to rip open the envelope containing their instructions. Dazai nodded, watching Chuuya intently. Once the papers are accessible from the envelope, Dazai shifts closer to Chuuya, reading over his shoulder.

"So for the entrance exam, there's a written portion and a physical portion..." Chuuya mumbles as he reads. Dazai leans his chin on Chuuya's shoulder, earning a slight flinch from the ginger.

"The physical portion seems to be about robots, considering the blueprints here," Dazai points out. Among the instructions are several blueprints detailing 4 types of robots, each ranging in size and shape. Little notes about anatomical engineering are littered all over the page, and not much of it makes sense to Chuuya.

"That should be easy enough, right?" Chuuya looks slightly at Dazai, not wanting to move much, to prevent Dazai from moving away from the shorter boy's shoulder.

"Maybe for a brute such as yourself, my dear Chibi, but I do not have a flashy 'Quirk.'" Dazai sighs dramatically, emphasizing the unfamiliar term that the rest of Japan uses so much. Even though they are partners, the dreaded Double Black, they won't be able to help each other much during the exam. They have to 'prove' themselves or whatever that means. "Oh well.. where I lack some brawn, I make up for in brains. Unfortunately, Chuuya is 100% brawn, no brains whatsoever!"

That sets Chuuya off, forgetting any reservation for Dazai's chin on his shoulder; the ginger pushes Dazai off of him and onto the floor, giving a little kick for extra measure. "I'm not dumb, you stinky mackerel! I bet I could get as high as you on the stupid essay!" He shouts in a blind rage.

"I'll take that bet and beat you so bad that you run back to Kouyou-san with your doggy tail between your legs!" Dazai exclaims before Chuuya pounces, pushing and slapping him to try to shut the Demon Prodigy up. And it works for a moment... Because how could Dazai refuse his Chibi.

The next few days pass in a blur of routine. Dazai and Chuuya decided to take shifts in who would sleep during the night, not wanting to spend any time in this new place without someone being aware at all times. They even stay in the same bedroom, one sleeping in the bed and the other sitting at the room's desk, keeping watch. The only people they can trust are each other. During the day, they would scout the local area together, mentally logging all the different alleyways and hideouts close to their apartment should they ever need to run and hide, which also often led to Chuuya having to drag Dazai out of a nearby river he jumped into. They also planned and strategized the best course of action considering the mission; when they get into the class, how they should act, and if they should actually try to do well in their studies. Eventually, the duo relaxed a little in their apartment, not enough to stop the sleeping routine but enough to watch TV shows and lay about on the sofa without a weapon on their immediate person (the gun was on the coffee table, just an arms reach away). The night before the entrance exam rears its head, and the two are in Chuuya's room.

"Do you think we can ever be normal? Or at least normal enough for the UA kids not to... notice?" Chuuya almost whispers into the darkness enveloping the room. He rolls around in bed to look towards Dazai, sitting at the desk by the wall. "Do we even know how to be normal?"

Dazai stays silent for a moment, pondering on how to respond. He has never felt normal, barely even human to begin with. He used to long to be normal, and every fibre in his body craved it. Eventually, he accepted with an empty heart that he'd never get what he so desired. But Chuuya? Chuuya is human incarnate, even if he's the experimental vessel for a god. Always the brightest light in the room full of emotions, basically bursting at the seams. Chuuya will be fine during the mission and may even thrive around kids their age who weren't Dazai. "I think... That Chuuya shouldn't be so worried about such things. People love dogs."

"You don't," Chuuya mumbles in response as he slowly falls asleep. He has a point, however. It's a known fact that Dazai hates dogs. He would grimace and sneer whenever they came too close for his comfort.

"I'm not people." Dazai simply responds quietly, not wanting to disturb Chuuya's slumber. He needs all the sleep he can get for tomorrow. Dazai does, too, but that's also asking too much self-care for that to happen without protest.

The morning comes way too soon, in Dazai's opinion, but alas, he gets ready for the day begrudgingly. Leaving the slug to slumber a little more, Dazai gets changed into the generic gym clothes given to them for the exam. It rubs a little against his bandages, which makes him want to take them off and burn them, but unfortunately, that would set off the fire alarm, which he seriously cannot handle the noise of this early in the morning. As he stares at the bathroom mirror before him, he looks at the bandages covering his left eye, unease coating his skin. He already knows having bandages covering his body under his clothes will get him unwanted attention. Still, at least the majority of that is covered by said clothes... So, to maintain the lack of attention for as long as possible, he has to forgo his eye bandages. He slowly unravels them, feeling instantly naked as the air hits the skin under them. He fidgets with the bandages covering his wrists and stares at his uncovered eye. This is going to be a long day.

Chuuya wakes up not long after and starts to get ready, wearing the same style of gym clothes as Dazai since they 'came from the same school.' He stretches briefly before Dazai enters the bedroom without his signature eyewear. Although he wants to question Dazai about the eye he's never seen since they first met, he decides to leave it alone, not wanting to make Dazai feel insecure about it. Instead, he nods towards the kitchen and walks out of the room, searching through the cupboards. "We should eat breakfast. What do you want? Cereal or eggs?" He says out loud, pulling out a cereal pack for himself and waiting for Dazai's response. Looking at Dazai standing in the bedroom doorway, he saw Dazai fidgeting silently, obviously in heavy contemplation.

"... Eggs. If I even see any soggy cereal right now, I think I may rip my skin off," Dazai mumbled in a monotone voice before moving to the breakfast bar and sitting down. After that confession, Chuuya stared at his cereal for a moment and quickly put it back in the cupboard. It seems like it'll be eggs today. Whipping out the eggs and frying pan, Chuuya skillfully starts to cook them to perfection. Dishing them out, the two silently begin eating them, one going much slower than the other. After eating only half, Dazai shuffles his plate to Chuuya, who takes it and eats the rest.

"Think it's going to be easy today?" Chuuya questions, finishing the eggs off rather quickly and looking to Dazai. The brunette looks to Chuuya and smirks.

"Oh no, not at all, Chibi! You'll most certainly be stepped on as soon as you enter the building since you're just too short to see! And then I'll have to do this blasted mission all by my lonesome! I could just die!" Dazai places a hand on his forehead dramatically, using the other to wipe away an imaginary tear. Chuuya groans and pushes him off of the stool he is sitting on, causing him to fall to the floor in a heap. This causes Chuuya to laugh.

"C'mon shitty Dazai, we gotta go, stop messing about on the floor." He says with a smirk as if he wasn't the reason why Dazai was on the floor. The ginger grabbed the plates from breakfast and placed them in the sink, a problem for later Chuuya.

Chapter Text

The shadow of the large, expensive-looking building looms over the mafiosos as they approach. Even its environmental scenery shouts, "We have excessive funding!!" with the vivid colours surrounding the school in a suffocating eyesore. An intense feeling of intrusion worms its way into the duo's guts; they're not supposed to be here, a hero school of all places. Feeling alert and unsafe, the two stick together as they meander through the crowd of kids, all going in the same direction into the school. All different kinds of people could be seen in the crowd surrounding the partners, colourful hair of all other natures, heteromorphs from the animal kingdom galore, and even some... wait, does that person have a glue dispenser for a head? Chuuya catches himself staring as they walk; there are barely any mutants in Yokohama, and those that live there tend to stay hidden, not wanting to face unfortunate ridicule.

Dazai grabbed Chuuya's arm and subtly nodded at him to stop staring at the people around them; they didn't need any unnecessary attention due to being rude and staring. Soon enough, the crowd flows through the doors and into the establishment, directed by staff toward what seems to be an auditorium with a colossal screen at the focal point. The two take their seats towards the middle of the room, keeping to the aisle for a quick getaway just in case. Low murmurs resonate in the room as the hopeful students talk to each other about the upcoming event. That all stops when one eccentric blonde takes the stage.

"For all you examinee listeners tuning in, welcome to my show today!" the man with cockatiel-looking hair exclaims with wild gestures toward the crowd of students. "Everybody say, 'Hey!'"

....

The ensuing silence is so deafening that even Dazai winces, and the brunette almost feels a pang of sympathy for the hero's failed attempt to rouse the students. He scans the room, seeing the other students staring intently at the blonde but making no move to break the silence.

"What a refined response... Then I'll quickly present the rundown on the practical exam!!" President Mic tries to salvage the moment by changing the subject but it's clear that he's feeling a little awkward due to the lack of response. Even just a few 'Hey!'s from some overconfident twerps would've been nice. But he tries again nonetheless; maybe they were too in their own heads the first time. "Are you ready?!! Yeah!!" He exclaims, moving into a cool pose to add to the crowd-rearing.

....

Ok, these kids suck.

Once again, Dazai looks around the kids for even some sort of chance that someone is going to help this guy out. This is so awkward that it might just kill the brunette on the spot. Not that he's complaining, but it would sure be inconvenient for the people around him. All he manages to see is some broccoli kid fanboying over the hero in front of them. Still, unfortunately, it seems unlikely that he will actively make a loud enough noise to save them all from the biting silence.

"As it says in the application requirements, you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles after this!" The cockatiel continues, resulting in the two partners' immediate disinterest. They both knew enough about the soon-to-come physical exam due to the information packs Mori had supplied them. They kept an ear out in case there was any new information but mainly focused on trying to analyze the people around them. Although there's no outright scientific fact that proves a person's Quirk is directly linked to their personality/appearance (other than the obvious Mutant types), it does help to give a general idea of a person's ability. It also helps to keep note of a person's physical prowess. However, most kids around them generally don't seem exceptionally physically fit, which makes sense since they all come from school, not the physically-taxing mafia (though that only applies to Chuuya; Dazai is practically a stick with hair).

There are, of course, outliers; for example, behind them, there's an overly bulky kid with huge lips who crinkles with what seems to be snack packets whenever he moves slightly. The brunette makes an executive guess that his Quirk relies on food intake and may even have a hand to his excessive muscles for a 15-16-year-old. No one seems like an immediate threat to the mafioso. Still, he can't help but keep resting his eyes on that green-headed fanboy from earlier. Why does he catch his attention? The boy looks like an ordinary person, and if he had to guess, perhaps his Quirk has something to do with plants due to the unnatural hair. But for some reason, that thought seems outlandish. He stares at the broccoli for a while longer before the boy slowly turns to the brunette, probably feeling the intense stare that Dazai gives off. As the walking moss sets his eyes on the mafioso, Dazai feels a pain emanating from his usually bandaged eye. Dazai panics and turns away towards Chuuya as he rubs his eye. Did that boy use his Quirk on Dazai? Why would he do that? All Dazai did was stare at him. Was it so rude that quirk use was needed? And what kind of Quirk was that? Some sort of psychic damage? Nerve-based damage since it affected his eye? Strangely, however, the thought that the boy's Quirk was psychic or nerve-based still felt wrong.

Chuuya looks to Dazai as he starts to rub his eye. Was it bothering him? Is there a reason he has it bandaged most of the time? Well, duh, why would it be bandaged if there's no reason to. Though knowing Dazai, it could be bandaged just for appearances or even to hide something like information in the bandages. The Ginger glances at the teachers stationed at the auditorium's walls, wondering if they could ask to be excused to the toilet. "Hey, Mackerel. You ok? Do you need to go to the bathroom or... something?" The shorter boy asks hesitantly. He knows that Dazai doesn't like to appear 'weak', but if he needs to go and sort it out, then he needs to do it.

"No... 'm alright," Dazai mumbles as the broccoli moves his gaze back to the blonde hero. What was that all about. He sighs deeply before resting his head on Chuuya's shoulder. All he wants to do is sleep and go back to Yokohama. "Wake me up when we gotta leave." He may not be the most comfortable around random kids, however, he trusts Chuuya enough that if anything were to happen, Dazai would still be safe. Chuuya nods, allowing Dazai to rest. If he actually sleeps, is a different story, but at the most, he can relax and close his eyes.

Nothing interesting happens for the rest of the orientation other than a momentary intrusion from a kid who literally embodies the nerd emoji. The kid asks about the fourth robot and promptly tells some green-haired kid off for talking. Chuuya rolls his eyes before listening to the blonde hero waffle on. After a loud exclamation of "PLUS ULTRA!" students pour out of the room, preparing for the written exam. Chuuya hesitantly nudges Dazai to get his attention. "Hey, Dazai... We gotta go for the exam. You good now?" He stares, trying to catch any betraying emotion on the brunette's face that might depict pain. His breath is caught in his throat as Dazai's eyes slowly flutter open.

"Yeah, I'm good now... Let's get going so I can thoroughly embarrass you and your shrimp brain," Dazai yawns as he stretches out before standing up. He smirked towards Chuuya in a way that instantly got under his skin, causing him to forget any concern for the brunette.

"You're on Mackerel! I will beat you, and you'll be MY dog!" Chuuya stood up quick as anything, speed walking to get to the next room for the exam. Dazai followed nonchalantly behind, making sure that Chuuya never left his sight.

Unfortunately, those from the same school are forced to sit away from each other to prevent cheating. So, for the first time that day, the two are forced not to be in immediate proximity. Taking their seats, the duo glance at each other; they're a couple rows away but close enough to be within eyeshot. Dazai sticks his tongue out and touches his index finger and thumb together toward the Ginger, signifying his short stature. Said Ginger responded with his middle finger at the brunette.

"Attention, please." A monotone voice rings out, causing all students to face the front of the room. Their gaze falls on a long, raven-haired teacher wearing dark, baggy clothing and a grey fabric wrapped around his neck. Dark bags hang under his eyes, and stubble litters his face; he does not look like he wants to be there, and the mafiosos can relate. "The written exam will start soon, I expect silence. You cannot talk to your peers, and don't even try to cheat... We will know." He glances slightly at the CCTV scouring the room. From where Dazai sat, he could see one in each corner and one on the ceiling for a bird's eye view. Teachers move down the aisles, handing out the papers to students.

"The written exam might not seem important to some gun-ho people with flashy, strong quirks, but it is. So do your best, or don't bother coming to UA... Plus Ultra or whatever." He huffed, glaring at the students before him, ensuring his tone was serious. He waved his hand up, signaling for the exam to start. Sounds of rustling paper and pen scratching filled the room, no one daring to make a peep at risk of being disqualified. Dazai calmly answered each question; all of this seemed elementary. Each question was something he would learn for fun or have drilled into him by Mori at the mere age of 11. The only questions he had trouble with were in the heroics section. Why should he care if some hypothetical person was hypothetically trapped in some hypothetical rubble? It all seemed dumb to Dazai, but why it was in the exam still made sense. It was a bloody hero school, after all. So, summoning his most corny, hero-loving persona, he answered each answer. And just pretending gave him a migraine. Once he finished the test with plenty of time to spare, he just flopped his head to the desk and tried to waste the rest of the exam by doodling.

Chuuya shouldn't have made that stupid bet with the stinking fish. The physics and maths portion of the exam went by with a breeze, and he felt very confident with every answer he gave. But he is struggling with the rest of the paper. What the hell is the antonym of obstruction? And why does he need to care about where his gallbladder is? As long as it's in his body, he's peachy. The heroics portion was much easier but still stumped him slightly. He wasn't aware of how much he used excessive violence to fix problems before this. A villain has taken a hostage? Beat his face into strawberry jam. But... he has to pretend he has a heart of gold... So he takes a little longer than he'd like to think of scenarios where minor to no injury was the goal. When the teachers tell the students to put the pens down and finish any question they are working on, Chuuya has a fist full of hair and glares at his paper as if it owes him money. He takes a deep breath and exhales before looking over to Dazai, who is doodling on the desk as if nothing eventful happened. God, he hates that tall waste of bandages.

The students are given a lunch break to relax before the start of the physical exam. Chuuya bought a plate of fries for a snack, and the two sat at a table munching on them. "God, that exam was so draining... " Chuuya complained, resting his cheek against the table. At this point, he doesn't know if he'll ever have the energy for the physical portion.

"Yeah, it was so boring... I thought it'd be much more challenging since it was an exam created by UA." Dazai pouted with an exaggerated sigh. This caused Chuuya to sit up suddenly, filled back up with angry energy.

"What?! You can't have found that test so easy? It was super hard!!" Chuuya slams his hands against the table, causing a few heads to turn. Noticing gazes on his back, Chuuya sits back down and lowers his voice. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Nope! Sorry, but I don't have slug brains like you!" Dazai smiled with a cheery tone. Chuuya slams his head against the table once more, already knowing he's lost the stupid bet he made hastily.

Piling off the bus, Chuuya looked around anxiously at the kids surrounding him. Once again, he and Dazai were split up. However, this time, they couldn't keep the other in eyeshot. If the kids, for some reason, decided to attack the mafiosos, they couldn't expect the other to help them out. Chuuya may have some difficulty with the number of people in his group, but Dazai likely wouldn't stand a chance. It's an unlikely scenario, but one can never be too cautious. Keeping to the outside of the crowd, Chuuya examines the area, looking for any details that may interest him. Not much can be seen other than the bus they just exited. He then takes a look at the participants with him. Not many take his interest, except one spiky-haired blonde who kept swearing under his breath. Raising his eyebrow, he hears some mention of a nerd who shouldn't be here.

From Chuuya's right, a voice rang out, full of energy and enthusiasm. "Some people are really getting into this exam, huh? That's so manly!!" The voice belonged to a kid with a muscular build and a vibrant red spiky updo. He practically radiated energy, his excitement noticeable. "The name's Eijiro Kirishima!"

Chuuya crosses his arms and rubs them slightly before answering. "Chuuya Nakahara." He takes a small breath to calm Arahabaki, who is rumbling under his skin. The god always seems to become more active when Chuuya feels more anxious. He puts on a small smile, looking at Kirishima. "You excited?"

"Hell yeah, I'm excited!!! Bit nervous about what I'll get in the written exam, though; it was tough!" Kirishima exclaims, punching his hand into the air with excitement before deflating slightly at the reminder of the previous exam.

"I know, right?! I hope I got enough points to pass." Chuuya groaned, a smirk playing on his lips as he stretched his back. "Stupid Dazai said the exam was not challenging enough!" He muttered, his annoyance evident. Kirishima tilted his head in confusion, his expression resembling a puppy. "Someone from my school," Chuuya clarified, a hint of fond exasperation in his voice.

"Wow, your friend must be super smart!" Kirishima exclaims, causing Chuuya to grunt in annoyance. Them? Friends? As if! They were just partners. That's all.

Said not-friend was also standing around waiting for the exam to start. Observing those around Dazai, he began to plan what to do for the exam. The information pack referred to another way to gain points other than defeating the robots, yet it was annoyingly vague. Thank you, Mori. It makes sense, however, not everyone has a powerful combat-like quirk. Dazai, for example. Due to the fact, Dazai even had to apply for some support weapons; they obviously wouldn't allow him to use a gun, so instead, he has a bo staff and small dagger. So there has to be some way to gain points that anyone could do, but those gun-ho on their power wouldn't think of. His thoughts are cut short when murmurs arise among the crowd, which seem to be centred around the broccoli from earlier. What is it with that boy? It looks like he's being lectured by a blue-haired boy, though Dazai isn't close enough to hear. Before he could try to listen, a shout rang out.

"Okay, start!" The loud cockatiel teacher from before is standing on a large tower. A couple of confused noises arise from the kids looking at each other dumbly. "What's wrong? There are no countdowns in real fights! Run, Run! The die has been cast, you know!" Dazai takes that as the queue to start running in.

Taking in the fake city arena, the brunette decides to take out some robots while forming an efficient plan. A One-pointer jumps in front of him, yelling some sort of threat that he doesn't care to listen to. After seeing the blueprints of each robot type, he surmised the most efficient way to take them out. Winding up, Dazai swings his bo staff to hit the robot's eye, causing its arm to fling widely. The brunette manages to dodge a stray attempt to hit him before jumping onto the back of the robot, slamming his staff into an exposed part of its neck. Using the staff, he pried open a back panel on the robot, revealing its internal system. Pulling out his small dagger from the sheath on his belt, the brunette sliced wires and punctured the motherboard just to be on the safe side. The robot slowly puttered as electrical signals stopped, causing the machine to fall forward, leaving Dazai to crouch on top. Osamu continues forward, taking out a few robots. Around the halfway point of the exam, he has accumulated about 28 points. He hears a sound emanating from the side, like a wild electrical storm. Dazai turns to see a blonde boy with a black streak of hair standing in front of two 3-pointers frozen due to electrical overload. As a one-pointer approaches the glorified phone charger, the boy doesn't seem aware of his surroundings. The mafioso waits for a moment to see if the blonde will take notice of the loud robot. Still, it looks as if he has no clue what is even going on anymore, only putting 2 thumbs up and chuckling to himself. Sighing, Dazai realizes the other way to gain points is to save people from getting hurt. Another part of this heroics course, which makes sense but is annoying due to the fact that Dazai will have to rely on other people to be stupid enough to get hurt for him to save them. He runs over to the blonde just as the one-pointer swings an arm to batter the electrical boy, tackling the walking charger to the ground. They roll far enough for the blonde to not be in the way as Dazai gets up and charges the one-pointer. It took a little longer for Dazai to dismantle the robot as he had to keep part of his focus on the blonde, but he managed. Once the robot drops down, he goes over to the blonde to check if he is okay, and luckily, it seems whatever caused him to be like that was wearing off.

"Hello? Are you alright? The one-pointer there nearly took you out," Dazai said, examining the boy before him. Said boy blinked a few times before shaking his head as if to clear any fogginess left behind.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that; my quirk sometimes short-circuits my brain... Thanks for helping, though! I gotta carry on and get more points, but the names Denki Kaminari!" He holds up a thumbs up towards Dazai.

"Osamu Dazai. And good luck." He nods before running off. Dazai knows he has about 29 points by now; however, he doesn't know how many points helping someone can get you. He could've already passed due to the extra points, or it could barely give him anything at all. He has to assume it's a hefty amount as being a hero is about helping people (if you don't include those who want to do it just for fame or money), plus with it being a secret way to get more points, it's also got to be a way to see a person's character. Either way, Dazai isn't going to risk the mission by not trying in any way possible to succeed. What was it those teachers kept mentioning? Plus Ultra or whatever.

Chuuya was in his element. Dazai may have beaten him on the written exam, but this is where he'll excel. After being stuck in an apartment doing nothing for a while, having some action and bashing some robot face is just what he needed. He could feel Arahabaki humming excitedly under his skin. Just when he was about to destroy another 3-pointer, that spiky blonde from before came in and stole his kill. An explosion ripped through the machinery, rendering it useless.

"Hey, that was my 3-pointer!" Chuuya exclaims to the blonde. Said blonde didn't seem to care much about what the Ginger said and carried on his destructive war path. However, as the walking bomb was about to take out a 4-pointer, Chuuya instead swooped down and destroyed it with one swing of his leg. This caught the blonde's attention.

"Get outta my way, extra! These are my robots!" He growled, small explosions popping along his skin.

"I think these robots are free for all, you egotist! You should get out of my way. See how a real pro fights!!" Chuuya huffs, trying to get under the other one's skin, and it's surprisingly easy. He then continues to destroy another nearby 4-pointer, decapitating it with ease.

"I am going to get the best score and go on to become the number one hero, so just try me short stack!!" The blonde shouts in rage as he, too, destroys a nearby 2-pointer.

"Y'know, yeah! I'll take you on! And I'll beat you as well! Enjoy eating my dust, you angry Pomeranian!!" And the bet was made. Normally, he doesn't have good luck with bets, but that's because Dazai makes them. And Dazai is the only one allowed to win against Chuuya Nakahara, so he is going to make that blonde wish he never stole one of Chuuya's kills. As of now Chuuya would say he has accumulated around 62 points. Which, in his opinion, is a good amount, considering they have about 4 minutes left. Suddenly, the grounds begin to rumble as a loud noise spreads through the arena. "The hell?" Chuuya turns to see what's making the noise, only to find a gigantic robot towering over him. That's the 0-pointer?! Why does it need to be that big! That thing could easily squish someone!! Chuuya looks around as people start to run away from the colossal machine; he doesn't blame them.

Taking a quick scan for any robots, Chuuya finds a 4-pointer on its own, quite a bit away from the 0-pointer. Risking it, he goes after the 4-pointer, swiftly taking it out. About to follow the others away from the robot, he hears a scream from behind him. A small boy with purple balls for hair seems to be trapped under some debris; he is wailing and crying, scratching at the dirt below him. Chuuya sprints over and accesses the situation; the boy's lower body is stuck while being in the line to be stepped on by the 0-pointer. Using his powers, the debris trapping the boy became lighter. It flew off him, letting the grape scramble out and away from his previous altercation.

"Aw, man! I've only taken out 2 1-pointers I'm so screwed!! I'm not gonna meet any hot girls from the hero course!!" The boy screeches tearing out his hair only for it to regenerate. Chuuya now sincerely regrets freeing this twerp and is glad that he probably won't get enough points to pass. He's spent too much time with Kouyou-san and her line of work to not see the red flags from this brat. If it wouldn't get him disqualified, the Ginger would give him a beat down to teach him a lesson, but alas, the mission comes first. So, instead, he just leaves him and runs after others to try to help or destroy robots for the time they have left.

(Un)Surprisingly enough, a lot of people are stupid enough to get themselves in enough peril for Dazai to help them. He's helped at least 3 others and defeated 4 more robots, putting him at about 36 villain points and whatever number of rescue points. When a massive robot shows up, Dazai finds even more of an excuse to help and fight robots without showing he knows about the secret extra points. Unfortunately, when helping others escape, he comes upon the broccoli from earlier and a girl. The girl is trapped under some rubble and metal sheet, struggling to escape and about to be stepped on by the 0-pointer. Shrugging off any lingering emotions from what happened earlier, he runs to the two shouting.

"Broccoli boy! What's your quirk?" He starts to try to lift the rubble off the girl, but there's too much to remove, and there's not a lot of time before this girl becomes a flat pancake. The boy turns to Dazai, surprised for a moment before responding.

"Uhm!! It's kind of like Enhanced Strength!!" He exclaims quickly, starting to try to help remove debris.

"Think you can take down that 0-pointer? There's too much rubble, and it's almost here. I've been fighting them for a while, so I think I know it's weak spot. You see the red eye? Aim there." He points briefly before continuing on to the rubble before them. The green-haired boy listened intently before closing his fist and nodding.

"I'll try my best! Plus Ultra!" He stands away from the two and jumps into the air. The resulting wind nearly knocks Dazai over, but he sticks to his feet. This is the broccoli's quirk, and it almost feels familiar. A pain on his lower back starts to increase slowly as he thinks about it too much. He ignores it to help the girl, finally having enough leeway to drag her out.

"Smashhh!!!!"

Looking up, Dazai sees the robot exploding with just one hit from the green-haired boy. Parts falling off of the robot, Dazai grabs the girl before him and covers her with his body to try and keep her safe. Some rocks and metal plates hit his back, but for the most part, he is ok. Once it seems like the worst of it is over, he looks back up to the boy only to see his legs and arm look broken. That's gotta suck, and to make things worse, he's freefalling with seemingly no way to land without getting more seriously hurt. Looking around for anything to break the boy's fall, Dazai finds nothing besides bushes and rocks. He goes to put his own arms out to try and catch him in a last-ditch attempt.

"Let me! My Quirk is Zero gravity! I can cancel out his fall!" The girl screeches to Dazai, who quickly stands out of the way, not wanting to accidentally cancel out her ability. Just before the boy hits the ground, the brunette slaps him, activating her quirk and causing the boy to float just above the ground. However, this seems to strain her as she struggles to stay standing and drops to her knees, slowly putting her fingers together and mumbling a quiet "Release." Immediately, her hand slaps to her mouth as she groans before throwing up. Quickly, Dazai rushes to her and gently grabs her hair so she doesn't get any throw-up stuck in it. He knows all too well how disgusting it feels to have thrown up on his hair after one too many drinking nights with Chuuya. Once she got it out of her system, she muttered a quiet thanks as Dazai released her hair. Their attention turns to the green boy, who looks significantly worse for wear. The green-haired lad is covered in purple raised skin, limbs skewed and facing the wrong way and blood slowly seeping from cuts. He is dragging his broken body along the floor with his last working limb, desperate to get at least one robot. Unfortunately for him, however, time ran out, and he could not get a robot. The shock of it all caused him to pass out on the spot.

The girl yelps before running to the boy on the ground, hands flapping in the air around him as if wanting to help but not knowing how. Dazai stands behind awkwardly, staring at the boy's broken body. Something about his quirk seems familiar to Osamu, but he has no idea why. Slowly, other contestants gather around the boy, murmuring and gossiping about his quirk, cowards in Dazai's opinion. They all ran away with their tails between their legs while that boy actually did something. No one seems to know what to do before a little old lady enters the scene; she wears a doctor's coat, which instantly alerts Dazai, but he knows she isn't there for him.

"Okay, Good work. Good work, Good work! Here you go! Here are some gummies!" As she passes contestants, she hands out gummies from her pocket, making her way towards the broccoli passed out on the floor. As she goes to hand out gummies to Dazai, he flinches and steps back, earning a concerned glance from the nurse. Begrudgingly, he accepts the gummies so as not to cause any more trouble. He pretends to eat them before dropping them down into the sleeves of his shirt and holding the ends shut so as to not let them fall onto the floor. He puts on a small smile and thanks the old lady before she moves on to the green-haired boy. He watches as her mouth extends to kiss the boy's forehead. Instantly, his bones shift back into place in a green glow. That is an ability suited for a medical role, not whatever abomination Mori has.

Chapter Text

The following week after the entrance exam, was filled with resting and recovering. None of the boys got busted up too severely, but Dazai earned a few bruises when using his body as a shield to protect that brunette girl from falling debris. However, as the results deadline was getting closer and closer to arriving, the mafiosos couldn't help but get anxious. Every passing moment felt like an eternity, and the tension was palpable. Any small thing would set them off, causing arguments and fights. It didn't help that Dazai would, most of the time, BE the one setting Chuuya off, but it's in his nature to annoy the short ginger. On the last possible day for the results to arrive, the two are sitting on the sofa, bickering away as a TV show plays in the background.

"Stupid Mackerel! Asuka is obviously in love with Kaito, not Haru!!" The ginger throws his hand to the TV as if that would prove his point alone. The two are watching a soap opera, originally put on by accident, but it eventually gained the duo's interest.

"Asuka has been ogling Haru all season, and when he surprised her with flowers, she practically swooned on the spot!" Dazai couldn't help but snicker, knowing it would rile up the short ginger. He didn't actually have any idea who Asuka liked or did not like. Love is a perplexing puzzle for Dazai. He's barely experienced it since he was a small child, and his memories are few and far between. So he just picked someone and went with it, though that option resulted in a pillow thrown at his face.

"There is so much more chemistry between Asuka and Kaito! They've practically already been on a date! If Asuka hadn't gotten hit by a car, then they probably would've fuc-" Chuuya's sentence was cut short as a knock rang out on the front door. The two instantly looked at each other, and a silent conversation occurred with their eyes alone. They aren't expecting any company tonight, so they are instantly on alert. Coming to a solution, they nod before silently making their way to the door, ensuring not to step on creaky floorboards. Once there, Chuuya pressed up against the wall next to the door, ready to pounce and attack if needed. Dazai reached for the handle and slowly opened it, peeking out to see an old grandma outside.

"Hiyashi-san! What a pleasant surprise! Each time I look at you, you seem to get younger and younger!~" Dazai smiled, nodding to Chuuya slightly to tell him to relax and lay off. Chuuya sighed, walking to stand behind Dazai, and plastered his smile on for the elderly lady. Hiyashi-san was their elderly next-door neighbor and often talked to the boys if she saw them. With her silvery hair and wrinkled appearance, it is evident that she's lived a long life without even seeing her weathered eyes, which seem to tell a story all by themselves.

"Oh, you sweet talker, you! I was just checking the mail and found these for you two boys. I didn't know you two wanted to be heroes! I wish you luck!" Hiyashi exclaimed, holding out two envelopes to the boys. A UA logo was stamped onto the envelopes in wax and slightly crinkled under her shaky hands. Chuuya took them and bowed thanks while Dazai stayed and chatted with Hiyashi a little more, complimenting her and asking about her day. Gaining favour with unsuspecting neighbors can always help if they ever need assistance with something, such as an alibi.

Once Hiyashi-san left, Dazai joined Chuuya on the sofa, the soap opera they once argued about forgotten. The two look at each other, searching for any doubt and trying to reassure the other. The air around them was thick with anxiety; if they failed to get into the school, Mori would be furious, and no matter how valuable they were to the mafia, they would be punished for such a failure. Dazai especially would prefer not to face Mori should they be rejected by UA.

"Are you ready?" Chuuya hesitantly asks, searching Dazai's face for fear or uncertainty but finding nothing. Dazai's face is devoid of all feelings, and if Chuuya didn't know him, he'd assume he was a lifeless doll, only animating when needed to manipulate others into thinking that Dazai is human. The brunette nods, lowering his gaze to the envelopes in the ginger's hand. Slowly, Chuuya rips open the envelope with his name scrawled in kanji, revealing a disc inside. All the anxious energy the shorter boy felt vanished, only to be replaced by confusion; he picked it up, turning it over and over in his hand. "What? Why'd they send us a dis-" For the second time that night, Chuuya is cut off as a projection appears above the disc, taking the ginger by surprise and causing him to drop the disc onto the coffee table.

"I AM HERE AS A PROJECTION!!" All Might exclaimed, face taking up the majority of the hologram. Seeing All Might immediately causes a scowl to form on Dazai's face. He's never liked the hero; he's too flashy and fake, in his opinion. For some reason, he feels deep hatred just seeing this man before him, but he can't remember why. Just thinking about it makes his head hurt slightly. "I have joined UA High School to become a teacher! So, starting your time here, expect to see me around!" Dazai unconsciously gripped his trousers tightly at that, eyes darkening into the black voids that the Demon prodigy is known for. Chuuya eyes him with concern.

"Chuuya Nakahara! You scored an impressive 83 marks on your written test! However, you shined your best at the physical exam, taking first place with 78 villain marks! But that's not all! See, there was a secret second part to the physical test! Those who proved to be the most heroic by saving people earned rescue points! And you, Nakahara-kun, scored a whopping 32 rescue points!" The projection moved to show a little scoreboard of different names, Chuuya coming in first, someone named Katsuki Bakugo coming second, and so on and so on. As the list went down, Dazai turned out to rest nicely in 3rd. "Congratulations Nakahara-kun! You passed!!" And with that, the projection turned itself off. Silence took over the room, broken only by the TV show they forgot to turn off.

"I won the bet, hahaha!!!! I got first!! That blonde pomeranian can suck on my dust!!" Chuuya all but cackled in delight. Dazai's brain fog instantly disappeared at his dog's delight. He, too, started snickering; Chuuya went into depth about this annoying blonde who took one of the robots he was fighting and then proceeded to act like an egotistical douche about it during the week they were waiting for results. He's glad his dog managed to beat some annoying person, though with them scoring so high, the blonde will likely be in their year. Hopefully, Dazai will have some fun with that. Maybe he can think of some way to get back at this mystery person for Chuuya.

Once they calmed down, Dazai grabbed his envelope and hesitantly opened it. If he saw All Might one more time, he may just throw it out the window, results be damned. Placing the projection next to Chuuyas on the coffee table, he awaits his results. Instead of All Might, luckily, the teacher from the written exam appeared with long black hair.

"Erasurehead speaking. I will be one of the homeroom teachers for the classes coming up. Osamu Dazai, you scored an impressive 100 marks on your written test." Chuuya gawps at the information bestowed, and Dazai immediately smirks like the Cheshire cat and incessantly pokes the ginger's cheek. "You also did well in the physical exam, earning 36 villain points. But being a hero is not all about beating bad guys. There is a secret hidden part of the exam where those who help others are awarded rescue points. You earned 40 rescue points. Congrats. You passed," The monotone voice droned on before the projection switched off. They both got in. They both got in! The two look at each other with smirks on their face. Of course, Dazai has to ruin the mood.

"Told ya the written exam wasn't challenging enough."

And for the second time that night, a pillow met Dazai's face with the force of an angry dog behind it.

Dazai wants to die. These uniforms are so itchy and rub against his bandages with each step. It got so bad that before leaving the apartment, the brunette had to go back to his room to remove the bandages around his midriff. Multiple times on the walk to school, Chuuya has to grab his collar to stop the brunette from jumping into the nearest river or moving car. But eventually (unfortunately), they make it to the gates facing the looming expensive building once more. Dragging Dazai behind him, the ginger walks in, following signs and directions from kind students to a large door labeled as 1A. They stare at it as if it has just dawned on them what the mission is. However, there's no backing out now, so with a deep sigh, Chuuya opens the door, seeing some students he recognizes from the exam. One in particular stands out as he literally stands up upon seeing Chuuya.

"You! You stupid short extra! You stole my first place!" the boy growled, making his way over to the ginger. Enjoying the blonde's anger at him for excelling, Chuuya smirked widely. Dazai stands close behind Chuuya, glaring at Bakugo as if daring him to start something. He is not having a great day and feels very alert due to the number of strangers around the two. He would prefer to not get detention on the first day, but if this buffoon starts something, he'll be glad to finish it.

"Ain't my fault you're not as good as me, pomeranian," Chuuya responds nonchalantly. He hates how he has to tilt his head up to meet the angry lad's gaze, but he makes sure he doesn't show it in his expression; he wants to annoy this idiot as much as possible.

"I'm not a pomeranian, short stack!! The names Katsuki Bakugo!" He yells out, not paying attention to the deadly glare emanating from Dazai as he gets even closer to Chuuya, practically stepping on the ginger's feet.

"Chuuya Nakahara. You'll see my name often when I sit at first, and you in second." Chuuya doesn't seem fazed at all as Bakugo tries to intimidate him. A staring contest ensues, which feels like ages have passed before Bakugo backs off with a 'Tsk!' and sits down at his chosen desk, putting his feet up.

Somehow, in his own way, Chuuya feels as if he befriended the walking bomb. He turned to Dazai and smirked, nudging his thumb over his shoulder to the blonde as he started to get lectured by a blue-haired boy. The glare that was sporting Dazai's face immediately disappeared, and he began to snicker at the ginger's antics. It seems as if the brunette has rubbed off on his partner, sharing his love for annoying people.

Before they could sit down, the door again opened to reveal the green-haired boy. Great, he's in the same class as Dazai... Woop de doo. The boy instantly recognized Dazai and brightened immensely. An ache sets in the brunette's lower back as the boy approaches, and he sighs. Though luckily as time passes, so does the ache.

"It's you! I'm so glad that you managed to pass! Though it's not surprising, you were a big help!" The broccoli makes his way over to the pair at the front of the classroom. Chuuya raises an eyebrow to the lad as he approaches Dazai. "Oh, I should introduce myself. I'm-" The broccoli was cut off as the blue-haired boy noticed his arrival.

"I am from Somei Private Academy. My name is Tenya Iida! I remember you from the physical exam, green-haired boy!" Iida walked over in an almost robotic fashion, his arms chopping the air around him, amusing a smirk from Dazai. "I misjudged you, and I have to apologize for that! And although I don't want to admit it... you are better than me!! What is your name!?" He gazes at the broccoli, expecting a response, which in turn just makes the other stutter.

"I-I'm Izuku Midoriya! Nice to meet you, Iida. A-and thank you?" His greeting seems almost strained as if he didn't want to talk to Iida. Which is understandable, as from their meetings so far, it's mainly just been Iida lecturing Midoriya. "I was just talking to... erm." The green-haired boy looks to Dazai, eyes desperately pondering for a response.

"Osamu Dazai. And this is my dog, Chuuya Nakahara!" The brunette exclaims proudly, doing a dramatic side bow to present the ginger next to him. This elicits an angry wack on the back of Dazai's head from said 'dog'. The brunette yelps before rubbing the sore spot cheekily.

"Stop calling me that, you fish bastard!" Chuuya exclaims, shaking Dazai back and forth. The two other boys just blinked silently, observing the strange friendship before them. Dazai flicks the short boy's forehead, which causes the ginger to flinch and let go momentarily before grabbing and holding the brunette in a sideways headlock.

"Stop that right now! We are UA students, and this is not appropriate behavior! You are acting like children!" Iida exclaims, trying his best to pull Chuuya off of Dazai. It wasn't very effective, as the ginger started to nuggie the brunette. "This is unacceptable!!" The blue-haired boy stopped trying to pull them apart and instead resigned himself to chop his hands in the air. After a little more tusseling, the door opens once more to reveal the brunette girl from the entrance exam.

"Oh, that green curly hair! You're the plain-looking one!" Dazai couldn't help but snicker at that, putting a closed fist up against his mouth. The plain-looking one in question squeaks in embarrassment at the nickname. "You passed, just like President Mic said! Your punch was amazing!! Oh, and you, the one with brown curls, you helped me so much!! I'm glad you passed as well!" She pointed towards Dazai, causing him to stop laughing and nod his head towards her. She continued talking, but the brunette's attention was caught elsewhere. Dazai then started to tilt his head as he saw a massive yellow caterpillar slide behind the girl who just entered. Dazai smirked once he realized the others hadn't yet noticed the strange sight. While the others were still deep in conversation, the caterpillar spoke up.

"Go somewhere else if you want to play at being friends." As Monotone as ever, Erasurehead spooked the kids in the classroom, causing Dazai to laugh out loud before Chuuya nudged him with his elbow. "This is the hero course. It took eight seconds before you were quiet. Time is limited; you need to improve that." The hero slowly got out of his sleeping bag and looked at the students in the room, who were gawping at the teacher. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. It's kind of sudden, but put on your gym clothes and go out to the field." He held out a spare set of gym clothes to show them.

Dazai grimaces as he sees the uniform's short sleeves. His bandages are definitely going to show on his arms. Why do they have to do activities on the first day?! In every show he's seen in schools, the first days are all about introductions and getting relaxed in your new environment. Just trust his luck in getting an unconventional teacher. His ever-observant dog eyes him before following the rest of the class out of the classroom. Today is going to be crap.

Chapter Text

Dazai stands awkwardly in the changing room, not wanting to cause attention but also wanting to run out and all the way back to his shipping container in Yokohama. Everyone else was changing, carefree, and not even noticing the emotional turmoil brewing in the corner. Eventually, Chuuya eyes Dazai's lack of movement, seeming to be as still as a statue, before realizing why. The ginger looks around the room, grabs the brunette's arm, and drags him towards the toilets, shoving him into the stall while the ginger stays by the door, keeping a lookout. Feeling grateful, Dazai changed as quickly as possible. Trust his dumb luck in choosing to forgo his stomach bandages due to the uniform irritating him too much today. Though the unfortunate short sleeves show a little too much bandage for his liking on his lower arms, he's still glad that Chuuya managed to help Dazai through his brain fog. Who knew that Chuuya could use his slug brain? Once changed, Dazai tapped the door three times to signal that he had finished. The ever-obedient dog moved out of the way to allow Dazai to leave, and together, they joined the class outside for whatever Aizawa had planned. As expected, Dazai gains some stares from teacher and students alike, but luckily, no one mentioned anything. He doesn't know how long that will last, but he'll enjoy it in the meantime.

"Is everyone here?" Aizawa questions, looking over the crowd. He silently eyes Chuuya; why is this kid wearing a fancy hat and choker? In fact, wasn't this kid wearing it with his normal uniform as well? A couple of 'Yes sirs and hums spread through the group of kids to his question. "Alright. We will do a Quirk assessment test; prepare yourselves accordingly."

"A Quirk assessment test? What about the entrance ceremony? The orientation?" the brunette girl contested. The class schedule noted that the morning would start with the new classes attending an orientation held by the UA principal. Dazai was somewhat intrigued to attend; he wanted to take a look at whoever the principal is, as its most likely that they were the ones who struck a deal with Mori. Naturally, whoever has business with Mori is either extremely stupid or exceptionally intelligent to make him do their bidding. But oh well, Dazai is sure he'll get another chance to meet this principal.

"If you're going to be a hero, you don't have time for such leisurely events." The blunt response elicits a few gasps from the gathering. "UA's selling point is how unrestricted its school's traditions are. That also extends to its teachers, meaning we can do what we want with our classes." That's interesting; the teachers have free autonomy in their classes? How far does that go? Can a teacher expel a student if they gain a grudge against that student? Or would there be a fair investigation for both parties? This revelation just makes Dazai want to meet this mysterious principal even more. He hasn't been to a regular school before, but from stories, social media, and movies, he's guessing that this autonomy isn't the norm in schools.

"You kids have been doing Physical fitness tests where you weren't allowed to use your quirks since Junior High, right?" Chuuya and Dazai glance at each other; neither has been to school before, so they aren't sure what to expect. The others in the group have ranging emotions; some look excited and eager, while others seem apprehensive. With it being their first day, Dazai wasn't expecting the activity to be too strenuous, but with this mantra of 'Plus Ultra!', maybe he shouldn't rely on his gut feeling. Aizawa kept talking throughout the duo's analysis, but they weren't paying attention. This activity could prove fruitful to see their other classmate's quirks. Their musings were cut short when Aizawa called out for Chuuya.

"Nakahara, you finished at the top of the practical exam." A peeved grunt sounded from Bakugo at the back of the group. Chuuya looked at the blonde momentarily before returning his gaze to Aizawa. He nodded hesitantly, dreading that he would likely have to go first. "In junior high, what was your best result in your softball throw?"

Great. Chuuya never went to Junior high and, as a result, never tested precisely how far he could throw. He knows he can throw a far distance from when he and Dazai were doing that one mission a couple months ago. They had to go on enemy turf to retrieve some information that got stolen; Mori had made it clear that getting the information was the most critical part of the mission, and killing the enemies was only needed if absolutely necessary. After collecting the information in a briefcase, the boys were hightailing it out of that place with enemy grunts hot on their backsides. They were running on separate parallel roofs, trying to spot the agreed-upon extraction point. Once he saw it, Chuuya decided to be bait as it would be easier for him to escape, so he called out to Dazai using a code they had made up. 'Playdate scheduled at 8 o'clock! Give the dog a bone and fish the prize out of the sea!" Dazai glanced at Chuuya and nodded. Before starting the mission, they brought two briefcases, one to hold the real information and the other to be a decoy. At that time, Dazai was holding the decoy, and Chuuya held the real information. With the code he had just announced, the two threw both suitcases across the gap, easily swapping them. Once captured, Dazai skillfully jumped off the roof, using some trash bags in the alleyway below to break his fall. Chuuya did the same but in a different direction, using his powers instead to float down. The group of grunts following them split into two, a larger amount of people going after Chuuya due to his show of ability. Luckily, that mission had been a success, with barely any injuries other than a few bullet scrapes against the skin.

If he had to estimate how far those buildings were, he'd say... 50 or 55 meters. And that throw was sideways while moving, so it would be better if he were to stand still and throw forward. He could throw maybe 65 meters? A nudge to his side told him that he was taking too long to answer; Dazai stared at him.

"Oh, uhm... 68 meters, I think?" He answers quickly as a few people gaze at him questioningly. Even Aizawa raises an eyebrow towards Chuuya due to how long it took him to answer. Another annoyed grunt sounds out behind him, coming from Bakugo once again. What is it with that guy? Aizawa sighs before gesturing for Chuuya to follow.

"Then try again, but use your Quirk this time." He walks over to a circular marking on the ground and points at it for the ginger to stand in. He then hands Chuuya a weird-looking ball before walking away to join the group of kids again. "You can do whatever you want as long as you stay in the circle and don't cause harm to anyone. Hurry up, and give it all you got."

"I can do whatever I want, huh?" he asks, throwing the ball up and down slightly to test its weight. Once he got a confirming nod from the teacher, he smirked, taking away the ball's weight; he heard a small gasp from the group of kids as it stayed in the air after he let go of it. The ginger lets it float mid-air before stepping back and swinging his leg around, kicking the ball out with force. Due to the lack of weight, the ball keeps floating up with no way of returning. A beep sounds from a device Aizawa is holding, and he brings it up to show an infinity symbol.

"Infinity?!" A blonde kid with a black electric streak exclaims, looking at Chuuya. Most of the kids in the group share the same shocked but excited look, except for Dazai. When Chuuya looks at the brunette, he sees an expression he's never seen on the fish's face. Instead of the usual blank and dead look that graces the brunette's eyes, it is a warm, almost happy expression staring back at Chuuya. He can even see the red flecks of the brunette's iris shimmering in the natural light. A pink dusting coats Chuuya's cheek briefly before he looks away. What was that all about. He coughs slightly before a brunette girl takes his attention.

"Woah, your Quirk is kind of similar to mine, huh? I can make anything I touch have zero gravity! That's so cool!" she exclaims happily. She isn't the only one talking. A bunch of kids were talking over each other, some asking about the activity, others getting excited about taking part.

"'It looks fun,' huh?" Aizawa asks menacingly, quoting one of the students. The mood instantly darkens as the kids turn their attention to the teacher. "You have three years to become a hero... Will you have a carefree attitude like that the whole time?... Alright. Whoever comes in last place after the 8 tests will be judged to have no potential and expelled."

...

"Huh?!" Panic sets in the class. Someone is going to be expelled if they don't do well in the tests? That's so harsh! Chuuya looks to Dazai in concern; the brunette's ability won't help much at all if the rest of the tests are anything like the first. Dazai, however, seems to be as calm as ever, not even reacting to the new information.

The brunette knows this is a bluff to get the kids to try their best in the tests. If they were to actually expel kids based on these tests, it would be hypocritical of Aizawa, of all teachers, to say that those who don't have flashy, powerful quirks have no potential. It would be funny to throw that fact back at the raven-haired teacher's face and actively try to do his worst just to spite him. However, just by spiting him, he might actually get Dazai expelled. Oh well... He might have to come up with a plan to show his effort.

"We're free to do what we want concerning the circumstances of our students! Welcome to UA's hero course!" And with that, the tests began.

The first test was a 50-meter race. Two contestants race against each other to make it to the other end with a speed camera resting at the end to calculate how fast each of them get there. This time, the wording was to get to the end of the line by any means necessary, just stay between the lines. The first two were Tenya Iida, the boy they had met in the classroom before, and a green-haired girl with some sort of mutant frog quirk. Of course, due to the engines in the blue-haired boy's legs, he reached the end in 3.04 seconds, with the green-haired girl hopping not that far behind. Chuuya would be okay in this situation; his ability will help just fine. Dazai, however, will have to be sneaky about it. Looking around, Dazai sees that there is not much to help him. He could run it himself, but that wouldn't be him 'doing his best'. Walking over to Iida, a small idea comes to mind.

"Hey, Iida~. I have a plan. Do you think you can help me out?" He smirks, looking at the slightly taller boy. The blue-haired boy turns to him, his question evident in his expression.

"Why would you need my help? This is to test your Quirk! Plus, I don't think I am allowed to help!" Jutting his hand out in a robotic manner, Iida responds to Dazai. The walking engine looked like he was about to leave, thinking that was the end of the conversation, but the brunette simply jumped in front of his pathing, making sure not to accidentally touch the other boy.

"Aizawa sensei said to do it by any means possible. Would you deny me a way to prove myself, Iida-kun?~" Dazai mentions tone seeping in sickly sweet tones. This provokes Iida; looking at him, Dazai can tell the blue-haired boy wants to say no, but his heroic nature prevents him. Knowing that with a little push, the brunette will have him where he wants him. "My Quirk isn't all that helpful in these situations, so all I have is my intelligence! Please help me, Iida! I don't want to be expelled!!" To add to the theactrics, the brunette trains his face to look pleading and desperate, something that a hero wannabe couldn't say no to.

"Fine... I will help you, Dazai! Let me know of this plan you have."

Chuuya was next, paired with a boy with a muscular tail protruding from his backside. He couldn't help but stare at the tail for a moment; the heteromorph appendage flicked slightly, seemingly having a mind of its own. It was so interesting to watch, but Chuuya focused on the task at hand, knowing it was rude to stare. Once given the go-ahead, Chuuya instantly made his body lighter and jumped up into the air. The other contestant uses his tail to push up into the air. They're here to show what they can do, so Chuuya's guessing that sabotaging other students to win probably won't be approved. Especially since this is a heroics course. Once gaining enough height, Chuuya increased his weight drastically, so he fell quickly. Once reaching the ground, the ginger uses his momentum to fling himself forward, making himself weightless again. Chuuya could get used to soaring through the air.

Back at Yokohama, he could only use his abilities on missions or in the mafia. Any type of public ability use would start people staring at you and maybe even get the cops called on you, which isn't much of a problem for the mafioso, but dang right annoying. However, that didn't stop him from sometimes jumping across buildings at night.

Soon enough, Chuuya makes it to the finish line with 5.34 seconds, the tail dude coming only a second after the ginger. Panting, Chuuya smiled, feeling great after this victory. He looked over to see where Dazai was and saw him talking to that Iida kid and not paying attention to the race. The ginger's smile dimmed slightly before Kaminari and Kirishima approached him, patting and praising him. Even Bakugo nodded approvingly towards him.

When Dazai's name was called out, he walked to the designated area and looked at his opponent, a blonde kid with a belt that had some sort of glass piece built into it around the Navel area. Something about this kid just evokes a feeling of wrongness deep within the brunette. Something isn't right about him, but the mafioso can't focus on that right now; he'll shelve it for later thought. During the waiting time, he looked at the group of kids.

"Iida, come here!" He shouts, eliciting some surprise from those around him. Hesitantly, and looking at Aizawa for any refusal, Iida made his way over to Dazai and stood in front of him. Slowly, the two took off their PE jackets and tied them together. Stood in the T-shirts they wore under their PE jackets, Dazai secured himself in the circle made out of jackets, with Tenya taking the forefront. It looked like a makeshift horse-ridden cart, where Tenya was the horse, and Dazai was the cart. "Remember to try your best not to accidentally touch me," Dazai instructed.

Once ready, everyone turns to Aizawa, waiting for his judgment. Is this cheating? Why is Iida helping Dazai? Will this get both of them disqualified? Aizawa stared in his usual bored expression before giving the signal to run. Iida sets off in a sprint, dragging Dazai along behind him. Due to the immense speed, Dazai actually wonders if this may break some of his bones. Fortunately, it did not, and Iida crossed the finish line at about 3.15 seconds. Silence takes over the area as the two slow down; no one cheers or comes over to pat his back.

"Uhm... Aizawa-sensei... Isn't that like cheating?" A pink girl with horns asks, looking towards the raven-haired man. Said the man, just smirking slightly and shrugged, giving no more comment towards it.

The rest of the tests go on like this: Dazai expertly finds ways to improve his score. For the grip strength test, he placed the device on the floor and used his weight to press the sensor down against the floor, gaining about 50 points. He had to do the standing long jump test himself, as no one could boost him enough without actively touching him, and no equipment was around to help. He once again asked for Iida's help for the repeated side steps test as he put the watch meant to count the number of side steps on Iida's wrist rather than his own. Returning to the ball throw, Dazai looks amongst the crowd as he chucks the ball up and down. He could ask the brunette, who has a zero gravity quirk, but he's unsure if she would help him willingly. So, turning to his favorite Ginger, Dazai called out.

"Chuuyaaaaa, come help me!~" He whines out, holding the ball up in the air. Almost silent curses could be heard as the ginger made his way over to the brunette. "I'll wash all the dishes tonight if you do it!" This catches the shorter boy's attention, taking the ball from Dazai and chucking it after using his ability to make it weightless. "Good doggy!" Dazai exclaims before being attacked by Chuuya, shaking him.

"I'm not a damn dog, you fishy bastard!!" Chuuya rages, causing Dazai to just laugh even harder. A few giggles ring out through the crowd at the display; however, Aizawa grunts disapprovingly due to the wasted time.

As expected, Dazai's attention was stolen by that green-haired kid with such a strange quirk. It was Midoriya's turn for the ball throw, and he'd been staring at it, obviously coming up with a plan. The blonde kid, who went way too close to Chuuya for Dazai's liking, seemed to be getting increasingly agitated.

"Midoriya hasn't used his Quirk once... or used alternate ways of getting a high score... so it's not looking good for him. At this point, he may end up last and be expelled ..." Iida sighed, crossing his arms. Dazai stood beside him and looked towards the mechanical boy. What he said also attracted the attention of the always-sour Bakugo.

"Huh? Of course, he's going to be expelled; Deku is just a Quirkless nobody and doesn't deserve to be in UA." Bakugo exclaimed, angrily pointing towards Midoriya. They seem to have a complicated relationship, considering how angry Bakugo gets just being in Midoriya's presence-... Wait. Did he just say Midoriya is Quirkless? Dazai's eyes widen at the thought.

"Quirkless?! Are you not aware of what he did in the entrance exam?" Iida questions, and considering that same exact question was swimming in Dazai's lobe, he's glad the blue-haired boy spoke it into existence. Osamu knows for a fact that the broccoli has a quirk. He watched that kid jump into the air and destroy that robot with just one punch! No normal kid can do that. But something is definitely strange about this situation. Anyone could tell that Bakugo and Midoriya have some sort of history (most likely coming from the same school), so Bakugo being confused about the broccoli having a Quirk to begin with is a crucial detail.

Said broccoli starts rearing up to throw the ball, instantly taking the brunette's attention. Yep, the moss for hair definitely has a Quirk. Dazai can see lines of light dance on Midoriya's skin, shimmering with power as he prepares to complete the test. However, as the ball leaves Midoriya's hand, there is no gust of wind or ball flying over the horizon. Instead, the ball falls and bounces against the floor before stopping at an average distance. Huh? Confusion spreads amongst the crowd at the underwhelming display, considering the light show that danced across his skin just a moment ago. Even the broccoli was confused by this as he mumbled to himself and stared at his hand in shock as if it had a mind of its own.

"I erased your Quirk," the now overly animated teacher explains, as his hair and neck accessory start to float around him. I watched your performance during the entrance exam. Are you going to incapacitate yourself and cause more problems?"

"You... erased my Quirk?" Midoriya asks hesitantly. The broccoli seemed confused as to why this was happening, but the raven-haired teacher was likely about to explain his reasoning. If Dazai were to guess, it's probably the 'No harm to anyone' rule. Midoriya himself counts as anyone, and due to his Quirk, it's likely that if the boy doesn't control it better, he will end up breaking his arm again. They still have a couple more tests to do, so if the broccoli breaks his arm now, he probably won't be able to do the rest. That could become a big problem in a disaster situation; he would do one powerful action and then just become injured, adding to the workload of the rescue heroes. And just because his one trick is undoubtedly powerful, it doesn't mean it will work on every villain he comes across, and he may even miss.

From where the kids stood, they couldn't hear the conversation going on between the teacher and the boy, who just stuttered before being captured by the gray fabric and pulled close to Aizawa. The raven-haired man seems to be lecturing the boy, a damning tension spreading between the two. Silence seeps through the scene before the gray fabric loosens and lets go of the broccoli. Turning off his power, his hair returns to normal, and the menacing nature he excluded, relaxed. The raven-haired man turns and walks towards the group of kids, leaving the green-haired lad hanging his head low in despair.

"It looks like he received some advice," Iida tried to supply, filling the awkward silence slightly. Dazai nodded somewhat, looking at the boy standing alone in the field. However, it seemed more like a hurtful lecture than heartfelt advice due to Midoriya's expression.

"Probably just telling him he's expelled," Bakugo dismissed. He appeared to be set on the idea that Midoriya doesn't belong here. They waited around a little longer before the broccoli started to move again. He rears back once more, charging up his throwing hand before following through. This time, however, the ball launches up into the air, the wind going crazy when being displaced by this small ball. Dazai stumbles slightly, a slight pain spreading from his lower back, catching him by surprise. He looks at the offending area, eliciting a concerned look from Chuuya, who can tell when his partner is in pain. The ginger moves closer to the brunette, offering to allow him to lean against the shorter boy, which he does without protest.

One time is a random occurrence, twice is a coincidence, but three times? Three times is a pattern. This is the third time that Dazai has had some sort of pain when concerning this green-haired kid. Yeah, the pain is lessening each time it happens, but this is still a concerning trait. Usually, Dazai would immediately get to the bottom of this, the mission be damned, but... Something deep within Dazai is telling him, no begging him to not look into it! And that guttural feeling actually scares Dazai. The brunette smiles as his skin buzzes with a feeling he hasn't felt for a while; this is going to be interesting!

A few more tests passed, assessing the students' different capabilities, but in the end, they all gathered around for the results. Chuuya and Dazai sit happily at 3rd and 6th, respectively. However, one of the lowest-ranked kids speaks out, anxious about being expelled.

"Aizawa-sensei! Why is Dazai so high up in the ranks? Didn't he cheat?!" A squeak sounds from some floating clothes at the front. The brunette eyes the void of a person and tilts his head slightly. Dazai prides himself on his ability to read people's intentions and if they're an opposing threat. But to do that, he needs information such as body language, which is something he quite literally cannot read about this person due to the lack of a visible body.

"I said do the test by any means possible, without harming yourself or others. Dazai completed that task. His Quirk is less compatible with physical tests than someone like Nakahara or Iida. So, using the resources around him, he completed the tests the best he could." Aizawa looked to the crowd with a barely interested expression. Dazai smiled slightly, appreciating his intellect being presented to the crowd surrounding him. A few hums and murmurs spread through the group, nodding to the logic. "Though I'd prefer him to have done the tests himself, he was resourceful."

"By the way, I was lying about expulsion."

....

Stunned silence washes over the students.

"It was a rational lie to draw out the upper limits of your Quirk."

....

"WHAT?!" the students screamed, their emotions a mix of shock and relief. Dazai couldn't help but laugh at their reactions; even Chuuya was screeching. Noticing Dazai's giggle, he grabbed the brunette's shoulders and started shaking him. "You knew?! You fishy bastard knew and didn't tell me!!" This only caused the brunette to cackle more, gaining attention from the others as Chuuya continued his rant.

"Of course, that was a lie... I thought everyone knew that?" A raven-haired girl mentioned, looking at the sight before her. Dazai, amidst his shaking and cackling, managed to shout out an 'I knew!' which only caused the shaking and shouting from his ginger counterpart to worsen.

"With that, we're done here. There are handouts with the curriculum in the classroom. So when you get back, look over them." He mumbled out before walking over to Midoriya, and he handed him some sort of slip before walking back towards the main building. Once out of sight of the teacher, Chuuya pushes Dazai over and starts roughhousing, pressing his face into the dirt.

"Yield!!" "NEVER!!" "Yield, you fishy bastard!!" "I'll never yield to a slug!!" "YIELD!!!" "HELP A DOG HAS ESCAPED FROM A PETTING ZOO!! IT'S SO SMALL AND GINGER." The sight of them wriggling around on the floor elicits groans from some, laughs from others, and lectures from one Iida Tenya, trying to pull them apart.

Chapter Text

Going back to classes the next day brought whiplash to the two mafiosos. Their first day had been full of physical assessments, with barely any time in the classroom. But today feels like the type of school you'd see in movies and stories. They started off with English class with the loud, cockatiel-looking teacher from the entrance exams. Besides his loud voice, Dazai's starting to really like this dude. His energy is way overboard for a boring English class, which makes it funny in a way. Though the brunette isn't overly fluent in English, he does at least know how to hold a conversation. Chuuya, however, is horrible at English, so much so that it almost makes Dazai giggle. That isn't to say that Chuuya is a lost cause when learning new languages; he is nearly fluent in French, for example. Throughout the class, it's mainly Dazai and that intelligent, raven-haired girl who answers questions (the one who figured out Aizawa's bluff alongside Dazai). At the end of class, everyone heads out. Still, before Dazai can escape from having to be social, Midoriya catches up to him.

"Hey Dazai! Want to eat lunch with us?" He beams, with the gravity girl and Iida standing beside him. Dazai really would like to jump off the nearest bridge, but he should probably gain his classmates' trust to further the mission. He looks to Chuuya, who stands not that far behind him.

"Sure! Can Chibi come as well?" Dazai asks innocently before getting smacked on the head for the nickname. The trio looks to the duo before nodding and heading to the cafeteria. Walking in, the room was filled with all kinds of students, with barely any seats free to be seen. Dazai offers to find seats while the group gets their food. Chuuya eyes the brunette momentarily before whispering in his ear, asking about food. The taller of the duo mumbles something back that the rest of the group couldn't hear before splitting off to find some seating.

"You two are close friends, huh, Chibi?" the remaining brunette asks the ginger once they get in line. The nickname catches Chuuya off guard, causing his reaction to delay slightly.

"HUH?! My name's not Chibi. Don't call me that!" Chuuya shouts out once his brain catches up. The trio stares at the ginger like he grew a new head due to his outburst.

"Oh? But that's what Dazai called you... Is he making fun of you like Bakugo is with Midoriya?" She asked hesitantly, concern coating her voice. How many people are bullying their own classmates?!

"No!... I mean, yes? He's making fun of my height... as if he's any taller. But it's fine. It's our banter. Also, my name is Nakahara Chuuya, but call me Chuuya," the ginger replies. He doesn't want them to think that the nickname affects him or that Dazai is bullying him; it's just Dazai being annoying. He isn't going to let anyone else call him something like that, though. Not because Dazai's unique, but because they haven't earned the right to!

"Ah, ok Chuuya-kun! I'm Uraraka Ochaco!" She greets him excitedly. Before they could converse more, they reached the front of the lunch line and collected their desired food. Turning around to the mass number of seats, they saw a sea of colourful heads. Of course, they didn't think they could ever find Dazai among this mass of people, so Dazai had to prove them wrong.

"Chibi, I know you're small, but use your advanced doggy ears to find my location!!" Shouts the brunette as he stands on a chair, waving his hands out above his head and drawing attention from more than his intended audience. Immediately, Chuuya gave an annoyed grunt before beelining it to the loud idiot, the others following suit. Once at the free table, they sat down and relaxed; Chuuya took an extra rice bowl off his tray and handed it to the brunette beside him. Tucking into the food, a couple of reactions occurred. Chuuya and Izuku gave surprised and overall amazed reactions to their tastebuds bursting in delight. Uraraka was much more animated, giving an excited squeal before eating more furiously. Iida hummed in agreeance, smiling with each bite. And Dazai remained neutral, slowly eating his rice bowl without the shared excitement.

"Woah, this food is great!! I heard of how good Lunch Rush's food was, but I didn't know it'd be that good!" Midoriya exclaimed, pulling out a notebook from his bag and writing in it.

"Ooh! What's that, Midoriya-kun?" Uraraka asks, looking towards the notebook. It's full of notes and drawings, though she can't read it properly from her position.

"O-Oh, it's nothing!! I just sometimes make notes about heroes... It's a stupid thing, haha!" Midoriya immediately turns beetroot red, hiding his face in his hair as he turns his head down.

"That's not stupid, Midoriya! Looking at these notes, your analysis technique is very structured and impressive!" Iida reassures him, looking down at the notebook on the table next to his tray. Izuku looks up slightly towards the others, hesitant.

"Yeah, that doesn't sound stupid. It sounds smart as hell. Nerdy, maybe, but there's nothing wrong with that," Chuuya huffs out, nodding along with Dazai. "I mean, if anyone's the nerd here, it's this dumbass. He got 100 on the written exam!" He leans his body towards Dazai, knocking him slightly.

"What?! You got full marks?! That test was super hard! You've gotta be a genius!" Uraraka screeches, forgetting about her food momentarily and putting all her attention on the fish beside her. Iida and Midoriya shared her expression, staring at Dazai like he was an alien. Midoriya's expression then turned to a thoughtful one as he brought his hand to his chin.

"Oh! Is that your Quirk, Dazai? Enhanced intelligence? Aizawa-sensei mentioned that your Quirk wasn't suited to help during the physical nature of the quirk assessment test." Midoriya surmises, remembering yesterday when Dazai got others with better-suited quirks to help him.

"Indeed! My Quirk is Super Deduction! If I place my fingers against my temple like so, I can increase my mental capacity and solve any problem set before me! It's so useful that I'm often scouted out by the HSPC for detective cases-" Dazai is interrupted by a slap against the back of his head from the ginger beside him. Said ginger, sighing and shaking his head in annoyance. Midoriya excitedly wrote in his notebook about Dazai's explanation before looking confused at the sudden stop of information.

"He's messing with you. That's not his Quirk. Annoyingly, the fishy bastard is just naturally clever." Chuuya grunts, crossing his arms and staring the brunette down, pressuring him to tell the truth.

"Fineeeee... My Quirk is a nullifier. I can nullify any Quirk that comes into contact with me." Dazai whines out under Chuuya's glare, sinking into his seat.

"Like how Aizawa-sensei can erase someone's Quirk when looking at them? Is it always active? What does it do to someone with a heteromorphic Quirk? Are you related to Aizawa?" Midoriya fires out questions like a machine gun, clearly excited to learn more about Quirks. Dazai is momentarily stunned at the rapid-fire quiz coming from the green-haired boy.

"I believe it is similar. Yes, it's always active. I don't know? I've never tested it, and No, I don't think I'm related to Aizawa. I can give a little show... Uhm... Chibi, if you could?" Dazai looked to Chuuya, asking him to activate his ability. The ginger rolls his eyes in response before making his food tray float up. Dazai simply poked the food tray, which emitted a blue glow, causing the tray to drop down to the table, with the plates clinking slightly as it landed.

Midoriya gasps happily before writing in the book ferociously; the brunette tries to peek at what is being written, though due to being on the other side of the table, it's hard to see exactly. He doesn't like being analyzed; it makes him feel like a little kid again when he was still with... What was he thinking about? He blinks dumbly before looking at Midoriya's notebook. Oh yeah, that's happening.

"Dazai, may I ask for the name of your Quirk? I like to give titles to each of the pages!" The Broccoli asks happily, eager to write more about the brunette's Quirk. Before Dazai could reply, however, the bell rang, indicating to start heading back to class. Chuuya cursed slightly before shoveling the rest of his food into his mouth, manners be damned. Dazai still had a quarter of rice left in his bowl, so he sighed and handed it to Chuuya to inhale.

"I AM COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!!"

A sentence that instantly soured Dazai's mood. He grumbled and crossed his arms on his desk before flopping his head against them. This sorry excuse for a hero always makes Dazai angry for some reason. Probably because he represents what's wrong with society. People have become so reliant on this annoying blonde that they barely know how to help themselves. And the amount of merch and publicity this guy gets is an eyesore; you can't go anywhere in Japan without seeing this old fart's face plastered everywhere. (Except for blessed Yokohama, of course; luckily, that place is entirely free of this guy's influence.) Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like many share the brunette's opinion. Excited gasps and murmurs run through the class as he performs a stupid walk to the center of the class. Chuuya, his excellent ginger, doesn't seem all that bothered about the hero's entrance as if the man were just some random guy off the street.

"I teach Hero Basic Training. It is a subject where you train in different ways to learn the basics of being a hero! Let's get right into it! This is what we'll do today-!" The annoyance once again did a stupid pose before bringing out his hand, holding a card with the word 'BATTLE' scrawled on it. "Combat training!! And to go with that are these! Costumes made based on your Quirk registrations and requests you sent in before school started!" Slowly, slots along the side wall start to slide out, revealing rows and rows of cases with bright green numbers pasted on the side of them. Excited shouts spread through the class. "After you change, gather in Ground Beta!" And finally, the big oaf finished talking. With new energy, the class runs over to the briefcases, trying to find their own.

Walking to Ground Beta with the rest of the class burns Chuuya's poor eyes. There are so many colors and shiny outfits that reflect the sun that it gives the ginger whiplash. Chuuya comes from the port mafia, where the dress code is black with a little bit of red and more dark colours (except for Kouyou-san, but she gets a pass). In fact, Dazai and Chuuya stand out due to the lack of colors in their outfits. Chuuya himself is wearing something similar to what he'd wear in the mafia. He wears a short black cropped jacket covering a white shirt, grey buttoned vest, dark grey skinny jeans, and Jet black dress shoes. Wearing his signature hat and choker, his hat is adorned with a puffy accessory and ribbon, like the one Kouyou wears in her hair. Around his waist is a utility belt with pockets full of little sharp objects that can be used as ammunition. There are also some bandages buried at the bottom of the right pocket.

Dazai is wearing a baggy dark grey collared shirt with a black tie, dark baggy trousers, and big steel-toed boots. Around his waist is a brown utility belt connected to a waist bag that wraps a little lower on his leg. Inside are various tools and items he may need, such as pick-locking supplies, bandages, ammo, etc. Covering his shoulders is a replica of Mori's coat (If he brought the real one with him and it got damaged, the doctor would become so whiney and annoying, so Dazai would rather avoid a threatening sob-filled phone call); inside the coat is lined with secret pockets that currently contain his phone and one of the support weapons he requested. Since he couldn't have a real gun, he instead asked for a tazer, which would most likely be helpful against the majority of the class, other than Kaminari, of course. Once he's more settled into UA and they trust him more, the brunette plans to ask for more valuable weapons.

One thing the two mafiosos have in common is a pin resting on their person. Dazai wears a dog pin on the collar of his baggy shirt, whereas Chuuya wears a fish pin on the lapel of his jacket. Both pins are inset with trackers that tell each other where the other is, in case they get split up suddenly. They had to bring those in personally so that UA doesn't know about the trackers, and the pins just make them seem like personal accessories.

Conversations of compliments and excited exclamations spread through the crowd as they moved toward the teacher, who stood alone. The blonde annoyance stays silent for a moment, waiting for the kids to finish their conversations. During that, Dazai and Chuuya scan those around him, and the class generally has bland or expected costumes for a Hero course. And a trend that Dazai is starting to really hate, he notices Midoriya's costume and the apparent hommage to All Mights signature hair strands; though green and bunny-like... He even has a face mask that the brunette assumes is supposed to represent the old guy's smile. With how bright the Broccoli is, couldn't he have thought of an original outfit? Sure, it's green and has a different style to the original source, but it doesn't take much to see the similarities. Looking at All Might's expression, it seems he has also noticed them.

"Now it's time for combat training!" The blonde teacher exclaims, gaining the student's attention. However, before he could even try to continue, the resident nerd raised his hand.

"Sir!" Iida shouts from his costume. In Dazai's opinion, he looks like some sort of space soldier that you'd see in an old video 8-bit game; it's still cool, though. "This is a battle center from the entrance exam, so will we conduct urban battles again?"

"No, we're going to move ahead two steps!" He exclaimed, holding up two fingers. Moving ahead two steps? This is literally their first class doing Hero basic training. Why would they instantly go ahead two steps and not start with the basics?! Who gave this idiot a teaching license!?

"Most of the time, fighting villains takes place outside, but if you look at the total numbers, atrocious villains appear indoors at a higher rate." That results in a few gasps from the students, which confuses the Mafiosos. Many of their missions take place indoors, from jewelry dealings to assassinations and all sorts. Do they think that they just stay outside and wait for their target to appear in the middle of the street with witnesses around?

"Think about it! Backroom deals!" Done that "Home invasions!" A Classic Tuesday "Secret Underground lairs..." Well, they have safe-houses, so the brunette guesses those count. "Truly intelligent villains stay hidden in the shadows!" Dazai is currently standing outside with a bunch of hero wannabes and Chuuya, but technically, he's hiding behind Iida, so he is lurking in some sort of shadow. "For this training exercise, you'll be split into teams of good guys and bad guys and fight two-on-two indoor battles!"

"Isn't this a little advanced?" A green-haired girl questions, and at least someone agrees with Dazai! If he remembers correctly, that girl's name is... Asui Tsuyu and she has some sort of frog mutation. He hasn't seen much of her Quirk at work, but he would really like to see what No Longer Human does to a heteromorph. Do they lose all their mutant traits? Maybe he can see what happens if they get paired up together.

"The best training is what you get on the battlefield! But remember, you can't just punch a robot this time. You're dealing with actual people now." He explains. Which again... Who let him be a teacher? Battlefield experience is excellent, but you still need to learn the basics. Mori didn't let Dazai go on any mission before he could adequately aim and shoot at a person's vital organs.

"Sir, will you be the one deciding who wins?" A raven-haired girl asks. Yaoyorozu Momo got the top score in yesterday's Quirk assessment test; she can create items from her body, though Dazai is pretty sure that if he came into contact with them, they would disappear. Another Quirk he can test out, it seems. Questions from all the students seem to pour after hers, some reasonable, some stupid, like that one sparkly kid asking if his cape looks stylish in French. That question does pique Chuuya's interest, though it is not the actual question but the fact that it contains French. Not many people know or even try to speak French, as most schools focus more on English as the language they teach. As the questions kept pouring in, All Might's expression stiffened as it was clear he wasn't done talking.

After an obviously scripted explanation of the exercise, the teams were chosen from the lots. And after that, who will each team be up against, aswell as who will be the hero and villain of said teams.

Chapter Text

Walking into the building, the two temporary partners nodded to each other, already knowing the plan to win. Dazai silently parts from Midoriya, letting him go on alone while staying in the shadows. Bakugo must think that Dazai has split off from Midoriya for this to work, and with how bull-headed the blonde is, it's practically guaranteed. So the brunette takes his place, hidden a few paces away from Midoriya. Close enough to intervene if the plan goes awry but far enough to be safe from the walking bomb. After a moment of waiting, the two start to feel antsy; maybe Iida is persuasive enough to change Bakugo's mind?

Then, out of nowhere, a massive explosion rings out near Midoriya's area, sending vibrations along the building's structure. It seems like Iida couldn't get through to Bakugo, which was expected. The brunette peeks around the wall he is hiding behind; Midoriya appears to have dodged the attack, only partially losing his mask from the blast.

"What's the matter, Deku? Are you afraid to stand up and fight me?" the blonde jeered, looking down at the Broccoli like disgusting gum on the ground. He wafted away the smoke that poured out from the hole in the wall he had just made.

"I knew you'd come at me first... And figured you'd try to catch me by surprise." Izuku slowly stood up, never breaking eye contact with the one before him. Dazai has to hand it to Midoriya; he's got guts. Ordinary, everyday people would be shaking in their boots after an experience like that. Well, he is in the hero course, so he isn't an average person.

A tsk sounded out from the walking bomb before he started running at the other boy. "I won't hurt you so bad that they'll have to stop the fight... Just close enough!!" The blonde admits, charging his right arm up to punch Midoriya. The mafioso knows that Bakugo technically has to 'act the part' of a villain, but he'd expect other kids would be more... hesitant about it, right? Though Dazai can't talk, he's done much worse.

Just as Katsuki extends his arm forward to attack his opponent, Izuku grabs the offending arm, surprising the spiky-haired boy. In one swift move, the Broccoli pivots his body around, using it as leverage to knock Bakugo's balance off-kilter as he pulls his arm forward, bringing Bakugo to flip onto the ground. Temporarily winding Katsuki in the process, it seems even the shock of it causes the blonde to lay on the ground for a moment too long.

Unfortunately, instead of using this moment of stunned silence from Bakugo to attack him further, Midoriya starts to rant a little about their relationship. Mentioning how the green-haired boy knew all his moves from watching Bakugo over the years and how he looked up to heroes and Katsuki alike. Even mentioning a notebook that the blonde supposedly burned. This does help Dazai figure out their relationship a bit more however, he knew that they didn't just 'come from the same school' like Midoriya simply mentioned. They have known each other for years, enough for Midoriya to have analyzed and predicted his exact fighting patterns and all.

"Deku..." A guttural noise emanates from Bakugo, drawing Dazai's attention away from his musing. Bakugo is faced away from Dazai, so he luckily won't see the signal that the brunette gives Midoriya to start the plan. The Broccoli notices and gets into a fighting stance to enact the plan as Bakugo shouts at his teammate on their radio. He takes a few steps away from Bakugo to gain distance from him, which, as predicted, causes the blonde to start to charge the other. Mini explosions pop in his hands as he tries to grab the moss-haired boy.

However, just before he could reach him, Izuku ducked to the floor, rolling in a ball shape before getting up. Unfortunately, before he could get out of range, Katsuki managed to get a hit on the boy with a stray explosion along his back. Midoriya yelps out in pain but carries on running away down the corridor.

"COWARD!! Get back here and fight me, damn nerd!!" The blonde rages, running after his ex-friend, more blasts being released from his hands as he tries to gain ground on the Broccoli. What the blonde doesn't realize is that Midoriya isn't running away for no reason; in fact, he isn't running away. Midoriya is running to where Dazai is currently hiding. As they get closer, Dazai presses himself against the wall, ensuring none of his person can be seen from Katsuki's point of view.

Another blast hits Izuku's back, causing him to stumble forward and slow down; he just needs to go a little further! And there!! The two pass the wall where the brunette awaits, starting Dazai's plan. Bakugo grunts in surprise as a weight hits his back, causing him to slow down and stop.

"Hi there, Kacchan~!" Dazai sings out as he makes himself comfortable on the blonde's back. The brunette is currently hanging off of the other like a Koala and is doing his best to piss the other off. Dazai rests his head on Bakugo's shoulder and almost nuzzles him a little, smirking as he sees the others expression get angrier and angrier.

"The fuck did you just call me, you bandaged freak!?" He rages as he grabs Dazai's arm. His hand stills for a moment as if expecting something to happen; instead of his blasts, a blue light filled with Kanji emanates from his palm. Bakugo's eyes widened briefly before using the same trick Izuku had done earlier, flipping Dazai over onto the ground. Though as the brunette's back hits the floor, he hangs off Katsuki by the blonde's arm like a parasite. Katsuki tries to pry him off, but his attention is diverted when a green flash invades his vision. Too late to react, Katsuki is sucker punched in the face, causing a bit of blood to spurt out of his nose. His head cracks back in a painful-looking way before coming back just as quickly to growl at his attacker. Using his free arm, he charges it up to attack before being interrupted.

"Uh, Uh, Uh!!~" Dazai chirps loudly, wagging his finger out in the air from his place on the ground. His smirk spells trouble as he cranks his head to meet Bakugo's gaze. "You can't fight anymore! You got caught!!~" He taunts cheerfully, causing utter silence from those around him. The brunette pulls himself up from the ground slightly, using Katsuki's arm to point at a white tape wrapped around the blonde's arm, just above his massive Gauntlet. The brunette's face shows how smug he feels about capturing him.

"Woah, they caught Bakugo! So manly!!" Kirishima exclaims as he points to the screen. All the students are ooo-ing and awe-ing at the spectacle in front of them. Chuuya can't help but feel a tang of pride at his partner on screen. It's clear that the plan they had just enacted was created by Dazai; that classic hanging off someone's body and distracting them for a sucker punch is one of Chuuya's favourites. And they have done it many times on missions beforehand. Sometimes, the Mackeral gets hurt in the process if the ginger doesn't reach the enemy in time, but it's like a 95% victory.

"That is a very strategic plan! As expected from someone like Dazai... He's super smart!!" Uraraka cheers, pumping her fists into the air like a mock cheerleader. More interesting sounds are being heard from the crowd, and they are seemingly amazed by this performance. However, that is cut short by a shout ringing out.

"Wait!! Bakugo can't do that!"

Katsuki's eyes widen to the point it looks like his eyes will pop out. His body twitches, almost like he wants to do something but is too stunned to do anything. Of course, Dazai has to make it worse.

"Sorry, Kacchan! You lost!~ Time to return to the rest of the class and watch us win-" Before Dazai could even finish his breath, Bakugo's foot meets his face and smashes it into the wall. Black spots dance across his vision as his head bounces off the concrete but is kept at bay enough for the brunette to stay awake. Small cracks can be seen where his dome meets the wall. He slumps down to the ground slightly as blood starts to pour from his nose. Damn... He could've gotten a concussion from that.

"Kacchan!! You can't keep attacking us!" Midoriya screeches, eyes flitting between his injured teammate and the one glaring down at him. He starts to shake slightly, his fists once again rising in case he needs to defend himself. In fact, it seems more and more likely as Katsuki turns to him, anger bellowing off of the blonde like steam. Bakugo takes a step toward the Broccoli before being interrupted once again.

"Young Bakugo!! Stop this instance! You have been caught, which means you are out of this round. Come back to the surveillance room this instance, or you will receive harsh punishment!" All Might's voice booms out of a speaker on the ceiling. This causes the blonde to stutter in his movement and stop, body once again twitching in rage. Kacchan's fists clench before walking past Midoriya, bumping his shoulder, and leaving the building. The Broccoli almost melts in relief before remembering about his injured comrade.

"Ah! Dazai!! Are you ok?! What do I mean, are you ok?! Of course, you aren't ok! Can you move?! Do you need me to help get you to the nurse's office!?" Midoriya rushes over to the brunette's side, hands fluttering around the injured party without touching him. Questions are spilling out a million miles a minute, only causing the ache in Dazai's head to worsen. The mafioso groans momentarily before wiping the blood from his nose onto his hand. He then starts to wave Midoriya down, trying to calm his frantic teammate.

"I'm fine... I'm fine! I can move and don't need to go to the nurse! See? Now come on, we need to win, and we don't have much time left!" Usually, Dazai would start complaining and whining to get out of the task at hand, but considering the other option is to be sent to the nurse, he'd rather carry on. Say what you like; he doesn't like medical practitioners. He steadily gets up and even does a little dance to prove he is fine; he doesn't mention the slight dizziness as he does so.

Even with his impressive dance moves (in Dazai's opinion), Midoriya doesn't seem all that convinced. However, he must know that Dazai isn't going to budge, so he sighs and starts running to the stairs. The brunette follows him, dizziness making him stagger slightly. Still, he rights himself nonetheless and carries on, making sure not to make another mistake in showing his weakness.

"That was too far!" a pink-skinned girl shouts out, pointing to the screen. Her classmates nodded in agreement. It was an obvious rule that if you get captured, you should leave and accept your loss. However, Bakugo did the opposite of that and continued to attack Dazai and seemingly would attack Midoriya if All Might didn't intervene. Outrage spread through the group watching, all unnerved at the aggressiveness displayed by one of their own.

Chuuya, however, knew that Dazai deserved it. The ginger could tell Dazai's shit-stirring grin from a mile away, so the idiot obviously provoked the blonde into attacking. Still, he feels a little concern eat its way into his mind as he notices the brunette stagger slightly in his run. Chuuya knows that Dazai hates Doctors passionately and would rather be miserable in pain (which he is known to avoid) than willingly go to the medical ward. Most of the time, Chuuya is the one whos forced to patch the bastard up, but when it's too much for him to handle, he's having to drag that Mackeral's ass all the way to the ward. The ginger's foot starts to tap anxiously as he watches the feed before him. He knows that Dazai is going to win. He just hopes that the idiot doesn't get more hurt in the process.

The two temporary partners make it to the floor where Iida and the rocket are, stationing themselves on either side of the door leading into the room. They are currently trying to gauge what is going on there.

"Bakugo has been captured, so it's now up to me to win this task!" Iida declares out loud, pacing the room. "I need to act like a Villain! It pains me to do so, but I cannot bring shame to the Iida name by not trying my absolute best! Think evil thoughts!! I want to commit tax evasion... After this, I will rob a bank! Muhahahaha!" His 'evil' laugh rings out as he thinks of more 'evil' thoughts. It seems like Iida is trying his best to get into the role of Villain... And Dazai can't help but find it hilarious. Is that the worst Iida can think of?! Does he have any idea how a real villain acts? Dazai tries to hold it in, but he snickers out loud. Midoriya looks at him and tries to tell him to quiet down, but after an "I will steal candy from a baby!" Dazai can't hold it in any longer; he holds onto his stomach as he starts to laugh at this poor display.

This obviously catches the attention of the 'villain'. He shouts out in recognition of a voice before moving towards the door. Dazai whispers a quick 'Uh Oh' before receiving a deadpan look from Izuku. The brunette shrugs slightly before signalling them both to move in. Before Iida can fully reach the door, Midoriya runs out and tries to fight with him. Dazai slips into the room and runs towards the rocket, trying to keep out of sight. It doesn't last long; however, as Iida blocks a kick from Midoriya, he spots a speck of black rush past him in the corner of his eye. Pushing back, the walking engine leaves Izuku behind and starts speeding toward the rocket before grabbing it and moving it further away from the brunette. Once in a safe space, he points towards the others and laughs.

"Ha, ha! I can do this all day, you scum heroes! With this bomb, I can enact my evil plan to do evil stuff! Like the villain I am!!" Iida starts to badly imitate a villain monologue while he is expecting the two 'heroes' to listen intently to what he plans to do with the rocket; instead, they start running at him. He abruptly finished the monologue, which he proudly spewed out before grabbing the rocket again and running between the two, as they had spread out to try and catch him, should he run left or right. However, before he could entirely pass them both, a hand reaches his left shoulder, which emits a bright glow encompassing his body. As he looks to the left to see Dazai throwing himself at Iida, the blue-haired boy feels his legs start not responding to his command.

The walking engine stumbles before falling to the ground, and the rocket he holds falls with him. He tries to move to get up again, but nothing happens. His arms and upper body are doing fine, but it's as if he's lost all feeling in his legs. Iida starts to panic as he tries to start his engines, but nothing works. He looks to Dazai, who seems as shocked as the blue-haired boy is, before taking out his capture tape and wrapping it around the 'villain's' arm. Once it's confirmed the Heroes have won, Dazai stands up and loses physical contact with Iida. Almost immediately, full feeling and motion return to the tall boy's legs. Iida sighed in relief before standing up and congratulating the winners. However, he felt slightly uncomfortable after that experience, so when walking back to the class, he gave Dazai a lot of space. Which the brunette notices.

"Congratulations, Heroes! You completed the task and apprehended the Villains!" All Might cheered, starting claps to ring out from the class. The participants stood in their own small group opposite the class, though some stood further from others. Midoriya smiles brightly and flushes slightly at the praise. At the same time, Dazai's expression remains neutral, and he looks to Chuuya, having a silent conversation. The Chibi seems concerned about Dazai's little head bump, but it's not a concussion. He's had plenty of those before to know when he's got one, and at the most, all he has is a slight headache and minuscule dizziness... Maybe a minor Concussion.

"Well, despite the results, Young Iida is the MVP of this exercise!" All Might exclaimed, earning gasps from the students before him. Even Iida looked shocked, a 'What!' escaping him.

"Shouldn't it be one of the heroes, since they're the winners?" Asui asked, looking quite confused as she stared at All Might. A few nods and agreements spread through the class around her.

"Mm! Valid Question. Why didn't I choose one of those two? Who has a guess?" He pondered aloud annoyingly. If Dazai didn't already have a headache, just listening to this pompous bag of bones would give him one. Yaoyorozu raises her hand and speaks out.

"Sir! I can tell you why! Iida embraced this challenge; he was the only one who adapted to his assigned role." She said, eliciting a few confused noises from those around her. "I'll explain. Backugo's judgment was clouded by a personal grudge against Midoriya; focusing all his effort on this, he left his partner and the rocket unguarded and abandoned. That was a foolish move that got him captured. Dazai didn't take the task seriously and gave away their location when hiding from Iida. Also, his attack on Iida was too reckless, given the hypothetical stakes. If that weapon was real, causing Iida to drop, it would've caused the rocket to explode. And for Midoriya, his hesitation got the better of him. When Dazai was injured, he hesitated too long in helping or carrying on, wasting precious time; similarly, at the very end, when Dazai and Iida were on the floor, he hesitated. Waiting to see if Dazai had already captured Iida before running in to do it himself or to get the rocket.

Iida was fully prepared for his opponent's arrival. He had a strategy and never lost sight of his mission to protect the dummy weapon. Even if he was foiled in the end." She explains without missing a beat. As each compliment is spoken into the world, Iida seems to preen at it. Smile growing more and more.

The rest of the evaluation went smoothly. However, All Might seemed hesitant about allowing Dazai to stay with the class instead of going to the infirmary. The brunette promptly ignored him and just kept repeating that he was fine. Eventually, All Might let it go in favour of watching the new team, which just so happened to include one Ginger dog.

"So you like... produce tape, right?" Chuuya questions his partner as they make their way to the main room. Said partner looked to him before nodding and holding up his elbow, shaped like a tape dispenser. Said elbow had a little bit of the adhesive material protruding from a slit.

"Yeah, it's pretty strong as well. It can hold a person's body weight when swinging from building to building. I can also make a double-sided tape, but you gotta, like, let me know beforehand if we need it so I can make it." The raven-haired lad explained, shooting out an experimental shot of tape and then pulling on it to show its strength.

"Well, I can manipulate gravity. Make things lighter or heavier etc, etc. Any idea about the enemy's quirks? I know Koda has something to do with animals... I think." Chuuya ponders as they reach the rocket. They must devise a plan to protect this thing and potentially capture the 'Heroes'. Now, Dazai may be the master strategist of Double Black, but that doesn't mean Chuuya can't come up with a good plan himself! It just may be a bit faulty and not have endless backup plans like that brunette has.

"Uh... I saw Sato eat a BUNCH of snacks before buffing up during the Quirk assessment yesterday, so I think he can enhance his strength or something! And yeah, Koda can talk to animals, I think?... Any ideas for a plan?" Sero asks, looking towards the ginger. The mafioso rubs his chin slightly before answering.

"Well, first off, if Koda can talk to animals and command them... Then you should tape off all the windows so no birds can get in... Then we should move the rocket out of sight in case they manage to get in the room." The shorter boy replied, moving over to the rocket and encasing it in a red glow. The raven-haired boy stared at the glow before moving to the windows to carry out the plan. "Once you're done with that, can you tape the rocket to the ceiling? I've made it light-weighted, so keeping it there shouldn't be much of a problem, but I'd rather have it stuck in place." A grunt of agreement sounds from where the raven-haired boy currently is.

"I could put tape all over this room if you want. It would make it hard for the others to move around!" Sero tries to add to the plan. He finishes with one window and moves on to the next.

"Hm.. Yeah, that could be good. Can you move around in here, though, with all that tape? I'm going to stick it out in the hallway and try to fight there." The ginger questions, walking to the room's doorway and peaking out, analyzing how big the hallway is.

"Oh yeah, I should be fine! Don't even worry about me! Let's try our best, huh, Nakahara!" The boy exclaims proudly, holding up a thumbs up in excitement. Chuuya gives a small smile before agreeing.

A sound rings out, telling the 'villains' that the 'heroes' have entered the building and the test has officially started. Chuuya gives a huff before jumping up and landing on the hallway ceiling. Just a few moments ago, Sero finished the last of the tape bindings in the room and is now hiding from view to ambush anyone who comes in. Quietly, Chuuya presses a finger to his earpiece and whispers in it, not wanting to bring any attention to his spot on the ceiling even though the 'Heroes' are nowhere near.

"I'm in position. I just have to wait for the Heroes to approach. Are you good in there?" the ginger asks, getting a bit antsy in his position. He wants to do a good job in this task for many reasons. He wants to prove he's skilled to hero wannabes so that if they ever come across each other in their respective fields after this mission, they will tremble in their boots just seeing him. Another reason is he knows that Bakugo will be so pissed off if Chuuya wins his fight when the blonde didn't in his own test.

"Yup, I'm all good here." Sero chirps back happily. They spend the next few minutes in total silence, waiting for any sign of the opposing team's whereabouts. Soon enough, Chuuya hears footsteps tapping, signaling that the 'Heroes' are nearby.

"I hear footsteps; be on guard." Whispers Chuuya as he notifies Sero. As the ginger moves his hand down from his earpiece, he sees a yellow figure come around a wall and into the hallway. Sato. He's running directly towards the rocket room, but Chuuya jumps down from the ceiling before he can reach it. The mafioso brings his leg out and down onto the 'Heroes' head, causing Sato to stumble and fall with the ginger. A grunt comes from the both of them as they land on the ground, one standing and the other on the floor. Chuuya was about to bring out his capture tape, but a brown blur distracts him. Is that a fuckin cat?! Before he could react properly, the feline jumped at Chuuya's face, scratching him slightly and off-putting his balance.

"Blegh! Fucking furball!!" Chuuya spits out fur as he rips the cat from its place on his face. Tainted Sorrow covers the furry creature as it floats in the air, clearly confused at its predicament. The cat's legs fling out as if trying to run away, but the feline is floating and rotating in the air. The tactic was an obvious distraction method, and it worked. Sato recovered quickly and flung a fist in Chuuya's direction. However, the ginger has been on way too many missions not to have a good reaction time, so as the fist grazes Chuuya's cheek, he leans back, dodging the brunt of the attack. They trade blows, trying to find a weakness in each other's defences.

However, the 'Villain' doesn't see that Koda uses their fight to sneak along the wall and into the rocket room. The poor kid is whimpering and shaking in his boots, looking for their ticket to win. Unfortunately, all he sees is tape plastered around the room; he doesn't even see the raven-haired boy behind him. Before he could even squeak, he was wrapped head to toe in tape, cocooned as if a fly were in a spider's web.

A moment's hesitation is all it takes for Chuuya to bring Sato down. The shorter boy kicks the spikey brunette into the air and keeps the other floating using Tainted Sorrow. Switching legs, Chuuya swings his other leg around to then kick the prone 'Hero' back towards where he came from. The ginger then increased Sato's gravity immensely, causing him to crash to the floor. Sato struggled and tried to pick himself off the ground but found his body weighed too much, and he couldn't move. Chuuya walks over to Sato with his capture tape and wraps it around the boy's forearm. He stands back up and looks towards the rocket room to find Sero smiling cheerfully. A loud buzzer tells the students that the fight is over. The villains won!

Here is the sketchy storyboard I made for the fights in MS Paint!!

(Ignore Midoriya using OFA in the og fight scene, that was made before I rewatched MHA and remembered that he couldn't control it back then lol)

Chapter Text

Making their way to the school, the two are stopped by a crowd outside the gates. Flashes of cameras and shouts come from the group of adults, clambering at any student who comes into sight. Chuuya grumbles as they try to meander through the crowd. Bodies bump and push the two as the chaos around them gets worse. Eventually, Dazai is split apart from his ginger counterpart when he feels a strong tug on his sleeve, pulling him in a different direction.

"You're a UA student! Can you tell us what All Might is like as a teacher?!" a woman shouts at him. She has dark purple hair strung up in a ponytail and wears a sharp blue suit with some sort of news logo band wrapped around her arm. As she expects a response, she shoves a mic in his face, almost touching the brunette's cheek.

"He's... He's alright, I guess? He gives good advice regarding being a hero?" He answers, unsure. He should probably give some corny response like 'All might is so cool!' but the amount of stimuli around him is buffering his brain. He can faintly hear his name being shouted, 'Dazai? Dazai! Where are you?!' He turns to look, but the woman just gets in his eyesight again, trying to physically block his way into the school.

"What have you done so far with All Might? Is it dangerous? Is that why you're covered in bandages?" The woman continues badgering him. Before he could respond, another person brought their camera close and started taking pictures of him with the flash on. He can barely see as the light keeps invading his eyes, and the sounds around him blur into one, slowly being drowned out. He can faintly feel a hand shake his shoulder, but everything is lost to him.

Suddenly, he's on a metal table, legs dangling off. But they're shorter than before. In fact, he himself is short, with small stubby hands! Bright lights pierce his eyes from the overhead lights. No matter how many times he asks if they can be dimmed, he is always ignored. 'Your eyes are just sensitive, little one!' 'There's nothing wrong with the lights stop complaining!' Tsk. Adults.

Dazai's legs swing bored as he looks around the room. It's the Doctor's office, and he's currently in a patient gown, which means he will be here for a while. He's been here so often that there's nothing new to spot. There's the usual medical poster on the wall that he may or may not have drawn on a little bit, books that he's read repeatedly on the bookshelf by the right, and even the stand full of tools by the side of the table isn't interesting anymore. Papa told him not to play with the sharp ones, though he does anyway. The door opens as light flashes into his eyes; the Doctor has appeared and starts checking his eyes with a hand-held torch. The Doctor is saying something; the brunette can see his funny mustache moving but can't remember what he's saying. Dazai feels like he is in water; he's there, but not simultaneously. He used to know that Doctor, he doesn't anymore, but Dazai used to always steal the man's stupid-looking goggles just to annoy him. Why does his mind feel like it is slipping away? The Doctor turns to him and keeps saying something. The brunette tries to focus.

"..i......uji!.. Shuji.." The words start to get clearer as Dazai furrows his eyebrows. Shuji... He hasn't heard that in a while... But that's not what he's actually hearing. That's what the Doctor's saying, his lips mouthing the words, but his voice is warped.

"Shuji... Shuji!... Shu-zai!! Dazai!! Dazai, are you listening to me? Can you hear me?" The Doctor's face changes shape and warps, and the room around him follows suit before fading to white. Suddenly, in the Doctor's place is his teacher, Aizawa. Instead of being in a doctor's room, Dazai is outside, surrounded by people. And those people are noisy, which comes back to him like a freight train invading his ears. He winces and goes to cover them, dampening the sound if only a little. Looking at his teacher's face, he sees concern before a hand is placed on his back, guiding him through the crowd. Dazai couldn't help but flinch at the sudden contact; this had never happened before. The demon prodigy never loses his cool. What is this mission doing to him?!

When the crowd finally parts enough for the brunette to get onto school property, the man who guided him suddenly turns around. He slouches down slightly to be at eye level with the student before him.

"Dazai, are you okay? Do you need to go to the nurse's office?" That caught Dazai's attention, and his eyes immediately snapped to the teacher. He tried to give the best smile he could manage and dropped his hands from his ears.

"I'm fine, sir. I'm just camera-shy. It's like stage fright, but I freeze whenever I'm being recorded!" The brunette dismisses, voice slightly croaky at the start but even-ing out quickly. The teacher eyes him with concern, clearly not believing the brunette before him; luckily, however, the lady from before tries to get the teacher's attention for questioning; he sighs and signals for Dazai to head inside, which he follows quickly. Chuuya wasn't waiting far away from the pair and promptly walked by Dazai's blind spot, protecting him.

"Mackeral, are you all right? What happened there? If you want to skip class, I'm all for it." The ginger stares at Dazai's face as they walk into the building. Judging by the taller boy's face, he is more tired than usual.

"I'm fine, Chibi. I was just stunned by the camera flashes; that's all! I knew people loved me, but the amount of pictures they took almost blinded me!" The brunette deflected, failing miserably at trying to stop Chuuya from being so concerned. The Chibi squinted his eyes further, clearly upset that his partner refused help. Seeing that it didn't work, the brunette sighed. "I'll be okay." And that convinced the ginger.

"Decent work on yesterday's combat training, you guys. I reviewed the video feeds and went over each of your team's results. Bakugo, you are talented, but you need to stop throwing a fit when things don't go your way." Aizawa bluntly mentions, looking towards the blonde. Bakugo just tsks and turns his head away, clearly not listening to what his teacher told him. The raven-haired teacher sighs; this kid is going nowhere if he can't listen to criticism. "Anyways. Let's get down to business. Our first task will decide your future." He casually says ominously. Tension spreads through the class, now intently listening to every word that comes out of his mouth. What could be so important? Is it another Quirk test? Chuuya looks to Dazai, wondering if he'd even be up for something physically taxing after this morning. The brunette doesn't seem fazed by the revelation, only staring at the front as if in a trance.

"You all need to pick a class representative."

...

The tension in the room melts immediately as the students collectively sigh. But that relaxing mood is instantly replaced with excitement as multiple students ask to be picked. The noise annoys Dazai, so he just buries his head into his arms on his desk. Chuuya's head scans the room in confusion; why is everyone so excited to be class representatives? It's got to be a good role if everyone is so animated over it. The chaos overruns the class before the ever-interrupting Iida shouts to get everyone's attention.

"Silence! Everyone, please!" He stands up with one hand extended over his head; everyone turns to him, looking for an explanation. "The class representative's duty is to lead others. That's not something just anyone can do. You must first have everyone's trust in the classroom. Therefore, the most logical way to fill this position is democratically. We will hold an election to choose our leader!" He suggests looking around at his classmates who doubt this decision. Multiple questions arise, and Iida tries his best to answer them before looking to Aizawa for help, who just gets into his sleeping bag. After that, they all wrote a name on a small piece of paper, which was placed in a box.

Once everyone had done that, with much prodding at Dazai to participate, they counted the votes. Ultimately, Izuku ended up as class representative with 3 votes and Yaoyorozu as the deputy with 2. Although not paying much attention due to not caring about this, the brunette couldn't help but snicker at the broccoli's reaction to winning. He giggles even harder when Bakugo rages at the results, asking who voted for the broccoli. Hearing the giggling, the blonde stomps over to Dazai and shouts at him, asking if Dazai voted for 'the turd.' Instead of answering, Dazai cackles at him, which worsens the situation. Chuuya eventually has to step in and slap Dazai around the back of the head, muttering about messing with Bakugo.

With food in their hands, Midoriya, Iida, Uraraka, Nakahara, and Dazai find a free table in the Lunch Rush cafeteria. Sitting down, they start to tuck into their food, minus one brunette who slowly shovels it into his mouth whenever he gets glared at by Chuuya.

"Woah... It's so crowded in here!" The other brunette exclaims, looking around. Fortunately, they managed to find a free table, as spaces were filling up fast.

Looking around, it's impressive to see so many different-looking people; in Yokohama, everyone looks almost too ordinary compared to the residents here. In fact, Chuuya often stood out from where they were from, being asked if he was a foreigner or if his hair colour was a dye job. But now he just fits into the crowd of colours. It's nice. The ginger is drawn back into the conversation when Midoriya sighs next to him.

"Guys, I'm kinda worried about the class rep thing... I don't think I'm qualified." The green-haired boy mumbled, staring at his bowl as if it held all the answers. Reassurances start from the others around him.

"You'll do great. Your courage and quick thinking under stress will help make you a great leader. Those are the reasons I voted for you, at least," Iida stated, staring at the broccoli before carrying on with his food. Midoriya gasps slightly, brightening up at the confession.

"You were one of the three? I thought you voted yourself since you got one vote and wanted to be the rep!" Midoriya exclaims, mentioning the total Iida got in the vote. Iida nodded thoughtfully.

"I did want the job and appreciated the vote, but you shouldn't get something just because you think you deserve it; you need to earn it," Iida replied, carrying on with his food as the others process what he said. It was a thoughtful answer, and the others appreciated his humility about not getting the job. "I would have liked to know who did vote for me, however..."

"I did."

The group looked stunned at the sudden comment from the previously silent Dazai. Iida's mouth was agape, and shock was evident in his person. "I voted for you, Iida-kun." the brunette repeated nonchalantly as he shoved more food in his mouth.

"Dazai...? You... You voted for me? I thought you voted for yourself!" He asks hesitantly, scouring Dazai's expression for any hint of a lie. Chuuya did the same, hand ready to slap the brunette's head for messing with Iida.

"Nah. I don't want to be a class rep. Sounds like too much work." The fishy bastard stuck his tongue out at the thought. He's already doing work because of this mission; he doesn't need more.

"But why did you vote for me?" Iida pondered. He honestly had no idea why Dazai would vote for him. They aren't good friends, so it couldn't be because of that... In fact, Iida has been avoiding being near Dazai due to the trial battles and the effect the brunette's Quirk had on him.

"Because I predicted you would be a great fit for the role. And my predictions are never wrong!" The brunette says simply, not giving a proper answer to confuse and annoy those around him.

"Your predictions? You mentioned them when we were partnered for the battle trials... What's that all about-" Before Midoriya could finish the question, alarms blared, catching their attention.

"WARNING. LEVEL THREE SECURITY BREACH. ALL STUDENTS, PLEASE EVACUATE THE BUILDING IN AN ORDERLY FASHION."

Confusion and fear spread through the cafeteria, students shooting out of their seats and scrambling for the nearest exit. The mafiosos glance at each other. Was this an attack? Is the primary mission starting this soon? It's only been a few days since they started—it's not even been a week yet! Iida looks to a nearby upperclassman and asks if this is a drill or test, but the look on the poor lads' face to begin with was enough to know that this wasn't usual. Sighing, Dazai resigns to the fact that he will have to work now. Abandoning their food, the group follows fleeing students towards the exit. With how many kids are scrambling to find a way out, Dazai can already tell they will get stuck. He quickly grabbed Chuuya's arm and pulled him close.

"This is going to be so annoying, but you stay here and protect the others. I'm going to sneak out and take a look at what's going on. I think most of 1A is already here, but I'll send any I find your way." The brunette says before slinking away from the group and back into the cafeteria. There's no point in trying to sneak through the crowd; he'd more likely be trampled than to get to the other side. Once he was away from most of the panic, he quickly headed to a window and unlatched it; the brunette promptly opened it and jumped out, closing it softly behind him.

Feeling the cool air against his skin, Dazai quickly runs alongside the building, not wanting to cause attention in case it is really an attack. Soon enough, he finds the commotion; it seems the reporters somehow got onto school property and were now trying to force their way to see All Might. Are they idiots?! This is private property, a school; they are trespassing. Do they want to be arrested?! President Mic and Aizawa are the unfortunate ones at the front of the mob, trying to keep them from going further into the school on their quest. Seeing no real threat other than an epileptic seizure due to the flashing cameras, Dazai looks away from the reporters and towards the UA gate that once stood solid. Now, part of that gate is crumbled, dust piles littered on the ground.

Those reporters are stupid... But are they that stupid to actively damage UA's property?

"Hey! Don't step on my fucking foot!!" Chuuya rages as he is once again ignored. There are so many people trying to escape that it's become a sea of bodies crashing into each other. Due to his small stature, he is unfortunately easily overlooked, and the number of people screaming and wailing isn't helping his shouting to be heard. It's gotten so bad that he's lost his classmates to the stampede, so much for protecting them. After another elbow to the gut and a stomp on his abused feet, the ginger has had enough and activates his ability. Standing upside down on the ceiling, he can now see his classmates who are not faring much better than he was.

"Chuuya! Make me float!" a familiar voice rings out, causing the ginger to look towards Iida. The walking engine slowly pushes his way through the crowd, trying to get as close to Chuuya as possible. Looking at the blue-haired boy's face, the mafioso can tell he's formed some sort of plan. Chuuya jumps from the ceiling and smacks, Iida's outreached hand taking away his weight and letting him float up. Once free from the bodies surrounding him, Tenya activates the engines nested into his calves and rockets toward the end of the hallway. The resulting wind from this act rustles the hair and clothes of those below, capturing their attention to this new development.

"Everyone calm down!!" His voice bellows out across the hallway, bouncing off of walls and causing the stampede to slow down to a stop. "Everything is ok! The reporters from outside the school just got in; there are no villains!! People are getting hurt in this chaos, so please regain your composure; as a UA student, you need to act appropriately." In classic Iida fashion, he adds a little lecture, which surprisingly worked, as kids calm down and look outside to see what's happening.

Chuuya himself peers outside, still upside down, and manages to see police cars slowly pull up to the school. Slight anxiety worms its way down his spine as the piercing screeches of the sirens hit his ears. Usually, the cops are after him, so it's funny being on the outside, watching the pigs go after someone else. Once the hysterics mellow out enough, the students calmly exit the hallway, awaiting instructions from the faculty. Landing back on the ground, the ginger catches up to the rest of his class stuck in the hallway. They group up outside, watching the reporters getting rounded up and put in cop cars.

"Is everyone okay? Are there no injuries?" Izuku asks, looking at the growing crowd of 1A students. Overall, everyone looks fine. A bit ruffled up here and there, but no broken bones. Everyone nods or gives some sort of answer to ease the worried broccoli. However, the green-haired boy's head starts to jerk as if trying to find something and not seeing it. "Wait... Where's Dazai? He was behind you, wasn't he Chuuya?" Heads turn towards the ginger, and he feels like a deer in headlights.

"We got split up. But don't worry about him; he's probably gone back to class." Chuuya looks at the ground, trying to avoid all the eye contact trained on him. Luckily, that answer placates the herd around him, though he gives a quick glance around the area; trying to spot a mop of soft curly brown hair.

Dazai knew that the reporters weren't the ones who destroyed the gate. Trespassing after someone else destroys the gate is one thing, but destroying private property intentionally and invading the school is a whole different ballpark. The reporters could probably worm a way out of trespassing charges by claiming that they thought the gate disappearing meant that they were allowing press on school grounds. But that just means the real culprit probably wasn't here for some interview or photos, and Dazai needs to find them and figure out their reasoning. If this person is from the 'underground movement' targetting UA, then Dazai could probably cut this mission short and find out all the information needed. Maybe if he could find an empty room with some... tools... he could extract the details quickly. Dazai isn't one of the top torturers in the port mafia for nothing!

Sneaking around the back of the school, movement catches the brunette's eye. A figure covered in black jumps over hedges and sneaks towards the back wall, slowing down once they reach the wall separating UA from the rest of the world. This is definitely the culprit. The gate definitely suggests that this person's ability- Quirk has something to do with disintegration. The gate disappeared and was turned into dust, as indicated by the dust piles left in the gate's wake. Dazai could have a little trouble if the cloaked entity made a hole in the ground for the brunette to fall into. But he wasn't born yesterday, so the resident fish could take him with the element of surprise.

Just as Dazai was about to walk out and pounce on the figure, he heard footsteps fast approaching behind him; judging their location, they were just about to turn the corner and find the brunette hiding there. Shit. He was supposed to have the element of surprise, not someone else. Quickly, Dazai dives into a nearby hedge and hides amongst the leaves; due to the noise of the leaves being displaced and rustled, the figure looks in his direction. It's fine; Dazai is the master of disguise and won't be caught by some 8-bit villain!

"Mmerrrow~"

Annoying Chuuya has never been as crucial as it was now. The hours Dazai pours into this craft just means that his impressions are immaculate. The number of times the brunette tricked the shorter into thinking a stray cat was in the alleyway, just waiting to be taken home and loved, only for it to be Dazai, was just too many to count. Luckily, it seems to work; the figure standing there only scoffing in annoyance before looking towards the resulting footsteps. From the brunette's position, he is unable to spot the newcomer, but as they approach the cloaked person, Dazai's eyes widen in recognition. That's Aoyama... The overly sparkly blonde from his class is making his way over to the figure. Is the glitter bomb going to try and fight this individual? That would be bad; the idiot is only a first-year, and from what Dazai could gather from the boy's Quirk, he gets a bellyache if used too much-

Is the blonde handing documents to the figure?...

The cloaked individual takes the documents and seems to read over them, commenting to Aoyama. The blonde in question appears to keep a wide berth from the figure and nervously rubs his arms. Once the figure reads through them all, they return the documents to the blonde before stepping closer to him and prodding the kid with a finger. After seemingly threatening the glitter bomb enough, the figure steps back, and a portal opens up. Black and purple smoke swirl into existence, becoming large enough for the tall mystery person to step through, and as quick as it comes into existence, it disappears. Swiftly, Aoyama leaves the area, hiding the documents in his blazer as best as he can, sniffling and wiping his eyes softly.

So there's a traitor in their mists. Technically, there are three traitors in the class, counting the mafiosos, but at least those two are there to protect the kids under a favour. The brunette stays hidden in the hedges for a moment longer, mentally cataloguing everything he just saw. Aoyama is working and giving information to a mystery party. This could be unrelated to the underground group targetting UA, but Dazai highly doubts it.

It seems, however, that the blonde isn't doing so willingly. From the way the glitter bomb tried to keep as much distance as possible from the figure to the way the individual actively seemed to threaten him afterwards, the cloaked person or maybe even the group they belong to has something over Aoyama, blackmailing him into helping them.

The brunette lays in the hedges, staring at the sky through spaces between the leaves; he starts to theorize what sort of blackmail they could have over the blonde. Money maybe? However, Aoyama's support gear looks pretty high-end, and he doesn't think an underground villain gang would care much about whether their lackey is comfortable when using his Quirk. Speaking about Quirks, Dazai still remembers a feeling of wrongness when being near Aoyama during the Quirk Assessment tests. It felt like something wasn't right about the boy... Perhaps he's being threatened with a Quirk; maybe the brunette should try accidentally bumping into the blonde and see if anything gets cancelled out by No Longer Human.

Hearing a bell ring, Dazai emerges from the hedges and trudges back to his classroom. It was already near the end of the lunch break anyway, so they didn't miss out on much. He'll have to tell Chuuya about what he saw when they get back home... Or he could have fun with it and make a game out of it. Tell the ginger only a snippet about what he saw and make the Chibi guess who the traitor is. If he guesses correctly, he wins; if he doesn't, Dazai wins, and he already has a great punishment in mind!!

Arriving at the classroom, he notices he is the last to arrive; everyone else is sitting in their seats, looking forward to Aizawa's position at the front. Ok, maybe he got a bit lost on the way to the classroom, but he usually has a ginger guide dog with him! He looks around as strange expressions turn to him; Chuuya even looks at Dazai with a mix of confusion and concern.

"Dazai... Where have you been, and why are you covered in leaves and dirt?" Aizawa eyes him up, walking over to the dirty boy and hesitating before placing a hand on his arm. The raven-haired man seemed to be looking Dazai over for any injuries or signs of a fight. At the most, he's got a few scratches but nothing concerning enough to send the brunette to the nurse's office.

"Oh well, when the alarms sounded, I ran out of the cafeteria, thinking villains got in the school! Luckily, because of my flexible ability to sneak through crowds, I got out before the corridor got too packed. But when I saw the reporters outside, I didn't want to get bombarded with people clambering for a picture of my beautiful face, so I hid in a bush! I stayed there until the bell rang, indicating it was safe! But because I usually have a small ginger shepherd puppy dragging me to class, I got lost..." Dazai recounted a fake version of events, adding dramatic hand movements to add flair to his story. He smirked as an offended growl sounded from the resident ginger of the classroom.

It was silent in the classroom as the teacher mulled over the brunette's words, staring at Dazai's expression, trying to pick apart any betraying emotion. The brunette allowed a minute flicker of desperation and anxiety to take over his face. Dazai might not like Aizawa thinking of him as weak, but after the raven-haired teacher protected him this morning from the reporters, maybe he could garner sympathy from his sensei. For all Aizawa knows, Dazai could have an irrational fear of being recorded or something.

The exasperated-looking teacher sighs momentarily before returning to his podium, signalling Dazai to take his seat. "You'll get off with a warning for now, but if you are late again, it's detention. End of" The brunette smiled before making his way to his seat, relaxing into the hard plastic of the chair. As Aizawa drones on about something else, Dazai focuses on a nervous blonde at the front. This will be fun.

Chapter Text

The kids chatted excitedly as the bus they were piled on rattled and hummed to its destination. Dazai wanted nothing better than to turn tail and tell Mori to get someone else to finish the mission, but he couldn't just leave Chibi alone in this madhouse. His poor hatrack might take forever on this mission alone and be forced to become a hero after the 3 years are up!! Imagine that! Though a hero of that short stature would be great for merchandise, he's the perfect height, as normal-sized plushies would practically be lifesized.

The brunette chuckles to himself at the thought, eliciting an annoyed glance from the ginger. Chuuya can tell when Dazai thinks of annoying him; and right now, warning bells are ringing rampant. Luckily, before the mackerel can begin his charade, the frog girl, Tsuyu, catches the fishy bastard's attention.

"Izuku, there's something I want to ask you," she states simply, turning her head to face his direction as he looks at her. Everyone nearby turns to look at the beginning of a conversation. It's a rare sight to see Tsuyu initiating a discussion, and her question seems to carry more weight because of it.

"Oh, uh... Go ahead, Asui!" He warbles out, obviously not used to people being even remotely interested in him. Dazai decides not to outwardly show any interest in this conversation, swinging his legs around onto Chibi's lap next to him and leaning against the wall behind him. The ginger curses Dazai in a blind rage but doesn't actively push the brunette off of him, too used to being treated as a footstool.

"I told you to call me Tsu, but your Quirk... It's similar to All Might, don't you think?" she questions nonchalantly as the broccoli panics. Oh, now, this is a conversation to think about. Midoriya's connection to All Might has run rampant in the brunette's brain since the Battle Trials two days ago. You could assume that Midoriya is just a massive fanboy with a similar quirk to the blonde annoyance. However, something isn't right with Midoriya and his Quirk.

To begin with, Bakugo is set on the idea that Izuku is Quirkless with a capital Q, no doubt about it. And considering they've known each other since they were young, that's not something to overlook. One theory could be that Midoriya is All Might's secret son. Sure, they don't have any hereditary appearance features in common, but in a Quirked society like Musutafu, that doesn't always mean anything. It would explain; the similar Quirk, obsession with the blonde hero and perhaps even why Katsuki didn't know. For his own safety, Izuku may have been told to not show off his inherited Quirk lest Villains try to kidnap and ransom him.

Dazai, however, doesn't buy into this theory. If Izuku is All Might's son, surely the hero would've trained and helped his son to wield his borne Quirk. Especially if a 4-year-old had access to this massive amount of power. Without any training, the boy would've most likely perished before hitting double digits. Two, Izuku doesn't seem confident or used to his own Quirk, which he supposedly had for 11 years. Akin to a newborn deer standing on weak stick-like legs for the first time. So, something else has to be going on. There's no doubt that Midoriya and All might have a connection, but it's nothing biological.

Dazai is quite literally shaken out of his musings by the ginger beside him. Blinking a few times and looking around, he notices everyone is staring at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something. However, the expression on his face must let them know that he wasn't listening, as Tsu speaks up again.

"I was just mentioning that, like how Midoriya's Quirk is similar to All Might's, your Quirk is strikingly similar to Aizawa-sensei's. In fact... You look somewhat similar, too. Are you and Aizawa related?" Tsu questions, looking to Erasurehead, who choked on the coffee he was drinking. After the coughing slowed, the raven-haired teacher looked at the brunette as if questioning it himself. Once again, everyone looked to him for an answer, even Chuuya.

"I don't think we're related. I don't know my biological parents since I was... adopted. But it could be possible, I guess?" He lied and tried to fight the grimace that flickered on his face momentarily. The thought of Mori being anything close to a parent to Dazai made him sick. But realistically, that's what he is. Mori is as close to a parent as he ever remembers having. Before Mori, all he can remember is The Doctor being on the streets, cold and hungry.

"Oh. My. God! What if Aizawa and Dazai are father and son and don't even realise it? That would be so adorable! Well, not really, because that's a lot of time that they could've been together, but they could regain a father-son bond now that they've found each other!!" Squealed Mina from her seat. Murmurs and questions start flooding the bus, causing excitement to once again energise the overly nosey kids. Even Chuuya is looking between Dazai and Aizawa in quick excesses, trying to spot if their facial features are too similar to be a coincidence. The raven-haired teacher is trying to seem unbothered, but he looks a shade paler than usual, and the brunette can almost feel the man's sharp gaze scan him. The mackerel doubts that they could be in actual biological relation, right? Izuku is the one who's supposed to have a secret hero father, not Dazai!! The brunette feels panic rising in the farthest corner of his mind, so in classic Dazai fashion, he uses this opportunity to do some shenanigans. Dazai swings his legs down to the ground from Chuuya's lap and swivels his body to face Aizawa at the front, causing some to calm down and look towards him.

"Puh-pa?" One single word caused chaos on the bus, with people shrieking, cooing, and asking even more questions. Aizawa's expression broke from his fake nonchalant to downright exhaustion and a slight panic.

Reaching their destination, the students pour out of the bus, still buzzing with curiosity as they press Dazai for more information. No matter how often he tells them he has no idea if they are related, it doesn't seem to matter. Once they were stood outside in a group, they waited for any instruction from their ravenette teacher. However, he appeared to be on a phone call, scowling slightly before returning to class.

"Alright, we're here at the USJ. I expect flawless behaviour whilst here. Bakugo, that means no unnecessary explosive damage, alright? Alright. Now, I want you to meet someone." Aizawa momentarily glared at the group of kids, letting them know he was serious about their behaviour. He motioned to the dome-like structure behind him. If Dazai thought UA looked expensive, that was pocket money compared to the building in front of him. Concrete walls extend from the ground for about 10-20 feet, and then a glass sphere advances from the walls, glowing like a halo from the sun. Bushes and well-kept fauna adorn the ground beside the facility's entrance. And as their eyes fall down onto the entrance, they see a figure walking towards the group.

Excited murmurs and realisations begin, and all of the students appear to know of this person beforehand except for Dazai and Chuuya, of course. This marshmallow-looking astronaut stops in front of the group; however, before the individual can speak for themselves, the resident pro-hero fanatic beats them to it.

"It's Rescue hero: Thirteen! Her Quirk is Blackhole, which can atomise debris when buildings have collapsed!! So cool!" the broccoli exclaims, reaching backwards as if to grab his notebook from his bag before remembering that he doesn't have it.

"You know your heroes, haha! I'm so excited to show you what's inside! Follow me, kiddos." Thirteen exclaimed, waving the kids over to follow her into the USJ. The group of kids trail after her, some going quicker than others to try and push their way to the front. The mafiosos are happy staying towards the back of the group. "The USJ stands for Unforeseen Simulation Joint! I created this place for future rescue heroes to train against Natural or Unnatural disasters. We can never know for sure when one will strike, so being prepared is always handy."

The marshmallow hero opened the building doors wide for students to pour through. They continued down an open hallway to see a vast space filled with six different areas based on disasters. On their left was an area full of highly destroyed fallen buildings. If the students didn't know that it was intentional, they'd have thought an earthquake had happened just before they entered the building. Next to the fallen structures was a mound of dirt and rubble piled high, mixed with some infrastructure and vehicles; it looked like a cityscape covered in a slurry of rocks and mud. Besides that, it was an area full of rocky hills. From what they could see, there wasn't anything too interesting; however, they could guess that climbing them would tire even the most energetic of the class. On the right side were two brightly coloured domes, one red with a fire emblem scaling the sides and the other blue with rain cloud emblems pouring down. Between the two domes was a lake of clear blue water with a gigantic amusement-style water slide spiralling up onto a rocky hill and a lone ship floating against the calm water. The students could see rocks of various shapes and sizes stagnate against the water pouring down within the tubes of the slide.

It's nothing like what the mafiosos have ever seen before. Growing up in Yokohama, of course they've seen their own disasters, and made a few of them as well, but seeing so many in one area is somewhat remarkable. However, the duo's eyes stop to look at the lake. Being from a coastal prefecture, they are used to vast amounts of water and ships, and looking at this area, it's so tiny to what they're used to, and they're so homesick it almost hurts. Without even realising it, the brunette feels a hand grip his own as they stare out at this pathetic excuse of water location, and subconsciously, he finds himself squeezing the chibi hand wrapped in his own.

"We have six disasters to train against! Starting on the left, we have a city hit by an earthquake. Next is a landslide covering a city; besides that, there are the Rocky Mountains, where you will have to train to rescue people on difficult terrain. The bright red dome holds a city on fire. Then we have a shipwreck, and finally, the blue dome holds a city stuck in a windstorm!" The rescue hero exclaims, pointing to each of the areas she mentions.

Questions start to pour from the kids, but before she can answer them, Aizawa pulls her aside and out of earshot from the rest of the class, however that doesn't stop Dazai. He watches the raven-haired teacher's lips as he talks to the astronaut-themed hero. "All Might won't be around for a while; he used up all his hour- no power doing hero work this morning. He fight- no might be able to join at the bend- no end." Dazai whispers aloud, trying to follow the conversation. Chuuya eyes him before nudging him to get his attention.

"All Might can use up power? I know he's old and old farts don't have as much energy as when they were young, but it's only like 10 am; how can he already use up all his energy." The ginger mumbles to the brunette as the hero teachers address the students again, talking about powerful quirks or whatever. "Maybe his quirk comes with time limits or something stupid."

"I, unfortunately, reviewed some clips of his work when he was in his prime; he could fight for hours. Whatever time limit he has now, he didn't have when he was younger. It could come with age, but I don't think quirks work like that." The brunette surmises, watching the teachers with disinterest. Everything always seems to come back to that annoying blonde man. It is so exhausting, and Dazai can't help but lean against his dog's shoulder as he ponders this irritating situation. And if he notices how they're still holding hands as his cheeks heat up slightly, then no one needs to know.

"Think he's seriously ill or something? That would explain if it's a sudden lack of energy... But it wouldn't explain why it's affecting his Quirk. Also, why would he not be able to show up if his Quirk isn't working? It's just enhanced strength, right? Surely he can still be here and watch." the shorter boy points out. The kids of 1A adore All Might, and just his presence would cause them to try their best to impress him. So he could watch and rest at the same time. And All might being the overachiever he is, there is no doubt he would've come. Unless there's something that he doesn't want the kids to see. "Dazai... Do you see that, by the water fountain in the center..."

Dazai blinks his eyes open when did he close them? and peers to spot what has taken his doggy's interest. If the two mafiosos weren't trained to observe their environment with pinpoint precision, they wouldn't have noticed the slight distortion of space in front of the water fountain. The lights start to flicker as the distortion grows, and eventually, a hole rips open in the area. At this point, the teachers and others have taken notice, and based on Aizawa's face, the duo can tell that this wasn't part of the schedule.

The hole soon snowballs in size, and it stays large and calm momentarily. Just as confusion spreads among the kids, wondering what's happening, limbs emerge from the darkness. This isn't a hole; it's a portal, and it's currently allowing unknown threats to enter the USJ. As the brunette scans the group meandering into the facility, he is suddenly disgusted... Why do they look like that!? What is it with Quirk society and wearing stupid-looking costumes to show you're either a Hero or Villain? It doesn't make you look scarier!

"Villains! Thirteen protect the children!" Aizawa shouts out, stopping any kids from moving towards the stairs. The other hero grunts in agreement before trying to herd the students in the other direction towards the door. The brunette and ginger watch the ravenette teacher run down the stairs, his hair and capture rope floating in activation of his Quirk. In the heroes credit, he is doing surprisingly well fighting against the horde of villains. Even though it is blaringly obvious that these 2-bit villains have sloppy technique and rely on their Quirks way too much, the sheer number of them would prove to be a tad tricky, even for Soukoku.

"Corruption?" A whisper sounds from the slug on his right. A sound question, considering how many villains came out of that portal. However, they should keep that card as close to their chest for as long as possible. They are supposed to be some weak kids right now, and if they pull out the literal god power now, it could cause some problems in the future. Best outcome is they just think it's some mutation of the gingers quirk; worst outcome is the HPSC could butt their heads into the situation for some 'testing'.

"No." The brunette replies, taking in the situation as he watches the fight below them. Though many villains are in the centre fighting Aizawa, none on the sidelines are trying to reach the kids. Eraserhead is only one person, so it would be easy to sneak around and attack the group of students trying to escape. They could have noticed Thirteen, however, and decided it wasn't worth trying to attack the kids who are protected, though Dazai is willing to bet that these idiots are too gun-ho to think appropriately and strategise. However, as the mafioso focuses on the scene, he can see some villains breaking off from the pack and moving towards the disaster areas, completely ignoring the heroes/ hero wannabes. Interesting. Dazai turns away and follows the rest of the student group as Thirteen moves towards the USJ entrance.

"Oi, green bean, cmon!" Chuuya grabs the stagnant Midoriya as he watches Aizawa. With his wrist captured in the ginger's grip, he seems to snap out of his trance.

"Oh- uh yeah! Sorry, I was just watching Aizawa fight... I hope he'll be ok." The broccoli admits as the shorter boy tugs on his arm in the direction of the others. As they run towards their classmates, Chuuya wonders whether he must also protect Aizawa. They were told to protect the kids of 1A, but is it really fair to let the dark-haired man fight all of that on his own? However, his musings are cut short as the portal villain from before appears before the group of kids.

"I must apologize, but I cannot let you leave." A deep, distorted voice sounds from the black mass of smoke. Bright yellow eyes tower over the group of children, staring at them menacingly. The villain is surprisingly polite as he continues with his monologuing. The ginger feels a tug on his arm as he turns to his partner, ignoring the pointless speech.

"Prepare for a split up. Villains have moved into areas they're most suited for, so don't underestimate them, but given their lack of technique, it shouldn't be too hard to fight them. Most villains knocked out wins a week of no chores!" The brunette grins before moving away from his partner as two of the most headstrong of the class attempt to hit the enemy in front of them.

"Your on Shitty Dazai! Prepare to wash my stinky socks," Chuuya grins widely, imagining the scene in his head.

Quickly, their vision is covered in endless darkness as the portal's smoke consumes the group. A blue glow envelopes Dazai as the fog attempts to brush against his skin. Unfortunately, it doesn't completely deactivate the villain's Quirk, but a forcefield-like effect surrounds Dazai, causing some classmates to flock to him to try and escape the smoke. When it dissipates, a larger-than-expected group of students stand, staring at the villain before them.

As planned, Chuuya is not among the surviving group. He has hopefully been sent with at least one student to who knows where in the USJ. Dazai is a bit hesitant about leaving the rest of the students here, but with their large number and a pro-hero protecting them, surely they should be safe! He needs to find and protect the students who are out there on their own. However, before he can sneak away, Thirteen tries to take the mist fiend on and unleashes her power on them.

Black and purple mist gets sucked into the hero's suit, and the villain shrinks in size slowly. A sinking feeling settles in the brunette's stomach, causing him to stay rooted to his position and watch the scene before him. The villain doesn't seem worried about his current predicament, which means he expected this.

"Ah... Blackhole... What a wonderful quirk for a rescue hero to save people from rubble... Though due to your tendency to only deal with disasters, it means you have little fighting experience or battlefield awareness!" The villain jeered as the familiar distortion of space started to appear between the two opponents. Dazai curses under his breath as the hero is too slow to realize what is happening. Two new portals rip open, one in front of the villain and one behind the hero, using the hero's Quirk to be turned against her.

Gasps and shouts ring from the group next to him as Dazai sprints out to flank the hero's back. If you told the mafioso a year ago that he'd be protecting a stupid hero, he would've laughed in your face before gunning you down for the disgusting thought. However, he needs thirteen to be conscious and aware to protect these kids whilst the brunette goes down to find the rest scattered around. However, with this performance, maybe it would be best to let the hero get decommissioned to teach her a lesson. As the brunette reaches the hero's back, he is yanked into the air by her Quirk and rockets towards the portal that redirects the hero's attack. Flakes of the brunette's costume get torn away from his person and disintegrate in the stream of the hero's Quirk. As he comes into contact with the portal, the other one disappears, causing the villain to come under attack once again by Blackhole.

"Get better with your reactions, Thirteen! You're supposed to protect us, yet I just had to protect you!" Dazai scolds as he falls to the ground, no longer being yanked around by airflow. Some students come to his aid and help him up. The brunette grabs Iida's wrist as the boy tries to see if Dazai is ok. "You need to escape and get some heroes. The fact that there is no alarm blaring or contact with the outside world means they have some sort of EMP, and no one knows we are in danger. As the fastest one amongst us, use those legs to save us, Iida! I'm so scared I peed my pants!!" The brunette lies before he lets go of the boy and pushes him towards the door. Though hesitant, the walking engine looks to his classmates with some sort of determination and nods.

"I'll try my best to get heroes! Place your trust in me as your Class President!!" He exclaims, trying to keep his expression confident. However, Dazai can see the sheer panic and fear crumble through the walking engine's facade. The blue-haired boy then activates his Quirk and sprints to the entrance of the USJ, using the villain's distraction as an opening to escape. The villain notices too late as the boy speeds past him and towards the door. Turning around, he tries to go after Iida, yet faces a more powerful onslaught of Blackhole.

Hearing a faint crunch from the centre of the USJ, Dazai turns around to see Aizawa on the ground, his head forced into a crater by a strange brute of a creature. Shit. Chuuya and the rest of 1A are out there with a severely injured teacher. The brunette looks back at the situation and sees Iida so close to the door. He needs these kids to care for themselves, even just for a little bit. "Guys, look! There's a metal bracket within the mist; he must have a body! Mini Children army Attack!!" He points to the metal and watches as plans form among his classmates.

As the villain portals away from Thirteen to get closer to Iida, the kids work together to give Iida his best shot. Picking Uraraka up, Darkshadow zooms through the open hall, trying to get the gravity manipulator as close to the threat as possible. Just as the villain reappeared behind Iida, extending his mist to try and catch up with the fast kid, Uraraka flung her body from Dark Shadow's grasp and curled her arms around the metal bracket, activating her Quirk. The brunette tumbles through the air, taking the mist villain with her, giving Iida enough time to burst through the USJ entrance.

"Go, Iida, go!" The group cheered, watching him fade into a little dot in the distance. Releasing her Quirk, Uraraka falls to the floor in a heap. She looks towards the villain on the ground beside her and prepares to fight. However, the villain remains stock-still on the floor... Did she manage to knock him out? Awesome! Her first defeated villain! Cautiously, the brunette stood up, keeping an eye on the misty figure.

"Guys, I think I knocked him out! Dazai, can you come here so you can cancel his Quirk...?" She looks out to the crowd briefly to try and find the other mop of brown hair, yet the nullifier is nowhere in sight. Panic briefly floods her system. "Where's Dazai?" She questions, causing the group to look for him briefly. Suddenly, mist begins to explode from the floored villain, eliciting a surprised screech from the girl next to him. Quickly, she regained a defensive stance, expecting the evildoer to attack her while distracted. After a moment, no fist comes for her, and no portal takes her somewhere else. The villain mumbles in disappointment before disappearing from sight. Uraraka curses slightly, trying to reach for the villain's metal bracket to stop him from escaping, yet was too slow to react.

Looking at the rest of the group nearby and seeing no one -par Dazai- has gone missing, she is somewhat glad that the villain is gone since they aren't in immediate danger anymore. Still, anxiety simmers under her heart as she looks towards the disaster zones, knowing a small number of her class are scattered, possibly alone. Uraraka moves towards the stairs but is pulled back by Thirteen.

"Please stay among the group; I know you want to help your classmates, but I need you and your group to stay here and be safe. If we split up more, then they'll have an easier time taking us down one by one," Thirteen tried to assure. Unfortunately, that villain is right; she hasn't nearly got enough battle experience to protect these children; she can only hope that being in a group together will help. "You mentioned one of the children is missing, right? Who was it?"

"Dazai, Thirteen! His Quirk is that he can nullify anyone's Quirk that comes into contact with him; he's the boy who helped you earlier. He was standing right there, but no one knows where he's gone!!" She hastily explains, rubbing a fingerpad over her palm to try and calm the fear in her voice. She looks back to the stairs of the USJ and the scene below them. Uraraka can only hope that Iida will make it to the Heroes quickly.

"If he's anything like what he showed earlier, then he has great intuition when it comes to fights, and that will surely keep him safe! Plus, his Quirk will bound to be use-" The hero is cut off as Mina piped up, pointing towards the ground below them.

"Look, Dazai's there! He's going towards Aizawa-... Omg... Dazai must be so scared! He's just reunited with his dad, and now he has to watch him get beat up... That's why he ran off! Dazai's trying to save his father!" Tears brim the pink-skinned girl's eyes as she comes to her own conclusion. Other classmates also come to her side to watch the scene below them.

"Erasurehead has a son?"

Chapter Text

The familiar sensation of air whips through Chuuya's ginger locks as he plummets towards the vast expanse of blue below. Dazai told him that they'd get split up, but he didn't think he'd be dropped midair into the fake fucking lake! Due to his fast reaction speed, he activated his ability miles above the water and stopped his descent just as he saw Izuku splash into the abyss.

"Shit, I spent an hour on my hair this morning..." The mafioso grumbles as he debates whether to jump in after the broccoli. The ginger could wait for the kid to swim to the surface and just grab his hand out of the water, but he doesn't know if Izuku can swim.

Movement catches Chuuya's eye as he spots a dark mass swimming just below the surface. From what the ginger could make out, the unidentified mass seems to have shark-like features and is swimming alarmingly fast towards the green-haired boy. Cursing any god who was listening in, Chuuya increased his own density to rocket towards the water below. However, with the speed of the shark-like heteromorph, he's unsure if he will make it to the Green bean in the water on time. He can't let a student die on his watch; he'd fail the mission, but more importantly, the shitty Mackerel would make fun of him for weeks! The ginger splashes into the water and tries to make his way over to the kid, who is stupidly just floating and not doing anything other than watching the villain come straight for him! Chuuya seethes as he slowly swims towards the boy. He may be from a coastal area and is used to water, but his ability is gravity! In this environment, gravity is much harder to control, and water resistance is a bitch! If he makes himself denser, he sinks faster, but the quicker he sinks, the more resistance is placed on his body. He needs to find the right amount of density to swim quicker without too much resistance.

Trust the ginger's luck to be focused on the prone student below and not notice another villain swim up behind him till the last second. Mori better give him a raise after this mission. The mafioso manages to swerve his body as a spear thrusts up in his direction, though he isn't quick enough as he feels a sharp pain at his hip. A small cloud of red spreads out from the slash as it tries to dominate the sheer colour of blue surrounding the ginger. If Chuuya didn't have to conserve his breath, he would swear like a sailor, rage briefly overtaking his focus. Kicking his leg out, he deflects another jab from the villain and looks at his opponent. An ordinary-looking spiky blonde man with chin stubble cut him? Him?! Chuuya Nakahara?! His villain outfit also looks stupid; it's just a specially tailored wetsuit and a weird blob-like domino mask! Where's the class?! 0/10 outfit! Red dances along his skin as Arahabaki thrumbs underneath.

Chuuya grabs the unremarkable idiot by his hair and minutely cringes at the seaweed-like texture before forcing the adult head to meet his knee with a satisfying crunch. More blood blossoms in the blue abyss, spewing out of the blonde's nose. The villain tries to combat the ginger by grabbing at whatever he can, blindly snatching a handful of hair and the mafioso's jacket cuff. Once his hand feels the fiery locks, he instantly begins to pull, causing a grunt of pain from the boy before a foot comes into contact with the blonde's jaw. Chuuya watches the adult become still and float, unconscious in front of him. The ginger smirks and starts to mess with his hair, trying to access the damage done by this asshole. As he gathers his shoulder-length hair back up into a bunch and ties it up again, he suddenly remembers the boy he came into the water to save. Dammit! Spinning around, he dreads seeing the once lively boy become a chew toy. Mori's going to be so pissed off!

Luckily for Chuuya's sake, someone saves the broccoli as Tsuyu zooms through the water and kicks the shark-like villain off course. The frog girl pushes the villain away before grabbing onto Izuku's arm and pulling him in close. She briefly looks around before spotting Chuuya floating not far away from the two. A concerned expression flickers over her face as she sees the amount of blood clouding around the ginger. The ginger tries to put on a nonchalant expression but is immediately reminded of the lack of oxygen in his environment as of right now as he feels the burn of his lungs. Air bubbles leave his mouth, useless, and his hands shoot up to wrap around his neck. He starts to struggle and kick his legs, trying to swim back to the surface, but a pink flash comes towards him and wraps around his body. He panicked for a moment before realising that the pink appendage was Tsuyu's tongue. Once it was secured around him, it dragged him through the water, getting closer and closer to the surface. The cold air hits his face as he breaks the surface and is flung into the air; before he can even make sense of what is happening, his back hits the hard surface of a floor. Chuuya breathes greedily, and his lungs finally get what they need.

After recovering enough to sit up, the ginger hears a thud behind him and sees the green-headed mop that belongs to Izuku. Seeing the boy wheeze and cough causes Chuuya to chuckle a little before reaching over and patting his back, trying to help dislodge the water from his system. Eventually, the coughing slows to a stop, and the broccoli looks to Chuuya in appreciation, which is soon interrupted as Tsuyu jumps onto the boat they reside on, causing Izuku to squeak in surprise.

"Everyone ok?" Chuuya asks, looking the two over and checking for any injuries. He doesn't find any, outwardly, at least. Izuku checks his own body over as if he isn't sure, but he shakes his head once he deems himself ok. Tsuyu immediately shakes her head, but she stares at the ginger's hip for longer than he likes.

"I am, but are you? You're bleeding, Chuuya. And I saw a lot of blood when I looked over to you in the water!" The frog girl exclaims in concern, pointing towards the slash on his hip. The broccoli follows her gaze and gasps slightly, eyebrows knitting together as he analyses the wound.

"Oh, I got nicked on that guy's spear. It's nothing too deep, so don't worry; the majority of that blood you saw was when I broke his nose." The ginger dismisses. He's had worse wounds than this, so he can deal with it with no problem. It stings a little and has slowed to a sluggish bleed, but to ease his companion's mind, he takes off his jacket and ties it tightly around his waist, putting pressure on the cut. "There, that'll be fine till this is over. But back to the situation... We need to find the rest of our class and stick together. I know Dazai will probably be by the entrance with that villain cause of his annoying fucking abil- quirk." He corrects himself quickly, still not entirely used to the term. He does (begrudgingly) want to reunite with the annoying brunette to show these villains the power of double black, but his mission is to protect the students first... And show dominance second.

"I saw some classmates run over to Dazai's glowing light before I got teleported, so a few of them might have escaped the smoke." Izuku gave a hopeful smile, looking towards the stairs. His smile falls when his gaze lowers to the awaiting villains below.

"They're just waiting there. Why aren't they attacking us?" Tsuyu asks, gazing at the dangers in the water. Multiple villains wait in the Abyss, circling the boat that the students are staying on. They are stationary in the water, staring at the students and seemingly trying to figure them out. Why aren't they trying to get on the boat?

"Because they don't know about our Quirks!" Izuku exclaims, hitting a closed fist against his palm. He smiles and looks at the other two as if he had just discovered the secrets to the universe. "Oh, uhm. Well, Asui was teleported here, and with her frog quirk, she excels in water, right? If the villains split off into the areas they were suited for to get an advantage over us, why give her the same benefit? Why not send Asu- I-I mean Tsuyu to the fire dome? A place that would heavily disadvantage her? They must not know our quirks and just randomly sent us wherever! That's also why they're waiting in the water; they don't know what our quirks are, so they don't know how to combat them. They're being cautious for now, but who knows when that will run out..." The broccoli explained, correcting his quick mistake of not calling the girl Tsuyu. Looking back to the water, Chuuya and Asui nodded and agreed with the green-haired boy. They could use this lack of information to their advantage.

"Well, since they don't know our Quirks, it might be a good idea to make a plan out of that. As you know, I have a minor heteromorphic quirk, which allows me to have frog attributes. I can jump high and climb almost any surface. And, of course, there's my tongue, which I can extend about... 20 or so meters. Oh, and I can spit out my stomach to clean it, though, in this situation, it probably won't be useful. Finally, I can secrete a toxic mucus, but it only stings a little. We'll probably be using my tongue and jumping ability for this situation." Tsuyu explains, listing off her attributes on her fingers. Izuku looks enamoured at the description, fingers itching for an imaginary notebook and pen. As the frog girl finishes, she looks at the others expectantly.

"Your quirk is so incredible, Tsuyu! I didn't realise you had so many qualities. My quirk is powerful on paper, but it comes at a price... Once I use it, the recoil is enough to break my bones. It's pretty much a one-use-only thing, which will be a problem, but if we're strategic about it, it might be really useful!" Izuku sheepishly scratches his neck, feeling self-conscious about how lame his quirk sounds compared to Tsuyu's. Chuuya hums in thought before taking his turn. There's a lot he doesn't want to discuss in front of a bunch of hero wannabes, corruption for one, but giving them the full ins and outs of his ability would surely put him at a disadvantage later on, right? He'll have to give them a watered-down version, maybe give himself a few weaknesses that seem believable.

"I can manipulate the gravity of anything I touch, other than Shitty Dazai, of course... Make things lighter or denser, change the direction of an object's gravitational pull, etc, etc. Heavier stuff, however, takes more concentration to manipulate, and the same goes for too many items." He replied quickly, keeping an eye on the figures below him. The villain he fought before seems to have regained consciousness and is glaring daggers at the ginger. Chuuya just smirks in response.

"We have to be prepared for anything. Considering their goal and how they have seemingly planned this mission, the villains could very well have figured out a way to kill All Might like they said they did. We should figure out their plan and stop it to protect our classmates and All Might! Let's be heroes!" Izuku exclaims, face determined and staring towards the centre of the USJ. Chuuya and Tsuyu give each other a side glance, doubtful that this idea is good. The wisest plan would be to reunite with the rest of 1A to have protection in numbers.

"Look, Midoriya, I don't think that the best ide-" The ginger was cut off when a wave of water in the shape of a hand crashed down the middle of the boat, splitting it in half. It appears the villains can't wait any longer. The kids yell in alarm, attempting to regain their balance as the ship steadily sinks. The sound of water crashing against the boat's hull leaves them with barely any time to think. "Shit! We need to move now! Tsuyu, can you grab us and jump? I'll take away your gravity so we can float over to the other side of the lake- Fucking - Izuku!?" Chuuya yells in frustration as he watches the green-haired boy jump over the side of the boat with his fingers outstretched and yelling. What is it with this mission?! Why does he have to look after stupid kids with zero ounce of self-preservation!

Izuku falls towards the blue abyss once more, aiming at the villains who start to swim towards his trajectory. He can hear the glee in their voices as they promise him pain and torment once he hits the water, and his confident expression almost falters to a terrified one. Yet, he steels his nerves and allows the electrifying feeling of One For All to wash over his fingers. Just imagine your fingers are eggs! Don't let the eggs break. Don't let the eggs break...

"Delaware Smash!!"

The eggs broke.

Powerful gusts of winds attack the calm surface of the water, causing an almost whirlpool-like effect to suck the villains towards the centre of the attack. Chuuya watches as Izuku's previous descent is quickly replaced by him being flung up into the air due to the recoil of his quirk. Great, now the kid has 2 broken fingers on his watch! The ginger grumbles as he feels a headache about to form. What did he do to deserve this mission?! Tsuyu breaks the train of his thoughts as she jumps, dragging Chuuya by her side as they go. Once close enough, the frog girl extends her tongue to wrap around the green-haired boy and brings him with them. Soon, the whirlpool effect implodes on itself, shooting a massive stream of water straight into the air with the majority of the villains stuck in its current.

Escaping this situation is fine, but the villains will just come after them again; they need a way to trap or incapacitate them. Lowering his gaze to the ship he once stood on, he allowed the red glow of tainted to overtake its front half's shape. He made sure to allow an expression of strain to overtake his face to keep up the 'weakness' his quirk has; half of a ship of this size is way too heavy for him! Not. The halved ship floats up to the stream of water that holds the villains captive and uses the hole created to scoop up the villains. Once he is sure that he has them captured, he changes the gravitational pull to the inside of the ship, causing it to cave in on itself to create an encased box, stopping the enemies from being able to escape. He lets the newly made box float over to the lake's edge and sit on the land. Chuuya is not dumb enough to let water-based quirks have unlimited access to water.

"Woah... Chuuya, did you just do that? That was so cool!" Izuku exclaims, watching the mafioso's quirk do its job. Once again, his fingers itch for his notebook, but they're quickly forgotten as the green-haired boy winces in pain when moving the broken appendages.

They quickly descend back into the water as they get close to the lake's edge. With a splash, the trio soon starts to kick their legs to get back up to the surface, and as they break out of the abyss, they hear the sounds of fighting. They quietly tread water to reach the concrete edge of the walkway that holds the centre of the USJ to see Aizawa facing what seems to be the leader of this group.

"Midoriya, we should head back to the group; I know you want to get to the bottom of this, but it's safer in numbers," Tsuyu whispered to the other greenette, keeping her head low.

"Yeah, you're right... But we should watch for a moment, ensure everything is okay over here, and then go back." He replies, determined to play the hero. Chuuya scoffs and rolls his eyes; Midoriya has no plans to head back. Their gaze returns to the fight.

Chuuya is disgusted at the sight of the leader. His hair is unkempt and greasy, streaking down his face and shoulders with no style. And his villain 'outfit'? Though more intimidating than the other villains they've come across, he still looks strange and as if he threw it together at the last minute. Wearing a black pants and black shirt combo, the leader has hands gripping different areas of his frame, with one covering his face. At least he is trying to conceal his identity. That blonde-haired villain from before only had a stupid-looking eye mask covering nothing! But overall, this leader looks like a hobo; Kouyou would have a field day over this appearance, no class whatsoever. Tsk!

Though his teacher isn't any better. This might as well be a hobo showdown.

Chuuya has to hand it to Aizawa for what he lacks in fashion sense, he makes up for in his fighting skills. Grey fabrics whip through the air, pulling villains around and into the teacher's fists. Unconscious enemies are strewn on the floor and the fact that one man did this alone while practically quirkless was respectable. The leader remained still, watching his grunts get defeated with ease, but with a surprising speed for someone this lanky, he ran at the hero.

Aizawa looks up in time to see the blue-haired villain run towards him, and the ravenette starts to run towards him in response. He throws his capture weapon out at the fast-approaching villain, who catches the grey fabric pulls, reaching to Aizawa with his other hand. Clashing together, Aizawa's elbow finds its way to the villain's stomach, and he hears the blue-haired boy wheeze as air is forced out of his lungs.

"You're a great fighter, Aizawa, and it was hard to read your tells when you were jumping around, but I finally figured you out... It's your hair that gives you away. When you use your quirk, your hair floats. As you kept fighting, the times your hair fell down became longer and more frequent." The villain points out, looking at the teacher's fallen hair. A grip on the ravenette's elbow increases in strength, the villain almost digging his fingernails into the skin. Pain emanates from his elbow as he feels his skin cracking. Glancing up, he can see the villain's quirk at work, his sleeve useless as it turns grey and disintegrates into dust. Skin blistering and falling free from his elbow in chunks, exposing the bloody muscle underneath. "You're having to blink more often, aren't you? Don't push yourself too hard, EraserHead... You might just crumble into dust." The villain jeered, pressing harder into his elbow.

Aizawa grunts in pain before punching the blue-haired man in the abdomen, catching him off guard. Holding his bleeding elbow close to his chest, the teacher jumps back, trying to gain distance to collect himself, but is attacked once again by a group of goons.

"He's being cornered, and that wound looks awful. This doesn't look good for sensei..." Midoriya mumbles, concern etching his features as he watches the teacher defend himself against the small group of villains. The leader stands up shakily once more but doesn't make any movement to attack the hero.

"Your quirk isn't suited to long fights head-on with multiple enemies; you work better with sneak attacks quick and fast. Yet, knowing that you still ran down here, going against your natural instincts to protect your students. And look at you! Beaten and bloody, you are still standing. You're so cool!" The villain exclaims, and though his face is hidden from view, those listening can imagine a deranged grin splitting his face. Aizawa turns back to the man, panting and shaking in his spot. He's exhausted... This is bad. "Oh, I should mention though... I'm not the final boss."

It happened almost too quick to process. A shadow loomed over the teacher; it seemed to have teleported out of thin air, but with the wind bellowing through Aizawa's hair, the watchers could tell that it just moved too fast for them to keep up. The creature was disturbing, a tall mass of writhing muscles with scars covering its obsidian-like skin. Its face was shaped into a beak with rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth lining the inside. Two bulging eyes sit in either side of its exposed brain, slowly pulsing with a rhythm akin to a heartbeat. A painful whine rolls out of the beak before stuttering to animalistic grunts. Before the students watching could even release a breath, the creature grabs the hero's head in a hand too large and forces it to the ground, forming cracks below. Blood splatters everywhere, coating the beige flooring crimson. Yellow eye guards that the underground hero was known for, clatter to the ground no longer of any use.

Izuku and Tsuyu watch with horrified expressions as the creature lifts the beaten hero's head and slams it back down multiple times. Unshed tears form in their eyes, not used to such a violent display. Chuuya watches with a grimace; though the hero looks awful every day, wearing the same clothes, he still respects the man enough to find this situation distasteful. The ginger risks a glance at the two kids beside him, wondering whether he could possibly grab them and escape without much of a fight. A sickening crunch brings his attention back to the creature as he watches it bend and twist the teacher's arm into an unnatural shape.

"What do you think of him, Eraserhead? He's a bio-engineered anti- Symbol of Peace! He's one of our creations... But you can call him Nomu." The villain exclaims, waving his hands in the air as if this is some sort of show; the glee is evident in his voice.

Chuuya's eyes widen at this confession. Bio-engineered? They're doing experiments? Was that a person before they made it this... this creature? This person was human, and they took that away from them. This person was human, but now they're not. Chuuya isn't human and never was. That person had a chance, Chuuya could never have. Rage courses through his veins, going hand in hand with Arahabaki to whisper promises of violence in his ear. His fists tighten, and he can't help but growl as the world deafens. A hand touches his shoulder, and his face whips round to face Tsuyu in a much more threatening way than he meant. The terrified expression she wore before is now being targeted in his direction, mixed with concern.

"Chuuya... Are you okay? " she whispers, her eyes flicking between the ginger and the scene before them. Her hand is now touching air, and she hesitates to touch him further, silently afraid that Chuuya may do something stupid. The ginger takes a breath, the red slowly retreating from his vision before grunting, unwilling to answer. They are once again interrupted by a pained screaming coming from their teacher.

"Your erasure quirk sure is annoying, but when faced with true power, it is just that. Annoying. Like a fly, just asking to be squished." The villain jeered, scratching his neck as the Nomu stood on the teachers arm, causing it to crack and break under the pressure. The blue-haired villain seemed just about to start another spiel before black and purple smoke swirled into existence. The trio of students perk up at the new opponent, knowing that the portal villain was last with their classmates by the entrance.

"Tomura Shigaraki." The shadowy figure emitted a deep, monotone voice, and the blue-haired villain looked around at the noise. Shigaraki. So that's the asshole's name. Once these kids are safe, Chuuya will make Shigaraki regret he ever existed.

"Kurogiri, did you manage to kill Thirteen?" Shigaraki asks, seemingly forgetting about Aizawa's existence.

"No, she was protected by a student with a nullifying quirk. And I was unable to dispel all of the children due to the same student." Kurogiri explains, guilt and disappointment coating his voice. Tsuyu and Izuku's expressions brighten immensely, glad that the pro hero and their classmates are fine. Chuuya smirks, knowing that Dazai has been ruining their plans.

"Another nullifier? Do we have a child, Aizawa? Another fly to be squashed, I suppose" The blue-haired boy grimaces, bringing his hand up to scratch even harder at his neck. Aizawa shakily raises his head to glare at the villain, activating his quirk; but the creature immediately smashes his head back into the ground, forming a crater underneath. "Why are you back here, though, Kurogiri?"

"... One of the students got out of the facility."

"Huh?"

Izuku had to cover his mouth to avoid celebrating. Someone got out?! They can go find help! 1A can be saved! Tsuyu elbows him when a small squeak escaped. They turned their attention back to the villain, who had gone quiet, scratching his neck obsessively.

"Kurogiri... You idiot..! If you weren't our way out of here, I'd tear you apart!!" The blue-haired boy growled, tiny beads of red blossoming from his neck as he continued to attack his skin. Suddenly, the man stops, as if frozen in time, before lowering his hands. "We won't be able to win if a bunch of pros show up... It's game over... Dammit, I was looking forward to killing All Might today. Let's go home." The villain sighed, kicking at the floor.

"What? They're gunna leave just like that?" Chuuya questions, confused at this turn of events. The ginger looks to the other two to find them equally as confused, though caution was slowly bleeding onto Tsuyu's face.

"That's what it sounds like... But something doesn't seem right..." She admits, slowly bringing her hands up together to rub them anxiously. They look at Izuku, but he remains uncharacteristically quiet, eyes glaring at the scene before them.

"Oh... before we leave, though... Let's make sure the Symbol of Peace is broken... Let's make him regret not being here!" Shigaraki turns around to face the students by the water, and with speed that doesn't make sense for him to have, he runs straight for Tsuyu, hand outstretched, aiming for her face. Chuuya curses; he was too busy focusing on Izuku! He turns to face the villain and is about to grab him before the hand presses on the girl's face. He was too late; she's going to crumble into pieces on his watch.

...

Chuuya blinks dumbly as he sees the girl, who's supposed to be dust right now, stay stationary in shock before slowly sinking into the water, away from the man's hand. How is she not dead right now?! How is she not a pile of dust floating on the surface? He turns to face Shigaraki once more and sees why. A stinky fucking asshole fish has curled his body around the villain's shoulder.

"Hiya!~ Thought I should join in on the party! Chuuya, sopping wet dog is an adorable look on you~."

"FUCKING DAZAI!!"

I forgot to draw Chuuya's fight in time so I quickly made it before posting qwq

Chapter Text

Sooooo I quite literally moved my stuff back to dorms today and have been preparing to do so all week which means I haven't had time to finish the next chapter unfortunately. But I didn't wanna leave you guys without anything so I have a little art piece instead :DD

You guys will get the next chapter next Saturday, and if I get extra time, perhaps another art piece 🤔 hehe

Also just as a little note, I would like to promote a little project that I am apart of and verrrry excited for!! Unfortunately it has nothing to do with Bsd or MHA, but if you enjoy DnD then I hope you'll check this out! Me and a few of my friends who are streamers have made a campaign which will have a session every month on Twitch! I personally have drawn every player character's PNGtuber for the streams and I love everyone's designs! The campaign is called Bards of Belmara (@BardsOfBelmara on twitter). Our first session will be on September 14th (and I know thats next Saturday but don't worry! I'll still upload the next chapter of this fic) and I love my lil character, I wonder if any of you will be able to guess when they get revealed :)

Chapter Text

There was a brief moment as all parties tried to process Dazai's entrance, which he used to annoy his slowly reddening ginger partner even more. Shigaraki slowly stands to his full height, expecting the weight on his back to attack or even fall off, but the brunette clings on like dead weight.

"So this is the nullifying brat..." The villain growls, reaching up to grab at Dazai's face. At this moment, Izuku, as if awakening from a trance, rears his fist back and charges up his power. His arm is a dance of lights as he leaps onto the concrete pathway, aiming his fist towards the blue-haired villain. The brunette's eyes widen as he watches Izuku recklessly attack. Doesn't he realise that if he hits the villain with his bone-breaking power, he's going to be hitting his favourite bandaged brunette?!

"Don't touch him! SMASH!!" Izuku screams, arm stretching along its intended path towards the villain's face. A cloud of dust is created as a wind current is made from this lone punch. Chuuya and Asui ducked under the water so as to not be swept up in the powerful recoil of the green-haired boy's quirk. However, the duo struggles to stay near the pathway as water is swept backwards and pushed away from the concrete due to the powerful gust of wind. To try and keep in place, Chuuya grabs Tsuyu's wrist and activates Tainted Sorrow to change their gravitational pull to the concrete edge. Their bodies flatten against the wall as they're stuck in a red glow.

Once the wind died down, Izuku cautiously opened his eyes to peek at the damage. Maybe he shouldn't have powered up his whole arm... Now he's injured and will have to be healed by the nurse, creating more work, just like Aizawa said! He just saw the villain going to grab Dazai and acted! Expecting his whole arm to be purple and broken, the boy was confused; he felt no pain at all. As he lowered his gaze to his arm, he saw perfectly unblemished skin.

Excitement runs through the boy; he has finally done it! He used his power without breaking his bones! All Might is going to be so proud! Now that there are no repercussions to his quirk, he can help so much more! He can defeat powerful villains and not be a burden on the rescue team! There are so many new opportun-

As the dust finally disappears, his pure excitement drops to stone-cold fear as the opponent he thought he attacked was protected by the obsidian-like creature that severely injured Aizawa. What scared Izuku even more, was that his quirk did nothing to this monstrosity. At the very least, the Nomu should be punched backwards, miles away from the group residing here. But it's stood perfectly still, body unharmed, and not even moved an inch away from the brocolli's fist at its abdomen. Nomu looms over Izuku, a low whine rolling out of its beak. This creature... What did Shigaraki call it? Anti-symbol of peace. This... This is their plan to kill All Might!

"That power... You're one of All Might's disciples, aren't you? You dying would hurt all the much more for that blonde nuisance! Nomu kill- Stop it! Stop that, you brat!" Shigaraki stepped out from behind the Nomu, using it as a cover so as not to be when attacked. He was interrupted from commanding the creature, however, as the brunette on his back kept poking his ear and distracting him. The blue-haired villain swatted at the approaching finger and tried to dislodge the child from his shoulder, but no matter what he did, it was as if the kid was merged onto him.

What the villain didn't know was that this was a signal for a certain ginger who was emerging from under the water. When Dazai pokes a finger into his ear, or someone else's repeatedly, it means, 'Don't listen to anyone else; get the hell out. Now.'

They came up with the signal on an infiltration mission that went wrong; they had both been captured. It was supposed to be an easy in-and-out mission; pretend to be an intern, get 'lost on the way to the bathroom', get information and get out. However, due to an argument that occurred (100% Dazai's fault! Who brings a dog leash to an important mission, asshole?!!), they had both been caught red-handed and dragged to an interrogation room. After hours of questioning and a little beating up, the duo hadn't given any information, vowing to stew in silence. Par from the usual Dazai jokes and manipulation, of course. However, once placed into cells together, they heard shouting and gunshots from a nearby hallway. The duo remained in the corner of their cell, hoping that no stray bullets would find the mafiosos. Eventually, the gunshots and shouts died out, leaving the two in confused but cautious silence. Those feelings were soon replaced with mixed emotions as the door at the end of the hallway leading to their cell was flung open by none other than the port mafia boss, Mori. Chuuya was relieved, telling his boss what went wrong with the mission and how he was sorry for screwing up. But Dazai remained silent, staring at their boss with an unreadable expression. Mori gave them a small smile before opening their cells, 'Do not worry, all is forgiven for my subordinates! Now, shall we head back so you can tell me all about this mission?' The raven-haired man exclaimed, waving his arm out for the two to exit their cells. 'Don't listen to him, Chuuya.' Dazai chided, staying in the cell whilst the ginger exited. Chuuya gave him a strange look, wondering why Dazai was acting out while the boss was helping them escape. Chuuya bowed in respect, starting to open his mouth to explain everything. But before he could mutter a word, he heard a pained gasp and looked up to see Dazai attacking Mori. Chuuya watched in shock, seeing the brunette lash out and maim Mori, who usually stood by the boss's side as if it were his natural habitat. However, as the brunette pushed his fingers into Mori's eardrums till blood poured out and screams were all anyone could hear, Mori started to morph and change. 'Mori's features rapidly transformed in colour and shape as if glitching. But before it could choose a form to keep, 'Mori' slumped to the floor, clutching its bleeding ears. The brunette, having used a hair clip hidden within his bandages to pierce and repeatedly stab 'Mori's eardrum, turned to his partner, blood staining his fingers. 'Why Chibi... Dogs are supposed to listen to their owners only! Maybe you still need some more training~' Dazai smirked with malice before leaning down to 'Mori' on the floor. The mafiosos walked out of their captor's building with blood splatters on their clothes.

The ginger growled at the memory before grabbing Tsuyu's upper arm and activating his ability just as the Nomu reached out to crush Izuku's head.

"TSU, GRAB IZUKU!" Chuuya shouts as he shoots up into the air, Tsuyu in tow. The frog girl yelps in surprise before extending her tongue just in time to wrap around the green pancake-to-be and brings him with them. The villains watch them rocket through the air, high above the rest of them. They could hear shouts of protest coming from the green-haired boy, who wanted to go back down and save the brunette and his teacher.

"Dammit... All Might's kid is out of the question. This mission has been so annoying... Nomu, get this kid off of me," Shigaraki commands, giving one last shake to the silent leech on his back. The creature does as commanded and tightly grabs Dazai, who keeps tugging on Shigaraki's shirt till he is ripped away. The villain grumbles in frustration before turning to the bloody glare of their black-haired teacher. "Aizawa, are you still kicking? I want you to watch your son die."

"Alleged!" Dazai pipes up from the creature's palm. Shigaraki stops in his tracks, giving out a quick confused 'huh?'. "Alleged son, I don't actually know if he's related to me! So the hurt you're trying to give to Aizawa by making him watch his 'son' die is mute because I'm nobody to him... Are you going to make me pop like a balloon? That's such a painful way to die!! Please make it quick!" The brunette explained, emphasising that they have no relationship in hopes of stalling the villain. The tired but concerned expression from Aizawa doesn't go unnoticed by the brunette, but he doesn't care to do anything about it.

"Do you ever shut up-?!" Shigaraki whips around to look at Dazai, but as his gaze finally falls on the brunette's face since he joined the fight, he freezes. Dazai blinked in surprise; he was expecting the villain to be angry or even violent, but he froze? Has someone used a quirk on the blue-haired man? The mafioso glances around but doesn't see anyone who was conscious enough to do it or even had the quirk to do so. Dazai never planned for this to happen, so as natural instinct, his brain went into overdrive, trying to devour any little bit of information he could see. Shigaraki has frozen in place, not literally, since he is still breathing, which rules out that kind of quirk use. His face is mainly covered up, but from this distance, the brunette can still see some of his eyes, and they show shock, frustration and... recognition? Does he recognise Dazai? Shit. If he recognises the mafioso, that could be a big problem for their undercover mission. The brunette searches the villain's appearance for anything he can remember, such as meetings with Mori, territory fights, infiltration missions, and even his time on the streets before the mafia. But he's coming up with nothing. Dazai starts to sweat.

Just as the blue-haired villain opens his mouth to speak, a loud thunk rings out from the entrance of the USJ. Turning their heads to look at the source of the sound, their eyes fall upon the all too familiar blonde bunny-like spikes of All Might. Grumbles and curses emanate from both villain and mafioso at his entrance, causing a flicker of surprise to settle in Shigaraki's eyes at Dazai's detest of the hero. It is, unfortunately, way more common to see people praising the ground that blonde oaf stands on rather than spitting at it, even among villains, surprisingly. So to see a hero student, let alone one of All Might's own students, grimace at his appearance was eye-opening. A smirk carves itself on his hand-covered face.

In a blink of an eye, the pro hero speeds down the stairs, knocking out any still-standing villain on his way to the centre of the USJ. The yellow blur jumps high up towards the trio of students floating above the rest and catching them in his arms before plummeting back to the ground towards the downed injured hero. Once landed, he drops the kids onto the floor, who sprawl out in a pile, disoriented by the sudden change of location. The blonde then picked up Aizawa, checking his pulse and any awareness. The ravenette blinks wearily at the blonde, pain etched into his expression, and it doesn't take long for the teacher to pass out, somewhat at ease, knowing that All Might will save his students.

"Aizawa, I am so sorry that I wasn't here to begin with. Rest for now. You protected your students; it's my turn." All Might sighed, laying the teacher down carefully by the students on the floor. "Take Aizawa back to the entrance. He needs medical help, and I'm sure Thirteen can help him out. I'll save Dazai." Ordered the blonde, turning back around to face the villains before him. The students take a moment to get back up before Tsuyu and Izuku try to pick Aizawa up without causing too much pain.

Chuuya, however, doesn't look at the hero and instead watches Dazai. The brunette locks eyes with the ginger and squints his eyes with a blank expression. Chuuya could just hear 'I gave you an order, Chibi~' ring in his mind, imaging Dazai's voice. He growls in response before standing up and helping the two haul Aizawa back to the rest of the group. Dazai had better make it out of this in one piece and not be kidnapped; otherwise, it would be annoying. However, knowing the stupid mackerel, it might be his plan to spite Chuuya. The ginger looks back to the kids he is protecting, and Izuku is trying to inform All Might of something whilst trying to keep Tsuyu and the ginger from hearing. The mafioso quirks his eyebrow up, hearing a cut-off 'One for all-' before Izuku rephrases his explanation of attacking the creature. After being reassured quickly by All Might, the greenette hesitantly agreed and started walking back in tow with Aizawa and Tsuyu.

All Might treads closer to the group of villains and their 'hostage', who is wriggling around in the tight grip of the creature's hand without much luck of escaping. Suddenly, he rushes forward at the Nomu holding Dazai, charging up a potent punch at its arm. Dazai's hair goes wild as he watches the hand holding him get gruesomely separated from the main body, its forearm practically disintegrating from that one punch. He goes flying backwards with the resulting wind, tumbling along the floor with blood following him. As he comes to a stop, the brunette manages to sit up, the severed hand still grasped around his body. He watches All Might run up to grab him, and he feels a pang of disgust and fear revolting its way through his system as a hero he despises runs right for him. However, luckily or unluckily, All Might is stopped in his tracks from reaching Dazai as a slew of muscles and tendons reform along quickly growing bones, blocking his sight of Dazai and actively attacking the blonde hero. The Nomu's arm practically bursts out of the stub All Might created as it quickly regenerates and grabs hold of the hero, its other arm coming around to punch the back of his head.

"Regeneration huh? And with that speed? This is going to be a tricky fight, but don't you worry, Young Dazai! You'll be just fine!" All Might cheers as he bends forward to dodge the oncoming attack, kicking a strong leg back into its stomach. Unbeknownst to the hero, the hostage grimaces and practically gags at the idea of being saved by the old bag of bones. The Nomu grunts and whines, stumbling but not being flown across the USJ. All Might quirked up an eyebrow; how has this creature not been affected by his kick? Did he not put power in his kick? Midoriya warned that the beast had survived a blow from One for All, but he just assumed the boy was not as strong as All Might yet. The blonde karate chopped the arm holding onto his shoulder, causing the Nomu to let go and punched at its stomach, but once again, it did barely anything other than grunt. What's going on? Wasn't this guy's quirk regeneration?!

"Trouble, All Might?" Shigaraki sneered, making his way over to Dazai, who was still wiggling in the creature's amputated hand. "Nomu doesn't only have super-regeneration, but he also has shock absorption. He was created to kill you All Might, to take you on even at your prime. Say hello to your murderer!" The blue-haired villain cheered, reaching the brunette on the floor. He swiftly kicked the boy from his sat-up position to be sprawled on the floor, grunting as his head met the concrete.

"Young Dazai! Villain, leave the boy alone!" The hero exclaimed, distracted momentarily as the Nomu landed a punch at his stomach. All Might wheezed, feeling pain radiate from his old wound. He quickly jumped backwards, trying to gain distance from the creature, but it wouldn't let him go far enough, animalistic screeching emanating from it. Shock absorption is good on its own, but paired with super-regeneration? This creature has to have a weakness, and All Might would love to bet that if he targets the exposed brain, then he might be able to stop this monstrosity. He'd have to destroy the brain in one go, or it would just regenerate the parts that get damaged. So, after dodging a swipe at his head, the hero swoops behind the Nomu and grabs it by its waist, hoisting it into the air above his head. He jumps as high as he can with this added weight into the air, and with a strained yell, the blonde bends backwards, bringing the Nomu crashing to the ground, brain first.

The trio of students carrying their teacher back to the USJ entrance turn their attention to the explosion of dust and wind behind them. They're far enough to only feel a slight breeze, yet the loud sound still hits their ears like a freight train. After the initial blast, the scene is quiet, too quiet for Chuuya's liking; anxiety thrums in his veins as he tries to spot a mop of brown hair through the layers of dust blocking his view of that location. He shouldn't have left that idiot behind; knowing him, he might've talked the villains INTO killing him; just opening his mouth can give off an effect that makes the ginger himself want to strangle the breath out of Dazai. Chuuya grits his teeth in frustration.

"Worried about Dazai, Chuuya? I'm sure All Might has it covered." Izuku offered helplessly, though his expression suggested that the green-haired boy didn't fully believe it himself. Chuuya could tell by his tense movements and the way he dragged his feet as he walked that he was itching to run back to the scene. Through that small conversation Izuku had with All Might before they were ordered to leave, the ginger can tell that the boy knew something was wrong but isn't telling anyone else. Considering that the same boy usually couldn't keep his mouth shut as his brain raced through possibilities, it was intriguing.

"Yeah, All Might is a really great hero, so don't worry, Chuuya! Dazai is in safe hands! Even if All Might has to have flashcards on hand to teach a lesson." Tsu added with a small smile. This did manage to drive a chuckle from the ginger, thinking back to some of the lessons All Might taught and how he seemed helpless when someone asked a question that wasn't covered by a flashcard. In fact, it was often Dazai who would ask such a question that left the blonde teacher scrambling for an answer; it was as if the brunette knew precisely what was on those cards so he could embarrass the hero.

"Dazai? Pfft, why would I worry about him? I hate that bastard, plus he has an annoying habit of always coming out of a situation without barely a scratch on him." Chuuya huffed, ignoring the fact that his eyes were still scanning through the slowly dissipating smoke screen for the brunette. He briefly looked back to his companions to see confusion and scepticism on their faces, Tsuyu heavily doused in an aura of disbelief. He turns his gaze away, feeling his cheeks heat up as the frog girl smirks in victory. What does she know anyway? She still thinks that they came here to be heroes. Ha!

"You hate Dazai? But you two are always so close, and Dazai practically hangs off of you most of the tim-" Izuku question trails off into silence as the smoke finally disperses enough to see through it. The trio's movements come to a sudden stop as their eyes fall onto the scene behind them. Blood red crimson is what they immediately pin-point on. "All Might!"

The blonde hero is bent over backwards, blood seeping from his waist as the Nomu digs its fingers into his flesh. His plan to splatter the creature's brain into mush was thwarted as the portal villain split the Nomu in half, its bottom half vertically upside down as if sticking out of the ground though separated from the concrete by purple mist, the top half emerging from the same mist and coming up below the heroes prone body. All Might winces in pain as the fingers dig deeper, feeling as if they're going to rip him apart.

"Interesting. Your plan was to bury Nomu in the ground to incapacitate him. Too bad that didn't work," Shigaraki drawled as he circled Dazai on the floor. All Might helplessly watches as the villain grabs his student by his collar, dragging him closer to the mist villain before dropping him back on the concrete, surprisingly gentler than expected. Perhaps the villain wishes to use Dazai as a hostage to escape so he can't have his leverage harmed? "Good job, Kurogiri; you've almost made up for your screw-up earlier." The villain sits down on the amputated hand that's keeping Dazai's arms stuck to his side.

"Hey, mind getting off? I really don't want to be forced to see your unwashed hair for the rest of this fight! I'd rather you just kill me now!"Dazai's whine gives strange glances before Shigaraki covers the brunette's mouth with his hand as he refocuses on the hero. All Might lets go of the Nomu's waist in favour of trying to pry its fingers from the gouges they've imprinted in his flesh.

"You're not going to die, Dazai! And if you villains think that will happen, you have another thing coming! I won't just sit here and watch you kill an innocent boy!" He exclaimed with pain laced in his booming voice. However, even with those promises, he still hasn't been able to free himself from his predicament. He bluffed and, as of right now, has nothing to back it up. The brunette wishes he could sit up and watch this happen, but he's still stuck lying down with Shigaraki sitting on him. As some sort of rebellion, he starts to lick the villain's hand covering his mouth, causing Shigaraki to screech and remove the appendage. The brunette gives a shit-eating grin to the villain's disgusted expression before said villain starts to wipe his palm on the mafioso's clothes to get the saliva off.

"Normally, I try to avoid blood and viscera making their way into my Warp Gates, but for a foe such as yourself, All Might, I am honoured... Nomu will lower you into my portal, and when you are halfway through, I will squeeze my gate close, cutting you in half," Kurogiri commented. Although those around could not see his face, they could almost imagine a polite smile eagerly awaiting the blonde's fate. "You've done well, hero, but please, allow us to send a message to the rest of the country using your death as our voice."

"How long did you practice that one in the mirror" Dazai jested before getting kicked by Shigaraki to shut up.

Chuuya wasn't quick enough to grab the green-haired boy as he walked towards his favourite hero. The dead weight of his severely injured teacher slowed his reaction, trying not to jostle and worsen the ravenette's wounds. Izuku seems to be in a trance, putting one foot in front of the other with much effort before his steps increase in speed. The ginger curses before turning to Tsuyu, who has fear set in the features of her usually calm face. He felt a pang of pity at this sight; these kids never had to watch something like this before, so seeing her reaction to this situation filled Chuuya with a sense of protectiveness. Kids shouldn't watch this; he needs to get her out of here.

"Tsu, I'll deal with No self-preservation dumbasses number one and two over there. Take Aizawa back as quickly as possible and let thirteen know what's going on!" He gently let go of the teacher's legs, moving him to lay along her back. Once they were steady, he looked into her eyes and patted her shoulder. "Don't worry about us. Everything is going to be just fine, I promise. And Chuuya Nakahara never breaks his promises." He assured, putting on a small smile, trying to bring her hopes back up. Luckily, his attempt seemed to have worked based on the small smile growing on the frog girl's face. She quickly moves away and towards the stairs leading to the rest of her classmates, her small smile replaced with determination.

As she departs, Chuuyas's reassuring smile drops to an annoyed grimace, and he turns around to see Midoriya running with obviously no other plan except to punch... And punch again if the first one doesn't fix everything to his liking. Letting a red glow wash over his figure, the ginger takes away his own density, taking two steps to bound after the greenette. He watches the boy almost reach the hero he strived to save before a purple mist appears before Izuku. The idiotic boy had the gall to look shocked as he tried to stop his momentum so as not to run into the portal villains's mist. Chuuya managed to reach the broccoli in time and grabbed his arm, tugging him away from whatever fate lay in the darkness.

An explosion invades their senses, making them shut their eyes to shield themselves from the sudden light. While confusion first settles, it is soon replaced with recognition as the owner of the explosion screams in a very Bakugo-like way.

"Get out the way, you damn extras!!" The blonde shouts as he grabs a metal bracket hidden within the mist and forces it to the concrete floor with another blast to help. Sounds of tingling make the ginger and green-haired boy look to their left to see a path of ice forming its way to the Nomu, running up along its right leg and completely freezing one half of its body. Loud screeching and wailing could be heard from the creature, making all that could listen wince in somewhat pity. Looking at the source of the ice, they see the dual-coloured hair that belongs to their resident half-n-half Todoroki. Great, more kids to look after, Chuuya thought, a pain erupting in his head as he felt a headache coming on.

"Thank you, young Todoroki!" The blonde hero winces as he finally prys himself from the Nomu's grip, its right-hand fingers crumbling and breaking apart in their frozen state. Once free from his grappled state, All Might hopped away from the whining creature, holding his still free-flowing, bloodied waist, pain evident in his every move. With the Nomu frozen, the portal villain apprehended by Bakugo and threatened by explosive power, all that was left was the blue-haired villain. A tense silence grew amongst them as Shigaraki also came to that conclusion.

However, before All Might could even step in the villain's direction, Shigaraki whipped around and grabbed something obscured from their vision off the nearby floor. Nevertheless, they soon discovered what it was as the villain grabbed a fist full of Dazai's hair and brought him up to a sitting position, a silver glint of a dagger pressed to his jugular. Everyone stopped in their movements, thoughts coming to a crashing halt.

"Do you really think the hair-pulling was necessary? I mean, you could've gotten my neck exposed in a much less painful-" The brunette was cut off short as the fist grabbing his hair tightened and shook his head slightly in a warning. However, that shaking was enough to nick his neck on the too-sharp dagger, allowing a thin bead of blood to run down the blade. It was just a graze but enough warning to keep the mafioso quiet. For now.

"Any of you even think of taking a step closer and... Dazai's... throat will be stained red." The villain threatened, staring at his opponents, spitting the brunette's name as if it were poison.

(I know shigaraki has more hands on his body but I was speedrunning this and couldn't be bothered to draw them all )

Chapter Text

Silence permeates the air, causing tension to circulate among the group. They all stood as still as they possibly could, not wanting to anger the villain holding Dazai at knifepoint. Their fear was tangible, as they worried that even breathing in the wrong way would result in blood splattered on the floor. A paranoid gaze flicks from hero to student, scanning for suspicious intent. Many emotions mixed together, making the air toxic in negativity, the only one immune to it being the one at the centre of it. A bored expression resting on the brunette's face as if he were not the one in danger right now.

"Good... Good..." Shigaraki mutters, his eyes scanning the group, his mind calculating their every move. He risks a glance at his captive, burying the emotions that surface at the sight of his face. He can't afford to be weak, not when All Might's death is within reach. Once the hero is dead, he can take this 'Dazai' back to Sensei... and... and he will know what to do! The urge to scratch at his neck till all he feels is pain and blood crawls along his spine, yet he refuses. He cannot lose this advantage right now. "Kurogiri... How could you let a low-level NPC take you down?" Annoyance seeps from his words, his frustration palpable.

"I'm sorry, Tomura. I did not see him in time to react." Although still monotonous, his tone was woven with regret; his smoke seemed to slow down in movement and recoil in on itself. An angered red gaze flicked to the downed mist villain, and the blonde holding him pressed him to the ground further, warning him not to make any plans to disappear.

"These brats defeated and captured my two strongest men with no injuries to speak of..." Shigaraki muttered bitterly. The brunette next to him giggled, finding his misfortune funny! He shot his captive a look but only got a defiant face as Dazai stuck his tongue out with a sly smile.

"Your plans aren't going well, are they~ Whatcha gonna do about it, Shiggy? Can I call you Shiggy? Don't bother answering because that's what I'm calling you from now on!" The brunette cheered happily, mocking the situation. Shigaraki tried to make him shut up by tugging on his hair again, but Dazai's grin spread even wider. A scoff could be heard coming from one of the kids, the ginger one, seemingly annoyed about the situation.

"Nomu." The word is spoken with such conviction that it echoes in the scene, momentarily overtaking the sheer shriek coming from the still-frozen creature. Sounds of creaking arise from the obsidian-coloured figure as ice grinds against itself. Frozen limbs move as the Nomu pulls itself from the portal, chunks of muscle and flesh breaking apart as they are forced to push the creature forward. Iced stubs are all that is left of the Nomu's right-sided limbs; it falls down as it tries to stand on a leg that's no longer there. However, it doesn't take long for the Nomu's limbs to regrow, bones jutting out of the stubs, quickly being followed by muscles like vines twisting and surrounding the cylinders of calcium. The students gasp and get into defensive stances, whilst Chuuya simply shoves his hands into his trouser pockets. "Free our escape route."

Eyes widen as they realise that to free Kurogiri, the Nomu will attack Bakugo, who, unlike All Might, won't have as easy of a time against the brute of a creature. However, they don't have enough time to even think of trying to save the blonde pom-pom. In the blink of an eye, the obsidian-like creature hurtles towards Bakugo, kicking up another storm of dust to whirl around the scene. Wind backlashes against the students, causing them to get flown back, tumbling against the floor as they try to reorient themselves.

As Chuuya brings his gaze back up to check how badly injured Bakugo is, he notices deep tracks of indented rock jeer off into the side, leading to another cloud of dust by a wall. This dude is insane! It's fast enough for even Chuuya to have trouble tracking it and disturbingly strong. Turning his gaze back to where the Nomu is, he hears an exclaim from the broccoli beside him, shouting out a nickname that only he and Bakugo know the context of. However, as the dust clears and he hears an annoyed reply from behind them, the ginger realises that the mission (once again) hasn't been screwed up! Instead of being splattered in chunks of blood and viscera on the floor, the resident anger management patient is in one piece with the rest of the students in their shared confusion.

The Nomu is looming over Kurogiri, staring at the students as it holds the mist villain in place. Slowly, it lets the purple villain regain his composure, teleporting to stand by Shigaraki. Panting can be heard from the tracks as All Might stands in a defensive stance, being pushed back with enough power to gouge lines into the concrete.

"They are Children! They are children, and you didn't hold back?!" All Might exhaled, dumbfounded by the fact that the villain attacked his students. How could someone do that to innocent kids?! The blonde hero just couldn't wrap his head around the thought. Chuuya raises an eyebrow at the pro hero, wondering why the blonde is so shocked. Why would the villains hold back just cause there are kids nearby? Their whole mission was to attack the UA class; it's plenty apparent that they don't care if a few kids get hurt or even die so long as they get what they want. They literally have Dazai at knifepoint, and though they haven't done anything further than a nick on his neck, shouldn't that prove they mean business? Or was he thinking that they were just bluffing? The ginger scowls at the thought. Is this how people think outside of Yokohama? That even villains care about kids?! Barely any 'good' adults actually care about kids! Fucking hell, people need to grow up.

"I didn't have much choice, did I? The brat had my transport," The blue-haired villain pouted, releasing Dazai's hair with force, causing his head to loll forward. The dagger at the brunette's neck moves away, the villain deeming himself safe enough to stand up and away from the hostage, yet never letting the boy out of his sight. "Plus, these children of yours aren't the angels you think they are. That green-haired one there, he tried to kill me with a powered punch whilst this leech was still on my back. If Nomu didn't protect me, what do you think would've happened? What kind of hero goes in for the kill whilst an 'innocent' is still in range to be harmed." He jeered, gesturing to Izuku. A small whimper could be heard from the green-haired boy as it seemingly clicked in his head that he could've killed Dazai, his own classmate.

"You heroes go all out, not thinking of those who could be hurt in the crossfire, and you know what All Might? That pisses me off! Who gets to decide what act is heroic whilst the other is villainous if the only difference is if they say 'they're doing it for others' when actually they're just doing it for fame and money... You say you're the symbol of Peace? You are just another government-funded centerpiece to promote 'legal violence'. You don't care when the low levels get beaten and bruised for just trying to get scraps. But when they have enough of it and decide to fight back? You're there to help put them in their lowly place. Violence only births more violence... I'll make sure the world understands that when your death graces the headlines." The villain ranted, gesturing the knife in his hand towards the pro-hero.

Dazai watches Shigaraki with a small amount of respect; for a childish and short-sighted man, he was well-spoken in his frustrations. If only the villain had some proper planning and didn't only have some 2-bit henchmen he picked up off the street, he might've been able to accomplish his goals. Once this is over, Dazai needs to research this group as they might be a reoccurring cast of enemies once they escape and lick their wounds. He should probably be hoping for them to be defeated now and arrested so that they won't pose a threat later on, but he has a feeling that their roots grow deeper still. They have to have some sort of benefactor; how did they manage to pay all these villains to come and fight for them? The brunette doubts Shigaraki has massive amounts of money on his own; just look at his outfit; it could be bought from any charity shop. Well, maybe not the hands... Those look too real to be props... Blegh. But anyway, they have to have some sort of supporter, financial or more. So Dazai is going to let them scurry back to their hideout so that in the future, the brunette can smoke them out and stop them from their core. Though Shigaraki's words were profound and in another Universe, perhaps the port Mafia would've been on his side, but unfortunately, Dazai has a job to do. And currently, whatever group Shigaraki belongs to poses a threat. The demon prodigy doesn't play nice with threats.

"You're insane!" All Might cries out, eliciting a deadpan stare from both mafiosos. Who says that? Although going a bit of an extreme way about it, this man just explained he has been mistreated by a society spearheaded by All Might, however unknowingly, and is trying to 'fix' it. And the blonde just calls him down in response? Isn't he literally just proving the villain's point? "You villains always try to make your actions sound noble. But just admit it! You're only doing this cause you enjoy it!" He shouts, glaring the villain down. The brunette scoffs; of course, the blonde oaf just ignores everything someone says cause he deems them a villain. Shigaraki, for all his idiocy, explained himself in a very moving way-!

"Shit, he's got me figured me out", Shigaraki whispers, loud enough for Dazai to hear. The brunette whips his head around incredulously, shocked that the blue-haired villain was so transparent. Dazai changes his mind; never in any universe would the Port Mafia even think of being on the same side as this half-wit. The brunette can understand enjoying the pain of your enemies, but being so transparent about it to the point that your whole noble reason to fix the society that's abused you is practically overtaken by it? That has no passion! Superficial ideals at best!

"We've got them outnumbered", Todoroki mumbles to the rest of the group, watching the three villains with a cold gaze. Chuuya raises his eyebrow; yeah, they have five people on their team (minus Dazai, but that's because he's being a prick and using the excuse of the amputated hand to sit out on a fight, lazy stinking fucking Mackerel!). But All Might is bleeding and looking like he's bout to pass out at any point; three of them are children with little to no actual fighting prowess, and then Chuuya. And fighting three villains alone and ensuring the kids don't get hurt? That's gonna be difficult even for him!

"Todoroki, I don't think-" Chuuya starts.

"And Kacchan figured out the mist guy's weakness!" Izuku butted in and cheered the conversation on with a determined look. Chuuya looks dumbfounded, slowly watching the group's resolve skyrocket. He gets wanting to rocket head first to show his enemies the power of gravity, but he's not dumb enough to do it without a plan! Or at least he doesn't anymore after training with Ane-san... But still! Even when he did, he knew how to fight and predict his opponent's moves! He needs to get these impulsive fucking kids out of here before one of them gets themselves killed; leave this to the so-called number one pro-hero.

"Midoriya, that's well and good, but he knows we know now; he's not gonna let us get close-" The ginger tries again.

"You three stay back. I can take the smaller two alone! Go save the lanky ass covered in bandages." Bakugo growled, allowing small pops of explosions to run along his arms. The ginger goes red in rage; why's he got stuck with some stupid, reckless kids while the Mackerel gets to sit out?!

"Don't attack. Go back to the rest of your class." All Might commanded. Chuuya never thought he'd ever think this, but 'thank you, All, Might!'. The ginger could almost sing out praises for the blonde as the group of kids looked towards him. They may be stubborn, but it's practically been ingrained in them that All Might is some sort of all-knowing higher power, and his word is final. So now, finally, he can herd these kids to safety and search the USJ for anyone missing.

"You would've been cut in half if it wasn't for me earlier, remember?" Todoroki spoke with an unimpressed tone, gearing up a stance for fighting.

"Hey, don't speak like you did all the work half-n-half!! I also saved his ass!" Bakugo exclaimed, getting into Todoroki's face, making sure he could be heard. The dual-haired boy stares back at the blonde with a vacant expression, not bothering to listen to his words.

"I thank you for saving me, both of you. But this is different, and I need you four to be safe; everything will be all right!" The blonde stated, raising a fist behind him and towards the group. Chuuya held back a scoff, getting deja vu from the last time the blonde said that things would be okay. "Now, if you want to help, return to the entrance and protect Aizawa and the rest of your class!"

"But All Might, you're hurt and bleeding! You're almost out of tim-!" Izuku cuts himself off and covers his mouth, peeking behind himself at his classmates. Chuuya raises his eyebrow; this is the second time he's censored his words toward All Might when others are around. And he knows for definite what the broccoli was going to say. 'Almost out of time' huh? Does this have something to do with why All Might wasn't here to begin with? And why would Midoriya know about it? Whatever the green-haired boy was concerned with was put to rest for now as All Might jutted his thumb up to placate him. Slowly, Izuku came to terms with it and turned away, facing the rest of his classmates with a highly concerned face. Chuuya eyes him.

"Nomu, Kurogiri... kill him. I'll deal with the children... And you, don't go anywhere." Shigaraki pointed towards his captive, who gave him his best innocent lamb look. Nomu stands up with strain, moving its head to look towards the pro hero as the blonde stretches into an offensive stance.

"I'm not going anywhere, Shiggy!" The brunette exclaims, looking down at the amputated hand encasing his body before looking back up to the villain with a smile. He's gotten all the information he needs for now, so he plans to escape and find any 1A stragglers once all eyes are off him. Maybe even defeat some villains along the way; he has to beat the Chibi in the bet; no way is he doing extra chores for a whole week! That's a job for a lowly doggy, not its master.

"Let's beat this level and go back to base!" Shigaraki shouts, sprinting towards the group of children. Nomu and Kurogiri follow his lead, going after the blonde oaf. However, before the blue-haired villain could reach the children, All Might, and the Nomu exchanged a punch, expelling powerful gusts of wind between them, causing all other parties to go flying backwards. Dazai curses as he almost gets his arm free, only to be sent tumbling across the ground once more, giving his head a couple good wacks against the concrete.

"Are you stupid?! One of his quirks is Shock absorption!" The blue-haired villain shouts, frustration seeping into his voice. He lands not that far away from his captive, eyeing him quickly. Dazai just provides a lop-sided grin from his position on the floor as he sneakily tries to wriggle his arm out.

"Hah! I know that! And it's because of what you said that I know what to do next!" The blonde hero exclaims madly, grin growing wilder as he quickly exchanges punches with the name, fists going too fast for the naked untrained eye to process. The wind surrounding the opponents goes feral, whipping against the villains and students alike, similar to a viper, keeping them from approaching any closer. Slowly, the blur of All Might's fists overtakes the dark smear that was the Nomu in their fast-paced battle of endurance. "You said specifically that this creature has Shock absorption, not Shock nullification! This means that, at some point, there is a limit to how much absorption it can take, am I right?!" All Might screams out as he puts as much power as possible into this fight.

Chuuya and the class try to stay standing as they are relentlessly attacked by onslaughts of wind, and to keep his hat in place, a red glow surrounds the ginger. He sees Izuku struggling against the gusts and grabs his shoulder to help keep him stable, the red outline travelling across the connection to encapsulate them both. The green-haired boy, now finding it easier to stay upright, looks back at All Might's fight with awe.

Kurogiri curses as he gains no ground towards the fighting pair; he is supposed to be helping Nomu kill All Might! Yet, with this invisible barrier lashing against his body, he can't even get close. Shigaraki watches quietly, any sort of words dying in his throat as his one hope of killing All Might is slowly being pushed back by the sheer power the blonde is showing off. The two villains manage to just hear a small scoff from behind them as Dazai manages to sit up. "Did'ya plan for this, or did you just hope it'd work out?" He sneered, giggling when his answer was met with silence.

"If you were built to meet me at my 100%, then that just means I have to go beyond!" The pro hero shouts, momentarily grunting as the Nomu targets his old injury, blood spurting from his mouth. He feels his energy waning with each pnch, he cannot risk pulling any punches. Aizawa gave his all to protect his students, and so can All Might! Rearing his arm back to give it even more of a charge, he punches the Nomu in its stomach, causing it to fly backwards. Chunks of concrete explode into the air as the Nomu crashes against the floor, craters left in its wake. All Might jumps high into the air following its trajectory as the Nomu recovers and runs on all fours towards the blonde, tongue lolling uselessly at it screeches in pain. They meet in the middle, tumbling through the air as they trade blows. Sounds of crunching ring out through the arena as both opponents hit fists against bones, those watching unable to tell from which enemy the sounds are coming from. The hero grabbing wildly at the creature's skin, rotating them as they spin in the air before using the momentum to fling the Nomu at the concrete below them. The creature speeds to the ground, back creating a sickening sound as it slaps against the floor, the sheer power of the throw causing the Nomu to bounce against the hard surface. All Might doesn't give it much time to recover as he lands beside the creature, shirt torn and blood splattered across his body.

"Now for a lesson, " the blonde says menacingly over his opponent, who hasn't even had the chance to process the hero's presence. Silence covering the area lets the hero know that everyone is hanging off of his words, invested in knowing what will happen next. "You may have heard these words before... but I'll teach you what they really mean!" Once more, the hero rears his fist back, but this time, he's leaning his entire body into the act. Faster than anyone can process, his fist rips through the air into the Nomu's stomach, lights dancing under its skin as it is torn from the inside out by sheer force. "Go Beyond! Plus ultra!!"

The obsidian-like creature becomes a black blur as it rockets through the air, crashing through the glass-like dome. Pops of explosions burst from its exit as it rips through lights and electrics, leaving behind a smoking trail as it doesn't stop its trajectory. Clouds part as the Nomu keeps flying through the air, looking like it will never come back down. Silence once again blankets all watching, awestruck at the show as tremors shake the area from the aftereffects. Once gazes fall back down to the hero, they see him in a cloud as smoke rolls off his body, standing tall and staring at the other villains. Chuuya watches the hero mutter on about his power with some semblance of... respect? That was an impressive feat that would've been hard for Chuuya to do alone so he could admire the hero's power. Just as the ginger realises his feelings, he curses and wonders how the hell he could admire a hero?! What is this mission doing to him?!

All Might stares at the villain's leader, who seems frozen in shock. He needs to threaten them enough for them to give up—he doesn't have much time left! The blonde also needs to keep their attention solely on him so the brunette he can see prying himself from the amputated hand can escape. Shit, this is going to be difficult. "You've been bested villains. Surrender. We all want to get this over with quickly... With the least amount of injuries as possible." He spoke in a low voice, eyes furrowing to be as threatening as imaginable, tone bluffing to bring pain to his opponents should they choose wrong. The leader shakes in anger, muttering words unintelligible to the hero as he raises his hand to relentlessly scratch his own neck. All Might watches as Shigaraki slowly turns his head away from the hero to look for Dazai, causing the hero to panic.

"What's wrong, villain? You're not attacking, yet didn't you say you'd clear this level earlier? Well, come on then. Attack. If you dare." The hero shouted out, trying to regain the villain's attention. He lowered his head to look at Shigaraki from under his eyebrows, his eyes glowing brighter to provoke the blue-haired villain. His plan seemed to have worked as the villain whips his head back to the blonde hero, taking a step back in fear.

The students watch on, slowly letting themselves relax as the villains show no intent on attacking, muttering amongst themselves to leave the rest of it for All Might to finish off. Chuuya watches Dazai finally emerge from the amputated hand, silently scampering around the last two villains in an attempt to run off. Lazy bastard. Sat there the whole fight and did nothing! His attention is brought back to the group as Todoroki tries to get Izuku's attention to leave. However, the broccoli doesn't seem to be listening, staring with growing concern at the pro hero. It seems whatever the green-haired boy knows about the hero is stopping him from leaving with the rest of the group; maybe that's also why All Might isn't attacking the rest of the villains now. He's had plenty of time to attack but is instead just standing in smoke and staring them down, trying to goade them into attacking him. Or maybe he isn't trying to provoke them into attacking him... He's bluffing! Whatever secrets the blonde hero has clearly affected his quirk, so when could he end the fight and defeat these two small fries? He's stood still, not moving a muscle. Shit, is that what he meant by running out of time? That's even more reason to get these kids out of here. While he begrudgingly respects the hero, he isn't going to risk the mission to help the blonde out, so after seeing a pattern with a certain green-haired boy running out to help All Might at any possible chance, the ginger stands close to the boy, hand brushing Izuku's side for quick activation of his quirk if need be.

"What? Are you scared?!" All Might exclaims, a mocking town creeping into his voice as his thoughts raced wildly. He just needs to stall! Dazai escaped that hand that has been keeping him captive this whole time, so now he just needs to bluff and threaten to hopefully scare the villains into surrendering or even running away. After that, the rest of the heroes in UA won't take long to arrive! He might be able to do this! He watches as the leader hesitates, arms going wide in defence, clearly expecting the hero to attack at any moment. Once again, he goes into a frenzy of muttering too far away for All Might to understand. However, it seems the mist villain has noticed something as its disembodied eyes float closer to the leader, staring at the hero as he says something. Shit, has he already seen through his bluff?! All Might is unsure if even moving will use up enough energy to force him into his smaller form; he's so screwed! Just run away! Please!!!!

However, his inner pleas are ignored, and the blue-haired man seems to have regained his resolve, sprinting towards the blonde hero. He hears a yelp and shouts behind him, and he notices Chuuya holding Midoriya back from running to All Might and actively dragging him back towards the entrance, a red glow covering the boy's body. Though he needs the help, he is glad that Izuku won't have to witness this. Knowing that this is probably the end of All Might feels weird, but he doesn't regret it. Those students will survive and grow to be the new symbols of Peace. Footsteps are all he can hear as he resolves his emotions, trying to move into some sort of fighting stance to try and stall further. Maybe if they see him gearing up for a fight, they'll think he's still okay? The only problem is that he can't seem to tell his body to move; brain signals are travelling but not being received by the needed components.

Before the Shigaraki got close enough to land the killing blow, he noticed a brunette blur to the side of him. Shit, Dazai escaped! He needs to take him back to Sensei! Forgetting about his original goal, the villain steers away from the hero, eliciting a surprised 'Tomura?!' from Kurogiri as the blue-haired villain chases after the boy. He could even hear a curse from All Might as the hero also realises who the villain is now after. He reaches his hand out, so close to grabbing Shuji, he just needs to bring him back! A bang rings out as he feels a sudden pain explode in the hand that was so close. So close. SO CLOSE. Shigaraki screams in frustration, snapping his hand to his chest to protect it as two more shots sound out from the entrance. The reinforcements have arrived. Shigaraki stumbles back, cradling his arm as Kurogiri circles behind him; he looks back to 'Dazai', who has turned around to face the villain, giving him a smug grin as blood leaks down his face and neck.

"It's game over... Let's go home; we can figure it out" Shigaraki is cut off as three more shots ring out, finding their way into his knees and shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground as more bullets rain down on their location. He curses in pain; Kurogiri stops any more bullets from attacking him as the mist circles entirely around him, blocking the blue-haired man from sight.

"Let's go," Kurogiri spoke as blood sluggishly pooled on the ground. Mist quickly overtakes Shigaraki's body before he quickly starts to get sucked towards the entrance of the USJ. He looks over to see Thirteen standing with the rest of the pros, her quirk once again activated and sucking the smoke within her astronaut-like suit. The portal surrounding Shigaraki's body pulls him in quicker, closing around him in an attempt to escape quickly. Before they fully disappear, however, Shigaraki stares at Dazai, face blank and unblinking.

"I don't know if you're really him... But mark my words. You'll be coming home soon."

(Ignore the Dazai in water part, I originally planned for Dazai to drown, but that changed whilst writing :P)

Chapter Text

Shigaraki flops against the hardwood floor of his lair, blood sluggishly staining the planks red. The blue-haired man stays frozen in his position, staring at the floor as he tries to process what just happened. They almost killed All Might; Nomu so close to ending his life before being defeated! This whole mission was a bust, a chance to show the world that the League of Villains had arrived and would bring about a new dawn of society, and it failed! And what's worse is it's all because of that brat who won't stop trudging up old memories that have stayed locked in the back of his mind for a reason. It's been years since he's thought of that brunette boy, and it might not even be him! It probably isn't him! This kid is named Dazai, a hero, and... is alive... But their Quirks are too similar to be a coincidence, and so are their eyes... Their big round soul-eating eyes... He has to tell Sensei.

As if reading his pupil's thoughts, the massive flatscreen TV resting against the wall on the bar flickers to life. Static dances across the screen as light streams down on the blue-haired man, casting him in an eerie purple glow.

"I see the mission didn't go as planned. It seems like you underestimated our opponents, but at least you can go more prepared next time..." Sensei muttered from behind his screen. Shigaraki can faintly hear the beeping of machines in the background before a shuffling of clothes becomes louder. Great... He's here, too.

"At least this failure is under this cheap 'League of Villains' thing that boy kept muttering about and not under our name." The annoying voice rang out in the bar, causing Shigaraki to curse under his breath. No matter what the blue-haired man does, it's never good enough for The Good Doctor. "Wait a minute, where's Master and I's creation? Where's Nomu??" The voice becomes incredibly louder as the doctor seemingly leans closer to their shared end of the connection, peering into the bar and not seeing the obsidian-skinned creature. Shigaraki grimaces and rolls over onto his back, cursing as he rustles the injuries gained by this damned mission. 

"Nomu was defeated by All Might. I could not collect him because he was blown far away, and I had no idea where he landed." Kurogiri helpfully spoke up for Shigaraki as the blue-haired man glared at the ceiling. He hears a scoff and some harsh muttering and insults coming from the line before rustling of clothes again, probably meaning the doctor has walked away from the feed, not wanting to deal with Shigaraki's failure. 

"I know that you are naturally upset, Tomura, but this mission wasn't a complete failure; I'm sure you've learned some things about the Blonde hero now that you can use to plan your next attack. Heal up and regain your numbers." Ordered the disembodied voice, trying to sound positive despite the tone being gravily and thick with expected disappointment. Normally, Shigaraki would be happy that Sensei is advising him, but something keeps eating away at the blue-haired man. 

"Sensei... I think I saw Shuji... Our Shuji." The blue-haired man muttered, unsure of himself as the words left his mouth. The silence afterwards didn't help the war raging within his mind—it can't be Shuji! Shuji was lost years ago! But... He looked just like an older version of him... No! Shigaraki wouldn't know what Shuji would look like when the boy was older; how could he be sure that is what he would look like at fifteen! Though...His quirk felt so familiar... Come on! In a world with All For One, Shigaraki is first to know that just cause someone has a similar/same quirk doesn't mean that's the same person! But Sensei wouldn't be able to take Shuji's Quirk, let alone would he dare give it away if he managed to do it-

"Oh... Is that so?" Sensei's low voice cuts through the fog in Shigaraki's mind, ripping the blue-haired man's gaze from the ceiling to the TV that holds their connection. Shigaraki hadn't heard Sensei so focused in what he'd said in years, and it caused an ugly feeling to stir in the man's gut: hope. 

"Tell me more."

Dazai groans as the disgusting feeling of washing up liquid clings to his fingers. He unfortunately lost the bet of defeating more villains than that stupid dog, but it's not his fault that the Leader was obsessed with him! And to make matters worse, that annoying mutt is sat at the breakfast bar, watching the brunette's every move with a smug smile settled on his features. 

"I think you missed one, Mackerel." Chuuya sneered as he brought out a dirty plate from its hidden spot on the seat next to the ginger. It was smeared with different condiments, obviously left out to dry, to make the cleaning process even harder. The look on Dazai's face must've been evident to how annoyed he's feeling as the Chibi burst into laughter. Dazai is so going to make his mutt pay! He's going to fill Chuuya's pillow with toothpaste or poke holes in his stupid hats without him realising so he can go to school with them on... Oh! He can -

The disgusting tune that the brunette is, oh so unfortunately, familiar with takes over any revengeful thoughts floating in Dazai's mind as his phone rings. The boys look at each other, both knowing that only one person other than Chuuya has Dazai's phone number and actually calls it. Mori. The brunette squints his eyes at his phone and lunges at it, but before he has the chance to hang up on the mafia boss, his ever-so-despicable ginger grabs the phone and accepts the call. Snorting at Dazai's failed antics, Chuuya puts the phone on speaker and places it on the breakfast bar between the two of them so they can both hear the conversation as the ginger starts it with a classic but simple, "Boss."

"Ah, Chuuya! I was wondering why I wasn't sent to voicemail immediately. Is Dazai still with you, though?" Mori questions, used to Dazai avoiding him at all costs. The brunette rolls his eyes before taking a seat at the breakfast bar, forgoing the chores he was doing before. 

"Yes, Mori. Unfortunately, I am here to be graced by your slimy voice!" Dazai mumbled with fake cheer in his tone, slumping against the counter with his arms crossed. Chuuya scoffs at the blatant disrespect to their boss, flicking the brunette's forehead, who sticks out his tongue in response. 

"So mean!~" Mori exclaims, fake hurt seeping into his voice, which makes Dazai shiver in disgust. "But alas, I didn't call for pleasantries... I believe something happened to the class your mission resides on, did it not? I would like a report on the matter." The sly man queries, seeing news reports that the class got attacked. The brunette groans loudly, slamming his head against the counter with a thud.

"The class was taken to the USJ, Unforeseen Simulation Joint, to learn how to rescue and or fight in simulated disasters by... Uh ... fourteen, no- Thirteen, a rescue hero." Chuuya stares at the phone as he tries his best to recount the day as professionally as possible. "Whilst Thirteen and Aizawa talked, I noticed a... uh... a timey- wimey uhhh-"

"Spatial distortion", Dazai mumbled from his spot on the counter.

"A spatial distortion. It grew into a portal which allowed an enemy group to enter the space. Based on their skills, I'd say the grunts were recruited from the streets without any training. Aizawa left the students and immediately attacked the horde below while Thirteen herded the students towards the exit. However, before she could get any of the students out, the owner of the portals appeared in front of the class. Dazai knew that the portal villain would split the students up, so he made sure that I was teleported away with a small group as he stayed and kept the ones left behind safe." Chuuya recounted, summarising the part where he wasn't involved, not knowing the exact details of when Dazai stayed behind. And with Dazai's current behaviour, he doubts the brunette will actually recount it in detail himself. "Once ported away, I was dropped above the shipwreck disaster area with Izuku Midoriya and Tsuyu Asui. We had to face off against water-based abilities as the villains planned to go to their specialised places and fight the children with an advantage. However, like I said before, it was obvious they had no real training, and it was... rather easy to defeat them if I do say so myself." The ginger smirked at his own praise, but it was true. Though he did get a small cut to his hip, he didn't really have any problem with the fight. A scoff emanates from Dazai as the boy peeks an eye up from his position at the ginger, who, in return, simply puts up a middle finger.

"Anyways, the leader of the group stayed in the middle with this... creature. It was powerful and had a speed like none other. Their main goal was to kill All Might, so they created the Nomu and called it the Anti-Symbol of Peace. It, uh... They were once human, I think, but the leader said that they bio-engineered the creature to have two abilities, Shock Absorption and Regeneration. They were using the Nomu to defeat Aizawa since All Might did not show up to class, and once they did that, the portal villain returned to the leader's side, informing him that one of the students had successfully escaped. The leader was furious and decided to attack Tsuyu in a desperate attempt to hurt All Might emotionally. I was distracted and didn't react in time... But before The Leader could harm the girl, Dazai jumped on his back and nullified his ability." Chuuya continued to recall what happened, having some reactions here and there from the lazy slob beside him. Mori was silent for the most part, listening intently to the verbal report with sounds of pen scratching coming from his end, most likely writing down what the ginger was telling him. 

"Interesting. So this group isn't actually after the school or students but, instead, the number one Pro hero that the rest of Japan loves to talk about. That makes sense, though why haven't they tried to seclude the hero and attack him with no meddling children around?" Mori surmises, the pen scratching stopping as the boss focuses on the phone call. "Nevertheless, have you found the leak yet, Dazai?" 

Dazai's only response is a whine as he slowly brings himself to sit up, a tired and bored expression covering his face. Chuuya quirks an eyebrow up, watching the exchange. What leak is Mori talking about? "Do you really think so little of me, Mori? Of course, I've found the traitor."

"A traitor? Huh?! Bastard, why haven't you told me that there's a traitor?!" Chuuya rages, wacking the brunette on the top of his head. Dazai yelps and covers his head in protection, giggling at the ginger's fury. "Who is it?!"

"I thought you had already found out! I mean, I figured it out almost instantly. As soon as I met them, in fact!" The brunette lied, a smug smirk growing on his face. "Has your silly hats been covering your eyes this whole mission? Does Chibi really not know who it is? How about this, if you can't guess who it is, the weeks worth of chores I have to do will transfer to you instead! And if you do guess who it is... I'll become your dog for one day, any day you choose!" Dazai sneered, interlocking his fingers under his chin as he stared at the ginger. Chuuya goes silent; he knows from experience that winning against Dazai is rare, but having the brunette at his beck and call for an entire day? That is so worth the risk, and it shouldn't be that hard, right? He knows Class 1A and spoke to the majority of them, plus Chuuya is a great judge of character!

"I get two guesses, alright?" The ginger demanded, eliciting a nod from his brunette counterpart. "I severely doubt it's any of the three that we hang out with. Iida comes from a hero family; Midoriya has that weird connection with All Might and Uraraka; I don't think she has a cruel bone in her body. Bakugo has that anger issue, but he was almost too willing to fight against those guys." Chuuya thinks aloud, wholly forgetting about his boss on the phone in front of him. Going through the list of students and weighing out their pros and cons would take too long; there's one traitor among 19 students. No, he must focus on the students who stay unnoticed, hiding plain in sight. There's Koda, who can barely speak above a whisper on the best of days, and Sato, who Chuuya nearly forgot existed. 

"Hmm... Could it be... Hitoshi? His quirk would be very useful for a villain group, with it being Mind control and all. And he generally stays quiet amongst the class. In fact, I think I've only heard him speak a few times since we started." The ginger questions, watching the brunette with narrowed eyes, trying to discern any tricks or deceptions. 

"Nope! Incorrect! 1st guess is wrong! Can Chuuya use his small pea brain to figure out the answer?!" The brunette crosses his forearms to shape an 'x' in front of his face. Dazai eagerly awaits the next answer, putting a fist below his chin as if he were holding a microphone before extending it out towards his partner. The ginger slaps the hand and starts to focus harder.

"Dammit. Ok... Ojiro is also pretty quiet and quite skilled in martial arts... Wait! Of course! The one person who literally hides in plain sight! Hagakure! She'd be perfect for infiltration since she's literally invisible and blends into crowds at a moment's notice! I mean, did you see her at all after the portal guy tried to teleport the students away? No! Cause you can't see her at all! She can just say she was somewhere, and no one can say she wasn't since she's invisible!" Chuuya exclaims, knowing that she is the most logical option, slamming his palm on the table. A smile is planted on his face, confidence exuding from his form as he watches the brunette for any tells. Dazai stays quiet, not giving any expression on his blank face. "It's... It's Hagakure... right?"

"Noooooope! Wrong again! Chuuya's going to be doing all the chores from now on!! Yay!!~" Dazai cheered, grabbing the wet washcloth from the kitchen sink and throwing it at the ginger. The cloth lands on his face, covering him in soap bubbles.

"Bastard! Get here. I'm going to shove this washcloth down your throat!" Chuuya rages and grabs the cloth and screws it up into a ball as he gets off his seat to chase his slimy partner. Due to the fact that Chuuya actually works out regularly and trains his body, he catches up to the walking stick with ease. However, just as he was stuffing the washcloth in the brunette's mouth, their boss decided to remind them that he was still there.

"While this is amusing to hear, could we get back to the matter at hand? Chuuya, you may enact your revenge after the call, just please don't cause too much damage; I wouldn't want to have to send him all the way back to Yokohama to get fixed up by me again. Anyways, you were saying, Dazai, who's the 1A traitor?" Mori rambles on, catching the two's attention. Chuuya's face heats up as pink races along his skin; how could he have forgotten the boss was here?! The ginger lets go of the brunette, letting him fall uselessly to the floor with the washcloth landing on his head. The shorter boy groans as Dazai shows no intention of moving from his spot on the floor before grabbing his shirt and dragging him back to the breakfast bar.

"Sorry, boss..." Chuuya grumbles, his cheeks still flush with embarrassment, as he sits back down. Slowly, he watches the brunette remove the wet cloth from his head before getting up and hopping onto the breakfast bar, sitting on the counter. The ginger scoffs in disgust and shoves him, yet he doesn't get any response in return.

"Yuga Aoyama, that's the 1A traitor. Quirk, Navel Lazer. From what I've seen, he seems to be an unwilling participant. I first learned he was the traitor when the school was broken into by what initially was believed to be the press. Instead, a shadowy figure, who I now know as Shigaraki, disintegrated the door and infiltrated the premises. While hiding in a bush, I found the two meeting, Aoyama giving Shiggy some papers and then getting threatened by Shigaraki. I do not know yet what Shigaraki holds over the blonde, but I'm sure it won't take that long to figure it out." Dazai drones on before getting swatted on his head for lying earlier about figuring out the traitor at first glance.

"Asshole! How was I supposed to figure out who it was?! You just stumbled like a buffoon and found out that way!" Chuuya exclaimed, slamming his fists against the counter whilst glaring at the brunette, who only offered a smug smile in response.

"Yuga Aoyama... I'll get someone to find out more about him. Can you give me his appearance, age, and anything else that'll make it easier to track his identity down?" Mori interrupted, trying to get as much information as possible from the two before they get into another argument. Luckily, this works as Chuuya regains his focus on the phone before him, Dazai sighing and slumping against his palm on the counter, his entertainment taken away. 

"Blonde, Light blue-ish purple-ish eyes, 15 years old. Has some sort of French heritage, I think? He keeps speaking French randomly and not in the romanticised 'Oh look, I'm so quirky! Bonjour, Wee Wee!' way. He has the proper accent an experienced French speaker has." The ginger responds, somewhat knowledgeable of the language due to his own studies and, unfortunately, his clingy brother.

"French? Interesting. Well, that is quite a lot of information you two got from the first week! Though what else would I expect from Double black? It's as formidable as always." Mori praises. The shorter of the two gleams under the compliments, ego growing tenfolds with each word. Dazai, on the other hand, groans in disgust, knowing that the despicable ravenette isn't praising the two boys but instead himself for pairing them together. "But unless there's anything else to share, we will resume this call next week for another report." 

"I mean, uh... there's something strange between All Might and Midor-" Chuuya is cut off by Dazai's hand cupping his mouth, preventing him from carrying on. The ginger looks at him indignantly, confusion furrowing his eyebrows. Dazai puts a finger to his mouth, his face resembling that of a lifeless doll, the classic Demon prodigy stare.

"Midoriya. He won't shut up about the blonde hero to the point that his 'fun facts' are so obscure that I'm starting to wonder if the green boy is a stalker! I mean, who else would know where All Might went to dinner for his 45th birthday!" The brunette steered the conversation away from its original ending, keeping it secret for now. He knows that Mori most likely caught the subtle change of topic, yet the phone call remains silent as the two mafioso stare at eachother in muted conversation, Dazai making it evident that Mori is not to know about Midoriya's possible connection to All Might just yet. The brunette slowly takes his hand away from the shorter boy's mouth, sure that the ginger won't blab. 

"Interesting... Though Chuuya was talking before you rudely interrupted Dazai! What were you saying, Nakahara?" Mori questions, putting emphasis on the ginger's last name. Chuuya and Dazai glare at each other.

"... One of the teachers at the school looks extremely similar to Dazai and has a nullification quirk. The class has started a rumour that the two are related, and even I sometimes wonder if it's true." The ginger growled, trying to get revenge against the brunette for making him lie to his boss. 

"Oh, that is so fake, and you know it!" Dazai exclaimed, showing a surprising amount of emotion for one who is sometimes mistaken for a mannequin if stood too still in a clothes shop. A mix of frustration and disbelief settles on the boy's expression, rolling his eyes at this preposterous idea. 

"Is this Shota Aizawa, otherwise known as Erasurehead, you're talking about? How interesting! I haven't seen many pictures of his face; underground heroes are so hard to take a picture of, after all. But from the information given to me by my informant in UA, I'm sure I have a picture lying around here..." The mafia boss's voice trails off as paper shuffling takes over the line. Dazai sits straight up in his seat, face returning to blank as tiny flickers of terror bleed through his system. Mori digging into his possible paternity is something he's never wanted to happen. All the ravenette loves to do is find out the brunette's secrets and use them against him; this is just going to be one more chain to fasten around Dazai's wrists, keeping him right where the mafia boss wants him. That's is if it's true. And it's not. Though knowing Mori, even if it isn't true, he will find a way to abuse it.

"Aha! Found it here! Though an annoyingly bare information card, there is at least a photo of the man's face!... Hmm... I do see what you mean, Chuuya; there are some... similarities between the two of them. Very... Interesting..."The raven-haired man mumbled. Even without seeing the creep's face, Dazai can tell from his voice alone that he has a wide, smug smile. The brunette almost swears under his breath; god, he hates Mori; has he ever said that? "Well, all this information you boys have given me is wonderful; keep up the good work! I must depart, however, so till next week!"

The call drops and the boys don't speak a word. Chuuya senses a strange aura coming off his partner, which always clings to the brunette after interacting with the boss. And though the ginger is familiar with it now, Chuuya can't help but feel uneasy because of the brunette in this state. The shorter boy coughs into his fist quietly before getting up, grabbing the washcloth and walking to the sink. He then soaks the washcloth in water, walks back over to the boy and throws it over his head. Like waking from the trance, the brunette yelps and scrambles to remove the wetness.

"There we go; that should remove the general gloomy atmosphere rolling off of your stinky ass", The ginger mumbled with a smirk, enjoying the sight of Dazai with water clinging to his fringe. What did Dazai say? 'Chuuya, sopping wet dog is an adorable look on you!'. Pfft! He's one to talk; the bastard looks like a pathetic wet cat! "Why'd you not want Mori to know about Midoriya and All Might anyways?"

"Oh, my dear Chibi, that is something you don't have to worry your pretty little head about!~" Dazai jested, voice like honey as he hops off of the breakfast bar, walking towards his room. He doesn't even realise what he said till he reaches his doorway, pausing in his stride as pink climbs his neck. 

"W-What did you just say?!" Chuuya shouts out, cheeks heated as he stomps his foot. He hates it when Dazai teases him like that; the bastard loves to see him get embarrassed! 

"Like I said, no need to worry about it! Say! You have a lot of chores to finish dont'cha? Well, with the fact that you lost the bet and all! Get to it, Chibi!" The brunette exclaims quickly, continuing into his room and slamming the door behind him. He leans against the door, eyes wide and heart racing. Why did he say that?! His brain was on autopilot; he was just trying to come up with a response to get the Chibi to drop the subject, and it spews that out?! Stupid brain!

+ some doodles!

Chapter Text

Due to the 'stress' and 'prioritising student mental health', UA decided to give the class an extra day to relax and recover. This was wholly unnecessary if you ask Dazai, who instead spent the day worsening Chuuya's mental health! He annoyed the ginger so bad that, at one point, the shorter boy tied him up using a spare duvet cover and locked him in one of the bedroom's closets. The brunette stayed there till the end of the day, being released by Chuuya so that the two could return to their sleeping schedule, Dazai being on the lookout for the night. A day well spent, in Dazai's opinion!

But alas, their break is over, and it is time to return to class. Donning the ridiculous uniform, the two mafiosos head back to the school, once again seeing press outside the gate, though not as desperate to get the hot goss from students passing by. Most likely due to the previous event, making the school dish out Cease and desist's to stop unwanted harassment of the student body. Even then, Dazai subconsciously sticks closer to his guide dog, brushing shoulders as they try to make it through the school gates without one of them being lost again.

They arrive at their classroom with plenty of time to spare before school starts and sit in their seats, watching their classmates speak animatedly. Tuning into the conversations, the duo quickly realises that they are talking about the USJ, which isn't unexpected since it's a significant event in their lives.

"All the news channels were talking about us last night; I mean, they're even stuck outside trying to get any more information!" Kaminari exclaims, leaning back against his chair with his arms bent behind his head. A smug expression settles on his face, obviously enjoying the attention.

"I turned on the TV and saw myself! It was so cool, bro, but wow... I was shocked!" Kirishima remarked, leaning forward in his chair.

"It was bound to happen. Villains attacking a hero course where a pro-hero was severely injured and a student taken hostage for part of the fight? That is an easy story to get attention." Jiro comments, twirling the appendage coming off of her ear in a bored manner. Some students nod along to her response before turning towards the said hostage.

"Oh, speaking about being a hostage, how are you doing, Dazai? We didn't get to talk much after the fight; they immediately carted you off to the nurse!" Kaminari spoke up, gaining more attention from those around the class. Jiro slaps the blonde on the back of the head, harshly whispering, 'Stop asking sensitive questions like that, idiot!'. Dazai shivered in his seat; he'd been trying to bury the memory of being carted off to the nurse throughout the break. He kept telling the teachers he was fine, but for SOME reason, they refused to believe the bloodied teenager. Luckily, after complying by going stock still and not answering any questions, they let the boy go, finding no serious injuries. They recommended that he book an appointment with the school therapist, GroundDog or something, but that will never happen! Dazai going to therapy!? When pigs fly!

"Oh yeah, Dazai got taken hostage during the fight! That must've been so scary!!" Mina exclaimed, covering her mouth in some sort of concern as she looked at the brunette. Chuuya snickers at all the attention the boy is getting right now, knowing that Dazai must be so uncomfortable under all this concern about his well-being.

"I am fine, thank you, Mina and Kaminari! Wow, you two are so nice compared to Chibi! He locked me up in a closet all day yesterday whilst I was recovering!" Dazai pouted, flopping back against Chuuya as he put a hand over his forehead. Classmates' eyes widened in shock as the ginger scoffed in response, pushing Dazai so hard that the brunette fell on the floor in a heap.

"You didn't need to recover, asshole; all you got from that fight was a few cuts n bruises. Plus, you deserved to get locked up! That's what you get for annoying me all day, 'Oh Chuuya, can you grab me the canned crab from the shelf? Oh wait, I'll get it; I don't want my Chibi to climb that high. You could fall down from that height and become a flattened little stain on the ground, and I wouldn't even notice!'... Bastard," Chuuya sneered, putting on his best annoying mackerel performance as he recounted yesterday's activities. A few giggles ring out from the duo's antics.

"I'm glad you two are fine. I kinda feel bad, though; I didn't help a whole lot! After that Portal villain left, we just stood around doing nothing while you were being attacked. I tried to run to help, but Thirteen said it was best that we stay as a group by the entrance!" Kirishima sighed, looking dejected as he recalled the events.

"It was a smart decision of Thirteen; she had to prioritise the students that she had with her, making sure we were all safe. If we got even more spread out, the villains could've picked us off one by one," Momo surmised, catching the conversation as she walked to her desk, sitting down with an elegance that could almost match Kouyou's.

"I know!... But... If helped out a bit, maybe Aizawa wouldn't have been as hurt, or Dazai wouldn't have been taken hostage..." Kirishima sighs, leaning his elbows against the desk as his interlocked fingers cover his forehead in anguish.

"Or you could've been taken off guard as you made your way there by one of the villains in the centre and got seriously hurt. No one would've seen where you were or even know that you had run off. You would be bleeding out slowly with no one there to help, taking away our miraculous stats of no student death." Dazai commented, tone entirely monotonous as if all emotions were sucked out of him. He slowly stood up from his spot on the floor, wiping down any dust from his clothes as he towered over his classmate's desks. They shuddered in discomfort as they came face to face with the demon prodigy, whether they knew it or not. The ginger tsked, breaking Dazai's hold over the students as a sly smile crept on the brunette's face. "Besides, you there or not, I was always going to get held hostage!"

It took a moment for those watching to process those words, brains still focusing on the face devoid of emotion that seemed to be a blackhole sucking up any light in the room. Though as Momo tried to speak up, mouth opening to start what Dazai could only assume would be a question, the brunette cuts her off.

"But anyways, Aoyama! Where were you during the whole fight? For someone so sparkly, I barely saw you!" The mackerel exclaims, performing a dramatic spin to face the blonde.

"M...Moi?" The blonde stuttered, surprised by the sudden interest.

"That is your name, right? Unless you have some sort of secret identity we don't know of!" Dazai questioned with a jovial tune to his voice, enjoying seeing the boy squirm in poorly hidden fear and discomfort. Chuuya groans before leaning his head against his desk, feeling a headache grow with every stupid word that falls out the moron's mouth. "But anyways, where were you? You weren't with the rest of the class, and Chuuya didn't see you by the shipwreck zone!"

"Oi, don't pull me into your bullshit," Chuuya muttered from his smushed position on the desk.

"I... Uhm, I was teleported to a different area... It was a terrifying experience, as Mina said! But uhm... Does anyone know if Aizawa-sensei is ok?" Aoyama tried to divert the conversation away from himself, clearly uncomfortable.

"I hope he is! But I bet-"

"Did you have to fight many villains, Aoyama? I bet you were so cool fighting against them!" Dazai cheered, emphasising the word cool a bit too hard to be considered sincere.

"Uh... I uh... I didn't fight much... I just hid till it was over. Not very heroic-like, I know, heh.. heh." The glitter bomb rubbed his neck. Mina reached over to him and patted his shoulder.

"That's alright, Aoyama! It was our first villain fight, plus I bet even All Might was scared when he first started out!" Mina comforted, putting on a small smile before it grew when mentioning the blonde hero. As if the name was a spark, multiple conversations suddenly emerged amongst the class, all talking about the man animatedly. Dazai outwardly groaned as he slumped back down in his seat, Chuuya snickering at the sight. The brunette stuck his tongue out at the ginger, earning a shove from the shorter boy with a smile.

Suddenly, the door slams open as Iida sprints inside, skidding to a halt at the front of the class. Conversations immediately mute at the sight of the boy, looking to him for answers. Iida takes a breath before standing straight and chopping his arm up and down in his classic fashion. "Homeroom is about to start!! Everyone in your seats, please!"

Awkward silence spreads around the class as they look at each other, searching for anyone who is still standing. As their gazes scan the whole room, they only find Iida. Giggles erupt between the classmates.

"You're the only one standing, Iida~!" Dazai sneered, stretching his body in a cat-like manner over his desk, mouth curling in an amused expression. Iida's hand slowed in its chopping motion before falling to his side, realising it's true; he was the only one who remained unseated. His cheeks were painted pink as embarrassment became apparent on his face; the blue-haired boy slowly walked to his seat in a robotic motion before lowering himself down to sit. Murmurs slowly become louder as students start up conversations with each other whilst waiting for the substitute teacher to arrive. With Aizawa out of commission, the mafiosos can only hope that the substitute will share the ravenette's lack of enthusiasm for the hero society. They were lucky in that regard; they could've gotten an overly excited hero kiss-up who kept preaching about how 'the best thing you can do is be a hero! Nothing can compare!'... Ugh... But, oh well, Aizawa is probably one in a million. Dazai can almost already feel the headache coming on-

"Morning."

All heads snap to the familiar voice and tone, and standing in all his glory is a fully mummified Aizawa. After fully processing that the man actually was here, Chuuya saw the bandages covering him all over. The ginger slowly turned around to Dazai, shit-eating-grin on full display and jabbed his thumb towards the still-stationary teacher. Realising the ginger's thought process, the brunette starts to scowl, glaring at Chuuya.

"Don't think we need a DNA test here; I mean, look at you two, practically identical mummies-"Chuuya was interrupted as Dazai pounced on him, hand wrapping around the shorter boy's mouth in an attempt to shut him up. The two toppled over, cursing and flailing as they hit the floor. Classmates watch on in disbelief as Iida gets out of his seat to try and pull the two apart. Aizawa looks on in disdain, mumbling something under the bandages covering his mouth before he reaches the front of the room.

"If you aren't in your seats within 10 seconds, you both are expelled."The teacher spoke roughly, raising his gaze from staring at the podium to the troublemakers to find them sitting in their seats. What. A brief moment of surprise flickers onto whatever part of his face is visible. He's had kids return to their seats before the 10-second cut-off, but that was record-breaking! He could barely finish his sentence before the two stared straight ahead as if nothing had happened beforehand. That was... Strange. "Oh... Uh... Well, anyway, let's get this started. Though I'm glad you all made it out of that situation relatively unscathed, the battle is far from over..."

Dread spreads throughout the class as some students lean closer over their desks, worried about what the teacher will say next. The mafiosos glance at each other, schooling their expressions to remain unbothered. Has the school uncovered a plan made by the league to attack the school again?

"The Sports festival is coming up soon."

The dread that smothered the class is immediately replaced with excitement, with students cheering and excitedly talking to each other; the previously quiet class booms in volume. Dazai cringes at the sudden intake his ears have to get used to but refuses to show even the slightest amount of weakness by covering his ears from the onslaught. Chuuya looks around confused. When watching school movies, yeah, the kids get excited, but not this excited for sports events!

"Wait! Should we really go through with this, especially after what happened at the USJ?" Jiro questioned, luckily causing the excitement to dim enough for Dazai's ears to get some relief.

"Though I don't agree with this, UA has to prove that its crisis management team is outstanding in situations like these. Security will be five times stronger this year and only verified heroes and family will be allowed to view from the stands. Above all, the event is a big part of your school curriculum, so it shouldn't be stopped because of some villains." Aizawa supplied, tone clearly unhappy about the circumstance.

"So... Uh... What's the big deal about this sports festival?" Chuuya questions, confused about the importance of this occasion. Instead of getting a response, every single head snapped to location, jaws literally ajar as if questioning if the ginger really said that. Even Aizawa looked bewildered.

"You don't know about the Sports Festival?! Do you live under a rock?" Izuku exclaimed, pure shock evident on his face.

"Chuuya and I are from Yokohama, not much hero stuff gets on the news there," Dazai explains, gaining another round of gasps. He knew this would have to come up at some point, so he might as well get it over with. Lying and claiming to come from another prefecture would just cause problems in the long run; what if another student came from the prefecture they chose? They would then have to lie about which school they came from and which part of the city they lived in. It would just cause too many lies, and eventually, they would forget about one of their lies and get caught. It's best to do half-truths. The only problem that arises from this revelation is the amount of questions the duo are going to be bombarded with...

"Woah! Yokohama is totally cut off from the rest of Japan, right?! What's it like-"

"You can ask social questions during your free time. Chuuya, our sports festival, is one of Japan's biggest events. People from majority of the prefectures tune into the news to watch it." Aizawa clarified, making sure to mention the majority instead of all, especially due to finding out that Yokohama doesn't seem interested in it. "Besides its popularity, UA uses the opportunity to showcase our student's talents to heroes for internship prospects."

"And to give the villains ample chance to figure out their weaknesses", Dazai mumbles, loud enough for only Chuuya to hear, who snorts at the school's idiocy.  

"After graduation, it's normal to join an agency as a sidekick! Then, once you've gained enough experience and popularity, you can start your own agency!" Kaminari explained, excited about his future prospects.

"Though it's common for some people to miss their chance and get stuck being sidekicks, you're probably going to be one of them, Kaminari... because you're Dumb." Jiro commented slyly, a smirk on her face as the electrified boy shuddered in his seat, disdain on his face.

"Cruel comments aside, being chosen by a popular hero such as the top 10 will give you more opportunities and experience that may even give you some limelight as well. However, your chances are limited. Once a year, there are a total of 3 opportunities to show off your skills to be chosen for an internship. So be prepared; no aspiring hero can let this prospect pass by." Aizawa voiced, eyes scouring the students before him, giving each one an ample amount of eye contact to show how serious this was. "Homeroom is dismissed."

Students immediately begin to relax against their chairs, excitement still thrumming in their veins, knowing that they get to participate in this year's sports festival. Dazai and Chuuya glance at each other, silently asking whether they should both actually try to win, knowing that at least Chuuya could probably get 1st relatively easily. However before the brunette could actually open his mouth, a cough resonates from the front of the room, the ravenette wanting to gain attention once more.

"Dazai, could we talk outside?" The teacher stares directly at the brunette before turning and walking out of the class. Some heads turn to look at Dazai before minding their own business and starting conversations with classmates. Slowly, the mackerel stands up, walking to the door with Chuuya trailing behind, the ginger standing against the wall by the door to listen into the conversation and, if need be, help the brunette in a fight.

"Aizawa-sensei, to what do I owe the pleasure? Not asking for a bit of blood for a DNA test I hope!" The brunette smiles as he leans against the wall that he knows Chuuya is behind, slowly tapping against the wall to communicate with the ginger in case the teacher's expression betrays the intention of his words.

"I... No. Though that would be a conversation for another time. What I wanted to talk to you about was what you said during the USJ incident." The teacher explained, eyes showing concern that Dazai could barely read due to the bandages covering nearly every inch of his face. Darn. The brunette tries to remember what the ravenette could be talking about, but nothing comes to mind.

"I said a lot of things during that time; you'll have to jog my memory!" Dazai replies, putting on his best naive expression.

"When you were held hostage by the Nomu, Shigaraki was threatening to kill you to hurt me due to you being my 'son'. You said that you meant nothing to me and asked, 'Are you going to make me pop like a balloon?' and then proceeded to ask for a quick death..." Aizawa's eyes bore into the student before him, trying to analyse any emotion on the boy's face, yet found nothing. A blank canvas.

"Oh, that? I was just stalling, of course! I knew that he would get confused by it, giving us enough time for someone to attack! And my plan worked!" Dazai lied. Though it probably will come up again, the brunette's best bet is to try and delay their inevitable realisation of his suicidal tendencies. If they figure out how broken the boy is, they may try to send him to mandated... Ugh... Therapy... Aizawa unfortunately doesn't seem convinced, though, eyes darting to the bandages poking through his collar. "The bandages? Fashion trend! They're all the rage back in Yokohama!"

"Look, I'm not accusing you of anything, but if you ever need to talk, you can either come to me or HoundDog. He's the school counsellor, and you can book an appointment with him anytime, free of charge." Aizawa explains, breaking eye contact with the boy to awkwardly look down the corridor. Dazai shivers at the name HoundDog. The mafioso can only hope that the name is superficial and not based on any heteromorph characteristics. But knowing Quirked society, it very well might be the latter. And a dog heteromorph as a counsellor? Give Dazai a pitchfork and a tail because he's already in hell. The brunette hates dogs with a fear-induced passion. "And Dazai, you don't mean nothing to me. Don't tell the rest of your classmates because they will use and abuse this, but I care about all of you kids. You all have so much potential."

"I'll be sure to check it out! Is that all Aizawa-sensei?" Even through his best acting, the boy can't help but mutter through gritted teeth, the thought of therapy is twisting something vile in his gut.

"Yes, that is all." Aizawa's gaze returns to the brunette, eyes questioning the sudden change in tone. Although he doesn't get to look long as, Dazai nearly sprints back into the classroom. The ginger waiting by the wall has a massive grin on his face, obviously holding back laughter at the thought of Dazai going to therapy. The brunette glares once more before tackling the ginger to the ground, wrapping his legs around the shorter boy to try and prevent Chuuya from being able to defend himself.

"THINK THIS IS FUNNY?!" Dazai screeches as the ginger bursts out into loud laughter, no longer being able to keep it in as he tries to fight back against the taller boy. Iida sighs and gets up from his seat once more.

Chapter Text

The group of five is waltzing through the corridors during their lunch break, a ginger and a brunette being forced to be separated by the three hero students lest they start fighting again. They chatted animatedly about the sports festival, explaining to the two Yokohamians the importance and opportunities the event holds for aspiring hero students. Chuuya listens intently to the conversation, asks questions here and there, and is somewhat amazed by how important it is for a school event to be broadcasted on live television. Dazai, however, was silent, mainly daydreaming about schemes and pranks as they meandered through the halls; maybe if he listened more, he wouldn't have gotten caught so off guard when the group stopped walking in surprise.

"Money?" Midoriya asks shock on his face. Dazai tunes back into the conversation, confused as to what going on. Uraraka is standing away in front of the rest of the group, shame and embarrassment etched into her being. Did she ask them for money? What's going on? The brunette looks to the rest of the group; Iida also shares a shocked expression, whereas Chuuya retains a neutral appearance. "You want to become a hero for money?"... Oh?

"Well, yeah... Agh!! I'm sorry, it sounds so selfish!!" Uraraka squeaks, flapping her arms widely as her face slowly grows redder in embarrassment. "Most people have such noble goals as to why they want to be heroes! Ugh, this is so embarrassing!"

"That's not embarrassing; hero work is like any other job. You get paid to be a firefighter or a doctor, and they save people as well, right? Sure, some people are corrupt about it and do it for the money without real care for the people they're saving, but I can tell that you still have compassion and would help anyone if they need it." The ginger surmises, leaning on one hip as he crosses his arms. 

"My family owns a construction company, but we don't get much work, so we're poor... I don't know why I'm saying this..." The brunette starts, looking away as her hands start fidgeting with her hair, combing through it in fast movements.

 Dazai sighed slightly as he leaned against the corridor wall; he didn't understand why she was so upset for a basic reason. Money is how society works; you need it for practically anything while staying legal; wanna eat? You need money. Have clothes? Money. Somewhere to call home? Money. It's understandable to be so concerned about how much you earn that it is the main reason you choose a job. Though he guesses that he can't relate, he works in the Mafia for a chance to die, sure the pay is good, and he can buy whatever he wants, but most of his expenses go to bandages and canned crab, both of which aren't that expensive. Maybe he could get Uraraka to become a temporary underling during this mission if he pays enough. It could be nice to have a genuine hero wannabe under his beck and call. 

"Construction, huh?" Iida's voice cuts through the brunette's thoughts. Placing his hand under his chin, he starts to think hard, causing Midoriya to do the same.

"Oh, with your quirk, you could cut costs on stuff like Machinery once you get your certificate! Lifting heavy stuff would be much easier." Midoriya exclaims, looking to Iida as he comes to the same conclusion.

"Right!! That's what I said when I was younger!..." Uraraka cheered, pointing to the duo as if they understood her every thought. However, that excitement soon melts into despair. "But... My pops said that as parents, they would be much happier if I achieved my own dreams... So I will become a hero and make enough money so my parents can take it easier. Then I'm taking them to Hawaii! That's my dream!!" Despair turned into determination as she stared at her classmates with renewed vigour. Iida and Midoriya gasped in awe before the blue-haired boy clapped loudly. Chuuya nods slowly; he can respect doing whatever you can to help your loved ones; he'd do the same.

"Bravo Uraraka! Bravo!" Iida cheered. 

"Heh! Thanks, Iida!" Uraraka smiled, pink dusting her cheeks as the boy continued to praise her. "I've said my reason; now you two have to!" She cheered and pointed first to Chuuya and then to Dazai. The ginger looked like a deer in headlights, head shifting between each group member. 

"I.. Uhm... " The mafioso stumbled over his words, trying to devise a reason to satisfy his classmates. Chuuya could just say heroes inspire him, but that sounds dumb and listless after Urarakas' heartfelt spiel about trying to look after her folks. If he says something basic, they might think he has no passion and is not worthy enough to become a hero. But if he makes up something elaborate, like his mother got killed by some villains, they may ask questions in the future after he forgets about his lie.

"Yokohama is an entirely different world compared to the rest of Japan. Quirks aren't well-liked over there; those born with them have to hide their nature for fear of ridicule and often are on the lowest ranks of society." Dazai speaks solemnly, keeping consistent eye contact with Midoriya and watching his every expression. Considering the inconsistencies between the broccoli and his quirk, the mafioso's leading theory is that the quirk has been given to him, with him being quirkless beforehand. And considering how poorly the quirkless seem to be treated in Japan's society, it could be good to play into that experience. Gain some sympathy points. 

"Most die young or are forced into a life of crime; we were lucky enough to escape that fate and want to give others a chance to do so as well." Though the words sounded noble and the forlorn appearance of the brunette fooled the three hero wannabes, Chuuya internally cringed at the hollow and fake words. Though it's not necessarily wrong, many young ability users do end up working for the Mafia or other shady organisations; it's not like Dazai has ever felt an ounce of pity for others in that situation. Hell, the brunette has even been the executioner of some of those stories, and the same is true of Chuuya. But at least it's something.

"Wow... I'm sorry you had to grow up like that, though I'm glad you managed to get through it! If you guys ever need to talk about-" The green-haired boy trails off as a large thudding quickly grows louder behind them.

"Found you, young Midoriya!!" The blonde man cheers, pointing to the broccoli. A scowl instantly graces Dazai's face, forcing his head to the side. This was supposed to be a session to get more info while also getting closer to Midoriya, and of course, the old oaf had to ruin it. 

"All Might! W-What is it?!" The green-haired boy squeaked, looking around to see if there were any looming threats.

"Lunch... Let's eat together." All Might sheepishly brings out a packed bento box and shows it towards the group. The action sickens Dazai; does he not realise how this looks? Asking to eat lunch with one of your students, alone in a room? Chuuya grimaces, obviously sharing the thought. And the way the man is holding himself, curling over the bento box, physically making himself look smaller and weaker as if they didn't watch him pummel a brute last week. It reminds him of Mori, and Dazai gags. Uraraka, however, loudly giggles at the sight of the Number one hero hunched in on himself as he asks for Midoriya to join him for lunch. "Is that okay?"

After that question, the green-haired boy looked to the group to see if his friends were okay with him leaving. Iida and Uraraka nod after the brunette manages to calm herself down. Though, looking at the two Yokohamians, Midoriya doesn't get an immediate answer, instead seeing the two sharing a glance. Chuuya tenses up, leaning a bit closer to the green-haired boy as he searches Dazai's expression for any indication to intervene. Eventually, the brunette nods to the green-haired boy and stares at the ginger to do the same, who, after glaring at the brunette, reluctantly nods as well. 

"Uhm... Yeah, that's okay!" Midoriya replies, a little off-put by the looks Chuuya and Dazai are giving, but he walks away towards his mentor. However, before he can get far, his arm is pulled back as the soul-freezing wash of Dazai's quirk spreads from his wrist. It's constantly jarring, feeling the quirk he worked so hard to earn disappear and being forced into the familiar lonely despair that is Quirklessness. 

"Oh, and Midoriya, before you go... Maybe we'll take you up on that talk one time." Dazai gave a small smile, keeping his eyes to the floor before bringing them up to the boy, trying to look sheepish as his grip on Midoriya's sleeve tightened slightly.

"Yeah, we can do that." Midoriya nods, smiling back. After a moment, the brunette lets go, eyes continuing to bore down on the greenette before turning around and walking towards the cafeteria, the others following him. The broccoli, for some reason, feels a little uneased at the interaction but decides to shake it off and heads over to All Might to join him for their Lunch discussion.

The remaining group members wait in line in the cafeteria, some more excited about the prospect of food than the others. However, the thought of what just happened keeps playing in their heads, and curiosity grows more and more.

"What do you think All Might wants with Midoriya?" Uraraka starts the conversation, looking between her classmates, clearly intrigued by the interaction that happened. 

"Midoriya helped immensely during the fight in the USJ; maybe he's trying to show gratitude?" Iida surmises, looking to Uraraka, who hums deeply in thought. 

"Chuuya and I also helped out during the USJ fight! Why aren't we getting a free dinner from Big Shot Number One Hero!? I bet he has loads of money and can buy the best crab in the food biz!" The brunette whines before getting slapped by Chuuya on the back of the head. As the hit connects, however, a little button falls to the floor, bouncing around before settling down on the floor. Dazai leans down and picks it up, inspecting it before turning to the others. "Oh, I think this button is from Midoriya's uniform; it must have snagged on my sleeve and fell off. I'll quickly go and give it back to him. Chuuya, grab some crab for me!" 

"Wait, Dazai, you shouldn't interrupt All Might and Midoriya's Lunch!" Iida tried to reason, but the brunette was too far away to hear, somehow already reaching the cafeteria door and disappearing from sight. The class president sighed, about to go follow him, before Chuuya placed a hand on his chest, stopping him in his tracks.

"Let him go. Trust me, he won't stay there long if All Mights is there." The ginger surmises, rolling his eyes.

"Oh yeah, that's something I've been meaning to ask... Whenever All Might is around, Dazai seems... off. In fact, noticed him scowling earlier when he showed up, asking Midoriya to join him for lunch. Does he hate All Might?" Uraraka questioned, looking to Chuuya for answers due to his close relationship with the boy. 

"How could Dazai hate All Might? He's the number one hero! An inspiration to us all!!" Iida butted in, chopping his arms in tandem with his words.

"Like we've said before... Heroes aren't as talked of or even well-liked in Yokohama. We didn't grow up thinking 'that there was nothing to fear because All Might is here'... I think I've seen him maybe once or twice on the news after a large-scale battle, but the news never painted him in a good light." Chuuya replied, dropping his hand from Iida's chest, pretty sure that the boy was too interested in the explanation to follow Dazai and whatever scheme he had cooked up. 

"I don't know what Dazai has against the guy, I frankly don't give a damn about All Might. I can respect how he went about the USJ, putting his all on the line to protect us, but it stops about there. He's just another powerful guy who has way too much merch. Like moving to Musutafu, I expected to see maybe a few toys here and there cause I knew he was a big deal out here, but he's everywhere! We go grocery shopping, and we've passed about 20 murals and shops dedicated to the guy before we even get to the food shop! And it's a 10-minute walk! Let alone the amount of food that has his face on them. Which is another thing, he cannot have tried all that food himself and think all of it is good enough to endorse." The ginger exclaims as the two listening chuckles.

"That would be shocking, haha. I guess since we've grown up with it, we've become accustomed to the mass amount of merch, but now that I think about it... Yeah, All Might has a lot of influence!" Uraraka giggled, thinking about how often she saw the man on her way to school before actually seeing him in class.

Dazai probably looks so suspicious right now, putting his ears against random rooms as he searches for his teacher and classmate. He knows that they went in this direction, but which room they chose is still up for question. He's just lucky that right now, any roaming students have most likely made their way to wherever they're staying for the lunch period, be that the cafeteria or another hang-out spot. Hearing nothing coming from the room he's pressed up against, the brunette moves onto the next, being as quiet as possible as he eavesdrops. 

"I pushed myself too hard... That Nomu was a tough opponent. I was in a lot of pain," A deep voice mumbled, voice somewhat blurred through the door. That doesn't sound a lot like All Might... But maybe this is how he truly sounds behind that idiotic persona of the Number one hero. It would be interesting to find out who All Might actually is. "I can barely maintain my Muscle form for one and a half hours now..."

What?

"What?!" a higher pitch voice asks, and Dazai has no doubt that voice belongs to Midoriya. It seems the chibi was correct however; he suggested that the hero might have something physical to hide back at the USJ when it was revealed he wouldn't show up in class. All Might has two forms, a 'Muscle form', as he just mentioned, most likely the form everyone is used to seeing, and another form he is presumably taking behind these doors. Considering the 'Muscle form' is the one he presents to the world, this other form must be widely weaker in appearance. Dazai focuses back on the room as Midoriya speaks up again. "Sorry..."

The brunette's face falls into sheer confusion as he hears sounds of coughing and liquid being sprayed comes through the door. What just happened in there?? Before he could dwell on it, however, All Might speaks up again. "Don't Apologise... Here's your tea." That must've been the sound of liquid spraying; Dazai lies to himself as he recognises the faint smell of blood. 

"More importantly, the sport's festival. You still can't control One for All, can you?... What can we do about that..." The man trails off. One for All, huh? The brunette feels a nagging in the back of his mind that he's been getting ever since meeting that damned broccoli, but no matter how hard he tries, he cannot find out why. The name of Midoriya's quirk sounds familiar but he can't remember the boy telling him, right? 

"Oh! During the USJ, I punched the brain villain and didn't get any backlash; my arm was completely fine!" Midoriya exclaimed. Ah, they're talking about the boy's biggest weakness, the power of his own quirk. He does remember the boy coming out unharmed after attacking the Nomu.

"Oh right, you mentioned that. Do you know what you did differently?"

"Different... I guess if there was something different from the One for all I had been using before..."  Midoriya mumbled, causing Dazai to lean further into the door, trying to pick up the words. "It'd have to be that for the first time, I was using it against a person."

"It seems like you unconsciously put a limit on your power output. Whatever the case, it is an Improvement! That's good." All Might surmises. So Midoriya can choose his power output, maybe not consciously, as of right now, but he should be able to do so with more training. That would help with the mission, not having to worry about the boy hurting himself should the mafiosos not be watching his every movement. Dazai can hear sounds of movement as a sofa creaks and footsteps walk away from the door."Drink."

"Oh yeah, thanks."

"If I'm going to be honest... The time I can be the symbol of peace is becoming limited, and I believe that those who plan to do evil are starting to realise it." Dazai starts to wonder if that's part of the reason Mori has sent them out here; to gather intel on the withering old man of power that symbolises peace. It would be helpful to find out, as one of the main reasons the mafia doesn't stray out of Yokohama too often is that they don't want to attract the attention of annoying flies like the heroes. Give them a sniff of misdeeds, and they would storm Yokohama like bulls in a china shop. However, if the main man, All Might, retires or even dies, the whole of Japan would delve into chaos, trying to fill the hole he leaves behind. Too distracted to see the growing roots of the mafia.

"I bestowed my power on to you because I want you to succeed me! That passion of yours is still growing, yes?" There it is. The exact information that Dazai's been trying to find out since meeting the two. So... Midoriya's Quirk comes from All Might; presumably because of that, the man's grip on power is weakening. How does this power get passed on, however? Is it hereditary? Is it whoever the wielder chooses? Can it be stolen?

"Yeah!" Midoriya exclaims. God Dazai can feel the enthusiasm from behind the door.

"Then it's time to show it. The UA Sports festival where all the Pro heroes, no the whole country, are watching closely. That is why we are having this talk. The next generation's All Might, the rookie Symbol of Peace. Izuku Midoriya! I want you to show the world that you're here!!" The man clamours, probably doing some sort of dramatic pose or expression like the theatrical guy he is. Well, Dazai has all the information he needs for now; he doubts they'll talk about anything else interesting, so he might as well get the next bit over and done with. Time to move on to becoming Midoriya's secret confidant. 

Putting on a sheepish facade, the brunette knocks on the door before slowly opening it, revealing his presence. Midoriya screeches, turning around to face Dazai before jumping in front of the scrawny skeletal man that he assumes is All Might. Who starts spurting out a bunch of blood... 

"Ah, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to overhear; I just came to return your button, Midoriya. It snagged on my blazer and must've fallen off." He tried to placate by waving his hands in the air and showing off the button. The greenette takes a moment to look at his sleeve and notices the missing button; however, knowing that Dazai has already overheard the conversation, he deflates slightly, still trying to hide All Might. "Uhm... Are you ok, though? That's... a lot of blood..."

The walking skeleton takes a moment to recover before looking at Dazai in somewhat fear. The man points to the open door behind the boy, and the brunette turns around to close it, allowing All Might to calm down. Once Dazai turned back around, All Might walked in front of Midoriya, a hand on his shoulder to say without words that he was okay.

"How much did you hear, Dazai?" The man gets straight to the point, eyes boring down on the boy, and if Dazai had any emotions, he would maybe feel fear under this gaze. Ignoring the hairs on the back of his neck standing to attention, the brunette forces his gaze to the floor, trying to look ashamed.

"The last... 2 minutes or so." He lied, placing Midoriya's button on the table. His stomach rolls as he prepares himself for what needs to happen next. He... bows... To All Might. "I'm sorry for overhearing your conversation, I won't tell anyone, I promise! On Mine and my father's life!!" Though he hates the prospect of being submissive to the idiotic hero, he's glad that his face isn't able to be seen by the two as he can't help but crack a smile.

"Please stand straight, Dazai. While I am upset you were eavesdropping, that can't be helped now. I suppose I should explain, however. Please sit down." Dejectedly, All Might motions a hand to the chair where Dazai assumes Midoriya once sat and does as he's told. Once rested, Midoriya and All Might do the same, the greenette's gaze flipping between the two with apprehension. "Though before I get into it, whatever has been or will be said in this room cannot be shared with anyone, understand?"

"As you heard, I have passed down my Quirk to Midoriya so that he can become the next symbol of peace since my time is coming to an end. The quirk is called One for All and has been passed down for generations." He explained, staring intently at Dazai, trying to discern any betraying emotions. 

"Ah... I see. That makes sense." Dazai leans back and crosses his arms, pretending to be deep in thought.

"W-What?! Why are you so calm about this, Dazai? And what do you mean that makes sense!?" Midoriya squeaks, cheeks blushing pink in embarrassment for being so easily caught.

"Well, I've noticed a lot about you two; it's obvious that All Might favours you, as well as you being a fanboy; your hero costume isn't that subtle, Midoriya." That makes Midoriya squeak once more, staring down at the ground as his cheeks become redder. All Might coughs into his hand, trying not to agree nor disagree. Dazai starts to tap his fingers as he lists all his observations. "There's the similar quirk, the coincidence that All Might came to work here at the same time as you enrolled even though it's evident that All Might has NO teaching experience. The fact that Bakugo seemed set on the idea that you were quirkless and kept boasting about it. And the lack of familiarity of your quirk." He explains, secretly enjoying the look on All Might's face as Dazai talks about his poor teaching skills. Midoriya, however, curls in on himself at the mention of Bakugo. 

"I uh... see." All Might sighed, obviously thinking that he was doing a good job of hiding it. Good thing this idiot isnt a stealth hero, he would not be the number one hero if he was. 

"I forgot how smart you are, Dazai; maybe you could help me, though. Do you have any idea on how I can use my quirk without getting hurt every time?" Midoriya finally brings his gaze back up, eyes pleading.

"Well... explain to me thoroughly what it feels like to use your quirk and how you activate it."

"God damn Shitty Mackerel getting me to order him some food only for him to NOT SHOW UP!" Chuuya rages as he shoves crab in his mouth, unwilling to let food go to waste as the bell rings. 

Chapter Text

Sorry for the late update, not only have I not got a fully finished chapter but I also have had a bunch of laptop issues and got logged out of A03 for a while and had to remake my password ;AAAA;

Due to laptop issues I will have to send it in to be repaired which means I wont have access to it till next Sunday. I either will upload the next chapter Friday (the next one coming up aka 22nd) or Saturday the 30th

I'll try and draw a bunch of art to make up for it for next Saturday1!! 🙏

Chapter Text

It's the last class of the day, where a student's energy is the lowest, just waiting for the bell to ring to release them from this building of knowledge. However, that time seems to stretch on for decades as their ever-enthusiastic English teacher drones on about the proper grammatical use of plural words. Dazai used to feel pity for President Mic, with how, during the entrance exam, he tried so hard to get the examinees excited yet got no energy in return. But right now, the brunette has nothing to give and is slumped against his desk as the spine of his workbook presses an indent in his forehead. 

Going over a plan on how to help Midoriya with his given quirk took a lot out of him, considering All Might is a buffoon and has no teaching skills whatsoever. From what he gathered, the sheer amount of power One for All maintains is too much for the boy's body, which is why it backfires and hurts him so much whenever he uses it. His body wasn't able to adapt to the Quirk since birth, like usual, so suddenly 'developing' one at 15 is bound to cause damage whenever used. It's just an unfortunate coincidence that the one he's been given has the power to level a building in one strike, making the damage to his body worse. Midoriya is seriously lucky that UA has a nurse with a powerful healing quirk on standby. Otherwise, the greenette would have lost multiple limbs by now. He needs to either find a way to make his body adjust to the change enough to not get seriously damaged every time it is used or limit his power output consciously. The latter is the easier solution; Dazai just needs to figure out how to--

"Oh wow, look at the time!" The blonde cockatiel's voice slices through Dazai's thoughts as the brunette sluggishly opens his eyes. Damn... He must've been really deep in thought; it's almost as if he slept. "Before the bell rings and I dismiss the class, I need to pass these letters out for you guys to give to your parents and or guardians!" President Mic exclaimed, rummaging through some paperwork behind the podium at the front before pulling out a stack of letters held together by a branded President Mic paperclip. Seeing a chibi version of the hero holding the letters makes both mafiosos cringe internally. The acting teacher heads over to the front of the rows and hands each student a smaller pile of letters so they can take one and hand the pile back behind them. 

"I'm sure Aizawa told you about how the Sports Festival will only allow students, families, and Proheroes to enter the event this year due to the USJ incident, yeah? Well, these letters are to tell your parents about that and to ask if they wanna come! A response is Mandatory so that we know how many people to expect and who's coming, so make sure your parents or guardians either tick yes or no to the RSVP to let us know!" The blonde smiled, returning to his podium to pack up the rest of the paper into his bag. The students finish passing the letters around and start to pack up themselves, the bell not long from ringing to let them go. 

Chuuya and Dazai share a glance after reading the letters, knowing that this is going to have to be discussed when they get back to their place. And finally, the shrill sound of freedom rings through the air as students leave their seats to return to their homes. However, as Chuuya and Dazai beeline to the door, needing to talk as soon as possible, they are cornered by the trio of unending optimism. 

"Oh hey guys, wanna walk out with us?" Uraraka asks, face innocent as she blocks their path to escape. Dazai really cannot be bothered to deal with these three right now, and considering how Midoriya seems to be watching his every move since their talk, he'd preferably just leave. But before he could even think of a polite way to say 'Fuck off, I'd rather die', Chuuya speaks up. 

"Sure, but Dazai and I've got somewhere to be soon, so let's get going." He placated, adding a sense of urgency to his voice, to try and get them to walk faster, which luckily succeeds.

"Oh, sure. Are you guys going to go give your parents the letters?" Midoriya asks, wondering about the reason for the urgency, still keeping an eye on Dazai. God, maybe the brunette should add in acting classes when he helps out the greenette; he seriously cannot hide anything. 

"Nah, our folks are back at Yokohama. We'll just call them about it." Chuuya replies simply, keeping a brutal walking pace that leaves the rest getting a little sweaty as they try to keep up.

"Do you think they're gonna come to the festival? If there's no work, I'm sure my Mum and Dad will be so excited to go!" Uraraka smiled, eyes gleaming as she thought about her parents cheering her on from the stands.

"Oh, my Mum is probably going to come! She's also definitely going to record it on the TV as well as her own camera, heh." Midoriya exclaims, cheeks going a little red in embarrassment as he starts to wonder how many times he's going to be recorded by his mother alone.

"I believe my mother and father will make an appearance,  though my brother will probably be too busy with hero work to attend. Maybe my Grandparents will attend instead." Iida ponders, tone going slightly solemn as he speaks of his brother's unavailability.

"I don't think Mori is even allowed to be 20 feet near a school," Dazai mutters bitterly, words too quiet for anyone to understand, though he gets a questioning look from Chuuya nevertheless. The rest of the trio look at him expectantly, wanting him to either repeat what he said clearer or make a response about whether his guardians are going to attend. He does neither and just glares ahead as he walks. 

"Don't bother trying to get a response out of him; he's in a cranky mood. But uhh, as for me... I'm not sure, to be honest, but I'll have to ask my sister when I get the chance." The ginger shrugged, not getting his hopes up on whether Kouyou can attend or not. After all, she is a Mafia executive and has a busy schedule on the best of days. Plus, Mori might not find a simple school event significant enough to send out two high-ranking Mafia officials. Actually, if that wasn't the case, he and Dazai wouldn't be out here either... 

Soon enough, they exit the school gate, and Iida and Uraraka bid them adieu as they go their own ways back home. An awkward silence overtakes the remaining trio as Midoriya keeps trying to sneak glances at Dazai, though failing at the sneaking part, and Dazai pointedly ignoring the green-haired boy the best he can. Chuuya, walking in between the two of them, couldn't help but feel uneasy at the tension brewing. Obviously, something went down during lunch after Dazai ran off, something that Midoriya doesn't want to discuss with Chuuya around. Maybe he should pretend he forgot something at school and take a different route back so they can deal with whatever... this is. Yeah, that's probably the best solution, but even if it's not, it beats being stuck here with them. The ginger starts to pat down his pockets overdramatically, getting Midoriya's attention immediately.

"Oh, shoot, I forgot my wallet at school; you two go on ahead; I'll go get-- FUCKING HELL, DAZAI!!" Chuuya starts, putting on an annoyed expression as he points in the direction where they came from school, only to hear a splash to the left of him. He'd been too busy trying to think of a way to ditch these two, that he forgot to keep an eye on the childish brat when walking by a river. He hears Midoriya screech in concern as the green-haired boy drops his coat and bag on the floor to run after the floating nuisance. The ginger groans in annoyance, following after the two, laying his bag on the side of the pathway. 

"Dazai, are you ok?!" Midoriya screamed, jumping in the water as the brunette floated along, legs dangled in the air. It took a moment before the greenette managed to catch up to Dazai, grabbing hold of his ankle before pulling the boy back towards the edge. Once the green-haired boy got out he drags the brunette out, flipping him over so that his face isn't being smothered by the ground below and starts to freak out even more. "Oh my god, what do I do?! Do I do CPR?! Mouth to mouth?! I think I saw that on a show!" The broccoli forgot the most basic task to even see if the boy before him was breathing, which he was, and was causing himself even more stress for no reason. 

Dazai just simply didn't wanna get up; getting up meant he had to walk back to their home, and walking back to their home meant he eventually had to call Mori... And if Dazai is good at one thing, it's trying his best to delay contacting the man. However, even Dazai has limits on what he's willing to do as the green-haired boy's lips come closer to his own to try to breathe life into him. He can hear his so-called partner snickering away, unwilling to save the brunette as he plays an unknowing game of chicken. Just as Dazai was about to back out, the boy's lips connected, and air got pushed into his lungs, making him flail his arms widely. Midoriya squeaked and moved away, in awe at how he managed to save Dazai with one breath!

"What the fuck did that old man feed you at lunch?! Your breath stinks!" Dazai screeched, face flushed red as he tried to get as much space away from the green-haired boy. Chuuya stared in shock, expecting the brunette to chicken out way sooner.

"Oh, he uh... He brought me Nattō... Sorry, I didn't realise my breath smelled." Midoriya blushed in embarrassment, covering his mouth as he checked his breath. "Are you ok though, Dazai? You just... fell into the river.."

"Yeah, I just got light-headed and tipped over. Forgot to eat breakfast this morning." He lied, shrugging nonchalantly as he tried to reign his fast-beating heart back in. Soon enough, he regains control, willing the colour to drain from his face as he schools his expression back to neutral. Once his body is once again listening solely to his brain, he notices a strange expression on his partner, one he can't read. When can he not read an expression?! Especially one of Chuuyas? Risking another glance at the ginger, he tries to pick apart the face. Shock? Anger? Embarrassment-? No Jealousy?! Is the ginger jealous?! 

"Oh yeah, you also missed out on lunch because of our talk." The greenette added, glancing at the ginger as he mentioned the talk. But Chuuya isn't listening; he hasn't since the 'mouth to mouth'. He doesn't know why he can't stop thinking about it; it was just Dazai being stupid, annoying Dazai! But the image of the brunette's face turning beetroot red and how his ever-constant mask broke replays in his mind... Does Dazai have a crush on Midoriya? Chuuya had never seen Dazai act like that before, even when the brunette would chase after countless girls, asking to commit double suicide. What happened at lunch today...? "Oh no, your bag!! The letter to your parents is going to be soaked!!"

"Oh, nooooo, I guess I will have to wait to tell my dad till I get a new letter. That's too bad. Anyways, let's get going!" Dazai promptly stands up, wiping his clothes down as he smirks. Chuuya's expression remains present in the brunette's mind, making his thoughts run a million miles per hour. The chibi was jealous... of what? Of the fake mouth-to-mouth? Does Chuuya have a crush on Midoriya?

"Good thing I took your letter after you 'forgot' it at your desk earlier. Look safe and dry in my bag!" Chuuya sneered, smirking whilst rummaging through his bag to produce two letters. Dazai gasped at this betrayal, ignoring the lackluster energy the ginger was giving. 

"You bastard!!" 

Once home, the two mafiosos ignore each other, going straight into their respective tasks. Chuuya cleans the kitchen thoroughly as he tries to think of a reason why he cares if Dazai has a crush on Midoriya. Sure, it'll be annoying if the Mackeral and the Broccoli date and would hinder the mission, but why can't the ginger stop thinking about it. Why does Dazai's red face linger in his mind? It's frustrating the poor mafioso as his grip tightens around the plate he's cleaning. 

Instead, Dazai is on a laptop in the living room, finishing paperwork sent from Mori about a mission he led over 2 months ago. Usually, he would wait till the man forces Chuuya to do the paperwork for him, but he needs something mundane and tedious to do as he tries to decipher what happened earlier. There's only a certain amount of times Dazai hasn't been able to thoroughly read a person's expression. Rare enough that he could count each time on one hand, but this? This is different, this is Chuuya. He's supposed to be able to read the ginger like a book! The boy wears his heart on his sleeve, but all the brunette could barely even pick out was jealousy, maybe? The only logical solution was that the ginger was jealous of Dazai for getting a 'kiss' from the greenette. But since when did this crush develop, and how did the brunette miss this?! And why'd it have to be Midoriya... Submitting the paperwork, Dazai leans back against the sofa, resting a hand on his bouncing leg. This could become a problem in the future if this crush goes on and festers; the ginger could become loyal to the green-haired boy, considering his strong emotions for those he cares about. Chuuya would do just about anything for Kouyou and if he gives the same energy for that hero wannabe? The ginger may leave... the mafia.

Before Dazai could spiral even further, the shrill ring of his phone brought him back to the present. Great, Mori wants something. The brunette grabs his phone and brings it to his ear as Chuuya rushes over to the living room, ready to make sure the call gets picked up. The ginger gawks at the lack of resistance from the brunette, going as far as answering the phone... HIMSELF.

"What do you want, Mori?" Dazai drones on as he raises an eyebrow at the ginger, acting as if this isn't a total change of character. Chuuya squints his eyes, trying to understand what Dazai is planning before sitting down beside him, motioning for him to put the call on speaker. The brunette sighs and holds the phone in between the two of them, allowing the ginger to listen in. 

"What happened, Dazai?" Mori questions, a slight tone of confusion in his voice.

"What do you mean, 'what happened?'. You're the one who called me! You tell me what happened." Dazai groans, not wanting to speak to this man for longer than needed.

"You submitted the paperwork that I asked you to do 2 months ago. You only submit your paperwork willingly when something is wrong." The man explained, a distinct sound of high-pitched mumbling coming from his side, as assumingly Elize tried to get Mori's attention. Surprisingly, he ignores his favourite 'person' to carry on this conversation. 

"Well, it's your fault for sending us on this mission, Mori! I'm bored out of my mind here, having to pretend to want to be heroes!" Dazai lied, pointedly not looking Chuuya in the eye as the ginger stared at him. The mackerel willingly doing paperwork?! 

"I'm so sorry, Dazai! I can send over more paperwork for you to fill out if you need more tasks to keep you sane~" Mori responded slyly, the man enjoying messing with the boy. 

"No need, I'm sure my dog can entertain me from now on..." The brunette leans back against the sofa, one arm curled back to act as a pillow. He hears a scoff coming from Chuuya. "Anyways, if that is all you wanted-"

"Wait! We do actually need to tell you something, boss." The ginger wrestled the phone out of Dazai's grip as he tried to hang up. Once gaining complete control of the phone, Chuuya turned his body away from the brunette, avoiding any attempts from his partner to sneak a poke at the phone. "There's an event being held at the school, a sports festival. Apparently, it's a big deal or something, important enough to be broadcast across the country."

"Ah yes, that's happening soon. I sometimes tune in to see the competition... Or maybe new recruitments. It's a flip of a dime most of the time, though not many catch my eye. Though it's surprising that they're still going through it this year. " Mori commented, droning on and on.

"Yeah, they're cutting down on people attending and are gonna up the security n all that jazz. The reason why I bought it up is cause we've been sent a letter to... 'give to our parents'- hey, cut that shit out, Dazai!" The ginger screeches as nimble fingers find their way to his sides, trying to distract him through means of tickling. He refuses to notice how successful the attempt was as Chuuya tries to shuffle away from the annoyance. "As I was saying, the letter is basically an RSVP for our parents to answer and return. And considering You and Kouyou-san are playing the role of our parents/ guardians on paper, I thought you should know." 

With the subject being successfully explained to the mafia boss, the brunette gives up on his endeavours to stall on telling him. He flops against the back of the sofa with so much energy, it bounces him back and onto the floor in a heap. Groaning, he curses the day he ever let Chuuya gain free will in this partnership. He should've trained his dog better.

"I see... Send the paperwork over, Kouyou and I will discuss whether or not we will attend."  The man replied, sounds of paper being shuffled around before incessant whining can be heard from Elize. Her words are muffled, yet the duo can somewhat understand her whining about wanting to play with Dazai. The said boy grumbles something riddled with curses. 

"Ok, I'll send it over right away. Safehouse 3 should probably work." Chuuya muses, ignoring the boy on the floor. They can't send any mail directly to the mafia base. Although the towers are classed as some sort of Port business and the 'Government' likes to say blissfully ignorant of its darker side, it best off if two students who are outside of Yokohama and currently attending one of the highest ranking hero schools aren't caught sending messages to the Port Mafia. So sending the letter to an inconspicuous Safehouse with no known ties to the organisation is the best solution to exchange correspondence. 

"Great, is there anything else to repor-" 

"Nope, that's all Mori. Thanksssss!~" Dazai cuts him off by slithering across the floor to sneak underneath Chuuya's arms and stealing his phone back. He quickly hung up on the boss with a sing-song cheer before relaxing against the sofa, body slumped over his partner. 

"Bastard!" With pink cheeks, the ginger throws Dazai off of him, letting the boy fall on the floor with a large thud. 

As night falls, the two start their routine for the night. It's Dazai's turn to watch out once again, so he takes his seat by the desk as Chuuya settles down in the bed. It remains silent for a while, the only sounds being their collective breathing and the subtle shift of cloth rustling as the ginger tosses and turns in the bed. The chibi was restless and seemingly getting nowhere near close to the dark abysses of sleep. It's only natural as his owner for Dazai to try and ease him of this fitfulness. And to do this, of course, he has to annoy him till he passes out from sheer hatred! 

"Hey Chiiibi~... Chiiiibi Chibi Chiiiiii~... Chuu Chuu Chiibi. Chugga chugga chuu chuu! Chuuya the Chibi-est chib-er to ever Chib!" 

"Shut...The FUCK up, Dazai!" Chuuya rages, throwing a pillow at the brunette.

"Ack!-... Huh... I thought that'd work." Dazai pouts, the pillow bouncing off of his head and falling behind him. He crosses his arms as he spins the chair to face his partner.

"What? Annoy me to death?!" Chuuya growls, holding his hand out expectantly, fingers hitting his palm as he silently asks for something.

"Sleep, actually, but maybe that would be the better option, considering how grouchy you are." He rolls his eyes, leaning off the chair to grab the pillow that was launched at his head. Dazai pretends to throw it at Chuuya, only to keep it in his hands, causing the ginger to flinch. He releases a little giggle before actually chucking it.

"Oh, piss off, you stinking mackerel." His partner groans, placing the pillow back and flopping down in a huff. It goes back to silence, the ginger staring at the ceiling.

"... What'cha thinking about Chibi Chuuya?" Dazai questions, head resting on the back of his chair, slowly spinning. 

"Nothing." Chuuya bites back, anger in his voice. So, it's definitely something he's thinking about. "... Do you think Ane-san and the boss will actually come to the festival?"

"Oh, is this what you've been tossing and turning about?" The brunette tuts, knowing that this is probably just the ginger trying to think of something else rather than what's bothering him. Oh well, he'll play along. "Kouyou-san is definitely going to make an appearance."

"Huh?? How are you so sure about that? Ane-san is a busy woman! Unlike you, she actually does her job as a Mafia executive!" The ginger accused, bringing up his head to glare at his partner before letting it drop against the pillow once more. 

"It's you, Chuuya; she practically sees you as a little brother, assigned that for a mission or not. The woman would drop heaven and hell for you, dumbass." Dazai rolled his eyes once more, spinning around quicker as he chuckled. Considering they aren't related, the two share a likeness in hair colour and temperament. Loyal to the bone, with a fire to fuel their crusade to protect the ones they love. 

"Your the fuckin' dumbass, dumbass." Chuuya mumbled. The ginger rolled onto his side, facing Dazai as he got himself comfortable. "What about Mori? He's been assigned as your dad. He gunna drop heaven and hell for you?"

"More like be dropped into hell." Dazai grumbled quietly. Chuuya made a questioning hum, opening his eyes to look at the brunette. "Nah, I don't think Mori will go. He'd need protection as the port mafia boss, especially since it was held in a different prefecture, and I don't think it'd make sense for a lowly doctor from Yokohama to have like 10 men with guns guarding him."

"Hmm... makes sense. Anyway, what do you think about the festival? Should we go all out?" The ginger asked, speech becoming quieter as he started to feel the effects of sleep drag him down.

"Ehh... Do as good as you want, just don't get 1st if at all possible. Don't want too many eyes on the Yokohama kid besting everyone else. Oh, and probably don't need to say it, but no corruption." The brunette explained, kicking off in his seat to spin faster.

"Yeah, yeah. What about you, though?" Chuuya mumbled, eyes closing once more, digging his cheek into his pillow. 

"Me?" Dazai stops spinning in his chair, looking at his soon-to-be-asleep  Chibi.

"Yeah, where are you planning to place?" The ginger half yawned, one eye lazily opening to watch the bastard.

"Chuuya, I probably won't make it past the 1st round, I don't need to plan where I place." Dazai chuckled, being fully honest for once. 

"I bet you could get like 3rd or 4th if you really tried to. Obviously, not beating me, shrimp boy. But those... Hero kids... You might be able to. I dunno..." Slowly, Chuuya's voice peters off as he finally falls asleep, conversation being replaced with snores. 

"Silly Chibi."

Chapter Text

Although he doesn't have the ability to dream, he likes to think that he is still going somewhere while sleeping. Somewhere blank and dark but still filled with warmth and comfort. As he floats in this cosy nothingness, all his problems of the world just seem to be sitting behind a blurred wall, not able to reach him. Hell, he can't even recall his own name in this bliss, though; why would he want to? Names come with Identities, and Identities come with Responsibilities and so on and so forth, but in this darkness, none of that matters. He can just drift forever, completely-

Poke~

What.
Pressure blooms across the face of a body he forgot he had. It's not painful, just a single bony finger belonging to someone he's actively trying not to recognise. Because he knows that if he processes it, he'll be ripped out of this peace and thrown back into an existence of feelings and obligations. No. He refuses. Whatever slimy, fishy being that finger belonged to can go and fuck off. He's perfectly content where he is.

Poke~ Poke~

A sensation of Anger rushes over his consciousness. Why can't he just be left alone. Whatever's happening can wait!

Poke~

He's going to wring that stupid brunette's neck if he doesn't stop!

Poke~

The floodgates crack open as Chuuya snatches the finger abusing his freckled face, using as much strength as he can muster in his half-asleep state to make it regret even coming close to him.

"Eeek! Down dog, down! Release!! Drop!!" Dazai screeches, using his other hand to slap against the sleepy brute's grip. Cerulean eyes slowly begin to creak open, eyebrows furrowed in a familiar angered position as he stares at the brunette. Despite his finger being utterly mauled, Dazai can't help but crack a smile at the ginger's face as he tries to gather his thoughts from the grasp of sleep.

"What. What do you want, you bastard?" Chuuya slurred from his position on his pillow. Unless the place is on fire, police are invading, or Yokohama is about to be blown up, the ginger refuses to leave his comfortable palace of blankets. And considering he doesn't smell any smoke or hear any sirens, Dazai can go fuck himself with whatever scheme he has plotted.

"Well, I thought you'd want to be woken up, considering we were supposed to be at school about 5 minutes ago~" Dazai gave an innocent look as he finally managed to slip his finger out of the mafioso's hold. Silence took over the scene as Chuuya finally looked at the brunette. Instead of his usual mafia attire of all black, he is donned in the UA uniform, a light grey jacket with a red tie bleeding into the ginger's brain until he remembers that they're on a mission.

"WHAT THE FUCK?! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!" Chuuya rages as he throws the warm blankets off his body, rushing towards the closet to grab his uniform and throwing it on the bed unceremoniously. He wasted no time unbuttoning his pyjamas and practically ripping his shirt off in favour of replacing it with his school bloise.

"You were so deep in sleep I couldn't bear waking my little doggy up! I think I even saw you barking and running in your slumber; I hope you managed to catch the mailman's truck!" The brunette giggled before flopping down on the chair they use to keep lookout on their shifts at night. Chuuya can't believe this is happening! He's never late for anything; Kouyou engrained the importance of punctuality while he was under her teachings. The ginger has so many alarms to even prevent this from happening. Why didn't the alarms wake him up like they usually do?! As if reading his thoughts, the brunette spun around on his chair before speaking out. "Your alarm clock is a little... broken," Dazai explained ominously before the ginger looked at the desk he was sitting at. There was his alarm clock, practically dismantled into thousands of tiny pieces and wires strewn across the wooden surface.

"Broken? What the fuck did you do to it?" The ginger seethes, pointing daggers at his partner in crime as he quickly changes into his trousers.

"Well, I was bored!! Watching an ugly little slug sleep for 8 hours is not interesting, so I gave myself a little challenge. See if I could dismantle and then rebuild your alarm clock before you woke up. And, well... There are a lot more pieces than I expected." The mafioso huffed, waving his hand over the pile of alarm clock as if it insulted his mother. Chuuya stops his action of speedily changing into his uniform to stare incredulously at his idiot of a roommate. As the brunette spins around on his chair to face the ginger, the pair of pyjama bottoms Chuuya was previously wearing hits him in the face. "Ew!!! Chibi germs!!" He shrieks as he falls to the floor.

Chuuya grumbles through a smirk, enjoying the melody of Dazai's screams. He drapes the red tie around his collar, flipping and fiddling with it, trying to remember how Kouyou taught him to tie it. After undoing his 5th attempt at it, the ginger groans and focuses on putting his jacket on instead. Chuuya swiftly leaves his room and waltzes into the kitchen, popping two pieces of bread into the toaster as he brews some coffee.

"Seriously?! I tell you, we're late to school, and you still make breakfast?!" Dazai complains from the bedroom, pyjama bottoms in hand, as he leans against the doorframe.

"Waking up 5 minutes ago or not, I'm never skipping breakfast... willingly." Chuuya responds, adding in the last part after considering different scenarios that may prevent him from getting his morning snack. Being a Mafioso, many scenarios come to mind. "Plus, I need coffee for this mission. I require coffee just to deal with you, but with those UA kids aswell? I might aswell develop a caffeine addiction." He huffed.

After adding some milk and sugar to his coffee and grabbing the two toast, he takes another crack at his tie and finally gets it looking presentable. Feeling pleased, the ginger pours his coffee into a thermos, returns to the bedroom, shoves one of the toasts in the brunette's face, and then grabs both his and Dazai's bags.

"C'mon, we're going to run there. Aizawa gets pissy when we take too long to stop talking before class; I don't want to know what happens if we're an hour late. Hopefully, we'll just get a detention for being 20 minutes late." The ginger shoves the brunette's bag against said mackerel and pushes him to their apartment's front door. Luckily, with the toast in Dazai's mouth, his protests are nothing but mumbles.

"I'm going to kill you." Chuuya fumed, glaring at the brunette being reduced to a laughing fit on the floor. They had just left their apartment building, the morning breeze hitting the duo as the ginger looked up to the sky to see... darkness. First, Chuuya felt confused; how could it be dark at 8, nearly 9am? Then he quickly rummaged through his pocket to retrieve his phone and saw the time. 5:18am. That fishy bastard woke Chuuya up... at 5 AM?!

"I, haha! I had to close all the curtains- hehe and keep all the lights on to make it look like morning! You didn't even question it! Hahahaha! Stupid Slug!"Dazai giggled against the apartment building wall, totally enjoying the ginger's misery. However, his laughter soon drowned out as the ginger stepped closer, anger radiating off his person in waves. "Wait- Chibi, calm down!"

"Alright, class. The sports festival is only in a few days, so we will be using those days to train. I better see each of you giving it your all, and at the end of class, I expect you all to be exhausted and drenched in sweat. I'll let you all choose your own training method, but if you need any pointers, I'll be walking around; feel free to come to me... Don't think I need to say this, but don't go overboard. I do not need to cart anyone to the nurse because they got heatstroke. Stay hydrated. Dismissed." Aizawa explained, eyes scouring the class, making sure each individual got their healthy dose of uncomfortable eye contact. Though Dazai feels as if he got an extra amount as the teacher scans the slowly turning purple bruise on his lower jaw, accompanied by a cut on his lip. Curse Chuuya and his probably well-deserved revenge; the brunette's been getting strange looks all day! The only solace is the fact that no one had the guts to ask him about it; anyone who came too close to trying got a Demon Prodigy grade-A death glare. And those have actually killed people!

The group disperses as each student finds a place to train their quirks. Some remain indoors, but the majority head out of the gym. Dazai half considers wandering into the trees nearby and having a quick nap before he feels a nudge at his side.

"Oi, Let's spar. I think you could use a bruise to match on the other side of your face." Chuuya sneers, bringing his fists up to get ready. And how could Dazai refuse, the ginger is so excited to play with his master! Plus, it's not like he could do much else, he doesn't have a Quirk that can be trained.

"You still have so much energy, Chuuya; maybe I should take you on more walks. Tire you out a little!" Dazai smirked. The brunette copied the ginger's position, stretching his neck slightly as he relaxed his shoulders. "Rules?"

"No Tainted, No secret weapons... No hair-pulling and no psychological bullshit, you freaky bastard. The loser is whoever gets knocked out or taps out. Safeword is Cabernet." The ginger responds as the duo slowly circle each other, waiting for the other to strike.

"Does the Safeword have to be one of your disgusting wine choic?-" Dazai questions, though he doesn't get to finish it as he has to narrowly avoid a punch to his face. The brunette stumbles backwards, readjusting his defence as he scrutinises the ginger.

"I said, no psychological bullshit." Chuuya chuckles, cracking his knuckles before following the brunette, throwing out another punch to his gut. Like the slimy fish he is, Dazai manages to dodge the punch but realises he can't manoeuvre away from the kick coming for his side, so he braces for the impact, curling his body slightly to decrease the damage.

Chuuya's leg crashes into Dazai's side, causing a pained gasp to escape. A grin blossoms on the ginger's face, but it's quickly replaced with annoyance as he realises he can't pull his leg back. Arms that once defended Dazai, now wrapped around the offending limb with a frenzied grip that promises to not let go. As swiftly as possible, with as much power as he can muster, Dazai kicks Chuuya's other leg, disabling his support and getting the ginger to fall to the floor. However, the brunette soon follows him as the leg being held hooks around Dazai, bringing him with. On the floor, Chuuya scrambles on top of his partner, pinning his stomach to the ground as he starts to wail on him, fists hitting arms as Dazai tries his best to block his face.

"Gunna tap out, Fish boy?!" The ginger growled in glee, relishing in the rush of a fight.

"I'd never lower myself to speak the name of your mouldy grape juice!" Dazai screeched, arms quickly losing strength to protect his precious face.

Soon enough, a fist makes its way through his barricade, pain blooming across the brunette's cheek. Chuuya could get used to this sight. As the one who usually's under Dazai's control, playing along with his plans and falling for his tricks. The ginger is enjoying having the control, even just for a small sparring match. While continuing to pummel his fists into the brunette below, a strong smell of vinegar suddenly becomes apparent as the ginger feels something strange against his ear. He falters in his attack to find the brunette's uncovered foot poking at his jaw and rubbing its sweaty stinky fumes against him.

"Eurgh!! Wash your feet you unhygienic slob!" Chuuya screeches, trying to rub away the sweat before getting tackled by Dazai. Hands go flying as they roll across the floor, each fighting to get the advantage of pining the other to the ground. However, just as the ginger regains his previous victory, a rough hand grabs his shoulder and pulls him off the brunette below.

"What are you two doing?! I said train, not kill each other." Aizawa scolded, dragging the ginger sufficiently enough away so that if he tried to attack, the teacher could jump in the way and stop it. He looks at the two teenagers with a scrutinising gaze, trying to tell if they're injured and need to be taken to the nurse. However, it seems like Dazai took the majority of the blows. "Dazai, you ok?"

"Oh yeah, never better, Aizawa-Sensei!" The brunette lied, pain radiating from all over his face. Wiping a sleeve over his face took care of any stray blood that leaked from the cut on his lip. Now that he doesn't have a teeny tiny dog on top of him, the brunette can see that any students left in the building have all turned their focus to the duo. "We're just sparring is all."

"Sparring? I guess that's one thing you can call whatever the hell you were doing. Usually, when a pair spars, they don't end up on the ground tumbling around while one gets all the hits on the other." Aizawa snorts, crossing his arms. "Besides, Nakahara, why aren't you training your Quirk?" He questions, ignoring the scoff coming from the brunette.

"I'm not just my Quirk, am I? Gotta train my body and fighting skills as well, and Dazai needs a sparring partner; it's not like he can really train anything else." Chuuya spat out, tired of the mentality the rest of Japan all seem to hold. All his life (or at least the parts he can actually remember) his entire worth as a person is based on his ability, and it seems this place isn't any different. At least in the Mafia, they taught him how to shoot a gun or fight with his fists. Kouyou especially taught him how to write a report, how to use manners, and how to get people to do what you want. His brilliant big sister couldn't care less if he somehow lost Tainted Sorrow tomorrow and she would kill anyone who dared question his worth on it. He misses Kouyou.

"Ok, quit with the attitude. I never said that; I just wanted to make sure that you are ready for the Sports festival." Aizawa responded evenly while his eyes scanned the boy's expression. Why had Chuuya become so angered at that simple question? He may need to keep a closer eye on these Yokohamians. He was already doing so for Dazai, but it seems like Nakahara may also have some problems going on. "Why don't you go cool off for a moment. When you've calmed down, I'll oversee your sparring match and give some pointers here and there."

Chuuya was about to protest; he didn't need to calm down. He was fucking calm. But when he opened his mouth, Dazai caught his attention. The brunette is staring at him with all-consuming eyes. Still, they don't seem as intimidating with fist-sized marks on his face and spots of purple seeping through. Yeah... If he carries on sparring right now, he might just kill Dazai. "Yeah, whatever." Growling, the ginger walks off, leaving the building.

"... Is he... going to be okay?" Aizawa hesitantly questions after watching the boy walk off. He faces Dazai, who just shrugs in response before walking towards the nearest wall, sliding down till he's sat.

"Go on then," Dazai grumbles, arms resting on his knees as he looks at the approaching teacher. Said teacher gives a confused look as to what the boy was talking about. "You have questions; go on and ask them. We might as well do something while we wait for him to come back. It's not like we can spar." Dazai snorts, waving a hand to gesture at the practically mummified bandaged man. It's a wonder that he even arrived to work, let alone fighting someone in his condition.

"Why do you two spar like that?" He slowly slides down the wall to sit by Dazai, mindful of the pain that radiates from his whole body any time he goes a little too fast. "You fight like wild animals. Sparring is supposed to be for practice; no one should get hurt."

"Well, in a real fight, you don't have the privilege to worry about if you look like a wild animal to others. Though on another point, we are wild animals. What separates us from a bunny or a cheetah other than increased intelligence? When it comes down to it, we all fight the same. A human would use just as many teeth as a dog if it's to save their life." Dazai rambles on.

"You didn't seem to want to use any teeth back at the USJ," Aizawa replies, pointedly not looking at Dazai as he watches the rest of the students train their quirks. Dazai turns to look at him with an expression the teacher has only caught on the boy a couple of times. Blank, dead eyes that seem to eat up all the light that reflects into them. Aizawa's seen them before, not on Dazai but himself. Every time he looked into the mirror after... After Oboro passed. However, before he could mention anything, his expression changed to an easy-going smile as fast as it took to blink.

"Different situation, sir! Similar to how we are to animals, it is also useful to know when you beat. If I kept struggling and fought back, that... Nomu, as you called it, would've squeezed me in two! It's like how a rabbit lays down to die when it knows there's no way of survival through fighting. Thanatosis. Playing dead. Or for me, playing compliant." Dazai explained, wondering whether enrolling Chuuya into some emotional regulation training would be useful to avoid one-on-one conversations with the ravenette in the future. As much as the brunette can rely on his own acting skills, he knows he cannot look or seem mentally stable, and he feels he is one lousy answer away from being asked if he's suicidal.

Aizawa hummed and returned to watching the other students, keeping a close eye on Mina and Uraraka as they worked together to train. They came up with a very interesting set-up. Uraraka would collect rubble from a previously intact pillar and tested the limits of her Quirk with how much rubble she can float and for how long. Then, as she released the rubble, Mina tested her accuracy and acidity on the falling debris. Smart. "Where do you predict you'll place in the sports festival?"

Interesting question. Not one he was suspecting at this very moment, but quite an easy answer. "I'm not entirely sure how the sports festival works since I've never watched it, but I suspect that I won't place very high." The brunette lied. The week the duo spent before the entrance exam was used to dig up any and all information about UA that Mori may have 'missed' in the report. Suppose he spent hours watching and analysing old uploaded footage and didn't tell Chuuya any details that may help him (such as the festival existing in the first place). In that case, that's for Dazai to know and Chuuya to never find out.

"How so?" Aizawa looks back to Dazai.

"How so? Ha! How could you possibly think I could place high? I'm practically powerless in the face of some of these kids. Yeah, they can't use their Quirks directly against me, but Uraraka can get a mountain of debris to fall and smother me to death; Todoroki could trap me in a fire tornado, not close enough to touch but enough to suffocate me from smoke inhalation or heatstroke. Koda could get a dog to rip my throat out, and even though the creature wouldn't be able to understand him when touching me, the hellspawn would probably be happy to do it anyway. And then there's Midoriya-"

"You've thought about this a lot, huh? Does it always involve your death?" Aizawa questions, eyes widened as he listens to how his students could murder Dazai. The boy in question just raises an eyebrow with a confused look as if Aizawa just confessed that he's actually an alien.

"Of course. It's smart to keep tabs on those around you." He responded, ignoring the last part in favour for looking to the exit to search for his partner. While it is mindful to keep a tab on those more powerful than you, he has admittedly thought of how he could die as a motivation to continue with this mission. It would be annoying to be killed by a hero wannabe, but killed on a mission Mori specifically requested him for would certainly cause problems for him as his heir and right-hand man died because of his own faults.

That may be a concerning amount of paranoia that Aizawa makes sure to store in a file labelled in his mind as 'Problem Child #3 Dazai Osamu.' "Y'know, I think you could place high if you really tried."

"I didn't take you for the delusional type, Sensei!" Dazai chuckled, leaning his head back against the wall as he looked at his teacher.

"I'm being serious. You're smart, Dazai; I've seen your written exam, and not just anyone could get a 100 on that test without an intelligence-enhancing quirk. I'm sure that if you try, you can find a way to outsmart your classmates." Aizawa explained. He sees a hesitant expression on the boy's expression, as if he wanted to say something but decided to keep it in. Sighing, the ravenette realises that the boy has already chosen to give up before the festival has even begun. "How about this... If I think that you haven't tried your very best at the festival, I'll expel you. UA doesn't need any slackers in the hero course."

"But Aizawa-sensei! How could you get rid of your favourite student?!" Dazai wines, throwing his arms in the air.

"Who says you are my favourite student?" Aizawa snorts, rolling his eyes at the brunette's antics.

"You did! You said you carrreee about me!~~" Dazai sing songs, making fun of the conversation that occurred not that long ago.

"I regret telling you that", Aizawa groans, bringing up his non-broken hand to rub his eyes in faux tiredness. When he looks back at the boy, he notices him staring out to the entrance, obviously searching for Nakahara again. "You and Nakahara are close; how long have you known each other?"

"Not that long, about 2-3 years by now." Dazai replied lazily.

"How did you two meet?"

"A small little ginger puppy beat me up." The brunette explained ominously just as Chuuya waltzed back inside, eliciting an excited "Chibi!!" from the brunette beside him. The ginger groaned and slapped Dazai's arms as he ran over to his friend. Something's strange about these two.

Chapter Text

The days after fly past extremely quickly, probably due to them becoming monotonous. Instead of somewhat engaging heroics lessons, which had a different outcome every day, they were subjected to training after training and some more training for a treat. Dazai couldn't even get enjoyment from annoying the Chibi whilst sparring as Aizawa insisted that the ginger focus on training by himself on the 2nd day, forcing the brunette to spar with punching bags, and if the cockatiel had no lessons, President Mic. The blonde was a nice break from the plush red bags that had no personality to bounce jokes off, though the sparring itself was boring as the hero was worried about going too hard on the boy. As if said boy hasn't toppled organisations within a single night. ... Maybe Chuuya did most of the heavy lifting, but you don't get to be an executive without getting your hands dirty, or... your face pummeled in. But even with those few days of sparring with the cockatiel, Dazai is almost excited for the sports festival if it means they can stop with the stupid training for every single lesson. Only some ridiculous simpleton could do that kind of thing day after day and find it to be a useful experience.

"I'm so excited for today!! Those days of training totally got me geared up; I think I improved a bunch!!" A simpleton of a green-headed nature brims with excitement as he basically vibrates whilst walking with Chuuya and Dazai.

"I mean, it was a great exercise, but after a couple of days, it got a bit boring, in all honesty. You can only throw so many boulders before it gets bland." Chuuya sighed as he rolled his shoulder up and down. Training is fine and all; improving is good, and the ginger can never stop improving, but Chuuya pretty much has his ability mastered at this point. He understands the complexities behind gravity and has it bent to his will. The only thing he could improve is his grasp on Corruption, which is way too dangerous and probably unlikely that he will ever have control in that last resort state. He can almost feel Arahabaki growl at the back of his mind for even thinking about the possibility.

The class is currently following Aizawa towards the stadium where the event is held. A long line of people are queued up at a different entrance, slowly being siphoned to a small entrance into the building. Dazai can spot a couple pro heroes littered in the row of bodies, some more obvious than others, such as the guy literally on fire, Pro-Hero: Endeavour. The group comes to a stop as they join a line for the students going into a different entrance; it seems like it may take a while as they tick off each student who's attending the Festival. Chatter picks up immediately, and the class is too excited to keep quiet as they try to predict the challenges they may face this year. Even Chuuya keeps up with the conversation, asking Midoriya questions about the Sports festival. Dazai can't be bothered right now to involve himself in idle chit-chatter; he needs all the energy he can to pretend to care about this stupid show and tell. That is what this is for, after all. It's a grand event to show how well this school is doing and say to the world, 'We have really powerful children at our beck and call!!'. Whatever. If it weren't for this mission, he'd stay far away from it.

"Osamuuuu!!"

Oh fuck no.

The idle chatter comes to a stop as a young blonde girl runs right for Dazai, stopping only inches in front of him before jumping up and down. Dressed in her signature big, puffy red dress, Elise waves her arms around as she speaks in quick succession. "Osamu!! I've missed you!!! You've been gone for so long, we haven't had any tea parties in aggggessss!! Have you got me a gift!? It better be cake! I want cake!!!"

"Ehm... Dazai?" Midoriya squeaks up as the girl continues to ramble on, not even needing to breathe as she goes. Dazai hasn't moved since she ran over, and hasn't even turned around to acknowledge her. His expression is blank as he takes a breath and puts on a smile.

"Elise-chan! I haven't missed you one bit! Still drawing crappy unintelligible stick figures?" The brunette returns the same amount of cheer, resisting the urge to nullify her right there. The blonde huffs in annoyance, but just as she goes to open her mouth-.

"Elise! Elise, I told you not to run off, my dear~!!" A slimy voice rings out as Mori hurries to the class. By his side is the ever-radiant Kouyou, though dressed more casually for the occasion. Instead of her usual spider lilly Kimono, she's wearing high-waisted jeans with a beautiful scarlet dress shirt tucked into them and a black denim jacket to go on top. Her long ginger hair is tucked into a high ponytail yet still adorned with her signature white fluffy ball and ribbon hair clip. Trailing not that far behind them are the most recent additions to the Mafia 'family' the two siblings, Ryunnosuke and Gin Akutagawa. Ryunnosuke still has his signature coat on that makes him look like an 18th-century vampire. Seems Mori didn't manage to persuade him to change into something more regular. But instead of his puffy dress shirt, he is wearing a regular t-shirt that Mori obviously took from the nearest Hot-topic as it has a quote from a somewhat overused emo band in a 'scary' font printed across it. As for Gin, she is wearing just a t-shirt, jeans and a random jacket, as well as her mask, of course. When taking them in, Dazai specifically told her to never take that mask off around the boss and, more importantly, never speak around the boss.

"Excuse me, you cannot be here; this is the student's line. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Aizawa steps in front of the class, already getting a strange vibe from this man who just approached.

"Oh, my apologies! My dear Elise just wanted to wish her big brother good luck before the Festival! Isn't that right, Elise? Say good luck to Osamu!" Mori 'apologised' while ignoring the teacher's request and getting closer to the brunette.

"Hmph, I don't wanna-"

"GOOD LUCK DAZAI-SAN!!" Akutagawa interrupted the girl, stepping close to Dazai and looking up at him with stars in his little eyebrow-less eyes. However, Dazai instead glared at Mori, who returned the glare with a knowing smile.

"Woah, that's your little sister Dazai?! She's so cute!!" Uraraka squeals, coming as close as Aizawa will allow. The brunette and the mafia boss seem to share a silent conversation before Dazai turns back to the class with a practised, comfortable smile.

"Yeah. That's my little sister, Elise, my two little brothers, Ryunnosuke and Gin and my... adoptive father, Mori." He lists off, ignoring a cry of 'Waah! So formal!' from his grown-ass boss.

"Wait, so who is she? She's super hot," Kaminari dares to speak out, pointing towards Kouyou, who is hugging Chuuya off to the side. However, after hearing that last comment, the woman holds the ginger back as he tries to go after the Pikachu wannabe.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?! STAY AWAY FROM MY SISTER, YOU WALKING PHONE CHARGER!!" The ginger seethes as Kouyou chuckles at the scene.

"Oh shit, she's your sister-?"

"You're so pretty Nakahara-san! Your hair is so silky! How do you manage it?" Mina questions.

"Oh lass, if I told you how, we'd miss the whole Festival. It's a very long ordeal, but I thank you for the compliment." Kouyou smiled, slowly releasing her death grip on Chuuya as she flicked her hair behind her shoulder. "Besides, we should probably get back in line, isn't that right, Aizawa-sensei?"

"Yes, that's right." The teacher sighs in relief. At least one of these adults seems to be listening to him, Dazai's father pointedly ignoring him to have a staring contest with his son. Red warning bells are ringing like crazy in his mind. The man hasn't made any moves, but Aizawa can tell the two have a tense, almost hateful relationship. "Dazai and Nakahara need to get ready for the event. If you wish to talk to them, you can do so after it's finished."

"Dazai needs as much time as possible if he thinks he's going to pass even the first round," Bakugo snickered, still annoyed about the brunette's win during the combat battles in their first heroics lesson. The blonde rolls his eyes, but his attention gets caught by the little kid, the brunette introduced as Ryunnosuke, who beelines towards him and, with a swift kick, hits Bakugo in his shin. "OW WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"How dare you insinuate that Dazai isn't properly prepared for this event! As if he could be beaten by the likes of you!" Akutagawa rages, screaming at the buffoon who could dare insult Dazai's image. The two-toned-haired boy continues to scream and defend his 'brother', causing some in the class to coo at an adorable little brother looking up to his older big brother.

"Dazai." Mori warns, smile dipping slightly at the scene. The brunette shivers under his deceptively warm expression, knowing that he is going to be told off for not training his subordinate better. Dazai turns to his younger compatriot as he glares at the tall blonde.

"Akutagawa. Get back here."

"I bet you wouldn't even last 30 seconds against Dazai!! He would wipe the floor with you without a thought!" The younger boy exclaims, too heated in the moment to hear the command coming from his superior. He doesn't even notice as Gin shuffles over to him, gently grabbing his sleeve in an attempt to drag him back.

"Dazai." The smile wanes to a frown, and the warm demeanour turns icy.

"Akutagawa!"

"Look, kid, if you don't fuck off, I'm going to get pissed off." Bakugo warns, small explosions popping around his hands as he tries to ignore the kid. He attempts to turn away but Akutagawa jumps infront of him.

"And what even is that language?! Do you know how to conversate without swearing? Do you have enough vocabulary to argue intelligently?!"

"Dazai..." Mori sighs. Oh, Dazai is screwed! Dazai looks back to the man as minute panic overtakes his brain and notices the pure disappointment etched on the ravenette's face. Forget just getting told off, Dazai's going to be lucky if he doesn't get punished.

"Ryunnosuke!!" Dazai shouts as he makes his way to the boy, grabbing his coat and half-dragging him away. The boy stops his rant and gasps in shock before going silent. His movements turn stiff as he realises he accidentally ignored Dazai's commands. The brunette ignores gasps and murmurs from his classmates as they watch the tense scene. He's going to have to do so much damage control to try and get them to not think he's an abusive brother. Maybe he shouldn't have pulled the boy so harshly, but it's his own fault for not falling in line.

Returning Akutagawa to Mori's side, the brunette attempts to walk back to the group but is stopped by a steely cold hand on his shoulder. He manages to suppress a shudder as he turns around to meet Mori's gaze, knowing he's in trouble. To nail it in the head, Dazai even looks to Elize, whose face is blank, almost rivalling Dazai's demon prodigy mask.

"Ok, we're about to go inside; please go line up for the festival." Aizawa interrupts, grabbing Dazai roughly and nudging him to the rest of the class. The teacher then stands between the class and Mori, almost trying to hide them from his view.

"Ah yes, I see. Well, come along now, kids! Kouyou-san! Let's hope we get nice seats!!" Mori's warm demeanour returns, patting Akutagawa's head, who frowns slightly. The mafia boss pretends to not notice the two whole classes in front of 1A who have yet to enter the arena, but he abides by the teacher's request anyway and ushes his party away. Kouyou takes a moment longer to follow as she sneaks one more hug in before obeying.

The class, who was once chatting animatedly and full of energy, are silent, staring at the brunette as he watches his 'father' walk away. Dazai stands tense, fists clenched, before he turns around with a lazy smile. "Family, right? Sooo annoying, pfft. But I think Ryunnosuke was right, Bakugo! I'm so going to beat you!"

"HAH?! As if! Your lanky ass will be lucky if you can even get a hit on me!" Bakugo retorts, folding his arms across his chest.

"Actually, I predict I'll get exactly 5 hits on you!" Dazai exclaimed as he got closer to Bakugo. Some classmates start to relax, even giggling at the show as the brunette circles the blonde. "Starting from now!" Dazai screeched as he slapped the explosive boy's shoulder. Bakugo shouts in anger as he grabs the mafioso's shirt and shakes him. Chuuya groans before walking over to the two, roughly grabbing the brunette from the blonde's grasp and dragging him away.

"That's one hit. Dazai predicted 4 more, and his predictions haven't been wrong yet, Kacchan!" Midoriya giggled before becoming sheepish under the Blonde's murderous glare. "Eh... Sorry"

The class once again chatted amongst themselves, though with less energy than before. Chuuya carts Dazai off to the edge of the group, trying to face away from their classmates in an attempt to dampen their conversation. "The fuck just happened? That was weird, even for you and Mori."

"Akutagawa needs training better; perhaps I've been too soft on the boy." Dazai sighs, rubbing his face. Though he tries to suppress a yelp as Chuuya wacks him on the back of his head.

"Too soft? You're way too hard on him! He's 14, for god's sake! If I wasn't your partner, I would kill you because of how you treat that boy. He idolises you. In my opinion-"

"Your opinion isn't needed, Chuuya; he's not your subordinate; he's mine. Besides, we need to focus on what is important. That little stunt has drawn unnecessary focus on us." Dazai warns.

"We will talk about Akutagawa one time, Dazai; you can't keep skirting it... But what do you mean by focus? Everyone's talking about the sports festival now."

"Well, just because they're talking about something else now doesn't mean they won't talk about it later. But that can be easily resolved; they don't seem too concerned about it, so I'll just come up with some excuse if they ask. 'Akutagawa has some anger issues' or something, and 'we can't get him worked up.' No, what we need to focus on is the silent watcher. Peppermint lad hasn't stopped staring at me."

"Todoroki?"

"Yup. Aizawa is also watching, but there's barely a time when he doesn't keep an eye on us. He probably thinks I'm being abused or something. Mori always has to make things harder for me!" Dazai whined, thinking about how much damage control he would have to do. That whole ordeal has either damaged his image or made him some sort of pity case. The latter would be better as though it's annoying and may drive the brunette insane; he can always manipulate it to make people feel bad for him and do whatever he wants.

"Mori doesn't have to do anything to make your life harder; you do it enough for yourself," Chuuya grumbled as he rolled his eyes. The ginger risks a glance behind them to the dual coloured hair boy. Todoroki really doesn't seem to care if he gets caught staring, as he barely blinks. "What are you going to do about Todoroki then? I don't think I've seen that guy speak since we joined UA. In fact, I think this is the first time he's actually acknowledged another student for longer than a minute without having to fight them."

"I think I'll let him make the first move. I have an inkling of why he might be interested in me now, but I want him to confirm it. It's too much work otherwise!!~" Dazai complained, dropping his head onto the Chibi's shoulder, causing the ginger to growl.

After finally being let through into the arena, the students are gathered in the middle before a small platform with a lone microphone. They had just been announced by President Mic, who surprisingly actually managed to get raucous cheers and applause. Hats off to him for finally getting a crowd willing to make noise, but it doesn't half help the migraine Dazai's brewing up. It takes a few moments for the last group of kids to line up, but once they do, their attention is instantly drawn to the middle as the loud thwack of a small whip sounds out. On top of the previously empty platform stands a rather provocative-looking woman with long, bushy blue hair and shackles adorning her wrists. If Dazai was to remember, he'd guess that was Pro Hero: Midnight on the stage, and like the first time he read up on her, he wondered why her weapon of choice was a short-range whip. Surely, that serves no purpose other than to make her seem more 'sexy', but when it comes to a fight, it may hurt but won't deal any significant damage that a punch or a kick cannot. And even then, a punch or kick can break a nose, whereas that whip can't.

"Now for the introductory speech!" She exclaims, earning blush-filled awes to fill the stadium. Some murmurs arise amongst the students, most talking about the woman's choice of outfit. From what Dazai can remember, her quirk allows her to excrete a sort of aroma from her skin that causes those around her to fall asleep, so he can understand why she'd prefer an outfit that is so skin-tight that she can rip the sleeves with ease. But surely there's a better way to go about it? Plus, wouldn't a cape or some sort of loose cloth benefit her? That way, she could fan and disperse her aroma further. With that outfit, she has barely any protection in a fight, and especially with her choice of short-range melee weapon, she needs that protection. Are all Pro hero's this wasteful and stupid? Surely, protection should outweigh aesthetics. "Silence, everyone! This year, for the student pledge, we have Class 1A representative, Chuuya Nakahara!!"

"What?" Chuuya flounders, not really paying attention before hearing his name being called out and his peers staring at him. Dazai looks to the ginger with a devilish grin; ever since the Chibi came 1st at the entrance exam, the brunette has been waiting for this moment, purposely not telling the ginger about it so he would be unprepared.

"C'mon, Slug~, you came first in the entrance exam! That means you have to go up and give a speech to encourage us all! I hope you wrote one up before this!!" The brunette cheered, pushing him towards the podium. Chuuya curses before 'accidentally' stomping on Dazai's foot, causing him to yelp and let the ginger go. Slowly, the ginger walks up the stairs and makes his way to the microphone, panic coursing through him as he tries to muster something up. He stands awkwardly behind the mic, staring at his classmates below and especially glaring at Dazai before taking a breath.

"I... Uh, Hello." He swallows, not really knowing what to say. He tries to think back to the flags and some speeches that Albatross used to spout at any random moment. He was always well-spoken, in Chuuya's opinion, and constantly got the ginger geared up for a mission. "We... We all have our reasons to be here. And in the hero course or not, we should all try our best and fight tooth n nail for what is ours. Be proud of who you are and where you come from, and show that to the world... Uhm, Plus Ultra!" God, Chuuya wants to curl up in a ball and die. He isn't used to making motivational speeches, so his tone is awkward rather than confident. Luckily, the students cheer and clap nonetheless, but it still doesn't drown out the laughing coming from the stupid brunette behind him! The ginger is so going to beat his ass for the 6th time this week. His face flushes red in embarrassment before Midnight pats him on the shoulder and nudges him back to his class. She continues to talk but he doesn't listen, instead he grabs the brunettes ear and tugs it down to stop Dazai's laughter. He yelps once again but can't escape the Gingers's brutal grip. "You knew and didn't tell me. Could've helped with a heads-up, asshole! What else are you hiding from me?"

"But then Chuuya wouldn't have spoken from the heart! Besides, that's the only thing I specifically know about the event!" Dazai whispers, hands trying and failing to release his ear. Chuuya, however, isn't convinced that this is all Dazai knows. The brunette loves to keep the ginger in the dark as much as possible, so the Chibi rests his foot on the others, as a warning that if Dazai doesn't spill the secret quick enough, Chuuya is going to stomp on his foot till he does, or it breaks. "I promise! The rounds are randomised each year and don't get picked till the day of, so no matter how much-uploaded footage I watched, I won't know what we're doing till now! The only stagnant round is the last, where the remaining 16 go head-to-head in a 1v1 fight!" Satisfied, Chuuya lets him go.

Just in time as well, as Midnight waves her whip towards a screen behind her, which flashes with different names as it chooses one. After a moment, it lands on 'Obstacle course', and instantly, murmurs start to rise from the crowd of students, but they soon drown out as Midnight starts up explaining what is to happen.

"All 11 classes are to participate in this 4km run outside the stadium! And as freedom of choice is our school's best selling point... As long as you don't leave the course, you can do whatever your heart desires!!" She cheers.

It does leave an interesting thought, however. If they can do whatever they like, then Chuuya could just fly straight to the end. Though that would be a little boring, Dazai wonders just what type of obstacles they will put in their way. The brunette also realises just how lax they are with their wording... 'As long as you don't leave the course, you can do whatever your hearts desire' What if someone's heart's desire was to kill someone. If it was just the hero course participating, then that would be very unlikely (It's their job to learn how to save people), but who knows for the other courses. Especially as it seems the other courses don't particularly like the hero courses, let alone Class 1A. They're lucky Dazai has been there and done that already, as well as him being undercover on a mission. If not for that, then maybe! Instead, perhaps Dazai could persuade Chuuya to carry him all the way to the end. They would lose as Chuuya wouldn't have Tainted sorrow to zoom them to the finish, but it would be his 'heart's desire' to have the Chibi carry him for 4km.

"Does that mean I can kill myself-"

"No dumbass."

Chapter Text

Standing outside the stadium, Dazai wondered what the whole point of their 'extra security' talk was, considering the students would be out in the open with Pro-heroes sitting inside the stadium. If a sniper was hiding out in an attempt to shoot some kiddos, they would be able to at least shoot maybe 6 or 8 students before the heroes could even get out of their seats. But then again, it would be doubtful that a villain would prefer to use an anonymous yet accurate weapon such as a gun rather than a quirk, which, unless it has the capabilities of a gun or is honed to complete control, most likely won't get their desired outcome.

The brunette sighed with boredom. His classmates had spread out, precisely as far away as possible from Dazai. It's understandable, of course; they know of his nullification and would prefer to have full access to their quirk when this race starts so they can be in the first position. But standing around beside people he has no interest in speaking with, who give him looks of indignation and confusion anytime they accidentally brush a shoulder against his, is extremely mind-rotting. It is somewhat interesting, however, to hear some of the other classes' gripes towards this event, complaining about being 'forced to attend to make the hero classes look good in comparison' being the most repeated. The hostility towards class 1A was present from the get-go, something Dazai thought to be petty to begin with, but it seems there's also just a general dislike of the hero course as a whole. Maybe the brunette can work with this to improve the opinion on the course or make it worse, depending on how it affects his class. Perhaps if it improves, the class will make more friends and spread their roots to get more information and more perspectives of the school. A web of information based on students, while mainly mundane based on trivial gossip on 'what Akiko has done with her hair!', can give some vital knowledge if even a stray student just so happens to accidentally pass an alleyway and notice a suspicious blue-haired man.

However, if it gets worse, then the class may feel outcasted by the other courses, building the bonds within the class even stronger to the point that even if Dazai and Chuuya were to be accused of being spies for the Mafia, the class would defend their beloved Yokohomian friends. Blind to their feelings of friendship. Hmmm... Both work out in Dazai's favour, so maybe he should extend the thought to Chuuya, see which one he decides, and go for the opposite. That would piss the ginger off, Dazai thought with a wicked grin on his face.

Hairs on the back of the brunette's neck spring up in the familiar feeling of being watched. Dazai grumbled, stretching and rolling his head in an attempt to subtly look for whoever was watching him. It doesn't take long to find the culprit, which is, unsurprisingly, Todoroki, who is just full-on staring at Dazai. Maybe the brunette should teach the two-toned-haired boy how to spy on people without making it extremely obvious. The Mafioso crosses his arms in a huff and rolls his eyes; spying on people is an art, and Todoroki's amateurism is frankly offensive; the boy isn't even making a creepy face to unnerve his target! Just his usual blank but slightly inquisitive face. If only his chibi were nearby, he could make fun of the bad attempts by Todoroki with the ginger.

Chuuya stands by the front of the group, staring beyond him at the vast expanse of concrete. From his point of view, he can see probably the first 100 meters of the race, and frankly, he doesn't know why the country loves this festival so much. It's just a blank pathway with no obstacles he can see. Though this is UA, he has to be prepared for anything: robots, villains, hell! Maybe they'll use real rockets this time! That would be pretty fun.

"Are you nervous, Chuuya?" Midoriya speaks up, only a few spots away from the ginger. Though looking confident, Chuuya can see the green-haired boy rubbing his palms against each other in a self-soothing manner. Midoriya clearly needs to converse with someone or will implode on himself.

"As much as anyone else, I guess." Chuuya lied. The ginger couldn't care less if he won or not; he could beat all these kids if he really tried, but he doesn't want to show how trained he already is too early. The boy is mainly just excited to try something new. "Any idea on what's gonna be thrown at us?"

"Uhm... It has to be all sorts of things. With how diverse quirks are and with this number of people, they have to try and throw multiple obstacles at us that would affect everyone here. You and Bakugo, who could just fly over the course and go straight to the end, need something that may force you to at least be slowed down. No idea what precisely, though, there's a whole bunch of possibilities." Midoriya rambled.

"Well, I wish you luck, Midoriya," Chuuya replied, looking back towards the race.

"I wish you luck too, Chuuya!-" Midoriya exclaimed before being interrupted by a loud scoff from the spikey-haired Bakugo nearby.

"What? Do you want a good luck wish, too, Bakugo?" Chuuya teased, smirking as the boy in question grimaced in annoyance.

"I don't need good luck! What's the point of good luck when I have the power and talent to win this race, hope you guys enjoy the taste of my dust when I come 1st." The blonde spit out, crouching low as he gets ready for the race to start.

"Well... I wish you good luck, Kacchan!" Midoriya smiled, copying the boy's attempt to get ready.

"What did I just say?! I don't need good luck!! Especially not from you! Fucking stupid Deku." Bakugo shouted, growling the last part out like a rabid animal. Midoriya seemed to wilt slightly, causing Chuuya to roll his eyes. He was about to give Bakugo some colourful language in response but was interrupted by the sound of a loud beep ringing out.

All students look up to see two speakers on either side of the start of the race, static emitting from them as they power up. "Hello, little listeners!! I hope you're geared up for this race! I sure know the crowd is!!" President Mic crackles through the speakers, mentioning the crowd as it roars in excitement. "The race is about to start, so good luck!" The speakers go silent as he finishes his sentence, obviously changing channels as he goes to address the watchers. A loud beep rings out, followed by another not long after, counting down from 5. All students tense up, getting in a stance to run as fast as possible. When the last count is rung, silence clings to the area, each person filled with anticipation. Students look around at their peers, trying to guess who would be easy to pass and who to avoid.
.
.
.
"GO!!!"

Chaos and tension replace the silence as each body starts running towards the narrow corridor that is the entrance. Students start to crush each other as each individual tries their best to keep moving despite the sheer number of people crammed into this one space. Chuuya tries to push people away from him as he struggles to free himself. He can hear a yelp of anguish from Midoriya, whose arms are pinned to his side as he is rustled from side to side by those around him. Who's damned idea was it to have such a narrow corridor at the start?! The ginger can guess that this is the first obstacle of the course, but if all the rest are as annoying as this, then screw the mission; he's going to kill whoever came up with this idea. "Stop stepping on my goddamn foot!!"

"And we've started!! How about some commentary, mister mummy?!"
"You forced me to be here."
"HAHAHA anyways!!-"

Dazai growls under his breath as elbows, sides and hands brush against him. The touches send bristles down his skin, even through the layers of clothes and bandages. However, he is lucky in a sense, as he has more space than most due to the fact that people are trying their best to stay away from him. One touch against him has people yelping in confusion as their quirks are ripped away from them, but no matter how much they try to get away from him, they are constantly pushed back by others. It's a continuous process of accidentally touching Dazai, yelping or shouting, moving away, getting pushed back, and accidentally touching Dazai. Soon, however, those confused expressions turn to annoyance or fear as they start pushing the brunette away. And the Demon prodigy, a terror to all who oppose the Port mafia, the boogeyman of the underworld, becomes a pinball as he's forced to and fro, no one wanting him to get too close. Fuck Mori for sending him on this stupid ass mission.

Suddenly, the corridor quickly drops in temperature as ice spreads along its floor and walls, incasing the feet of those stood inside. All movement stops as no one can move their feet from their icy prisons, the corridor filled with shouting and cries. Todoroki, taking advantage of the stillness, zooms through the crowd, reaching the front of the group with ease, leaving everyone far behind.

"And someone breaks out from the group!! Class 1-A, Shoto Todoroki has frozen the ground, literally freezing people in place!!"
"Quite a clever move to ensure he gets to the front."
"But that's not all! Even more are starting to emerge from the main body of students!"

Chuuya shivers as a small layer of frost crawls up his legs. He was too slow to jump out of the way due to some idiots being shoved against him, and now his legs are stuck to the floor. It doesn't take much to break himself free, however, and once he does so, the ginger allows red to wash over him before shooting to the ceiling, running upside down. He was going to wait till later to use his Quirk, its best to hold your cards to your chest when unfamiliar people are nearby. Still, he couldn't stand being there any longer with body odour taking over his senses. Seriously, he knows that everyone here is a teenager and is going to be naturally stinkier, but you can at least try to wear deodorant. He half wants to shout it out; maybe embarrassment would force them to use the spray, but he is distracted as figures blur past him. First, with pops of explosions, Bakugo flies past screaming obscenities at a particular 'half n half bastard!'. Then, following the blond, the ravenette Yaoyorozu swings forward, vaulting herself over the crowd using a pole she must've created. Chuuya grins; maybe he doesn't need to go easy on these kids; it'll be good to have a challenge.

"Those are your kids, right, Erasurehead? Shoto Todoroki, Momo Yaoyorozu, Katsuki Bakugo and.. Oo, I think Chuuya Nakahara just rocketed himself forward!! Woah, he's past Bakugo and Yaoyorozu!"
"They are my students, yes, each very skilled and have devised their own ways to escape the main crowd."
"You gotta be more prideful, dude!!"

Once freeing themselves from the ice on their legs, most students start to run again, wanting to try and regain the time they lost, but in doing that, they realise that Ice. Is. Slippery. Arms flail as students try to stay upright, with some failing in that pursuit. Dazai, however, remains perfectly vertical as he runs through the ice, and it disappears under his feet. Seeing those around him stumble and fall finally puts a smile on the brunette's face. Unfortunately, due to No Longer Human fighting its best against the quirk-made ice, about a 4ft radius is made around every step Dazai make, catching the attention of said stumbling fools. One Midoriya even cautiously scoots himself over to the line of absent ice and follows close behind the brunette. The mafioso takes a peek behind him to find a whole crowd of people following the line that Dazai creates, pushing and shoving each other as they try to quicken the pace. It almost makes him giggle! He is specifically going at a pace that isn't as fast as he could go but is enough for a particular bandaged teacher to think he's actually trying. Ultimately, this means that all who follow him also have to go at his pace. Hah!

"Here, Dazai, I'll get us there faster!" Midoriya exclaims before grabbing the brunette and forcefully hoisting him onto the green-haired boy's back, purposefully allowing Dazai's leg to dangle enough to reach the floor, continuing to erase the ice in front of them. What. So first, he was made into a pinball, and now he's the broccoli boy's personal de-icer?!

"It seems like the students have found another way through the ice, by following our second favourite nullifier, Osamu Dazai! And close behind him is another Class 1A student, Izuku Midoriya! Wait, wha- Oh wow! Looks like Midoriya and Dazai are working together!"
"Mhmm.... They are working... Together... A smart plan nonetheless, Dazai can nullify any quirk that touches him, even products of a quirk such as Todoroki's ice. However, he isn't as physically fit as Midoriya. Hence, having Midoriya run them across while Dazai creates the path is an efficient way to get them both towards the front of the race."

Todoroki was leading the race, far in front of the rest, with no show of slowing down. Chuuya could pass him quite easily, but having someone else in the front could be quite useful, especially in an obstacle course where you don't know what the next obstacle may be. Besides, he's not supposed to show off too much, so staying at a comfortable 2nd is quite alright with him. The ginger just leisurely bounds after the two-toned boy, relishing in the air that whips at his uniform as he rapidly descends to the ground. However, just as he lands, he sees Todoroki being covered in shadow before a large robot hand smashes into the ground, crushing the spot where the boy stands ahead. The ginger stops in his tracks, watching the dust cloud that appeared for any sight of Todoroki; he doubts that UA would allow any actual harm to come to their students, especially live on television for most of the country to see. But even so, these robots are probably around 30, maybe 50 ft tall and weigh a tonne. He'd be surprised if no one gets crushed, especially since most kids here aren't from the hero courses and haven't had to fight against these behemoth robots before. The mission is only to protect Class 1-A, so he doesn't have to worry about the rest of the kids in this festival... Right?

Just before the dust cleared, the air dropped in temperature once again, with specs of frost and snowflakes intermixing with the cloud of debris. Suddenly, spikes of ice shoot up from the ground, aimed at the robot, growing in size rapidly. Within the blink of an eye, the hand used to attempt to crush Todoroki was fully encased in a small glacier, with the ice continuing to increase in size quickly along the robot's arm and body. Seeing that the Todoroki was probably alright and continuing with the race, the ginger looked at the other robots towering next to the now metal popsicle. He wouldn't be able to go under that's for sure. It is too risky while the robots are still able to move and crush him with one misplaced step. No, it's better to go over.

Allowing red to wash over him once again, Chuuya starts off with a sprint, making himself lighter as he flies into the air. One of the robot's eyes seems to glint brighter, recognising a moving target as it swings an arm out in an attempt to bat the ginger down. Quickly, Chuuya changes his direction of gravity, dodging the hunk of metal barrelling towards him. The mafioso can guess that no matter if he flies over and behind the robot, it will still consider him a target and track him to try and swat him out of the air. Hence, the ginger has to come up with a way for it to either focus on someone else or just speed past it till he's too far away for it to reach. Both options will take too long, in Chuuya's opinion, so he decides to go with his default answer, which is using his fists... Or, well, his feet.

The ginger shoots through the air, increasing his density a lot while changing the direction of his gravity towards the robot. Swinging his leg to his head, Chuuya brings his leg down onto the robot's face, forming a crater. The red LEDs that represent its eyes shatter, causing sparks to fly and the robot to flail its arms wildly, attempting to hit Chuuya even though it cannot see anymore. Satisfied with the result, the ginger releases his density and jumps off the robot, changing his direction back to the ground.

"The first one to pass the Second obstacle is Shoto Todoroki!! And not far behind him, Chuuya Nakahara!"
"Both had their own interesting ways of dealing with the robots, Shouto completely freezing the robot in a both offensive and defensive approach. Whereas Chuuya was completely offensive, though still strategic, by taking out the robot's way of sight and tracking."

Dazai feels Midoriya come to an abrupt stop, standing before 3 towering robots. The brunette listens as the broccoli starts to mutter, coming up with plans on how to evade the green hunks of metal that plan to slow the group down. Feeling like Midoriya has completely forgotten that he's taken Dazai hostage, the Mafioso gives a quick tap to his shoulder, making the green-haired boy yelp in shock.

"Oh! Dazai! I... Kinda forgot I was carrying you! You're really light." Midoriya explains sheepishly, bending down slightly to allow Dazai to get off easily. The brunette scoffs slightly before opening his mouth to respond but is cut off as the loud creaking of metal rings out from the scene in front. Looking back to the three towering robots, Dazai can now see that one has been frozen. However, at an awkward angle, that will most likely mean it's going to fall, and another has had its face smashed in by who he can only guess was his favourite puppy. If he waits here now, he will have to stay with the masses and fight against those robots, which could make him unable to move up to the next category. Dazai's planning to get to the 1v1 fights and lose there. That way, there's no possible way Aizawa could accuse him of slacking off. Screw you, fashion copier. Bandages are Dazai's thing!

Dazai takes off in a sprint towards the robots just as it starts crumbling, he can hear Midoriya shout his name in concern before a dust cloud hides him from view. Hey, maybe a chunk of robot can come crashing down and kill him. That would be a funny way to go.

"Wait, the robot is wobbling- IT'S COMING DOWN!! Shoto Todoroki has created another obstacle for his peers to have to try and climb over!!"
"..."

In a dimly lit room sits a television, currently looping the same scene. It shows a close-up of Dazai running through the ice, making it disappear before being picked up by Midoriya. Poor-quality audio is emitted from the screen, with static covering most of the speech.

"... seems like the ........ found another way ........ the ice, by following our ..... nullifier, Osamu Dazai! ........ behind him ..... another Cl.......A student, Izuku Midori....! ... seems like the ........ found another way ........ the ice, by following our ..... nullifier, Osamu Dazai! ........ behind him ..... another Cl.......A student, Izuku Midori....! ... seems like the .....-"

On and on the clip goes, repeating and repeating, never-ending. It's the only thing that can be heard in this room, its volume taking over anything else. Even the machinery that has practically been engrained in the brains of whoever enters this room is basically silent in this noise.

"... seems like the ........ found another way ........ the ice, by following our ..... nullifier, Osamu Dazai! ........ behind him ..... another Cl.......A student, Izuku Mid! -" The clip gets paused. Stopping on a frame just as Dazai is placed on Midoriya's back, just about showing both their faces. Though awkwardly thrown on his classmate's back, the brunette is practically facing the camera's perspective; his face is fully revealed. Midoriya, however, is looking away from the camera, focusing on the path in front of them and only showing the side of his face. A crackling line descends down the screen, distorting the image and showing the TV's age.

"Hello... Shuji."

Chapter Text

Dust billowed and spread through the area where the robot came crashing down; coughs could be heard from students standing too close to the area. Anxiety nestled its way into Midoriya as his eyes scanned the area for any signs of the brunette. He should've stopped Dazai. The brunette is wholly defenceless, practically quirkless, and he ran into the site where clumps of metal could have squashed him instantly! Dazai could be dead because Midoriya didn't grab his hand and pull him back. What kind of hero would he be if he couldn't even save his classmates? All Might made a mistake entrusting One For All to him... All this power, and yet he still feels like a useless, quirkless Deku. Cresent-shaped marks are etched painfully into his palms as he unconsciously clenches his fists. Dazai's father is here... he just watched his son die; he must be devastated!

Creaks and groans of metal distract the green-haired boy from his thoughts as a familiar redhead bursts through the layers of wires and plating. With his skin gaining a rock-like form, Kirishima roars his way out of the robot's body, grinning like a child on Christmas. Unshed tears are blinked away as Midoriya watches in awe. Kirishima is so cool; in his hardened state, he could survive tonnes of metal showering down on him and even shred his way through the debris to escape! How much can Kirishima withstand in this form? Does his skin still feel like skin, or does it just gain the texture of a rock, and if so, is it like a smooth or grainy rock? If one were to take something sharp to Kirishima, would a part of him chip off, and if so, would it maintain its-

Stop! Midoriya slaps his cheeks to snap himself out of the spiral. Now is not the time!! Dazai could be trapped under there, impaled on some shrapnel or just crushed! The brunette can't harden his skin and tunnel through the metal like Kirishima! Midoriya takes a couple steps towards the hunk of metal before the creaks and groans return. Huh? Is someone else breaking through?

"What an excellent display of power from Todoroki! He's now miles ahead of the main body of students, with only Nakahara hot on his trail! Seeing how the rest of these kids overcome this new obstacle will be interesting!"
"While the students can get around the blockage, that path will be full of more miniature robots. So not only will they have to fight back against opponents, but they will also have to funnel through those small spaces with the others following. It might be easier to climb over the robot, but it will take a lot more time, provided they don't have a suitable quirk to get over it. Climbing over the robot also keeps you in the zone of the other two giant robots who will try to stop the students, even if Nakahara took out one of their visual-"
"Snooorrreeee!! Sorry, Erasurehead, your essay bored me to sleep! Anyway, let's look back to the race, and- WOAH!! Class 1-A Eijiro Kirishima just burst out of the robot's back like a parasite!! So Cool! His hardened state made shredding the robot's metal look like a knife through butter!! Proud of your kids yet, Erasurehead?!"
"My opinions on my students are irrelevant as of right now-"
"Am I seeing double, or did Class 1-B Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu also just escape the debris?! In his case, he literally was a knife going through butter! Oh, and do I see someone running out of the dust cloud? It's Osamu Dazai! Folks, I have no idea how he escaped the falling debris, but look at that kid run!"

Why does Death hate Dazai? It's a question the brunette asks almost daily. With how the sweet end evades him, he nearly wonders if he is cursed to never feel the precious embrace of his demise. Even Dazai can admit that it's strange how, even through all his countless suicides, he remains breathing, tethered to this dull world. He just chooses to stay ignorant; the next attempt will be the one; he just was unlucky this time. But even with his willful oblivion, it's hard to keep in the dark when he practically performs acts that would kill anyone else if it were not him. What did he do to offend the beautiful creature that takes the breath of all who see it?

Chunks of alloy fall all around him, promising pain should he be in the wrong place at the wrong time. His ears ring with each crash, pumping him full of adrenaline so familiar that it reminds him of home. A grin grows on his face. He doesn't dare to breathe, the air thick with dust, causing his chest to burn in the best of ways. He'd never tell Mori, god forbid if he found out, but Dazai does enjoy the action part of a mission, running from bullets that screech past your head. It's addicting, knowing your life could end in a second, but it won't because you're good at your job and have a persistently annoying ginger who would kill you if you died.

He almost felt as though his perpetual headache had disappeared in his good mood, but that was short-lived as a relatively small chunk of debris smacked against his head, causing him to stumble even for a moment. Hot liquid trails down his forehead as surface-level pain blooms from the impact zone. Dazai scoffed at his luck before continuing his run, seeing his exit. He hears the impending fall of a large chunk of metal that seeks to block his escape, so the brunette takes to a slide, just missing his decapitation as he makes it out the other side. Laying on his side, the brunette takes a moment to regain his energy before standing up and wiping the streak of blood out of his eye. He doesn't even have to examine the wound on his head to know that it's just a superficial cut; he probably wouldn't even need more than 2 stitches. Oh well, he can just deal with it after the race.

Dazai stretches his limbs while waiting for the dust to clear, finally taking a well-deserved deep breath. As he exhales, the brunette notices an exposed pipe peaking out of a nearby chunk of metal.

"Hmm... It wouldn't hurt to have a backup plan... Just in case." Dazai smirked as he gripped the small pipe, tugging at it as it slowly budged before being freed. Twirling it around in his hands, he starts to run again, before being suddenly flanked by... Two Kirishimas? Huh?

"Some more students have broken away from the rest! Katsuki Bakugo blasts his way over the robot, with Class 1-A Hanta Sero and Fumikage Tokoyami hot on his heels!"
"And at the front of the race, Shoto Todoroki has made it to the next obstacle."
"Oh! Oh! Oh! Here we are, folks, the second barrier! The fall! Multiple pillars stand tall within this immense abyss connected only by a single rope! If they fall, they're out!"
"For any concerned watcher, there is a net at the bottom to catch anyone who falls. I ensured it was added despite someone claiming I was lame."
"For those concerned watchers, that someone meant it as a joke!! Child safety is not lame!"

Breeze whipped through Chuuya's hair as he slowly descended onto the first pillar, pretending to stumble as he landed. This barrier is trivial to him, something he had already achieved by age 10. But if they've put it here, they must think it's at least a little complicated for them, so he has to pretend it is, even if a little. Unfortunately, even if he pretends to struggle, there is no logical reason why he can't leave Todoroki in his dust. Chuuya had wanted to stay in the 2nd or 3rd position, but the dual-coloured hair boy was ground-bound, so he had to use the tiny rope to get from pillar to pillar. Currently, with Chuuya stalling on one of the first pillars, Todoroki is only halfway to his second pillar. And he would make it to the second at the same time Todoroki does. This is the second barrier, so he could probably find a better way to stall in the next one so that Todoroki can catch up. He hopes he can.

Accepting that he'll just stall at the next barrier, Chuuya allows red to wash over him again and jumps high into the air, landing on the second pillar just as Todoroki left it. He then takes off again, landing on the third before his classmate could even reach halfway on the rope. As he touches the ground, he can hear a gawk from the half-and-half boy as if he never expected anyone to come close to him, let alone pass him. So arrogant. The ginger scoffs as he carries on breezing through the barrier, making it to the other side with ease.

"Woah!! It looks like Todoroki just lost the lead in Nakahara! A swift takeover!!"
"Nakahara was bound to excel here, just like any student who can make it over the pillars without needing to use the rope connecting them. I expect the bulk of students are going to be thinned out in this barrier as the majority use the thin rope; some will fall down, and some will just fall behind the rest."
"Let's see if Nakahara can keep that lead in the next barrier, or will Todoroki take it back?!"

"Woah, dudes, watch out! There's a massive drop here!!" Kirishima warns as the three of them get to the second barrier. Dazai slows his pace to a stop before staring at the chasm below; he hears a few awe-filled gasps from the redhead and his doppelganger as they wonder how deep it goes. The brunette crouches down to a squat; each pillar is connected by a rope, but he can't see exactly how the rope is being attached. It surely has to be secure otherwise it will snap and students will fall. Though from the naked eye, it just seems to be embedded into the stone without any support or structure.

Kirishima and his lookalike start to make their way across, carefully trying to crawl along another rope. Like the brunette assumed, it's sturdy enough to hold their weight but loose enough for the rope to dip when they reach the middle. An idea forms in Dazai's brain, a stupid, reckless idea that, if done wrong, could result in him being taken out of the race. And that's Dazai's favourite type of idea, one that would make Chuuya curse him out for even daring to think of it. Dazai changes to a kneel, reaching his hand out for the rope below him and then bringing his new pipe to the thread. With the sharp end directed at the line, the brunette starts to saw at it, cutting it close to the concrete.

Once severed, Dazai holds the rope and stands up, testing its flexibility. He walks back as far as the rope allows and then tucks his pipe under his armpit before wrapping the rope around his hand; taking a breath, the brunette starts to run towards the edge at an angle before jumping off. Wind attacks his ears as he falls; once reaching the peak of his fall, the rope tugs against his arm, making him wince slightly, but he ignores it in favour of his focus as he swings, the length of the rope shortens a little as it wraps around the nearest pillar, but it's still enough. As the swing goes up and Dazai reaches as high as he can go, the brunette lets go of the rope, falling onto the 2nd pillar. The brunette rolls his shoulder as he stands up. This will be a hard workout, but he's had worse.

"Looks like Eijiro Kirishima, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and Osamu Dazai have just made it to the 2nd barrier! Kirishima and Tetsutetsu have chosen the same method of crawling along the rope. It may be slow going, but it is a safe option! Dazai seems to be-! CUTTING THE ROPE ?!?!"
"... I... I guess that's a strategy to slow the other students down, limiting the options across. But he doesn't have enough time to cut them all down; it would be more efficient to just cross over and get a headstart on them."
"Erasurehead... Why's your kid pulling the rope back?... Why is he running?! FOLKS!! OSAMU DAZAI JUST JUMPED OFF OF THE EDGE AND IS USING THE ROPE TO SWING ACROSS! SO UNEXPECTED!"
"A reckless yet creative and quick solution to get across. But like I said. Reckless."

Chuuya lands just before the 3rd barrier, deciding to stand and wait a moment before carrying on. It gives him a moment to stall for Todoroki but also lets him assess what this barrier is. Looking at the small disturbed circles of ground scattered across this field, the ginger can immediately guess that this is meant to be a minefield. Once again, the easiest way would be to fly across, so why have there been so few obstacles for those who aren't stuck to the ground? Just because those robots were tall doesn't mean they were much of an obstacle at all; Chuuya, for one, just hit a robot and flew past, barely stopping him for even a second. So maybe this barrier isn't all it seems? Maybe there is more of a challenge here, something Chuuya isn't noticing that could make it harder for him to fly past. The ginger takes a look around and finds a rock about the size of his hand; picking it up, he encases it in a red glow before throwing it out to the field. It flies out, high above the field and after a minute of nothing attacking the rock, it falls to the ground, triggering a mine that explodes with a cloud of pink smoke. Unimpressed, Chuuya raises his eyebrow. So they just didn't think to add an actual obstacle for fliers, oh well.

Just as the ginger was about to take off, starting his journey across, the temperature dropped suddenly, ice covered his feet and started crawling up to his knees. A growl escapes from the mafioso as he twists and turns to try and spot the Elsa wannabe. Todoroki jogs past him and grimaces in Chuuya's direction before continuing to try and run in the minefield, careful about where he places his foot.

Anger festers under his skin, Arahabaki demanding to beat the dual-haired boy for daring to look at the ginger with such disdain. Chuuya takes a breath and grits his teeth till the scream for violence quiets to a whisper. Yeaaahhh fuck holding back; Chuuya is going for 1st. The ginger allows red to wash over as he increases his density, hearing the ice under him creak and groan under his new weight. With one kick, the ice shatters, freeing Chuuya instantly and allowing him to bound into the air, gaining ground on Todoroki.

"Let's turn our attention back to the start of the race with our lead, Chuuya Nakahara! He's... He's standing there. Uhm... Oh, he's picked up a rock!... and threw it. What is he doing?"
"It seems Nakahara is testing the mines to test their power. Understandable approach when dealing with something new, but there's not that much time till Todoroki makes his way there, so time is of the essence.-"
"Talking about Todoroki, here he is! And he's frozen Nakahara! Snatching back the lead as his opponent is stuck!!"

Dazai can see the other side of this crevasse. With just one more swing, he's finally finished with this stupid barrier. The brunette massages his shoulder before cutting the rope once more and then walking back to gain momentum. Sprinting at an angle, he runs off the edge and down into the abyss. Immediately, he feels something pop, and pain spread from his shoulder like fire along his spine. His shoulder's dislocated and he can feel his fingers slip from around the rope. Quickly, the brunette lets go of his pipe and grabs onto the rope to regain his grip on this swing; soon enough, he gets to the height of the swing, lets go and falls onto the edge, rolling on the floor to lose his momentum. Dazai lays on the floor for a moment, his working hand caressing his dislocated shoulder as he winces in pain. His plan was reckless enough; he should've expected this outcome. Oh well. The brunette rolls onto his stomach to get onto his knees before standing up and running again; he still has to finish this race, so he'll just reset it after that.

Just as he makes it up to the 3rd barrier, he feels a woosh of air beside him and sees Bakugo fly past with such speed that he nearly knocks the brunette over. The spikey blonde flies up to Chuuya and shoulder blocks him out of the way before heading to Todoroki and attempting to punch him. The brunette almost burst into giggles as he watched his ginger turn beetroot red in anger and beeline towards the trio, joining in on the pushing and shoving. He's so enraptured in the show that he nearly doesn't watch where he's going, shoe barely brushing the start of the disturbed pile of dirt. Unfortunately, Dazai doesn't see any plan that could boost him along the minefield that wouldn't cause him more harm than he already has endured. For now, he will just have to hop across and avoid any mines. The brunette is already far ahead of the rest of the competitors, so he feels rather confident that he'll make it to the next round without having to try too hard.

Plus, he already has an advantage that the rest of the students don't; being a mafioso in Yokohama has given him plenty of training on how to keep pace without stepping on specific places. Be that a minefield, broken glass on the sidewalk whilst barefoot or even one of Mori's ridiculous private training for his 'right-hand man'. "You never know, Dazai! Maybe in the future, I'll be kidnapped by a rival organisation, and the only way to save me is to run through a room filled with glass, needles and barbed wire while barefoot! You would save me, right, Osamu? What's that face for!?". Either way, Dazai easily steps through the field, gracefully jumping over mines while holding his dislocated arm.

"Dazai makes it over to the 3rd barrier, with Bakugo flying past him. He nudged Nakahara away and punched at Todoroki, with Bakugo seizing the lead! Oh, it seems Nakahara didn't quite like that he got shoulder barged and has joined in with the pushing and shoving! This is a neck-on-neck three-way tie!! Erasurehead, who do you think will come out on top?"
"Hmm... It's a bit too early to tell; they are still only halfway in, so anything could happen. Though Todoroki is certainly at a disadvantage, as the other two don't need to touch the ground and, therefore, aren't at risk of being blown away. He could use his ice to stop him from stepping on them, but that would risk making a bridge for the other students-"
"Hold on that word ramble, an explosion has just burst at the start of the 3rd barrier!! And is that-? IZUKU MIDORIYA HAS BLASTED HIMSELF TO THE LEAD!! Gathering some landmines into a pile and using a broken robot shell, Midoriya used the explosion to boost himself to the top!! What an ingenious plan!!!"

Chuuya hears an eruption behind him and turns to see the broccoli soaring high above, gaining alot of ground and even passing the trio who are bickering below. A slight grin grows on the ginger's face as he watches Bakugo's expression turn from focused to rage, however just as the blonde was about to blast off after the green-haired boy, Chuuya shoulder barged him, causing him to stumble and fall onto a landmine. The ginger cackles as he flies forward, listening to Bakugo's screams and curses. The sound of crackling ice notifies the ginger that Todoroki is hot on his heels, though he can tell that Todoroki no longer cares whether he can push Chuuya out of the way. The dual-haired boy is now focused on getting to the front as he creates an ice path to run on, forgoing any apprehensions about accidentally making it easier for the later students.

"Midoriya is going down. Was his attempt for nothing?! Nakahara and Todoroki are head to head, reaching Midoriya and going past him- MIDORIYA IS BACK AT IT AGAIN AND HAS EXPLODED MORE MINES RIGHT UNDERNEATH NAKAHARA AND TODOROKI!! MIDORIYA HAS BEEN PROPELLED FORWARD ONCE AGAIN, WHILE NAKAHARA AND TODOROKI HAVE BEEN BLOWN SIDEWARDS. MIDORIYA IS IN THE LEAD"
"Stop shouting; you're already on a microphone; you're too loud."
"The excitement is too much! Bakugo has gotten up and is chasing Nakahara and Todoroki, who are also back on Midoriya's trail. Is it going to be enough to pass him?! We're at the finish line, folks, and the winner is... IZUKU MIDORIYA!!"

Chuuya stands in the waiting area, hands on his knees. The ginger is almost bent over at the waist, panting as he catches his breath, smiling. He actually rather enjoyed this race; sure, the race itself wasn't all that difficult. If he did it alone, he would've probably just flown the whole time and finished it in 5 minutes. But competing against these hero kids who want nothing more than to prove their abilities? Now, that was fun. Todoroki and Bakugo may have annoyed him towards the end, but he got back at them. Bakugo by pushing him back when he was distracted, and Todoroki by placing 2nd. He can feel the dual-haired boy's eyes boring into the back of his neck! The ginger stands up and stretches, trying to come down gently from his adrenaline high. Chuuya's feeling so good right now and is ecstatic to go to the next round; this is the best day he's had since coming on this mission!

"Chuuyyaaa~"

Ok, never mind, his good mood has vanished.

"Chuuya! Where did you place? I think I came seventh! Way better than I thought, but I did work hard for it! Too hard, in my opinion, Do you think you could give your master a massage? Pwetty pwease?" The ginger turned round to look at Dazai as he whined and was almost dumbfounded. The brunette looked like shit; sweat and grime coated his forehead, slightly intermixed with a streak of blood coming from the left of his head where bandages usually sat. Dazai waddled over to Chuuya, hugging his right arm close to his body in a position the ginger immediately recognised as a dislocated shoulder.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Chuuya questioned, a slightly concerned tone dancing around Dazai's head. The brunette scoffed lightly before regaling the tale of how he was hit in the head by a chunk of metal and then dislocated his shoulder by swinging through the 2nd barrier. "Do you want me to reset it? I think the nurse is eyeing you up and is about to rush you away."

"As quickly as you can, Chuuya," Dazai replied; his playful demeanour changed to a serious one as the ginger hesitantly grabbed the shoulder and positioned it before popping it back in. The brunette hisses in pain as the fire around his shoulder increases in pressure before slowly dying out. Dazai wiggles his limbs lightly to test the pain and finds it to just be a dull ache for now, but he knows it'll just be worse the more he puts stress on it. "Well, that's sorted. But like I asked, where did you place?"

"I came second, Midoriya was first, Todoroki third and Bakugo fourth." The ginger relayed, relaxing slightly as he looked around. More students seem to be filing in slowly, mainly ones from the hero course, before the other courses start popping up more and more. Chuuya feels something poke his shoulder, causing him to flinch before turning around to see Recovery girl trying to manoeuvre through the crowd. A knowing smirk finds its way on Chuuya's face as he gets out of her way so she can stand in front of Dazai. He has to hold in a laugh as the brunette's expression immediately turns to a grimace.

"Hello there, son. Are you quite alright? I noticed that you seemed to be holding onto your arm and have blood on your face." She questioned, watching the boy as he squirmed under her gaze.

"Haha! I'm perfectly fine, miss! I pulled my arm slightly, and it was feeling a little tender, but it's better now that Chuuya gave me a little massage!" Dazai replied cheerfully, ignoring the middle finger from the ginger behind the small woman. "And the blood is nothing but superficial! A little surface scratch, nothing to worry about."

"Do you mind if I take a look?" She questions with a smile, taking his hands in hers to try and soothe him, yet he flinches under her touch. Her smile falters for a moment but is regained. After no response, she asks again. "Just look at your shoulder and head to ensure there's nothing wrong."

"If I allow you to 'take a look' at my head, would you leave the matter alone? I told you my shoulder is fine and doesn't need medical attention." Dazai sighed, rolling his eyes before looking back at her. Even though the smile stays on her face, the brunette can tell she's suspicious of his attitude to her and his refusal to be looked after. But nevertheless, she nods and starts walking away from the waiting area and the students, obviously wanting Dazai to follow. The brunette groans and sends a scathing look to the ginger, who is clearly enjoying his misery, before following the small nurse.

Chapter Text

Heeeeyyyy

Sorry this isn't a chapter but I've had like no time to work on it + the storyboard. I'm sorry 😔🙏

I really need to focus on my Uni work and considering I'm helping making like 2 short animated films + my other modules and coursework, it's allllooott of work.

I'm not going to abandon the fic, I really want to finish it, but I'm going to have to scrap the every 2 week Saturday upload schedule and basically just upload whenever I have the time.

I'll try to make sure its at the very least 1 new chapter per month but can't confirm.

Really sorry again!

Chapter Text

Soooooo.....

Been a long time.

Oops

I really did mean to update since my last post but... it didn't happen.... I just kinda lost all motivation. I blame the sports festival arc lol

But I'm planning to start up again with this story, just revamped and rewritten. It will probably take a while so for now it will be completely haulted on the uploading aspect unfortunately. I am starting from the beginning as there's some aspects that I feel I didn't really emphasise on as much as I wanted to so I plan to improve that. I also want to have a doodle for every chapter because art is my passion so hopefully that will gear me up to work on it more.

This will probably take alot of time as I want to have like minimum 30% of the story finished before I start uploading again so have a safety backlog. But hopefully not too long.

I will probably make a new publish for the revamp but I will let you guys know when it happens.

Question however.

Would you guys prefer I upload 1 chapter every week from the beginning or upload however many chapters it will be to get back to the point in the story that I left off and then 1 a week?

Because I know it will be annoying/boring to re-read basically the same story, even if there's some small or big changes to them. But it would also mean that it will take even longer to get the backlog ready for upload.

(Though it would probably be best to read from the beginning as I plan to focus alot more on relationships both romantic and platonic so there may be some plot related jokes or callbacks later in the chapters)

So let me know which you prefer
Thanks for all the comments, they have motivated me out of my summer break stasis lol