~{Mututafu Outskirts-4:32PM}~

"Anything?"

*Nothing...*

Tsukauchi sighed as he lowered his radio and continued marching through the woods with a few others near him. The group was currently conducting their search party for the people reported to have gone missing in the forest, but so far, no one has been found. The chirping birds and humming wind gave him some peace of mind, yet he still felt frustrated by the lack of results.

"We've been searching for hours... And we're getting pretty deep into the forest..."

Tsukauchi glanced down into his watch, frowning when he noticed the time.

"It's already getting late... I need to call everyone back before the sun goes down."

Tsukauchi sighed and stopped his walking, turning to the others who were exploring the area.

"That's enough for today! Let's start heading back!"

The group, looking rather dejected, nodded in agreement as they started turning in the opposite direction.

Tsukauchi gave one last glance around his surroundings, looking dissatisfied that he found nothing, whether items or people, this deep into the forest.

"Oh well..." He wiped some sweat from his forehead. "We may have to search on another day."

He turned around and started walking back with the others, raising his radio to his mouth.

"It's about time, so we're gonna start heading back." He said on the channel.

Tsukauchi continued forward as he waited for a response, a few pro heroes keeping watch around him.

Only...

*Bzzzzzzzzt!!!*

Tsukauchi raised an eyebrow as he turned on his radio again.

"Deputy, are you there?"

*Bzzzzzzzzt!!*

Tsukauchi frowned as he stopped walking and changed the station.

*BzzzZZZZzzztt!*

"Something's not right."

Tsukauchi kept a hold of his radio as he looked around the area more cautiously than before, catching sight of a shadow vanishing in the trees.

His eyes widened as his right hand pulled out his gun.

"Everyone! Get back!"

Everyone ahead of him stopped and glanced back.

"What's wro-?"

*BOOM!!*

"AH!" Everyone stumbled as a sudden explosion rang out in the distance, shaking the earth and causing a few of them to fall over.

And after having seen that shadow from before, Tsukauchi knew they had to leave.

"Everyone start running NOW!"

He helped to pull a woman to her feet and usher her forward.

"Wh-What's going on!?!" She cried out.

"I don't know! But what I do know is that we have to get out of here!" Tsukauchi declared as they started running together.

"Mud Run! Keep a lookout for anything and protect the party!" Tsukauchi shouted to a tall hero made entirely out of mud.

"On it!" The pro said in a warbly voice, keeping close to the group as they ran through the forest.

Tsukauchi grit his teeth as he got on his radio again.

"Team 1! Do you copy!?"

*Bzzzzzztt!!!*

"Team 2, are you there!?!"

*Bzzzzztt!!!*

He didn't even bother checking the others, as it was clear they must be facing the same situation.

"As of now, I have to prioritize getting everyone here to safety!"

"OOOOOOOOOOWHOO!!"

Tsukauchi's eyes dilated at the sound of the demonic howl.

"What was tha-!?!"

"LOOK OUT!"

Mud Run erupted a wall of dirt and mud from the ground as a giant beam of red energy suddenly blasted from the trees.

Tsukauchi's eyes widened in horror as the beam just pierced through the wall of mud like it was nothing, continuing until it pierced and crumbled through the hero that created it.

"GAAAAAAARGH!!!!!" Mud Run was completely erased as an explosion engulfed the area into completely white light, sending everyone flying in separate directions.

It was as if a giant flashbang went off with how disoriented Tsukauchi became afterward.

His vision was completely white as loud ringing echoed in his ears. He felt as if his head split open and groaned as he rolled to his side. He blinked several times to regain his eyesight while trying to see if he was still in one piece.

He felt his body intact, well, besides the aching of his head and the bruises he felt. He could still feel himself and put a hand to his head while trying to regain all of his senses.

Slowly but surely, the white of his vision started clearing up as the ringing in his ears began to fade. But as the scene slowly manifested around him, and as he heard the sounds of screaming and crunching, he realized that there was something large and blood scented just ahead of him.

With his vision fully cleared, Tsukauchi's eyes widened in horror as he saw a wolf nearly thirteen feet tall and with all sorts of dangerous features on him. Its eyes weren't matching, as one was green while the other an unnatural blood red, and it had spiked bones sticking out from her neck while the rest of her fur looked rather sharp.

Crunches and ripping came from the wolf as Tsukauchi saw it tearing something, no... someone apart. He saw a severed arm fly from the wolf's metallic teeth, with crimson red flying all over the case. There were already several torn up-corpses near it, showing it didn't waste any time in ending its victims.

"What... the hell is that thing!?"

Tsukauchi stood up and stepped back, a noise which made the wolf stop her crunching and turn her head, eyes narrowing at him.

"Grrrrrrrr...!!"

"Shit!"

Tsukauchi didn't hesitate and fired a few rounds at the wolf's head, each one hitting their mark and causing the creature to at least recoil a bit.

*Click!* *Click!*

Tsukauchi's pistol was out of ammo after unloading the entire clip at once, but he was stunned to see his bullets barely even make any visible dent to the creature.

"GRRRR!!" The wolf didn't seem too fatally wounded, but her pupils simply dilated in pure rage.

"It did nothing!?" Tsukauchi quickly reloaded as the wolf turned her body to face him, snarling before leaping forward with a powerful jump, preparing to snap her jaw down on the detective.

Tsukauchi didn't think. He just dove to the side and narrowly avoided getting split clean in half, rolling to the side while the wolf crashed into some trees behind him.

When he pushed himself up and turned around, the wolf had already circled around and was running right to him.

He gritted his teeth and pointed his gun just as the wolf leaped towards him with a growl.

Then there was a last, single gunshot.

_________________________________________________

~{The Next Day- Enso's Residence 8:45AM}~

"I really missed this place..."

Izuku smiled as he stared up at the front of Enso's dojo and makeshift home. The last time he was here was a week ago, one whole week of studying and training under Gran Torino. But now that he was back, Izuku was ready to put his new skills to the test against his mentor, honing them the best he could to continue growing.

"Alrighty! You ready partner?" Ikari cheered in excitement, even manifesting next to Izuku with his usual jagged grin.

Izuku turned to him with a nod.

"Yeah, we've learned a lot about fighting a fast and agile opponent from Gran Torino, so let's put what we learned to the test."

"Yeah! Let's kick Poker Face's ass!"

"I wouldn't go that far..." Izuku sweatdropped.

"You should." Ikari encouraged before retracting back into Izuku.

Izuku just smiled again as he went up the familiar steps of the dojo, then pulling out a key Enso gave him so he wouldn't always have to knock.

When Izuku unlocked the door and glanced inside, he was shocked to see Iida and Todoroki in the middle of the room. Both were performing push-ups but with heavy weights attached to their arms and legs. Both were drenched in sweat and pushing themselves to the limit as they struggled with the extra weight attached to them.

Behind them, a few feet away, was Shinso and Enso fighting one another. Or... 'fight' was a bit of a stretch, as Shiinso kept swinging his arms and legs in an attempt to hit the moody teen, only for Enso to effortlessly avoid them.

"So Edgeshot taught you how to sneak around, strike in silence, and keep your balance? But other than that, not too much?" Enso asked in disinterest as he kept tilting his body to avoid attacks.

Shinso's gray tank-top was drenched in sweat as he heavily panted, his movements becoming sluggish.

"*Huff* *puff* We only had a week, alright!?!"

Izuku blinked as he stared at Iida and Todoroki.

Enso noticed him in the doorway and suddenly swiped his leg along the ground.

"Whoa!" The indigo-haired teen was swept off his feet and landed on his stomach, groaning on the floor as Enso walked towards Izuku.

"Welcome back to your demise."

"That's a bit grim." Izuku deadpanned.

"Um... It's good to be back... I didn't think Shoto- Um, I mean T-Todoroki and Iida would already be here since we just came back to school."

"I prefer not to waste time and have people grow as soon as possible, you know this." Enso stated.

On the ground, Iida caught sight of Izuku despite trying to focus on not being dragged to the ground.

"Nngh! G-Good morning... Mi... Grr... Midoriya!" Iida forced himself as some cracking was heard in his bones.

"Don't try to speak while in that much stress... It's not good for your lungs." Izuku suggested to him.

Sweat dripped onto the floor as Todoroki grit his teeth.

"Nnn... You had to deal... *huff* with all of this?"

"Don't worry! You'll get used to the other exercises after the first hundred push-ups!" Izuku declared with an innocent, brightening smile.

"Th-That doesn't make me feel the least bit better..." Todoroki groaned as he successfully lowered himself down to the ground.

"You can do it!" Ikari cheered as he emerged with pom-poms replacing his hands, then proceeding to shake them up and down.

"Nnnngh!! I-I... I will do my best! OOOOOOHHHH!!" Iida then suddenly started rapidly doing push-ups as comedic fire erupted from him.

"Oh, wow." "Oh, wow." Both Izuku and Ikari paused, admiring the sudden increase of spirit.

Shinso groaned as he got up from the ground and rubbed his head, looking visibly annoyed.

"Ugh... I didn't even touch him."

Izuku focused his attention on the boy and smiled.

"Hey, Shinso!"

"Hi, Aizawa Jr!"

"We are NOT related!" Shinso abruptly shouted, making both Izuku and Ikari flinch.

"R-Right..." Izuku stammered.

Hearing this, Todoroki rose his head with widened eyes as he suddenly saw the resemblance.

"Wait... Shinso, are you Aizawa's secret love chi-?"

"HELL NO!"

Izuku nervously backed from the annoyed Shinso as Enso walked past him.

"Come with me." He said, proceeding to walk out of the main dojo area.

"Eh? Aren't we gonna spar?" Izuku asked, following him despite the confusion.

"Not yet. I wish to show you a new addition to the place."

"Ooo! You're still renovating?" Ikari asked, his body forming into a cat onto Izuku's shoulder, whose tail still connected to his host.

"Wait, when did this happen?" Izuku asked, following Enso into a small hall and going down some stairs.

"Someone worked on the place while we were at our internships." Enso explained as they reached the bottom of the small number of stairs, ending up in a hall of stone walls.

"Really?" Izuku asked, shocked to hear this for the first time.

Enso nodded. "As of now..." He pointed at the end of the short hall where two metallic double doors were. "We have our own development studio."

"Eh !?" Izuku stopped walking with shock clearly visible on him.

"Wait..." Ikari changed from a cat to a bird on Izuku's shoulder. "You mean a place we can make weapons, costumes, and frilly little dresses?"

"I don't know about that last one, but the rest, yes." Enso answered as he stopped in front of the doors, then turning back to wait for Izuku.

"Sounds boring... Let me know when we're gonna fight." Ikari muttered as he retracted back into his host, getting out of sight.

"W-Wait! But why do we need our own studio if we have one at U.A!? And who even built this room while we were gone!?!" Izuku asked as he caught up to Enso and stopped with him by the door.

"Oh, that was-"

*BOOM!*

Enso ducked to the side as the doors in front of them suddenly blasted open, with someone flying out of the room and crashing into Izuku.

"GAH!" Izuku's eyes turned comedically white as he was sent flying back all the way down the short hall, ending up crashing into the wooden stairs leading down.

Back in the main dojo area, Shinso turned his head and sweatdropped when he saw clouds of dust coming from the downstairs area.

"What the hell?"

"A villain!?!" Iida panicked as he tried to push himself back to his feet.

Big mistake.

The engine boy felt his wrists crack and fell to the ground.

"OW! OW! OW!"

Todoroki kept his calm as he gently lowered himself to the ground, tilting his head in the direction the dust came from.

"What happened?"

Shinso shrugged and walked over to the stairway, peeping down and trying to look through the dusty clouds.

Izuku was lying against the stairs, the area obscured by dust and the boy dizzy in the head.

"Ugh... Why do I feel like... this happened before?"

Izuku tried to get up, only to realize that there was something heavy on him, his face even pressing against something soft as he tried to lean forward.

"Hm? What's this?"

Izuku backed his head and moved his hands up, feeling the soft items in front of him.

"YIP!"

"Yip?" Izuku deadpanned, registering the squeal.

Through his touch, Izuku gathered information that there were two soft mounds in front of him, mounds his palms couldn't completely wrap around.

"Wait a moment..."

"Um... You might wanna let go, partner..." Ikari warned.

"God damn it... Hatsume, I know I'm allowing you to be more... 'creative' with your inventions here, but you won't be able to if you blow up the studio..." Enso's voice sighed through the smoke.

Izuku flinched as the obscured area slowly cleared up, the boy's eyes widening in terror as he made out the shape of the person in front of him.

Familiar pink dreadlocks came into view, a pair of yellow crosshair eyes were honed on him, and the owner of these eyes had her usual large grin despite the small blush in her cheeks.

"Hey, Muscles! Good to see you again!" Mei smiled.

Izuku's eyes went from Mei to his hands, registering exactly what he was holding.

"I know you're excited to see my 'babies' again, but would you mind letting go?" Mei nonchalantly asked.

Steam erupted from Izuku's as his face turned so red it put Kirishima's hair to shame.

"Sh-She's not wearing a b-b-b-b-!"

"Bra... we get it."

"HATSUMEI'MSOSORRYIDIDN'TMEANTO!" Izuku rambled in a lightning-fast sentence, removing his hands from Mei's assets and raising them up as if surrendering.

He tried to get up but realized that Mei was still on his lap, which explained the additional weight he felt on him.

"U-U-UM-!!"

"Heh." Shinso grinned from the top of the stairs. "Nice job."

Izuku glanced up, still completely red and embarrassed.

"I-I-! Um-! This isn't-!"

Mei got off Izuku's lap and grinned as she adjusted the goggles on her head.

"Wow, Muscles! I didn't think you'd be so bold! Not as innocent as you look, huh?"

Izuku shot to his feet and flailed his arms around.

"N-NO! I-!"

"What happened!?!" Iida called from the other room.

"Oh, Midoriya just groped that inventor chick." Shinso answered.

"Nani!?! Midoriya! That is sexual harassment and unacceptable behavior of a U.A student!" Iida's shouts echoed.

"It's not like that!!" Izuku stammered, hoping Iida heard him.

"For shame, Izuku, get a hold of yourself." Enso sighed.

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL IT ISN'T LIKE THAT!" Izuku snapped to Enso.

"Oh, he actually got angry." Shinso smirked. "Guess it's time to head back to punching." He finished, slipping back into the main room.

Izuku looked down, still red in embarrassment but also frustrated.

"I-I'm sorry, Mei..."

Mei didn't look the least bothered, "Don't sweat it, Muscles! Just warn me first the next time you try to get a feel!"

"Wait, next time?"

Before Izuku could ask what she meant, Enso piped up.

"So have you finished moving your equipment in?" He asked the inventor girl.

Mei turned to Enso with a thumbs up.

"Sure did! Mei's Laboratory is now open for making babies!"

Izuku blinked, "W-Wait... So Mei was the one who helped add the additions for you!?!"

"Sure did!" Mei turned to Izuku with a sparkling grin. "And now it'll be convenient to build my babies here and immediately have you test them out for improvements!"

Izuku flinched as he recalled being given the role to basically be Mei's test dummy.

"Come check it out, Muscles!" Mei excitedly grabbed Izuku by the hand and dragged him into the room she just blew out of.

"What!? H-Hold on!" Izuku stammered, surprised by the hard pull as he went into the room with Enso following.

Once Izuku stepped inside, his eyes widened in awe at the sight of the area.

It was as if he ended up in some sort of underground facility by how white the walls were painted. For the room being in a location that would normally be a basement, it was surprisingly large, even larger than the small studio at U.A. However... It was clear that there would be more than just building inventions done in the room.

There were vials and flasks on tables with some equipment near them, several new-looking white desks with drawers, and the room's side had several boxes all labeled. It seemed that Mei had moved several boxes of either inventions or scrap, ready to go wild in creating something new. In addition, one of the tables contained a rather... 'unique' item.

"Check this baby out!" Mei brought him to that table and grabbed the item, showing it off with sparkles to her eyes.

Izuku's eyes widened when he saw a black arm cannon with a red outline going around it.

"A... blaster?"

"Not just any blaster! This is one of a kind and based on one of my favorite video games growing up!" She beamed.

"Hold up, she actually played games?" Ikari deadpanned.

"Huh... I mean, I guess they could've been an inspiration for building her inventions?" Izuku guessed.

"And it's even made out of that vibrim that Apple Eyes gave me!"

"Vibranium, and enough with the ridiculous nicknames..." Enso sighed.

Izuku stared in awe at the arm cannon. It looked so smooth and clear, reflecting everything around the room with shining brightness.

"Wow... What's going to power it up? Will it be someone's quirk?" Izuku asked, fully invested in knowing the function of Mei's invention.

"I powered it up with electricity before! But now I'm gonna use your quirk!" Mei beamed.

"Eh?" Izuku blinked.

Enso headed to one of the desks and started opening the drawers to search for something. "Now that we're finally back, I wish to do something that's gotten me curious. I wish to study Ikari himself. From the power of his energy to testing its properties."

"Really?" Ikari emerged from Izuku and peaked at Enso.

Mei's eyes sparkled when she saw the entity.

"OO! Is this him!?!"

"Aaaaaaand I'm going back..." Ikari immediately retreated, not wishing to deal with Mei at the moment.

"Wait! Come back, small magic man!" Mei circled around Izuku and repeatedly poked him as if trying to find a button to bring him out again.

"H-Hey! Stop that!" Izuku stammered, getting nervous by the poking.

"Shut up, you idiots..." Enso sighed as he turned back to the group with a syringe connected to a tube that connected to a vile.

Izuku paused when he saw that.

"Um... Enso? What's that for?"

Enso sat on a chair by a desk, motioning Izuku to come.

"I'm going to draw a small vial of blood to see if Ikari has interacted with your cells in any way. Then I'll grab another vial to drain Ikari's energy to see if it can be contained."

"Contained?" Izuku muttered.

Enso nodded. "As we've seen, whenever Ikari seems to... 'disconnect' different parts of himself, whether by creating projectiles or parts of his energy get cut off, these parts always seem to vanish into thin air."

"Well, yeah. No doubt because you're kinda my whole power source-thingy, whatever you wanna call yourself. So if I split from you completely, then I guess I should theoretically die?" Ikari said mentally to Izuku.

"But perhaps if we store his energy in a container or machine like any other power source, it won't just vanish? Kind of like electricity." Enso mumbled.

"I don't think that's exactly how electricity works..." Izuku muttered.

"Whatever, I'm not a scholar... Just get over here so I could stick this needle in you."

Izuku sighed and walked over, placing himself in the seat next to Enso and offering his arm.

As Enso got the items ready, Mei excitedly bounced in place.

"I wonder how Black Stuff is gonna work with my babies!"

"I have a name..." Ikari internally deadpanned.

Enso didn't waste any time and took Izuku's arm, wiping it with some alcohol, while the boy curiously turned to the inventor girl.

"Hey... Mei? What does the Support Course do over internships?"

Mei's face suddenly became inches from Izuku's with sparkles.

"OH! You're curious!?!"

Izuku flinched and started sweating.

"Too close!"

"The students of the Support Course get their own invitations to internships just like the Hero Course! But we don't get invitations from hero agencies. We get invited to companies!"

"S-So... You went to one of these companies? OW!" Izuku flinched when he felt the syringe injected into him.

"Nope!" Mei beamed, answering his question.

"Eh?" Izuku blinked.

"The Support Course just used the week to work on babies, so they'd be like a portfolio which we can present to the big leagues that invite us!"

"Oh... I see." Izuku muttered as red was drained from him.

"But I already had plenty of babies done! I would've just made more over the week, but then good ol' businessman over here-!"

"The next time you don't address me as Enso, you're never stepping in here again." Enso remarked as he finished taking blood from Izuku.

Mei flinched and started sweating despite the normal-looking smile she usually had.

"A-Anyway... So Enso here hit me up that he had a place where I can go wild with my babies! So then I worked in this room while the week went by!"

"So you just moved a lot of your own things in here? But..." Izuku glanced around the room at all the clean desks. "These seem brand new..."

"I bought them." Enso said as he capped Izuku's blood in the vial.

"Eh? How did... Wait." Izuku blinked in realization as Enso put a bandage on the area he drew blood. "Enso, you're not still gambling, are you?"

"Not as of recently." Enso answered as he slipped the vile of Izuku's blood in a vial holder, then digging into a drawer for another empty vial. "Ever since joining U.A, I haven't been able to go. People know my face now, so I'd be considered a minor that, of course, wouldn't be allowed anymore. I had a fake identity when I first arrived, but now it would be too much trouble to fool anyone. But Toshinori has been providing money to me anyway from all the wealth he accumulated but doesn't use, so it's fine."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense..." Izuku muttered, knowing the number one hero must've made so much money.

Izuku stood up and rubbed his bandage as Enso raised another empty vial with a syringe attached.

"Ikari, come out to see if we can store your energy in this." Enso instructed.

A small lump formed on Izuku's shoulder opposite of Mei, "But... I'm scared of the touchy girl..."

Enso rolled his eyes and turned to Mei.

"Stay six feet apart."

Mei pouted and crossed her arms but obliged by taking a few steps back.

Satisfied with the distance, Ikari emerged from Izuku, although behind him in case Mei jumped him.

"Okay." He turned to Enso. "Need my... 'blood' too?"

Enso nodded and held up the syringe.

"Don't bother. I don't like needles."

Izuku flinched as he recalled his costume's previous additions for only a few days.

"And I'm pretty sure I can just do this."

Ikari's hands stretched and took the vial from Enso, removing the tube and syringe attached to it as another tendril removed the cap. Ikari then put his finger into the vial, and it started filling.

"Aha, I can!" Ikari seemed satisfied.

He quickly pulled his finger away as it took no time to fill the vial, then quickly screwing the cap and holding the item in his hand.

The group watched in astonishment as the vial's energy suddenly lost its misty aura-like property, turning entirely into a black liquid as if melting into water.

"Intriguing..." Enso reached forward and received the vial from Ikari, examining it.

"Uhhhhhh... Did that part of me just melt into a puddle?"

"Wait... Why did it-? How-!? Wait, it turned into a liquid!? Or is Ikari's body liquid!? But that wouldn't make sense with how warm and transparent he feels! He doesn't even have a definitive shape of matter, does he!? And why hasn't his aura became liquid after firing it before it disappeared!? Why-!?!"

"Shut up." Enso said as he smacked the back of his head.

"Ow!" "Hey!" Izuku and Ikari cried out.

"It's interesting... I wonder if this is because his energy is being contained in an area with oxygen sealed away?" Enso muttered. "Or what if when Ikari isn't actively using his energy for attacks, it can be kept in this form?"

Enso simply slipped the vile into the slot next to the vial with Izuku's blood.

"Well, either way... I'll study it later. For now, onto the next thing-"

"MY BABY!" Mei shouted as she raised her arm cannon on her arm in excitement. "Let's test out my baby!"

"Wait... Are we really gonna put Ikari's energy in that?" Izuku asked, pointing at the arm cannon.

"Er... Are we sure that's a good idea? I mean..."

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious about it too." Enso nodded.

"Fill this thing!" Mei beamed as a hole opened up in the arm cannon, and she raised it up to Ikari.

The entity tilted his head curiously before raising his finger and sticking it in.

"Boop."

As Ikari poured his energy into the cannon, it turned into liquid, which had Mei slowly lowering her arms due to the slightly increased weight.

"That's enough!" She beamed, suddenly yanking away the cannon from Izuku and closing the area where the energy had been poured.

"Wha-!? At least give me a warning!" Ikari cried as he actually caught some energy that had leaked out, the matter sinking back into him.

Mei suddenly rushed to some equipment on a desk, where she connected several wires to the arm cannon. A computer screen then projected different bits of information with each plug attached, with Mei excitedly checking the status.

The other two walked over, with Izuku being behind Mei and curiously glancing over her shoulder.

"Um... What are you doing, Mei?"

"I'm gonna power up my baby!" Mei immediately answered.

"But... Wasn't Ikari's energy supposed to do that?" Izuku asked.

"I'm gonna power it up, but see if your quirk gives it a kick!" Mei declared as she put on the arm cannon on her right arm and immediately powered up, no fear shown.

Enso's eyes just widened. "Wait, we're only supposed to use Ikari's energy-!"

Mei's arm cannon had already brightened up with power as she aimed at the wall with a grin.

But with that power came black sparks coming out, with energy visibly forming in the cannon's front opening. Mei's eyes widened as her arm shook by the intensity of the accumulating power.

An explosion of force suddenly propelled her back as a large, black laser of energy was blasted across the room and into the wall at incredible speeds. Sadly, Izuku was right behind the inventor when this occurred, so she crashed right into him and sent him flying back too.

Enso dove and snatched the two vials containing Izuku and Ikari's essence. Once landing, he activated Brute Style before another explosion of impact occurred, the force sending debris flying in all directions with smoke filling the entire room.

Up above in the main dojo room, Iida, Shinso, and Todoroki were still training when they felt the sudden violent shaking of the ground, added with the explosion of smoke coming up the stairs.

"What the hell happened!?!" Shinso's eyes practically bulged.

"Wha-NNGH!" Iida once again instinctively tried to push himself up, but his arms ached, and he fell on his stomach.

Todoroki was lying on his back and simply tilted his head in an unamused matter, watching as smoke came from the stairs.

"They will be missed..."

"They died!?!" Iida shouted, comedically turning black and white.

Shinso had already bolted into the doorway and jumped down the stairs. He landed into a roll to break his fall before getting up and running into the smoke-filled room.

"Oi!?! What the hell's going on!?" He shouted as he stepped inside, trying to catch sight of anyone.

He heard a sigh.

"It was just an idiot doing idiotic things..."

Shinso felt a gust that cleared all the smoke, to which the boy had to shield his eyes. When he removed his arm peaked at the room, his eyes widened.

Izuku had his back against the wall by the door, his body limp and comedically black and white. Ikari had melted into a puddle under him, two red X's representing his eyes, showing he was as out of it as his host. It was clear that they were in more than just pain, and the reason for this was on top of Izuku.

Mei rubbed her head from on top of the boy, the girl's butt on his lap.

"Wh... *Gargle* Why... a-again?" Izuku uttered, his eyes completely white with no pupils and his mouth remaining open in pure agony.

"She... She hit your... I-I feel sick..." Ikari groaned, the puddle retracting into Izuku and vanishing. "I'm just gonna... Head back inside... I don't wanna feel this..."

Enso glanced over at the Izuku and Mei before narrowing his eyes, then facepalming.

"Good grief, Hatsume... Look what you've done. Izuku genitals are injured... again."

"What happened, Shinso!?!" Iida called from the top of the stairs, having crawled painfully towards the doorway there.

Shinso just kept a blank expression as he turned around and cupped his hand around his mouth.

"Well, the inventor chick crushed Midoriya's balls!" He bluntly called out. "Oh, 'again' apparently!"

"HATSUME! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MIDORIYA'S SCROTUM!?!" Iida shouted before registering that second part. "Wait, AGAIN!?!"

The dizzy Mei shook her head before blinking in confusion, then looking back to see her bottom on Izuku's groin.

"CRAP! Muscles, are you alright!?!" She shouted as she jumped off him. "I didn't prevent you from making future babymakers, did I!?!"

"Hold up, that gives off SO many different implications." Shinso deadpanned.

"Why... Why me... again?" Izuku groaned, going on his side and curling into a ball with his hands holding his delicates.

Enso moved his focus from him and glanced at the direction the arm cannon had been fired, suddenly forming an intense glare as he saw the results.

Desks, tables, and equipment were scattered all over the place, with smoke still lingering around the area. Enso was lucky to have snatched both the vials of blood and energy before everything got launched. Otherwise, they would've most likely shattered somewhere.

But what currently captured his attention was the large crater about seven feet in diameter within the wall. It dug rather deep into the surface, some remaining loose pieces of cement falling off and crumbling onto the ground.

Enso turned to Mei, who was still crouched beside Izuku and frantically asking something about if he could still make his own 'babies.' She still had the arm cannon on her right arm, although with a few cables having been ripped off due to the force of launch.

He marched over and yanked the girl on her feet, surprising her.

"Wha-!?"

Enso didn't let her speak and simply started forcibly pulling the arm cannon off.

"AY! AH! You're gonna tear my arm off!" Mei comedically shouted as she tried to pull away.

Enso just pulled her close with his eyes glowing menacingly red.

"Take it off, now."

Mei felt a chill the last word and immediately pressed something to remove the arm cannon from her arm, then backing up a few steps as Enso examined it.

"Not a scratch..." The male muttered as he gazed into the opening where the cannon had blasted, then feeling the cannon's weight to calculate the remaining 'liquid' within it.

"And still nearly full..."

Mei's eyes widened.

"Really!?! After that blast!?!"

Shinso eyed the cannon.

"Wait... That did... that?" He asked, pointing at the device, then at the crater.

"Indeed." Enso answered, clearly intrigued, yet also concerned. "It appears... Ikari may be even more potentially dangerous than we thought... To add additional power to other attacks... How frightening. It's good that Vibranium can handle the recoil. I doubt a normal weapon would've been able to contain it."

Mei was suddenly a foot from Enso, more excited than ever.

"That's amazing! You've GOT to let me build more with that stuff!" Mei beamed.

"Hell no."

She turned comedically black and white despite keeping her smile.

"Eh?"

"After that-!" Enso pointed at the wall. "As if. That explosion will no doubt attract unwanted attention from the neighborhood. I can only hope that the results of the blast don't show on the surface... Ugh, I may need to get a favor from Nezu..."

By now, Izuku had sat up and was now leaning his back against the wall, still covering his orbs and curling up with deep breaths. And as for Shinso, he just remained in the doorway with an unamused look, then turning around.

"Yeah... I guess I'm out then."

"SHINSO! IS MIDORIYA-!?"

"He's fine, Mr. Hall Monitor, jeez!" Shinso shouted to Iida as he made his way back. "He's just gonna... sit around for a while."

At the same time, Mei had her hands clasped together as she appeared distraught.

"Oh, come on!? Pleeeeeeeeease!?! I need to make more babies with that stuff!" She pleaded.

"When you make Izuku forget the pain he's currently experiencing because of you." Enso groaned, not wishing to deal with the annoying pleading.

Mei paused and glanced over at Izuku, then back to Enso with a comedic question mark above her head.

"How do I do that?"

"Not my problem." Enso remarked as he picked up a test-tube rack and slipped both vials into it, then walking over to a table.

Mei glanced over at Izuku before looking down with a hand on her chin in thought.

Then she snapped her fingers with a grin.

"Got it!"

Enso had just placed the rack on the table when he heard the declaration, turning around with an eyebrow raised, only to see Mei already crouched down next to Izuku with sparkles around her.

"Muscles, I'm gonna borrow you for a second!"

"Hold up." Enso registered.

Izuku just weakly rose his head, still in pain and feeling dizzy as Mei placed her glove-covered hands on his cheeks.

"Huh...? What are you- MMPH!?!"

His eyes widened in pure shock when he felt the softness of Mei's lips against his, completely freezing on the spot.

"Eh?"

He turned red.

"Eh!?!"

Comedic swirls appeared in his eyes.

"EHHHHHHH!?!"

Then steam erupted from his head as if he became a volcano.

This kiss, compared to Mina's, was much more aggressive and didn't last too long. But in the few moments it lasted, Izuku's senses seemed as if they had suddenly sharpened. He picked a scent consisting of both oil and a natural body odor coming from the girl, neither that unpleasant. He could feel Mei actually twitch within the kiss, whether from her own surprise or from another feeling. And he could hear her making a small moan as she finished up.

Then Enso's voice range.

"That's not what I meant, you idiot!"

His friend came in flying with his legs sticking out, dropkicking the inventor on the side of her head.

"ACK!!"

Mei turned black and white before she was sent flying into one of the tables, then tumbling facedown into the ground.

Izuku blinked several times as he processed what just happened, the painful feeling down below seeming to pause as he went through his thoughts.

"M-M-M-Mei... Sh-Sh-Sh-She just-!!"

Izuku's head robotically looked up to Enso, staring at him with a blank look.

Enso stood up and sighed as he rubbed his temples, then glancing down to Izuku.

"..."

"..."

"That may or may not have been unintentionally my fault."

"I hate you..."

_____________________________________________

~{Peace Cream Ice Cream Parlor-10:35AM}~

"Toru, why did you want me to meet you here?"

Mina asked this as she and her best friend sat down at one of the tables, both wearing t-shirts and shorts. She was surprised when afterschool the previous day, she had asked her friend what she had meant by 'something bad' had happened to Izuku, only to be told that they'll talk about it tomorrow.

And now here they are, in the place Mina had taken Izuku as the starting location for their first date, the ice cream parlor.

"One, I wanted some ice cream." Toru said as she took a spoonful of vanilla. "And two..."

She looked down.

"It's a good meeting spot for everyone else to reach."

"Eh?" Mina paused as she stuck her spoon into her own small bowl of ice cream, gazing at Toru in confusion.

"I wanted to talk to everyone about this, Mina... It's about Midori, after all. And you know how they aaaaaaaaall feel about Midori?" Toru sighed.

Mina was shocked.

"Wait, so you called the other girls to come here too!? Do they really have to know too!?"

Toru sighed. "Well... Yao-Momo and Jiro are involved in what I'm going to tell you, and as for Tsu and Ochako... I mean, I feel like they should know too. Mina, this is serious."

The pink-skinned girl froze at how worried her friend genuinely sounded, lowering back into her seat.

"Toru... Just what did you hear?"

"Well..."

"There they are."

Mina and Toru turned to the new voices and saw Ochako and Tsu walking to them in casual wear, with Tsu keeping her natural calm expression while Ochako seemed more serious.

The frog and gravity girl stopped at their table, both turning to Toru.

"Hi, Hagakure..."

"Hey, you two, glad you could make it." Toru said as she scooted to the side to make space. "Now I can start."

"Kero?" Tsu tilted her head with a finger on her chin. "But didn't you tell us that the others would be coming too? Yaoyorozu and Jiro aren't here yet."

"I mean, if I know Yao-Momo, she'll arrive exactly on the dot with Jiro at the time I told her to meet, which is in about five more minutes."

"You gave her a later time to show up?" Ochako asked as she sat down next to Toru while Tsu joined Mina's side.

"Yeah! Because I wanted to tell you guys this thing before they came! So quiet and let me talk!" Toru comedically fumed while waving her arms up and down.

The other three at the table then remained silent as they stared at Toru, expressions varying from worry to curiosity.

Toru slumped back to her seat with a sigh.

"Okay... So this is about Midori."

Just by the mention of his name, he had the girls' full attention.

"Yesterday, after we all came back from our internships, I heard Yao-Momo and Jiro tell Midori to meet them on the school roof during lunch. I'm sure you gals noticed he wasn't in the cafeteria until much later. And... I kinda followed them to the roof. I got curious, you know? Because... I mean, it was pretty suspicious."

"We get it. Please move on." Ochako stated, looking dangerously serious upon hearing that Izuku had such a secret meeting with two girls.

"Toru... Wh-What did you hear?" Mina asked, almost nervous to ask.

"It wasn't confessions, so stop making those faces, you lovestruck maidens..." Toru sweatdropped.

Ochako and Mina both flinched, then turning red and lilac as they looked down in some embarrassment. Tsu didn't look fazed at all, just calm and composed as ever as she waited for Toru to continue.

"This is serious, guys. Midori, he... he was really out of it. Yao-Momo and Jiro asked him something. They asked him about some guy... His name was 'Lynch.'"

The group's discomfort grew, with Ochako and Mina no longer embarrassed and instead increasingly worried.

"You should've seen his eyes. They just... lost color in them as if all the happiness was drained from him... When he heard them ask about that name, he freaked out. Like, really freaked out. I've... I've never seen him look so scared..."

Ochako looked horrified. "B-But who is this guy!? A-And... why would Deku be so...?"

"I don't know." Toru interrupted. "But it's clear something happened to Midori at his internship. And I'm not talking about the Hero Killer. It seems so much worse based on how Midori acted. Jiro said that she met up with Enso during their internships, and then she overheard a call he got..."

She didn't even notice her ice cream melting as she spoke.

"She heard All Might tell Enso that this 'Lynch' guy was... I think she said 'here' since the sports festival. But that was it, supposedly. But when they asked Midori what was going on, he refused to tell them. He said he couldn't tell them. Said that it wasn't even his secret..."

"Then... Midoriya-chan isn't saying anything because of Enso?" Tsu immediately guessed.

"Yup... Midori told them himself." Toru finished.

The four then remained in silence, feeling terrible about the current situation at hand. They thought about Izuku not only running into the Hero Killer, but suddenly face something even worse than him? Why was he keeping it quiet? Why wasn't anything else reported on the news? These and several more questions plagued their minds that they didn't notice Momo and Jiro walk into the area.

"Whoa, what's up with you guys?" Jiro asked, pausing when she saw the group's pensive looks.

All four of their heads turned to the two, to which Momo frowned.

"What is it? Hagakure called us here saying it was important."

The four scooted to make enough room to fit the last two.

"Sit down..." Toru said, to which both standing girls obliged.

"O...kay? This is getting really creepy... What's going on?" Jiro asked.

"To make it simple..." Toru started, "I... I overheard you two on the roof with Midori."

Both Momo and Jiro's eyes widened in horror.

"You were eavesdropping on us!?!" Momo snapped, even slamming her hands on the table and receiving a few stares.

"SHHH!!" Toru hissed, even shaking her arms up and down. "Look, I got worried, alright!?! I thought you were gonna leave Mina in the dust and say your lovey-dovey confessions to Midori, breaking that little silent agreement that you've all got!"

As soon as those words left her mouth, both Momo and Jiro burst red.

"Wha-What!? I don't-! Wh-Why would I-!? What the hell would I confess!?!" Jiro shouted.

"Oh please, Jiro, we all know you're a tsundere." Toru nonchalantly waved off.

"L-Like hell I am!!"

"See?" Toru pointed.

"ARGH!" Jiro covered her face with both of her hands as she curled up in her seat.

"I believe we're getting off track, kero." Tsu said despite having turned slightly red herself from Toru's claim. It was clear that it wasn't good to directly bring up the matter like that. "Yaoyorozu, Toru told us everything you both spoke on the roof."

Momo directed a glare at Toru.

"If you were listening, then you must've heard Izuku say that he didn't want others knowing about... about..." She looked down as her anger dropped, remembering the name that gave Izuku chills.

"But we all know the type of guy Midori is! He's the type to worry a lot over things and wouldn't want to bother anyone with his problems, no matter how bad they are! Which is dumb because he always gets himself in other people's problems even if they don't want him involved! Something happened to him in Hosu besides the Hero Killer, and he doesn't wanna tell us! Grrrrrrr!!!" Toru whined as she moved her arms up and down in frustration.

"Jiro... What exactly did you hear over Enso's call?" Mina asked, her eyes pleading the rockstar to answer.

Everyone glanced to the mentioned girl, waiting for her to answer, to which Jiro grumbled and rubbed the back of her head.

"It's... It's like I told Yaoyorozu. All Might called Enso, he said that 'Lynch' has been 'here' since the sports festival, and then Enso told All Might to meet him in Hosu, to which All Might said he couldn't. I didn't hear the reason behind it because Enso hung up and told everyone he had to leave. Then he just hopped away... I got nothing besides that."

"See!? Something happened!" Toru wailed. "But Midori ain't gonna tell any of us! And I don't want to back him out into a corner and make him feel so forced to tell us! And since I heard that it was supposedly Enso's secret, I doubt he could tell us either! Argh! Is there no one else to talk to!?!"

"There... I think there is..." Momo muttered as she looked down, thinking about the events of Hosu.

Everyone's eyes turned to her.

"Remember...? In Hosu, it wasn't just Izuku, but Iida and Todoroki were there as well..."

The rest of the group remembered this, too. Especially since they all talked about it over class.

"So... Are we gonna ask the two of them about it, kero?" Tsu asked.

"I..." Momo's eyes reflected uncertainty. "I don't know... It doesn't feel right since Izuku wishes to keep things quiet. And now that I'm reflecting on it, if the media didn't report any other events that occurred in Hosu, then... wouldn't that mean the authorities kept everything else secret for a reason?"

That had everyone thinking.

"But... Greeny clearly said that it wasn't even his secret necessarily... It was Enso's. And if the police kept quiet about it... Then is it that serious for no one else to know?" Jiro spoke.

"If that's the case... What do we do now?" Ochako asked, still looking worried.

"Isn't it bad not to do anything? Or, well... I don't think any of us should even bring up the thing around Midori besides Yao-Momo and Jiro. Otherwise, the guy might panic a lot..." Mina said.

Momo sighed, closing her eyes.

"In the end... At least we know that Enso is looking after Izuku... He might've even saved him at Hosu, which could explain why he didn't appear in the news like the others. I... I will at least try to talk to Iida or Todoroki about Izuku just to see if he's really fine. But other than that... It's best to leave the matter for now."

"And final exams are coming up. I don't think any of us wanna stress out Greeny even more than he already is." Jiro added.

"Yeah... I think it's just best to show Deku we really care about him. " Ochako muttered as she looked down with a small blush.

"Heh, I do that every day." Mina giggled, recalling nearly every morning where she leaps at the boy and forces him to catch her.

"Well, it sounds like we've come to an agreement, kero." Tsu smiled.

Toru moved her arms up in happiness.

"Great! Then- OH NO!"

She looked at her cup of melted ice cream in comedic horror.

"I'll... buy you another one." Momo smiled.

_____________________________________________

~{Enso Residence}~

Izuku was now back in the dojo's main room, his back against the wall and his hands gently covering his jewels as he still recovered from getting slammed into by Mei. As for the inventor girl herself, Izuku had made sure to make Enso rest her up on one of the tables of the new development studio until she wakes up later, which hasn't appeared to be the case yet.

Izuku remained seated as he watched a rather frustrated Shinso swing his arms at Enso. At the same time, the experienced male kept pointing out faults in his movement, making Shinso even more frustrated.

Todoroki and Iida were both currently laid out on the ground, letting their stressed muscles recover and panting hard.

"Don't try to strike for the same areas." Enso suggested as he tilted his head to avoid Shinso's fist, then twirling around him to avoid another.

"I get it! I get it!" Shinso snapped as he attempted to uppercut Enso on the chin.

"You can do it, tired-boy! I believe you can touch him!" Ikari cheered with a hand coming from Izuku and giving a thumbs up.

"That's not helping!" Shinso snapped as he tried to swing his leg high, only for Enso to duck while swiping his leg to knock Shinso off his feet.

"Gak!" Shinso flipped in the air before landing on his chest as he hit the ground, then groaning while sprawling himself out in exhaustion.

"Ah, I guess you couldn't do it." Ikari sweatdropped.

"Ugh... It's always the legs." Shinso groaned.

Enso crossed his arms as he looked down at Shinso. "Make sure you don't leave yourself too open when you attack."

"Screw you, man..."

"I believe that's enough for now. Rest up and try not to move too much, unless if you like pain, that is." Enso finished.

"Yeah, yeah..." Shinso sighed as Enso turned away.

Enso then paused and glanced up at the dojo area's balcony, narrowing his eyes as a certain thought came up.

"I guess... It should be time."

"Eh?" "Eh?" Izuku and Ikari tilted their heads curiously. "Time for what?"

"To meet someone... It's better sooner than later. All of you wait here." Enso had a serious expression as he crouched down while looking up, then performing a large leap up to the balcony above.

"What's the point of having stairs if you're not gonna use them!?!" Izuku comedically shouted after him.

"Well... That's Poker Face for ya." Ikari smiled as he glanced up to Enso disappearing from view.

Shinso chuckled despite aching on the ground, then pushing himself up with a grunt before limping over to Izuku, planting himself beside him.

"Phew... That's gonna hurt in the morning." The indigo teen sighed.

"You okay?" Izuku asked him.

"Heh, I should be asking you that. How are your balls?"

Izuku flinched and turned completely red in embarrassment.

"I-I mean-!! W-Well... I-I'm fine... Th-This isn't the first time this happened."

"That worries me..." Shinso sweatdropped. "Did the chick even apologize?"

"Nope. But to be fair, she's knocked out right now."

Shinso raised an eyebrow. "Hold up... What happened after I left the room? Wasn't she still awake?"

Izuku turned even redder and started steaming, looking down as he recalled the action Mei took with him.

"W-W-W-Well..."

"Oh boy..." Ikari sighed.

"Midoriya! Is your scrotum okay!?" Iida shouted as he and Todoroki had successfully managed to stand up and limp over to them.

"Does he really just shout everything?"

Izuku ignored his partner's comment and answered his friend with a small but awkward chuckle. "I-I'm fine."

"Midoriya... Just how long did you do these exercises?" Todoroki groaned as he and Iida basically collapsed into sitting positions at each side of him.

"U-Um... For quite a while..." Izuku shivered, recalling his experience. "You guys should expect a lot more in the future... Even you, Shinso."

"Eh!? I thought I was done with that shit!" Shinso groaned.

"Shinso! Don't use such foul language!" Iida shouted as he started making a karate-chopping gesture, only to hear his wrist crack. "URK! Ow! Ow!"

"You don't want to make sudden movements after all that exercise." Izuku told him.

"N-Noted... Ow..."

Izuku then glanced left and right of him, simply glancing over at the three boys around him. To have someone training with him, someone willing to work as excruciatingly hard as he did, it felt... relieving. And it made Izuku feel so happy, especially knowing that Iida and Todoroki were training just so they could help him be able to fend off Lynch at the time he ever made a move.

But at the same time, he was worried.

He looked down as he thought about it. What if they did end up running into Lynch while still training to be heroes? No matter what, they were amateurs at the mo, but at least they were quick in getting fighting experience thanks to Enso. But even then... Izuku hoped he wouldn't run into Lynch again, especially after...

He had flashbacks to his encounter with Lynch, recalling the signature trauma mask, and those glowing red eyes and mouth.

Izuku took a deep breath to calm himself, which the others around him noticed.

"You okay?" Todoroki asked first.

"Y-Yeah. I'm just... remembering some things..." Izuku shamefully muttered as he looked down.

There was a pause among them all as the group wondered what to say next. But Ikari's eyes dropped as his body stretched like a snake around Izuku, wrapping around him in his form of a hug.

"We'll be okay... right?"

Seeing Ikari wrap around Izuku, Iida formed a sympathetic smile and leaned against Izuku, too tired to move his arms to hug him.

"Yeah... From now on, everything will be brighter."

Todoroki did the same and leaned his head against Izuku's shoulder, looking stoic as he did so. "Or will it be darker since Ikari is like a shadow?"

"Heh, then be glad you've got the darkness as your ally." Ikari said, eyes rising up happily.

Shinso stared at the boys laying against each other, deadpanning.

"This... looks really gay, you know that?"

"I'm sore, and I'm tired, alright?" Todoroki remarked, still completely stoic.

"Way to make it weird, Aizawa. Jr..."

"We're not related!"

The group then heard a door open above in the balcony, also heading some footsteps creaking.

"Remember, don't try anything." They heard Enso say sternly.

"Tsk! You expect me to work with those fakes?"

Izuku's eyes suddenly dilated as he heard this voice, instantly feeling chills and recalling familiar feelings of blood-curling pressure.

"Wh-What?"

Iida and Todoroki appeared to have the same reaction, while Shinso just looked confused. The three shot to their feet, ignoring any pain from their bodies as their fear overwhelmed them. Their eyes shot up as Enso came to view with someone with him, all the while Ikari menacingly hovering beside Izuku with intensely flaring eyes.

The moment their eyes yet... A murderous aura filled the air, the atmosphere became tense, and Ikari's aura increased in intensity like his blazing eyes. The man was muscular, wearing a black tank-top with brown cargo pants and with messy black hair.

But... what really stood out about this man was his nose. Or more specifically, his lack of a nose.

Izuku's mind became static and cloudy in rage.

"Hero... Killer?"