~{Author's Pre-Notes}~

Um, hi. It's me, ya boy, inconsistent updater trying to balance upper classes of college and writing, back with a chapter of the fic that had started it all.

Wow, to think, it's been nearly three years... THREE years since I've written another new chapter of To Be A Hero instead of my retypes, but it's honestly gonna end on a somber tone for me because of what I've decided to do.

As all of you know, To Be A Hero was the very first fanfiction that I've ever written, the one that I started when I was in 11th grade, that was like 2018, and it really showed in my writing at the time. I loved writing the fic because it had been a way to express my love of my hero academia as a whole since I had started watching the anime and reading the manga. It was actually the very first anime I had ever read the manga for.

And yet, as time went on and I continued posting chapters, things have... changed. Writing chapters for To Be A Hero has actually become much harder for me, and I don't have as much inspiration as before whenever I try writing chapters for it. Part of that is because of the current canon mha story events in itself and where it's going.

So it hurts me to say this, but what I'm trying to say is that this fic is on hiatus.

And I absolutely HATE saying this because I had JUST said in the previous chapter that I wouldn't do that, but over these last three years, things have just really changed for me. I've become a hell of a better writer than before, and it's reached the point where I look at my old work on TBAH and think 'I actually feel kinda embarrassed writing that' and retyping chapters actually hadn't made things much better to me, because I still left in elements I've forcefully shoved in for the sake of progression or something (like the senzu beans stuff and Bakugo not really getting a proper enough punishment as he should've for what was exposed.) My primary writing strategy for everything had only been just putting down everything that had come to mind while not even properly coming up with some kind of plan, and I think that it had really showed in the story. So it's because of that and all the recent canon events that made me lose motivation to write TBAH instead of other things.

Hell, I had started that other fic, To Be Anyone But Me, BECAUSE of the issues canon had that I've been more aware of over time now that I wasn't just a blind devoted fan that thought everything about mha was perfect. And don't get me wrong, I still LOVE mha and its characters, mainly Izuku, but now things have just... reached a weird point for me. I've been having much larger inspirations from other things I've been exposed to recently and have been writing easily because of them, writing new concepts that I wish to continue despite my workload at college.

So bottom line, I'm really sorry, and I guess I'm a liar, but I'll be putting this fic on hiatus until there's ever a point where I get excited about writing it again. I'll probably see until the end of canon mha before I come to any kind of decision like that. I actually had this chapter in the works for MONTHS but never seemed to be able to work on it too long before working on something else I felt more excited to do. But surprise, it actually hasn't been JUST this chapter I've been writing.

Surprise surprise, one of my most recent bursts of inspiration has come from an anime I've watched, Danmachi, or 'Is it wrong to pick up a girl in a dungeon?' and I've written TWO more different fic concept chapters from it! I will be posting the chapters not long after this one! More information about that will be in the end-notes!

So once again, thank all of you for being fans so far, and I'm sorry I couldn't have been better about continuing to write this.

Hopefully there's a next time.

TLDR; This fic is going on hiatus because of lacking motivation and canon events, but Ill be still excitedly working on everything else

_______________________________________________

Dabi glared at yet another charred corpse of a freak that had attacked him, his hands still smoking from unleashing flames.

There was something off.

There weren't supposed to be any more Nomu besides what Crusty had sent, and even if he had sent more of them, they shouldn't be attacking their own fucking team.

"Dabi, save me!/I'm perfectly fine!"

The man sighed with a roll of his eyes before turning with a point of his hand, instantly sending another blast of flames at two more freaks that had tried to jump his companion.

"Hot! Hot!/How cold, Dabi!" Twice yelped, jumping out of the way to avoid getting charred.

After burning monstrosities to a crisp, Dabi stepped over and crouched down by one of their corpses with a grimace.

"Disguisting."

"Hey, Hey! What's going on!? Aren't we on the same side!?/Since when were we ever!?" Twice panicked, making several movements while clutching his head.

Dabi stood back up, pulling out his phone.

"Don't know, but I'll check with Crusty."

He input Shigaraki's contact and raised the phone to his ear, giving Twice a look.

"What happened to that clone of me you sent at the camp facility?"

"You got owned! You got jumped by more of those creepy Nomus things!" Twice answered, making some jumpy hand signs.

"Tsk!" Dabi would've said something had his call not connected.

{"What is it? Don't tell me you've already burned the place down?"} The apparent leader of the league grunted.

"No, but I gotta say, if you sent me here with the intent of getting me killed along with these brats, then there won't even be ashes left when I'm done with you," Dabi threatened.

{"What the hell are you talking about?"} Came a dangerous growl.

"Yo! Shiggy! Some of those Nomu things you sent have gone crazy! They tried to gobble me up! I'm not that tasty!/I taste like chicken!" Twice shouted.

There was a pause before an audible voice spoke in the background, although muffled.

{"That's impossible. The Nomu are all under our control; the doctor who made them perfected them to never go haywire."}

"Yeah, well, obviously this 'doctor' of yours isn't some god that can't make mistakes." Dabi snarked. "I had to already burn down several of these fuckers already."

{"Several? We didn't even send that many Nomus; which ones did you burn?"}

An eyebrow was raised. "The pale ones without any eyes? The ones that don't have their brains showing?"

There was a pause.

{"We don't have any Nomu like that."}

If Dabi was on guard before, he was completely vigilant now.

"What?" He grit.

{"We only sent the multiarmed Nomu, the two for Ureshi, and another to distract the heroes. There shouldn't be any more."}

"Wait, then what the fuck are with these things!?" Dabi hissed, glancing down at the black corpses.

"Yo, Yo, YO! What does that mean, then!?" Twice gasped, hands to his cheeks after having been listening.

There was a confused, yet intrigued, hum at the other end of the call.

{It looks like another player joined the lobby.}

________________________________________________

The land was full of green, and not the grassy kind.

Flames of radioactive color burned brightly through what once was a precious area of the forest. Enso would've thought the flames beautiful were they not so deadly. They were more dangerous than any other flames, as he's seen their effect on people before. When victims weren't being turned to immediate crisps by the fire, their lungs would slowly corrode by the toxic smoke it produced, effectively poisoning their bodies more than normal fumes through prolonged exposure.

So even though Enso knows that his body is much more fortified against such poisoning, it doesn't mean he doesn't have to worry about it. He still had to be careful not to get too close to the flames and get burnt, for that'd only quicken the spread of toxicity, but this was easier said than done as he jumped to the side to avoid a beam of blue energy.

Enso landed into a roll on the scorched ground before using his hands to launch himself upward to flip over another beam that flared beneath him. Off the ground, he formed his energy-based dagger and focused the aura of Reaper Of Worlds before slashing downward at the air as he landed, splitting a third beam into two as it came at him.

He glared at the large figure ahead of him, the monster that was his opponent, who stood with his hands outstretched and charred after firing his intense energy beams. And yet, Lynch merely shed his torched skin and replaced it with another pale corpse-like layer.

"You ruined EVERYTHING!" The monstrosity shouted, the aura around his head turning intense blue as he fired another beam of energy, this one much larger, while disintegrating his own arms.

Activating Brute Style and letting his knife disintegrate, he cocked his arm back as a white aura flared around him in addition to his eyes glowing the same color.

"Viscious Smite."

He punched forward, an explosion of force blasting forward and piercing the air before him, tearing right through the oncoming energy beam and dispersing it.

"You make it sound like I should know what you're talking about!" He shouted, immediately shifting to Snipe Style and dashing forward as a yellow blur.

"You will! I KNOW YOU WILL! Even if it takes YEARS on this goddamn world! You will remember!"

Lynch's hands rebuilt as the glow of his head turned white, to which he reeled his right arm back with his newly formed palm tearing open, shooting out a thick metal chain with a curved hook at the end, extending several yards behind him.

"Because I know you came from HERE!"

He then pulled the chain and swung it overhead, the entirety swinging in an arc with the intent of slamming in Enso's path.

But of course, Enso saw the obvious attack coming, slightly swerving to the right as the chain smashed in a line to the ground.

"Snipe Style..."

Enso's yellow aura burst before he blasted forward, jumping at the last second.

"-Piercing Shot!"

He stuck a leg out and flew right into Lynch's head, the concentrated attack cracking his mask and head horribly. In addition, the force of the attack tore both hood and head clean off, sending it shooting upward.

As the rest of Enso's momentum let him land far behind Lynch, he turned around, only to see that the launched head had already disintegrated out of existence, a new one already rebuilding on Lynch's body, hood included.

"Still always aiming for the head, aren't you? Even when you know that destroying it doesn't even do anything." Lynch growled, blue glowing behind his new mask as he turned back to Enso, his long chain forming its own glow as it tore itself off the ground, floating dangerously around him from telekinesis.

Enso's eyes and aura flared a blue of their own as he got into a defensive stance.

"Your head has always been the only part of you that gives any indication of a possible weakness."

Lynch snarled before his hook was sent forward, the chain slithering like a snake.

Enso dashed forward at the oncoming projectile, aiming a hand forward and sending a pulse of blue energy forward. It met with Lynch's chain and made it freeze mid-air, both telekinetic forcing it to do so.

The young man then jumped and landed on the unmoving hook, with the chain abruptly straightening in a line towards Lynch. He then ran on the large chain straight for his opponent.

Seeing his telekinesis overwritten, Lynch tightly gripped the chain with the hand it was attached to, pulling back as hard as he could to try and trip Enso up.

The hook and chain were yanked backward by force, but Enso leaped off it before it could slip him, flying through the air.

"Tsk!"

Lynch looked upward and made a hand motion, to which the long chain around him shattered to pieces, with each piece glowing a telekinetic blue as metal thorns erupted from them, all then shooting upward at the airborne boy.

Enso saw the projectiles coming and clicked his tongue.

"Mind Storm."

He aimed his palms downward and fired several blue energy projectiles from his hands, stalling him in the air. Each of the orbs then locked onto individual pieces of chain, honing straight for them and exploding on impact.

With Enso stalled in the air, Lynch switched to his white glow and aimed his arms up, hands turning metallic and changing into arm cannons that fired multiple pairs of missiles upward.

But as they came at him, Enso aimed a palm at them, and the closest missile formed a blue glow. He then used quick reflexes and his new control of the missile to shift his body and briefly step on it as he directed it under him, using it as a foothold to jump back into the air again, avoiding two more missiles.

He did this again to another missile while avoiding the rest, closing the distance between himself and Lynch, to which his aura flared white.

Lynch's own aura changed at Enso's advance, a radioactive green glowing from his head as he cocked his arm back. Immediately, its features started to grotesquely mutate into a larger size, changing in a way where elements of various monsters and creatures mixed as it combined into a giant fist.

Enso cocked his own fist back, where the somewhat transparent aura around his hand became completely enveloped in thick white, eyes glowing just as intensely.

Both fighters swung their arms simultaneously, an abomination of hard flesh meeting a hardened aura stronger than crystal.

A crack echoed as a giant shockwave exploded throughout the area, the pressure instantly putting out most of the green flames still burning around them.

Enso was sent backward not too far, as not having any footing in that punch meant he couldn't stand his ground and push it. But at the same time, Lynch's arm, made from different living beings, cracked and fell apart, leaving only a stump of his shoulder.

But the entity scoffed before a new arm erupted from his socket.

"You are still annoying to fight even now, just responding to whatever I do."

"It's called being 'patient' and 'counterattacking,' but of course, you wouldn't even know what that is."

A raspy laugh came as the response.

"Patient? I've been patient for YEARS waiting to discover just where you came from, and now I've finally found it. And now that I've found it..."

The openings of Lynch's mask glowed an intense red.

"I just have to wait just a little longer for you to find your true happiness, Reapy, and when you do, I'm going to burn it all down right in front of you. Just. Like. This. Lake."

Enso glared at him.

"And you know what...?"

Lynch raised a fist, which burst into green flames.

"Maybe I should start with an appetizer and play with those 'cats' of yours before little Deku~?"

Enso was across the field instantly, his dagger out and aura roaring in intense black.

"Reaper's Harvest."

If anyone had seen the scene, they'd say it was as if the world had turned dark, only for a barrage of flashes to spark in the darkness.

And when light returned to the world, Enso was crouching on the other side of Lynch, dagger in hand, the latter's body split into hundreds of pieces, mask and skull included.

But Enso didn't stop there. With one powerful slash, he turned around and sent all the pieces of the monster flying.

And yet, even as so many pieces of Lynch were sent sprawling, a blue grow surrounded each of them. Their directions changed as they all gathered up into the sky, rebuilding quickly until the abomination was fully complete again but floating in the air in blue.

"Would you look at that? Was that a NERVE I struck, Reapy?" Lynch's raspy laugh echoed.

Enso's eyes bored into Lynch's very soul, a blank look that held so many hateful, yet hidden, emotions behind them.

"Don't you know that all you're doing is confirming just who I should tear apart right in front of you?"

"And don't you know all you're doing is proving my point that you're simply a pathetic excuse of a villain with nothing to him but his insanity?"

Lynch's glow grew greater in irritation.

"I'm gonna enjoy gutting all of your friends in front of you."

His color shifted to green, and he fell from the air, landing on the ground with a powerful thud. But the sounds of tearing flesh and cracking bones followed as Lynch's body started leaking radioactive green and deforming.

Enso watched with glaring narrow eyes as Lynch's whole body structure changed and increased in size. Six muti-jointed legs sprouted out of an increasingly growing pelvis, a long, curved tail with a unique stinger at the end sprouted, a vaguely humanoid upper body with four arms, each with enormous, crystal crab-like claws, and a metallic bear-like head with an open mouth of sharp teeth holding no eyes, but rather, open holes of glowing green.

"He always has new combinations for BioMorph."

While it first seems like Lynch's green 'form' was a state that revolved around toxic powers and infectious life, it was actually a form centered around the biologies and genetic powers of all the creatures and monsters he's managed to absorb in the past. But through his experimentation, Lynch had learned to create his own monsters, the Corrupticks, which take host in living beings and corrupt their bodies to mutate and turn into Nightmares.

But in the case that Lynch used his BioMorph state offensively? He'd simply change his body to combine elements from other biologies, changing into whatever horrid monstrosity he wished to become.

"The Tlincalli body structure, the four-armed structure various races had, Umber Hulk body armor, giant crystal crab pincers, giant bear head, and no doubt some venom-producing structure within..."

Enso spun his dagger before holding it in a reverse grip.

"What a disgusting abomination."

He knew he won't be able to put down Lynch here, just like every other time they had fought before.

But he can at least keep him busy while everyone else deals with their problems during this attack.

Enso could only hope Izuku hadn't gotten in too much trouble already.

_____________________________________________

~{Main Building}~

Something wasn't right.

Actually, scratch that; there was absolutely nothing right about this situation.

The academy's supposed secret training camp had been discovered, several villains were out in the forest causing havoc, and the lives of all his students were in danger.

And yet, something told Aizawa that this attack wasn't as simple as it seemed.

Currently, in front of the camp's main facility with Amajiki, the two were fighting against several monsters neither of them had seen before. They all had common features; pale skin, eyeless, large circular mouths of sharp teeth around the inner circumference. But in addition to these features, each monster had some unique aspect to them, from the fur on one's arms to another having some kind of metal, spikey back.

These monsters... At first, Aizawa had thought they were Nomu, which was a completely logical assumption.

But they just seemed too... different.

They all had no eyes or brains showing, unlike the Nomu from USJ and the ones in Hosu. Also, while the Nomus had shown quirks meant to make them strong, these 'things' had singular, random assortments of quirks, many of them not even combat-oriented. And yes, he knows they're quirks because his own has successfully erased them.

One only had the ability to completely change the colors of its body, another had visible gills on them despite its current lack of purpose, and one even had a mutation of small bat wings on its back that didn't even function.

Were these mass-produced failed products or something for the League of Villains? It would explain how easily they seemed to be getting taken out and the large number of them that had appeared.

"S-Sensei!"

Aizawa finished cutting the long neck of one of the creatures with the dagger he carried before glancing at Amajiki, the student having a few corpses of his own surrounding him as he finished another Nomu(?) using sharp-chicken talons.

"A-Are you sure it was okay to leave Vlad-sensei and the other students in the building!?" He asked, forming octopus tentacles to reach out, bind two more monsters together and slam them into a large third, sending them tumbling.

"Vlad can definitely handle himself, and it's better for the students to be in the building while we handle this!" Aizawa shouted, jumping over another Nomu(?) that tried to tackle him with its larger body. "And it seems like these guys' numbers are dwindling, at least! Just hold on!"

"SENSEI!"

Aizawa swerved his head and saw Iida, Ojiro, Mineta, and Koda arriving at the scene, with Iida and Ojiro striking away two of the apparent monsters following them.

"S-Sensei, a-are these all Nomu as well!?" Mineta cried.

"Just get inside with Vlad and the others!" Aizawa shouted, he and Amajiki rushing over the students and protecting them as more monstrosities came.

"But sensei, the League of Villains is after Midoriya!" Iida shouted.

Aizawa's eyes took a dangerous tone as he sharply turned to him.

"Where is he?"

__________________________________________

~{Beasts' Forest Cave}~

Izuku felt exhausted after the trouble he had gotten into.

After screaming his heart out, his adrenaline was dying, and Ikari's black aura dissipated around him. Blood trailed down the side of his head as his chest elevated from his deep breaths, glaring ahead at the path of broken trees and torn ground that led all the way to the stone cliff he had just sent Muscullar flying to.

"We... We got him." He thought, catching his breath.

"Phew, I really thought we were gonna bite the dust..." Ikari sighed.

Izuku shook his head. He'd rather not think about how close he had gotten to dying there. He turned his body to Kota, whose legs had given out as he stared at him with a tear-filled gaze.

"Are you alright, Kota?" He asked gently.

Kota blinked. "A-Am I alright!? A-Are you even looking at yourself right now!?"

"I already know how bad it looks, Kota. But I still need to know if you're alright." Izuku told him.

"I'm... I'm okay. You stopped him before he could hurt me." Kota told him, wiping his eyes with his arm.

Izuku let out a breath of belief.

"That's good. But we don't have time to rest. We've got to get back to everyone else."

"What!?" Kota looked at him like he had grown a second head. "B-But look at how beat up you are! Should you even be moving!?"

"I have to!" Izuku said, an unwavering look on his face. "If every villain in the forest is like that guy, then everyone else is in that much danger! I have to do everything I can to help!"

"B-But aren't they trying to capture you!?"

Izuku tensed.

Right, Muscular had said that the league was meant to bring him in alive. He was a target, and going off on his own was practically asking to get captured.

He frowned, looking at Kota before making a decision.

"For now, I'll bring you back to the main building, then I'll hear the situation from Aizawa. I-I don't want to go moving on my own and expose myself to danger, but... Look, I'll figure things out when we get back!"

He turned his back to Kota and crouched down.

"Jump on my back and I'll drop you off at the facility!"

Izuku waited for the boy to jump and hold on tight, but instead, he only heard a gasp.

"Wh-Wha-?"

"Kota?" Izuku glanced back at him in confusion, his concern only growing at the sight of the boy's horrified eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Y-Your-!" He choked.

What? What was wrong? Why was he-?

"Partner, your BACK, remember!?" Ikari reminded him tensely.

Izuku paled.

He had completely forgotten what was on his back, what he had done to him, giving him a scar larger than any Bakugo had ever given him.

'I'll engrave that meaning right into you~.'

His breathing stalled.

'This'll leave a mark.'

Nightmares of a burning iron flashed by.

'After today, this brand will prove just what you really are. In the face of power, in the face of ME, you'll always be...'

The smell of burning flesh.

'Useless.'

"I-I-!"

"Snap out of it, partner!"

Izuku violently shook his head to get those dark memories out of his mind.

He can't afford to get distracted now.

"Ikari, carry Kota on my back!"

Black tendrils immediately emerged and wrapped around Kota's waist, the boy yelping as he was pulled onto Izuku's back and carried in a makeshift baby carrier.

"Don't worry about that s-scar, Kota. We have to focus on more important things, like getting you safe. Okay?"

"O-Okay..." Kota muttered, wrapping his arms around Izuku's neck to secure himself.

"Good. Ikari, I'm gonna focus on using Full Cowling to move and-"

Whatever Izuku was gonna say next was cut off by a scream.

A familiar scream.

Izuku's eyes widened as he swerved his head toward it, a look of unease on his face.

"D-Did someone get hurt!?" Kota stammered.

Izuku could hardly think at the moment, for that scream of fear could only belong to someone too precious to him.

"Ochako."

His voice grew dark, and his eyes flashed red.

She was in danger.

Izuku's body instantly burst green from One For All, contrasting with the black of Ikari also emerging.

And so, he dashed in the direction opposite the main building, aiming to save the life of one of the most important people in the world to him.

_________________________________________

~{Some Time Before}~

Ochako was scared out of her mind.

The whole atmosphere of the test of courage was causing her to tremble as she and Tsu walked side-by-side through the forest. The fearful screams echoing in the distance, the darkness of the night, and the overall tenseness that anything could jump out at her were testing her nerves.

"I-I'm scared Tsu, I hear people screaming..." She admitted, turning to the frog girl next to her.

Tsu looked as level-headed as usual, but her eyes showed a touch of sympathy.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Y-Yeah..." Ochako muttered, looking down with a small blush of embarrassment. "Can you... hold my hand?"

Tsu's mouth shifted in a gentle smile, the girl not hesitating to stick close and take Ochako's hand with her own.

It immediately brought a comforting warmth to Ochako, identical to when she had held hands with Izuku when she had learned she had been going to fight Bakugo at the sports festival. And this once again had her think of just how grateful she was to have Tsu as her closest friend.

This was the same girl that had told her that she would support her getting together with Izuku, despite her having feelings of her own. Granted, they had only seemed to start blooming at the time, but Ochako was still emotional about it, and the two had probably the deepest friendship among all the girls in the class, besides maybe Mina and Toru.

So when she had noticed how sad Tsu seemed earlier, she had desperately wanted to know what was wrong because Tsu being sad should be a crime in itself!

So she had asked her what was wrong while everyone was making dinner, and... she had learned that Tsu's feelings... hadn't gone away.

'You know that... everyone likes Izu-chan... Right?'

'But... He just made so many big impacts on all of us, he's such an amazing person, and it's easy to see why we all... love him.'

Everyone... She had said, everyone. That included herself, too, didn't it?

Granted, it should've been obvious. Or maybe Ochako had been so reassured by her faith in Tsu and focused on her own feelings that she had completely ignored any signs that her friend was falling in deeper love with the same person she was...

Did Ochako feel betrayed that her best friend hadn't kept her promise about not loving Izuku? Absolutely not! It was unfair of her to expect Tsu to lock away her own feelings for her in the first place...

The thought had her filled with guilt.

Even when the two had left in a happy mood after their heart-to-heart earlier, Ochako could still tell that Tsu had so many unresolved worries, and it ate her from the inside to think that it was because she was trying to keep herself back from loving Izuku.

All. Because. Of. Her.

Ochako knows that she has to do something; she can't let things keep going like this; it isn't right. She can't keep being selfish, especially since she'd be a hypocrite with what she had told her best friend earlier.

If Izuku decided to spend his life with someone else, then it'd simply mean it was his choice for who he loves the most, the one he'd be the happiest with. And Ochako would be happy for him, no matter how much she'd wished to have been chosen. She wouldn't hate Tsu or anyone else that would take the spot by his side.

It was only right.

"Hey... Tsu?"

"Hm?" The greenette turned her head to her. "What's wrong?"

Ochako took a deep breath and stopped walking, Tsu stopping with her.

"You... still really love Deku, right?"

Tsu froze, and Ochako saw many things flash in the usual stoic girl's eyes. Guilt, shock, confusion; it was clear this wasn't what she had expected her to ask. It further ate away at her, knowing that the girl was wondering if she had done something wrong or if she'd be angry for continuing to like Izuku.

"O-Ochako-chan, I-"

"It's okay!" Ochako quickly cut in, assuredly squeezing her hand and giving her a comforting smile, making Tsu stop. "I know you do, and... it's okay. There's nothing wrong with it."

Tsu blinked. "What?"

Ochako's other hand joined to gently hold Tsu's.

"I-I've thought about it, and I have a lot to say. The first thing is... you shouldn't have to... not like Deku. And that's what I made you do, isn't it? Or at least, that's what I made you try to do. You kept holding off your feelings for my sake, a-and it was selfish of me to keep you back like that, to keep you from going for your own shot with him..."

"O-Ochako-chan?" Tsu had her mouth agape as she stared at her friend. She didn't understand. Why was Ochako bringing this up now?

"You're my best friend, Tsu, someone so precious to me." Ochako's eyes started getting teary but didn't stray from hers. "I-I want you to have a shot at happiness too! If Deku would want to spend the rest of his life with you, then I would support it!"

Tsu gasped, her own tears starting to form.

"W-Would you really?" Her voice croaked.

Her friend nodded. "I would, even if it hurts that I'm not the one with Deku. At least I'd know that he'd be happy with you. You're a wonderful person, Tsu! So..."

Ochako took a deep breath, cheeks turning someone red.

"I want you to be a proper rival, so I-I'll be honest about something. I-I might've um... ended up living with Deku."

Tsu blinked, her teary eyes suddenly becoming comedically blank as she processed this information.

"What?"

"Y-You remember how I told you about my family's financial situation, and how Deku and I went on a date because I thought it'd be the last time I'd get to spend time with him?"

A slow nod of confirmation.

"O-Okay, so... while Deku and Enso had helped me with that, I-I still couldn't stay in the same apartment I had been living in, so... Deku offered to let me l-l-live with him," Ochako admitted. "I've, um... been staying with him since then..."

A pause of silence, one with Tsu staring blankly at her best friend.

Until...

"Wow, Ochako-chan, I didn't think you'd be so bold. To think you'd move in with Izu-chan before even kissing him, kero."

Tsu couldn't help but admit how adorable Ochako was when she 'eeped!' and grabbed her cheeks, yet subconsciously kept both pinky fingers up.

"I-I didn't move in before I kissed him!"

An interesting pause followed, one where Ochako's face morphed into an even bigger flustered mess as she realized what she had said.

"I-I mean-! I didn't-!"

Tsu blinked, her expression unchanging.

"Oh, you didn't tell me you had already kissed him. Wow, to think you did it and immediately moved in with Izu-chan afterward. Quite ambitious, aren't you?"

"T-Tsu! It's not like that!" Ochako frantically waved her hands.

The greenette merely croaked out a chuckle. It might be rude, but Tsu had honestly expected Ochako to be the last person to ever kiss Izuku because of her own embarrassment and timidness involving him. But to think she had gotten ahead of everyone by not only kissing him but even start living with him.

It was kinda funny to think about.

But thinking more about it... all of this happened because Ochako had practically given up on being with Izuku, and it was ironic that had led her to act upon her feelings in the first place. She had gone on a date with him and confessed for what was most likely closure, seeing as she thought she'd lose her chances with him. Or maybe she had acted out so she'd still have a chance even when she had thought she'd moved back home? Either way, Tsu had practically done the same as her, confessing to Izuku despite the agreement that everyone wouldn't, stealing a kiss from him too.

Only... Ochako didn't know that she had done so yet.

She had been honest with Tsu, so... she should be honest back, right?

"I... I get it. I really do, Ochako-chan."

Her friend paused with a confused look, noticing the change of tone.

"Tsu?"

Tsu looked at her straight in her eyes with a sad smile.

"Ochako-chan, honestly... I haven't been a good friend to you."

"Eh? What do you mean!? You've always been a good friend, Tsu!" Ochako immediately rebutted, not knowing where this came from.

But Tsu merely shook her head.

"No, I've been keeping things from you, too, kero."

Ochako froze, perplexity still evident.

Tsu kept going. "You remember how we saw Izu-kun at the pool party? How I jumped into the water since he hadn't come up for a while?"

She nodded. "Yeah? But what does that-?"

"I kissed him under the water."

It was blunt and straight to the point like Tsu usually was, with no other build-up needed. And the frog-girl's answer had Ochako completely freeze, eyes widening as she stared at her friend.

"Y-Y-You did?" She squeaked, rigid in disbelief.

Tsu nodded shamefully.

"I wasn't going to, at first. He had been meditating under the water with his eyes closed, and I had just been trying to get his attention so we could play volleyball. But he didn't respond at all to me poking him, so I just thought... if I was gonna leave him for you anyway, then I'd at least get one kiss with him. One he wouldn't even know about if he still stayed that focused."

"He felt it." Ochako realized, eyes still unblinking. "H-He opened his eyes when you did it, didn't he? "Th-That's why you both seemed weird when you came up from underwater?"

Ochako didn't even know what to think. Tsu, her best friend, had kissed her crush at the pool!? Not too long after she herself had kissed and even moved in with him!?

Tsu once again nodded. "I'm sorry, Ochako-chan. I tried to get over Izu-chan, I really did, but. I just couldn't. He's just so... him. I tried ignoring him until the training camp after what happened, but by then, it had all been too much. He and I ran into each other in the halls alone, and... it all came pouring out. I-I..."

A croak of emotion came as Tsu looked down, trying not to cry again.

"I confessed to him. I told him everything that I had been keeping to myself for so long; I told him how I felt, and he told me that he didn't know how to feel about me, just like how he didn't know how to feel about you. A-And it may have been selfish of me but... I felt happy about that. I felt happy that I still had a chance even when I had already decided to support you, Ochako-chan. It made me feel so horrible because I had completely betrayed you, a-and I didn't know what to do."

"Oh Tsu..." Ochako's blush had long subsided from listening to her friend pour her heart out. And rather than saying anything immediately, she hugged the frog girl tightly. "You didn't betray me. I was being a bad friend in the first place, trying to tell you what you couldn't feel."

"But you're not a bad friend, Ochako-chan! You deserved to be a little selfish! You would be so perfect with Izu-chan! You've always been nice and genuine whenever you talked to me! You told me that I looked cute even with my frog features, and you always remind me about it!" Tsu whined, crying into her friend's shoulder.

"That's because you are cute, Tsu! And everyone who's told you otherwise was just a big jerk!" Ochako clutched her tighter. "But no matter how nice a person is, it doesn't mean anyone is obligated to set aside their own feelings for theirs! And you're nicer than me, anyway, Tsu! You're always making sure to check on people whenever you see something wrong, and you always speak true to your words! You deserve Deku so much more than me!"

This back and forth went on for a few moments, where the girl's compliments and reasonings to each other turned into practical gushing as they basically started just saying everything they liked about each other. From Ochako's cute and bubbly nature to Tsu's precious smiles that can light up the world, neither ran out of things to say to the other.

Both girls lost their breath at some point, yet still haven't let go of each other during their rants. As they replaced their breathing, Ochako and Tsu gently pulled back from each other until green orbs met brown.

Then they started laughing.

They laughed under the moonlight, all their worries taking off into the glimmering sky as their hands still partially held each other.

"I don't know why I ever thought you'd hate me, kero," Tsu said, to which she and Ochako faced each other.

"Haha, me, hate you? I thought you'd hold a grudge against me for keeping back your feelings for Deku..." Ochako smiled.

"As if, kero," Tsu responded just as brightly.

A content silence took to the two at their evident joy.

Neither knew just how things would end up in the future, but they'd be there for each other, no matter who Izuku loved. Things would probably get complicated, no, they definitely would, but they'll figure things out eventually.

With or without Izuku, the two knew they'd never want to stop being friends.

"I think it's about time we get going. We've been standing around for a while, kero." Tsu pointed out, breaking them out of their moment.

Ochako realized that she was right. "Yeah, I guess we have. I'm surprised that another group hasn't caught up to us... by now..."

Wait, hold on.

They have been standing around for a while, haven't they? And yet, no one has come to check on them, nor has the next group caught up to them yet.

Did something happen?

She took a look around, feeling something... off.

"Ochako-chan?" Tsu called out, noticing the girl's change in composure. "Something wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Ochako responded honestly, turning to her friend. "It's just... it feels like something is-"

Then she saw it.

Something glimmered in the bushes right behind Tsu, signaling someone hiding within, and that was moments before the hiding person jumped out at them, pointing a knife right at the back of her best friend.

Ochako screamed.

Instincts took over as she pulled her fellow hero student out of the way, to which the knife instead came at her, slashing at her shoulder while knicking a few drops of blood from it.

The two girls jumped away from the third, with Ochako clutching at the small wound on her upper arm.

"Ochako-chan!!" Tsu yelled, immediately placing herself in front of her classmate with a protective arm up, facing their assailant.

She was blonde, wearing an obvious school uniform, but with visible equipment, including large syringes of the sort and some sort of respiration facemask.

The girl raised her knife with both hands, eyeing the red on it before her eyes shifted into disappointment.

"Aw, I barely got any blood!" She whined, turning to the hero students with predatory eyes.

"Wh-Who are you!?" Ochako stammered.

The girl turned in their direction, and her eyes lit up joyfully as she pulled down her mask.

"Hi! My name is Toga, but you can call me Himiko!" She introduced herself cheerfully.

She sounded too happy for someone who had just tried to kill them, and Ochako and Tsu felt chills down their spines.

"Why would you attack us like that!?" Ochako asked; because this girl looked too much like their age to just be a villain of all things.

"Because both of you are so cute!" Himiko cheered, raising her knife. "But you would look so much cuter with blood! Don't you think so, Uraraka and Asui?"

The hero students tensed.

"She knows our names, which means she probably knows our quirks too," Tsu muttered, keeping a defensive stance.

"I can wait to see it~" Himiko maniacally giggled. "Both of you covered in blood, then all that would be left is Izu-kun, and then I'll be in heaven!"

Even though it was said through a nickname, both girls' knew who she meant, and dark looks formed in their eyes.

"What does Deku have anything to do with this!?" Ochako demanded, voice much more dangerous than before.

"Oh, you have a nickname for him!?" Himiko gasped in giddiness. "What about you, Asui!?"

"Answer her! What do you want with Izu-chan!?" The frog girl asked instead.

But Himiko simply squealed.

"You too!? That's so cute! You both really do love him just as much as me!"

Tsu and Ochako stiffened, eyes and mouths open.

"H-Huh? Wait, do you...?"

"I love him!" Himiko bounced in place. "I love him so much! I've loved him ever since I saw him so battered and bloody at the sports festival!"

Himiko's grin grew ear to ear, revealing sharp fangs and manic eyes.

"I'm so glad you both feel the same about him! I don't even mind confessing last~."

Ochako had a shocked intake of air.

"You were listening to us!?"

This villain had been eavesdropping on their heartfelt conversation from before!? She had been there for that long without her or Tsu having even noticed!?

The thought shook the brunette down to her very core.

"Uh-huh!" Toga rapidly nodded to Ochako's question. "I'm so glad you both like Izu-kun too! Now we can share him together!"

"Sh-Share!?!"

Despite knowing she shouldn't take any of the girl's words seriously, Tsu's cheeks reddened.

What was she saying!? Even ignoring that this girl was clearly not right in her mind, who would suggest sharing the same person in a relationship!? How would that even work!? It was completely out of the question!

The thought of sharing Izuku with Ochako was just-!

...

Sharing him... with...

...

Wait...

Something swelled in Tsu's heart at the thought of her and Ochako sitting with Izuku, the three of them huddled together under a blanket on a couch as they watched a movie together, smiling in each other's arms.

She didn't hate that image. If anything-

'That's because you are cute, Tsu! And everyone who's told you otherwise was just a big jerk!'

The thought of being with Ochako, too, was...

Did she-?

!?!

...

Oh, so that's how it is.

Tsu would've smiled at her realization had Himiko not been here, and even then, a sense of gratefulness towards the villain filled her.

She knew what she wanted now; Tsu knew how she and her best friend could both be happy. Maybe she was jumping the gun with this idea, but at first glance, it just seemed very tempting.

"Sharing!? What the hell are you saying!?"

Now she'd just have to get Ochako on board.

"Eh!? You don't want to!?" Himiko pouted, flailing her arms up and down. "But if we share with each other, then you can both come with the league when we bring Izu-kun!"

Once again, horrified expressions formed.

"Th-The league is after Deku?" Ochako whispered, blood turning cold.

"Oh, did I forget to say that?" Himiko stuck her tongue out as she playfully knocked her own head. "Whoopsie!"

The League of Villains are after Izuku? They want to bring Izuku with them!? Why!? Did they have something worse planned for him than just killing him!?

Tsu felt sick to her stomach.

"Can you tell me where Izu-kun is so we can all get him together?~" Himiko sing-songed, looking as innocent as she could holding a bloody knife.

"As if!" Tsu shouted. "We're not letting you get anywhere near Izu-chan! All you wanna do is hurt him!"

"Eeeeeeh? How mean!" Himiko pouted once again. "It's because I love him that I want to see him covered in blood! I want to go stab-stab and slurpy-slurp it all up! I love him more than anyone I've ever wanted blood from before!"

If it wasn't clear before that this girl had mental problems, it definitely was now.

"That's not love at all!" Tsu called her out. "If you really love someone, then you would hate the idea of hurting them! What kind of person hurts the person they love!? Would you really want to see Izu-kun get hurt more than he's already been!? How could you!?"

For a moment, Himiko paused, her mind flashing back to the previous night. She remembered seeing her precious Izu-kun from afar through binoculars, being overjoyed to finally see him, only to feel an uncomfortable cold grow when she saw him with a sad look on his face.

She remembered being confused because she hadn't liked that look on his face.

Wouldn't he make an expression even worse if she stabbed him? But she hadn't cared about whatever face her previous targets had formed before? In fact, she had usually liked whenever they looked so scared. And yet, why did seeing her Izu-kun sad make her feel so complicated?

Was it because he looked so much... like...?

The image of a black-haired boy flashed through her mind.

Himiko's expression darkened, animosity filling her eyes.

"I don't like thinking about him." She grumbled, brandishing her knife while grabbing the large syringe from behind her.

Ochako and Tsu flinched before backing up, sensing the hostility from the girl, only to see her expression shift back into yet another sick grin.

"I love blood, and I love Izu-kun! So I'll get his blood and become just like him! I love how tattered and bloody he was at the festival; I love how cute he looks with it all over his body, so I'll find him and show him how much I love him!"

Himiko put her mask back up while crouching into a pounce-ready position, pupils enlarging as she locked onto both girls.

"But I can love you two just as much, can't I!?"

Tsu and Ochako both tightened, ready for the attack.

Only for an inhuman shriek to catch the attention of the three of them, whipping their heads to the side to see a pale, white creature crawl on all fours out from the forest and onto the path, this one with two large, jagged, and bone-like pincers coming out of its open mouth.

"A-A Nomu!?" Ochako stuttered, becoming squeamish at the sight of its appearance.

"Ew! That one looks even less cute than the others." Himiko grimaced behind her mask. "Don't bother us! I'm talking about love right now!"

Rather than follow orders, the 'Nomu' focused on the closest individuals, Tsu and Ochako, to which it released another ear-piercing screech before dashing towards them, jagged pincers open and ready to clamp down.

Tsu's eyes widened as instincts took over. Her long tongue shot out and wrapped around Ochako's waist, making the girl squeak before she was flung away from the area.

But as she flew back, Ochako's eyes widened in panic.

"TSU!"

The frog girl turned back and saw that the monster had closed the distance much faster than she had assumed it would. It had already pounced, heading aiming down right for her with its large pincers open, leaving no time to dodge.

But then Tsu was saved by the most unlikely person; the blonde who had attacked them first.

Himiko fell from above and plunged her knife right into the head of the monster with a sickening squelch, instantly slamming it down to the ground. The creature groaned as the girl landed on top of it, only to go limp as she violently twisted her knife, eyes dark and full of hostility.

"You're not making them bleed." She declared, voice matching her dark expression. "Only I can do that."

With this chance, Tsu took a leap back and landed several yards away, panting heavily at the shock at how close she had been to getting hurt, if not killed.

"She saved me?"

Tsu watched as Himiko yanked out her knife, the blade covered in a reddish yet blackish color.

"Gross." She grimaced, the unnatural stench from the blood making her never want to even think about tasting it.

She wiped the blade with her sleeve before turning to Tsu, her hostility turning to crazed excitement as she brandished her weapon.

"I'm sure your blood will be so much better, Tsu~."

Tsu flinched.

"She just wants to cut me herself!"

"Don't call me that! I only let my friends call me Tsu!"

"Oh, so we're friends then!? Yay!" Himiko abruptly squealed before dashing forward, throwing her large syringe at Tsu with a cord connected to it.

Tsu jumped and flipped backward to avoid the weapon, shooting her tongue mid-air to strike Himiko. However, as the villain ran, she swerved just to the side to avoid the tongue, slashing it with her knife. Tsu winced and immediately retracted her tongue in pain, and it was at this moment of lost focus that Himiko closed their distance in an instant.

Tsu blinked from the pain in her tongue, and her eyes opened to see Himiko right in front of her, knife thrusting forward. But she leaned backward and dropped to the ground, thrusting her legs up to kick the blonde in the stomach, only for Himiko to have already jumped and frontflip forward when her knife hadn't hit anything, landing afar in a crouch.

The two teens stood up before turning back to one another, both with fast-paced heartbeats, but for opposite reasons.

"Scary!"/"So cute!"

"TSU!"

The hero-in-training didn't dare glance back and risk having that odd syringe thrown at her again, not to mention she had easily recognized the voice of the person that had come scrambling back to her.

"Ochako-chan! Why did you come back!? You should've run to the facility!" Tsu said as the gravity girl stopped beside her.

"I couldn't just leave you!" was her determined answer.

"Ochako-chan!" Himiko cheered, copying Tsu's affectionate nickname as she pulled her mask down with a grin. "I thought you left!"

"You don't get to call me that!" Ochako shouted angrily.

"Eeeeeeeh? But why? Aren't we all friends here!?"

"You just tried to stab Tsu!"

"That's how you know we're friends!"

Ochako gave up bickering with the clearly insane girl before focusing on Tsu, still keeping the blonde in her vision.

"Are you alright, Tsu?"

"She got me a bit on my tongue, but other than that, I'm fine." Tsu slurred, tasting the blood in her mouth.

"Okay, don't worry. The both of us can take her on together!" Ochako reassured.

"Oo, me likey!" Himiko gushed, squirming in place with flushed cheeks. "Take me on, please~!"

Ochako's cheeks reddened at the implication, but she still managed to keep her composure as she leveled a hard glare at the girl.

"Kroaaaaaaah!!"

The sounds of inhuman roaring echoed throughout the forest, with the trio on the path swerving their heads toward the trees. Their eyes widened at the sight of even more pale monsters rushing into the scene, about a dozen trampling over each other as they sped toward the scent of fresh blood coming from the students.

"Ochako-chan!" Tsu shot her tongue out and wrapped it around the girl, ignoring the stinging from the small cut Toga had caused. She then jumped backward while pulling the girl with her, the two landing on the larger branches of the trees behind them.

With the girls increasing the distance, all the monsters' instincts had them start rushing at Himiko, the closest target.

Himiko's eyes dulled as she realized they were all heading right for her. She pulled out another knife and brandished both in her hands as the first monster ahead of the pack dove at her.

The blonde acrobatically spun to the side, avoiding the monster's trajectory while slashing at its side as it passed, making it fall to the floor screeching in pain.

"You're interrupting my date!" Himiko yelled, swerving and ducking over swipes of more monsters as she proceeded to slash and kick away everyone coming close.

Tsu and Ochako caught their breaths to calm the terror they had felt moments ago, watching the villain that had attacked them now fighting a swarm of monsters.

"They're attacking her?" Ochako uttered, confused out of her mind.

Was it because she had killed the one that had attacked Tsu? Or were they just attacking out of instinct rather than command?

"Ochako-chan!"

Tsu's call of distress had the gravity girl look down to see more monsters climbing up the tree for them, making varied inhuman cries as they did so.

Ochako yelped and smashed the heel of her shoe in one coming up while Tsu's strong legs kicked down another, sending them falling back down.

The former blinked in surprise as she stared downward at the monsters they kicked, noting how they seemed to be in a daze from the impacts.

"They don't seem that strong..."

"Now, while they're all distracted, Ochako-chan! Let's run back to the main facility!" Tsu snapped her out of her momentary stupor.

"Eh? Oh! Right!" Both students jumped out of the tree and onto the ground, back on the path, before breaking into a run, or hop, in Tsu's case.

But they didn't even get that far before a scream of agony froze Ochako, all other sounds seeming to cut off as it did. She slowly turned her head back and saw Himiko standing around a few bodies of the monsters she had already cut down, blood splattered all over her visibly torn clothes. But the murderous girl had a pained expression as her arm was being held and bitten into by one of the monsters, all while others were still trying to grab and hold down her other limbs to further devour her.

Himiko released a war cry before jerking her head backward to slam the back of it into the head of the monster biting into her, dizzying it before tearing her arm out of its jaws and stabbing her knife into the head of another monster that had been trying to hold her down, making it go limb instantly.

"GET OFF OF ME!" She screamed, once more continuing to slash and push the creatures away.

Witnessing someone fighting so desperately against larger numbers while receiving animalistic wounds left Ochako in horror.

"Ochako-chan!? Ochako-chan! What's wrong!? We need to keep moving!"

She could hear Tsu calling out to her and even grabbing hold of her arm, ready to pull her.

Right, they had to leave.

They had to go back to camp with everyone else.

And yet...

"Th-They're going to kill her!"

She couldn't ignore what was happening.

Ochako understood that this girl was a villain, someone sent to hurt them, but she still looked their age, and she couldn't help but wonder why this girl had become a villain and looked so... unstable despite being young like them.

And even ignoring that, Himiko was visibly struggling against the several monsters surrounding her, especially as she received more wounds the longer the fighting went on. It was clear she wasn't gonna last too long against a swarm that was only trying to pile on top of her to devour her like animals.

If Ochako and Tsu left here, they'd be leaving Himiko to die, and she didn't want that on her conscious. Even if Himiko was supposed to be a villain right now.

"You... You want to help her?" Tsu stared at her incredulously.

Ochako turned back to her with a nervous yet determined gaze.

"We can't just leave her there!"

"She tried to stab us!"

"I know that!" Ochako answered in frustration. "B-But I don't want her to get mauled to death like that; it makes me sick just thinking about it! Deku wouldn't just leave someone to die like that, even if they're a villain!"

Tsu's eyes widened as she lost her voice. She couldn't argue about this against Ochako, not when she knew that she was right in that Izuku wouldn't just leave anyone behind to her death, especially in such a gruesome way. And the screams they could hear coming from the girl only solidified that.

"Okay." So Tsu simply nodded as she and Ochako turned back, rushing for the large group of monsters crowded around the blond-haired girl.

The monster had been too focused on Himiko to address the approaching heroes, and it easily allowed Tsu and Ochako to jump in. Ochako simply tapped the distracted monsters to set them floating while Tsu sent them away with her powerful kicks. By the time the monsters realized what was happening, they had already been sent flying away, leaving only the bodies of the already dead monster and a standing villain.

"*Huff* *puff* Tsu, Ochako..."

Himiko's fight through hell was evident on her body, and Ochako couldn't hold back a hiss through her teeth at the sight. In addition to her torn clothing and excessive blood covering her, plenty of claw and bite marks were also evident, most around her arms and even a mark on her cheek. Two pairs of bloody, broken-down knives were scattered about after being worn out, with the third pair in Himiko's hands not looking much better, as it was already doused in black blood from the monsters.

"You came back... You came back to save me..." Despite being in such a state, Himiko formed a giddy, if not tired, smile. "You're not like the fakes that Stainy hates; you really care."

Ochako faltered for a moment, eyeing the knives in Himiko's hands.

"P-Please drop the knives so we can take you somewhere to get help! I can't hold my quirk for too long on all those Nomu!" She said, feeling nausea starting already.

Surprisingly, Himiko did drop her knives, stumbling forward a bit before starting to fall. Ochako yelped and rushed forward, catching Himiko in her arms while nearly gagged at the strong scent of blood.

"Hehe, I'm being hugged by Ochako~." Himiko clung to the girl hard, sighing in utter bliss. Sure, she had only dropped the knives because they were already worn out, but she was not passing the chance to get held by such a cute girl.

She had plenty more knives on her anyway.

"Okay, um... I'm gonna carry you now."

"Please do, baby~." Himiko moaned with no shame whatsoever.

Tsu's eye twitched while Ochako's face turned beet red.

"R-Right, ignoring that-!"

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

Large thumps shook the area and cut off Ochako's next words, a sense of dread filling the girl as she turned her head just as the trees near them started crumbling down. Tsu's expression matched Ochako's look of horror as they saw a large figure emerge in the clearing with them.

"Wh-What is that?" Her voice had become small, fear dripping from it as their heads craned upward.

The figure was another monster as pale and grotesque as the others, this one on two large legs part of an equally large body, taller than the trees around them. It was visibly much more muscular than the previous monsters, but not just that, nearly its whole body from head to toe was covered in bone-like armor growing out of the monster itself. Even its face had a bone-like mask, with eyeholes showing only black voids and holding the most human-looking jaws among the monsters, even if its teeth were crooked and sharp.

"No way." Ochako paled. "W-We can't fight that! We have to run-!"

"KROAAAAAAH!!"

The monster's roar pierced Ochako's ears, making her scream as she curled in on herself while clutching an equally pained Himiko tighter.

"RUN!"

Ochako could barely hear her friend's scream over the ringing in her ears but moved immediately. She tapped her fingers together with a quick "release!" to drop the monsters they had sent flying, then used her quirk on a stunned Himiko, taking away her weight and holding her in her arms like a parent would to their child as she bolted right behind a hopping Tsu.

Himiko stared over Ochako's shoulder at the monster now marching towards them, its bulky figure taking quick steps that it seemed limited to. But despite this, its large size made each step cover several of theirs.

"Ah, I'm gonna stab you when I get back, Shiggy! The Nomu ain't supposed to hurt me!" Himiko whined, confused and angry about what was going on.

And yet, when she felt Ochako squeeze her tighter to ensure she didn't drop her, Himiko couldn't help but melt in bliss. It was tempting to bite into the girl or draw a knife on her for that sweet taste of red, especially with how easy it would be since Ochako nor Tsu seemed to know how dangerous she really was, but even she could hold herself back from attacking the one trying to take her to safety after that tiring battle.

There was always a chance later.

"It's gaining on us!"

Or maybe there won't be.

As Ochako said, the giant monster was stomping closer and closer behind the trio of girls, its large steps covering a lot of distance.

Himiko growled as she pulled out two more knives between her fingers and flung them upward at the monster's face, both meeting their mark on its forehead but simply bouncing off.

"Ugh! I hate things I can't make bleed!"

Ochako felt a shiver down her spine, seeing what Himiko had done.

"Y-You have more knives!? Where do you even keep them!?"

Himiko giggled as she moved her head close to Ochako's ear, purring.

"Wanna find out?~"

Once again, despite their life-or-death situation, Ochako's face burned.

"C-Can you not do that, please!?"

"Do what?" Himiko smiled innocently, despite having a bloody face that brought another shiver of dread to Ochako.

"KROAAAAAAH!!"

The girls turned their heads and saw the monster closer than before, starting to reach its giant hand for them.

"Oh no!"

"Ochako-chan! You can't outrun it while carrying her! I'll distract it!" Tsu shouted.

"What!? Tsu! It's too dangerous!" Ochako shouted, not wanting her to risk her life like that.

"I'll catch up to you both, I promise!" Tsu reassured, skidding to a halt while turning around.

"Tsu, no! That's a death flag! I can't let you-!"

The air seemed to flash in green.

"SMASH!"

It was as if a bolt of lightning had been shot from the forest, one directly striking the giant monster's head.

The world moved in slow motion as all girls' eyes widened, orbs locked on the blazing green figure that was Izuku.

The boy had his shoes planted into the side of the monster's head from his dropkick, slowly distorting its face from the impact. His aura was once more a mixture of black and sparking green, with his eyes glowing red in anger. But Ochako and Tsu were horrified to see that the boy's arms were clearly destroyed, even if they were partially hidden from Ikari's black energy wrapped around them as makeshift casts. Not just that, but there was evidence that he had been through an intense fight if the blood and other marks on his shirtless body were anything to go by. And there on his back, being held tight by more of Ikari's energy was... Kota!?

"Get... AWAY FROM THEM!" Izuku's voice roared as he kicked off the monster's head, the force chipping a chunk of its bone-like mask before sending the abomination falling into the trees with an agonized cry.

Izuku then fell from the air and landed on his feet with a powerful thud, panting hard with sweat dripping from his brow all the way down to his chin.

"Deku!/Izu-chan!" Ochako and Tsu would've been overjoyed to see him had he not looked in such terrible shape.

"Ochako *huff!* Tsu *puff!* are you two alright!?" Izuku asked worryingly, getting in front of the two.

"Are we alright!? Look at yourself!" Ochako shouted, absolutely horrified. "Your arms! Y-You-! You weren't supposed to-!"

"I know, I promised not to break them, but I really didn't have a choice!" Izuku cut her off, really not wanting to argue about this.

"B-But-!"

"He had to!" Kota suddenly cut in from Izuku's back, eyes wide and teary. "If he didn't go all out... we would've died! H-He saved me!"

Tsu and Ochako quieted at that, hearing the previously cold boy now leaking sheer gratitude and overwhelming emotion.

"It was horrible!" Ikari made himself known, a small bump with red eyes popping up on Izuku's head. "There was this big guy with so many muscles that our normal attacks did nothing!"

"You... You fought a villain that strong?" Tsu asked, lips quivering. After all, she hated seeing how Izuku had ended up once again.

The green-haired boy sighed with a nod. "Yeah, I could honestly compare him a bit to All Might. Going 100% is the only reason I'm still alive..."

Izuku then noticed someone on Ochako's back, a girl not part of the class roster who was staring really intensely at him with wide eyes, an open smile, and dilating pupils, almost like a cat.

He probably would've worried about how she was looking at him had he not seen how bloody and wounded she was.

"OH MY GOD! Who is that!? Is she okay!? She'd bleeding so much! We have to get her back to the main building now!" Izuku shouted, completely panicked at seeing the girl's state.

"Wait, was she always here? I don't rememeber seeing her at camp." Ikari pointed out, staring curiously at Himiko.

Their questions had Tsu and Ochako tensed, not knowing how to explain this.

"Deku, this is Toga, and she's... um-"

"Izu-kun!"

Child-like excitement interrupted Ochako before she even had the chance to explain. Izuku looked at the girl being carried and realized she was addressing him.

He saw how zoned-in her eyes were on him, how some pink was forming on her only partially bloody cheeks, how her breathing had suddenly quickened, and how large her smile was increasing to the point where the fangs in her teeth were showing.

For some odd reason, he couldn't help but feel a chill.

"Y-Yes? Are you talking to me?" He asked, curious about the particular title she gave him.

Did he know this girl? No, he's never seen her before in his life, and yet, she seemed to know him to the point where she was looking at him like a lifelong fan.

"Izu-kun, Izu-kun! Izu-kun!"

"Wait! You shouldn't move-!"

As if regaining all the energy she had expelled, Himiko suddenly leaped from Ochako's arms, the girl releasing a cry of alarm, and headed right for Izuku with outstretched arms and manic eyes.

"EH!?"

Ikari instinctively sent out two more tendrils that wrapped around Himiko's waist before she could land on Izuku. But the mere inches of distance the two were apart was all she needed.

So a bloody, wounded girl grabbed the face of a battered, tired boy, overjoyed and intense yellow meeting confused and nervous green.

"Hi Izu-kun! I'm Himiko! I really love you!"

She then proceeded to pull his face and shove her tongue down his throat.

"MMPH!?"

Ochako and Tsu turned to stone, Kota's eyes widened as his entire face turned red, and a startled cry came from Ikari.

And Izuku?

"Eh?"

The boy whose tongue was getting wrestled with?

"Eh!?"

His brain shut down on the spot.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?!"

___________________________________________

~{Author's Post-Notes}~

Thank you all for reading this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, although I know a lot of you will prob feel outraged at where it left off, heh, I guess I'm just that cruel.

But anyway, back to what I mentioned before in the beginning notes. I've gotten into danmachi recently and absolutely LOVE the world and its characters as much as mha's, and it had given me another surge of inspiration to write something new that I may continue once again with enough attention. So I made a chapter for each of two new concepts I haven't seen done yet.

The first fic concept is a mha x danmachi concept, where Izuku gets isekai'd into the world of danmachi and replaces Bell's character!

The second concept is a danmachi x Solo Leveling concept where Bell gets the system, which is cool too!

I'll be posting both of these later in the day on both Archive of Our Own and Fanfiction.net to see their results on both sites. (Sorry, but I'm just trying not to use wattpad much anymore, I don't like it.)

I will still update Galar's Secret Miracle here, though. It's actually planned as the next thing I'll work on.

And once more, I'm sorry for being selfish, but at the same time, I want to enjoy everything I'm writing so I don't regret it.