"We've been doing quite a bit of practical lessons lately, so today we're going to do something a bit different," Dabi informed the class as he spun around the chair he was lounging in, one leg crossed over the other. Today he wore a black suit that looked recently ironed and his hair looked combed and orderly. "And it's actually something I can leave you little shits to do alone without fear of the school being burned down while I attend a meeting. So please, do not exceed my expectations."

"So what's it for today, teach?" Orioka asked while casually flicking a small shot of sound at the back of Okiyama's head, who barely flinched at the attack.

"You know what, I'm in a good mood today," Dabi told her with a wide grin. "Call me teach if you want, it ain't true, but I don't care. I don't gotta deal with you all today. Nakasuji-sensei will take it from here." He gestured towards a short black haired woman Erika had seen on orientation day. Just like then, the suit she wore was a little too big for her small frame.

Nakasuji-sensei bowed her head to the class as Dabi sauntered his way out the door. "It'll be a pleasure to finally teach the new faces around here. Today will primarily be a brainstorming exercise. You all have experience with how society has treated you and seen how it has treated others. So I'll put you all into groups of six and it'll be your assignment to think of ways to go about changing the way society is. And it needs to be something where it will definitely have an effect and wouldn't just be dismissed quickly after it takes place."

"Uh, Nakasuji-sensei?" Nagao raised her hand from behind the salamander mutation quirk student. "Groups of six? There's twenty-three of us."

"Ah, yes," Nakasuji-sensei clapped her hands together and turned towards the classroom door. "Ishido, you can come in now."

A moment passed before the door opened and a young boy wearing a black backpack walked in. He looked around the age of a junior high kid and was completely bald. Even his eyebrows were gone.

"Introduce yourself please," Nakasuji-sensei nodded to him.

"I am Shikihide Ishido!" The boy announced enthusiastically with a grin.

"He is my ward, so treat him well," Nakasuji-sensei explained. "He'll help even up the numbers."

"Man, I didn't know she had a ward," Erika heard Orioka mutter to herself.

"Now, let's see..." Nakasuji took the next minute naming who would end up in each group. After another few minutes, Erika found herself in the middle of five other people who had taken up residency in the nearby desks. Takio sat furthest away from everyone, her large tail resting in another seat while the male Kato twin sat in front of her, his stoic expression ever present. Sakamoto appeared to be calm, but the inconsistent tapping of her foot betrayed her real feelings. Ijichi, who had felt like a constant presence that hadn't been requested since the day they met, sat closest to Erika. Then there was-

"Nice to meet you all!" Ishido said brightly.

"Uh, hi," Takio gave a small wave with her webbed hand.

"So you're Nakasuji-sensei's ward?" Erika asked the boy.

"Yep!" He confirmed. "I don't remember my real parents, and Ms. Nakasuji was kind enough to take me in from the orphanage. My quirk is pretty cool as well, and I get to use it all I want!"

"Is that why you're completely bald?" Ijichi asked and Erika nearly palmed her face at the bluntness.

"Nope! Well, kind of I guess," the kid said, not looking at all like he was upset at the question. "I can make some incredible stuff, but after burning my hair a couple of times I thought it'd be easier if I shaved it all off!"

"Huh, that's interesting," Ijichi said. "What kind of stuff do you make?"

"All kinds of things! I've made radios, a treadmill, a-"

"I think we're getting off topic," Erika said dryly.

Ijichi sighed, but nodded. "Alright. Ways to change society, was it? Any ideas, Fujino?"

Erika shot the girl a subtle glare before wiping the expression from her face. "Well, before we come up with any ideas of our own, we should look at all the influential people from the past."

"Oh!" Ishido clapped his hands excitedly. "I just learned about American presidents the other day! I know Abraham Lincoln was very-"

"Not those kinds of people," Erika shot him down, shaking her head. "I'm thinking more of revolutionists in times of strife. People who rose up and did what needed to be done even when no one else would, their actions being engraved in peoples' minds. People like-"

"Stain," the male Kato twin spoke, his tone soft. This was probably the first time Erika heard the male Kato twin speak. He normally kept quiet while his sister did all the talking, who was currently on the other side of the room with Nagao, Ueno, Asao, Nomoto, and Futagi. His voice was almost serene, yet when he spoke, he looked like he was almost unsure of himself.

Erika nodded. "Yes, people like Stain. While labeled a villain, he had a vast amount of influence on society not just here in Japan, but around the world. His words and actions made people think about how heroes are supposed to act and behave. For a time while he remained at large it seemed his ideals might even spark a hero reformation. But once caught by Endeavor, his ideals slowly faded and hero society has remained as is."

"He did have lots of followers though," Sakamoto said, foot still tapping.

"Copycats," Erika corrected her. "But yes. His influence was widespread. So any idea we come up with needs to have a lasting impact, but it can't die out like his did."

"Could create a cult," Ijichi suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.

A small laugh from Takio before she looked away in embarrassment.

A smile appeared on Ijichi's features. "Hear me out. A cult would have very strong ideals and no societal rules would stop them from realizing their goals."

"W-what if-" Takio started, fidgeting uncomfortably. "If we went v-viral on s-social media?"

"Oh," Ijichi blinked at her. "You know, that is an idea. They are called influencers for a reason."

"I don't know about you, but I'm not a social media sort of person," Erika shook her head and noticed Sakamoto nodding in agreement.

"Why not continue what Stain was doing?"

The question came from, of all people, Ishido, head tilted to the side. Erika may consider herself a villain, but hearing those words from someone as young as Ishido caught her off guard.

"I-I'm sorry?" Takio choked out.

"I mean, you guys did say he had lots of influence," he said. "And it all stopped when he was caught. So if someone were to continue his work, then maybe it would eventually bring change?"

"Maybe," Erika said cautiously. "The thing is, the copycats I mentioned have tried that, but they were all caught pretty quickly and didn't leave much of an impression. Besides, they really only targeted heroes of little renown, so it didn't have much of an impact."

"Maybe the kid has a point," Ijichi said, crossing her legs as she leaned back in thought, her black hair floating behind her. "Targeting heroes directly may be a good idea. But maybe targeting the more corrupt heroes over just about any hero that isn't All Might is a better idea than what Stain went with."

"Why not just go after the source?" Sakamoto snorted. Silence followed and the violet haired girl realized the rest of the group was staring at her. She flushed. "W-what I meant was that if we know there's already a lot of corrupt heroes, why not stop them at the source to, you know, stop any more corrupt heroes from being created."

"You'd have to go after the education system itself," Erika pointed out. "What they teach kids is what makes them become terrible heroes."

"So the question becomes how would you change the education system?" Ijichi mused. "One could always get into a high position and attempt to change policies-"

"Wouldn't work," Kato said with a shake of his head. "The Hero Commission controls the education concerning heroes."

"Destroy the HPSC and maybe the rest of hero society will follow?" Ijichi suggested.

"Could work, but how would we do that?" Erika shook her head.

"Why not attack the fledglings themselves?"

The group started as Orioka plopped herself in a desk near them, chomping down on a pocky stick. "Sorry, couldn't help but overhear your ideas. Go back to targeting the source." A malicious grin formed. "The education system may be a hard nut to crack, but the fledglings ain't."

"Fledglings?" Takio asked timidly.

"She means students," Erika stared at the black haired girl curiously.

"Damn straight," Orioka confirmed with a nod. "They all want to become heroes for selfish reasons. We've seen them all, yeah? They want to be popular and strong. Get all the riches. Betcha if they got a taste of the real world they'd give up on those stupid dreams in a heartbeat."

She has a point, Erika conceded in her head. For most wannabe heroes they only want the job for the perks.

"Some would still likely want to be heroes," Ijichi said. "Some can be really hard headed like that. And some truly want to do what's right, but those are in the minority."

"Then it wouldn't serve to just stop them from graduating and contributing to the problems in society, but it would weed out the worst so the best can truly shine." Erika stared down at her palm. "Stop the fakes and only allow the true heroes to flourish."

"It could work," Ijichi admitted. "Targeting students would most definitely make headlines, and it would help make only the best heroes."

"Psh, who cares about making the best heroes?" Orioka rolled her eyes. "Just scare the hell out of them to the point where none of them would even dare think to continue their hero education. No more heroes coming into the industry will ultimately lead to the decline of hero society and make it ripe for us to waltz in and change things to suit our needs."

"By the way, don't you have your own group to go back to?" Erika remarked, pointing to the other side of the room where her group kept glancing over.

With a roll of her eyes, the black haired girl rose from her seat. "Oh fine, just figured you'd want my expert opinions. I can see where I'm not wanted."

"Her idea wasn't terrible in terms of effectiveness," Ijichi admitted as soon as the girl was with her group. "However-"

"Ms. Fujino," Nakasuji-sensei interrupted as she came over. "You've been requested to the Nurse's Office."

Erika stared at her. "Why?"

The teacher shrugged. "I don't know, but I shouldn't expect it'll be too much. Make sure to come back as soon as he's finished with you."

Sighing, Erika stood and gave a small wave to her group as she left the classroom. The halls were empty, her footsteps echoing. It was just her class that existed here in this school. She hadn't even seen the Student Council President or Vice President, Yamada and Iinuma, since that first day.

It was only a few minutes of walking through the seemingly empty school before she reached her destination. She hesitated at the door before grudgingly opening it.

Light shone in through large square windows on the opposite side of the room. For a day in mid-February, it was rather bright out. The nurse's office itself appeared no different than those normally found in schools throughout Japan. At the far end, situated in the corner next to a window with the blinds down, sat a blond man at a desk. He swiveled in his chair, flashing Erika perhaps one of the brightest smiles she had ever seen.

"Do come in, Ms. Fujino," he said, gesturing for her. "I hope I didn't pull you from an exciting lesson? I did try to plan for a time around when nothing interesting would be happening."

He was young, his hair resting just at the edge of medium length in a windswept look. Soft blue eyes watched her closely as she strolled further into the room. They seemed warm, but there was something about his gaze that didn't quite match his smile.

"I am Retsuki Masuo," he stood finally as she neared him, raising his hand. "Feel free to just call me Masuo. No need for honorifics." Erika accepted it, her hand being enclosed slightly by his own. She briefly activated her quirk, trying not to let her eyes widen in surprise as to what she felt.

"You already know me," Erika's tone was terse. "Why'd you ask for me?"

"Ah, well," Masuo rubbed the back of his head, ruffling his hair as he sat back down. "It's been a few weeks since you and the rest of the new students have joined Toaku Academy. Now that you're all more acclimated, I figured it was time to get well acquainted with the ones I haven't had the pleasure of seeing in the infirmary. And you're top of the list, Ms. Fujino." He grabbed a sheaf of papers off the desk. "I've seen recordings of some of the mock fights you've had in these few weeks. I love the rule of limiting the quirk usage so far, it leaves my job of healing you kids much easier to manage. But it does have the unfortunate side effect of leaving me with too much time on my hands, so..." He raised his hands in a shrug as if to say "what can you do?"

"But you," he flicked the papers. "You have an uncanny fighting ability. That display of your power-up type quirk on that first day was impressive, but since then it hasn't come up often. Even then, you've won almost every fight. Except with the vine girl. Minagawa, was it?" He shook his head. "Anyway, I've gone on a tangent. Bottom line, you are great at fighting and reducing the risk of injury to yourself, so we've never had the chance to meet. 'Till now that is."

He coughed uncomfortable into his fist as Erika just stood there with her arms crossed. "Okay, yes, I ramble. Talking is a big part of my quirk, so I've gotten into the habit. First, could you tell me a bit about yourself. I just want to make sure the records I have, which there aren't that many of, are correct. Oh, and please take a seat. There's no need to stand." He pulled out a chair and Erika, while she wouldn't say it aloud, gratefully sat.

"So, full name please?"

Erika quirked an eyebrow, but obliged. "Erika Fujino."

"Sorry, just getting into the motion here," Masuo nodded slowly as he checked something off his papers. "Age?"

"16."

"Exact date of birth?"

"Does that matter?"

Masuo blinked at her, then shrugged. "No, not really. I was going to try and fill in some holes, and there are way too many on your file for my liking, while you're here, but if you'd rather not...?"

"What exactly is in my file?" Erika asked suspiciously.

"Again, not much," Masuo sighed, lifting a page and glancing at what was underneath. "Erika Fujino, age 16. Quirk status: Unknown. Hospital records indicated you were born in Hosu. Parents died in a villain incident at the tender age of 4 and you were placed in the foster care system for three years before you up and vanished. Police and heroes couldn't find you and the search was given up after a year." He glanced up. "Nine years is quite a long time to live alone, don't you think?

"I'm here now, aren't I?" She crossed one leg over the other. "I think I did pretty well for myself."

"If you consider teaming up with a Rank A villain and helping him kill several heroes and put many more in the hospital "pretty well"."

Erika froze. She had suspected they knew, but hearing it aloud...

"What exactly does Toaku Academy want from me?" She questioned him.

"What we want from all our students," he let the papers lie flat. "To learn how to best change society for the better, by any means necessary. Your past with the villain known as Stain was certainly the reason as to why we reached out to you, but it's the convictions you hold that are most important to us. To our shared cause. You see the current state of society, faults and all. For a time, with Stain, you were doing something about it. But with Stain having been arrested for a few years now, your activity has declined. Tell me, Erika Fujino, do you still wish to weed out the fakes and bring about a better world?"

Before Erika could even think to answer, Masuo palmed his forehead. "Shoot. Sorry, I didn't mean for us to go down this rabbit hole. You need to get back to class. All I meant was for you to get updated on your shots. I assume you haven't been to a hospital in years, correct? Because the last records are when you were 7."

"Uh, yeah," Erika said numbly, a bit too surprised at the conversation's complete 180.

"Good!" Masuo exclaimed, before wincing. "Or I mean, not good. You need those shots. I dearly hope you aren't afraid of needles. They're not that big, I swear!"

The handshake had been enough to tell her. Yet she found herself activating her quirk everytime he made contact with her when he delivered a shot. On the surface he seemed like a kind hearted individual. But she knew the truth. She could feel almost nothing from the contact. Not a whisper of power.

Retsuki Masuo was truly a despicable person.

...

Walking back to her classroom, Erika once again found herself wondering just how Dr. Shakusai kept this school for villains covered up. It was so empty and it wasn't just the student council she hadn't seen since orientation, but the so-called principal himself as well. Oddly enough, despite all his gripes about not being a teacher, Dabi was a constant presence. Not even Sagi was around all the time like the blue flame user was.

"-been made yet?"

Erika paused, Dabi's voice coming down a separate hallway.

"Not yet," a crackly, unidentifiable voice spoke, as if through a radio. "But I'll keep you updated. UA's new term doesn't start for another two months practically."

Intrigued, Erika silenced her movements as she crept down the hall towards a classroom where the door was slightly ajar.

"I have a plan for when I'm allowed in the school," The voice went on. "And I should be able to steal the schedule for previous years."

"Very good."

Erika's eyes widened a fraction. That was Dr. Shakusai. But by the sounds of it, his voice was coming from a speaker.

"How useful would past schedules be?" Sagi's skeptical voice asked this time. "Surely a school like UA wouldn't fall into patterns?"

"What isn't broke," Dabi offered and Erika could almost hear the shrug.

"There are variations in the data you sent me," Dr. Shakusai spoke again. "However, UA tends to plan certain public events around the same time each year, and from what it looks like, so do the more private events."

"What do we even want with UA to begin with?" Dabi asked.

"Society is built upon the foundation of heroes," Dr. Shakusai explained. "And the hero students are the cornerstones of said foundation. If we wish to change anything, the hero schools will need to be considered. UA first and foremost for obvious reasons."

"That's why you want me there," the crackly voice said. "To spy for you." It was hard to tell, but Erika detected a hint of an edge to their tone.

"And give us any relevant information we can't easily retrieve," Dr. Shakusai confirmed. "As much as you may wish to join us at Toaku Academy, I assure you that you are most needed at UA for the time being."

Silence, then, "Fine. I'll do my best. Should I need to contact you, should I use this same frequency?"

"Yes. However, you will be in contact with Dabi- "Huh!?" -for the foreseeable future. He will report anything you find to me."

"Roger that." A click then the static noise that had accompanied the voice dissipated.

"I will leave you two to it then," Dr. Shakusai spoke. "Make sure the students are ready. This new batch seems... promising. They will do well. Hone their strengths. Crush their weaknesses. I await the day they join the rest of us at Toaku Academy."

Another click. A few seconds passed before Dabi sighed loudly in relief. "Damn, finally over. I swear, I hate these meetings."

"If I have to endure them, you have to as well," Sagi told him.

"Also, why am I always the one doing the grunt work?" Dabi grumbled. "Passing on even more work to me like it's nothing. I swear, I should've packed up and left TA behind once I graduated."

Erika chose then to quietly leave before either one of them decided to leave the classroom. As she hurried back to class, she replayed what had been said over in her head.

For whatever reason, Dr. Shakusai had a mole at UA. But there was something else. Something Dr. Shakusai had said that just didn't seem right.

"As much as you may wish to join us at Toaku Academy, I assure you that you are most needed at UA for the time being."

Erika halted outside of the classroom door. She looked back down the hall. The empty hall. A school hallway that, in a normal school setting, would have been occupied by many students. The two members of the student council were rarely here and it was odd that they were called such for a class of mere twenty-three students.

"This isn't the beginning of something brand new," the blind boy, Asao, had said before. "We aren't just recruits. We are your new students ."

Where are the rest? Erika wondered for the first time. Based on what Dr. Shakusai had said, there should be many more. So, where are they?

...

Erika got her answer the very next day at the start of class.

"Alright kiddos, we're starting a big project today!" Dabi announced as he popped the cap off a marker, writing on the whiteboard. "It's called-" He stepped back, gesturing to the two words written in bold blue. "The Initiation Project."

"Initiation? For what?" Iwayama sounded uneasy as she voiced what everyone was wondering.

"For Toaku Academy of course," Dabi answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

When he was greeted by blank stares, he grinned. "What, don't tell me this abandoned school and the shoddy arena downstairs was all TA had to offer? Yes? Well, you've severely underestimated TA. Don't do that. It's not good to underestimate others." He lifted himself into a sitting position onto his desk. "Alright, let me break it down to you all real simple. This building is Toaku Academy, but only a part. The main school, where the rest of the students reside, is somewhere else. The location is top secret of course."

"The IP is designed to test you all," Dabi informed them. "To judge whether or not you are truly dedicated to changing society. And if you're ready for the next big step; joining your peers at Toaku Academy proper."

"So what's this project?" Orioka asked eagerly, hand raised unnecessarily.

"I'm so glad you asked," Dabi clapped his hands together and rubbed them in excitement. "It's whatever you all choose as a class. Yesterday was the brainstorming bit, but now, now you're going to put one of those ideas into action. You need to plan something that'll influence society at the very least, if not outright cause some meaningful change. You can choose to try and get some laws passed if you think you're capable. Or you can resort to more, ahem, illegal ventures."

"This project is meant to last a few months in order to maximize the amount of time for you all to put together a proper plan. Not to mention that your training in both mind and body need to be brought up to speed if you wish to make it in the big leagues at TA."

"We're never going to get anything done with a group this big," Ueno complained loudly. "And getting everyone to agree on one thing is next to impossible."

"Not my issue," Dabi shrugged. "This has to be where you all step up and do something . What that something is has to be agreed upon by everyone. Only then will it be worth pursuing."

"Question," Nomoto raised their hand, a lighter cloud than normal obscuring their head. "What did you do for your initiation project?"

"Oh, that would be telling," Dabi said with a grin. "I'll tell you this though, it was quite the endeavor to pull off, but well worth it. That said, whatever you all choose, don't tell me or any of the teachers. We don't want to be an influence in any way. You need to achieve change with your own hands. That is the lesson in this project. Be the change that this society sorely needs."

From there he left the classroom, allowing the class to spend the rest of the day discussing possibilities. Ideas from yesterday were thrown around, many being rejected once the flaws in them were pointed out. However-

"I still think my idea has merit," Orioka argued.

"Attacking hero students?" Ezawa clicked her mandibles. "You're outta your mind."

"Think about it for a second!" Orioka insisted as all eyes were on her. "We'd be stopping the problem of heroes at its roots. You can't tell me that isn't a meaningful change!"

"It is," Futagi said slowly, his gravelly voice sounding cautious. "But while we may be part of a villain's school, attacking students, kids our age, seems a bit...."

"Excessive," Sakamoto said, foot tapping nervously once again.

"Let's entertain this idea of yours for the moment," Ijichi pointed at Orioka. "Where would we attack the students?"

"One of the major schools," she said. "Probably UA, because it's UA."

"Bad idea, really bad idea," Funayama visibly shivered. "I've heard about the rat god there. You don't want to mess with him."

"It's not realistic, that's the bottom line," Ueno told Orioka harshly. "As much as I'd love to stick it to certain people at that school, it isn't possible. Now shut the hell up and let us figure out the heck we're actually gonna do-"

"It might be possible."

And just like that, Erika had garnered everyone's attention. She took a few seconds to gather her thoughts before saying, "Yesterday, on my way back from the nurse's office, I overheard Dabi and Sagi-sensei in a meeting with Dr. Shakusai and someone else."

"What's the point of this, Fujino?" Ijichi asked, shifting in her seat to get a better look at her.

"The point is the topic of their discussion." Erika glanced around at the class. Was she really about to do this? Encourage the idea of attacking kids !? Kids her age!?

Yes, I am, Erika told herself. She was already set in her beliefs. Fake heroes were a plague upon society and hero students, while not the direct cause, were a source that needed to be purged for the betterment of society. They didn't even need to kill them, just scare them enough to force them to reevaluate their choices. And those that persisted, well, then they were the ones who were more likely to become heroes that lived up to the name. So Erika opened her mouth, her next words causing a chain of events that would eventually lead her, and everyone in her class, to the USJ on that fateful day during the first week of UA's new school year.

"This mysterious fourth individual is, will be, a student at UA from the sounds of it. They will be a mole for Dr. Shakusai. A mole that we could use to steal information on UA and its students, allowing us to not only infiltrate the school, but effectively stop a new generation of soon-to-be heroes." Her eyes narrowed. "Orioka's right. If that isn't meaningful change, then I don't know what is."