Once More (My Hero Academia)

12: The USJ Attack

Fear propelled through Izuku as he heard the sickening crunch of Shigaraki's grip on Aizawa's elbow, which decayed slowly, the teacher's flesh falling away like fragile leaves from a tree.

There was the sound of Thirteen's costume ripping away until it was ground into dust, as the dark purple mist of the villain Kurogiri warped the pro hero's own blackhole quirk against her.

The imperceptible, yet deafening sound of blood dripping to the floor as the cold, hard fingers of Nomu pierced All Might's side.

Screams of his classmates.

"Midoriya!"

Izuku's woke up with a jolt and he felt cold perspiration run down the back of his neck.

Then he saw Kaminari, who was sitting across from him on the bus, suddenly shrink in embarrassment as if feeling guilty.

"Oh... sorry, Midoriya, was I talking too loud?"

"Obviously," Mina slapped Kaminari on the head, "anyone would wake up if you screamed their name!"

"Sorry to wake you up," Tsuyu apologized, "we were just talking about your quirk when Kaminari decided to scream."

"I did not scream! I was just... talking at my usual volume..." Kaminari knew it was time for him to shut up as Mina glared at him.

"You seem awfully tired, Midoriya," Iida said with a concerned expression, "are you feeling ok?"

"I'm fine, just slept a little late last night," Izuku smiled, "by the way, what were you guys talking about when I was sleeping?"

"I say whatever comes to my mind," Asui replied, "so, I mentioned how your quirk is similar to All Might's."

"Wait what... What makes you think that?" Izuku smiled nervously.

"Super strength, air blasts... y'know, all that," Sato Rikido said next to Izuku.

"But their fighting styles are very different," Kirishima pointed out.

"True... plus, it looks kind of different, too," Kaminari added, "Midoriya's looks a bit more... flashier, right?"

"Yeah, but when you're talking about flashy quirks, it's gotta be Bakugo and Todoroki's," Kirishima jabbed a finger towards the two boys in the back of the bus.

Bakugo didn't reply. However, Izuku knew that his childhood friend was listening closely to their conversation.

"Bakugo's always mad, so he doesn't seem like he'll be popular, though," Asui said neutrally as if stating a fact, and Izuku instantly knew where this conversation was heading.

"What the hell?!" Bakugo shot up from his seat, "You wanna fight?!"

"See?" Asui didn't even look at the angry boy.

Kaminari, seeing his opening, began firing derisive comments as Bakugo yelled and cursed back, and Izuku watched helplessly as the conversation gradually shifted into a Bakugo-roasting battlefield.

"Quiet down," Aizawa finally called, "we're here."

•••

The space hero Thirteen, who was dressed in some sort of astronaut costume, gave a brief description of the facility.

USJ, the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, was a facility designed to imitate real-life disasters.

Katsuki glanced at Deku, who was looking around nervously.

Suddenly, Deku must've noticed Katsuki was frowning at him, as the nervous boy's expression instantly shifted into something more cheerful, masking his uneasiness from a moment ago.