Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[Day 1, 06:47 - Hero Headquarters]

“Greetings Solanthos & Co.”

“Who are you supposed to be?” Bakugou snarled, staring at the girl standing behind the front desk of their headquarters.

His teammates took in their surroundings before taking notice of the girl, fully dressed in business clothing. Bakugou took a quick glance at his chosen generals, seeing the confused look they all gave to the stranger.

“I'm supposed to be your assistant, Yuko Takahara from Class 1-I,” She responded, sifting through papers on the desk as he raised a brow.

“Then why the hell are you here, this is a hero course exam,” He questioned, causing Takahara to look up as she picked up a few pieces of paper.

“Perhaps you haven't noticed Solanthos, but other students are here as well to pose as civilians for your exam,” She absentmindedly answered, walking away from the desk and towards them.

“While it's not an exam for us as well, we do get extra credit, it's quite useful,” She explained. “With that being said, here are papers on the most recent villain sightings in the city.”

Takahara handed Bakugou the set of papers she took from the desk. He gestured to his generals to gather around him as they all looked over the information. Kirishima read the bold written letters on top of the first one.

“Hortalia, New Villain Group Influencing the City of Virelios”

[2 Weeks Before Exams, 08:30 - U.A High School, Class 1-A]

A loud phone ring sounded, garnering the attention of the chattering class. Conversation paused as they all tried to figure out who's phone rang out. Their curiosity was quickly satiated as their homeroom teacher came out from his sleeping bag, phone in hand.

“Alright problem children, Nedzu has an announcement to make at the auditorium,” Aizawa informed, causing the loud muttering of his class to start back up again.

“Announcement starts at 8:45, I'll see you there,” He continued on, before walking out as his class divulged into chaos.

“Everyone! Form two lines, one for the girls and one for the boys!” Iida exclaimed, hands doing his regular chopping motions as he tried to get his classmates organized.

“Deku! What do you think Principal Nedzu’s announcement will be about?” Uraraka asked, bouncing over to Midoriya as they lined up.

“I don't know Uraraka… it might be something about our recent work-studies. Or it could also be related to our final exams this third term. Maybe it's about the League of Villains? I hope it isn't that. Actually, it's most likely related to our final exams, I wonder what it will be. Maybe we'll fight our teachers again? No wait, I doubt Nedzu would do that again, I don't think he would enjoy that or see benefit in it. There's a chance we could end up fighting each other, but why would Nedzu need to announce that? Could it be we'll fight 1-B? That is a possibility, but it could create more tension between our classes-” His muttering was stopped as someone roughly bumped his shoulder.

“Shut up and just walk into the auditorium already,” Bakugou hissed, walking past him.

“Oh, I didn't realize we're already here…” Midoriya mumbled, glancing around at his surroundings.

“It's fine, Shinsou was leading you so you don't injure yourself while you talked, kero,” Asui spoke up beside him.

“You could've snapped me out of it, y'know,” He said, a faint blush of embarrassment spreading across his face.

His friends quietly laughed as they walked in taking their seats next to their classmates. Class 1-B walked in with Vlad King by their side, much to the interest of Midoriya. They took their own seats a few rows away from his own class. He watched as Vlad King had walked off to the backstage after his class had sat down.

“You're probably right about it being our final exams, Midoriya,” Todoroki said, catching his attention as he looked over to his friend next to him.

“I wonder what it's about if Nedzu needs to do this whole announcement,” Midoriya wondered, gazing at the stage in front of them.

Fortunately, he didn't need to wonder much longer as teachers walked out onto the stage. Aizawa and Vlad King were joined by their other teachers as well, but no sight of Nedzu. Well, that was until he popped out of Aizawa’s scarf.

“Good morning Class 1-A and 1-B, am I a mouse? A dog? A bear? I am your principal! Welcome to this assembly, thank you all for coming here today!” Nedzu rambled, holding a mic as he stood up on Aizawa's shoulder.

“Today we will be discussing your final exams, U.A has an annual exam that we hold for first years as their last final exam,” He continued on, making gestures with his furred paws.

“Do either of you have any idea what it could be?” Midoriya asked, looking between Todoroki and Iida who were beside him though both of them merely shook their heads.

“We will be conducting our annual, Class Civil War!” Nedzu announced, with a glint shining in his eyes.

Whispers and murmurs immediately spread across the auditorium as those words left the principal's mouth. The gears in Midoriya’s brain started turning as he heard it. A class civil war? He's never seen any papers or news about it before.

“My brother has never mentioned this either,” Iida inputted, catching his attention.

“My father hasn't either,” Todoroki added, noticing the puzzled look his friend has.

“Quite exciting, correct? Well I know you all are curious, especially those who have had relatives who went here before,” Nedzu continued on, capturing the attention of the students once again.

“Well this exam varies, albeit with the same premise so we have students keep it hushed for the fun of their juniors in the years to come,” He explained.

“Let’s get to explaining how things will go shall we?” He said, pulling a small remote from his coat and pressed a button which turned on a projection behind him.

“The main point of this exam is to help students train better for villain attacks as well as learn how villains may think,” Nedzu started off.

“There will be two teams, the Hero team and the Villain team, yes, it means some of you will play villain for this exam, but I know your teachers have had you do similar exercises before,” He continued.

“We will be having a randomly decided Hero team leader, Solanthos, and a randomly decided Villain team leader, Hemlock. The leaders will not be disclosed publicly at the time being, your teachers have slipped envelopes to the leaders in your dorm rooms,” I don't feel like those leaders are gonna be actually random…

“The leaders will be the only ones receiving the letters, it will also come with a rulebook which will fill you in on what your team will need to do throughout the exam. What you do with the information given to you is up to you, leaders are free to choose whether or not they want to reveal themselves throughout the preparation time, but Solanthos will be publicly disclosed at the start of exam,” Nedzu said.

“Sir! Why would the Hero leader be disclosed at the start of the exam but not the Villain leader?” Iida immediately questioned as he raised his hand, catching on to that small detail.

“The exam is meant to imitate that of the real world, which as you may know, us heroes do not always know who is truly in command of certain villain organizations from the get go, hence why Hemlock will not be revealed should they not choose to do so themselves,” Nedzu responded.

“I see! Thank you Principal Nedzu!” Iida said, putting his arm back down.

Midoriya took in Nedzu’s words, solidifying his thoughts that the leader will truly not be random. Aside from the fact that he knows Nedzu doesn't do things randomly, his actions told the truth as well. He looked around at his classmates and 1-B, some were excited, some were curious, some were nervous about the situation at hand.

“The exam will last for one week, while your preparation time will last for two, starting today! So I recommend the leaders to get started on planning as soon as you read your letters. You can start recruiting members for your teams after receiving the letter, you may recruit any student on your team,” Wait. Any student?

If Midoriya was right about reading into Principal Nedzu's words, it means that any student, from any course, would be able to participate if they were recruited. And a short glance from Nedzu and seeing the glint in his eyes as the chimera stared back at him was all he needed to know that his suspicions were not only correct, but he was the one who would need it the most. Randomly picked, yeah right.

"To join a team, you will need to fill out a paper with your name and team, you may hand it over to any of our staff and that will make you officially part of your team," He continued on explaining.

“That will be all for this assembly! Should you have any further questions, especially whoever Solanthos and Hemlock may be, me and your teachers will be available. Your classes will be cancelled throughout the three weeks of your preparation and exam, thank you all!” Nedzu finished, handing the mic to Aizawa as he hopped off and walked backstage.

As Nedzu did so, the chatter filled the auditorium once again. Whispers of friends asking what team they would join, with the Hero team being the common answer of course. Questions of who they think will end up being the leaders wasn't uncommon either, while it was supposedly random, Midoriya could easily hear some making bets on who it could be already.

“Deku! Do you have any guesses on who could be the leaders for each team?” Uraraka chimed in, standing next to him along with their other friends.

“Well I mean, Principal Nedzu mentioned it being random but if it wasn't, maybe Todoroki? Or Kacchan, they fit the whole commanding leader thing. Although Yaoyorozu or Kendo from 1-B could also be good options for good leaders as well. All of them have the qualities to be good leaders as some of the top students in our year,” Midoriya rambled, glancing at the mentioned students.

“Those are some good observations, Midoriya. I assume you all want to join the Hero team as well, correct?” Iida questioned the group.

Uraraka and Asui seemed to agree quickly with Iida, while Midoriya was unsure, especially with the look Nedzu gave him earlier. Granted, he had already assumed Iida would join the heroes due to his heroic righteousness, while he hoped the girls would consider joining him in his inevitable leading of the villains, it seems like they already have their minds made up. On the other hand, Shinsou and Todoroki seemed to think about their options more carefully. Well that will certainly help.

“I could go either way I guess, it really depends on who the leader is gonna be. I'm certainly not gonna play hero if I have to follow whatever Bakugou barks out,” Shinsou answered, looking over at Bakugou as his own friend group hounds him.

“I'm also still debating on which team to join, perhaps I'd go with whoever approaches me first,” Todoroki said, inputting his own opinion.

“Really? Well what about you, Deku?” Uraraka questioned, turning to Midoriya who has been quiet on the topic.

“Oh, um, it really depends, both have benefits really,” He stammered out.

“Huh, I would've expected you to join the heroes immediately,” She said, getting a noncommittal shrug from him.

“We should get back to the dorms, it would be good to find out if any of us got chosen, kero,” Asui mentioned, getting the group's attention.

Although dropping the topic, the group continued to talk about what their exam could have in store for them as they walked back to their dorms. As they entered the dorms, they all made their way to their own dorm rooms.

Midoriya walked into his room, seeing a ominous black envelope staring right back at him as he closed the door. With a heavy sigh, knowing the small thing just sealed his fate, he picked up the letter and the small book underneath it.

Sitting down on his desk, he carefully examined the outside of the black envelope. It was a sealed one, stamped with a design eerily similar to hemlock flowers. Of course Nedzu would do this. He carefully opened the envelope, pulling out the piece of paper it held inside.

Congratulations Midoriya Izuku,

You have been selected to be Hemlock, the Villain team leader. Please read through your given rulebook, and use it to your fullest advantage. As I'm sure you will have questions, you may ask me or Aizawa (though your other teachers can do as well). We are free anytime, though I do recommend finding a viable excuse for meeting with us without suspicion :)

May your garden grow wild, and your thorns strike true.

- Nedzu

Chapter Text

Midoriya stared at the last line, intrigued at the words Nedzu used to wish him luck. Shaking his head, he grabbed a fresh notebook he had recently bought, one intended to be another one of his quirk analysis notebooks. This will work fine, plus no one will suspect much from it if I need it out in public. Gathering his thoughts, he grabbed a few different colored pens to sort out things he would note down, important details, loopholes, and questions.

Using a blue pen, he jotted down the “any student” loophole he had noticed during the announcement first. After doing so, he finally took the time to look at the rulebook presented to him. It was a small black leather book, the front was embossed with vines lining the edge of the book while the back was embossed with a whole bouquet of different flowers. The spine itself had hemlocks embossed on it, the only real symbol from the outside that could give it away as a rulebook.

Nedzu is really going with the hemlock flower thing… but I wonder what Solanthos is supposed to mean, it's not a flower that I know… I'll try searching it up and I'll just ask Nedzu if I don't find anything good.

Hemlock’ Rulebook

This rulebook is made to guide you on how the game can be played. It will include your winning conditions, losing conditions, objectives, and guidelines for items such as weaponry. Your goal as the villains is to accomplish objectives and not get caught.

HOW TO WIN:

• Complete all hard objectives given.
• Complete all easy and medium objectives given.
• Amass a total of 105 objective points (75% completion)
• Hero team surrenders/is not able to continue playing.
  Attainable by:
   - All Hero team members are captured.
   - All Hero team members are incapacitated.
   - All Hero team members are disqualified.

HOW TO LOSE:

• All Villain team members are arrested.
• All Villain team members are incapacitated.
• Villain team fails to meet any of the win conditions by the end of the week.
• Villain team surrenders.

VILLAIN OBJECTIVES:

 - EASY OBJECTIVES (3 PTS. EACH)

• Spray paint across public property walls (Vandalism)
• Pickpocket three civilians (Petty Theft)
• Mislead and confuse Civilians/Heroes with false information or twisted facts (Disinformation)
• Spy on a Hero and gather intel (Recon)
• Hijack a radio tower and do a broadcast (Comms Interference)
• Lead a Hero into a false emergency (Diversion)
• Destroy city surveillance cameras (Surveillance Disruption)

- MEDIUM OBJECTIVES (7 PTS. EACH)

• Take a Civilian as hostage (Hostage Taking)
• Set off a gas leak in a public area (Environmental Threatening)
• Trick at least three people into signing a loan contract (Loan Sharking)
• Get people to start a protest against the Heroes (Disruption of Public Peace)
• Initiate and evade capture in a car chase (Vehicle Pursuit)
• Sabotage the city’s power (Utility Disruption)
• Break into Hero Headquarters and tag the HQ (Infiltration)

- HARD OBJECTIVES (10 PTS. EACH)

• Plant and Explode a bomb (Bombing)
• Hack into the city's central database (Cybercrime)
• Steal classified intel from the hero headquarters (Espionage)
• Kidnap the city mayor (Kidnapping)
• Poison the Heroes food/water supply (Poisoning) (Note: Poison used must have Nedzu's approval, and cure must be given to Recovery Girl for administering)
• Rob a highly secured bank and escape (Heist)
• Kill Solanthos, the Hero team leader (Assassination)

LOCATION: Training Ground H - Virelios City

The Hero team has an assigned headquarters, you and two of your members may arrange a meeting with Nedzu to set up a base in your chosen building.

ALLOWED WEAPONRY:

• Quirks
• Guns (Only Paintball) (Note: Students need to have a gun license and proper gun safety training)
• Knives (Rubber only, they can be coated in a wet liquid to indicate “cuts” on opponents)
• Explosives (Smokes, Flashbangs, Paint bombs)

Any vehicle is allowed to be used, so long as students can present a learner's permit to the teachers or Nedzu beforehand. You may also ask permission to use the Race track available in U.A. if need be.

May your garden bloom to the fullest, Hemlock.

Midoriya placed the book down and sighed, there were a lot of objectives, a lot of ways his team could win and lose. Some of those objectives feel worded purposely in a way to encourage certain loopholes.

The weapons allowed were interesting too, he noted down the need to learn fighting with guns and knives for him and his team. The heroes are smart, he knows that, but he also knows most of his peers rely on quirks. If he can train his team to fight quirkless, be it underhanded or not, it will give them the advantage.

Right, I need to start working on planning who I want on my team. Todoroki and Shinsou would most likely join if I asked, based on what they said earlier. Mei is definitely gonna join if she gets to build some of her babies.

Scribbling down quickly in his notebook, Midoriya writes down people who he thinks would join, who he wants to join, and who would probably join the heroes. It wasn't a while later that he heard soft knocking from his door. He quickly glanced at the stuff on his desk, before shoving it all in one of his drawers underneath his bed. Midoriya composes himself and walks over to open the door, seeing Shinsou standing outside.

“Oh, hey Shinsou, do you need anything?” He asked, greeting the boy.

“Sleep, but I'll make do with coffee and a talk right now,” Shinsou responded, deadpanned as he walked into Midoriya's room.

Midoriya laughed as his friend took a seat on his desk chair, closing the door as he made his own way onto sitting on his bed. He caught the brief glance Shinsou threw at the splayed out assortment of pens he left out.

“Talk about what exactly?” He said, hoping he could steer this into a conversation he could recruit his friend.

“Oh y'know just girls and stuff, obviously we're gonna talk about the exam,” Shinsou answered, rolling his eyes while a smirk formed on his face.

“I'm sure you already know Nedzu definitely didn't have the leaders be random,” He continued on, staring directly at Midoriya.

“And I have every reason to believe you were chosen as one,” He said, confidence gleaming in his eyes.

“W-Wait, ok, you're definitely not wrong, but was it really that obvious? Oh god I wanted to keep my identity secret, if it was super obvious then that plan is totally off the table-” Midoriya started to ramble but quickly stopped when he got hit on the forehead by a pen.

“Jeez, chill out Greeny, no one can actually read Nedzu, I'm just making some educated decisions knowing who Solanthos is supposed to be,” Shinsou remarked, catching Midoriya’s attention.

“Solanthos revealed themselves already?” He questioned, tilting his head a bit to the side.

“Yup, our resident Blasty Pomeranian was voicing out about it downstairs, said he'll beat all the villains day 1,” The purple haired boy explained, fiddling with one of the other pens.

“I just put two and two together honestly, and plus it was a random decision really, I wasn't entirely sure it would really be you,” He continued on, letting his friend process the new found information.

“Oh,” Midoriya mumbled out, causing his friend to laugh a little.

“Yeah, oh, now are you gonna let me join your team or what?” Shinsou asked, snapping Midoriya out of his thoughts.

“Wait, you really wanna join the villain team with me?” He asked back with furrowed brows.

“Well yeah obviously, aside from me not wanting to team with Bakugou, I know you already have plans to beat the hero team,” Shinsou answered, the lazy grin plastered on his face.

“I mean I do, but I have to check in with Nedzu about certain ones, I want to make sure the loopholes I found are actually allowed,” Midoriya said, scratching the back of his neck.

“Loopholes? Yep, totally the right decision teaming up with you,” Shinsou laughed out, watching his friend take out a notebook from one of the drawers underneath his bed.

Midoriya flipped the notebook open on the page where he had listed down the people he wanted on his team, marking Shinsou down with a check mark as he used the pen his friend threw at him. After doing so, he flipped the notebook over to show Shinsou, letting him scan over the people on the list.

“You should probably grab Todoroki now, he's in his room as far as I know, he'd definitely say yes to joining us if he knows you're Hemlock,” Shinsou told him, looking past the notebook and at him.

“About that, since you're here… can you recruit Todoroki for me? I want to meet with Nedzu as soon as possible so I can plan out things properly,” Midoriya asked, a small bit of guilt laced in his smile.

“Of course, of course, I'll be your little recruiter for now, how are you gonna sneak off though? A lot of our classmates are downstairs so they'll definitely notice if you leave,” Shinsou agreed as he rolled his eyes at his friend, firing a question back at him.

“That way,” Midoriya answered, casually pointing at his balcony.

“Oh my fucking god, that's hilarious, sure I'll let you hop to it then,” He said between laughs, letting Midoriya pack his notebook into his yellow backpack.

“Recruit Mei on your way back too, she's probably in her of the support lab,” Shinsou told Midoriya as he slid the balcony door open.

“Don't worry, I was definitely planning to,” Midoriya answered back, before activating Blackwhip and jumping down.

“Well then, off to play recruiter for my boss,” Shinsou said to himself, giving one last glance at the balcony before letting himself out of Midoriya’s room.

[2 Weeks Before Exams, 10:35 - U.A High School, Principal's Office]

Perhaps it was the fact that he used Blackwhip or maybe it was because he was deep in his thoughts, but Midoriya was at the front of Nedzu’s office door already. Just as his knuckles were about to hit the door, it swung open and revealed Nedzu sitting in his chair, staring directly at him with his beady eyes. Nedzu gestured for him to come in and as he did, the door behind him loudly closed. The principal was sipping on his cup of tea, grin never fading as Midoriya took a seat.

“Do you perhaps want tea before we start?” Nedzu asked, setting his own cup down.

“Oh, um, yes please, that would be nice,” Midoriya answered, watching as Nedzu hopped off on his chair and making tea in the corner of the office.

“Congratulations on getting chosen, I’m sure you and your team will do great,” Nedzu chatted as he made the tea.

“You picked out who the leaders were, didn’t you? It was never random from the start,” The green haired boy questioned, eyes narrowing at the chimera as he walked back to his desk. “Certainly not, truthfully I would not be leaving a big decision such as this to fate,” Nedzu replied, the grin on his face getting wider.

“I had your homeroom teachers send in candidates that they thought would be good fits and merely picked who would make this exam worthwhile,” He continued as he started sipping on his tea again after placing a cup of tea in front of Midoriya.

“I chose you to be Hemlock because I saw the potential you had Midoriya, I saw just how much you held back,” The chimera calmly said, staring at the boy in front of him.

“W-What? I haven’t been holding back on anything Principal Nedzu,” Midoriya stammered out, confusion lacing his words.

“Hm, perhaps not for you, but I can see the analysis skills you possess, I see the leadership you possess, I’ve seen all the plans you’ve made but never used, you’re very heroic Midoriya, I’ll give you that,” Nedzu explained, paws clasped together.

“But I know how much it holds you back, you stop yourself from doing things because you think they’re unheroic actions, in this exam I want you to learn to stop doing that, our world isn’t simply black and white I’m afraid, villains are ready to do every underhanded tactic they know to win the fight,” He continued, his tone slowly making the hair on Midoriya’s arm stand.

“What do you want me to do exactly?” Midoriya slowly asked, even if he knew what was about to leave Nedzu’s mouth.

“I want you to let loose, Midoriya,”

“...Alright,”

[2 Weeks Before Exams, 11:45 - U.A. High School, Support Lab 03]

Midoriya sighed, the meeting with Nedzu was… successful. He had fired question after question, asking Nedzu all the questions he could think of, even the ones he originally planned on locking away in the far back of his brain. If he was being honest, Nedzu even gave him some inputs that gave him the edge on his plans. Was it a bit of a bias that Nedzu showed? Probably, but he won't take that bit of biased judgment for granted, not when the villains are known to lose this exam. It took several cups of tea, but Midoriya's notebook already had a quarter of it filled. Filled with plans on how to execute each objective, how to make use of every weakness the Hero team would inevitably have.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he knocked on the door, making sure to step to the side as it opened. It was just in time as an explosion of pink glitters and powder burst out of the room and into the hallway.

“Ten Million! Izu! You didn't tell me you'd drop by! Do you need anything?” Mei questioned as she stepped out of the lab.

“Mei… why are you covered in pink- y'know what nevermind, mind letting me come inside? I've got to ask you something,” He said, staring at Mei’s pink covered overalls.

“Eh? Sure, come in! Watch your step though,” She answered, each step she took had a bounce as they walked in.

The room was a mess, scrap pieces of metal and wires littering the place along with the inventions Mei was currently working on. While each support lab where supposed to be shared by two support students, Mei had this one all to herself. Whether that was for the better or for the worse, Midoriya didn't know — and he probably doesn't want to know either for the sake of his sanity.

“So, um, Principal Nedzu had an assembly with the hero course students in our year, we're supposed to do a civil warfare thing for our final exam, and I got chosen as one of the leaders,” Midoriya started explaining as he sat down on one of the clean bean bags Mei had in the room.

“What does a hero exam have to do with me exactly?” Mei asked with an eyebrow raised, albeit the twinkle in her eyes told a different story to Midoriya.

“Nedzu said that we can recruit any student, so I wanted to ask if you would join me,” He responded.

“Why me? Sure you can invite any student, but why the need for me?” She prodded, crossing her arms.

“Mei, you are one of the smartest people I know and you make great inventions, I would be so glad to not only have you on my team, but also as one of my council and supplier,” The green boy rambled, eyes gleaming with determination to truly convince his friend.

“What team are you leading?” Mei asked, tilting her head to the side.

“The villains-”

“Ok then! Lay down the plans and inventions you got for me, Broccoli boy!” She exclaimed, excitedly shoving pieces of metal aside on her table.

“Wait, Mei, what? Broccoli boy?” Midoriya stammered out as Mei started muttering about so many new babies she needed to make.

“Cause your hair reminds me of broccoli,” She answered, staring at him before continuing, “I was always gonna say yes to you Izu, but now knowing you're leading the villain team? That's gonna create so many free opportunities for me and my babies! Not to mention the amount of attention we can get from it!”

“My hair doesn't look like broccoli…” Midoriya muttered, a small smile flashing on his face before he hid with a pout as he pulled out his notebook.

“Sure it doesn't, now gimme the goods,” Mei laughed out, bouncing over to him to see the notebook.

“Most of those are still in progress right now, I have confirmation from Nedzu that these would be allowed but I don't have any definitive blueprints yet,” He explained, flipping over to the pages of weapons and tools he planned out.

“You didn't say we are allowed guns and bombs?! You should've started with that and we could've moved on to this part so much quicker!” She exclaimed, snatching away the notebook from him.

“Well I mean, they aren't done yet so I didn't bring it up immediately, plus I wanted to recruit a few other people to help you make them so you don't overwork yourself,” Midoriya clarified, taking the notebook before she got too focused on it.

“A few other people? What? You're gonna get me some minions from my class?” Mei asked, raising an eyebrow as she leaned against her desk.

“Nope,” He answered, standing up from the bean bag. “I know of a few hero students that have useful quirks to help you out,” Midoriya explained.

“I'll be asking them after this, then I'll bring them over here after lunch along with some basic blueprints from some of these weapons,” He continued, zipping up his backpack after he placed his notebook back inside.

“I'll look forward to it then, Boss,” Mei said, saluting to him with a wink and a wide grin. Midoriya just rolled his eyes and walked out.

[2 Weeks Before Exams, 12:20 - U.A High School, Heights Alliance]

“Are you two sure it's alright that we are using Midoriya’s room for whatever this talk is supposed to be about?” Yaoyorozu asked, skeptical as she was pulled into Midoriya's room by the two boys.

“Yep, Greeny would totally be alright with this,” Shinsou answered, settling himself down on his friend’s bed.

“Right… So what did you pull me in here for exactly?” She questioned, crossing her arms as she watched Todoroki sit down on the floor.

Just as she finished asking, the balcony door slid open. Midoriya walked in, realizing the extra guests in his dorm room. After giving a pointed look to Shinsou, he internally sighed and figured that he might as well do the recruiting already.

“Oh hello Yaoyorozu,” He greeted, tossing his bag and hitting Shinsou right in the face. Serves him right, I wasn't expecting him to bring Yaoyorozu here.

“Hello Midoriya, I hope you don't mind us being here, these two dragged me in here for a conversation,” She greeted back, gesturing to the other two boys in the room.

“It's alright, it's a good thing you're here anyways,” He said.

“We want to recruit you to the villain team,” Todoroki spoke up, staring directly at Yaoyorozu.

“Why? Convince me to join you,” She said, narrowing her eyes at them.

“Yaoyorozu, you are a smart person and a great leader. I know you value strategies and teamwork, which is a core part of what we want to do. You wouldn't just be part of the team, you would be one of our tacticians, but I know joining us would mean going against most of your morals,” Midoriya started off, face filled with determination.

“And I'm aware of the issues you face with your own self-confidence sometimes. You overthink, you second-guess things, but when the pressure is high, you're the one who comes through. We will value every plan you come up with, every idea and creation you want, even if we have our own plans made already, we are ready to listen to your own input. I know how awful it feels to be sidelined, if you join the villains, we will let you create a world that sees your true worth. Isn't that a world worth wishing for?” He spoke, every word of his speech laced with confidence that impressed the other three in the room.

“Oh my, Midoriya that's…” Yaoyorozu trailed off, shocked by the speech Midoriya had given her.

“Um, oh gosh, was it too much? Oh my god, I ended up mentioning your self-confidence issues! That was probably very rude of me to do, I am so sorry Yaoyorozu-” Midoriya nervously stammered out, eyes wide as he realized the convincing speech he gave.

“It’s alright Midoriya, your speech was very convincing alright,” She laughed out, patting the green haired boy on the back gently. “I certainly didn’t expect you to call that part out of my personality, but you know just what to say,” She continued.

“I will gladly join all of you in the villain team, especially now that I know you won’t throw away ideas of mine even if you have your own plans already,” Yaoyorozu said, a grateful smile etched on her face as she looked between the three boys. “I'm happy to hear that, oh and um, I hope you don't mind me stealing you away after lunch?” Midoriya responded, earning a curious look from her.

“It should be fine, what for?” Yaoyorozu answered after a quick think on if she had prior arrangements.

“I was hoping to bring you along to my visit to Mei with Monoma, if you're alright with it, she's going to be part of the team and the main supplier,” He explained, scratching the back of his neck.

“Your quirk would be super helpful in creating some of the supplies and Monoma could just copy yours and help out,” Midoriya continued, getting an understanding nod from her.

“It's fine by me, though I might get going so I can have a private chat with Jirou before lunch,” She said, giving a wink to the boys as she left the room.

“I think she's going to get Jirou to join us,” Todoroki said, watching as the door closed behind Yaoyorozu.

“Definitely, but jeez Midoriya, I thought you were only going to go have a meeting with Nedzu and Mei, I didn't know you were recruiting Monoma too,” Shinsou replied, sitting up properly on Midoriya's bed as he stared at his green haired friend.

“I wasn't planning on recruiting him yet, well I mean I planned on recruiting him before going back to Mei, but I wasn't expecting to run into him earlier,” Midoriya clarified, pulling out some spare blueprint paper he had.

“You guys can go ahead, I just need to finish up some mock-ups for some of the gear we will be using, you can call me when lunch is ready,” He said, sitting down on his desk chair.

“I'll head downstairs then, I'll just knock and call later,” Todoroki said, stretching his legs as he left the room.

“I'm gonna stay here, I want you to tell me how you recruited Monoma, especially after your little recruitment spiel for Yaoyorozu,” Shinsou said behind him.

[2 Weeks Before Exams, 12:05 - U.A High School, Hallway]

“Ohoho? What's Class 1-A’s golden boy roaming around the halls here for?” Monoma called out, a smirk formed on his face as he saw the green haired boy.

“Oh, hi Monoma! I was just visiting Mei earlier,” Midoriya said, stopping to talk with him.

“Actually, do you mind talking for a bit?” He asked, fiddling with the strap of his backpack.

“Uh, yeah sure?-” Monoma answered, letting out a yelp of surprise as he was pulled into the empty classroom of 1-B.

“Jeez Midoriya, was pulling me in here really necessary?” He muttered, rubbing the wrist Midoriya grabbed as the green haired boy closed the door.

“Sorry, it's just better to have this conversation in private,” Midoriya apologized, looking at Monoma.

“I'll get straight to the point, I want you to join the villain team,” He said, tine laced with unusual confidence that Monoma has rarely heard from him.

“Why should I?” The blonde scoffed, eyes narrowed.

“Because Monoma, I know how smart you are, how capable you are. I may not be as close to you, unlike Mei or Shinsou, but I know behind your snarky remarks to my class, you want the recognition we get,” Midoriya started, calm, unsettlingly so in Monoma’s opinion.

“I’ve seen how sharp you are, how terrifying you and your quirk can be. You're able to change the entire game and flip things around, so much so that it's unfair how others view you. You get underestimated, dismissed, thrown to the side because people just think you're a copycat. Someone standing in the shadows of those you copy, never being able to surpass them,” Monoma’s eyes hardened into a glare with every word that slipped out from Midoriya's mouth.

“But if you join us, the villain team, we'll let you shine. We will let you surpass them, use their quirks against them, control it better than they can. You'll be a tactician, an instigator, a wildcard they shouldn't have thrown to the side. The hero team, Kacchan, won't let you shine like we are willing to let you shine,” Midoriya continued, noting the twitch of Monoma's eye as he mentioned Bakugou.

“Join us, let's show them the real danger you hold, make them realize you deserve the very recognition you fight for,” He said, extending a hand out to Monoma.

To Monoma, this boy infront of him was a far cry from the Midoriya he usually knew. The one he sees on TV screens, the one he passes by in the hallway, the one he taunts in front of their classmates, the one he has conversations with in Mei’s lab. This was a new side of Midoriya, one with eyes gleaming in toxicity in the light, one determined to prove something Monoma didn't know.

“You have your way with flattering words Midoriya, certainly how to push certain buttons too,” Monoma trailed off, his tone haughty as it usually is, but Midoriya noticed the slight shake in it.

With a look of finality, he shook the other boy’s outstretched hand. A vicious grin had settled onto the blonde’s features, before speaking in a calm tone similar to Midoriya.

“You want me to be a wildcard, eh? Sure, I'll give the heroes a performance worth recognizing for.”

Chapter Text

[Day 1, 07:00 - Hero Headquarters, Mission Control Room]

“Hello herolings…”

A grating voice rang out across the room, one that caused shivers to run through most of the heroes in the room. Bakugou spun around to stare at the big screen behind him, influenced by his team and their apparent fear of what it displayed. It was supposed to show them the layout of the city, but it clearly wasn’t right now. It showed a dark room, with one dim light that only illuminated the outline of someone. The worse part, it was impossible to identify who it was, nothing that would give away who they were.

“Who the hell are you?” He asked, narrowed eyes directed on the villain who let out an uncomfortable laugh — one that made it obvious the voice they hear isn’t the speaker's natural voice.

“Well now that wouldn’t be fun if I told you, wouldn’t it?” The person answered, their shadow showing the tilt of their head.

“Regardless, I wouldn’t focus on who I’m supposed to be, Solanthos,” They drawled. “I’d personally recommend focusing yourselves on the public museum right now, time's ticking,” The person snickered before the screen glitched back into the city map.

“Bakugou! What do we do?” Iida asked, pulling everyone out of their shock.

“Change of plans extras,” Bakugou started off, facing his team. “ Four Eyes, Shitty Hair, Split Freak, you three are going close to the museum with me,” He continued, ignoring the mumbled comments from the 1-B students.

“Orange, Round Cheeks, Shittier Hair, Soy Sauce Face, you four stay nearby and help out any extra that may get in the way,” He ordered, his classmates begrudgingly nodding as they recognized the unfortunate nicknames he calls them by.

“Bakugou, leader or not, we would appreciate it more if you actually used our names,” Kendo voiced out, noting her disgruntled classmates.

“Boohoo, I can’t be bothered to accommodate your fragile feelings,” Bakugou responded, giving a flat glare to her. “All those I mentioned be ready at the lobby in 5, all you other extras stay here incase the villains do anything stupid,” He said, walking out of the room.

“We’re sorry about Bakugou,” Iida apologized, standing up.

“I think Bakubro wants Tetsutetsu, Tokage, and you Kendo to go along with us,” Kirishima said, gesturing to the 1-B students Bakugou wanted to come along.

“I don’t get why you let that asshole boss you around when he calls you by those nicknames,” Tokage muttered, standing up.

[Day 1, 7:10 - Virelios City, Museum]

The area around the museum was quiet, way too quiet. The soft rustle of the trees and their footsteps was the only thing the heroes heard. Each second they got closer to the museum, the more Bakugou got annoyed. Sure, you can chalk it up to his usual behavior, but to him? No, this wasn't a ‘just because’ type of temper — Bakugou feels unnerved at how the situation is looking. He's aware this has got to be the villain's trap, whether it be to lead them away from something else or to lure them right in, he didn't know, and he fucking hates it.

“C’mon extras,” He snapped, wanting his teammates to quicken their pace.

Just as Bakugou’s foot landed on the first step of the museum’s staircase entrance, four shadows loomed over him and his team. He head snapped up, searching for the reason. And there they were, standing on top of the building’s roof. Four figures dressed head to toe in black gear, faint lining gleaming in a green iridescent like shine.

“Oh look! Just in time! Hello heroes,” One of them said, the same grating voice that they heard earlier back at their headquarters.

The heroes couldn't figure which one of them spoke, not when they all wore masks that practically covered half of their face. Bakugou couldn't get a hint which of them was speaking, because even the muscle movements of their face were covered by the hood they all wore. One of them took a step forward, leaning on the Nedzu statue conveniently placed atop the roof.

“It’s wonderful you grace us of your presence, Solanthos, U.A’s pride and joy, their golden child,” They cackled, walking over to the edge of the roof.

“Came rushing here without a second thought, did you ever think this might've been a trap? Did you think we would cower at the thought of playing villain? That we would fight fair?” The voice chatted, like this was some casual talk.

“You know, your impulsive behavior would get you killed one day… or maybe your precious teammates. All it takes is a single misstep, a single miscalculation, a single bit of hesitation, and then suddenly it isn't just you who's in danger. You always want to win right? You view wins as power, you think that always winning means you're better than everyone else. That it means you can look down on them and treat them like shit,” They continued on, each word more menacing than the rest, the grating tone filled with hatred and disgust.

“Do you hate having to look up at us right now? Knowing that you're being looked down upon? You hate that the most right? You have men that wait for you, but I wonder if they follow your every command with trust? How long will it take for them to get sick of your attitude? To realize how bad of a hero you truly are? But I digress, perhaps it's better you showed up here with your little trusting brigade,” The person who was a step closer to the edge was gesturing animatedly.

“After all, any later and this place might've gotten… messy,” The person spoke, arms opened dramatically as one of their teammates threw down something at them.

As it fell down on the ground, a glowing screen showed them a time. 00:03:28.67. It was a fucking countdown, Bakugou realized, letting out a snarl as he looked back up to the villains. They were laughing, all four of them, a chorus of cracked voices that weren't theirs, echoing along with the ominous ticking of the countdown. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

“Bastards! What the fuck is this coundown for?!” He yelled out, asking even if he already had a clue on what it was.

“I wonder why our teachers would even choose you as the hero team leader, I mean just look at you! I'm surprised you haven't already attacked us, but that's for the best I guess,” They rambled, each word getting under Bakugou's skin bit by bit as they ignored him.

“Especially when one wrong move and this bomb goes…,” The person trailed off, laughing as he finally fell for it.

Bakugou let the extra’s words get to him, he used his quirk to blast himself upwards. The four villains giggled, stepping away from the ledge as Bakugou's team followed after him, seeing as their leader started the engagement.

“Get back here you fuckers! Fight me cowards!” He shouted, running after the villains on the roof, his team following close behind.

“Bakugou! We should focus on finding the bomb!” Iida called out from behind him.

“You fuckers do it yourselves! I'm going after them!” Bakugou responded back, keeping his eyes focused on the villains who jumped over to the rooftop of the next building.

He followed them to the next building, Sero swinging next to him with Kirishima. The villains were fast, without any visible use of quirks — not that they could've had any speed related quirks anyways, they had the only speed quirk user in their batch.

“Bakugou! Iida switched with me and is with the others to try and find the-” Sero tried to call out, but was stopped by one of the villains speaking up. They all stood on the edge of the next building.

“One wrong move and the bomb goes boom,” One of them interjected, just as a loud explosion went off.

The three heroes all stopped their pursuit looking back at the museum, expecting the worst. But there was no smoke, no indication that the museum exploded. When they looked back to the villains, they were running away. Running to the smoke. At the public city library. On the other side of the city.

“Fuck! Four Eyes! Get to the library with the extras with you!” Bakugou yelled into their comms, hearing an affirmative from him.

“Vine Freak, Air Fucker! Head over there as well for back up!” He continued, starting to run after the villains again, hearing Kirishima clear up who he meant.

Hopping from building to building, the villains avoiding any explosion Bakugou sent their way as well as the tape Sero shot out. Always avoiding, defending, switching places with each other from time to time, but never once did they throw a quirk back at them.

“Hoi! Motherfuckers! Fight back and use your quirks!” He screamed, getting frustrated at chasing them.

“No thanks!” One of them called back, laughing.

“What? Quirks too fucking weak to even stand a chance?!” Bakugou yelled, trying to prod the villains into finally fighting back.

“Want us to use our quirks? Want to save this city from us? Show us what you're willing to sacrifice!” One said as they all faced the heroes, ice blasting out to make a barrier between them.

The heroes reached it a split second later, Bakugou exploding the ice down with his quirk along with Kirishima who used his quirked body to crack the rest of it. When they got through, there were no villains in sight. They were still a bit far from the ruins of the library, and they couldn't have gotten far either. All that was left was the ice and the weird wet rooftop that wasn't wet from the melted ice, but felt too soft for the concrete to be, given the circumstances.

“Hey Bakubro? You might want to see this!” Kirishima called out, concern lacing his voice as Bakugou walked over.

It was another countdown, although this time, it was stuck to the concrete floor. Before he picked it up, it simply showed a blank LED surface. But after he picked it up, it turned on, revealing bright green numbers — it wasn't like the first one they saw, no, that one had red blaring numbers. 29:59:59.99.

What the actual fuck is this.

[2 Weeks Before Exams, 16:37 - U.A High School, Support Lab 03]

“Do you think it would be hard to get enough kevlar to make the majority of our costumes?” Izuku asked no one in particular, glaring at his notebook sketch.

“Depends, the support department has some in stock I think,” Mei answered, walking over and leaving Yaoyorozu and Monoma to work on more guns.

“Take a look at this sketch, Mei, do you think we would have enough if you took some from there?” He questioned, letting her lean over to look at it.

“Probably not, and even if I asked Majima-Sensei to order more under the guise of needing it for some other project, it probably wouldn't arrive in time,” She muttered, reading over the notes he made on the side.

“I mean we could have those two make some more but it'll take a lot of time,” Mei said, giving it a thought.

“If we change some of it to something similar to kevlar, it might be more plausible,” She continued, darting over to a binder she had on a shelf.

“Hmm… I know there's a few materials U.A. could provide that's similar enough to kevlar,” The pink haired girl mumbled, walking back over to Midoriya as she flipped through the pages.

“What's the binder for?” Monoma asked, walking over to the pair with Yaoyorozu.

“It's a binder filled with a list of materials U.A. can provide support students with… Ah! Here! UHMWPE and spider silk,” She answered, shoving the binder in Midoriya's face.

“UHM- what now?” Monoma tried repeating, peering over to look at the binder as well.

“Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene, it's a plastic material that acts similar to kevlar,” Mei explained, pointing at said material listed in the binder.

“It doesn't have great heat resistance though, not like spider silk or kevlar,” She continued, bringing out a piece of paper and stealing Midoriya's pencil.

“If we use all three of them together, it would make for a pretty good costume. Kevlar could be our main base, then we could use UHMWPE for extra absorption and spider silk for added flexibility. I can send in an order form for all of the stock of them along with the other materials we planned right now so we can have it by tomorrow,” The girl said, scribbling down on the form.

“Hey Midoriya, what's the extra zippers on the costume for?” Yaoyorozu asked, gesturing towards the sketch.

“Extra measures for situations, like if you need to make something, even if we decided to have you make stuff beforehand,” Midoriya explained.

“The plan is to look similar enough that we can't be told apart without the use of our quirks, but obviously even with our other plans of combat, we can't really plan everything, it's better safe than sorry,” He rambled, causing Yaoyorozu to let out a soft laugh.

“And still, this is just the base design, I think we have a lot of adjusting to do, especially if we get students who have mutant quirks,” The boy muttered, starting to scribble on the paper again.

“Neito, Yaomomo, wait can I call you Yaomomo? Eh, whatever, if you can, try studying the makeup of these materials on the list, in case we run out,” Mei said, showing the two the list she wrote.

“I’ll work on finding resources about them. And you could just call me Momo, Hatsume, same goes for you two,” Momo responded, smiling as she glanced at the two boys who were discussing something and pointing things at the notebook.

“Call me Mei!” The pink haired girl giggled out, nudging Midoriya slightly to get their attention.

“Oh, um, you two can call me Izuku as well, Mei already calls me that,” Izuku spoke, his chuckle having a slight tone of nervousness.

Mei stared at Monoma, raising her eyebrows repeatedly with a cheeky grin plastered on her face. He glared at her before sighing, giving up on their silent fight.

“Fine, I guess you 1-A brats can call me Neito as well,” Neito huffed, his gentle tone not matching his snarky comment at all.

The others just laughed and giggled at his behavior, enjoying the time they were spending together as they continued discussing plans for their team.

[2 Weeks Before Exams, 18:30 - U.A High School, Teachers Lounge]

“Anyone care to tell why Shouta is out of his cocoon and glaring at our dear principal?” Midnight asked, walking into the lounge with a stack of papers in hand.

“Shouta thinks Nedzu is gonna steal his problem child away from him,” Present Mic answered, biting back a laugh as his friend glared at him.

“That is not why I am glaring at him,” Aizawa grumbled, moving to glare at the chimera again.

“Aizawa is merely annoyed at how my meeting with Midoriya went!” Nedzu spoke up, sipping tea from his tea cup.

“Meeting with Midoriya? That's quick, what do you and the little cutie talk about?” She asked, setting down her things on her desk.

“It was lovely! Midoriya had figured out so many of the loopholes and ideas in the short time he found out about the exam!” Nedzu chittered, an eerie grin etched on to his face that made the others shiver.

“Such a bright mind he has indeed, I couldn't help but add in my own input on some of his plans,” He continued, eyes shining.

“Your own input? I thought teachers aren't allowed to help the students?” All Might questioned, looking at the principal with a puzzled gaze.

“Of course, teachers aren't supposed to help them, I merely let a few of my opinions slip out,” Nedzu responded, causing Aizawa to grunt.

“You told him to let loose on his classmates,” He muttered, narrowed eyes still glaring at the chimera.

“I merely told him to not hold back anymore,” Nedzu said, tone feigning innocence. “Perhaps I should invite him for tea and chess after their exams,” He pondered.

“Absolutely not, you're not inviting my student for tea and chess,” Aizawa protested, face morphing into a rare expression of absolute mortification.

“C'mon Shouta! Let Nedzu spend some time with the little listener,” Present Mic said, laughing at his mortified friend.

“No, never, the problem child is already making me go gray early, I don't need to have that speed up by him learning from Nedzu,” Aizawa complained, glaring at the blonde.

“Aizawa, I think it would be alright letting Young Midoriya meet with Nedzu,” All Might chimed in, receiving a betrayed look from the man.

“No, I give up, don't ask help from me when the world inevitably gets taken over by the damn rat and the problem child,” Aizawa huffed, slipping the sleeping bag zipper closed all the way again.

[Day 1, 8:30 - Hero Headquarters, Mission Control Room]

“Thankfully there weren't any civilians near the area of explosion, that being said, the library is completely destroyed,” Kendo reported, gesturing to the ruined library shown on the main screen.

“Most books are charred and unusable along with the public computers, but the archives received the worst part of the explosion, public records of citizens and the city are wiped clean and the city hall would need to remake all of it from scratch,” She explained, detailing all the information the ‘police’ student told her earlier.

“As far as security footage goes, there were no sightings of anyone walking into the library beforehand, so we don't know the details of when the villains were able to set the bomb up,” Ojiro added on, telling the information he was tasked to find out.

“The four villains we were chasing were able to disappear without a trace, maybe they used a similar tactic?” Kirishima said, trying to help out.

“You guys mentioned an ice wall coming from one of them right? That must've been Todoroki,” Uraraka chimed in to the discussion.

“Or it could be Monoma, your encounter with him was probably within his ten minute timer,” Shoda argued, noting his classmate’s quirk ability.

“They also left this on the rooftop,” Sero said, pushing the working countdown towards the middle of the table.

“It's like the countdown the villains threw at us before the bomb exploded…” Tokage remarked, looking at the green numbers that counted down.

“So it could be another bomb?!” Tetsutetsu exclaimed, nervous lacing his voice.

Throughout the whole ordeal, Bakugou was just leaning against the wall, not speaking up about anything. He was glaring at the countdown, he wanted to explode it to fucking bits already — but he can't, not without risking anything. He may be impulsive but he isn't stupid, it was the only lead they had on what the villains could do next, he wasn't going to risk it by letting his temper get the best of him. Not again.

“Did you like our welcoming gift?”

There it was again. The grating voice came back, glitched on to their screens once more. Same dark room, same unidentifiable figure standing there, menacing and acting like this was just some game. The rest of the room fell silent as the intruder interrupted their meeting.

“No? Alright, tough crowd I guess,” The person said as their figure showed them placing their hands on their hips.

“Me and the others worked so hard planting that bomb and having you guys get the perfect view of it, now you show your appreciation like this? I'm so heartbroken,” They rambled, causing Bakugou to push himself off the wall with a grumble.

“Quit the fucking dramatics you damn extra, just tell us what you want and what's with the countdown you left,” He demanded, gesturing to the ticking countdown.

“What do we want? I'll tell you alright, we want you heroes to scram. Leave this city. Virelios isn't for you heroes, you aren't meant to be here,” The voice hissed, anger seeping through the grating voice that they heard.

“And that little thing? It's a timer, a warning of what's to come if you don't leave this city,” They said, making most of the heroes look at the countdown and back to the screen with a hint of fear.

“The bomb earlier was a warning, a show of what we can do. If you don't leave, then we can do so much worse,” The person said, getting closer to the camera.

“And don't mistake my threats for bluff either, we will make you suffer until every last hope of your will to win wilts,” They said, every word emphasized with sharpness that made the heroes know it was true.

“If you're so fucking powerful why don't you just fight me hah?!” Bakugou barked, frustrated at the person who was laughing at him from the screen.

“It really is pathetic seeing you like that…” They taunted, cackling just a little bit.

“We are growing something great in this city, making it bloom. If you're not willing to stand down, then fine. Let's see you try, fight, herolings, and hope your pride doesn't rot in our garden.”

Chapter Text

[13 Days Before Exams, 8:25 - U.A High School, Heights Alliance]

“Deku! There you are! We haven't seen you since lunch yesterday,” Uraraka exclaimed, noticing the green haired boy walk out of the elevator.

“Oh, um, Mei held me captive in testing her inventions ‘til late last night,” He said, scratching the back of his neck — yes, he said, not lied, because it was true, Mei did hold him there… just missing a few extra details.

“Hatsume should know better than to keep you up helping her, especially when you have exams to prepare for,” Iida chastised as Izuku walked over to them by the kitchen counter.

“It’s alright, I volunteered to help her anyways, plus it’s stuff for my hero costume,” He defended, mumbling a quiet thank you to Asui as she handed him a plate of toast and eggs.

“Oh! Speaking of exams, you should totally join the hero team with us! I forgot to tell you about it yesterday,” Uraraka chatted, voice cheery.

“About that…” Izuku trailed off after taking a bite of the toast. “Greeny over here is joining the villains with me already,” Shinsou interrupted, walking over to the group.

Izuku snapped his head towards him with a shocked expression. Shinsou shrugged slightly before slinging his arm over his friend's shoulder. The words he said were still processing in the minds of their classmates present — which was all of them.

“Tch, you let the nerd join the villains?” Bakugou sneered, looking like his usual angry self.

“Pfft- what? Is our little Bakugou jealous that I'm on the same side as Izuku?” The purple haired boy taunted, a lazy yet cocky smirk plastered on his face.

“What the fuck Eyebags?! Why the hell would I be jealous?! Both of you fit being villains anyways!” Bakugou angrily responded, stomping off with Kirishima quick to follow after him.

“Asshole,” Shinsou muttered, detaching himself from Izuku as he went to make himself a cup of coffee.

It didn't take much for Izuku to notice the face his friend made when Bakugou called them fitting villains. The expression was wiped away quickly, changing to the usual deadpan Shinsou had, so much so that Izuku knew he shouldn't bring it up. So instead, he settled on observing the reactions of his other classmates about the news.

Uraraka seemed surprised about it, but she didn't immediately voice out anything. Iida and Asui didn't have any notable reactions, they seemed to be ok with it though, even if Iida looked slightly disappointed. Todoroki seemed amused at the scene as he ate his breakfast. Momo and Jirou were quietly giggling from the couches, it only took one look to know they were certainly giggling at the ordeal. As Izuku glanced at his other classmates, noting how they looked after the reveal of at least two villains in their class.

“Are you Hemlock then, kero?” Asui asked, looking at Shinsou who gave a simple noncommittal shrug and a grunt as he sipped his coffee.

Paying no mind to the conversation, Izuku let his eyes watch a certain classmate of his who was sat quietly, fidgeting with their phone — they were a little too quiet, even if it was still pretty early in the morning, not to mention they were happily chatting away before the situation with Bakugou. He glanced at Shinsou, letting the boy’s eyes follow his own gaze towards their classmate. Shinsou was closer with them after all, but he only mouthed that he didn't know why their classmate was acting like that.

Eyes flickering back to their classmate, Izuku had let a small smile creep up his face. They would be a great addition to the team, and with how they were acting right now? It might not be impossible for him to be able to convince them to join, he just needs the chance to talk to them in private. This was perfect, Bakugou unknowingly gave him the single opportunity he needed.

[13 Days Before Exams, 9:30 - U.A High School, School Grounds]

Izuku had chatted with his friends for a while, occasionally glancing at their other classmates who were lounging around in their dorm building’s main area. He tried his best not to make his frequent staring at one of their classmates to be too obvious, he didn't want them getting any ideas after all. Izuku's chance came when his classmate had walked out of the dorms, making an excuse of needing to pick up something from his locker, Izuku quickly followed.

“Hey! Wait up!” Izuku called out, making sure they weren't near either of the hero course dorms anymore.

“Huh? Oh, hi Midoriya!” His classmate greeted, stopping as they turned around to face him.

“Hi Kaminari, mind having a chat with me for a bit?” Izuku questioned, flashing a smile at his classmate.

“Um, sure, I guess? I just wanted some fresh air and maybe walk around the campus for a bit…” Kaminari responded, shrugging.

“Great! Come with me,” Izuku said, grabbing him by the arm and gently dragging him off. Kaminari, surprised by getting dragged by his classmate, obviously yelped in shock but let Izuku drag him off to who knows where. It's not like he would get him in trouble after all… right?

“So, Midoriya, why are you dragging me down the hallways of the support department? You're not off to murder me away from everyone right?” The blonde jokingly asked, trying to start up a conversation again.

The silence between the two of them as he let his classmate drag him away wasn't bad per se, actually it was oddly comforting honestly, but it didn't necessarily feel right to Kaminari that he wasn't trying to talk. So he did what he usually did when he felt nervous, he tried joking his way out of things.

“I wouldn't! I actually wanted to ask you things about your quirk and a few other things,” Izuku answered, knocking on the door in front of them. Support Lab 03

“Then why bring me here?” Kaminari tried asking, though he was only met by Izuku yelling. “Duck!” He exclaimed, bending down.

“Huh? Wait, what?-” The blonde spluttered as Izuku pulled him down as well, just in time for the door to open and for a weird ball to fly past them.

BOOM!

Looking back at the wall where the weird ball was heading towards, Kaminari saw red dripping paint splattered on the wall. He was definitely gonna thank Midoriya for that, he thinks that the red paint seems like it would take forever to get out.

“Sorry about that, c'mon let's get inside,” Izuku apologized, getting the attention of Kaminari as he stood up and gestured for the other to follow.

“Hi Izu! Hi Pikachu Boy!” The pink haired girl excitedly greeted, waving dramatically at the two as they walked in.

“Hi Mei, don't mind us, I just needed a private place to talk with Kaminari,” The green haired boy greeted back, while Kaminari awkwardly waved at the girl. She gave a hum of agreement and turned around to work on whatever she was doing beforehand.

“Ok, so um, I'll be frank, I wanted to ask you to join the villain team,” Izuku said, confident yet nervous at the same time.

“Wait, you're asking me to join the villains? Why?” Kaminari stammered, surprised at what his classmate just said.

“Because I thought you might want to. I know you and Kacchan are friends and all, but maybe you would consider joining us,” Izuku started off, taking a deep breath.

“Kacchan calls you mean stuff doesn't he?” He asked, probing Kaminari to answer.

“He calls everyone offending nicknames,” Kaminari muttered, shrugging as he thought of the nicknames Bakugou had called him and his classmates.

“I'd like to believe he's wrong about you. He calls you Dunce Face right? Practically making fun of the drawback of your quirk and implying you're not so bright. But that's why I think he's wrong, I've seen you fight, I've seen how smart you can be on the field,” Izuku explained.

“Midoriya, I rank one of the lowest in our class in academics and I literally short circuit everytime I go all out in a panic,” Kaminari argued back, even if it was demeaning himself.

“So? You do great in subjects like literature and art, don't you? Plus I think you find it hard to pay attention in normal classes because your brain is just wired differently. Something that might be related to your electricity quirk by the way. As for short circuiting, I mean, it's normal isn't it? Everyone has drawbacks, like I can't go all out with my quirk or else I break my bones for starters. And when you do release all the electricity you can, you do it when you're sure none of us get hurt even if it means practically hurting yourself,” The green haired boy rambled, now trying to up his own classmates' confidence aside from just convincing him to join.

“Midoriya, that's nice and all, but the moment I short circuit I become a liability. I panic then I become a liability, why would you want me to join you even with that?” Kaminari protested, slowly feeling more agitated.

“Because you aren't a liability, it's normal that you panic when we get into situations we aren't supposed to be in, we're still students after all. And I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to ask you things about your quirk, I genuinely want to try and help you control it better,” Izuku said, gently grabbing the other's hands.

“I have reason to believe you short circuit because you generate and release too much electricity to the point it messes up the electrical pulses in your own brain and your nerves. If we learn how you could control it better, then you won't have to worry about it. But even if you still short circuit, me and the others will be right there to help you,” He continued, squeezing Kaminari’s hands.

“Kaminari, your quirk is amazing and you deserve to be treated properly, not just dumb kid to laugh at when things go sideways,” Izuku spoke, looking Kaminari right in the eyes.

“You’re not a joke, you're not a liability. You're someone that encourages others to be themselves in the best way possible,” He said, in the most sincere voice Izuku could muster with no hesitation.

Kaminari blinked at the speech Izuku said. Then blinked again. And again. And again. Rapidly, he blinked, processing the words as he felt Izuku patiently wait for his response. Just the quiet humming and sound of equipment whirring behind them.

“Jeez Midoriya… no one's ever said that to me before,” Kaminari said softly, voice shaking. “Not in that way at least.”

“O-Oh, um, oh god, I said I shouldn't have didn't I? I'm sorry-” Izuku started his ramble to apologize, but he quickly quieted down as he heard a laugh. Kaminari was laughing, with shaky breaths and a few voice cracks.

“You didn't say anything wrong, man, I'm joining you guys,” He clarified in between breaths as he calmed down.

“You don't have to join the villain team, I'd still help you out with your quirk, I don't want to make you feel obligated to join us,” The green haired boy said, though Kaminari only shook his head.

“Midoriya, you mean what you said didn't you?” He asked, looking Izuku in the eyes just like the other had done to him moments ago.

“Yes, of course!” Izuku answered.

“Then I’ll believe you, I'm joining you and the villains,” Kaminari declared, finality lacing his voice as his watery eyes hardened.

“So does that mean I can make Pikachu Boy a lightning sword now?”

“Make me a lightning sword?!”

“Mei no!”

[13 Days Before Exams, 1:27 - U.A High School, Cafeteria]

“Denki! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

The blonde perked up, turning around to look at who mentioned his name. Denki saw Mina running over to him from the other side of the hallway. As she reached him, she let out a short huff and took a breather.

“Dude, you literally said you were going to get fresh air for a few minutes, you’ve been gone for hours!” She exclaimed, a little disgruntled although it did turn into amusement as her friend had a guilty look on his face.

“Oh, uh, yeah, sorry about that Mina, I got distracted,” Denki apologized sheepishly.

“Yeah, right, distracted for practically four hours,” Mina grumbled, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms. “C’mon let's go find a teacher and give our papers to join Bakugou,”

“Actually… I already handed in mine,” He told her, causing her to raise an eyebrow.

“You did? Which teacher did you give it to, maybe we can go back and I can hand my own in,” She asked, not fully sensing the hesitation he had in answering.

“I’m not joining the hero team, I joined the villains,” The blond blurted out, and Mina faltered just a little bit.

“I thought we were all joining Bakugou?” She muttered, there isn't any anger in her tone, no disappointment, just confusion.

“I mean- uh, yeah, that was the plan, but…” He stuttered out nervously. “I think I’d like being with the villain team more,” His tone was quieter as he explained it.

“I got to talk with them, and I think I can do more with them than if I joined the heroes,” He continued on, each word getting quieter than the others.

“Do you really believe that?” Mina asked, looking directly at him, though her tone is just as quiet as Kaminari’s was.

The conversation is hushed, far from the high energy chatters that would usually happen between them. The loud laughs they let out for the class is a far cry from the quiet breaths they’re letting out right now. No jokes to crack, just a pure conversation.

“Yes,” He answered directly, he’s nervous how his friend would feel but he knows he’s sure about his decision.

“Right, ok, I’ll see you later,” She said, there was a waver in her voice as she said so.

Denki stands there awkwardly as Mina had started walking away. He still isn’t sure if she’s angry at him, maybe disappointed, maybe sad. She certainly didn’t look happy, but he doesn’t know what he needs to do about it. He cares about his friend obviously, but he isn’t going to change his decision even if she gets mad about it. Denki enjoyed his time with Midoriya and Hatsume, they said a bunch of things that went over his head, yes, but it was fun and he felt like he just belonged without even needing to force out jokes.

“Yo,” A voice greeted him from behind, he turned around without screaming in a very high pitched way — no he totally did not do that, anyone who says otherwise has a vendetta against Denki.

“We’re gonna need to work on your special awareness if you scream like that everytime,” The purple haired boy said, amusement flashing over his face.

“I did not scream at all, Shinsou,” Denki argued, the other boy just raised a brow at him with a smirk.

“Sure Blondie, I’m sure you didn’t,” Shinsou conceded sarcastically. “C’mon I was sent to fetch you, we still have a meeting with the others,” He continued, gesturing for Denki to follow him.

[13 Days Before Exams, 1:45 - U.A High School, Support Lab 03]

“Ok that should be everyone we have so far, right?” Izuku asked as Shinsou and Kaminari walked into the lab.

He was standing by the table in the middle of the room, notebooks and blueprints spread across the said table. Jirou and Momo were seated on the beanbags Mei had in the lab, quietly talking with each other before the two boys walked in. Todoroki was seated on the floor, back against the wall near Izuku. Mei was with Neito behind him, talking about gear as the blonde helped sketch a mock up for something.

“Unless you somehow already convinced someone else to join again, yes,” Shinsou responded, tossing a small pouch on the table.

“I already got Mei’s creepy hacking bugs set up around the campus like you asked,” He continued, letting his hands settle back into his pockets.

“Hacking bugs?” Kaminari said, confused as he tilted his head to the side.

“Hacking bugs, Mei needs them scattered around to hack into the school’s security cameras and teacher files. I had Shinsou spread them while he went to get you,” Izuku explained, picking out a specific piece of paper from the messy pile on the table.

“Is that a map of the school?” Jirou asked, peering over and looking at paper as he laid it on top of the other ones. Izuku nodded as he picked up a pencil and started scribbling on the paper.

“How did you even get that Izuku?” Momo questioned, joining the others in looking at what Izuku was doing.

“I asked Principal Nedzu for a copy to use for environmental training,” He responded casually as he continued scribbling lines and short words on the paper.

“Is that even allowed?” Kaminari asked, clearly confused.

“The rulebook they gave me only mentioned that we can’t ask teachers for help in the exams,” Izuku answered, Kaminari didn’t exactly understand how that makes it allowed but he doesn’t question further. Last time he asked Izuku about something he didn't understand, he got more lost than he originally even started.

[13 Days Before Exams, 8:54 - U.A High School, Heights Alliance]

Izuku was walking back with Shinsou to their dorms, they just finished discussing stuff with Mei.The meeting with the other villain team members ended around 6 but they stayed back to discuss a few more things, while the others all made their way back to their dorms. Just as they were nearly back at the dorms, a set of arms pulled both him and Shinsou behind a tree that shaded them from the vision of most people. Izuku was about to activate his quirk when the person who pulled them spoke up.

“Hi, I want to join the villain team,” A familiar voice said, Izuku took a proper look at who pulled him and Shinsou. It was Ashido.

“Ashido? Uh, that’s great, we’d be happy to have you, but why?” He asked, stumbling over his words in shock and Shinsou just kept quiet.

“Um, Denki said he joined you guys, something about thinking he’d be able to do better with your team,” She muttered, fiddling with her own fingers. It was odd seeing Ashido not be the usual energetic person she usually let on to the rest of the class.

“Do you think Kaminari made the right decision? Is that why you’re following him?” Izuku gently prodded, knowing that while they definitely were letting Ashido join, he wanted to make her feel like she isn’t doing this impulsively.

“Maybe? I mean, Denki does stupid things sometimes, but I don’t think he chose to go with you guys without actually thinking about it,” She answered hesitantly as she avoids eye contact with either boy.

“If he thinks that you guys would be better than Bakugou, someone he’s closer with, then it means you guys have done something right… and I don’t want to leave him being the only one that isn’t with our squad,” Ashido explained, finally looking at them. Even in the faint light of the moon, Izuku could see the gleam of determination in her eyes behind her nervousness.

“You can definitely join us Ashido, we would enjoy having you with us,” He said, smiling at her. “We won’t let you feel like you've made the wrong choice, and we’ll let you get your opportunity to shine and let people know just how dangerous you can be.”

A cough sounded beside him.

“You’ve got way too many emotions,” Shinsou remarked, Izuku rolled his eyes at his friend.

“And you’re too emotionally repressed,” He said back.