The Abyss (chapters 1 & 2)

He leaned back as he fiddled with a pen he'd swiped from his sister's desk, hoping to get on her nerves. She was really taking her sweet time considering his perfectly reasonable request.

It wasn't even like he particularly wanted to join Aizawa's newest victims on their little school trip in the middle of nowhere.

"You're sure about this?" Nemuri finally asked him, running a hand through her mane of black hair and crossing her legs. "You know how he is."

Nobuto righted his sunglasses with an innocent smile. "Are you saying you couldn't do it?"

He received a pout for doubting her. "You'll speak to Principal Nezu. He's keeping a close eye on this after what happened at the USJ."

He made a noncommittal sound but didn't argue.

"And in return, you'll do a commercial segment with me," she continued. "You already have fans."

"Funny," he shot back at her. She stood firm in the face of his skepticism. "Fine. But I'm not baring my chest like some kind of discount Casanova."

Her eyes narrowed. "I should insist. You're asking for a lot." His sister huffed at the dejected look he sent her before she caved.

His reminiscing coming to an unfortunate end at the sound of footsteps, he took in a deep breath of that great outdoors air as he eyed the softly swaying trees. How long had it been since he was able to escape the city like this?

Aizawa was less amused, staring down at him with tired eyes now. "Should you be lazing around if you're going to insist our precautions weren't enough?"

"I'm keeping an eye out," he defended himself. "Nothing's happening, as you can see." Despite bugging his sister to tag along, he didn't expect Shigaraki and his League of Villains to try something again so soon. It would go against one of the first tenets of information warfare, something about never confirming suspicion of there being a mole.

The cranky man gave him a suffering sigh instead of a well-deserved thank you.

The bubbly woman beside him was more thoughtful. "You don't usually go sunbathing in a stuffy suit either. Or in the shade," she added, pointing out the trees above them.

Nobuto gave the Pro Hero an easy smile. She was really rocking the catgirl vibe, so much so that her Hero Name, Pixie-Bob, just felt like overkill. "I wouldn't want to make the incorrect impression on anyone by walking around half naked. But if you want to insist—"

She made an X with her hands, her blonde bangs bobbing slightly. "Nope! I am saving myself for marriage," she informed him seriously, even though her smile was anything but.

"Don't pay him any mind, Tsuchikawa," Aizawa grumped, trying his best to be a stick in the mud like always. "He's always been this obnoxious."

He took the hurtful comment gracefully. "Is that how you treat all your former students? No wonder you never get sent any gift baskets."

Pixie-Bob leaned in like she wanted to peer through his sunglasses. "Everyone had heard about how Midnight's younger brother got into U.A. two years back, but not much since."

"Aizawa can tell you all about the value of being boring," he told her.

"You're confusing lazy with inconspicuous again," the man in question grumped again, tugging at the contender for the world's ugliest scarf around his neck. "Two years later and your idea of a Hero Costume's still a suit with an old trench coat thrown over your shoulders."

"You forgot the sunglasses! That's like the most important part," Nobuto protested with a huff. "And don't you still have a bunch of hyperactive brats to get in line? You're blocking the sun." Though, granted, that might just be the trees.

Aizawa gave him one final glare before stalking off to do Aizawa things.

The Pro stuck behind. "The students from 1-A this year are really something else," she commented. "They made quick work of my Quirk."

"They have amazing Quirks," he agreed easily. "As is yours. You went easy on them."

"You aren't jealous?" she teased back.

"The 'Agreeable Hero' doesn't exactly inspire terror in a villain's heart."

She smiled something like a cat. Appropriate. "Eraser Head wouldn't have agreed for you to be here if he didn't trust you."

"Oh, I think he just missed me. Aizawa and I go way back, you see."

She nodded as if he said something groundbreaking. "Exactly! You've been in their shoes. I suggested to him that you should meet with them and give them some words of encouragement, and he agreed."

He looked at her suspiciously. "That doesn't sound like Aizawa at all."

The Pro stubbornly maintained her flagrant lie, but you should never get into a staring contest with someone wearing shades. "Well, maybe he only agreed to accompany me, and maybe just to get me to quit nagging him…" she finished quietly. "But that's beside the point! You know I'm right."

"Are you going to start knocking things over if I don't?" he snarked.

"Starting with that monstrosity right there," she said, pointing an accusing finger. "Where did you even get it? The nearest stop's over fifteen kilometers away." He ignored her, giving the admittedly outrageous frappuccino or something beside him a mournful look.

"You missed your calling as a villain," Nobuto finally told her. She just gave him an annoyingly self-satisfied smile as he stood up, working a few kinks out. "He still has them trying to push their Quirks? Some of them looked downright constipated with the faces they were making."

"They're trying their best! Not everyone has a Quirk that's easy to use," she continued before proceeding to shove him out of the pleasant shade, giving him two thumbs-up with her ridiculous gloves.

Not one moment after… "HEY, SUNGLASSES! WHAT ARE YOU DOING SKULKING AROUND?" The blond brat was almost as loud as the explosions he produced, glaring like Nobuto had personally offended him.

Before he could tell the shit to respect his elders, someone who could only be Ingenium's own younger brother skidded, quite literally, to a halt, likely having overheard. The motorcycle-like exhausts on his legs were hard to miss, even if they totally clashed with the preppy vibe he had going on.

"Be more respectful, Bakugo! One of the Pro Heroes would have noticed if he wasn't supposed to be here!" He made a few chopping motions with his hand for emphasis. "Especially since he was at the hot springs with us yesterday!"

"Whatever," the exploding brat grumbled.

To complete the unlikely trio, Endeavor's son approached, his red-and-white hair a reminder of his parents' Quirk Marriage as much as his existence was a monument to his father's ego. "You're an upperclassman," he told Nobuto. It's half an accusation and half a statement.

"Guilty. Nobuto Kayama of Class 3-A." He gave them a very heroic smile to accompany the introduction.

The heartthrob narrowed his eyes. "You're Midnight's younger brother," he again said in that matter of fact tone.

Of course, a crowd draws a crowd. "Class 3-A?" The boy with bright red spiky hair clenched a fist in an exaggerated manner, and Nobuto immediately pegged him as a Crimson Riot fanboy. "That's so manly, surviving Aizawa."

"You're so lucky!" a grape on legs cried. He knew all their names, but this was more fun. "Does Midnight walk around like that at home? Ahhh, even better, with nothing on at—"

"Shut up, Mineta. You're making us look bad." Pink skin, black eyes and tiny horns stared up at him. "We weren't told about a hunky upperclassman tagging along."

He took the flirting in the good spirit it was given. "It was all very last-minute," he admitted. "I would have kept out of the way if a certain someone didn't insist I give you a pep talk." He would have glanced at a certain pussycat if she hadn't already made her escape. "Don't tell him, but I think Aizawa has a soft spot for you already."

They all looked at him doubtfully.

"I mean, you had to have heard how he expelled all of last year's Class 1-A on the first day, right?" They were looking like a school of fish now. "He did end up accepting most of them back, at least?"

"No way," Spiky Red protested. "He said it was a rational deception to give it our all."

"That was the true rational deception," Minigenium surmised.

"Aizawa does like his games despite the serious face he puts on," Nobuto commented. "How he keeps us on our toes." He finally yawned dramatically. "You guys are fine. Don't know why I even bothered."

"Don't say that! There's a lot more you could teach us!"

"Nothing you couldn't find on a poster. Besides, you have company." He nodded at the approaching Class 1-B. "Don't worry, I'll be rooting for you. I'm unfortunately biased like that."

"So manly," he heard as he left.

"Hey, he didn't even tell us his Quirk!"

"It has to be something like Midnight's. Though shouldn't he be wearing something more…"

Nobuto chuckled softly. To be cursed with a prude of a brother, Nemuri always complained. Before petulantly whining about how he never paid her any attention.

Which was just an obvious lie. He loved her, despite her antics. Fortunately, he was well past puberty now to let said antics bother him too much.

Watching the softly swaying trees of the forest again, he hummed. Maybe he should get in some training of his own. It had been a few days.

By the time he returned to the camp proper sweaty and his muscles sore, the sun had set, and he was starving.

Thankfully, his juniors already had some food prepared. It was the blandest curry he ever had, but he figured it would be polite not to mention it. At least hearing a few of them gossip about him like he couldn't hear served as entertainment enough.

But as he ate, a frown had found its way onto his lips. He absently noticed one of them slinking away with a bowl of curry, but that hadn't interested him too much, even if the unassuming green-haired boy somewhat resembling a stalk of broccoli did. It was another member of Class 1-A that had him so pensive.

The overly flamboyant boy was practiced at hiding it, but not from him. Nobuto saw the guilt eating away at him like a cancer.

He watched Yuga Aoyama intently now. He didn't insist on tagging along just for the fun of it, after all, and the guilt he felt wasn't the kind of guilt one would feel for bumping into someone or even forgetting a friend's birthday. It was—"

"Why the long face?" Pixie-Bob asked as she plopped down beside him, pushing a mug of something cold in front of him. He noticed that she had taken her gloves off. "Didn't I tell you it would work? They're in better spirits already."

Nobuto forced himself to relax. He shouldn't be jumping to conclusions like that anyway.

"All I said was that Aizawa's showing an uncanny amount of favoritism," he finally said. He took a sip as she watched him. "It's too sweet for sencha," he commented.

"You looked like you could use a little something sweet after the curry." She took a sip from her own mug as she hid a smile. "And something tells me those weren't the words you used."

"How would you know? You had already made your escape." He took another sip, the sweet, slightly grassy taste growing on him. "Thanks."

The Pro's cheeks looked slightly rosy. "We were thinking of a fun little activity tomorrow night; a test of courage," she confessed to him. "The thing is, the scarers will be at a bit of a disadvantage seeing as everyone's going to be expecting it." He saw what she was getting at now. "We want you to lend a helping hand. Your Quirk would be perfect for it!"

"You have me there." He paused longer than necessary. "Alright," he finally told her, and she clapped her hands together happily.

His eyes went to the other Pussycats for a moment. Mandalay, the most down to earth of the four, with a Quirk that granted her a form of telepathy, Ragdoll, with her big eyes and a Quirk perfectly suited for scouting, and Tiger, who really did try to pull off the catgirl look despite his intimidating physique. Nobuto wasn't going to judge.

"You know, arrangements like yours are a rare sight these days. What's the story there?"

She followed his eyes. "It was Tomoko's idea. Ragdoll's, I mean. We were fast friends at school, you see. None of us liked the idea of being one of a dozen faces at some big-name Hero Agency or dealing with the enormous egos in charge of them, and that was that." There was a soft smile on her lips as she talked. "I don't regret it one bit, even if we've had our disagreements."

Nemuri could use some of that rough-and-tumble rural mentality. She couldn't even make it through a day without her boy band squad pampering her. Nobuto didn't have the best relationship with them, and they had only grown more resentful of him since she never told him no, no matter how outrageous his requests or what rules he broke.

Gulping down the contents of her own mug, Pixie-Bob gave him another smile almost as sweet as the tea before making herself scarce.

Nobuto glanced at Aoyama again thoughtfully. Feeling guilty alone was not an admission of guilt, admittedly. It was more the lack of other leads. His classmates were all an open book, wearing their hearts on their sleeves. It made him feel nostalgic.

He could also admit that his Quirk was not without its flaws. It wasn't impossible that whoever it was lacked a conscience loud enough for him to pick up on or that they were an unknowing patsy, and then there was the invisible girl to consider. Her Quirk muddied the waters too much for him to get a good read on her.

He finally let out a miserable sigh. Why had he given himself this task again? His too-clever self immediately provided him the answer; as always, it was his bad habit of sticking his nose where it wasn't wanted.

Finishing the sencha at a more sedate pace, Nobuto stared up at the night sky for a time. Not that it did much to improve his mood. The moon had been a melancholic sight for him ever since he learned when man had first set foot on it, and how long it had been since.

He looked back down at the sound of approaching footsteps, a familiar face grinning at him, her pink skin almost golden under the firelight. Her classmates trailed after her awkwardly, the rocker girl with short-cropped dark hair and an invisible girl looking like an arrangement of short shorts and a white t-shirt seemingly floating in midair, the same girl he had just been thinking about.

"It looks like a certain cat's been eyeing up her prey, hmm?" Nobuto followed her eyes to Pixie-Bob, a pout on her lips as her teammates teased her.

"I don't think it would work out," he commented. "Cats and I tend to get along just fine assuming we stay fast and far apart."

"Good." She took a seat across from him. "She's too old for you anyway." He raised a brow while a funny sound seemed to come from the side. "You never gave us the chance to properly introduce ourselves! I'm Mina Ashido, and these two…" She gave them both a swift tug.

"Toru Hagakure," a squirrely voice piped up.

"Jiro," the rocker girl mumbled.

He pretended not to already know with a nod and a hum. The pinkette steepled her fingers as she stared at him. "Why are you really here? We won't tell the others, promise."

Jiro avoided his eyes as Nobuto glanced at her. "She might not, but you sound like the biggest gossip in your class, Ashido."

"You're probably right. But call me Mina!" Her enthusiasm was infectious, drawing a chuckle from him.

"Why not ask your teacher?" Nobuto asked her. "He's probably skulking around somewhere."

"We tried! He just gave us one of those stares that makes you want to cry," she whined.

Of course, Aizawa had reason to be annoyed at him seeing as he had sicced Nemuri on him. "I suppose there's no reason not to tell you. I don't need to remind you of the incident at the USJ; you were all there. I suspect there is someone at U.A. passing along information to Shigaraki and his merry band of villains." He stopped short of mentioning their classmates specifically, nor who he suspected as being behind Shigaraki.

The kind of paranoia that would engender was not healthy.

"There's no proof, mind you, and Aizawa and the others are already taking precautions as you no doubt noticed," he continued. "I wouldn't worry too much."

Mina narrowed her eyes thoughtfully at him. "You don't think it's one of us, do you?" Her two classmates made uncomfortable sounds at her accusation.

He gave her a smile instead. So much for his omission. "I think you'll go far as a Pro Hero. Too many put their Quirk on a pedestal, letting their wits dull."

Her pink cheeks darkened. "You just dodged the question again!"

"He didn't even try." Rocker Girl seemed to have found her courage as she stared him in the eyes, or sunglasses, rather.

"Yeah! Do you really think one of us could do something like that?" a squirrely voice piped up again.

"Yes," he answered simply. "If your life or the lives of those close to you were threatened, there isn't much that most people wouldn't do." They all frowned at the thought. "But don't take it to heart. Maybe I just wanted to meet the class that dominated the Sports Festival so thoroughly. I believe only two students from Class 1-B made it past the elimination rounds, against thirteen of you."

There had also been a student from general studies that had made it through, with a Quirk that had caused him no end of amusement. Maybe he should bug Nemuri about having him transferred to the Hero Course.

"Mina's the only one of us three to get that far, and only to end up getting her butt kicked by Tokoyami!" Hagakure crowed.

"Hey! It just wasn't a good match-up for me! My acid doesn't do anything to a shadow," she grumped. "And Bakugo made us all look bad. The maniac couldn't even accept first place gracefully."

Ah. Explosion Boy. "I could see where he's coming from," Nobuto broached. "When you're giving it your all and you see your opponent half-assing it, it really rubs you the wrong way."

Mina hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose that's true." She leaned forward then. "What's it like having Midnight as your big sister anyway? She lets us get away with a lot of things, even if she can get a little testy sometimes. I'm still a little down in the dumps over her rejecting the awesome Hero Name I came up with for yours truly."

"Pinky fits you," Rocker Girl teased. Hagakure agreed if the giggle was anything to go by.

"She does like a certain aesthetic," he admitted. "What was it?"

"Alien Queen! Come on, it fits doesn't it?"

He leaned in to match her. "From those old-timey movies?"

"You bet! You seen them?"

"Only half a dozen times. I'm a sucker for science fiction, especially the old stuff from the pre-Quirk days." She actually squeed. It was adorable. Then Nobuto saw Aizawa behind them like a specter.

"Ashido." All three of the girls froze. "I hope you haven't forgotten about your remedial lessons to gossip with Kayama." His scarf unfurled and shot forward, wrapping around her like a bad hentai. He proceeded to quite literally drag her away.

"Nooooo, save me! Save meeeeeeee!"

He, like her classmates, only watched on in silence. As easy as she was to like, Nobuto did not fancy his chances of getting her off the hook with Tall, Dark and Grumpy. "Alien Queen didn't do too hot on the final exams?" he asked instead.

"Kaminari and Mina were up against Principal Nezu for the practical part of the exams." Hagakure made a nervous sound. "Nobody expected him to be so ruthless…"

That little furball. Animals having Quirks weren't unheard of, but it was rare. Rarer still was one with a Quirk that heightened intelligence. "It makes sense if you look at him like a reverse Aizawa. Cute and cuddly on the outside, rotten on the inside."

They seemed doubtful, and he saw Jiro yawn.

"Careful not to catch any fireflies like that," he teased, standing. "The Pussycats have something special planned for tomorrow night. You'll want your beauty sleep."

He retired to his own rooms on that note. His still slightly sore muscles thanked him for it.

The following day went by uneventfully until sundown, if only because he stayed in his room confirming a few things on his phone.

Nobuto was catching his fair share of glances as he stood beside the Pussycats while they explained the rules. Maybe he had something in his teeth.

"...Now, that was the plan, but it would be hard to argue that one side wouldn't always be at a disadvantage. It's hard to scare someone when they're expecting it, after all. Unless you cheat." Pixie-Bob motioned to him with her ridiculous gloves again. "That's where Algernon comes in. He will be assisting the scarers with their scaring. But don't underestimate him just because he looks like a big cuddly teddy bear! His Quirk can be a mean one."

He could have argued the gross accusation, but that would just be playing into her hands. Instead he just sent her a half-hearted salute.

"We will start with Class B as the scarers. Good luck to everyone, meow!"

He set off into the woods with Ragdoll soon after, the class trailing behind them.

The problem was that she was so colorful and upbeat that she was really ruining the vibe he was going for. Bopping the same ridiculous gloves together, she suggested all kinds of unpalatable ideas for Pro Hero costumes to him while staring at him with her big eyes and green hair. And maybe he had a thing for big, beautiful eyes, but not having his ear talked off.

"I don't think I have the nose for it," he told her. That should do it.

She gave him a look like a disappointed mother. "At least think about adding a little something!"

Mercifully, she soon left to go set up shop at the halfway point. Mandalay had so far been the only one of the feline four that hadn't given him any grief. Nobuto might have to do something nice for her as a thank you.

He turned back around to take in Class 1-B, watching quietly as they bandied around strategies to best utilize their Quirks. He was content to leave them to it when a cute face framed by carrot-colored bangs that ended in a ponytail of the same color approached him. "Itsuka Kendo," she said.

"Nobuto Kayama, though I'm guessing that's old news at this point. Algernon's also fine."

"More than a few of us are gluttons for gossip." She rubbed her forearm with an apologetic smile. "Admittedly, the boys aren't sure whether to be jealous of you or pity you because of who your sister is."

He adjusted his sunglasses with a smile. That the sun had long since set did not phase him. "Have you thought of a game plan?" he asked her.

"We were thinking of dividing up in teams along the path. If you could tell us more about your Quirk—"

Nobuto stopped her right there. "Ah, ah, you will be up against me when it's 1-A's turn to be the scarers. Can't be giving you more of an advantage than you will already have."

Kendo gave him a cheeky grin. "Thought I'd try anyway. Not that Shiozaki was a fan of the idea," she finished, grumbling under her breath.

Her, he remembered better, given her relative success at the Sports Festival. The very Christian theme she had going on was kind of on the nose, too. While Japan looked like something out of an American comicbook since the Dark Age of Quirks, religion hadn't quite made the same jump.

"I'll follow your lead. I don't think I need to motivate you to give it your all. You understand your position in relation to 1-A better than I do."

His voice carried out across the moonlit woods, receiving a few nods in turn. He also happily ignored how that was a pep talk in and of itself.

Making his way to the start of the gauntlet alone, Nobuto watched as the first of 1-A's teams entered. After a moment's deliberation, he decided to let Tokoyami and his teammate pass. The raven or maybe crow-headed boy already had enough trouble keeping his unruly shadow in check in the dark, and this was just a game in the end.

The next team, however, put a skip in his step as he stalked them down the path.

"We shouldn't underestimate Kayama. He's been at U.A. long enough that—"

"Shut it, Icy-Hot." The hothead stomped on ahead as his teammate stared at his back. "Just ignore whatever stupid thing he tries to put in your head."

Nobuto's smile widened. "You aren't wrong. It really is that easy."

The exploding brat glared, but not at him. "Run out of ideas already, Sunglasses?"

"That isn't him," Todoroki muttered.

"What are you talking—" There's a lingering explosion in the air as they both end up falling on their asses, quickly followed by two more explosions from the blonde's hands to right himself. "Bastard." He looked back down at Todoroki. "Get up. It wasn't real. His Quirk's like one of those pathetic haunted houses you see at amusement parks."

His eye twitched under his sunglasses at his words.

They ended up running into Kendo and two others from her class, a head peeking out of the softened ground creepily; it reminded him of Mirio and his antics. Unfortunately, it wasn't particularly effective after his scare, but he still gave the three in the bushes a thumbs-up.

The third team to enter the fray made for a funny coincidence. Still, just because he liked Rocker Girl's vibe, it didn't mean he was going to let them off easy. If anything, it tickled his meaner side something fierce.

It was almost too easy.

For being half a ghost herself, Hagakure proved deathly afraid of them as she ran down the path squealing the entire time, right into the creepy head display. Which had only led to more squealing as she proceeded to run away from the path entirely, being chased after by her grumbling teammate.

The next pair? Aoyama already looked pale as he followed the girl from the Yaoyorozu family with her artfully arranged hair down the path. "Mon amie, I do not think my heart can take this."

The accent was truly outrageous.

"You heard what the Pros told us. His Quirk only works if we lose our wits." Her confidence was breathtaking, and her bust would make most of the girls in his class green with envy.

"I have not been a fan of this genre since I saw a movie about an unhappy clown as a child." His knees slightly wobbled.

A clown, hm? Done.

Nobuto watched as Aoyama turned to look at the trees with a squeak. "It's him." He dropped, dramatically somehow, into a dead faint.

"Aoyama…" his teammate grumbled. With a frown on her lips, she loaded him up in a wheelbarrow she pulled from the skin of her belly. It's a lot more than he would have done for him with all the cushions. A gentle heart.

As the girl who spurned gravity and the froggy girl entered the gauntlet, he paused. There was a queer breeze and an even queerer smell. A thick purplish gas had begun to creep into the woods around him.

…An attack?

It wasn't often that he was proven so very wrong. If the attacks really were masterminded by a petulant child like Shigaraki was described as, then sure, he could see him effectively confirming to U.A. that there was a traitor in their ranks.

Except… the 'Nomu' Shigaraki had brought with him then, a thing with multiple Quirks grafted to it that could even give All Might pause, it led him to suspect a more sinister figure as being at fault for the attacks. A man who could give and take Quirks on a whim. A rot on the world from the Dark Age of Quirks, one that had dwindled as All Might's star rose until nary a mention remained of him in the history books, scrubbed clean by a government that would happily ignore how dirty their hands were.

He sighed. He was getting too worked up considering half of what he had read about him had been fevered conspiracy theories, and the other half was only slightly more credible.

"Is this your Quirk, ribbit?" the froggy girl asked him awkwardly.

"Afraid not. It is almost certainly an attack." Even in the poorly lit woods he could see both of the girls noticeably pale at his words. "Avoid it as best you can. Whatever it does, I doubt it's anything good." He smiled at them gently. "This isn't your first rodeo. Trust your instincts."

Back down the path, he found Yaoyorozu and her wheelbarrow, along with Kendo and her two partners in crime. The boy, Honennuki, was out cold, which was unfortunate because his Quirk would have been invaluable. Yaoyorozu, he quickly noticed, seemed to be producing gas masks from her body. "Clever. I'll need two. Ragdoll's Quirk will help with locating everyone."

She nodded nervously. "How did they know?"

He kept a close eye on the procession of the gas. "I hate to say it, but you have to be the target. All Might isn't here."

The irony of that turn of phrase was not lost on him.

Mandalay's telepathy Quirk rang out at that moment, warning everyone of an attack. "Stay safe," he told them.

Replacing his sunglasses with the gas mask, he continued down the path, the stream of purple growing thicker as he did. It was more alike to Nemuri's Quirk than his own, he thought with some amusement. And though as funny as it was to imagine a distant cousin turned to a life of villainy, most likely it was simple coincidence.

When he arrived at the halfway point, it was with a sudden burst of adrenaline. A Nomu. It was his first time seeing one in the flesh, a monstrous amalgamation of mossy green flesh and a hardware store.

Ragdoll was barely fending it off while simultaneously trying to breathe in as little of the gas as she could. She looked both relieved and worried when she saw him, one of her thighs bleeding slightly from what looked like a knick from one of the oversized chainsaws embedded into four of the Nomu's limbs in lieu of hands.

Throwing her the extra gas mask, he flexed his Quirk to get the Nomu's attention. It looked at him almost curiously for rooting around in its head, what little there was of it.

"I'll keep it busy," he called out to Ragdoll. "Use your Quirk to find everyone."

Gas mask secured, she shook her head fiercely after greedily sucking in the filtered air like it was the finest perfume, her voice lacking its usual upbeatness. "I'm not leaving you to that monster! You're still a student at U.A. yourself!"

"I have a plan. Please trust me."

The Nomu's observing of him at an end, it ran at Ragdoll again. Frowning, Nobuto extended his Quirk again, forcing an almost confused pause from the Nomu as it glanced between them both. "'Ittle kitty?" it asked.

It is curious that the League had it target Ragdoll specifically, but now that it was seeing two Ragdolls, it lunged instead at the closest one. Him.

His muscles burned from the sudden strain of avoiding eight different limbs, but he managed. It proceeded to chase after him almost mindlessly, which he was thankful for. A more cunning monster with that many limbs might have torn him apart.

Nobuto couldn't help trying to figure out the mystery at hand as he led it deeper into the forest. Who was Doctor Frankenstein here? Even if All For One was still around, the Nomu were new. Was there someone else messing around with Quirks? It wasn't like he could take it into custody for interrogation either. Not without having to answer questions himself that he would rather not.

Option B then. Dead men tell no secrets. The same, he would have to hope, applied to Nomu.

After a rather tedious game of cat and mouse to lure it out of billowing purple clouds, he lifted the gas mask off his face and let it drop to the ground. His Quirk spilled out like an empty miasma. "Ẻ̸̢̡̥͔͕̲̮͍n̵̟͇͐̒ȍ̵̡̧̻̲͉̦̳̦̟͚̿̀̽̍͒͌̕ú̸͍̬͒̑͠ĝ̴̰̱̱͓̭̝͇̰͚̮̐̉̿̌̈́h̸̢̗̮̦̬̝͒̓." It went as still as a statue, able to do nothing but obey. It was a pathetic creature despite its numerous Quirks, its will rudimentary. "Find a quiet place, and ḋ̴̩̱̿i̷̛͇̮̹͍͑̓̀͂͊͜͝͠ḙ̴̛͍̫̥̪̻̩̬̃̈́̔̊̐̉̅."

Even it understood what it meant to die.

As the Nomu lumbered away to its respite, Nobuto quietly retrieved his sunglasses from his pocket and replaced them. Just a taste of freedom and already his Quirk was trying to slip its leash, and something told him it would not be the last time tonight. If Shigaraki was here, he would make him sing like a canary.

He was through chasing shadows.

BREAK

Nobuto could admit that he was hopelessly lost as he stalked through the woods, vaguely following the explosions in the distance. At least they made for excellent directions.

There had been two more messages relayed into his head by way of Mandalay's Quirk since the last, the first allowing the students to use their Quirks to defend themselves, and the second about one student in specific. Either way, it seemed his old teacher had reached the same conclusion, that his students were the target.

It hadn't taken him long to figure out who 'Kacchan' was either; he could even see the rationale somewhat. The hothead's Quirk was exceptionally destructive, with an attitude to match and a name and face everyone who had tuned in to watch the Sports Festival knew. So, only most of Japan. If all they accomplished was giving him a sprained ankle, it would still be a heavy blow to U.A.

But some things still didn't add up. Why point the Nomu at Ragdoll and not Aizawa or Class 1-B's homeroom teacher, Vlad King? It wasn't a coincidence that they had taken Aizawa out immediately last time; with a Quirk like his it only made sense.

He paused then, squinting at the sight of what looked like an iceberg rising above the treeline. It was a welcome reprieve from his thoughts, and he picked up the pace.

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, he also recognized who it was the dynamic duo were fending off. Yoshihito Akabane. The BDSM-like outfit was unmistakable, his mouth stretched wide to allow him to use his Quirk more effectively. Sentenced to death for murder and cannibalism, Akabane had only recently escaped imprisonment while en route to Tartarus. Very dangerous despite his abject insanity.

At least even the hothead was wary enough to keep his distance.

They also noticed his approach, being so on edge. "Let me take him," Nobuto insisted, nodding at the unconscious boy from Class 1-B that Todoroki had on his back. He knew enough about the heartthrob's Quirk to know that he couldn't produce ice indefinitely without rendering himself a block of ice in the process.

Todoroki nodded with some relief. Looking down at the unconscious boy's messy hair, Nobuto vaguely remembered him from the Sports Festival, his Quirk able to turn the air solid.

Nobuto turned back to the both of them after shifting the unconscious boy over his shoulder. "Kacchan, I assume?"

The response from the blond was immediate, and deafening. "I DON'T NEED YOU BABYSITTING ME, SUNGLASSES!" Despite the deeply uncomfortable sound of Akabene's teeth burrowing through ice, Nobuto would have heard him fine if he just spoke normally.

"I'll take that as a…" he started before pausing. There was something in the distance, peeking out of the trees, and it was rapidly approaching them. As it neared closer, he quickly realized what it was, or who. "I believe those are your classmates."

Seeing Tokoyami completely consumed by his Quirk was an unsettling sight, but some small part of him could also admit that it was a magnificent one. The twisting, writhing, and vaguely bird-like shadow raged as it chased after Shoji, his teammate with silver hair and too many arms, knocking over trees as if they were toys. Akabane was no different, except the blow hadn't taken him out of commission. Not yet, at least.

"GIVE US SOME LIGHT! TOKOYAMI'S ON A RAMPAGE!" It was one of Shoji's arms splitting open into a mouth that shouted.

Todoroki was about to lend a hand with some fire from his left side when Explosion Boy stopped him. Nobuto saw why. Protesting his victims being 'stolen' from him, Akabane thought it was a good idea to try and attack the towering monstrosity. It went as poorly as could be expected for him, and another good dozen trees were leveled alongside him.

Nobuto eyed the satisfied smile the blonde was sporting now. Despite the enormous ego and poor impulse control, Katsuki Bakugo did admittedly still possess some keen instincts.

With Akabane out of commission, he watched them both proceed to unleash their Quirks through his sunglasses, driving the overgrown shadow back inside Tokoyami.

For his part, Nobuto was quietly relieved at how things played out. It saved him the trouble of having to resort to more desperate measures. It also allowed him to see that Tokoyami's shadow hadn't just been chasing his teammate, but technically another of his classmates as well, a head of green hair peeking out of a cocoon of interlocking arms. Midoriya looked like a mess, and that was being kind.

He still smiled happily at them all in spite of it. "You're all safe."

Tokoyami tried to apologize, and though Nobuto greatly empathized with him, he couldn't say the words he wanted to say to him. But he could do one small thing, at least.

Striding into their midst, he held out his free hand to Tokoyami. After an awkward moment or two, he took it, and Nobuto pulled him up to his feet. "It's easy to forget how it's only been a few generations since Quirks appeared. All we can really do is learn from our mistakes when they prove too much for us to handle."

While Tokoyami seemed thoughtful at his words, he didn't expect applause.

Nobuto turned sharply, seeing a man that looked like half a corpse staring at him with a smile that never reached his eyes.

"Even I was convinced," the corpse man rasped.

He was already moving the moment the corpse man extended his hands, but he wasn't the only one, another mass of ice quickly springing up from the ground. He returned the unconscious boy he was carrying into Todoroki's arms just as flames even bluer than the ice melted half of it away. "Don't just stand around," he told them. "Go."

They still hesitated, and he was about to give them a little push when they finally got a move on it. Nobuto turned his Quirk on the corpse man instead, or at least he tried to. It was like trying to catch smoke with his bare hands. Worse, his opponent seemed to have no such issues with his own Quirk, the heat so intense that he suffered burns despite avoiding the sudden onslaught.

Yet instead of continuing, the corpse man decided to speak to him instead. "You weren't supposed to be here. We were keeping the Pros docile, robbing them of the initiative." The smile on his patchwork lips was as mocking as it was disturbing.

"It's unsportsmanlike not to introduce yourself," Nobuto shot back, using the pause to catch his breath.

"The name's Dabi. Don't wear it out."

It wasn't a name he recognized, and his Quirk was still out of whack. He didn't know what a fire Quirk would have to do with whatever was stymying him, but he was starting to get a feel for it anyway. And while it would go much smoother were he to unburden himself, he hesitated to take the risk when there might be someone else here.

He stressed his muscles instead as he lunged, flexing his Quirk in an unfamiliar manner. The sheer single-minded hatred he felt from just the slightest touch of the corpse man's presence might have led to a disaster if his Quirk had not finally taken hold, directing Dabi's attention elsewhere. The next moment, he delivered two blows, one to each side of his ribs, breaking more than a few.

Nobuto finally grabbed him by the throat, directing his arms away to send the inferno of blue into the air instead. His skin felt just as unpleasant as it looked, clammy, but also like parchment.

Despite struggling to breathe as blood must have filled his lungs, he still croaked out a laugh. "There it is. Your Quirk." Nobuto stepped back with some alarm as the corpse man's body suddenly started to slough like mud down a window. Before he seemingly melted completely, he gave another unhinged smile and rasped out, "I win."

The face Nobuto was making must have looked ridiculous as he stared down at the puddle of sludge. At least he could be reasonably sure that there was more than one Quirk involved now.

Prodding what was left of him with his shoe hesitantly, it remained inert.

Now that it was quiet, he heard the sounds of fighting in the direction the others had run off in. His muscles protested as he set off in a sprint, but en route the sounds quieted. By the time Nobuto finally found them, they were three fewer in number, and whatever went down had passed. Shoji and Todoroki both looked defeated, and Midoriya had passed out on the ground.

He was struggling not to think the worst.

Todoroki startled when he placed a hand on his shoulder, though he calmed slightly when he looked up to stare at Nobuto's sunglasses for a moment. "Kayama," he finally whispered.

Shoji looked up as well, all his limbs on his left side and part of his torso having suffered burns of various degrees. "What happened?" Nobuto asked them.

He had to bite back a number of colorful curses as they caught him up.

Bakugo and Tokoyami had been turned into marbles by way of a Quirk, and the three here had tried to give chase before the League had made use of the same warping Quirk to escape again, with two marbles in hand. It was, put simply, an unmitigated disaster. Another attack happening at all would have already led to some very uncomfortable questions, but two students being kidnapped outright? Nobuto didn't think he would ever feel sorry for his furball of a principal, but he did now.

The stink of the smoke from the forest burning down around them stirred him to action.

"What's done is done," he told them gently before carefully retrieving Midoriya. "We should return and tell Aizawa." Nobuto tried not to focus on how the green-haired boy's arms looked like two sausages that had burst.

He turned around at the sound of footsteps, but it was only the same two girls he had spoken to when all this first began. Antigravity Girl gasped when she saw Midoriya in his arms. "Deku?"

"He's only unconscious," Nobuto told her. Even if that was the least of what was wrong with him.

Todoroki butted in. "What happened to Tsuburaba?"

Nobuto was curious as well. He did leave the snoozing boy with him, after all.

She put her fingers together nervously. "Yaoyorozu was helping Ragdoll gather everyone along the path, so we left him with her. The Pro was barely standing on her feet, having inhaled too much of the gas. We told her that Bakugo and Tokoyami had been shrunk into marbles by the villains." Her reddish-brown bangs bobbed as she shook her head. "We should have chased after all of you sooner. Maybe we could have done something," she breathed out guiltily.

Her classmate hugged her. "Ragdoll frowned and told us they had disappeared from her Quirk's sight, ribbit. We knew that something must have gone wrong."

"It's our fault," Todoroki tried to assuage them. "We fell for such an obvious trick."

Shoji looked like he was about to protest about the 'we' when Nobuto spoke up. "None of you even have your Provisional Hero License. None of this is on you. Aizawa will be happy to tell you the same thing in between beating himself up, and there's going to be more than a few heroes who will be doing their best to return your classmates safe and sound."

He didn't share his own doubts. He still only had the one lead, and the Safety Commission would have already acted if they had anything.

"Now, Midoriya needs to see a doctor or five," he told them. "Come on."

He stalked off at a brisk pace, and they quickly followed after a few steps. Despite his words, he was annoyed. Unlike them, he couldn't hide behind inexperience. He should have been suspicious the moment his Quirk couldn't find purchase in the corpse man.

Back at camp, Vlad King told him that Aizawa had gone out to help. Speaking to him further revealed that Dabi had played the same trick on them. Nobuto could also tell that the brick wall of a man seemed slightly suspicious of him, but he couldn't blame him with how last-minute his being here was and everything that had happened since.

Vlad still helped him get Midoriya on a stretcher, and soon Aizawa returned with Ragdoll and around twenty students conscious and unconscious.

Aizawa normally looked like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in years, but now he looked even worse somehow. He still proceeded to summon enough energy to interrogate him, even as he apologized to his students despite their protests and told them to rest.

Again graciously ignoring such rudeness, Nobuto filled in the blanks for the three Pros.

Of course, Aizawa immediately singled something out. "What happened to the Nomu?"

Fortunately, Nobuto was an accomplished liar, even in the face of Ragdoll's big eyes swiveling on him. "Still lumbering around the woods, I think. I took it on something of an adventure. Assuming they haven't retrieved it," he added.

Aizawa stared at him for a few moments before he sighed. "Thank you. It would have been worse if the Nomu had been left to its own devices." Nobuto was about to make an innocent comment when Aizawa unfairly interrupted him. "Don't."

"I'll have you know that I wasn't going to say whatever you're thinking!" he protested.

Aizawa didn't believe him.

Unfortunately, Nobuto's slightly improved mood curdled again as he saw Pixie-Bob being carried in Tiger's arms as the rest of the Pussycats returned to camp. Her blonde bangs were drenched in blood on one side.

As Ragdoll ran over to them, Nobuto gave Pixie-Bob a small 'poke' of sorts for his own peace of mind; he hid any sign of relief when she pushed back slightly, ruling out anything too serious.

"Kayama." He turned back to Aizawa and Vlad. "You heard him say his name was Dabi?"

Nobuto hid how for the slightest moment he thought Aizawa might have suspected something, as Pixie-Bob had shifted slightly, but then Ragdoll was also fussing over her.

He nodded instead. "Ring a bell?"

Aizawa glanced at Vlad who shook his head. "Not anyone on the records," he continued. "However, it seems the League has recruited Jin Bubaigawara. He'd gone to ground a few years back, but the resemblance is uncanny. We thought he could only make copies of himself; evidently that is not the case."

A Quirk that could make a copy of someone down to their very Quirk? An unpleasant thought, but that was at least one mystery solved.

A few minutes later the camp was swarming with people. Nobuto had to sit and allow one of the more fussy paramedics to apply a salve to some of his burns as he watched the fires in the forest being put out.

The details of everything that had happened slowly filtered in as well.

In the end, it seemed Shigaraki hadn't even come himself, a fact that only rubbed salt into the wound. And while the League had not come out unscathed, three of their number having been apprehended, it wasn't much of a consolation prize.

Akabane had been found unconscious, alive despite looking like a pretzel after his trying to fight Tokoyami's shadow. The one responsible for knocking so many unconscious had also been taken out by Kendo and another member of Class 1-B that Nobuto vividly remembered from the Sports Festival. Hard not to with such an outrageous name as Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu; his parents had to be crueler than most villains.

But that's all beside the point.

Nursing his burns, his eyes found Mandalay hugging her nephew tightly. Midoriya had broken his body to protect him from Goto Imasuji, a man Nobuto knew all too well, if not personally. He had followed his exploits, if you could call them that.

Was it just a strange quirk of fate that Mandalay's nephew also happened to be the son of the two heroes that Imasuji murdered in cold blood two years prior or had he planned it? After all, he wasn't as much of a meathead as he liked to pretend. He wouldn't have been able to evade capture all these years if he was.

And that, specifically, was why Nobuto loathed him.

He turned his eyes on the transport they had put Imasuji in after stuffing him inside an Iron Maiden. His knuckles went white as he clenched his hand, and he was about to stand when a very familiar and very ugly scarf appeared in his field of vision.

Aizawa placed his hand on his shoulder for a few moments, a surprising amount of affection from him. "I meant what I said earlier," Aizawa told him. "I might even have to apologize to her."

Nobuto figured his old teacher had assumed he was brooding. Which he was. Kind of. Not that he would ever admit to it, so he slapped a funny smile on his lips instead as he got up. "I wouldn't worry. The press will probably eat you alive before she can."

Aizawa sighed. "Thanks for the reminder," he deadpanned, turning to look out at the forest. "They still haven't found the Nomu."

Nobuto scratched at his nose. It did save him the trouble of potentially having to come up with an excuse as to why there was a dead Nomu when he was the last to see it.

"A shame. I wonder what the limits of that warping Quirk are," he mused. What he was hinting at might even be true. It wasn't like he was in any position to ascertain its fate, save that it was unlikely that it could have resisted his Quirk once it had taken hold. He knew how deep it went all too well.

Aizawa's tired eyes found his again. "Who do you suspect it is?"

He crossed his arms. "What makes you think I suspect it's one of your students?"

"Intuition," Aizawa deadpanned again.

"You always did have an uncanny ability to tell when I was up to something," Nobuto snarked. Still, he knew not to get into a staring contest with Aizawa, shades or no shades. "Aoyama," he finally admitted.

Aizawa frowned like a puppy had just been kicked. "Aoyama?"

"He feels guilty about something. It's eating away at him, whatever it is." It would be unfortunate if he was wrong, but the stakes had risen dramatically. "Still, that he feels guilty at all says something about how willingly he played his part, assuming he's their source," he commented.

"I know." His old teacher sighed like a man on death's door. "Two students kidnapped, and one potentially at fault for it. U.A. might never recover from this."

Nobuto returned his gesture from earlier, even as he gave his unpalatable scarf the side-eye. "If it is Aoyama, it isn't over yet."

The tiredness had already vanished from Aizawa again. The man had too many uncanny abilities. "They said most affected by the gas would start waking up within the hour." He gave a look. "I'll want your Quirk there."

"Shouldn't we get our beauty sleep in first?" he tried to ask, but Aizawa had already left, not even saying a word. Typical.

His eyes went back to the transport after a moment. He had already made the decision earlier, and with a certain someone so conveniently distracted, well, how could he resist?

Adjusting his sunglasses, he projected his Quirk in an all-too familiar manner. It was a trick he had perfected over the years, staying unnoticed, and he quietly slipped inside the transport with no one the wiser. As the heels of his shoes tapped against the metal of the transport, he heard Imasuji stir in the darkness.

"Ahh, what a fight." He sounded almost wistful. "You bring something back to wet my throat? Feels like I got facefucked by sandpaper," he complained.

Nobuto bit down on his temper. Imasuji's list of victims demanded he take his time with this. "I'm afraid I'm here on other business," he finally commented conversationally.

He flipped a switch to turn on the lights after and another to lower the dome of the Iron Maiden, leaving Imasuji squinting.

"Another cop, huh? You wear those sunglasses at night to look cool, guy?"

The man with short-cropped blonde hair grinned much like a shark would, everything lower than his neck still encased in the Maiden. Nobuto thought he looked more handsome in his mugshot, but then losing your left eye and having it replaced with a gaudy fake one that the tryhard probably thought was intimidating would do that.

"I know my rights," Imasuji continued. "You can't have me dropping dead of dehydration."

Nobuto wasn't impressed. "You'll survive." The shitheel made an affronted sound as he stalked closer. "I don't suppose you would be willing to turn over a new leaf?" His Quirk acted in spite of his wishes.

"Was that weak shit your Quirk?" Imasuji asked, barking a laugh. "Save it. I'm never going to stop doing what I love, and I love killing."

Nobuto returned his ugly smile. He didn't need his Quirk to tell him that he was telling the truth, and if nothing else, he could respect the honesty. "I know. Unlike Akabane, you know exactly what you're doing. You revel in it."

"You judging me? I don't care. If you want a fight, let me out. That kid's strength only left me hungry for more." The brute laughed again. "I can't fucking wait to fight him again."

Nobuto made a faint sound of disgust. "There is your problem, Imasuji. You aren't just short a conscience; you lack imagination, too." He hesitated only a moment before removing his sunglasses, and Imasuji suddenly groaned as if something struck him.

"What did you…" The fear he saw only excited him. The pathetic waste of space hated feeling weak, and Imasuji had never felt more helpless.

"You play at a beast in human skin. It's practically a fetish for you," Nobuto accused as he circled the Maiden. "But it's all a façade, isn't it? Your Quirk—it took you years to master it. You had even studied medicine at one point."

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Imasuji strained against his bindings with all his considerable strength, even if he couldn't leverage his Quirk due to there being no room for him to expand his muscles.

"You don't like it when I call you by your name, do you? It doesn't make you feel powerful like Muscular does." Nobuto watched Imasuji turn red with anger and shame, and he relished every second. "Don't worry, you're not the only one. It's actually rather common. A way to cope with how much of a miserable sack of shit you are, maybe?"

He carefully avoided the bit of spit flying his way as Imasuji stared at him with murderous intent. "You're fucking dead once I'm free. You don't think I recognize you? Your eyes and your hair; you have the look of that bitch, Midnight. I'm going to fucking tear her in half with my bare hands as you watch," he ranted at him, desperately trying to sound more powerful than he felt.

Nobuto gave him a pleasant smile despite his harsh words. "You think I showed you my face, did all this, just to leave you with a grudge? You're a smarter man than that."

He could tell that Imasuji was about to either spit more threats or some more actual spit at him, so he put a finger to his own lips. "Shhhh." Hearing his jaw click shut, Nobuto continued, "I thought about quietly putting you down like a rabid dog at first, but I didn't want to burden Midoriya with the knowledge that he might have taken your life. I thought of something better." The now so very small man couldn't even scream as his Quirk began its dirty work. "Unlike you, I like to think I have a wonderful imagination."

Imasuji struggled against the Iron Maiden holding him mightily, but it wasn't a struggle even the hulking brute would win.

"You could even say I'm giving you everything you wanted. I'm taking away everything that separates you from a beast, piece by piece."

Eventually, an eerie quiet settled, and it was done.

The guilt and disgust and horror assaulted him immediately, but it was pushed aside almost as quickly by a wave of satisfaction and catharsis that soothed his wounded pride after Dabi. Whatever the League had accomplished today, what was left of Imasuji would never again be able to wield his Quirk in the way he had, a mindless animal inside as well as out now.

He slammed his sunglasses back on just as his Quirk began to turn on himself, the color bleeding out of the world again as he took a few steady breaths. It was always unpleasant, even if it felt good and right in the moment. His mind liked to play tricks on him that way.

Checking for a pulse, he found one.

Nobuto gave the sleeping giant one last look before leaving, the room returning to darkness with another flip of the switch. Looking up at the moon again, the tiredness caught up with him.

He kept walking after adjusting his sunglasses. While he wanted nothing more than to return to his small room here and sleep until noon, Aizawa wouldn't have let him anyway.

Hopefully that chat with Aoyama would at least prove enlightening…