Let's get this terrible party started

It was the first time that the winner of the tournament didn't get the most field training offers, and Ochako couldn't help but feel a little bit bitter about that. Sure, she had only won by the skin of her teeth but for Shouto to be so overwhelmingly popular . . . she pouted as she looked at the numbers Aizawa had scrawled on the board and wondered what she had done wrong. She was second, yes, but she only just barely had more offers than third, which was a tie between Bakugou and Fumikage. Momo was a popular choice, as was Iida and Kirishima and Tsuyu to some extent. Ochako grinned brilliantly at Iida but he was still looking distracted.

Not that she could blame him.

"Everyone who was nominated will get the opportunity to select whichever one the want, the rest of you will get forty different work places to chose from. Pick whichever one you're most interested in since once you decide you'll be stuck with it for a week."

"Um, Aizawa, sir?" All eyes turned back to Jirou, who had raised her hand but failed to get any attention until she spoke aloud. She colored slightly at the sudden attention placed on her but cleared her throat and went on, "Since I only have the one nomination will I have to pick that?"

Ochako blinked then glanced back at the board, and was a little surprised to see Jirou's name at the bottom of the list with only one offer. She was the only candidate who received one total nomination and Aizawa glanced at the board as well before he shrugged. "I'll give you the nomination first, but if it doesn't interest you then you can take a look at the general list."

"Thank you," Jirou said.

Aizawa nodded briefly before he addressed the class at large once more. "If that's everything, I have an announcement. I've invited the hero Midnight to our class today to assist in the selection of your hero names. And she's passionate about it so I'll let her take it from here." On cue (and making it completely obvious that she had been waiting just outside), Midnight flung the door open with a dramatic sweep of her hand.

"Hello class! I'm Midnight," she declared, flashing the room a wicked smile before flicking her hair behind her shoulder. "I'd like you to show me what you got, children!"

XXX

Mina stretched dramatically across Jirou's desk, flinging an arm over her best friend's shoulder and stretched out. "Pull your shirt down," Jirou said blandly without looking up but Mina just pawed at the small sheet of paper she was looking at.

"Come on, Kyouka! You've been staring at it for aaaaaaaggges! Lemme see!"

"Oh? Is it a secret?" Ochako teased. She had folded her arms neatly behind her back as she approached and Mina shot upright at the sound of her voice.

Her pink face was glowing in elation and she bounced up and down as she chirped, "Uraraka! Hey lemme see who asked for you!" She made grabby hands in the direction of Ochako's front and with a little giggle and flourish she held up the list of agencies in front of Mina's nose. "Ooh!" She purred as she snatched it away then read it greedily. Mina made expressions at each one, her face either crinkling in mild disgust or lighting up as her mouth made a little 'o' shape. She narrated each one she saw without giving much indication or break so it sounded like a very confusing stream of consciousness, "Oh isn't this one based out of Korea? Ahh, I've heard bad things about this one, their main office is haunted. Ehh!? Uraraka! Forget Korea THIS ONE is based out of France! I didn't know the Miraculous Agency recruited outside of Europe, would you go over seas if you picked that one? You need to get a picture with the Bad Luck Hero and get it signed. Wait, did you want to be a rescue focused hero? Then you should take a look at this one-"

Denki wandered over to join Mina, and Ochako herself was forgotten as they poured over her list. Neither of them had gotten a nomination but it was nice to see that neither of them were upset by that fact. At least not in a way that kept them from celebrating the victories of their friends.

Ochako turned her attention back to Jirou. The girl hadn't glanced up once during the little exchange. She was too busy staring at the only name on her list of nominations with a look of concentration on her face. "Jirou?" She asked and the punk jumped with a little yelp.

"O-oh! Uraraka I didn't notice you."

Ochako smiled wrily before she sat herself down in the empty desk next to her's. "You're glaring at that like you want to set it on fire. What's going on?"

Jirou opened her mouth then shut it with a sharp little click then looked around uneasily. Ochako could understand the reasoning – most everyone in their class seemed wary now but somehow Ochako doubted that it was because Jirou didn't trust her. If she had to guess it was a fear of being overheard and she leaned forward so close their noses were almost touching. Jirou looked skeptical but she didn't pull back, and she finally relented.

"It's All Might," Jirou whispered. She turned the paper so Ochako could see and, sure enough, the name of their teacher was plainly and neatly written out. He had requested her as a nomination.

"Woah," she said in hushed awe. Jirou's lips twitched as she attempted to smile, but she looked nervous and on edge. Ochako lowered the paper then handed it back. "Do . . . do you not want to?"

"It's not that, it's just . . . " Jirou rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. "I don't know what he wants from me. Is it because I got kidnapped? Like, I was the only one. Maybe he just wants to tell me I'm not cut out to be a hero."

"No way! Well, yeah you got kidnapped but that's not like it's your fault. And you managed to get away on your own, didn't you?" Jirou looked up sharply and Ochako pressed her finger to her lips. No one officially knew who had been involved in tracking Jirou down, but it was well known that she wouldn't have been found so swiftly without the anonymous call that gave the school her location. And with the injuries the small group had as well as the acid burns on Jirou's wrists . . . everyone surely knew. But the official story was Jirou had gotten away when the villains were distracted and that was what they were sticking with.

"It gets worse, though!" Jirou admitted, "All Might saw me crying."

Ochako cocked her head and blinked and the punk laughed sheepishly.

"During the sports festival. I went to the bathroom and ran into All Might when I walked out and just . . . everything just sorta came out all at once, you know? As soon as I saw him I realized I never got to thank him and I just started crying. I mean, I didn't even say anything! He just carried me to the nurses office. Ugh, it's so embarrassing! What am I supposed to even say? 'Thanks for rescuing me, sorry I cried on your shirt and hope I didn't accidentally get snot on you' or something?" Jirou's face was flushed and her mouth was pulled into a small frown. Humiliation radiated off of her before Ochako leaned forward and put a hand on her forearm.

"Come on, think about it huh?" She said, though Jirou didn't look up. "All Might's seen people get kidnapped all the time, right? And every time he's on T.V. People are sobbing all over him."

"Oh. Great. So I'm like those sobbing girls you see on television."

"Crying doesn't make you weak!" Ochako protested. Unbidden, she thought of how much of a crybaby Deku had been before she chased off the memory. "There's no way All Might's looking down on you, I know it. Take him up on the offer! I talked to Katsuki already and he's taking an offer from the Best Jeanest. If he's taking the nomination from the third best hero then you should take the offer from the BEST hero!"

"You're on a first name basis with that guy?"

"I called him 'Cat'-chan and he freaked out but he hasn't complained since I switched to Katsuki," Ochako giggled. "Being the toughest kid in class helps a lot." Ochako stood up quickly and rolled up the sleeve of one shirt so Jirou could see her flexing.

"Hard to argue with those guns?" Jirou teased as she arched one perfect, thin eyebrow.

"Mm-hm!" Ochako grinned before she sat herself down neatly on Jirou's desk the way Mina always did but when she looked back at the rockstar herself Jirou quickly averted her eyes as her cheeks flushed hot pink. "Hey do you like scary movies?"

". . .huh?"

"You know, like ghosts and stuff? I love that kind of thing but I get scared easy and you seem like you could use a distraction. So! Wanna go to the movies with me?"

"Uh? Well-" Was as far as Jirou got before Mina appeared so quickly she almost rammed Ochako off the desk.

"Ohmygod! Did you just ask her out on a date!? Ahhhh!"

"Wha-MINA! Back off!" Jirou hissed as she stood up and slammed both hands on the table. She was as hot pink as Ochako was scarlet and she shoved the pink girl's shoulder.

"Mina! Stop it!" Ochako protested as she punched the girl's other shoulder. "How did you even hear us?"

"Oh ho! If there's romance in the air then I will be there!" Mina declared.

"Shut up! It's not like that!" Jirou spat before she turned on her heel and stalked out of the classroom without sparring either of them a second glance. Ochako stared after her, one hand a little outstretched after her. She just . . . wanted to see a movie with a good friend.

When she looked at Mina the girl had the decency to look absolutely mortified. "I'm so sorry Uraraka," she said meekly, "just . . . y-you know I thought it would be good for her to go on a date. I didn't even ask if you were also – I'll go talk to her." Mina rubbed her broken horn sheepishly before she turned and walked out after her best friend, keeping her head slightly lowered. Ochako just sighed and slumped into herself. What on earth had she done wrong? She hadn't done anything right since the school year started, it seemed.

With an unhappy sigh she unfolded her list again and glanced over it. An Agency located in South Korea, huh? Maybe it would do her good to get out of the country for a week and get field training away from everything she knew. It might help clear her head and give her some perspective. Oh god, that was the sort of thing her grandpa would say.

But . . . leaving the city at least would be fun. The last time she got the chance to travel her parents had spent months saving up but U.A. would pay for this! It was the chance of a lifetime!

She could worry about Jirou after Mina had the chance to talk to her, until then-!

Ochako walked back to her desk with her nose in her paper, only looking up when she was seated with her skirt neatly folded under her. Only then did she look to he seat next to her own, where Iida was looking over his own nominations. She pressed her lips together into a thin line then looked back down. They hadn't spoken at all since . . . the two of them didn't actually have much in common. The only reason they had ever started hanging out in the first place was because of Midoriya Izuku. Since then they only interacted as class president and vice president, formal and pleasant but lacking in that air of familiarity. She wished it was still there, now that she had heard about his brother.

"Um . . . Iida?" She asked as she leaned close to him.

"Oh! Uraraka, what can I do for you?" He looked up and beamed at her, but he was lacking the usual jerky movements that punctuated every word.

"I heard about your brother . . . is-"

"Ah! Of course you would be worried about my brother! He is a great hero, after all." That wasn't what she was worried about at all but she nodded to encourage him on and Iida needed no further invitation, "I know a lot of people jumped the gun and reported that he was dead already but he's going to pull through."

"So he's fine?"

"He will be!"

Ochako smiled brightly before she glanced down at the paper on his desk. His list was shorter than her's and Katsuki's but there was still numerable names. They were listed in no particular order but a few caught her eye immediately as being obviously good choices for someone like Iida; both because of his quest for prestige and because they could help hone the use of his quirk. "Which one were you looking at?"

"Native Hero's agency."

"In Hosu? But that's so close . . ."

"Ha, well I don't really want to leave the city, you know? All my family is here and I really like the place." Iida tapped his pen against the outside of his cheek thoughtfully. Ochako really couldn't relate. Her family was out in the country, she had only seen her parents once since the school year started and she hadn't seen her grandparents in even longer. To stay in one place all her life . . .

"Where did you want to go?"

"Oh! Here look, I got an offer from the Sunblare Agency!"

"Isn't that in Korea?"

"Uh-huh! I've always wanted to see another country, even if it's as fieldwork. Katsuki got the same offer and I bet Todoroki did as well but, you know, they also got offers from the top heroes so I think I'll be on my own."

"Well, you are class president and the winner of the sports festival. I'm sure the Sunblare Agency will be delighted to have you!"

"Aww, really?" Ochako put a hand to her cheek and ducked her head as she blushed. Kirishima had said something similar but that had been overshadowed by the jabs shot at her by Katsuki. "Thank you! I have to tell my mom and dad first but, um, hey text me while you're out there. We gotta look out for each other, right?"

Iida smiled back at her, and his breath hitched slightly as said, "yeah. Gotta look out for each other."

XXX

"Such a dramaqueen," Tomura complained. He spun the glass, tracing the rim with his forefinger until it came to a full stop.

Izuku looked up with his brows crinkled and agitation plainly written across his round face. He was up to his elbows in a tank, his hands pressed to either side of the creature's temples. "Tomura could you maybe save this for later?"

"A creed. Who needs a fucking creed? I want it because I want it! Why should I have to justify that to him?"

Izuku looked back down at the tank, where both the thing's head and his own hands looked eerily warped and enlarged under the surface of the silvery-black water. The Noumu he was working on had pale white skin the texture of tissue paper, even his fingers brushing it made its skin peel and rip from the cold muscle structure. This one had been put on ice since its quirk compatibility hadn't worked exactly the way it was supposed to – if only Izuku had managed to take Bakugou's quirk then it would have been perfect. As it was, all he could do was peel out quirks and slap them back on in different orders.

It wasn't easy. The row of tanks to the right contained the gory and bloody soup where the noumu's quirks had ripped them apart. Izuku had torn out as many quirks as possible before they died and their quirks died with them but . . . he couldn't hold very many. So much of Sensei's work had gone to waste in his hands, and it was hard to give making noumu his full attention with Tomura complaining so loudly about Stain.

He didn't have many left. There was the one Sensei had completed already, then seventeen rejects and half completed ones and of those he had broken four already.

He couldn't break any more than he already had. These were the only ones that were and ever would be if he had any say in it. He would not do this from scratch. He just didn't have it in him to willfully turn another human being into a monster – not even coma patients as Kurogiri had suggested. It was just a shame to let the creatures sensei had worked on rot away in the labs was all, and even if izuku wasn't particularly good at it he was certain he could make it work.

"Like he could even kill me. Once we're done with him you have to take his quirk. Lets see how much he values his creed once he's powerless."

"Really not helping, Tomura."

Izuku shut his eyes and started to take deep, steady and even breaths. Just. Tune him out. He could do that, probably. Breath in, breath out.

Just keep his focus.

He slid around the noumu's quirks, then dug one up from his own collection. A low level electrocution quirk that had been one of the now dead noumu's quirks. He balled that power in his chest, detaching it from who he was before he allowed the power to slide down his arms through his veins as if it was blood. Press it into the temple, press it into the noumu's brain and hold it there. Don't let it fuse just yet, he had to let it settle. Find a place within the noumu's body and make all its attachments before he carefully let it find a place between the others. Stabilize it, keep it all stable and-

"-such a fucking prick what did he even DO to you anyway? He stabbed Kurogiri that's so fucking rude-!"

Izuku's eyes snapped open as his concentration slipped and the quirk snapped back into him like a rubber band. He whimpered slightly then grabbed for everything he could. He got his hooks in four quirks and began to yank them inside himself as the noumu's tissue paper skin began to rip apart. Blood and strings of muscle oozed out from the tearing flesh, coating his arms before Izuku couldn't take it anymore and he withdrew his hands from the red water with a small cry of disgust. His skin felt slimy and he feverishly shook his hands, spattering blood over his lab coat and across the floor. The four quirks quickly pulled into him but remained knotted together, and it made the little bends in his ribs from all Might's punch throb.

"Tomura!" Izuku protested loudly, "seriously shut the fuck up." A little terse for his nature but the ball of quirks trapped in his chest felt like he had stuffed a bowling ball between his lungs and he had to break them apart before he could attempt to fuse them into his own self. But god if it didn't hurt like a bitch! He coughed weakly and hunched over, peeling them apart and trying his best not to actually cry.

Unsurprisingly, Tomura did not stop rambling once. He waved his hands dramatically and spun on his swivel chair, "what do you think about him, Izuku?"

Izuku slumped down to his knees as he gasped for air, struggling to make the stolen quirks a part of him. White light was flashing behind his eyes and he felt himself starting to lose control. His elbow phased through his own knee and the table next to him cracked a little before he felt the power peel open and sink into his being. A shudder ran through him and spat on the cement floor to try to get the taste of bile out of his mouth. Okay. A rust quirk, a shark-form mutation type quirk, a jelly-skin quirk, and, the rather useless quirk that had been the noumu's original one, the ability to change hair color based on emotions.

It was the last quirk that seemed to want to assimilate fully with him, and the tips of his hair turned white-blue for a second before he sat back on his ankles.

Well that sucked. Really he just wanted a nap now, but he had agreed to give Stain backup and he wouldn't get a better chance to give one of his noumu a trial run without possibly endangering Tomura. He groaned as he stood up and he shot a glower at the man of the fucking hour himself. "Seriously, Tomura, I will like actually hurt you if you don't stop talking." Tomura gave him a withering glare but giggled when Izuku's hair turned a bashful shade of chartreuse.

"Ooh, you need to keep that one. Give yourself silver hair!"

"Come on," Izuku grumbled, "I don't have an infinite number of these things."

"You could." He could. That was true. But he absolutely didn't want to. These things were braindead, and he didn't feel any worse about altering them than he did when he cut up slabs of pork. But he didn't want to create more from scratch. That was a crime he absolutely could not commit. He couldn't cross that line. He wouldn't, not for anything in this world.

With a sigh Izuku went on to the next tank and dipped his hands into the water so he could press them to either side of the thing's temples. Okay. Breath in, breath out. Close his eyes. Feel for the quirks Sensei had left behind. Ignore Tomura. Understand how the quirks interacted.

He could do this.

XXX

Kyouka nervously shifted nervously as she tugged at her shirt, wishing that it was just a little bit longer. Or her shorts were a little longer. Or she hadn't let Mina talk her into wearing high heels. On anyone else, Kyouka would have thought the outfit was adorable. Semi-transparent tights, small jean shirts, and a super-baggy band shirt that hid the shape of her torso constantly. It was too hot for her red-plaid jacket so she had tied it around her waist as she waited, and glowered at her best friends when Denki whooped and Mina wolf-whistled. God, what was wrong with them? They weren't making her feel confident, they were just making her feel self conscious.

She had no shape, and her clothes just made that fact more apparent. It was too early in the day too, she liked to sleep past noon on her weekends. She could be asleep right now.

"Why am I doing this?" She groaned.

"Um, because it's fun!" Mina elbowed her and winked, "besides! When a cutie is going overseas you gotta put in a move before she finds some other cutie to have a scandalous romance with! Like, a feverish night of passion with some foreign babe on the beach! Maybe even a rich American who takes her away for a life of luxury!"

"Wouldn't Uraraka be the foreign babe in this situation?" Mina giggled into her chocolate shake and elbowed her boyfriend as he made a grab for it. "Oooowww! That hurt!" Denki whined. He rubbed his ribs theatrically until he glanced up into the crowded mall's food court and he cracked a grin. "Oooh!"

Kyouka and Mina looked up and spied Uraraka, closely followed by Bakugou.

She was absolutely stunning.

She had on a cute, short dress with a heart pattern in dark and pale pink, matching the pale pink of her belt and boots. Her hair had been tucked up under a blue beanie style beret, though a few strands of unruly hair had escaped to fall about her neck. The round scars across her body had been lightly dusted with powder to hide them, but it was hard not to see them and remember that monster shaking Uraraka in its jaws. At least the burns had faded from ugly red, though that might have been the magic of Bakugou's skills with foundation rather than actual healing.

And it was clear that Bakugou must have assisted with her makeup because it was an unholy level of elaborate, same as his own.

He was wearing his backless black dress again too, and given how much it had made Kirishima sweat last time Kyouka wondered if they were going to meet up after he took off. She hoped he was planing to fuck off. She had let Mina talk her into this under the strictest condition that it would be a double date, and not a double date plus a Bakugou without a Kirishima to act as counterbalance. "Hey," Kyouka greeted, and she pulled her legs off the fourth chair to offer it to Uraraka.

People had always told her that when she went on a date she would feel terrified, especially since she was a girl. But Kyouka felt utterly confident here. She was just hanging out with three good friends, eating lunch then separating so they (meaning Uraraka and herself) went out to see the movie Uraraka had been talking about earlier in the weak. Maybe Uraraka would get scared and hold her hand. Or wait, Uraraka had already said that she scared easy so maybe Kyouka should put an arm around her when the movie started? No, that was too forward and besides Kyouka always flinched with the volume in movies changed.

So she was a little bit absolutely terrified.

But in a good way.

XXX

It had been going so smoothly before the child had decided to but in. some brat who thought too much of what he could actually do getting himself in over his head, and the Hero killer Stain did not have the time or patience to deal with him. He had the Native Hero just where he wanted him, there was no need to waste his time on some punk brat.

"You're weak kid, stay down," Stain said in a bored tone, "you're just a wannabe brat hero, I have no interest in you."

"SHUT UP!" The child screamed, his voice muffled by the ground,"my brother's been paralyzed because of you! People are reporting that he's dead just because he can't move and his days of heroics are over! He saved so many people, he was a splendid hero! He gave me a dream! You can't say he's a fake! I'll kill you!" Stain ground his teeth and pressed the weight of his foot down harder into his back. People like this really pissed him off, even if it was coming from just a kid.

"First save him," Stain said.

"Eh-what?" The boy sputtered. He raised his chin and looked at the Native Hero, slumped against the alleyway wall.

"Before concerning yourself with what you want you should rescue others. It's so selfish to brandish your power for your own sake. You're being consumed by hatred for your enemies. That act is the furthest you can get from being a 'hero'." Stain licked what remained of the child's blood off his lips as he looked down at him.

The younger of the villain brothers, the one with the wild mess of green curls and a friendly looking face had demanded that he not harm any of the hero students during their stunt. He had been so insistent and Stain could see his point but this. . . this brat was no hero. He would never be a hero. Not when he was so utterly obsessed with petty revenge. "This . . . is why you die here." Who cared what the boy thought? He was already a villain himself.

"See ya brat, you're in the way of a just world."

"Sh-shut up! SHUT UP! No matter what you say, you're just the criminal who hurt my brother!"

Stain curled his lips and pulled his blade free of he boy's shoulder. With ease he raised it over his head then brought it neatly down. It was a clean cut, Stain was powerful with his blade and the boy didn't suffer anymore than he already had. His head rolled a little as it slumped off his neck, and blood spurted from his severed arteries as his heart gave its last few pumps.

With a rough swipe of his blade, Stain cleaned it of the majority of the child's blood before he turned to the Native Hero and finished him off with a single slash across his torso.

Two dead; an official hero and a student from a prestigious academy. Both of them were failures by his creed and the world would know it. These were the people Stain was going to eliminate and everyone like them should quiver in terror at the thought of him.

He walked patiently out of the alley, glancing back and forth but no one was there. The younger Shigaraki had been right, his pet creature was causing quite the distraction, even as 'incomplete' as it was. He could see the smoldering buildings from where he was, and he could only assume the heroes in the area were all in that area. Attacking public transit was brilliant, although strange considering the child wished for him not to harm anything that wasn't a pro-hero. Whatever. The kid seemed to have a creed of his own, or at least a strong sense of what he thought was right and wrong even if he wasn't shit at sticking with it. He would see for himself the more time that he spent in the brat's company now that they were ready to move on with their plans.

His business in Hosu was complete, and he was freed up to find out what exactly those villain brats wanted from him.