Chapter 78

"So, what kind of favor?' asked Kirishima.

Flipping out a pair of dark sunglasses, Kumagawa put them on, crossed his legs, and interlocked his fingers. [You all being here together at this moment is not a coincidence. You are here for a reason. You don't yet know why, but deep in your subconscious mind the answer lies hidden. For quite some time you have felt this nagging feeling in the back of your mind that something was off. That the world you perceive is not quite right.]

"... Is he for real right now?" Jirou asked in deadpan.

[If you wish to see the world for what it truly is,] he held out one of his palms, revealing a red pill. [then take the scarlet pill. But if you wish to wake up tomorrow morning with no recollection of what transpired here, and go back to your daily life,] he held out his other palm revealing... an identical red pill. [then take the crimson pill.]

Emukae started chuckling from the side. "It seems senpai's sense of humor has yet to dull."

"Are you being serious?!" shouted Kaminari as he shot up from his seat. "You are totally ripping off that Matrix movie! And you didn't even get all the dialogue right! And those pills are the exact same as each other! And your sunglasses are shaped like hearts!"

True to word, the lenses of Kumagawa's sunglasses were heart-shaped.

Kumagawa pouted as he tossed the pills away and pulled off his sunglasses. [And here I was just trying to set the mood. Way to go in ruining it Kaminari]

The electric Quirk user stifled a yell and sat back down.

[But in all seriousness, though it may have just been a lucky coincidence, you six are the ones I was hoping to find.]

"You were looking for us?" wondered Ashido as she leaned in, now curious as to where this was going.

[Yes. You see, I wasn't lying when I said that you are here for a reason. As it turns out, out of all your classmates, you six are the ones who have a dormant Skill.]

The groups eyes widened in surprise at the declaration.

"Seriously?!" shouted Kirishima.

"We have a second power inside us?!"

"That sounds awesome!" cheered Ashido.

Kumagawa nodded with a smirk. [Yes. I even had Ajimu here confirm it.]

The students turned to face Ajimu, who was looking particularly proud of herself. "My Skill, Party Status, allowed me to see all your stats."

"Wait, but I thought you said your Skill was The Morning After." Midoriya spoke up.

"You're right, I did." answered Ajimu as she brought her knee up so she could rest her chin on it. "You recall how I said that there are three main categories that Abnormal's fall into? Plus, Minus, and Not-Equal. Well, we explained the former two, now let's get to the last one."

"Please try not to freak them out too much." asked Akune.

Ajimu smirked. "No promises. As I was saying, Not-Equal's are the rarest type of Abnormal's. The reason being is easily understood with the additional title; Non-Human."

"You're an alien?!" cried Kaminari as he flipped backwards behind the couch.

"So cool~!" Ashido chirped with stars in her eyes.

"N-Non-Human?!" stuttered a nervous Midoriya.

Meanwhile Akune sighed. "Every freakin time..."

"If you are all done overreacting, I can get back to my explanation." Ajimu said as she coughed into her hand.

[Don't worry guys, it's just a title. Nothing to be worried about.] Kumagawa added, trying to get the group to settle down.

Deciding to press on, Ajimu ignored any more interruptions. "Non-Human doesn't mean 'alien' or anything like that, but rather it means that we defy description as Abnormal's or humans. While there are others that share the same title as Not-Equal, only myself and Hanten are recognized as true Non-Humans."

"So what exactly makes you a Not-Equal?" asked Jirou.

"Several things." Ajimu responded as she ran a hand through her hair. "Besides having Skill that don't fall into the Plus or Minus category, our physiology goes beyond what regular humans are capable of. For example, Hanten and myself are over ten-thousand years old."

"T-t-ten-thousand!"

Ajimu let out a haughty huff. "I'd say I aged rather well. But moving on, each Non-Human also has a 'double', someone who is in a way, the equivalent to the other. For Hanten and I, his Skill is the Skill that creates Skills. He can make any Skill he wants as many times as he wants. As for me, I have currently have a total 12,858,051,967,633,862 Skills."

Blinking dumbly, the UA students were at a loss for words. Ajimu just announced some impossible sounding things like she it was just small talk. After giving the teens a couple of minutes to reboot, the conversation finally got back on track.

"So that is the reason I have multiple Skills." Ajimu finished with a smirk. She then shot a glance towards Kumagawa. "Care to take over?"

[Gladly!] he replied as he took center stage again. [As I was saying before, each of you have a dormant Skill. And I would like to help you tap into that potential. So here's the favor I want from you.]

[Allow me to unlock the use of your Skill's, and join me at AU.]

"AU?"

"What's AU?"

Kumagawa leaned back into his seat, looking rather satisfied. [I am opening a school for Abnormals. It will be a grand facility of learning, and will play host to anyone who possesses a Skill. I have decided to name it, AU, or Abnormal University. And I would like for you six to apply.]

Suddenly, the prospect of getting Kumagawa's help for Iida was looking rather unlikely.

"But we're already going to UA!" Uraraka spoke up. "We want to be Hero's, and it's the best school in the country to do it!"

"Yeah! Regardless of how your offer might be tempting, we can't just up and leave UA behind!" added Kirishima.

Kumagawa looked confused for a moment. [Who said you would have to leave UA?]

Now they were confused.

[You see, Ajimu here is being kind enough to help out in regards to your admission.] he said as he pointed towards said girl.

"I have a Skill that will allow you to essentially be in two places at once. I create a copy of you, you guys go to UA, and the copies go to AU. And when you sleep the following night, the memories from the copy will enter your mind." Ajimu explained.

[So, how about it guys? You join me in the fun at AU, and I'll help out Iida-san.] he said as he held out his arms. [Do we have a deal?]

A wave of indecision worked its way across the UA students. While they would still be able to go to UA, they would essentially become part of the Abnormal faction. Was it worth it to help out Iida?

Midoriya was looking down at his clenched fists. 'If I had the power to save someone, but chose not to, then what kind of Hero would I be?'

The words that Kumagawa spoke to Todoroki back at the Sports Festival replayed in his mind.

"Save others at the cost of something as pathetic as pride? Or leave them to die?"

A Hero is someone who helps others, no matter the cost...

Steeling his resolve, a fire burned in the green-haired teens eyes. "I'll do it!"

Everyone's gaze shot to Midoriya in surprise.

"If it's to help save others, than I'm more than willing to cast aside my doubts!"