The atmosphere in the corner of the classroom in which Mina, Sato, Kirishima and Kaminari were standing was heavy. All four of them failed the practical exam and Ashido could hardly hold back her tears.
"Everyone... I'm looking forward... Hic...! To a bunch of... Awesome stories from the trip!" she squeezed the hem of her skirt.
"Just hold on, now. There could still be some twist to this-!" Izuku was interrupted by Sero.
"Don't say that, Midoriya, you're going to jinx it..."
Kaminari and Mina found themselves in a trap twenty minutes later from which they could not get out in the remaining time. Nezu systematically brought down buildings and pipes with a construction crane to create an iron prison and drive them away from the exit. Kaminari, too, with tears in his eyes, poked Midoriya in the eye with his finger to take out the anger from the failure.
"Failing our exams means Summer School Hell instead of Training Camp in the woods!" He poked him in the same eye again. "And we flunked the practical! The only twist would be if your averege scores were less than a monkey's!"
"GAAH!" shouted Izuku, clutching his sore eye.
"Call down. You're talking too much." Cero pointed his thumb at himself, "I'm in the same boat anyway. I got put to sleep and only cleared the test thanks to Mineta."
Minoru listened intently to Hanta's words with a smug smile on his face.
"So until we know how they're actually grading this thing-"
"Save your pity! I just want your points!"
"The training wasn't hard enough." Harry said in a dead voice, sending goosebumps down Mina, Denki and Sero's backs, "You three will suffer after training camp. And this is a promise." he finished with a charming smile and went back to his place.
"He can't be worse than Bang, can he?"
Mina asked quietly, looking at the back of her classmate. Izuku opened his mouth to say something, but the bell rang and the door flew open as Aizawa walked in.
"That's the bell. Be seated." the wall cracked again from the force of the blow.
"Oh, come on! How many blows can this wall take?!" groaned Harry, dropping his head onto the table with a loud thud.
"A lot." Aizawa replied without even blinking.
In his hands was a pile of paper, in which the events of each battle were described in detail.
"Morning. About your final exams... Sadly, we had some failures. As such." На A huge grin appeared on his face, "You're all going to training summer camp."
""WHAT A TWIST!"" Four voices of those who failed the exam sounded at once.
Ignoring them, Aizawa continued returning to his indifferent face, "Everyone cleared the written tests, but in the practical Kirishima, Kaminari, Ashido, Sato and... Sero all failed."
"Wait, we actually allowed to go?!" Kirishima immediately raised his hand to be ignored by Aizawa again.
"As the Villains in these tests, we teachers, came up with assignments perfectly suited to all of you. Ones that would give you chances to devise winning strategies. If we haven't, none of you would've stood a chance."
When he said the last part, his eyes fell on Harry, as if provoking him to say something. The green-eyed teen just shrugged, leaving his - not very polite - opinion to himself.
"So when you said you were going to crush us..." Ojiro muttered.
"That was to push you. We are talking about training camp after all. More than anyone else, those who failed are in dire need of this." the grin returned to his face, "That was another rational deception."
"RATIONAL DECEPTION?!"
Happy shouts filled the class and the five failing teenagers jumped out of their seats in celebration.
"We've been fooled again! I'd expect no less from UA! But...! Now that we've been lied to twice, aren't you worried that our worried that our faith in you has been shaken?!"
Ida got up from his seat, pushing back the chair with a loud creak. This was not the first time Aizawa lied to them, not that they noticed it, but lying was a common tool in the teacher's arsenal.
"Way to wet the blanket, Ida."
"Perhaps. But consider the facts. It wasn't entirely a lie. Failure is still failure. You five will recive special supplemental lessons."
As soon as the Eraser Head spoke these words, the celebration among those who failed the test immediately stopped.
"And to be honest, they'll be worse than summer school." You could see their hopes shatter like glass, "Anyway, I'll be handing out camp manuals. Take one out and pass it back."
When the lesson was over, all the students gathered in groups around the camp manuals. It contained all the information about the Training Camp. Its location, necessary things, a list of everyone visiting the camp and even a map of the nearest area.
"Huh... I got all of it from that last scam called shopping trip. Apparently she helped me in some way."
Although Harry was still a little angry with the shop assistant, his anger has subsided a little now.
"Well, whatever the case, it's nice that everyone gets to go."
Ojiro was happy for his classmates, it would be very sad to spend a whole week at Summer School while your classmates train at Summer Camp.
"An entire week of Training Camp!" Ida was still pumped up about that curry and Midoriya eyes were large, just as the packing list.
"That packing list is huge."
"I need night-vision goggles." Mineta felt a shadow hand grab his shoulder, "Or not..."
"I don't even have a bathing suit. There's a ton of stuff I've got to buy."
Kaminari said, looking slightly abashed by the sheer number of things on the list.
"Oh, I know!" suddenly said Toru, drawing attention to herself "We're off tomorrow and tests are over, so how about we all go shopping together?"
Harry could swear that he saw her smiling. He listened to his classmates and their conversations with half an ear.
"Good idea! This'll be first, come to think of it!"
"Hey, Bakugo, you should come too!"
"No way in Hell! What a waste of time."
"You gonna come, Todoroki?"
"I... Visit someone on my day off."
This phrase made one thought appear in Harry's mind that froze the teenager in his place.
'When was the last time I was at my parents' grave? I think I just read about the visit... Where are the graves of Ron and Hermione?' he just stared at the notebook in his hands and didn't react to anything 'Am I a bad person? Bad friend? Bad son...?'
"-ry? Oi, Harry!"
Kirishima's voice brought him out of his thoughts and made him look at the faces of his worried classmates.
"Are you okay, dude? You zoned out there foe awhile."
"Seriously? Oh shit, I'm sorry. I was just thinking... I can't join you. Tomorrow I need to help Azumi at the Orphanage."
Harry replied, a little surprised at his own sudden honesty. He had never talked about his family before, so everyone who heard her name assumed that Azumi was an aunt or a distant relative.
"Oh... Well good luck with that."
Midoriya said a little awkwardly, trying to dispel the uncomfortable atmosphere in the room.
"Thanks, good luck on your shopping trip."
Harry smiled and left, taking his bag using Pride along the way. His classmates just stared after him.
"Did anyone know he was an orphan?" Mina asked.
"No, he rarely talks about himself. Even after so much time in one class, he did not tell anything important..." Kaminari replied thoughtfully, "If you think about it, Who does Harry talk to the most in our class?"
Ida, Midoriya and Todoroki exchanged glances.
"I don't know..." Mina muttered, "Tsu, what about you? This is the second time you've been on the same team with him."
Tsuyu placed her finger on her chin.
"Well, I feel like he didn't trust me completely both times, I don't know much about him. Well, just that he is hiding from you behind me, Mina." the frog girl answered honestly.
"Ojiro?"
"Same here. But during USJ... Well, he sure can be violent."
"He doesn't trust anyone." Todoroki suddenly said, "If you want to know more about him, you have to earn his trust. That's all I can say."
The remaining students in the class looked at Shoto with interest.
"Did the two loners in our class became friends? This is... Actually expected." Jiro finished and the teenagers returned to discussing the future trip.
---
At night, Harry sat in front of the terrarium, frowning. The frogs and chicken eggs were okay, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that the teenager received another message from Kumono and it was completely serious. The spider was never serious.
[Potter, I have huge problems. Meet me at 14-P. You will need your ninth form and a full arsenal.]
The phrase 'ninth form, full arsenal' meant only one thing. Big fucking problems. He remembered one day Bang left to help an older teenager and returned with a serious wound on his body. Bang hadn't received a wound at that point in years.
Harry got up from his seat and held out his hand towards the Basilisks. The snakes immediately slid up his arm, taking their places. The teen jumped out of the window, leaving only a note stating that he got up early and had already left the Orphanage, which was technically true.
The teenager walked a couple of blocks away from his house and stopped at a small park, where a huge dead tree was hidden from the eyes of people. Harry put both hands on the tree trunk and it was immediately covered with red lightning. A moment later, a hole appeared in the tree, from where Potter took out a huge black bag.
Inside the bag were his Vigilante outfit, weapons, and a first aid kit. In the forest, red lightning flashed again and instead of a teenager, a gray-haired old man in a completely black tactical suit came out of the woods.
It was assembled from parts purchased from military stores throughout Japan. Black jumpsuit, ankle protection, a holster in which an old AMT Hardballer with a silencer was placed, a bulletproof vest, night vision goggles, boots from his broken Hero suit and many other little things.
Of course, Lau with the four Philosopher's Stones didn't need a gun. But when it was necessary to setup someone else, or if he simply didn't have the desire to get his hands dirty, the Hardballer was indispensable.
Half an hour later, Lau was standing in an alley between two buildings. The cold in this suit was chilling to the bone, but the old man didn't care, he was waiting for the Spider. And then the familiar clicks of spider legs on the concrete were heard from above. Kumono jumped into the alley holding his side and immediately fell to the ground.
"Fuck! Fucking Moonfish! I'll fry him with seaweed and eat him with guts!" He removed his hand from his side and looked at the green blood, "I really hope you brought the first aid kit, because without help I will bleed out in a few minutes and die like a dog. And I am not a dog. I am an arachnid."
The old man, without question, tore open the Spider's suit - which was exactly the same as his suit, but with a mask - and began to treat the deep wound.
"So Moonfish? Don't tell me you went into that bar a second time."
Lau washed his wound and frowned as he got a better look. It was bad. Not at the level of having to visit the hospital, but still too close for comfort.
"Of course I went into that bar a second time! I-shit! Be careful! But it was definitely worth it. These bastards are working with someone named Ouroboros- OI! I said be gentle, this is a new hole, so it's still virgin!"
The spider cracked joke after joke, trying to ignore the pain and the end of adrenaline rush. He was able to douse Moonfish with gasoline, so he could no longer follow his smell.
"Say it again."
Lau's voice was as cold as his eyes. If Ashi has information about his mysterious enemy, then...
"This is a new hole, so- OW-OW-OW! Stop it, I get it! They work with Ouroboros! Now be gentle! Lord, your sense of humor is not just bad, it's completely absent."
Lau just automatically kept working on his wound.
'This is bad. Very bad. Why the hell did they start working together? What is the connection between them? What is the League of Villains really capable of?'
"Um... I think you stitched my wound with a sewing stitch. Are you serious?"
"Say thank you that I don't stitch butterflies on your gray-skinned ass."
Kumono flinched at the very idea. For a spider, he had an irrational fear of butterflies. It's possible that this was due to his grandmother who had butterfly wings... At the age of five, she threw Kumono off the eighth floor to check the strength of his spider legs. After that, she began to train the little spider every day.
"...Thanks."
Sirens sounded in the distance and Lau threw Ashi's hand around his neck. They ran together through dark alleys - Lau could not use Shunshinko, from the heavy load on his body Kumono would die - trying to hide from the sound of the sirens as far as possible. When the two Vigilantes were finally able to stop and catch their breath, a voice interrupted them.
"Found you."
Someone spoke from the darkness and Lau immediately strengthened his body with Envy. A tall man with spiky hair and round sunglasses emerged from the shadow of the building, arms raised.
"Sir, I will ask you to leave this place. At this moment, we cannot waste our precious time talking with... Unpleasant company."
The old man's face twisted in disgust as he glanced at the other man's clothes.
"Well, I think you can spend some of your time on me."
He grinned and spread his right arm, revealing the Ouroboros tattoo on the back of his hand. Shadow spikes immediately surrounded him on all sides and stopped an inch from his body.
"Lau? What the hell?"
Kumono didn't understand what the hell was going on here. They were running away from the police a couple of minutes ago and now they were found by some mod with tattoos. And Lau knows him!
"Be quiet, spider. Can you get out of here by yourself?"
The old man did not need extra witnesses, the less people know about the Philosopher's Stone, the better.
"Yes, but..."
"Fuck off. And fast. It's personal."
Eight-Eyed nodded and quickly left the alley on his web. The sirens came closer and closer.
"Now that your friend is gone, can we talk? I have one bar in mind around here, a great place."
Lau chuckled and one of the shadow spikes approached Homunculus's neck, piercing his skin. A red lightning flashed through the wound and it closed in a second.
"Usually your kind tries to kill first and... Wait a minute, they're just trying to kill me." He shook his head, losing his ninth form persona, "So why the hell should I keep you alive and not rip the Philosopher's Stone out of your chest here and now?"
A shadow spike at his chest became a hand and prodded his solar plexus with a finger.
"It won't work, it's in my neck." The homunculus tapped on his collar and took off his glasses with the same hand, looking at the floor, "Let me introduce myself, Lau, Salazar or whatever your real name is, my name is Greed and I want to make a deal with you."
He raised his gaze to the old man and Lau could see his lifeless eyes. They did not have a spark of madness like the some of the Homunculi or white eyes like Gluttony. They were just... Empty, hollow.
"...I'm listening."
"Fine, then let's not talk here, the cops are getting too close."
The shadows around Greed returned to their previous state and Homunculus put his glasses back on. He turned and walked with broad strides in a direction known only to him. Lau stood for a couple of seconds, gently patted his sleeve, where Rowena was sitting, signaling her to be on high alert and followed his new... Business partner.
They did not have to walk long and after five minutes they entered a noisy bar, where the old man could recognize a couple of Giran customers.
"Interesting contingent. Do you visit this place willingly or are you blackmailed into coming here?"
Grid looked over his shoulder at Lau and grinned.
"You're not in a business suit, you're in a tactical suit. So don't be a snob. This bar is a refuge for the rejected, my second... No, my first and only home." he said, entering the back room, "I spend all my time here when he doesn't need me. We don't call his name, so watch your words."
Lau chuckled.
"I once knew a creature whose name the whole society of England was afraid to utter. Now the ashes of this very unpleasant sir are scattered over the mountain ranges in Scotland, and I am still alive. I wonder if the statement about the repetition of history will work in this case?" he scratched his beard in thought.
"...I hope so." muttered Greed, opening the final door to the surprisingly clean office.
The thoughtful expression immediately disappeared from Lau's and he became cold as ice.
"So, what did you want to discuss? I already said, I don't want to spend more time with you than necessary, so skip the useless chatter."
"You wound me with your words."
He laughed, but gradually became more serious. Greed sat down at his desk with Lau across from him. The homunculus stared at the owner of the four Philosopher's Stones for several minutes and finally spoke.
"I need a Philosopher's Stone."