Chapter 144: Parent's Day Arc (5)
~Third POV~
[Next Day, UA Highschool, Class 1-A, Japan]
The day had arrived. Izuku Midoriya entered the 1-A classroom to find Ochaco in an animated conversation with her neighbor, Tsuyu, cheerfully speaking, "And today I'm having curry mochi, so – Oh! Morning, Izuku!"
Tsuyu turned as she replied, adding to Ochaco's words, "Good morning, Midoriya, Ribbit."
Hearing their morning replies, replied happily, "Uraraka, Tsuyu, good morning."
The boy took his seat as Ochaco began to make a subtle conversation with Izuku, "So, it's Parents' Day. Who's coming to see you, Izuku?"
Hearing her question, Izuku replied nonchalantly, although looking a bit nervous, "My mom. She seemed a little nervous."
Listening to his response, Ochaco said, pondering out loud, "Oh yeah? My dad did, too!"
Ending the conversation there, he left the girls and headed for the back of the classroom to his seat. The room itself was the same as ever, but everything felt strangely on edge.
The students of 1-A couldn't stop chattering about what their families were like and who would be coming, as he thought, 'Guess everyone else feels a little awkward about Parents' Day too.'
Parents visiting one's school? There was always such a clear division between those two realms, so to Midoriya, smashing them together felt decidedly unreal.
Embarrassed or not, though he didn't hate the idea of his mom showing up; in a way, he felt proud. And he wasn't the only student who wanted a parent to see them flourishing at the school of their dreams but quickly thought in an embarrassed tone, 'But we gotta read those letters, ugh…'
He'd written his after getting back to Heights Alliance from the hero exhibit the day before. The letter was peppered with permutations of 'I'm working hard' and 'Sorry to worry you all the time' and had proven a challenge in the end.
Still, it was honest. Honest enough to make it embarrass. Eventually, the students started to roll in again as Midoriya finally reached his seat, but his classmates' bizarre conversations had already given him plenty to wonder about. The day's shortened homeroom was about to begin, and Aizawa was sure to arrive just in time.
Only he didn't. The disciplined students were plenty used to planting themselves in their seats in time, so they took note when the bell chimed, and their teacher didn't slink through the door.
*Ring*
The bell rang as Toru asked, confused from her seat in the front row, "Aizawa Sensei's not here?"
The class began to discuss amongst themselves, wondering why Aizawa was late. Midoriya thought to himself as he watched his classmates' discussions, 'It is weird. Aizawa Sensei's never late…'
Even after the events that occurred in class 1-A during school, Izuku couldn't help but mutter, concerned, "I hope nothing happened to him."
Katsuki Bakugo shot back from his seat yelling at Izuku not bothering to turn around, "Quit yer muttering, damn it!"
Izuku merely sighed at his childhood friend's antics, shaking his head helplessly as he thought, 'Sigh… so he's a little late. Let's not make a mountain out of a molehill, right? I bet he'll show up in a minute.'
*Ring*
The bell rang to mark the end of homeroom, but still no Aizawa. An odd moment for the class.
The chattering intensified, and Yaoyorozu wondered out loud curiously, gazing to not see her parents or Class Rep present, "Isn't it nearly time for our parents to arrive as well? I'm positive the Class Rep was tasked doing that…"
Eijiro Kirishima added, rubbing the back of his head, answered, looking a bit uneasy about the situation, "Yeah. Not just yet, but soon, anyway… they're with the Class Rep, who is guiding them around UA, perhaps?"
Kirishima, the optimist, tried to be optimistic about the situation, but Momo's brow crinkled as she said, "But we haven't seen a single one."
It was when Mina chimed in, trying to be positive for the class, added with her trademark Pollyanna smile, "Maybe they're taking a while with the Class Rep showing them around? Cuz UA's huge, remember?"
Seeing the situation, Momo sighed as she stood up, taking charge. She notified her classmates calmly, "Attention, all. As Vice Rep, I will travel to the staff room to check. Please wait here until I return."
*Beep*
But before Momo could make it to the door, everyone's phones buzzed in unison. This caused everyone to be confused as Midoriya checked his phone in a panic and said, "A message from Aizawa Sensei and Class Rep!"
The messages both read, 'RIDE THE BUS TO MOCK CITYSCAPE. NOW.' They were referring to the training grounds constructed to resemble a built-up downtown zone.
With neighborhoods alpha through Sigma, the grounds were as large as a real city and had been the site of the entrance exam's practical portion. Kendo muttered, confused, "The cityscape? But why…?"
As if a light bulb had sparked over his head, Denki said in a genius moment, "I've got it! Aizawa Sensei probably wants to hold the model class, the letter reading, and the facility tour all in one place! It's only rational!"
Everyone agreed that it did sound like their teacher, so they reluctantly started to move as Ida said stoically, "It doesn't seem we have a choice… be sure not to forget your letters!"
Momo led the class to the parking lot, where they found and boarded a bus waiting for them, one of the several used shuttles for UA students around the massive campus. As they boarded the bus, Shinso couldn't help but exclaim, "Why not just have us meet there in the first place? This seems off…"
To his right, Midioriya responded with a noncommittal chuckle before settling into deep, puzzled thoughts. Noticing this, Ida asked from the neighboring seat, "What is it, Midoriya?"
Hearing Ida's question, Izuku shared his thoughts of the situation in a confused tone, "It's just… making us waste time like this? Does that sound like Aizawa Sensei?"
Ida replied, his eyes blinking rapidly, "No, it doesn't. I quite agree."
On Ida's right, Todoroki listened in silence, knowing that their rational teacher did it for a reason. Trying to find a reason, Kendo said curiously, "Maybe training? For heroes, the call to action can arrive at any moment. This could be an exercise designed to test our reactions."
Some of Class 1-A accepted the case as Midoriya couldn't help but think, 'Probably overthinking this. Yeah.'
He looked at his letter, which though not as lengthy as Ida's 42-page letter was written with care as he thought warmly, 'Hope you brought a hankie, Mom.'
What he'd written probably wouldn't come across as all too moving to anyone else, but his mother was prone to waterworks. At that moment, Midoriya couldn't have known that the scene he imagined would never come to pass.
/////
[UA Highschool, Mock City, Japan]
The bus dropped the class at the mock cityscape and sped off. Aizawa was nowhere to be found, as Momo said with a raised arm, "Sensei must be farther inside. Let's move, everyone!"
Just as the students moved forward, Yui sniffed the air as she said to everyone, "Wait, I smell something. It smells like gasoline."
Everyone was confused as Denki dismissed the smell, staying optimistic, "Maybe there's a fake pileup in there for training – what the?"
"AHHH!! HELP!!!"
A series of cries joined the scream. The students broke into a run toward the voices, which led them to a street lined with buildings.
Midoriya's sneaking suspicions from the bus returned in full force as the smell of gasoline grew stronger. Kirishima mumbled, "What's going on over there…?"
They halted at the sight before them, freezing in place. Before them lay a cleared lot, with the buildings that had occupied the space smashed to craggily piles of rubble on either side.
In the middle, a massive pit around 20 meters in diameter. At the very center, a large cubic cage seemed to float on a small platform in midair, but it was balanced on a slender tower like an apple core eaten clean. The muddled screams from a moment before now came across loud and clear.
"Ochaco!"
"Dad?!"
"Shoto…"
"Huh…?"
"Tenya!"
"Mother!"
"Izuku!"
Midoriya gasped, spotting his mother in her navy-blue outfit, "M-Mom, is that you…?"
Yes, it was their parents locked up in the cage, shouting in terror for their children, who quickly scampered to the very edge of the pit. Ochaco peered down to discover a layer of stagnant liquid eight to nine meters below, "Yeah… it really is gasoline…?"
Midoriya, realizing the situation, quickly asked the questions, trying to find information, "What the heck happened? How'd our parents get in there…? And where's Aizawa and Ren in all this?"
But then a cool, mechanical voice rang out to answer the panicked student's questions harshly, "Aizawa is down for a nap. A nice dirt nap. As for your friend, he won't be here, I'm afraid, in time to save you a lot as he is busy fighting the group of League of Villains."
Despite the artificial-sounding tone, the words were somehow filled with malice. Midoriya and the others braced themselves for the sudden revelation of another Villain's attack on the school.
"A dirt nap…?"
"You're saying Aizawa Sensei's dead…?"
"The League of Villains!"
"It can't be!!"
The students were in disbelief as cold mechanical voices echoed for them to hear, "Calm yourselves. You are free to think this is a joke, but be aware that there are hostages in play brats."
"Hostages…?"
Midoriya's brain struggled to keep up with the crisis, and he, along with Ida and Todoroki, found himself scanning the area for the hostile entity. Jiro informed them in a serious tone, "No. Not here. The voice is coming from inside the cage."
"Inside the…?"
"Correct. I am in here with them."
As if on cue, the group of parents flinched away from the back of the cage, where a dark figure now appeared. A tall man wearing a black coat, a battle costume, and a white mask menacingly appears.
The parents scurried into the corners of their prison. Midoriya's entire body went rigid as he tried to think, confused, 'Why? How? Who's this guy…'
Seizing the moment, Ida pulled out his phone and began to make a call, but the man spoke up in a cold, mechanical tone, "I should mention now that contacting your school or the authorities is not permitted. Ah, and I'm afraid that little Denki's Quirk cannot help you either."
This catches the students by surprise. Midoriya thinks, stunned, 'So he knows all about us somehow…?'
The man went on as he introduced himself harshly, looking down at the students of 1-A, "Fleeing or seeking outside help is also forbidden. Attempt to run, and it will be your parents who pay the price. If you wish to address your superior, call me Yokai."
At that, a well-built, genial-looking man rattled the bars of the cage and shouted, "Dangit! Can't do a thing about these solid bars!"
Ochaco, from the edge of the pot, feeling helpless, cried, "D-Dad!"
"H-help us, Momo!"
"You mustn't panic, Mother… keep calm…"
Already in a state of shock, Yaoyorzu was further shaken by her typically composed mother's panic. Beside Mrs. Yaoyorozu stood a man in a suit, Asui's father, "Croak, croak."
Asui was the most levelheaded of them all, so the distress in her voice made matters worse, "That croak means danger… Ribbit…"
Many of the students were greatly concerned as Toga thought in a worried tone, 'Our teacher, dead? Ren gone? Their parent's hostages? None of this felt real…'
Midoriya sees his mother weeping in the cage as he feels the blood drain from his face, muttering in a stunned tone, "Momo… why… why's this happening…?"
From above, Yokai's eyes looked down on them. But underneath his mask was Ren playing the villain as he thought with a neutral expression, 'Man… I hate Aizawa's teaching methods. But frankly, with how dangerous things are getting, I can see his point with the class overly relying on me. Oh, well. I'll get to see how Melissa and Mei's invention from the text yesterday would be put to the test as requested. Time to unleash the Micro Bots.'