The Burden of Time [Aizawa x OC]

- four -

"Oh, my!" Principal Nezu clapped his hands and bounced happily toward us. "We are so grateful to have you both here in our time of need! I am Principal Nezu." He gestured toward the now-standing teachers behind him. "These are some of our teachers here at UA. Midnight, Vlad King, Gun Head, Eraser Head, and of course, All Might."

July twitched next to me. I glanced out of the corner of my eye, but his expression was unreadable. I was sure he was fighting every bone in his body to not fanboy over All Might... Or maybe he was trying to mask his anger over the state that All Might was in. It was a toss up at this point and July was as unreadable as ever.

I had expected All Might to look different, but I don't think anything could have prepared me for his true state. The video we had watched obviously distorted how poor it actually was. A tall, lanky..deflated...man stood, where a once hulking man would have stood.

My mind briefly flashed back to meeting All Might as a child. I felt my heart squeeze in my chest. A legendary hero, forced into a premature retirement. The battle was gruesome and unfair, but he certainly gave his soul to being a hero. I couldn't begin to imagine how he probably felt.

"It's truly nice to meet all of you." I said, bowing. July followed my bow. He remained silent. I'm not sure if he had the ability to speak after seeing All Might in this condition.

"Trust us," Midnight spoke up. "We are the ones honored to meet and have the assistance of two members of the Justice Unit of America."

I opened my mouth to reply when the bell sounded, signaling a change of classes. "Oh darn," Principal Nezu sighed. "The teachers have to go back to their respective classes now, my apologies." July and I moved out of the way of the door as the teachers shuffled their way out. "I will gladly debrief you both as much as I can while we finish the tour of the campus. Unfortunately, we will have to schedule another meeting at a later time to fully debrief you."

"That's fine," I smiled softly at Principal Nezu. "It's the nature of being a pro hero to have to abruptly change courses."

Principal Nezu chuckled. "That it is, Stand Still, that it is."

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We were rounding a corner on the outdoor training grounds when a scream erupted. "VILLAINS!" Rumbles began to shake the earth we were walking on, the sounds of heavy machinery clanging in the distance with each rumble.

July and I immediately ran toward the sound of the scream. An alarm began wailing in the distance, undoubtedly signifying that villains had infiltrated the campus. "You don't think they found out we're here already, do you?!" I yelled to July over the alarm.

"I guess we're about to find out."

We quickly arrived at the scene. Several gigantic robots of varying sizes were heading right toward a group of students. In front of the students, standing protectively, was Eraser Head. July and I jumped in front of him.

"Eraser Head, stay with your students!" I barked, not allowing any room for argument. July flung a small energy orb forward, directly knocking the head off of one of the smaller robots. The robot kept moving, indicating their control centers were not located in their heads. July immediately responded by sending an energy orb through the robot's chest. The robot crumbled to the ground, unmoving.

I held my breath, stopping the world around us. I jumped forward and ripped the pointed tail of one of the scorpion-shaped robots off. I allowed myself to breathe again, the battle resuming before me. "UNCLE SAM," I called as I threw the tail at the center of the largest robot, successfully lodging it into its chest. "AN ORB, PLEASE."