Gonna start by telling you guys that in the last chapter I messed up when describing how Izuku used One for All when punching the guard. I described it as if he were using Full Cowling, but he was only using the energy throughout his arm and no other part of his body. Sorry for the confusion, and the mistake has been corrected. Also, I'm big stupid and didn't check, but apparently Izuku broke two fingers during the U.S.J. Incident, so that's also been fixed. Anyhow, let's move on with the chapter.

As mentioned previously, major spoilers for the following episodes: Karma Time/2nd Period, XX Time, Nagisa Time, Game Over, and All Might.

Disclaimer: I do not own BNHA or Assassination Classroom.

After a brief panic, he decided it would be best for him to just come out. No use in hiding anymore. "Um, it's me," he called back a bit sheepish, coming around the corner to stand at the foot of the steps.

At his appearance, there was a surprised gasp from the whole group. "I thought I told you to stay behind!" Karasuma berated as Midoriya began to climb the stairs.

"I know, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I could help," he replied, rubbing the back of his head.

Karasuma sighed. "There's no point in you going back now. And someone tie him up please," he motioned towards the guard who lay knocked out on the floor. Now that Karasuma thought about it, if he was capable of knocking a man unconscious that quickly, then maybe he could be helpful.

"Wait, what?" Izuku stopped in his tracks not that far away from the rest while a few boys passed him with duct tape in hand. "Really?"

"What? Did you think I was going to send you back if we caught you?" Mr. K asked. "Besides, if you made it this far without getting caught, I think you can handle the rest of this mission. We're almost to the top."

"If I may ask, what exactly was your plan, Midoriya?" Korosensei spoke up curiously.

"Well, I thought I'd just follow from a distance. If something went wrong, I was going to step in," he explained, his eyes looking to the floor.

"Ah, so me getting sprayed by that assassin earlier wasn't good enough for your talent, I guess?" the red-head holding Korosensei smirked with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Wha-! No! It was nothing like that!" Izuku shook his head and waved his hands in front of him frantically. "I just didn't think I could do anything without causing a whole lot of noise and drawing a lot of guards to us!"

"Relax," Karma drawled, leaning against the wall. "I was only joking with you, bush-head."

Midoriya's face went comically flat, a little squeak coming from him as he attempted to say something. "My name's Midoriya," he corrected quietly.

"Hey, did something happen to your hand while you were following us?" Isogai asked, pointing to his left hand, which was still covered with the fabric elbow guard.

"Oh," Izuku lifted up his left arm to show his hand better. "Some of my fingers are just broken. It happened earlier before we got to Okinawa."

"You can't just leave an injury like that untreated!" Korosensei cried, much like a concerned parent. "It'll only get worse with time! Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"Um, well, everything happened so fast with everyone getting sick…" he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck again and looking off to the ceiling.

Korosensei sighed heavily. "Here. Let me see it. I can gauge how bad the wound is and how they should be properly treated."

The green-haired boy grimaced but reached up to pull back the elbow guard, hesitating for just a second before pulling it down gently to reveal his broken fingers. The group gasped, some wincing at the sight. Even Korosensei seemed off put by the severity of it. "Oh my…" he trailed off, eyeing it worriedly. "Just by looking at them I can tell they're likely broken in more than one area, and the tissue is badly bruised. Mr. Karasuma, do we have anything that can be used to set them? If someone's willing, I can guide them through the process."

"No, I don't think I have anything on me," Mr. K shook his head stiffly. "Didn't think I'd need bandages and splints on vacation."

"It's okay. I'll be fine," Izuku piped up, covering his hand back over with the elbow guard and wincing as his fingers throbbed. Now that he wasn't focused on staying out of sight, the pain was a lot more noticeable. "Getting the antidote is more important."

Their teacher sighed again. "As much as I don't want to, I think we'll have to leave it like that until we get back to the resort. Try to keep them from moving much," Korosensei advised, receiving a nod from Midoriya.

"How'd you break them like that anyway?" Terasaka asked from behind him. "How d'you break your thumb and middle finger without breakin' the rest of 'em?"

"Oh, you see, it's because-" Midoriya began to explain but was cut off when the door to the VIP stairs opened up and the tall girl with a ponytail from earlier stepped out.

"Sorry we-" she stopped short upon seeing Izuku. "Hey, aren't you that kid from the beach? How'd you get here?"

"I thought you were supposed to stay back," the girl with the purple bob said from behind the other girl, pointing towards him.

"Uh, it's a long story," Karasuma answered for him. "Not important right now. Just know he's here."

"Um, alright," the girl said, a bit confused but not bothering to ask any further on the situation. "Right through here." She motioned for them all to follow.

Once they were all through the door, they could see the rest of the girls along with Nagisa, who wore a dress. "Can I have my clothes back now, please?" he asked impatiently while Karma snuck a quick photo on his phone. As if on cue, one of the girls took the clothes he had been wearing out of her bag and handed them to him. The blunette muttered a thanks before walking off, presumably towards someplace he could change.

While they waited for Nagisa, Korosensei and Karasuma caught the girls up on the situation, and they introduced themselves to Midoriya. By the time Nagisa had gotten back, he knew pretty much all the students' names that he hadn't learned earlier and Karasuma had begun to stand on his own without needing Isogai for support.

"That was some rather questionable territory you had to navigate. No one got hands-y with you, I hope?" Korosensei asked worriedly.

The girls smiled, a few shaking their heads. "We held our own," the now named Meg answered.

Nagisa came up from behind the girls with a frown on his face, sighing. Kayano turned to him, still smiling. "Oh, you changed out of your dress. That was fast."

"Not fast enough," he replied.

Kayano's smile disappeared when she noticed her friend's down-trodden demeanor. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing. I feel so stupid. I mean, let's face it. You girls didn't need me in there. I didn't contribute anything," he said, his shoulders tensing as he looked down at the ground.

"You were comic relief, dude! That's big!" Karma interrupted, holding up his phone to show the picture he had taken earlier.

"Delete that immediately!" Nagisa cried, a light blush appearing on his face upon seeing evidence that he had ever dressed up in the getup.

Kaede giggled at his reaction. "You did a lot, Nagisa," she reassured. "I know one person who's better off 'cause you were there."

As the class began moving up the stairs, Isogai decided to pitch his opinion in. "Not gonna lie. That dress looked good on you," he said, turning a bit towards him. By now, Mr. Karasuma had regained enough strength to walk on his own for the part, save for a hand on the boy's shoulder just in case. "Historically, an assassin who can pull off either gender is a huge asset in the field."

"I don't like where this is going," Nagisa replied, his blush returning.

"He's right," Karma joined in. "'Cept I'm not so sure if I buy you as a dude."

"I'd really appreciate it if we dropped the subject!" the blunette said loudly, embarrassed.

"We're trying to be stealthy. Keep your voice down," Karasuma reminded lowly, receiving a, "Yes sir," from Nagisa. "We're in this operation's final phase. Talk to me, Ritsu."

"Yes, sir," the digital girl's voice piped up from someone's phone. "The VIP floor is just around the corner. The guests here don't rely solely on hotel security, though." Karasuma, along with a few students, peered around the corner, spotting two guards in front of where they needed to go. "They make it a point of bringing their own."

"Man, these guys look like they eat rent-a-cops for breakfast," Sugaya commented.

"I'm demoralized," Okano added.

"You think they're in league with our target, or what?" Toka asked curiously. "I mean, technically they could be anyone's minions, right?"

"Like it even matters," Terasaka said in a hushed tone, cracking his knuckles. "Either way, we're gonna have to take 'em down to get through."

"But we'll need to take them down quietly in order to not attract any attention," Izuku spoke up, hoping to stop anyone from doing anything rash. If the previous scenarios were anything to go by, he got the feeling they were more reckless. "Do we have any way to do that?" His Quirk certainly wouldn't work. The chances of him losing control were too high for him to risk.

"Excellent point, Terasaka and Midoriya," Korosensei said suddenly, drawing everyone's attention to him. "And I think the answer to your question lies in the weapon Terasaka's been hiding in his backpack."

"Tch. Great. You have X-ray vision in this form, too?" he said sarcastically as he took his backpack off.

"You'll have to take both guards down at once to keep 'em from calling for backup," Karasuma advised as the boy dug around in his bag.

"Kinda figured as much, thanks," he replied a tad rudely. "Kimura, help me out. I'll wait, you go out there and lead 'em this way."

The short, green-haired boy named Kimura looked at him with disbelief. "Dude, are you crazy? How'm I s'posed to do that?"

"You figure it out!" Teraska replied, a little more hoarsely than he normally spoke. It was hard to tell if he was just trying to keep quiet or if there was another reason.

As if on cue, Karma leaned into Kimura's ear with a devious smile and said, "I've got a good idea if you're not a wuss." Izuku looked at the red-head with a deadpan expression. He really didn't like the sounds of it.

Karma quickly gave the other boy his idea, and before long, he was marching down the hall towards the guards. Both men turned to him upon hearing the footsteps, and one of them grunted, "Help you, kid?"

"Oh, wow!" Kimura brought a hand up to his forehead like he was shading his eyes from the sun and scanned the hallway. "Not a single active brain cell in sight! Nope!" He stopped to point at the two. "Just two big dumb walls of meat wearing clothes!" The boy began turning around, speaking over his shoulder, "Somebody really ought to call animal control. Sheesh." He turned fully and began walking back down the hall, both men staring at him with unreadable expressions before they both suddenly took off after him.

"C'mere!" one yelled.

"Why you runnin'?" the other growled.

"Who the hell is this little piss-ant?" the one with shades asked when neither of them were catching up. In fact, it seemed that Kimura was getting further ahead.

"And why's he so fast?" the other added.

The boy sprinted past the corner, giving Terasaka a heads up. "Let's do it!" he said to Yoshida as he came out from the corner and tackled one of the guards down.

"Right behind ya!" the other said as he tackled the second down. In an instant, the two boys shoved the stun guns into the men's necks, making them cry out.

"Hey wait, why stun guns?" Nagisa, who was now holding Korosensei again, asked.

"Well, I bought 'em to see if they'd be any good against the octopus," Terasaka replied as he stood from the knocked out guard's body. "But I never thought I'd be usin' them on actual people."

"Those cost a fortune!" Meg gasped. "How'd you afford equipment like this?"

Terasaka cleared his throat a tad nervously. "Uh, I came into some money," he said, looking away from them. "Odd jobs, mostly. Nothin' special."

Karasuma stopped and gasped as realization took over his features, making Izuku anxious. Did he know them?

"Expertly done, Terasaka," Korosensei congratulated. "I don't believe it would be remiss to rifle through their pockets, do you?" The boy glanced at the octopus over his shoulder, confused, before following through with what Korosensei had suggested. "A bit of due diligence and once can find the most useful of items on such gentlemen," their teacher went on as Terasaka held up two handguns, making everyone go a bit pale.

"Real guns?" they said collectively, eyeing the weapons with apprehension.

"That's correct, children. Chiba? Hayami?" the octopus called, the two named students pulling their gaze from the gun to Korosensei. "I think you two should be the ones to have them." Both students gasped with shock. "Alas, Mr. Karasuma hasn't yet sufficiently recovered from his encounter with Smog to handle a gun. The reality of our situation is this: you two are or best sharpshooters.

"That's kinda outta left field, sir," Chiba said, his voice a little shaky.

"That said," Korosensei began, catching everyone's attention again. "I'll allow no killing. That I won't." His point was emphasized by the words "No killing" and an x written on his face. "Do not underestimate your skill. In the right hands, a firearm is all the more impressive for not causing injury." The two popped open the guns, looking in at the ammo inside nervously. "Shall we proceed, children?" he asked after a moment to snap them out of their stupor. "If our experience thus far is anything to go on, the enemy's presence here is relatively modest. By even the most conservative estimate, we've thinned their ranks by half."

"Really? I would have thought they'd have brought more than just assassins into this. Plenty of villains who would work as bodyguards," Izuku thought to himself.

"Yeah! That's what I'm sayin'! Who's he got left?" Terasaka exclaimed and clenched his fist.

"Okay, team. Proceed with caution. The next stage of infiltration is the VIP-only emergency staircase," Ritsu began as the group moved through the entrance. "There's an empty concert hall on the eighth floor we'll have to sneak through to access it."

The class hung low to ground and moved quickly and quietly behind the red seats of the concert hall. Izuku mimicked their posture and movements as best he could, but it was obvious he hadn't been trained like they had. Thankfully, he was good enough to at least keep himself quieter than normal.

As the class was scattered about, hidden by the rows of chairs, a man in a black overcoat and red shirt stepped out from backstage. As he walked, he pulled a gun and stuck the barrel of it into his mouth, his eyes losing focus and pointing in opposite directions. When he got to the front of the stage, he stopped suddenly, pulling the gun out of his mouth and turning his head to stare out into the auditorium

Hiding behind one of the middle row seats, Izuku clasped a hand over his mouth and attempted to keep his breathing even. "Did he see us..?"

"Fifteen. No, wait," the man began talking to himself. "Sixteen total. And young. Mid-teens or thereabouts. You can tell by their breathing. Everyone not laid up with the virus is here."

Midoriya's eyes widened again, both shocked and impressed by the man's ability. "Is this his Quirk? Can he tell where people are somehow?" He turned to peer out at him through the crack in between the seats.

Suddenly, he threw his gun back and shot one of the lights behind him, shattering it into pieces and sending everyone in the room on edge. "FYI, this room is completely soundproof," he informed. "You'll all be Swiss cheese long before anyone comes to the rescue." The man twirled the gun expertly, looking an odd cross between intimidating and silly because of his unfocused eyes. "Come one, we all know you ain't got the grapes for homicide. Surrender like good li'l boys and girls and we'll go see the Big Guy-" The assassin was cut off by a gunshot and a bullet narrowly missing him, instead hitting another light behind him. The man was silent for a moment, his gun now held firmly in his hand before he brought up a hand held remote and turned on the stage lights.

Everyone squinted at the sudden bright lights glaring directly in their faces, some shielding their eyes with their hands. The assassin tossed the remote carelessly to the side, and he said in an almost ravenous voice, "This is shaping up to be a job I can really sink my teeth into!" He let out a crazed laugh, his shoulders bouncing.

"A lot more villain-like than assassin-like…" Izuku thought to himself. He always expected assassins to be posed and proper, sort of like villains but with more elegance, like other two previous assassins. "But he's got an advantage with those lights. They're too bright for anyone to aim properly."

"This is gonna be like a four-star, kill'n'cook free for all!" he said excitedly, aiming his gun towards the seats. There was a gunshot, and Izuku gasped when the bullet came right through the gap next to him. "You there! You're especially loud."

Midoriya pressed himself further against the seat as if that would help. "His aim could rival Snipe's!" Another gunshot rang out, but this time it had been aimed at Hayami. Once again, the bullet slipped through the small gap in between the seats and narrowly missed her.

"I never forget an enemy's position once they've fired. Acquired that trick in the army. Think of it as battlefield synesthesia. I can echo-locate the source of hostile gunfire with pinpoint accuracy and check my own gun by taste." The assassin stuck the tip of his gun in his mouth. "Now, then," he chuckled, pulling the now saliva covered gun away. "I know there's one more stolen firearm out there."

"Standby, Hayami!" Korosensei called out. "Hold your position! Wise decision not to fire, Chiba. Well played. Our opponent doesn't have a lock on you yet. Hang tight and wait for my signal. I'll keep an eye on him and tell you when it's time to shoot." The assassin scanned the seats confusedly, dumbfounded as to where the voice was coming from until a giggle came from directly in front of him. There, on one of the folded up chairs in the very front, was Korosensei.

The assassin fired a few bullets at him, but they simply bounced off of Korosensei's exterior. "Hey! You in the front row! Don't stare at me!" he yelled as he reloaded his gun before continuing his barrage of gunfire.

Korosensei laughed, his eyes squinting deviously. "A seasoned marksman versus adolescent assassins. Our modest advantage will, I think, be quite enough." The assassin stopped to reload once again, glaring at Korosensei. "Okay, Kimura!" their teacher called. "Run five seats to your left! Terasaka and Yoshida! Dash three seats to either side!" The students called began to move as instructed, making the assassin look this way and that. "We've made a blind spot! Kayano, two rows forward into the gap! Go!"

Their teacher continued calling out names and ordering them to different areas. The sound of their quick shuffling could be heard throughout the hall as several students moved at a time while the assassin on stage pointed his gun at whatever was moving. He never got the chance to fire, though as the students took cover too quickly. Eventually, his name was called and he scrambled to move over to where his teacher had instructed. Suddenly, Korosensei shouted, "Alternate naming scheme: Student Twelve! Move right and continue prepping!"

"Prepping? What is he talking about?" Izuku looked to either side of him. There were some close to him, but he guessed student twelve wasn't near him since none of them seemed to be prepping anything, just waiting until they were called to move again.

"Students Four and Five, train your camera on the target from between the seats! Use Ritsu to keep Chiba apprised of his movements onstage!" their teacher commanded. "Ponytail, shift position to front-left! Motorcycle Fan, you as well: two seats down!"

"I see what he's doing. He may know our positions, but that's likely all he can tell. If we're switched up, he won't know who's who and be able to shoot Hayami or Chiba!" Midoriya realized while Korosensei continued switching up the students.

"Alright, Chiba! The moment of truth is upon us," their teacher said. "Get your bearings, my boy. When I give the command, fire at will!"

By now, the assassin was pointing in a different direction every second, frantic to find the second firearm. "Crap! Where is he?" he growled.

"Hayami, you're on follow-up as needed. Focus on blocking the enemies evasive maneuvers," Korosensei advised. "Now, a word of advice to our cool-headed sharpshooters who flubbed the assassination attempted earlier today."

Midoriya had to stop himself from making a noise, his expression comically flat. "Was that really necessary?"

"Don't let one failure overshadow the skills you've worked so hard to cultivate. The best of us fall short of our abilities from time to time," he advised. "You maintain a facade of stoic nonchalance, but feel burdened by the confidence your classmates place in you all the same. Few guess at your inner anguish, but it's there just beneath the surface. You're not alone in this. You give it a brave face, but you needn't bear the pressure on your own. If you miss the shot, there's a fallback strategy. We'll play hot potato with the gun and continue shuffling until our foe has no idea where the next shot will come from. The reason that strategy will work is because everyone here has tasted the agony of defeat. Yes, there's pressure, but your classmates are in the same boat. Learn to take solace in that."

There was a moment of silence before the assassin spoke, "Thanks for the pep-talk. Gave me time to get my bearings and work out a counter-strategy." Izuku's blood ran cold at his statement.

"Okey-dokey! Here we go!" Korosensei called out readily. "Student Twelve! Stand and fire, now!"

A figure stood from the very end of the front row, posed as if it were aiming a gun. As quickly as the figure was up, the assassin had aimed and fired his gun, nailing a bullet square into the head of whoever had stood, much to Midoriya's horror. It only took him a second to realize that the person shot was just a dummy.

While the assassin was still aiming at the decoy, Chiba lunged out from one of the rows and directed his gun at him. A gunshot rang out, but the assassin didn't move or even flinch for that matter. He turned his head towards Chiba, staring at him confusedly. The man snickered before full on laughing, a smile replacing his confusion. "Nice shootin' there, son," he mocked. "Too bad. Now I know whe-" The assassin was cut off when one of the metal support structures of the stage crashed into his back. He barely managed to stay up, aiming his gun out only for it to be shot from his hand by Hayami. He was still for a moment before groaning and collapsing to the floor.

The students all ran out from behind the seats and up to the stage, all looking a lot happier than most would expect. As he got out from behind his seat, he sighed with relief, letting his body relax. He hadn't even realized he'd been tense the whole time.

Izuku hopped up on the stage with the rest of the students, observing the tied up assassin while the students chattered excitedly amongst themselves. He spotted the two sharpshooters, Hayami and Chiba, with the others. "Those two are amazing. I knew they were the best in the class, but still. I think even Snipe and Gunhead would be impressed."

Eventually, Karasuma broke up the festivities, noting that they needed to keep moving, and so they did. Into another classy looking hallway, they came to a bend, where a guard was stationed, and Karasuma nabbed the man from behind, putting a hand over his mouth while he choked the man unconscious. "That's not bad," he mentioned as he kept the struggling man tightly in his arms. "Looks like a good portion of my mobility's back." Karasuma let the man go, his limp body falling to the ground. "I think I'm up to about half-strength."

"Half-strength?!" Midoriya thought to himself. "I wonder what sort of Quirk Mr. Karasuma has to be that strong, or if he even has a Quirk at all."

Karasuma and a few students peered around the corner to check for more guards but were met with an empty hallway and the entrance to a staircase. "That'll lead us to the top floor, right?" Nagisa asked.

"Yep," Kaede replied.

"We're seriously coming down to the wire," Isogai commented nervously, looking down at his watch. The hour was almost up.

"Children!" Korosensei called their attention to him. "It occurs to me the mastermind waiting for us above is not attuned to his resources. In fact, thus far his hired hands have been egregiously misused."

The green-haired boy blinked blanky. He hadn't really noticed anything off about the way anyone was placed. The assassins of varying challenge were placed based on their skill to take them out the closer they got. It was very similar to how villains would place their most powerful minions closest to them.

"Lookouts? Glorified bouncers? This isn't how one employs assassins," he went on. "If our foe had aligned the men we've encountered with their skill set, they'd have been fearsome indeed."

Now it made sense. These weren't villains, they were assassins, so of course they'd be used differently. "You've got a point," Chiba spoke up. "The last guy wasn't off target by so much as a centimeter."

"And consider Karma's opponent," Korosensei reminded. "Normally, the man would have simply snuck up behind him and crushed his windpipe before we even knew of his existence."

"No doubt. Sure," the red-head agreed cooly despite the drop of sweat dripping down the side of his face.

Mr. K searched the unconscious man, quickly finding an ID in his front breast pocket. "All right. New plan," he said as he stood. "First off: Isogai, Terasaka, Yoshida, I want…" Whatever else Karasuma was saying got tuned out as Midoriya homed in on Terasaka and Nagisa. The bigger of the two clearly wasn't looking well, with beads of sweat visible on his forehead and a much dimmer look to his face.

"What's your deal?" Midoriya overheard Terasaka as the blunette put his hand to the other's neck.

"Dude, you're seriously burning up," the smaller whispered worriedly, making Izuku's eyes narrow with concern. The others had been burning up as well… "You feeling okay? Wait…!" Nagisa began to call out to Mr. K only to have Terasaka cover his mouth with his hand.

"Shut up!" he said in a hushed tone. "I'm fine. Look, man. I've got stamina to spare. It's just a fever. My system will kick it out."

The blunette knocked Terasaka's hand off of his mouth. "But the virus is deadly!" he reminded.

"Damn it, Mr. K almost died 'cause of me! If I hadn't been an idiot, he wouldn't have gotten gassed. And in case you hadn't been keepin' score, that's not the first crap I've pulled that nearly cost every their lives. If I drop out, I'll bring the mission down. Who cares if I'm sick? I'm not gonna do that!" he replied stubbornly.

"Terasaka, don't!" the blunette begged.

"Watch me," he returned in a gravelly voice. He almost reminded Izuku of Kacchan with how headstrong he was being.

"I'll keep a close eye on him in case it gets worse," Izuku thought as he and the rest of the class moved forward and up the staircase. He might as well make himself useful anyway he could. Thus far, he hadn't really come in handy. Every block in the road was handled well by Karasuma and the class of assassins. Maybe he didn't need to follow them after all...

When they reached the room, Karasuma stopped suddenly. "Midoriya, I want you to stay out here," he said, earning a surprised look from said student. "We'll need to be silent, and I don't know if you can do that, so instead you'll act as our safety net. If the guy makes a break for it, then you'll catch him at the door."

"Yes, sir," Izuku nodded, stepping aside to let the rest of the class sneak into the room. The green-haired boy stood beside the door, ready in case it burst open. A moment later, he heard muffled voices come from the room, one of which was Karasuma and the other he didn't recognize. What was going on in there?

The room quickly fell silent for a reason unknown to Midoriya, but he waited another minute or two before getting worried. Finally, he worked up the nerve to go in himself, taking slow, careful steps to avoid making noise. He peered around a corner that led into the main part of the suite and was met with an empty room, save for the furniture and the mess of switches on the ground near the table at the back. "What the…" he mumbled as he came out from behind the corner. "What happened in here? And where'd everyone go?"

A quick glance around the room, and his question was answered. Just to the left of the table, there was an open door. Without thinking, he jogged over to it and went through, climbing the stairs that it led to. "I guess this leads to the roof…"

He came to another door and burst through it, finding himself and the rest of the class on the roof. "What's going on?" he asked between pants as the whole group had their eyes on him. Except, there seemed to be someone missing… "Where's Nagisa?"

The class's gaze went up to the helipad and the stairs leading up to the platform. Midoriya followed and spotted Nagisa following a well built man, who carried a case in one hand, from a distance. Some of the class moved to follow up the staircase, namely Kurasama, who stopped on the platform surrounding the helipad with the group of students behind him. The helipad and the platform were separated by a large gap with the only thing connecting them being a bridge that slanted upwards to reach the raised helipad.

Izuku stared from his position near the group with worried eyes, gripping the railing tight with his good hand. The man was clearly strong and also crazy judging by the look in his eyes. The blunette didn't have much of a chance if the man wanted a fight.

The man pulled something like a detonator from his pocket, which made Karasuma aim his gun. "Don't even!" he warned, finger on the trigger and ready to fire.

"Stay right where you are, tough guy," the man yelled out in a raspy voice. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't trust you not to throw a monkey wrench into my alone time with Nagisa." With that, he pressed the button, causing an explosion to go off and destroy the bridge between the helipad and the structure the rest of the group stood on. Everyone gasped, staring as the bridge fell. That was their last hope to reach him if things went south.

While the students were still shell-shocked, the man tossed the detonator over his shoulder and said, "There we go. Now it's just you and me, kiddo. You understand where I'm going with this, right?" The blunette pulled his eyes away from where the bridge used to be and down to the knife at his feet, one that Izuku hadn't been able to see until then. "Revenge is an ugly word, bt if the shoe fits."

"You've got it wrong, Mr. Takaoka," Nagisa said. "I didn't come here to relive our fight."

"Relive..? So he's fought him before. How did he win? Surely whatever he did last time won't work now if he's so bent on revenge…"

"Course not," the now named Takaoka grunted. "You don't have the element of surprise on your side this time. There's not a thing up your sleeve to keep me from killing you. Thing is, it'd be over too fast if I went at you full bore right off the bat. I want to savor this, so here's what I need from you."

The rest of the students gasped with anticipation while Midoriya's body tensed, expecting the worst kind of request from the man.

"Get on your hands and knees… and apologize," he ordered with a crazed look, pointing down at the ground. He held up another detinator, his thumb hovering over the red button dangerously. "Say you're sorry for pulling a cheap trick. Admit you relied on the ol' bait-and-switch to cover your lack of skill."

The blunette stood still for a moment before he began to move slowly, lowering himself onto his knees. "I'm sorry-"

Takaoka stomped his foot on the platform loudly, interrupting the blunette. "I don't believe you! Kneel down lower, you little worm!" he roared. "I want to see your forehead touch the ground like the sole of a boot!"

"He's clearly unhinged… What did Nagisa do to make him so angry?"

Nagia blinked at the man before glancing at the case rigged with explosives and lowering himself further as instructed until his forehead was hovering just above the metal of the helipad. "I'm sorry for pulling a cheap trick on you. I just did it to cover up my lack of skill. I'm very sorry."

Izuku narrowed his eyes at the man. He had no idea what Nagisa had done before, but whatever it was couldn't be anywhere near the length this man had gone through to get back at him. That was easy enough to see.

"Not bad. Now apologize for essentially asking me to hit the road afterwards. Good gracious, the audacity!" Takaoka's face contorted into a frown as he put his foot on the back of Nagisa's head and forced it to touch the ground. "All the trouble I went through for you kids, and that's how you talk to me? I'm entitled to respect for the sacrifices I made!" He began digging the heel of his boot into the boy's head as if he dirt beneath his foot.

"I was wrong to treat you that way. You deserve respect. I am truly, deeply sorry," Nagisa apologized, trying to sound genuine. "Please find it in your heart to forgive me. I was wrong."

Midoriya couldn't help but frown. No one was owed respect. It was something earned. He had to bite his tongue to refrain from yelling at the man out of fear of what he'd do to the antidote if anything were to upset him.

Takaoka grinned and laughed. "I'm starting to believe you," he said as he let the blunette up from the ground. "Daddy feels much better. Was that so hard?" Suddenly, his eyes glowed sadistically, his grin getting creepily wider. "You know what this needs, to help the lesson sink in?" Izuku's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach, expecting the worst to follow. "Pictures of people who've died from the virus I infected your buddies with," he answered, picking up the case and waving the detonator around in his other hand with an all too content look on his face. "Smog let me borrow a few from his collection. The effects are spectacular! Boils over every inch of their bodies, faces like a bunch of grapes. You'd get a laugh out of that, wouldn't you kid?" He finished by throwing the case up into the air.

Nagisa lunged for him, reaching out as if to stop him, while Karasuma yelled, "Please, no!"

Takaoka pressed down on the detonator, consuming the case in a fiery explosion and scattering shattered glass all across the helipad. All the tension in Izuku's body left as he stared in shock and horror, his mouth agape and eyes wide.

That seemed to be the general reaction of everyone else, including Nagisa. Takaoka began to laugh heartily, pointing at the shocked boy. He covered his face and threw his head back as he howled with maniacal laughter. By the time he was done, there were tears in his eyes. "Yes! That's the face I wanted to see!" he exclaimed gleefully. "You know, you should make a scrapbook of this vacation including pictures of your friends dying!"

Nagisa paid him no mind. Instead, he turned to look at Terasaka, who was looking considerably worse. His face was drenched in sweat, and it was clearly a chore just to keep himself standing.

"You could call it Nagisa's Book of Boiled Over Faces!" Takaoka was sent into another mad fit of laughter, hooting and howling.

As his fit was dying down, there was a sudden scraping sound that snapped everyone out of their stupor. Looking to Nagisa, he now held the knife that had been in front of him and was dragging the tip of the blade into the ground as he pulled it towards him, panting softly. Everyone looked on, terrified of what he'd do next. He turned the knife upwards, its blade glimmering in the flood lights of the helipad. "Kill you," he muttered, turning his rage-filled eyes on the man.

Takaoka licked his lips and grinned, chuckling a bit. "That's right. That's the way, sonny boy."

"I'll kill you!" Nagisa repeated, this time much louder and with more rage. "You monster. I'll kill you for what you've done!"

Takaoka let out another hearty laugh at his firm statement. "That's the spirit, boy! Show me your kill face! Come at me with everything you've got!" The lights now illuminated the man's face, making him appear even more sinister.

"It's happened. Nagisa snapped," Meg spoke up worriedly.

"All right, let's be honest here for a second. Sure, we all wanna kill him. But, Nagisa might do it," Yoshida mentioned, watching on anxiously as well. "Can't say I saw it comin'."

"No. Someone has to stop this!" Korosensei said.

"He's right. Someone has to… And I just might-" Before Izuku had finished his thought, something flew past and hit Nagisa in the back.

Looking around, he spotted Terasaka a ways away so that he was behind Nagisa, panting. "Get over yourself, dumbass!" he called out. Yeah, don't think I missed the look you gave me when he blew up the antidote! Screw your pity! Quit wastin' your energy worryin' about what's goin' on with other people and focus on you!" By now, it was clear he was straining to even keep from collapsing. "Look, the virus is a lie! I'll be fine! He's playin' you for an idiot!" he insisted.

"What are you saying? Are you sick?" Isogai asked.

"Murder is murder!" Terasaka went on, ignoring his worried classmates. "Even with a piece of shit like this evil son of a bitch. He's not worth it! Give into the bloodlust and you're no better than him!"

"He's absolutely right, Nagisa," Korosensei joined in quickly. "Listen to him. Killing this man won't solve anything. Blind rage is not a moral guide! In any event, he's likely bluffing about the antidote. We need only consult the poisoner downstairs. Do not stoop to Takaoka's level. Simply render him unconscious."

"They both have a good point, but will he listen? And how will he render him unconscious when the odds are stacked against him?"

"Shut your damn mouth," Takaoka commanded, walking towards the group. "You're takin' all the fun out of everything! If we're gonna get the most out of this, he's gotta come at me with intent to kill!" Looking over his shoulder at Nagisa with a smirk, he continued, "Part of the process is bloodlust unbound! He has to feel it or I can't properly humiliate him! How the hell else am I going to patch up my self esteem?"

"Nagisa, please," Korosensei pleaded. "Take up Terasaka's stun gun. Heed the words of a friend before you give credence to an enemy. Resist the anger. Weigh your options. Ask what within myself does this man have claim on?"

For the first time, Nagisa moved to turn back and look at Terasaka when the boy collapsed to the ground. Kimura and Yoshida rushed to his aid. "Terasaka! What the… You're as hot as a combustion engine!" Yoshida cried as he grasped the other boy's arm.

"Dude, how'd you make it so far like this?" Kimura asked, helping him up with Yoshida.

"Who cares?" Terasaka asked weakly."Don't look at me. Look at them." He pointed a shaky finger at the pair on the helipad. "The octopus is half right. You ain't gotta resist the anger. You control it."

Terasaka's last words seemed to have resonated with Nagisa, and much to everyone's relief, he took up the stun gun. The comfort was quickly ruined when he slipped it into his belt loop in favor of wielding the knife. He pulled off his hoodie and let it blow away in the wind.

"Ooh! Oh, ho! Don't we look vicious!" Takaoka mocked as he took off his coat.

"Crap! He's not listening!" Midoriya began moving closer to a spot that would be behind the madman.

"So you're opting for the knife. Good on you, kid!" Takaoka congratulated. "I knew you'd see the light. Do you wanna know a little secret?" He held up his hand, three glass vials in between his fingers. "I didn't blow up every vial of the antidote. Now, either you come at me and your pals keep a respectable distance," he paused, turning to look at Chiba and Okano, who were trying to get up to the helipad, "or what's left of their chance at survival goes bye-bye. Everyone infected will die. Here that, Karasuma? It's just me and the boy!" he yelled, swaying slightly as if with excitement.

Despite his threat, Izuku still got himself to the spot he had been moving towards. Thankfully the man hadn't noticed him due to being preoccupied with the other two. "I know what could happen, but if I used One for All, I should be able to reach him before he can break the vials." He had been useless this whole time, so it was time to actually do something to help when he could do something the others couldn't.

"This stuff takes a month to cook up under ideal conditions," Takaoka mentioned, one vial now placed between his teeth with the other two in his fist. "Now sure, there's not enough for everyone. But saving some's better than saving none."

Putting a foot on the lower half of the railing, Izuku concentrated and let the power flow through him. "It's a risk to use it throughout my body, but if I don't, I may not be able to transfer the power in time." Grabbing the rail tight, he launched himself up onto the platform at an incredible speed, landing on the outer edge.

The class gasped with shock at his sudden and surprising speed, not to mention the vein-like pattern now visible on his face and the parts of his arms that weren't covered.

Without wasting a beat, Izuku took off again, pulling his good hand back and balling it into a fist. "I won't let you get away with what you've done!" Just as Takaoka turned back to look at who had landed behind him, a fist was slammed into his cheek, and the man was sent flying and rolling across the helipad, earning another gasp from the group and from the blunette. The three vials in his hand were dropped, clanking to the ground, but thankfully none of them broke.

Midoriya snatched the vials up quickly into his hand, holding them tightly as if his life depended on it. "Nagisa, please! Listen to Korosensei and Terasaka! Knock him out and we can hand him over to the police," Izuku attempted to appeal to the blunette desperately as he let go of the power.

"That was the idea!" Nagisa replied with a stunned expression, his eyes now devoid of any of the previous bloodlust they had held.

"What?!" was all he could blurt out before Takaoka's raspy chuckle caught everyone's attention.

Looking back to him, he was picking himself up off the ground, rubbing his jaw with one hand. "Damn… That's a pretty good right hook you've got there, Midoriya."

Upon hearing the man utter his name, his blood ran cold. "How does he know my name?"

"No way you were trained by Karasuma," he continued, turning his crazed eyes onto the green-haired boy. "But it doesn't really matter 'cause you've got the same issue as the rest of 'em. You don't show any respect!" By now, his expression was feral again. "I'll have to teach you, too! First rule, no touching daddy's things without permission!" With that, he sprinted for Midoriya, preparing to strike him with a fist.

Izuku just barely managed to duck the blow and dodge a follow up punch by jumping back. "Crap! What should I do? I can't fight or I'll break the vials." Looking towards the blunette, an idea came to him. "Nagisa!" he called out, scrambling into a run towards the other boy. Instantly, the other boy dropped the knife and took out the stun gun.

Growling fiercely, Takaoka slammed into Izuku's side, knocking him over and making him cry out. As he rolled to the ground, he curled in on himself to protect the antidote. Pushing himself up quickly, he rolled to dodge the man's foot as it came down so hard that he could've sworn it shook the helipad. "You ruined it! His bloodlust's gone!" he roared, kicking the boy swiftly yet firmly in the gut. "D'you know how hard it'll be to get-" Takaoka let out a yell as he was hit from behind and tased by the blunette. Turning sharply, he slammed his elbow into the smaller boy, knocking him down to the ground and sending the stun gun spinning a few feet away. "You little worm!"

The man turned, glaring down at Midoriya before picking him up and striking him hard in the stomach with his knee, knocking the wind out of him and making him drop the vials. A bit of his former crazed smile returned as he stepped over to Nagisa, who still was down on the ground. Placing a foot on the smaller boy's chest, he held Izuku by his collar up in front of him as a shield. "You really tried apologizing to me while attempting to outnumber me? Now, daddy just feels betrayed," Takaoka said disappointedly as he put more pressure on the blunette's chest, making him gasp and try to pull it off.

"Mr. Karasuma! Is there any window for you to fire?" Korosensei asked his colleague urgently, a stop of sweat dripping down his face.

"No," he grumbled, the gun still aimed at Takaoka in case one opened up. "He's using Midoriya as a shield. If I shoot, I'll likely hit him instead." Grinding his teeth together, he cursed, "Damn it!"

"I'm gonna enjoy teaching you brats how to behave," he grinned sadistically, placing his other foot on the vials on the ground.

Everything had gone wrong so quickly. He was much stronger than Izuku had initially anticipated, and he hadn't even begun to regain his breath from the blow to his stomach. Karasuma couldn't shoot. Korosensei couldn't help in his state. And worst of all he was going to crush the vials while they all were helpless to stop him.

Suddenly, Midoriya was snatched from Takaoka's grip, leaving everyone confused. A second later, a massive figure appeared in front of Takaoka and sent him flying back with a hard punch to the stomach. The figure landed just behind Nagisa and turned, setting Midoriya down next to the blunette. "Are you two all right?" the figure, now visible as a massive man with a built body and swept back blond hair with two tufts near his forehead sticking up in a noticeable V shape, asked as he squatted down and held out a hand for Nagisa to grab.

Midoriya blinked, looking up at the figure and quickly becoming overcome with surprise. "All Might…! You're here!"

The blunette took it quickly, letting the man pull him to his feet with ease. "Uh, yes sir," Nagisa stuttered out, too stunned to say much as he stared awestruck at the man. "We're just a little banged up." Izuku nodded in affirmation.

"Good! I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner," he apologized, putting a hand on each of their heads. "I came as quickly as I could after Young Asui informed me of the situation." The man stood from his position slowly, his back still to Takaoka. "But fear not students-!" he started in a reassuring boom, his smile becoming wider as he turned to look at Takaoka over his shoulder, "for I am here!"

For as long as this chapter is, I have to leave it here of all places. I thought it would be best since the chapter is already long enough, and there's some stuff here that oughta raise some questions. I really hope you guys enjoyed this. It was a lot of fun to write, and I hope you'll all look forward to the next chapter!