Field Gamma stretched before them as a sprawling industrial maze: towering metal storage tanks, hundreds of crisscrossing overhead pipelines, high catwalks, and exposed steel girders that reached dozens of feet into the air. High-pressure steam hissed from valves between the silos, blocking clear sightlines across the interior.
"I AM HERE!"
A booming voice rattled the steel structures above them.
All Might stood perched on a high gantry platform at the center of the industrial complex, hands on his hips, cape catching the breeze from the cooling towers.
"Welcome, students!" All Might called out through the facility speakers. "Today's exercise is a rescue race! A disaster has struck this industrial district, and I have placed an emergency rescue beacon at the center platform where I stand! You will compete in heats of five, navigating the terrain to see who can reach me first!"
He raised a single index finger.
"However, keep your eyes open! This is an active plant! Direct attacks on your classmates are strictly forbidden, and points will be deducted for any structural damage you cause to the facility! Speed is vital, but reckless destruction during a rescue mission costs innocent lives! First group, take your marks!"
The digital monitor near the entrance gate flashed with the first roster:
Group 1: Tenya Iida, Hanta Sero, Mina Ashido, Izuku Midoriya, Megumi Fushiguro.
"Looks like we're up first," Sero said, rolling his shoulders with a confident grin. "A maze of pipes and high beams? This place was basically built for my Tape."
"Don't get cocky, Sero!" Mina said, sliding into position on the balls of her feet. "I can skate right through the lower conduits!"
Megumi walked up to the starting line, settling into the middle lane between Midoriya and Iida.
Beside him, Midoriya took a deep breath. A sudden low hum filled the air, and green sparks began crackling across Midoriya's entire body, wrapping around his skin in a steady circuit.
Megumi glanced over, noticing the unbroken glow. 'He's not focusing it in his fingers anymore. It's across his whole body.'
"READY..." All Might's voice roared over the loudspeaker.
Megumi lowered his center of gravity, balancing his weight on the balls of his feet.
The lower walkways were clogged with narrow valve junctions and sharp turns. The high route was open, but the beams were slick with moisture.
"START!"
Iida surged forward instantly, his leg exhausts firing with a deafening roar, but the sharp ninety-degree corners of the lower catwalk forced him to brake repeatedly to avoid smashing into the metal railings. Ashido sprayed acid beneath her boots, skating swiftly along the ground floor, but the maze of fallen pipes quickly bottlenecked her path.
Midoriya leaped forward, bounding off walls and diagonal trusses in a continuous, zigzagging rhythm. He was moving with unbroken speed, springing from pipe to beam without hesitation.
Ahead of them all, Sero shot adhesive tape from both elbows, swinging smoothly between the highest crossbeams like a pendulum.
Megumi didn't run along the catwalk, and he didn't summon a full creature to carry him.
He gathered shadow into his right hand, shaping it not into the complete form of Toad, but directly into Toad's thick, elongated tongue.
He whipped his arm upward.
The shadow tongue shot out twenty feet, latching onto a high overhead pipe with a solid smack. Megumi kicked off the ground, letting the retraction pull him skyward in a sharp arc.
'The tension holds,' Megumi thought, feeling the pull against his shoulder.
He swung through the gap, released the line, and dropped toward a catwalk. Before his feet hit the metal grating, he formed a brief shadow wing from Nue above his shoulders, the sudden burst of lift killing his downward momentum. He landed lightly on the narrow beam without rattling the structure.
Ahead, Midoriya was bouncing off a high storage tank, aiming for the same high platform.
Megumi fired Toad's tongue again, catching a diagonal truss fifty feet ahead. He pulled himself forward at high speed, wrapping around a steam vent in a tight curve. The partial manifestation was still rough, and his transitions between swinging and landing lacked Sero's effortless flow, but the versatility allowed him to cut straight lines through empty air.
'I don't have to manifest the entire summon every time,' Megumi realized as he released the line and landed on the final walkway. 'The abilities can just be tools.'
Ahead of him, Iida's engines roared to life with a sudden burst of speed. His legs pumped in perfect mechanical rhythm, and he shot past Megumi with controlled precision, his movements efficient and direct. He crossed the platform boundary without hesitation, landing solidly on the beacon platform.
"First place, Sero!" All Might's voice boomed over the speakers. "Second place, Iida!"
Megumi sprinted across the final walkway, pushing harder through the remaining distance. He crossed the platform boundary a fraction of a second later, stopping firmly on both feet without touching any of the surrounding pipes.
"Third place, Fushiguro!"
Behind him, Mina's pink form vaulted over a lower catwalk, her acid-enhanced grip letting her slide down a support beam at dangerous speed. She hit the platform hard but upright, skidding to a stop just inside the boundary.
"Fourth place, Ashido!"
Midoriya leaped toward the center platform, but his boots hit a slick patch of condensation near a steam conduit. He slipped, tumbling across the metal grating on his side before recovering and sprinting the final stretch. He crossed the boundary last, breathing hard.
"Fifth place, Midoriya!"
Midoriya pushed himself up from the grating, rubbing a bruised knee with a wry smile. "Ah, man... slipped right at the finish line."
"Nice run, Midoriya," Sero said, offering him a hand up. "You were moving completely differently back there."
Megumi let out a slow breath, letting the remaining shadow residue fade from his fingers.
All Might stepped over, his broad grin gleaming.
"An excellent opening heat!" All Might said, looking between them. "Young Sero utilized his quirk perfectly for this environment, navigating high-altitude terrain with zero structural impact! Young Iida demonstrated exceptional engine efficiency, maintaining perfect control through the most demanding sections! Young Fushiguro displayed remarkable adaptability, using summon abilities for precise transit without damaging a single valve! Young Ashido showed impressive grip and momentum management! And Young Midoriya showed tremendous improvement in continuous mobility, even with an unfortunate slip near the finish!"
He turned his gaze toward the lower catwalks where the next group was preparing.
"Speed is essential in rescue work, but awareness of your environment prevents secondary disasters! Carry this lesson into your upcoming final exams! Second group, take your marks!"
...
Megumi stepped off the platform, heading toward the observation railing where the rest of Class 1-A was waiting.
As he reached the stairs, Sero caught up to him, grinning. "Yo, how were you doing that with your quirk? You weren't using a summon and were moving like how I do with my tape."
Megumi glanced at him. "Just testing a partial application of Toad. It's not the same as your Tape."
"Man, that's what you say," Sero laughed, shaking his head. "You're basically copying my quirk without even fully summoning. That's completely broken."
"Yeah, he might steal your whole flow." Jiro taunted Sero as she walked by to go up the stairs.
"Jiro!" Sero yelled out as his face turned pale at the thought of that.
"It's rougher," Megumi said trying to calm Sero down, leaning against the railing. "Stiff on the turns. Not as smooth as what you do. Still working on it."
Sero let out a groan, slumping back against the rail. "Man, whatever. Just don't start shooting it out of your elbows."
Below them on the factory floor, the remaining groups ran their heats. Bakugo tore through the course with deafening, aggressive bursts of smoke and heat, taking first in his run by sheer destructive velocity, while Todoroki swept through with precise sliding arches of frost.
When the final heat wrapped up, All Might gathered the class around the central catwalk, resting his large hands on his hips.
"Well done, everyone!" All Might's booming voice echoed off the steel tanks. "Every single one of you showed remarkable adaptability today! The experience you gained during your internships is already showing in how quickly you read the terrain! That's the foundation of true heroic work. Keep building on what you've learned here!"
He gave them a broad, gleaming grin before dismissing them to the locker rooms.
...
In the boys' locker room, Megumi pulled the dark Zen'in top over his head and folded it into his bag. He smoothed down the fabric, his fingers brushing against the subtle clan crest stitched near the collar. The cut and mobility were undeniably better than his old costume, but having the Zen'in mark on his gear still left a dull irritation in his chest. He pushed it to the bottom of the duffel, zipped it shut, and pulled on his standard U.A. uniform.
The rest of the school day moved at an ordinary, almost boring pace.
After the intensity of Kyoto, sitting through standard afternoon lectures felt strangely surreal. English with Present Mic was as loud as ever, with Kaminari groaning two rows over as he butchered basic sentence structure. During Modern Literature, Megumi found his eyelids growing heavy, the accumulated exhaustion from a week of relentless sparring catching up with him in the warm afternoon light.
When the bell rang for the class switch, Jiro paused beside his desk to hand back a notebook she had borrowed during fifth period.
"Thanks," she said, tapping the edge against the wood. "Your handwriting is actually readable, unlike Kaminari's."
"It's just notes," Megumi said, taking it and slipping it into his bag.
"Still helps," she replied with a slight shrug. "You looked like you were about to pass out during grammar, though."
"Just tired."
"Try not to fall asleep with your eyes open," she said, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth as she stepped toward her desk. "Aizawa's looking right at you."
Megumi glanced toward the front. Aizawa was indeed watching their row from behind the podium, dark eyes flat and unreadable. Megumi quietly sat up straighter.
By the time the final bell dismissed them for the day, the sky outside had turned a dull orange. The hallway filled with the usual chatter and shuffling feet as students packed up and headed for the doors. Megumi traded brief goodbyes with Kirishima and Sero near the shoe lockers, stepped out through the main gates, and made his way toward the train station alone.
...
The ride back to his neighborhood was quiet. He watched the city blur past the window, the steady hum of the train settling into the background.
When he reached his apartment, the lock turned with a familiar click. He stepped inside, kicked off his shoes at the entryway, and switched on the kitchen light. The quiet rooms felt far emptier than the sprawling Zen'in estate, but the silence belonged to him.
Megumi dropped his school bag on the low table and pulled his phone from his pocket.
A short, formal notification from the Kyoto medical coordinator was waiting on the screen. Tsumiki's transfer had been completed without issue. Her vitals were stable, and she was officially settled into the specialized care ward under full-time observation.
He stared at the message for a few seconds, letting the persistent tension in his shoulders ease just a fraction.
The Zen'in clan was dangerous, complicated, and full of people trying to use him for their own leverage. Naobito, Jinya, Jin'ichi, all of them had their own reasons for keeping him around. But Tsumiki was safe, and she had the best medical support possible. That was the only reason he had agreed to walk into that compound in the first place.
He locked the phone, set it face down on the table, and walked over to the kitchen sink to start dinner.
'One step at a time,' Megumi thought, watching the pot fill with water. 'Just get through tomorrow.'
...
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