Chapter 80: Wings for the Fallen Prince
[U.A. High - Class 1-A - Monday Morning]
The morning sunlight filtered through the high windows of the classroom, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air. The atmosphere was a strange mix of post-exam relief and the nervous energy of a new semester.
Shota Aizawa shuffled into the room, his sleeping bag dragging behind him like a yellow cocoon. He looked even more exhausted than usual, if that was physically possible.
"Morning," Aizawa grumbled, leaning against the podium. "You all got your provisional licenses. Good job. But don't think you can relax. The real world is a lot meaner than a simulacrum."
Aokiji sat in his seat, spinning a pen between his fingers. The soreness in his left arm had faded to a dull, background ache. He watched Aizawa, noting the serious glint in his teacher's bloodshot eyes.
"Since you are now legally allowed to act as heroes in emergencies," Aizawa continued, "we are moving to the next step. Hero Work Studies. Think of them as a more serious, long-term version of your internships."
Midoriya's hand shot up instantly. "Sensei! Is this where we work with Pro Heroes in the field?!"
"Yes," Aizawa nodded. "But not all agencies are accepting students right now. The streets are... unstable since All Might's retirement. The vacuum of power is creating chaos."
Aizawa stood up straight.
"To explain this better, I've invited three people who are currently at the absolute top of U.A. High. They are the closest things to Pro Heroes in this school."
The massive classroom door slid open.
Three figures stepped in.
The air in the room shifted instantly. It wasn't a pressure of fear, like with a villain. It was a pressure of presence.
On the left, a boy with ears like an elf and a posture that screamed 'I want to go home' hunched over, staring at the floor. Tamaki Amajiki.
On the right, a girl with periwinkle hair that defied gravity floated a few inches off the ground, her eyes wide with boundless curiosity. Nejire Hado.
And in the center...
A tall, muscular boy with blond hair and a face that looked like it belonged in a vintage American comic book stood with his hands on his hips. His smile was blinding. It wasn't just happy; it was radiant. It felt like standing next to a fusion reactor.
"GREETINGS, FIRST YEARS!" the blond boy boomed, his voice vibrating in everyone's chests.
"The Big Three," Aizawa introduced them simply. "Mirio Togata, Tamaki Amajiki, and Nejire Hado."
Aokiji stopped spinning his pen. He leaned forward, his dark eyes narrowing slightly.
That blond one... Aokiji thought, feeling the hair on his arms stand up. His aura... it feels familiar. It feels like All Might.
[Gym Gamma - The Challenge]
"I want to fight you all at once!"
Mirio Togata stood in the center of Gym Gamma, stretching his hamstrings. He wore a simple P.E. uniform, but he looked more imposing than most armored heroes Aokiji had met.
Class 1-A stood opposite him, confused and slightly insulted.
"All of us?" Kirishima asked, hardening his arms. "Are you sure, senpai? We fought villains at the USJ and Kamino. We aren't exactly rookies."
"I know!" Mirio laughed, a hearty, booming sound. "That's why I want to see your spirit! Come at me with everything you have! No holding back!"
Aokiji sighed, stepping to the back of the group. "This is going to be painful," he muttered to Tokoyami.
"How so?" Tokoyami asked, Dark Shadow bristling.
"Look at his stance," Aokiji whispered, observing the way Mirio shifted his weight. "He has zero openings. He's not arrogant. He's just... certain."
"BEGIN!" Aizawa shouted from the sidelines.
The class erupted.
Midoriya launched himself forward with Full Cowling, green lightning crackling.
Bakugo exploded into the air, aiming a blast at Mirio's face.
Todoroki unleashed a wave of ice.
Mina slid on acid. Sero shot tape.
Mirio smiled.
"POWER!"
Zip.
Mirio's clothes fell off.
Before anyone could process the sudden nudity or the strategy, Mirio vanished into the floor.
"He... he phased?!" Midoriya gasped, skidding to a halt.
POW!
Mirio shot up from the ground behind the ranged fighters.
"The stomach is a weak point!"
With a single, perfectly controlled punch to the gut, Jiro collapsed.
Then Kaminari.
Then Sero.
Mirio was a phantom. He moved through the solid concrete floor as if it were water. He phased through Bakugo's explosions. He walked straight through Todoroki's ice wall as if it were a hologram.
He was taking them down one by one. Efficiently. Brutally. With a smile.
Aokiji watched the massacre from the backline. He analyzed the pattern.
He falls into the ground... disappears... then shoots up based on prediction. He can't see while he's underground, or he'd be blind. He relies on intuition and timing.
Mirio took out Iida. He took out Sato.
Now, he turned his beaming face toward the backline. Toward Aokiji.
"Ice Prince!" Mirio shouted, diving into the floor again.
Aokiji didn't panic. He knew he couldn't freeze the ground—Mirio would just phase through the ice. He couldn't build a wall—Mirio would walk through it.
I have to catch him the moment he solidifies to hit me.
Aokiji closed his eyes. He listened to the vibrations in the floor.
There.
Behind him.
Aokiji spun around, his right hand glowing with subzero energy. He didn't aim for a massive wave. He aimed for a tactical grapple.
As Mirio's muscular torso shot up from the concrete to deliver a punch, Aokiji lunged.
Ice Style: Flash Manacles.
Aokiji grabbed Mirio's wrist the millisecond it became solid.
"Got you," Aokiji hissed.
Frost exploded from his grip, instantly encasing Mirio's arm in heavy, diamond-hard ice to immobilize him.
It was a perfect counter. Aokiji had timed the tangible moment perfectly.
But Mirio didn't stop.
He didn't pull back.
He simply... deactivated his quirk in that specific arm again? No. He did something else.
Mirio smiled. "Good reaction time! But..."
Phase.
The arm inside Aokiji's grip suddenly became intangible again. The ice manacles Aokiji had created were still solid, but Mirio's arm passed right through them—and right through Aokiji's hand—like a ghost.
Aokiji's eyes widened. He can phase specific parts of his body while leaving others solid?!
Mirio solidified his fist after it passed through Aokiji's defense, mere inches from Aokiji's stomach.
"POWER!"
WHAM.
The punch was devastating. It wasn't enhanced by a strength quirk, but the sheer momentum and technique made it feel like being hit by a cannonball.
All the air left Aokiji's lungs. He folded over Mirio's fist, his vision flashing white.
"Gah...!" Aokiji gagged, falling to his knees, clutching his stomach.
"Sorry!" Mirio laughed, patting the wheezing Aokiji on the back. "You have great eyes, first year! You saw the timing! But my Permeation is faster!"
Within seconds, the entire class was groaning on the floor. Mirio stood amidst the defeated students, putting his pants back on.
[The Lecture - Hard Work vs. Talent]
"That was... incredible," Midoriya wheezed, sitting up. "Your quirk is invincible, Togata-senpai!"
Mirio paused. He pulled his shirt down. The smile softened into something more serious.
"Invincible?" Mirio shook his head. "No. Far from it."
He looked at his hands.
"My quirk is actually really weak," Mirio explained, his voice losing its boom. "When I activate it, I can't see. I can't hear. I can't breathe. I just fall through the center of the earth. If I mess up the timing by a split second, I could be torn in half by the walls."
Class 1-A listened in stunned silence.
"I wasn't born strong," Mirio said, looking directly at Aokiji, who was still recovering his breath. "I was the bottom of the class. I couldn't even walk through a wall without tripping."
Mirio clenched his fist.
"I turned this glitchy, dangerous power into a weapon through prediction. Through experience. Through failing a thousand times until I learned how to cheat physics."
Aokiji looked up at the blond upperclassman.
He saw the scars on Mirio's arms. He felt the weight of his words.
For Aokiji, power had always been easy. He was born with a quirk that could freeze an ocean. He was a natural disaster.
But now... now that his "natural disaster" mode was broken, he felt lost.
But here was Mirio. A boy with a broken power who had forged himself into the strongest student in Japan.
"Experience," Mirio said, pointing to his head. "That's what you first years need. Go to your internships. Find a pro who will push you. And maybe..."
Mirio grinned, the sun returning to his face.
"...Maybe one day you'll be strong enough to punch me back!"
[The Hallway - After Class]
The sun was setting, casting long orange shadows down the U.A. corridors.
Aokiji walked slowly, holding his side where Mirio had punched him.
"He hits like a truck," Aokiji muttered.
"He is impressive," Midoriya said, walking beside him, his eyes shining with new determination. "He's amazing. I want to be like that."
"Midoriya," Aokiji asked quietly. "Do you have an agency in mind?"
Midoriya nodded vigorously. "Yes! Togata-senpai introduced me to his mentor. Sir Nighteye. He was... All Might's sidekick."
Aokiji raised an eyebrow. "The guy who can see the future? Heavy stuff."
"What about you, Kuzan-kun?" Midoriya asked. "With your license, tons of heroes will want you, even after Kamino."
Aokiji stopped walking. He looked out the window at the city skyline.
He thought about his nerfed ice. He thought about his need for precision. He thought about how easily Mirio had bypassed his defense.
He needed someone who understood elemental power. Someone who valued precision over raw destruction. Someone who operated in the grey areas, not just the spotlight.
"I have an offer," Aokiji said, pulling a crumpled letter from his pocket. "It's from an unexpected source. A hero who specializes in speed and elemental control."
He looked at the signature on the letter.
Hawks.
The Wing Hero.
"I think I need to learn how to fly before I can climb the mountain again," Aokiji murmured.
Midoriya smiled. "That sounds perfect for you."
"Yeah," Aokiji sighed, putting the letter away. "Though I have a feeling he's just going to be annoying."
[Unknown Location - The Shadows Deepen]
Far away from the warmth of U.A., in a dimly lit warehouse district.
The air smelled of antiseptic and rust.
A man walked down the street. He wore a green parka with a thick fur collar, and his face was hidden behind a terrifying, beak-like plague doctor mask. He wore white gloves that seemed to glow in the moonlight.
Kai Chisaki. Overhaul.
He stepped over a piece of trash on the sidewalk with a look of utter disgust.
"Filth," Overhaul whispered, his voice muffled by the mask. "This entire society is sick. Infected by the disease called 'Hero Syndrome'."
Behind him, a massive, hulking figure emerged from the shadows.
"Boss," the subordinate grunted. "The League of Villains has been quiet since All For One fell."
"Good," Overhaul said, his golden eyes narrowing. "The old generation is gone. The chaotic children are hiding in the sewers."
He held up his gloved hand. He looked at the city lights in the distance.
"It is time to cure this world," Overhaul declared cold, clinical, and absolutely terrifying. "We will return everything to the way it should be."
He turned the corner, his shadow stretching long and thin, like a scalpel waiting to cut the world open.
The next storm was gathering. And this one wouldn't be made of ice or fire. It would be made of blood.
.
.