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The civil war exam has finally begun.
After only two whole weeks of planning and strategizing, both teams consisting of pretend heroes and villains were prepared.
The hero team were more than ready for this event to start. With Iida as their leader, they been through enough training in order to partake it what would be the most advanced simulation they had yet.
But while they were busy, they have not even caught a glimpse at what the villain team were up to. From the past two weeks, they only left the room whenever normal classes were over or during lunchtime. It seems as if their fellow leader, had told them to be secretive. And judging by what they observed, it seems as if they succeeded.
There were a few instances of the hero team members asking their classmates from the opposing side, hiding it as a small little joke. But however, while they may try, the villains would always keep their mouth shut.
It was almost kind of strange to think about, maybe a bit weird. But that did not bother them that much, for whatever the villains have planned for them, they will be ready.
A half-hour in and the heroes have entered their base of operations, grabbing some breakfast from the cafeteria and engaging in small talk.
Once Iida announced for them to start their meeting, they soon ended their free time and approached the large tables to begin.
As everyone sat down and made themselves comfortable, their leader was about to speak, until something popped in on the screen. A sudden message that says that there is a video call from an unknown number. A few of the members wondered aloud in confusion as Iida turned towards Yaoyorozu, one of the commanders, who was going over the keyboard.
“Creati, do you know who it might be from?”
“I’m not sure. It says that it’s from an unknown caller, but I think it may be from the villain team.”
Iida was surprised from what she said. He is unsure as to how and why their opponents would call them this early. Not to mention, he needs to start setting up the objectives. But however, even if it might be a timewaster, he is curious to see what this is about.
Once he made his choice, he gave a confirmative nod to Yaoyorozu. “Alright, let’s answer it.”
Yaoyorozu answered the call as the once peaceful mood changed immediately.
The screen shows a mysterious figure sitting on a black, gothic longue chair. They wore something on their face that resembles a plague mask, with red goggles that gleamed menacingly from the background lights. They are also wearing a black suit and tie with a heavy coat over them. They have their arms folded with one of their legs on top of the other.
The heroes who were from 1-A could easily guess who that was.
It’s Tokoyami, no doubt about it. All the clues were pieced together. The elegant chair, the dark colors, the lack of lighting, it was all spelled out for them. He seemed to be getting into his role as villain leader, and he has wowed them so far from appearance alone.
But while this was certainly unsettling, what makes it more was the fact that the screen seems to be frozen.
Nothing else was shown to them, not a single sound or movement from the boy.
Nobody said anything, they just stood there, wondering if the call was jammed. It stayed like that for a full fifteen seconds, but to the heroes it felt like it was a bit longer.
In the blink of an eye, the villain leader raised his right hand in a quick motion and snapped his fingers.
The entire hero team jolted from the quick reaction. Some screamed while a few huddled to someone close. But then an eerie dark chuckle silenced them immediately.
“Oh, how I must apologize to you all.” Tokoyami finally spoke, his deep, brooding voice echoing from the whole room. “I did not mean to frighten you. It is rather interesting to get a little shiver from someone who’s unexpecting anything. And from my fun little test, it seems as if all of you aren’t ready.” He said in an amusing tone as he chuckled lightly.
“Enough games!” Iida yelled at him. “Tell us who you are, villain, and why are you calling us so casually!”
Dark Shadow appeared from the folds of Tokoyami’s coat, chirping in delight once he receives his master’s headpats. “Mm, very well. I go by the name, Nevermore, and I have my own legion of followers known as The Fellowship.” Tokoyami explained. “Now, we don’t exactly like to be referred to as villains. For you see, we are only trying to revive this dreaded darkness that was once our peaceful society. But however, certain people like you “heroes” refuse to even acknowledge or make up the horrors we have been through.” His tone slowly got cold the more he rambled. “So, we will make sure that there will not be a single one of you foul pests getting near our territory.”
The heroes grew more tense from that sentence. Certain members like Kirishima and Tetsutetsu tried to stay tough, but even they faltered from Nevermore’s presence.
The menacing threat soon clasped his hands together as he continued. “And to make sure that the deed is done, I call forth three of my most loyal comrades on board…”
The screen changed one by one to show off the villain team commanders. “Usagi, Poison Dart, and Kraken…”
Each of them was only shown by their heads and the masks they wore, going through a sort of animal motif. Usagi’s was like the one from his hero costume, only with the colors of dark green and black, with the teeth looking so sharp and the eyelids glowing green. Poison Dart’s a gas mask with the colors and appearance of a poison dart frog. The two patches for breathing were set apart to resemble cheek marks. Kraken’s was interesting, his mask was a octopus, almost resembling a villain from that famous pirate movie series some of the 1-A kids enjoyed. It has a dark blue color and beady black eyes, complete with a threatening expression.
Their debuts gained some interesting reactions from certain hero team members. Bakugo could only snarl in annoyance while muttering “Deku…” while Uraraka looked nervous and distraught seeing the first two, especially Usagi.
Nevermore popped back on screen, giving his shadowy quirk more head rubs. “I am sure you are curious about the rest of my troupe, but rest assured, they will be seeing you very soon. They would be so delighted in tearing you apart from limb-to-limb.” He chuckled again, enjoying the feared looks on the heroes’ faces.
“I believe that it is time for us to depart, for now. I am curious to see if all of you will do well in our little challenge. Unless most of you make it out alive…” His mask shifted up slightly, taking his eyes on Iida. “And as for you, Ingenium, I await our inevitable meeting. I want to see how well you will live up your brother’s legacy…” And with that, he ended the call, and the screen changed back to the objectives tab.
It was silent for a few seconds until everyone went into an uproar.
While Yaoyorozu attempted to calm them down, Iida was too lost in thought from Nevermore’s speech. It made him frustrated when he said that last line, but he must calm down for now is not the time.
He is going to learn of the mistakes he made from Hosu. He will make his brother proud.
He is going to be a great leader, and he will do whatever it takes to lead his team to victory…
Tokoyami took a deep breath and sighed in exhaustion, finally taking off his plague mask. It felt a bit stuffy wearing that thing for too long, but perhaps it was the stress.
He could not believe he just did that. Pulling off a threatening, terrifying debut against his opponents.
He was nervous at first making that introduction, but he managed to stay bold and confident through the whole speech. It was a good effort, and he might as well pat himself on the back for that.
Dark Shadow popped up from his chest and nuzzled his face. “You did really good, Fumi! They all looked so scared, I think I saw one of them wet themselves!” He cackled in glee.
His host rolled his eyes, giving him one more headpat before getting up from his seat. “This isn’t just to scare them for fun, Dark Shadow. It is to simply give them a message that we are not treating this like a game. I am unsure if that will get them to understand, but I’ll be surprised if they do…” His quirk entered back inside him as he left his bedroom to seek out his comrades.
At the main center of the base lies every single one of his followers. Some splitting off into different groups and conversating while others were gearing up.
They all were dressed up in their own costumes and masks to help build up the creepy vibe Tokoyami was aiming for. All the masks representing an animal of their choice to match their personas. Some of them were dressed as street thugs you would find at a dark alley while others chose something like jumpsuits to feel comfortable. The weapons were the basic knives and guns, but there were a few unique ones, like baseball bats and the sniper riffle in Asui’s possession.
Tokoyami was impressed by how far they had all come. From two-to-three weeks, with Midoriya and Asui’s help, he did his best to guide through them by training and planning. He was worried that this might be a failure, but from what he went through with them, he feels more hopeful.
At this point, he doesn’t really care about winning. Even if they fail, he will still feel satisfied with what they accomplished. He and his team are the underdogs in this little game. They came here to show their worth, to prove the others wrong, to let them know that they are tough enough to pull through any diabolical deeds without any fear.
Sure, his opponents they might shun or fear him when this is finally over, but he will worry about that later. For right now he has some business to take care of.
Once he made his presence known in the room, the Fellowship ceased their fun and stood up to greet him. They waited patiently for him to give out their objectives.
He cannot help but make a small smile as he put his mask back on and started speaking. “The call is finished. Now we shall begin phase one…”