My Hero Automata

Summary: Uh-oh! Everyone forgot that time is a thing and Final Exams are coming up soon...

Chapter 37: Prepare for Hell!

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The few days following the mass attack on UA had been…tense. There had been no more activity from the League so far, but that hadn't particularly reassured anyone. The fact that, despite UA being shut down for repairs and upgrades, most of the Heroics students of First Year Groups A and B were on campus, moving into the dorms, certainly didn't help in providing a release for that tension. While, for some, the change would normally have been exciting…there were stark reminders all over campus of the attack. The lingering damage was obvious, and only made impossible to ignore so by busy repair crews fixing the grounds and technicians upgrading the defenses. To say it put a damper on things would more than a bit of a understatement.

As a result of the tenseness lingering in the air, it was with a wild mix of startled fright, chagrin, and relief that Group A witnessed the return of Midnight's usual flamboyance on their first day back in Theoretical Heroics 101. With barely a moment of warning from Jirou and Izumi, Midnight crashed through the door and slammed a thick stack of pamphlets down on her desk. It was only her the return of her half-dangerous smirk and the moment of warning that kept the various on-edge students from freaking out. But that didn't last long, given her news…

"Prepare for hell, my adorable students! For finals approach! There are only two weeks left in the term, so I hope you've all been studying~!"

Gaping faces gave way to a mix of groans and, from Mina, a wail of despair. There were also a few faces rapidly growing indignant and angry…but Midnight was quick to cut them off at the knees. Her face turned a bit more serious as she snapped the riding crop she used in class to gather attention. It worked as it always did, stopping the protests long enough for her to speak up again.

"Normally, that warning is all you would get from me, as Heroics students are expected to overcome all adversity. However, the staff is all fully aware of the disruptions that have happened with your learning this year. In light of that, I have three pieces of good news. First, regular course exams have been pushed back to the 1st of August. Those of you who have other commitments can arrange to take them at the more usual time, if you're confident in your ability to pass."

Midnight paused there, letting them absorb the first bit of good news. Tension drained out of a few students, but others still looked mulish. They, at the very least, weren't so blindly angry as to not wait for the rest, which she nodded in approval of.

"Now, your Heroics theory and practicals are unaffected. Frankly, both you are your sister First Year group have already shown you have what it takes on the practical side. Expect a harder exam than usual, given that we already know what you're capable of…but there's another counterpoint of good news. I'm sure you've all noticed a few Heroes patrolling around campus already, yes?"

There were nods and murmurs at that. Izumi nodded right along with the others. She and 2B had already identified at least a dozen such Heroes, all of them UA Alumni, roaming not just the school, but the local area around it. So far, the biggest surprise had been the seemingly consistent presence of Miruko. Other, lower ranked but still well-regarded heroes, had been around with varying levels of frequency as well. Local heroes had also been more frequently spotted near UA, which was normally considered a low priority for patrols. Given the number of pros and provisionally licensed Heroes that operated out of UA, only an idiot would usually dare to attack it or anything in its vicinity.

"As you've all likely guessed, those Heroes and Heroines are here as a temporary security measure, to reassure both students and the general public. However, many of them have also agreed to set aside time to run small-group training sessions." Midnight tapped the stack of pamphlets with her crop. "These contain a list of when those are available. Sign up quickly, as I'm sure many or most will fill up. These sessions will be a major help in preparing for the practical portion of the Heroics finals."

There was a much stronger murmur in the wake of that announcement, with many of the students staring excitedly at the stack of papers, much of their earlier discontent vanishing at the unexpected opportunity. Kaminari, however, voiced an obvious question.

"What about the theoretical side? As you said, we're already more ready for the practicals! And the worst disruptions have honestly been to the theory classes!"

Midnight, rather than glaring at him for the interruption, simply nodded.

"That's the final detail. At least for most of you. The UA staff have pooled what free time we can together to set up similar small-group study sessions to make sure you're all ready. For Group A, myself, Present Mic, and Thirteen have all agreed to run such sessions. You'll find the times for those also included, and we ask that you sign up as soon as possible for those as well."

That final bit of information removed the last signs of protest from the students. While they might not be entirely happy, it was clear to all of them that UA was going well out of its way to make sure they had all the help they needed. Given the normal, somewhat draconian, sink or swim policies UA was infamous for, that was a major concession. One not to be spit upon.

"Now, before we begin…Yaoyorozu and Midoriya, I've been asked to ask you if you're confident you could pass your theoreticals without the extra study sessions?"

Blinking in surprise, both of them were nevertheless quick to answer in the affirmative. None of the rest of the class seemed at all surprised by that. The class as a whole had long since discovered, and occasionally whined about, some of the academic advantages both of Group A's powerhouses had from their Quirks.

"Good. Nedzu expected as much. In light of that, he'd like to use that time for the lessons he mentioned the last time you met. Please see him after classes are finished for the day to set up a schedule."

The class was looking at them in confusion, but Momo and Izumi both remembered, eyes narrowing. Just what did Nedzu have in mind with all the chaos still ongoing? Well, they supposed they'd need to wait until later to find out…

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Later, as it always does, eventually arrived. Unlike most of the Heroics students, Izumi and Momo didn't suffer overmuch from the physical demands of Practical Heroics, which meant they were both still fairly fresh as they arrived at the dean's office after classes ended for the day. Given who they were dealing with, they were quietly grateful for that fact. Particularly as, when the door swung open before they could knock, even Nedzu's personal assistant was missing. This was the first time either of them had met with the chimera without other professionals around, and even Momo was a tiny bit nervous about that fact. Nedzu did have a reputation, after all.

"Ah! Excellent, the three of you are right on time. As expected."

Exactly on time, it seemed, as Nedzu just finished pouring their favorite teas. Mildly disquieting as that was, it was also relatively easy to dismiss, given that the dean had unrestricted access to the campus security system. Both of them did their best to take it in stride, with Momo managing it a bit better than Izumi. Such little tricks were completely routine in high-stakes business deals, after all.

"I imagine both of you understood Midnight's message. That you are here to get a crash course in practical investigation?"

Both of them nodded, of course, even as they sipped at their tea politely.

"Excellent. Let us get right down to business then. I believe in a practical approach and there is a limit on how much time I can spare with the ongoing investigation into the League. As such, we will be doing double duty, using an active, potentially related, series of investigations for you to learn from. Tell me, how difficult did you find it to get permission to place cameras around UA?"

Both of them blinked at Nedzu's mid-conversation seeming non-sequitur. Momo, having taken point on the actual legal size of that, was still quick to answer despite her surprise.

"Quite easily. Very few businesses are unwilling to turn down free money, which is essentially what asking to place those cameras was. I assume it was even easier, given that they were intended to point away from anything particularly important. Most of the business owners were content with either a small monthly payment or gratis upgrades of their own security systems."

Izumi cocked her head, looking quizzically at Momo. She hadn't actually been aware of that. It was more her girlfriend's area of expertise to handle such negotiations, after all. Izumi and 2B had taken charge of planning where to put them, physically planting the hardware, and setting up the alert system instead. She frowned and shifted her gaze to Nedzu as a thought occurred to her, giving her a hint of where he might be going with this.

"It shouldn't have been that easy, should it have? I'm guessing we weren't the only ones that had cameras in the area? And that many or most of them were pointing toward UA?"

The chimera smiled and it was…not a nice smile. He put down his own tea and nodded acknowledgement.

"Completely correct. As you might expect, the vast majority of those cameras belonged to news agencies, the HPSC, various other governmental groups, and so on. I was fully aware of most of them, having long since taken measures with all of the businesses immediately adjacent to the University to sell such space, yet inform me of who they sold it to, and where the cameras were. Then, to my surprise, the two of you managed to install a network of cameras that I had no awareness of."

Momo was obviously catching on now, straightening her already near-perfect posture as her eyes narrowed.

"None of the businesses we used were adjacent to UA. Because we wanted an early-warning system, rather than to watch UA itself, all of them were at least a full block away from the perimeter. More in most places. They also weren't directed toward UA, so even if the businesses had thought it odd, they wouldn't have reported it to you. Possibly to the police, instead?"

Nedzu nodded.

"We did, in fact, find four such reports that had gotten buried in various piles of non-emergency police hotline paperwork. So you're right on target with that one, Miss Yaoyorozu. Indeed, I suspect it would have been more if not for your own name working in your favor."

Nedzu took another sip of tea, his smile becoming a forced thing as he continued.

"Once I realized what had happened, I expanded my search. I found dozens of cameras in various places, none of which I'd known about. Only a few got inside my previous perimeter. From businesses that had changed hands, been purchased without my knowledge, or threatened into compliance. Even most of the unknowns were easy to track down, particularly with the help of 2B. For which I must thank you again, Miss 2B."

2B, silent until now but present in her doll form, nodded acknowledgement over her own tea. Nedzu nodded back, then reached over to tap a key on his miniature keyboard. A holographic screen appeared with a number of reports scrolling along it.

"These 11 cameras, however, were not so easily tracked. Each one requires investigating, to see if they could lead us back to the League or other Villain groups, and they will serve as our practical lesson. Now, we'll start with this one here." Nedzu froze the scrolling on a single report. "It was on the inner ring, and thus more of a threat. In this case, it was placed by a more clever hand than the others as well, the installers having replaced the feed of a legitimate security camera with two smaller cameras. One acted as if it was the regular camera, while the other pointed at UA's staff entrance. Both of those smaller cameras are extreme custom work, however, so we will begin by attempting to track their maker or components…"

All three of his guests leaned forward to read the details, already interested. This was a part of heroics that they had only very limited exposure to so far…

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A/N: Just another 'Hey, I have a Patreon Page,' reminder! Check out my Patreon Page for early access to new chapters of all of my works (including this one). Currently, as of first posting to Scribblehub, 42 chapters of My Hero Automata are public, with 7 more (about 16k worth) currently in Early Access. ALL of my fanfiction content is ultimately free, with nothing stuck permanently behind a paywall. So, while I deeply appreciate anyone willing to help support my writing time...if you don't want to support me, don't :-p. You'll get the content eventually, one way or another, Patrons simply get it sooner.