A few minutes before,
"You…" Monoma pointed at Luke. "… You… You are insane!"
It was not only him, but the likes of Erasure Head, Vlad King, Todoroki, and Snappy were looking at Luke as if he had lost his mind.
Only Nyx narrowed her eyes, perched on Aina's shoulder, knowing the purpose of Luke's bathroom visit.
"… That…" Vlad King held his chin after a moment. "… makes sense…"
"Sir!" Monoma gasped.
Erasure Head, meanwhile, held his doubts.
However, even he found himself thinking over Luke's plan, instead of outright rejecting it, despite its utter ridiculousness.
Neito Monoma can hold up to five Quirks, Luke had suggested, after confirming it with Vlad King. And each Quirk can be held for ten minutes, even if he switches between different Quirks, using them one at a time. Why not let Monoma copy Erasure, then?
Aizawa had almost rejected the suggestion instantly.
First, having two people with Erasure Quirk meant nothing, as one of them was a student. To erase a Quirk, Monoma would still have to go out in the forest, throwing himself in danger, which wasn't what the Pros wanted.
Second, even if they let Monoma go out, in the worst case, one of them would still need to be with him for his protection. That someone couldn't be Vlad King, as he needed to protect the students at the campsite. So, it must be none other than Erasure, defeating the entire purpose of this wild endeavor.
Third, neither Erasure Head nor Monoma was fast enough to appear at the various places that needed their presence. The Pro could still fight his way through the obstacles, but the student didn't have the same experience.
Fourth, and the greatest reason behind Aizawa's almost outright refusal, was Erasure's weakness.
For Erasure to work, Aizawa needed to look at a target and then activate his Quirk with a mental command. From that moment onwards, the target wouldn't have access to his Quirk… as long as he didn't blink.
He could even erase Quirks of multiple Villains, but the blinking limitation remained the same.
Aizawa had trained himself to keep his eyes open for a long time while fighting against the dryness.
Monoma, who had zero experience with Erasure, would be blinking right off the bat!
And that's when Luke had opened his mouth again.
"… Delay will prevent him from blinking, as it slows down all movements in a small region," Luke repeated his idea, with a touch more confidence this time. "I also cannot use more than one Quirk at a time, but… he can copy Delay, I guess, even if he cannot copy Raven itself. Once he does that, I will use Gigantification on Nyx and take him to the air. Then, he will use Delay on him keeping his eyes open. The Quirk only slows down physical things, not thoughts. So, he can easily switch to Erasure and… spam it for a few minutes."
Monoma gaped at Luke, his jaw dropping even more.
Flying on a huge monster and unable to blink, with wind blasting his face…
"Cough!" Luke cleared his throat. "Sero can wrap his face under tape…"
Hanta Sero repeatedly nodded in agreement, already pulling out several meters of tape from his elbows.
"Oi!" Monoma stepped back from the Class 1-A's lunatics. "Sir… You wouldn't let this madman…"
"We will remain in the sky," Luke promised, looking at Aizawa. "That will leave you free on the ground. Even if a Villain spots us, I will take Nyx even higher and return to the campsite as I wish. Also, if someone is seriously injured on the field, Monoma can copy Spot Heal. With two healing Quirks concentrated on the same area, the effect should theoretically double."
Erasure Head suddenly remembered Midoriya.
"Sir…" Kota suddenly held Aizawa's legs, tears welling up in his eyes. "… Is Luke right? Can this Spot Heal really heal injuries?"
Erasure Head's head snapped toward Luke, his eyes narrowing.
For a moment… just for a moment… the Pro felt like a spider was entangling all of them in its web, without letting them be aware of it.
It was especially so with Kota's pleading, making the mention of Spot Heal look so deliberate.
However, noticing the soft expression on Luke's face, Erasure Head shook his head. There was no way for Luke to know about Midoriya's condition. Otherwise, given the friendship between them, he wouldn't have remained so calm.
"Sir…" Luke said, stepping forward and looking at the two Pros. "Use us…"
All the students behind Luke heavily nodded, Monoma falling into silence as well.
Aizawa… shook his head. "No," he said, taking a deep breath. "Too many things can go wrong…"
Vlad King nodded heavily in agreement. "That's a solid plan, Luke," he praised. "But you aren't a Pro. We cannot willingly throw you out in the field, just because your plan makes sense."
"Sir…" Monoma said, keeping his head down. "I… don't mind… I want to help, too…"
A smile surfaced on Vlad King's face. "… I know," he said, feeling proud of his student. "Still, no. Erasure Head. Don't worry. You can…"
[… How did you know that they would end up rejecting you?] Miss Justice asked.
Because… Luke replied, looking over his shoulder at Todoroki, Monoma, and Nyx. I… am good at manipulations.
No words were shared between the three students.
Yet, in the instance that Luke looked at them, both Todoroki and Monoma knew what he was trying to say. In that instance, they knew why Luke had described his plan in such detail. In that instance… they knew why Luke mentioned Delay in such depth.
And if Todoroki and Monoma guessed the meaning behind Luke's gaze, then less needed to be said about Nyx.
"I will take responsibility…" Luke said and—snapped his fingers.
"No means No!" Erasure Head snapped, already turning around. "Stay…"
The Pro couldn't finish his sentence, though. Aizawa was so stunned that he even failed to activate his Quirk.
Hung motionlessly in his place, he realized that Luke hadn't said the last words to him, but to the three students…
… who rushed past him and Vlad King, both unable to move under the effects of Delay!
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