Chapter 9
Izuku walked around the beach, now devoid of trash, wearing nothing but dark green trunks with a beach towel hanging off his shoulders. With each step, he could feel the many grains of sand running up and around his feet. It felt like satisfaction, knowing that there wasn't so much as a shard of glass within the beach thanks to all of their hard work.
Around him were other male students from his hero class, general studies, and even the support course. All of those who had helped out today were there, all dressed for the water (with one student wearing one of those old-fashioned one-piece bathing suits for men) as they wandered around. Some of them were just wandering around, watching the waves rolling in and looking out at the ocean, while others waited with anticipation for Lunch Rush to finish up his grill station. Izuku had seen the many shucked ears of corn, kabobs, crabs, and other tasty meals the food hero was preparing for them.
Then there were his classmates who were doing something more…interesting.
"Come on you guys! Keep practicing! We need to be ready to show everyone just how manly we are!" Izuku fought back a chuckle as he watched Tetsutetsu leading Goya, Bondo, and Honenuki standing in an overlapping row with their backs to the ocean. Their arms were raised above their heads as they flexed one moment before lowering their arms to flex again and again. Around them, the other male students were taking pictures while three of the four teens looked embarrassed. Only Tetsutetsu seemed to be able to ignore all the attention they were getting.
"What's going on over here?" asked Izuku as he approached Shinso, who was simply watching them. Like Izuku, the teen was clad in his bathing suit but also had on a white T-shirt to cover his own chest.
"Beats me," said Shinso with a shrug. "Maybe they just want to flaunt how ripped they are compared to everyone else. Maybe they're trying to impress the girls." As Shinso said that last part, he shot a glance over to one of the newer vehicles that the support department had brought over. Parked in the parking lot overlooking the beach, the vehicle was a long, yellow truck that looked like the back had a dozen compartments on either side, all fused together seamlessly with a door on each. According to the support department, this was supposed to be for hero students, allowing them to change in and out of their hero costumes with some degree of privacy when in the field. But today, it was serving a different purpose.
Before either Izuku or Shinso could look away, several of the doors began to open, for some reason making a loud hissing sound as they did to reveal their female first-year classmates! One by one, they stepped onto the concert with a few stretching their arms towards the sky causing their plentiful chests to bounce slightly from the action. Glancing over to his side, Izuku saw that Shinso's cheeks were bright red and his mouth hanging open slightly as he stared up at someone in particular.
Slowly, the girls walked down the stairway to the sandy beach with all eyes upon them. Kendo was in the lead, grinning as she approached Izuku.
At the same time, a hand fell on Izuku's shoulder. Turning around, the teen saw that it belonged to grinning Awase.
"Midoriya, get ready because you're hosting the swimsuit competition!" he declared loudly, causing the rest of the guys to cheer. Something that confused Izuku.
"Ah, when did we decide to have a swimsuit competition?" he asked.
"Just now!" was the answer Awase gave him, giving the green-haired teen a thumbs up who just gave a deadpanned look.
"Hey, I'm ok with it," said Kendo as she approached the pair. Izuku turned, giving her a look to which she responded to the unasked question. "Once we become pro-heroes, we're going to get ogled sooner or later by the press and the public. Better to get used to it now than to be thrown out there without warning. Look, I'll tell the others what's going on and whoever doesn't want to do this doesn't have to. No pressure."
Izuku let out a sigh as it seemed that they were doing this. "Ok, but why me?" asked Izuku as he glanced around, looking for Pony. "You do remember that I'm dating one of the contestants, right? Wouldn't that make me biased?"
"That's why you're hosting it!" exclaimed Awase. "You don't get to vote, just introduce the girls. Besides, it's your duty as vice-rep!"
With a roll of his eyes, Izuku just surrendered to the inevitable as he quickly set to work with this makeshift swimsuit contest. Thankfully, Izuku was a quick thinker and the beach had everything they would need. The first thing Izuku decided on was where on the beach they were going to have this. Luckily, there was a dock nearby that was still in good condition with several long benches near the end. Most likely it had been used by couples to sit on. After Kendo finished talking with the girls from the various classes, she led them to the spot that Izuku had picked out. But before they did that, all of them wrapped their towels around their bodies so that no one would get a close-up look at them until the right time.
And, about five minutes later, Izuku stood next to the threshold of the dock as he looked out at the group of guys before him who eagerly awaited him to begin.
"Well, I guess this is the first ever Miss U.A. Swimsuit Competition for first-year students," began Izuku awkwardly, wishing he could think more on the fly when he was talking to people. Thankfully, no one really cared what he had to say on that front so he was spared from hecklers. "Let's give it up for our first contestant. You know her as the class rep of 1-B: Itsuka Kendo."
The crowd cheered as Kendo got up from her seat and moved towards the beach with a bit of a sway in her step as if she were listening to the invisible music on a runway. Once her toes touched the sand she threw off her towel with so much force that it flew high into the air, yet not a single person turned their gaze away from her. Kendo was wearing a white bikini with blue stripes, the cups holding up her breasts being a little wider than normal. Still, she looked stunning as she twirled around to give the crowd a look at her ass causing the group to cheer loudly.
"Come on Midoriya, put a bit more effort into the intros," whispered Kendo before walking away.
"If I had more time, I would have," muttered Izuku, before shaking his head. Oh well, the life of a hero includes impromptu speeches, right? "Next up, we have a girl so cute you'll eat a hundred mushrooms if it means seeing her again: Kinoko Komori!"
Komori walked up with her head down despite the amount of applause she was getting, her demeanor looking gloomy. That was until she revealed her own swimsuit, lifting her head in the process to show off a rather excited look. It was another bikini, red with white polka dots, but the bottom had a large frill to it that reminded Izuku of a mushroom top. The girl then placed a hand on her hip before it jutted to the side, the crowd hooting loudly. Though they were probably too far away to notice this, Izuku saw that poking through the white dots were her nipples. Before he could turn and look away, Komori turned to walk away and give the next girl the spotlight.
"Ah, ok. Next up we have the girl who wants to smother those she likes and rain diamonds from the sky. Please give it up for one of the hard working girls from General Studies: Kura Katayama!" announced Izuku.
Katayama smiled as she got up, swaying her hips from side to side just as Kendo had. This girl's quirk was called Crystallizing Slime. It was a mutant type quirk that had turned her body into semi-transparent forest-green slime. While she could not morph or make her body more malleable to suit the situation, she did possess a rather interesting ability. Her body could absorb into it various minerals which could then crystallize into shards and then forcefully eject them from her body or leave them sticking out. The more minerals she had at her disposal, the faster she could make these shards. However, there was a limit to the force that she used when firing off these shards as projectiles, though she was working on that.
When Katayama revealed her form underneath the towel, Izuku's face went flush. She was a larger girl than himself or Pony (not including her horns) standing a good foot or so above him with the body of an Amazonian warrior. Despite the fact that her body was made of slime, you could still see the build of a woman who had worked out constantly, with new muscles showing from all the work they had been doing recently. Her hair, which was nothing more than millions of tendrils of slime which she had formed into two braids, rested on her shoulder near where several purple shards were poking out. But that wasn't what had shocked Izuku. Rather than bringing her own suit, Katayama had decided to make her own! Through her own practice, she had formed a clamshell bra over her DD breasts that hung there without the need for a strap with something similar covering her lower region. She grinned, her purple eyes twinkling as she leaned forward to show off more of her cleavage.
"Thank you for that," was all Izuku could say as the slime girl made room for the next girl. "Do you believe in heaven? Well, once you see our next contestant, you sure will! Please give it up for the lady of the vines: Ibara Shiozaki!"
As Shiozaki made her way up to the crowd, Izuku wondered how they had convinced the seriously religious girl to go along with this. When she got up before everyone, she neatly opened up her towel to reveal that her piece was closer to what one might expect from her. It was a one-piece white suit with a single shoulder strap. It was very plain, though none of the guys seemed to mind as they cheered her on.
"Speaking of the afterlife, let's give it up for the resident Poltergeist user: Reiko Yanagi!" declared Izuku as Shiozaki left the stage, covering herself with the towel once more.
Quickly, Yanagi made her way up onto the stage with her towel being levitated in the air right behind her. Izuku blinked as he saw another one-piece suit, but this one was more daring than Shiozaki's. It started with the straps, on one side being white while the opposite was black. They ran down her neck towards her breasts, which were a bit smaller than Kendo's, before crisscrossing right below her plentiful mounds and moving downward until reaching the bottom of her suit. All in all, it showed off far more skin than a normal one-piece by a wide margin.
Honestly, as he was looking at it, Izuku imagined what Pony would look like in something like that before quickly stopping himself as he felt himself begin to get a hard-on.
Quickly shaking himself out of this, he introduced the next girl without any fanfare: Yui Kodai. If this bothered her, she certainly didn't show it as she used her quirk to shrink the towel around her before presenting herself to the crowd. Izuku saw several people in the crowd licking their lips as they looked up at her red lace-up polyester one-piece suit which had a large V-cut in it which went all the way down to her belly button. Like with Yanagi's, the suit started with the straps but were thicker as they went down her body before connecting at the aforementioned spot. There the overall V form of the suit continued with it just barely covering her sex and looping to the other side. Kodai then turned around, letting everyone see the strap moving past her firm ass before it became a stand which was then tied around her middle.
Then, it came.
"We're almost out of 1-B students. Up next, we have our own all-American girl! Pony Tsunotori!"
Bouncing on her hooves, Pony raced up to the front of the dock where she ripped off her towel, exposing her swimsuit for everyone to see. Izuku's face turned red, his nose slightly bleeding at the sexy form standing next to him. Those that noticed this snickered, but Izuku paid them no mind. Pony was wearing an all-black bikini that he had never seen her in before. Her bra cupped her breasts perfectly with a golden ring in the middle. Tied to her waist was a swimming skirt that reminded Izuku of a hip cape which covered one of her legs, letting the side of her black bottoms be shown as well as the golden ring on the side of her hip which connected the front to the back of the fabric.
"O-Ok," said Izuku as Pony, rather than going with the rest of the girls, moved behind him. More heat entered his face as he felt the fabric of her bikini touching his back, feeling her hardened nipples as they poked through the material before she pressed her body against his. Izuku did his best to keep calm, even as his girlfriend planted a loud kiss on his cheek which got a chorus of hoots and jeers from everyone. It was as if that kiss was meant to remind everyone that she was taken. Though still red-faced, Izuku managed to introduce the next girl with at least some form of restraint.
"From the business course, we have the girl who always brings her sisters wherever she goes. Give it up for Aoi Kawakami!"
Kawakami looked a little nervous as the hydra heads sprouting from her back held up the towel as a makeshift barrier. Slowly she moved up front and, when she was in front of the group, her 'sisters' dropped the towel to reveal that her suit was more cute than sexy. It was a yellow one-piece suit with a transparent frill along the top. Like this, everyone could see that she didn't have the largest bust. Rather, she was probably the least endowed girl here. But that didn't stop a number of students from blushing as she stood there, nervously holding a clasped hand over her mouth and looking downward as she fidgeted until she walked away.
"This next girl loves dinosaurs, lizards, and other reptiles! Getting into our class via recommendation, she gives multitasking a whole new meaning. Our very own Setsuna Tokage!"
Tokage simply split herself into dozens of pieces, flying through the air and reassembling herself in front of the group while leaving her towel behind. She was wearing a two-piece suit that reminded Izuku of purple scales. The top part had a rather generous boob window to show off her equally generous cleavage. Below, her bottom was also made of the same purple-like scales, though she did reveal as she turned around the writing on the back that said 'Bite Me' in a primate font that looked like bones connected to each other.
From there, Izuku introduced the other girls from general studies and a few of the girls from the support department who had stayed. Apparently, those from support had not just wanted to enjoy the beach but to also get away from one of their crazier classmates who was hard at work right now.
With the girls finished showing off their swimsuits, and bodies, Tetsutetsu and his group decided that they should put on a fun show for the girls. Together, they started to flex their muscles in every possible way their bodies would allow as they got laughter from the other male students while the girls hooted and hollered at the show.
Then, when they were finishing up, Pony took a hold of Izuku's wrist.
"Come on! We're at the beach so let's go for a swim!" she urged. And Izuku had no reason to resist.
[hr]
At the same time, All Might walked down a lonely disserted street with his head low. Unlike what would normally happen, the cars would not slow down as they passed by him to get another look and the joggers did not stop in the middle of their exercise to ask for a picture or autograph. There were no cheers from people sticking their heads out of the nearby windows or other civilians rushing out of the local shops to greet him. No press hounding him, filming his every move as they took notes. That was because the Symbol of Peace was in his true, skinny form wearing nothing but an oversized white shirt and green pants that had a few holes in his pockets making him almost appear like a homeless man who had gone too long without food. Honestly, he felt lower than someone in that position.
For everything he had done in his life, the two most important things that came with the sacred torch he carried within, called One for All, he had failed miserably. All for One, the person this quirk was created to fight against, might still be alive. Might not have died in that fight over five years ago, the one he had gotten this wound from that sapped him of his strength and time as a hero. He had failed to find a new bearer, a new person to continue the fight in case something happened to him. In the end, those failures weighed heavily on his shoulders nearly causing him to go crashing into the ground. How could he look at his former master when he reached the other side of the veil and tell her how badly he had messed all this up?
There was supposed to be more time! He had been on a journey, trying to find the right person to succeed him. That was what led him to the school, to becoming a teacher. He figured he could find the right student there, maybe in a year or so, and train them with all the advanced facilities that they had. But the time he had been given so far, he now realized sadly, had been wasted. Sure, he trained 1-A but what had he done for the rest of the school? It seemed like literally every other day there was a mass of accidents that he felt compelled to help with, eating up his time in his heroic form. At least, the first few times he had missed class with 1-B. After the USJ incident, he had spent so much time talking in closed-door meetings with the rest of the teaching staff and with the police that he had used up his time with that. While that might not have been his fault, a far more reasonable excuse for having to miss class, perhaps everyone would have been more understanding had he not bailed multiple times before that. Then there was the meeting with young Togata. He knew Nighteye had a tight schedule with some case he was heavily involved in and the only time he could come down to U.A. was during his lesson with 1-B. Maybe if he had put more pressure on the man, then maybe he could have been able to be there after school. Or, again, maybe if he hadn't canceled his lessons so often they wouldn't be making such a big deal about this.
Another sigh escaped All Might's lips, a bit of blood slipping out which he wiped away. Togata, he had been in such a hurry to make that fine lad his successor. To pass on his duty to him, thinking that after that he could rest easier. That he could relax a bit, knowing that if All for One was still out there then there would be someone even stronger to fight him. He could then focus more on his teaching and preparing Togata to use One for All to protect the world from an ancient evil that had plagued mankind since the dawn of quirks! But, now that he thought about it, perhaps he had just been telling himself what he wanted to hear. How could he expect to train forty-one students when he could barely manage to be there for twenty? Hell, even now, he had barely even gone over any of the student files from other hero course students! Out of one hundred and twenty hero course students, he knew only twenty. And next year there would be twenty more!
Kan was right, he had been selfish. Placing his wants and needs over everyone else. He deserved Nexu's punishment.
So now here he was, in the middle of a mess he created trying to figure out how to fix it. But, honestly, he had no idea how to do that! How do you get half of the first year hero course students to trust you after missing so many of their classes? How do you show the other teachers that you are giving this your all without screwing up one more time? Because that's all he had: one more chance. If he messed up, missed one more class, then that was it.
That was one of the reasons he was out on the streets today. He was just walking around like your typical, everyday citizen as he trained himself to resist the urge to leap into action at the first sign of trouble. So far, he had spotted two crimes: a fight that had broken out at a small café, breaking into violence, and your everyday punk who used his quirk to break open an ATM. Both crimes he could have stopped at a moment's notice, but instead, he stood there fighting every heroic bone in his body so that the local heroes could do something. And they did….just not as fast as All Might could have. As much as he hated this, he had to condition himself to allow others to fight crime in the city. So that he could stay in U.A. and find the one to pass his quirk onto.
As he walked, he thought about this one beach up ahead. It was something he had looked into when he moved into the area. According to what he had read, the beach had become a real dump. Ocean currents washed all sorts of trash onto its shores while locals took advantage of the spot to illegally dump their own, making the spot unusable for any sort of enjoyment…unless you were a poor artist looking for junk to make a sculpture with. Or if you were looking for a spot to sit down, all alone with your own thoughts.
[hr]
Laughter rang out into the air, mixed with the sounds of waves crashing on the beach by the students as they enjoyed their time in and around the ocean. For Izuku and Pony, the two were now heading back to land as they had been swimming, splashing, and exploring the salty water for some time now. As the waves pushed along the backs of their legs, the two grinned despite their light panting. Both felt a chill as they left the water they had become accustomed to, not helped by the powerful winds against their backs. Yet neither paid any mind, Izuku wrapping his arm around Pony's waist to keep her close while their matted hair pressed against each other.
As they made their way onto land, there was a degree of content joy as the two felt like they were finally on that date that they had been wishing to go on. The only thing that would have made this even better was if they had some…privacy. Ever since they had gotten into the water, the memories of what they had done in the shower began to surface within Izuku's mind bringing forth primal desires once more. As they moved through the hip-deep water, Izuku found himself plagued with the fantasy of pulling Pony close to him. Of feeling her arms wrapping around his neck, his hands making their way to her ass as he kissed her. Then, as their tongues collided and tangled around the other, his hands would slide underneath her bikini bottom before pressing into her flesh. There, Pony would hint what she wanted next as she reached down to slip her hand underneath his trunks to stroke his member. Or when he looked over at the beach, he would imagine Pony asking him to apply some sunscreen on her back. That she would unhook her top, holding it up with one hand before laying down on the blanket. There, he would apply himself to his task, squirting the coconut-scented cream onto his hands before touching her. As he worked, his girlfriend would moan at the feeling of the cold cream on her back. A gasp would be heard as he moved his way downward, slipping her bottom down without any hint of resistance. No, instead her moans would grow louder and more erotic as she moved her tail out of the way for him. Once he was done, Izuku would pull her up onto his lap and begin to rub the last of the lotion on her breasts and stomach.
Izuku, thankfully, was able to not act on these desires for he knew they would be seen. Even in the hip-deep water, there were too many people swimming around them. The chances that someone would swim by or just notice anything were far too high. The beach held a far greater disadvantage for it was nothing but endless sand as far as the eye could see. Everything was out in the open with no rocky cliffs or formations to hide behind. Add to the fact that there were plenty of students around as well as teachers from their school and that made the odds of them getting caught nearly a hundred percent. Well, Izuku could still apply lotion to Pony's back at the very least and they could have some alone time when they got back to campus. As long as they weren't too tired afterward.
Once they had reached the spot where they had left their towel, the couple began to dry the other off while noticing some rather interesting sights around them. Walking away from Lunch Rush's grill were Kawakami and Shinso, both holding and nibbling on some grilled corn provided by the lunchtime hero. As they walked, Izuku and Pony noticed Kawakami pointing at some kernels of corn stuck to the side of Shinso's face and giggling at the sight. For his part, Shinso quickly wiped it away while a blush appeared on his face and then quickly looked away. This, for some reason, drew the ire of the blue-haired girl's 'sisters' as they all moved to look at him. Izuku could see their mouths moving so clearly they were saying something, something that made Kawakami uncomfortable as she began waving her hands in the air with Shinso looking like he would turn to stone at any moment.
"Nice little show, isn't it?" said a voice from nearby. Upon hearing it, both Izuku and Pony began to look around for the source. However, there was no one around them. But how could that be? They were both sure that the voice sounded pretty nearby. "Down here."
Looking down, Izuku saw a sight that, had he lived in any other world, would have horrified him. In the sand was Tokage's head with something bright red all around where the neck was. Looking around, he saw other body parts littering the sand. A severed hand, its fingers cut off at the segments with more of that red liquid painting the sand. Her torso half-buried with a foot laying on top of it. And…was that her ass sticking out of the sand?!
Izuku blinked a few more times before he looked back down at Tokage's head which was now sticking out its tongue with her eyes rolled backward. Then, he sighed. "A little early for Halloween, isn't it?"
Tokage dropped the act, pulling in her tongue and grinning up at Izuku. "Hey, for me, this is fun! I mean it, how often will I get to use my quirk to play awesome pranks like this?"
"Has anyone fallen for it?" asked Pony, poking and rolling Tokage's head with the edge of her hoof. If that bothered the Lizard Tail Splitter girl, it didn't show on her face as she just continued to grin.
"Oh yeah!" she said, grin widening. "Got this one general studies guy who seemed like he forgot what my quirk was and then someone from the support department. Surprised you didn't hear their screams. Then there was this couple from the neighborhood who-"
"Wait? The neighborhood?" interrupted Izuku as he began to look around. Sure enough, the beach was now getting a slow trickle of people who were clearly not from their school. Several people were there, in the parking lot, taking pictures of the beach with their smartphones as if they were seeing it for the first time. Others were rushing down the steps to get to the sandy shoreline, swimwear already on with plastic bags hastily stuffed with towels, sunscreen, and other items they might need for the beach. It was almost as if they thought that, if they didn't hurry, the beach would return to its prior state.
As Izuku took the sight in, he noticed that one person seemed a little off. He was an extremely slender man, almost like a skeleton that had taken someone's skin before wrapping it lightly around his frame. Long blond hair hung messily down the sides of the man's head while his sunken eyes seemed to glow blue. Another thing that stood out about the man's features was the man's chin, which seemed very narrow and sharp. Almost like it could be used as a weapon. People up there gave him a bit of a wide berth as he gripped the railing, his shaggy clothing trembling with his body.
"Well, would you look at that," said Tokage, who seemed to be looking in the same direction as Izuku. "Seems like another ghoulie has come to join in on the fun! Maybe I could convince him to stick his arm out of the sand and we could do something like a zombie rising from his sandy grave thing and I was just one of his victims. Wouldn't that be a laugh!" As if to help punctuate this remark, the man began to vomit blood. Well, more like shot it out of his mouth like an open fire hydrant for a moment.
"Is he alright?" asked Pony, looking clearly worried.
"I'll be back," said Izuku as he grabbed his shirt. Once it was on, Izuku made his way toward the grill area while keeping his eyes on the skinny man.
[hr]
All Might held onto the railing, his sunken eyes wide in shock at all that he was seeing. The beach he had heard about was clean! And from what he had heard from some of the locals was that this was a very recent thing. As in it had all been done today!
But that wasn't the most shocking thing. No, that honor went to who had done it: Class 1-B! The very class he had been unintentionally ignoring since the beginning of the school year had transformed this crap hole into the picture of paradise! And it wasn't just the students who were there, but Vlad King and Lunch Rush as well. Wait, was that Power Loader without his gear on? Seeing all this, All Might let go of the railing before stumbling backward and landing his ass on an old wooden bench. For a moment, all he could do was sit there as a million questions passed through his mind. Why had they done this when they were supposed to be training for the upcoming sports festival? Was this a school-sanctioned activity? If so, then why hadn't anyone told him?
"Hey there," came a voice that startled the pro hero. Nearly jumping in his seat, he turned to see the smiling freckled face of a boy with matted green hair as he held out a water bottle to him. For a moment, All Might just stared at him thinking that the boy looked familiar for some reason. Like he had seen him somewhere before. But where…
"Thirsty?" the teen said again, not budging in the slightest as he continued to hold out the water.
"Oh, sorry," said All Might quickly as he accepted the drink. "Just a little surprised by everything."
"I get that," said the teen as he gestured towards the crowd still in the parking lot, taking pictures of the now clean beach. When he turned back to face All Might, he moved a little closer so that his back was facing the bench. "This seat taken?"
"Ah, go ahead," replied the hero as he unscrewed the top of the drink. Making sure to keep an eye on the teen within the corner of his vision, All Might took a long, deep chug of the water as his visitor sat down while producing a water bottle of his own. But rather than opening it, he sat the bottle between them with a kind smile.
"In case that isn't enough," he said as he noticed All Might's gaze shifting to look at the extra bottle. "We saw you coughing up a lot of blood down there. If it's not enough, I can get you something else or I can ask my sensei to call you an ambulance." While All Might was touched by the boy's kindness, he shuddered at the idea of approaching Kan like this in public. He knew the man well enough not to make a big scene about it or chastise him in public, however, it would have been awkward for the both of them.
"Thank you for the offer, Young…" All Might's words trailed off as he looked at his guest.
"Oh, right. Sorry. I forgot to introduce myself," said the teen as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "My name is Izuku Midoriya. I'm a first-year student in the hero course of U.A."
Upon hearing the name, something clicked within All Might's mind. He recalled Kan saying something about this boy back when they were in the Teacher's Lounge and…Wait a moment! Now that he could connect the name to the face, he realized that he did know who this kid was! He was the one who had taken out the zero-pointer back at the entrance exam single-handedly and saved an entire building full of examinees! All Might remembered clearly now as he had been watching the exam unfold along with the rest of the teachers. He recalled that, at the time, he hadn't been too impressed with the plain-looking lad when the exam started. His quirk was enough to make him stand out a little since, really, how often do you see a teenager purposefully pulling out their own bones to use as weapons? However, once you got past that, at the slow rate he was going it didn't look like he would make the cut and thus the pro hero had written him off. That all changed when the zero-pointer showed up. As soon as the destruction began, young Midoriya had raced over to the giant machine and put an end to it in a manner that stunned the pro-hero. What he didhad to have been the full might of his quirk, ripping the mighty machine into pieces and saving those who had been trapped in a building. That sight was enough to make All Might wish to give the kid an extra special message in his acceptance letter in order to encourage that sort of behavior.
"Thank you Young Midoriya. The name is Toshinori Yagi," said All Might as he did his best to smile. "And you don't need to worry about me. Just some side effects from a pretty bad wound a villain gave me a while back."
The look Midoriya gave the man said it all. First, there was a look of utter disbelief that someone like him was ever capable of fighting villains. But, as the boy looked him over, All Might could almost hear the gears turning in the teen's head as he began to contemplate how serious the fight had been. How bad someone had to be injured to go from a pro hero to a skinny, malnourished-looking man. And as the boy's mind worked, All Might watched the boy carefully. He wanted to see how this young, inspiring hero would take one of the darker realities of the hero world.
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Izuku with a sympathetic smile. "If it's too painful, you don't have to go into details."
"I appreciate that young man," said All Might with a nod. "I really and truly do."
Izuku's smile fell slightly after that. "I guess your pro days are long behind you," he said, his tone almost mournful for the stranger.
At that, All Might let out a laugh. "Not just yet, but that time is drawing closer. To be honest, I'm surprised I've lasted as long as I have." As he spoke, All Might was hit by a sudden idea. Young Midoriya didn't know he was All Might! So what better chance did he have to not only get a read on the kid without the fandom or the desire to be overly kind to one of the strongest heroes in the world? Perhaps he might just put this boy down as a candidate to receive his quirk! So far, he seemed like a kind soul with a powerful quirk. Heck, he might as well ask a few questions to see how his class really felt about him!
"So," began All Might, doing his best to play it cool. "You're from U.A. Huh, must be nice having all those other pros teaching you. Like All Might. Heard he was teaching there now."
The reaction he got out of the boy was honest, far too honest, as Izuku looked away while scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess he is," was Izuku's response as his eyes saw something on the ground that looked far more interesting.
"…You don't really sound all that sure," stated All Might, hiding how nervous he was. "Are you not a fan of his or-"
"NO! That's not it!" interrupted Midoriya suddenly as he stared at the skinny hero with wide eyes. Eyes that shined with the passion of a true and devoted fan. However, mere moments later, Young Midoriya covered his mouth while looking flushed. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." After another moment, the green-haired teen lowered his hands as his face became crestfallen and his shoulders slumped. "It's just that…he hasn't really been there for my class. At all. I want to believe it's because he's out there, helping people and saving the day like he always does. But it kind of hurts. Especially when we know he's in the building and he just decides not to show up or if there was no crime reported that day. Some of my classmates wonder if he even knows where the door to our classroom is."
As Midoriya let out a dejected sigh, All Might found himself sweating from the young man's comments. He had heard from Kan that the class was losing faith in him, but he hadn't thought it was this bad! Oh god, what if that door comment wasn't told as a joke and they were seriously thinking that he didn't know where their classroom was?! Did they think that little of him already? What was worse was the tone Young Midoriya used. It was a tone that All Might had never heard before, something so alien to him, yet he still managed to recognize it from knowing its polar opposite. This young man was losing hope. Losing hope in HIM!
Clearing his throat, All Might decided to change the subject. "So then, what's all this about?" he asked, gesturing to the beach. "Some sort of school project?"
"No, no," said the young man, happiness returning to his voice. The teen then began to talk about the training program that his class was doing to prepare for the Sports Festival. While he never went into names or specifics, he did manage to paint a decent overall picture that showed just how dedicated the class was as a whole to doing well in the tournament. From working out with weights, teaching the basics of martial arts, group work, and combo attacks for when the big day arrived. Even cleaning this beach had been used as a form of training as well as a way of giving back to the community. Honestly, All Might was impressed with all the hard work and thought that this young man had put into such things. Even more impressed that he wanted his entire class to shine as brightly as possible. When he compared that to 1-A, he had to admit to himself that the class he regularly taught were a bit more selfish in that regard. They were, of course, taking the upcoming Festival seriously yet they were all off doing their own things to ensure that only the individual stood out.
"That's mighty impressive," said All Might once Young Midoriya had finished talking, bringing a hand to his pointy chin as he looked down on all the students. "So, when the Festival begins, who do you think I should keep an eye out for?"
"To be honest, I think they're all pretty impressive," said Midoriya in an honest tone before pointing them out as he spoke. "Like Tokage down there. She's pretty carefree, but I think her attitude is something that would help reassure people. Also, her quirk is something that would come in handy for rescue and scouting missions. Or Pon, er, Tsunotori. She's great and her quirk can help her out in plenty of situations. Trust me, if you blink you might miss some of the amazing things she can do with her horns. Tetsutetsu might not look it, but the guy is noble and has a pretty strong quirk. Then we have Shinso. He's from General Studies, but the number of situations his quirk could end without anyone getting hurt is unreal. Kawakami is also really cool with her extra heads. It's a shame they put her in the Business Course since-"
"Woah, hold on. Hold on! You're helping people outside of your class?" All Might looked at the teen in shock. Such a thing was unheard of in U.A!
"Yeah," said Midoriya with a shrug before leaning back. "I guess you know or heard rumors that if someone from the other classes does well enough they have the potential to knock someone out of the Hero Program and take their spot. But, honestly, I think they deserve this chance to show the world what they can do. To show everyone that they can be heroes." Midoriya then leaned forward, his eyes focusing on the blond girl with the horns as she carried a large watermelon across the beach. "Sorry, but I need to get going."
"No problem young man," said All Might as he lifted his water bottle in salute. "I think I've kept you long enough. Thank you for checking up on an old man such as myself and chatting with me." Then, with a smile and a wave, the boy dashed off toward the blond.
All Might sat there for a moment longer, watching as the next generation of heroes began the classic watermelon-splitting game, before finally rising and walking away. Young Midoriya was an odd one. When he had asked about who to look out for, the older man had expected Midoriya to mention himself in some manner. To include himself in the list of people to watch out for in a more discreet manner as some of the members of 1-A would have done. People like Bakugo, Mineta, Ida, and Monoma. Or a more sly tic like mentioning their skills while talking about the parts that he had helped them with. After all, the lad had laid the groundwork for something like that prior when he was talking about their training program. But, he hadn't. No, he gave an honest opinion of his classmates and even those who were not in his class. In fact, during the entire conversation, Young Midoriya had seemed both honest and humble. That he believed in the idea that it was a hero's duty to lift people up. Yes, he was an odd one alright and All Might liked that about the lad.
Honesty. Compassion. A willingness to help others even at the cost of yourself. Skill. A powerful quirk. All of these seemed to blend together, telling All Might that perhaps his successor had been right under his radar this entire time.
On Monday, he would keep an eye on Young Midoriya for sure.
[hr]
The rest of the beach day went by like a blur as the students of class 1-B continued to have their fun. After the watermelon smashing, as the sun was starting to dip over the horizon, a net had been put up so that there could be a volleyball game of guys vs girls. This game, however, heavily favored the girls since Tokage could slip her hands off of her body to spike the ball back and Pony could ride her horns through the sky for additional air support. And while the guys did have powerful people on their team like Tetsutetsu and Shishida, it just wasn't enough. Everyone on the beach laughed and cheered as the match began winding down, save Kuroiro who was sulking under an umbrella as he looked out at everyone else having fun.
The final event of the night had been karaoke, held in the same spot where the girls had had their swimsuit competition. Izuku hadn't been surprised to see his girlfriend eager to show her stuff, though he was surprised by some of the comments in the crowd. Mainly that, while she was selecting her song, they believed she would pick some sappy American love song or perhaps an anime opening that was all about love. Well, they were half right as the music began to blast and Pony began to sing "Bursty Greedy Spider", shocking all of them. As she sang, Pony was bouncing to the beat and added arm motions as she sang. Her hand lifted up into the air and then down again when she reached the "Whoa" parts and then pointed to the crowd when she sang "Time for you to lose because I'm stronger than you". When Izuku went up, he too chose something that surprised the crowd as they thought he would have done one of the musical numbers from the children's All Might movies. No, Izuku had chosen "Magical Babyrinth" which got the crowd pumped up though not nearly as much as Pony's song.
Then, finally, it was time to call it a night.
[hr]
"I would like to request these students be added to my class," said Kan on Monday morning, long before the first bell would ring for the day. The tall man stood there in Nezu's office, a stack of papers in his hands, as he looked past the desk where the small animal that was the school's principal sat drinking his tea. Also in the room was Aizawa, laying on one of the couches in the room in his sleeping bag so that only his heavily bandaged face could be seen. While the dark-haired man had his head towards the wall, his one visible bloodshot eye was fixed on the back of the blood themed hero.
"Oh my, this is a surprise," said Nezu as he sat down his cup of tea before extending a hand towards Kan. The fanged man took a step closer before handing Nezu all of the documents. "Usually we wait until after the Sports Festival. And so many requests. May I ask what brought this on?"
Kan nodded. "I am aware of how things are normally done," he said firmly, feeling the focus of Aizawa's gaze on his back grow. "However, because of two students in my class, things are not proceeding as normal. I have spent the last week watching these students giving it their all for the Sports Festival, training as hard as they can, and watching what they can do. In my opinion, I believe they are ready to enter into the hero course. As such, I would like them listed as such when the Festival begins so that they will not miss out on getting internship requests from other pro heroes."
"If you ask me if they really wanted to enter into the hero course then they shouldn't have been wasting time before deciding to take the entrance exam," said Aizawa firmly. Kan shot the tired man a look, eyes narrowing slightly. A burst of air shot through the man's nostril.
"Not everyone is fortunate to have an overpowered quirk that can blast away robots with ease or be trained by the number two hero," Kan nearly spat in anger. But then, he took a breath to collect himself, and when he spoke again it was done more calmly. "Perhaps Aizawa is right, that there could have been more that these students could have done to be better prepared for the entrance exam. Or there could have been factors in play that hindered that option. Regardless, these students that I have selected, have shown that they now understand what they were lacking prior and are going Plus Ultra into putting in the effort to improve. Such efforts should be acknowledged, at the very least."
"Well, I certainly understand your logic," said Nezu cheerfully as he scanned the papers. "Though this is certainly a large number of students. Far more than I ever recall being transferred into the hero course at once! So, tell me, how many of your own students are you cutting to make way for the new?"
"None," said Kan simply, crossing his arms over his chest. Behind him, he heard Aizawa rolling onto the floor making a loud thud noise as he landed. A rustling noise was then heard and, as Aizawa stepped out of his sleeping bag, Kan kept his eyes locked on Nezu watching his face very carefully. The small mouse/dog/bear creature returned the gaze, the two of them in what felt like a stare-off for domination in this matter before the principal looked away with a sigh.
"Kan," said Nezu, a paw flipping through the documents lazily. "While I admire your efforts to push through as many promising heroes as possible, I do believe that adding sixteen students to your roster is pushing it." Dark eyes from the principal then moved to look at the other man in the room. "Now, if Aizawa was willing to take a few himself then-"
"I'm not," interrupted the man in a flat tone. "Though, if Midoriya ever finishes that form I sent him and I decide to just drop one of my students, I might consider taking one. Speaking of which," he paused for a moment, turning around on the spot and heading towards the door. "I'll have to have a talk with him about that later. Provided I don't have to discipline some of my problem children." With that, Aizawa left the room.
Frowning, Kan returned his eyes to Nezu who just let out another sigh. "I'm sorry, but a class that has thirty-five students is simply too much," said Nezu. "I will, however, allow you to have four additional seats added to your class after the Sports Festival. It's only fair that these students get the same treatment as everyone else." Kan then opened his mouth to object, but Nezu held up a paw. "But, since you have so much faith in these students after you have decided on which students you will add to your class I shall personally reach out to several pro heroes to see if they are interested in taking any one of them on."
Kan let out a grunt. It was far less than he had hoped for. Not nearly enough given what his students had been doing.
"Is there anything I could do to get you to increase that number?" asked Kan.
"Not unless Aizawa is willing to share the burden," replied Nezu with a tone of finality in his voice. So, with a heavy heart, Kan nodded. For today at least because Kan would not give up on them so easily."
[hr]
Lunch that day was a joyous affair as the students of class 1-B sat at their usual tables, now joined by their newfound friends from General Studies and the lone Business Course student. In order to accomplish this, tables had been pushed together to create a single long one. When he thought about it, it reminded Izuku of the table he had sat at during a trip to Pony's home during Thanksgiving. The piles of food on the table, along with the laughter and conversations, certainly aided with that vision.
Looking down, he saw that everyone was getting along well. He saw that Tokage and Kendo were seated on either side of Kawakami as she showed them the designs she had of her hero costume while Shinso sat across from the Hydra girl, stealing glances at her while adding his own thoughts on the matter. Tetsutetsu was chatting with Goya, the two talking about ways to improve their overall training. Something about wanting to punch Goya in the chest at full force to see how much he could take as well as seeing if there was any way the Shock Redirection quirk user could delay the transfer. Katayama was being stared at by several of the other students as they watched her eat, curious as to how that worked when she was made of slime. The other general studies students were asking questions about what they should expect if they got in or helped some of the hero students with some homework. Everyone was just getting along…until Monoma showed up.
"Well, well. If it isn't the heroic clean-up crew of U.A." laughed the blond. Frowning, Izuku looked up at Monoma to see the cocky smirk still plastered on his face with Mineta riding on the blonde's shoulder like some demented perverted purple parrot. Their grins were almost a perfect match as they strode closer with Monoma holding up his phone. "Heard all about your little beachside excursion. How utterly desperate of you to get some attention. Sadly, all that work got you was a small three paragraph article." Throwing his arms into the air, Monoma began to laugh with what felt like psychotic glee.
"Is that all you have to say Monoma?" demanded Izuku calmly as he stood along with Kendo, assuring the class that they would handle him. With carefully placed steps, Izuku walked around the table while keeping his eyes on the blond in hopes that it would add to the intimidation. Hoping that something like this would cause the teen to shrink back into the boles of 1-A. Sadly, this did not seem to work.
"Tell me, have you 1-B students already given up on the fact that we, the superior members of 1-A, will win the sports festival?" he asked, eyes wide with a sneer on his face as he pointed at Kendo who was now right in front of him. "Have you finally accepted that your level is the same as trash? After all, what hope do you have against us when we have been personally trained by All Might? Against a class that has withstood an actual villain attack?" The teen then looked over at the general studies students, his sneer growing. "Oh, and what's this? General Studies students? The ones whose quirks are far beneath our own? Well, making friends with them now might make the transition easier for you when you are all sent to join them. But until then," The teen then paused, reaching over and taking one of the trays of food from one of the nearby General Studies students. Then, with another smirk, he dropped it on the floor creating a loud clang that everyone heard. All eyes were now on Monoma, who smiled like he had just achieved a great victory or proved a very complicated point. He then smiled as he pointed at the food now on the floor. "How about you do the one thing we know you're good for and pick up this mess."
"Yeah," cackled Mineta as he leaped down to the floor, rubbing his tiny little hands together with glee. "Pick it up."
"No," said Izuku simply as he stood there, now in front of Monoma. "Now, go over to Lunch Rush, and get a replacement meal for my friend here."
"Oh?" asked Monoma, a hand going to his chin as he continued to smirk. "And what happens if I don't? What can any of you do to make me?" At that, Shinso stood up. No doubt ready to use his quirk on him. However, as much as Izuku wanted to see that happen he instead signaled the brainwasher to stand down. The less they knew about his quirk the better.
"Then," said Kendo in a cold tone. "When we decide that you're worth the effort, we will crush you." That got a reaction out of the blond, his smiling fading slightly. And before he could regain his composure, Kendo continued. "Do you know what's pathetic? It isn't cleaning up a beach or making new friends. It's this." Everyone watched as Kendo jabbed her finger right into Monoma's chest as she continued to speak, her verbal opponent losing some of the bravado he had. "It's you coming all the way over here, making a show about it so that you can feel special. So that you can fuel that fragile little ego of yours. And if that's what you want, then keep at it. I'm sure, sooner or later, there will be another headline in the paper talking about how you and the rest of your class were attacked en masse. Only, this time it won't be because of villains."
"What is all this commotion about?" said a very formal voice. Turning his eyes only to see who it was, Izuku found a very stiff-looking teen with glasses and blue hair approaching them…while chopping his hair in the air? Did he have some sort of quirk that made him like those old chopping robots? Before Izuku could begin to ponder, the teen turned to look at Monoma. "We told you in the group chat last night not to cause a scene. Please! This is very disrespectful towards our fellow students and behavior that does not conform to any heroic standards."
Monoma, somehow, managed to get his smile back as he shrugged. "Oh, but I thought I was being heroic. Helping people is something that a good hero does, right? Well, all I was doing was reminding them of their place!" Again, Monoma threw back his head and laughed.
"Yeah, what's the big deal?" asked Mineta followed by a cry that quickly silenced the room once more. Izuku's eyes widened as he saw that Kawakami was on her feet, hands behind her back to hold her ass as she backed away from the grape-themed 'hero'. Said person was grinning lecherously, a bit of drool escaping his lips with his hand still raised as if he were grabbing something. Even making a squeezing motion. The girl's who had been sitting next to the blue-haired girl looked down in disgust and outrage, Shinso leaping across the table to land between Kawakami and Mineta. Ida looked like he was about to say something to the offender only to end up backing away as a dark aura filled the area. Cracks were appearing on the table as the whole of the group pressed on it as they stood up.
Mineta, to his credit, seemed to just now realize he had gone too far as he began looking for a way out. Sweat began to appear on his face as he saw that was no longer an option as the rest of the school seemed to be gathering around, whispering to each other.
"Vice-rep, you have to do something!" screamed the tiny student.
Ida, while looking very uncomfortable, turned around to try and wave the crowd down. "Alright, alright," he said stiffly. "Nothing to see here. This is no way for heroes to be acting. Everything is-"
"How can you say that with a straight face?!" shouted someone in the crowd. "You think we didn't hear what that maniac said? Or what that guy did?!
"Wait, are they from class 1-A?" came someone else's voice. "Do they honestly think that they can just do whatever they want and act like big shots just because they survived one villain attack?"
Before Ida could say or do anything, two white strands of cloth shot past the tall teen. In the blink of an eye, they wrapped around the two trouble-making teens which were then tightened making escape impossible. Turning to look at where the wraps had come from, Izuku saw someone holding on to the other end. Someone who was clearly not a student. Long, dark and unkempt hair flowed down the figure's back while the person's entire face was covered in thick bandages save for a single eye. The majority of this person's attire was dark, baggy clothing with a bit of white thrown while yellow, oddly shaped goggles hung around his neck. Something about this person was familiar to Izuku, but for the life of him he couldn't figure it out. Whoever this was, he or she had to be a teacher or a staff member. But it seemed that Ida, Monoma, and Mineta knew who he was as their eyes filled with terror.
"Ida, I'm disappointed in not just you but the rest of the class for allowing things to escalate this far," said the man flatly before turning his attention to the two he had captured. "As for the two of you, go to Nezu's office and wait for me. We're going to have a long chat about your behavior." Instantly the wrappings loosened, the stranger pulling them back and wrapping them around his neck like a scarf while the two ran for it.
The man, possibly a teacher, then turned his attention to Izuku. A feeling of nervousness swept over him as that one good eye focused on him and him along with such intensity that Izuku felt like he was gazing deep into Izuku's very soul. So unnerved was he that Izuku almost flinched when the man gestured for the bone user to follow him. Stealing her nerves, Izuku did so with Pony following right behind. Most likely to make sure everything would be fine.
The three of them made their way out of the cafeteria and into the deserted-looking hallway, the only sound being their footsteps. As they walked further from the door, Izuku began to wonder what was going to happen. Was this man taking them to see the Principal as well? If so, why didn't he just say so? Also, why just focus on him? Shouldn't he have asked Kendo as well or was this guy just picking whoever without a care? It wasn't until the doors to the lunchroom were a good distance to their back that the man suddenly turned around, nearly catching Izuku and Pony off guard.
"Midoriya, why haven't you submitted that form yet?" asked the man while his eye moved to glance at Pony. He just eyed her for a moment before seeming to decide whether it didn't matter or not if she heard this.
"Ah…excuse me?" asked Izuku.
"The form," repeated the bandaged man, his tone tired. "Yaoyorozu told me that she handed it to you last week."
"I," began as he began to think. As Pony looked between him and this man, Izuku started to think back to when he had met the class rep of 1-A. A slight groan escaped his throat as he parted all the other thoughts that had preoccupied his mind. Not just Pony, but all of the training and school work that had consumed his thoughts over the last several days. He remembered meeting her, but what did they talk about? Something about forgiveness? Yes! That was it! She came to apologize for how some of her classmates had acted. He had dismissed that at the time, explaining to her the reason why. But that was it, wasn't it? He had turned away and then…oh wait!
Izuku's eyes widened, a gasp escaping him as he remembered how the conversation ended. The Class Transfer Form. Then that meant that this man was Aizawa-sensei. The man who could have died saving his students at the USJ.
"Oh, right," said Izuku. "Sorry, I've just been really busy…" Izuku's words trailed off as the darkly dressed man's eye narrowed in disapproval. Then, for a moment, Izuku thought that he saw the man's eye glow red for the briefest of moments before he suddenly turned around.
"I expect to see that form submitted by the end of the day," Aizawa said in a tone that made it sound like everything had been finalized. That the discussion was over.
Except, it wasn't. It wasn't over by a long shot as far as Izuku was concerned.
"Actually," said Izuku, his voice causing the man to stop in his tracks and turn to look at Izuku. "I was wondering: why do you want me in your class?"
"Because I believe that you would learn more from me than Kan," was the simple response that Aizawa gave. For a moment, he looked ready to turn around as if that single sentence should have been enough. However, he seemed to reconsider as he turned around to fully face Izuku again. "Midoriya, I saw your performance during the entrance exam along with the rest of the staff. While watching you, I made note that while your quirk is powerful on its own, the additional skills you acquired before the exam helped to bring out its full potential. Skills like your martial arts training and weapon mastery. With all that under your belt before your first day here, it would have been extremely easy to get you in via recommendation alone. That said, however, you can still acquire more skills as well as experience. The type in which I have more proficiency in than Kan does. Thus, it would have been more logical had you been placed in my class. The only reason you weren't was because of some idiotic notion of balance between the classes."
Izuku let out a low hum, not able to entirely disagree with the man. After the USJ incident, as well as his talk with Yaoyorozu, Izuku had looked up this man to discover that he was known as Eraserhead: a hero whose quirk allowed him to temporarily erase the quirk of whoever he looked at…within reason. He couldn't, for example, erase the physical properties of people with mutant-type quirks. Not only that, but the man was also a skilled martial artist as proven in the very few video recordings captured by people this man saved. After having seen them, Izuku knew that this man was beyond talented.
Yes, the offer was tempting. While Kan was a skilled hero, the man's fighting style was more of a brawler than anything else. Thus, there would be a limit to how much the man could teach him compared to Aizawa. Sure, going with him meant that he would no longer be in the same class as Pony, but it wasn't like they would never see each other again. They would still be in the same dorms. They could still hang out and go on dates.
With that said, however, he liked Kan. Kan had shown himself to be a fair teacher who honestly cared about his students. Not that Aizawa didn't care about his students, those injuries being exhibit one. But Kan had shown how the numerous cancellations had bothered him and had even apologized to the entire class for 'his' failures. Any man who was willing to do that was a good person in Izuku's book. Then there was the class itself. They had trusted him to be the vice rep. Trusted him to get them ready for the Sports Festival! All that work he had put in. And speaking of the class…
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I would get along with your class," said Izuku. As he spoke, he thought of Bakugo with that arrogant smirk. He thought of Monoma and how he would probably laugh it up, proclaiming that he joined the ranks of the superior class. That Mineta guy!
Aizawa let out a grunt. "Irrelevant," he said. "You are here to become a hero, not to socialize and make friends. How the class feels about you and vice versa should not play a role in this decision."
"But," said Pony, speaking up for the first time. "There's nothing wrong with being friendly or on good terms with your class. Wouldn't it be easier for everyone if they got along?"
Aizawa narrowed his eye at her, the look feeling dangerous. So much so that Pony took hold of Izuku's hand. "And here I find another reason you should join 1-A: to get away from unnecessary distractions. I do not permit relationships within my class which-"
"Which is all the more reason why I won't be joining your class," interrupted Izuku. Now Aizawa's lone eye widened in shock as Izuku gave him a determined look, his resolve steely. "I'm not abandoning anyone just because it might help me advance. Not my teacher, not my classmates, and especially not my girlfriend."
The shock that had been in Aizawa's eye quickly faded as it narrowed once more. "Midoriya, you've-"
"Made his point," said the voice of Kan as the man's hand fell onto Aizawa's shoulder with enough force that it nearly knocked the man to the side. The suddenness of this caused both Izuku and Pony to jump back, neither of them noticed when the larger man had appeared. "Come on Aizawa, Midoriya has his mind made up."
"He's not thinking about it rationally," argued Aizawa.
"Well then you really need to work on your sales pitch," replied Kan with a laugh, his large hand slamming down on Aizawa's shoulder once more before turning to look at his two students. "Now, lunch is almost over so how about you two head to class? Trust me, you don't want to be late for this one." Not needing to be told twice, both Izuku and Pony quickly began making their way down the hall.
[hr]
Kan stood there in the hallway, keeping his eyes on the back of his two students as they moved further and further away with a smile on his face while hoping that the situation was finally resolved. Aizawa had said it himself, he had made notes on Midoriya as well as all of the other students that the man wanted in his class. And, in all honesty, Kan didn't disagree with the man's reasoning. Todoroki for his overwhelming quirk but needed to also learn how to succeed without it. Bakugo, a teen with plenty of tenacity. Perhaps a bit too much so having someone who could turn off his quirk in order to control him would be a good idea. Showing Yaoyorozu how to use her quirk in various situations. Mineta, well, someone had to keep an eye on him. And out of his whole list, Midoriya was the only one he wanted that he didn't get.
Having known Aizawa for some time, Kan was well aware what the man would do in this situation. Midoriya wasn't the first student he had given that class transfer form to and he wouldn't be the last. Did it bother Kan that Aizawa did this? Not really. If his students really wanted it, he would allow them to make up their own minds and respect their wishes. The only time he would step in would be if his fellow teacher ended up pushing a little too hard or refused to take no for an answer.
And it always made him feel good when his students wished to stay in his class.
"You know I'm right about them," said Aizawa as he stepped next to Kan, his eye lingering on the vanishing form of Pony.
Kan let out a sigh. "No, not really," replied the man, his smile never fading. "I believe that it's important that they learn how to balance out their personal lives with their heroic ones. Best to do it here in school rather than letting them fumble with it out there in the real world. If their relationship was actually a problem, I would have called them into my office for a talk. But that would only happen if their grades began to drop or they weren't paying attention in our heroics lessons. And, after that, I would only put my foot down if nothing changed. As for those two, so far they are proving to me that they have their priorities straight and that their main priority is becoming the best heroes they can be. Since they started dating, I've only noticed improvements in their performances. Besides, these are supposed to be the best years of their lives. Let them live a little."
Aizawa let out a huff. "I'd rather they put all their focus into becoming the best heroes they can be so they can have long lives," replied Aizawa. "But, if you're content on letting them play around on the beach all day then that's your call."
"Oh, you heard about that?" asked Kan as he turned to look at the smaller man, hands on his hips as he did so.
"There was a small article in the news yesterday about it," said Aizawa with a shrug. "Just a small, fluff piece about how some beach area was cleaned by the students of U.A., and then those students had a party there. A few of my students noticed it as well. They posted it in their class chat."
"Figures you'd be looking at that," said Kan with a laugh. He could honestly see the tired man sitting down at the end of the day, going over everything his class said to see if any of them were up to no good. "So, what did they have to say about it?"
"Well, besides Ashido proclaiming her jealousy and Uraraka thinking what they did was impressive, the rest were mostly neutral," sighed Aizawa. "However there were a few outliers. Mainly Monoma, Mineta, and Bakugo. From what I read, they seemed to think that your class was doing their best to gain some attention but 'didn't have the balls to go after real villains' as Bakugo put it. After that, Monoma took up most of the chat talking about how they couldn't hold a candle to 1-A. By the way he was talking, I figured there was a good chance he'd confront them in the lunchroom. Looks like I was right."
"So that's what all the racket was about," said Kan as he crossed his meaty arms across his chest, eyes slowly narrowing at the smaller, injured teacher before him. "But you know, you could have prevented this from happening in the first place. Just saying, you'll get involved to stop a student's romantic life but not this? Honestly, I think your priorities are a little backward."
"As I've said before, they're not here to make friends or be in relationships. They're here to learn what it means to be a hero," said Aizawa in a bored tone before turning around. "Perhaps the Sports Festival will be a chance for my class to show that the attention they have garnered is warranted. If not, then they will be learning the consequences of their actions. As well as their inactions."
[hr]
Later, class 1-B found themselves back in the classroom waiting for whoever it was that was going to be teaching them today. However, the mood of the class was greatly soured as they thought about what had happened during lunch. How they had sat there, taking more of the crap from that pompous Monoma. What had made it worse was, even after the two had left and been sent to the principal's office, it hadn't ended as Bakugo of all people spoke up.
"Damn idiot, wasting his time with those damn extras," Bakugo had said, loud enough for everyone to hear. "They're not even worth the time or the effort. They're just a group of third-rate hacks that exist as stepping stones on the road to me becoming the number one hero!" While a few people in class 1-A tried to get him to shut his mouth, which seemed to only make the teen angrier, that seemed like all they were willing to do. So, everyone sitting with class 1-B sat there seething in anger.
Silently, they all agreed to take them down first when the time came. To make sure Mineta, Monoma, and Bakugo didn't make it past the first round of the Sports Festival.
Then…
"I AM HERE!" The door to the room flew open as All Might burst through the doorway in an epic pose, dressed in his iconic Golden Age costume with a massive smile on his face.
Only to receive silence. The class just looked at him from their seats. There were no cheers from the students, loudly proclaiming their joy at seeing the mighty man like 1-A had done during their first class. There were no excited faces, no smiles. All the pro hero received as he made his way into the classroom were confused looks at best. Cold ones at worst.
Then, before he had gotten halfway to the front of the class, whispers could be heard.
"So he finally decided to teach us? Wonder what happened?"
"No way. That has to be an imposter."
"Probably ran out of excuses not to show up."
"Bet he's only here because they put a gun to his back."
From his seat, Izuku watched as the man he had always idolized pretended he couldn't hear the whispers. But he did, flinching slightly at the end of every sentence. He felt sorry for the man…yet not as much as he knew he would have at the start of the year. The old him would have been gushing out a storm, practically drooling at seeing his hero dressed in one of his retro costumes. Now he couldn't even muster sparkles in his eyes, just a smile as All Might took his spot in the front of the room.
"Good afternoon future heroes!" declared All Might, fists on his hips as he took a pose. "I hope you are all ready, for I, ALL MIGHT, am here to teach this fine class! I hope you are all ready because today's lesson is going to be a doozy! Indoor battle training! I will go over the details more once you all meet up with me in the training ground, but-" All Might then paused as Kendo raised her hand. "Yes, young lady?"
"Are you talking about the teams of two, heroes vs. villains training exercise? Because, we already did that," she said in a polite tone. The noise All Might made, the slight step backward, and the visible sweat appearing on his face told the class that she was right.
"Ah…Hahaha! Close young lady, close," said All Might as he regained his composure. "Actually, I have something very special in mind for this class! Now, change into your hero costumes and meet me in Training Ground Gamma!" With that, the symbol of peace rushed out the door without another word. No doubt, thought most of the class as they slowly got to their feet, to come up with a different lesson.