Chapter 10: Basic Hero Training Part 1
Izuku's second day of school started up being a lot more normal than he would have anticipated. Flicking through the Syllabus that Aizawa-sensei had provided was a wealth of information on how the class was structured and important dates to keep a look out for.
The school day at U.A. started earlier than the surrounding schools. The school would open at 07:30 am, with homeroom starting at 08:10 am. Aizawa-sensei would call attendance for the day, and go through any important announcements for the class before handing the class to the next teacher at 08:30 am.
From there it would be forty-five-minute blocks of History, English, Modern Literature, Science, and Math. After Math class, the students would get a lunch period of forty-five minutes to stretch their legs and return for their Hero Training in the afternoon which had a time of variable depending on the activity.
If students were in General Ed then they would only benefit from the morning block of classes, with the afternoon block set aside for any extracurriculars or post-graduation preparation. Business Course students would spend time with their business mentors, networking and earning practical experience with either professionals or older students. Support Course students would spend the afternoon block in the Support Laboratories working on their support gear.
The Syllabus covered important topics, such as grading scales and important dates to keep ahead of - for instance, the next big event that Class 1-A would be participating in was the Sports Festival and Internship Week. Izuku's Syllabus in particular had a sticky note about preparing a small speech as he would be the one to give the Sports Festival pledge due to his placement in the Entrance Exam.
All in all, the syllabus was a wealth of information and Izuku was grateful that he'd taken the chance to give it a read-through and was glad for doing so since it meant he wouldn't be caught off guard by the need to give a pledge at the Sports Festival. He couldn't help but grin, knowing that Itsuka in particular would freak out when she found out. Perhaps he'd let it be a surprise?
That decided Izuku spent his time in his classes generally pretty bored. His Sharigan trivialized a lot of the memorization involved with his classes. He could read most textbooks just by flicking through them fast. However, just because he memorized something doesn't mean he completely understood it. An error on Izuku's part, one he had learned very quickly when he had been reading through some quirk energy papers early on. Thankfully, it just meant that his education became focused less on memorization of random facts and methods and more on learning to apply what he had memorized to the point that he could sufficiently understand the new information.
This meant that Izuku was well ahead of most of his classmates, already having delved into university-level topics, so spent his time in lessons assisting his classmates while embroiled in his self-study, something that had already been pre-approved by the principal. Izuku was attending U.A. mainly for the hero license and hero education, the standard education was largely unneeded so he focused on what university work he had and helped out when he was asked by his teachers.
He also had to struggle not to fanboy and burst into a fit of muttering every time a teacher walked into the room. Izuku just couldn't help himself! Pro-Heroes taught each of the classes for the Hero Course students. Midnight was their History teacher, Present Mic was the English teacher, Modern Literature was taught by Cementoss, Science was taught by Snipe, and Mathematics by Ectoplasm.
All around it was an impressive group of heroes. Each had their time in the spotlight and was definitely on the older side, not that Izuku would tell Midnight-sensei that and he definitely wouldn't tell Itsuka about his thoughts on Midnight-sensei either. While they still did their parts as Pros, their careers were on the decline as a younger generation of heroes took up the spotlight. Now and again, they'd offer an internship or work-study to hero hopefuls who showed promise but their time was mostly focused on their teaching now - with notable exceptions like Present Mic somehow managing to run a radio broadcast as well.
Overall the day had gone great, being a pretty normal day for being a hero school. Izuku for his part was astounded at just how much interaction he was having with heroes in general. Coming from Ichinomiya where there was hardly such a large hero presence, Mustafu and U.A. were a big departure from what he was used to and Itsuka ended up having to drag Izuku along or snap him out of hero mutterings more than once that day.
Even their food was prepared by a Pro-Hero, Lunch Rush, who provided exquisite meals to the whole of the school. It was almost unfair how good the food tasted, and Izuku had to resist going back for seconds knowing he was full already but it just hadn't sunk in yet. Any additional food he ended up with would be a lost cause since he likely wouldn't be able to finish it. Although, perhaps if he got the nacho platter? Yeah, the nacho platter would be great, and it'd be shareable as well so he could split it with Itsuka, Eijiro, Ida, Shinso, and Uraraka. Yeah, maybe if he asked them -
"Here buddy, one nacho platter for us to share," Eijiro said with a cheeky grin, causing Izuku's face to go red in embarrassment.
"Oh boy, I was muttering again?"
"Sure were hun, now eat your nachos before I finish them for you," Itsuka teased, giving Izuku a wink as she began to dig into the platter. Izuku didn't argue with that and quickly delved into the nachos, giving Itsuka a pouting glare in response.
"You're so lucky you're cute," Itsuka teased, causing the rest of the group to laugh while Ida chopped the air about how he'd need to make up for the additional calorie intact later in the day before grudgingly partaking in the excess food.
The meal had them all in high spirits as they prepared for their first lesson of Hero Basic Training. There was rampant speculation in the class about what they would be expecting. Thankfully Izuku had a relatively easy time putting names to faces, the Sharingan tended to help with that. So he kept an ear to the ground while watching through the door with his Byakugan for when their Hero Training teacher arrived. Already the speculation was running rampant inside of him on who it could be. Surely it would be a Pro Hero but which?
The buzz of excitement within the class was palpable and had Izuku practically vibrating in his chair. Not even the amused look Itsuka was sending him was enough to get his body to stop. A part of him wanted to use his Byakugan to peek through the door and determine who their teacher would be but he held it back. Every teacher so far had been surprised and Izuku wanted this to be a surprise too.
He wasn't disappointed.
"I am…coming through the door like a normal person!" All Might declared as he barged in, a heroic pose already set up. Izuku's eyes sparkled in amazement and had he been paying attention to Itsuka or Eijiro he would have noticed they both had pleasantly surprised expressions on their faces as well.
"It's All Might," came the voice of Denki Kaminari from a few rows behind Izuku.
"Wow, he is a teacher!" Eijiro exclaimed, and Izuku had to do a double-take. How did Kirishima get a hold of that rumor before him? Kamihara-sensei would be displeased to find out he'd been shirking his ninja training, even here in U.A.
"Itsuka, that's his Silver Age costume," Izuku managed to squeak out as he shot his girlfriend a star-struck expression. A lot of heroes didn't use capes anymore, they tended to be a hazard and usually only served as an aesthetic to the hero costume. Statistics also showed that heroes with capes had a higher percentage of work-related accidents. In one embarrassing and early example, the vigilante Tornado Girl from the United States got caught up in her twister when debris snagged onto her cape and dragged her into the strongest currents. While immune to her winds, she wasn't so lucky when it came to the debris in the winds she generated smashing her around. She'd slammed into a piece of concrete going 60 mph in her twister before she could reduce the wind's kinetic energy and disperse the storm. Needless to say, not a good way to go.
Despite the danger, however, All Might made capes work. His Silver Age costume bore the colors of the country where he first started his hero career, the United States. The upper body of the outfit was mainly red, while his legs and the cap were a deep blue, and white stripes accented the costume in a stylish design. The winged arm guards, gold in coloration, were the final touch to the outfit.
"The style is completely different, but still, seeing All Might up close in his costume is giving me goosebumps," Shinso admitted, an awed expression on his face.
Even Bakugo, who looked like he'd been bored in the previous classes had a smirk of feral excitement and was sitting up now that All Might was in the room.
It seemed the man's mere presence was enough to instill excitement within the classroom. Izuku would have been a mess had he still been a little kid. He almost blushed in embarrassment as he remembered sitting on the computer - watching All Might rescue videos and calling himself Small Might. Those were simpler days, when he was friends with Katsuki and their quirks had yet to develop.
Izuku shook his head to clear his thoughts. That wasn't something to think about. While All Might was the Number 1 Pro-Hero, old man Kamihara-sensei's lessons on being a shinobi and learning ninjutsu had rocketed Edgeshot to the top of his list of heroes. He was still an All Might fanboy, but Edgeshot was firmly at the top of his "Favorite Heroes List"
As All Might struck a heroic pose, hands on his hips and a big grin plastered over his features, the class quieted down.
"I teach Hero Basic Training. It is a subject where you train in different ways to learn the basics of being a hero. A large part of your hero preparation will come from time spent in this class," All Might declared, as most of the other students listened on attentively," and we'll get right to it with this! Combat Training!"
Excited murmurs traveled throughout the class, and Izuku couldn't help but agree with them. So far he'd managed to test out his qurik on robots but now he'd get to test his abilities against his classmates.
"And to go with that are these!" All Might said, dramatically pointing to the wall of the classroom, where lockers began to exit out of the wall. Each clear locker had a suitcase with a number on it, with the number corresponding to the seating arrangements of the class," costumes! Made using the information provided on your Quirk Registration forms and requests you provided before school started."
It seemed like everyone was ready to get into their costumes now, as a nervous but excited buzz swept through the room.
"After you all change, head to Ground Beta!"
Izuku quickly stood along with his classmates and headed to his designated locker, taking the suitcase and heading to the locker room to get changed into his hero outfit. Giving Itsuka a quick thumbs up as he passed her by on the way to the locker rooms.
-0-
Izuku's costume followed a new design philosophy, combining the old with the new. First was the underlayer of armor, which Izuku kept to a ninja-mesh shirt, over which he wore a black shozoku made of the same carbon-nanofiber weave used in Eraserhead's scarf. It included a green stylized dragon decorating the left side of the outfit along the arms. He wore the ninja shawl around the lower side of his head, with a special metallic mask covering it, a useful support item to keep his muttering in check along with a few other features if he ever got in a tight situation. Around his waist is a set of pouches with a ton of ninja tools for any situation. The outfit was meant to be light, emphasizing maneuverability with personal protection coming in the form of strategically placed carbon nano-fiber padded plates along his legs and arms. The ninja tabi he wore were specifically designed to have good grip and flexibility while being durable enough to withstand high friction impacts and movements.
Izuku had based the look on an old pre-quirk video game character by the name of Raiden. Granted the face mask trailed behind him a bit. Technology also still wasn't on the same level as those video games, Izuku felt like he'd gone the future ninja look pretty close to what he'd been going for. For now, he'd decided to forgo a blade. Izuku had included a tanto as part of his hero costume but didn't plan on using it in the battle, this was just a training exercise against students after all, instead packing his Escrima Sticks and his Manrikigusari. He was a bit disappointed he wouldn't be able to use his tanto since his mom had given him a little throwing star charm to attach to the pommel. That, along with his usual ensemble of equipment should mean that he'd be fine for whatever battle training that All Might had in mind.
Due to how many parts went into his costume, Izuku was one of the last to leave the changing rooms. He arrived to see most students already dressed in their hero costumes. He was pretty impressed by their designs.
Ochako seemed to be standing next to Itsuka. She had a blush on her face.
"I wasn't expecting the costume to be so skin-tight," she admitted bashfully.
"Hey don't worry too much about it. I'm sure the support course can fix any problems you have with it," Itsuka reasoned, trying her best to comfort Uraraka. Uraraka's costume was tight-fitting, but Izuku could see the benefits of a tight-fitting costume on her, especially with her quirk. The entrance exam proved that she frequently dealt with nausea when she used her quirk. Perhaps the tightness of the suit was on purpose to pinch down on pressure points and reduce those effects. This would mean that she'd be able to handle the side effects of using her quirk for longer periods.
Shinso and Uraraka looked on at their new interloper, surprised with the direction in which Midoriya had taken his costume and a bit exasperated that he had walked up to the small group and started muttering non-stop. Kirishima was approaching them as well, looking more amused than anything else.
"Does he do this often?" Shino asked, looking towards the approaching Kirishima.
"All the time," Kirishima snarked in response, before approaching the mumbling Izuku who was talking about 'potential for aerial maneuverability with perhaps a grappling hook?".
"Izu you're mumbling again," Kirishima and Itsuka chorused, causing Izuku to startle in surprise at their interruption. Scowling at the two, who were grinning like loons, before giving them a smile and a grin - not that they could see it of course. The mask covered up his facial expression, it seemed he'd need to learn to be more expressive with his eyes.
As he was startled out of his mumbling spree, he could finally appreciate the costumes of his friends.
Shinso wore a short-sleeved black shirt with grey shoulder pads. It seemed he also knew the benefits of fishnet mesh armor as he was wearing a long-sleeved layer beneath, topped off with fingerless gloves. He wore black pants topped with white combat boots and had two speakers strapped to his legs. He seemed to have a strange contraption on his face, along with what looked to be a few pouches on his waist for equipment.
Itsuka had gone with a turquoise knee-length qipao, over which she wore a black double-breasted corset that had a metallic shine to it. Perhaps it was some type of armor? She wore a set of short black sports shorts beneath the qipao and had a satchel tied around her waist. To finish the outfit she'd gone with white heeled combat boots.
Eijiro's costume had two dark red, gear-shaped shoulder pads and had gone for the bare-chested look. Despite Eijiro never really joining him out on his workouts, it was clear that Izuku's friend worked out due to his build of lean muscle and abs. A look that a manly guy like Kirishima would be fine with showing off. There was a black-wired mask around his face, and he wore a red, torn cape around his waist with a red 'R' sitting above his navel. His pants were black and baggy and he finished off the look with red combat boots. All-in-all the costume looked kick-ass.
"You all look so cool," Izuku proclaimed, blushing slightly as he cast a look over to Itsuka, who seemed to be aware of his wandering eyes based on the smirk she shot him.
"We look cool? Bro, you look manly!" Kirishima proclaimed.
"Seems I'll have to take notes on improving my future ninja look," Shinso replied with an appreciative nod in Izuku's direction.
Izuku wanted to say thanks but was caught off by the chopping of the air from who he assumed to be Ida, the metal armor with an engine sprouting from the legs implied it.
"Quiet down, All Might is explaining what he expects from us out of this exercise," Ida scolded.
"Now class, most of the time, fighting villains takes place outside. However, if you look at the total numbers, atrocious villains appear indoors at a higher rate. Think about it! Backroom deals, home invasions, secret underground lairs…truly intelligent criminals stay hidden in the shadows. On this training exercise you'll be split into teams of Heroes and Villains and fight two-on-two indoor battles," All Might declared, pumping his fist to encourage his students. Although a few still seemed confused with the directions given.
"Isn't this a little advanced?" someone in the crowd called out, the girl with the Frog quirk, Izuku thought.
"The best training is the one you get on the battlefield! Just remember that you're not just punching a robot now, you're dealing with actual people," All Might said, trying to be encouraging. This prompted the floodgates to open and students to start asking questions.
"How do you determine who wins?" the girl who'd taken first in Aizawa's quirk apprehension test, Yaoyorozu Momo, called out.
"How badly can we hurt each other?" Bakugo asked a feral grin on his face and a question that made Izuku snort. If he hadn't added to the mess of questions currently overwhelming All Might, Izuku would have chimed in how much of a surprise it was that Bakugo had asked that question. Hint hint, it wasn't.
Even Uraraka piped in, asking a nervous question about whether they'd be expelled for performing poorly. A fair question to ask given Aizawa-sensei's introduction to the class.
"Listen up," All Might called, sounding a bit flustered as he pulled out a script to read from, inducing a sweat drop from Izuku at how unprepared All Might seemed to be for this first lesson," the villains have hidden a nuclear missile somewhere in their hideout. The heroes must try to foil their plans either by catching the evil-doers or recovering the weapon. Likewise, the bad guys succeed if they manage to protect the payload within the given timeframe or capture the heroes," All Might said, pulling out a yellow box," time is limited so we'll choose teams by drawing lots!"
"Isn't there a better way?" Ida asked, confused over the disorderly method of setting up teams.
"Think about it," Izuku chimed in," a lot of pros don't always have the luxury of having a team prepared and ready. They could have to team up with heroes from other agencies. That's likely why we're seeing that here."
"I see," Ida nodded, before bowing to All Might," excuse my rudeness."
"No sweat! Let's draw!" All Might declared. At the proclamation, the students began to approach the box that All Might had laid out for them. One by one, the students began to pull small balls with letters on them from the box. Izuku's was marked with the letter 'A' and he curiously looked around to see if there was anyone around who matched him.
A part of him hoped he'd end up on a team with one of his friends, but instead, he was approached by someone else.
The girl in question was the one he'd seen skate on acid the previous day - Mina Ashido.
"Ashido-san, you got an 'A' as well?" Izuku questioned while roving over her costume. Ashido wore a plain white mask over her face, with a purple and turquoise skin-tight bodysuit with a camouflage pattern on it. She topped off the look with a tan-colored sleeveless waistcoat with white fur along its collar.
"Sure did, enjoying the view Midori?" she asked with a wink. Izuku blushed slightly at her comment, scratching the back of his head at her casual address.
"Not in that manner, I'm just trying to analyze what type of fighting you can pull off. A hero costume says a lot about a person's fighting style. I'm guessing since your outfit is so lightweight you prefer acrobatic and evasive maneuvers, preferring mobility and long-range over defenses right?" Izuku asked, still a little embarrassed.
"Heck, you got all that already just from looking at my costume?" Mina asked, looking surprised before grinning," All right then! With your brains and my awesomeness, we got this in the bag!"
Izuku gave a confident nod, looking over the rest of the class and the pairings.
Team B was made of Bakugo Katsuki and Yuga Aoyama.
Team C had Mezo Shoji and Kyoka Jira.
Team D consisted of Toru Hagakure and Tsuyu Asui.
Team E had Hitoshi Shinso and Ochaco Uraraka, and at least some of his friends were teamed up.
Team F had Koji Koda and Momo Yayorozu.
Team G had Itsuka Kendo and Denki Kaminari. He felt a bit jealous of Kaminari being on Itsuka's team, there had been a slight hope that he would get to team up with his girlfriend for this exam.
Team H consisted of Fumikage Tokoyami and Tenya Ida.
Team I was made up of Hanta Sero and Rikido Sato.
Finally, Team J had Eijiro Kirishima and Shoto Todoroki, which would be a tough team to go up against. Izuku had seen just how strong Todoroki's ice quirk was yesterday and with Eijiro backing him up the team had the perfect set of defense and offense going for them.
"All right now that you're all split up, here are the matchups. The first two teams against each other will be the Hero Team A and the Team B will be our Villains for the exercise," All Might declared. In Izuku's periphery vision, he could make out that Itsuka, Eijiro, and Ochako had all stiffened slightly. Itsuka was giving Izuku a particularly worried look.
Bakugo on the other hand had a predatory smirk on his face. Small pops lit up in his palms.
Izuku simply matched Bakugo's feral expression with a calm look of his own. Day two of Izuku's time at U.A., and it seemed like he'd finally put Bakugo in his place.
Chapter 11: Basic Hero Training Part 2
The villain team had five minutes to set up. Most teams would have used it to familiarize themselves with the interior of their assigned buildings and strategically placed their 'bombs' in an easily defendable location. Perhaps they could have set up traps or decoys with some spare time.
Bakugo Katsuki had done the bare minimum and placed the bomb on the fourth floor. The teen was seething since it had become apparent that he'd gotten one of the most insufferable people to partner with.
Yuga Aoyama looked more pleased to be in his hero costume than take the assignment of handling the heroes their asses. At least, that was what Katsuki thought. He'd come to U.A. to be Number 1.
Since Katsuki had been young, that's all he'd ever wanted to be. The best hero. He was always the best around. His quirk was strong, and he was the first to unlock his quirk within his age group in his Kindergarten. Everyone saw him as the best - the other students, the teachers, his mother; so when some uppity extra like Izuku Midoriya claimed he'd still be a great hero without a quirk, Bakugo had been infuriated.
This was his story. Some quirkless nobody like Deku didn't even stand on the same pedestal as him. There was no way the extra would amount to anything. Thus, Katsuki had been content to ignore him and let him linger in the background. Oh, the blonde felt pity for the kid. He'd rather off himself than be quirkless, so the fact that Deku kept on trying to be a hero was almost cute. It wasn't until a trip to the woods on a playdate that Deku struck the flint that alighted a rage within Bakugo.
That trip to the woods, where he'd fallen and slipped into the stream, was when the rage started to enflame within Bakugo. It'd been embarrassing in hindsight. At the time, it'd hurt, not that he'd ever admit it to anyone. However, for the brief moment when he was holding back his tears, he'd failed to keep track of his surroundings. Deku was standing over him. Deku was looking down on him. Deku was seeing how weak he was. Katsuki Bakugo wasn't weak. He couldn't let it show. He wouldn't let someone as weak as Deku be his rescuer. He wouldn't let quirkless Deku stand above him ever again.
It was in that realization that Bakugo understood his mother's whispered comments whenever she shot a look of scorn at Deku's back whenever Inko wasn't around. He should learn his place around you, Katsuki; you're his better. Late bloomers might as well be quirkless; teach him his place.
At first, he thought his mother wanted Bakugo to keep Deku around as a minion. However, that slip in the river revealed to Bakugo that Deku viewed him as weak. Only weaklings needed rescuing, and Bakugo wasn't weak.
So he started attacking Deku from then on—brutal attacks, destruction of his homework, bullying him and getting others to do the same, beating him up in the parks.
If only that police officer hadn't caught him in the act that once, it'd made Bakugo much more cautious. His mom had taken him to a therapist at the request of a judge, who had only confirmed that he'd done nothing wrong and given Bakugo a clean bill of health, stating they'd worked through bullying behavior and reached a breakthrough. Of course, Bakugo had only ever had to attend two appointments. Even the government knew that Bakugo was the shit. With a quirk as strong as his, he'd go pro quickly.
His attacks on Deku continued. Then, the wimp was gone. Bakugo had hoped he'd killed himself, but it wasn't the case, as evidenced when he caught sight of the green-haired dweeb at the U.A. Entrance Exam.
Bakugo had been eager to put him in his place but knew he couldn't be so careless. There were too many pros around at the exam. He'd hoped they'd at least get the same Battle Center in the practical exam, at which point he would have just stolen all of his points and made sure Deku couldn't get any points, but luck hadn't been on his side that day.
When he found out that Deku had a quirk, he shrugged it off. Color-changing eyes weren't exactly anything to write home about. He still had the better quirk, yet somehow, the extra had pulled ahead of him in the quirk apprehension tests and pushed aside all of Bakugo's attempts to goad him into a confrontation. There was more to his quirk, but enhanced body strength was a dime a dozen amongst quirks, and it wouldn't be too tricky for Bakugo to overcome it.
Thankfully, it seemed that Christmas had come early.
Their first hero training exercise pitted him against the person Katsuki wanted to put in the dirt the most. Deku may think he was hot, but Bakugo would show him just how far below he was.
A maniacal grin overcame his features, and he only shifted from his position when he heard All Might's voice come over their earpiece.
"Round start!"
Immediately, Bakugo began to head towards the entrance of the building, causing Aoyama to shoot him a concerned glance.
The sparkling knight had been devising an excellent plan to defeat the heroes for the exercise, but it would have been futile without Bakugo's aid.
"Have you not been leestening to my sparkléng plan?" he asked Bakugo, who replied only with a snort.
"I don't care about your shitty plan. I'm here to win. You just sit there and watch me; I don't need nor want your help at all," Bakugo growled before exiting the room.
-0-
"That was some intense glaring Bakugo was giving you, Izu," Mina Ashido said as she stretched and hopped enthusiastically to warm up before entering the building.
"Yeah, I've already figured out a game plan to take him out," Izuku responded, "As for Bakugo's glare, he has some sort of inferiority complex, I think. He's never had to deal with not being at the top of the totem pole before and is starting to realize just how different the world is outside that sheltered little nest he grew up in."
Mina listened attentively before nodding in understanding.
"Yeah, there were a few kids like that at my junior high my first year there, but they straightened out after they realized they didn't have the best quirks in comparison to some of the older years," Mina replied, bouncing on her toes slightly as she gave Izuku a nod.
"Alright, I've never had the most tactical mind, so why don't you share your plan," Mina asked.
"Well, my plan comes with the fact my quirk gives us the advantage of intel on the villains," Izuku said as his Byakugan and Sharingan activated. Izuku motioned toward the right side of his face, where the veins of his active Byakugan were prominently bulging.
"My Byakugan lets me see through things from far away, and my senseis insisted I should learn to read lips since it'd help gather intel on villains. Right now, I can tell you that the bomb is on the fourth floor in the north hallway, third room from the stairs. Aoyama is planning something elaborate, but it won't work. He needs Bakugo's assistance, but I've got him figured out. Bakugo's not even listening to Aoyama. Bakugo's likely going to try to ambush us on the lower floors. Bakugo's a direct type of person and is all for action; he won't waste time with Aoyama's plan," Izuku explained as Mina listened in, a big grin on her face as she made a show of covering up.
"Oh, Izu, I hope you aren't using your quirk to catch a glimpse," she ridiculed haughtily, causing Izuku to blush.
"If I did, Itsuka would splat me like a mosquito," he readily admitted, only managing not to spill out that Itsuka had let him peek with his Byakugan a time or two. Only to glimpse a cute bikini she had been wearing beneath her outfit for the day in preparation for their beach trip. Izuku counted that as a win, and it was all the same.
"No worries; I'm just messin' with you," Mina said with a giggle, Making Izuku sigh inwardly in relief before clearing his throat.
"R-Right. Anyways, since I figure Bakugo's likely going to be heading straight for me based on how much I've managed to piss him off - we sneak attack his sneak attack?" Izuku suggested, receiving a devious grin in reply.
"Go on…," Mina said, sounding excited.
"So, Bakugo will be alone, probably trying to blitzkrieg us without his teammate to back him up. He'll be overextended. When he charges in at me, I'll tell you to go ahead and give you some space to run ahead as if you were going for the bomb," Izuku said, waiting for Mina to finish the plan. A look of realization crossed her face.
"And while you keep him busy, I'll circle, and we'll strike him down with a fast pincer maneuver from both ends. Then we both go for the bomb since it'll be two versus one," Mina exclaimed happily, with Izuku snapping his fingers and nodding.
"Awesome. The only thing we need to worry about are those gauntlets," Izuku said, causing Mina to give him a curious look.
"What about them?" she asked.
"Based on their internals, they're more than just for show," Izuku admitted, looking them over carefully with his Byakugan," I was curious as to why Bakugo would have them in his hero costume. They looked cumbersome, but, looking at them now, I think I see what he was going for. Bakugo sweats out a nitroglycerin-like substance from his arms and hands that he can will to explode on command. Those explosions must put a significant strain on his body, though. I'm sure his arm and shoulder muscles and bones are more reinforced than those found in his torso or legs. So, the gauntlets let him store his sweat for a big explosion he can use later. They're potentially lethal - especially in an indoor environment," Izuku explained to a frowning Mina.
"You think Bakugo would bring the building down on us?" she asked. She sounded skeptical that Bakugo would go all-out like that, but her voice was also laced with a bit of worry.
"To satiate his pride? Yes. That's why we need to take him down quickly and fast. If you can, aim your acid at his gauntlets to disable them as soon as possible," Izuku suggested, receiving a grin and a nod from Mina.
"No worries, leave those gauntlets to me. Can you hold Bakugo off in close quarters while I get into position?" Mina asked, receiving a nod from Izuku.
"Yeah, I know a ton of martial arts, and my quirk lets me enhance myself, so I'll be able to keep ahead of Bakugo's explosions," Izuku explained, receiving a confused look from Mina.
"Wait, so you can see through things and have enhanced speed and strength?" Mina asked, remembering how well Izuku had performed in the quirk apprehension test the day before.
"Kinda. My quirk is pretty complicated. It involves a relatively new field of study called Quirk Energy Theory - the cliff notes of it are that I can manipulate my quirk energy pathways to enhance my body, and the manipulation of it comes from my eyes. I could probably write a textbook on my quirk, but that's the basics," Izuku explained with a shrug, the explanation looking to have gone entirely over Mina's head," basically, my eyes do weird stuff beyond the obvious of letting me see."
Mina's reply was interrupted by All Might's call: "Round start!"
They both jumped, not paying attention to the time and quickly gathered themselves before giving each other a nod and stepping into the building.
The building was relatively plain, made of bare concrete hallways and rooms bare of decoration. However, Izuku didn't spend too much time focusing on the little details of the plain environment, focusing instead on the two students above him.
As he thought, Aoyama was sticking with the bomb, and Bakugo was approaching quickly.
"He's coming in fast; if we maintain our current speed, we'll cross paths just before reaching the third-floor stairwell," Izuku muttered," let's slow our pace so we aren't up against the edge of the building when he approaches us."
Mina gave a quick nod, looking slightly tense as she reviewed her role in their plan.
Halfway through the main hallway of the second floor, Bakugo struck. Mina and Izuku acted surprised as he charged at them from a side hallway, already well aware of his position, thanks to Izuku's quirk.
"DEKUU!!!" Bakugo yelled, angrily releasing an explosion as he cut off their escape back down the hall to the first floor, leaving only the path toward the third-floor stairwell for advancement.
Izuku quickly took a defensive stance before Mina, bunching his fist and taking a boxer's stance.
"Mina, go on up ahead. Bakugo's after me. You get the bomb!" he cried, trying to sound apprehensive.
"Midori, are you?" Mina cried out, trying to protest, but was cut off by Izuku, shaking his head.
"Nah, go on ahead. I've got this," Izukureplied. Mina gave him a pat of encouragement on the shoulder and headed towards the end of the hallway.
As Mina took off, running down to the end of the hall, Izuku turned his attention to Bakugo. There was a feral look in his eyes as he stared down Izuku. His palms were sparking with small explosions at the thought of pulverizing the ant who'd crawled out from underneath his boot and made a stand against him.
"Finally, Deku, now that Racoon Eyes is gone, I can finally put you back in your place," he said, a grin of satisfaction plastered on his features as if he'd already won just by having Izuku all on his own.
"You know, I should thank All Might-sensei for this. I'd been hoping for a reason to put you down and in your place beneath me, and then we went and matched up against each other. It seems like destiny is giving me the perfect opportunity to show you where you belong," Bakugo said, his eyes glinting with vicious intent.
"You know Bakugo, I think Kendo is right about you. You're one angry pomeranian. All bark, no bite. Are you going to sit there and yammer, or are we going to fight?" Izuku jeered back. Izuku was glad he'd had his quirk activate during Bakugo's entire monologue; it let him capture the frankly hilarious-looking expression of flummoxed rage on Bakugo's face as he took in his words with the Sharingan. It also allowed him to watch the tensing of the muscles as Bakugo's body moved to attack, how his legs began moving forward, and how his arm reached out towards Izuku.
His Sharingan let him capture the attack in slow motion. It gave Izuku time to remember back to a time when Bakugo's burning right palm slammed into his face when the explosions would pummel Izuku's body, the brutal kicks to his ribs and stomach, the stinging of burns on his torso, his burned clothing and skin, the tears, the helplessness.
"Late bloomer? You may as well be quirkless. Worthless people like you, Deku, will never be heroes," Bakugo sneered then.
Bakugo's fist was cocked back, painfully telegraphed, as he made to swing at Izuku, right hook inbound like he had when they were little.
When Izuku was small and knew no better, he'd had no choice but to suffer the attack, curl up, and wait for it to all be over. Now?
Izuku's whole body shifted as he broke the ruse of a boxer's stance he'd set himself up in, his body moving faster than should be possible as Izuku enhanced himself with a Full Cowl, quirk energy pushing through his limbs as he grabbed the over-extended punch, shifted his weight, and heaved Bakugo over his shoulder. The movement seemed to have caught Bakugo off guard as the smug look slowly faded from his face into confusion before Izuku slammed him into the ground. The concrete floor cracked from the impact, and there was a sense of satisfaction in Izuku's eyes as he noticed how Bakugo was gasping for air - the breath forcefully expelled out of him from the impact.
A part of Izuku wanted to strike now, but Bakugo's shoulders' tensing gave Izuku a clear idea of what he was planning, and he sprung away, secure in the knowledge that he'd done his part of the plan well. Now, it was all up to Mina to initiate the counter-sneak attack.
Bakugo released a large explosion towards Deku, his shoulders tensing with the recoil as his palms lit up. The rapid acceleration of heat slammed into the location where Deku no longer was!
Bakugo grit his teeth, noticing how Deku had backed up.
"Dammit, Deku! Stand still so you can die!" Bakugo screamed, facing his palms backward to lift him off the floor before using a set of explosions to boost his momentum toward Deku.
Bakugo was so focused on getting to Deku that he failed to notice the lithe shape behind him, out of range of his smaller momentum, granting explosions but quickly moving in. Bakugo turned his body sideways, letting his momentum carry him into delivering a harsh kick at Deku when his right arm suddenly felt a lot heavier.
He turned, spotting his gauntlet and arm covered in a vicious yellow liquid. The liquid was irritating his skin, but it was the least of his problems, as even in the short time he watched it, it was already starting to harden up. So surprised was he that Bakugo performed a fatal flaw that those in fights should never do: look away from their opponents.
Izuku rushed in and capitalized on Bakugo's distraction. Juken: Sixteen Palms! Izuku thought, figuring it sounded alright for a first super move. He'd have to see what Kirishima thought about it as he stepped forward, arms a blur of motion, as he manipulated his quirk energy and struck a host of pressure points along the leg Bakugo had so helpfully extended. With his Sharingan having slowed the fight to a crawl for Izuku, it was easy for him to step forward and deliver his strikes before stepping back out of Bakugo's range.
He watched as the leg went limp, and Bakugo's face morphed into an angry expression. Stuck between the both of them, Bakugo was without his right arm, and his left leg had suddenly gone limp in the air from Deku's attack.
"Goddammit! You were too scared you had to get a shitty extra to come help you, huh?!" Bakugo screamed, as instead of delivering the kick he had launched, he had crashed to the ground, his momentum too altered by the sudden shift of his body from the attacks. He wasn't sure what Deku had done to his leg, but he'd have to use his gauntlet a little early. The right one was out, but if Bakugo could reach his left gauntlet, he'd get to blow the hell out of the losers teaming up against him.
Bakugo went to release an explosion to the stupid horn bitch when he was stunned by a sucker punch to the face by the stupid Deku.
Izuku hadn't remained idle after his palm strikes; his Sharingan let him see the shift of Bakugo's eyes towards Mina, and Izuku stepped forward, capture tape unfurling around wrapping around Bakugo's left arm as he arced it around the rabid dog and Mina, stepping forward to deliver a punch to Bakugo's face to draw his attention back towards himself.
This allowed Mina to catch the tape and finish the maneuver, swinging it back around for a complete capture. For being a spur-of-the-moment decision, it was an efficient takedown of Bakugo, using a surprise attack and teamwork that Bakugo hadn't anticipated seeing.
"Bakugo is captured!" came All Might's booming voice through their earpieces. In truth, the pro was surprised by how efficiently Midoriya and Ashido had fought against young Bakugo. With his communicator's help, All Might could listen in on team chat, and while he approved of Midoriya's plan to counter-attack and work with his teammate, All Might couldn't help but feel suspicion against the teen.
Midoriya fought with rare efficiency that he hadn't expected to see in a boy so young. Not to mention that he was covered head to toe in weapons, dangerous weapons that Midoriya seemed skilled in using based on how he'd lead an attack on Aoyama and the bomb, using the weighted chain as a midrange option to break some of the reflections on Aoyama's hero costume—before moving in for a takedown while Ashido secured the bomb.
Then, there were his seemingly multiple quirks: enhanced speed and strength, telescopic X-ray vision, and seemingly pre-cognition based on how quickly he reacts to attacks from Bakugo and Aoyama. These were combined with his propensity to deal out some hurt, evidenced by how he had calmly walked up to the raging and captured Bakugo and held a finger to the boy's jugular to knock him out.
While All Might didn't want to start any accusations, the way he had done so without hesitation and his stockpile of quirks made All Might remember back to the last individual with multiple quirks he had faced. He grimaced as a phantom pain burst from his side; long since healed, yes, but the wound had left a lasting impact on his body.
All Might finally took up a successor, seeing his degradation as the sign it was time to pick someone worthy of One for All. Seeing a young Mirio Togata rush in to save young Bakugo from a slime villain last year had been the wake-up call Toshinori sorely needed. He'd confronted the young man and had been inspired by his tale of hardship in mastering his tricky quirk. Despite his initial struggles, he'd used it to save Bakugo masterfully and re-ignited the fading spark within Toshinori, allowing him to surpass the limits constrained since his battle with All for One. He was surprised to discover that Mirio was the kid Mirai had been hassling to take on as his successor - but he could now see why Mirai had made that suggestion. Mirio Togata had a heroic spirit worthy of One for All and was already learning to use the potent quirk alongside his quirk.
He'd come to U.A. to watch over Mirio's final year as a Hero student but had been surprised to discover that the latest group of freshies in 1-A held more than met the eye within their lineup. Oh, sure, Endeavor's son wasn't unexpected, and the Yaoyorozu girl was a nice surprise—Toshinori had expected the girl to follow in her parents' footsteps and become a businesswoman.
No, the biggest surprise was undoubtedly Izuku Midoriya, who seemingly had a host of quirks originating from his eyes and had dominated the entrance exam, with the highest score on the written exam and taking the top spot on the practical - though still far from All Might's practical exam record.
All Might did his best to keep up his pretense of being jovial and friendly while the class determined an MVP—which the Yayorozu heiress determined to Midoriya when Mina mentioned that he had been the one to come up with the plan to pincer attack Bakugo and then distract Aoyoama while the other went for the bomb.
All Might relaxed as Izuku retook his place among his classmates, announcing the start of the next battle between Heroes Koji Koda and Momo Yaoyorozu and the Villains Fumikage Tokoyami and Tenya Ida.
-0-
Izuku was proud of having made MVP. After incapacitating Bakugo, the rest of the exercise went smoothly. Aoyama's inability to keep up sustained lasers ensured that Izuku and Mina could outmaneuver his deadly attack and close the distance.
While the armor Aoyama wore was great for defense, it could have been more convenient, decreasing any additional mobility his Navel Laser might have granted him by a large margin. The lack of mobility let Izuku get in close and distract the French student while Mina secured the bomb. Unlike their initial plan, the two teens' only definitive strategy was to keep mobile. Everything else they developed was on the fly.
In the end, Izuku felt like they'd done quite well. Bakugo eventually returned to class after his short nap, silently fuming as he took one of the seats in the corner of the observation room, glaring daggers at the ground for the rest of the fights.
Izuku, for his part, had taken a seat next to Itsuka and pulled out his 'hero notebook' to take notes on his classmates' notable quirks. As part of his hero costume, he'd included a compact computer to help if he ever needed to hack into something. He used it to take notes that he would later transfer onto pen and paper.
The fight between Teams F and H was exciting to watch. The villains, Tokoyami and Ida, had gotten pretty dramatic based on the lips he could read. Tokoyami's speaking was a bit harder to understand due to his bird features, but some words were still intelligible - which was more than Izuku received from a helmeted Ida. Tokoyami was also the one who had the most fantastic quirk out of the four, in Izuku's opinion. His shadow was some sort of sentient monster - and Izuku had always been amazed by the concept of sentient quirks. A few scientists believed it was a remnant of Dissociative Identity Disorder expressed in modern time's quirks. Many scientists agreed that the condition had become almost unheard of within quirked populations, with the only notable diagnosed examples coming from quirkless individuals in the last few years.
The hero team wasn't lacking in cool quirks, either. Koji Koda's quirk allowed him to control animals, as evidenced by how he used rats and birds to scout the building as they entered. However, Momo Yaoyorozu's quirk stood out on the team. He'd had suspicions since the quirk apprehension test, but the trial provided all the confirmation Izuku needed. She seemed to have produced several items from her skin, and Izuku couldn't help but be amazed by her apparent versatility. And she had the mind to wield such a versatile quirk properly.
Before entering the building, she'd created a gun for Koda to wield and was wearing a set of Infrared Goggles, pointing out the villain team well in advance with them. She would place a trip wire at the entrance of every new hallway they entered, slowing their progress slightly, but the trip wires would prove a boon in the coming moments. The villain team had decided on a hit-and-run approach, using Ida as a spear and Tokoyami as the shield. They'd decided on a two-pronged attack. Tokoyami would bar the way forward while Ida would flank them from behind before falling back with Tokoyami to a more defensible position. At least, that was what Izuku had made out of Tokoyami's words and Ida's actions. Yaoyorozu had seemingly picked up on this and let Koji know as they visibly tensed up before springing the trap.
Ida came in charging from the hallway they had just vacated, using the length of the hallway to build up speed in the close-quarters environment. He must have been screaming something for Yaoyorozu, who looked to be holding back laughter. As the heroes braced for an attack, Ida's foot snagged on a tripwire, and the motorized speedster crashed to the floor before them. The sudden faceplant was enough to refocus the heroes as Koji pulled the trigger on the gun he'd, and a mesh net quickly tangled up and trapped Ida.
Tokoyami quickly moved out of his defensible position to attempt to back up his partner. Still, Koda kept him at bay with a swarm of rats, birds, and, surprisingly, bats while Momo used her capture tape to secure Ida out of the fight. From there, it was another two versus-one situations, although Tokoyami put up a much greater fight - his quirk holding off the animals and Yaoyorozu's projectiles until she realized light sources weakened the sentient shadow when she threw out a flash bang disguised as a little Russian Doll that caught Tokoyami and his quirk off guard enough for Koda to close the distance and capture Tokoyami in capture tape - the taller boy looking to have a surprising amount of strength and durability based on how easily he shoved the shadow quirk aside when it tried to defend Tokoyami from the attack.
Ultimately, Izuku decided that Yaoyorozu should be the MVP, as she'd developed a good plan for handling the villains. The rest of the class agreed, although Izuku privately thought that the villains should get extra points for the effort they put into their roles.
Izuku sat up when it was clear Itsuka would be going next. She was partnered with a guy with a black lightning bolt design on his hair—Denki Kaminari. Supposedly, he had some sort of electricity quirk, but Izuku hadn't seen him use it during the quirk apprehension test.
"Wish me luck," Itsuka said, giving him a grin as she pumped her fist.
Izuku couldn't help but grin back.
"Don't worry, you won't need it," he reassured, smiling as he watched her prepare for the upcoming fight.