Chapter Twenty-Two: Let's Make a Deal
Eijiro Kirishima was pumped. This in and of itself was not unusual; he was often pumped. In fact, he made it his business to be pumped as often as possible and about as many things as possible.
This was easier at some times than others, but being manly meant not sweating the small stuff and Eijiro Kirishima was nothing if not manly.
Be manly. That was his mantra. Strong. Dependable. The kind of person that could be relied on no matter what.
He wasn't there yet; Eijiro knew that. He was better than he used to be, but he was still a far cry from the likes of Crimson Riot. The type of man who could hold his head high and face any obstacle in his way. Unbending. Unyielding.
Unbreakable.
Due to the excitement of being accepted into and subsequently starting classes at U.A., Eijiro had no shortage of things to be pumped about. This was without even mentioning the fact that he had just helped to found a goddamn Fight Club.
He was hyped. He was beyond hyped. This would be the ultimate gathering place for cultivating manly fighting spirits. Not to mention that these types of activities were bound to foster friendships between the participants. Everyone knew that there were some conversations that could only be had with one's fists and that a good, clean fight could solve a lot of problems.
Yessir. It would just be an all-around good time and everyone would come out of it better than when they went in.
Speaking of going out, it looked like some of his classmates were having difficulty doing that due to the large crowd of students clustered outside of their classroom.
"There are quite a few of them. I would say at least four or five dozen." Shoji answered Eijiro's unasked question, obviously having noticed the situation for himself. Eijiro whistled at the number.
"Damn. Any idea what they want?"
"Come on, that's obvious, isn't it?" Bakugo said as he walked past, motioning with one hand for them to follow him, "They're just a bunch of small-fry scoping out the competition. We're the kids who survived a Villain attack, after all. The story's had more than enough time to spread by now. It makes sense that they'd want to take a look before the Sports Festival, no matter how pointless it really is in the end." he had reached the doorway by now and raised his voice to address the crowd, "Get out of the way, cannon fodder! Don't waste my time!"
In Eijiro's opinion, this was going a bit too far, but he couldn't help but respect Bakugo's manliness. He was strictly no-bullshit in everything he did and that was an honorable way to live in Eijiro's eyes, even if he could stand to dial it back sometimes.
"Can we please not resort to calling those we don't even know 'cannon fodder?!'" Iida was apparently of a similar opinion judging by that outburst.
"My, my." a boy with short, slick blond hair and blue eyes who was the same height as Eijiro emerged from the throng, a sarcastic smile on his face, "Such condescension. Such arrogance. I suppose this is only to be expected from the high and mighty Class 1-A though, huh?" he gestured to the crowd around him, as though he were cluing them all in to some kind of joke, "After all, they got to face off against Villains a mere three days into their schooling. They even got some sweet publicity out of the deal; the media was all over them. I can only imagine how inflated their egos must be after all of that, right?"
"You got something you wanna say, Jerkass?!" Bakugo was clearly irritated with this newcomer. Eijiro couldn't blame him; making such huge generalizations about the entire class just based on one person? That was dumb.
"Oh my, no." the blond boy gave a placating wave of his hand, though his smile had only widened, "I'm only here to observe; just as you inferred. In fact, maybe you could help me? I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the real celebrity of the moment: that one boy who was shown breathing fire at that monster? They didn't show his face, of course, but I'm sure with that ridiculous hair of his I'd have no trouble recognizing him."
Eijiro could only see Bakugo's back at the moment, but he could hear his gritted teeth through his response.
"He's not here. He's talking with All Might."
"All Might? My word, of all people of course it would be All Might!" the boy seemed just a little bit too surprised by this in Eijiro's opinion, "First the media attention, now some one-on-one time with the Symbol of Peace himself? I'll bet he's loving all of this! Maybe I should be happy that he's not here? With all of this attention going to his head, he must be even more full of himself than you, eh?"
Oh, shit.
This was not good.
"Bakugo, NO!" Eijiro acted on a gut feeling and immediately thanked the gods that he was correct when he just barely managed to put his friend into a full-nelson before he charged the blond boy.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Bakugo strained against his captor, but Eijiro refused to release him, "I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!"
Shit. Shit. ShitshitshitshitshitSHIT.
Something. He needed to do something. They needed someone to break this up.
Aizawa wasn't around. He had to go to the infirmary per Recovery Girl's orders immediately after class. He had griped about it to himself as he left. Who did he know for sure would be around?
Midoriya. He could get through to Bakugo if anyone could. In desperation, he called out to the first person he could think of who would be quick enough without a Quirk.
"Ashido!"
"I'm here, Kiri!" she was at his side at once, "What can I do?"
"I need you to find Midoriya and I need you to do it fast!"
"Got it!" she squeezed past and ran off immediately.
"Check the teacher's lounge!" Iida called out after her, obviously frustrated that he couldn't squeeze through the doorframe with the other two boys currently occupying it.
"Goddamn it, Kirishima! LET ME GO! I'm gonna paste this motherfucker!" holy hell, Bakugo was strong. Without Hardening, how long Eijiro would be able to hold him in place was starting to become a concern.
"No way!" Eijiro responded, "You're gonna get yourself in a ton of trouble if you go through with this! He's not worth it!"
"You hear that?!" the blond boy spread his arms and turned on the spot, "'Not worth it' he says! We're all nothing more than gnats to the great and powerful Class 1-A! As soon as someone challenges their superiority, they lash out with threats and violence! And they claim that they want to be Heroes? Are these really the types of people we want in the Hero Course? We would never resort to such things in 1-B! That's where the real Heroes-in-Training are! Class 1-A is just full of attention-whoring media darlings who happened to be in the right place at the right time! Just like that fire-breather!"
"SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH YOU COCKSUCKER!" Bakugo's efforts to break Eijiro's hold suddenly redoubled as he screamed at the young man who seemed dead-set on digging his own grave with such force that his voice cracked and he coughed a few times before continuing, "You don't get to stand there and pretend that you understand! You don't get to act like you could have done any better! YOU DON'T GET TO TALK ABOUT HIM LIKE THAT!"
"Yeah, that's right!" Kaminari shoved his way past the doorway and stood between 1-A and their nay-sayer, arm flung out in front of Bakugo, "I'm the Class President of 1-A and I won't let you stand by and insult us like this! What happened at USJ…that was real. People could have died. The fact that nearly all of us got out with minimal injuries is a freaking miracle. If All Might and the other teachers hadn't shown up when they did, then there's a really good chance that we wouldn't be here for you to talk shit to, so kindly shut the hell up and go back to wherever you came from before your ignorance gives us all brain cancer or something."
"Heheheh. But, one of you isn't here, right?" Eijiro was starting to doubt the blond boy's sanity, because his smile had evolved into a full-on shit-eating grin, "One of you couldn't take the pressure and left U.A. for good!"
Eijiro blinked in surprise and nearly loosened his grip on Bakugo involuntarily.
"Prez, what's this stage-crasher talking about?" Jiro called from inside the classroom.
Kaminari's arm fell and his fists clenched at his sides.
"Oh?" the blond boy's face seemed in danger of splitting open, "You mean they don't know? How long were you planning on waiting before you told them, Class President?"
"Mineta's gone." Kaminari stated in a flat tone, "I only found out this morning from Aizawa-sensei. He submitted the paperwork for a formal withdrawal and transferal request over the weekend. I was planning on telling you all after class but, well…" he trailed off and gestured towards the crowd, which had suddenly gone eerily silent.
"Honestly, I thought it might be something like that." Iida said, "He was in a rather bad way after the incident."
"Yeah." Yaoyorozu affirmed, "It was the only explanation that made sense. I won't pretend to be all that torn up about it, but still…"
"It is unfortunate." Iida concluded helpfully.
"Yeah." she agreed, "I can't help but feel for him a little. After all, we were all there. Honestly, to react the way he did is completely reasonable. Maybe it's the rest of us that are unnatural?"
"Perhaps. Even so, I would not wish to see that part of us changed." Iida stated firmly, "It is because we are who we are that we will be able to take these experiences and learn from them. Is that not what school is all about?"
"You're right. Thank you, Iida-san."
"What a touching sentiment." Eijiro was starting to really not like the blond boy, "The heiress and the scion. How quaint. Just imagine how things will be when the public at large figures out who you both are; 1-A will become a veritable trouble magnet! Money, influence, fame, why your class alone could attract such a wide variety of Villains! Will you drag the rest of U.A. down with you when your day of reckoning finally comes?"
"Hey." a new voice cut through the crowd and was revealed to belong to a boy with messy indigo hair that looked like he had played around with an electrical socket one too many times and purple eyes with dark bags underneath them. He was tall, standing only slightly shorter than Iida and his attention was currently focused on the blond boy, "I'm from General Studies and if you want my honest opinion, I'd say that judging from first impressions, 1-B is leaving me a lot more disillusioned than 1-A is. Know what I mean?"
"And just how…" the blond boy started to reply but then his expression went curiously blank.
"Shut up and go away." the newcomer commanded, "The rest of you make a path for him, alright? Thanks."
The previously boisterous boy silently walked off down the hallway just as a booming voice rang out from the opposite direction.
"Hold everything! Cease all hostilities at once!"
All Might was jogging behind Ashido and Midoriya, both of whom were running to stay ahead of him.
"Bakubro," Eijiro spoke in a low voice, "I'm gonna let you go now, so don't do anything stupid, alright?"
"Tch. Who do you think you're talking to, dumbass? Just get off me already."
Eijiro let him go just before All Might made it over to the crowd, which parted before him unprompted.
"Kiri!" Ashido began, "Is everything alright?"
"Kacchan, what's going on?" Midoriya said at nearly the same time.
"Midoriya, my boy. Ashido, my girl. I ask that the pair of you allow me to handle this for now." All Might's characteristic smile was still present, but his tone brooked no argument, "Now, I was led to understand that there was a second party involved in this altercation, but I see no sign of anyone matching the description that I was given. Can anyone explain to me what happened?"
"Oh, uh," the indigo-haired boy was immediately given All Might's full attention, "it looked like the situation was getting a bit out of hand, so I stepped in and convinced him to leave. I was here for most of it and from what I could tell he was deliberately attempting to antagonize, um…" he glanced at Bakugo with a questioning look.
"Katsuki Bakugo." Bakugo said tersely.
"Right. He was deliberately attempting to antagonize Bakugo-san and, unless I'm mistaken, Class 1-A as a whole. He mentioned that he was from Class 1-B, but he never gave his name and I didn't think to ask. My apologies, All Might-sensei."
"No, you did very well, my boy." All Might shook his head and ruffled the boy's messy hair, "You stepped in, took charge and successfully diffused the situation. This is an excellent skill for a Hero to have! What class did you say you were a part of?"
"I'm in General Studies."
"Indeed?" All Might seemed mildly surprised, "Well, let's see you make a good showing at the Sports Festival then, my boy! Who knows what could happen?" the boy nodded and All Might turned his attention to Bakugo.
"Bakugo, my boy, Ashido explained the situation to me and her account aligns perfectly with what I have just been told, so, given the fact that no real damage was done, I will let you off easy this time. In the future, however, I expect you to act with more restraint. Do you understand?"
"Yeah." Bakugo said, looking like he had just swallowed something rotten.
"Very good then. I will see you all in class tomorrow!" and with that he took off down the hall the way he had come.
"Is he always so…abrupt?" the messy-haired boy asked.
"More or less. We think it might be a habit from being so busy with Hero Work all the time." Kaminari replied.
"Huh. Well, anyway, time to say what I came here to say." when he received confused looks he raised an eyebrow, "What? Surely you didn't think I showed up just to stop one of you from getting himself expelled? No, I'm here to make sure you all understand what that vacant desk in your classroom means."
Seeing that he had everyone's attention, he continued.
"You guys probably don't give too much thought to it, but I'm sure you're aware that not everyone was as fortunate as you. A lot of us couldn't make the cut for the Hero Course, so we took spots in General Studies and the other tracks in order to bide our time. There's actually quite a few of us, you know?"
Eijiro found himself nodding in understanding along with several others. What this guy was saying made sense, but he was wondering what his point was.
"Well, depending on the results of the Sports Festival, especially since there's a vacant seat now, U.A. will consider transferring us to the Hero Course. As I understand it, the reverse is also possible if you guys don't prove that you deserve to be here. So, on behalf of all of us who haven't given up on our dreams yet, I'm here to offer up a declaration of war. Don't think that you're safe from me just because you're in the Hero Course; I'm coming for you guys and that seat will be mine."
Well, geez.
That was manly as all hell.
"That's a hell of a statement." Kaminari grinned, hands on his hips, "Mind telling us your name, tough guy?"
"Shinso. Hitoshi Shinso."
"Well, Shinso-san," Kaminari ran a hand through his hair in what was clearly supposed to be a "cool-guy" maneuver, "on behalf of 1-A, I accept your challenge as Class President. Let's give it our all!"
"Oh, don't feel pressured or anything." Shinso smirked, "Go easy on me if you want. I'm getting in one way or the other, so why not make this simpler for everyone?"
"Now, now, what kind of showman would I be if I did that?"
"Fair enough."
T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r
"Man," Ashido sighed as she walked Eijiro to his train station, "we just can't go more than a couple of days without something happening, can we?"
"Yeah," Eijiro agreed, "thank god you were there, Ashido. Because of that things turned out for the better, just like always."
She leaned forwards and gave him a quizzical look.
"What do you mean, Kiri?"
"Well, that's just how it's always been. I stand there like a rock, unable to do anything while you just…get stuff done. That one time that kid was getting bullied in middle school, I tried to step in, you know? That was before I started my training though, so I just got knocked on my ass. Then you showed up outta nowhere and yelled at them. Before I knew it you guys started breakdancing and then they just went home like nothing ever happened." he laughed, thinking back. Had those days really been less than a year ago?
"Hell, you probably don't even remember. You did stuff like that all the time, so you probably just wrote it off as another Tuesday or something. You were just manly like that."
She was giving him an odd look, but said nothing, so he kept going.
"Honestly, I always kind of envied you. I wished that I could stand out as easily as you do and that I had a flashier, more Heroic Quirk. But then that other thing happened. I'm sure you remember this one, right?"
He didn't know when they had stopped, but he was suddenly aware that she was standing in front of him and looking him dead in the eye.
"There were two girls from our middle school that had been cornered by a Villain. He was trying to get directions to Springer's Hero Offices. They didn't' know, of course, but they were too scared to say or do anything. He was getting frustrated and looked like he was about to attack them. I remember looking around, but there weren't any Heroes on patrol. So, it was up to me. I had to do something. I knew that I had to save them, or nobody else would."
Eijiro ran a finger over the scar above his right eye and scratched his head sheepishly.
"…But I couldn't do it. No matter what I tried, my body wouldn't move. All I had to do was jump in and get them out of there, but I was just…too scared. Too weak."
Ashido looked as though she wanted to say something, but he cut her off. Now that he had started, Eijiro needed to finish. He dropped his arm back to his side and smiled at his horn buddy.
"Then you were there, Ashido. You were running so fast that you actually had to skid to a stop in between the Villain and our classmates. You gave him some fake instructions and he just…left. The police showed up after that and got you three out of there and the whole time, all I could do was stand there and ask myself why I couldn't move. I always talked a big game. I kept going on and on about 'manly spirit' and having a 'manly heart,' but in the end, when the chips were down, I was all talk. Forget being a Hero, I wasn't even a man."
Eijiro remembered how close he had come to giving up. He had almost not been able to work up the nerve to apply to U.A. after that, but he had accidentally activated an old holo-recording of an interview with Crimson Riot that his parents had bought for him when he was little.
"In comparison to other Heroes, your image as a 'reckless' Hero who rushes in headlong is quite prominent. May I ask, do you feel no fear over throwing yourself into harm's way?"
"Huh? Just what do you think I am?! Of course, I feel fear! Anybody who rushes into the jaws of death without feeling any fear is either a complete dumbass or a *BEEP*! Back when I was a Sidekick, there were times when I wasn't able to save people's lives, you know?"
"Ah, yes. It can't be helped, sadly. With crime rates on the rise, there's nothing that-"
"That ain't what I'm saying! I'm saying that I hesitated for a second. My heart was weak, so I couldn't save 'em. Villains and death itself are both terrifying! Of course they are! It's just that I know there's something even scarier than all of that: the final expressions on the faces of the dead and the torment that comes from not being able to save them. It's because I've felt these things that I charge into the fray!"
"You like to talk about having a 'manly spirit,' but what exactly does that mean to you?"
"What kind of question is that?! It's the attitude you carry with you in your soul! I may say 'manly,' but it goes for any gender! And it doesn't mean something about being confident or not feeling fear either! I save people 'cuz I'm a Hero! Once you've made that decision in your heart, then you need to stake your life on it! A 'manly heart,' to me, is a life led without regret!"
"I made up my mind then and there that I wouldn't make the same mistake again, so I found those girls and I apologized to them for not being able to do anything. Of course, they didn't hold it against me. You know what they said? 'It's totally fine. Anybody would be afraid in a situation like that. Mina's just amazing, that's all.'"
Suddenly self-conscious, Eijiro thumped his fist on his thigh a couple of times and looked away.
"Listen to me rambling. Like I said, you probably don't remember any of this except for that one incident. The point is that I have to struggle and fight for what just comes naturally to you. Eventually I realized that it wasn't your Quirk or your looks that I wanted, it was just…to be more like you, I guess."
"You're wrong." a pink hand touched his cheek and turned his head so he was looking at her again and he was surprised to see the fierceness shining in her yellow-on-black eyes, "Don't think for a moment that I'm not scared, Kiri. After I gave that Villain fake directions and he walked away, I fell to the ground and cried my eyes out along with my friends because I was just as scared as they were. If I seem brave it's only because my body moves before my brain has time to catch up and…" she lowered her eyes, "we've seen what that gets me, haven't we? Trust me, Kiri, all your situation means is that you're smarter than me. I know you'd never have made such a stupid mistake at such an important moment if you were in my place."
Her hand fell from his face, but the self-loathing that had made its way into her voice made him instinctively catch it in his own. It was all too familiar and he was an idiot to think that she had gotten over USJ so quickly when she had some of the heaviest baggage from it. He frantically searched for words, but it was his turn to be cut off by her.
"The difference between you and me, Kiri, is that you've changed. You've gotten so much closer to being who you've always wanted to be. Hell, you even dyed your hair! I remember how surprised I was when I saw you last Sunday on the way to the first day of class!" she giggled and for a moment Eijiro thought she might have gotten over it on her own, but then her expression fell again.
"Me, though? I'm the same person that I've always been. I don't have it in me to change. Sure, things might work out for me sometimes, but look at what happens when they don't. You, though? You get knocked down and you just get right back up. You stand up and face yourself, unbent and unbroken and then you break right through whatever's in your way."
She looked back up at him and Eijiro realized that he had gotten a few inches taller than her at some point. She usually stood with her feet spread apart and her shoulders back, emanating the confidence and energy that defined her as a person. Now, though, with her eyes shining and one arm across her stomach, she looked so much smaller than usual. Almost vulnerable.
"Kiri…" she sounded so…defeated. It was almost worse than when she was yelling and crying and blaming herself. At least then she had shown some sort of passion. This was just…wrong, "…you are so much stronger than I will ever be. So, please, don't talk about yourself that way."
"You idiot." he pulled on her hand, forcing her closer to him and used his free hand to pull her head onto his shoulder, "I told you already, remember? When you're involved everything always works out in the end. With the bullies, they all walked away as friends. With the Villain, we all walked away safely. With USJ, sure, two of the Villains escaped, but they captured like, what, seventy more? Add to that the fact that nobody except Aizawa-sensei and Midoriya were hurt all that badly and I'd say that not only did it all turn out alright, it was a freaking miracle!"
He felt her pull her hand out of his own and for a moment he wondered if she was going to shove him away, but then she wrapped her arms around his chest and held him tightly.
"So, you see," Eijiro said, choosing to ignore the damp feeling on his shoulder as he brought his now-free right arm up to rest on the small of her back, "you don't have anything to worry about. As long as you're around, it'll all work out in the end, so you don't need to change a thing. You just need to keep being Mina Ashido: the girl with more energy than she knows what to do with and a smile that lights up the whole room."
"If I do that, then do you promise to keep being Eijiro Kirishima: the guy with more manliness in his thumb than most people have in their entire bodies and who has a way with words that really isn't fair given that he looks like a hood?" her voice was slightly muffled, but he caught it just fine and chuckled as he tightened his grip on her a little.
"You've got yourself a deal."
"I want to add one condition."
"Uh-oh."
She took her arms from around his back and placed them on his shoulders so she could look at him properly, wiping her eyes as she did so.
"You need to call me 'Mina' from now on."
That got a sharp-toothed smile out of him.
"Fair enough, Mina. You can call me 'Eijiro' in that case."
"Hmm…" she pouted at him, "I don't know if I wanna. That doesn't roll off the tongue like 'Kiri' does."
"Well, a couple of my buddies back in middle school used to call me 'Ei.'
"Ei, huh?" she considered this for a moment before suddenly grinning widely, "Hey, Ei! Heyeieieieieieiei~"
"Pfft! You're such a goof!"
"Hey, you're the one who told me not to change, remember? No take-backsies!"
"You drive a hard bargain, you know that?"
"Tough. You're stuck with me. Now don't you have a train to catch?"
He did, in fact, have a train to catch.
"Crap! Gotta go! See you tomorrow!"
"Oh, and Ei?"
"Huh?"
"That thing with the bullies…I do remember. In fact, I stepped in because I thought you looked really cool trying to stand up for the other kid like that." with a wink and a wave, she was gone.
…Goddamn.
This was the overriding thought in Eijiro's head as he just barely made it onto the train in time and sat in his usual spot.
…Goddamn!
That whole time? She knew who he was the whole time? And she thought he was cool?
…GodDAMN!
She thought he had more manliness in his thumb than most people had in their whole body?!
…GODDAMN!
She also thought he looked like a hood.
…Goddamn.
T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r
The next morning, Aizawa made a class-wide announcement regarding Fight Club since every student in the class had signed up for it. Bakugo had apparently left the paper on his desk the previous day.
"So, you kids' new club has been officially approved by Principal Nezu."
"Huh?!" Eijiro couldn't help himself, "Man, that was fast!" the class in general seemed to agree with this sentiment, so Aizawa rolled his eyes and elaborated.
"Look a gift horse in the mouth, why don't you. Apparently, a certain over-enthusiastic radio host came looking for me, saw the paper on my desk and ran it straight over to Nezu's office. From what I understand, he just shoved the paper into his face and said 'please' over and over again until the principal told him to shut up. Little did he know that I had already informed Nezu of what was going on. Given the nature of the club, it was only logical that I get his approval before it had the chance to go too far. Now everyone settle down so we can get started with class."
T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r
It was in this way that everyone once again found themselves hanging around after class that day for the first unofficial meeting of Fight Club. Eijiro, for one, could hardly contain himself. He had thought that this would take at least a few days so it was almost like Christmas had come early.
"Alright, everyone shut the hell up!" Bakugo barked from where he was sitting on Aizawa's desk, "We're not about to start beating the hell out of each other in the middle of the classroom, so keep it in your pants. I'm looking at you, Kirishima!"
Eijiro laughed and flipped him off, earning a stern look from Iida and a slap on the back of the head from Asui's tongue.
"Anyway," Bakugo continued as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, "the reason I've called all of you dipshits here today is that we have some shit that we need to figure out before we can get to the fun part. Logistics and all that shit. As the head of the club, it is within my rights to delegate this sort of shit to whomever I damn well please, so let's have some volunteers. Who likes dealing with details and other miscellaneous bullshit?"
Iida and Yaoyorozu raised their hands at nearly the same time.
"Fine. You can both do it. By the power vested in me as the guy whose idea this was, I hereby declare that Iida and…" Midoriya, who had apparently been standing next to him for just this purpose, whispered something into his ear, "I hereby declare that Iida and Yaoyorozu are to be in charge of any and all logistical matters pertaining to Fight Club. I also declare that everybody is forbidden from calling it 'Fight Club' outside of official meetings, because everyone knows that the first rule of Fight Club is that you don't talk about Fight Club. If anyone has any objections to these declarations, speak now and subsequently prostrate yourself before me and beg for my forgiveness."
"I like this guy. Can I just say that I like this guy?" Dark Shadow was taking advantage of the currently-empty desk next to Tokoyami's and was hovering over it, pretending to be a student.
"Butter me up all you like, Birdman, but you're still a Quirk and are therefore not allowed to participate in club activities."
"I'll find a loophole, just you wait!"
"Anyway, since Iida and Yaoyorozu are now in charge of logistics, your first job is to figure out the where and when of our regular meetings. Go."
Since they sat on opposite sides of the room, Iida took it upon himself to walk over to the corner by the window where Yaoyorozu sat.
"Well," Yaoyorozu began, "we would probably have an easier time getting everyone together after class, rather than before. Does anyone disagree with that?"
There was some general buzz as people thought out loud, but nobody spoke out against this suggestion until Mina reached across the aisle and shook Eijiro's shoulder.
"Kiri, what about your train?" she had decided to only call him "Ei" outside of class for the moment, which he was honestly thankful for.
"If it's just once or twice a week, then it's fine. I'll just stick around longer until the next one comes. At least I'll be doing something constructive, right?" she smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Very good. Then the appointed time will be after class and we shall start with one meeting per week until such time as we decide that a different level of frequency is appropriate." Iida adjusted his glasses from where he stood next to Yaoyorozu, "In the spirit of getting things going, I would like to suggest Wednesdays for the time being, so that we might have our first meeting tomorrow. Does anyone object to this?"
Nobody did. If anything, people seemed to be actively supporting the idea of starting immediately. Iida smiled, obviously gratified by the reception of his suggestion.
"Alright." Yaoyorozu jotted down some quick notes on a piece of paper that she had generated from her forearm, "So the only other question for the time being is where we should hold our meetings. It would have to be somewhere large enough to accommodate multiple simultaneous matches."
"Don't forget that it has to be hidden!" Ojiro added.
"Yeah," Sato agreed, "that's important. It should be somewhere out of the way."
"I'm afraid I don't understand." a puzzled Yaoyorozu scanned the room, seeing that every male in the room was nodding their head except for Koda, whose place was taken by Jiro in this regard, "Why does it have to be somewhere hidden?"
"Ah, Yaomomo," Sero crossed his long arms and nodded his head sagely, "you just don't get it, I'm afraid. Yo, Bakugo, permission to break rule number one for the purposes of explanation?"
"I'll allow it." Bakugo gestured grandiosely from his perch on top of Aizawa's desk, "But one time only." Sero gave him an overexaggerated nod in return before returning his attention to Yaoyorozu, who was looking more confused by the second.
"You see, Yaomomo, the essence of Fight Club lies not only in the matches that take place, but in the atmosphere that's involved with them! The ideal place would be something like an abandoned warehouse or a subway station that isn't in service anymore."
"Ooh, or a prison!" Jiro opined, "Something on an island that's all old and run-down with rusty pipes everywhere! That'd be Metal as hell!"
"How about an abandoned parking structure?" Kaminari suggested to general acceptance. Eijiro noticed that Midoriya and Uraraka shared a conspiratorial grin when he mentioned this, but decided to ignore it in favor of his own suggestion.
"How about an abandoned boxing gym? That'd be really appropriate."
"Is anyone else noticing a theme here?" Mina asked.
"Ribbit. Everything's abandoned." Asui confirmed.
"I'm afraid that we'll be hard-pressed to find something of this nature on-campus." Iida said thoughtfully, "After all, this is still a school-sponsored club and should therefore take place at school."
"Um, what about Ground Beta?" Midoriya suggested, "You know, the place where we had the Battle Trials. It's a scale model of a city, so we should be able to find somewhere appropriate, and there's not usually anybody there when it's not being used or repaired, so…it's arguably abandoned?" he shrugged and held up his hands.
There was a moment of silence as everyone considered this. It was, after all, the first real suggestion that had been given.
"Alright." Bakugo set off a small explosion to bring attention back to him before interrupting himself mid-thought, "Hang on, that's lame. Yaoyorozu, could you make me a gavel?"
"You want a powdered wig with that?" she rolled her eyes at his theatrics but complied with his request nevertheless, pulling the small wooden hammer from her thigh along with a sound block for him to hit with it.
"Sweet."
*WHACK*
"I hereby call a vote on Deku's suggestion of using Ground Beta as our regular meeting place, with the specific location therein to be determined at a later point. All in favor say 'aye.'"
The vast majority of the class said "aye."
"All opposed, suck my dick."
Nobody took him up on this offer.
"The ayes have it. I hereby declare Ground Beta to be our official meeting place until further notice. This is to take place on Wednesdays after class. The exact duration of each meeting and the precise location within Ground Beta is to be determined."
*WHACK*
Suddenly, Eijiro found himself incredibly jealous of the gavel. He knew what he would be doing if he ever found himself alone at the meeting site.
Hey, if I break it I can just feed Yaomomo a cinnamon roll or something and ask her to make another one. That's how her Quirk works, right?
Plus Gavel.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Hypocrisy
The time was upon them.
The moment of reckoning was at hand.
Everything had been building up to this.
Other situationally-appropriate and suitably heavy-sounding cliché declarations that Tenya Iida was currently unable to think of due to the fact that he was busy setting everything up before everyone else was due to arrive.
It was a well-known fact that Tenya was the diligent type and while some people occasionally made fun of him for it, he wore it as a badge of honor. He had a legacy to uphold and that meant knowing how to take things seriously. This went double for things that involved other people depending on him, such as Heroics or being assigned a critical position in a student organization which stood to serve as the source of much improvement, entertainment and bonding with his fellow students.
So it was that Tenya had decided to take the initiative. After the previous day's meeting had been dismissed, he had made his way to Ground Beta alone in order to scout out an appropriate location. He had eventually happened upon exactly what the doctor ordered: an open space that branched off of an underground passage that seemingly formed a network between several buildings in the area.
My word…exactly how in-depth did they make these simulations? Still, I suppose I should be grateful; this is absolutely perfect!
Tenya knew that there was a strong possibility that the hunt for an appropriate arena, as it were, had the potential to take up a large portion of the first meeting, especially given some of the…*ahem*…strong personalities they had in the group. Besides, organization was the responsibility that was given to him and Yaoyorozu, so it was only right that he would, well, take responsibility for it.
He had considered asking Yaoyorozu to come with him, but decided against it for the reason that there was, potentially, a lot of ground to cover and speed was kind of his thing. It was important to be efficient with these sorts of things, even if he would have enjoyed the company. She certainly seemed like an intelligent and well-mannered girl and he had no doubt that interacting with her would be refreshing for him.
After all, excellent and powerful though his companions were, they were still brought up very differently from those he was used to interacting with and he occasionally found it taxing to "dial it back" as the case may be. This was one thing that he envied in his female counterpart: she seemed to have no trouble blending in with everyone while he always seemed to stand out from the crowd because of his mannerisms.
Tenya did not for a moment regret the way he was; he had a great amount of pride in the man that he had been raised to be. It just felt that, sometimes, there was a sort of wall between him and his classmates which prevented him from completely embracing their humor and revelry as his own.
A good way, then, to reaffirm their faith in him as a team player and someone who wished to have a part to play in their community would be to perform his duties in an exemplary manner which, in his humble opinion, he had succeeded in doing as his classmates began to file into the underground arena with various looks of wonder and intrigue on their faces.
"Iida-san," Yaoyorozu made a beeline for him immediately upon entering, "how did you find this place? And when did you have the time?"
An apt question. He had arrived at the classroom rather later than usual that morning due to having to drop off his last-minute purchase and had only had time to inform her that he had located suitable premises.
"Well, Yaoyorozu-san, I must admit that luck was on my side. I located one of the passages leading here in only the fourth building that I decided to search. As for when, I began my search directly after the meeting yesterday. I apologize sincerely for not informing you sooner, but you see, I had some last-minute business to take care of here this morning." by way of explanation, he gestured towards the large, mobile whiteboard that he had purchased and assembled that morning.
"You know, I could have made one for you, Iida-san. You didn't have to spend your own money on something like this, especially after you put so much effort into searching Ground Beta all on your own." she rubbed her arm, looking rather put-out, "In fact, I almost wish that you had asked me to do that. Now I don't really feel as though I've done my share."
"Nonsense!" Tenya was shocked that she would feel this way and emphasized this with a swipe of his arm, "I would never dream of making such onerous demands of you, Yaoyorozu-san!"
"It's hardly onerous!" she protested, "If anything, it's practical and cost-effective! The food that I'd have to consume to replace the fat that would be used in the process would cost far less than the product itself, Iida-san. Besides, apart from that you had to transport it to campus, carry it down here and assemble it all by yourself! Not to mention that in our meeting yesterday, you ended up being far more in-tune with the proceedings than I was."
Tenya had not expected her to react like this and had to think quickly.
"Honestly…I didn't want to objectify you." he took off his glasses and kneaded the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, "Individuals with such incredibly useful Quirks as yours are often taken for granted and I can tell that you are a very selfless girl who would not hesitate to give of herself, quite literally, for the benefit of her peers and rightly so. However," here he pushed his glasses back up with a finger, "I believe that overindulging in this would breed complacency and over-reliance on your Quirk for simple, everyday tasks. This is all well and good for you; Creation is your Quirk and it is within your rights to use it however you see fit, but it would pain me to see you reduced to a glorified object dispenser. You deserve better than that."
She stared at him with her mouth slightly open, apparently lost for words.
"For what it is worth," Tenya concluded, "I apologize for doing the lion's share of the talking yesterday. I fear that I was rather…overexcited. I suppose one of the hazards of moving ahead at full speed can be the occasional bit of tunnel vision."
What he had not expected was for Yaoyorozu to cover her mouth to muffle a sudden case of the giggles.
"I'm sorry!" she choked out, waving a frantic hand in front of her, "That was just so unexpected and sweet and thoughtful and just…so completely in-character for you, Iida-san! Although," she took a steadying breath, though her smile remained, "I think that the tunnel-vision might just be part of being a man; it's in your nature to go after the things you want, right? Maybe it's just more pronounced for you."
"Do you think so?" Tenya rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I don't suppose we should seek out Kirishima-san for a second opinion? He seems to be our resident expert on all things manly. I am afraid that I never really saw myself as such."
"I heard my name followed by the word 'manly.'" Kirishima had seemingly materialized out of nowhere, "What can I do you for?"
"Iida-san was saying that he doesn't really think of himself as being overly 'manly.'" Yaoyorozu responded.
"What?!" Kirishima immediately put Tenya in a headlock, forcing him to bend over slightly due to their height difference, "Iida. My man. You found this place all on your own, you volunteered to do a bunch of organizational stuff that most people wouldn't want to do, with Yaomomo's help of course," he offered the girl in question a quick nod, which she returned, "and you kicked enough ass in the entrance exams to make the top ten. You MORE than qualify as manly in my book!"
"Plus," Hagakure chimed in from where she had apparently been standing on the other side of the whiteboard, "that speech you just gave was top-notch lady-killer material. For real."
Tenya proceeded to flail his arms in a desperate attempt to regain some semblance of control over the situation, though his words failed him.
"Anyway, Iida?" Hagakure said, heedless of the situation she had just contributed to, "I was trying to draw a bunny but I need a red marker for the nose and could only find this black one. Do you have any others?"
"…Ah." Tenya knew that he had forgotten something. He straightened up, Kirishima having released him from his headlock, and turned to Yaoyorozu, who was smirking expectantly at him.
"Yaoyorozu-san, it would appear as though I neglected to purchase additional markers after realizing that the whiteboard only came with a black one. If you truly do not mind, then could I impose upon you to produce two or three others?"
She made a show of thinking about it before slapping him playfully on the arm.
"Of course I can make some, Iida-san. After all, this isn't just a 'simple, everyday task,' right?"
Well, he had walked right into that one.
T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r
Katsuki Bakugo was leaning against a cement wall, the upper half of his body shrouded in shadows that the meager lighting of their underground arena was not powerful enough to pierce. A sharp clicking sound emanated from where Deku was crouching slightly in front of him and to the side. He was rhythmically opening his lighter before snapping it shut with a flick of his wrist while eyeing the group gathered before him with a detached expression that promised violence at the slightest provocation. Kirishima was located on his other side, arms crossed and shark-like teeth bared in a grin that simply screamed "go ahead, make my day."
In short, Katsuki looked as intimidating as possible with only a minute or two of prep time. It was important to set the tone for something like this, after all.
Plus, it made him feel like even more of a badass than usual. As much as he wanted to bask in the moment a bit more, Katsuki knew that the time had come.
"I'd like to start by congratulating you all on finding our little sanctuary. I honestly didn't think that so many would succeed. Whether this is fate or because you all just got lucky remains to be seen."
With a sharp movement of Deku's arm and a flick of his thumb, a small flame sparked into being roughly level with Katsuki's chest, causing his features to be revealed with the flickering, menacing shadows playing across his grin.
"Welcome to Fight Club."
This declaration was met with various exclamations of excitement and approval from his audience.
"Kirishima."
The redhead in question immediately knelt in front of Katsuki and activated his Hardening as Katsuki proceeded to set a familiar sound block on his back and strike it with his gavel.
*WHACK*
"Keep it in your pants! I'm not done here!"
Silence was restored immediately and Kirishima stood back up, resuming his previous position as though nothing unusual had occurred.
"Now, as much as I'm sure we're all chomping at the bit to start kicking the shit out of each other, this is an organization. As such, we have these things called rules. We also, as our name suggests, have at least some semblance of organization. Now, I will be the first to admit that this is my least-favorite part of the whole thing, which is why I appointed two other people to handle it for me. Turn to the side and look at them for a while."
The crowd obliged and turned to face the new whiteboard which had Iida standing on one side and Yaoyorozu on the other.
"Yes, well," Iida began, seemingly flustered at the sudden change of attention, "as we are basing this club off of the no-Quirk sparring that we are doing as a part of Hero Training, as well as to aid in general organization of participants, we have decided to adopt the ranking system from the class, such as it is." he gestured to Yaoyorozu, who had just finished dividing the lower half of the board into three rows. They were labeled "High," "Mid" and "Low" respectively.
"As you can see, we are not pulling any punches with our ranking system, pun intended." she stated, "This is designed to be an objective label for each individual's current level of combat effectiveness sans their Quirks. It is not designed to reflect their overall potential as a Hero or anything else of that sort, so don't let it get you down if you end up in low-tier. Without further ado, we will describe everyone's ranking. Iida-san, would you be so kind as to start?"
"Gladly." Iida folded his arms behind his back and threw out his chest, "We shall address this in seating order. Firstly, we have Aoyama-san in low-tier. He has demonstrated a lack of close-combat experience and slightly below-average physical abilities overall. We understand that he is a primarily a long-range type, but that has no bearing in what we do here."
"Ah, c'est la vie." Aoyama raised his arms slightly in a "what can you do" type of gesture, "T'would be unfair if I was equally gifted in all things. Perfection would be boring, non? This gives me something to strive for!"
"Next in line we have Ashido-san." Yaoyorozu continued as she finished writing Aoyama's name in the bottom row, "This was something of a point of contention between us, especially given the fact that she firmly lead the middle of the pack during in-class exercises. In the end, we decided that much of her ability is due to her natural athleticism and superb reflexes, rather than any true skill in combat per-se, which means that she is mid-tier. Feel free to prove us wrong."
"Dang! So close!" Ashido grimaced, "Oh, well. I'll be up there with the heavy-hitters soon enough! Just you wait!"
"Next we have Asui-san." Iida began before he was interrupted.
"Call me Tsuyu."
"As this is an official proceeding, we will adhere to professional standards."
"Ribbit."
"Right," Iida took a moment to regain his thoughts, "as I was saying, as a Mutant-type, Asui-san is in the unique position of not being able to turn her Quirk off. Rather, she will simply have to refrain from using certain aspects of it, such as her tongue. Even so, this does give her a distinct physical advantage and the skills she displayed during in-class training were not bad. As such we have decided to place her in mid-tier." the Frog girl nodded in acceptance, having nothing additional to add.
"Next we have Iida-san here," Yaoyorozu gestured to him as though presenting him to the crowd, "he demonstrated a considerable amount of skill with kicks and a good amount of speed even without his Quirk. Now, as it is impossible for a consensus to be reached with only a single opinion, I also ran this by Bakugo-san."
"Yeah, Iida's alright." Katsuki waved his hand lazily, "I approve his placement in high-tier. Kirishima."
*WHACK*
"Thank you, Bakugo-san, Yaoyorozu-san. I appreciate your kind words." Iida bowed to both of them in turn, "I shall endeavor not to rest on these laurels, but to aim ever higher." he straightened up, "Now, to continue, next is Uraraka-san. From what we saw in class, in spite of her nature as a close-range fighter, her reliance on her Quirk is apparent. While it does give her a very high level of versatility, she is unable to make use of it here. Therefore, we have decided to place her in low-tier."
"Eheheh." Uraraka rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly and angled her gaze towards the floor, "Yeah, that's fair. Teamwork has always been my specialty moreso than one-on-one fighting, especially if you take away my Quirk. I've got some work to do, huh?"
"Now, our next member is something of a special case," Yaoyorozu stated, drawing a small box on top of the high-tier row, "Ojiro-san demonstrated a level of skill and effectiveness which, quite frankly, was unmatched by anybody else in this room. As such, we have decided to place him in his own category: top-tier. If he is agreeable, then please seek him out for guidance."
"You honor me." Ojiro bowed to the pair, "I shall strive to improve both myself and everyone else here."
"Right, that reminds me," Katsuki cut in, "since he's objectively the best judge of actual skill here, being at the top of the heap himself, he'll get final say as to whether or not someone deserves to change tiers, be that upwards or downwards. He's also unbiased and shit."
"I accept this duty and thank you for your praise, Bakugo-san."
"Bitch, did that sound like a request? Kirishima."
*WHACK*
"Methinks you're abusing your power a little bit, dude." Kirishima piped up.
"We shall address that if it becomes an issue." Iida kept things moving, "Honestly, Kaminari-san was another point of contention. Similarly to how Ashido-san was at the top of the middle in class, he was at the bottom. His physical conditioning is clearly fine, but he seems to have an obsession with making his moves as flashy as possible, regardless of their overall effectiveness. This resulted in many openings which were taken advantage of by opponents savvier than himself. As such, the decision has been made to place him in low-tier. We are certain that his abilities exceed this, but he has yet to demonstrate this in a sanctioned match."
"…Ouch." Kaminari scratched his cheek, "Well, nothing else for it then. Guess I better step up my game. We can't have the Class President in bottom-tier, after all."
"Next we have Kirishima-san," Yaoyorozu said, "he has demonstrated a high level of durability and strength, but his lack of speed and overall brawler style leaves him at a disadvantage against a skilled opponent. As such, he is placed firmly in mid-tier."
"Makes sense. Bakubro took me apart when we sparred, but I did alright in general after that." Kirishima nodded from his position next to Katsuki, accepting his judgement.
"Koda-san," Iida addressed the quite boy, who looked nervous, "obviously has much more potential than he displayed in class. His position on this list reflects his passive nature and the struggle he faces when it comes to inflicting harm. It is difficult to gauge his actual skill level, but this is a moot point anyway if he cannot bring himself to use it. Low-tier." there was, predictably, no response to this save for a nod of Koda's large head.
"Sato-san is another fairly clear-cut case," Yaoyorozu stated confidently, "his raw power makes him perfectly capable of overwhelming lesser opponents, especially when paired with his size, but his speed and technique are lacking against more skilled fighters. He is solidly in mid-tier."
"That's fair." Sato nodded, "I've never put that much focus into learning how to really fight, so this'll be a good opportunity to fix that. Can't always rely on brute strength, right?"
"Next we have Shoji-san." Iida continued, "He is another case of a mutant-type Quirk granting him a large advantage in the form of his extra limbs. What is more, however, is the raw physical power he possesses in addition to his ability to leverage his attributes in close-quarters. It is the rare opponent who will be able to resist being overwhelmed by him in a straight fight. It only makes sense, therefore, to place him in high-tier."
"You have my thanks." Shoji inclined his elongated head, "I will strive to improve and vindicate this decision."
"Jiro-san is up next." Yaoyorozu kept going after adding the second name to the high-tier list, "She has demonstrated nimble movements and a penchant for sharp, precision strikes, though her power and durability seem to be lacking somewhat. Still, she is a good candidate for mid-tier."
"Not my fault I'm petite." Jiro stuck her tongue out at Yaoyorozu, but there was no venom behind her words.
"Sero-san has shown a good amount of speed and is clearly able to take advantage of his long reach." Iida proceeded, "His technique is also serviceable, though his power leaves something to be desired. He, too, is in mid-tier."
"Heh. Yeah, that sounds about right." Sero grinned his toothy grin, "My Tape is really handy for supplementing that, but I guess it'll be interesting to try and go without."
"Next is Tokoyami-san and…" Yaoyorozu hesitated for a moment, searching for the right words, "well, his inexperience in close combat is obvious. It is plain that he, in a similar vein as Aoyama-san, prefers to keep his distance and let his Quirk do the work. Given the nature of his Quirk, this is not necessarily a bad idea, but again, that is not what we do here. Low-tier."
"Your analysis is not wrong." Tokoyami acknowledged.
"Oh, come on!" Dark Shadow complained, "At least put me in high-tier! You know I belong there! If you let me fight I would kick so much ass!"
"Kirishima."
*WHACK*
"We've been through this already, Birdman! You are a Quirk and therefore not considered an active participant, now quit it!" it wasn't as though Katsuki didn't understand Dark Shadow's desire to fight, but rules were rules and breaking these rules could result in their club being disbanded.
No thank you. He hadn't even gotten to fight anyone yet!
"Now, on to Todoroki-san." Yaoyorozu kept the proceedings moving along, "Judging from his performance in class, he has clearly received some form of formal training. His physical conditioning and level-headedness under pressure only serve to cement his spot in high-tier."
"Wow, Todo!" Todoroki said nothing, but Hagakure was more than happy to react in his place, "Who knew you were that strong even without your Quirk! You're so unassuming sometimes that it comes as a surprise, you know?"
"Such abilities are fundamental." Todoroki responded, "It only makes sense for any aspiring Hero to be trained in such a way."
"Still, though!"
"Your enthusiasm is well-placed, Hagakure-san, for it is now your turn." Iida pointed out, "Hagakure-san's abilities are difficult to judge, given that she is invisible except for her clothing, so the results will have to speak for themselves, I am afraid. She did not distinguish herself in any particular way during class, so she will be classified as low-tier."
"Aww…" Hagakure moped for a moment before perking up and whirling to face Todoroki, a pair of indentations on his shoulders suggesting that she had placed her hands there, "Train me up good, okay, Senpai?"
"I'm pretty sure that's Ojiro's job."
"Members are perfectly within their rights to seek assistance from whomever they please, even those of a lower tier." Iida recited as though reading it straight from a book, "Bakugo-san was very specific on that point."
"Speaking of Bakugo-san," Yaoyorozu took over, "guess whose turn it is on the chopping block? Well, I say that, but the only real flaw in his ability as a combatant is that he lacks formal training and therefore doesn't always know how to capitalize on a given situation without his Quirk. I don't think anyone here is surprised to find him in high-tier."
"Damn right." was all Katsuki had to say about that.
"Now, next would ordinarily be Midoriya-san," Iida said, "but, given that he was unable to actually participate in the sparring sessions last time, we have been unable to adequately evaluate his abilities. That will have to be part of our activities today. Instead, I shall move on to Yaoyorozu-san. It should come as no surprise, given that she attained top marks in the Quirk Assessment due to her phenomenal physical abilities as well as the versatility of her Quirk, but she also acquitted herself well in the class sparring matches. I believe she has had formal training, given her apparent level of skill. I will mirror her actions in this situation and seek approval from Bakugo-san regarding her rank."
"Yeah, yeah. Put her in high-tier so we can get on with the main event already!" Katsuki barked, "Kirishima."
*WHACK*
"Thank you, Bakugo-san, Iida-san." Yaoyorozu smiled and bowed to each of them in turn, "I am flattered to hear you speak so highly of me. Now then, let's proceed with Midoriya-san's evaluation, shall we? This will actually be a good opportunity to demonstrate our plans regarding any new club members we may receive in the future."
"AH! AH-HA! I HAVE FOUND IT!" a loud voice suddenly tore through the underground arena, "Oh, my sneaky, sneaky Listeners! What an interesting location you have found here! Shota! Over here, Shota!"
Present Mic had arrived with Aizawa in tow. Not a minute too soon either in Katsuki's opinion.
"Damn it, Yamada," Aizawa trudged in after his excitable coworker, "I kept trying to tell you that they send me directions. There was absolutely no need for you to go tearing off on your own looking for the place. Completely illogical."
It was debatable whether or not Present Mic had heard Aizawa, as he was currently dashing around and examining every corner of the arena.
"You know, this place really isn't half-bad. We should definitely get Cementoss down here to spruce up the place a bit. I think an announcer's booth would look good right over there, and we could have him raise up some bleachers or something too! Maybe some additional lighting? I wouldn't want to mess with the atmosphere of the place toomuch though, it's got that mysterious, underground, borderline-illegal type of feel to it, which is great for something like this!" he whirled around and gave the students a thumbs-up, "I approve! Whoever found this place did a phenomenal job! YEAH!"
"As long as there's a good place for me to roll out my sleeping bag, I really don't care." Aizawa griped as he made his way to a nearby corner and proceeded to do just that.
"You've actually got good timing, Announcer-sensei. We were just about to need your services." Katsuki addressed Present Mic.
"Oh?" the radio host immediately gave Katsuki his full attention, "Do you mean what I think you mean, Listener?"
"Yep. We're about to have our first match to determine where Deku sits in the lineup."
"Oh, YEAH! Get excited, Listeners!" Present Mic sprung into action immediately, his voice easily filling the room, "I've already been briefed on all the rules, so no worries! When it comes to an evaluation match like this, the members choose three people from amongst their ranks: a low-tier, a mid-tier, and a high-tier! The applicant will then fight them in this order until they have either gone one round with all three or are unable to continue! They will be ranked according to their results and these decisions are FINAL! ARE YOU READY?!"
"Deku," Katsuki commanded, "our members have some doubts about what you can actually do. Get in there and show us."
Deku snapped his lighter shut one final time, pocketed it, and rose from his crouching position.
"You got it, boss."
"Hey, boss," Kirishima addressed Katsuki, "make me his mid-tier opponent. I want a piece of him."
Katsuki shook his head.
"It's not up to me. If it was, then none of the other high-tiers would ever get a shot. Tailman's the one calling the shots here."
"Huh. I guess that makes sense. Oi, Ojiro! I want in on this action!"
"Kirishima-san, huh?" Ojiro said thoughtfully, "I suppose that's alright. In that case, it'll be Kaminari-san, Kirishima-san, then Yaoyorozu-san."
"Eh?!" Deku stumbled on his way to the center of the room, "Why Yaoyorozu-san?!"
"For that exact reason, Midoriya-san." Ojiro responded with an evil grin, "Give us all a good show, eh?"
"And the matchups have been decided!" Present Mic announced, "The first round will be a battle of the Class Presidents! Vice-President Midoriya versus President Kaminari! Who will be the one to lay down the law?! No Quirks, no weapons, no tools and NO MERCY! I can hardly wait!"
T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r
Izuku Midoriya was nervous. This was not unusual; he was often nervous. He was a nervous type of person. This particular instance was slightly different, however.
He was not nervous because of the crowd, nor because of the announcer, nor even because of his impending fights. No, he was nervous because he was going to have to fight a girl. It was against the code of any self-respecting man to strike a lady, even though he knew that there were female Villains just the same as male ones.
Well, at least that wouldn't be until the last round. As long as he did well in the first two, then he could at least make mid-tier, right?
No. That was the wrong way to be thinking. Aim for the top, right? No matter what, he had to always give it his all!
…Even if that was going to be really, really difficult against Yaoyorozu.
"Yo, Midoriya," Kaminari was bouncing on the balls of his feet across from Izuku, "you gonna put 'em up or just stand there?"
"Ah, sorry, Kaminari-san." Izuku immediately took his stance, deciding on an orthodox one with his fists raised just as the bell, which Yaoyorozu had just produced, rang, "I didn't mean to zone out like that. I'll make sure to take this seriously!"
"Great!" Kaminari charged forwards at Izuku, head down and open palms at his sides, "Then maybe I'll be able to go all-ou-MMPH!"
"OH and Midoriya starts things off with a clean shot to the face! Kaminari really ran right into that one, didn't he?!"
"Damn…" Kaminari got to his feet from where Izuku's hook had sent him sprawling, "talk about fast!"
"Not really," Izuku admitted, "it's just you were so wide open that I could read your moves from a mile away."
Well, I'm not going to get anywhere just standing here, am I?
Izuku waited for Kaminari to be just a few paces away before kicking off with his back leg and closing the distance before his opponent could react, sinking his fist into the Class President's midsection, doubling him over before following up with a leg sweep and a hand on his back slamming him into the ground.
"My word, Listeners! Midoriya is absolutely dominating! Who would have expected this from the meek and polite Vice-President of Class 1-A?!"
Honestly, Izuku felt a little bad. He knew that Kaminari was underestimating him and he was taking full advantage of that, but that was part of what had landed him in low-tier in the first place, right? Besides, showing off was kind of the point here.
With that in mind, Izuku climbed on Kaminari's prone form, twisting his arms backwards and planting his knee between his opponent's shoulder blades.
"Ow! Owowowow!"
"I could do some serious damage from this position and there's no way he's escaping it unless he's considerably stronger than I am." Izuku stated to the audience, "Can we call this or do I need to hold him here until the round is over?"
"Call it! Call it! For the love of god, call it! This hurts!"
"Midoriya takes the first round by verbal tap-out!" Ojiro announced.
"Well, there you have it, Listeners!" Present Mic confirmed, "The first round was over in a flash with Midoriya emerging as the victor without breaking a sweat! Let's see if the second round will provide more of a challenge for him! We have the rough-and-tumble brawler with a manly streak as wide as the day is long, Kirishima!"
"Damn," Kaminari rolled his shoulders after Izuku helped him up, "I guess I really do have some training to do, huh? Good luck, Midoriya! Keep kicking ass so my defeat doesn't look quite as bad, yeah?"
"I'll do my best, Kaminari-san."
"Well, I sure as hell hope so!" Kirishima laughed as he slammed a fist into his open palm, "I've wanted to go a few rounds with you ever since Bakugo said you two spar all the time, but I guess I'll have to settle for just one round for now. You better watch out, 'cause I'm pumped after watching you destroy Kaminari like that!"
Izuku did not reply, but took his stance with a grim expression, mind racing.
Kaminari-san's selling point is his toughness. I don't want this to become a battle of attrition if I can help it. Trading hits is out of the question. Ordinarily, I'd want to attack from a distance if at all possible, but that's not an option here. I guess all that's left is going in hard and overwhelming him with hit-and-run tactics!
The bell rang and in stark contrast to how his previous match had started, Izuku went charging straight in. Kirishima had evidently not expected this, because he made absolutely zero effort to dodge Izuku's flurry of punches.
"Jab, jab, hook, bodybodybodybody UPPERCUT!" Present Mic provided the play-by-play.
Kirishima staggered back slightly, but when Izuku made to capitalize on his advantage, he was dealt a crushing blow to the head that sent him straight to the floor.
What the hell was THAT?!
"Man," Kirishima grunted, cracking his neck, "I can see what Bakugo was talking about. His advice about making sure my counterattacks were on-point is good shit." he flashed his sharp-toothed grin at Izuku as he got to his feet, "Speaking of good shit, you sure came right out of the gate swinging, didn't you Midoriya? Keep that up. It's more fun that way."
Seriously? I knew he was tough, but I just whacked him right on the jaw! I guess I really can't afford to hold back for fear of hurting him, huh? I should have figured that out by watching Kacchan fight him before.
Izuku charged again, but juked to the side at the last second, swinging a haymaker with the full force of his momentum behind it at Kirishima's torso. He was gratified when he felt the blow connect and he capitalized on it by leaping onto his opponent and wrestling him to the ground, where he proceeded to punch him across the face no fewer than six times before stopping.
"Do you give up?!"
His response was a manic grin that gave him just enough time to realize he had made a mistake before Kirishima seized his head and cracked their skulls together.
"Who the hell do you think you're dealing with, Midoriya?! You might have done some damage if you were using your Quirk, but I can take hits like that all damn day, even without Hardening!"
Their positions were suddenly reversed as Kirishima struck him across the face and twisted his hips sharply, bringing him to the ground.
"Let me show you how to really do a ground-and-pound, buddy!"
Shit! Arms up, arms up!
"Twists and turns abound as Kirishima not only takes every hit that Midioriya throws at him, but has now managed to completely reverse the situation and is giving the boy a taste of his own medicine! Don't drop that guard, Midoriya!"
Each blow rocked Izuku through his guard as he frantically tried to figure a way out of his predicament.
He's stronger than me without One For All and he's bigger too! There's no way I can just pull the same stunt he did to get away! If I could land a counter, then maybe…
Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right.
…wait, that's it! He's settled into a rhythm now. If I can just match it at the right moment…but I'll only get one shot.
Izuku waited for Kirishima's next left, pretending to loosen his guard on his right side in order to bait a good, strong hit. When he saw his opponent's grin widen and his eyes light up, Izuku knew he had taken the bait. He jerked his head to the left, causing Kirishima's straight punch to smack the floor as he sent his right fist screaming towards his opponent's face, twisting his body as much as he could.
His right hook connected and, with the added force of his body, Izuku freed himself and rolled away, regaining his feet.
"Hah! GodDAMN you're something else, Midoriya!" Kirishima was clearly having the time of his life. Izuku was still a bit woozy though, and made up his mind to just keep his distance for the rest of the round.
"Not coming, huh? Then I'll just have to come to you instead!"
…Crap. He forgot that moving was something Kirishima could do.
*DING DING DING*
"Oh, thank god!" Izuku couldn't help but gasp.
"And with that the second round has come to a close! It was a red-hot brawl from start to finish, Listeners and, to this announcer's eyes at least, there was no clear winner! Let's see what our referee has to say!"
Ojiro took a moment to consider the combatants before speaking.
"In terms of skill, Midoriya-san is obviously superior, but you can't argue with the results of the match, though things may have ended differently if he had not stopped mid-match to ask for a surrender. Take this lesson to heart, Midoriya-san: in a match like this, put your faith in the referee to know when to stop the fight. In a life-and-death battle, you would not have stopped until your opponent was incapacitated. While I will not ask you to go quite as far here, you do not need to hold yourself back quite so much. I allowed Kirishima-san to fight you because I want to see what you can do. The pair of you are a fit match in my eyes. With that in mind, I will declare the second round to be a draw!"
A draw. Well, that was about as good as he could have hoped for, given the situation. Now, however, was the moment he had been dreading.
"Now, Listeners, Midoriya's opponent for the third and final round! She's equal parts lovely and dangerous: it's Yaoyorozu!"
"You look off-put, Midoriya-san." she looked at him with mild concern, "Are you concussed?"
"Ah, n-no. That is, I don't think so." Izuku scratched his head, suddenly very uncomfortable, "It's just…I don't like the idea of hitting a girl."
"Well, as sweet as that is, I'm afraid it's not going to do you any favors here." the bell rang and she dashed forwards and sent him flying with a kick to the chest, "After all, this girl isn't afraid to hit you."
"OH, a swift and decisive blow from Yaoyorozu! It seems we have some misplaced chivalry on our hands, Listeners! If he doesn't shape up soon, our young Midoriya is about to learn his lesson the hard way!"
"I'm afraid he's right, Midoriya-san."
Izuku pushed himself to his knees, realizing how much damage he must have taken from his fight with Kirishima when his body wouldn't move the way he wanted it to. Yaoyorozu walked towards him at a sedate pace and when she was close enough, she kicked him in the side, sending him back to the ground.
"If I was a Villain, I could have killed you by now, Midoriya-san." Yaoyorozu said sadly, "I appreciate what you are trying to do here by upholding your own values, but those values are worthless on the battlefield if they put you or someone else in danger."
Izuku tried once again to stand, but Yaoyorozu got to him first and hauled him up by his collar with surprising strength.
"You see? This is exactly why Ojiro-san decided to have mefight you instead of the other four. Even though you're tired from your fight with Kirishima, you should still be able to at least offer some resistance. I kind of wish you would." she threw him back to the floor, knocking the air from his lungs, "Right now, I just feel bad. Like I'm picking on your or something. At least if you hit me back then I could feel justified."
"Gah…" Izuku regained his breath and shook his head slightly to try and rid himself of his sudden headache, "I…"
He understood. He knew that she was right. He knew that he was being hypocritical and foolish.
…But he couldn't help that it still just didn't feel right. The idea made him sick to his stomach.
You're a hypocrite. You can hurt a man but not a woman? What difference is there if they're trying to hurt you? If they're trying to hurt someone else? What if it was someone you cared for? What then? Would you stand by and watch because you didn't feel like hitting a girl?
I…no!
Do you think All Might never had to fight any women? If so, I'm calling bullshit. You know for a fact that he did.
No, I know that! I know that it doesn't make any sense!
Then get off your ass and punch her in the face.
Izuku forced himself to his feet and faced Yaoyorozu, who was standing calmly with her hands at her sides and a look of pity on her face.
Izuku raised his hands, prepared for her to advance on him again, but she just shook her head.
"It's too late, Midoriya-san."
*DING DING DING*
"The round is already over."
"Well, that was, uh, anticlimactic." even Present Mic sounded disappointed.
"Needless to say, that round goes to Yaoyorozu-san." Ojiro stated flatly, "It is now time to pass judgement on Midoriya-san. Honestly, I had high hopes for him until now. He has proven to be skilled, resourceful and canny, but his merciful state of mind and inability to fight women are simply flaws that are too large to ignore. On skill alone, I can recommend him for mid-tier, but no higher."
"I second this motion." Iida pronounced.
"I too support this motion." Yaoyorozu agreed.
Kacchan sighed, clearly disappointed.
"Well, I guess that's how it is. Deku is hereby placed in mid-tier. Kirishima."
*WHACK*