Chapter 7: Villains!!
Izuku closed the door behind him quietly, heaving a sigh as he sat to remove his sneakers. He pulled on his house slippers and tossed his bag and jacket in his room. Shambling to the bathroom, he refreshed himself, then made a beeline for the kitchen right after. He opened the fridge and stared into it with tired, blurry eyes. A cough from the dining room table behind him drew his attention, and he turned to look. Sitting there, hands folded neatly together on the tabletop, sat his mother. He gave her a smile. "Hey, Mom-"
"Yagi told you, didn't he?"
Izuku blinked, standing up straighter and dropping his smile. His mother sighed, obviously taking his change in demeanor for confirmation. She wrung her hands nervously. "We talked earlier today. I told him and a detective everything relevant I knew about him, and Yagi asked for permission to talk to you as well. You know now, don't you? Who your father is. Do you... do you want to talk about it?"
Izuku chewed on his cheek as he avoided his mother's gaze, trying to maintain his composure. It was one thing to discuss All for One as the Villain with his master, but to speak of him like his father with his mother? That was an entirely different beast. Finally, he simply asked, "Can you tell me about him?"
Inko's face scrunched up, tears falling slowly and thickly down her cheeks. Sniffling, she attempted to compose herself. "At first, I thought he had to be the sweetest man on Earth. He was so charismatic and kind, and he could cook like no one's business." She laughed wryly. "I fell in love with him, with the man he presented himself as, and for whatever reason, he decided to reciprocate. We dated for a while, he asked me to marry him, and we had you… I doubt you remember him, but God, he looked at you with such love in his eyes…" Izuku stepped carefully over to her, draping an arm over her shoulder. She leaned into the contact with a grateful sigh.
Izuku chewed on his words for a moment before finally asking, "What happened?"
"It happened when you were diagnosed Quirkless. He was furious. When I finally confronted him about his outrage, he told me the truth. Or most of the truth, as far as I could tell. He explained that he wasn't upset that you were Quirkless, but because you didn't have his Quirk. But then he calmed down and said that if you wanted a Quirk, he'd be happy to give you one. He said it so casually, like he could take you Quirk shopping, get you a little treat to tide you over. He must have thought I would have stuck by him even after learning the truth, but I was mortified. I kicked him out, but I'm sure that was more symbolic than anything- if he had truly wanted to stay, I don't doubt he would have used force. We moved, and he… went about his business, it seems."
Izuku took a seat next to Inko, staring at the table as the words hit home. "I was just an experiment."
Inko shook her head solemnly, slowly rising from her seat.
"Baby, don't you dare think of yourself that way. You're so much more than whatever he wanted you to be." She pulled Izuku into a gentle hug, standing him up, only squeezing ever so slightly. "Sweet angel. No matter how terrible that man may be, I can't regret marrying him because then I wouldn't have had you. My baby boy. I love you so much, more than I could ever say with words alone."
Izuku mumbled affirmation into her hair. She pulled away and walked into her room with a small smile. Izuku, not feeling hungry anymore, followed suit, shuffling into his room. He threw himself onto his bed and immediately passed out.
His eyes snapped back open at a suddenly oppressive feeling from all around him. It was looking at him. It was touching him. It was going to hurt him. It was going to kill him!
He looked around in a panic, but his surroundings were completely unfamiliar, not to mention nonexistent.
He was surrounded by inky black, darker than anything that should have been physically conceivable. He looked down at himself as best he could; everything save for about half of his head and part of his hand was covered in dark grey smoke, tinted with a deep red at the edges and shifting in a way that smoke does not normally move. He could only see out of his right eye, so he figured the left side of his face must be covered; he tried to move his hand, but it felt like when he had activated One for All above his threshold.
"The Ninth..." Izuku glanced to his side, dropping his concentration on his hand and sucking in a breath at the sight of a man standing there.
He was dressed in a simple white shirt and dark pants, a turquoise dress shirt unbuttoned over the white one. The only peculiar thing about him was his stark white hair, long and straight. His gaze was filled with sorrow, but there was recognition there as well, and a certain determined strength.
"Izuku..." Izuku's eye darted to the right, and there he saw an oddly familiar man.
Like the other, his hair was a stark white, although unlike the former, he wore it short and curly. His nose was sharp, his jawline was strong, and he was easily a head taller than both Izuku and the other man. Something about him radiated power, a strength a hundredfold greater than the other. Both men were veiled in dark smoke, red on the edges, and Izuku realized it was eerily similar to his own smoke as well as his Quirklight. The both of them started walking towards Izuku, the leftmost man taking hesitant and haggard steps, the rightmost walking with a powerful air about him. Despite their vast differences, Izuku felt panicked by both of their approaches.
"Izuku. Come, fulfill your destiny." The man he recognized now as his father stuck out his hand, a soft, loving smile playing on his lips.
"Nephew. You will be the one to end his legacy." The man he recognized now as his uncle desperately reached for him, a harsh grimace furrowing his eyebrows.
And Izuku could do nothing, not even scream.
"Izuku! Izuku!" The boy's eyes shot open yet again, this time to see the panicked face of his mother. He got only a moment of serene confusion before panic and pain set in once more. He looked to his right, sweat running down his face; the window on the far wall had shattered completely, and his hand was glowing brightly, as it did when One for All was passed through it before use.
Confusion set in again at the realization that he hadn't used One for All, but his window was shattered anyway. He dispelled the effect in his hand, panting harder at the onslaught of exhaustion and pain. He smiled in the face of his mother's fear, trying and obviously failing to assuage her worry.
"...Bad dream," he whispered, voice hoarse.
She wrapped him in a tight hug and didn't let go for a very long time.
-
Izuku woke up in a groggy stupor, half asleep due to not being able to fall back asleep for a while the night prior. He cleaned himself up, got dressed semi-properly, and shoveled a quick breakfast of an egg on rice before making to leave. His mother fixed his crooked tie, and with a half-hearted "bye", Izuku was on his way to school.
The ride on the train was easy enough, and he only got a few jealous looks for wearing a U.A. uniform. He exited the station to find Uraraka and Iida waiting for him, smiling and waving. Or, in Iida's case, chopping his hand. Izuku waved back.
They fell into step together in easy silence, which Izuku appreciated. The silence was interrupted by Izuku himself, however, at the sight of spiky, blond hair.
"Hey, Kacchan, wait up!" Izuku waved to his... he wanted to say friend, but that might be pushing it. He waved to Bakugou enthusiastically, getting weird looks from Iida and Uraraka as they walked beside him. Bakugou spared Izuku a glance and slowed his pace, which Izuku took as his invitation to fall into step with him.
"...What the fuck do you want?" Despite the aggressive words, Bakugou's tone was subtly subdued, indicating that he wasn't pissed off at Izuku for talking to him. Even though that was pretty much bare minimum, Izuku smiled at the small progress, visibly confusing Iida and Uraraka. "And what the hell do these extras want?"
Iida gasped in an offended manner, chopping his hand with intent. "How dare you! I have already informed you that my name is Iida Tenya, so use it, if you would!" Bakugou scoffed, shoving his hands in his pockets and pointedly ignoring the taller boy. Iida sputtered, still chopping his hand with animated intensity as Uraraka struggled to contain her laughter at their antics. Izuku, still smiling, shook his head. He looked up to his left at the imposing building that they went to school at, then ahead to see-
"Excuse me!"
A woman who was decidedly not anywhere nearby only a few seconds prior was suddenly shoving a microphone in Izuku's face. A reporter? Izuku also noticed the absolutely colossal collection of Quirklights interposed at the front gate. Honestly, he didn't have a clue how he didn't notice them before. "Are you four All Might's students? How is he as a teacher-? Hey, aren't you the kids from the Sludge Villain incident?"
Bakugou's scowl turned into a grimace, and Izuku rubbed his throat at the unpleasant reminder. "Walk away before you lose a hand," Bakugou growled, the terrifying tone of voice he had taken- as well as the snap-crackle of his palms- thoroughly convincing the reporter lady to back off, though she did so with a look of wounded offense. Without another word, Bakugou marched forward through the legitimate sea of other reporters with the other three in tow.
Uraraka pulled on Izuku's sleeve. "What's the Sludge Villain incident...?"
"Don't ask," both Izuku and Bakugou grumbled at the same time. They glanced at each other in surprise as they came up on the front gate.
Mr. Aizawa stood in the reporters' way of the gate, very obviously trying to get them to leave and very obviously frustrated at their obstinate behavior.
"Please, can't we get just one interview with All Might?"
"Who even are you, anyway?! You look homeless!"
"All Might is not currently on campus." Mr. Aizawa ushered the four students behind him with a subtle gesture and, still speaking in that exhausted manner of his, turned to follow them through the gate. "And you've disturbed my students enough. Leave before the police are called." One reporter tried to follow him through, but the gate suddenly snapped shut, cutting them off. Izuku looked up at their teacher as he walked behind them, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. "I hate those media folk. If for nothing else, I respect All Might for dealing with them so well." Their teacher walked up ahead, leaving the students to catch up.
Upon entering the classroom, the four immediately took their seats, and Mr. Aizawa stepped up to the podium.
"Good work yesterday." Everyone in the class perked up at that. Praise, from Mr. Aizawa? "You all did remarkably average during your combat training the other day. It being your first time in a combat situation, I'm surprised. I've already reviewed the video feeds of each fight and graded them accordingly. That all being said… Bakugou." The blond grumbled. "Stop sulking at your loss like a toddler. You're talented. Also, the school has gotten into contact with the support company that provided you with your gauntlets. Until further notice, your usage of them as support items is prohibited. Whoever actually made and provided them is an idiot. Feel free to revise your design and submit that at your earliest convenience."
Bakugou nodded easily, as if he had already seen that coming, which he probably had. "Yeah, whatever."
"Midoriya." Izuku jolted upright in his seat. Mr. Aizawa stared him dead in the eye. "You did well for most of your fight, but in the end, you injured yourself to win like you did in the Entrance Exam. Admittedly, it was an interesting strategy, but you can't just rely on interesting strategies, especially if you harm yourself to follow through with them. Also, you're too reliant on just your strength. Use that mind of yours and come up with better strategies."
Izuku sat up straight, giving a firm nod. "Right! Thank you, sir!" It's true, I become too dependent on One for All in the heat of the moment... but for now, I'll take what I can get.
Mr. Aizawa let out a quiet sigh through his nose, leafing through the papers on his podium. "Those are the biggest ones. Here's some smaller nitpicks. Todoroki, don't ever underestimate your opponents."
"Mm," Todoroki grunted in response.
"Both Kirishima and Satou, don't get caught up in brawls. Pay attention to your surroundings."
"Yes!" shouted Kirishima enthusiastically.
"Yes, sir," Satou said, more subdued.
Nodding, Mr. Aizawa put his papers down and leaned forward on his podium. "That's all. The rest of you, keep working hard. Now, onto the next activity... this is important, so pay attention."
Izuku swallowed thickly, and he could feel the tension in the room increase.
"Today, we're choosing class representatives."
The class breathed a collective sigh of relief, calming down at the relatively normal school activity. And then the words actually sunk in.
Everyone shot out of their seats, waving their hands and crying out reasons why they should be representatives. Mineta literally climbed onto his desk to get higher, and even the less excitable people, such as Jirou and Yaoyorozu, were taking part.
"Everyone, please settle down!" Iida shot out of his seat, calming the class down with surprising speed thanks to his booming voice. "The class representative plays a very important, nigh sacred role! It is their duty to lead and guide their peers in all matters! Not just anyone can do it- the class representative must be trusted by said peers. Therefore, logic dictates that we go about this democratically." Even though he had been the one to call for a vote, Iida's hand was raised the highest out of everyone. Izuku stifled a giggle at his friend's outburst.
Kaminari tucked his arms behind his head, cocking an eyebrow. "Is that really the best option, though?"
"We've barely known each other for a few days," Asui stuck a finger to her chin, her normally placid expression ever-so-slightly confused. "So how can we know who to trust?"
"Besides, wouldn't everyone vote for themselves?" Kirishima was the one to present this query, but Iida shook his head and chopped a hand at the spiky-haired boy.
"If we wanted, we could prohibit that, but I think that whoever does receive multiple votes would be the proper choice. I believe this to be the best way." He turned to Mr. Aizawa as he spoke, who was finishing up zipping his sleeping bag closed around him. "Do you agree, sir?"
Mr. Aizawa grumbled. "I don't care. Finish before class ends, I don't want to do this again later." With that, he dropped behind the podium with an audible thump, and Iida bowed to the already asleep teacher.
"Thank you for placing your trust in me!" With that, Iida turned back to the rest of the class, throwing his hands forward dramatically. "Now, people, take your votes on a piece of paper and place them on the podium! When everyone has voted, a person will be selected randomly to tally them up!"
The class agreed, collectively taking out lined papers, sticky notes, and the like to write down their votes. When the last person had sat back down, Iida pointed at someone at random. Ashido came up and took up the pieces of paper, fingering through them and whispering to Iida as he wrote down the total votes for everyone. When he had finished, the people with the most votes were...
Bakugou jumped up, slamming his hands on his desk. "Goddammit, who voted for him?!"
Sero snorted, waving a hand dismissively. "Did you honestly think anyone would vote for you?"
Izuku blinked, looking around at everyone. "H-how did I get four votes?! Seriously?" He looked at the board- the people without votes were Iida, Uraraka, Kirishima, and Ashido. Izuku looked around at each of them, and they all sheepishly avoided his gaze, save for Kirishima, who shot a thumbs up at him. At the sudden commotion, Mr. Aizawa's sleeping bag tilted back up, and the man blinked the sleep out of his eyes as he looked at the board.
"Looks like Midoriya will be the representative, and Yaoyorozu will act as his deputy." With a gesture from Aizawa, both students walked up to the front of the classroom, and Izuku bowed, still in a daze.
"How frustrating..." Yaoyorozu massaged her temple with two fingers, her other hand resting on her hip.
"Thank you for placing your trust in me!" Izuku shouted, unintentionally copying Iida's exact phrasing. Unfolding, he turned to Yaoyorozu, bowing again slightly. "And I hope we get along. I look forward to working with you." Obviously discontented with her loss, Yaoyorozu still bowed in return. Whispering for only her to hear, Izuku said, "If it's any consolation, I voted for you. Your analysis the other day was really good." Yaoyorozu's pinched smile turned slightly more genuine, and she muttered a quiet "thank you."
"Great, that was handled rationally. Work hard in the rest of your classes." Their teacher spoke in a dull voice, falling back down after he finished with yet another thump. Cementoss walked in as the bell rang, setting his papers and a book on the podium, not sparing a glance for the definitely-already-asleep Eraserhead.
-
Izuku went about the menial task of buying his lunch from Lunch Rush's Eatery, picking out a simple beef stew, and sat down without delay. Iida and Uraraka also sat across from him, digging in right away.
"It's already so crowded in here," said Uraraka, face full of white rice as she stuffed her cheeks with gusto. Iida nodded, wiping at his chin with a napkin before speaking.
"It is a rather large school, isn't it?" Iida quietly scooped more curry into his mouth, and Uraraka mumbled something around another mouthful of rice.
Izuku looked between them, sighing suddenly in the lull of their small talk. "Can I be honest? I'm pretty surprised anyone voted for me." Both of his friends looked at him with curious expressions. "It's just that I've never been in, uh, in a position like this before. I'm worried about how well I'll do, I guess." They both nodded in understanding at that.
"I think you'll be okay!" Uraraka smiled cheerily, shoveling more rice into her mouth.
"I concur with Uraraka," said Iida, wiping his lip of curry again. "Honestly, I have a hard time believing that you've never been a representative or on the student council before. You certainly have a sharp enough mind for it. Your strength and ability are a worthy boon as well."
Izuku blushed at the compliment, scratching his cheek. "That was always Kacchan in my class."
"Seriously?" Uraraka looked genuinely confused. "Who would vote for that guy? He's a nutcase."
Izuku smiled forlornly. "Well, I was a wimp back in middle school. Even considering, Kacchan's always been amazing. He's strong both physically and academically, so he always got something, even if it was just the secretary of the student council. But, uh, no, not me." Uraraka's expression darkened slightly, and she silently shoveled some more rice into her mouth.
Iida chopped his hand, a sharp frown on his face. "While I can easily admit he has admirable strength, his attitude and mannerisms present him as undesirable. Certainly, if we had ever gone to school together, I feel as though I would vote for you as I did here." Before Izuku could digress, because of course he wouldn't have, the conversation moved on.
"Y'know," Uraraka stuck a finger to her chin, "I thought you totally wanted the position of representative, Iida. You certainly have the right attitude, and you even look the part."
Iida sputtered, blushing a bit. "W-well, even if I wanted the position, there's a difference between wanting and deserving." Almost as a side note, Iida added, "observing the Iida family Hero Agency has taught me that."
Izuku straightened up a little, smiling as he asked, "So you are related to Ingenium? Is he your brother or something? Your dad?" Iida looked at Izuku in shock, making Izuku feel a little guilty. I think he wanted it to be a surprise... oops.
Uraraka tilted her head in confusion. "Ingenium? Who's that?"
Izuku laughed at the distraught expression on Iida's face at Uraraka's honest query, deciding to spare him. "Ingenium's a Hero based in Tokyo, and he hires a lot of sidekicks- sixty-five, the last time I checked." Izuku pinched his bottom lip as he mentally recalled his notes on the Hero. "He's not super high in overall rankings, hanging in the low hundreds, but he's well known in his home territory and the surrounding area. He's good with children, he's been in a lot of commercials, and he does a lot of visits to schools and stuff. And he has the same Engine Quirk as Iida- actually, I've been meaning to ask, is that just a coincidence or what?"
Iida quickly managed to compose himself, pristinely sitting up straight to remaster his air of intelligence. "That is all true, and I'm happy to hear my brother is so well known. To answer your question, the Engine Quirk is a dominant gene in the Iida family. Almost everyone in our family has some variation of it, and those who don't at least have a similar Quirk. The Iida's have been in the Hero business for generations, each passing on the title of Ingenium." Iida straightened his glasses, smiling softly, the slight crinkling around his eyes making the expression even more genuine. "My brother is the pinnacle of Heroism, and I aspire to be like him, but... my point is, I'm not ready to be in a position like my brother. You, on the other hand, are perfectly suited to such a role."
Izuku smiled back at him, honestly surprised at how sincere Iida was. Uraraka grabbed the taller boy's arm, shaking him excitedly. "That's a nice expression on you, Iida! You should smile more often!"
"What do you mean? I smile all the time-?"
Before Uraraka could rebuke the statement, a bell suddenly started blaring from somewhere. Everyone looked around as the bell turned into a full-blown alarm. "What the...?"
"Warning," an automated voice came from the speakers, drawing the Eatery's attention, "Level 3 Security Breach! Students, please evacuate the building in an orderly manner! I repeat-" The robotic voice announced her warning several times over as Izuku jumped from his seat, watching the crowd.
Iida also shot up, turning to the boy sitting by them. "What's going on?"
"A Level 3 breach means someone's broken through the school's defenses," the boy cried out, looking around in a panic. "This hasn't happened for the entire time I've been here. It could be a Villain! We've gotta go!" The boy leaped from his seat, making a break for the exit. Iida's shout to "walk calmly!" was ultimately ignored. Izuku, with Uraraka and Iida in tow, made to follow the crowd out into the hallway, but when they finally made it through the doors, they were greeted by chaos.
"Hey, stop shoving!"
"Shit, I'm being trampled…!"
"Slow down! Damn it, slow down!"
Tossed into a sea of panicked students, they were jostled between elbows and shoulders as they tried to make their way through. Uraraka had the worst time of it; Iida and Izuku were relatively taller than most people in the crowd, but Uraraka was washed away by the violent current. Izuku, starting to freak out himself, grabbed Iida by the arm and shoved his way through the crowd to the hallway window. Looking out, he gasped. "It's just the media people from earlier! They somehow got in!" Iida looked at him, aghast, but Izuku just smiled nervously. "We have to let everyone know." Iida nodded, face taut and grim, and he turned to face the crowd again.
"Everyone," Iida shouted, "it's just the- urk-! " Before he could even get close to finishing his announcement, a wild elbow caught him in the gut. Izuku helped him stay standing, observing the crowd with a tight glare.
If Present Mic were in range, this would be stupidly easy. Come on, something to augment my voice or… wait, augment… Maybe I can... A sudden thought flashed through Izuku's head, an idea so simple it might work. He looked over at Iida. "Stay here. I have an idea." Iida nodded again easily, pressing against the wall, still holding his gut. Calling forth Zero Gravity, Izuku tapped himself on the wrist and leaped forward, completely clearing the heads of the crowd. He kept going, gaining velocity before ultimately landing on the large exit sign above the door out of the hall. He gripped the wall with One for All, and tried his best to visualize a new dial for his vocal cords.
After a moment of intense concentration, he felt the pitcher pour itself into his throat. He took as deep of a breath as possible, holding it in, half-praying he wasn't about to make his throat explode.
"EVERYONE!" His booming voice surprised even himself, and it certainly caught the crowd's attention. He almost lost his grip on the wall, but he held fast, letting a little more power in so he could tighten his grasp. He took another deep breath, already feeling his vocal cords getting sore. "PLEASE SETTLE DOWN! IT'S JUST THE MEDIA! WHAT HAPPENED TO BEING U.A. STUDENTS?! AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO STAY CALM DURING AN EMERGENCY?!"
The crowd looked around at each other as a collective, muttering indistinctly. Slowly, steadily, the tsunami of people turned into a calm trickle, and the hallway cleared quickly. Izuku jumped down from above the door, and Iida walked up to him.
"You keep surprising me," he stated, his tone admiring. "That was incredibly impressive! Was that a new Quirk?"
Izuku shook his head, laughing. His laughing devolved into coughing, and he rubbed his throat. "No," he whispered, voice coming out hoarse. He cleared his throat. "I just figured something out about my augmentation Quirk. The vocal folds in your throat are muscles, too, y'know? But I'm probably not gonna try that again, it put more of a strain on me than expected." Iida nodded astutely.
Uraraka, who had come up from behind Izuku, sighed dreamily. "Jeez... we really lucked out, huh, Iida?" Iida blinked in surprise but nodded in affirmation after a moment, smiling softly again.
Izuku looked between them in confusion.
-
Izuku made no comment about the pile of metal dust off to the side of the main gateway, but he couldn't ignore the uncomfortable feeling it gave him.
The police officers who were still lingering didn't do much to put his mind at ease.
God, Izuku yawned, catching the worried attention of his friends. Even Bakugou spared him a glance, though he feigned disinterest.
This school is way too hectic. I need to sleep.
-
Izuku recognized this strange dark space well. He had mostly forgotten his dream as soon as he had woken up the day prior, only getting a vague feeling when he tried to recall it, but the events of his last time here suddenly rushed back to meet his reentrance. The feeling of dread from his first visit had disappeared, along with the image of his father. Instead, Izuku felt oddly welcome here.
The shorter of the two- his uncle- stood directly before Izuku. As before, Izuku could only see out of one eye, and trying to speak ultimately ended in failure. The man smiled softly at Izuku, running a hand over the boy's hair. "Hello, nephew. My name is Shigaraki Yoichi. It is good to meet you." Even though Izuku normally despised people touching his hair, the man's touch was familiar and kind.
The man removed his hand, his smile dropping. "I have so much to tell you, to teach you, but you can only barely control One for All, so I can't stay here for long." The man's eyes suddenly glistened with tears, but his voice stayed resolute. "This power has been safeguarded with you, the son of its enemy. You will be the one to defeat him. For now, though..." He trailed off as another vestige of the past appeared from the smoke.
"Hey, Ninth." A gorgeous woman wearing a dark sleeveless jumpsuit, yellow gloves, and a white cape approached the two of them. She knelt before Izuku, a sad smile adorning her face. "I agree with Yoichi here. You're much too young. But this is a sacred duty." She dropped her gaze. "I failed my own charge by giving him my power too soon. He was actually around your age when I met him, y'know? He's done well for himself, hasn't he? I didn't have One for All very long myself, but he had it for so long before finding you." She shot a thumbs up to Izuku, eyes gleaming with tears. "Do your best to stay safe and say hi to Toshi for me, okay?"
Izuku shot awake, sweat drenching his body as he sucked in air. He looked at his hand, clenching and unclenching it. Tears fell unbidden from his eyes.
"...Nana? Uncle...?" How? Why now? Why again?
-
"We're doing another special training today. We'll have three instructors with us- All Might, myself, and another faculty member. We'll also be using a special facility that's on the far side of campus. Last time, your special training was the Combat Trials. This time, we'll be doing Rescue Trials to cap another basic cornerstone of your Heroic education. We'll learn how to deal with earthquakes, shipwrecks, and other large-scale disasters." The class mumbled amongst each other, feeling the excitement of more proper Hero training.
Kaminari smiled, shaking his head resignedly. "Guess we're in for another workout, huh? At least I don't have to embarrass myself like last time."
Kirishima leaned forward in his seat, patting Kaminari good-naturedly on the shoulder. "No matter what we do, Hero training is always the manliest pursuit!"
"Is that supposed to be comforting, or...?"
"I'm excited to properly show off my Quirk," said Asui, completely sidelining Kaminari's question. "My Quirk is okay for combat, but I really shine in the water, ribbit."
"Quiet. I'm not done." The class fell silent immediately as Mr. Aizawa spoke, his commanding voice and glare arresting their attention once more. "You're free to bring along your Hero costume for this exercise, but you can also wear a gym uniform. Remember that some of your costumes aren't currently designed for every condition- for example, if Bakugou were allowed to bring his gauntlets, they would be rendered next to useless in the event of a flood or shipwreck disaster." Bakugou clicked his tongue in annoyance. "That's all. Grab your case if you want it, and go get changed. Meet outside when you're done."
Bakugou sighed, standing up first. Izuku stood up as well, along with everyone else, clenching a fist and smiling in anticipation.
Rescue training… He grabbed his suitcase, which he had put his costume in after taking it in for repairs, falling into step behind Bakugou. This is what being a Hero is all about. If I can get a handle on using my power to save, then I'm one step closer to being the Number One Hero. One step closer to being worthy of… He shook away the thought as he entered the locker room.
It didn't take him very long to change- with the awe of owning a Hero costume having worn off, it was just like a uniform for a job. It helped that one of his special gloves was still broken and easily replaced by one of his smaller spares. Those things were a hassle to pull on. Stepping outside and sparing Todoroki- who had finished changing first- a glance, Izuku went to check the interior of the bus that would be taking them to the facility. Mr. Aizawa was already standing inside, and he cocked an eyebrow at the Hero-in-training. Izuku smiled and waved sheepishly, stepping back out to stand in front of the bus to wait for the class' arrival. When Yaoyorozu came out, the first among the girls, she walked up and stood beside Izuku with a perfectly straight back. Izuku decided against making conversation with her. He had managed to compliment her the other day, but in all honesty, she was frightening to be around. A haughty rich girl with a strong Quirk and a middle-class boy with two of them. What a dynamic!
He was spared any awkward attempts at small talk by Uraraka and Iida marching up. Uraraka tilted her head in that oddly exaggerated manner of hers, pointing at Izuku. "Hey, Deku, how come you're only using one glove? Actually, considering how much damage Bakugou did, I'd think that you'd have to replace even more of your costume."
"Ah, well," started Izuku, flexing the hand with the support glove. "These gloves are designed to increase my limits, but my other one's still busted from my 100% attack in the Combat Trials. I need to use this spare until I can get it back. But since this is Rescue Training, I doubt I'll need to push my limits that much, so I don't really need my gloves anyway. And the rest of it only needed a wash and a few stitches to fix. I don't want to be wasteful." That was mostly true, though his entire chest was now a different color since he had needed to patch that up in its entirety. Uraraka nodded in understanding, and Iida took the lull in conversation as an opportunity to stealthily sidle up closer to Izuku.
"Class Representative," he whispered, "would you like me to do anything? Perhaps announce a seating order?"
Izuku tried to tell him that a seating order didn't really make sense, but his surprised silence must have seemed too much like a confirmation. Iida spun around to face the class. "Alright, everyone! Line up in two orderly lines by class number so we can board the bus efficiently! Let's get moving!" Izuku sighed, giving up on telling anyone anything. He walked onto the bus half-heartedly, slumping into a seat. The class, upon realizing the bus had a more open layout, scrambled to sit wherever they wanted.
Iida sat across from Izuku, clenching his fists. "I apologize, Midoriya. I should have just let you speak…!"
"Iida, babe," said Ashido from beside Iida, patting his arm, "you really need to chill out."
"Well, if we're pointing out the obvious," Asui deadpanned, earning a defensive chop from Iida and a giggle from Uraraka. "I have something to say as well. Actually, it's about you, Midoriya."
Izuku, surprised, looked up from the floor to meet Asui's eye. "Hm? What about me, Asui?"
"Call me Tsu," she rebuked, staring blankly at him.
Izuku blushed, nodding a little. "Okay, T-Tsu. What is it?"
"Well, it's about that power of yours." Izuku's eye twitched slightly, and a cold bead of sweat formed on his brow. "Specifically, your super strength. Even though your Quirk is a Copy ability, and you could pretty much use any Quirk, you seem to use that power almost exclusively. Even your costume is designed with it in mind. And All Might seemed particularly close to you. I wonder, is your Quirk actually a hybrid like Todoroki's? Are you All Might's son?" Izuku choked on air, absolutely bug-eyed at the prospect of being actually related to Toshinori. He looked around- everyone was staring at him, especially Todoroki.
Kirishima laughed from beside Asui, patting her on the back. "No way! All Might doesn't hurt himself when he uses his Quirk, right?" Izuku grimaced. Not on the outside, at least, he thought grimly. "I can't imagine that happening from natural Quirk genetics. Say, what's your mom's Quirk, Midoriya?"
"W-well," Izuku stuttered for a moment at the sudden question, "it's called Object Attraction. It's kinda like telekinesis, but it's more limited. She can only lift around 6 or 7 kilograms at the absolute most, and she can only pull stuff towards herself."
Kirishima nodded sagely, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his seat. "There you go. A Quirk like that and a Quirk like All Might's, making Midoriya's Quirk? I doubt it!" Kirishima sighed forlornly, sage expression being replaced by something else. Melancholy? "You're totally lucky to have something like that to use, Midoriya." He stuck his arm forward, activating his Quirk. His skin grew steadily jagged until his outstretched arm was more akin to a cliff face than to a limb. "My Hardening's tough and all, but it's not very flashy. I guess I'm jealous of those more impressive Quirks, haha..."
"Are you kidding? My Quirk doesn't do anything on its own! Yours, on the other hand..." Izuku rolled up the sleeve that had his spare glove, molding his Quirklight to copy the jagged crimson of Kirishima's. His own arm took on the same ruggedness that Kirishima had, and he pushed the feeling until he couldn't push it any further, which wasn't much. He smiled at Kirishima, flexing his arm. The skin was as solid as stone, and bending his elbow was difficult. "Your Quirk is plenty flashy! I think it's really badass! You could get a lot of attention as a Pro using it. Er, I mean," he dropped the Hardening, rolling his sleeve back down. "Sorry."
"No worries. I'm super flattered, dude." Kirishima rubbed his neck, smiling brightly. "Actually, that kinda makes me wonder something. Do you have a limit on the number of Quirks you can copy, Midobro?"
Izuku blinked. "Well, no, not that I know of."
"So why haven't you copied more of our Quirks?"
Izuku swallowed thickly as the question left Kirishima's lips. There was no easy answer to that question. On the one hand, he had already boldly claimed this power as his own and therefore should be able to use it freely. However, he was conflicted about the power's origin, and that wasn't even considering his responsibility to focus on training One for All. Finally, he shrugged. "It's uncomfortable."
"Uncomfortable?"
Izuku nodded, keeping his expression closed. "So many Quirks in one place feels weird, to put it simply. Unnatural. And plus, I can't afford to be a jack-of-all, master-of-none, especially with the more intensive Quirks I encounter." Kirishima hummed, seemingly taking the answer at face value.
"My Quirk, Navel Laser," Aoyama said from beside Ashido, interrupting Izuku's unpleasant train of thought, "is the perfect blend of fort et voyant. It would be impossible for all but myself to master."
Ashido tilted her head in confusion. "Huh? What'd you say? No one else here speaks French."
Aoyama scoffed. "My Quirk is strong and showy. It takes a lot of skill to properly utilize."
"Oh, sweetie," Ashido patted Aoyama on the shoulder in an obviously patronizing manner, "it's not a bad Quirk, but it's super lame if you can only use it for a few seconds without getting a… how'd you say it? A 'tummy-ache'?"
Aoyama glared at the ground. "Comme si tu pouvais comprendre."
In a blatant attempt to ignore the tension developing from the brooding blond, Kirishima snapped his fingers. "If we're talking about strong and flashy, the Quirks most like that in this class are Midoriya's, Todoroki's and Bakugou's. They have the kind of Quirks that'll take 'em far, guaranteed." Izuku glanced over at Bakugou- the blond glanced back, obviously having heard the compliment, but ultimately he just scoffed and looked back away. Izuku felt a sudden sense of pride. The old Bakugou would have jumped out of his seat to talk about his amazing Quirk. Maybe Izuku really had helped him by beating him?
Asui scratched at her chin. "While that might be true," she muttered. "Bakugou's angry all the time. He'll stand out as a Hero for sure, but there's no way he'll ever be very popular."
Bakugou jumped from his seat, gripping the railing that separated where he was sitting and where the conversation was occurring. "What the hell'd you say?! Come over here and say that shit to my face! I'll be the most popular Hero ever!" Izuku smiled at him, not at all surprised. Same old, same old.
The frog girl pointed at him. "See?"
Izuku waved his hand. "Don't be too mean to Kacchan. He's not a bad guy, he's just... well, explosive." Bakugou stared at Izuku like he was crazy before sitting down in a huff, conceding from the argument.
Kaminari looked on the verge of bursting out laughing as he asked, "How come you call him something cute like 'Kacchan'? Have you known him for a while or something?"
Izuku just nodded in confirmation. "That's right, we've known each other since we were babies. We've gone to school together for pretty much forever."
"Oh, tell us something embarrassing about him!" Ashido rushed out of her seat, clutching Izuku by the shoulders. "Please, please, please?"
"Ah, n-no, I couldn't." Izuku scratched his head, glancing back over at the boy in question. Bakugou raised an eyebrow even as Ashido kept begging for juicy gossip. Izuku just shrugged; it was less a matter of integrity and more a result of the lack of good blood between the two. To be honest, in the grand scheme of things, Izuku didn't know that much about Bakugou's personal life. His Quirk, on the other hand...
"Quiet." Aizawa turned in his seat to face the class. "We're here."
The class shut up with a resounding "yes, sir," and the class disembarked in silence when the bus came screeching to a halt. Mr. Aizawa led the students inside the massive facility, where they were greeted by a Hero in a puffy white suit. The Hero in question also wore bright yellow sneakers and a large dome-like helmet. The visor of the helmet was a screen, displaying white eye-like projections.
Uraraka suddenly bounced on her heels in excitement, shaking her fists. "It's Thirteen! I can't believe Thirteen is part of the U.A. staff! Oh my god, this is so embarrassing...!" Izuku could practically see her blushing through her Thirteen-inspired visor as she whisper-yelled. Before he could reply, Thirteen spoke, her voice mixing with radio static as her "eyes" emoted, crinkling like she was smiling.
"Hello everyone! I've been looking forward to meeting you." The Hero bowed slightly, then spun on their heel, marching further into the building. "Now, c'mon! Let me show you the inside of the facility." She continued to speak as she walked, waving a hand to beckon the students forward. "The moment that my Quirk developed, I knew I wanted to be a Rescue Hero. I built this facility in the hopes that another Hero hopeful will discover their love for saving lives." She gestured grandly to the whole of the interior. "We have a shipwreck, a landslide, a large-scale fire, a windstorm, and various other simulated disasters that will be used to test your mettle. I built this facility from the ground up to provide you with the opportunity to learn how to save lives. I've taken to calling it: the Unforeseen Simulation Joint! Or the Ultimate Space for Jams! Or, more simply, the USJ!"
Izuku almost burst out laughing. They're really pushing it so that it has the same acronym as Universal Studios Japan, huh? Everyone else seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"Hey, Thirteen, shouldn't All Might be here?" Aizawa stepped up to stand beside the Space Hero, who took to whispering with their fellow teacher. She held up three fingers, and Izuku knew immediately what had happened. He had noticed it on his commute this morning- a series of crimes solved by All Might on his own commute, one after another. The old Hero must have worn himself out and pushed his limit too hard. Izuku hoped he was alright. Aizawa finally turned back around, removing his bangs from his eyes with a swipe of his hand. "That big oaf is the pinnacle of irrationality. Sorry class, it looks like you're stuck with just Thirteen and I. Oh well. Let's get a move on. The clock's ticking."
"Allow me to say a few more things before we officially kick it off!" Thirteen held up their hand, presenting the caps on the tips of her fingers for the class to see. "Please listen carefully. I know I have at least one fan out of all of you, so you should know what my Quirk is."
Uraraka squeaked in embarrassment but then nodded enthusiastically. "Y-yeah, it's called Black Hole! You've used it to save thousands of lives."
"That's right," Izuku agreed, chiming in, "you're able to completely eradicate matter with your Quirk to ensure a safe rescue, especially in the scenario of a collapsing building or a devastating fire."
"Very good. Gold stars!" Thirteen's electronically modified voice suddenly dropped into a deeper tone. "So you must also know that my Quirk doesn't discriminate. Whether it be debris or the victims themselves, my Quirk will turn them it into mere atoms. I can kill as easily as I can save." The class nodded, registering the somber tone in the Hero's words. "In our superhuman society, the government keeps a tight handle on the usage of Quirks, so it's not often that we see deaths at a Hero's hands. But it's always a possibility. I know there are some among you that have Quirks that could be just as devastating if you lose control. That's the point of this training. Thanks to the Apprehension Tests that Eraserhead ran you through, you know your current limits. Because of All Might's Combat Trials, you know how devastating your abilities can be in combat. Take these lessons to heart in these upcoming Trials. You won't be using your Quirks in any combat capacity today; every moment that your Quirk is in use, it must be in the active pursuit of saving a life. I hope you'll walk away from this experience with the knowledge that your Quirks are for saving." Thirteen laughed, waving her hands. "Sorry, that got a little depressing! I know you have what it takes, so let's get right to it, okay?" The class offered up a cheer for Thirteen, and Mr. Aizawa cracked a smile.
"Alright, now that that's over with-" Before he could finish his sentence, the lights flickered overhead, drawing his attention. The lights flickered a few more times before finally dying. Izuku's stomach dropped, and he looked down the stairs at the sudden presence of unfamiliar Quirklights. The first in sight almost made him gag- it was a sickening dark black mess; but underneath that was something more fluid, violet in color; and under that still was baby blue, akin to a cloud in texture. Three Quirks in one?! But then that means- oh, God.
"Mr. Aizawa!" Midoriya held a hand to his mouth in an attempt to hold in his bile, but thankfully Mr. Aizawa heard him all the same. "There's Villains down there! That first one looks like he has three Quirks!" Mr. Aizawa's eyes widened in shock, and he immediately went to put on his goggles.
Kirishima grabbed Izuku's shoulder. "Hey, hey. You're kidding, right? This is just part of the exercise, right?!"
"No, this is real," Mr. Aizawa muttered. "Those are actual Villains."