Chapter 10: Preparations
Tomura coughed as he fell to the ground, and he groaned in pain as his gunshot wounds began to leak blood onto the hardwood. He was angry. He was pissed. He was about to go fucking atomic.
"He wasn't any weaker," he said, his usually hoarse voice even scratchier than usual. "In fact, he almost seemed stronger! He beat Noumu like it was nothing! And what he didn't do, his Hero brats did! You were wrong, Master!" Tomura looked up to the T.V. hanging from the ceiling in the corner of the room. The text "Audio Only" seemed to mock him as his Master spoke.
"I wasn't wrong. He's definitely gotten weaker." Master spoke in a calming, playful tone, but it did nothing to abate Tomura's rage. "I think we just weren't well enough prepared for a mission of this caliber."
"No, definitely not!" Another voice, the Doctor's, spoke up through the monitor. His grating voice made Tomura want to kill something. "I guess it's fine, though, since we did it under that silly name. 'The League of Villains.' Sounds cliché." The Doctor cackled unpleasantly, sending itchiness up Tomura's neck.
Tomura had chosen the name himself. It was a good name, dammit.
"Anyway," the Doctor continued, "what happened to the Noumu?"
"Ah, right." Master clicked his tongue. "It wasn't recovered. A pity."
"That was my fault, Master." Kurogiri bowed to the screen as if Master could see him through it. Otherwise, he stood there dumbly, not even getting the bandages for Tomura's numerous bleeding wounds. Stupid fucking butler. "I could not possibly locate it in time to warp it and Shigaraki Tomura away at the same time. I could only do one, and I prioritized Shigaraki Tomura."
"I understand, Kurogiri. You did well, considering the circumstances." Master's praise towards Kurogiri riled Shigaraki up so much he had to reach out and disintegrate a stool. Kurogiri didn't react.
The Doctor sighed. "Too bad, after all that work to make him stronger than All Might..."
Tomura laughed at that ridiculous comment. It felt good to mock the Doctor. "Stronger than All Might? He was barely stronger than one of the students." The Doctor sucked in a breath, and Master made a questioning noise that suddenly made Tomura feel very small for some reason.
"Explain."
"There was this one brat, tall-ish, with green hair. He was, uh..." Tomura struggled to recall details. He scratched at the floorboards to try and relieve some of the stress building up in him. "He had freckles, and I thought originally that he was related to Eraserhead because he used Erasure. But then he used an ice Quirk! Then a fire one, and an explosive one too! It was like..."
"Enough." Master suddenly spoke with such force that Tomura thought he was in the same room as him. "Hm... so it wasn't just a dream. Izuku...!" Master spoke the name almost fondly, but Tomura grinned madly.
Izuku… you're the first Hero I kill after All Might!
-
It was Friday, a day after the League of Villains had attacked the USJ and almost killed his friends and the Number One Hero. School had been called off for the day, and Izuku had spent the entire time in his room. Sighing, Izuku brought his knees down from his chest and picked up his twenty-five-kilogram dumbbell, curling it to his chest.
"What- he's laughing!"
It was silly of him. Izuku was a teenage boy with the ability to use any Quirk he wanted, but whenever he was upset, he still came to this same video of All Might's debut. It brought him comfort, and now it helped him to envision his ultimate goal. He paused the video right as All Might came on screen.
I'm still so far away from you, Toshi.
Even as the other students had seemingly been fine after the event, Izuku couldn't get it out of his head. He had been going over every little detail over and over. First, he had slipped up fighting Kurogiri and got everyone else transported with him all around the USJ. Then he tried to save Mr. Aizawa but couldn't stand up to Noumu. If he hadn't reacted in time and used Hardening, he would be dead. If he hadn't copied Hardening on a whim in the first place, he'd be dead. Even when he had used Explosion on Noumu, he couldn't stop it. No matter how Izuku looked at it, he had messed up every step of the way. What kind of successor was he?
Still, he furrowed his brow and chewed the inside of his cheeks, swapping the dumbbell to the other hand. If I want to really make a difference, I need to master One for All. And maybe along the way, I can figure out how to go about discovering the Quirks within it.
He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, delving within himself. He started trying to take deep breaths as he examined all of the Quirks he had collected thus far. It made him feel gross, seeing how many he had already gotten since he had received One for All. He pushed the thought away, breathing even more deeply.
He took a mental hold of the Shock Absorption within One for All and tried to use it with the dial technique, starting at five percent. To his surprise, it refused to budge from its position. Izuku turned the dial up to ten percent, but the Quirk still refused to activate. Before he could consider the repercussions of trying to activate it at a higher percentage, a knock on his bedroom door shocked him out of his meditation.
"Izuku, honey," his mom said through the door. "Lunch is ready. I made katsudon! " Dropping his dumbbell, Izuku got up and went to open his door. His mother jolted as he opened it, but she managed to keep a smile on her face.
Izuku pulled her into a one-armed hug, resting his chin on top of her head. "Thank you," he whispered, much more quietly than he had meant to. Still, his mother reciprocated the hug with a gentle laugh.
"Of course. You certainly need the energy. Gotta keep those new muscles of yours in high repair, right?"
Izuku let out a breath through his nose, smiling. He set his thoughts of One for All and its Quirks aside for the moment as he released Inko from the hug, following her into the kitchen.
"Yeah. Thanks."
-
Toshinori scratched his chin, trying to ignore the dull throbbing in his nonexistent stomach. I should ask young Izuku if he wants to go get ice cream again...He looked up as Naomasa stepped into the conference, a clipboard stacked to the brim with paperwork in his hands. Principal Nedzu, sitting in Aizawa's lap, waved his teacup around. "Welcome in, Detective. What do you have for us?" Naomasa sighed heavily.
"I did a thorough search through every database available to me as a detective, but..." He flipped through his clipboard, eyebags terribly visible under his eyes. He's been overworking himself... I should take him out for coffee. Are there any diners around here? "The main three Villains- Shigaraki, Kurogiri, and Noumu- have no prior records. They don't have Quirk registrations, bills, certificates, or anything. The names they used during the incident were likely aliases. So, as to their identities, we have absolutely zero leads."
Juuroku - AKA Snipe, 3-A's homeroom teacher - lifted his mask and pushed back his dreadlocks, sighing heavily. "If my last few bullets had just connected, he wouldn't be a problem anymore. Now he'll come wreak havoc again as soon as he's healed. My humble apologies for that."
Nedzu laughed uncannily, making almost everyone slightly uncomfortable due to its inherent animalistic sound. "Not to worry, I have a few ideas for new ways to bulk up our security. We'll not have any more Villains on campus. Ishiyama, and Maijima, we'll talk later about that issue. But for the more pressing matters at hand... All Might." Toshinori blinked at his boss. "You have a few clues for us, don't you?" Clearing his throat, Toshinori stood up.
"Yeah, I guess I do. Though I know about as much as Naomasa about Shigaraki and the rest, I can confidently say that I know their ringleader." Toshinori shuffled in place, starting to sweat a little. "You see, both Noumu and Kurogiri had more than one Quirk. Only one Villain I know of could do that- the Demon, All for One." Silence pervaded the room as soon as the words left his mouth. After a moment, Kan Sekijirou, Class 1-B's homeroom teacher, began laughing.
"All Might, I mean no disrespect, but All for One is a boogeyman. He's used to scare children who misbehave. It's a funny joke, but now's hardly a good time-"
Toshinori, still in his base form, punched the table. The wood cracked underneath his fist. Kan quickly shut up, staring at the splintered oak. Toshinori lifted his shirt to reveal his scar, making everyone recoil at seeing it. "Who the fuck do you think I am? 'It's a funny joke'? I'm missing my entire goddamn stomach and half of a lung, and you think I'm playing a practical joke? How dare you?"
Kan dropped his gaze, cowed. Toshinori took a deep breath. "My apologies." He looked around at the other Heroes, deciding to get to it. "I look like this because of a fight I had a few years ago- most of you already know. What had not been previously disclosed was who I fought. The Demon had somehow found a way to slow down his aging process, and he came to defeat me in combat, seeing me as the largest threat to his reign. After a long and arduous battle, I defeated the Demon, though I thought I had killed him. Kurogiri and Noumu are proof that I failed." Well, more than that, too.Naomasa looked at him with soft, pitying eyes.
Aizawa sighed, the breath rattling in his chest. "So... we're up against a Supervillain. Not just any Supervillain, but one of the most notorious Supervillains in literally all of history. Okay. Just great. But then why let someone else lead the charge? Especially someone like Shigaraki." Toshinori's gaze sank down to his hands as he sat back down, sighing heavily.
"The way he talked and acted," he muttered, "reminded me of a child. He gave up quickly when he thought he had been outmatched but quickly bounced back when he thought he could win. He threw a tantrum and kept talking in video game terms like this wasn't even a real-life catastrophe." Toshinori's brow dropped as he looked around at his colleagues. "But he also spoke eloquently about Hero society and our place in it as the Heroes. He called himself the guillotine- but it sounded off, like it was regurgitated. My theory is that this Shigaraki is some follower or disciple of All for One, a tool that he's using to ease his way back into the spotlight as a Villain."
Kayama folded her arms, her glasses slipping slightly down the bridge of her nose. "He sounds pretty sheltered, in the worst way possible. I wonder if he ever got Quirk counseling...?"
"An excellent inquiry, Kayama." Nedzu sniffed at his tea. "But enough of theories and aimless discussion. Detective Tsukauchi, please continue your report."
Naomasa grunted. "With the exception of the two who evaded us, we captured and arrested 72 Villains at the USJ, including Noumu. All of them have criminal records, mostly dumb things like petty theft and grand theft auto, save for this final bout of attempted murder and illegal Quirk use for Villainous purposes. When we questioned them about the League of Villains, they kept their mouths shut. Most were convinced that Shigaraki would be coming to rescue them, though that seems unlikely. Essentially, it looks like Shigaraki took advantage of these disparaged small-time thugs by selling his 'people's Hero' shtick to get them as cheap labor. None of them have any actual leads."
Aizawa stood then, picking up Nedzu and setting him down in the chair. "It's our job to show these punks what a Hero is. I'm going home now. If anything interesting comes up, call." And with that, he made to leave.
Toshinori smiled after him. How inspiring.
-
The weekend passed quickly. Izuku spent the whole time experimenting with One for All, with no new progress or understanding. He had gotten the courage to push Shock Absorption up to 20%, but all he got was a full-body soreness for that attempt. The other Quirk, Decay, also eluded his grasp. It began to snake itself onto Izuku's limbs when he tried to bring it forth, but before he could even think to use it, his body began to itch and burn so terribly that he immediately let go of it.
Research into the previous holders of One for All using their names gave no results in conventional search engines, and Izuku didn't have the proper credentials to use Hero websites, yet. He let the matter lie, but it bugged him like an itch he couldn't reach. He started dreaming in One for All almost every night, sometimes managing to hold one-sided conversations with Yoichi, or having Nana reminisce about her Hero days. Other times, his visits were filled with dread, staring contests with the unformed shades of his predecessors and visions of the Quirk's past- most often the deaths of its previous users, all by the hand of a rather familiar man.
Izuku missed not dreaming at all.
And then the weekend ended, and school started back up as if nothing had happened. Bright and early on Monday, Izuku took a bath like usual, got dressed like usual, ate breakfast like usual, and left his home like usual.
Getting on the train was a different story, though. As he stepped on the morning train, Izuku noticed a few people staring at him. He had gotten used to odd looks, considering his U.A. uniform, so he brushed it off. The train left the station, and Izuku found a spot to stand by one of the other doors. An older businessman with large tusks standing next to him gave him a once-over. He leaned closer to Izuku with a conspiratorial look. "I saw what happened on the news. You lot were very brave. You're the one who was roughed up the most, right? Glad you made it out okay."
Izuku blinked in surprise. Had his class made the news? He didn't remember seeing any reporters, but he did have a major concussion at the time, so it probably slipped past him. Either way, he nodded and gave quiet thanks to the kind man, quickly taking his leave as the train pulled into the station. Does that count as fame or infamy? Uraraka and Iida were waiting for him at the front of the station, idly chattering together. Izuku spared them a look before continuing his walk towards U.A.
"Hey, Deku!" Uraraka fell into step on Izuku's right, punching him good-naturedly on the shoulder. "You doing alright?"
Iida also fell into step with them, chopping a hand in the air. "You were beat up rather badly, after all," he added. "Have you been feeling any adverse effects?"
Izuku shrugged. "I'm fine." He hadn't meant to sound dismissive, but the rest of the walk to school occurred in silence. Everyone else in the class had already sat down and were talking animatedly by the time the three students entered.
Hagakure waved her hand around, visibly indicated by her shaking sleeve. "Did you guys see the news last night? Isn't it neat that we got a little bit of screen time? Though I hardly stood out very much…"
"That's true," Shouji said in a completely bland tone.
Ojiro jolted, scratching his cheek with a forefinger. "It's hard to stand out when the only visible parts of your costume are your boots and gloves." He leaned back in his chair. "But yeah, it was a weird experience seeing myself on TV like that. Seeing more of myself on the news when I'm an actual Pro would be nice."
"The less news like that about me, the better." Kaminari folded his arms, making a pouty face. "I hate being a celebrity just 'cause of something unfortunate like what happened last week."
"Not like it's us who's famous, anyway," Jirou deadpanned. "They care about U.A. being attacked, not the students. Even then, you didn't do much of anything, Kaminari."
"I couldn't exactly help it, seeing as how the frequency to the school was jammed. And which of us beat the most Villains, huh? Even though I was the only one unarmed!"
"Whatever. Maybe you should add a stun baton to your costume."
"I'm just glad it didn't turn out too bad," Sero said, his voice slightly muffled since he was resting his head on his desk. "If All Might hadn't shown up, we would be goners." Izuku shuffled in his seat, reminded of how badly All Might was beaten up after his brawl. Behind him, Mineta groaned, dropping his head into his hands. In a lull in the conversation, the door opened.
"Right, that's enough," Mr. Aizawa muttered to a quiet classroom. Izuku noticed that his scarf was higher around his face than usual and that his eyes were still very bloodshot. Bandages could be seen wrapped around his hands, though they probably went higher, and he walked with a limp. Despite all that, he still projected an aura of fierceness. "...Midoriya. Good to see you recovered well."
"O-oh, thank you, sir! You too!"
Mr. Aizawa lowered his face entirely into his scarf for a moment before looking back up. "Let's get homeroom started." Their teacher stepped up to his podium, looking through a stack of papers that were sitting there. He squinted as he read whatever was on them. "Just a reminder that the class we were supposed to take at the USJ will still need to be done at some point. We'll sort that out properly later, though. Right now, there's only one thing we need to focus on- training for the Sports Festival."
Kirishima pumped a fist, his other hand clutching his heart. "Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"
Kaminari frowned. "Wait a second-"
"Is it really such a good idea to have the Sports Festival so soon after such a big Villain attack?" Jirou finished, twirling one of her earlobe jacks with a forefinger. "I mean, we all almost croaked. It seems in poor taste."
Ojiro nodded in agreement, tail swishing back and forth like a nervous cat. "And we could be attacked any time again. If the USJ incident was that bad with just one Hero course class, how bad would it be with the entire school gathered in one place?" Izuku picked at his fingernails. He hadn't even considered something like that in all of his musings. His brain would have fun playing with that scenario.
Aizawa sighed heavily, rolling his shoulders as he slouched a bit more. "Look, I'll be straight with you on this. The school board wants to go forward with this mostly to make it seem like U.A. is as strong as ever. I can assure you that security really will be strengthened, so there's some truth behind their posturing. Even then, though, the Sports Festival is the year's most important event for Hero students. We couldn't cancel it even if the Villains were successful in their goal."
Mineta clutched at his tie. "Why not? It's just a festival..."
Izuku turned back to look at the diminutive boy with a surprised expression. "Mineta, you do realize just how important the Sports Festival is, right? It's our opportunity to show off to the entire country, even the entire world. The Sports Festival at U.A. is bigger than the Olympics."
"It's important to show off for civilians, but we're really showing off for Hero agencies." Yaoyorozu leaned forward slightly from her seat behind Mineta to join in on the conversation. "Top Heroes watch the event to see how skilled each of us is. We're flexing our abilities to show them that we're worth taking on as interns."
"I know, I know," Mineta tapped his fingers on his desk, sighing. "But it's easy to worry. How can I be a cool Hero if I don't even get my license before I kick the bucket?"
Aizawa placed both hands on the pedestal, leaning towards the class with a fierce gaze. "You get one opportunity a year and three opportunities in your lifetime to use the Sports Festival to show how worthwhile you are as a Hero. It makes your job a hell of a lot easier to have people who know who you are. Please believe me when I say I understand your concern, but this is more important."
Izuku raised his hand. "But, Mr. Aizawa, you're an Underground Hero. No one knows who you are."
Mr. Aizawa cocked an eyebrow, nodding just slightly. "A fair statement. Being an Underground Hero has its advantages; police are more open with working with you, and you won't be recognized in public as much. Even then, though, I still participated in the Sports Festival. Interning is vital to your career, no matter what kind of Hero you want to be as a Pro." Mr. Aizawa yawned, rubbing his eyes. "So I expect you to take your training extra seriously these next few weeks. Class dismissed."
As Mr. Aizawa stepped out and Cementoss walked in to begin teaching Modern Literature, Izuku stared out of the window. I wonder what kind of Hero I'll end up being... I know that I want to be Number One like All Might, but will I measure up enough to get there?
He pulled out his notebook and began taking down notes as Cementoss began the lesson. The next classes passed quickly while Izuku's mind continued to wander every so often. When the lunch bell finally rang, Izuku pulled out his Hero notes and began sketching out ideas for costume repairs and improvements instead of immediately heading out to the Eatery.
"Jeez!" Kirishima exclaimed suddenly as he stood up, pumping a fist. "I'm seriously pumped up for the Sports Festival! The adrenaline is rushing through me like crazy!"
"If even Mr. Aizawa thinks such a public event is so important," said Tokoyami, the bird-headed boy. "Then we need to take these scant opportunities to stand out seriously. Else we be lost to the annals of history..."
With a flashy twirl, Aoyama pointed at Kouda as the mute giant crossed his path. The large boy froze in fear like a deer caught in headlights. "With my stunning good looks, charming personality, and dazzling Quirk, I almost feel sorry for you poor saps. All eyes will be on me, after all! Eh bien! "
"Tummy-ache."
"Who said that?!" Aoyama looked around in a huff, allowing Kouda the opportunity to slip away.
Mina giggled.
"Urgh, but he's kinda right!" Hagakure shook her fists in the air, probably in an attempt to visualize her frustration. "I need to stand out for any of this to matter, but how am I supposed to stand out if no one can see me?"
Ojiro crossed his arms, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Maybe try wearing something on your head? I don't know what to tell you…"
Izuku tuned out the conversation as he tried to focus harder on redesigning his costume. I had been focusing too much on One for All with my initial design, just like Tsu said, so I'll need to incorporate support for all of these secondary Quirks... heat resistance, maybe fingerless gloves... more powerful respirator, water tank...
"Hello? Earth to Deku?" Izuku jumped in a panic as his gaze shot up from his notebook- oh, it was just Uraraka, with Iida beside her. "I asked if you were nervous."
"Oh, well," Izuku closed his notebook, steadying his breathing, "not any more than to be expected. I've watched the Sports Festival plenty of times, so I guess I'm really only nervous about standing out."
Uraraka's smile turned fierce as she pumped a fist. "Well, I'll make sure to be good competition for y'all, so don't hold back, got it? I'm going all in on this." Iida looked over at her in confusion, but Izuku nodded gratefully.
He leaned down to put his notebook in his bag, grabbing the pack as he stood up. Iida and Uraraka followed him out the door towards the cafeteria, leaving the chatter in the classroom behind. "By the way, Uraraka... I've been wondering. Why did you decide to come to U.A.?" He looked back at her as she suddenly lost her fierce disposition.
"Ah, well..." She trailed off, scratching the back of her head. "I'm in it to make lots of money."
"That so?"
"Sorry, I know that's gotta sound lame to you two! You both probably have such admirable goals compared to mine."
Iida began chopping his hands in a series of complex motions. "That's not the case at all! I want to be a Hero to continue my family's legacy, and you want to be able to support yourself and your livelihood! They're different but no less important to ourselves."
Uraraka ran her fingers through the hair on the back of her head. "Well, it's not just for me. My family owns a construction company, and we've fallen on… hard times, I guess. I've wanted to be a Hero since I was a kid, but I knew I could use my Quirk to reduce costs if I worked for my parents. But they said I should pursue my dream. So... so I'll sign on with a good agency, make lots of money, and take my parents on vacation whenever they want!"
Izuku smiled, sighing through his nose. Supporting her parents while saving lives...
"I want to be the new Symbol of Peace," he stated out loud, staring dead ahead. He could feel both of their eyes on him, which made sense since it was a rather bold statement. "It's been my goal even before I could use my Quirk. But it's super unrealistic. You, on the other hand," he met Uraraka's eye. "Your goal is admirable because it's rooted in realism. You should be proud." Uraraka blushed as he maintained eye contact, and he only looked away as Iida began clapping boisterously.
"Bravo! Bravo! Bravissimo! You both have such beautiful goals!"
Uraraka began laughing at Iida's over-the-top shenanigans.
Supporting her parents... Izuku frowned, losing himself in thought. It almost makes my goal feel crazy. I guess it kind of is.
Before they could keep walking towards the cafeteria, All Might jumped around the corner in a funky pose, surprising them all.
"Young Izu- erk!" All Might almost tripped as he realized the green-haired boy had company. "Young Midoriya," he corrected quickly, "would you care to join me for a bite?" The Pro Hero held up his bento box like a shy schoolgirl, his smile as wide as ever. Containing his laughter, Izuku nodded, waving goodbye to his friends as the two quickly began walking away.
As Izuku and Toshinori entered the Hero's office, Toshinori reverted back into his natural state. Locking the door, he sat down on a couch in front of a modern coffee table, and Izuku took a seat on the couch across from him.
"I've got an hour a day now." The Hero's face was blank, not betraying anything. The statement was a fact, nothing more and nothing less.
Izuku swallowed, his guilt resurfacing at Toshinori's sudden admission. What a shift in mood. "That's it?"
"That's it. If I didn't actually use One for All to fight and just puffed up, as it were, I could probably push it to an hour and forty-five minutes. But yeah. It's almost the end of my time in the spotlight. It was good while it lasted, I guess."
Izuku leaned forward, clutching his stomach at the sudden urge to throw up. "I'm sorry that..." His apology was interrupted by Toshinori suddenly erupting into laughter, clutching his own gut. Izuku stared at him in surprise.
"An apology ain't gonna fix my stomach, young man! In any case, you hold no blame here. I would have lost time no matter what, and despite what you seem to think, I would probably have even less time if it weren't for you helping me in my fight. Please, I know you feel bad, but don't let it get to you. Anyway, that's not the actual reason I needed to talk with you." Toshinori's expression grew serious as he folded his hands in his lap, sitting up. "The Villains at the USJ… Noumu and Kurogiri reportedly had more than one Quirk. I'm loath to think it, but-"
"Yeah. It's him." Izuku took a deep breath into his cup of tea, staring at the floor. "Believe it or not, it's actually worse than you might be thinking. All of their Quirks came from All for One- even Shigaraki's was unnatural. But, in the case of Shigaraki's Quirk, Decay, and Noumu's Shock Absorption, they originally belonged to two of our predecessors."
There was a brief of silence, then a sharp, "What? "
Izuku nodded uneasily. "I've been seeing... visions, dreams where the previous holders of One for All show up. When Noumu knocked me unconscious, I saw one with Nana. Apparently, Decay belonged to the person who gave her One for All. And there's a Quirk that looks identical to Shock Absorption inside One for All, and Quirks don't just look the same. Similar, sometimes, but every Quirk is distinct." Pinching his bottom lip, he muttered, "I suppose that it's logical that All for One would take their Quirks once he defeated them, a kind of compensation for not being able to take One for All..."
Toshinori's expression stayed perfectly blank as he suddenly stood up and walked over to the window. Izuku felt rude mentioning that last fact- it was pretty obvious who Toshinori was thinking about. Izuku prayed to God he didn't encounter a Villain with Nana's Quirk.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Toshinori finally turned back to face Izuku. "I guess my point is that you're in the thick of it now, young Izuku, much earlier than you should have been. Now that All for One assuredly knows about you and your Quirk, you and your mother are in dire danger. I wish you had just evacuated the USJ and avoided this mess, but it's too late now... I wonder if I can move you both here. I'll have to call Inko."
"I'm sorry," Izuku rubbed his arms as he crossed them over his stomach. "My body just moved on its own. I couldn't stop myself."
The Hero's expression turned soft and he stepped up to Izuku, kneeling down and placing a hand on top of his head. "It's not your fault. Even though I wish you had avoided fighting, it's not in your nature to abandon your friends and teachers like that. Just focus on getting stronger, and I'll take care of everything else. Young Izuku, can I ask you something?" Izuku nodded. "Do you still feel the same as you did when we first met? Are you adamant in your goals to be a Hero?"
"Yes," Izuku stated without hesitation. How could he even ask that at this point? Toshinori nodded.
"Then it's time for you to prove it." The man stood up to his full height, staring down at Izuku with an almost intimidating gaze. "This Sports Festival is the most important event in your early career, but beyond that, it's your opportunity to show who you are to the world. Everyone, Heroes and Villains alike, will see you on the big screen. I need you to think of this as your debut." Toshinori's sharp blue eyes twinkled as his voice grew stronger. "You wish to be the world's new greatest Hero?! Then you must stand up and say 'I am here!' And you need to show every Villain out there, All for One included, that you aren't afraid to go all in. Do you understand, young man?!"
"Yes!" Izuku shot up from his seat, meeting the Hero's eye. Toshinori grinned, pulling Izuku into a one-armed hug.
"Good. Do your best, and ask me if you need any help preparing for the Sports Festival. Though I doubt you'll need me..." Toshinori went back to his seat, opened his box, and dug into the rice. Izuku pulled his own lunch out of his backpack, grateful that today he had actually packed himself one. Taking a bite of the sausage and shoveling rice in after it, Izuku smiled. Toshinori, you really are a great Hero. I'm glad... so glad to have met you. The two kept eating in comfortable silence until lunch was over, when the two split ways. Izuku went back to class, suddenly able to focus much better on his studies.
As class ended, everyone got up quietly, exhausted from a day of school after a three-day weekend. Izuku had gotten his Hero notebook out again and was sketching out more ideas for his own costume and for a few of his classmate's equipment when a cry of surprise from Uraraka jolted him from his focus. "Hey, what the-?!"
Izuku stepped up to the front of the class to investigate the commotion, standing next to Iida, Uraraka, and Mineta as he looked out the open door. Standing there was a legitimate sea of students, all clamoring over each other to look in at the Hero students of class 1-A. Izuku saw a couple wearing Hero course and Support course uniforms, but mostly they were wearing General course uniforms. The amount of Quirks crowded there was blinding, with all sorts of colors and textures and activations.
Izuku could feel his Quirk lurch towards them all, longing to add to its collection. "What do they want?"
Iida chopped an arm. "Do you have some business with our class? If not, I'd politely ask that you step out of the way."
"Yeah, get outta here!" Mineta chimed in, throwing a fist in the air with about as much threat as a bumblebee.
"They want to check out the Heroes-in-training who defeated the Villains at the USJ." Bakugou, followed by Kirishima, stepped in front of Izuku to stare down the congregation. "Well? Get a good look- this is the closest you fucks will be to being Heroes."
A boy Izuku recognized stepped forward, pushing his way through the crowd to the annoyance of many. His Quirklight was just as headache-inducing as it was the first time Izuku saw it, so instead the green-haired boy stared at the scarf wrapped around his neck. Same as Mr. Aizawa... Toshi did say he was being trained to join us eventually. I wonder if he actually already knows Eraserhead style?
"I came here to check out the brave students who fended off a Villain attack," the boy said blandly, sarcasm rolling off his tongue, "but you sound like a dick. To be expected from someone in the high and mighty Class 1-A." Izuku's eye twitched at those words. He pulled Bakugou and Kirishima behind him, a fake smile stretching his features gruesomely. He seemed nice enough during the Entrance Exam, but this guy... As Izuku took Bakugou's place, the boy's dark eyes lit up in recognition.
Folding his arms, Izuku tried to put on an air of authority akin to All Might, thinking back to their lunchtime conversation. It seemed to work, if only because the boy was shorter than him and needed to crane his neck up slightly. "We're a little more nuanced than that. Hey, sorry, by the way." Izuku's already fake smile tightened. "It sure is a shame you failed the Heroic's Entrance Exam."
"That right? Gee, thanks. I'm Shinsou Hitoshi. I'm the one gunning for a spot in the Hero Course more than anyone else here, so you Hero course students better watch your backs. Oh, wait." Shinsou snapped his fingers, looking at everyone still crowded behind Izuku with a smug grin. "Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. It's a little-known fact, but if someone in the General Course outperforms a Hero Course student, they're awarded an opportunity to replace them. Consider this my declaration of war."
Izuku made a thoughtful noise, impressed that Shinsou was still eager to be a Hero. He's acting a bit rude, but he's serious about this. If he has that much drive, it's a point of admiration. A little more genuinely, Izuku said, "Same goes for you. I'd hate for you to fail to get in twice." Shinsou gave him a once over, eyes narrowed, obviously having interpreted the words as more sarcasm. Before he could make a retort, a guy with silver hair in a Hero Course uniform pushed through the crowd, putting his fist in Izuku's face.
"Oi!" He shouted, scowling with his sharp teeth bared. His long eyelashes kind of killed any sort of intimidation factor, though. "I came to see the guys who were supposed to have beaten up some Villains, but you don't seem too tough! You better bring your 'A' game to the Festival, or I'll beat the snot out of you! Don't go embarrassing us!" Izuku sighed, a little tired of this.
"You talk a big game," he scowled, feeling a bit like Bakugou at the way it curled his lip unpleasantly, "but you weren't at the USJ."
Behind Izuku, Kirishima activated Hardening, slamming his fists together. "Yeah! We're the real deal!"
The boy smiled aggressively as he activated his Quirk- his flesh became like steel and made an awful clang as he slammed his own fists together. Kirishima groaned, muttering something about originality. "I've decided," their 1-B counterpart declared. "On behalf of Class 1-B, I'm declaring war, too. Remember the name- Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu!"
"Damn it, shut up already!" Bakugou shoved his way past the posturing boys and walked out of the classroom. "Quit socializing! These people don't matter. All that matters is who beats who, and I could take on these guys all at once. Hell, Deku could do it blindfolded. If you've got this much free time to waste fucking with us, spend it training." When Bakugou kept going, Izuku nodded politely to Tetsutetsu and Shinsou before following him. Uraraka and Iida were close on his trail, weaving through the dispersing crowd.
"That's the closest to a compliment I've gotten from you in a while," Izuku muttered, rubbing the back of his head. Bakugou huffed but didn't respond.
"In the end, you handled that fairly well, Class Rep." Iida patted Izuku on the shoulder. "Although, I would've preferred a slightly more diplomatic approach from Bakugou." When Bakugou raised an eyebrow at that, Iida chopped a hand. "No disrespect, of course! It was still a highly effective solution." Bakugou nodded after a moment, conceding the point. Iida breathed a sigh of relief. The four of them walked to the train station sharing little more than idle chatter.
Izuku's train came first. He waved goodbye to his friends and Bakugou as he got on, pulling out his notebook again after finding a seat. I won't be able to train every single Quirk I have in my possession, so I'll need to focus on what will be most important.Even as the train stopped and Izuku began the walk home, he continued to think, even beginning to mutter, a habit that he thought he had broken.
When he got home, Izuku did his homework in silence, ate dinner in silence, bathed in silence, and went to bed with a thousand ideas cycling through his brain. His brain was so focused that he didn't think about any of the boxes stacked in the living room.
-
Toshinori pressed down harshly on the small of Izuku's back, forcing him further down in a toe reach stretch. "Come, my boy, stretch! The mighty oak snaps in a great storm, but the palm tree bends! The better you can bend to the storm that is One for All, the better you can use it!"
Izuku's eyes watered as Toshinori pushed him so far down that he could grab his feet by the heels. He was forced to hold the pose for a few seconds longer before he was released. He fell back, panting in an effort to get some oxygen now that his lungs weren't so compressed.
Sighing, Toshinori stood. "That's the stretching. Now, up!" He took up an orthodox boxing stance, high and tight.
With a grunt of effort, Izuku took to his feet, putting his hands up. His mentor immediately got into it, throwing a swift cross that Izuku barely slipped. He followed it up with two more fierce blows, surprisingly strong despite his state, before he stopped. Izuku sharply exhaled through his nose as he counterattacked, but Toshinori simply dodged before rocking his student with an uppercut. Knocked flat for a moment, Izuku sprung back up after he made sure his head was still attached.
"Faster!" Toshinori shouted. "One for All depends on your own base skills. The faster and stronger that you are without it, the faster and stronger you'll be with it!"
"Yes, sir!" Izuku's fist flew forward in a swift jab, putting Toshinori on the defensive for a moment.
He slipped, bobbed, weaved, struck! Toshinori smirked as one particularly swift punch actually caught him, hitting him sharply in the side. "Good! Now, here." He dropped his stance, holding his hands palm out. "Strike work! Hit me!"
"Yes, sir!" Letting out short and quick breaths, Izuku hit the one-two on Toshinori's hands a few times before adding in an uppercut at the end. He started bobbing when Toshinori swung at him, then added another one-two after that. After a few solid minutes of that, Toshinori bopped him on top of the head, taking a seat. Izuku blinked, then sat next to him.
"You're making good progress, kid." Toshinori grinned, ruffling Izuku's hair. "You'll take my spot, yet."
Izuku sniffed, nodding. "Yes, sir!"
-
Izuku gritted his teeth as he pushed Hardening further, taking Kirishima's punch straight to the face. He promptly backed down, holding his nose. "Agh, ow...!" Concentration lost, his already weakened Hardening fell apart.
Kirishima dropped his own Hardening, taking a step forward. "Whoa, man, you good?"
Sighing, Izuku nodded, straightening out. "Yeah. Sorry about that. I thought I could take that hit head-on, but I guess I'm more tired than I thought. I really felt that one." He hissed as he tugged at his nose, thankful that it wasn't broken, at least. "Even considering that, your Hardening is still so much stronger than mine... it's like I'm a toddler compared to you."
"Could be," Kirishima muttered. "When I was a kid, I couldn't take a single blow without flinching, even with my skin Hardened. I was... weak for a long time."
"What?!" Izuku shouted. "No way, you're the strongest guy I know, right behind Kacchan!"
Kirishima laughed, but then his expression fell. "You should have seen yourself when that Noumu guy hit you. Your Hardened flesh was falling right off like gravel. Fat load of good it did."
Izuku blinked. "Kirishima... if I hadn't used Hardening then, I would have died. Your Quirk saved my life. I don't think that I could ever thank you enough."
Kirishima held a fist over his heart. "Bro...!"
"Bro..." Izuku Hardened once more, getting back into his stance. As he went once more on the defensive, he asked off-handedly, "By the way, your style... you've gotten training?"
"That's right," Kirishima answered, hitting Izuku with a fierce gyaku-tsuki, which was answer enough on its own. "In my first year of middle school, I signed up for karate lessons. It's been a little while, but I made it to a second-degree brown belt in my third year."
Izuku blinked, mouth agape in surprise. His distraction led to a punch in the gut, making him bowl over.
Kirishima winced, holding his hands up. "Sorry!"
-
"Need help with Zero Gravity?" Uraraka asked. "Sure! I'm floating some stuff for Ashido to melt, so you can help me with that. If you want?" she added nervously, smiling.
Ashido waved at Izuku. "Hey, Midori! Helping out Uraraka with her training? How cute!"
Blushing, Izuku ignored her. He picked up a large stone, about half the size of his head, and floated it. He tossed it up with a "hup!" and let Ashido go to work on it, using high intensity acid to melt through it. Uraraka tossed the next one, and they went back and forth like this until Izuku felt his stomach twist. His mouth filled with saliva, and he ran off.
Finding the nearest restroom, he scampered in, hurling into the nearest toilet he could throw himself at. He could hear footsteps, and Uraraka said, "Hey, Deku, are you… erp!" Apparently, the sound of Izuku's vomiting set her off since the next thing he heard was her bolting into the ladies' room.
When he finally exited the restroom, Uraraka was waiting for him with a bottle of water. He took it gratefully, drinking in small sips to ease his suddenly empty stomach. Uraraka smiled patiently at him. "Sorry," she said. "I knew you were still struggling with the nausea, but I didn't realize it was that bad. I haven't thrown up from floating normal stuff since I was a little kid."
Izuku huffed. "And how'd you fix that?
"By floating stuff! Like I said the other day, my parents work construction, so there were always things that needed floating. Usually, it was small stuff, like tools that were needed higher up or rocks that needed clearing, but as I got older, I also helped with the heavier equipment. Now I only get really vomit-y when I float myself."
"I see…" Izuku pinched his bottom lip. "This is gonna suck."
Uraraka laughed, slapping him on the back. "Yes, it is," she agreed.
-
"Fuck off."
Izuku took a step forward, pleading, "But, Kacchan, your Quirk-"
Bakugou kicked out Izuku's knee, making him buckle. "I know my Quirk is fuckin' awesome! I don't need you using it to prove that!" He turned around, walking further into the woods. While most of the woods around U.A. were off-limits, there was a section right by Gym Gamma that was allowed for training.
Grumbling, Izuku followed after him at a distance. Explosion was too powerful of a Quirk to ignore, but its owner wasn't exactly willing to give advice. But maybe if Izuku got a glimpse of what he was doing to train, then he could replicate it.
Stopping in a clearing, Bakugou took a long drink of water before immediately getting into aerobics, building up a significant sweat. At some point, apparently when he thought he had enough, Bakugou stood still. He raised his hands skyward and boom! He loosed a massive explosion.
Grinning to himself, Izuku scampered quietly back to the track and field in front of Gym Gamma, going for a run on the track. He did a few laps at a rapid pace, then halted. He raised his hands skyward and boom!He knocked himself flat on his ass.
He stood, wincing at his ringing ears. Should add some ear protection…
Unfortunately, because of his ringing ears, he didn't hear the cussing human missile locking onto his position to tell him to keep it down.
-
Izuku grimaced as he watched frost and flames flicker across either of his hands.
Half-Cold Half-Hot was a strong Quirk. Todoroki himself was one of the strongest in the class, so that was a given. But there was a certain edge to it, making it prone to firing off when Izuku got too excited. The same thing happened with Explosion when he got angry.
Many Quirks had emotional triggers, especially ones that depended heavily on a mental Quirk Factor. All Quirks had a mental Quirk Factor, of course, a part of the brain that said, "I want to freeze the water vapor in the air," or, "I want to use a certain percentage of my strength," and then relayed that to the physical Quirk Factors. But Quirks that relied on especially supernatural acts- say, for example, heating of the skin to the point of spontaneous combustion of the air surrounding it- relied more on the mental and thus were more prone to emotional swaying.
Izuku's training of the Half-Hot part consisted of controlling it; so, with thoughts of the Noumu almost killing All Might on his mind, Izuku took to beating the shit out of a punching bag until flames sprouted from him. When they did, he tamped them down, then resumed. Was it good training of his self-control? Yes. Was it healthy for his mental health? Ask Hound Dog.
He did practice more with the Half-Cold part, though, mainly trying to figure out how Todoroki could do such complicated things with it. Izuku could barely send ice out across the floor, let alone freeze an entire building.
Just what kind of training did he receive? Izuku wondered.
-
The Quirk of the Villain from the USJ- Izuku called it Water Control- was very strong, but it was also rather limited in its use. It needed a source of water, and it made Izuku sprout gills. Izuku was unsure of how useful it would be in the Sports Festival.
It did give an interesting insight into Quirk Copy, though. The gills that sprouted with it weren't actually a part of it, but rather, they were a Heteromorphic holdover from the Villain himself. If Izuku were to Copy Tokoyami's Quirk, he would get a bird's head, or if he Copied Kouda's, he'd get those rocky horns.
Theoretically, anyway. He didn't Copy either of their Quirks to check, but it certainly made sense.
Either way, despite its limited use, he still trained with it. He sat at the bottom of the school's pool, making more and more intricate shapes with it. Simple things, like tentacles and hands, were fairly easy to make. Conversely, more complicated structures like words or abstract shapes took a large amount of effort.
Asui actually helped him train this one up. Or, rather, he helped her train by making things like loop-de-loops for her to swim through. Nevermind her playful croaking as she swam through them, it was very serious training.
He did have fun, though.
-
Kurogiri's three Quirks had their uses, individually and together.
The Quirk that had seemed like the main one based on its strength was an Emitter that Izuku called Cloud. It made his hair turn light blue and gave it the look of a cirrus cloud, wavy and wispy. It let him transform the moisture in the air into clouds, ones solid enough to stand on and even ride on.
Using it with Half-Cold made it a snow cloud. Not a massive difference, nor a big advantage in a fight, but good to know regardless.
If Kurogiri's body was foggy because of Cloud, then the Mutant Quirk that Izuku called Null was what made him pitch-black. It transformed Izuku into a practical silhouette, the only parts that stuck out being his now glowing yellow eyes and the fleshy back of his neck. As far as Izuku could tell upon preliminary tests, the only thing Null changed was his appearance.
Combining Cloud with Null made another Quirk, one Izuku called Amorphous Body. Izuku could essentially spread his body out in one massive cloud like this, though his "real" body stayed connected to his neck.
The actual teleportation part of Kurogiri's Warp Gate was a Quirk Izuku dubbed Shift. It acted more like traditional teleportation, transporting him to a point that he looked at within a short distance. The range was, quite frankly, pathetic.
Combining Null and Shift turned Izuku himself into a portal; since it was a portal to nowhere, it might be more appropriate to call it a black hole. When Izuku stuck a pencil into himself with this Quirk active, he couldn't retrieve it, and it didn't reappear in any shape or form after Izuku dropped the Quirk. Appropriately- and not wanting to step on a certain Space Hero's toes- he called this combination Wormhole.
Combining Shift and Cloud let Izuku make placeable portals, but either part of the portal had to be within a short distance from the other, and neither portal could last for long if Izuku wandered off. For simplicity's sake, Izuku called it Portal.
Overall, an absolutely exhausting Quirk, but an undeniably useful one.
-
Disregarding Quirk training and his regular regimen, Izuku had a new way of working out: lifting actual weights, thanks to the school gym. Sure, he had that dumbbell back at home, but using it was barely a warm-up anymore; Izuku needed to pack on some serious muscle if he wanted to use One for All to its full potential.
The only other students in the gym when Izuku walked in for the first time were Shouji and Hagakure. Shouji was using all of his limbs as traditional arms, each hand holding a dumbbell weighing 20 kilograms. Hagakure, on the other hand, was still going through stretches, though she looked like she was already sweating.
Izuku greeted them politely, then tossed his bag and jacket onto a nearby bench, leaving him in a tank top and track pants. After Shouji was done with his set, he spotted Izuku while he went through a set of bench reps. After that, he noticed that Hagkure had managed to jump up onto a pull-up bar, and was struggling to do one. Not one to leave a classmate hanging- literally- he approached from behind as she finally dropped down with a whine.
"You good?"
Gasping in surprise, Hagakure turned, gripping the hem of her jacket and looking away like she had just been caught doing something embarrassing. "Class Rep! Er, I'm just, uh-"
"Struggling to do a pull-up?"
Hagakure sighed, shaking her hands. "Yeah, I guess so. Sorry, I should be able to do it, I just..."
Izuku laughed lightly, shaking his head. "No need to beat yourself up! Pull-ups are harder than they look. Here, watch me."
Standing on his toes and gripping the bar, Izuku looked back. "The most important thing is knowing what muscles you're using. Pull-ups target your back, arms and core. Now, you want a grip slightly wider than your shoulders, with your arms fully extended. Straighten out as much as possible, lock your ankles together, and flex your core. Then..." He began the motion just slightly, his shoulder blades moving but his elbows still straight. "At this point, it should be just your lats pulling you up. Notice how my shoulder blades have moved? It helps me to imagine that I'm bending the bar towards myself for this part."
Hagakure nodded quickly, judging by the rapid motion of her hairclips, and she wiped what might have been her mouth with her hand. "Uh huh..."
"This is actually a pretty good workout in and of itself- it's called a scapular pull-up. From here," he pulled himself up the rest of the way, "you keep your... huff, your back engaged. Don't shrug your shoulders. You'll... hurt yourself like that." He finally lowered himself, dropping down and panting slightly. "Ugh, it's hard to talk while doing that. Do you want to try again?"
With hesitant body language, Hagakure stood up on her tippy-toes to grab the bar, straining to pull herself up. Izuku's hands hovered by her waist, and he looked up at what might be her eyes when her head whipped back. "May I?"
She seemed to stare at him for a moment, before the motion of her hairclips indicated a nod. "Sure..."
"It pays dividends to have a gym partner, you know." Izuku took the girl by the waist and lifted her, laughing at her quiet "eep!" He helped the invisible girl do five pull ups, and he gave a thumbs up when she finally dropped down. "Good job! Keep it up, and you'll stand out for sure." Without a word, Hagakure dipped into a quick bow and ran out of the gym with her bag, leaving behind a confused Izuku.
"Hey." Izuku turned to look at Shouji, who was staring him down from a nearby bench. "Are you doing that on purpose?"
Izuku blinked, tilting his head. "Doing what?"
"Alright, just checking. Help me with this next set?"
-
As a whole, Izuku devoted himself to his training. It was slow progress, unbearably slow, but each day brought a new understanding- Explosion could be used this many times at the same level, or Hardening could harden this much for this long, or Todoroki's Quirk could reach this level before producing flames. So as the day of the Sports Festival finally arrived, Izuku was confident in his ability and his knowledge.
Izuku woke up earlier than usual to get one last run in before going to school. His sneakers beat hard on the ground, and hot breath escaped between his teeth. He smiled for the cold pre-dawn world to see as he ran.
This is it. This is my chance to show everyone what kind of person will become a new Symbol of Peace.
Izuku whooped as he pumped a fist into the air. He quickly looked around, embarrassed at his outburst.