Ch. 11: All In
"Deku, this time, you're going to talk, you hear me?!" Bakugou shouted as he shoved Iida and Minoru out of his way and stood in Izuku's face, his own seething with rage. He should've figured that something like this would have happened considering what happened the last two times Bakugou interacted with him. Izuku sighed before looking past him to his friends.
"This might take a while. Why don't you guys go on ahead?" Iida looked at Izuku with baffled shock.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?!"
"You didn't hear him?" Bakugou growled at Iida's protest, "Leave, extras!" Izuku winked at Minoru, who tensely nodded.
"Come on, Iida," Minoru suggested with a nervous look, "We'll just be in the way here."
"A-Alright," Iida then turned back to Bakugou with a stern look, "But no fighting!"
"Get lost already!" Bakugou yelled, causing the two to walk away.
"So, what do you want to talk about?"
"Don't act like you don't know!" Bakugou barked, "First, you've been missing for years, reported dead even, and then you show up while being dead last year, and then just show up here at U.A. while your mom is working here as if nothing happened. Then, there's your quirk. Nothing about you makes sense. You were fine and yet never came home. Now talk!" Izuku took a mental note of everything he was asked before motioning to his room.
"You want to sit down? It's not a short story," Izuku walked into his room with Bakugou following. Izuku sat down in his chair while Bakugou stood at the door after he closed it, preventing Izuku from walking out, "Okay… where to start?"
Minoru and Iida rode the elevator down to ground level in silence. The tall student fiddled with his hands anxiously as Minoru took deep breaths to calm himself.
'It's Izuku we're talking about here. It'll be fine… I should let his mom know what's going on up there though since it's important."
"Do you think it was really okay to leave them alone?" Iida asked as he stared at the door as they arrived at the bottom, "Bakugou doesn't strike me as the… kind for calm, pleasant discourse…"
"Well, if he has to, I'm sure Zuku will just warp away if things get hectic…" Minoru walked out of the elevator to see the class forming a circle in the common room chairs and couches. There were a few pillows laid out around a table in a crescent formation with one pillow alone on the other side. Minoru and Iida walked over to see a deck of cards and chips in a briefcase that Kaminari was fiddling with.
"Are they planning on playing poker?" Iida asked incredulously.
"Hey guys, glad you can join us!" Ashido yelled out from her chair. Ochako turned around with a smile but noticed who was missing.
"Where Izu?"
"Dealing with Bakugou," Minoru stated as he took a seat next to her on the couch. The room went silent as they noticed what he said.
"We… aren't going to find a dead body up there, are we?"
"Well, I haven't heard a building-shaking explosion yet so the body will most likely be Boomstick's," Minoru quipped with a shrug.
"Mineta, you should not talk that way about a fellow student," Iida chastised to which Minoru just blew a raspberry.
"I "shouldn't" doesn't mean I "wouldn't," Minoru then turned to Tsu, "So we're going to have this get together over cards?"
"Kaminari wanted something to do rather than us just sitting around and talking."
"Ah. So, how's this all going down?"
"Well, I figured Todoroki and Bakugou aren't interested so that leaves eighteen of us," Kaminari began, "We'll have six players at once and we'll have the winners play each other in a final three. Losers will have to have to tell a little about themselves to the class. Like your quirk and why you wanted to be a hero. Sound fair?" Minoru nearly panicked since his reason for being there was… less than wholesome. He just barely managed to keep a straight face before speaking.
"A-and the winners get off saying nothing?"
"Well, they get to talk last."
"That sounds fair. It will also allow us to get an idea of how we all approach competition." Iida added.
"You know, provided any of us are looking for that," Minoru snarked. Kaminari went about explaining to everyone that didn't know how to play the rules of hold 'em poker after setting up the chips.
"Oh, and when you sit down, you should give your name!"
"So, who's first?" Jirou asked as she fiddled with her headphone jacks. Minoru looked around the room and saw no one really moving. Suddenly, Ochako slid over onto the nearest cushion.
"Ochako Uraraka is ready to play!" she said with a cheer. Minoru shrugged with a groan before plopping himself down next to her.
"Minoru Mineta,"
"No, you've got to say 'ready to play', Mino!" Eri cried from Tsu's lap.
"Yeah, 'Mino'," Tsu smirked.
"Shut it, Tsu," Minoru cleared his throat before trying his best heroic voice, "Minoru Mineta is ready to play!"
"Yeah, that's it!" Eri cheered, bringing a smile to the whole class. A large, muscular man sat down next.
"Rikido Sato is ready to play!" He spoke with boisterous confidence. He was followed by the blond boy with the massive tail.
"Mashirao Ojiro is ready to play," He said calmly. Next was the bird-headed student.
"Fumikage Tokoyami is ready to play," Tokoyami introduced in a serious, deep voice.
"Mina Ashido is ready to play!" Ashido shouted with energy. Minoru looked at the last cushion that was empty.
"So… who's the dealer? Are we having a dedicated dealer or are we rotating?" Minoru asked. Everyone immediately looked at each other in confusion, suddenly realizing that they didn't have one, "Wow, great job, Kaminari. Way to think ahead."
"Hey, shut up! I thought someone was gonna volunteer!"
"Well, if you need a dealer," The group looked to the approaching Inko, "I could fill the part."
"You don't have work to do?"
"Well, you kids have been keeping everything clean for me so I don't work too much. I see you all trying to bond and I can't help but want to join in." She said with a motherly smile.
"Well, we have our dealer now! Let's go, go, go!" Ashido cried out as Inko took a seat and shuffled the deck with a skilled hand, showing she's had some experience with a deck of cards.
Bakugou and Izuku stared at each other in silence as Bakugou processed everything he'd been told. Izuku sat with one leg crossed over the other as he watched his supposed friend, who was still angry but for a different reason than before.
"You expect me to buy any of that bullshit?" Bakugou snarled as he closed the distance between the two, "That you just lost your memory after being kidnapped by a supervillain and fed a quirk and then spent the last few years living on the streets with that gray-haired brat?"
"No, I don't, but it's the truth."
"Okay, then answer me this: Why would U.A. let in someone who's never been to any school? Why would they let in a random kid off the street? Why would they let in someone who supposedly has connections to a supervillain? Why would a supervillain want some quirkless loser like you?"
"You'd have to ask Principal Nezu since he's the one that gave me the opportunity in the first place," Izuku leaned back into his chair, watching the disbelieving look on Bakugou's face, "As for why I was kidnapped, who knows? I'm still trying to answer that myself. It's fine if you don't believe me. You can talk to Aizawa, the principal, All Might, Detective Tsukauchi, and have them explain it to you. Though trust me, you'll be wasting your time and will just be getting the exact same story. If you don't want to believe me, deal with it, cause we're done here."
"Hell no, we-" *Pop* "THAT LITTLE SHIT!" Bakugou screamed as he ran from the room, completely oblivious to the ear that was phasing through the ceiling. The ear phased back out and disappeared without a sound.
"I'll raise," *Pop* "Oh, sounds like Zuku won," Minoru joked as he added more chips to the pot.
"There wasn't a fight," Izuku corrected as he walked up behind his friend. He raised an eyebrow at the class playing poker with his mother dealing but quickly accepted that it was a thing that was happening. He saw the flop as a five of clubs, three of hearts, and seven of hearts.
"Oh, so you ran for it?" Tsu quipped, and got a shrug in return.
"More or less. He was being difficult so I saw no reason to stay. He should be stomping down here any second now."
"You really shouldn't be causing problems, Izuku," Izuku's Bio Scanner picked up on Bakugou as he stormed down the steps, only to stop just before entering into the common room. Bakugou noticed Inko and decided it would be best to back off for now. He'd get his moment.
"I'm trying but he keeps coming to me," Izuku took a seat next to Tsu and Eri wasted no time climbing onto him. "Who's winning?"
"Mino."
"Really?" Izuku raised his eyebrow.
"Surprised me too," Tsu shrugged.
"Both of you can go..." He stopped himself, remembering Eri was in the room, "...eat a bowl of fudge."
"Oh, that sounds so good right now," Sato said as he pushed all his chips in.
"He's got a four and a six." Tokoyami remarked as he folded. Everyone followed suit until it got to Ochako, who also went all in.
"Whoa, that's crazy!"
"What's she playing for?"
"Let me guess: You've got a pair in there?" Minoru asked as he pointed to her cards.
"You'll have to wait and see like everyone else," she answered with a less than confident smile. Minoru folded, leaving Ochako and Sato to reveal their cards before the last two cards were revealed. Ochako had a five of hearts and a five of diamonds while Sato had a four of clubs and six of diamonds.
"So, Sato's already got a straight and Uraraka has got to get the five of spades to win," Kaminari said as the turn card was played. King of spades. Everyone was on the edge of their seats as Inko laid down the river card.
"Are you serious right now?!" Sato shouted as the miracle five of spades appeared, completing Ochako's four of a kind.
"Yeah, let's go, Ochako!" Minoru shouted as he and his friend shared a high five. Ochako cheered as she scooped up the pot.
"Alright, Sato, you lost so you have to tell us your quirk and why you want to be a hero," Kirishima explained as Sato took a seat next to him.
"My quirk is Sugar Rush which lets me get stronger the more sugar I eat," He said with a flex of his massive biceps, "And I guess I wanted to become a hero because I wanted to get stronger."
"Oddly unspecific," Izuku quipped, quirk notebook in hand.
"It's a bit embarrassing. I've got people I want to keep safe and I need to be strong to do that."
"That is a respectable ambition, Sato." Iida reassured, "Nothing at all to be embarrassed over." Sato nodded with a big smile before Inko started dealing the next game. Mina was the next one out after four hands of struggling.
"Gah! I couldn't get a good hand!" she cried as she fell back onto the floor, "My turn, I guess. My quirk is Acid which lets me make… well, acid from anywhere on my body. I wanted to become a hero after I saved some of my friends from this really big dude that was harassing us."
"That must have been scary."
"I was about ready to brick it, not gonna lie." The game continued with Tokoyami and Ojiro losing in the same hand to Minoru on the very next round.
"You want to start?" Ojiro asked as he shrugged off the loss. Tokoyami sighed before a shadowy figure appeared out of his stomach.
"Hey everybody, how's it going!"
"AH, it talks!" Hagakure screamed.
"Did you not notice it could earlier?" Yaoyorozu asked, confused why it was so surprising.
"My quirk is Dark Shadow, which lets me manifest a shadow out of my body. He's fully sentient so he has a will of his own."
"I also can do some pretty nifty party tricks!" Everyone was speechless. Not because of his quirk, but because his quirk's personality was so much different from his master's.
"I wish to be a hero of the night like some of the underground heroes that worked in my town."
"My quirk is Tail, which just gives me this large tail," Ojiro began, "And my family runs a martial arts dojo so I figured I'd put my skills to the test as a hero." Izuku gasped quietly as he leaned back into the couch. His thoughts drifted to Tai and his time at the dojo before Tsu snapped him out of it with a gentle nudge. He shook his head and returned to the game at hand, now down to Minoru and Ochako.
"You know what, why don't we just go all in and whatever happens, we live with it."
"You must have a good hand."
"I don't know. I haven't seen the flop yet. I could have an ace and a king but it ain't gonna help me if there's no good cards." The two bet all in and revealed their cards. Minoru had a ten of hearts and a jack of diamonds while Ochako had an eight and nine of spades. Inko dealt the flop, a ten of diamonds, a two of clubs, and a queen of clubs. The turn, a nine of hearts. Everyone waited silently as the river card was…
"Ah, crap!" Minoru crashed his head into the table. A jack of clubs, "Of course that happens!"
"Looks like you lost, Minoru," Ochako remarked as she let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding.
"Yeah, looks like it," Minoru stood up to stretch, "My quirk is Pop Off, which causes these grapes to grow out of my head. They stick to anything that isn't me and I'm bounced off of them." He took a deep breath before continuing, "I wanted to become a hero to help my friends be better heroes."
"Lies," Tsu muttered under her breath, though no one seemed to notice. Ochako stood up next.
"My quirk is Gravity Shift and it lets me lower or increase the effects of gravity on anything I touch with all five fingers. I… want to be a hero to help support my family…" She stated, a little embarrassed to admit it.
"Well, there's nothing wrong with wanting to work to make a living! I think it's a good goal to have." Iida encouraged her, bringing a wide smile to Ochako's face when everyone agreed.
"Alright, who's next?"
"I'll give it a go," Izuku said as he traded seats with Ochako. Izuku handed Minoru his notebook to take notes on the class's quirks for him.
"You've got to say your name and that you're ready to play!" Eri ordered. Izuku snickered before pulling off a little trick he'd been practicing.
"I'm Izuku Midoriya and I'm ready to play!" He said in a perfect imitation of All Might's voice, amazing everyone.
"Wow, that sounded exactly like All Might!"
"Is it just me, or did his face kinda look like All Might's for a second there too?"
"Can you do that again?"
"There will be no encores." The invisible girl was next.
"I'm Toru Hagakure and I'm ready to play!"
"It'll probably be hard to read her…" Ochako remarked.
"She still seems like an open book to me," Tsu added. Iida sat down next.
"Tenya Iida and I'm ready to play!" He shouted a bit too enthusiastically.
"Kinda like him."
"I'm Eijiro Kirishima and I'm ready to play!" Kirishima exclaimed with a determined fire.
"I'm Denki Kaminari and I'm ready to play!"
"Kyoka Jirou and I'm ready to play, I guess," Jirou stated, a bit nervous in front of the class as she took a seat next to Kaminari. The first hand was dealt after everyone got their 2500 points in chips. Izuku looks at his face down cards and comes up with an idea to get this over with faster so he can get back to taking notes on his classmates. He didn't even look at his cards and waited for it to be his turn. That's when he began.
"All in on the first hand?" Inko asked as her son just nodded with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Minoru just rolled his.
"Oh boy, here we go," The whole table just folded immediately, allowing Izuku to win what was effectively nothing more than the big and small blinds together and nothing else.
"If you don't mind me saying a friendly word of advice: Don't try and raise my blind," Izuku says as he looks at his cards and then shows his nine of spades and a two of hearts.
"Wow, that is a garbage hand," Minoru commented with a chuckle.
"Wait, don't tell me... " Jirou muttered under her breath. 'Did Midoriya even look at his hand?'
Next hand, all in, everyone folds.
"Oh, they listened!" Izuku smirked as he checked his hand. Ten of hearts and two of diamonds; another pair of terrible cards.
"Dude, you're not even looking at your cards?" Kaminari complained as the next hand was dealt
"Whoa, that is manly as hell!" Kirishima exclaimed as Izuku again bet all in.
"I don't really care. It's just a game of cards," Kirishima looks at his hand, an ace and jack of clubs and decides it's time to make a move. He bets all in with Izuku and shows his hand. Everyone else folds. "I don't know what I have," Izuku flips over the cards, "I have a two and… a two," He shrugs as he sets the cards down, "Interesting hand."
"So, to recap, we have Kirishima who's made a calculated move against Zuku, who didn't even know what his cards were," Minoru pointed out, "You want a guess who wins, Eri?"
"Big bro!" Just as she said that, the flop came down. A six of spades, a three of diamonds… and a two of hearts. She called it.
"That's a good flop right there," Izuku joked as Kirishima just stared at the cards in disbelief. He already lost on the third hand. Izuku collected his winnings as Kirishima stood up to speak.
"Uh, my quirk is Hardening, which makes my skin hard as a rock and I wanted to become a hero like my favorite hero, Crimson Riot!"
"Wow, that is old school!" Izuku's eyes began to shine as the talk became about pro heroes, "Actually, his quirk was like yours since he could make his hair as hard as stone too!"
"Yeah, you got it!" Kirishima exclaimed, "I want to be as manly and tough as him one day and that's why I'm here!" Kirishima took a seat on one of the couches and the game resumed.
All in, everyone folds. All in, everyone folds. All in, everyone folds. All in, everyone folds. All the while, having no idea what his hands were at any point before winning. The next hand, Izuku is last to act and doesn't even get to go all in because everyone folded before it even got to him. Ochako, Minoru and Tsu have big smiles on their faces as Izuku basically turns the card game into a farce. The next hand, Kaminari was dealt a ten of hearts and an ace of spades and decided to go all in as well. Izuku's hand was a ten and seven of spades as the flop came down as a five of diamonds, a queen of hearts and a queen of spades.
"Two spades or a seven and Zuku wins."
Next card: Seven of clubs.
"Damnit!" Kaminari screeched.
"Hey! There's a kid here!" Jirou reprimanded.
"Sorry!" Kaminari's turn to speak as he stood up, "My quirk is Electrification which lets me cover my body in electricity and I can also shoot it out too. I wanted to be a hero because… well heroes are cool and I wanted to be like them too."
"Such noble goals," Minoru stated.
"You're one to talk," Tsu rebutted, calling Minoru out on his nonsense. Next hand, it's Iida's turn to go all in. They show the cards and he has Izuku dominated. Iida's hand, a king of hearts and queen of clubs versus Izuku's queen of spades and jack of clubs. The community cards, a king of spades, jack of spades, a seven of diamonds and a nine of hearts.
"This looks bad for Izu."
"He can at least tie if he hits a ten." Tsu stated. The river, and the ten comes down, splitting the pot between Izuku and Iida.
"What even is this game anymore?" Hagakure asks aloud, "Ten hands straight and Midoriya is still here!" A few hands later, Hagakure tries her luck… and she's gone too.
"My quirk is obviously Invisibility and I've always wanted to be a super stealthy hero that stops bad guys before they even see me coming!" She leaves the table and the game continues. All in, everyone folds ensues.
"Izuku, do you have any plans on playing like a normal person?" Iida askes after the sixteenth hand in a row where he's pulled this stunt.
"No, not really," He shook his head, "I've actually been trying to get eliminated from the game if you can believe it.
"I certainly can because no one plays like this!" Kaminari emphasized just how crazy Izuku's playing is. Eventually, after a few more hands, Jirou can take no more.
"I'm out. My quirk's Earphone Jack and it lets me pick up on small vibrations when they're plugged into something. I can also turn my heartbeat into a sonic blast while I'm at it," she said as she got up and walked to the bathroom.
"Wait, why'd you want to be a hero?"
"Cause I did," She answered as she shut the door behind her.
"Well, good enough for me," Izuku quipped, going all in again. Iida tried to challenge him and was smacked back down. He rolled up his pants to show off the exhaust pipes in his legs.
"My quirk is Engine and it allows me super speed due to the engines in my legs. I wish to become a hero to follow in my family's footsteps!" Izuku suddenly realized why Iida's quirk was familiar to him.
"Wait… Iida, is your family in charge of the Team Idaten, run by Ingenium?"
"Yes, indeed! He's my older brother and I wish to become a hero as great as he is!"
"You've got a long way to go, 'chatterbox'," Minoru reminded Iida, causing Iida to tense up. Everyone looked to Izuku since he was the winner.
"My quirk is Targeted Warp. I can mark anything my palm or the bottom of my foot touches and warp it to me or I can warp anything I touch to the marks. I want to be a hero because I've always admired them and wanted to be like All Might, a hero who saves the day with a smile on his face," Everyone nodded at Izuku's goal before stopping for dinner and moving on to the next round afterwards. Tsuyu, Mezo Shoji, Koji Koda, a boy with a hulking frame and an uneven, rocky head, Yuya Aoyama, Hanta Sero, and Momo Yaoyorozu all gather around the table to begin.
Koda was first, trying the same strategy as Izuku to lose as fast as possible. Unlike Izuku, he succeeded before using sign language to talk, forcing Inko to translate.
"His quirk is Anivoice which lets him talk and command animals. He wants to become a hero so he can become braver."
"Mom, you know sign language?"
"There's a lot of things you don't know I can do, honey," Minoru had to stop himself from snickering, lest Tsu or Izuku slapped the taste out of his mouth.
"Wait, if he talks to animals, why can't he talk to us?"
"I think he's just shy and can't find the words." Koda nodded before sitting down on the couch. After that, the game began in earnest, taking quite a while before Aoyama finally lost.
"A shame but I can't be perfect at a game I've never played before," He spoke haughtily before standing and striking a pose, "My quirk is Navel Laser, allowing me to shoot a magnificent laser out of my stomach! I wish to become a hero to sparkle on a grand stage."
"Sounds like you're in the wrong profession. You'd probably do better as an idol or something." Aoyama, still smiling but face dark, turned his head towards Minoru, neck cracking as he did.
"Did you say something?" Voice intimidating despite his goofy appearance.
"Nope! Nonononono nope not me!"
"Good to hear it!" Aoyama sat down and the game continued. Shoji would be the next one to lose, unable to get anything going against the expression less Tsu's poker face and Yaoyorozu's calculated moves. Shoji turned one of the stumps of his webbed arms into a mouth to speak.
"My quirk is Dupli-arms and I can create any body part from the tentacles under my arms. I want to be a hero as it seemed like the best fit for me." Sero followed suit on the next hand, losing all his chips to Tsuyu.
"My quirk is Tape and I can shoot out super strong tape from my elbows! I want to be a hero because heroes are awesome!" the room was silent for a moment as they took in what he said.
"Fair enough, moving on," Izuku replied, breaking the silence. The showdown between Tsuyu and Yaoyorozu. A battle that lasted about fifteen hands too long for everyone else.
"You know what, want to just call it a draw, ribbit?"
"Yeah, this appears to be going nowhere…" Yaoyorozu agreed as the two finally gave up.
"My quirk is Frog. I can do anything a frog can. I want to be a hero to help my friends and protect my family," Tsu explained dryly.
"My quirk is Creation. I can create any non-living material that I know the molecular makeup of. I wish to continue the family business of being a Pro Hero, not unlike Iida."
"Well, you all seem to be having fun," The class jumped in their seats a little as Aizawa walked up to the class.
"Mr. Aizawa, sir!" Iida shouted as he stood at attention like a soldier.
"At ease, Iida," He then turned back to the class as a whole, "Just here to remind you that lights out is in thirty minutes. You'd best be getting ready for bed."
"Oh crap, he's right!" Kirishima shouted as he looked at his phone.
"I guess that means no finals," Kaminari lamented as everyone started to get ready to leave for the showers or to their rooms.
"Have a good night," Aizawa said as he turned to leave.
"Mr. Aizawa," Izuku spoke up, stopping everyone, "Can I ask a question?"
"Yes?"
"Were you actually lying when you said you were going to throw one of us out?"
"I didn't, didn't I?"
"I was just wondering since…" Izuku leaned over the couch to face his teacher, "Your quirk wouldn't let you pass the entrance exam." Aizawa's eyebrows quirked up in surprise. The room went still for a few tense seconds before Midoriya continued, "Your quirk only lets you turn off other quirks but you can't do that to every single person, especially the ones in a completely different zone than you. There's also the fact that it doesn't make you any better at fighting robots so getting points would be much harder for you. If you had taken that test at the same age and experience as the rest of us, you would've failed that test, no questions asked."
"...Not bad, Midoriya," Aizawa smiled slightly, impressed by Izuku's reasoning before he turned back to his students, "You're right in a way. I wasn't going to expel someone just for being in last place but if any single one of you didn't give one hundred percent today, it wouldn't have mattered one bit what place you had. Take Yaoyorozu for example. First place in my test and admitted on recommendations from her family. Had she shown even an ounce less effort, I would have offered one warning before throwing her out," Yaoyorozu gasped. Izuku wondered if it was from how cold their teacher could be or the fact that she was wrong about the nature of the test, "You'd be gone, and I would have gladly given your place to a more deserving student that wasn't able to pass that illogical farce of a test. However, you each proved to me that you deserve to stay, so as long as you continue to give everything you've got, you don't need to fear me removing you from my class." The class wanted to breathe a sigh of relief but the tense atmosphere remained. Aizawa, once again, turned to leave. "Tomorrow is orientation and the day after will be your first real day of school. 8:25, Try not to be late."
Leaving the class alone to ponder what he said, Aizawa walked out for the night.
Izuku woke up for the first real day of school feeling pretty good. The day before was literally nothing but orientation and receiving his syllabus for the year before returning to the dorms. He at least got to spend most of it organizing the information on his classmates' quirks that he got from their poker night. He got a full night's sleep and was ready to get at it to become the hero he knew he could be. He just needed to overcome his first obstacle.
He still had no idea how to tie a tie. Izuku looked at the long, red piece of fabric like it was some sort of alien space weapon as he tried to imagine how in the world he was going to get this demonic looking thing on. He had his mom do it the day before but he accidentally untied it and had no idea how to put it back on. It was part of the uniform so he couldn't just say "screw it" and leave it at that. He left his room and knocked on Minoru's door, causing the tired purple teen to answer. He was dressed for the day with a perfectly tied tie, which emboldened Izuku.
"Hey, do you know how to tie a tie?"
"Just look up a video on the internet, dude,"
"This is faster, though,"
"Ugh... fiiiiine…" Izuku kneeled down at Minoru's level and with a skilled hand, expertly tied the tie in a few seconds. "Now just make sure you don't undo the tie fully this time because I ain't tying it again."
"Thanks man,"
"You'll owe me." The two walked downstairs and ate breakfast with the rest of the class. Izuku couldn't help but smile at how lively the class actually was, even with a few of the less social students being talkative.
After walking to school, classes began in earnest. The morning consisted of homeroom where Aizawa just reminded them of how much he's expecting of them for the coming year, followed by… ordinary school subjects. Math, English, art, literature, it was no different from any other school in the world. Though it wasn't like Izuku had much to compare it too as he did everything he could to focus and learn. He was several years behind the rest of the school and he had to work hard to catch up in academics. Though with his teachers being Ectoplasm, Present Mic, Midnight, and Cementoss, all heroes, he found it both easy and hard to concentrate. Easy because he was focused on them. Hard because he wasn't focused on what they were teaching. At the very least, his best friend Minoru was right behind him which helped since Bakugou was also a seat ahead... and for some reason, he didn't have to wear a tie, irritating Izuku as he adjusted the demon fabric around his neck.
Next came lunch, where Izuku got to fanboy over meeting Lunch Rush and wondered if the only people that were notheroes at the school were the dormitory caretakers.
Then… Class 1-A returned to their classroom and waited in silence for a minute. Izuku had Bio Scanner on to see who would be the teacher of their Fundamental Hero Studies, a wide smile on his face as his question was answered.
"I am… HERE!" The class perked up as the thunderous voice of the number one hero sounded through the door into the room. Said door was slammed open and in came All Might, "...Coming through the door LIKE A HERO!"
"Ah, I can't believe it's really All Might!" Sero squeed.
"So, he really is a teacher here!" Kirishima shouted in awe, "This year's going to be totally awesome!"
"Isn't that the Silver Age costume?" Tsu pondered.
"I'm getting goosebumps... it's so retro!" Ojiro muttered. The rest of the class just admired the great hero before them.
"Welcome to the most important class at U.A. High! Think of it as Heroing 101! Here, you will learn the basics of being a pro and what it means to fight in the name of good!" All Might reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, reading BATTLE on it. "Let's get into it! TODAY'S LESSON WILL PULL NO PUNCHES!"
"Fight training!" Bakugou exclaimed with a savage grin. Izuku was less enthused.
"Already?"
"But one of the keys to be a hero is… LOOKING GOOD!" All Might pressed a button on a remote, causing twenty briefcases to come out of the wall, "These were designed for you based on your requests and quirk registration forms." Izuku spied his briefcase, No. 18, and smiled. It wasn't made by a company.
Three weeks earlier
"Let's see… today's the deadline for the clothing allowance to get my costume. Put a lot of work into designing this so I hope it comes out okay…"
"Izuku, honey, I have a surprise for you…" Izuku looked up from his paperwork to see his mother holding a dark green costume. "Congratulations! I'm so proud of you, honey!"
"Is that..." Izuku looked down at his notebook containing his design for his costume. The costume wasn't a perfect transition from paper to product but it was so close he could almost not tell the difference. The white lines that ran up the arms and down the sides of his body were there as well as around the front pockets. It even had the hood he wanted. Izuku rose to his feet as his mom continued.
"I guess I jumped the gun a little. You left your notebook open on the kitchen counter when you last had your friends over and I might have stolen a peek."
"Seriously?" Izuku deadpanned.
"To be honest, I feel like I needed to make it up to you for not being able to be there for you when you were living out on the streets, trying to survive while people hunted you down. But now, you're going to be in the best hero course in the nation and I know you'll be great! So, I'll support you with everything I have from now on!" She handed him the costume as well as a belt, pads for his elbows and knees and the most important part for Izuku. A mask, unlike his kitsune mask, was one of a human face with a wide, toothy smile, like All Might's though Izuku made sure to avoid the direct resemblance.
'Mom put everything she had into making this costume for me so I'll wear it with pride.' Izuku walked with the class towards the Battle Center from the entrance exam. Halfway there, they ran into a surprise.
Class 1-B with Vlad King at the front, talking with Aizawa. The other class seemed just as confused as they were. The pros turned towards the arriving 1-A.
"Well, you guys took your sweet time."
"Mr. Aizawa, what's going on?" Iida inquired, "We were under the impression it was just our class today."
"Today, because Vlad's a crybaby," Vlad immediately started staring daggers into the back of the uncaring Aizawa's skull, "Class 1-B will be joining your battle training. The rest will be explained when you arrive at Ground Beta by All Might. As for me and Vlad, we'll be monitoring your growth as your homeroom teachers so we'll be watching your battles today. Now let's move, we're burning daylight."
"Yes sir!" The forty students and their teachers walked into the tunnel leading into Ground Beta.
"They say that clothes make the pros, young ladies and gentlemen and behold, you are the proof!" All Might spoke with pride as the students exited the tunnel, "Take this to heart, for now you are all heroes-in-training!" All Might surveyed the costumed crowd in front of him as his smile grew even wider. "This is getting me all riled up! You all look so cool! Now let's get started, you zygotes!"
Ochako turned around to see Izuku in his full costume, "Oh, wow, Izu, that looks good on you!" She said with enthusiasm that quickly faded into a bashful smile, "I guess I should have been more specific since they made my costume skin tight." She said as Izuku took in her costume. It was pink and black with a helmet that had a pink visor, "Not really my style,.
"Well, I think it works perfectly for you!" Izuku quickly reassured her, thankful that the mask hid his red face, "You'll be faster with a less bulky costume."
"Yeah maybe," She turned to see Minoru drooling a little in his purple head mask, bodysuit, yellow cape, gloves and pants with a utility belt. He was definitely enjoyingthe view, "Though, I wonder if I'm going to get unwanted attention."
"Minoru," Tsu warned as she walked up in her own green skin tight bodysuit and yellow goggles.
"Right, sorry." Minoru shook his head and wiped the drool off as looked around at the other costumes of the students, "Though a lot of these costumes are really impressive. It's interesting to wonder what half the stuff they asked for even does," Minoru then caught sight of Bakugou's costume and began to feel uneasy, "Like Boomstick's," the three turned to look where Minoru was pointing, "He doesn't strike me as the kind of person to go with things for aesthetics so what's with the big-ass grenade gauntlets?" Before the four could ponder anymore, All Might began to speak again.
"Now that all of you are ready, it's time for combat training!" All Might announced as Aizawa and Vlad King stood off to the side.
"Sir," Iida, clad in full knight-inspired armor with mufflers sticking out the back of his shoulders. "This is the fake city from the entrance exam. Are we conducting fake battles again?"
"Not quite! We're moving two steps ahead! Most of the villain fights you see on the news take place outside but statistically speaking, most run-ins with villains take place indoors. Home-invasions, backroom deals, secret underground lairs. The smart criminal hides in the shadows. In this exercise, you'll all be split into two teams of good guys and bad guys for a series of four on four indoor battles!"
"Isn't this a bit advanced?" Tsu asked, a little bit worried about her schoolmates fighting each other.
"The best training is the kind you get on the battlefield! Though now, you're not fighting robots, you're dealing with actual people now!"
"Sir, will you be deciding who wins?"
"How much can we hurt the other team?"
"Will you be splitting us up based on chance or comparative skill?"
"Does this cape not éblouir you?"
"At least let me finish!" All Might grumbled, overwhelmed by the massive influx of questions, amusing Aizawa a little. All Might pulled out a script, to the bemusement of everyone in attendance, "The situation is this: Villains have hidden a nuclear missile somewhere in their hideout and the heroes must retrieve it or capture every villain in the time limit of ten minutes. Likewise, the villains must protect the payload until time runs out or capture the heroes. You will all be split into groups of two with a fellow classmate by drawing lots and then, you will team up with a duo from the other class to form your four-person team." Everyone quickly looked to the other class in surprise. Iida raised his hand again.
"Is there a better way of determining teams besides lots?"
"Heroes often have to team up with other agencies on the spot so we're probably seeing that here because of that," Izuku reasoned behind his smile mask.
"I see. Life is a random series of events after all," Iida bowed to All Might, "Pardon my rudeness."
"No sweat! LET'S DRAW!" One by one everyone reached into one box designated for each class, organizing the teams as such:
Team A: Izuku Midoriya, Tsuyu Asui, Ibara Shiozaki, Kojiro Bondo
Team B: Shouto Todoroki, Mezo Shoji, Yui Kodai, Jurota Shishida
Team C: Ochako Uraraka, Minoru Mineta, Neito Monoma, Itsuka Kendo
Team D: Katsuki Bakugou, Tenya Iida, Reiko Yanagi, Kosei Tsuburaba
Team E: Mina Ashido, Yuya Aoyama, Pony Tsunotori, Manga Fukidashi
Team F: Rikido Sato, Koji Koda, Setsuna Tokage, Togaru Kamakiri
Team G: Kyoka Jirou, Denki Kaminari, Sen Kaibara, Juzo Honenuki
Team H: Momo Yaoyorozu, Fumikage Tokoyami, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Nirengeki Shoda
Team I: Toru Hagakure, Mashirao Ojiro, Hiryu Rin, Yosetsu Asawe
Team J: Eijiro Kirishima, Hanta Sero, Kinoko Kimori, Shihai Kuroiro
"And starting us off will be... THESE GUYS!" All Might reached into two boxes labeled "Hero" and "Villain" and pulled out two balls labeled "D" and "A" respectively. Izuku and Bakugou looked at each other, both shocked they were going to face each other. "Team D will be the heroes and team A will be the villains. Everyone else will follow Vlad and Aizawa to the monitoring room to watch!"
"Yes sir!" the rest of the student body obeyed as they left with the teachers, leaving the eight participants to follow All Might. Izuku handed Minoru his notebook before turning to face Bakugou, determined to make Bakugou respect him. They eventually arrived at the building involved for their test. Team A began to walk into the building after being handed maps to the location of the bomb.
"Young Midoriya, Young Asui, Young Shiozaki, and Young Bondo," All Might stopped them, with one last piece of advice, "The key to being successful in this challenge is to embody villainy and use your powers to do whatever it takes to win, though remember that this is a test. If things go too far, I'll step in. You have five minutes to prepare, so use it wisely."
"Understood," The team walked into the building, closing the door behind them. Bakugou just stared at the door, restless like a caged animal.
'Deku got away last time but he'll have nowhere to run now. Now, I'm going to flatten that ant for thinking he could fool me with that bullshit story!'