Ch. 13: Reality Check
Team J Vs Team H
"RARGH!" *Ding* "ARGH!" *Thud*
The sounds of Kirishima and Tetsutetsu exchanging blows in an almost rhythmic fashion filled the empty hallways as Kirishima would deliver a rock-hard blow to Tetsutetsu, only for the metal skinned teen to strike back just as hard.
It was also really boring to watch and repetitive as all hell as a straight right hook and tanking the counter seemed to be the extent of their combat strategy.
"How long do you think they'd go at it without a time limit?" Minoru asked, baffled at how silly the fight looked.
"I dunno, maybe six years, give or take," Izuku snarked while he wrote in his notebook.
Meanwhile on the top floor near the bomb, the rest of Team J arrived to find the whole floor completely dark.
"Well, this sucks," Sero complained before a large claw wrapped around him and Komori. Kuroiro turned to help but was punched in the gut and then sent flying by another impact by a dark figure.
"We've captured Sero and Komori," Tokoyami reported, though before All Might could say anything...
"No, you haven't!" Komori countered, releasing a massive cloud of spores from her body, covering everywhere around her in mushrooms, including her opponents… and their windpipes.
"Can't… breathe…" Shoda wheezed as he started coughing up literal full-grown mushrooms. Tokoyami dropped Sero, who immediately wrapped both in tape to capture them.
"Young Tokoyami and Young Shoda have been captured! Two villains remaining!"
"You go on ahead. I'll help these two with the mushrooms so don't worry about me." Sero nodded as he looked to a returning Kuroiro, who was favoring his stomach as he walked over.
"I see better in the dark so keep a hand on my shoulder." Sero nodded as he was led around the top floor. They eventually came across a room with a closed door. Both men tried valiantly but couldn't open the door at all. Sero tried from outside but found the windows completely covered for the whole floor.
"She blocked the door and the windows. We need Kirishima if we're gonna get in since I can't just swing in," Kuroiro nodded before putting a hand to his earpiece.
"Kirishima, we require assistance on the top floor," Silence.
"Kirishima?" More silence.
"He's gone dark. What a miserable fate for us." Downstairs in the punch box lunchbox, the two tanks continued their unyielding macho slugfest, too focused on their brawl to think about anything else.
"TIME'S UP! The Villain team wins!"
"Damn, we didn't even get a chance," Sero complained as he and Kuroiro walked away, leaving Yaoyorozu locked in the room.
"Hello? Anyone?" Yaoyorozu sighed heavily before pulling out a pack of C4 and a detonator from her stomach, "I'll just let myself out then."
Back with the two brawlers who finally stopped after time ran out, both looked at each other with fierce looks on their faces while panting from the exertion.
"Looks like a draw," Kirishima noted as he saw the others walking down the stairs.
"For now," Tetsutetsu agreed, "BUT I'LL BEAT YOU NEXT TIME!"
"WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!" Kirishima then looked at everyone who arrived, before noticing something was wrong. "Where's Yaoyorozu?"
*Boom*
Everyone suddenly looked up at the sound of an explosion from the top floor and put the pieces together.
"Oh, I was wondering what we were forgetting…" Sero muttered as he rubbed his neck sheepishly.
Team G Vs Team I
"The bomb is on the fourth floor with the rest of them all in the room waiting for us," Jirou explained as she listened in with her ear jacks.
"Is the entire building metal?" Kaminari asked his teammates.
"Should be," Honenuki answered as he knocked a hand against the metal walls, "Why?"
"I got an idea! Everyone out!"
"Why does that scare me?" Kaibara asked, dread filling his body as the three teammates all ran from the building. Kaminari, chuckling to himself at the supposed genius of his plan, started emitting sparks from his hands before slamming them both into the wall, sending a massive current throughout the entire building. Over the crackling of the electricity, the screams of four others could be heard from above, no doubt getting a hardy jolt.
"Well, they're probably not getting up for a bit." Jirou remarked as she pulled a jack from the ground.
"The Villain Team has been incapacitated! The Heroes win!"
"Well, I guess that'll work!" Honenuki laughed out. 'I'm surprised he didn't just say the bomb was destroyed...'
"Great job, Kami-" Kaibara was interrupted by the sight of Kaminari, with a dopey expression and two thumbs up walking out.
"EHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH PWAUS AHLPRA!" Kaminari shouted out like he forgot how to speak in anything resembling human tongue.
"PFFHAHAHAHA!" Jirou fell over onto the ground, laughing uncontrollably as the stupefied Kaminari walked back and forth, shaking his hands back and forth.
"What happened to him?!" Kaibara cried out as he watched Kaminari with complete confusion.
"Did his quirk fry his brain?"
"Hahahahaha, I can't believe how stupid you are!"
"Yahey!"
Team E Vs Team F
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Sato screamed as he sped towards Team E in a sugar fueled charge. Aoyama, Tsunotori, and Fukidashi quickly fired a few lasers, shot her two horns like mini missiles and literally shouted "BLAM" and had it fly out like a projectile for covering fire while Ashido covered the floor in acid that it weakened the floor enough for Sato to fall through it from his powered-up stomps, "WAHHHhhh…" *crash*
"What was his plan there?" Tsunotori asked, confused by the large teen's suicide run.
"It was to distract you," The four turned around and were immediately set upon by small chunks of flesh and birds that began to peck at them furiously. Then came the mantis-headed Kamakiri, who ran through them like a PG slasher movie villain, taking them all down one by one in the chaos, capturing the whole team with some rats slapping on the handcuffs.
"The Hero team has been captured! The Villains win!"
"..."
"..."
"The hell?!" Ashido shouted out as her brain finally processed what happened.
"Yes! A perfectly executed plan!" Tokage exclaimed with glee as her disembodied head slowly had the rest of her body reattached, "Good job everyone!" Behind her, Sato had just finished running up the stairs, costume smoking from the acid.
"I'm fine too, thanks for asking."
"THAT'S A WRAP!" All Might shouted to the forty students in front of him as they stood at the entrance of Ground Beta. "You all really stepped up to the plate today and we didn't have any major injuries at all. You should be proud of yourselves for an excellent first day of training!"
"It's nice to have some actually words of encouragement after Mr. Aizawa's test," Tsuyu remarked, scratching the side of her face as she remembered Aizawa's cold demeanor, much to her homeroom teacher's amusement, "Mr. Aizawa was a buzzkill."
"Deal with it," Aizawa countered as he walked up to the front of the group to All Might. "I'm not changing how I teach for anyone." All Might coughed into his hand, leaving a little bit of blood on it. It was time to leave.
"That's all for now! Watch how a pro leaves: LIKE HE'S GOT SOMEWHERE TO BE!" All Might quickly sprinted down the tunnel, leaving behind a small windstorm that nearly blew over everyone as it swept over them. After getting out of sight of the students, he quickly ducked into a nearby room to drop into his small Yagi form. 'I barely made it… Shit, how am I supposed to teach a class if I can only barely hold it for one?'
Back with the two classes, Aizawa and Vlad turned to face them.
"Now then, class is dismissed for today but before you leave, I want to state that I expect my class to be present in the common room later today as we'll be going more in depth into your matches."
"You're not just going to take a nap on us and expect me and Yaoyorozu to do all the work for you like earlier?" Izuku prodded, though Aizawa wasn't fazed.
"Really, I'd love to, but with so many flaws on display today that didn't get mentioned, it's only fitting that I name and shame all of you. Fastest way to become better is to know your weaknesses and fix them."
"Class 1-B, you can expect the same from me later as well," Vlad gruffly stated, "The best heroes need to take every opportunity to improve themselves." The class all nodded to their red clad teacher before he turned his attention to Monoma, "Monoma, stay after. Everyone else is free to go."
"Yes, sir!" As Class 1-B left, Aizawa eyed the sources of his headaches today.
"Bakugou, Midoriya, stay as well." Everyone raised their eyebrows at the mention of Midoriya but thought nothing more of it when Izuku himself didn't seem all that fazed by it. After the rest of 1-A left, it left the three troublemakers alone with their teachers. "You three, follow." Aizawa ordered as he and Vlad turned to leave. Izuku didn't need to think for even a moment as to why Aizawa made him stay behind. He lost control. He used Rage Shroud and in front of another student. While he managed to keep it to only First Step, it didn't change the fact that he had proven Bakugou right. It also didn't help that the teachers were listening in on their entire conversation.
After a silent ten minutes, they arrived at Nezu's office, with Yagi already there in a perfectly dressed yellow suit. 'How the hell did he get in a suit so fast? One more thing that makes him amazing, I guess…' Izuku didn't have enough time to be starstruck at his hero before Aizawa spoke again. "Vlad, you can go ahead. Yagi, take Midoriya to All Might, will you? I want to speak with Bakugou alone."
"Understood," Yagi nodded as he led Izuku out of the room. Vlad grunted as he and Monoma walked into the office. Aizawa turned to Bakugou to see that the blond had not moved or even said anything since the match. The secretary was currently gone so it would be the best time for some answers as they were alone.
"Sit." Aizawa pulled up two chairs across from each other for them as he sat down. Bakugou walked over and dropped down like a lifeless corpse suddenly affected by gravity. His eyes were still hidden from Aizawa by his hair but he could tell that the boy was in a state almost akin to shock. Aizawa pulled out a small notebook from his pocket and began to read. "Katsuki Bakugou, Quirk: Explosion. Graduated from Aldera Middle School at the top of his year in grades. No prior incidents requiring discipline of any kind…" Aizawa looked up towards the blond, "And in four days, has had three different incidents, all directed at one student, one of which could have resulted in multiple casualties. So, with all that said, why shouldn't I have you thrown out of this school?" Bakugou didn't respond for a full ten seconds before asking a question of his own.
"Did you know?" Aizawa raised an eyebrow at the question. He had a feeling he knew what he was asking. Bakugou finally looked him in the eye.
"About Midoriya?" Bakugou nodded, his face softer than he was used to seeing. The boy looked completely different from what he had seen up till now. "I know a lot more than you do."
"So, you know about his quirks?"
"Yes."
"Why is he hiding them?" Aizawa looked towards a nearby window before sighing, annoyed that he has to deal with this crap.
"How much has he told you?"
Yagi and Izuku sat across from each other in Yagi's teacher room, pot of tea boiling between them on a portable stove and a digital recorder. The silence was a bit unnerving for Izuku, still in his hero costume, as his teacher struggled to find the words to say about what he had witnessed. Izuku decided to take the initiative in the conversation.
"So…" Izuku had a bad feeling by the look on Yagi's face, "Was there something wrong with what I did?"
"Well, we have a few… concerns about your words to Young Bakugou and the fact that you intentionally dragged out the match but the biggest problem doesn't require much explaining, does it?"
"I just…" Yagi put a hand up to stop Izuku.
"I know why you did what you did, Young Midoriya" He began, "You care about your friends' and teammates' wellbeing and to see them threatened like that is nerve wracking. However, you forget just how dangerous that power of yours is. I've seen it. I've fought it. We were fortunate that you had enough control to only stop Bakugou but if you didn't, we'd be having this conversation at a prison cell." Izuku sighed as he leaned back into the chair. "But like I said, we understand so you're not in trouble for that. You dragging out the match, however... Did you think we wouldn't notice that you didn't tag Young Bakugou when you could have?" Izuku shrunk in his chair at the accusation, clearly aware that he was caught. "And then there's what you said to him? Were you intending to break his pride by humiliating him in front of the entire class?"
"..." Izuku stared at his feet in shame as his favorite hero scolded him.
"Why didn't you just come to us about it?"
"Because I don't believe anyone will do anything if I don't show them it's a problem," Izuku finally answered, voice calm but with a hint of frustration, "If I had gone up to you or Aizawa who are, no offense to you, a new teacher with no influence here and a teacher who really doesn't give a damn about me, do you really think it would help anything?" Yagi sat back as Izuku ranted to him, "Bakugou won't change because he only believes that might makes right so the only option I had was to beat him and beat him so thoroughly that he leaves me alone!"
"How can you say that about someone you haven't seen in years?" Izuku was taken aback by the question but quickly recovered as he recalled his childhood.
"You shouldn't be beating other kids up, Kacchan!"
"You don't get it Deku. I'm gonna be the strongest hero like All Might! So I can do whatever I want! And there's nothing a quirkless loser like you can do about it!"
"W-well… It's how he was when we were kids. He used to bully me just because I didn't have a quirk. He'd beat me up, sometimes even using his quirk to do it. He'd say that because he's got an amazing quirk, he can do what he wants. And he's been trying to do just that since he got here."
"And you believe the only way he'll change is someone stronger than him beats him back down to reality?"
"Yeah!"
"But doesn't that make you as much of a bully as he is?" Izuku's anger disappeared as he took Yagi's question in.
"...What?"
"You said it yourself. You intended to beat him so thoroughly that it embarrasses him in front of all the first years in the hero course. You intended to show him that your might makes you right. All you've done is validated his thoughts and he'll just focus on becoming stronger in a fight, rather than become a better person." Izuku gasped as he realized what Yagi was trying to tell him before burying his hands in his face, "I know people like Young Bakugou. People that are so determined to be the best that if they aren't, they'll just keep trying to get stronger until they are, forsaking all else. In a way, there's a chance you've made the situation worse."
"I… I didn't think about it that way," Izuku muttered as he ran through all the problems his plan could be leading to. Bakugou would be more desperate than ever to prove himself, making him more dangerous than ever.
"Leave Bakugou to us, and in the future, if you have a problem with another student, please come to us first and don't take matters into your own hands from now on. I know you're used to relying on yourself, an admirable quality, but I feel that more can be accomplished if you keep us informed and ask for help when you need it."
"Yes, sir…"
"I'll go have a conversation with the principal and I'll get back with you later. I doubt you'll be in any trouble but he might have some questions for you." Yagi finished his tea before standing up and grabbing the recorder, "Also, I want you to know that you did an excellent job today otherwise." Yagi flashed a smile as he left the room, leaving Izuku feeling a bit better but the thoughts that he made the situation worse didn't disappear.
"I see," Nezu spoke after listening to what Bakugou knew about Midoriya's situation. Aizawa had heard it already but he realized that Nezu needed to be filled in as well. After Vlad and Monoma were finished, with the boy looking a bit dejected but not defeated. "Well, I can confirm that everything he said is true to a degree. The only part that's technically true but isn't the full story is the fact that he was given a quirk. Other than that, the rest is actually the truth." Bakugou looked at Nezu with baffled awe, completely unable to process how it was the truth.
"Then… Why is he here?!" Bakugou's rage had returned, with the world not making any sense to him, "If he's a villain's lab rat, why would he be let in to the top hero school in the country?!"
"You want to know?" Aizawa leaned forward, voice low as he got in Bakugou's face, "It's because he's dangerous and if he's left on the street without proper training, he'll hurt someone before long." Bakugou was about to argue back before Aizawa activated his quirk and stood up. "Quiet." He said with an emphasis that stopped Bakugou like a solid wall, "I don't want to hear whatever nonsense you have to say. You've caused enough problems in four days than most students have done in three years. I've looked into your past yesterday and it's clear to me that you've been babied for most of your life because of your strong quirk. I'm done with your absolute immaturity, Bakugou. I was content to leave it be for now since I thought my threat two days ago was enough to keep you in check but, clearly, it wasn't."
"I must agree with Aizawa," Nezu admitted, "We simply can't have this continue to happen. I understand that not everything makes sense to you but it doesn't have to." Bakugou looked at Nezu, confused, "If you want to be the best, what Midoriya is doing here shouldn't be a priority to you. You instead should be focusing solely on becoming a better hero so that you, one day, can be the best hero." Bakugou calmed down as he took in his principal's words, "On that note, I'm going to have you do weekly sessions with the school counselor, Hound Dog."
"Counseling? I'm not some basket case that needs help!" Bakugou shouted as he leapt to his feet.
"We're not telling you you're crazy, we're telling you that you need to stop having these outbursts that could kill someone," Aizawa explained, "Though if you don't want the counseling, we have no other options."
"Bakugou, I'm afraid I'll have to have you removed from the hero course if you don't accept the counseling."
"WHAT?!"
"You have caused far too many problems and as such, The reality is that I'm required to take action. I don't have to be your enemy, Bakugou, since I'm genuinely trying to help you become the best hero. But you've got to work with me and that means respecting not only my rules but also my students. And yes, that includes Midoriya. Now, if you have any complaints about this, I'd be happy to hear them." Bakugou glared at the principal for a few seconds before turning away with a scowl, "I'm glad we've reached an understanding. Aizawa?"
"Let's go," Aizawa ordered as he made his way to the door, opening it to find Yagi about to knock on it.
"Ah, I take it you're finished?" Aizawa and Bakugou passed without a word, leaving Yagi confused as he stood in the doorway, "I'll... take that as a yes, then."
"ARGH! I can't believe how bad we got stomped!" Ashido cried out as she laid on the sofa, sulking from her team's loss. The rest of the girls in her class were seated with her in the common room, amused by their classmate's overly dramatic antics. Eri, sitting on Tsu's lap eating a cookie however, just seemed confused due to the lack of context.
"Well, at least your team remembered you and didn't leave you locked in a room," Momo countered as she worked through her homework while eating a large bag of chips.
"Or that you got to do anything at all and didn't have one teammate do all the work," Jirou added as well, not looking up from her phone.
"Or that you didn't get electrocuted in ten seconds, like me!" Hagakure exclaimed, miffed about the whole thing. Ashido suddenly seemed to realize that most of the girls weren't having a good day.
"Oh wow… today just sucked for all of us, didn't it?"
"The only one of us that had a good match was Asui, wasn't it?"
"You can call me Tsu, I don't mind," Tsu said as she combed Eri's hair to start braiding it.
"Okay, Tsu it is!" Ashido, now more energized now that she knew she wasn't the only one who was upset about the matches. "Call me Mina then!"
"I guess being on a given name basis with you all would be a nice change," Yaoyorozu smiled at the idea.
"That's the spirit, Yaomomo!" Toru exclaimed.
"Yaomomo?" Momo asked, now taken aback by the nickname. While the girls were going at it, Eri noticed that Ochako hadn't said a single word since she got back and just been staring off into space for a while. She also noticed that no one else seemed to think anything of it like they all knew why.
"Tsu, is Ocha okay?" Eri asked, which seemed to break Ochako out of her staring contest with the coffee table.
"Oh, I'm fine, Eri!" Ochako quickly spoke as she sheepishly tried to reassure her small friend, "I'm just thinking about something, that's all."
"About what?" Ochako nearly panicked as she realized that Eri was a little girl and that they tended to ask questions when you're being vague with them.
"Um… Uh…"
"She's just in a bit of shock from how strong she is," Tsu quickly answered, saving her friend. "You just leave her be for a bit and she'll be back to her old self soon." Eri nodded, as she moved out of Tsu grasp to hug Ochako's arm, earning a smile from the brunette with Tsu joining in as well.
"Thanks, gir-"
"GROUP HUG!" Before Ochako could move, Mina and Toru were already on her, burying her in a big ball of cuddles with Kyoka and Momo looking on with smiles on their faces. Minoru was sitting at the kitchen's bar counter playing on his phone as he watched the whole thing, slightly puzzled as to why the girls were suddenly having a hug-fest. Not that he at all minded. As this was going on, Izuku finally walked in, looking like he was thinking about something as he mouthed words that Minoru couldn't hear. Izuku walked over and sat down next to Minoru and immediately warped his notebook into his hand to start writing.
"That bad, huh?"
"Not really. He just asked that I not step on landmines," Izuku answered with a shrug.
"I mean, sound advice right there," Minoru argued as he returned to his phone, "Kinda like 'don't headbutt bullets' on the obvious scale."
"Where's everybody else?" Izuku asked as he looked around.
"Most of them went to their rooms. Iida wanted to wait for you but also wanted to get his homework done so I guess being a good student is his priority." Izuku nodded as Inko walked up.
"I heard you got held behind with Katsuki today," Inko's voice was calm but with a hint of concern for her son.
"I was taunting him to keep him busy and he didn't appreciate that."
"Izuku..." Inko decide to drop it and ask Aizawa later. "Well, how was the rest of school?" Izuku's eyes lit up at the question.
"It was so cool!" Izuku beamed, "Seeing all these heroes and having them teach us is incredible!" Minoru snickered at his friend's enthusiasm.
"He's saying that now but when exams come up, he'll be singing a different tune."
"Well, I'm just happy you're having a good time in class," Inko felt a little more relaxed but the lingering unease wasn't going away easily. She decided to return to cooking dinner.
Back towards the girls who finally stopped squeezing Ochako to near death, returned to sitting down.
"I take it you're not used to your quirk's destructive capabilities yet?" Momo inquired, earning a shake of the head.
"It's only been about six months since I learned how to turn gravity up and I guess I never realized that it could do something like that…"
"Well, it just means you've got to be careful, no?" Mina suggested, "I mean, my quirk can burn my skin and it's myquirk. I remember my doctor telling me I could turn someone to a puddle of goo like he was running a scared-straight program."
"Mine told me I could potentially give someone a heart attack if I ran vibrations through them at a specific frequency," Kyoka added.
"And with my quirk, I can manufacture just about any weapon in the world if I've got the schematics and the molecular makeup. I can make anything from a handgun, a live grenade, a high-powered rifle, landmines, claymores, an RPG-"
"Okay, we get it! You're the deadliest woman in the world and I don't want to mess with you ever! Just please stop!" Toru quickly exclaimed in fear of the grocery list of murder weapons Momo had access to at any given moment. The girls didn't notice Izuku writing down said list as he heard it, as well as all the other things he could overhear.
"I think what they're trying to say is that it isn't your fault your teammate dropped a building on someone and that it's you who decides how your quirk works," Tsuyu reassured Ochako as she finished braiding Eri's hair into nice twin tails.
"That means a lot, everyone." Ochako said with a warm smile, feeling much better. "Oh, it looks so good on you, Eri!" Ochako gushed as she played with the double tails. Before she could play with Eri more, Aizawa walked in with Bakugou next to him, no longer in his hero gear. He took a look around at the common room to see all the girls and Izuku and Minoru. "Midoriya, Mineta, go get the rest of the boys." Both nodded as they stood up and walked into the elevator, leaving the confused girls and one Bakugou who took a seat nearby, looking completely adrift in his own head.
"Time for the shame game?" Tsuyu asked as she set Eri down next to her.
"Not yet. We'll have it after you've all had dinner but I have something I need to have you all do before that." The girls suddenly felt anxious at the ominousness of Aizawa's words as he walked over to Inko in the kitchen. "How much longer?"
"Hmm… I'd say thirty minutes," Inko admitted as she looked over the work, earning a nod from Aizawa. Five minutes later, the rest of the class showed up and took seats wherever they could as Aizawa walked up to the large widescreen TV attached to the wall. "Now, before we do anything else, we need to discuss your futures…"
'Now what?! More quirk tests?!' The class all began to worry at what diabolical plan Aizawa had for them after what they all went through already.
"You need to decide on who's going to be the class representatives," If the class wasn't sitting, they'd have fallen to the ground in equal parts relief and bafflement at Aizawa's overly grim tone at something so mundane.
'Or just normal school stuff.'
"Pick me guys!"
"I'll take it!"
"Yeah, you'll need me," Before long, the entire class had started to place bids for becoming the class reps.
"What's the big deal?" Izuku whispered to Ochako.
"Well, ordinarily, it's not but since we're hero course students, it looks much better to be a class rep when you're being scouted by agencies."
"Oh, like showing that you know how to lead others in the field." Izuku looked at the fervor of the class around him with a smile, "I guess everyone would be tripping over themselves for this."
"EVERYONE, PLEASE!" Iida, finally having enough of the wild shouting match, stood up from his spot. "The class reps' duty is to lead others! It's not something just anyone can do! You must have the trust of everyone! Therefore, the most logical way to fill this position is democratically! We will hold an election to choose our leader!" Iida suggested, hand raised to the sky as he started to shake.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to vote for Iida then," Minoru snarked as he shook his head.
"Is that the best idea?" Kaminari asked, unsure of the plan.
"We haven't been here a week. Who do you trust?" Jirou countered.
"Besides, everyone will just vote for themselves." Kirishima added on.
"Most people will but that just means that the one that does receive multiple votes is the best person for the job! It's the best way to decide, right sir?!"
"Do what you want. You have until dinner's over to decide." Aizawa ordered, somehow pulling his sleeping bag from complete nowhere and stepping into it for a nap.
"Thank you for your trust!" Iida shouted as Izuku started ripping paper out of a notebook he wasn't using yet and got out twenty sheets, all marked.
"Yaoyorozu, can we get a hat?"
"Certainly," Yaoyorozu pulled a silk hat out of her arm and handed it to Izuku as he and Ochako handed out the sheets.
"Okay, just write your vote and hold it up for me to collect it." Five minutes of quiet decision making and vote collecting before they finally had a winner.
1: Izuku Midoriya: 4 votes
2: Momo Yaoyorozu: 3 votes
3: Denki Kaminari: 1 vote
4: Toru Hagakure: 1 vote
5: Katsuki Bakugou: 1 vote
6: Hanta Sero: 1 vote
7: Fumikage Tokoyami: 1 vote
8: Mezo Shoji: 1 vote
9: Mashirao Ojiro: 1 vote
10: Eijiro Kirishima: 1 vote
11: Mina Ashido: 1 vote
12: Kyoka Jirou: 1 vote
13: Koji Koda: 1 vote
14: Rikido Sato: 1 vote
15: Yuya Aoyama: 1 vote
16: Tenya Iida: 0 votes
17: Ochako Uraraka: 0 votes
18: Tsuyu Asui: 0 votes
19: Minoru Mineta: 0 votes
20: Shouto Todoroki: 0 votes
"Not sure what I was expecting to happen there," Izuku snarked as he eyed the results with bemusement, "I guess the predictable is predictable for a reason…"
"Well, we can at least know that your friends have your back to the end, huh, Midoriya?" Sato joked joyfully, not too concerned that he didn't win. Minoru, Tsuyu and Ochako all gave thumbs up as well as smiles for their new class rep.
'Well that answers three of them but I didn't vote for myself so who's the fourth?' Izuku pondered. Iida, meanwhile, was shaking in disappointment.
"Not a single vote... "
"I don't think you have the right to be upset if you didn't even vote for yourself, Iida," Sero pointed out as he watched his classmate tremble.
"It just means that I'm not worthy of the position, which is fine! That's what democracy is for!" Iida, still shaky, tried his best to smile through his own lack of enjoyment with losing.
"Your class rep is Midoriya and his deputy is Yaoyorozu. Good for them. Now go eat. We've got a lot to cover after the flaming mess that was today."
"Yes, sir..." the class muttered, energy drained from the room in one sentence.
"Don't acted bummed. This is an opportunity to grow. Approach it with determination if you all want to be heroes," Aizawa added, adding a bit more life to the class.
"Yes, sir!"
The next day went smoothly for Class 1-A as there were no surprise tests or mundane announcements that were treated like life and death from Aizawa and normal morning classes that went off without a hitch. Lunch had arrived and it was the first chance most of the class had to talk since that morning. Perfect for Iida to drop a bomb on his friends.
"I've been hearing this disturbing rumor recently," Iida began, voice a bit weak from his lack of confidence at what he was saying. "That there is a student in the hero course with a criminal record and is here on probation." Izuku, calmly, stopped eating to look at Iida while the other three at the table looked on with fear in their eyes as they looked between each other.
"That's crazy talk!" Minoru said with a nervous smile.
"That's what I believed at first but then I thought about it and I realized that it might hold water!"
"So?" Izuku asked, feigning any real care about the rumor.
"So?! How can you be so calm about something like this!" Izuku shrugged, not seeing the big deal about all this.
"Fairly easily. How does someone with a criminal record affect me or you? It's you that has to graduate to get a hero license, not this random mystery guy. The school is run by one of the smartest people in Japan. I'd bet good money he already knows and approves of this person being here so I'm sure it's fine. It's probably just someone who's been given a second chance by the school."
"But this isn't just any school! This is U.A., Midoriya-"
"But it is just any school," Izuku countered, catching Iida off guard, "Strip away all the prestige, all the alumni, all of the bells and whistles, it's just a school for heroes and a hundred different other things. Why does it matter to you so much? What if it was me for instance?" Iida stopped, almost unsure of what to say, "Well? What if the criminal was me? What if it was Minoru or Ochako or Tsuyu?"
"I... couldn't possibly believe any of you would be criminals… Especially not the person I voted for class rep!"
'"Okay, but that doesn't-" Before Izuku could continue, a bell started to ring.
"Warning: Level three security breach. All students, please evacuate the building in an orderly fashion."
"No way!" another student shouted in shock.
"Wait, what's a level three security breach?" Iida asked the student.
"It means someone broke past the barriers!" He explained in a panic as he flew from his seat to the nearest exit, as well as the rest of school.
"Orderly fashion, huh? I guess it's out of style," Izuku snarked as he handed Minoru his notebook, "I'll go check it out, you guys see if you can help calm this mess down."
"Midoriya, I can't let you jus- *pop* and he's gone…" Iida remarked in defeat as the four ran for the exit. Izuku popped in his homeroom and ran to the windows overlooking the entrance to the campus.
"Okay, that's a lot of reporters…" Izuku remarked as he saw the wave of reporters that stretched far past the front gate, desperate to get in and only being held back by the security detail on hand. All of whom were looking mighty frustrated by the turn of events.
"Just let us talk to All Might! We know he's here!" One reporter demanded.
"It's his day off so no, he isn't," Present Mic clarified.
"Just give us one comment and we'll leave!"
"I know how you people work. Give you a meter, you'll take the country," Aizawa dodged as he and Present Mic did their best to block the door. Present Mic leaned over to whisper to Aizawa.
"You know, they are trespassing so that technically makes them villains-"
"Don't you dare, unless you want to have your name dragged through the mud. Just wait for the cops."
"Well, that looks… less than pleasant but it's nothing worth freaking out about so…" Bio Scanner went off but the reading was lost in almost the same second. It wasn't enough time for Izuku to recognize the threat but it was definitely a large one, leaving Izuku on edge as he ran across the building in search of it but found nothing. "Damn it…"
Iida was having a long week. He got completely shut out by Midoriya's team the day before and then loses the vote for class rep to the same boy. Then the rumor of a criminal infiltrating the hero course starts putting him on edge, making him suspect anyone of secretly being a villain-in-waiting. And now, he has his face squished against the glass of a window looking out towards the crowd of reporters, unable to get anyone to calm down.
It was only day four at U.A. and his whole world made no sense anymore.
'Am I the only one who knows that everything is fine?!' Iida asked himself as he watched two of his classmates get swallowed up by the tide of humanity trying to flood through the too narrow hallway.
"Ahh!" Uraraka's voice reached Iida's ears as he saw the gravity girl being carried by the crowd's constant pushing.
"Uraraka!" Iida called out, grabbing her attention.
"Tenya, help!" Iida quickly shimmied across the wall, moving up the crowd as best he could.
'What would my brother do? What would Midoriya do? How would they handle this?' Iida suddenly had an idea and reached out to his friend. "Touch my hand and make me float!" she stretched as far as she could with their fingers almost touching…
*BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA* The crowd came to a halt at the sound of an air horn fired from above them. Izuku, knife lodged in the wall next to him in one hand and air horn in the other, looking very unamused as he stood on the exit sign with unbelievable balance.
"Now, if we're done wetting ourselves, I'd like you all to look to your right and see the crowd of reporters out front." Everyone turned and immediately saw the crowd, "There are no villains here, just the press looking for All Might. Everything is fine and no one is in danger. Now, let's try the orderly fashion thing again." Suddenly, the sound of sirens rang out, calming everyone down as the police arrived to escort the press off of U.A.'s campus. Izuku warped back down to where Minoru and Tsuyu were standing, knife and air horn put away to wherever he got them from. Iida watched on in awe as his classmate had defused the situation so quickly.
It was clear to him that he voted for the right person.
"So, how'd it go?" At an out-of-the-way bar, Kurogiri was shining glasses before the television turned on by itself.
"The security was tighter than ever before. There were numerous pros there before we even arrived," Kurogiri admitted to the voice coming from the TV, "But even so, Shigaraki managed to get the class schedule for All Might. The class with the most promise appears to be this Friday at around 1:30 PM."
"Very good. We're ready with Nomu but since there's more security, I'll send some more… insurance your way."
"Thank you, Sensei."
"By the way, how is he?"
"About the same as always, sir," Kurogiri said with a dreary sigh, "He hasn't quite gotten over his fight with… the boy."
"Be sure to look out for him. This is one opportunity for him to become what I know he can be..."
"The Symbol of Fear."