"I AM… COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"
Yeah, right. All Might's entrance was about as normal as a hurricane in a teacup.
He burst through the door striking some ridiculous pose, and half the class just froze. You could practically see the stars in their eyes.
"It's All Might."
"Wow. He really is a teacher here."
"That costume... Is from the silver age, isn't it?"
"WELCOME TO THE MOST IMPORTANT CLASS AT U.A. HIGH! HERO BASIC TRAINING!" His voice could probably be heard three buildings over. "THINK OF IT AS 'HEROING 101'! HERE YOU WILL LEARN THE BASICS OF BEING A HERO!"
Kaminari perked up. "Finally, we get to the good stuff."
"STUDENTS OF CLASS 1-A! TODAY, YOU WILL STEP BEYOND ACADEMICS AND THEORY! TODAY YOU SHALL—"
He slammed his hand on some button like he was playing the world's most dramatic game show.
Metal shutters hissed open. Rows of numbered suitcases lined the wall.
"—DON YOUR HERO COSTUMES FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME!"
"Awesome!"
"I knew it. All Might's class would definitely be the best."
Even I couldn't help grinning. The excitement was infectious.
"One of the keys of being a hero is… looking good!" All Might continued. "Your costumes aren't just fabric! They represent your Quirks, your ideals, your very path to heroism! These were designed based on your quirk registration forms and requests you sent in before school started. You'll certainly need them, because for your first lesson, we have..."
He whipped out a card like a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat. 'BATTLE' was written across it in bold letters.
"BATTLE TRAINING!"
The class went nuts.
Bakugo looked like Christmas and his birthday had arrived simultaneously. "About damn time."
"GET YOURSELVES SUITED UP, AND THEN MEET ME AT TRAINING GROUND BETA!"
Chaos. Pure chaos. Everyone scrambled for their cases while I hung back, watching the stampede.
Midoriya looked ready to vibrate out of his skin with excitement. Bakugo was grinning like a shark that had just spotted blood in the water. Even Todoroki seemed slightly less statue-like than usual.
I grabbed case number 18.
My hero costume. God, the hours I'd spent on that design form. Too many ideas, half of them probably stolen from anime that didn't exist here. I'd almost gone full Gojo Satoru before deciding that was way too obvious.
What I'd ended up with was... well, it worked. Black tactical bodysuit as the base—flexible enough that I could actually move in it. Over that, a sleeveless navy robe that hit about knee-length. High collar, utility belt to keep it from flapping around like a cape. It had that whole dramatic thing going without screaming 'look at me.'
I'd borrowed from the Akatsuki aesthetic but toned it down. Instead of clouds, I went with subtle geometric patterns along the edges. Catch the light just right, stay low-key during stealth work.
The mask was the real prize though. Covered the lower half of my face and curved up over my eyes—tinted glass so I could see out but nobody could see in. Perfect for hiding the red glow when Meta Eye kicked in. Left my forehead exposed so I still looked human, but hid everything that mattered.
Including my new talent for reading minds.
I ran my fingers over the material. U.A. didn't mess around with quality.
___
Training Ground Beta – Twenty Minutes Later
Stepping out in the costume felt like putting on a different skin. The mask was comfortable, like wearing really good sunglasses. The robe moved with me instead of fighting me, and honestly? I felt pretty badass.
"EXCELLENT!" All Might's voice could probably shatter windows. "THEY SAY CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. YOU ALL LOOK FANTASTIC! NOW THEN, SHALL WE BEGIN? YOU BUNCH OF NEWBIES?"
"Ken-kun! You look amazing!"
Midoriya stumbled out last, still adjusting his green rabbit-ear monstrosity. The mouth guard looked like medieval torture equipment, but hey, it was distinctly him.
"Thanks, Midoriya. You too." I meant it, despite the costume's... quirks. "Very distinctive."
Looking around at everyone else was like viewing a costume party gone wrong. Kaminari looked like he'd raided a DJ's closet, Iida resembled a walking mecha anime, and Bakugo...
"OI! Ken!" Speaking of the devil. He stomped over in his red and black getup, those massive grenade gauntlets making him look ready for war. "What's with the getup? Trying to look like some kind of underground villain?"
My eyes flashed red behind the mask as I caught his surface thoughts. *'Actually looks pretty badass though. Damn it.'*
Nice to know even Bakugo's brain could be honest when his mouth wasn't running the show.
"Says the guy dressed like a military explosive," I shot back. "What's next, a cape that says 'Totally Not A Terrorist'?"
Kaminari snorted. "He got you there, Bakugo!"
"SHUT UP, SPARKY!"
"Says the guy with the official nickname—"
"If you keep talking, I'll END YOU!"
"NOW THEN..." All Might's voice cut through the bickering like a foghorn. "It's time for combat training."
"Sir!" Iida's hand shot up like he was still in elementary school. "This is the battle center used for our entrance exams. Does that mean we'll be conducting urban battles again?"
All Might's grin somehow got even bigger. "GOOD QUESTION, TENYA! INDEED, THIS IS A CITYSCAPE SIMULATOR! HOWEVER, WE WILL BE MOVING TWO STEPS AHEAD!"
He held up two fingers like he was ordering coffee.
"MOST OF THE TIME, FIGHTING VILLAINS HAPPENS OUTDOORS. BUT LOOK AT THE STATISTICS—SERIOUS VILLAINS SHOW UP INDOORS MORE OFTEN. IMPRISONMENT, BACKDOOR DEALS, HOUSE ARRESTS, THEFT... AS FUTURE HEROES, YOU MUST BE READY FOR EVERYTHING. SO TODAY'S EXERCISE WILL TEST EXACTLY THAT."
The questions came like machine gun fire:
"How are we splitting up?"
"Are we doing this without basic training?"
"Do we get to beat people up?"
"Is the punishment expulsion like Aizawa-sensei?"
"What are the rules?"
"Doesn't my cape look stylish?"
"CALM DOWN! I'LL GET TO ALL THAT!" All Might took a deep breath. "THE ENTIRE CLASS WILL BE SPLIT INTO HEROES AND VILLAINS. THREE HERO TEAMS OF SIX STUDENTS EACH. THEY'LL FACE ONE VILLAIN TEAM!"
Dead silence. You could practically hear everyone's brains trying to process that math.
"What?!" Mina blurted. "Wait, six versus how many?"
All Might's grin turned downright predatory. "THREE."
Well, that definitely wasn't how things went in the anime.
The murmurs exploded into full-blown chaos:
"Three?!"
"That's completely unbalanced!"
"Or... wait, maybe not?"
Right. I'd been thinking in terms of the original timeline, but we had an extra student now. The usual 2v2 setup wouldn't work. Hence 6-6-6-3. But still...
"Sir," Ochaco raised her hand, looking worried, "isn't it unfair to have three villains face six heroes at once?"
All Might's grin turned absolutely wicked. "Who said anything about facing only six heroes? The villain team faces all three hero teams. At the same time."
Every jaw in the vicinity hit the ground. Mine included.
"Um... Isn't that division a bit unfair, sir?" someone managed.
"Indeed. Seems quite advantageous to the hero teams," Iida added.
"PERHAPS!" All Might boomed. "BUT WHILE ALL THREE HERO TEAMS PLAY SIMULTANEOUSLY, ONLY ONE GROUP CAN WIN. COOPERATION BETWEEN HERO TEAMS? NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE UNLESS YOU'RE UP FOR LOSING!"
He raised three fingers, pointing them out one by one.
"AS FOR THE THREE VILLAINS—THEY'LL BE THE TOP PERFORMERS FROM YOUR ENTRANCE EXAMS! BAKUGO KATSUKI, HIGHEST PRACTICAL EXAM SCORE!"
Bakugo's grin went full psychopath.
"TODOROKI SHOTO, SECOND OVERALL IN CLASS FROM THE RECOMMENDATION EXAMS!"
Todoroki's face stayed neutral, but his eyes sharpened slightly.
"AND KEN TAKUMI, WHO ACHIEVED PERFECT SCORES ON BOTH WRITTEN AND PRACTICAL ASSESSMENTS DURING SPECIAL RECOMMENDATION TRIALS—TOP OF YOUR CLASS!"
Great. Now everyone was staring at me like I'd grown a second head. Some looked impressed, others skeptical, most just plain nervous.
"SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION..." All Might planted his hands on his hips. "I THINK IT'S FAIR ENOUGH. THE THREE STRONGEST VERSUS EVERYONE ELSE. INTERESTING, DON'T YOU THINK?"
Well, there went another butterfly effect messing with canon. And honestly? Being paired with Bakugo and Todoroki in what was essentially a 3v18 scenario?
I was definitely allowed to complain about this one.
____
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