Chapter 21: Hero Costumes
First period was supposed to be All Might's Hero Basic Training, a class dedicated to various drills to solidify the fundamentals of being a hero. It could be considered the core specialized course of U.A.'s Hero Course, and it also carried the highest number of credits of all subjects.
Over the past few days, All Might had only taught two classes. Yoshikage Kira could tell he was preparing for something; he hadn't gone into deep detail, only touching on the problems and responsibilities Pro Heroes face.
However... as expected of All Might, his infectious presentation had every single student in the class buzzing with excitement. During his lectures, he would even occasionally sprinkle in stories from his own experiences, fully capturing everyone's curiosity. Of course, Kira was one of them.
"I AM..." a deep voice boomed from the classroom door. A look of anticipation spread across everyone's faces, because—
"...COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!" The wide classroom door was thrown open, and All Might stood there, gripping the doorframe, leaning into the classroom with a reassuring smile.
"It's!" Izuku Midoriya shot to his feet. "All Might's hero costume! It's a symbol of the Silver Age of American comics, like Superman!"
"The art style difference is so huge, it's almost terrifying..."
Yesterday, All Might had worn a yellow pinstripe suit to class. Although it was still stretched taut by his muscles, it gave him a tall, sturdy appearance. But today... this Superman-like bodysuit fully revealed his explosive musculature, creating a powerful visual impact. For some reason, Kira even felt that the shadows on his face were like lines drawn with a pencil, giving him a strange feeling of being from a different art style.
How should he put it... Kira realized what it was. A towering height of nearly two meters, massive, solid muscles—it was the incredible art style from his favorite anime from his past life, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure!
It wasn't as obvious when watching All Might's videos, but seeing him up close now, the sense of déjà vu was even stronger. Could it be... that because he liked "JoJo," he had come to this world with Yoshikage Kira's ability, and had even become a bit of a psychopath... was all of this somehow connected to All Might?!
While Kira was lost in his own conspiracy theory, All Might stood at the lectern, hands on his hips. "After these past few days of study, I believe you all have a deeper understanding of what it means to be a hero." He paused, flashing his signature smile. "I know this is sudden, but today, we're going to be doing... COMBAT TRAINING!"
"Combat training!"
The class exclaimed in unison. After a brief moment of surprise, they all sat up straight with excitement.
"And with that comes this... look over here!" All Might pointed to the left wall of the lectern. With the sound of mechanical sliding, several columns of numbered lockers emerged from the wall. Like bank safety deposit boxes, each locker was made entirely of metal. Sensing the contents within, the students' breathing grew heavy.
All Might didn't keep them in suspense. "These are your hero costumes, custom-made based on the 'Quirk Registrations' and 'Requests' you submitted before enrollment! Find the locker with your student number, get changed, and then meet me at Ground Beta!"
"Well then, I'll be on my way!" Just as he had arrived, All Might took off with incredible speed, kicking up a gust of wind and disappearing like the wind itself.
All Might's departure did nothing to dampen the students' spirits; if anything, they became even more enthusiastic. They all stood up in a chaotic rush, eager to get their costumes. Although Tenya Iida was shouting, trying to maintain order, with such a feast before them, a pack of hungry wolves was not about to wait. Everyone wanted to be the first to get their costume.
Kira frowned, stood up from his seat, and said something to Kyoka Jiro. She nodded, took a small speaker out of her desk, and plugged the jack from her ear into it.
"SCREEEEEEE~"
A piercing noise instantly filled the classroom, drowning out the students' chatter. They couldn't help but cover their ears, falling silent and turning their attention to the source of the noise.
Jiro, not wanting to take the blame, silently unplugged her ear jack and looked at Kira, as if to say, He made me do it. It has nothing to do with me.
Kira calmly uncovered his ears. Although the speaker wasn't facing him and he had covered his ears in advance, he still felt a little dazed. Seeing everyone's eyes on him, he spoke flatly, "Line up in order of your student numbers to get your costumes. Once you have them, go to the changing rooms. After you're changed, go directly to Ground Beta and meet All Might."
Although everyone in Class 1-A had a unique Quirk and their own sense of pride from getting into this school, they were, at the end of the day, just fifteen-year-old kids, still at an age where they would subconsciously follow orders. All Might had already left, but Kira was still a class representative, so he had a certain amount of authority. Though there were some grumbles, no one argued, and they lined up in order to get their costumes.
The student numbers were arranged in Japanese alphabetical order, so by the time it was Kira's turn, the classroom was already half-empty. Kira took out his student card and inserted it into the locker with his number. With a soft click, the locker popped open, and his hero costume lay quietly inside.
Generally, the hero costumes were manufactured by a company exclusively sponsored by U.A. High, based on the students' requests. Before enrollment, students would submit their Quirk registrations, body information, and design drawings, and the support company would then create the latest and most suitable costume for them. This costume could potentially become a symbol of the hero, their most important partner in their professional career.
However, when Kira submitted his report, he hadn't thought that far ahead. He had only thought that he would have to wear this outfit for the next three years of high school, so when he submitted his design, he had specifically requested that it be "ordinary, comfortable, and simple." In a word, he wanted it to feel like everyday clothing.
The color scheme was black and white, unremarkable at a glance. After taking the costume to the changing room and unfolding it, Kira pulled the spandex bodysuit on. The inner layer of the costume was a black bodysuit, with white, high-strength shells covering the chest, elbows, and other areas prone to injury. It offered a certain degree of defense without hindering movement.
Kira had based the design on the Chaldea combat uniform from the game Fate/Grand Order. Looking at it now, the reproduction was quite good. But... wasn't it a bit too conspicuous?
However, when Kira looked at the other students still in the changing room, he suddenly felt that his costume was actually quite plain. Tenya Iida was wearing heavy, full-body armor that looked like it belonged to a medieval knight. The lower leg sections had what looked like motorcycle exhaust pipes exposed, making one think that if a motorcycle were to be personified, this is what it would look like.
The person standing in front of the mirror, unwilling to leave, was apparently named Yuga Aoyama. He wore an extravagant French classical aristocrat-style costume. On his chest was a round, lens-like piece of glass, presumably for firing his laser. What was a bit unbearable were the completely useless sunglasses and cape he wore, as if he imagined himself to be a modern-day prince.
"Hey, what are you looking at?" Bakugo said sarcastically. "Your costume is really uninspired."
"Erm... so this is your style?"
Actually, Bakugo's costume was the most surprising. He had two large, green-painted grenades on his arms, wore a leather, sleeveless top, and a half-mask covering his eyes. On the back of his already spiky hair was an even spikier headpiece—was it to prevent people from attacking the back of his head?
"You look like a battle-obsessed explosion-maniac," Kira commented.
In truth, their costumes were all within Kira's realm of understanding. After all, they were all diverse outfits designed to enhance their Quirks. Speaking of which, a "Quirk" actually referred to a person's unique, stable, and essential psychological characteristics and sum total. In other words, a Quirk was a person's overall mental and spiritual outlook.
Through their costumes, the public could intuitively feel the characteristics and personality of each hero, thereby gaining a general understanding of them.
Compared to them, was he really the most ordinary one in the class?
"Finally, some combat training! Finally, a chance to have a fair fight with you!" Bakugo didn't even try to hide the fighting spirit in his eyes as he looked at Kira. "You know, I can't wait to beat you to a pulp!"
"Not very likely," Kira said, pouring cold water on his enthusiasm. "The combat training is most likely for us to get familiar with our own abilities and our partners' Quirks. It'll probably be divided into groups. The one-on-one fight you're hoping for isn't very likely."
"Besides... don't you think Todoroki-san is stronger? Why are you so set on fighting me?"
Bakugo flashed a malicious grin. "If you're going to fight, of course you should pick someone you have a beef with. Casually picking a fight with a stranger, wouldn't that just be looking for trouble?"
"Your moral compass is so straight..."
"Naturally."
"...I was being sarcastic."