Monday arrived, and with it, my life at UA resumed.
The classes are really simple.
However, my mind is now on today's event.
Well, I think today's the day.
As I recall, the anime doesn't mention the exact day the combat practice with All Might happens.
So all I can do is wait for it to occur one of these days.
And it seems luck is on my side today, because it's been 10 minutes since Aizawa left the classroom, and thanks to my senses enhanced by One For All, I can hear his footsteps.
Yes, All Might is approaching.
And he's about to enter in three.
Two.
One.
"I am coming through the door like a normal person!" What an abnormal entrance, worthy of Jojo's.
"It's All Might!" Seriously, Kaminari? I thought it was Endeavor, coming here to give a lecture on why he should be the number one hero.
"Is that his Silver Age costume?" I don't really like the whole "ages" thing. It hasn't been long enough for there to be ages for heroes like All Might.
This isn't Marvel, which actually has enough history to create "ages" among its hero communities.
Although, if you think about it, this world is basically a representation of what would happen if the mutant race had been the predominant one in Marvel.
Which would be excellent for a Marvel "What If" comic. Too bad Marvel doesn't exist in this world.
"Today, we'll be doing combat practice!" Oh, while I was thinking, the class calmed down.
"And for that, you'll need these! Your hero costumes!" The time has come to dress heroically. My moment has arrived.
"So take your respective briefcase and get changed in the locker rooms."
This moment will help me confirm something I've had in mind since I arrived in this world.
How big can the effect of my existence be on the canon?
Not just on a larger scale; that's clearly going to be affected.
But I want to see the minor details.
...
After changing, we headed to the practice area, and like a good protagonist, I stayed a good ten steps behind. Why? To have my epic entrance, isn't it obvious?
The costume I sent in was basically the Gamma suit that Izuku has in the internship arc, but with two key changes:
First, it doesn't have the fake All Might hair tufts. I don't hate them, but I don't appreciate them either, so they're gone.
And second, I changed the color scheme. The suit went from a scheme of different greens with white on the shoulders to black with different muted shades of red on the shoulders as well as other key areas: the shins, both abdominal areas, the soles, and the edges of the mask.
I was heavily inspired by Horikoshi's discarded design for this, and I must say I'm very pleased with the result.
But putting my suit aside, I've just arrived at the practice area, and here they all are, praising their costumes.
From the simplest, like Jiro's, to the most outstanding, like Iida's for its robotic design.
Momo, for how incredibly sexualized her costume was in my old life.
Hagakure, for being literally invisible, which is quite ironic, I must say.
Aoyama, for his bright tones.
Oh yeah, Aoyama. I'd forgotten this guy is the traitor. For now, I'll stay on the sidelines of his situation, but once I have more room to maneuver, I'll see what to do with him.
"Your suit looks amazing, Midoriya!" Oh right, I asked Uraraka not to call me Deku.
She argued that she doesn't see it as an insult, but I explained to her that an insult used for eleven years can't change its meaning in just one day.
So, with all the kindness in the world, I asked her to call me Midoriya.
"Thanks, Uraraka. Yours looks great too; it makes you stand out."
"Although I think I didn't specify the measurements correctly." It's funny how shy people are in these "worlds." In my old life, people were embarrassed by much worse things.
"Everyone, please listen to me!" Heh, he's super stressed about this whole teaching thing, even though he hasn't followed my advice to buy a book.
"Let's pay attention, Uraraka."
"Right, Midoriya."
The explanation was the same as in the anime.
A building.
Two teams of two.
A fake bomb.
Heroes and villains.
Simple and effective.
We did the same team lottery as seen in the anime, and here's where the really curious thing happened.
All the teams, and when I say all, I mean literally all the teams, are the same as those seen in the anime.
I thought my presence would alter that, but no. It seems some things are destined to happen, even if they're small and insignificant like this.
I hope this doesn't influence my plans too much.
Anyway, after all that explanation, it was our turn to face Bakugo and Iida.
Bakugo looked at me with that typical villainous glare, and I ignored him. The usual.
...
Now we're looking at the building's blueprints to make a plan, but I've already made one in advance.
"Alright Uraraka, listen to me. I have the key to success for this test."
"Really?! I'm listening, Midoriya!" She gets excited too easily; she's very amusing.
"Okay, here's the plan. Bakugo will clearly come for me, so we're going to wait for him on the second floor, exactly."
"Why the second floor?"
"Easy. If you look from outside, you'll notice that the second floor is only about 7 meters off the ground."
"Yeah?" She's super confused, but it's normal. Even I wasn't sure about this at first because of how simple it is.
"Look, I know it sounds like a bad idea, but can you trust me the same way I trust you?" I can see from her face that she's thinking about it.
"Okay! I believe in you, Midoriya!" Uraraka, I don't care what the fandom says; you're a good girl, and you have my respect.
"Thanks. Now, Bakugo will come after me, there's no doubt about that. Once that happens, I need you to go find Iida. When you find him, let me know."
"Alright! But... are you and Bakugo rivals or something?" Me and that badly evolved ape as rivals? I'd rather die at the hands of All For One.
"No, Uraraka. Bakugo has been my bully since he got his Quirk. I hate him, and he hates me for existing. It's that simple."
"...I see. But shouldn't you not hate each other? You're going to be heroes."
Can't heroes hate? This girl should read some DC comics, because that idea is really absurd and childish.
"Being heroes doesn't stop us from being human, Uraraka. And as the humans we are, we will always hate."
"Hate only creates more hate, I'm clear on that. But I won't be the one to take the first step to break this cycle of hate between Bakugo and me. He started it, so he should be the one to take the first step and stop it." Pain's philosophy is truly deep, and I won't deny that I tried to make it my own when I said what I said.
"Heroes, you may begin!" He should speak more softly; I felt my eardrum tremble from his words.
"Let's go, Uraraka."
"Right!"
We quickly entered the building and headed to the second floor.
We got there in less than a minute, and I activated my perfect 5% of One For All.
With one punch, I made a complete hole in the right wall of the second floor.
Easily three people can jump through that hole.
"Alright, now we just have to wait."
"Just wait? Sounds simple."
"And it is, Uraraka. After all, the best plans are the simplest ones."
"Yeah... Say, have you ever traveled to another country?" If we're going to be waiting here, we can at least talk.
...
Not even two minutes passed before Bakugo arrived with his rabid and exaggerated explosions.
"DEKU!"
"DIO!"
My response made both of them look at me weirdly.
"Sorry, wrong anime." Not even a smile? I expected it from Bakugo, but from Uraraka? Not at all.
"Anyway, Bakugo, come and attack me like you always do." It seems my carefree attitude only annoys him more. No, rather, is there anything that doesn't annoy him?
"I'm going to kill you, insect!"
"Don't steal Vegeta's lines!" As I said that, I dodged the first explosion Bakugo threw at me and, just like in the canon, I caught his right arm.
"You predicted it?" he asked with surprise.
"Surprise, Motherfucker." I activated One For All at 5% and, without a second thought, I slammed him hard onto the floor, cracking it in the process.
If it were anyone else, I would have stopped right there and backed off.
But he's Bakugo. So, without letting go of my grip on his arm, I started dragging him across the cracked floor and ended up throwing him against the left wall.
The hole I made in the right wall is now a little behind me.
"Uraraka, go! What are you waiting for?! The Chinese New Year?!" My words snapped her out of it because she left instantly.
"Bakugo, stop whining and get up, will you? I'm getting bored here, buddy. An eighty-year-old man gives me more of a fight than you." And that's not a joke; Gran Torino hits really hard.
"You shitty Deku, I hate your confidence. I hate you!"
"Wow, Bakugo, if you didn't tell me, I'd never have known. Any other ancient revelations you'd like to make?" And again, my mocking attitude annoyed him because he launched himself at me with his explosions again... Super predictable.
Now he'll feint to the right but will launch himself upwards, just like in the canon.
(And... he did it). Yep, I threw a fake punch, and he did the same thing as in the anime, only this time I moved my left arm back and hit his left abdominal area, managing to unbalance him, making him miss the explosion he sent at me.
Not wanting him to stay behind me, I grabbed him by the leg and threw him forward again.
(Now for the grand finale). Bakugo got up again, furious, and reached for one of his gauntlets.
"Oi, Deku! Do you know what this does?! Do you, you damn stalker?!" I just have to let him talk so he doesn't notice I'm backing away.
Once I managed to get parallel to the hole I created at the beginning of all this, I decided to end his speech.
"Just pull the fucking trigger! You're more dramatic than a damn woman! Just attack already!" This guy is simply unbearable.
"Die, you son of a bitch!" And the explosion was released.
I could hear the fear in All Might's voice through the intercom.
But I was more focused on the explosion.
It's incredible. I sharpened my senses to the max just to see this, and it's simply incredible.
But I can't stay here.
I jumped through the hole I made and landed outside.
I waited a few moments and jumped back in with One For All at 2%.
Upon entering, I could see the shock on Bakugo's face, but I don't care about that.
What I care about is finishing this battle.
I raised One For All to 8% and, without a second thought, moved towards Bakugo.
I gave him a solid punch to his liver.
And seeing him hunched over, I didn't hesitate and gave him my best 8% punch to his face. Without letting him back away, I grabbed his face with my left arm.
And I slammed him against the ground again.
The effect was immediate.
Bakugo was knocked out.
I won.
Again.
He gave his all, and I beat him without even trying.
This will help him recognize my strength.
After all, he wants to reach the top, right?
And only the strong reach the top.
If he sees my strength, he'll have to acknowledge me.
And by acknowledging me, he'll listen to me.
I'm going to change Bakugo, but in my own way.
And it won't be pretty. For him, of course.
Now I just have to win this test.
Author's Note:
Alright, this chapter was purely dedicated to the fight against Bakugo.
The rest of the test after that, I'll leave most of it to your imagination.
I wanted Bakugo to see the difference between him and the protagonist.
And above all, that the protagonist has power.
In the world, the strong have a voice, and the weak, by themselves, do not.
That's something that carries a lot of weight in MHA; just look at All Might and his influence on the world.
The suit is a mix between Horikoshi's original sketch and my own patterns of black and red.
If I find a drawing similar to what I came up with, I'll post it so you can get an idea of what it looks like.
And goodbye to the nickname Deku. That nickname won't be used by Uraraka, and much less as a hero name.
Now, as for the hero name, I have no idea what to use. If you have any ideas, let me know, and if I like one, I'll use it.
See you.