"Most of you won't have to figure that out yourselves. The school is handling placements." He let that land for a moment. "The teachers know which agencies have the track records, the infrastructure, and the operational environments to actually develop you rather than just use you. You'll be placed based on quirk compatibility and what each agency can realistically offer." A pause. "That's the arrangement for most of you."
"Most?" Jiro caught on.
"Most," Aizawa confirmed. He looked at five specific faces in sequence. "Todoroki. Bakugo. Iida. Tokoyami. Akutami. You have received direct requests from agencies. Not through the school's placement system. Direct requests, submitted independently, based on what those agencies already know about you." He looked at them. "You'll be selecting from those offers rather than being assigned."
"Not this again." Kaminari wailed. "Seriously sensei?"
"Yes."
"First Internships, now this. How is it only these guys who are getting picked?"
Aizawa stared at him. "Use your imagination and take a good guess."
That shut him up. Aizawa took out a stack of short papers and handed them over. "Life isn't fair. It would be best if you get used to it. Now here."
The five accepted the papers.
Almost immediately, several members of the class leaned forward.
"Well?" Kirishima asked.
"Who is it?"
"Can we see?"
"Not yet," Aizawa said before anyone could answer. "You'll have plenty of time to review them later."
The collective groan was immediate.
"Aww, come on."
"That's cruel."
"Sensei, that's psychological warfare."
The class reluctantly settled down. Yuta took a glance at the single page in his hand. By his count, there were thirty two agency names written on it.
This was significantly lower than the sports festival where the numbers were in the thousands.
Either the number of agencies willing to accept work studies was that low, or the school had already edited the final draft list for them to pick from. For a moment, he genuinely thought he was unpopular.
'Guess a lot of agencies see me as a walking insurance claim. Or am I being a bit too narcissistic?'
Across from him, Bakugo had already looked through his and clicked his tongue.
"Tch."
"What does that mean?" Kirishima asked.
"It means none of your damn business."
"Ah. So you like one of them."
"I'll kill you."
"The rest of you," Aizawa said, returning to the group, "will be placed well. I want that clear. The school isn't sending you somewhere inadequate because you didn't get individual offers. The placements being arranged are appropriate for your current levels and the current environment."
He looked at Kaminari specifically for a half-second. "Which in some cases means agencies with patience for learning curves. For those who have options, make your choice in four days."
"Hey."
"I said what I said. Moving on. You'll spend the remaining time you have either reviewing agency information for some, and undergoing more training in general. The other thing I want you to understand, is what you're walking into."
He turned his gaze. "Your internships happened before everything that's happened in the past two weeks. The field environment and threat level has changed. The types of situations you may encounter have definitely changed as well. Pay attention, don't joke around and be ready for anything. Don't be stubborn and understand when you should fight or retreat."
The class absorbed this. Nobody made a joke. Not even Kaminari.
"Consider that your final briefing for today. Any unexpected details will be reported promptly." He looked at Midnight beside him. "That's all."
Midnight stepped forward. "Alright, everyone. Back to work. The ten minutes are officially over and your quirks aren't going to develop themselves."
The class began dispersing, most groaning, while others were in deep thought.
"Who exactly is in your list Iida?"
"My brother of course."
"Yeah ... That makes sense. Guess you won't have to go anywhere else."
Conversations restarted in smaller clusters, filled with speculation and questions about agencies. Yuta had taken four steps when Aizawa said his name.
"Akutami." He stopped. "We need to talk."
The last few nearby students immediately became interested. Aizawa glanced at them once. They scattered. Cowards. A few moments later only the two of them remained.
Yuta scratched his cheek, watching Mr. Aizawa looking at him pensively. 'Does he ...' Multiple thoughts went over his mind at once. Perhaps ... did Mr. Aizawa want them to continue their internships as they did work studies?
"The work studies placement," Yuta said. "Is there something about the offer you wanted to ..."
"No. It's not about the placement," Aizawa's expression didn't change.
"Oh. Then ...?"
"It's about the White Fang." He said. "Do you know who he is?"
For a moment, the training field felt quieter than it had any right to be.
Yuta blinked once. Then twice. "…Um, I'm sorry sensei. What?"
Aizawa's brow furrowed slightly.
"Iida mentioned that his brother's first encounter with the White Fang occurred at Hosu during the internship period," Aizawa said. "Which would technically place that as his first public appearance." He paused. "But that's not accurate. On record, the White Fang's first confirmed appearance dates back to two weeks prior. In Machida." He held Yuta's gaze. "Made known through your testimony."
The autumn air moved through the training ground.
Yuta looked at him. '...Ah.' The memory of that fateful day when he first gave the sketch artist a very detailed description suddenly came back to mind. He had invented Kakashi on the spot and handed him to the police as a white-haired vigilante with a half-face mask, and promptly forgotten about it in the chaos of everything that came after.
'Come to think of it. I really didn't think this far ahead back then, did I?' he thought with a bit of contemplation. Well, it's not like creating the guy was the problem in the first place.
"I see," Yuta said. "And that has to do with me how?"
"Nothing." Aizawa replied. "I was told to ask just in case. As you know, the general situation around him is currently complicated. His methods have been generating public discourse that's moving in directions that aren't good for anyone. Not only is he a public topic, he is also making a lot of enemies."
The man sighed.
"There's been a lot that's happened Akutami. The school wants to make sure we are on the same page here. It wouldn't be ideal if U.A was blindsided by an unexpected development. I don't expect you to have his personal contact information, but if you do know anything, or if you ever cross paths with him again... someone needs to talk to him about his extreme actions. The current effects he's having on hero society are pushing the Commission to a breaking point."
Yuta sighed as well. "Yeah, I get that. Unfortunately, I don't know anything."
"That's fine." Aizawa nodded. "For those interested who know where to look, tracing his first appearance back to you is entirely possible. You need to be careful about that during your work studies. After all, you've already been attacked twice."
His words brought back memories. "Oh, that reminds me Sensei. Did those people who attacked the Shinkansen during my initial internship ever show up again?"
"The Shie Hassaikai? No." Aizawa shook his head. "They haven't made a single appearance ever since then. Resources haven't really been allocated to uncovering that end either in light of current events."
Yuta nodded. It had been quite a hectic few weeks. Come to think of it, the Yakuza hijacking the train probably hadn't had time to occupy headlines before it was overshadowed by HOSU. Which was subsequently overshadowed by the 716.
To think so much could happen in such a short time. "It's unknown whether they'll attack you again once you show up. So be careful whenever you leave the school." Aizawa said then started turning away. ""Make sure you turn in your choice from the agency list by the deadline. Don't make me hunt you down for it."
Yuta glanced down at the paper still in his hand before raising his head again.
"Wait."
Aizawa stopped. "Aren't I doing my work studies under you?"
"No."The answer came immediately.
Yuta blinked. "...No?"
Aizawa turned just enough to be heard clearly. "Your close combat training is complete. You learned everything I intended to teach."
That was... surprisingly flattering.
Unfortunately Aizawa wasn't finished. "Not only do I have nothing else to teach you," he continued. "I also can't leave U.A. during this period."
Fair.
The current situation wasn't exactly ideal. He started walking again.
"Besides, I think I've been through enough this month."
It took several seconds for the meaning to fully register.
"...Was that directed at me?"
There was no reply. Yuta watched his teacher disappear across the training field. Then slowly looked away.
His eyes twitched. Because honestly... Aizawa might actually have a point.
Looking back at the last three months since the school semester started, Aizawa had his arm shattered at the USJ, had it broken again by a completely different Nomu on the train to Hosu, then there was the giant at the camp.
Then everything else. At this point Aizawa's medical file probably had its own filing cabinet. The injury frequency would be second only to Midoriya.
"Yuta." A familiar voice fell into his ears. Speak of the devil.
Yuta turned to see Midoriya jogging toward him from the far side of the training grounds. The green-haired boy slowed as he approached.
"Hey, Midoriya," Yuta said, sliding the agency list into his pocket. "Can I help you with something?
"Ah, yes." Midoriya stopped a few feet away, shifting his weight from foot to foot, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, actually, I wanted to ask you for a favor. I was wondering... if you have some free time before the work studies start, could you be my sparring partner?"
Yuta blinked, genuinely stunned. "Huh? Me?"
"It's like this." Midoriya immediately launched into an explanation. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Midoriya explaining things was less a conversation and more a natural disaster.
Words started pouring out. "I know it's a big ask," Midoriya said quickly. "And you don't have to if you don't want to. But I've been thinking about what I need right now and I think ..."
"Explain first," Yuta cut him off, realising he wouldn't get to the point if not prompted. "What do you actually need."
Midoriya exhaled. "Right. Okay." He tucked the notebook under his arm. "You know my quirk. Or at least what it looks like from the outside."
"Breaks your arms when you use it at full power," Yuta said. "Sports festival. Yeah."
Midoriya flushed a bright crimson, looking incredibly embarrassed. "Um, right! Well, it's not doing that anymore, thankfully! I went through a lot of trial and error during my internship with Gran Torino, and I learned how to distribute the power evenly throughout my entire body instead of focusing it in one spot. It's a new fighting style I call Full Cowling."
Small, flickering arcs of green bio-electricity sparked across Midoriya's skin for a split second before fading.
"Right now, I can safely maintain about five percent of my maximum output without causing any backlash to my muscles,"
"Five percent," Yuta said.
"It's a starting point," Midoriya replied, a little defensively.
"I'm not criticizing. Keep going." He gestured.
Midoriya let out a sigh. "The problem is that ... Well, five percent isn't really enough. I mean, it's great that I made any progress at all, but ... It's slowed considerably ever since. Compared to those who've grown with their quirks for years, it's still lacking."
His face carried a touch of determination. "I need to push the limits of what I can do with it and the only real way to do that is under pressure. Actual pressure. If I spar against someone at my current level, the ceiling doesn't really move because ... the situation never forces me past what I can already handle."
Well, Yuta could already see where this was going.
"I've thought of asking others but ... Well, Todoroki isn't really a good fit for my training. The quirks of others aren't really suitable either. Kaachan looks way too engrossed so I doubt he'll agree to my request. And everyone else is also improving their quirks and don't really have time even if they could help ..."
Midoriya trailed off. Yuta stared at him.
"So basically ... I'm the most suitable person with the least to do right now?"
"No, no! I didn't mean it like that at all!" Midoriya waved his hands frantically in front of his face, his entire expression a mask of pure panic. "It's just ... I saw your close combat training with Mr. Aizawa. Plus I need someone who can move just as fast or even faster than I can. That's the only way I can create a high pressure environment to force my body to adapt!"
Yuta stared at the boy for a long moment, watching him practically vibrating. He let the silence stretch just long enough to watch Midoriya break into a light sweat before a lazy, amused smile finally crossed his face.
"Relax, Midoriya. I'm just messing with you," Yuta said, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked over the green-haired boy, noting the intense, unyielding drive radiating off him. 'Besides, it's not like I don't have a few things of my own I want to test out.'
"Sure, why not. I've been meaning to try out something new I've been working on anyway."
Midoriya's face instantly lit up, his eyes wide with a mixture of relief and excitement. "Really?! You'll do it? Thank you so much, Akutami-kun! I promise I won't waste your time!"
Five Minutes Later
BOOM!
A giant Shockwave swept in all directions.