Joseph woke up to cheering the hall and staggered outside. He was about to yell, until he saw a massive amount of pizza boxes and probably the entire dorm heading to a large room. "I don't know why but party!" Kirishima yelled.
"Hey!"
The congregation stopped, "How is this a party with only the guys, get the girls in on this."
"Oh my gosh, he's right, Deku, Iida, you have rapport with them."
"I got a better idea." Joseph called Aoi. "Hey, the boys got a lot of food, and we wondered if you wanted some."
"Weird, we were given a bunch of drinks and chips."
"Someone wants us to bond."
"Wha-! But but, we just met."
"I meant the dorm." Joseph replied.
"Oh? Oh...okay, I'll let them know, hold it outside?"
"Outside guys, apparently." Joseph replied.
"There is also a note addressed for you."
Outside in a large open area everyone sat on the grass and eat together. Joseph saw the writing on it and knew both who wrote it, and what it was for. It was his dad, and he wanted Joseph to 'break bread' with his allies. He opened the letter and hurriedly hid all the yen. Why the hell did he pack over a hundred thousand yen into an envelope, get a card like a normal person. He put the money in his pocket and read the card. "To my only son, I'm proud of you for choosing your own path instead of mine. THough I do not have any other children in my life, I guarantee that there will not be another one like you. Teachers have already told me that you are taking your duties, even the ones you don't want seriously. Just be careful, because with UA at your side you have a target on your back." Joseph nodded.
"Any hero has a target on his back." Ashor replied from behind him and Joseph jumped. "Sorry." Ashor laughed. "Just got released, apparently the little poke was someone firing a dart at me. The surprised triggered the...well Trigger in me."
"Yo! Shady!" A loud voice asked and Ashor paled more than when he was taking combat. "Come here!" Ashor was pulled back and the Shadow popped out.
The shadow roared and the girl with a green and red mohawk punched the shadow in the face and did not let up until it retreated. "Oh my gosh you come with a free punching bag! Bring it out again!" She smiled and one of her 'hairs' fell out. They were actually leaves and they matched the season. She had Emerald eyes that almost dared you to challenge her.
"Did she just punch a shadow?" Aoi asked, having seen it but still not able to believe it.
"I'm not at all surprised." Ashor replied. "You went with Denchi right, Aoi? She got me past it."
"Didn't know you could fight, I thought you were just really analytical." The girl replied, reaching for the food, but Joseph pulled it away.
"YOu can have pizza and soda after you introduce yourself."
"Oh, my bad. My name is Matsumono Ayaka,just call me Ayaka. I can control plants and can box as well."
"Oh how blessed. Another plant type quirk."
"Miss Ibara!" Ayaka cheered and hugged Ibara, who seemed shocked for a second. "You were awesome in the sports festival!"
"Sadly I did not achieve victory."
"Who cares, you showed everyone that strength isn't the only way to win, a strong will, immovable defense, and all of this while still looking beautiful."
"Thank you. I only wished to secure victory for class 1-B."
"Hell, I'm starting to respect Ibara and I have no idea what they are talking about." Joseph replied without looking at the source of this voice.
"Basically old fashioned arena with one on one duels to show students what they can do to professional heroes, you do good, you get profession heroes eyeing you for future jobs and possibly an internship."
Joseph turned around to see a girl in a green robe with green hair that managed to be elegantly done when it was literally vines. "She's pretty." Ibara curtsied.
"Thank you, kind sir."
"No need for that. I am Joseph, please call me as such. If may call you simply Ibara."
"I would be honored."
"Wow it is like a knight with a lady."
"I always find it best to speak as you are spoken to, or more polite if they are rude off the bat." Joseph replied. "So plant hair, and Ayaka apparently grows them as well." He gently poked a flower that was growing on her shoulder, it felt like a real flower, "cool."
"Thanks!" Ayaka said. "Oh no you don't." She grabbed Ashor. "We are training. And you are using that shadow until you like it."
"Food first."
"Food first, after that we are training, so you get ten minutes after your second slice."
"Do you have any bread?" Ibara asked and Joseph grabbed one more of the bread that had been brought with the pizza before handing the other pieces to her and indicating the dip he had for them. She refused kindly and Joseph was only worried that an arranged would happen if his parents ever heard about her.
"Thank you kindly for this."
"Thank my father, he unofficially just adopted everyone who eats, drinks, or sits in this group." Joseph replied. "Though I would have prefered some fruit." Joseph mused aloud.
"May I?" Ibara asked and Joseph nodded.
"I am not sitting with these people!" A voice said and Ibara sighed.
"Then don't, take a few slices and go somewhere else, this is for everyone, and if you are someone you are entitled to some too." Joseph replied.
"Thank you." He took a box and sat off to the side.
"My apologies for that."
"NOt your fault in even a marginal sense. I don't know why he doesn't want to eat with us but we lose nothing by letting him eat that way, and it stops a situation from escalating."
"How mature of you."
"I'm surprised you are a second year yet so humble. It is impressive."
"Right? She is the best!" Akaya said. "Ten minutes, lets go. I am going to beat that shadow until it becomes too scared to act out."
"I mentioned I had a hard time controlling it. She wants to beat it into submission"
"No matter how much it bothers you now, I would savor moments like this." Joseph replied with a sad look in his eyes and a sadder tone in his voice. "Friends can vanish forever in the blink of an eye."
The group was silenced. "There is a story there." A person with a burnt left eye but otherwise normal skin pressed him for information but Joseph simply raised his hand.
"For another time." Joseph replied.
"This is tied into Goliath, isn't it?" Aoi asked and Joseph clenched both fists but took a big bite out of a slice of pizza. "What happened? I want to help if I can."
"Honestly, I was able to get it stop, if i could just remember what happened the first time i summoned him I could figure out what he is. Each golem I make has a function, from the beginning that was my goal. So that means GOliath did too."
"How does that work?" Midoriya asked, "Like what was the order you give your defense one."
"Initially first time i summoned it I told him to stop a house from collapsing, because of that, I can summon him and he will stop any falling object, but I can tell him to do other things like stop the robots from moving. Oh I never showed you the Offensive golem. Hmm...He attacks if i don't give him a command instantly."
Joseph tapped his sides, pulling out a block of clay. It grew to six feet with a sword modeled onto its back and a large spike where its left hand should have been. "Can you cut these boxes up?" Joseph asked and the golem drew his sword and within a few seconds, the boxes were cut into triangles much like the pizza inside had been, it bowed and then crumbled. "Still need to work on the energy conservation…" Joseph made a note to himself.
"Life from simple clay? Amazing?" Ibara replied. "And it listens so well."
"Yeah, the human sized ones do. My Animation Quirk is a blending of my father's Sculpture quirk, which makes him form natural materials into any form he desires, and my mother's life transference, which allows her to put a bit of her life into the patient to help their recovery, the blended into the ability to put life force into my sculptures."
"Was your marriage a quirk marriage?"
"No, completely normal marriage."
"He means did they marry to make the quirks mesh."
"No. it was a completely normal marriage." Joseph repeated, "What type of Dr. Frankenstein crap is that? Meshing DNA together just to make something strong."
"The way my siblings and I were born." Todoroki replied and Joseph froze.
"Sorry." Joseph replied.
"NO need, I understand the feelings, my sister actually said the same thing."
"Did I just hear a proper literature reference made?" A man approached who looked like a walking block of cement.
"Morning, Professor Cementoss." A few of the students chimed.
"Yes, morning, now did I hear a Dr. Frankenstein reference?"
"Yeah, though it seems I tried to digest my foot in the process."
"It happens. So many students outside on a day like this, it is rather refreshing."
"So is the soda." Joseph handed him one, "Feel free to join us, unless we are running out of food."
"Wait...don't we have P.E and then quirk practice today?" Midoriya asked and class 2-A groaned.
"Classes are cancelled, hence the reason it is 10:00 and no one has come get you all." Cemetoss stated plainly. "What was it in relation to?"
"Concept I never heard of called Quirk marriage, where you take one person with a quirk, force a marriage onto them with someone with a different quirk in an attempt to mix the quirks together. Reminded me of Dr. Frankenstein picking things he wanted for his monster. No offense Todoroki." Todoroki nodded.
"Ah, right. I forgot you were in a very traditional area. Quirk marriages are banned over there."
"Wish they would have taught me or at least let me watch vids from here."
"The video ban is a rule from our government. Our Heroes will sometimes work as soldiers in times of war."
"We don't have heroes back home. We have police and villains." Joseph replied. "Like the ones that-" Joseph stopped as his head felt like it was going to burst. "Ow! Owowowow!" The pain stopped but Joseph's vision was blurred. "Why does it do that when I try to remember the first time I summoned Goliath."
"That giant one that beat my shadow." Ashor walked back with a limp, "please tell me you have more comfort food."
"Oily chips okay with you." Denchi tossed an unopened bag. Denchi noticed Joseph's glare and scooted away from Keniya, her face red.
"You two are getting close."
"Battle respect."
"We had one class."
"Instead of P.E. there are quirk and non quirk battles, done in both periods. And the fights the first week are the worst for new students." Cementoss replied as he took a seat. He grabbed a slice of garlic bread and Joseph pushed the dip tray over. Cementoss nodded his thanks. "Now, you didn't get to see last years sport's festival, and they don't let us record the Provisional license Exam, what else would you like to know?"
"Well it would be unfair but I want to know what you expect us supports to do when some of us won't be inventing items. I have my golems and I am going for versatility over equipment."
"Not what I heard from Powerloader. He claims that you use your golems to Test Mei Hatsume's invention and you are helping her inventions be ready for real world work."
"It is either them or me." Joseph admitted. "And she paid me with these gloves that have miniature tools in them. Also have a pair of non slip boots from her, so I don't mind having her test my golems, as I learn structural weaknesses everytime one breaks."
"Well the staff thank you."
"So do we." Iida added, explaining the time he was sent into the ceiling because he wanted a cooling system on his legs. Midoriya and Uraka told similar stories, as well as many others.
"I don't get it. Combat heroes needs supports right?" Cementoss and the second years nodded, "Supports need to make equipment and support combat heroes." Nods again. "Rarely ever is a prototype made without a few problems. Tests are made to discover these problems, live tests are made when simulations do not reveal anything anymore." Each sentence ended with a pause and nods, "yet the other support, who would be spending their time wisely working on his own support style, is the only one willing to step into these things?" Midoriya, Uraka, and Iida began explaining the problem. Joseph took a deep breath, Ashor suddenly moving to the side. "All of you shut up. Now. She wants to make these to help heroes, and you want them to work perfectly the first time, everytime. Do you know anything that works perfectly the first time it was ever made? Did you know how to use your engine the way you did after a year of practice?" Iida stopped and shook his head. "Did any second year have their Special move squared away walking in?" The crowd changed. "Cementoss, Are you still working on improving your quirk, even though you are both a pro and a teacher?" Cementoss nodded with a smile. "Yet everyone expects Mei to have everything done perfectly the first time with no live tests. And this is logical?"
Class 2A lowered their heads and Cementoss stifled a laugh. He decided to jump in, "Now now, the reason teams and partners were added this year was to stop the disconnect between both classes and classrooms. I was going to make the announcement later, but there will be pop quizzes in the form of crossover tests, people who are second years maybe helping 1st years, working with third years, or different 2nd years, and supports will be doing the same. The first one involves making a team of five or more, with one second year, one first year, and a support. At least one of each must be made, afterwards we will submit it to the faculty and if they like it we try to find a professional hero to view your composition."
"Keniya, Denchi, Aoi, Faust, Akaya." Joseph replied, "I know most of them, no offense Akaya," Akaya waved it off, "and each one of them syncs with someone else."
"How do I sync with Akaya?"
"She can stop the thing you are most afraid of and did it without any provocation?" Joseph replied.
"Uh...stop!" Denchi cross her arms in an X shape. "Too fast, way too fast. Why do you jump at these things?"
"Because time is as fickle as anything else, so my goal is to use it as soon as I can, before it decides to leave."
"YOu don't have to decide now, the first month should have no surprises."
"Wish our year was like that." A person with spiky blond hair grumbled, and the red headed kid from earlier laughed.
"So much happened." Midoriya agreed.
"Most of it you caused." The blond threw a soda bottle and Midoriya ducked. It smacked Ashor, and his shadow roared out just to be beaten down by Akaya with one hand holding a slice of pizza.
"And you can do that everytime?"
"I'm eating with my other hand, yes I think i got it covered."
"Alright, I want Akaya in here."
"Also every combat student needs a support backing them. YOu can have the same support as someone else." Cementos replied and class 2A began talking with 1A and 1H. "Now that it is an assignment you socialize with other classes."
"Um…" Aoi timidly pulled on Joseph shirt and Joseph wanted to hug her she was so adorable. "I don't know anyone but Denchi. Eek!" She shrieked as Denchi grabbed her and hugged her
"This is my loli support." Denchi smiled and hugged Aoi
"I'm not a loli." Aoi shrieked. Denchi shook her head. "I'm so sorry."
"Didn't know you trained under Mic." Denchi replied, she shook her head again.
"Yep, I'm making that speaker." Joseph muttered. "So who want mes to be theirs?"
"We already have worked together, so I'm in on this."
After hearing Keniya's response, 1-H was swarmed by people that had partnered with them during the Entrance Exam. Akaya hugged Faust, who squirmed, the shadow grew and Akaya glared at it, the Shadow hissed and retracted. "You just tamed Faust. Mephistopheles would love to talk to you."
"How come you don't know quirk marriages but you know Goethe's Faust?"
"Because books are easier than explaining why people genetically engineer people."
"Why is that true?" SHoto replied and a blackhaired girl pat him on the back.
"Deku? Do you need a support?" Denchi asked, eager to work with her hero who had encouraged her.
"Miss Ibara! Can you join us please?"
"I need a support who does not wish ill will. Thank you for this opportunity." Ibara replied.
"What the hell is she? That amount of humility doesn't even exist in the stories I was told as a kid. And they were from the Bible and from Knights of the Round Table."
"Ibara has the most humility out of anyone. It is almost a second quirk, but it makes her alias of Maria more accurate." Cementoss replied.
"Thank you for your kind words." Ibara folded her hands together.
"I feel like angels are about to descend." Faust replied.
"Not good for you." Ayaka joked and the group laughed.
"Well well, it seems Powerloader was right." Cementoss smiled. "There may be a miniature gravity well in 1-H this year." Cementoss stood. And shook hands with the first made team. "I look forward to teaching you all down the road."
"I don't know how I feel about being compared to a large space mass." Joseph replied.
"Stop eating so much Pizza." Ayaka joked.
"Never!" Joseph took a big bite of two pieces he stacked on top of each other. "Oh yummy."
"But the problem is while each of us syncs with our support, the partners don't know what the others can do."
"How quickly can we get a spot in the Gym?" Akaya asked.
Next month, the new teams met in Gamma Gym, Powerloader, Eraserhead, and Gunhead, a professional hero, waited for them to get ready. All of them but 'Maria' in their P.E. uniforms. Ibara had on a green dress with piece of cloth around her neck that Joseph tried to put a name to and knew his dad would grill him for days on it if he asked.
"You know, I think Joseph is the only one here without a 2nd year he idolizes."
"Yeah, who is your idol, what encouraged you to become a hero?"
"Um. it isn't that good of a story, both of my parents are great people, but they are super protective and so I never really got to run around outside that much. The lunch we had with pizza chips and soda, was bought by my dad, and he sent me 100,000 yen in a card."
"What the hell?"
"They mean well, and they want to make sure I have the best I can have, I get that, but I wanted to do something that they didn't teach me, so I can learn what I am capable of without mommy and daddy there to protect me, and with the quirk that allowed me to make customized movable clay golems, I decided to become one of the heroes in my books. They support me fully, and I am grateful that they are okay with this."
"And you are amazed by Ibara's humility. You have a family people would kill for and you speak as though it is normal." Faust replied. "I'm jealous."
"Sorry." Joseph replied.
Faust waved it off. "I didn't mean anything bad."
"So what are we doing here? Because we have shuffled teammates and fought against and with each other."
"Just sit off to the side, not everyone is done like you were."
"Oh right, about fighting." He looked at Ibara. "How sturdy are those vines?"
"Only as strong as the amount of sunlight and water I put on them."
"So a shower and sit outside and you are ready for combat."
"It is quite a blessing." Ibara smiled.
"Actually, I do have something you all but Miss Ibara have forgotten." Powerloader handed Joseph a pamphlet. "None of you have turned in your hero costumes. Get to work on them, at least get something simple out for now and we can make changes later."
"Alright."
"Hmm," Keniya thought, "whatever we pick for a costume will play some part in our hero name as well."
"It will?" Aoi asked.
"Every hero has a theme, like I plan on going the combat gentleman, even signed up for fencing lessons during break." Keniya replied.
"Okay."
"I don't know what to make for mine." Aoi replied.
"Time to test something." Joseph replied. He made a tiny golem, did not even bother animating it. "This may sound weird, scream at it Aoi."
Aoi looked confused but took a deep breath and screamed at the golem, when she stopped, Joseph turned the golem. The clay had been pushed back to where it looked like it had been set inside a windtunnel. "Every heard of a banshee?" Joseph asked and Akaya and Denchi seemed really psyched about something. "First off, let me explain." Joseph went into a basic story about the Celtic water spirits and, despite how they were portrayed, not all Banshees were killers. A lot were kind beautiful singers who sang for those who dying and, while that was obviously dark, these type of banshees sang to help ease pain, something that Aoi had done on multiple occasions. Aoi thought about it, and then agreed, as long as she didn't have to look like she was skeletal or had a sunken face. "I'll write something up."
"Can't draw it."
"I'm a terrible artist?"
"HOW?" the team asked, and even Powerloader looked over at him when he said that.
"Because I don't use a pencil or pen to make the golems, and all my notes are written down?" Joseph replied. "If you want stereotypical art, you have the wrong family. Father can't see colors, he trusts that the color his helpers hand him are the one he asked for."
Joseph was the last one to make a costume design. He went with a multicolored robe with different colored pouches that matched the color of the fabric. "I'm going to color code me clay, make each one the best clay for the assignment."
"What are you going to use for Goliath?" Aoi asked and Joseph angrily sighed.
"Please stop bringing that up." Joseph replied.
"Sorry." Aoi replied. "Just I understand not liking your quirk. Mine is me forcing emotions onto people. And now I found a new way for my quirk to hurt people, but you just told me that like a banshee it is up to me what I use the sound for. It made me happy to know I didn't have to be afraid of my quirk. I want you to feel the same way."
"I wish I knew what caused it to stop from killing Ashor."