"Uh... hello? I'm Izuku Midoriya? I just texted you all about my weapon?"
The forge was... not quite what Izuku expected. He expected some dark, ashy, smoky room with billowing fires and some kind of giant, brick-built forge in the back.
'Maybe I shouldn't let my imagination going a bit wild,' he thought, 'but I guess that's what most people would imagine. Not a well-lit room mostly made up of tables with stands on them, precision tools placed with care and a great deal of organization and, most notably, 'no' heavy amount of soot caking the entire room.'
As he walked around taking in the sights, he was stopped short by a small post-it sign he saw on a desk nearby. Curiosity getting the better of him, he picked up the sticky note and took a look at it, his emerald eyes going a bit wide as he did so.
"Running into town, low on dust for the welders, ward will take you up on your order."
'Ward? Oh right; some Huntsmen picked out particularly promising students from a group and put them to work under them, teaching them their skills and specialties if they seem to have a gift for it, usually in the form of a unique Semblance. Still, it's a bit odd because I still haven't seen anyone-'
"So you're the guy who actually broke his weapons on the first day of school huh? I have to admit, that's a new one."
"AAHHHH!"
Izuku screamed a bit as he jumped up in the air, turning around mid-fall as he moved to face the person who had snuck up on him. He was a bit surprised when his eyes met two extended lenses that focused in on his face, magnifying the gaze of a young woman, roughly a year older than him, as she stared down at him. With a bit of a 'clink' she raised the magnifying lenses off her eyes and settled them at the top of her head, revealing a set of yellow eyes that blinked down at him.
"First year huh? Yeah I'm really surprised then, you guys really don't end up in the kind of trouble that ends with busted gear within one day of getting into the Academy." He stammered a bit as she spoke in a very forward manner, the young woman looking him up and down as he recovered himself.
"Err... right, well, what happened was during Initiation, I was using my weapons, Emerald Gust, and... WAH!?" He tried to raise the case he had been carrying Emerald Gust in up to the young woman only to have found it already out of his hands. By the point he looked back to her his case had been popped open, despite it being LOCKED, and his weapons were already being inspected on a nearby table, the girl's lenses went down again as she inspected them.
"Four shotgun mechanisms, pumps, built into the larger metal casing of two gauntlets and two boots. The metal is suitably thick to not only house the mechanisms but to also protect them. Most likely the weapons are discharged in time with your punches and kicks, meant to add some extra oomph. A bit inefficient as most Grimm are almost entirely homogeneous but it works for people who prefer to work with their fists and their feet..." He saw she actually raised her goggles for a moment and... well, he didn't know how to describe it. Her eyes changed, though not greatly; lines began to appear, intersecting at her irises, as she looked down at his weapon.
"... Interesting... the right gauntlet's fingers have been pretty much shattered. Not in the usual sense, the metal work added here is actually pretty solid and, by the looks of it, it's Mountain Glenn made... designed more for efficiency rather than any spark or showmanship. No, shattered as in its been completely collapsed in on itself. Fingers caught in here would've been pretty badly cut up but there would've been space to remove them carefully... still, you'd expect he would've lost some. Perhaps they were broken? Maybe. That certainly wouldn't be out there for the kind of force required to damage the fingers of these gauntlets in such a way." The girl muttered to herself as she inspected the right gauntlet, Izuku momentarily frozen before she looked over at him.
"You know your Emerald Gust was somebody's baby right? You should be more careful with these!" He stammered slightly as he nodded in agreement, the girl going back to Emerald Gust. "So how often do you expect this sort of thing to happen?"
"I, what?" Izuku asked, genuinely a bit lost, as she looked back at him. She didn't seem bothered now, no, now she actually seemed excited.
"If you're working with the kind of strength that can do this to your gauntlets, it's probably going to happen to these fingers a lot more often in the future. I was working over some potential ideas in my head and, well, I doubt you have the money for anything advanced... but I could go ahead and, instead of replacing the metal here with some of the stuff we have here as part of the 'Student Program' I could just remove the finger portions of these gauntlets entirely. I'd need to do some readjustments on this grip you've had built in as a handle so that your fingers would still wrap around it in such a way to form a fist and... well, if you punched anything too solid you'd be risking personal injury, I'd suggest gloves, but it would keep you from having to come back in here every time something like this happened! If you're going to be busting these up a lot then it would be better use of my time and yours and it'd spare these babies from any more serious damage!"
"... Huh?" He asked again as the girl circled around, still clearly excited.
"The rest of the gauntlet actually held up under the pressure of whatever you did, though I wouldn't guarantee anything if you do too many repeat performances, everything has its limit after all, and if I remove the fingers I think the rest of it can hold up... you'll just be giving up that protection 'and' you'll need to worry about hurting yourself just by punching. Though you do have Aura so I guess that'd be less of a concern. So how about it?"
"Uhhh... well, I was thinking... maybe we could just make the finger bits retractable? Or something like that? That way I could quickly slip them on and off in case I... needed to do what I did here later?"
...
The girl stared at him for a second, her yellow eyes shimmering a bit before she turned back to Emerald Gust.
"Hmmm... that's a toughie. Right now your Gauntlets are built so that their current structural integrity is what's making them so strong. If we start toying with that to add another retractable element, we'd risk accidentally weakening the core structure of Emerald Gust here. That wouldn't just be bad in terms of protecting your hands, it'd be bad in terms of protecting the shotgun mechanisms that give your gauntlets their kick." Her eyes focused in on his gauntlets, peering at them, before a smile grew on her face. "But... that is a simple adaptation. It's not incredibly hard to design some sheet metal shaped to slip on over your hands. The trick would be finding out how to get it to work without attacking the structural integrity of your gauntlets... hmmm... what if... yeah, yeah that might work." He saw her reach over for some sheet metal as she raised Emerald Gust up.
"If I place the mechanisms on the underside of the new finger guards, thickening them up a bit so that they'll protect them, and then attach those systems to the Safety, I could make it so that the process of your Gauntlets Mecha-Shifting would not only unleash the shotgun elements, it'd also slip the finger guards on top of your hands! I'd have to work on the grip so that the system would slip in well together rather than crashing into each other and I'd have to make modifications to the grip itself so that this new finger guard would still allow you to tightening your hands into a fist before punching but... yeah, yeah I can totally make this work!" The girl turned back towards Izuku with an excited grin, walking right on up to him and 'thoroughly' invading his personal space. "I'll need 150 Lien for the one gauntlet and obviously 300 if you wanted to upgrade both and it'd take me the better part of today in order to get them ready for you but like I said this adaptation is so simple that it shouldn't take me any longer than that and besides it's not like I actually have anyone lined up to work for like I said you're the first kid to walk in here on the first day! So how about it, you want the upgrades or not?"
He blanched a bit at the girl's excited attitude, but in the end he got a bit caught up in the idea. If it worked then he'd be able to easily switch between the modes of his gauntlet without risking breaking the fingers with One For All. He didn't know how often he'd need One For All, if it'd be sooner or later, but it seemed like a good idea just in case. After all, he hadn't been entirely sure when or where he'd need One For All in the Emerald Forest after all.
"Uh, sure, sounds great." He muttered, slightly embarrassed at her proximity as he produced his Lien card. The girl quickly swiped it from his hand and produced a Scroll and her own Lien card form her pocket. She placed hers in one end of the Scroll and, when a light appeared in the other end, swiped his card through. After punching in a few commands he saw that a transaction for 300 Lien went through.
'Well, at least my three square meals at Beacon are free...'
"GREAT!" The girl's excited yell caught him off guard as she bundled up both Gauntlets of Emerald Gust and placed them on a nearby work bench. "You can keep your boots in case you need them for anything but I'll be keeping your babies here. I'll send you a text when I'm done... now I just need to place an order in Vale to pick up later... it might be a few hours so I should probably go ahead and get to work on what changes to the grip and the hull of these Gauntlets I'll need to make... I should also take the measurements on the intact Gauntlet just so I can figure out what sizes I'm working with..." With that the girl flipped her lenses on and immediately grabbed for some tools, sparks flying as she got to work on his weapons. He smiled a bit, glad to have gotten things started, and turned to leave... before he realized he never actually got this girl's name or number.
"Wait, sorry, I didn't get your name or-"
"Mei Hatsume, I have your Scroll number from when you texted us, I'll contact you, now please you're interrupting me working on these babies!" He sighed a bit as he nodded, still smiling as he walked out of the Forge. Hopefully he'd have those back before combat class tomorrow. While he would get another opportunity to spar, if he came up or volunteered, later in the week he didn't exactly want the impression he left on Glynda Goodwitch to be 'careless'.
Which meant that now it was time to get to his next class. That next class being...
... A class with the fastest talking guy in the universe, holy woah. He blinked slightly as Doctor Oobleck sped across his classroom, going over the syllabus and the day's first lesson as he discussed the history of Remnant at speeds he previously hadn't been sure it was possible for people to speak at.
'Is this how people view me when I mutter?' He looked over at his classmates, 'Maybe, but probably not... everyone looked more confused by Oobleck's muttering than creeped out so there was probably something different to my own running of the mouth that seemed to make people antsy.'
Izuku's arrival to class was, thankfully, nothing out of the ordinary. Whatever daze had overcome his peer group from before seemed to have passed just fine enough as they all greeted him when he took his seat. Yang seemed to be giving him an odd look but by and large he managed to get to his seat with just a few friendly hellos. Even Weiss seemed to dip less and less into that weird mood she'd been in all day to give him a hello... though now it seemed like something else was rapidly growing on her mind.
He sighed and rubbed his forehead a bit as he tried to focus in on what Oobleck was saying right there and right then rather than fade out toward other distractions. He brought up his pen and set it against his notebook, wanting to take good notes for that class.
For a moment it really felt like he was going to fall behind with how fast Oobleck was talking but, luckily, he eventually caught the grain. Some of what he was talking about was a lot of stuff that was discussed back in Mountain Glenn. He had good enough grades there and, using what he already knew, he managed to dig himself out of the verbal pile of dirt that Oobleck was just dumping on top of the class with how rapidly he was speaking. He started to catch up and, eventually, he was taking notes at pace with how quickly Oobleck was teaching, a smile on his face as he did so.
"Now then class. Some of you may of course be wondering 'why do I need this class'. After all, you are young Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-Training, you may be thinking. You think that you won't need a course on history because, after all, what good is history or knowing the cultural, historical or current political landscape of the land around me going to do when I'm aiming down the sight of my rifle at the eye of a Beowolf? What good will a history textbook do me if all I can use it for against Grimm is to smash their heads in? It's an unfortunate attitude but one that I find is all too common, especially among energetic youths. Even as history cautions us again that ignoring these things, ignoring history, leads us to our own follies."
"Many a village and town has nearly fallen to this sort of attitude. Others thrived by learning their lesson and improving upon their mistakes. Taking into account history, knowledge of the local area and, yes, our own failings is important for everyone, not just those involved in the field. As Hunters and Huntresses, these sorts of insights may not just help you to spot potential problem areas... but also to guide yourself through them." Oobleck took a long sip on his cup of coffee before he turned to the rest of the class.
"Now then, tell me... can anyone among you give me a well-reasoned example of how learning a lesson from the past or failing to do so has either helped or harmed Huntsmen and Huntresses like yourself and the innocent people that we are charged with watching over and training?"
Izuku considered the question carefully as he placed a finger to his lips. Honestly, he was surprised by how quickly an answer came to him, though in the end he supposed it was a bit unfair. He lived in a city whose entire existence practically revolved around both sides of that coin. He tentatively raised his hand up, the first among students, most of whom seemed either disinterested or were still thinking on their own answer. Oobleck looked to Izuku and pointed him out, giving him the floor. Izuku took a bit of a breath to center himself before pushing forward, realizing that he'd just put himself at the center of attention 'again'.
'What kind of day did I make for myself?'
"Well sir... there's Mountain Glenn." A lot of eyes perked up at that, Oobleck's own rising over the rim of his glasses somewhat as he took a sip of his coffee. "T-The city's been on both sides of this... when it was being designed the people who were laying the foundations realized that most settlements suffered from Grimm attacks when they didn't have their own natural defenses in the forms of mountains or the ocean... and roads and means of travel between cities that don't rely on air or sea based travel are unreliable at best, meaning that capital cities like Vale have a hard time supporting in-land settlements... so they designed The Metro to directly connect Mountain Glenn to Vale." There was a pause as he watched Oobleck nod in some approval, though it was clear he was waiting for the rest of Izuku's promised answer.
"... But after Toshinori Yagi saved the city, it was clear that the old strategy of just holding up and using the Metro had a lot of risks... especially if Vale itself wouldn't use the system in order to send help. But instead of trying to change things, Mountain Glenn's doubled-down. The Combat School there is great for learning survival techniques or for in-field engineering that can give Huntsmen some advantages, it isn't the best when it comes to actually teaching combat techniques, instead depending on the raw talents of its applicants in that regard. Don't get me wrong, the city's been using its second chance to fortify itself, the defenses are stronger than ever, but..."
"When your defenses rely on outside aid or that of Toshinori Yagi, there's always a risk for that to breakdown. Yes, very good Mr. Midoriya." Oobleck took a sip of his coffee as he looked over to Kacchan.
"Mr. Bakugo, I do believe you also went to Mountain Glenn. Might you have anything to add or detract from Mr. Midoriya's answer?"
"Heh, Deku's not wrong about the Combat School. Most of the students there were a bunch a losers who wouldn't make it as the ward to a D-Rate Huntsman. They were definitely going to go off and be scouts or work in Engineering or whatever and the school wasn't going to help. I'm just here cause I'm the real deal..." Bakugo's answer didn't surprise Izuku. Even when he would talk about how he'd make Mountain Glenn's Combat School look good, it was generally with the understanding that 'he' was the one making 'it' look good, and that he thought his own natural talents were what separated him from others, not his ability to learn from the Combat School. Still, as Izuku watched Ruby groan as she placed her head against the desk while a lot of the other students glared at Katsuki for his prideful remarks, he suspected that Bakugo was not making friends by insinuating that he was some 'real deal'.
"A crude way of putting it but you both do have a point. Mountain Glenn has chosen to use its miraculous second chance to fortify it's old plan rather than moving beyond it and trying to find something new that may have worked better. Perhaps there was nothing that could've worked better; after all, Mr. Midoriya is quite right about Mountain Glenn's founding, it was designed with the history of expansion outside of the major cities in mind. The city planners and those engineers who designed The Metro worked firmly with the drawbacks and the failings of the past in mind... perhaps Mountain Glenn's decision is the right one. Perhaps it has learned from history and this solution, however imperfect, is the correct one... it is 'hard' to think that, mind, when this decision very nearly led to the deaths of the entire city." The student body assembled nodded grimly as Oobleck continued.
"Mountain Glenn is a mixed basket when it comes to this lesson. On the one hand, the city has set to fortifying itself rather than reaching out and expanding. It's lost ground and hasn't reclaimed it, even with the Hope inspired by Toshinori Yagi it still faces the threat of the Grimm that most cities face in some way and, while it has been spared the violence and crime known to Vale, this is because of its relative size; Mountain Glenn had been hoped to become another Metropolis, but it has settled into a far more humble size. The governing body of Vale, while chastised by its own failures in the Mountain Glenn episode, is still slow to change its ways as it faces this new age that we are all living in. Rather than sending in the experts that would be necessary to change things, that could make Mountain Glenn's Combat School into one where Huntsmen and Huntresses could be trained, then and there, to effectively combat the Grimm without their own talents, it has sat on Toshinori's success and his age in order to focus efforts on the City of Vale itself; on the crime and the White Fang which now seem, daily, to make the news. Men and women who have not learned the lesson of the age, that The Grimm remain our most dire threat, and instead choose to fight their fellow man."
"But, it is a new age we are all living in, and there are still those who've learned their lessons. Many of you are here no doubt because of the example Toshinori provided the world as to what the word Huntsman can mean. You've seen just how one person can stem the tide of the Grimm and can save the lives of thousands, simply by 'being' there, by 'being' a Hero. The Hunter is no longer a stone-faced Exterminator or a pseudo-athlete... once more, Huntsmen and Huntresses are the legendary figures of they once were in the past, and this does come with its own benefits. I'm sure Toshinori doesn't exactly mind those posters made of him, nor do other popular or talented Hunters. Even the governing councils have had to recognize this sea change by changing their hands when it comes to the Academies, being more supportive to support this new wave of Huntsmen and Huntresses than it had been in past times."
"Even in Mountain Glenn this has brought change. People come from all corners come to visit the City of Peace and Hope, the Town Toshinori Saved, bringing new life into a city that had once been thought doomed to die. While Mountain Glenn hasn't expanded out, it has fortified and redoubled its efforts to protect what it has. The manner in which it has done so is up for debate, as Mr. Midoriya and Mr. Bakugo have helped to highlight, but the dedication of those who live there is still plain to see in Mountain Glenn's perimeter walls and in its tunnels leading to The Metro. There is hope for the first time in many generations that humanity can live in large settlements beyond the walls of their capital... and youths like yourselves are making this dream possible." The class perked up at that as Oobleck turned his gaze back to Izuku.
"So yes, well done Mr. Midoriya, a very apt example of both sides of this coin you have given us."
Izuku blushed somewhat as he scratched the back of his head. Like he thought before, that was kind of unfair. He 'lived' in Mountain Glenn. He was aware of a lot of that stuff. It wasn't exactly something that was praiseworthy for him to know. Still, it seemed like most people in the class were nodding along with Oobleck, his peer group even seeming pretty impressed.
As class went on and Oobleck picked out others to make examples, Weiss having raised an interesting point about Mantle failing to realize the value of The Color War and their former enemies' ideology and, instead, riding its old one into collapse. More surprising was an answer offered up right after that by, of all people, Tsuyu.
"For all the progress the White Fang have made, and all the good they and their allies pushed forward in their early days," her tone and look did not change in the slightest, though Izuku thought he heard an almost regretful tone, "the White Fang have ultimately been a far greater blight on the Faunus people. As they grow more and more violent, the chances of true peaceful coexistence between Humans and Faunus becomes harder to achieve," Oobleck nodded at her, seeing that she was done. Tsuyu sat her way back into the chair, merely finishing with, "Ribbit."
An answer that, Izuku swore, seemed to make Blake slightly uncomfortable. There were various other answers given as well but most of it wasn't stuff he was terribly familiar with on its own merits. Still, the end of class came and Oobleck did dismissed them all. With a bit of a stretch he got up and gathered his books.
"Man, sounds like it's a hoot to live in Mountain Glenn." Nora said as she finally woke up, Izuku sweating a bit as he scratched the back of his head.
"It certainly can be... it does make mistakes but, well, home is still home to me... and once you look past the ruins outside the perimeter wall, Mountain Glenn is settled in a pretty beautiful spot."
Indeed. While it wasn't the most defensible spot, it was beautiful. There were deposits of Dust here and there, most lost to the Grim, and the forests that did fall within the walls held some good lumber. The city itself had become more vibrant thanks to the reputation the Symbol of Peace and Hope had given it and... well, it was just home. Maybe it wasn't perfect, and neither were the people running it... but it was home.
And he hoped that he himself would see it through to something more one day. Maybe. One day when he would be the Symbol of Peace and Hope… Though, Izuku put off thoughts about the future for now. More time to deal with that later.
As they all left class he quickly recalled the text that Toshinori had sent him early on in the day. Quickly slipping it out and punching in a message to get his attention and see if his time was still open. A few nervous moments later and his Scroll beeped, signaling that a message had arrived. He smiled a bit as Toshinori did indeed say that he had time and that it was good timing; after next period he would've been busy setting something up at the school. Izuku pondered what it was but quickly shrugged as he plugged in that he himself had time. It took a few seconds and eventually Toshinori sent Izuku some directions to follow so that he could meet up with him. He felt a bit excited as he put his Scroll away, waving at his team.
"I just got a text for some... business across campus. I'll see you guys at the next class, alright?" Weiss and Pyrrha nodded for a moment understandingly, though Nora just huffed.
"Awww, you're leaving again?" Izuku scratched the back of his head a bit sheepishly as Nora said that.
"Well... lunch is coming up after this next class. We can hang out there if you guys want. This is just something pretty important I need to sort out before tonight. You know, get it out of the way before we all get together to talk team stuff tonight." Izuku saw Weiss flinched a bit as he brought that up, Nora and Pyrrha nodding slightly.
"Oh yeah, heard you talkin' to Weiss about that last night. Well, you hurry up and do your stuff fearless leader! Better make it to class on time; we can't have the head honcho of Team MNVW being late to classes!" Nora declared with a bit of a grin as she turned on her heels and walked off, going up to a slight jog as she tried to catch up with Ren. Pyrrha just wished Izuku good luck and, after a moment, so did Weiss as the trio departed. He smiled slightly, glad that his team hadn't asked too many questions... he guessed he'd earned some trust at that point. Taking a bit of a breath he started to sprint off. Nora was right, after all; it wouldn't have looked good if he was late for a class. Best to get the meeting with Toshinori over and done with sooner rather than later and then book it to the next period.
Izuku sprinted down the halls, doing his best to avoid the students moving about their own way, as he rushed to his meeting place with Toshinori. As time slowly went by he found that... well, the halls emptied out. Students became more and more rare as did people in general.
As he continued running he managed to hear Toshinori's voice... and it sounded like he was talking to someone. Izuku slowly but surely came to a stop, not wanting to interrupt the conversation... which was weird because he didn't hear someone on the other end of the talk. As he rounded a corner and peaked his head around he sighed in a bit of relief; Toshinori was just talking to someone on his Scroll was all.
He looked... nervous.
Very, very nervous.
Izuku know it isn't the polite thing to do but...
'No.'
Izuku frowned slightly as he pulled himself back behind the wall.
'No,' he thought, 'I really shouldn't be trying to listen in to a private call between Toshinori and someone else. It's his business,' he then shook his head, 'and besides, what would Mom say if she ever saw me spy on someone else's conversation. If it has anything to do with me, I'm sure Toshinori will tell me sooner or later. For now it's just best to respect his privacy and wait for the call to end.'
A short while later Toshinori clicked his Scroll shut as he sighed a bit, seemingly both relieved and annoyed at once. Izuku finally poked himself out from around the corner, the gaunt face of his mentor and hero smiling as he spotted the young man.
"Well about time you showed up young man. Was beginning to worry I got ditched. Wouldn't do to keep an old man like myself waiting, we tend to be impatient sorts."
"You really aren't that old Toshinori," Izuku responded with a smile as he ran up to him, the blue eyed Huntsman just grinning widely as he looked down at him.
"So... how do you like it?" Izuku tilted his head to the side a bit, the man just chuckled slightly as he looked down at him. "You know, Beacon? How are your classes, the meals agreeing with our meal plan, the rooms still nice... how's being a team leader?" Izuku got a bit flustered as he heard him, remembering something from last night.
"Wait... when you said that whatever happened... you knew I'd be the leader of a team, Toshinori?" The blond huntsman just scratched the back of his head as he nodded.
"Yeah. Course I couldn't be sure until you all picked up your chess pieces... Ozpin had his own little... priority list and what not." Izuku heard Toshinori mutter a bit as he lowered his hand, but the smile was still firmly planted on his features. "But when I saw who you got grouped up with there wasn't a shadow of a doubt in my mind... and before you start second guessing or wondering, no, I didn't have anything to do with it. Ozpin decided on you because of your own merits. That's why I said you 'earned' it Izuku."
'Woooooow… am I really that predictable?'
'Yes.'
'Oh,' Izuku just shook his head, feeling a slight amount of embarrassment at his apparent predictability. He wiped his eyes of any forming tears, and then looked back at his mentor.
"It's... not bad so far. I mean, I haven't really been tested yet so I can't say for certain but... well, my teammates are really nice. Pyrrha, Nora and Weiss are really good people. I think we'll make a good team when everything is said and done. As far as the other stuff... yeah, it's great. Beacon is everything I've dreamed of and more. Again, I have to-"
"Come on kid, I think you've thanked me enough at this point. Start patting yourself on the shoulder, you're the one who passed Initiation."
"... Am I really that predictable?" That time Izuku asked it out loud and Toshinori just barked out a long, loud laugh... that ended with him spewing a bit of blood. "AAAAAAAAAH!"
"*Hack**Cough*... Urgh. And nah, you just tend to hit these notes often enough that I can usually spot them coming at this point kid."
"... Isn't that the same thing as predicting them?" Izuku still didn't know how he just shook off coughing up blood like that. It was still so weird...
"Anyway, enough pleasantries."
'He's just not going to answer the question, isn't he?'
"You have a class to get to and I have some work I'll be taking care of after this. The training area isn't that far from here so let's go." Izuku nodded as he fell in behind Toshinori's steps, his mentor slowly picking up speed as the two walked off. "Like I said, the staff mostly trains here. They usually bring in the bigger stuff and the more dangerous equipment to help hone their skills, so it's kept pretty separate from the rest of the student body. After all, teachers though they may be, the staff here at Beacon are still Huntsmen and Huntresses. They're all expected to step up and save people if it comes down to it... no point in letting themselves get dull."
"Fortunately, most of them only really train in here late in the day when they don't have classes. Which means that you and I are in a pretty flexible position here at the school. My work here is during a pretty specific time frame... gotta keep it like that so I can actually maintain my hero form throughout it all."
"Oh yeah... Toshinori, you've been pretty vague about all this so far. Just what 'are' you doing here at Beacon? Like, officially?" Izuku saw his mentor grin slightly as he looked back at him.
"Ah, be patient young Midoriya... I'm sure you'll find out soon enough." Izuku quirked a brow a bit as Toshinori just waved him on. "So yeah, my time officially working is a bit limited 'and' it's only during certain days. So I have a bit of flexibility in my schedule for when I can meet you here after your own classes 'and' most of the staff that don't know about you and I will be in their offices finishing up work. Ozpin can cut the feeds and make sure no one spies on us and, well, it's really perfect for what we have in mind."
Almost as if on cue, as he said that, Toshinori popped open a nearby door and ushered Izuku in. He blinked a bit and walked into the room...
"HOLY WOAH IT'S HUGE!"
Indeed, during his tour of the building he'd seen where students were encouraged to train in their spare time. It was a handful of moderately sized rooms, wide open arenas where Atlesian Knights could be stocked through systems in the floor. That... that room was much bigger.
He gaped slightly as he looked at the large staff arena. Yeah, Toshinori was right, the place is perfect. It was huge, private, out of the way... someone could really stretch their legs in a place like that. Or practice something dangerous without having to worry about hurting others... or practice something dangerous without having to worry about putting them in a dangerous situation if they were to try to train with it outside of School Grounds. Izuku hadn't really known 'where' he'd train with One For All on his own time. He had had a few thoughts but none of them were great; he could have tried to get as far off from school grounds as possible but there was always the chance that it wouldn't be far enough... plus if he went off like that it'd probably raise more than a few eyebrows as to where he was going or why he was training so far away from school. He'd considered the Emerald Forest but... with how much One For All knocked him down right now, that would be 'very' dangerous. The negative emotions he'd have felt from the pain he would be going through plus the amount of sound he'd be making would no doubt attract Grimm... and any number of his limbs could be broken by the time they'd arrive.
No, training there, in that room, would be Izuku's best bet for privately training with One For All.
"You like it? A lot of the staff really like to stretch their legs whenever they do work out. Arenas as small as the ones you all work with usually just won't cut it... Heck, could you imagine me going hero and then doing what I do in one of those little arenas?" Izuku's eyes went wide at the thought. He'd seen what Toshinori was capable of with One For All first hand... those rooms probably wouldn't survive. "Exactly... which makes it perfect for our training." Toshinori stretched his arms out a bit as he looked around.
"I figure you and I will talk, arrange a time when we're both free on our schedules and then train here for a couple hours of the day. Really get you to work up a sweat. I wouldn't want us to work out here too often... like I said, it's going to be a step up from the old program. Now that you have Aura, I'll really have to grind you down to help you make progress... but at the same time, your Aura will help you make more progress faster than you could before. On the flip side, you'll be exhausted and sore... and I do want you to take breaks from this level of intensity, alright kid?" Izuku nodded slightly as Toshinori said that... and then he saw when Toshinori sighed, almost as if he was expecting Izuku to ignore that part, before grinning again.
"That being said I'll make sure you get a damn good work out in the meanwhile. After all, I'm not about to let my successor down." The blond huntsman gave his protégé a wry grin as he leaned forward a bit, "Now... anything you want to ask about Izuku?"
"Toshinori..." Izuku started somewhat nervously, scratching at the back of his head as his mentor just arched an eyebrow. "Would... would I be able to use this room to train with One For All? Like you said, it's big enough to handle something like that and... well, it's safer and more private than anywhere else I could train with One For All." Izuku saw Toshinori hesitate for a second as he said that, the blond Huntsman scratching at the back of his head as he seemed to think.
"... Yeah, yeah I did say that. You aren't wrong... if you were going to train with One For All anywhere, it probably would be here." The gaunt form of Toshinori grinded his teeth a bit before he looked back at Izuku. "Still kid... that might not be your best move anyway. Training One For All like you'd need to... Hell, you'd be taking hour long breaks, maybe more, if you were going to go about doing it safely. I mean you have Aura now kid and that'll get you up a bit faster than most people with a similar injury, but you'll be inflicting it on yourself over and over again. You'll be drained by the end of it and... well, one or two punches is more progress than no punches, sure, but still, it'll be rough going."
"That's not even getting into what'd happen if you got caught by another student or an unaware staff member here... Ozpin, myself and Glynda could try our best to keep people away, sure, but in the end we aren't perfect and mistakes can happen. We can't be shown showing favoritism to anyone... especially me. That'd raise all kinds of questions about the nature of your semblance and your place here in Beacon. Though that's not the only thing that makes this risky; it's risky to be training like this at all. If you push yourself too hard in the name of making progress or you slip up, you could really hurt yourself Izuku. I understand that you're willing to give it your all but... well, this might not be the best way to do it young man. Plus... well, it isn't exactly going to help your team's moral if their leader comes back from who knows where with healed over, serious injuries... or worse."
"I know... but still, I need-"
"I know... I know..." Toshinori sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "I know it all too well too kid. I know you need to make progress on One For All. Heck, I probably know it better than you." He quirked his eyebrow at that as Toshinori just rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Give me some time to talk to Oz and Glynda about it, alright? This is a pretty big ask Izuku... I'll need some time to see what we can arrange. I'd honestly prefer it if someone could be here with you if you tried this... but that might be hard to arrange given the dearth of people who know." Izuku nodded. He hadn't expected an answer right away, or even a consideration of his request. That Toshinori was willing to think it over was enough.
"Anyway... Toshinori, I've been trying hard by myself to work myself into a better fighting style than what I have right now..." Toshinori nodded, the two having discussed that previously. "I was wondering... if you could teach me some moves? Like, throwing and grappling and if you knew anyone here who could teach me how to fight better?" Toshinori grinned a bit, obviously glad to have gotten off the topic of Izuku breaking limbs to train One For All, as he relaxed.
"You know it's a shame you don't want to pick up boxing kid. It's really solid stuff... but I understand. Port might be a bit down that you aren't going to take up suplexing Grimm but, Hell, why not. I can give you some pointers on how I toss the Grimm and other folk around. Be some good exercise and it'll get you what you need in terms of fighting." With that, Toshinori tapped at his chin a few times, humming to himself. "As for your other point... yeah, I think I know someone. Tell me kid, have you ever heard of Juu Atama?"
"Wait, you mean... you mean THE Juu Atama? The guy nicknamed the Battle Huntsman! Yeah, I know him! He's a monster in close-quarters combat and his Semblance, Gatling, allows him to launch his Aura from his arms like miniature projectiles! They're able to overcome the Grimm's usually Homogeneous resistance to bullets by being pure Aura that disrupts their form! He's a master of so many different styles of combat that it's hard to know what to use against him because he can just change up tactics!"
"Woah, easy there fan boy, that's eno-"
"But he hasn't been seen too much on the active scene recently because he took up a position... at... Beacon! HE'S HERE?!"
"Dang, way to ruin my reveal there kid." Toshinori grinned a bit regardless as he nodded. "Yeah, he's here. Right now he's a combat teacher to third and fourth year students; with his depth of knowledge students in those years can really be helped along, as they're reaching the ends of what more fundamental combat training can do for them. If there's anyone here at the school who could help you with what you're asking for, it'd be him." Toshinori scratched the back of his head. "The guy 'is' a teacher however. He has his own schedule to work on and I'm sure his own students that he's tutoring... you'll need to convince him to be willing to tutor you from time to time. Then again, given that you're doing all this to improve yourself, I doubt he'll be too hard to win over. The guy might be ripped but he's a bit of a softy at heart."
Izuku nodded in understanding as Toshinori said that, before a curious look crossed his face.
"One last thing Toshinori... I'm still pretty new to this whole leader thing... I didn't exactly have a throng of people following me around back in Mountain Glenn, so I'm... really playing this by ear." Toshinori nodded slightly as he said this as he nervously swallowed a lump in his throat. "I was wondering if you... had any tips for being a leader? Like, how do I deal with what they might think of me disappearing off to train by myself or with you?"
"Well that latter point I can answer pretty easily; don't do it too often. If you just keep disappearing and 'especially' if you come back with broken bones if you're trying to use One For All, of course they're going to worry. They might even come to doubt you if you do it so often that you're not living up to your responsibilities as their leader... or being around them as a friend. Moderation, young man. That's the lesson you can learn from me..." Toshinori scratched the back of his head after that. "As for your other question... well, I don't exactly see why you're asking me."
"What do you mean?"
Toshinori seems flummoxed for a moment, eyes blinking as he looked at Izuku.
"Wow you're not kidding. Even a fan boy like you doesn't know? Man, no wonder Enji's always so pissed on the rare occasions we talk now a days." Toshinori shook his head a bit as he looked down at Izuku. "I can't give you tips on how to be a team leader because I don't have experience like that young man. Team EGNT (Ignite), was led by Enji Todoroki."
Izuku's jaw dropped as Toshinori said that, the blond huntsman just laughing a bit as he continued to shake his head. "Yeah, that's how most people react. Nowadays it seems like most people don't even consider it a possibility that Enji led my team. Symbol of Peace and Hope had to be the leader of his team, right?
"But nope. At the time it was still in vogue for Huntsmen to be considered serious, stoic and stone-faced... and Enji fit that description perfectly. At least when he didn't get righteously pissed off. Plus, I was still wet behind the ears as far as stuff like being a Symbol of Peace was concerned... I showed potential and I had the raw charisma but... well, I wasn't ready for one reason or another." Izuku saw a bit of a far off look pass through Toshinori's eyes, a slight smile gracing his lips for a moment before they disappeared. "Anyway... you should probably be heading off about now. The next professor's pretty lax himself but he'll probably take some big notes if you end up late to his class."
Izuku looked at his Scroll for the time and his eyes went wide; he certainly had time if he ran but, Toshinori was right, he didn't have much.
"Thank you so much Toshinori, I appreciate it, I'll see you later, I gotta get to class!" Izuku babbled out as he bowed to his mentor, the man waving him off a bit before he went sprinting to his next class.