"A call… is here! A call… is here! A c-" Toshinori picked up his phone as soon as he saw the caller.
"Moshi Moshi."
"Izuku ran into the league's leader." Naomasa's words made the haggard man freeze. A memory flashed before him; when his successor's hands were disintegrated layer by layer. Barely restraining his wrath, the blonde asked the most important question.
"Is he okay?" Toshinori didn't know his voice could be that cold. It was understandable that he was worried, but this wasn't just a "worried" hero. It was a cold fury that he was feeling.
"Physically, yes, however when he tried to subdue Shigaraki, the villain… he disintegrated his own arm to get away." the detective had seemed to drop even more weight onto the symbol of peace.
"Can you tell me where he is? He needs some assurance, and I want to give it." Toshinori got the address instantly before forwarding it to his fellow mentor.
Izuku was in the police station closest to the mall. His mind replayed the scene in for the umpeenth time.
Shigaraki had pulled him to a spot with fewer people before interrogating him about why stain had gained more popularity than his group. Izuku had tried to keep calm while answering to prevent the ashen-haired teen from going off and hurting anyone like he said he could. When Ochaco came to check on him, his heart sank. When Shiragaki reached for her slightly, the 'hostage' had let his training take over and pinned him by his wrist to prevent him from disintegrating anything nearby.
Shigaraki decided that it was a bad enough situation, and put five fingers on his left forearm. The blood made the appendage slick, and when it detached from his bicep, the villain had rushed forward a few feet before disappearing into a black mist that appeared from nowhere with a hoarse laughter. Still in the hero-in-training's hand was the bloody-
His thoughts were thankfully cut off by the door to the waiting room slamming open to reveal his mentors both wearing different expressions of worry. Toshinori had little but the raw emotion plastered on his gaunt face while Anima showed a rage born of worry; a look that dared anything else to hurt his dear disciple.
"Young Midoriya, we came as soon as we heard what happened. How are you holding up?" his normally booming voice was soft, as if not to scare his dear student. It was a nice gesture, but an unnecessary one; nothing could scare him right now, as everything seemed to be filtered through a sheet before reaching the teen's head. Not trusting himself to openly speak, Izuku shook his head.
"It must have been jarring." Anima's voice didn't have its usual edge, but the werewolf was as straightforward as ever. "Would you… would you like to tell us what's on your mind?" For as long as he was around people, Anima still didn't fully understand how to approach such a sensitive topic. As a result, his words were unintentionally callous. It seemed to work well enough though, as Izuku opened his mouth.
"His quirk, it activates when… when all five fingers touch something." The teen's voice was cracking every other word. "When he had four around my neck, I… I was scared."
"Of course you were. Young Midoriya, even pro heroes would be scared if their life was at risk. Don't-" the haggard hero's words were cut off by Izuku shaking his head swiftly.
"I wasn't scared because of that. I-I mean I was, but that wasn't the scariest part. He used every bystander as a hostage… he could have gone and killed anyone, and… and he used that against me. When he destroyed his arm to run, I was terrified that he'd make true on that. If he went for anyone else, my… stupid idea would have gotten someone innocent killed…" the tears fell from his face. Toshinori didn't know what to say; his inheritor was almost at literal gunpoint, and he was worried that someone else was in danger instead of himself.
"But no one was." Anima spoke with a voice filled with confidence. "If someone did die, then it would be stupid, but in this case, it was just reckless." Toshinori was shocked at the martial artist's words.
"How can you be so confident in those words while Midoriya is distressed like this!?" the haggard hero snapped at Anima, making Izuku start.
"Why can't you?" it wasn't a rhetorical question, as the werewolf's face revealed actual curiosity. Izuku gave a small smile as he knew his first mentor's thoughts; take any trial and grow stronger from it. It sometimes escaped him that Anima wasn't human, and thus didn't fully understand the source of the problem.
"If he actually did go after someone, I wouldn't be able to save everyone in time." the green-haired teen answered, making the focus revert back to him. He was expecting some sort of reprimand, or even a pep-talk about getting powerful enough to never let it happen.
He got neither of those.
"Of course you can't, that's impossible." the two adults spoke in unison. When they looked at each other, Anima nodded for the other to start.
"Out there right now, there's someone who's injured, broken, and in dire need of help. It sucks, but we're only human; we can only do so much, even in this age of quirks." the haggard hero's voice was laced with regret, but it somehow helped Izuku to calm down. When Naomasa had knocked to tell them Inko had come for her son, they decided to leave the talk for another day. Now they had to face the hardest challenge of all; a worried mother.
Days had passed, and summer break had finally arrived. The entirety of the heroics freshmen had gathered around the buses to depart on the field trip at around seven in the morning. when they all scooted on the bus, Shouta and Jesse were there on the bus for 1-A. Soon, The students Departed. There was suppose to be a stop a half hour in, but many didn't even catch that. When the first stop came, everyone got out to find a small hero museum.
"What're we doing here?" Denki asked.
"This is our rest stop. You have thirty minutes to stretch your legs and explore before the buses leave. Use the time how you feel." Shouta said dryly.
"The museum is free for students, so you can go inside to see the heroes that were around before the career." Jesse added. The entire freshman course decided that it wouldn't hurt, and went to take a look.
"I'm surprised that you convinced Nedzu to map this route just for this; it'll take a half hour longer just to get there even if we didn't stop." Sekijiro spoke to the she-wolf.
"They need to learn their roots. It's one thing to know that heroes existed before the job, but it's another to see the faces of the heroes that came before you." she said simply. She wanted to go in, but seeing so many familiar faces in the equivalent of a memorial, she didn't think she could stop the tears.
"The dude was blind!?" Eijiro exclaimed before looking up at the hero in red. "Holy hell that's awesome!"
"He didn't have a quirk? Truly, his skills must have been remarkable to stand against villains with just a belt of tools." Tenya stared in awe in front of the man in black and grey. More and more students were becoming entranced by the sheer number of heroes that did their best while skirting the law. When Izuku came across one hall, he called for his friends.
"The symbols of peace? Like All Might?" Momo's curiosity was peaked. When more students gathered around they went in. there were sections for heroes from the original Golden Age all the way to the current era. There was the man of steel, closely followed by the super soldier with his shield in hand. The next was the pacifist hero who later became the Christian saint of heroes and so on. They were as diverse in powers as well as skill, but they all had two things in common; they never hesitated to help even when risking themselves, and their will was unbreakable.
"The will of heroes." Izuku whispered under his breath.
"What was that, Midoriya-san?" Kyoka asked. Blushing in embarrassment, Izuku spoke again.
"The will of heroes. It's something that Anima-sensei said made symbols of peace."
"I heard him say that before." Shouto piped in. "he said it was the will to help, even at one's own detriment, just for the sole reason to help. He wasn't lying when he said it was what Symbols of peace were made from." there was a small smile coming from the scarred teen as he glanced at Izuku. Soon, though, there was the call over the intercoms that told the students they needed to depart for the busses. While it was only a half-hour, they all thought the side trip was more than worth it. The teachers saw the change in their eyes as they had the same sentiments. They'd need that fire for what came next.
"Well… at least we can work together on this." Ochako tried to sound upbeat, but when the class was just flung off a cliff to trek a "forest of magical beasts", the worry was evident. A rumble told them that something big was coming, and everyone tensed. The earthen creature came forward, but Izuku didn't feel any chi from it.
"There there, just calm down and fall back please…" Koji's words did nothing to appease it, and Izuku found why; it was made of earth. He activated One for All and charged in for a kick, just as every other major combatant. With nine students attacking, the earthen puppet fell apart.
"It's Pixie-Bob's quirk! She can manipulate soil and rocks. It makes her useful in natural environments, but that's a disadvantage for us right now." Izuku called out.
"Let's come up with a course of action to make it to the lodge in time. I don't want to skip lunch." Shouto said, gathering the smartest of the group together. With some help from everyone, the plan was set and they started moving. With some of Hanta's tape and wood, the bed of a cart was made. Momo made the chassis and wheels before Mina fixed them on. Tenya, Izuku, Mashirao, Eijiro, and Rikido pulled the cart while Koji, Kyoka, and Mezo directed them down the safest path. Yuga, Katsuki, Denki Fumikage, and Mina were the offensive sentries while Momo, Shouto, Mineta, and Toru were on defense. Ochaco, Tsuyu, and Hanta were in charge of keeping the cart together long enough to get to the base. It used everyone's quirks and skills to pull off, but the plan was solid. When everyone was set, the strongest five pulled the cart across the forest floor.
"Aren't you giving them the wrong idea, Mandalay? It'd take your team three hours, not a group of kids. I'd be surprised if they got here at 6:30." Sekijiro stated as the buses arrived at the lodge. He was all for competition, but this was still a second-year's training.
"They'll make it. Though I do agree it'll take them the better part of the day to get here." Shouta had said calmly before getting his sleeping bag.
"I don't." the heroes turned their heads to Jesse. "At the most, I think they'll get here at two."
"That's a high order you're giving them." Tiger warned. "What's the reason?"
"My husband taught them." her words held no doubt, in either the kids or her beloved, and it made the heroes pause.
"YOU'RE ALREADY MARRIED!?" Pixie-Bob screamed. The she-wolf gave a blissful smile before showing the blonde heroine her man. It was the day of their wedding, and he wore a black suit with a violet tie that pleasantly clashed with his yellow eyes. At his sides were other men from the groom's party, but Pixie-Bob didn't focus on them. His smile was natural, revealing a gentlemanly look.
"Lucky you…" the blonde admitted. Jesse patted her shoulder.
"You'll find someone, don't worry. With your charm, men will flock to you. Just be sure he's patient; hero work will make you notoriously late for a lot." there was a wry smile at her own words.
"You seem to be experienced in that; how many times has he done it?" Mandalay joked.
"I lost count before we married." she admitted. Sekijiro brought the conversation back on track.
"You say 1-A will arrive by two, so why not make a small bet? I think they'll get here by seven." it was meant to lighten the mood, but soon Shouta put his two cents in.
"Six, and what will we bet with?"
"How about 2,000 yen? It's small enough for anyone to put in, but the winner won't feel cheated." Ragdoll suggested, to which they agreed. "I say by six-thirty."
"Five-twenty." Tiger put his bill in the middle with everyone else's.
"Two o'clock is still my estimate." Soon, everyone (minus pixie-bob to keep things fair; she was controlling the earth beasts after all) had put their bets in before they waited to see who won.
After a grueling gauntlet of fighting, running, and traveling, class 1-A managed to see the lodge they were staying at. With the building in sight, everyone abandoned the falling-apart carriage and ran to try and make it in time; no one knew the time at the moment.
"Welp, I lost that pretty badly. Who knew they'd make such a plan?" Sekijiro laughed.
"Well, You didn't make it here by twelve-thirty, but you were faster than what we thought." Pixie-bob congratulated them.
"What time is it?" Tsuyu asked. Jesse pulled out her phone to show them.
1:48
"I recommend resting up until dinner, which is going to be around five-thirty." the class decided that rest sounded nice.
"By the way," Izuku spoke up. "Are one of you that child's parent?" he pointed at the kid he saw back at the cliff with the horned hat.
"Hm? Oh, that kid's my nephew." Mandalay corrected. "Hey Kouta, come say hi; you'll be living with them for the next week." reluctantly, the kid had walked forward. Izuku held his hand out.
"Hey, I'm Midoriya Izuku. I'm in the hero course at UA. nice to meet you."
WHAM!
With no warning whatsoever, the child had thrown a punch straight into Izuku's groin, making every guy wince. The teen took a step back to regain his footing while Kouta spoke.
"I'm not going to fuck around with a bunch of losers that want to be corny-ass heroes." it shocked them, that the kid's words had that much ice in them. The cold was overwhelmed as Izuku flooded the area with chi.
"Yeah, it's dumb, but I want to help people. If that makes me a loser, then I don't mind." Kouta didn't know what else to say at the green-haired teen's conviction, and just ran off.
"Midoriya! Are you okay?" Tenya asked.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."
"How!? That kid just punched you in the nuts!" Mineta exclaimed.
"Iron egg." was the short answer. Mashirao knew of the technique, and Eijiro was practicing it, so they gave props to their classmate. When the excitement of the class came back, Izuku only had one question on his mind.
'What made him so bitter about heroes?'
This came out faster than usual because it's been stewing in my mind since chapter fifteen. Everyone has been practicing together longer than canon because Anima focused on making them work with each other, and with a solid plan challenges become easier. My friend came up with the idea of the hero museum, and I liked it well enough to put it in. as for the scene with Izuku and his mentors, yeah. As stated, Anima technically isn't human, and as a result lack a couple of key things. If you have anything you want me to consider, do let me know! Till next time!