Not gonna lie: this one fought me. Easily the most trouble I've had with a chapter so far that I can recall. On a lighter note: thank you to everyone for being so responsive on the review response thing! I've taken your feedback into account and, while I know I'll never be able to please everyone, I think I can at least improve the efficiency of the format somewhat while still doing what I want to do.
Basically, I'm going to take responses that would have been more or less identical and just lump them together. If a review fits in more than one lump, then you might see your name multiple times. I will still do full-length responses for particularly in-depth reviews because...they deserve that. Unique reviews that don't fit into a lump will also get individual responses.
So with that, review time:
Jack Inqu, grahamgarrett_powerofanime, pippothehippo, Manny Siliezar, HemaG, sremiehzla, FNZero, SeanPennname, Eberhardt, Malchior, Tism-schism: Thank you for the feedback on the review question. It was very helpful and I hope that the changes are to your liking.
Jack Inqu, grahamgarrett_powerofanime, NPGamer11, Manny Siliezar, dragonightmare, Parkermon, Ignis11, Hanibagder, Tism-schism, Twain apprentice: I'm glad that you are enjoying the romantic progression! I had a lot of fun writing the date. There will be more to come for sure!
Jack Inqu, grahamgarrett_powerofanime, jaciro500, Manny Siliezar, Parkermon, Twain apprentice: I'm happy that you enjoyed the hand-to-hand/are looking forward to the Fight Club! It will give me a nice excuse to have some additional character interactions and whatnot.
Renlu: These types of reviews are always fun to read. I'm glad you enjoyed the origin of the Fight Club and Bakubro being the most efficient wingman ever.
I can practically feel the sheer joy emanating from the rest of this review and I just want to make sure you know how much this made me smile.
A few quick highlights: Other Izuku isn't going anywhere; I enjoy making characters argue with themselves too much. Izuku does not have Full Cowl yet (and if he did, he wouldn't be using Torchbearer's version of it to carry people around if he didn't want them to end up extra crispy). By my calculations, they have actually known each other for about 6.5 weeks at this point since they met during the Entrance Exam, which was on February 26th and the date takes place on April 13th (info on how I figured THAT out in post-chapter A/N).
The chapters leading up to 20 were definitely more on the serious/emotional side of things, so I agree completely that we were due for something like this.
I'm glad you asked about the messaging, because it actually forced me to think about it. I think that the app I'm having everyone use actually handles both texting and emailing. This would eliminate the need to switch back and forth between your text app and email app for the sake of communicating and would let you respond in whatever format you're most comfortable with. Seems like something that people would figure out in the next 200 years or so.
the_narr_master: Your opening line made me laugh, so thanks for that. I absolutely agree that Katsuki is very unlikable early on and am very pleased whenever someone says that they enjoy my interpretation of X character better than their canon counterpart. I'm also happy that you enjoyed the date. I had a lot of fun writing that.
Your idea for Present Mic's videos is actually very interesting. I think I'll incorporate elements of this. Thank you as always for the positive vibes. Unfortunately I had to spend most of them to get through the work week this time XD It's always nice to be appreciated. I hope you continue to enjoy!
bhennen: Rest assured that, while the romance will certainly be a big plot point, I do not intend to have it take over. As for Deku going on a "you just hurt my girlfriend" rampage? Needless to say there would be fire. And blunt force trauma.
ZRAIARZ: Welcome aboard and thank you for all the reviews! I'll touch on a couple things here:
The issue of heat resistance will come up, but the primary answer for why he never did anything with it before he obtained OFA is because...that level of heat resistance just isn't something you can build up. Otherwise we'd have career firemen that were nigh-impervious to flames. Your next point about people's bodies adapting to their Quirks basically spells out what my plan is for this going forward though.
I absolutely agree that Full-Cowl will be far more potent than just firing off smashes one at a time, especially when you factor in proper movement, even if the power output is technically the same. You are also absolutely correct about Toru's Quirk. I simply forgot when I was writing those notes.
bens6757: Got ahead of me, did ya? :P
The 0bservanc3: I'm glad you agree with my stance on no-Quirk combat and we did indeed see at least one bad matchup in canon (Kaminari vs Shiozaki and Bakugo vs Tokoyami come to mind). What became of Mineta will be revealed...NEXT CHAPTER because this one fought me every step of the way. I will say that the scene where Shinso is introduced will be different.
Kirishima is indeed tougher than the average guy. I'm chalking a big part of this up to the training he did to strengthen his Quirk pre-U.A. As for Katsuki's attitude, I think part of this is due to the fact that he's used to giving this sort of feedback from all the times he's trained with Izuku. What you took from Katsuki's match with Mashirao was...pretty much exactly what I was going for, so, great!
The reason Izuku is out of it has to do with the big moment he had with Dad Might at the end of the previous chapter. He's just emotionally drained. USJ is also a part of it, obviously. What can I say? Girl makes for a good distraction. Post-Gunhead Ochako will definitely place higher. Katsuki did indeed unintentionally play wingman.
I'm glad you enjoyed the date. As for the Quirk-use laws, it's a matter of principal for him more than anything. You are correct that they aren't usually enforced unless there's a legitimate reason (or a hardass of a cop), at least the way I see it. I'm also glad that you're looking forward to Fight Club.
This is indeed another point where it becomes obvious how Izuku is different from canon. And don't worry, I will never use the "we can't be together because we need to get stronger" thing. I hate it just as much as you do. There will of course be drama, but it won't be that. Also, thank you for your feedback on the review question! I think I've found a decent solution, but we'll see what everyone thinks.
coduss: I said that he was more sympathetic, not that he was that sympathetic.
ILiekFishes: So I immediately did a search for this, and it looks like it's actually called "Deku: The Telekinetic Hero" by sremiehzla. It looks cool and I'm for sure going to give it a read, so thank you for letting me know! Thank you for the high praise as well! I hope you continue to enjoy.
uchihaNaruto247, Sentinel07, Engineer of Epicness and everyone else: Thank you for your support and I hope you continue to enjoy!
Now let's get into it with the aftermath of last time's date!
Chapter Twenty-One: How to Thank Friends; Surprise People
Izuku Midoriya was tired. After the day, no, the week he had had, who could blame him?
He had started high school, been subject to a Quirk Assessment under pain of expulsion (even if it turned out to be a "logical ruse"), almost severely injured at least one of his friends during the Battle Trial, been voted Class Vice-President against his will, fought against actual, honest-to-god Villains, nearly died, discovered that his friend had been emotionally traumatized because of him, gained a heretofore unimagined understanding of the darker side of Heroism and as if that weren't already enough, he had just gotten home from his first date.
His first date. Ever. With a really cute girl. Who he really liked. And who said she liked him too.
On an intellectual level, Izuku knew that it had all happened. He knew that he had just had an incredible day with an amazing girl, but somehow it didn't feel completely real.
Why was that? Izuku contemplated this question as he ascended the stairs to his and his mom's apartment.
It wasn't because he didn't understand what had happened; he understood it perfectly well. In fact, he was over the moon about it.
It wasn't because he was in shock; he knew what that felt like thanks to the League of Villains.
It wasn't because he had never expected something like this to happen…
…was it?
Sure, he wasn't confident like Kacchan.
He wasn't tall like Iida.
He wasn't funny like Kaminari.
He wasn't passionate like Kirishima.
He wasn't wise like Shoji.
He wasn't handsome like Todoroki.
He wasn't cool like Tokoyami.
He wasn't refined like Aoyama.
He wasn't casual like Sero.
He wasn't innocent like Koda.
He wasn't muscular like Sato.
He wasn't composed like Ojiro.
He wasn't…forward…like Mineta.
"…Oh."
So that was it.
He just couldn't understand how he had gotten so lucky.
That was what had happened, after all; there was no other explanation for it: he had gotten unbelievably, incredibly lucky.
How else could anyone be interested in him?
Does it really matter?
…Did it?
You're happy, right?
He was.
Then it doesn't matter.
That could be true. It was most likely true.
…But Izuku's brain didn't work that way. It never had; when he didn't understand something, then he did everything in his power to make it so that he did. Bad things, good things, boring things, interesting things, mundane things…
…and amazing things.
But Izuku was tired, so as he unlocked the apartment door and stepped through, he decided that, just for that night, he would let it go.
Just for that night, he would let it not matter.
Just for that night, he would just…be happy.
It had been a hell of a week, after all. And besides, if the way Mom was smiling at him was any indication, then it wasn't over just yet.
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Izuku knew what was coming, but it had yet to happen. His mother had welcomed him home and they had proceeded to eat dinner, as he had arrived right on time. She had asked about his lessons in general, having already heard about all of the big events that had taken place that week.
Dinner was good and afterwards Mom had made the two of them some tea. They were currently seated across from each other at the table and Izuku braced himself; he knew how his mother worked after knowing her for over fifteen years.
"So," Inko Midoriya began after taking a sip of her tea, "how was your date?"
Izuku's first instinct, like many teenagers, was to deny that it was a date. He immediately quashed this notion due to the simple fact that it had taken a great deal of resolve for him to answer that question for himself.
Besides, Uraraka had said that it was up to him and his desire in that regard remained unchanged.
"It was good. Great, actually." Izuku felt himself smiling, "She showed me the part of the city that she lives in. There's actually a lot of interesting things to see that I never would've thought of. She took me to this one place and…the view was incredible." he closed his eyes, pleased to find that he could still remember how she looked against the midday sun, "…There's a lot more to it than I imagined, you know, Mom? I guess I ended up learning that about a lot of things this week."
Izuku couldn't help himself. He laughed, "And all this is only after my first week at U.A.! Imagine how I'll be after three years!"
"Izuku, are you alright?" Inko was staring at her son with an intense, searching gaze as though looking for some hidden sign that only she could detect.
"You know, if you had asked me that just yesterday, I might have said 'I don't know.'" Izuku answered honestly, his smile shrinking a little before returning full-force, "But now? Mom, I honestly don't think I've ever been better. I don't know if that's normal and I don't know if it's healthy, but right now…I'm honestly just happy. I feel really, really good about…well, about a lot of things." he had gushed without meaning to and reigned himself in as he started to feel self-conscious, "…I'm sorry if that doesn't make sense."
Inko stood, walked around the table and hugged her son.
"I think it absolutely makes sense, Izuku. You've been through a lot and I don't think it really started to sink in right away. I think you understand how fortunate it is that you and your classmates all made it through alright in the end. I think you may have found someone truly special right when you needed them most and I'm just so happy and proud!" he could hear her getting choked up, "You've grown up so much this past year…you're really turning into the strong, brave young man I always knew you could be and I know that you'll make a fine Hero one day. Just…don't rush into it, okay? What you did at USJ…I understand why you did it, but you shouldn't have had to and I don't want you making a habit out of that, alright? You said yourself that you've only been in the Hero Course for a week. Until you're properly licensed, I want you to avoid situations like that whenever possible. Understand, Izuku?"
Izuku did not like lying, especially to his mother, but he was just too tired to rehash this particular argument and he knew that it would just be a lost cause anyway. The fact of the matter was that Izuku had no regrets about the actions he had taken. Could he have come to the rescue faster? Been better? Of course he could have, but the same could be said for nearly any Hero or, heaven forbid, well-meaning Vigilante.
"I understand, Mom."
That, at least, was the truth.
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*Knock knock*
It was Sunday morning, and Izuku was rapping his knuckles on the front door of the Bakugo residence.
"Yeah, what do you wa- oh." Kacchan cut himself off when he opened the door and saw who it was, adopting an annoyed expression, "How many times do we have to tell you that you don't have to knock, Deku? Just walk your ass in whenever the fuck you feel like it."
"Sorry, Kacchan, but that's just not how I do things."
"Don't call me 'Kacchan.'"
"Don't call me 'Deku.'"
"Fuck you, I'll call you what I want."
"Same here, then. And I'll keep knocking too."
"Tch. Whatever. Just get your ass inside unless all you wanted was to knock on my door."
As tempting as that offer was, Izuku decided to follow Kacchan inside.
"Oh, Izu-kun. Morning." Mitsuki greeted him sleepily from the couch, "Want anything? Toast? Coffee?"
"Good morning, Mitsuki-san. No, thank you. I already ate and I don't really like coffee."
"Suit yourself." she went back to watching TV.
"Well, what do you want, Deku?" Kacchan asked.
"Can we go to your room first?" Izuku jerked his head in Mitsuki's direction. Kacchan nodded in understanding and took them upstairs.
Once the pair was in his room and the door was closed, Kacchan turned around expectantly.
What he had not expected was for Izuku to grab him in a brief but powerful hug.
Izuku had put a great deal of thought into this plan that morning. He had actually woken up early in spite of his fatigue just so he could have more time to decide how to approach it.
"Deku? What the-" Kacchan had stiffened up and seemed to be lost for words.
In hindsight, there was really no reason for Izuku to have put too much thought into it.
"Thank you, Kacchan. Just…thank you."
Honesty was always the best policy, after all.
"I know you did what you did to make me feel better and…it worked. You've always been there for me, but I feel like I've never really said it before, so…thank you."
"Eh?" Izuku took a moment to appreciate how rare of an occasion it was to see Kacchan well and truly dumbstruck, "What I did? But I haven't even told you about that yet! How'd you find out?! The only other people who know are Aizawa, Yamada and Kirishima!" Kacchan's eyes widened and his hands tensed and sparked like they always did when he was especially angry, "Son of a bitch! Kirishima! It was him, wasn't it?! He couldn't keep his mouth shut and texted you about it! I told him what the plan was! Damn it! He's too earnest for his own good!"
"Huh?" now Izuku was the one who was confused, "Kacchan, what are you talking about?"
"What?!" Kacchan seized Izuku by the shoulders and shook him, "What do you mean what am I talking about?! What the fuck are you talking about?!"
"Yesterday! You got me that date with Uraraka-san! We both had a really, really good time! Why am I yelling at you?!"
"I don't fucking-" Kacchan's face suddenly went blank, "…wait, 'date?' I did what?"
Okay. Now Izuku was confused.
"What do you mean 'I did what?' You basically asked her out for me."
Their prior stargazing engagement notwithstanding, of course, but that had technically been Uraraka taking the initiative and Izuku didn't want to tell Kacchan about that just yet. It just seemed premature.
"I…what? No! I was just trying to get you out of the way! I just needed you distracted for a day so I could set up my real plan! That…she…" Kacchan seemed to be having some sort of mental breakdown, "It wasn't supposed to happen like this! I mean, what the fuck?! It was a throw-away and now you've got a fucking girlfriend?!"
"G-girlfriend?! No!" Izuku waved his arms in a frantic set of motions that would have made Iida proud, "We've just agreed to start dating! She's not my girlfriend ye-" GAAAAAAAAAAAH, "She's not my girlfriend, okay?!"
Kacchan turned around, walked to his bed and plopped himself down onto it, letting out a long, deliberate breath.
"Okay. Alright. That's fine. I overreacted. Sorry."
Izuku considered giving his friend a moment, but his curiosity was far too strong to resist asking:
"So…what were you planning?"
"You seriously have no idea?"
"I promise I don't."
"Great. So I just blew my own surprise. Man, this sucks."
Izuku rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly feeling guilty.
"Well, I mean, I can always pretend I never heard anything? I still don't have any idea what it is, after all."
"Don't patronize me, Deku. If you want to know, then I'll tell you. You were gonna find out tomorrow anyway. Heh," Kacchan chuckled, "what am I saying? This is you we're talking about; of course you want to know, right?"
"I really do, yes." Izuku had to admit.
"Alright, then listen up, 'cause I'm only explaining this once."
As Izuku listened dutifully, he had to admit that this plan did indeed have Kacchan written all over it.
Who knew? It might be fun.
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"You okay, kid?"
MItsuki Bakugo was standing in her son's doorway, having just seen Izuku off a moment prior. She had not heard everything, but she had the gist of what the conversation had been about from the raised voices that had carried down the stairs.
Throughout her life, Mitsuki held no illusions about the fact that she had been blessed. She had been given a Quirk that would keep her beautiful almost indefinitely, a loving husband with a great career and a son who had been blessed in his own right.
Katsuki. Her Katsuki. He was strong and smart. He had high ambitions and an amazing Quirk. He had the best friend that anyone could ever ask for and it seemed like he was well on his way to making even more.
MItsuki was proud of the man that her son was becoming, not that she would tell him. Not yet. Not until he had well and truly made it. Tough love was the name of the game in the Bakugo household and it was working well so far.
There was one thing though. One thing with which her son was struggling with; had struggled with for the past few years at this point.
Unfortunately, there was nothing that Mitsuki or her husband could do to make things easier on their son in regards to this. All they could do was to offer their support to him whenever he needed it.
Judging from Katsuki's most recent discussion with Izuku, it seemed that fate truly did have a sense of humor; it gave him everything that he could want or need except for this.
But he would persevere. He would remain unbowed and unbroken, no matter what happened.
Knowing this did nothing to make the sight of her baby staring at her with pain in his eyes any less heart-wrenching. All the more because she understood exactly what was causing it.
"The hell kind of question is that?" his words were just as she had expected, but there was no edge to them. There never was in moments like these, "Of course I am. I have to be, right? What choice do I have?" she could see his shoulders shaking, but no tears fell; he had gotten rid of those a few days ago, "I'm going to be the best. I'm going to stand at the very top. I will be uncontested and unassailable! No Villain will stand against me and all Heroes will aspire to be like me!" only his determination remained, "So I can't…I can't let something like this fuck with my head!"
He was correct. Her son was usually correct; he understood both himself and the world around him on an intellectual and instinctive level and his instincts rarely led him astray.
Being correct, however, did not necessarily mean that you were right and whatever else her son may be, Mitsuki simply could not bring herself to accept that her son was doing the right thing in forcing his feelings down like this.
The fact remained, however, that she was unable to think of anything better for him to do, save for the one course of action she knew that he would never take unless he was forced to do so.
Eventually, something has to give. He's far too intelligent and knows my son far too well. What will you do then, Katsuki?
…I guess only time can answer that.
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Monday started off normally enough. After first period was over though, things started to develop in ways that made Izuku glad that he had been given some warning the day prior.
For one thing, Kacchan had shanghaied him into making a brief announcement during the few-minute break between classes that there would be something to discuss with everyone during their lunch break. After that, they were pulled aside by Present Mic who was practically bursting at the seams to discuss something with them.
"A week! I've had to wait an entire week to talk to you about this, my young Listeners! I'm telling you, it was almost more than I could bear!"
Izuku knew that Present Mic was the high-strung sort and more than a little hammy, it was part of his charm after all, but interacting with him face-to-face was still taking some getting used to.
"What did you want to talk about, Yamada-sensei? Is it about the F- er, that is, Kacchan's plan?" Izuku caught himself just in time as Kacchan glared at him out of the corner of his eye. He had to make sure not to ruin the surprise again.
"Ah, very astute, Listener! That is indeed one of the topics I wished to discuss, BUT! Before that! Yes, before that; there is the matter of your absolutely fantastic performance during the Battle Trial!"
"The…Battle Trial? What did we do that has you so excited, Sensei?" Present Mic looked absolutely shocked at this question.
"What, you ask? Do you mean to say that everything that you did…was just you being yourselves? None of it was planned? None of it was scripted?"
"He's talking about our banter, Deku." Kacchan translated for him, "That shit we did with Lord Explosion Murder, Dr. Vertigo and Infinity Girl."
"That? We were just having fun!" Izuku protested, "It wasn't anything special; we've always done that! Everyone knows that banter is an integral part of Heroism! A lot of Villains have shot themselves in the foot by spending too much time monologuing and letting the Hero's backup arrive, for instance."
Present Mic was staring slack-jawed at Izuku as though he had never seen anything quite like him before. He looked at Kacchan for confirmation and was greeted with a sigh.
"Yeah. He's telling the truth, Sensei. We've been doing stuff like that ever since we were little."
"…I think I'm in love." Present Mic said to himself, still plenty loud enough to be heard before he raised his voice again, "My dear Listeners, I would very much like your permission to take the recordings of your exploits and post them on the internet, edited for entertainment value, of course. That goes for the Battle Trial as well as potentially some snippets from your, *ahem*, organization."
Well, that was unexpected. Flattering too.
"Ordinarily, I'd be wary of something like this, Sensei." Izuku admitted, "After all, having our Quirks broadcast to the general public could make things difficult for us in the future, but I guess we only really had about three weeks before that happened anyway, huh?"
"Heh." Kacchan smirked, "Occupational hazard of attending U.A., huh?"
"Oh?" Present Mic dropped his theatrical façade for a moment and gave the pair a sly grin, "So you've already figured it out, have you? I suppose it's obvious to anyone who really pays attention, but students always end up surprised by it somehow." he then did a quick pirouette and made finger guns at his students, "So, does that mean that I have your consent, Listeners?"
"I'm fine with it as long as you show it to me first." Kacchan stated.
"I'm fine with it too, Sensei, but you should probably also talk to Uraraka-san and Shoji-san since they played a big role in the Battle Trial too. Then, when it comes to the matter of the F- *cough* the group, you should also get permission from whoever else decides to join up."
"Naturally, naturally." Present Mic waved a placating hand at the pair, "This isn't my first rodeo, Listeners; I'm fully aware of the steps that need to be taken and besides, you are my precious students; I would never do anything to defame you or cause you undue stress. I'm a Hero too, you know?"
With a smile and a wave, he was gone.
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Lunchtime was upon them and that meant that it was time for Kacchan's big announcement. He made his way to the front of the room as soon as the bell rang and stood in front of Aizawa's desk, getting everyone's attention immediately.
"Alright, everyone quit your yapping and clean the crap out of your ears because I'm only going over this once." he slapped the sign-up sheet onto the desk for emphasis, "I wanna start by saying that I've already gotten official approval for this, so don't give me any shit about that." Iida adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat sheepishly, "So, you all know that no-Quirk sparring we did on Friday?" the class gave various forms of affirmation, "I'm basically taking that and turning it into a club. We'll be meeting at least once a week, but maybe more depending on how things work out. Club activities will consist of two main parts: beating the shit out of each other and then talking about how we could have done it better. Nobody worry about getting too fucked up though; my approval required me to promise that we wouldn't take things too far and just like in class, Quirk usage isn't allowed." he took a moment to survey his audience before concluding, "If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, then get your ass up here and sign the paper. Any questions?"
Predictably, Iida raised his hand.
"Am I correct in assuming that the purpose of this club is similar to that of the in-class exercise in that it is meant to improve overall combat ability and physical conditioning?"
"Mostly just because it's fun, but yeah, that too." Kacchan replied flippantly.
"Can't argue with that!" Ojiro cheerfully made his way to the desk and signed his name. He was followed closely by Sato, Kaminari, Jiro, Sero, Shoji and Ashido.
"Deku-kun, Kirishima-san, aren't you two going to sign up?" Uraraka asked.
"Already done!" Kirishima responded with pride, "You're looking at members two and three!"
"Oh!" Uraraka quickly joined the queue, followed strangely enough by Todoroki, who was followed in turn by Hagakure.
"I mean," the invisible girl said when Todoroki gave her a raised eyebrow, "I don't have a combat-type Quirk so any fighting I do is going to be hand-to-hand anyway. I may as well get better at it even if I plan on normally avoiding it, right? Besides, it seems like a good excuse to hang out with everyone outside of class."
Her explanation caused Asui and Yaoyorozu to join the queue, leaving Koda, Tokoyami and Aoyama as the only ones still on the fence.
"Oh, come on guys!" the ever-bubbly Ashido said, "Everyone's doing it and it seems like it'll be super fun!"
"Hell yeah!" Kirishima added, "Everyone's manliness levels are going to skyrocket after a few sessions of this!"
"Ah~," Aoyama sighed dramatically, "I suppose that improving my physical attributes would increase my desirability as a Chevalier, even if fisticuffs are not my forte. Add to this the fact that so many are participating and I would be sure to fall behind if I did not do so as well."
With that, the twinkling boy added his name to the list as well. He then looked towards Tokoyami and Koda expectantly.
"Koda-san dislikes violence and I do not fight myself." Tokoyami supplied.
"Yeah, he's pretty much useless." Dark Shadow added his two cents while poking his head out of his partner's stomach.
"…You know what, I'm joining just for that." the bird-headed student headed to the desk, "Koda-san, you join too. No matter how much you dislike it, it is inevitable that you will have to fight if you aspire to be a Hero. After all, those who would protect must endure more pain than anyone else."
Koda appeared reluctant, but after a moment of internal debate he wrote his name at the very bottom of the page, making it official: the entirety of Class 1-A were now members of the Fight Club.
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After class that day, Toshinori Yagi had requested young Midoriya's presence in the lounge again and the boy had agreed to be there. The situation was very similar to that from their lunchtime conversation on Friday, except without the time constraint.
"Thank you for humoring me for two days in a row, my boy," the skeletally-thin Symbol of Peace inclined his head from where he sat on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees, "I am sure you have other things that you would rather be doing."
"No!" Midoriya shook his head a bit more forcefully than was strictly necessary, "All Might, I would never turn you down! You know that!"
That…that hit home. Toshinori knew that the boy idolized him and trusted him implicitly (a sentiment that was fully reciprocated), but even so, he was still caught off-guard by the young man's zeal.
"Be that as it may, I have no desire to take advantage of you in such a way. My purpose today is to finish the *hurk* discussion that I originally intended to *blegh* have on Friday." he took a moment to clean the blood off of his chin before continuing, "While we certainly ended up covering some very important topics, we were unfortunately not able to address my original reason for meeting with you as I did."
Midoriya nodded at him from his stool on the other side of the coffee table and was clearly giving Toshinori his undivided attention.
"What I really wanted to talk about was the upcoming Sports Festival, of which you are no doubt aware." Midoriya nodded again, "You are familiar with how it works, yes? You will be pitted against your classmates, many of whom are powerful in their own right. Why, I can think of a few from your class alone that could potentially give you trouble!"
"Yeah. Kacchan knows my style inside and out, not to mention his raw power, Kirishima-san could probably endure nearly anything short of lethal force, Iida-san would be difficult just to land a solid hit on and then you have the likes of Todoroki-san and Tokoyami-san with Dark Shadow where they're just plain powerful and those are just off the top of my head! I could lose to anyone in 1-A under the right circumstances. You don't need to worry about me letting my guard down, All Might!" he concluded with a fist pump and a determined stare.
"A commendable mindset, my boy, but that is not what I was driving at. I wanted to ask you how your control over One For All is progressing. You obviously have a good grasp on Flame Magnet, though there is always room for improvement with any Quirk, but from what I can tell you are still facing some fundamental issues when it comes to using the other parts of your powers, not the least of which are the injuries that you sustain when wielding them beyond a certain level."
"Well, my Hero Costume is designed to help mitigate the damage somewhat, especially when it comes to the burns." Midoriya explained, "From the limited use I've gotten out of it so far, it actually seems to do the trick up to a certain point. I haven't been able to pinpoint exactly how much is too much, but I would guess somewhere around twenty or twenty-five percent, maybe a bit higher but not by a lot."
"And what about the physical repercussions?" Toshinori prompted.
"I can use my basic smashes comfortably now, which I would estimate to be around five percent of my power. To use anything higher than that, I have to start burning fuel and the flames become a factor so, again, I haven't really had that much freedom to experiment. I would guess that I could use up to ten percent without doing any real damage, though that would probably be limited to just a few times. I can tell that it's getting better the more my body gets used to it though."
"You mentioned fuel. You mean the flames that you consume?" an affirmative nod, "How much can you store at the moment?"
"I can store up enough for a single attack at one-hundred percent and maybe have some dregs left over, but not enough to do anything with. It's possible that I could increase my capacity through training but, again…"
"Lack of freedom to experiment, right?" Toshinori guessed.
"Well, yeah." Midoriya shrugged helplessly, "It's not like I can just go outside and start playing with fire. Heck, the only reason I was able to contribute as much as I did at USJ was because there's an entire area that's…always on…fire…"
The boy had zoned out hard and Toshinori could practically hear the gears turning in his head.
"All Might?"
"Yes, my boy?"
"USJ is still considered a part of U.A., right? It's just a facility like any other?"
"It is indeed."
"Would it be possible for me to get permission to visit it outside of class for Quirk training purposes?"
I like how this boy thinks.
"Well, as you are unlicensed, unsupervised Quirk usage would be prohibited, especially in an area as hazardous as USJ. Now, say you were able to find a teacher who had a vested interest in your development and was able to spare the occasional hour or two…" Toshinori trailed off, letting the implication of his words sink in.
"You…you would do that for me, All Might?"
"Midoriya, my boy," Toshinori began, "I granted you my power so that you could succeed me! I will do anything and everything within my capabilities to help get you ready to do that. It may be slow and the day-to-day might not seem like much, but the time that I have left as the Symbol of Peace is running out. If the League of Villains has shown us anything it is that among those with Villanous intent there are some who have started to realize that. The rumors will only spread and the actions of such individuals will only grow bolder."
Toshinori took a moment to sip some tea in an attempt to stave off another fit of coughing.
"The Sports Festival is an event that the entire country will be watching and while that might sound intimidating, it also presents us with the perfect opportunity! We shall devote our spare time into improving your use of One For All and coming up with strategies to use when you are denied your Hero Costume, as will be the case for this event. Then, when all eyes are on you, you shall hold your head high as the next Symbol of Peace and you will tell them all one thing: 'I am here!'"
Midoriya closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.
"I get it. If I'm going to make a big impression, this is the time to do it, right? Especially while the footage from USJ is still relatively new. There's a good chance that people might recognize me from that, so I need to capitalize and strike while the iron's hot, so to speak."
"And how are you going to do that, my boy?" Toshinori honestly hadn't thought quite as far ahead as his protégé, but he wasn't about to stop his train of thought once it got going.
"There's only one way to get people's attention at the Sports Festival and that's to make a good showing. I'll need to make it through to the final stage and then just do my best. I don't necessarily expect to win, but…"
"Then you're doomed."
"What?"
"My boy, you should always aim for the top no matter what. The difference between those who make a habit of it and those who don't may seem small at first, but it starts to matter in a really big way once you emerge into society as a whole. Just think about young Bakugo if you want an example of this sort of mindset."
Midoriya nodded.
"Right. You're absolutely right. I need to pull out all the stops and go at it with everything I have!"
Toshinori was pleased with his student's determination and was about to offer some final words of encouragement when an urgent-sounding series of knocks came from the door.
Toshinori quickly assumed his muscle form and opened the door to reveal a worried-looking Ashido.
"Sensei! Midori! Come quick! We need to stop them or there's gonna be a fight!"
I did accomplish one neat little thing that I've been meaning to do for a while: I have an actual calendar with everyone's birthdays and some important canon events labelled on it. Now I can actually PLAN shit that's more than a day or two ahead. I ended up using the year 2222 because...well, I had to pick something and I figured "why not?"
There is one decision that I made related to this that is different than canon, and that is that U.A.'s standard schedule is Monday thru Friday instead of Monday thru Saturday. I say "standard" because as canon has shown us with the Quirk Assessment taking place on a Sunday, they can just kind of tack on days whenever they feel like it. This means that occasionally there will be something on the weekend that is U.A.-related, but generally there will not.
What's got Mina so worried? Who's starting a fight? That's where we'll pick up next time but hey, theories are always welcome! That goes for anything, really.
As always, thank you for reading!