"When you get a look at him he does look like Mason... If he was a bit older." Momo pointed out, looking a bit surprised. "He just has a complexion more akin to a Japanese."
"Yeah, you're right. guess that means the dark skin is from his mom, maybe?" Jiro said, scratching her temple with her finger. Seemed everyone had their own questions for my dad. After all, even I was surprised to see him being involved with my class.
"Now now, let's not get too worked up. After the exercise, you can ask Mr. Ishi any questions you may have." All Might said. "Now, as tradition goes, the newbie picks the group for the exercise!"
"You just made that up, didn't you?" My dad said, giving All Might a skeptical look.
"Perhaps," All Might said, looking away.
With a sigh my dad put his hand to his chin, stroking his slight beard. "Sero, Ashido, Iida, Oijiro, and... Midoriya. Let's see what you've got."
"All right. First group, get to your places! Ishi, if you wouldn't mind bringing the students to the watchtower while I give our contenders their starting points?"
"Sure thing." My dad said, before leading us the "watchtower".
The "Watchtower" was set up on top of one of the factory buildings, with a set of bleachers and a giant screen showing where each person was located. My dad stood away from the bleachers, clipboard in hand. It was strange seeing my dad in a school setting, focused like a sharpshooter.
"Huh, I'd say Midoriya is at a heavy disadvantage against those four," Momo stated.
"That's what I was thinking. Moving around quickly isn't one of his strong-suits that's for sure. And whenever he uses his power he gets badly injured." Jiro pointed out.
They were both right, Midoriya was more of a solid tank, only moving when he had to reposition himself before getting in close for an attack. Meanwhile, everyone else had some sort of movement to rely on with their Quirks.
Hana let out a low "Hmm..." as if she was thinking about something.
"You think he's gonna pull this off?" I asked her.
She looked over at me. "If his Quirk works like I think it does, he might have something to lean on. Super strength is the best I can assume he can do right now. We've only seen him increase the strength of his fingers and arms. Sure he may get injured from time-to-time, But maybe even his legs could be enhanced if the output was managed properly..." She then put her hands up in defense. "I mean, that's just what my strategist side is saying!"
"Well, maybe we'll find out," I said, looking over at the screen.
"I'm betting on Sero!" Kirishima said, making my ears pay attention to him.
"Oh yeah? Hmm... I got odds on Oijio." Denki stated.
"I'm choosing Ashido! She's got a super athletic body." Mineta pointed out. Sure he was a pervert, but the man was right. She was one of the best of the Quirk Apprehension Test that Aizawa had held at the beginning of the year.
"I know Deku's gonna be last," Bakugo stated plainly. Seemed everyone had their bets on who would be faster.
Uraraka then spoke up. "Even if he's still recovering, I think Iida's got this one." Tsuyu agreed with a simple nod.
"Is everyone ready?" All Might asked, the screen panning to him holding what had to be the button to start the "race". "Begin!" He shouted, the button pressed and sounding a horn.
Immediately Ashido, Sero, Iida, and Oijiro began heading towards All Might with the strategies I knew they would.
Sero's quirk was great for getting a hold on people, even more for something like pipes where he could wrap his tape around it and propel himself forward using inertia. This area was perfect for him to use his Quirk to his advantage.
"Look at him go!" Kirishima cheered. "In a maze like this, it makes sense to be above everything else!"
You had Iida who could easily run, without having to rely on much besides keeping his turns in check. Oijiro could do something similar to Sero, using his tail to enhance his jumping ability like it was a spring.
Then there was Ashido. If there was one thing I remembered, besides her cheery attitude and loveable personality, was her Quirk was acid. That same acid could also have its acidity and solubility manipulated. Just like Sero, she had a Quirk that was perfect by maneuvering around and using the pipes to advantage by sliding on them.
Midoriya was nowhere to be seen until he suddenly passed by Sero in a flash of green. I was surprised, and so was everyone else, to see him actually being able to fend for himself against competitors with Quirks suited for this race.
He'd kick his foot against a pipe, or jump similar to a frog to send himself forward.
"Midoriya!?" Mineta, Kirishima, and Denki shouted in surprise.
"Since when could he do that!?" Kirishima said, still in surprise. So was I.
"So he did do it!" Hana cheered. "He just needed to enhance his legs so he could go all over the place! He's like Tsuyu!" To which Tsuyu let out a "kero" of surprise.
"You see," My dad said speaking up. "This is what training brings to the table. Not sure what this Midoriya kid did for training since the Sport's Festival, but he's definitely improved. Make sure you all take notes on how to use your Quirks in a mobile fashion. While not all of you may be capable of such, it's still good to remember that there are creative ways to use them. Isn't that right Yaoyorozu?"
"Y-yes, sir!" She said, straightening her posture.
Throughout we watched as everyone fought for first place, using their Quirks to help improve their movement. In the end, Sero ended up winning though. Gamma was just too suited to his Quirk when you looked at it. Midoriya seemed a bit bruised though, having fallen a few times when he couldn't get solid footholds on the pipes.
"Good job First Group! I have to say you have all improved quite a bit since the beginning of the year, and it makes me proud. Do make sure to keep doing so and to study for your final exam. Now, Second Group get into positions! Send them out Ishi!"
"Got it." He said with a thumbs up. "Let's take a look here... twenty-two students, of which five just went. Meaning I have to send one more group of five, and then three groups of four. So..." He looked down what had to be a list, making a face I usually did when a math problem was giving me a hard time. "Momo Yayorozu, Ochaco Uraraka, Tsuyu Asui, Tokoyami Fumikage, and Mason Ishi will be group two! Get to your positions!"
"Saw that one coming..." I remarked.
"Less talking, more moving!" My dad said, dropping his clipboard, which didn't even have any paper in it.
"Got it," I replied. "Where are we all going, though?"
My dad gave me a surprised look. "Yeah, where ya want them at All Might?"
"Oh, my back..." I complained as I leaned back, using my arms to crack it. Someone like me shouldn't be having back problems, but sadly during the race, I had fallen onto a pipe, and then onto a roof just below. Sure it had been about half an hour after my turn, but it still felt extremely sore.
After the race we went to the locker room to change out of our Hero costumes, and back into our school uniforms. I sat down and attempted to stretch, hoping it might relieve some pain. All it did was make me wince in pain.
"You sure you don't need to head to Recovery Girl Mason?" Midoriya asked, sounding concerned.
"It was just a little fall, nothing to worry about," I said, trying to reassure him. "Despite that, I still won."
"Yeah, it's amazing you were able to use that sand to support yourself and fly through the air. Seems you have a limit though..." Midoriya remarked.
"Well, I was trying to keep the sand in the air, tightly packed, and support myself in the air at the same time. It's kinda my bad for trying to do something so extreme without properly testing it out."
"That was some tough training today huh?" Sato said, sounding just as exhausted as I was."Never ran so fast in my life!"
"It was the first class in a while that had me glistening," Aoyama said, probably agreeing with Sato's statement in his own way.
"At least you had something to rely on, man. I really need to work on my mobility..." Kirishima said, sounding bummed out.
"you can also compensate by improving other skills," Tokoyami suggested, fixing his tie.
"Still wish I could use my Quirk for speed. I'm jealous of guys like you, Sero, and Mason." Denki said, giving Sero a look while the black-haired boy just smiled back at him.
As I got my uniform on and tightened my own tie, I could hear Mineta talking to Midoriya. For some reason, I felt a change in the room that only Mineta could bring.
"Hey, Midoriya! You won't believe what I just found! The jackpot!" He said, pointing to a poster falling off the wall with a hole in it. "Someone shaw-shanked a hole in this wall. A previous generation has given us a gift!" He said.
"Mineta, don't do it, man," I said to him as his cheeks reddened with excitement. "I know where you're going with this, and if it's anything like the Sport's Festival, it won't end well."
"You know what's next door though, right!?" He said to me, giving me a knowing look. "The girl's locker room!"
"Don't even think about it!" Iida said, warning the shorty. "Peeping on them would be criminal!"
"Then you'll have to throw me into solitary confinement cause you can't stop me!" He shouted as he tore down the poster and looked into the hole.
"Mineta, I'll give ya five seconds. If that's okay with you class rep."
Iida nodded. "Just don't hurt him too much."
As I walked over and brought my right hand up, Mineta continued to ramble about each of the girl's prominent features like the pervert he was. Bringing up Ashido's "slender waist", Hana's "fine legs", and much more until everything went silent as a "shink" sound was made.
Mineta let out a scream of utter pain, and I looked down to see his eye had just been struck by Jiro's own earphone jack. For a few seconds I had some sympathy for him, and then it went away after I remembered what he had been trying to do just a moment ago.
"That's Jiro's earphone jack!" Midoriya shouted, looked both terrified and concerned. "What a brutal and precise attack from next door!"
It then retreated, and I got an idea. I put my face against the wall and whispered. "Hey, Jiro, can you let everyone know I'm clos-" A shriek was then heard on the other side. "I wasn't quiet, enough was I?" I said, feeling bad about possibly being too loud since Jiro most likely heard the whole commotion from the other side of the wall.
Me whispering could have translated as shouting in her ear for all I knew. I closed up the hole just enough on our side so nobody could scratch it to get it back, just in case her jack was still stuck.
"My eye, my eye!" Mineta shouted. "This is the risk of a pervert's life... I'll head to Recovery Girl by myself..." He said, still holding his left hand over it.
After getting dressed I waited by the girl's locker room for Jiro. I felt responsible for possibly shouting in her ear and causing her pain to her ears. It was about two minutes before they all came out, surprised I was there.
Jiro looked at me, sighing. "Thanks for closing up the hole." She said, her face a tad bit red.
"Sorry for doing that," I said, apologizing to her. "I was thinking you kinda had an idea of what was going on since you caught Mineta off-guard, so I thought by whispering at the wall-"
"Don't worry, I know what you were trying to do." She said, her mouth turning into a smile, the blush fading. "You just caught me off-guard is all. It was more of a surprise if anything."
"It sure was. Your face was redder than-"
"Tsuyu!" Jiro said, her face becoming red like Tsuyu had been insinuating.
Ashido laughed, seeming to enjoy the interaction. "It's fun to see you talking more. Usually, it's just me, you, Hana, and..." She trailed off trying to think as we all headed back to class. "Yeah, you don't really talk to anyone else! It's nice to see!"
"True. People can socialize with you with no problem, but you don't seem to go out of your way to talk with people." Yaoyorozu stated. "The only time I've seen you talk with anyone other than those two was me during our training for the Sport's Festival, and your father. You don't really socialize much with people, do you?"
"You'd think that, but he does sometimes," Ashido said. "We hang out on Saturdays to help him with that. He's really fun when you get past that shell of his."
"Yeah," I said agreeing. "Elementary school and middle school I didn't really talk much. I was the kind of kid to just get a book and stay away from everyone." I lied, but they didn't know the real reason behind it, so was it really a lie?
Yes, yes it was.
"How did you meet Hanakabe and Ashido though if you were like that?" Jiro asked.
"He met me the day before the entrance exam when I was in a rush and accidentally ran into him..." Hana said, sounding a bit embarrassed.
"And he met me when I saw he was lost and couldn't find a seat. So I waved him over to the one next to me!" Ashido explained, sounding extremely proud of what she did.
We arrived back in class, getting into our seats. Tsuyu then spoke up. "Since we're all talking, what exactly is Mason's dad gonna be teaching, and what is he like, Mason?"
"Well, my dad's kinda like me. As you've seen we kinda joke around with each other, have the same Quirk, and I'm basically like him. Save for my skin I'm a pretty much his clone!" I said with a laugh. "Oh yeah, he also said he went here but dropped out for some reason. So I guess we're alike with how we both want to be Heroes. For what my dad can teach though, not sure."
"You mentioned one time Mr. Aizawa is your uncle, so does that mean..." Hana trailed off.
"No, me and Ishi's father are not brothers," Aizawa said, walking in. "Sorry, but I had a meeting to attend. Seeing this commotion I'm guessing you all have met Mason's father and your new Combat teacher."
"Combat teacher?" Midoriya said aloud, sounding confused.
"He'll be helping you increase the strength of your Quirks and physical abilities, along with their growth. All Might's race was a benchmark to see how creative some of you could be, especially those lacking a Quirk that provides mobility." He then waved his left hand for someone to come in. "You could've come in anytime you know." He said as my dad entered, scratching the back of his neck.
"Well seems the jig is up huh?" He said nervously.
"It's been up for the past twelve seconds. It's irrational to think you could hide from one of your friends."
"So our new teacher is one of our student's parents?" Uraraka asked.
"Yes," My dad said. "As I said, last class, I am Mason's father, and he's my son. I'm also a former student of U.A. However as you see I didn't become a Pro like Dry-Eye here. Right now I'd like to go over everyone's results from the race. These aren't grades, but rather my observations." He cleared his throat and took out a small notepad. "Let's start off with the First Group. The winner was Hanta Sero. Your Quirk is perfectly suited, but however, you need to keep in mind you can't go wild, remember to be aware of your surroundings. Mina Ashido, all I have to say is make sure to not cause major property damage due to the properties of acids. Mashirao Oijiro, you seem to have an idea of how to make yourself mobile, but I feel you need to refine it more. Think more on your direction, and less on your destination."
"Yes, sir." He said.
"Tenya Iida, your Quirk is great for situations requiring speed, however, your biggest obstacle is being limited to only so much speed depending on the distance. You can only go so fast with only so much room to move around in. Lastly, Izuku Midoriya. From what I saw at the Sport's Festival, you've made quite the improvements." My dad remarked, surprised, his eyes filled with happiness. "Keep on doing whatever it is your doing, and make sure to watch your surroundings around unstable surfaces and footholds."
"I will," Midoriya said, bowing his head slightly.
"Now for everyone else!"
Oh no. I thought to myself, knowing my dad had some words in store for some of the people to come up next. I wasn't going to look forward to this at all.
A/N: Time for things to get going! As said, this is part of a double upload, so no reviews to look at. However, that doesn't mean I can't comment on some things. Such as how Mason's dad is only able to teach at U.A. due to the clause in his probation, that being "Can only use his Quirk if supervised by a licensed individual". I have plans for Mason's dad, seeing as a certain arc will be coming up soon, muahahaha. Hope you all enjoy this double upload of chapters and have a good day! Now to the preview of next chapter!
"That's right. Training. While your camping in the woods."
"I'm having declarations of war flashbacks..."
"We're fighting... the teachers...?"
Students vs Teachers, let's rock on!