"Bean bags!" Kaminari cheered, and flopped onto a grey bean bag that was sitting in the middle of the common room.
"Woah! That's awesome!" Sero grinned, jumping onto a yellow bean bag, as Ashido flopped onto a light blue one.
Midoriya suspiciously stared at a black bean bag that was sitting in the corner, by the window. He poked it with his foot, as Reiko pawed up to the bean bag, and sniffed it, before purring and rubbing herself against Midoriya's leg.
"Eh? Why do we have bean bags?" Yaoyorozu asked, confused, as Aizawa walked into the room, "There was an accident in the library, and we needed to replace some of the furniture. We got bean bags, and the principal decided to add a few bean bags to the common room of each dorm since you teenagers seem to like bean bags in general."
Well... if Nezu was the one that got the bean bags, then they shouldn't be dangerous... they should be fine...
Aizawa watched as Midoriya spared a glance at Sero and Ashido, observing how they sat in the bean bag, before he settled down in it experimentally, copying them. He sunk into the bean bag, and he made a small squeak in confusion, before he lay down, as Ryuto hopped up onto his lap, settling into the crook of his elbow, and Reiko chirped, licking Midoriya's cheek as the boy settled down.
Midoriya looked exhausted, though most of his peers were also tired due to their training for the provisional license exam, but Midoriya looked like he hadn't slept at all. His eye bags were darker than usual, and there were times during lessons when he could tell that Midoriya wasn't really paying attention.
But at least he was still reacting when his name was called. If he had stopped reacting and just shut off like last time, it would be terrible. Aizawa was glad that Basilisk had showed up at the right time, and had given Midoriya that gift; whatever the contents of it were (a puzzle box, according to Nezu, Shinsou and Kayama), it had revived Midoriya's will to fight, to improve.
He should probably tell Nezu that Midoriya seemed to like the bean bag; that seemed to be a start. Maybe he could do something with that information.
"I'll be giving back your math tests that you did last week." Ectoplasm spoke up. While he did give Midoriya homework that was beyond what his peers were learning, for formal tests and exams, he had Midoriya take the same tests as his classmates in order to give him a grade for official school documentation. Though lately, for some reason, Midoriya seemed distracted in lessons. He did his homework well, but his handwriting was messier than usual, and there were times where he just seemed to stare into space.
It wasn't the same situation as before; Midoriya still reacted when his name was called on during lessons to hand in homework, or to write his answers on the board, so there must be something bothering the boy. Ectoplasm didn't want to hide the fact that the Hero Commission wants him out of the hero course, but telling him that would just give Midoriya more stress.
"Ah, I only got a fifty percent." Kaminari sighed, and slumped onto his table, "I studied so hard for it too! And Yaomomo even tutored me!"
"Well, at least it was better than your last one, and you passed." Yaoyorozu smiled, as Ectoplasm gave her back her test. The teacher finally got to Midoriya's seat, and placed his test on his table, "Full marks, Midoriya. Given the level of mathematics homework I normally give you, I'm not surprised, but good job."
Midoriya blinked in confusion, and looked up, staring at his teacher as he handed Bakugou his test paper. His teacher actually praised him? Actually told him that he had done a good job?
He clenched his fists, not really knowing how to react.
They're just trying to fool you! Trying to make you lower your guard!
The voice at the back of his head was back again, and Midoriya wasn't too sure what to believe. Believe the voice, who was reminding him of everything that people had done to him before, reminding him not to make the same mistakes over and over again? Believe that people would always be the same, no matter where he went or what he achieved?
Are they really just trying to do that?
Or trust his heart, the part of him that wanted to believe that things were different now, that he truly had friends that that he could trust and rely on?
Both of them were a part of him, contradicting each other. And Midoriya didn't like to, didn't know how, wasn't used to making choices. And he didn't know if he was going to make the right choice or not.
Ectoplasm kept a close eye on Midoriya as he attacked a punching bag ruthlessly. They were supposed to use clones to practise super moves, but for one, Midoriya did not have a quirk to create a super move, and it wasn't like the kid needed one anyways; he was more than capable of taking a hoard of villains on his own. If Midoriya were to fight the Ectoplasm clones, he would destroy them almost every other minute. Even Bakugou took at least five minutes to destroy a clone on his best day.
He was worried about the boy. Midoriya was pushing himself way too hard, and it was getting riskier the closer they got to the date of the provisional license exam. He didn't want Midoriya to injure himself by accident during practises and miss his only chance to get his license.
Midoriya's current attack was to attack the punching bag in quick, successive strikes ranging from punches to kicks as he leapt around it. It would be effective against any opponent that wasn't fast enough to keep up with the former vigilante, and that wasn't even counting his bracers, knives, and make-shift capture weapon. Obviously, he couldn't use them unless he wanted to rupture the punching bag, but against a moving target, that would be very effective at ensnaring and enemy. Perhaps he should let Midoriya try that tatic on a clone of his, provided that Midoriya didn't destroy it mere seconds after it's creation.
Suddenly, there was a loud creak, and a snapping sound resonated throughout the gym, and a large punching bag crashed into the ground, sand leaking out of the bag.
Ectoplasm looked up, only to find that once again, Midoriya had broken yet another punching bag chain, and was staring at the broken punching bag that lay on the ground.
"That's the third one this week. They're old, sure, but still." Aizawa mumbled, almost dumbfounded, "We need to get better chains."
Ectoplasm created a clone to clean up the mess, and looked at Midoriya, before yelling, "Don't worry about it. I'll bring you a new one."
At least the boy was wearing gloves; he had some fingerless gloves that came with his hero costume, but it was more than enough to protect his knuckles from the backlash of his attacks.
Midoriya quietly slipped out of his room, closing his door quietly. Ryuto was sleeping on his arm, along with Reiko, and the both of them had been jolted awake before making his way to the common room for a glass of water. It was dim, but Midoriya could still see his surroundings as long as it wasn't completely dark.
He took a sip of water, and rubbed his head, trying to rid his head of the nightmares that had been plaguing him ever since he had gotten back to the dorms from the hospital. The same dream, now only much more intense, the nightmare of being trapped, of his parents dying, of his classmates getting hurt, and him, being able to see everything, but couldn't make a single move to save anyone. No matter how hard he tried to move, he just couldn't.
Midoriya wiped away some sweat from his forehead; he could feel, hear his heart pounding in his chest, and his hands were shaking. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't push away the ominous feeling that something terrible was going to happen.
Maijima had just finished the gauntlets based on the blueprints from his father, as well as the ceramic knives he had asked for, through Nezu. He didn't give Nezu a reason as to why he wanted ceramic knives, and while he was glad that Nezu didn't press for a reason, opting to trust his judgement, Midoriya was slightly guilty for hiding the real reason why he wanted ceramic knives.
Midoriya placed his cup in the sink, and walked over to the black bean bag sitting in the corner, by the window. He settled down in it, and looked out the window, as Reiko and Ryuto settled on his lap.
You can't save them. You'll never be able to save anyone! There's only so much you can do. Everyone will surpass your worthless, quirkless self in terms of power and experience sooner or later.
I can still try.
There's a limit to human effort, Deku.
Nezu frowned as he compared his notes with Aizawa's. Aldera was already dealt with, and they had moved on to investigating Midoriya's elementary school. They had gotten the security feeds, and they were currently combing through it with Ectoplasm's help, since the man could make clones of himself, and with his help, they were going through the feeds much faster than before.
Except something wasn't adding up. According to the old reports that they managed to salvage, Midoriya's parents had died eight years ago, when Midoriya had just started first grade. However, based on the security feeds, there wasn't actually any change in Midoriya's attitude during that time. Sure, he seemed sadder, and more desperate to interact with his peers, but he was still talking to his classmates, still trying to defend himself from his classmates' bullying. It was nothing at all like the quiet and reserved Midoriya that just let people walk over him, and only lashing out if someone else was getting bullied, or was in danger.
They assumed that Midoriya's accidental "fall" off the school building when he was nine would be the event to trigger the change in attitude, but Midoriya, as Void, had saved Shinsou from his former household after the event, and according to both Aizawa and Shinsou, Midoriya was nothing like he was now. And after cross referencing with the security feeds from his elementary school, Midoriya also didn't really display much of a change in attitude. He was more subdued, and more quiet, but whenever someone talked to him, even if they bullied him, Midoriya would always perk up and excitedly try to hold a conversation.
The real change occurred when Midoriya was in fourth grade. One day, he was happy, excited, still desperately trying to interact with his classmates and make friends, and the next day, he was completely silent, not reacting to his classmates, not even when they dragged him out of his seat and beat him up.
"That date." Nezu narrowed his eyes, as he looked at the date that was recorded on the security footage, "Something must have happened between the previous day and this date."
Ectoplasm scratched his head as he searched up the two dates, "Nothing much happened, generally. There was just a huge storm the previous day, according to the records."
"This needs more investigation..." Aizawa grumbled, "It has to be something big to cause such a drastic change in behaviour in less than twenty four hours."
"I'll deal with it." Nezu spoke up, "For now, we need to make sure that all the students are ready for the provisional license exam. Especially Izuku. This is his only chance to pass."
"Sorry to call you here on such short notice..." Nezu scratched his head, before turning to Midoriya, who was sitting on the couch in his office, "I thought I should tell you that... you can't bring Reiko and Ryuto for the provisional license exam. You can bring them to the location itself... but you'll have to leave them with Aizawa before you take the exam."
Midoriya bit his lip, and tugged on his collar nervously; he had never actually been separated from Reiko and Ryuto, and even when they were, they were in Nezu's office, or with one of the teachers, and Midoriya trusted them, at the very least, to not hurt them. Plus, if they even tried to hurt them, Reiko would scratch their eyeballs out.
But he didn't even know where the provisional license exam was going to take place, or who else was going to be there. Were there others who would hurt Reiko and Ryuto?
Reiko purred, and rubbed herself against Midoriya's arm, trying her best to reassure him. Ryuto chirped, nuzzling Midoriya's cheek from his position on Midoriya's shoulder, as Nezu continued, "Also... we're going to need your hero name. When your pass, they're going to be giving your license right before you leave, so they're going to be printing your hero name directly on the spot."
Midoriya noted that Nezu used the word when instead of if. Nezu had so much confidence that he would pass provisional license exam, and he didn't want to let the principal down.
"You missed the session when the rest of your class were choosing their hero names, so... did you have anything in mind?" Nezu asked, and Midoriya stared at the floor, thinking. He never really thought that he would be in this situation; he never expected that he would be able to enter UA, to be transfered into the hero course, that he would be good enough to even participate in the provisional license exam.
He looked up at Nezu, and nodded, "I have a name in mind."
"So.. the locations of the tests are finalised." Aizawa announced. "All of you, go to bed early. I don't want any of you to be tired in the morning before the exam.
"Yes sir!" Iida saluted as Aizawa left the common room, and Yaoyorozu stood up, "We should have a plan. All of us are in the same testing area, and while there is a fifty percent chance of passing, that may always change. Teaming up with friends and classmates whose quirks we know is the way to win. Does anyone have any ideas?"
"We kill them. Painfully." Bakugou snorted, and Kirishima sweatdropped, "How about no?"
There was some murmuring between the students of 1-A, and Midoriya carefully slipped out of the room into the hallway, unnoticed by all except for Dark Shadow and Shinsou. Shinsou tapped on Iida's shoulder, and gestured in the direction of the hallway, and Iida nodded. Shinsou quietly slipped out of the room after Midoriya, and found him leaning against the wall, deep in thought, as Reiko pawed at his leg and Ryuto perched on his shoulder.
"Izuku." Shinsou's tone softened, "What idea do you have?"
Midoriya hastily looked away, not daring to look Shinsou in the eye, and the lavender haired boy blinked in confusion.
"Izuku, are you okay?"
Midoriya clenched his fist, before he spoke up softly, whispering, his voice so quiet that Shinsou could barely hear him over the ruckus his classmates were making, "I can bait the other examinees. Then the rest of you can take them out."
"No, Izuku, we are not going to do that." Shinsou stated, "We're not going to sacrifice you in order to pass. We're all passing together, all twenty one of us. You're going to pass with us no matter what."
Midoriya blinked, before he went back to staring at the ground.
"Stain's attack on Hosu shook the public's trust in Heroes. The fall of All Might's only increased that sense of unease. Do you really think that things are going to stay the same? After everything that has happened? They're most likely going to get us to fight the other examinees in order to pass, and they will probably lower the passing rate as well."
Shinsou froze. He knew that things would never remain the same, but he didn't think that it would have started all the way during Akaguro's arrest. The fall of All Might created a hole, a hole that they, as hero students, were going to have to fill.
"But don't they need more heroes to fill in that role? So wouldn't they raise the passing rate?" Shinsou asked.
"No. They're most likely going to want only the best students available at each site to get their licenses in order to fill the gap left by the fall of All Might."
"Izuku..." Shinsou muttered, placing his hand on the greenette's shoulder, "You know that All Might's retirement isn't your fault."
Midoriya turned away from him, "It is. No matter how you look at it, the fall of All Might, the loss of the Symbol of Peace... that's my fault. If I hadn't been kidnapped, they wouldn't have to save me. But that's not the matter at hand right now."
Shinsou bit his lip, forcing himself to stay silent. He'd ask Midoriya about Yagi's retirement in private, after the exam, somewhere where his classmates wouldn't accidentally walk into their conversation. Now, they had to focus on the Provisional License Exam, or everything else wouldn't matter.
Midoriya clenched his fists, "They've seen all your quirks doing the UA Sports Festival. And they know that I was in the center of the Kamino Incident, as well as being quirkless. But they don't know how much you've improved since then, or your super moves. Humans are naturally arrogant and self centered, willing to take any advantage they can and exploiting any weakness. They're definitely going to be going after us first, me in particular, since I'm quirkless."
"Oh," Shinsou hummed, deep in thought, "You want to use their arrogance against them, to lure and trap a large group of examinees for us to pass."
Midoriya nodded, before quietly continuing, "It doesn't matter what I do. They're definitely going to come after us."
Shinsou sighed, "It's a good idea, theoretically. But let's go hear what the others have in mind, alright? We're not going to give you up in order to pass, or let you face them alone. We're all going to pass together."
Midoriya looked away, thinking, before nodding slowly, and Shinsou led him back to where the rest of the class were still talking about the plan for the provisional license exam.
"So, did we miss anything?" Shinsou quietly asked Iida, and Iida shook his head, "Nope. Bakugou just keeps saying we should kill them. And all the other ideas aren't viable."
Midoriya glanced at Shinsou, and the lavender haired boy frowned, "Izuku, we're not going to do that, alright?"
"Did something happen?" Uraraka asked, and Shinsou gave her a look that meant that it wasn't a good time to talk about it.
