23.02.2021
'Sup, it's me the-guy-who-wonders-if-any-of-you-have-any-idea-how-hard-it-is-to-come-up-with-new-'names'-to-call-myself-in-this-introductionary-part, fuck that's a mouthful, back with another chapter!
Also back to answer a few comments!:
RandomReader867 - I'm conflicted, I'm happy to have you here as per usual, but I wonder how are you able to get the first review almost every single time dude? xD Oi you, yes you, the remaining 422 people following this story, dethrone Random under the next chapter please and thank you! No offence man ;D PS. Oh, now that you've mentioned it, I definitely need them to meet Mei *cackles in rodent*
ElectricDragonSemblanceHunter - Considering that this story is like... 2.5 years old, I'm gonna have to say 'no', which is true. I know that Cyberpunk is on the rise right now, due to everything that surrounds its premiere and stuff, but I was actually inspired by a much older universe of Deus Ex. That's why Midoriya's upgrades are called Augmentations or Augs for short.
CarEnthusiast - Someone: *gets their arm torn off* Jeremy Clarkson: Oh no, anyway - Imma describe it like this and keep mah T-Rating. Jeremy Clarkson: Sometimes my genius is- It's almost frightening (I have no idea why I decided to meme about Jeremy Clarkson right now, but fuck it)
Arnold Samsung - I had a good theory on this figured out, but I forgot it. I think it went like this - you don't need a permit to have a Quirk, it can't be locked in a storage locker or taken off of a person and you had over a decade to get used to having it, whilst a firearm requires you to have a permit to own and is not a part of your body. Unless you are that one guy from the USJ, but we don't talk about small fries right now. The earlier theory was probably more detailed but I'm planning these responses as I write them so... No time to think!
And now, the funnier part!
"I still can't believe that we managed to pass…", Midoriya reminiscenced as they hung out in their common room.
"Gotta say, it was quite the show", Tokage agreed from the other side of the room.
"A mad banquet of darkness for sure", Tokoyami added before turning back to Reiko to continue their quiet conversation, as Shiozaki eyed them suspiciously.
"The move you pulled out at the end to fry Blackout's mech was pretty sick though", Kaminari spoke from the couch. "Actually, how did you do that shit?", the Electrification Quirk user whipped his head towards Midoriya, suddenly intrigued.
"That's actually not a dumb question Jamming Jay…", Jiro mused and more people became interested in the subject.
"The cable looked quite big… Wasn't it like a factory's main power supply or something?", Kendo chimed in.
"Yeah it was. The plan was actually pretty risky, since a stray bolt could've easily zapped me before I made it to the mech and took me out in an instant, but it worked out in the end, so it's all good!", he shot them a wide, confident grin as the room sweat-dropped.
"It's definitely not all good…", they collectively thought.
"All right class, listen up", Aizawa silenced them as he entered the homeroom on Monday. "I have a couple of things to relay to you. But before all that, let me say that I'm a bit proud of you. You've done your very best, so you can feel good about yourself"
The students smiled and cheered at the words of approval from their teacher, before his expression turned from indifferent to malicious as he spoke once again.
"However, not all of you did good enough", this managed to elicit more than a few groans from the crowd. "Your final grade wasn't based solely off of the fact whether you managed to escape/capture your opponent, but on your performance and teamwork as well. So if you got carried by your teammate, too bad"
A few students looked downtrodden by the statement, even though they knew it to be true. Some of them were quickly taken out by the seasoned Pros before they had a chance to show their mettle or their Quirks were ill-suited against their opponent or battlefield. But saying so would be making excuses, and those won't help you in real life.
"Hear me out before you start saying goodbyes to your classmates though", Aizawa spoke after a short pause and all students perked up in interest. "This exam's job was to determine how much you've improved over the year. And in this category I have only good things to say about all of you. You've made great progress with your Quirks, studies and physical training since the first day. This means that you've all passed and will meet again as Class 2-A"
The students cheered once again and their homeroom teacher smirked under his scarf, feeling a bit like a proud father, who just watched his son take his first step or something.
"Before that happens however, you'll meet one last time as Class 1-A, for UA's Summer Training Camp", he announced and his students cheered for the third time in the span of what? ten minutes? "If you are happy to be going there, then you have no idea what you are getting yourself into", a scary grin appeared on his face as he went on to explain. "We will push you to your limits and force you to break through them day after day after day for two whole weeks!"
Many students gulped at that, but found themselves not really scared (okay, maybe a bit scared). Most of all, they were determined to improve themselves more and more, to pass their next together.
The end of the school year wasn't that special when you compared it to the previous ten months and everything that happened.
Nezu gave a speech, current third years graduated with Mirio Togata, Tamaki Amajiki and Nejire Hado - who looked almost exactly like Nejiro - as the top three Hero course students and then they went to their respective classes with their homeroom teachers, who gave them a shorter speech about not forgetting their training and stuff and they were off.
Aizawa also told his students some details about their Training Camp, with Vlad King doing the same for his class, not mentioning the joint nature of the camp for right now.
The Camp was scheduled for the last two weeks of July, so the Hero Course students had plenty of time to get ready. They were given a list of items to bring like a few sets of training attire, bug spray, toothbrushes, towels, nothing special that could help them identify the possible location they were going to.
Although, bug spray would hint at a lakeside facility or a humid forest.
Midoriya wasn't too interested in digging through the possibilities, opting instead to up his own training regime for the time being.
His peaceful activities however, were interrupted a week before their Training Camp by a surprising visit.
"Yo", Kravchenko greeted with a raised hand.
"Hello?", the green haired teen looked with wide eyes. "What do I owe the visit?"
"I have some things to talk to you about. Can I come in?", he mysteriously answered and Midoriya nodded, stepping aside to let him in.
They walked over to the couches in the main hall and sat down. The Augmented Hero didn't like the serious mood Kravchenko seemed to be in. He wasn't cracking jokes or wearing that trademark kind-of-arrogant-but-I-AM-better-than-you-so-it-is-justified grin.
"That was quite the bold move you pulled off during your exam", Avenger spoke after a few moments of silence in a neutral tone.
"Yeah… It was pretty risky, but I couldn't really think of a better idea", Izuku admitted sheepishly.
"Good thing that your Quirk gives you a higher resistance to electricity, huh?", he fixed the teen with a piercing glare, observing his reaction.
"Wait, it does?"
"That was an industrial power supply cable and you have metal parts all over your body, you should've been shocked the moment you ripped it out of the ground", Kravchenko stated and relaxed, leaning back in his seat. "That's why it intrigued me"
Silence reigned once again as Midoriya went over the new piece of information. This brought to his attention how little he knew about his previously dormant Quirk. He didn't really focus that much on improving it since it awakened, sticking to his primarily physical training.
"I'm not surprised that you didn't think of that", Martin spoke once again. "I wouldn't know what to do with a third hand if someone suddenly attached it to me and made it work like a real one", he once again eyed Midoriya, measuring his reaction.
The confusion on Izuku's face morphed into understanding as he thought more on the subject.
"Me and Blackout paired up to dig into the bank robbery you witnessed when doing your internship under him", Avenger said out of the blue, catching Midoriya's attention.
"Really?", the teen asked in surprise and received a short nod in response.
"It turns out that an old… acquaintance of mine got mixed up with the wrong crowd", the Pro revealed with a sigh. "It's a shame how some people may end up making a deal with the devil itself, just to get back at someone"
This conversation was… weird. Kravchenko changed subjects like socks, saying things that didn't really make sense no matter how you looked at it and his cocky persona was nowhere to be found. Something was going on and Midoriya was completely out of the loop.
The man suddenly stood up and stretched. "I really hope that you know how to pick your allies, Midoriya", he said ominously and headed towards the door. "See ya 'round kid", Martin waved with a smirk as he exited the mansion.
Now this was way more ominous than anything Aizawa has said so far.
"Thinking about it won't do me any good. He must've had a reason to say all these things, so I should just wait. Maybe he will explain himself in the future?", Midoriya reasoned to himself and decided to get back to training.
"At least you didn't drag the kid into your little scheme Richie…", Kravchenko thought as soon as he closed the door behind him.
The rest of the week flew by and before he knew it, Midoriya was already waiting for his classmates and his homeroom teacher at the gather spot.
Aizawa arrived a few minutes later, not really surprised that his student was already there and they stood in comfortable silence.
Members of 1-A started appearing one by one as time went on, with Kaminari almost being late, managing to make it with one minute to spare.
Their green haired Class Rep wasn't paying attention to his surroundings however, as he was already thinking what kind of exercises they would have them do once the camp started.
He was brought out of his thoughts as someone waved a hand in front of his face.
Midoriya shook his head a bit and focused on the person in front of him, grinning widely as he quickly recognised them to be none other than-
"Shinso!", the Augmented Hero exclaimed in excitement.
"Me", the tired-looking teen said back as a small smirk made its way onto his face.
"What are you doing here? First off, what's happened to you? You were all skin and bone back at the Sports Festival!", Midoriya joked, his smile not vanishing for a moment.
But before Shinso had the chance to explain, and defend the 'skin and bone' accusation of course, Aizawa spoke up.
"Shinso is going to be your new classmate once you start your second year, so Nezu thought it would be a good idea for all of you to get to know each other. Midoriya, you are going to be responsible for keeping him away from Bakugo"
"Why am I the one getting singled out?!", the Explosion Quirk user shouted with a tick mark on his forehead.
"Probably because your whole personality is basically a dumpster fire steeped in sewage", Shinso immediately shot back as most of the gathered students' jaws hit the floor. Even Bakugo himself seemed a bit shaken after hearing that sentence.
"Yeah, I see where you're coming from", Midoriya whispered towards Aizawa, to which the teacher only nodded sagely and added quickly.
"He's a good kid, but can't keep his mouth shut", the Underground Hero sighed in a way that Izuku interpreted as him saying 'fucking problem children' or something along those lines, before speaking up. "Alright, listen up!"
Aizawa's shout made everyone pause in what they were doing, as they turned towards their homeroom teacher.
"The bus should be here in a sec, so grab your stuff and organize yourselves in a rational fashion so that we don't waste any more time, got it?"
A chorus of 'yes sir' answered him as he smirked, they weren't even half as synced in the beginning of the year as right now, but who could blame them? They had a very charismatic leader after all.
True to Aizawa's words, the bus arrived two minutes later and the twenty one students boarded it along with their teacher.
Eraserhead warned them that it will take them a couple of hours to get to their destination, so they could do whatever they wanted, as long as they weren't being too loud to distract their driver or, god forbid, interrupt his nap.
This led to most students chatting with each other in hushed voices, whilst others decided to listen to music or follow their homeroom teacher's example and drifted off to sleep.
They took a couple of breaks to strengthen their legs, pop some joints and use the toilet, but the journey itself was really tame and uneventful.
Some of the less patient students were considering asking how far they still had to go, when Aizawa called a sudden stop.
A few students didn't feel like leaving the bus at the time, but their homeroom teacher was adamant that everyone had to get some fresh air.
The teens complied of course, not really wanting to get on his bad side at the beginning of a hellish training camp and piled out of the vehicle.
The more energetic ones like Kaminari and Kirishima immediately made a run for the railing, aiming to admire the view in front of them.
It turned out that Aizawa called a stop while they were descending into a very forested valley. Though very forested didn't do the place justice. It looked like there was nothing but trees in this place, with mountains and hills creating a natural barrier around this oasis. Although, upon closer inspection they managed to spot a like on the opposite side of the valley.
Suddenly, a second bus pulled up next to theirs and students from class 1-B started coming out of it, led by Vlad King.
"You're late", Aizawa immediately said to his fellow Pro.
"We had some trouble whilst boarding the bus", Kan answered sheepishly.
"Irrational…", the tired Pro sighed, but decided to drop the subject.
Both classes were midway greeting each other and wondering if they were going to the same training camp when another vehicle pulled up to the stop.
It was just a simple, black car this time. Although iits driver was anything but simple.
Three women and a man dressed in cat-themed costumes exited the car and struck a confusingly cute pose, as they said what must've been their catchphrase.
"Lock on with these sparkling gazes!", the woman in red started.
"Stingingly cute and catlike!", her teammate continued, before all four shouted.
"Wild Wild Pussycats!"
"I have mixed feelings about this… Also is that guy wearing a skirt?", the students sweatdropped at this sudden introduction.
"You are late", Aizawa pointed out, clearly not fazed by the show.
"Jeez Shota, is that a way to greet your girlfriend of all people?", the woman dressed in a blue costume asked with a smirk.
"Pixie!", the green kitten (hehe) shouted with an equally playful smirk. "How could you embarrass Mandalay like that?!"
"I hate them…", Shota sighed to himself as he closed his eyes before turning to his class and glaring at Mina and Toru who looked like they were ready to explode. "You will not say a word about this and I'll try to show you mercy for the next two weeks"
He more threatened than proposed, before donning a more professional persona.
We are a bit behind the schedule, so I'll cut straight to the point", the now identified Mandalay said with a noticable blush on her face. "We are the Wild, Wild Pussycats and we will be in charge of your training camp. By the way it starts now. Your goal is to make it to the campsite on the other end of the valley by crossing the Forest of Beasts, good luck. Send them", the last sentence was directed towards Pixie, who must've used her Quirk on the ground, as all students were quickly swept off their feet and over the railing.
Some of the more dexterous students managed to break their fall by grabbing branches on their way down or by utilizing their Quirks, whilst the rest was saved by Momo, who created a giant inflatable pontoon, which acted kinda like a safety net.
The students made it to the ground almost untouched, safe for the few who hit few too many branches on their way down.
"Guess there's no coming back now…", Midoriya mused to himself as he looked around. "Everybody alright?!", he shouted towards students from both classes, who shakily confirmed their status.
"Do try to make it before sunset!", they heard Pixie yell as she waved at them excitedly from where they've been standing just a few seconds ago.
"I wonder why they call it the Forest of Beasts though…", Kaminari voiced his thoughts, which were answered by a loud beastly roar, which startled all of the birds in their vicinity and made them fly away. "I don't want to know anymore!"
"Shut it Jamming Jay!", Kyoka shouted towards the Electrification Quirk user as she stabbed her jacks into the ground. "Something- No, some THINGS are coming, and they don't sound friendly", she announced as the students readied themselves for a fight.
"Let's do this everybody!", Midoriya shouted with a raised fist as yellow lightning surrounded his body.
"Hell yeah! Lightning Lads lead the way!", an excited Kaminari yelled as he joined Midoriya at the front.
"I never agreed to-... Fuck it, I'll indulge him just this once", the greenette smiled and prepared for the first contact.
So... We are finally here. We're at the crossroads... nanana-nana.
I don't know the numbers cause I can't be bothered to remember numbers unless it's six digit long and carries deeper meaning, I tip my hat to you fellow men (and women, I don't judge) of culture - but More than Human won, so someone's gonna get himself a &*&^&%$&&*... Oh... someone turned my spoiler filter on... Welp, sucks to be you I guess xD
Stick around, voice your opinions in the comments and come back to witness... ... ... a Hero's Demise