Class 1-A begins their first hero foundations class and are introduced to the newest member of UA staff. Morgan makes a few observations of his classmates and Ethan makes new friends.
Hello everyone! Good to post again after more than a month of silence. Anyways, the battle trials begin this chapter, and will end next chapter, which will be delivered quick, I promise that. I am sick of my own schedule myself, and I really do enjoy writing this fanfiction. Anyways, you may notice a few different placements. That's because I randomly determined the teams and battles aside from Team A vs Team D, because that is an integral part of the anime's early storyline. This chapter was incredibly fun to write, and I think it's my favorite so far, so I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did! Also, I hope you guys enjoy the new OC. I love all my characters, but he is definitely one of my favorites.
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or its characters. I only own my OC's.
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7:30 AM, April 13th, Ryan Teller's Apartment
The blaring of his alarm clock cut straight through Ryan Teller's peaceful sleep. He groggily looked at his side table, briefly considering smashing the damn thing before he saw the time. Annoyance quickly morphed to panic. He was supposed to be at work by 7:20 to finalize his transfer to Japan! He was already ten minutes late! To his first day!
Ryan mentally hit himself as he rushed around his apartment like a madman, brewing coffee with toast in his mouth and also while pulling on his costume's pants, jacket hanging off by one arm. Of course this would happen. Almost thirty-four and still have the time management of a teenager. As always. He was livid with himself, and so focused on his rush that he almost didn't notice the objects in his apartment starting to float. As soon as he did, he breathed out and they set down. Too panicked. Ryan patted himself down to ensure he had everything. Costume? Check. Keys? Check. Bag? Check. Okay, good to go. Now he needed to get going. He headed out the door of his apartment quick to begin an extremely late commute.
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Okay, did he kick a puppy in a previous life or something? Ryan racing around the streets of Musutafu for the past fifteen minutes, desperately trying to remember his work's location. Where's the damn school? And after he took that long tour and everything too. He was never going to hear the end of it from his new colleagues.
Ryan looked around before ducking into a nearby alleyway. He really didn't like using his abilities like this, but he needed to get to UA now or he suspected he was a dead man, at least if Nedzu was as strict as his previous principal. He closed his eyes to focus his quirk. He could feel space beginning to bend, but he was thrown out of his focus as a cocky voice called out to him from deeper in the alley.
"You lost Yankee?"
Great. Because he really needed trouble right now. Ryan schooled his face as he turned to observe the clearly criminal group ambushing passerby in alleyways. Three thugs, all incredibly muscled brutes, along with their leader, a tall, thin, and greasy man in a dirty green hoodie, likely the one who had spoken. None of the group seemed very scared, probably confident they could take on one guy. Their mistake. Still, Ryan tried to be friendly.
"It would happen to be that way. You gentlemen fancy helping a new resident out? You see, I'm heading to work, and I need- "
Leader Thug cut him off, smiling, and Ryan could see he was missing a few of his weathered yellow teeth.
"Yeah, I don't think so. But I think we're gonna be helping ourselves. To your things. Phone, wallet, and whatever's in the bag. Hurry it up before me and my associates get, violent."
Ryan held up his hands in a caution gesture.
"No. Seriously, why don't you guys just be on your way? You really don't want to fight me, and I have places to be."
Leader Thug did not take that well.
"Really? I think our chances are pretty good. Let's get messy boys!"
At that the three muscled grunts began to advance, and the leader summoned some type of energy in his hands.
Ryan sighed.
"I tried. Don't say I didn't warn you."
He held out his hand, and the four criminals froze as silver energy outlined their bodies. Leader Thug's energy dissipated as he yelped out in surprise.
"What the- "
He was cut off as Ryan lifted his hand, and the small gang flew up into the air, as if pulled by wires. They began to swirl around in the air like a tornado of failure before Ryan took both hands and slammed them together. The thugs immediately rammed together, crushing the leader between their large bodies, and falling unconscious. Ryan dropped his hand and the pile of criminals fell hard.
"Hope no one saw that last part. Wouldn't want my debut to be a bad first impression" Ryan muttered to himself as he dusted his jacket off and adjusted his bag. A bored voice came from the alleyway entrance and made him freeze only seconds later.
"I think you already have. At UA, at least."
A chill ran down Ryan's spine as he turned to see…
"Eraserhead! How's, uh, how's the day going?"
The Erasure Hero ignored Ryan's attempt at deflection, giving the other man a stern look.
"You are more than half an hour late."
"Oh, yeah. I… Oh, screw it. I don't have an excuse. I overslept and I couldn't remember the route to UA. You wouldn't happen to know the way, would you?"
Eraserhead didn't respond, only turning and walking away.
"Okay then, I'll just follow along. Gotta memorize the route now. Wait. Where are we?"
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11:40 AM, UA High, Classroom 1-A
High School was a jarring transition for Ethan. Sure, he had done some research, but real life was not at all what all that anime had portrayed, and his memories of primary school were no help. Class 1-A's first true day of school at UA went by head-spinningly quickly, like a Nessian hopped on sugar. He was introduced to teacher after teacher in subjects he mostly had no interest in, though he did wince when he saw Present Mic (Haven't my ears been through enough?) and really question the thought process of the principal when Midnight introduced herself, causing most of the guys to develop seemingly spontaneous nosebleeds. Seriously, who thought it was a good idea to have the self-proclaimed 18+ Hero teach high schoolers?
Midoriya had been in a perpetual dumb state for most of the day, with each and every teacher causing him to become unresponsive for at least ten minutes in an oblivious storm of muttering that was really starting to creep people out. The only time it seemed to really abate was during lunch, but even then, he collapsed into another fit after he saw Lunch Rush. He had to admit though, it was kind of cool, and he did have his own minor stroke when Snipe introduced himself as their history teacher. The cowboy hero had spent time in America similar to All Might, and Ethan fondly remembered playing with a recreation of the man's guns and hat. That's one class I'll be paying attention to.
Snipe and Midnight's classes were welcome surprises since Ethan felt doomed to be bored before that. English? Already fluent in that and 5 other galactic languages. Math? An absolute joke with what he knew. Literature? Reading really didn't interest him. Art History and History were really his saving graces since they were subjects he didn't know and had an interest in. Plus, Having Midnight for a teacher was going to be really entertaining, considering the reactions she got, from the boys and a few of the girls.
The 1st half of the 2nd day had been much the same as the first, but more boring, since it was just their teachers laying out curriculum and expectations, though Ethan did get a kick out of the utter bewilderment that Atsushi had shown when most of the class was unresponsive to Miss Midnight's questions. The guy clearly had no idea what was going on.
But that had passed. It was time for Foundational Hero Studies, and you could feel the energy in the room. Midoriya was practically vibrating in his chair. The reaction was not all that surprising. Ethan had hung around the greenette and his small group yesterday, and had learned quite a bit about Midoriya's practical worship of All Might. You would never hear a bad thing about the guy from him. That set off some alarm bells.
Ethan had to marvel at this sort of behavior. It was not new, he had seen a couple people express this sort of opinion, but it seemed so foreign to him. All Might was a great hero and Ethan had a lot of respect for him, he was the Number 1 Hero for a reason, but he was 1 man. 1 man can't hold society on his shoulders. While it was impressive that All Might had tried do so for at least 3 decades, he was going to fail one day, and the frustrating thing was that since All Might had made no moves to change this status quo, he either believed he could hold up society on his own or he knew he couldn't but kept trying anyway. Things were going to crumble when All Might retired, unless big things happened quickly.
Even with all of that, Ethan was still awed as All Might entered the classroom with his usual level of subtlety.
"I AM HERE! COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A HERO!"
The costume All Might was wearing was unfamiliar to Ethan, though he quickly caught from the chatter of his classmates that this was the Pro's 'Silver-Age' outfit, whatever that meant.
As expected, everyone, even Bakugou and the ever-cold Todoroki seemed awed by the appearance of the Number 1 Hero. The guy was quite the sight. Over seven feet of pure muscle that seemed to practically radiate power. Who wouldn't be awed?
All Might strode confidently forward and stood in front of the podium at the front, ready to address the class, but stopped before doing so. This was unexpected. Why was he waiting?
That question was answered as a second figure walked in. Clearly an adult, so not a new classmate. An assistant teacher? Ethan looked over to Midoriya, who seemed confused as well. Normally he would know who this guy was, but he didn't. Who was he?
All Might had about a foot on him, but he was still quite tall, about 6 feet of lean muscle rather than the bulging power of the Number 1 Hero. His hair, a light gray, was messy and a bit unkempt, and his hero costume was far simpler than the grand designs of All Might. A red jacket over a red shirt, jeans, boots, and a small belt of gadgets, completed by a silver mask over his eyes. He seemed rather nervous in his gait, looking at the ground and slouching a bit, hiding his true height until he stood beside All Might and straightened up. It was clear as soon as he spoke that he was American.
"Hello class. I'm your assistant teacher for Foundational Hero Studies, Ryan Teller. I'm from America if you couldn't tell. Feel free to ask questions later, but right now, we need to get started. Right, All Might?"
Teller looked at All Might expectantly, who jolted as if he hadn't expected to talk yet, before he settled back into his classic smile.
"Right, Teller-san! As he said, today Is your first Hero Foundational Studies class! Think of it as Heroing 101! Here you will learn the basics of being a pro! And what it means to fight in the name of good!"
"What he means is that this is probably the most important class you will take here. It's meant to give you the tools you need to succeed out in the world. Not just combat, but other skills like first aid, rescue training, the history of hero society, and how to handle the media. But today, as my colleague has decided," He looked to All Might, and Ethan caught the slightly annoyed glare he threw to the other Pro "Will be…"
"COMBAT TRAINING!" All Might yelled, holding out a card he had labeled COMBAT in bold letters. Why did he make that? Does the Number One Hero need flashcards to teach?
Ethan couldn't see Bakugou's face from where he sat, but he knew the spiky blonde was sporting a feral grin. Great. Hope Recovery Girl is ready to work overtime. Midoriya was dead if he had to go against Bakugou, and from the sweat that started pouring off the green haired boy as he muttered 'actual combat?', he did too.
Teller likely caught the look on Bakugou's face as he looked around at the class, and frowned.
"This is less actual combat and more an assessment of your current combat capabilities. While some of you," He eyed Todoroki and Yaoyorozu "Have had training, I know most of you don't. This is just to see where you are at to develop a plan to help you develop, which will be given to your homeroom teacher as well. Right, All Might?"
"Right! Today you start your journey to become a hero for real! And part of that," He said, posing dramatically in front of the podium "Is looking good!" He pointed to the wall, which slid out to reveal 21 suitcases, each labeled with a number from 1 to 21.
"These were designed using information you gave on your quirk registration form and the requests you filled out. Please take the suitcase with your number on it, change in the locker rooms, and meet us at Training Ground Beta. Make sure you don't dawdle either."
With that, Teller walked out far more confident than he had walked in. He seemed like a different person from the one who entered the room. Nothing like I expected. All Might, in contrast stood for a moment before he walked out of the room, the students already heading to the racks to grab their suitcase. Ethan grinned wide, showing off his sharpened canines. He had worked on this design for a while, and now? It was showtime. He grabbed Number 19 and headed off, wondering how hard it would be to hide a metal arm in a changing room.
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Exiting the tunnel to Training Ground Beta felt like something out of those old pre-quirk movies Ethan had binge watched. The entire class walked as one, everyone suited up and ready to go, emerging like astronauts heading to a launch in slow motion. All Might and Teller were standing just outside the tunnel, both smiling proudly. All Might even said how cool they all looked. Ethan had no idea how he had said that with a straight face. Some of his classmates' outfits were completely impractical or just bad. Some were too bulky, like Aoyama's, too light like Kaminari's, or…Oh come on Yaoyorozu! How did the school approve that!? That opening in the chest might as well just say 'stab here'! It makes sense for her quirk, but not even a zipper!? And why right… there?
He did like a few of his classmate's designs though. Iida's was practical and cool looking, the armor slick but heavy, turning him to a mobile tank. Sero's looked good, and he liked Midoriya's purely because it made him laugh. It was blatant All Might plagiarism, a fact that even the Number One Hero recognized, if the way he covered his mouth to muffle the laugh was.
Ethan like to think he had done pretty well designing his costume. The main part was a white and grey bodysuit with circuitry patterns on the sides. Basic and not heavily armored, but still padded and more protective than Kaminari's tracksuit. Black boots with iron soles for a good kick, and black gloves to match the sleeve he wore on his metal arm. Over the bodysuit he wore a grey jacket with a fancy collar and a Cat Eye on the back. Finally, he had a pair of goggles he would wear in combat. His outfit was built for speed, and he was damn proud of the homage to his old outfit.
Class 1-A gathered around their teachers, eager to begin.
Teller smiled.
"Alright, before we begin, I'm sure you all are curious, so I'll give. One question."
10 hands shot up.
"You, uh Kaminari, Right? Sorry, it may take me a bit to work out your names."
Kaminari smiled from his place beside Akio, who despite a normally cool demeanor, looked as curious as the rest of the students.
"Uh, who are you? No offense or anything."
Teller smiled and waved a hand dismissively.
"It's fine, I'm not expecting you guys to guess who I am instantly."
He waved his hand at All Might, who was shuffling his cards in preparation to give instructions. One of the cards was surrounded by silver light instantly and flew into Teller's hand.
"In The States I'm known as The Telekinetic Hero- "
Teller was cut off as Midoriya began to excitedly ramble.
"Psyker! I know you! You're America's number two hero! You've resolved over one thousand cases, rescued three hundred people, and- "
Midoriya was cut off by Teller, looking a bit flustered.
"Yeah, thanks for the info. I transferred here to teach for five years in some exchange program. I've taught at America's top hero school, Dawn Academy, for over eight years, I'm here to help this big guy- "He patted All Might's shoulder. "to get used to teaching."
"Anyways, let's get to the rules. Take it away All Might!"
"Right! Today you will be assigned to teams of two or three in one case, and randomly pitted against each other as either heroes or villains. The teams have ten minutes, after which the match will be called. The villains must protect the bomb by running out the clock or capturing the heroes with capture tape" All Might held up a roll of thick white tape.
"The heroes win by either 'securing' the bomb by touching it, or capturing the villains with capture tape" Teller explained, holding up his own roll of capture tape. "Any questions?"
Of course, The entire class burst with a million questions, some simple ones about procedure, but Ethan caught Bakugou's "How much can we hurt the other team?" Teller quieted them as All Might prepared the drawing, frowning at the spiky blonde, clearly having caught his question.
"I hear you. The teams will have five minutes before the battle. This is for the heroes to plan, and for the villains to prepare. As for violence…." He looked straight at Bakugou. "Remember that you are training to be heroes. Try not to give Recovery Girl too much work."
He smiled.
"But otherwise, go all out. Show us what you're capable of of."
All Might turned back around, sticks clutched in his hand.
"Now that everything is explained, let's get you paired up! Take a stick and find the partner with the same letter as you. Team J does have three members, due to the number of students, but we have made adjustments for that."
After the distribution, Ethan looked to his stick. J. The group of three. I can work with that. He looked around for his partners as people paired up. He noticed a flustered Midoriya was paired with Uraraka, so that would be entertaining. He was startled by a voice from behind him.
"Are you on Team J too, kero?"
Ethan spun around to see Asui looking at him, her expression passive as always. Beside her was… a pair of floating gloves? Oh, that's probably the invisible girl, Hagakure. Wait, her costume is just gloves and boots?! Isn't that illegal? There has to be some material there that turns invisible with her, right?!
Ethan kept his panicked thoughts to himself as he offered his partners a smile.
"Yep. I guess you two are my partners. We're the group of three?"
"Seems so, kero."
Hagakure waved her gloves around excitedly.
"Ooooh, I can't wait to start, this is gonna be soooo fun!"
Ethan smirked, and his eyes gleamed. Invisibility and frog. I can work with this.
"We can talk more later. It seems we need to line up, kero."
Hagakure, despite her loudness, did go quiet pretty quickly, and they lined up without incident in alphabetical order, allowing Ethan to see the other pairings:
Team A- Midoriya and Uraraka
Team B- Todoroki and Kouda
Team C- Atsushi and Yaoyorozu
Team D- Bakugou and lida
Team E- Ojirou and Sato
Team F- Ashido and Sero
Team G- Jirou and Kaminari
Team H- Tokoyami and Shoji
Team I- Kirishima and Aoyama
Team J- Asui, Hagakure, and Himself
Interesting combos here. He did feel bad for Iida, though. Bakugou did not strike him as a team player.
Once all the groups were lined up, All Might continued.
"Alright! Time to decide the matches!"
He rummaged in the basket of large balls painted with letters before he pulled out two.
"The first match is… Team A vs Team D, with Team A as the heroes and Team D as the villains!"
Oh no. That match is a disaster waiting to happen. Ethan could see Midoriya was sweating through his costume, and everyone took a step away from Bakugou, who was emitting a murderous aura as he grinned. Well, goodbye Midoriya, it was nice knowing you. Ethan shook shook off thoughts about Midoriya's imminent death just as the other matches were called:
Team J (Heroes) Vs Team I (Villains)
Team B (Heroes) Vs. Team E (Villains)
Team F (Heroes) Vs. Team H (Villains)
Team G (Heroes) Vs. Team C (Villains)
It looked like Ethan's team would be up against Kirishima and Aoyama, right after Bakugou finished murdering Midoriya. They were certainly going to be an interesting pair to fight. He had some thoughts, but they could wait. He followed the rest of his class as All Might and Teller lead them to the observation room to watch what was sure to be a train-wreck.
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11:50 AM, UA High, Training Ground Observation Room
Morgan was apprehensive as the first battle trial was close to starting. His group was last, and he would be fighting Kaminari, or Denki, as he had already insisted to be called. The other boy had been very friendly since school had begun, sitting next to him at lunch, and walking home with him yesterday and the day before. It honestly perplexed him. Morgan had not done anything to warrant this. He had saved Denki, sure, but that had been almost a month ago. He did not deserve this level of friendliness, especially since Denki did most of the talking. He was grateful, though. It made the adjustment to high school a little easier.
And now Morgan had to fight him. It made him uncomfortable. He had had to fight friends before, the Horsemen regularly trained with him, but Denki was not a trained and deadly assassin. In fact, he seemed as far from that as possible. Morgan did not want to hurt him, by accident or otherwise. Then there was the other matter. His partner. He had nothing against Yaoyorozu, she seemed polite, level-headed, and intelligent, if a bit hesitant, but he had no idea how to talk to her. He had tried at least two times already, since she was near him in the observation room, but he froze up both times. It felt like an inexplicable…something was creeping up on him. He would call it nervousness for now, until he could pinpoint what exactly it was. He had no idea how to plan and work with someone he did not know. He pondered this conundrum, but snapped to reality as All Might called the match to begin.
Team D was disorganized already, Bakugou brushing off Iida's attempts to plan and heading to confront Midoriya, who he seemed to have some deep-seated issue with, on his own. AT least he left Iida to guard, though he obviously did not see it that way. Morgan could already tell Team D was at a disadvantage compared to Team A. A team mission's success hinged on good communication and ability to plan on the field. Team D was doing none of that, though that was mostly Bakugou's fault. Team A, on the other hand, was moving as one, and he could tell Midoriya and Uraraka were communicating well. The mark of a good team. Likely scenario: Team A victory due to the poor communication and disorganization of opponents.
Morgan heard a few of his classmates talking and taking bets already on who was going to win. Most were undecided, but some, like Kirishima or Sero, were betting on Team D. He could see why they would say that if they worked together. Iid's speed and Bakugou's power could have made a devastating combination, but as it stood Bakugou was trying to go it alone, and it was him people were talking about. Morgan could not see why. He was powerful, but he was reckless, and held long lasting grudges, if the way he practically went feral the moment Midoriya was mentioned was an indication. Those types, no matter how smart, were easy to bait and eliminate. Just play on their anger they would lose all sense. He had so many clear weaknesses.
Still, it may not be obvious to Midoriya or Uraraka. He was proven immediately wrong on first contact, when Midoriya easily turned the tables on Bakugou. The spiky blonde had opted for an aggressive approach, though his silent approach was admittedly impressive. Midoriya has seemed to sense him and had gotten both out of the way, leaving the only mark on his suit, not his skin. Midoriya further impressed with his next move when he flipped Bakugou, using his momentum against him when Bakugou overextended with a right hook. The beginning of the fight allowed Uraraka to slip away as Midoriya lead Bakugou in the opposite direction. He suspected that was the team's plan to begin with. Midoriya had seemed to know Bakugou before UA, and so he likely knew this would happen. A divide and conquer strategy. Not bad for a plan in five minutes.
Midoriya evaded Bakugou for two more minutes before the explosive blonde re-engaged, and this time, actually struck. Midoriya was battered quickly and precisely in a brutal manner. It changed Morgan's perception. To execute the moves he just had, Bakugou would have needed to precisely calculate and time each explosion just right. He needed to have been constantly aware of his surroundings and be in complete control of his own momentum. He may have been reckless, but Bakugou was no tunnel-visioned fool.
Morgan immediately threw his newfound respect in the trash receptacle when Bakugou detonated a massive and potentially deadly blast right at Midoriya. A move like that was not just reckless, it was stupid and not even remotely heroic. What if there were hostages, or people below the building when he clearly blasted out the wall?! Morgan took back all of his complements. Bakugou was an idiot.
His teachers both seemed to think so as well, with All Might frantically yelling at Bakugou not to set off the explosion, while Teller seemed furious with the blonde.
"Why did the support department give him something like that?! That is a potentially deadly weapon in the hands of a student with the temperament of a wet cat!"
All Might was startled by the outburst, but managed to calm his fellow teacher down, before looking back to the screen and warning Bakugou to not use that move again.
Luckily for Bakugou, Midoriya was still alive. Hurt, but alive. He did not think the blonde would have liked being arrested for murder and spending time in juvenile detention.
By this time Uraraka had reached the bomb room, and was hiding behind a pillar as she observed Iida, who appeared to be doing some sort of…villain impression? It was hard to tell with no sound, but the way he was moving looked a lot like the cartoon villains he had seen during his marathon of animation.
Uraraka had tried to sneak, but Iida had caught her, and appeared to be bragging, and then Morgan noticed it. Iida had cleared all items Uraraka could float from the room. He had not been idle while the class's attention was on the big fight. The brunette gave a good try to get to the bomb, but Iida was too quick, and it seemed a stalemate.
Meanwhile, Midoriya appeared to be cornered. Team D's likelihood of victory was going up as the time on the clock said three minutes left. Bakugou and Midoriya were talking, and whatever was said between them seemed to just make the explosive blonde even angrier. He charged, an explosion ready, as Morgan noticed Midoriya say something into his earpiece as his arm started to glow and he charged as well. On the other screen, Uraraka seemed to hear what he said, and ceased her attempt to get at the bomb. A plan. The brunette jumped back, grabbing onto a pillar just as Midoriya and Bakugou's quirks collided, Midoriya's punch sending the explosion upward, blowing the upper flooring apart all the way to where Iida and Uraraka were. Midoriya had never been cornered. He had managed to lure Bakugou right where he was needed.
The distraction provided by the middle of the room blowing apart gave Uraraka the time she needed, taking out Iida in an admittedly impressive but reckless move and touching the bomb with two minutes to spare, securing the victory for the hero team. Morgan's prediction had been right from the start. Communication really did make the difference.
Midoriya had broken his arms in the final clash, and needed medical attention, and as he was hauled off Bakugou appeared to be in shock. All Might himself needed to escort him back to the observation room.
Morgan made a note to talk to Midoriya and offer his help with control and training. He might be able to help. Uraraka as well, though for a different reason. Her improvisation skills were remarkable, and he could tell she had the making of a great fighter with the proper training. But both of those could wait. He needed to focus on the Breakdown and the next match. This one was going to be interesting.
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12:08 PM, UA High, Training Ground Beta, Building 4
That was quite a show. Was rooting for Team A, but man did both of them go all out! Ethan was smiling as he saw Bakugou fuming in a corner as All Might and Psyker broke down the match, with some help from Yaoyorozu. Both Psyker basically broke down every way Bakugou had been stupid, and that really had to hurt. The Pro had been glaring at the blonde for most of the breakdown, too. Iida was the MVP, which Etan could see when everything was broken down. He had been the most consistent and refined of the participants.
But that had only lasted a short while. Now, his team was up. He, Asui, and Hagakure now stood in front of the building they were using, since the previous had sustained damage that could compromise the results of the test.
Kirishima and Aoyama had entered a few minutes before, with the two giving the other team good luck in their own ways, Kirishima with a clap on the back and a bright "good luck!" and Aoyama with a bright smile and some French he supposed meant some variation of 'good luck'. He and his teammates had talked for a bit, brainstorming various ideas as they tried to set out a plan. He looked to the clock. 2 Minutes. He looked to Asui and Hagakure. He smiled.
"Hey guys, I think I have an idea. You wanna hear it?"
Asui looked over to him. He really couldn't tell if Hagakure did.
"What is it, kero?
Ethan's eyes gleamed
"Asui, you're good at jumping, right?"
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12:10 PM, UA High, Training Ground Beta, Building 4
AS soon as All Might signaled to begin, they split up. They were still in contact with the cool earpieces their sensei's had given them, but they were on their own for the most part, since that covered the most ground, as Asui had said.
Tooru did her best to creep quietly down the halls of the building despite her excitement. She had not only made it to UA, but she had met so many cool people too! Asui was so pretty and smart, and Gray was so nice and seemed to match her enthusiasm! They had entrusted a big part of the plan to Tooru, and she wouldn't let either of them down! But first she needed to find that stupid bomb.
Luckily, that part wasn't too hard. She found the room after only two minutes. It was on the third floor, which shad called dibs on. She didn't know why, but she just had had a feeling it was there. She was right, and she almost gasped when she saw Aoyama and Kirishima in the room she was peeking into, along with the bomb. She found it! Score one Tooru! Trying not to be too loud in her excitement, she immediately began to whisper-yell to her teammates.
"Guys, I found them! Third floor west corner, come quick!"
She didn't have to wait long as Gray's voice came through.
"Stay right where you are, we'll meet you there, right Asui?"
"Yep, kero"
Tooru bounced up and down quietly as she waited. Phase one was done. Now she needed to wait for her teammates so she could do her part!
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12:15 AM, UA High, Training Ground Beta, Building 4
Tsuyu moved quickly after Grey as he launched himself into the room. The plan they had come up with was good, so she was not worried per se, but she hoped it worked. But it would not if she didn't do her part.
Gray's boots collided with Kirishima's chest with a loud thud, as the red-haired boy had blocked Gray's path to the bomb, his initial target. Since Kirishima had almost instinctively hardened his chest, it didn't hurt him, but it did send him stumbling back. Tsuyu quickly dodged away as a laser fired toward her courtesy of Aoyama, who appeared to be using Kirishima as a shield to provide ranged fire. A good plan, if basic, since neither of the two seemed to be the strategy type.
Tsuyu focused on Aoyama, drawing his attention away from Gray's fight. He might be able to handle it, from what she saw in the Quirk Apprehension Test he was adept and agile, but it would be easier if he could focus on Kirishima. Tsuyu kept Aoyama's aim at her. Keep him distracted.
Aoyama let off blast after blast, but she hopped out of the way of each one. He had a specific pattern to his blasts, one that was immediately obvious to Tsuyu. He would never fire for more than a second each time. This made his shots much easier to predict, and Tsuyu kept dodging.
She glimpsed Gray doing the same to her side. He was dodging Kirishima's attacks easily, harassing the other boy as he seemed to bounce from surface to surface, never giving him a chance to react or an opening. It was impressive, since Tsuyu herself was dodging in a different way. Aoyama never let her get close enough to hit him. As easy as his pattern was to learn, the boy clearly knew of this limitation, and his blasts were frequent enough to deter Tsuyu from getting close for fear of one of them knocking her out, so, she kept away, and simply dodged to the side from them.
It was time. Tsuyu saw grey give her short, almost imperceptible hand sign. She began to move into place. Gray did the same, luring Kirishima to the exact place he needed. Tsuyu did the same to Aoyama. AS soon as he saw this, Gray's voice yelled out.
"Now!"
Tsuyu jumped. She pushed off from the wall she had been sticking to, and kicked Aoyama square in the chest, fast enough he couldn't blast her. Gray's feet collided with Kirishima at the same time. The teens flew into each other, leaving them on the floor, dazed. They had just begun to regain their faculties when All Might's voice rang out over their earpieces.
"Heroes win!"
Confused, the two boys looked around, only to see a floating glove touching the bomb, another one giving Gray a thumbs up.
Tsuyu felt a bit of pride. The plan had worked. They had won.
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12:19 PM, UA High, Training Ground Beta, Building 4
Ethan grinned as both his teammates, along with Kirishima and Aoyama gathered up with him. He and Asui shared a nod and a reminder to call her Tsu, while Hagakure crowded his space, excitedly exclaiming "That was so cool! You guys were awesome, and then I came in, and we won! Oh, this is awesome!"
Hagakure was certainly expressive. Maybe because she was invisible for most of her life, she learned to be expressive? He high fived her before he turned to the defeated team and Hagakure started to chat at Tsu, who was just letting her talk, face impassive, but with a slight smile. Despite their loss, both were grinning.
Kirishima offered his hand, and Ethan took it, shaking a heartily.
"That was so manly! I didn't even see it coming! You guys worked so well together too! It was like you already knew each other! You didn't, did you?"
"Nope. We just came up with a plan, and executed it. You guys did well too, and you are pretty strong. You really hurt my feet."
Kirishima looked embarrassed at that.
"Yeah, thanks man."
Then Aoyama cut in, posing for a non-existent camera, sparkles flying off his body.
"Mon Ami, you two showed so brightly we were blind to your compatriot! IT was an honor to fight ones who fought as beautifully as you!"
Ethan moved back a bit from the bright display before he grinned. 2 matches down, and his was a ringing, if close success. 3 More to go, and he had a general idea of how they would go. He looked to Tsu and Hagakure. AT least he had some new friends to watch with.
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And that's the end. Ethan had a bit say regarding All Might near the start of the chapter, and I wanted to address that. His point is one I feel needs to be talked about when it comes to criticism of All Might. All Might has done nothing to discourage society's worship of him, and his solution for his passing is to name a successor to be the new symbol of peace, a new singular pillar to hold society, not working to reform the system, to ensure more supports there for the next generation, and this has disastrous consequences, as shown when he does retire before Midoriya is ready. It's not something I see brought up often enough, though Void, by PunsAndCookies does, and you should really check that one out for an interesting take on just the show in general. Sometimes it feels like these notes are just recommendations for other, better fanfiction, but I really do enjoy the fic's I recommend, so no regrets. On another note, I hope you guys enjoyed the new OC. He won't be integral to the plot, but I will be using him in a lot of scenes because I really have fun writing him. Also, I really question who thought it was a great idea to design their hero costumes themselves, with no required assistance. Seriously, how did they approve Yaoyorozu's, especially since she is underage? I really want to thank those few of you who have read this far, for putting up with these slow updates. A real, genuine thank you. See you guys next time, hopefully soon. Bye!