The Flames of Conflict P.1

The rest of the matches weren't anywhere near as eventful as the first. At least, in the sense that no one was put in mortal danger of any kind. Actually, Iida and Uraraka weren't in any danger, either, and the Sentry was fine anyway. So, the day really only had that one incident.

Izuku had, of course, reverted back to his normal form, with no memory of what happened with the Sentry aside from everyone telling him.

"Man, that was awesome!"

"You were so manly, tanking that huge explosion!"

"I thought that was pretty reckless, but you seem way more durable than I thought, ribbit."

"Not very stylish, but pretty cool nonetheless."

"O-oh, uh, thanks…" Izuku sheepishly said. He wasn't used to any sort of praise.

After the day ended, Izuku asked the Sentry about the training match.

Hey, Sentry?

Yes, Young Izuku?

I don't have any memories when we switch places. What exactly happened in the fight with Kacchan?

Young Katsuki was rather angry at us for being so powerful, and he immediately went on the offensive. Fortunately, his attacks didn't hurt us, but that only made him even more angry. As it so happened, his gauntlets were designed to store up his explosive sweat and fire a giant explosion when the pin was pulled.

Oh yeah, I remember his costume having grenade gauntlets for arms. Guess that was what they were used for.

Indeed. He shot one of them at me with the intent to…I dare not say. Regardless, I was unscathed, but All Might disqualified his team immediately.

…Izuku was speechless. Kacchan had probably tried to kill him, but the Sentry had just walked out of the explosion. That was probably what the others were referring to. Actually, Kacchan had been sulking afterward, and someone had told him that he'd cried after firing his attack. Could he have gotten caught up in the heat of the moment and felt remorse right after? If so, then…

I need to let him know that I'm okay!

So, Deku immediately set off in search of Kacchan, only to be told that he'd headed home early…But Deku could still see him walking to the school gates! He raced down to him, determined to let his friend know that he was okay. He shouldn't leave because of an accident!

"Kacchan!"

The blond boy turned around…

"GHK!"

…and his face shocked Izuku to his core.

"W-what do you want, you cowering f cking demi-god!? Come to gloat about your victory?"

Kacchan was…crying. Izuku had heard about it, but to see him still sobbing hours later…this wasn't the Kacchan that he knew.

"Look, I get that you're upset about almost killing me, but I'm completely fine, see? Any damage that Sentry or I take won't reflect on the other, so even if he did get hurt, I'd be totally fine!" Izuku had hoped that his explanation would calm Katsuki down, but if anything, he looked more upset.

"That's exactly the point, you idiot! My attack was so stupid! I didn't have a strategy or any sort of plan, I just blindly rushed at you and thought pure brute force would work! And it's not just you! When I watched that ice guy, or that creation girl, I realized that they would probably beat me if they put any effort into it! I totally screwed up, and I lost to YOU, of all people! With that damn quirk that you've been hiding all these years…What, were you just laughing at me all this time!?"

"…" Izuku looked to the ground before replying. "Kacchan…I only got these powers recently."

"Huh!?"

"The truth is, I was quirkless until…until that day…when you said what you said…"

"…" Katsuki's eyes went wide with shock. NO! PLEASE NO!

"…I was on my way home from school when a guy just appeared in front of me. I think he had some sort of teleportation quirk, but regardless, he handed me a vial of golden liquid. And then he-he was attacked by a villain. And I ran. I could've tried to help him, but I ran. He told me to keep the vial safe, and that sludge villain might've been the one who wanted it, so maybe I did the best thing, but…I hated myself."

"GRK!" Unbeknownst to either of the boys, the world's symbol of peace and justice was standing nearby, eavesdropping in on their entire conversation. "That man that young Midoriya's talking about, that's the man I-!"

"So, when I got home…I figured that the liquid was some sort of drug that the man got attacked over. I'd heard of it before, so it seemed like a plausible explanation. At the time, I was so fixated on my failure to help him, and then I-I remembered what you said."

Bakugou was hyperventilating at this point. All Might didn't know what it was that Bakugou said, but…considering that young Midoriya was seemingly quirkless and young Bakugou's reaction…he could wager a guess.

"I figured…if I was going to die, might as well die high, so I drank it all, but nothing happened. Then Mom called me for dinner…and then it happened. I suddenly felt an intense heat inside of me, so hot I thought I was going to burst. I rushed out of my house and ran, farther and farther. I didn't know where I was going, I just needed to get away from everyone before I exploded. And then…well, you've probably heard what happened at Dagobah Beach."

"Hrk!" To say the blondes were stunned would be an understatement. Everyone had heard about that. It had stumped the pros for months. To think that it was the Sentry manifesting into existence!

"Anyway, when I came to, I was in a dark place. The only light in there was the Sentry. Turned out that it was my own mind, and, well, you can probably figure the rest out."

Izuku looked back up at Bakugou, unsure of what he was hoping for…But…it wasn't his current expression that he wanted.

If Izuku had seen Katsuki's face after he'd shot the Sentry with his ultimate attack, he would've said that he looked downright tame in comparison to the horrors look that was his face.

"So…you got some experimental who-knows-what from a scientist and then ran from a villain, then you tried killing yourself afterward and discovered this new power?"

"…" Izuku looked away. "…Yeah, that's about what happened."

"…Okay…" Bakugou turned back around and started walking away, slowly. If one were to look at his face, they'd see a man that had succumbed to despair and grief over his actions-no, over his past transgressions.

"Kaccha-!" Izuku tried calling out to his friend, but a sudden gust of wind silenced him.

"FEAR NOT, BECAUSE I AM HERE!" In a flash, the number 1 hero was standing in front of Midoriya. Even Kacchan turned his head back when he heard his voice.

"A-A-All Might!" Izuku stuttered out.

Bakugou just looked even more remorseful. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he'd been listening to them.

"Now then," he said, turning to Bakugou, "where are you off to?"

"Tch! And why the hell do you wanna know?" His voice sounded as gruff as always, but he was barely holding himself together.

"Well, I think it's important to inquire about a student who leaves early, don't you? For all I know, you're going to drop out of UA!"

"!" Izuku was stunned! Was Kacchan so distraught that he was going to give up his dream of being a hero? He couldn't let that-!

"AS IF!" The blonde boy turned around, his despair slightly painted over with rage. "I'm not gonna let one mistake screw me over! I've worked my entire life to get here, and I'm not about to let my own oversight drag me down! I'll surpass even you, and then…" he turned to Izuku. "I'll beat the Sentry. Then, there'll be no doubt that I'm the strongest. Enjoy your victory for now. You won't get to for much longer!"
With that, he walked off, leaving the number 1 Hero and his new rival to just stand there and contemplate what he'd just said.

"...Well...how are you feeling?" All Might swiftly turned to Midoriya, being unable to respond to what Bakugou said.

"O-oh! I'm fine, thanks!"
"...Midoriya, about that man you mentioned…"
The boy's eyes tensed. Was he about to get reprimanded for his unheroic actions? Probably, but he'd do his best to take it and continue on, one way or another.

"If he was attacked by a villain made primarily of sludge, then you don't need to feel guilty about what happened. I showed up a minute later and saved him, though he teleported away before I could assist him further. The point is, if you hadn't run, I might've had to deal with two casualties instead of one, and my job couldn\'ve been a lot harder. From what I understand, your quirk came into existence later that day, so you wouldn't have been able to beat the villain anyway. There's no need to regret what you did."

"..." No one had ever applauded Izuku for his weakness before. He'd expected to be reprimanded, but All Might told him that he did the right thing. His actions were unheroic and most definitely cowardly, but...what was he expected to do in that scenario? Physical attacks probably wouldn't have worked on him, and Izuku had no other means of attack. Maybe him running away...was for the best after all. All Might told him it was the right thing to do, so maybe it wasn't wrong to run away from an opponent substantially stronger than you.

He's right, Young Izuku. Regrettable as it may be, there is nothing you could have done. In the end, civilians place their lives in the hands of Heroes, and All Might saved him. If you truly wish to be a Hero, you must learn to continue on in spite of your failure and keep going. The civilians will feel safe knowing that there is a Hero that won't stop in the face of adversity.

"In any case, school's ended for the day. You're free to leave, and see you tomorrow!" All Might walked off after bidding Midoriya adieu.

"B-bye, All Might!"

...You waited too long to respond. He's already gone.

"..." Well, this was awkward.

"Now then, it seems like we've forgotten something rather critical."
The next day, Aizawa started off the class on a serious note.

"..."

What could it be? was the question on everyone's mind when he said that.

"We've completely forgotten…"
"...!" Everyone leaned forward, anxiously awaiting his next words.

"...to pick representatives for the class."
"SOMETHING SO NORMAL!"
"I don't really care how you decide to do it, just don't wake me up," he said while getting into his sleeping bag.

"Ohh, me, me, me, me, me!"
Every single person immediately suggested themself for the position, as expected.

"Alright, then! The most obvious scenario here would be to vote for someone!" Iida,in his infinite wisdom, immediately proposed his solution while jettisoning up from his seat.

"Uh, won't everyone just vote for themselves?"
"...But that just means that anyone who gets more than one vote will indeed be worthy of the title of class representative!"

"Eh, what the hell?" Kaminari said. "We won't get anything done if we go on like this, so why not just go with Iida's idea?"
"Thank you, Kaminari!"
"Shut up," Aizawa muttered.

"..."

…

Seeing as no one had any better ideas, they just decided to put it to a vote. The vice president ended up being Yaoyorozu, and the president was-

"ME!?" Izuku screamed out.
Indeed, he'd been the one to receive the most votes, as he was the one everyone viewed as the strongest in the class.

"Urgh!" Bakugou growled, but he held his tongue. Acting rashly wouldn't get him anywhere.

"Alright then, your new representatives are Yaoyorozu and Midoriya," Aizawa said.

"W-well, uh, I'll…" Izuku trailed off, unable to form a complete sentence.

"Sigh. Well, regardless, I'll do my best to uphold my position as vice president," Yaoyorozu informed the rest of the class.

"…"

Seeing as their president was too nervous to address all of them while their vice president wasn't satisfied with her position...did not inspire confidence. All in all, the class reps weren't off to a great start.

"Hey, Deku! Over here!" Uraraka waved at Izuku from her booth with Iida.

"Aah!" Deku, a person who didn't have friends growing up, gladly sat down with them.

"Thanks for sitting with us, class rep!" Uraraka joked.

"Au-Agh! I-I-I-I-it's nothing, really! I wouldn't sit somewhere else just because I'm the class rep!" Izuku said while waving his arms wildly.

"Haha, I was just kidding."

"O-oh, right…"

"In any case, it's great that you got so many people to vote for you," Iida said. "…Though I myself was hoping to win in spite of voting for you."

"Huh?" Deku said. "You…voted for me?"

"Well, yeah. Most of the class voted for you, me included," Uraraka commented.

"Sniff…You guys…"

Deku almost began crying-

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!"

-Until the alarm suddenly went off, scaring everyone.

"ARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Every single student began making a mad dash towards the exit, stampeding over anyone who wasn't faster than them. And that included the trio of Midoriya, Iida, and Uraraka.

"Can't…breathe…"

"Agh!"

This…isn't orderly at…all. Just as Iida thought that-while trapped between several students-he saw something outside the window. He saw-

It's…just the press?

The gate around the school had seemingly been broken-it looked like it had turned into dust or something, but that was beside the point-and various news stations had used this as an opportunity to get inside UA.

This is absolutely-Iida was furious. To think that this entire mess was caused by something as simple as reporters-and this is how UA students of all things were reacting to it? Like animals?

"Midoriya! Uraraka! It's only the press!" Iida screamed. But they could barely hear him over the crowd.

Wait…If it's only the press, then…I think I can calm them down. Deku came to the conclusion that he just needed a way to get everyone's attention.

Hey, Sentry…

Yes, I understand perfectly. Let us switch places so that we may calm them all down.

We're counting on you. Izuku thought before his vision faded in a flash of light. Said light was so bright that anyone facing his direction had to avert their eyes due to the intensity.

"WHAT THE HELL'S HAPPENING NOW!?"

The light initially served to create more chaos, but before the situation could escalate further, the Sentry made his presence known.

"ALL OF YOU, CEASE THIS INSANITY!" With a mighty scream, the Sentry brought all the chaos in the cafeteria to a standstill.

But the chaos was replaced with trepidation and apprehension,which was made evident when someone said, "Wh-who are you!?"

"I am known as the Sentry, an…alternate personality of the first-year, Izuku Midoriya. His quirk manifests itself as me. But that's not important right now. What matters is you look upon yourselves and think about what's actually happening."

"W-what? Aren't you paying attention? Someone broke into UA!?"

Yeah! What the hell are we supposed to do, stay here and get attacked!?"

"…" As the students started returning to their mob-mind, Iida took the opportunity to aid the Sentry.

"What he's SAYING," Iida said loudly, gathering the students' undivided attention, "is that you all need to pay more attention to your surroundings."

"…"

"…" Seeing the confusion still evident on their faces, Iida grew impatient. "For the love of-look OUTSIDE!" Upon screaming, he got his desired reaction: the students looked out the windows and saw the press standing outside.

"…" And, like any person who realized that they behaved like an animal in a very serious situation, they became immensely ashamed of themselves.

"Now that the situation is known, I'd advise anyone who sustained any injuries during the initial stampede to come to me. I convert sunlight into energy that can be used to revitalize myself or others, so I can treat any minor injuries. However, I would advise you to seek Recovery Girl afterwards."

…

Seeing as there was no reason to panic and that there was a capable healer in their midst, the students were all able to go back to their regularly scheduled classes without much difficulty.

Meanwhile, the Sentry-or rather, Deku-had made a name for himself as a powerful soon-to-be hero, which brought him even more popularity in his class.

"Dude, what you did at lunch today was amazing! Nice job!" Kaminari said while giving Deku a thumbs up.

"Yeah, that was totally awesome!" Mina said.

"Super manly taking the helm back there."

"You certainly proved your capability as our class rep," Tokoyami said.

"R-really, it was nothing! I-it was Iida who noticed the press!"

"But you were the one who took charge and got everyone's attention," said classmate said.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Aizawa walked in.

"Alright, settle down." As soon as he said that, everyone hopped to their seats. They wanted to keep discussing how cool Midoriya was, but that wasn't worth risking detention.

"First of all, I heard what happened during lunch. Good job on taking control of the situation, Midoriya."

"O-oh, thank you, sir."

"Now then, as I'm sure you all know, someone broke our front gate and let the press in. Then you all stampeded like animals, and you would've gotten hurt if Midoriya and Sentry hadn't stepped in. Speaking of, nice assist there, Iida."

"Yes sir!" Iida bowed.

"…In any case, we've determined that nothing too serious occurred, so we can still follow tomorrow's field trip."

"FIELD TRIP!?" The class was instantly abuzz with chatter.

"Yes. We've decided to train you all at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint that we've made for honing your quirks. Aside from myself, you'll be supervised by All Might and Space Hero 13."

"13!" Uraraka exclaimed. "Oh my gosh, she's my favorite hero! Oh, this is gonna be so cool!"

While not as ecstatic as Uraraka, the rest of the class was very much excited to go to a UA-sponsored training area.

And Midoriya especially was happy to find a definitive number for the Sentry's abilities. Sure, he was still a bit startled from the scare at lunch, but it wasn't like they'd be ambushed at the USJ and the Sentry would have to fight, say, some bird monster.

Right?