TheGreatBubbaJ - Who? Monoma? He will mellow down eventually, but not yet.
Crimextar06 - Haha, making fun of Endeavor that way would be adding insult to injury :v let the man stew in peace, let's just say that sometimes having an earthquake in your life makes you rethink some things.
Trixuny - We just don't know much about his work ethic tbh.
raw666 - I settled for not scolding. She isn't a powerhouse, she has a quirk that's objectively less useful in combat than Eraserhead's. Hell, Bubble Girl is better in a fight quirk-wise. And let's be real, Bubble Girl trying to fight for example Overhaul would earn her a scolding for trying to kill herself (if she even survived).
Detrametal - Ingenium is in for some life changes. Compress and Asa are one of the many designated disaster duos in this story, ngl xD And not just Shoto, Endeavor is in for some changes as well. Just... not yet.
(***)
"Oh, this year's school festival was simply incredible." Nedzu says over a cup of his finest tea. "Wouldn't you agree?"
"If I didn't have to comment on it, it would be… nice." Eraserhead comments scarcely. Present Mic chuckles from the seat next to him.
They are all in the teacher's lounge. Every single teacher of the UA (not staff members though, save for Nedzu himself). It's not a formal meeting, though considering the fact that the Principal has left his hidey-hole, it might as well be one.
"It was incredibly… different." All Might decides to say. He went through some life-changing revelations and can only hope that Inko will not murder Izuku for risking his life so recklessly. Because, frankly speaking, he earned a serious scolding. What the hell happened on that field with Endeavor's son? "I assume that you already have some things to announce due to that, and you're here to tell us about it."
Nedzu beams.
"Yes, that's correct!" Nedzu drinks some of his tea before returning to them. "The first thing that we certainly have to address is the truly wonderful Hero Crush event organized by our General Education Course students. If I had any idea that they would go to such delicious lengths if allowed to take any tools they want into the field, I'd have allowed it years ago!"
Eraserhead and Vlad King shiver in their seats at once. Their classes were humiliated and it still stings. Especially as neither of them considered the Gen Ed Course to be anything but a foil to make their students shine a bit more.
"Considering the public reaction to Nakahara's manifest and their performance in the festival… I believe that it's time to go Plus Ultra." Nedzu continues. "Not all of the General Education students managed to show us enough of their skills and many have substandard grades, but with some reshuffling of students between class C and D I believe that we'll gather enough prospective heroes to justify converting class C to the Hero Course. If the remaining Gen Ed coursers improve their grades, they'll be eligible for transfer as well, so the class D is looking forward to be converted into a Heroics Course one as well."
All Might decides that someone is being a very happy rat. Almost irritatingly so. Present Mic - who just happens to be the 1-C homeroom teacher - beams at the words spoken in front of him.
Eraserhead looks like he is about to drop dead. Probably because he realizes that the General Education Course' Hero Crush event will probably become an annual thing. Sure, the hero students will be prepared for it next time, but… this will only make every casualty sting more.
"Sounds good enough." All Might decides to speak his mind. "Those kids certainly earned their seat among the heroes and… let's be real. Denying them that place after the manifest and after they crushed more than half of the hero course students would just make us look like assholes." He pauses for a second before adding. "Besides, this would make the HPSC' president happy, and that's a reason not to do this on its own."
Nedzu laughs. In only a slightly menacing way. He recognizes the words, even if they are slightly inverted.
"Fair." Vlad King caves in. He seemed like the only person who still had issues with that idea, and his surrender officially makes the suggestion pass.
"Great!" Nedzu chirps in. "And now there is another wonderful thing that has to be spoken about. Did you notice how many geniuses we have among our first class students?"
What is it about, All Might wonders. He isn't the only one to think such thoughts.
"Geniuses?" Oddly enough it's Snipe that asks it.
"Well, not all of you knew about this, but Izuku Midoriya happens to be a private student of mine." As far as All Might knew about it, the only people in on this secret were All Might himself, Nedzu, Eraserhead and Present Mic and Thirteen, though the last two found out accidentally during the USJ attack. So Vlad King, Ectoplasm, Midnight, Cementoss and Power Loader are surprised by the announcement.
"Really?" Ectoplasm is surprised by it. "What brought that?"
"Do you remember Eraserhead's proposal for the Rehabilitation Course and the changes to the Entrance Exam and the treatment of the General Education Course?" Nedzu asks, which elicits a handful of nods. "Well, while Aizawa was a source of the idea for the latter, both proposals were actually written down by Izuku Midoriya. Who was also the source of the idea for the former."
"Well, that explains the interest." Midnight agrees. She doesn't visit the Midoriyas very often, and her knowledge about the family is mostly second-hand. So she missed some things. She knew about him writing down the proposals, just not about Midoriya being Nedzu's student.
"Yes, and during the USJ attack he dissected Kurogiri's quirk in time to save Thirteen's life." Nedzu continues. "He also kept the warper pinned down long enough for half of his class to get to safety. If that wasn't enough he crafted a plan that resulted with every single villain in his Zone being easily incapacitated, and then probably saved All Might's life." Nedzu chuckles a bit. "He was also the source of the idea for Ayako Nakahara's manifest and, if my hunch is correct, the original proponent of the Hero Crush."
"He what?" Eraserhead is clearly taken aback by something on this list. And All Might is almost certain that it was the last few words.
"I believe that he wanted to give the General Education Course a chance to become heroes." Nedzu replies promptly. "So while he didn't provide the Gen Eds with inside data about the Hero Course quirks, he almost certainly gave Ayako the original idea to make themselves stand out with teamwork. Since he certainly was the person who asked me to lift the limitations on support equipment and inter-student combat during the obstacle course during one of our private lessons."
He doesn't add the fact that Ayako, considering the way her quirk worked, didn't exactly need an inside source to make plans. She just had to take a good look at the hero classes and note down her findings.
Eraserhead mumbles something akin to 'damn problem child will be the end of me' and All Might only barely stops himself from laughing.
"The point is…" Nedzu decides to get to it, finally. "Izuku Midoriya has the potential to play in the same league as me or Sir Nighteye in a few years. But after the USJ and the School Festival I've come to believe that while he has no equal in that field among the students, there are several students that come pretty close to him. And with some specialized guidance can become expert tacticians and strategists."
"Let me guess." All Might decides to cut in. "Ayako Nakahara and Neito Monoma."
"Precisely!" Nedzu chirps. "She proved to be an excellent and quick-thinking tactician who has used their relatively inferior tools to a maximum efficiency, taking full advantage of the obstacles that she couldn't know about previously. And while her class lost the Human Cavalry Battle, they still managed to take down the majority of the remaining members of the 1-B class through some very good teamwork. And she was only a few points beneath Monoma when the bell rang. This is a talent worth working with!"
"And Monoma?" Vlad King asks. While a bit scary looking, he has a heart of gold for his own students. All Might knows him well enough at this point.
"He made several good plans along the way." Nedzu replies. "The first one was about throwing the Obstacle Course in order to make the 1-A focus on itself during the second stage of the tournament, so that 1-B could cooperate against it and dismantle the warring teams one by one. It didn't work due to Ayako's little rampage, but it was a factor that Neito couldn't know about beforehand. What really brought my attention to him is the fact that he kept everyone fooled about his quirk copying limit until the very final round, while always arriving in the ring armed in a quirk that was his best available counter to his enemy. And while I can't be certain, the camera footage of him that I looked through makes me believe that he was one of the few people in the stadium that realized that Uraraka Ochaco was preparing her meteor storm before it began to fall. This proves his situational awareness, deep understanding of quirks and ability to weave a good deception."
Vlad King nods scarcely. His student was praised. This makes him happy. Although he isn't exactly showing it. It's just the type of a person he is.
"There is also one more candidate I have in mind." Nedzu continues. "Momo Yaoyorozu of class 1-A. She didn't show us much during the School Festival, probably due to Tenko Shimura's quirk being her natural counter, yes. However she excelled during the USJ attack. Her quirk allows her to produce tools she needs for a plan instantly or semi-instantly, and she used that together with a quirk of her teammate to completely fool the villains."
"Oh?" Power Loader's head is tilted a bit, a sign of his interest. "It is the first time I hear about it. What happened?"
"She produced three sets of fake handcuffs, and had a student with an impersonator quirk copy the appearance and voice of one of the defeated villains." Nedzu replies with pride. "Then they simply walked through the villain's reinforcements, pretending to be captives led to the main square to be used by the villain' leaders as hostages. They couldn't run like that, which is the only reason why they didn't make it for the main battle, but it was an example of good thinking and correct application of available assets and her ability to produce things at will."
"I agree." Power Loader nods. He isn't the only one.
"As a result, I'm thinking about expanding my private lessons." Nedzu announces with the odd thing that passes for a smile in his world. "Having a few of our future masterminds interact with each other on a weekly basis and grow up as heroes together might give us a lot of long-term benefits."
All Might doesn't mention the part where Yoshihiro Maki's younger brother (due for UA entrance exam - although he would rather join it as a part of the Rehab Course - in two years) had a Class-Five intelligence quirk to equal Nedzu. And the part where two years after him, Asa Midoriya would qualify for the entrance exam. Asa Midoriya that, while crippled by anxiety, had a brain to equal his older brother. And extremely powerful and versatile quirk that was a perfect fit for a tactician.
Nedzu was in for some really happy years. And villains in Japan should really start looking for another job or emigrate.
(***)
Izuku Midoriya's Official Fanclub
LeadSinger: Invites are a go.
User GravityGirl joins the chat!
User CreativeSpirit joins the chat!
User Froggy joins the chat!
User Vampire joins the chat!
GravityGirl: ?
CreativeSpirit: I second those question marks.
Vampire: Zuku has a fanclub, yay!
Froggy: Why am I here?
LeadSinger: OKAY SO
LeadSinger: I might have accidentally
LeadSinger: ACCIDENTALLY
LeadSinger: overheard something about Izuku Midoriya
LeadSinger: Something that made me realize that our class president is absolutely in need of a proper fanclub.
LeadSinger: So I'm laying the groundwork for it.
LeadSinger: To be ahead of other people. So I'll be able to officially and reliably call myself his #1 fan in the future. At least chronologically.
CreativeSpirit: … are you still listening in on people's conversations, Kyoka?
LeadSinger: Not at all. And when I do, I'm not telling people's secrets to anyone unless they are super criminal.
LeadSinger: This is also why I'm not going to tell anyone what I overheard (sorry but Midoriya literally said that he doesn't want anyone to know about it, and I respect that, despite it being so awesome that I want to shout about it to everyone). But just trust me when I say that it was absolutely, absolutely awesome.
LeadSinger: Slightly confusing and probably suicidal (especially the part when he met Endeavor) but awesome.
GravityGirl: Izuku met Endeavor? What?
Vampire: Oh no, not this again.
Vampire: Did he find out that a powerful hero is doing meanie things secretly so he decided to confront them with suicidal overconfidence, only to freak out right after?
LeadSinger: Yes. And the Izuku Midoriya's Official Fanclub rule #1 is that we throw all Endeavor merchandise to the trash bin when we join it. It belongs there.
LeadSinger: Burn it or something, idc, just don't display it anywhere.
Vampire: Zuku, you wonderful dummy. His mom is going to kill him when she finds out _
CreativeSpirit: Okay, slow down, Kyoka. Because you make no sense to me right now.
CreativeSpirit: I assume it involves the part where our class president almost crippled his left hand during the fight with Todoroki Shoto, which seemed to be like 80% composed of them shouting something that we couldn't hear from the audience?
LeadSinger: Errr, yes.
CreativeSpirit: You overheard that too, didn't you?
LeadSinger: Err, maybe.
CreativeSpirit: Kyoka, talk to me.
LeadSinger: I don't want to! I don't like sharing what I overheard without people in question knowing and agreeing to it.
CreativeSpirit: I'm this class vice-president. And I'm growing increasingly worried with what Izuku Midoriya is doing (despite being deeply impressed by him as both a person and a class president). Both with his unreasonably low self-esteem and apparent callousness towards breaking his own body with his quirk.
CreativeSpirit: So you are going to tell me whatever you can. Right now.
LeadSinger: … shit. You might have a point.
GravityGirl: Yes!
Froggy: Just rename the chat to Izuku Midoriya Support Club, it sounds more fitting.
Froggy: He feels like he is in need of a lot of support, really.
LeadSinger: Okay, so the reason why Shoto is withdrawn so much is because Endeavor is an abusive piece of shit that's treating him like a tool to finally realize his obsession for the Number One Hero seat. Abusive to the point of apparently engaging in a quirk marriage to produce an heir with desirable quirk.
CreativeSpirit: Oh my God.
CreativeSpirit: Endeavor did WHAT?
LeadSinger: I told you the rule #1. Endeavor merchandise goes to trash.
GravityGirl: This is horrible!
Froggy: Yes. Extremely. At least I have no merchandise to throw out.
GravityGirl: Neither do I. It's mostly Thirteen and All Might and… some others.
LeadSinger: And Shoto wasn't using his flames because they reminded him of Endeavor. So he wanted to become a Number One Hero by using only his mother's ice. Izuku basically reacted to the revelation by going berserk on Shoto and calling him a dumbass and his father a criminal dumbass.
Vampire: Zuku, you wonderful dummy. Why are you like this (-_- )
Vampire: I mean, he is way too perfect for this dummy world
Vampire: So I'm like seriously wondering how he came to be
GravityGirl: Yeah, I have the same question, really xD
LeadSinger: He told him that the reason why Endeavor is a forever Number Two is because the rankings are at least partially (if not mostly) based on popularity and All Might is winning because he is saving people with a reassuring smile that makes them feel safe rather than furious scowl that makes them be afraid that they'll end up becoming a collateral damage.
LeadSinger: And that Shoto is basically growing into a copy of his father. Resulting in Inasa hating him because he sees Endeavor in him. Because Shoto is ignoring everyone around him and giving them cold stares, while only focusing on growing stronger.
LeadSinger: The fight was mostly Izuku taunting Shoto into using his flames. By pointing out that everyone is giving it his best (he mentioned me, Uraraka and Ojiro by name in that), and that all Shoto is doing is half-assing it out of daddy issues. He asked him what he was going to tell parents of some child that he failed to save because the villain in front of him happened to be immune to cold.
LeadSinger: Then he told him that he can still stand beside his classmates. Instead of alone. He just has to ask himself what sort of hero he wants to become. One like Endeavor or one like All Might. Few seconds later Todoroki changed into a living firestorm, so I guess that works as an answer.
CreativeSpirit: And he also confronted Endeavor about it?
LeadSinger: More like Endeavor tried to taunt him into becoming a good stepping stone for his 'masterpiece' due to having a quirk similar to All Might. So Izuku went berserk on his ass and might have told him to his face to change his hero name to 'Tryhard' so that the people dumb enough to think that he is a good hero understand what he is about.
CreativeSpirit: Oh my God.
Vampire: Zuku! 3 but also D:
Froggy: I literally can't tell if Izuku is more brave or suicidal.
CreativeSpirit: And that's why I'm worried about him, Froggy.
Vampire: I'm in the worried team as well. I still think that he is awesome, though.
LeadSinger: Well I do think that it was awesome as well. I can't tell you the one bit that Izuku said that he wants to keep secret, but I think it makes it significantly less suicidal.
GravityGirl: Is it about All Might being pretty much his uncle? Because I know that his dad is All Might's Personal Assistant.
LeadSinger: Kind of. He also spoke in a way that implied that he ended Thunderbolt's career (which was a part of an indirect threat to Endeavor in case Shoto came to school with signs of physical abuse), but I'm kinda not sure if it wasn't a bluff?
Vampire: Don't call Izuku's bluffs.
LeadSinger: Why?
Vampire: Just don't do it.
LeadSinger: ?
Vampire: Not telling. Can't.
GravityGirl: … oh.
LeadSinger: ?
GravityGirl: If it's true then Vampire can't talk about this, but I wouldn't be surprised if Thunderbolt was connected to the heroes that were trying to kill her and Mindhack. He feels a bit too high to get jailed, but if All Might got some serious dirt on him through his adopted nephew…
GravityGirl: And I think that the chronology kinda fits.
CreativeSpirit: Oh.
CreativeSpirit: Well if he ended the corrupted Number Three Hero career then he can only go up from there, I guess.
CreativeSpirit: LeadSinger Listen, I have to talk with Aizawa-sensei about this.
LeadSinger: He will find out that I'm listening in to others conversations!
CreativeSpirit: Yes and knowing him he will ask you to share incriminating details. Or tell you that he doesn't care about that. But he has to know that Shoto is being abused at home and that Izuku just taunted the Number Two Hero to his face.
CreativeSpirit: He is our homeroom teacher. And Shoto certainly needs further psychological counseling. One that doesn't consist of his class president shouting at him during the match to stop being a dumbass. Despite it being well-earned and, apparently, a breakthrough for him.
LeadSinger: Well, damn.
CreativeSpirit: We're going to have that talk with him tomorrow at school. No buts.
LeadSinger: Alright, alright. Shit, you're right.
LeadSinger: Izuku fanclub is staying?
CreativeSpirit: Ehhh…
GravityGirl: Yes!
Vampire: Yes!
Vampire: I mean, he is objectively speaking super cool and super adorable and brave and powerful and wants to help everyone so he is super heroic etc.
Vampire: So a fanclub is a must.
GravityGirl: Yes!
Vampire: Also gravity-chan has a crush on him and she needs a place to vent this.
GravityGirl: What?! I don't have a crush on him!
Vampire: Right. I'm very convinced.
Froggy: I do not consider myself his fangirl, but I do admit that his continuous positive treatment of complex mutants and other victims of discrimination are big plus signs for him. Plus his sisters are adorable.
Froggy: I'm not adverse to the idea.
LeadSinger: 3,5 votes in, yaomomo
CreativeSpirit: Well I can't outvote that, I guess. Just let's not be creepy or troublesome for anyone, alright? And let's do our best to support him, because he is clearly in need of that.
Vampire: Can we invite Toshi? He is clearly a fan.
LeadSinger: I guess so. And I'm like 95% sure that after today, Todoroki Shoto will become another fanboy candidate. I'm kinda looking forward to him trying to interact with people, actually.
GravityGirl: Like, Inasa?
LeadSinger: oh no.
(***)
Todoroki Shoto: Midoriya.
SmallMight: Ehh? Your name as a nickname?
Todoroki Shoto: Is that a problem?
SmallMight: … uhm. We'll talk about this in a while. What happened?
Todoroki Shoto: We didn't see each other after the festival.
SmallMight: Well, my parents took me home earlier for some serious scolding about what I did to my hand.
Todoroki Shoto: I see.
Todoroki Shoto: I have a question.
SmallMight: Yes?
Todoroki Shoto: Can we be friends?
SmallMight: uhm
SmallMight: Sure?
SmallMight: Though… Do you know exactly what that entails?
Todoroki Shoto: I'm not sure. I'd like to find out.
Todoroki Shoto: I never had a friend.
SmallMight: Well. We'll work on that, too.
SmallMight: Took my words about not being a hero alone to heart?
Todoroki Shoto: Plus Ultra?
SmallMight: Hah.
SmallMight: We'll work on your social skills.
SmallMight: You should probably start with apologizing to Inasa for the way you treated him during the recommendation exam. I don't like the face he is doing when you are mentioned. It makes him look like, excuse me for the comparison, Endeavor.
Todoroki Shoto: How do you apologize to people?
SmallMight: Oh dear.
(***)
Froggy: I have a question.
SmallMight: Yes, Tsuyu?
Froggy: I don't understand what happened during my 'fight' with Yoshihiro Maki. I believe you know a lot about the Rehab Course students, and I decided to contact you through the internet to find the answer.
SmallMight: Oh.
SmallMight: It's a bit complicated.
Froggy: Like a lot of things.
SmallMight: No, it's just that I can't exactly tell you a lot about him without betraying things that he prefers to keep hidden.
SmallMight: I'm not exactly in a position to tell anyone what 1-A Rehab Coursers did to qualify for the Rehab Course. It's the same for the 1-B.
Froggy: You should know me enough by now to be acutely aware that I'm not going to tell anyone. I just want to know why I got past the first round of the tournament. It's been bugging me.
Froggy: He looked sad. Way too sad for someone who was dropping out from the tournament. There was something more to that.
SmallMight: Ugh.
SmallMight: He might have personal connections to some high-ranking members of the Creature Rejection Clan.
Froggy: And you got him to join the Rehab Course?
SmallMight: I got him to join the Rehab Course because he and his younger brother fled home and became vigilantes targeting hate groups. Especially the Creature Rejection Clan.
SmallMight: He refused to fight you not because he looked down on you, but because I don't think he can force himself to raise his hand against a complex mutant that isn't a villain. Way too much guilt.
SmallMight: You'd have also crushed him completely, because his quirk's strength depends on how much he sees himself as morally superior to whoever is in front of him, and… frankly speaking, he would be fighting you quirkless.
Froggy: Is he Purity's son?
SmallMight: What?
Froggy: I'm not stupid.
Froggy: Her quirk amplifies the strength of people that she identifies with. His quirk amplifies his strength on the basis of how he identifies himself. Sounds like a mutation. If not a son then a nephew? Younger cousin?
SmallMight: Now you sound like Todoroki.
Froggy: ?
SmallMight: He came to me earlier, inspired by your comment before the USJ about my quirk being similar to All Might and asked me if I am his son.
Froggy: Huh.
Froggy: So, in a hypothetical scenario (since oddly enough I didn't hear any direct rebuttal) where he is Purity's son… Why did you recommend him to the Rehabilitation Course?
SmallMight: Because while you can argue if there are people who do not deserve a second chance, I believe that everyone deserves the first one. And since no one was willing to give him one, I decided to do it.
SmallMight: Because the son of the CRC' leader can't just announce who he is to the world and expect it to accept him. And it's not like villains 'since birth' like him have any skills when it comes to not being villains. Nor valid documents. At least until Nedzu got those for him.
Froggy: Hitoshi and Himiko are right about you.
SmallMight: Ehhh?
Froggy: Any variant of 'I want to become a hero' is a berserk button for you. And I look towards the moment when someone will tell that to you, but follow up on it with 'but the government isn't letting me'. With both apprehension and yearning.
SmallMight: Uhm, Tsuyu, you are telling me weird things.
Froggy: I do. Now excuse me, but I need to change a half vote for something into a full vote for something.
SmallMight: ?
Froggy: I'll tell you if you honestly tell me what was your answer to Shoto's question.
SmallMight: Isn't it obvious?
Froggy: I see. Well, I'll be going now.
(***)
Eraserhead wants to have a single day of peace. Of absolutely nothing happening. Of not having to worry about his problem child. And about his children (the idea is still kinda odd to him, even if not the bad type of odd). Instead, he gets this.
"Yaoyorozu." He says with a dead face. "Could you repeat what you just told me?"
"One of the students in my class overheard Todoroki Shoto and Izuku Midoriya talking." She replies. Her face makes it obvious that she isn't comfortable about it either. "According to what she heard, Endeavor is abusive towards his family. And engaged in a quirk marriage in order to produce his… upgraded version." She looks disgusted. Eraserhead wonders if there is the same look on his face, because that's certainly what he feels about it. "And Midoriya ended up confronting Endeavor about this."
Eraserhead stares at her for a few seconds, emotionally vacant. One day. There wasn't even supposed to be a serious class today, just the announcement about the internships. And that there are three free days for the students to cool down after the festival. They even pushed the choice of the hero name for after the break.
And then, this.
"Tell me everything." Eraserhead decides that he is going to deal with it. Somehow. He is a teacher, after all. "Right from the start."
She actually brought a sealed transcript of everything that the person in question overheard. That she apparently didn't read due to some privacy issues. Someone's going Plus Ultra.
(***)
CreativeSpirit: He is our homeroom teacher. And Shoto certainly needs further psychological counseling. One that doesn't consist of his class president shouting at him during the match to stop being a dumbass. Despite it being well-earned and, apparently, a breakthrough for him.
FINALLY SOMEONE F_NG SAYS THAT.
Momo Yaoyorozu, the Voice of Reason. At least until her transformation into a Chaos Gremlin is completed. Shouldn't be long until the next step. Oh wait, it's next chapter actually.
Also for those who read the Cure to Evil in full: Yes. Yoshihiro Maki's brother is Mastermind. Seriously, the villains of the setting are f_ed once Midoriya, Monoma, Yaoyorozu, Nakahara, Yoshihiro and the second Midoriya all grow up. Under Nedzu's tutelage.