Chapter thirty - Tales from Fools and Sages
Gathered at Takoba National Stadium, hundreds and thousands of students from unique hero schools thrived in excitement and nervousness for the most anticipated Provisional License Exam. Students grabbing onto each other with determined looks on their faces while others decided staying in solitude as they thought it was the best option. Getting distracted wasn't going to help anyone, it never has and it never will. Class 1-A had confident expressions as they looked around at the other schools, who had dreadful scowls in return.
"Guys, I'm kinda nervous for this exam." said Uraraka in worry. "Plus we are kinda hated here, haha.."
"Uraraka-chan, don't worry! They won't do anything to us, plus we're here for the exam, not to fight schools." replied Tsuyu, smiling at her.
"I can feel someone glaring at me from a distance. Such a hateful, hot glare is being aimed at me and I can feel it." thought Todoroki. He had gotten used to feeling hate, due to his family background. But this hate was a new one, fueled by something toxic that he didn't know the contents of. He didn't know who it was from and why they were targeting him but it was really getting on his nerves. Nevertheless he chose to ignore it.
"I'm so damn fired up..I might explode!" cried Kirishima, activating his quirk in a flaring joy.
"You better be, Kirishima because we're going to pass this exam. It's not up for discussion, you hear me?" Bakugou said with a chilling grin. Everyone was in a good mood and chatting away with their friends about whatever and whatever but Mina just stared at the ceiling in a dopey daze as she could not get the image of Izuku out of her head, she couldn't stop thinking about his calm, pretty face looking at the lovely sky. She couldn't stop thinking about how they didn't speak at all during their cloud watching, though words were not required and not at all needed to describe how breath-taking the experience was for her, for words of the human tongue would tarnish the scenery. She took great interest in Izuku, though it was not fed with romance or by sexual desire. She just wanted to sit with him for an eternity with nothing but that beautiful scene and him to keep her company. She wished it could have lasted forever.
She smiled.
Sero looked at Mina in a puzzled way.
"Mina, what are you smiling at? You look way too calm to be at this exam! What're you thinking about anyway?" he asked.
Mina shook her head, causing her thoughts to scatter and merge with each other.
"Huh? Nothing, really. I'm just...you know what? Nothing." she replied in a mixture of tones.
"She's acting a bit dreamy and acting very weird...Not like her.." Sero thought in suspicion. He remembered how she went outside yesterday after crying her eyes out. Perhaps it was something to do with that?
"Sero, you look so weird when you're contemplating like that! Go back to being dumb..!" she said laughing.
"Haaah?! I'm not dumb, you're dumb. Wanna fight it out or something?" he said in a jokey way, instantly forgetting his troubled thoughts on Mina's mood. He was just imagining it all, it was just his imagination. They laughed on and on until their mouths and stomach were sore. The mood just kept lightening up!
"Hey, look at U.A." whispered a blond girl. "They look so relaxed, as if they will beat us. They probably think they will all pass and beat us, they're looking down on us."
"Yeah, it's so annoying. But they'll be shell shocked when they realise what'll happen later.." giggled a shorter girl. That caused Bakugou to click his tongue and give death glares to the girls. Iida was ready to scold Bakugou for showing such disrespect and went on and on about how they were 'ambassadors for the school' and this and that but Uraraka stopped him out of second-hand embarrassment. Whispers were floating about while judgemental stares were thrown around and 1-A were feeling the heat. There was now a competitive atmosphere in the stadium. This irritated Aizawa.
"Won't they shut up? I can't have my class feeling pressure and angst all because of some annoying teenag-" his thoughts were cut short by a certain someone.
"Pardon me, Ketsubutsu Academy," blurted Izuku calmly but with a cold tone that shook some of the students in fear. "But could you refrain from negative speech about my class? It'll take a toll on them mentally and ruin their performance. You're doing all of this test to be heroes, are you not? So, stop acting like envious villains and suck it up."
That caused a mini silence to come over the students of both 1-A and Ketsubutsu. Izuku turned away his gaze from the students and looked towards the horizon of nowhere. 1-A were starstruck at what they had just heard and Aizawa was just as surprised, so much so that his eyes widened and it looked like he would activate his quirk.
"Mr. Midoriya..!" said Jirou in delight. The class beamed in glee at Izuku, their harsh quiet teacher, sticking up for them when he rarely ever spoke at all. Bakugou just looked away with no reaction, making Kirishima laugh, earning him a friendly smack.
"I didn't think you had it in you, Midoriya. Guess you have some heart under all that blackness, huh." commented Aizawa in a joking way.
"It wasn't for you. Their annoying voices were piercing my eardrums." said Izuku putting on his mask to match the rest of his villain attire and probably to hide his slight embarrassment. Aizawa said nothing more but gave a small smirk.
"He's changing. Slowly, but surely." he thought. The now glad, positive atmosphere gave Mina, Iida, Uraraka and the rest of 1-A new hope. A new hope that they'd all get their licenses and a new hope that Izuku just just might become a real teacher to them. A teacher that loved and helped his students. A teacher that would always be there to help them in times of need and when they were in need of encouragement. But that was a revolution that mightn't happen. That didn't matter, though, because the thought of that alone was enough to make everyone more jovial.
Half of Ketsubutsu hushed themselves in shame and mortification at being called a villain, but the other half were furious and drunk with adrenaline.
"Hm? And who the fuck do you think you are?" yelled a student who was a little taller than Izuku. "Another stuck up U.A student that needs to be knocked a peg or two down? Don't worry, let me help you!" The student created a long sharp sword from his hand and swung it towards Izuku, not caring about who would get hurt in the process.
"What a fool, can't he see the people around him will get unnecessarily hurt?" Izuku thought. Aizawa and someone else were about to step in and help Izuku to stop the fight but it was redundant as Izuku could handle himself fine.
He, instead of dodging the sword, grabbed the blade of the student's sword and held onto it with not even a bit of effort. Aizawa's faced flared up in horror upon seeing Izuku's hand start to bleed. Students from Ketsubutsu and U.A were about to shout and scream at the student causing the violence, especially U.A. The student was baffled in shock at what he was seeing and began to sweat.
"Shit, shit. This is bad! This will surely affect my record and chance of being a hero..But how is this U.A kid holding up against it like that?" he thought. Izuku tightened his grip on the sword, drawing even more blood.
"You," said Izuku in a disgusted, passionless but calm and collected voice. "See what you have caused in the midst of your anger? Suppress your damned quirk and be aware of your surroundings. Had it not been me to stop you, you could have hurt someone. Also, I'm not a student, I'm a teacher." finished Izuku, removing his bloodied hand from the blade and letting it drip on the floor with an unemotional look in his hollow green eyes. He knew when to fight and he knew when not to. This was a thoughtless kid who was still emotional and angry all the time, Izuku knew that it wasn't right or okay to kill a kid because of his hormones.
The students immediately turned a ghostly white at what they heard and the whole of Ketsubetsu had extremely worried faces as they had just heard that one of their own students had injured a U.A teacher and evoked a fight.
Suddenly, two students from the school emerged to the meet with Izuku and apologize.
"Uhm...Sir or Miss - I mean Sir!...I'm Tatami Nakagame and this is Yo Shindo. We are greatly, truly sorry for injuring you and trying to fight out of anger. Nasamura here is known for being easily provoked. We apologize on behalf of him to both you and U.A." said a blonde girl, who was Nakagame. They gave a 90 degree bow to Izuku and the rest of the class including Aizawa.
"It's fine, really. We are heroes and we understand how pumped up and excited this...Nasamura was. Just make sure he doesn't do it again, so please, stop bowing." said Aizawa. Reluctantly, Shindo and Nakagame stopped bowing and gave half-smiles before leaving. Before 1-A could even say anything, Yokumiru Mera spoke and began to explain the rules of the test. Izuku walked away in the other direction as he had to leave and go to the stadium to watch the students. It took Aizawa a few seconds to notice that Izuku was walking. When he noticed, he walked too. Walking down the quiet hallway, Izuku walked in an unfazed manner even when he had a bleeding hand and a stoic face. Aizawa thought for a while, looking at Izuku walk.
"That's the second time Midoriya sacrificed himself and got badly hurt in the process of helping someone. I mean, I say he was 'hurt' but he was comeplety fine both times. First All Might and now a fucking sword. It makes me wonder how many times he's been so tragically hurt in his small life as a kid and a villain to just walk off being crushed under cement and cut deeply with a sword. Speaking of wondering about him.." thought Aizawa.
"Midoriya." said Aizawa. He got a 'hm' in reply so went on talking. "How did you know about All for One's death? You knew about it before anybody else and it was on the news after you said it. I don't get it and I need answers. It's not just me who's wondering, Nezu and other heroes are asking questions."
Izuku kept walking but his pace slowed down. He knew the question would pop up at some point and he had nothing to hide.
"Well, I got a letter from Tragedy. I have a few connections with him." replied Izuku indifferently. Instantly, Aizawa's posture stiffened and he looked very concerned.
"Tragedy? Did you say Tragedy, Midoriya?" asked Aizawa in disbelief. "As in the Tragedy that massacred Tartarus, killed All for One and runs Hades? What in the world was going on during that villain life of yours? That's..that's fucking insane..Midoriya, do you realise how powerful and how downright dangerous that man is? This is..wow. Fuck." said Aizawa, rubbing his temples.
"I had a hunch that Midoriya could have been mixed up with some dangerous villains but this...this is absolutely crazy. How is he still alive and why did Tragedy send a letter to him? When did this even happen - shit. I've got too many questions..I'll be sure to tell Nezu to hold some meeting or something." thought Aizawa in perplexity. Izuku could see how stupefied and caught off guard Aizawa was, and it humoured him greatly. If only Aizawa himself experienced all that Izuku had gone through when he was in Hades.
"You coming?" Izuku nonchalantly said. Aizawa then realised he was just standing in the middle of a dimly lit hallway and continued to stroll on. The two of them walked up some stairs and sat in a random row of maroon seats but didn't notice that there was someone else there. Izuku didn't really care who sat next to him so he sat down peacefully. Aizawa, on the other hand, twitched his eyes in exasperation.
"You've got to be kidding.." he mumbled under his breath. Izuku took no notice of what was going on and waited for the students to begin the exam.
"Aizawa! What luck to see you here!" exuberantly teased a lady with green hair and a cheeky grin. "Why aren't you talking? Cat's got your tongue?" she laughed vividly. "Who's this gloomy boy with you? Your son?" she laughed again!
"I thought it would be quiet but of course, I never get anything I want. Whatever." thought Izuku in frustration. The students started to flood into the stadium and began their exam.
"Joke. Of course you're here, Ketsubutsu's teacher." responded Aizawa.
"You still haven't answered my question! Who's the kid? Hey, buddy! Why aren't you out there? Too scared? Aww." she exclaimed.
"I'm not a student, I'm a teacher."
"Ah..Aizawa?" questioned Joke. She was very shocked to hear how mundane Izuku's voice was when he had such an angelic face. Aizawa nodded in confirmation to Joke's query. She momentarily frowned but then smiled in a sinister way.
"Aizawa, have you told them about the crushing of U.A? If you love 'em so much you should've!" Joke said. Izuku's eyes turned to look at her and then back to the students fighting.
"Crushing of U.A, huh. Sounds a bit brutal for a hero based exam." thought Izuku. "Probably about defeating U.A first, because their quirks were displayed on TV, then getting on with the test. Well, good luck with that Shiketsu and Kestubutsu."
"'The Crushing of U.A'. There wasn't a particular reason I didn't tell them about it." said Aizawa plainly. "But in the end, it wouldn't change what they had to do. They just have to overcome everything." they both looked towards the student's fighting. "A hero is someone who can turn around a bad situation. In the first place, if they became heroes, then everyone would already know their quirks, so I'm sorry, but we look a little further ahead than everyone else."
Joke looked serious for a little then smirked.
"Jeez, I didn't you loved them that much, you dad." she sank into her seat. The three of them sat in silence for a while and Izuku starting to analyse the situation.
"Seeing as Kacch- Bakugou isn't showing any leadership skills or being resilient at all, he will fail phase two. Todoroki and that fired up Shiketsu kid will fail as well, they aren't getting on at all and have opposing quirks. The Shiketsu kid really has a dark, burning hate for Todoroki. I can see it in his eyes from here. I daresay I can even feel it. However, that's the aura of a villain, he needs to get rid of that and fast." Izuku thought.
"I wonder who'll win first. Mine or yours Aizawa." said Joke competitively.
"Mine, they're stronger and more experienced." said Aizawa. Joke got noticeably offended.
"Aizawa, I know you love them, but don't take my students as pushovers."
Then, out of the blue, Izuku spoke in a dull tone.
"Two of 1-A's strongest students and that animated Shiketsu kid will not pass."
That caused both Joke and Aizawa to turn to Izuku in shock. He just spoke out of nowhere saying people would fail, it was quite incredible.
"What? What's your name and how do you know that?" asked Joke accusingly.
"Midoriya. See for yourself why, Joke. Shikestu and Todoroki are in a deep rooted row while Bakugou is..well it's self-explanatory." he said simply then shut his eyes to try and rest. At first, Aizawa and Joke were confused that those three strong students would lose to such petty reasons but then they both saw that what Izuku had said was true. Joke was in awe while Aizawa was only half-surprised. It was like everything Izuku said came true, Magic Lips!
"Hey, hey! Midoriya, how did yo-" she shut up after seeing that Izuku was asleep. Aizawa was quite surprised himself to see such an adorable face Izuku had when he wasn't scowling or glaring at them scornfully. Oh, if eyes could kill.
"Ooh! His face, his face! I'm going to touch it.." Joke was about to prod Izuku cheek until he stopped her by pure reflex. He then nearly punched her until Aizawa's bindings beat him to it.
"Midoriya, you almost assaulted Joke over a prod. Calm down." scolded Aizawa. Midoriya quickly came to his senses with a look of innocent, geniune shock on his face and acknowledged what he had done. He bowed before getting up; the exam had finished.
"I'm going to see the students." he said before walking off. Once Izuku had finally left, Joke gave Aizawa a serious look of concern and curiosity on her face.
"Aizawa, something's different about that boy. Why..why's he so sad? It was like a thick blanket of wretched agony was thrown over me with no warning at all." she said.
Aizawa looked to the ground. "Indeed, he is a sad person. He's the way he is for different reasons that are beyond the line of mere 'experience'. He's been through alot, Joke. But let me tell you now, he is changing for the better. Had you seen him before, you would have thought of him as a real...a real villain of a man." Aizawa said with a hint of pride. He then spoke with clear aspiration that surprised even Joke.
"He's getting better, Joke. He is. So, I'm going to be patient, as should we all."
1-A was a melting pot of emotions. Some were merry with pure blithe and glowing with triumph, while others were saddened in utter defeat and were blue in the face. The remainder were giddy in a compound of emotions that were quite indescribable. But there were two students who were in none of those categories but were undoubtedly irked.
"Bakugou, Todoroki. I'd like to speak with you both, come here." said Izuku, walking towards a more secluded area. Bakugou had to be pushed by Kirishima with great force for him to follow Izuku, but Todoroki obeyed pacifically.
"Todoroki, I'm sure you're aware but your downfall was that you decided to idiotically argue with a student from another school during a fight and an exam." Izuku reprimanded. "Do you understand that if that had been a real life fight with someone, you might have gotten hurt? Or on the flip side, if you were collaborating with him? It won't be good for either of you in the long run if you fight with those you don't like in dire situations. Perhaps you weren't the one at fault, but be the bigger person and try to avoid situations like that. You're going to be a hero, Todoroki." concluded Izuku firmly.
Bakugou and Todoroki were both dumbfounded when they heard Izuku talk in such a teacher-like way. Todoroki minutely smirked.
"Finally, he's acting like a teacher and not scaring us." he thought in relief.
"Yes, Mr. Midoriya." and with that Todoroki left. Now, it was just Bakugou and Izuku. Bakugou had such a great look of contempt dyed onto his face that Izuku ought to give him an award for it.
"Bakugou. I'll keep this simple and short. You lost today because of how disordered you were and that you didn't take your surroundings into account at all. Because of that, someone very well could have died, had it been real life. Your leadership skills are all over the place and you don't listen to anybody, you urgently need to fix this, Bakugou." said Izuku formally.
"Don't act all teacher-teacher with me, Deku. Don't m-" snapped Bakugou. His words were cut by Izuku's sharp, alarming tone of voice.
"I'm dead serious. Do you understand me? I'm serious."
Bakugou grit his teeth in wary and impatience.
"Anyway," said Izuku regaining composure. "Work on your leadership skills and circumspect and you'll become a better hero. It shouldn't be so hard, considering your strength and quirk." with that, Izuku walked off first. Then, it was just Bakugou. He was left feeling underestimated and badly hurt, with a sting wringing his body slyly. He just didn't get it. Izuku was a Deku; he was useless, good-for-nothing! A waste of space! So how on this planet had he gotten so strong? How did he become a villain? Why did he-
"Deku is stronger than you, Katsuki." giggled a voice in his head. It was a childish voice, and was rightfully the voice of a child. It sounded like Bakugou when he was in kindergarten and that angered him so much.
"Damn it. Why'd he look down on me like that? Deku's weak, he is. Trying to act all good and like a teacher..what's up with that..? Why the hell is he so strong now? Fuck. Is he trying to pick a fight? If that's what you want Deku, I'll serve it out cold for you soon." he grumbled then walked back to the rest of the class.
Once everyone got back, they ate and ate and ate and ate! It was so glorious to eat so greatly after getting their licences. It was a warm, jolly feeling that was mutually shared amongst everyone. They truly wanted to keep on feeling it. After that, the students went straight to bed because they were certainly knackered after an eventful day as such. Aizawa phoned Nezu to tell him of the happening that day and then went to sleep himself.
That left Izuku. He then started at his hand in blankness.
"What is happening to me?"
Why can't you just pick one! This one, or that one? Don't confuse me like this.