TigerTrainerXD: Actually, I think Aizawa can erase the abilities of Mutant-types, though not the mutation itself. He did so in the USJ battle.
Spelhas: I don't plan for that to happen, but MHA is still running. Plans can change…
dperson3569: Shh! No spoilers.
This starts right after the end of the previous chapter.
I didn't realize at the time, but that single conversation would be the first piece to change my perspective. Back then, I was focused on following All Might's footsteps because I felt he was the path to fulfill my obsession.
But my obsession was faulty.
In the future I'd come to realize my perception of things was incomplete. I tended to see the bright side too much and ignore the flaws in everything and everyone. I only saw the wrongs that were out in the light. If I wanted to improve anything, I had to become more critical of the bad stuff.
(Sadly, when I did so, my first solutions were…less than ideal. But that's a story for a later time.)
At the time, I had no such concerns. I was way too eager for afternoon class of next day, Basic Hero Training. And the teacher would be, you guessed it, the Symbol of Peace and Justice himself!
Afternoon of the same day.
"I AM COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"
Izuku was starry-eyed. There stood the Number One Pro-hero himself. Izuku's whole frame glowed a little, but he didn't even care. Why? Because All Might was here!
He wasn't the only one fanboying (or fangirling in some cases) about him. Murmurs and comments flew around.
"It's All Might!"
"That's his Silver Age costume."
"The number one pro? Awesome!"
All Might introduced himself (rather needlessly) as responsible for teaching Basic Hero Training. Under his wing, they would learn the fundamentals of how pros operate. And on their first lesson, class got the bomb dropped on them that they were in for actual combat training.
Each class member was given a heavy, armored suitcase containing the hero attire that the Support Department had designed for them, based on their own sketches and specifications.
Izuku was eager to try on his. In the male's changing room, a classmate approached Izuku. It was the blond, short-haired boy with a tail. He believed his name was Ojiro.
"Say, Midoriya, right?" he asked for confirmation and Izuku nodded. "I'm just curious but, why don't you have a nave?"
Izuku looked down at his own chest. Now that he noticed with some pride, he had gained a fair amount of muscle in the last few months. He was more toned than some of the other boy, but others easily surpassed him, Todoroki and Kacchan chief among them.
Regarding to the blonde's question, it was true Izuku never had a belly button. "Yeah, I was born without it." He just shrugged. Truly in a world of quirks where some humans were anthropomorphic creatures, it was nothing special. The interrogator, Ojiro, accepted that.
Moving on, the class entered the battle ground modeled after another faux metropolis.
Izuku's outfit reflected the sunlight, making him look like a humanoid star. It was a mostly white, spandex suite with some gray elements to it. Such as the transparent gray shades on his face. Or the iconic, five-pointed star that adorned his chest. It served as a very light, but resilient armor. The top point covered his neck from all sides. The two sideways points were long and covered his shoulders. The two lower points stretched down to cover his rib cage but were mostly decorative. A cape with vertical white and black stripes descended from his shoulders.
"Your outfit lacks complexity, yet it sparkles as you do. A fine choice." Aoyama congratulated, giving a twinkle of his own. His suite was worthy of an exhibitionist knight with a crimson vizor and a purple cape with sprinkles. Even his hair shined, making Izuku suspect he put on some special gel while getting changed.
"Thanks. Yours is pretty sparkly, too."
"Perhaps a bit too much sparkly and show-off." That comment came from the ever-blunt but kind Asui.
"Please, mademoiselle. Don't disgrace this gentleman." Aoyama made a face that looked physically hurt. To Izuku it looked like he had just stubbed his toe on something hard, but he refrained to voice it. His friend seemed to have already suffered enough.
He gave a quick scan to Asui. Her suite was body-fitting in shades of green, making her more in the likeness of a frog. A notable feature was the pair of large googles that he wagered would make her eyes look even larger.
"You look cute." He blurted out without meaning to. She croaked, blinking at him. Heat and pink rushed into Izuku's cheeks and he turned away, bashfully. Under the embarrassment, he was so grateful Ashido wasn't around or she might spread some rumors. "I mean, you look good. Green is really your color!"
"…Thank you, Izuku. And I guess white is your color. How did you come up with it?"
His embarrassment subsided. "Oh, I got the inspiration from a dream. Whatever I was wearing was white and had this design." He t-posed to show off a little. "I felt like I could do anything, and I wanted to make that a reality."
"I guess you literally follow your dreams, Izuku." He smiled a bit awkwardly.
All Might called everyone's attention. His first class would skip any kind of basic training and jump straight to combat. That revelation aroused many questions and all at once that the pro had to nervously ask for silence, again. He proceeded to explain the exercise.
A pair of teams of two, one playing the role of villains and the other the heroes, would duke it out inside a makeshift building. The villain team would be hidden at the top floor, in possession of a faux bomb to destroy the city with. The hero duo would enter the building and try to reach the bomb, deactivating it by touch. If they failed to do so before 30 minutes passed, the bomb would figuratively detonate, killing the entire city and the villains would win. Not that would be much of a victory in real life, if the would-be villains are also blown up.
The selection of teams was at random. The first round was Uraraka and Kacchan as the heroes against Minoru Mineta and Mashirao Ojiro as villains. The rest of the class moved to an observation room where they could watch the whole battle recorded from various angles. Before the actual battle started, both teams would have a limited time to plan in privacy.
"I suspect Kacchan will enjoy this way too much." Izuku commented to himself.
"What makes you say that?" Uraraka asked, standing close by. He turned around a bit surprised. Others like Aoyama and Asui were looking expectantly.
"Well, I knew Bakugo before UA. We went to the same junior high. He is…abrasive. Very determined to prove he's the best. In his view, the only path he has is becoming the best Pro-hero. He wants to surpass All Might."
Asui hummed, looking at a screen showing a scowling Bakugo. "He seems rather aggressive in pursuing his goal. A bit too much. That's not the attitude of a pro."
Izuku chuckled awkwardly. "I know right. On occasion, I did try to help him, but he always snarled at me, saying he doesn't need a 'useless jewelry loser like me'. And whenever I said I wanted to become a pro, too, he would make fun of me, that my stupid jewelry would never stand up to his quirk. Even nicknamed me Deku Diamond."
The buzzer sounded and the battle commenced. True to Izuku's word, Bakugo blasted through the entrance and anything that stood in his way to the top floor. A stunned Uraraka was left in the dust.
Whispers circled regarding the explosive teen's generously called determination. He first encountered Ojiro, who did well to evade Bakugo's hits. Until the ash-blond blew up the ceiling above, trapping Ojiro on the other side and moved upwards. Mineta soon found himself against a beast in form of a teen who irradiated a murderous aura. The terrified midget threw a load of purple balls at him in a panicked frenzy. A single blast incinerated everyone. Bakugo lunged forward. Mineta ran away. To finish it off, Bakugo incinerated the faux bomb with a blast, growling his catchphrase.
"DIE!"
In the observation room, the class watched, dumbfounded and collective jaws dropping.
"Did he just blow up the bomb?" A boy with an electrical quirk, Kaminari, asked the question everyone was thinking.
"I don't think he'd do it in a real situation. My guess, he got really excited and had to end it all with a bang." Izuku theorized. Truly, he knew Bakugo well enough to be certain he wasn't a suicidal moron…Right?
All Might announced, a little confused. "Despite the hero team having reached the bomb, Bakugo's actions would have gotten it detonated. Therefore, this battle ends in a draw."
"Who gives a damn?" Bakugo smirked savagely on the screen. Clearly he saw the whole thing as a victory for him and him alone.
The second match was announced and Izuku found himself branded as a villain and partnered with the tall bespectacled boy, Tenya Iida. He was the fellow that reprimanded him during the practical exam, but then apologized in the first day of class. A straight, no-nonsense fellow who seemed relatively easy to deal with. His outfit consisted of armor fit for running, complete with a helmet he carried under his arm.
During the planning phase, they reached the top level where a new bomb was stationed. Iida chose that time to speak out.
"We must make a sound plan of attack."
"Oka…"
"From my observations, Kyoka Jiro is the bigger threat. Her quirk allows her short and long-ranged attacks."
"So does Aoyama…"
"She is more level-headed. And her quirk doesn't seem to be impaired by a time limit."
Izuku was a little upset at that, but let it slide. While Iida prattled on, he momentarily pondered spending his time making a hard bubble around the bomb. Such idea was quickly shot down, as such a large and resilient bubble would take far too long to make.
"We should eliminate Jiro before they find us."
Izuku couldn't keep it quiet any longer. "Iida, if you ask me, you're underestimating Aoyama."
Iida gesture negatively with his arms, but his movements were so rigid that only added to his robotic appearance. "Not at all, I'm merely making a solid, impartial analysis. You are aware of his limitations."
"I'm also aware he is willing to go beyond them. That's what the motto of UA is all about. During the exam, he let himself get hurt to help Uraraka."
Iida paused, seemingly re-evaluating his plan. He inquired what Izuku suggested. The diamond boy hummed, not really used to come up with a plan.
"How about we ambush them? The heroes' goal is to get the bomb, not fight us. They wouldn't expect us both to ditch it."
Iida was quick to refute it, as if his partner's plan had personally offended him. "That is a very bad idea! We cannot leave the bomb unguarded in any way. My strategy ensures one of us stays here. I am more suited to confront the heroes with my Engine quirk."
Izuku frowned. "Your plan is too narrow-minded. It's no different than what the last team did. We should improvise, do what they won't expect."
Iida pushed his glasses up against the bridge of his nose. "And how does an ambush fit into your plan?"
Izuku confessed. "I haven't come up with that yet. My idea is making it up as we go along."
Iida eyed him penetratingly and sighed. "In spite of your heroic spirit, you truly are naïve."
The diamond boy would have retorted in kind, if the buzzer didn't sound, marking the beginning of the battle trial. Without a word, Iida put on his helmet, turned around and walked out of the room. Izuku followed.
"You are not coming, Midoriya. The battle plan says you stay and keep watch on the bomb."
Izuku crossed his arms, stubbornly. "I never agreed to that plan. I'm going with you."
Iida's frame trembled with irritation. "I am the most fit to lead our team."
Izuku raised his fist. "You want to settle this the old-fashioned way?"
The speedster was shocked at such audacity. "You would fight me at a time like this?!"
Izuku blinked. "Fight? No! I meant 'rock-paper-scissors'."
Now the speedster's jaw hit the floor. He started a rant about childishness and un-heroic behavior with the typical frantic, robotic gestures. As Izuku refused to budge, Iida reluctantly relented. Much to the diamond boy's chagrin, his rock lost to Iida's paper. The armored hero-in-training ordered his partner to stay put and guard the bomb with his life.
One after the other, minutes passed him by and each made him more bored than the last. On some alternate universes, Izuku Midoriya would be socially awkward and humble enough to obey such command. This was no such universe.
A thought struck him. "Villains are constantly breaking the law. If I'm supposed to act as one, why should I follow any orders."
Meanwhile
Kyoka Jiro hummed to herself, unplugging her earjacks from the wall.
"Iida is coming. Stick to the plan."
"Of course, Mademoiselle."
She deadpanned and listened to the increasing vibrations again. Just to be certain it was just Iida coming. Sure enough, there was no sound of that music.
"French boy, you know Midoriya. You ever noticed a song coming from him?"
"I never heard monsieur Midoriya singing."
"No, not singing. Like, a song coming from him. Resonating from his body."
He looked at her, puzzled. "That I haven't."
Shrugging to herself, she refocused on listening to the vibrations. Soon enough, the speedy 'villain' appeared. And the first thing he did was chuckling dramatically.
"So you have appeared, heroes! Prepare to meet your damnation!"
"Is that dork trying to impersonate a villain?" Kyoka was ready to facepalm herself.
"No, villain! You will fall to our shinning might!" and of course, Aoyama reciprocated in kind. She did facepalmed herself.
"I'm surrounded by morons!"
Aoyama did a dramatic pose while firing his laser and Iida easily dodged it. The 'villain' waited just one second and the blond ceased his attack to avoid a stomachache. He sped towards the dramatist with the intent of delivering a kick to knock him out of commission. Then that would Jiro to deal with.
This was how one achieves victory, whether they are villain or hero; through a coordinated, orderly strategy. Not by improvising or making up as one goes along. As the responsible one of his pair, Tenya Iida had an obligation to show his classmates, Izuku Midoriya in particular, to take the hero course seriously.
However, his attack was cut short as the ground beneath his feet broke apart, suddenly. He turned to see Jiro's ear plugged to her boot. The shaking of the floor originated from her boot! She had hooked up one of her earjacks to her boot that emitted vibrations to the ground!
"She can make the ground vibrate!" Iida's hesitation was taken advantage of by Aoyama who fired another naval laser. The armored 'villain' avoided the hit, but his approach was ruined.
The bluenette retreat somewhat to re-evaluate the situation. Aoyama stood at the front with Jiro in the rear-guard. It was a logical tactic, he admitted; she could provide a defense by destabilizing his approach while Aoyama provided the offensive with his long-range quirk. No doubt thought up by the female 'hero'.
"My goal hasn't changed. Jiro is the brain of their team. I will have to push it close to Burst." Doing so would give him a boost in speed at the cost of overheating and disabling his engines for a few seconds. But if he could get past Aoyama and get the jump on Jiro, it would be worth it.
"Half-power Recipro Burst!" Iida was launched forward with tremendous speed. He passed over Aoyama before the blond realized what was going on and was standing before Jiro. Deactivating the overdrive, he delivered an incapacitating kick. It connected and she was tossed against a wall, half knocked out.
Iida was unable to bind her with the tape as Aoyama fired a laser in his direction. Iida narrowly dodged it, his quirk still out of commission. He put some distance and waited the one second for Aoyama to halt his attack. And halt he did, so Iida dashed for the figurative kill.
Iida's strategy had been met with difficulties, but he had proven his mettle by thoughtfully analyzing the situation was deducing the logical route to victory. Not though a half-baked plan compensated with improvisation. Truly, Izuku Midoriya was a conundrum; on one hand he appeared to have the righteous standards of a hero. On the other, he also displayed a naïve attitude, as if being a hero is just what most people see on television.
(Iida had noticed that when he used maximum speed, somehow his brain also sped up. Like right now, he was debating himself the idiosyncrasies of his partner.)
"I do not think so, mon ennemi!" To the speedster's surprise, Aoyama fired another laser, one from his left shoulder. It struck Iida dead on and pushed him back. He wasn't injured, but rather disoriented. His chest plate was smoking and dented, and his torso felt hot.
Aoyama span around, arms spread out. "The Support Department truly are masters of their art! My armor is the embodiment of both finesse and practicality. It allows me to channel my laser through anywhere I wish."
Before Iida could retaliate, his whole body was invaded by a burning, painful vibration. He turned around to see Jiro was back on her feet and had stabbed him with her earplugs. Iida felt a weakness wash over him and he nearly collapsed.
"Though luck, Iida. Maybe next time." She said with just a little bit of smug. She pulled something out of her pocket, a roll of capture tap.
It was then Iida realized he had failed, remarkably. Misanalysed the situation and underestimated his enemies. Failed as a hero-in-training. Tensei wouldn't…
"Have no fear! Why? Because I am here!" without warning, Izuku Midoriya came running in. From his spot on the ground – he was no longer plugged in – he noticed his partner's frame was emitting a faint light.
"I fine entrance, my worthy ennemi." Aoyama applauded genuinely. Jiro groaned and went for the attack. Izuku instantly placed all index and middle fingers against his temple and shouted:
"Iida, close your eyes."
"Wha…"
"Solar flare!" his diamond shone like a supernova, painting the entire place in light. Jiro was blinded by the assault. Izuku, unaffected by the light due to his shades, ran towards Iida and helped him up.
"Midoriya, you were supposed to be guarding the bomb!" Iida berated, still blinded.
"You sounded like you needed help."
Iida didn't retort right away. "You would have done better to warn me, first. I can't see anything."
"Didn't you close your eyes like I told you?"
Izuku's body was assaulted by the same burning vibration that Iida had been. He turned around and saw that, despite still being blinded, Jiro had figured out where he was.
"Note to self: don't bicker with my partner if there's an enemy with a hearing quirk."
Jiro made a strange face and suddenly let go of him. She made a break for the stairs to the upper level. Where the bomb was!
Iida, who had recovered a little from her attack and Izuku's flash, got up and followed after her. There was no way he was going let himself lose, least of all because of his partner's blunder.
"Midoriya, stay here!"
"Wait, I set up…"
Without another word, he sped after her as much as his engines could, at the moment.
Izuku gritted his teeth. "Come on, Iida. How hard is it to listen to me?" He checked his comm-link to relay the message, but there was no response. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an in-coming laser which he dodged.
"I will be your opponent, mon amie."
Izuku sighed. "I have to warn Iida, or at least use my trump card. Better finish Aoyama quick or at least get away from him."
"My adversaire, let us fight to our hearts content and prove once and for all which one of us shines brightest."
In spite of the situation, the diamond boy couldn't help but smile. "Wouldn't have it any other way, my adversary."
Iida quickly recovered in full from Jiro's attack and easily got ahead of her, right after she reached the fifth floor where the bomb was hidden. She attempted to break the floor behind her, but Iida wouldn't fall for that again and gained enough speed to race over the walls and landed ahead of her.
"You're not moving any further, hero!"
But in the worst of all coincidences, his foot pressed a spot on the floor that Izuku had used his unique powers on.
Izuku could sometimes get easily sidetracked. But not now. He had thought ahead and opted to keep evasive during his brief battle with Aoyama. The first chance he spotted, Izuku turned tail and ran away, leaving an indignant blond behind.
"I'll apologize later." He promised himself. It's not that he didn't like to win against his friend. But for his strategy to work, he needed to concentrate, and he certainly wouldn't be able to battle and focus on what he left hidden on the top floor, at the same time.
FLASHBACK
"So I can't come up with a good plan, Iida?" Izuku grinned to himself, producing yet another small bubble, filled with his white, powered light. He gently placed it underneath the rubbish that covered the corridor.
He had made his way out of the room containing the bomb, slowly creating bubbles filled with energy and hiding them on the floor. The path to the bomb was now a subtle trap.
"Improvised land mines!" He smiled at his finished work. Better yet, he had trained his mental capacity to burst the bubbles at long range. He would have to concentrate hard enough but, if done right, the moment someone stepped on one of them, Izuku could detonate them with his mind, even if he was at the bottom floor.
END OF FLASHBACK
To his luck, an empty room was quick to be found. Izuku silently went in, making sure Aoyama wasn't on his tail. There was no light, which made it all the better. In the darkness, it was as if his eyes were closed, making it easy to concentrate on the mental endeavor.
Reaching out for the hidden bubble was easy enough. Despite being two floors up, given that the land-mine bubbles were loaded with energy, they were easy to sense. Like pulsars radiating in the darkness.
He grinned, focusing on the one bubble that was being pressed by the enemy's foot. And it popped.
With Iida VS Jiro
BOOM!
Jiro cried out and instinctively stepped back when the floor beneath Iida exploded in a white burst of light. The explosion was localized enough not to harm her, but the armored 'villain' was blasted upwards. He made a comical imprint of his frame in the ceiling, eyes and mouth included, before falling down.
Her first instinct was to ask if he was alright but seeing how quickly he got back on his feet, she figured he would live.
"For the record, that wasn't my doing." She declared, being just as perplexed as him. Iida looked her with suspicion and moved cautiously a few steps back.
Big mistake. Another explosion from the floor tossed Iida up, making a second imprint on the ceiling. This time, Jiro allowed herself to laugh, yet she had the wisdom of stealthily plugging one her jacks on the floor.
Having had a second round, Iida wizened up and didn't take another step. He looked at the ground warily and then at her, eyes narrowed.
"I swear, that's..." She stopped herself midsentence. Those white flash explosions were definitely Midoriya's work. Coupled by the fact that underneath the floor, she sensed spheres vibrating slightly but with great frequency; those were certainly his bubbles. But why wouldn't Iida know about them? Come to think of it, those two didn't seem very cooperative with one another on the lower floor. "that's all my doing."
Iida almost made a move, but hesitated.
"You may not want to take another step." He fell for her bluff and didn't move. Her eyes darted around, looking from one spot to the next. In reality, she was making a mental map of the safe spots. Iida's own eyes noticed her earplug piercing the ground and narrowed. Iida was a smart guy and could counter-attack or call her bluff any moment. She needed a distraction and fast.
"Hey, Iida!" she grabbed a piece of the floor that broke off in the first detonation. "Think fast!" she tossed it to the floor in front of Iida where another mine was hidden. It detonated, tossing him back further.
Now was her chance! She half-run, half-leaped from one memorized safe spot to the next. She got ahead of a startled, half-stunned Iida. He got up and raced after her, but promptly stepped on another land-mine. His bearings were regained just in time to see Jiro making a hard turn to the room with…
"THE BOMB!" his echoing cry was followed by All Might's loud announcement.
"The Hero Team wins!"
On the bottom floor.
Izuku grinned, ear to ear. "Yes!" then his grin fell. "Wait, what?"
On the observation room.
The air was saturated with the sound of laughter from a single student. Katsuki Bakugo laughed and chuckled and wheezed his ass off like there was no tomorrow.
"Deku Diamond, you're a dumbass!"
Soon enough, the four participants returned to the observation room. The hero pair looked quite pleased with themselves. The villain pair, definitely not.
All Might asked for who could point who the MVP was. A tall girl, Momo Yaoyorozu, declared. "The obvious choice is Jiro. She took the lead of her team and exploited the situation to her advantage on the fifth floor against Iida. Aoyama followed her instructions succinctly, but after Midoriya broke contact with him, he chased after without stopping to check if the villain hid himself, which was what Midoriya truly did."
Needless to say, Iida and Izuku were feeling quite disgruntled and embarrassed with themselves. Bakugo was giving the white-haired boy a mocking smirk which he did his best to ignore.
Yaoyorozu moved on to describe the villain team's flaws. "As for the villain team, Midoriya left the bomb completely unguarded. In spite of mounting a good defense around the perimeter, due to his absence, it backfired against his teammate. Iida, he rushed to face-off against two opponents, at once. He should have either split them up and deal with each, separately. Or tried to stall their advance with quick attacks that they would be unable to counter, while keeping himself out of actual confrontation.
"Nonetheless, as a team, their main and shared mistake was a complete lack of communication and coordination."
As the girl went on, Izuku found himself humbly agreeing with her assessment. He lifted his head and noticed Iida had an expression much akin to his own.
All Might declared her criticism to be spot on and turned to all the class. "This was just an example of how a battle between good and evil might go. Sometimes villains band together in ragtag teams with not sense of organization, but increasingly that is not the case. To combat the more organized villains, pros who in some cases never met, must team-up on the spot. This is meant to teach you all how to cooperate with others on the fly.
"Don't be discouraged, though. You are all here to learn. Not just from your teachers, but also from each other. Take your limitations and endeavor to overcome them. That's what the school's motto is all about. Plus Ultra!"
It was hard to stay downtrodden when the Symbol of Peace and Justice showed off his rousing smile. Just like when Izuku cheered up the class at Aizawa's class, only with more energy and much faster, everyone shouted out the motto.
The third match started, with Tsuiu and a boy with a bird head, Tokoyami as the heroes. Izuku found himself watching attentively besides Iida. Since entering the observation room, he remained beside his former partner. And Iida made no attempt to move aside. That was no coincidence.
Iida produced a sigh which Izuku wagered it was meant to catch his attention. He thought so because he was about to do the same. "Midoriya, I have to apologize for my actions. I let my desire to prove myself influence my decisions and acted rashly."
Izuku hummed. "Yeah, I didn't do that good, either. I should have told you I had booby-trapped the corridor." He berated himself in the privacy of his thoughts. "And I should have guessed Iida would overtake Jiro. Make things better? What a joke! There's no way I could have made this thing worse, even if I actually tried."
The little diamond asked. "Why did you want to follow your plan so badly?"
Iida blinked, taken aback, and replied after a pregnant pause. "Because…I believe I can be a good leader."
The diamond boy shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I'm not interested in leading. So I can't judge you in any way." He paused to gather his thoughts. In his opinion, Tenya Iida was still an uptight guy with a bit of a control freak edge. He still didn't feel like he could cooperate with Iida, but for sure, he had to try. How else could he improve himself.
"Iida, how about, next time we have to work together, we take more time to talk and plan?" he offered a hand. Iida looked at it and shook it.
"I agree. But perhaps, we might have to improvise, as you said. No plan survives contact with the enemy, after all."
The handshake had the same feeling as their expressions. It was honest and cordial, but not friendly. They vowed to themselves to do better next time. They'd do it for themselves, but not each other. The diamond and the speedster would work to become proper allies. Yet, that didn't make them friends.
Sometimes, our screw ups are the harshest, best teachers in our lives. I know many of you might say Iida and/or Izuku were too OOC, let me explain. First, this version of Izuku is different from cannon. He wasn't as much of a social outcast, so he can at times be a little more mischievous and less serious. As for Iida, Izuku's apparent lack of seriousness triggered him to prove himself a bit too intensively.
I hope this didn't rub you the wrong way and you keep interested. Next chapter is USJ time. And boy, do I have more than one surprise for you on the villain side. Signing out!