Another chapter is finally here, after like six/seven months. Unlike many people during covid, I got even busier because I worked in food packaging, meaning I was an essential worker. As such all my stories took more time to get done. Anyways, the wait is over, on with the chapter.

Chapter 7: Trials of Battle

A 14 year old Eijiro sat in his room, an old video of Crimson Riot had just finished playing. Tears were streaming down his face. He wiped them away from his eyes as he donned a determined look. 'It seems you got the idea now kid!'

"Huh?" He questioned.

He gritted his teeth as an intense headache racked his brain, as if something was behind shoved in his head. He gripped his head as his hair spiked up and turned bright red. After what felt like an eternity, the headache faded. He breathed heavy. 'Hey you alright kid?'

"Yeah… I just got this random headache when a voice in my head…" He began.

Then realized he was talking to a voice in his head.

"Okay, I'm crazy, time to…" He began.

'HOLD UP NOW! No need to go jumping to conclusions. You're not crazy, kid. I'm not sure what happened but we, for lack of a better term, fused.'

"Oh yeah a voice in my head is talking to me. Obviously I'm perfectly sane." Eijiro replied.

'Okay fair… but… … look in the mirror and see for yourself. I think your appearance changed to look similar to how I did.' Eijiro rolled his eyes, but went to do so. He went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. When he did, he noticed his hair was now bright red and spiky. He reached up and pulled on it lightly. 'See I told you.'

"W-w-well maybe I'm just seeing things." He pointed out.

"Eijiro, who are you talking…" His mother began as she went to check on him.

He turned to her. She stopped when she saw his spiky red hair.

"Eijiro, did you dye your hair and spike it up?" She questioned.

"Uhhhhh…" He replied.

"It actually looks pretty good. Who knows maybe you'll have some luck with that Mina girl now." She pointed out. "Honestly if this is all you do in your rebellious phase I'll be happy."

She walked away leaving a dumbstruck Eijiro. 'Believe me now?'

"Yeah… … say… you wouldn't happen to be Crimson Riot would you?" He questioned.

'The one and only kid… kid? … … Kiiiiiid… hey kid…' Eijiro had passed out from shock.

Present day…

"And after making sure those villain guys didn't catch us, I was set on training to get into UA and get my hero license so I could work to figure out who was behind all of this. When I saw Midoriya here with the same transformation ability I was worried that one of the villains had snuck someone into the school but it looks like I was wrong." Eijiro noted. "Now… can you untie me please?"

He was currently sitting down wrapped tightly in Aizawa's binding cloth. Aizawa looked to the other's in the room.

"I believe he's safe to be released." Nezu stated. "There's little he can do here even if he was with Spiritus, which I doubt."

"Indeed, between myself and young Midoriya here, we should be fine." All Might added.

"Also it's incredibly unlikely Crimson Riot wouldn't have been able to break free like Nana did." Nana pointed out. "Breaking free of the quirk's hold has more to do with strength of will rather than physical strength."

"First let's confirm he in fact is bound with Crimson Riot. Think you can use both his and your original quirk sonny?" Recovery Girl added.

"Of course." Eijiro declared.

He hardened his face causing it to turn rock like. His forehead then turned a shiny black, hardening it even more.

"Hmm… he checks out as far as I'm concerned. Let's just be sure to keep a close eye on him until we can be sure he is trustworthy." She stated.

Aizawa was hesitant to do so, but eventually he undid his hold on Eijiro.

"I'll check his records to make sure they are legitimate. Ms. Midoriya can you talk to Ms. Ashido and confirm parts of what Mr. Kirishima here stated. No need to raise any unnecessary concerns or suspicions by me or one of the teachers talking to her." Nezu brought up.

"Oh… yeah I can do that." Nana replied.

"Good, we'll figure out what to do with you once we've seen if we can trust or not." Nezu stated. "In the meantime you are free to go about your business Mr. Kirishima. We don't have the evidence needed to warrant a constant surveillance outside of school grounds. But know you are always being watched the minute you step on to this campus." Nezu declared.

"Fine by me. Anything that gets you to trust me is fine by me." Eijiro stated.

"Good to know. Now why don't you and Ms. Midoriya run along home now. The school day is over so you'd best be going." Nezu stated.

With a nod, the two left, closing the door behind them.

"Is this really wise to let him go like that?" Aizawa questioned.

"Wise or not it doesn't matter. Without proper evidence of ill intent or wrongdoing we have no real legal power to harm him. The most we can do is keep an eye on him. Though, call it a hunch, I think he's telling the truth when he says he's on our side." Nezu replied.

"We'll just have to wait and see." All Might added.

The next day…

Nana sat in her desk eagerly awaiting the class that was coming next, more specifically the person teaching it. The door flew open.

"I AM HERE!" All Might declared. "Coming in like a normal person!"

He entered into the room in a way no normal person would. 'Oh Toshi…'

"I can't believe we actually get to have All Might as a teacher!" One student exclaimed.

"This is gonna be awesome!" A Girl shouted.

"I think that's his silver age costume." Another student noted.

All Might marched into the room and stood before his students.

"I'll be teaching Hero Basic Training." He stated. "As the name suggests, you'll be learning the basics of being a hero from this class. It'll also be netting you the most credits so best pay attention. But that's enough of that, let's get to today's lesson!"

He pulled out a card with 'BATTLE' written on it.

"Battle Training!" He declared.

"Awwwww hell yeah…" Katsuki expressed with a viscous grin.

"Of course we can't forget these." All Might stated as he pressed a button on the device in his hand.

Panels in the wall slide out revealing numbered compartments.

"Custom made costumes according to your quirk registry and the request forms you submitted." All Might explained.

The whole class erupted into cheers.

"After you change, head out to ground beta." All Might ordered.

Later, the girls locker room…

"Hey Mina," Nana called.

"Hmmm?" The pink skin girl replied, turning to look at Nana.

"You know that Eijiro Kirishima guy right?" Nana questioned.

"We went to the same school, why, what do you want to know?" Mina questioned.

Nana was about to speak.

"Wait don't tell me! You've fallen for his manly charms and want to know what's a good way to hook up with him." Mina declared.

"What the… NO! He just looks familiar to me." Nana replied with a red face. "I just wanted to know if his hair was always like that or if he changed it at some point."

"Oh… Oooooh… I get yea…" Mina replied.

Nana facepalmed.

"There's nothing to get just… please answer the question." She pleaded.

"Suuuuuure there isn't… fufufufu… anywho, he dyed it and started spiking it up about a year ago. Before that he had black hair that spiked down not up. He did a pretty good job if you ask me, it almost looks natural" Mina answered. "So do you know him? Was it love at first sight? TELL ME!"

"There's nothing to tell he wasn't the same boy I was talking about. He just looked similar." Nana answered.

"Ooooohhh… riiiiiight… don't think you can fool me. Love Detective Mina knows love when she sees it and can tell a lie when it's involved in love."

Nana groaned. Not, worth it. 'I like this girl.' Shut it Nana!

Later…

Nana was one of the last students to enter into ground beta. She had based her hero outfit off of the original Nana's outfit, with some modifications to make it her own. She wore a dark green sleeveless top with thick black strips that ran along the sides of it. Her short shorts were similar colors and design. Around her waist was a short red cape that hung down to her knees and was attached to a gold buckle. She wore white boots that went to just below her knees and white gloves that went up to just below her elbows.

"Now you all look like real heroes in training." All Might noted.

"All Might sir, I noticed that this is the same area used in the entrance exam. Will we be doing cityscape maneuvers today?" Tenya questioned.

"Nope we're moving two steps ahead. Today we'll be doing Indoor Anti-personnel Battle Training." All Might explained. "The villain battles you see are often outdoors. However, the most heinous villains tend to operate indoors. As such today's exercise will replicate that. You will split off into hero teams and villain teams and face off in two verses two combat."

"So no basic training?" A girl with frog-like features questioned.

"The best training is actual combat, and I don't mean those disposable robots from the entrance exam." All Might explained. "Now then…"

He took out a piece of paper. 'Really Toshi, really'

"For this exercise, the 'villains' will be hiding a nuclear bomb in the hideout. The 'heroes' are tasked with securing it. The 'heroes' win by either capturing the 'villains' or securing the weapon before time runs out. Conversely, the 'villains' win by either capturing the 'heroes' or keeping the bomb safe until time runs out." All Might explained. "We will draw lots to decide your partners."

"Is that really the best way?" Tenya questioned.

"You'll never know who you'll end up with out in the field so it makes sense." Nana pointed out.

"I see, pardon my interruption." Tenya expressed.

"It's quite alright, now let's get to it!" All Might exclaimed.

One by one everyone went up and claimed a lot. After a little waiting, Nana walked up to draw her lot. She reached in and pulled out a ball marked 'A' before walking away. 'A', if I remember correctly the person who also drew 'A' was… She looked up at a tall boy with six arms. He wore a tight blue tank top with three-pairs of white markings resembling eyes decorating it across his torso, connected at the top to a darker indigo-colored mask which covered his mouth and nose. He wore a blue belt with a larger golden circular design in its center. Below this he wears slightly baggy pants to match his shirt, two indigo lines running down the sides of his legs, and indigo boots. He was holding the other ball with 'A' on it.

"Looks like we're partners, Nana Midoriya." She greeted while holding out her hand.

"Mezo Shoji, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Midoriya." He returned, shaking her hand."

After sometime the lots were drawn and the teams decided upon.

Team A: Nana Midoriya and Mezo Shoji

Team B: Shoto Todoroki and Ochako Uraraka

Team C: Momo Yaoyorozu and Eijiro Kirishima

Team D: Katsuki Bakugo and Tenya Iida

Team E: Mina Ashido and Fumikage Tokoyami

Team F: Koji Koda and Toru Hagakure

Team G: Kyoka Jirou and Denki Kaminari

Team H: Tsuyu Asui and Yuga Aoyama

Team I: Rikkido Sato and Mashirao Ojiro

Team J: Minoru Mineta and Hanta Sero

"With that taken care, time to see who will go first." All Might declared.

He reached into two bins, one labeled 'Heroes' the other 'Villains'. Out of the hero bin he pulled 'A' and out of the villain bin he pulled 'C'. Held them up for all to see.

"Team 'A' as the heroes and team 'C' as the villains. Everyone else, come with me towards the Monitoring Room." All Might stated.

"Yes sir!" They all replied.

"The villain team will go in first. You'll have five minutes to set everything up before the match starts." All Might added.

Later, in the hideout…

Eijiro helped his partner Momo put up steel beams to reinforce the entrances to the room the bomb was in. Momo had more developed features. Her long black hair was tied into a large ponytail.

"There, that should at least buy us some time." Momo noted as they finished their preparations.

"Yeah but those two are strong. It won't hold them back for long. Got a plan if they do get in?" Eijiro questioned.

"Yes, we'll use you as the frontline to soak of the damage and keep me safe while I attack from a range. Either we keep them pinned down enough to run out the clock or we go in and capture them when we've weakened them enough." Momo directed.

"Alright seems good to me." Eijrio noted. "Let's do this!"

Meanwhile, outside the hideout…

Nana and Mezo stood outside looking over the building's floor plan.

"If I had to guess they'd be somewhere on the fourth floor probably towards the center of it. In a room with not a lot of ways in." Nana noted.

"I'll be able to scout out the building and confirm where they are." Mezo stated, shifting his extra appendages into ears to demonstrate. "Once we've got their position we can proceed from there. Got any suggestions."

"Yes…" Nana replied. "They'll probably opt for hunkering down and running out the clock. In terms of raw combat power, we've got the upper hand, but their defensive capabilities and ability to stall us will prove troublesome. We'll want to try and rush them from two fronts. Momo's quirk is versatile but takes time, we can exploit that to take her down quirky before tag teaming Kirishima or just going for the bomb."

"So we stick together until we arrive at the room they're held up in and then split up from there." Mezo noted.

"Correct." Nana replied. "If all goes well this match will be ours."

"But no plan survives first contact with the enemy." He returned.

"Right you are." She expressed.

They stood in silence for a bit as they waited for the match to start.

"Out of curiosity why do you wear that mask?" Nana questioned.

"Oh, I made a little girl cry once when she saw my face. I don't like to cause people to feel sadness so I started wearing this to hide my face." He answered.

"Oh, that's kind of sad. Though it's nice to hear you're looking out for others in your own way." Nana replied with a smile.

Told ya. 'In my defense it does look cool.' Won't argue with that. Honestly he's pretty good looking with that on. 'What's this Izuku. Have you found your special someone.' Acknowledging another's attractiveness has nothing to do with being in love with them.

"Let the first match, BEGIN!" All Might announced.

"Here we go." Nana noted.

The duo walked into the building with Mezo taking the lead. He transformed parts of arms into ears to scout out the building. After a little bit, he morphed one into a mouth.

"They're on the fourth floor towards the northern center, it seems like your prediction was fairly accurate." He stated.

"I see, keep your ears out so we can hear if they suddenly decide to move." She whispered.

Mezo nodded. They run forward at a moderately fast pace. They continued down the hallway. As they ran, Nana noticed something. The hallway they were running down seemed to go on forever.

"Shoji stop." She ordered as she stopped running.

Her partner did so.

"Something's off." She noted.

They looked to see the hallway in front of them be twisted around. Their eyes were wide in shock.

"W-what's going on?" Mezo questioned.

"I don't know, but I don't like it." Nana answered. "All Mights not saying anything, though it's more likely we've been cut off from him somehow."

"So what do we do?" He asked.

"Only thing we can do, keep going forward." She answered.

She started walking forwards. While hesitant, Mezo decided to follow her. As they walked along the twisted walkway, they followed it's winding path. Yet they never fell, even as they walked along the ceiling. Eventually they came upon an exit, which led to a large room. They were upside down on a platform. They looked around to see walkways, platforms and stairs in strange positions and angles, like they were in an MC Escher painting. They looked all around

"What the hell." Mezo voiced.

"Look, I see Yaoyorozu and Kirishima." Nana pointed out.

She pointed to another with Momo, Eijiro, and the bomb. They were looking around as confused as Nana and Mezo. They were sideways yet didn't fall down.

"HEY GUYS UP HERE!" She shouted.

They turned to look up to see Nana waving at them.

"IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU GUYS ARE ALRIGHT!" She shouted.

"SAME TO YOU! ANY IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON!" Eijiro shouted back.

"NOT A CLUE!" Nana shouted back. "JUST HANG ON WE'RE GONNA MAKE OUR WAY OVER TO YOU!"

"MIDORIYA ABOVE YOU!" Mezo shouted.

"Huh?" She expressed.

She looked up to see a man in black cloths and black cape descending towards her at a rapid rate, blades ready to impale her.

A that's a wrap, hope it was worth the wait. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to get out. If you want me to be able to produce more content, please consider supporting me on subscribe star. (search zmanxv and the link is on my deviantart page). Til next time.