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Season One, Episode VI

The Next Step

. . .

Kaiji Adachi

. . .

"Mr. Aizawa!?" We all looked on in shock, as our teacher came through the door. But if it wasn't for the messy long hair and clothes, I don't think anyone would be able to tell it was him. Considering he was entirely encased in bandages from head to toe.

"Good afternoon." He greeted, carrying the same bored tone as always. Though it was slightly muffled now due to the bandages. "I went over the results of your combat training this morning, some of you performed better than expected," He turned sharp eyes onto me. "Some of you, performed exactly as expected." Okay, rude.

"Can we talk about the mummified elephant in the room." Suru questioned, crossing her arms. "What's up with the bandages? You even okay to teach?"

"Even on my worst day, I could handle you five," He answered bluntly, "But we don't have time to chitchat, we have important matters to discuss." He added, shaking his head. "You remember what I said before, about your evaluation at the end of the month? Well, plans have changed..."

Uh oh, "You aren't about to say our evaluation is getting moved up are you?" I asked worriedly.

"No, but after speaking with Principal Nezu, he's made a decision that I entirely agree with." Aizawa explained, "Originally, I was going to have you compete in the UA Sports Festival, however... After going over your records, and current test results, Principal Nezu has decided against that."

"What!?" Ryoko nearly shot up from her chair. "That's bullshit!"

"Please explain to me," He shot back a deadly glare at her, "Why would UA allow someone as rude and crass as you to represent our School during an event that millions will be watching?" His reply silenced her, Ryoko reverting to a low growl and simmer. I was upset too, but after how badly I got beaten yesterday... Maybe this was for the best. "You were too compete alongside the other classes, but as it stands, with the USJ attack, we want to show the world that we're strong and have capable young heroes on the rise."

"So what you're saying is," Suru chimed in, her voice sounding less playful than usual. "You don't want to mix the trash with the real students?"

Aizawa held her gaze for a moment, "To put it bluntly, yes... But there is another reason," He added quickly, "As it stands, the Class 1-Z program isn't public, nobody outside of UA and even most of the students here don't really know about this class, excluding your families of course." So we're UA's dirty little secret? "And while I'm very confident that some of you would perform exceptionally well during the Festival, people are here to see the Hero Course students and scout them... If you were to participate in the festival, and an Agency scouted you, well... They would find out that you aren't actually in line for a license, yet."

"And that would take away the opportunity from a real student." Sen surmised easily enough.

"Precisely."

"Alright..." Mako nodded slowly, "But then what is going to happen with our evaluation?"

"You'll be evaluated the week following the festival, so you've got extra time." Aizawa explained, "I suggest you use it wisely, now... For today we'll be hitting the gym." He stated simply, "Working on your physical prowess or expanding the use of your quirks, change into your uniforms and follow me..."

I understood why this was the decision, but... I still didn't like it.

And as I looked around at the dejected, frustrated faces of my classmates, I knew that they felt the same.

. . .

"Hold that form as long as you can," Aizawa ordered, "Expand your limits, fight through the pain, any injuries you sustain can be healed by Recovery Girl."

I was in agony, cringing and clenching everything as I tried desperately to keep my Croc form up. After a few minutes warming up, we moved on to Aizawa's real training for me. It had been nearly two minutes, double what I could handle normally. But I doubt I could actually sustain this in combat, I doubt I could even MOVE let alone fight right now. It was taking all my concentration and will power to not return to normal. While all around me inside the UA gym others were hard at work.

Ryoko was transformed as well nearby, forced to sustain it as well while she hammered away at a punching bag with two arms, the second pair curling dumbbells. She would often alternate between them but I could see she was starting to sweat. While Mako worked out his wings by hanging on to heavy weights and trying to maintain flight. At the same time, Suru was teleporting small objects around the room quickly.

And Sen was... Sitting there?

"Hey!" Ryoko seemed to notice as well, "Why the hell is she just sitting on her ass?" She demanded, not how I would have asked, but it got my question across. "You taking a nap, Sen!?"

But while Sen did not respond, Aizawa gave an answer. "It's called meditation, we're still trying to narrow down exactly what fuels Sen's Quirk, and focusing her thoughts and feelings through this activity is the best way." He explained, "Besides, as far as physical prowess goes she's in perfect health and at peak physical condition, while her fighting skills are also well above the rest of you."

Oh, the annoyance in Ryoko's eyes when he said that, it was almost funny. "You think so, huh?" She asked, voice dripping with venom.

"Yes, actually," Aizawa replied simply, "If she can figure out her Quirk, she'll likely rank top of the class without much effort."

At that moment, I saw one of Sen's eyes open, "Thank you, sir."

"If, she can remain focused, and figure out her quirk."

"R-Right, sorry sir..."

I couldn't take it any longer, finally collapsing onto my knees and shrinking down to my normal form. Gasping for breath, sucking air like a vacuum trying to get it together while my muscles cried in sweet relief that it was over. But even so, my everything hurt. "S-So was that good enough?" I asked, looking to Aizawa.

"It's a start, take five to recover and try again."

While he focused on the others, I dragged myself to a seat. Not that I had the power to climb into it, but I wanted something to lean on. Propping myself up against the chair, I looked over at Ryoko. She'd been silent since Aizawa's comments, but the pace at which her fists slammed the punching back was concerning. So, like the fool I am, I decided to offer my opinion.

"I wouldn't worry about Sen," I said simply, "I mean, I'm confident you could kick everyone else's ass so-"

"I don't care about wonder girl," She scoffed in response, never taking her eyes off the bag, "Its this stupid festival... We should be competing, it's not fair."

Ah, of course. "Yeah... I can't say I don't agree." I nodded, sighing, "But I understand why they're doing it."

"Yeah yeah, everyone has their reasons for being shitty." She grumbled, wincing in pain suddenly. She set aside the dumbbells, "Dammit... I want to compete, what the hell is even the point of all this if we can't compete?"

She was pretty torn up over this wasn't she? I wish I knew what to say, or do to help but-

"Adachi, on your feet, time to continue."

Oh god no, "Y-Yes sir..."

Right, I can worry about the festival later, for now there is only pain.

. . .

When I returned home later that night, the last thing I expected to find was a feast on the kitchen table. My mother wearing a proud grin as she stood before the plates of finely cooked foods. None of it made by her, I'm sure, but this all looked...

"You look beat," She noted, smile never faltering. "Take a seat and dig in!"

To which I tilted my head, "Mom... Where did you get all this?" I questioned, "It all looks so... Expensive!" And tasty, I couldn't resist approaching the table and taking a seat. My body aching with every step I took, Recovery Girl's treatment helped heal my torn muscles but I was still sore.

"I got a new job!" She exclaimed, taking her seat as well. "And that new job comes with a big paycheck!"

What? Really? "Whoa!" A big grin quickly forming on my face as well. "That's awesome! I didn't even know you were looking for another job."

"I wasn't, really." She shrugged, filling her plate as I did mine. "But the guy who owns our bar found out about some of my... Particular talents," Her smile faded ever so slightly, almost barely noticeable. "So, he offered me a new position as a body guard to his... Son? I think it's his son."

"So no more ridiculous, late hours?" I asked, resisting the urge to stuff my face as we spoke.

To which she nodded, "That's right! I've just got to get back into shape, but the paycheck is way more than I was making before." She took a quick swig of her water, before adding. "But enough about me, how is school going? You look exhausted, was training tough today?"

"Yeah, we started some kind of Quirk reinforcement training," I explained, finally starting to eat. "Mr. Aizawa is putting us through the ringer... Oh," Was it even worth mentioning? I guess there was no reason not to... "Also, the UA Sports Festival is at the start of next month."

"Hmm? Oh yeah, I heard about that on the news," She said, speaking through a mouthful. "Some people are pretty surprised they are going through with the Festival right after the attack." Neither of us have very good table manners, it seems.

"Gotta maintain a strong public image, I guess." I shrugged in response.

"So, will your class be competing too?"

Dammit, "Well... No," No point beating around the bush right? "But I do get free tickets for you and me-"

"Why the hell not?" She demanded, narrowing her eyes. "Is this because you aren't real students?"

"I-I mean, sort of?" It was for a lot of reasons, "B-But also because the point of the Festival is to get agencies to scout students... And because of our unique situation, we can't be scouted so-"

"So even though you might kick the asses of some other, real students," What is it with people interrupting me today? "You can't compete because it's bad for the business, basically."

I needed to put out this fire before she did something like complain to the school, "Look, Mom, it's fine really," I assured, forcing a smile. "I don't think I'm ready anyways..."

"And if UA keeps doing shit like this, you never will be." Ouch, I wonder if everyone else's parents responded this poorly to the news.

An uneasy silence settled in between us, as we continued eating. After I finished stuffing my face, I got up and began taking dishes to the nearby sink. "I'm pretty tired, I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Right, sleep tight." She replied, giving me a hug before letting me take off.

I took my things back to my bedroom, setting them aside while thinking about the Festival. It was hard to argue that we weren't being treated unfairly, but maybe I was just being childish. Most of their reasons were sound, but still...

"There isn't any way to fit us in?" I muttered, pulling the information on the festival from my bag. Just a few papers detailing the event, what would be going on and times of certain events. Of course, most of the main events were left in mystery as they'd be decided at the Festival itself. But they still had a general layout for the schedule. I was reading through it idly, not really sure what I was looking for.

When the answer came to me, as I looked upon the schedule. My eyes lighting up, an epiphany striking me in that instant.

"Oh my god... That's it!"

. . .

It took all my nerve not to leave for school early the next day. And by the time my train arrived at the station, I began sprinting all the way to UA. My tired muscles healed overnight, and I was riding the high of excitement thanks to the answer I'd come across. I didn't even go to class, I made a direct line for the Principal's office, earning strange looks from every teacher and student I blew past.

"Excuse me? Principal Nezu?" I asked, knocking on the door loudly, paper clenched firmly in hand.

"Yes? Please come in!" I heard a small voice from the other side.

I pushed the door open and stepped through, "Principal Nezu! My name is Kaiji Adachi from class-" My words caught in my throat, as I laid eyes upon our... Mascot? A small, white furry animal wearing a suit. And he was... Sitting in the Principal's chair, "Uh... Principal Nezu?"

"That's me!" He greeted with a smile, "And I am well aware of who you are, but I would like to know why you've come barging into my office, isn't your class starting soon?"

"I-It is," Shaking off my shock and focusing on the task at hand. "But I need to talk to you about the Festival!"

"Ah yes, I figured those in your class would be upset," He replied with a small sigh while bringing a tiny tea-cup to his mouth. "I am sorry, but there is no way we can work you into an event with the other students."

"But what if it wasn't with the other students?!" My words seemed to give him pause, the Principal lowering his cup and giving me a quizzical look. "What if it was an event that just involved our class?"

"..." He seemed to consider it for a moment, "Explain."

I quickly unfolded the paper and set it on the desk, showing the schedule. "Mr. Aizawa said the reason we can't compete, is because we'd be taking spotlight off the other real hero course students during the main events, so don't put us in the main events!" I planted a finger firmly on the paper, "There is a single timeslot, where nobody is competing and no major events are happening!"

He looked where my finger was pointing, and blinked in surprise. "How very interesting..."

"It's perfect, right?" I questioned, pulling my hand away from the paper. "After the first two events, there's an hour long intermission before the final event," I explained, "And we don't even need the full hour, just give us the last thirty minutes." My master plan, it seemed sound enough but it all hinged on him. "Just a small window, to show what we can do..." We didn't need to get scouted, or get praise. "Even if we aren't named, or presented as available students... Just give us a chance to prove to the world-" And ourselves. "That we belong at UA too!"

Nezu stared at the paper for a long time, and honestly I was afraid he might reject the idea. But... Even if he did, at least I could return to class knowing I'd done everything I could to try and make this happen. "Well well well," Luckily, I wouldn't need to. "It seems we underestimated just how spirited your class is," A smile returning to his face as he looked back at me. "Yes, I think this will do just fine, you've made your case and I like this idea!"

A massive grin spread across my face, as the tension lifted from my shoulders. "R-Really?"

"Yes, absolutely," He confirmed with a nod, "I will speak with your teacher about this, but you should convene with the others in your class and figure out what the event shall be."

I bowed my head to him, "Thank you so much, Principal Nezu, I promise we'll make the most of this chance!"

And just like that, I'd laid the groundwork... Now all that needed to be done, was make sure we could all put on a good show.