Chapter Nine
New Beginnings
Momo was used to seeing one person, early in the morning. That one person being Shoto Todoroki. While she knew that Iida woke up earlier than any of them, he tended to stay in his room for a few hours, and the rest of the class woke up at around eight. Momo and Shoto would usually leave their rooms at around six, Momo going downstairs to start breakfast, and Shoto usually doing exercises while no one was around to see, save her.
He was polite to her, though he wasn't much of a talker. She'd wish him a good morning and he would answer with a nod, which was something. Still, she was glad to share the space with someone, as antisocial as they may be.
Today, though, there was someone else.
At the kitchen table, sitting behind a veritable mountain of papers and notebooks, was Izuku Midoriya. He wrote intensively on his current sheet of paper, not seeming aware that anyone else had come down yet. His green hair was more of a mess than it normally was, and she held in a chuckle at the sight of a pencil tangled in his locks.
"Good morning, Midoriya," she said, with a smile. The boy flinched a bit, startled from his thoughts.
"O-Oh, good morning, Yaoyarozu," he replied after a moment, returning her grin.
"That's quite a bit of work you've got there. I recognize some of the papers. Is this catch-up material?" She asked. "I could help you, if you need it."
"Thank you, but no, I need to learn to do it myself. So far it hasn't been too bad, I'm about halfway through," he said, nonchalantly.
"Already? When did you start? That's an entire month's worth of classwork."
"I started last night at around six and worked till midnight, then woke up at four and have been working since," Izuku shrugged. "Honestly, the bulk of the material has been hero stuff, based mostly around analytical thinking and decision-making. I've always liked that kinda stuff. The rest is gonna take longer, though. I've never been very good at math."
Momo blinked. She'd worried about him keeping up… had she underestimated him?
"Well, I'm glad to hear that the transition hasn't been too rough on you. Are you liking things, thus far? I know you haven't had too long to adjust…" She trailed off, leaving him to answer.
"I haven't been here long, but UA definitely lives up to its reputation! I'm ready to learn as much as I can about how to be a hero!" The boy answered, gaining a great deal of enthusiasm before turning toward the window, seeing the rising sun.
"Yaoyorozu?"
"Hmm?"
"What time is it?"
"...Six-thirty. Why do you ask?"
The boy seemed to turn pale, suddenly breaking off into a run, muttering about being late.
"Wait! Your schoolwork…" Momo trailed off, realizing he was out of earshot. She sighed goodnaturedly, collecting his things for him, ready to carry them up to his room for him.
She was unaware of the heterochroma haired boy who had been sitting around the corner of the room, listening intently.
Shoto was… frustrated, angry, and yet… he didn't know why.
"I'msosorryIwaslateAllMightIgotcaughtupdoingschoolworkanddidn'trealizehowmuchtimehadpassedI'msorryforwastingyourtime…!" The muttering continued for quite some time, All Might watching, a bemused expression on his weakened form.
"Relax, kid. It's okay, you've got a lot of work to do, I get that. Honestly, I'm impressed you're here so early anyways," All Might said, the early sun casting Gym Beta in a golden glow. Slowly, his amused expression fell from his face.
"Listen, I've been wanting to talk to you," that got the kid to shut up, the change in the Pro's tone being drastic.
"W-what about?" Izuku asked, nervously. All Might let out a tired sigh.
"I wanted to apologise. I wronged you, regardless of whether or not you see it that way. I just… want you to know that you have agency in this. You're under no obligation to continue on this path. Consider this your exit ramp, as it were, if you would like to do just that," All Might said, his voice staying low.
"No, I… I want this. I want to be the Number One, the next Symbol, if you think I can do it," Izuku answered, his voice filled with a quiet resolve.
"...Well, I think you're more than capable of it," All Might replied. "Just… I don't want to force my own fate on you."
"You aren't forcing anything on me!" Izuku's retort was loud, nearly a shout. "I'm… I'm here because I want to be. You and Mr. Aizawa, you gave me purpose… it isn't something I had before… before that day." All Might nodded solemnly.
"I'm sorry for that fact, kid. You deserved more from life." Toshinori knelt before his successor, meeting him at eye level as he slapped a hand on his shoulder. "But you're here now, and you've got people in your corner. Don't forget that."
Before the boy could respond, or begin to tear up, All Might slapped his hands together as he stood straight. "Okay! How's it gone with your quirks?"
Izuku thought for a moment. "Well… One For All has definitely impacted Lazarus. My luck with the fire is… spotty, it's hardly reliable. Telepathy has come much easier to me, I can lift around five hundred pounds or so."
All Might nodded, thinking to himself. Makes sense he would struggle with flames, given his past. "You haven't tried to use One For All itself yet, have you?"
"No sir," he answered. Toshinori nodded.
"Good. The blowback of my quirk can be… intense, especially if your body isn't ready for it. If you were to use it as you are, you'd probably break every bone you have.." Izuku's eyes widened a moment, but he understood.
"So… I have to work harder than anyone else here, both to catch up and to prepare my body for One For All…" he said, trailing off.
"Now you're getting it! Now, go get changed. You and I are gonna start doing some workouts! Normally, I'd use a ten-month plan, but you aren't in bad shape as is. Still… it's going to be hard, kid. The normal plan I use calls for ten months of extreme physical exercise. For where you are, I'd change it to be about five months but…" Toshinori took in a deep breath. "We're essentially going to be doing five months of intense exercise in the span of a single month. This, uh… this might be the hardest month of your life, physically speaking. Think you're up for it?"
Izuku had blanched a bit, the sheer weight of what he'd gotten himself into finally kicking in. Then he smiled.
"I'm ready for anything!"
It was ten o'clock when Tomura stumbled down the stairs. He found Ikarusu waiting on him, smoking as he always was, leaning against the bar.
"Mornin', brat," Tomura scoffed at his greeting.
"Those'll kill you, y'know," he responded, pointing toward the cigarette. Ikarusu chuckled dryly, much to Tomura's annoyance.
"Trust me, kid. These killing me are my last concern," he said, blowing another puff of smoke. They stood in silence for a few moments, Tomura out of spite, Ikarusu out of a lack of interest. Their one-sided tension was cut off by the sound of a warpgate.
From the black matter of Kurogiri's quirk, a man emerged before Kurogiri himself took shape next to him.
"I've brought him, as per your request, sir," The warpgate user said attentively. Ikarusu stood straight up, assessing the new stranger.
"Not bad. I'm honestly kinda impressed," he said, with a smirk. "I know how hard my guy can be to locate, and it only took you a few hours. Good shit."
"Who is this guy?" Tomura asked, ever impatient. The stranger turned to regard him, blond hair shooting in multiple directions, his blue eyes brimming with a certain… sadness.
"Forgive me, Mr. Shigaraki," the man said, politely and kindly. "I didn't intend to show up unannounced, but I was told that I was needed."
Tomura furrowed his brows, before turning questioningly toward Ikarusu. "Why is he here?"he asked.
"This is Akari Nakamura, though you may know him as Kaiho," despite himself, Tomura's eyes widened.
"This guy is Kaiho?! The media thinks Kaiho is a terrorist organization! So many people killed, and you're telling me it was all one person?!" Tomura had grown in volume.
"Well, in the interest of fairness, I usually gave him the place. The destruction, though, the devastation… that's all his glory to claim," Ikarusu explained. Tomura turned back to find Akari's eyes were downcast.
"Just… tell me what you need, Ikarusu," Akari said, quietly.
"You, my friend, are after the grand prize. You are going to show up at the UA sports festival," Ikarusu said, a cruel smirk to his features. The room fell silent for a moment.
"You… want to attack UA? You gave me so much crap for my plan falling apart, how is this any better?!" Tomura asked.
"Because, we're going to coordinate. C'mon, kid, I give you shit but you aren't stupid. You got this guy's quirk figured out?" Ikarusu asked.
"People thought that Kaiho was a… terrorist group started by quirkless individuals. Kaiho literally translates to Liberation, and them being quirkless makes sense, given how they carried out their transgressions," Shigaraki reasoned. "They're known for using bombs, big, deadly ones. They were smart about how they did it, positioning it where no cameras would see, though how they got the bombs there in the first place was a mystery. Most suspected it was a quirk at use, but…"
Tomura turned toward Akari. "There were no bombs, were there? Your quirk creates explosions, doesn't it?"
Ikarusu nodded, impressed. "Good analysis, kid. Foster that talent, it'll help you out a lot. Our esteemed guest here has a quirk called Devastation. More or less, he blows himself up."
"And these explosions, they don't hurt you?" Tomura asked Akari.
"They do. It… I… I'm only useful as a car bomb, I'm afraid," he said, eyes still cast downward.
"Akari is a bit hard on himself. Whenever he explodes, it tends to put him out of commission for a while, but you've seen the aftereffects!" Ikarusu said, sucking in a breath of his cigarette. "Entire buildings, obliterated. Frankly, we have no idea what his upper limits are capable of. The boss figures that he could hypothetically become a nuke, if he were willing to die for it."
"I see…" Tomura said, piecing things together. "If you have him detonate in the middle of the Sports Fest, everyone will know Kaiho is just one man. Is it worth the risk?" Again, the cocky, cruel smirk.
"This is a multi-layered plan, and multifaceted in its purpose," Ikarusu said. He held up his index finger.
"One, we can kill that brat Izuku Midoriya, and probably take down several other future heroes with him."
Then came his middle finger.
"Two, it can be nigh instantaneous. We warp him in, he goes boom, we warp him out. While he'll be exposed to the media, we don't risk losing him, especially with the chaos that'll follow."
His ring finger.
"Three, the Sports Fest is one of the single-most televised events on the planet. The Fest extends far beyond Japan, people from the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, they all tune in for this. Such a big attack… it'll send reverberations throughout all the world."
His pinky.
"Four, and perhaps most important, UA's reputation will forever be tarnished. Considering just how televised this event is, everyone will see UA's greatest failure. Regardless of whether or not it's their fault, you can count on a significant number of people blaming the school. You had the right idea, Tomura, when you went after UA directly, but this is the… better way to do it."
A part of Tomura seethed, but he realized that he had to bide his time, to work with this upstart… and the plan wasn't bad.
"Fine, what do you need from me?" He asked.
"I want you to look into the Sports Festival. Use your spy, as best you can, and find out what the plans are. I want to use Nakamura here only with the knowledge that it'll kill the Midoriya kid, but I'd like to put that off as much as we can. If possible, I'm hoping Midoriya gets to the final sixteen for the one on one tournaments, and then we'll know when to use Nakamura. So have your spy keep a close eye on the wonder kid, have him report how he's doing," Ikarusu explained. Shigaraki scoffed.
"The brat only just got his quirk recently, and you think he can come out at the top of the Sports Festival hosted by the most prestigious hero academy on the planet?" He asked, incredulous. "He probably won't make it past the first round!"
Ikarusu sighed, putting out his cigarette in the ashtray. He then unbuttoned his long coat, and pulled up his undershirt to reveal…
He had a massive scar, one that took up most of the right side of his chest. It looked like a bad burn. A really, really bad burn.
"Hisashi Midoriya had Fire Breath as his quirk. Sounds weak, and not particularly impressive, right? A one trick pony…" he let his shirt fall back down over his chest. "I underestimated him, and it cost me badly. I tore one of his arms off, and he still kept fighting, you know that? Don't underestimate a Midoriya, unless you want to meet a similar fate."
Tomura scoffed again, taking out his phone to message his contact. "I'd still be surprised if the kid survived his first day."
Izuku was barely surviving.
It was finally lunch, the first classes of the day had been truly grueling. Especially given that every muscle in his body ached from the intense workout he had been through. And he has to do this every single day for a month! Well… save Sunday, at least.
Still, despite the ache of his body, he felt good, accomplished. He found himself looking forward to the training with All Might he'd be having after school as well. And, as an added benefit, he was starving by the time lunch rolled around, which led to him packing away far more food than he normally would.
"Ah, Midoriya," the formal voice of their class rep rang out. Tenya Iida froze for a minute, seeing how Izuku hungrily wolfed down his lunch. Ochako soon came behind him, also catching sight of her friend's appetite. She smiled fondly.
"Those extra workouts with Mr. Yagi must be pretty intense, huh?" She asked, taking a seat beside the boy, who nodded solemnly.
"It's unlike anything I've been through before…" He responded, an ominous note to his voice. Ochako chuckled lightheartedly, as Tenya took a seat across from them.
"Be sure to pace yourself, Midoriya," Iida said, gesturing toward him. "While your hard work is admirable and imperative, you must be certain as to not neglect your own health."
"I will be!" He chimed happily. "Thanks, Iida!" The class rep nodded respectfully.
"Hey, Midoriya!" a loud voice called out to them. The trio turned to find Ashido walking over to them with the majority of their classmates in tow.
"We wanted to check up on you, see how your first day's been going so far," Kirishima explained, sitting down to the side of the boy, opposite of Ochako. The rest of their classmates seated themselves around the table.
"It's been going well, thank you!" He said. "You all really came just to check?"
"Of course!" Kaminari piped up. "1-A's a family, after all."
"There were some we couldn't get to show up, though…" Kirishima said. "Bakugo is just being a bit moody, and Todoroki is aloof at the best of times, don't take it personally.
"I notice Mineta isn't here, either," Ochako added, trying not to be offended. Though she couldn't claim to like the purple-haired boy much, she wanted Izuku to see how many people were there for him.
"Well, I knocked on his door and uh… heard noises…" Jiro said, looking as though she'd be sick.
"That perv!" Hagakure yelled out. "He really is just the worst, isn't he?"
"Now, Hagakure," Iida responded firmly. "While I have a… distaste for his actions, he is still a fellow classmate, one that we should endeavor to lift u-"
"You hate him, don't you?" Ochako asked, a sly smile playing on her lips. Iida could be surprisingly convincing when he needed to be, but she could usually see through him fairly well.
"I…" he trailed off, as the class began to chuckle.
"But anyway, Midoriya, what kinda training regimen are you being put through?" Kirishima asked.
"Hell."
The class was quiet for a moment, clearly no one expecting those words from the boy. A few began to chuckle, Kaminari finally speaking up.
"Oh c'mon, it's only your first day! What's the worst they'd put you thr-"
The intensity of Izuku's gaze cut the electric blond off.
"Hell."
Now the class laughed louder, mostly at Kaminari's expense. Kirishima threw an arm around Midoriya's shoulder, the smaller boy clearly not expecting the action.
"Man, Midoriya, you're funnier than I expected!"
Izuku turned his gaze to the redhead, narrowing his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?" Kirishima just smirked at him.
"I mean, let's be honest here, you were kind of a stuttering mess at the hospital," Midoriya's face turned red immediately. "Seriously, it sounded like you'd never spoken to another person before!"
"I-I-I me-mean…" Izuku trailed off, muttering nonsense.
"Yeah! Just like that!" Kirishima laughed goodnaturedly.
"Told you, Toru. He's a cutie," Ashido whispered to Hagakura quietly.
"I know!" the invisible girl responded, repressing a squeal. "He's so adorable!"
The girls were careful not to be heard, and quiet, but not so quiet that a certain brunette failed to hear.
Ochako found it annoying, though it was hard for her to pinpoint why. Jealousy?
No, no… well, maybe. Or maybe she was just being territorial over her friend, just because she was the first to get to know him?
She went with that, pointedly ignoring the fact that Kirishima's arm being around Izuku hadn't bothered her in the slightest.
Shota watched as class 1-A filed in for their last, and longest class of the day. Heroics.
They were buzzing with more energy than normal, the reason being immediately obvious. The class seemed to have taken a liking to the young Izuku Midoriya. Earlier that day in homeroom, Izuku had drawn a great deal of attention to himself, being drenched in sweat that his school uniform did little to hide. It seemed Toshinori really was putting the kid through the ringer.
Despite the certain hell of a morning the boy had, he was beaming throughout all of homeroom. Hard to believe this was the same kid who had nothing a few weeks prior. Shota repressed a smile of his own. Izuku had a certain drive to him, that much was certain.
Shota cleared his throat, the class instantly ceasing their conversations.
They're starting to get pretty good about that, Shota said, remembering how they used to talk over him.
"Listen, there was something we mentioned briefly during homeroom that I want to go into further detail with," the class watched him with rapt attention.
"The UA Sports Festival is a month away."
Shota watched as the class reacted to this news. Earlier that day, he'd told them that it would be coming soon, but now they found out it was only a month from now.
Some, such as Kirishima and Bakugo, relished this opportunity to prove themselves, though in different ways, and the blond being much more… verbose.
Others, namely Ashido, looked forward to the chance to stand out.
A few, though, were concerned, Aizawa could tell.
"Mr. Aizawa?" Ochako continued after her teacher's nod. "Is it really the best decision to be doing this so soon after the attack?"
"That's a fair point, Uraraka," Shota said, before sighing deeply. "To be completely honest, I don't think the festival should be held this year, or at the very least, it should be delayed a few months, but… the school wants to show that they're still strong in the face of adversity, and there is roughly triple the security detail in comparison to last year's. Even if there were to be an attack, with so many pros, including All Might himself, the school expects there to be no bloodshed, and the sheer number is expected to dissuade any such attack from happening in the first place."
Ochako nodded, but still looked worried. She'd come so close to meeting her end during the last attack, the thought of a second genuinely scared her.
"Now, as I'm sure you know," Shota continued, "the Festival is watched closely, by all hero agencies in Japan and across the world. Normally, the main focus would be on the third years, as this is their last chance and they're the most developed in their journeys to become heroes, but this year is looking to be quite a bit different."
Shota shot a look at Izuku, in his desk beside Uraraka, making eye contact. "Being frank, the media is still talking about the Hero of Embers. We've avoided making your attendance to UA known, in the attempt to help you adjust to life here as best you can, but…"
"The second they see me, they'll recognize me," Izuku concluded. Shota nodded.
"As soon as you set foot on that field, Midoriya, the spotlight will be shone directly on you. You're very likely to make the First Year portion of the Festival the most viewed, due to just how much fame you've already amassed," Shota said, watching the boy's shoulders tense. He also noted the looks in the other students' eyes.
Bakugo was seething, making his distaste for Izuku more clear by the second. Todoroki looked as though he would challenge the greenette any moment (Shota avoided saying it, but the son of the Number Two was sure to draw even more attention to his class).
He saw in Ochako's eyes the look of determination. Determined to win, to see her friend win, to advance. She was not lacking at all in spirit.
But what Shota noticed a great deal of was pity. Many of the students looked at Izuku as though he were a dead man walking, already writing him off.
They're doubting him, he realized.
He supposed it made sense. At this point, Izuku was largely an unknown quantity to them. They may have seen his incredible feat of power, but he had been practically unconscious, and his powers didn't seem quiet as powerful now. This, in addition to the fact that he was far behind his peers due to his delayed admission, they'd already accepted his loss as inevitable.
They underestimated him. With good reason, yes, but still.
Underestimating a potential opponent will get one killed, in this line of work.
And like that, Shota had an idea.
"Midoriya may have a spotlight on him, but that doesn't mean the rest of you can't make a name for yourselves. Keep training, work hard, and show them you belong at UA."
"Yes sir!"
Shota nodded, his idea forming into a plan.
"Now," he said, continuing with the lesson for the day, "how to use environments to enhance your movement…"
The moment Izuku walked through the door of Heights Alliance, he bolted up the stairs, leaving the rest of his class watching his retreating form.
"Little guy's got some pep in his step… wonder what that's about?" Kaminari asked.
"He's probably exhausted," Ochako answered. "Plus, he still has his mountain of catch-up work." Kaminari nodded understandingly.
"Man, the school really set him up to fail," Mineta commented, drawing a few glances. "What? I mean, they didn't tell the media anything about him, so now they have this hyped up image of him and are probably going to expect him to do super well when, let's be honest, he's kind of an easy out."
"You saw what he did to that big ugly guy," Ochako defended. "That thing destroyed Mr. Aizawa with a single punch! He was supposed to be All Might level, and De-.. Midoriya nearly took him out single handedly!"
"...I hate to agree with Mineta on anything," Jiro said, distastefully, "but he is several weeks behind the rest of us, and his power isn't as great as it had been that day, y'know? I wouldn't say he's an 'easy out', but it'll be hard for him to live up to the insane image the media have of him."
"That's a valid point. Every news outlet has heralded him as the boy with the power of a god. I think that would be impossible for anyone to live up to, much less someone at such a severe disadvantage," Yaoyarozu added.
"He can do it, I kno-"
"You all would be better off worrying about your own standings," Todoroki said gruffly, cutting Ochako off. He shouldered his way through the class, walking for the stairs. "If you worry so much about just one person, you'll be blind to the real threats."
Everyone in the class fell silent as Todoroki left. After a moment, Kirishima turned to Katsuki.
"Hey, you knew him, what's your opin-"
"He doesn't matter."
That got Katsuki a few looks. It was Tenya who first spoke up,
"Bakugo that is not an appropr-"
"He doesn't matter. He's still just a little kid dreaming about the impossible. You all coddling him only reinforces his own suicidal notions. If he dies, you'll be to blame as much as he is."
With that, Katsuki trudged away, leaving the class in the second long silence of the afternoon.
This one wouldn't be broken.
Izuku came down the stairs at four in the morning, thankfully at least getting six hours of sleep the night before. He was already dressed in his exercise outfit, and was ready for the arduous task ahead of him. He grabbed a water bottle, remembering disappointedly that he wouldn't be meeting with All Might this morning. He sighed, but got ready to leave.
Just to find someone waiting for him at the door.
"Hey, Deku!" Ochako said, fondly.
"U-Uraraka?" He asked, surprised. She was wearing gym shorts and a t-shirt, with her hair tied up and out of her face, and it looked as though she'd been waiting on him. "What are you doing up?"
"You're gonna be working so hard, I figured you could use the company?" She said, trying to make it clear that she was asking permission.
"Oh, uh… sure, yeah!" He said, giving her a soft smile that she returned graciously.
They fell into step together, headed for Gym Beta to do some warm ups, the pre-dawn air still being rather warm for this time of year.
"I will warn you, Uraraka…" Izuku began. "This regimen is… pretty intense." She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Oh, is it? You think I'm too fragile to keep up?" She said, her voice low. "Kinda sexist, Midoriya."
"W-what?! N-n-no, I would nev-! I…! I don't-!" His rambling was cut off by her laugh, despite how much she tried to hold it in. He stopped walking, watching as she doubled over, holding her sides, her face turning red from laughter.
"S-sorry, Deku!" She managed to get out, though her continued laughter made her apology much less genuine. "You're just… too easy!"
Izuku sighed with exasperation, though he couldn't keep the smile from coming to his face as he continued walking. "I won't lie, I feel kind of… exploited at the moment."
She caught up to him, giving him a playful shove. "Ah c'mon, man up. I was just teasin' ya!"
"'Man up'? Because men aren't allowed to have feelings?" He sighed, trying his best to sound disappointed. "Kinda sexist, Uraraka."
"Hey! That's my joke! Come up with your own!"
"Come up with a better one!"
"So you can steal that one too?!"
"Obviously!"
The two fell quiet, both chuckling for a moment as they continued their trek, now in a comfortable silence.
"So," Ochako spoke up, "are you excited for the Festival? A fanboy like you, I'm sure you'll love seeing all those Pros up close."
He leveled a narrowed gaze at her. "I haven't even shown my fanboy side to you yet."
"Deku, the day we first met you spent the whole night talking about how cool All Mi-"
"I was in a raw place, okay?
"Sure thing, fanboy."
He smiled at their banter, but it slowly faded, his face turning pensive.
"If we're being honest, I'm more excited to see everyone's quirks first-hand. I… used to take notes on quirks, especially pros. I stopped doing it for a while, all of my notebooks sorta got… destroyed," he winced, trying not to bring his mind to that awful fire. "But now, I'm probably gonna get back into the habit of doing it.
Ochako smiled at him. "You should, Deku! You had a ton of insight about my quirk and it only took you a few minutes. I'd say that you still have a pretty great talent for it!"
"Thanks, Uraraka," he said, his tone grateful. But to Ochako, something was off. There was an… insecurity to his voice.
"Deku?" She asked softly, getting his attention. "Everything okay?"
He furrowed his brows. He hadn't said or done anything to give the impression that anything was awry… she really did have a gift for reading people, he realized.
"It's just…" he took a breath in. "I'm excited for the Sports Festival, but I can't help but a part of me is pretty… stressed out."
"I'd be worried if you weren't, at least a little."
"Yeah. I dunno… It's just that…" He sighed, words failing him.
"You may have a strong quirk, but you're at a pretty distinct disadvantage compared to us," she said, bluntly. "I don't know how much you've read, but the media is kinda making you out to be this… mystery savior, hyping you up to an unrealistic standard."
"I wish they wouldn't," his reply was soft. "I dunno, I can already feel the weight of their expectations, and the spotlight isn't even on me yet."
Ochako nodded her understanding. "It's unfair of them. They're going to be expecting All Might part two, it feels like."
"Yeah. I wish I could be that, but I'm not. Not yet, anyway," he said, his tone dimming substantially. "And… I know that the class doesn't think I'm up to the task. They haven't said anything to me directly, but I know the looks in their eyes. Makes sense, I suppose."
At this, Ochako stopped walking for a moment, making Izuku turn to face her.
"Everything okay?" He asked, concern in his voice. She fixed him with a look he had yet to see from her. A look of pride.
"You're right. Our classmates don't think you can do it," she stated. "Don't misunderstand, they all like you, and have every ounce of faith in you becoming a great hero, but right now, in this situation… they're doubting you. So what are you gonna do about it?"
She held eye contact with him throughout a very long silence.
"I… I don't…" he didn't quite know what to say to her. Didn't know what she wanted to hear. Apparently it wasn't that.
She marched forward, eyes blazing, enough to make Izuku clamp his eyes shut and flinch. A moment passed, before he felt her nudge his shoulder with her fist. He opened his eyes to find her smiling at him, the expression seeming so bright in the dark early morning.
"Prove them wrong, Deku. Show them who you are."
Her words started to unravel a knot in his stomach, but the insecurity still lingered.
"And if… if who I am isn't good enough for them?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Then screw them. It's good enough for me." She maintained eye contact for a brief moment, before slapping him on the shoulder lightly. "Now, c'mon! We've got some exercising to get to!"
With that, she started marching forward energetically, leaving her greenhaired friend staring at her as he stood, dumbfounded. Slowly, a smile came to his face, and a warmth to his chest.
Thank you, Uraraka, he thought, as he jogged to catch up to his closest friend.
Shota looked over his class, pleased to see everyone already seated. 1-A was proving to be rather well-behaved, when they wanted to be.
"Good afternoon," he said, gruffly, to which the class repeated.
"Mr. Aizawa?" Kirishima raised his hand. "Why did you have us bring our costumes?"
It wasn't often that Shota Aizawa smiled, and the class knew that it was a bad omen.
"We're going to be heading toward one of the training grounds, the mock city," he said. "Today's lesson; Fighting at a Disadvantage."
Some murmurs spread through the class. That title alone sounded rather intimidating.
"It's a fact of heroism," Shota began, the class hushing, "sometimes, you're gonna go against a villain who is more powerful than you, or more skilled. You might be outnumbered, and all of the odds may be against you. The hard truth is, heroes rarely get to be the deciding force as to when and where a battle takes place and against whom, the odds will rarely be on your side."
"As such, it is crucial that heroes in training learn how to combat those bad odds, how to make the best out of whatever the situation at hand is. Today, the lecture will occur after the exercise. I want to see where you all stand, and give you some first-hand experience with the topic before teaching you about it," he said, his eyes traveling the room.
"In this simulation, there will be two teams, one comprised of fifteen members, the other composed of five," this got some of the students' eyes to bulge. "Each team will be led by a captain, and the objective is to capture or incapacitate the captain of the opposing team. Obviously, the team of five is at an overwhelming disadvantage, but this is by no means impossible. Remember that."
A small part of Shota found amusement in the obvious nervousness of the class. "The teams are determined by the captain of Team Two, the one at disadvantage. Whoever the captain doesn't pick will become Team One," Upon saying this, he pulled two tophats out from his desk, each filled with names, one labeled Team One, the other Team Two.
"The captain of Team One…" he reached into the hat, digging around through the papers for a moment. "Katsuki Bakugo." The blond smirked confidently.
"The captain of Team Two…" Another pregnant silence.
"Izuku Midoriya."
Some of you may have noticed the difference in the seating chart.
Basically, Midoriya sits where Sato does in canon, between Uraraka and Todoroki. Not a major change, and it mostly serves the purpose of solidifying their friendship.
I want to make a few notes.
-Ikarusu isn't replacing Shigaraki as the main antagonist. The way I'd describe it… if All For One is to Tomura what All Might is to Izuku, then think of Ikarusu as being the Aizawa.
-As said before, Midoriya might have a greater deal of power than he did at this point canonically, but this won't be a cakewalk. He'll still have to face failure, and quite a bit of it, in order to become the hero he strides to be.
-Likewise, expect Uraraka to play a much more significant role in fights than she does in canon. I love her character, and this is an opportunity for me to make her badass. That said, she will face a great deal of failure as well.
-In case it hasn't become apparent, failure will be a running theme.
-This was a nice, slice of life chapter, mostly, and I very much enjoyed writing it, but make no mistake. Bad things are on the horizon.
-Regarding the last chapter, I will leave it up to your interpretation.
-Finally, I want to address a comment I got long ago by bens6757, wherein they told me to avoid angst, stating that "many people lean way too hard on it." And I honestly agree with that statement, and they have a very valid point, but I do want to make it known now that this will be a story of highs and lows. Midoriya's gonna be put through the emotional ringer, but I feel it's important. I think, more than anything else, I view this as a story of perseverance through adversity. It's worth mentioning that I started this story not long after being diagnosed with cancer, and in the end, I wanted to write a story about victory in the face of an unwinnable situation. So yes, there will be moments you could consider angst, but think of is as a part of that bigger picture.
-And again, thank all of you for your support. I didn't imagine so many people would enjoy this so much, and to see it is humbling. Stay safe, and God bless.
