Hello all, and welcome to chapter six! Wannabe Heroes is now up to 27 followers, which makes me feel so happy and grateful that I could combust. "Presidents and Traditions" received 3 reviews, which is a top for me right now! I would like to thank F.B.100 for their insightful review, as well as HogwartsGraduate for theirs! And as always, thank you so much to M for your continuous support.
Chapter Six: The Costume Parade
Koharu could practically taste the excitement in the air as her class marched towards their first lesson in Hero training— for real this time, not some shitty psychological warfare like Shouta had provided the day before. Uraraka chattered eagerly beside her, hanging off of Koharu's arm like she was worried she might start to float in her excitement.
It was something she remembered her father doing as well.
"Y'know, Uraraka," said Koharu, interrupting the girl at her first pause for breath. "I'm really excited to see you in action. I bet that you're really strong."
Uraraka's cheeks, a permanent shade of pink, darkened even more as she gave Koharu a pleased smile. "I bet that you're really strong too, Koharu. Let's do our best today!" Her eyes slid closed, beaming brightly towards Koharu like the sunshine she was. "And I'm excited to see your Quirk, too!"
It wasn't on purpose, but Koharu's Quirk had yet to come out to the class. Unlike a grand majority of them, her Quirk wasn't able to help her at all during the physical tests— those she had to get by with her kickass determination and fitness enthusiasm alone. When the girls had retreated to the locker room, eagerly talking about and complimenting each other's' Quirks, Koharu just got so caught up in observation that she forgot to partake. And then when they realized Koharu had kept quiet and Mina made such a ruckus about it, she couldn't help but enjoy the mystery of it all. The drama.
"What's the big deal about Quirks?" asked Koharu with a pronounced shrug of her shoulders. "I'm not that interested."
"But Koharu—" interrupted Tsuyu, having overheard the two girls as they were all walking the same way. "—you seemed really interested in our Quirks yesterday."
"Yeah!" And there was Mina again, falling perfectly into step and speaking loud enough to catch a few more eyes. "And I saw you taking notes about Kirishima's Quirk this morning!"
Well, Koharu was about ready to curl up and die. Her face flushed the same bright red as Kirishima's hair as the boy turned around at his name, now interested in the conversation if it involved him. Koharu tried to stutter together an explanation. "I— uh, that's actually—"
Yeah, she was drawing a blank. There weren't a lot of ways around that one.
"She chose the right guy to take notes about!" said Kirishima with a thumb jabbed to his bare chest, saving her from replying. His pointy teeth were bared in a grin. "I really impressed you, right, Koharu?"
"Of course," Koharu quickly replied despite the deep blush that still covered her face and disappeared into the wrappings around her neck. "Everyone did."
"Did you take notes about me too, Koharu?"
"Yeah! What about me?!"
Koharu raised her hands in a pacifying gesture. "I'm sorry, guys! I don't share my notes. I like to doodle in the margins and it's very embarrassing, y'know."
"What?" said Mina with a large pout. "That's not embarrassing!"
Solemn through her lie, Koharu replied, "I'm very shy."
"That's okay," said Uraraka with a comforting pat to Koharu's upper arm. "We—"
They were interrupted by one of their classmates calling that they could see All Might through the doorway of the battle centre. Conversations halted to turn to excited murmurings as the class broke into the sunlight, revealing their hero costumes to the world for the first time.
With All Might standing in front of them, the class spread out like a cluster of eager supermodels. Koharu did her best to stand as tall as she could, still coming up shorter than most of her classmates save Mineta. Even so— she thought she looked pretty fucking cool.
Koharu's costume was mostly black and slim cut, designed for easy movement. Utility pockets lined the sides of her high-waisted pants, currently empty save a lone granola bar. White-laced black combat boots donned her feet, and nestled at the top of her head was a pair of hot pink goggles. Grey wrappings wound around both of her arms and around her neck, some falling loosely around her shoulders in a mimicry of Eraserhead's own capture device.
Shouta was going to hate it.
"That's great, everyone!" All Might said, his voice like thunder despite the wide smile on his face. "You all look cool!"
Surrounded by her classmates wearing their own childhood dreams come true, Koharu felt so light that she just might float away herself.
~ o ~
Combat training would be a Heroes vs. Villains scenario, the class broken up into teams of two to battle each other over the objective, a fake bomb. Through the draw, Koharu ended up paired with Kirishima into Team J, earning her a high-five that left her palm stinging. Before they could start their match, they would have to watch however many came before them— starting with Midoriya and Uraraka versus Bakugou and Iida.
As the class was ushered off to an observation room, Koharu could tell that they were all itching for their chance at playing Hero. For Koharu, she knew that this exercise would be her most valuable time for observing her classmates' Quirks and how best to utilize them. Without knowing who her opponents would be, it was impossible for her to start strategizing against them, which meant she could devote her time to taking mental notes.
Uraraka's Quirk she already understood fairly well, as Koharu was endlessly curious and Uraraka too kind to turn away her questions, and after racing against Iida, Koharu thought that she understood the basis of his Quirk as well. It was Midoriya and Bakugou who were mysteries to her. Both boys had supposedly outshined the rest at the entrance exams, but Koharu had yet to see what was so great about their Quirks other than being able to throw baseballs further than average.
"You look really focused right now."
"Eh?" Koharu looked up from examining the large screen in front of them, realizing that it had been her partner that spoke to her. Kirishima grinned back at her, his arms crossed over his chest. Absently, Koharu noted that he was ridiculously buff for a teenager. "Sorry— I guess I am."
"If you're worried about the exercise, don't be!" One of Kirishima's arms raised from their twist, allowing him to jab a thumb against his chest. "You already know how impressive I am, right?"
Koharu pretended to cough to hide her suddenly hot face. She was never taking her notes in class again, if this was the result. "I'm not worried," she said. "I could kick your ass if I wanted to. We've got an easy win between the two of us."
"That's manly as hell!"
"Oh, you know it."
Koharu and Kirishima grinned at each other, the redhead's sharp canines outshining Koharu's by a margin.
"Now then," All Might suddenly boomed, a superfluous mic held up to his mouth. He was loud enough to shake a city, Koharu thought. "Let's start the indoor person-to-person combat training with Team A and Team D!"
Koharu's attention zipped back to the theatre-sized monitor, currently showcasing empty rooms around the building. It rotated between feeds, allowing the class glimpses of the two teams as they prepared for the challenge.
Kirishima nudged her with an elbow, and whispered, "My money is on Bakugou and Iida."
Glancing towards her partner from the corner of her eye, Koharu considered his words for a moment. She turned her attention back to the monitor, watching as Mirodiya and Uraraka snuck into the building through a window. Quietly she replied, "You're on. Uraraka and Midoriya will win."
She had to support her fellow women, after all. Koharu hadn't been lying when she told Uraraka that she thought she was strong— a Quirk that allowed her to manipulate Gravity was incredibly strong, if the girl used it correctly. She firmly believed in her new friends' capability of winning the match.
That didn't necessarily mean they would start with a lead, however. Not even a minute after entering the building, Bakugou was upon them with a fierce explosion sent from his hands. Smoke billowed out from the collison, momentarily blocking from view that Uraraka and Midoriya had managed to evade the blow with Midoriya's quick reaction time. Half of Midoriya's mask had been destroyed by the blast, revealing his determined expression.
"A surprise attack from the start!"
"Bakugou, that's cheating!" Kirishima declared as he pounded his fist into his palm. "A surprise attack isn't manly at all!"
Koharu was quick to disagree. "Surprise attacks are an extremely useful strategy— it's a good choice."
"That's right!" All Might said approvingly. "They're in the middle of a real battle right now."
Mina spoke next, her voice filled with excitement as she stepped closer to the screen. "Midoriya avoided it!"
"There goes Bakugou!"
Indeed, the blond was rushing forwards towards Team A with a crazed sneer on his face, yelling something unheard by the class. Koharu's heart fluttered as Midoriya unexpectedly countered Bakugou's attack, swinging the boy swiftly over his shoulder and slamming him into the ground. Wow!
No one had been expecting that. The class erupted, Koharu included. "Fuck yeah, Midoriya!"
"He's like a martial arts master!"
Koharu whirled to Kirishima, a new light in her eyes. "Still liking that bet, buddy?"
"Don't discount Bakugou yet, Koharu!" he quickly responded, his hands held up in eager fists. As he dropped them, he said, "I just wish we could hear what they were saying. You can't really tell with the cameras in a fixed position and no sound."
"He's talking to his partner over the small wireless radio," All Might supplied, gesturing to his own earpiece. "You can bring that plus the building's floor plan, and this capture tape!" With that, he held up a small roll of tape between his fingers. "Once you wrap this around your opponent, it shows that you've captured them!"
Koharu reached up to finger the edges of the capture device hanging asymmetrically over her shoulders. Hers would certainly be more useful, but she supposed she could compromise with using both.
"There's a fifteen minute time-limit, right?" Asked Mina, the masked girl starting to sound a bit distressed. "And the heroes have no idea where the bomb is? They're at a total disadvantage!"
All Might shook his head, his blond spikes of hair motionless. Koharu wondered how much gel was involved. "Heroes should be able to turn the tables on whatever predicament they're in! And besides," he tilted his head, eyes glinting dangerously. "Didn't Aizawa-sensei tell you? You know, here we go—"
"Plus Ultra!" The room cried together, Koharu raising an eager fist like All Might.
"Monsieur," interrupted the fair-haired Aoyama. "Bakugou is—"
Koharu's eyes shot back to the screen, watching as Bakugou used the force of his explosions to propel himself towards Midoriya. Midoriya blocked his kick with his forearms, and wound the capture tape around Bakugou's ankle in a swift motion. To maneuver himself free, Bakugou swung out with his right arm firing another explosion that Midoriya dodged as he freed himself completely.
"That guy's amazing!" cried Sato, clad in a skintight yellow jumpsuit that served to highlight his large lips.
Beside him, Sero spoke through his mask, his voice laden with awe, "He's not even using his Quirk against the guy who finished first in the entrance exam!"
Silent, Koharu bit her lip. She wondered if Midoriya was like her. His finger had been shattered after using his Quirk during the fitness test, and she knew that it had been a terrible, painful shade of purple until Recovery Girl repaired it. If that was always the result of using his Quirk, Koharu wouldn't be surprised if he too was scraping by through sheer determination and sweat.
She felt her admiration of him grow. She had chosen the right team to root for, even if they were against Bakugou's powerful Quirk. Koharu loved a good underdog.
The match between Team A and Team D was watched with bated breath by Koharu, and a nonstop series of exclamations from the peanut gallery that was Class 1-A. Bakugou moved with all the ferocity of a true villain, his strides angry and purposeful— Koharu really had to hand it to him for getting into character, because he seemed downright scary.
Uraraka and Midoriya quickly broke up to fight their opponents separately, Midoriya being pursued by Bakugou and Ochako aiming for their prize. Ochako was quick to find Iida and the fake bomb, but the two were in a stand-off as there was nothing left in the room for Ochako to use her Quirk on other than Iida himself. Meanwhile, Midoriya and Bakugou met again in a hallway on the bottom floor, exchanging muted verbal blows once more.
"Young Bakugou, stop! Are you trying to kill him?!"
All Might's shout was all the warning they had before Bakugou released an unprecedented explosion, tearing up the walls and floor of the hallway and blasting out the exterior wall of the building.
"Oh fuck!" Koharu cried out in shock, unable to see how the boy would have been able to dodge such a large explosion.
"Young Midoriya!" All Might called into his mic, holding it needlessly close to his face as he shouted.
The smoke cleared to reveal a battered Midoriya, struggling to sit up amongst the chaos of the room. On another screen, Uraraka darted forwards towards the nuclear bomb to make an unsuccessful attempt at retrieval.
"Sensei, you should stop them!" Kirishima exclaimed, his attention darting back and forth between All Might and the monitor. "Bakugou will kill him!"
He had your vote of confidence ten minutes ago, Koharu thought. Would he still technically win even if he killed the opposing team?
"Young Bakugou, the next time you use that, I'll stop the fight and your team will lose," All Might said firmly into his microphone. "To attack on such a large scale inside of a building is inviting the destruction of the stronghold you should be protecting. It's a foolish plan for both heroes and villains!"
Bakugou grumbled up at the ceiling, but was quick to launch another attack at Midoriya, rocketing over the green-clad hero and firing off a blast towards his back. The class cried out around Koharu, pained as if they had been hit themselves.
"What was that?!"
"He doesn't look like the type to think— he's more subtle than I imagined," said Todoroki from near the back of the group, speaking up for the first time. Mina and Kirishima were quick to give their attention over to him, but Koharu wasn't ready to take her eyes off of the fight as Todoroki explained Bakugou's move to his audience.
Yaoyorozu chimed with her agreement as Bakugou slammed his gauntlet against Midoriya's back and whirled the two around, sending Midoriya hurtling forward to the ground in a brutal mimicry of Midoriya's earlier move against the explosive blond.
"This is lynching! He can just capture him at this point, he doesn't need to keep attacking him!" cried Mina.
"Maah, and I thought Midoriya was pretty cool," said Kaminari as he scratched his cheek, seeming unbothered by the violence in front of them. "But in terms of combat power, Bakugou is a ball of natural instincts…"
On screen, Midoriya wobbled to his feet and began running as best as he could away from Bakugou. "He's running away?" Observed Kirishima, disbelief in his voice. "It's not very manly, but I guess he doesn't have a choice."
Koharu shook her head, not ready to give up on the Hero Team just yet. "I think I know the look in his eyes. I'm sure he has a plan."
"Something is strange," reluctantly agreed Kirishima as they watched the monitor closely.
Bakugou seemingly never stopped yelling, but Midoriya was shouting back now, a fire in his watery eyes. Suddenly the two were running towards each other, fists pulled back as Bakugou's gauntlet began to power up and Midoriya's arm began to radiate a warm glow.
"This looks really bad!" Kirishima exclaimed. The class began to shout. "Sir!"
Just before they collided, All Might finally spoke. "Both of you, st—"
Something halted his words in his throat, and the two teens collided in the centre of the room, creating a wind tunnel that burst through the building in a split second. Floors above the two, Uraraka swung a dislodged column like a bat through the resulting debris, sending it hurtling towards an unsuspecting Iida. As he was forced to dodge, Uraraka propelled herself across the room and captured the bomb.
The hero team had won. But Midoriya's right arm was that same sickening shade of purple that they had seen the day before, and his left was blackened from taking on Bakugou's explosion straight-on. The class was for once completely silent in the observation room, breathless from the unexpected end of match.
"Hero…" All Might quietly began, looking to be shaking himself out of his own stupor. "Hero team…. WINS!"
On screen, Midoriya collapsed.