Chapter 13 - 'Fused' Together
After lunch was finished, Class 1-A was walking back to their classroom for HERO CLASS. Matthew and Midoriya were in the back of the chattering group, walking together in silence and both deep in their thoughts. However, their thinking was interrupted by All Might, who was still in his shrunken form. He appeared from a hallway they were passing, but it was almost like he appeared out of thin air.
"All Might!" Midoriya said in shock upon seeing him.
"Young Midoriya…" All Might replied, looking at both him and Matthew. "I want to speak with you for a few minutes."
"Okay." Midoriya replied, following All Might as he began walking away.
Matthew watched the two go, and something came into his mind. All Might, the greatest hero who ever lived, was singling out Midoriya so he could speak with him, alone. Not only that, but there was the fact that All Might was retired and had a shrunken form, without power. And then there was Midoriya saying he was quirkless all his life, and then gained his powers in high school. So maybe, just maybe… All Might must have given Midoriya his power?
It was a one in a million theory. Either way, he would have to ask Midoriya and find out if it was true or not. But, Matthew was probably going to have to confront him in private; Public reveal might be dangerous to Midoriya, All Might, Class 1-A, the American students, and even himself.
Matthew walked into Class 1-A, where all students were seated at their desks. He was met by Mr. Aizawa, who asked in his dull tone, "Where's Midoriya?"
"Somebody wanted to speak with him; he'll be along in a minute." Matthew replied, hoping that Aizawa wouldn't care to ask who it was.
"Okay." Aizawa said. "Take your seat."
Matthew nodded and, with a small sigh of relief, went to sit down at his desk, which was behind Midoriya's. The American students had their own desks set up the day before, which were mingled into the class with the other desks of their fellow students. Matthew was behind Midoriya, Milo was beside Ashido, Sunshine was in front of Kaminari, Annabelle was beside Shoji, Murdock was next to Todoroki, and Joshua was in back of Jiro.
A few minutes of waiting in silence, and then Midoriya and All Might came into the room.
"I am here…" All Might said half-heartedly. "Coming through the door like a hero…"
"All Might!" All the students, except for the American students and Midoriya, said in unison.
Midoriya sat down at his desk, while All Might came up to where Aizawa was standing. He then said in a dull tone, "Today, I will be helping out with teaching this hero class. The exercise for today will be one involving teamwork and nerves of steel. Everybody get dressed in your hero costumes, and we'll meet inside Ground Beta…"
"Also, there are two things to note about this exercise." Aizawa added. "First, for the American students, we have brought your hero costumes here, so you won't have to go back to the dorms to get them; you'll find them in your respected locker rooms. Second, for all of you, we're going to be doing something a little different than from what we usually do; we're going to be working with Class 1-B on this exercise."
"WHAT?!" All members of Class 1-A yelled in surprise. Oddly enough, at the same time they said it, a muffled 'WHAT?!' could be heard from Class 1-B.
"When you're in a situation working with unfamiliar heroes, it's important to learn how to adapt to each other's powers quickly, and efficiently. Thus, you'll be working alongside Class 1-B, as most of you are unfamiliar with how their quirks work." Aizawa replied. "Get dressed, and meet at the bus."
Class 1-A got up, all chattering about what was going to happen, and left the classroom. To avoid a confrontation with Class 1-B, they were let out of the room earlier.
As they were walking out, Midoriya was thinking about what he and All Might talked about. They were talking about how Matthew, despite being quirkless, was proving to be a capable hero. And, since he was quirkless, he could help rehabilitate a good friend of Midoriya's. A good friend who, through sacrificing himself for another, lost his quirk. Today was Friday, and tomorrow would be Saturday, which was a half-day. And, as All Might had told him, the Big three would be visiting on that day to introduce themselves to the American students. There, Midoriya would able to introduce Matthew to his friend.
His friend was Mirio Togata, also known as 'Lemillion', the hero who sacrificed everything to free a little girl from the clutches of evil…
After dressing in their hero costumes, Class 1-A were now boarding the bus for Ground Beta. Aizawa and All Might were alongside them, waiting for their turn to get on. The American students were there, now dressed in their hero costumes.
Joshua Graham's hero costume consisted of brown goggles with gold lenses, a brown jacket with a tan full collar and tan fur lining, a black shirt with no sleeves, black pants with gold designs on the sides, black fingerless gloves with gold knuckles, and black boots with gold designs on them. He also had something looked like a shock collar around his right arm.
Murdock Jenkins' hero costume consisted of a brown cowboy hat, a black eye mask, a dark blue dress shirt, a brown dress vest with a silver sheriff's star on it, brown fingerless gloves, dark blue jeans, and brown cowboy boots.
Sunshine DeMorris' hero costume was a white kabuki mask with black patterns, a white and black geisha kimono, a black sash, black fingerless gloves, and black tabi boots.
Milo Shiloh's hero costume was a black ninja scarf, a black short-sleeved hoodie with the hood up, orange armor on his chest, arms, shoulders, and back, black fingerless gloves with orange armor over his hands and forearms, black pants with orange armor on the legs, and orange tabi boots that were futuristic looking.
Matthew Noble's hero costume consisted of a white camouflage complete tactical helmet with a tinted blue visor and a black face guard, a black short sleeved shirt, a white camouflage combat vest with white camouflage armor on his shoulders, black elbow pads, black tactical fingerless gloves, black pants with white camouflage kneepads, white camouflage canvas leggings, and black tactical boots.
Finally, Annabelle Walters' hero costume was a futuristic looking headset, a light blue hospital scrub shirt, black bands around her arms, light blue hospital scrub pants, and black running shoes.
Needless to say, the American students were making quite an impact with their hero gear. The students of Class 1-A were quite impressive with how they looked!
"Wow! You guys look awesome!" Ashido said cheerfully, upon seeing the American students come out in their hero costumes. "I like your costume, Milo! It looks so cool!"
"Thank you, Mina!" Milo replied, his tone also cheerful.
"Matthew, is that you?" Midoriya asked, approaching Matthew.
"Yeah, it's me." Matthew replied, undoing the strap on his helmet before pulling it off. "I know it's somewhat overkill, but it works for me."
"On the contrary, armor such is yours is good to have when you are fighting against hard hitting villains!" Iida spoke, as he and Uraraka came over. "I mean, the design of my armor may also seem 'overkill', as you put it, but it still handles well in combat, and provides the right amount of protection!"
"Besides, it looks awesome!" Uraraka added. "You look like a futuristic soldier!"
"Oh… thanks…" Matthew replied. "Never really looked at it that way…"
Kaminari approached Sunshine, having the 'dazzled by the sight of a pretty girl' look on his face.
"What, do I have something wrong with how I look?" Sunshine asked, pulling up her mask so they could see her face.
"No! You look great!" Kaminari replied, his tone of voice in amazement. "You a lot better than wearing the U.A gym uniform! Uh, not to say you don't look good wearing that, but-"
"Don't worry, I know what you're trying to say." Sunshine giggled. "And I'll take it as a compliment. Thank you, Kaminari!"
Kaminari sighed dreamily when Sunshine said that, glad that a girl was liking him for giving her a compliment.
"Who cares how they look?!" Bakugo roared, ruining the moment. "Doesn't change the fact that you all are nothing!"
"Like you're any better, grenade for brains?" Murdock asked. "And you just ruined a moment; have you no shame?"
"Shut up, horse-face!" Bakugo growled. "Or I'm gonna knock out all your remaining teeth!"
"Alright Bakugo, that's enough." Aizawa spoke, his tone dull as usual. "Let's board the bus."
"You heard Mr. Aizawa!" Iida announced, doing his robotic arm gestures. "Everybody board the bus in an orderly fashion! Two by two, side by side!"
Everybody obeyed and boarded the bus, two by two and side by side, just as Iida had told them to. After everybody had boarded, Aizawa, Iida, and All Might boarded the bus. The bus doors closed, and it began driving off to Ground Beta.
After a couple minutes of driving, the bus stopped at Ground Beta, which looked like a city. After it parked, the bus doors opened and Class 1-A got off the bus, followed by Aizawa and All Might. A few minutes later, the bus carrying Class 1-B also parked behind them. The bus doors opened for that bus, and Class 1-B got out.
The first one to get off the bus was, of course, Neito Monoma. He was dressed in his hero costume: a sharp looking tuxedo, with several stopwatches attached to his belt.
"Well, well, well." said Monoma, his tone of voice patronizing. "Class 1-A and the foreigners. Have you all sunken so low that you need us to show you how to do things?"
"Oh great, it's this guy again." Matthew groaned, his tone annoyed.
"Unlike Class 1-A, we don't need Americans to help us with being heroes." Monoma continued. "We'll show all of you that Class 1-B is rising, and that we'll be the ones who will-"
He would've continued, but he was knocked out by a chop from Itsuka Kendo. Like him, she was dressed in a hero costume: A turquoise colored qipao with short black pants, and a black domino mask and navy blue boots.
"Sorry about that; he really needs to work on his attitude." Kendo apologized.
"Now that's better." Matthew replied, a smile on his face. "Hey Kendo!"
Kendo smiled brightly and waved back, before dragging Monoma away from the entrance of the bus. After she did that, the rest of Class 1-B came off the bus, all wearing their hero costumes. Finally, their teacher got off: A large man with grey hair, wearing a red and black suit with silver bracers and boots. Joshua instantly recognized him as the guy who was patrolling with Aizawa, when he snuck out to meet with Haruki on the first night.
The man in red and black walked up to Matthew, with Aizawa following. Aizawa then said, "Vlad King, this is Matthew Noble, one of the American students. Matthew, this is Vlad King, the teacher for Class 1-B."
"Pleased to meet you." Matthew replied, extending his hand.
Vlad King didn't bother shaking his hand, and Matthew pulled back. Vlad King, with his arms crossed, then said, "Aizawa told me that you're a quirkless, and yet you're among those with quirks. I honestly don't believe that people like you should be here, so you're gonna have to prove yourself that you belong in U.A."
It was a good thing that Matthew had his helmet on, cause they would've seen the wide, cocky grin that was spread across his face. Matthew, trying his hardest to hide the cockiness in his voice, replied, "Oh don't worry; I'll prove myself to you."
After saying that, Matthew went back to be with Class 1-A. The gate doors to Ground Beta opened, and everyone went in. After they entered, the gate doors closed behind them, and they all stood in the street. All Might stood before them to tell what they were going to be doing for this exercise, and give instructions for it.
"Alright, here's the skinny." said All Might (he's in his shrunken form), before realizing what he did and letting out a groan. As for several students, they were trying their hardest not to laugh at the joke that was accidentally made.
All Might cleared his throat and then said, "This is how the exercise for today is going to go. In this building to the right of us, there is a bomb on the top floor; It is set to go off in fifteen to twenty minutes. A group of four heroes will go into the building, get to the top floor, and try to deactivate the bomb before time runs out. However, the floors have various traps all through them, and all traps are random. Now, since this is a simulation of an event, the bomb and the traps are non-lethal, but they're still going to hurt if they are activated. Also, there are schematics on how to disable the bomb, so you need to find those before you deactivate the bomb. The group of four will be composed of two members of Class 1-A, and two members of Class 1-B, and it will be picked at random. In order to succeed, you must learn to put your differences aside and work together."
Aizawa and Vlad King came up and beside All Might, with Aizawa carrying a blue box that had 'CLASS 1-A' written on it, while Vlad King carried a yellow box with the words 'CLASS 1-B' written on it.
"The first two from Class 1-A will be…" said All Might, reaching into the blue box and pulling out two names. He looked at what he chose and then announced, "Matthew Noble and Mezo Shoji."
Both Matthew and Shoji looked at each other and nodded once, before the two of them walked towards All Might, turned around, and faced the class. All Might then reached into the yellow box for the next two names.
"And the first two from Class 1-B will be…" said All Might, pulling out two names and looking at them. He then announced, "Ibara Shiozaki and Reiko Yanagi."
Ibara Shiozaki and Reiko Yanagi came out of Class 1-B's group, and came up to join Matthew and Shoji.
Shiozaki was a girl with green, thorn covered vines for hair, wearing a plain white robe and black boots. The way she carried herself was very graceful and shy, and Matthew felt a good, spiritual presence when she came over and stood next to him.
Yanagi, on the other hand, was a girl with pale grey hair that obscured the left side of her face, blue eyes with some dark bags underneath them, and pale skin. Her hero costume was a black mask like Shoji's, a white kimono with a fur collar, and black knee high socks and white shoes. The way she held her arms was ghost-like, and she even moved like a ghost.
After the four came forth, All Might said, "The exercise will commence in about five minutes, which will give the four of you time to plan your strategy. Now, let us all go down to the viewing room while they get ready."
Matthew, Shoji, Shiozaki, and Yanagi started going towards the entrance to the building. Meanwhile, the rest of the students and their teachers went to the viewing room, which was in the basement of one of the buildings. A tense atmosphere came over everyone, as the seconds began counting down to when the exercise would begin. Hopefully, nobody would go up in smoke…