Chapter 29: The Big Three

Hey howdy hey hello, welcome to the show! Enigma's back with yet another chapter.

This time, we attend the opening ceremony, and meet the big three.

Enjoy!

Feel free to review, but don't just rip into me. I'm doing this for fun, not excessive criticism.

"House arrest?!" Ashido exclaimed, after learning that Bakugo and Midoriya had gotten into a fight over night.

"Morons, it's the first day back!" Moxie yelled at them.

"Did they at least make up afterwards?" Uraraka asked.

"Make up… I-I wouldn't put it that way… hm… it's hard to put into words…" Midoriya tried to explain.

"You two are lucky to have gotten off with house arrest!" Iida snapped, "I suppose that means we'll be attending the opening ceremony without you then!"

The class funneled out and made their way towards the opening ceremony single file, Iida repeatedly instructing them to remain in line.

"Got it, everybody?! Don't break the line! Move swiftly!" Iida told them.

"Y'know, you're breaking the line…" Sero pointed out.

"As class president, such is my burden!" Iida grit his teeth.

"So Aizawa-sensei's not coming to this opening ceremony either? Must be busy." Uraraka asked.

"Well, things are a little different compared to last April." Ojiro pointed out.

"Hey, Class A, I heard the news!" Monoma called, just as annoying as ever, "Two of you! Two of you failed the licensing exam!"

"Wait, don't tell me. Were you the only one to fail in your class again?" Kirishima spoke up.

Monoma trailed off laughing and turned away.

"Not gonna answer?"

"Every single one of us passed." Monoma struck a dramatic pose as the rest of Class B gathered behind him, "The tables are turning, Class A."

"Sorry… you guys…" Todoroki apologized.

"It's only their side trying so hard to compete with us. Don't let it get to you!" Kirishima told him.

"Our teacher Vlad says we will have classes together this term. It will be much fun!" Pony Tsunotori spoke up.

"Really? I can't wait then!" Kirishima grinned.

"Woah, they have a foreigner!" Kaminari commented.

"I mean, we've got one too." Moxie pointed out.

"Oh, right!" Kaminari scratched the back of his head sheepishly, as Monoma whispered something in Pony's ear.

"And I can't wait to beat the sh#t out of you!" Pony said excitedly.

"Stop teaching her to say weird things!" Kendo snapped, poking Monoma in the eye.

"You really shouldn't trust Monoma." Moxie told Pony, speaking in English, "He's just gonna teach you to say weird things."

"Oh? Okay then!" Pony smiled, speaking in English as well, "You're American?"

"Yep! Moxie Usagi, nice to meet you!" Moxie grinned, giving her a thumbs up.

"Hey, you guys are holding up the back here…" Shinso spoke up.

"My apologies!" Iida cried, "Okay everyone, let's stop with the private talk! We're causing trouble for other people!"

"Please don't show me anymore lame things." Shinso told them.

"The guy who fought with Midoriya at the Sports Festival." Jiro observed, as the line got moving again.

"Huh…? That guy…?" Sero placed a finger on his chin, "Doesn't he seem a little… rougher, somehow?"

Everybody gathered outside before a stand set up for the teachers, waiting for the opening ceremony to begin.

"Hello! It's everyone's favorite small mammalian principal!" The president introduced himself, beginning a long spiel about his hair and fur quality and how a chaotic lifestyle is the worst thing imaginable for it, "…and the biggest recent disruption to our lifestyles, as you all know, is the incident that took place last summer."

"The loss of our pillar. We're seeing effects of that emerging at a rate beyond our expectations. Our society needs to prepare for unparalleled hardship in the future."

"This applies especially to those of you in the Hero course. Including you second and third years on work study. Going forward, you must be more aware than ever of the threats that are out there."

"Work study…?" Ashido repeated, confused.

"I'm guessing that's the next step after the internships we did…" Tsuyu suggested.

"Such gloomy talk makes us all heavyhearted, I know. Which is why we adults are doing our best to keep things from getting too dreary. We hope to inspire an industrious ethic in you young men and women so that you may go on to become capable members of society. The business course, the general studies course, the support course, and the Hero course. Do not forget that it's all of you who will inherit this society."

"I kept it nice and short, huh? That'll prove them all wrong about me." Nezu told Vlad King, walking off the stand.

"Very good, sir."

A Short Time Later

"Finally, here are a few reminders from our school life supervisor, Hound Dog-Sensei."

Hound Dog's speech was impossible for anyone to make out, mostly just animalistic noises. After a while of barking and snarling, he stepped away from the mic, and Vlad King took over.

"Um… what he meant to say was, 'we had a fight between students last night. We understand that some of you are still unaccustomed to dorm life, but we ask you to control yourselves and make this work for everyone." Vlad King helpfully translated.

"What the heck was that, Hound Dog-Sensei?" The class wondered.

"He forgets how to talk when he flips out? Looks like there's still plenty we don't know about U.A.…" Kaminari commented, his voice trembling from nervousness.

"They sure are treating Midoriya and Bakugo like a couple of naughty children…" Yaoyorozu sighed.

"Everyone back to class, starting with the third-years." Vlad King instructed.

After heading to class and taking their seats, Aizawa took his place at the front of the class.

"A lot's happened. Too much, really, but now it's business as usual. Today in class we'll just have a lecture, but look forward to some even harsher training throughout the second semester."

"Guess he's not gonna talk about it, huh?" Ashido whispered to Tsuyu.

"What was that, Ashido?" Aizawa demanded.

"Eep! Haven't had that feeling in a while!"

"May I ask a question, sensei?" Tsuyu raised her hand, "We just heard about work studies at the opening ceremony. Could you explain that a bit more?"

"Oh yeah, the principal was talking about that." Sero nodded.

"I'm also curious, actually." Tokoyami agreed.

"It does sound interesting…" Hiryu admitted.

"He mentioned that many of our upperclassmen are engaged in work studies…" Yaoyorozu raised her hand politely.

"I was planning to go over all that at a later date, but… well, fine. I suppose it makes more sense to explain now." Aizawa sighed, "Put simply, it's Hero work outside of school. A more immersive version of the internships you already did with Pro Heroes."

"Ooh… didn't know we got to do that sorta thing…" Ururaka commented casually, before suddenly bursting out, "So what was the point of trying so hard at the sports festival?!"

"Indeed! With these work studies available, it seems that getting scouted was hardly our only option." Iida realized.

"Hey! Calm down! You're acting un-Ururaka-like, Ururaka." Sato tried to soothe the gravity girl.

"You'll be using your networking connections from the sports festival to secure your Hero work studies. It's all at your discretion to start with and is unrelated to classes here. Those of you who didn't get scouted at the sports festival will have a hard time finding positions anyways." Aizawa explained, "It used to be that every agency in the country would seek out applicants, but the competition to win over U.A. students caused a lot of issues. That's why things are how they are now. If that's all, then take a seat."

"Sorry for jumping to the wrong conclusion…" Ururaka bowed.

"Earning these provisional licenses will give you extended in-depth experience when it comes to this stuff. But keep in mind there's virtually no precedent for licensed first-years. With the sudden outburst of Villain activity, the possibility of first-year work studies is being given cautious consideration. We'll revisit this later, at which point you'll get a more complete explanation and some actual testimonials, when circumstances allow." Aizawa told them.

That Evening

"What's the deal with this dust, Bakugo?" Kaminari asked smugly, causing Sero to break down laughing.

"That was supposed to be Deku's job, so shut the hell up! Hey, you! Can't you even clean right?" Bakugo demanded.

"S-S-Sorry! I'm going to go and take out this trash from everyone's rooms." Midoriya apologized.

"Yo, about Mic's class today…" Sato leaned over the couch, speaking to Kirishima.

"You too?!" Kirishima asked.

"I'd never learned that grammar before…" Sato admitted.

The class continued to discuss their lessons with each other, causing Midoriya to panic at how much he was falling behind after just one day.

"Hey, Iida… what's this internship stuff?" Midoriya asked.

"I'm mad at you right now!" Iida snapped, fuming, "I was also expressly forbidden from relaying any information from class to you! I'm sorry, but the two of you are getting your just desserts! Do you hear me, Bakugo?!"

"Shut the help up you four-eyed prick!" Bakugo yelled.

"So loud…" Hiryu mumbled, trying to look over her notes.

Three Days Later

"I apologize for the inconvenience I caused!" Midoriya bowed, breathing heavily.

"Deku, thank you for all your hard labor!" Uraraka told him.

"Hard labor, huh… hey, why are you so out of breath?" Jiro asked.

"Iida! I'm sorry!" Midoriya yelled, "I'm sorry for disappointing you!"

"Oh… as long as you've reflected on your wrongdoings… what's the matter?" Iida asked, put off by Midoriya's intensity.

"I'm going to bridge the gap between us from the last three days!" Midoriya promised.

"Oh, nice! I like that attitude!" Kirishima grinned.

"Hell yeah! You can crush it, Midoriya!" Moxie smiled.

"Everybody, take your seats!" Iida instructed, sending everyone scrambling to their desks as Aizawa opened the door, shutting it behind him and stepping up to the podium.

"Well, now that Midoriya has returned, let's formally talk about the internships." Aizawa turned to the door, "Come inside."

"Huh?" Midoriya raised his eyebrow.

"Let's hear firsthand from those with personal experience…" The door slid open, "…how these internships are different from field training."

"They have made time in their busy schedules to come and talk to you all, so please listen to what they have to say. These four third-years rank among the top of all U.A. students." Aizawa told the class, "They're known as… the Big Three."

In the door came, one by one, a talk, muscular student with blonde hair, a beautiful girl with long blue hair, and a hunched, skinny student with messy black hair.

"So these guys are… I had heard there were people like them, but…" Jiro trailed off.

"And one of 'em is a real beauty to boot!" Kaminari remarked, "They kinda don't look the part, y'know?"

"Alright, could you all give us a brief self-introduction then?" Aizawa prompted, "Starting with you, Amajiki."

Amajiki stepped forward and glared intensely at the class, causing all of them to pull back.

"How intense!" Hiryu thought, a drop of sweat running down his forehead.

"If this is a challenge… I'll face it head on!" Moxie grit his teeth, staring down Amajiki, being the only person who didn't recoil from Amajiki's glare.

"Moxie… you really just don't quit, huh?" Uraraka thought aloud, glancing at him.

"It's no good… Mirio… Nejire… … no matter how hard I try to think of them as potatoes… everything except their heads still looks like them… and besides their heads I can only see them as humans! What should I do… the words… they won't come out!" Amajiki spun around and placed his head against the wall, ceasing the intense glare, "I wanna go home!"

"This guy… is at the top of U.A.'s Hero course?" Ojiro asked.

"Hey, Amajiki! Come on, you've gotta be brave! Like a lion not a kitten! Lion hearted!" Nejire stepped forward, "This guy's Tamaki Amajiki the kitten, and I'm Nejire Hado! We've come here today because we were asked to talk about your work studies!" The blue-haired girl stepped forward.

"But, but… hey, hey, by the way! Why're you wearing a mask? Are you sick, or just… trying to look cool?" Nejire asked, looking at Shoji.

"Well a long time ago I-"

"Oh, and you! You're Todoroki, right?! Right?! Why do you have a burn on your face like that?!" Nejire immediately shifted gears.

"…well that's-"

"And you, Ashido… if those horns break, do they grow back? Can you move them?! Hey!"

"Moxie, why do you always wear that rabbit hood?"

"I just really like-"

"Asui, you're a tree frog, not a gross toad, right?"

"There's so much I want to know about all of you, let's hold a Q&A!"

"Ooh! A natural airhead! How cute!" Kaminari smiled.

"She's like a kindergartener." Ashido remarked.

"This is incredibly illogical." Aizawa growled.

"Please do not worry, Eraserhead! I'm the key performer here today, after all!" Mirio tried to assure the teacher, before leaning to the audience with one ear next to his head, "The journey ahead-?!"

The class stared at him in quiet confusion.

"That's where you say, 'will be full of difficulties!' Alright! You all utterly failed to get the point of the conversation!" Mirio smiled.

"…these guys are all weirdos, huh? Considering they're the Big Three… it's kinda…" Sato whispered to Koda.

"Their personalities certainly don't evoke that…" Tokoyami agreed.

"Well, I can see from all of your faces you're got no clue what's going on." Mirio suddenly seemed almost serious. "You acquired your provisional licenses as first-years… is that right? Hm… this year's first years are really energetic, aren't they? I see… well, it seems like my intro fell flat here, so…"

"Mirio?!" Amajiki tried to interrupt.

"How would you all like to team up and fight against me?!" Mirio suggested.

"H… huh?!" The class exclaimed.

"It would make the most sense for them to witness and feel our own experience with their own bodies, wouldn't you say?! Wouldn't you say, Eraserhead?!"

"…do as you like." Aizawa told him.

And there it is! What did you think?

I've already got ideas for who they'll be going to for their internships, but I haven't set much in stone yet.

We're catching up so much faster than I expected, huh? Kind of exciting really.

Enigma, signing off.