Tuesday 4/24
13 DAYS UNTIL FESTIVAL
"Thank you for letting me sit here, Kendou." Kari happily plopped an onigiri in her mouth as she sat around several members of class 1-B. Including Kendou, Tetsutetsu, Komori, Yanagi, and a seething Monoma.
"It's no problem." The class rep assured her "I don't see why we should be so separated in the first place."
"I think Vlad Sensei said…" Yanagi paused to think "I'm pretty sure Vlad Sensei said that because we're called 1-B people assume we're worse from the start. He keeps us on our own so we can grow stronger…"
"So we'll just have to show off as much as we can at the Sports Festival!" Tetsutetsu smashed his fists together.
"Well! I can't really say that I'm rooting for you without saying I want my classmates to fail…" Kari slapped her cheeks "But! I definitely hope that all of you do really well! And get noticed by the Pros!"
"What are you playing at?"
"Huh?" Kari asked with a blank look on her face.
Monoma leaned over the table to stare right at Kari "You heard me, what's the big idea here? Our class won't be caught off guard by your tricks."
"Knock it off." Kendo used her Big Fist quirk to chop Monoma in the neck.
"Whoa… Large…" Kari whispered.
Komori snickered "That's Kendou's quirk! It lets her turn her hands real big!"
"And she got into U.A?! You must be super talented then!" Kari gushed "I mean… a quirk like that seems like a dime a dozen but you've made it into something incredible!"
"I um! Thanks? I think?" Kendou blushed "It's really not a big deal though I promise…"
"Ah-ha!" Monoma gasped and pointed accusingly at Kari "Reconnaissance! You wanted us to reveal our quirks to you!"
"Oh! No!" Kari denied "I'd hate to have done that! It would give me an unfair advantage!"
Kendou smacked Monoma's face onto the table "Please ignore him Kari."
"But! I did learn about your quirk!" Kari groaned "Should I tell you mine to make up for it?"
"No way!" Tetsutetsu roared, "That would give us an unfair advantage!"
"Besides. Your class has more obvious mutation quirks than ours." Kendou pointed out. "The tail guy, the invisible girl, and the earlobes girl have pretty obvious quirks."
"Yeah, our class is a bit more subtle." Tetsutetsu realized.
"That's a bit strange to hear from you." Komori pointed out.
"Kendou I don't think Monoma can breathe." Kari pointed at the struggling copycat.
"Oh right-"
Monoma shot up with a deep breath as Kendou released him. Before glaring at Kari "Just because I almost died doesn't mean you saved my life."
"Put him back." Yanagi deadpanned.
"No!" Kari snapped "I'm trying to get along with everyone! I can't do that if he's suffocating!"
"I dunno." Komori hummed "I actually find him easier to talk to when he can't respond."
"That's talking at him." Kari corrected.
"I can still hear you." Monoma grit out.
"Actually Monoma… you might be able to answer this better than anyone else." Kari realized "Why is it that everyone was so obsessed with our class yesterday? I mean we survived a Villain attack for sure, but if they wanted to get transferred into heroics wouldn't it be best to scout out your class?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tetsutetsu yelled.
"The school is unlikely to transfer us." Kari elaborated "It's not because we're better than you guys, but for our own safety. Our class was already on the news so Villains may target us again."
"Oh yeah, I guess that's true…" Yanagi realized "We don't have that kind of pressure on us yet… so we're more likely to get sent out."
"Hmhm…" Monoma scoffed "The answer to that question is quite clear. You are correct that one of us would be the ones transferred. However! The best way to accomplish that would be by showing up you fools in 1-A!"
"Ah!" Kari slammed her fist into her open palm "That does make sense! You don't aim to be better than the number ten. You aim to be number one!"
"I guess that is the basic idea of it." Kendou admitted, "Still can't believe that everyone decided to crowd around your homeroom like that."
"I can't believe they trapped me inside!" Tetsutetsu growled. "They had no sympathy!"
"I'm so sorry about that!" Kari bowed "I didn't think they would be so persistent when I invited you in!"
"Ha! A real man doesn't take things too personally!" Tetsutetsu roared.
"There's another one…" Kari whispered.
"What was that?"
"Nothin." Kari shook her head "More importantly! Are you guys gonna be getting any training before the festival?"
"Huh? I mean obviously." Tetsutetsu nodded "Vlad Sensei is gonna make us work our asses off."
"No, I meant like outside of class." Kari elaborated "I know Tokoyami booked our usual table Gym Gamma for Saturday. And Bakugo is heading there tomorrow." Kari laughed a bit nervously as the group stayed quiet. "You uh… you guys were going to train after class at some point right?"
"Of course we were!" Monoma butt in before Kendou could say anything "In fact! We were going to head to Gym Gamma ourselves one day this week!"
"We are?" Yanagi asked.
"Yes!" Monoma assured her "Of course we are!"
"Oh! I'm glad to hear that!" Kari smiled, completely missing how everyone else was glaring straight at Monoma. "I can't wait to see how you perform at the festival then."
Kendou's eye twitched and she smashed Monoma's face into the table before he could respond.
"Ah! What was that for Kendou?!" Kari shrieked.
"Preemptive Strike."
Quirk: LineBreaker
Kaminari let out a yawn as he headed back home, Yaoyorozu wasn't gonna be able to help him until some time next week so he should have a few days to relax before the Sports Festival.
At least… that's what he had assumed. But fate had a funny way of kicking you when you're down. He opened the door to his apartment and a woman with long blonde hair was sitting on the couch. Her golden eyes bore into his skull.
"Well well well if it isn't my troublemaker of a son."
Kaminari flinched "Hey ma… how have you been?"
Conductor, or Kaminari Aiko, was Japan's Number 28 Pro Hero and Denki's mother. She was a natural-born genius who never had to study a day in her life. After graduating from U.A. it was only natural that she become an incredibly successful Pro Hero. Marketing deals, figurines, posters, she had it all.
Meanwhile Denki wasn't nearly as lucky. He had ADHD which made it hard to focus, and medication he wasn't allowed to take because the 'perfect son doesn't need pills'. His grades were bad at best and abysmal at worst. He didn't get a tutor because 'the perfect son doesn't need the help of the ordinary.'
'You have my blood in your veins!' His mother snapped 'Stop being so lazy and succeed!'
He would never admit it but staying at Detective Tsukauchi's department was a nice alternative to listening to his mother's constant complaints.
"Oh you know, I was doing fine, filming a commercial that was supposed to make us a lot more money than your good-for-nothing father could ever dream of making when guess what happens?"
"What happened?" Kaminari asked back.
"I got a call from Principal Nedzu himself." Aiko snapped "You want to know what he told me?"
"W-What did he say?"
"He said that your performance left something to be desired." Aiko sneered "That you couldn't even get past the communication jamming villain to contact help. He told me…" The woman stepped forwards and grabbed Kaminari by the shirt. She forced him to look her in the eyes "That your class was severely injured, due to your failure. He said that he regrets honoring our deal."
Kaminari gulped "I- I'm sorry! I- I'll do better in the future I promise!"
"You better." Aiko said simply "You've always been a failure Denki. And it seems that U.A. hasn't done anything to change that."
"N-No mom! I promise I'm getting better!" Kaminari pleaded "During the USJ I was able to use my quirk without any drawbacks! S-So I'm obviously improving!"
"What drawbacks?" Aiko scoffed "You mean that huge act you put up so I have to end training early?"
"It's not an act!" Kaminari denied.
"Oh? Then why did it all of a sudden go away once you wanted me to be proud of you?"
"I- I just…"
"And I don't want to hear it." Aiko snapped "Now. Do you want to know how to actually make me proud?"
Kaminari nodded weakly.
"Win at the Sports Festival in two weeks. Anything less than first place is inexcusable."
"B-But ma-"
"But what? You'll fight Endeavor's son? Hero students? People better than you? This is why you're such a failure Denki. You're always making excuses. Just win already!"
"R-Right…" Kaminari shuddered "That's always been the plan… Just win…"
Wednesday 4/25
12 DAYS UNTIL FESTIVAL
Nobody really knew how to react when Kaminari walked into the classroom that day. But Jiro was most concerned. As much as she made fun of him, the two were just as tight. They sat next to each other in class and every day during lunch.
Kaminari Denki was three things, Kind, Dumb, and Flirty.
Kaminari Denki was not the man that walked into the classroom that day. Because never in a million years would Kaminari Denki slap his hand on Bakugo's desk, look him in the eyes, and declare so plainly. "I will win the Sports Festival. And you will not get in my way."
"The hell did you just say to me?" Bakugo growled.
"Has everyone caught insanity?" Sero whispered.
"Maybe he thinks he's hot shit after the USJ?" Ojiro wondered.
'No that's not it.' Jiro immediately denied. The two of them bicker but whenever Kaminari brags about the USJ it's always false bravado. The face he made then and the face he's making now…
"I said." Kaminari took a deep breath. "I said that I will win the Sports festival. Me. Not you, not Uraraka, not Todoroki." He pointed to himself, "The winner will be me."
"Whoa Kami what's with the sudden confidence?" Mina wondered "You weren't this fired up on Monday."
"It doesn't fucking matter." Bakugo said murderously "There's no way Dunce Face will give me any sort of challenge."
That opinion changed quickly. For heroics training today sensei wanted us to do one-on-one sparring with our Quirks. We were paired up by seat order and Kirishima smirked as he stared down Kaminari. "You're going to win the sports festival huh?" He rushed forward "LET'S SEE WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF THEN!"
Kirishima raised a fist, clearly aiming for the head, and Kaminari… completely lacking his usual flair… ducked under the initial swing and landed a punch to the gut.
One punch.
Kaminari threw one punch in that fight.
The room was struck silent as Kirishima screamed, shuddered, and then fell to the floor.
Aizawa raised his hand lazily, "Kaminari wins."
"He charged his fist with electricity and then delivered a single powerful blow… even while he's hardened Kirishima couldn't stand that level of voltage…" Midoriya rationalized.
"Being hit by one of Kaminari's shocks is quite painful." Tsuyu nodded.
"I always knew Kaminari's quirk was powerful…" Ojiro muttered, "I had seen it myself… but something like that…"
"He's like a man possessed." Tokoyami agreed.
Kaminari for his part ignored the gossip around him and stared straight at a shell-shocked Bakugo "I told you. That I will win the Sports Festival."
'Where the hell…' Jiro thought 'Is everyone getting these scary expressions from?'
Quirk: LineBreaker
Uraraka blocked another one of Kirishima's punches with her punching mitts as Bakugo floated about trying to get used to flying while weightless. To the average viewer it would probably look like Uraraka got the short end of the stick when it came to training but the way Bakugo had explained it actually made a lot of sense.
If she was going to make Bakugo weightless so he could fly about, she was going to have to learn how to fight while her quirk was active. Before now it's always been one or the other. Either she was fighting or she was making something float. Very rarely did those two instances interact.
Kirishima meanwhile had to work on his form. As Bakugo had so kindly put it, 'you punch like a drunk blind monkey.' For the last fifteen minutes, he had been trying to get past Uraraka's defense to no avail.
"Man, what was up with Kaminari today?" Kirishima wondered "Normally he's so carefree and today he just chose violence."
"I know it was so weird." Uraraka nodded "I mean I know people were kinda freaked out when I got fired up but if this was really about the Sports Festival he should have been right alongside me, not two days late!"
"Who cares who put the fire under Dunce Face's ass." Bakugo scoffed.
"Dude…" Kirishima sighed "Maybe you don't care about when our classmates act weird but I like to think I'm a pretty stand-up guy!"
"I mean… I don't want to get involved in his personal business." Uraraka clarified "But if he's in any trouble I'd like to help him out."
"Kch dumbasses." Bakugo whistled down at Uraraka which was their signal to release "If you two are just gonna keep gossiping instead of training we're gonna have to change things up."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Kirishima asked.
"It means try not to die!" Uraraka and Kirishima leaped to the side as Bakugo blasted himself forwards.
"What the hell man?!" Kirishima yelled.
"Listen the hell up!" Bakugo roared "Dunce Face, Icyhot, the Pufferfish! It doesn't matter who the fuck declares they want to win this festival! Because the second you even consider that they have a chance is the moment you lose! Which is why I'm going to show both you extras what a true winner looks like!"
"Ha!" Kirishima hardened himself as Uraraka took a fighting stance "Just try us then!"
Bakugo set his eyes on Kirishima first, launching himself at the hardened boy. He set off an explosion near his protected arm, which didn't do any damage but what it did do was cause temporary blindness. A blindness that Bakugo capitalized on by delivering a second explosion powered blow to Kirishima's unprotected chest.
"Agh! Dude!" Kirishima coughed.
"Those are the types of openings you always leave for yourself Shitty Hair! If you can't see the enemy! Assume they can attack you anywhere. It's simple shit!"
"Jeez…" Kirishima growled "Take this then!"
Bakugo easily caught Kirishima's telegraphed punch "Dumbass! Don't tell me your attacks before you do them! And if you're going to do a big obvious swing like that have the fucking decency to make it a feint."
"Feint into what?!" Kirishima asked.
"Sweep the legs, jab to the chest, knee to the chin. I don't fucking know! Just don't stand there like a dumbass!"
Kirishima grit his teeth and hardened his head, Bakugo was forced to let go to dodge the headbutt but Kirishima wasn't about to go easy on him, and Uraraka was done sitting at the sidelines.
Bakugo blasted the ground to fly upwards as Kirishima's hardened fist and Uraraka's open palm both missed Bakugo and collided with each other.
"If you're going to fight two on one! At least bother to coordinate." Bakugo yelled "Holy shit it's almost like you're trying to lose."
Uraraka grabbed the now weightless Kirishima and threw him like a ninja star "We aren't!"
Bakugo's eyes widened as he was forced to perform invasive maneuvers on the rock solid man barreling straight towards him.
"I'm okay!" Kirishima jumped off the ground as he landed, a bit green in the face but still unharmed.
"How was that one Bakugo?!" Uraraka grinned "Is that a move a loser would come up with?"
Bakugo snorted "Maybe some of those other extras would fall for a dumbass trick like that. But not me!"
"I'll take that as a compliment." Uraraka smirked.
"I don't fucking care how you take it!" Bakugo snapped "You still haven't hit me!"
Uraraka made herself weightless and floated above Bakugo as he charged. Still not too high off the ground she released and attempted to land a roundhouse kick to the back of his head. A quick explosion-powered roll killed that plan but it had still been closer than either of them had gotten before.
Kirishima tried again next, with a sliding kick. Bakugo launched an explosion to the ground to stand upright before dodging Uraraka's punch. He grabbed her fist and twisted her arm, forcing her to buckle her knees for a moment. Bakugo took the chance to let go of her arm and perform a leg sweep to the back of her knees, causing her to collapse on herself.
Kirishima ran forwards with confidence Bakugo couldn't understand and prepared a big obvious punch. Bakugo growled and prepared to catch it before Kirishima switched to his knee.
Bakugo smirked at the attempt at a feint and tried to step back to dodge, but found that he was no longer on the ground. 'Round Face must have touched me during that last attack.' He realized.
With no time to escape Kirishima's knee connected with Bakugo's gut and he and Uraraka shared a high five. "How's that for coordination!" Kirishima teased "We finally got a hit in."
"Yeah, you did." Bakugo agreed "Do you think that means this is over? I'm gonna pound you extras into the dirt!"
Uraraka grinned excitedly "Bring it!"
Quirk: LineBreaker
Thursday 4/26
11 DAYS UNTIL FESTIVAL
"I'm glad that you agreed to hang out today Kari." Mina hummed "I mean everyone's been so…"Mina placed two hands beside her eyes and then flicked them at a ninety-degree angle "laser-focused lately. And like, I get it, but nobody's really wanted to just do something fun! And we deserve it!"
"Yeah no worries!" Kari smiled, she wore a hoodie similar to the one she wore with Kaminari but instead of being blue and cat-themed it was light grey with a black beak on the top of the hood. "I mean we've barely hung out since the Entrance Exam. I'm not gonna go and deny you!"
"Ugh!" Mina snuck behind Kari and shook her shoulders "Stop talking so uptight!"
"I-I'm sssoooorrrrrryyyy!" When Mina finally released her Kari gripped her head to stabilize herself. "Where are we even going? I know we're at the mall but the arcade is the other way. Oooo are we window shopping?"
"Nah. If I see something I like I don't know if I'll be able to resist the temptation." Mina admitted.
"Ah that's fair." Kari nodded "There's so many cute outfits that they go and put a big price tag on! Crush my dreams why don't they!"
Mina snorts "Yeah so while we could spend all our time in the changing rooms dreaming about what could have been I have a better idea."
"Stuff some stuff in our shirts and make a run for it?"
"No!" Mina cackled "I brought you to my favorite spot in the mall!"
"Boba Tea?" Kari asked, "That first part doesn't sound like a word."
"Okay now I know you're messing with me!" Mina whined, "I know that you've had Boba tea before!"
"Nope." Kari denied "I don't even know what constitutes as a Boba."
"It's the little balls in the tea." Mina explained, "That's the boba."
"Why are there tea balls?" Kari wondered.
"Okay, now you're doing it on purpose!" Mina accused.
"I might be."
"God, you're the worst!" Mina draped herself over Kari, who decided to accept her fate and not push back, which led to both her and Mina flat on the ground.
"Why hello there." Kari raised her eyebrows suggestively and Mina pushed herself off with a blush.
"Just for that, I'm not paying for your Boba." Mina huffed.
"Wait- how much is a Boba?" Kari asked, "This directly relates to how sorry I am."
"It's only about 250 yen." Mina answered.
"Oh cool fuck you then." Kari chirped and took a few bills out of her Orca-themed wallet.
"Rude." Mina sniffed before placing her order at the counter "By the way, you have a lot of animal-themed stuff. Orca wallet, Cat hoodie, Bird hoodie. Where do you get it all?"
"Eh here and there." She shrugs after she tells the cashier that she wants 'what the pink girl got.'
"Come on! You can't tell me you don't go somewhere special to get all this stuff! We could match!"
Kari's eyes lit up "I would love that. I changed my mind. I am showing you my favorite shop right now."
"Why were you even hesitant?" Mona wondered as she grabbed the Boba and followed after Kari.
"It was supposed to be my sister and I's special shop." Kari explained "It's a cosplay shop that sells cute animal hoodies on the side. I like the cute hoodies and my sister likes cosplay. She's a bit embarrassed about going though, so it's supposed to be just her and me."
"Oh- is it really okay for me to go then?" Mina asked.
"Yes!" Kari answered a bit too quickly "I mean- can you? Himiko doesn't have the same definition of cute as me, Auntie Aiba thinks they're too childish, and all my other friends are males. You are like- the first person to express an interest in these! And I would love it if we could match!"
"Okay! Okay!" Mina laughed "Put away the puppy dog eyes I'll go and match with you."
"Yay~" Kari skipped into the store with Mina on her heels. Mina had never been inside a Cosplay shop before but it was pretty much exactly what she expected. Wigs lined the shelves and the middle of the store was filled to the brim with school uniforms and fantasy-style dresses and armor. Kari paid none of it any mind and found herself staring at the rightmost wall. Which was completely covered in different animal hoodies. "You can pick your favorite!"
Mina's eyes immediately leaped to a hoodie that resembled a Mantis, but she looked away with a blush. She had always wanted to own the 'Otherworldly' aspect of her appearance but many times the people around her thought her interests were freaky at best…
It wasn't her fault that bugs were the closest thing to aliens in movies she could think of! Besides the hoodie even had little claws built into the sleeves. She thought it was cute but she was probably alone on that.
Kari meanwhile caught sight of what Mina was peeking at and grabbed two for them. One pink and one blue.
"Ah wait!" Mina blushed, "I didn't even say which one I wanted."
"Eh? But you were looking at this one." Kari asked confusedly, "Like for a solid thirty seconds."
"W-Well yeah but!"
"But what?" Kari said slightly annoyed "If you want it just get it."
"But it's weird!" Mina whined.
"Yeah, so am I. I didn't know that Boba Tea was awesome until like ten minutes ago." Kari sipped her quickly emptying cup "Once again, what's the big deal?"
"I mean! I-It's just that-"
"Oh!" Kari seemed to come to her own conclusion "Is it cuz of your horns? Don't worry about it. The owner can just poke a few holes in the hood for you. Then you'll look like a real mantis!" She holds the claw sleeves up in front of her "Skitatitatitatita… is- is that the sound a mantis makes? I- I actually don't know."
Mina could barely hold back her giggles "I- I don't think that's the right sound no…"
"Ah… that's a shame…"
Mina shook her head "So you really don't think it's weird?"
"Do you know who you're talking to?" Kari snorted "I'm hardly one to judge about weird interests. Besides I think." She held up the pink hoodie again. "They're adorable."
Mina grinned and posed with her blue hoodie "Yes. Yes, they are."
Quirk: LineBreaker
Friday 4/27
10 DAYS UNTIL FESTIVAL
Kaminari coughed a bit awkwardly as he stood outside detective Tsukauchi's apartment. This should not be as awkward as it felt since he literally just shit-talked Bakugo and One-Shot Kirishima a few days ago but…
Going up to one of the world's greatest detective's apartment because you left your DoubleDS on the couch, was pretty high up on the embarrassment scale.
Kaminari rang the doorbell after standing outside like a moron for what must have been at least twenty minutes when a complete stranger opened the door instead of the kindly detective he had expected. "Hello? Who are you?"
"O-Oh I-Is this not Detective Tsukauchi's place?" He stammered. His embarrassment increased tenfold as he realized he hadn't even been standing outside the right person's apartment.
"Oh no, it is!" The woman assured me, "I'm Detective Tsukauchi's sister. Call me Makoto. I'm here visiting."
She extended her hand and Kaminari shook it "O-Oh! Hi then. I'm Kaminari." Truth
"So what brings you here?" Kaminari felt a little weirded out as Makoto refused to let go of his hand. Even when he tried to pull away from her.
"Oh um… Detective Tsukauchi let me stay here after the USJ." Truth "And I left my DDS here…" Truth
"Ah, that's all?" Makoto let go of his hand "Sorry about that. My quirk lets me tell if people are lying as long as I have skin contact. I just wanted to make sure you weren't some weirdo."
"Oh! Well, I'm not! Some weirdo I mean!" Kaminari assured her 'Nailed it.'
"Clearly." Makoto snorted "Come in, we have guests but they don't bite."
"Is that a frequent problem?" Kaminari asked as he entered.
"Often enough." Makoto hummed.
"Who was at the door?" A pink-haired girl with an eyepatch asked.
"Somfbohdy dangurous?" A kind of bland-looking kid asked as he stuffed his face with leftover ramen.
"If it was somebody dangerous what would you do about it?" Makoto deadpanned "Slide after them with a mouthful of ramen? Help yourself by the way."
The plain man swallowed and chuckled a bit nervously "Hey I'm just paying you back for all the times you broke into my apartment."
"That was so many years ago." Makoto sighed "Let it go already."
Kaminari's mouth was agape in shock "Th-That's Pop Step… a-and the Cruller…"
"I'm going to scream. I'm going to flippin scream." Koichi groaned. "It's Crawler. They don't do this in America. The first week back in Japan and I've heard it like three times."
"Hey be happy people still recognize you at all." Kazuho said placatingly.
"Excuse me." Kaminari looked at Makoto "What?"
"Yes."
"Alright." Kaminari nodded, "That answers absolutely nothing."
"Uh well..." Koichi laughed "They finally managed to clear things up over here? My debt's all paid off the lawsuits are handled so I figured hey? What better way to celebrate than to fly over and watch the Sports Festival."
"And visit his girlfriend." Kazuho huffed.
"N-Newly acquired girlfriend!" Koichi stammered "T-Though you didn't h-have to wait for m-me to come back to Japan! Y-You could have just flown over to America."
"I'm poor." Kazuho gave Koichi a peace sign.
"You're lazy is what you are." Makoto snorted "One phone call to me would have gotten you to the U.S."
'This somehow got more awkward for me. How tf do I join in on this conversation?' Kaminari blinks and grabs a book "Vigilantes in Modern Society?"
"Huh?" Kazuho turned to Makoto and raised a brow "You still have a copy of that lying around?"
"It was my first book, Kazuho!" Makoto crossed her arms "Of course, I have a few copies at home."
"Shame that it never got popular outside the states." Koichi mused.
"It's probably for the best." Makoto said sadly "The hero system in Japan doesn't have the best policy for dealing with Vigilantism."
"Crazy to think that in America they just give you a slap on the wrist." Kazuho mused.
"Land of the Free." Koichi shrugged "There's more crime and villains there cuz of the reduced quirk regulations. But there's also a lower suicide and depression rate than here in Japan. Weirdly enough quirk discrimination is lower in the U.S. than it is here too."
"I mean it makes sense." Kaminari idly butts in as he read "Everyone's always showing off how they're super individual by using their quirks, so looking different becomes less of a factor."
"Wait, are you actually reading that?" Makoto asked.
"Huh?" Kaminari blushed "Oh! Sorry! I grabbed my DDS a little while ago… found the book… and uh… was kinda curious?"
"You do realize that this copy is completely in English correct?"
"Yeah?" Kaminari asked, "I'm pretty fluent in it. My dad lives in the U.K. so I've been learning it for a while."
"Oh! So you visit him often?" Kazuho asked.
"Nah. We video call about once a week though." Kaminari denied "I really learned English so me and dad could have secret conversations mom couldn't overhear. Just fun kid stuff y'know?"
Koichi snorted "Imagine Old Man Knuckleduster doing that with his kid."
Kazuho coughed up a bit of water "Koichi! Don't just say stuff like that!"
Makoto giggled a bit before looking at Kaminari "So are you…"
"I'll chill out here thanks."
"It's not your house…" Makoto muttered.
"And that is called karma." Koichi mused as he leaned back on the opposite sofa.
Two hours later, Detective Tsukauchi came across quite the strange scene. First came the expected "Welcome home bro." His sister Makoto making dinner in the kitchen.
Then came the first oddity "H-Hello there sir. Nice to see you again." Koichi laughed nervously from his couch. Technically he was here legally as a guest of Makoto's so he couldn't do anything about his presence…
Of course, wherever Koichi was… "Hi again Detective!" Kazuho was sure to follow. She was a more welcome resident as Makoto often invited her over when she was home from the states.
"What's up doc." Then there was Kaminari, who he was fairly certain had absolutely no connection to any of these people. Of course that didn't mean he didn't fit in with them somehow, of all the books he could have chosen to read, he chose the one Makoto wrote on Vigilantism.
Tsukauchi took a deep, painful breath, and sighed. "I don't want to know."
Quirk: LineBreaker
Saturday 4/28
9 DAYS UNTIL FESTIVAL
Kari headed into Gym Gamma with Tokoyami, Satou, Shouji, and Hagakure. Ojiro and Kouda were invited as well but the former had opted to train at his local dojo instead and Kouda was busy helping his mom at the vet she ran.
Kari let him know that she would only forgive his absence if he sent her pictures of all the cute animals that came in. He did her one better and sent a picture of his own pet bunny.
"So what's the deal?" Satou cracked his knuckles "I know you said you wanted to train for the sports festival but you didn't really say how."
"Well, I know what I wanna do!" Hagakure said, "I wanna learn how to have a proper fist fight! That guy at the USJ kinda taught me that stealth isn't everything. If someone like him gives me a hard time I'm gonna be screwed if someone in 1-B has a similar quirk."
"Oh! Can I spar with you then?" Kari asked, "I wanted to learn some quirkless fighting for when I'm on cooldown."
"I could assist you as well." Shouji pointed out "My quirk gives me advanced hearing so I could see you while you're completely invisible."
"It may be prudent for me to learn hand-to-hand combat as well." Tokoyami mused "As to not be dampened by the sun's scornful gaze."
"Oh! Why don't we make it a team thing then?" Kari chirped "Girls versus boys?"
"Wouldn't that still be three against two?" Shouji asked.
"Nah." Satou shook his head, "I'm gonna do some basic strength training." He picked up a 24 kg dumbbell and started doing some reps. "I'll play judge for you guys."
"What are the rules?" Shouji pressed.
"No quirks obviously." Kari started "Which includes you and Hagakure, she can wear gloves so we can see her fists. Just cuz we should get the basics down pat before we mix in fancy stuff. As for how the game itself works…hits to the chest are one point, hits to the face are two, and anything below the belt is a penalty."
"That sounds acceptable." Tokoyami nodded "In a real fight those sorts of tactics may be encouraged but they aren't what we want to show off to heroes."
After tying four of Shouji's arms behind his back, which he assured us doesn't hurt in the slightest, and putting some gloves to Hagakure, Kari turned to the resident muscle head. "Satou can you set a five-minute timer?"
The Sugar hero grunted as he put down his dumbell "Sure thing." He fiddled with his phone for a few moments before flashing them a thumbs up "You're on the clock."
You're on the clock was what Aizawa always said before they started sparring. The whole of the class had quickly related that phrase to 'get a move on or else.'
Shouji, being the only one among them skilled in fisticuffs made the first move charging at Kari with a single swing that she barely blocked. She was much more prepared for the second swing and even managed to counterpunch, which Shouji easily blocked.
Shouji lifted his left arm in a feint and Kari flinched back leaving herself open for a jab to the gut from Shouji's right. Karo grit her teeth and ducked under Shouji's next punch, getting in a body blow before feeling a soft pressure on her cheek. Shouji hadn't hit her at full, or even partial, strength but still clearly landed a blow to the head.
Hagakure and Tokoyami meanwhile were much more evenly matched. While Kari struggled to get in even a single uncontested blow Hagakure and Tokoyami were trading points with each other pretty regularly. They had an unspoken honor code not to go for the face since it would give Hagakure an unfair advantage.
Eventually, Satou's timer went off, and Shouji broke his binds just by flexing.
"Whoa…" Hagakure whispered.
The buff boy then tossed his four other classmates bottles of water, which they accepted graciously.
"I've never been so thoroughly crushed before." Kari sighed, "You're really something else you know that Shouji?"
"It's nothing much." He denied "My quirk just lends itself better to this kind of fighting."
"It was completely different from Tokoyami and Hagakure." Satou mused "Kari was on the defensive the whole time, and that was with only two of your arms!"
"Well, you are talking to the one-man army who took down more than 50 Villains at the USJ." Hagakure praised.
"Your heroism will be a boon for all of Japan." Tokoyami nodded.
"Oh well, I-" Shouji rubbed the back of his neck a bit sheepishly. "I'm glad to hear you say that."
"You think you could give us some pointers?" Kari asked
"I don't see why not." Shouji mused "Satou, would you mind helping me out?"
"You wanna do a demonstration?" He assumed, and Shouji nodded an affirmative.
"Should we set another timer?" Hagakure asked.
"If you would?" Shouji nodded, "Now pay attention to how we move."
"Yes Shouji-sensei!"
Tokoyami snorted at the larger boy's blush "You're on the clock."
Satou starts the fight quickly with a sucker punch to the gut, but Shouji is able to quickly dodge to the side and counter with a jab. The jab is caught by Satou and the fist is harshly pushed away, leaving Shouji off balance.
The upcoming overhand punch is narrowly dodged as Shouji swivels his shoulder and uses this momentum to launch a hook at Satou's head. His left arm is raised quickly to block, and he launches a jab with his right.
With no feasible way out Shouji accepts the body blow and the two step back, acknowledging the point, before going on the offensive again.
This all occurred in the span of fifteen seconds.
"It kinda looks like they're dancing." Hagakure said in awe.
"In a way, it is kinda similar." Kari relented "They're moving every part of their bodies so fluidly."
"Very different from our flailing about." Tokoyami muttered.
"They're also… much looser than we were." Kari mused, "We were fighting rigid and stiff, and they're flowing into it more."
"We really have a lot to learn huh…" Hagakure sighed.
"What a Mad Banquet of Darkness this is…"
Quirk: LineBreaker
Sunday 4/29
8 DAYS UNTIL FESTIVAL
Uraraka couldn't help but hum happily as she, Iida, and Midoriya all met up after school at the café Kari and Kaminari had visited two weeks ago. Midoriya ordered Katsudon, ignoring Iida's protest of 'But didn't you say your mom made it for you yesterday?! You must learn to diversify your eating habits.' While Uraraka got a banana crepe. "It's nice that we get to hang out again." Midoriya said earnestly "It feels like Kaachan's been keeping you all to himself recently."
Uraraka snorted "You might wanna think about your word choice there Deku. You make it sound more romantic than it is."
Iida snorted in agreement "Not to speak ill of one of our classmates. But I have to imagine that Bakugo's idea of Romance would just consist of slightly less violent threats than he gives in normal interactions."
"Iida was that a burn?" Uraraka gasped.
"It's simply an observation." Iida denied.
"Still! My point stands!" Midoriya protested "Kaachan's been signing out the training areas every day in preparation. If I didn't know better I'd say you're being held, hostage."
"He isn't keeping you hostage is he?" Iida asked strangely seriously.
"No! No! Besides, Kirishima is there too!" Uraraka assured "It's actually been weirdly helpful. I mean…" she flexed a bit "I don't have Deku level strength or anything."
"D-Deku level?!" Midoriya hid his face in his hands with a blush.
"But! I've really improved." Uraraka assured them "I really can't wait to show off what I've been learning."
"Speaking of training." Iida mused "You and All Might have been working on something together haven't you?"
"H-Huh?!" Midoriya blushed "H-How did you know?!"
"He's not exactly subtle." Uraraka snickered, "Remember when he asked you out to lunch like a lovestruck teen girl?"
"Of course not." Midoriya looked at his fist with a strangely serious expression "Oh! That reminds me, Iida."
"Hm?"
"On Monday. I wasn't really all that into the Sports Festival." Midoriya admitted "I mean, All Might took an interest in me yeah? I didn't feel like I needed to show off as much."
"Yeah, I guess there would be nobody to impress past the number one." Uraraka hummed.
"But I changed my mind." Modoriya said seriously "I don't want to make a big declaration like the others. But I made a promise to someone. So I plan on winning the Sports Festival this year."
"That's the Spirit Midoriya!" Iida congratulated "In that case! I would also like to make a similar announcement. I will consider the first milestone in my quest to inherit the name of Ingenium… Victory! In the Sports Festival!"
At that moment a chill went down the spine of a girl with a clear punk aesthetic. 'Why do I get the feeling that two more people just went insane?'
"That's a super admirable goal Iida!" Uraraka praised.
"Thank you." The Class Rep smiled "I have quite large shoes to fill if I want to follow in my brother's footsteps after all."
"Speaking of Ingenium, will he be watching the festival?" Midoriya wondered.
"Mother is recording it for him at home." Iida denied "He'll be patrolling in Hosu that day. He always patrols during the Sports Festival so a few of his sidekicks can watch it with their families."
"Awww that's so considerate of him." Uraraka cooed.
"That's my brother for you!" Iida said proudly "Honest, Strong, Fast, and Kind. That's what Ingenium has always been and always will be."
"You'll make a great Ingenium Iida!" Midoriya assured.
"Well I hope I'm on the way." Iida admitted "But I feel like there's still a long road ahead of me."
"There's a long road ahead of all of us." Midoriya denied, "But I feel like… Kaminari, Todoroki, Kari, Kirishima, Uraraka, Kaachan, me, you… we all want to walk really different roads and the Sports Festival is our first chance to really boost ourselves forwards. So! Let's hold nothing back! And work our hardest to win!"
"Plus Ultra!" Uraraka cheered with a raised fist.
"Plus Ultra!" Her two friends cheered with her.