Thanks for being patient, everyone! Here's the next chapter!
As always, there will be an Author's Note at the end that will clarify a few things in this chapter, and in the previous ones too.
Stay safe, happy, and healthy!
I do not own Reddit, nor do I own My Hero Academia.
Izuku entered the school grounds the next morning at around 0653 and found the pro hero he was supposed to be training with already there at the front gates, patiently waiting for him. After he was allowed access into the building, he followed his teacher through the halls, actively looking at all the stuff scattered throughout them as he did with interest.
As they had made their way through the building, Vlad King explained his simple plans to the curious young man. In the mornings, Izuku was to do normal quirkless workouts, and in the afternoons the two of them would begin to focus on his quirk. This was subject to change in the future when the teacher had a better understanding of how Izuku's quirk operated, and would eventually get to the point where he would be training with it twice a day in addition to whatever he did during class.
But for now, he was restricted to doing normal workouts in the morning in order to condition his body to this schedule, and to also prevent more mishaps than necessary in the beginning stages of his training.
Soon enough, they wound up at the northwestern PE grounds, the same ones that they had used yesterday for the quirk assessment tests. They made their way towards the standalone building that was nearby; apparently, this was one of the many outdoor gyms that Yuuei had to offer, free for anyone to use regardless of year or department.
Once they were inside, the green haired boy was instructed to get changed in the adjoining locker room, head to the gym (dubbed gymnasium delta) and to get in a good workout of his own choice until 0755 at the earliest.
Before Vlad King left him to his own devices, he reminded the kid to go see Recovery Girl before he went to homeroom. He also warned Izuku not to screw around when he was in there and to not be late to class, otherwise he would be making up for lost time after school. After the freckled boy nodded vigorously in understanding, Vlad King took his leave, claiming that he had a few things he had to finish up before homeroom started.
Not really expecting so much freedom at the start, Izuku decided to make the best out of this time and dove right in to his exercises. He started with a quick ten minute jog around the gym, and then began to work his way into a nice upper body workout.
He was feeling pretty good whenever 0755 came around, and after he finished his last set on the incline bench press he put away all of the weights and equipment he had used. Then, he went to go shower and change, heading straight for Recovery Girl's office right afterwards.
After a quick examination, a few dry remarks, and a healing session that left him feeling slightly drained, he began to slowly trek his way through the school towards 1B's homeroom. When he came upon the hallway of his classroom, the warning bell began to ring and he decided to pick up his pace.
When he opened the door, he wasn't expecting... much of anything at all, to say the least. Yesterday, his classmates had ignored him, and life had continued on without hardly a second glance. It was an odd comfort he was used to, if only because of his... enforced solitary roots.
So as he entered his homeroom, his brain didn't register the sudden silence until he had closed the door.
That was when he realized that he could actually hear the door close… in a room full of talkative teenagers.
Looking up with confusion and interest, he jumped back in surprise to find that every single pair of eyes in the room had zeroed in on him as he walked through the doorway.
Every. Single. Pair. Of eyes.
There was an awkward, tense silence for the space of a breath before the entire room erupted into conversation and movement.
Before Izuku could even react, some of his classmates had leapt out of their seats to swiftly approach and surround him. As the classmates before him were talking over one another, the ones who had remained in their seats began to converse loudly with their neighbors as they watched the chaos ensue. No one was able to hear much of anything as the volume in the room continued to rise, especially the boy who had become the subject of everyone's conversation.
To say he was under prepared and overwhelmed at this point of time would have been a kind, if not completely inaccurate way to say things.
Hiryu was the first to reach him with a troubled expression, seeing as he sat at the desk closest to the door.
"Dude, are you ok!? You looked like you hit that wall pretty hard-"
"-Oh! Praise be to God! We had feared the worst, Midoriya-kun-" Ibara cut in as she came around from Hiryu's left side to get right in front of him. Her eyes were slightly watery as she reached out to clasp his hand, simultaneously bringing the other to her heart. She appeared to have been clutching what looked to be a rosary in her other hand, and her innocent gesture caused the boy's body to heat up instantly.
"-You have some exquisitely volatile power there, Midoriya-sama-" Jurota proclaimed with a nod of respect as he also swiftly approached, keeping a respectful distance behind the vine haired girl as he did.
"-Oh! It's that green haired boy!-" Kinoko whispered to her neighbors in relief as she waved to get their attentions. Reiko simply glanced towards the doorway for a moment before she turned her attention back to her phone; she was in the middle of a rather good Reddit horror story, after all. Yui, on the other hand, had turned around in her seat, craning her neck to get a glimpse of the boy at the door; her clear, bright azure eyes gazed at him with an expression of utter amazement that broke through her usually stoic facade.
"-He hit that wall so hard that All Might must've heard it and thought there was a villain attack or something-" Yosetsu cackled to Shihai- who he sat behind him- not even attempting to keep his voice down. The other boy only nodded along distractedly as he tried to see if Izuku had any noticeable injuries leftover.
"-Talk about lucky to be alive, right?-" Kosei joined their conversation from their left, his eyes wide in awe over the freckled boy's miraculous survival.
"-Even with all that power, he only placed 18th yesterday... what a joke-" Sen muttered to himself from in front of Kosei as he shook his head at everyone's overblown reactions.
"-I wonder why Recovery Girl wouldn't let anyone see him yesterday after school…-" Itsuka said to her best friend as her teal eyes expressed relief at the sight of him healthy and alive. Setsuna simply nodded along as she kept her eyes glued to the boy in question.
"-You were like 'Whoosh!' and then you hit that wall like 'Wham!', and then all of us were like, 'AAAHHHHHHH!'-" Manga's head morphed from behind Hiryu for emphasis as his hands animatedly reenacted yesterday's chain of events.
"-MIDORIYAAAAAAAAAA!"
Despite all the commotion, that was hard to ignore. Especially since the one who said it had shoved his way past everyone in the small huddle around Izuku to get face to face with the timid boy.
Tetsutetsu stood before him with the same maniacal grin that he wore yesterday, the kind that could, and would, make a lesser man cower in its presence.
Which is exactly what Izuku- who was, in no way, used to any of this- was doing at this point of time.
The intense guy held out his fist in front of Izuku, and suddenly his skin took on a metallic sheen. It was a stance that promoted camaraderie and competition, and was only reinforced by the words that rushed out of the guy's mouth.
"MIDORIYA! I forgot to introduce myself yesterday man, but my name's Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and we gotta brawl it out someday soon! You got some intense power and I wanna test my mettle against yours! You're down for that, right!? Right!?-"
"Good morn- what is going on in here!?"
When Vlad King had entered the classroom, he thought that he had walked into a classic tavern brawl with Midoriya at its center. But as soon as he had made his presence known, all of his students had quieted down and scrambled back to their seats, their excitement gone as quickly as it had come.
Shaking his head, the hero decided to let their... strange behavior go for the moment and continued on with homeroom, making his way to the front of the class. He didn't know what exactly was going on (he had a few suspicions), but he decided that he would watch it from afar to see if it needed any direct intervention.
So with that in mind, he made himself comfortable as he leaned against his desk, and decided to begin the day with a couple announcements.
"So… good morning class. I hope everyone slept well?"
After a few smatterings of responses, he continued on. "Well, I'm glad that everyone seems to be well rested."
Now sitting at his desk, Izuku was more than happy to have escaped all the scrutiny he had just been under. But as he prepared himself to listen to his teacher's announcements, he felt a few small, hesitant taps on his shoulder.
Turning around, he was surprised to see the small girl behind him, Komori, slightly leaning forward in her desk. As she gave him a tentative smile, a warm brown eye peaked at him through her bangs; she whispered loud enough for only the freckled boy to hear. "I'm glad you're ok!"
Izuku, still a little red-faced, felt a small, grateful smile grow in response as he whispered back, "T-Thanks!"
Seemingly satisfied, she simply nodded and relaxed back into her seat, turning her attention towards their teacher as Izuku did the same thing.
"I have a few announcements I'd like to make before I cut you loose for the rest of homeroom. Yesterday was more or less an orientation for everyone- it was Yuuei's way of introducing all of you into the world of heroes. Now, the real training begins."
"First, let's go over your schedules. Typically, your schedules will go something like this every day: Homeroom, your mandatory school courses, lunch, your hero courses, and then we end the day with homeroom once again."
"Every day, you'll start and end with homeroom. More often than not, nothing of importance will happen unless I say otherwise, so I like to let you guys use this time as a free period. If you're smart, you would do well to use this time as a study hall."
"Next, from after study hall to before lunch will be your mandatory school courses. These include English, Japanese, History, Mathematics, the Sciences, and Literature. There may be a few others I'm missing, but those teachers will makes themselves known when the time comes. Also, the corresponding teachers will notify you of how your classes will be divided up, their rules, your schedules with them, and so on. Do not act like idiots when you are attending their classes, got it?" When the Blood Hero received smatterings of 'Yes Sensei', nods, and other confirmation methods, he gave a satisfied grunt and before deciding to continue on.
"Good. Lunch is typically an hour long. If you don't want the food made by Lunch Rush, there are little cafes and what not that are down the hill. If you go to them, do not be late coming back to class; because, as soon as lunch is finished, your hero courses will begin."
Everyone in the room perked up at the mention of the fabled Heroic Courses, so Vlad King made sure he had everyone's undivided attention before explaining what was in store for them.
"The hero courses cover a wide range of subjects, and your classes with take place both inside this classroom and out on various training fields. On the days that your Heroic courses take place in here, you will mostly be studying subjects that often come hand in hand with our careers, including Heroic Law, Heroic Ethics, Media Management, and a few Quirk Theory classes."
"Occasionally, you will also have to take a few supplementary courses that are too short to be considered an actual class, but will nonetheless be essential towards your future. These include courses such as Police Interaction and Cooperation, Rules of Engagement, After-Action Report Classes, Community Outreach, and... many others I can't think of off the top of my head at this point in time. Needless to say, everything that is taught here in this classroom will be considered 'theory'."
The hero added air quotes onto the word 'theory' as he continued on with his explanations. "What theory means in this instance encompasses the procedures and practices that our forefathers came up with before any of the rules and regulations that we have today were put in place. Even though I'm sure none of you signed up to be a hero just to listen to a bunch of lectures, do be sure to listen closely to these lessons. Because after you learn 'theory' in the classroom, you'll need to be able to practically apply it on the training fields, and vice versa."
"Out on those fields, you will undergo numerous simulations that will test how well you can apply what you've learned. These simulations include stuff like Combat Training, Rescue Training, Quirk Advancement, and Physical Training... among the many others that I'm currently drawing a blank on that are equally important."
"As you go through these simulations, please be sure to approach them with the same mentality I told you about yesterday, from before we started your assessment tests. If you already forgot what I said, don't worry about it. You'll be hearing them plenty and often on the days we are out on those training fields." There were a few dry chuckles at his comment, but overall his students appeared to have taken his words to heart.
At least, he hoped they did.
"Does anyone have any questions about the scheduling at this point of time?"
As expected, a few of the kids in the classroom did have some questions, and he was more than happy to answer them.
After the questions began to die down, he decided to tackle his second announcement.
"Alright, if no one has anymore questions... then let's talk about how you'll select your class representatives."
Some of his student's began to sit up a little straighter at the mention of open leadership, and the hero couldn't help but feel a tad guilty for what he was about to suggest.
"For those of you who are unaware, my alma mater is Shiketsu. Back when I attended, and probably still to this day, the class reps were chosen by the teachers. They were handpicked based on their grades and their overall conduct; because they were, their performance as class representative helped raise the bar for the entire class, just by virtue of them already being outstanding students prior to selection."
"I, personally, prefer this method over what Yuuei usually likes to do, since the students selected to be the representatives were chosen based on merit and not popularity."
"Normally, I wouldn't even bring attention to this class representative business until later on in the year when it actually matters… but based on what I've seen so far, and the records I have access to, I figured, why not? From what I've seen, I already have a handful of excellent picks for the office positions."
"But, that's only if you guys are ok with doing this the Shiketsu way. If you guys want to choose your own class representatives as per the Yuuei tradition, now is the time to raise your hand and let me know."
"Out of curiosity, Sensei, who have you picked?" inquired Shishida in a deep voice laced with hope, as he raised his hand from the front of the class.
"If we were to select your leaders the Shiketsu way, then I would choose Kendo-san as class representative-"
Immediately, the redheaded girl took offense to this, if her affronted expression was any indication to her inner thoughts. But at the same time… she was strangely flattered by his consideration. (Oh, so now he wants to listen to me!?)
"- and Tokage-san as deputy class representative.-"
The green-haired girl had a similar, if slightly more peeved reaction as she visibly recoiled at the suggestion. (He...can't be serious, right?)
"-If either of them decline, the next two I would consider would be Honenuki-kun and Shiozaki-san."
The former merely raised an eyebrow at this as he quickly weighed the pros and cons of the position he could potentially be in, seeing as Tokage-san was probably going to decline the offer right away. If his interactions with her yesterday and from the recommendation tests were anything to go off of, he would be very surprised if she accepted.
Granted, he couldn't really criticize her for not taking up the position... because he was probably about to do the exact same thing.
The later sat up a little straighter, her face conveying her surprise and expressing how touched she felt from being considered. Her vibrant eyes lit up at the prospect that, if she were in that position, she could do a lot of potential good, for everyone.
Seeing that his class had started to talk among themselves about their available options, the teacher decided to settle things before their attentions began to wander and their chatter began to get too loud.
"Alright, so before we get any further, let's go ahead and decide right now how you'll chose your leaders: everyone who wants to select them through majority vote, raise your hand." Vlad King quickly counted six votes, consisting of Tetsutetsu, Fukidashi, Tsuburaba, Awase, Shiozaki and Kendo. He was a little surprised that the last two had elected for this option, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they were both trying to keep things fair. He almost smiled at the thought that two of his best candidates were indirectly looking out for their peers; it only helped to cement his belief that, if they were ever given the chance, those two young women would make incredible leaders.
"And now those of you who want to select them by merit, raise your hands." Eight hands rose up this time, and among them were Komari, Kodai, Midoriya, Shoda, Bondo, Tsunotori, Shishida, and Rin. In all honesty, the hero was a little surprised by Shishida's choice; from the way he carried himself, the hero had thought that the furry teen would have chosen the majority vote option to get a chance to lead... and yet, he had willingly decided to follow instead. Hmmm... A proud young man with a good head on his shoulders... I'll have to keep an eye on him in the future.
The rest, the teacher presumed, simply didn't care enough to cast a vote... much to his slight irritation.
"It appears that we'll be choosing your student reps through merit, class B!" As the classroom reacted accordingly to the news, the teacher turned to address his top two candidates and asked, "Kendo-san, Tokage-san... would the two of you be willing to fill those roles?"
Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Tokage raised her hand and spoke before there were any misunderstandings. "Yeah, no. Sorry Kan Sensei, but I don't want any part of that."
"You what?!" Kendo hissed to her friend as she whirled around to face her. At the same time, the other recommendation student began to speak his peace as the teacher turned towards him expectantly.
"Same here. Sorry to disappoint you, Sensei." At least Honenuki sounded apologetic... though the added shrug at the end made him appear more indifferent than anything, in his teacher's eyes.
"Sorry Itsi, but that kind of stuff is just so boring. And tedious." The wily girl whispered back to the redhead.
"But you'd be so good-!"
"I promise you, I wouldn't-"
"So you're just gonna ditch me?!"
"…yup…"
"Wha-!"
"~Love ya lots, Itsi!~-"
"Don't patronize me!"
As the two childhood friends held their whispered argument, Vlad King found his mood slightly soured. In all honesty, he had expected that both of his recommendation students would decline the offer, but still... he couldn't help but feel just a bit disappointed. (Damn slackers... what a shame…)
He turned to his last option, and was pleasantly surprised to find her already staring earnestly and expectantly at him, sitting forward in her chair with her back straight. "So, Shiozaki-san, how would you like to be one of the class representatives?"
Her reply was immediate as her voice came out clear and humble."I gratefully accept, Sensei! I would love to help out my fellow classmates, in any way I can!"
"Excellent!" Vlad King felt a small smile grow on his face, knowing that at least one of his picks would go through with it. Now to see if the other one would do the same...
"How about you, Kendo-san?"
The redhead quickly whipped her head around at the mention of her name. As she did, her side ponytail quietly slapped Tokage across her face, leaving the other girl flinching and snickering at her friend's cheap shot. "That… depends, Sensei… Is class representative just a position? Or will what Shiozaki-san and myself actually say have some weight with your decisions?"
Her tone may have been polite, but her teal eyes challenged the teacher pointedly. While there were only a few people who knew the exact context of her words, the entire class had all seen her arguing with their teacher during the last 20 minutes or so of the assessment test. While they didn't know the entire situation, they could feel the subtle weight in her words.
But those who did know the context of her words reacted appropriately to her open challenge.
Jurota almost had his jaw drop to the floor as he turned in his seat to look at her with incredulity. Juzo, who had figured out yesterday what was going on through context, openly stared at the back of her head in surprise as he internally admired her moxie. And Setsuna had simply collapsed face-down onto her desk in a fit of laughter; her back was shaking as she tried her hardest to muffle the sounds that were coming out of her mouth with a clamped hand as the other clutched her stomach.
The teacher merely nodded along solemnly, not really expecting her reaction, but then again not really surprised by it either.
Yeah... I deserved that. "Yes Kendo-san, both of your words will hold weight to my decisions. I'll be the first to admit that yesterday, had I taken the time to listen to your worries… a lot of things could have been prevented." The hero paused slightly, the memory of his student's broken body still fresh in his mind and Recovery Girl's understandably irate words reverberating in his consciousness.
"That being said... what's done is done, and regardless of anything else, I do believe you showed the most pro-activeness and compassion that I've seen in a while, which are two very important traits that are required in all great leaders."
"It's not a problem at all if you want to decline. I can respect your decision, and there are other students that I can choose from. But don't let one bad experience convince you that nothing will ever change in the future."
The redheaded girl looked to the side for just a moment before her teal eyes met his maroon ones. "I'll do it, Sensei."
The teacher let himself fully smile at her words; spreading his arms wide, he pointed one arm each to the two young women who would lead the class and gave them an introduction that he felt they deserved. "Then it's settled! Class B, please join me in welcoming your new class representatives! Kendo Itsuka and Shiozaki Ibara!"
As the two young women graciously accepted their new roles with bashful smiles and slightly pink faces, the entire class broke out into polite applause. There might have been a few students who took the opportunity to crack a few jokes on the situation, and there may have been a few who had quietly grumbled under their breath for reasons known only to them. But overall? Every single student in class 1B supported the decision to place the two of them in charge.
That was just how good of an impression the two young woman had made upon their peers, after just one day.
Eventually, Vlad King settled his class down once more, and began his last announcement.
"I have one last announcement, and then you guys are free to do as you like before first period starts. Today for your hero courses, we will begin your Basic Combat Training. Essentially, you'll be educated on the fundamentals of combat while you learn how to properly fight… without your quirks. Basic Combat Training will essentially take up your fifth and sixth periods for today, so remember to come back to homeroom once we're done that way I can dismiss you guys afterwords."
As he finished his sentence, the Blood Hero picked up the subtle shift in enthusiasm as many of his students seemed to deflate a little at the news. The teacher had hoped that his students would be a little more understanding than he was at their age, but apparently young blood will crave for action in any generation. Hoping to stop their disappointment before it got any worse, he pushed on with a voice he hoped wasn't as flat as it felt.
"Listen... I understand that this makes for a very boring start to your careers. But you guys need to realize that not everyone is at the same level of ability and experience. This is a good way to create a standard for everyone to follow. Also, I'm pretty sure some of you may have accidentally developed a few bad habits when it comes to fighting, and going over the basics is the best way to break them."
"It's important for all of you to build a foundation in anything you do, especially in our line of work. It's something so simple that we often take it for granted up until the day we actually need it the most. In fact, your other instructor for the today's heroics will share a personal story of his, explaining why he believes learning and growing from the fundamentals is important to your well-being. I know it's troublesome, but please take this seriously- you'll thank me in the future if you do."
Vlad King watched as the classroom's mood mellowed out as the students digested his word after being given a fresh perspective from their own inexperienced point of view. He nodded to himself, glad that his students could see the bigger picture and were even willing to put their pride aside for a few hours. It was proof of their maturity at such a young age, and he was thankful for every bit of it.
"If no one has anything else for me… go ahead and treat the rest of homeroom as a free period. Kendo-san and Shiozaki-san, come see me for a moment please."
As the teacher turned to sit in his desk and the two young women strode towards him, everyone began to act upon their own whims as they enjoyed the last 12 minutes or so left in homeroom. The conversations were pretty relaxed, and the buzz of excitement was in the air as the first years began to talk animatedly about what their future would hold while they attended this school.
Izuku simply smiled to himself, content and thankful to once again be a wallflower as he enjoyed the surreal, yet comforting ambiance of the room.
Prior to coming to Yuuei, Izuku's experiences with mobs, and loud people, and being the sole focus of everyone's attention had never been... pleasant. Not in the slightest. So, it was only natural for Izuku that today, as all eyes fell onto him, he had become a little more than slightly on edge and off-balance. Especially when his classmates had rushed to him out of worry and all the attention he had received wasn't from animosity for the first time in his life.
It was just so... weird, to be in the same building as Kacchan- no less than 100 meters away- and not have the feeling of overt hostility hanging over his head. And receiving praise, and camaraderie, and concern from his peers? It was like he had stumbled onto another piece of the puzzle to himself, one that he hadn't realized was missing in the first place.
Izuku shook himself from his idle thoughts. Currently, he had a lot on his plate and sitting here doing nothing wasn't going to make them go away.
He took out his singed notebook, eager to get a few of his thoughts out of his head and organized onto paper. Normally, he would have done this last night when it was still fresh in his mind, but he had been so tired from all the excitement and from Recovery Girl's quirk that he had gone straight to bed after he had finished his meal and had comforted his very worried mother.
First, he had mandatory training twice a day with Vlad King Sensei, so that meant he had to adjust his daily workout schedule. He had almost missed the train this morning because he had tried to do his normal morning routine at the usual time, so he was going to have to wake up a little earlier from now on.
Sensei had wanted him to show up every day at around 7, but he never mentioned when his training after school would end… And Izuku was pretty sure that All Might wanted him to go straight to… wherever their new training location was going to be as soon as he was done at school.
That meant that for the first few weeks, Izuku was going to have to adjust his usual routine after school on the fly, since he had no idea how long either of his training sessions would last.
And that meant he was going to have to do homework on the train ride between places, and probably in All Might's truck too, in order to make up for lost time. But maybe he could do a few of the reading assignments as he walked? He'd have to see if Yuuei had an audiobook system; if they did, it would help him out immensely.
Regardless, that left him with only a few scattered minutes here and there to do some assignments between training sessions… and doing the rest of his work was going to be tricky, because he would only have a few hours, give or take, dedicated for… study… and for… homework…
Out of nowhere, Izuku began to feel like he was being watched. Intently watched.
Hesitantly, he lifted his head from his notebook to seek the pair of eyes that were focused on him. There were still more than a few conversations going on in the classroom, so it was difficult to tell where the sensation was coming from. But he took a guess, and swiveled his head towards the direction he thought he felt the gaze, only to find...
… Tokage-san lightly staring him down?...
The girl in question had an absent expression, but her eyes were narrowed into a slightly vexed scowl and her lips had formed into the tinniest of frowns. She was slouching in her seat with her body turned towards him, and her elbow rested on her desk as her cheek leaned against her fist. Sitting with her legs crossed, her elevated foot tapped impatiently against the open air, and everything about her simply said 'agitated'.
The two of them suddenly made eye contact, and Izuku looked away almost immediately, his face and ears heating up and turning him slightly pink. All of his previous thoughts about schedules and training were instantly gone as he desperately tried to solve the riddle of why she was staring at him like that in the first place...
He heard an awkward laugh to his left before she cleared her throat. "Sorry! Sorry. Didn't mean to scare ya, Izuku. I was just… ya know…"
As he turned to look back at her, she gestured towards his face, his arms, his hands, his… everything. Her previous facial expression was gone, and in its place was the usual one he was used to, with a touch more concern spread throughout her features. "How is everything feeling from yesterday? You, uh, took quite the… acceleration. Like, straight to the face…"
"O-oh! Everything is fine, T-Tokage-san! Recovery Girl healed m-most of my injuries yesterday, and uh, she finished healing me this morning, before I-I came to class. I'm, uh, perfectly healed! Just, uh," he paused to yawn into his hand, "just uh, a little tired from the treatment..."
"What were you're injuries, if you don't mind us being a little nosy?"
Izuku turned his attention to see the redheaded girl with a side ponytail just now coming back to her seat. She was peering at him through curious teal eyes, which were also mixed with a little bit of concern. But before he had the chance to respond, she shook her head and waved her hands in front of her, quickly sitting down in a way so that she could face the two of them with ease. "Ah! Wait, wait! I completely forgot- I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? Sorry for the slip of manners, but I'm Kendo Itsuka. You can call me Itsuka if you like!" she finished with a bright smile.
As she was introducing herself, there were a few people who had happened to catch a couple words of their conversation. When they did, they began to react discreetly in order to indulge their curiosities.
"Ah, i-it's fine K-Kendo-san. My name's M-Midoriya Izuku. And I had, uh… w-well… a f-few injuries…"
As Izuku took the time to list his injuries, glossing over and downplaying all of them the best he could, he became unusually aware of the fact that his audience consisted of a little more than the two young women before him.
As he watched their faces warp from amazement to shock, he noticed the chubby boy in front of him shift in his seat. He had turned his head slightly inwards so that he could listen a little better, leaving the sports feeds on his phone temporarily forgotten.
He felt the eyes of both the ashen-gray haired girl and the brunette in front of her staring right at him as they momentarily forgot about their conversation. The former listened raptly to his words with chilling interest, as the later observed him with a quiet curiosity that slipped through her normally passive facade.
Komori, who sat behind him, had stopped her idle doodling, quietly whimpering at some the obviously watered down details of his accident. As Izuku continued on with his list, she couldn't help but tremble at some of the things he mentioned... and wondered about the things he didn't.
It was hard not to see Tetsutetsu, who was on the other side of Tokage, as he turned his head every now and then in a desperate attempt to also listen in. Even though he was already part of another discussion, he still somehow managed to catch a few bits and pieces of Izuku's words... and it only served to throw fuel on his already lit fire.
Izuku also saw in his peripherals how the boy in the front of his row, the big guy with shaggy hair and glasses (That's… Shishida-san, right?), react to his anecdote. The boy in question had started off simply using his sharp hearing to listen in, but soon he too slowly found himself turning to face Izuku with a flabbergasted expression on his face as the freckled boy finished his list.
And even though Izuku had felt another pair of eyes watching him, he was unable to tell where they were coming from…
…But that was only because Togaru had been keenly observing him through the reflection of the windows from the back of his row, doing his absolute best to keep his slaughterous anticipation under control. He was having one hell of a time doing that, if the half-formed 20 centimeter serrated blade sticking out of his right palm from under his desk was any indication. He also couldn't stop his knee from bouncing in excitement, and he had to hide the savage leer that was spreading on his face behind his other hand. It had been a while since he had accidentally created a blade- a serrated blade, at that- and it was proof of his craving for carnage against a guy who could utterly destroy him in one hit.
Incredible power... Blinding speed... And the audacity to survive somethin' that shoulda left him for dead... Yeah, I'm fightin' this guy, one way or another... Now the question is, who would win? Me with my blades? Or him n' his strength?...
Izuku's two original listeners sort of just... gawked at him for a few moments after he finished his list, until Setsuna shook herself from her astonishment and gave a low, appreciative whistle. "God… damn dude..."
Itsuka could only nod earnestly in agreement, her eyes wide as she meekly added her own thoughts. "Yeah… wow… any normal person would… probably not be here after that particular impact..."
The green-haired girl shot an unimpressed glance towards her friend for the use of their little inside joke, but then realized that it had just been a slip of the tongue. Quickly, she turned her attention back to the boy that continued to baffle her and shot him a grin. "You're made of stronger stuff than you look, Izuku-"
"-And you're also incredibly, stupidly, lucky…" Itsuka cut across her friend, her eyes hardening slightly as she bored her gaze into the now fidgety green-eyed boy. "You do realize that if All Might hadn't have shown up when he did, you probably would have died, right?"
"YEAH, ISN'T ALL MIGHT THE GREATEST!"
Izuku immediately clamped his hands over his mouth as soon as his brain had registered his outburst, and his eyes widened as his face burned in mortification. Even though Izuku was now his successor and had known the hero in and out of his true form for almost an entire year… he just couldn't help his instinctive excitement at the mention of his name...
His little outburst brought a ripple of snickers upon his peers, unknowingly breaking the spell that had been cast on his eavesdroppers; his reaction was a good reminder that even though he possessed a powerful quirk, at the end of the day, he, too, was just another kid. They once again returned to their own devices, happy to take up the conversations from before as though nothing interesting had happened in the first place.
Izuku, Setsuna, and Itsuka paid no mind to the sudden shift of their classmates' behaviors, as all three suddenly became very invested with this conversation, for different reasons.
The green-haired boy could only sit as still as he could, praying that they would overlook his excitement just this one time. Desperately, he searched their faces for any confirmation of his prayers.
Kendo looked more or less ready to give him a lecture that could probably rival Kan Sensei's, but it had appeared that she didn't really care about his over the top enthusiasm at all.
Izuku felt himself breathe out a tiny sigh of relief… but then he made the mistake of glancing at Tokage, and any hope he had of leaving the conversation with his dignity in one piece instantly evaporated.
With creeping dread, the young man remembered that yesterday, he had admitted to the devious girl before him about his… guilty pleasures, and how much she had savored that particular revelation. Naively, he hoped she wouldn't connect his excitement just now to what she had learned yesterday, but a part of him already knew that idea was a lost cause.
She wasn't even trying to hide the gleeful smile on her face, and her eyes shimmered eagerly with mischievous energy. He didn't know what exactly was going to happen, but he did know that whatever it was, she was going to enjoy every second of it.
And even though he dreaded the teasing that was to come… somehow, deep in his gut, he knew that this time around... it wasn't going to be malicious in nature. Uncomfortable and embarrassing? Sure, easily. But nasty and cruel? Never in a million years.
He… wasn't quite sure what to think of that...
"Midoriya-kun, it doesn't matter if he is the greatest hero in the world or not! You are still so incredibly lucky to have survived something as careless as that! Seriously, most of us were really worried about you! It was just a stupid test; there wasn't any need for you to risk your life like that-"
"I-I'm really s-sorry to have upset y-yo-"
"- in the first place! Especially when your hands were already horribly injured! And, look, I get that you had your hands temporarily treated, or whatever, but you really should have gone to Recovery Girl's office as soon as you were done with that grip test! No, scratch that- you should have went as soon as the initial test was done!"
"I'm sorry K-Kendo-san! I-I just wan-"
"Honestly! After you had crashed into that wall, it took Vlad King Sensei at least thirty or forty seconds to get to you, and the rest of us solid two or three minutes! What do you think would have happened if All Might hadn't been there, Midoriya-kun? Or the… ah… upperclassmen-"
"Oh, the cute one? The one that was hung like a horse?" Setsuna happily chirped in as Itsuka seemed to falter for the first time in her rant at the mention of the upperclassmen. Itsuka was by no means a prude (quite the opposite actually, just like her friend), but the whole crazy situation yesterday had caught the usually level-headed girl off guard in more ways than one. And even though none of the first years had seen any of his goods, Setsuna wasn't one to waste such a rare opportunity of riling up her usually unshakable sister when it presented itself.
Red-faced, the ginger rounded to her friend, her voice an octave higher than it was before. "That's beside the point, Setsi!-"
"Upperclassmen? Horses?" The confusion was as clear as day on the freckled boy's face, and even more so in his voice.
"Oh yeah! You were probably unconscious, so you wouldn't remember. Apparently, the wall you crashed into was the homeroom of one of the third year classes! The guy we're talking about came out all naked and stuff to investigate what had happened, and then he tried to teabag you- "
"Wait, what?!- "
"He was checking his vitals, Setsuna! Anyway, back to the issue at hand," Kendo seemed to forcibly regain her composure as she took a deep breath and exhaled, rounding back to the green-haired boy. "You had no way of knowing that All Might would have shown up in the first place, Midoriya-kun, so what possibly possessed you to do something so reckless?!"
"Yeeeaaah! Itsi's right, Izuku!" Setsuna chimed in eagerly. "Who in the world could ever know All Might's exact whereabouts at any given time? That's like... asking a random person on the street if they can list his height and weight off the top of their head! Or his address! Or even his blood type! There's no way anyone in the world could ever possibly know about any of those well-guarded secrets… Unleeeess~..."
She paused dramatically as she began to tap a finger against her chin, her eyes rotated upward in 'thought'. "Unless~… of course, if they did some high quality stalking in their free-"
Setsuna abruptly stopped talking to let out an extremely loud, extremely fake gasp, bringing both of her hands up to cover her mouth in a mock-scandalized manner as she made deliberate eye contact with Izuku.
As Izuku frantically waved his arms in front of him and sputtered out some gibberish in denial, Itsuka took a deep breath and sighed.
Leave it to her childhood friend to let her know that she was being a bit too… 'smotherly', as Setsuna so lovingly called it. It didn't take a genius to know that the green-haired girl was discreetly telling her best friend that she was being a little too hard on the guy and to ease up a bit. So, peacefully, Itsuka decided to oblige her sister's request.
But as she did, she couldn't help but wonder… what was up with that stalking comment?
It turned out, the teal-eyed girl didn't have to wait too long to solve that mystery.
"I-I-I d-don't stalk a-anyone, T-Tokage-san, I swear! I-I only watch the stuff on the n-news, and, and from t-their interviews, and uh their, uh, their fights w-with the v-villains, and- "
"So, you're not denying that you have All Might's height and weight committed to memory?"
"E-Everyone knows that All Might is 220 centimeters tall and weighs 255 kilograms!"
Itsuka whipped her attention towards the boy with wide, startled eyes at that little fun fact. Ummm… what?...
Setsuna, on the other hand, continued her ribbing with a smirk as she barely managed to suppress her delight. Suffice to say, she was having way too much fun right now. "That's some pretty specific information there, Izuku..."
"A-Anyone could l-look up that information- !"
"Yeah, but you didn't. You just whipped it out like it was common knowledge! Which, I pinky promise you, it is not." For emphasis, the green-eyed girl held up her own pinky finger and detached it, floating it towards the nervous boy so that it could snake its way around one of his own pinkies. She enjoyed watching him squirm even more at the sudden contact than was probably necessary, and it was taking everything she had to hold back all her laughter from his antics.
As she recalled her pinky, she then had the brilliant idea to bate him with every geek's biggest pet peeve and simultaneous worst nightmare: incorrect information about a subject they love.
"Now see, here is an example of common knowledge: everyone knows that All Might's office is somewhere on the east side of Shinjuku Ward in Tokyo-"
Aaaand like clockwork, Izuku fell for it hook, line, and sinker as his eyebrow involuntarily twitched at her words.
"-E-Excuse me Tokage-san, b-but it's really not! His main office is Minato Ward, Roppongi 6-12-1, 106-0032."
A silence began to stretch between the three of them as Izuku's face slowly morphed into dread; his emerald eyes shrank in horror as he realized exactly what had just happened.
Setsuna's grin, on the other hand, simply widened in triumph as her elation skyrocketed; her malachite eyes danced with mirth at just how easy and delightful teasing him was. Her smile was reminiscent of a cat that had just caught a canary, and the redhead next to her felt a little bad for the freckled boy, knowing that he had already lost this battle of wits against her best friend.
Still though, Itsuka was more than a little stunned at the revelation of the freckled boy's… rather peculiar knowledge.
"I-I-I'm not a stalker, T-Tokage-san, I s-swear!"
"You're doing a real bang-up job of convincing me otherwise, Izuku..."
As Setsuna took even more enjoyment at watching the green-eyed boy's anxiety intensify, Itsuka took the chance to clear her throat and change the topic, giving the poor boy a break from all the teasing and to also rectify her previous behavior. "Hey, Midoriya-kun, I'm… I'm sorry that I was a bit too hard on you, just a while ago. It's sort of… a bad habit of mine where I get a bit too, ah…"
"Smotherly!" Setsuna happily provided with a cheeky grin, as Itsuka threw her sister an irritated glare. Izuku simply looked on in confusion, not used to talking with others for such a long time and lost from all the different directions that their conversation had went.
"S-Smotherly?..."
"Yeah, smotherly! Like a smothering mother, ya know?" Oh man, Setsuna was relishing every second of this conversation. "Itsi will always have your best interests in her mind and heart, Izuku, but sometimes, it can be a bit much. Like it was a few seconds ago!-"
"-Anyway," Itsuka interrupted forcefully, sending a sharp nudge of her elbow towards her antagonizing friend, "the bottom line that I was wanting to say, is that I'm glad you're ok Midoriya-kun. And I really hope that what happened to you yesterday doesn't happen anytime in the near future. And, again… I'm really sorry that I was overbearing."
After she saw the boy relax and smile slightly in response, she turned her attention towards her friend, her expression switching from grateful to annoyed with ease. "Now, can you please lay off the both of us? Midoriya-kun just finished his recuperation with Recovery Girl; keep giving him grief, and he'll end up right back in there with a heart attack."
"Aw you're no fun, Itsi; I was only teasing…" Setsuna pouted at her friend, who only shot her a level stare in return.
Then a thought crossed her mind and she turned towards Izuku. Suddenly, her mischievous expression melted into a gentler one, and her voice took on a kinder tone. "Hey… you know I'm only teasing you, right?..."
She was suddenly hit with the memories of their interactions yesterday; specifically, of how socially awkward and timid he was. She may have given him grief over his hobby, but she genuinely thought it was pretty cool. But now… she was mentally kicking herself. There was, without a doubt, a reason why he had acted that way in the first place… and that reason probably wasn't a good one, given the way he reacts…
She was brought out of her musings when she saw Izuku give a little smile; his face was still a little red from all the good-natured jokes, but his expression was probably the most easy-going and receptive that she'd seen on him yet so far. "Of course, Tokage-san. It's just… it's a little… weird… or, something…" he trailed off, mumbling to himself as his eyes traveled elsewhere.
But after a moment he returned his attention back to the girl, gracing her with a small smile. It was a smile that understood her intentions, one that recognized her moderation and was grateful for it. It was a smile that was content, yet timid... and Setsuna couldn't help but return it with a small smile of her own. It reflected her gratitude for his understanding, and her assurance for her empathy. It was a smile that was eager, yet patient, and held the promise of her good will. It was a promise that the boy across from her freely accepted and returned wholeheartedly, which unknowingly marked the start of something new for the both of them.
"See, Itsi? Just some good ol' fashioned friendly teasing," she said as she addressed her redheaded friend, who only responded by sending her a dry, flat look.
"Anyway... I'm really glad you're doing better too, Izuku," she said to the boy sitting next to her, giving him a sincere, gentle grin.
"T-thank you, T-Tokage-san! I-I really appreciate it!"
"… you do know you can call me Setsuna, right?"
As Izuku stammered out a half-assed reason as to why he didn't want to be rude and intrude on her boundaries, the bell that signaled the end of homeroom rang. Soon enough, the students were using the time to go to the restroom or else preparing for what was to come…
… Which, as it turned out, was pretty much nothing out of the ordinary.
Even though everyone in class 1B was aspiring to be a hero, they were all made to realize one cruel reality: they were still teenagers attending high school. Which meant they had to study all the normal courses just as diligently as the other departments did.
There… were a few upsides and downsides to this.
The upside was that basically, every teacher for the hero course students was a pro hero. For many of the students, this turned out to be a surreal experience as everyone saw these iconic public figures doing something so… ordinary. It wasn't every day where anyone could see an interview or a TV special with Cementoss where he talked about his love of Japanese literature, and it was probably pretty hard to find anything on Midnight raving about her love for the sciences and arts on the internet when she is well known for... other things.
But after it was revealed that their classes would be taught by pro heroes instead of regular teachers, the downsides slowly began to emerge. Even the pro heroes, as skilled and as talented as they are, could not make the school subjects interesting to a bunch of teenagers. Even Present Mic, with his youthful DJ lifestyle, couldn't make conjugation any more exciting than it already was.
Which, to clarify, it was not.
The one silver lining in all of this was that the first half of their day flew by quickly. Their morning basically consisted of pop quizzes that tested their general knowledge and the teachers handing out all the important paperwork for their classes, like the syllabus. Time flew by so fast that the students didn't even realize that it was lunch time until Ectoplasm had walked out of the classroom and the bell began to ring, signifying that they had roughly one hour to enjoy their meals.
And then after that... the subject that everyone was excited for.
Author's Note Time!
I do apologize for not showing Izuku's new training with Vlad King this chapter. Hopefully, the reasons I gave will satisfy you guys enough to understand. I promise though, it will be coming soon!
Also, I know a lot of you were ready for the Battle Trials, so I do apologize for shoehorning something entirely different instead. I do have my reasons though, the first being that I want Izuku to come to terms with something during his Basic Combat Training, and the second being how I picture Yuuei's schedules work. The way I understood how their schedules work, it appeared that Class A and B would switch their heroic subjects everyday.
For example, if on Monday Class A did subject 1 and Class B did subject 2, then on Tuesday, Class A would do subject 2 and Class B would do subject 1. In my eyes, it explained why we never saw Class B in literally anything that Class A did in their heroics classes, especially when some of the testing grounds were more than big enough to accommodate both of the classes.
Coincidentally, my high school also did scheduling this way, which is probably why I was inclined to see it like that in the first place.
Hopefully, you guys didn't mind how I conducted the class rep business. Ibara seemed like a great fit for the deputy role.
For all of you who review: I thank you so much for the support and the input! Seriously, it means the world to me!
Thanks again for reading, everyone! You guys are awesome, and please stay safe and healthy! It may be a while for my next chapter, but I promise I'll get it out as fast as I can!
