The next Monday we were back to class. Our classmates were discussing their internships, while myself, Midoriya and Iida had congregated at my desk to discuss what had happened to us. Kaminari finally turned the attention to us, and the whole class turned our way.
"You know, the ones who've transformed the most would be those three."
"The hero killer!" cried Hanta Sero, who was being manhandled by Bakugou along with Kirishima.
"At least you three are ok!" cried the latter.
"I was so worried," said Yaoyorozu, looking at me, with her hand to her heart and a sad look in her eyes.
"Lucky Endeavor came in and saved you guys! That's the Number 2 hero for you!" came the choruses.
Right. I thought about the chief's words. "Yeah. We were rescued," I muttered resentfully. Midoriya caught my eye and looked away.
"I saw it on the news," continued Ojiro. "Something about the Hero Killer and the League of villains being connected. Imagine if a really scary guy like that had showed up at USJ!"
"He's pretty scary, sure," said Denki Kaminari. "But did you see that video, Ojiro? I dunno if it was his single-track mind or tenacity, but don't you think he's kinda cool?"
What the hell is he thinking?!
"Kaminari!" cried Midoriya. At these words Kaminari jumped and placed his hand on his face.
"Oh, iida, I'm so sorry!"
"It's all right," said Iida. "He was certainly a man of conviction, so I understand if people find him cool. However, he chose to advance his cause by means of a purge, and whatever beliefs you may hold, that alone is in error. And so, in order that people like me may not hereafter multiply, I shall proceed down the path towards being a hero anew!" And just like that, he was back to his usual moves, ordering the class and calling me, the Deputy rep, to order.
Our exercise in class that day was a training session with All Might, in a brand new stage that looked like a huge mess of pipes, buildings and construction equipment.
"I AM HERE…is the note I usually start on, but right, onto foundational hero study time!" boomed our teacher. "It's been a while, boys and girls. In good spirits, I hope?"
"That was a really lukewarm entry…after so long too. He must have run out of schticks," a few of our classmates muttered.
"Right! on the heels of all your workplace experience, this time we'll do something playful,' said Sensei, muttering back "Run out? Never. My supply of schticks is inexhaustible." Then, back to business: "It's a rescue training race."
"Shouldn't rescue training be conducted at USJ?" Iida called back in his usual over-serious tone.
"No, that place is for disaster rescue. What was I saying? This is a race. This place is training ground gamma, where densely packed lanes make this construction site seem more like a complex labyrinth. Make four groups of five! We'll done the training one group at a time. When I've given the distress signal somewhere n the area, you all simultaneously start form the outside limits. This is a competition to see who can get to me first. Of course, keep damage to the surrounding buildings at a minimum," he finished, pointing at Bakugou, who snarled back
"Stop pointing at me."
The first five up were Midoriya, Ojiro, Iida, Mina, and Sero. Our classmates were soon taking all bets on who'd get in first
"Iida hasn't made a complete recovery yet. He should just sit this one out."
"All the kids with the most maneuverability in the class are in that group."
"Yeah, but I'd say Midoriya's at a slight disadvantage here," reasoned Yaoyorozu. I was a little surprised for a moment before eI remembered that no one else in class had seen Midoriya's new moves yet.
"Yeah, I'm not really sold on his power yet," said Jirou. With a nod, Yaoyorozu added, "I mean, whenever he tries anything he gets hurt."
"I'd say Sero takes first," said Kirishima.
"I'm betting on Ojiro!" said Kaminari.
"I say Ashido! Her reflexes are nuts!" said Mineta.
Predictably, Bakugou chimed in, "Deku's dead last!"
"He has that wound handicapping him," said Uraraka, "But I still feel like it'll be Iida."
START! blared over the phone.
Sero went jumping out ahead of everyone else, flying over the buildings with ease.
"See, look! It makes sense to be above everyone else," said the triumphant Kirishima.
But suddenly Sero was surpassed by a blur, speeding through the air above buildings and jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
It was -
"MIDORIYA?!" everyone cried out, finally catching up to me.
Watching him again, those moves remind me of someone else…
I looked over to see how Bakugou was taking this development. He looked furious, as though realizing as I did that Midoriya's moves resembled his.
I was able to win mine fairly easily, and left off wondering if we were headed towards another fight between those two.
In homeroom the next morning, Sensei told us "Summer break is fast approaching. Of course, we can't just let you relax an entire month. We'll be going to a summer break forest lodge."
Everyone started cheering.
"TRUTH OUR DARE!" squealed Mina, fist pumping. Asui added "Fireworks, and Iida "Curry." So much fun!
"However," Sensei silenced us with a glare, "Should any of you fall short of a passing grade for the end of term test, then you're stuck in remedial hell.'
"Let's do our best, everyone!" Kirishima called out.
Our summer training camp - another opportunity to get better, to surpass our limits…
