Chapter 11: Total Pandemonium
A/N: Nedzu's here
"So, Nedzu is planning to give UA's press conference today?" Tsukauchi asked Yagi. Yagi had finished morning training with Izuku and Watanabe and was now having lunch with his friend.
"Yup, at least that's what Nedzu told me. I asked Aizawa and he said the same thing. Though, he was quite annoyed for some reason," Yagi replied.
"Do you know when they plan on releasing a statement though?" Tsukauchi asked in between bites.
"I'm not sure, to be honest. I will be heading to UA after we finish, so I'll ask then. But UA will probably be announcing the time soon, so you'll know then, anyway."
"Alright. Hey, how's training those two going?" Tsukauchi asked.
"Quite good. Watanabe's far ahead compared to Izuku though,"
"How so?" Tsukauchi asked.
"Watanabe has been wearing weights for a long time. He just upgraded to 100 kg recently: 25 on each limb,"
Tsukauchi nearly choked on his food. He quickly gulped down some water, before nearly yelling, "What the hell! How does he get around with such heavy weights!?"
"Well, he has been using weights since..." Yagi paused as he thought, "I think 8 years old? I forgot. Anyway, he's been wearing weights since he was young, so he's adjusted to them by now. He's faster than me when I'm in this form!"
Tsukauchi raised his eyebrows in surprise, "That's quite an achievement! I suppose he has a good chance of getting into UA then,"
Yagi nodded, "He's also thinking of joining a dojo to learn martial arts, technique, and for weapons training. Izuku is lucky to have someone who keeps pushing him. Watanabe might very well become the reason why Izuku becomes one of the best successors to receive One for All."
Tsukauchi smiled and nodded, "Now about the article, what are their views on the results."
"They are both happy with it even though much of what is happening wasn't their intention. Which reminds me when are you taking the Aldera case to court formally? The article was supposed to be published just before news of Aldera's mishaps was released to fuel the outrage."
"It's getting there. You'll see when it does get out,"
"Not telling me, huh?" Yagi asked with a smile.
"Hey you want to mess with me by not telling me Nedzu's plans, I'll mess with you by not saying anything about the case. Anyway, we'll have to talk with Mr and Mrs. Midoriya and the Hattoris before we go to court so you'll know from your students."
"Fair enough," Yagi said. He stood up and paid the bill, "I'll be going now Tsukauchi!"
"Me too, have more cases to look at. See you later Toshinori!"
"Ah Yagi, come sit!" Nedzu said cheerfully, "Tea?" he asked.
Yagi took a seat and shook his head, "No, I just had lunch, thank you very much."
"So, why the sudden visit?" Nedzu asked.
Yagi blinked a few times in surprise, "I thought you would want some help for the press conference,"
Nedzu shook his head, "Not at all. I already predicted something like this would happen. So, I already had a plan on how to respond. Not to mention I have been waiting for the public to criticize UA's entrance exam for years but no one has ever thought of it besides Aizawa. I have had the answer planned for years!"
Yagi laughed, "That may be but how do you feel about the fact that the article you helped write, is what is causing all this."
Nedzu smiled, "I didn't really write it though, did I? It was all your students. Both of whom I can't wait to meet,"
"Well I know you won't tell me what you plan to do with them, so I won't go down that route. Just tell me this, what do you think of their future?" Yagi asked.
Nedzu's smile slightly fell showing the seriousness of his answer. "Well it all depends on many things that might happen but I believe Izuku will surpass even you and there will be one more who will surpass you."
"Who?" Yagi asked.
"Watanabe of course," Nedzu replied cheerfully.
"But his quirk isn't-"
"I know, it's not really physical," Nedzu cut off, "But from what I have heard the application of his quirk is tremendous and he is very smart and observant. Think about the opposite, what if he had become a villain for being shunned? What if his school had been like Aldera and he had snapped? Instead of helping society peacefully, what sort of havoc could both Izuku or Watanabe create, for that matter?"
Yagi didn't reply but his silence spoke for him. Nedzu smirked, "See."
Yagi sighed that may be, "That is true. But I do agree the two will push each other to grow rapidly beyond anyone else. And now that All for One no longer exists, they can both grow safely,"
Nedzu nodded, "I wish Shiketsu would give their response. They are taking too long."
"Huh? Why are you so fixated on them?" Yagi asked perplexed.
"I knew the other schools would cave to the pressure immediately and release answers that would enrage the public. Shiketsu, however, is smarter. They are waiting for us to release our statement so that they can piggyback."
"That makes sense but they would need to have the proper evidence to back up the fact as to why they are piggybacking UA."
"You are right," Nedzu hummed, "It seems we must hope that Shiketsu does exactly that. It's already 4:30. If we delay further, we will miss the peak time when all eyes will be on the news,"
"I don't think you need to worry about that," Yagi sweatdropped, "Many people want to hear the number 1 hero school's opinion behind the article."
"Yes but it is wise to still not take chances," Nedzu said, "Now if you will excuse me, I must start getting things ready. You are welcome to stay and listen with the other teachers,"
Yagi stood up and nodded, "I'll do that then,"
"Yo Izuku! UA press conference is starting!" Watanabe shouted.
"Oh finally. It will be nice to see the opinion of the top hero school in Japan. The school where All MIght and so many other pros went to. All MIght, Endeavour, Best Jeanist,"
"All right, all right, you can fawn over UA later. Let's just see the interview now. I have the forums up to see their reactions too,"
"Nice," Izuku took a seat next to his cousin.
The live feed started. Nedzu was sitting at the head of the room, with Midnight and Vlad king on either side, and reporters in front of him. "Principal Nedzu, is this to be UA's public response to the criticism from the public about discrimination?"
"Yes, yes it is. I believe that the other hero schools were right in fact to at least say that they had done something wrong and are willing to do better. I urge them to actually bring about change instead of only preaching it to the public." Nedzu replied.
"Um sorry, but wasn't this supposed to be UA's response. Shouldn't you be talking about how UA will attempt to change their exams considering how it is rather discriminatory?" Another reporter asked.
Nedzu smiled at the reporter, his eyes twinkling with chaos. Izuku shuddered, that was the same look Watanabe had given him when he had first thought of writing their article in order to bring down Aldera. Nedzu spoke, "Why should we change? I see no problem."
Instantly the forums exploded:
What, no problem!? Arrogant is what UA is!
~Randomguy2
Yeah! You make people fight robots
~Randomguy1
"Well, the forums are rather... colorful," Izuku commented, "They are wrong though. Principal Nedzu is planning something."
Watanabe nodded, "I know, his eyes are twinkling with chaos!" he said as his own eyes gleamed. Izuku gulped, he wondered what would happen if the two ever met. Considering the fact they planned to go to UA, it wasn't really an illogical outcome either. Izuku shook his head, UA was still nearly a year away. There was a lot of time for him to enjoy his sanity till then... or fall into Watanabe's pit of chaos...
Aizawa clenched his fist. He punched the wall strongly in anger, "What's that damn rat doing!? He said he would solve my issue. He's just deepening it!" The rest of the teachers were all watching the interview from the back of the press conference room. Yagi was there too, but not in his All Might form as that would have garnered attention towards him. Surprising the rest of the teachers, it was Yagi who went to comfort his colleague, "Aizawa, in all my life, I have never once figured out exactly what Nedzu is planning. But I can guarantee you that if Nedzu has told you he'll do something, he will!"
Aizawa sighed, "Both of you blondes better be right." Yagi looked questioningly at Yamada who shrugged.
The reporters got over their shock and one of them asked, "Excuse me, but that is rather arrogant, don't you think?"
"No, I don't think it's arrogant at all," Nedzu replied simply.
The reporters' mouths hung open at the answer. A spark of outrage immediately followed Nedzu's answer. Half of the reporters were shouting angrily.
"What do you mean that's not arrogant? You discriminate and don't even acknowledge it! Hypocrite!" One reporter shouted. The others shouted their approval.
"See, Nedzu has no evidence on why UA's entrance exam is not discriminatory," Aizawa muttered angrily. None of the other teachers replied.
Yuki Hayashi was one of the reporters attending the press conference at UA. Nedzu's response had angered her too but she couldn't help but think that there was something more, that Nedzu had not told yet. While her fellow reporters murmured angrily, Yuki was fixated on something else. The fact that Nedzu was still smiling chaotically despite the amount of criticism he was receiving, set off alarm bells in her head.
Hesitantly, Yuki raised her hand to check if her hunch was right.
"Yes. What is your question?" Nedzu asked Yuki
"Uhm hi, my name's Yuki Hayashi. I was wondering, can you elaborate on why you think you aren't being arrogant?"
Nedzu's smile grew wider, "Finally, someone with the proper question." Aizawa's eye twitched in confusion. The crowd of reporters slowly stopped their murmuring. Once it was silent Nedzu spoke, "I'm sure everyone here knows that UA's entrance exam consists of a written part and a combat part?"
"Yes but your exam is making people fight robots! How is that not discriminatory!?" A reporter asked angrily. A murmur of acknowledgment followed.
Nedzu didn't seem to mind the tone and replied, "Yes you are right. Our exam does pit the examinees against robots. However, it is not discriminatory."
"Can you elaborate?" Yuki interjected before the anger could start again.
"UA is the number one hero-school. Do you think we only take heroes in only on basis of their combat ability? You need to do more than just combat ability to become a hero," Nedzu replied.
Yuki nodded, "What are some of those factors that you measure?"
Nedzu smiled and slowly shook his head, saying, "If I told you that, everyone would know how to get into UA easily. The fact that I am offering some of the inside information about the UA entrance exam itself is too much."
"However, people still need to survive against the robots. How people cope with the robots if they have a weak quirk?"
Nedzu put on a surprised expression and turned to Vlad King, "Vlad, I had no idea that the robots we used in your entrance exam had blood in them! And Midnight, did your robots have the ability to fall unconscious!?" Nedzu asked hypothetically.
The reporter who asked the question turned red at Nedzu's answer, "Th-that's just a-a few of UA's graduates. The majority of your graduates have combat-based quirks!"
"Do they?" Nedzu asked with a bored tone. The reporter didn't answer and sat down.
Yuki raised her hand again. "You don't have to keep doing that Yuki-san! Please go on and ask! Your questions are rather exciting!"
Yuki flushed at the praise and asked, "Like the other schools, UA doesn't allow quirkless students. What is your take on that?"
"You are wrong. Nowhere in UA's policy does it say quirkless people can't apply,"
"But UA clearly states word-to-word that, 'People with quirks are allowed to apply for UA's entrance exams,'"
"Yes, yes it does," Nedzu said with a grin, "But it doesn't say that 'Only people with quirks are allowed to apply,' And neither does it say anywhere specifically that the quirkless can't apply."
"But quirkless people would need a support item. UA does not allow support items!" Another reporter exclaimed.
"You should do some research before you criticize someone. UA's policy states that if you apply for support items, UA will grant permission unless it feels you do not need one. Being quirkless is one such case, I'm sure." Nedzu replied.
"But isn't this all too much for students taking the exam to figure out?" A reporter asked.
"UA is the top hero school of Japan. We take only the best. If you can't even figure out these things, you are far behind many of your peers."
"Previously you said that you measure other factors during the entrance exam. Does this mean you add on marks from your assessment of these factors?" Yuki asked.
"Yes,"
"But doesn't that mean students will try to sabotage their peers?"
Nedzu smirked, "If we can add points, what makes you think we can't negate points for unheroic behavior?"
Yuki nodded and sat down. Nedzu viewed the conference room scanning for anyone else who might want to ask some questions, "Well I guess we are done then. Unless anyone else wants to ask something?"
A low 'No,' resounded in the conference room. The camera cut off and Nedzu turned towards Aizawa at the back of the room and gave him a nod with a knowing smirk on his face.
Aizawa was fuming with Nedzu. As the interview went on longer, it only became clearer as to why Nedzu supported the entrance exam. For example, Figuring out all these loopholes would be a measure of information gathering. However, Aizawa wished he had known that before, "Did any of you know?" He asked his fellow teachers.
"No, I only knew about the additional rescue points," Yagi said and the other teachers nodded along.
Aizawa growled in anger as Nedzu smirked and nodded at him, "I'm going to go and ask Nedzu why he never told us this before," Aizawa said and exited the conference room. Aizawa walked swiftly to Nedzu's office. He entered and sat in one of the chairs waiting for Nedzu who didn't take long to also arrive, "Ah, Aizawa, I was expecting you,"
"Why didn't you tell this to any of us before!?" Aizawa demanded.
Nedzu took no notice of Aizawa's loud tone and instead, replied calmly, "Firstly, I wanted to avoid any slip-ups from the staff. Secondly, none of you asked. You were the only one who bothered about changing the exam but you always demanded that I change it but never asked me why I refused to meet your demands."
"Tch," Aizawa growled.
"Also as teachers, I wanted you all to understand that the exam looks discriminatory, but you were the only one who pushed me to change the exam. I wanted the others to see that too, but they didn't."
"But isn't the exams compromised now, since people will be trying to find more loopholes,"
"I believe it's still an adequate assessment."
"You could have told me this before!" Aizawa said through gritted teeth, as he stood up to leave.
"That wouldn't be fun would it?" Nedzu replied cheerfully.
Aizawa slammed the door behind him in response.
All the other teachers were waiting for Aizawa, "Yo, what did he say?" Mic asked.
"Damned chaos-obsessed sadistic rat!" Aizawa muttered angrily, leaving behind a perplexed group of people.
A/N: Please leave a favourite, follow and review. See you all next time!