A/N: Thank you, everyone, for your kind reviews and encouragement! I really appreciate your feedback and it's more reassuring and motivating than I can express. I'm so happy you're enjoying this story and I do hope you continue to enjoy it because there is a lot more to come!
The class had an excited feeling about it this morning. Everyone in the class seemed energized and buzzing with motivation, which Izuku shared in. He hadn't thought it at first, as his mind was elsewhere, but being back in U.A felt like it had filled part of his that'd been missing for a while now. There was something about this bright, open classroom that seemed to lift everyone's spirits. Even a certain Explosion Quirk user.
There were a few minutes left until Aizawa arrived to start homeroom, but unlike usual, Izuku just wanted to spend these moments relaxing and enjoying the feeling of being back in class through homeroom. Perhaps the most reassuring thing was looking around at all his classmates, chatting together, and really relaxing before classes really began. It felt as though the stress and dread that had been hanging over everyone had completely vanished, and Izuku absolutely wasn't going to complain.
There was still one thing that Izuku was anxious about today besides desperately wanting to know if he'd retained all the information he'd studied over the exam revision period, and that was going to find Pony with Uraraka. He couldn't imagine how she must have felt with the last time they'd met being when Izuku broke down. Maybe someone had told her what happened, and she simply didn't want to get involved.
"You're really overthinking it, aren't you..." Uraraka started, strolling up the aisle between the desks and over to the greenette.
"You can tell just by looking at me?" Izuku asked with an embarrassed blush as Uraraka perched herself on the side of his desk with a sigh.
"Obviously? I've known you longer than anyone here... Even if only by an hour or so." She responded with a timid chuckle. "You shouldn't let it bother you." She added, smiling down at him.
"I-It doesn't bother me. I just... I'm just wondering if everything's okay with her. If it was me watching her Quirk go out of control and that was the last time I saw her, I know I'd be worried." Izuku admitted, to which Uraraka slowly nodded thoughtfully.
"Well, whatever happens, I still think you're overthinking it. You shouldn't let this sort of thing bother you Deku. Just let it go to the back of your mind, and it'll be sorted out later." The brunette girl smiled reassuringly, ruffling his green hair.
"It's really not worth getting all bothered about." She added quietly before the large door to the classroom slid open, and Aizawa strolled in. Uraraka quickly got off Izuku's desk and rushed back over to her own, taking a seat along with the other students still standing in a mass of dragging chairs.
"Good morning." Aizawa started coolly, taking his place behind the lectern and letting out a sigh as he did, looking across the class with heavy-looking eyes.
"Good morning Mr Aizawa!" Came the mangled response from the class. Aizawa chewed on his cheek for a moment, almost as if he'd forgotten what he was going to say.
"Well..." He started, sighing heavily. "There are a few things I want to go over before I take you down to the Dorm Introduction Ceremony." He added, folding his arms across his chest.
"As you know, now the training camp is over, the Provisional License Exam will be the next thing on your to-do lists-." He started before being cut off by Iida.
"But Sir, surely more notice is required for something this important! I'm sure most of the class weren't even aware of this!" He exclaimed. Aizawa's expression was unpleasant as Iida spoke, almost as if he were in pain. Then again, it was a face most of the class shared with Iida being this loud so early.
"Is that the case? Well, I assumed being one of the top classes in U.A, you all would've taken the initiative to look into this sort of thing." Aizawa said, although it was more of a scalding than advice.
"Well, as I said, the Provisional License Exam is coming up, which is the reason the Forest Training Camp was organised in the first place. Now that the Camp has been cancelled, we will have to make up for the training time we lost in class. Today will be a period of settling in, with a few base classes here and there, but tomorrow, All Might will be taking you to U.S.J to begin creating Ultimate Moves." Aizawa explained.
Izuku was hooked on every word he said, as he usually was, but the mention of Ultimate Moves was what really peaked his, and the rest of the class's attention. Ultimate Moves. Nothing could be more exciting, and with Quirks like theirs, the opportunities for Class 1-A were endless. Aizawa waited a moment for the excited hubbub to die down before continuing.
"Now, what you must remember is that the Provision License Exam, if you pass, will grant you direct permission to intervene if citizens lives are at stake, and thus there is an awful lot riding on all of you passing without many issues. So, the best way myself and All Might believe you could handle this is to come up with Ultimate Moves. Moves or fighting styles that are unknown to everyone else, and that will give you a real boost in battle." He continued.
Izuku couldn't stop bouncing his leg with excitement, and by the looks on everyone else's faces, they all felt the same way. Not only was there the added excitement and motivation from the exam, but also the added boost from creating Ultimate Moves. Izuku agreed wholeheartedly that it could give Class 1-A a much better chance at collectively passing this exam, but what kind of move would he create. Better yet, what kind of move would he actually be able to pull off in his current condition.
"Now, keep in mind you have until this weekend before the exam, which albeit is not massive amounts of time, but with the training camp having done most of what it was organised to do, these are but final preparations for the event." Aizawa addressed, somewhat sympathetically. It was scary, knowing that the exam was that soon and no-one had really realised it, and on top of that, they were drawing nearer to the end of the first semester, which Izuku had been aware of for a while.
There was a surprising amount that had happened to class 1-A over the past week and a bit, but it was safe to say that none of them were going to let that stop them from striving to be the best. Izuku already felt as though his body had been given the break it needed, and although he still felt a little achy in places, he felt as though he was ready to start training again and start increasing his bodies power capacity properly.
It was still upsetting, knowing that his bodies limit was still safely sat at five percent of Full Cowling, but it was understandable. He'd been pushing his body harder than it could manage, and in training himself so vigorously, he'd just stale-mated himself at five percent. However, that was because he was training alone, without really seeking help from anyone else, and it was also before the training camp.
Now, although there probably wouldn't be a massive jump, if any, in the amount of power Izuku was able to use, it was still a big boost in the right direction. He'd given the training camp everything he had, and even more so with Muscular and the attack from the villains. However, thinking back on this brought a few questions to mind that he desperately wanted to ask All Might, and the main one was how would he know when he could increase the amount of power he could use?
Perhaps it was one of those things he would just know, or maybe there really was a way to track it. However, the paranoia of repeating his previous mistake was too great, and he didn't want to risk using power levels he wasn't sure if he could really handle.
"I hope that clears up the majority for your questions for now. So, organise yourselves and we'll make our way to the assembly hall quietly." Aizawa instructed, putting quite a lot of emphasis on the 'quietly'. No-one said anything, as they all knew better than to defy their homeroom teacher, but the excitement could be felt throughout the class at this news. Creating Ultimate Moves, the Provision Licence Exam and the end of their first semester at U.A. There was an awful lot more to look forward to than they'd originally anticipated, and it was incredible.
The assembly lasted quite a bit longer than everyone had anticipated, even some of the teachers were surprised. Principle Nezu spent a lot of the time talking about the rules of the dorms and how things will work now this new system was in place. None of it was really that confusing, and he obviously brought up the attack and addressed the situation surrounding that.
Izuku took almost all of what he'd said in, but there was one point where his mind drifted a little, and that was when he saw Pony, sitting a little further to his right. She looked fine and didn't notice him, but it again triggered his anxiety just seeing her. He felt awkward just thinking of talking to her, let alone actually trying to speak to her.
Thankfully, it was now lunch, as there were other teachers that had their own little tidbits to add onto what Nezu was saying, and finally, Izuku was walking out of the assembly hall behind Uraraka and Iida.
"Guess whooo..." A sing-song voice cooed right in his ear. The feeling of whoever's breath it was on his ear sent a shiver down his spine, and he quickly took a step away from them and turned around.
Surprisingly, it wasn't Mina, as she'd left with Toru, Jirou and Momo. It was in fact Pony, standing there and smiling at the greenette teenage.
"P-Pony! I-I'm sorry, I meant to find you a little later..." He blurted all at once, feeling his stomach drop a little inside him and his cheeks heat up
"Don't apologise... I've actually been meaning to talk to you too... If I could find you at least." She replied, her voice falling away a little as she too became a bit of a flustered mess.
"L-Let's go somewhere a little quieter. I think we have some catching up to do." She let out a small giggle and nodded for him to follow, starting off in the direction of the school library. Izuku stood for a moment, watching the Horn-Cannon Quirk user and her thick, flowing blonde hair stroll down the hall.
He wanted to keep talking, but it would just be easier to wait until they got to the library. So, he kept his mouth shut, and headed in the opposite direction to the rest of his class, following the Class 1-B student.
"So, what happened to you after the breakdown? I head about your fight with Muscular... I was really worried about you." She started, her voice was hushed as she held the door open for Izuku, the two of them heading into the much quieter and cosier room.
"I'd say I'm fine, but that's not really the case." He responded with a small laugh. "I severely damaged both my arms, but the right was worse than the left. I have to wear a compression sleeve now to stop my elbow from giving out. I've also had bad pains most of the weekend." He explained. Pony listened intently, not talking her large round eyes off him the entire time they walked over to one of the smaller tables and chairs in the corner.
"Wow... I... I had no idea it was that bad..." She admitted, sitting down heavily and letting out a sigh.
"It's okay, nothing really hurts now." Izuku added quickly, waving his hands like a headless chicken. To this, Pony let out a sweet giggle and shook her head.
"I'm glad you haven't changed from how you've always been because of this." She muttered, almost inaudibly. Izuku couldn't make out anything she'd said, but didn't bother asking her to repeat it.
"What about you? I'm sorry if I worried you or hurt you after my break down." He sighed, the blush on his cheeks holding steadfast as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm fine, you didn't hurt me at all. I was just scared." She replied calmly, a warm and reassuring smile on her soft face. Izuku nodded and smiled at the floor, relaxing back in his seat.
"Midoriya... Are you sure that's the only thing bothering you?" She asked. Izuku hesitated a little but quickly gave in.
"I just... Feel really guilty not trying to talk to you sooner, especially after everything that's happened to everyone recently." He replied, tapping his feet in a less than rhythmic pattern on the carpet.
"Don't worry about that stuff. I'm just really happy I can see you after all of that, and that you're okay." She replied warmly. Izuku felt a warm feeling in his chest and let out a chuckle, smiling at the blonde girl.
"So am I." He muttered, too quietly for her to hear.
"What about the rest of class 1-A, was anyone else hurt?" She asked anxiously. Izuku shook his head, smiling at the floor.
"No, as usual, it's just me." He replied awkwardly.
"I can't say I disagree. I'm pretty sure everything I've heard about you in Class 1-B has been about how you've injured yourself or something like that." She laughed.
"What about everyone else in your class? I hope they're all okay." Izuku replied. Pony's face twisted a little, but she nodded.
"They're all fine. Some of them were ambushed by a group of the villains. A blonde-haired girl and someone in a mask if I remember rightly. I wasn't near them when it happened, so I'm only going off what Kendo told me." She responded. Izuku felt his feet go a little cold and he shifted in his seat slightly.
"Wow... That's... That's really scary. I didn't think the villains had gotten that close, or that there were even that many of them." He replied, genuinely disgruntled.
"Well, as I said, they're all fine and no one was seriously injured, so there's no need for you to worry about them." The horned-girl replied sweetly. "Besides, I don't think any real fighting broke out between them, but you had a full-on fight-to-the-death with a villain. If anything, they're the ones who should be asking about you." She added, an admiring twinkle in her large eyes.
"Thank you, Pony." He muttered, his face growing a little hotter with embarrassment.
"No need to thank me. I'm sure, if you hadn't have gone to save that boy, then Muscular would've just destroyed the lodge and made things even harder for the villains. I know everyone is incredibly grateful for what you did, even though it didn't go exactly to plan." She replied, a small rosy tinge now beginning to fade onto her cheeks.
"I know I worried a lot of people, but, at that moment, all I saw was Kota." Izuku said, mostly to himself. Pony nodded in agreement.
" Well, Midoriya, I'm really sorry to rush off on you, but I've got to get back to class." She added, suddenly getting up, adjusting her jacket and straightening her skirt.
"I'm really happy to see you're okay though. I'll try to come visit you sometime." She smiled over her shoulder, firing him a wink before briskly walking towards the door and leaving Izuku sitting there, slightly stunned.
He was left feeling slightly underwhelmed. Of course, it felt really good being able to see her and catch up with her, but he had a little more he wanted to talk to her about before classes started again. He wasn't going to complain though, he'd gotten to do what he wanted today. So, he let out a sigh, got up from his seat, and began making his way back to class.
"Oh, there you are, Deku." Uraraka perked up as Izuku slid open his classroom door and headed into the room.
"Pony came to see me as we left. Sorry I didn't say anything." He replied with a timid smile, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck as everyone looking in his direction.
"Oh, did she? That's good! What did she say?" Uraraka asked, leaning on her elbows with an intrigued expression as Izuku walked over to her desk.
"She said she wanted to see me sooner than now, but she'd been so busy she didn't have the chance." He explained.
"Who's this now?" Mina asked, strolling up to her boyfriend and wrapping her arms around his neck, leaning into him.
"The girl from Class 1-B, Pony. You remember her right?" Uraraka asked. Mina didn't respond straight away, letting out a quiet sigh.
"Yeah, I remember her. What'she want Izuku for?" The pink-skinned girl asked, letting go of Izuku and moving to stand at his side.
"Well, last time I spoke to her was the day after my breakdown, I think, so I wanted to make sure she was okay after the attack." The greenette spoke up now, smiling at the Acid Quirk user reassuringly. Mina slowly nodded and smiled back.
"Oh, that's sweet of ya." She grinned, rubbing his shoulder warmly.
"So, how was she? Is the rest of Class-B okay?" Uraraka asked, taking her eyes from Mina and back to Izuku.
"They're all fine. She was just a little shaken." He replied.
"Apparently Class-B got into a little scrap with one of the villains; some blonde girl." Kirishima chipped in.
"Yeah, but I'd much rather have had to deal with her than the damn blades dude." Kaminari said.
"You weren't the one who fought him anyway, that was Todoroki and Bakugo." Jiro spoked up, smirking at the Pikachu haired teenager, who scoffed in response.
"Really? I-I didn't know that." Izuku muttered, looking around the class before turning back to Uraraka.
"Yeah, it all happened pretty fast, and Aizawa was quick to get us to the shelter. It happened a while before anyone told you or Mina. When Iida came to get you, we had already been attacked." Uraraka explained. This was when Izuku noticed a white band below her shirt.
"Yeah... Tsu and I were hit first. That girl cut me and took my blood..." Uraraka muttered, bringing her hand up to her arm and gently rubbing it. Izuku's heart fell, and Uraraka noticed straight away.
"I-It wasn't much - and I'm okay!" She exclaimed, waving her hands at him. He was a little taken aback by her actions but managed to smile all the same, before looking up at Tsuyu. The frog girl smiled back at him happily, and his smile only grew.
"Well, I'm really glad you're okay." He replied to Uraraka, smiling warmly at her. Her expression faltered a little, but the smile quickly returned to her face.
"Oh hey, Midoriya, I was wondering if ya knew anything about what we're doin' with All Might tomorrow. I just figured, since you're always hanging around with him, you might know." Kirishima spoked up, pulling Izuku's attention away from the girls.
"Sorry, Kirishima, I'm not sure. He told me it'd be some kind of physical training, but he never said how or what kind." He replied. Kirishima let out a disheartened sigh.
"Of course it'd be more trainin', and after somethin' like the training camp we just had..." He grumbled, resting his head in his arms.
"Well, there were two days left of the training camp that we couldn't utilise, so we're going to make up for it tomorrow." Ectoplasm spoke up, his unnerving voice cutting through theirs like nothing. Izuku didn't waste any time getting back to his seat, and neither did Mina, and Ectoplasm made his way silently up towards the lectern.
"I'm glad to see you're all well after the training camp." He said quietly, his expressionless face turned more towards Izuku than anyone else, which was incredibly unnerving.
"Now, however, we're going to go back to basics with some maths, which I know you all enjoy very much." Added, his toothy mouth twisting into a slight smile as some of the lower-scoring exam students let out heavy sighs.
"I trust you've all kept up a little during your practical studies, but just in case, we're going to spend our session today running over our last topic, just to ensure it stuck." He said kindly. Izuku always enjoyed Ecto's lessons a little more than Aizawa's or Snipe's, because he was a little move giving compared to them.
Izuku wanted to make the most of today before things got physical again tomorrow. It was nice being back in classes doing core classes, like Math, again. As the greenette retrieved his math book, textbook and pencil case from the compartment in his desk, he felt a small twinge of nostalgia inside him.
Feeling the compression sleeve on his arm and the silence of the class reminded him of his situation after the Sports Festival, all those weeks ago. This was when he first met Mina, sitting right here and spotting her bag on the floor. If it wasn't for those injuries, he wouldn't have been as slow leaving class, and I might've missed his chance to walk home with her. In reality, he was incredibly grateful for those injuries, because without them, who knows where he might be right now.
It was strange, just how fast this day had passed them by. Izuku was hoping it wouldn't fire past them like this, but now the time had passed, there was nothing he could do about it. He still had a really good time just sitting in classes and doing some written theory work. From his desk, he could see Mina fidgeting and tapping her fingers on her desk as she worked on Ectoplasms chosen topic, but for the most part, when he looked up to her, she was working. Clearly, the Study Session they organised had helped her more than he thought, which was really nice to see.
Izuku took a deep breath and sighed as he removed his bag from his locker along the right sidewall. On his door was printed the number '18', in the exact same way as it was printed on the front of his hero costume case. He pulled his bag from the locker and slung it over his shoulder before closing it, twisting the code lock, and getting up from the floor.
He'd decided to wait behind a little so he wasn't stuck in the middle of the mass as everyone tried getting their bags at once. His right arm was still a little achy today, and he didn't want anyone banging into it and making it any more uncomfortable. Luckily, Mina had decided to wait behind with him, and now the only people left in the class, was himself, Mina, Koda, Uraraka and Tsuyu.
"Wanna walk with us Koda? We're all walking the same way for the most part." Mina offered the shy Anivoice Quirk user.
"Oh... I'm alright... I walk the opposite way to most of you anyway." He replied in an incredibly quiet voice. Izuku had to strain to hear him, but Mina seemed to have heard loud and clear, firing him a smile.
"That's alright! Take care." She smiled as Koda walked past them and towards the door.
"T-Thank you. You too." He smiled, addressing them all together before leaving the four of them alone in the class.
"Well, we ready to get going?" Uraraka asked, locking her locker and getting to her feet.
"I'm ready, ribbit." Tsuyu spoke up, holding her bag straps as she walked over to Izuku and Mina. Uraraka nodded and headed over to them before they all made their way out of the classroom together.
"Anyone else excited for tomorrow? I can't wait to try making an Ultimate Move! I've already got so many Ideeeeas!" Mina exclaimed in a sing-song way, enthusiastically grabbing Izuku's hand in her own as they made their way towards the exit of the school. Even the simple act of holding her hand made him feel tingly and excited.
"I am too. I'm not too sure what I could do, but I have one idea that could work really well." Tsuyu responded.
"I'm not sure either. I honestly haven't given this much thought. I've been really all over the place recently." Izuku responded with an awkward chuckle, smiling over his shoulder at Tsuyu.
"There's no chance you won't find a move to blow us all away." Uraraka beamed as they left the school and entered the cold, mid-autumn air.
"I think so too. There isn't that much time left until the Provisional License Exam, and to have to make Ultimate Moves in that time is a push, but I know we'll all pull it off." Tsuyu reassured them. Izuku nodded in agreement, firing Mina a nervous glance. It was clear they were thinking on the same level.
With his body still stuck at comfortably using five percent of One For All, would that put him at a disadvantage to the rest of the class. Izuku didn't really think this would affect him that much. It still stood that his Quirk was one of the strongest alongside Todoroki and Bakugo, but the difference between them, and him, was that they would've made progress over the training camp. Izuku, on the other hand, was only aware of how he'd stuck himself in the same position by pushing his body too hard.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll all do fine. I'm really excited to see what you do Deku. I think the last time I saw you really fight was against Bakugo in the Practical Exam, so seeing your Ultimate Move is really exciting." Uraraka spoke up with a huge smile on her soft round face. Izuku beamed back at his best friend warmly.
"Thanks, Uraraka! I'm excited to see how the training camp has helped develop people's Quirks. There's no way you guy won't come up with something crazy that even I haven't thought of yet." He responded enthusiastically. He really couldn't wait for tomorrow. He couldn't wait to see how far everyone had come. He also wanted to size up the competition and see how much catching up he had to do.
It was upsetting, knowing ten percent could still be beyond his reach, but there was no doubting that his body had to have gotten stronger in some way. Maybe it was a simple increase in power capacity. Maybe now he would be able to use seven or eight percent of Full Cowling comfortably, which in larger terms, wasn't a massive leap in power. However, that three percent increase would no doubt close the gap between him and the rest of the class.
Overall, that was the most any of them could've developed. A three to four percent increase in their power, and when sizing himself up against the power-houses of Class 1-A, it sat him very comfortably near the top again. Even if this wasn't the case, he knew that the more he managed his training, the closer he'd get to finally grasping that ten percent Full Cowling goal.
Whatever his Ultimate Move was, it had to not only benefit his body by decreasing the strain Full Cowling applied to it, but one that would also be incredibly effective in battle. One that he could alongside normal attacks that could help his fighting flow. He knew he had the power to do it, and he knew his friends believe in him, and that All Might believe in him. He just had to take action and go all out.
Plus Ultra.