Chapter 22: Legally not a vigilante

The class were now at lunch, after having been battered by Garp during their combat training, "How is that even combat training!?" Shisui huffed, "We were just a training dummy to him!"

"You have to admit though, it made our reflexes better," Izuku pointed out. Garp made sure to not leave anyone out of his training and made all of their lives hell equally. "Yeah true," Shisui admitted, "But that should be left to Gai sensei! Garp-sensei should be teaching us stances and stuff like that,"

"Just give it some time," Itachi said as he slurped his noodles, "All the police officers trained by him speak highly of him, even though he is described to be brutal,"

"My dad said the same thing," Izuku reminisced, a smile creeping across his face. He could see now why Hisashi was shivering while warning him about Garp.

"We'll see," Shisui said shortly, "Anyway, what's next for us?"

"Iruka-sensei's class," Izuku replied.

"Ehh! The principal!?" Shisui nearly yelled.

"Don't you see the routine?" Izuku asked his newfound friend.

"I just dump the books in my bag and I'm on my way," Shisui smiled sheepishly.

Izuku shook his head in disbelief and stood up as the bell rang, "Let's go. We don't want to be late for the principal's class," he told. Izuku was also very interested to see what Iruka would be teaching them. He had only been here almost two weeks but he already knew that the staff were chaotic. Izuku wondered whether Iruka was crazier, like Nedzu, or he had somehow managed to keep his sanity.

Izuku entered the classroom with bated breath. Iruka smiled at his students, "Take a seat so we can get started," he said pleasantly. Izuku complied and noticed 'Law and Ethics' written on the board and assumed it to be their subject.

"Sensei looks too nice to be the principal," Shisui whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"I always thought principals are angry and strict," Shisui whispered back. Izuku simply shrugged in response.

"Alright since you're all seated, we can start the class," Iruka told them, "As you've noticed, I'm going to teach you all the laws and rules you need to know about as police. And our first topic will be Quirk usage as a police officer,"

"Quirk usage!?" Someone yelled, "Can't we do something else? It's already bad enough that we can't use our quirks," the student sulked.

Iruka smiled, "That is precisely why you need this discussion. Can anyone tell me how pro-heroes were formed?" Iruka asked the class.

Itachi's hand shot up. Iruka called on him, "When quirks were still not widespread, the government had banned their use in public. But many criminals started using them to create anarchy which led the government to allow certain people to use their quirks to fight the criminals. These people were called pro-heroes,"

"A textbook definition. Perfect," Iruka commented, "But anyway, heroes were separated from the police as the government did not want their line of defense to fall in case the plan backfired," Iruka told his class, "However," he continued, "The plan to use quirks to protect the public was a major success, which led to implementation of other laws. Do you know any examples?"

"Quirk licenses?" Someone asked.

"Yes!" Iruka responded, "Support companies, construction companies. Many companies have workers with quirk licenses who specialize in certain things. Anything else?"

The class was silent, "The laws referring to mutant quirks?" Someone pointed out.

"Hmm, that was implemented due to the discrimination, not as a result of the hero program," Iruka told them, "Ok, do you know what vigilantism is?" Iruka asked.

"Using your quirk to hurt someone," Shisui asked, unsure of himself.

"Yes, that is an ok definition. Now, what is self-defense?"

"Defending yourself when attacked," Izuku replied.

"Exactly," Iruka smiled, happy with the progress, "Now, is it fair for you to not be able to use your quirk as self-defense? Especially when the villain attacking is most likely using a quirk?" Iruka asked his class.

"No…" The class said. Izuku could kind of see where this was going, but he wasn't entirely sure it was legal.

"And that is why, it is legal to use your quirk in terms of self-defense. It is not a well-known fact as many people thing it would count as vigilantism but the two are entirely different. One is defending your health, and the other is actively searching for crime and intervening," Iruka explained.

"But sensei, can't vigilantes get acquitted by saying that they were just defending themselves?" Izuku asked.

"Yes, it is a very thin line, but there are a lot of intricate laws and regulations that help against it. We'll explore those later. I just needed you to know this in case you wrongfully arrest someone without any knowledge of this," Iruka told his students, "Now, you just had your class with Garp-san, right?" Iruka inquired.

"Yes,"

"And I bet he gave a speech as to why you should use your quirk as a police officer?"

"…Yeah, but we know it's illegal, so we won't do it!" Shisui hastily tried to defend.

Iruka laughed, "Don't worry, it's not illegal to use your quirk once you are a police officer, although you do have to get a separate license… then again you guys will obtain that as part of your graduation," Iruka mused.

"Wait!" Izuku exclaimed, "Police can use quirks!?"

"Of course, they can. Remember what I said. The heroes were separated from the police as a test but since it was a success, quirk usage was slowly incorporated into the police force as well," Iruka said as the students stared in shock. Iruka ignored their surprised looks and continued, "In fact, police are much more superior. We have more authority, we can use quirks, we can even use our support equipment without as much hassle for registration,"

"But why doesn't the public know about this? If you advertised it, you could get so much more manpower!" Shisui pointed out.

"Not worth it," Iruka shook his head, "Heroes are seen as celebrities nowadays due to their extravagant quirks. It's nothing bad, but it has led to a significantly lower number of underground heroes, something that was filled by vigilantes earlier. It's a lesser known fact that we can use quirks too. So, it's up to us to go underground and gain knowledge. On top of that, more people would like to be heroes because they wouldn't need to follow a strict routine which means failed heroes with a head full of ego would try to join. The police force has no need for people like that,"

The class had mixed relations to Iruka's lecture. Many of them were overjoyed that they could still use their quirks, even though they couldn't be a hero. Some were still confused, and Izuku was both bored and fascinated.

It amazed him to know that even police could use their quirks which opened up a lot of opportunities for them to fight crime. But he was also bored in the sense that he did not have a quirk.

Iruka noticed the look on Izuku's face and put a warm hand on his shoulder, "Izuku, I know what you're thinking, but in this case, not having a quirk might be a blessing,"

"How so?" Izuku looked up questioningly.

"Look at Garp and Gai, both are quirkless too but each are specialized in their own right. Sure, quirks could help you, but without a quirk, you can prove that you don't need a crutch to stand," Iruka tried to inspire Izuku.

Izuku simply nodded. He had been given the same speech before and while he kind of accepted it, it also stung, not that it mattered; he couldn't really change it. Izuku shifted the topic of their discussion, "Sensei, do heroes know that we can use quirks?"

"We don't really hide it, so if someone's observant enough, they should know. Then again, egoistic and all that. The few that are good probably know but don't really care. It doesn't really affect them, does it?" Iruka asked rhetorically.

As the bell rang, Izuku asked one last question, "We can't tell this to anyone right?"

"Well, you can't be arrested for showcasing the law," Iruka winked at Izuku who grinned wildly.

A/N: Well from last chapter I can tell most of you haven't wacthed one piece so let me just point out that Garp isn't being insensitive. It's kind of like his Character. Nevertheless, he is one of the more important characters, I'll introduce his character and develop it for those of you haven't watched.

And those who did watch one piece, I'm counting on you to point out whether I made any mistake with Garp.