Perhaps the upper rafters of Gym Gamma wasn't the best place to take a nap, but Shouta was on a break and he figured Hizashi wouldn't find him there. He loved his husband, but the man was always so damn loud. Sometimes, the Erasure Hero needed time alone to sleep. Besides, classes had already finished for the day anyway.
However, his nap was interrupted when the doors of the gym opened and he heard two voices that did not belong to any student in 1-A. They sounded young though so were most likely first years which he found curious. Usually, first year didn't use the gyms right at the start of the year.
"So, I've been thoroughly studying up on the past Sports Festivals held by UA for the first years. There are always three parts, some kind of obstacle course, a team battle, and finishing with the one-on-one matches. And like the Hero Practical, those with more physical type Quirks tend to have an advantage in the festival."
Shouta had planned to sneak out to find a different napping place, but that last comment made him pause. He had been saying the same thing about the entrance exam for years. Instead of leaving, the black-haired Hero silently slipped out of his sleeping bag to investigate who was talking.
"Now, you know this since you took the Hero Practical and didn't pass. How they expect students with more passive Quirks that require human interaction to work against robots is still a mystery to me."
Peeking over the railing, Shouta saw two students below, one tall with purple hair and one short with green hair, both heads of hair an unruly mess. Not anyone in his class nor in Kan's Class 1-B. They were definitely from one of the other three departments, though he ruled out the Business Course, so either General Studies or Support Course. As he watched, the green one continued talking as they both started to do some stretches, purple following green's example.
"Since you didn't pass the Hero Practical and I didn't even try for obvious reasons, our only chance to transfer to the Hero Course is through the Sports Festival."
Obvious reasons? What could those be?
"Oh yeah, I remember you mentioned that before," the purple one said. "How do you know about that?"
"Because it's been done before," the green one replied with a shrug. "Only a handful of times in the history of UA, but it has happened. The most recent one was some years ago when a first year in General Studies won the Sports Festival. Have you ever heard of the Pro Hero Eraserhead?"
What?
Shouta was surprised. Being an Underground Hero, he wasn't well known and that was on purpose. He despised the media and avoided it at all costs. Both for personal and professional reasons. Yet, this first year knew about him? And that he had won the Sports Festival his first year in order to transfer? Consider his curiosity officially piqued.
The purple one shook his head in answer and the green one continued. "It's understandable. He is an Underground Hero so having people know about him and what he can do would really hinder his work."
"And yet you know about him," commented the purple one who then smirked. "Though I'm not really surprised with those Hero stalker notebooks of yours."
The greenet squawked. "Th-they're not stalker notebooks! I like analyzing Quirks. It's really interesting to consider the pros and cons of each unique power and figure out how to improve them or fight against them!"
"Are the side notes of each Hero's hobbies, likes and dislikes, favorite food, and such also a part of those pros and cons?" The purple one teased.
"Sh-shut up!" the green one said, blushing as the other snickered at his embarrassment. "Anyway, his Quirk is Erasure which allows him to erase the Quirk of the person he's looking at. The only exception being mutant type Quirks. Like yours, his relies on interacting with another person so he had initially failed the entrance exam same as you. But he won the Sports Festival and was transferred."
Again, the man was surprised. How did this kid know so much about him? What kind of information did he have in those notebooks the purple one mentioned?
"Therefore, it seems plausible to say that if we do our best to at least get to the third round and if we place high enough, there's a chance we can transfer into the Hero Course."
"No pressure then," retorted the purple one. "What do you have in mind?"
"We have a couple of weeks before the Sports Festival and we should use the resources of UA to train the best we can," the green one replied. "Your Quirk is very useful and we should train with it, but it's important to not rely on that alone. A Quirk is just a tool you can use. The more tools you have in your arsenal, the more versatile you can be in a fight. For you, I think we should focus on practicing hand-to-hand combat in preparation for situations where you can't use your Quirk. We should also build up your stamina as well."
The more the green one talked, the more impressed Shouta was with what the kid was saying. That a Quirk was just a tool and that if it was the only tool you had, a fight that took away that tool would leave you defenseless. That over-reliance on Quirks had helped Shouta win countless fights in the dark alleys of Musutafu. Take away their Quirk and the Villains and thugs usually start to panic, giving the Erasure Hero the chance to take them out. This weakness was one that countless of his past and ex-students suffered from.
"I've been taking self-defense and practicing with weapons for years," the green one continued. "I can teach you what I know. Nothing with weapons though because that would be a Support Item that doesn't help channel your Quirk, so it wouldn't be allowed in the festival."
"Well, what about you?" asked the purple one.
"Students in the Support Course can bring as many Support Items with them as long as they make the items themselves," the green one replied. "I'll be splitting my time after school between training with you and working in the studio. We'll work out a training schedule so you can do things without me there all the time."
"You've really thought this through, haven't you?" the purple one commented, a brow quirked up.
"I've wanted to be a Hero my whole life," the green one confessed, a somewhat sad expression on his face that slowly morphed into determination. "All throughout my childhood, no one believed I could become one and told me to give up on my dream. Until ten months ago, when someone finally told me that I could be a Hero. This person has very strong ideals so I know that they meant it. That they truly believe in me and I'm going to work hard to prove them right."
A person with strong ideals…, the Pro-Hero pondered. Was it a Hero?
He understood how the boy felt about being told he couldn't succeed at being a Hero, as he was told that his whole life before UA too. He didn't know what these kids were capable of, but he was glad that the green one hadn't given up just because others told him no.
After that, the two first years started some basic training. The green one was trying to assess what the purple one's limits were. The students then sat down and both worked in a notebook to plan out their training. Then the green one walked the purple one through some basic kicks and punches, working out the proper stance. The hidden teacher could tell the green one did actually know what he was doing. Still lots of room for improvement but the foundations were there.
Shouta stayed up in the rafters to watch the pair train. From what he gathered from their conversation, the purple one had tried for the Hero Course and didn't pass the practical. The man planned to check the video from the entrance exam to find him and see why his Quirk wasn't suited for robots. As for the green one, he hadn't even attempted to take the practical and planned to use Support Items during the Sports Festival which would mean he had to be in the Support Course. Shouta was curious to learn what those 'obvious reasons' were and who these hopeful-Heroes were. After the two students finished, he planned to head straight for the teacher's room to begin his search. But for now, he watched.
...
Blog name: ja0-s-blank-canvas-fic
Notes extension: post/626547984571711488/chapter-12-a-tired-man-enters