"It's time to play Janken!"
Izuku almost facepalmed at how excited the Hero announced using a children's game to decide who would get another try. Then again, he wasn't really surprised. Throughout his school years from elementary through junior high, a lot of decisions were made using Janken. Whether it was a tie in a classroom activity or deciding who would get the extra milk carton during school lunch. Now that he thought about it, it was the fairest way to choose.
"Let's get this Janken tournament started," All Might said. "All students from a losing team, pair up and winners shall move on until we have two students remaining. Let's begin!"
The eight eligible students paired up with the ones nearest them. Satou and Kouda paired up since they were standing next to each other still. Kouda's scissors lost to Satou's rock. Yaoyorozu went against Asui and the frog girl won with scissors. Ojirou beat Tokoyami with paper after a few ties. Hagakure and Uraraka were in a stale mate for a hot minute until the invisible girl claimed victory with another scissor win which she made into a peace sign.
Satou went against Asui and the frog girl won once again but with paper this time. Ojirou and Hagakure were apparently fierce opponents, both tying again and again. It went on and on until All Might had to step in.
"Alright, alright. We don't have all day," All Might interjected after the umpteenth tie. "I'll allow one more try before I end up choosing myself."
"Ready to lose?" Hagakure taunted, flexing her gloved hands in anticipation.
"My only regret is that I won't be able to see your defeated face when I win," Ojiro jeered back, stretching his arms in an intimidating fashion.
They stood in the middle of the room, sizing the other up as the rest of the students and teacher stood in a circle around them.
"Saishou wa guu," the two chanted together, pounding their fists in the air with the beat. "JAN…KEN…PON!"
"GAH!" Ojiro gasped in disappointment when her rock beat his scissors. He glared at his hand for its betrayal as the boys tried to comfort him. Meanwhile the invisible girl jumped in victory while the other girls congratulated her. Izuku watched the shenanigans of 1-A from the sidelines, smiling and shaking his head slightly. He quickly wrote down the names of the Villain team in his notebook, planning to combine his notes from this battle with his previous ones.
With the redemption team finally decided, the teams left for their respective prep areas. The five minutes passed quickly and the final round of the Battle Training began.
Kaminari and Jirou VS Asui and Hagakure
The blonde student, Kaminari, trailed behind the purple haired girl, Jirou, as she used her Quirk by plugging in the earphone jacks connected to her ears into the wall. Izuku found it fascinating that the appendages could extend and retract at will. She closed her eyes to listen for any sign of the Villains while Kaminari kept watch. Soon the Hero team moved further into the building, heading toward the area Jirou heard the Villains moving around.
Her Quirk would be great for reconnaissance. Though she shouldn't close her eyes like that. I wonder how far her hearing range is and if it affects her normal hearing. Can she plug them into a phone like regular headphones? What other applications does her Quirk have that would have helped her in the practical?
It didn't take the Heroes long to find the bomb room, but were suddenly more cautious when they only found Asui. Hagakure had removed the visible parts of her costume to be fully invisisble. Izuku noticed she made sure to hold the capture tape in a closed fist to render it invisible as well. To help the other students see Hagakure's movements, All Might pulled up another window on the screen with an infrared view of the fight.
Jirou stepped up to face the frog girl, plugging her jacks into the speakers in her shoes, readying for battle. Asui managed to jump out of the way as the purplenette fired off a sonic attack where she was seconds before. The Villain dodged again and again as Jirou kept her busy while Kaminari inched towards the bomb.
With the infrared view, the students observing could see Hagakure sneak up on Jirou and capture her with the tape. The purple-haired girl immediately stopped fighting and left the room quickly. Izuku wondered why she had left until Kaminari let off an intense burst of electricity directly from his own body. The Support student guessed they had discussed the last ditch move during the planning time.
However, the Villains apparently were expecting such a move and Hagakure had climbed on Asui's back just in time for the frog girl to jump into the air. The electric attack surged through the floor before dissipating, leaving Kaminari standing with a dumb expression on his face. His own attack rendered him useless and the victory was given to the Villain team.
The other three students helped lead Kaminari back to the observation room. Izuku made sure to note that something had to be done about him short circuiting his own brain. How that hadn't been address already was beyond him.
After discussing the last match and some final comments from All Might, the class was dismissed and class 1-A left for the locker rooms to change out of their costumes. The teacher and Support student made their own way back to the main building and towards one of the meeting rooms to discuss the lesson. As soon as the door was closed, All Might deflated with an exaggerated sigh of relief which made Izuku giggle.
"Phew, that was exhausting," All Might said, moving to sit on the couch. He started to prepare some tea and gestured the student to take the opposite stool. "To be honest, it's kind of a relief that you know about this form. When I was told a student would be observing the class, I wasn't sure I would make it through the training and the talk after in my muscle form."
"A silver lining, you might say, All Might?" Izuku joked, gesturing at All Might's pooling Silver Age costume.
"HA! Good one, my boy," All Might laughed. "Oh, that reminds me. Since we can't have you calling me by my Hero name while in this form, let me formally introduce myself. My name is Yagi Toshinori. Nice to meet you." He bowed his head in greeting.
"Oh! I-I'm Midoriya Izuku!" the boy squeaked and became flustered. "But you already knew that from me telling you before the training. Which was silly of me to say so again. But it was instinct to say it and now I'm rambling. I-It's nice to meet you, too!"
"Not to worry, my boy," All M-Yagi assured with a chuckle as he finished the tea, placing the cups on the table. "With that done, when you see me in this form, please address me by my civilian name. I am putting my trust in you to help me keep this secret."
Wow, All Might trusts me with his name! No one knows his name except high level Pro Heroes. What an honor.
"O-of course, Yagi-san…Yagi-sensei?" Izuku replied, unsure which honorific to go with.
"Since we're in a school, I think sensei is more appropriate," Yagi said, smiling fondly at his antics. He took a sip of tea and the boy followed suit. "Now, let's start discussing what you observed during the training."
Taking out his notebook and placing it on the table open to his notes, Izuku walked his idol through his analysis of the matches. Here and there, Yagi would give his own opinion and the greenette would make a note of what he said. It was nice spending this time with his Hero with none of the awkwardness he expected. After they finished going through his notes, the conversation turned more casual.
"So, I see you went with the Support Course," Yagi commented. "How's that going for you?"
"O-oh! It's great!" Izuku answered. "About a week after I met you, I met my friend Mei-chan! She learned everything she knows about Support from her mom and I asked her to teach me. We're in 1-H together now."
"I see. I'm happy for you, my boy," Yagi said with a small smile. "I know what I said to you that day was harsh, but with how dangerous the Hero profession is, it was a truth you needed to hear. I'm glad you found a more attainable dream, young Midoriya."
And there's the awkwardness.
"Ah, ha ha, y-yeah, sure," Izuku muttered, using taking a sip of tea to not look directly into the man's eyes.
"I find your analysis skills intriguing and I've enjoyed working with you today," Yagi continued, seemingly oblivious to his discomfort. "I look forward to working with you again tomorrow and in the future. You may not be training to be a Hero, but there are other ways to help others. Use the skills you have to be the best hero you can be with your own strengths."
Izuku knew All Might meant for his words to be encouraging but they still stung. They rang with the truth that his idol didn't believe in him. The Support student chose not to tell the Hero about his plans for the Sports Festival. He would prove to the man and the world that the Quirk did not define a person or dictate their future. That you didn't need a Quirk to be a Hero.
All Might may not believe in my dream, but I do have one person who does. How strange that a Villain believes I can be a Hero more than the Number One Hero himself. The irony.
...
Blog name: ja0-s-blank-canvas-fic
Notes extension: post/626548000299352064/chapter-18-1-a-battle-training-redemption