Bit of a weaker chapter this week, but it's setting up some stuff!
JUST AN FYI: I tend to hyper-fixate on something for a while, then will often drop a project entirely after I burn myself out on it. I really don't want to do this with EF, as I have some really cool things planned and want to share those with you guys. I've actually already kind of burnt myself out on EF after writing nearly 15 chapters for it in a row, and now I'm second guessing and fretting about stuff that I really shouldn't need to be worried about. In fact, I'm rewriting some of the next few chapters from scratch to add some stuff I realized I completely forgot, so next week's chapter may be late.
As such, I will continue to post weekly chapters until chapter 20, (Which should take us to the end of the Provisional License arc) then EF will probably be going on a short hiatus while I work on something else to refresh myself and solidify my beloved plans.
Thanks for understanding!
Grey out!
Izuku looked at the boxes sitting in the middle of his new room with a nod. They contained a decent number of his All Might collection, as well as a number of gifts he'd received from his Sire over the last year. He looked around the room, the furniture his Sire had given him had already been moved into the room, replacing the desk and shelves that came as standard, but he still had work to do. He opened the first box and began to unpack.
"I'm pooped!" Kirishima muttered as he lazed back on the couch.
The rest of the boys were gathered around the seating area of the common room as they rested after setting up their rooms, chatting comfortably. Izuku stretched as he leaned back, closing his eyes as he smiled to himself. It had taken the rest of the day, but he was happy with how his room had turned out, especially as they'd been given permission to modify them as they saw fit. He'd been grateful for the power tools his Sire had brought part way through the day, visitor tag hanging over his thick cloak as he helped the teen attach the shelves securely to the wall.
"Hey guys!" Mina called as the girls walked into the room, Izuku looking over his shoulder as they approached, noticing that Ochako seemed to be absent.
"Oh, it's the girls!" Kaminari laughed, "You finished setting up your rooms as well?"
"Yeah, and we had a really cool idea!" Mina grinned as she clasped her hands behind her back, "A room showcase!"
The boys looked at each other as the five girls grinned back at them, nervous expressions on their faces.
"Come on!" Mina shouted, grabbing Kaminari and Kirishima by the wrists and pulling them towards the stairs, "We don't have all night!"
"First is Midoriya!" Mina shouted as she stood outside his door, "Open up and show us the resident Vampire's crypt!"
"It's not really that great," Izuku chuckled nervously, "I mean, it's actually kind of weird because of…well…"
Izuku opened the door, revealing his room. Dark wooden shelves lined the left wall, an eclectic mixture of leather-bound books, modern textbooks and Hero paraphernalia lining them. Beneath the shelves, against the far corner, stood the dark oak desk, an antique desk lamp sitting beside his brand-new laptop, several All Might themed desk accessories placed on it as well. His bed had his All Might covers, and door to his veranda was covered by All Might themed curtains, Mina pulling them back to reveal thick blackout curtains just behind. Above his bed hung a variety of All Might posters and wall scrolls, which transitioned into pictures of strange creatures and symbols.
"It's weird!" Mina shouted.
"So eclectic!" Hagakure gasped.
"I can't tell if it's the room of a fanboy or an aristocrat, kero," Tsuyu hummed, "It suits Izuku to a T."
"This furniture is of excellent quality," Yaoyorozu hummed, running her fingers over the desk, "Where did you get it?"
"Oh, it was a gift from my Sire," Izuku said with a smile, the girl giving him a strange look, "Oh right! You haven't met him yet."
"You mean that dude in the big cloak that was there when we gave you blood?" Kaminari asked, "Why do you call him Sire?"
"The progenitor of his dark powers, perhaps?" Tokoyami muttered, making the rest of the group look at him as Dark Shadow popped out, "Yah mean his dad?"
"Oh, no!" Izuku blushed, "Sire isn't my dad! He's just…uhm… Well, it's kind of complicated."
"Whatever," Todoroki said, stifling a yawn, "I'm getting tired, so let's get on with this."
"Who's next?" Mina asked, looking over at the door beside Izuku's, Tokoyami leaning against it nonchalantly.
"Hmmph," he growled, even as the girls pushed him out of the way, "Ridiculous."
The bird-headed teen muttered as he was shoved through his door, staring back over his shoulder incredulously as the rest of the class stared at his room in amazement.
"Now this is a Goth's room!" Mina shouted, throwing a fist into the air.
"Oh wow," Izuku hummed as he looked to the side, the rest of the class laughing and joking as they looked around the room, "You have a real sword. Do you know how to use it?"
"Not particularly," Tokoyami muttered, almost hiding his face, "Though I would like to learn."
"Oh, I can teach you some basics," Izuku replied, smiling when Tokoyami's head shot up, a look of surprise on his face, "My Sire has taught me a bit of blade work, so I think I can give you some pointers on how to start."
"Who's next!" Mina suddenly shouted, rushing out of the room and hopping excitedly outside Aoyama's room, the blond just grinning as he threw open the door.
"It's so shiny!" the girls shouted.
"Non, non, not shiny!" Aoyama said, "Twinkly!"
"And next is?" Mina said, looking over at the final door as Mineta opened it slowly, "Upstairs!"
"H-hey!" the ball-headed teen called, "I didn't even say anything!"
The rest of the boys' rooms went quickly, the girls being most impressed by Todoroki's near complete overhaul of his room and Sato's Chiffon cake. The group had made their way over to the girls' side f the dorms, showing off their rooms until they reached Ochako's, the brunette still noticeably absent.
"Ochako said she wasn't feeling well, kero," Tsuyu said as she stood in front of the door, "She's sorry but she'll take part next time."
"Oh, okay," the girls said, the boys shrugging as they walked away, Izuku glancing back as Tsuyu followed behind him.
The door cracked open as they reached the stairs, Ochako peeking out after him.
"Last up is Yaoyorozu and Asui!" Mina announced as they reached the fifth floor.
"Oh, hold on! Kero," the frog-like girl suddenly said, "I just have to clean up some stuff first. Go look at Yaoyorozu's room first."
"Okay!" Mina called as the group walked down the corridor.
"SO FANCY!" was the reaction at the furniture in the room, the massive bed taking up almost all of the space, the class looking at Yaoyorozu as the girl sighed.
"Honestly, I didn't expect the rooms to be so small."
"Okay, I'm ready!" Tsuyu called before anyone could say anything, the group walking back to her room as they began to yawn and wipe their eyes.
"Here it is, kero," she said as she opened her door.
The room was simple, her bed covered by a light green blanket with a couple of frog plushies resting against the pillow. On the floor lay a large rug shaped like a lily pad, her headboard lined with photos of her frog-like family. On her desk stood a small music player, which was giving off calming water sounds as she smiled at the class.
"It's really cute!" Mina grinned, "And now onto voting!"
"Sato wins!" Mina cried, "Because of the cake!"
"Dammit!" "Whatever, can I go to bed now?" "Damn you and your secret skills, Sato!" the boys muttered as the class filtered away, Izuku heading towards the stairs as someone grabbed his sleeve.
"Izuku," Tsuyu said quietly, "Can we talk outside quickly?"
"Oh! Sure," the teen replied, following the girl out the front door after the rest of the class had left.
The night air was cool, the light from the dorm windows casting long bars of light as they walked a short distance from the door, Izuku able to see the form of Ochako a short way's away perfectly.
"Izuku, Ochako has something to say, will you listen? Kero," Tsuyu asked quietly, the teen simply nodding as he took a step closer to the brunette.
"H-hi, I-Izuku," she stammered, "I…uhm…I wanted to talk. A-about…that day. When you…y'know…"
"Yeah," Izuku mumbled, feeling his cheeks start to flush.
"Sorry I ran off like that," the girl continued, "I just…it was too much at the time. Like my emotions were…everywhere."
"It's fine, I can understand," Izuku replied.
"I just…" Ochako paused, taking a deep breath before spinning on her heel to face him, a look of determination on her face, "Do you like me?"
"What?" Izuku asked, his brain taking a few seconds to process the question, before his head suddenly burst into a bright red blush and he began stammering and stuttering madly, "I…you…what…I…sorry!"
"Izuku!" Tsuyu croaked as she smacked him on the shoulder, jolting the boy out of his stuttering spree, "Give her a proper answer. Please."
Izuku nodded as he took a breath of his own, looking up into her eyes as Ochako fidgeted slightly, "I…I do like you."
Ochako gasped as he answered, the teen holding up his hand a moment later.
"I just…I don't know if I like you…like that…" he said, both girls looking at him in surprise, "S-sorry."
"N-no, it's okay!" Ochako gasped, waving her hands in front of her frantically, "I'm sorry! I never even thought about your feelings and-!"
"They might change," he cut her off, both girls looking at him in confusion, "I'm…my feelings for you…about you…about both of you…are already kind of weird. I want to…protect you? I think? But it's more than that. Something that…that I'm not exactly comfortable with yet."
"That's fine, kero," Tsuyu said, placing a hand on his shoulder as the teen muttered, "We're sorry we were only thinking about ourselves. We'll wait for your answer, right?"
She said the last part as she looked over at Ochako, the brunette nodding frantically.
"Sorry," Izuku muttered again, turning back to the dorm, "I'll…try and figure this out as soon as I can. I promise."
"Oh! Izuku!" Ochako called as he started to walk away, "C-can I ask a favor?"
"Hmm? Oh, sure," the teen said as he turned back to look at her, "What do you need?"
"C-can I have a…a hug?"
"Me too! Kero!"
A dozen voices screamed in agony within his mind, Izuku gasping as he sat up in bed, his skin coated in a layer of cold sweat. What had that dream been about? Why couldn't he remember it properly? Looking at his clock, he gave a tired sigh.
4:48 am.
"Might as well get up now," he muttered, "Not that I really need the sleep."
The whole class sat in the classroom as Aizawa spoke, watching him intently.
"As I explained yesterday," their teacher said, "The purpose of the Training Camp was to get you ready for the Provisional License exams. And we're still going to do that. Hero Licenses are inextricably tied to the saving of lives. As such, it is incredibly difficult to earn them. Even for the Provisional Licenses, we only see a fifty percent pass rate."
"Even the Provisional Licenses are that hard to get?" Mineta mumbled as Aizawa continued.
"Which is why," he said as the door slid open, several teachers piling in as they shouted, "Each of you must come up with at least two ULTIMATE MOVES!"
"Welcome to the "Training Kitchen Lab", or TKL for short!" Cementos said as he motioned for the class to enter the large building, "It's a special training building designed specifically for me to be able to help you."
The class looked around the mostly featureless room, the floor and back wall made of unpainted concrete as the blocky grey teacher walked forwards, kneeling and pressing his hands to the surface of the cement. A moment later, and the surface rippled, suddenly rising up and forming into a variety of structures, each looking to be specially tailored to help the students train their quirks.
"And I shall be helping with the instructing!" Ectoplasm hummed, before opening his mouth, a stream of glowing pearlescent goo spraying from his mouth and forming into a number of copies of himself, "Let's get to it!"
"Oh, Sensei!" Hagakure called as the rest of the class began to disperse, "Is All Might going to be joining us?"
"No," the teacher replied, "At least, he shouldn't. He's still recovering from his injuries."
"Oh," the class muttered as they remembered the vicious battle that they had watched unfold in Kamino Ward shortly after they'd been sent home from the Training Camp, the bloody Image of All Might standing victorious over the hulking Nomu still stuck in their minds.
"Midoriya," Aizawa called as the teen hurried out of the changing room, "Powerloader sent a message. Apparently, your "next" costume is done."
"Oh! Great! Thank you, Sensei!" Izuku said as he smiled, "I'll go look right now! I wonder how many were finished?"
Aizawa watched as the teen hurried off, turning to head towards the teachers' lounge before he paused.
"Wait… "how many"?"
Izuku stared at the mannequins in front of him, Powerloader giving a tired sign as he explained the costumes on each to the teen.
The first was all dark leather and chainmail, banded steel plates covering his weak points. On the back were two swords, both made of a special lightweight alloy, with one being silvered. A wolf's head pendant hung from a steel chain around the neck. The costume looked impressive, but Izuku was hesitant to try it.
"I…Uhm, turns out I react to silver," he explained to the teacher, the man nodding, "It slows my healing, so I don't want to carry around a weapon that could hurt me."
"Makes perfect sense," the man sighed, "I warned the student who made this one about that."
The next costume was relatively simple. A white shirt with a high collar, a forest green tie studded with small crystals hanging around the neck. A black suit coat with long tails, similar to his usual costume, held closed by six shiny golden buttons. A red belt held the dress pants up; the Blood Pod pouches slung along the side of his hip.
"Dammit," Powerloader growled, ushering Izuku to the next costume, "I told her not to base it off other students' costumes! Ignore this one."
Next was a full body suit, made of red leather with black accents. Large black patches covered the areas around the eyes on the front of the mask. On the back, two katanas sat crossed, and a pair of handguns rested in holsters on the belt.
"Uhm…what?" Izuku asked, Powerloader just shrugging. Suddenly, a pink blur suddenly slammed into Izuku.
"You're the Vampire!" the girl shouted as she sat on his stomach, bouncing excitedly, the teen too stunned to react, "Perfect! Time to try on your new costume!"
"Hatsume, calm down!" Powerloader barked as the girl began to drag Izuku away.
"New?"
Izuku stared into the mirror as Hatsume fussed around him, adjusting portions of the costume as he wore it. He was in awe.
He looked at himself, dragging his eyes up and down the intricate designs that covered the costume. The boots were of a dark leather and reached up past his knees, with steel shin pads that covered the top of his feet drawn with intricate waving lines, like snakes writhing across its surface. The pants were armored in much the same way as his previous costume, made of stab, slash and flame-resistant materials. On his chest he wore a simple dress shirt, in turn covered by a thick, well-padded leather waist coat, the front held closed by four brass buckles. Over that was trench coat of the same material as his pants, a leather belt with a small bag over his chest, and a short leather cloak held over his shoulders by a brass clasp.
He looked at his hands, the sturdy leather of the gloves fitting almost perfectly to his skin, not restricting his movement at all as he inspected the metal bracers, which were also covered in intricate designs of nightmarish creatures. Finally, the hat and mask. A buff-like scarf hung around his neck, a small ventilator hidden beneath it, and a tricorn hat sat on his head, the back end looking like it had been roughly torn off. The entire outfit looked menacing, and that was only helped by the fact that Hatsume had somehow managed to age the outside of the outfit in such a way that it looked incredibly well used.
"Like it?" the pink-haired girl laughed.
"It's amazing," Izuku breathed, hands sliding back a strange mechanism on the bracer, gasping when the blade sprang out of the wrist.
"Yeah! The bracers are set up to allow you to release blood from all around them, they've got ports and holes everywhere!" the girls grinned as she spoke, pointing out the mechanisms on the bracers, "And pulling back on these bits releases out blades, so you have a way to fight if you can't use your blood! Also! There are holes in the back of the costume to allow you to release blood from your back without ripping the costume! Of course, if you did, I'd just fix it and make it even better!"
"Oh, wow," Izuku mumbled as he inspected the costume again, "I am definitely using this for the Provisional License Exams."
"Only because my next baby isn't ready yet!" Hatsume cried, hopping up as if she'd just remembered something, digging around in a pile of metal, "Or maybe I should call it "our" baby!"
"W-w-w-what?!" Izuku near shrieked, looking desperately at Powerloader, the teacher ignoring the teens desperate stares, "B-b-baby? But I'm too young! My mom will kill me! Ochako and Tsuyu will kill me!"
"What are you talking about?" Mei asked as she turned around, a massive syringe in her hands, "Now, I just need some of your blood!"
"My…my blood?" Izuku asked, eyeing the syringe nervously, "Uhm…I'm sure I can organize with Recovery Girl to-."
"That will take too long, just gimme your blood now!" Hatsume shouted as she leapt at him, lifting the syringe above her head.
She blinked as it slammed into the bare cement floor of the workshop, the needle snapping off with the force.
"Sorry! I really like the costume! I'll get Recovery Girl to send you the blood! Bye!" Izuku shouted from the door as he bolted down the hall.
"Woah, Midoriya you really changed up your costume huh?" Mina called as the green-haired teen stretched, Jiro walking up with her, "Going all in on the scare factor now?"
"Oh? Well, sort of," Izuku chuckled, "It's actually just one of the costumes the Support Department has made for me. The first one is more of a "public relations" outfit, this one is more intimidation based. Though it looks like you've made some modifications of your own."
Izuku stepped back to inspect the two girls' new costumes, both having added wrist mounted weapons. Jiro's were a pair of small speakers on her wrists, almost exactly like the ones Yaoyorozu had made for her during the Training camp, while Mina's looked to be a sleeker version of the acid spraying device the creation quirk user had made. Mina grinned as she showed off the object, fiddling with a dial on the back before aiming it at a wall, a needle thin stream of acid shooting out and melting straight through the concrete.
"This thing is great!" she said, "I'm so glad Baku came up with the idea! Oh, and Yaomomo was saying that she wants us to give her the blueprints for any specialized items we might need her to recreate if we're out and don't have our gear! How cool is that?"
"Oh, well, I don't really have any specialized equipment just yet," Izuku chuckled, "Unless she wants to just make me something to look scary."
"Tell me about it," Jiro muttered, looking him up and down, "I wouldn't want to meet you in a dark alley dressed like that! Wait, you said one of?! How many do you have?"
"Right now? Just the two, though there were about fifteen other rejected ones," Izuku hummed, half counting on his fingers as the two girls stared, "Yeah. Oh, though Hatsume is working on a new costume already, this one is supposed to be more battle focused. She needed my blood for it for some reason."
"Ooh, spooky," Mina laughed, "Hopefully she doesn't drink it! Then she'd become like your slave or something, right?"
"Thrall," Izuku corrected, looking up at them with a look of dawning horror, "You know, I hadn't thought…about…that…Oh no. She wouldn't…would she? I think I should go check on her!"
"Class A, that's quite enough!" the shout echoed around the room, making all the students look towards the doors as they swung open, Vlad King stomping in, the rest of his class following close behind, "We have the TKL for the afternoon!"
"Vlad King," Aizawa sighed, "We still have ten minutes left. We plan to use our time efficiently."
"Huh! Like that would matter!" the familiar nasally voice called as Monoma stepped out from behind his teacher, "All you 1-A brats are going to fail anyway!"
"Jeez, that guy still going on like that?" Jiro sighed, "I can hear him bad mouthing us from down the hall most days."
"Ooh, he makes me so mad," Mina growled as the rest of their class started to gather, "Why does he have to be such a jerk?"
"Hahahaha!" Monoma laughed madly, "I'm sure even your vaunted Monsters will fall before 1-B's greatness in the Provisional License Exam!"
"Not quite," Aizawa muttered, making Monoma fall silent, "The three classes are going to be taking their tests at different venues."
Izuku shook his head as he saw Monoma give a sigh of relief.
"It's a shame I won't be able to beat you myself!" the blond shouted, gesticulating wildly as Izuku walked silently up to him, until he was just barely an inch away, the other teen so absorbed in his ranting that he didn't notice.
"Hey Neito," he said quietly, making the blond turn to him in surprise. Izuku activated Blood Sight as he spoke, his eyes glowing, "Boo."
The blond let out a shriek as he leapt straight up into the air, scrambling back behind his teacher as someone from the other class let out a loud laugh.
"Wow! That was great!" the green-haired girl said, Izuku noticing Shiozaki watching him closely from behind her, "You really got him to jump! Suits a coward like him!"
"Setsuna!" Kendo sighed, "It's not nice to make fun of our classmates."
"Quiet down," Aizawa growled, "In the License Exams, you'll be up against students with quirks you've never seen before, most of whom will be more experienced than you! This is an uphill battle for all of you, so prepare to be worked to the bone and beyond!"
"Whatever!" Vlad King shouted, "Explain the Provisional License exams to your students on your own time, Eraser. It's our turn in here now!"
"That was our own time," Aizawa growled, checking his watch, "Fine, Class 1-A, we're leaving!"
"Midoriya can stay!" Setsuna called, making everyone look at her in surprise, "He interned with Vlad King, so he's basically an honorary Class B member already!"
"Tokage! You would invite that…that thing into our class?" Monoma hissed loud enough for everyone to hear, "Just like that?"
"It's fine," Izuku chuckled as he felt Ochako and Tsuyu glaring over his shoulder, "We have other exercises to do, so I'll stick with my class!"
"Hey, your loss!" the green-haired girl winked at him as she walked past, Izuku flinching at the wave of malice he felt rising from the two girls behind him.
"Hey," Kaminari said to Kirishima as Class A filed out of the TKL, "Did Aizawa-sensei just say "three" classes?"
"Midoriya," Aizawa said as Cementos went about creating the training room for the day, "Hagakure, Yaoyorozu, Shoji and Jiro. You all come over here. You'll be taking part in special training today."
"Special training?" the invisible girl asked as the five students approached their teacher who was standing at the back wall of the TKL, "What does that mean?"
Aizawa gave a nod to Cementos as the man ran his hands over the concrete floor, a doorway suddenly opening in the back wall. The students stood stunned as Aizawa walked through it calmly, stopping inside the other half of the room and motioning for them to follow.
"Come on, you'll never meet your new classmates if you stand around like that," he grumbled.
"New…" Yaoyorozu muttered as they followed their teacher through the door, "New classmates?"
"Good Morning!" the shout startled them as they stared at the ten people lined up in front of them, each dressed in a Hero costume, most smiling happily, "And welcome to the UHC!"
"So?"
"So?" Ochako said as Mina grinned at her.
The six girls of 1-A were sitting on the sofa's in the common room, talking about the training and how their ultimate moves were coming along, Ochako hadn't really been paying attention, her mind elsewhere. Somehow, Mina had shifted the conversation to focus on her.
"Thinking about Midoriya?" the pink-skinned girl asked, her grin widening as Ochako turned bright pink and hid her face in her hands, floating away, "How are things between the…what, three of you, right?"
"Fine, kero," Tsuyu said flatly, "Things are going fine."
" "Fine"? that's it?" Mina hummed, "Are you sure, 'cause you guys haven't really talked since your little rendezvous outside on the first night in the dorms.
"Rendezvous?" Yaoyorozu gasped, "What did you do?"
"Nothing!" Ochako gasped, waving frantically as she bobbed through the air, "We just talked about…stuff."
"And we hugged him, kero," Tsuyu added, "Though that was it."
"Yeah, but how is your relationship going?!" Mina pushed a little more, poking at Tsuyu's side as the frog-like girl gave an irritated sigh, "Come on! Spill it!"
"It's not, okay?" she snapped, startling Mina back as Tsuyu growled, "Izuku is sorting out some issues with his quirk. Until then, there's nothing between us!"
"Oh," Mina said, sitting back on the sofa as Ochako let herself down from the ceiling and went to confort Tsuyu, "Sorry about that."
"It's fine, sorry about shouting, kero," she replied, before getting up and walking away, "I'm going to bed."
"A good idea, I think," Yaoyorozu said as she grabbed the laundry she'd been folding and started to walk away as well, "We have a lot of work to do tomorrow, so it's best we get to bed early!"
"I wonder where Izuku is?" Ochako asked as her and Tsuyu rested at the side of the TKL, "I don't see Jiro or Shoji either."
"Yaomomo is gone as well, and I haven't heard Hagakure in a while, though that could just be because she's being quiet, kero," Tsuyu croaked, taking a sip from her water bottle, "I wonder where they all are. It's kind of wei-."
She was cut off as the back wall of the TKL suddenly shattered, a familiar costume flying through the air and slamming into the wall above the door, cracks spiderwebbing out behind the figure. Izuku groaned as he pulled himself off the wall, looking back at the near perfect indentation of his body that had been left in the structure, before dropping down to the floor.
"Izuku!" "What happened?"
Ochako and Tsuyu ran up as Izuku brushed himself off, the two girls shouting to him as he gave a weak wave.
"Izuku! Say something!" Ochako gasped, the teen holding up a single finger, before pointing to his chest, the two girls stepping back in shock at what they saw.
His entire ribcage looked like it had been collapsed, though Izuku was standing around as if it barely mattered. With a loud series of crunches and cracks, the boy's chest expanded again, the shattered bones inside healing as he took in an unnaturally long breath.
"that's better," he wheezed, voice still weak, "Sorry, have to get back…before-."
"Huh, so that did not kill you," an unfamiliar voice purred from the hole in the wall, its tone mocking, the rest of the class looking up in surprise to see a tall, skinny cat-like person perched in the rubble, "Pity. But I shall prove my superiority soon enough."
"Who are you?!" Ochako shouted as the rest of the class fell into combat stances, "Why are you attacking Izuku?"
"Ochako, guys! It's fine," Izuku called as his voice returned to normal, "I'm actually sparring with him to help him!"
"Help him?" Tsuyu asked, "How?"
"Well…I can take a lot of damage, and he struggles with controlling his strength, so we're having him hit me to…you know, teach him how not to hurt people too badly," Izuku explained as Aizawa appeared from somewhere, grumbling under his breath.
"Nyanyo-san," another unfamiliar voice said, this time a slight looking girl with bat-like features and wings speaking as she landed beside the cat person, "Sensei says to get down now or he'll allow Cementos to seal you in the wall again."
"Tsk," the cat spat, disappearing back through the hole with a grumble as the girl gave a shy wave and dropped down herself.
Aizawa just walking silently up to the three teens, grabbing Izuku by the collar and dragging him back towards the back wall, the other students all looking at the opening that had been made in it, several other unfamiliar faces peering back out at them.
"Sensei? Who are those people?" Mina asked as she tried to follow the man, a stern look making her stop.
"You'll find out later," Aizawa growled, irritation clear on his face, "For now, forget you saw anything and get back to training. Cementos."
At the name, the other teacher touched the wall, the doorway and hole sealing themselves up as the rest of the class stared at the now featureless wall in amazement.
"Wait…" Ochako asked, "Why did he drag Izuku back there?"
"Focus, young one."
It was night, the two of them standing in an empty area away from the Dorms, practicing.
"Yes Sire."
"Now, extend the reach of your power, utilize both at once, and bring them together."
"Yes Sire."
Izuku held out his hand, a tendril snaking out, before forming it into the shape of a basic sword. He concentrated, the edge of the blade rippling as he tried to use two powers at once. After a moment, it worked.
"Very good. Now. Do it."
Izuzku nodded as he held out the weapon in his hand, swinging it through the air as he shouted, "Ultimate Move: Blood Sword: Ashen-arrgh!"
The flames licked up his arm as his coat sleeve ignited, his Sire sighing.
"No, you're still not focusing enough," the man said as he threw a bucket of water onto the already soaked teen's arm, "This must become like second nature to you, but first you must, for lack of a better word, achieve it!"
"Yes Sire!" Izuku shouted as he got back into position, a new Blood Sword already forming in his palm.
"You'll be taking part in a special exercise today," Aizawa said as class 1-A stood outside training field Beta, "Honestly, I wanted to delay this a few more days, but after what happened yesterday, we might as well introduce you all now."
"Introduce?" Sero asked, "Who are we getting introduced to?"
"The UHC," Aizawa replied flatly, sighing at the blank looks he received, "The Underground Heroics Course."
The students gasped and whispered as the nine students filed out of the training field, some waving, others simply looking at them as they lined up behind the teacher.
"You'll be facing each other in teams of three to emulate small strike teams," Aizawa continued, before pointing to five of the 1-A students, "The groups will be assigned randomly according to your classes. Other than that, you five, you're UHC today."
The students of 1-A blinked, looking around for a moment before gasping, watching as the five students walked away from them, joining the strangers behind Aizawa. The nine students greeted the other five like they were familiar, not showing any signs of surprise.
"Sensei, if you don't mind, why are the teams random?" a boy with dark brown hair wearing a blue and yellow jumpsuit asked, raising a gauntleted arm.
"Ah," Iida said, "That is to emulate the fact that we shall not always be able to choose our partners in the field, is it not, Sensei?"
"Usually," the man sighed, turning to the students of the UHC, "In this case…how many of you would group with Midoriya if you could choose?"
Six hands rose, Izuku blushing as he stammered out words of thanks, blinking as his eyes fell on Shinso, the purple-haired teen not having raised a hand.
"Sorry Midoriya," he chuckled, "I want to prove myself seperately from you."
"And I wish to prove that I am the true monster of our class!" Nyanyo laughed, his arms also down.
"No one asked you, stray," Shinso muttered, scowling as the cat-like teen hissed at him.
"Ah, Sensei!" Iida called again, "I have just realized, if it will be team based, there are an uneven number of students! Fifteen for 1-A and only fourteen for the UHC!"
"There are fifteen UHC students present," Aizawa muttered, turning to the group as his hair floated up, the rest of 1-A gasping as a boy wearing a simple trench coat and featureless circular mask seemed to appear from nowhere, "Some just have interesting quirks."
"An invisibility quirk?" Kirishima asked, "But if he can turn it off, why'd Hagakure get picked for Heroics over him?"
"Hey!" the invisible girl shouted.
"Enough!" Aizawa called, holding up his phone, "First team is…Midoriya, Shinso and Nyanyo!"