Chapter 10: Back for the Second Semester
Disclaimer: I definitely don't own My Hero Academia
(((The Road in Front of Irohama)))
Izuku and Katsuki got off the bus. It was time for their second semester of their first year of military school. When they first came to Irohama in the spring, they were dreading what they were going to military school; and now, they couldn't be happier to be back. It's funny how life works.
"Are you ready for the new semester, Cadet Midoriya?" Katsuki asked.
"As long as there's no two week camping trip." Izuku responded.
"Just you watch; I bet you that this is the semester I rise to being top of the class and take Cadet Orotaka's position as class rep.." Katsuki claimed.
"Yeah, sure!" Izuku replied disbelievingly.
"What, you don't think I can do it?" Katsuki asked, looking a little hurt.
"I think you could do it… if you weren't competing against Cadet Orotaka. You get A's and B's, he's a straight A student. He always does better than you in Martial arts and Physical Education." Izuku argued. "And didn't you fight him in official duels a few times during the first semester, because I remember him beating you every time, even when you had permission to use Quirks?"
"Okay, maybe the goal is difficult, but that won't stop me from trying." Katsuki said with determination.
"I don't really like your chances. Even if you could surpass Cadet Orotaka, you would still have to be the student who 'most embodies Irohama's principles of discipline and good behavior'. Unless I'm mistaken, you hold the record for most Saturday detentions received in the first week of school alone." Izuku pointed out.
"Your record isn't exactly the best either; Mr. 'Set the record for worst performance of physical ability ever displayed by a middle school first year at Irohama'." Katsuki argued back.
"You just had to aim for that old wound. Why don't I show you exactly how much my physical ability has improved?" Izuku threatened.
"You think you can take me on?" Katsuki challenged back, his old persona starting to show a bit.
After a moment, both boys began laughing. "Phtt, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
"I'm sorry, Cadet Bakugo, if anyone can overthrow Cadet Orotaka, I know you can." Izuku assured.
"No, you were right. Taking Cadet Orotaka's place as class rep. might be more than even I can handle." Katsuki admitted.
"But the key word is 'might'." Izuku noted.
"And if there's a chance, no matter how slim, I'm gonna go for it." Katsuki stated with confidence.
"And I'll be right there to support you every step of the way." Izuku stated without leaving any room for argument.
Izuku held out his fist toward Katsuki, offering a fist bump. "Best friends?"
"Brothers in all but blood." Katsuki stated as he returned the fist bump in kind.
"Cadet Midoriya, Cadet Bakugo, so nice to see you two again." Izuku and Katsuki turned around to see that Mikadai was standing right behind them.
"Let me guess, you heard literally everything from the beginning?" Izuku guessed.
"Yes I did." Mikadai confirmed. "Cadet Bakugo, I admire your goal of aiming for the top. I wish you the best of luck in your quest to take my place as class representative."
Katsuki nodded and said "Cadet Orotaka, I want you to know that I consider you a worthy leader. If we were in the military together, I would gladly follow you into any war. Just don't expect me to hold myself back because of that; I'm still going to overthrow you."
Katsuki put out his hand, offering a handshake. Mikadai grabbed the hand and returned the handshake.
"I'm pleased that you think so highly of me, and I honestly hope that you can best me. When someone on the right side breaks past the top, our nation will be all the better for it." Mikadai stated.
That's when Mikadai noticed something. "Cadet Bakugo, you look different."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Katsuki stated. He was blushing a bit, as he knew exactly what Mikadai was referring to.
Mikadai moved in for a closer look. "Are you… Are you wearing makeup to make your eyes look less narrow?" Mikadai chuckled.
Katsuki went from blushing slightly to blushing heavily.
"I don't know about you, Cadet Orotaka, but I've really missed the Irohama Mess Hall cuisine. Would you like to join me and Cadet Bakugo and for lunch?" Izuku asked, interjecting into the conversation in an effort to spare his friend any further embarrassment.
"I really wish I could, Cadet Midoriya, but I have to help prepare for the ceremony." Mikadai apologized.
"Ceremony?" Izuku asked.
"Oh, right, it's still your first year at Irohama. Now that the second semester has begun, it's time for the faculty to award the position of elementary first year class representative." Mikadai explained.
"That's right!" Izuku realized. "Here at Irohama, the position of class rep. goes to the best student of that generation. I guess the faculty would have to wait until the second semester; they have no way of determining who's most suitable to be the rep. of the newest generation of students at the beginning of the year."
"Why not just give them a test or something? I don't see why they have to wait." Katsuki pointed out.
"I told you back at the beginning of the year, Cadet Bakugo. The position of class rep. is awarded to the student who not only ranks the highest across all aspects of Irohama's curriculum, but the one who best upholds the standards that Irohama tries to instill in its students. A test simply isn't accurate enough; not when compared to the observations made by the teachers over the course of the first semester." Mikadai answered.
Izuku and Katsuki both saw Mikadai's point.
"So, will the whole school be attending, or…?" Izuku asked.
"When a new class rep. is appointed, only that student's own grade and the other grades class reps. are required to attend. However, any students are welcome to attend, though, most aren't all that interested in a class rep. other than their own." Mikadai explained.
(((A Couple of Hours Later, Irohama outdoor ceremony stage, Opposite side of the school from the barracks)))
After Lunch had concluded, Izuku and Katsuki decided to go to the ceremony. Mostly because they wanted to see all the class reps. gathered in one place.
All of the elementary school first years were already assembled, all standing at attention, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Izuku wasn't sure if he was impressed to see such discipline in children so young, or weirded out to see a bunch of six year olds acting like proper soldiers.
There were a few students from the other grades at Irohama, though, not very many. It appeared that Izuku and Katsuki were the only middle school first years who decided to come. Izuku and Katsuki noticed that the older students weren't standing at attention like the elementary first years, presumably because they were here by choice.
"Oh, Cadet Bakugo, Cadet Midoriya. So glad the two of you could come." Mikadai called out as he waved them over. "Perfect timing; the ceremony begins in about two minutes."
"So, Cadet Orotaka, where are the other class reps.?" Katsuki asked.
Mikadai didn't respond; instead, he smiled and pointed toward the stage.
Standing up on the stage were ten students, all from different grades, standing in a line. The first five students were wearing the elementary school variation of the Irohama uniform; the ones that have short pants. The other five were wearing the middle and high school variation of the uniform that has long pants.
Izuku and Katsuki noticed two things about these ten students. The first thing they noticed is that they all stood at attention, waiting for the ceremony to begin. The second; each of the ten students was wearing the same kind of medal on their jackets, the same kind of medal that Mikadai wears to identify himself as a class representative.
"Those ten students standing up on the stage are all the Irohama class reps.… minus myself and the soon to be elementary first year rep. of course." Mikadai stated.
Mikadai then introduced the ten class representatives periodically.
The first student in the line was a seven year old boy with brown eyes and mid-length dirty blonde hair tied back in a small ponytail.
"Class representative of the Irohama elementary school second years, Cadet Urashi Zenigoju. His Quirk is called 'Minotaur'. He can transform into a very strong human-bull hybrid."
The second student in the line was an eight year old boy with jagged, scaly skin, platinum silver eyes with no pupils, and combed back lavender hair with an orange-brown lightning streak.
"Class representative of the Irohama elementary school third years, Cadet Ryuhaki Kibumu. His Quirk is called 'Relax'. When he touches someone, he can make their body go limp and subject them to a feeling of immense pleasure."
The third student in the line was a nine year old boy with goat-like horns on the sides of his head, soft white hair that reached halfway down his neck, and black rings around his red eyes.
"Class representative of the Irohama elementary school fourth years, Cadet Rentaro Tazaji. His Quirk is called 'Synchronize'. He can establish a mental connection with up to six people, allowing them to synchronize their movements perfectly."
The fourth student in the line was a ten year old boy with red and white checkerboard hair, large lips, and very long earlobes.
"Class representative of the Irohama elementary school fifth years, Cadet Ira Mankomu. His Quirk is called 'Fool'. He can temporarily decrease another person's I.Q. by half when he makes eye contact with them.
The fifth student in the line was an eleven year old boy who looked like a hybrid of human and falcon.
"Class representative of the Irohama elementary school sixth years, Cadet Yata Nagichi. His Quirk is called 'Peregrine Falcon'. He can do anything a peregrine falcon can; such as flying at high speeds, having perfect eyesight, and having razor sharp talons on his toes."
The sixth student in the line was a thirteen year old young man with large eyes, pink-orange hair, and a pair of teddy bear earrings in his ears.
"Class representative of the Irohama middle school second years, Cadet Kyubato Uratoshi. His Quirk is called 'Height'. He can make himself taller and his limbs longer."
The seventh student in the line was a fourteen year old young man with bubbly, aqua colored hair, and slightly large hangs with long, pointy fingers.
"Class representative of the Irohama middle school third years, Cadet Otodashi Tadoraki. His Quirk is called 'Tailor'. He can conjure any type of clothing onto a person's body, though, the clothes disintegrate after about four hours."
The eighth student in the line was a fifteen year old young man with bowl cut brown hair, green eyes, and a large scar on his left hand. He was also the most muscular of the class representatives.
"Class representative of the Irohama high school first years, Cadet Hinazoku Suikan. He's Quirkless."
The ninth student in the line was a sixteen year old young man who was really tall, and had oily black hair, narrow eyes, and a sinister looking smile.
"Class representative of the Irohama high school second years, Cadet Rikifu Homazu. His Quirk is called 'Radar'. He can sense everything around him over a twelve meter radius."
The tenth and final student standing in the line was a large, muscular seventeen year old young man with green hair with pale yellow tips cut into a fluffy Mohawk and the beginning of a goatee on his chin.
"Class representative of the Irohama high school third years, Cadet Ginui Katasabi. His Quirk is called 'Fizz'. The more he moves around, the more energy he builds up. That energy can then be released as a shockwave, but the built up energy is all released in one shot. After that, he has to build up more energy by moving around some more."
Izuku and Katsuki knew that the people they were looking at were just students, the same as them; half of whom were actually younger than them. Yet somehow, the two boys felt like they were looking at a group of proud military heroes.
"Whoa!" Izuku uttered.
"Are those guys really just students?" Katsuki questioned.
"You know, the Irohama class reps. get that a lot." Mikadai noted. "There's one other person up on stage that might interest you."
Mikadai pointed to a six year old boy standing just behind the curtain, though, still visible from their position. The boy had sparkling silver hair with brown tips, chartreuse eyes, and freckles dotting his cheeks. He was currently softly slapping himself, like he was trying to mentally prepare himself for something.
"The student who is about to become the class representative of the Irohama elementary school first years, Cadet Senhami Mintaju. His Quirk is called 'Coniferous'. He can sprout pine needles from his skin." Mikadai pointed out.
'I wasn't expecting the new class rep. to look so nervous. I guess it makes sense, though. He's about to become the leader of his class; I'd probably be nervous to.' Izuku thought.
"Well, I should go take my place." Mikadai stated. "I do hope that the two of you enjoy the ceremony."
Mikadai walked up and onto the stage, taking his position between elementary sixth year rep., Yata Nagichi, and middle school second year rep., Kyubato Uratoshi. Like the rest of the class reps., Mikadai stood at attention.
A few minutes later, Principal Koyu walked up on stage and stood at the podium in the middle of the stage. He began his speech.
"In every generation, there are exceptional people whose talent and accomplishments do not go unnoticed. Standing to my left are the class representatives of Irohama Military School for boys." Principal Koyu spoke.
On that cue, the class reps. all saluted to the crowd.
"These fine students display and embody everything we value here at Irohama and try to instill in all of our students. Intelligence, strength, skill, discipline, and dedication. Today, we acknowledge a student of the newest generation who has proven himself to be head and shoulders above the rest of his class." Principal Koyu continued.
The new elementary first year rep., Senhami Mintaju, walked out from behind the curtain and over to the Principal.
"Allow me to introduce the new class representative of the Irohama Military School for boys elementary division first year class, Cadet Senhami Mintaju." Principal Koyu introduced while gesturing his hand toward the six year old boy standing to his right.
Senhami saluted while facing at an angle so that he was half saluting to the crowd and half saluting the Principal.
Principal Koyu reached into his jacket and pulled out a class rep. medal, the same kind of medal that Mikadai and the other reps. we're wearing on their jackets.
"Cadet Senhami Mintaju, do you solemnly swear to uphold the integrity of Irohama, maintain faith in yourself and in your classmates, and use all of your talents for the good of your fellow Cadets and for all of our proud nation of Japan?" Principal Koyu asked over the speaker system for all to hear.
"Sir, yes sir. I swear to honor my school, my classmates, and my country. On my honor as a proud student of Irohama Military Academy for boys, I vow that I will act in a manner worthy of class representative." Senhami answered without even a hint of uncertainty.
"Then, Cadet Senhami Mintaju, I hereby appoint you the position of class representative of the first year class of the elementary school division of Irohama Military School for boys." Principal Koyu announced as he bent down and pinned the medal on Senhami's uniform jacket.
"Cadets, dismissed!" The Principal announced.
"Hold on, is that it?" Izuku asked as the crowd began to disperse.
"Not really much of a ceremony." Katsuki noted.
"Is it really that surprising?" Asked a new voice.
Izuku and Katsuki turned to see that the voice came from a student they only recognized from passing glance. He was a high school second year student with short red hair that had aqua colored streaks and tips.
"In war, every instant is important. If you waste even a single moment, thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of lives could be lost. In a school where almost all of the faculty members are military veterans, of course the ceremony was very short. They got the point across and did what they had to do. Besides that, the people in the military are only awarded for acts that reshaped the path that history takes; compared to that, the appointment of a class rep. isn't really that big a deal and certainly not worth a long, extravagant ceremony." The high schooler explained.
Izuku and Katsuki silently accepted that this high schooler was correct.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Where are my manners? I forgot to introduce myself. I am Cadet Aniku Tenkone; I'm a second year in the high school division. My Quirk is called 'Dust Devil'; I can create a cyclone of sand that lasts for a maximum of ten minutes. Though, I can't control its movement, and I'm limited to only one cyclone at a time." The now named Aniku introduced.
Hearing about Aniku's Quirk immediately sent Izuku into mumble mode, naturally.
"Is he alright?" Aniku asked.
"He's fine; this is actually pretty normal for him. My friend here is proud to be a total geek when it comes to Quirks; whenever he finds out about a Quirk he's never heard of before, he starts mumbling all of the Quirks possibilities; strengths, weaknesses, uses, ect.." Katsuki explained. "On average, the mumbling usually lasts about ten minutes; you just have to let it run its course.
"Anyway, I'm Cadet Katsuki Bakugo, and this is Cadet Izuku Midoriya. We're both first year middle schoolers. Cadet Midoriya is Quirkless and my Quirk is called 'Explosion'; I can sweat nitroglycerin from my palms and ignite it on command." Katsuki introduced.
"The pleasure is all mine, Cadet Bakugo." Aniku replied and extended his had for a handshake.
Katsuki, of course, returned the handshake.
"Excuse me, Cadet Tenkone, but I need a word with Cadet Bakugo, if you don't mind." Mikadai requested as he walked up to them.
"Certainly, Cadet Orotaka." Aniku replied before walking off.
"You know him?" Katsuki asked.
"He's in the same class as my older brother, Mikadaru." Mikadai answered.
Katsuki nodded in understanding.
"Cadet Bakugo, it's time." Mikadai stated.
"Already, huh?"
"Let's go!" Mikadai insisted before walking off.
Katsuki followed while dragging Izuku by the arm, this didn't stop Izuku from mumbling about Aniku's Quirk though.
(((Flashback, The Day Before Summer Break Began)))
"Cadet Orotaka." Katsuki called out.
"Oh, is there something you need, Cadet Bakugo?" Mikadai asked.
"After we get back from summer break, I want to fight you in an official duel." Katsuki declared.
"Alright, I accept your challenge." Mikadai agreed. "I believe that this will be our sixth fight, if I'm not mistaken."
"The score right now is five to zero. I have the zero." Katsuki admitted. "Cadet Orotaka, I'm not the same person I was when I first came to Irohama. Back then, I only cared about winning and proving that I was the best. I'm not that person anymore, though."
"Just what are you trying to say?" Mikadai asked.
"Cadet Orotaka, I may not be obsessed with winning any more, but that doesn't change that I have my pride. I'm declaring this, right here and now. Before the school year is over, I WILL beat you in a fight… at least once."
(((End Flashback)))
After returning to the barracks and changing into their P.E. uniforms, they went to the schools middle school first year exercise area. By that point, Izuku had finally stopped mumbling.
Almost all of the students of the first year of the middle school division had gathered to see the fight that was about to take place.
As Katsuki and Mikadai stood across from one another, Katsuki thought 'Okay, so what's he going to do? He and I have fought each other five times, and two of those times, we were allowed to use our Quirks. The first time we were allowed to use Quirks, he made the ground slippery and his own boots sticky. I kept losing my footing. The second time we used Quirks, he made the ground sticky and his boots slippery. My feet were totally stuck to the ground.'
While Katsuki was thinking, the fights referee, their history teacher, Major Ginjiro Fusaki, came forward.
"Students, this is an official duel between your Class Representative, Cadet Mikadai Orotaka, and his opponent, Cadet Katsuki Bakugo. The use of Quirks is permitted. There will be no time limit and there is no out-of-bounds rule. In order to claim victory, you must either restrain your opponent, knock your opponent unconscious, or get your opponent to admit defeat." Major Fusaki announced.
After a brief moment of anticipation, Major Fusaki announced "Begin!"
Katsuki wasted no time; whether Mikadai was planning to make the ground sticky or slippery, Katsuki definitely wasn't planning on falling into the trap. Katsuki used his explosions for propulsion and launched himself into the air. He created continuous explosions to make absolutely sure that he didn't touch the ground.
'Seems he's wised up a bit.' Mikadai thought. 'In that case…'
Mikadai touched his boots, but didn't touch the ground.
Mikadai, having turned his shoes slippery, skated toward Katsuki.
Katsuki tried to flip mid-air and land a kick on Mikadai's head, but Mikadai dodged the attack fairly easily.
Since his shoes were effectively frictionless at the moment, Mikadai ended up skating right past Katsuki. Mikadai had to stop himself by touching the ground with his hand. Something that Katsuki noticed and was perfectly willing to take full advantage of.
Over the course of the next forty-five seconds, Katsuki and Mikadai followed a pattern. Katsuki uses his explosion Quirk to propel himself through the air, toward Mikadai; Mikadai stated towards Katsuki; Katsuki attempted to land a hit; Mikadai dodged easily and skated past Katsuki, then touched his hand to the ground to stop himself.
It seemed that this cycle would go on forever… if not for one little thing.
Katsuki suddenly felt a sharp ache in his shoulders. The drawback of overusing his Quirk. Honestly, it's nothing short of a miracle that it took that long for the drawback to manifest.
Katsuki wanted to continue avoiding the ground, but the pain in his upper arms wouldn't let him. Katsuki fell to the ground and tumbled unceremoniously.
Katsuki picked himself up, though, his arms were nearly limp.
Mikadai touched his boots and used the sticky application of his Quirk to neutralize slipperiness of his boots. From there, it was a battle of martial arts, and Katsuki was at a great disadvantage, since he could barely use his arms.
Mikadai began pushing Katsuki back, until Katsuki realized that his left foot couldn't move. The Explosion user looked down to see that his foot was literally stuck to the ground.
Katsuki's eyes widened with realization, and turned towards Mikadai.
"Earlier, every time I touched the ground to stop myself from sliding, I activated my Quirk to make a small sticky patch. Flying around like you were, I knew that you would exhaust your Quirk before too long. Once that happened I just had to get you to step on one of the sticky areas." Mikadai explained.
"You had this all planned the moment you saw me blast myself into the air, didn't you?" Katsuki accused while gasping, as the fight had left him short of breath.
"I'm class rep. for a reason, Cadet Bakugo." Mikadai responded.
Mikadai ran toward Katsuki and dropped to the ground, kicking Katsuki in the legs, while simultaneously touching the sticky patch of ground, neutralizing the stickiness by using the slippery application of his Quirk. This combo resulted in Katsuki falling to the ground, belly down.
Mikadai wasted no time. He got on top of Katsuki, pinned his knee on the blonde boy's torso, and grabbed both of Katsuki's wrists, pinning them to the ground.
"Cadet Orotaka has pinned his opponent. I declare that Cadet Orotaka is the winner." Major Fusaki announced.
The surrounding students clapped a bit and gave small cheers as Mikadai got up and went to neutralize the sticky patches he made.
Katsuki stood up, walked over to Izuku, and grumbled "I lost to him, again."
"You shouldn't be too upset, Cadet Bakugo. Don't you realize that that was the longest you've ever lasted in a fight against Cadet Orotaka." Izuku tried to cheer his friend up.
Mikadai, having just taken care of the last sticky area, walked over to the two boys, smiling, and he said to them "You may not have beaten me today, Cadet Bakugo, but don't worry, you might just be able to show me up yet. After all, rivalry week is coming up very soon."
"Rivalry week?" Izuku asked.
I know that the last couple of chapters were kinda short, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it. I think it's one of my better works.
If any of you are wondering about Mikadai pinning Katsuki belly down, even though the real world standard is to pin the opponent on their back; it's because you can't worry about following protocol in a real fight, or you could end up dead. You gotta end the fight, even if it means breaking the rules of the style.
Don't misunderstand, though, breaking the rules is something you should only do if it's necessary for victory/survival.
At Irohama, they teach you that you should follow the rules, but not dying is more important.
Leave a review. Seriously, I really want to see some reviews.