He smirked at the DJ. Obviously, he could convince the man to train with him: he was very persuasive, after all. And the neon blond DJ was smiling. He really wanted someone to rant at, and people always told him that Mic was one of the best listeners on campus. He wondered how much Mic could take before snapping at him like Aizawa or Vlad King did? "Are you ready?!" Monoma grinned widely: he could break this man: everyone got angry eventually, and that led to mistakes in movement and outbursts of uncontrolled emotion that could be used as leverage.

"Of course, sir." It was mostly melee combat practice he was focusing on for now: his quirk allowed for many opportunities for take downs. He was more surprised by the fact the DJ could keep up: he rarely entered actual combat, but somehow, he was easily sliding Monoma's attacks away, deflecting them with ease.

"You need to keep your elbows loose: that's a key point!" Monoma growled, but obeyed. He didn't need tips from someone who rarely saw combat! Maybe he had made a wrong choice in the talkative man, but he could survive a 1 hour training session. Monoma started talking as they trained. To his surprise, Mic didn't seem that annoyed by his ranting over 1-A. In fact, he seemed completely attentive, only interrupting from specific advice. "Your body mass doesn't support punching: try more for a deflecting kind of approach! Like this." Or occasionally, agreement to something he said. "Yeah, Mineta really should learn to keep his hands to his side." Monoma wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but a capable fighter and someone who actually listened was not it. It was grating on his nerves: he wanted to annoy this man, for goodness' sake! No one had seen Mic actually lose his temper, though Midnight occasionally said he had a bad day. But there was no example of his anger: Monoma didn't like unknowns. He grabbed Mic's hand, absorbing his quirk. Maybe this would get his blood flowing! Monoma took a deep breath, and Mic's eyes widened, but he didn't seem angry yet. That would change shortly! "Monoma, don't-" Monoma shouted, and he could have sworn his throat exploded. Pain enveloped his head, throat and ears, and he screamed, only for the pain to increase. His eyes opened to find himself in the nurse's office. What happened, and why did his throat feel like it had been ripped to shreds? He could hear Mic talking to Recovery Girl. "Are you sure he's going to be okay?" Was he speaking quietly? That was new.

"Yes, Yamada. We've been over this several times. He burst his eardrums, tore his throat muscles, and gave himself a concussion, that's all. He'll be fine. Why were you practicing with him? He just likes upsetting people."

"That's exactly why I agreed! I don't get annoyed by talking, so I thought it would be better to train with me than someone who would get angry." Monoma frowned.

"He likely was trying to see you get angry."

"He's not the first. I didn't think he would use my quirk: he said it would be melee only. Did anyone else get hurt?"

"No, the gym is soundproof, so it cancelled most of the volume. It did give Aizawa and Midnight a start."

"I should've thought it through." Recovery Girl peeked into Monoma's room, locking eyes with the student.

"Well, he's awake, so you can talk with him. His eardrums are sensitive." Mic came in, looking at Recovery Girl with a small smile that seemed very different than his usual grin.

"I know, I remember." He sat down on Monoma's bed, looking him over as Monoma sat up. He still wasn't angry, just worried. "Monoma-kun, you okay?" He nodded, going to speak. Mic covered his mouth. "Your throat is still healing. You shouldn't speak for one or two days." Mic's eyes flashed, and Monoma saw that the excitable teacher who was spoken highly of by everyone was disappointed. Still not angry. "You told me it was melee only, but we can discuss that later. You're lucky you tore through your throat. You could have torn through your vocal cords, leaving you mute. You could have killed someone." Monoma winced, Mic looking dead serious. "Your quirk is excellent for tactical missions, but there are certain quirks that are dangerous to absorb. These have taken the natural user years to learn to use properly. Such as mine. In my first year at UA, I took extra classes to learn how to control my quirk without deafening someone, without killing them. Your quirk is powerful, with multiple uses, and an excellent range of options for your future. But you also have to keep in mind the other person's quirk. Would it damage your body? Would it hurt a teammate? Is it useful for that situation? Think your quirk through before using it: you have the mental awareness to do that." Monoma nodded. "Now, about your…battle strategy. I know you were trying to anger me so I messed up my steps." Monoma looked up in surprise. "It's a pretty common strategy, for beginners." Mic chuckled. "It has a tendency of blowing up in your face with opponents like Bakugo, whose mind gets clearer the angrier he gets, or Kendo, who forces herself to remain calm even when she's absolutely furious, or Aizawa, who shuts down his emotions once he gets angry and becomes purely logical. In certain cases, it works well, but you have to know your opponent and not let your own emotions cloud your judgement, neither of which you have enough experience to do. So find another strategy: you've got the skills to do it, so use your head, Monoma-kun." In a few days, his speech was back, and he sparred a few more times with Mic before moving on to Vlad King and Kendo. Something about Mic's calm/excited nature frustrated him to no end. Everyone got angry eventually, yet Mic seemed intent on not letting anyone see it. As much as Mic annoyed him, Monoma had to admit his advice about finding a different strategy was good. What strategy should he use…