"We need a schedule on who gets access to the remote. The way that it keeps changing hands randomly so far feels weird." Giselle said to Aleister in English a few minutes before the episode started.
"I agree. I say every two episodes, we pass the remote so next episode I get the remote. As for the last episode, whoever does the previous episode gets the remote."
"Should we do the OVAs?"
"We might as well. Especially since the new ones are out." Aleister said before realizing something. "Hold on. That means that the OVA would count as the last episode for season one so I would get the remote then."
Giselle groaned and bumped her head against her husband's shoulder, getting a chuckle from him while he ran his hand through her hair. "Fine."
There was one minute left on the clock. Everyone got back to their seats. When the timer hit zero, the lights dimmed and Giselle pressed play on the remote. "It's showtime."
"Oh joy." Aleister said in a dull tone, putting his tablet to the side. 'After a year. Luckily we don't have to read a year's worth of manga since the last time this was updated.'
"Oh hush." Giselle said, putting down her own tablet.
"What's up with those tablets?" Denki asked the couple.
"Believe me when I say this. I'd rather be looking at this tablet than the screen most times." Aleister said, giving Giselle an unimpressed look, who in return, gave a nervous giggle.
"I love you." Giselle said.
The look on Aleister's face vanished and he gave her a smile. "I love you too." With that, he kissed her on the forehead. If Giselle wasn't a godly being in technical terms, she would blush so instead she just closed her eyes happily.
'They're so cute.' Midnight thought with a smile.
The episode started with preschool Katsuki and Izuku walking through the forest.
"This scene again?" Toru whined.
"Yes." Aleister said simply as he swished around the ice in his cup before taking a sip.
"At least you girls get to see the closest thing to a chibi Izuku." Giselle said in reassurance.
"Well there is that," Mina said before pouting. "I want to pinch baby Midori's cheeks and now Ochako gets to pinch Midori's cheeks anytime she wants."
"M-Mina!" Ochako exclaimed in embarrassment while Izuku blushed a deep red.
"Ashido! Please stop embarrassing your classmates!" Tenya exclaimed while doing his usual hand chopping motion. Mina stuck her tongue at him in response.
"Wow you're so lucky. Your quirk is amazing, Kacchan." Preschool Izuku complimented the blond excitedly. "When I get mine, I hope it's just as cool!"
"Whatever, Deku. No matter what power you end up with, you'll never be able to beat me." Preschool Katsuki said with a confident smirk.
The blond's preschool self transitioned to his older self on the day of the Quirk Assessment test. The once confident smirk turned into an enraged snarl as his eyes twitched. 'He's just a little bug.'
'Until the exam, he was nothing.' The scene transitioned once more to the day of the Battle training with Katsuki and Izuku running towards each other. 'A little bug I could crush if I wanted to.'
"SO WHERE'S THAT FLASHY POWER OF YOURS NOW?!" The two once childhood friends powered up their attacks. "DAMMIT! You were tricking me for years by acting weak! Bet you were laughing behind my back huh?!"
"Let's see how your power compares to mine! Quirk or no, you'll never beat me, Deku!" With that exclamation, Izuku launched a Detroit Smash in an uppercut towards the roof as Katsuki set off an Explosion in the former's face.
"I still can't believe Midobro managed to destroy three floors with one punch." Tetsutetsu said.
Itsuka nodded. "That power is gonna keep on adding up too. He'll likely be stronger than All Might when he goes pro."
The punch caused the glass of every window to shatter.
"What's happening?!" Tenya asked in shock.
"Improvised Special Move, the Comet Home Run!" Ochako yelled out, using the pillar as a baseball bat.
"That was really well played, however it was reckless." Momo said.
"I've got it!" Ochako said, hugging the fake bomb.
The screen showed Katsuki looking up as he trembled in rage. "So this was your big plan."
"I wasn't… going to use it." Izuku said through pained breaths. "Because I can't control it. My body just can't handle.. the backlash of my power yet. Mister. Aizawa said I'd be useless. But this was all.. that I.. could think of."
"Damn Midoriya, you must have been in a lot of pain at that point." Yosetsu said.
"This is the only way.. I had any chance at winning."
Katsuki looked in bewilderment as he went through flashbacks.
"Someone I look up to told me.. that I can become a hero." Izuku's words went through Katsuki's head once again as the green haired boy fainted. "That's why I applied. Like it or not, you can't stop me!"
The opening played.
Nobody knew what to say until Denki suddenly talked. "Man, who knew that the opening scene could give off so many emotions."
"You just realized?" Kyoka asked.
The scene showed the result of the two powerhouses' biggest attacks.
"Your indoor combat training is over." All Might announced.
Ochako slid down the fake bomb causing Tenya to panic. "Are you okay?" The latter asked with his arms flaying.
"The Hero Team WIIIIIIINS!" All Might announced.
"What a weird way for this to end. The losers are practically untouched and the winners are both on the ground." Denki pointed out.
"How does the old saying go?" Fumikage asked rhetorically. "They may have lost the battle but they've won the war."
"This class is intense." Tsuyu said.
"Yeah no kidding. I'm still surprised that we had this class early in the year when we're just first-years." Mina said.
"Don't you remember Thirteen's words at the USJ? The combat training was to teach you how dangerous your quirks can be." Aizawa said.
All Might was watching as two medical bots were taking Izuku out of the fake city on a stretcher. "To the nurse's office." The medical robot in the front said.
"I know." The medical robot in the back said as they passed the hero. All Might then looked towards Katsuki whose hand was shaking.
"The robots act real smart for mechanical pieces of junk. They talk shit like this during training, I'm blasting every single one of them to Hell." Katsuki grumbled.
"Once the robots take over, don't be surprised when they come for you first." Aleister snarked, making Giselle laugh.
'My attacks. Deku predicted them.' Katsuki thought as his hand was shaking. 'He made me look like an idiot and somehow managed to win the exercise.'
"You've always been stronger, Kacchan. Can't you see? That's why I want to beat you! Because you're amazing!" Izuku's words echoed in Katsuki's head.
Everyone in the theater, especially Class A, the parents and the teachers looked worried seeing the onscreen Katsuki hyperventilating on the verge of having a full-blown panic attack over losing the match.
'Does this mean if we really fought… if we didn't hold back at all… Deku would beat me with his quirk?' Katsuki thought.
"More like you would be the bug that gets crushed." Giselle finished the onscreen Katsuki's rant with her own words.
"Seriously Bakugo, how were you more worried of how your power compares to others when Midori just destroyed three floors with one punch and from just wind pressure?" Mina asked. "I don't think anyone can survive that move."
Izuku, All Might and the Sinclairs didn't say a word, internally whistling innocently.
"What about the villain in Kamino?" Shoto asked. "We saw All Might defeat him with his ultimate move and all it did was render him unconscious."
The other students pondered that and wondered if any other villain in the future could be that strong. They then shuddered at that idea.
All Might put a hand on Katsuki's shoulder, putting a stop to the hyperventilating. "Young Bakugo, cool your jets. Let's go review your work." All Might as Katsuki's eyes were the size of pinpricks. "Whether you win or lose, you can always take something from an experience like this. As long as you're open to learning."
"Did anyone else notice that All Might's hand is probably the same size as Bakugo's head?" Hanta asked.
"I wonder if Midori is going to be that gigantic." Toru said.
Ochaco blushed at the thought. Izuku's strong arms wrapped around her, holding her up off the ground as he carried her around. Latching on to him just like she had the fake weapon in training. But her boyfriend had a different reaction to that.
*Thud*
"Izuku!" Ochako exclaimed in shock as her boyfriend fell out of his seat onto the floor, his face pale as a ghost. Everyone else was just as shocked by this reaction.
"Me a giant… like All Might. Is that.. even possible?" Izuku uttered out.
"I believe that All Might's hero form is a way for him to use One For All at its fullest." Momo said, trying to reassure Izuku.
"Episode 8: Bakugo's Start Line"
In the monitoring room, the giant screen showed that Team A won while Team D lost. "Well, despite the results, The MVP of this exercise is Young Iida." All Might announced.
"I was expecting it to be Greenie." Setsuna said.
Next to a silent Katsuki who had his head lowered and a nauseated Ochako, Tenya turned to look at All Might before giving out a shocked "Huh?!"
"Shouldn't it be one of the heroes instead since they're the winners?" Tsuyu asked.
All Might hummed in approval at the question. "Valid question. Why didn't I choose one of the two? Who has a guess?" He asked, holding up his hand.
Momo raised her hand. "Sir, I can tell you why."
"Remember when I said you were stuck up, Yaomomo." Kyoka said.
"Iida embraced this challenge. He was the only one truly adapted to his assigned role. I'll explain." Momo said as the scene transitioned from All Might still holding up his hand to Katsuki whose eyes were covered by his spiky hair. "I'll explain. Bakugo's judgment was clouded by a personal grudge against Midoriya."
The screen transitioned to Katsuki releasing the pin on the gauntlet from the previous episode as Momo continued her analysis of the match. "As you pointed out earlier, launching a large-scale attack indoors was a foolish move. It could have been disastrous. Similarly Midoriya's plan was also poorly thought out, considering the amount of damage he had received. He rendered himself helpless. Not smart."
"I apologize for my words, Midoriya." Momo said in shame while her onscreen self dissected Ochako and Tenya's roles. "You had a well thought out plan and out of pride, I basically said your plan was poorly thought out. But I believe that you did better against Bakugo than any of us could."
"Technically the hero team won, yes. But they took advantage of the fact that this was training. They didn't respect the spirit of the trial." Momo finished her analysis.
"I thought it was survival training the way it was going." Giselle said nonchalantly. "I know a few of you know how that felt."
Most of Class A shuddered at what Giselle said, knowing what she was talking about.
Izuku waved it off. "It's fine, Yaoyorozu. It's not like you could have heard my thoughts. Plus with no control over One For All, I knew I had no chance once Kacchan used his quirk mid battle so I was basically outmatched and then I injured myself in the end just to win. So you're right. We only won because we took advantage of this being training."
"Just take the compliment, Green." Kyoka intervened. "Yaomomo feels bad already. Plus she's right. Only you had a better chance at facing Bakugo than any of us since you knew the way he fights. I knew I would have tinnitus if our team was going against him and that's without his constant explosions."
'This girl really has a good eye on her.' All Might thought, trembling slightly in shock. "Yes, well you overlooked a few things. Young Iida could have relaxed a little bit in the exercise but otherwise you nailed it." The hero finished in acknowledgement with a thumbs up.
"One should always start with the basics and develop themselves wholeheartedly to learning. That's the only real way to become a top hero." Momo stated with self-pride as the camera panned up from her legs, showing her standing in front of a Japanese crane painting with the kanji for 'Start with the basics to develop depth of learning' and 'Devote oneself wholeheartedly' written on it in fine calligraphy. The screen zoomed in on her, her form taking on the rough hue of the introductory sketches as her name appeared on the screen.
"You tell them, Prickly Princess." Giselle said in English, making Aleister laugh. "Now if she can do something about that fan-service costume."
"That painting is so manly." Eijiro said.
"If any of you want it in your room here, just ask and we'll have it put in your room." Giselle said.
"You could do that?" Demki asked. "That's so cool."
"Of course." Aleister said. "We have our ways."
"Momo Yaoyorozu: One of the four students admitted to the hero course based on recommendations." Present Mic announced while Momo looked mighty proud of herself.
"Yaomomo, you got your own Present Mic intro." Mina said.
"Quick question. What are the qualifications to get in through recommendations?" Toru asked.
"Well, you had to be given a referral by someone in the hero business, whether it be an actual pro or someone well known. Then there was the written exam, though I couldn't say if it was the same as the non-recommended applicants. Then for the practical exam was a three kilometer race through an obstacle course and after that was an interview with a selected pro." Momo explained.
Shoto, Setsuna and Juzo nodded in confirmation to what the ravenette said.
"Another good reason why I'm glad I decided to take the regular exam." Izuku said. "I don't think I would have passed the obstacle course."
"You were offered to get in through Recommendations, Midori?" Mina asked.
"Yeah but I wanted to get in on my own merit, without any outside help."
"So why didn't you take the Recommendation Exam, Iida?" Ochako asked. "I'm sure your family would have given you a referral."
"Like Midoriya, I wished to get into UA by my own merit as well." Tenya admitted.
"Now then, time to blow this joint." All Might said, standing behind the lots. "Let's move onto the next match! Think about everything we saw and discussed as you tackle this training for yourself."
"You okay there, Bakubro?" Eijiro asked in worry. "You looked completely out of it."
"I was a complete idiot." Katsuki grumbled.
"Is Kacchan actually getting character development?" Denki asked. "I expected a whole character arc and shit."
"Language, Kaminari." Tenya said.
The scene transitioned to a whole new building labeled, 'Battle Building B'.
"Match two! Team B will be our heroes!" All Might announced as the camera showed Mezo and Shoto standing outside the building. Then the camera showed Mashirao and Toru inside the building. "And Team I will be the villains!"
"Hey Ojiro." Toru called out to her partner as she started taking off her gloves. "Let's get serious. I'm gonna take off all my clothes and totally disappear."
"Yeah cool."
"Pretty sure the floating earpiece is mighty obvious." Giselle commented.
'Hagakure is using her quirk to our advantage. But it's kind of weird to know there's a naked girl standing by me. What exactly am I supposed to do here?' Mashirao thought in confusion.
Toru let out a huff of annoyance while Mashirao looked sheepish. Most of the students snickered at that while others were flustered at the situation.
"Your world's existence is a century or so since our time yet no support company thought of putting Cloaking devices on costumes." Aleister said.
"A shame that we're not a part of this world. We could make quite the impact in our respective businesses, me in fashion and you in support items." Giselle said.
"Uh… just don't look, okay?" Toru asked in a flustered state.
"What's the difference?" Mashirao asked.
'Oh Ojiro,' The women thought, shaking their heads.
Izuku chuckled. "And here I thought I was bad when it comes to girls."
"You're not bad, so to speak. You know what you want but you don't know how to say it." Ochako said, making most of the girls giggle.
"Hey," Izuku said in mock offense.
"Is for horses. It's not your fault that those bitches back then never gave you the time of day to get to know you better because the only thing they cared about was your quirklessness." Ochako said, making the audience gasp including Izuku.
"She cursed. First Midori, now Ochako. Our green bean and mochi girl are corrupted." Mina wailed theatrically, shaking Eijiro. "What is the world coming to?"
"This isn't going away anytime soon." Giselle said as she paused the show. Aleister growled quietly but decided not to get involved until it was necessary.
"Ashido, you do know I can swear, right?" Izuku asked, looking at the pink-skinned girl.
"What?" Mina asked as she stopped shaking Eijiro. She was not the only one curious about this newfound discovery.
"This is new." Aleister said while his wife replaced her glass of Scotch with a fake teacup with her pinky raised and he narrowed his eyes at her. "Put your hand down, Giselle."
"Nope." Giselle said, popping the p once again.
"It's the end times." Ibara said with her hands clasped.
"Just because you don't hear me doesn't mean I don't do it." Izuku said with a shrug. "I'm always nice and polite but I'm still a teenager."
"And I have my own reasons." Ochako admitted, tapping her index fingers together.
"Izuku. Where did you learn to say these words?" Inko asked sternly.
"Well..." Izuku's words wandered off.
The majority of the students immediately turned to Katsuki. Aleister and Giselle stifled their laughs.
"Without hesitation." Giselle said.
"You heathen! How dare you tarnish Midoriya's pure soul with your endless barrage of profanity!?" Ibara exclaimed.
"What?!" Katsuki exclaimed. "You listen here, you Adam and Eve knockoff! Don't blame me because Deku knows how to curse!"
"Please do not disrespect the first children." Giselle said.
"Deku, tell these extras that I'm not the reason that you have a shitty mouth." Katsuki said.
"Bakugo, language!" Tenya exclaimed.
Izuku rolled his eyes, knowing that the blond would use him as a 'get out of jail' card. "I wouldn't blame Kacchan entirely. I blame everyone around me during my time at Aldera."
"Hah. I told you extras that I had nothing to do with the damn nerd having a shitty mouth." Katsuki said with a smirk.
"Bakugou! Mind your language!" Tenya reprimanded once more.
"Shut it four eyes I wasn't talking to YOU!"
"But it was mostly Kacchan and our just as terrible former classmates." Izuku said.
"Deku." Katsuki growled.
"Kacchan." Izuku turned to look at his rival.
"Deku!"
"Kacchan!"
"Denki!" The two turned to glare at the golden haired idiot, who interrupted their little… whatever that was.
"Uh sorry. Just re-enacting the meme." Denki said awkwardly, before leaning back into his seat. "Carry on."
"Enough." Aleister growled, pinching the bridge of his nose. Next to him, Giselle was too busy laughing. He was trying not to look at her due to her.. back to the problem children. "We are not carrying on with this nonsense."
"Come now, darling." Giselle said once she got a hold of herself. "I know you're not a prude and you have to say that the moment was funny."
Aleister chuckled. "Fine you got me. But still, press play."
"Look alive, kids! Show us you're the embodiment of good. Or evil! Let's go!" All Might announced, holding a clipboard in his hand. The buzzer sounded, starting the timer and match.
Mezo retracted the webs of his skin and formed an ear on one of his tentacles. The screen zoomed in on him, his form taking on the rough hue of the introductory sketches as his name and quirk appeared on the screen.
"Mezo Shoji! Quirk: Dupli-Arms! He can replicate different body parts on the tips of his tentacles. Now that's super strange." Present Mic announced as Shoto walked into the building.
"Really Hizashi?" Aizawa asked, deadpanning at his best friend.
"What's strange, sir?" Mezo asked in an offended tone.
"What?! I didn't say that!" Present Mic exclaimed, trying to defend himself.
"Do not blame Present Mic for anything that is said before or after the Sports Festival. After all, nobody knows how his voice announces like that, not even us." Aleister said.
"One's on the north side of the fourth floor. And I think the other's on the same level somewhere. Both are barefoot." Mezo's top tentacle turned into another mouth. "I bet the invisible one plans to sneak up and surprise us."
"For your own safety, go outside." Shoto said as he walked forward. "I'm sure our opponents intend to fight a defensive battle." His right hand started to form frost. He then put his hand to the wall, ice immediately spreading as it also started to spread from under his foot. "But we've already won."
Everyone except for Class A looked in shock as ice raced through the building, covering every single exposed surface both inside and outside. Izuku looked both in awe and shock since he was unconscious for three hours.
"He won that one in an instant." Neito uttered.
"Just like in the Sports Festival." Itsuka said.
"Ow ow ow. My feet are stuck!" Toru exclaimed.
"This quirk is insane."
"Holy crap, how are the three strongest guys in our class so terrifying?" Mina asked.
'I'm terrifying?' Izuku thought.
"Pry yourself up if you want, but it might be hard to fight me with no skin on the bottom of your feet." Shoto said as he walked past his opponent.
In the monitoring room, All Might and the other students were shown shivering from the cold except Fumikage and Tenya. "He incapacitated them without compromising the weapon or his teammate. Take close note of his technique, students."
"Overkill." Aleister interjected. "This was purely overkill. Had it been different, those two would be treated for frostbite."
"I agree with Mr. Sinclair. This could have ended badly. Especially since Hagakure was barefoot." Midnight said.
"We will get that fixed when we get back to UA and we are no longer doing business with that support company." Nezu stated.
"The hero team wins!" All Might announced.
Shoto then used his left side to melt the ice across the building.
"Heat, too?" Ojiro asked, seeing that the ice was melting.
The screen transitioned to the building steaming from Shoto using his quirk then to Toru who whimpered in pain.
"Sorry." Shoto apologized sincerely to the invisible girl.
"Water under the bridge." Toru replied back.
"It's not your fault. We're just playing on different levels." Shoto said. The screen zoomed in on him, his form taking on the rough hue of the introductory sketches as his name and quirk appeared on the screen.
"Shoto Todoroki. Another of the four admitted to the hero course based on recommendations. Quirk: Half-cold, half-hot! He freezes with his right side and burns up the charts with his left. The range of his abilities is unknown!" Present Mic announced in a mysterious tone.
"Holy crap!" Sato exclaimed.
"That guy is kind of intimidating." Denki admitted.
"He got in on a recommendation, so he must be good." Tsuyu said while Ochako and Mina looked scared and Kyoka just looked.. dead inside.
"That's only because of my old man."
"Moving on!" All Might announced. "Time to gather 'round for a review of the second match. After that, we'll jet on over to the next battle."
Meanwhile, Katsuki bit his lower lip in frustration.
"I'm sensing a bit of an inferiority complex from Bakugo." Midnight pointed out.
"He was beginning to see that he was not the only strongest in his class." Aizawa said.
Bits and pieces of the following trials were shown, usually the hero teams just entering and the villain teams getting ready to defend. One shot showed Minoru eyeing Momo's backside while she did all of the work.
Tsuyu's tongue snapped out and slapped Minoru. The Sinclairs sighed.
"Ouch! What the heck?! I already got the look from her for that!" Minoru complained.
"I for one approve of Tsuyu defending her classmate's honor." Tenya stated.
"Yeah!" The other 1-A girls said all at once.
"At this point, it's more of abuse than defending honor." Aleister said with a disappointed look. "I swear, if you act like this now, I wonder what you glass children will do in the future."
Minoru looked over at the teachers.
"Perhaps if you hadn't been so busy ogling, you could have done more to help your partner." Aizawa said dryly.
"But she made the steel and everything for the door on her own! What was I supposed to do?" Minoru whined.
"What about adding your quirk to the barricade?" Aizawa challenged. "Something to make the beams stick together would have made it even stronger."
"Well...it seemed strong enough without it. And it was! They didn't break through." Minoru argued.
"What about using your quirk to secure the window?" Izuku asked. "Tsu can stick to walls. She could have come up that way."
"I would have if it hadn't taken so long for us to find the weapon and realize why we couldn't get the door open." Tsuyu confirmed.
"See? You can't blame me for the two of them not making a better plan to find the fake weapon once their first plan failed." Minoru countered.
Momo huffed while Shoto patted her shoulder sympathetically.
"Oh no. A lecher. What a nightmare." Giselle said in a sarcastic tone before turning serious. "Are you going to come up with that excuse with ogling men when you go pro? Your costume lacks practicality so think how you can fix that while still having some decency."
While shocked by Giselle's words, Momo took the words to heart. "Yes ma'am."
"Good." Giselle said. "And Tsu, you attack Minoru one more time with your tongue, I won't hesitate to make the length of it into a normal person's tongue, understood?"
"Yes ma'am." Tsuyu said.
"Good." Giselle repeated. Aleister huffed in amusement. She pressed play on the remote for a third time.
Yuga entered the building in a regal fashion. Mina slid down the hall using her acid. She then spread out her arms wide, covered in acid, happily exclaiming, "Surf's up!"
The acid fell on Yuga's cape and made two holes in it, upsetting him. Mina put her hands together in an apologetic gesture and said, "Oops. My bad."
"Je suis toujours en colère contre ce que tu as fait à ma cape, mon amie." Yuga said.
Mina was confused and asked, "What did you say, Aoyama?"
"I'm still mad at what you did to my cape, my friend." Giselle translated.
Most of the students and adults were shocked at how Giselle translated that so quickly. Mina apologized for her mistake again, which Yuga accepted after some time.
"Hey! Why aren't we seeing the complete matches between the rest of the teams?" Tetsutetsu asked.
"The rest of the matches weren't that exciting compared to the first two matches." Eijiro admitted.
A whistle was heard, signaling the end of the class. All Might and the nineteen students were standing in front of the Exit tunnel of Ground Beta. "That's a wrap! Super work." You really stepped up to the plate. And we didn't have any major injuries, except for Midoriya. You should be proud."
"It's nice to hear some encouraging words after our homeroom class." The screen showed the manic look of Aizawa from the quirk assessment test. It then transitioned back to the students, showing the front row of students nodding in agreement. "Mr. Aizawa was kind of a buzzkill."
Aizawa had the same manic look. "Is that right? Well maybe when we…" He was cut off by Midnight smacking him on the shoulder.
"Stop that!" The dominatrix scolded the erasure hero.
All Might put his hands out in a welcoming gesture as stood in front of a golden colored UA emblem. "I'm happy to bring such staggering positivity to my Alma Mater! That's all for now, folks. I should go and check on young Midoriya's progress. Now, watch how a pro exits. Like he's got somewhere to be!" The number one ran off in a burst of speed.
"Okay, you guys, that is a hero!" Denki exclaimed in excitement.
"Aw, I'll never be able to run that fast." Mashirao complained.
"Don't worry so much Mashirao," Toru consoled her boyfriend. "You're not All Might. You don't have to try to be as strong or as fast as him."
The blond tailed boy smiled at his girlfriend. "Thanks Toru."
"So when were you two going to tell everyone that you're a couple?" Izuku asked.
"Because we were going to do it for you." Ochako said.
Toru faltered in her seat, unable to come up with an argument. "I messed up there."
All Might looked back to see Katsuki with his hair covering his eyes. 'Young Bakugo really is overflowing with pride. His ego may be justified, but a school like UA is bound to shatter it.' All Might thought as he was running from the class. 'As his teacher, it's my sworn duty to counsel him well. But it'll have to wait.' The hero started to steam.
He pressed a button and the doorway closed behind him as he started to breathe heavily. 'I can't hold this form any longer.' In a poof of smoke, All Might was in his skeletal form. 'I barely have enough time to teach a class. Shit.'
"To think he was that short on time," Momo uttered. "I mean, we'd thought about it yesterday, but…?"
"I understand your concerns but now that All Might is retired and ," Nezu added.
"The second day of school and he's already a regular patient. Why didn't you stop him, All Might?"
All Might coughed. "You're right, Recovery Girl. I'm sorry."
"It's no good apologizing to me." Recovery Girl fumed. "He's too exhausted from his classes for my Quirk. I can't treat all of his injuries at once. I did some first aid, but after the IV is finished, we'll have to wait for his body to heal overnight."
"Izuku," Inko quietly said in worry.
"Come on, All Might. I know you passed your powers onto this boy but you can't spoil him."
"I am trying not to play favorites. I wanted to consider his feelings though."
"You've done a good job at that." Aizawa snarked.
"He needed to see that he was capable of winning the exercise." All Might admitted. "Oh yeah. Also. Will you please not talk so loudly 'bout One For All when anyone around you could hear?"
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Recovery Girl said with sass. "Mr. Natural Born Hero. Mr. Symbol of Peace."
"Several people know about my injury and this weak form. Like the UA faculty and a certain group of pro heroes, for example."
'Who's the group of pro heroes?' The students thought.
"However, only a select few people know the set ref of One For All. That's you, the principal, and a very close friend of mine. Young Midoriya, too, of course but no one else knows the truth about my powers." All Might explained as the faces of the first and last person were shown while the faces of the two in between were not shown.
'I wonder why Nighteye and Gran Torino were not on that list,' Izuku, Nezu and the Sinclairs thought.
"And now all of us."
"You're the number one hero in the world, All Might. Does it really matter if you were born with your quirk or not? Do you have to be the "Symbol of Peace"? Is it that important?"
"If they knew I wasn't, the temptation of this power could corrupt our society." All Might said with a fierce expression. "This quirk… those who wield it are responsible for mankind's safety."
Recovery Girl sighed. "Well, if that's the case, it's even more important for you to be a good guide."
"You're right."
"All Might is right," Momo said. "This information is dangerous. Even if they don't know, as Midoriya said, that the power has to be willingly transferred, the knowledge that a super-strength quirk can be passed on from person to person would definitely be a temptation to villains."
"Even then, they could try to force Midoriya to give them his power in a hostage situation," Tenya added.
Tetsutetsu grimaced. "Cowardly, but I can see villains using that tactic,"
'Actually,' Izuku thought, 'One villain already knows. All For One. He created One For All, even if it was by accident. He would know that it can be passed along. But it was Shigaraki who wanted me dead.'
Izuku looked tired and in pain as he opened his eyes, taking in the IV and that he was in bed in Recovery Girl's office. He looked at the wall clock in front of him. 3:55. "It's… late afternoon?" he wondered aloud.
Recovery Girl leaned over him, filling his vision. "Rise and shine, sonny."
Izuku's classmates chuckled as his onscreen self blinked and gasped in surprise.
The show cut to an image of the exterior of UA, bathed in the warm glow of evening light. "That's all for today's treatment," Recovery Girl's voiceover told Izuku as he walked through the halls alone, his broken and bandaged right arm in a sling. "Come back tomorrow, okay?"
"I'm sorry you had to wake up alone, Izuku," Ochako apologized. "But the teachers wouldn't let us skip class to wait for you."
"It's okay," Izuku replied with a smile as his onscreen self worried about Aizawa choking him with his scarf. "I know you would have come by if you could."
Aizawa grimaced. His actions caused his student to believe that he would be reprimanded and attacked at any given time.
Izuku slowly opened the door to 1-A's classroom. Eijiro turned around at the sound and grinned at the sight. "Hey, it's Midoriya! Good to see you back, super!" Izuku gasped as he suddenly found himself surrounded by the redhead, Mina, Hanta and Rikido. All of them smiled encouragingly at the green haired boy. Eijiro leaned forward, still not done, while Mina excitedly bounced around next to him. "Ha! Man, I don't know what you were saying during that match, but you were all fired up, huh?"
"And now that we know what was being said, it really did get you guys fired up," Eijiro said.
"Damn straight. That fight was personal," Katsuki growled.
"Personal for you. Izuku just wanted to be able to stand up to you." Ochako said.
"You did a great job dodging!" Mina complimented Izuku with a grin.
"You guys really turned up in the first match," Rikido said. "so none of us held back in our rounds, either!"
Katsuki scoffed. "As if."
"You were far from elegant, but I suppose.."
Mina cut off Yuga's attempt to speak as she hopped up and down again. "And the dodging was like, whoa!"
Izuku gasped again, looking around at them all with a bewildered smile.
Mina smiled softly. "I guess now we know why you had that smile then, Midori."
"Yeah," Hanta agreed. "I know Jiro said it before but—"
"Your middle school sucked," Kyoka finished.
Ochaco smiled and looked at Mina. "Also, Mina, "Your dodging was like, whoa"? Really?"
"I didn't have anything else to go off of," Mina countered. "And his dodging was super awesome! I don't know how many of us could have held their own against Bakugo like that at the start of the term."
"Hey, I'm Eijiro Kirishima." The redhead jabbed his thumb at himself. He then pointed at Hanta. "We've been going over training results while you were in recovery."
"Hi. I'm Hanta Sero." Hanta introduced himself.
"I'm Mina Ashido." The pinkette introduced herself, cutting Yuga off once more. "And I just gotta say, your dodging was awesome."
"Looks like someone has a fan," Giselle teased and Aleister chuckled.
Ochako looked back at Mina with a jealous aura.
Izuku pulled Ochako's cheek to get her attention. "Stop that. Are you going to act like that with Kota?"
"No..." Ochako said, looking embarassed now.
"Good." Izuku let go of her cheek. Then he kissed it.
"Tokoyami!" Tenya declared as he strode towards the bird-headed boy with his arms making stiff motions. "Stop using that desk as a chair!" Tenya reprimanded the other student as Kyoka and Mashirao stood by him. "Get off of it this instant!"
Kyoka placed her right hand on her hip, slightly turning towards the taller boy. "Dude, you need to chill."
Tenya jerked backwards while Mashirao pointed to his shoulder. "You're carrying a lot of tension."
Tenya hunched inwards. "No one understands," he muttered. "I cannot condone actions that disrespect these desks!" Iida declared, chopping his hand down at the trio. "Not when great men and women, our upperclassmen, once used them!"
"Also noisy," Fumikage grumbled.
"Iida," Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose. "We get new desks every year."
Tenya froze in shock. The students tried to stifle their laughter but failed. Pretty soon, the theater was filled with uproarious laughter.
"I can't believe we actually got new desks!" Mina exclaimed.
"Oh god, I can't breathe!" Ochako managed to squeeze out through her giggles, hunched over on the loveseat.
While trying to contain his own laughter, Izuku looked over to Tenya who was chuckling to himself while a cackling Mei held onto him.
It took the laughter in the theater several more seconds to quiet down. That was mostly due to whenever some semblance of calm overcame the laughter, someone would let out a snort and the laughing would begin anew.
After the laughing cooled down, Tenya had one thing to say before Giselle unpaused the show.
"I believe I deserve that one." Tenya said.
'Iida never relaxes, does he?' Izuku thought with an awkward smile as the other students around the door watched the bespectacled boy.
"That boy needs to loosen up, doesn't he?" Midnight wondered, placing her cheek in her right palm.
"I told Tensei to fix that. I guess old habits die hard." Aizawa said.
The door on the other side of the classroom opened, Denki coming through, carrying a stack of books. "So, anyway, wanna grab a bite sometime?" He was saying to the person behind him, which appeared to be Ochako, helping him in carrying more books. "Kinda stuff you like?"
Ochako looked up in thought, eyes straying. "Anything sweet…" Her eyes caught sight of Izuku at the other door, and she dashed towards him. "Hey, Deku!" Denki sighed and looked dejected as his shoulders slumped.
"Swing and a miss." Hanta snickered.
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry Kaminari!" Ochako said, blushing in shame. "That must have been so rude."
"Don't worry about it. Water under the bridge." Denki said, brushing away her concern. He shot Hanta a glare once she looked away though.
"So if it wasn't for this show, would you two dense cinnamon rolls even know that you liked each other?" Setsuna asked with a teasing grin.
'If Horikoshi could do it, then it would be on the 'seventh of never through to the 15th of ain't gonna happen'.' Giselle and Aleister thought.
"Well it has to do with how much stamina I'm using," Izuku explained as he looked around the classroom.
"Stamina?" Ochako asked in confusion.
Izuku gasped when he saw that Katsuki's desk was empty. "Um Uraraka. Where's Kacchan?"
The scene transitioned to Izuku running. "We tried to stop him from leaving. But he wouldn't listen. You just missed him." Ochako's voiceover said as Izuku raced down the stairs.
"Dammit! You were tricking me for years by acting weak. Bet you've been laughing behind my back huh?! So where's that flashy power of yours now?!"
Ochako realized why the onscreen version of her boyfriend was running to stop the Explosion user. "Izuku, don't tell that you revealed One For All to Bakugo."
"I didn't exactly reveal One For All to him. I just wanted to let him know that I wasn't tricking him." Izuku said and looked down. "We'd known each other for years, and he knew I didn't have a quirk. I knew it was confusing him more than anyone, so… I felt like… I owed him at least some kind of explanation."
"No, you didn't owe him an explanation." Mitsuki said.
Izuku turned to Mitsuki with a surprised look. "But auntie, it would have been wrong for me to.."
Mitsuki interrupted the boy. "Izuku. If I've known, I- no, I should have seen it. Katsuki has always been brash but after his quirk manifested, he became more aggressive, not just with us but with the other kids in the community. When you stopped coming to our house, I should have realized something was wrong but I thought it was normal due to my own anger issues. I'm so sorry, Izuku. I failed you as your aunt." Mitsuki says with tears in her eyes. She bowed her head, shocking the Midoriyas. "Please forgive me."
"That goes for me as well. I should have stepped up as Katsuki's father and tried to reel in his ego. As your uncle, I failed you as well, Izuku, and for that, I am so sorry." Masaru says while bowing his head as well.
Izuku's jaw dropped in shock to see his aunt and uncle bowing their heads to him for Katsuki's behavior. "No, wait! Please raise your heads. I never blamed you two for Kacchan's behavior. Besides mom, you two were the only ones who truly cared for me. You never saw me as anything less than human. You two never failed me and I'm grateful to have you two as my auntie and uncle."
"…I've still got a lot to learn. I know that. That's why I'm here." Izuku said as Katsuki was trembling in anger with a tick mark. The former put a hand to his cast. "You'll see. I'll work until I have full control of this borrowed quirk. And I'll finally beat you with my own power!"
Katsuki looked at Izuku in disbelief.
'Oh crap! What am I saying? I only meant to tell him that I wasn't tricking him!' Izuku thought in panic.
"How dumb do you think I am?" Katsuki asked.
Izuku gasped in surprise.
Katsuki turned around to face Izuku. "Borrowed power?" Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot," He said, clearly not treating anything Izuku had just said as dignifying belief. "You already made a fool outta me in that damn training exercise. So? Did you come here to rub it in? I lost. And to make matters worse, it was to you."
"Never thought I'd hear you admit defeat, Bakubro," Eijiro said quietly. "That's real manly of you."
"Shut up, Kirishima," Katsuki replied, voice just above a whisper.
The show flashed back to Shoto freezing the entire building. "When I was watching that ice guy…" the show returned to Katsuki, his arms out and shoulders bent forward in an emotive display. "I realized I couldn't beat him in a head-to-head fight!"
Another flashback, this time to Momo with her hand raised. "Launching a large-scale attack indoors was a foolish move."
Katuki placed a hand over his face. "Crap!" he shouted. "I even agreed with what that girl said. My attack was so stupid!"
Everyone was watching, not a snarky comment to be found in their throats as the onscreen Katsuki flexed his arms in the midst of another breakdown in front of the formerly quirkless kid he'd bullied, and had now lost to. Even if he'd been left standing at the end and Izuku had gone down, The latter had still accomplished his objective, while he had failed.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" He clenched his fist, body shaking in indignant frustration at his own failings. "Enjoy that win, Deku." The camera switched angles and cut up to his face, revealing a rare show of emotions on Katsuki's face as tears sat in the corners of his eyes, showing that even he was capable of being brought to tears. "You won't get another! I'm just getting started! Got that!? I'm gonna end up the number one hero, no matter what!"
"Whoa…" Itsuka muttered.
"It's angry, but oddly inspiring," Minoru mumbled. Several people who were able to hear his quiet voice nodded along.
Present Mic sighed. "Well, he does have a goal and tenacity. I'll give him that much."
Katsuki wiped his eyes with his sleeve as he walked away. "You'll never beat me again, you bastard. Don't even try."
"Hey, who'd win right now?" Tetsutetsu asked.
"Me!" Katsuki loudly answered. "Don't you remember hearing about our fight after the exam? I'm the guy who ended up on top!"
"Nope, not even close." Giselle interjected. "Call it favoritism but even if he was holding back his percentage, he can beat you in a fight especially once he gets full control of One For All."
"THERE YOU ARE!" All Might announced his presence in a burst of wind as he whooshed past his successor in dramatic still images before placing his hands on the blond explosive child's shoulders. "Ba-ku-go! I've found you!"
The majority of the audience laughed at the former hero's theatrics.
"Just so you know, pride is an important attribute to have, but while you certainly have the abilities to become a pro hero, there's still plenty you have to learn!"
"Let go of me, All Might," Katsuki ordered. "Right now!" He turned his head to look at the pro at the man's inquiring grunt and growled. "Save your speeches. I'll be more famous than you and I'll do it without your help."
Tetsutetsu whistled. "Now that takes guts. Telling All Might to shove off and you'll be better than him without his help?"
"Wow," Denki chuckled. "If only you were this calm with the HUC."
"You got something to say, Sparky?" Katsuki asked.
The Electrification user shrugged. "You heard me."
'Man,' All Might thought with a sweaty brow and a bit of a confused smile as the camera panned up and away from him towards the glass walls of UA. 'Being a teacher is hard.'
"Welcome to our world." Present Mic said.
Mina, Ochako and Tsuyu were pressed against the glass, looking down at the scene that had happened in front of the school.
"Huh," Mina said, "I wonder what that was all about."
Ochako clenched her fists together and furrowed her brow. "The fated battle between rivals."
"Whatever Midoriya was saying, it looked like Bakugo really wanted to punch him," Tsuyu replied, turning to look at the other two girls.
"Childhood friends turned enemies!" Ochako added sagely to herself as she pressed her forehead against the glass.
"Easy on the antics, Ochako." Izuku said.
"I didn't know anything else at the time," Ochaco pouted, looking flustered. "All I knew was that you two had been childhood friends at one point and that he picked on you, so now you wanted to beat him to show you could stand up to him. It was totally a "fated battle between rivals" moment!"
"Uraraka, by any chance are you Kirishima's secret sister?" Shoto asked. The students looked at him, unable to comprehend what that was supposed to mean.
"AM I WHAT?!" Ochako shrieked out.
"How does that even work?" Eijiro asked. "We don't even have the same quirk."
"You and Tetsutetsu have the same type of quirk," Shoto explained. "You both act the same."
"That doesn't mean we're the same!" Eijiro and Tetsutetsu said in unison.
The audience started to laugh.
"Midoriya, what were you saying to Bakugo before I arrived so heroically?"
All Might slightly toward his successor with his hand to his ear. "Hmm. I'm so curious." The camera panned over the UA main building. "Why don't you tell me all the juicy details?"
The ending began to play.
Instead of All Might's music starting to play, the audience was introduced to a different scene.
"That's weird. All Might's music is not playing." Mashirao said.
It was night; in another city, signs, streetlights, and lit windows illuminating the streets as the camera panned down. Narrator Izuku began to speak over the calm night background. "None of us were prepared for what was to come. All Might warned us about cunning villains."
All Might's eyes widened and he gasped quietly as the show revealed a building, the exterior of which was familiar to him. "That bar…"
Katsuki was starting to recognize the bar as well.
"And a few days later, we learned firsthand how terrifying they could actually be."
Some of the students gulped, already understanding what Narrator Izuku was getting at.
"Don't tell me…" Toru muttered.
Momo gasped. "So we're not just seeing our own perspectives!? We're being sho—"
"Did you see this joke?" A raspy voice asked after tossing a newspaper onto the bar counter.
Izuku paled, Ochaco growing cold in the blanket next to him, as his words got caught in his throat.
"That voice…" Minoru whispered.
A cold drink was placed down on the paper over a picture of All Might in his civilian suit. The condensation soaked in, warping the newsprint. "It says he's a teacher now."
"It's him…" Izuku gasped.
"Hey." The person called attention to another man standing behind the counter, wearing a dress shirt, vest, and tie, with a metal neck brace and a body made of flowing black vapor with a purple outline. Big glowing yellow eyes looked over at the speaker, a man dressed in black with numerous severed hands grasping at his shoulders and neck.
"Ribbit.." Tsuyu croaked.
"What do you think will happen..." The man started to say, the camera now switching to show him from a different angle revealing a muscled mass of black with an exposed pink brain, beady eyes, and a beak-like face with rows of exposed teeth.
Everyone felt chills at the sight of the grotesque creature.
Aizawa tensed, trying not to flinch as his body remembered the strength of the beast. Present Mic and Midnight put comforting hands on both of the underground hero's shoulders.
All Might put a hand to his injury, the phantom sensation of fingers digging into his skin.
"...when the mighty Symbol of Peace…" The camera showed part of the villain's face. Beneath his unkempt mop of faded steel-blue hair was a white dismembered hand covering his face, showing only the dry, cracked skin around a single exposed red eye.
The majority of Class A flinched at the sight of the villain.
Izuku put his hand towards his throat, the phantom sensation of a hand with dry, rough skin, scratching against his neck. Four fingers clenching and choking him, one finger away from turning him into dust. Ochaco gripped his arm tightly.
'Breathe Izuku. Calm down. Don't panic. He's not here.' Izuku said to himself.
"...is finally killed by the villains?"
"Shigaraki!" Izuku gasped out.
The next episode preview started, but nobody couldn't concentrate on it at all. Izuku started to double over, his breathing intensifying and she could feel the bare skin of his arm beneath the short sleeves of his summer uniform grow cold.
"Izuku? Izuku!" Ochako gasped. Movement flurried around her as Tenya quickly approached them while she got on her knees in front of him, better to look up at his face.
Izuku's green eyes had shrunk to pinpricks and sweat was beading on his forehead. A hand touched his shoulder, but he didn't pay any attention to it.
"Izuku, look at me," Ochako said.
"O-Ochako?" Izuku uttered out.
His green eyes didn't waver from hers. "You're here, all right? You're here; you're safe with us. We won't let him get you." Ochako promised.
"Uraraka's right," Tenya agreed.
"Hey, what's going on?" Tetsutetsu asked. "Why's Midobro freaking out?"
"It probably has to do with seeing Shigaraki up close like that," Eijiro said. "I guess Uraraka and Midobro could tell you it better, but the last time either of them saw Shigaraki up close like that, he had his hand around Midobro's neck and was choking him att the mall." The majority of Class B, Hitoshi, Mei and the parents looked at the redhead in horror. "All it would have taken was one more finger touch, and Midobro wouldn't be here right now, or his neck would have taken a ton of damage, at least."
"Don't say that, Eiji." Mina said. "You're gonna scare Midori even more."
The timer started. Even though most of them felt like they were glued to their seats, the students knew they had to do something before the fifteen minutes were up.
Ochako went to the back of the theater to get Izuku a glass of water.