When Izuku arrived at school the next day, he was surprised to see Ryoya already there. It was very common knowledge that 'morning' and 'Ryoya' were polar opposites, so something catastrophic must've happened for his tan friend to be to school even before he did.
"Izuku." Oh, the amount of pain and agony behind Ryoya's voice could be studied. "I wonder who I annoyed in a previous life for this to happen."
"Wh - what happened?" Izuku would normally just take Ryoya's complaints in stride. For as strong as he was, and how indominable he knew his will to be, Ryoya seemed to want to die at even the most minor of inconveniences.
"So, I woke up early to meet Mo-chan." Ryoya explained. "She and I were up pretty late last night talking and I told her to meet me here so she could help with my tie. Get up and get on the train, and the first person I see is Bunny-san."
Izuku kept following his friend's words even as they started walking to class.
"I was just a bit too tired to really think about what was happening, but somehow, through some god forsaken way, we ended up talking about Mo-chan. Like, she wanted to know why I call her that and why were are so... "touchy" as she said." Izuku nodded. He knew the reason why, of course, but it was simply not his place to speak about it. "So, I wanted to change the subject and I may have let it slip that when I trained Mo-chan, she beat me in a few spars before."
"What's wrong with that? You normally like to talk about when either Yaoyorozu or Kendo beat you in a fight." The greenette tilted his head in confusion.
"Well, yeah." Ryoya confirms. "Normally. But that was before I apparently had a battle-hungry stalker who will stop at nothing to defeat me. I had to call Mo-chan to give her a heads up to avoid the rabid rabbit at least until lunch. Honestly, I have no idea how you deal with it. I've only known Bunny-san for like a month, and she's like, really determined to beat me." His shoulders slumped. "Do people not know how to just be normal friends these days? Why does everyone feel the need to use me as some kind of proof of self-worth?"
That was very oddly specific on Ryoya's part, but Izuku couldn't really disagree. It did seem to happen more often than you'd expect. If he had one hundred yen every time someone challenged Ryoya simply out of personal spite, he'd have four hundred yen, which isn't a lot, but it's extremely weird that it's happened four times.
They continued walking in a light, comfortable silence with Izuku only breaking it a few times to talk about All Might or whatever pro heroes latest exploits; Ryoya simply listened and made sounds to urge his friend to talk as he wished. If no one else listened to his weird quirk theories and hours, upon hours of hero study, Ryoya would.
"I wonder who the new student will be."
"I can't believe Aizawa-sensei actually expelled him the first day."
"He did seem like a bit of a pervert, kero. He kept giving me these looks all morning."
As more idle conversation happened, Ryoya walked in flanked by Izuku. Wordlessly, the tan boy went to his desk and immediately face planted.
Iida descended on him with righteous judgement. "Harushi! If you aren't sleeping well, you must adjust your schedule. UA students must be vigilant at all times!"
Ryoya made a muffled sound that sounded vaguely like 'fuck off', which only seemed to spur Iida on to give another empowering lecture about vulgar language.
Izuku could only shake his head at his friend's display while Momo giggled behind her hand.
As Iida continued to lecture, Izuku approached Uraraka with a friendly smile and a wave. "Morning, Uraraka-san."
"Morning, Deku-kun!"
"So, what's up? Why's everyone so tense?" Izuku asked looking around. Tense wasn't the right word, more like, waiting with a bit more energy than normal.
"Well, uh, we're supposedly getting a knew student today, according to Ashido." Ochako gestured vaguely to the pink girl who seemed to fear neither god nor man as she and a boy with red, spiky hair hovered around Katsuki like bees.
Well, that certainly was expected. Izuku didn't really know what to expect, but it probably wasn't to have a replacement student on the very next day. But then again, he also wasn't expecting someone to get expelled before orientation, so it balanced.
Just then, Aizawa walked in class with a slight hunch and a folder tucked under his arm. Everyone stopped moving immediately.
"It took you four seconds to settle down. Good, you all are starting to think rationally." Was that a compliment? It was hard to tell with his dry stare and even drier tone. "Let's cut to the chase. Mineta has been removed from your class until further notice. So we've replaced him with a member of Gen Ed who we believe has the best chance. Come in."
A relatively petite, fair-skinned girl with a light blush walked in. She had a fairly pretty face and bright yellow eyes with slit pupils, vaguely resembling that of a cat. She had a shaky smile on her face and her upper and lower canines were more pointed and longer than the rest of her teeth, making her look slightly vampiric. Her hair, a pale, dirty-ash blond tied into two messy buns with stray hairs flying everywhere and two chin length bangs framing her face.
"Hey, everyone! I'm Himiko Toga!" She said with a light bow. "I'm in your care."
Eyes trailed from her to Harushi, then back to her. Identical fangs... identical eyes... Toga herself seemed to pick up on the similarities at the same time as Ryoya did, and they gave each other a look. One smiling so wide that her reddened cheeks were starting to hurt, the other with cool indifference that slowly faded into a small grin. "Whoa," Someone said. "She's like the exact inverse of Harushi."
Even Aizawa had to admit, the sharing of physical traits was a bit interesting, but he had an image to maintain. "Hurry and take your seat between Midoriya and Yaoyorozu. Homeroom starts in a few minutes."
Himiko nodded and went to her seat but in her way, in seat nine, was Ryoya. While walking past him, they two made eye contact. The exchange was brief but it conveyed a message that they both understood.
"Good. UA has no room for people who don't take it seriously. Either you get your act together or leave. You're not here to be famous or flashy. You're here to be heroes." With that, Aizawa started homeroom.
There were in first period English class that morning, and Ryoya already wanted to die.
"ALL RIGHT, LISTENERS! LET'S TAKE ATTENDANCE! WHEN I CALL YOUR NAME, SAY YEEEEAAAAHHHHH!"
There was a very audible groan as a disembodied voice said 'why is it always the blondes?' and the sound of someone's head meeting desk.
"Harushi!" Present Mic went on, completely undeterred. "Can I get a YEEAAAAHHH?!"
"No."
"That's the spirit!" Ryoya gave Present Mic a dirty look that made the man inwardly wince. Was Shouta sure this wasn't his secret love child? They had matching glares, the same deadpanned delivery, same hair color. Hell, they even had their hair in the same style most of the time. Harushi even looked like a younger, more attractive, tan version of his best friend!
At lunch, things were a bit hectic at lunch. Normally, Ryoya and Izuku sat together. They'd been doing so for a pretty long time now and had simply gotten used to it by this point, but today was different. Ryoya usually selected the table and they would sit down by themselves, rarely if ever entertaining company at Aldera. But now? Ryoya still selected the table, but it wasn't just Izuku with him. Now, Uraraka joined them, along with Iida, Yaoyorozu, Toga and Asui. Their group was starting to grow in size. Great for a naturally friendly person like Izuku, horrible for an introvert like Ryoya.
The conversation came easily for them and was mostly steered by Izuku and Ochako, with Iida and Toga adding their inputs in their own unique ways. Yaoyorozu, Harushi and Asui all were mostly quiet, but did speak when prompted. It was an enjoyable experience for the most part. Even when Usagiyama came in like a bat out of hell and slammed her tray down directly across from Yaoyorozu and next to Harushi.
"Hello again, Bunny-san." Ryoya said lazily.
"Don't 'Bunny-san' me!" Rumi huffed. "You've been avoiding me all day!"
"Yes, I have. Because you only ever want to fight me. There's only so much of..." He vaguely gestured to Rumi's entire body. "that I can deal with at once."
Rumi only looked marginally offended.
"Ryo-kun, don't be rude." Momo chastised lightly. Rumi's ear twitched slightly.
'Ryo-kun?'
Ryoya gave Momo a look then sighed. "Sorry. I'd normally not mind if we could just, I don't know, talk like normal people. I was literally trained and raised by street fighters, and even I don't want to fight that much, Mo-chan."
Rumi would honestly be lying if she said that didn't hurt her feelings just a bit. But she put that thought on the backburner for now. They would be talking about that later, rest assured.
"Wait, you're Mo-chan?" Rumi said in disbelief, staring at Yaoyorozu wide eyed.
"Er, um. Yes, I am. I'm Momo Yaoyorozu. Pleased to meet you, Usagiyama-san." Momo said with practiced grace and elegance.
Rumi looked her up and down, which even from a seated position, just went to show how tall the black haired girl was. "I've been looking for you too! Pretty b - Harushi spoke about you this morning on the train." Ryoya's eyebrow went up at the sudden correction. She'd only ever called him 'pretty boy' since they met. Curious that she randomly changed.
"Oh did he now?" Momo feigned curiosity. Of course she knew what was said. She and Ryoya told everything to each other and he called her the about it not even ten minutes after it happened.
"Yeah! He said you're a badass!" Rumi proclaimed. "Said you even beat him before."
Momo blushed under the praise, "Well - er, yes. I have defeated Ryo-kun in some spars before but - "
"But nothing," Ryoya interjected smoothly. "You beat me fair and square. Don't try to downplay yourself."
"Hell yeah. It's not too often I find other girls who aren't into that prissy shit! Finally, a competent rival in my road to being the number one heroine!" Rumi said while extending her fist. Momo looked down at the arm then to Ryoya, then back to the arm. Ryoya just shrugged and Momo unsteadily returned Rumi's gesture. "All the other girls at my old school were all pretty weak and scared to get their hands dirty. But anyone who can beat Harushi here has earned respect."
Ryoya made a sound. "Oi, stop using me as some measuring stick for success."
"Too late! And you, Anti-Grav!" Uraraka paused in her eating, her mouth still hanging open and the spoon mere centimeters away. "Don't think you're out of this. I've seen you yesterday with that insane quirk. I bet you kick ass too."
Uraraka hastily finished her food and smiled. But it wasn't her normal one. It was a very sweet smile, almost too sweet for the occasion. She'd entered her "Competitive Uraraka" state. "I'm more than willing to give you a good challenge, Usagiyama-san."
The two girls shared intense looks while Momo and Iida looked on in concern. Toga, who simply watched the whole display, laughed at the energy. Izuku and Ryoya, who were way too used to casual violence between friends, just went back to eating.
Finally, the afternoon rolled around and it was time for the most anticipated class of the day; Hero Basic Training.
"I wonder who it's gonna be. The schedule didn't say anything."
"Probably a pro since they're all over the place here."
"Who knows? It could be someone in the top 10."
Izuku's eyes suddenly went wide while Ryoya's narrowed.
"He's coming...!" Izuku nearly squealed with a wide smile.
'Izuku and Pink Cheeks-san's trainer? Why would he be here?' Ryoya thought absently before the door slide open.
"I am... coming through the door like a normal person!" All Might said in all his glory, looking anything but normal.
The chatter started immediately. "It's actually All Might! Wow, I can't believe he's gonna teach us!"
"That's his Silver Age costume, isn't it kero?"
"Holy shit, it's All Might." Ryoya said, but most people simply passed it off as him being in awe, which was far from the truth. Izuku especially noticed this since he knew that Ryoya wasn't exactly a fan of the Symbol of Peace, but didn't think too deeply on it since All Might strolled the the front of the class with his trademarked smile.
All Might immediately started flexing and his cape started blowing in some weird, imaginary breeze. "Hello young ones! It's time for Heroics Training! This class will put you through all sorts of special training to mold you into the best heroes of tomorrow you can be." He placed his fists on his hips and laughed heartily. "No time to waste, you zygotes! Today's activity is..." He reached into his... cape? And pulled out a card that said 'Battle'. "Battle training!"
"Battle, huh?" Bakugo said fiercely with a wicked sneer. Rumi looked much the same, though slightly more feral.
'Battle training?' Izuku thought. He wouldn't show it, but he couldn't lie. He was excited. If nothing else, Ryu and Ken-sensei's training had taught him that battle could genuinely be fun at times when the adrenaline started pumping.
"And for that, you need these!" All Might pulled a remote, once again, seemingly from his cape and pressed a button, causing the walls to open. "Costumes! After you change, come out to Ground Beta!"
Izuku's excitement slowly faded away when he noticed something was off. "Um, All Might? I don't have a costume case?"
"Neither do I." Ryoya chimed.
"Er, well. There's a reason for that! Due to your... unique natures, the HPSC didn't officailly recognize either of you as being able to get costumes. It's a bunch of legal and technical stuff, so UA had to get them made from a private investor. They should've arrived by now, so I guess just check your lockers!" All Might explained. He wasn't happy about this at all, but there was nothing to be done. The HPSC laughed at the idea of not one but two quirkless kids in the Hero Course, and quite simply didn't bother signing off on their constumes, believing it to be a waste of time and a joke. All Might proposed simply sending a video of the boy's entrance exam, but Nezu quickly shot the idea down, saying it would be more harm than good.
"I see."
"Well?! What are you younglings waiting for!? Go get changed and meet me at Ground Beta!" With that, All Might took off and the class rapidly cleared out
"And once again, you've made us late to something Izuku." Ryoya said as he wrapped his a bright red headband around his forehead, making sure to untie his ponytail and let his hair run wild.
"Sh - shut up! I was just excited!" Izuku said frantically as he stumbled, while trying to put on his second boot.
"Whatever, I'm just glad you didn't go with your first design."
"Not this again..."
"Hey, I'm just saying, I love Mama Inko and would burn down a sushi place if she asked me to, but the whole bunny look just looked stupid."
"They weren't bunny ears, they were supposed to pay homage to All Might!"
Ryoya scoffed. "It looked silly, Izuku." The boy said while putting on his black wrist wraps and black, fingerless gloves with the shotokan logo on the back.
Izuku only groaned and started tying his own headband. Arguing with Ryoya would only end in violence, and they were already running late. "I'll put the gloves on in class, let's go!"
"Hey Deku!" Uraraka waved with a smile. "Sick costume!"
Izuku's costume consisted of a dark, forest green full body jumpsuit with black accents, a red belt, elbow pads, knee pads that trailed down his legs with iron soles under his red combat boots and red, fingerless gloves with the shotokan logo on the back. His were slightly thicker around the back due to the added material under the leather, but the added weight didn't hinder him at all. Around his neck, a respirator with a makeshift smile on it made to resemble the Symbol of Peace and around his forehead, an identical red headband to the one Ryoya wore and a gift from his Sensei, Ryu.
"Dude! You look badass, Harushi!" A kid with yellow hair and black streak commented.
Ryoya wore something a bit more simplistic. A simple white gi with the top hanging around his waist, a black V-neck training shirt with several white linings in it's place across his torso that hugged his body rather snugly. He also sports matching black sparring gloves and wrist wraps with a sturdy looking pair of black combat boots under his gi. Around his head, much like Izuku, a red headband.
It was times like this when Izuku looked back at his life and couldn't help but to be thankful for Setsuna's teasing. Uraraka's costume looked good and fit her like a glove, literally. Her costume consisted of a black, skin-tight body suit with a pale pink design running down the middle of her torso, two black circles on her chest and a black rectangle below her waist, running between her legs. She has two small, wrist guards and pink, fingerless gloves and fairly wide, knee-high boots with magenta soles. She also has on an interesting looking helmet with a pink, tinted visor.
Izuku almost had to look away, instead using his training to keep his eyes above the neck. "You, um, look pretty good too, Uraraka-san" He comments with a light blush.
She blushed herself before rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "I wish I was a bit more specific. It wasn't supposed to be this tight, just tight enough to make it so people can't grab me when I go for the take-down ya know?"
Huh, she got the 'tight' idea from R. Mika. Izuku will remember this and will buy the woman chocolates later.
He turned to Ryoya, who seemed to be in the same boat as him. It was probably the first time he'd seen Ryoya actually flustered. He'd kill for a camera. He gave Momo a once over, then looked over to Rumi. The former seemed to look at him, equally as flustered while the latter give him a mischievous smile.
"Leotards will apparently be the death of me." He said in despair. "You both, uh, look great."
Izuku could only watch in amusement as Momo looked just as flustered but let out an embarrassed "thanks" while Rumi gave her normal feral grin but a slightly blush on her cheeks.
"You look pretty badass yourself, pretty boy." She seemed to be taking extra time to look at his arms, abdomen and torso. "But isn't it just a Gi?"
"Is all I need." Ryoya said with a mischievous grin of his own, and casual shrug.
Suddenly, Toga walked up next to Izuku, looking at Ochako. She wore a simple black catsuit with blending patterned lines and a zipper running down the middle. "Man, the Hero Course is great." She then turned to look at Momo and Rumi, before he eyes trailed to Harushi and finally Izuku himself. "The best."
Before he could even begin to unpack whatever that was, Iida raised his hand sharply. Or at least, he assumed it was Iida. Who else would wear such a cool suit of armor with literal exhaust pipes?
"Sir! This appears to be the same field used for the entrance exam! Will we again be performing city-scape simulations!?" Iida asked.
"Nope, Young Iida! You'll be doing something different!" All Might then paused for dramatic effect. "Indoor anti-personnel battle training! You see, villain battles are most commonly seen outdoors, but statistically speaking, the most heinous, dangerous villains are more likely to be inside." The pro explained. "Between normal confinement, house arrest and black market deals, in this society of ours, the most clever villains tend to operate indoors."
He then cleared his throat. "Now then, I've explained enough! You'll now be split off into two different teams, the Villains and the Heroes. Then you'll face off in two-on-two battle trials!"
"So, no basic training?" Asui asked with her normal blank expression.
"Nope! I believe practical experiences teaches you the basics best!"
Ryoya and Izuku literally shuddered at hearing "practical experiences" and "teaching the basics".
No one seemed to notice, and All Might continued. "The difference here is that now you won't be fighting robots. Now, any other questions?"
"What determines victory?"
"Can I just blast everyone away?"
"Are you gonna threaten to expel us like Aizawa-sensei did...?"
"How do we proceed to divide ourselves into teams?"
"Isn't my cape fabulous?"
"Oi!" All Might suddenly barks, sweating nervously. "One at a time! My quirk isn't super hearing!" Ever the professional, All Might spun slightly and took a piece of paper from his cape once again. Seriously, what cape came with pockets?
Ryoya gave All Might a look so dry, it could've been classed as a quirk itself.
"Listen up! Here's what's happening! The villains will be hiding a nuclear weapon somewhere in the hideout. And it'll be the hero's job to go in and take care of it. The heroes have a limited amount of time to either capture the villains or secure the weapon while the villains must either capture the heroes or protect the weapon until the clock hits zero. Your partner will be decided by drawing lots."
"Is that really the best way?" Iida asked.
"Yeah, makes sense actually. Life's random, and you won't always have the opportunity to choose who you're working with. Heroes often team up with others on the spot during emergency." Izuku explained casually and Iida immediately turned to him.
"I see. I apologize for getting ahead of myself. My mistake!"
"Thank you, young Midoriya. And it's fine young Iida. Let's just get to it!"
Team A: Izuku Midoriya, Ochako Uraraka
Team B: Shouto Todoroki, Mezu Shoji
Team C: Momo Yaoyorozu, Himiko Toga
Team D: Katsuki Bakugo, Tenya Iida
Team E: Mina Ashido, Yuga Aoyama
Team F: Tooru Hagakure, Rikido Sato
Team G: Kyoka Jiro, Denki Kaminari
Team H: Tsuyu Asui, Fumikage Tokoyami
Team I: Ryoya Harushi, Rumi Usagiyama
Team J: Eijiro Kirishima, Hanta Sero
Uraraka immediately walked up to Izuku and beamed at him with the radiance of the sun. "Nice! It must've been fate that we got teamed up. Let's do this, Deku-kun!"
Izuku, in turn, smiled too. "Yeah, we got really lucky. Let's do this."
'There are some truly scary teams here. A, C, and I are all really heavy hittters.' All Might subtly looked over his shoulder when he felt eyes boring into him, to young Harushi and young Usagiyama, who were talking. Well, Usagiyama was talking and Harushi listened while keeping a stare on All Might. The hero played it off, but being under Harushi's gaze so intently made him uncomfortable.
"Moving on, the first up are Team A are the heroes and Team D are the villains!"
Bakugo turned to Izuku with an absolutely vicious glare and a dangerous smirk, while Izuku didn't even really regard him. He projected an air of calm confidence that only pissed the blond off more.
"Villain team goes in first. The timer is set to five minutes, when the hero team sneaks in. The rest of us will be watching on CCTV." All Might looked over to the villain team. "Iida, Bakugo. You boys need to adopt a villain mindset. This is supposed to be a practical experience so go all out. Don't hold back!" Bakugo perked up at that. "Though I will stop you if things go too far." Bakugo deflated at that.
When the four students left the room, All Might turned to the rest of the class. "While we wait, do we have any theories on how this will play out? Predications maybe?"
With absolutely zero hesitation, Ryoya spoke up. "The heroes will win." He said confidently.
"Uh, why's that bro?" Kirishima asked quizzically. "Not that the heroes aren't super manly, but that Bakugo guy has a powerful quirk and Iida is really fast."
"Yes, that's interesting, care to elaborate on that comment, young Harushi?"
"If I'm being completely honest, you could've sent Izuku alone against those two and he still would win. This is just a terrible match up for the villains. Strong quirk or not, Izuku has trained to hone his electricity to a scary degree and his magnetism is something fierce. He and I have spent weeks learning how to optimize it even down to the finest detail, and you just put him against someone with giant metal bracers and a full suit of armor. Not to mention, I've seen Pink Cheeks-san fight and her user quirk. She's nearly as fast and strong as Izuku is. And if all that wasn't enough, Izuku's biggest strength is his intelligence. He can analyze quirks at the drop of a dime. There is actually no way the villains can win this. I've got the hero team winning in five minutes, most. Maybe six depending on if Izuku goes all out or not."
That was, quite possibly, the most Momo had ever heard Ryo-kun speak at once.
The class just looked at him with wide eyes, while Ryoya remained impassive.
"Ahem, that's um, very interesting analysis, Harushi."
"D - dude, you're making it sound like the exercise is already over."
"It is."
Iida tapped the back of his fist on the bomb and was interested to heard a hollow thump. "Training or not, it pains me to assume the role of a villain." He tapped the bomb again. "Hmm, paper-mache. So we merely have to guard this?"
"Hey, so Deku's got a quirk and he's strong now huh?" Bakugo said lowly.
Iida was confused. "You saw his strength no? Midoriya is quite the formidable opponent. I'll ask you not to charge directly at him. It'll be unwise."
But Bakugo just ignored him. 'I should've fucking figured it out when he pulled that power out of his ass last year and suddenly got so tall and buff. No one develops a quirk that late and no one puts on that much muscle naturally. That fucker did something.'
"The building's layout isn't as hard to memorize as I thought." Ochako commented while looking over said paper. Izuku looked at his paper too in complete silence, having not said a word since the teams were announced. "Are you okay, Deku-kun?" She smiled lightly at him with concern on her face. Izuku only nodded absently.
"There's no punishment here like with Aizawa-sensei, so there's nothing to be worried about." He said softly and true to his word, he didn't look worried or concerned or anything. He did however, look ready. "We're up against Katsuki and Iida. We'd probably fair a bit better if we stayed on guard the whole way."
"Katsuki is the one who treated you poorly isn't he?" Ochako asked and Izuku flinched ever so slightly.
"It's in the past. He might be a terrible person, but he's strong. I can't take that away from him. He's been stronger than me in every way for most of our lives, but now, things are different. I don't wanna lose to him. I have to prove to him and myself that I can beat him." Izuku proclaimed while tightening his headband.
Ochako just marveled at his conviction. "So you're like his fated rival?"
Izuku chuckled. "Don't let Ryoya hear you say that, he won't be happy."
The girl actually looked over her shoulder in a panic as if she expected Ryoya to be there, and Izuku couldn't help but laugh at that. "Anyway, we should get going. I have an idea. But heads up, Katsuki will more than likely just come directly for me and ignore you. I can work with that."
In the observation room, Ryoya raised a brow when Izuku and Ochako walked in the front door. "Ah, so he's going to fight it out. Good. If he straight up won, that would've been boring." Ryoya said with a wolf-like grin that put several people on edge.
"How could they have won from outside the building, Harushi-bro?"
Ryoya offered a non-committal shrug. "I won't spoil anything, but I'll point out the strategy if they use it today."
Momo stared rather intently at the screen before clicking her tongue. "I believe I'm following you, Ryo-kun. Does it have something to do with his boots?"
"Mhm. It does. Just a heads up, Izuku's a nerd through and through."
All Might listened in. 'Kid seems to be good at planning too. Makes sense, Midoriya did say Harushi's better at long term planning while he's the quirk analysis and strategist. Uraraka, Midoriya, you're both so cool, but there'll be no favoritism here!'
By the time they got the second floor, Ochako was starting to get antsy while Izuku remained completely calm. He'd been sensing Bakugo's ki since the exercise started so he knew for a fact that the blonde crouched around the corridor furthest down the hall. 'He's planning a sneak attack? Is he not confident enough to just attack me head on?' Izuku wondered before tapping Ochako on the shoulder. He whispered Bakugo's location in her air before directing her to remove the gravity from herself. Once she did so and floated to the ceiling, Izuku charged up Denjin Renki and gave his foot a few experimental taps on the floor, and once ready, started to walk up the wall, perfectly parallel to the ground.
Ochako gasped and almost returned her gravity before Izuku made it to the ceiling and stood upside down. "Me and Ryoya came up with this a few weeks ago. Every building has rebar in it to keep it structurally sound right? Well, my boots are an extremely strong magnet that gets stronger due to Denjin Renki's passive attraction. So, I can walk up buildings or anything really with metal in it." He explained while he walked shakily on the ceiling and Ochako floated beside him.
When they got to Bakugo's approximate location, sure enough, he was sit around the corner, lying in wait for an opponent that would never come. They literally looked down on him, and Ochako had to cover her mouth to stop from laughing, while Izuku's serious expression made her feel a bit on edge.
"Go to Iida." Izuku said softly, "It'll be easier to beat them separately than a two on two." Ochako looked like she wanted to protest, but didn't when Izuku reached into one of the pouches on his belt and grabbed a pellet the size of a marble. He rolled the metal sphere between his fingers several times before it started to glow green. Then he aimed his hand down and flicked it using his middle finger and thumb.
"Dude what? How is Midoriya doing that? He's totally walking like Spider-Man!"
"Magnets. Like I said, Izuku's electromagnetism is really strong, man. He and I spoke about it a few times, but it honestly didn't seem possible. But apparently, anything's possible when you simply believe it is. Physics be damned." Ryoya seemed a bit annoyed at that. "And this is what I meant. Izuku and Pink Cheeks-san could've just walked up the side of the building and entered from the roof. Bakugo's like a wild animal and it was obvious he was gonna just leave the room. Iida doesn't stand a chance against Izuku, let alone both of them."
Ryoya didn't seem to notice, but he was building up quite the case for Izuku being a pretty dangerous fighter. People were looking at the screen nervously while the duo traveled above the blonde, completely unaware of their presence.
It was like a horror movie, and someone even yelled out 'Look above you!' when Izuku prepared his flick. "Now this one, he and Pink Cheeks-san came up with it. I just helped him test it."
"That's low Midoriya! Sneak attacks are so unmanly."
"Wow, Midori's a bit of a badass ninja assassin guy!"
"There's nothing wrong with sneak attacks, Kirishima. They're perfectly valid, and encouraged in some situations. This is a practical experience after-all so props to Midoriya for thinking outside the box."
'Railgun!' Izuku mentally shouted before the pellet flew from his hand and directly into Bakugo's shoulder. The blonde immediately yelled in pain and let out an explosion behind him purely on reflex, but it was all for naught as Izuku just pointed both palms at him and pushed Bakugo and his metal gauntlets as hard as he could. Bakugo zipped down the hall and slammed into the wall spread eagle. He squirmed when he regained his composure, but found it difficult to move his arms.
"What is this shit? Come out and fight me like a man, Deku!" He barked while struggling against the invisible force.
Izuku, surprisingly, obliged. He deactivated Denjin Renki and fell upside down before twisting at the last minute and catching himself in a roll. Bakugo moved immediately. "You piece of shit. All Might said I'm not supposed to go overboard," He lunged forward, propelled by explosions while reeling his right arm back. "So I'll just beat you up just enough to not be disqualified!"
Izuku stayed still for a second before suddenly pivoting on his heel, grabbing Bakugo by the gauntlet and slamming him down on the ground with each force that spider cracks appeared from the point of impact. The blond grunted in pain as the wind left his lungs.
"It's been years and you always lead with the same right hook." Izuku shook his head in disappointment. "Even if I hadn't seen it so many times, you telegraph it so broadly." Bakugo took a while before shakily getting to his feet. "I've spent most of my life analyzing quirks of heroes who I think are awesome in that very notebook you attempted to destroy." When Bakugo's red eyes met Izuku's green ones, he was taken aback by the lack of any real hatred, anger or animosity. He looked as calm as could be. "I'm not going to be anyone's punching bag, Kacchan. You call me Deku right? Well I'm the Deku who always does his best." For the briefest of moments, a white power appeared around Izuku's body before flickering out. It happened so quickly, Bakugo thought he imagined it.
But what he couldn't imagine though was the immense air of calm confidence the fucker exuded. It was like he wasn't even worth his time and that he was fighting him simply because want and chose to. "You dare say that shit to me... You somehow pull a quirk out of your ass after years of being nothing but worthless," He took a big step forward. "useless," then another with a sparking palm. "trash." At this point, Bakugo's hands were trembling with rage. "It pisses me off."
He lunged forward but Izuku didn't move.
A/N: Bakugo's in for a very bad time. Izuku's showing signs of greatness. Ryoya's smarter than he seems.
Okay so, Izuku's costume is closer to his V3 costume but added the sparring gloves and headband. Ryoya's costume is just a color swap of Ken's from SFV and with Ryu's iconic headband. Toga's, I was going to base on Mystique, you know another Shape Shifter, but I forgot Mystique doesn't really have one lol, so Toga's is simply like Cat-Woman's and Camie's for several reasons. I think it fits. She still has knives and stuff, but her costume is all about stealth and subtlety. As to why she didn't get into the Hero Course at first, well it'll be explained soon enough.
Hypernova5.0: Thanks for the read. And I'm a big Pokemon fan. That's all I'm gonna say when it comes to potential Rumi/Ryoya team ups. :D
solbandgus: Their dynamic is interesting, but here, I add another layer to it. Rumi and Ryoya will def fall under the slow burn category. Lots of teenage drama planned there. And yeah, there will be lots of character growth, some showed in this chapter. Thanks as always for the read and review.
Marbled Gold: Well a bit more waiting is coming for that. Those three are all going to have a pretty fun rivalry, a healthier one than what the boys currently have going on lol, Rumi and Momo's interactions are always fun and there will def be more of them. Thanks for the read and review!
Ryuujin96: Thank you, I enjoyed writing it. More interactions with Izuku/Ochako will be coming up as the story progresses. They won't be as slow burn as Ryoya/Rumi simply because Izuku is more confident in this but the positivity never dies. Izuku is so used to Ryoya's snark at this point, he's surprised when he is actually normal. Peak bromance. Thanks for the read and review!
NinjaFang1331: Thank you!
Born-From-Black-Lightning: Thanks for the compliment, it means a lot and thanks for thinking this story is any good. It's very encouraging.