Ok, Midoriya. Try not to laugh like a lunatic this time, ok? Ya'll know the drill, I don't own Boku No Hero Academia, Avatar the Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, or any of the canon comics associated with them.
One more thing, there is a small manga/Vigilantes spoiler in the 9th section of this chapter. It's not necessary for the story flow if you skip the part entirely, so I'll mark *** when it starts and ends. I like to foreshadow stuff, so I'll be sure to keep marking it when I do that. I'll also keep writing into the manga, which will take a long time to catch up to. But so far I've been churning out chapters every two days, so we'll get there eventually. I also haven't seen the new movie yet, but I know it's after All Might's retirement, so we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
As always, hope you enjoy!
The Point of the Start
'A Quirk Assessment Test?' everyone thought. The entire class was standing an outdoor training area. Toph sensed multiple areas, including running tracks, pitching spots, and other designated areas for physical fitness. "But what about orientation?" That one girl asked. Uraraka?
"No time for pointless ceremonies." Their homeroom teacher responded. "U.A. prides itself on not being tethered to traditions. Which means I get to run my class however I see fit."
Toph listened with mixed feelings. 'Sure, traditions are a joke, but surely he can't just do whatever he wants, right?'
"I'm sure you have all been exposed to physical fitness tests in middle school and Junior High," he held up a device "but I doubt you've used your quirks in them before."
"The Ministry of Education is set on pretending everyone's equal by holding everyone back from their full potential. It's not rational. Quirks are physical abilities and should be involved in testing. The Ministry of Education is just procrastinating. Bakugo," he addressed. "You managed to get the highest villain score in the entrance exam. What was your farthest softball throw in Junior High?"
"Sixty-seven meters, I think."
"Right. Try it with your quirk." Aizawa tossed him a ball and directed him towards a pitching circle. 'I feel like I know him from somewhere, but where?' Toph never forgot a voice. 'Was it something else?'
"Anything goes, just stay in the circle. If you hold back, you're expelled. Got it?"
Bakugo gave a feral grin. "That's all you had to say, Sensei."
As he stretched, Toph was trying to remember how she knew him. 'Come on, maybe it was a certain word?'
"DIIIIIIEEEE!" BOOOOOOOOOOOMMM
'OOooh, the entrance exam. That's right.' Toph recalled.
She didn't feel anything except for the force of the explosion for a few seconds. Then the ball hit the ground.
716 meters away.
'You've got to be kidding me.'
"In these tests, you'll need to push yourselves in ways you likely have never done before." Aizawa revealed Bakugo's score. "It's the most rational way of determining your potential as a Pro Hero."
Everyone was amazed. Excitement began to ripple through the class.
"So, we can use our quirks however we want?" one guy said.
"That sounds like fun!" another girl said.
"Fun?" Mr. Aizawa shook his head. "You think this will be all fun and games, huh?" The class went silent.
'Idiots' Aizawa and Toph thought simultaneously.
"This exercise will consist of eight physical tests and will be scored accordingly to determine your potential. Whoever comes in last place has none, and will be expelled immediately."
"WHAAAAAT?"
Even Toph became uneasy. 'This guy's not messing around. I don't think he ever was.'
"You can't do that!" Uraraka exclaimed. 'Shut up, shut up, shut up now, shut up' "It's the first day and we only just got here! It's not fair!"
"Oh, so you think natural disasters are? Villains murdering people in the streets? Hm? Or accidents that topple whole cities? No, the world is full of unfairness. It's a hero's job to combat that unfairness and rise above it. I hope no one was fooling themselves by thinking this was a game, because U.A. will put you through the god damn wringer. So go Beyond. Plus Ultra." Toph felt the hair raise on her neck.
"Show me its no mistake that you're here."
Her heart skipped a beat. There was no mistaking it. She couldn't see it, but she felt his hesitation when he looked at her.
His glare.
This was a challenge. Show me why you're here, or I'll drag you out myself.
She narrowed her eyes. 'So that's how it's gonna be.'
"Now let's go. Your first test is the 50-meter dash. Move with purpose."
The class moved on the track with varying levels of nervousness.
"That's a lie, right Toph?" Momo asked. She was pretty sure, but having a human lie detector around never hurt. "He wouldn't expel anyone on the first day."
"He definitely would."
"What?" she looked back at Toph. She looked grim. "Either he's an amazing liar, or someone's leaving today." She held her head down. "I think he wants me out."
"That's ridiculous Toph. Like he said, last place is getting expelled. There's no way that will be you."
"I know! But I felt it, Momo."
Momo frowned. Toph rarely called her by her actual name. 'She must be really worried' she thought.
"You'll be fine. Just give everything your best effort, ok?"
Toph nodded. She almost didn't notice when they got to the track. She extended her quirk to take her mind off things.
Her eyes widened. 'Who is that?' She shifted her foot. There was someone hiding behind the corner of the building behind them, someone with a massive build.
"Mr. Aizawa!" She jogged towards him. He looked at her with a bored expression. "What is it?"
"There's someone watching us. From behind that building." She pointed behind her without turning her head.
He narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure?"
"Positive, Sensei."
He looked where she was pointing. Sure enough, there was a large blond man in a pinstriped suit, uselessly hiding behind the corner. He seemed to realize he had been discovered and sprinted away.
"And he's gone. Damn, he's fast."
Aizawa stared at the child before him. She hadn't moved her head or anything. "Language." He chided. "It's just one of the faculty members, focus on the test."
"Yes, Sensei."
He watched her return to the rest of the class. 'For a blind girl, that was pretty impressive.' He couldn't help but recall the meeting with Principal Nezu a few days ago.
xXx
"Runners, on your marks!"
Toph tensed. 'Time to try that new thing.' The large boy paired with her gulped down some powder before bulking up. 'Smells like sugar.'
"Ready?"
She got into position.
"Go!"
She was off like a shot, with the sugar man just behind her. While using a Rock Slider or a Rolling Hill would destroy the track, Land Skimmer was a technique that simply reduced the friction on the ground at opportune moments, allowing her to skate across dry land without tearing it apart. It wasn't as fast, but it was quick, required no build-up, and was good in short bursts.
"3.56 seconds! 5.12 seconds!"
xXx
'A grip test? Easy.' She put the device down for a second, then slammed her hand onto the concrete. The ground broke apart and covered her hand in improvised gravel. Rock Gauntlet.
Toph already had a firm grip, even without the gauntlet. "112.2 kg!"
'Not terrible.' She wasn't winning this test with the guy with six arms involved, but she was satisfied.
She turned her attention to the weird kid. Midoriya was attempting to focus. "The egg, the egg…" he muttered aloud, only audible by the Beifong.
Most people had a physical reaction when they used their quirk. It's a physical ability, after all. Unbeknownst to anyone, Toph could sense when someone was using their quirk thanks to that same reaction. 'That explodo-die guy from before tenses his arms when he creates explosions. Probably preparing for the small recoil after constant use. While gravity girl twitches her fingers when she makes something weightless.' She waited for mutter-boy to use his quirk.
But he never did.
'What's wrong with him? At this rate he'll fail.' She "looked" closer.
It was as if he was trying to figure out how to turn his quirk on. His muscles (which were pretty dense and strong, but that's not important at all) were moving; tensing as if he was about to use his quirk. In the end, he gripped as hard as he could without his quirk at all.
'What's happening? Did he really take out that Zero-pointer? Stick-in-mud and Uraraka weren't lying before. Were they both just gullible? What the heck?'
xXx
The repeated side step were easy using Land Skimmer again. However, she found herself beat by that really short boy, Mineta.
"Not bad, bouncy." she commented after. "Where'd you get the balls?"
"Um, are you for real?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Nothing, just…" he took on a lecherous tone "…I like them when they're dumb. Hehehehe…"
Minoru Mineta had never found himself buried underground so quickly before.
xXx
Next was the standing long jump. Iida, Bakugo, Uraraka, French-boy, and a few others sailed through it. Toph simply launched herself with a pillar as far as she could go. She accidentally dented the ground upon impact, leaving a fist-shaped hole.
'Surely he'll use his quirk now.'
Midoriya jumped, landed a couple meters out, and fell backwards.
…
…
'Wow.'
…
'That was pathetic.'
xXx
"Uraraka, you're next after Jirou."
"Yes Sensei!"
Toph hadn't been paying much attention to the softball throw. She was more focused on that weirdo kid who still refused to use his quirk!
"Yaomomo, I'll be back."
"Hmm? Toph-san?" she was already gone.
Meanwhile, Midoriya was stressing. Hard.
"ifidontuseitillneverpassbutifiuseitillmessupmyentirearmwhatimigoingtodoicantjustu…" he muttered constantly. Frankly, it was grinding on Toph's ears, but that's not why she was doing this.
"Oi, muttermouth. C'mere."
"Wh-what? What are you-"
"Shut up. C'mere." She dragged him by the ear away from the class, just out of normal earshot.
She positioned him in front of herself. "Just what exactly are you doing out here?"
"What-what do you mean?"
She punched him in the shoulder. "O-Ouch! What was that for?" She stuck her finger against his chest.
"Look, I can tell you been trying to use your quirk for the last four events. What's your deal? Apparently you can take out a Zero-pointer with one fucking punch, so you definitely have a quirk. If you can do that, why can't you throw a ball?"
Quite honestly, she was annoyed with this dumbass. Here she was, defying everything she'd ever been told about what she can and can't do, and this guy over here has sight and power and can't even build up the brass balls to execute that power? Ridiculous.
"I-I just…my quirk…it hurts me."
She would've stared if she could. "How bad?"
"Try a shattered arm."
They both went silent. She heard about quirk backlash and had even "seen" it firsthand. But a shattered arm was a new one.
When Uraraka gently threw her softball, Toph never felt it hit the ground.
"INFINITY?" the class shouted.
"How's that even possible, that's insane!" Toph heard Sparky yell.
"Times running out. Look, I know what it's like to be held back by something I can't control. Believe me, I do. But you have to do something! Anything! Even if it hurts!
"But I-"
"No buts!"
"That's enough, settle down." Aizawa said, shutting everyone up with four words. "Midoriya, you're up."
Aizawa looked up. 'Where's the problem child? And my other problem child?'
Time to wrap this up. "Ok, times up. Look, are you in this to screw around or are you going to be a hero?" She was asking honestly.
Midoriya stopped shaking for once. He stared at the girl in front of him. She was looking at his chin, but she meant every word she said.
Young man
He took a deep breath.
You can become a hero
"Yes." He said with certainty. "I'm going to be the world's greatest hero."
Toph gave what she hoped was a warm smile. "That's the spirit. Now go throw that ball."
xXx
Aizawa watched the two come back. 'Honestly, both of them? Give me a break.'
"How kind of you to join us Midoriya. Get in the circle" he grunted, tossing a new ball to the boy.
Midoriya caught the ball, with a concentrated look on his face. 'Something's different.' Aizawa saw the look in his eye. 'He's going to do it.'
"Excuse me," Uraraka caught Toph's attention. "what were you saying to him back there?"
She regarded the girl. 'And why is it your business?' she thought. But it was a genuine question. She did sort of drag him away, after all.
"What he needed to hear." she shrugged.
Midoriya stepped up. She could feel it. His muscles tensed and something pushed back. Energy. Power.
'Here it comes.' Aizawa watched.
He prepared to throw. She felt a huge rush of power in his right arm, overfilling it. She had never sensed such raw, concentrated power in one spot before. The limb was at its tipping point. If he moved it too quickly, the thing really would shatter.
He took his throw. And as he threw…
'Huh?'
The power vanished. It was there, then it was gone.
"57 meters!"
The rest of class was confused too. 'What just happened?'
Midoriya was just as stunned as the rest of them. "But…I tried to use it…just now…"
"I erased your quirk."
Toph swung her focus on their teacher. There was a slight strain in his eyes' muscles.
"Someone like you should never have been allowed to be here."
He was speaking too softly for most the class to hear. Only three students had an inkling as to what was going on, including Toph.
Midoriya unfroze. "Wait you did what to my-" It dawned on him. "Wait I know you! You can look at someone and cancel out their powers! The Erasure Hero: Eraserhead!"
Midoriya wasn't trying to be quiet though, and was overheard.
"Eraserhead? Never heard of him."
"I think I know him. He works on the downlow."
"An underground hero?"
But Toph wasn't listening to them. "Were you going to break your bones again? Counting on someone else to save your useless body?"
"Wh-what? That wasn't what I was trying to-wah!"
Something hard, durable, and flexible shot from their teacher, pulling Midoriya closer, shutting him up.
"Regardless of your intentions, you're nothing but a liability in battle if you can only throw a single punch without breaking down. I don't care how powerful you are. You could be as strong as All Might for all I care." Midoriya winced uncomfortably at that. "You remind me of another overzealous hero who managed to save a hundred people at once and became a legend. But even with that drive, you're useless if you need someone to save you after one overpowered punch. Sorry, Midoriya. But with your power, there's no way you can become a hero."
Toph was, shall we say, livid. 'Oh…hell…no…' Aizawa's eyes relaxed. "I've returned your impractical quirk. Take your final throw."
Midoriya was looking down. The others hadn't heard what Aizawa heard at the end, not even the top two sensors, ear-girl and six-arms, but they haven't been blind all their lives, either.
Midoriya walked back to the circle, new ball in hand. He looked back at his class.
Iida looked thoughtful, trying to ascertain what their teacher had said, which he hoped was encouragement. Uraraka might've looked worried, if it weren't for the odd French guy with his hand on her shoulder. Kacchan looked, well, Kacchan looked like Kacchan. A few others look expectant, waiting for him to throw. He looked the angry girl from before.
She looked furious, just not at him. Arms crossed, outright glaring at Mr. Aizawa; respect be damned. Noticing his attention, she tilted her head at him.
'Well?'
He gulped, rubbing his right arm.
She jerked her head up. 'You gonna be the world's greatest hero, or what?'
He looked at his ball, then back to her.
Aizawa was getting tired, his nap was soon. "Well? You giving up?"
Midoriya looked at him, eyes full of determination. "No, Sensei."
Aizawa nodded. "Then stop wasting my time."
Midoriya looked out as far as he could. 'I have to do what I can do right now.'
He swung his arm back for the pitch. Toph waited for the telltale tense of his quirk.
But didn't feel it!
'What! No! You can't just give up!' she internally screamed. He pitched his arm forward. Toph waited, waited, and waited.
'Don't give up!'
The ball was leaving his hand…
'There! In his…finger?"
"SSSSSSMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSHHHHHHHH!"
BBBBWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHH
A huge blast of air hit behind him as he threw the ball. The air displacement was so strong, even Aizawa shielded himself from the dust.
Toph concentrated on the stretch of land ahead. 'The ball's gotta land somewhere'.
'There.'
…
'Shit…me…sideways…'
"727.6 meters!"
"Mr…Aizawa…" Midoriya tried to speak without showing to much pain. From what Toph could tell, he only hurt his finger in the throw.
"You see…I'm still standing!"
Aizawa grinned madly. 'This kid…'
"Now that's a heroic record!" Uraraka cheered.
"It appears that Midoriya's finger is broken! What a strange quirk."
Toph was both amazed and slightly proud. 'All that power in just his finger?'
Bakugo was speechless for all of six seconds.
"HEY!" Bakugo sprinted for Midoriya before the others could react. "DEKU YOU BASTARD YOU BETTER TELL ME HOW YOU DID THAT OR YOU'RE DEAD!"
"AAAAHHH!"
fwwwipch
ccrrrrackkkk
Bakugo was restrained by Aizawas bandages and had both his feet sunk into the hard pavement.
"What…the hell…why…is your scarf…so strong?" He managed to utter.
"Because it's a capture weapon made of a special metal alloy and carbon fiber thread." Aizawa's eyes were tensed again. "Stand down." he ordered.
Toph had reacted quickly, stamping her foot to sink him into the concrete. 'That was close, what's with this guy?'
"I'd advise you not to make me use my quirk so much." He glared at the offending student. "It gives me serious dry-eye."
'Dry-eye? That's his set-back? Huh.'
The capture weapon retracted. "You're just wasting my time now. Beifong, your next. Get Bakugo out of the ground first."
"Do I have to?"
"Don't press your luck."
With a sigh and a stomp, Bakugo popped out of the ground. He glared after Midoriya, seemingly offended by his very existence.
'Nothing but a worthless bug! That I can smash into the ground!"
"Hey."
The blond whirled around. It was the blind bitch. "I'd get out of the blast zone now, Blasty." she snarked at him.
His hand jerked, ready to pay that sass back, but this wasn't the time. Not with the Pro behind him.
"This isn't over." He said through gritted teeth.
She gave her trademark grin. "Promise?"
His eyes flared. 'Did she just-did she-did she just ignore my threat?"
"HAAAAAAH?" he managed to articulate.
"Bakugo. Get off the field." Aizawa was seriously done with this class already.
Bakugo stomped off the field, rage coming off him in waves. Eraserhead grabbed a ball and threw it to Toph. "You're up, Beifong."
She caught it one-handed. "You got it, Sensei. Be sure to expel me if I hold back."
"Keep pushing it, and we'll just see about that. Take your throw."
Bakugo looked up. 'Wait. Beifong. I know that name.' He looked back to the small girl. 'The rankings, someone beat me by one point. Toph Beifong.' His glare intensified.
With that, she placed the ball on the ground. Assuming her horse-stance, she sunk it into the ground. Aizawa raised his eyebrows at the action. She then levitated a small boulder from that very spot, containing the ball.
With her face bent in concentration, she took a stance and launched the boulder.
Aizawa watched it fly. It was set to hit about 200 meters out. 'Not much of a score-"
"HEEEEYAAAAA!"
The boulder exploded into shrapnel, sending the ball even higher and further out.
"857.8 meters!"
Aizawa gazed at his device. 'Not bad, kid.'
Most of the class behind her was cheering while she grinned, pulling a pose.
'Gotta do something about that cheek, though.'
xXx
The rest of the exercises came and went. She used her Rock-Slider for the long distance run and didn't bother with her quirk for the sit-ups and the seated toe touch. She and Momo had been training for worse for the last 10 months. The same was true for Midoriya, just not with a broken finger. He gasped and panted on the ground after the run. He closed his eyes, thinking about his performance.
'My only good score was the ball throw! That's it! I'm sorry mom! All Might!'
"Hey, muttermouth."
He opened his eyes. Toph was holding her hand out.
"Get up, we're getting our results now."
"O-Oh!" he grabbed her hand. She pulled him up, not without encouragement.
"You did what you could, let's go see." She laughed at her own joke. Midoriya didn't seem to get it, but that's alright.
She knew she was funny.
Aizawa gathered everyone outside the back of the schoolhouse.
"You should all have a good idea on where each of you stand, so I'll just show you your rankings."
The projection lit up. Everyone else found themselves at their respective ranking.
"Yaomomo, where am I at?"
"Mmmm, fourth place. Bakugo got third, just above you."
"I don't care about that nutjob. What about you?"
"Ah. Well. I got first."
"Nice one. What about Midoriya?"
"The green-haired one?"
"Yes, Sugar Queen, because I know exactly what you mean by 'green'."
"Ah, sorry. The mumbling one."
"That's it."
"Why does it matter to you?"
"Because he beat the giant robot that I only stopped. He doesn't get to quit."
"Then I'm sorry, Toph."
"Sorry for…what?"
"Right there, twentieth place."
Sure enough, Midoriya's name was listed at the very bottom of the list.
'It can't be! Goddamn it, Aizawa! I know you weren't lying!'
He turned off the projection. "And I was lying, no one's going home."
…
…
"That was just a rational deception to make sure you gave it your all." he said with a shit-eating grin.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?"
Aizawa strode to the shell-shocked Midoriya. "Make sure the old lady fixes you up." He leaned in to whisper something else, but Toph wasn't listening. "Tomorrow's got even greater tests. Prepare yourself." He then walked over to the two girls.
"Beifong," she looked up. "See me at my office afterwards, 45 meters left of homeroom with a right turn through the double doors. Bring a friend to take you home, but we have some things to discuss if you're going to continue being in my class. Understood?"
Toph just nodded. "Good, that's it for today. Grab your schedules from homeroom before you go. Get some lunch and go home, everyone. Tomorrow won't be any easier."
"Yes, Sensei."
Momo sighed, stretching a bit and they walked. "You had me going there Toph-san. Of course, it was a lie."
"He lied."
"Yep, I guess you're not a perfect lie detector after all."
"No, he lied. Just now!"
"C'mon, Toph-san. You're not going to get me again."
"I'm serious! He was going to expel one of us!"
"Well, he didn't. C'mon, let's get some food."
Toph didn't stop grumbling the whole way there.
xXx
Three days ago…
*** "You wanted to see me Nezu?" Aizawa greeted as he knocked on the doorframe to the office.
"Why yes! Care for some tea?"
"No thanks."
"Here, drink up!" A teacup found its way into his hand anyway as he sat down. "What's this about, exactly? Something I missed from the faculty meeting?"
"I assure you; you'll be curled up in your sleeping bag in due time." Nezu predicted fondly. He had a habit of reading people's actual desires, but that was an easy one. "Actually, I wanted to address the matter of two of your new students."
"The bone-breaker and the blind one, right?"
"Izuku Midoriya and Toph Beifong, yes." Nezu produced files for the both of them. "As you know, both passed the written exam with top marks and one even earned top scorer in the practical." He said as he passed forward the two folders. "They both have quite the potential."
"My impression was that I examine their potential and deal with them accordingly; has that changed suddenly?"
"And under normal circumstances, I would trust you and any of the faculty to make that call." He sipped at his tea. "However, I know you're aware of All Might's decline from Hero Work?"
Eraserhead nodded. He had been briefed, along with the rest of the faculty, about All Might's declining health and the reason behind that. "And your point?"
"My point is that he has passed his power along."
The teacup broke as it hit the floor.
"No."
"Oh yes." Nezu confirmed. "That punch against the Zero-pointer was that of All Might in his prime, before that dreadful battle."
"But I thought his whole reason for applying to be a teacher was to find a successor! An able-bodied successor who was already on his way to be a hero! A reason I whole heartedly disagree with, as you know."
"I do know. But what's done is done. All Might sees something in this boy that screams 'hero'. And for that matter, I'm beginning to see it too."
Aizawa put his head in his hands and counted to 10. "Ok, fine. But if he has no potential, then…"
"Then you'll expel him and he'll eventually become a hero elsewhere, I know." Nezu finished.
"Ok, fine. This Midoriya kid is one thing. But what of Beifong? One for All can't be transferred to two people at once."
"Indeed. This is a different matter, I'm afraid."
"If you're going to tell me we have to keep her because of her family's donations, then forget it."
"No donations. Actually, her father nearly begged me to talk her out of being a hero student a few months ago." Nezu chuckled. "Nevertheless, she's quite capable and has a vast amount of potential."
"She's also blind, Principle. Despite her power, you expect me to send a blind girl into the streets to fight crime?"
"No. I expect you to prepare her to fight crime in the streets, when the time is right. You'll find her to be quite teachable, if not a tad stubborn. Rather reminds me of a certain black-haired recluse who walked these halls some years ago."
Aizawa leaned back, highly exasperated. "I have no doubt of her drive, but you know why I cut them loose so easily."
"I do." Nezu admitted. "Nevertheless, give her the chance. A journey cut short is better than a journey never started."
Eraserhead shot up. "Tell that to Loudcloud!" he growled.
Nezu, remained seated, calmly nursing his tea. "Do you truly believe he would have preferred he never became a hero?"
…
"This meeting is over." Eraserhead turned to leave, slamming the door behind him.
*** Nezu sighed, picking up the fallen teacup. "I actually imagined that going worse than it did."
xXx
Present Day…
Shota Aizawa was a quiet, minimalistic man, and his small office was no different. No pictures, decoration, not anything individual setting his office apart from any other. It was safer like this. Besides, he doesn't need an extravagant office to do his job properly and his cats at home gave him enough enjoyment to get by from day to day.
He was busy looking over his students' results. Midoriya had a long way to go if he wanted to succeed All Might of all people. He made progress today, only messing up his finger instead of his entire arm. It made sense, really. It didn't surprise him at all that All Might didn't have the sense to give him time to practice using his newfound power before sending his to the exam. All Might had been watching and confronted him after he dismissed class. Aizawa gave him the rundown on how Midoriya should be training his new quirk and that he has to get a handle on it soon, leaving All Might flustered. One for All may be special among quirks, but it's still a power type. It's not the first power type quirk he'd ever seen. Nevertheless, they had a new plan for that little snag.
He looked through a few other student files, he had more than two students after all. Toru Hagakure did decently given her quirk, which did not help her in the slightest in any of the tests. She has potential as a stealth hero, something he himself is a running expert in, but she needs options for combat for the long run. Minoru Mineta's only good score was the side stepping. Though he had a good brain on his shoulders, he needed to keep his perverted tendencies under control; otherwise he'll be finding himself buried a bit more permanently at some point.
While some students needed to train to gain greater power, others had to be taught control over their potentially deadly powers. Midoriya is a fair example. Another example was Mina Ashido. If she were to make her acid the wrong way in a fight, she could potentially melt limbs. Constant focus was going to be hard to nail for someone as ADHD as her. He could clearly see Katsuki Bakugo's power and finesse with his quirk, but his vicious temper had to get under control before he makes a huge mistake one day. Not to mention the obvious chip on his shoulder with Midoriya. He's seen it happen too many times to greater heroes than himself. Ochaco Uraraka had no such temper and definitely needed a better combat-mindset. That being said, being floated into the stratosphere couldn't be good for anyone. Hundred-mile falls were also considered deadly by most people's standards. Restraint was going to be key for these individuals.
It was clear who decided to train and how much before coming here and who didn't. Given his physical training, Midoriya had actually placed a bit higher on the totem pole at about 15th place. Regardless of the deception, he needed to have his cage rattled. He can't afford to get comfortable here. Besides, most of the students who had useful quirks for the tests were paced far ahead of everyone else.
He moved on, checking on the strengths and weaknesses of each student. Rikido Sato required sugar to activate his quirk, which wasn't bad on its own, but it deceased his mental capacity. Yuga Aoyama sailed through comfortably with his navel laser, but was hit with stomach pains after excessive use; much like Uraraka, who could've used her quirk on herself to fly through the tests, but didn't. Tenya Iida was drinking orange juice during the tests, probably to fuel his quirk. If his Engine quirk is anything like his brother's, it definitely has drawbacks; overwork and stalling out to name a couple. The rest of his class's weaknesses weren't apparent today, but he could make educated guesses.
As for Beifong, her quirk had a physical strain sure, but that could be trained and there wasn't a clear drawback when it came to her use of earth manipulation or her mechanoreceptor sight. The only real setback was her lack of actual sight.
And her attitude.
Unlike the rest of the class's individual weaknesses, you can't train a blind person to have vision. No matter how hard she's willing to work, that won't change.
knock knock
But maybe she can learn to work around it. Without relying on her quirk.
"Enter." He put the files away for now.
Toph entered the small office. "Take a seat." She did so, looking in his direction with narrowed eyes.
She decided to get to the point. "Am I being expelled?"
"No, though you were pressing lots of buttons today. I'd quit that if I were you."
She relaxed a bit, but not too much. "You were going to though."
"What makes you say that?"
"I can feel people's breathing and heartbeats and can tell if someone's lying. There was no 'rational deception'."
That took him by surprise. 'Come to think of it, it makes perfect sense, but damn.'
"I was going to send someone home, yes."
"Why didn't you?"
"Me first." Time to turn this around. "I have a scenario for you. Say you've graduated and have risen through the rankings as a Pro Hero. You're out on patrol and respond to a bank robbery. You burst onto the scene to find wooden flooring inside the bank. The criminals are armed and have civilians hostage. What's your first move?"
Toph thought for a moment. "I'd try to sense what I could from outside the building and call for back-up."
"No back-up. Currently, you're the only hero on patrol. Any heroes that could come are to far away to respond in time. What do you do next?"
"I'd call from outside, convince them to surrender."
"People with the nerve to rob a bank don't just surrender. Try again."
"I-I could enter and take them down."
"There are five robbers, possibly with dangerous quirks, vs a hero who relies on the ground to see on a wooden floor. Fat chance."
"I…I could attack from outside!"
"And risk injuring the hostages? This is life and death, Miss Beifong. Try again."
"Then I-I'd have to wait for the police."
"In which case, you're no better than a civilian yourself. Passerby. Unable to do anything to help the hostages."
Beifong was getting visibly frustrated. 'Good, think it through.'
"Well I can't do nothing!"
"Then what do you do?"
"I-I don't know."
"Exactly." Aizawa finished. "You'd be nothing but a liability until someone capable showed up. Either that, or dead because you decided to rush in without a plan."
Toph glared at what was hopefully his face. It was actually his neck, but the intent was clear. "Then what's your point? You're not expelling me, so why are you telling me this?"
"Because, you need to know! If anybody needs to know how to overcome their own weakness, it's you. You can't get by pretending that being blind isn't a weakness, regardless of your quirk. Quirk-reliance is a dangerous thing that has gotten many great heroes killed in the line of duty. One day, maybe in a few years, maybe tomorrow, someone with the right quirk will exploit that weakness. And they will kill you."
Toph was silent, her head down. 'He's right. Lot's of people can do amazing things. If someone were to fly with their quirk, I couldn't touch them.'
"That is, if you're unprepared."
She lifted her head up.
"I won't let you become a hero without preparing you for that day. To overcome that weakness, we will train after school hours every Wednesday and Saturday mornings till lunch. Let your folks know, arrange a ride, whatever."
Her eyes widened. 'Well, it's not expulsion. I'll take what I can get.'
"Should I come alone?"
"Yes, but you won't be alone. Ectoplasm, Midnight, and All Might will be there to assist me in your training."
"That an awful lot of teachers." she commented.
"Don't worry, there's actually another student who needs the extra training too. He will be there as well."
"Who?"
"You'll find out. For now, go home and get some rest, you'll need it for tomorrow."
Toph stood up, bowing slightly. "Thank you, Sensei. I won't let you down."
"Hmm." was his only response as she left.
A journey cut short is better than a journey never started
The tired pro leaned back for a nap. 'I'll make sure hers doesn't end anytime soon either.'
xXx
And that's Chapter Four! I may have adlibbed their scores a bit, but I figure they don't have to be exactly the same to get the same rankings. Also, Midoriya legitimately getting last place when the only thing going for Ball Boy was the sidesteps? No. He's been going through all that hellish training for the last 10 months hauling all that garbage. There's no way some of those students actually outdid him. What's more likely is Aizawa skewing the results to put him in last place to fuck with him. Regardless of his rank, he still has a lot of growing to do.
Toph whipping Midoriya into shape seemed right to me. She's got a mentoring side and wants to be challenged, so its only natural for her to ring someone's bell if they're clearly not giving their all. Let's face it, our friendly green bean needed it.
Cry me a river, Mineta. No regrets.
So, as ya'll may have noticed, she has started naming special moves based on actual moves in ATLA and LoK (I don't own that either, btw). That's something that'll keep happening throughout the story.
Aizawa has raised some very real points; not just addressing her blindness, but her overconfidence and rash thinking. She's not stupid, either. She's ready to what it takes to be a hero, even it requires taking advice from time to time.
So, most of you may have noticed the other side character in Chp. 2, but what about Chp. 3? Hohohoho…
Now for the Reviews:
To Animeluver1492:
Teo was the one I was talking about, yes. His Dad's the Mechanist, he funds disposable giant robots. You get the idea.
High expectations indeed. Aizawa's going to work her harder than anyone to make sure she doesn't get killed on wood flooring or something stupid. Could you imagine the greatest earthbender in the world getting canned by the Dastardly Carpetman? Nope, not happening.
Good guess on the ball throw. Metal bending needs a bigger reveal than what I can do right now with where the story is. We'll get there.
Fuck school uniforms.
To Sebecca:
I like to think that Nezu wanted to see her reaction. The floor was always carpet in the auditorium, but he had it put in place specifically for her for the main entrance. Hehe.
I'm so excited to pull all the blind jokes. They also happen to be easier when the target's an idiot. Kaminari and Sero also live really close together, so I took a shot in the dark that they could be Junior High friends. I could've done Kaminari alone, but it's too early to decide ships and I didn't want to get anyone ramped up on something that may not happen.
The Beifong's are adjusting and I'll try to throw in snippets of them as things move along. The interactions are wholesome and I can't get enough of it. They might be few and far between as things move along with the actual storyline, but I'll work them in.
Oh, yeah. Aizawa already needs a 12-hour nap just talking to her. But Toph's got her work cut out for herself too.
To SebjectCrimsonStorm:
Metal bending deserves a grand entrance and will be legendary. Toph and Bakugo are quite similar in a few ways, which could be good and bad. You'll see.
To trollzor69:
I personally really like izumomo, but it doesn't really fit the narrative right now. But nothing's set in stone, especially ships.
To D3lph0xL0v3r:
Lots of good points, I'll start from the top.
Bakugo, though not right now, lives for competition. Or rather, he wants to show how much better he is than everyone else. Naturally, there are several students who challenge that. He hates them; but come the Sports Festival, he'll appreciate that he'll have actual opponents to claim victory over. Not to say it will be easy, but he prefers it that way.
I'm currently juggling an idea for the iconic name that may come to play in later chapters. More to come on that.
I think you know what Toph's Hero Name will be.
Not really. He recognizes that she has a weakness that she refuses to acknowledge as a weakness. It's a matter of overconfidence and making sure she doesn't die.
Oh man. You saw how she reacted to Midoriya holding back. When she figures Todoroki out (while simultaneously giving a damn), he won't know what hit him. Also, who said that he doesn't exist? There is a certain old man traveling the Philippines with his nephew after all. (Chapter 2) The GAang reacting to Todoroki would be funny, even funnier with Zuko present.
Both ideas would be awesome fanfics that I wish I had time to try! Maybe another time, unless someone does it first.
Avatar Izuku would be a good one too, though I think it's been done a couple times. They've never finished though, so maybe when I find the time or finish The Blind Hero.
Thank you for the reviews and feel free to reach out with your comments/concerns/critiques/artwork as always. Till next time!