"SMAAAAAAAAAAASH!"
Another gust of wind, another torrent of sound, more broken bones and more pained cries from his lips. Honestly, at that point, he was actually kind of glad that it had started to become so routine. While the pain hadn't dampened, Gods know that if he stopped feeling pain he'd pretty much start panicking about how he was losing his mind, but the fact that he'd started to be able to brace himself for it, that he'd long since stopped recoiling and just desperately grabbing onto a limb to try to stop the pain, it was a sign of improvement in his book. As was the praise he heard coming from Glynda.
"I have to admit, I didn't think you'd be pushing your theory so far so soon but... well, there you have it." Izuku looked down at his hand; broken and shattered. But that was it; just his hand. His arm was completely fine. His wrist was a little worse for wear but even it wasn't completely broken. He was learning to focus One For All more and more into the furthest reaches of his extremities... he was so close now. If he could just get that last push, just that last little bit of effort, his idea would become manifest. His potential to use One For All without crippling himself would be realized, at least, in a sense.
'Just a little bit more, just a little bit more and-'
He felt Glynda's Semblance surround him before he could even lift his other arm up to try.
"Let's not go breaking your other hand until it's completely healed up, shall we?" He nodded, slightly sheepish, as she dragged him back over to her. It might be slow progress thanks to the fact that he was being stopped to rest but, on some level, he did appreciate what Glynda was doing here. She was trying to keep him from ending up like how she found him... and while it was frustrating that he was not making a great deal of progress quickly, he did know that it was better that he didn't maim himself in the process.
On some level, anyway.
"You see kid, while the size and strength of your opponent is important, being sufficiently skilled with your throws here can ensure that, even against a larger foe and stronger foe, that you can still get a handle on them. Now, what you're going to want to do is step in with your right leg, swing it behind my left see? Now, push with your hips and your left leg and - WOAH!" Izuku followed through with Toshinori's instruction and, rushing forward, slammed his back onto the ground. Toshinori was blown up into his full Hero Mode for the sake of the exercise so he was a little less concerned about potentially hurting him than he might've been.
That being said, he couldn't help but flinch a bit when Toshinori's back hit the floor, including the back of his head.
"Woah! Toshniori a-are you okay! I'm sorry, I should've given you a bit more heads up-"
"That was fantastic work young man!" Izuku flinched back a bit as Toshinori shot back up to his feet, nearly knocking Izuku on his butt as he did so. "You're taking to these lessons quite well Young Midoriya. I had expected as much but I didn't think things would be going so smoothly." Izuku smiled a bit as Toshinori said that, sheepishly scratching the back of his head as he looked down to the side.
"W-Well, you're also a really good teacher Toshinori..." With that the large man laughed that enlivening, light-hearted laugh of his as he nodded before, suddenly-
"GAAAAH!" Toshinori popped down into his deflated form, blood spewing from his mouth, and Izuku couldn't help but scream.
"AH! TOSHINORI, ARE YOU OKAY, YOU-"
"I'm fine young man, I'm fine... went Hero a little earlier today to deal with some crime down in town. I guess I was pushing my limits today." Toshinori wiped the blood off his face with his hand as he spoke, nonchalantly rubbing the remainder off onto the leg of his pants.
'That's right,' Izuku'd seen the report on his Scroll in between classes that day. Toshinori had been spotted at several locations throughout the city stamping down some of the robberies going on as well as some White Fang activity. In a robbery turned hostage situation, he'd managed to not only save all the hostages without them getting hurt, but he took out all the robbers by knocking them out cold.
"Yeah I read about it. It's really amazing what you're capable of Toshinori." Izuku really couldn't help the shine in his eyes. Even after all that time, even after knowing Toshinori's secret weakness, Izuku couldn't help but admire him as his idol and Hero. The exemplar of what he wanted to be as a Huntsman. Toshinori grinned a bit in response, obviously pumped up by the praise from his successor... but then it looked like a thought crossed his mind as he rubbed his chin.
"What I'm capable of huh... that's right..." Izuku blinked in some confusion as Toshinori nodded and mumbled to himself, his teacher turning to him. "There is something I wanted to talk about last week Izuku but... well, the mood wasn't right and I didn't want to dump it on you when I didn't feel like I was ready to." Toshinori scratches the back of his head as he nodded over to a bench. "Come on, let's have a seat. Let you take five before we keep up with the training." Izuku just nodded slowly as the two of them walked over, Izuku practically feeling the tension rising in Toshinori as he thought very carefully to himself, crossing his arms slightly before reaching one hand up to rub at his chin
"... Kid, your team did great during the practical training last week. You all had the odds stacked on you with probably the hardest combination of droids and assignments but, hey, you managed to pull out a few nice tricks and passed with flying colors... a few points removed for stabbing the hostage not withstanding." Izuku blushed a bit red as Toshinori says that, his teacher just crossing his arms again as he spoke. "But there was something I wanted to bring up with you in specific, partly because you're the leader of your team and partially because... well, One For All." Izuku swallowed a small lump in his throat hearing Toshinori bring up Izuku's, and his, Semblance.
"... The robots in the exercise weren't just robots if you remember right, they weren't meant to be stand ins for members of the White Fang. Now, you weren't necessarily supposed to take it to heart, after all, they look, sound, feel and, in most ways, act very much like machines. We wouldn't expect you all to consciously treat them as other living beings." Izuku eyes went a bit wide as he realize dthe point Toshinori's about to make. "Now, those robots were made to be sturdy and members of The Fang will have Aura to help back them up... but... well... if those had been people in the middle of your first blast Young Midoriya, they could've very well died."
The air hung a bit heavy as Toshinori finished, Izuku's eyes wide with panic as Toshinori turned to look at him...
"WOAH! Calm down young man! Take a breath!" He did so, gasping for breath as Toshinori patted him on the back. "Calm down. I'm not here to lecture you for blowing up a bunch of training robots without thinking about it. Gods be damned, if I were that anal then I doubt we'd get anywhere with your training with One For All without me constantly trippin' you up with moral conundrums." Izuku took a relaxing breath after Toshinori's reassurance, turning his gaze to him.
"So... what is this about then, Toshinori?"
"Right... listen, training's for training. Pushing your limits and making sure you can get stronger. Heck, your attack there will work wonders on the Grimm and for clearing out large pockets of them. And... if a situation is desperate enough, yeah, it'll be good to turn the tide. Hell, I wouldn't even have this conversation with most students your age because very few of you are capable of killing someone in one go..."
"... But I am."
Toshinori nodded.
"Yeah kid. Most people aren't as capable of taking a hit as that Giant Nevermore was." Izuku saw Toshinori scratch the back of his head. "So I just... wanted to have this conversation. Get you thinking about your potential. Not just in what good you can do, but in what harm you can do as well." Toshinori pointed to himself. "I'm constantly having to check my power when I go Hero. Kid, One For All in your hands is dangerous... but for someone as experienced with it as I am, with how strong my own Aura is on its own? I could demolish all of Vale in a handful of hours if I really set my mind to it."
'... Well that isn't a terrifying thought or anything.'
"It's what reminded me of this conversation; you talking about what I'm capable of. I'm capable of a lot young man, but that goes both ways. A lot of potential good and a lot of potential bad. I could very easily kill the criminals I'm faced with if I'm not careful. I don't think about it often because I've gotten so used to it but... yeah, what I did today was an example. I step a little too hard, push a little too much, and the story might change from me saving everyone with no casualties to... well, you get the point." Toshinori turned back to Izuku. "Don't get me wrong, I don't think you're the kind of person who'd use One For All recklessly. Hell, if you were then I wouldn't have given you the power in the first place. But... well, you're not like other kids young man. You have a lot of power for someone your age. You'll need to learn faster than anyone what you can and can't do with it and what your limits are going to be... and the limits of what your opponents are going to be. All of this will be even more important to keep in mind when you can start controlling more of One For All than just 0 and 100 percent."
"So last week when I saw that combination attack of yours I was both impressed and... not gonna lie, a little spooked. It reminded me that with the right amount of clever thinking you were capable of stuff like that even so early... and with less clever thinking that One For All would make you capable of stuff like that. I didn't want to bring you down or talk down to you or anything... I just wanted to have this conversation to make sure you understood what I meant…"
"Do you understand what I mean, young man?"
"Yeah, I think I get it." Izuku nodded in what he hoped was understanding as he turned to face Toshinori. "You're asking me about being responsible with my power and what it can do." Seeing that Toshinori gave him a satisfied nod, and Izuku felt his face harden as he looked his Hero and mentor in his sunken eyes. "I understand Toshinori. Despite all the good One For All can do... it's a powerful Semblance... but that also makes it dangerous. If I'm not careful with it... someone could get hurt." He clench his fists. "All that means is that I have another reason to work hard so that I can control it! I have to be able to protect everyone when it comes to using One For All, both from others and from my own power!"
Toshinori was silent for a moment as he took in his successor's answer before a wide grin stretched across his face.
"I figured that'd be your answer, but an old man like me just wanted to hear it." Before Izuku could tell Toshinori that he was still not all that old his hand came down on the top of his head and messed his hair. "Now then, enough of this crap, let's get back to work. Can't exactly go through direct training with you while I'm in this state but we can work on forms well enough. So get your butt up Young Man, we've got a lot of work left to go." Izuku couldn't help but smile as the spirit returned to Toshinori's voice, the man pushing himself off the bench as he headed back into the arena. There was a moment where he hesitated though, a moment where Izuku felt his curiosity burning in the back of his mind. There was a question left hanging, that Izuku buried deep in his mind before he could voice it. But that night, it pricked at the back of his mind...
'Has Toshinori ever killed anyone?'
"Mmmm... Izuku?" Izuku cracked his eyes open as he left his meditative state, his partner sitting across from him, legs crossed in her own meditative position. The two of them had sat there for an hour or so, getting in some Aura training, as instructed by Pyrrha, before getting ready for tutoring. Izuku and Pyrrha had been getting ready to move up into more strenuous sorts of training now that he'd passed into his second awakening, but given that it was still so fresh she advised some of the lighter training to help ease him into it, to help him get a good feel for the Aura passing through his body.
In all honesty, it's working. He was feeling the new rush of Aura through his system as he meditated and... well, it felt good. While nothing would ever hit that high of the first few moments of his awakening, it was still very close. The sensation of new power intermingling with the strength of soul that he had come to be familiar with... it was actually a bit intoxicating. It made him feel comfortable, safe, warm and just... strong. In a way that he didn't feel way back when he was younger.
"What's up Pyrrha?" he asked, eyebrow quirked as the both of them started to relax, it being clear that his meditation was being put on hold or, if it was about the tutoring, ended in favor of him teaching Pyrrha what he knew.
"Well... it's just something that's been on my mind after your second awakening. You've only recently awakened your Aura, and before that most experts said you were a Moon Child, correct?" Izuku noded, that having been well trodden ground for the both of them. "Right. Well you've talked about that a lot and told us alot about what life was like for you then... but I don't think we've actually heard anything about the day you had your Aura awakened or who did it for you."
He froze up a bit as Pyrrha said that, Izuku fighting his body as a nervous sweat threatened to break out across his skin. "I mean, if all the experts told you that it was impossible then this must've been someone who was greatly experienced with Aura and training it for him to recognize your weakened Aura as still capable. Plus I can't imagine what it was like for you to have it awakened after so long... so I was just a little curious. What was this man, or woman, like? What happened that made them discover your potential."
'Oh boy…'
He looked off to the side as he gathered his thoughts. He supposed a question like that was bound to pop up eventually. After all, while they'd spoken at length about his experiences, he had never really enlightened anyone about his meeting with Toshinori in any way shape or form. He didn't even give out vague answers really… he just avoided the topic all together.
'It was only natural that someone would ask about it sooner or later,' he admitted to himself, 'Now the question was how to handle it.'
Izuku didn't consider himself much of a skilled liar but... well, it might've been possible that Pyrrha would believe him no matter what he said, provided it sounded reasonable. 'Still... I really don't want to have to lie to her...it feels...wrong.'
' And just asking her to avoid it entirely might give off the wrong idea as well; this was a happy moment for me and, even if I never directly spoke about it, it's clear it was a 'good' moment when my aura Aura was unlocked.'
If he said that he really didn't want to unveil any information about it, people would just take it as being something really important. Which, granted, it was but he didn't want people to think that. Finally he really doubted he could come up with a good distraction to keep her from asking that ever again or, more realistically, in the minutes after the distraction was done. Still, he couldn't tell her the truth either. He'd promised Toshinori that no one would know...
And Pyrrha wouldn't. She wouldn't know about Toshinori, his condition or One For All. He could give her enough of the truth to satisfy her, he was sure. He just needed to be careful...
"To be honest... I ran into them kind of on accident?" He chuckled nervously as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head, Pyrrha seeming a little surprised that he deigned to give her any information at all after his silence. "You see... a while back, a handful of Grimm had somehow gotten past Mountain Glenn's defense system and they were running wild. One of them ended up cornering... someone and I... kinda... sorta... ran in to try to help them." Pyrrha blinked slightly, though there was some clear amusement in her green eyes.
"This being before you had your Aura unlocked, correct?" She's smiling as she says that and while Izuku did sigh, it's with a slightly amused grin on his face as well.
"Yeah, I've kinda always been like this. Stupid, reckless and... not really thinking things through when it comes to situations like this."
He swore he heard her mutter 'I wouldn't call it that' under her breath before he continued on.
"Well... needless to say I really didn't do anything much. I couldn't handle the Grimm that was there, heck, not a lot of the Hunters who were there could at all either. In the end I just ended up being a distraction while... they came. Afterward the person came by and we talked a little bit. I told them about my dream and my... condition... and they said they might be able to help." He scratched the back of his head. He was mixing up the order of events a little, of course, but he didn't really think that mattered too, too much.
"I don't really remember what exactly happened, sorry to say. The entire thing was just kind of a rush for me and by the end of it, I had my Aura. Afterward, they asked me to keep them anonymous, so I can't tell you who they were. Sorry to say but after what they did, it's the least I can do for them. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just..." Pyrrha shook her head.
"It's okay, I understand. Though I'm just a bit mystified as to why someone who did something so kind would want to keep that secret." Izuku shrugged a bit helplessly as he scratched at the back of his head. He knew why of course but it was better to just be vague about it. "Still, thank you for telling me Izuku. I didn't know they asked you to do that but... well, it's good to know this, I think." He blinked a bit and tilted his head to the side as Pyrrha smiled. "It helps me understand my partner a bit more. Gives me a little more insight." He nodded in understanding as Pyrrha elaborated, though he couldn't help but, in turn, feel a few of his own curiosities bubble up.
"Pyrrha, would you mind if I asked you something I was curious about?" He decided it'd be polite to ask first. After all, while not quite as invasive... he thought? It'd still be polite to ask Pyrrha before barging on ahead. A slight smile and a shake of her head gave Izuku the okay to go right ahead. "Your weapons, the spear, the short sword, the rifle and the shield. I can't imagine it was easy learning to use all of those at once, especially considering you use your spear and shield in two manners as well."
Honestly, it really did boggle his mind. Using her shield as a defense, using it as a offensive throwing weapon, the use of her spear as a close-combat and somewhat long spear or using it as a javelin, both of which he had come to understand as distinctive skills and then finally wrapping it up with a short sword. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that the spear and short sword could also turn into a 'rifle' that could fire at some pretty considerable ranges.
All of which she was proficient at. That's what really boggled the mind was that Pyrrha was so good at using every single weapon in her arsenal. Crescent Rose, on its own, was probably the single-most difficult weapon to use that Izuku knew of simply because that was the nature of the Sniper Scythe, but what Pyrrha was doing was taking a handful of moderately difficult or even simple items to use in combat and then 'mastering them all at once'.
"It's really kind of incredible that you're so good with all of it... but I have to assume that took a lot of time, right? Time you could've spent doing other stuff or focusing on mastering a smaller suite of weapons. Instead you've gotten really amazing at using all these different kinds of weapons so I'm just wondering what drove you to do so?" A slight blush colored Pyrrha's cheeks as he described her skills, the former tournament fighter just shrugging her shoulders as she looked off to the side.
"Oh it's not so incredible..." His disbelieving look caused her to chuckle as she shook her head. "Okay, maybe but really, it isn't that impressive when you consider the amount of time I put into all of it." Pyrrha folded her legs a bit as she spoke, getting into a bit more of a comfortable position. "Part of it was my manager's idea."
She stopped for a second, almost as though she had smelled something truly foul, before shaking her head, and continuing.
"Mistrali Tournament fighting can bring you up against a wide range of foes and opponents, all of which brings their own sets of weapons and skills. While you haven't been on the Mistrali Tournament scene, your fights with Mitsu and Owari should give you some insight; they're both a little more on the long-range side, but they both brought unique talents. I not only fought people with unique talents but who, on the whole, brought a whole suite of skills. Some were best in close range, other long range and some just depended on their abilities or Semblances to get an advantage. The idea was that if I was capable of fighting at all different ranges myself, then I would be in a position to challenge and beat just about anyone."
"Which was correct... and my own natural talent for fighting helped me to accomplish this. It's not like other people haven't thought of specializing in every range of fighting of course, but most just don't have the time, patience or talent to do so in so many fields... I ended up having the talent and the patience and time was just made for me to specialize in it all." She scratched her arm a bit as she looked down a little. "I also liked the idea myself. It gave me a sense of control over any battle I'd participate in. No matter who I'd be up against I could feel certain that, with just a switch of a weapon, I'd be able to meet them on the field of battle and then take control of it myself. My Semblance helped a lot with that..." Pyrrha chuckled slightly, as if a stray thought came across her mind.
"In the end my school even allowed for most of my work in the tournament field to count toward my grades. After all, if the 'Invincible Girl' wasn't suited to fighting Grimm or taking down criminals if she ever decided to stop fighting in tournaments, who would be? Of course, we've seen that I lack a few skills that you and some of the others do because of that overspecialization." Izuku nodded, both his eyes glancing over to the books he had ready on a nearby desk. When they both were done with the Aura training, he'd be moving on to continuing to tutor her about Huntsmen and Grimm. Information that she seemed to know general knowledge about but really lacked the firm academic grounding he might've expected. "I just didn't have the time for anything else besides that... not my studies or much else." She scratched at the back of her head as she said that, a slight frown crossing his features. He looked down for a moment, trying to think of how to shift the mood, before brightening up a bit as he looked back up to meet Pyrrha's gaze.
"So what about the high heels then?" Pyrrha's green eyes blinked as she looked back up at Izuku, confusion clear on her face. "I mean, I tried to ask Weiss about hers and she just said that they were 'combat heels'. I guess I get it, like, if you kick a Grimm it's going to hurt more, but wasn't it really uncomfortable and really hard to learn to fight in them?" He saw the wheels behind Pyrrha's eyes as she processed what he said. Soon enough a small grin formed on her face as Pyrrha placed her hand over her mouth to conceal a few chuckles.
"Well, I certainly don't know much about 'combat heels' but for my case... well, it was just an image thing. I looked taller and more imposing in them and it made me look more refined. So I learned how to fight in heels and... well, now I'm so used to it that I barely even notice when they're on. I just got kind of used to it." Izuku nodded, figuring it had been something like that, as Pyrrha gave him an appreciative smile. "Well, I think we're done with Aura training for the day. How about we go ahead and move on to those studies?"
"Sound good to me Pyrrha." He nodded in agreement, both of them clearly ready to move on.
"Alright ya bunch of newbies! Huddle up and listen close because, while I'd be more than happy to repeat myself, Professor Aizawa here will be less inclined!" Toshinori declared, nice and loud, as he stood next to Professor Aizawa, the seemingly sleep deprived man just nodding numbly next to him as, at the same time, he rubbed at his ears from the noise Toshinori was making.
"Right... thanks Yagi..." Toshinori seemed a little put off, but just for a moment, as Aizawa stepped forward. "Yagi's already explained most of the meat behind this exercise so I'll go over the actual finer points of how you'll be scored on it. Scattered around Beacon Academy's campus, and I mean the 'entire thing' are going to be three targets. One is myself, one is Yagi and one is an Atlesian Droid. The Droid is programmed with the patterns and behaviors of an Alpha Beowolf and will act as if it is with a pack. While it won't attack you upon being discovered it will force you to give chase. Tag it and you'll be given a score there."
"Then there's Yagi who'll be taking on the behaviors and mannerisms of an adept criminal. He'll be fresh off a 'heist' and his primary goal will be to give you the slip while he hangs on to his bag of loot. Tag Yagi and you'll be given points from him. Finally there's me, and I'll be a 'Hunter'. Find me, tag me, earn some... bonus points." They all raised their eyebrows as Aizawa leaned his head back and pulled out a bottle of eye drops, plopping them in. "To pass you only need to tag the 'Grimm' and 'Criminal' targets. Get me and you'll just earn some additional points in both Toshinori's class and mine. If you are finding schoolwork to be a bit hard or the exams a terrifying prospect, this could be your chance to mitigate whatever plunge your grades might take from them."
"Alright, so where are you all gonna be?" A voice called out from the crowd as Aizawa turned to it.
"You won't know... and that's the challenge." Everyone muttered amongst themselves as Aizawa turned to face all of them. "If you all have been paying attention in other classes you'll be able to get a good idea of where the Droid might be on campus or where Yagi will be hiding or or running around in to avoid you. Think of places where Grimm might congregate and places where criminals might slip into in order to try to give the law a run for their money... as for Hunters? Well, you'll have to get creative in figuring that out. Only one or two of you will probably end up finding me... if any of you at all. You have to figure out how to find a Hunter if you're going to get me... that's the only hint I'll give you." Everyone just blinked at the very vague description Aizawa gave. "Of course if you find the Hunter and not the other targets then that will be counted to your pass or fail here... but that goes without saying, honestly."
"When the horn sounds in five minutes you'll have an hour to start hunting around for us. Good luck." With that Aizawa and Toshinori quickly vanished, leaving them all to stand around and think about their options.
'Alright, so, we have an hour to do all this,' Izuku began to run through the scenario in his head, 'That's fine. I can work with this.'
If he took his time at various locations he was sure that he'd be able to spot out his targets (if they were, in fact, there which you hoped they would be) before moving on. As his fellow students immediately ran off in search of the various targets, he rested his hand on his chin as he thought deeply about the various considerations in play. Lacking any kind of in-depth knowledge about criminals himself, he realized that finding Toshinori, wherever he'd end up being, would probably be the second hardest task. He decided to leave that to the side and focus on finding The Grimm first. He knew plenty about the Grimm, him have a full notebook about them, and so he was left just thinking over some things carefully. Given that it was programmed to think and move like a Beowolf, he imagined that he wouldn't find it out in the open or easily. It would be looking for a wooded area as well, it was... he hesitated to call any place a Grimm might live a 'natural habitat' given how unnatural the Grimm themselves are but, hey, that description matched what he was thinking better than anything else.
That left two options in Izuku's mind; the Emerald Forest's treeline or the Beacon gardens. The gardens seemed like the easier logistical fit; after all, they were closer to campus so the signal would be stronger and the Emerald Forest itself would be a much harder sell given that it was actually legitimately dangerous.
'However…'
Going by Aizawa's wording, Izuku did think that the Emerald Forest would be the stronger option. And, actually, thoughts about the signal strength of the droid and worries about safety did give Izuku an idea; maybe it wouldn't actually be 'deep' in the Emerald Forest but, rather, on its periphery. Some place students could get away from quickly and that wouldn't attract too much attention.
With that in mind he quickly headed off.
He'd figure that an Atlesian Knight would stick out like a sore thumb when stomping around the Emerald Forest acting like an Alpha Beowolf. Honestly, when he 'did' eventually find its tracks, Izuku found that yes, they were quite easy to find.
It was finding those tracks in the first place that took up time, however. The Emerald Forest's treeline wasn't exactly all that small, quite the contrary it was quite long and quite expansive, much like the forest itself. Izuku supposed, for his own sake, that Toshinori and Aizawa wouldn't have the Atlesian Knight wander off too far, like near the cliffs where the forest would cut him off from Beacon Academy's more general campus, but even cutting that out it still left quite a bit of ground to cover. Thankfully he did find it eventually and, for his trouble, Izuku was treated to the rather amusing sight of an Atlesian Knight, stiff joints and all, trying to walk around like Beowolf, a few digital howls being released from it as it moved around.
Honestly, it got a good chuckle out of him right before he set on 'tagging' the thing. Izuku didn't know how exactly he was supposed to tag it and, after chasing it around for a bit, he found that his Scroll vibrated when he managed to close the distance to it. A quick read of his screen showed a small checklist, The Grimm, The Criminal and The Hunter, with 'The Grimm' checked off from the list.
Well, that answered one question and raised another; 'tagging' a target was just getting close enough to it for his Scroll to register whatever the heck it was register.
'How...how did my Scroll know this?'
He just kept looking at it for a moment.
'Did...did Professor Aizawa tamper with it somehow…but, well I guess it is Beacon's Scroll really...but Weiss and Pyrrha have their own scrolls...did he-no Izuku get back on track. Ask the professor later.'
For now, he just started to run back off toward Beacon's Campus; it was time to catch a criminal!
Ten minutes gone and he hadn't found Toshinori 'anywhere' near the CCT. He had searched high, he had searched low and he had searched amidst the people running around, their bags held in hand, as they tried to make their way to the CCT and away from it in order to get on with their busy lives. Izuku'd noticed a great deal of students during his searching as well, all of whom were searching either around the area or were heading off to the residential area to search there. Or, Hell, some were even heading back to Beacon Academy itself and the teacher's lounge. Izuku and some others had split off somewhere along the way and began searching the various back corners of Beacon's Campus, looking for Toshinori and trying to find even a trace of him.
He was honestly not sure if he was glad or embarrassed when he ended up finding his hero and mentor with a burlap sack on his back and a bit of cloth tied around his head to disguise his blonde hair, the two antennae-like strands of hair pushing the cloth back a bit as they stood up straight. Izuku supposed it was fitting enough; he'd tied himself up and thrown himself onto an Atlesian Droid last week in order to play his Team's 'hostage' during that live exercise. Still, that he found him just around a corner, keeping an eye out for students, showed that he'd managed to catch him unawares...
Either that or he was so good at playing his role that he was-
"I sure do hope a Huntsman doesn't stop sitting around thinking and confront me while I have my bag of loot on me. That would be a poor way to end my villainous, criminal career."
Okay no he knew Izuku was here. The young man just sighed a bit as he scratched the back of his head.
'Well if Toshinori was supposed to be playing some common crook…'
"CRIMINAL SCUM, STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU! WHY?!" Toshinori's head practically snapped as he turned to face the sound of Izuku's voice as he jumped into the backalley of the two buildings, gathering up his best face as he placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest.
"BECAUSE I'M IZUKU MIDORIYA, AND I AM HERE!"
...
...
...
"AH-HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAA! HA HA HA HAAAA HA HA HA!" The silence between Izuku declaring himself and Toshinori busting a gut laughing only held for but a few moments as the Symbol of Peace and Hope's laughter started reverberating across the alley, one hand held tightly around his burlap sack while the other was placed against his forehead. The titan of a man bent forward and back as he tried his best to contain himself from his laughter.
Izuku, on the other hand?
VRRRT!
"Huh?" Toshinori was snapped out of his laughing fit at the sound of Izuku's Scroll vibrating, the Symbol of Peace and Hope just looking down at the little device as he held it up close to him, its screen showing 'The Criminal' being checked off.
"Gotcha." Izuku said with an embarrassed blush as he sheepishly scratched at the back of his head. Toshinori, on the other hand, just stared at him for a long moment before, eventually, his signature smile stretches even further across his face.
"Well done Young Man!" His voice boomed nice and loud as he set the burlap sack to the side, the sound of... pots and pans, Izuku thought, clattering around as he clapped him on the shoulder. "While you aren't the first person I've seen today, I have to admit, your strategy for getting in close to me was quite... unique." Izuku saw his smile threaten to give way to more laughter as he coughed into his fist for a moment. "Good work young Midoirya, you've found your Criminal."
"Thank you Toshinori, sir!" Izuku quickly correct himself to try to sound much more official, knowing that if anyone came by hearing Izuku sound in any way casual with Toshinori might tip them off to the two's relationship. "If you don't mind me asking, sir... why the back alleys? I mean, that's kind of stereotypical an where a lot of people would look first. Why not go to the CCT or the Residential Area to try to hide out?" Toshinori just grinned nice and wide before motioning to himself. Izuku blinked for a moment, slightly confused, before more insistent hand gestures from Toshinori finally tipped him off...
Oh right. Toshinori Yagi was a man who pretty much cleared seven feet tall, easily, was super muscular and had giant blonde strands of hair standing up even taller. It'd be hard to miss him.
"While a Grimm's pattern of behaviors can be easily memorized and best guesses as to their location easy to surmise simply because of habit, even in more intelligent ones, criminals, you'll find, are much more aware. While someone not too bright or easily panicked will just go out and try to find the place where they can hide among people, those with more sense in their head will realize their limitations. Some of them are simply too tall to stand around normal people unseen. Others are just very easily recognizable... if the criminal we asked you to pursue in this test was Adam Taurus, I don't think you'd have a hard time imagining why we wouldn't place someone who's supposed to 'look' like that at the CCT."
Because they'd stand out like a sore thumb; everyone knew what Adam Taurus looks like. If a Hunter didn't find him in a crowd, people would surely point him out.
"Back alleys, as you say, are stereotypical but often serve that purpose precisely because more clever crooks will realize that, while hiding in a crowd can be good, if you're spotted easily or too readily recognizable then the advantages of being in a sea of people will turn into an immediate disadvantage." Toshinori jabbed a thumb toward himself. "For me, I would've been being stopped by just about everyone out there... maybe not for the reasons this test would like, but for similar enough reasons. And with my physique I'd be easily spotted out. Thus, I would need to change my thinking if I was going to hide successfully... as a Huntsman, a big part of your job is anticipating that."
"Like I said, the Grimm can be easy to predict but people? People are very volatile young Midoriya, and some can be quite clever. Always keep your wits about you and not only anticipate what you think will be the best move but what your 'opponent' will think will be the best move. If you're able to keep both things in mind then exercises like this, and more, will be quite easy for you. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir!" Izuku gave a firm nod, a wide smile on his face as Toshinori just nodded.
"Very good! Now then, I have to imagine that if you, of all people, are here that means you've found The Grimm already, correct?" he nodded again, Toshinori's smile widening. "Excellent, then you've passed with time to spare. I assume you'll be going for The Hunter then next, correct?" Izuku nodded again as Toshinori's brow furrowed, interest obvious on his features. "Well? Do you have a plan?"
Izuku sheepishly scratched the back of head, chuckling slightly.
"Yeah, I do. Though whether or not Professor Aizawa will like it... well, it'll probably remain to be seen."
Shota Aizawa was many things. Unkempt, unshaven, generally considered poor company, the weird guy who sleeps in the cocoon looking thing...
Oh, and maybe he just happened to be the Eraser Huntsman, one of the more feared Urban Hunters to make the scene in the past twenty years.
And he just got an... interesting call from Glynda Goodwitch.
"Mr. Midoriya asked me to give him your locations just now, said he was looking for you. I was... confused when you didn't appear to be in your office. Should I redirect him?"
Izuku Midoriya. A very weird kid, all told. Poor combat scores back at Mountain Glenn, but noted for being an academically minded sort. A weird one for Toshinori to pick out as his favorite in that school year. Toshinori was loud, brash, loved the attention he got and jumped into situations without thinking. Izuku Midoriya, conversely, was quiet, often seemed to lack even basic amounts of self confidence and self-worth, shrunk under the attention of his peers... and, as Aizawa become acutely aware, thought through situations with a mind for picking them apart and making the best move he could.
'This kid...' The thought rang through his mind as he dripped a few drops into his eyes, blinking slightly. He'd told Glynda not to worry and that he was just out for a bit of a stroll and to send Izuku his way.
Yes, the kid who repeatedly managed to find the little nooks and crannies in his instructions that he could squeeze through to succeed, above and beyond considerations for his own glory or ideas of pride, was an odd match when it came to Toshinori. There were only two things about the two that made them even remotely similar; their Semblances and their sense of heroism...
Maybe that was the important part for Toshinori. After all, the kid seemed to practically transform himself during the Initiation when he needed to, going from meek and worried to rushing in to danger to save his partner, even at his own expense. The Semblance was... impractical, in Aizawa's opinion, but he knew he was taking lengths to control it better. Plus, whether Aizawa liked his Semblance or not, the kid had the personal combat capacity to fight the Grimm. Took on three Beowolves by himself, after all, and really that's all anyone needed to be a Huntsman. Whether their Semblance was suited to killing Grimm wasn't something taken into account, especially if it was a Semblance that could be used elsewhere.
It'd make him a bit of a hypocrite if he held it against Izuku Midoriya that, in common situations, his Semblance wouldn't be useful against the Grimm.
If he had thought that Ozpin had any sense when it came to teams, he'd swear that's why Izuku's team ended up the way it did. Team MNVW, once it really got down to mastering that aspect of itself, would be a strong combat team. The team as a whole would be able to handle most Grimm on their own, and most criminals, with that smash of Midoriya's being an ace in the hole. Of course, Ozpin was irrational and insisted on randomizing the teams or, in his words, 'allowing destiny to settle things'.
If it weren't for the ways in which Ozpin was a perfectly rational Headmaster, Aizawa would swear he'd have left the school above the annoying complains of his partner insisting he stick around.
"Uuuh... Professor Aizawa?"
Speaking of.
The professor looked down at Izuku Midoriya as he looked up in turn. He'd gotten himself a nice little perch on the school grounds, a random rooftop that wasn't easily accessible. The elevator stopped on the floor below and you'd have to find the service stairs in order to make the rest of the way up. Most students wouldn't go through the hassle and those that might be inclined to do so would probably be too busy looking literally everywhere else for him, inspecting every last corner to try to find him.
It was a solid combination for deterring people finding him on accident; too much work for some and out of the way from those who might be inclined to check.
The only people who'd find it would be those who had some sense.
"Midoriya." Aizawa answered back, his tone its usual gruff monotone as he stared back at the young man. Izuku was sweating a bit, clearly wondering if he was were somehow displeased with him showing up in the manner he did, before he lifted Aizawa's Scroll up. "Tell me Midoriya, how familiar are you with the functionality of your Scroll?" He blinked at his professor a few times in some confusion, before snapping in realization.
"Oh you mean like how it could randomly tag the targets?"
"I guess that's a start, yes." Aizawa raised a hand to keep him from asking his next question. "Relax, I didn't mess with your Scroll... it was programmed like that from the start when you got handed it. A lot of features that we didn't quite explore at the start." Izuku nodded but... he still looked curious.
"Then what about the people who came to Beacon with their own Scrolls?"
"Part of the application process is the promise that you'll drop off your Scroll to be inspected by Beacon Academy. It's mostly to make sure you aren't bringing anything malicious into the school or something we don't know about but... well, we take the opportunity to make sure you all will have what you need going in. Scrolls don't exactly come with programs linking them up to the Sparring Arenas on their own, after all." It made enough sense and it was one of the things Aizawa was quite glad that Ozpin thought through. "But that's not what I'm talking about." He finally finished fiddling with his Scroll as he showed the screen to Izuku Midoriya. He didn't really get a moment to take a good look at it before his own Scroll starts to buzz and shake. The young man quickly pulled it out and looked...
"Hey, this is-"
"A beacon to my location. I'm keeping it limited to you for now but I could spread out that signal to either anyone I have contact with, any student whose information I have or just any Hunter with this program in their Scroll in general." Aizawa put his Scroll away into his pocket as he did so, his eyes boring into Izuku Midoriya's. "Fun fact; while every other teacher on campus has been instructed not to come if a signal like that gets sent by a student participating in this exercise, I would have."
"What? You mean it was that easy?" Aizawa grinned a bit, though it couldn't be seen under the wraps bundled up around his shoulders.
"That easy." The professor reached under his wraps to scratch at his chin a bit, the hair underneath itching. "I have to admit, I haven't had a student go out to ask a teacher for where I'm at, but I suppose it works under the same principle of what I'm trying to get at here." He looked back at Aizawa as the older man crossed his arms. "Given what happened to you and your partner in the Emerald Forest, I don't think I need to explain to you that often times a single Hunter won't cut it for a job. Even when you get really good, often times one man isn't going to be enough to see to it that everything that needs to be done in a mission will get done. It's an overused example but it works; even Toshinori didn't save everyone in Mountain Glenn on his own, several other Hunters had to be around to help keep people safe while he did the work he did." Aizawa watched him nod in understanding. Good, at least it wasn't coming off as some kind of foreign idea to him.
"That's why you're assigned partners and teams early, to help build that sort of mindset... still, there will be times where a job will surprise you. Where the resources and people you bring in to accomplish a goal just aren't going to be enough. In those cases..." Aizawa cut it off, motioning for him to pick up the piece.
"... We need to call for help." he nodded as Izuku seemed to catch on.
"A Hunter will always be found where there's trouble Midoriya... and if we know there's trouble, we'll arrive even sooner. Sending signals like this, or any other sign that you're in danger, can and will save your life." Aizawa crossed his arms. "Or you can go looking for help beforehand. There's no shame in admitting when a task is too much for you to handle on your own or with what resources you're initially prescribed. Not asking for help or looking for it because you're proud or stubborn is just irrational. More likely to get you or your team killed than anything." Izuku Midoirya gave the professor a somewhat grim nod as he said that.
"Sir... if I didn't know about this, then I can't imagine the others would have either. How were we supposed to find you without getting this information."
"... Well, they can do what you did and just ask."
...
Aizawa watched as Izuku Midoriya slapped himself on the forehead. "Ask a stupid question kid." the professor shrugged as he went back to looking over Beacon Academy. "Anyway, you've passed with flying colors. You can either wait for the time to go out and join your team after Toshinori and I get done talking to them or you can run off and do... I dunno, whatever you do in your free time. Not really my concern once class is 'over'." he saw Izuku blanch a bit as he spoke like that but he just nodded and turned to walk off.
Yeah, it really was that simple... just ask.
It said a lot, however, that Aizawa only ended up surprised when someone actually would ask.
Aizawa felt a slightly wide grin stretch across his lips as the door closed behind him, "This kid..."
E/N: The Heels bit we see in the Pyrrha social, was inspired by a canon omake by thebebb, but due to scheduling issues due to the glut of Outtakes that were written early on in the quest, you probably won't see it for a while.
-Shovern