'It really has been quiet recently,' Izuku thought.
After the business with the Monochrome League in the Tunnels and the initial excitement of his first few weeks at Beacon, combined with all the crazy things he had gotten up to... well, it was nice to have a week... okay no, there was that thing with Neopolitan a couple of days ago actually. Well, to have at least a couple of days where nothing too crazy happened. Whether it be an exciting development like with Full Cowling or a whole big thing like Kacchan or Team CRDL, it was just nice to have a couple of quiet days. It gave Izuku a sense of peace that let him recover mentally even after his body was done recovering physically. Stuff like Blake's revelations, the constant trials of being a student here at Beacon and, of course, the investigation were all great things in their own way, of course, that made him closer friends with people or brought him closer to being the person he wanted to be.
But now and then, a day like today where Izuku could just walk down the halls, a nice book in his hand while Izuku enjoyed himself was just appreciated. Peace really was what being a Hunter was all about; bringing about a more peaceful, more quiet world so that people could live their lives happily. Hey, why couldn't that include him from time to time? Izuku smiled as he flipped a page in his book, deeply interested in its contents. After a while, nose buried in his book as it was, perhaps it wasn't of any surprise when Izuku did run into someone in the hall. Izuku gave a slight 'oof' as he bounced off of them; they must've been walking in the opposite direction of him and they both just so happened to run into each other. Izuku smiled apologetically as he dropped his book; honestly, he should've been watching himself.
"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to run into you, I was just kinda engrossed in..."
Izuku stopped slowly as the frowning visage of Sky Lark stood in front of him, his Halberd held casually in his left hand as he gave Izuku a quick nod and a faux-friendly grin.
"Ah, no worries, that was just as much my mistake. Really."
...
'Yeah, that wasn't an accident'. Izuku frowned slightly as he glanced back over his shoulder, a quick turn that he'd missed just behind him. Izuku offered as friendly a look as he could as he nodded.
"Well, let's not worry about it. Nothing for us to strain ourselves over, right? Just an accident." Izuku backed away slowly at that, honestly not looking for a fight, as he moved back towards the turn in the hallway...
Only for Dove Bronzewing and his sword to come into the picture.
"Yeah, just an accident. That's all it was, right?" The light brown-haired young man remarked, tapping his fingers against the hilt as Izuku looked behind himself. No surprise, Russel Thrush and his daggers, spinning carelessly in his hands, approached him from behind.
"Like getting us to clean up all the Gods damned toilets in this school for the past few weeks was an accident, right Deku?"
...
Izuku sighed a bit; CRDL hadn't been quiet because they'd turned over a new leaf.
"Right." Coming up just behind Russel was Cardin, again no surprise, as the tallest of the Team hefted his mace, that weapon of his, over his shoulder as he fell in behind Russel. "Just an accident. Easy enough to forgive and forget those. At least, that's what my old man always says. So we thought we'd drop by with a bit of an invitation there Deku; my Team actually signed up for a couple of hours of training over in one of the arenas. We did leave a space open though just in case someone else would be interested in joining us. How's about it, chum? Take us up on our invitation?"
"..."
Izuku licked his lips slightly as he looked around him, Izuku's mind whirring at a mile a minute. 'What to do...'
He took a moment to think over his options, knowing that taking much longer than that might elicit a response out of Team CRDL as their fuses ran short. As Izuku took that split second to think, the seed of an idea set itself in his mind and bloomed rapidly. He'd have to play some of it by ear but... well, it was worth a shot, right? Izuku sighed as he closed his eyes. With a shrug of his shoulders, Izuku opened them again, looking right at Cardin.
"Alright Cardin, sounds... 'fun', I guess. Let's get going before someone notices."
...
That seemed to get most of CRDL's attention. While Cardin's grin just grew a bit, the large young man fiddling with his Mace's grip in his hand as he looked approvingly at Izuku... the other three visibly flinched back for a moment. It was mostly short-lived with Sky who looked towards Cardin's continued confidence and shrugged, hefting his halberd over his shoulder and out of its more threatening grip now that Izuku had agreed to go along. However, it was clear that Russel and Dove didn't take Izuku's sudden show of spine too well. None too well at all. They both glanced nervously over at Cardin, who just looked down at the two of them, his brow furrowed and his eyes 'quite' narrow.
"There a problem with our friend here being so willing, boys?" Cardin kept an even tone as he spoke, though the slight glower in it didn't escape Izuku or Dove and Russel. Sky rolled his eyes at his fellow teammate's show of cowardice, disapproving along with Cardin, while Dove took one good look at Cardin and straightened out his spine.
"Nah Cardin, that's a good thing right? Can't afford to waste time while we've got the arena rented, right? I mean, the sooner we get over there, the sooner we can all train to our heart's content, right?" Dove chuckled a bit, trying to pass off his sudden lack of nerve as mere surprise. It seemed to placate Cardin who seemed ready to move out were it not for Russel suddenly coughing into his fist.
"Cardin... look man, this was supposed to be really easy. We saw how he reacted in the middle of those fights, he was all... you know, acting all nervous or stuttering like an bitch and all that good shit. Look at him now though, he's not even phased... it's like with Baku-"
Before Russel could even finish his sentence the scrawny, shorter young man was picked up by the scruff of his shirt quite easily, Cardin holding him aloft with one arm as he looked down at Russel.
"So, there is a problem then Russel? That's what I'm hearing?"
Izuku swore he'd never seen the color drain out of someone's face so quickly as it had with Russel.
"Whaaat? Psssh, n-nah Cardin, nah, that's not what I was getting at. I was just sayin', you know... this was supposed to be a little fun! He was supposed to act all scared and nervous, you know, but now he's actin' like he stands a chance! Just something we could keep in mind in case he tries to act all brave and shit going in, right? Might try to surprise us is all..." Russel's ramblings were as quick as they were forced, the young man practically not breathing in between each thought. Cardin waited for a moment before letting Russel stand under his own power again, the larger young man grinning slightly as he looked down at his teammate.
"Right, of course, that's what you meant. After all, we don't have shit to worry about. Deku here, well, you saw how hesitant he was to use that fancy little Smash against his friend 'Kacchan'. Only really started fingerin' when it came to that blonde bimbo Xiao Long which, hey." The other members of the crew chuckled at that, Russel being somewhat more nervous as it was clear that he wasn't entirely sold at that point. "Deku here's a shrub, we got nothin' to worry about. Now, let's get going. Don't want to leave our guest waiting after he's so 'kindly' accepted our invitation."
With that, Sky fell in behind Izuku as Cardin and led the pack; Dove remained on the side of Izuku that his hall had been while Russel, very skittishly, quickly fell into the other side, the nervous, scrawny fellow scratching at his arm as the five of them walked along. Thankfully, the pace seemed about as slow as Izuku might've wanted or could've reasonably expected; it was clear that CRDL, judging by what Russel had said at the beginning, were expecting Izuku to either stall for time to come up with something or to just flat out run away, given their formation and the pace they were taking. They wanted to make sure Izuku didn't bolt off and, more than likely, wanted time for the situation to sink in and spook him. It was a power play by Cardin more than anything else, an attempt to exert some level of influence over Izuku...
Though Izuku did not doubt that when they got to the arena, Cardin would have tried to beat him into a bloody pulp where he thought he could get away with it. Still, with that in mind, Izuku's next tact was set and he looked about at the four of them, a curious expression on his face.
"You know, I get why you guys want to fight me. I get it; scrubbing Beacon's toilets probably sucked horribly, can't have been fun..." The four young men looked at Izuku with irritation but, before any of them could chime in for him to shut his mouth, he continued. "Still, what I don't get is why you guys are setting yourselves up for a fall like this."
"The Hell you talkin' about Deku. There's nothin' being set up here. We're just taking you in for a friendly workout is all. Don't be so paranoid there 'chum'." Sky said from behind him, giving Izuku a forced friendly grin as he just rolled his eyes a bit.
"Sure, of course... you realize that the same cameras that spotted you guys out last time are still soundless, right? Just images?" With that cue, Izuku drew his attention and thus, CRDL's, attention up to one of the cameras in the hallway, rubbing at his throat a bit with the palm of his hand as he looked over at the rest of them. "Now... call me crazy, and I know you guys are being... 'friendly', but this is going to look like for all the world that you guys are kind of... you know, bullying me into someplace to try to beat the crap out of me, right? I mean, you've said you're not but, well, audio isn't going to do you much good compared to how it looks." Playing into their words as best he could, Izuku did a quick slit-of-the-throat motion with his hand following all that.
"I'm just saying; you guys have already pretty well pushed a lot of the faculty here, haven't you? Right now, all of Team CRDL's on watch because of what happened with the toilets a while back. There's no way you guys are completely off the hook for that, right?" The various members of Team CRDL glanced at each other, even as Cardin glared hard at them. "I'm just sayin', it seems weird that you guys would be taking a chance like this when you're pretty much on your last leg with the school, right? The second people see this and take a good, long hard think about why you guys might want to do something like this, it isn't going to look good for you at all. I'm just thinking out loud here but... well, is beating me up really worth spending your last chance on?"
The group suddenly stopped, the four members of Team CRDL... well, no, that wasn't fair to Cardin. Three members of Team CRDL stopped and looked at Izuku, the three of them nervously licking their lips as they worked over what he'd said in their mind. Cardin, on the other hand, just huffed as he hefted his mace again.
"Whatever Deku; yap all you want, but we have this in the books. It's just a friendly little spar like we said and, hey, accidents happen. So if someone were to just so happen to get beaten with an inch of unconsciousness, well, then that's just a little accident we'll have to address with the nurse. But I'm sure nothing like that will happen; it'll all be fine."
...
"C-Cardin.. are we really sure this is all worth it?" Before Cardin could start stepping forward again to lead the group away from the situation, he was immediately halted in his steps by the uncertain footsteps of the men on his team. Cardin immediately turned his head to face behind him, seeing Sky, Russel and Dove all slowly walk around Izuku to get in front of Cardin. It almost seemed like they were kowtowing to him, trying to work their way into his ego even as they spoke. "Look, this sounded like a good idea! Sounded like a real good fuckin' time to bounce Deku's head against the concrete for a few rounds but... I dunno, the runt's speakin' sense Cardin. You've seen how pissed off the staff have seemed with us lately..."
"Pfft, pissed? Yeah, that's an understatement. You see how that fuckin' dominatrix Goodwitch has been looking at us? Gods, at least when Kayama looks like she wants to eat us, it looks like a good time. Glynda looks like she'd grind us between her teeth, spit us out and then fuckin' stomp on us until we were just a bloodstain under her heel. The rest of the staff don't look too pleased either... I dunno Cardin, the shrub might be right, we might be biting into more than we can chew here..."
"Y-Yeah, l-look let's just back out of this now, all right? Look, nothing's happened, they can't stick anything on us, let's just... let's just go train and do something else! We can kick Deku's ass another time when it's sanctioned like, hey, maybe during a spar!" Russel offered, his hands clasped together in an almost pleading manner with Cardin as if hoping that his team leader would abide by their pleas.
By the looks of it, Cardin was far from amused.
"Listen to the three of you... so much for being born from better stock! What, scum of the Earth over there tries to trick you all into being scared of what might happen and you all just walk right into it? So what if some of these teachers are pissed at us, who cares. Even if they try to stick us with something over this, it won't stick. It's part of what we're owed. Besides... you guys are being paranoid idiots again." Cardin's voice lowered as he glowered at the three of them. "Nothing's going to happen. We're going to go for a friendly spar with our good friend Deku. That's it. Now calm your stupid asses down and get back in line."
Izuku got the sense that even if Cardin were an engine of charisma that his tact, his line of reasoning, wasn't going to stick with his lackeys. Lo and behold, it didn't. If anything, seeing their boss outright wave off the dangers, wave off what good points Izuku made, had stirred up their fear even more; it now seemed less like Cardin had planned for whatever fallout might come about and edged more towards that he just didn't care. Russel, the most frightened of the three, licked his lips as he looked up at his team leader.
"Look, Cardin... y-yeah, we're born better than the filth and the animals here but... come on man. You've seen how the staff treats that. It doesn't mean anything to them! It doesn't matter-"
If Russel was looking to calm Cardin down, the hand that now palmed the top of his head like a basketball sent the clear signal that he had 'failed' and failed badly. Cardin tilted Russel's head back up to look at him, a direly serious look in his eyes.
"You listen to me... I am a Winchester. I. Matter. You hear me? No one, not the animals, not the dirt, not the staff, not 'anyone' is going to say different. I will 'especially' not hear it from you, my team, my subordinates, you hear me? No one, especially not you three, are above me!" Russel just nodded his head slowly, pale as a sheet, as Cardin dropped him, the display having also shocked Sky and Dove into silence. "Now, you listen here; we're going to go to the arena. We're going to beat Deku within an inch of unconsciousness as part of a training exercise. We're going to send a message to those bitch teammates of his, that slut Xiao Long, her pet frog, that dickhead Bakugo and all the rest of them that I will not be trifled with again! Not one of them, not even that second-year bitch, has the right to look down on me. I'm not going to accept it from the old bastard, I'm definitely not going to accept it from them! They are going to know that if they keep getting in our way or belittling us that we can and will beat that little shrimp into a pulp! They can't protect him behind their skirts every single second of the day! Deku, over there, won't say a word as thanks for not pounding him into the dirt every single second of the day from here on out!"
"If you can pound me into the dirt, that is."
"Right, if..." Cardin stops his rant midway through, his eyes glanced over at Izuku as he stared at Izuku for a long, hard moment. "Want to repeat that, Deku?"
During Cardin's spiel, Izuku'd been preparing as best he could, charging Full Cowl through his body, running One For All through his veins, as he prepared to activate one of his latest techniques involving the use of One For All. Finally, as Cardin's attention was brought back to him, Izuku let go. The red streaks of light flared across his skin, just for a moment, before they sunk in. The brilliant, golden glow of Full Cowl, the rich emerald light in his eyes and the sparking, hasty green lightning that cracked off of his form now became readily apparent as he stared down all four members of Team CRDL, a serious expression on his face.
"I said if Cardin. If you can beat me. If you can win this fight... I'm just going to make it clear here and now though; that's a mighty big if you're working with there, Cardin." Izuku clenched his fists as he felt the power of One For All flowing through him. Izuku's muscles went taut and expanded ever so slightly, his skin stretched tight over them and he dug his feet slightly into the floor as Izuku stood his ground. Izuku was going to make it clear; it wasn't just a matter of them getting in trouble if they did fight him... they'll be in trouble just as part of fighting Izuku on top of it. Izuku wasn't a pushover... not anymore. He hadn't been ever since he stood up to Bakugou back in Mountain Glenn.
It would not be a cakewalk for them. Not like they'd imagined.
...
'It's amazing what the element of the unknown can do to a person's confidence,' he thought. Show someone something that they knew for a fact was dangerous and, yeah, they'd be scared of it... but show them something they had no frame of reference for, no 'idea' as to how dangerous it was or wasn't... and that fact had a way of just clawing into their minds. Izuku was no expert but, for a moment, he swore he saw colors of that twinkling across the eyes of Sky, Russel and Dove. They were staring at the bolts of electricity that flew off his skin as his body strained to contain even that small amount of One For All, they looked upon his glowing, golden skin and bright, emerald eyes... and they worried. They 'clearly' worried. Cardin, seeming to sense that, hefted his Mace and pounded it down into his hand as he looked, not at Izuku, but his three teammates. The three of them looked over to the mace, recognition plain on their faces...
Recognition... but not fear. Not like Izuku saw when they glanced back at Izuku.
Russel was the first to break, the young man having sweat up a storm by that point as he all but dropped his daggers and made a mad dash for it, much to everyone else's surprise. Cardin roared out, giving an errant swing of his mace as he cried, 'Get back here and be a man!'
Despite the volume of his voice and the clear irritation, it didn't bring Russel back who just disappeared behind a corner.
Sky was next. Despite having held out longer earlier, it was clear that the young man recognized a losing situation when he saw it. Whether it was fear of expulsion that drove him or fear that he wouldn't get the beat down he was expecting at first, the young man slipped his halberd into a holster on his back and ran past Izuku, going the opposite direction of Russel and away from where Cardin had been focusing. Cardin, caught up in surprise, almost tripped as he tried to spin around to grab at Sky, the young man absolutely gone before he could lay a finger on him. Sky looked at Izuku, fearfully, as he ran past him, taking short, erratic breaths as he sprinted off.
Cardin only needed to look at Dove for a split second before Dove himself immediately made a break for it. Cardin yelled and cussed and ranted as he swung his mace Dove's way but the young man was just too quick for his leader. Dove placed his sword back in its hilt as he ran, the young man trying not to make too much noise as he sprinted away from the scene, looking to just get out of this without any trouble.
Finally, it was just Izuku and Cardin. Alone in the hallway with no one else around. He watched as, after a series of deep breaths, Cardin turned his head to look at Izuku over his shoulder, his eyes wide in frustration and anger. However, as he watched Izuku glow with the power of 5% of One For All, he saw something else snake its way in there. Something far more uncertain...
Whatever it was, Cardin shook it off as he gritted his teeth, turning to face Izuku... but noticeably keeping his distance.
"This... this is the last straw, Deku. We're going to settle this like men! No more of you dancing around using the school, no more tricks! You got those other cowards to run... but I'm a Winchester! I will... I will not let this slight go unanswered. You hear me? I am not afraid of you! We will fight in that arena, and I will clobber you, even without them... you hear me?"
It seemed far less convincing than it had been before... even Cardin didn't seem entirely to believe it.
'More psyching himself up,' Izuku thought.
Izuku's glowing emerald gaze stared at Cardin. Even though he had to tilt his head slightly to look him in the eyes, for as far away as he was still much taller than Izuku, he kept his nerve as he nodded his head.
"Yeah Cardin, I hear you loud and clear. Let's do this then: you and me, in that arena. If you want, we can probably even get Port to oversee this fight so that you won't get in trouble for it." Cardin just gritted his teeth; unlike last time when Izuku was all too willing to walk into it with him, his acceptance, swift and unquestioning, now seemed to irritate Cardin.
"Dammit, don't think you can get a teacher to save you from this, Deku! What, are you scared, are you-"
"I don't want him there because I'm scared, Cardin. I want him there because I won't stand for this anymore." Izuku saw Cardin stop in his tracks, the young man taken aback by the bite in his tone. "I want him there because I don't want either of us in trouble Cardin... because I'm going to beat you and put an end to this." Izuku looked at him, clenching his fist as Full Cowl continued to spark and shine on his skin. "You have a bone with me, Cardin, I get that. On some level, maybe I can even understand being pissed with me... but now? Now I have a bone to pick with you too."
"What, upset that I called that little blonde you run off to Vale with a slut? Surprisingly chivalrous for a peas-"
"No Cardin. It's not about my friends; neither about you insulting them or calling them pets... though, admittedly, that does have me a 'smidge' irritated with you." Izuku cut off Cardin's attempt at a taunt as he gritted his teeth. "Yang doesn't need me to protect her from you, Cardin. Neither does Tsu, or my team, or anyone! They don't need me to stand here and protect them from you... they could kick you to the curb on their own. They choose not to because they're better than that..." Forgetting Bakugou for a moment, he continued. "It's not even because you tried to target me Cardin... I've had worse things said about me and if I can still try to help Kacchan despite everything that's happened between us, I could let something like this slide off my back..."
"It's not about any of that; that's not why I'm going to kick your ass to the curb, Cardin!" It was funny; in moments of stress, in hard moments, he found himself emulating Bakugou from time to time. Either in his aggressive stances or his own tendency to swear. It wasn't a surprise; besides Toshinori, the one Hunter Izuku always looked up to when he thought about someone who'd always try his best to win was Bakugou. "It's because of your lack of respect! Not for me, not even for my friends... but for this school and for the Hunter's profession itself!" Listening to Cardin speak so flippantly about using and abusing his power, how little he cared for either the staff or rules of a school like Beacon Academy or the qualities that made a good Hunter, nobility and justice... it struck a nerve with Izuku.
He was here so easily. He looked strong and if his breeding was half as good as he said it was, he got in here easy. He should've been grateful, humbled by his chance to serve the people as a Hunter...
"Sorry kid, it's not gonna happen."
"Oh dear... is there something wrong with him?"
"We were concerned when you informed us of his early development issues Mrs. Midoriya; even at such a young age, his Soul should've been strengthening the boy's body through exposure alone, allowing him to grow along with the rest of the kids his age. His stunted height compared to other children his age and his general physical demeanor... well, if that wasn't enough, the scans themselves make it clear."
A picture that would haunt Izuku's dreams for years to come; it was a medical scan of most of his body, hanging up next to that of an adult. The adult's body was aglow with light, a bright, luminous shine having nearly engulfed most of his physical form. Only the very defined edges of this glow gave away the presence of the man beneath the Soul. His... it was easier to see his form underneath it. What light there was in his body was dim, at best, when compared to the other. Furthermore... it wasn't just that the light was dim.
He was so empty. Black spots and long, spindling lines of 'nothing' stretched across his small body in the scan. A blackness that seemed to swallow the very light itself.
So it was true...
"It's an open and shut case... your son is a Moon Child, Mrs. Midoriya."
...
"See that mom? There's always a smile on his face no matter how bad things get... even when things seem impossible, he never gives up...
"Do you think... I can be a hero too?"
...
"I'm sorry Izuku! I wish things were different..."
"I've worked so hard my entire life to be here, Cardin. I've put everything I had into making it here to Beacon... even when I thought it was impossible when I thought it'd never happen. I made it though... despite everything I made it." Izuku resisted the urge, feeling tears threatening to build up in the corner of your eyes. It wasn't the time to cry, not at all. He blinked them away as he stared up at Cardin. "I couldn't have been luckier... I couldn't have given it any more than I could've. However, that was enough. By the skin of my teeth, I made it." Izuku's gaze narrowed as he continued to look Cardin in the eye.
"You though? You were born to be a Hunter, Cardin. You're powerful, a naturally gifted fighter... you were made to be here. Beacon was probably happy to have you! A great potential Hunter to add to their ranks... and... and you waste it. Here you are messing around, dragging your teammates into some stupid scheme that could cut your careers short just because you want to try and beat me up for some slight to your pride? You'd face expulsion not just for that, but so that you'd be free to try and mess with the hopes and dreams of other people who want to be here, who want to be Hunters, by bullying and berating them! Worse than that... you've actively tried to sabotage Kacchan's chances of becoming a Huntsman, something he's wanted for as long as I've known him..."
Izuku's gaze turned into a glare as he stared Cardin long and hard in the eye. "So yeah Cardin... we're going to fight man to man. We're going to fight in front of Port... and then when I'm done with you, I expect you to stop. You won't hurt or harass my friends or 'anyone' else ever again. You understand?"
Izuku was not sure when it happened. He'd been so busy speaking, so busy pulling himself together, to keep his anger, his frustration, his tears and his language in check that he honestly lost focus on everything else going on around he and Cardin. However, somewhere along the way in that diatribe of his... he started walking closer to Cardin. Step by step Izuku approached the young man who positively dwarfed him. Maybe not to the same degree as Yatsu, but Cardin was his physical superior, that was very clear. Despite that, something deep down inside of him, some part of his mind, drove him to confront him directly. He didn't want to just look him in the eye from a distance... he wanted to be in his face.
To show how unafraid Izuku was of him.
So it was that, by the time of his last words, by the time he had asked Cardin if he knew just what he'd gotten himself into... he stomped his foot just inches away from the taller student's. His body, shorter than Izuku thought it was, now had its chest pressed against Cardin's, his head tilted up as he glared at him in the eyes, shimmering and glowing emerald orbs having met and 'dared' dull indigo ones to look away from him. Cardin's pallor had paled, a fine layer of sweat had built upon his skin and as much as he grit his teeth, as hard as he tried to look intimidating... the fear was there. Whatever arrogance or desire for a fight there might've been in Cardin before, it'd been snuffed out.
All of that couldn't have been signaled more than by one gesture; the moment Izuku pressed his chest against Cardin's, the moment Izuku 'dared' him to push back... he stepped away. The man who was easily two heads taller than him stumbled back and away, his iron boot making a mighty clang in the hallway as he stepped away.
"T-Tch, whatever." With a mighty turn, Cardin leaned into that step away, as if trying to make it seem as though it had been an intentional move. "Try to hide behind Port's coattails if you want, I'm not dealing with that shit." A grimace and a slight grit of the teeth accompanied that as Cardin started to walk away, his pace slightly past walking as he turned his back on Izuku. "You're lucky this time Deku, but next time-"
"Cardin." Izuku's one word was enough to force Cardin to pause in place, the young man just stopping as Izuku starred a hole in the back of his head. "This isn't over. Believe you and me, this isn't over." There was a moment where Cardin waited as if expecting some action on Izuku's part. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end as he waited for some sign or signal... and when none came, the young man just scoffed again as he walked off, in more of a rush than he was even a second before. Izuku watched as Cardin walked away from the scene of their confrontation and, after he disappeared behind a corner, Izuku sighed in some relief, a worn-out expression on his face. He dropped Full Cowl as he wiped at his forehead, finally allowing some of his own stress to seep through.
"Holy woah, can't believe that actually happened..." Izuku adjusted his books in his hand, a slight frown on his face. "... I'm going to have to challenge Cardin next time the opportunity presents itself in a spar. This can't be the end... he has to know I'm serious. That all this stops no matter what." Izuku mutter to himself as he looked down at his books, distracted for just long enough...
"Holy shit..." A somewhat quiet voice mumbled off from the side, causing him to snap his corner to a different corner of the hall. A young guy in his year was watching from around the corner, his eyes slightly widened at the entire display. After he'd been caught he bristled slightly as he immediately bolted off before Izuku could even say anything. Izuku blinked a couple of times before, again, Izuku just heaved a sigh of relief and popped his book back open.
"Well, back to it then, I guess..."
xXxXxXxXxXx
The day came and went, as all days do, and tomorrow brought with it yet another lunchtime. He and his friends had all managed to meet up on the way to the dining hall from his various classes and they were all just randomly chattering and chirping about this class, that class or this thing or that thing which happened. The events yesterday with Cardin had all but faded into the back of his mind, replaced with a sense of relief that it didn't necessarily have to come down to blows to get the bully to back off and the strict, firm determination to ensure that the matter with Cardin would be concluded once and for all once spars came around.
As they all passed through the doors to the dining hall, he was met with the raucous laughter and talk of the students as most of them are perfectly fine minding their own business sitting with their friends and teammates. Honestly, it was a good scene, all told.
"Ah, stop doing that! Seriously, what did we do? Just, leave us alone, please!"
Up until he frowned and turned his gaze around to another table in the room. Despite himself and despite what he might've hoped, Team CRDL's gathered around another table. The teams they were bothering aren't exactly what he'd consider top-of-the-class material. They did fine on their own but, well, they might not be among the best. So perhaps it was of no surprise that Cardin and the others were taking some small pleasure in messing with them.
Izuku frowned at that thought; probably a way for them all to soothe their egos after he sent them running scared yesterday. When put through that lens of thought, this matter was his responsibility. Before he or his friends can say anything or, more to the point, before his own grit could get him to move along, he noticed pair of eyes from that table lock onto you and take immediate notice. Izuku's emerald eyes blink in surprise; it was the young man from yesterday who had, apparently, paid witness to his little conflict with the members of Team CRDL. While CRDL's busy pushing around some fella sitting at the table, the young man discreetly got up and immediately moved his way.
"H-Hey, you're the guy from yesterday, right? Deku?"
"Uh... my name's not Deku, it's actually-"
"Whatever, listen... my friends over there, Cardin and his goons have been hounding us all semester! Look... please? Help us out? You sent them packing yesterday so it should be easy for you, right?"
"... The Hell is this guy talkin' about, Deku?" Bakugou called out from his position with the rest of Team RSBR, causing Izuku to frown slightly before looking over at the other table. His friends and teammates are all curious of course, that much is plainly evident to see, but...
"Uh... I'll explain in a minute, okay?" The rest of his friends just continued to look curiously and confused but, disregarding that for a moment, Izuku looked at the other kid and, although he's technically a little bit taller than he, he actually felt like he's looking up to Izuku. "Come on." Without waiting for him to give a response he walked straight past him and over to the table, purpose and determination guiding his steps as Izuku strode on forward. The guy's footsteps got somewhat quiet behind him as he focused on the four members of Team CRDL, all of whom were laughing and joking as they continued to play their games with the people seated at the table.
"Oi, Cardin." Two words. Two words that left his throat and, despite the volume of noise in the dining hall, managed to catch Team CRDL's ears. Izuku watched as, immediately, the hairs on the back of their neck stood up on end, Russel and Sky in particular suddenly looking quite nervous as their eyes darted over in his direction and took notice of Izuku. Izuku was standing firm on his ground just a couple of feet away from the ongoing trouble, hands at his side as he stared at all four members of Team CRDL. Eventually, Cardin slowly turned around using his whole body, the tall bully glaring over at Izuku as he suddenly made an appearance and pulled him out of his reverie...
The dining hall went somewhat silent as a whole lot of kids just stopped what they were doing, waiting and watching the display with interest as they muttered among themselves. Some were taking bets and, from what Izuku could hear, some of those bets were wondering how long it'll take before Cardin just picked him up and stuffed him into the nearest locker. Izuku did his best to ignore that as he stood his ground, practically digging his heels into the floor as he just raised an eyebrow.
"... Is there a problem here, Cardin?" Izuku asked, doing his best to keep his nerves steady despite all the attention that was being focused down on you. Cardin ground his teeth together, clearly agitated as he looked back to the other four members of Team CRDL... only to see Sky, Russel and Dove taking steps back away from Izuku. It was clear; they don't want anything to do with Izuku at the moment. Without his goon squad backing him up, Izuku saw Cardin shrink slightly before the large young man puffed himself up a bit to try to compensate as he scoffed.
"Let's get out of here boys, this place got crowded all of a sudden..." Cardin picked up his own lunch tray, deposited it nearby while he distracted himself with bullying this group of students, and started to walk away. His three cronies immediately looked between him, to Izuku, back to him and then back to Izuku before they all jumped into action, picking up their own trays and immediately sprinting after their boss. Most of the dining hall watches as Team CRDL basically run with their tails between their legs, scurrying out of the Dining Hall and to who knows where. The quiet remained for a moment and, though that would've been the perfect time for a cheesy round of applause in his opinion, the rest of the dining hall just goes back to eating and chatting, their moment of momentary distraction over.
Izuku once again deflated a bit after having walked right up to Cardin like that but, in the next moment, his fellow first years at the table all grabbed his attention with a quick wave.
"Hey, uh, Deku right? Thanks... Cardin's been a huge pain this whole year. We really appreciate what you've done."
"Actually, my name's not-"
"Yo, Slugger." Izuku flinched a bit as he heard Yang's voice called out to Izuku, turning his head to see his teammates and friends looking at him; some were definitely more impressed than others, though all seemed to approve to some degree, more importantly, they're all 'very' curious. "Wanna tell us what that was all about? I know I'm dying to hear it." Yang said with a toothy grin, effectively speaking for the rest of the group, as Izuku just chuckled nervously while scratching the back of his head.
"Uh... it's nothing much really but... I guess I can tell you all, sure..."
It really wasn't much of a story to Izuku; he was just doing the right thing, by his reckoning.
Still, in the days and weeks to come, it'd seem that people would slightly disagree with that notion.
E/N: Remember kids, this is why you don't treat Charisma as a dump stat, or whatever the Gurps equivalent is.
-Shovern
a/n: So, Cardin Winchester is an interesting character. A lot of people don't really appreciate this about him but he's probably one of the best-written elements of Volume I of RWBY (in so far as the First Volume is just 90% about the fights, which lowers his competition) and, a controversial opinion I know, Jaundice is probably the best arc of that Volume. Part of what makes that work is that unlike say Roman, who was just an overly designed mook given outsized importance later, Cardin was obviously designed and written with a lot of care to be Jaune Arc's antagonist. Cardin is who pre-character development Jaune wants to be; strong, tall, confident, a powerful Huntsman who can do things on his own with a sharp jawline. It's not until Jaune starts going through the Arc (heh) that he realizes just how bad of a person Cardin is and how much his desire to be a Huntsman like him is toxic to his own growth (insisting that he doesn't need help).
Because Jaune and Izuku are so similar it's very easy to see Cardin as a similar antagonist for Izuku, but to Izuku Cardin represents everything he could've wanted but didn't get; he's strong versus Izuku's weak frame growing up, he's tall versus Izuku being most of the girl's height, he's got strong Aura and a good arm to go with it meanwhile Izuku's dream was doomed to die on the vine. Cardin is everything Izuku could've wished to be and, as Izuku said, he wasted it on dumb bullshit. It's why you shouldn't always default to making Cardin a redeemable person; sometimes he's still a perfectly suitable foil and a perfectly usable villain. This really is the climax of him in this story but he'll show up again sooner or later.
It's also funny to me that I've now written Cardin as both good underneath it (in RBA) and a trash can of a human being here.
-gorilla_fingers