Chapter 3: The Outcasts
Hitoshi didn't have much of a home life. His foster family was less abusive than his previous ones, but he still wouldn't call it home. He tried really hard to look at the few good things in life. There was Eraserhead, the best hero. There was coffee, which helped him stay awake after his sleepless nights. There were cats; those were self-explanatory. There was Hawks, who was practically his older brother at this point. Then there was Izuku. Izuku, who believed he could be a hero. Izuku, who trusted him despite his quirk. Izuku, his friend.
The two of them were really close, so Hitoshi was the first to see Izuku's true colors. Izuku always hid behind a brilliant smile and anxious personality. It was similar to Hitoshi's apathetic persona. It was a method of avoiding scorn and the wrath of their discriminatory classmates, but after they found each other, they stopped caring about the scrutiny of others. As long as they knew the other had their back, they could truly be themselves. Their teacher, recently dubbed Koro Sensei, was happy about the development, but the class wasn't as perspective. The Outcasts terrified the other students.
Class 3E became a really tight nit, except for the outcast duo. They concocted their own plans rather than go along with the class. Hitoshi and Izuku's biggest priority was becoming heroes, unlike the rest of the class, who was set on getting the bounty and living the easy life. The class was also jealous of the fact that Hawks liked them better than the other students.
Izuku was a calm, malevolent genius. He rivaled the literal supercomputer for the position of smartest 3E student. The AI, Ritzu, was better at calculations, but Izuku dwarfed her in the strategy department. When the two worked together, they were logistically unstoppable. Their partnership and Ritzu's rough introduction got the AI grouped with the Outcasts. It saddened the AI, but she was happy to at least have a couple friends.
Hitoshi was ridiculously charismatic, according to their English teacher. Their English teacher, Miss Jelavich, was a foreigner and a trained assassin. She taught the less combat-based aspects of assassination. She also took an instant liking to Hitoshi because of his potential. Quirks always came with mutations, even the emitter types. Kaccan had thicker skin on his palms and enlarged pores to protect himself from his quirk. Endeavor was fireproof; otherwise, his face would have chronic third-degree burns. And Hitoshi… Hitoshi had a beautiful voice. It was easy on the ears yet could cut through a noisy room. Got to love voice-based mental quirks.
The next and final edition to 3E was the formerly violent white-haired boy, Ituna. Ituna had tentacles like their octopus teacher, but the mutation was limited to a few tentacles sprouting from the top of his head. The boy was part of the same experiments that created their strange teacher. After the tentacles were removed like a cancerous tumor, the boy calmed down and realized his passion for support. He ended up with the Outcasts too, because the experiments resulted in an enhanced perception and reaction speed as if it was a quirk. His abrasive attitude, poor first impression, and lack of expression didn't help either.
The Outcasts were chronic pranksters, often incorporating assassination attempts into their pranks. The geniuses of persuasion, strategy, calculations, and support technology would set up elaborate traps and scares for their classmates and their assassination target. They would often involve Hawks and Jelavich in their antics too. The pro hero had an insatiable sense of humor, and Jelavich was happy to go along with whatever mischief the group got into.
Jelavich had an obvious crush on the pro hero, but Hawks was denser than tungsten if his oblivion to Jelavich's advances was anything to go by. Izuku's leading theory was that Hawks wasn't interested in women. There was evidence aside from Jelavich, but the lack of interest and dismissal of her advances, coupled with some other evidence, was more than enough proof to get the English teacher off his back. The two became good friends instead.
The group's most traumatizing prank/assassination attempt haunted 3E for weeks. Ritzu's box was still inactive, and an eerie silence filled the classroom. It wasn't empty. Hawks stared unmoving out the window; his goggles hid his eyes, and there was a complete lack of emotion on his face. The unconscious forms of Jelavich and Ituna were pinned to the ceiling by Hawk's feathers. The desks were toppled and pushed to the sides, and a crude chalk pentagram was drawn where they should have been. Hundreds of candles lit the room. Izuku was splayed out in the middle of the pentagram, and a hooded Hitoshi stood over him, holding a candle. Hitoshi began mumbling something when a crowd gathered outside of the classroom.
Slowly Hawks turned, maintaining his unreadable expression. Then the pro began mumbling in unison with his hooded student. In a smooth, methodical motion, Hawks grabbed one of his feathers to wield like a sword. Readying the feather, he stalked toward the doorway. 3E cowered in fear, and Koro Sensei screamed. Suddenly, Hitoshi thrust a pointed finger in the direction of the students, and hundreds of Hawk's feathers shot from every direction. All the students got pinned to the walls as Hawks lunged at Koro Sensei.
A slight click sounded before explosions of anti-sensei bbs came from the feathers Hawks launched at the teacher. Jelvich and Izuku joined the charge, both wielding water guns. The water caused the teacher's tentacles to swell. Koro Sensei panicked as the cacophony of noise from the explosions drowned out Ritzu's gunfire and Hitoshi's footsteps. The octopus lost six of his tentacles to Hitoshi and Ritzu's guns. He lost another two. Hawk's feathers, coated with anti-sensei chemicals, sliced through the teacher like tofu. Then the explosions stopped, and Koro Sensei scrambled away from the attack.
"DAMIT!" Izuku shouted. "We almost had him!"
"We'll get him next time. If only my quirk worked on him," Hitoshi complained.
"Ha! I'm just glad your idea for my feathers worked," Hawks said as he returned his feathers that didn't get blown up. "Those explosives were also great, Ituna."
"Glad I could help," Ituna replied in his usual monotone voice.
"Hey! What about me?" Jelavich wined.
"You did great, Miss Jelavich. You too, Ritzu," Izuku complimented. "We should get to work on our next plan.