Chapter 9: Government Secrets

The UA gates stood tall and proud as they glistened in the early morning light. Izuku had one of Hawks's feathers in his shirt pocket, listening to his surroundings. He is greeted at the gate by a tall but skinny blonde man and Principal Nezu himself. "Hello, Midoriya," the principal greets. "Please, come inside. There is much to discuss."

Hitoshi and Hawks stared at each other in disbelief as they eavesdropped on Izuku's conversation. Ituna was busy messing with a random device. He was the one that built the machine that Hawks was using to translate the vibrations from his feather into sound.

"What the hell?" Hitoshi whispered. "Is that something you knew about, Mr. Number Three Hero?"

"No. This sounds like some top-secret government stuff that even I'm not allowed to know," Hawks sighed. "I wonder how much trouble we'd get in if they knew we were listing."

"I still can't get over All Might actually being some skinny guy most of the day. At least now we know why there aren't any candid photos of him buying groceries."

"The Commission definitely knows about his time limit, but I get the feeling that his quirk is only known to a select few, and I don't think that includes the HPSC. We won't tell another sole about this. Not our secret." The hero looked at Hitoshi with a furrowed brow, and the boy nodded in acknowledgment.

Their little conversation was cut short when they heard Izuku's voice come over the translator. "There are a few things I must make abundantly clear, All Might. I can take the quirk, but I won't be the next symbol of peace. I will be a hero, an underground hero. All I want to do is save people, and my talents show best in underground work. Do not expect me to shoulder your legacy because I will be my own hero, not your replacement. Those are my conditions."

All Might took a moment to respond. "You truly have the heart of a hero. I commend you for your commitment to your goals and ideals. I will accept your conditions, young Midoriya. Now… eat this!" The room fell silent, both at UA and where Hawks and Hitoshi were listening in from.

"What the hell!?" Hawks and Hitoshi shouted in unison. They calmed down when All Might explained how the quirk was transferred through the ingestion of DNA, but Hitoshi gaged at the mental image of having to swallow a strand of the number one hero's hair.

"So… Izuku has a quirk now," Hitoshi stated in disbelief. "Holy crap."

"You mean to tell me the only instructions he gave you on using the quirk was to clench your buttcheeks and yell smash? Seriously!?" Hawks was up in arms. All Might was a terrible mentor. "Let's think about this as logically as possible. Based on the minuscule amount of information All Might gave you, your body probably isn't ready to handle the full brunt of your quirk." Izuku had made it clear that the quirk was his now and should be addressed as such.

"I think we're on our own when it comes to figuring this out," Izuku sighed. "Now we not only have to find out how to kill Koro Sensei but also how my ridiculous quirk is supposed to work."

"Wait… does Koro Sensei know about your quirk?" Ituna asked. Ituna and Ritzu had been informed that Izuku had a quirk. They knew he was previously quirkless, but they didn't know the details of how he got the quirk.

"No, he doesn't," Izuku replied.

"We should take advantage of that," Hitoshi chipped in.

"Ya, a new type of ambush," Izuku added. "We still need to figure out how to activate it without exploding every bone in my body."

The group sat silently for a moment before Ritzu spoke up. "You have a strength-enhancing stockpile quirk, correct?"

"Yes, Ritzu, did you find any useful information?" Izuku asked.

"I couldn't find anything on your specific type of quirk, but I found some information on both stockpile and strength enhancement quirks. The closest match to your quirk I found was Fatgum's. Based on your's and others' analysis of him and the other quirks I found, I've compiled a quirk control guide. I will start with the method most likely to work, then make my way from there. Try to visualize the stockpiled energy. Tell me how you visualize it."

Izuku took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He pictured roaring flames, bright, blazing energy. "A flame, I picture it as a flame."

"Hmm… People harness flames by containing them and adding or removing fuel… A gas stove or fireplace. They are used to cook food and or heat a house."

"Oh, speaking of cooking food, I should also conduct the energy evenly across my body to not overdo it in one area. It'd be good to have a flat power boost. I think that's the most efficient way to use my quirk."

"Good point! Try to imagine turning down the dial on the stove or fireplace and conducting the heat throughout your body."

Izuku took another deep breath and focused on the raging inferno in his heart. He furrowed his brow and imagined turning the fuel down to a manageable level. He felt the energy warming up his core, and he spread it evenly from the tips of his fingers to his toes. Electricity danced across his body. Hawks gasped, and Hitoshi stared in awe.

Opening his eyes, Izuku flexed with the power coursing through his veins. It was only fifteen percent of his full strength, and his bones creaked as they were at their limit. He stretched and got into a running stance. In the blink of an eye, Izuku bounded across the training grounds and bounced off the trees. Izuku dug his feet into the soft dirt and rolled to a stop.

"Holy crap!" Izuku yelled. "First try, and no exploded bones!"

"I'm the best teacher!" Hawks declared. "Be proud to be my first and only students!"

Eventually, the ruckus died down, and the Outcasts devised their final plan. They had three weeks before the end of the school year and the end of the world if they failed.

-x-x-x-x-x-

It was the last week of the school year. Aside from the hopeless tension around the class, it was a typical Tuesday. Ituna was fiddling with something in the back of the classroom as per usual. Ritzu was calculating something. Izuku was scribbling in his notebook. Koro Sensei was teaching at the front of the classroom, and Hawks and Jelavich were off planning their lessons for the day. Ituna's project blew up, an everyday occurrence, but the noise and perfuse amounts of smoke obscured the sounds of the contraptions activating and Ritzu's guns positioning themselves. Through the smoke, Ritzu's guns provided cover fire, and Hawks's feathers joined the assault.

Large curtains made of strands of anti-sensei bbs trapped the teacher in place as Hitoshi and Jelavich joined the fray. Jelavich set off the sprinklers and the fire alarms. The sprinklers pulled the smoke out of the air and slowed Koro Sensei. Hitoshi fired at the teacher from the rafters. Just when the teacher was at his limit, Ituna detonated his final trap. Sudden explosions of bbs flew through the air and removed most of the octopus's tentacles. Green lightning caught the attention of some of the flabbergasted students. A green blur shot through from the back of the classroom.

The class fell silent. The bbs and dust settled. The chalkboard fell to the floor. Izuku stood over Koro Sensei's body, his back to the class as the teacher dissolved into sparkling yellow particles. Hitoshi hopped down from the rafters, Ituna came up from his seat, and Hawks and Jelavich walked in from the doorway. The Outcasts gathered around the deceased teacher and kneeled to pay their respects. The Assassination Classroom had served its purpose, and the world was saved. When Izuku bloodied his hands with the assassination of his teacher, he saved the world. He became a hero.