For it's well known status as the #1 Hero School in Japan, if not the world, U.A. High School was exceptionally… ordinary. The day began at 8:25 with a short ten minute home room in which Aizawa-sensei took attendance and covered any announcements there might be. Afterwards the teens suffered through their regular school required courses like English with Present Mic; the cockatiel look alike actually spoke with an indoor voice as he asked them which of the sentences he'd written on the board was incorrect although if worked up he quickly went back to shouting.
After morning lessons ended at 12:30 the students were given just short of an hour for lunch. The main cafeteria offered gourmet level food for surprisingly low prices courtesy of U.A.'s head chef, the Cook Hero: Lunch Rush. Unfortunately once the lunch period ended it was back to the classroom for more lessons.
Those came to an end when Cementoss, the modern literature teacher exited the room with a smile and a wave at the students, the book they'd be starting next week tucked under one arm. The students didn't even wait for the door to close before letting their posture relax. Some leaned backwards trying to pop stiff muscles against the hard back chairs while others collapsed forward burying their head in their arms or resting it on the desk as they groaned. "That was so normal." the red headed Kirishima groaned.
"Yeah," the pinkette that was Ashido complained. "If I wanted to have to deal with Math I'd have gone to a normal school or Gen Ed."
Ashido's statement seemed to set off Tenay two seats behind her as the boy began to scold the class's resident alien, his right arm doing the robotic chop that seemed to be his signature move. From her spot on the opposite side of the classroom Momo merely looked on, her left arm propped up on her desk so she could rest her head upon it while she looked around. Truth be told she too had found the day's lessons to be… lacking. Most of the classes had been simply reviewing what they'd already learned in previous years barely touching on the subject of heroism that she, like the others, had expected to be featured more prominently in their lessons although she suspected that would change gradually as time went on. It would make sense for U.A. and the teachers to start off slow, giving the students time to gradually adjust from the regular schooling they'd experienced thus far to the highly demanding field that was heroics.
Unfortunately, as sensible as it might be, the fact that the majority of the classes had served as nothing more than reviews and refreshers over the class's respective subject resulted in Momo being… less than tested. The ravenette's high intellect and grades might testify for her abilities in the classroom but it resulted in her having plenty of free time to ponder in her mind what the reason was behind her extracurricular activities for the day.
Shaking her head to keep from going down that train of thought once more Momo instead went over the day's schedule in her mind. As she remembered what the last class of the day was, Momo couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face. If nothing else the name of the class alone was enough to ensure that it would likely deviate from what happened in a normal classroom.
The sound of heavy footsteps in the hallway caused the students to quiet down and the few that had stood up and moved around quickly rushed back to their seats where they sat attentively. "I am…" a masculine voice yelled as the door slid open, "coming through the door like a normal person." All Might, the #1 Pro Hero said as he leaned into the room, clutching either side of the doorway as he looked at the class. Immediately the room was filled with excited murmuring, the students unable to hold back their excitement.
"It's All Might!"
"He really is a teacher here!"
"That's his silver age costume isn't it?"
"It's style's so different, it's giving me goosebumps."
All Might merely laughed at their reactions, his infamous grin not even wavering for a second as the man walked forward to stand behind the teaching podium where he stopped his hands on his hips. "I would introduce myself," he said casually, "but something tells me you already know who I am and what qualifications I possess to teach this class. Welcome to Hero Basic Training, a class where you will train and learn the basics of being a hero."
All Might paused but seeing that there were no questions quickly continued, "As for what we'll be doing today, well I will tell you after you change into these." Pointing at the wall the students turned to look as four different shelves slid out each holding five cases that all together were numbered 1 through 20. "Before school began each of you submitted a Clothing Allowance along with your Quirk Registration. In it was everything from your design requests, to your measurements, to your Quirks and any ideas for Support Gear you wanted or had. These are the results courtesy of the second-years in the Support Course working alongside a support company contracted with the school. You wouldn't have these without them so make sure to say thank you if you get a chance."
Sensing their rising excitement All Might quickly finished speaking as the majority of the students practically vibrated in their seats wishing to try their costumes on. "Once you change, meet me at the Training Ground Beta monitoring room and we'll go over what we're doing today. Make sure not to dilly dally for too long." And with that the #1 Hero left the room, as the students rose and rushed the shelves.
When the class gathered again walking into the monitoring room in one big group they were greeted by All Might's voice, his tone serious, "They say that the clothes make the man, ladies and gentlemen. Be fully aware that from this moment onward you will all be acting as heroes. The livelihood of others will be in your hands and it is to you that people will turn for both help and assurance in times of crisis." For a moment All Might was silent letting them all digest what he was saying. The uneasiness of a few at the statement was obvious but looking around it was clear that the hero's words only served to solidify the resolve of the majority of the class.
"However," All Might continued his smile which had shrunk returning full force as his voice became upbeat, "that is not a situation you are expected to deal with anytime soon so for now we'll focus on something more aligned with the basics of heroics." A monitor behind the man lit up and the class looked towards it expectantly only for confusion to sprout amongst them at the kanji on the screen.
"Protect the president?" The golden blond haired boy with a black lightning bolt running through it asked. "What's that?"
"That ladies and gentleman is what today's exercise will be?" All Might answered. "A game I learned about during my time in America, you will be randomly divided into teams of four and one member of each team will be designated the president. Each president will wear one of these," All Might said, pulling out five plain white headbands, "and it will be the job of the other team members to protect the president, and by association their headband, from the other teams. Unlike their team members the president will be unable to fight against others and can only act in a supporting role. Any questions?"
"How will wins and losses be determined?" Momo asked.
"I-if we fail will we be expelled?" Uraraka, who was sporting a pink and black skintight outfit that vaguely resembled a space suit, asked demurely.
"Sensei! Why are the teams going to be chosen randomly?" a full suit of armor that could only be Iida if the robotic arm chop was anything to go by asked.
"So many questions!" All Might shouted, chuckling heartily, "Um, give me one moment." The students watched as the #1 Hero began to feel up and down his suit before reaching inside a hidden pocket where he pulled out a folded up piece of paper he quickly unfurled. "Okay, so the goal is to protect your President and their headbands from the other teams until the thirty minute timer goes off. You are free to go about this however you want, and no you will not be expelled if you fail, although," he looked at them and for a moment his smile seemed to turn into a knowing grin, "I honestly expect that the majority of you will fail this exercise anyways."
"Damn straight," the explosive blond that was Bakugo muttered with a villainous grin.
"If a team loses its headband I'll announce their defeat over the speakers at which point all members are to stop whatever they are doing and return to the observation room. Defeated people cannot engage in combat or be attacked, am I clear?" The symbol of peace said seriously, looking over everyone to make sure the point was driven home. "As for why teams will be randomly chosen, does anyone have an idea?" All Might asked, looking at the class. Seeing Momo's raised hand he gestured to the ravenette to answer.
"Is it because when responding to disasters or incidents heroes from various agencies often must work together to resolve the issue quickly?"
"Correct!" All Might shouted, "Now if there are no more questions let's see what teams you'll be in and remember the first person is the one who will be the president." Gesturing to the screen the teacher and students watched as one by one the names of their teammates appeared on the screen.
1 - Ochaco Uraraka, Mina Ashido, Rikido Sato, Tsuyu Asui
2 - Ejiro Kirishima, Hanta Sero, Shoto Todoroki, Koji Koda
3 - Tooru Hagakure, Minoru Mineta, Katsuki Bakugo, and Mashirao Ojiro
4 - Kyoka Jiro, Tenya Iida, Fumikage Tokoyami, and Itsuka Kendo
5 - Yuga Aoyama, Mezo Shoji, Denki Kaminari, and Momo Yaoyorozu
"So do you have a plan?" Turning to her side Momo found herself looking at the masked face of Mezo Shoji, who'd spoken by transforming the end of one of his tentacles into a mouth.
"Oui," the feminine Aoyama but in, "a plan that no doubt makes me sparkle."
"Dude, I don't think sparkling should be your main priority." Kaminari added, "I mean you are the president."
"Non," Aoyama denied, shaking his head, "if I don't sparkle how will others know how fabulous I am?"
"Umm,"
"Enough." Momo said cutting the two off before they could keep going. "We have five minutes before the exercise begins. Shoji, your Quirk lets you grow body parts at the end of your tentacles right?" Seeing his nod of confirmation she continued, "Can you check to see if any other teams are near us?"
"On it," the gentle giant said, morphing the ends of his tentacles into eyes and ears that he quickly stretched out as he left the room to look around.
"As for you two," Momo turned to the other two boys on her team. "What are your Quirks?"
"I can discharge electricity," Kaminari said, holding up his finger from which a yellow spark of lightning cackled before quickly fading away. "The problem is I can't really control it, if I use it around you guys I could easily hit you guys as well."
"Ah, so tragic," Aoyama said, shaking his head sadly, "to think your Quirk comes with such a problem. My Quirk is magnifique, perfect for one such as me. It allows me to shine-"
"Hey you shoot a laser from your belly button right?" Kaminari asked.
Aoyama blinked, "Aye, but only for a single shining second," he said, quickly recovering.
"What happens if you use it for longer than a second?" Momo asked.
Aoyama turned to them, his face blank, "I get explosive diarrhea."
Momo and Kaminari stared at the shining boy for a second, their faces expressing the uncertainty they couldn't vocalize with words. Thankfully Shoji chose that moment to return, "I heard a group about two streets over," he reported gesturing in the direction Momo assumed he'd heard the noise, "however there's nobody else nearby. My guess is everyone's spreading out and planning their strategy while they wait to start."
"You're probably right Momo said, stroking her chin as various plans ran through her mind. "We should focus on defense, since we lack offensive power. Aoyama's Quirk is suited for quick attacks but he can't use it that way since he's our president and they can only work in a support capacity. Kaminari won't be able to distinguish who his attacks hit so it'd be best for him to face someone one on one where he won't have to worry about accidentally hitting one of us. Shoji, you're a good scout and based on your grip test you're the most physically capable out of us all but that probably you lack options when it comes to mid and long range right?"
Shoji merely nodded his agreement to her assessment as the three turned to look at him before Momo turned her attention towards herself. "Meanwhile my Quirk makes me capable at all ranges but it becomes harder for me the more I produce something so long, drawn out fights are something for me to avoid." Contemplatively Momo turned to look around, taking in the buildings on the street that surrounded them before she paused, freezing with a shocked expression on her face.
"What is it?" Shoji asked, concerned.
"I'm an idiot," Momo mumbled, although Shoji was able to hear her just fine thanks to the ears still formed at the ends of several of his tentacles. "All Might himself said he expects the majority of us to fail. It's like Aizawa-sensei's assessment all over again."
"What?" Kaminari said, confused.
Momo turned to them, a wild look in her eyes, "It's a rational deception! Quickly follow me, we don't have much time left if we want to pass!" She shouted before she took off running towards the nearest building. Her three teammates shared a look of confusion before Shoji and Kaminari shrugged, rushing off after their unofficial leader. Aoyama let out a massive sigh before rushing after them sprouting something about how his teammates would be unable to sparkle without his assistance.
When the starting buzzer rang out Bakugo didn't waste any time, his hands cackled for a moment before explosions erupted from them propelling the blond into the air. "Hurry up!" He shouted down to the extras who'd started chasing after him on the ground.
"We're trying!" Tail shouted back.
"I have short legs," Grape complained.
"And shouldn't we be protecting our headband?" See Through asked. "How does trying to actively find people to fight help us?"
"Because," Bakugo called down smiling evilly, "they can't take our headband if there are no more extras to go after it." More explosions burst from his palms as he cackled rushing ahead while his teammates shared a look before sighing and chasing after him.
"Okay so everyone's good with the plan?" Kendo asked. Her teammates nodded their confirmation as Jiro reaffirmed her hold on Iida's back riding him piggyback style. "Jiro," Kendo called out to the violet headed girl, "can you hear anyone?"
"There are explosions in the distance," she replied, her jacks twitching from where she buried them in the wall of the small restaurant they'd taken cover in. U.A. truly had spared no expense when it came to the faux city, all the tables had silverware and plates already set out with menus on top as if the restaurant was just waiting for customers to come in. Kendo had washed her hands using the sinks which had both hot and cold water that came from their respective faucets. The cost must have been staggering but then again could they seriously afford to spare any expense when it came to raising the next top heroes?
"I bet the explosions are Bakugo," Kendo hypothesized, "he's the only one in our class I can think of that has a Quirk that fits that description."
"The one whose great power equals his own dark temperament?" The birdheaded Tokoyami inquired to which Kendo replied with an affirmative nod.
"Yeah, he's powerful but he's also aggressive if what I've seen is anything to go by. It's likely he'll rush ahead of his teammates giving us a chance to go after their headband."
"So the plan is for me to ride around on speedy here while you two go after headbands?" Jiro asked.
"No," Kendo shook her head, "if we split up it'll leave you two open in the same way Bakugo's team likely will be. It's better for us to stick together. Jiro's the president so she'll be the primary target if we're attacked." She looked towards the punk rocker, " You'll be in charge of intelligence gathering; finding the other teams and making sure no one gets the drop on us. Tokoyami and I will be the main fighters, we'll target whoever the president is and focus on getting their headband away from them." Tokoyami nodded his agreement while his Quirk, a sentient shadow that was ironically - or appropriately depending on your point of view - named Dark Shadow cheered it's hands raised in a celebratory fashion. "As for you Iida," Kendo said, turning to look at the boy dressed in a suit of robotic looking armor. "Your only job is to protect Jiro. Keep her away from anyone who's not me or Tokoyami, we'll do our best to help you out but we can't plan for every eventuality. If it looks like we're in danger of losing then get her out of there, and just keep running around until the exercise ends."
Iida chopped at the air, "While I do not believe such actions could be considered heroic I cannot find fault in your logic."
"Okay then," Kendo said, clapping her hands together, as she cracked her knuckles "let's go." However as her team moved out Kendo couldn't help but remember All Might's words, 'I honestly expect that the majority of you will fail this exercise anyways.' 'What did he mean by that?' Kendo wondered but she quickly pushed the thoughts aside, she was sure her mentor would explain it to the class once the exercise was over.
"DIIIEEEE!" Bakugo screamed, as he fell through the air his palms pointed downwards at a girl in a pink space suit who 'eeped' at his sudden appearance. Explosions erupted from the blond boy's hands but the girl was shoved out of the way by one of her teammates, a boy in a yellow full bodysuit before they could hit her. Using the force from his explosions Bakugo backflipped, landing in a crouch on the ground as he looked up. Gazing at the smoke covered area before him Bakugo's eyes widened as his face split into a viscous grin.
As the smoke cleared the person Bakugo's Quirk impacted became visible, parts of his hero costume dotted in a light covering of gray and black ash although it was otherwise untouched. "Oy, Fat-Lips," Bakugo called out sparks emitting from his hands, "how's it feel to be hit by the Quirk of the next #1 Hero?"
The newly named Fat-Lips didn't respond, instead grabbing several bags of something from his belt that he raised to his mouth. The contents, a white nameless powder, falling out as he emptied the bags down his throat. The effects were immediate, the man's costume clinging tightly to his body as his muscles grew, bulging underneath the material that clearly defined them. The bags fell to the ground discarded as he moaned, a moan that turned into a primal shout before, throwing all caution to the wind he charged.
Bakugo waited standing strong as Fat-Lips bore down on top of him. At the last second right before Fat-Lips' outstretched arms could grab him Bakugo dodged to the left, his arm coming up in a diagonal slash as he unleashed a powerful explosion at the boy's open side. The explosion sent Fat-Lips tumbling to the ground but Bakugo didn't stick around to watch him fall, already turning around his head on a swivel as he searched for his next target.
He found said targets in the form of three girls. One in a pink spacesuit who he recognized as the person he'd originally gone after until Fat-Lips had shoved her out of the way. The other two was a frog-like girl he mentally dubbed Frog and the other was the pink girl with horns, her yellow eyes and black sclera making her Racoon Eyes. Frog and Racoon Eyes were herding the now recognizable Round Cheeks away clearly hoping to disappear during his fight with Fat-Lips. Too bad for them the extra hadn't been able to even go two rounds with him.
Frog and Racoon Eyes looked backwards and paused for a moment, Frog muttered something and Racoon Eyes renewed her efforts to get Round Cheeks moving, Frog turning her back to them protectively as she shifted to crouch knees bent like the animal she took after. Bakugo didn't care whether she was sacrificing herself or merely looking for a fight, all he knew was that the adrenaline was pumping through his veins and he'd used his Quirk more freely today than he had at any point in his life aside from the Entrance Exam.
Chuckling darkly, Bakugo pointed his hands towards the ground using explosions to once more propel himself into the air and towards his frog-like classmate. Frog's blank expression didn't change although she let out an audible croak before she opened her mouth. A long pink appendage that was instantly recognizable as the girl's tongue emerged from it launching towards Bakugo in the blink of an eye. However, that was still too slow, Bakugo merely using his explosions to dodge to the side although doing so caused him to spin for a brief second. Laughing Bakugou opened his mouth his trademark shout of "DIIEE-" coming out just before something sold smashed into his face as he raised it towards his opponent.
Bakugo's body clotheslined his head and neck remaining firm and unmoving against the thing that smashed into him while the rest of his body propelled by own momentum moved forward making it so in almost a second his back was now towards the ground. Then whatever hit him decided to use his face as a springboard pushing off of him which had the effect of sending Bakugo flying backwards where it was now his turn to roll head over heels ending up on his stomach.
Planting his hands on the ground Bakugo pushed his upper body up, his head rising to look at his opponent. However he was forced to dodge to the side as the now standing girl's tongue once more flew at him. Rolling Bakugo came up with his right arm raised, explosions bursting out of his palm just as the girl's tongue curved to follow him. His explosions struck the side of the pink muscle and the girl instantly retracted it leaving it hanging as she began to check it over with one eye and her hands while she kept the other firmly on him.
'She kicked me,' Bakugo thought as he analyzed his opponent. 'Makes sense that if she's a frog she's got some strong legs. She expected me to dodge her tongue and used that opening to launch an attack I wouldn't see coming.' He grinned, she might just be an extra but at least she was a stronger one if the blood he felt trickling from his nose was anything to go by.
Sparks fizzled and the green haired girl tensed but before Bakugo could start his next attack he was forced to look away as something smashed into him from the side lifting him into the air. Bakugo's shock lasted only a second as he took in the ashened yellow bodysuit that belonged to Fat-Lips but that moment of shock was long enough for Fat-Lips to keep rushing and smash Bakugo back first into the brick wall of one of the buildings lining the street. Spittle flew from Bakugou's mouth as a crater formed behind him but as Fat-Lips drew his arms back clenching his hands into fists as he launched his right arm forward in a powerful punch.
Free from Fat-Lips grip Bakugou dodged crouching down allowing the muscular boy to swing over his head, his fist smashing into the wall destroying bricks like they were made from styrofoam. Bakugo didn't waste time either, his left hand rising up once more as he unleashed an explosion once again into Fat-Lips' exposed side. The force sent Bakugo tumbling away giving him valuable space but he didn't have time to recover or catch his breath as Frog's tongues lashed out at him.
Bakugo dodged but as the tongue curved he directed his palms downward, explosions erupting to launch him into the air. Unlike his opponents he had the advantage of being able to fly, kind of, but before he could get too high a piece of rubble flew at him, thrown by Fat-Lips which forced Bakugo downwards. His attention directed at Fat-Lips it was only an instinctive reaction to movement out of the corner of his eye that allowed Bakugo to raise his left arm enough to block a kick from Frog. However though his arm absorbed some of the impact it wasn't enough to keep the blond from being sent hurling downwards from the girl's powerful kick.
Using his explosions Bakugo uprighted himself inches above the ground only to have to once more dodge one of Fat-Lips punches returning the attack with an explosion of his own. As smoke covered Fat-Lips Bakugo dodged a tongue attack from the still airborne Frog which smashed into the ground where he'd been standing. Before he could launch an explosion at the fleshy muscle Frog reeled herself in launching a downwards kick at Bakugo which he avoided by leaping backwards, her foot cracking the ground where the blow landed.
Frog quickly stood up, quickly joined by Fat-Lips who strode forward to stand at her side where he lifted another pouch of white powder to his mouth that he swallowed, discarding it moments later. Bakugo stood up too, rolling his head to crack his neck he slammed his right fist into his open palm causing a small trail of black smoke rising into the air. The three seemed to take that as the signal Fat-Lips screaming as he rushed forward, Frog letting out a croak as she hopped ahead, and Bakugo, well Bakugo's trademark "DIIEEE!" echoed through the faux city as the battle between the heroes in training began anew.
"Do you think Tsu and Sato will be okay?" Uraraka asked Ashido, casting a glance at the pink alien who was jogging alongside her.
"I'm sure they'll be alright," Ashido said. Her words might have been intended to be reassuring but the obvious nervousness in her tone and the glance she cast over her shoulder did nothing to ease the mochi girl's worries.
"Y-yeah," Uraraka agreed, her voice shaky as she began to tap the tips of her pointer fingers together, "it's not like Bakugo was able to fight them equally despite being outnumbered two to one. Or that Sato's Quirk can only last for a few minutes at a time and makes it hard for him to think. Or that Tsu wants to be a rescue hero and doesn't have-"
"Uraraka!" Ashido shouted, causing said girl to jump, "not helping."
"S-sorry," Uraraka apologized as her shoulders fell into a defeated slouch, "it's just I'm worried about them."
Ashido sighed, "I know but right now we need to focus on hiding out until Tsu and Sato catch up to us."
"Okay," Uraraka agreed, nodding her head with nervous determination, neither girl wanting to point out the obvious flaw of what they'd do if Tsu and Sato lost to the explosive blond.
"Tokoyami now!" a voice shouted startling the two girls. They turned but before they could react a shadowy bird flew between the two separating them.
"Uraraka run!" Ashido shouted as she pushed her right hand forward, a spray of acid shooting from it. The acid struck Dark Shadow the living embodiment of darkness letting out a scream of pain before retreating back to it's bird-headed master who stood impassively in an alleyway opening nearby. Ashido turned, positioning herself protectively between Uraraka and the new opponent but Tokoyami merely smirked at her.
Understanding the trap for what it was, Ashido spun around just in time to see Uraraka get hit in the side by a massive hand, the words of warning she'd been about to shout dying in her throat. As Uraraka tried to get up an orange headed blur ran out of the alley the hand that'd struck Uraraka had emerged from. Kendo wanted no time in pouncing on the brunette using her weight to hold her down as she pulled off the girl's headband. Immediately All Might's voice rang through the city, "Team One has been eliminated."
"Aww man," Ashido whined leaning her head back in defeat, "what kind of bad luck was that. First Bakugo then you guys I call hacks."
"Apologies, traveler from distant stars," The deep moody voice of Tokoyami said as he approached, "know that your defeat was merely the will of the fates and your loss shall bring me and my kin closer to destined victory.
For a moment Ashido stared at the bird boy silently, who returned her gaze with his own; Dark Shadow too was quiet, his attention switching back and forth between the two. "Hmm," Ashido hummed as her yellow eyes seemed to bore into Tokoyami unnerving him slightly before she raised her hand to point at him, "Chunibyo," she said simply.
Dark Shadow broke out into wild laughter, his hands gripping his stomach as he 'fell' onto his back in the air. Tokoyami's mouth meanwhile fell open in shock, an actual squawk of surprise coming from him as the feathers of his face somehow managed to heat up showing a blush he was unable to hide. He recovered quickly, his hands coming up and waving back and forth in denial as protests emerged from his mouth but they were drowned out by Dark Shadow's continued laughter. Tokoyami turned to his companion hissing at it to shut up but by then Ashido had turned away and started to head towards her brunette teammate that Kendo was helping up with her now normal sized hands.
"Ugh, did ya get da name of the wheeler tha' hit me?" Ashido heard Uraraka mutter as she was pulled to her feet, a countryside accent shining through bright and clear.
"Sorry," Kendo said apologetically, "that was me. Are you alright?"
Uraraka recovered quickly, her face flushing red as she waved her hands back and forth rapidly in front of her not dissimilar to how Tokoyami had been moments earlier. "I'm fine," she said quickly trying to reassure her attacker who was now giving off some rather big sisterous vibes, "you just surprised me I really wasn't expecting to be ambushed like that."
"I know right," Ashido agreed as she joined the conversation, throwing an arm over Uraraka's shoulder, "you guys got us good it's our loss. But on a more important note," she turned to her teammate with a mischievous smile, "what was with that accent?"
Uraraka's hands rose to her face covering as much of it as she could with what skin exposed turning a bright cherry red. Her feet left the ground as her knees rose to her elbows, the pink space suit girl curling into a ball as she steadily began to ascend gaining height while embarrassed unintelligible mumbles emerged from her mouth. 'She's floating,' Ashido and Kendo thought simultaneously as they looked on as Uraraka rose steadily higher. "Tokoyami," Kendo called to her teammate who was starting to approach, "can you get her before she gets too high?"
"Of course," said boy agreed, "Dark Shadow."
"Yeah, yeah I'm on it." The sentient being of darkness said waving a clawed hand in dismissal before it extended outwards stretching up to Uraraka where it wrapped an arm around her. "Oy missy," those on the ground heard it call out, "can you turn your Quirk off? If you go much higher I won't be able to get you."
Looking up the trio weren't able to make out what words were exchanged but a minute later Uraraka was on the ground before them a thick blush still on her cheeks as Dark Shadow floated beside his avian master. "Sorry," the brunette mumbled softly, "it's just ugh," her hands rose once more to cover her face although this time she kept her pinkies raised so her Quirk didn't activate, "I think my accent's embarrassing."
Hearing the muffled words the trio exchanged looks before Kendo stepped up to rest a friendly hand on Uraraka's shoulder. "Hey an accent's nothing to be embarrassed by," she said reassuringly, "it's something that makes you unique."
"Yeah," Ashido agreed hopping in place, "different is cool. It makes you interesting, just look at me," she finished with a twirl.
"Or lay your sights on my dark companion and I," Tokoyami chimed in.
"I know, I know," Uraraka sighed letting her hands fall to her side, "everybody's different, unique and special in their own way especially with Quirks but ugh."
"Hey," Kendo said as she began to move her hand rubbing circles into Uraraka's back, "if it makes you feel better none of us will mention your accent, okay?"
"Really?" Uraraka asked, looking up at them, her hope clear in her puppy dog-like eyes..
'To pure,' Ashido thought at the adorableness before her, "Of course," she agreed. As much as the pinkette liked to tease and mess with others she knew where to draw the line, she didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings after all.
"Hiding your origins will be no trouble," Tokoyami said as the three turned to him, "and Dark Shadow will keep quiet too."
"Hey! You don't speak for me!" the bird shadow protested. Uraraka's lower lip began to tremble as tears began to line her eyes. Unbeknownst to the mochi girl Kendo raised her hand threateningly behind her back, her fist growing in size as an aura of 'fix this' flared something visible to everyone but the tearful brunette. However such threats were unneeded as the living shadow was already hovering over the girl, "Wait, wait don't cry." Dark Shadow begged frantically circling around Uraraka, "I was joking, yeah, I was joking. I won't tell anyone about your accent so don't cry, please."
Uraraka sniffled before launching herself at Dark Shadow and wrapping him in a hug. "Thank you." she cheered. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
"Hey Tokoyami, a little help." Dark Shadow begged as it turned to it's master one hand awkwardly patting Uraraka's back, being clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Tokoyami merely looked on impassively before shrugging clearly fine with leaving his dark companion in the girl's hugging grasp.
"Alright, alright," Ashido said, strolling up to Uraraka as she grabbed her shoulder lightly tugging the girl away from the shadow, "in case you forgot Uraraka we need to go back to the observation room since we were defeated."
"Oh right," Uraraka said as she smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head with her eyes closed, "I forgot."
"I figured," Ashido replied, "but let's go before Bakugo shows up and accidentally blows us up with these guys."
"Right, oh and if we hurry we can check on Tsu and Sato," Uraraka said with a smile as she began to jog away with Mina close behind. After a few feet the brunette turned back, "Good luck," she waved.
"Yeah, hope you guys win," Ashido cheered with an over the shoulder wave of her own, "and if you see Kirishima give him an extra hit for me."
"Will do," Kendo agreed, giving the departing two a quick wave before turning to her teammate just in time to see Tokoyami lower his arm, concealing it beneath his cloak. Noticing her gaze Tokoyami cast the orangette a challenging look but Kendo replied with a smile, it was none of her business if the bird headed boy wanted to act like a tsundere. "So we have a headband now," she said instead, holding up the white piece of fabric in her hand.
"Yeah, and no other teams have been eliminated." Tokoyami said, his brows furrowing in thought.
"The exercise must be over halfway through which means there are still three teams left and time is running out," Kendo pointed out as she raised her free hand to her chin.
"So what's the plan?" A new voice asked, joining the conversation. Looking up Tokoyami and Kendo were unsurprised to see Iida with Jiro still on his back walk out of the alleyway Kendo'd hidden in. The two had been there the entire time with instructions to stay out of sight until the other team left or any other teams got close. Apparently Jiro thought the coast was clear enough for them to come out to have an impromptu team meeting. "Are we going to attack or hide until the exercise is over? We're the only team that managed to steal a headband after all."
"Yes but we shouldn't take that to mean we automatically pass," Kendo said. Seeing her teammates' looks of confusion she elaborated, "Even if we protect our headband by hiding out the rest of the time there were never any rules against other teams taking a headband we already stole."
"Meaning that they could take it and we'd be back at square one," Jiro realized with a frown.
Iida's hand chopped, "While I cannot condone such villainous behavior I believe we cannot rule out our opponents taking desperate measures as the end of the exercise draws closer."
"Which means it'd be better for us to get one more just in case," Kendo said, the others nodding their agreement. "Jiro, can you hear any teams nearby?"
Jiro was already on it, her jacks plugging into the ground. "I can hear two of them; no idea on the others. Ah shit."
"What is it?" Kendo asked in concern.
Jiro turned to them her expression reserved, "If the explosions and screams of manliness were anything to go by, it's Bakugo's and Kirishima's teams."
"What's wrong with that?" Iida asked in confusion.
Jiro's face was blank, "It's because they're about to meet right about-" A massive fireball taller than the buildings that surrounded erupted in the distance causing the ground underneath the teenage heroes-in-training to rumble as if a small earthquake had just hit. Even though they were easily several blocks away the scream of "DIIIIEEEEEEE!" was still loud enough it could be heard by everyone there. "-now." Jiro deadpanned.
Kendo sighed as her shoulders slumped, she turned to Jiro, her expression hopeful, "Are you absolutely sure that you can't hear anything from the third team?" Jiro shook her head. "I thought so," Kendo muttered as she straightened up head high. "Whelp, no point in wasting time, let's go."
Bakugo growled as the sharpened stalagmites of ice rushed up at him, his hands rising into the air as his Quirk activated, changing his airborne headfirst charge into a controlled retreat backwards. He slid for a moment as his feet hit the ground, his grin not fading in the least as the extras on his team rushed up to join him, Tail on his right while See Through stood behind them and Grape head clutched onto his leg. Bakugo ignored the little pervert though,his eyes locked onto the Half 'n' Half bastard that stood facing them.
Parts of the right side of the boy's body were coated in a thin layer of ice and every time he breathed he emitted a small cloud of mist. Tape Arms and Shitty Hair stood on either side of Half 'n' Half while Rock Head stood behind them nervously looking over his teammates shoulder. Bakugo could see the white band around Shitty Hair's head, but as frustrating as it was to admit he didn't see a whole lot of ways to get it.
"Oy Tails," he barked, the blond in a karate uniform turning his head just enough to see Bakugo out of the corner of his eye while making sure to not lose track of the other team, "deal with Tape Arms." Bakugo didn't wait to see if the blond would agree or not, Grape Head," he said, kicking his leg to disentangle the dwarf sized pervert, "make yourself fucking useful and protect See Through, try to stick one of those guys," he pointed a thumb in their opponents direction, "to the ground if you can."
"W-w-we have names you kno-"
"JUST DO IT!" Bakugo roared, cutting off the midget and cowering him into obedience. He clicked his tongue. His normal explosions weren't powerful enough to destroy one of Half 'n' Half's larger ice attacks quickly. It would be so much easier if he could just use his grenadier braces to destroy them in one shot, doing so would likely cause the extra to falter even if it was just for a second but a second was all the opening Bakugo needed to decide the battle. The only problem was he couldn't use them as All Might had explained when he pulled him aside before the exercise began.
Earlier:
"Young Bakugo-shounen how are you liking your costume?" All Might had asked when the explosive blond entered the room - one of the first students to do so - a proud grin on his face as he stood there in a hero costume not unlike that he'd designed as a child.
"It's great," he said, unable to contain his glee and it was, the designers and support companies had gone above and beyond making his drawing into the reality that now rested on his body.
"That's good," All Might said, his normal cheerful smile on his face, "because I am required to inform you that you will be unable to use your grenadier braces and improvised grenades until a teacher informs you differently."
Bakugo froze in place as he processed the words, his gleeful expression becoming slightly more fixed although only those who knew him well or had experience looking for such minor changes would notice. "W-what?" he asked, hatred rising up at his brief stumble over the word, a momentary weakness.
"Oh, it's nothing you did," All Might said reassuringly with a dismissive wave, "it's part of the law governing hero costumes and support gear. Anything abnormally dangerous or harmful that isn't required for the student's Quirk, health, or safety is supplied but comes with a built-in Training Wheels Protocol. You aren't the only student to have one, I know Aoyama requested extra lenses on his costume so he could fire a more powerful laser beam than normal using them so he's in the same situation you're in."
"Training. Wheels. Protocol." Bakugo growled, each word coming through tightly clenched teeth.
"Yep," All Might confirmed with a cheerful nod, "built-in safety locks keep the support gear from being used by the student unless unlocked by the teacher through an app on their phone. The app uses some high tech identifying thing that frankly is too complicated for me to understand," All Might said with a laugh, "but it does it's job of making sure only the person who's supposed to be able to use it can."
"So in other words…" Bakugo said through grit teeth, his head hanging low hiding his eyes from view, "I'm unable to use my support gear until you say otherwise."
"Or Aizawa," All Might said thoughtfully as he raised a finger to his chin, "I suppose Nezu would work, as would any hero you might intern with or work under during the Hero Work-Studies." It was only then that All Might seemed to notice the anger rolling off the blond in waves. "Relax," he said, patting the boy on the shoulder, "it's only until the student is deemed responsible enough to handle the items without adult supervision. Normally that's after you get your Provisional License as you're free to use it during the exam but," the #1 Hero looked around before leaning in with a hand up to cover his mouth, "there have been cases of teachers giving the students access to the gear earlier if they show they're responsible enough to handle it. So do your best and prove yourself to be worthy of your teachers trust." All Might said with a smile as he aimed a thumb's up at his student.
Bakugo didn't respond and when the moment stretched into an uncomfortable silence All Might let out an awkward laugh before excusing himself to head into the monitor room urging the blond boy to join his team, a command Bakugo obeyed mutely. As they walked to their starting point Bakugo ignored the chatter of his teammates, his hands clenching into fists where they hung at his side lost in his thoughts. A Training-Wheels Protocol, for him? Why? He was strong and his support gear would only make him stronger. Help him show everyone just why he would be the #1 Hero in the future. So why would they keep it from him?
'You know why,' the darker parts of his mind hissed, 'after what you did to him here you are still playing at being a hero.'
'Shut up,' Bakugo hissed in his mind, normally he would force the thoughts down before they could rise but right now as he wondered just what he'd done wrong his doubts had taken the opening to rise within him.
'Do you think you deserve it?' The voice asked contemplatively, "That you deserve to be here because of your Quirk?'
'No.'
'Really?' The doubt was obvious, 'You didn't seem to have a problem with believing that for all these years.'
'Things changed.'
'You're right,' the voice conceded, 'things did change.' It sounded smug at the end and too late Bakugo realized that he'd let himself be led right into it's trap. 'The weakling that you spent all your time knocking around; Quirkless, useless Deku is dead.' The voice roared with laughter, as Bakugo's temper flared but just as he got control of himself prepared to once more shove his demons back down he froze at the voice's next question, 'Do you ever wonder what his last words were?'
'W-what?' he choked out not caring about the stutter that tainted his thoughts.
'Oh so that caught your attention,' the voice said gleefully. 'His last words; as the building fell around him and he lay there a piece of plywood through his chest, what do you think he thought? What might he have said?' Bakugo didn't respond mute with horror. 'Maybe it was a scream,' the voice pondered thoughtfully, 'no words just a vocalization of his pain, he would have been in a lot of it after all.'
'...'
'No, you're right Deku is tougher than that. You helped him plenty when it came to developing a pain tolerance after all,' Bakugo flinched minutely. 'In that case maybe he was thinking of his mother, hoping she was alright and that she got out okay. Maybe he apologized for being such a worthless use of space to her.'
'Shut up!' But the voice went on uncaringly.
'Or maybe he thought of you,' Bakugo froze midstep nearly tripping although he quickly recovered, 'his only friend, or well his former friend at any rate, after the way you treated him you certainly don't deserve that title.' Bakugo's guilt spoke for itself.
'I know what I think he thought about though,' the voice said. 'I think he did think about you as he lay there on the floor bleeding out. That his thoughts revolved around the words you told him that very day just as school ended.'
Bakugo's brow furrowed what was the voice talking about, his mind went back all those months ago to the last day he'd seen Deku, the day of the slime incident. It stuck out in his mind, the memories clear and crisp which was unusual in and of itself but with everything that'd happened it was to be expected. He remembered the teacher announcing his intent to apply to U.A., and Deku's too. He remembered his anger, the students laughing at the green haired boy as Bakugo forced him back against the wall explosions erupting from the blond's hands as the greenete pathetically muttered about U.A. being his dream school for as long as he could remember, that he wouldn't know unless he tried. Bakugo's rage had been apocalyptic but he hadn't been able to do anything as class resumed forcing the students to quiet down and return to their seats. Then once the day ended there was nothing until he kicked the bottle in the alleyway and something had emerged from it to envelop him.
Bakugo frowned at the hole in his memory, what was the voice referring to? Had something happened that Bakugo couldn't remember? Had he said something to Izuku and if he had, why would the greenete think about it as he was dying? A headache rose behind Bakugo's eyes but before he could do anything about it the starting buzzer sounded. Forcing the headache, the voice, and everything else that wasn't related to the exercise down Bakugo activated his Quirk explosions erupting from his hands as he propelled himself into the air, he had some extras to beat down everything else could come later.
Bakugo shook his head like a dog drying itself off before to Todoroki's shock (made visible by the widening of his eyes and his mouth falling slightly agape) the blond punched himself in the face with his right hand. For a moment the two stood there, Bakugo panting his head turned to the left from the force of his own blow and Todoroki unsure of what to do as he looked at his opponent's cheek which was flushed red, likely from a mix of the blow and all the activity the blond had been through during the exercise. The battle between their respective teams had moved away from them at some, as if the others had come to an unspoken agreement to let the two powerhouses duke it out amongst themselves. "Umm…" the red and white hair colored boy spoke up after a moment of silence, clearly unsure of what to say, "are…you okay."
In response Bakugo swung his head back around, the savage grin that had already becoming quite infamous to the class splitting his face. "Oy Half 'n' Half," he called out as he bent his knees lowering his center of gravity, sparks beginning to emit from his upturned palms, "try not to die on me too quickly." The spotted ice that decorated Todoroki's right side spread slightly more as the ground around his right foot began to freeze over, his confusion falling away to be replaced by his normally blank mask that was all the answer Bakugo needed.
There was no signal, no declaration to begin but as if in unspoken agreement the two activated their Quirks at the same time, Bakugo's explosions launching him into the air and over the wave of ice that froze the ground where he'd stood only a few seconds before. As the blond rocketed at the dual haired boy said ice user didn't wait instead pulling his arm back the frozen element heeding his call as it formed around him. As one the two boy's hands shot forward Bakugo letting rip the largest explosion he could while Todoroki sent a myriad of icy stakes towards his opponent. But just before the two attacks could meet a voice yelled above the noise of the conflict. "Air Fist!"
A blast of wind tore through the battlefield smashing into Bakugo's explosion and Todoroki's ice. For a moment the three intermingled, rising vertically to form a twisting tornado of fire, ice, and air but said windstorm quickly erupted and dissipated leaving small snowflake sized pieces of ice to fall slowly downwards landing around the combatants below. The two boys turned towards the sudden intruder and were greeted with the sight of Kendo feet planted and fists raised clearly ready to fight, the orange glowing vein that encircled her enlarged reddened hands slowly fading away as the boys watched. Behind her it was a visible three-way free for all between their respective teams but it seemed pretty evenly matched if the lack of announcements was anything to go by.
However neither of the three teens were focused on their teammates, headbands or presidents. No, instead their attention was focused solely on the two others that stood with them. They were fighters, warriors, heroes and as their heartbeats increased pumping adrenaline and serotonin through their bloodstream the three teens braced themselves for a fight that they knew would test just who truly held the mantle as the strongest member of U.A. Hero Class 1-A. Todoroki exhaled, his breath a smoking cloud as his eyes slowly switched from Bakugo to Kendo and back again. Bakugo tilted his head to the side, careful to not lose sight of either opponent as he cracked his neck, sparks dancing on the palms of his hands eager to ignite the nitroglycerin sweat that coated them. Kendo merely tensed falling back into a basic martial arts stance ready to react the moment either of the two boys made a move.
For a second the three squared off the tension in the air so thick it was palpable. But just as it reached its peak a buzzer rang out through the city. All Might's voice strong and loud emerged from hidden speakers, a single word that forced every student to stop what they were doing be they mid-attack or mid-step. "Time."
The sound of combat in the distance began to die down quickly ceasing but none of the three powerhouses relaxed their stances. If anything the monster trio grew even more on edge and it was clear to anyone watching that the slightest trigger would start an all out fight between them. Or at least that was the case until a small cylindrical object was tossed into the middle of their standoff. An even distance away from them all none of the three were able to stop their bodies natural reaction to follow the object with their eyes, a natural reaction they quickly came to regret when the gray cylinder burst with a loud bang and a blinding flash of light.
The tension evaporated in an instant as all three teens cried out in shock, their hands rising up in an instant to cover and rub at their eyes in an attempt to alleviate the pain while they stumbled back and forth. Their ears rang leaving the three practically deaf to the world, someone might have spoken but all they could hear was a low mumble while their ears pounded. Even Bakugo, whose ears and eyes were naturally strengthened against loud noises and bright flashes of light to keep him from being affected over time by his Quirk, wasn't immune to the cylinders' effects. The three teens felt hands gently grab their arms and it was all they could do to let themselves be led to wherever it was they were going.
Momo sighed as she led the three troublemakers back to the observation room. All Might's announcement that the exercise was over had been delivered to everyone, even the underground bank vault her and her team had hidden in throughout the exercise. While the other teams had spent the half hour chasing one another down fighting to steal one another's headband her team had followed her lead leaving Aoyama in the open vault while the other three stood around outside as guards. On the off chance that another team chose to enter the building they were hiding in, make their way behind the teller counters, and then downstairs to where the vault is, the three would have plenty of time to lock the sparkling Frenchman inside protecting their president for the rest of the exercise.
The three had been confused when Momo had explained her plan but once she explained her reasoning the three had reluctantly agreed with her assessment. It was a risk, reliant on All Might's wording of the exercise but if she was right then it would explain why the Pro Hero had said he expected the majority of the students to fail.
However, that was if she was right and as the time dragged on (far too slowly for any of their liking) Momo hadn't been able to keep doubts from rising up. What if she was wrong? What if she has simply put too much thought into the exercise, built it up into something completely different from what it was supposed to be? Strangely in those moments it was Izuku that came to mind, his words of trust in her, his reliance. She knew their relationship was strange; they were master and servant after all but they were also more. She knew they were friends, he'd said as much himself but at the same time she felt that her oath to him made their relationship just a little more… intimate.
It was confusing just like her body's reaction when she thought of him, her heart seemed to beat faster, she felt warm all over, and her blood raced. She'd never felt this way before and she might have thought she was getting sick but when she'd described her symptoms to her parents inquiring just what condition or sickness she might have acquired their reactions hadn't been expected in the least. Her father's response had been a pained grimace while her mother had squealed, clapping her hands together in delight as she babbled about how Momo would need new clothes, makeup, and jewelry. Neither had answered her question, leaving Momo to figure it out for herself.
Momo shook her head, clearing away the thoughts as she entered the room, Bakugo, Kendo, and Todoroki following behind her. The other students were standing around mingling while All Might stood at the very front of the room by the monitors and a row of windows that looked out over the training ground. "Ah, young Yaoyorozu," the Hero exclaimed upon seeing her, "glad you could join us and bring the others with you."
"It was no problem at all," Momo replied with a disarming smile as she left the others to move to stand next to her teammates. The three students stood for a moment blinking away the last of the flashbang's effects before acting. Bakugo shot her a glare and while it looked like he wanted to say something the blond merely growled before stomping off to lean against the wall.
Momo didn't react but her teeth clenched just a little harder than nessecary. She couldn't deny that a part of her ached to take on Bakugo and not only put him in his place but get revenge for Izuku at the same time. Her rage burned within her but Momo forced it down, now wasn't the time. She had no doubt Bakugo's reckoning would come soon enough but right now she needed to focus on her role as a spy, she would not blow it just to get a cheap shot at the first opportunity that presented itself. No better to wait, plan, and when the time came crush Bakugo like an ant underfoot.
Todoroki and Kendo meanwhile merely looked at her, neither noticing that her smile had become just a tad darkner than it had formerly been. The former's face was blank while the latter at least offered the ravenette an apologetic sheepish grin. Kendo moved to rejoin her team just as Momo had but Todoroki seemed to follow Bakugo's example, moving to stand alone.
All Might chose that moment to begin his voice drawing the attention of all in the room to him, "Ha ha ha," he laughed, "very well done everybody. You all did well and I hope that many of you learned something from this exercise either about yourselves or your classmates. Now I am sure many of you have thoughts on your performance so allow me to ask how you believe you all did, Team One?"
The three girls and Sato looked at one another before Uraraka stepped forward rubbing the back of her head, clearly uncomfortable with speaking for them, "Umm I guess we did alright." She said uncertainly. "I mean we were the only team to have our headband stolen but we were split up and ambushed so I guess stick together?" She finished her statement having become more of a question.
All Might merely nodded, "Indeed both sticking in groups and splitting up comes with it's own advantages and disadvantages. Together you make for a larger target but individually against superior numbers your odds of victory greatly decrease. Learning both when you should and shouldn't split up will be covered at some point in the future but great takeaway. Now Team Two."
This time Kirishima stepped forward, "Umm, we didn't steal a headband but I guess offense is just as good as defense? I mean we mostly held back and relied on Todoroki but when he split off to fight Bakugo we pretty much hung back and focused on not getting our headband stolen. If we'd been more aggressive I guess we might have stolen one but we also could have lost ours so I don't really know."
Once again All Might nodded, "A good observation, a wise hero knows when to attack and when to defend something else that will be covered later this year. I would recommend researching the Bloodless Surrender Case involving Crust if you want a prime example of such a decision. Team Three."
Hagakure, Mineta, and Ojiro turned towards Bakugo who growled at them before turning his head away, clearly not keen on answering. Ojiro sighed before stepping forward, "I guess ours is pretty similar to the other teams. Bakugo went ahead and we pretty much spent most of the time chasing after him. At the end he got into a fight with Todoroki while we had to face the rest of the team by ourselves. I guess ours would be communication, make sure to discuss what you intend to do with your teammates so you don't leave them behind or do something they're unprepared for and not expecting."
"Another great answer," All Might said, raising a thumb at Ojiro, the tailed boy's shoulders drooped and he clearly relaxed at the praise. "Communication is a key part of being a Pro Hero be it with civilians, the press, other heroes, or even villains. Clear concise communication can allow heroes to more easily find and rescue people after disasters of villains attack. It's also a reason why many raids or operations that involve numerous heroes, law enforcement officials, or agencies will have a meeting beforehand to go over the goals and plan of the operation. This makes sure everyone involved knows where they should be, what they should be doing, and their final goal.
Throughout the year us teachers will work to help you develop your ability to communicate and feel free to talk to us if you need or desire extra assistance outside of the classroom. We might not have time ourselves but we'll surely be able to recommend someone else you can talk to if you need help. Team Four."
Kendo stepped forward immediately having clearly taken the role of the team's leader. "I believe we did pretty well. We were the only team to steal another's headband and when we did we made sure our President not only wasn't endangered but had an escape route in the event our ambush backfired."
All Might nodded, "Very good do you mind explaining your reasoning when it came to attempting to steal a second headband."
Itsuka looked at her teammates before quickly looking back at the teacher, "Umm after we stole Team One's headband we talked about hiding out until the exercise was over but then we realized that just because we stole a headband didn't mean we automatically passed. There was no rule against another team stealing a headband we'd already stolen or and we still had to protect our President's headband."
"Ah, so a case of better safe than sorry?" All Might asked.
"Pretty much," Kendo confirmed with a slight shrug.
"Very good," All Might said turning to look at the four teams, "now I am proud to say that all of you," the teens looked forward eagerly even Bakugo and Todoroki were unable to hide their interest in the #1 Hero's next words, "failed."
A moment of stunned silence filled the room before fifteen screams of "WHAT?!" filled the room (Todoroki the only one who hadn't shouted).
All Might laughed at their shock, sticking the pinky of his right hand inside his ear. "Quite a pair of lungs you all have," he complimented, "nearly made me go deaf. Now I'm sure you all have questions but if you noticed there is one team that I have yet to call upon. Young Yaoyorozu, can you explain what your team did during the exercise and the reasoning behind it?"
"Of course," Momo said, stepping forward, every other team looking towards her expectantly, "our team," the others held their breath clearly wondering what ingenius strategy the ravenette and her team had employed to pass, "hid until the exercise ended."
Immediately more shouts filled the air, "What?"
"How's that make any sense?"
"Was there something special about where you hid?"
"But I wanted to see more of you and your costume!" That one was Mineta.
"How did you go after the other team's headbands then?"
The last question came from Kendo and it was to the orangette that Momo turned. "That's the thing," she answered, "we didn't pursue anybody at all." Seeing the confusion she elaborated, "Remember All Might's instructions at the beginning of the exercise, 'The goal is to protect your President and their headbands from the other teams until the thirty minute timer goes off. You can do this however you'd like and if a team loses its headband I'll announce their defeat at which point all members are to stop whatever they are doing and return to the observation room.'" Momo quoted. "No where in there does All Might-sensei say that stealing another team's headband is a requirement to pass. All he said was that the goal is to protect our president and their headband until time runs out." She smiled as recognition appeared in the other's eyes, "It was another rational deception."
Before any of the other students could say anything, All Might's laugh once more filled the room, "You got me," the hero admitted with a smile.
Shouts and cries of disbelief from the trick erupted once more but Uraraka's voice in the form of a question seemed to cut through them all, "Why?" the brunette with a simple bob cut asked, her eyes furrowed seemingly in thought, "Is there a lesson in this you wanted us to learn?"
"Yes," All Might confirmed his smile fading until it was clear he was about to speak seriously, "I became a Hero because I wanted to make a world where everyone could smile happily without fear and live in peace. That was my goal and it became a core trait of my heroic persona, why I always try to smile when I'm in the field. Others have their own reasons for being heroes, some want fame and to be recognized, others want to simply fight or use their Quirks more freely, some want money and some want nothing other than to help people in need either because they have the power to do so or simply because it's the right thing to do."
All Might paused to look at the students individually eye to eye one by one. "I don't know why you all decided to become heroes and I'm not asking you to tell me," he held up a hand before anyone could answer, "your reasons are your own. However once you dedicate yourself to this path, before you put on the suit or get a piece of plastic that says you can act legally to help others you have taken on a responsibility, been given control of the lives of others. Peoples lives are now in your hands whether you know it or not and once you graduate every choice, every decision will impact the lives of the people out there," he swept his arm at windows and screens displaying the empty city behind him.
"Three years," he said, holding up three fingers. "Us teachers have three years to stuff everything into you, skills, knowledge, rules, laws, regulations, and the lessons we learned from decades of experience. It is our job, our duty to prepare you for the world outside these walls so that when you move beyond them you don't end up as a memorial segment on the evening news. To that end we will prepare you, push your bodies and minds to their limits and then beyond. You've all heard U.A.'s motto growing up 'Plus Ultra', further beyond. That statement, those two words describe not only our school's staff but also our students, our graduates and anyone else who's walked these hallowed halls. It's a promise, a vow from everyone that attends to push beyond their limits to grow stronger, to go further beyond and now we expect the same from all of you."
He paused and once more looked at the students, "There is no shame in admitting that you don't have what it takes, that you can't step up and push yourself beyond your limits. Hundreds have realized this in the past and no doubt more will do so in the future. I know what I'm asking for is difficulty and may seem impossible but there is a reason for it. When you're out there in the middle of a disaster, a villain attack, or any other one of the thousands of situations you might find yourself in. When your body is long past giving out and every cell is screaming at you to fall, to stop, to rest there might be someone who needs help, who needs saving. A Hero knows that they cannot save everyone, that's something impossible for anyone to do but they do their best to save what's right in front of them and if all that was required was that little extra push, the extra two steps then you should be prepared to make that effort. That is the lesson I was trying to teach today, to put someone else first before yourself, before glory, or riches, or even a villain. Think on that and what I told you today about our school's expectations. Class dismissed."
Author's Note:
Hello everybody and welcome to the story that is going to either make my name on this website or cause the MHA community to come after me like a medieval witch hunting mob with pitchforks and torches, you know the classics. However seeing as how the latter hasn't happened yet I'll say I'm doing a pretty decent job if I do say so myself. Which I did, just now.
Whelp lets dive right into this chapter, in case you didn't notice one of my goals was to change the standard events that happen in order to set my story apart from the literal thousands that are on this site and others. This is one example of that taking the classic battle trial and keeping it similar while presenting it in a different form. Also All Might's a somewhat competent teacher, who'd have thought he wouldn't be a walking blond trope when it came to the subject. Also in case you are wondering why Momo didn't go off on Bakugo she's smart enough to not blow her cover based on her anger instead keeping it until until the opportune moment. Don't worry her and Bakugo are going to have a reckoning soon enough. Mwah, ha, ha!
Next chapter we'll have Izuku, Himiko, and Momo meeting up once more while All For One finally gets around to announcing the contest. Also going to have the talk between him and the doctor so you all will finally find out how Izuku's healing him worked along with all your points on Himiko's arm because you all WILL NOT LET THAT GO! ...Sorry. *Exhale* Deep breathe D'yavol let it go and move on, get a drink of hot chocolate if you have to. *sips hot chocolate disgruntledly*
Now for the Harem, the winner of the poll is Ibara Shiozaki with 25 votes, followed by Cow Lady & Pony Tsunotori with 17 votes, Nemuri Kayam with 16, and last but note least Nana Shimura with 13. It was a close race all around and thank you to the 71 people who voted. As for who will be included in the harem the answer is of course Ibara, along with everyone else. That's right I intend to make everyone a member of the harem! Will it work out, maybe. Will I find a way to do it, I'm trying. Will I succeed I have no idea but if nothing else I'll do a one-shot or something so you get to see the pairing. As for last chapter love the speculation and the only thing I'll say is that the civilian job does not belong to Fuyumi but someone else.
As always make sure to leave a comment/review because I love reading them and they motivate me to keep working. Also got to say I'm starting to feel like a yakuza boss or at least the heir to one with how many of you are saying 'thank you for your hard work'. It's probably bad for my ego that whenever I see one of those I just picture myself in a room with a bunch of hardened, scarred criminals bending 90 degrees at the waist while their heads are dotted with sweat. So I got an ego issue what else is new.
Anyway leave a review, join my P-atreon or T-witter if you feel like it, and until next time this is the demon lord who could totally bullshit his way through a teaching career at U.A. signing off,
-D'yavol Lucifer 3:)
*IMPORTANT NOTICE*
All the cover art for my stories are ones I found online. I am really interested in using fanart provided by you the readers to replace them. If you're interested draw something up and pm me so I can send you the details on where to send it or pm me and I'll give you some details so you can draw one. As I say in my bio if I use it I may add you as an oc in one of my stories! Isn't that exciting!
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June 1, 2022
Reviews - 305
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Anime/Manga: My Hero Academia
Language: English
Rating: All]