Hello again, everyone. Now that Nikolay has gotten some substantial improvements made to his costume and has gone through a much-needed mature discussion with Kyouka Jirou in regards to any potential feelings beyond their friendship, will he finally be able to gain the mastery over any potential new special moves he so desperately needs in time for the Provisional Hero License Exam? Well, read on and find out.
I've done a lot of thinking in regards to the consistent lack of reviews, no matter how many times I ask. I won't insult your collective intelligence and act like I wasn't even a little upset by it. I go through a lot of effort working around so many self-imposed narrative restrictions in order to give this property the respect for its story that it more than deserves, while still being able to fit my own story into its gears, and some genuine and honest feedback as to how you all think my contributions are faring is all I ask for in return.
And yet, after reflecting on it, I realize that there are still so many other MHA stories you could all have chosen to follow and read consistently instead of mine, and that number, I know, is only growing. And yet, every day, I still see just how many people go and take the time out of their busy days to give my story the time of day, and in its own way, that's an even greater reward, because nobody forced you to come here. You chose to give me your attention, and I am indescribably grateful for that.
Don't forget to check out my DA profile, 'ubasnaga' to see my currently posted official chapter covers so you can at least get an idea of how I envisioned certain scenes and original characters. If you'd like to contribute your own fanart to this particular story, please feel free to PM me through either platform.
I'd once again like to give a deeply grateful shout-out to my two beta readers, Mizu and Jonny. To have two loyal and honest friends like you throughout this endeavor (pun may or may not be intended; you decide) is a treasure that can't be adequately described with words.
My Hero Academia is the property of Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. I only own my original characters and the original stories surrounding them, and the alterations of established events that occur through their existence.
A/N: [[]] indicates that characters are contextually speaking Russian.
Chapter 55
Special Move
(Специальный Ход)
August 16th
It was only in the earliest hours of the next morning when Tomura Shigaraki had Kurogiri finally return himself to their true hideout, with newest member Vukodlak steadily hobbling along in tow. Much like the warehouse they had decided to meet him in, this place was also kept relatively nondescript, due to the severe lack of light. Any novice Villain would have no doubt found the proclivity for overbearing darkness for the sake of atmosphere to be childishly amusing.
"It's heartening to see your mission was ultimately a success, Shigaraki Tomura-kun. Have our new arrival come to my lab so we can officially prepare." The moment the warp gate had closed behind them, they were instantly greeted by the electronic voice of a clearly old man over an unseen set of speakers built into the room. Tomura gave the slightest grumble under his breath at the vague but ever-present condescension evident in said voice.
"Kurogiri, take Vukodlak to see the doctor. Once he's done picking at his brain, we can finally start getting the rest of our plan set into motion." At his command, Kurogiri calmly ushered Vukodlak along with him through the darkened labyrinth of halls; the Russian Villain growing increasingly curious just who this enigmatic doctor that was waiting for him was, and much more importantly, just what Tomura had in mind for his very first mission with this new group.
The lab that Vukodlak had ultimately been led to was far from unimpressive as far as the scope of equipment was, but while he was momentarily confused that there was no sign of this doctor of theirs, Kurogiri was hardly perturbed by his absence. "Please try to understand, Vukodlak-san, that our doctor is a man who prioritizes caution above all else when it comes to his person. He is indeed here, even if you can't see him. Regardless, you'll find he won't let you down."
With that, he left Vukodlak alone in the oppressive cold atmosphere of this mad scientist's lab. The moment the door had closed behind him, Vukodlak could hear the electronic buzz of this room's speakers turning on. "The way Kurogiri-san said it, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you're always listening in, eh?"
"That's right. It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Vukodlak-san. All For One seems to have a great deal of faith in your capabilities in not only assisting the League in seeing its goals through, but also in being able to help Shigaraki Tomura-kun grow to his fullest potential in mind, strength and spirit so he'll be truly ready to embrace his supposed destiny."
Even without having to hear the man say so face-to-face, Vukodlak could pick up the faintest, yet most interesting, inflection in the doctor's voice when it came to speaking of the League's acting leader. "You sound doubtful of him."
"I have no reason to doubt All For One's reasons for believing so, but in my eyes, Shigaraki-kun is still far too young to be considered ready for such power, and especially far too temperamental. That's why I'm hoping you and the others will be able to pull through and be able to help mold him into the kind of leader that Sensei believes he has the potential for. However, enough about the far future. Let us take a good look at you. It's only customary that I have all members of the League of Villains go through an all-around physical and psychological examination. Nothing like the invasive procedures or plodding psychiatric routines that society's institutions love to waste time and effort on. For this case, simply set yourself down on that slab before you, and we can begin by simply getting a comprehensive look at your genetic makeup. Once I've run these tests, I can begin crafting you a new leg the likes of which even you would scarcely believe."
Vukodlak, at one point, would have gladly called the doctor out for sounding so bold in his own self-confidence, but with the circumstances he now found himself in, he knew there would be no point in doing so. If this man truly believed he could make him ready for battle against Heroes in the field again, after all the waiting he'd already done over the years and then in prison, then what harm would a little testing and a little more waiting do? After all, he was still especially curious just what exactly it was that Tomura had in mind for him to truly prove his dependability. The sooner he could do that, the sooner he could finally test little Kolya's mettle as a 'real' Hero.
For a short while, he lay flat on the metal slab and let the machinery the doctor controlled from all across the lab do their thing, looking over every inch of his body and running a multitude of scans. He wasn't nearly learned enough in such complex scientific work that he was about to start asking what the doctor was specifically looking over. He was simply counting down the seconds before he could finally start working on a new leg for him and they could finally get to business.
"Well, as far as everything regarding your physical makeup is concerned, you're in exceptional health. With a Quirk that's allowed your primary senses to be as strong as they are, even without the training you've put into them in the meantime; to have a physical build as solid as this will make you an exceptional field soldier for us, let alone a scout. I just need to conduct a scan on your brain, and this intrusive little formality will be all finished."
Vukodlak let out a bored sigh as a large rotating metal ring began to hum and move its way up and down the slab, running an invisible set of scanning rays across his head multiple times. Once the machinery had ultimately come to a stop and the incessant humming died down, he was about ready to spring himself back up onto his foot and leave, before the buzz of the speakers clicked back on. "Please, be patient for just a little longer, Vukodlak-san. There's… something in your scans I-I need to clarify for just a moment."
While Vukodlak sat impatiently upon the slab at his command, only slightly curious what could have prompted even a single stutter out of the man; the doctor was looking upon the projection of Vukodlak's brain on the screens with a sense of something he never expected to feel again in all his years: disbelief and astonishment. There were no words he could hope to find to be able to describe the anomaly he had soon spotted in the scan of the Russian Villain's brain. Even if he could, he knew the others in the League would either not understand a word of it, or they wouldn't believe him. 'No… no, they wouldn't believe me… but they will believe him.'
Knowing what he did about how strong Vukodlak's senses apparently were, especially his hearing, he hurriedly retreated into another room further back from the lab; confident the man wouldn't be able to overhear him from here, especially with walls this thickly reinforced.
Within his private quarters, the doctor had activated a tiny Morse code transmitter within the collar of his lab jacket; a little extra detail he had implemented when creating the transmitter All For One had ordered implanted into his neck. They had come to the understanding that this would only be for cases wherein the doctor would need to contact All For One himself, and not the other way around. The supreme Villain knew the old man not to be someone to waste time on idle chatter, and only to reach out in the most important of circumstances.
Hence, when he activated the signal on his end, it was virtually no time at all when he suddenly heard All For One's voice easily making its way into his head: "You have something of importance to share with me for once, doctor? Using my EMP Quirk to such a degree to facilitate Vukodlak's escape was quite demanding, but my energy is coming back. Still, please make this concise."
The doctor had to really struggle to keep his lingering astonishment to a level of calm so he could formulate his thoughts to communicate back to his old friend and leader: "Sensei, this is going to be very hard to believe, even for you, but do please hear me out. Shigaraki Tomura-kun and Kurogiri-san returned with Vukodlak-san in tow, and I was simply giving him the same physical examination as everyone else. However, I've just taken a comprehensive X-ray of his brain, and I came across something incredible: a genetic malformation unlike those of literally anyone else I've looked at in my experiences of studying Quirks and their identifiers in the human DNA model. It was a malformation unlike anyone… except for you, sensei."
The oppressive silence that followed was about what the doctor had come to expect after telling All For One such incredible news. He was still trying to comprehend the reality of it himself. "Are you absolutely certain of this, doctor? Elaborate."
All For One's voice was still calm, but there was no mistaking the edge in his tone. Depending how the doctor worded this, his leader could take this to be incredibly good news… or incredibly bad news. "It's not exactly the same kind of genetic anomaly as what you posses, Sensei. Yours allows you the ability to possess multiple Quirks, as well as take and bestow them at will. There's no mistaking what I saw here today; I've saved the scan I got of yours for all these years simply for how incredibly rare it is, so I know what I saw. Vukodlak-san has the genetic capability to possess more than one Quirk at once without having to go through the process of being turned into a Nomu in order to avoid the psychological destruction that followed with so many of your test subjects before. The only difference is that he can't steal and give Quirks at will like you can."
Within his cell, All For One was fighting every impulse in his body to start smiling in anticipation. This was better news than he could have ever expected from the likes of such an obscure foreign Villain. The process of making individuals into Nomus in order to stack their Quirk numbers for the field was always so time-consuming and difficult, so for them to now have a member among them who could already be made into such a powerhouse to help Tomura was nothing short of miraculous. The closest All For One had come to finding such an individual before had been when recruiting Wolfram for the I-Island attack and bestowing one of his Muscle Augmentation Quirks. The man hadn't been instantly mind-broken by the process, but there was no question that he would have simply been running on borrowed time in the end.
"There's no telling if there's a limit as to how many Quirks Vukodlak-san could be able to hold onto at one time, or how it could affect his original Quirk, depending what was given to him. Regardless, I would urge us to exercise caution in this matter, lest we end up pushing his limit and end up destroying one of the most indispensable finds the League of Villains has found yet." The doctor's own tone was clearly equal parts excitement and cautious, but All For One was hardly going to let that stop him from at least dabbling just a little bit.
"I understand, doctor. Don't worry; I already know exactly what to give him for now. Please, have Kurogiri come to your lab for just a minute."
As Vukodlak continued to sit in patient silence, he didn't even flinch when the door suddenly opened to reveal the hazy form of Kurogiri making his way inside. Considering how loyal he clearly was to Tomura, his being here by himself was a bit curious for Vukodlak. "Did Shigaraki-san already grow impatient waiting?"
"Actually, no, Vukodlak-san. Kurogiri-san is here because he's going to assist us immensely right now. Now please pay attention and try to remain calm. Kurogiri, please be so kind as to open a gate here and in the same place you have been for All For One."
As soon as the doctor gave his order, Kurogiri proceeded to do as he was told, and as a small black warp gate began to form between his misty hands; he, Vukodlak, the doctor and all the other Villains in the League across the country could soon hear their leader's voice clear in their heads. "There's something of great interest the doctor has just informed me of from your tests that you need to know now, Vukodlak-san, as will the rest of your fellow Villains assisting Tomura. It turns out that there exists a malformation in the deepest part of your brain, where the DNA sequence of all human beings is found; where the identifier of all people's Quirks is found, to be precise. What's most interesting is that it's a malformation almost identical to my own. To put it simply: you, my friend, have the exceptionally rare trait of being able to possess more than one Quirk at any one time without either your mind or body completely breaking."
Vukodlak had half a mind to laugh and tell the man responsible for his escape to stop messing around with him, but the fact that there was no trace of humor to be heard in either his, or the doctor's voice, quickly did away with that sentiment. In fact, even if it weren't for the visibly shocked look in Kurogiri's glowing eyes, Vukodlak could practically feel the atmosphere of the entire hideout as he knew it go deathly cold. There was something in his gut that was even instinctively telling him that Tomura was no doubt going to be upset upon hearing this. If he was being trained and raised to become All For One's successor, then of course he would undoubtedly feel threatened if he knew one of his intended subordinates had an ability nearly identical to his own mentor.
"This is an incredible amount to process, I know. For the longest time, we've all been told that it's only ever been one Quirk to a person. That's why I'm going to grant you a boon so as to assure you that this is no lie. You have the potential to be a truly indispensable asset to Tomura and the League of Villains, and my generosity does not simply go as far as helping secure your freedom. You want the same thing as the rest of us, so it's only fair I grant you the capabilities to help make it so. Now please hold still, no matter what you may feel."
Even if Vukodlak still had a share of skepticism about him, he couldn't hide the childlike smile of excitement starting to spread from the corners of his mouth the more he thought about it. Keeping in mind how the League's ultimate leader was communicating, he simply tried to keep his mind calm to answer back: "I suppose I should just hope you're both right about this. I must admit, now you have my anticipation growing. I can only imagine what multiple Quirks at once must feel like."
"You're about to find out, Vukodlak-san. Even if Tomura may be upset at first that you have this advantage, he will come to see the true potential you now present him in proving himself a true leader worthy to be my inheritor. Now I should warn you, as one of a very few individuals across the time since the onset of Quirks to possess this ability, the sudden possession of multiple Quirks is doubtless going to take a great physical toll on you in the beginning. After that, however; you'll find the sensation to be nothing short of indescribable."
With that final syllable still echoing loud and clear in his head, Vukodlak was suddenly met by a single hand emerging with lightning speed from the void of the warp gate before him, clutching tight onto his head and obscuring his eyesight. Before he could even react, however, Vukodlak suddenly felt this overwhelming pulsating sensation start emanating through his entire body from his forehead, almost as if a jolt of pure energy was being transplanted out the hand and straight into him.
One after another, these pulsations just kept going. It was all so indescribably powerful, and even more painful, Vukodlak didn't even have any grasp of the passage of time anymore. When the hand had finally released its grip on him, for all Vukodlak knew, it could've only been a few seconds, or hours on end. All he knew was that by the time the hand had retreated back into the gate, and said gate closed with All For One's now muddled command, Vukodlak could no longer sit up, and instead collapsed into the fetal position on the floor; his entire body going into intense spasms, as though he were in the throes of a seizure. His internal temperature was all over the place, drenched in a feverish sweat, as it felt like his whole body was reconstituting itself or rebuilding itself from the inside out.
As a matter of fact, the most standout painful sensation amid this maelstrom, Vukodlak could quickly centralize to the stump of his leg. "GAAAH! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! MY LEG FEELS… LIKE IT'S ON FIRE!"
As though his roared words of agony were somehow still able to echo through the land towards All For One himself, the Villain's voice quickly answered him in his head: "A good portion of that is undoubtedly the several different Quirks I've decided to bestow onto you taking root into the very fiber of your being. However, among them, I also decided to bestow to you a copy of my Super Regeneration Quirk, the same one that I used to help heal your eyes so long ago. It's taken note of your injuries and is already working to repair them. Give it a day, and those Quirks will all have settled within you, and your leg should be back as though you never lost it to begin with. On top of that, any injury you sustain in battle will undoubtedly be able to heal within minutes so long as you focus enough. Until the time comes that Tomura decides the League is ready for another mission, you will have plenty of time to learn and practice your new Quirks all together."
Vukodlak didn't even know how he was able to make out All For One's words through the raging inferno of agony inside the entirety of his body, especially in his head. He simply could not mentally shut the maelstrom of sensations out. Realizing this, the doctor hurriedly activated the intercom in his lab: "Do not fret, Vukodlak-san. The malformation in your brain is nearly identical to the one within All For One himself. If his body is able to handle possessing as many Quirks as he does, yours should be able to handle a good number of them as well. Kurogiri-san, please take Vukodlak-san to one of the rooms so he can rest his way through the pain and get his energy back. He's going to be going through it for a while."
"Understood, doctor. Afterwards, I'll get in contact with the Broker to see about finding someone who can assist us in hiding Vukodlak-san's identity from the public." With that, Kurogiri quickly took the writhing Russian Villain into his arms and took his leave; all the while leaving the doctor to stew in his anticipation and curiosity, still not quite finished processing the fact he was now fortunate enough to find a specimen with such an incredible extra ability like his old friend and leader. He could once more only hope that All For One was correct, in that Tomura would be able to put his own childish sensibilities aside and recognize the benefits Vukodlak now stood to provide the League of Villains from this point onward.
Yuuei Academy, Gamma Gym, August 20th
The class-wide training regimen of Class 1-A had gone uninterrupted for a grand total of four days now, and as Aizawa and the rest of his fellow teachers silently observed and perceived in that time; while some students had definitely taken more time than others to do so, there was no argument that now all of the students were finally starting to show genuine improvement, not only in the strengths of their respective Quirks, but also in that they were finally starting to shape and mold their special moves at long last. While a great many of them centered their intended moves around combat, there were others that surprisingly decided to go either the route of defense or immobilization. Considering how gung-ho much of his class was, this little development couldn't help but spawn only the slightest upturned corners of Aizawa's otherwise apathetic face.
As for the students themselves, there was another reason today was already proving to be such a big one for a good number of them. After having waited for what felt like forever, those that had taken the liberty of going to the Department of Support for costume upgrades (by this point having now included a further handful of their classmates following their example) now finally had their new and improved costumes to showcase and put to the test.
And even though the excitement was through the roof for every one of those students involved, Nikolay was feeling especially enthused, silently grateful that even despite the improvements that had been made, it all still felt virtually the same. In fact, to only the most discerning eye would it have been clear that there were any real visible changes to the makeup of his costume.
The same could almost not be said once he finally laid eyes on Izuku as he was in the middle of finishing fitting into the last of his costume. "Midoriya! Bezpalov! You two actually changed your costumes?!"
The sound of surprise in Minoru's voice as he approached the two boys on his way to the training ground caught them both likewise, with Izuku having been too caught up in making sure the improvements to his own costume still made it fit, and Nikolay realizing he'd already been proven wrong that nearly no one would notice the change in his own costume.
"Oh, yeah. I got some additional support to lessen the load on my arms." As Izuku explained this, Nikolay took a good look at his green-haired friend's new setup. The body and hood of his costume was virtually the same, except that now almost the entirety of his arms were adorned in thick white gauntlet/sleeves that went to halfway up his biceps. Furthermore he now had a metallic mouth guard hanging around his neck.
As soon as he realized that now Izuku and Minoru's eyes were on him specifically, Nikolay likewise proceeded to try and explain the changes to his own costume, based on the deluge of technical jargon that had been dumped upon him when he'd received it: "Yeah, my changes are definitely more subtle by comparison. The insides of my boots now have the same kind of kinetic release mechanisms that the insides of my gloves do, attached to holes in the soles. Now I can actually use my boosted jumps and kicks without destroying my shoes and half my pants in the process. It still feels kind of weird, though, almost like I'm constantly stepping on a tiny cushion of springs. I'll have to get used to that quick."
Indeed, his boots now looked considerably thicker on him than they used to. However, Izuku was quick to notice something else: "Something looks different about the material of your suit itself, too, Kolya-san."
Indeed, depending on where Nikolay stood within the sunlight, one could have been able to see something microscopic, as though it were actually interwoven into the fabric of his costume as a whole, catch the light like fabric couldn't. Knowing what Izuku was talking about, Nikolay still couldn't hide the confusion on his face. "Yeah, the instructions when I got this tried to explain it, but I don't know if I can describe it right. They made it sound like these things woven into my suit are connected to just as many shock absorbers in the interior. The way it apparently works is that they take a good portion of the kinetic energy I normally absorb and transfer throughout my body, in order to take that much of the load and physical toll off of me in case things get rough. Afterwards they hold onto that energy, and as long as I focus on a certain part of my body, they'll release the energy stored in that portion of my costume. It's like my absorption/refraction ability, only a little bit easier to control and time."
As Nikolay moved his waist and arms about in order to demonstrate the presence of the kinetic releasers woven into his costume in the light, Minoru visibly perked up upon looking closer at his classmate's face. "Hey, what about those things in your ears? They look like wireless ear buds."
This time, Nikolay's confusion gave way to a smile of much better understanding as he took one of the small black buds from his right ear. "Right, the instructions from Power Loader-sensei said that Hatsume-san made these because of what I was saying about that potential powered shout of mine. Apparently they're designed to block out the specific vibration frequency of the shout on its own, since both times I've used it have caused my ears to bleed."
Despite bringing up this grim reminder, Nikolay's confident smile didn't falter as he set the ear bud back in place. "Granted, I was only able to use it those times because I was in a state of severe emotional overwhelm. I've still got a lot of training to go through before I can even think of using that semi-regularly, just like the rest of my Quirk's abilities so far. So as far as these are concerned, it's better to have them and not need them than the other way around."
Izuku couldn't help but smile in deep approval at such thorough planning in terms of them both clearly having taken their respective warnings to heart and making the adjustments needed to alleviate them. In a way, it really felt like he and Nikolay were both taking a great step forward to becoming their own desired kinds of Heroes.
At the same time, while likewise smiling at the sight of two of his classmates ultimately becoming stronger in their own ways, that didn't stop Minoru from simply chiming in as he continued on his way: "Well, while you guys were at it, you probably should've just gone for a total image change. Bezpalov's isn't anywhere as colorful or stylish as the others, and Midoriya's is just kinda plain."
Nikolay couldn't have cared less about his costume looking fashionable or standout, just so long as it was comfortable and effective. Looking over Izuku's costume, and then to the soft smile on his face, it was clear he didn't take such criticism to heart either; especially as he answered the shorter boy: "I think I'm all right, honestly. As much as possible, I want to stay true to this base."
It was clear there was a real emotional attachment between Izuku and his costume, much like there was between Nikolay and his own; knowing so much of its design had come from the mind of his mother to begin with. Knowing that, there was no way in hell he would ever throw away this design.
Of course, he couldn't possibly spend much more time dwelling on the looks and mechanics of his costume, as he was especially eager to get into training and really put his last four days of non-stop training to the test. Especially after Shoto's advice at the end of the first day, and the heart-to-heart he'd had with Kyouka at the end of their second day, Nikolay was, for once, feeling especially motivated.
And it continued on as such, as from the moment he was finally paired up with his own Ectoplasm clone, it was right back to the same old grind, between practicing the aim and strength of his Quirk against Cementoss' obstacles, and trying out his special moves against Ectoplasm himself (so to speak).
"Your reaction times and ability to consistently channel the strength of your Quirk on the fly have improved considerably, Bezpalov-san. But are you able to channel that power into a move that can help you against an equally more powerful opponent?" The moment Ectoplasm's clone asked this of him, Nikolay proved his reflexes to be just as sharp, as he immediately launched himself back and up into the air, just at the moment his teacher/opponent had proceeded to grow and encompass their whole plateau of the training grounds. For the last four days, this move had consistently gotten Nikolay captured and left unable to fight his way out. Now that the boy knew what to expect, it was time to really see what his training had helped him to achieve.
"You can't flee from a fight consistently; you need to be able to get back into it if you want any hope of defeating your enemy and saving those in danger." Ectoplasm's now-giant head instructed the Russian boy before him, already reeling back to spring himself up to swallow him whole and capture him again.
However, the moment he could see his teacher start to lunge, Nikolay tucked in his legs, forming himself into a rolling ball shape, and proceeded to fire simultaneously from his hands and feet aiming back, propelling himself into an increasingly blurry rolling human cannonball, descending and spinning to meet Ectoplasm head on. "I'm not fleeing this time, Sensei!"
The moment he could tell Ectoplasm had already gotten his mouth wide open to devour him, Nikolay suddenly grabbed the handles of the tuning forks at his hips, and unfurled his body so that he was now in a downward striking position, but still spinning at breakneck speed.
With all of that wind friction building his whole body's kinetic stores to maximum, Nikolay focused and channeled every ounce of it down his arms and into his hands, and into the metal weapons in his grips. By this point, he could already see the light around him beginning to darken as he began to freefall into Ectoplasm's maw. This was the deciding moment.
Firing every last remnant of his kinetics into his tuning forks thanks to his blindingly fast rolling momentum, Nikolay swung both his weapons down straight into the black void with every ounce of strength, being met not only by the meeting of swinging steel with solid stone ground, but especially with the beautiful ringing of all that energy reverberating through the ground and the air itself; taking that chance to finally fire out every last stored bit of his energy from every fiber of his costume, essentially creating a devastating shockwave of pure vibration energy that nearly instantly tore the ectoplasm clone all around him asunder, as though a bomb had just gone off inside of it.
Nikolay could still feel the ground shaking beneath his feet, as well as the residual vibrations going up and down his arms and legs from the strike, but that hardly meant anything to him now. The point was that not only had one of the special moves he'd been mostly theorizing in his head actually pull through, but he'd finally found his way of avoiding and dispersing his teacher's capturing technique. Beneath the adrenaline of his racing heart, he was feeling so proud of himself right now; as was Tunguska down below, as he'd been watching his son and colleague spar against each other this whole time with an expectant smile.
It thankfully didn't take much time at all for Ectoplasm to provide Nikolay another clone as soon as he'd figured out what the Slavic boy had finally managed to do. "Very impressive, Bezpalov-san. It looks like you may have found the beginnings of your first special move. Sometimes the best way to avoid capture is to simply meet your opponent head-on, but do not think that will assist you against all types of Villains."
Nikolay still had that proud smile on his face as he slid the tuning forks back into their sheaths at his sides. "Thank you, Sensei. I understand that. To be honest, I haven't actually put a lot of physical practice into that move; it was more of a theoretical one. There is another potential special move I've been practicing a lot, though."
Needless to say, the confidence the boy expressed in this had Ectoplasm intrigued. "Very well, then. Let's see if that practice has proven to be enough, though." With that, the clone suddenly began to grow while it was already lunging for Nikolay head-on.
Whether the Yuuei mathematics teacher knew Nikolay needed him to do this and was simply helping him out, or if he was just proving lucky today didn't make a difference. Either way, Nikolay's response time was impeccable, as he was already getting his feet spread just far enough apart while bringing his hands together straight ahead, aiming right for Ectoplasm's center mass, and keeping his fingers apart at the end to form a spout shape.
In the couple of seconds it took for him to steady his aim while Ectoplasm continued to approach, Nikolay simply remembered essentially what it was Kyouka had reminded him of that second night: "You're a part of the whole that is our class, not the whole itself. Relieve yourself of that stress, that pressure, and focus simply on yourself and your part in it."
Keeping his extended arms steady, Nikolay glanced up to find the still-growing Ectoplasm's head descending toward him. With that, he suddenly closed his fingers together as though he were forming a bludgeon with both his hands… that was, except for his index fingers, which were pointed directly up from his straight-aiming arms towards Ectoplasm's head.
BWOOOM!
A suddenly piercing vibration resonated through the air, as an almost physically visible thin wave of pure concussive energy emanated from the holes lining Nikolay's index fingers; the respective forces from his opposing fingers colliding with each other upon release and thus forming this much more focused and narrowed down cutting wave of kinetics that sliced straight through the Ectoplasm clone's head like a wire through wet clay.
Not missing a beat, Nikolay quickly closed his index fingers together, and just as quickly opened his pinkie fingers, aiming downward toward the essence of Ectoplasm's clone trying to creep along the ground to try and get the jump on him from below.
BWOOOM!
Same as the last time, a focused but no-less devastating wave of kinetic energy sliced through the teacher's lower attack, and even left a deep gash in the stone ground below.
Finally, Nikolay proceeded to re-open all his fingers, focusing his sight now on the remaining central mass of the Ectoplasm clone before him, in preparation for the coup de grace and punctuation mark on his last four days of special move training thus far.
BWOOOM!
This time, a much louder and more powerful cutting wave of vibration energy blew its way through the rest of the Ectoplasm clone, finally leaving nothing left of it, while Nikolay could finally think to breathe again; his face the very picture of astonishment at what he'd finally, finally managed to accomplish.
At long last, after a period of thinking and believing he'd never be able to do it, he'd finally managed to perform the special move he'd been the most focused on, and he'd managed to do so without blasting himself back a centimeter thanks to his timing his leveling blasts from his feet with his hand-spout blasts.
Another Ectoplasm clone quickly took the place of the one Nikolay had just annihilated, and even despite the sinister-looking skeletal grin always on his face, his tone was ringing with a teacher's approval: "Very well done, Bezpalov-san; it looks like your training has paid off after all. Not only have you finally found a way to utilize your wheelhouse in an unorthodox manner and better focus the range and area of effect of your Quirk in tight situations, but you also seem to have found the two special moves you wish to focus on for this portion of your Hero training. Of course, a Hero's identity in the eyes of the public goes hand in hand with the names they give their moves. Have you perhaps come up with anything in your sparse free time while you were practicing?"
Nikolay honestly hadn't expected to be met with this particular detail so suddenly after having managed to perform it successfully against his opponent, hence why his confidence just as quickly disappeared as he tried to get the words together he'd been pondering the last four days. "Well, I've been juggling a few ideas around in the meantime. For that three-pronged focused wave attack just now, I've mainly found myself going back towards calling it Gromovoy Khlopok, which basically means 'Thunderous Clap.' And as for that mid-air rolling downward strike attack I used on your capturing move, the important thing is that it can be finished either with my tuning fork weapons, or I can just as effectively complete it with a shockwave stomp, or a collected kinetic punch or palm strike. So to keep from micro-managing names for every variant, I've decided to just call that one Rezoniruyushchee Koleso, which means 'Resonating Wheel.'"
The poor boy looked so embarrassed having to explain all of this while under Ectoplasm's unreadable gaze. Thankfully, by the time he'd clearly shared his ideas as much as he was comfortable with, the teacher gave an understanding nod. "Both sound relatively appropriate for what the moves themselves entail. You've clearly put some thought into this, Bezpalov-san. Far be it for me to stifle your flair; you can call your moves however you wish on your own, but when it comes time to register your Hero name and special moves for your Hero license, perhaps you may want to simply stick with the Japanese translations, just to make it easier for the public to acclimate towards you."
The fact that Ectoplasm wasn't just straight-up calling his ideas for special move names stupid was about all Nikolay could hope for, thus his spirits were instantaneously lifted, as was his willingness to keep practicing both moves with that much more fervor.
On the next ridge over from where Nikolay was, Mina was proving to be having just as positive a training experience as he was. Not only had she finally gotten her upgraded costume (virtually identical to the original in look, comfort and flexibility, other than the much more acid resistant materials this one was now made from), but her special move training was also coming along splendidly.
Ever since Ectoplasm had given her the advice of putting her hands together to help her acid shoot out farther, she'd been falling back on that move constantly just to get her aim and control of the distance in certain situations down. On top of that, however, not only had she taken Tenya's advice at the Support Department to heart and actually started utilizing her thickest non-corrosive fluid from her hands and feet as a means of immobilizing Ectoplasm as her sparring partner, but she had also started taking serious observational inspiration from other classmates as well.
Case in point, at this moment, she was also in the middle of demonstrating her reaction times and ability to properly judge how to utilize her special offensive move against Ectoplasm's assault, not only by properly controlling the distance of her acid flow, but by likewise judging the directions her teacher or Cementoss' obstacles were going to be coming at her from, and hence which of her fingers to actually open apart from each other in order to better direct the flow itself, whether it was sending a more concentrated but powerful flow from between her pointing and middle fingers in order to hit Ectoplasm coming from above, or from between her pinkie and ring fingers to the concrete obstacles from below, and so on.
The important thing was that each variation had worked, and after a short while of continuously proving how much her special move handling had improved, Ectoplasm had finally called for a short break, and Mina was positively glowing with satisfaction at the evidence of her own progress. "Very well done, Ashido-san. From the moment I first gave you the advice on how to improve the trajectory of your Quirk, not only do you seem to have gotten a full grasp on how to control your farther acid flow, especially in situations wherein you need to react quickly, but you've even found a special move to use for Villain immobilization and capture as well. It's essential for a Hero to be able to come up with specialties for a variety of scenarios, and not simply just fighting."
Mina was so excited; she nearly bowed herself down at a ninety-degree angle in a show of thanks for her teacher's approving words. "Thank you, Sensei! I've been working super hard on getting this one down perfect! Honestly, though, even after you helped me figure out how to shoot farther, I still wasn't sure if I could make a real cool and strong special move out of it."
As she admitted this, Mina found her wandering gaze drifting over to the next ridge over, where Nikolay was likewise still in the middle of talking with his Ectoplasm clone after his own successful special move display she'd managed to catch a couple glimpses of. Seeing the similarly proud smile on his face, her smile likewise began to grow with warmth. "But all my friends have been cheering me on the whole way, just like I've been for them… and I might have been getting more than a little inspiration from some of them, too."
Truth be told, to hear Mina admit this was far from surprising for Ectoplasm. In fact, just to see her watching and smiling at Nikolay when saying this all but confirmed his suspicions. After all, he could essentially see everything all of his clones could, so he was studiously observing every one of the students' progress. Indeed, he'd been quick to pick up on the similarities in Mina and Nikolay's special move variations. For two students to not only have a special move revolving around firing their Quirks from between two hands closed together, but to even have the same method of controlling the direction by separating certain fingers? There was no way on Earth that was simply a coincidence.
"Well, no one ever said it was wrong for Heroes to develop their moves by being inspired by their peers, Ashido-san. The important thing is that your special moves as of right now are effective enough. You certainly seem dedicated to adding them to your skill set, so am I correct in assuming you've come up with names for them?"
The moment Ectoplasm asked, Mina was once again positively aglow with excitement, standing tall and confident as she finally spoke the move names that had resonated with her the most from the beginning: "Absolutely! Acid Shot and Acid Entrapment! I've been working on another one for protection, too! Ooh, maybe we could practice that one next!"
As Ectoplasm decided to indulge his pink student in testing out her apparent third special move she had in mind, Nikolay had likewise, even from up on his perch, managed to catch a few lucky glimpses of her recent round of training, and after seeing the almost identical similarities between his Thunderous Clap and her apparent special move for fighting, he couldn't help but feel a momentary rush in his heart. Had she seriously taken a note of inspiration from watching his training for these last four days, and applied it to her own?
There was no way for him to figure out just how he was supposed to feel about that; certainly not insulted or like he was being stolen from. To know that he was actually inspiring his best friend in the entire school through her training actually felt nice on an entirely indescribable level. In fact, after her training had apparently come to a pause, he'd taken his eyes off her in order to further discuss his own training, but he could still feel a powerful jolt through his body, as if he could just tell when she was deliberately looking up at him.
"It looks like some of the students have finally determined their individual styles. It looks like some of them have already acquired multiple moves as well." Toshinori noted approvingly as he and Tunguska slowly circled the training grounds alongside Aizawa, watching the individual training and advancement of every single student.
Indeed, the teachers couldn't help but feel an immense swelling of pride in their chests at just how determined all of the students were proving themselves to be. No matter how hard a time they were having, they were all soldiering through it and becoming clearly that much more powerful for it.
And right now, in Tunguska's eyes, with the exception of his son, Mina, Shoto and Bakugo, this couldn't have been any more apparent than when watching Eijirou in the middle of yet another practice sparring against both Ectoplasm and Cementoss' constantly shifting and aggressive terrain. This particular round he had found himself observing with great pride and interest.
Not only was Eijirou actually doing the smart thing and taking in his surroundings in order to know when to dodge and when to attack, but every time he did the latter, Tunguska could clearly see that the red-headed boy was saving the activation of his Quirk for the last possible second, taking advantage of the speed with which his Hardening could reach its full strength, and using that timing when swinging his feet or fists. As such, the power with which he could hit, alongside the regularity with which he was able to activate and deactivate his Hardening in a matter of seconds in order to maintain his mobility and ultimate durability for the length of the fight was rhythmic perfection; all encapsulated when, after destroying yet another jutting obstacle from the floor, Eijirou launched himself off of it like a springboard and spun his body into a roll while Ectoplasm lunged upward for him, before ultimately hardening his entire body at the moment before bringing his heel down directly into his teacher's clone's head in a devastating drop kick.
As soon as Eijirou began to let the Hardening all over his body retract so he could actually move his body around again, he was met with the distinct sound of light applause from behind; the powerful volume behind which made it unmistakable as to just who it was, thus bringing the biggest sharp-toothed smile to the red-haired boy's face.
"You're progressing splendidly already, malenkii Kirishima. Your sense of timing between activating and deactivating your Quirk in the heat of battle has already improved immensely. Now you see that you can actually power your way through a multitude of obstacles and opponents without wearing down your durability in the process, yes?"
Eijirou immediately brought a single confident fist up to accompany his smile, just to show that he understood exactly what his Quirk History teacher and the others had been trying to impart onto him for the last four days. "Yes, Tunguska-sensei! I see it clearly finally! It's amazing just to think I could've been able to do this from the start if I were just a bit more patient in when to use my Quirk!"
The childlike eagerness on his face couldn't help but bring a deeply amused fatherly chuckle out of Tunguska as he looked Eijirou in the eye. "Your spirit is in the right place, but don't think that this means you can't still get any stronger. As long as you just remember to keep acting with your heart and your head, your capabilities in any situation will become that much more numerous than you would have previously thought."
To his approval, Eijirou looked to be genuinely taking these words to heart as his brought his fist down in contemplation. With that, the large Russian proceeded to just barely rustle his spiky hair like a father to his little son. "Make no mistake that your Quirk can become a true game-changer for yourself and your allies when things get tough, my boy. The advancements you've made may not exactly be considered special moves by the traditional definition, but you are on your way towards finding your own; I can feel it, just as surely as you can, as well."
As always, Tunguska's words of encouragement had Eijirou looking downright ecstatic as he was already gearing himself up for another round with another Ectoplasm clone, ready to prove himself that much more.
Up on another higher ridge in the training grounds, Bakugo was focusing his one extended arm at a single thick concrete obstacle he'd had Cementoss make for him; his intended target for his own special move he'd been trying to hone doggedly for the last four days. He never took his eyes off the point in the center mass he wanted to hit, clutching tight onto his right wrist in order to steady his aim for the blowback he was about to subject himself to. 'Come on, focus! Instead of the entire palm, focus the explosion into a single point… and…' "NEW TECHNIQUE: AP SHOT!"
BKOOM!
A single powerful but far less deafening blast escaped from the single point in Bakugo's hand, akin to something like a shotgun blast from his hand, driving a smaller, more focused explosion line directly into the concrete barrier before him, before exploding out the other side. Unlike the usual all-consuming fireballs of his old repertoire, Bakugo had now unleashed a much more contained and precise version, much to his visible pride. "HAHAHA! I DID IT!"
Just on the next ridge over, Denki had likewise heard the booming of Bakugo's new special move, and as such had taken his eyes off his own training (ignoring Ectoplasm's scolding for his scatterbrained attention span) to see just what the explosive young Hero's new move could do. "Whoa, nice going, Bakugo! Maybe now you can actually blow things up without potentially catching half the class in the crossfire! Here I was thinking you would've just gone for bigger and deadlier explosions right out the gate! Looks like Kolya-san's example for better Quirk control's rubbing off on you, too, huh?"
That singular comment nearly got Denki an AP Shot to the face as Bakugo turned his whole body on a dime; his once wide grin of aggressive self-pride now once again twisted with that same fury. "LIKE HELL HE IS! IF ANYBODY'S INFLUENCING ANYONE, IT'S THE OTHER WAY AROUND, GOT IT, HALF-WATT?!"
Before Bakugo could chew Denki out any further, though, his ears caught the distinct sound of stone cracking, and the moment he turned back, the concrete target had snapped in half, and the bulk of it was falling over the edge, directly toward Toshinori down on the ground, who was in the middle of talking with Aizawa, completely unaware of what was coming his way from above. "HEY! WATCH OUT FROM ABOVE!"
The moment Bakugo's frantic warning echoed down to Toshinori, and at the same moment Aizawa was about to wrangle him out of the way of the freefalling stone, a sudden blur of green came tearing through the air faster than a speeding bullet, before a blindingly fast whip of further green swung out from it, connecting directly with the stone and blowing half of it away into gravel with an almost pitch-perfect ringing of impact that drew the attention of the teachers and a portion the class.
As Toshinori watched with wide-eyed shock; a shock that quickly turned into a deep-rooted and unspoken proud smile, Izuku continued to hang in mid-air as he followed that first devastating spinning kick with another powerful downward heel strike, destroying the rest of the stone before it could even proceed a centimeter farther.
To see his disciple aglow with the power of One For All like this, with the brightest and most determined look in his eyes as he finally returned to the ground, had Toshinori Yagi similarly aglow with approval. At last, the boy looked to have finally figured out the true meaning to his cryptic advice four days ago. At long last, Izuku had finally found his own path towards becoming the next Symbol of Peace, instead of simply following in his footsteps the entire way, just as he'd hoped the boy would.
As for Izuku, to have finally gotten the chance to put his last four days of personal training from Tenya, alongside All Might and Mei's wayward advice to the test, and have it all go so smoothly, had him feeling like he was on top of the world. 'All Might's special moves are all centered around his fists. As the person One For All was passed onto, I unconsciously decided that had to be the case for me as well! It's so simple! So simple, if only I had realized it earlier! It's essentially just like Hatsume-san said: If your arms are shaky, then rely on your legs! That's what this is for me! This'll be my own personal fighting style: ONE FOR ALL: FULL COWL: SHOOT STYLE!'
"Are you okay, All Might?" Izuku asked with no trace of the kind of bravado he had just showcased the moment his feet were back on the ground. His natural sense of protectiveness even kept him from really feeling the sense of pride Toshinori was exuding after what he had just witnessed.
"What the heck kind of move was that, Midoriya-san?!" "That was so cool, Midori-kun! Is that gonna be your special move from now on?!" "Yeah, that was a lot of destructive force all of a sudden!" "Besides, I thought you were the punching type!" Nikolay's accented voice, alongside Mina, Denki and Eijirou respectively, suddenly called out from a good distance away, and Izuku's attention was instantly sapped away to find the three boys and sole girl all rushing over after the noise that had just resonated through half the training ground; their faces all the picture of surprise after seeing what their meek classmate had just pulled off.
His momentary awkwardness instantly vanished as he quickly lifted a foot up to showcase the new metallic soles lining his boots; the sight of which struck Nikolay as to how he possibly could have missed them earlier, while Mina, Eijirou and Denki were all looking over his new and improved costume with mutual wonder. "Well, that destructive force is all thanks to these new metal soles that Hatsume-san came up with. Iida-san also gave me some pointers on how to properly move around with them, since I don't have as rigid a physique to go along with my speed like he does. Basically, I've changed up my style. All I've really done is settle on a direction, so this is really nothing more than a stopgap. I don't think it's something you could necessarily call a special move."
Nikolay, Mina, Denki and Eijirou all had similar expressions of disbelief at how modest Izuku could still be after having pulled off such an impressive display of both speed and power. Before any of them could even start to say anything: "Not at all! It'll probably be far more useful than a mere stopgap, Midoriya-shonen; especially when the time comes for the Provisional Hero License Exam. All you kids should keep that in mind, that there's no such thing as a truly useless ability when it comes to developing your Quirks. Your instincts on when and how to use them the most effectively in a situation are all growing alongside them, be assured of that."
Toshinori's non-booming words of encouragement still somehow managed to carry the same kind of inspiring weight as though it were still the traditional image of All Might saying it; all the students around could feel it.
At the same time, Nikolay and his friends could all feel their own senses of both accomplishment and pride in one another, as well as their whole class, just grow that much more in their chests at the thought of it. Izuku completely reinventing his whole fighting style in order to better strengthen himself and avoid permanently damaging himself was like a representation of their whole class's growing in strength, power and unity to all becoming Heroes, in microcosm.
Nikolay was especially feeling good upon seeing all of this, not just from himself and Izuku, but from everyone. It really felt like they were all truly carrying the same weight, towing the same line towards the same goal, accommodating their respective weakness and working around them in order to become the best versions of themselves. It was an indescribable feeling, what that knowledge inspired in him, but all he knew was that it was one of the strangely most pleasant.
"Hey, All Might, it's still pretty dangerous to hang around here, so maybe you should take a step or two back." Aizawa suddenly advised, causing Toshinori to flinch in realization of just what had almost happened to him to bring about this discussion in the first place. "Of course, how rude of me to just forget. Bakugo-shonen, sorry about that!"
Nikolay's eyes couldn't help but drift upward to the nearby peak, alongside Izuku and the others, to find the solitary form of Bakugo still standing there without having budged, watching the entire development with that unmistakable strain of simmering rage on his face; especially when he and Izuku ended up making eye contact.
"JUST BE CAREFUL FROM NOW ON, ALL MIGHT!" Without another word, the hotheaded blonde boy unleashed a much more typical devastating fireball of an explosion atop the peak, whether as a start to yet more training or just an instinctive expression of his anger was anyone's guess.
Of course, the fact that he hadn't just gone into another especially colorful non-stop explosive tirade had shocked the four students below for different reasons, before Mina let out a knowing chuckle, drawing her surrounding classmate's attention to her. "Just when I was starting to think Bakugo could never learn to calm down before blowing up at everybody just like that. That looks like progress to me."
Hearing her express this out loud, the four boys all couldn't help but feel a strong sense of agreement, now that they thought about it. This was the closest thing to just swallowing his frustration that they had witnessed from Bakugo yet. Of course, such a contemplative moment of mutual pride in their classmate couldn't last long, before Nikolay suddenly felt Mina and Eijirou mutually giving him hearty pats on the back. "Looks like a month of hard labor alongside you were just what he needed to lengthen that fuse after all, huh?" Eijirou claimed with a hearty chuckle.
"Hey, what about you guys, though? You all got costume upgrades too?" Izuku suddenly pointed out once Bakugo was no longer in sight, and finally taking the chance to really look over the rest of his present classmates besides Nikolay.
"Pfft, maybe Kolya-san, Kirishima and I did. What gives, Ashido? You went to the Support Department the first day, too. Were you really that against anybody touching up your costume at all?" Denki stated with a sly smirk before proceeding to humorously tease Mina, only for her to give that same confident grin as always.
"The best kind of changes aren't just skin deep, Kaminari-kun! Design-wise, it's perfect, only now I can finally start going all out with my strongest acid and not have to worry about melting my clothes away, so you and Mineta can throw any hope of that out the window!" As she and Denki continued to tease each other, Nikolay observed closely to see that the only major change to Denki's outfit was that he now had a sizeable wrist guard around his right forearm with a strange circular mechanism attached to it, alongside a headset resting over his ears with a singular antenna protruding from it, with a blue visor attached resting on his forehead as well.
Beside him, Eijirou's costume looked virtually the same as before, only now he had black sleeves running down his arms from the gear-shaped shoulder pads. "Decided to think ahead before it starts getting too cold for outdoor Hero work, Eijirou-san?"
Nikolay's clearly sarcastic quip got a genuine laugh out of Eijirou as he began flexing his arms to showcase his new look. "Yeah, I guess that's one way of looking at it. Mainly I just thought that if I'm gonna be moving fast in a tough situation involving civilians, I don't want my hardened arms to accidentally hurt anyone, so these are just a little bit of extra protection for that. What about you, though, Kolya-san? It's like your outfit looks the same, but somehow shinier in the light."
Nikolay soon found himself going through the same routine, this time with Eijirou, Denki and Mina all watching and listening in rapt attention when it came to describing all the changes that had been made to his costume, while Izuku could only watch his three friends carry on with a soft smile of his own.
As a matter of fact, while they carried on, he couldn't help but look further to some of his other classmates, to find that some of them, too, were sporting upgrades to their outfits. Shoto looked to have some new equipment around his wrists that almost looked like dog tag-laden bracelets, Kyouka had a much fancier set of headphones resting on her head, and Kouji now had an armored mouth guard and goggles adorning his rock-like face.
It really did feel nice to see their whole class taking these mutual steps forward together on this journey towards becoming the next great Heroes, while being able to actually enjoy the moments like this for what they were worth.
While the students continued on as they were from where Tunguska was observing, he naturally approached Toshinori; a good-natured grin on his bearded face. "It looks like malenkii Midoriya's really starting to step into his own when it comes to saving people, doesn't it? Didn't think I'd see the day when you'd be the one needing saving on school grounds."
However, while Tunguska was chuckling to himself, he was quick to notice that Toshinori wasn't doing the same. Upon looking, he could actually see that there was a deeply contemplative look upon his furrowed brow; almost impossible to notice for those that hadn't gotten used to the man's expressions when bearing the sunken face that he did. "All Might, what is it?"
Toshinori didn't take his sunken eyes off his finally healed right hand as he answered: "It's nothing that bad, really. It's just… a bit of serious perspective I've been forced to really take in now. For so long, I've been the one risking life and limb to save as many people as I possibly could whenever danger reared its ugly head. Now… now I'm the one in need of saving when things get dangerous. It's a lot to really take in."
Tunguska's smile slowly fell as he really had to think about just what had to have been going through his friend's head for the past month. It was quite similar to what he had gone through when it had become clear that his own homeland no longer wanted him, and he could no longer afford to be the Sun of Justice that once meant so much to so many.
With a heavy heart, the large Russian placed a soft and friendly hand upon Toshinori's shoulder. "It's hard to let go of, I know. But try to at least think of it like this in some regard, All Might: you risked everything to save me and Kolya all that time ago, and I will never forget that, nor will he, I know. You did me and mine an incomparable service by reaching out to bring us here… and it's about time I did my part to return that favor, and ease your worries in kind. That's part of the reason why I'm so focused these days on getting my Pro Hero License. You spent so much time carrying all the weight in the world on your shoulders. Now it's time to start letting us take that burden in pieces for you. The world isn't going to be left without something to fill the void of the Symbol of Peace for long, and I think you know it just as much as I do."
Meeting Tunguska's compassionate blue eyes, Toshinori's nearly malnourished-looking face began to form a modest but appreciative grin. "I appreciate you saying so, Tunguska-san. You're right, it is hard to let go of after all these years… but I'm confident… no, I know you'll fit right back into the mold of a Pro Hero easily when the time comes. The same goes for Midoriya-shonen, Bezpalov-shonen and every single one of those kids up there right now. My time has come and gone… and soon it will be their time to shine as brightly as Heroes like us did, if not brighter."
"THAT'S IT FOR YOU, CLASS A!" The booming interruption of Class B's homeroom teacher, Vlad King, suddenly shattered the atmosphere across Gamma Gym, as teachers and students alike were all drawn to find their fellow Hero Course class had suddenly arrived, with Vlad staring intensely at Aizawa in particular. It was like the period of comradery between the two homeroom teachers from a month ago had never existed. "We have plans to make use of the TDL from today afternoon! Eraserhead, you and your class best get moving now!"
Despite said intensity, however, Aizawa still stood his ground while motioning for his students to start gathering. "We've still got about ten minutes left. Maybe you should learn how to read time better."
In further contrast to the air between the two homeroom teachers and the majority of the respective classes, though; there were the scattered few between them that didn't even hesitate to eagerly greet each other from across the gym; namely Eijirou and Tetsutetsu once again nearly throwing themselves into a standing arm wrestling match in mid-greeting; and Mina, Nikolay, Ochako, Tooru, Minoru and Denki all happily greeting an equally joyful Setsuna, alongside Itsuka happily greeting Momo and quickly expressing relief for Nikolay being on his feet again.
Of course, such well wishes still weren't the sentiment of the majority of Class B, as the unmistakable snarky grin of Neito Monoma hurriedly stepped forward, adorned in what looked like a 19th century gentleman's garb, with a belt lined with pocket watches. It almost looked too appropriate when looking at the sociopathic wide grin on his face as he stared the Class A students down. "You can all pretend to be all buddy-buddy with the uncommitted of our class as much as you like, but it ultimately changes nothing! Did you guys all know?! Half of those who take the Provisional License Exam fail! ALL OF CLASS A CAN FAIL TOGETHER! LET'S SEE WHICH CLASS IS TRULY THE BEST!"
While Monoma was once again laughing like a hyena, a decidedly heavy air had started to settle over the heads of a good number of students on both sides. "Is that loudmouth trying to say we might actually end up having to face off against each other?" Nikolay hesitated to ask, but ultimately did so anyway, leaving many of his classmates looking visibly troubled. Eijirou looked genuinely hesitant to actually considering possibly fighting Tetsutetsu for real, and the sentiment was practically mirrored visa versa. At the same time, Mina looked like she was about to start getting teary-eyed at the thought of fighting against any of the Class B students she'd already taken to calling her friends.
"In essence, that's what the exam entails, which is why Class A and B are going to be taking their Provisional License exams at different venues." Aizawa suddenly announced, rendering Monoma dead silent with the same now-empty grin on his face, almost as though someone had pulled his plug mid-gloat. However, if one would have listened closely enough, they would have been able to catch the faintest sound of a sigh of relief coming from the boisterous blonde boy. At least the rest of the students hesitant to fight were much more visibly comfortable with expressing such relief they wouldn't actually have to fight each other.
Taking the hint from the overall mood in the room, Vlad King proceeded to explain: "The Hero Qualification exams are conducted every year in June and September at three different locations across the country. No matter the school, in order to avoid inter-class conflicts, it is common practice for schools to split their classes by sending them to different testing sites at different times."
"AH, I CAN'T BRING YOU ALL DOWN MYSELF! HOW UNFORTUNATE!" Monoma suddenly proclaimed with exceptional boast to his voice. Of course, after seeing his reaction to the previous news, this little show of his wasn't fooling anyone anymore. Nikolay had no doubt at least some of his classmates were thinking the same thing he was at such a cartoonishly inconsistent display: 'This guy has got to be some kind of mentally ill.'
Of course, once that matter was passed, another pressing thought quickly took over once Hanta suddenly spoke up: "Wait… 'no matter the school?' Oh, man, that's right! We don't usually stop to think about all the students at the other Hero schools, do we?"
The reminder that Yuuei was far from the only Hero school hit Nikolay and the rest of Class A like a 2x4 to the back of the head. All of a sudden, any semblance of calm the Russian boy in particular had felt had gone right out the window as Aizawa answered: "That's right, you're all going to be competing with them in order to pass."
"On top of that, we had to go through the normal learning process at an accelerated pace." Izuku noted likewise, and more and more did Nikolay start feeling like he was sinking below water with cement shoes. It was so easy to forget that they were still only halfway through their first years in their Hero training, and he still had no idea the kind of training regiments any of these other schools put their students through. For all he knew, they could have simply been getting it easy, as terrifying as that thought was after everything they'd been put through officially already.
Sensing the growing apprehension among his students, Aizawa spoke up with that same stone cold serious demeanor: "Across the country, the number of those who receive their Provisional Licenses in the first year is extremely small. In other words: many of those students from other schools who have gathered have been training much longer than any one of you. With Quirks unknown, they have all been honing their skills. While the test material is unknown, a particular point of adversity is clear. It's not good to think too much about it, but it is something to keep in mind."
On one hand, Nikolay could feel his heart begin to race with excitement for the possibilities of what the Provisional Exam would actually entail. The chance to see what other Hero school students were like, not just in their Quirks but in their approaches to Heroism, was something he was surprised to see how much he was anticipating.
On the other hand, however, he could also feel the intimidation bearing down on him like crazy already. Even among the entirety of his class, no matter how strong he seemed to be now, he was always going to be the one student with the least amount of overall practice in the properties of his Quirk, that was a given. Now, if Aizawa was truly to be believed, they were going to be pitted against a number of different schools whose students had been training even longer than Class 1-A as a whole had? The thought made Nikolay dizzy with a frigid sweat already. For once he actually felt completely assured in their homeroom teacher's words of just how low their chances ultimately were, no matter how much they had all improved.
"There are seriously Hero students that have been training with their Quirks longer than us? They've gotta be real serious badasses then! How the hell are we all supposed to compete against people like that with the training we've gotten so far? Yeah, I'm not sure if even having Bakugo and Todoroki on our side will help. Aw, c'mon, we've dealt with more dangerous stuff than this, we can totally pull through here too… we've just gotta."
These were the clearly nervous sentiments being echoed by virtually all of Classes A and B in the wake of now knowing just what they were really going up against when the exam would eventually roll around. Nikolay could only hope he and his friends would be able to pull themselves back up onto their feet and really be prepared for when that day came. To have trained this hard already, only to get smacked right back down, would be nothing short of soul-crushing.
Even Tunguska could observe this train of thought being shared among the students, even if by now nobody was actually saying as much. It really was only to be expected from such young potential Heroes like these. All they could really do to alleviate that worry now was to just keep putting their collective noses to the grindstone and keep training their special moves to the limit.
After the news of just what kind of people they were going up against when the Provisional License Exam would come, all of Classes 1-A and 1-B had started training to a degree that made the last four days look like a mere warm-up by comparison. By the time evening had finally rolled around and official training was brought to an end, every single one of the students felt like every muscle and joint in their bodies were screaming for mercy.
Of course, the strain of all their exercise had driven them all to the showers, then to eat, and for the majority of the boys themselves, straight to bed. Nikolay had especially looked like he was about ready to keel over by the time good nights were exchanged. The only exception to this was Izuku, who even now after nightfall was busily practicing his potential fighting moves for his new Shoot Style in front of the dorm building.
At the same time, now that their aches and pains of the day had been washed away and their appetites satiated, the girls of 1-A had all unanimously crashed on the sofas of the commons area, with Mina's tired groan as she stretched her back out almost sounding akin to tearful wailing, she was so exhausted. "BUWAAAH! Every day has been soo tough!"
"Yeah, Aizawa-sensei really wasn't kidding when he called it a boot camp. I don't even know if I can make it to my room like this!" Tooru agreed as she was in the middle of trying to massage the aches from the soles of her invisible feet. At the same time, Tsuyu and Ochako were both pensively drinking from juice boxes beside Tooru, with the latter having a surprisingly distant look in her eyes; while Momo and Kyouka were the only two that didn't look like they were on the verge of losing consciousness from being so worn out.
"Well, we've got less than a week to go before the second semester starts, and barely any time after that before the Provisional License Exam itself. We just need to tough it out for just a little bit longer." Momo tried to reassure her fellow female classmates, with Kyouka giving a confident nod of agreement.
"That's easy for you to say, Yaomomo! You don't have to go through the trouble of constant physical exercise to accommodate your Quirk like a lot of us do; you just need to study what makes up things, and develop a stronger metabolism. Speaking of which, how have any of your special move routines been going? I've been racking my brain, but I can't think of what I could possibly do with mine." Tooru argued, before just as quickly redirecting the conversation, leaving most of her friends equally thoughtful.
"Hmm… well, I know what I'm going for, but my body can't quite pull it off yet. I just have to strengthen my Quirk a little bit more." As soon as Momo answered as honestly as ever, Tooru just as quickly turned the question to the green-haired girl beside Ochako. "How about you, Tsuyu?"
Like clockwork, Tsuyu once more had that pensive finger to her lip. "I'm in the process of completing a much more frog-like technique. I bet you'll be surprised when you see it, Tooru. What about you, Kyouka?"
Now being the center of attention, and thankfully for a subject she actually didn't have to be embarrassed about, Kyouka was much less withdrawn in her own answer: "I've been working on perfecting my timing for a good crowd-control move. I'm sure you'll all be pretty wowed by it once it's ready. At least, I hope I'll have it figured out by exam time."
Satisfied with this answer, Tooru instantly turned her attention to Mina, currently splayed out against the back of the sofa, looking like she was one second away from falling asleep. "What about you, Mina-chan? The way I've heard it, you've actually been coming along pretty far with your moves already."
Like a switch had been flipped, Mina's exhaustion seemed to just vanish as she quickly threw herself back into an upright sitting position, excitedly looking all her friends in the eye with that eager smile. "Yeah, it was really tough coming up with something at first, but Ectoplasm-sensei seemed really happy with what I came up with. I'm calling them Acid Shot and Acid Entrapment! They're the kind of moves that'll help a lot of us out when we work as teams, I just know it! What about you, Urara-chan?"
Unlike all the other girls, however, Ochako didn't look to be paying attention to anything that had been said by her fellow girls. In fact, not only did she look deeply pensive, but she even looked downright depressed as she kept drinking from her juice box.
"Ochako?" With nary a warning, Tsuyu suddenly poked at the gravity girl's arm, finally snapping Ochako out of her malaise, nearly to the point of spitting her juice out across the room, at least after almost choking on it. "You seem a little tired out."
"Oh, no, no, not at all! I'm not tired at all! I've still got a long ways to go!" Despite trying to answer her friends as energetically as possible, Ochako couldn't keep the façade up, as her eyes fell to the floor in that troubled thoughtfulness. "At least… that's how I should feel… but… how do I put this? Lately my heart's been feeling all jumbled up."
Truth be told, Ochako admitting this out loud left Momo, Tsuyu and Kyouka all notably worried. They hadn't been blind to the fact that Ochako had actually been looking and acting this distant pretty much all day today. They had simply hoped it was her way of being completely focused on her own special move development. The fact that it was now over something entirely different, from the sounds of it, had them feeling much more concerned now.
"You're in love." Mina suddenly announced with all the suddenness and subtlety of one of Bakugo's explosions, as Ochako's troubled eyes went wide and dizzy, along with her whole face going pale as a sheet with frigid sweat. In fact, the bluntness with which their pink classmate outright stated this had nearly all the girls flying back from the sheer force of it.
"Wh-what?! Love?! W-what are you talking about, Mina-chan?!" Ochako was barely even able to form the words between her humiliated and beyond-flustered stuttering, nearly sending her hands flying this way and that in some form of defense against the implication in Mina's words.
However, despite this and the humiliated look on Ochako's face, Mina was unrelenting now that her go-to answer for any of the rosy-cheeked girl's problems had elicited this kind of reaction. If anything, that just emboldened her line of questioning that much more. "Is it Midori-kun or Iida-san?! You're with them a lot, aren't you, Urara-chan?!"
Ochako was already wailing "NOO" over and over again with every word that did or didn't pass Mina's lips. That didn't stop Tooru from suddenly chiming in, unable to resist the kind of girly fun topics like this tended to bring: "Maybe it's neither of them, Mina-chan! Maybe Ochako-chan has one of those unrequited schoolgirl crushes on a teacher, like in Hollywood movies! I mean, she tends to go to Tunguska-sensei for advice more than anyone else, you know?"
However, instead of the air of adolescent female scandal she had been expecting, Tooru was instead met with a barrage of pillows being tossed at her from all across the common area, as Mina, Kyouka, Momo, and Tsuyu were all virtually unanimous in their response: "OH MY GOD, THAT IS SO WRONG, TOORU-CHAN! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! WHERE IS YOUR SENSE OF DECENCY?! It was bad enough thinking we only had one classmate with a filthy mind to deal with."
In the midst of all this, whether she'd heard the invisible girl's awful theory or not, Ochako's embarrassment had reached such an immense peak, that her body had already started to levitate over all their heads, curling herself into the fetal position while repeatedly stating primarily to herself: "Deku-kun and Iida-san… it's not… it's not like that! No! It's not like that, I swear!"
Unfortunately, despite seeing her friend in this state, Mina's excitement for the truth quickly replaced her disgust with Tooru's guess, as she was still pressing Ochako for answers, even from down below; her heart already racing with anticipation as it always did when the subject of romance came into the picture. "COME ON, SPIT IT OUT, URARA-CHAN! WHO IS IT?! WHICH ONE?! WHO IS IT?! Are you going to get sick spinning around up there?! You know you'll feel better if you just spit it out!"
Fortunately for Ochako, the rest of the girls could at least recognize what a flustered mess she now was, floating aimlessly over their heads, and thus decided this game had gone on for long enough. "You know it's not good to pry so much, Mina-kero."
"Agreed. Nobody likes someone who's overbearing on such personal things. Anyway, we still have to get up early tomorrow, so I think it's time we all turned in." Momo stated in agreement, already halfway to getting back on her feet with Kyouka, Tsuyu and Tooru following suit, only for Mina to clench her fists and stomp her foot in a childish huff; cheeks puffed out pouting and everything. "EHHH?! NOO! COME ON, YOU GUYS, I WANNA HEAR MORE! OVERBEARING OR NOT, I CAN MAKE EVEN THE MOST UNRELATED STORIES RELATE TO LOVE!"
Mina sounded so completely convinced in this statement. It was only because she didn't see the beginnings of a mischievous smile on Kyouka's face at such words, that her bravado didn't falter. "That's a pretty bold statement to make, Mina-chan. You really shouldn't make such assumptions about other people's feelings, considering you're obviously in love, too."
Just like that, Mina's shimmering black-gold eyes dimmed and widened with momentary confusion, unsure if she'd actually just heard Kyouka right. However, she didn't even have a chance to answer, even as Momo and Tsuyu both came to a similar sudden halt, before Tooru practically threw herself into a spinning jump so she could see the look on Mina's face; emboldened by what Kyouka had just implied. "Oh, it's about time we finally started talking about this! I didn't know how much longer I could keep it to myself! Kyouka-chan's right, Mina-chan! I mean, if anyone were to watch you two talk for more than a minute, its super obvious you're totally in love with Kolya-kun!"
Now it was Mina's turn to be left the flustered and stuttering mess as she tripped over her own feet and fell back onto the sofa; her bright pink face now turning a deep red. With the exception of the still floating and mumbling Ochako overhead, all the girls' eyes were now focused solely on her. Even if they didn't approach, it felt like the room was closing in all around her.
Now that the long-suspected but never-uttered notion of pretty much all the girls in 1-A had finally been brought to light, Momo, for once, couldn't help but chime in thoughtfully: "It does have some merit as a possibility, Mina-san. The evidence has been stacking up a bit high on both sides lately, especially once our special move training began. It's all too clear that you've both been serving as direct inspirations for each other's development. After all, I've been able to observe you both for the last four days in the middle of my own training, and not only are your special moves at their base level completely identical, as well as in their multi-directional forms, but I even saw the way you were smiling when you looked at Bezpalov-san in the middle of it all. I'm not fully engrossed in the ways of conveying deeper emotions towards boys in that way, but even I know that what you were showing wasn't simply a smile of friendship or even of admitted inspiration."
At Momo's implication, Mina began anxiously shaking her head in denial, forcing herself back onto her feet with none of the excitement evident on her protesting face anymore. "Now hang on a sec! Kolya-kun and I having similar special moves has nothing to do with anything! We were just following Todoroki-kun's advice on how to control our Quirks in a different way, that's all! The fact we control the directions of our moves the same way, that's just a sign of good minds thinking alike under pressure, you know? That doesn't mean anything!"
"Alright, you have a good point there; that could just be a big coincidence. So then what about the fact you refused to leave Kolya-kun's bedside at the hospital the entire time he was unconscious, even when the police said you were allowed to go home? I heard all about that!" Tooru added, the bubbly cuteness of her voice managing to hide the accusatory nature of her question, while Mina was still trying to maintain even a semi-brave face now that she was the center of the last kind of attention she wanted.
"I wasn't staying there just for Kolya-kun alone, Tooru-chan! You and Kyouka-chan were both unconscious too, I was constantly checking on all three of you, and I would've gladly stayed for both of you if things had gone differently! Why are you all turning this on me? We all know if anyone here has a real thing for Kolya-kun, it's Kyo—"
"Actually, I'd been meaning to tell you about that."
Mina's latest attempt to try and turn the tables of potential romantic feelings on Kyouka had been swiftly cast aside, as the purple-haired girl had a cheeky smile on her normally unreadable face that almost mirrored Mina's typical cheeky grin; rendering the trembling pink girl silent. "Back on the second night after training started, after we'd convinced Kolya-san to at least eat, only for him to go right back to that training of his in the courtyard, he and I had a little one-on-one talk, which you left for bed just before it started."
Mina, Momo, Tooru and Tsuyu alike couldn't hide the curiosity on their faces, and Mina couldn't decide if she should have been feeling excited, or nervous as hell for where Kyouka was going with this. After a good couple seconds of silence in order to properly build Mina's tension, Kyouka finally got to the core of it all: "Turns out a little outside perspective was exactly what I needed to figure everything about me and Kolya-san out, and not your constant poking, prodding and teasing. Turns out, it was just because he was the first person I felt I could really open up to about my love of music, was why it looked like I was so attached for all that time. It wasn't an attraction I felt, it was a sense of a real mutual understanding I just didn't have a chance to experience with anyone else before. You just decided to take it for everything it was worth and started twisting my own understanding of it for kicks. Thank God it was all for nothing."
Now it suddenly became all too clear to Mina just what the point of Kyouka's story was, and worst of all, where this was now going to leave her in the grand scheme of this little love inquisition of theirs that she'd started and now found herself the target of. "That's the truth, Mina-chan. Kolya-san and I; we really are just good friends; nothing more and nothing less."
Mina could feel the confidence in her chest drop like a ton of rocks now that Kyouka had just laid out the ultimate bombshell between all the girls in the class. The fact the purple-haired girl had no sign of hesitance or nervousness in her demeanor only sealed the deal that much further. She was telling the honest truth, and now Mina found herself with no other means to try and redirect the conversation away from herself. For the first time ever, she felt well and truly exposed.
Tooru was like a shark in just how easily she could smell the proverbial blood in the water, as without warning, she suddenly spoke up: "Thanks for clearing that all up finally, Kyouka-chan! Now I can finally say it: Mina-chan, I'm sorry for keeping this a secret for so long… but I heard you kiss Kolya-kun that night after our internships ended, when we were all sleeping over at his and Tunguska-sensei's house."
The way Mina's whole body nearly jumped up to where Ochako was still floating, alongside the way her already frizzy pink hair looked to stand entirely on end, made it look as though the poor pink girl had been stricken by multiple bolts of lightning at once. She looked like she was about ready to die of shock and embarrassment in front of everyone. Sadly, that didn't stop Tooru from going even further in her own giddiness: "It wasn't just me, either! Ochako-chan and Setsuna-chan can both confirm they heard it, too!"
It was only through pure serendipity that Setsuna was all the way in the Class B dorms, and Ochako was still too engulfed in her own embarrassment to actually confirm this, otherwise Mina felt like she really would have passed out from pure embarrassment at this point. If this was truly anything like what Ochako was feeling right now, she now felt a growing urge to apologize profusely for constantly putting her through this throughout the last semester.
"Look, it's not… it's r-really not like all that, I don't… we aren't… Kolya-kun, he's not…!" Mina's already shaky composure was already falling apart as fast as her attempted arguments, while Kyouka was simply relishing in finally seeing the real tables between them get turned, and Momo was actually visibly blushing in response Tooru's little reveal. Even the invisible girl's body language made it clear she was absolutely loving finally sharing all this.
The only one, of course, with no visible change in her expression was Tsuyu, even though she was taking all of this new information in as much as everyone else. When it was clear that Mina was truly at a loss as what to say for herself in this regard, the frog-like girl finally spoke up: "Mina, you've been very willfully close with Kolya-san ever since the entrance exam, and it's clear you've only been growing even closer since the day you both came back to Yuuei. So with all that time since then and all the times I've seen you two together, let me just ask you something-kero: since you were there with Kolya-san in the hospital when he finally woke up, did you perhaps end up kissing him at all when you found out he was going to be okay?"
This simple question struck the other girls like a jolt from a stun gun, since in this context, none of them had actually stopped to think about the possibility. Tooru found herself especially shocked, considering such a scenario seemed just perfect for two potential lovers. It was like something straight out of a shoujo manga.
This all-around sense of surprise made it even more shocking that Mina actually didn't try to deny or hide any of it. In fact, her demeanor actually regained some of that confidence as she stood as steadfast as she possibly could: "Yes I did, but think about what had happened before that. If someone you all really, really cared about suddenly woke up from a coma you seriously didn't know if they were going to recover from or not, could any of you really say you wouldn't do the same thing in the joy of the moment?"
Momo, Kyouka and Tsuyu all had to genuinely give this argument to Mina here; she did raise a really solid point. At least Tsuyu had seen just how much Nikolay's comatose condition tormented Mina for those near two days in the hospital, on top of everyone else's injuries. Especially after perhaps being convinced that he would never wake up, the joy she must have felt when their Slavic classmate regained consciousness could only naturally do away with all sense of reason and leave Mina with the desire to express her relief and care for him in the only way that felt like it would've been adequate. They honestly couldn't deny that, had they been in similar circumstances with people they felt that close with, their reactions would have doubtless been the same.
Despite this, though, Tooru felt a spark, the ultimate argument in her own favor, come to mind. There was no way she couldn't bring this up after they'd come this far: "Okay, another good point, Mina-chan… so everything else aside, how do you explain that little photo strip I saw hanging on the corkboard in your room during the Room King competition?"
The whole common room once again went silent, and the fire of confidence Mina had reignited had just as suddenly gone out again, as the look in her eyes looked like someone who'd been caught hook, line and sinker in the middle of something they had no means of talking their way out of. The curious looks on Momo, Kyouka and Tsuyu's faces only emboldened Tooru to elaborate on her point, as she practically announced it eagerly to all her fellow girls: "It's true, there was a photo strip, like what you get from a photo booth, hanging on Mina-chan's wall when we were checking out each other's rooms, I saw it! The first four were all cute and normal, but the last one, without any kind of buildup or anything, showed her holding his chin and kissing Kolya-kun square on the cheek!
"What other kind of explanation for that could there really be other than Mina-chan is so obviously in love with Kolya-kun? Plus, remember what her mom said back at the birthday party when she opened Kolya-kun's gift for her? I know you weren't there by then, Tsuyu, but she legit said that Mina-chan sleeps every single night hugging two stuffed animals that he specifically got her, all nice and tight! What can you really say about that, Mina-chan?"
Her words had a natural accusatory sound to them, but Tooru's tone was the definition of peppy and adoring with every bit of evidence she just piled up in front of the rest of her female classmates. If anything, she found this apparent truth of Mina's real feelings for Nikolay to be downright precious, no matter how embarrassed Mina once again looked as she struggled for something, anything at all, to try and counter the invisible girl with.
Alas, for the first time ever, Mina Ashido couldn't say anything now that this had all been laid bare for all of them to take in and think about. With her black-gold eyes being as wide as they now were, she looked like a veritable deer caught in the headlights. For as much as she always loved obsessing over the potential romances of others, now that she'd found herself forced into the probable limelight of it all, she felt well and truly exposed and unable to defend herself.
Finally, however, Momo was the first to swallow her own sense of fluster at having learned so much potential truth between two of her classmates and friends, and regain a measure of her professional composure as she returned her attention to the dumbfounded and silent Mina: "Well, with that all being said, I think there's two things I can say that I believe we can all agree on here, Mina-san. Firstly: you should really know better than to leave such sensitive and personal belongings like that out in the open for just anyone to see at any moment. I would have thought even you would have the common sense for that if nothing else."
The ponytail-wearing girl was certainly preaching to the choir, as Mina by now was mentally kicking herself for having done something so stupid, even if it was just for the sake of seeing if Nikolay would have noticed and reacted. This was definitely going to go down as one of her least proud moments.
However, Momo still wasn't finished, as her stern expression began to soften: "On the other hand, as both your vice president and as your friend, I would like to personally and honestly tell you that, as much as the aspiring Pro Hero in me disapproves of the potential risks posed by an in-class relationship like what you and Bezpalov-san stand to have…I am still glad to see that you have both managed to find someone that inspires such strong feelings inside you, in each other. I suppose it shouldn't be too surprising, considering just how far out of your way you've gone for him from the very beginning.
"Truth be told, having someone to love that you wish to protect could, in fact, serve as a great motivator for you both to continue pushing yourselves and strengthening your bodies, minds, spirits and Quirks to the limits, so that you can have the strength and capabilities to keep each other and everyone else safe when things get dangerous. However, you should both take heed to make sure those feelings you may have for each other don't end up taking complete control over what you choose to do in the pressure of any given moment. You need to still be able to think with your heads as much as your hearts, Mina-san."
This serious but all-too-understandable lecture from Momo seemed to finally stir an answer from Mina, as she looked their vice president in the eye imploringly. "You're jumping to conclusions, though, Yaomomo! All of you are! I know it all looks incredibly obvious, but Kolya-kun and I aren't like that with each other! Really! I mean, I've never felt something that strong for someone before! Why would that suddenly change when Kolya-kun and I have only really known each other for seven months, not counting the very first time we met? We don't feel anything like that with each other! I would've noticed if I did, or if he did!"
By this point, Momo and Kyouka alike both simply looked like Mina was just blowing hot air to try and keep defending herself from their piercing truth-seeking gazes. In fact, this was pretty much what it sounded like to all the girls, and Tsuyu made that undeniably clear with her next answer, driving Mina to look her in her black eyes as she said this: "Mina, please don't take this the wrong way; but who exactly are you trying to convince of that: us… or yourself-kero?"
Mina's desperate defiance on her face quickly disappeared as Tsuyu's most powerful question struck her to her very core; never once before had she actually asked herself this when it came to the reality between herself and Nikolay. Once she saw this one question take root in the pink girl's heart and mind, Tsuyu let out an apologetic sigh as she explained herself: "I'm sorry to have to hit you with a heavy question like that, Mina. To be honest, I really respect how honest and in touch you are with your own emotions when it comes to your friends-kero. You never lie or feel the need to hide anything from us, and we all really do appreciate and love you for that. However, for your own sake as well as Kolya-san's, you both need to figure out once and for all just how far your real feelings for each other go. Do you only love him as much as you do the rest of us, as your friends… or are you more like Ochako with Midoriya, and clearly have something else you feel for him deep inside?
"You should try to consider it from his perspective while you're thinking about it, too. I mean, a lot like Kyouka before, it's been hard not to notice just how flustered Kolya-san gets whenever you get especially affectionate or really complimentary with him, Mina. There might be a real hint as to how he really feels in there, too. But I can't tell you what to do-kero. At least think about how you want to figure it all out before too long, okay?"
Tsuyu's words of heartfelt advice were the penultimate stopping point on this whole discussion, as Momo had been quick to once again remind her classmates of how late it was getting, and the next several days of nonstop training they all still had to prepare themselves for. Since none of them could hope to get through to Ochako in the state she was in, Tsuyu ultimately had to reel the gravity girl in with her tongue and guide her all the way back to her room, while the rest of the girls silently retired to their own.
For the duration of that night, Mina tried so hard to will herself to go to sleep, but there was no way to quiet her restless mind and heart in the wake of everything that had just been laid bare for herself and her friends. Not only could she not shake the feeling of her heart nearing the edge of bursting from racing so fast, but Tsuyu's penultimate question just kept clamoring nonstop in her head: "Who are you trying to convince: us or yourself?"
Every single time that question came right back, Mina more and more often found her mind thinking back all the way to not only the very first day she and Nikolay had met, but specifically to the day they reunited at the entrance exams, and just what an inexplicable place he had taken inside her mind from that day forward. The more she thought about the time that had passed since then, from that day the enigmatic young Russian boy had officially piqued her interest in a way she realized nobody else ever had before; to the indescribable feeling of unbreakable connection she felt with him the day he finally laid all of his emotional anguish out for her and she simply held him and served as the compassionate and loving shoulder to cry on he'd so desperately needed for all those years; and all the days that had come to pass since then… the more Mina started to realize just how many different and undeniably stronger stirrings and feelings Nikolay now tended to make her feel inside every moment they spent together; feelings that not a single other male friend of hers had ever made her feel before, even for as much as she genuinely treasured every single one of them.
In its own way, that realization slowly but surely left Mina feeling so much more free than she had ever felt before, primarily with herself… yet, at the same time, it also provided a whole new conundrum for her to try and cope with; one she had no idea how to even begin tackling.
She'd seen enough romance movies and TV shows to know that simply being forward with Nikolay and admitting the things she was now starting to realize he made her feel would have been able to destroy their entire friendship so horrifyingly easily. There was no chance she was about to approach this new situation between them that recklessly. Trying to wrap her head around this whole new spectrum of deep personal emotions towards her Russian best friend was bad enough; losing their friendship on top of that would have been spiritually crippling at the very least.
That was what made it all so frustrating, to know that she couldn't come up with a single idea on how to approach this new air between them without being so painfully obvious. There was no way she could just ignore this hidden truth of how she potentially felt for Nikolay anymore; she knew she needed to figure out a way to approach this soon. If they were going to have any chance of preparing themselves in time for the Provisional License Exam, she would need to find an answer somehow, someway.
However, the more she kept dwelling on it; a distant memory did start to stir within the back of her mind. Soon enough, Mina was finding herself desperate enough for something to cling onto that she started really trying to focus on thinking back to this distant memory. Soon enough it all came back to her crystal clear; as did the potential path of reasoning it would lead her down on:
Several years ago, back when she was in her last year of elementary school, Mina had gone through a real period of obsessing over all the classic fairytales revolving around princesses, princes and all that 'true love's first kiss' or 'love at first sight' fluff that girls like her adored at any age. One day, her boundless imagination and curiosity had ultimately driven her to ask her parents how it was they knew they loved each other.
Needless to say, that had seriously caught her folks off guard, but her mother had ultimately come through, and given an explanation that had discreetly stuck with Mina ever since then: When someone knew deep down in their heart that they were truly in love with another person, they would find themselves overcome in a moment by sheer impulse to do something to express that love that completely takes control away from any sense of reason. Every fiber of their being would simultaneously tell them what to do to communicate their truest feelings to that person in that solitary moment and that would be how they would know the truth of their feelings.
Thinking back on it now, Mina actually found her once restless heart slowly but surely starting to calm down, and the beginnings of a relieved smile starting forming on her much calmer pink face. Thinking back on all the instances in which she had actually gone and kissed Nikolay, she could finally start to recall still having some semblance of self-control in those moments.
For example, back in the photo booth, she had honestly felt an inclination for teasing Nikolay in that moment, if for no other reason than to see how he'd react. Back in his living room that night after internships, she'd simply felt a great desire to really communicate to him how much she meant it when she called him her Hero, but there was still that sense of having self control the entire time. Lastly, the instance in the hospital, she'd already explained the crux of that. She was simply overcome with joyous relief in that moment.
At last, Mina felt so much more at ease with herself, to the point she felt she could finally truly go to sleep. There was still Tsuyu's words of advice for her to follow through on, for both hers and Nikolay's sake, but she at least felt like she could tackle the challenges of training for the next several days, and still at least have the chance in-between those times to really try and get her heart and mind back in some semblance of order so she could figure out how best to approach Nikolay about all of this.
September 1st
The rest of the days of training ended up passing by like a shot in the minds of all the students of Class 1-A. Their determination to bring themselves as close to the position of 'ready' for the Provisional Hero License Exam drove them all like a class possessed. In virtually no time at all, the big announcement had finally come: it was officially time for the students of every Hero school across Japan to take this year's second Provisional Hero License Exam.
The atmosphere among the whole class was abuzz with both excitement and lingering nervousness the entirety of the bus trip to where Class A's exam was going to be held. Of course there were the much more excited among them that were always trying to ease the tension with excited conversation, which worked for some; but there was no denying that for a great number of them, their anxiety wasn't going to pass that easily, not until they would either pass the exam… or fail. Only when it would all finally be over would they be able to breathe easy again.
In that time of training, even after having finally felt confident enough in his new moves to actually give them names, Nikolay hadn't slacked off on practicing his timing and aim for all the variations of both. Now he was at least feeling confident enough in himself in actually being able to do them. Whether they were going to be good enough against who-knew-how many other Hero students with any number of Quirks he wasn't prepared for, however, was another story.
Thankfully, he wasn't the only one who had really managed to make some serious strides in developing their special moves. After a good long while of struggling with the minutest details of how to control them when they needed to, Eijirou, Kyouka and Mina were all likewise feeling much more brushed up and prepared with their own special moves… at least, for the girls this was the case. All Eijirou had felt confident in sharing with those who asked was that he at least had some good ideas finally taking root in his head, even if he himself wasn't entirely sure if they were worthy of being called special moves. Somehow, someway, today was going to be his chance to showcase and prove whether or not he was right about that.
Of course, he wasn't going to let that uncertainty spoil his excitement during the bus trip, as he and Nikolay had decided to share a seat, and he'd been quick to notice the distant look on his Russian friend's face as he looked out the window at the passing cityscape. "Yo, Kolya-san, are you in there?"
Nikolay flinched in realization that he was suddenly being talked to; though Eijirou thankfully didn't look bothered by the fact he'd been zoning out. "I was just saying we should all send videos to all our old internship instructors when we get our licenses; show them and our new special moves off and all that. They'd all be so proud, I just know it!"
Nikolay's smile already made it clear to Eijirou that he was in full agreement. If only Mina had been sitting in the spot right next to theirs, she would have no doubt been the most gung-ho for it and practically proclaiming it for the entire class to hear and decide on. Truth be told, he'd come to really miss Willow Light and the rest of the Kamuron Agency Heroes in the time since then. To see their faces or at least hear back from them over the phone sounded really nice right now.
A couple rows ahead, however, Mina's mind wasn't actually on the upcoming exam, even though her instincts were telling her it should've been. No, right now, just as it ultimately had been every day when they weren't in the middle of training, Mina's mind was still dwelling around the same exact thing: Nikolay and herself. For as confident as she'd started to feel about how she really felt around him, it was simply not knowing for certain, especially in regards to how Nikolay himself actually felt about her in return, that kept the young pink Hero from being able to fully put the whole subject behind her so she could focus on things as they were right now. The fact that training had been such an at-the-forefront issue for all of them up until this point, and thus kept her from working up the courage to actually approach Nikolay about it, did not help at all.
She'd known for a long time, after reading so many sappy love stories in her spare time, that people could dwell on these uncertainties when it came to the people they felt that close to. Now that she essentially found herself in the exact same position, the usual amusement she got was now nowhere to be found. This was frustrating on an entirely different level she didn't even think could exist.
Sitting right beside her at the window, Tsuyu could easily see the conflict behind Mina's eyes. Of course, coming from someone usually as emotionally open as her, it was easy for the frog-like girl to tell what had to be on her pink friend's mind. "You still haven't figured it out yet, have you, Mina?"
Tsuyu could tell Mina knew exactly what she was talking about, even if her momentary flinch upon hearing her voice could have said otherwise. Fortunately, Mina knew there was no point in trying to pretend or feign ignorance. "No… not yet. I've been trying to focus so much on training; I haven't even had a chance to really even talk to Kolya-kun about any of it. I mean, this is such a big day; I don't wanna risk screwing it up for either of us by talking about it now. If nothing else, I'll try to talk to him once this is all over, no matter what happens."
Tsuyu, thankfully, was as blunt as ever in simply dropping the subject and just letting it be, leaving Mina to her thoughts, while the pink young girl herself instinctively glanced back to see Nikolay still being chatted up by Eijirou a couple rows back. He looked to be in a similar state of deep thought as well. From where she was sitting, she could only imagine how nervous he was still feeling about the upcoming exam. Even with how much her heart and mind was going back to these feelings of hers, there was still a good portion of her that was just as nervous for what awaited them once they got off this bus.
Back in Nikolay and Eijirou's seat; the young Slav was still looking expectantly at the passing city outside his window, while Eijirou momentarily caught a sideways glimpse of Mina briefly looking their way, only to turn back just as quickly. Seeing this, the beginnings of a sly sharp-toothed smirk formed on his face as he turned his attention back to Nikolay. "Yo, Kolya-san, have you given any more thought to what we talked about back in your room?"
Nikolay was once more stirred from his absent-minded reverie, only to look back and see the smirking redhead motioning his head in the direction of their mutual pink best friend. That made it all too clear just what he was actually referring to, causing Nikolay's fair face to flare up bright red. "Uh… n-no, actually… I-I mean, not that I haven't been thinking on it, but I-I haven't really figured out how I… how I want to approach her about it… or if I really feel what this whole thing suggests. To be honest, I've just been trying to focus on preparing for the exam, and then worrying about that later."
Even with the sigh of disappointment he let out, anyone would have been able to still see the good-natured smile on Eijirou's face as he gave Nikolay a supportive nudge of the elbow and a supportive wink. "Well, however you wanna go about it, dude; just remember that you can come to me for any kind of help you need whenever you decide you're ready, okay? But you know what, you're right. For now, let's just focus on heading in there, kicking ass, taking names, and coming out as bona fide licensed Heroes!"
Nikolay could easily tell how much Eijirou wanted to harden his fists and pound them together like he always did when he was feeling especially pumped up. However, it was still against the rules to be using their Quirks outside of an official capacity like the exam, and the last thing Eijirou wanted was for Aizawa to have the class be turned around back to Yuuei just because he was being overly enthusiastic.
Instead, he turned his attention to the one other thing that had been claiming a consistent place in his head. "Hey, I'm sorry to bring this up now, but has there been anything new about Tunguska-sensei going for his Pro Hero License yet?"
Now this was something Nikolay could talk about much more comfortably, especially with Eijirou of all people, as the tension in his body seemed to magically vanish as he thought back. "Actually, yes. He got the results for his written portion of the exam a couple days ago and passed with an almost perfect score; and now he's just been waiting for the notice as to when his practical exam is going to be held, and where. That's the last I've heard about it so far, but I'm just trying to keep my fingers crossed for him."
The news that the teacher he admired the most in their school was successfully halfway towards getting his Pro License had Eijirou grinning excitedly from ear to ear. If one hadn't known him any better, they would have thought he was the one making that significant leap towards becoming a Pro Hero. His fists were already clenching with anticipation. "I know he can do it, Kolya-san, just as much as I'm sure you do, too. If Tunguska-sensei had what it took to become a Number One Hero before, he should be able to step back into being a working Pro Hero easy. Oh man, I hope he passes and gets accepted into a Hero Agency before the second internships roll around. I gotta know where to apply in time."
Just before Nikolay had to perform the regrettable task of reminding Eijirou how unlikely it was that a newly licensed Pro Hero would be granted an intern so quickly, the momentum of the bus came to a sudden halt, and Aizawa stood tall at the end of the aisle. "Alright, everyone, we're here. Time to get off."
The whole class dutifully filed off the bus, and as soon as he had stepped out into the morning sunlight, Nikolay was met with the sight of a massive but pristine stadium-like building at the top of a set of stone steps, with the roof looking like a slowly spiraling glass slope that ended in a piercing spire of white against the deep azure sky. As the students all looked in awe at where their exam was actually going to be held, Aizawa looked upon it as well and gave the announcement in only the blunt manner he could: "The exam site, class: Takoba National Stadium."
Naturally, the scope of this place, and the responsibility that was awaiting them inside had Nikolay and many of his classmates feeling especially nervous. Even with his previous bravado, even Eijirou had a mildly shaken look in his eyes, knowing there was officially no turning back now. Aizawa could naturally sense this apprehension among his students, capped off by Minoru being unable to help but speak up in overwhelming uncertainty: "What do you all think we're going to have to do for the exam? I wonder if I really can get a license here…"
"Mineta, it's not 'I wonder.' Go in there and get one." Aizawa stated as he bowed down to meet the diminutive boy's gaze; his voice naturally as serious as a heart attack, and setting Minoru standing up straight, alongside the rest of the class once their teacher stood tall before them. "That goes for every last one of you. This is the day that all of your training these last couple of weeks has been building up towards. It's officially here. If you guys are able to pass this exam and get your Provisional Hero Licenses, then you are all no longer eggs. You will officially have become chicklings; incubated to become Semi-Professional Heroes. Do your best."
Somehow, even with the natural gritty seriousness of their teacher's voice, Aizawa's sentiments managed to light a fire in the heart of every single one of his students, as their collective nervousness had now transformed into an uncontainable determination that was expressed by, out of all people first, Nikolay himself, as he became overwhelmed by the desire to try and help lift his classmates and friends up: "YES! LET'S DO IT, YOU GUYS!"
The sight of their normally quiet foreign classmate suddenly being this pumped up brought the biggest smiles to many of their faces, as Denki quickly followed suit with his own fist pumped to the air: "HELL YEAH! LET'S BECOME CHICKLINGS! WE'VE GOT THIS!"
With the anticipation reaching fever pitch, Eijirou knew exactly how to cap this off so they could go charging into that exam with all the gusto in the world: "OKAY, EVERYONE, GATHER AROUND!"
The whole of the class quickly formed into a collective huddle, with Eijirou, Nikolay and Denki being the first to bring their hands down and together, urging the rest of the class to follow suit in a group cheer of support and confidence. "READY?! PLUS—
"—ULTRA!"
The deafening intrusion of a completely unfamiliar young man's voice sucked the built-up excitement from the entire class, and instead had almost all of them jumping with shock at the sudden sight of a strange but especially well-built, tanned and tall young man in a white uniform shirt, black pants, and a military-looking black beret with a golden 'S' emblazoned on the front. His right arm was extended to the sky much like the 1-A students had been preparing for, and despite the especially intense look in his sharp beady eyes (perfectly complimenting the natural intensity of his face and his clearly closely cut black hair), it looked as though he were smiling as excitedly as they all had been just seconds before.
Just before any one of them could ask just who on earth this sudden intruder to their class huddle was—"It's not good for you to inject yourself in other people's huddles, Inasa-san." Another new young male's voice suddenly called out from behind this intense new face before them. Looking back behind this apparent Inasa character, many of 1-A were quick to notice a handful of other students in uniforms identical to his, all with the same black berets with the golden 'S' above the brims. The one who had spoken up to him was another boy, not as overwhelmingly muscular in shape, and with a head of semi-long lavender hair hanging over the left half of his face.
"AW, DAMMIT!" Inasa suddenly roared, not out of anger, but out of realization of how thoroughly he'd clearly forgotten himself. Before anyone could even begin to think of what to say, he suddenly pulled his right arm back and reeled the entire upper half of his body back like his spine was a hinge. "PLEASE, ACCEPT MY… HUMBLEST APOLOGIES!"
WHAAAM!
Like a catapult, Inasa threw his whole upper body forward with unbelievable speed, and even greater force, slamming his forehead straight into the cobblestone floor, leaving a visible indentation in it as he gave the world's most intense bow of remorse for his actions. Of course, just the spectacle of how over-the-top this Inasa boy was had rendered all of Class 1-A a mix of shocked and horrified, and all at a loss for words. Nikolay couldn't even begin to guess what to think about this guy; he'd seen no-holds-barred portrayals of hardened military officials that paled in comparison to Inasa's clearly natural demeanor. 'Just who in the hell is this guy?! He makes Eijirou-san's enthusiasm and Iida-san's intensity combined look downright subtle!'
However, at that moment, he began to pick up the sound of multiple scattered voices from the multitude of other passing Hero school students on their way to the stadium, as their eyes were actually all focused on the very same kids in the black berets before them: "Whoa, you see those berets? You don't think they're kids from that school, do you? You mean that big one in the west? I hope not, I don't think I'm ready to face against them."
By now, Nikolay and his classmates' intimidation had now turned to curiosity. "Everyone's talking like they know who those kids are. Who are they? I don't know; I've never seen those uniforms before. Everyone's making them sound super tough, though. That's because they are."
The chatter across Class 1-A was brought to a swift end when Bakugo suddenly spoke up, not with confusion or that typical hair-trigger anger, but full-on recognition and serious focus. His piercing eyes were centered solely on this handful of rival students before them, as soon all his classmates followed suit. "If any of you would pay attention, you'd know by now that Japan has two especially elite Hero schools: Yuuei in the east…and another in the west, one that pretty much carries an identical amount of esteem in the Hero community; and these kids here are students from that very same school: Shiketsu High!"
The fact that Bakugo was speaking of these kids and their school with the intensity he had, devoid of the usual egotistical attitude, struck Nikolay with the fear of God as he looked upon this trio standing before his class. If their hotheaded classmate wasn't bombarding them with the typical tirade of how much stronger he was than them, then that had to mean this Shiketsu High was no joke, and neither were these three strangers. He could practically feel that same unsettling sensation spread across all his classmates to hear this.
However, a wayward glance while taking in the three Shiketsu students standing before them caused Nikolay to quickly notice that the third member among them, the only girl in fact, was actually directly meeting his specific gaze with her own. She had semi long straight hair that went just past her shoulders, either a dark blonde or very light brown in color (actually very similar to his father's), big eyes with dark brown irises, a mouth with a pair of noticeably full, plump and even glossy lips; and a figure that, even through the uniform, was clearly able to even stand toe-to-toe with Momo and Mina's in the areas of curves and ample chest.
The moment after Nikolay had reluctantly noticed that last detail, he momentarily looked back up, only this time to see this strange girl was now giving him a smile with those full glossy lips that couldn't have been described any other way than 'flirtatious;' only punctuated even further by the fact she suddenly gave the clearly flustered Russian boy a wink.
Any other boy would have no doubt felt like they'd died and gone to heaven to receive even that much of an acknowledgment from a girl this undeniably attractive, but Nikolay mainly just felt an incredible lump of awkwardness and anxiety lodge up in his throat, trying so hard not to give too much of a reaction, while still dealing with how inexperienced he still was at receiving such attention from any girl at all. Of course, all the self control in the world couldn't hide how red his otherwise fair face was turning, which only served to make the girl in question giggle slightly to herself.
At the same time, Mina had likewise noticed this brief and silent interaction between her Russian bestie and constant center of her present thoughts, with this new girl; and could likewise feel her own hair now standing on end and her heart start racing while her pink face began to turn a similar shade of red; but not out of anger. She honestly couldn't begin to describe what seeing this had made her feel, even if it was for just that handful of seconds. For some reason, it really reminded her of the feeling she'd found herself going through back when being teased about Nikolay by that crazy Himiko Toga girl.
All of a sudden, Inasa practically pried his own head out from the indentation he'd made in the ground; not one ounce of that immense excitement lost on his face, even though his forehead was now completely red with his own blood. "MY APOLOGIES ONCE MORE! I JUST WANTED TO TRY AND SAY IT ONCE! PLUS ULTRA! I MYSELF, I MUST SAY THAT I LOVE YUUEI! IT'S THE UTMOST HONOR TO BE ABLE TO COMPETE WITH YOU ALL AT YUUEI! I WISH YOU THE BEST!"
Whether he was completely ignorant to the overall shocked looks on all the Yuuei students' faces at the fact he was already bleeding so much, or if he was really so nonchalant that he could just brush such things aside would be a question for the ages; one that nobody would get the answer to, as another impatient urging from his lavender-haired schoolmate prompted Inasa to dutifully follow alongside him and the mysterious flirtatious girl together, leaving all of Class 1-A completely dumbfounded.
With how upfront he was with his enthusiasm, it should have been easy to simply figure Inasa was genuine in wishing them luck. However, they all knew that after the last several days of pushing their training as far as possible, knowing they would be competing against fellow Hero students like these, made it impossible to just take his words at face value anymore. There was certainly no way Nikolay could just brush aside the fact that Bakugo of all people spoke of them and their school so seriously.
"Yoarashi… Inasa." Aizawa suddenly muttered under his breath, promptly drawing the attention of his entire class as he watched the three Shiketsu students depart for the stadium.
"Sensei, do you actually know that guy?" Tooru asked with great curiosity, while Nikolay had already found himself muttering his own thoughts alongside Eijirou and Denki:
"I feel like I should've been able to get the good intentions in his words, but he was so intense, it was honestly kind of intimidating." To his relief, he clearly wasn't the only one among them who felt as such, judging by the clearly troubled look on Eijirou's furrowed brow.
Despite the chatter of his students, Aizawa proceeded to answer Tooru's question for all of them: "That boy, Yoarashi Inasa… is strong." It was such a simple thing to say, but like everything else he said, there was an especially pronounced graveness to the 1-A homeroom teacher's tone as he, and soon all of his students together, watched Inasa disappear from sight with his schoolmates. Everyone was strong in their own way, but Aizawa was giving off a totally different air compared to anyone else he could have talked about before. When he said this Inasa boy was strong, he meant it in the worst possible way; a way that left Nikolay and most of his classmates visibly shaken with imagination what 'strong' could've entailed for this one specifically.
"At the last entrance exam, the very same one you all took, in spite of receiving the top score above every other participant and being accepted into Yuuei, for some reason, he declined his offer and opted for Shiketsu High instead." The air was soon filled with exclamations of shock from the entire class. Nikolay, amid the throes of it all, was actually struggling to comprehend it. By now he'd come to understand that Yuuei was the cream of the crop of Japan's Hero schools, even despite what Bakugo had said about Shiketsu having the same reputation. What on earth would have driven this Inasa character to actually turn down Yuuei after getting the top score among all top scores and being accepted with open arms?
Of course, after that little fact had run its course; then came a much more troubling thought that left the young Russian and all his friends with a nervous twisting sensation in their guts. If Inasa Yoarashi was actually powerful enough to get the highest score out of who-knew-how many participants for the entrance exam… then that technically had to mean that, even for a first year student like the rest of them, he had the potential to be even tougher than Shoto…
… and the thought of going up against someone even more powerful than the (mostly) inarguably most powerful student in their whole class was something that left Nikolay in another frigid sweat, swallowing an anxious lump in his throat. More and more, this Provisional Hero License Exam was proving to become both that much more interesting, and that much more terrifying.
And there's your new chapter for the week, everyone. The Provisional Hero License Exam is officially here, but will Nikolay and his friends' upgrades and training be enough? Tune in for the next chapter on 12/18 to find out!
In the meantime, stay safe and healthy, and have a great rest of your week!