"All Might!" cried out one of the students—Yaoyorozu, who had her hand raised high in

the air. "Forgive me for interrupting, but shouldn't this be stopped? It seems to have gone well beyond what anyone anticipated."

"I must agree!" Iida called. "Both students are acting very unbecoming of professional heroes! This has become a personal grudge match!"

Kirishima nodded. "Damn right! They're not acting like honorable heroes at all!"

"They blew a hole in the building!" Kaminari said. "That's gotta be too far, right?"

All Might gripped the microphone, beads of sweat rolling down his chiseled features.

He watched the screen. Bakugo had fired one of his gauntlets, those all-powerful gadgets that he was obviously forbidden to use against fellow students. They were powerful enough to seriously injure even a professional hero. It was fortunate he was up against someone so formidable…

But the other boy was also an issue. Nobutoshi had just kicked Bakugo in the stomach, sending him flying across the hallway again. He was probably strong enough to 'capture' Bakugo at any moment, thus ending the battle, but he kept

going, pummeling the boy with blows.

…And it didn't seem like the boys' teammates were going to end the battle anytime soon, either. In the other screen, All Might watched Tsuyu using her froglike mobility to carry the fake nuclear weapon away from Koda, who couldn't keep up with her speed. It was almost like she was stalling so the fight beneath her could continue.

"All Might," Izuku said. "I really think… this should be stopped."

All Might looked over his shoulder. His disciple looked sick. "You know both of them, Young Midoriya… One is your brother, and another went to school with you. Do you, really think this needs to end?"

He nodded. "Yes, knowing both of them. They've hated each other since they were kids."

All Might sighed. There have been no serious injuries yet, though… "Have you considered that this fight could be positive for them? They can finally, erm, sort out their differences, right?"

Izuku didn't look convinced. "I can't see them ever sorting out their differences,

really. Definitely not this quickly."

"I see… W-Well, I'll send them a warning!" He lowered his mouth to the microphone.

"Both of you, don't be so reckless! Bakugo, if you use your other gauntlet, I'll have to disqualify you. Midoriya, remember you can end this by restraining the heroes! Don't meaninglessly brawl, or I'll mark you down!"

All Might gulped, watching as the two paused to take in his words. He didn't want to restrain these two passionate youngsters, but it was bordering on absurd to let them keep going. This is an opportunity for growth, he kept telling himself. If I am to be a good teacher, I can't interrupt them so soon.

"Hey, Deku," Uraraka whispered, nudging her new friend's arm. "Your brother is kind

of scary, isn't he?"

Izuku smiled weakly. "I can see how he comes off that way. But really, Nobutoshi is a

kind person… I know that…" He winced, watching as Nobutoshi evaded another one

of Bakugo's punches and smashed him in the ribs again.

"When it comes to some

people, he goes too far."

"Way too far!" Iida cried. "And the same can be said for Bakugo! I have no idea how

that massive explosion didn't leave a mark. Ack! Look at Nobutoshi! He's hitting him

more!"

"That Nobutoshi is on the villain's team," Todoroki, the red-and-white-haired student,

said, speaking for the first time in a while. "He's well-suited to the role, perhaps."

All Might listened to the class converse, nervous. It was true that Nobutoshi was fitting the role. He was stern and remorseless. Even his costume was dark and menacing. It was a perfect casting, but… Somehow, this didn't feel like an act.

This was who he truly was.

The teacher could only hold the microphone and watch, ready to stop the fight at any moment.

(LINEBREAK!)

Nobutoshi drove a fist into Bakugo's stomach, sending the bully skidding across the chipped concrete floor. He came to a stop just before the hole in the building and scrambled around on the ground, huffing and wheezing. He coughed loudly, spitting out a wad of red fluid.

Blood, Nobutoshi realized. I made him cough up blood. He watched with a certain satisfaction, but he was nowhere near done.

"What's wrong, Bakugo?" he sneered, strolling over. "Don't tell me that's all you've got."

"Of course not," Bakugo rumbled, his voice sounding like gravel. "I'm going to… I'm going to…"

Nobutoshi chuckled. To his credit, Bakugo was still motivated after all his attacks had failed. That was admirable, but it wasn't going to last. Nobutoshi wouldn't be satisfied until he properly broke the bully's spirit. And maybe some other parts of his body along the way…

"Did I break a rib yet?" he asked. "You're coughing an awful lot there."

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER." Bakugo leapt at him again.

Nobutoshi stepped out of the way. He countered with a short left hook, aiming at Bakugo's face for the first time in the fight. It felt just as good as he'd imagined. His fist collided with Bakugo's nose, mouth and cheek, producing a satisfying crunching sound as the bully's head whipped to the side and he fell to his knees, cradling the

bloody mess that was now his face.

Damn, I used more force than I intended to, he thought, watching the amount of blood spilling onto the ground, this time from a shattered nose. I need to be more careful with this, or they'll stop the flight. He still had his backup plan, of course, if All might decided to step in too early. He would take the fight into the sky and buy some extra time.

"You bastard," Bakugo wheezed. "That was a lucky punch. Just wait…" He raised his other gauntlet. "I'LL BLOW YOU AWAY PROPERLY."

Nobutoshi narrowed his eyes. "Don't. You heard All Might—if you use that attack afain, you'll be disqualified."

"DOESN'T MATTER AS LONG AS YOU DIE." He moved his finger to wrap around the pin.

Tch. He's lost it. Nobutoshi moved with blinding speed, grabbing Bakugo's hand and preventing it from setting off the blast. He pinned the boy to the ground, holding him by the wrists not allowing him to move an inch.

"These are fancy weapons, aren't they?" Nobutoshi muttered, examining the big

green grenades. "How much money do you think the school blew on these? It was

all wasted on you."

"Shut up," Bakugo hissed. "These were… These were what I imagined in the

diagram… I sent them…"

"You sent them a little diagram, did you? You must have really wanted them." Then

Nobutoshi's anger flared, and he tightened his grip on Bakugo's wrists. It would be

so easy to snap the little bones in there like twigs.

"You know who else drew a bunch

of diagrams? Who else wanted to be a hero? My brother. And you threw his

notebook in the fucking water. You laughed at his dreams. You made life so difficult

for him. Why!?"

Bakugo blinked, like he didn't understand the emotion.

Nobutoshi kept going. "From the beginning, there was no reason for it. Why did you

treat him that way!? Why were you so cruel?"

"Because I hate him," Bakugo growled eventually. "He was just a weak, quirkless

insect, and he kept trying to be on my level."

"He only wanted to be kind to you. He was always kind to everyone!"

"And he lied to me!" Bakugo said, ignoring Nobutoshi. "He did have a quirk. He was

messing with me all along. I can't believe he dared—"

"Okay, okay I get it," Nobutoshi said coldly. "You're just an irredeemable, egotistical

asshole."

He ran his eyes up and down Bakugo like a lion surveying its prey. "I

probably shouldn't break your bones, but… maybe breaking these would be more

fun…"

He let go of one of Bakugo's arms and formed a fist. I wonder how durable they

made these? He knocked on the side of Bakugo's left gauntlet, first lightly, then havily.

Bakugo's eyes widened when he realized what was happening. "Don't you fucking dare!"

Nobutoshi bought his first down with even more strength. The gauntlet shattered like glass and the pieces fell from Bakugo's arm, causing him to cry out. His now-bare arm reached up to tug at Nobutoshi, trying to stop him, but it was useless. Nobutoshi turned his attention to the other gauntlet and broke it in the same way, bringing his fist down to decimate the surprisingly fragile material.

"That was underwhelming," he said, faking a yawn. "I thought they would explode or

something."

"How dare you," Bakugo was muttering, still trying to mount a counter-offensive. He was far too weak. Even when Nobutoshi let go of his wrists, his pitiful little explosions did nothing.

Nobutoshi slapped him, hard. The force was so great that Bakugo's head snapped to the side and his eyes went glassy, if only for a second. Then he did it again. And again. Targeting both cheeks. The bully's head swung back and forth.

Concerned he was losing consciousness, Nobutoshi stopped for a moment, then drove a knee into Bakugo's ribs, extracting a choked scream of pain.

He did it again, then aimed a fist

at his shoulder, at his leg, and other parts of his body.

images of his brother being bullied flitted through his mind, feeding his rage. It felt good to do this.

This is punishment. He'll never pick on the weak again.

Suddenly, All Might's voice rang out: "STOP, STOP, THIS IS OVER. YOUNG MIDORIYA, I'M STOPPING THE MATCH."

Nobutoshi initially stopped, as his teacher requested. He took a deep breath,

observing Bakugo's beaten and bloody body beneath him. Sorry about this, All

Might, he thought. I'm not done yet.

Moving in a blur, Nobutoshi stuck his arms under Bakugo and scooped him up. He

shot out the hole in the wall and flew upwards, traveling far above the replica city

below.

(LINEBREAK!)

By this point, the class was in hysterics.

"All Might, he's still going!"

"This is hard to watch!"

"Is he trying to kill him!?"

"I don't think Bakugo is even conscious anymore…"

"Everyone, please calm down!" All Might shouted. "I've just given them the order to

stop."

"Are you sure they heard that?" Yaoyorozu asked. "He's picked Bakugo up… It

seems they're flying into the sky?"

"That guy definitely heard it," Mina said. "He's just choosing not to listen! What a

monster!"

Kirishima shook his head. "What the hell… Why's he flying up there? He's not going

to, like, drop him, is he? That would be sick!"

"That would be attempted murder!" Mineta squealed.

"We don't know why he's flown up there!" All Might squinted at the screen, which

had just lost sight of the two boys. "Our equipment can't record them when they're

so high above the building…"

Izuku paced back and forth. "Nobutoshi's not going to respond if you tell him to

stop," he said quietly, so queasy that he was struggling to breathe. "He'll keep

going… I think."

"What's wrong with him!?" Iida cried, shaking his head with disbelief. "This match is

already over—that much is obvious! He's acting abhorrently, beating a fellow student

half to death… I'm sorry, Midoriya… I know he's your brother, but such an individual

cannot be allowed to partake in the country's most prestigious hero course!"

"I'm inclined to agree," Yaoyorozu said. "Heroes are meant to be upstanding people.

This is uncalled for."

"G-Guys!" Uraraka said. "It's too much, but still… Deku just told me that, like, the

reason he's doing that… The reason is…" She looked at Izuku, sniffling loudly.

"Sorry, I shouldn't say it."

Izuku was full of guilt. "It's fine. I'll say it. The reason he's doing this is because

Bakugo bullied me as a kid… Nobutoshi always wanted to get revenge for me. This

is my fault, really…"

"Then he should report the boy to the authorities!" Iida said. "That's how you deal

with a troublesome student! He's taking justice into his own hands!"

"That Bakugo was attempting to do the same," Todoroki said, silencing Iida with a

cold gaze. "There's just a difference in strength. If one is guilty, the other is too."

"Also," spoke Tokoyami, the bird-headed student, "as heroes, aren't we meant to

take justice into our own hands?"

"Perhaps so, but we are also meant to show tolerance and restraint!" Yaoyorozu

said. "Those concepts are clearly not known to Midoriya Nobutoshi!"

"Be quiet, class!" All Might said. He whirled around, a stern look on his instantly

memorable face. "As heroes, we often have to make hard judgments in our handling

of villains. In this instance, Young Midoriya has indeed gone too far." He punched the

air. "I'll put a stop to it myself."

(LINEBREAK!)

Nobutoshi floated in the clouds, dangling a lifeless Bakugo by one arm. He shook

the boy, waiting for him to regain consciousness.

"Wake up," he ordered. "I flew so fast you passed out again."

Bakugo's eyes fluttered open. He didn't seem to understand where he was at first,

peering around like a fool, confused by the puffy clouds. The moment he looked

down, he screamed hoarsely, limbs flailing around.

Nobutoshi smirked. "Calm down. If you struggle too much, I might drop you."

"What the hell are you doing?" Bakugo demanded. His teeth started to chatter—it

was freezing so high up in the sky. "Are you a… psychopath? Let me go!"

"And let you fall? I'd love to, but no." He smacked the bully in the face. "I want an

apology!"

"Huh!?"

"I said I want an apology!" He punched Bakugo in the stomach, tossed him into the

air, and grabbed him by the ankle, shaking him around like a ragdoll. "Say sorry for

what you did to my brother!"

"I'm… I…"

"Say it!" Nobutoshi could see that he was scared and in pain. The boy was breathing

desperately, looking down at the ground like it was a train rushing up to meet him.

He flipped Bakugo back around, grabbing hold of the spiky hair on his head. He continued to attack, hitting him just hard enough to leave a nasty bruise, but not

enough to break a bone.

"Stop," Bakugo garbled. "C'mon, p-please, this is—Arrrgh!"

Nobutoshi shifted, holding Bakugo from behind and twisting his left arm out of its

socket. "Apologize for everything you've done! Say you're sorry!" He drove an elbow

into Bakugo's side. "Say it! Promise you'll never do it again!"

Bakugo was basically unintelligible from this point forward. His mouth made sounds

of terror and undeniable shame, but they were far too deranged and disfigured to be

considered real words. Eventually, Nobutoshi had to let up. He held the dangling

body and breathed, listening for the sounds below him. There was that unmistakable

crashing as an all-powerful hero made his way from the observation room to the

battle site.

All Might is on the way.

Nobutoshi felt surprisingly nonchalant about the prospect. So what if All Might was

coming? As fast and strong as the top hero was, he could only travel in massive

leaps. If Nobutoshi kept flying upwards, he could probably evade capture for even

longer.

But Izuku was still in the back of Nobutoshi's mind. He knew his brother would be

furious at him for assaulting Bakugo so much already.

He descended to the roof of the building and placed Bakugo on his back.

The bully had passed out once again, which annoyed Nobutoshi—why was he

allowed the grace of unconsciousness after all he had done? This was far too kind

an ending for such a piece of shit. Nobutoshi positioned his boot between Bakugo's

legs and kicked hard. Bakugo's eyes flew open and he groaned, low and whinging,

pain coursing through his body.

"That's what you get," Nobutoshi hissed. "Don't you ever touch my brother again."

At that moment, All Might leapt onto the top of the building and landed with a crash.

He towered over Nobutoshi; for a second, it seemed possible he was going to

forcibly restrain the boy.

But he didn't. He just shook his head slowly. "You seem to be done now, Young

Midoriya."

Nobutoshi held the top hero's gaze, then shrugged. "Yeah, I guess this is far

enough."

"This is too far."

"...Right."

You understand you'll be punished for this, don't you?"

He shrugged again. The punishment didn't concern him. He'd done what he'd set

out to do, and he felt satisfied. "Okay, you can punish me. You wouldn't want anyone

else going this far, I guess."

"That goes without saying."

An entourage of medical rescue bots landed on the roof and began fretting around

Bakugo. They placed him in a stretcher and clicked his arm back into his socket.

Bakugo just groaned in pain, holding his one working arm over his face, maybe to

obscure tears.

"Take him to Recovery Girl," All Might ordered. He turned back to Nobutoshi. "Come

back to the observation room with me."

This surprised Nobutoshi. "To see the other students?"

"The whole lot of them have been shocked, appalled, and torn over what should be

done with you. We will decide what happens as a group."

(LINEBREAK!)

As requested, Nobutoshi stuck close to All Might as he entered the observation

room. The reason why was obvious—most of the students were afraid of him. He

could see it in their faces, along with other feelings: fear, rage, disbelief, judgment,

and nonchalance from some. They all had their own response.

Tsuyu and Koda had also returned and joined the group. Nobuotoshi felt he should

thank the frog girl in some way… but there was no time.

"All Might!" cried Iida. "I apologize, but is this really appropriate? Shouldn't that boy

be… no longer allowed in this class?"

Nobutoshi rolled his eyes. "Of course you would say that. After living such a cushy

private school life, there was no way you'd understand."

"That was shameful, dude!" shouted Kirishima, the boy who could harden himself.

"You kicked another man in the balls! No honor at all!"

Honor, Nobutoshi thought, trying not to laugh. "This wasn't about honor," he said.

"This was about delivering punishment. But I doubt you idealistic dimwits could wrap

your heads around it…"

"N-Nobu!" came Izuku's voice. "You know that was… too much…"

This was the one person that made Nobutoshi feel slightly bad. Izuku was

distraught, of course. He had obviously been crying. Even so, Nobutoshi did not

wholly regret what he had done. Izuku was too kind to stand up to Bakugo himself,

so he needed someone else to do it for him.

"Everyone, listen to me," All Might said, clearing his throat. "I have already explained

to Young Midoriya that he will be punished. However, the nature of that

punishment… I will leave in your hands."

Kaminari threw up his arms. "Our hands? Why?"

Iida nodded. "Surely this should be decided by the teachers… Those in charge…"

"Maybe it should, but…" All Might sighed. "This class will be together for three years.

You will get to know each other very, very well, and grow into strong heroes

together! I believe it is important that you decide the fate of your own classmate.

Believe it or not, this is a valuable learning opportunity! So, please… speak your

minds, everyone! I will be here to keep everyone safe."

The class took his information in, understanding that they had the power in their

hands.

"Very well," Yaoyorozu said, raising a hand to her chin. "I'll start. If we are going to

make an informed decision, we need more information. For instance, what exactly

prompted this assault? And what were Bakugo's injuries?"

"According to Recovery Girl," All Might said, "Young Bakugo suffered a broken nose,

a broken rib, and dislocated arm. He is being healed now."

Some students gasped sharply.

"Not even that bad," Nobutoshi muttered. "Compared to what he did…"

"Not that bad!?" Aoyama gasped. "He suffered broken bones, you oaf!"

"Just a rib. I'm sure they can fix that up. Anyway, it's none of your business! Stay out

of it!"

"It is our business," Tokoyami said, "just like All Might told us."

"We are the most prestigious hero course in the country!" Iida said. "We have been

allowed to pass judgement, and we do not take that lightly!"

"Y-Yeah!" Mineta—the small, grape-headed boy—blubbered. "W-We need to get him

out of the class! He could hurt us too!"

"If you're not abusive assholes, I couldn't care less about you worrywarts,"

Nobutoshi said, rolling his eyes again. "By the way, why is this three-feet-tall baby in

a hero course? Shouldn't you be in daycare or something?"

Mineta gasped. "Th-That's so mean!"

"Young Midoriya, we want this to be civil," All Might said sternly.

"I don't think that's possible, All Might," Iida said. "He is clearly an uncivilized

person!"

Nobutoshi laughed scornfully. "Maybe so, but I'm stronger than you'll ever be."

"Everyone!" Yaoyorozu said. "We're going off-topic! Let's stop insulting him for a

second. We have to hear why he did such a thing."

"L-Let me speak!" Izuku cried. The class went quiet and looked at him. They had

already fostered a certain respect for Izuku, seeing him work so hard with his

self-sabotaging quirk, so they wanted to hear what he had to say.

"Before, you said this was because Bakugo bullied you," Yaoyorozu said. "But that

doesn't seem serious enough to warrant such… babarity."

"It was serious… He picked on me a lot, and Nobutoshi was always trying to save

me. My quirk hadn't, uh, developed by this point, so I was vulnerable."

Nobutoshi fired up. "You're still downplaying it, Izuku."

"N-No, I'm—"

"He beat you bloody, just like I did to him. He did it again and again over the course

of many years. He stepped on your dreams. He told you to commit suicide.

Compared to all that, what I did was nothing."

Izuku was silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts. The class watched,

interested.

"Is that true?" Jiro asked. "He… beat you over so many years? He even told you to

kill yourself?"

"Yes, he did," Izuku muttered. "B-But, Kacchan was suffering just like anyone! He's a

prideful person, and—"

"You always do this," Nobutoshi interrupted. "Downplaying what he did to you, acting

like he's some type of sympathetic idol. He's always been an asshole. Someone

would have done that to him eventually. He should thank me for not giving him any

serious injuries! In fact, all of you should thank me." He addressed the class, his

voice growing in volume. "What I did was deliver justice to a terrible person. It wasn't

pretty, and it certainly wasn't something you'd cheer about on TV. But this is what

justice is. You're meant to be heroes, right? If you can't handle something like that,

you're just a bunch of weaklings."

"That was not justice!" Iida shot back. "I refuse to believe that! You could have ended

that battle earlier!"

"And kept his pride intact? I'd rather not."

"It's not about his pride! It's about being a respectful hero!"

Nobutoshi laughed. "You have no idea what the real world is like…"

"I agree with Midoriya," Todoroki said suddenly, interrupting the argument. "Well,

somewhat. This was a real-life battle simulation. What we saw was a real fight, and

most fights are lopsided." He paused. "This is reality. What we signed up for as pro

heroes."

"I also see where he's coming from," Tokoyami confessed, though he looked

troubled by this admission. "It was… uncomfortable to watch that beatdown. But it

must have been even more uncomfortable watching Bakugo bully his brother across

all those years."

"Bakugo isn't innocent in this instance either," Shouji reasoned. "He tried to inflict

damage in the same haphazard way."

"Bakugo wasn't such a bitch about it, though!" Kirishima shouted. "I can respect a

fight between men, but Midoriya tortured him! And kicked him in the balls!"

"Yeah, that was gross!" Mina chorused.

"I agree! Too far!" Sato said.

"H-He was probably emotional," Uraraka mumbled. She was clearly shy. "That's why

he went so far. Because he was angry about the bullying, right?"

"Emotion is not a valid excuse for such horrific acts!" Iida snapped.

"Okay, okay." Yaoyorozu quietened the room.

"We're in disagreement. What are

some possible solutions? As All Might said, we need to agree on a punishment."

Mineta said, "we could move him to a different class!"

"That's just avoiding the problem," Yaoyorozu said.

"Well, I think he should be expelled!" Iida said.

"There are many other students who

narrowly missed out on a spot in this course. I'm sure they are better deserving—"

"Better deserving than me?" Nobutoshi sneered. "I had the highest score in the

history of the entrance exam. I'm stronger than all of you combined. And you want to

expel me?"

"Even if you are that powerful, that doesn't mean we want you here!" Mineta

screeched.

"Please, stop bickering!" Yaoyorozu said.

"Personally, I find the idea of expulsion

extreme for this case. But I do think a brief suspension would be appropriate…"

"That sounds reasonable," Shouji said.

Yaoyorozu nodded. "I think so too. Why don't we go around the class, then? Decide

whether you are in favor of expulsion or suspension. I, of course, lean towards

suspending him…"

"And I would rather have him gone!" Iida proclaimed. "Again, I'm sorry to your

brother, whom I respect… but you are unfit for this course! Please, comrades, make

the right decision here…"

"If I have to pick one of those, I would go with the less severe option," Todoroki said.

"Midoriya should not be expelled for what he did. Fighting is part of our job. Really, I

don't think he needs to be punished at all…"

"Agreed," Shouji said. "This was a personal grudge built over many years. I don't

think we have anything to fear from him, and I can sort of respect him for taking

revenge in that way."

"Yeah, I guess," Kirishima said. He walked up to Nobutoshi and glared at him hotly,

turning his skin to hard, rugged material. "Listen! I think what you did was super

unmanly! However, you're clearly strong! Stronger than I am right now! I respect you

for that! I want you to stay in this class so I can beat you one day!"

Nobutoshi held his gaze. "Uh, thanks, then…" Good luck with that.

Internally, Nobutoshi breathed a sigh of relief. He was surprised to realize how much

he wanted to stay at UA, alongside his brother. It seemed that not everyone in the

class was an overly soft coward.

There were those that saw reason and understoodwhy he had punished Bakugo so harshly.

Of course, there were also those that wanted him gone. "He shouldn't be here

anymore!" Mineta cried. "I don't want him in our class."

"I must agree," Aoyama said. "His actions weren't not spectacular in the slightest…

I'm uncomfortable with him staying here! He should be expelled!"

"S-Same," said Hagakure, the invisible girl. "Who knows what he'll do next? We

have no way of telling!"

"Yeah, too much for me, man," Sero said. "Sorry, but… I don't want him here."

"That brings us to five in favour of expulsion, and four in favour of a short

suspension," Yaoyorozu said. "Erm… Tsuyu, you haven't spoken yet. What do you

think should happen, as his partner just now?"

Nobutoshi made eye contact with Tsuyu. 'You shouldn't say you were working with

me' he tried to tell her. I'll take all the blame.

Tsuyu cocked her head. "He told me what he was going to do, ribbit."

"He what—!?" Iida was appalled.

"Hey, that's not true!" Nobutoshi said. Why would she just admit that? I can never get

a read on her.

"It is true," Tsuyu said, calm as ever. "He explained to me why he wanted revenge,

ribbit. I have my own younger siblings, so I didn't disagree with him. I don't think he should be expelled or suspended… If I were to choose, I'd obviously choosesuspension, though…"

"You were his partner in crime!" Iida spluttered. "Surely she's guilty too!"

"Lay off her!" Nobutoshi snapped, stepping forward menacingly. "She didn't know

what she was getting into!"

"I agree," Shouji said. "She wasn't actually watching what took place. And, when All

Might stopped the fight, she did as he said."

"Tsuyu sides with suspension, then," Yaoyorozu said, eager to move things along.

"That means we're five against five. Koda, you were also in the fight. Do you have

an opinion?"

Koda muttered something quietly.

"I think he's saying he… doesn't think Midoriya should be expelled," Jiro said. "I-I

have to agree. I was scared watching that, but expulsion is too much. We're still in

week one."

"Yeah, I agree with that," Mina said. "Suspending him would be much better."

"I was going to take the other side, guys," Kaminari said, scratching his head.

"Midoriya, you're a loose cannon… but you had your reasons, I guess."

"Yeah, he shouldn't be expelled," Sato said. "Would be a shame losing someone as

strong as him…"

"What do you think, Midoriya Izuku?" Yaoyorozu asked. "We haven't heard from you

yet."

"Well, I, um…" Izuku looked down at the ground. For a split second, Nobutoshi was

legitimately worried his brother was going to testify against him. "This is all my fault,

like I said. I obviously don't want my own brother expelled from the school…"

"Then we're eleven against five," Yaoyorozu said. "I guess that settles it. The

majority of the class do not want him expelled. I think we've made our decision—"

"Wait!" Iida interrupted. "We haven't consulted Bakugo!"

"Even if we did, the votes are still—"

"But his vote is more important. He's the victim, after all! If he wanted his attacker to

be expelled, surely it would be best to go along with that…"

Nobutoshi snorted. "You never give up…"

Yaoyorozu seemed to hesitate. "That makes some sense… Perhaps we should

consult him, then…"

"That would be appropriate," Iida said.

"A-Actually, we really shouldn't do that!" Izuku said, gathering the strength to speak

again. "Knowing Kacchan, you really shouldn't do that…"

"What do you mean by that?" Mina asked.

"Well, I know him better than anyone here, you see… I know how prideful he is. I'm

sure he's going to take a long time to recover from what happened here. However,

he's the type of person to always want to compete. I think—well, I hope—that, in the

long run, this will encourage him to get stronger and work on himself. If we told him

we expelled the person who beat him in a fight, that would be more insulting and

shameful than anything, in a weird way…" He gulped.

"For his wellbeing, I honestly

think it's best for Nobutoshi to stay here."

"Well, you really do know him well, I guess," Mina said.

"Then there will be no expulsion happening," Yaoyorozu said. "All Might, we've made

our decision."

Unexpectedly, All Might laughed his booming laugh. "Very well! I am proud of you,

Class 1-A! You resolved your differences and came to a conclusion. Young Iida, I

can see you seething—that's fine! You have a strong sense of justice, but you won't

always get what you want. Please be civil going forward. Young Midoriya…" He

placed a large hand on Nobutoshi's shoulder. "You'll have to take a few days off.

Naturally, your parents will also be notified…"

Nobutoshi frowned. "Do they really have to be?"

"It would be irresponsible of me to suspend you without a reason. You let your

emotions take control of you today, and that's one thing we must never do as

heroes. If we didn't have Recovery Girl, who knows what would have happened to

Young Bakugo?"

"...Sure, I guess."

"All Might nodded. "Class 1-A! I'm sure you are all still shaken… but in the world of

heroes, time waits for no one! The show must go on!"

"The show must go on?" Iida inquired. "You don't mean, after witnessing such an

act, we are meant to go in there ourselves?"

"I do! In fact, I am going to draw for the next teams now! I have… Team G as the

heroes! And… Team C as the villains!"

The class looked around to see who had been chosen.

"That's us, Deku," Uraraka said, going red in the face. "Oh my!"

"It is," Izuku said. "On the villains team. And our opponents are…"

"I'm in team G," Tokoyami said. "Along with Mineta here. Let's have a fair match."

"But, Deku…" Uraraka looked concerned. "Are you sure you're ready for this? After

everything that just happened with your brother."

Izuku closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them in a resolute flash. He met

Nobutoshi's gaze with confidence. "Of course I am. It doesn't matter what happened

before… I'm going to do this myself."

(LINEBREAK!)

Nobutoshi stood next to All Might as the teacher prepared the mark the next groups.

He was not allowed to stand with the rest of the class. He wondered if he was about

to be escorted out in handcuffs or something… but nothing like that was happening.

"All Might," Nobutoshi said, "I have a question."

"Of course! Ask away!"

"I was just suspended or something… When does that affect me?"

"Well, uh…" All Might scratched his face. "To be honest, I'm not sure. What do you

suggest?"

"What do I suggest? I'm the one who's being suspended!"

"True, true. I shouldn't ask you… Erm, maybe the class would have a better idea?

Hmm."

"...Was the real reason you asked the class because you had no idea what to do

yourself?"

"Well!" All Might leaned down and cupped his hand around his mouth. "Don't tell

anyone that, okay… This is only my first week as a teacher, and I'm still getting into

the swing of things…"

"It's fine, it's fine," Nobutoshi said, chuckling and shaking his head. The number one

hero was flustered over his struggles as a first-time teacher. It was kind of

endearing. "I'll go home at the end of the day or whatever. To be honest, that desire

to punish him I felt is… gone now. I just feel satisfied."

"S-Satisfied? Young Midoriya, you—"

"I know it sounds worrying from your end. I'm going to think seriously about it. I

wanted to… thank you for being lenient with me. And ask if I could stay here."

"Stay here? I suppose you can, as long as I'm here, but the class is a bit hostile right

now…"

Nobutoshi shrugged. What All Might said was true—the class had split physically

into two distinct groups as they stood in the observation room. There were those

who wanted Nobutoshi expelled and those who didn't. Those who didn't (especially

Iida) were giving him dirty, fearful glances.

"I don't care," Nobutoshi said honestly. "But I would like to watch my brother right

now."

"Of course, I'll let you do that… Hmph, I hope he does okay… I'll grade him fairly,

though…"

"You're very invested in him, aren't you?"

All Might looked like he'd been caught red-handed. "No! He didn't tell you anything,

did he? I mean, not that there's anything to tell—"

"I don't know what you mean," Nobutoshi said, sensing it would be better not to let

on that he knew part of the truth—that All Might was connected to Izuku's new quirk.

"I assume you're invested in all of your students."

"Ah, yes I am indeed…"

On one of the screens, Izuku and Uraraka were preparing to defend the nuclear

weapon.

They seemed to be taking it seriously, placing their heads together and

brainstorming plans.

Nobutoshi had to respect that his brother had come a long,long way since he was being pushed around by Bakugo in middle school. He was inUA, just like he'd always dreamed, and even talking to a cute girl, which he'd never really done before.

He could probably even kick Bakugo's ass now that he had such

a powerful quirk… Not that he ever would, being so overly kind…

But he can only use that quirk once or twice, Nobutoshi thought. It destroys his body

when he uses it.

He probably didn't even need it to beat Mineta, that purple baby. Nobutoshi still

couldn't work out how such an individual had qualified for UA—was this course

really as prestigious as Iida and the others said?

The other opponent, at least, probably deserved to be there.

The bird-headedTokoyami had a powerful, shadow-like quirk that seemed to thrive in dark places…

like the space inside the building. Izuku would struggle to fight him.

Nobutoshi felt the usual itch to rush to his brother's aid.

No, he told himself. Izuku's feeling terrible after what I just did to Bakugo. I need to let him sort this out on his own, gain some confidence back…