"Monsters in Musutafu!
Early yesterday morning a truly monstrous looking villain was taken down in downtown Musutafu, not far from UA High School. Seven Pro Heroes responded to the disturbance, including Kamui Woods and Mount Lady. The villain's rampage was brought to an end only through their impeccable teamwork. Rumors that this was one of the villains that attacked the USJ facility at UA High School are unconfirmed. Five of the seven Pros showed off new special moves during the fight, including a new leaf-based move from Kamui-"
"Hey Midoriya," Tsu interrupted as Izuku read aloud to the cluster of students that had gathered around his desk. When Izuku stopped reading and looked up, she went on. "Isn't that area on All Might's route to the school? You mentioned during the USJ that he stopped a bunch of crimes on his way into work, so you can probably guess which direction he comes from, ribbit."
"Oh, yeah," Izuku agreed, looking back at his phone to confirm the location of the attack. "That area is definitely somewhere All Might would have passed on his way in. And look-"
He scrolled down, then held up his phone so the other students could see. Between two paragraphs of the article was a picture, the villain in chains and being led away by the police. They all nodded grimly as they recognized him. It was unmistakably the biggest villain from the USJ attack.
"It's definitely the guy Shigaraki called Nomu," Izuku said, turning his phone back so he could look at it again. "Shigaraki said he was going to kill All Might, right? This was probably another attempt. It's a good thing the other heroes got to him first."
There was another round of nodding. Everyone was aware that they'd dodged a bullet when Shigaraki had decided to leave with Nomu. They did not, however, know how much of a bullet All Might had dodged. To them, he was just the symbol of peace, a nigh-unstoppable force for good in the world. Only Izuku knew how much the fight would have taken out of him, and how dangerous his existing injuries would have made it for him to strain himself defeating a villain designed to kill him.
"Its a good thing you were at the USJ Midoriya," said Yaoyorozu suddenly, snapping Izuku out of his morbid thoughts.
Izuku looked up at her, blinking in surprise. "Me?" he repeated. "I didn't do anything-"
"You persuaded the villains to retreat," Yaoyorozu cut him off. "You manipulated events so that instead of fighting All Might alone, Nomu had to get through a bunch of other heroes first, ultimately causing him to fail in his mission."
"And as an added bonus, those heroes thankfully weren't us," Kaminari piped up with a shaky smile.
Izuku returned his smile weakly, then looked down at his phone again. Despite what his friends said, he knew he hadn't done as much as any of them at the USJ, and they were still miles ahead of him in terms of combat prowess. His first few heroics lessons had gone unexpectedly well, but he was still mostly relying on the quirks of the others to get him through. He'd performed best in team challenges, where the quirks of his teammates would allow him to strategize with more firepower than he could offer alone. He might have beaten Kacchan, but he still wasn't much in a straight fight against someone he hadn't spent ten years studying.
"Lemme see that article," Jirou instructed, leaning over the desk so that Izuku only had to turn his phone a little bit to show her, and they could both look at it at the same time.
Izuku obediently turned the phone, but before he'd been looking at it long his attention was drawn by a creepy little laugh. He looked up, peering over Jirou's back, to see Mineta standing just behind Jirou. He was short, so Izuku could only see the purple balls on top of his head, but it was still pretty obvious he was looking up Jirou's skirt.
"Hey Mineta," Izuku said brightly, making Mineta jump and cry out. He straightened quickly to look at Izuku, but too late; Yaoyorozu's head whipped around and she saw plainly what he'd been doing.
"Yeah Midoriya?" Mineta asked, trying to sound casual and not at all like he'd been caught doing something wrong. Jirou turned and glared at him, clearly not believing it for a second.
"Why don't you come over here by me?" Izuku asked innocently. "You probably can't see very well from back there."
"Or Yaoyorozu could hold me up!" Mineta suggested excitedly. "Then my head would be right between her-"
"Pervert!" Yaoyorozu snapped, whacking Mineta on the head with the side of her hand.
As Mineta cried and tried to profess his innocence, Izuku considered the situation. Mineta and Hagakure were physically the weakest ones in class besides himself. True they both had impressive quirks, but neither of them were particularly combat oriented, so in terms of raw damage-dealing they were both probably vying with him for last place. Between the two of them, Izuku knew which one he'd like to see go, if someone had to leave the hero course.
It wasn't that he didn't have plenty of friends in class, Izuku mused as Iida began to lecture Mineta on the decorum required of a hero. Everyone here was extremely nice to him, and he got the impression they all genuinely liked him. That feeling was a little foreign, but not so foreign since he'd met Shinsou and Hatsume. Still, despite the warm welcome he'd received in the hero course, he couldn't help but miss his other friends.
"Quiet down," came the voice of Eraserhead -- or rather, Aizawa-sensei now -- from the front of the room. Immediately the students around Izuku's desk scattered, all of them hustling to their assigned seats to sit quietly as instructed
Aizawa surveyed the class with a steely eye, and Izuku shoved his phone into his pocket and sat up straighter. There was a moment of silence during which they all seemed to hold their breath. Then, as though specifically to break the silence, Aizawa pulled out a juice pouch and drained it in one harsh suck. The class let out a collective breath.
"Six seconds to attentiveness," Aizawa noted as he took up position in front of the class. "Still not great, but you're improving."
"Thank you sir," the class chorused.
"Now," Aizawa said, shuffling papers around at the podium, "I'm sure you're all aware of your next big challenge as UA students."
"Not another pop quiz!" Kirishima moaned, then abruptly straightened with wide eyes as Aizawa glared at him.
"No," he said icily, "the sports festival."
Izuku nodded. He, probably more than any of the others, was hyper aware of how close the sports festival was. It was Shinsou's best chance of joining him in the hero course as soon as possible, and his own chance to prove himself. If he and Shinsou made it far enough in the festival, then no one could argue that they didn't belong here. Both of them.
"The festival will be held at the start of the week after next," Aizawa told them. "This'll be your chance to show off to the Pros and agencies who might want to take you on as sidekicks someday, so I expect all of you to do your best."
The response was another chorus of "Yes sir."
"Midoriya!" came a loud call from behind Izuku as he made his way to the door of the classroom after English class. He turned, to find Present Mic beckoning him back inside. "Hang back a minute, will ya?"
"Of course," Izuku said, returning to the front of the room as everyone filtered out around him, heading for the cafeteria. Uraraka waved as she left, and he waved back somewhat nervously, but after a few moments he and Mic were alone.
"Is there something you wanted to talk to me about Sensei?" Izuku asked, standing before his teacher with an anxious feeling in his gut. It still felt awkward to say 'Yamada-sensei,' so he mostly stuck with a plain 'Sensei' instead. In his head though, the man could be nothing besides Present Mic, nothing less than a full time hero.
Mic gave him a thousand watt smile, his eyes hidden behind the glare of his orange shades. "I just wanted to check in with ya 'lil listener!" he said casually, or as casual as one could be at that volume. "You just transferred in less than a week ago, it's gotta be a big adjustment for you!"
"Yeah," Izuku agreed, looking off to one side. "I've got a long way to go if I want to be a hero. Everyone's so strong and competitive, I really have to give it my all if I want to keep up with them."
"You've never struck me as someone to give anything less than your all," Mic said encouragingly.
"Oh of course!" Izuku said, waving his hands as though to shoo away the miscommunication. "I would never insult my classmates by giving less than 100% in every lesson! I'm doing my best every day! It's just that . . ."
Izuku trailed off, feeling his face heat up. It would be a ridiculous thing to bring up in relation to normal hero classes. His exam fight was one thing, but Mic had no time for his more everyday
insecurities.
"What, 'lil listener?" Mic asked, and his voice was patient, his eyes kind as he looked at Izuku over the rims of his shades. "I'm your teacher, I'm here to look out for you. I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong."
Izuku fidgeted. "It's just-" he swallowed, not liking to give it voice, "-well, I know I'm behind everyone else. I'm the last place student in class, so if someone were to lose their place because of the sports festival, odds are it would probably be me."
By the time he had finished Izuku was looking at the floor, and he knew his voice had gone very quiet. Mic, however, didn't seem to have any problem hearing him.
"I don't think you're as far down in the credits as you think," Mic informed him, making Izuku look up. "You beat one of the strongest fighters in class to earn your place, and you rocked the USJ during that attack. From my perspective at least, you're charting just fine."
Izuku gave a shaky smile. "Thanks," he said, blinking rapidly to clear the sting of tears from his eyes. "It means a lot, coming from you."
"Plus," Mic went on, a little louder now, his smile widening with his enthusiasm, "you've also got the sports festival as an opportunity to prove yourself! Don't write yourself off yet!"
"Oh, I know," Izuku nodded hurriedly. "I'll have to use the sports festival to assert my place if I want to get noticed. But, I also have something else I need to do."
Mic's smile faded to a look of confusion. "Oh?" he prompted.
"Yeah," Izuku said, a little more confidently now that he was talking about his friend instead of himself. "I don't remember if I told you this, but the reason my friend Shinchan and I have been training together is that he wants to get into the hero course too. He wants to use the sports festival as a means to show what he can do, just like Eraser- . . . I mean, Aizawa-sensei did. If anyone needs to win in order to prove themselves, it's him."
"So you want to help your friend show his stuff too," Mic mused, stroking one finger along his moustache.
"I do," Izuku confirmed, nodding. Then he looked away. "Although, I'd be lying if I said I didn't kinda want to win too. Just to show everyone that I belong here."
Mic considered this for a moment, giving Izuku a look of deep contemplation. Izuku weathered his scrutiny, feeling somewhat foolish for even mentioning his desire to win. Even if he didn't have another agenda, it would take a lot for a quirkless kid to win the UA sports festival, the most watched athletic event in Japan. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility, but it would take at least a few good strokes of luck.
Then Mic smiled, and it was one of his genuine smiles, the ones he used when he didn't mean to put up a front. It made Izuku feel a strange mixture of soothed and attentive, like he'd been given something important and had to be worthy of it. Mostly though, it made him feel proud to have earned it.
"Winning isn't necessary to keep your place, 'lil listener," Mic assured him carefully. "You've already got a professional reputation because of your analysis, and there are already heroes and agencies who'd love to have you in their corner. The best thing you can do is focus on getting something out of the experience, ya dig?"
Izuku considered this for a moment. He'd mostly been thinking of how the sports festival would effect his reputation, how it would influence the way other people saw him. However, he also knew how important it was to learn from every challenge, to make sure you took something away even from your loses.
At last he nodded decisively. "Yes sir!"
"Good," Mic laughed, then motioned towards the door. "Get to lunch, I'm sure your friends are all waiting for you!"
"Yes sir," Izuku repeated, turning for the door. "And thank you for the advice!" "No probs," Mic said, with a casual finger gun.
Dealing with Bakugou was considerably worse than Hitoshi thought it would be.
On the first day of school he'd met Midoriya by walking in on Bakugou cornering him, palms popping with explosions and the hero student grinning maniacally as the lowly Gen Ed student cowered before him. He'd known from the beginning that Bakugou was a pain. Still, being in class with him, considering he was replacing Hitoshi's friend and especially considering he didn't want to be there, was borderline torture. Not a day went by he didn't pop off on another student for the strangest of perceived slights, and though seeing him reprimanded and reminded of the precariousness of the position was nice, it did nothing to deter the outbursts.
Hitoshi had only used his quirk on Bakugou once. On his first day in the Gen Ed course they'd both gotten there early, and Hitoshi had used the old 'idiot says what' trick to get Bakugou to respond. As the other few early arrivals watched, most of them giggling behind their hands, he'd held Bakugou still and made him sit quietly at his desk while Hitoshi explained a few things.
"This isn't the hero course, Creep," Hitoshi said, meeting Bakugou's vacant gaze as he spoke, "and this certainly isn't middle school. The teachers won't tolerate your bullshit in class, and if I catch you making life difficult for anyone outside of class, I'll walk you up to Principal Nezu's office myself and force you tell him exactly what you did."
Hitoshi wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to make good on that threat. He had yet to do very much experimentation with his quirk, given that using it on other people was impolite at best, and he didn't know if it could make someone talk, let alone say words they'd generated from their own brain. People usually reported being in a fog when he brainwashed them, so it seemed a valid question whether they were able to come up with things to say on their own, even given a specific instruction.
"Also, I think you're in for a rude awakening if you assume you're going to be winning any popularity contests," Hitoshi went on. "Everyone around here really liked Mido, they were all rooting for him to win, so if you think they're going to worship at the feet of the mighty hero hopeful I'm pretty sure you'll be surprised."
Sweat was beading on Bakugou's forehead, but Hitoshi could barely feel him struggling mentally. Normally it took outside input for someone to break out of his quirk; pain was most effective, but if he wasn't paying much attention to holding his quirk strong, sometimes even a touch could wake them up. He did know that some minds were stronger than others, some people took more energy for him to maintain control, but so far no one had actually repelled him without some kind of help. Bakugou was definitely fighting, but he was nowhere near breaking free.
"In conclusion," Hitoshi said, trying to sound disaffected and almost bored, "I run this show, not you, and even if I don't use my quirk on anyone but villains, but you're about as villainous as they come."
Hitoshi kept his control of Bakugou's mind right up until the teacher walked in. Bakugou immediately rounded on him, already screaming curses, but before he could finish a sentence he was being shouted down by the nearest authority figure. He didn't seem inclined to tell anyone, even someone who might get Hitoshi in trouble, about falling prey to his quirk. He was probably too proud to let a teacher handle his problems. So much the better.
Bakugou also didn't seem inclined to give up his training regimen. He got antsier in the afternoons, when the hero students were taking lessons in heroics, and immediately following dismissal he was always headed out to a gym or a training ground. Thankfully he never used the gym that Hitoshi and Midoriya had pretty much claimed as their own, although whether that was because he knew they were using it or because it was out of his way Hitoshi didn't know.
Mostly Hitoshi didn't care what Bakugou did. He had training with Midoriya to look forward to.
Thankfully Midoriya trained enough with the hero students during class that he didn't feel weird about ditching them after school, so his training with Hitoshi continued in blessed isolation. He still ate lunch with Hitoshi and Hatsume, and that went a long way to convincing Hitoshi he wouldn't be forgotten, but it was also nice to have some alone time with him. Midoriya was his first real friend, and he was given to understand the reverse was also true, barring only the mythical 'Kacchan' who had been Bakugou's larval state. He enjoyed the idea that their relationship was somehow special.
He didn't think about in what way it might be special. Down that road led questions to which Hitoshi had no comfortable answers.
"You're slowing down," Midoriya noted on Wednesday, a week and a half out from the sports festival.
He'd been holding Hitoshi's feet in place while he did sit-ups, pausing his own training to facilitate his partner's. He'd been doing that quite a bit lately, Hitoshi noted as he hauled himself into a sitting position using only the muscles in his core. It was like Midoriya felt he had to make up for the time they'd spent getting him into the hero course, like he had to repay Hitoshi for helping him. Hitoshi wasn't sure if that was a friend thing or a Midoriya thing.
"I'm going as fast as I can," Hitoshi puffed. While he knew he could do more reps now than at the beginning of the year, he still couldn't do as many as Midoriya.
"You need to be able to keep your energy up," Midoriya said anxiously, as though genuinely fretting over Hitoshi's progress. "Are you getting enough sleep?"
"No," Hitoshi admitted. He never got enough sleep.
"You should talk to Recovery Girl about your insomnia," Midoriya suggested. "I'm sure she's got suggestions."
Hitoshi paused while upright, looking at Midoriya blankly. "Can I do that?"
"She's the school nurse," Midoriya insisted, "not the hero course nurse. I bet she'd love to deal with a normal problem for once."
Hitoshi considered this as he continued with his workout. He had to admit, Midoriya had a point.
He knew that at least one Gen Ed student had gone to Recovery Girl for a stomach ache the first week of class. She hadn't come back as an exhausted zombie, so she probably hadn't been healed by Recovery Girl's quirk, but she was at least able to continue classes for the day. Still, his insomnia was something he'd been dealing with since he was a child. Was he allowed to just . . . ask for help like that?
As he continued, Hitoshi noticed Midoriya looking off to one side. He was staring blankly at nothing, seeming lost in his own head, and he looked decidedly sad. Hitoshi felt his stomach twist at the idea that Midoriya might not actually want to be here.
"Something wrong?" he asked, trying not to let his insecurities make him toss out jabs where none were necessary.
"Oh!" Midoriya snapped to attention, looking back at Hitoshi in alarm. "No, nothing's wrong. I was just thinking."
"About what?" Hitoshi pressed, struggling to get himself upright. He was really losing altitude, and Midoriya's melancholy was doing nothing for his energy level.
"I . . ." Midoriya hesitated, looking down, then looked back at Hitoshi from under his lashes. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry."
Hitoshi pause halfway up, then when that got too painful he lay back down, panting rather than continuing. "Sorry for what?"
"For making you focus on me," Midoriya explained. "You were the one that needed to train for the sports festival, but you took the time to help me prepare for my exam match. I'm sorry I distracted you from your training."
"Without you I wouldn't even be training," Hitoshi reminded him, lifting his head rather that his torso to look at Midoriya. "Besides, it's not like I totally stopped because you were doing combat practice. The tips the hero students gave you benefitted me too."
Midoriya smiled sadly down at him. "Still."
"Still nothing," Hitoshi waved, more flopping his arm through the air than anything. "You're here, aren't you? You don't have to be."
"Of course I'm here!" Midoriya shouted, probably louder than he'd meant to and long before Hitoshi even had time to feel insecure. He blushed and went on. "Did you think I was going to leave you as soon as I was transferred?"
Hitoshi looked off to one side. "Some people would have."
"Some people are jerks," Midoriya pouted. "You and me aren't like that."
Hitoshi blinked. He was surprised that Midoriya hadn't just defended himself, but rather had included Hitoshi in the subset of 'people who aren't like that.' He wondered if that was meant to stop him from feeling insecure, or if Midoriya simply put them in the same category out of some internal thought process. He wasn't sure which option he preferred.
Before Hitoshi could come to a conclusion, suddenly Midoriya's attention was taken by something by the door.
"Aizawa-sensei!" he cried, eyes wide with surprise.
Hitoshi jolted upright like he'd been given an electric shock. He twisted, feeling muscles he did know he had protesting the movement, to see Eraserhead himself walking into the gym, hands in his pockets and looking, at best, bored.
"Hello Midoriya," he said disinterestedly. "Shinsou."
Oh my god Eraserhead knows my name! Hitoshi thought wildly. Then his rational brain kicked back in. Of course he knows your name dummy, he looked into your file when you caused a multi- hero incident downtown.
"Don't let me interrupt your training," Eraser said, leaning against a nearby wall.
Midoriya looked back at Shinsou expectantly, and Shinsou realized in horror that he meant to just pick up where they'd left off. He was already tired, and had intended to give up on sit-ups as soon as he and Midoriya were done talking, but there was no way to do that now. There was no chance in hell he was going to give up on an exercise with Eraserhead watching.
Hitoshi lay back down, and then -- abdominals aching, every ounce of willpower he had straining - - hauled himself back upright. He didn't let himself slow down again, he set a pace he could deal with and he kept to it, counting the seconds in his head as he did rep after rep.
"What brings you here, Aizawa-sensei?" Midoriya asked conversationally as Hitoshi struggled to keep his breathing even and not gasp desperately for air like he wanted to.
"Just wanted to make sure you aren't slacking off," Eraser said, but there was no bite to it. Midoriya flinched anyway, and Hitoshi wanted to comfort him, but he had no breath to do so.
"No sir," Midoriya insisted, shaking his head, unable to gesture with his hands as he was still holding Shinsou's feet. "We're working hard to prepare for the sports festival!"
"That's good," Eraser said, again without any real emotion behind it.
There was a few moments of silence during which Hitoshi suffered through five more sit-ups. He wondered if Eraser intended to stay standing against the wall all through their workout, and what was an appropriate number of sit-ups to do for him. Damn it, he should have been counting!
"You know," Eraser began casually, not sounding at all as though he meant to make a point, "there is a chance someone from another class will get into the hero course by making an impressive display during the festival."
Hitoshi paused, drew a ragged breath, then continued. Of course he knew that. Of course Midoirya knew that. What was he getting at?
"Yes sir," Midoriya said tentatively, clearly just as confused as Hitoshi. "We know."
"You can bet Bakugou knows too," Eraser said, and Hitoshi fought the urge to do another ill- advised twist to look at him. "He'll be trying to use the festival as a means of earning his way back into the hero course."
"Can he do that?" Hitoshi asked on a reflex, then immediately gasped for air. Ok, no talking when he was working this hard.
"It's the teachers' prerogative which students get transferred," Eraser said. "Having been kicked out of class once, it'll be hard for Bakugou to prove himself to such an extent as to be given a second chance."
Hitoshi breathed a sigh of relief, and without looking he heard Midoriya do the same.
"Of course," Eraser went on, "there's always a chance he'll be so impressive it makes Nezu's position untenable. Then he'll be forced to let Bakugou back into the hero course to save face."
Hitoshi paused upright again, looking into Midoriya's face. The other boy was suddenly very pale.
"It'd be hard to make himself so famous though," Eraser continued, apparently uncaring of the reaction he was eliciting. "Really, his only hope would be to win the whole festival."
"I see," Midoriya said shakily.
"Anyway," Eraser said, though whether it was in reply to what Midoriya had said or not was unclear, "that's really all I wanted to say. Keep at it, alright?"
"Yes sir," Midoriya nodded firmly. Hitoshi twisted again, watching as Eraser walked leisurely back out of the gym.
"Well," said Hitoshi, after they'd sat there in silence a moment, "that wasn't ominous at all."
"Kacchan is pretty impressive," Midoriya said, and there was a quaver to his voice that Hitoshi hadn't heard since the first day of school.
"Hey," Hitoshi said, turning abruptly back to Midoriya, "that gutterpunk couldn't compete with us if we both fought with one eye shut."
Midoriya looked at him in obvious surprise. Hitoshi, too, was almost shocked at his own vehemence. Shocked, but not regretful.
"I'm going to win the festival," Hitoshi declared, "not him, and you're going to get far enough that no one can say you don't belong in the hero course. We're both gonna dazzle everyone and there's nothing anyone can do to stop us."
Midoriya looked at him, eyes wide, and for a moment Hitoshi wondered if his inspiring speech hadn't worked. Then suddenly Midoriya's eyes narrowed, his gaze becoming sharper and more intent, the set of his brow more determined.
"You're right," he said, and Hitoshi was pleased to see he'd injected some steel back into his friend's voice. "I already beat Kacchan and now you're going to do it too. I'm going to prove myself, and I'm going to make sure you have a chance to shine as brightly as I know you can."
Hitoshi grinned. He loved it when Midoriya got like this. "You got a plan then?"
Midoriya nodded, the corners of his mouth turning upward in a determined smile. "I do," he said firmly. "In fact, I've got a secret strategy that I know is going to get us both into the winner's circle. Together."