25.09.2023
It is I, the Absolute Madman and I'm here with your weekly dose of Evil Within!
And with no comments to address, we can jump straight into the chapter!:
Ascending the final few steps to the 1-A's dormitory, Izuku was already prepared to face the inevitable semi-interrogation as well as a whole slew of different questions about what the hell happened during the exercise.
"Well, here goes nothing." The greenette thought to himself as he opened the doors and stepped inside.
He was barely able to take his shoes off before the commotion started.
"Hey guys, he's back!" He heard Kirishima exclaim from the common room.
Just as Izuku expected, the whole crowd - even Mineta! - gathered to greet him right at the entrance. Izuku was about to start answering questions prematurely when Kirishima nearly tackled him to the ground, giving him one hell of a hug and almost lifting him off the ground. Their joint weight-lifting sessions were paying off it seemed.
To his surprise, what he heard were not questions but relieved statements, ones that touched him deeply.
"It's good to see you in one piece." Yaoyorozu kindly said, smiling gently with a very enthusiastic Sero at her side.
"No kidding! You totally saved our bacon back there!" Sero exclaimed, nodding his head to drive his point home.
"That fireball was super scary!" Uraraka stated and many agreed with the brief assessment.
"Ha! It was nothing, right Midoribro?!" Kirishima said as he turned to look back at Izuku.
"Of course it was nothing." Izuku responded as a smile wormed its way onto his face. "I'm happy to see you two too." He said as he looked towards Yaoyorozu and Sero. "And I'm sorry that you had to worry about me." This time he addressed all the students crowded around him.
"We didn't have to, because we knew you'd be alright." Shoji stepped up confidently in a rare display of conversational initiative.
"Well, in that case, thanks for believing in me!" Izuku responded with a smile.
"You always believe in us, so it'd be rude not to return the favor, right Class Rep?" Kirishima asked with that toothy grin of his plastered on his face.
"I guess so. Though I gotta admit I wasn't expecting such a warm welcome." Izuku admitted as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.
"What were you expecting then?" Hagakure questioned.
"Something akin to an interrogation I guess?"
"Don't worry about that!" Mina quickly inserted herself into the conversation. "We're totes doing that, just not right away!" She confessed with a smirk.
"How about I just tell you all you want to know without the need for interrogations?" Izuku offered.
"But that'd take all the fun out of it!" Mina immediately refused, yet her pleas went unheard.
As the crowd parted right before him and they ventured deeper into the common room, Izuku was more than ready to tell them his part of the story, now in an elevated mood and with a head devoid of all worries.
Recalling everything - well, not exactly everything as Izuku allowed himself the freedom of not disclosing any information about the literal daemon brawl that took place inside his mind - took a while or two, but he was able to bring up the most important talking points from both the fiasco of an exercise and the conversation with Nezu afterwards.
Needless to say people were more than impressed with his sudden breakthrough - as short lived as it may turn out to be - and more than happy with the final outcome, the outcome being all their friends alive and well to tell the tale. One thing that did surprise them however was the Bakugo issue.
Everyone expected him to be punished for what he's done, but they didn't think it'd be such a severe punishment. There were of course those who thought that he should've been expelled on the spot - the most passionate speakers being Ashido and Kirishima, both of whom were extremely disgusted by bullying and that title suited Bakugo just fine.
"I mean, I knew he was an ass, but I didn't expect him to be a psycho as well." Kaminari said something smart for a change, a fair cut of the class nodding along with the evaluation.
"At first I thought that he was simply hyper focused on heroics and stuff so he didn't want to waste time socializing with us, but I guess I was very wrong." Kirishima stated bitterly, though there was a phantom of a smile on his face.
"It's not far-fetched to expect all of us to be invested into heroics." Izuku started seriously. "We've all trained like hell just to be here, but we made the cut and got in. We wouldn't be able to do that if we were half-assing our efforts. I believe Bakugo was very focused on heroics, but he was primarily focused on himself and that clouded his judgment."
"You're not trying to make excuses for his behavior, are you now?" Ashido stated with narrowed eyes. "He could've seriously messed you up in that tight space and there's no way to tell what could've happened to Yaoyorozu or Sero!" The pinkette reminded with passion and conviction in her voice.
"Easy there, I'm not trying to excuse his behavior." Izuku raised his hands to deescalate the situation. "I'm just saying that Bakugo wanted to be the best hero so badly that it warped his psyche and he eventually exploded when he encountered an obstacle he couldn't defeat."
The entire room went completely silent and people just stared at him. It was honestly quite uncomfortable, especially since he had no idea what he did to warrant such a reaction from his friends. Before he had the chance to speak up and ask however, Jirou beat him to the punch.
"Did you just make a pun?" She asked and Izuku retraced his last statement.
"'-and he eventually explo-', wait, she's right!" One quick check later Izuku had the results. "Huh, I guess I did." He admitted and silence returned.
Nobody moved a muscle for four straight seconds before the room finally exploded - pun intended - with laughter. The stress that was built up throughout the day had a violent reaction with the unexpected joke and allowed everyone to vent their tension away. Even the stoic ones like Tokoyami and Shoji couldn't help but smirk, though it was hard to tell with the latter.
Izuku found himself both amused and embarrassed by what he's done, but seeing everyone's euphoric reactions warmed his heart.
"This went better than I expected." He thought to himself when they finally calmed down and decided to hang out in the common room, their previous seriousness nowhere to be found and all worries forgotten.
As happy as they'd be simply lazing around all day and continuing to unwind from the stressful Wednesday, Thursday was still a school day and so they had to wrap up their celebrations of Izuku's healthy return early and go to bed just to have the strength to get up in the morning. Ashido was of course very verbal about not getting enough sleep in the morning, but that was one of the many antics that class 1-A was already used to. This time however it was not the addition of something, but the lack of it that could be easily noticed.
There were no scowling and grumbling blondes anywhere. A pleasant change for sure, yet also one that'd definitely take getting some used to. Everyone would rather adapt than go back to how things used to be.
Aizawa swung by the dorms yesterday to pack Bakugo's stuff up and get it moved to his new dorm, so they already knew what decision was made in regards to his fate.
"Serves him right!" Ashido stated with a triumphant grin.
Everyone agreed with the cheer and even Izuku was glad that they won't have to deal with the blonde menace anymore. He was really apologetic towards the poor souls that Bakugo will predictably end up terrorizing during his stay in the gen ed course though.
They knew more or less how their homeroom would go. Aizawa was the type of teacher to go over all training exercises the day after to give pointers and praises or to scold people for reckless behavior. Today however he'd start with some official news.
"As I'm sure some of you have already noticed, Bakugo's seat is vacant. As of today, Bakugo was transferred into general studies due to the recklessness and sheer stupidity that he displayed during yesterday's training exercise." Aizawa stated what Izuku had more or less already hinted at. "He'll remain there for an extended period of time or even permanently if he fails to change his personality and his behavior. And rest assured that if he does something even remotely close to what happened yesterday he'll be expelled and blacklisted from all hero schools in the country."
Satisfaction filled everyone's hearts as their hope in the educational system was restored then and there. With the most annoying news out of the way, it was time for Aizawa to continue his monologue.
"With that out of the way, let's go over the training exercise."
Aizawa then started talking about all the different matches, weighing odds, mentioning win conditions, estimating outcomes and giving pointers. Since Izuku's match was last, he got to see all of them live and also had some thoughts on the other bouts. Still, even the most dedicated student couldn't compare to the factual experiences of a pro with countless hours of field work under his belt. Just when Izuku thought the evaluation was over, Aizawa found one more thing to mention to dive deeper into, showcasing the undeniable knowledge gap. That's what's great about having actual pro heroes as your teachers - they can actually relate their past experiences and impart the things they learned on the job onto the younger generation.
Although one couldn't help but think, why was it that Aizawa had more to teach them than All Might? All Might was the one leading all of their training drills and physical exercises, but it was Aizawa that analyzed their performance and gave them pointers. Shouldn't the Number One Hero be doing that as well? There was something compromisingly incompetent going on here.
The most exciting thing about Aizawa's whole monologue was the ending part.
Eraserhead liked to create shortened versions of their battle trials so that he can easily reference certain events. This made it easier to recall the course of their matches and the events that unfolded and allowed people to gauge the performance of their partners.
Izuku didn't know how well Yaoyorozu did in her fight against Sero. He was way too focused on keeping Bakugo in check and later the whole daemonic invasion happened so he was a bit too distracted to pay attention to his surroundings. Now though was his chance to see the action for himself. He wouldn't see all of it, but Aizawa had a pretty good sense of importance when it came to putting those clips together and he rarely cut out meaningful moments.
When they split into two and engaged their chosen opponents, Izuku was quite content to see Yaoyorozu firmly holding her ground against the mobile devil that Sero had become. At first at least. Thanks to the incredible improvements in his quirk usage that he's made during his internship with Arachnid-Girl, Sero became quite the formidable opponent, on par with Bakugo almost! It was no surprise then that Yaoyorozu was eventually overwhelmed by the rapid assault and put on the back foot. If it wasn't for Bakugo going goblin mode she'd have been captured in the next minute or so, resulting in a 2v1 that Izuku wasn't sure he'd be able to win.
Aizawa made sure to praise Sero for his stellar performance, stroking Cellophane's ego quite a bit before moving onto Creati. And he didn't have many kind words to say. Thankfully he was sane enough to understand that criticism was not something that Yaoyorozu needed at the moment as she definitely received a fair amount of that from her own mind.
Izuku hated to see it happen, but Yaoyorozu was slowly becoming unsure of her own capabilities. Whereas during their very first day she was a force to be reckoned with, one whose quirk and intelligence made for a scarily effective combination that seemed nigh unstoppable, now she mellowed out substantially and her actions were becoming more and more hesitant with every slip up she made. It was clear that something needed to be done about it. Jirou did all she could to keep the raven-haired Deputy Rep in high spirits, but it was a losing battle.
Fortunately, there was something that Aizawa said that got Izuku thinking about a possible solution that he might be able to cook up with some help from the higher-ups.
"I've noticed that your performance started to slip after your internships, so when the next opportunity to work with a seasoned pro comes around I urge you to give your decision even more thought, as it could decide your future as a hero and as a person." Aizawa advised, hoping to nudge the girl in the right direction. The teachers were there to nurture their potential, not to hold their hand and so she'd need to realize what's best for her on her own.
"Internships, huh?" Izuku thought to himself idly as he reflected on the week he spent with Monk'ai.
There was a lot of truth in Aizawa's words, and Sero - Yaoyorozu's opponent in yesterday's training exercise - was the perfect example of that. The perfect choice propelled Sero to the very top of their class when it came to quirk proficiency - but did nothing for his grades unfortunately - and Yaoyorozu's ill-suited one caused her performance to drop substantially. Not all was lost however as one good internship was all she needed to get back in the saddle and regain all of her lost glory.
It's worth remembering though that finding the perfect hero to intern under was not an easy task. Still, Izuku might have an idea on how to nudge Yaoyorozu in the right direction and all he needed to do was get in touch with someone that probably doesn't remember him. Yeah, easier said than done.
Aizawa's evaluation of their performance during the training exercise yesterday sparked a couple of debates throughout the day, but most of the emotions mellowed out by lunch. Only to be reignited during the break.
Izuku took his usual spot in one of the quieter parts of the unusually densely packed cafeteria with Kirishima and Ashido following him like two shadows. They once again had a surprise delegation from their sister class in the form of Shiozaki and Kendo visit them despite there still being empty seats. Apparently they had some news to share regarding their group study sessions. Before they could get to that however, Kirishima and Ashido had to talk about the infamous training exercise.
Kendo and Shiozaki were understandably horrified by the near death experience that Izuku got to experience first hand and it took a minute or five to calm the two down. Fortunately, mentioning Bakugo's punishment was enough for them to release a sigh of relief at justice being served.
"And here I thought that he was just your version of our Monoma." Kendo said as she shivered and took a sip of her water. "Thankfully our menace is all bark and no bite so keeping him in check is not that hard. I'm happy that you won't have to deal with him anymore." The amber-haired girl added.
"I'd hate to judge the book by its cover, but the picture you paint truly is a horrible one." Shiozaki said as she shook her head in resignation.
She was still quite shaken by the fact that one of her closest friends was almost eviscerated in a giant flaming ball of fire and shrapnel. All's well that ends well and all that, but something like this should've never happened in the first place. She understood however that it was in no way All Might's fault, merely a reckless decision that Bakugo himself made consciously and with malicious intent. Kicking him out of the hero course was the only logical course of action in this situation.
"Oh believe me, the original is much worse than the picture. He was the only thing that messed with our cohesion, so now that he's gone we're gonna make some real progress!" Ashido proclaimed proudly.
"What about Todoroki though? He's not one for socializing as well." Kirishima kindly pointed out.
"He'll come around!" Ashido stated just as proudly as before.
Leaving the scholarly-challenged duo aside, Kendo decided to brief Izuku on their planned study sessions.
Apparently some of their classmates were shaking in their boots at the thought of the theoretical exams and asked for some early study sessions for a limited number of people to get a head start on things. It wouldn't be their whole class, so Izuku's help was technically not required just yet, especially since the problematic students struggled mostly with Math and stuff, but Kendo thought that it could be a good idea to introduce Izuku, Ashido and Kirishima to the smaller circle before the actual study sessions begin to make the transition smoother and get familiar with some of the guys and gals.
"That's great!" Izuku responded as soon as Kendo was done with her speech. "This way we can hopefully avoid some of the initial chaos and maximize the studying time available to us later down the line. Do you perhaps have a date in mind already?"
"Well, nothing concrete yet, but we're thinking about starting next week?" Kendo said as she scratched her cheek. "Our schedules are aligned well enough not to get in the way, so we can just meet up an hour or two after school for the 'meet & greet' and revise a topic or two. How much free time do you have in the afternoon? I'd hate to intrude upon your plans." Now Izuku knew why Kendo unanimously became class B's representative. She was really thoughtful and it showed.
"If anything I usually hit the gym with Kirishima and Ashido from time to time, but since they're gonna join the study sessions as well it won't be a problem." Izuku responded, excitement bubbling inside him at the thought of getting to help people with their studies.
Helping was in his blood and he loved to do it.
"Alright then. I'll tell Shio to text you the details when we finally settle on a date." Kendo said, ending the topic. "Now, did you really stop that giant explosion by yourself?" She questioned to continue the conversation.
As the topics shifted from the less serious and into more menial ones, the lunch eventually came to an end and the group had to split to go to their classes. They wouldn't be separated for long however as the trend of meeting up for lunch would be perpetuated on a daily basis going forward.
Bakugo was kicked down the road - I'm still on the fence as to whether give him a redemption arc or slam-dunk him further into the ground - exercise was examined, Yaomomo was disheartened yet again and the joint study sessions are just around the corner! Lot's of things going on without much actually happening.
If you want something to happen then come back next week where the study sessions will finally be in, well, session, an occult lover will recognize daemons within and a bridge between the two classes starts to form! (Disclaimer: The previous statement might not actually betray the contents of the next chapter - proper term: red herring)
With nothing left to say/spoil I'm outta here, so have a great day and I'll catch y'all in the next update!