(A/N: Reminder that this is an AU of Izuku going through the support course, not the hero course, so there are things he doesn't know compared to canon.
Formatting reminder: -Dialogue using sign language.- )
...
The vibrations from his alarm woke Izuku up and he found himself cuddled close to Shouto despite them falling asleep separated. They had somehow met in the middle of their two futons having naturally gravitated towards each other in their sleep. Not that Izuku was complaining or anything but he still blushed in the early morning light. Though a quick look around showed that most everyone was still asleep except for Hitoshi beside him who was scrolling on his phone.
Izuku carefully shifted to face his brother and signed, -Did you sleep alright?-
He knew Hitoshi had a hard time sleeping at times so wouldn't be surprised if he didn't. Though he hoped he had or today's training was going to be tough on him.
-So, so,- Hitoshi signed back. -No cats to cuddle.-
He then showed Izuku that he was looking through the dozens upon dozens of pictures he had of the EraserMic cats. The greenet cooed at them quietly missing the little furballs. DJ was an orange cuddle monster in all of his and the white furred Esp always looked regal. Then there was shy Sashimi who appeared to have really warmed up to Hitoshi over the weeks living there as she snuggled into his mess of purple hair in a tight black ball. Izuku was so glad his friend was in a better home now.
His subtle shifting had been enough to wake Shouto up who grumbled as he snaked his arms around Izuku's waist. The movement surprised him and he jumped slightly before sinking into the feeling. While Shouto was certainly warmer on the left more than the right, he was still overall warm and Izuku loved being in his arms. He ignored the gagging face Hitoshi made at them.
"Mornin'," the sleepy element wielder mumbled into his hair.
"Morning," the Quirkless teen whispered back with a pat to his arm.
They stayed like that listening to the others sleep for a little while until the door was opened with enough force to wake everyone up.
"Time to get up, hellions," Aizawa announced to the groggy teenagers. "Get dressed, eat breakfast, and then meet outside. It's time to start your training."
With that, he turned and left to go check on the girls that Mandalay had gone to wake up herself. The boys started shuffling around the room, stretching and trying to rub the sleep from their eyes. A particular explosive blonde grumbled as he did so until he spotted something he didn't want to see so early in the morning. Deku and IcyHot fucking cuddling.
"Ugh, get a room!" Bakugou barked from across the room in disgust.
The others turned to see the two who were close in each other's space. No one was really surprised as they had noticed how affectionate the two were with each other. Many of them were in on the bet to see when they would officially get together.
"But we're already in a room," Shouto retorted, slightly confused as he was still waking up.
Red eyes glared at him for a moment before Bakugou scoffed, "Whatever."
He then left the room in a huff to get ready for the day and the others started to follow suit. As they were getting up, Izuku noticed a lock of his hair had fallen off and was stuck on Shouto's pajamas. He chuckled as he reached for it to pick it off. The element wielder sleepily hummed in question and blinked lazily at the hair held up to him.
"Just a loose lock of hair, Shouto," Izuku said, giggling again at the disheveled look of his friend with the two sides of his hair messed up. He only got another hum in response as they too got ready for the day.
It was always a sight to see Shouto somehow manage to part his two toned hair with ease. Probably from years of practice. Izuku himself didn't even bother messing with his hair. It was going to get messed up during training anyway. Soon enough they were all dressed, fed, and yawning outside in the morning sun.
"Good morning, class," Aizawa said, sounding the most awake out of all of them despite looking perpetually exhausted. "Today marks the start of a training camp intended to increase your strength. The goal is to exponentially expand your skills in order for you to earn a provisional license. That way you are better prepared to face the dangers that continue to fester in the darkness. Proceed with care."
The tired man then produced a ball from his scarf.
"Bakugou," Aizawa called out as he tossed the ball. "Throw it."
Izuku watched as the blonde caught the ball without question.
"Um, why is he throwing a ball?" the greenet asked in a whisper to Ochako who was near him.
"Oh, that's because it was one of the things Aizawa-sensei tested us on for the Quirk Assessment tests on the first day of school," she replied as Bakugou walked away from the group. "I think he got like 700 meters or something?"
"705.2," the explosive teen corrected as he readied to throw the ball.
"Still doesn't beat my score of infinity," the gravity girl retorted and then stuck out her tongue.
The others chuckled while Bakugou bristled at the fact he couldn't beat someone at something. Though Round Cheeks did prove herself a competent opponent so he would let it slide.
"So this is like we're checking our progress, right?" Ashido asked, already getting pumped to see how much they had improved. "Oh, and we'll get to see how Shinsou and Midoriya compare to us too!"
The pinkette beamed over at them excited to see what they were made of. Hitoshi simply shrugged while Izuku smiled also interested what their scores would be like. The others were focusing on Bakugou as he wound up his arm to throw the ball. Sero wondered aloud if he could reach a mile while Eijirou cheered his friend on.
Bakugou grinned as he held his arm back before putting all his force, both muscle and Quirk, into throwing the ball as he screamed, "GO TO HELL!"
Go to hell?
"He yelled 'die' the first time," Ochako told him quietly as they watched the ball soar through the air.
Yeah, that's Bakugou for ya.
The ball grew farther and farther away into the trees a good distance away. Bakugou landed on his foot and waited smugly for his result. That had to be a lot farther than his first throw. Sure, he hadn't been getting the best results when it came to the Sports Festival but he's trained a lot since then especially after failing the final exams. There had to be vast improvement.
"That was 709.6 meters," Aizawa drawled as he held up his phone for them to see.
There were murmurs of disappointment from the class as Bakugou stood there shocked by the lack of improvement. There was a little but seemed insignificant compared to what he expected.
"You've all completed a single semester of UA," the teacher explained. "In combination with your various experiences, you have all definitely improved compared to the beginning."
The tired man eyed each of his students especially his foster son and problem child.
"However, those improvements were centered more on technical skill and mental prowess with an increase in stamina thrown in. But when it comes to your Quirks, there hasn't been much improvement. As such, that is the reason why we're going to focus on improving your Quirks during this training camp."
The students shivered at the creepy grin that stretched across their teacher's face.
"This training is going to be so hard that you'll feel like you're dying," Aizawa declared, enjoying their looks of terror a little too much. "Let's hope all of you can survive."
The air was filled with tension as the gravity of their situation became clear. Their teacher was going to work them to the bone. Pushing them past their Quirk limits to make them stronger, faster. Well, mostly everyone as they had Quirks to improved. Izuku though…
"Yes, Midoriya," Aizawa called out, acknowledging his student's raised hand.
"What will I be doing this week, Aizawa-sensei?" Izuku inquired, wondering what his training would be since he didn't have Quirk. The curious glances from his classmates told him they were wondering the same thing.
"Your focus will be training with your gear against Quirked opponents," his mentor answered, scratching under his eye. "You will also be helping with improving other people's Quirks as requested by Nezu. We're coordinating how exactly that will be done between everyone's Quirk training. For Class 1-A and 1-B."
"So, no pressure," Izuku snarked, feeling a bit wary of the seemingly daunting task. But then again, hadn't he been doing just that all along?
With that said, they were divvied up to start their individual training. Bakugou and Shouto were provided with drums of water away from the others. One boiling to help expand the former's sweat glands and one tepid for the latter to freeze then heat up in as he switched from ice to fire and back. Sero and Kaminari were also isolated situated on individual hills. The tape wielder under orders to continuously produce tape and the electric blonde was set up with a high-capacity battery.
Eijirou and Ojiro were paired together to efficiently train Hardening and Tail at the same time. Similarly, Shouji and Hagakure were assigned to each other to practice his tracking alongside her stealth abilities. Satou and Yaoyorozu were set up with a table of food to fuel their Quirks, pumping iron and creating objects respectively.
Kouda was tasked with vocal exercises to expand the range of his Quirk and the shy boy would do his very best. Tokoyami hid away in a dark cave to practice controlling a more powerful Dark Shadow. Aoyama was to continuously fire off his laser to increase the range though there was still something that needed to be down about his stomach problems. Same with Ochako who was to float around in an inflatable ball to get her more acclimated to using her Quirk on herself.
Tsuyu was to use her tongue to climb. Jirou to stab her Earphone Jacks repeated into stone to strengthen them. Ashido to intermittently creating acid against the rock beside her to increase her skin durability. While Tenya was running around at full speed.
As for Hitoshi, he was to work with the Wild, Wild Pussycats on a rotation as they switched out to check on the various training. Different people meant different personalities and differing triggers on what would get them to talk. As well as practicing both with and without his voice changing mask.
Then there was Izuku who was currently setting up a makeshift mini studio. Maijima, with Mei's help, had put together a sort of studio-to-go kit so that he could work on his Support Items at the camp. Of course, he also had on his own Inventor's Special, the tool belt made for him by Mei, buckled around his waist to make things more convenient. It was like a pocket of UA had followed them out to the woods.
As they were settling into their newly assigned routines, it was then that Class 1-B joined them. Adding twenty more students for the teachers to train with each of them having their own unique Quirks. Thankfully they weren't alone as the whole team of four Wild, Wild Pussycats were there to help them out.
Ragdoll's Quirk was great to help keep track of everyone and spot weaknesses for them to improve. Pixie Bob could manipulate the area with her Quirk and create ideal training grounds tailor made for each student. Mandalay's Telepath enabled her to give advice to multiple people at once. Tiger was strong and flexible, ready to beat them to a pulp in order for them to improve their physical strength.
Those with strength Quirks eyed Tiger with apprehension fearing his 'boot camp'. But considering all that was going on at UA, they didn't have much man power to spare to train the Heroes-in-training. Therefore, utilizing the Wild, Wild Pussycats was the most logical with their experience and range of powers.
"Don't fall behind Class 1-A," Vlad King commanded loudly. "Do me proud."
Is that where Neito-kun got it from? Izuku wondered as he rolled his eyes at the teacher's antagonizing of the two classes.
"There's one more person you'll be working with during the training camp," Aizawa said before turning his way. "Midoriya, come here."
Izuku wiped off some grease on his hands as he approached the group of students. They were staring at him curiously with some whispering aloud theories as to why he was called over. Only one of them knew that the winner of the Sports Festival was one and the same as the Hiro they had been working with for a while. The copier smirked as his friend stood in front of his class.
Aizawa eyed that smirk carefully not sure what it meant. He still worried what Vlad's loud blonde's reaction would be. Hopefully not as explosive as his own class's loud blonde had been. Well, one of them anyway. But there were still unknowns that had him worried about his problem child. The green one has already been through so much and it had only been one semester into his first year.
"Midoriya will be helping improve your Quirks as well during your training," Aizawa explained. "Introduce yourself."
"H-hello! Some of you may know me already," Izuku said, managing only to stutter a little. "I'm Midoriya Izuku."
The class gave a collective greeting to him before Kendo spoke up, "Nice to meet you, Midoriya. I'm Kendo Itsuka and I'm class president of 1-B. Let me introduce to you…"
"A-actually I know all of you already," the greenet interjected, grimacing briefly for cutting her off.
"You do?" Kendo asked in surprise that was shared with most of her class.
Neito was another story. He knew exactly who Izuku was and how he knew 1-B. With his usual air of smugness, the copier walked to the front.
"You sure do," Neito said as he went until he stood right next to his friend and faced his classmates. "Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the one who observed our training and provided us with the notes for improvement. This..."
Aizawa prepared to act as he watched the loud blonde throw an arm around the green one's shoulder.
"…is Hiro-kun."
Oh, so he knew already. Guess he didn't have to worry as much. Though he still would because the problem child was a trouble magnet.
"WHAT?!" Class 1-B cried out before talking quickly amongst themselves.
"Hiro-kun?"
"He's Hiro-kun?"
"The winner of the Sports Festival?!"
"But if he is then that means Hiro-kun's Quirkless."
"Which also means that he's super smart without one."
"And can kick ass. Taking down the Hero Killer? Damn."
"It's nice to officially meet you, Hiro-kun," Kendo spoke up over the others to silence them.
"Oh, um, nice to meet you too," Izuku replied bashfully with a bow. "Hiro is just a nickname though you can still call me that if you want. I don't mind."
He smiled at the other Hero class excited to be working with them. And hopefully they're less antagonistic towards 1-A than Neito.
"With Izuku's help, we're sure to kick 1-A's ass," the copier declared, his arm still on the shorter boy's shoulders.
"Neito-kun," Izuku scolded with a bite of sternness.
His classmates were surprised to learn they were on a first name basis. Aizawa was too since this whole time he had been worried how Monoma would react to the kid. Guess he really had nothing to worry about with this one.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Neito relents as he rolled his eyes. "We're all trying to be Heroes in our own way and we should work together not against each other. Blah, blah, blah. But come on, nothing wrong with a little friendly competition."
The blonde wiggled his eyebrows at the green haired boy who stared at him unimpressed as the rest of them were watching the interaction in shock. Neito was still being cocky but not as much as he could work up to when it came to Class 1-A. While this cinnamon roll of a boy was not putting up with his bullshit. Though this being the teenager who won the Sports Festival and took down the Hero Killer all while Quirkless, should they really be surprised?
"That's enough horsing around," Aizawa declared with a clap of his hands. "Both classes have a lot of work to do and only a week to do it in. Let's get to it."
Class 1-B was given their own assignments and training was off and running. Some of them literally like Tenya. Izuku retreated back to his little studio and got to work on his gear. He checked over his Support Items before putting them on one by one. The Quirkless teen planned to wear them as much as he could during the training camp. He would have to get accustomed to the added weight for long periods of time in the future after all. With Jet shoes on his feet, goggles and mask on his head, and belt, escrima rods, and arm wrappings secured to his person, Izuku was ready to start training.
"I'm ready," Izuku said as he approached Aizawa. His mask was hanging around his neck and his goggles pushed up. "Where would you like me to start?"
The tired man hummed in thought as he surveyed the students while standing casually with his hands in his pockets. A particular blonde one caught his eye.
"Monoma, come here," Aizawa ordered, catching the copier's attention.
"Why with Neito-kun?" Izuku asked as the other ran up to them. "The goal is to train Quirks, isn't it? I don't have one for him to train with."
"While true, there is a reason why I want you two to train together for a time," the teacher replied as he addressed the two of them. "Your point of people relying on their Quirks too much. There will come a time when Monoma won't have a Quirk to copy and so would be effectively Quirkless. It would be logical for him to gain experience fighting against an opponent whose Quirk he can't copy and learn to fight despite that."
"Ah, yes, 'don't be a one trick pony' and all that," the greenet snarked. "Well then I guess I should take my gear off."
"No," Aizawa said flatly.
"Why not?" Izuku inquired with a tilt of his head. "With these I have an unfair advantage."
"And when exactly is a Villain fight fair?" the Underground Hero retorted with a raised brow and crossed arms.
Fair point.
"What, Izuku?" Neito jeered though in a teasing way. "Don't think I'm up for the challenge?"
The copier playfully punched him in the shoulder while smirking. Though under his bravado he was a bit worried as he eyed the Quirkless teen's gear. Hiro had quite the arsenal on him that was for sure, but the man had a point that apparently was Izuku's at first. That there would be times when he couldn't rely on his Quirk to give him the power he needed like when facing someone Quirkless or a Quirk that was a miss. It would be beneficial to learn to fight without it.
Izuku gave a shrug as he said, "Alright. You asked for it."
Neito gulped but still kept the forced smile on his face as Hiro adjusted his mask and goggles on his face.
They moved to an open patch that Pixie Bob raised slightly to make a fighting ring quite similar to the one used in the final rounds of the Sports Festival. Guess Neito was going to get a taste of what could have been if he had made it into the top sixteen after all and up against none other than the first-place winner himself. Geared up and Quirkless meaning he was going to have to fight harder than he ever fought before.
Yeah, this'll go well, the blonde thought sarcastically.
"Don't go easy on me, Hiro," Neito insisted despite all that. "Fight me like you fought in the festival. Show me what it's like to fight the number one student."
Green eyes studied him for a moment behind his goggles before nodding. Then with a roar, a pillar of fire shot out of his mask and all Neito could do was dodge it. The blonde stumbled but managed to right himself only to be forced to dodge again as a cloth wrapped fist was aiming for his face. The copier instinctively reached out and managed to brush the other's arm only to feel nothing upon contact.
Crap, right. No Quirk, no copy.
He was at a huge disadvantage but he guessed this gave him a very clear view as to how Izuku experienced the world. It reminded him of the same words he always heard growing up. That he couldn't be a strong Hero with a Quirk like his. A fact that he had accepted long ago that he would never be a protagonist in his own life story.
Copy was a useful Quirk as Izuku and he knew, but it had its weaknesses. Kind of like that Shinsou guy who had to result to less-than-heroic means to use his Quirk and survive for the next fight. Neito was no different. He willingly embraced his darker side knowing that if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to stand alongside those with more power. But even then, that wouldn't help in this situation. He needed to get creative.
Think, Neito!
A staff suddenly entered his vision as Izuku took a swing at him. The hit grazed his side as he did his best to evade. Neito hissed in pain but powered through and grappled the weapon with both hands trying to take it from him.
"Good, try taking control of the fight," Izuku praised while still fighting him. "But be careful. Not everything is as it seems."
The middle of the staff separated into two pieces as the Quirkless teen twisted them out of his grip. The greenet then activated one of the electrified ends and swiped it at him to force the copier back. The blonde almost went past the edge but managed to stay in. He eyed the rather intimidating boy in front of him who was stalking towards him with an air of raw power. In desperation, Neito kicked up some dirt to obscure himself from the other's view to give him time to maneuver away from the edge.
However, that move only got him away from one edge for a second before he was being wrapped in some kind of cloth and came face to face with Edge himself.
"Good improvisation, but be mindful of yourself too," the shorter teen instructed him. "A distraction like that could give you cover but it can blind you the same as your opponent. Which is why my goggles have infrared for such occasions."
"Damn, Izuku," Neito let out with a shaken laugh. "You're prepared for anything."
The blonde aimed a kick for the greenet's gut who quickly whipped him out of the red wrapping that secured themselves back around his arms. So, new gear since the Sports Festival, huh? Izuku was just full of surprises and probably always will be. That was when he saw it.
Izuku's hair was green, dark and rich in color to the point of appearing black in shadow. A tangled mess that Neito was glad he didn't have to deal with very much used to his own straight hair. The strands twisted and curled in a complex labyrinth on his head. And in that mess, he saw a speck of white.
Surely, he's not greying early.
'Cause it was either that or…the hair wasn't his. Perhaps even a certain heterochromatic element wielder's who always seemed too snuggly and close to the Quirkless boy before him. If he could just touch it, that was all he would need for his Quirk to work. Kind of going against the exercise but he was curious if he could actually copy Todoroki's Quirk from a single hair. If it was his anyway.
Well, here goes nothing.
Neito ran at Izuku who copied him. Ha! Irony. As they collided, the blonde feigned a punch to the right which the other boy ducked down to dodge going exactly where Neito needed him to go. His hand shot forward and grabbed his hair where the white one was and pulled. He yanked the hairs free and knew instantly that his plan had worked as he could feel the power of fire and ice surging through him. With a stomp of his foot, the copier sent a wave of ice towards the Quirkless teen who was quick to activate his shoes and jump high into the air.
"How did you do that?" Izuku asked as he knew Shouto was on the other side of the field. His curiosity overpowered the pain he felt on the side of his head. Though he did note that his hair might be a liability at its current length. Perhaps a haircut was in order on top of the new helmet he had planned.
The copier grinned as he let green strands blow away in the light breeze to hold up a single white one that was definitely not his.
Oh my gods, are you serious?!
"You can copy people's Quirks from just their hair?!" Izuku exclaimed in excitement as he lifted his goggles. Guess Shouto left a hair on him as well from last night.
"Yup!" Neito replied popping the P. "Did that with shark boy's Quirk during the cavalry battle."
The blonde gave him a wink.
"Do you know what this means?" the young analyst began to ramble. "You could carry around a collection of different people's hair with you and then copy their Quirks from that. Then you wouldn't necessarily have to rely on touching the person themselves before a fight. Though that is still a viable strategy and the hair could act more as a backup. I wonder if there is a limit as to how long you can copy the Quirk from the hair. Is there a time limit as to how long the Quirk stays connected to it? Then what would that mean for other parts of the body? Could you copy a Quirk from someone who is dead? Or even a disembodied part of them? Like whoever's hands that Shigaraki likes to wear for some reason. Or does the person have to still be alive for Copy to work? Perhaps not all in one piece since you copied it from a single hair. Then there's also…"
A clearing of a throat snapped him out of it. Green eyes looked up to meet pale blue ones filled with amusement.
"Mind if we continue where we left off?" Neito drawled with a smirk.
Oh, right. Their fight. Though now it was more evened out in a sense. Neito had a Quirk copy and Izuku had his gadgets. It would be like fighting Shouto all over again though the copier wouldn't have as much control over it as he did. Definitely not the ice but closer with the fire. Instead of answering Izuku quickly adjusted his goggles before he sent out a wave of fire that Neito countered with his own. The two pillars of fire crashed and shot up into the sky in a blast of heat. The flames dissipated and they stood there panting staring the other down.
"This is quite some power your lover boy has," Neito teased, igniting a ball of fire in his left hand. "Guess I'll have to include this with my future hair collection. Though I never expected to become such a collector. Also, that theory on disembodied parts and dead people…kind of morbid, don't you think?"
"Whatever works," Izuku answered with a shrug before tossing a smoke bomb.
The Quirkless teen activated his infrared midjump as he flipped around to the back of his opponent. The copier was still looking for him when Izuku kicked him square in the back and sent him off the platform and into the dirt. Neito groaned as he propped himself up at the same time the other boy exited the smoke.
"While you do have an advantage when you have a Quirk copy," Izuku said while turning off his infrared and hopping down to help him up. "Don't let it distract you or make you think you've already won. A Quirk is just a tool that can only help you in a fight if you use it well, but it can also work against you if you're not careful. No matter how powerful the Quirk, no one, not even All Might, is invincible. There's always the possibility to lose."
"Well, aren't you all sunshine and rainbows," Neito jabbed as he dusted himself off.
"Life is not fair nor should we expect it to be," the Quirkless teen said, lifting his goggles again to look at his friend properly. "The life of a Hero is dangerous and chaotic. One wrong move could be our last. We have to do our best to be prepared for anything. That includes the potential to lose if we're not careful. And even then, something could go wrong when you least expect it no matter how much you prepare. Even so, we all have to do our best. Go beyond."
He held a fist out to the other. Neito grinned as he returned the fist bump and they said together, "Plus Ultra!"
"Not exactly what I had in mind but you seemed to have made some progress," Aizawa drawled as he approached the pair. He secretly approved of the green one's little speech and found the hair idea intriguing. "Go off and follow your training for today, Monoma. Midoriya, make a round and see if you can find any improvements or suggestions. Then come find me once you're done."
"Yes, sir," the two students answered together before going their separate ways.
...
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