Chapter 14: Do We Stand a Chance?
"WINDOWS!" Mina cried with sheer bliss, falling to her knees as the morning sun poured in through the shiny glass panes.
"Cameras," Shoto muttered to Midoriya, nodding towards the visible additions above each window on the outside wall.
Midoriya nodded. Holding a cup of tea from Yaoyorozu, he wandered towards the window they'd escaped from a few days prior. Class B could see them from out there. He had to remember that.
It was Friday. Usually, they would have maths first, followed by a session of PE in which Mr Aizawa would essentially punish them for their mortal existence. However, it was bound to be twice as bad today because they were skipping maths in exchange for a double dosage of PE. And even worse –
"Class B will be joining us," Mr Aizawa announced.
This was met by a chorus of disappointed groans.
They were already in their PE kits and gathered in the common room, waiting to be escorted to their lesson.
Mr Aizawa was early. He took the register quickly right then and there and led them out to the same green where they'd had their Quirk assessment test at the beginning of term. Class A lined up without being told. Their teacher stood before them with his arms folded behind his back.
"Class B will be arriving halfway through," he explained. "Before then, I want to know what you'd like to do."
Class A blinked back at him in confusion.
"Including myself there are twenty people here with a vast array of skills and talents that we could all learn a thing or two from. I know that 5 and 6 taught some basic martial arts to a few of you. So, let me ask you again, what would you like to do?"
After a moment, Uraraka nervously cleared her throat, "Um, I'm happy to teach a few more people if they want…"
"I don't mind helping too," added Ojiro, much to Uraraka's obvious relief.
"Toru has some cool moves I want to see!" Mina exclaimed, leaning forwards to grin at Hagakure down the other end of the line.
"Um, I can try," said the invisible girl.
Mr Aizawa nodded, "Are there any other skills anyone wishes to start at whilst we have the time?"
Everyone seemed unsure, but a few more ideas were suggested, such as some individual Quirk practise and even parkour.
When the lesson began, with most of the class gathering around the more talented vigilantes for some supervised martial arts lessons, Midoriya found himself being pulled away from Shoto's side. He glanced around to see Yaoyorozu, with an excitable look in her eyes.
"I asked Mr Aizawa," she began, in that slightly nervous tone of hers whenever she's about to suggest something or ask a strange question, "and… well, I was wondering if you'd want to practise fencing with me?"
"Fencing?" Midoriya frowned for a moment, before his eyes quickly widened in realisation, "You can teach me how to sword fight?!"
She smiled and nodded, "I-I used to be quite good at fencing – which was why I chose to make a sword at the USJ. And I-I know you quite liked the idea, so I thought –" she took off her PE jacket, so her arms were bear. She wore a red vest underneath, as though she'd been prepared to use her Quirk against class B today. She crossed her arms for a moment, and from each arm, pulled two, blunt, identical swords. She handed one to Midoriya, who took it with a giddy smile on his face.
They stepped a little further away from the others, standing just to the side of the long-jump sand pit.
Yaoyorozu took a fighting pose, which Midoriya did his best to copy. "Ok," she began, "your aim is always going to be to disarm – whether that is by knocking your opponent's blade away or forcing them to give it up. Try now – let's see what your starting level is."
Knowing this would result in disaster, Midoriya charged forwards. He tried to knock the sword from her grip, but before he even knew what was happening, his weapon was on the floor and the point of her blade against his neck.
"Good!" she beamed.
"Err…" Midoriya replied whilst she lowered her sword and bent down to retrieve his, "But I couldn't even get close."
She ignored him, passing the sword back. "You tried to knock the sword from my hand, but you aimed in the wrong place. Ok, maybe you're not looking at this quite right. You need to be in control – of your weapon, and mine. If my blade is moving away from you, you're moving towards me – if I'm moving towards you, you need to parry."
"Ok… um, what's parrying?"
"Deflecting."
"O-Oh, ok."
"You're also swinging too wide and in the wrong direction. Movements must be quick and short in most cases, and since you're right-handed, moving from left to right. Try again!"
The exact same thing happened.
"Always defend with the middle of your sword! You attack with the point or the last few inches of the cutting edge – um, that edge, this sword is blunt, sorry. Again!
"No, always keep the sword in front of you!
"Hit the blows away – don't try to absorb them!
"You have to move forwards towards the attacker – even if it's hard!
"Never let your opponent get behind you!
"Deflect the blow to the side to knock them off balance!"
They were at this for the subsequent hour. Yaoyorozu was clearly more skilful, but Midoriya continued to surprise her with his quick progress. They caught the eyes of their other classmates, who struggled more and more to focus on their own projects.
Until, finally, Midoriya knew just enough to be a real threat. Sure, he didn't have the practise nor experience that Yaoyorozu seemed to display, but even she wasn't an expert.
The point is, by the time class B trudged into view, Midoriya was certainly more dangerous than just any madman holding a sharp stick would be.
Midoriya lunged forwards and Yaoyorozu knocked his blade to the side. He jumped to the right, swerved and sliced. She met the swinging blade in the middle with her own, pushing it aside to deflect. Midoriya knew she'd attack immediately, expecting him to block, so he did the opposite and attacked again, stepping into a blow that would have cut off the end of Yaoyorozu's swishing ponytail, had the blades been sharp.
In surprise, she took a step back, and with a movement that Uraraka had taught in a fleeting moment once before, Midoriya twisted his ankle around Yaoyorozu's own, knocking her off balance.
Realising she would fall; Yaoyorozu shifted her blade to protect her chest. But Midoriya knew that the shock of meeting the ground would weaken her hold. So, after a picture-perfect copy of the first disarming move Yaoyorozu had used against him, Yaoyorozu saw her sword land like a javelin in the sand beside them, and Midoriya's blade point right between her eyes.
"Yay! Go, Midori!" Uraraka whooped and clapped, alongside a few others.
As Midoriya helped the taller girl to her feet, the two realised that their last spar had been watched by not only their entire class, but all of class B as well.
"Ok, fall in," Mr Aizawa droned, ignoring the shocked looks upon class B's faces.
Midoriya kept his sword with him and Yaoyorozu retrieved hers from the long jump pit. They all lined up before class B.
"That was pretty cool, Midoriya," Honenuki grinned.
"Thanks!" he replied with a smile, "But Yaoyorozu's better than me. I'm probably at one win out of fifty-three…"
"Err, since when is sword fighting on the PE curriculum?" asked Tsuburaba cautiously, eyeing up the sword Midoriya was leaning against.
"Since I was asked," Mr Aizawa replied simply. Midoriya was growing more and more glad to have him as their teacher as the days passed.
Then Midoriya heard something very interesting.
"What are you playing at?" Vlad King grumbled to Mr Aizawa quietly.
He only grinned and stepped away from his co-worker. "Cast your eyes behind you," he addressed the two classes.
Midoriya turned around to see a large section of the green, incorporating some of the surrounding trees, coned off, and split down the middle with a straight, central line. In each half, were three hoops. The two hoops further away from the middle, had a coloured flag in each – only a small one, about the same size as someone's shirt.
"We will be playing capture the flag," Mr Aizawa explained. "Class A, verses class B."
A few grinned at the concept and started whispering excitably to each other. Midoriya was just trying to get his head around what the rules could be before Mr Aizawa even told them.
"If you're on your team's side, or in one of the two hoops, further back, you are safe, and can't be caught," he continued. "If you are on the other team's side, and not in the hoops, the other team can tag you, and send you to the temporary jail – the central, yellow hoop. You can only be freed by one of your team members tagging you.
"The task is to get all four flags onto your side and into your safe zones – the hoops. You cannot throw the flags. You cannot stand on your side, holding the flags; they must go straight to the safe zones. If you have been caught, you can't leave until tagged by a free member of your team, and you cannot resist arrest. It is mine and Vlad's call as to whether someone was tagged or not. Don't try and argue with us."
Mr Vlad stepped in, "A few more rules to keep things fair. Setsuna, you can't tag anyone unless you are whole, and you can't move any flags, unless you are whole."
She groaned loudly and rolled her eyes.
Midoriya had seen her use her Quirk once whist he was in detention – and it was quite amazing. She could split herself up into little pieces and control the separate parts. It was a little freaky, but had to have been one of his favourite abilities in class B.
"No one is allowed to tamper with the safe zones," added Mr Aizawa. "No trapping people in them with Quirks or moving the hoops."
"No hurting anyone," Vlad King snapped, whilst glaring at class A.
Midoriya thought class B needed that lesson a little more, considering they were the ones who attacked them when they tried to escape.
"No leaving the boundaries," Mr Aizawa added, his voice suddenly a little sharper after Vlad's addition. "Or moving the boundaries – or making it difficult to cross onto the other side or into the safe zones."
They tried to cover as many loopholes as possible, knowing full well that class A would be exploiting anything they left behind.
"– And no just standing by the safe zones. I want you all to be moving around," Mr Aizawa finally finished. It took them so long to list the rules that Midoriya wondered how much time they had left.
"Ok – class A over there, and class B over here," said Vlad King. "You have two minutes to talk it out, starting now."
"Oh, this looks fun!" Uraraka clapped her hands excitedly as they wandered over to their designated side.
Midoriya gave Mr Aizawa a sideways glance when Yaoyorozu left her sword outside the boundaries. Mr Aizawa simply stared back at him whilst Midoriya kept his own, blunt blade, and took it into the game. Midoriya just grinned.
"You losers follow my lead!" Kacchan barked, and then, in a slightly more hushed voice, "We rush them, they can't take freaking all of us at once."
"There's more of them than there are us," Midoriya pointed out, which earnt him a scowl and a silent threat from Kacchan. Midoriya was well past caring.
"You're right," Iida nodded. "We are at a disadvantage."
"Well, that just means that we can use that as an excuse when we lose," Kaminari sighed.
"But they have more trees on their side…" Midoriya pointed out, nodding towards them. "That's more places for us to hide. Why don't we send… team blue and yellow to rush, and team red takes the cover of the trees to quietly make their way to the safe zones in the distraction. The rest of us can stay behind to defend."
"One of the flags is more out in the open than the other," Yaoyorozu acknowledged, referring to the safe point further from the trees. "The distraction team could head for that one, and Iida could run in at the last minute with his added speed."
Midoriya nodded, "Sounds like a good idea. This is only the first round – let's see how it goes."
"How many rounds are we doing?" Tsu asked curiously.
"As many as we can, I think," Uraraka explained.
The two minutes had passed way quicker than Midoriya anticipated, or maybe Mr Vlad finished the timer as soon as class B seemed ready. He was definitely biased.
"You have ten seconds until the game begins," Mr Aizawa announced.
Class A took their positions whilst class B did the same. Iida and Hagakure made sure to lag back initially, so it didn't look like they would run across the line as soon as it started.
"– two, one, and begin," their teacher droned, and all hell broke loose.
Midoriya had to give it to him, Kacchan was good at making a scene. He set off an explosion the second he could, sending a veil of smoke across the pitch that Iida and Hagakure used to sneak off into class B's territory.
Kacchan was yelling about the hero course's inferiority to him whilst he and the rest of the attack teams ran around class B's side, letting most of them run in circles.
But they weren't the only ones who used the smoke as a cover, and class B soon rushed their side too.
It was an exercise of dodging and evading. Very few risked attacking the other team since a simple touch would result in having to go to their jail. Uraraka was the first to get stuck in said position, so she just started loudly informing the rest of class A of class B's movements. There was no way they could sneak up and take their flags when she was at this.
Midoriya was inevitably targeted quite early on. Kacchan found this very annoying, since Midoriya wasn't actually doing anything for once.
Well, he was up to something. It just had nothing to do with the game. Midoriya finally had the chance to get to know class B's Quirks a little better, beyond what he'd seen in fleeting moments during detention. He had started writing data on class B in his notebook, and was planning on using this information for the Sports Festival. Midoriya stood back, rarely engaged, and simply observed.
A few members of class B noticed this, and immediately decided that he was up to something. It visibly worried them when he simply allowed himself to be captured, sat down in the small hoop beside Uraraka, and continued to do exactly what he was doing before, now sharpening his sword with a small piece of equipment Yaoyorozu had tossed to him a few minutes prior.
"Um, can you err… not?" questioned the American exchange student with the horns, named Pony.
Midoriya just looked at her and continued to sharpen the weapon with a satisfying ringing noise.
"It is a little bit menacing, Midori," Uraraka chuckled. She was floating above him, trying to practise her Quirk so she didn't get as nauseous.
"That's what I'm going for," he grinned back.
This was the moment when, with a whoosh and a gust of wind, Iida suddenly stood in one of class A's safe spots, holding both of class B's flags.
"Class A wins," Mr Aizawa cracked a grin similar to Midoriya's.
"Wait, what?!" exclaimed Tsuburaba, who had been standing in class A's other safe spot for at least five minutes now.
"You know Iida's been on your side of the pitch since the beginning, right?" Tsu pointed out, passing Tsuburaba a couple of flags and starting to push him back to the other side.
The next round was never going to be as easy. In the few minutes they had available to plan, Midoriya approached his team with a new idea, but before he could say a word, Kacchan put a hand up to his face.
"You didn't do a freaking thing last round," he hissed. "It was my plan that worked, so back the hell off."
"No need to be so aggressive, man," Kirishima interjected.
"It was Midoriya's idea for Iida to go after the flags, ribbit," Tsu acknowledged.
"It was my idea to rush them!" Kacchan snapped. He jabbed Midoriya harshly in the chest, knocking him back a little, "Just because you're the teacher's freaking pet, doesn't mean you get to order me around, Deku."
Midoriya glared at him. "So, you have a plan?"
"We rush them again – and you're gonna pull your weight."
Midoriya turned to the rest of class A and ignored him. Without bothering to keep his voice down, he said, "You know team purple's motive?"
They nodded, glancing at Kacchan unsurely.
"Ok that, with the mindset of a vigilante."
Distractions and rule bending – find the loopholes in the rules and take advantage of them.
Jiro sighed, "Where's a good musical backing track when you need one?"
Kacchan looked ready to strangle him. Soon enough, he wasn't the only one.
When Uraraka ran and managed to get both of class B's flags, leapt high into the air, and was pulled back down to Earth by Sero, class B was mildly irritated.
When Yaoyorozu made decoy flags to confuse the other team, they started to insist new rules were added.
By the time several birds swooped down to get the flags for Koda, Midoriya was on the floor laughing in class B's jail.
"It's not fair, Sir!" yelled Shishida from class B. "We are sticking to the rules and they are bending them!"
"Then we'll have to give them a taste of their own medicine," Monoma leered, and Midoriya realised they were in trouble, until –
"No," Mr Aizawa snapped, confusing everyone who heard him, including Vlad King. "The heroes must always stick to the rules. You have a strict set of guidelines to follow, and are expected to come out on top, regardless. The villains don't have such restrictions. If you can't beat a team, one member down compared to yours, without bending the rules, then you're not strong enough."
Monoma gritted his teeth, usually dull eyes alight with his frustration.
Vlad King didn't seem so happy either but didn't argue with Mr Aizawa.
Midoriya simply stood up and grinned, resting his unused sword over his shoulder and waltzing back to class A's side. They were well in the lead, having won every round so far, and Midoriya had yet to lift a finger to help.
Kacchan wasn't pleased.
"We're two members down," he hissed once Midoriya was in earshot, "since someone isn't putting any FREAKING EFFORT IN!"
"Yeah, come on, Shoto," Midoriya replied with zero hesitation.
Shoto had been longing up against a tree trunk for the last hour. Hardly anyone had even noticed his lack of participation.
Midoriya could hear Kacchan's anger building. Oh, he'd never enjoyed it so much before.
For the next game, class B was more determined to win.
Midoriya sat down next to Shoto just to irritate Kacchan that bit more. They watched Tsu hop through the trees, unseen, and steal the flags with her sticky tongue before anyone noticed. She sat down in class A's safe zone with all four flags for a good three minutes before class B realised the round was over.
But the game after that proved to be a little more challenging. Midoriya was enjoying watching class B's learning curve, painfully aware that they were learning as much about class A's Quirks, as he was learning about theirs. They lost that round, and no one even bothered capturing him and Shoto. In fact, they completely ignored him.
This, of course, was Midoriya's plan. Once class B started to ignore him, he'd sneak around the back and take the flags whilst everyone thought he was no longer an important player.
He left it one more round to make sure, where class B gained a very narrow victory. But despite class A still being miles ahead in terms of rounds won, Kacchan was still furious. As per usual, he was placing the failures on Midoriya's head.
He hoisted him to his feet by the front of his shirt, "Are you actually going to freaking HELP?!" he spat in his face.
Shoto stood up to step in, but one look at Midoriya and he realised this wasn't necessary.
Midoriya winkled his nose and prodded Kacchan's chest with the slightly sharper sword, "What? You need my help?" he grinned.
He could feel Kacchan's hand growing hotter. Midoriya just smiled wider, daring him to make a move in front of the teachers and the classmates whose trust he had barely secured.
Kacchan released him with a push, but Midoriya barely stumbled.
"Besides," Midoriya said rolling his eyes. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but class B has stopped paying any attention to me and Shoto. I wanted to make sure we win the final round. But, fine, I'll do it now. We need every advantage we can get now that they've got used to our Quirks."
"Our Quirks," Kacchan made sure to hiss.
Midoriya gave him a look, "Yes, thank you for pointing out the obvious, Kacchan – really appreciated."
He turned around and walked away, gesturing Shoto to follow him and sit down by their tree again – this time, a little more behind it and out of sight. He could hear Kacchan's frustrated growl, and the pop and crackle of his Quirk that he cupped in his hands. Kirishima told him to calm down, which made things worse.
Midoriya was enjoying this way too much.
When the match began, Midoriya let the two teams tussle for power for a while, before getting up, stretching, and walking right across the pitch in plain sight. He weaved through the trees, took the flags off Sero and Ojiro, who were sitting in the two separate save zones on class B's side, and walked right down the middle to return to class A.
He ducked under Kamakiri's outstretched arm whilst he yelled at Kacchan, making sure to wave the flags in his face whilst he wandered slowly across the middle line. Everyone just stopped and stared whilst he walked the rest of the way to the nearest safe zone and sat down, cross legged inside the circle.
"Class A wins," Mr Aizawa grinned, breaking the shocked silence. "Give the flags back, Midoriya."
Almost skipping because his real name had just been used, Midoriya hummed along to a tune in his head as he gave the two flags back to Kendo, who was closest.
"How did we not see him?" Setsuna almost laughed.
"Kacchan was too busy being loud," Midoriya yawned, passing him by whilst thinking of retiring under the tree again for the few remaining games.
This was when Kacchan swung out and hit him square in the head.
Midoriya dropped his sword in surprise, reaching up to his jaw as he fell to the ground beside the weapon. He hit his head on the floor harshly and looked up just in time to see a fiery red hand outstretched before him, ready to send a painful blast in his direction.
He curled in on himself, action upon instinct, eyes tight shut.
Seconds passed and the blow never came, he dared to open his eyes and saw that the hand was still there, only held back by the confines of Mr Aizawa's scarf.
"You make me use my Quirk despite my injuries," their teacher hissed, more venom in his voice than Midoriya had ever heard before.
Midoriya crawled back. He felt a hand reach out to him and pull on his arm, urging him to his feet – it was Iida, who'd reached him first.
"Bakugo!" he cried whilst helping Midoriya up. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Mr Aizawa yanked his scarf away from Bakugo. It was a relief that his hands had been freed from the cast and sling they'd been in since the USJ. Although he remained bandaged up like an Egyptian mummy, the change meant that he could actually maneuverer his capture weapon.
Kacchan didn't say a word, only breathing heavily, fists balled tight and shaking at his sides.
Midoriya reached up to the side of his face. Other than the shock and some inevitable bruising, the pain didn't seem to be a result of his jaw being broken or dislocated or anything like that…
"Iida take Midoriya to Recovery Girl," Mr Aizawa insisted as he hurried over. He rested his hand on Kacchan's shoulder, gripping it firmly, "17, we're going to the Principal's office."
Iida only nodded in reply and began to steer Midoriya off the green. Midoriya was just so shocked by what had happened… he was in a daze, head spinning, pain reverberating in his skull.
"Are you ok?" Iida asked him more than once.
When Midoriya finally responded, it was only with a nod, an action which made the whole world spin. He had to stop when that happened – he felt like he was going to be sick.
Iida said some encouraging words that Midoriya didn't process, and soon enough they were at Recovery Girl's.
"Oh, dear," she said when Iida knocked and opened the door. "What happened?"
"Bakugo punched him," Iida replied. "It was the right side of his face, around his jawline – perhaps around his scar?"
"Sit down, sit down," she insisted, and Midoriya did just that, still feeling… weird. "How do you feel?" she asked him. Midoriya didn't reply, he just gripped the side of the chair he found himself in and blinked furiously. He felt like he was on a boat, swaying back and forth.
"Ok, ok," she said, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I think he may have hit a little higher than his jaw. Did he fall after being hit?"
"Um, yes – yes he did," Iida replied, sitting down in the chair beside Midoriya.
"He might have landed on a rock or something hard," Recovery Girl concluded, running her hands through his bushy hair to search for an injury – which she found almost immediately, judging by the blood on her gloved hands.
She gave him a kiss on the cheek to activate her healing Quirk, and immediately, Midoriya felt the confusion drain from his head – the world steadying like the boat had been docked.
He groaned, raising his hand to his forehead and dragging it down his face, "Ugh – what just happened to me…?"
"You have a concussion, dearie," Recovery Girl answered, dropping a couple of gummies into his hand, which she forcefully outstretched for him. He tossed them into his mouth like tablets and almost forgot to chew.
"Bakugo punched you," Iida said, as though he didn't quite believe it. "I'm not even sure what you did to antagonise him…"
"My existence antagonises him," Midoriya moaned, now trying to feel for the injury on his head. He found a damp patch of hair where the blood had come from but felt no wound. Recovery Girl's Quirk really was amazing.
The hero sighed deeply, rooting through his hair to double check no cut remained, "Midoriya, I have seen you far too many times this term. I hope you know that your mother knows about all this."
He inhaled sharply, "S-She does?"
"Of course, she does. She must be awfully worried about you – but I think a lot of your friends are too."
Iida nodded insistently, "Bakugo seems rather unhinged around you, Midoriya. I can't help but be worried for your safety! He has an enormously powerful Quirk and you seem to do little to protect yourself!"
"But there's nothing I can do!" Midoriya replied. "I-I don't have any power of my own – no real power! Nothing to defend myself with a-against explosions! And I-I got too confident! I thought he was past that – that he wouldn't lash out like that in front of everyone!"
"He hasn't hurt you before, has he?" Iida breathed.
"Of course, he has! Why do you think I went through so much effort to get him into class A?! He's a bully he tormented me – made fun of me – beat me up – suicide baited me! A-And I knew he'd get into class B, so I made sure I had enough evidence against him and went to the police! That's why he's in this class – I thought that was obvious…"
Iida was silent for a moment. "He… But he hasn't hurt you at UA, right?"
Midoriya didn't reply, unconsciously reaching to his left shoulder.
"…Midoriya?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"But…" Iida sighed, resting a hand on Midoriya's good arm, "Ok, but I won't be letting this continue. You're the class president, and I'm your vice – and your friend."
Midoriya nodded blankly, "…Thanks."
The only good thing that came out of Midoriya's unplanned visit to Recovery Girl, was the knowledge that his shoulder was finally on the mend. She'd let him participate in PE in an attempt to get him to move it around a bit more (that ended well), but was now finally happy to take the bandages off, which really only remained to supply some kind of support to the muscle. The feeling of his free shoulder reminded Midoriya of when he took off his tracker anklet before the failed escape.
But he was far from free, because that afternoon, after Kacchan never returned from his visit to the Principal's office, Midoriya was called there too.
He had expected to end up here a while ago, possibly immediately after the escape plan went south, but for one reason or another, it never happened. Now, Midoriya stood before the large door to Principal Nezu's office, swallowing a lump in his throat as he raised his fist to knock.
"Come in!" he heard a small voice call out before he even made contact with the door.
Trying to calm himself down, Midoriya turned the handle and stepped inside.
Kacchan wasn't there.
"What a pleasure it is to finally meet you!" said the Principal of UA. "Please, sit down."
Midoriya nervously made his way across the room and took the seat opposite to the small, mammalian Principal. He was famed for being obscenely smart, considering his possession of an intelligence Quirk. However, an inherent dislike of most humans, made him a rather terrifying being to face. Also, he'd just said it's a pleasure to meet you, and Midoriya was a little scared about what Mr Aizawa might have been saying about him.
"How is your head?" was his first question.
"U-Um, good? Recovery Girl fixed it really quickly, I-I'm fine."
"How about the shoulder? You were the sufferer of one of the greatest injuries sustained at the USJ, after all."
"Yeah – it's, err, it's better than it has been. It just took a while to heal…"
"Well, I'm glad to hear it's on the mends."
Midoriya just nodded, trying not to meet the Principal's gaze too much.
"Tea?"
He almost jumped, "Um, y-yes. Ok, um, thank you."
The small animal clambered up onto the desk to pour Midoriya a cup and refill his own. With a sigh, he sat back down in his elevated chair and took a sip of his tea before continuing, "No need to be worried, Midoriya! You are not in any kind of trouble."
"I'm… not?" he asked cautiously.
"Of course not!" Principal Nezu chuckled. "I've been hoping for an excuse to speak with you since the beginning of term. We have a lot to talk about."
Midoriya blinked at him, holding his tea in his hands to not drink it, but to only absorb the warmth, "Um… we do?"
He nodded, "You are an incredibly unique addition to this year's class A. In fact, I don't think we've ever had someone quite like you before!"
Midoriya gazed at his reflection in his tea glumly, "You mean, Quirkless?"
To his surprise, the Principal laughed, "No, no – that is but another unexpected factor!"
He frowned, then what could he possibly –
"You are unique, because never before has someone been entered into class A, with no external recommendations or application letters," Nezu smiled, resting his teacup on his desk.
Midoriya furrowed his brow even more, "Excuse me?"
"I am the one who put you in class A, Midoriya. No one else."
His mouth fell agape, "But… why?"
"Oh, I think you know why," he sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I have to say, you were first drawn to my radar through Katsuki Bakugo's case. I accepted him as the seventeenth student and couldn't help but read a little further into his files, specifically in search of the bright young boy who had done such damage to not only his tormentors, but the entire school that wronged him. I simply wanted to see what you had made of your life and where you were heading, maybe even to UA at one of our other departments – any one of them could suit you well."
Midoriya put his own cup down whilst he listened to the story, in disbelief that he'd caught the attention of one of the most influential forces in Japan.
"Then I found out about that sludge villain incident," Nezu explained. "I'll spare you the details; I'm sure you know enough already. But to risk so much to save the life of your classmate, whom you later doomed to class A, well it showed such heroic potential – such selflessness. And I knew there was even more of a story behind all this, when I saw your retaliation against the heroes that were present, and your aggression towards even All Might.
"When I had the chance, I asked him personally about the matter, and he grudgingly admitted that he had saved this very same teenager from that sludge villain, only a few minutes prior; that he accidentally uncovered his weakness and the villain escaped. To think, despite everything that had happened, you still jumped in to save Bakugo."
Midoriya was lost for words. Nezu spoke about all this so positively. Yet, he still insisted he joined class 1-A?
"I knew you had a lot of potential, Midoriya. You had the drive, determination and will to get what you wanted. Bakugo is in class A for no other reason than because you wanted him to be. Don't think that I believe that Mineta left your class only because of your wish to help the heroes. I know that he left only because you wanted him to go. If you wanted him to stay, I'm well aware the police would never have found enough evidence nor reason to recommend his expulsion."
Midoriya fiddled with his fingers nervously, "Y-You do?"
Another nod and soft smile. "Young Midoriya, do tell me, what do you think makes a villain dangerous?"
"U-Um… their… power – their reasons… err…"
"Their power? I'm surprised that's the first thing you mentioned."
"Well, all the biggest villains are powerful. You don't hear about low level thugs being arrested on the street – but you do hear about the ones with the power to level skyscrapers."
"True, very true. But I'm afraid you're missing the point here. What kind of villain, is really feared by the heroes?"
Midoriya just found himself frowning again, eyes fixed on his tea, now going cold. "An… organised villain – that's the real threat."
Nezu's smile grew a little wider, "Precisely. It's not the thugs on the street, and not even those who can level skyscrapers. The danger truly resides in the person who can gather all those people together. No, good old supervillain from the movies, is a stand-alone figure. Often, the shadow that looms in the background of the title screen, is that of someone with little strength of their own – but someone who has the means and ideals to build something. They are a leader – a mastermind of operations. They are a promise that… defeating the villain who can level skyscrapers, is hardly the end. Midoriya, the most dangerous villains do not necessarily have power like All Might – they have power like me. They have power like you."
"Like… me?"
"Like you. Look at myself – I have every reason to be a villain. Humans never treated me too well, as I am sure you know, after all, you are exactly the same. But no, I decided to be a hero, to teach the next generation to be better. Humans can be so naïve – they were all willing to let you carry on with life and struggle through. No one saw what I saw – the potential in you. All you needed was someone to lead."
"…Class A," Midoriya realised. "You knew I'd end up as class president?"
"Didn't you?"
He hesitated. Perhaps… he did.
"The world is an ignorant place," Nezu sighed, getting up onto the desk to pour himself more tea. "They ignored you because they thought the lack of a Quirk was the same as the lack of power. Such a backwards way of thinking. You are excluded for not having a Quirk in the same way as many are excluded for having too much of a Quirk, such as some of your classmates with heavier mutations. Humanity doesn't understand that this diversity is what makes you all human. If that didn't exist… oh, what a world it would be."
He gazed thoughtfully out the window for a while, before shaking his head and turning back to Midoriya, "Sorry, I went on a bit of a tangent there, didn't I? Now… what was I saying… ah, yes, class A. Your escape plan was an interesting move and was very nearly successful! I was impressed."
Why was he complimenting him on trying to run away?
"Um, thanks?"
"You had everyone following your every instruction, even Bakugo! But it seems that he was holding back some insecurities and anger over the matter. Would you like him to be expelled?"
"What?!" Midoriya exclaimed, standing up, "No! You can't!"
"Why not? He has assaulted you on numerous occasions," Nezu said casually. "He doesn't seem to be improving and left unchecked, will still make it onto the hero course. We can't have a hero like that. Why should we continue to give him a chance?"
"B-Because he will make an amazing hero!" Midoriya insisted. "He will, he just needs more time."
"Very well."
Midoriya blinked, "What?"
"Very well – you want him to stay in your class, so I won't object. If you, of all people, believe he still deserves a shot, then I will let him take it."
Midoriya sat back down again, "…Oh, ok."
"Mr Aizawa tells me that Bakugo isn't the only one with a sudden interest in the hero course."
Midoriya bit his lip and Nezu only grinned.
"I-I don't know…" he murmured, picking up his tea again. "I've just… I've always wanted to be a hero – and it felt like it was the same for everyone else. They're just so unsure and they're really nervous about the Sports Festival and I just… I don't know if I can convince them all to try."
"You underestimate yourself! You convinced them to be vigilantes. From what I hear, even Todoroki wasn't entirely against the proposition of being legal heroes. You're on the right track."
They sat in silence for a little while. Midoriya drank some of his cold tea as to not be rude.
"I have a deal for you, Midoriya," Nezu suddenly informed him, breaking through the quiet.
Midoriya looked up with narrowed eyes, "…What kind of deal?"
"There are two parts to it, I must admit," and Nezu slid a folder across the table to him. It was thin and coloured a dull beige. A sticky note attached to the front read total of five recommendations to date. Cautiously, Midoriya pulled it a little further towards himself and opened it.
"This is a member of class 1-C, general studies," Nezu explained whilst Midoriya studied the notes inside. "You must know that I get hundreds of recommendations for potential members of class A every year, and this boy was on that list. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I decided he didn't need the place as much as your current classmates. Regardless, he found himself at UA."
"He failed the hero course entrance exam?" Midoriya frowned, scanning through the information.
"The exam is designed to target the possessors of more powerful and destructive Quirks, I'm afraid, since they need more immediate coaching. We usually let people who don't make the initial cut in as second years, but this year may prove to be a little different."
"How come?"
"I'll get to that in a moment," he smiled menacingly. "But needless to say, this particular member of class C has been receiving more complaints from his classmates since he joined UA, and a spot has just opened up in your class."
Midoriya glanced back down at the file, and he stared right into the tired, blank eyes of one Hitoshi Shinso.
"Brain washing?" Midoriya gaped, "His Quirk is brain washing?! That's amazing! Wow, he'd make such a good hero with that, that's so cool!"
Nezu chuckled, "I must agree! It would be such a waste for him to miss out on a spot in the hero course."
"So… why is he being recommended for my class?"
Nezu's smile grew a little sad, "I believe, like many of your friends, Shinso faces some problems with Quirk discrimination. His ability is easily labelled as threatening and perhaps villainous. He consequently isolates himself from others and is a rather hostile individual. Using his Quirk on others to get them to leave him be has raised a few red flags, I must admit."
Midoriya nodded glumly, "But you don't want him in class A because that will ruin his chances?"
Nezu only laughed again, "Ah, well, Midoriya – this is where our deal comes into play."
Nervously, Midoriya closed the file and looked up, waiting for further explanation.
"Midoriya, if a member of class A wins the Sports Festival, and you get on the podium, I will allow the entirety of your class to enter the provisional hero licensing exam, to take place this September."
He gaped, "W-Wait, you're serious?!"
"Of course, I wouldn't say so if I wasn't. If someone does fail class A before the provisional licensing exam, I can't let them take it, but I thought that would be obvious."
Midoriya didn't know what to say – this was such an opportunity! More than he could have ever hoped for!
"And of course, if all of class A manages to get their provisional licences, then class 1-A would be a hero class, like class B, and this would mean that, by second year, unless more spaces open up, I can't accept any new students. This would leave poor Shinso behind in class C."
Midoriya was still trying to get his head around the Principal's proposition. He cleared his throat nervously, "S-So, you want Shinso in class A?"
"Well, if I continue to receive recommendations, I may have no choice. But it would be awfully difficult if he were to ruin the dynamic you have worked so hard to achieve. Shinso will be trying hard in the Sports Festival, in hopes to get into the hero course by next year, if my assumptions are correct. So, keep an eye on him."
"I-If Shinso makes it to first place, would that put the deal off the table?"
Nezu smiled, "I doubt he'll be transferred before the Sports Festival, but if he wins as part of class A, as in, he works with you, I can't say that you haven't been successful."
Midoriya nodded, running a hand over the bottom of his face as he thought this through, "Ok, ok… what about Toga?"
Nezu blinked at him, putting down his tea, "Himiko Toga?"
"Yes," he nodded again. "Shinso isn't in class A yet, and Toga has already left. If she wins the Sports Festival, having worked with us in previous rounds, then surely the same exception that applied to Shinso, applies to her."
Nezu smiled even wider, "Very well – but you cannot extend the same rule to Mei Hatsume."
"Deal."
"Oh, and if Bakugo, or anyone else, wins the Sports Festival, having ignored and played separately to the rest of class A for the entire competition, you lose."
Midoriya tensed – that could prove to be a problem, "Fine."
"Worried?"
"Not at all," he stood up, tucked his chair in, and gave the Principal a swift bow, "Thank you for the opportunity – and the tea."
"Of course. I hope to speak with you again sometime, it is rare that I have such a similar mind to converse with."
Midoriya smiled and nodded. Before he reached the door, he heard Nezu say, "Good luck, you may need it."
He opened the door –
"No, I don't think I do."
– and let it slam shut behind him.
