Chapter 81
[Silence]
A few days had passed since the ghost story incident, and as the morning of a new day came, a few people were starting to wake from their slumber. One of those people being Tenya Iida, who had woken up five minutes before his alarm was set to go off. Deciding to get up anyway, he made his way down to the first floor of the dormitory, and walked into the changing room, but to his surprise and annoyance, the room was not in the best of conditions. "Again? Really?" baskets for clothes were scattered and toppled. The tissue box and spare towels were out of place. Someone even left their toothbrush here. While the room could have been in much worse condition, considering that 15 guys use it, Iida was the definition of serious. "Of all the...A living space in disarray begets minds in disarray. They must learn to keep this place tidier." He mumbled to himself before straightening up the room and placing the forgotten toothbrush in a prominent spot by the sinks.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST I'll Become a Hero]
After beginning to brush his teeth, he spotted Koji and Mezo come into the room through the reflection of his mirror. "Good Morning, Shoji, Koda."
"You're up early again, Class Rep." Mezo noticed, while the tired Koji gave a bow that acknowledged Tenya's greeting.
"Do any of you know who happened to have left this toothbrush behind?" Iida asked the pair, pointing to the forgotten toothbrush.
After looking at it for a moment, Shoji took a guess. "Kaminari maybe? I think that's his color."
"Very well. Thank you." Tenya appreciated the assistance. "I'll have to rouse our forgetful classmate and ask him about it."
"Rouse a what and who now?" Came another male voice, as Sora entered the changing room with his toothbrush and hand towel, and began getting himself ready for the day.
"Kaminari likely forgot his toothbrush here, so I would like for him to retrieve it and remind him not to leave it here again." Iida summarized his intentions to the Keyblade wielder.
"Oh. Got it." Sora replied, seeing the not pleased mood of his friend. "Doesn't sound like the best way to start the day though."
"I'd rather handle this now than let this become a habit later." Tenya stated.
"Alright. Well, let's just hope that's the only problem for you today." The Keyblade wielder hoped.
"Let us indeed hope so." Iida agreed, before finishing what he needed to do in there and leaving.
[Silence]
On his way to the third floor, he encountered Mashirao, and after a brief exchange of 'good mornings' between the two, Tenya soon reached his room and made sure to have all of his essential school supplies at the ready. Once he knew he was prepared, he left his room and took a quick detour to Denki's room. He knocked on the door and spoke up "Kaminari, are you awake! If not, perhaps you ought to be!"
After a moment, the sound of shuffling from inside the room was heard, before the door was open and Denki groggily spoke to Tenya. "Morning..."
"Good morning indeed, Kaminari." Iida replied. "Did you happen to leave your toothbrush by the sinks?"
Denki yawned before answering that. "Huh? Oh. Maybe?"
"Well I left it where you can't miss it. Be more mindful next time!" The class rep told him. "See you in class, then." He began to leave.
Kaminari lazily blinked before replying "Yayyyyyyy." in a tired manner.
[Play KH Union X OST Before the Daylight]
Tenya had then gone to the first floor, where Breakfast that was made by Lunch Rush and delivered to the dorms was set in the kitchen. As Iida was selecting his Miso Soup, Sora, Koji, Mezo, Momo, Fumikage and Kyouka had arrived as well. Jiro yawned and uttered out "So...sleepy" out of impulse.
"Me too." Yaoyorozu agreed with her.
"Did something disturb your sleep?" The class rep wondered.
"No. But last night, we..." Kyouka began.
"What happened last night?" Tenya questioned.
The girls seemed startled at that, but Momo nervously answered. "Last night...I was up quite late...simply wrapped up in one of my books."
"And I uh...was listening to music, you know...like I do." Jiro nervously said.
Iida seemed to notice the awkwardness that the girls showed, but before he could ponder on it, Sora and Tokoyami got his attention, with the latter loudly clearing his throat and speaking up. "I see you opt for a traditional japanese breakfast, Class Representative."
"A pretty by the book breakfast for a by the book guy." Sora added in a complimentary manner. "It fits you."
"Quite right, you two!" Tenya replied to them. "I am grateful to Lunch Rush for providing us with such wonderful rice every morning!"
After eating his breakfast in the recently repaired common room, he had cleaned his used dish and left to go to the main U.A. building.
As soon as the class rep had left, Sora spoke up. "That was close."
"Sorry." Both girls apologized at their near slip up.
"We should be grateful that Iida does not focus on subjects that aren't related to scholarly matters for too long." Shoji commented.
"Indeed." Fumikage agreed.
"Yeah well, let's try not to slip up too much, or he might catch on, or get the wrong idea." Kyouka stated.
"Well, since the plan is to try and have him stay with me for most of the day. I think I can manage." Sora said. "I just have to keep him busy until 7:00, right?"
"Do you think you can manage that?" Yaoyorozu wondered.
"Today's one of my after school training days." The Keyblade wielder pointed out. "I can just ask him to help me out with it. And I also have other plans to keep him distracted too."
[Play KH Union X OST Wake Up World]
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" The sound of Mina, Toru and Ochako screaming was heard, making the group stop what they were doing and immediately go into the kitchen to find them.
"What happened?" Shoji questioned.
"COCKROACH!" The girls shouted, all backing away from a corner, before the very bug they said had scurried across the floor, making the three of them stammer away, while Momo, Jiro and Koda also looked mildly discomforted.
"Squish it!" "Burn it!" "Get it away!" "EwEwEwEwEw!" "It's over there now!" The girls were all keeping their eyes on it.
Sora sighed and approached the bug. It ran off before he could nab it, but before trying again on his own, he remembered that a certain someone with a useful ability for this kind of situation was here. "Hey Koji, can you tell the little guy to climb on my hand? And can someone open a window?"
After taking a moment to calm his nerves, due to his still present, but slightly less prominent insectophobia, Koda spoke up. "My little six legged friend. The man with spiky brown hair means you no harm. He wishes to take you to a safer place, as here, many people would surely look to crush you under their weight. I urge you, climb onto his hand and allow him to escort you to safety."
The roach did as instructed and climbed onto Sora's palm, letting the boy carry him to an open window. After Sora set his hand down as close as he could to the grassy ground outside, the bug scurried off of his hand and out towards the closest bush it could find. The Keyblade wielder then closed the window and went to a sink to wash his hands. As he did so, he spoke to his timid classmate. "Just curious, but, do you have to talk like that to animals for your quirk to work, or is that just a choice?"
Koda seemed to be embarrassed by that question and meekly signed to him 'It's a choice, but it also gives clear instructions to the animals I talk to'
"Oh. That makes sense." Sora understood that logic. "Anyway, thanks for the help. Are there any other creepy crawlies that I need to take outside?" The three girls shook their heads in denial. "No? Cool. Enjoy your breakfast. Then we can get started on the preparations. After we've finished our food." He then went back to the common area with the others to do just that.
[Play KH BBS OST The Promised Beginning]
A few minutes of walking later, Tenya had arrived at the main campus building. And after a bit more walking he reached the classroom belonging to 1-A. He entered the room and to his annoyance, he saw that most of the chairs were not properly placed at the desks, in spite of his constant chiding to his classmates about that. The only ones that were, were Sora's, Momo's Izuku's, and Shoto's, so at least those four cared enough to do that. In his mind, sloppy chairs lead to sloppy attitudes, so they must treat the school properly and with greater respect. Katsuku's was the one that annoyed him the most, as usual. "Of all the..." He grumbled as he reslotted all of the chairs back into place at their desks.
After that, he took a broom and dustpan and continued to tidy up the classroom. "Nothing like a clean classroom to allow students to focus on their studies." He said aloud. After he swept the floor of all dust and grime, he took a damp cloth and wiped down the lectern, as to potentially better Mr. Aizawa's abilities of teaching them, by giving him clean tools to work with. After his cleaning routine was finished he looked proud of his work and said aloud, "Let's make today another meaningful day." before sitting in his seat and beginning to study on his own, reviewing subject material in science.
Tenya was so caught up in his studying that he hadn't noticed how quickly time had passed for him, as it was not only three minutes until Homeroom. He noticed that he was still the only one here, which surprised him. The entire class usually wouldn't cut it this close. A few students, sure, but not everyone. As two minutes ticked by, the class rep was getting close to panicking, until he heard the collective sound of many footsteps clamoring towards the room. And in a brief, but still chaotic moment, the entire class barged into the room, just barely making it in time.
"Phew, Made it." Ejiro said, sagging his shoulders in relief.
"A full sprint this early in the day?" Ashido commented. "Not fun at all!"
"What on earth were you all up to?" Iida questioned. "Are you aware that Homeroom is about to begin?"
Most of the class seemed to only respond with a few 'um' and 'you know' answers. But then Uraraka spoke up. "Actually, you see...we ran into some big ol C-words."
"C-word?" Tenya did not get it. "Which C-word is that?"
"The creepy crawly buggers that show up in the kitchen sometimes." Ochako clarified. "Those you know whats."
"Ah!" He understood now. "You mean Periplamtea japonica, or the common cockro..." He couldn't finish that.
"DON'T SAY IT!" Uraraka yelled out. "Wouldn't want to jinx it and summon another one! Especially after we just got done exterminating!"
"She means, having Koji tell the bug to let me take it outside." Sora clarified.
"That's exterminating!" Ochako said.
"That action would actually be considered 'relocating' but that's besides the point." Iida replied. "I apologize that I wasn't there to assist! It sounded like quite the ordeal."
As the classroom breathed a sigh of relief, they took their seats. Two students greeted the class rep, albeit a little wearily though. "Good Morning, Iida." Midoriya spoke first.
"Hey." Todoroki said after him.
"And a good morning to you as well, Midoriya, Todoroki." He reciprocated their greetings. "It's a bit early to be looking so exhausted, no?"
"Us, exhausted? Nah! We're not tired. Right, Todoroki?" Izuku stammered.
"I guess not." Shoto replied.
Tenya couldn't help but feel like something was amiss, but before he could address his concerns to those two, who were making for their seats, he turned and noticed something off with Ochako's hair. "Why Uraraka! I never known you to tolerate cowlicks." He pointed out a stray set of hair sticking up from the top of her head.
"Huh?" She didn't realize she had it. "Dang, really? I must have not slept well last night, staying up so late." She hastily smoothed down her hair with her hands.
That comment caught his attention. "What kept you up, may I ask?"
"I was just..." Ochako began, before clamping her mouth shut, almost like she was about to spill the beans on a big secret.
"Uraraka?" The class rep looked confused.
"N-Nothing!" She quickly replied to him. "No special reason. Just didn't sleep well, I guess!"
He didn't have the chance to pry any further, as Mr. Aizawa had entered the classroom, and began the school day with Homeroom, as per usual.
[Silence]
After Homeroom was done, as well as the first four periods of class, the students went to the cafeteria for their scheduled lunch break. Iida was with Midoriya, Todoroki, and Sora, as per usual. The four of them had gotten in line for their lunch and the class rep noticed how busy it was. "Lunch Rush must be busier than ever since the dorms were built."
"He's making a whole lot more than just lunch now." Shoto pointed out.
"I wonder if he'll revise his Hero name to 'Three Squares Rush' or something." Izuku said.
"No, I feel like he ought to specifically reference breakfast, lunch and dinner." Tenya stated.
"So like, 'B.L.D. Rush'?" Sora guessed.
"Precisely!" Iida agreed with that.
"Ooh. B.L.D. sounds like the name of a new sandwich." Midoriya commented.
"Pretty sure you can't just change your Hero name at the drop of a hat." Todoroki mentioned.
Once the four of them reached the counter to order their food, they each got their usuals. Tenya got beef stew, with a glass of orange juice on the side. Izuku got his katsudon pork bown. Shoto got the sopa noodles, served on a wickerwood tray. And Sora got Tempura, with some rice on the side. The four of them found an empty table nearby and were about to sit there, but Rikido approached them and spoke up. "Mind if I sit here too?"
"Of course n..." The class rep began but got interrupted again.
"Go ahead! We sure don't mind! Right Iida?" Midoriya sounded a little too eager to say that.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Lunch Song]
Despite the sudden interruption, the five of them sat together at the table, with Sora and Sato on one side, while the remaining three were on the other side. As the group was eating together Tenya began to reflect on this morning. "Ah, a question, friends!" He spoke up. "How might I convince our male classmates on how to keep the changing room tidier? When I went to freshen up this morning, I found the room in complete disarray."
"That bad, huh?" Rikido replied.
Iida nodded. "Yes. The baskets were astew, and I feel the issue could be solved, if we were all just a bit more mindful."
"Hmm." Izuku pondered. "Maybe put up a sign? Like, a friendly reminder?"
"Or stick magnets on the floor." Suggested Shoto. "So the baskets could snap back into position every time."
"We'd need some pretty big magnets in order for that to work." Sora pointed out. "And a lot of them too."
The group went back and forth for a minute, before Sato decided to ask the class rep something. "B-By the way...Is there anything you can't eat, Iida?"
"Foods I dislike? No, I can't say I'm all that picky." Tenya answered.
"Any food allergies then?" Sato wondered.
"No, none that I know of." Iida stated.
"Great! Glad to hear it!" Rikido replied.
"Thank you for asking, though!" Tenya said. "Is there any reason in particular that you'd need to know such a thing?"
"Because it's your..." Shoto got interrupted before he could finish that sentence.
"Todoroki!" Izuku yelped, before clamping his hands over his friend's mouth to shut him up. The One For All user's momentum had nearly caused the two to fall out of their seats and towards the floor, but Iida was quick enough to extend his arm and pull them back upright.
"Whatever is the matter, Midoriya?" The class rep wondered.
"N-Nothing! Really! I mean, uh..." Izuku stuttered. "I noticed a scallion stuck to the corner of his mouth. Right...Todoroki?"
"Oops. Sorry." Shoto replied, going along with that. "I was so caught up in my soba that I got careless."
"Careless? How do you mean?" Iida asked, looking even more confused, and starting to get skeptical. Sora quietly facepalmed and shook his head at those two while he wasn't looking in that direction. Those two were seriously close to blowing it.
"He didn't mean a thing! Right, Todoroki?" Midoriya assured.
"Right. I mean...the scallion on my face." Shoto said. "So careless."
[Silence]
The Keyblade wielder had to resist the urge to sigh at those two right now. Sure, he was not the best at keeping secrets, or keeping his mouth shut. But not only was he getting better at it, but this was close to when he almost told Mike and Sully about the other worlds when nearly mentioning the King to them. He then spoke up. "I know that you freak out over little things, Izuku, but don't make such a big deal over food stuck in a friend's teeth."
"Y-Yeah. Sorry." Midoriya apologized.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Analysis]
In Tenya's mind, nearly everyone was acting weird. First off, it was unlike Yaoyorozu, Jiro or Uraraka to stay up late. He had also noticed that the other girls seemed tired during the class periods as well, which was equally strange. Then there was Midoriya and Todoroki's clumsy attempt to cover something up, after Sato had asked him something that was rather out of the blue. In all honesty, the only person acting somewhat normal right now was Sora. It made sense, because the Keyblade wielder wears his emotions on his sleeves, but so did Izuku and Shoto, and they were hiding something. Maybe Sora isn't in on it? If so, then he can't ask him what is with those two. He'd have to piece this together himself. Though the only thing he could think of right now was that he could have accidentally offended said individuals. It wasn't exactly a pleasant thought, but it was the only one he could think of right now.
It didn't help his case that when he searched through his memories, he could find plenty of reasons why the members of his class, save for Sora, could be annoyed with him. He's constantly, warned, scolded, chided, told off and lectured his classmates time and time again. As he began to list off these events in his mind, suddenly, his appetite for his favorite food was nearly gone.
Izuku, as well as the others noticed the abrupt silence from him and he spoke up. "Hey, Iida. Everything okay?"
"Yes, of course! Perfectly fine!" The class rep said to him, seeing the concern on Midoriya's face, which helped him ease his doubts for a brief moment. Maybe he was thinking too much into this?
However, the rest of the school day, and even during the group training for ultimate moves, the entire class, save for Sora, was giving him the cold shoulder. Once the class was dismissed, most of them left in a bit of a hurry too, which only made them look even more suspicious. He felt obligated to get to the bottom of this now.
[Silence]
"Hey, Tenya." Sora's voice was heard, as the class rep turned around to see the Keyblade wielder behind him, as if he was waiting for this moment. "Can you come with me?"
"Hmm? If I may ask, what is it that you need?" Iida wondered.
"I thought up an idea for an Ultimate Combo for us. I want to try it out and see if it works." Sora stated.
This kind of confused Tenya. "Then why didn't you come to me during our scheduled training time?"
"Well, this place isn't exactly long enough for us to try what I'm thinking of." The Keyblade wielder explained. "But I do know where we can try it, if you come with me."
At first, he was hesitant. Under normal circumstances, he would have been more than happy to do this, as it would help both him and his classmate grow. But after all of the weird and uncomfortably consistent things happening with the rest of his class, he wanted to handle that as quickly as possible. But he couldn't just turn down one of his classmates, let alone the only one that is still acting like he normally would with him at the moment. "Alright then. I'll follow you."
"Sweet!" Sora exclaimed before the two of them headed off together.
[Play KH Re:Chain of Memories OST Piccolo Resto]
As the two of them made their way to the development studio, which slightly discomforted Iida, due to the wild card that was Mei Hatsume being there, Sora had gotten Moogle to accompany them, and as the three of them were on their way, the merchant spoke up. "So what's with him tagging along, Kupo?"
"I wanted to try an Ultimate Combo with him." The Keyblade wielder answered. "Figured that you could help us with that before we did my regular training."
"With the way you're talking, it sounds like you're going to need a very big space for what you're trying, Kupo." Moogle theorized.
"Yep." Sora confirmed.
After a brief sigh, Moogle replied "Why not, Kupo."
"Thanks, Moogle." The Keyblade wielder said.
[Silence]
Once the trio were in the Monatery Room, Moogle started up the datascape and prepared to generate an appropriate area for the two students to practice in. As that was going on. Sora spoke to his friend. "You okay, Tenya? You look worried, and I don't remember you being the nervous type."
"I'm fine, Sora." Iida told him.
"No, you're not." The Keyblade wielder was not having it. "Tell me what's wrong, or else you're gonna make me worry, like last time, when we started our internships."
"Oh! No no no! It's nothing like that!" Tenya assured him.
"But it is, something." Sora said, still concerned.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Three Secrets]
After a brief moment of hesitation, he decided to talk to his friend about his current troubles. "Sora. Do I sometimes come off as a nuisance?"
That question confused and slightly concerned the Keyblade wielder. "What? No, not at all. Why would you think that?"
"Well, recently, if you have yet to notice, a majority of our class seems to be either avoiding me, or keeping something from me." Iida pointed out. "You're the only one who's acting like you normally would around me, and this sudden change in behavior has me concerned that...I might have unintentionally done something to offend them."
"You think that...oh man." Sora understood. "Okay, Tenya. Let me explain. The class didn't really want you to know, but I'll tell you, so that way you know what's going on."
"So you do know what's happening?" Iida realized. "Why would our class keep something from me?"
"It's because they didn't want you to worry." The Keyblade wielder answered.
"Worry?" The class rep repeated. "What would worry me so much that it would warrant them to keep it a secret from me?"
"Most of the class hasn't been able to 'adjust' to the curfew that Aizawa gave us." Sora told him. "A Lot of them end up stuck awake, because they feel restless. They're used to their body resting a little later, and it makes them want to do something. Then when they start doing something, they lose track of time and then they end up losing some hours of sleep that they'd normally get."
"A majority of the class has been having problems adjusting to our new sleep schedule?" Tenya summarized. "While that does explain most of the class, especially the girls being tired, I fail to understand why they would keep this a secret from me."
"They didn't want you to worry about it, and risk causing any more drama. You know, like talking to Aizawa, who would no doubt remind us that we did this to ourselves, after the whole demon ghost story accident that happened a few days ago." Sora pointed out.
"You don't seem very tired though." Iida noticed.
"Oh I adjusted just fine." Sora said. "I needed to pass out early, after all the sleep I missed the days before, so I was fine with lights out early." That explanation seemed to do the trick, as the class rep seemed to look relieved. Sora then silently sighed in relief as well, glad that Tenya had bought that.
[Silence]
Moogle then spoke up. "It's ready now, Kupo."
"Nice!" Sora replied, before facing Iida "Alright, let's do this."
"Indeed!" Tenya's mood was much better, and he was more than happy to train with his friend.
The two of them entered the datascape together, and after seeing a series of zeroes and ones flash and blink all around them, they were transported into an empty zone, with only the dirt covered ground and the sky being visible to the pair. An empty and probably endless dirt patch would most certainly work for the two of them. After a few minutes of discussing what they were going to do, the two of them were ready to go.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Heroic Fighting Battle Song]
After a quick fist bump between the two, Sora got in front of Tenya, and spread his arms out. The class rep then placed his legs right behind his classmate's legs and then yelled out "FUSION!"
The Keyblade wielder stepped back and pressed the heels of his shoes on top of Iida's armored shoes, while Tenya wrapped his arms under Sora's armpits and positioned them up, like he was performing a full nelson, except he didn't lock the hands behind Sora's neck. The Keyblade wielder then moved his forearms towards Iida's and gripped the lower sections of them with his hands. With both of them pressed together, Sora then commented on this honestly dumb look. "Well, at least neither of us are piggyback riding." remembering Mashirao doing that with Tenya during the practical exam of the finals, against the data replica of Young Xehanort, twice. "Let's go!" He activated his flowmotion and blitzed forward, while his partner didn't budge and prepared to add in his contributions.
"RECIPRO...!" Iida began, as both his engine legs came on and were about to add their power into the mix.
Sora smirked, and when Tenya didn't speak up, he knew that the class rep wanted him to finish that name call. He then breathed in and screamed out with all his might "FLOW!"
Tenya's engines erupted, bursting out air and further increasing the speed of the two, as the pair of them leaned their upper bodies forward, further increasing the speed that they were building up from putting their powers together. The two of them could just barely manage to see what was in front of them, due to their speed making the world around them look almost like a blur to them, but they honestly couldn't tell just how ridiculously fast they were going. In fact, it was so fast that the two could swear that they wouldn't be able to see or hear anything around them if Sora's flowmotion didn't protect them from the air resistance, and then, the sound of the engines was gone, as ten seconds had just gone by.
While the engine was no longer continuing to boost the two's combined speed, Sora still continued forward anyways. He slightly shifted his body in order to turn it and begin to change direction. After seeing how this worked a few times, Sora went for a few sharp turns and both were surprised to see that he could actually do said sharp turns. In spite of the dramatic speed boost, and the air cone ahead of them partially obstructing their view, the Keyblade wielder still had total control over the movement.
After a few minutes, the two of them eventually had slowed down enough for them to get their feet on the ground and skid themselves to a halt.
[Silence]
Once the pair stopped, they let go of each other and looked behind them. Tenya spoke up first. "Well, I'd say that that was a rather successful attempt at an Ultimate Combo."
"Oh you bet, it was!" Sora was ecstatic. "How fast even was that anyway!? I don't think I've ever seen anyone go that fast before!"
The two of them were transported out of the datascape and then Moogle spoke to the pair. "I took the liberty of calculating your maximum speed during that, Kupo." He then showed the number on the screen, revealing it to be 358.44 kilometers per hour. "You two at your max speed, together were three times faster than Sora would normally be alone, Kupo."
"Whoa!" Sora was dumbstruck.
"That is certainly a milestone!" Iida was also exasperated. "I must say, I did not expect that."
"Neither did I! Holy cow!" The Keyblade wielder was amazed. "Nice job, Tenya!"
"And to you as well, Sora." Iida returned the kindness. "Now, if you don't need me for anything else, I will excuse myself from your training."
"Actually." Sora stopped him from leaving. "I was hoping that you'd stay and uh...maybe give some pointers?"
"Pointers?" Tenya looked perplexed.
"You know, some tips on how I can approach some fights." The Keyblade wielder said. "Considering that I'm not gonna be running into the same fight over and over again, you know."
While a bit confused at first, the class rep decided to go with it for now. "Alright, I could probably provide some insight for you. What kind of fight are you trying to see how you can approach?"
"You'll see." Sora said. "Alright Moogle, we can do the normal training now."
"You mean the training where you try to beat Vanitas, right, Kupo?" The merchant pointed out.
"Vanitas?" Tenya was surprised and a little frightened to hear that name.
"Oh right. I never told you guys." Sora realized. "All my after school training here, is me fighting an updated data replica of Vanitas, that is stronger than he was since our last fight."
"Wha...Why would you subject yourself to that?!" Iida looked very concerned, and rightfully so, considering what had happened at Kamino.
"We all know that Vinitas will come after me again, and he's bound to get stronger, because his quirk makes him stronger with negative emotions." Sora pointed out. "We have the data on him, so what better way to train to fight against the real deal, than fighting the data replica, figuring out how all his moves work, and how to counter them, and soon enough take him down?"
That straightforward logic made sense on paper, but Tenya wasn't looking at the logic of this, like he normally would. "What about you though? Fighting against a stronger version of an opponent that almost killed you before would be disastrous on your body!"
"I have a healing ability now. Remember?" Sora pointed out.
"And if he doesn't give you the chance to use it?" Iida countered.
"I pull him out before anything fatal happens, Kupo." Moogle assured the class rep. "And besides, the obvious experience that he gains from the battles, he also gets admittedly a tiny bit more durable, every time he gets beaten around in there, Kupo."
While it was a rather hard pill to swallow, Tenya was forced to accept that, while it wasn't an idea that most people, including himself would be comfortable with, this would be the best way to train against an opponent as cruel, powerful, and as quick to grow as Vanitas. He could only hope that whenever Sora does start to get hurt, it isn't to an extreme degree, and if he does happen to come up with a potential idea of approach, then he will absolutely make sure to relay it to the Keyblade wielder. "Alright. I'll see what kind of input I can provide, after examining a few matches this session."
"Thanks, Tenya." Sora was grateful. "Let's get this started!"
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Heights Alliance]
Meanwhile, over at 1-A's dormitory, the rest of class 1-A were making the preparations. "Alright! While Sora's keeping Iida occupied, we've got a few hours to get this done!" Mina excitedly spoke up. "How's the decorations?"
"Almost finished with this corner." Momo stated, as she, Toru, Kyouka, and Mashirao were pinning up some handmade paper flowers.
"Balloons are almost done." Ochako said, as she, Asui, Koji, and Minoru were placing multiple colorful balloons around the area.
"The sign is almost up." Mezo informed her, as he, Fumikage and Shoto were working on putting up a handmade banner that was made specifically for a certain classmate of theirs.
"Alright! How's the cake coming?" Ashido asked.
"It's being made right now!" Denki said from the kitchen as Rikido was in the process of making the mix and being accompanied by Yuga.
Katsuki was sitting on the couch, blowing up the balloons, after being challenged by Ejiro to see who had better lung capacity between the two, and was clearly winning, due to him blowing up a bunch more balloons than his red haired opponent. Hanta would take the balloons they made and give them to the balloon crew to place wherever, along with some tape he made from his quirk.
Izuku had gotten multiple party poppers and given one to each classmate, who were all busy in one way or another. "Thank goodness that Sora's keeping Iida occupied. I don't think that this could have worked without him."
"Shut up and take over for me, Deku!" Bakugo barked out, having enough of blowing balloons. "Either you blow these balloons up or I blow you up!"
"Ah! O-Okay, Kachan!" Izuku joined Kirishima in his efforts to blow up balloons.
[Silence]
As the time passed by, it was now 6:35 PM. Back at the Monetary room, Tenya looked determined, but also a little uncomfortable. It was not easy seeing Sora get beat up by Vanitas again and again. Even though there was clearly progress being made, it always made him flinch every time the data replica began to overwhelm his friend and beat him until the boy was pulled out of the datascape.
As Sora stumbled backwards and fell into Iida's arms after another defeat, the class rep spoke up. "I see that you've attempted being conservatory, aggressive, defensive, up close, or primarily ranged, and these methods don't seem to always work."
Sora groaned. "Yeah. He's quick to adapt."
"I can see that." Tenya noted. "Have you tried changing your approach to engaging him, mid combat?"
"Yes, and he quickly changes his approach, to stay ahead of me." The Keyblade wielder stated.
"Okay then." Iida was deep in thought for a while, and after a few minutes of pondering, he then asked his friend something. "Sora, if I may ask, when you last fought the real Vanitas, before Kamino I mean, did you do it alone?"
"Well, no." He answered. "I had help from two people who had a history with him."
"Alright." Tenya replied. "Then if that worked before, then why not do it again?"
"Huh?" Sora was unsure of what he meant.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST U.A. High School Support Department]
"So far, every single time that you've engaged against Vanitas alone, you couldn't keep up with him and therefore could not beat him. But based on what you've said, the only time you defeated the real Vanitas was when you weren't alone and everyone fighting alongside you knew how to fight against him." Iida explained. "If that is the case, then the solution is simple. Don't fight him alone. Bring allies, make sure they know how to fight against him, and then work together to defeat him."
The Keyblade wielder looked at his friend, feeling like an idiot for not thinking of that. "Oh my gosh. I'm so stupid. Why didn't I think of that!?" The answer was so obvious, and it's also the method that he always used to defeat his enemies before. He had his friends at his side. If he let said friend train with him, learn with him, and adapt with him, then there was no question that they would be able to help him, when Sora and Vanitas inevitably fought again. And since the Dark Remnant can't call upon the unversed to assist him, then could even be overwhelmed by numbers too.
As the Keyblade wielder face palmed at his inability to find that answer on his own, Tenya let out a hearty laugh. "Sometimes, an outside perspective can see things more clearly. Nevertheless, I suspect that you'll want to put this into practice as soon as possible?"
"Yes I do." Sora said.
"How long would it take for you to explain Vanitas' moves and fighting style to me?" Iida asked, while looking at the clock.
"Fifteen minutes." The Keyblade wielder said with confidence.
"Very well then." The class rep was willing to try. "Brief me on his skills and then I will join you in the next fight, if we have the time."
Meanwhile, back at 1-A's dormitory, the rest of Class 1-A, minus Bakugo, were getting the finishing touches done on the decorations. Rikido then came out of the kitchen and brought a cake out. "Finished! How does it look?"
"Too cool!" Denki complimented. "I'd have thought that you bought it at a bakery if I didn't know better."
"Looks delish!" Mina praised. "Great job as always, Sato!"
"It's almost time guys." Ejiro pointed out, as it was now ten minutes before 7:00. "Midoriya, can you text Sora and see how he's doing?"
"Oh, sure thing." Izuku replied, before grabbing his phone and calling Sora.
Back at the monetary room, Sora was nearing the end of his rundown of Vanitas' skills. "Remember, you need to be extra careful when he uses the stream of debris. He can aim it wherever he needs and even ride it to go after you, so..." Then a picture of Midoriya showed up on the visor of his AR device. "What the? Izuku's calling me right now? Uh, give me a second, Tenya." He answered the call on his AR device. "What's up, Izuku?" Iida was unable to hear the conversation, so there was no risk of him hearing something he shouldn't. "Tenya? He's right in front of me. We were about to do some more training together." The class rep was surprised to hear that Midoriya was wondering where he was. "Yeah, we'll be back at 7:00. Don't worry...Yeah, we'll see you then." Sora ended the call. "Okay. So yeah, make sure that you avoid the debris attack at all times. It really hurts and don't get cornered by it either. You got it?"
"I believe I do." Tenya replied. "Is there anything else I should know?"
"No. That's everything." The Keyblade wielder stated. "You ready to do this?"
[Silence]
Iida looked at the time and then realized that it was ten minutes before 7:00. "I would be, if we weren't so pressed for time."
"Huh?" Sora looked at the clock and saw what he meant. "Awww! It's almost 7:00 already?!"
"Regrettably so." The class rep responded. "Perhaps next time, we can try fighting him together? Maybe even bring in a few more than just the two of us."
"The next time will probably be after the license exam, Kupo." Moogle spoke up. "It's right around the corner, and you're going to need to start focusing on that, Kupo."
"He does bring up a good point, Sora." Tenya agreed with the merchant. "Even if you have the skills and power to combat Vanitas, it wouldn't be of much use, without first obtaining the Provisional Hero License, which will allow you to use your quirk for heroic deeds."
The Keyblade wielder still looked a little bummed. "Yeah, but I wanted to try fighting alongside you. It would have been awesome, since we've never done it before!"
"You'll get your chance, next time." Iida patted his friend on the shoulder. "Now, come on. We wouldn't want to be late."
"Late for what?" Sora questioned.
"You told Midoriya we would be back at the dorms at 7:00." The class rep pointed out. "If we move now, we'll arrive just in time."
"Oh yeah. That's true." The Keyblade wielder remembered, before perking up. "Okay then. Time to head home and call it a day!"
After a quick five minute change at the locker rooms, and another five minute walk towards the 1-A dormitory, the pair had reached their home, but Tenya noticed something was off. "That's strange. The lights to the first floor are all turned off. Our curfew is at 8:00, and I doubt everyone would have gone to sleep early."
Sora looked up and had a small smirk, as there was a party popper taped on the top of the first pillar to the left of him. He swiftly, but silently grabbed it. "They're probably just hanging out with each other in their rooms."
"Perhaps, but they should have at least left the light on for us, considering that at least Midoriya knew that we were coming at this time." Tenya opened the door. "I can't see a thing. The light switch is here if I remember correctly." He turned the lights on. "Wha!..."
[Play KH BBS OST Eternal Moments]
Iida was immediately caught by surprise, when he saw colorful balloons and handmade flowers decorate the common room, with a banner hung up saying a message that everyone from class 1-A, minus Bakugo and Sato, due to them not being in the room, shouted in unison. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IIDA!" Everyone pulled their party poppers together, and they all went off at once, except for Shoto, who pulled his late, due to being caught off guard.
"My birthday..." Tenya realized that it actually was the 22nd of August. "I had completely forgotten..."
The class then came up to him, almost surrounding him entirely after Sora got him inside and closed the door to the entrance. Ochako was the first to speak up. "We really pulled off the surprise, huh?"
"What a nerve wracking day though." Momo stated. "Especially when we had to go over the plan, just after Iida left for class. I thought for sure we would be tardy."
"So true." Kyouka agreed. "And that was after Sora helped out with our tiny intruder."
"We stayed up late all night making those decorations, you know!" Mina chimed in.
"Thank goodness we finished on time, ribbit." Tsuyu said.
"We also gotta thank Sora, for keeping you distracted the whole day." Mashirao pointed out. "If he didn't we probably would have had to rush this out, and it wouldn't have looked so good."
"Seriously, that would have been something." Denki agreed.
"This'll probably be the only time we'll go all out though." Hanta said. "Like a special way of saying thanks to the Class rep who never gives up on us."
"Real shame that Bakugo couldn't stick around though." Ejiro scratched the back of his head. "He said he was getting tired and stormed off. At least he helped blow up some balloons before that."
"How'd you do that?" Sora was curious to know.
"He challenged Bakugo to see who had better lungs." Mezo informed him, making the Keyblade wielder laugh at how easy it was to get him to do that.
"And hey, sorry about that weirdness in the cafeteria." Izuku apologized. "I panicked when Todoroki started blabbing."
"Yeah, my bad." Shoto also apologized.
"Sorry that I couldn't tell you the truth earlier." Midoriya continued. "I hope it didn't give you the wrong impression."
Tenya let out a laugh. "Well, that was what actually started my suspicions that something was up." He then placed a hand on Sora's shoulder. "But thanks to Sora, he alleviated me of any negative thoughts."
"One of the reasons why we requested him to keep you company today." Fumikage stated, with Kijo nodding.
"While not as bright as moi, he can certainly shine and make those around him smile." Yuga commented.
"It also helped me out that you guys were tired, or else I don't think the story I made up would have been that convincing." The Keyblade wielder spoke up. "I told him you guys were all still getting used to the curfew and were avoiding him, so that he wouldn't talk to Aizawa and cause drama."
"That was your cover story for us?" Toru replied.
"Hey, if it works." Sora shrugged. "And it did, so..."
"Hey! When's it gonna be time for the main event?!" Rikido called out from the kitchen.
At Yaoyorozu's signal, the group then began to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Tenya, while Sato brought out the platter with the cake he made. The cake was brilliantly orange, and had sixteen candles lit around the edge of it, along with a chocolate panel in the middle of it, saying 'Happy Birthday Class Rep! Thank You For All That You Do!'
"Now you get why I was asking about your allergies and preferences, yeah?" Rikido said. "Anyway, the thing's made from orange juice, just for you, Iida. Not even concentrate!"
"It's...magnificent." Tenya uttered, clearly moved by this. "Thank you."
"Hurry and blow out the candles, Iida!" Uraraka urged him.
"And think of a wish while you do." Asui added.
"A wish..." Tenya repeated, before coming up with one. "My wish...is to be a worthy Class Representative for the fine members of Class 1-A!" He then blew out his candles.
"I said, think. Not say out loud, Iida." Tsu reminded him.
"What good is my wish if I cannot announce it to you all?" The class rep retorted, leaving his classmates stumped while he let out a hearty laugh. "But nevermind that! I would just ask that you keep putting up with me going forward."
Everyone smiled at that, before Sora spoke up. "Alright then, now let's get those candles off and let the birthday boy dig in!"
"Yeah!" Most of the class cheered, feeling proud to be a part of this class, and feeling more like a family than ever before.
Funny story. I actually had this chapter done a few days ago, but when I realized that the 22nd of August was coming up, I decided to postpone the uploading of this chapter until it was today, and waited until a little before 7:00 PM to do so. I hopefully got some of you to get up to the point to where 1-A suprised Tenya and it would just so happen to be 7:00 when you do get to it. (If you live in the same time zone as I do at least.) Either way, this concludes School Briefs Volume Three at least in this story. If I do decide to do the U.A. Quest bonus chapter, I would make it a separate story from this. Now that the training is nearing its end, I feel that it'd be only right to finally get to the Provisional License Exam. That's gonna be something. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and until I decide to upload again. ;)