06.02.2023
It is I, the Absolute Madman and I'm here with the next chapter of this religious-esque adventure! But first a comment!:
KamadokuTayna - I thank thee for the kind words!
And now - the chapter itself!:
"He threatened to do what?!" Shiozaki exclaimed in shock, taken aback by what she just heard.
"Expel those that he deemed to have no potential." Izuku repeated calmly. "In the end he said that it was only a 'logical ruse' to force us to do our best, but I'm not really buying that story…" He added quickly.
The two had miraculously met up as they emerged from their respective classrooms which were located right next to each other and ended up heading back to the dorms together. Shiozaki struck up a conversation by asking where Izuku and the entirety of his class was during the orientation which led to Izuku telling her all about Aizawa's little apprehension test. Suffice to say she wasn't a fan of the man right from the get-go. What she was a fan of however was the blue-haired guy from the entrance exam recognizing his lapse in judgment and apologizing to Izuku in the morning.
"It's truly sad that your homeroom teacher turned out to be such a rascal." Shiozaki said, already feeling sorry for what her fellow believer will have to endure for the next couple of years.
"Well, I wouldn't necessarily call him a rascal…" Izuku defended the man despite being the one on the receiving end of his 'logic'. "I think he's just very strict and demanding, but not outright evil or anything. His methods may be a bit crude but I believe that his heart is in the right place." He shared his thoughts which seemed to placate Shiozaki for the most part.
"I pray for that to be the case." She responded, now calmed down somewhat.
"Me too. But enough about me, how was your first day of school?" He asked with a smile.
"I can't certainly say that it wasn't nearly as nerve-wracking as yours." She joked and they chuckled, Izuku having no choice but to concede. "Mister Kan, our homeroom teacher, first introduced himself and then we all had to do our introductions and say a couple of things about ourselves. I do have to say that a couple of my classmates seem like troublemakers, but they don't necessarily have to be all that problematic. After the introductions we were led to the auditorium where principal Nezu gave quite the inspiring speech and then Mister Kan gave us a tour of the more important places around the campus. At the end he told us that if we had any questions we could come to him anytime." Shiozaki quickly recalled.
"He seems like a really cool teacher." Izuku mumbled, silently wondering how two teachers could be so different from each other.
"My thoughts exactly. Although he seems to be a bit overzealous whenever he is talking about things that he is personally passionate about." Shiozaki shared her observations.
"I know it might sound really off, but what if Kan and Aizawa have some sort of rivalry which we'll end up being dragged into?" Izuku asked and for a moment neither of them said anything before they both nearly exploded with laughter.
Their teachers were grown men, surely they wouldn't be childish enough to drag their students into their rivalry and constantly compare their achievements, right?
Right…?
After the emotional rollercoaster of a day that they had to go through on Monday, the following three days were quite chill. At least they were allowed to feel excitement at the prospect of being taught by so many professional heroes without having to fear a potential expulsion.
Izuku wasn't very well versed when it came to the topic of heroes so he didn't know a whole lot about their teachers, but he was content to simply learn at his own pace, though most of them had left quite the lasting impressions on him and his fellow classmates. Kayama 'Midnight' Nemuri was probably the most extravagant out of all the members of the faculty that Izuku had the pleasure of meeting throughout the year. He's overheard a few of his classmates and some senior students calling her a 'dominatrix' or something similar, but that word didn't ring any bells in Izuku's head. He'd simply have to look that word up at a later date.
After three days of nearly nothing but standard schoolwork came the long-awaited Friday. It was long-awaited as they were scheduled to have their first foundational hero studies class so the excitement was at an all-time high. Another reason behind their excitement was the fact that only the foundational hero studies didn't seem to have a lead teacher assigned to them as their curricula clearly stated which teacher was responsible for every subject.
Iida was of course quite furious at what he deemed to be a simple mistake and was loudly proclaiming that this should be brought up to the attention of the faculty so that they could correct this mistake at once!
Izuku hoped that he'd lower it down at least a notch or two, but it seemed as if Iida was just as eager to jump to conclusions now as he was when they first met during the entrance exam.
Another theory that Izuku had heard was that the identity of their teacher was kept hidden for a reason, though what that reason was no one knew.
Izuku and his classmates were waiting in the classroom for their teacher, most of the students chatting amongst themselves about this or that, trying to pass the time. All the talking stopped at once when they felt the very floor beneath their feet shift and shake ever so slightly as the sound of heavy, powerful footsteps echoed closer and closer to their classroom.
After a few tense seconds the door to the room was almost thrown off of its hinges as a tall, muscular blonde man stepped through, his signature grin present on his face as if it was painted on for good.
It took the students exactly 0.069 seconds to recognize the new arrival as none other than All Might, THE Number One Hero of Japan, and the classroom was instantly filled by excited chatter, yelling and exclamations.
Izuku's reaction was quite a bit more tame since he really wasn't following the news all that closely, but even he didn't live under a rock big enough for him to not know anything about the man. Quite the contrary actually. Izuku had heard all about All Might's exploits and he had to admit that his track record was impressive. To sow the seeds of hope in the hearts of the common people and plant doubt in the minds of the villains with but a smile and a catchy phrase was something that very few people could pull off. As far as Izuku was concerned - All Might truly deserved the top spot, even if it didn't really mean that much in the end.
"As you've already noticed I am indeed All Might and I'll be your foundational hero studies teacher - or as I like to call it heroing 101 - for the next couple of years!" The hero bellowed in that trademarked boisterous manner of his with his hands on his hips and his chest puffed out proudly. "I hope you're ready to get your clothes dirty, because your first lesson is-!" He paused dramatically before fishing out a single piece of paper and flashing it to the class, "- battle!"
The piece of paper had 'battle trial' written on it and coupled with the hero's pompous speech it elicited another wave of excitement out of the students. Izuku felt the very same mental tug that he had been fighting ever since agreeing to become the daemon's warden pulling his attention behind him and although his mental roommate had a knack for annoying him and pulling all manner of tricks, this time Izuku suspected that it might actually be warranted, so he decided to indeed look behind him like the daemon wished for him to do. What he saw had filled his heart with worry.
Sitting right behind him was Bakugo, that rude blonde who managed to go the entire week without even trying to make friends or atone for his previous behavior. Izuku saw Kirishima and his group of friends which consisted of him plus Ashido, Sero and Kaminari from time to time, but all of his attempts had failed to get through to the stuck-up man. Perhaps it was for the best? Maybe a bit of isolation will help get rid of his ego? Whatever the case, Izuku certainly wasn't planning on being the one to break the ice as the blonde's attitude had been really off-putting.
Now, the fact that Bakugo was sitting behind him wasn't what worried him. It was that sickly, face-splitting grin that was plastered on his face. Izuku saw that kind of an expression in the past already and he really didn't want the events to unfold like they did back then. It'd be a shame to have to drop out of school in the first week, wouldn't it? For now Izuku decided to stick to observing the blonde, because he really didn't know that much about him, so perhaps something like this was quite in character for him?
His musings were interrupted by All Might pulling out a remote from a pocket that seemed way too small to fit the damn thing.
"But, a part of being a hero is looking good!" He declared before pressing the big red button on the remote.
The students heard movement behind them and turned around to see the back wall of the classroom open to reveal twenty identical cases with numbers ranging from one to twenty written on them.
"These are your hero costumes, manufactured based on the designs and ideas that you've submitted and optimized to work well with your quirks!" All Might explained, somehow bringing to the table even more excitement than he already has. "Grab your cases and meet me at Ground Beta!" And with that final command he sprinted out of the classroom, gale winds following him like a shadow.
As soon as he left, all of the students rushed to grab their respective case, no doubt eager to finally start doing something hero-related after spending an entire week stuck in boring lectures. Izuku decided to bide his time, no need to add to the commotion after all.
"Look at 'em. Buzzing like flies around a freshly dumped piece of horse shit. If that is the future of mankind then I have no fucking idea how you managed to create a galaxy-spanning imperium." Izuku felt his annoyance build up with each word sent to him by the daemon. Although the second half of his message did make Izuku pause for a moment.
Izuku was already used to the daemon speaking to him constantly throughout the day, his usual comments vaguely trying to goad Izuku into 'letting him loose once again' or allowing him to 'stretch his legs' as if he even had any. He was trying to fool him with promises of power, influence, of a life devoid entirely of pain and suffering. It of course didn't work as Izuku desired none of that, his main goal in life being to help those in need. The daemon knew that, but kept trying regardless, probably hoping to wear his warden down bit by bit over the years, but so far Izuku didn't feel all that worn down.
That wasn't all that the daemon had to say however. On rare occasions, just like now, he would say things that didn't really make sense to Izuku, but also sounded like genuine thoughts and not the usual manipulative half-truths and blatant lies. He could still recall one very gruesome tale that the daemon had shared with him before - The Battle of the Black Planet. It was a tale of a crusade against the forces of evil that the daemon seemed to be a part of, on which side was unknown but Izuku had his suspicions. He described atrocities on a planet-wide scale without even batting an eye and spun tales of violence and hatred as if it was a bed-time story. But above or else it kept using the very same date - 888.M41. If Izuku understood correctly it meant it as a forty-second millennium, which made absolutely no sense whatsoever. How could this daemon possess knowledge of something that didn't happen?
Izuku decided not to dwell on it any longer than he already had as most of his classmates had already gone ahead and rushed out of the classroom to get changed into their costumes as soon as possible.
Not wanting to fall behind too much, Izuku got up to grab his case before making his way out of the classroom to head towards the changing rooms of Ground Beta. At least that's what he was planning on doing anyways, but was stopped in his tracks but yet another mental tug.
"You're not just gonna leave me here are ya, kid? You know damn well that I'm gonna follow your regardless so you might as well take me with ya." Izuku turned towards his desk and sure enough, propped against it was the case that he stored his sword in.
Izuku sighed to himself before eventually grabbing the long case and then following his classmates to Ground Beta.
Perhaps he should've chosen something less over-the-top for his costume as a full set of armor turned out to be quite the hassle to put on by yourself. Thankfully he wasn't the only one having similar issues, though he was quite surprised to learn that he wasn't the only one to go for the knight estetic.
Iida's costume looked like a strange cross between a car and a knight, probably an homage paid to one of his role models or something like that. Another person with similar taste turned out to be Aoyama, with his costume being based on something akin to medieval plate armor, although his overall look seemed to be favoring style over utility with a long, indigo-colored cape flowing behind him.
Izuku, as painful to admit as it was, had been inspired by a certain character that the daemon had told him stories about when created his own hero costume. The daemon never spoke his name, but always made sure to highlight how much of an obstacle this man had been.
And so Izuku ended up with quite the bulky suit of gunmetal gray which had covered him from head to toe, even obscuring the lower part of his face slightly. His shoulders were protected by two heavy pauldrons with bone-white symbols of the Knights Templar painted on them. The original design that Izuku drew inspiration from featured a helmet and a lot of strange, unknown signs and sigils placed in various places all over the armor. They looked sacred and were probably of great importance to the wearer of the original armor so Izuku decided not to profane the sanctity of beliefs he didn't know about and got rid of the sigils. The helmet however was a personal preference. Whilst yes, additional protection never hurt anyone, Izuku felt that a metal faceplate wouldn't exactly be able to convey all the necessary facial expressions that he'd need to be able to serve the people well, so he scrapped the helmet from the final design.
"Damn bro, you look awesome!" Kirishima exclaimed, drawing the attention towards Izuku.
"I thank you for your compliment, though I believe we all look quite well. I suppose it's more about how we feel in what we wear rather than looking for the sake of aesthetics." Izuku responded with a smile.
It didn't remain on his face for long however as he spotted the purple pervert acting quite… strange. Stranger than usual at least.
"Mineta, may I inquire as to what you're doing?" Izuku asked cautiously.
The purple pervert was currently inspecting the wall of their changing room really closely, his face was basically glued to the damn thing!, and there was a strange expression on his face.
"I found a sacred altar left for the future generations by our predecessors!" He exclaimed like a fanatic. Izuku didn't take him for the religious kind at all, not with his evident Lust, so he became even more weary of his behavior.
"And what that sacred altar might be, pray tell?" Izuku goaded the pervert into explaining himself.
This finally caused Mineta to detach himself from the wall and he puffed his chest out in pride before pointing to the spot he's been inspecting just now. It was hard to make out at first, but Izuku was eventually able to notice a small dent in the wall, a hole.
"This sacred altar will allow us to spy on the girls changing! Just imagine all the juicy details we will be able to-!" Whatever lustful tirade was about to leave his mouth was cut short by Izuku's gunmetal gray armored boot slamming directly into his face, sending him flying back into the door on the other side of the room which nearly flew off its hinges at the impact.
"That's quite enough from you, your rat!" Izuku declared with righteous fury boiling in his veins. "I'll notify the faculty of this 'sacred altar' of yours as soon as I'm able to, but I'll withhold the information about your deeds for now. If you do not better yourself however I'll have no other choice but to notify the school of your behavior which will likely result in your rapid expulsion!" Izuku stated, though his words had fallen on deaf ears. Or rather unconscious ones.
Somewhere along his speech an earphone jack had flown through the hole and into the boy's changing room, probably an attack aimed at the purple pervert, but Izuku beat the girls to the punch. Izuku kneeled next to the hole and, without looking into the opening, spoke.
"I'll take care of this transgression as soon as I can, so you can rest easy." Izuku vowed and a chorus of muffled 'thank yous' answered him from the other side.
"So manly…" Kirishima mumbled out in awe at what he'd just witnessed.
"Now gentlemen, I believe we still have a class to attend to." Izuku stated with a smile as he addressed his fellow classmates.
They quickly finished putting on the remaining parts of their hero costumes before making their way out of the changing room and out into the open, so that they could finally take their first steps towards their eventual goal of becoming heroes!
One thing I absolutely love about my style of writing is how the stories grow and evolve from a single idea to fanfic. How every chapter is created from a mumbled mess of thoughts and plotpoints and somehow ends up making sense in the grander scheme of things. Would you believe me when I told you that there wasn't supposed to be a daemon in this? Or how I only just now thought of the nigh-perfect role-model to base Izuku's 'alter-ego' - it's the daemon - off of? I know I'm the Absolute Madman, but this kind of stuff only proves my point!
Anyhow, you're welcome to take a wild guess as to what exactly I'm drawing inspiration from at the moment, or you can just silently celebrate the fact that you know exactly what I'm talking about without spoiling it for the rest of people! It'd give me less comments to respond to at least!
That's all I have for today, so have a great day and I'll catch y'all in the next update!