21.08.2023
It is I, the Absolute Madman and since my power was doing whacky shit I'm quite late with the chapter. Whatever was going on, it's fixed now so let's skip the comments and jump right into your weekly dose of Evil Within!:
Izuku tried to make the most of whatever was left of his Sunday, having to attend the impromptu meeting with Nezu and Kravchenko took a surprising amount of time, but once that was done he was completely free.
Getting a hang of Shiozaki and meeting up to talk about Izuku's newfound fame was as entertaining as he imagined it being. They had to part with the sun still in the sky as they both wanted to prepare to return to their regular school work schedules.
For Izuku it also included his friends pestering him with more questions not only about yesterday's news report, but also about him being suddenly called to the principal's office on Sunday of all days.
Being close friends with Ashido and Kirishima must've started rubbing off on him already, because he chose to smirk and give a surprisingly elusive response, causing everyone to be even more interested in what could've happened behind the closed doors. Izuku did take mercy on them and at least promised that it wasn't anything bad so as not to worry anyone since he already did that by facing the Hero Killer nearly all alone.
Thankfully no one noticed the fact that he left empty-handed but returned with his case floating closely behind him. Ashido and Kirishima already saw it before their internships anyways, and those two would probably cause the most ruckus about something like this.
After hanging out with his friends in the common room for a while, Izuku eventually retreated to his room to get some late training done and get ready for Monday as he wanted to hit the ground running and set a good example for the others.
He was really starting to see some progress in handling his barriers, and even though he still wouldn't want to test it out against someone like Kirishima, he was pretty excited about the improvement. Of course, that only motivated him to try and squeeze even more out of what little daylight he had, but it was then that Monk'ai's words came back to reprimand him. Rest was just as important as the training after all.
And so Izuku eventually went to sleep, having some energy left, but opting to store it for tomorrow.
It was a good idea that he didn't tire himself out before going to sleep, since he wasn't the only one that wanted to hit the ground running right out of the gate.
"Alright you zygotes!" All Might bellowed once their Heroics 101 came around. "I heard that all of you had some very insightful and exciting internships, some even more so than others! I'm sure you've all made some progress on honing your skills and today you'll put whatever you've learned into action!"
They were currently standing in yet another mock battle environment, this one being a heavily industrialized area with various factories, pipes, power lines and chimneys dotting the landscape all around them. They'd all donned their hero suits and were listening to All Might's motivational speech.
"That's why, today, we'll have a race to gauge how versatile you've all become!" All Might stated, confusing a select few, but effectively motivating the easily influenced ones, using the latter to silence the former.
To be honest, holding a race to see how much they've improved after spending an entire week working on their fighting skills was probably a stupid idea, but he was the teacher here. They weren't about to tell him how to do his job. Who'd pay them for that anyways? And so 1-A collectively decided to do the logical thing - bringing a tear to Aizawa's eye - and roll with the punches. Besides, having a race was such an unorthodox idea that it might actually be fun!
The students drew lots to determine which group they'd be racing in. Izuku found himself coming in fifth place, meaning that he'd be in the dead last group to race. Welp, there goes setting a good example! At least he could observe the previous four races and see if there was anything he could do to stack the odds in his favor. He would be facing some very mobile foes - those being Ashido, Sero, Iida and Ojiro - so any advantage he could get his hands on would be very appreciated.
Izuku watched all of the races closely, examining his friends' progress with his own two eyes and comparing himself to them. He was pleased to find out that almost all of them took their internships very seriously and surely worked hard which was already showing. Yet, even though all of them made some progress, there were outliers that instead of progress made breakthroughs.
Todoroki perfected his ice skating skills and absolutely dominated his group, demonstrating that his ice was useful for offense, defense and utility all at once. Bakugo on the other hand displayed his raw power and used his explosions to propel himself to victory, showing off precise control over his quirk and an excellent instinct. As much as Izuku disliked how those two cut everyone else off when it came to social interactions, he couldn't deny that they were looking like two very promising students. If only their personalities weren't getting in their way so much!
Well, frustrations aside, it was finally time for Izuku himself to step up to the plate and show what he could do.
The final five set up on the starting line and awaited All Might's signal.
Ojiro was already looking like he knew he'd end up dead last but had come to terms with it as well, Ashido and Sero were happily making small talk and Iida had a serious, and nearly unreadable expression. Izuku didn't know if he was simply focused on the exercise or if there was something troubling him, but he didn't have time to ask as the exercise had begun.
Iida had by far the most explosive start out of the five, the engines in his legs roaring with power as he dashed forward with impressive speed. Ashido followed him closely - as close as she could anyways - slickening the ground beneath her feet with her acid and using it to skate forward with little to no friction. Sero took to the skies, using his tape to pull himself up towards the nearest set of pipes and then using his momentum to swing forward like that Arachnid-Girl heroine that he had his internships with. Ojiro had no other choice but to start running towards the objective, though he tried to propel himself forward with his tail to the best of his ability.
And then there was Izuku, clad in a suit of armor that weighed probably twice as much as he himself did and offering little to no support. There was no way he was going to win this, right?
That's where his entire form exploded with his power, his famous golden glow enveloping the gunmetal-gray suit of armor and giving it a truly stunning look. Just when people thought that the surprises were over, Izuku started running. And I mean running.
He easily caught up and overtook Ojiro, nearly causing the martial artist to trip over his own feet in the process, and quickly started gaining on Ashido, much to his friend's confusion.
"How is someone so big able to move so fast?!" Kaminari questioned with wide eyes.
"It shouldn't be scientifically possible." Yaoyorozu was quick to respond. "Whilst Midoriya is really well-built, I doubt his physical strength is the only thing at play right here." She offered her insight into the matter.
"Hah, if I had an Emperor for every time I heard that 'nothing this big should move that quickly' line I'd have two Emperors." The daemon thought with no small amount of amusement. "Which would be considered Heresy I think." Yeah, no shit Sherlock.
Izuku decided to leave his case behind as it would most likely struggle to keep up with him and the last thing he wanted to do was to damage the gift on his very first training exercise. As such he put the case off to the side where it wouldn't bother anyone.
Back to the race, Izuku was already catching up to Ashido, though Iida was still far in the lead and it'd most likely stay like that to the very end. With Ojiro far behind, and Iida far up front, Izuku had to worry only about Ashido and Sero who he'd end up battling for second place with. However, only Ashido was present. He could easily see her since they were shoulder to shoulder at this point, but Sero was nowhere to be seen.
That suddenly changed when the flextape enjoyer dove from one of the chimneys to build up speed before catching himself on some sturdy-looking pipes and propelling himself forward like a trebuchet. Unfortunately, the pipes only looked sturdy and were in fact quite weakened. Bakugo flying in their close proximity with his explosions didn't help matters either.
As a result, a massive section of the pipeline came loose and started falling to the ground, directly in Ashido and Izuku's path. Izuku could've easily stopped in time to avoid the debris, but he wasn't sure whether Ashido could do the same. In the face of unknown variables and deprived of time to debate the pros and cons, Izuku had no other choice but to pull out his previously hidden ace.
Izuku focused his quirk into his left gauntlet, causing the five claws to extend out of their hidey holes and into the open in all of their golden glory. This was enough to surprise everyone who got to witness this, but what Izuku did next was even more impressive.
Pumping even more of his quirk into his body for more physical augments, Izuku leaped into the air, utilizing all of his built up momentum and gaining some impressive air with his Lightning Claw already in position to strike.
As he swung the gauntlet around, Izuku forced his body to prepare for the inevitable resistance that would come from having to cut the pipe into pieces. To his surprise, the claws passed through the pipe like it wasn't even there. There was a split second where he wondered whether or not his stunt actually worked, but his worries were quickly dispelled when he saw the pipe crack in a couple of places before finally crumbling into smaller pieces.
The entire thing kicked up a lot of dust that obscured both Izuku and Ashido from the view of the cameras. Their friends watched the footage with bated breath and breathed out a collective sigh of relief when they saw two figures exiting the dust cloud.
Izuku, the claws of his gauntlet already retracted, was still in the lead, though Ashido managed to catch up in the meantime. Pushing himself like that took a toll on Izuku's body, but he was still very much in the race and didn't plan on quitting early.
In the end he managed to keep the lead on Ashiod and finished in a very respectable third spot, right after Iida and Sero respectively.
"Bro, what was that?!" A justifiably excited Kirishima asked as soon as Izuku and the others rejoined the group.
"Yeah!" Ashido quickly chimed in to back him up. "I was kind of focused on the race at the time, but I saw that weird gauntlet thingy on your arm suddenly grow spikes! How cool is that?!"
Izuku was kinda sorta expecting this to happen at some point, but he wasn't prepared for it to happen so quickly. With his surprise ruined due to freak accidents, he had no other choice but to explain everything. Or at least the Martin part of everything. And he decided to omit the parts where he pulled out the chainsaw sword and the likes.
Kirishima and Ashido were pretty invested in the story and as they made their way back to the changing rooms, they were both talking about getting some costume upgrades themselves. The topic quickly spread and most of the students started sharing possible ideas that were circling in their minds for some time already. Izuku was getting suit upgrades, so they might petition for them as well.
They obviously didn't have someone as influential as Martin invested in their development, but that's what the support studio was mostly for, so many of them decided to visit Power Loader's department after classes.
The internships were a perfect chance for them to gauge their strengths and weaknesses in real life scenarios, and now armed with that knowledge they could take steps towards covering their vulnerabilities with some support gear. Izuku himself didn't really plan on changing his suit's design or adding any gear to it, but it just sort of happened. The Claw already proved its usefulness after all. Sadly Izuku doubted there'd be a lot more he could do without overstepping the boundaries of his heroic self. It's not like someone could craft something that would amplify his quirk's energy, right? Surely even Martin - who somehow managed to reverse engineer Izuku's bastard sword - would have trouble with figuring out how to boost Izuku's baseline power.
Although, speaking of Martin, Izuku did have some kind of an idea. He probably wouldn't be able to help Izuku directly - though he most likely shouldn't cross that possibility out just yet - but there might be something he could do for the others!
"I'll have to ask him the next time we meet." Izuku thought to himself with a smile as they headed into the changing rooms.
Nothing note-worthy happened over the course of the week. Until Saturday eventually came around that is.
Izuku and his fellow students entered the homeroom with high spirits, holding a passionate discussion on the outcome of yesterday's mock battle training with All Might. The heated battle split the class down the middle as they had vastly different opinions on the subject. As much as they would've liked to try and settle it verbally right here and now however, Aizawa had this strange aura of seriousness around him and so the students decided to take their seats for now and leave the discussion for a later day.
"Since you're all here, we can begin." Aizawa started, his monotonous voice putting everyone at attention immediately. "As you probably already know, your first semester is mostly behind you. This means that your Finals are slowly but surely getting closer and closer. While there's still a month to go, you should keep that in mind at all times. Time is not your ally so you need to keep track of it or it'll blow past you before you know it." The monologue had everyone invested, the realization of how much time they'd spent at UA already hitting them out of nowhere.
"Sir, what will the Final Exams look like?" Yaoyorozu asked timidly.
"While I can't delve into the finer details, I can tell you some vague things." Aizawa stated as he turned around and started writing on the chalkboard. "The Finals, just like the Entrance Exam, are split into two parts - those being theoretical and practical." He wrote the two words on different sides of the board before turning back to the students. "The theoretical part is simply meant to gauge how good of a grip on the curriculum you have and it's basically just a big test that covers most of the things you'll learn in your first months at UA. It'll be easy as long as you pay attention in class." Aizawa didn't look at anyone in particular, but some of the students swore his eyes flicked in their direction on that last part.
"What about the practical part?" Kirishima questioned in an attempt to shift the conversation away from the sensitive topic.
"That's the fun part." The underground pro responded with a grin. "We've been watching all of you from day one, we've created personal evaluations based off of your performance in classes and the Sports Festival, so we have a pretty good grip on your abilities. The practical part is meant to force you out of your comfort zone and challenge you in ways you've never thought of before." He must've finally realized that his true personality was starting to leak through the cracks because he quickly got his grin under control and went back to his usual stoic expression. "I can't tell you more than that. Now, are there any questions?"
Several students raised their hands, intrigued by the finer details of the Final Exams and curious as to how much they could squeeze out of their teacher. Aizawa however had no intentions of satisfying their thirst for knowledge.
"Good. You're free, just don't wake me up." He stated before taking his place behind the desk and promptly falling asleep.
To be honest, they probably shouldn't be surprised by his response. Besides, the Final Exams were still a month away, so they'd surely be able to get some more info in the meantime. Pushing the subject out of the way, the class went back to their heated debate, although they made sure to keep their voices down.
"Final Exams, huh? I wonder if I'll be able to perfect any of my moves by then?" Izuku thought to himself as he tightened his fists and watched the golden glow seep through his fingers.
"Don't worry." The daemon chimed in. "Since I'm such a good friend I'll help you out if you find yourself in a pinch."
Izuku could perfectly sense the expression that the daemon was making which was… unnerving mostly. That's something that Izuku noticed once he came back from the internships. The constant chattering and buzzing in the back of his mind seemed more… coherent now. Previously it was just that buzz that he couldn't ever locate or isolate, but now he was able to make out certain words. It still didn't make sense mind you, but Izuku was certainly wondering where this newfound clarity was coming from.
He noticed it on Monday during the race as well. Normally he would probably struggle to keep up with Ashido, but that day he was dashing like it was nobody's business. He was already used to channeling his quirk into his body, but he never felt so energized when doing so. Something was going on in the background, something that he was not aware of. Thankfully it didn't seem to be anything bad, so he didn't have to worry about it too much, although figuring it out was still on his agenda, just not very high up the list.
Finals are on the horizon! Just, not very visible just yet! We have a month to go, so what will happen in that time frame? Are we gonna get our first smut? Some other romantic development? Will Martin finally break and transform Earth into a second Cadia?! Who knows?!
Well, I- I DO know. I worked out a rough timeline that we're going to follow in the chapters to come. First we're gonna have some teamwork oriented battle training, one possibly more complex than Touch the Bomb. Then we're gonna head into the Finals though we shake those up as well. During the summer we take a very fun and very peaceful trip to the I-Island, courtesy of a certain inventor, and then we proceed to the Summer Training Camp. That's as far as my plans go for now, but it should bring us at least like ten chapters, most likely more than that.
Yeah, so I talked about the plans for the future, so have a great day and I'll catch y'all in the next update!