Rewind

Chapter X: I Will Not Give In

Fortunately for the trio, UA absolutely refused to listen to Tsuragame's recommendation of expulsion. Instead, Nezu called a press conference to publicly announce the response: they blew up the Tama Tokyo Nippo page and placed it in a hall filled with other newspaper pages featuring the great deeds of students. (The hall itself was set aside for deeds of UA students done while they were students. The great deeds that UA alumni did after graduating were kept in a special section of the school library.) Unfortunately, that also meant that they were mobbed by their classmates when they returned to classes, and it was only thanks to Aizawa's intervention that things calmed down. The public had a very different reaction when they found out what had almost happened to the teens. For UA, they had nothing but praise, and the merchandise for the trio shot through the roof. In Hosu, the approval rating of Tsuragamae hit an all-time low, and across the country, many started picking up The Meta-Liberation War … and they were paying attention.

All Might insisted on Izuku meeting him after class that day. Curious, considering the previous time had been the revelation of All For One and how he created One For All, Izuku sped there as quickly as possible. Once inside, All Might had him sit down. "First, I think you should know that I warned David about his assistant and his plan. He was hurt, but he suggested that instead of revealing the truth, we turn it into a sting operation. He'll still work with Wolfram, but he'll deliver substandard devices so it will be easier to take him down … hopefully, anyways. I also told him about One For All and my own natural quirklessness, so his device will remain locked up."

"That's great!" Izuku said with a smile. "But we're still going to the expo, right?"

"After what you told me? Absolutely, though I hope you and the others won't have to go through so much trouble this time and can properly enjoy the expo," he finished with a smile. "I also talked to Nezu about the dorms, suggesting that we use them to show that we are concerned about your safety after the USJ, and because of what Endeavor was arrested for. They should be finished in about a week, then we'll announce them and offer them for those who are interested at no additional cost to tuition. I also pushed making them mandatory if there is another attack on the students."

"And the training camp?"

"A grand total of three people will know beforehand: Nezu, Aizawa and Kan, no one else, we might not even have it in the same place as your first life."


As soon as Aizawa left their classroom the next day, Izuku gave a whistle to get everyone's attention. "I know we still have about six weeks, but if you're interested in passing the finals, I want you to come with me and Kacchan today. I know the perfect place to study for both parts of the exam."

Surprisingly, almost the entire class joined them on the ride to Musutafu, with only Aoyama, Koda and Mineta choosing not to join them. "Deku, where are you taking them?" Kacchan demanded about fifteen minutes into the trip.

"To the same place I trained preparing for the entrance exam. And you had better come as well, Kacchan."

"What?! Why do I have to be there? I'm ready for the exams!"

"I know, that's why I want you there. You're going to be helping the others." Looking at two that he knew would desperately need help in one area, he asked "Which would you rather take for hand-to-hand?"

Bakugou looked up to see the pair Izuku was asking about and took a moment to think. "Ponytail, no question." Then he turned back to Izuku. "You really think they need it?"

"I'm pretty sure they focus too much on their quirks and not enough on regular combat. Stain even said as much about Shoto during our fight with him. Besides, I think she might have some confidence issues after the Sports Festival, and coming up with a plan on the fly." Kacchan just gave an evil grin at that, already working on a plan.

When they arrived at Takoba Beach, the entire class was excited, though a little upset that no one had brought swimsuits. "Remember, we've got about six weeks before finals, so there's plenty of time to come here to just relax and swim. Now, I'm thinking we split up the study time between classwork and practical. Kacchan, Iida, Momo and I will lead the study groups for the written exams … unless you're comfortable helping as well, Shoto?" The bi-colored teen shrugged, not really caring either way, but willing to help because his friend asked.

"Wait, how can we study for the practical's if we don't know what they are?" Uraraka asked.

"I actually talked to one of the third-years, he was really nice and absolutely willing to help out. Officially, every first semester final has been students against robots," Izuku explained. It had been nice to actually become friends with Mirio without the pressure of Sir, the case against Overhaul or the work study weighing them down. Getting back to the present though, he could see Ashido and Kaminari cheering at the idea of fighting robots. "You two are right, it would be easy, in fact, a little too easy, don't you think?"

"Where are you going with this, Midoriya?" Kirishima asked.

"Villains have directly attacked us at the USJ, and then Iida, Shoto and I faced Stain, and let's not forget how easily Shoto and Momo took down the Zero Pointers during the Sports Festival. I think our senseis are going to throw something tougher at us: third-years at best, themselves at worst."

"Okay, you're our strategist, who do you think would face each of us?" Momo asked.

Izuku just smiled, technically cheating, but for the sake of his classmates, he did it anyways. "First, I doubt they'd be throwing the third-years at us, after all, they have their own finals to study for. Second, there's no way we can overpower the teachers on our own, so they'd probably pair us off. So, Kirishima and Sato have a tendency to power through attacks, so I'd put them against Cementoss, who has no limits so long as he's near concrete. Momo and Shoto rely on their quirks too much, so I'd have them face Aizawa. Kaminari and Ashido, I'm sorry to say would probably go up against Nezu to try and teach you how powerful a weapon your mind can be. Mineta and Sero against Midnight because you can't get close enough to use your quirks against her. 13 can take advantage of how Uraraka and Aoyama's quirks affect their stomachs. Present Mic would probably take on Jirou and Koda, since his quirk would make it so they can't use theirs; Power Loader could booby-trap the exam area, making it so that Ojiro and Iida can't be as effective while moving. Ectoplasm's clones work best in close range, something that Dark Shadow struggles with; Snipe can target Hagakure, but I'm not entirely sure who would be paired with them." Honestly, he was sure that he could have figured that all out if he had taken the time to think about the exam the first time.

"And we get All Might," Kacchan finished. "So, we've got our worst-case scenarios figured out. Let's get to work on the written exam, we'll worry about practicals in an hour."

Exactly one hour later (thanks to Iida,) the tutoring stopped, and everyone took a 15-minute break. After that, the class split up into groups to try and come up with ideas on how to defeat their teachers. Everyone, that is, except for the top four. "I assume you have a plan for us to take down Aizawa-sensei?" Shoto asked.

"Strategy isn't your problem," Bakugou said. "The two of you are both smart enough to come up with something on your own. No, we're here to work on your combat skills." With that, he pulled out some cloth bracelets. "These are quirk-suppression cuffs that I bought for myself two years ago. Since Deku here was hell-bent on going to UA, he insisted on practicing martial arts and that I train with him without my quirk. That's what the two of you are going to be doing now."

"Sensei can erase our quirks, so I suppose it makes sense for us to learn martial arts," Momo replied. "But what about you, Bakugou? Can you fight without the quirk suppressors and without causing an explosion?"

"No, but we can train for a little while with them on. I sweat nitroglycerin, so to balance out its effects, I have a naturally high blood pressure. I should be able to train for an hour or so without feeling any ill-effects, but I'll probably need to let off a few explosions after. Other than that, you're all mine, Ponytail," he finished with a feral smile. Momo gulped in fear, but prepared herself while Izuku and Shoto bowed to each other before Izuku started testing the taller boy.


Unnoticed by anyone, Toshinori had arrived at the beach about fifteen minutes into the tutoring session. He watched in secret as his chosen successor worked to change his classmates' fate during the finals, just shaking his head. As soon as Izuku had mentioned the I-Island Expo, he had known that Izuku had lived past at least the semester finals and didn't mention it. He had tried to warn Nezu and Aizawa about the possibility of someone, namely Izuku figuring out how they were changing the tests, but Aizawa had dismissed it. Aizawa claimed that no one would be able to figure it out because they'd never done such a thing to a first-year class before, and even if they did, they would have to be very knowledgeable about all their classmates to figure out who would go against which teacher. Toshinori shook his head, as certain as his successor was that Izuku could have figured it out the first time if he'd been given enough time. Maybe he should ask Izuku if he could borrow one of his analysis notebooks to show them how smart he is? That idea grew more attractive in his head when he noticed that Izuku was using his notebooks to advise his classmates on how to take the teachers down.

Eh, it would be Aizawa's own fault, and maybe he could use this to show just how much he had underestimated their student. He had intended to use the night to train Izuku, but this … this was better. This was truly heart-warming, seeing his students work together, preparing for their future. His greatest hope now was living to see the kind of heroes they would grow up to be. Right there, he vowed to smash the future that Mirai had seen, he would live to see his students graduate and become pros! And to help them out, he would start by preparing them for the finals … and one more thing.


The next six weeks brought several changes to the world as they knew it. The first, and honestly most shocking of all of them was All Might calling a press conference to announce his retirement as a pro hero the day after 1-A started training. "Honestly, I probably should have done this months ago when I decided to join the staff of UA, even more so after my students were threatened at the USJ because I was not there from the beginning. Now, this is not to say that I won't be fighting villains or helping with rescue operations; I will be keeping my license active for as long as I can, I am just going to prioritize my teaching over hero work."

The entire nation, if not the world reeled in shock at the news, and for a week, the press couldn't talk about much else. It took Nezu's announcement of the new dorms for the press to start talking about other things. Fortunately, the two announcements made the press start looking favorably on UA once again, as this was proof that they were taking their students' safety seriously. The entirety of the third years moved in immediately, followed closely by about half of the second year, as well as Uraraka, Shoto, Momo (surprisingly,) and the entirety of the support class. Why Shoto decided to move in became clear as Endeavor was seen patrolling again shortly after the announcement of the dorms. "He made a plea deal," Shoto explained one evening during the tutoring session. "Pled guilty to abuse and paid a huge fine in exchange for the dropping of the murder charge and release from jail. He paid another large fine to cover the excessive force charges as well." All Might later explained that most of the evidence that Tsukauchi had towards the murder charge was circumstantial at best, so the police weren't too upset about not having to try to fight the charge in court.

"And what about your mom?" Izuku asked.

"She's been moved from the hospital she was in to another in the same system closer to UA. Her doctors even decided to transfer with her so she has some familiar faces." He smiled for a second before speaking again. "It makes it easier for me to visit her after school now. The doctors say that she might even be released in a few months if she keeps improving at this rate." Surprisingly, Shoto also revealed that Endeavor had taken some of his remaining money and given it to Natsuo so he could buy a house for the four of them. That way, at the least, his family could start healing from the wounds that he had inflicted on them. He had even sent a message to Shoto saying that he was proud of him for his part in taking down Stain. Those two actions had surprised Shoto, and he honestly wasn't sure how he should feel about his father now.

Something Shoto had not told Izuku though was that he was doing something else to save his family, and that was getting in contact with Dabi. It had taken a month for him to just find someone who could get him in contact with the man that both he and Izuku suspected was his brother, and then another week to get Dabi's contact information. Shoto had been sending texts to Dabi at every opportunity, but the fire-wielder had yet to respond.

In connection with the All Might news, Izuku had been shocked to see Toshi-sensei join him the day after the announcement in order to help his classmates with their strategies to defeat their teachers and was giving each of them personalized advice on how to work on their quirks. In fact, Yagi Toshinori became a common sight at Takoba Beach and it wasn't long before the entire class was comfortable with him.

Another piece of news came from Tsukauchi: his work against Shie Hassaikai had come to a standstill. The yakuza gang had gone underground, and Overhaul had vanished. On a more personal note, no one except a few doctors and Aizawa were allowed to see Eri once they had discovered her quirk. Part of it was fear of what she could do if she activated her quirk, and the rest was to keep her location absolutely secret. Unfortunately, the heroes weren't the only ones working at the time.


Shigaraki Tomura, formerly known as Shimura Tenko, was meeting with his adoptive father and sensei, All For One. "What now? The Sports Festival wasn't exactly the eye opener we hoped it would be. How are we supposed to undermine society's faith in heroes unless we can get ahold of someone we can convince to join us?"

"What do I always tell you, Tomura? Simply have a little patience and the right connections, and the answers will come." With that, he handed a USB drive to the Decay wielder. "This drive contains the history and profiles of every hero student currently at UA. Study this, and your targets will become obvious."


In Nagoya, others were also plotting for the future. "Nemoto, I want you to find Eri, I don't care how much money you have to spend to do it, just find her. When the time is right, Rappa will break in and get her. Then our plans can continue."

"And when will be the proper time?" Mimic asked. "How long do we have to wait, Overhaul?"

"Can't you feel it? A storm is brewing, and when it breaks, everyone will be focused on it, not some cursed little girl. Once the heroes and police are distracted, we get Eri back, and then the Shie Hassaikai will rise to the top again."


Dabi stared at his phone in shock. How did Shoto get ahold of his number, and more, why did he start texting him? The texts were certainly … interesting to say the least, especially when it came to Endeavor. Maybe, just maybe, things could actually work out in his favor, and the two brothers could work together to bring their father down. Even if he was trying to make up for it, Dabi didn't think he could ever forgive his father. It had taken two years of under the radar therapy to merely recognize the damage that his father had caused him mentally by pushing his obsession onto him, let alone undo it. No matter what it took, Dabi would show the world the truth behind Endeavor!

Then there was this Midoriya kid to consider, Shoto sure spent a lot of time talking about him. Did Shoto …? Eh, didn't matter, this kid was helping Shoto recover, so Dabi would protect him as best he could. And the best way to do that would be to join this Shigaraki guy and his League of Villains.


Finally, the day of the exams arrived and for once, everyone was actually calm when it came to the tests. Thanks to the group study sessions, even Kaminari and Ashido felt prepared for them! Once the written exams were completed, they were led to the central plaza near the battle arenas, and were immediately greeted by nearly the entire staff of UA. Aizawa greeted them, then mentioned that some of them probably gathered information about the test, resulting in Mineta crowing about robots. (Izuku was still confused as to why Kendo told him, but maybe she was just being nice to Koda and Mineta had overheard.) "Actually, this year's test will be completely different, for various reasons," Nezu exclaimed from within Aizawa's capture weapon. "The tests now have a new focus. There will be hero work, of course, but also teamwork and combat against actual people. So what does that mean for you?"

"We're going against the teachers!" Kaminari explained excitedly.

"Well, yes," Nezu said hesitantly. "And your partners and opponents have already been chosen." Aizawa started listing off each team and their opponent, and with each team listed, the students only grew more and more excited.

"Oh yeah, we have this in the bag!" Sato said with a smile.

The teachers stared in confusion, weren't they supposed to be panicking by now? "Okay, why are you guys so calm about fighting us?" Snipe asked.

"Because our class rep predicted this, right down to the match-ups and we've been practicing for them for six weeks now!" Ashido explained.

The eyes of every teacher save All Might widened in shock before staring at Midoriya. Sure, his grades were among the best in the class, but how did he figure everything out right before they made the decision? Nezu on the other hand stared at the greenette in interest. Perhaps he had the chance to take on an apprentice? Something to consider for the future, but right now, he had a job to finish. "To complete the exam, you'll have thirty minutes. In order to win, you must either place your opponent in these handcuffs or one of you must escape from the combat stage."

"Sometimes you will find yourself in a fight that you cannot win," All Might explained. "For example, the fight at the USJ had several villains beyond your skill level, or, as I'm sure young Bakugou is getting tired of, sometimes your quirk isn't suited to fighting the villain. The wisest thing to do then is to call for backup while a partner keeps the villain busy."

"Seriously, All Might? Did you have to bring up that sludge guy? I was sick of talking about him within a week!" Bakugou complained.

"In any case, this test will be as close to a real-life fight as we can do safely," Kayama-sensei continued. "You must think of us as villains, do not hold back against us. If you think you can take us, then fight. But if you find yourselves outmatched, then by all means, run away. Think of it as a test of your decision-making skills." They then explained the compressed weights and then started Sato and Kirishima's test.

Due to the training, most of the class had already figured out a strategy and decided to just watch the tests. The duo made it seem like they were going for a frontal assault, but much to Cementoss' surprise, they had gone for a very different approach, with Kirishima using his lack of vision against him. He used the cover that Cementoss had created in order to flank him and knock him out with a single hard hit, winning the match easily. "Hah! I knew Kirishima would win!" Kacchan called out.

"Did you just call Kirishima by his real name?" Izuku asked in shock. But the blond refused to answer, leaving Izuku to wonder what it meant, if anything. He'd never known his friend to call anyone but an adult by their real name before, so what was happening now? The next fight went even smoother than it did the first time around, with Asui and Tokoyami easily defeating Ectoplasm, while Ojiro and Iida also managed to win in a similar manner to the first timeline, though this time Iida avoided getting buried. Shoto and Momo on the other hand also managed to win in a similar manner, but due to Momo's higher self-confidence in her judgment and planning and Shoto talking to her beforehand, they won within five minutes and with not even a hint of Aizawa going easy on them. They even managed to land a few punches on their sensei. "And that's why I gave her my vote for vice-rep," Izuku said with a smile.

"Wait, you voted for her?" Iida asked. "Why her and not me?"

"Let's face it, Iida, if you had won the election, you'd be one of the strictest reps ever. You're just too stiffly bound by your own code to ever take things easy," Izuku said, smiling so his friend didn't take it too hard. Everyone laughed at the answer, while Iida just sweat-dropped at the answer. He wasn't that bad … was he?

Next up were Aoyama and Uraraka, and with some blasts from Aoyama's laser aimed at the ground around Thirteen, they were able to distract the Space Hero long enough for Uraraka to use her Gunhead martial arts to take her down. When Ashido and Kaminari went up against Nezu, they ran towards the falling buildings, using them as cover and backtracking them to find Nezu. When they arrived at his crane, Ashido melted the wires holding the wrecking ball while Kaminari threatened him with his tasers. "Well, this is an outcome I didn't predict. I surrender," Nezu said with a smile.

Koda and Jirou's fight went the same as the first time, due to Koda's shyness preventing him from joining the study sessions. Shoji and Hagakure also used the same strategy. Sero on the other hand did much better, as he had prepared his tape as protection for his lungs and mouth, allowing both of them to win.

Finally, it was Bakugou and Izuku's turn to face All Might. With Toshinori-sensei joining them for the beach training, it had limited their time to plan to when it was just the two of them. Fortunately, they had the advantage of being old friends so it was easy of them to just visit each other's homes, eat dinner there and plan out their victory. "So, which plan do you want to go with, Kacchan?"

"How's your new style coming along?" he asked in response. Izuku just gave a vicious grin in response. "Perfect! Then let's go with Plan AF to start with."


All Might started with a single punch down the main thoroughfare, absolutely wrecking the place. "Who really cares if I destroy this city?" he called out, going into full intimidation mode. But to his shock, when the dust cleared, the boys were nowhere to be seen. "Running away? That's not going to work," he called again. At least one of them had to be close by, the exam had only just started, and young Bakugou couldn't move as fast as Izuku. So, the question was where was he? The answer came when a large blast hit him from behind. But when he turned to face the teen, he was hit from behind again, this time by a gust of wind. So, that's how they were going to play this, huh? Interesting. Well, that was easy to deal with. He was hit one more time by each before he had a chance to retaliate by starting up an Oklahoma Smash, but when he stopped spinning, neither of the boys were on the ground. Where were they? He took another two blasts before … there! A flash of green between the buildings, but he couldn't tell which one it was. Oh well, it was one of them so …

All Might rushed in and grabbed the boy, only to be hit with an explosion to the back again. He quickly turned, only to take another explosion to the face. "Deku, switch to Plan E!" Plan E? Had they really-? His thoughts were cut off when Izuku delivered a St Louis Smash to his head followed closely by an Iowa Smash to his … weak spot? Damn, Izuku was not holding back! To think he hadn't believed his successor could be cutthroat enough to really make it in the hero world!

"Sorry, All Might, but you said it yourself, you're a villain now, and that means we can't hold back!" Izuku yelled back at his hero as he ran off. He was honestly surprised at how long AF had lasted as neither of them had believed it could last more than four attacks. Now, based on the plan, Kacchan would attack next, and when All Might went for him … "Delaware Smash Air Force!" The sudden gust of air sent Izuku's mentor flying backwards. Izuku stared at his mentor's flight and realized something. "Kacchan, change in plans, let's go to A!"

Katsuki stared at his old friend in shock, but considering just how well the nerd knew All Might and his quirk, he took the change in stride and turned around with a massive grin on his face. "Let's win this, Deku! Howitzer Impact!" he called out, launching what was still his most devastating attack. Izuku also charged in with a Manchester Smash.

The hits were fantastic, but for once, Izuku had overestimated the damage they'd done. On anyone else, they would have won, but this was All Might, the Symbol of Peace. "Tell me, did you really underestimate me boys? I might have to teach you a lesson about that. Namely, never underestimate your opponents!" With that, he destroyed young Bakugou's gauntlets then grabbed Izuku by the arm and started spinning around in another Oklahoma Smash, sending both boys flying across the area. But All Might was surprised when he noticed, or rather failed to notice the sound of their impact. He didn't throw them that far, did he? Ah, nope, they'd just worked together to get a soft landing in the dirt … and were now running away. Well, he couldn't allow that, so he charged at them again. "So, what now? Are you going to run away?" he asked.

"Not a chance!" young Bakugou replied before blasting him again, and with a power that All Might hadn't realized he could pull off without his gauntlets.

When the smoke cleared, he was just standing there, smiling. "You're just going to stand there, even though I'm still here and standing?" Wait, where was Izuku?

"Why should he move, sensei? We've already won," Izuku said from behind him. All Might raised an eyebrow at that, only for Izuku to nod down at his arms. When he did, All Might gasped in surprise. That last blast wasn't to continue the fight, it was a smokescreen so that Izuku could handcuff him without being spotted. He was so proud of them!

Ten minutes later, Aizawa stood before his class. "Well, I must say that you have done something no other class has done before: you've managed to impress me. Any first year can win going against the robots, but you lot have not only managed to push us to go beyond, but you have overcome our obstacles. Every last one of you has managed to pass the finals, and you're all going to the training camp."