There was a short walk to the phony record shop, where Midoriya and Bakugo were about to embark on their hostage training exercise, and the sticky little hero hopeful was filling the silence the best way he knew how.
"Can you believe we're actually here, Kacchan?" he gushed. "UA! The best hero school in the world! They actually accepted two kids from our tiny middle school. Gosh, we're so lucky! You always said you'd become the best hero ever, and now, look at us, Izuku and Kacchan, taking the world by storm. Hey, any ideas for our team name? I was thinking 'Sticky Bomb' because-"
"Stop talking."
Undeterred, Midoriya continued, "It's like our quirks combined, and- Oh, sorry, Kacchan. I guess this whole thing has me a little overwhelmed! But I guess I shouldn't worry, we have All Might as our teacher. He's amazing, right? Koichi told me all about him; they used to work together in Naruhata. He said he was the coolest guy ever, and-"
"STOP! TALKING!" Bakugo snapped and spun around to face Midoriya. He glared at him with such intensity that Midoriya flinched. "I don't give a damn about Naruhata! I don't give a damn about All Might! And I don't give a damn about YOU!"
The optimism drained from Midoriya's expression, and he swallowed hard. "Come on, you don't really mean that, Kacchan," he said, placing a hand on Bakugo's shoulder and offering a hopeful smile. "I know you care about All Might, deep down."
Bakugo smacked the hand away forcefully, "We're not friends, Midoriya , so stop acting like we are." Then, he turned again and walked away at an even faster pace leaving the other student behind.
"Kacchan! Wait up, we need to plan our strategy!" Midoriya pleaded as he followed behind. "We can't just go in there without a plan, we have to communicate and cooperate!"
"We don't have to do anything!" Bakugo shouted back at him. "I can handle this by myself! I don't need your help or your advice or your stupid quirk!" He stopped walking again and jabbed a finger at Midoriya, "You're just a weakling who got lucky! You shouldn't even be at this school, so stop getting in my way!"
The other students watched the scene unfold on the monitors in the observation room. They were speechless for a moment, then Kaminari crooned, "Awwwkwaaaard."
Yaoyorozu shook her head, "Bakugo is so rude to Midoriya, I find it hard to understand why he would act that way."
"They have a history," Toru explained, "Izuku has been trying to befriend him since they were kids, but believe me, that fish ain't biting."
"Which is crazy! I mean, who wouldn't want to be friends with Izuku?" Mina exclaimed, "He's the kindest and bravest person ever! He would literally break his bones to save someone else!"
"I can vouch for that…" Uraraka muttered under her breath.
Aizawa furrowed his brow, "Did I make a mistake by allowing them to be paired up for this exercise?"
"Oh yeah."
"Totally. Worst possible thing that could have happened."
At the front of the room, All Might stood All Mightily, hands on his hips and an indeterminable expression on his face, grinning like a loon. "Young Bakugo… Young Midoriya…" He thought to himself. "I wonder what their story is…"
"I'll be right back!" He said out loud.
"Kacchan, come on! We don't have time for this, there's a hostage waiting to be rescued!" Midoriya protested, trying to sidestep around the angry blonde. Bakugo was tensing his arms so hard his shoulders were vibrating, and Midoriya didn't think he'd ever seen someone scowl so hard before.
"I don't care! Prove to me right now that you deserve to be here!" Bakugo bellowed, flecks of spittle spraying from his mouth.
"Of course I deserve to be here, Kacchan! I passed the exam like everyone else!" Midoriya wasn't really sure what to say, or what even brought this on! Huh, maybe he should ask? "I don't know what you want me to say! What even brought this on?!"
Smoke began to rise from Bakugo's clenched fists, and he advanced menacingly, his posture looking like a feral animal. "UA is only for the strongest heroes, the strongest quirks! So how did you pass the exam?! You wouldn't even fight back!"
"Because we're friends! Why would I fight you? You've never done anything to me!"
"I don't need friends!" Bakugo roared. "If you can't save everyone on your own, then you're worthless!"
Midoriya's expression shifted from confusion to concern. "Kacchan, are you... afraid of being worthless..?" he asked just before Bakugo lunged forward with a clenched fist.
On a nearby rooftop, All Might was keeping a close eye on things, ready to intervene if things went too far. Toshinori was a big advocate for the concept of getting grievances out in the open, it's why he still held so much respect for Endeavour - that man was nothing but grievances!
Katsuki Bakugo was fast, one of the fastest in the class. He had skill, strength, speed. Unfortunately, Midoriya also had all of those things, plus ten years of martial arts and evasion training. Instinctively, the green-haired boy sidestepped Bakugo's incoming attack and the punch whiffed.
"Kacchan, I-" Midoriya began but had to dodge another furious swing.
"Can't we talk about-" he sidestepped again.
"Kacchan, STOP!" Izuku finally pleaded, throwing his arms out in frustration.
Gasping for breath, Bakugo lifted an arm, his open palm pointed menacingly toward the other boy. "Let's see you dodge this!" He yelled, pulling the pin on his gauntlet.
Time slowed. On the rooftop, All Might's nose twitched and he reacted with lightning speed. In an instant, he was a blur of yellow and red, positioning himself between the explosion and Midoriya just as the first sparks erupted from the gauntlet. "Yooooung Baaaakuuugooooo!" He yelled, and the world's greatest hero enveloped Midoriya in his (all) mighty frame, shielding him from the impending blast. As the explosion occurred, time sped back up, and Bakugo had no time to react to his unintended target.
The explosion, though intense, was far less cataclysmic than anticipated. In fact, it amounted to little more than a regular explosion - certainly nothing more than Bakugo could produce on any other day. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed, smacking the side of his gauntlet in frustration, more concerned about the malfunction than the fact that he had nearly disintegrated All Might.
The towering blonde bruiser stood at his full height, hands firmly planted on his hips, a menacing aura surrounding him this time. "Young Bakugo," he said calmly, not bothering to turn and face the student. "Return to class."
The low "Hrmph." and retreating footsteps told All Might that his student had followed the instructions. "You too, Young Midoriya. …Young Midoriya?"
"Down here All Might," Izuku's muffled voice said from below All Might's gaze.
The hero jolted his head from side to side trying to figure out where it was coming from, then he looked down to see Midoriya firmly stuck to his chest, a mop of hair wedged between his pecs. "Oh!" He exclaimed, before peeling the boy off him like a piece of sellotape. "Sorry about that, my boy!" he apologised, placing Midoriya back down on ground level.
Midoriya waved his arms in protest, "No, no All Might! I should be the one apologising to you! If I'd just let Kacchan fight me he wouldn't have resorted to-" Izuku's words were halted by a giant hand placed on his shoulder.
"You acted admirably in the face of unexpected danger!" All Might said, giving him a thumbs up. "Sometimes, it's the punch that could have been thrown but you decided to keep inside and not thrown, because your opponent was throwing their own punches too much, so your punch that you didn't throw was better than that throw."
"...What?"
"Uh," All Might spluttered, "I'm saying you did a good job, my boy! Now, head on back to class, I believe Mr Aizawa will want to see you."
"Well," Izuku replied, glancing past All Might toward the nearby record shop with a cartoon of Present Mic yelling into a microphone on its sign, "I really should..." Then, he squared his shoulders and adopted a heroic posture. "All Might! There are hostages in that building, and they need our help! If we don't save them now, who knows what could happen!"
A wide grin spread across All Might's face, and he saluted the determined student. "Aye aye, sir! Lead the charge!"
Wide-eyed and awestruck, the students stared at the record shop monitors, where All Might's booming voice echoed, "Haha! Never fear, for I am here!" Sounds of robots being dismantled filled the observation room. Jiro casually leaned over, shutting Kaminari's slack-jawed mouth with her hand.
Meanwhile, in a corner chair, Bakugo grumbled, refusing to look at the screen. Eraserhead stood vigilant, keeping a close watch to prevent any further outbursts.
"Hi, my name's Midoriya, I'm here to rescue you. Can you walk?"
"Evil shall not triumph today!" All Might proclaimed heroically as he, accompanied by Midoriya and a Plushie Present Mic, emerged from the shop. With Midoriya securely on his back, he leaped into the air, heading back towards the class.
The entire class turned to face the door, eagerly anticipating their return. Moments later, a thoroughly windswept Izuku stood in the doorway, Plushie Present Mic safe and sound. "Hi, everyone." He said, rapidly shaking his head and floofing his hair back to its usual style.
"Okay," Eraserhead said once more, barely acknowledging the return of the student and teacher, "Who wants to go first?"
Sato raised a hand, "It doesn't seem fair, right?" he asked, glancing around at the other students. "Getting to team up with All Might, I mean. That's like, easy mode or something!"
Aizawa's expression didn't change as he posed his own question, "So, if you were in a hostage situation and a top ten hero was available, you wouldn't ask them for assistance?"
"Sure I would, but-"
"Midoriya was down a team-mate, something that can happen all too often in the field. In those situations you can either try to work things out on your own and likely become overwhelmed, or you can join forces with other heroes."
The armour-clad Tenya Iida suddenly shot an arm into the air, "Indeed! My brother, Ingenium, often collaborates with heroes from different agencies at a moment's notice. Midoriya, you have once again surpassed the basic teachings of our classes and humbled me!" He finished with a deep bow.
"I don't think it's as grand as all that!" Midoriya said, "I just didn't want everyone to think I wasn't joining in!"
"Hahaha!" All Might laughed, "I don't think you have anything to worry about in that regard, Young Midoriya!"
"However," Eraserhead interrupted, "It is true that All Might gave you an advantage on the rest of the class. Yaoyorozu, any qualms about Midoriya being your partner for the next exercise?"
"None at all, sir."
"Good," Eraserhead affirmed, "because it was going to happen either way. You two go ahead and discuss strategy." He then directed his attention to two other students, "Uraraka, Sero, you're up. 'Snipe' is being held hostage in the butchers, good luck."
"Right!" With determination in their eyes, Uraraka and Sero headed out the doors, ready to face the challenge. Eraserhead then turned to Bakugo, signalling to follow him. With a disgruntled "tch," Bakugo reluctantly trailed behind.
The adjacent room was sparsely equipped for teaching, furnished with only a handful of desks and some basic stationary supplies. Posters adorned the walls, advocating the importance of proper nutrition and stretching before exercise. In one corner, a box held a variety of UA sports uniforms, including specially designed ones for students with mutation quirks. Due to its intended use for Recovery Girl's field medic classes, an elective for third-year students, Eraserhead had rarely utilised the room. But it would be a good place to have a little 'chat' with a student.
Eraserhead pulled out a chair and settled in, his hands resting on his knees as he focused his gaze on the scowling boy before him. "Alright, Bakugo. What was that about? Did you honestly believe you could attack another student without consequences?"
Bakugo snorted and muttered something indistinct, his arms tightly crossed in defiance.
"Speak up," Eraserhead demanded.
"I said it wasn't unprovoked!" Bakugo shouted. "He's been provoking me since we were kids, always looking down on me with his stupid quirk! If he didn't think he was better than me, he wouldn't keep trying to get me to join his dojo! He thinks I'm weak, so I showed him I'm not!"
Eraserhead sighed; he had dealt with plenty of one-sided rivalries in the past, a regrettable aspect of the competitive hero world. But this was a new one. "If you believe that was a demonstration of strength, you've got a hell of a lot to learn. All you've shown me is that my initial assessment was right. You have potential, but your aggression blinds you. You can't let your pride, and your anger, get the better of you."
In response, Bakugo shot Eraserhead a penetrating glare. "You'd rather I be a passive weakling like Midoriya?! If he can't stand up to me, how can he ever hope to take down a villain?"
"Fighting? Is that what you were doing?" Eraserhead asked, his head shaking disapprovingly. "Because it didn't seem like you could lay a single finger on him. Listen, Bakugo. This isn't a game, and it's certainly not a competition among classmates. Beating down your peers doesn't showcase heroism; it demonstrates a lack of understanding about what being a hero truly means."
"I know enough," Bakugo retorted defiantly. "I know that to be the best, I have to-"
"Bakugo, you don't know anything," Eraserhead interrupted firmly. "Your perception of what a hero is has become distorted. I don't know how it happened, and quite frankly, I don't care to find out. But it's my duty as your teacher to help you untangle this knot you've gotten tied up in. A hero isn't just someone who looks out for themselves. It's someone who cares, someone who can show empathy and work with others."
Looking away, Bakugo said nothing.
So the student who knows it all has run out of things to say, the perfect opportunity to play the last card. "Here's an ultimatum, Bakugo," he declared. "Either you make friends with someone other than Midoriya by the end of the week, or I'll transfer you to the general education program."
Bakugo was suddenly taken aback. "What?! You can't do that!"
"I can, and I will," the teacher affirmed. "This isn't punishment, Bakugo. It's a chance for you to learn an essential lesson about teamwork and empathy. You can either prove you're capable of that, or you're out. The choice is yours."
"Aaaaachoo!" Midoriya wiped his nose and sniffled. "Sorry about that." As they stood outside the florist shop, the exterior adorned with freshly cut flowers in window boxes and planters, Midoriya wasn't savouring the scenery as much as others might. "...Aaaaachoo!"
"Is this safe for you, Midoriya?" Yaoyorozu asked, concerned for her partner. "If you're allergic to flowers, we can talk to Aizawa and try to rescue a hostage from another shop?"
"Oh, I'm not allergic," Midoriya reassured her. "It's just my quirk. Pollen sticks to the inside of my nose and just won't…get…out achoo! See?"
"Hmm..." Yaoyorozu pondered for a moment before having a sudden idea. "I could make you a mask, that should help." In an instant, her forearm began to glow, and she produced a white surgical mask. Gratefully, Midoriya put it on.
Smiling beneath the mask, Midoriya redirected his focus to the mission at hand - rescuing (plushie) Midnight. "The other groups all had six robots to take down, right?"
"Mm," Yaoyorozu nodded in agreement. "Five grunts and one boss. I believe our building is the smallest of the group, so they're likely to be huddled together. If that's the case, it might make keeping the hostage out of danger difficult."
"It'll be best if we pick them off one by one... Well, no time like the present," Izuku declared, pulling his goggles down over his eyes. "Oh! I need ammunition... Maybe I could use the pebbles in that planter."
With a light chuckle, Yaoyorozu responded, "If you'd like me to make you something, you only need to ask."
"Are you sure? I don't want to be the sort of person who just assumes someone is comfortable using their quirk like that."
"It's no bother whatsoever," she assured him with a smile and then manifested a small bag of metal balls, each about the size of marbles. "Will this do?"
Accepting the bag, Izuku affixed a metal ball to each arm and began to rapidly spin them around his wrists, testing their suitability. "They're perfect! Ready to head in?"
"Ready!" Yaoyorozu confirmed, then pulled a megaphone out of her stomach. "Attention hostage takers! We are heroes in training, Izuku Midoriya and Momo Yaoyorozu! What are your demands?"
A robot stuck its head out of the second-floor window, enthusiastically exclaiming, "Beep, beep, boop!" while holding out its fingers as if counting something. Then, it abruptly withdrew its head and asked an unseen companion, "Beep boop? Boop." Once more, it showed itself and shouted, "Beep boop boop!"
Midoriya muttered out the side of his mouth, "Did you catch any of that?"
"I'm... afraid not," Yaoyorozu replied, lifting the megaphone to her mouth. "First, let us see that the hostage is safe!"
Unseen but noticeably nearby the window, the two trainees heard Midnight's voice, "Oh my, Oh dear! I hope a strapping pair of heroes is here to help me in my hour of need, oh swoon!"
Midoriya nodded and whispered softly, "So the hostage is on the second floor. At least three villains in that room, no sign of the boss. Keep them busy; I'm going to climb the wall."
"Got it. So uh... Lovely weather we've been having. It must be really good for the flowers,"she stalled, trying not to draw attention to the fact she was watching her partner scale the wall like a lizard. "Which are your favourites? I've always been partial to begonias."
Positioned beneath the window ledge where the robot stood, Midoriya stayed as quiet as possible. "I hope all those weeks playing Hitman have paid off..." he thought to himself. He quickly reached up and planted a hand on the robot's chassis, immobilising it, before hurling the entire mechanical figure out of the window.
Breaking into a run, Yaoyorozu headed for the interior of the shop, while Izuku clung to the wall above the window ledge. Another robot, in a state of panic, rushed to the window and searched around for its companion, looking left and right, but never thinking to look up. With an impressive move, Midoriya unstuck his feet long enough to deliver a kick to the robot's dome, and watched as they tumbled out of the window.
With a swift swing of his legs, Izuku infiltrated the building, immediately assuming a low, defensive stance, prepared to engage if necessary.
"Well, well, well! If it isn't the hero in t-t-t-training!" A larger, oddly-voiced robot taunted. Its left eye twitched erratically, and its jaw appeared to be hanging on by a single bolt. "Come to rescue , click, rescue the-the-the hostage?"
Izuku's brow furrowed. There was something off about this robot. "I don't want to hurt anyone if I don't have to. We can work this out." He kept a watchful eye on the mechanical figure in front of him while Yaoyorozu ascended the stairs to join him. She made a move, but Izuku gestured for her to halt.
"D-d-don't want to hurt anyone? Bzt. That would be a f-first. All you students ever seem to d-do is hurt us!"
"Yaoyorozu," Izuku whispered to her, taking a cautious step forward, "There's something off about this one."
Raising a hand to her ear, Yaoyorozu spoke into her mic, "Mr. Aizawa? ...Comms are down."
"M-m-maybe you need a r-reason click to fight us!" the robot exclaimed, seizing the plushie Midnight and ruthlessly tearing its head off. It then flung the two halves to opposite sides of the room.
"Aw, jeez, well, that's a fail..." Izuku sighed in disappointment.
Suddenly, Yaoyorozu yelled, "Midoriya! Look out!" grabbing his arm and pulling him out of harm's way. The robot had abruptly raised an arm, lifting its hand back to reveal the barrel of a rifle. A spray of bullets erupted out of it, giving the pair barely enough time to avoid the onslaught.
They ran for their lives, eventually able to leap behind a fallen table. Huddled, they assessed the situation. "Midoriya, this is live ammunition!" Yaoyorozu exclaimed.
"I knew there was something off about that robot!" Izuku said. "I think it might have a grudge against the hero students for destroying robots. It's a classic-"
"Ultron situation, yes." Yaoyorozu nodded.
"You've read Marvel?! Who's your favourite hero? Mine's-"
"Midoriya, I would love to discuss this with you when we're not in LIFE THREATENING DANGER."
"...I have an idea." Midoriya said, "How quickly can you make marbles?"
There was no time for him to find out, as another spray of bullets tore the table in half right between them, destroying their only means of cover.
"Yaoyorozu! Get behind me and start making marbles on my elbows, and don't stop!" Izuku instructed, balling his hands into fists and pointing them both straight forward.
The creation hero nodded, immediately understanding what Midoriya was attempting. "Got it!"
"Hey! Chromedome! Eat Marbles! STICKY CREATION: RAILGUN STYLE!" Midoriya yelled, knowing that the louder you shouted the name of your special move the more likely it was to succeed. Marbles poured out of Yaoyorozu's hands, only to be rapidly shot forward down Izuku's arms at a startling speed.
The projectiles tore away at the robot's chassis, shattering its legs like paper until it fell in a heap to the floor. It was like there was no end to the spray of bullets, and by the end, all that was left was the robot's head, eye still erratically twitching from side to side.
"F-f-f… F-f-f… D-damn heroes…"
