Before anything else, I want to state my respects for one of the GOATS of manga and anime, Akira Toriyama, as it was announced last week, Friday/Saturday, that he sadly passed away. Love or hate Dragon Ball, it was a trailblazer for anime, both in Japan and the rest of the world. For me, it was the first anime I ever watched as a kid in South Africa and my first taste of a 'not safe' anime; before then, my very Christian parents forbade anything they disapproved of, only for one day after school, Dragon ball was on, and my journey into weebdom and anime started. So many artists were inspired by him, including all 3 mangakas behind the Big Three, One Piece, Bleach and Naruto. The man even influenced things like Steven Universe and The Bad Guys.
So I want to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you, Toriyama, for being such a big part of my childhood. You were gone too soon, but we know you're in a better place. I hope that we continue to keep your spirit alive, not just through your works but by taking inspiration from them to create new memories.
Welcome back, you know, this chapter was one of the easiest to write, though I'm expecting that to remain as most of what I have planned from this point on would be a complete divorce from canon and more of a means to explore another facet of the MHA world, I won't say what as that'll spoil things but I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. While a villain, Izuku is not villainous, at least not nearly to the extent others taking on the concept; this next part of the story will dive more into that.
However, with the school year starting in total, there might be times when I upload a couple days later. I'm still determining when, but I'll try and announce it when it happens. I know that it sucks, but I hope that you stick with me through it.
Chapter 08: Changing Times.
It hadn't even been a week since Izuku started digging into Aoyama's life and history that more news came down the pipeline, as during class, Nezu announced that there'd be a faculty meeting that afternoon. The students were concerned and confused as things had been tense lately, not just on campus but all over, as calls and messages with friends and family painted a nervous energy of the outside world. With All Might's final outing as a hero ending in such a manner, people were worried sick about when the other shoe would drop, with a rise in crime only adding to the strain on the camel's back.
On campus, things were so twitchy that Uraraka was being much more accommodating towards Todoroki, her usual animosity forgotten in place of concern for him and his family as even if his father had been discharged from the hospital and was back on the streets as a hero, you didn't just forget that image, of him Endeavour falling, thought to be dead like so many others that night. All that meant that when the principal called a staff meeting, the teachers had every right to be a bit stressed, which wasn't helped by what he handed out for them to read.
Midnight wanted to demand something, yell that what they had just been given was insane. Still, she exercised constraint and kept herself composed. "I have several questions." An understatement.
Vlad wasn't as tactful, his overbite making his frown all the more apparent. "They want us to resume work studies? Under these conditions?" The papers they had been given laid out the commission 'suggestions' for restarting work studies, not just for 3rd years but for any student with a provisional license.
"Sir, don't you have a chair?" Aizawa asked as Nezu had opted not to sit in his chair at the head of the table but instead snuggled up in his binging cloth.
"I did, but it's so much warmer in your binding cloth," Nezu replied, though any humour he had faded as he got into the meat of things. "Back to the point, we had originally decided to pause the program in the wake of the Dagobah incident, as neither I, the other principals, nor the safety commission thought it would be wise to send out students."
"And yes, it's the commission pushing students to return to the field. What's their angle?" Ectoplasm asked.
"Don't sugarcoat it; this isn't a request; it's an order in all but wording." Present Mic added that the man was far from his jovial self as he was not a supporter of his kids being sent out like this.
"This is highly unethical; the streets are perilous, more than they've been in well over 20 years." Cementoss frowned, as even when he thought of his time as a student, he had been one during All Might's prime; street crime was much less dangerous than it was now.
Nezu agreed with them, as he hadn't been jumping for joy when he heard this, and he wasn't now. "I, of course, raised such objections, but the commission did bring up some good points. Public faith in heroes and the shortage of heroes are primarily among them." He explained that the commission president had told them the woman saw the situation as necessary enough to speak with them herself.
Thirteen looked over the papers again, worried. "I had known that work studies students make up a good chunk of active heroes at any given time, but I didn't realise it was this bad."
"I would suspect it's less on actual manpower and more on accepted manpower. Many heroes have fallen, many others retiring either by choice or injury. Much of what remains is seen as unreliable by most people." Nezu answered, the mood in the room falling even lower as most had known someone who had passed or was now retired.
"So, they need fresh blood that hasn't had time to build up any sort of reputation, good or bad?" Midnight questioned, as this sounded far too callous for her liking.
"Yes, but part of the push was thanks to Hado's efforts during the latest incident. She showed the world what young heroes can bring to the table, and people are much more receptive to the idea of students returning to the field." Nezu replied, as despite everything, that had been a bright spot in this dreary sea they found themselves in, their 3rd year becoming a sort of school idol.
"It seems fickle; one mistake and it'll be even worse push-back than before," Aizawa replied, as this seemed like too risky a gamble.
"According to this, they want to train them through first-hand experiences with handling this rise of villainous groups," Ectoplasm said, paraphrasing a line in the documents. "Like they need to beat around the bush, they're reacting to the League." Small-time gangs and hoodlums might have been resurging as if there was any other villain group as infamous as the League. Still, they were being put down just quickly.
"Correct on both accounts, which is why principals and I banded together to demand a rider to these marching orders. First, if students have to participate in work studies, it should be under pros with proven track records." Nezu replied as he had been firm on that, willing to risk whatever consequence the commission could throw at him if he meant his students weren't thrown into the meat grinder as disposable pawns. He had been happy to see he wasn't alone, which forced the president to agree.
"Still, the language tells us they also hide their true intentions. After all, Hado might have made students look good, but it would still look bad for everyone if they went public with how they want students in the field." Aizawa noted that before the meeting carried on, they discussed the finer details, who would do what, and when they'd announce this to the students.
"Midoriya, are you in there?" Midoriya looked up from her books, not doing anything suspicious or illegal, instead having been working through the English homework they had been assigned. Getting up, the horn-wearing girl walked to her door and opened it to speak with her class rep.
"Is there an issue, Yaomomo?" She asked, Yaoyorozu standing on the other side.
"Aizawa wants us to gather outside. He has something he wants to tell us." She replied, which got Midoriya to frown with a raised brow. Seeing if Yaoyorozu looked as confused as her, she nodded.
"Oh, okay?" Closing the door behind her, she locked it as she left for the stairs, meeting some other girls as she went.
"Does anyone know what this is about?" Jiro asked, as it was a strange time for Aizawa to call them out of the blue on a Thursday afternoon.
"Can't be a new assignment. He would have wanted till tomorrow to tell us." Midoriya shook her head, as while she might be new, she had seen enough of the man to know his patterns. If nothing else, he would have just emailed them a new assignment.
"As if we don't have enough of that already," Mina muttered as they got down to the common area, seeing most of the boys already down, all just as confused as them. When Yaoyorozu and Tsu came down with the last of the class, they stepped out onto the front pouch but were told to keep moving. Walking down the street, most in casual clothes as they long since changed out of their uniforms, they saw their sister class in the distance.
"Class B?" Kaminari asked as some class B turned to them.
"You two?" Tetsutetsu asked when he met up with Kirishima.
"What the heck could be about?" Kirishima asked as the steel quirk user shrugged his shoulders.
"Hell, if I know." He replied, with similar conversations between the two groups as they continued to walk, led by their class reps, till they were halfway to the main buildings, where they finally saw their homeroom teachers waiting for them in a large clearing to the side of the path.
Not knowing what else to do or why they were told to meet here away from the rest of the dorms, they didn't question it and met up with their teachers, both looking less than pleased with something.
"Good, you're all here." Vlad started, sharing a glance with Aizawa, whose frown was palpable even with his binding cloth covering the lower half of his face. "We'll keep this brief, but the commission that lifted the ban on work studies and heavily encouraged us to allow you all to participate." The group broke into hushed statements, none believing this was possible, not when they had been barred from work studies for over 6 weeks now.
"Work studies? Isn't it dangerous right now?" Kirishima asked.
"It is, but the commission lobbied hard for this. However, while we can't bar you from taking them on, we can clarify that you aren't forced to do this. It's optional." Vlad replied, which didn't bode well for them as it would be one thing if their teachers were at least confident with this, but it seemed like someone was twisting their arm.
"Sir, if I may ask, why are we getting this chance? I'm not against it; experience is worth its weight in gold on the field, but things right now are pretty bad." Honenuki asked the other important question.
Aizawa was the one to answer. "You're not wrong, but the commission argued two major points. The first being that your upperclassman, Hado, played a large role in civilian rescues and taking down some of those Nomu, so the commission wants people to continue to see young heroes-in-training like yourselves proving yourselves and regain some of that lost confidence."
That part was well known, as Hado had become U.A.'s darling in the media and on campus. The girl seemed to enjoy the attention, with her bubbly and friendly personality relieving some of the stress the student body was dealing with in these uncertain times. There was even talk of other 3rd years who were on work studies using her performance as inspiration to work even harder, to help more people and bring more smiles. Frankly, it was one of the only reasons they hadn't all given into the atmosphere to see something like that.
"The second reason is that while times are dangerous, we don't have the luxury of waiting for them to get better, and you might find yourselves against the League or villains again, so it would be better if you were given the chance to gain that critical experience now on our terms." Aizawa finished, even as the students shared an uneasy look between them, as they could get the logic. Lord knew class A could understand, but there was an issue with that as Yaoyorozu raised her hand.
"Aizawa-sensei, how can class A participate when none of us earned our licenses? We didn't get the chance to finish the exam." Her class had mixed feelings about this, to say the least, as being reminded of that hell was something they would like to never think about again, some more than others. It was such a dark topic for them and for U.A. that Monoma didn't even try to comment about class A 'failing'.
"Will we have to take another one?" Sato asked, to which the man shook his head.
"They thought of that, and the answer to the second question is no for most of you. While your exam was interrupted, enough of it had been allowed to go on that they could use your performances until the attack to judge you all." Aizawa explained, leaving out that they also reviewed their actions during the attack, as while cruel, it was a prime example of how they'd react in a crisis.
"While I don't have your licenses, 16 of you will get them sometime tomorrow or Saturday." He finished, most of his class looking at one another, wondering who the 4 that didn't make it were.
"Just 16 of us?" Asui asked as Aizawa's gaze went to Midoriya, the girl realising she was one of those four.
"Correct, Midoriya should be a given as she doesn't have enough training despite being in your class. The other three that failed are Koda, Bakugo and Todoroki." Midoriya didn't fight it, nor did anyone, as while she helped during the assault and was handling classes enough, she still missed the entire first semester and needed to catch up. However, someone else wanted to be more pleased with his status.
"What the hell, why'd I fail?" Bakugo demanded as Aizawa turned his tired-looking eyes to him.
"Your short temper and crass attitude were the reason. You might be a powerful fighter with a good head on your shoulders, extremely abrasive and confrontational with the HUC people." He explained, the blond ticking his teeth in annoyance but keeping the worst of his anger in check.
"Should have known that would happen." Monoma laughed, covering his mouth and turning his head to the side, but Bakugo caught it all the same.
"Shut it, copycat! Those extras didn't need help and would have wasted my time!" It's not his fault they didn't like being yelled at, but what the hell did they expect from him? They were wasting time he could have used to ensure extras in need got it. This got some chuckles from the students, but Aizawa and Vlad weren't done as the underground pro approached the third person who wouldn't get a license.
"Koda, you are another special one, as you performed exceptionally well during the test. I'm impressed that you were grading yourself, but the attack led to our concerns." He told him, softer than usual, as the shy boy nodded, understanding the situation. Aizawa didn't want to put him on the spot, but this was a bandage that was better being ripped off.
"You choked during it, but it was an event that you should have never seen, a failure on our part as your teachers and heroes. If we could take that trauma from you, we would, but we can't. So, it was decided you'll keep attending therapy and only be cleared once you and your therapist think you're ready for that." He explained, patting the boy on the shoulder as Koda tried to wipe away his tears as he recalled the fire, the smell and that sick, twisted look on the burnt man's face.
"I understand. I won't want…I don't want to see that again." Koda whispered, Sero and Mina stepping up to make sure he was doing alright, class B sending a concerned, sympathetic look as Aizawa turned his gaze to the last person.
"Todoroki, I trust you understand why you failed?" The duel-haired boy nodded, keeping silent even as he balled his fists.
"Yes sir…" He replied, as he had seen that day's events play out in his head every night, each worse than what happened as his recklessness could have ended with that student's death, there could have been more people caught in it, he and Yoarashi could have been incapacitated for the entire assault, unable to even attempt to make up for their blunder.
"Heroes need to be able to work with others, even if they don't particularly like them. If they let petty pursuits blind them, what happened at the licensing exam can occur. It's a tragedy when your ego can cloud your better judgement." Aizawa told him that while Hagakure and Kaminari were sympathetic to Todoroki, Uraraka and Midoriya were not, but they kept that to themselves.
"Like I said before, we aren't forcing you to take on work studies, but the staff have ensured that if you do, it can only be with hero agencies with a proven track record, which will be judged to a higher set of standards then what we normally have. As for whose those agencies will be, you'll get the complete list tomorrow in homeroom."
With that announcement, the students were told to return to their dorms but keep this on the low for the moment. But it was still a big thing as the class hadn't even returned to their rooms, opting to remain in the common area to discuss this. "I'm really confused about this. I want to finish work studies, but I also don't?"
"I get what you mean; things have been in the toilet for a while now, which makes the idea of work studies seem kinda lame," Kirishima stated, blowing some hair out.
"Did any of you call the agencies you did your internships with? I know we haven't got the lists yet, but I figure they'll already know." Jiro asked, as they didn't have much else to do now that they knew it.
"I did, but Gunhead said his agency didn't make the list," Uraraka replied, giggling a little as the man seemed quite upset about it on the phone and said he'd work even harder to ensure that he would next time.
Asui took a sip of the two Yaoyorozu had prepared. "Selkie did, but he's been swamped with an increase in trafficking, so he's not sure he'll have time to teach me anything." His sidekick, Sirius, had been apologetic about it, too, as the man was busy filing paperwork and couldn't take her call. All Might was gone, and the League's continued existence had inspired people to try smuggling.
"You heading back to Fourth Kind?" Sero asked Kirishima, the redhead, thinking about his time under the pro, which wasn't anything. Still, they did more community service than regular hero work.
"Nay, even if he was available, I was thinking of trying someone new." He had heard good things from Amajiki about Fatgum; he could ask him to introduce them as if Amajiki was still on his work-study with him during all this. He must have made a list.
"I'll try someone like Edgeshot if he has me, as I can't just keep shadowing Eraser," Shinso replied as he looked through some news articles on his phone. Mina leaned onto his shoulder, the boy not responding to his extroverted friend's attempts to fluster him.
"That is a smart move, and I'm sure that if his name appears on the list, he'll be willing to hear you out," Yaoyorozu replied before she thought about her prospects. "As for me, I heard some good things about Majestic from Tokage. She says she can put in a good word for me." He was a hit of an eccentric goofball, but he was still a respected pro who knew what he was doing. He would undoubtedly be a marked improvement over her choice for her internship.
"You gonna get a fresh hairstyle with Jeanist again, Bakugo?" Mina asked Bakugo, giggling along with others as they recalled how he looked when he returned from his internship.
"Screw you!" He flipped her off but took a breath as he thought about how Jeanist had nearly been killed by that villain, a threat that All Might admitted was the reason he didn't have a stomach right now. "I haven't decided yet. With him still on medical leave, it wouldn't make sense to learn anything from one of his sidekicks."
"Everyone is sure is lively." Midoriya giggled as watching her classmates be so animated again was fresh air.
"This is an important step in our journey to become pros. One, I'm sure you'll be joining us soon enough." Tokoyami told her, but she shook her head, as she didn't envy them getting to head out.
"It's fine; it gives me more time to catch up on materials, even if I might be the only one in class." She wondered what that would be like, as if not for some materials, she might have her classes in the common area of the dorms; there was also the issue of how hero classes would be as most activities she'd been involved in were group tasks. If nothing else, it would be lonely in the mornings and when she would work out, as her jogging and gym buddies would be busy.
Deciding she'd handle that when it arose, she turned to Tokoyami to ask for his input. "What about you? I heard that you did your internship with Hawks. It must have been a fun time." To her surprise, he didn't seem thrilled to return to Hawks.
"Fun is not the word I would use." He replied, his frown prominent as he leaned in close, as she liked to think they had become friends.
"Was he a bad teacher?" She asked as he wasn't that much older than them, so he may have lacked the experience needed to be an effective teacher.
Tokoyami suspected something similar but had no proof. "Hard to say because he didn't teach me anything. He moves at his own pace, which is fast. When I asked why he even bothered to reach out, he admitted part of his reason was to get more information on the League." That had been more than infuriating to know that he had all but wasted a week of his time that he should have been learning all because the number 3 hero wanted information. Information that he could have just contacted U.A. for.
"So he chased after him for a week and learnt nothing?" Midoriya asked, and when he nodded, she relaxed into her seat, wondering if she couldn't find a means to have her contacts mess with Hawks. "Man, what a dick."
"Quite." Tokoyami chuckled at her comment, as she didn't say such things lightly, but it seemed to amuse him and others when she did. "But I doubt he'll try to offer again as he was less interested in me than in information." There was Dagobah, but indeed, he could request information about it from the commission, as he and everyone else there had been extensively interviewed after the fact.
"But he does, I think you should take it and force him to teach you something. After all, that's the entire purpose of this. If he doesn't, you should spam his phone with clips of birds getting shocked or fried chicken." Midoriya suggested as Tokoyami turned a ruby eye her way.
"Morbid." As she waved it off, he noted he was a pretty cool guy, but he hadn't seen her morbidity, and for both their sakes, she hoped he never did.
"I call it payback. If I can't order a pizza and not expect to pay, he can't make an offer and not complete his end of the deal." She replied as it was only fair Hawks did his part. "Show him you're not some show pigeon or songbird. You're a bird of prey."
Dark Shadow popped out there, crackling. "I like her, Fumi. She knows what she's talking about." She giggled as she patted the meta-ability, loving how the meta-ability's body felt on her hands. She continued to laugh till she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. Strangely, she wasn't expecting any calls from Eri or her mother for another hour.
"What is it?" Tokoyami asked as she pulled it out to check.
"An email from Aizawa." She opened the email, finding it short, but its contents were still surprising. "Oh?"
"Is it something important?" Tokoyami asked.
"I think so; it says I'm to report to the principal's office first thing in the morning before class starts." She scratched her head, wondering what this could be the result of. Some of her thought her cover had been blown, but Nezu wouldn't play such games with her.
"Maybe he wishes to hand you an assignment to do while we're out in work studies." Shoji, who walked by their sofa, suggested. She thought about it, as she had also got close to the taller heteromorph, finding him a calming, friendly presence when she needed it.
"You mean like the internships you all did?" She asked, though from what the girls had told her outside Tsu, who got to fight smugglers, most of what they did was simply grunt work and training.
"That could be the reasoning, though, as to why the principal is handing it personally, is anyone's guess," Tokoyami replied as they had come to understand that you didn't understand Nezu, not them or the staff. Midoriya might know more about him due to the two being kindred spirits, but she suspected he only let her see that side of him as a means to fool her.
Hagakure came in, as bubbly as ever. Todoroki is right behind her. "Oh, maybe a super high-level pro asked for you. Imagine if it was Endeavour or something." At that, Midoriya couldn't help but laugh.
"I doubt I would really have his attention or any of the top ten." She had All Might's attention, but he never did anything with it other than ask about her day or offer advice during class. She didn't hate it; the man was trying, and she could appreciate that, but he was such a nice guy that she saw him doing the same for others.
"Mirko might like you," Mineta joked, only to freeze in his traps as she glared at him.
"Mineta, if the next thing out of your mouth is a perverted joke, you'll be tasting your own liver for the next week." She told him as the boy quickly nodded and returned to his conversation with Kaminari, the purple-haired boy sweating from fear.
"How the heck did you do that? We've been trying to get him under control for months now." Hagakure asked her, as even after they punished him for his stunt with the hot springs while they were at summer camp, he didn't seem to change all that much.
Midoriya frowned, as she didn't do anything that extreme. "It's easy. Just mean what you say." Her response, however, was received with surprise.
"So when you threatened to turn him into grape juice…" Shoji asked, to which she nodded, not noticing how everyone did a double take when she just admitted to it.
"Every word. I can't have Mineta making Eri uncomfortable, now can I." She replied, looking around and seeing others staring at her like she grew a second head. "What?"
"You are a beast." Kaminari made a note to always stay on her right side.
And this is where we'll end things. It's a little short, but my keyboard's 'O' button is loose, throwing me off my game right now. Seems like the damn thing is always loose, and I don't have the cash to repair it right now. Also, while there was a little more to this, it would suit things better if it was moved to the next chapter. The next chapter will be out on March 18th.
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