As 1-B made their way into their changing rooms, Mina Ashido found herself making her way to the Training Ground Beta along with the rest of her class. However, despite this being the day that All Might was supposed to teach them, she along with the rest of their class were dressed in their gym clothes instead of their hero costumes. At the start of class after lunch break, they had been given the news from Mr. Aizawa that there had been a change in the schedule ordered by Principal Nezu. Because of this, 1-A was going to be given free reign of Training Ground Beta this afternoon to work on whatever they wanted for the Sports Festival. Something that Mina was all for since, as much as she enjoyed All Might's hero lessons, there was plenty she still needed to work on if she wanted to be ready for that big day. Plus, it wasn't all that often that they were given the chance to cut loose for an afternoon.
As she made her way towards the looming walls holding the faux city with her best friend in the class, Toru, the pink skinned girl couldn't help but notice that there were few of them actually walking together. Close together, sure. But it was like there was some sort of barrier that separated nearly everyone. She could see Kirishima, a guy she knew from middle school, trying to break that barrier so he could talk to Bakugo. But judging by the look on the explosion user's face, that barrier would remain strong. The only other one who was trying to talk to others was Uraraka, a girl in their class who had barely gotten into the hero program. She was next to Ojiro, hands pressed together in a pleading manner. No doubt asking the tailed boy for help. Not that she was going to get it as Ojiro waved her off before moving a bit faster. As he did, a few of their classmates just shook their heads, their body language practically shouting that she should have known better. That it was every man for themselves.
Whatever good mood Mina had in her nearly vanished at the sight of the brown haired girl slumping. This sort of thing had pretty much been the mentality of the class since day one…and she absolutely despised it! Ok, to be fair, Mina could kind of understand some of their behavior. Everyone there was hoping to look good for the pros so they stood a better chance at getting scouted. So they were just looking out for their best interests. However, that would have been more understandable if they were just now acting like this. Despite what Mr. Aizawa thought, she knew she was not here to have fun. That she was trying to be the best hero she could be. But was it really so wrong to be friends with each other? Or, at the very least, be civil?
"Isn't it great that All Might is teaching 1-B today?" asked Toru in a cheery tone, her words snapping Mina out of her thoughts. The acid user turned to look at her friend who seemed to bounce with each step she took. "Now that Monoma and Mineta don't have anything to mock them with, perhaps now we can be friends!"
Mina bit her lower lip softly, not daring to speak. As much as she would have liked to see that happen, and hoped that it would, she knew in her heart that it wouldn't. Knowing those two, they would probably just say how sad it was that the school forced All Might to teach them. Or that he was taking pity on them. Heck, Mina could even imagine having Monoma declaring that the only reason he was wasting time teaching 'the inferior members of 1-B' was so that they would put on a good show when they were defeated by 'the superior students of 1-A'.
As she thought of the troublemakers, Mina turned to glance behind her where the bullies were dragging their feet behind the rest. Monoma and Mineta walked with their backs hunched over, heads down low as if to count the few cracks on the pavement of the false city they were to be training in. The two had been rather quiet since they returned from Nezu's office where they had spent the majority of their break. From what the class knew, the hydra girl's homeroom teacher along with several of the other Business Course teachers were there as well, demanding swift punishment towards the pair. That they needed to understand that their behavior would have them drowning in lawsuits, preventing them from ever going pro. To that Nezu had agreed and the pair found themselves mere centimeters away from not just being barred from competing in the Sports Festival but being suspended as well. Instead, they would be receiving detention after school every day until they began internships. This included the days they would normally have off after the Sports Festival, supervised by Mr. Aizawa which had made the man a tad more irritable. What's more, they would also be writing essays each day by hand on heroic conduct, ethics, and so on until the lesson sunk in. Then, as a final nail in the coffin that was their punishment, if they did not get any offers from pro after the Sports Festival then Nezu would be the one picking who they interned under.
Honestly, she felt like those two got off far too lightly. If it had been up to her, those two bullies would have been out of this school after their first lunchroom incident. It was because of their constant gloating, practically rubbing in the faces of 1-B that All Might was teaching them more, that had caused the tension between the two hero classes. It was because of them parading around the school and on social media that they had survived a massive villain attack that had gained them the big frowny face of the school. And now today in the lunchroom?! Never mind having the whole school hate their collective guts, but this was the reason the guys in the other hero course didn't want to chill with them. It was probably the reason they never extended a hand to join them at the beach or anything else.
Unwilling to look at the duo any longer than she already had, Mina straightened to see that they were now deep within the training area. Already, her various classmates were hurrying to get some distance from the others as they leapt into the air or sped off down the streets. One that caught her eye was another person who now held the cheerful pink skinned girl's ire. The one who had told her that he would handle this yet kept letting it happen: Ida, the class Vice-Rep. Well, from what she had seen so far, 'handle' was far too strong of a word. Since the very beginning, right after they had chosen their class representatives, Mina brought up her concerns to both him and Yaoyorozu. Almost at once, Ida had loudly declared that he would have a talk with them while making a chopping motion in the air. That a stern lecture would set them right. Well, now Mina was beginning to question if they were tuning out the lectures, if he only gave them one and thought that that was enough, or if he had even given them one at all! Because this issue kept happening! If she had been either Rep, she would have been in the lunchroom keeping an eye on the pair instead of eating outside on such a beautiful day.
Now that she thought about it: why had it taken Ida so long to do anything? Yaoyorozu she could understand, since the rich girl was outside as well, though not sitting with her or Toru. But Ida, he had to have been either at or near the Monoma and Mineta when they decided to get up and have their little 'power trip'. And from what she heard, neither of them were being quiet about the whole thing. So what was Ida doing beforehand? Wasn't he supposed to be wicked fast?
Before Mina could think more on the subject, she spotted something that nearly caused her to stop in her tracks. It was Uraraka. The girl was sitting on the sidewalk, back against the wall with her legs pressed against her chest. The brunette's gaze was kept low, but Mina, despite being some distance away, could see all the tell-tale signs of a girl about to cry. It was all there. The way she clung to her gym pants, the aura that seemed to surround her, and so on.
So, Mina did the only thing she could think of.
"Hey, Uraraka," she shouted in her most cheerful tone, a smile beaming brightly on her face. At once, the gravity removing girl lifted her head to look at them. Good, she hadn't started to cry yet! "Hey, do you want to train with us today?"
A smile bright as the sun appeared on Uraraka's face, almost seeming to light up the whole area. "I'd love to!" she shouted as she quickly got to her feet. A little too quickly as she nearly flung herself forward and face planted into the cement street. But, she managed to catch herself at the last minute as she ran over to the acid user and the floating pair of clothes. "I really need the help."
"Hey no big deal," said Mina as she waved off the thanks. "Though I don't know how much help we can be. Still, better than trying to figure stuff out on our own. At least we can bounce ideas off each other!" Uraraka nodded vigorously at that.
As the trio made their way down the road looking for someplace to train, Mina found herself shooting a glance over at their new companion. While no one said anything out loud since hearing that someone might get booted from the hero course if they didn't perform well enough, but many considered Uraraka to be the first on the chopping block. She had barely squeaked by in the entrance exam with the needed number of points, needing to be saved more than once. So much so that Mina had heard some of the others talking, saying that if it hadn't been for her infinity score in the ball toss that she would have been expelled the first day. As for what happened in All Might's class, well-
"I really wish All Might would start teaching us how to fight," bemoaned Uraraka, seeming to know what was on Mina's mind. "All he ever does is put us in different scenarios. And Mr. Aizawa just keeps saying he wants to see improvement from me."
"Tell me about it," replied Mina with her own moan, her hands reaching to the back of her head as she looked up at the sky. "I guess that's what happens when you are the strongest man in the universe and nothing hurts you. All you need to do is just punch things until they go away. Wish we could all do that."
"Oh, why couldn't the Sports Festival be in the middle of the school year?" demanded Uraraka. "We haven't learned nearly enough yet! There's no way I can figure out how to fight with my quirk so quickly." Her eyes then widened as she turned to look at Mina, waving her hands in the air frantically. "Not that I don't appreciate everything you both are doing for me!"
Mina let out a friendly laugh. "No worries. It's good girl," said the pink skinned girl before her smile faded a bit. "But if I'm being honest, I get how you feel. All I can do to fight now is slide around with my acid and fling it at people."
"Huh. Maybe that's why Mr. Aizawa was trying to get that Midoriya guy to join our class," said Toru, who had been silent for a while.
"What?" said both Mina and Uraraka in unison.
"Don't you remember Mina?" asked Toru, her clothing shifting to indicate that she was tilting her head slightly. "Yaoyorozu was talking about needing to hand a form a while back. I can't remember what it was called, but I do remember that it would transfer that Midoriya kid in 1-B into our class."
As the wind blew in her hair, Mina began to recall that brief moment after the USJ. It had been a small thing that, at the time, she had not paid too much attention to. But it seemed like some part of her mind found it interesting enough because the whole thing played in her mind like she was at the movies! All that happened was that the rich girl had spoken about a homeroom transfer form that she had given to one of the students in 1-B, Izuku Midoriya. From the way she spoke, it seemed that Mr. Aizawa really wanted him in their class. Like really, really badly! Honestly, looking at the class as it was right now, that Midoriya kid dodged a real bullet.
"Don't think he'll be signing that anytime soon," said Mina with a laugh. "I mean, the guy is the Vice-Rep of a class that actually gets along! Man, I would have killed to go to that beach! They looked like they were having so much fun!"
"That's not all they're doing," said Toru. "I heard that 1-B is doing some sort of training after school. The two in charge of it are Midoriya and their class Rep. Some girl named Kendo."
Uraraka looked amazed by that. "Really? How did you find out?"
At that, Toru's shoulders slumped. "I overheard some guys talking in the hall. For some reason, they didn't notice I was there." As Mina giggled at her friend's antics, she found herself glancing behind once more. Mineta was still walking with his head down. But Monoma, on the other hand, seemed to have regained a bit of his former smirk for some reason. Whatever it was, it didn't sit well with Mina. Not at all.
"Do you…Do you think that if I ask nicely they'll let me join?" asked Uraraka. Mina bit her lower lip at that. Given what had happened in the lunchroom today, she didn't think that any of them would be lining up to offer a helping hand to Uraraka. Not that she blamed them. Still…
"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try," said Mina. "The worst they can do is say no, right? At the very least, we can apologize to them for what happened and hopefully show them we're not all jerks." As Uraraka began to nod excitedly and Toru said she couldn't do it, Mina found herself starting to think: could she transfer to 1-B? They seemed like a more chill group that got along. No, they got along great! So, maybe…
[hr]
"You all look stunning!" declared All Might as 1-B, now in their hero costumes, stood within the massive factory complex that was Training Ground Gamma. The place was massive; full of giant smoke stacks that seemed to reach out to touch the sky, large metal pipes that snaked around the buildings like vines in a forest, the only vehicles on the vast empty streets being semi-trucks, and barrels that had the logo for toxic waste on it. As for the buildings, some of them looked like they were designed for oversized storage while others were vast factory complexes that spanned several blocks. One or two even looked like old-time factories.
"Now then, about today's lesson," began All Might, his grin widening a bit as he spoke. "We are doing teams of heroes vs. villains with indoor combat. This you have already done before. However! There will be a twist. The scenario will be this: A team of three villains have broken into a warehouse, planning to steal company secrets and sell them to the highest bidder. There is only one hero on patrol in this area who is unable to call for backup as a jammer is blocking any means of communication. For this exercise the villain team wins if they are able to crack the safe and exit the building with the stolen information or if they defeat the hero within twenty minutes. However, our brave hero wins if he or she is able to capture all the villains, find the jammer and disable it, or can hold off the villains until time runs out and a new patrol approaches."
Izuku felt a tinge of excitement within him while a smile appeared on his face. Looking to his side, he could see that Pony was looking back at him with that same spark in her blue eyes. This sounded like it would be an actual challenge! Something to push them above and beyond. And, judging by all the other muttering going on in the room, the rest of the class agreed. All, for the most part.
"Wait, am I the only one here who thinks this is a bit of a lopsided exercise?" asked Bondo throwing his arms out in a gesture of exasperation "Just think about it! The villains have it easy! They already have things set up so you can't call for backup, more of them, and all they have to do is find the plans or whatever and they win! Doesn't this seem more advanced than what we should be dealing with?"
"But it is what 1-A had to deal with," said Izuku, gaining everyone's attention. Including All Might's! "From what I read, the League of Villains came to the USJ with a plan. Not only did they ensure that the people inside the facility couldn't escape or call for help, but they also scattered the students into areas where the villains would have a numbers advantage. In a way, we're simulating that same situation but on a smaller scale."
"Well, I guess I see your point but," began Bondo, his words trailing off slightly as he noticed that All Might was approaching them. Then, much to everyone's surprise, the large man slammed a hand on Izuku's shoulder with enough force that it nearly toppled over the teen.
"Young Midoriya is correct," said All Might with a loud, boisterous laugh. Then he looked at Bondo. "For a very long time now, the vast majority of villains we have fought have been solo actors or a group of untrained thugs using their quirks to do as they please. And while there are smarter villains out there, those who do their evil deeds in the shadows and away from prying eyes, they have been in the minority. Until now that is! One of the things we learned from the USJ incident was that the forces of evil have been getting smarter, planning things out more in advance. Not to mention getting bolder. And while the League of Villains planned end goal was a failure, they did leave behind the blueprints for others to utilize and improve upon. We may soon see villains placing jamming devices and working in larger groups in the near future. Which is why we must train all of you to prepare for these types of events. For when that day comes along when you yourself are a pro, alone and outnumbered while being unable to call for your sidekicks."
Class 1-B nodded at this, nearly in unison. While there was little to no doubt in their minds that the man before them put all this together at the last minute, especially given how he left the classroom, none of them could deny that they were learning something valuable. That he was preparing them for something that they would more than likely face in the future. In truth, this was the sort of thing they had expected him to teach them from day one. So, for now, they wouldn't give him too hard of a time.
Then, as All Might turned, Izuku spoke up.
"All Might. Sir," he began with a slightly nervous tremble in his voice. This caused the pro hero to pause in his step, turning his head to look at him. "I was just thinking, well, we've been working with some other classes. People who are hoping to get into the hero course after the Sports Festival. So, ah, maybe we could see if they wanted to join us and-"
"There's not enough time!" All Might's words were barked out, nearly shouting while his face seemed to harden slightly. This caused not only Izuku to jump at the tone, but also the rest of the class.
Kendo then stepped forward. "All Might, there's no need to be angry at Midoriya. We've been working with these people for a while now so I get why Midoriya wants to include them."
"Yeah, that's right!" stated Tetsutetsu. "They may not be on the class roster or anything, but they're still part of the team!" At that, many of the other students shouted their agreement.
All Might, for his part, turned to look at all the students, smiling and waving his hands in a gesture meant to ease tension. "Everyone, settle down. Settle down," he said. "I am sorry for the way that sounded, however to do what Midoriya requested we would have to go and track down each of these students from all over the school. We would need to get the teachers permission, some of whom might need some convincing. Add in that there are multiple teachers we would have to speak to, some of whom might not even be in their classrooms for whatever reason, as well as allowing the students time to change and what we end up with is losing a great deal of time." He then looked around, his smile growing smaller but not fading as if he were giving the class a softer smile. "I have heard about your training with these other students and I commend you all for wishing to include them. Sadly, while they wish to become a part of the hero course the fact of the matter is, right now, they are not. Until they prove otherwise, they belong with their own courses. Now, we have wasted enough time. Let's see what you newbies are made of!"
From there, Izuku and the rest of the class silently followed All Might's instructions as he insisted on not wasting another moment. The pro hero brought them before a large, windowless building before telling them to form a single file line. Once that was done, All Might took the first student alone inside while telling the rest to wait. After a moment, the large steel doors opened on their own to allow the next student inside.
Izuku had been near the front and, as such, had been called in fairly quickly. The room he found himself in had a large computer monitor, the screen lifeless when compared to the number of blinking and flashing lights along the lone control panel. All Might stood in front of it with a clipboard in hand. Very politely he gestured to one of the many doors along the wall and told him to wait inside. Nodding, the green haired teen did as he was told and found himself in what looked like a small rectangular waiting room that could snuggly fit three or four people inside. The room was nearly completely bare, with nothing but a metal bench to sit on and a screen built into the wall. Something else Izuku noted was the sliding, mechanical door opposite of where he had come in from.
Once he closed the door behind him, Izuku heard a familiar click from behind. Turning, he quickly tested the door and found out that it was locked. For a moment, the teen wondered if he should break himself out but thought better of the idea. Instead, Izuku pressed an ear to the door to see what he could hear. Nothing but silence awaited him. Curious, the bone user then tried a trick his sensei taught him back home, focusing on his sense of touch to see if he could feel any vibrations on the floor. Again, there was nothing. It was like Izuku was completely cut off from the rest of the world in his own little pocket dimension.
"Guess All Might wants to keep the groups a surprise," muttered Izuku as he moved to sit on the bench, a hand going to his chin as he began to analyze the situation. "This is going to help the villain team even more as they will probably be placed in the same room together, giving them more time to make plans and assign roles. Makes sense given the scenario that All Might presented. But, am I going to be a hero or a villain? I guess I'll just have to wait and see if the door opens again. Or maybe that sliding door will open and lead me into another room where my other classmates are? Or not." And so, Izuku began working his brain to the maximum while his muttering filled the room.
[hr]
When the last of Kan's students had been sorted and sent to the appropriate room, a puff of smoke surrounded the large man known as All Might turning into his true, skinny form. Smoke entered the man's lungs, causing him to begin coughing while blood gushed from his mouth. But he wasn't concerned as small panels in the walls along the floors opened up, revealing equally small robots that instantly went to work cleaning not just the floor but his uniform as well. Before the man could even flop down on the chair near the control panel, the machines had finished their job so thoroughly that there was not even the lingering scent of blood in the air as they returned to their hidden homes.
Letting out a sigh of relief, All Might looked around the empty room with a sad smile. He honestly didn't want to conduct his classes like this, locking them away in their waiting rooms and keeping everyone separate. He much preferred the group atmosphere he had known when working with 1-A. Seeing their faces, connecting with them. That method, however, came at the cost of using all of his hero time for a single class. An issue that, after the USJ incident, had gotten worse. With the potential threat of another attack on the school, on his students, from the League of Villains then he had to make some sort of change. He had to limit his hero form in some way so that he could have that time stashed away for later while still teaching his students. And this was the best answer he could come up with. By separating himself from the rest of the class, he could still teach them while taking on his true form in secret. Meaning if there was an emergency later on in the day, he wouldn't have to worry so much about his time limit. So far, it was working well as he had only eaten up fifteen minutes of his heroic form for the day!
This method also allowed him some other benefits.
Turning in his chair, All Might pressed a key on the control panel. Instantly a small window opened up on the screen before him showing one of the waiting rooms. In it was Izuku Midoriya, sitting there and mumbling to himself without knowing that he was being watched right now. While the pro could barely make out anything in the word salad the boy was dishing out, he figured that the kid had realized by this point that he would be one of the lone heroes in this exercise. What the boy most certainly didn't know was that All Might had done this on purpose. He wanted to see how the lad would react in this situation, how he would behave as a hero when the chips were down. To ensure this, All Might had gone over 1-B's class roster. There he read over all of the student's quirks so that he could assemble a team that would give his potential successor a hard time.
After pressing another key the image of one of the other rooms appeared on the monitor showing the three villains Midoriya would be facing. Sadly they were a little cramped due to Tetsutetsu's bulk. All Might had chosen him due to his above average strength, his ability to harden his body to an insane level, and the fact that he was (according to some rumors) a bit closer to Midoriya than some of the other men in the class. Hopefully he would use what he knew about the bone user to his team's advantage. The second was another closer range fighter: Young Kamakiri. As the other blade user of the class, he could hopefully compete with Young Midoriya's own blades. Then, finally, there was Young Rin. With that young man's scales he could cover the long range attack position of this party.
"Not bad for a last minute plan, if I do say so myself," said All Might with a chuckle. In truth, he had really planned to just give the class the same exercise as he did for 1-A's first exercise. Only it would have been in Training Ground Gamma as well as a little meddling on his part; ensuring that Kamakiri and Rin were placed on a team together and that they went after whatever team Midoriya was on. But that plan crashed and burned right as it was leaving the runway when he heard Kendo's remarks. The class already had a low opinion on him and repeating the same lesson wouldn't help much. Thankfully, the exercise the third-years had done earlier that day hadn't been cleaned up so he was able to 'borrow' it.
God, he would need to ask Kan about what he had taught these kids.
…And that thought right there wasn't helping his case, was it?
Sighing, the hero pressed another key to bring up another window. This one showed another villain team. All Might was about to just keep pressing the various keys until he could see all his students, but something caught his attention about this group. It looked like they were having a heated argument about something. Fearing that he accidently put a group of students who didn't mesh well together, All Might pressed another key to turn on the audio. If there was something going on, he would scold them for fighting like this.
"Seriously, did he have to act like that?" This first voice came from a girl who was pacing back and forth within the small room. A blond girl with horns on her head. Tsunotori, if memory served him correctly. "There was no need for him to be so rude!" At that, All Might leaned forward a bit as he wondered who she was talking about.
"Won't disagree with you there," said one of the students sitting on the bench, hands behind his head as he leaned back against the wall. Again, if he recalled his brief review of the class 1-B's roster, the teen was named Awase. "I get what the big guy was saying. We only have so much time in the day for the class. But jeez! It wasn't like Midoriya was pestering him over and over again. Bet he's just taking out some of his aggression on the vice-rep since the school's forcing him to be here."
As All Might winced at the accusation, the third student in the room put in his two cents. "Plus, it's kind of rich of him to be concerned with time when he's been doing nothing but wasting ours. Is he in a hurry to get back to 1-A or what?" complained Kuroiro. The dark themed teen was leaning forward, his elbows on his knees as he held his head in his hands.
"Speaking of 1-A, do you think All Might has them separated like this when he teaches them?" asked Awase as he lifted a hand into the air before banging it against the wall. This got a laugh from the white haired teen, though it wasn't a happy one. No, this laugh was filled to the brim with dry mirth that sent shivers down All Might's spine.
"Somehow I doubt it," replied Kuroiro. "Bet he thinks we're not 'worthy' enough to be in his presence."
Groaning, All Might placed his head into his hands while recalling what Kan had told him. About how much work he would have to put into this if he ever wanted to regain their trust. And it looked like it was going to be a long, hard road.
[hr]
Izuku's footsteps echoed around him as he walked down the long metal hallway. Just moments ago, a door other than the one he had used to enter the small waiting room had opened while All Might told him through the speakers that the villain team was in position. A wave of nervous excitement filled him, growing stronger as he approached the light at the end of the tunnel.
As he approached the threshold, Midoriya spotted a metal table containing a few items. On one side of the table were several neat little rows of earpieces for when All Might wanted to talk to them directly. All it took was a quick look from the teen to realize that they were for all twenty students, with some already randomly taken. On the other side of the table were the rows of capture tape. All Izuku had to do was wrap this around any part of the opposing team and they would be considered captured. Fairly standard stuff for this sort of test.
Once Izuku had the items on his person, he quickly made his way out and into the open. There, before him was a large parking lot, a few cheap cars parked there with a four story factory building standing behind it. After nodding to himself, Izuku slowly made his way towards the front door seeing that it had been left wide open. And once he was in, the teen could easily see that this was going to be considerably different from where they had had their first two vs. two battles. It took him a moment, slowly and stealthily moving about, to find that the main floor was segmented into several areas with some being nothing but industrial grade welding machines lined up into row after row while others had assembly lines with those big robotic arms in various spots. Along the walls, he found a few break areas with vending machines that were actually stocked with real food. Heck, even the microwaves and water heaters here were in working order!
Then…
"Found you Midoriya!" Izuku turned to the source of the voice, finding Tetsutetsu standing on a conveyor belt. The taller teen's body was already hardened into metal, a sharp toothed grin on the teen's face as he held a thick robotic arm in his hands which would have been easily taller than either of them if held upright.
"You idiot! What's the point of ambushing him if you just shout like that?!" demanded Kamakiri as he leapt onto one of the massive metal crates across from Tetesutetsu, the duo separated by an aisle that would no doubt be used by Hi-los.
Rather than answering, Tetsutetsu jumped into the air while twirling the metal appendage around his head with his eyes glued to Izuku. The green haired bone user spotted what was to happen a mile away, four curved bones erupting on both of his forearms as he sidestepped and turned away from the attack which cracked the thick cement coating the ground. As dust began to rise in the air, Izuku placed a foot on the metal arm but could do nothing more as Kamakiri landed behind him. Cursing slightly under his breath, Izuku turned while raising his arm to block one of the blades coming out of the mantis-like teen's arm. In that moment, Izuku could see the frustration in his classmate's face as his blade could not cut through Izuku's bones.
"Damned copycat," cursed Kamakiri before leaping back. Half a breath later, Izuku did a backflip in the air to avoid another swing of Tetsutetsu's makeshift weapon. But, while in the air, Kamakiri began leaping from spot to spot all around them to gain momentum before appearing right in front of Izuku. This time, multiple blades appeared from both of the teen's arms before launching into a flurry of attacks. Metal clashed against bone as both teen's arms became a blurry mess as falling to the ground seemed to occur in slow motion. But not so much for Tetsutetsu whose fists joined in on the clash, striking Midoriya on the side with enough force that the green haired teen managed to slam so hard against one of the massive machines that he made a dent. Falling to the ground, Izuku found the taste of blood in his mouth as a shadow fell over him.
"Sorry Midoriya," said Tetsutetsu, his makeshift weapon having been discarded for the capture tape. "Nothing personal man, but it looks like all that team training we did really paid off."
"Huh. Sucks to be you," said Kamakiri with a smirk.
"True, you both have gotten better," admitted Izuku as he reached out, seeming to grab nothing but air. "Looks like I'd better up my game." With that, Izuku flung his arm at the two, sending a cloud of dirt mixed with millions of tiny bone fragments no larger than a grain of sand from his palm. Both of the 'villains' quickly shut their eyes on reflex, even Tetsutetsu despite his yellow visor. And, when they opened them, Izuku Midoriya was gone.
[hr]
With a hand on his chin, All Might watched as Tetsutetsu placed a few fingers onto his own intercom.
"Hey, Rin! We lost track of Midoriya!" As Tetsutetsu spoke, the gaunt man's eyes shifted to another window on the screen showing the teen in question. There sat Young Rin, sitting within the factory's security office searching through the camera feeds looking for their opponent. As the older hero watched all this he let out a hum, his other hand scribbling down some notes in a notebook. He had to admit that when he had put them together, All Might had not expected them to think of a plan like this. It was a pretty good idea to make use of the building's own security in order to aid them in their villainy while the two best close range fighters took out the hero. However, All Might had to be fair and point out their mistakes. They had clearly taken advantage of the fact that they knew a hero was coming, having already set themselves up on the ground floor and ready to deal with the trouble instead of focusing on their own objective. It would have been smarter to have Kamakiri deal with getting the goods first while Young Rin assisted Young Tetsutetsu with the security cameras. That way, if things were looking dire or the situation was over their heads, they could call in Young Kamakiri to help.
"Doesn't look good for Midoriya." All Might's gaze shifted to one of the other windows on screen when he heard Awase's voice. Inside the waiting room, as well as all of the others, all of his students for this lesson were watch the same thing All Might was witnessing on their wall monitors. This way, they could see their classmate's performance and give their own feedback. All Might found himself nodding in agreement at the teens statement. Not only did this group have a well thought out plan, but the way they attacked never gave the Young Midoriya an inch. They worked almost in perfect unison that, had All Might been a lesser hero, those two first years would have overwhelmed HIM!
Yet, what surprised him was the look on the sole girl of the group. The horned girl just sat there, elbows on her knees and her head resting in her hands as she watched everything with a small smile on her face. According to the rumor mill, that girl was supposed to be a dear friend of Young Midoriya's. Perhaps even a girlfriend! Despite that, she didn't seem bothered at all that Young Midoriya was being thrown around like a rag doll in there. And her face, he could have sworn he had seen it before! Yes, he had! It was back when Nana had shown him a movie he had never seen before. Some old time American movie about a man who wore a suit of high level technology to right the wrongs of his past. The young man he was back then was gripped by it, thrown through loops as the movie went. And Nana had just sat there, with the same expression on her face that Tsunotori had now! It was the look of someone who knew what was going to happen and wanted to see the surprised expressions of everyone else.
A small bit of blood escaped the hero's lips as he pulled his attention away from the teens in the room and back to the match in progress. It seemed both Tetsutetsu and Kamakiri were on the move again, Rin having located Young Midoriya. And speaking of Midoriya…
[hr]
"Oh man, that was a close one," sighed Izuku as he leaned his back against one of the massive machines, rolling his shoulder as he did. With each turn he began to hear small cracks which sent bits of pleasure to go running through his body. And despite how poorly his run in with the two had gone, there was no worry on his face. Rather, his face just looked neutral as he kept his eyes closed.
"I was really hoping I wouldn't need to pull out any of my other special moves before the Sports Festival. I mean, a guy's got to have a few secrets of his own," continued Izuku with a sigh, turning his head now to let out a loud pop. The kind that made everyone else around you wince, worried that you might have snapped your neck. Then, when he opened his eyes, a small smile appeared on Izuku's lips. "Well, the fact that they forced my hand just means that they have gotten way stronger than they were at the beginning of the year. I think they deserve this."
As Izuku pushed himself off the wall, his mind went into overdrive trying to think of which of his special moves to use. His ultimate move was out, no doubt about that. While it would have won him the match the moment he stepped into the factory, Izuku knew he had to take this practice seriously as if it were the real thing. Even if the plant was empty of civilians, there were still people here that, if he wasn't careful, he might end up killing by accident. On top of that, without a doubt he would end up destroying the building while also the surrounding area. Sure, the insurance agencies would have to shill out the money to fix everything, but that wasn't what Izuku was worried about. It was the 'workers'. There was no telling how long it would take to fix this building, replace all the machines, and get everything up and running again. No doubt many of the workers would be laid off until that happened. So it would be better not to use something that powerful.
Plus, using that move came at a high cost.
Izuku heard the thundering of footsteps before Tetsutetsu appeared in his vision, the metal skinned teen racing towards him in the main aisle with a sharp toothed grin on his face. Thinking quickly, Izuku braced himself while pulling back his arm as if ready to deliver a powerful punch. As Tetsutetsu drew closer, Kamakiri seemed to appear out of nowhere as he leapt up from behind his villainous partner. As gravity pulled the mantis teen back to earth, Kamakiri twisted in the air so that he would be facing Izuku's back with long blades coming out of the teen's forearms. Each one running from the teen's wrist to his elbow, ready to cleave into the teen's skin.
And he would have done just that had several massive curved spikes not erupted out of Izuku's back. Each twice as thick as a normal human arm, and some even thicker, they pointed in all directions. Some pointed upward, ready to impale Kamakiri while others seemed to curve to the side or downwards. Surprised by the suddenness of their appearance, Kamakiri managed to kick himself away from those bone spikes as soon as he made contact. Just like Izuku hoped he would as bone mass began to coat the green haired teen's arm which quickly spiraled into a massive spear or drill. Using the force he gained thanks to Kamakiri, Izuku shot towards the charging Tetsutetsu while thrusting his weapon forward.
A loud crack filled the room. Then slowly, calmly, Izuku turned to face Kamakiri with blood coating the tip of the drill. From behind him, Izuku could hear Tetsutetsu gasping in shock and pain as his trembling hands reached down to his steel belly where a hole no larger than an American quarter could now be found. Blood was seeping out of the wound as the teen's legs gave out, falling to his knees as his quirk finally deactivated.
"Are you surprised?" asked Izuku, watching as Kamakiri flinched at the sound of his voice. It had been clear by the way he stood there in shock that all of the blade user's attention had been on his fallen comrade. Something that simply wouldn't do. Not here. Not now. And certainly not when they became real heroes. Calmly, Izuku held his drill close to his chest while resting a hand on it. "Tetsutetsu knew about this drill spear back when we were doing team training. I believe I told him then that this is made out of the strongest bones in my body. Bones several times stronger than steel. Now, will you please surrender?"
"N-NO!" screamed Kamakiri as dozens of blades emerged all over his body. On his arms, legs, the back of the neck, a few on his chest, as so forth. And it looked like even more blades were sprouting as he then charged at Izuku with narrowed eyes. "You think that will help you?!"
"Not as much against you," said Izuku, the bones retracting back into his skin as he leapt back to avoid a swipe from Kamakiri. Then, from his shoulder, a bone just seemed to pop out. Reaching over and grabbing it like the handle to a blade, the teen pulled it out to reveal that it was a bladed weapon like a dagger. Certainly smaller than the ones Kamakiri was using now.
When Izuku landed, he charged forward to fight the 'villain' head on. Blades of steel met the blade of bone, Kamakiri raising his weapons to block Izuku's attack before he no doubt countered. But, what the green skinned student didn't account for was that his blades would be as useful in this fight as Tetsutetsu's skin. Izuku's blade sliced through Kamakiri's as if it had been made out of warm butter before falling to the ground. Flabbergasted, Kamakiri was unable to react in time as Izuku turned his weapon around so that the back of the bone handle collided with the other teen's underjaw. So powerful was the blow that Kamakiri was lifted into the air, his head thrown back as blood escaped his lips. Perhaps if Izuku had left him alone, he might have recovered from this. But, alas, this was not to be as a layer of bone covered its owner's leg as he spun around before planting it on his opponent's side. Kamakiri was then sent flying through the air before his body connected with one of the massive machines, held in place against it thanks to his blades.
Somehow, Kamakiri managed to open one eye to glare at Izuku. "Damn it…How? You weren't…this strong when…you fought Kendo," the mantis teen said between labored breaths and coughs.
To that, Izuku gave him a look. "No disrespect towards Kendo, but I was not using my skills to their fullest when we first fought," he said while his free hand scratched his cheek slightly. "I, well, know how deadly my quirk can be. It's more suited to killing than anything else. So, whenever I fight someone new with it I like to hold back a little. You saw what I did to Tetsutetsu. Had I used that attack on anyone else, it would have made a much larger hole going right through them."
"Thanks…for the compliment," came the voice of Tetsutetsu. Izuku's head barely moved, glancing to his side to see that the steel quirked teen was back on his feet. With one hand covering his wound, he raised his other bloody hand high above his head before forming a fist. He then made several staggering steps towards the hero of this exercise instead of charging at feel speed, his eyes showing that it was a struggle to keep them open. And when the attack came, Izuku merely side stepped it with Tetsutetsu barely able to keep himself upright. Seeing this, Izuku decided to take his friend out of the exercise as he brought out the capture tape.
"No!" gasped Tetsutetsu when he saw this. But he was unable to see anymore as the tape wrapped around his waist.
"Tetsutetsu has been captured!" came All Might's voice over the speakers. A few moments later, the same could be heard for Kamakiri as Izuku hurried off to find Rin.
[hr]
Once Izuku got to the back of the factory, he found a stairwell leading up to the second floor. There, before him, was a mass of cubicles. Glancing into the first one, Izuku was not really shocked at the level of realism that U.A. put into this place. He could see in and out trays on top of a small desk, with a coffee mug placed on top of several folders. A picture frame containing a mock family photo rested next to a computer covered with sticky notes. One of them said 'remember to pick up milk on the way home' while another said 'going to strip club with the boys on Friday, make excuse for family'. Izuku had to blink at that one, wondering why anyone would leave something like that laying around.
Then a blush appeared on his face, thinking of Pony onstage with her legs wrapped around a pole as she-
Quickly shaking his head, Izuku did his best to tuck those thoughts away for later, for now he had to focus on this exercise! So taking a breath he began to press on...right as a shooting pain was sent through his arm! Gritting his teeth, Izuku rolled to the ground before looking at the blood that was now covering his arm. The source? A large green scale embedded in his arm! Glancing back into the cubicle, he saw several other holes within the wall.
"Impressive," muttered Izuku as he pulled the scale out, bone mass covering the wound and stopping the bleeding. But before he could do anything else, Rin appeared directly across from him with both arms raised. Seeing the danger before him, Izuku leapt away and rolled into the cubicle just as a shower of scales impaled the ground where he once was. But he didn't stay there long, leaping out of the slightly confined area as Rin continued his onslaught.
For the next several minutes, Izuku zigged and zagged through the office as he avoided the scale barrage. Everything left in his wake was quickly shredded by his classmate's seemingly unending attack. Cubicles were destroyed, computers exploded, and not even the coffee machine was spared from the Chinese teen's attack. And all the while, Izuku got closer. He kept on the move, changing up his patterns with him sometimes even leaping backwards and over the scale assault.
Eventually, he finally got in close. Rin, clearly knowing what was about to happen, raised his scale covered arms hoping it would protect him from the bone blade in Izuku's hand. That attack never came as Izuku instead spun on his heel to send his other foot crashing into Rin's side. Rin coughed loudly, stumbling to his side but remained standing while lowering his fists. He then charged at the green haired teen only for Izuku to spin around the attack, his footwork knocking Rin off balance as the end of the bone blade crashed into the middle of Rin's back. The loud cry of the scale user echoed through the room followed by a thump.
A moment later, Izuku wrapped the capture tape around Rin to end the match once and for all in Izuku's favor.
[hr]
"Brilliant work! All of you!" declared All Might as he stood before 1-B within the main monitoring room. Or, at least, those who were still standing as several of the students had to be taken away to Recovery Girl's office. The man managed to suppress a wince as the school's nurse had contacted him several times via text to inform him of his student's condition, her fury dripping in every word. Tetsutetsu had, thankfully, been the most injured throughout this entire exercise and would need help getting home. The second worst injury was held by Komori, who had been the lone hero for the exercise. She had put up a far better fight than what All Might would have thought from the mushroom girl, but had to call the match due to Bondo's glue accidently entering her mouth. Then there were a few others like Kamakiri who was suffering from a broken jaw as well as needing time to repair his blades.
Regardless, he meant what he had said. This class had done splendidly on all fronts, keeping the man at the edge of his seat the entire time! Of course, he was very pleased with what he saw of Young Midoriya. While the teen had made a few missteps, like letting down his guard in the office section of the building, he still exceeded the pro hero's expectations for this match. Seeing the skills of the teen in action, the level of awareness of how dangerous his quirk was, the ability to adapt to the situation. Yes, these were signs of a great hero in the making!
Glancing over at said teen, the pro hero was a little surprised to see that Young Midoriya wasn't giving him his full attention. Rather, the young man was only half looking at him at this moment, his majority of his attention being on the young blonde girl whose hand he was currently holding. And she was giving him the exact same look in return. Ah, young love.
"Well," began All Might, seeing that the pair shifted their attention away from the other to return their focus back onto him. Which was good seeing as All Might didn't want to scold either of them in class. While Midoriya had done very well as a hero in this exercise, he could not dismiss how well Young Tsunotori's team had done. Her team, rather than fighting the hero, had focused on their own objective in order to win. He had been somewhat impressed by Young Tsunotori, using her horns to create distractions for the heroes, remotely controlling them to knock over whatever she could within the factory and creating noise in order to keep their hero on edge. Meanwhile, Kuroiro and Awase had focused on getting their target. The two managed to slip past all its defenses, grabbing the documents before heading out and ending the match within the first three minutes.
Satisfied at seeing that everyone was looking at him, All Might continued. "For this exercise, you shall all be given full marks! I shall be writing up my own thoughts on your performances and have them emailed to both yourself and Kan by tonight! I do hope you take everything in it to heart young heroes!
With that, All Might dismissed the class. As the students of 1-B left, he could hear them whispering with each other. Thankfully, nothing was overly negative. Now that didn't mean he heard anything overly positive either as most people thought it was a 'pretty good lesson for something that was thrown together at the last minute'. They had their issues with how he taught them, but seemed happy enough with the end results nonetheless. Perhaps, in time, he could undo the damage he had caused while gaining their trust back. But for now this would be as good a start as any.
At the very least, he hadn't made anything worse!
Once the last student was out of the room, All Might instantly locked the door requiring a teacher's ID to open it, before he deflated back into his more slender form. With him now swimming in his suit, Yagi reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. Smiling a little to himself, he went to his contacts and called up his old sidekick.
"All Might, this is a surprise," came the voice of Sir Nighteye on the other end, the shuffling of papers being carried over the phone. "A pleasure to hear from you so soon. Has Togata changed his mind?"
That caused All Might's smile to slip slightly, yet not fade entirely. "No, he hasn't," said All Might before continuing quickly. "I just wanted to let you know that I am looking into possible alternatives. And I think I might have found a good one. A first year student by the name of Izuku Midoriya."
"Really? A first year student is better suited for One for All than Togata?" demanded Nighteye, All Might imagining a deep frown on the man's face as he spoke. One that he nearly mirrored perfectly while glancing at the screen of his smartphone as the man at the other end continued to talk. "All Might, this is ridiculous. You agreed with me that Mirio was the perfect person to take your place as the Symbol of Peace."
"I did," agreed All Might, doing his best to keep this conversation civil. The last thing he wanted was to ruin his friendship with his former sidekick once again.
"Then, if you agree with me, then why aren't we keeping him as our focus?" asked Nighteye, slight irritation in his voice. "All for One. The chances of that man still being alive are higher now than they have ever been before. Togata is ready to accept your quirk, has the skills and training to get out there today! Instead of looking at a bunch of rookies, our focus should be on convincing Mirio that this is the right course of action to take!"
"…And if he still refuses? Force him to take it? Trick him?" demanded All Might, his own irritation on the matter slipping in due to Nighteye's rant. Thankfully, Yagi managed to calm himself down as he took a deep breath before continuing. "Listen, Young Togata is a fine lad with a bright future ahead of him, whether he accepts One for All or not. He even told us that, if we couldn't find anyone else to inherit this torch, he would accept it. If there ever comes a time when I should speak to him again about One for All, I would like to say with complete honesty that I had looked around and found none more worthy than him. We owe him that much."
"…I suppose you have a point," conceded Nighteye, the tone of his voice indicating that the man was also calming down. "It's just hard to believe that we might find someone else worthy enough to take up this mantle."
"I'm sure there were a few people who would have thought the same if they heard that Nana was giving One for All to a quirkless boy," said All Might, his head lowering in respect. "I just see something in this kid. The same thing that I saw in young Togata. That heroic spirit that just seems to thrive within him."
"Hmm. High praise," said Nighteye, the creaking noise in the background indicating that Sir Nighteye was leaning back in his chair. "So this kid, Midoriya, has caught your attention. What do you know about him?"
"So far, not much," admitted All Might. "He's one of the students in 1-B. The class I had been…absent with until recently. I actually met him at the beach. Can't recall what its name was, but it was a real mess up until recently."
"Yes, I seem to recall reading something about that," muttered Nighteye, though not sounding too impressed.
"At the time, I was in my true form so nobody knew who I was," continued All Might. "Then, here comes this kid who had every right to be hanging out with his friends at the beach but instead brings a bottle of water to some stranger. Heck, even brought a second one in case I needed it. He wasn't trying to impress anyone, just wanted to help. Same with the beach. It's sadly rare to see someone like that anymore. Well, we got to talking and I managed to get a feel for the kid. All in all, he just impressed me. So much so that I did a little digging when I got back. He lives in the dorms here on campus. Vice-Rep of his class. Started up a training program to help his class and others for the Sports Festival. Skilled in hand to hand combat."
"So, basically, all you have on him is what's on his student file," said Nighteye, amusement in his voice. "You were always bad at digging up information on others."
"Well, good thing I have you on my side," replied All Might with a slight smirk. "Any chance you could look into the kid?" For a moment, there was near silence on the phone with the only noise being the stubble tapping on the desk from Nighteye's end. Almost akin to the ticking of a clock. With each second that ticked by, All Might's worry began to grow. Then…
"Why ask me? Don't you have a detective friend who can help you out more?"
"He's already got his plate full looking into the League of Villains," answered All Might. "And, there is a limit to what he can do without it seeming suspicious. I know you have ways of gathering intel on a much larger scale." All Might then paused for a moment before looking up at the ceiling. "Plus, I want you to be a part of this. Look, I don't want us to make the same mistake we made all those years ago. We lost a lot of time because we were both so stubborn. So, I'm willing to bend if it means keeping you in my life. I want to hear your honest opinion on the kid because I value it. And…if I do end up choosing Young Midoriya to be my successor and something happens to me, I would like you to help guide him in my place."
"All Might, I…" began Nighteye, his voice trailing off. And, if Yagi's ears were working right, it sounded like his voice was choking a little. "I…guess it would only be fair to at least look into this newbie. Just give me a couple of days. But, just be warned, I haven't given up on Mirio. He's still my prime choice to take your place."
All Might let out a chuckle at that, fighting to keep from shaking his head. "I'll send you the battle footage from today's lesson," he said. "After I get Nezu's permission of course. Hopefully that will show you that he has skills. Still somewhat unrefined, but he has the skills. Then, if everything looks good on Young Midoriya's front…"
"Then he might, and I must stress the word 'might', be a suitable plan B," admitted Nighteye. "But before we get that far, give me a day or two to see if he really lives up to all the hype."
[hr]
At the same time, Izuku was the first of the guys to make his way out of the locker room. Since they were going to be doing their afterschool training, the teen was dressed in his blue gym uniform with his tattered hero costume stored safely in its case. He carried said case in one hand, the other holding onto his phone as he scrolled down the chat.
He heard Pony before he saw her. There was no mistaking her tone even as she hummed 'Dancing in the Moonlight', a song that Mr. Tsunotori liked to play in his car along with other Oldies as he called them. And, sure enough, Izuku found her waiting for him with her back leaning against the wall. Her own silver case was held in her hands right below her butt. Even though she was looking forward, nodding her head to the tune, she turned her head as soon as Izuku stepped out into the hallway with her face lighting up in a way that caused Izuku's heart to melt with joy.
"Hey Pony. Were you waiting long?" he asked as he watched his girlfriend push herself off the wall, her small tail shaking a little as she did.
"Nope," she answered. "Just a minute or two. Want to take our costumes back to the classroom together?"
"Of course," replied Izuku. Pony grinned brightly as one of her hands released its hold on the briefcase so that she could wrap her arm around Izuku's. A light blush appeared on the teen's face as he felt her body pressing against his own. Despite having seen her naked breasts, feeling them in his hands and pressing against his own bare skin as opposed to now with several layers of clothing coming between them, he was still aroused. So was Pony for, as Izuku looked over to the girl who had gone back to humming her tune, he could see the blush dusting her face.
Then, when he looked back at his phone, a frown appeared on his face.
"Looks like Tetsutetsu and Komori won't be able to make it," he said, causing Pony's melody to cease. "Apparently, Recovery Girl ordered that they go straight home to rest up. Right now they're still in her office, resting in her beds as they wait for their parents to pick them up. I guess I went…and now Kamakiri says that he's not feeling up to training today."
"Guess we should have seen that coming," replied Pony with a sigh before a slight smile appeared on her face. "So, what do you think the odds are that they will listen to her?"
That got a good chuckle out of Izuku. "Knowing Komori, she's following Recovery Girl's orders to the letter," he said before shaking his head. "But Tetsutetsu, first chance he gets he'll probably start doing sit-ups and push-ups until he passes out just so he doesn't fall too far behind. And Kamakiri, I somehow doubt he's just going to sit and rest for the night."
Now Pony was beginning to giggle. "It would be funny if he went home and began to whittle or something with his blades."
"Now that would be a great hobby for him!" laughed Izuku as the pair turned a corner. "I wonder what he would make first? Maybe a smaller version of-"
"Excuse us." Both Izuku and Pony slowed down at the pair of voices coming behind them. Curious, they turned their heads to see two people they really didn't know all that well. One was a brown haired girl with rosy cheeks wearing a similar gym uniform as them. At a glance, Izuku could see that there was something on her fingers. Something that looked like…pads? Did she have some sort of touch based quirk or something cat-like? However, his attention was quickly drawn away from her as the other girl's appearance was far more unusual. She stood slightly taller than her friend though still a few inches shorter than Izuku. Her skin and hair were almost the same shade of pink, her skin being a slightly darker shade. Her golden eyes seemed to swim in pools of darkness while two small yellow horns poked out of her messy locks of hair. Like her friend, she was also wearing the standard gym uniform.
"Hi there," said the pink skinned girl with a wave, flashing a friendly smile as Izuku and Pony fully turned around to look at them. "I'm Mina Ashido. And this is one of my besties: Ochaco Uraraka. We're from class 1-A."
When he heard that, Izuku could not help but groan. Was this another attempt from Aizawa to pester him into joining his class? Just keep sending girls his way to lure him over? Well that, wait. No, that couldn't be it since the guy had stated he didn't allow relationships to occur in his classroom. Plus, Aizawa seemed like the type of person who would harshly judge him for falling for something like that.
Then, without warning, Uraraka got down on the ground so fast to bow that it shocked everyone there, including Ashido. "Please, I need your help," the girl pleaded with her face practically placed on the ground. "I need to get stronger. I need to get better for the Sports Festival. W-We both do. I-I know you probably don't like either of us right now. Especially what happened in the lunch room! But not all of us think you're lame for picking up that beach. That was really, really cool."
As Uraraka spoke, Ashido looked away. "And that friend of yours from the Business Course, she didn't deserve to be treated like that," said the pink haired girl, her hands balling into fists as she did. Her body seemed to tense, arms trembling as if just thinking about it disgusted her. Then, after a moment, she inhaled deeply before making eye contact with the bone-user showing the fire in her golden orbs "Look, we will both understand if you don't want to train us. That's fine. I get it. But we would still like to apologize for what happened. Especially if Ida hasn't. W-We had a good idea what was going to happen to your class. Monoma was practically singing in the class chat that he was going to mock you guys for that. But despite that, I wasn't there. I'm not going to make any excuses for myself. And I swear up and down that I had no idea that Mineta was going to do that to that girl. She deserves her own apology."
Izuku remained silent for a moment, looking the girl in the eyes as she spoke. She kept her gaze glued to his own, never once looking away. She was being honest, he could tell.
"Alright then," said Izuku, nodding at Pony. She got the implied request, releasing her hold on his arm as he set down the briefcase holding his hero uniform. Once it was on the ground, Izuku moved to the middle of the large hallway before looking at Uraraka. "Ok. First, I'd like to see what you can do. A simple charge should be good enough."
"Really?!" asked the brown-haired girl excitedly, jumping onto her feet with a sparkle in her eyes. "A-Are you sure this is going to be ok? I wouldn't want any of us to get in trouble?"
"As long as we don't use our quirks or strike the other too hard, it should be ok," said Izuku. That seemed to be enough for Uraraka as she spread her legs while holding her arms up at about waist level. This was met with Izuku placing his arms behind his back, as if to say that he wouldn't be needing them for this.
Then Uraraka just charged. Her arms held out, looking like she was trying to reach him with an open palm strike right to the gut. No, wait. Her hands were too high. The chest? Well, in any case, it didn't matter to Izuku. Spinning on his heel he delivered a powerful leg sweep that the girl never saw coming causing her to fall backwards. His arms then shot out like twin vipers, one of them grabbing hold of her jacket to keep her from falling and hitting the ground, her body jerking from the sudden stop. As for his second hand, it had balled into a fist before going straight into the side of her gut. Not a powerful slam of course as Izuku reduced the amount of force he was exerting. But there was just enough for the girl to feel it was there, knowing how badly he could have hurt her had he so desired.
"That was…" began Izuku, his voice trailing off as he helped Uraraka stand. Thankfully, he didn't finish that sentence because he knew it would seriously hurt her feelings.
"It's ok. I know I suck," admitted Uraraka as she looked away. "I've never really been in a fight before and no one in my class will help teach me. Well, other than today with Ashido. She was the first one to actually try and help me."
"What?!" shouted Pony, stomping a hoof on the ground. "Why isn't anyone helping? Don't they know you get stronger when you all work together? That's the best way!"
"And what about Aizawa?" added Izuku, a frown appearing on his face. "He told me he wanted me in his class because he could teach me skills that no one else here could. Why isn't he offering that to you?" As he said this, Pony nodded her head so much that her long blonde hair was flying all over the place in waves.
"I…don't know?" said a clearly confused Uraraka. "He's never really made the offer or even suggested that he would help. Maybe it's because of the injuries he got at the USJ?" That caused Izuku to frown a bit more. Somehow, he doubted that the bandaged man would have trouble teaching this girl or any of the other students in his class. He had, after all, seen him moving around just fine earlier today as well as seeing his skills with that scarf. If he could do that, then he could at least show Uraraka the basics of fighting. The ONLY reason that would have been acceptable for Izuku was if there was some rule in play saying that teachers could not assist their students prior to the Festival. But, given all the help they had been getting from Kan, that seemed unlikely.
Feeling his dislike of the dark-haired man grow, Izuku took a breath to calm himself before talking once more.
"Before I agree to help you or not, I need to know why doing well in the Sport Festival is important," said Izuku, his words shocking Uraraka. "There must be a reason why this Festival is so important to you that you can't wait till next year to show off how much you have improved. I just need to know the reason."
"I…need the money," said Uraraka, looking away as she said that. "See, my parents own a construction company that's not doing so well. They're hanging on by a thread. But I want to help out with my quirk…only I don't have a license. And even if I did have one right now, the amount of money we would save wouldn't pull them out of the red. So…I want to become a hero to help them! I'm going to work hard, get scouted by a great hero and intern under them. Then, when I graduate, I'll get signed on by a top hero and make lots of money to help them while making the world a better place. It might not seem like the most heroic but-" Uraraka was then cut off as two sets of arms wrapped around her on both sides. On one side was Ashido while on the other was Pony, both of them having comically large amounts of tears running down their faces.
"D-Don't say anymore," wailed Ashido. "That's too pure!"
"R-Really?" asked Uraraka in a dumbfounded voice, as if she had expected them to scorn her for some reason.
"Of course!" cried Pony. "It's only right to want to give your all for the people you love! You don't ever want to let them down!"
"Helping your family is still helping others," said Izuku, adding in his own two cents as he placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to give your parents a better life. Plus, you'd be doing that by rescuing and saving others. I'd say that is something all heroes should strive to do." Now Uraraka looked like she was about to cry tears of joy along with the other two girls as Izuku pulled away.
"Now, between me and Pony, I'm sure neither of us has any issues with having you train with us," said Izuku. "But, we're not the only people you have to convince. If the rest of the training class has a problem, then there's nothing we can do. But, if they do turn you away, then perhaps we can meet up later for some one on one training."
"Really?" asked Uraraka and Ashido at once, clear excitement in their eyes. Excitement that Izuku had to quell as he raised his hand.
"Now, don't go getting your hopes up," he said. "There is a limit to what I can teach you in such a short amount of time. Especially when compared to everyone else. So there's no real guarantee that what we teach you will help you advance to the third round. All we can do is give you some guidance."
"Of course!" said Uraraka nodding her head. "Any help is better than nothing!"
"You said it girl!" cheered Mina.
"Yay! 1-A friends!" cheered Pony. "Let's go! Let's go tell everyone!"
With that, Pony began to almost literally drag the two 1-A girls towards the training area…leaving behind her silver briefcase in the process. Sighing and shaking his head at his girlfirend's excitement, Midoriya reached down to pick up both cases when a sound caused him to stop. It was his phone.
And, when he heard the voice on the other line, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Ah, Izuku! So glad you picked up!" came a deep voice from the other end. "Listen, I know this might be a last minute request, but if you could I'd like for us to meet up tomorrow night. I have already gotten permission from your parents and made reservations at this wonderful steakhouse near your school."
Izuku could only blink as the man spoke.
Mr. Blackhound, the man who his father worked for. The man who had helped give him his quirk.