AN: UGH! This was a long time coming, sorry for the long wait everyone. This chapter just was kind of refusing to be written, I even had to go back and read through the story a few times and my notes to ensure I didn't end up going off on a tangent and killing the flow of the story. To be honest, a lot of the student battle interactions between Izuku and any U.A. students will be pretty overwhelming for the most part. At least, they will be until the Sports Festival *wink-wink* ... also next familiar should be out next chapter. Enjoy, Disclaimer has been writen in previous chapters please see these disclaimers for info.
Chapter 9: Confrontations, and Battle Trial
U.A. High School, Unknown Hallway, Musutafu, Japan:
Izuku was standing in shock, his best childhood friend had just flat out said that she knew that he and Himiko had made a contract… and she wanted to join them? Now it wasn't that the silver haired vampire was exactly opposed to Kyoka joining him as a contractor, in fact hearing the rocker girl bluntly ask to join made the boy's heart skip a beat in excitement. Though due to the shock of delivery, Izuku still hadn't answered Kyoka, leading to the purple haired girl misunderstanding his silence for refusal. Tilting her head down in sadness and to hide the now visible tears, Kyoka was about to run, only to be caught in a sudden embrace by Izuku bringing a blush to her cheeks and a spark of hope in her heart.
Izuku, now holding to the shivering form of his childhood friend, had realized that his silence had almost been misunderstood. Bringing Kyoka closer, Izuku took a deep breath, inadvertently taking in the scent of the girl in his arms. Izuku noted that Kyoka smelled like a combination of lavender and spice, shaking his head to clear it of the sudden spike in his vampiric instincts, the young man then spoke in a soft and calm voice.
"Are you sure about this Kyoka? You know once we make the bond that we will be together for the foreseeable future…" Before Izuku could continue, Kyoka reached up to her uniform collar and opened it showing her nape and shoulder. In an equally soft voice Kyoka answered.
"I know Izuku, I know, and I don't care… you have been the greatest friend since we met, even before we knew each other. You sacrificed your life as a normal person to save me from those bullies when we were children, and that selflessness hasn't changed in the years since then." Turning in his grasp, Kyoka raised her hands to Izuku's cheeks. Once she had grasped him, the rocker brought his face down and met his lips in a chaste kiss that sent a shock of pleasure through her. Izuku's eyes widened for a moment before they closed as he returned the kiss. The two separated after a minute, then Kyoka gave a smirk and spoke up, a tinge of red spread across her face.
"Well, what are you waiting for Izu~" Once again tilting her head to expose her neck Kyoka continued, while giving Izuku a sultry look. Blushing at the look Kyoka was giving him, Izuku's eyes began to glow as his fangs grew from the combination of his instincts and his excitement. Taking another deep breath the silver haired teen bent down to Kyoka's nape and gave it a featherlight kiss, then without wasting a moment, Izuku opened his maw and bit down, drawing a gasp and moan from Kyoka. Within Izuku's quirk space, said boy could feel that only one of his familiars reacted to the new contract. When Izuku identified which familiar had reacted and accepted the contract, he had to fight down a smile at how similar both his new partner and said familiar were.
Himiko, who had been standing to the side as the new contract had been made, was surprised by the lack of negative emotion she was feeling looking at the two now partners. When Kyo had confronted her and asked to join, Himiko had been worried that she would feel jealousy seeing Izuku take other partners. Though this turned out to not be the case… instead Himiko felt a heat building in her cheeks as she saw the hold Izuku had on the rocker girl become more intimate, while said girl began to release breathy moans from the feeling of Izuku's feeding. It had been explained to the blond by Izuku that his quirk created a sort of additive to his saliva that gave a euphoric feeling when he fed from others. Of course this particular additive hadn't developed until Izuku began puberty, instead it used to only be an anti-coagulant and numbing agent that was produced. It had been explained by his physician that this adaptation had developed to facilitate easier access to those he feeds on. The idea being that if the feeding felt great then why should the 'donor' worry when he feeds.
Izuku's feeding continued for another few minutes, causing Kyoka to become little more than a panting mess. With a delicate lick that sealed the neck wounds, Izuku drew back and looked into the half lidded gaze of his childhood friend. Kyoka, still somewhat affected by Izuku's bite, moved forward catching the vampire off guard as their lips met. Izuku's eyes widened again before closing in pleasure as he returned the kiss, just as the two were about to deepen the kiss a sudden cough to the side brought the two out of their haze. Separating and looking over, Kyoka and Izuku blushed at the shit eating grin that was on Himiko's face. Before either teen could say or do anything, Himiko jumped forward and joined the embrace. Said blond then decided to catch both of her friends off guard by first catching Izuku's lips in a deep kiss, then pulling back and turning to a stuttering Kyoka before kissing the rocker just as passionately.
Now it was Izuku's turn to become a stuttering mess as he watched his two contractors make out in front of him. When Himiko finally released a steaming and embarrassed Kyoka, both turned to their vampire crush to find him glassy-eyed and sporting a massive nosebleed. Kyoka, worried about Izuku and trying to fight her conflicting feelings from Himiko's sudden kiss, placed her hand on Izuku's shoulder to get his attention… only for the silver haired vampire to collapse back in a faint. Kyoka could only look down at her crush with a deadpan realizing that the boy had overloaded from the image of her kissing Himi… Kyoka didn't even get to finish that thought before she too fell over with a massive blush.
Himiko, now the only one left standing in the empty hall, sweat dropped at the reaction of her two friends until a sweet smile grew on her face while a blush of her own grew on her face.
-Line Break-
Later, Outside U.A.
Katsuki Bakugo was currently waiting for his former childhood friend/bully victim outside the school gates. It had been about fifteen minutes now since Izuku was supposed to meet up with him, and still no sign of the former green haired nerd. At this point Bakugo was fighting down the rage that was attempting to force its way to the surface, but even with his improved self-control the explosive blond was finding it harder and harder to keep from cursing a stream so blue it'd make a sailor blush and take notes.
'I swear to god, if Izuku ditched me to mess around with those two girls… Well I'd be impressed first, then blast him in the face just on principle.' Before Katsuki could decide whether to act on his impulse or not while keeping from grinding his teeth in annoyance a voice sounded from behind him.
"Hey Bakugo, sorry for making you wait…" Turning back towards the school gates, the explosive blond saw Izuku running up to him along with the two girls he had left the classroom with. Biting back his angry retort, Katsuki took two deep breaths to calm himself before looking back at Izuku. Looking at him now, Katsuki was once again surprised at the changes the boy he had known so long ago had gone through. Whereas when they were kids, Izuku had always been smaller than the other kids and prone to self-doubt and nervousness in everything he did. The Izuku in front of him now was almost the complete opposite; tall and self-assured posture showed Katsuki the hard work that his former childhood friend, turned victim, had put in to be here now at U.A.
Shaking off his observations, Katsuki just grunted and spoke with a gruff tone, "Whatever, so are you ready to go and talk?" Katsuki then looked to the two girls again and gave a questioning look to Izuku, "Are Earjacks and Cat Eyes coming with us?" Hearing the nicknames that the ash blond had given them, Himiko and Kyoka had to fight the urge to smack the red eyed blond for his words. Seeing the murderous looks on his partners faces, Izuku spoke up before the two could act in retaliation.
"Yeah I'm ready to go and talk, but no Kyo and Himi aren't going to be joining us for this conversation." Both girls suddenly gave a quick 'what!?' before Izuku turned to the two and gave a small smile. "Sorry girls, this is something Bakugo and I need to talk out just the two of us," Izuku then walked up to the two and gave them both a quick hug and kiss on the cheek causing Himiko to smile and Kyoka to burst into steam at the contact. Katsuki on the side only rose an eyebrow at the show of affection wondering what the relationship was between these three, before scoffing and turning to begin walking off.
Kyoka and Himiko wanted to argue and say that they should stick by Izuku, but the serious look on the silver haired vampire's face cut any arguments before they could start. Giving a huff in exasperation, Kyoka agreed but told Izuku to be careful finally recognizing who the blond was from the day she had met Izuku before she went to head home. Himiko on the other hand was a bit harder to convince since she wanted to make sure that the blond Pomeranian didn't hurt her Izu. Izuku was eventually able to convince her to let him go by promising that they would talk back at home, the blond vampire finally relented but pouted before giving a light kiss on Izuku's cheek and rushing off towards home.
Finally on his own, Izuku turned to find Bakugo was already at the end of the street, grumbling about impatient blonds, Izuku rushed forward to catch up with the still walking blond. When Izuku finally caught up with Bakugo they walked in silence for a time, neither knowing how to talk after such a long time. In truth it was just, how did they talk after all that had happened, no matter how it was put, Bakugo had almost killed Izuku. The only reason Izuku was here now, and Bakugo wasn't in prison, was because the former greenet turned out to have what had to be the most bullshit quirk in existence. The silence continued until the duo finally ended up in a familiar park, the sun slowly setting on the horizon.
Sighing, Katsuki decided that he needed to speak first. "Listen Izuku…" seeing the boy turn to him with a questioning gaze, the blond continued in a subdued tone. "I-I'm sorry about what happened when we were kids… I mean… Fuck! You were my only friend for as long as I could remember… unlike all of those other extras that only stuck around because of my quirk, you were the only one that honestly cared about me as a person besides Aunty and my parents-" Izuku was shocked, was this really Bakugo Katsuki, the boy that had embodied the term 'Arrogantly Prideful' here now spilling his guts to him. The silver haired teen was about to respond only to be stopped by a raised hand from Katsuki.
"Please let me finish Izuku…" Bakugo now took a deep breath seeming to steady himself before continuing, "That day, when I thought that I had killed you… at first the only thought that ran through my brain was 'I can never be a hero now'… then after you and Aunty came to explain everything that had been happening I felt like the worst type of garbage. Here you were, someone that by any sense could have and should have hated me for what I had done, only to state that the blame wasn't on me but those asshats at Aldera…" The Duo stopped their trek, looking up, both boys were surprised to find that they had walked all the way to Dagobah Municipal Beach. The two stood in silence for a time just staring at the waves crashing on the once junkheap. It was so quiet that Izuku almost missed when Katsuki spoke again.
"I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness, let alone any sort of friendship… but I am so sorry Izuku… for everything." Turning once again to face Katsuki, Izuku stared into his former friend turned tormentor's eyes, finally seeing the lack of the all-encompassing rage that had filled them in the memories and nightmares the silver haired boy would have in his younger years. Izuku seemed to just stare at the explosive blond for a time, Katsuki only stared back not knowing what to expect now. After the third minute of silence, the blond released a breath and turned to walk back home, taking Izuku's silence as a refusal of his words. Only to be stopped when Izuku spoke quietly.
"Bakugo, I know that this had to be hard for you to apologize to me, especially after so much time has passed, and I appreciate the apology-" Katsuki stopped and waited for Izuku's final words though not turning back to face him. "but for now I don't think we will ever be more than classmates; a lot has changed from that day in the forest."
Katsuki wouldn't admit it, but that admission did hurt. What else could he expect? Of course Izuku had a point and Katsuki could and would respect that. The blond began to walk away again while giving Izuku a wave before stopping.
"Oh, by the way, my old man and the hag want to have dinner with you and auntie sometime. That was kind of the price if I wanted to have this talk with you." Izuku's brow rose at the Bakugo's invitation, before he chuckled and responded while getting ready to walk home himself.
"Well I can't make any promises, but I'll talk to my mom and see what she says. See you at school tomorrow Bakugo." With that, the two former friends went their separate ways, what this would mean for the future was yet to be seen.
-Time Skip-
U.A. Highschool, Class 1-A, Four Days Later:
Classes in U.A. where pretty much the same found in any high school curriculum during the week. The only difference being that these classes were all taught by Pro-Heroes, some examples being Present Mic teaching English, mathematics with Ectoplasm, and modern literature with Cementoss. To be honest the only sort of heroics related courses was Modern Hero Art History taught by the Rated R Hero: Midnight, much to the embarrassment of the classes male members and consternation of the female members. During the week, Izuku's group of friends slowly grew to include many of the others in his class… though mainly the female members for some reason.
First to approach his group had been the mature looking Momo Yaoyorozu, Izuku had been sitting with his friends and complimenting the different foods available from the schools hero chef Lunch Rush during lunch the second day in classes, when Kyoka walked up with a nervous looking Yaoyorozu. Looking up Izuku and the rest of his friend group welcomed the two before continuing their conversation. Kyoka only gave a reassuring smile to Momo before she sat on Izuku's left while ignoring the teasing grins from Mina and Himiko. The calm atmosphere continued in happy conversation until it was quieted when Izuku spoke to Momo.
"Excuse me Yaoyorozu-san?" Momo's attention shot to Izuku at the question with wide curious eyes, the expression was so cute that Mina and Himiko had to fight back the urge to squeal in girlish glee at how Yaomomo looked so much like a kitten that had been caught by surprise. Yaoyorozu, in a hurry to respond, quickly chewed and swallowed the food in her mouth before speaking up.
"eh-hm, sorry about that Midoriya-san, What would you like to ask?" Giving the young woman a gentle smile, Izuku wasted no time in asking his questions.
"Well I was just wondering if it would be okay if I asked some questions about your quirk-" Izuku then seemed to realize how rude that would be and in a panic added, "Of course you don't have to if you don't want to, and if you want to you could ask me any questions about my quirk in exchange…" Himiko and Kyoka realizing that Izuku was heading towards a mumble spree, quickly nudged him with their elbows gently to bring down his nerves. Realizing what was happening, the vampire thanked the two with a look before turning back to the contemplating visage of Momo.
Momo seemed to think about the offer for a moment before giving Izuku and the rest of the group a small demure smile and responded with a happy tone.
"That should be fine Midoriya-san, why don't you go first then I will ask my questions when you're finished."
Izuku seemed to gain a sudden twinkle in his eyes as he then pulled a notebook and pen from… somewhere, then began to spout out questions. What followed next was a litany of queries on the functions and limitations of the young heiress's abilities followed by an equally detailed rendition of said heiress's abilities. Izuku was so excited at the versatility and power of Yaoyorozu's quirk that Himiko and Kyoka had to remind him to slow down so his pencil wouldn't cause the notebook to spout into flames from the friction… again. By the time lunch had ended that day the rest of the group felt as though they had maybe made a mistake introducing these two eggheads, of course Izuku and Momo didn't even seem to notice as they were caught up within their own world of questions and answering said questions.
Over the next few days more and more of his classmates joined the group, Ochako and Tsuyu joining soon after Yaoyorozu, Mina bringing the invisible girl Toru and taciturn Reiko Yanagi, finally to round out their group was the trio of boys that Kirishima had befriend and introduced on the first day. Izuku could honestly say that he was happy and excited, for so long the vampire had always wanted a large group of friends. Now not only did he have more friends than ever before, but he was finally living his dream and training to be a pro hero while learning about the many quirks of his classmates.
It was now Friday, and the class was sitting and waiting for their first Foundational Hero Studies course. Izuku was almost vibrating in excitement wondering which pro hero would be teaching them today. The silver haired teen wasn't the only one wondering though, all around him Izuku could hear the various conversations going on between his classmates and friends. One of the more vocal duos being Kirishima and a jittery Mina.
"So who do you think it is going to be Kiri?" Kirishima seemed to think on it for a moment before just shrugging and responding with a sharp-toothed grin.
"I don't know Mina, but whoever it is I'm sure they will be super manly!" Izuku had to stop himself from facepalming at the expected response from his best male friend. Of course he wasn't the only one, most if not all of Kirishima's friends seemed exasperated at the red head's fixation on calling everything 'manly.' In the seat behind Mina, the ever stoic duo of Reiko Yanagi and Tsuyu Asui put forth their own response.
"While I am sure that our instructor will be quite capable of steering us all towards finding our paths forward in our endeavors in becoming paragons of the heroic industry. I cannot say for sure that this individual wouldn't be one of the fairer persuasion rather than the patriarchal epitome of which you seek Kirishima-san." The soft and emotionless tone that Yanagi delivered her small litany caused both Kirishima and Mina to look at her in confusion trying to work out the meaning of her words. The two were saved when Tsuyu gave them a rundown in a blunt to the point way.
Kero* "I think she means that whether the teacher is 'manly' or not, that U.A. would ensure that we would be in good hands." Most of the rest of the class gave ahh's of understanding and returned to waiting patiently. Himiko seemed to think of something before leaning over to Kyoka and Izuku to whisper.
"Ne, ne, do you two think that Tsu-chan's keros are supper cute?" Kyoka just rolled her eyes at the blonds' observation, while Izuku just seemed to think seriously before looking at Himiko straight in the eye.
"To be honest, I think that the croaks are kind of cute, and I'm sure that it will be a great selling point when she becomes a pro…" Izuku then began to mumble about all of the different ways such a verbal tic could help to settle those who the green haired frog girl rescued in the future. Unknown to him, Tsuyu was able to hear everything Izuku said as his voice somehow carried from his spot to the rest of the class. Mina and Toru were the first to notice the slight blush and light *kero* noises coming from the frog girl. Giggling the duo were about to tease the young amphibian quirked girl until they stopped when Izuku's mumbling did. Looking back over, the class was nervous at the sudden stiffened posture Izuku had taken. Before anyone could ask what the problem was, Kyoka along with Shoji suddenly picked up on someone large making their way down the hall. Then it came, the iconic laughter that everyone young and old could identify even in their sleep.
"Hahaha! I AM COMING THROUGH THE DOOR, LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!!!"
Yes there he was, the large imposing form of the Number One Hero All Might! As the seven foot frame of muscle made his way to the teachers podium, all of the students were excitedly commenting on the hero, from how amazing it was that he was their teacher to how his costume was from the Silver Age era. Having made his way to the podium, All Might then turned to face the class and gave another boisterous laugh and began his introduction.
"Yes students, it is I, All Might! Now I am sure you are all wondering what our first class will be today?" at the excited nods from his class All Might continued speaking, reaching behind his back and pulled out a large placard with the word 'BATTLE' written in bold letters. The rest of the class looked on at the placard with various degrees of reactions, from nervousness to excitement, All Might's smile seemed to grow even further if it was possible and spoke out once again.
"Our first lesson will be a Battle Trial! Now before we begin there is one more step-" Pulling out a switch, All Might quickly pressed the button and along the wall leading to the doors twenty cubbies opened up showing twenty metal cases within. "and that is hero costumes, each of these costumes meet the exact specifications each of you gave when you received your requisition forms."
All Might then gestured to the cubbies and continued his instructions. "You will find your respective costumes according to your seat number, after you are all ready, please meet me at Battle Ground Beta where I will give you all further instructions."
Without another word, All Might then rushed through the door leaving a large gust of wind in his wake. While the rest of the students stood and went to grab their costumes, Izuku's expression changed to worry at something he noticed after the Number One Hero left.
'Why did All Might smell of blood and sickness?'
-Line Break-
Fifteen Minutes Later, Battle Ground Beta:
All Might stood within a meeting room that would hold the students while they conducted their battle training in thought. The Number One Hero was somewhat thankful that the students had taken longer than their homeroom teacher would prefer. The time by himself had given the older hero a short chance to rest and preserve his ever dwindling time in his hero form. Even after all this time, the injury that he had received in his final battle with his hated foe thrummed in pain that sent lances of hot agony through the area that had once held his lung and stomach. All Might, or as his closest friends and officials knew him Toshinori Yagi, knew that his pushing of his hero form and lack of rest had been slowly killing him. When he had gone to visit his friend David on I-island a year ago, it had been discovered that All For One had one last trick up his sleeve to ensure the eventual fall of his hated foe. David found that within the wound around Yagi's organs was a slowly spreading virus that specifically targeted the hero's remaining organs and nervous system. Unfortunately for the pro, his friend had also discovered that this virus was completely quirked in nature, meaning that even with the best technology available the chances of I-island being able to create a treatment or cure was impossible.
A part of Toshinori died that day, knowing that even though he had finally won and avenged his master by defeating All For One, in the end the ancient villain would have the last laugh knowing that he had cursed the Symbol of Peace to die a pitiful and pain filled death. The only solace that David had been able to give Toshinori was that if the man were to transfer his quirk, the viral quirk wouldn't be transferred along with it, this news had somewhat lifted the man's spirits knowing that his master's and the other user's legacy wouldn't be lost due to his mistake. This news also helped him to make a decision on who to transfer One For All to so as to protect one of the few precious people he had left in the world. Before the hero could think more on how his successor had been improving in recent days, All Might was brought out of his musings when a quiet alarm went off, quickly resuming his heroic form the Number One stood in wait for this next generation of heroes in the making.
First through the entry way was Ida Tenya, brother of the current Ingenium Ida Tensei, the tall boy was decked out in similar armor to his brother, looking like a high tech knight colored in plates of white edged in blue in places and a full face knight helm. All Might could see from a glance most of the armor on the boy was concentrated around his calves which housed the engines of his families quirk. Though the pro hero decided to have someone speak to the boy about calming down, that much seriousness would likely lead to the boy burning himself out in the future.
Next to come through was actually a small group of students made up of most of the girls of the class. Starting from right to left were Momo Yaoyorozu, Ashido Mina, Toru Hagakure, and Ochako Uraraka. Seeing the young women walking towards the meeting point, All Might could already see some glaring problems with a few of the girl's costumes. First with young Yaoyorozu, she was dressed in a high-collared, sleeveless crimson leotard with silver lines at her waist and around her arms, a large opening ran from her neck to just below her naval held closed by a harness across the top of her collar bone. around her waist were two large belts that create a short skirt like appearance giving the young Heiress a modicum of modesty, lastly hanging from the belts behind her was what looked to be a large book. All Might had to fight down a cough full of blood at the impracticality of this costume, while yes it would allow Young Yaoyorozu to use her quirk effectively, to a point, it offered next to no protection from ranged attacks or elemental based attacks such as ice or electricity. Then there was the large book that hung from her lower back, All Might knew that it would only one bad fall for said book to cause serious harm to the young woman's spine that could see her crippled in the worst case. For now All Might made a mental note to speak with the girl further on getting a specialized costume that wouldn't sacrifice protection for usability.
The next greatest problem was Young Hagakure, All Might wasn't sure what the costume designers were thinking when they designed this costume, but he would be sure to let Nezu know to blacklist the company that deigned to give a young sixteen year old girl only a pair of gloves and boots and call it a costume. In fact, All Might wasn't so sure about even allowing Hagakure to participate in such a dangerous exercise without at least the bare minimum of protection. Fighting down a growl of anger at the lack of forethought of the designers, All Might continued onto the next two, honestly the two remaining girls in the group were at least somewhat better from first glance. First Young Ashido was dressed in a full body skintight leotard that left her arms bare and fair bit of cleavage exposed. It is colored in a combination of purple and turquoise in a camouflage pattern, over her shoulders the pink girl wears a cropped, sleeveless, tan-colored waist coat with white fur along its collar unbuttoned. For equipment All Might could see two major pieces, a set of violet and beige specialized boots, and gauntlets that went up to her forearms with nozzles above the knuckles. The final piece of her costume is a white mask over her eyes causing the young woman's already otherworldly black and yellow eyes to stand out even more.
Then there was Ochako Uraraka, whose costume consisted of a full-body suit, primarily black with a pale pink design down the middle of her torso, topped with two black semi-spheres on her chest, pink stripes starting at her midsection, a deep pink choker, and two-toned pink sleeves with cuffs. On her hands were a pair of round gauntlets with handles, chunky, knee-high boots with hat looked to be a spring loaded heel and a two piece belt with a round buckle. Lastly was a headgear reminiscent of an astronaut's helmet with a half visor that went to the middle of her face. Out of the others in their small group, All Might could see that Young Ashido and Uraraka needed the fewest changes to their costumes. More protection in the case of the pink girl and a utility upgrade for the space themed brunet, along with a replacement for those boots seeing the hazard the spring lock could have if they broke during use.
As time passed more and more of the students came, some costumes were simple but well thought out, such as Kirishima, Shoji, and Yanagi, others though would likely need revisions so as to help better protect themselves or supplement their quirks. Major cases of this included Sato, Tokoyami, Kaminari, and Ojiro. Finally there were those whose costumes seemed well thought out, those being Young Bakugo, Todoroki, and Aoyama. Doing a quick head count before the start of the lesson, All Might was a bit concerned when he saw that there were three students still missing, before the pro could say anything a trio of footsteps could be heard, drawing the attention of everyone in the room to see the final trio of students, and what a sight they were.
Walking in the middle of the trio was Izuku Midoriya, the boy All Might had been half convinced was an underling of his former nemesis at the sheer number of abilities the boy's quirk offered. It was only when Nezu himself had assured the Number One and shared the boy's documents with him that Yagi could take a breath of relief. Taking in Young Midoriya's appearance, All Might had to fight back the look of awe at the boy's costume. Izuku was dressed in a way similar to a noble, a light chest plate covered his torso reminiscent of the armor he wore when he had fused with his familiar. The armor was colored primarily matte black with lines of crimson red, violet and golden yellow running along the sides and shoulders. Instead of the images of his familiar his armor was instead blank except for the center in which was the image of a serpent biting its own tale twisted into an infinity symbol. Each of the young man's limbs were encased in greaves and bracers, the greaves ending in full gauntlets and the greaves leading to black with green trim armored boots. Under the armor was a skintight black bodysuit with green highlights that seemed to glow in the low light. Altogether, Izuku's costume was both practical and slightly intimidating.
Then there were the two remaining young ladies of Class 1-A, Kyoka Jiro and Himiko Toga. The young rocker girl sporting a cyber punk rocker type look with an armored black and violet leather jacket, a black compression tank top and dark purple ripped skinny jeans that showed the young woman's lithe frame. For support gear, Young Jiro has two black gauntlets that seemed to be topped with directional speakers, like Present Mic's. Around her lower legs similar gear were combined with combat boots to make a decent defense for the young heroine's legs. Functional and fashionable in All Might's limited opinion.
Himiko Toga… if Young Jiro was a cyber punk rocker, then Young Toga was a vampire hunter, dressed in what looked to be a similar outfit to one of the main characters of a pre-quirk era movie, Underworld, he believed. The young woman was dressed similarly to a Death Dealer, though somewhat brighter, a long trench coat that went down to just below her calves. Beneath this she wears a full body leather suit with an inbuilt corset/holster that seemed to hold a collection of bladed weapons. Holstered to her hips All Might had to sweat drop at the two short blades holstered on either hip, in the back of his mind All might had to hope that no one got on the vampire girl's bad side. The final noticeable difference was that the young woman's normal messy buns were no longer present, instead her blond hair was elegantly tied into a single low bun so as to prevent anyone from attempting to grab her hair.
The rest of the students, finally noticing the trio walking in, moved to talk to their classmates, the girls complimenting Himiko's and Jiro's costumes while the guys, especially Kirishima, commented that Izuku's costume was really cool or manly. The Number One Hero was happy to see that his class were getting along so well, the only ones the tall man noticed two that didn't join with the rest of the students, both the Todoroki girl and Bakugo-Shonen bringing a slight edge of worry at the looks the two were giving the group. Shaking his head and not wanting to waste any more time, All Might cleared his throat and caught the attention of the rest of the class, loners included. Giving the group his signature smile, All Might then began his instructions.
"All right you zygotes, this is how the lesson is going to go," turning around, blocking the view of the students with his cape, All Might turned around holding a large box with a hole cut into the top.
"Each of you will come up and reach into the box to pick out a ball that will have a letter on it. Once you each all have a ball you will then pair up with the student that has the same letter creating groups of two. Then at random I will select two of these teams to face each other in a 'Heroes Vs Villains' scenario. Now before we begin are there any questions?"
The Number One Hero had barely finished his instructions before he was then bombarded by questions from almost the entire class.
"Sensei! What are the winning conditions for this scenario?!"
"Are you going to expel us if we do badly like Aizawa-sensei?"
"How badly can I hurt the other team?"
"Isn't my cape fabulous?"
All Might had to fight down the sudden panic as the questions continued to come at him, fighting down the cough of blood that attempted to come up his damaged esophagus, the blond hero raised a hand to calm the students and began to answer the questions one by one.
"Wait now young ones, my quirk isn't super hearing you know, ha-ha! Now to answer your questions; Young Ida, I will explain the conditions of victories for each team after they are decided, next Young Hagakure, please do not worry I will not expel any of my students as long as they do not break any major school rules, Young Bakugo please keep any injuries to the minimum necessary to capture or knock out your opponents, and finally Young Aoyama… well yes your cape is quite eye catching."
The students looked on in awe at the Number One answering all of those questions in the order they were given, two exceptions being Shoka Todoroki, who looked on blankly at the goings on, and Izuku who was fighting his worry at the ever increasing scent of blood and sickness coming from All Might. Izuku swore to himself and made a mental note to speak with the Symbol of Peace after the class today to try and figure out what was going on with him and if the young vampire could help. Following the awe, the class then stepped forward one at a time, each of them grabbing a ball and looking at the letter on it before beginning to look for their partners. When it was finally Izuku's turn, he walked to the box and reached within and pulled out a black ball with a large 'B' on it. Looking up Izuku then called out for the rest of the class to hear.
"Hey I Got 'B,' anyone else have that letter yet?" Both Kyoka and Himiko looked down in disappointment at their own balls that had 'E' and 'H' respectively. Izuku was interested in how Kyoka's ball was like his being black, while Himiko's was white with a black letter. Having an idea what this could mean, Izuku was about to walk around to find his partner until a nervous voice was heard from behind him.
"U-Um, Midoriya-san-" Izuku then turned around and found a nervously fiddling Momo Yaoyorozu, in her hands was the matching ball. Giving the young heiress a friendly smile, not noticing the light blush that came to the young woman's face, Izuku proceeded to walk up to Yaoyorozu while speaking.
"Hello Yaoyorozu-san, I guess we are partners huh? Well either way happy to work with you!" The now flustered heiress couldn't help the blush on her face from intensifying before giving a small smile of her own and responding.
"I-It is a pleasure working with you as well Midoriya-san, and please call me Momo, I know my name can be quite a mouthful and it would be more efficient to just say my first name." Izuku just blinked at the way Yao- no Momo had so easily asked for him to call her by her first name in the name of efficiency no less, unaware that behind him Himiko and Kyoka were looking on with a knowing look at Momo that only she and the other girls noticed. Fighting back her embarrassment, Momo was about to speak up and say never mind if it made the silver haired young man uncomfortable before she was struck silent by the smile of said man.
"Thank you Momo-san, if it's okay you can also call me Izuku if you like." Momo's along with a few other girls hearts skipped a beat at the purity shown in that smile, Himiko and Kyoka on the other hand, had to fight back the urge to jump their contractor/boyfriend and kiss him in front of everyone. Before the slice-of-life moment could continue it was stopped by yet another light cough from All Might taking the attention of the rest of the class and stopping the ever rising heat on Momo's cheeks now that everyone's attention was no longer on her and Izuku.
"Well, now that everyone has their letters and partners, I am sure you are wondering why half the groups have spheres that are black while the others are white." At the students nods All Might just grinned and continued, "It's quite simple my young students, those who have a white sphere will be the heroes, while those who have black will be the villains!" Reaching behind himself again, All Might then brought forward what looked like flashcards much to the classes amusement. Clearing his throat once again, the Number One began the explanation of the assignment.
"Now students, the scenario for this class will be as follows; Villains have captured an unknown yield explosive device and hidden it within one of the buildings in the city. It is the heroes objective to find the bomb and either capture the villains or the bomb before time runs out. Each Villain team will have ten minutes to prepare themselves, then the heroes will be sent in and will have fifteen minutes to complete the objective."
Looking down at his black sphere again, Izuku could only sigh in slight disappointment knowing now that he would have to play the part of a villain. Momo at his side wasn't much more enthused by the idea of being a villain either but decided to try and bring up her partner's spirits. Raising her hand, Momo placed a light hand on Izuku's shoulder shaking the young man from his thoughts. Looking into his partner's expressive, gemlike onyx eyes, Izuku just gave her a thankful smile before the voice of All Might brought their attention back to the front of the room.
"All right students! Without wasting anymore time let us see who the first teams will be!" Pressing a switch that was nearly unseen in the pro hero's large hand, two of the screens behind All Might began to cycle through different letters until slowing down showing the results. All of the students looked at the letters in excitement while some looked around the room to find the two teams, All Might on the other hand felt slight trepidation at the selections before he seemed to swallow his worries and smiled wide.
"Our first two teams will be; Team G as the Heroes, and Team B as the Villains." Both Momo and Izuku perked up hearing that they would be going first and looked to see which team they would be fighting. There standing across the room was the ever stoic Todoroki Shoko and her partner Tokoyami Fumikage, Izuku had to fight a frown at the way Todoroki was now glaring at Momo and himself, before he could confront the dual haired girl All Might gestured them to make their way to their designated site to begin preparations for their battle against the hero team.
-Line Break-
Five Minutes Later, Battle Site B, Bomb Location:
"So, Izuku-san, what do you think we should do?" The voice of his partner brought Izuku out of his thoughts on why Todoroki seemed so suddenly hostile and back to the matter at hand. Thinking over the question, Izuku placed a hand on his chin and started to think about what he knew of their soon-to-be opponents and how they should approach the match.
"Well from what we've seen so far, both Todoroki and Tokoyami-san have very powerful and versatile quirks… though from what I have personally observed, Todoroki will likely try to take us down in one move without involving her partner, likely by freezing the building with her cold side. Afterwords, both she and Tokoyami would then have free reign to come and either capture us or the bomb at their leisure. Of course that is if Tokoyami doesn't somehow convince Todoroki to fight up close, in that case, Tokoyami's Dark Shadow would by far be the more worrisome opponent considering the lack of powerful lighting in the area… then there could be the mutter, mutter, mutter…"
Momo was now just staring at her partner as he began to devolve into a stream of muttering that was filled with so much information that it was hard to believe that the silver-haired teen had only known their classmates for less than a week but seemed to have a complete rundown of their quirks strengths and weaknesses along with a mild psychological profile. Now, usually a person being exposed to such a cacophony of information on their peers would have been worried or freaked out by the likelihood that Izuku would probably have similar or even more in depth information on the others in their class… but Momo Yaoyorozu was not a normal person, due to the passive increase of both her intelligence and analytical perception that her quirk, Creation, gave her, the young heiress was capable of understanding and more importantly appreciating the sheer intelligence that her partner was showing. In fact, if Momo was being honest, the fact that Izuku could so easily break down and assimilate information on a level that seemed to surpass her own was… kind of hot. Fighting down the blush that sudden thought brought up, Momo decided to stop Izuku's deluge of information and planning by placing a hand on his shoulder again.
Izuku seemed to come out of his mumble storm almost instantly and blushed in embarrassment at how he had so easily become distracted in front of his partner. It was only the small smile of assurance that the heiress gave him that caused Izuku's nerves to settle, clearing his throat Izuku took a deep breath and spoke calmly with a gleam of mischief in his eyes that sent a shiver down his partner's back, whether this shiver was good or bad was yet to be seen.
"Well here's my plan, first we…"
-Line Break-
Outside the Building:
Standing outside the basic, nondescript, concrete building, the hero team stood silently, Tokoyami standing with his arms crossed below his dark cloak looked to his partner and raised a brow at how she was glaring at the building. Deciding to inquire why Todoroki seemed so suddenly aggressive towards their classmates Tokoyami spoke up.
"Excuse me, Todoroki-san," the raven headed teen had to fight down a flinch as Todoroki's glare was now pointed directly at him. Fighting through the discomfort Tokoyami continued, "Why is it you have begun to show such animosity towards our classmates? It is just, I do not believe they have done anything to earn your ire…" Todoroki just continued to look at Tokoyami, though the glare lessened in intensity, replaced by a cold indifference that seemed to drop the temperature around the duo by at least ten degrees. Todoroki then took a deep breath before exhaling a large cloud of vapor then began to speak in a dead monotone.
"I personally have nothing against either Yaoyorozu or Midoriya, it is just something personal and something that I have to prove." Todoroki's eyes once again hardened and her tone became sharp, "With that, I ask that you stand aside and let me do the majority of the work," The voice of All Might was then heard through their earpieces letting them know the battle trial had begun. Stepping forward and ignoring the indignant look of her partner Todoroki continued, "I will end this in one move." Reaching forward, Todoroki placed her hand on the building and within seconds the building was covered in a thick layer of glacial blue ice.
Tokoyami looked on in surprise at the sheer power his partner had just used, the raven headed shadow user couldn't help but think that this was overkill against their classmates. Without even a single glance to her partner, Todoroki began to walk forward towards the building to capture the bomb and prove to that man once more that she will never need his power. Behind the ice user Tokoyami followed, not wishing to be useless and to provide backup if it was necessary.
The duo proceeded to search through the first three floors of the building with no such luck finding either the villain team or the fake bomb. It was as they made their way up to the fourth floor that Tokoyami's instincts and quirk screamed at him to move, Todoroki reacting similarly due to her training under her father. Jumping back to the third floor the two stared wide-eyed when a large lightning bolt flashed through the space the two were previously instantly melting then evaporating the ice left behind by Todoroki's first attack. The hall was silent for a moment while filled with a cloud of evaporated water, until the sound of metallic boots on concrete could be heard followed by the sizzle of electricity, then there standing atop the staircase was the looming glowing figure of Izuku Midoriya clad in the armor form he had shown during the quirk apprehension test, but the sight that froze the two hero students in place was the near luminescent slitted eyes that stared down at them in a way similar to a predator looking upon prey.
"Well, Well, Well, what do we have here?" a smile then split the shadowed visage showing a line of sharp fanged teeth, "A fresh pair of morsels come into mine and my mistresses' abode… how quaint." In the back of Tokoyami's mind the sound of Dark Shadow's whimpers almost drove the avian headed edge lord into a panic, never in all the years he and his quirk had been together had Dark Shadow ever reacted in such a way to anything, even at its weakest during the day the shadow being would never cower against the odds. In comparison, Todoroki Shoka was staring in amazement at the power and majesty her classmate was showing, until the words and ultimatum of her father rang through her mind causing her to narrow her eyes in anger and barely hidden desperation.
Stepping forward to face her classmate, Shoko looked to her partner and gave a quick instruction to find another way to the bomb, Tokoyami gave a quick nod to his partner and ran from the area while wishing her luck. Izuku, still standing in place and raising a brow at his opponents actions, smirked and raised a hand to his ear activating the small headset communicator to let Momo know that Tokoyami was heading her way and to prepare plan B. Receiving a quick confirmation from the Heiress, Izuku began to walk down the steps towards his dual-haired opponent.
"Now, shall we begin, young ice maiden?" without another word spoken, Shoko stamped her foot sending out a concentrated wall of sharp glacial ice at the approaching vampire. Smirking and impressed by the power shown by his classmate once more, Izuku held out his hand before channeling an enormous amount of electrical energy then condensing it until it was formed into a glowing object. Izuku then swung down the object impacting the ground and the hallway was suddenly filled with a bright light and the sound of a thunderclap. Shoko, who had covered her eyes at the bright flash of light, was suddenly launched backwards from the shockwave, collecting herself quickly, the youngest Todoroki used her quirk to create a brace beneath her to stop herself from crashing into the end of the hall.
The dual quirk user looked up at the now hidden staircase after collecting herself from her impromptu launch to try and identify what Midoriya had done. It only took a moment for Izuku to come into view and for Shoko to see what he had used, there propped on his shoulder was a war hammer. The hammers haft looked to be about five feet long, the head of the hammer was a roaring lion's head with a shimmering red orb in the mouth. Seeing the wide eyed shock on the young woman's face, Izuku gave a light chuckle before explaining.
"From the look on your face, I can guess you are wondering what the hammer is about…" Izuku then just gave a shrug before continuing nonchalantly, "It's something new I have been working on since the quirk apprehension test, I call it the Regulus Maul!" Izuku's smile of pride for his new move caused Shoko to just look on in deadpan, unknown to the two and their partners, Izuku's new technique was causing a freakout with the rest of their class.
-Line Break-
Site B Observation Room:
"WHAT THE HELL!" was the exclamation of the rest of Class 1 A as they were observing, the fourteen students and their teacher could only stare gob smacked at what they were seeing. The only ones that weren't too surprised were Himiko and Kyoka, though the two were a bit miffed that Izuku hadn't shared his new move with them beforehand or even given them a hint that he was working on something like this. Throughout the group of students various responses could be heard, one of the more notable being Kaminari who at that moment was in the corner of the room with an almost visible cloud of depression that hung over him.
"It's not fair… first he has a badass lion made of lightning, then he could do an epic Super Sentai-esc transformation, now he can even make weapons… some people get all the luck!" Izuku's oldest friends, Himiko, and Bakugo had to fight the urge to slap the electric quirk user across the back of his head, the silver haired boy's friends only stopping themselves knowing that Izuku wouldn't want them to act out like that just for a misunderstanding. Bakugo on the other hand didn't have nearly enough patience to not respond to this knockoff Pikachu looking dumbass.
"Oi Dunce Face, don't just assume that the Nerd's quirk didn't take a shit ton of work to get to where it is now!" Before Kaminari could talk back to him, Katsuki continued, "Maybe instead of whining about it, you should talk to the Nerd to get some advice on how to increase the power of your quirk. I have no doubt that he will help out if you just ask." Kaminari seemed to take in what the explosive blond was saying for a moment before a large smile replaced the look of gloom. Jumping up the electric blond rushed and gave Bakugo a few quick shoulder pats and thanking him for the advice. Much to Izuku's friends, especially Kyoka's, surprise Bakugo just gave a light scoff and replied with a quiet 'whatever' before wandering off to stand with his partner Kirishima.
While all of this was going on, All Might was looking at the screens in amazement at the continued advancements of Young Midoriya's quirk. The Number One was honestly of the mind that the young man would have likely made an excellent successor if the hero hadn't already selected and passed his quirk on. The sudden thought of his successor brought a slightly wider grin to Toshinori's face, it had been a pure spur of the moment situation that had led the ailing blond to his choice to pass his quirk on. In fact, when All Might had returned to Musutafu he had to bear through another argument with his former side-kick Sir Nighteye when the man had learned that he had passed his quirk onto someone that wasn't the person he had selected.
To be honest, Toshinori had been more than a little irritated by the way his former friend and confidant seemed to have become obsessed with 'preserving the legacy of All Might,' to the point of raising Young Togata to be an almost carbon copy of the current Number One Hero. Toshinori had to put his foot down after the third consecutive attempt by the [Future Sight] user to try and convince him to take back the quirk and give it to his selected protégé. The blond symbol told Nighteye that if he attempted to convince him again or coerce his chosen successor when they revealed themselves, that he would ensure that the pro would lose his hero license for abuse of his position and quirk. That had been about three months before the entrance exams, and Toshinori hadn't heard anything from his former friend since.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, All Might returned his attention to the screen, reminding himself to check-in with his successor at the end of the day.
-Line Break-
Shoka was in trouble, the dual quirk user was cursing within her mind as she jumped to the side to avoid another ground shaking attack from the lightning maul of her opponent. The worse part though, was that the youngest Todoroki knew that Midoriya was holding back. Ever since this battle had begun, Midoriya had only been using melee attacks with his maul. Gritting her teeth and fighting down the shiver of cold that was slowly overwhelming her from over use of her quirk, Shoka pushed through and launched another wave of ice at her opponent. Unfortunately for the young woman, due to her overuse of her quirk the attack she sent at the vampire quirk user was both to small and slow to be of use.
Izuku only frowned at the weakened attack before he destroyed it with just a wave of his weapon. At first the young man had been excited at the opportunity to test himself against one of the most powerful students in his class, but as this battle continued and his opponent's attacks got smaller and weaker while Todoroki's limbs began to frost over on her left side the hero in training knew something was wrong. Deciding to get to the bottom of this after the match, Izuku moved to end this match so as to keep any damage to Todoroki-san to a minimum.
Shoka couldn't have reacted if she tried, both due to the sudden flash of speed combined with the ever growing frostbite on her ice half. In a flash of lightning, Izuku moved from where he had been standing to just in front of the dual haired quirk user with the head of his hammer drawn back in a thrusting motion. The last thing Shoka knew was the sudden pain as the hammer head slammed into her abdomen both knocking her back as well as sending a jolt of electricity through her body. Before unconsciousness claimed her, Shoka looked up into the now normal form of her classmate as he reached into a pouch and pulled out the capture tape given to each team before they left for the match. When the darkness finally claimed her, the only reaction Shoka had was to let out a single tear knowing what this loss meant for her when that man found out.
Izuku couldn't keep the frown off his face after he had seen that lone tear fall from Todoroki's face just before passing out. Moving quickly, the young man wrapped first the dual haired young woman's wrists then ankles before the sound of All Might Sensei was heard over both the earpieces and the broadcast system.
"Young Todoroki is captured, hero team is down to one member, five minutes remain."
Reaching up to his earpiece, Izuku began to speak to his partner for a sitrep.
"Hey Momo, any sign of Tokoyami yet?"
-Line Break-
Bomb Room:
"Hey Momo, any sign of Tokoyami yet?"
Momo stood within the large room that the two students had chosen for their plan against the hero team. The room was large taking up most of the available room on the fifth floor of the building that they were given for the battle trial, the empty space in the large room broken up with support pillars intermittent throughout the space. Reaching up to the earpiece Momo was about to respond to her partner until a beeping came from her wrist. Raising her wrist, the young heroine looked at a small smart watch that she had made to connect to a series of motion sensers that Izuku had placed while he made his way towards their opponents. Quickly reading the information on the screen, Momo turned towards the western entrance and produced a staff in her left hand while a small buckler shield appeared on her right forearm.
Less than a minute later, the dark form of her avian headed classmate, Tokoyami made his way into the room. This by itself wouldn't have been to worrying for the young heiress but there looming behind the hero's shoulder was the looming form of Tokoyami's quirk [Dark Shadow]. Momo had to fight down the shiver that came over her as the bright angry yellow gaze of the sentient shadow quirk attempted to stare her down. Tokoyami noticing the slight look of hesitation on his classmates face, decided to speak up in an attempt to finish this battle so as to not face the more dangerous opponent that was likely on his way if the lack of explosions and tremors were anything to go by.
"This is the end villain, surrender now or be swallowed by the shadows of justice." As if to punctuate his words, [Dark Shadow] seemed to inflate and grow filling the space behind the young hero in training.
Momo could honestly admit that the show was actually quite intimidating, but what really surprised her was the fact that Izuku's predictions had almost happened to a 'T.' From Todoroki-san's attempt to freeze the building to Tokoyami being the one to face her, the sheer intelligence and foresight of her partner caused the young heiress's heart to pound in excitement. Getting her head back in the game, Momo decided to play up the 'Villainess' role and gave the still approaching Tokoyami a smug grin causing the avian teen to raise a feathered brow in confusion. Chuckling in a haughty and condescending way some of the more stuck up students at her previous school had, Momo looked down at her opponent and began to speak, her tone matching her pose.
"Oh~ so the little hero thinks he has caught this one here?" Transferring the staff she had made to her shield hand, Momo reached behind her back seeing that Tokoyami was finally in position. "Well I am sorry to say that your interference was… expected and plans were made." Moving her hand from behind her back, Tokoyami looked on in confusion at the switch that was in Momo's hand a feeling of dread slowly growing.
Seeing Tokoyami's approach slow, Momo let a haughty grin grow on her face and spoke out before springing her trap.
"I see that you don't understand your peril, allow me to 'Illuminate' the situation you find yourself in." as soon as the switch in the young woman's hand was flipped, Tokoyami's world was suddenly filled with an overwhelming flash of light. In each of the tops of the pillars mounted high intensity LED lights were pointed at the shadow quirk user encasing him from all directions. [Dark Shadow, unable to handle the sudden light attack was forced to retreat within his host leaving Tokoyami without his most powerful defense.
Wasting no time, Momo rushed forward and proceeded to drive her staff into Tokoyami's abdomen, knocking the air from him and sending him to the floor just inside the doorway where the standing form of Izuku waited with another roll of capture tape. The last thing Tokoyami heard before he passed out from the sudden hit was the sound of All Might declaring the Villain Team the victors.
AN: Hey everyone, JCrowe here, just so I dont get any flame comments I know that Shoko seems to be a little out of left field with the sudden hostility, but there is a reason for this. You see there are challenges that I believe a fem-Shoto would face that others wouldn't, though I won't be getting into it until the Sports Festival. Anyways thank you for reading and the next release will be for 'Resident Fallen Hero' then 'A Grimm Contract,' finally 'A Hero's Destiny'
