"Attack!" - Regular Speech
'It isn't working!' - Thoughts
{My Noble Master} – Sword Spirit Communication
"Bankai!" - Spiritual Technique Usage
Beta'd by BigCC
Chapter 9: Battle Practice
The Next Day
Midoriya Hisashi's Office, 1-A United Alliance Dorms, U.A. Swordmaster Academy
When all things were taken into consideration, Midoriya Hisashi liked to believe that he was a fairly even-tempered man, one that knew how to keep his cool even under difficult circumstances. He had to be, after all, in order to survive the toxic, punishing and soul-killing (almost literally if the current findings from the Musutafu Warriors Guild proved to be concrete) work environment that filled Intetsu Industries for two decades and change. Particularly with an asshole boss that loved nothing more than browbeating his subordinates and finding any excuse to deduct or withhold their hard-earned pay.
He certainly hoped said boss was currently enjoying his new prison cell as he awaited trial for a multitude of charges ranging from falsification of official documents, embezzlement, and perjury to several sexual harassment charges Intetsu had managed to bury to keep 'too much attention' from falling onto their business. If that asshole got to walk freely again in less than twenty years after everything was said and done, then Hisashi would eat his shoes.
Anyway, the point was that learning how to manage, control, and contain one's temper was a vital skill for surviving in that kind of environment, and Hisashi liked to think he was quite good at it. Which made the fact that he was only barely restraining himself from just giving in to his current desire to simply stand up and falcon punch the idiot who'd deliberately set up his son against his bully of several years just to see what would happen a very good indicator to just how utterly furious he was currently feeling toward Aizawa Shōta.
"Dean Nezu has already informed me about what punishments you will be dealing with." He said to the man standing across from him. "Personally speaking, I'd have also been tempted to take a leaf out of my former employer's handbook and slashed your pay check for a while as well, but that is just my personal preference. I'm willing to trust that the Dean knows what he is doing regarding your punishments, but I honestly don't want to interact with you at the moment. Just leave the letter on the table, get out, and kindly don't show your face to me for a while."
Aizawa took the other man's cold words without so much as a flinch. He simply nodded in acceptance, placed the envelope containing his written apology on the desk in the middle of the room, turned around and started to leave.
"There's one other thing I think needs to be pointed out." Hisashi offered, making the Swordmaster pause. "You've done a lot more than get yourself into hot water with the Dean, Aizawa, and I don't think you've really realized that yet. You've lost the trust of your entire First Year Swordmaster Course, especially that of my son and his friends, and they are going to be questioning and taking apart your every action going forward, looking for another trap or setup. I can't imagine that will be a productive mindset or relationship for your class going forward. You are going to have to work your ass off in order to get them to trust you again, if that's even possible right now."
"…noted." the perpetually tired Swordmaster grunted out as he left. He'd been forced to get a full eight hours of sleep last night and it was horrible. This damned punishment could not end soon enough.
"Haaah. What a stubborn man." Hisashi shook his head at the other man. Aizawa seemed to still be clinging to the idea that he hadn't done anything wrong, despite the fact that no one seemed to agree with that decision. The new Dorm Supervisor just hoped that the man would manage to pull his head out of his ass. He might not like the man at all right now, but he also didn't look forward to the kind of mess that would be caused if Nezu was forced to carry out on his threat and toss the man out of the guild.
Same Time
Cafeteria, U.A. Academy
Izuku hummed happily as he tucked into his (Japanese-style) breakfast and watched as the remainder of his class, most of which were seated around him, did the same. Todoroki seemed to be the only one interested in eating on his own, having taken a bowl of Zaru Soba and left the general area. He was still not sure why there was soba on the breakfast menu; that certainly wasn't something that people usually ate for breakfast, right?
"[Man this is so good!]" Pony exclaimed happily in English as she ate. "[And Mama liked to joke about how Japanese-style breakfasts never filled you up! Shows what she knows!]"
"In Japanese, Pony-chan." Momo reminded her. "You'll never get any better if you keep falling back into your native language. And to be fair to your mother, Japanese breakfasts do tend to focus on lighter fare then western ones."
"Ah, sorry Momo-chan." Pony quickly apologized. "Is hard. Japanese not easy to learn. Keep making miss takes."
"That is 'mistakes' Pony-chan." Izuku gently corrected her. She'd asked to have any errors in her word choice and pronunciation pointed out whenever possible so she could keep learning from them.
"Thank you, Izu!" the blonde girl offered him a beaming smile. She'd asked nearly everyone to just call her by her first name going forwards, since she was a bit uncomfortable with being called 'Tsunotori' so much. Apparently, in the West calling someone by their surname usually tended to be a sign of irritation or displeasure. That actually sounded a bit odd to Izuku, but he'd acquiesced.
In return most of the rest of the class (sans Bakugō, who had already been suspended, and Todoroki, who mostly just ignored Pony and everyone else's existence unless he was prodded) had given her permission to call them by their first names as well. It had actually done quite a bit to help build up the friendly atmosphere that was slowly starting to form between the eighteen teens.
"So, what do you think we are going to be do for Sword Practice class today?" Kirishima asked. "After everything that happened yesterday…"
"Yeah, but you gotta admit that what happened was frickin' wild." Kaminari agreed. "That Bakugō guy's Shikai was totally deadly but Midoriya barely even reacted to it."
Izuku nearly choked in embarrassment at being singled out. "Th-That's mostly because I've spent so long sparring against Yagi-sensei over the past year." He managed to cough out, blushing a bit. "After you have spent so long fighting someone so far above you, you tend to learn to keep your cool when things get a bit…intimidating."
"How exactly do you know the Japan's Number One Swordmaster, Midoriya-chan?" Tsuyu asked blandly, tilting her head towards him.
"He was the Swordmaster who saved me when I was attacked by that Mask Spirit." the green-haired boy replied, still looking a bit embarrassed at the attention. "And one of the more obscure and rarely used sections of the Swordmaster's Code is that the Swordmaster who initially discovers a newly awakened Battle Awoken is obligated to take them on as an apprentice, at least until they can learn to contain and control their newly emerged Reiryoku. Yagi-sensei simply decided to keep training me afterwards. I guess he just…grew attached to me." he finished with a shrug, unsure how to properly describe his relationship with his mentor.
"Wow." Ochako blinked a bit from her spot next to him. "It must have been quite a while since that kind of rule has seen any real use."
"Before I was accepted as Yagi-sensei's Apprentice, that particularly law was last invoked just over thirty-three years earlier. That was the last time that a Battle Awoken emerged here in Japan." Izuku informed her. "Yagi-sensei was actually the one to emerge before that one, having Awoken seven years before that incident."
"Wow, you really know your stuff, don't you?" Itsuka offered, a bit impressed by the depths of Izuku's research.
"A Swordmaster should always strive to be as thorough as possible with everything that they set out to learn." Iida put in, arm chopping firmly. "Midoriya-kun has shown an admirable level of insight and dedication in trying to understand his position as a Battle Awoken and learning from those who have come before him."
"Yeah but…if Yagi-sama is a Battle Awoken himself, wouldn't all of that kind of research be a wasted effort?" Sero pointed out.
"Sensei does not believe in spoon-feeding people knowledge; he thinks actually having to work to learn something makes the lessons stick better." Izuku denied with a shake of his head. "He was fine with me checking with him on things that I'd researched, correcting any bad information I found or anything I misunderstood, or even just pointing me in the right direction; but he was always firm about making me actually do my own research. He said it would be good experience if I ever ended up becoming a Branch Leader in the future."
Several heads nodded agreeably at that. While the U.A. Guild had its central headquarters in Musutafu along with its Swordmaster Academy, as one of the largest and most powerful Swordmaster Guilds in Japan, they also had a large number of Branch Offices scattered all across Japan from Wakkanai City in Hokkaido to one located all the way out in Okinawa. Most of the larger and more influential Swordmaster Guilds were structured similarly. Smaller Guilds, like the local Musutafu Warriors Guilds, tended to focus all of their efforts on the cities where they had their headquarters located in.
Smaller Guilds tended to act as 'first responders', the ones with the most feet on the ground in any city, and the ones responsible for hunting down most of the lower-ranked Mask Spirits, while larger Guilds were focused more on handling larger-scale threats, higher-ranked spirits, and criminal swordmaster organizations.
"Honestly, I'm not even aiming for an officer position; I just want to be a regular Guild Member." Mina offered with feeling. "I'm good with all the fighting and stuff, but the idea of having to deal with all the paperwork and strategic stuff that a Guild Officer has to do? Yeah, no thank you, definitely not my kinda thing."
"Ah, c'mon Mina; I'm sure that you'd be a great officer." Kirishima protested. "Really manly too!"
Recalling Mina mentioning that 'manly' was a catch-all compliment that Kirishima used to describe anything he found admirable, Izuku understood why Mina took the statement as a compliment even as a couple passing General Course students were seemingly surprised that Kirishima's comment hadn't earned him a slap across the face.
"Thanks Kiri, but I really don't want to deal with all of that stress." the pinkette waved off her friend with a grin. "Honestly, the highest I'd ever want to rise would be whatever the Swordmaster equivalent to an NCO is."
""A Sub-Officer."" Izuku and Itsuka both chimed in at nearly the exact same time, before looking at each other before snickering/blushing slightly in embarrassment. Izuku nodded to let the orangette take the lead, who happily took up the explanation.
"Usually, most Branch Offices have two real authoritative ranks beneath the Headquarters Leaders and the actual Branch Office Commander." she explained simply. "First are the Seated Officers, which basically act the same as regular officers do in the army and navy; taking leadership on specific tasks assigned by the higher-ups and taking command of various groups or squads of lower-ranked Guild Members. Second are Sub-Officers, which are, like you said, like the Non-Commissioned Officers that you'd find in the army and navy; acting as aides and subcommanders while working under a Seated Officer. To earn either kind of Officer rank requires both a high level of personal skill and some form of distinction, either through exemplary conduct while attending Swordmaster Academy or for acts of bravery or leadership in the field. Someone like that Bakugō guy, who already has a major black mark on his record due to his suspension, is going to have a hard time rising through the ranks without working his ass off and proving himself to a lot of people."
Momo sniffed slightly. "Good. That fellow is in dire need of a thorough education in how to act like a proper human being rather than…whatever it was he acted like yesterday, before he can even hope to be considered a fellow Swordmaster, let alone a potential leader."
"Darn tootin'!" Ochako agreed with a nod.
Izuku just silently nodded his own agreement, but wasn't going to get his hopes up. Yesterday had well and truly shown him that 'Kacchan' was gone forever, never to be seen again.
And honestly, he really didn't want to deal with Bakugō any more than he had to.
Later
First Year Sparring Hall
"Eh?! Yagi-sensei!?" Izuku blurted out in surprise as he watched the man stride into the Sparring Hall alongside Sekijirō-sensei.
"Ahahaha! Indeed it is I, Young Midoriya." his mentor offered one of his usual boisterous laughs as he walked in. "Aizawa-kun has decided to step down as your lead sparring teacher for the time being and I have been assigned to take his place working alongside Sekijirō-sensei here." he offered the grey-haired man a friendly pat on the shoulder.
Unspoken was the fact that most of U.A. had already realized that the First Years were unlikely to actually trust the man in this setting again until tempers had time to cool after the stunt that he had puled yesterday. Thus, his presence would have been more of a hindrance to their training than a help at the moment.
Once the remainder of the First Year Swordmaster Course arrived, all dressed once more in their kendogi, Toshinori introduced himself to the room at large and explained that he was temporarily taking over Aizawa-sensei's position in this class before moving on to the main subject of today's lesson.
"Yesterday you got a chance to experience what kind of sparring you will be expected to take part in while at U.A….well, some of you did anyway." the large man offered with a sigh before pressing on. "However, while practising kata and traditional kendo sparring are good tools to keep up your level of skill, developing new skills and building yourself up higher requires that you must step away from the idea that real life is anything like a kendo match. An example that the vast majority of you have fallen in to is that you have been maintaining the linear back and forth movements native to kendo sparring. You are not learning kendo in this Academy, you are here to learn actual kenjutsu, the art of wielding your sword in real combat against Mask Spirits and Rogue Swordmasters."
That made most of the glass freeze up slightly, several even gulping at the grim tone the Number One was taking. Even Monoma's perpetual smugness and Aoyama's constant sparkles seemed to dim slightly.
"However, that is the truth that we face with every incoming class of new applicants." Sekijirō-sensei pointed out. "As Yagi-sensei said, we are here to train you in kenjutsu, that includes ensuring you unlearn the bad habits you might have gained from kendo sparring. After all, there wouldn't be much of a need for teachers like us if all our applicants came in already fully trained and qualified to act as Swordmasters."
"Ha! Indeed." Toshinori offered a laugh as he nodded his agreement. "Now, would Young Midoriya, Young Monoma, Young Utsushimi, Young Asui, Young Tokage, Young Shiozaki, Young Iida and Young Honenuki please step forward?"
The named students all stepped forward as instructed, most of them wondering just what this was about. Izuku himself had a bad feeling about it.
"You eight have been selected to act as 'Team Leaders' for your first term here at U.A.; that means that each of you will need to recruit up to four of your fellow First Year Trainees to form a team." their new teacher explained their assignment. "For the rest to the term this will be your 'Team' for any group training exercises that you take part in. Since Guild Swordmasters regularly work as part of assigned squads or teams under a Seated Officer or Sub-Officer, this is both a means to start training you in those teamwork skills as well as to let different candidates get a taste of leadership experience."
"You eight were selected as the first batch of leader candidates for a mix of several reasons ranging from putting you into situations you aren't accustomed to, to potential that has been witnessed or suggested by the staff or in your records, or to simply give you a chance to prove that you can back up your own bravado." Sekijirō-sensei elaborated. "Those that perform the best out of your group will remain as Team Leads when the next term starts; while those with lower scores will have their spot taken by other Trainees and new teams will be selected. There is no shame or censure for those that lose their position, every blade is essential in the fight against the Mask Spirits, regardless if one is a leader or simply a soldier. There are even some, myself and Toshinori being good examples, that don't work well as part of a squad and instead prefer to work alone."
"True enough." Toshinori agreed. "But those are lessons for another day. Now, you eight have the next ten minutes to convince your fellows to join you! Anyone who has not been selected will be assigned at random by myself and Sekijirō-sensei. Yes, you have a question Young Iida?"
The stiff boy lowered his hand. "Yagi-sensei, although he is currently suspended, Bakugō-san is still a part of the Swordmaster Course, correct? What will happen to him in regards to his team placement?"
"A good question." the Number One replied with a firm nod. "For then next week, Young Bakugō is suspended from U.A. and will not set foot on its grounds. In addition, for the following month after his return, he will be barred from taking part in any and all sparring lessons as part of his in-school suspension. After that is complete, he will be assigned to whichever team is inevitably left with only four members today. Rest assured, measures have already been taken to ensure that yesterday's incident will not repeat themselves."
Looks quickly passed between the eight student leaders. Izuku didn't know what the others were thinking exactly, but he knew that he certainly didn't want to have to deal with having Bakugō as part of his team. That would be far too…strenuous for his temper to survive.
So, when he and the rest were given permission to start their recruiting, he made a direct beeline for two of the people he was the most comfortable with and who were already standing close together, Momo and Ochako.
"Ochako-chan, Momo-chan; would you two please join my team?" he asked with a swift bow.
"Of course!" Ochako responded immediately. She'd been kinda hoping that Izuku would ask her from the moment that he had been announced as one of the Team Leads.
"Certainly." Momo happily obliged with a nod. While Momo herself came a family that had produced many great leaders, and she was in part raised to be one herself, she had always been more comfortable acting as a planner, strategist, or organizer rather than as a field commander. Oh, she had certainly received some training for it and, if she needed to, she believed that she could fill the role quite well, but it was simply not where she was at her most comfortable. Izuku had already done enough to show that she could trust him in a leadership position but also seemed to be the type that would be willing to take advise when offered.
"Thank you!" the beaming smile that he sent both of them was more than worth it.
"Can I join, Izu?" Pony asked. "You and Momo only people I know who speak English good."
While that wasn't entirely true, both Momo and Izuku were easily the most fluent English speakers in 1-A and Pony didn't know if anyone in Class 1-B spoke English at all.
"That makes senses." Momo offered her a nod. "Izuku-kun?"
"If you want to be on my team, then I am glad to have you with us, Pony-chan." Izuku nodded with a smile on his face, making the blonde American nod furiously, a smile spread across her own lips.
"Looks like we'll have to do Janken in order to figure out who gets to take the last spot on Izuku's team." Itsuka offered as she and Mina approached the group.
Mina nodded with a grin, raising one hand forward as Itsuka did the same.
""Jan! Ken! Pon!""
The two girls both threw their raised hands forward, Itsuka holding paper while Mina had scissors.
"Yay! I win!" the pink-skinned teen cheered.
"Darn it." the orangette huffed out with a rueful grin. "Looks like you get to have the last spot."
"No hard feelings?" Mina asked semi-seriously.
"Nah, not like these teams will last forever, I'm sure I'll get my chance next term." Itsuka answered before looking around. "I went to the same Middle School as Tokage and we get along just fine. I should probably just hurry up and get a spot before I'm stuck on the same team as jerk-face. Good luck out there guys, I won't hold back when we fight!"
"Same back to you." Izuku called back with a grin before turning to Mina. "Glad to have you on the team, Mina-chan."
"Hehehehe." Mina snicked back with a grin. "Glad to be here, Midori~!"
That nickname was still enough to turn Izuku's face a bright red, which, when combined with his green hair, made him do a passable impression of tomato. The mental comparison made the gathered girls break out into giggles.
In the end, the teams ended up as follows:
-Team Midoriya-
Team Leader: Midoriya Izuku
Team Members: Uraraka Ochako, Yaoyorozu Momo, Pony Tsunotori, Ashido Mina.
-Team Tokage-
Team Leader: Tokage Setsuna
Team Members: Kendō Itsuka, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Hagakure Tōru, Tokoyami Fumikage.
-Team Monoma-
Team Leader: Monoma Neito
Team Members: Kaibara Sen, Satō Rikidō, Kodai Yui, Bondo Kojirō.
-Team Iida-
Team Leader: Iida Ten'ya
Team Members: Todoroki Shōto, Shōji Mezō, Komori Kinoko, Kōji Kōda.
-Team Shiozaki-
Team Leader: Shiozaki Ibara
Team Members: Mashirao Ojiro, Sero Hanta, Shishida Jūrōta, Shōda Nirengeki.
-Team Utsushimi-
Team Leader: Utsushimi Camie
Team Members: Yanagi Reiko, Aoyama Yuga, Kaminari Denki, Jirō Kyōka.
-Team Honenuki-
Team Leader: Honenuki Jūzō
Team Members: Hitoshi Shinsō, Fukidashi Manga, Hiryū Rin, Kuroiro Shihai.
-Team Asui-
Team Leader: Asui Tsuyu
Team Members: Kirishima Eijirō, Tsuburaba Kosei, Awase Yōsetsu, Bakugō Katsuki.
Team Asui looked fairly annoyed that they'd be a man short for a month before they were saddled with the ill-tempered Bakugō. Kirishima was the only one who looked moderately excited at the prospect. According to Mina, the red-haired teen was eager to try and befriend Bakugō and 'break through his shell' for some obscure reason.
"Why?" was Izuku's baffled reply.
"Kiri's always been the type to try and see the good in people, even when it's buried under a pile of shit. He apparently likes Mr. Temper Tantrum's 'passion' and thinks all he needs is someone to help him direct it in a more 'manly' fashion." Mina responded, sounding exasperated. She obviously was just as doubtful of that idea as Izuku was and tried to talk her friend out of it, but to no avail. Kirishima could be a pretty hard-headed guy once he got a 'manly' idea stuck in his head.
"Well, I wish him all the luck in that, and Kirishima seems like the type that can look after himself." Izuku offered, trying to sound encouraging, as the teacher were quickly jotting down the Teams and discussing something between themselves. "He certainly doesn't look like the kind of guy that will let Bakugō walk over him or go along with his ego."
"Yeah, Kiri will be fine; he's got the hardest head I've ever seen. It's honestly one of his best and worst features." Mina offered before offering him a grin. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Midori."
Just then the teachers called their attention back to them. "Alright, so you have all now formed your teams. For the moment, you will go by your 'standard' team names based around the names of your Team Leads. Team Midoriya, Team Tokage, Team Monoma, Team Iida, Team Shiozaki, Team Utsushimi, Team Honenuki and Team Asui. If you want to change your team name, all you have to do is turn in a sheet of paper with a new name co-signed by all members of the team. We're pretty loose on naming restrictions in U.A., so as long as it's not too out there, you'll likely get it approved."
A hand was lifted up cautiously and Kan nodded towards the person it belonged to. "Yes, Komori-kun?"
"Uhmmm…why bother changing team names?" the small brunette asked cautiously. "These are just short-term school teams, right?"
"Because these teams can become so much more than that, Young Komori." Toshinori answered. "The are two unique aspects about the U.A. Guild and Academy that separates us from other large Guilds in Japan. First, is the we focus a great deal of our time on ensuring you receive proper training on how to fight with the sealed forms of Spirit Swords rather than solely focusing your training on awakening and mastering Shikai and Bankai; treating them as last resorts to threats rather than a first response to danger. The second is that we prioritize teamwork just as much as individual ability. Most other Swordmaster Academies, including Shiketsu and Ketsubutsu, only start training students in team fighting during their final year of high school and up, whereas we incorporate it from the very first year."
"Toshinori is right. By the end of their high school term with us, nearly three-quarters of our students end up forming long-term teams, partnerships, and groups that can last long after they graduate and join the Guild properly." Sekijirō-sensei continued with a smirk. "Toshinori and I are both part of that outlying quarter, simply because, as we mentioned earlier, we don't work well as part of a formal team."
"Many graduating U.A. students who earn enough distinction to immediately earn a Seated Officer position upon graduation will choose their five Sub-Officers from those former teammates they have come to work with best, the people they have learned to trust completely and inherently over years of training and camaraderie. The bonds and trust that you can form here working with each other will be vital to your strength and advancement going forward." Toshinori explained. "Some will eventually rise to the rank of Branch Leader and will be able to select a personal entourage of five trusted Seated Officers to be permanently assigned to them."
"For your first year we will be rotating you through five-person teams so you can test the waters with each other and find who you work best with. By the time you are all Second Years, you will be allowed to form teams with a great deal more freedom in how many and who you can recruit for your teams, with teams capable of reaching a maximum of six members." Sekijirō-sensei took over elaborating again. "Those who work best in smaller groups can and will be encouraged to do so, while those who prove themselves as 'lone wolf' types will receive more dedicated survival training from a more experienced trainer while still being encourage to take part in team battles as temporary members or allies on one side or another. You have to be singularly powerful and capable to survive for long as a lone wolf, so most end up being assigned to mobile troubleshooting squads that work to reinforce various branch offices wherever their skills are needed."
"But that is enough talking for one day." Toshinori offered jovially, clapping his hands together with a smile. "One of the most important things about working with a team is knowing how your teammates fight, and the best way to learn that is through sparring with each other. Every member of your team will now have a match with every other member, no exceptions. As you do, try and take note of how they fight; their habits, attack patterns, tells; anything and everything that you think is important. Knowing this kind of information can be vital when fighting together."
"And remember to no longer limit yourself to the back-and-forth nature of kendo. It's going to be a process to break you lot of that bad habit, but it's one we're starting right now." Sekijirō-sensei added pointedly.
Toshinori nodded as he activated the protective Spiritual Formations on the room and in their kendogi. "With that said, time get started you bunch of zygotes!"
As the groups began to scatter across the hall, Izuku looked over his teammates as they headed towards a secluded corner. "So, um…unless anyone has a better idea, I was thinking we could decide the first round via Janken and then the winner will get to choose the next match-up from the remainder while they and their opponent catch their breaths and then so on and so forth until we've all had a chance to fight each other."
"That certainly sounds like an equitable method." Momo nodded.
"Sounds like a fun idea to me." Ochako happily agreed.
"I'm in." Pony said once Momo translated Janken to mean 'Rock-Paper-Scissors.'
"Better than anything I could think of." Mina grinned with a shrug. "Let's get this party started!"
"""""Jan, Ken, Pon!""""" the five teens faced off and threw hands. Three rocks and two papers appeared, leaving Momo and Izuku looking sheepish.
"Guess we're up first." Izuku offered ruefully, drawing Kotsusei.
"Indeed." the black-haired girl agreed as she copied him. "I've never played Janken before, that was rather more fun than I thought it would be."
Giving the Yaoyorozu a brief, strange look (how had someone never played Janken before?), Izuku quickly shook it off and quickly assumed the standard guard of the hassō-no-kamae and waited.
Copying him, Momo exhaled. "Ochako-chan, could you please start us off?"
"Oh, Sure." the brunette nodded, stepping forward from the observing group. "Ready, get set…hajime!"
Clang!
Almost instantly, Momo and Izuku's blades were locked before separating again less than a second later.
'Oh my, he's fast! It is truly hard to imagine that he's only had his Spirit Sword for just over a year!' Momo thought, honestly surprised. The fact that Izuku had managed to earn his way into U.A. Academy and his clash with Bakugō Katsuki the previous day had shown that he wasn't one to be underestimated, but it was still quite a surprise to see just how capable he was while standing opposite of him in the sparring ring.
'Her technique is incredibly sharp! I can't let my guard down around her for a second!' Izuku thought warily. He'd already known that the black-haired girl was quite capable from the fact that she earned her spot in U.A. and the swift and merciless defeat that she dealt Kaibara Sen the previous day. Facing off against her in the ring, however, quickly made him realize just how skilled Yaoyorozu Momo truly was. The girl standing opposite of him had obviously been training intensely with a sword for most of her life, and it showed.
They had both launched the same initial strike, a kesa-giri, and had counter-locked each other, but Momo's execution had been as close to perfect as he had ever seen. There was an obvious talent there, yes, but the effort she had obviously put in to polish that talent to a radiant shine was even more impressive in Izuku's opinion.
"Let's have a fun dance, shall we?" he asked aloud, surprising himself as a feeling of…he didn't have a proper word to even describe it…welled up in him as he quickly shifted into his preferred stance, the gedan-no-kamae. He could feel a smile spreading across his face and didn't even try to hide it as he faced off against his opponent.
Momo couldn't keep herself from smiling back as she settled into her own favoured stance, the hassō-no-kamae. "Let's." she agreed. And so their clash began again.
Izuku ended up losing to Momo by sheer dint of the girl's far superior experience, but the match was far closer than he thought it would be. As the sparring between their group went on, he did as his sensei had instructed and took mental notes on how his team members fought and their preferred fighting styles.
'Momo's form is perfect but she adheres a bit too strictly to her kata…Mina is really fast and flexible and prefers to stay mobile but has trouble putting any real power behind her attacks…Pony is fast and strong but she has a lot of excess movements in her attacks…Ochako prefers a defensive fighting style and needs to learn to take the offensive more…'
Izuku himself was being analysed by his four teammates, and most of them would point out his lack of proper experience using his Spirit Sword as his biggest weakness. No matter how much you train or practice with a bokken or shinai, there was no substitute for actually wielding a real sword, particularly a Spirit Sword. Performing Jinzen had helped reduce that, but actually training with his Spirit Sword was the only real method to cover that gap.
By the time that class ended for the day, all of the teams were chatting with each other and seemed fairly happy with their groups. Izuku himself, while not exactly enthusiastic about being appointed a Team Lead, was happy to have his teammates, all of who he already considered his friends. After the forced isolation he'd had to endure throughout Junior High thanks to Bakugō and his schoolmates' cowardice, the newfound friendship and camaraderie was a rather heady feeling for Izuku. Knowing that most of the people around him (Monoma and Todoroki aside) were at least friendly to him was a strangely euphoric feeling.
He couldn't wait for this to continue.
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Next Chapter: Fulminating Rage and Dark Fury
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