18
Eri chewed on her lip nervously; her eyes flickered to her mommy, who was staring intensely at her computer. Every few minutes her eyes would slide towards her phone, like she was waiting for a call. Eri suspected that it had to do with Nee-chan, which made her worry.
When Ser Plushy had left, saying that Izumi-nee needed him for something important, she hadn't thought much of it. It wasn't weird for Ser Plushy to suddenly receive a psychic message from Nee-chan and leave immediately.
They did it a loooot when Nee-chan was training for her Entrance Exam. One minute Ser Plushy was drinking tea with her or teaching her how to meditate, and the next he would have to leave the room to bring something to Nee-chan.
At least he returned quickly, and with an apple candy as an apology.
Eri loooved those candies.
But now, Ser Plushy still hasn't returned. And her mama had asked her to stay in her personal office instead of the main conference room, where she usually sat unless an important meeting was being held.
Eri felt her tummy twist in nerves.
"Mama? Is Nee-chan ok?" She asked, fear and distress visible on her face.
Inko closed her eyes, trying to figure out how to explain to her youngest what was going on without scaring her. Mostly since she wasn't sure what exactly was happening.
While Eri had grown bounds and leaps from the shy, frightened little girl she had first met in that hospital room, there were times when she could be overwhelmed if her limits were pushed enough.
Between the press and the false alarm, her little girl had hit her limit the previous day. While Inko was proud that Eri wanted to be brave and confront her fears, the greenete believed in not rushing recklessly. So, she organized a mother-daughter day at her office.
And now she was filled with anxiety, her heart bursting inside her chest, waiting to hear back from Izumi or her teachers about what the hell was happening at the school.
Gallade only told him that Izumi called him with their mind link and that she would explain everything when she was back.
Inko wanted to curse when Gallade told her that, but it didn't surprise her. Her eldest daughter spent years bottling down her feelings and problems, acting like everything was fine, like she was just like any other kid, like she could still be a hero like her idol.
After Izumi returned home, mother and daughter had a face-to-face; both Midoriyas talked thoroughly about her childhood and the mistakes both of them made. Izumi admitted that she had been bullied by her schoolmates and teachers, never reporting it since she was a useless quirkless girl; Inko explained how much it frightened her the simple thought of Izumi being harmed as the true reason why she never supported her dream of becoming a quirkless hero. In retrospect, even if Izumi had been born with a quirk, she still would have had her doubts and concerns.
Even with all of that in the air, Izumi still tended to hide things.
She was well aware that her daughter hadn't been 100% truthful with her stories, that she was only told the kiddie-safe parts. It took her months to convince her daughter that she could handle it, that she didn't need to be coddled.
Inko sighed, mentally exhausted. She would need to have another talk with Izumi about hiding important information.
"Eri," Inko crouched in front of her. "Something happened during Izumi's class. I don't know all the details, but I'm sure that your sister is safe. She is a stubborn girl, remember." Inko gave her a small hopeful smile, trying to convey confidence to her youngest.
Eri nodded, doubtful but hopeful. Her Nee-chan was the strongest person she knew. She had saved her from Overhaul after all!
Eri and Inko jumped when the older greenete's phone sounded, a message popping in.
Inko grabbed her phone, a relieved sigh leaving her lips when she read it.
The lawyer closed her files and turned off her computers. "Come on Eri, we are leaving early." Eri nodded, grabbing her Recovery Girl backpack and following her mom.
"Mama, where are we going?" She asked.
"To see Izumi. Everything got solved, so I can berate that daughter of mine about not leaving me scared half to death."
Eri nodded in complete agreement.
Nee-chan should learn to give better messages!
"Well, I have to say this is a pleasant surprise." Chiyo's patients stared in confusion. Their previous experience with the heroine involved the woman shouting and berating them for being two gigantic reckless idiots.
It was weird seeing her so calm.
"It is?" All Might showed his courage by speaking first, risking invoking her famous rage at him.
"Of course. Neither of you two fools have a single broken bone, only fatigue and strained muscles. It's a great improvement from the last time the three of us were in the same room." The short nurse gave All Might and Izumi a pointed glance; both could only flush and fidget in place, embarrassed at the reminder.
Izumi was the one to break the silence that filled the nurse's office.
"Where is Aizawa-sensei?" She asked, not having seen her teacher since the ambulance took him from the USJ, much to his annoyance and grumbling.
"With the rat. I already fixed his injuries. They were bad, but could have been worse if Bewear hadn't intervened. As long as he takes it easy, he should be fine in a few days." She already gave permission to Hisashi-kun and Kamaya-san to tie him up if he tried to patrol.
Youngsters these days. They never followed their doctor's orders.
"And Bewear?" Her eyes darted to her Pokemon, who was asleep on her bed.
"Bewear had a mild concussion, and her right arm was dislocated. Nothing that a quick kiss couldn't fix. Good thing her body is so sturdy; if it weren't, she would have had internal damage to her organs." Izumi paled at the image, glad that she had chosen to bring Bewear and Machoke. She shuddered to think what would have happened if it had been Ambipom or Lopunny or Mienfoo the ones facing Nomu.
Chiyo gave the younger girl a comforting pat on the hand. "Do not worry. Between my quirk and those potions of yours, Bewear is perfectly healthy. All her injuries are already fixed and healed." Izumi nodded, relieved that her Pokemon wasn't in any danger from the damage imparted by Nomu.
"The rest of the students?" All Might asked.
"Minor injuries, mostly scratches and light bruising. I did recommend that they see Hound Dog, but I doubt they will. Kids these days are stubborns."
"Hound Dog-sensei? Why?" Inquired Izumi. As far as she could recall, the canine quirked pro was the school guidance teacher.
"Besides being the guidance counselor, he is also the school therapist. Usually the students talk to him after the internships, not after their second hero class." The heroine sighed tiredly.
Izumi nodded in understanding. As a pro and a therapist, Hound Dog could advise the students about hero work and the struggles that may come with it.
The greenete had some experience facing criminals. More than once thieves and poachers attacked her while on the road.
But Overhaul and Nomu weren't like those thugs; they didn't care about money; they wanted to kill her and anybody around her.
Thieves and poachers didn't scare her.
The blank soulless eyes of Nomu did.
"Be." The hero student approached the waking-up Pokemon; her hands grabbed Bewear's in a tight grip.
"Bewear! Hey, how are you feeling?" She asked, concerned.
"Bee." The Strong Arm Pokemon replied, shame on her tone. It didn't take long for her trainer to figure out what was going on in her mind.
"You were great out there, Bewear. You helped Aizawa-sensei and saved Mineta-kun, Kaminari-kun, and Tsu-san from Nomu!" Izumi tried to cheer her up.
"Indeed Bewear. I shudder to think what would have happened if neither you nor Machoke had been in the USJ today. Your actions saved many lives today. You shouldnt be ashamed of losing, but proud of surviving and of saving others." All Might gave her a thumbs up, smiling proudly at the stuffed bear Pokemon.
Bewear didn't respond to All Might words. She clenched her fist, silently promising to become stronger so that the next time she faced someone like Nomu, they would be the one lying in a hospital bed.
"Ready to come home, big girl?" At her nod, Izumi recalled Bewear to her Ultra Ball. Once she was inside, Izumi let out a small pulse of her aura, letting out small waves of happiness and love. Bewears Ultra Ball wiggled in response.
"Recovery Girl, while you were examining Infernape, did you find anything strange?" She asked with an odd tone.
Recovery Girl stared at her in confusion before answering, "Not really. Mostly fatigue and muscle strain—nothing different from someone who has overstrained themselves. Why?"
"When we were using the Fire Z move, I felt One For All react." Izumi revealed, to the shock of both heroes.
"What do you mean, Midoriya-shoujo? One For All reacted to the Z move?" All Might wasnt sure what his successor meant.
"Back on the USJ, when Infernape and I used the Fire Z Move, I felt my aura try to power it up. That wasn't strange; it's a consequence of being an aura user; my aura pool is bigger than most because of my training, so whenever I use techniques like Z moves or Mega Evolution, the stones react by trying to draw more aura than usual. But I felt One For All activate on its own. Not only that, I felt One For All try to reach Infernape using the link produced by the Z ring and Z stone." Izumi's declaration had both pros shocked.
"All Might, could OFA-" began to ask Recovery Girl, a hint of trepidation in her voice. The Symbol of Peace shook his head sternly.
"No. My mentor was clear that only by ingesting a piece of DNA of the current user and that the user has to pass it along willingly can OFA be passed. She claimed that for years that monster tried to steal it from the previous users." And yet, doubt crept on his mind. After all, those rules applied to quirks, and Midoriya's aura was no quirk. And her Pokemon weren't even from this world.
"Maybe a quirk interaction?" Izumi pondered out loud. "OFA is a stockpile quirk; its true power comes from being passed from user to user. The more people it passes through, the stronger it becomes. And aura can be transferred between humans and Pokemon. Riley taught me how to do it without killing myself. Hell, I have done it a couple of times as a power-up for my team when necessary. Lucario can do it too. Maybe OFA was following my aura and simply trying to strengthen Infernape temporarily. But if that is true, then would Infernape's body be able to handle it? He is physically stronger than me, and our body structure is different, so theoretically he should be able to, mumble, mumble, mumble." Izumi lost herself in her theories, ignoring the sweatdropped looks on both pros faces at her mumbling.
"A quirk interaction could be possible." Recovery Girl interrupted her rambling. "What do you think, All Might?" She turned to the other hero.
All Might frowned. "It is a possibility. My mentor, the previous seventh holder, original quirk allowed her to hover in the air. Once she gained OFA, she could use it to propel herself at high speed. I am unsure of how it affected the previous users. She never spoke much of them."
"And what about yours?" Izumi asked him.
All Might smiled sadly. "I don't have one, Midoriya-shoujo." "Eh?" Izumi couldn't believe it. Was he actually meaning what he was implying?
"All Might, you-" "Was I quirkless before receiving OFA? Yes, Midoriya-shoujo. I was quirkless. Like you."
Izumi was astonished by All Might's admission. Despite knowing about OFA, she had never thought that All Might, the Strongest Hero, the Symbol of Peace, could have been actually quirkless.
Like her.
All Might chucked at the look of complete shock and surprise on her face.
"In any case, I suggest that you only use the Z move when we are training, and possibly away from your fellow classmates. At least until we can figure out how OFA interacts with your aura exactly."
Izumi frowned but accepted his decision. Her mentor was right; this was uncharted territory for both of them.
Izumi could easily recall the horrible pain of the bones in her right arm breaking and shattering. The blood leaking from her pores, the way her arm twisted, how her skin turned purple and black in mere seconds.
It was horrible.
She refused to let any of her Pokemon ever go through that experience. She would never forgive herself if she caused them that type of damage by being so reckless.
"Knock knock," a familiar voice came from the doorway. "Ah, Yagi-san, Midoriya-san, you are both here. Good."
"Tsukauchi? Why so form-" "Nee-chan!" A small, white-haired missile impacted against Izumi's abdomen; the greenete's arms instantly wrapped around her tiny assailant.
"Eri?! What? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with mom?"
"Izumi!" "Mom!?" The trainer was baffled by the presence of both her mother and little sister at the school.
"Wait, wait, wait! What are you two doing here?" She asked them, her mind trying to cope with all the chaos and surprises that the day had brought.
Her mother gave her a tearful smile and hugged her. Izumi was so confused by their sudden appearance that she didn't protest.
"Izumi, you are my daughter, Eri's aneue. Why wouldn't we come see you when you need us?" Tears shined in her mom's eyes. It made Izumi feel like a complete piece of crap. Once again, she was causing her poor mother anguish and stress.
Inko saw the guilt on her eldest face. She cupped both of her daughters faces, making sure they would look at her eyes.
"Izumi, Eri. You two are my daughters, my kids. I am your mother. And as your mother, I will always, always worry about whatever happens in your lives. Always. You two could end up living the most boring, peaceful lives ever, and yet I would still call and badger you both endlessly about your day and whether or not you are eating your veggies. Is part of my job. And. I. Do. Not. Mind. It. One. Bit."
Izumi and Eri didn't respond; they didn't have to. They could see that their mother was truthful; they saw her love for them in her eyes. And she could see how much they loved her in theirs.
All three girls shared a group hug, small sniffles and tears leaking.
All Might, Recovery Girl and Tsukauchi kept to the side of the room, letting the small family have their moment.
Moments like this were the ones that made them remember why they chose their career.
And why every sacrifice made was well worthy.
"So that's what we have been able to find out for now." Tsukauchi finished his presentation to Nezu and the rest of the staff. All teachers stared grimly at the detective, thinking deeply about what the police found and the possible implications.
First, the ringleaders, the so-called Shigaraki Tomura and Kurogiri, had no record or match in any system. Criminal nor civilian. Not even in the quirk registry was a coincidence to both men. Somehow both men managed to spend their entires lives in the dark, without leaving traces.
Next, none of the seventy-two captured villains explained how they came into contact with Shigaraki and Kurogiri. All were low-tier criminals, with prior convictions of theft, aggression, and illegal quirk use. This was the first time any of them had been caught in such a big and ambitious operation.
Most didnt know each other; a few were familiar with the others, and that was mostly for serving sentences in the same prisons. And yet none would say anything more than that they followed Shigaraki Tomura.
Only that.
But the most troubling thing that was weighing on their minds was the last villain.
Nomu.
The one that had two quirks, and that was supposedly created to kill All Might.
After Shigaraki and Kurogiri escaped, the police and heroes rounded the remaining villains, including Nomu. Surprisingly, the creature hadnt put up a fight or reacted violently, simply letting them shackle it and guide it to a special van for high-level villains.
It never spoke or reacted.
"So, we don't know who these bastards are, who created this Nomu, or how they knew that All Might was supposed to be at the USJ yesterday." Snipe summarized.
"That last one is fairly simple to deduce, actually. From Aizawa's and Thirteen's declarations," Nezu nodded towards both teachers, "we can assume that Shigaraki Tomura was most likely responsible for destroying the UA Barrier and letting the press enter the grounds. During the commotion, another villain must have slipped past our remaining security and downloaded the first year's schedule, therefore knowing when and where All Might would be." The principal pointed out.
"Wouldn't the firewalls stop them?" Asked Midnight.
"It should have. Or at least send a warning. Which means they must have a very talented hacker on call. I will review our security systems and reinforce them." Power Loader was already checking from his tablet the firewalls, looking for holes and any discrepancy on their systems.
"If they hacked our systems, then our security might be compromised and the students' information too." Thirteen said worriedly.
"I doubt it."
"Would you please elaborate, Tsukauchi-san?" Nezu asked the detective.
"When the students were split into different zones, it was done at complete random. Not only that, but several were in areas that favored their quirks. In fact, that synergy may have played a large part in saving their lives."
"They thought that the kids and that Aizawa and Thirteen weren't a threat. That they didn't need further information about them and their quirks. Boldness or foolery?" Inquired Vlad King, wondering which option was better.
"Their whole plan was strange. On one hand, they were able to infiltrate the USJ and hack the security system without triggering any alarm. At best, they would have had one, maybe two, days to plan everything. And yet they did it and recruited dozens of villains to follow them. All of that required a professional approach, a calm, calculated mind.
However, this Shigaraki Tomura doesn't seem to be that mind. When Nomu was defeated, he threw a tantrum as if he were a five-year-old. And he kept using words and terms referring to games, like he thought it was all a game. His mood swings, going from furious to deflating. Honestly, it felt like he was more of a man-child than a grown man."
"A man child? Then how was he able to control so many villains? Even if they were low-tier thugs, they wouldn't be so willing to follow a weak leader." Hound Dog grunted. "Criminals, villains in particular, always follow the strong. Much like pack animals. But that doesn't mean just physically strong. Some of the worst villains in history lured hundreds to their mist simply with words." Nods of agreement followed his statement.
Even back in the Pre-Quirk world, the most dangerous men weren't the ones that could kill a man with their bare hands, but the ones that could order hundreds of soldiers to kill their own neighbors in cold blood.
"His quirk involved some type of disintegration ability, one that required the full use of his fingers by the way he tried to grab me and Bewear." Aizawa idly scratched his bandaged arm, right on the spot where Shigaraki had grabbed him while his Erasure was deactivated. "A fearful quirk, but not the worst to exist. No, if fear was the tool he used to control his men, then it was his control over Nomu that kept them in place."
Aizawa's words were troubling. The fact that an apparently unstable man like Shigaraki could control such a powerful creature like Nomu painted a dangerous scenario.
Despite the fact that no one in the room said it out loud, they all thought it.
If Nomu truly was an artificial creature, then what was stopping this "League of Villains" from making more?
When Aizawa entered his classroom the next day, he was pleased by what he found.
After the USJ incident, the students were interrogated by the police and checked by the paramedics and Recovery Girl. After being cleared, they were sent home to rest and recover from the whole ordeal.
And now, two days later, all of Class 1-A were seated on their seats, waiting for the class to start.
Despite not showing it, Aizawa was proud of his class. Not many kids would be willing to return to the hero course after such an experience. Hell, more than once a first and sometimes a second year would quit after the internships, the real world of heroics proving too much for them to handle.
It wasn't easy when it happened, but he would rather they give up while still at school rather than freeze in the middle of a disaster.
"Good morning. Before we start, Midoriya." The greenete straightened up at her name. "Bewears teamwork can be better. Her self control is good, but must improve. We will focus on those areas for now." Izumi nodded in agreement.
"Sensei! Are you ok!? Shouldnt you be resting?!" Iida asked with a stern tone.
"I'm perfectly fine. This is just precaution." Aizawa touched the bandages around his head and arms with disdain; the only reason he hadn't teared them out was because Recovery Girl would kill him.
Never anger the healer. She may look small and kind, but she could be merciless with those she considered stubborn, brainless, moronic patients who wouldnt listen to her orders.
"Any way, you guys have more pressing concerns to deal with." Tension rose in the classroom. What was Aizawa-sensei talking about?
"The UA Sport Festival is coming. You need to be ready for it."
"The UA Sport Festival? Are we doing it?" Momo asked with a surprised tone.
"Yeah! What if villains attack again?!" Mineta said terrified, already imagining terrifying villains pouring from the stands and attacking them.
"They wont. Not only security will be tighter, but pros from all over the country will be attending, both as security and spectators. The only reason they dared to attack the USJ was because it is in a remote location and only three heroes were supposed to be there." Aizawa explained calmly. "Besides, this is a great opportunity for you guys."
Confusion spread over the classroom; no one understood what their sensei was talking about.
"The Sport Festival isn't a simple school activity. It is one of the biggest events in Japan, displacing even the Olympics in popularity! And for the students is their opportunity to show their skills in front of the pro heroes of the country. Based on your performance your chances of being recruited increases or decreases dramatically. This is one opportunity that only happens each year. That means that you guys only have three chances in total to leave a mark before graduation. The results will be visible during your internship offers. Those who leave a great impression, will receive more offers, while those that pass by will have to settle with fewer options."
Class 1-A stared at their homeroom teacher in a mix of anxiety, worry, anticipation, and determination.
All of them understood the seriousness of the upcoming festival.
"Sheesh, Im so fired up from Aizawa-senseis announcement. I cant wait for the Festival to start and show my manliness!" Kirishima chatted excitedly with some of the boys.
And he wasnt the only one.
Izumi remembered that as a kid she would watch UAs festival with her mom, how she cheered during the events and would later spend hours and hours analyzing most of the quirks displayed on the screen.
And now it was her turn to be there, her opportunity.
Years ago, before being sent to the Pokemon World and becoming a trainer, she would have been filled with anxiety and nerves.
Now? She was brimming with excitement.
"Uraraka-san, are you ok?" Iida asked the quiet brunette; her best friend had been quiet since Aizawa-sensei's announcement, not talking much and sitting on her chair with a pensive look most of the morning.
"Izumi-chan, Iida-kun." Both teens startled at the sudden intensiveness on her face. "Lets crush this Festival."
"Uraraka-san! Please calm down!"
"Wow, Uraraka is all fired up!" Mina exclaimed, shocked by the complete turn of character of the brunette.
"Let's do it guys! Let's win it!" She kept on, ignoring the looks of surprise on her classmates faces.
"Ok, ok." Izumi smiled, bemused by her behavior.
"You seem pretty excited, Uraraka-chan." Tsu bluntly said, a nochalant look on her face.
"Well, yeah! Like Aizawa-sensei said, if I do well enough I can get scouted by a big hero company fast and get a job as soon as we graduate!" Ochako exclaimed excitedly.
"That's thinking too ahead, don't ya think?" Mina commented.
"Yeah, well, I." Ochako stammered, not sure how to explain her reasons for wanting to be a hero in front of her classmates.
Izumi giggled; it was kind of funny how her friend went from pensive to brash to shy so fast.
"Ochako-chan wants to support her parents economically so they can live easier lives." Izumi revealed her best friend's desire over her protests.
"Uraraka, that has to be one of the most selfless reasons for wanting to be a hero ever." Jirou pointed over her shoulder at Mineta and Kaminari, "These two idiots just want to be popular."
"Eh?!" "How did she find out?!"
"Because you dumbasses keep talking about it loudly." She answered bluntly much to their embarrassment.
"Izumi-chan." Ochako grumbled at her friend, who rolled her eyes in response.
"Ochako-chan, we have talked about this. You of all people shouldn't be ashamed of your reason for becoming a hero." It wasn't the first time that both girls had the same talk. For some reason, Ochako thought that earning money as a hero to give her parents a better and more comfortable life was something embarrassing.
Izumi thought that it was amazing how much the brunette cared for her parents and planned on helping them.
"Uraraka-san, that's a very noble reason for wanting to become a hero!"
"Iida is right, Uraraka! So manly!"
Izumi giggled at how flustered her best friend was getting. Next to her, she saw Momo stiffling her own laughter.
"C'me on guys! What's wrong with wanting to be popular?" Mineta pouted, defending his dream.
"I think it's more important the type of hero that we will become than the reason why we want to become heroes in the first place." Izumi revealed.
"The type of hero?" Sero asked in a confused tone.
"Whether someone wants to earn money, be more popular, emulate their idol, or simply because they want to protect others, what truly matters is how will we react when we are on the field. When our lives and the lives of others are at risk, will we run or will we fight, even if it means we might die? At least, that's what I think." Izumi shared her thoughts.
"Not that I think that heroes should simply launch themselves against villains without thinking! Keeping a clear head is a very important skill."
Most of her classmates and friends nodded absenmidendly at her words, thinking about them. She saw that a few threw relieved smiles; it was obvious that they were embarrassed by their personal reasons as to why they inscribed on UA, and Izumi's speech helped them feel better.
"Izumi-chan, why do you want to be a hero?" Tsu asked her.
Izumi smiled brightly, her emerald eyes sparkling.
"I want to protect everyone, like All Might does."
Her admission stumped them. It was so childish, so fantasious, and yet it seemed to fit Midoriya to a T.
They could remember clearly the other girl's actions over the past few days. How protective she was of her little sister; how she made sure that Hagakure wasn't harmed during the Battle Simulation; how she willingly put herself in danger to help All Might defeat Nomu.
At that moment, many of them saw a small image of what Midoriya Izumi would resemble as a pro. A warm, kind, strong heroine that would never leave a victim behind.
"Oh, right! Almost forgot. Tsu, want to plan that play date between Eri and Satsuki-chan? My mom agreed to it."
The frog girl blinked at the sudden change in conversation but nodded, a smile poking at her lips.
"Sure. Satsuki will be delighted to make more friends."
"Great! Should warn you that there is a good chance that Tyrogue might be invited also; he and Eri are tied to the hip. Bewear might want to come too; she loves kids."
"No problem. Satsuki isn't shy." Tsu shrugged, not at all bothered. From what she had seen, Izumi's Pokemon were well behaved, and she wanted to thank Bewear personally for saving her life.
"Great! Well- huh?" Whatever Izumi was going to say, it disappeared when she opened the door.
Blocking the exit was a multitude of students.
"Huh? Why are they blocking the exit?"
"Can we help you?" Momo asked politely, her manners well integrated.
Nobody answered. There were some muttering and hushed whispering, but nobody would speak out loud.
Izumi chose to take a page from her former childhood friend and be blunt.
"Can you guys move? We are hungry." She spoke as nonchalantly as she could muster, evoking annoyance in her voice.
"Wow. I was curious about the famous 1-A Class so I came to see them. I didn't know they were so arrogant." A boy spoke from the back. The other students let him pass, showing a tired-looking teen with purple spiked hair.
"Its not arrogance, its annoyance. There is a big difference." She answered.
"Heh. Like the other day during lunch? Being on the hero course must really give its students big heads. I wouldn't know; I failed the Entrance Exam." The boy shrugged his shoulders, trying to act like it didn't matter, but Izumi could sense the envy behind his words, the frustation and anger hidden. "Most of us did. That's why the School Festival is so important for us. After all, if a student on the General Course can defeat a student on the Hero Course, then their places can switch."
Izumi frowned at his threat and at the scowls and eager looks of the other students.
She could understand them at some level. They were angry because they had failed the Entrance Exam and their chances of becoming heroes were drastically lowered.
"Tch, what makes you all extras think you can do it?" Bakugou smugly asked, grinning at the scowls he received.
"Who knows? The Entrance Exam was tailored to favor those with destructive quirks. There are many quirks that are useless against robots, but powerful never the less." The purple haired boy glared at Bakugou and Izumi. "Midoriya Izumi and Bakugou Katsuki. The first and second place in the Exams. This is my declaration of war. I intend to take one of your places, hero students."
With that said, the boy left, the rest following behind.
"Ahhh! What were you two doing!? Now we have so many enemies after us!" Mineta was gripping his head, terrified by the risk of being kicked out the hero course.
Izumi could sense the sudden tension and nerves of some of her classmates, those afraid of being changed to the General Course for having "weak quirks".
"It doesn't matter. No one here is getting changed from this class." Izumi proclaimed.
"Izumi, that's for the teachers to decide, not us." Momo regretfully reminded her Class President.
"I know. But I also know that most of those kids believe that the only reason they didn't pass the Entrance Exam was because they had the wrong quirk. That type of mentality will never allow them to surpass their limits, less make it to the Hero Course." Izumi made sure to look right at Hagakure and Mineta, the two students whose quirks in no way had physical capacities."Mineta, Hagakure, when you faced the robots, you guys found a way around your limits. That's why you are here in this class. Why we are all here. Nobody gave us our place here; we earned it with hard work."
Izumi could understand the resentment and frustration from the General Course students. She had been like them once. She had cursed the world and blamed her bad luck on fate.
Riley had been the one to point out the biggest mistake of her home world—the trap that many fell into. Their belief that only those born with strong, heroic quirks were useful, and the rest were either worthless or worse, villain material.
As a quirkless kid, Izumi had always considered herself worthless. Even when she protested and shouted that she could still become a hero, in the back of her mind she didn't believe in herself.
After all, she spent years waiting and hoping for a quirk, any quirk, just to prove that she wasn't a freak.
Izumi understood the General Studies students' feelings.
But that didn´t mean she was going to let them take her place or any of her friends without a fight.
Finally managed to finish this chapter! Sorry for the delay but Natlan was begging to be explored and I finally recovered my Hogwards Mystery account. Thank god my pc can´t handle games or these fics wouldn´t exist. XD.
Izumi doesn´t have anything against the General Studies kids, she is just projecting against younger self. Those feelings will be explored during the UA Festival, specially the battles.
Well, I hope everyone liked the chapter, I´m open to hearing suggestions for Izumi´s future hero name.
See ya!
PS: Can you guys believe that Nobara was revived? Guess mangakas does listen to prayers.