Study Hall!
The Dekusquad found themselves relaxing as lunch hit for the day, their Hero Course class for that morning had been a simple exercise covering first aid with civilians during a crisis, or after a villain fight. It had been rather boring, at least to most of them.
"That lesson was so cool! I mean to be taught by Recovery Girl herself, it's such an honor! And to be so close to her without getting hit with a cane!" Izuku certainly enjoyed it though, as shown by his rambling in overflowing otaku energy.
Reiko smiled along, as she had enjoyed the lesson since she didn't know much first aid during Hosu, it would've helped a lot had she known. But, at least her non-quirk skills were improving.
"Do you get hit often…?" Komori asked as she and Kuroiro shared their food with each other. Their group laughed, Monoma and Setsuna chuckling as the girl tried to do Quirk History homework, Kendo and Tetsu grinning as Komori came up with the question.
"Kekeke…" Kuroiro laughed as Izuku tilted his head, trying to come up with an answer.
"I quite certainly hope it doesn't." Reiko chided as she ate next to Izuku, the boy rubbing the back of his neck in exasperation.
"Greenie's abuse aside, does anyone know who can help me with history? This stuff is getting me stumped." She pouted as she looked over a history book, "I mean, the Start of the Quirk Wars are so foggy, we don't even know what's real! How are they supposed to grade us on this?"
"I need to study japanese." Pony spoke up, while Izuku's lessons helped, if she were to have any hope of passing the written portion of the final exam then she would have to study a lot more.
"Perhaps I can be of assistance?" The group of 1-B students swiveled their heads to see four new arrivals from 1-A, Todoroki, Iida, Yaoyorozu, and… a bigger Komori..? "Ah, I apologize for intruding, we simply wanted to see if you would allow us to join you for lunch." It was their own Representative that spoke, with a small blush on her face.
Monoma opened his mouth to speak before Setsuna slapped her hands over it, "Of course!" Izuku said with a smile.
The blond pouted as Setsuna retracted her hands, "They're the enemy, Midoriya."
Kendo reached over the desk and chopped his head, "Oh shush you, we're all in the hero course." She turned to the 1-A students and smiled, "Feel free to sit, if this dunder-head gives you problems let me know."
Monoma grumbled, crossing his arms and looking away while Setsuna giggled, "You're a sweet dunder-head though." That at least made Monoma smile.
The students from their sister class smiled and joined them, Todoroki and Iida sitting next to Izuku and the other two sitting directly across from their peers. "So, some of you are having difficulty with your studies?" Yaoyorozu probed.
The lizard girl smiled and rubbed her head, "Yup! Everything else is super easy, but history is B-O-R-ing!"
"She's not good at memorizing." Monoma quickly said with a cough.
"Hey! Not cool!"
While Yaoyorozu conversed with the rest of 1-B, Izuku and Reiko talked with Iida and Todoroki.
"How's your body feeling, Midoriya?" Iida asked as he took a bite of his food. Todoroki and Uraraka both looked at the greenette, wondering the same thing. After all, his collapse was plastered all over the news, even if it was less televised than Stain's defeat was.
Izuku smiled, pulling up his sleeve and flexing his arm, "As good as new!"
"No one wants to see your biceps, Stutter!" Kamakiri yelled from a nearby table.
"Hey, that's not nice!" Uraraka shouted back, she blushed at her outburst, "A-Ah sorry, I didn't mean to yell.." The group didn't mind though, in fact it made Izuku smile, "I'm Ochako Uraraka, by the way."
"It's alright, that's Kamamkiri's way of showing he cares." He gave her a smile as the rest of his table gave him dumbfounded looks, remembering their Battle Trials and how violent Kamakiri was with Izuku. "It's nice to meet you again too." Izuku continued, "I don't know if you remember me, but we met at the entrance exam."
Uraraka grinned, pumping her arms up and down in excitement, "Yeah! You're the plain looking guy that saved me from the Zero Pointer!"
Izuku coughed, feeling as if an arrow stabbed through his heart.
"Damn." Tetsu coughed as Izuku looked ruffled, hanging his head as Reiko patted his shoulder. "She really just hit you with 'plain looking'."
"BAHAHAHA!"
"I-I didn't mean anything by it!" Ochako tried to amend.
Setsuna grinned and lowered her Quirk History book, "I don't know which is worse, 'plain looking guy' or 'little sheep'!" While she laughed, Izuku sulked further and further into his seat.
"Hey, that's not funny, Tokage." Kendo chastised her.
"I thought it was a little bit funny…" Komori chuckled.
"I thought it was funny!" Pony said.
Their combined words caused Izuku to sulk even more, seemingly disappearing as he slid out of his seat. "And here I thought you guys were on my side."
Todoroki tilted his head, "Right or left?"
"He meant figuratively Todoroki, not literally." Yaoyorozu had to explain.
"Oh." He simply went back to eating his soba.
The Representative of 1-A clapped her hands together with a large, radiant smile on her face, "But if you need assistance with studying for the written portion of the final test then you can come with my class to my residency, we'll be having a study night sleepover!"
Monoma crossed his arms, "A sleepover with the enemy, I don't approve of that."
"You're acting like you have any power to decide, last I checked you weren't our rep, Neito-kun." Setsuna teased him with a boop on the nose.
"Plus, it'll help us study Monoma, so PLEASE, just put up with it this one time?" Kendo asked nicely, she'd resort to violence if she had to.
He still seemed to disapprove before an idea popped up in Yanagi's head. "Monoma-kun." The blond turned to her, "Midoriya wants to go, so as a good friend, would it not be in your best interest to support his decision?"
Monoma clicked his tongue, feeling as if he was trapped in a corner "...fine…." he conceded.
The group cheered and Monoma sulked.
Maybe they could work on becoming friends with their sister class?
Izuku grinned as an idea came to mind, "Hey Yaoyorozu-san." The heiress turned to him and tilted her head, "Mind if I invite a friend?"
The heiress cupped her chin, "I don't mind at all. Just make sure you all come together."
"Thanks!"
Yaoyorozu Estate
"This is much more… grand than I expected." Izuku spoke as he and his friends, with the inclusion of some of their other classmates, stood in front of the gates to an enormous mansion. Their small group consisted of him, Reiko, Monoma, Setsuna, Kendo, Tetsu, Komori, Kuroiro, Pony, Shishida, Shiozaki, and Shoda.
He had simply asked his class who wanted to join them in studying with 1-A, and those three had agreed. Someone else who he had asked was the indigo haired insomniac currently conversing with his class.
"So, you trained with Kan-sensei while we were doing internships?" Kendo asked Shinso as they sat down, waiting for Yaoyorozu to open the gate up.
Shinso rubbed his neck, "Yeah, he was…" He paused and groaned, "Really loud, compared to Aizawa anyway."
Tetsu grinned, "Yup, that sounds about right!"
Shoda nodded along and rubbed his ears, "Pretty sure I've lost most of my hearing from just being in that class…"
Kendo looked up in thought, "Aizawa..? Oh, that's the teacher for 1-A, right?" She asked with a questioning look.
Shinso just hummed along. "Yeah, that's the one."
"How's that been going Shinso-kun?" Izuku asked, knowing how difficult one-on-one training with Eraserhead was.
The insomniac sulked, "Terrible…" Eraserhead was no slouch, his training was difficult but it showed results. "But…" Shinso clenched a fist and raised his head, staring Izuku right in the eyes as a grin found its way onto his face, "I can tell I'm catching up to you."
Izuku smiled to himself, "Then, when you do, I can't wait to have you in my class."
"And if I end up in 1-A?"
"You're still our friend." Yanagi cut in, "We'll help you whenever you need."
Kendo grinned and smacked him on the arm, "For sure!"
All their positivity caused Shinso to blush, "Thanks…"
Before their group could converse anymore they heard a yell. "Oh, Midoriya!" The group of 1-B students turned to see some students from their sister class. Uraraka, Iida, and surprisingly Todoroki as well were among the group. The others Izuku didn't recognize as much, oh but Jiro was there! Oh and so was Asui!
"Hey guys!" Uraraka waved with a wide grin on her face as the two groups stood together, "Ready to head inside?"
"Yes, we were just about to go in." Kendo spoke up before pressing a little button next to a speaker. "Ah, hello? Yaoyorozu-san?"
"Ah you all are here!" They heard the familiar voice of Momo come through the speaker, "Allow me one moment and I shall get the gate open!" She sounded so excited, it was endearing to hear.
After a couple of seconds, the gate began to swing open, allowing the congregated groups of students to enter.
The building itself seemed to shine like the sun as it was made of beautiful marble, pillars of extravagant carving marked a stone path that led to the giant double doors of the manor. The building could only be described as holy.
Even Shiozaki felt like she was in a wonderful place, one worth of Christ himself.
"Woah…" Shoda muttered as he looked around, seeing people trimming and tending to gardens out in the front.
"Momo-chan is loaded, kero.." The frog girl from 1-A said. Uraraka couldn't seem to relax as her head whipped around everywhere, her eyes literally spiraling, "You can say that again…"
"I knew she was rich, but I didn't know it was this much." Jirou muttered to herself.
Shinso really felt out of place here, whereas Monoma felt right at home, not because he had this amount of wealth but because he'd at least like to pretend he did.
Reiko looked around, feeling quite small in a place so grand. Her gaze shifted to the side, to Izuku, as they finally entered the building and she smiled as his eyes seemed to light up in joy. "... This place is amazing…" She heard him mutter.
His mutters were so cute.
'WAIT, CUTE?!'
Her own eyes widened at her inner thoughts as the group approached a set of stairs. "You're all here!" Yaoyorozu's voice echoed throughout the grand building as both members of 1-A and 1-B smiled at her arrival. With a smile on her face she descended the grand set of stairs within the main hall, "We'll be set up in one of the studies, please follow me."
"This place is awesome, Yaomomo!" A pink-skinned girl yelled with a smile.
"Thank you, Ashido-san, I'm really glad you could all make it."
The group followed Yaoyorozu, or Yaomomo? Izuku wasn't sure what to call her as they weren't that close, and Reiko was still trapped in her mind, wondering just what her thoughts could mean for her relationship with Izuku. Izuku looked at her, seeing she was less composed than usual. "Hey, Reiko-chan." He whispered so only he could hear, not knowing that multiple of 1-A's students had enhanced hearing.
The ghost girl was knocked out of her thoughts as she looked towards her dearest friend, "Yes, Izuku?" Two of 1-A's members had their eyebrows raised as Izuku and Reiko casually called each other by their first names.
'Ain't Izuku his given name?' Jirou wondered to herself as she twirled her earphone jack with a finger.
'Looks like Ashido-san is going to have more material to work with, at least it's not me.' Mezo Shoji, a giant student with multiple sets of arms, a mask, and white hair, thought to himself.
"Is something wrong? You seem distracted." Izuku asked her politely.
She looked forward and nodded, "At this point in time I am well, just mauling over some thoughts."
Izuku's eyes looked somber but he nodded, "Well, okay, but if you need to talk to me then I'm here."
"Your words are noted and appreciated."
That made him smile, he knew she was a little strange in how she talked, she was different. But he enjoyed talking to her. She was the first person he met at UA, his first friend, and he'd always cherish their relationship.
Sometimes he thought what middle school would be like if he just had one friend with him and he had found that friend in the classmates he had met at UA. But still, even if they drifted apart after graduating, Izuku was sure he would never forget the friendship he and Yanagi shared.
Even if sometimes he wished for more than that.
"This is the study we'll be using." Yaoyorozu pushed a set of doors open and smiled widely as her peers' jaws dropped in shock. "Please, feel free to take a seat anywhere you'd like!"
Izuku and Reiko sat next to each other, with the ghost girl on his right, and Uraraka found her way to his left. Monoma, Setsuna, Kendo, and Tetsu were across from them, with everyone else scattered about.
"So, what we'll be doing today is covering any material anyone needs to refresh on for the written final exam." Yaoyorozu called as she clapped a stack of papers onto the table and somehow had very studious looking glasses on, "I found some practice written exams online, based on previous exams that have been publicized, that we can take so use these to their full advantage to study!"
1-A's Vice Rep stood and coughed into his hands, "We will also be trying to deduce what the practical portion of our final exam will entail!" Iida added with a shout and chop of his arm.
"Really quick, before all that jazz!" A blonde with a black lightning bolt in his hair from 1-A yelled before pointing at Izuku, "You're the guy that took down Stain, right?"
Izuku gulped as all of 1-A turned to him.
"I actually heard about that too, kero." Asui croaked.
"That's the guy?"
"He doesn't look like it."
"He's cute, not strong."
"I want to arm wrestle!"
One of their classmates, a rather big guy with equally big lips, pulled out his phone and scrolled through it. "Even if he doesn't look it, check it out!" He shoved his phone in the face of his classmates, allowing them to see Izuku's tattered form from just after Stain was defeated.
The greanette sighed, 'I didn't know that they got an angle of me like that…' deciding to clear everything up, Izuku lifted up a fist and allowed One For All to dance across his skin, "Yes." He gulped as all the eyes turned to him, making him remember how everyone targeted him during the Sports Festival. "I was the one who defeated Stain." The lightning stopped and he lowered his arm, "But please, let's just focus on studying for today."
The same blonde from before deflated, "But it's so boringggg"
"Midoriya is right." Momo huffed as she dropped a pile of books onto the table, visibly causing the wood to crack, making her less than academic classmates wince, before smiling herself, "We do have a lot of material to cover after all!" Izuku saw multiple students from 1-B sag at the amount of work as well.
Izuku grinned, "And if we have time, we can come up with modifications to costumes we need!" That seemed to get them more intrigued, Momo sent Izuku a silent "Thank you" as they started working on whatever subjects they were falling behind in.
Izuku was evenly spread throughout his subjects, doing well in all of them, so he chose to instead help other students with what they were struggling on.
Shishida, Iida, and Yaoyorozu seemed to do the same as him, going around and assisting anyone that was struggling. Even Kendo was assisting every now and then, though she was having trouble with English so she would step out to work on her own stuff too.
"You still trying to come up with a super move, Kiri?" Izuku's ear perked up as he walked around the table, the pink girl Mina had asked not-Tetsu a question.
The redhead sighed, "Yeah, but my quirk doesn't give much leeway, I can't really think of anything, ya know?"
Izuku approached, thinking about all the training they had done leading up to the festival, his notes, and all the ideas he had come up with for his own quirk. "Need some help?" The small group of students from 1-A turned to Izuku. Mina, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero, he believed their names were. Izuku rubbed his neck in slight embarrassment, "My class calls me a quirk nerd, so I can help you run ideas for super moves."
Kirishima gave Izuku a wide grin, "Yeah! I'd love some help!"
"Well alright." Pulling out a fresh new notebook from…somewhere, Izuku sat with the trio, "So, what's your quirk?" He had a general idea, but having Kirishima himself describe it would help him form a more complete picture.
The red head lifted up his arm, he was wearing a sleeveless red hoodie with a black tank top under, so Izuku was easily able to see the entire arm was sharp, "It's called Hardening, I can turn every part of my body into stuff like this. But sometimes I can be harder than other times."
Izuku's eyes widened, 'It's not like Tetsu's at all, Tetsu only has one form that he can turn into, while maybe he can boost the properties, Kirishima's is totally different in that sense…' His mouth turned into a grin, "Your quirk is incredible Kirishima-kun!"
The pinkette sucked her friend in the arm, "Told you Kiri!"
Kirishima blushed, "Nah, it's not all too flashy, unlike Baku-bro's or Todoroki's."
Izuku shook his head, "I don't think so at all, plus you're strong Kirishima." Opening his notebook, he smiled, "Now, about this super move…" This was going to be very interesting.
Later…
The trio was shocked as Izuku finished his explanation of how Kirishima could potentially become an immovable wall if he pushed his quirk enough.
The redhead himself had smoke coming out of his head as he tried to digest all of the information, it was simply too much for him to handle!
"Kiri, you hear that?! You could be so cool!" Mina said with a smile as she shook her friend.
However, that made Kirishima pout, "You saying I ain't cool as I am?"
"Fine, fine, you could be even cooler!" That made him smile again.
"Mannnn!" Kaminari whined, "You're getting even cooler Kirishima, you're gonna leave me, Sero, and Ashido in the dust!"
The tape user grinned and socked Kaminari in the arm, "Speak for yourself!"
Izuku perked up and pulled out another two notebooks, "If you guys need help, you know you can just ask, right?" He asked with a kind smile on his face. Helping people was something that he loved, it just made him feel right, it didn't have to be saving people but even helping an old lady cross the road just made him happy.
'Yet, if that old lady was Recovery Girl I think I'd let her do that by herself…' He could still feel bruising from the healing she did and that was a while ago!
The three of them cried tears of joy and jumped to hug him.
"Thank you Midori!"
"Thanks man!"
The physical touch made him blush, "I-It's no problem! D-Don't worry about it!" Even with all his progress, it seemed that touch was still something that bothered him.
While Izuku continued to help 1-A's students, Shinso sighed as he tried to come up with ideas for his quirk. "What could I do…" He tapped his pencil on his notebook. When it came to academics he was average, neither excellent nor terrible in any subject, but he knew he had a lot of catching up to do when it came to the practical side of the heroics course.
All of the hero course kids had costumes already, ones they had grown accustomed to, ones that benefitted them with accessories or certain factors that helped their quirks. Some of them were just for show, he knew that, but others weren't.
He wasn't going to have a costume for it, but maybe he could bring more support gear? They had approved his other gear already, even though he was still a novice at using it.
"But what can I make…?"
"Try a voice modulator."
Shinso blinked, not realizing that he had been muttering to himself, before looking up and seeing the round boy from the sport's festival, the one that he had tricked into joining his team in the cavalry battle.
"Ah… sorry, never got your name."
The boy looked down at Shinso's notebook before looking back up and meeting the insomniac's eyes, "Shoda, Nirengeki Shoda. Nice to meet you."
Shinso gulped, "Nice to meet you too." The air felt awkward between the two of them, or perhaps maybe tense was a better word for it, "Look, I'm sorry for using you during the—"
"Don't." Shoda raised a hand. He looked upset, with a deep frown on his face, "I was upset when it happened, I won't lie." But then a smile came to his face, "But… I know you really want to be a hero, and I do too. So instead of fighting let's work together!"
Eyebrows shot up in surprise as Shinso tilted his head, "You wanna work with me..?"
Shoda raised a hand for Shinso to shake, "Better together than against, right?"
They quickly clasped their hands together and shook them up and down, "Yeah, you're right."
"Now." Shoda pointed at the notebook, "You're coming up with support gear to help you for when you join the hero course, right?"
"Well, hopefully. They said they're going to be testing me during the final exams to see if I have what it takes to make it."
The sound of chats and conversations died down as Shinso finished what he said. The strange quiet of the room made him feel uncomfortable as he sat straight up, "D-Did I do something wrong?"
Kendo perked up, her eyes wide in surprise, "They told you about the exam…?"
Shinso didn't realize it, but he had just given the hero course one hell of a head start.
Nezu's meeting room
All Might, in his huge muscle form, gulped as he entered Nezu's personal meeting room, one saved specifically for faculty wide meetings. It's not that he disliked them or felt uncomfortable, it was simply due to the fact that Nezu liked to have fun.
His "fun" was more akin to manipulating the hell out of his staff or students, or shutting down an entire school for the hell of it. He still remembered what the rat had done to Aldera, and while he was pleased with it he had to admit he had felt bad for some of the people that worked there.
The giant set of double doors to the room made a creaking noise as they closed, everyone else was already here, and All Might, as usual, had been fashionably late. Or perhaps unfashionably late as all the teachers glared at him for holding the meeting up for half an hour.
"I-I apologize for my tardiness, I was checking Training Ground Gamma for the hero course's final exam." He coughed as he sat in his seat.
Aizawa grinned under his capture scarf, but to everyone else it looked as if he was just glaring at the Symbol of Peace, "Look at you… actually being a teacher for once."
All Might sagged in his seat, or as much as someone his size could, as Vlad coughed, "Could say the same about you."
"Enough of that." Nezu said with a chipper tone as he clapped his paws. The two hero course teachers stopped their bickering and turned to the principal who sent all of his wonderful staff a cheery wide smile, "Now, this meeting can begin in earnest."
Powerloader sighed and stood up, "All the recording systems have been optimized for this year's final exam for the students, not only that but high-tech audio systems have been installed as well so we'll be able to listen to anything that the students don't say using their comms."
The teachers all nodded as they were handed sheets of documents containing detailed notes on what had improved from last year. Being able to listen and see how their students both cooperated and communicated was key during the final exam. It tested their student's strength, problem solving, and teamwork skills all in one test, not too dissimilar from the battle trials they did on day one.
Yet, they all saw something that was conveniently left out.
"There's nothing detailing the upgrades to the bots the students are going to fight." Ectoplasm commented as he held the stack of pages, "Why is that?"
Nezu cackled quietly to himself, sounding like a small rat squeaking, all the teachers felt uncomfortable as they waited for the principal to answer.
"There have been changes made to this year's final exam." He announced, "On top of being the entrance exam for one Hitoshi Shinso, as you all know, however, while I had told Young Shinso how the test would be held, I had not done the same for any of you."
Yaoyorozu Estate
"It's a joint training exercise?!" They all yelled in unison as Shinso sank his head at all of the attention.
"Yeah, but that's all he let me know." Shinso sighed and grumbled, looking into a glass of coffee that Yaoyorozu had brought for him, "We'll be put up against… something… in groups. It's going to test how good we are at working together."
Izuku hummed and opened his notebook, flipping pages and seeing notes for all of his classmates, 'We have to work together… but also with 1-A, but what are we fighting?'
The robots from the entrance exam and sports festival were the only things he could think of, and those were relatively weak. Well not completely, but if it was their entrance exam and they had all made it into the hero course then that meant they all had adequate ability to take them out, right?
Another option for what they were fighting was the zero pointer, that monstrosity was huge and would take a huge effort to take down.
"What if it's the zero pointer…?" He offered, the gathered students looked at him and he hunched in on himself, thinking, "No but… Todoroki took out the Zero Pointer with one hit during the Sports Festival, meaning it wouldn't be an adequate test for everyone, so they would most likely do something else right? But then what would that be? Robots wouldn't do, none of the things we've seen so far would do, but would they throw us a curveball like that? I don't think so.."
Reiko smiled at seeing Izuku descend into mumbles and mutters, the rest of the Dekusquad did the same.
"I'm totally snapping a pic of this." Setsuna grinned as she pulled out her phone, "I think it's got solid meme potential."
Monoma laughed, "Send that to me later."
It was strange seeing Monoma so..subdued, but someone Setsuna had managed to… tame him for lack of a better word. While sometimes that classic Monoma from their first day would shine through, usually he wasn't as loud and was rather kind.
"THAT'S IT!" Izuku slammed a fist on the table.
"Be careful! That is mahogany!" Yaoyorozu yelled.
Izuku looked a little guilty but otherwise was still excited, "Just think about it! If the normal robots are too easy for us, and the zero pointers give an unfair advantage to people with more combat oriented quirks, and we're working together in teams, then that means—"
"We're fighting the teachers!" Iida finished off quickly.
The air felt heavy around all of the students as the idea was thrown out into the open for all of them to dwell on.
"B-But…" Kaminari muttered.
"We can't…" Shoda clenched a fist.
"Our teachers are strong." Shishida muttered.
"That's not fair…" Ochako whimpered.
Nezu's Meeting Room
Nezu grinned, wide and feral, "The final exam will be the hardest thing the students will have ever faced in all their lives, much more difficult than the entrance exams." The principal clapped his paws together. "Does anyone have anything to say?"
All Might stood up and projected an image onto the wall, showing recordings from the entrance exam, at least those who had made it in. "This will test their cooperation. A complete one-eight from how they were tested during the Entrance Exam."
A short video of Aoyama stealing a robot from Midoriya was shown, before the boy quickly left Midoriya to fend for himself. "Many of the test taker's true colors were shown during the Entrance Exam, even our current students fended only for themselves during most of the exam."
The Number One Hero thought back to his star pupil's stand against the goliath that was the Zero Pointer, and the fact that many ran away even when a girl was trapped in rubble, "This test is to see how they've adjusted as heroes, if they've gained the essence of what it truly means to be a hero."
His cerulean eye peaked through the shadows that lined his face. "The ability to protect and save others, even in the face of an impossible challenge, that is what it means to be a hero."
The gathered teachers all nodded in appreciation and agreement as All Might took a seat.
Vlad King stood next. "The Final Exam will also test their ability to fight under pressure, something that they did during the Entrance Exam and Sports Festival, however this time they will be fighting opponents that they know for a fact are stronger than them. Seeing how much they believe in both their abilities and the abilities of those around them."
Sparing a glance at All Might, Vlad King continued, "Like All Might said, they'll be facing impossible odds." He sighed, "Let's see how they handle themselves under the pressure, if they'll persevere or break."
Next was Aizawa's turn, "Most importantly, it'll test their ability to strategize." Videos started playing of the cavalry battle during the Sports Festival, "Heroes can't always win by just brute force." His monotone voice was dead as he spoke. "Not all of us can win like All Might can, none of us are like him."
The Symbol of Peace was surprised at the mention, and oddly proud at the same time. "But…" Aizawa looked down and held his scarf before looking at the thundering oaf that they called The Number One Hero. "Maybe there's an exception this year."
"Oh~?" Midnight asked with a grin, "And who might that be Shouta?" The teachers had to each admit, they were interested. Eraserhead was rarely ever interested in a student, rarely ever praised anyone, so this was a surprise.
The Erasure Hero sighed, "No one, let's continue the meeting." He sat down and didn't care for Midnight's pout.
Nezu grinned, "I have to admit, I am interested as well, Aizawa-kun." The rodent's eyes bore into the pro, "Mind to share with the class?"
"No." Aizawa spoke with an air of finality.
"Well, that's too bad." Nezu said with an exaggerated sigh, "Now, how about we talk about the match ups?"
"Before we do that." Present Mic interrupted, "What's the reason for the change this year? We usually always have them battle against the bots that the second and third years fight so why change it up?"
"I actually wanted to ask the same." Cementoss commented as he read through the sheets of paper given to them, "This is all very advanced for a couple of first years isn't it? I mean I've read through the limitations we have, weights? That'll hinder people like Aizawa but for Yamada and me? We won't be hindered at all."
"It seems you all still think they are a normal bunch of first years." Nezu chirped happily.
Aizawa shook his head, there was no way that kid was "normal."
"They're not." Nezu continued, "Half of them squared off against real villains, we have the son of the Number Two Hero in this class, the heirs of high ranking families, children whose quirk's potential are boundless, and most importantly." A playful glint came to his eye, "a boy who is possibly the future number one."
All Might gulped, not because of imagining a student taking his place, but because he knew exactly who Nezu was referring to.
"But we must show them that they are not invincible." Nezu's voice turned dark, even with its high pitch, "We must let them know that terrible things can and will happen to them." He spared a glance at Aizawa, Yamada, and Kayama, "Like you all have experienced." His eyes also drifted to Ectoplasm, and then finally to All Might.
"You all have experienced loss and grief, but none of you were prepared for anything remotely close to what you all went through."
Aizawa, Yamada, and Kayama had all lost a dear friend, even if Kayama wasn't as close to Shirakumo as the other two, when they were barely in their second year of high school.
Ectoplasm had lost both of his legs and now had to use stumps to move around for the rest of his life, even if he had adjusted well the pain was still there.
And then there was All Might, the untouchable man who was down a lung and his stomach, who was restricted to only a couple hours of hero time each day, and who looked like he was shooting for retirement at his rate.
"They need to know that sometimes they will lose, no matter how hard they try.." The principal finished.
"But we're still hoping for them to pull through and win?" Snipe asked.
The mouse nodded. "It would go against our motto if they were to give up, wouldn't it?" After all, no one graduated from UA without going plus ultra at least once in their lives.
Yaoyorozu Estate
As day turned to night and all the students of UA huddled up in Yaoyorozu's mansion got tired, they found themselves being shown to rooms. The boys of 1-A and 1-B had already gathered in the room that they would be sharing and had changed into night clothes. The girls were in their own separate room, to the disappointment of some of the guy's.
Izuku sighed as he smoothed out a futon that he had been given, "Looks like everything's good then." He grinned as he laid a pillow down. "Think I'm all set guys."
Everyone else was still getting ready, some struggling while others weren't, but still Tetsu grinned specifically at Izuku as a devious thought came to mind, "Nah bro, I think you're missing something."
Tilting a brow and scratching his head, Izuku was left befuddled at what he possibly could have forgotten. "What could I be missing?" He asked Tetsu.
His friend simply grinned, "Yanagi."
"...eh…?" He made a dumb looking face before a blush quickly sprouted from his face, making him look like a tomato. "T-T-TETSU-KUN! YOU JERK!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Look at your face!" Tetsu laughed as he fell onto the floor, "You're so red!"
"You're terrible!" Izuku yelled back.
"Sure am!"
Izuku pouted, a blush still on his face as he grabbed his pillow, activated One For All, and launched it at Tetsu's face. "HAHAHA-HMPH!" Tetsu fell back as the pillow hit him with a surprising amount of force, before shooting back up, "Hey! You used your quirk! That's no fair–HMPH!" Tetsu fell back once more as Izuku chucked another pillow.
"I've got plenty of ammo Tetsu-kun!"
His opponent quickly activated his quirk, his skin turning to a sleek metallic substance as he shot up to his face. "I don't care how much you've got, I'll still take you on!"
"No fighting! We're going to go to sleep!" Iida chastised, before a pillow flew across the room and knocked his glasses off.
Kirishima, Sero, and Kaminari all winced as they saw their friend's glasses bounce on the floor, a slight crack forming in the glass. Tracing the trajectory, they found it was Monoma who had thrown it. "HAHA! Take that you hooligan!"
"H-Hooligan! Do you truly wish to be a hero!" Iida yelled back.
Kaminari's lightning crackled as he picked up his own pillow, "PILLOW FIGHT!"
The room descended into chaos as everyone fended for themselves, making forts constructed of futons and backpacks and sometimes their ammo. "Man down man down!" Kirishima yelled as Sero got nailed in the face. "Requesting backup!"
"I've got your back…" The three boys stilled in fright as they all turned around, seeing Kuroiro come out of a shadow with a wide smile on his face and grabbing a pillow, "Kekeke…."
"FIRE!" A strange yell cut through the room as Tokoyami, with the help of Dark Shadow, launched a pillow straight for Kuoiro's face.
"AHHH!"
As the boys continued their rounds of madness, the girls were being much more civilized, setting up their (much bigger) room for all of them to share. Reiko herself had just finished smoothing out her futon and decided to lay down on it.
It was comfortable, but it was cold, lacking a certain warmth.
The boys were situated across the hall from them, and they were being rather rowdy.
"What are they up to?" She believed it was Hagakure who asked, the invisible girl from 1-A, that spoke.
"I don't know, kero, but they're pretty loud." Tsuyu groaned as she snuggled under some blankets to find warmth.
"So rowdy…" Shiozaki complained.
"Maybe a tad too loud…" Yaoyorozu frowned as she got up.
Before any of them could get up and complain about the noise, a loud crash was heard from across the hall. "Oh for goodness sake, please tell me they didn't damage the walls!" Yaoyorozu pleaded as she quickly left the room.
The rest of the girls quickly got up and followed as the door to the boy's room was thrusted open. Pillows and futons were thrown about, thankfully no walls or furniture were damaged, but Kirishima and Tetsutetsu were on the floor shaking in pain.
"God! That hurt!"
"Jesus christ!"
Shiozaki frowned and raised her vines, "Don't speak the lord's name in vain!" She yelled and smacked them both.
"GAH!"
The boy's laughed as the hard head's continued to wiggle in pain on the floor, Kendo sighed and walked up to Midoriya, "What happened? What did these two dunderheads do?"
Izuku looked guilty as he rubbed his neck, "Ah.. we were having a pillow fight, but we were using our quirks…. Kirishima and Tetsu somehow ended up running into each other at full force and headbutted each other…"
The room fell silent as the boys were scrutinized by the girls.
"HOW DO YOU ACCIDENTALLY DO THAT?!" They all yelled.
Tetsu winced and tried to hold both his head and ears at the same time as they both thumped with pain, "I don't know! I'm a muscle head, alright?!"
"That you are my good metal friend!" Monoma laughed as he helped Tetsu stand up, "But that's what we love about you."
"Thanks…" Tetsu muttered, still rubbing his head.
Yaoyorozu sighed, "So nothing's damaged then…?"
"Eh, those two may have some brain damage." Monoma uttered. "So nothing too major." Kaminari and Sero tried not to laugh as Kirishima stood up and tried to shake off his supposed brain damage.
Jirou huffed, "If anyone has brain damage it's that idiot right there." She pointed at Kaminari.
"Hey! Not cool Jiro–AHHH!" The boy yelped as an earphone jack stabbed him in the ear.
"Are they always like that…?" Shiozaki asked as the violence was a little too much for her.
Mina smiled, "Yeah it's just Jirou being a tsundere!" She got stabbed too.
The punk rock girl blushed as she walked out of the room, "I am not a tsundere!"
"Well…" Yaoyorozu continued, trying not to think of all the possible ways the night could get worse, "Once you all are done I was thinking we could have dinner in the study hall, together as a group."
Izuku grinned, "That's a great idea!" He turned to the rest of the guys and smiled, "Why don't you guys head out, me and Iida-kun will get this cleaned up in no time!"
"W-Wait we will?"
"THANK YOU GUYS!"
"W-WAIT I DIDN'T AGREE TO THIS!"
The boys all laughed as they quickly left the room with the girls, Izuku grinned as he turned to Iida, "Don't worry Iida-kun, we'll finish up quick!" One For All sparked across his skin as he grinned.
The rest of the group quickly set the table as Momo's butlers and maids quickly went about setting the food for them, placing down an assortment of delectables that while not everyone knew the name of, knew that they loved the taste of.
Iida and Izuku quickly rejoined them and they all ate to their heart's content, chatting and joking, teasing and laughing, for once they truly felt like the teenagers they were.
Izuku had to admit that the day had been a truly joyful experience, being surrounded by so many people he could call friends, people that hadn't harassed or bullied him, unless Iida counted but he had already apologized for that, when a year ago he couldn't even imagine having one actual friend.
Looking at everyone he had met so far filled him with warmth and happiness; hoping that this would last for the rest of his life. Not just the happiness, but the bonds that joy came from. He couldn't imagine life without his dear friends anymore.
His eyes drifted to Reiko, he certainly couldn't imagine life without her.
Glancing at Monoma as he was teased by an ever-devious Tokage, who had recruited Mina to help her tease Monoma, he knew he wouldn't forget about them ever.
Seeing Tetsu turn red as he and Kirishima arm wrestled was hilarious.
Though he did feel bad when he saw how stressed Kendo looked, it was her idea for a relaxing day and it seemed she was the only one not relaxed. Though seeing Shinso try to comfort her was nice.
Komori and Kuroiro were together as usual, Izuku wondered why they hadn't become a couple yet, it was so obvious!
Pony, Shishida, Shoda, and Shiozaki were all conversing with a rather large guy from 1-A with multiple arms, Shouji, Izuku remembered.
Looking down and seeing his own smiling face in a cup of hot tea, Izuku thought to himself, 'Yeah, this is what life's all about…'
Later that night…
Both the boys and the girls split up as they prepared for bed, as everyone would be leaving first thing in the morning. Yet, it appeared for Reiko that sleep wasn't something she was going to be blessed with so early in the morning.
"So~" Mina grinned as she laid right next to Reiko, "You and Midoriya, huh?" She teased with a grin.
"W-What?" Reiko's usually monotone wavered for a moment as she was shocked, a little blush covering her cheeks.
A moment was all Mina needed, "Aha! So Jirou and Kiri were right!" She pointed an accusatory finger. "We need to know everything!"
Kendo sighed as some of the girls from 1-A flocked around Reiko like moths to a flame. "Oh come on guys, quit it."
Toru waved her arms around in glee, "But it's so cute! You two are so adorable together!"
Reiko shook her head rapidly, "There is nothing cute, there is nothing to swoon over." She quickly returned to her monotone voice, which didn't matter because her face was covered in a bright red blush.
"We need the details!" Mina squealed.
Setsuna grinned and joined, "It's about time Ghosty!" She had been dying to know everything about Midoriya and Yanagi.
Yaoyorozu and Kendo sighed and exchanged a glance, knowing that they wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. Reiko gulped as she was surrounded on all sides, more of her classmates and peers joining their group, knowing that she wouldn't be getting out of this interrogation.
In the boy's room, Izuku shivered as a weird chill went down his spine. "Huh, wonder what that was." He muttered.
"What what was?" Monoma asked.
Izuku shrugged, "A weird chill."
"Huh." Monoma fluffed his pillow, "Reminds me of when Setsuna is up to something…"
Kirishima shivered and rubbed his arms. "Oh no…." He muttered, "Oh no no no no no!"
"Something up Kirishima?" Kaminari asked with a raised brow.
"Mina's up to something! I can feel it!"
Sero laughed, "I think you're crazy, man, no way you can feel that."
"I've known her for way too long, it's like a sixth sense!"
Iida chopped his arm. "Enough, time to go to bed!" He shouted.
The boys obliged as they all covered up with their blankets and laid in bed, with Shoji turning off the light soon after by extending his arm from his lying position.
"That's a cool quirk…" Izuku muttered.
"No analyzing Midoriya." Shoda called out.
The boys of 1-B giggled at the joke, even Izuku himself. He really liked having friends, it was so much better than his life before.
The Next Day…
The combined students of 1-A and 1-B stood outside of the Yaoyorozu Estate as the sun began to rise over the mountains. They had been at it all day and even after a night of rest were rather tired, as evident by even Reiko swaying a bit from how exhausted she was.
Or perhaps that was due to the interrogation issued by Mina and Setsuna.
The group walked towards the train station as a group, smiling and talking together as friends. Though Monoma still wasn't all too pleased about it.
"But like I said yesterday, focus on getting even harder, right now you don't seem to have a limit since you have a transform type quirk, it's a lot easier to train and you can see a lot of growth." Izuku grinned as he walked with Kirishima, "It'll be rough though, you'll need to put a lot of effort into it."
The redhead hardened his fists and pumped them together, "Good thing I'm a manly guy then!"
Izuku laughed, Kirishima remind him a lot of Tetsu, 'I swear, they could be brothers'
Suddenly, a little weight collided with his shoulder, and he looked to see Reiko looking extremely tired, "Long night?"
The ghost girl yawned before nodding, he grinned and placed an arm on her opposite shoulder to help her stay standing, "Is this okay?" A small smile came to her lips as she nodded. He missed the tiny, "wonderful." she muttered.
Setsuna cooed as she watched her classmates, "You see how cute they are Neito!" She whispered to her friend.
The blond narrowed his brows a bit, "Yeah, I do." He had thoughts in his mind, 'Would she mind if…' He shook his head and dispelled the thoughts, "Don't get distracted by their wonderfulness, we still have an exam to take in a couple of days."
Setsuna pouted, but had to admit that Monoma was right in some sense.
Mina grinned and pumped her arms, Toru squealing herself. Ochako smiled, though she did have to admit she was a little sad at the connection between the two.
Midoriya was her hero, saving her life during the Entrance Exam, but she had to admit that they were a good pair. It was also rather cute how the energetic Midoriya got the introvert Yanagi out of her shell… "They really are adorable.." She muttered with a smile.
Shinso and Kendo walked together, the girl going over things she could help him with, "While you worry about getting that voice modulator that Shoda and Midoriya helped you with, I could help you with hand to hand." She grinned and flexed her arm, "I've been doing it since I was little so I'm pretty good."
A little smile climbed up Shinso's face, "Maybe I'll take you up on that offer, Red."
Kendo's face, for a moment, matched the nickname. "Eh..? Red?"
"Uhh sorry." Shinso cursed himself for the slip up. "I just think your hair is nice."
The martial artist combed a hand through her side ponytail, no one had ever said something like that to her before since she was a little bit of a tomboy. "T-Thanks."
"No problem…"
Mina grinned, "My romance radar is going off!"
"Enough." Jiro stabbed her classmate with her earphone jack and pumped sound into the appendage.
"AHHHHH!"
The hero course was certainly crazy, a little insane bunch due to their immense dedication to their dreams. But they were all good people, at least Izuku thought so. And he would be happy to call them all friends.
He hoped they all would pass the final exam.
UA High
"ALRIGHT CLASS!" Vlad King yelled as he entered the classroom for the day. Seeing all of his student's with an immense serious look on their faces. All of 1-B quickly found their seats and their teacher nodded in approval, before coughing into a hand, "Today we'll be working on a Hero one-o'-one schedule, with your normal classes not taking place at all today and your hero course class taking place all day."
Shishida quickly raised a hand and Kan gestured for him to speak, "If I may ask, what's the occasion, sensei?"
Kan grinned, "What's the occasion?" He asked himself as his smile grinned, becoming feral, "It's time for your final exam, that's the occasion!"
"WHAT?!"
Izuku almost cursed, cursing for him was saying something like darn, as Monoma shot out of his seat. "But we have another week until the exam!" Komori yelled in alarm.
"Yeah, that's not fair, teach!" Awase was so close to cursing.
Shiozaki narrowed her eyes, as she was actually sweating. "Lying is not holy…"
Their teacher crossed his arms and gave them a daring look, "All of you are here to train to become heroes, people that stand above the population and fight unfairness."
Vlad King could feel the fear and uneasiness of his students and thoroughly enjoyed the feeling, the very air of his classroom was filled with the uncertainty of his students as the rug was pulled out from under them, "Are you going to tell me that none of you are going to be heroes?!" He yelled.
Kendo fist clenched around her desk, cracking the wood with her strength. "Yeah we are!" Even if they weren't ready, they still had to do it.
"Class 1-B!" Izuku yelled and rose to his feet, "Get dressed, get as prepared as you can, we're doing this today and we're going to persevere." One For All burned inside of him as his nerves ate him out.
The blood hero grinned, 'That's the way….' Maybe they wouldn't completely fail, "Meet outside the main gates in ten minutes!" Each and every one of his students met his gaze with a determined, if anxious, one of their own, "That's the way… future heroes!"
END
Ah…. sorry this one took so long, finals have been killing me since my school district is dumb and makes our school year extra long. Also have just had other school events going on so I've been busy.
But alright, enough of that, I've cut a lot of the stuff I wanted to put in this chapter, as I really want to get to the final exams and all that extra stuff wasn't really important, more just reactions to things that can happen in the Final Exams, so I hope you guys are happy with the current chapter.
Relationships are progressing, if you haven't noticed, and things will come of that eventually I promise.
Also, yes, I have changed the final exams, it will be 4 vs 1 matches, and the teachers are going to be a lot more OP than they were in canon.
Also also, I'm letting everyone know right now that the final exams will probably be longer than a chapter, since there is ten matches to go through. Sorry…
But I think that's all I went to say, hopefully the next chapter will come out sooner, I'm really sorry if it doesn't
Jay out!