You may have thought I was dead...but I LIVED.
College is determined to keep me down but I've entered by final month, I'm so close to graduating and having so much more free time and less stress on my hands.
That being said, I meant to have this entire chapter finished by Godzilla's anniversary this year but I obviously failed. This was actually going to be a rather long chapter but I decided to cut it in half since it's actually a pretty good length this way.
Concerning the poll, it's been decided that I'll gradually reveal our students rather than reveal them all this chapter, so just bear with me just for a couple more chapters before they're all here.
As general updates go, I don't have too much to say other than that the new My Hero Academia movie was pretty good. Heroes Rising was better but I had a good time (Even if Godzillo was only there for a single frame).
Aztec 13: Will Alapu Upala have some importance? Yes, but not to the level of Singular Point, so don't expect anything crazy like that. Eddie Brock's inclusion comes from both my love of the first Venom and my excitement for Let There Be Carnage (which I ended up liking), plus he's a monster-based character so he fits in rather well. Anything related to the Marvel Godzilla comics is unlikely, but Red Ronin may get some reference in the future. As always, I appreciate your support!
After a short while, the rest of Class 1-B arrived before the first bell. Haruo kept an eye on the newcomers but remained mostly unimpressed. While there were some individuals that drew the attention of his sixth sense, none of them stood out in the same way that Shoichi did. Overall, no one really caught Haruo's eye like Shoichi did. Once the bell finally did ring, the twenty hero course students waited for their homeroom teacher to enter...
Minutes ticked by as they sat in silence, trying to remain patient for their late instructor.
As they grew impatient, some students decided to start some idle chatter whilst others (namely Haruo) chose to sit in silence. This didn't last very long when the door to the classroom finally opened.
Slightly stumbling into the classroom was a man with short black hair and a serious case of bedhead, struggling to hold a large number of books in his arms. His clothing was basic, just a wrinkled zip-up black jump suit with gray armored pads on his elbows and knees with a matching belt. His orange eyes were widened in slight panic as he continued to struggle with the books.
"Sorry students," the man apologized as he placed the books on the front desk, "Principal Nezu's meeting with the teachers took a little longer than usual." He took a deep breath as he continued with a large and more confident smile, "My name is Mr. Kusanagi. I'm the designated homeroom teacher for Class 1-B, it's nice to meet all you heroes-to-be."
"..."
The class just stared at the man, some either not knowing what to say while others were put off by how unprofessional their teacher seemed. Shoichi scratched his head in confusion as he muttered to himself, "I thought U.A. was meant to have pros as their staff, is this his first day?"
Haruo simply glared, somewhat disappointed. What a joke...
When hearing no response from his greeting, Mr. Kusanagi cleared his throat, "We can have proper introductions later. I would like us all to get acquainted but I'm afraid we don't have much time right now. Orientation is about to start and I want all of us there ASAP for Principal Nezu's introduction. Afterwards, we'll be doing some tests to see where each of you stand as of now."
The man clicked a button from under his desk, triggering shelves to suddenly slide out of the wall of the classroom. On the shelves were blue and white uniforms of various sizes, some with different adjustments.
"These are your official U.A. Academy gym uniforms, you'll be wearing these for any physical activities without access to your hero costumes. I want you all to take one with you as we depart." Mr. Kusanagi walked towards the door until he stopped and finished, "Those of you with specific physical conditions have specified uniforms with your names on them. If no one has any last-minute questions, let's head out."
The students of Class 1-B sluggishly got up from their desks, still unsure how to react to their instructor. Most of them quickly grabbed a uniform and proceeded to follow Mr. Kusanagi, while some of them searched for their specified labels.
Haruo found his quickly, grabbing it and promptly leaving the classroom without a single glance at his classmates. Although if he had, the red-eyed teen may have noticed Miana watching him leave, having read Haruo's name on the label of the uniform.
She put a finger to her chin and muttered to herself, "So that's Serizawa..." Lost in thought, Miana quickly noticed she remained the last one in the classroom. She quickly grabbed her specified uniform and walked out of the room to catch up to her classmates. She was just in time to see her homeroom teacher talking to another member of staff.
This man was physically built, his muscular frame apparent even under his loose brown trench coat and baggy black pants. Oozing a masculine persona, he has a thick moustache and a necklace wrapped around a large tooth.
Mr. Kusanagi spoke aloud, "Missing orientation again, General? Are you ever gonna let your students attend just one, for their sake?"
"General" smirked and answered with a gruff voice, "Of course not, it's a waste of time. Besides, skipping lets me test my students without having to share the training grounds with you."
The Class 1-B teacher sighed, "Blunt as ever, I see. Well, I look forward to see how 1-A performs." "General" gave an amused grunt before turning and walking the opposite direction, his students in tow.
Mr. Kusanagi smiled and turned to his own class, "Let's go 1-B! Unlike Class A, we'll actually listen to principal Nezu's announcement. Abiding the rules like proper heroes." He walked ahead, the group of teens mumbling as they walked behind him.
Miana prepared to follow from the back, but paused as she saw a familiar face in Class 1-A staring at her. He was about her height with dark purple eyes and spiked yellow and black hair, paired with dark red markings on his skin similar to Miana's own markings. His most noticeable feature was his own set of insectoid wings, albeit black with a red and yellow lightning-like design.
Miana muttered, "So you made it too, Hidemi."
He glared, eyes and wings flashing a faint purple before suddenly turning to follow his class. Miana gave a small grunt and hurried to follow her classmates.
"Looks like Class 1-A finished up quickly," Mr. Kusanagi noted as his class arrived at the out-door training field.
As orientations went, the one for U.A. was nothing special. It consisted of the school principal, Nezu, going over basic school requirements for about an hour. He listed some of the pro hero members of staff, but overall said nothing of too much value apart from a typical school orientation. Once the students of 1-B made it outside, any trace of Class 1-A was nary to be seen.
Mr. Kusanagi gestured his students to follow him as he continued walking past what seemed to be the training grounds. After a few minutes of uneventful walking, the class stopped in front of a building with the U.A. logo displayed on the front.
The homeroom teacher turned to his class, "Welcome, my students, to Gym Delta! A specialized adaptable training area that allows me to train you in any way I see fit. It is here where I will test you on the limits of your abilities."
Katsumi smirked and palmed his fist, "Oh yeah! It's finally time for a workout!"
The teacher held up his hand to silence the armored teen, "I appreciate the enthusiasm but please save your energy. This will be an individual Quirk Apprehension Test, one at a time. When I call your name, you will enter Gym Delta with me where I will personally evaluate you."
The usually silent Mako held up her hand and asked, "Sir, wouldn't it be more productive if we entered and performed the tests at the same time or in groups?"
"It would be," Mr. Kusanagi answered, "However there's several factors to think about."
He held up his hand, holding out a finger as he numbered each factor, "One: These tests are individual and applied by me, meaning some of you won't have the same test as another due to quirk type or preference. Two: For today, all you're at school for is orientation and this test. We have as much time as we need to go through each and every one of you. And finally..."
As he held out a third finger, he lightly smirked at Mako, "Three: Your first official day tomorrow will have a combat-based training exercise against your peers. If I were to force you to present your quirks so freely for this test, you'd all have full knowledge of each other's powers with no real room for surprises tomorrow. Sorry, no prep time for anybody hoping for an advantage."
Mako slightly blushed and nodded her head, embarrassed how easily the instructor saw through her intentions. It seemed he wasn't as much as a pushover as the students figured he'd be.
Clearing his throat, the teacher continued, "As a final note, once you finish with me, you're free to go home. Your hero costumes have already been finished, so you may also find and take them home with you. Be warned, you're responsible for bringing them to school every day. If you can't handle that, simply leave it here at U.A., okay? Okay!"
He turned and walked into the building as he called out, "Shoichi Cooper, you're first up. Please follow me."
Easily weaving through the crowd of students, Shoichi trudged with heavy footsteps to follow Mr. Kusanagi inside. As he entered, the metal doors sealed behind him, leaving the students of Class 1-B to talk amongst themselves.
Some stuck to their friend groups, others prepped themselves and stretched, and there was Haruo, who simply sat on the ground and closed his eyes. The monster-quirk user decided to wait and rest until he was called.
About an hour had passed and more than half the class have already been tested. There seemed to be no specific order to who was called in, Mr. Kusanagi just announced a random student's name to come inside. There also seemed to be two exits in Gym Delta, as most students who entered didn't come out the way they came in, likely wanting to go straight home. Some, such as Katsumi, chose to exit out the front and rejoin his group of friends as they awaited their turn.
Eddie impatiently tapped his foot, "How long does it take to get to me? Both of the letters of my name are early in the alphabet, so obviously he isn't going alphabetical. What kind of system is he going by?"
Yuri shrugged by his side, having not gone yet either, "Maybe he's really just saying the first name that comes to mind?"
Eddie grunted, twitching slightly and quietly muttered, "Yeah, we-...I agree."
As he started to glare at nothing, Yuri paid no mind to Eddie's random attitude. Instead, she turned to the two of her friends that already went and came back to stay with the group.
The ghost girl asked, "Were your tests similar, he might be calling based on each type of quirk evaluation?"
Katsumi and Masaki turned to look at each other and shrugged, the water user answered, "He judged me by causing the room to heat up, limiting my water usage to see how I'd react."
The armored Katsumi followed up, "For me, teach wanted to see how durable I was and how my endurance held up."
Sitting relaxed near them, Miana inquired, "It seems that Mr. Kusanagi is focused on how we act when pushed to our limits. Stressing out physical power types like Katsumi and providing a disadvantageous scenario for more specialized quirks like Mizushima's Hydro. I fail to see an order though, especially since we're left unaware of the rest of our classmates' tests."
Eddie suddenly growled and took a big step forward, before instantly calming down and staggered backwards into Yuri's arms. Embarrassed, Eddie quickly stood back up after his sudden convulsion.
"Sorry, starting to get a bit hangry with all this waiting." He nervously laughed as everyone, save for Yuri, raised an eyebrow. But they quickly moved past it and went back to thinking about the test.
"HA, what a bunch of wimps!"
The group turned to see the ever-egotistical Akuma approach them again, to their annoyance.
He laughed, "You're all so worried about a tiny little test, it's laughable!"
Yuri frowned, "Well it doesn't hurt to be prepared, especially for something made to test each of us specifically."
Akuma's smirk grew, "Except crap like that doesn't matter to someone like me, I'll ace whatever that worm of a teacher throws at me with ease."
Masaki stared with half-lidded eyes, "You're a really confident guy, aren't you?
Turning to the water user, Akuma bragged, "Of course I am, you're looking at one of the top scorers of the Entrance Exam."
Most of the group's eyes widened in surprise, Eddie angrily muttering, "This asshole is actually that good, seriously?"
Katsumi leaned towards Eddie, "That's some hardcore stuff, although he could tone down the attitude."
Satisfied with his braggart reveal, Akuma turned to leave them when Miana suddenly asked, "Shouldn't that kind of confidence come from the first-place examinee, though? After all, Akuma Honda, you only ranked fourth."
It was Akuma's turned to be shocked as he swiftly turned to stare wide-eyed at the moth-winged girl, her own friends surprised at her declaration.
Akuma's wings started glowing red again as he took a step forward, "Who are you to lecture me, bug girl? Fourth is still higher than you."
Miana adopted a face of false surprise, "Oh I see. I wasn't aware first place was lower than fourth, I'm sorry for my mistake." She turned to her friends and seriously asked, "Was that good sarcasm? I'm not used to mocking others." Everyone was too surprised to give her feedback.
Akuma paused as he processed what she said, "First...WAIT, YOU-?!"
Miana nodded, "Correct. I am Miana Tomoyuki, first place examinee of the U.A. Entrance Exam." She held out her hand as she adopted a somewhat mocking smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Akuma Honda, fourth place examinee."
Akuma sputtered before swiftly turning around, trudging away to sulk away from the class, his wings growing increasingly redder.
Miana hummed to herself, satisfied with putting the arrogant braggart in his place. As she turned to continue talking with her friends, she noticed them all starting at her in just as much shock as the winged boy.
"Oh, I apologize for not mentioning that. I didn't want to put down any of your efforts by having such a high score."
Katsumi shouted, "Are you kidding, you're awesome! Congrats on getting so high!"
Yuri nodded in agreement as Masaki said, "With how you saved us from that building, there's no way you couldn't have gotten the best score, especially with that hero points thing."
Eddie, more in control of his shock, pondered, "Honestly though, I would've put my money on that dinosaur who destroyed the Zero-Pointer. It wasn't worth anything but it was still pretty crazy."
Katsumi nodded, "Yeah, they'd have to be insane to not pass him too." He turned to Miana, "Was his name on the top list?"
Miana shook her head, "I'm sorry but I don't know. We never found out his identity, so I can't confirm if he did or not."
Eddie asked, "Any familiar names on that list though, other than that Kentucky Fried Prick, of course?"
The moth girl nodded at that question, "While not someone I personally know, a name I did recognize was-…"
Mr. Kusanagi's voice rang out, "Haruo Serizawa, you're turn!"
The group turned to Gym Delta at that sudden announcement, noticing the called-on teen getting up and walking towards the building.
Miana muttered, "Speak of the devil, I think the saying goes."
Masaki scratched his head, "Haruo Serizawa? How do you know him?"
Eddie pondered, "Serizawa is a name I've heard before." The white-haired teen wasn't alone, some of the remaining students also mumbled to each other upon the announcement of Haruo's name. Even Akuma couldn't help but take a glance at the classmate who intimidated him earlier.
Miana turned to them, "That's because you're likely thinking of Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, one of Japan's greatest scientific minds in the field of quirk study. If it's any indication, that's his youngest son."
Yuri asked, "A famous scientist's kid wants to be a pro hero? I suppose not everyone's cut out to go into science."
Miana mused, "Like I said, I don't know him beyond recognizing his father's name. It would be rude to assume all family members are alike." As Miana's friends nodded in agreement to her words, the girl's mind turned to who she saw in Class 1-A.
"I know that better than anyone. Isn't that right, Himari?"
Haruo stepped silently into the building, ignoring the audible mumbling of his classmates. He was aware of the popularity of the Serizawa name, but that didn't matter to him. As far as Haruo's concerned, he and his family couldn't be more different. Not his scientist father, Erika, or even...
"There you are!"
Haruo's train of thought was interrupted as he looked up to see his teacher waving at him. Mr. Kusanagi seemed slightly winded, a small amount of sweat glistening his skin.
Haruo spoke up, "Let's get this over with, testing's not something I enjoy." He twisted his head, causing an audible CRACK as he stretched his neck.
Mr. Kusanagi chuckled, "The son of Dr. Serizawa dislikes testing, it'd be ironic if it wasn't so obvious."
Haruo froze, "...Excuse me?"
The teacher continued, "I've seen you at the entrance exam. You're rather aggressive, didn't even hesitate to attack the Zero-Pointer regardless of how little worth it'd get ya'. You strike me as the "teen rebel" type."
Haruo huffed, "I'm here to become stronger, if I go for small fry than I'm making no progress."
At that response, Mr. Kusanagi shook his head, "No, I don't think it's just that. You're here with something to prove, something to do with the good ol' doctor, right?"
The teen's red eyes glared, "I thought I was here to have my quirk tested, not for some wanna-be therapist session."
With a smirk, Mr. Kusanagi replied, "I suppose that's true. Sorry, it's my job to know as much about you kids as possible. I have to study you both physically and mentally if I want you to become the best heroes you can be."
Haruo's eyes studied the teacher, noticing something different about him. Unlike before, Mr. Kusanagi's demeanor seemed entirely changed. No longer some stumbling twig, he seemed a lot more serious. Even Haruo's sixth sense was suddenly screaming at him.
It became clear to Haruo that whatever his teacher seemed before was just a façade, this was the real him.
"Why you..." He growled and changed into Monster Form, the U.A. sports uniform stretching to fit his changed body.
The teacher's eyes widened slightly, taking note of Haruo's comment, "Oh, you've noticed, I see? Not bad for a kid." He laughed and put a hand through his raggedy hair, making it sleek back and look much more professional. "Sorry about that, I like to play my students by surprise on the first day. It's fun for me."
The man pressed a button on a concealed watch, causing the padding on his knees and elbows to expand over his body, now becoming armor. Some of it began generating from his back, forming some kind of turtle shell around his torso.
"Allow me to reintroduce myself more properly. I am Teruo Kusanagi, more famously known as the former #2 pro hero of Japan, the 'Guardian Hero: Gammera'. Now, let's get started."
That's right readers, Gamera is our teacher for Class 1-B! I thought he'd fit better in that role than a student, given his nature with protecting children along with being a rather ancient character in his films. It took me a while to think of a good quirk for him that wasn't fire-based but I think I found a rather interesting power...wink
When it comes to the tests, you'll only be seeing Haruo's next chapter. I apologize if you wanted to see more, but I also have something extra planned for Shoichi too so hopefully that can suffice.
And with that said, I bid you goodbye with this chapter's question: What characters from the Kaiju universe do you think may end up as members of U.A's staff?