My Hokuto Academia
AN: Just a fair bit of warning, there will be SPOILERS for both My Hero Academia [Vigilantes too], Hokuto no Ken, and Souten no Ken (and its continuation, Regenesis).
I DO NOT own Hokuto no Ken or My Hero Academia, they belong to their respective creators, Tetsuo Hara, Buronson, and Kohei Horikoshi. Support the official releases, especially of Souten no Ken.
Itatics = Flashback
"Italics" = Speaking in a Different Language
'Italics' = Inner Thoughts
Italics = Flashback
Chapter Twelve:
The month of October would have Izuku dealing with midterms, but those were easy. It's the cultural and sporting events that would put a damper on his study time here and there. The first sporting event that Izuku participated in resulted in an embarrassing outcome. However, he was a little more excited about cultural events happening before midterms, why? He gets to see wholly different cultures and try out their food!
20XX/10/15
Izuku was struggling in a tug-of-war event between his class and another one. Bakugo was obviously the leader, screaming that he can do it all alone. However, the green-haired kid remembered something: he can utilize a bit of his 'Quirk' to help even out the playing field.
As soon as the event started, the other class was starting to get the better of his class. The explosive kid was giving it his all, but this was a team effort. The team? They were struggling. As in their efforts aren't enough.
'Sorry, Kaachan. It's time to prove I'm no longer the same Deku you once knew.'
Izuku increased his strength and proved himself to be the X-factor that pulled the rope in their direction. In fact, the other class was starting to notice it too! The others tried even harder at this point, but it was a little too late. The green-haired kid took advantage of those brief moments of shock to turn things around.
In the span of two minutes, Izuku's class won. He felt happy about this, taking part in a winning effort.
"DEKU!
I COULD HAVE HANDLED IT!"
Izuku just ignored it as he went off, surprising the explosive kid for a moment. He grew angry at this, but decided to walk off, angrily grumbling to himself.
20XX/10/31
It was a Friday, exactly one week after finishing up midterm exams. It was also Halloween, the day of costumes and scary movies. Izuku couldn't handle scary movies all that well to begin with, but his mentor would make this a bonding day. How so? In the form of horror movies, all sorts that you can think of. Haunted House? Check. Psychological? Check. Gory Action? Check. Slasher? Check.
It turns out Rouga and Carmilla also played a part too. One wonders if they went too far.
The first title?
Bloodripper - A classic slasher movie that takes place within a summer camp. The plot? Bare-bones. A masked slasher attacks Camp Pendleton every July, leaving a message at every rampage: Do. Not. Come. Back.
The movie was particularly bloody, making Izuku scream at every death scene, and Kensei looking at Rouga with some mixed form of shock and disapproval.
The second title?
The Occultic - A found-footage film in which an photojournalist comes across a random murder, but with some cult-like symbols. The mystery starts unraveling once realizing he stumbled upon a deadly cult-like group that plans on stopping him soon, but he faces something far more terrifying.
"Lovecraftian horror... okay, whose idea was it?!" Kensei responded, albeit with a twitching eye. Carmilla was whistling innocently while Rouga was glaring.
The Bakeneko - A period-era horror which takes place in World War II, specifically in the US where Americans of Japanese descent were placed in internment camps. However, there was a vile spirit that came along with them... an infamous one known as the Bakenako.
The result? Izuku was quivering behind the covers while Kensei had his fists out, ready to pummel an imaginary ghost into pulpy mush.
The Clown of Sadism - A gory action-horror movie in which a homicidal near-human clown as Galaquin who has an artistic flair for the murder he commits, but he's in a cat-and-mouse game with a salty, yet ruthless gun-for-hire Tim Ormund who has beef with the homicidal clown.
Izuku wasn't cowering too much, but winced at some of the fight scenes that Ormund partook in against Galaquin's cronies. However, Kensei and the other two, referring to Rouga and Carmilla were curious about what fighting style the gun-for-hire used. The violence increased by 11 once Galaquin had his final fight with the gun-for-hire.
"Where was this movie filmed?" Rouga asked.
"Oh, Indonesia. That's no surprise."
The Ringworld - A ever-expanding curse has affected the far-future, mainly in the form of a VR-MMTPS [Virtual Reality-Massive Multiplayer Third Person Shooter] known as Terror x Resolve. The curse is in the form of a wrathful spirit family that are infamous for killing players since its conception.
The end of Halloween would have the following outcome: a more-wary Kensei, Izuku jumpy at any horror movie, and Carmilla would be forbidden to choose scary movies for a period of 6 months.
November would be a quiet month, especially since it's calm before the storm that's final exams. In fact, it would be where the first signs of snow coming in, albeit light.
What was Izuku doing? Aside from training, he was also sketching what type of hero costume that can be effective for him, specifically utilizing his touki-laden blasts to focus on specific areas on the human body from a distance.
'I also believe I can increase my knockout power from close-quarters range to mid-range at least, according to these specifications.'
As he was sketching it, the class bell rung, signifying the end of the day. The kid quickly packed up his things, then made his way towards the door. As soon as he was outside, he was a bit surprised by how much snow there was despite the fact that it was not sticking.
Each day would have either have Rouga or surprisingly, Carmilla pick up Izuku. Why? It was to continue kata practice, keeping his movements and techniques as sharp and quick as ever.
However, they were sometimes attacked by the occasional minor villain here and there.
20XX/11/05
"GIVE THE MONEY! RIGHT NOW!" said a hoarse voice. It was revealed to be a biker with a skull-themed helmet, but here's the thing: he was carrying pistol, threatening Rouga and Izuku who stood behind the former.
"Would you believe if I didn't have any?" Rouga nonchalantly said.
"BULL-" said the biker before his helmet was smashed in, courtesy of Rouga. As a result, the biker's face was full of cuts and heavy bruising. He clutched his wounded face, screaming in pain.
"Now, look, kid. In the streets, there are no rules. So that means feel free to wail on this guy with all the moves you learned." Rouga said with a grin. "Try and guess my next and final move."
"Heavenly Wolf Ice Bullet?"
Rouga grinned as a response.
Heavenly Wolf Thousand Fang Palm!
A series of fast slashing attacks was leaving so many cuts on the enemy, he begged for him to stop. It was right before the coup de grace.
"Yea."
"Rearry?" the biker said through his wounds.
"No." Rouga responded, then followed up with the upwards slash, sending the enemy into the air and landing into the snow.
"Wouldn't this be considered vigilantism?"
"Technically yes, but there's one loophole to that rule."
"You... didn't use your Quirk?" Izuku responded, albeit in a questioning tone.
"Correct. However, let's get out of here before police arrives here." Rouga responded, signaling for Izuku to do the same. The two quickly took a roundabout route to the Kasumi Residence. They got a bit of an earful from Kensei as a result.
20XX/11/17
Kensei was walking up to school, ready to pick up Izuku as always. However, there was a small snowball fight happening, it was between members of Izuku's class. The green-haired kid was dodging each snowball that was thrown at him, it put a smile on his face.
In fact, he was trying to escape the snowball fight.
He only threw back five, mainly hitting the five kids who were targeting him. All in good fun, mind you.
'He's enjoying himself a lot more than he did. Let's keep it that way.'
"GANG-WAY!" said a voice in the distance, it looked like a robber with a purse. The natural response? A fast straight punch, right into the robber's sternum. Next? A pressure point to paralyze him for the cops.
Kensei just went on his way to pick up Izuku.
December would eventually come, plus also the dreaded final exams for this term. However, it's also a time for happiness. Why? Christmas is quickly approaching, plus the snowfall is getting slightly heavier as the old year is coming to an end.
One wonders what Izuku did along with his mentor.
20XX/12/17
It was the last day of final exams, everyone was sweating on their last exam for the year. However, the teacher simply said that time was up. Everyone gave up their completed tests, some with reluctance while others quickly gave it. Izuku was happy about finishing exams, he quickly made his way out of the school.
"Midoriya."
Izuku quickly whipped around, only to see his science teacher, Ms. Nijisawa. She was relatively young, black-haired, and has glasses on. However, what made her stand out was her Quirk: Bioluminescence. The teacher's skin mainly changes color depending on her mood at the moment, it was gold at this moment, representing that she's in a happy state.
"Yes, Ms. Nijisawa?"
"I'm going to say this only, you are definitely scoring within the top ten. I'm curious, do you have a-"
"A tutor, yes. He's actually very well-read in a number of subjects and surprisingly self-defense."
"That explains on how you were able to perform excellently in the field of academics, plus there's a concern I need to bring up."
"What is it?"
"It concerns that muscular teacher that comes to pick you up from school everyday, who is he exactly?"
"Well... he's my mentor, for a lack of a better term."
"I hope he learns to restrain himself, I got students saying he's like some sort of monster." Nijisawa responded.
"He unfortunately has that intimidating aura, he's trying to work on it. At least."
"Okay, good. Oh, right. One more question before you go. Do you still plan on applying to UA?"
"Yes, I do."
"Now hear me out, I don't think the Heroics Department should be your only path. If anything, that big brain would fit within the Support Department too."
"How so?"
"It's a recurring topic in the teachers' lounge, talking on how you analyze Quirks and come up with potential equipment to compensate or at least minimize the drawbacks."
The interesting conversation would end with Izuku getting a whole new path open to him, or at least a good idea to enhance his abilities with some equipment. He talked it over with Kensei, he was a little wary at first, but it wasn't in the way one expected. Instead of just enhancing his abilities, he should utilize heroic equipment to disguise himself or at least divert attention from himself.
A built-in compartment for gas pellets wouldn't hurt either.
20XX/12/24
Today was Christmas Eve, a day dedicated to happiness or another context, a day for couples to exchange gifts and spend time together. The snow was getting a little heavier than usual. Where was Izuku?
He was with Kensei, trying to get the last pieces for a dinner that Izuku's mother is setting up. It was apparently mochi ice cream for dessert, so the both of them would need to find it and fast.
"Where do you suggest?"
"I want to say Katasuwa's, especially since they got a sale right now."
No more words needed to be said. They quickly made their way to Katasuwa's, a big supermarket chain which also got very big in the United States recently. By the time they got there, they noticed it was extra quiet.
"I think we're just in time, Izuku. I smell the mochi ice cream from here. Bad news, not much left."
Izuku quickly got into the store, followed by Kensei. They made their way to the front end, seeing how there's only a few rows of mochi ice cream left. Flavors? Strawberry. Plum Wine. Red Bean. Green Tea. The teacher made his way and made the order: 1kg of mochi ice cream.
The order was made, it was placed into a package that would be carried by Izuku. Both quickly got into the car, then drove back to the Midoriya Residence.
"Well, that was quick."
"We were lucky, if we came any later, oh boy, I'm not sure where else we could have bought it." Kensei said.
The car ride was pretty quiet, but by the time they arrived? Izuku's mother was getting a head-start on setting up the plates, but Kensei decided to help her out along with the green bean. It's the best they could do once arriving.
A few hours later? They would take part in an expertly made Christmas feast, plus with Kensei being there marking a milestone. He offhandedly mentioned that his cousin and Carmilla were most likely dating somewhere in Tokyo. All in all, it was a quiet but joyous evening.
The final months of the school year, specifically Midoriya's second-year, would be actually uneventful. Why, you may ask? The entirety of it was dedicated to two things: combat training and academics. Izuku as of now? He was slowly getting taller, but was two-three centimeters shorter than Kaachan. It did go unnoticed for a bit, but it was the last month that his teachers actually noticed his height.
They were a bit floored about how fast he grew. In addition, the muscular frame was becoming more noticeable as each day passes. In the field of academics, Izuku was slowly gaining into the top three. The school year would eventually end with final exams, then every student running out of the entrance, wanting to celebrate their summer break.
"School, it's finally over. Finally!" Izuku said. The thing is, Kensei gave the kid the day off because he deserves a day to recharge. Where was Bakugo during this time? He was with his lackeys, happy that school's over, and most of all? It's only one year left before they can leave this dump of a school and onto better things.
"Bakugo, you're going to U.A., right?" said a lackey who turned out to be Tsubasa.
"Obviously. Where are you two going?"
"I'm going to apply for an vocational school, might go into construction instead." Tsubasa said.
"I'm going to Utapau High, a normal high school. There's no way I can be a hero." The second lackey said, he had elongated fingers.
Bakugo grinned at this, the plan of him being the only one who'll make it to U.A. is all but secure. Oh, he was still going to beat that muscular teacher, but the question is more of how than when.
'You know what? I'll beat him when I'm on summer break from U.A. He'll get what's coming to him for humiliating me!'
The two lackeys were clearly getting concerned, ever since that day, Bakugo was getting a little obsessed with wanting to defeat Midoriya's master. If anything, he should be grateful that this teacher held back. If Bakugo had any glaring weaknesses, it would be his temper and his lack of expertise in hand to hand combat.
In fact, if the green-haired nerd's teacher ever went all out, Bakugo would be in the infirmary if he was lucky.
AN: It turns out Halloween and Christmas are very well-known in Japan. The former is a big excuse for cosplayers to let loose, so this is more of a holiday for adults instead of children. However, the exception to this rule are international schools [sometimes], some of them will have parties to let kids experience how the holiday is celebrated in a western country.
Christmas is a different story, Christmas Eve is more or less treated like Valentine's Day with a Christmas motif. Fried Chicken is also popular around this time too [courtesy of KFC]. Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan, wanna put that out there. However, often schools are closed on Christmas Day. The Emperor's birthday is a national holiday on the 23rd December and there's also a New Year school break. However, Christmas Day? It's treated as a normal work day.
Bloodripper was basically a pastiche of the Friday the 13th. The Occultic was another pastiche, but of a Lovecraftian horror film. The Bakeneko represents the period-piece horror, plus also referring to the 2nd season of a certain horror show on AMC. The Clown of Sadism refers to the fear of clowns and action-horror in one. [Indonesian horror and action movies played a part too] The Ringworld is basically a pastiche/reference to Ringu, but in a video game world.
Katasuwa's name was more or less derived by two huge Japanese supermarket chains in the US, Katagiri and Mitsuwa.
Yes, this chapter's fairly short, but it was to finish up Midoriya's second year at middle school and to move onto the U.A. Entrance Exam in a timely manner.
Glossary:
Dead Man's Royale - An underground fight association that's been overrun with villains, it was once funded by crime syndicates such as the Yakuza and Triad. Each fight was guaranteed to end in a fatality. There are others that are now villain-owned, but DMR has the distinction of being the first.