Angel: I decided to do an early upload because today marks my 9th year of doing Fanfiction! Which...is honestly crazy that I've been doing this for almost a decade now. It feels unreal honestly. Next year, I'll be doing something special for 10 years.
If lunar energy is dangerous to Izuka, once again, why have her use it when she already has a dangerous limit to herself? I'm not trying to put down lunar energy but still. Is the designer logo on Ochaco and Bakugo's costumes though? If not, then the logo doesn't have to be on the costume itself. And technically, Izuka's mother made her costume, the updates were the designers themselves, so it's not really them. My bad for not catching that. And I never hinted at Fairy Tail being part of her winter costume...? Anyway, I haven't watched Sabrina or Crown for Christmas, so I can't say I'm familiar with them. Even if I was, I'm in season 6, so I have no desire to add even more content to what I've already written and uploaded.
Will the war arc have big moments for Izuka that aren't in the manga/anime...? This question confuses me, because there's two wars. There's the one in season 6, and then the one in season 7, so I need specifics here. Because only then would I be able to answer this. And also, Izuka herself...I don't wanna be that person so I'm not gonna state the obvious. I really don't know what this is supposed to mean like at all. Did you mean Izuku...? That would make a bit more sense...
As I recovered from the raid, Kacchan, my sister, and Todoroki continued their provisional license training.
I could've taken a break like Mr. Aizawa suggested, but I was far behind enough on the material.
"Oh!" The three heard a familiar voice, looking up to see Inasa, the boy from Shiketsu who hated Shoto, walking over while waving. "Hey! It's UA!" He laughed a little and Izuka blinked in shock to see him.
"Ooh! Who's this smoldery-looking two-toned boy?" A female voice spoke up this time, to their surprise as she walked up...and it was Camie from Shiketsu. "You're, like, super hot," She said towards Shoto and Izuka...was very skeptical of her, to say the least. "I'm crazy psyched to train with a total babe like you. Oh," She looked over at the girl. "Unless you're dating her?"
"Uh!" Izuka flinched in alarm, Shoto and Katsuki recoiling back in disbelief.
"We're/They're not dating!" All three protested and they glanced at each other confused, Izuka especially by Katsuki's firm declaration that she wasn't dating Shoto.
"Camie," Seiji appeared out of nowhere, hands behind his back. "This is beneath you! As a Shiketsu student, you mustn't fraternize with such failures."
"Not this creep again..." Izuka sighed as she recognized him.
"Hold on!" Katsuki protested as he remembered him too. "You failed the first test we took, loser!"
"I received permission to observe, so I'm here to judge you!" Seiji argued back, both of them glaring at each other.
"Stupid Meat, you're dead!" Katsuki gritted his teeth angrily.
"The name's Seiji Shishikura! And you!" He pointed at the green-haired girl. "How dare you disgrace us with your presence so soon after what happened with the yakuza? Is this really how UA students act? Fighting against an evil villain when you haven't even earned your license? Out of those two, you're the biggest failure to your school!"
Izuka flinched and then narrowed her eyes angrily, pointing at him. "Screw you," She snarled and then walked off, shouldering past him. "I'm getting changed."
"Grr..." Katsuki growled at the boy, who had his hands behind his back like he did nothing wrong. "Oh, you're gonna regret that!" He lunged forward, only for Shoto to hold an arm in front of him.
"Calm down. He's just trying to provoke the both of you."
"Are you sure neither of you are dating her?" Camie pointed between Shoto and Katsuki.
"Katsuki, if I find out you punched him, I'll make you explode yourself!" Izuka came to a stop as she didn't even need to look and Katsuki growled towards her. He then jerked Shoto off of him as he didn't fight Seiji, unfortunately.
"It's about time we got started," Mera watched the five interacting through the security cameras.
"Yes, Gang Orca agreed as with the provisional license exam, he was assisting again.
"Shall we make today's training...a little bit more interesting?" Mera wondered how it was gonna go for the five this time around...
Inasa and Shoto were walking down the hall together. "Hey, Todoroki," He spoke up to the white/red haired boy. Both of them had their hero costumes on. "What kinda food do you like?"
"Soba. Cold," Shoto stated as politely as he could. After what happened between them last time, he didn't know why Inasa was trying to get along with him now. Maybe because of what Izuka said and did for the both of them at the exam...
"Man," Inasa looked up with a small smile. "I like my noodles pipin' hot! And I prefer udon."
"We're very different," Shoto closed his eyes, looking away.
"No way! I feel like we've gotten closer!" Inasa commented as they walked past Katsuki, who stared after them in bewilderment.
"I've told you this before, you don't have to try to force us to be friends," Shoto told him plain and simple, earning a shocked yelp.
Katsuki gave Inasa a look of slight anger. "That guy's ridiculous..." He muttered, still a little mad that he got Izuka injured during the exam. Plus, he couldn't see why Inasa was even attempting to be friendly now when clearly, the two weren't having much things in common. Speaking of Izuka, he glanced up as she walked down the opposite hallway in her hero costume, adjusting her tungsten bracelets without looking up.
"Yo, Izuka," Katsuki called out to her and she looked up as he approached.
"What is it, Katsuki?" She then raised a brow at him, pointing up a warning finger. "If I find out you actually hit that guy like you did with Monoma-San-"
"No!" He exclaimed at her in protest. "Or at least, icy hot kept me from doing it, the bastard," He growled a bit and she let out a small sigh of relief. "Are...are you gonna be okay?" He asked with a serious expression, and she blinked slowly.
"Uh," Izuka let out a sound of surprise that her health was even important to him that he didn't act out against Seiji. Compared to how he reacted when Neito insulted her, she was kind of glad that he was thinking about the consequences if he had punched Seiji. And also of how she would react to it. "Yeah...sure," She looked away while hugging herself. "I have to be, right? I have to pass through these classes...and get my license so that I can get stronger."
"Mmm," He stared at her, eyeing her tired eyes. She flinched and then looked away with a slight blush, adjusting her hair. His intense gaze used to terrify her, but since they weren't bickering as much, it was...a bit intimidating still because of her crush on him. She just hoped it wasn't obvious to him because he wasn't stupid. Katsuki then felt her forehead with the back of his hand. "You better not be getting damn sick now!" He yelled down at her.
"N-no, it's not that!" She waved a rapid hand, moving away his arm gently. "I'm fine."
"Yeah, right. You're mentally exhausted. You've seen more than you needed to lately. What you need is a damn break," Katsuki's look told her outright that he wasn't joking either. Just by watching the news, he knew that she was in an intense fight, had to worry about a little girl's life, witnessed Sir Nighteye's death, and Eijiro told him that she fought several villains before even getting to Overhaul. He didn't tell Katsuki about her new power of teleportation though, he figured she would.
She let out a small sigh, closing her eyes. The girl wanted to explain everything he didn't know right then and there, but couldn't. She had other things to focus on, and she also didn't want to burden him at the moment. The main thing holding her back...was that Eri said her name before even meeting her. So Katsuki would be beyond pissed if she told him that she was an interest for the Hassaikai. "Being a hero means that sometimes...you don't get one," She responded and he flinched at her statement. Izuka turned around to leave and he grabbed her hand. She blinked as she looked back in astonishment.
"The hell are you talking about?" He pulled her back so she was fully facing him. "I don't need you to tell me everything that happened, I know enough. I also know that you went through hell. And you think I'm gonna sit by and watch what it's doing to you? Do you think I don't give a damn?"
"What do I know? We used to hate each other's guts, and we had a fight. I appreciate your concern, but I can't talk about this now," Izuka replied back in exasperation.
"I don't give a shit if we're fighting or not! Is this because you're scared or because you're worried about something?" He looked her in the eye. "Have you even looked into a mirror lately? You need to take it out on something. Unless you want to keep ignoring it."
She stared up at him, knowing that he had a point, but the timing wasn't right for it. She was scared about Eri and her Quirk, as well as what Seiji said. Most of all, though...the raid was mentally exhausting because it was a lot to take in afterwards. "Look, it's been so much already, and I just don't wanna think about it. I'm gonna say things I'll regret and you don't wanna hear them."
"Izuka," He gripped her hand tightly and she looked up at him, her eyes wavering. "Try me."
His tight grip on her hand, his gentle eyes looking at her...was telling her to trust him right now. That he would listen and help her. So she decided to ease into it, and she didn't want to keep it a secret from him any longer if he was this protective over her. "There was something that came up during my brother's work-study, and that was why I had to leave. I don't even know how to explain it without you getting mad at me," She finally said, closing her eyes.
"You not getting to the point already does that, idiot!" He retorted back to Izuka.
"Alright, I'm getting to it!" She protested in a bit of annoyance. "Anyway—"
"Are you two coming?"
Both of them immediately turned around to Shoto staring at them, as he had faintly heard their voices and came back for them. It was a dead silence between the three as Izuka looked at her hand still holding Katsuki's. She then recoiled it back in embarrassment while the blond let out an annoyed growl.
"Damn it, half-and-half bastard, stay the hell out of this!" He yelled towards Shoto, looking at the girl. "We'll talk about this later when he can't show up!"
Izuka laughed nervously as he stormed off past them, Shoto looking back at her. "Did I interrupt something?"
"It's complicated..." She confessed, closing her eyes as they started walking together.
"Does it have to do with the Hassaikai and what happened? I know it affects you a lot, so I won't pry. But if you ever need to talk, you know where to find me, Mido," He stated while looking up ahead. She blinked and gave a tiny smile. Part of her was very happy that he and other people were looking out for her, and not just because she was Izuku's sister. She just needed a bit more time before she could disclose any details with everyone else. Katsuki himself she felt like she could explain it to first because he was the one who needed to hear it the most. And...well, aside from Izuku, she had known him the longest.
"I know. Thanks, Shoto."
"So, we rented out this sports center in order to put you through some specialized training," Mera explained once the trainees arrived. He let out a yawn as he hadn't gotten much sleep... "Sorry 'bout that, I've actually been afraid of falling asleep recently. I'm Mera. Today will be fun," He laughed a little while the other students were put off by this.
That doesn't sound good All of them thought in unison.
Poor guy, too bad there's no coffee machine around here...they should've sent someone to cover for him Izuka sweated a little at Mera.
"Oh, one more thing before we begin," Mera looked at all the students. "Up until now, we've had 11 people in this remedial training class." Some students looked over at Izuka, who flinched in embarrassment since she missed a few days...thankfully, she still had the letter Mr. Aizawa instructed her to give, which she handed over when she got there. "But starting today, we'll have 12."
Toshinori, Endeavor, and Present Mic appeared, walking down the steps. "Let's snag some seats up front. Get a better view," He looked up at the two rivals.
"Maybe it'd be smarter if we stayed in the back," Toshinori stared at him, knowing that the two would distract everyone. "I don't wanna distract them."
Katsuki nudged Izuka a bit, causing her to look up at him. "Don't tell icy hot what you were gonna tell me," He warned the girl and she looked away in exasperation.
"Even if I thought about telling him, we're in class!" She whispered in protest while looking back at Mera and the other two men from the Heroes Public Safety Commission.
"Just promise me!"
"You know, just because you felt stuck with him while I was gone doesn't mean you get to decide who I can and can't tell shit," She glared back up at him, causing him to seethe in defeat because she was right, he couldn't do that. And before he could argue that he didn't want Shoto to know something she'd only admit personal feelings to him, Endeavor took a deep breath.
"SHOTO!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. Everyone looked towards him except Shoto himself. "You never should've failed the initial exam in the first place! Show these weaklings that you're in a completely different league!"
Izuka turned around to him and groaned, closing her eyes. After hearing what Shoto told her about him in more detail in the past, she was not happy to see him again...
"What? No way."
"It's Endeavor! The number-two hero! Or, wait. He's the number-one hero now."
"Seriously? That's kinda random."
Inasa laid eyes on the hero, giving him the same look that he gave Shoto when the two boys first met. Like Izuka and Shoto, he wasn't too pleased on having him here either. "Why's he here?" He growled out angrily.
Endeavor pushed away the notebook and pen away from a young Inasa. Both materials hit the ground. "Move it. You're in my way," He looked up ahead with an intense expression, not even looking towards the boy.
"Wait a minute!" Another trainee saw Toshinori and Inasa gasped. "Look who's standing next to him! Are you guys seeing this?"
"Whoa! All Might!"
"So much for keeping a low profile," Toshinori whispered towards Endeavor in disbelief.
"They came to watch us?"
"So cool! This is nuts!"
Katsuki turned towards Shoto, who kept a neutral expression. "Well, he is a teacher at UA right now."
Shoto then looked towards the ground as this was the main reason he didn't want Endeavor to be here and yet he still showed up...
"Oh great, as if my day couldn't get any worse..." The green-haired girl then looked towards Shoto in a bit of concern. "Are you going to be okay, Shoto?"
"Don't worry about me. Focus on what's important for you," He stared into her eyes, gesturing to the arena. "That's this class and proving that you can be a hero."
"Hm," She gave him a small grateful smile. "Thank you. I feel a little bit better now."
"Good," Shoto nodded a little.
Katsuki stared at them with a glare. Part of him felt like he had done more than enough to help her, especially compared to Shoto. He then snarled, clenching a fist as his blood boiled. "Damn you, icy hot! I was talking to her first!"
"Yeah, if everyone could just calm down," Mera tried to get back control as the trainees were gushing. "I wasn't finished. This girl will be joining us from now on."
Camie stepped up and then took off her hat, wearing a black bodysuit. "Hey, second year at Shiketsu. The name is Camie. Hi, everyone!"
"Right," Mera looked back to the rest of the class. "So like the rest of you, she made it to the second exam. And she did well enough to take this supplemental class. But some foggy memories leading up to the first test made it difficult to place her. That's why she hasn't participated until now."
Camie smiled while giving a peace sign. "They said totes to making an exception for me, which is so wicked coolio, you know? So anywhos, let's keep it fresh!"
I have no idea what she just said Everyone thought in unison awkwardly.
She's so different from when I talked to her that I don't know if I should be on my guard. She didn't say anything like that last time. Maybe I'll just keep my distance until I can figure things out on my own Izuka continued staring at Camie, still a bit on edge.
"Camie's idiocy knows no limits," Seiji stated while sitting in the stands with a faculty member from Shiketsu.
"Let's just call her upbeat..."
"Just think about it," Seiji stared down at the girl. "Her flighty personality made her the perfect target. She didn't even understand that something had gone wrong."
Camie flinched after hearing what happened. "I failed the test? I don't even remember taking a test. And you're saying I slept for four whole days?" She pointed to herself in confusion. She then gave a sheepish expression. "Oh my gosh, so embarrassing!"
"People did report she was speaking and acting in uncharacteristic ways," The faculty member spoke up, a bit concerned. "And we found anesthetics in her blood too. But the reports from the yakuza raid are what really put things into perspective. I can't believe someone impersonated her."
"The League of Villains," Seiji glared angrily that someone did that to his classmate. He only interacted with her a little during the bus ride to the testing site. After that, he didn't see or hear about her until the test was over. "To think I didn't notice my classmate was replaced. I am nothing but a pathetic fool."
"Well, it's not like the heroes or police realized what was going on, either," The man turned away, looking up ahead to Endeavor, Present Mic, and Toshinori. "We need a new Symbol of Peace. Before things get even more dangerous..."
Endeavor kept his eyes on Shoto, his arms crossed as he waited patiently to see what his son would do.
"Right, then," Mera opened up his laptop. "Let's bring in your instructor." The door opened to reveal Gang Orca stepping into the room. "Gang Orca."
"So, I've got even more disappointments today," He glared towards the students. "What shame you must feel to be standing before me. Given how easy the exam was."
That test was anything but easy for us. Maybe easy for him because he has tons more experience Izuka looked at him wide-eyed, and then gave a small amused huff. She knew that Izuku would love to hear about this when she got back...
Everyone stood up straight as he paced in front of him. "About time he showed. Those failures were looking too relaxed," Seiji remarked as he watched, though ignoring the obvious.
The teacher looked towards him wide-eyed. Did he forget he bombed the first exam or is he just pretending it never happened...?
"There's something I've realized while observing your training thus far," Gang Orca came to a stop, giving them an intense look. "There's nothing heroic about any of you! You're bottom feeders! Nothing but rotten fish turds!"
"Sir, yes, sir!" The trainees shouted at the same time.
"I can't hear you!" He yelled at them like an army general.
"SIR, YES, SIR!"
Dang, is he scary... Present Mic thought to himself, as he hadn't seen Gang Orca like this before.
"Especially you!" Gang Orca yelled down at Katsuki. "Do you even want to be a hero?"
"Well first of all, I'm not a fish turd," Katsuki retorted back to him.
"Wrong!" Gang Orca tossed him to the side. Izuka looked at the blond with an open mouth. He then looked down at her. "The yakuza's made you vulnerable, you have a lot of work to do if you wanna pass!"
"I have a letter-"
"Doesn't matter!" He tossed her away too like Katsuki.
He then turned to Shoto. "How can a pile of excrement help humanity prosper?"
"Technically, fertilizer is integral to-"
"Wrong!" Gang Orca threw him away as well, and settled on Inasa next. "Do you expect to be praised just because you have powerful attacks?"
"Sir, yes-"
Gang Orca didn't even let him finish as Inasa was getting thrown too. "Wrong!" Camie looked towards the four on the ground. "I am well aware that the four of you have impressive combat abilities. But that's all you have. Your behavior is unacceptable. You're disrespectful to those in need of rescue, ignore your enemies to compete with one another, and cause your teachers to lose faith in you," He was referring to Katsuki being rude to the HUC group, Shoto and Inasa fighting during the rescue exercises, and Izuka failing because of her being punished for fighting with All for One. "Today, we will put you through a special trial. It's time you start training a new muscle. The one that beats in your chest! If you hold out a hand to someone in trouble, will they take it? Not as you are now! It's fine to have fangs, but when a life is on the line, you must have trust!"
The door then opened to reveal someone else arriving. "You need a special connection with the person you're trying to rescue. Remember that as you train today. Now, meet your opponents! Through this life-or-death battle, show that you can come to an understanding with them!" By the amount of people behind the door, they thought this was gonna be an actual fight. The four prepared themselves for this, and Camie did not. "That's the hurdle you face!"
Suddenly, a bunch of kids ran out into the arena. "Wow! Real heroes!" All four were completely frozen in disbelief at the sight, and Camie didn't react the same. She was just very confused.
"Uh...a crowd of children. Oh no," Izuka's eyes widened in realization, and not because of her fear of crowds...but because it was a group of children against five teenagers. Some of them shouted excitedly in front of a baffled Shoto.
"Calm down," Their teacher tried to get them to relax. "No need to run!"
Some boys were hitting against Katsuki, who didn't react as he stood still. "You're dumb! Bombs are lame!"
"Please, children!" The teacher looked up with tears in her eyes. Judging by her reaction, this kind of thing had been happening for a while. "I need you to try to listen and behave!"
"These kids are from Masekagi Elementary School," Gang Orca explained to the five. "Don't worry," He looked over to the worried teacher. "We're taking responsibility for your students now."
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Orca," She bowed to him repeatedly out of gratefulness.
"We're what?!" Katsuki exclaimed after hearing this.
A boy ran off crying out of fear. "Hey, look! This mean guy made Takuto cry!" One of them called out.
"Who do you think you are, bomb man?!" A boy stood up for Takuto, punching Katsuki in the stomach, not that it hurt him.
"Suck it up, brat!" Katsuki shouted after the crying boy.
Izuka would tell him off, but she was surrounded by boys and girls herself. "Hey, look at her dumb hair!" One of the boys started pulling at it from behind, causing her head to fall back.
"Ow! That's not-"
"And look at her skirt, so lame," A girl ran around her and she spun around as more of them ran around her.
"Hey, you're-ah!" She cried out, getting Katsuki's attention.
"Get away from her now, ya snot-nosed brats!" He shouted, causing them to scatter from fear. He stepped up and held her shoulders to keep her from spinning. "You okay?"
"Being a twin, I didn't have to worry about that kind of stuff from Izuku..." She placed a tired hand on her head.
"Oh, so you're one of those," There was one kid who was leaning against the wall to not interact with the five. Katsuki and Izuka both looked towards him in confusion as they heard him. He had neatly combed hair, so he already stuck out from the others. "A grown up who thinks they can get their way by yelling, by not letting anyone else get a word in edgewise. Well, we're not impressed by that," He looked up rather smugly, as if he was acting like an adult.
"Who the hell's this punk?!" Katsuki gritted his teeth towards the boy.
"Language!" Izuka huffed towards the boy.
"I don't give a damn!" He retorted down at her.
"We're way past you talking to me like that," She placed her hands on her hips in annoyance.
"And we're not impressed by your will they, won't they nonsense either. He's too much of a brute, and you're only dragging things out. It's not cute," The neatly dressed boy pointed out, Katsuki seething towards him. Izuka blinked in shock and then blushed in embarrassment, a hand over her face. She really didn't want to do this with a kid right now...
"Hey, what's this stupid thing?" A boy lightly hit a support item Shoto had on him. "Tell me! What is it, a wiener?"
"Um, excuse me, kid," Shoto looked at him, bending down a little.
"Wiener! It's a wiener!" The boy mocked before the white/red haired teen could get a word in.
Shoto then opened up the cap to demonstrate. "I assure you that it's not. This is a first-aid treatment for when help doesn't arrive in time."
"Boring!" The boys all shouted and one of them tackled him to the ground.
"Don't try to hide it! You're the five-wiener hero! That your name? Huh? Five Wienies?"
Some kids were punching at Inasa's legs. "You jerk! You're dumb. Dumb jerk."
"I'm stronger than you are, loser!"
However...he wasn't reacting to this as he was looking towards Endeavor. I won't turn into him When he met Endeavor, he vowed to never treat anyone like that, let alone kids. He didn't want to give people younger than them any despair or disappointment of how heroes acted.
"Huh? Hey! Don't you ignore me!" A boy shouted up at him.
Inasa yelped as he looked down at the group. "Yeah! Down here."
"Oh, shoot!" He braced himself as they started hitting and kicking him. "I got distracted!"
"Uh, yeah," Camie spoke up to Gang Orca as a kid ran past her. "So, explain to me again why I'm part of this group?"
"We didn't get a chance to see you in action at the exam," Gang Orca pointed out to the girl, since no one could find her during the rescue portion. That was around the time that Himiko had left. Not even the examinee who was tracking her progress at the exam could get a proper read on her. "Also, to be honest, you seem like you wouldn't be very good at this."
"Hey, whoa. That's so unfair," She picked up a boy that was running towards her and hugged him close...and he was blushing in embarrassment for being nuzzled by an older girl who had a big chest. To the point where if Minoru was there, he'd raise hell like he did on Izuku. "There! Ya see? I get along super with kids," She then flinched, frowning. "Owie!"
She looked down to see an angry little girl pinching her butt. She and two other girls got into a huddle. "That girl is trying to seduce Sho."
"I think the best thing to do is ignore her and the other girl too just in case."
I didn't know haters came this young Camie thought as she stared at them, though she did feel a little hurt by that.
"I'm sorry for being such a burden," Ms. Ikoma apologized to Gang Orca as they both watched the chaos. "My class is full of problem children. No matter what I do, they refuse to listen. And they're already exasperating your young heroes." They were taking things, crawling onto the five, some were enamored with Camie...
"Please don't worry, ma'am," Gang Orca spoke up, causing her to gasp as she looked up.
"Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly as she had tried everything and not a single tactic had worked.
"By day's end, I believe my trainees will have changed your students." Ms. Ikoma looked back in a bit of surprise. "The five of you will accomplish this together. You must win the hearts of these unruly youngsters."
"What do we look like, nannies?!" Katsuki yelled towards him, the others in disbelief.
"Settle down!" Gang Orca warned the kids. "The rest of you will have a lecture after your practical exercises. Do you understand?"
"Sir, yes, sir!" The other 8 exclaimed to the hero. And so, they all moved out of the way to give the five more space. Mera and the other two members of the Heroes Public Safety Commission stayed behind as they watched. The ones from the stands watched carefully as the kids were now talking instead of the chaos from before.
Present Mic stared up ahead as he felt like he couldn't watch. Sitting in the stands and watching something wasn't for him. "That's it, the MC in me can't take it anymore!" He stood up impatiently. "Where's the mood music? And would it kill them to have some kinda color commentary?"
"Mic, this is a class," Toshinori reminded the man. "I'm not sure we're really supposed to-"
"I don't care," He yelled down at the former number one hero. "Someone's gotta inject some soul into this complete buzzkill, All Mighty." He then stood in front of the trio keeping watch, to their shock. "Now! Let's get this party started! Oh yeah! The smackdown between the future heroes and the rugrats has begun!"
Shoto, Izuka, Katsuki, and Inasa were struggling with the others while Camie was talking to three little girls. "Okay, my little homegirls. Let's have fun."
"Ladies, let's go," The one with the ponytail looked up at Camie in disdain. "We're gonna forget this floozy."
"Yeah, let's get outta here," Her friend commented as the three walked away.
"I appreciate you giving me time to process," Toshinori spoke up to Endeavor since they were technically alone now. He knew that the hero would want to say some things to him about what happened at Kamino...
"Hmph," Endeavor huffed a little in response.
"So...you wanted to talk?" He looked over to the man, who didn't say anything at first. He decided to continue, assuming Endeavor didn't know where to start. "To be honest with you...I'm not sure what there is to say between us."
"Just listen," Endeavor snarled, getting Toshinori's attention. "The number of crimes committed in the past month went up 3 percent in comparison to the last few years. Of course...I resolved more incidents than anyone else," His fingers tightened around his arms as he felt bitterness and jealousy again. "Besting my own personal records...and yet...I can feel it. Some unseen thing that you built up in your prime...is beginning to crumble. What does it mean to be a symbol? That's what I want to know...All Might."
"Give those back!" Katsuki shouted towards some kids having his gauntlets. Some were kicking one around like a soccer ball. "They aren't toys, ya damn brats!" He ran after the group, jumping over one boy that tried to trip him.
"Did they really swipe your gauntlets that easily?" Shoto wondered while Izuka took off her shoes and bracelets just in case. She placed them on a small floating star to send them into the stadium. "How?"
"I took them off because it's too dangerous to keep the things on," Katsuki called out to him.
"So is that mask!" Izuka yelled after the boy, sighing as she waved a finger. She created a shooting star to grab the gauntlets away from the boys who took them. They looked up in bewilderment as she then used her teleportation to send the gauntlets someplace where they wouldn't find them. Shoto and Katsuki looked at her wide-eyed.
"Since when the hell could you teleport?!" Katsuki screamed towards the girl.
"Don't worry about that, we have other things to focus on," She gestured towards the kids.
She must've learned that while she was gone. At least it might come in handy Shoto thought while staring at her. Katsuki flinched as he remembered something.
"Can you do anything with black holes or like an eclipse?" Katsuki raised a brow at her.
"I could, it's just that it might be too dangerous like Thirteen said once. There's only...so much I could contain with them. And it reminds me too much of that warp Quirk..." She shuddered a bit while clutching her shirt tighter.
Hah. I guess she finally wised up and learned it Katsuki gave a small proud smirk to himself that she listened to him.
One of the girls hissed towards Camie. "I mean, winning your hearts is like, super vague, you know?" Camie stared down at her. "What are we even supposed to be doing here? This is way weird." She reached out a hand, only for the girl to get defensive and hiss louder, almost like an angry cat.
"Team Fish Turds looks like they've completely lost the beat and are flailing like flounder!" Present Mic announced while sitting at Mera's table. Ms. Ikoma was there as well sitting between them.
"Try not to go overboard," Mera warned the loud man. "This is still a training course."
"Roger that, yo!" He then moved his microphone towards the dismayed teacher. "Let's hear from their teacher. Got any special requests? What do those kiddos need?"
"So much..." she murmured in agony, to Mera's utter shock. She then looked up with tears in her eyes. "These early elementary school years...are an important time for character development." Katsuki stared at the woman while listening, as he had a very different experience when he got his Quirk. "Because the differences between children's Quirks has a huge effect on their self-esteem, we offer counseling in order to support healthy emotional growth. But counseling is not a cure-all. The students in this class have completely closed their hearts to us..." Shoto, Inasa, Izuka, and Camie were all listening as well. "I understand that this is my responsibility. But still...I hope meeting heroes who're working hard to achieve their dreams will help these kids down a more respectable path!"
After a few seconds, Katsuki huffed and walked off. "There's no time for us to bicker with each other," Shoto explained as he got onto his feet. "We have to save them."
"In other words, all we have to do is make friends," Inasa smiled optimistically at this. "No problem!"
"Let's get this babysitting over and done with," Katsuki retorted, the girls staring after him. He then looked towards the group of kids, annoyed. "I'm ready to go back to some actual training!"
"Maybe try not to make that angry face, Bakugo!" Present Mic called out from his seat. Gang Orca then let out a yell while practicing with the other trainees. "Now, how will UA's walking explosion handle this?"
Katsuki held up a finger while gathered with the others. They watched the kids playing or talking. "The stupid teacher didn't fulfill her role as a leader, so the brats ended up taking over the class."
"Don't call her that," Izuka shook her head slowly at him with a sigh.
"Shut up! Anyway, this isn't something that just happens. If they're not listening to her, then somebody else must be in charge here. There's definitely some kind of boss kid these little monsters are following." The green-haired girl blinked in surprise for his assessment...and realized that he was correct. If the teacher couldn't get them to listen, it was because someone else was telling the kids to act. They weren't like this for no reason, after all... "We just gotta figure out who it is."
"And then?" Shoto narrowed his eyes a little, as he also agreed with what Katsuki was saying.
"We beat 'em up and hang 'em from a post to make an example out of the punk! Then we make the kids throw rocks at 'em," Katsuki suggested, and was definitely taking it too far. "It'll be the most effective way to make them realize what an insignificant pest their leader is!"
"I thought the idea was for us to be nice," Inasa reminded him in confusion. Izuka was pale while staring at him.
Present Mic, Ms. Ikoma, and Mera weren't too thrilled with this suggestion either. "Wow. Bakugo certainly has a unique perspective," Present Mic commented in a bit of fear.
Katsuki then slid his foot forward, ready to fight. "Whichever one of you is the strongest, step up! Come fight me!" The kids stared at him in alarm.
"Dial it back, son!" Present Mic warned, though it did nothing to stop Katsuki.
"Uhh..." Izuka's eyebrow twitched in bewilderment and then gave a small awkward smile. With a suggestion like that, it was a wonder how the twins only had to deal with his explosions and physical strength growing up... "While I appreciate that perspective to try and teach a harsh lesson, no. If I've learned anything from kids is that if they're like this, there's a bigger reason. My experience with uncooperative kids is limited, though." At best, the only one she interacted with daily was of course Katsuki himself. But even then, kids weren't like him nowadays, so she wasn't sure if she could apply that here.
"Well, you're the only one with any sense of babysitting experience," Shoto glanced towards her.
"Just watching them, these kids are on another level...we'll need to do more than this if we wanna reach them," Izuka rubbed her chin in thought, looking to a group of kids.
The neatly-dressed boy looked up with a smug smile. "Such an outdated and violent way of solving problems." Katsuki growled as he looked towards him. He then pointed to his temple, looking smug again; it almost reminded the blond of Neito from Class 1-B. "You're showing your true colors."
"Burned by an ankle biter!" Present Mic hollered and Izuka gave a sound of disbelief.
He's really laying it out there, huh?
Katsuki was getting angrier by the minute. "Enough already! Just bring it!"
"Um, sir," Ms. Ikoma turned towards Present Mic hesitantly. "Please forgive me if this comes across as ungrateful, but...are the kids gonna be okay?"
"Just sit back and watch the show," He answered through the microphone.
"Delinquents aren't in fashion, you know," Camie pointed out while holding out a hand to try and stop him.
"The hell they're not!" Katsuki shouted back in protest.
"Getting to know each of the kids is the fastest way to becoming friends," Inasa stepped in this time and raised a hand. "Who wants to be a hero?"
"Shiketsu takes the stage!" Present Mic announced, although it seemed to be working on the kids.
"I do!"
"They're cool!"
"Yeah, I wanna be super strong! Me!"
"Playing with children might be something Inasa excels at," Seiji remarked to the Shiketsu teacher. "His passion always cheers up those around him. Perhaps he'll pull this off."
The teacher looked at him open-mouthed. He's started a running commentary. Present Mic must've rubbed off on him.
Inasa picked up a boy and girl to hug them happily. "That's great! I wanna be one too! Doesn't heroic passion make your blood bubble with excitement?"
"Kinda weird phrasing, but it looks like this might work!" Present Mic replied while Seiji stared attentively. Katsuki didn't look impressed as he sneered, Shoto and Izuka watching as well to see what would happen.
"It's the job of a hero to make sure everyone smiles. Think if you cause your teacher trouble, you're likely to become good heroes?" He smiled towards the two kids.
"I guess not?" The boy asked in a bit of confusion.
"Right! So then..."
"But wait," The little boy pointed out to him after thinking for a few seconds. "That means...since you gave the teachers and the commission guys more work by making them do this class, you can't become one either. Is that right?"
"Ah!" Inasa yelped and then flew back in disbelief while the two giggled. "That's true!" Seiji watched as Inasa landed roughly in front of the kids. "I'm in no position to act so high and mighty! Please forgive me!"
"This dope's got a big heart, huh?" The three adults looked on awkwardly.
"Is it just me or are these kids like super twisted?" Camie pointed out to the other three.
"Yeah, exactly! So a little violence is necessary!" Katsuki screamed towards her.
"Bakugo," Shoto stared at his classmate. "They're just kids."
"Huh?" Katsuki turned around while gritting his teeth. "Well, that's how I was raised and look! I turned out awesome."
Izuka smacked him on the head lightly. "How's that for violence? These kids are almost like you that it's scary," She deadpanned towards the boy.
"Ah! You hit me again and I'll kill you!" Katsuki yelled at her and she scoffed.
"Sure. And no you didn't turn out the way you're thinking," She crossed her arms, closing her eyes.
"No," Shoto spoke up, getting their attention. "I think I might have a better way."
"Oh?" Katsuki seemed a little interested in seeing how this would play out. Their previous attempts aside from his own already didn't work, so he wondered what Shoto would come up with. "Why don't you show us what you have in mind? I'm sure this is gonna be good."
Izuka rolled her eyes to the back of her head at Katsuki wanting to enjoy this. Shoto approached the kids, walking past the three. "Right."
"Look at him," Endeavor stated to Toshinori, keeping his eyes on Shoto. "I've entrusted everything to Shoto." Toshinori kept quiet, remembering what his rival said back at the Sports Festival. That he was doing all of this for Shoto to surpass him back when he was a hero. He still felt a bit uneasy hearing that, and he already knew Shoto didn't approve of it. But still...he also knew that he had his friends to help him. "You know, I'd already climbed to the number-two spot by the time I was 20. And because I'd carved my own path...I understood. There was no way I was ever going to reach the top." To him, it was like climbing a mountain, but never getting to the top of it. "If I'd only wanted the title of number one...I could've acted friendly towards everyone like you did," He gritted his teeth and then looked up towards the sun shining from the ceiling windows. "But no...I actually wanted to be number one."
"Talkative today, aren't we?" Toshinori pointed out; it was definitely different from how they talked like this, since Endeavor didn't even want to talk to him back then to begin with.
"Just answer me!" Endeavor snapped in annoyance.
"...What is the Symbol of Peace, huh? Heh," He chuckled a little, looking up towards the sun as well. "That's tough. I'm not certain how to explain it to you. I thought that this country needed a hero who could inspire them. So I ran towards that goal at full speed. I wanted to be a light that was a beacon of hope...as well as a warning. I swore that that's what I would become, and I never looked back...when you walked through the streets back then...everyone was on edge. No matter how many heroes there were, the crime rate never went down. Even more so than now...everyone was afraid."
Endeavor took in his words, and Toshinori remembered something...
"I'm here because I want to do something to help you!" Sir Nighteye screamed as he watched All Might stumbling. "Please, All Might!"
He faltered before continuing to walk down the hall of the hospital.
"I ignored the kindness of the people around me and abandoned those dear to me to walk this path. Maybe that was a mistake."
"Your former sidekick," Endeavor guessed correctly; he knew that when Sir Nighteye stopped appearing as All Might's sidekick that they had split up. "Yes, a tragedy."
Toshinori let out a small sigh. "Listen, Endeavor. I understand the situation you've been placed in, and what's being said about you." It was honestly hard to ignore for him, and he knew that he was partly to blame for it as well. "There are many who can't help but dwell on our differences."
"It's not that I don't like Endeavor, I just can't help but compare him to All Might. And you know, that's kind of a lot for any hero to live up to, right?"
"All Might! They came to watch us?"
"So cool!"
"Whoa, is that Endeavor?"
"Seriously? That's kinda random."
Toshinori then turned to stare at the hero. "But you and I are not the same person. It was my decision to become a symbol. But you don't have to do that. Instead...take your time and think about the kind of hero you want to be." He then glanced towards Izuka, knowing that despite what he put on her shoulders, she still wanted to do things her own way. And he would bring her into this, but he couldn't because he didn't want Endeavor to know that she'd be a symbol someday.
"Next up: Shoto Todoroki, exuding both fiery passion and chilling calmness!" Present Mic's voice brought back their attention.
"BEAT THEM, SHOTO!" Endeavor screamed at the top of his lungs. Toshinori just looked a little embarrassed, though if Shoto was, he definitely didn't show it.
"Now, how will he win over these youngsters? Let's watch and see!"
Two girls gasped upon seeing him, admiring him on sight. "I know, right?" Camie smiled, knowing what was going through their heads. "A hot guy who likes kids? Dreamy!"
The two yelped and got back into a huddle with their friend. "We don't wanna be the same kind of ditz as her, so let's ignore him."
"Right."
Burn... Camie thought in dismay while looking at them.
"Stupid Five Wienies here is boring," One of the boys remarked and then pointed towards Inasa. "Let's go punch the gorilla instead."
"That'd be you, Baldy," Katsuki looked up towards him.
"I told you, I'm not bald," Inasa lifted up his hat again to show that he had hair.
"It's a force of habit for him," Izuka remarked a little sheepishly towards him.
"What does he call you then?" Inasa smiled a bit at the girl.
"He calls me...by my first name..." She admitted while rubbing the back of her neck and Inasa looked towards the two a bit wide-eyed. He thought it was kind of insane, but when he really thought about it, it showed how much respect Katsuki had deep down for Izuka.
Shoto then closed his eyes while thinking about how to do this. What kind of person am I...? I need them to know that first...or nothing I say will reach them. I must embrace my past He looked towards his father, who was staring at him in an intense way. He stepped up and took a deep breath. "My name is not Five Wienies. I am Shoto from UA, and I wanna be a hero. My father, Endeavor, is currently the number one hero, but to be frank, I've always hated him and wanna forge my own path..."
"What is this, a character introduction page?" Present Mic questioned in disbelief. "Come on!"
"Uhh, maybe dial it back a bit?" Izuka gave Shoto a nervous smile. "I don't think everyone needs to know your past...especially since other people know your character development."
"You don't either," Katsuki grumbled a little while looking away, and he was lucky she didn't hear it.
"So boring," All the boys deemed at Shoto.
"Total fail!"
Shoto then walked away to the four dejectedly. "Sorry..."
"That was a nice try, Todoroki!" Inasa encouraged, Izuka blinking at him in shock.
"I don't know what his father did to you, but if it's something he did, that's no excuse to take it out on his son!"
She guessed what she said to him he was taking to heart...?
Katsuki crossed his arms, huffing in defeat. "I guess we have no choice."
"Hey," Camie spoke, and they looked up. "You four have been yelling and running after them this whole time, but I dunno. Wouldn't it be faster if we, like, just showed them how cool all our Quirks are?"
"I was just about to suggest that!" Katsuki pointed at the girl.
"Whoa, that's a coincidence, huh?" She replied back and Izuka rubbed a temple.
"We have a lot of work to do," Katsuki looked towards the kids. "And plenty of these snot-nosed twerps seem to think it's fun to cause us trouble. We can't just try to gain their trust and think that's enough. We gotta go all in with a demonstration of our skills."
"He's got a point," Izuka nodded in agreement with him, and he turned towards her curiously. "Talking to them isn't getting us anywhere. Actions speak louder than just words, after all. If they wanna give us trouble, we have to go all out, right?" She looked up with a small smile, and Katsuki smirked down at her.
"Hah! About time we're in agreement about something once in a while."
"I see. Got it!" Inasa commented while a few kids were watching the group.
"They're planning something," One of the kids narrowed his eyes knowingly.
Their leader just gave a small chuckle. No matter what they try, it won't work, because we know the truth. Our mommies and daddies and everyone on TV, they're all wondering if the age of heroes is over.
Ms. Ikoma gasped sharply, getting onto her feet in worry. "Careful. Don't hurt them!"
"Ha. You guys aren't foolin' anybody," One of the kids bragged to the five, and then the kids revealed their Quirks. "We're better than you, and we'll take you down to prove it!"
"Oh?" Katsuki smirked at the challenge. "Then bring it on. Let's have a proper fight," Everyone except Camie was ready to fight them off. In fact, she was looking at them like they were all crazy...
"Heh," The leader smirked from the back. "In the end, all you Neanderthals can do is resort to useless violence. Of course, that won't work."
Present Mic just looked up ahead innocently. Why are they having so much trouble against grade schoolers?
Seiji was suddenly standing right next to him. "Stooping to their level would be the epitome of folly, my peers!" He shouted, frightening Present Mic a little.
"Who is this guy?!" The man yelped while the Shiketsu teacher watched awkwardly.
"It is apparent that you have not recognized the superiority of Shiketsu High. In order for this commentary to reflect the truth, I have decided to assist you!"
"Say what?" Present Mic leaned back in his chair, utterly confused.
"As Present Mic should have already deduced, if my peers fight seriously, the children will be left beaten, ashamed. On the other hand, if they use their discretion and let the children shine, then it will only make the delinquents even more brazen," He then gave a glare towards Izuka, Inasa, Shoto, and Katsuki. "Abandoning discourse will result in failure!"
"Hold on!" Ms. Ikoma protested with tears in her eyes. "I don't think you all know how dangerous this is. Those children are strong and believe wholeheartedly that their Quirks surpass those of the heroes." There were floating black orbs with teeth floating in the ceiling. This was a Quirk from one of the kids. "They won't hold back against your trainees!"
The floating orb then advanced towards the four...