UA High Main Building - Ground Gamma
Time: 10 Minutes
The entire class of 1-A can be seen sitting on the bus as each of them talks to each other. Izuku is sitting between Eijirou and Ochako as he and his friends discuss what kind of scenario will be for their rescue exercise. But it is merely temporary until they discuss something else.
"I wonder what kind of rescue scenarios we will be doing…" Izuku mutters.
"Well, it's a simple rescue civilian from danger, right? I mean, how complicated will it be?" Kaminari asks.
"According to the school handbook we are supposed to get during the orientation," Izuku deliberately ignored the loud groan from everyone. "Training ground Gamma is a replica of an industrial site compiled by many factories forming a labyrinth and with a shit ton of heavy machinery like cranes and pipelines."
"So, the rescue scenarios will be nothing but saving people from an industrial accident?" Ochako asks as Izuku nods.
"Also, I wonder how much realistic they plan to create the scenario. I mean, industrial accidents could be caused by many things like electrical failure, chemical leak, or radiation. My question is how do they plan to make it as realistic as possible?" Izuku ponders.
"Nothing as complicated as that," Hound Dog decided to answer after hearing Izuku's words. "It'll be much more basic than that. What you describe is second-year and third-year rescue training and no offense to you all, but not all of you have learned how to apply physics and chemistry in real life. And even if you did, we'll make it less lethal. UA had promised to ensure student safety and we plan to keep that promise."
Everyone let out a sigh of relief before they smiled at each other. None of them ever said it to the teacher's face, but having Hound Dog as their homeroom teacher is much more preferable. His experience as the school counselor made him more approachable and seems fair, and despite there being times Hound Dog could lash out, he made sure he controlled himself and didn't direct it toward students who didn't deserve it.
He made sure he actually taught the students about things, unlike Aizawa giving them a task and then going to sleep without a care. Izuku thinks that the reason anime/manga didn't address it is due to it being an odd 'quirk' for the character, but given this is the real world, it wasn't something that can be ignored.
'From a storytelling's perspective, it was nothing but an odd quirk...' Yoichi states. 'A lot of storytellers love to do it for at least one of their characters and have been doing it for a long time, sometimes turning it into a running gag. Most reader who prefers invested to the story didn't give too much to think about or just think it's funny. Trust me, I was one of them. I still remember how the heroes from my old comic book sometimes show a panel of the hero chugging a giant mug of coffee whenever he's on a break, and given how my life was, I thought it was okay until I realized the truth. Something like that will make people judge them, and it can be very harsh.'
'Speaking of running gag, I'm so glad that the future pervert was not here and got expelled. That kind of behavior is not okay, and using it as a running gag will not only annoy everyone, but in real life, it'll harm the boy.' Nana says. 'Seeing that kind of abuse made me wince. Sure, the boy deserves to be punished, but stabbed in the eyes? Pushed from high grounds? There are lines between punishment and harm people so bad it crippled them.'
'Well, people will simply say 'it's a fiction, don't worry about it', so they didn't think too much about it.' Izuku thought.
"So, Tooru," Izuku snaps out of his thoughts as Ochako talks with Tooru. "How was your new costume made by Mei and Miles?"
"Oh, it was so much better!" Tooru exclaims as she shows off her new skin-tight, rainbow holographic bodysuit. "I know I was invisible, but having to be naked 24/7 as a hero is not what I wanted! Sure, my quirk didn't give me much choice, but I wanted at least something to cover my entire body!"
"To make it more amazing, the science behind invisible items was not supposed to exist yet." Iida mused. "It was amazing to see how three Support Students managed to come up with it and create it. It truly shows how talented the Support Students truly are."
"Speaking of tech, I'm also amazed that they managed to make one for me," Yaomom mused. Her bodysuit now covers her chest, stomach, and her entire leg, with her back exposed. She also had a HUD visor and a pair of gloves with exposed palms. She also ditches her heels with a pair of combat boots and her dictionary. "I….had to admit I didn't think much when I design my costume and given how the support company didn't question my design, I thought it was fine. How naïve I was…"
"Don't blame yourself for that," Izuku says. "It was the pedophile-filled company's fault for taking advantage of your trust because of greed and lust. They're adults, they should've known better than taking advantage of minors."
"Midoriya, while I am glad you are trying to cheer Yaoyorozu-san about it, please refrain from insulting the company so openly," Iida chastised Izuku.
"So, I can insult them behind their back then?" Izuku asks cheekily, making Iida splutters as everyone chuckles.
"Also, now you know better, you could tell your parents about it. So, when the said support company tries to establish a partnership with your parents, they know not to accept it." Izuku says with a cheeky grin.
"Isn't that a bit petty?" Yaomomo asks hesitantly.
"Nah, given that you did it for your parents, it isn't considered as petty," Izuku says with a grin, ignoring Iida having an aneurysm after hearing Izuku's words while everyone is laughing.
"All right, class. We're arrived." As Hound Dog said it, the bus stops. Everyone got up from their seat and slowly walked out of the bus. As they walk out, they look at the giant gate and the massive industrial site behind the gate.
'Holy cow, seeing it in anime and manga is so different compared to the real deal,' Izuku thought in awe. They were greeted by Thirteen, who seemed to be recovered much to everyone's surprise and relief.
"Hi, kids. I'm teaching you for this rescue exercise." Thirteen exclaims. "Given the USJ incident, I wasn't able to get the opportunity to teach any of you. But, don't worry! I'll make sure to teach you what you need to know about rescue!"
"Welcome to the Training Ground Gamma," Hound Dog stated. "As Midoriya stated before, this training ground is meant to imitate the industrial site in real life. As for the current exercise, a group of three shall be selected randomly to be the civilians in need of rescue. While a group of four shall be the rescue team. Now then, follow me."
With that, Hound Dog leads them towards the training ground as the gate opens. The first thing they saw was a giant building in front of the gate everyone started to walk into the building and take the elevator to the roof. Upon reaching the roof, Izuku is met with the sight of the familiar place. It's the platform where everyone loves to gather before the start of any exercise in this particular training ground.
'Huh…interesting…' Izuku muses as everyone scatters towards the edge and looks around the training ground in awe.
"Holy shit! I thought the fake city was big!" Kaminari exclaims in awe, ignoring Iida's indignant yell of 'language!' in the background.
"This is awesome! I can see Musutafu even from here!" Eijirou exclaims like an excited child.
"This place is a great environment for tape-swinging!" Sero says in excitement before looking at Izuku. "Hey, Midoriya! Wanna race and see who's the best at swinging?"
"Um…no. I'm still learning how to do it properly." Izuku says with a sweatdrop.
"Really? Because what I see during Training Exercise, you did pretty well." Sero points out.
"If crashing through a window counts as 'pretty well', then I don't want to see what bad looks like," Izuku deadpanned as Sero rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Hmm, this reminds me of when Dad brought me to one of his industrial sites." Yaomomo mused as Ochako looked at her incredulously.
"One of….his industrial site!?" Ochako exclaims weakly.
"Oh…I did it again, didn't I?" Yaomomo covers her mouth sheepishly, realizing she has accidentally flaunted her rich status once more.
"D-don't worry too much about it! I was just shocked…" Ochako says, trying not to insult her.
"That's deep…" Hanzo mutters as he looks down and sees nothing but darkness. Tokoyami can be seen standing next to him while looking down and nodding in agreement. A being made of shadow with a head similar to Tokoyami (Dark Shadow) appears before grabbing a rubble and dropping it. Both Hanzo and Tokoyami look at the shadow creature with a raised eyebrow while said creature shrugs innocently.
"…." Koda seemed a bit shaken the moment they arrived at the industrial site, looking a bit uneasy. Izuku seems to notice this and decides to confront him.
"You okay, buddy?" Koda looks at Izuku before nodding and signs. Izuku read at each of the signs before raising an eyebrow.
"You can't hear any animal? Are you sure? Nothing at all?" Izuku receives a nod from Koda. "Not even insects?" Koda pales before shaking his head violently. Izuku wants to facepalm at himself, forgetting Koda has entomophobia and arachnophobia.
"Easy Koda. Sorry for asking about it," Izuku says as Koda nods shakily and signs, saying he didn't know. This made him even guiltier since Izuku did know about it, but revealing it would make him suspicious so he just nodded. Then, the both of them got hit by sparkling light from nearby, making both of them squint their eyes.
Both turn toward the source of the light and see Aoyama posing while emitting sparkles from his body. Koda sweatdrops at the boy's antic, unsure how to react to it. Izuku meanwhile is wondering about Aoyama's situation. He wonders if he is still the traitor in this universe or is someone else. Without any evidence, he can't confirm any of it and even if he did, he might endanger Aoyama's parents. The risk is too high and he is unsure how to handle it without endangering anyone, including Aoyama and his parents.
"All right, students! Gather around!" Hound Dog barks as everyone stops and gathers around. "Also, Midoriya, you can bring Hackmon to join this lesson."
"Um, not that I'm complaining, but is there a reason? I mean, I was given to let him remain hidden as the class starts." Izuku asks.
"That is true, but after what happened in USJ and Nedzu noticed Takechi also had one, he had decided to change the rule a bit, especially when he believes there might be more to come." Izuku nods before letting Hackmon pop out of the phone as everyone watches in awe. No matter how many times, seeing Hackmon appears always amazed everyone. Unknown to Izuku, the majority of Class 1-A had unofficially made Hackmon the class' mascot.
"All right, then." Thirteen started. "For the current exercise, three students will be picked randomly as the civilians trapped in a pile of pipes. Then, 4 of the randomly picked students will formulate a strategy to get rid of the piles safely and rescue the civilians. Remember, as a hero, you are required to cause as little damage and harm as possible, so think properly before doing the rescue. Since this will be our first exercise, this won't be put on your academic grades, but that doesn't mean caution is unnecessary."
Everyone nodded in unison while Bakugou merely rolled his eyes. Bakugou thinks this entire exercise is a waste of time. What is the point of rescuing those extra, anyway? Being heroes means beating villains and winning! He didn't listen to the entire explanation while busy glaring at Izuku's head.
"My advice for the exercise, make sure the pipes didn't fall and potentially harm the civilians you rescue. Use your quirk or your environment to keep it from falling. Your quirks aren't the only arsenal you have, the environment provides you with many of them." Thirteen advised as everyone nodded.
"All right, now for the first worker team!" Hound Dog exclaims. "Izuku Midoriya and Hackmon, Tenya Iida, and Ochako Uraraka! Each of you has different roles, Uraraka, you will act as a worker with a leg trapped under the fallen pipe. Iida, you will act panic and distress for your coworkers. And lastly, Midoriya, you will stay unconscious with Hackmon worried for you."
"Wait, I thought there would be 3!" Sero points out.
"It's...a weird scenario, think of it like Tokoyami and Dark Shadow. Both are a package deal," Hound Dog shrugs as everyone snorts. "For the rescue team, it will be Shoto Todoroki, Momo Yaoyorozu, Katsuki Bakugou, Fumikage Tokoyami, and Dark Shadow."
"Oh, great. I had to save Deku's sorry ass." Bakugou growls.
"Need I remind you that you're on strike two?" Hound Dog growls back, making Bakugou silent.
"Strike two already?" Thirteen mutters.
"He threatens Hagakure by showing off his quirk." Hound Dog whispers as Thirteen nods.
"The feeling's mutual, by the way," Izuku mutters under his breath. 'Well, it's confirmed that this scenario is like the OVA. The team members are too identical to be a coincidence.'
"Well, I suppose we can't get what we wanted," Ochako says with a shrug, a smile on her face. "Let us do our best, Izu-kun! Hackmon!"
"Yeah," Izuku says with a smile before his smile becomes strained. "B-but, I think we're going to be busy for other stuff…."
"Huh?" Ochako looks confused before they both look at Iida.
"I….can't believe this….to think I will be the one who becomes the helpless civilian….but, this is UA training, I shall do my best in this role! Guys!" Iida exclaims while looking at Izuku and Ochako. "Let us do our best to be injured!"
"…." Izuku facepalm before biting his lips. "I-Iida…..w-wording…pfft…"
"Oh, Yggdrasil…" Hackmon let out an exasperated sigh.
"Huh?" Iida seems genuinely confused before he realizes what he said and stammers. "A-apologies! T-that is not my intention!!"
"Pffft! Bahahaha!" Ochako let out a laugh, tears escaping her eyes as Iida looked flustered.
"D-don't worry, bud. I-it's just show that….y-you are taking the exercise seriously…" Izuku says shakily as he stops himself from laughing. Iida could only groan as Ochako laughed while Hackmon simply patted his back.
Later
"Wow…" Izuku stares at the fake collapsed pipeline above in amazement. "It's amazing that they could recreate such a scenario realistically…."
"It's safe right?" Hackmon mutters nervously.
"Of course, UA is a prestigious school for the future heroes. They should know how to prepare for any situation in a safe-!" Iida exclaims before one of the pipes falls into the ground. The quartet froze a bit before nervously looking up again, noticing that the collapsed pipeline seemed to be shaking.
Izuku decided to take a look at the fallen pipe before letting out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, the teacher isn't insane enough to put a real pipeline and use styrofoam to create them.
"Guys, it's okay. It's a styrofoam." Both Iida, Hackmon, and Ochako let out a sigh of relief.
"O-of course! There is no way the teacher will let us be harmed by using a real thing! Just like our battle exercise!" Iida says with a nervous laugh.
"Y-yeah…" Ochako nods in agreement. Izuku can't blame them for being nervous, given how it looks so realistic.
"You guys then haven't met Gankoomon…" Hackmon mutters as everyone looks at him in confusion. "Please don't ask…."
"Okay…..well, I think we should go to our position," Izuku says as they all nod. Izuku simply let his body fall and pretended to be unconscious, but given how unexpected and silly it was, Ochako burst into laughter.
"I-Izu…you okay?" Hackmon pokes his body in worry.
"I'm fine buddy. Miles thinks it'll be a good idea to add paddings on my costume, so it softens my falls." Izuku says before going back to pretend to be unconscious. Hackmon sighs in relief before nudging Izuku out of worry. Ochako goes to her position, under a pile of the pipeline, and with the way it is arranged, Ochako can easily slip her leg under the pile.
As for Iida?
"Oh, no! My coworkers! What should I do!?! I have no medical kit to help!!!" Iida screams dramatically. "Somebody! Help!!!"
"Pfft!!!!" Ochako covers her mouth as she struggles to hold her laughter and trembles.
'I-Iida…oh god. You are the worst actor ever….' Izuku thought as his lips twitched shakily, trying to hold his laughter. 'This…this isn't supposed to be funny, s-so why am almost bursting into laughter!?!?'
'I….I see Betsumon and somehow….h-he made those parasites an Oscar award winner!!!' Hackmon lowers his head as he tries and fails to hold his laughter.
With the Rescue Team
"That's Iida, I suppose…" Momo said with a sweatdrop as she heard Iida's scream from the other side of the rubble. She then looks at the pile of pipes nervously. She can see that the attached pipelines did their best to hold the fallen one from crushing the workers under it.
Now, she needs to think of a way to stabilize the entire thing and open an entrance for them to get out. But, judging from her calculation, it seems that simply pulling the pipe away will cause the pile to collapse.
"It seems that we need to seek a way to get into the other side." Yaomomo muses before scrolling through her HUD, looking at the picture of the map she took before the exercise started.
"Why don't we just blow them off!?" Bakugou exclaims as he lets out an explosion from his palm.
"No!" Yaomomo exclaims loudly, startling Bakugou. "Your actions will bury the workers in that pile! You could kill them!"
"They'll survive if they dodge!" Bakugou growls.
"Unbelievable…" Tokoyami mutters while shaking his head at Bakugou's words.
"Did you not listen to what the teacher stated!?" Yaomomo asks with an incredulous tone. "Two of the workers we're trying to save have either broken legs or are unconscious! If you explode it, you'll kill them!"
"This is a fucking joke." Bakugou rolls his eyes as Yaomomo gets frustrated.
"Why do you even become a hero in the first place if you think it's a joke!?" Yaomomo exclaims in frustration
"I have no time to play games," Todoroki murmured before approaching the pile and trying to touch the pile. Yaomomo notices this and widens her eyes.
"Wait, no-!" In an instant, the entire pile of pipe is frozen solid. "Oh…what have you done…"
"Finish this exercise quickly," Todoroki mutters before looking at Tokoyami. "Tokoyami, mind gives me a solid punch here? Create a hole enough for us to get in and get them out."
Before Tokoyami could answer, they heard a crack and saw a huge crack form at the top of the ice. As it cracked, they heard several things fall inside the dome and a panicked yell from the inside, making Yaomomo horrified.
"That's what I try to avoid…" Yaomomo mutters.
"Guys!?! What the fuck is going on there!?" They yelp when they hear Izuku scream in disbelief. "I get that the pipe won't kill us if it falls on us, but are you trying to bury us alive!?!"
"Sorry!" Yaomomo shouts back before looking at Todoroki with a stern expression. "What are you thinking!? Freezing those messy piles of pipes creates one hell of instability! Even if the pipe isn't made of metal, those pipes could collapse at any time, bringing the ice with them and burying them alive! And any damage to your ice dome could cause more instability!"
"I…" Todoroki was unable to say a word as Yaomomo let out a frustrated sigh and thought through everything before looking back through her HUD. Thankfully, she was provided with a solution as the map she had taken a picture shows a sewer system right under them, and to their luck, there was a manhole near where the trapped workers were and the nearest entrance was a few meters from there.
"Change of plan, Todoroki, you use your quirk to keep the piles from falling, fix any cracks forming! Tokoyami, I need you to be with me on our rescue attempts. And Bakugou, stay!" Yaomomo commands before using her quirk to create a communication device and gives it to Todoroki, who accepts it. Both Tokoyami and Todoroki nod but Bakugou looks like he is about to explode.
"Huh!? Who are you telling me-!?" Bakugou was cut off by Yaomomo.
"In case a villain did a surprise attack on us, take care of them!" Yaomomo states as Bakugou pauses before growling.
"Don't tell me what to do," Bakugou mutters as Yaomomo and Tokoyami rush toward the nearby sewer entrance.
"I thought there wouldn't be a villain for today's exercise," Tokoyami asks in confusion as they run.
"Given that Bakugou didn't pay any attention, he didn't know the truth," Yaomomo says.
"Hah!" Dark Shadow pops out of Tokoyami and lets out a laugh as Tokoyami sighs. As they reach the sewer entrance, Tokoyami lets Dark Shadow tear the entrance apart before they enter. Using the map on her HUD, she managed to find the exact manhole before crawling out of it. To their relief and amusement, they found Iida comically panicking at Ochako and Izuku who were playing their role and struggling to hold their laughter with Hackmon.
"Oh, heroes! You are all here! Hang in there, my fellow workers! We're now saved!!!" Iida exclaims dramatically as the others shake violently, struggling to hold their laughter. Yaomomo let out an amused sigh before she and Tokoyami approached them.
After getting rid of the pile from Ochako, Yaomomo made sure to create a splinter for Ochako's leg, treating it like a real exercise. After that, the rescue team picks Ochako and Izuku up before crawling through the sewer along with Iida and Hackmon.
"Okay, Todoroki. You can let go now!" Yaomomo exclaims through her comm before closing the manhole. As she did, she heard the ice collapse and everything falls apart from the other side. The 7 of them let out a sigh of relief.
"Okay, mind telling us what are they thinking!?!" Hackmon exclaims in disbelief. "They could've buried us under that pile!"
"It didn't help that the pipes are all made of Styrofoam…" Izuku mutters while rubbing his head. "All the ice slipping through the gaps between the Styrofoam's pellet causing it to fall off."
"All of the boys were rushing to finish it off. Bakugou wants to blow it up, and Todoroki decided to freeze it over." Yaomomo says as the trio groaned.
"Unbelievable!" Iida exclaims while chopping his hands. "Such recklessness could cause trouble or even harm to civilians! What were they thinking!?"
"Pride….they're thinking about their pride," Izuku says with a groan.
"So, a dick-measuring contest. Got it." Izuku immediately burst into laughter while Iida and Yaomomo look at Ochako in baffled expression while Tokoyami looks at Ochako with a shocked expression. "What? My parents own a construction business and I always hear some of them cuss!"
"It's always the innocent-looking one," Tokoyami mutters.
To be continued