My Hero Academia: Lion of Courage

Chapter 7: The Karate Hero

Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. All rights go to Kohei Horikoshi.

"Welcome, Class 1-A," Open Palm greeted the class. "In case you're wondering, U.A. has recently added a martial arts class as part of the school curriculum. I'm sure many of you have amazing Quirks or I would if I could see them-"

A loud scoff was heard, coming from Bakugo. Everyone looked at him with disgust for showing such disrespect for their martial arts teacher.

"What's wrong with you, Bakugo?" Raionhato spoke angrily. "Are you really so full of yourself-"

"Raionhato," Aizawa spoke. "I'll handle this." Takeo reluctantly stepped down and turned away from Bakugo, his facial features twisted with disgust and contempt. It was as if he could feel nothing but that for the Explosion Quirk user. Aizawa then glared down at Bakugo, his eyes narrowed and filled with annoyance.

"If you want to remain here at U.A., you will show your teachers the respect they deserve, Bakugo," Aizawa sternly reprimanded. "I don't know where you came from, but I don't care. Keep up this behavior and you will be out of U.A. Understood?"

From what Raionhato had seen, Bakugo deserved to be expelled from U.A. Why was he even allowed here in the first place? Just because he scored 1st Place in the Entrance Exam? Had the teachers not noticed his overly violent and feral behavior? Or did they think they could turn him into someone better?

"Bakugo, correct?" Open Palm replied. "So you think a 'blind guy' can't be a good teacher? Be honest."

"I don't see how," he answered. Open Palm smirked as he picked a wooden staff off the ground.

"Then I tell you what; we'll immediately start your first combat lesson. If any of you can take me down, I'll pass the class for the first semester. If you don't…well, I just hope you have the sense to learn. Feel free to use your Quirks." He then took a fighting stance, filled with confidence and discipline.

The Class was a bit hesitant to fight Open Palm. Did he really intend to take on all of them at once, 20 to 1? Only Bakugo smirked at the idea of taking down Open Palm; he launched himself forward with a grin on his face.

"DIE!" he shouted as he was about to unleash an explosion on Open Palm. Much to his surprise, Open Palm kicked Bakugo's arm aside and then knocked him out with his staff.

Class 1-A looked in amazement at how easily Open Palm had beaten Bakugo. Any of those who thought this would be an easy challenge started to think again as they remembered what Ojiro and Midoriya said.

This was the legendary Karate Hero: Open Palm. In his prime, Open Palm was considered unsurpassable by all martial artists. No one knew where he had learned martial arts or who taught him, some claiming he was self-taught. Whatever the truth was, he had just proven that his blindness did not obstruct his combat abilities.

"Are you going to stand there or fight me?" Open Palm asked. His invitation to combat finally pushed the class to attack him like a flood: pouring in all at once, but devoid of any form of teamwork.

Takeo was one of the first to attack, summoning Lion Saber in his right hand and his bo-staff in the other. Each of his attacks were easily deflected by Open Palm's wooden staff and he was quickly beaten back by the master martial artist.

From behind, the young man with the scorpion tail protracted two blade-like stingers from his forearms and leapt at Open Palm. The martial arts instructor quickly took care of the young man with two kicks to his torso.

Suddenly, a long line of ice was shot at Open Palm, coming from a young man with white-and-red hair, blue and grey eyes, and a stoic expression. Open Palm dodged in time and smirked before throwing his staff at Todoroki, hitting him on the head. With the moment of confusion given, Open Palm hurried over and took down the ice Quirk user.

Yukine quickly took the opportunity to summon enough snow in the hopes of obstructing Open Palm's senses. She deduced that he must have some kind of meta-sense Quirk in order to compensate for his blindness. Just before she could launch her attack, she was hit by Open Palm's staff, which he threw at her as he did with Todoroki. This was followed by Open Palm tripping her feet and making her fall onto the ground.

No matter what the students tried, they could not land a hit on Open Palm. One by one, each of them fell to the master martial artist's skill. Within the span of a few minutes, everyone was on the ground, beaten and defeated while Open Palm stood smirking.

"Still think a 46-year-old, retired, blind former Pro Hero can't be a good teacher?" he asked. "Well, considering all of you are on the ground and beaten, I'm hoping you're starting to reconsider that thought."

"You really made good use of your Quirk, sir," Midoriya commented as he got up.

"What is his Quirk?" Takeo asked as he struggled to get up and helped those near him. Open Palm smiled and explained his Quirk: Seismic Sense. It allowed him to pick up vibrations on the solid ground, which made it hard for anyone to take him by surprise if they were fighting on the ground like just now.

"I'm surprised some of you didn't use your Quirks, even though I gave you permission," Open Palm spoke, pointing to Midoriya, Kaminari, Koda, and Hagakure.

"I am using my Quirk," Hagakure claimed. Open Palm raised an eyebrow.

"But I can still…wait, you're invisible, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am." Open Palm chuckled and shook his head.

"Okay, you get a free pass. As for the rest of you who didn't use your Quirks, I don't know why you chose not to, but I don't care. You won't be using them much in my class."

"WHAT!?" Bakugo barked as he approached Open palm. "But isn't that the idea of having Quirks, to use them!?" He felt a blunt pain on his head, delivered by Open Palm hitting him with his wooden staff.

"That kind of thinking is more harmful than beneficial. There will be instances where you're either at a disadvantage with your Quirks or you can't use them at all. As you've probably seen, Aizawa's Quirk allows him to nullify other Quirks. You may encounter situations like that, and if you're helpless without your Quirks, what do you do? The answer is simple: train in martial arts for those kinds of situations. But not just that; learning martial arts may also help you use your Quirks in ways you can't right now. But…since none of you landed a hit on me, not only does it show the progress you're in need of, you don't get a free pass for the semester." The students groaned.

After the students were formally informed of what Open Palm would be teaching them, they left with Aizawa while Open Palm went back to meditating. His focus was broken when he heard footsteps approaching.

"Hello, Toshinori," he greeted. The Symbol of Peace made sure it was safe before he returned to his weakened form and sat next to his old friend.

"Hey, Kenzo," he replied. "I was honestly surprised that you decided to take a job here. I thought you retired."

"I'm retired from official hero work, but after giving it some thought…and some persuasion from Principal Nezu, I decided to become a teacher. After all, who wouldn't want to learn from the legendary Open Palm?" He and All Might chuckled.

"So…have you chosen a successor for One For All?" he asked the Symbol of Peace.

"I did," Toshinori answered. "You just fought him: Izuku Midoriya."

Midoriya was one of the students who didn't fight with his Quirk during their recent session and he had already deduced why. While he was going over how his class would work, he had noticed the pain in Midoriya's finger, so he asked Aizawa afterwards.

"How was his finger hurt?" Open Palm asked.

"It's a recurring problem," Eraser Head replied. Open Palm raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Eraser Head explained what he saw Midoriya do during the Entrance Exam: he had taken down the gigantic robot in one punch, something no other student had done, but it terribly crippled his arm and legs. Had Uraraka not stopped his fall, he would've fallen to his death and died.

"He shouldn't have been allowed here," Eraser Head spoke. "If he can't use his Quirk in a way that doesn't leave him crippled and broken, then he's nothing more than a liability."

"Then hopefully, he'll learn to control it," Open Palm insisted. "That is our jobs as teachers, isn't it? To help students better themselves?"

"It's also our job to let them go if they're incapable of being heroes," Eraser Head responded. "As cruel as it can be, it's necessary."

"Toshinori, have you had the proper time to show him how to use One For All?" Kenzo questioned.

"Umm…well, we went through ten months of physical training to prepare his body-"

"I'm not asking if you trained him to be stronger," Kenzo interrupted. "I'm asking if you've taught him how to use One For All properly?" When he didn't get a response from All Might, Kenzo got his answer. He sighed heavily in disappointment.

"Toshinori, you need to teach Midoriya how to use One For All in a way that doesn't cripple him. Aizawa is already considering expelling him if he cannot prove he can control his Quirk."

"But it's only the first day," Toshinori responded.

"I know," Kenzo responded. "I'd personally give him more time, but we both know Aizawa's never afraid to expel anyone who's not up to his expectations."

Toshinori spent ten months training Midoriya to inherit One For All, but as Kenzo pointed out, he hadn't taught him how to use it properly. As of right now, anytime Midoriya used One For All, it took a terrible toll on his body.

The Symbol of Peace genuinely believed Midoriya could succeed him as the next bearer of One For All, but if he couldn't use that power properly, all that training, all that motivation would be for nothing. He couldn't let them happen to Midoriya, not after everything they had done in the months leading to U.A.'s Entrance Exam.

He had to teach Midoriya how to use One For All properly if he was to stay in U.A.'s Hero Course.

"I will," Toshinori assured. "And I understand you're looking for an apprentice yourself."

"I am," Kenzo confirmed. "I want someone to succeed me as the Karate Hero just as you want Midoriya to succeed you as the Symbol of Peace."

"Have you decided on anyone yet?" Toshinori asked.

"No," Kenzo responded. "I want time to decide. Hopefully, I'll have chosen them by the Sports Festival." He then held up his fist for a fist bump from his old friend.

"To passing the flame," he spoke. Toshinori smiled and returned the gesture.

"To passing the flame."

Afterwards, Eraser Head dismissed the whole class and they were free to go, but not before he explained the already known rules of U.A.'s Hero Course. The bottom line was that the moment anyone hit below the zero mark, he'd expel them without a second thought.

Raionhato, Ojiro, Sato and Kiyama left the classroom together, but not before Raionhato took one last look at Yaoyorozu, who was already being considered the top student in their class because of her intelligence. He looked at her as he walked away, blushing slightly at the black-haired beauty, already admiring her…but was stopped when he walked right into a wall.

"Raionhato!" Sato gasped as he heard Takeo thunk against the wall. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured with a groan. "I've had worse."

Unknown to the three young men, Kiyama was smirking a bit; she knew exactly why he had walked into the wall. It had to do with the beauty he couldn't take his eyes off…and was now walking towards them with a concerned expression.

"Are you okay, Raionhato?" she spoke. "I saw you walk into the wall."

"I'm fine," he assured. "I…well…I just got distracted." Momo looked at him with some confusion.

"Well, be careful. We don't want you getting hurt."

After the little incident, the four Hero Course students started making their way to the exit.

"Well, at least we all made it," Takeo pointed out, though he personally didn't understand why Bakugo hadn't been expelled.

"Yesssss, we did…including Yaoyorozzzzzzu," Kiyama teased with a smirk. "We all know what 'dissssstracted' you when you walked into the wall…or rather, who." Takeo's face lit up a bit.

He hoped that Ojiro, Sato and Kiyama didn't notice what caused him to walk into the wall; having to catch a glance of the intelligent beauty he had just met today. But much to his annoyance, Kiyama caught on and was now taking the opportunity to tease him.

"You're imagining things," he denied. "Yes, Yaoyorozu is smart and beautiful, but I just met her."

"Well, luckily, we're all in the sssssame classssss together," Kiyama brought up. "You'll have plenty of time to get to know her. Speaking of which…sssssshe'ssssss coming over right now."

"What?" Takeo gasped as he looked back…and saw no one. Kiyama and Sato laughed at Takeo's gullible response, much to his annoyance. Takeo shook his hood and let out a deep sigh, hating that he fell for Kiyama's teasing.

As if he had a chance with Momo Yaoyorozu. She was the daughter of the very wealthy Yaoyorozu Hero Agency, one of the richest agencies in Japan. She was practically a princess among them her classmates, but it was clear that she had the intelligence, strength and skills needed to be in the Hero Course.

"Takeo!" Satoshi called out as he ran up to him.

"Satoshi!" Takeo replied as his friend caught up to them.

"You know him?" Ojiro asked. Takeo nodded his head and introduced Satoshi to everyone and then his Hero Course classmates to Satoshi.

"So you're in the Support Course?" Ojiro asked.

"I was going to enroll in the Hero Course, but I decided that my Quirk is better suited for the Support Course," Satoshi informed. "So I withdrew my application for the Hero Course and applied for Support instead."

"What is your Quirk?" Sato asked.

"Technopathy," Satoshi answered. "It allows me to interact and control electronics. Say for example…" Satoshi pulled out his phone and without touching any buttons, he took a picture, turned the flashlight on and off, and then brought up a music playlist.

"Not only that, it really gives him an edge with making gadgetry and such," Takeo brought up as he summoned his Concussion Gauntlet. "Several of the items in my Inventory were made by him. I can vouch for how well they work. So how was your first day of the Support Course, Satoshi?"

"It actually went very well and I feel like a natural fit for it," Satoshi answered. "I'm already drawing up ideas for new gadgets. With the resources provided by the Support Course, there's no telling what I could create."

"I'm looking forward to seeing them," Takeo replied with a smile as the group started to leave U.A.

After his class ended, Kaze Yonaka thought about teleporting home, but he felt his Shadow Flash wasn't strong enough for him to withstand the exhaustion just yet. But then again, by teleporting all the way home, he could improve his Quirk by increasing how far he could teleport. He'd think on it later when he got home.

"Hey there," Tokage flirtatiously greeted as she walked up to him, her smile showing her razor teeth.

"Hello," he greeted with his usual stone-faced expression. As he started to walk away, Tokage walked ahead of him with the smirk still on her face. Kaze just looked at her, though his expression made it hard for Setsuna Tokage to see his annoyance with her.

"I'm not really the talkative type," Kaze told her. "If you want someone else to talk to, perhaps Tetsutetsu would be a better choice."

"Oh, come on," Setsuna replied as she continued to walk in front of him. "You'd miss a chance to talk with someone as gorgeous and talented as me?"

Kaze shook his head. Why was this girl so interested in him? He already said he wasn't the talkative type, so what else would Tokage want with him?

"I noticed that except for Awase, you're not really opening up to anyone," Setsuna stated the obvious. "It's going to be a lonely three years here if you're not willing to open up to others, make a few friends."

"I'm not here to make friends, Tokage," Kaze responded. "I'm here to become a Pro Hero, just like my father before me."

"Your dad's a Pro Hero too?" Tokage asked curiously.

Tokage got what she wanted: a crack in Kaze's stone-faced expression. His face lit up a bit when he told her of his father who was the Pro Hero, Shadowfox. Kaze had inherited his father's Quirk called Shadow Flash, allowing him to teleport to places he could see or remember. Back in his Pro Hero days, Shadowfox was a master martial artist and highly skilled in search and rescue. Unfortunately, his days were cut short due to a severe spinal injury he sustained, leaving him paralyzed beneath the waist. The spark of happiness in Kaze's face quickly turned sad and rather sour.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tokage apologized. "I...I didn't know he was crippled."

"Then I must ask you not to ask about my parents again," Kaze requested.

"That's fair," Tokage replied before smiling again. "But since you're possibly wondering 'Why is this gorgeous woman pursuing me?', the answer is simple: I'm intrigued by you." Kaze was taken a bit back by Tokage calling him intriguing. Was she referring to the fact that he was 5th place in the Entrance Exam?

"I don't understand," he finally replied. "How am I intriguing to you?"

"I heard Tetsutetsu talk about your Quirk, that you and he were in the same Battle Center during the Entrance Exam," Tokage brought up. "Like you said, your Quirk's good for moving around, but I'm guessing by itself, it's not good for combat. Yet you got 5th place in the Exam, behind...who else? I didn't familiarize myself with the results."

Kaze explained that 1st Place was Katsuki Bakugo, 2nd Place was Takeo Raionhato, 3rd was someone named Hayata Furaya and 4th was Ibara Shiozaki, one of their classmates. Since the other three weren't in their class, that must mean they're in Class 1-A. Kaze was relieved that he wouldn't be in the same class as Raionhato, but still felt he didn't deserve to be here.

Suddenly, Kaze's phone went off. He expected a text, but instead saw a news update: "Fukushu claims three more lives". Kaze's face twisted with rage and hatred at the name he saw on his screen. He was almost tempted to destroy his phone just so he wouldn't have to see the name.

"Yonaka...?" Setsuna asked, worried at how quickly his expression changed to anger. Kaze shook his head and put his phone away.

"I have to go." Before Tokage could object, he teleported in a flash of black smoke, appearing near the entrance of the school. When he was certain no one else was around, he pulled his phone back out and looked at the news headline again, specifically at the name 'Fukushu'.

"Damn you..." he growled angrily.

Midoriya was on his way home, thinking back on today. Though he was happy that he was staying in the Hero Course, he was also nervous. As Eraser Head pointed out, he was using his Quirk in a way that kept crippling his body, such as during the Entrance Exam. If Uraraka hadn't broken his fall with her Quirk, he would've fallen to his death.

He had hoped to talk to All Might after school, but as he was now an official teacher at U.A., he had a packed schedule and wasn't able to talk with Midoriya at the time. If anyone could teach Midoriya how to use One For All better, it was none other than him.

But on the bright side, Midoriya had made two new friends today: Tenya Iida and Ochaco Uraraka. Iida was disciplined, strong and was quite passionate in his own way, even going as far as to praise Midoriya for his actions in the Entrance Exam. Uraraka was very kind, sweet and supportive of Midoriya, praising him as well for taking down the giant robot during the exam. All in all, despite his injured finger and barely passing the Quirk Assessment Tests, he felt today was a good day.

Suddenly, Midoriya felt someone grab the back of his shirt and then slam him against the wall. Without even needing to look, Midoriya already guessed it was none other than his childhood friend, Bakugo, or Kacchan as he called him.

"Kacchan!?" Midoriya gasped, seeing the enraged look on the Explosion Quirk user's face.

"You worthless…" His teeth were bared like a rabid dog, his eyes burning with rage and anger. He looked as if he was mere moments away from blowing Midoriya apart with an explosion, his hand itching to hurt him.

"You had a Quirk all along, didn't you!?" he barked. "You fraud! Pretending to be Quirkless and making me look like a damn fool!"

"Kacchan, it's not like that-" Bakugo tightened his grip on Midoriya, not allowing him to finish his sentence.

"Don't lie to me! I saw what you did in the tests today! There's no way in hell you would've been able to do that without a Quirk! Did you lie to me just so you could look down on me, you…you…!"

Words couldn't describe the anger Bakugo felt towards Midoriya. Ever since they were little, Bakugo knew that Midoriya was Quirkless, so there was no way he would've been allowed to join U.A.'s Hero Course. But now, here he was, using a powerful Quirk that he had never used before.

Bakugo knew that all Quirks manifested by the age of four and five; if one didn't have a Quirk after that age, then it was guaranteed that they were Quirkless. Midoriya was one of them, but now…now he was in U.A.

"You shit-faced bastard!" Bakugo barked. "You were hiding your Quirk from me this entire time! Why, I don't know, but I don't care! You said you didn't want to compete against me and yet-"

"I take it back!" Midoriya barked as he pushed Bakugo off of him. The mere action alone caused Bakugo's expression to be full of shock. Did Deku just push him off of him, something he had never done before?

"I told you, Kacchan, that for the first time in my life, someone believed in me. For the first time, someone told me I can be a hero. And if that means going up against you, Kacchan, then I'll do it. I won't be the same weak and defenseless kid you used to pick on, not anymore!"

Midoriya half expected Kacchan to try and blow him up, but instead, he just stood there with a shocked expression.

For so long, whenever Bakugo bullied Deku, pushed him around, or even physically hurt him, all Deku could do was take it and do nothing in response. He felt Deku deserved it for always looking down on him ever since they were kids.

But now, here he was, refusing to take Bakugo's mistreatment any longer. Now he had stated his intention to become a hero like their model, All Might. He wouldn't reveal who believed in him, but it was powerful enough to give Midoriya confidence to finally believe in himself for once.

"You…you…" Bakugo couldn't even finish that sentence. He was so shocked by how this was turning out that he didn't even know what to say. He was certain that he could hopefully intimidate Midoriya into admitting that he had a Quirk this entire time and simply hid it to make Bakugo look like an idiot. But instead, Midoriya was standing up to Bakugo and even went as far as to take back his claim of not wanting to compete with him.

His shocked expression slowly twisted into insuppressible anger. Midoriya was almost certain Bakugo would try to attack him, but he just glared at him.

"I hope you enjoyed making me look like a fool, Deku, because it's not going to happen again," Bakugo growled. "You're still the same worthless insect I've known! You hear me!? You will NEVER be better than me! Hell, you'll never be able to even compete with me! Got it!?" He then stormed off, leaving Midoriya all by himself.

"Should I tell him?" Midoriya wondered. "Should I tell him the truth?"

The next day came around and Raionhato had already arrived at U.A. He hadn't seen any of his friends on the bus, so perhaps they found another way to school today. Just as he was about to turn on his phone and start listening to music, he looked up in time to see that he was about to bump into Yaoyorozu.

"Oh, crap!" he gasped as he stopped himself. "Sorry."

"Sorry?" Momo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I nearly bumped into you," Takeo chuckled. "I…uh…"

"You weren't paying attention again?" Yaoyorozu guessed. Takeo chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Raionhato, please be more conscious of where you're walking," she insisted. "Though, actually, I'm glad I got to run into you."

"Really?" Takeo replied, his face blushing a little. "Why is that?

"I was hoping to ask you about your Quirk," she asked. "I'm curious since it seems similar to mine."

Takeo explained his Quirk to Yaoyorozu, comparing it to an RPG Inventory. When Yaoyorozu didn't understand what he meant by RPG, Takeo instead compared it to storing items away that he could summon again later.

"It's not exactly a flashy Quirk, but…it works," Takeo spoke.

"I'd say it's a great Quirk," Momo replied. "The ability to store items away and summon them again later could really come in handy, especially if you're a skilled fighter. Might I ask what weapons you use?"

Takeo then started summoning his weapons, first starting with Lion Saber and Lion Mane. As he showed them, he brought up how the need for weapons and martial skills was necessary since his Quirk alone wasn't good enough for combat like Midoriya or Todoroki's.

"Are you self-trained?" Momo asked as they started walking.

"No, I was trained by a man named Forge," Takeo answered. "He made my sword, shield and bow. He taught me what I know, along with my mother, Lioness, though it was mostly him."

"He must've been a very great teacher if you were able to get 2nd Place in the Entrance Exam," Yaoyorozu pointed out. "Which is why I'm hoping we could train together."

"Train?" Takeo asked as if surprised by her request.

"I feel our Quirks could work well together," she replied. "Oh…I don't think I've told you my Quirk yet, have I? It'd probably help if I did."

Her Quirk was called Creation, which allowed her to create any inorganic material from her skin as long as she knew the atomic structure of it and had the fat cells to create it. After having it explained to him, Raionhato understood how their Quirks could work well together. With her ability to create items and his ability to store them away, it could make for a great Quirk combination.

"I…I'd be happy to train with you," Takeo responded. "I do have to admit I'm a bit surprised; I thought I'd be the one approaching you for help since you got in on recommendation…though I'm not entirely sure how that works."

"Well…I hope I don't across as arrogant, but it's for students who are considered extremely talented and skilled," Momo explained. "Most of them, like Todoroki and myself, came from distinguished hero agencies. I'm surprised you weren't there since as you said, you're the son of Lioness."

Well, she's currently the number 25 Hero, so unfortunately, she's not all that distinguished yet," Takeo replied.

The bell rang, signaling that it was time to get to class. The two of them started making their way to their classroom, where Eraser Head awaited them.

On the other hand…Takeo couldn't deny that he was quickly gaining feelings for Momo Yaoyorozu.

Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. I haven't been feeling the motivation to write Lion of Courage recently. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the series so far!

Keep reading and writing, my fellow writers!