My Hero Academia: Lion of Courage
Chapter 23: Rescue Training
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. All rights go to Kohei Horikoshi.
"We're returning to the USJ!?" the class spoke in unison the next day after Aizawa announced what they'd be doing.
"Yes, the damage done to the USJ has been repaired," Aizawa informed, still bandaged up from his beating at the hands of Talos. "However, Thirteen is still recovering from the attack and Principal Nezu has requested that I refrain from field training. You'll be directed by your martial arts instructor, Open Palm, and the science teacher, Sunstorm."
Some of the students were nervous about returning to the USJ ever since the attack long ago. Even though the mooks had been defeated and arrested, the leaders were still out there and there was no telling if they'd be able to attack again. Would they attempt to attack U.A. again? Would they have an even bigger army or more elite fighters?
"Is it really okay for us to return so soon?" Midoriya asked with concern.
"Yes, it's fine," Aizawa assured. "U.A. has installed additional security measures to ensure that the USJ Attack won't happen again. Open Palm and Sunstorm will go over the exercises they have planned for you, so go change into your costumes and meet them at the bus lot."
As instructed, the students grabbed the cases with their hero costumes and made their way to the changing rooms. Unfortunately for Midoriya, his costume was still being repaired and wouldn't be ready until the end of the Sports Festival, so he had to wear his gym clothes as he did during the USJ Attack.
"I just hope they don't do anything too drastic to the costume while repairing it," Midoriya spoke.
"Well, since it's being repaired, it might be a good idea to suggest any potential upgrades," Iida replied. "One of the Support Course's biggest jobs is making alterations and upgrades to Hero Course costumes. Perhaps you could suggest a modulator of sorts since to be honest, you do keep crippling yourself when you use your Quirk."
Under normal circumstances, it'd be a great suggestion to prevent Midoriya from constantly injuring himself. However, since he was still learning how to use One For All, he didn't know if a modulator would have work. He couldn't disregard what Iida said, though: every time he had used his Quirk, he'd injure himself...except when he punched Talos at the USJ, stopping him from killing his teacher.
"He should just leave right now," Bakugo insulted. "He'll be nothing but a burden."
"No one's talking to you, beast," Takeo spoke up. "And who are you to judge when you've been nothing but a migraine?"
"What the hell did you say!?" Bakugo shouted, his attention fully on Raionhato. "Why don't you shut your mouth, you pain in the ass!? And who are you calling a 'beast', Kitty Boy!?"
"I'm calling you a beast, you animal!" Takeo retorted.
"Hey, hey, come on, guys," Kirishima spoke, stepping in between the two. "There's no need to start arguing."
"Don't tell me what to do, Crap Hair," Bakugo retorted before proceeding to put on his outfit while Takeo did the same.
Zankoku let out a quiet sigh as he got into his jet black jumpsuit and belt with various poisons. Several people had gotten on him for his disdain towards Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, but he remained rather civil about it, even when Todoroki made the stupid claim about poverty in Sunstorm's science class. Raionhato, on the other hand, outright called Bakugo a beast and almost always got into an argument with him. And people said Zankoku had to work on his disdain.
Zankoku looked over at Todoroki and silently sneered when he saw that he was still wearing his old costume that covered his entire left side with ice. The Scorpion couldn't stand the arrogance of Shoto Todoroki, still believing that he could beat a hero using only half his power while the rest of them gave it their all. He argued that Todoroki was worse than Bakugo; Bakugo may be a jerk, but at least he took combat seriously.
"Oh, yes," Shiruku grinned as he pulled back a poster on the wall.
"What is it?" Sato asked.
"A gift from the previous generation," Shiruku spoke. He revealed to his male classmates that there was a peephole...that had a view of the girls' locker room. The faces of Sato, Kaminari and Sero lit up like Christimas trees, filled with excitement at the idea of being able to see their beautiful female classmates without their clothes on.
"Oh, no," Takeo refused, putting his hand over the peephole. "We can't look at the girls while they're changing. That's an invasion of privacy."
"Oh, come on," Sato insisted. "This is our chance to see them in their undies. I mean, there's nothing wrong with admiring the female body, right? Besides..." He grinned. "Wouldn't you like to see Yaoyorozu in the nude?"
"Huh!?" Takeo gasped, his face turning blood red. "Wha- of course not! That's an invasion of privacy! I won't peep on our classmates like that! I'm not a hormonal degenerate!"
"We're ALL hormonal degenerates," Shiruku argued as he pulled off the poster and put his eye against the peephole. Before he could get a peak, he felt someone grab him by the collar of his costume and pull him away from the peephole.
"We should seal this up immediately!" Iida declared. "To keep this peephole here is a direct violation of privacy and is downright degenerative to treat our female classmates as objects to gawk at! Not to mention textbook criminal!"
"Well said, Iida," Takeo agreed. "Isn't that right, guys? Huh?" Suddenly, Kaminari was at the peephole, one eye closed as he gazed into the girls' changing room. Before anyone could react, Sato pushed him aside and looked through the peephole instead. Kaminari tried in vain to push Sato back, but the latter's weightlifter physique made it all but impossible for the Electric Quirk user.
"Come on!" Kaminari groaned as he tried to push Sato aside. "I want to see!"
"Guys!" Kirishima spoke up. "This is real unmanly. We shouldn't be peeping on them!"
As the guys kept fighting over the peephole, they were unaware that two people from the other room were taking the opportunity to peek as well. Namely, those two people were Mina Ashido and Yukine Kuraokami.
"Ashido!" Yaoyorozu scolded. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, just taking a peek," Ashido answered rather shamelessly. "Man, you'd never believe how toned some of the guys' bodies are. Now, where's Zankoku?"
"Guys, seriously," Uraraka spoke up. "We shouldn't be peeping on them."
"They're already peeping on us," Ashido stated. "So I think it's fair...though it looks like they're fighting. Where's Zankoku?"
"Don't take too long," Yukine spoke. "I want to see, Ashido." She then smirked. "And don't worry, Yaoyorozu; we won't look at Raionhato."
Yaomomo's face turned red and her cheeks blushed at Yukine's teasing. She would never peep on her male classmates while they were changing; to do so would be a degradation of her position as Vice President. Even if there were the slightest feeling of wanting to peep on her male classmates, she refused to act on it. If she gave into self-serving desires, then what reason would she give the others to reject them?
But she didn't understand why Yukine chose to tease her about looking at Raionhato. Did she know that she and Raionhato trained together yesterday after school in close quarters combat? Did she see him enter her limousine with her? Those weren't really reasons to think she and Raionhato were dating...were they? All she did was train with him and then offer him a ride home, something she'd do for any of her classmates.
"So who'ssssss trying to peep on usssss, Jiro?" Kiyama asked the short-haired girl who had her Earphone Jacks inserted into the wall,
"From what I'm hearing, Kaminari and Shiruku, of course those stooges, Sato and Sero," Jiro informed. "Huh, not as many as I thought. Sounds like most of the guys wouldn't peep on us. Oh, well, now I know who I need to use my Quirk on."
"Jiro," Yaoyorozu addressed sternly. "I disagree vehemently with their behavior and of course, Ashido and Yukine's, but they're still our classmates. We shouldn't use our Quirks on each other for such petty reasons."
"Move!" Yukine demanded as she pushed Ashido aside and looked into the boys' locker room. "Let's see-"
"Kiyama, if you'd please," Momo asked the snake girl. Nagami picked up Ashido and Yukine and pulled them away from the peephole while Yaoyorozu approached the peephole and created some material to patch it up.
"NO!" Ashido cried out. "Please let us have this, Yaomomo!" Ashido and Yukine tried to break free from Kiyama's grasp, but she was too strong for them while Yaoyorozu prepared to patch up the peephole.
"Well, there goes the greatest thing ever," Shiruku complained after everyone was out in the bus lot, wearing their hero costumes and waiting for Sunstorm and Open Palm to arrive.
"If you guys weren't fighting with all that noise, we probably wouldn't have noticed," Yukine brought up.
"Man, I thought more of you would be trying to sneak a peek at the girls," Zankoku chuckled, leaning on his tail as though he were against a wall. "There's more white knights in here than I thought."
Takeo was confused by Zankoku's second comment. What did he mean by 'white knights'? Kaminari, Sero and Sato all had white in their costumes, but it wasn't a dominant color in their costumes. The only ones who had dominant white in their costumes were Iida with his armor, Todoroki with his plain white shirt and Ojiro with his martial arts garb.
"Wouldn't the only white knights be Iida and Raionhato?" Todoroki asked. "They're really the ones who represent knights."
"He has a point," Takeo agreed. Zankoku's charming smile hid the frustration he felt at the two of them.
"Literal-minded idiots," he thought to himself before speaking loudly with a charming smile "No. A white knight is a term for someone who runs to someone's aid or basically champions for good and all that stuff. You know, knight in shining armor archetype, that kind of thing."
"Wouldn't that technically make you one since you didn't try to peep through the hole?" Todoroki questioned. Zankoku chuckled.
"My mother and sister taught me all too well to respect women, Todoroki. Unlike the guys who were all too excited to sneak a peek, I'd never do something like that."
"Exactly!" Iida agreed loudly. "You set a fine example, Zankoku! Respect between genders must be upheld!"
"What can I say?" Zankoku smirked, clearly taking in Iida's compliment.
"Where's Open Palm and Sunstorm?" Hagakure asked. "I thought we were going to meet them here."
"I hear them," Jiro announced as she saw a bus approach their position.
"Alright, everyone!" Iida spoke as the bus approached. "Single file onto the bus! Please board in a timely and calm fashion! The less time we spend messing around, the more we learn from the Rescue Exercises today, so we should all be on our best behavior!"
Bakugo disdained the idea of Rescue Exercises, viewing them as a hindrance to a hero's true job: fighting villains. In his eyes, if people were too weak to save themselves, why should they be worth his attention? If it were up to him, he wouldn't bother with Rescue Exercises and focus solely on defeating villains while honing his combat skills. It was a hero's job to fight, not save, not rescue; if they wanted to rescue people, then they should've chosen a career like a doctor or a nurse.
He just hoped he didn't get paired up with Kitty Boy, who had shown him nothing but animosity since the two met. Bakugo couldn't understand his hatred for him, which went as far as to brand him as a beast. If they were paired up, then there was no doubt that Kitty Boy would keep them from succeeding in their task.
The feeling was mutual with Raionhato, hoping he wouldn't be put together with the beast. Bakugo only focused on himself at the expense of others and showed no remorse for his actions, despite if they hurt his classmates. Even if he became a hero, he'd be one in name only: no true hero would ever prioritize their ego and arrogance over the lives and welfare of others. He'd probably butcher the efforts of whatever team he was on by refusing to put aside his ego.
"Morning, everyone," Sunstorm greeted when everyone was aboard and seated on the bus. "As Mr. Aizawa probably told you, the USJ has been repaired and is now suitable for carrying out Rescue Exercises. Thirteen would normally supervise them with you, but since she and Eraser Head are still recovering, Principal Nezu has requested that Open Palm and I overlook the exercises today. I'll explain how we'll proceed once we get to the USJ." Sunstorm then sat down next to Open Palm in the front while a robot drove the bus to the USJ.
"Some of them are still nervous," Open Palm spoke, sensing the nerves of some of the students.
"Can you blame them?" Sunstorm asked. "Four of their classmates were badly injured, along with three of our teachers. Even after the week of no school, I'd imagine they're still shaken up about it. But we have other issues to worry about."
"You mean the blatant animosity among some of the students?" Open Palm spoke. "You told me about what happened in class yesterday. Honestly, I think it was a dumb idea to relocate Zankoku."
"What?" Sunstorm questioned. "Zankoku wasn't working well with his classmates. Infighting is a surefire way for teams to fail, so I had him switch places with another student."
"We address the infighting," Open Palm answered. "These students are going to have to work with each other, even those they hate. Instead of putting them in other groups, we enforce that they cannot fight amongst themselves. If they cannot learn to work together, then let them fail so they can learn from their mistakes."
"Open Palm, I did address it," Sunstorm answered. "I asked Zankoku-"
"No, you didn't address it," Open Palm stated. "You just left them to fix the problem on their own. At first glance, it'd seem like the right thing to do, but if things were that bad between Zankoku and two of his teammates, then you should've talked it out with them. Instead of ADDRESSING the problem, you AVOIDED it. Pro Heroes can't avoid problems, Sunstorm."
"How was I avoiding it, Open Palm? I separated them because they weren't working well together. If they couldn't address the issues on their own, then the best course of action is to put them with people they can work with."
"And how will that work once they become Pro Heroes? They can't choose which teams to work with; whatever petty hatred and rivalries they have will need to be put aside for the sake of saving lives. If we don't teach them that now-"
"We've arrived," the robot driver announced to the teachers and class. Sunstorm and Open Palm halted their quiet argument as they directed the students off the bus and into the USJ to carry out the exercises they had planned.
"For today's exercises, we're splitting you into two groups," Open Palm stated as they stood in front of the City Ruins Zone. "The first group will be disaster victims who will receive a card of ailments that they must follow. They may not share this with anyone; heroes must be able to identify the injuries and ailments of disaster victims in order to best treat them. Then we'll have you switch places with the heroes."
Aoyama, Ashido, Iida, Uraraka, Kaminari, Koda, Sato, Jiro, Tokoyami, Yukine, Bakugo, and Yaoyorozu were chosen to first be the disaster victims while the rest were chosen as the heroes with the responsibilities of finding the victims, identifying their injuries and setting up a place to get them healed.
"How come I'm one of the victims!?" Bakugo roared in anger, loathing the idea of needing help from someone, especially Deku. "I don't need help from any of these extras!"
"Watch your tone, Bakugo!" Sunstorm scolded sternly. "We're in charge of this exercise. If you don't wish to do it, then you can leave, but you'll receive a failing score." Bakugo growled in frustration. He didn't want to be helped by anyone, but as Sunstorm said, refusing to participate would earn him a failing grade. He let out a low growl before looking over the short list of ailments he had, hoping he'd at least be able to get himself out.
As if to mock him, Bakugo's injuries included a concussion and a broken leg. With these injuries, he'd be unable to get himself to safety. His pride couldn't handle this, but just as he was about to ask someone to trade with him, Open Palm stepped in.
"You're not trading," he stated. "Look over your list and get ready." He then turned to the students who were the rescuing heroes.
"The rest of you, once the victims start hiding, you'll have five minutes to come up a plan to search and rescue. You'll need to establish a base area for treating them, so you'll need to decide who does the rescuing and who does the treatment."
"Victims, go and hide," Sunstorm told them. The rescuers were told to turn around and away from the ruins so they couldn't see where the victims were hiding. Almost immediately, Midoriya was looked to as the leader for the rescuers. For several moments, Midoriya looked over the group, whispering to himself as he figured out what to do and how to proceed in the exercise.
"Kiyama, Shoji, you two have Quirks perfect for scouting," Midoriya stated. "You two look for the injured. Kirishima, Raionhato, Ojiro, Asui-"
"I told you to call me Tsuyu," Tsuyu interrupted.
"Oh, right, sorry!" Midoriya apologized with a nervous smile. "Tsuyu, Zankoku and I will look for the victims. The rest of you, stay here and keep the area safe. Get ready to treat the wounded."
"Sure," Shiruku replied, being one of those who stayed behind in the treatment area.
"Zankoku, do you have anything on your belt that could calm a person's nerves?" Midoriya asked the Scorpion.
"I've got plenty," he assured with a cocky smirk.
"Great," Midoriya replied. "Some of the victims may be in a panic and we'll need you to help calm them. We need to treat this as an actual exercise, so make every second count!"
The group was impressed by the leadership of Izuku Midoriya, despite his timidity and lack of confidence. Even though he had chosen to give up the position of Class Representative to Tenya Iida, Midoriya's ability to inspire and come up with great plans made him a natural leader for the class to follow. It reminded them of why some of them had voted for him to be Class Representative in the first place.
Once the five minutes passed and the rescuers were split into two groups, Sunstorm pulled out his phone and set the timer for 20 minutes.
"You have 20 minutes to rescue as many people as possible and get them treatment," he instructed. "Any victim you don't find after 20 minutes will be considered dead, so move fast and do not waste any time. Now...GO!" As soon as he said that, the 1st group of rescuers went off to find the injured victims, Shoji and Kiyama using their Quirks to scout for them.
"I ssssssee one!" Kiyama informed. "In the sssssshort building to the left! Sssssecond floor!"
"On it!" Kirishima replied as he rushed over to the building and checked the second floor for the injured. He found Sato, but he looked frightened and rubbing his leg.
"Hey, you okay?" Kirishima asked. As soon as he touched Sato's shoulder, the big guy's eyes widened in horror and he waved his hands around, causing Kirishima to back up.
"Get away from me!" Sato cried out in a frightened voice. Realizing that Sato was in a state of panic, Kirishima slowly extended his hand.
"It's okay," he assured Sato. "You're safe. I'll get you to safety." It took several moments for Sato to reach out to the redheaded youth, but when he did, he was unable to move by himself as his leg had been injured. Due to his size, Sato would be too hard for Kirishima to carry on his back, so he had the 'victim' put his arm over his shoulder so he could help him out of the building.
"Zankoku, Raionhato!" Shoji addressed the two of them after bringing Aoyama and Kaminari to safety. "I see two more! One's in a high building to the north and it's tipping over. The other's near a fallen bridge next to some rubble in the west."
"I'll take the one in the high building," Zankoku stated. "I'm faster and more agile; it'll be easier for me to get them out."
"Sounds like a plan," Raionhato agreed. The swordsman went off to find the victim in the west while Zankoku raced to find the injured person in the north. Unfortunately, when he got there, he wished Shoji had given more specific instructions on where the injured was as there were at least ten tipping tall buildings in the area. At least five minutes had passed and Zankoku wouldn't have time to check each and every building.
"I need a vantage point," Zankoku spoke. He looked around for one where he'd have a clear view of all the tipped buildings. As he looked for one, he heard small rocks hitting the ground at least ten meters from his position. After a few seconds, he heard more of them falling in the same area. He could see which building they came from, but it was too high up to deduce which floor exactly they were coming from. At least he had something, so he protracted his arm stingers and started leaping his way up to the higher floors of the building.
The pebbles kept falling from above, so Zankoku knew he was in the right building as he agilely and quickly made his way up the levels. He then heard the noise of the pebbles being pushed off the ledge, so the injured victim was nearby, at least three levels away from his current position. He got this easily and quickly...but was rather disappointed when he saw it was Yaoyorozu.
"Please, help," she pleaded, staying in character. "I can't feel my legs. I can't...I can't get down."
Zankoku let out a low sigh, disliking the idea of having to rescue the rich, spoiled brat. But if he were to prove himself, he couldn't ignore her; he'd have to rescue her and get her to the treatment zone...or at the least give her to someone who could so he could go look for other injured parties.
"Just in case you try to panic," Zankoku stated before dipping his scorpion tail into one of the vials and then injecting into Yaoyorozu. Sunstorm did say to treat this like a real rescue operation after all.
Yaoyorozu felt herself almost mind-numbingly calm as Zankoku picked her up, placed her on his back and used his tail to keep her secure so his arms would be free. She didn't appear frightened, so he felt safe going down the building at great speeds, leaping down from level to level with his gifted agility.
"Th-thank you," Yaoyorozu spoke after they reached the bottom, still in character of the injured victim.
"Sure," Zankoku replied, hiding his annoyance with Yaoyorozu as he quickly made his way back to the treatment zone. On his way, he saw Raionhato carrying Ashido back to the treatment zone bridal style. Guessing from her lack of movement, she was pretending to be unconscious.
Zankoku suddenly felt a pain in his chest, as if a knife had been driven into it. A little voice in his head was screaming for him to tell Raionhato to switch their victims and allow him to carry Ashido to safety. What was this feeling? Why did he dislike the idea of Ashido being carried by Raionhato? Why was he tempted to ask to switch with him when it wasn't motivated by his disdain for Yaoyorozu? He couldn't understand why he was feeling this way.
"Is this...jealousy?" he wondered to himself before shaking his head. "Knock it off, Zankoku; you have a job to do. Get it done."
Midoriya was travelling alongside Shiruku as they searched for injured victims in the ruins. Though Midoriya felt it may've been better if he had stayed in the treatment area, it was heavily outweighed by his need to rescue the victims, especially since his teachers had instructed them to treat it like a real exercise.
However, he had to be careful since he was still having difficulty with One For All. His attacks were devastating, but he'd risk causing major collateral damage and endangering his classmates. If there was any heavy lifting to do, he'd have to leave it to his classmates and only handle what he could.
"I really need to talk to All Might about One For All," Midoriya thought to himself. "Mr. Aizawa won't let me stay if I can't prove I can use my Quirk without injuring myself every time. What am I doing wrong? All Might...All Might would know better than anyone how to use this power, so why-?"
"Midoriya, is that Bakugo?" Shiruku asked. Midoriya looked forward and saw Bakugo making his way to the treatment area, completely ignoring his role as a victim in need of rescue. Midoriya wasn't surprised; he knew Bakugo all too well and knew he'd never want to be someone in need of rescue. But if Bakugo didn't do his role in the class, he'd get a failing grade.
"Bakugo!" Shiruku called out, but Bakugo paid him no heed.
"Kacchan!" Midoriya called out. This time, Bakugo stopped and glared at the green-haired boy.
Bakugo couldn't conceive the idea of being rescued by Deku, by the same Quirkless loser he had demeaned and degraded for years. Being asked to play a victim in need of aid was a major slap in the face to the Explosion user's ego and pride, but potentially being rescued by Midoriya was as if the universe projectile vomited into his face. He wouldn't accept it, not even if it meant accepting a failing grade.
"What're you doing?" Midoriya asked as he ran up to Bakugo. "You're a disaster victim; you shouldn't be able to-"
"Shut up!" Bakugo roared as he kept walking.
"Kacchan, you can't just ignore the role you were assigned," Midoriya spoke again. "This is a mandatory exercise. This is meant to help us-"
"What help is to a hero pretending to be weak!?" Bakugo shouted. "They call this an exercise!? I call it a 'waste of my time'!"
"So that's it then?" Shiruku questioned. "You're just going to ignore the teachers' instructions just because you don't want to do what you're told?"
"Shut up or I'll kill you!" Bakugo told Shiruku. "I'm not going to be lectured by some loser with a lame Quirk who hasn't won a single match yet! You keep your mouth shut, you damn extra!"
'Lame Quirk'. Those words rung in Shiruku's head like a bell. He knew his Quirk, Web, wasn't the flashiest or the strongest, but still, he hated it when others brought that up. He glared at Bakugo and his fists tightened in anger, so much to the point that he was about to shoot some web at his mouth. He stopped when Midoriya ran in front of him.
"Kacchan!" Midoriya addressed once again. "You'll receive a failing grade if you refuse to participate. The teachers won't accept you choosing not to-"
"To hell with what the teachers think!" Bakugo shouted, using an Explosion to knock Midoriya away. "I don't know the reason behind this exercise, but it has nothing to do with being a hero! What good is it to pretend to be some injured, crippled weakling waiting to be rescued!? I don't need anyone's help, especially from a worthless shitrag like you! If I have to accept help from scum like you, then I'd rather fail. I'd rather fail than accept help from you, Deku!"
"What...?" Midoriya asked, unsure if he had heard correctly. "You would rather fail? Kacchan, you'd potentially be the only student in our class who fails this exercise-" Bakugo ferociously grabbed Midoriya by the collar of his gym clothes and pulled him close, his teeth bared like a wolf.
"Don't you DARE tell me what to do! You think that just because you've got some powerful Quirk, you can boss me around!?"
"Okay, dude; what the hell's your problem?" Shiruku questioned.
"You don't get to talk, extra!" Bakugo spoke, holding up his free hand as if threatening to use an Explosion on him. "Ever since you've come here, all you've done is flirt around and get your ass kicked in training. You probably came in here, thinking 'Oh, I'll see if I can score a date in the training today'. What a load of horseshit! I'm here to become a Pro Hero; if you're just here to flirt around with girls instead of taking training seriously, then get the hell out of my sight!"
While Midoriya was quiet, he couldn't ignore the feeling that Kacchan was right. Shiruku almost never took combat training seriously and was more focused on flirting with girls than he was with improving his skills in a fight. Despite what Kacchan said, Shiruku's Quirk could be very versatile and strong, but as of right now, he hadn't won a single match and his focus on flirting with girls was coming back to cost him.
Shiruku also couldn't deny that Bakugo was right. He loved flirting with girls, but it came at the cost of his combat training and his improvement of his fighting skills. As shown in his fight against Yaoyorozu, he lacked hand-to-hand combat training and his Quirk by itself was better for restraining and traps rather than fighting. But despite all knowing Bakugo was right, Shiruku was determined not to let him have the last word.
"Well, at least I'm not some arrogant jackass who thinks he can do whatever he wants and then throw a temper tantrum when he doesn't get his way," he spoke back. "You're just some asshole who says he THIS much when in reality you're that much."
"Coming from you, that's a compliment," Bakugo rebuked. "Even if I'm just 'that' much in your eyes, at least I'm better than you, you loser."
Bakugo felt a wet, sticky substance on his face, covering his mouth and leaving him unable to talk. All he could let out were muffled screams and shouts of frustration and anger as he tried to claw the substance off. In the matter of a few seconds, Bakugo realized that this was Shiruku's Web, which he had shot from his hand and at the Explosion user's mouth to shut him up. Instead of a usual easygoing and relaxed expression or a mildly perverted one, Shiruku's face was one of anger.
"Do NOT call me a loser," he spoke strongly as if his voice alone could cause a rock to crack. Just as Bakugo was about to throw an explosion, a loud alarm went off, indicating that the exercise was over.
"Damn Deku," Bakugo growled mentally as his mouth was still shut. "If he hadn't stalled me..."
"How do you remove the web?" Sunstorm asked Shiruku after everyone had been returned to the front of the zone. Bakugo, fueled by anger, chased after Shiruku and only stopped when Open Palm and Sunstorm intervened.
"Speaking of which, WHY does he have web on his mouth?" Open Palm questioned.
"First, he can burn it off with his Explosion," Shiruku answered. "Second, he wasn't taking part in the exercise and he was being an utter asshole, so I used my web to shut him up."
"What do you mean 'wasn't taking part in the exercise'?" Sunstorm questioned, his gaze turning towards Bakugo. Open Palm sighed in disappointment and approached Bakugo.
"I think it's clear that we should've explained to those who don't understand the reason behind this exercise," the martial arts master spoke. "Part of Pro Hero work involves rescuing victims of villain attacks, natural disasters, anything that poses a danger to them. We had half of the class pose as victims so you could develop the skills to find them in a timely manner, work as a team in terms of communication, time management and efficiency and identify their ailments based on their behaviors. So yes, this was mostly to the benefit to the rescuers, but those who posed as victims will get the chance to do this as well."
"This is a waste of time!" Bakugo barked after using an explosion to burn Shiruku's web off. "What's the point in pretending to be some injured weakling in need of help!?"
"Open Palm just explained it," Sunstorm addressed. "But if you had an issue with this, Bakugo, you should've asked us instead of choosing not to participate in the exercise."
"It's your fault for not explaining in the first place," Bakugo rebuked. "But I'm not wasting my time and effort just to play some damn victim, especially if it means having to be rescued by Deku!"
"Watch your tone, Bakugo!" Sunstorm spoke firmly. "We acknowledge that we should've explained it first, but that doesn't mean you get to break the rules just because you don't want to do something."
"What the hell is the point!?" Bakugo shouted, his temper rising easily. "How is this supposed to help make us stronger!? All this does is waste my time!"
"That's enough, Bakugo!" Sunstorm shot down. "If you do not want to be part of this exercise, then you can go back to U.A. and receive a failing score. I will nor tolerate your disrespect towards us. Do you understand?"
Sunstorm felt a slight bump on his shoulder; he turned and saw Open Palm retracted his staff and gestured for the science teacher to speak with him away from the students. Open Palm let the students know they'd talk quickly, then the two teachers walked a distance from Class 1-A. As soon as they were out of sight, Open Palm hit Sunstorm in the foot with his staff.
"What the hell is your problem?" he interrogated.
"MY problem?" Sunstorm questioned. "Bakugo just proved that he will disobey our instructions and disregard his teachers when what we say clashes with his ego."
"We didn't properly explain the reason behind the exercise, Sunstorm," Open Palm brought up. "Only a few of the students really understood the reasoning behind it. It was our responsibility to explain why we do what we do and we made a mistake."
"Yes, we made a mistake, which we acknowledged. But the fact remains that if any of the students were confused or had issues, they could've just asked us and we'd explain. It's not as if we made them do anything unreasonable or extreme; Bakugo disobeyed our orders out of vanity and pride."
"And what about Shiruku?" Open Palm brought up. "We told the rescuers to treat this like a real rescue mission. If Shiruku had done that to a REAL person in need of rescue just because he was annoyed with them, he could send them into a panic, potentially send them into shock."
"We will address it-"
"No, I will address it because YOU won't, Sunstorm. Instead of actively looking for a solution, you leave the students to do it themselves. Sometimes, they'll need someone else's help. You think Bakugo merely disobeyed out of pride, but that's not all of it; he disobeyed because he didn't understand the reasoning behind this exercise. They're still kids, Sunstorm; our job as teachers is to help them grow, not put them down when we think they're a burden. If they make a mistake, we help them understand what they did wrong. It's amazing you've lasted so long as a teacher."
"Excuse me?" Iida spoke, having come to check on the teachers. They were unaware that their arguing had been heard by the student, Jiro, who suggested that they go check on them. The two teachers looked at each other and then at Iida, then sighed of embarrassment at their lack of professional behavior.
"We're very sorry, Iida," Sunstorm apologized. "We'll be back soon."
"We were unprofessional," Open Palm agreed. "You can tell the others that they'll be swapping roles."
"Yes, sir!" Iida replied before going off to inform his classmates.
"That was embarrassing," Sunstorm groaned.
"Look, Sunstorm, we should at the least give Bakugo a 2nd chance to make up for this now that he knows," Open Palm insisted.
"Alright, but I say if he refuses, we send him back to U.A."
"Fair enough," Open Palm agreed. The two teachers returned to the students, feeling some awkwardness after Jiro had heard their argument thanks to her Quirk. While Sunstorm assigned lists to the new victims, Open Palm brought Shiruku and Bakugo to him.
"Shiruku, we told you to treat this as a real rescue," he brought up. "Bakugo refusing to participate was wrong, but the way you handled it wasn't justified. If you had used your Web like that on a real person in need of rescue, you could've made it worse for them. You could've sent them into a panic, make them think they were still in danger. You'll get points docked for that, so don't do it again."
"But-"
"No buts, Shiruku," Open Palm interrupted. "Now go get ready." Shiruku groaned in frustration before walking away to join the victims who'd be hiding. Bakugo stayed behind so the martial arts master could address him now.
"Bakugo, we should've explained the meaning of this exercise, so that falls on us. Part of Hero Work means rescuing innocent people; it's not just about fighting and defeating villains. We will be doing both combat and rescue exercises here in U.A. because both are equally important to becoming Pro Heroes."
"Why would I want to waste time rescuing extras?" Bakugo questioned. "If people want to help them, then they should be a doctor or a nurse or whatever. Pro Heroes-"
"Are you a Pro Hero, Bakugo?" Open Palm questioned.
"Don't cut me off!" Bakugo barked.
"Answer my question; are you a Pro Hero?" Bakugo grumbled.
"No, but-"
"Then how would you know everything about what a Pro Hero does or should do? You still have learning to do, Bakugo, and acting like you're leagues ahead of everyone is going to come back to bite you. Trust me, I know. Now, because we didn't explain the exercise properly, we're giving you a 2nd chance to improve your grade. But if you refuse, you'll be sent back to U.A."
Bakugo still thought this was a waste of time, but as Open Palm stated, he wasn't a Pro Hero yet. Therefore, he had no right to lecture about what Pro Heroes can and should do. Just like the rest of his class, he was still learning and even though he'd never admit it, he had a long ways to go.
He considered himself lucky; despite deliberately disobeying his teachers and refusing to take part in the first exercise, he was being given a chance to make up for it. If he didn't, he'd be sent back to U.A. and receive a failing score for the rescue exercise.
"Fine," he relented. "But if that webbing bastard does that to me again-"
"We'll handle it," Open Palm responded. "Now go join your team. You have five minutes to come up with a plan."
As the students swapped places and got ready, Sunstorm prepared to set up the timer again. He accidentally came across his photos...and stopped when he saw a picture of a family of three. It included him, a woman his age at the time with silvery white hair and red eyes...and a five year old girl with sunny blonde hair, blue eyes and yellow rose petals in her hair. He let out a heavy sigh as he forced himself to close the photo.
"Himari..." he spoke quietly. "I'm so sorry."