Chapter Twenty-One
Friday rolled around, and I tried to go back to my normal routine. In the morning Mei and I continued to work on ideas for gear, for both of us, and then it was time for class to start. Entering class 1-A, Mina was sitting at her desk, turned around and talking to Asui, and I hesitated, before taking my own seat next to her.
"Good morning, Mina," I tried, when her conversation paused, only to have her stiffen and turn further away from me, which, while not as bad as it was before, still felt like it tore my heart anew.
"So do you think we'll still have that test in math, Tsu?" the pinkette asked, ignoring me.
Asui paused, looking over to me, as I tried to focus on my own schoolwork, taking out my history textbook. "Um, did something happen between you two?" the amphibian asked.
"A lot of things happened this week," Mina replied a little frostily.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Froppy nod slowly, "Well, yeah, but when you two left you weren't. . . like this, ribbit."
"I don't want to talk about it," my pink skinned. . . I don't know replied. Was she my ex? She hadn't said anything, but I was pretty sure it was one of those 'it's obvious' things. Amusingly, in a dark way, it wasn't the shortest relationship I'd ever had, but it was the most painful.
Asui, glanced over to me, giant eyes questioning, and I shook my head slightly. "Oh, um, I don't think Mr. Ectoplasm's going to give us the test today," she said, "since we missed a day of class. Maybe Monday?"
"That's what I thought," Mina replied, and I stopped listening, trying to focus on the textbook. History was one of the things I was relying on Denki's memories for, but he hadn't been terribly studious, and didn't have the reading comprehension to pick out the minor details that made everything hang together. That meant I'd started behind most of the class, though I was quickly closing that gap.
However, even as I tried to focus, I could still feel the atmosphere of the classroom had. . . changed from what it used to be . Before it'd been excited, carefree, and very much like a normal high-school classroom. Well, an honors or AP level one, where the kids all wanted to be there. But now there was an underlying. . . tension to everything, the conversations quieter, lacking the normal outbursts, and everyone was holding themselves just that little bit straighter.
When Sato and Sero walked in, at the same time, the class went quiet. "Hey guys, good to see ya!" Kirishima called, breaking the ice, and a bit of the tension eased. "Indeed, it is good to see you well!" Iida, ever formal, added.
The two boys stopped, and looked at us, before both smiling and nodding. Sato moved to his seat, Tokoyami and Ururaka asking him if he was okay, while Sero did the same, behind me and to my left.
Kirishima asked him about what happened, and Sero would only say that it was "Real bad" and that he was glad Ashido, Hagakure, and Yaoyorozu showed up. "Oh yeah," he said, as if suddenly remembering something, "Denki!"
"Yeah?" I asked, putting down my book and looking back.
"Yaoyorozu mentioned that you sent them my way. Thanks man, I don't know what would've happened if they hadn't shown up!" he told me.
You would've died, I thought, but answered, "Um, you're welcome? They did the work, I just thought they should go see if someone needed help. I would've been there too, but I was busy elsewhere."
"Fightin' the big guy, right? I heard 'bout it from Todoroki," Kirishima asked, explaining at my questioning look. "You and Midoriya, fightin' someone that was supposed to defeat All Might? That's, like, the epitome of manliness, dude!"
I winced, "Kirishima, we lost. And if All Might hadn't shown up, we were going to all die."
The redhead's sharp-toothed grin faded a bit, before he shook his head. "Yeah, but you didn't, and you stopped 'em long enough for him to show up. You two saved Aizawa, dude. That's, like, what bein' a hero is! Yeah, you weren't able to beat him, but none of us, not even Bakugo could, so-"
" WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?" the teen in question demanded. The class as a whole flinched for a moment, going silent, and the explosion teen, rather than continue, just looked away with a 'Tch'.
"Right, none of us could take on the big guy," Kirishima continued, as the conversations picked up again, "so don't beat yourself up over it. You did what you could, and held out until help arrived. Just like you did, Sero," he continued, turning back on the tape-dispensing teen. "That's what bein' a man is all about!"
"I, uh, just kinda got hurt. I couldn't get away," the teen mentioned, wincing.
"You tied up that rock guy that was gonna hit Momo," Mina objected, having listened in. "You helped."
I nodded, "She's right. You weren't defeated, you were waiting for a chance to fight back, even if you didn't know it."
That got a weak smile from Sero, "I. . . I guess I did, didn't I?"
"Exactly!" Kirishima agreed, "Your manly spirit never went broke!"
The door to the classroom opened, and instead of Ojiro, the only member of our class that was missing, it was Eraserhead. He was bandaged, but he wasn't the near-mummy I vaguely remembered from the show. Even then he walked with a slight limp, as he took his place behind the podium, a single eye peering out at the rest of us.
"Good morning class," he greeted drolly, as if there was nothing out of the ordinary going on. "Apologies for the disruption of classes. We'll continue as normal from here on out."
"Mr. Aizawa?" Toru asked, waving a sleeve to get his attention. "Is Ojiro okay?"
Eraserhead sighed. "Due to his injuries, Ojiro Mashiro has decided to leave the hero course, and will not be coming back to UA. None of you are to think less of him because of it," the hero commanded. "We at UA will support him in his rational decision to take time to recover from his injuries, and wish him the best. Understood?"
The class's nervous "Yes, Sir!" was what the teacher wanted, from his nod.
"Good," he announced. "The UA Sports Festival is in just over two weeks, so I'm sure you'll all do your best to prepare, though that doesn't mean you can slack on your academics. That's all. Oh, and one last thing. Kaminari, Midoriya?"
"Yes, Sir?" the other boy asked, while I looked at our homeroom teacher questioningly.
"Thank you for your assistance at the USJ," he stated, meeting our eyes. "Do it again and I'll make sure you both are expelled."
"Y-Yes, Sir!" Izuku stuttered, suddenly nervous.
"Kaminari?" The Pro questioned, staring at me with quiet intensity.
"If it was a choice between being expelled, or having you die to villains, I'd choose the first, sir," I replied calmly. I was gonna end up leaving this dimension anyways, and if I transferred to the Support Course, or to a different school, so be it.
We stared at each other for a long moment, before he blinked, nodding once. "Just make sure that's what's going to happen, so you have no regrets," he informed me, before turning and walking out.
I could hear Mina start to say something beside me, but she cut it off, silent even as Kirishima behind me let out a low, "dude", and I couldn't help but think that it was too late for that, having more regrets then I ever wanted already.
Classes proceeded, and as much as I wanted to go back to normal, every time I wanted to turn to Mina, either to help her, tell a joke, or anything else, I had to stop myself, and it hurt each time. Tailman's, Ojiro's, absence cast a pall over everything, and the teachers tried to pretend everything was normal, but it obviously wasn't. Tests were pushed back to Tuesday, the staff knowing enough about teaching to be aware of the fact that you only gave kids tests on Monday if you wanted them to do badly. Then everything was over, and I had nothing to do, and nowhere to be.
Taking the train home, having neither the inclination nor the energy to ride the wires, I was back to training One for All, in between training my main Quirk. Drawing down my power as I pushed it into a battery, recharging, taking the extra charge from the battery to try to expand my reserves, and then pushing it all back into the battery to train my output, the excess electricity grounding itself out, formed a steady pattern. It sucked, just short of hurting, but it was a welcome distraction, as it required most of my attention.
Saturday came, and, while some part of me hoped she'd call me, if only to talk, she didn't, My message to Mina of 'Hey' and then 'hope you're okay' and then finally, 'I'm sorry' were all read, but no reply came.
Instead of waiting around, feeling like shit, I decided to head back over to UA. We'd been made aware that we could use the gyms and practice cities as training grounds, though we'd need to inform the school, so there were no friendly fire incidents if people were training large-scale powers too close together.
The form was on the school website, and I picked out one of the gyms not being used, the school having several dozen of them, though most of them were just wide open spaces. Given that the last stage of the UA Sports Festival was always a 1v1 fight, it'd be good training no matter what, but I had a feeling that, given how long these things normally took to plan, they wouldn't change them two weeks out, which meant a martial arts tournament style brawl.
I'd shaved five seconds off the activation time for OfA, but going from forty-five seconds to forty, while better, was nowhere near good enough. With room to maneuver, though, I started to get used to moving with the enhanced strength that One for All instilled, something I couldn't do at home.
Enhanced strength was enhanced speed, unless there was some other limitation to counter that fact, and All Might's power was many things, but limited was not one of them. Taking a step, the normal rolling motion was fine, but as soon as I put any torque on it I launched myself forward as if I'd started to sprint, a speed I wasn't prepared for, and tripped, the power escaping my grasp in my moment of panic.
Moving into a forward roll, popping back to my feet, I took another couple of steps to stop, then, slowly, brought the power back online, and tried again.
This time I made it two steps.
"Young Kaminari," All Might's voice called, breaking my concentration, sending me flying. Thankfully, I wasn't working exclusively with the man's power, but had found that I could combine One for All with Electrobody. It was twice as hard to control, but, like training with weights, working with it that way was actually making it easier to utilize in my real body.
Doing so gave my transformed limbs a strength a boost both to power, but, also, to cohesion, making the amorphous electricity tend to lean towards a more humanoid form without having to concentrate on it. I could still extend them, but instead of trying to focus on forming humanoid limbs instead of formless lightning, the combination of powers seemed to push me towards my normal form, likely some quirk, if you'd pardon the pun, of One for All.
However, when All Might announced his presence, I leapt with electrical limbs as I gave a yelp of fright, flying a good twenty feet into the air. One for All broke, but my body stayed electricity, and I was able to extend my legs down, catching and coiling as I landed easily, "Uh, hi Mr. All Might, uh, Sir?" I replied, wondering what this was about. Checking my phone, I was surprised to see it was four in the afternoon, having gotten so focused on training that I'd pushed out thoughts for anything else.
Which was why you did it, some small part of me said, as while I'd been doing that, I hadn't been thinking of Mina.
"Just call me All Might," the hero told me, waving as if to physically dismiss my nervousness. "I wanted to talk with you, specifically about the things you saw during the USJ incident."
"Um," I muttered, looking around. "Is it okay if we talk about this here?"
The large man nodded, smiling, "It is, but good for you for considering that! Just to make sure, you haven't told anyone about it, have you?"
My teacher is making sure I didn't tell anyone what I saw, I couldn't help but think. There are soooo many red flags about this entire situation. In context, this made sense, but still. "No, All Might. I did look around, though, and no one knows your power is transformational in nature, so I don't think anyone else knows either. But. . . well, I'm pretty sure Midoriya knows, but that makes sense," I added, having already decided which way I was going to play this. "Given who he is."
There was a moment of tension as All Might considered me. "And who would he be, young Kaminari?"
I opened my arms, "He's your son. Obviously."
The Symbol of Peace stared at me for a long moment. "My. . . son." His statement was full of disbelief, which made sense as I was completely off base.
Shrugging, I explained, "Yeah. You pay special attention to him in class. You joined the staff the same year he started attending, just so you could teach him. Hell, he even seems to have the same kind of power that you do, even if he hasn't figured out that transformation thing of yours, or maybe he can't, which is why his power took so long to manifest."
"I mean, having him take the exam with the rest of us instead of just having him get in on recommendation was a nice touch," I acknowledged, "but. . . did you see his original costume? Before Mina wrecked it? Especially the mouthguard that looks like a smile and the two raised hair-like pieces? Totally an homage to his father. But, like, you've got enemies, the attack showed that, not that I blame you for that," I quickly added. "But that's why you can't publicly say he's your son, which, like, has gotta suck for him, but I totally understand, and I promise I won't say anything!"
All Might stared at me, not saying anything, prompting me to add another 'I promise!', sounding a little panicked. The panic wasn't entirely faked either, as I was worried this would all blow up on me.
Again.
The hero, however, sighed. "I wasn't exactly being subtle, was I?"
I had to blink, I'd been prepared for more denials, for him to say it wasn't true but leaving me with the belief that it totally was, not for him to lean into the skid, as it were. "Uh, well, no," I replied. "Though if you wanted to go that way, well, it's easier to hide with more information, not less."
"How so?" the seven-foot-tall man asked, peering at me quizzically.
"Train more people," I shrugged. "You're our teacher, so if you trained all the physically powerful students in our class, like Sato, Shoji, Kirishima, and maybe Asui, you could help Midoriya more freely, since he's one of several, not the sole recipient of your attention. The fact that you're favoring all of them will be a bit of a mark against you, but could just be seen as you helping those whose powers are closest to your own, which I'm pretty sure half the staff does anyways, like how Power Loader gives Hatsume free reign in the Design Studio. Heck, you could offer to do the same for anyone in class 1-B that is close enough, to really spread it around."
Shaking my head, I continued, "Midoriya's your kid, and, well, Sir, I don't think you're an asshole, so you're going to favor him, even if only a little, and rather than trying not doing so at all, this way your slip-ups will join the white noise of you helping the other power types, rather than be clear to see to anyone who's looking for it, like those bad guys." I realized I was rambling, but talking to the man could be a bit like talking to a stone wall. Made of Muscles. And Heroism. Until he decided to move, he might as well be a statue, which, as I knew this form might not really be his natural one, made a bit of sense.
All Might finally shook his head in turn, "Ha ha ha, that's an impressive amount of guile, Mr. Kaminari. I suppose I hadn't thought of that, so used to doing things straightforwards as I am!"
I frowned, "Okay, but, all warfare is based on deception, and aren't you, you know, hiding the very base mechanics of your power, given its transformational instead of a straight increase to your physiology?"
The large man winced. "Touché. I suppose I better get started then." He straightened, shooting me a smile, "Would you like some assistance, Young Kaminari?"
"What?" I asked, confused. Training with him would help me get a better handle on OfA, but I'd also not included myself in the group, as I didn't really have that kind of power befor-
"From that jump when I came in, you are far stronger than most in your class," the boisterous, but not stupid, Hero observed, interrupting my thoughts.
"I didn't suggest that just to get training," I quickly replied. "I did it to help Midoriya, and you, but, well, mostly Midoriya," I admitted. "Izuku's not had as much time as any of us with his Quirk, and he needs the assistance. God knows without my dad helping me, I wouldn't be as good as I am now."
"I think you might be underestimating young Izuku," the Symbol of Peace observed with a smile. "But I can spare a few minutes to assist you as well."
Hesitating, I considered my options. I had no idea how distinctive One for All's power was, and sooner or later, likely sooner than later, I was going to use it. I knew what was happening, my Psychic Talent letting me emulate All Might's power, but to explain that I'd need to explain a lot more.
But I had another option. One that my age and inexperience would help sell. One which required me to only provide the barest of information.
It was a bit of a risky play, but the actual explanation was so incredibly out there no one would get it. Furthermore, any of the possible explanations that would blow back badly on me could be easily checked, and, with Deku continuing to grow in power, easily disproven.
"I, okay," I admitted. "After what happened at the USJ, I had a, well, a breakthrough," I explained. "I'm stronger when I'm lightning," I stated turning an arm to electricity and whipping it into the ground, the condensed point of energy striking hard enough to crack the concrete. "But in the fight, for a moment, I hit an. . . in-between state. I can't hold it very well, but, well, watch."
Concentrating, I closed my eyes, pulling on One for All. Focusing on it, and spreading it, I could tell the moment it started to manifest by All Might's quick inhalation. Not quite a gasp, it was only noticeable because I was expecting it. Settling the power in place around me like a second skin, I opened my eyes to see All Might staring at me intensely, electric blue irises peering from darkened sockets.
"I'm, I don't know, like just a little lightning," I explained, breaking eye contact from his unnerving stare, holding out a hand and pointing to the hair-thin lines of electric-yellow energy. "And it's hard to hold. . . but," I leapt into the air, rising a good fifteen feet, somersaulting once before landing easily, enhanced legs not even twinging from the impact, though I did need to consciously keep the power from fracturing from the blow. "Ta da. It takes forever to start, and I think I might lose it if I get hit, since I need to focus on it to keep it going, but I'd appreciate any advice you could give me."
All Might stared at me, silently, his glowing gaze incredibly intense, and I wondered if I'd just massively fucked up.
Again.
I couldn't fight him, it was stupid to even try, and I had no escape route, not yet.
However, before I could do more than worry, the Symbol of Peace threw his head back and laughed. Long and hard, he guffawed, before finally bringing himself under control.
"I think I might have a suggestion or two, Young Kaminari," he informed me, grinning. "Now let's see if we can figure out the limits of your. . . lightning."
AN: Next Chapters are up on Pateron