I know I said that Empress would be updated next, but I went on a bit of a spree and wrote this in like two days. Hope you all enjoy.
"Oh," Present Mic bawled, "Ladies and gentlemen, Bakugo answers the challenge with conviction! He explodes across the field just like before and another challenger can't meet him! A round of applause for our dark horse Shinsou though, making it all the way through to the quarter-finals!"
The crowd cheered, but Izuku wasn't paying attention to them. He was looking at Shinsou, at the anger and loathing that twisted his expression before it was forced down and hidden again. He was looking at Bakugo, turning just enough to show the sneer on his face. It was unusual, but maybe Bakugo had been personally insulted. After all, Shinsou had laid down a bold challenge only to fail to step up. Maybe the lack of fight had disappointed Bakugo.
"It's a little cruel, don't you think," Tsuyu said, "Still hyping Shinsou up after a loss like that."
"Yeah," Izuku said, the word coming out alongside a slow exhalation, "I guess it's not supposed to be. But he doesn't look happy."
Shinsou was slowly walking off the field, his shoulders slumped and chin down. Izuku wondered if it hurt more. If he'd lost to someone who he hadn't challenged so directly, would he be so down? Impossible to tell, of course.
"So," Tsuyu said, "That means what- Todoroki against Tokoyami and Uraraka against Bakugo?"
Izuku nodded.
"Yeah. I guess it's not too bad as match-ups go, although…"
"Although, ribbit?"
"If Todoroki was willing to use his fire, I don't think that Tokoyami could beat him. The light would be too much for Dark Shadow. And Bakugo would be a really bad match-up, too. Meanwhile…I don't know if Uraraka can beat Bakugo. He can fly, after all."
"Hmm," Tsuyu murmured, wriggling slightly. The blankets weren't wrapped around her quite as closely, but she didn't seem to mind- she must have been warming up.
"But if he's weightless," she said, "it'll throw him off, right? So, she might still have a chance."
Izuku nodded.
"Yeah. I think so. I hope she wins."
He tried to make it sound like it didn't really matter, like he wasn't fervently hoping to see Bakugo knocked off his high horse, taught a lesson. He probably failed but Tsuyu didn't seem to react, so he shrugged it away.
"Wasn't that a doozy?" Mic called, as loud as ever, "I hope it got you excited! It's time for the semi-finals! Let's welcome our first semi-finalist- he's too cool for school! He can be cold, but his classmates can tell you he's an ice guy at heart! He's the tournament favourite- Shouto Todoroki!"
Todoroki walked out with a steady stride, not looking at the crowd. His back was straight, his face neutral, his posture unbending as he looked straight ahead. Somehow, it struck Izuku as a very sad sight.
"And his opponent! An international man of mystery! A dark avenger, coming out of nowhere to take the tournament by storm! He's got the wind under his wings, but will he crash and burn? Let's find out- give a cheer for Fumikage Tokoyami!"
The fact that Tokoyami- a man who was so deeply into his dark and mysterious aesthetic that Izuku expected Poe to emerge every time he opened his mouth- showed more emotion than Todoroki as he crossed the pitch was really something to behold. Izuku wondered if anyone else had noticed it.
"I wonder if Dark Shadow can break through Todoroki's ice," Tsuyu said, "Maybe Tokoyami can win this."
Izuku wondered if Todoroki would open with a massive attack or try to get to Tokoyami. He'd been watching, and he was fairly sure that in a close-in fight Todoroki would have the advantage. His hand-to-hand wasn't amazing, it looked like he didn't use it all that often, but it was better than Tokoyami.
Midnight raised her whip.
"Start!"
Dark Shadow uncoiled from Tokoyami, racing across the open space with claws raised. A wall of spikes cascaded away from Todoroki, covering the field and Dark Shadow was forced to pause its attack to protect Tokoyami. Todoroki kicked off, rushing closer on a platform of ice. His hands moved as though he was conducting a musical and walls of ice burst from nothing, arcing over the ground towards his opponent. Dark Shadow shattered each one, but it was hard pressed to keep Tokoyami safe.
"Tokoyami's powerful," Izuku said quietly, "He might be in the running for strongest Quirk in the class. But he himself isn't that strong. Dark Shadow has to protect him- he's the weak link. I don't think their bond can be cut or broken, so it's not that they could be cut off either: if Tokoyami could evade Todoroki on his own, they could try a pincer move. Since that won't work, the only question is whether Dark Shadow makes a mistake before Todoroki gets tired."
Izuku gave Tokoyami credit: he'd clearly worked a great deal with Dark Shadow, and the Quirk was unyielding in the face of Todoroki's equally relentless assault. If Tokoyami had his back to something safe, Izuku might even be inclined to give him the advantage.
Tokoyami didn't have safety at his back. Dark Shadow swelled, smashing through two walls of ice and punching a third away as it curved towards Tokoyami, but Todoroki was already moving. Three more attacks followed on the same line, but Todoroki was already using the cover of the ice and freezing sleet hurled into the air by Dark Shadow's frenetic defence. He slid past on a thin stream of ice, approaching Tokoyami, forcing Dark Shadow to make a choice: stop the incoming wall of ice, or stop Todoroki.
The ice shattered as Dark Shadow chose. Todoroki sprang on Tokoyami like a particularly voracious hawk on an unfortunate rabbit- Izuku acknowledged the irony of that simile- swatting aside a hastily raised guard and closing one hand, smoking from the frost that rimed it, over Tokoyami's beak. Dark Shadow froze and Tokoyami inclined his head.
"Todoroki wins! What a show of strength by our two combatants- give them a cheer, people!" Mic roared. The crowd screamed along with him and Izuku leaned back, frowning.
"That was unfortunate, ribbit." Tsuyu noted, "I hoped to see Tokoyami and Uraraka in the finals."
Izuku's frown was swallowed by his smile.
"Rooting for an upset, Tsuyu?"
She smiled in return, although hers was much smaller, her amusement dryer.
"It might be nice to see Bakugo and Todoroki reminded that they aren't invincible, ribbit."
"mm," Izuku murmured, briefly lost in a pleasant daydream. Tsuyu broke it with a slightly louder ribbit, calling his attention back to the screen.
"Bakugo and Uraraka are about to fight."
Izuku focused again, studying the way Bakugo was standing. Slightly hunched over, jaw set, chin tilted low. Primed to attack. Izuku had wondered if he would try to play defensively, but maybe Bakugo intended to test Uraraka first. Her stance mirrored Bakugo, hands open and slowly flexing, her eyes fixed. Izuku wouldn't have wanted to guess who would win in a test of sheer will. He couldn't say he knew who would win in this case.
"In theory, Kacchan's ability to fly makes him a near-perfect counter to Uraraka," he murmured, barely noticing Tsuyu shift closer to listen in, "But he uses blasts to propel himself. Maybe he can innately guess the strength of blast needed, but I don't think that's likely. He must have practiced and practiced to get it right, so if he gets touched, he could be in a lot of trouble. But he's not a ranged attacker. His blasts quickly lose potency and disperse, so he needs to be in close. It's why he always attacks. If he tries to fight her at range it'll turn into a battle of attrition."
"If he good at that, ribbit?"
"Well…I've only got theories, but I think the answer is both yes and no. The longer Kacchan fights the more he sweats, and his sweat fuels his explosions. So the longer he goes the stronger he gets…in theory. But his blasts put a lot of pressure on his wrists, elbows and shoulders. So in theory, if he kept going long enough, there would be a cut-off point where the blasts would get too much for him to handle and the building damage would make him weaker. But I've no idea when that is."
"So ending the battle quickly could be Uraraka's best bet."
"Yeah, I think so. If she can grab him, make him weightless, she can maybe force him out of the arena. I don't know. His win condition is a lot simpler. Just do enough damage and he wins."
Tsuyu's croak at that sounded a lot less pleased than usual. On the pitch, Uraraka leaned forwards and Midnight raised her whip.
"Begin!"
Bakugo blasted himself across the open space, hands behind him. He didn't go for his normal right hook, clearly wary, and as Uraraka surged forwards with her hands reaching her threw both hands forwards and blew himself backwards, out of range. The explosion that resulted was more smoke than fire, and Uraraka surged through it without a second of hesitation. Bakugo landed, a smaller blast coming from his right hand to knock her reaching left away before his left hand reached forwards, a second blast hitting Uraraka in the chest and sending her backwards. Izuku snapped his tongue.
"She's not heavy enough to power through the blasts," he said, "And he reacts too quickly. This isn't good."
"How would you beat him?" Tsuyu asked. It sounded like an idle question, but Izuku suspected there was some weight there. He watched as Uraraka continued her attacks, ducking into the smoke to try and take Bakugo off guard.
"He starts with a right hook, usually. Especially when he's not being careful, he's done it several times during the contest. If you know that, you can counter it. Catch his wrist, turn it into a throw. Don't let go, break his arm at the elbow once he hits the ground. Drop a knee onto his face. Use one hand on his other arm and a knee on his chest to keep him still, drop your other fist onto his face until he stops kicking."
He paused, thinking.
"Either that or shoot him mid-air. That would probably work."
"That's pretty brutal, ribbit."
Izuku was fairly sure that he went almost purple with embarrassment. He'd barely even thought about it, but now that his mind was back online he realised that it probably sounded pretty bad.
"Uh, I-"
"I get it, Midoriya. You don't have the choice of being nice, right?"
Izuku rubbed at his collarbone, guiltily.
"Well, I…that's not the only option, really. You could turn the grab and throw into a grapple. The only thing is that Kacchan is dangerous. He's stronger than he looks, and so long as his hands are free he's dangerous. The first method isn't really something to…something to use on an ally. But it would definitely take him down."
Still flushing, Izuku looked back to the screen. Kacchan was glaring into the smoke, hands splayed loosely at his sides. Izuku couldn't see Uraraka anymore, but he saw the movement. Bakugo saw it too, blasting into the smoke, but it was just a jacket. Uraraka surged out of the smoke a moment later, but she wasn't reaching forwards. Bakugo blasted her on instinct, a show of incredible reactions, but she barrelled through it with her arms raised. He grabbed her left arm as she reached forwards, but his snatch at where her right should have been missed.
Uraraka's fist caught him right on the hinge of the jaw and they both went down in a heap.
"Yes!" Izuku half-shouted, springing to his feet and punching into the air, "Don't give him a chance, Uraraka!"
Bakugo rolled to his knees, shaking his head. Uraraka rose to her feet, staggering, and lunged forwards. Bakugo looked up, his snarl turning to something even more feral than usual, flicked a blast at her fingers. Izuku clenched his fist.
"Shit," he hissed, "He's trying to break her fingers!"
Tsuyu croaked, a noise that sounded almost distressed, as Uraraka surged forwards again. Her left hand was caught in the blast, Izuku saw her fingers bend, but her right caught him under the jaw. Suddenly bereft of gravity, she lifted Bakugo into the air and slammed him down with a shocking amount of force. Izuku saw Bakugo's mouth open, imagined the air coughing out as Uraraka lifted him again and slammed him down twice more. Bakugo brought his hands up and a larger blast than before hit her in the chest, flinging her off him. He flipped himself up, the tiniest of blasts from his hands almost sending him sailing, and Izuku tracked his gaze to Uraraka. Her teeth were bared, red with blood with more running down her chin- a bitten lip, probably- and somewhere in the flailing she'd picked up a spectacular black eye, but she made a fearsome sight.
"They're as feral as each other," Izuku muttered. Uraraka dipped her chin, reaching down to the ground and coming up with a chunk of rock. Concrete, Izuku dimly realised, blasted free during the explosions. He saw her red-marked lips move, read her lips.
"How well can you dodge?" he said aloud, repeating her.
She hurled the rock, its weightless shape whipping through the air. Bakugo, too careful on his blasts, was clipped, half spinning, and the second hit him in the back. Izuku saw him snarl, berserk fury in bloodshot eyes as the camera zoomed in, and he blasted towards Uraraka. No subtlety, no hesitation, just raw and primitive violence. Uraraka met it with a rain of rocks, but she was cradling her left hand close to her body, the index and middle finger crooked, and Izuku felt the first stirring of sorrow. She had fought magnificently, but magnificent might not be enough. The rocks she threw rained on Bakugo, leaving bruises and cuts across his body, but he powered through them, mouth open in a primeval scream of rage. Just before he reached Uraraka she slapped her fingers together, his momentum slackening as the anti-gravity wore off. He landed badly, right knee twisting, but he still carried over a savage right hook. Uraraka met it with her left hand, knocking it off course, and her right fist slammed into his chin a moment before the explosion from his left hit her in the ribs.
If he was judging fairly, Izuku would have taken points off Uraraka for breaking three more fingers on Bakugo's chin. Given that it knocked him unconscious, however, he felt like she deserved every accolade he could give her.
"OH!" Present Mic screamed, "One contestant is out of bounds, the other is down in the ring! Who has won?"
The crowd roared loudly enough that the infirmary shook. Izuku bit his lip, thinking.
"Uraraka is technically less injured," he said, "She has a few broken fingers but she's still mobile. Kacchan has an injured leg and probably a concussion. But he went down after she left the ring, so by the rules he should win."
"He can't keep going with a concussion though, right?"
Izuku shrugged.
"Maybe Recovery Girl can heal him? I don't know."
They waited for a few minutes, highlights from the previous matches showing on the screens to fill in the time. Izuku tapped his foot, waiting, and Tsuyu finally shed her cocoon of blankets, emerging into the light.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Mic called, "The votes are in. Katsuki Bakugo is the victor, but I've been informed by our resident nurse that his head injury is bad enough that she won't let him compete! It looks like we're out of competitors! But what a barnstormer to end on, right? RIGHT?"
For a moment the crowd seemed almost uncertain, and Mic spoke again.
"Come on, come on! Let's not be ungrateful- let's hear it for the competitors!"
That got the crowd going, yelling and stamping their feet and Izuku shook his head in silent amazement.
"I guess that's it, then," Tsuyu said, "It's all over. I guess it was a pretty intense match to end on."
She hopped out of the bed, kicking her feet into her shoes.
"Come on, ribbit. Let's get out of here while Recovery Girl is distracted."
The two of them made their way out of the infirmary, catching an eye-rolling glare from Recovery Girl as she came out of a room.
"Young 'uns these days, so eager to get out of the hospital," she said. Behind her, Izuku could see Bakugo sitting on a bed, his normal anger blurred by what was almost certainly a concussion, "Well, go on then. I won't keep you any longer."
The two of them beat a hasty retreat, although Izuku paused next to the second room in a row when he saw Uraraka in there. As soon as he mentioned it to Tsuyu she skipped past him, leaning through the doorway and catching Uraraka's eye.
"Hey, Uraraka," she said, waving a hand, "Nice punch."
Uraraka beamed and waved a hand in return, her fingers wrapped in bandages.
"Thanks, Tsu! I wasn't really sure that it was the best thing to do, but then I thought that grabbing him wouldn't be enough so I had to try something else. I can't believe I broke my fingers, though…"
"You hit him right on the point of his chin," Izuku contributed, "Practically the hardest part. It knocked him out though, well done."
"Oh! Thank you, Midoriya. I still lost, though…"
Tsuyu laughed, just a hint of croak in it, and sat down on the end of Uraraka's bed. Izuku leaned against the wall, folding his arms.
"I lost to Todoroki, too, and didn't knock him out. You did really well, ribbit."
"I wasn't even in the Festival," Izuku added. Uraraka sniffed, her eyes suspiciously shiny. Izuku cursed mentally. He was an empathetic crier, if Uraraka started crying he'd go too.
"Thanks, you guys," Uraraka said quietly. Tsuyu shrugged.
"I'm only telling the truth," she said. Izuku tilted his head, hearing Present Mic shouting.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, just a few minutes more before we put the competitors up on the podium! Let's let them know how much we appreciate them- let's give them a big old cheer!"
Izuku caught Uraraka's eyes, hiking a thumb upwards.
"It sounds like they're cheering for you, Uraraka. That's not a bad way to end your first Sports Festival."
Izuku didn't manage to avoid tearing up in sympathy, but at least he got Uraraka to smile.
"I can't believe that Midnight wouldn't let me take 'Alien Queen'," Mina groused at lunchtime several days later, "As though the public will think of that old film."
"You didn't have to pick Pinky instead," Tsuyu said, unsurprisingly flat. Mina scowled.
"I panicked, alright!"
"Panicked, huh?" Kirishima said, sounding like he was only just holding back a laugh. Mina turned her scowl on him.
"Yeah, well, we can't all have childhood heroes to steal from," she muttered, ignoring the dramatic way Kirishima clutched at his chest and pretended to keel over, "I can change it, right? It's not permanent?"
"Not unless you do something really dramatic and get well known," Izuku contributed. Mina nodded.
"Alright. Alright! I just have to come up with something better! What about, uh…what about Acid-O?"
There was a long silence. Mina nodded, her determined expression unfading.
"Terrible! Alright. Something else! Um…I don't know. I don't know."
"Pretty sure that Bakugo ended up sticking with 'King Murder Explosion' or whatever, so maybe you can just ignore Midnight," Kirishima said. Mina punched the air.
"Yeah. Maybe? But I want to try something else."
She settled down again, resting her chin on her hand and locking her eyes onto Izuku. Izuku did his best to ignore her, trying to eat his lunch in peace. Don't bite, Izuku, he told himself. Ignore the problem and it'll go away.
"Midoriiiiii…." Mina called. Izuku felt a cold sweat break over the back of his neck, still refusing to meet her eyes. Mina made a grumpy noise.
"Midori."
Izuku closed his eyes for a breath and looked up.
"Yeah, Mina?"
Mina took her hand away from her chin, tapping a fingernail on the table.
"Alright. So you went with Red Hood, right? You explained it before. But why did you go for Legacy Hero?"
Well, Izuku couldn't say he hadn't expected this. He couldn't exactly tell the truth, and even if he did he would sound insane- to say that it was to honour a hero from another multiverse entirely, whose skills Izuku had half-inherited? No. No, he couldn't say that. Mina kept tapping.
"At first, I'd thought that you might call yourself the Quirkless Hero, you know? Once I thought about it, I realised it was kinda dumb to think that, but I couldn't think of anything else."
Izuku leaned back.
"I…well, I thought about it. It would be easy to go for. Plus, it would really annoy the people who thought I couldn't do it. Name myself the Quirkless Hero, just to rub in that someone they thought was powerless was a Hero when they couldn't make it. But then…"
"But then?" Tsuyu prompted. Izuku shrugged.
"I decided I didn't need any more enemies," he muttered, before sighing.
"No," he admitted, "That isn't it. I thought about it, but when I sat down and really considered, I…I guess I know why."
It would be easy to just shrug his shoulders, say that he'd been afraid. It would be simple. But Izuku didn't want to just leave it at that. These three were his friends, they deserved honesty.
"I'm not 'The Quirkless Hero, Red Hood'," Izuku said, starting again, "Because that's not me. I'm not…I'm not afraid, that people will know I'm Quirkless. I don't care what they say. I'm not that, because- because being Quirkless isn't what I am. I'm not the Quirkless, Izuku Midoriya. I'm Izuku Midoriya. Being Quirkless is just part of that."
He looked down, lips pinching together before he looked up again.
"Does that- does that make sense?"
Mina was the first to nod, surprisingly enough.
"Yeah. Yeah, I get it, Izuku. So…why Legacy Hero?"
Izuku snorted.
"Well, I…I needed an epithet, right? And none of them sounded right until I thought of Legacy Hero. And I guess that, it's kinda like saying Quirkless still, but not? It's not about something I'm missing, it's about what I am."
Izuku brought a fist up, clenched it in front of him.
"I'm Izuku Midoriya. I'm not missing something, I'm just a throwback to an older time, right? Two hundred, three hundred years ago I'd be completely normal! I'm the legacy of humanity, before Quirks came along. That's what I am. That's why I chose it."
Kirishima was practically tearing up, even as he reached across the table and bumped his fist into Izuku's.
"Hell yeah, man. Hell yeah."
Izuku rubbed at the back of his head, suddenly embarrassed by his abrupt passion.
"So, uh, yeah. That's why I'm the Legacy Hero."
It wasn't even a lie, he realised. Fancy that. Mina leaned back, nodding thoughtfully.
"That's pretty intense, Midori."
Mina bit her lip, looking conflicted.
"Although speaking of names, did…did anyone notice that Iida just used his name? I mean, Todoroki did too, but he seemed less worried about it. Iida seemed really…off."
"Oh," Izuku said quietly, "That."
Mina tilted her head at him.
"What that?"
Kirishima leaned over.
"Didn't you hear?" he asked, his voice dropping slightly lower and hardening with seriousness. Mina shook her head.
"I'm out of the loop on this one, guys."
"Iida's brother, Ingenium," Tsuyu said, "He was attacked during the Sports Festival. By the Hero Killer, Stain."
"H-Hero Killer?" Mina asked, her voice hitching in surprise. Izuku nodded.
"Yeah, he's been around for a little while. He's attacked something like forty Heroes, and killed almost twenty. Ingenium survived, but judging by the past attacks…he's probably not going to be a Hero any longer."
"Oh, God," Mina whispered, a frown darkening her normally cheery expression, "Poor Iida. I'm glad I didn't ask him about his Hero name, but…you would think he'd be off school. If his brother's been hurt."
Kirishima nodded.
"Yeah, but you know what he's like. Must be bad for him, though…we'll need to keep an eye on him."
Privately, Izuku was starting to think that there were enough kids in need of therapy in 1-A that they should all go together and try to get a discount for buying in bulk. A heavy silence settled on their table, resting like a thick and uncomfortable blanket for a minute before Tsuyu broke it with a slightly reluctant sounding croak.
" So. Anyone have any idea who they're going to intern with?"
Izuku almost got whiplash from the change of topic. Tsuyu looked thoughtful as she continued her train of thought, tapping a finger near to her lips.
"I think," she said slowly, "That I might go with Selkie."
"Selkie? The Sea Rescue Hero, right?" Izuku said. Tsuyu nodded.
"Right, ribbit. He's mostly aquatic, and I'd like to get more experience in using my Quirk in suitable environment. Plus, he mostly does rescue work."
"That's cool," Kirishima said brightly, "I'm gonna go with the Chivalrous Hero, Fourth Kind! He's super cool, and he's all about close in fighting! I bet I can learn a lot from him."
Mina folded her arms, pouting dramatically.
"I didn't get any offers," she said, "So I dunno. There's a list of Agencies, right? You're doing the same thing, Midori?"
Izuku nodded.
"I didn't get any offers either, so I was hoping that there'll be some Underground Heroes on the list Mr Aizawa mentioned."
Mina unfolded her arms, leaning across the table and poking his shoulder.
"Hey, maybe Mr Aizawa will take you on. I think you're his favourite in the class."
Izuku wrinkled his nose.
"I don't think he has any favourites, Mina. He doesn't seem like that kind of person. Besides, I'm sure he's busy."
"Well," Tsuyu said, after a moment of pause, "He's coming over here now. So I think you might be wrong there, Izuku."
Izuku blinked and turned just in time for Aizawa to arrive behind him. His teacher looked roughly as dead as ever, but Izuku thought that there was something slightly worse than normal. Deader, if that was a thing.
"Midoriya," Aizawa said, his voice back to it's normal ten-pack a day hoarseness, "Can I have a word? It's about the work I assigned you during the Sports Festival."
Having already finished eating, Izuku quickly said goodbye to his friends and followed Aizawa out of the canteen. Aizawa slouched along, the picture of exhaustion, but once they were out his back straightened slightly and Izuku saw him glance around.
"Not here," Aizawa said softly, "Nedzu wants a word."
He didn't say anything more as they picked up the pace, hurrying to the Principal's office. Aizawa walked through the door without hesitation, the door sliding back moments before he hit it, and Izuku hastened in after.
"Ah, Mr Midoriya. A pleasure to see you again," Nedzu cheerfully greeted, "And Aizawa too."
Aizawa slumped into a chair without a word and Nedzu smiled- or made an expression that Izuku hoped was supposed to be a smile.
"Please, take a seat, Mr Midoriya. I don't want to keep you for long, but I thought I should keep you in the loop, so to speak! After all, this is as much your investigation as it is ours."
Izuku thought that Aizawa rolled his eyes under the shade of his shaggy hair, but didn't spend too long thinking on it as he gingerly sank into an armchair. It was too comfortable, he thought. Nedzu seemed to see the direction of his thoughts, his smile sharpening even more and a glitter in his dark eyes.
"Now then. The journalist you met, Chitose. It didn't take me long to find out who she was. Her full name is Chitose Kizuki, and she isn't just any journalist. She's the executive director of Shoowaysha Publishing. Naturally this is something of a concern!"
Izuku had rarely heard someone sound less concerned, but that was probably just Nedzu's attitude. Aizawa stirred.
"Had to notice that you didn't drop a bug on her, Midoriya. Care to explain why?"
Izuku licked dry lips under Aizawa's gaze before speaking.
"I, um, I didn't like the way she felt. Like she was…more careful? I was worried that she would find it, because she seemed more capable than the OMC members. So I decided not to risk it."
Aizawa kept looking at him for a moment before he nodded.
"Fair enough. Good thinking, Midoriya. We can try something on her later, but if we blew the operation we wouldn't get anything."
He receded back into his chair and Izuku returned his attention to Nedzu. The Principal clapped his paws together.
"Indeed! The bugs are fully functioning, although there has been little of worth so far. However, I think we can all agree that we've found a definite conspiracy. A large press company isn't something you just accidentally pick up, I think we can agree, and a little bit of investigation has revealed that the bribes being paid to members of our maintenance staff are quite sizeable."
"And I've got questions about that as well," Aizawa growled, "How did that slip past you, Nedzu?"
As ever, Nedzu seemed to take no offence. This time, however, his tooth-baring grin faded and his chipper attitude cooled slightly.
"Unfortunately, the sheer number of staff employed by U.A. precludes any sort of intensive background check. Even I cannot check everyone and keep the school running at the same time. Therefore, I prioritise staff who are in contact with our students. The maintenance staff, especially relatively low level members, do not fulfil those criteria."
Aizawa grumbled, but seemed to accept it.
"So we're leaving them as well, right? You've got them under surveillance?"
Nedzu nodded.
"Yes, indeed. Regarding the OMC, I'd like to do the same with them. You are free to end your part in this investigation here, Mr Midoriya, but I would appreciate your continued participation. Having an inside man already will save a great deal of time."
Aizawa looked at him, and there was only one thing that Izuku could really say.
"Of course, sir."
Nedzu beamed.
"Excellent. Excellent. I will, of course, be providing additional credit for this. A paltry reward, but most of what I can offer. However, I believe that Aizawa had something else to ask you?"
Izuku turned in his seat as Aizawa made a grumpy noise.
"You have to drop this on me now?" he asked. Nedzu spread his hands.
"What better time?"
"Yeah, yeah. Anyway. Midoriya. Hitoshi Shinsou."
"The General Studies boy?" Izuku asked, just to be certain, "From the Sports Festival?"
Aizawa nodded.
"That's him. Anyway. I was looking at giving him some training, since I think he's got potential to be a decent Hero, but I think it might work better if he had a peer to compare to. And I want to keep an eye on you, as well."
"What Aizawa is trying to say," Nedzu chipped in, "Is that he'd like to offer you an internship for next week! And I've no doubt you can squeeze some concessions out of him, but I think I'd like to pre-empt that. If you accept, I'm certain that he would lend his voice to ensuring that your guns are approved as quickly as possible, since Snipe has already given the go-ahead."
Aizawa looked utterly done, but he pushed a lock of hair back to actually meet Izuku's eyes.
"Yeah. What Nedzu said, I guess. So. You up for helping me see if Shinsou's really got what it takes to be an Underground Hero?"
Maybe Izuku should have taken some time to think on it. Maybe he should have taken a while to consider his other options. But really, he was curious as to what Aizawa's training would look like- and more than that, part of him wanted to see if Shinsou could really do it. If there was more to the guy than his Quirk and frothing, gnawing bitterness. So Izuku shrugged.
"I'd be happy to work with you, sir."
Aizawa sighed.
"I can't believe I've signed myself up for even more work," he grumbled.
"I can't believe that you ended up working with Mr Aizawa," Mina said, bouncing slightly, "Don't you deal with him enough every day?"
Izuku shuffled a step away, trying to avoid being trodden on. Kirishima offered him a sympathetic look.
"He's not that bad," he said, "Besides, I had to pick someone. Who did you end up interning under?"
Mina shrugged mid-bounce.
"There's a Heroine on the approved list, called Shine Dancer. She's based hours away, but she uses dancing as part of her fighting style! I might even be able to beat you when I get back Midori. But anyway, doesn't working with Mr Aizawa mean that you'll be in U.A. the whole internship?"
Izuku nodded.
"I think so. I don't think that Mr Aizawa has a separate Hero Agency, although I don't know if he patrols far away from the school or not."
He waved his left hand in a non-committal gesture and Mina stopped bouncing, her head following the path of his fingers. Clearly distracted, she dropped her previous train of thought and seamlessly picked up another.
"Hey. Hey, Midori. Your hand looks different. Did you get the second prosthetic?"
Izuku paused, glancing at his fingers.
"Oh. Uh, yeah. Yesterday. I guess I'm back to full strength now?"
Mina punched his shoulder.
"You could have told me! Is it gonna stay like that, then? All grey?"
Izuku nodded, rolling up his sleeve a little to show the forearm- Mina, Tsuyu and Kirishima all leaned in to see better. The arm was far more bulked out than the first prosthetic and looked almost like his flesh arm had- without the dull, gunmetal grey colouring it might have passed for real, at least from a distance.
"Recovery Girl told me that you can get a sort of synthetic skin," he said, "To hide it better. But I decided against it. I just thought that…I prefer it like this. To help me remember."
Mina squinted at him, nodding.
"I guess. Has Hatsume gotten her hands on it yet?"
She laughed as Izuku shuddered.
"I've managed to keep her away for the moment," he admitted, "Made sure that the changes are only basic. I'm fairly sure she's got a dozen blueprints drawn up, but for the moment I'm going to be the only one making changes."
The station intercom bleeped loudly, a drawling voice announcing the arrival of various trains. As though summoned by the sound Aizawa appeared behind them. It wasn't quite as effective as it would have been a few hundred years ago, when he could have appeared out of clouds of smog and steam, but it still worked.
"Alright, you hellions," Aizawa said, his tone as dead and empty as ever, "You've all got your costumes, right? I mean, if you don't it's too late now."
Izuku briefly wondered if Aizawa actually had a teaching degree. And if he did, who exactly had been crazed enough to give it to him. As thought Aizawa could sense his thoughts a pair of dark eyes rested on him, and Izuku maintained his innocent expression as best he could. Aizawa shook his head.
"Anyway, you'll be working with Pro Heroes so be polite, I guess. Try not to cause trouble for them- or for me. Now, off you go. Don't want to be late."
Kirishima clapped Izuku on the shoulder.
"Be strong, man. I know it's gonna be hard, hanging with Mr Aizawa, but-"
Izuku poked him in the ribs and Kirishima cut off with a sharp intake of breath.
"Have fun, Izuku," Tsuyu deadpanned, before they split apart to head to their respective trains. Izuku watched them go, slowly shaking his head.
"Come on then, Midoriya," Aizawa said, "We haven't got all day. Well, I guess that technically…nevermind."
Izuku followed his teacher as they started the walk back towards U.A., hurrying just a little to keep up with Aizawa's long strides.
"Are General Studies on internships as well?" he asked. He'd been wondering if Shinsou would be there all the time, or only after school. Aizawa nodded.
"Yeah. Whole school goes. It's not as important for General Studies, I guess, but the week is still used up. Usually they head to places of work, just to get some experience, so the school is practically closed. I managed to get Shinsou interning with me, as well, so we don't have to worry about that."
Izuku nodded, skipping two steps to walk alongside Aizawa.
"So, um, how are we going to do this?" he asked. Aizawa dipped his chin, settling his mouth into the folds of his capture weapon. His voice came out slightly muffled, but still clear enough.
"First, I want to test Shinsou out. We'll do that today. See how good his reactions are, what his spatial awareness is like, how fit he is. Test out his investigative skills, too. We can use you for that, if you're fine with keeping your helmet on."
They passed through the doors to the school and Izuku nodded slowly.
"Try to have him work out who I am, you mean?"
Aizawa nodded.
"I'll make it a bit easier on him, leave the class roster out for him to have a look at. See where we stand. I can work out a better schedule after that. Other than that, you'll get experience in helping someone learn, and we'll go on a patrol or two so you can get some live experience."
Aizawa didn't ask if that was alright with Izuku, but Izuku suspected that he was paying enough attention to tell anyway. He nodded.
"Of course, sir."
"Alright," Aizawa said, sighing. He reached into his pocket and checked his phone, nodding to himself.
"I told Shinsou to meet me at Training Ground Beta in thirty minutes. Go and get changed into your costume and meet me there in fifteen, and we'll go from there."
Izuku quickly split away from Aizawa, breaking into a jog as Aizawa continued to stroll. He had his costume with him already, tightly packed into a briefcase sized carrier, and it only took him a few minutes to get dressed and head out. He found Aizawa sitting on the edge of the first building in the training ground and quickly scaled the building, making use of its half-fallen design to parkour up. Aizawa nodded at him.
"Different costume, Midoriya?" he asked. Izuku fluttered a hand over his torso armour to demonstrate.
"Yes, sir. I- well, Hatsume and I- we managed to produce a prototype of our Adaptive Gel Matrix layer, so we put it into my armour. It's about as protective as before and a little bit lighter."
Aizawa nodded again.
"Upgraded your grapple too, huh? What else have you got there, smoke bombs?"
Izuku nodded quickly.
"Um, yes. I've got three regular and one pepper-bomb, that's what Hatsume calls it."
"A pepper-bomb?"
Izuku pulled his jacket aside and indicated the small bomb, attached to his belt.
"Yes. It's a smoke bomb, but the smoke has a capsaicin derived additive. It'll be quite irritating for someone who breathes it in or gets it in their eyes. I…I don't think it'll be very useful, since hardly anyone I might be working alongside wears proper protective gear, but I promised Hatsume that I'd try it."
Aizawa looked darkly amused.
"She's a real menace, that Hatsume. Maybe we'll try it out on someone, if we can rope one of the other teachers into an exercise. But you've got a point- Snipe had a similar problem when he was first starting out. Your helmet's been upgraded with thermal vision, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Alright. Not bad. Not my preferred set-up, but it works for Snipe and it'll probably do the same for you."
Aizawa leaned back slightly, looking away from Izuku.
"Do you think it's unfair?" he abruptly asked. Izuku glanced at his teacher, knowing that his face was hidden underneath his helmet.
"That I've chosen to help Shinsou," Aizawa clarified, "Am I being unfair to the rest of you, by helping him?"
"The first time we met, you told us all that the world wasn't fair," Izuku said. Aizawa nodded, taking his meaning.
"I did," he agreed, "You're right. I am being unfair. But all of your class at least know what they're doing. If Shinsou isn't helped he's not going to make it."
Izuku didn't say anything. Aizawa nodded again.
"Alright. We'll have to find out how good he is before we start anything. It looked like he relies too much on his Quirk from the Festival, but I want to check anyway. So, I'll go and talk to him, and you come up behind. Test out his special awareness and his reactions and go from there."
"Yes, sir."
Aizawa sighed, standing. His tired eyes turned to Izuku and he nodded a third time, this one slower and deeper than his earlier acknowledgements.
"Thank you for this, Midoriya."
Izuku smiled slightly, just a little rueful.
"It's no problem, sir."
Aizawa looked up, tilting his head as a door opened.
"That's him now. I'll go and talk to him- give it a minute and then approach us from behind. Don't try too hard to be stealthy, but be quiet. Give him a bit of a test. Oh- and here. You've got a communicator in that helmet, tune it to this frequency. We'll use it to talk if we need to."
Izuku nodded, memorising the code that Aizawa held out, and Aizawa pushed himself off the edge of the building, slowing himself with his scarf and landing smoothly. Izuku watched him walk across the training ground, vanishing around a corner, before pushing himself off the building and hopping from handhold to handhold. He landed with the faintest of thuds, a scuff of boots on concrete, and walked quietly to the street. He could hear voices- pleasantries, although both of them sounded stilted. Izuku dipped his head around the corner, seeing Shinsou facing away from him as he talked with Aizawa, and approached. He didn't lighten his steps any more than usual- he walked softly regardless- but Shinsou didn't even twitch. Izuku was directly behind him when he stopped walking and tilted his head to catch Aizawa's eye. A single dark eyebrow twitched and Izuku cocked his hip, miming drawing a gun and putting it to the back of Shinsou's head. Aizawa rubbed his chin- message received.
"So," Aizawa said, "You have a name and title picked out? My class have already chosen theirs. Or their first, at least."
Shinsou shrugged- even from behind him Izuku could see the hero-worship, the awe lining every sliver of his body. The poor fool. That said, he was a poor fool with an incredibly potent Quirk. Izuku wondered how, exactly, it worked. If someone was deaf and just read his lips, would it affect them? If Izuku sound-proofed his helmet and installed a speaker and receiver system to take in Shinsou's voice and then broadcast it, would it be rendered harmless? Experiments to do, although perhaps best left for after Shinsou knew him better. Shinsou replied to Aizawa and Izuku forced himself to concentrate on the here and now.
"I was thinking maybe Puppeteer? Or Mindjack? Or…I don't know. And title…Voice Hero is already taken."
Maybe Jason's tendency to be a dick had carried over a little bit, because Izuku took nothing but glee in leaning forwards, until his helmet was inches away from Shinsou's ear, and speaking.
"Pretty sure more than one person can use a title."
Shinsou shrieked a little bit and jumped. Izuku leaned back as he swung an instinctive arm around, stepping away.
"No need for that," Aizawa said, his bored tone touched with just a fleck of amusement, "Shinsou, this is Red Hood. He's a member of my class, and most likely to become an Underground Hero. He's agreed to intern with me for the week to help train you."
"Nice to meet you," Izuku said, holding out a hand. Shinsou glared at it with suspicion in his dark eyes, but eventually accepted. Izuku used the handshake to judge his strength- not great. A little better than Izuku before Jason's memories had made him come to his senses, he guessed. Izuku released the handshake and strolled past Shinsou, standing just behind Aizawa and to his right.
"Alright," Aizawa said, "Shinsou. For this first day, we're going to work on seeing your baseline. It's only logical to know what you can do before we start anything. I've seen your control over your Quirk, during the Sports Festival. It's passable. Therefore, we're going to examine the other aspects of an Underground Hero…fighting skill. Fitness. Stealth. And investigative ability."
Aizawa paused there, gesturing to Izuku.
"Your investigative abilities will be easy to test. I'm going to give you access to doctored files for my class, and I want you to work out who Red Hood is, his actual identity. By the end of the day. Similarly, fitness. I'm going to run you through the same assessment test that I used on my class at the start of the year, to gain a baseline. Stealth, I have something set up for. And fighting ability…"
Izuku could hear the malevolent grin that Aizawa had donned.
"We're going to put you up against Hood here, and see how well you do."
Izuku saw Shinsou blanch- and honestly, he couldn't blame him. Shinsou had a couple of inches on Izuku, but that was it. Shinsou was lean, in a sort of lanky way. Comparatively, Izuku was a wall of muscle, even given that his own build was fairly slender. You could probably fit three of Shinsou into Iida's frame. And not just that, but Izuku was fully armoured. Vambraces, greaves, heavy jacket, body-armour, helmet…yeah, Izuku could see why Shinsou was hesitating. Aizawa continued, unperturbed.
"I'm going to make it slightly easier for you. Hood, I want you to play defensive for the moment."
Aizawa reached into a pocket and pulled out a pair of reinforced gloves, tossing them to Shinsou.
"Here. So you don't break a finger or whatever. Three minutes, and then we'll get Hood to test your defences. Oh, and no Quirk use."
Izuku would give Shinsou credit, he squared his shoulders and steeled himself. His stance was sloppy at best, but at least he hadn't tucked his thumb under his fingers. Not that that would be easy in the thick gloves. Izuku bounced on his toes and gestured and Shinsou took the bait. His first attack was a lunging punch, thrown sloppily at Izuku's helmet. In a real fight, Izuku might have risked leaning forwards and catching it on the crown of his helmet, reinforced heavily enough to crush bone. In this case he parried with his right arm, forearm to the inside of Shinsou's wrist and pushing the punch off-line. His shoulder met Shinsou's chest, but he skipped back rather than step into the charge. He saw despair in Shinsou's eyes and felt something hot and uncomfortable squirm in his chest. Aizawa watched, apathy written all over his face but his eyes gleaming with something intense. Shinsou kept attacking, fists and attempts at grabs, but they were clumsy and Izuku easily deflected or avoided them. He could see the rage building in Shinsou and wondered when he would snap.
"Why won't you fight back?" Shinsou screamed, lashing out with a kick. Izuku stepped to the side and didn't comment- he didn't think that Shinsou would use his Quirk, but he didn't really feel like risking it. Besides, he felt like the bad guy here already.
"He's not fighting back," Aizawa said, "Because you aren't a threat and because I told him to stay on the defensive. Your three minutes are up."
Shinsou sagged, his chest heaving with exertion and his eyes downcast.
"So, what. I failed?"
"No," Aizawa said, "I'm not looking to fail you. This is an assessment of your skills so I know what to teach. I haven't decided anything yet."
That was an outright lie, but Izuku didn't call Aizawa on it. He didn't quite approve of the school of tough love parenting that the man seemed so fond of, but it wasn't really his place to. Still, he was close to wishing that he wasn't the one doing this. It would be much simpler if Aizawa would just tell Shinsou that he'd already decided to teach him, but evidently Aizawa's reputation was working against them.
"Now," Aizawa said, "Shinsou. We're going to switch. Hood will attack, you'll defend. Take a few seconds to breathe."
Aizawa ducked his head into his scarf and Izuku carefully didn't move as the communicator in his helmet crackled.
"Don't go all out," Aizawa told him, "I want to see how determined he is as well as his skill, and I won't get that if you beat him down immediately. Pretend you're up against, I don't know, Hagakure. Hmm…maybe Mineta."
Izuku thought it was a little cruel to use those comparisons. Mineta was a decent combatant thanks to his intelligence and deviousness, but he was diminutive. And Hagakure couldn't see her own hands, never mind be seen by anyone else, her combat would obviously be lacking. Still, it wasn't…inaccurate. Shinsou stood a little shakily in front of Izuku, his arms raised in front of his chest. Izuku forced his concerns aside, assessing him with a clinical eye.
In the interest of leaving Shinsou relatively unharmed, he did his best to ignore the shade of Jason Todd still in his head. His stance is too unbending, that shade insisted. Feint towards his face to draw his arms up, stamp on his foot. Broken bones, unable to move. If he falls, kick him into submission. If he doesn't, his arms will drop. Headbutt, break the nose. Grab the arm, throw, break the arm. Take his other arm, stamp the shoulder. Complete incapacitation. Izuku briefly wondered if the petty criminals of Gotham feared the Red Hood more when he was killing, or when he was just maiming them for life.
Yeah, no. Better to be a lot more gentle. Izuku surged towards Shinsou, seeing his uncertainty and taking advantage without pause. His right hand came down, hitting Shinsou's arms where they crossed over his chest and breaking his guard. Shinsou bent forwards as his arms were forced down and Izuku mimed the follow-up, right elbow to the jaw, finished the combination in his head. Left fist to the solar plexus, stealing Shinsou's breath and bending him over further. Step to the side, grab Shinsou's head, drive his knee into the temple- or the jaw. Definite downing blow.
Shinsou stumbled away after Izuku mimed the elbow, his hands trembling. Maybe he'd been lying to himself, Izuku thought. Maybe he'd been telling himself that Bakugo had beaten him with his Quirk, that was all, a poor match-up. To be reminded of his near helplessness in the face of a capable opponent must be incredibly jarring. Shinsou got a few steps away and forced himself to halt, raising his fists and making and attempt to steady himself.
"Again," he croaked. Izuku looked at Aizawa, who shook his head.
"I know he's not skilled," Aizawa said, softly enough that Izuku barely heard him through his communicator, "But I need to know his determination. He's got some, at least."
After saying that Aizawa straightened and raised his voice.
"No. I've seen enough from there. We'll move on."
Shinsou sagged and Izuku felt a sharp-edged spike of pity. He discreetly tapped at the side of his helmet, shutting down his voice broadcaster.
"Sir, maybe you should let him know that he didn't do too badly. Your reputation is…discouraging."
Aizawa tipped his head to the side, looking at Izuku. Izuku met his gaze as best he could, his helmet shielding him before Aizawa grunted.
"Not yet, Midoriya. I want to see his performance on the next before I make a move."
Izuku still felt more guilt than he was happy with, but he nodded to his teacher, accepting his decision. Cruel, again. Cruel, still, but maybe it was what Shinsou needed. The part of Izuku that was still the kid looking for even the slightest encouragement writhed and wailed at being part of something like this, but he just about managed to squash it down.
"Alright, Shinsou. One more set of exercises and then we'll take a break," Aizawa said, his voice as unbending as it ever was. Shinsou looked almost ready to cry, but he set his jaw and nodded. Aizawa hesitated for a fraction of a second, and Izuku wondered if he had been about to relent. But he didn't. Maybe he couldn't.
"I've got a baseline level for your Quirkless fighting skills now," Aizawa said, eyes fixing themselves on Shinsou, "So now I need a baseline for your other stats. On their first day my class did a series of tests: baseball throw, sprint, long jump, that sort of thing. It helped establish where they were, and where they needed to improve. You'll be doing the same thing."
Aizawa led them over to a cleared area in the training grounds, one not littered by fallen buildings like the rest, and Izuku stood in silence as Shinsou ran through the tests. He tried his best, Izuku didn't doubt it, but he was…his Quirk wasn't physical. Maybe, just maybe, Aizawa would have accepted him in the actual test. Maybe Shinsou could have used his Quirk to achieve higher results by using his classmates. But alone, with just his physical abilities? Izuku had a good enough memory to remember the results of the last place, and Shinsou was below that. Not by far, but by enough. Aizawa, standing next to Izuku as Shinsou ran the laps that were the last test, hummed deep in his chest.
"So," he said, "What do you think of him?"
Well, at least he wasn't doing this where Shinsou could here. Then again, there would be no logic in that.
"I think he's unskilled, but not untalented. His hand to hand is weak, but not too much worse than some of 1-A," Izuku answered, truthfully enough, "And I think his ability to use his Quirk matches our class well."
Aizawa grunted.
"You're too nice, Midoriya. Right now he's a one-trick pony and your classmates would eat him alive. He's lucky that I was the same once."
Aizawa glanced down at his tablet as Shinsou stumbled and fell, watching in silence as the boy forced himself to rise again and stagger on.
"He's got guts, though. I'll give him that. How long did it take you to get ready for the Entrance Exam, once you got serious?"
"Um…about ten months," Izuku admitted. Aizawa nodded.
"Ten months. Alright. You're thinking it's ironic, aren't you?"
"Ironic, sir?"
"Mm. Shinsou did all that talking about flashy quirks and how the Hero Course is full of them, and here he is, reliant on his own."
Aizawa turned his frighteningly intense gaze onto Izuku. Izuku refused to shrink under it, although he found it more than disconcerting.
"It is unfair, isn't it? Shinsou relies on his Quirk so much that he couldn't get through an exam without it, when you've proven that it's possible. But here I am- someone with a powerful Quirk, who didn't get through the Entrance Exam, helping Shinsou because I see myself in him. His Quirk is just easier to counter than mine, you could say. Doesn't it make you angry, that in his place you wouldn't get the same opportunity?"
What was Izuku supposed to say to that, he wondered? Yes, it made him angry. Yes, it poked at all the little insecurities he still had, all the places where Jason's raw and unashamed fury had torn away the scabs over his own boiling rage and mingled into a potent mixture that he was so careful to keep an eye on.
Yes, if he'd been denied and then realised- if his position had been switched with Shinsou, and he'd seen his ambitions sink into the dirt- if there hadn't been a teacher nostalgic enough to lift him up and give him hope- then he might have given into it. There might have been a Red Hood on the streets regardless, but it would be knives instead of fists and the bullets would be real. Yes, he could have gone a different, darker path. But he hadn't. And Izuku really preferred not to think of it.
"Yes," he admitted, "It makes me angry. But there's nothing I can do with it, so I just let it go."
Aizawa eyed him with a narrow haze before slowly nodding.
"That's very logical of you, Midoriya," he said, before sighing and looking at his tablet again, "Very logical. I'll let him know that I'll be teaching him, and we'll give him a demonstration. It's better to…give him something to aspire to, I guess. Or so I'm told, at least. You'll be a decent example."
Shinsou had slumped onto a handy bench once the timer for the laps was up, his whole body trembling. Aizawa walked across to him, a steady pace, and Izuku followed once he'd taken a minute to compose himself, to re-contain the rage that Aizawa had stirred up. Izuku wasn't certain if Aizawa had done it intentionally, but he supposed it didn't matter. The effect was the same.
"So," Aizawa said, "I'm guessing you're beating yourself up right now."
Shinsou looked up at Aizawa, then back down to the ground. Izuku shifted uncomfortably and Aizawa shrugged.
"Yeah. I thought so. You know, on the first day of the year, when I gave my class that series of tests, I told them that whoever came last would be expelled. Did you believe that, Hood?"
"Yaoyorozu didn't," Izuku answered, dodging the question. Aizawa grinned, thin and sharp.
"That's not the question I asked. Did you believe that I'd expel people, Hood?"
Izuku dipped his head.
"Yes."
Aizawa nodded lazily.
"Mm. Yaoyorozu is clever, but she can be naïve. I needed to see if you would all do your best. If you would fall and climb back up. If you had the heart to be Heroes. You all impressed me, luckily enough. And right now, Shinsou…you've impressed me just like 1-A have."
Shinsou snapped his head up, Aizawa shrugged.
"Your hand to hand is poor, I'll admit. Very likely you would be the weakest in it in my class. But your Quirk is powerful, and your control exceptional. You've demonstrated an ability to work hard, and the determination to stand again when you're knocked down. You've shown that you have potential. I wouldn't have even considered training you if I thought otherwise."
Aizawa turned away, pacing towards Izuku.
"Hood being here isn't something I had planned, just providence. But it's useful anyway, because this way I have a good example for several things I want to teach you. And the first thing…is combat."
Aizawa moved like a snake, darting across the space between him and Izuku. His boot lifted, coming towards Izuku's stomach, and Izuku had a choice to make. He made it in a flash, bracing himself enough that he barely staggered when the boot thudded against his armour, the layers of Kevlar and Adaptive Gel cushioning the blow. Grab the heel and ankle, slash his own foot towards Aizawa's supporting leg and Aizawa jumped, used Izuku's grip on his leg to spin into a kick and Izuku shoved him away, staggered back from the kick, Aizawa spinning in a circle and throwing an elbow at Izuku's head and Izuku met it with his right forearm and dropped a smoke grenade.
Izuku grinned as he heard Aizawa cough and growl, retreating through the smoke. Aizawa was tracking him, he had no illusions, but even a moment to pull himself together was welcome. Izuku was only a few feet out of the smoke when Aizawa came after him, goggles dropped over his eyes. Izuku parried a punch, drove two of his own into Aizawa's ribs, put his weight into a block as Aizawa brought his right arm around in an attempted hammer-blow to the shoulder. Aizawa grunted again, although Izuku didn't make the mistake of thinking he was going all out, and his scarf whipped out and coiled around Izuku's right wrist. Izuku gritted his teeth as Aizawa yanked, staggering with the force before he twisted his left arm just right and heard the metallic snap of the nanofilament blades popping out of his vambrace. Izuku looked for a moment to cut the scarf and Aizawa brought up a hand.
"Good," his teacher said, the scarf uncoiling from Izuku and slithering back to Aizawa, "Good. Nanofilament blade in the gauntlet, right? Hatsume install that?"
Izuku nodded.
"Just before she left for her internship, although I installed one."
Aizawa nodded.
"Cut right through my scarf, right? Good thinking. Good thinking."
The two of them turned to Shinsou, who was looking a lot more intimidated right now.
"You can probably guess why I brought Hood along," Aizawa dryly said, "And why I told him to go easy on you. That was a demonstration of a level I want you to be on in twelve months. It'll be hard, but not impossible. Now. I want you to assess the fight. Walk me through Hoods actions, and we'll all comment. So, what did you notice that was important?"
Izuku idly noted that Aizawa was actually a decent teacher when he put his mind to it. Maybe he was just bad at working with large groups.
"When you attacked him," Shinsou said, "He…took the hit?"
Aizawa nodded.
"Right. He did. He had a couple of options, so why pick that one?"
Shinsou looked slightly lost, so Aizawa pointed at Izuku.
"The way I saw it, I had three options," Izuku said, "I could try and dodge, I could block, or I could try and take the hit to counterattack. I knew that Mr Aizawa isn't super-strong, so I took the third. If it had worked, I would have kicked at his supporting knee."
Aizawa grunted in agreement.
"Good example of using knowledge, Hood. He knew he could take the hit, so he took the chance. If it had worked he would have won right there, not many people who can fight on a dislocated knee."
"So then," Shinsou continued, "It didn't work? So he…dropped a smoke bomb?"
Aizawa nodded.
"Get away, regroup and re-think. Why didn't you use those pepper-smoke bombs, Hood?"
Izuku shrugged.
"Shinsou is quite close, and I don't know how strong Hatsume made them."
Aizawa shrugged.
"Fair point. Concern for a bystander, fair Hero behaviour. You'd have retreated further if you could, right Hood?"
Izuku folded his arms in front of him.
"Probably to a building, if I could. I knew I was outclassed, I would have run if it wasn't a demonstration."
Aizawa waved a hand.
"Exactly. Knowing when to pick your battles, also very important for Underground Heroics. And then- you won't have noticed this, Shinsou, but Midoriya started leaning into blocks a lot harder. He's wearing armour, so a solid block means I risk breaking fingers if I punch him. That's an advantage of his costume, and something you'll need to think about as well. Hood chooses to sacrifice flexibility for protection, I do the opposite."
Aizawa rubbed at his chin, obviously considering.
"That's a lot to think about, obviously, so we'll leave that there for the moment. I want to talk about something else, as well."
Shinsou shuffled, stretching his legs slowly, and Izuku turned his arm over. The blades hadn't fully retracted into his gauntlet, he noticed, standard teething problems, and he took a moment to press them back home. Aizawa obviously noticed, briefly remarking on it.
"As you see, gear can be unreliable. Those are new, of course, but being able to work without gear might be vital in something like an infiltration situation. Now…I want to talk about the Entrance Exam, at least briefly."
Izuku ceased fiddling with his gauntlet, looking up. Shinsou stiffened, paling slightly, and Aizawa dipped his chin into his scarf.
"It's not much of a secret that I think the Entrance Exam is biased," Aizawa began, "And I'm not alone in that. When I took it, it was worse- the robots didn't even have the off buttons on them. I don't think it's logical to test students by their ability to brute-force objectives. However."
Shinsou shrunk in on himself slightly and Aizawa paused, seeming to rethink his next words.
"Well, I suppose you know how you did. Instead, we'll talk about how Hood succeeded. Hood doesn't have a powerful combat Quirk, so he largely passed the Exam thanks to his combat skills. The first robot he met, he jumped at it and tore out enough wiring to incapacitate it. So, Hood, walk us through it. How, exactly, did you know to do that?"
Put on the spot again, Izuku rubbed at his collarbone, the comforting pressure of fingers against his clothes calming him.
"I looked through old forums," he explained, "And found a lot of people complaining that their Quirks weren't useful. Then, I worked out some of their Quirks, and concluded that their opponents weren't human. That made robots likely, as U.A. uses a lot of robots, and then I just had to watch through enough Sports Festivals since the robots from the Entrance Exams are often used as distractions in the Festival. And from that, I could theorise how to destroy them."
Shinsou looked as though he wanted to hide away, possibly because he hadn't even considered doing that, but Aizawa was grinning that rictus grin again.
"And that's what we in Underground Heroics call good information gathering. Find information, make an educated guess, prepare for it and win. Shinsou. You're looking at Hood now, and thinking that you're completely inferior, right?"
Shinsou looked away, shamefaced, and Aizawa nodded.
"Mm. Compared to him, you're no threat in hand to hand. Your informational and analytical skills are lacking, and your physical skills are poor. All you have is your Quirk, some people would say. But I say…I would say, Shinsou, that your determination is just as strong as Hood's. Your potential is just as great as his. And this week, if you're still willing, Hood and I will draw that out. By the end of the week you might hate me. Hell, you might hate Hood. But stick with it, and you'll reach that dream of yours. So, Hitoshi Shinsou,"
Aizawa held out a hand, as though ready to pull Shinsou to his feet,
"Are you ready to be a Hero?"
And Shinsou, for better or for worse, reached out and took the offering of a dream.
So, Bakugo. In canon he's uncharacteristically cautious during his match with Uraraka, to a point that I don't think he replicates at any other point, at least not before the whole Kamino Ward thing. I feel like that comes from Izuku being friends with Uraraka, and the Battle Trial pretty clearly demonstrating that Izuku has Bakugo's number, so to speak. In this case he was a lot more aggressive, so Uraraka had a much better chance.
Here's a question for you- or two, I guess. Aizawa vs Stain, and DC Red Hood/Jason Todd vs Stain. Who's your money on?
Regardless, I hope you all enjoyed, reviews are appreciated, and I'll see you all in the next chapter.