Chapter Five
Today's Lesson: Battle!
When Izuku woke up on Tuesday morning, he would freely admit that he felt more than a little nervous for his second day of attending U.A. High School. After all, on the first day they had already had the threat of expulsion hung over their heads.
But even though the ride to school was nerve wracking, their classes soon dispelled any worries. English, Mathematics, Modern Literature, they were all subjects that everyone was familiar with. The only thing stopping their class from feeling like a normal high school was their teachers. After all, not every high school student is able to say that Cementos taught them Modern Literature, or Ectoplasm teaching Maths, or have the Voice Hero: Present Mic teaching English. Speaking of…
"Who can find the mistake in the following sentence?" Present Mic asked, the English workbook the class had been assigned held in his hands.
Izuku quickly looked over the sentence, finding the issue.
''Midnight both is intelligent and beautiful'. The relative conjunction is in the wrong place, so that means choice four.'
"Alright, everybody! Hands up! Show me some spirit!" Present Mic said in his standard loud voice, scanning the room to call on someone.
Izuku tentatively raised his hand. He knew the answer without a doubt, but he still wasn't keen on the classes' attention focusing on him. However, Present Mic called on someone else in the back row.
"Kurusu, my fellow blonde! Lay it on me, would ya? What is the mistake in our sentence?"
Izuku glanced to the side, seeing the Centaur, who sat in the back of the second row, stand up from her desk.
"Sir," she replied formally, "the answer to the question is option four. The sentence, 'Midnight both is intelligent and beautiful', contains an incorrectly placed relative conjunction. Instead, the sentence should go, 'Midnight is both intelligent and beautiful.'"
"Exact-a-mondo!" Present Mic nodded, turning his gaze back to the handbook. "Alright, next sentence."
After four classes in the morning, Izuku found himself eating in the school cafeteria (and how cool was it that Lunch Rush was their school cook!?), seated at a table alongside Uraraka, Ida, and Sarah Kurusu. Her sister had apparently gone off to eat elsewhere, leaving the four of them to eat together.
"Wait, so your quirk needs orange juice to function?" Uraraka asked Ida, speaking through half a mouthful of food.
"Clear your mouth first before speaking," Ida reprimanded, placing his chopsticks down by the side of his plate. "And yes, believe it or not, my Engine quirk uses orange juice as a fuel source. Without it, the engines in my legs will start to lose their potency until they stop working all together. Well, at least until I fuel up again."
"Wow, that's a really interesting side effect of your quirk, Ida," Izuku gushed, already scribbling in his notebook which he had remembered to bring to school. "Do other drinks have an effect on your quirk as well?"
"It has to be oranges for my quirk to function," Ida explained, levelling a straight hand chop in Izuku's direction. "Apple, pear, lemon, all of them fuel my quirk as well as you would be able to fuel a classical fossil fuel engine with water; pointless. However, if the orange juice is carbonated, my engines tend to stall."
"Mhm, mhm," Izuku murmured, scribbling down his notes as fast as he could.
"And the fuel required changes based on the individual," Kurusu explained, drawing Izuku's attention at the prospect of more information. "For instance, Tensei, Tenya's older brother, requires grapefruit juice for his quirk, whereas Mr. and Mrs. Ida require lemon and apple juice respectively."
"And what about you, Kurusu?" Uraraka asked the Centaur. "Does your quirk require anything special?"
"No, not like Tenya's does," Kurusu said, shaking her head and causing her ponytail to sway. "A balanced diet and a healthy dose of daily exercise are all that I require. As a heteromorph, my quirk is purely biological, so it doesn't require anything special."
"Hold on," Uraraka asked, her brow creasing in a confused frown, "what's the difference between your quirk and Ida's quirk? Aren't they both mutation type quirks?"
"Oh, I know the answer to that," Izuku said, perking up and turning to Uraraka. "While people often divide quirks into three categories, those being Emitter, Transformation and Mutant type quirks, Mutant type quirks are further divided into True Mutant and Heteromorphic quirks. True Mutant quirks are those that are a permanent change to the standard body type, but they aren't pure biological changes."
"Oh, like that small guy in our class," Uraraka nodded, her index finger pressed against her chin in thought. "What was his name again? It started with an 'M', right?"
"Mineta," Izuku answered, flicking through his notebook, arriving on his classmate's page. "From what I can guess from seeing it in action only once, Mineta is able to produce purple, bouncy balls on top of his head, and pluck them off."
"Okay, so what makes his and Ida's quirk different to Kurusu's?" Uraraka asked.
"Two things: first, heteromorphic quirks are entirely biological. Using Ida's Engine quirk as an example, due to its mechanical nature it wouldn't be able to be classified as a heteromorphic quirk, instead it would be a True Mutant quirk," Izuku explained. "Secondly, heteromorphic quirks aren't able to undergo a quirk awakening or evolution. Due to their biological nature, heteromorphic quirks start out strong but eventually plateau, meaning that whoever has a heteromorphic quirk would need to rely on training as well as their quirk to keep improving. And thirdly, and most excitingly because it's just my hypothesis, I think that Mr. Aizawa wouldn't be able to use his quirk on Kurusu, but he could use it on Ida."
"That does make sense," Ida nodded, looking at his plate as he thought. "Mr. Aizawa's quirk would most likely have the same effect on my quirk as you would turning off the engine of a car. The engine is still there, but it can't do anything until it is turned back on."
"Oh, okay, that makes sense," Uraraka nodded, before freezing mid nod. "Wait, then are heteromorphs and those with a heteromorphic quirk the same thing?"
"Not exactly," Kurusu said, and Izuku decided to allow her to take the lead for this. After all, she was a heteromorph herself. "While heteromorphs and those with a heteromorphic quirk are similar, the key difference is genetics. While a heteromorphic quirk is like a limb, and has all of the biological functions necessary for it to work, it is still prone to mutation. Take our classmate Ojiro for example, the blond with the tail quirk. His tail still requires blood vessels throughout the tissue, and if he doesn't use the muscles in his tail they will start to atrophy. However, if he has a child with a woman who has a heteromorphic quirk that gives her metallic skin, then their child might have a mix of their quirks, both of their quirks, or something unique.
"A heteromorph on the other hand has a stable quirk that isn't prone to mutation. For instance, Kórinis' quirk, Arachne, hasn't changed since the first Arachne heteromorph was born sometime near the Dawn of Quirks. Many people make the assumption that heteromorphs are a new species entirely, and it isn't an unfair assumption. Occasionally there are variations within a heteromorph line, such as the Heavyweight and Lightweight Centaurs, which have created their own branches of the Centaur species, which we call subspecies. Another trait that is common but not universal for heteromorphs is that they often have animal features."
"Oh, like Silky!" Uraraka gasped, causing everyone to picture the Sea Rescue Hero: Selkie, a Spotted Seal heteromorph.
"Exactly," Kurusu nodded. "Selkie is a good example, but another within the school faculty would be Hound Dog, the Hunting Dog Hero. He is a Kobold, and he is an excellent example of another feature that some heteromorph species have; sexual dimorphism."
"Yeah, I've read about that online," Izuku added, his face staying within his notebook as he noted down the treasure trove of information that Kurusu had given him. "Similar to how male and female peacocks look vastly different based on their gender, some heteromorphs have different appearances and even body types based on the gender, with males often having more bestial features compared to females."
"Indeed, though why sexual dimorphism exists within some heteromorphs is still being hotly debated," Kurusu said.
"So if Ojiro has a heteromorphic quirk, but isn't a heteromorph, are you and your sister the only heteromorphs in our class?" Uraraka asked.
"While I'm not certain, I do believe there is another heteromorph in our class," Kurusu answered.
"Asui, right?" Izuku guessed, flipping to her page. "Are there frog heteromorph species that you know of?"
"I think so," Kurusu hesitantly answered, "but I can't say with 100% certainty. I'll ask my father tonight, he'll know for certain. After all, he studied heteromorphology at university as an elective."
The conversation soon steered away from quirks and towards hobbies, and then from hobbies to their favourite foods. Before long, lunchtime was over, and it was back to class.
After two more classes, the majority of students at U.A. were filing out of the entrance, but Izuku and his classmates were excitedly waiting. After all, while the General, Support and Business Courses only had six classes, the Hero Course had an additional class in the afternoon; Hero Basic Training. And since Izuku knew who was going to be teaching them, he was more than a little excited.
"I have…!" a loud, boisterous voice called out from the hallway, immediately recognizable to Izuku and all of his classmates.
"He's here," Izuku grinned.
"...come through the door, like normal!" All Might laughed, leaning in through the doorway in what was decidedly NOT normal. Though that was likely the joke.
"It's All Might!" someone at the front cheered. "Incredible. He's really gonna teach us!"
"That's his Silver Age costume!" Izuku gasped out loud, gushing over his idol's retro suit. Where All Might's current, Golden Age costume was a skin-tight blue bodysuit decorated with a red symbol that somewhat resembled a 'Y', a white diamond at its centre and white lines connected to it, his Silver Age costume was different. His costume was skin-tight, but instead of a blue colouring, it was a crimson red, with lines trailing across his chest. His forearm sleeves were the same, a golden colour with fins jutting out behind him, but what differed from his Golden Age costume the most was the cape that fluttered behind him. It was a deep blue, blue as the ocean, draping down his back to his knees.
"Hero Basic Training!" All Might said, standing by the front podium. "The class that'll put you through all sorts of special training to mould you into heroes! As a bonus, it also gives a ton of credits."
"No time to dally. Today's activity is this!" All Might smiled his perpetual smile, holding out a plaque to the class. On the front of it was the subject of their class. "Battle Training!"
"Yes!" Kacchan growled, and even though Izuku couldn't see his face, he knew that his classmate wore a feral grin.
"Battle training?" Izuku gulped, suddenly growing anxious about what was to come.
"And for that, you need these!" All Might said, pressing a button of a remote aimed at the sidewall of the class. A click could be heard, as hidden compartments started sliding out of the walls. Four panels emerged, each of them housing five boxes, each with a different number emblazoned on the front, going from '01' to '20'.
"In accordance with the 'Quirk Registry' and the special request forms many of you filled out before being admitted, you'll be receiving…"
"""""COSTUMES!""""" Izuku and the class cheered, excited at the prospect of donning their own superhero attire.
"The cases for your costumes are ordered by class number, and you will come up to get them in that order," All Might explained before pointing at the French student, Aoyama, who sat at the front. "Young Aoyama, you are student No. 1. Young Uraraka, you are student No. 5. I'm pretty sure you all can figure it out from there, correct?"
"""""Yes sir!""""" the class chorused.
"Excellent," All Might grinned. "After you change, meet me in Ground Beta. From there, we'll get into your exercise."
"""""Okay!""""" Class 1-A cheered, moving towards their respective cases.
"Looking good is very important, ladies and gentlemen!" All Might explained as he stood by the door, nodding to each student as they passed on their way to the changing rooms. "Look alive now! Because from today on, you're all heroes!"
As Izuku passed All Might, he noticed his mentor's smile widening just a fraction more. Izuku beamed, nodding to the towering hero. No words needed to be said between the mentor and successor, All Might's pride was clear enough.
Not willing to linger and draw the attention of his classmates, Izuku hurried down the corridors to the changing rooms. While he and his fellow male classmates had already used the room the day before, now their hero journey felt real. After all, as the saying went, clothes make the Pros.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Toshinori Yagi, better known to the world as All Might, Japan's No. 1 Pro Hero and the world's Symbol of Peace, stood outside the entrance to Ground Beta, waiting for his class of young wards to arrive. While he was nervous, it was a happy kind of nervous, like a child waiting to find out what they got for Christmas.
'Oh, I can't wait to see what their costumes look like,' he beamed. This was always something he loved to see, even before Nana, his mentor and mother figure, took him in as her protege. The costumes of heroes were all so varied and different. Some loved utilitarian designs, others loved flashy, elaborate designs, while others loved to have gadgets and gizmos in theirs.
And as Toshinori heard the first steps in the corridor leading into the testing site, he got his first glimpse of his students in all of their costumed glory.
'Hmm, very nice, young Asui, goggles are surprisingly useful. Did young Tokoyami really only want a black cloak? Ah, with his quirk that does make sense. Very nice choice, young Aoyama, Ida and Kurusu, a suit of armour is very practical. Hmm, young Ashido, Kaminari, Shoji and Jiro don't seem to desire much, they're practically wearing street clothes. Well, young Ashido's costume is admittedly quite vibrant.'
As more and more of his students filled out into the cityscape, Toshinori also started to notice a few who had a few issues with their costumes.
'Hmm, that is quite a few explosive-looking items, young Bakugo. I do hope the Support Companies knew what they were doing. Is young Mineta wearing a diaper? Surely not, it must have been intended to be a grape bowl. Oh well.'
The class were all chatting excitedly with each other, complimenting and comparing each other's costumes.
"Wow, you guys!" young Uraraka gushed to young Ida and the Kurusu sisters. "You guys have amazing costumes! Which support company made yours?"
"Thank you, Uraraka, but no support company made our costumes," young Ida explained, gesturing to the three of them. "Our costumes are all handmade, or in the case of Sarah, hand forged."
"Whoa, really?!" Uraraka gasped, looking over the young Centaur's suit of half plate armour. "You forged your own suit of armour?"
"Yes, it is a family tradition for each member to make their own armour and weapons," Kurusu explained, gesturing to the mace that hung on her hip and tower shield that rested on her arm. Her armour consisted of a suit of half plate armour that covered her torso, while metal arm plates attached to leather covered her arms. Below her waist she wore metal plating over the back of her equine half, which sat atop a padded skirt, with leather greaves covering the front of her legs.
"And what about you?" Uraraka asked, turning to the younger Kurusu sister. "Did you weave your costume as well?"
"Oh, I did more than weave it," the Arachne grinned. "Each piece of silk that you see was one that I produced. To be honest, it was the weaving of the material that took the most time and effort."
Indeed, the younger Kurusu's costume was made entirely out of silk. Her upper half was almost entirely covered in silk, with only her face and hands exposed. It stopped just below the equivalent of her midthighs, and her head was covered in a low hanging hood, causing only her nose, mouth and chin to be seen when looking at her head on. But due to her towering height compared to the class, Toshinori figured only he, young Shoji, and her sister would have any issues with looking the young Arachne in the eyes.
'Knowing who her mother is, that checks out,' Toshinori thought to himself. If the younger Kurusu was anything like her mother, then her costume would be both light and durable.
Toshinori should know, since his Golden Age costume was made by Rachnera Kurusu, in both form and material. The only thing she didn't do was dye the costume, instead handing that task off to another company to do the finishing touches.
Seeing his own protege emerging from the tunnel, Toshinori decided to do a quick read over of the cheat sheet he had devised for this class. After all, it was good for his successor to be making new friends, and Toshinori really wanted to make a good impression with his students on his first day. And judging from the conversation that young Midoriya was having with young Ururaka, he didn't have to worry about the first point.
"We're all here then?" Toshinori rhetorically asked, doing a final quick headcount. When he counted nineteen, he started to sweat, only to breathe a sigh of relief as he saw a pair of shoes and a pair of floating gloves.
'Phew, young Hagakure is here,' he sighed. Principle Nezu would never let him live it down if his first lesson started with a missing student, even if she was invisible.
"Looking good, everyone!" he complimented. "Shall we begin, my young wards?! It's time for Battle Training!"
Before Toshinori could continue, he took notice of young Midoriya's costume. While the green jumpsuit was fairly bland yet practical, what really stood out were the two strands of cloth on top of his mask. While anyone would assume they were rabbit ears, Toshinori knew that they were a replica of his hairstyle.
'Way to make it obvious!' Toshinori snicked to himself, covering his mouth in an attempt to hold it in. He knew his protege idolised him, but knowing it and seeing it manifest were two separate things entirely.
"Sir!" young Ida asked, raising his hand and inadvertently calming Toshinori's fit of giggles. "This appears to be the same field used in the Entrance Exam. Will we once again be performing cityscape manoeuvres?!"
"Nope! You'll be moving on to step two!" Toshinori explained. "Indoor Antipersonnel battle training! Villain battles are most commonly seen outdoors, but statistically, the most heinous villains are more likely to appear indoors. Between confinement, house arrest, and black market deals, in this hero-filled society of ours, the cleverest villains out there lurk indoors!"
"You'll now be split into Villain Teams and Hero Teams," Toshinori continued, "and face off in two-on-two indoor battles!"
"So no basic training?" young Asui asked, tilting her head.
"Practical experience teaches you the basics!" Toshinori reasoned. "The distinction here is that you won't be fighting disposable robots."
Although Toshinori was going to continue his explanation of how the battles were going to go, his students were perhaps a bit too eager.
"What determines victory?" young Yaoyorozu asked, slightly raising her hand.
"Can I just blast everyone away?" young Bakugo growled.
"Are you threatening to expel someone, like Mr. Aizawa did?" young Uraraka timidly asked.
"How do we proceed to divide ourselves into teams?" young Ida asked, raising his hand above his head.
"How fabulous is my cape?" young Aoyama asked, being the only one to ask an off-topic question.
"One at a time!" Toshinori cried, a sweat mark trailing down his temple. "My quirk isn't super hearing!"
"Listen up!" he declared, pulling out his cheat sheet. "Here's the deal. The villains will be hiding a nuclear weapon in the hideout. The heroes have to go in and take care of it, like you'd see in a western comic. Now, to answer your questions."
"First, young Yaoyorozu," Toshinori said, turning to the young girl. "The heroes have a limited amount of time to either capture the villains or secure the weapon. The villains must either capture the heroes or protect the weapon until time is up. Make sense?"
"Yes sir," the tall girl nodded, "thank you."
"Second, young Bakugo. This is a practical experience, so I expect all of you to make full use of your quirks. However, bear in mind that this is a TRAINING exercise. I will step in if anyone takes it too far, understood?"
The ash-blond simply grunted with a scowl on his face, but his lack of rebuttal made it clear that he got the message.
"Third, young Uraraka. No, don't worry, I have no intention to expel anyone without good reason. And no, failing to perform well today is not a good reason in my books."
A brunette nodded her head, clearly relieved with his answer.
"Fourth, young Ida. Your battle partners will be decided by drawing lots," he explained, bringing forth a box with a hole in the top, inside of which were slips, two for every team, ranging for 'A' to 'J'.
"Is that really the best way?!" young Ida asked, and even though his face was concealed within his helmet, Toshinori could hear the shock in his voice.
"It makes sense," young Midoriya explained, "because Pros often have to team up with heroes from other agencies on the spot during emergencies."
"I see!" young Ida exclaimed, nodding to his friend before bowing to Toshinori. "I apologise for getting ahead of myself. My mistake!"
"It's fine," Toshinori waved off, before turning his gaze to the final student. "And finally, young Aoyama, your cape is certainly, um, sparkly?"
Aoyama seemed to like Toshinori's answer, sticking his nose in the air with a triumphant smile.
"Alright, if there are no other questions?" Toshinori asked, and fortunately no one stepped forth with a query. "Very good, let's get to it! Each of you step forward in order of your class number, and take a single slip of paper. On it you will see which team you will be a part of. From there we'll sort who will be our courageous heroes, and who will be our dastardly villains. First up, young Aoyama!"
The sparkly student stepped forth, and with a flourish dove his hand into the box. After swirling it around, it pulled with a strip of paper, with the letter 'E' written on it.
"E for exquis," he said, walking back to the clump of students.
After this, each student came up in turn. Young Asido, being student No. 2, also pulled forth the letter 'E', causing her and Aoyama to be sorted into their first team. After her came the next students, each of them drawing a different letter. Asui drew the letter 'H', Ida drew 'D', Uraraka drew 'A', Ojiro drew 'I', Kaminari drew 'G', Kirishima drew 'J', and Koda drew 'F'. After this, teams started to emerge. First was Sarah Kurusu, who also drew 'F', much to both her and young Koda's joy.
'That's right, those two worked together in the Entrance Exam,' Toshinori thought as Shoji stepped forward. 'They'll likely work well together.'
Shoji drew 'B', and Jiro drew 'G', forming the third team with Kaminari. Tokoyami drew 'H', forming a team with Asui, and Todoroki drew 'B', forming a team with Shoji. Kórinis Kurusu drew 'J', forming a team with Kirishima, Hagakure drew 'I', forming a team with Ojiro, Bakugo drew 'D', forming a team with Ida, both of them being surprised with this fact, and Midoriya drew 'A', much to the excitement of both he and Uraraka.
'That's good,' Toshinori thought after seeing their reactions, 'at least young Midoriya will be fighting alongside someone he knows.'
"And with that final draw, young Mineta and Yaoyorozu, you two will be our final team, Team C. Makes sense?"
"Yes sir," Yaoyorozu nodded, while Mineta simply stared at his teammate's curves.
"Young Mineta, did you hear me?" Toshinori said, causing the small student to flinch.
"Uh, yes sir," he nodded, his face lightly sweating.
'Hmm, I'll need to keep an eye on that one,' Toshinori thought. 'U.A. likely can't afford a potential lawsuit from the Yaoyorozu Conglomerate, and even if they could, I know Nezu would somehow get the money out of my pocket.'
Toshinori moved over to where two boxes stood on concrete pillars. One was painted black with the word 'Villain' painted on the front in white text. The other was a white box with the word 'Hero' painted on the front in black.
"Moving on," he declared, "first up are, these!"
In each hand he held aloft a ball from each box.
"The heroes are Team A, Uraraka and Midoriya! The villains are Team D, Ida and Bakugo!"
This caused a reaction out of both young Midoriya and Bakugo, both of them glancing towards each other.
"Here's how this will go," Toshinori said, drawing the attention of the class back to him. "The villain team goes in first! They will have five minutes to locate the bomb, scout out the building, and prepare any defences that they wish. After those five minutes, the fifteen minute timer begins, and the hero team is allowed to sneak in. The rest of us will watch via CCTV!"
"Over there is the entrance to the Monitor Room," Toshinori continued, pointing to a door behind the class. "Everybody else, head on in, I'll join you in a moment. Teams A and D, follow me!"
The class split up; sixteen of them heading to the Monitor Room, with the other four following Toshinori as he led them to the first Battle Building.
"All four of you will need these," Toshinori said, holding out four rolls of tape, four layout maps, as well as four earpieces.
"What are these?" Ida asked, holding up the roll of tape and examining it.
"That is Capture Tape!" Toshinori explained with a laugh. "If either the heroes or the villains wrap a piece of that around a part of their opponents body, they are considered out for the rest of the match. Be careful, just one slip up can be the end of it, so stay vigilant. The second set of items is the layout of the building. Both the heroes and the villains are given them, though the villains can use these to plan their defences. Finally, the earpieces are for you to keep in contact with your teammates, even if you are separated. They can also be used for me to contact you in case the situation calls for it. All clear?"
Everyone nodded, with each person taking one each of the provided items.
"Now, young Ida and Bakugo," Toshinori said to the villain team, "remember, as I said, this is meant to be a practical experience. However, knocking out your opponent isn't necessary, simply wrapping the Capture Tape around them will do. We will do more live fire exercises in the future, but that is then and this is now. Understood?"
"Understood, All Might," Ida nodded, but Bakugo remained silent.
"Bakugo?" Toshinori prompted. "Did you hear me?"
"Yeah, don't blow 'em up too much, got it," Bakugo growled. "Can we head in now or what?"
"Yes, once you and young Ida step through those doors, your time starts. No time for dillydallying."
Bakugo just nodded, stepping through the doors to the building with Ida close behind him.
"Alright, once the five minutes that the villain team has to prepare is up, you both can head in," Toshinori explained to Midoriya and Uraraka. "Remember, you have fifteen minutes to either find and touch the nuclear bomb, thus deactivating it, or capture both of the villains. Good luck."
"Thank you, All Might," Midoriya beamed, with young Uraraka nodding eagerly.
Toshinori simply gave them a nod in return before turning around and walking off to the Monitor Room.
'Come on, young Midoriya,' Toshinori thought to himself. 'I know you can do this. Good luck.'
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
As Kórinis stood amongst the class, waiting for the Training Battle to begin, she couldn't help but feel anxious. On one hand, she was confident that Dynamite was going to win. He had a powerful quirk, and his intellect had to be equally impressive. She knew that the Hero Course prioritised the results from the Practical Exam over the Written Exam, otherwise there was no chance she could get third place, but Dynamite had managed to win out against Sarah. Their scores in the Practical were neck in neck, so for Dynamite to pull ahead of her meant that he had to be book smart too, enough to beat the academic genius that was her big sister.
And yet, something felt off. The Dynamite that she met in the Entrance Exam was different to the person he was yesterday during their Quirk Assessment Test. Or more specifically, he seemed different after Ryokutō did his throw.
Sure, Dynamite was a bit rough around the edges, she'd known that from the start. But he was strong and open about his thoughts, two things that were a win in her books. Like her mother, Kórinis hated liars, and she'd much rather suffer through harsh truths than live in pretty lies. The number of people who she had met, both at school and out in public, who had said one thing to her then said something completely differently when they thought she couldn't hear was too many to count.
It wasn't her fault that she was born the way she was.
She couldn't help it that she was taller than everyone else, or heavier than most people.
She couldn't help it that her appearance, or her many eyes, or her sharp teeth, or anything else was scary to look at.
It wasn't her fault that the fear of spiders was one of the most common fears.
Dynamite didn't care about any of that. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and even if his dismissive nature of those who were weak might have been an issue for most, Kórinis preferred his truths, harsh as they were, to the many lies that people had told her, all in a vain attempt at not hurting her feelings. At least with Dynamite she knew what he said was what he meant.
Yet when Ryokutō performed that impressive feat of strength with his quirk, Dynamite seemed, off. As if everything he knew about someone was a lie. That was the only explanation she could think of as to why he would do something so incredibly stupid as to try and attack a fellow student in front of their strict homeroom teacher.
There was also the question of what Ryokutō meant the other day when they were all walking to the station. If he had such a powerful quirk, one that could break his finger simply from the sheer power alone, then why would Dynamite pick on Ryokutō? It didn't make any sense, not unless there was another piece to the puzzle that was missing.
There was something going on between Dynamite and Ryokutō, and damn it was she going to get an answer.
"Indoor Antipersonnel Battle Training, start!" All Might announced, speaking into a mic on the desk.
Kórinis shook herself free of her thoughts, looking up at the wall of screens. The class had found the Monitor Room to be massive, easily fitting their class three times over and still have room to spare. Due to a lack of windows, the only illumination came from the many screens that dominated one of the walls on the room. Each screen showed a different perspective from within the buildings, and was able to select which of the test buildings to monitor. Due to the many angles that the building would have, U.A. had apparently filled each building with CCTV cameras, ensuring that there weren't any blindspots, perfect for a teaching experience.
"Watch closely and try to learn something, everyone!" All Might said, pulling out a pad and pen, likely for their teacher to jot down his thoughts on the battle trial.
The class watched as Ryokutō and Uraraka entered the building through a side window, being careful to make as little noise as possible.
'Smart,' Kórinis thought. 'They weren't sure if Dynamite and Glasses were waiting for them at the entrance, so they decided to try another route.'
The hero duo continued to walk down a line of corridors, and it was only now that Kórinis really paid attention to the building the test was in. The walls were bare, consisting of basic concrete panels. Seeing how Cementos was a teacher at U.A., it made sense that the school would make use of his quirk to create cheap, easy to make buildings.
While Ryokutō and Uraraka were checking around corners as they made their way through the building, being careful to not make too much noise, their luck could only hold for so long.
"A sneak attack!" the purple perv midget they had as a classmate gasped, as the screen showed Dynamite leaping out from the next corridor.
The ash-blond lashed out a hand, an explosion bursting forth and slamming into the wall where the heroes had been standing only seconds before. Ryokutō managed to leap into Uraraka, throwing the both of them out of the way. However, as Ryokutō straightened his posture, Kórinis noticed that he hadn't emerged unscathed.
Part of Dynamite's explosion had managed to hit him, ripping his mask apart, causing only the right side of his face to be covered in the green bunny mask.
"That's low, Bakugo!" Kórinis' spiky red haired classmate shouted, his frustration thick in his voice. "Sneak attacks are so unmanly!"
"Yet they are a valid strategy!" All Might argued, his gaze fixed on the screens like the rest of the class. "This is practical experience!"
"Yeah, some heroes aren't suited to fighting head on," Kórinis argued, drawing the classes' attention. "Other times, like right now, the best option in a situation isn't to charge in head first, but instead wait and catch your opponents by surprise."
"What do you mean?" the redhead asked. "Bakugo could have totally taken them on without having to resort to a sneak attack."
"If it were Uraraka by her lonesome, I'd agree with you, Kirishima," Sarah answered, reminding Kórinis of the redhead's name. "However, we must remember that Midoriya's quirk is not only incredibly destructive, but also unstable and dangerous. Simply the force of it damages his own body; imagine what it would do to Bakugo if he managed to land a hit?"
Sarah's question caused the class to quiet down as they imagined the situation, all of those who had sided with Kirishima initially soon realising that he had made the right call.
"Yeah, Ryokutō has a powerful quirk, all right. Shame he has such shit control over it," Kórinis sighed, leaning back onto her thorax and folding her hands behind her head.
"Kórinis, mind your language," Sarah scolded, frowning at her.
"And why Ryokutō?" Kirishima asked.
"You know, because he's green and small," Kórinis explained, pointing with one hand to her hair while also holding her other hand horizontally flat at her shoulders.
"Oh, good choice," nodded the pink skinned student who stood next to Kirishima.
"Thanks," Kórinis said, smiling at the pinkette before turning her gaze back to her sister. "And so what, it's true. I've never heard of a quirk that is THAT unsuited to the person who has it. It's almost like he's not meant to have it, either that or he's never used it before."
"Maybe so, but Midori sure can dodge!" the pink skinned student standing next to Kirishima grinned, pointing at the screens. "And look at that throw!"
Indeed, as Kórinis had been debating with Kirishima, Dynamite had attempted to swing another explosion at Ryokutō, only for the greenet to grapple the arm, and using the momentum from the swing, perform a textbook slam over the shoulder.
Dynamite slammed into the ground hard, and even though the class couldn't hear anything within the Monitor Room, they could almost see Dynamite's breath being forced out of his lungs from the impact.
"""""Ooo!""""" many in the class winced at the sight.
Dynamite wasn't out of it yet, as he slowly rose to a crouch, glaring over his shoulder at Ryokutō who stood before him, fists raised and ready.
Ryokutō seemed to be saying something to Dynamite, and judging by his mouth, it quickly developed into yelling something. Dynamite was quick to respond in turn, before pressing on something in his ear.
Looking at the other screens, Kórinis saw Glasses doing the same thing, standing next to the fake nuclear bomb.
"What are they saying?" Kirishima asked, voicing the question many of them had in their mind. "These fixed cameras don't have any sound."
"They're communicating with micro transceivers!" All Might explained. "We give them to the battlers along with the building blueprints."
All Might then pulled what looked to be a roll of sticky tape, holding it in the air for the class to see. "Also, this is Capture Tape! Tying this around your opponent is sufficient proof of capture!"
"So they've only got fifteen minutes, but the heroes don't know where the bomb is, right?" Kórinis asked.
"Yes, that's correct!" All Might laughed. "While both heroes and villains were given a map of the building, the villain's maps showed them where the bomb was, so they could make the most of the setup time they were given. After all, villains that are hiding within their lair will know where the bomb they are trying to hide will be!"
"The hero teams are at a real disadvantage, huh," the pinkette noted, with many in the class murmuring in agreement.
"That just means you all have to do what Aizawa told you," All Might said, turning to the class. "Say it with me!"
"""""PLUS ULTRA!""""" the class cheered.
"Ah, Monsieur Bakugo!" Aoyama noted, being one of the few in the class to not join in the chant.
Kórinis turned her attention back to the screens, seeing Dynamite launch off the ground with his explosions. Ryokutō must have yelled for Uraraka to run, since the Gravity Girl started sprinting away from the conflict.
Ryokutō tried to fend off Dynamite, but the explosive blond seemed to have learnt his lesson, as an explosion from his left threw him to the right, allowing him to land a kick to the back of Ryokutō's head. However, the greenet wasn't down, as instead of getting back up or retaliating, Kórinis noticed the line of Capture Tape that was about to be wound around Dynamite's leg.
"No way," she gasped out loud. "He's going for the capture."
Dynamite let forth another massive explosion from his right, but Ryokutō anticipated it, leaping to the side and out of the way.
"He's amazing," one of Kórinis' classmates observed, fiddling with her earphone jack-shaped earlobes. "Going toe-to-toe without using his quirk."
"Against the top-scorer in the Entrance Exam no less," exclaimed an electric blond student standing next to the earphone jack girl. His excitement waned as Ryokutō ran away from Dynamite, rounding a corner and hiding from view. Dynamite was more than pissed, yelling something to Ryokutō while explosions burst from his hands, his expression filled with rage. "But damn, he's really scary."
"You really think that Midoriya's display was impressive?" Sarah asked aloud, causing many in the class to look at her in confusion.
"Well yeah, wasn't it?" Asui, the third heteromorph in the class, asked with a tilted head.
"Think about it," Kórinis' big sister explained. "We know Midoriya's quirk, however ill suited it may seem, allows him to produce tremendous amounts of force in his body. And yet we haven't seen him use it at all, even when it would make sense to."
"Well, yeah, sure, but Midori probably doesn't want to break his body," the pinkette answered. "I mean, I don't blame him, it looks really painful, but he might still have to fight Ida, so he's probably waiting for the right moment."
"Sure, I could understand that, Ashido, but why isn't he simply using less power?"
Sarah's question stumped the class, causing a few to mutter out loud as they thought, only to stop as an answer was given.
"It's because he has no control," the Yaoyorozu heir spoke, staring at the screens as they showed Ryokutō stealthily fleeing down the corridors while Dynamite blew open doors and walls in his search. "Midoriya is like an infant; he has no fine control over his strength, so he is forced to use all of it or none of it, much to the detriment of his body and his surroundings."
"He's probably aware of this more than anyone else, likely resulting in a mental block out of fear of harming his fellow classmates," she continued, completely oblivious of the looks of sheer bewilderment from not only the majority of the class, but All Might as well. "Rather than being impressive, this shows that Midoriya is only able to participate in this test as a quirkless, putting him at a severe disadvantage."
Yaoyorozu glanced around the room, a light blush forming on her cheeks as she noticed the amount of her fellow students with their mouths agape. She glanced over at Sarah, her blush only growing. "Was, was that correct?"
"Uh, yeah, exactly," Sarah answered, a slime growing on her face. "I couldn't have answered it any better myself."
Yaoyorozu didn't answer, but she did lightly smile as she looked away, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
"It would seem that Uraraka has found her quarry," an ominous voice said. Kórinis turned her gaze to the source of the voice, seeing a crow-headed student dressed in a black robe.
Indeed, one of the screens showed Glasses, still in the room with the bomb, but he was unaware of Uraraka poking her head round the corner. While she seemed to be determined, Glasses' next actions broke her concentration.
"Is, is Ida…" someone asked in confusion.
"Yes, yes he is," Sarah sighed, slapping her palm onto her forehead.
Her reaction was understandable, as Glasses seemed to be laughing with his hands in the air. It almost seemed as if…
"Hey, All Might?" Kórinis asked the teacher. "Is Glasses, er, Tenya, well…"
"Yes, young Ida is monologuing and really hamming up the role of a villain," All Might chuckled. "Ah, and it seems young Uraraka found it amusing as well."
Indeed, Uraraka had apparently laughed out loud, as Glasses instantly snapped his gaze around, turning to face the other member of the hero team. He gestured around the room, and while the class couldn't hear what he was saying, they understood the message; there was nothing in the room for her to use her quirk on. Uraraka seemed to know this as well, slowly backing her way out of the room. She pressed on her earpiece, communicating with Ryokutō, who had stopped in the middle of a hallway. He glanced up, possibly to judge where he was in the building, only for the hunter to catch up to the hunted.
"Oh, that's not good," the electric blond muttered, "Bakugo found Midoriya."
Standing at the end of the hallway was Dynamite, blocking off the only way out. His right arm was raised, the grenade-like gauntlet pointed at Ryokutō. They exchanged some words unheard to the class, with Dynamite pulling back the handle of his grenade-gauntlet, revealing a pin.
'Are Dynamite's gauntlets…' Kórinis wondered, only for All Might to answer her question.
"Bakugo, stop it now, kid!" the Symbol of Peace exclaimed into a mic. "Are you trying to kill him?!"
Dynamite either didn't hear or didn't care, because as he pulled the pin, an explosion burst forth.
BOOM!
The class all let out cries of shock and worry as tremors could be felt within the Monitor Room.
"I thought this was just practice!" Kirishima cried out, using an arm to hold onto Ashido, both of them helping to keep the other steady.
"Midoriya, kid!" All Might exclaimed. "Can you hear me? Are you alright?"
While Kórinis was worried about her classmate's safety, movement from another screen caught her attention. Uraraka had taken the distraction of Dynamite's explosion as an opportunity, rushing forward and leaping over Glasses, her quirk in use as she floated towards the bomb.
However, Glasses wasn't idle. Just before Uraraka could touch the weapon and secure the hero team the victory, he grabbed the weapon, repositioning it out of the way. Uraraka took a tumble, her helmet coming off as she crashed into a wall.
Kórinis heard All Might give a sigh of relief, and looking at another screen saw the smoke and dust from the explosions clearing, revealing a scuffed up Ryokutō, alive and conscious.
"Sir, shouldn't you stop him?" Kirishima asked, his voice raised in worry. "Bakugo's crazy. He's looking to kill!"
Kórinis grit her teeth and balled her fists at that statement. Not because Kirishima was wrong, but the opposite. 'What's with you, Dynamite? You're acting so differently from the Entrance Exam. What's with you?'
"Bakugo, use that move again," All Might said, quieting the many murmurs and whispers amongst Kórinis' classmates, "and I will forcibly end the match. You will lose. Using massive attacks like that indoors is just asking to have your own stronghold destroyed! Whether hero or villain, it's a bad move! And a good way to lose points!"
Dynamite clearly heard their teacher, gripping his head and letting out an inaudible yell of frustration. He burst off of the ground, rocketing towards Ryokutō, who seemed to be getting ready to intercept Dynamite again. However, before he could grab him, Dynamite ignited an explosion beneath him to launch himself over Ryokutō's head, the heat and force from the explosion acting as a smokescreen, causing Ryokutō to not see his opponent reposition behind him. Dynamite let out another set of explosions, one from each hand, the left stabilising his movement in the air and the right slamming into Ryokutō's back.
"He used the first explosion to simultaneously feint and change his own tack," Shoto observed. "Then he followed up immediately with another."
"He doesn't seem like a thinker, but that strategy was fairly intricate," Yaoyorozu added.
"And his instincts are great," Kórinis said. "Flashy moves like that rely on a deep understanding of momentum and physics. Dynamite's clearly been training himself to use his quirk in combat."
Dynamite swung his right arm while Ryokutō was reeling from the blow the explosion to his back landed, the right arm slammed into Ryokutō's own right arm. Quickly grabbing Ryokutō's elbow, Dynamite let out a series of explosions with his left arm, creating momentum as he slammed Ryokutō's over his shoulder, causing him to land on his back, just the same as what Ryokutō did to Dynamite only minutes earlier.
"This is just torture now!" Ashido cried out. "He could've already ended it with the Capture Tape!"
"Not very hero-like of him," the crow-headed student said.
"I thought Midoriya was good," Yaoyorozu muttered, "but Bakugo's battle sense just can't be beat."
"You're right," Sarah agreed, looking towards Yaoyorozu. "While Midoriya seems to be fighting based on strategy and planning, it all falls apart when something goes wrong. Conversely, Bakugo is all instinct. This means that his actions, while not as thought out in advance, are much more adaptable. To be honest, the only thing that Midoriya can do…"
"...is flee," Kórinis finished, watching as Ryokutō scrambled up off the floor, trying to get away from Dynamite.
"It's not very manly, but he doesn't have a choice," Kirishima admitted.
Ryokutō tried to escape but was trapped. A wall of concrete behind him, and a VERY angry Dynamite in front of him.
As Dynamite stalked forwards, he continued to yell, and whatever he said seemed to have affected Ryokutō, who started to yell right back at him.
"He's not going for the shot," Ashido realised. "Bakugo sure is confident, huh."
Their argument however didn't last long. The two students started tensing up, both right arms swinging out for a hit on the other. Through the screen, Kórinis noticed the sparks coming off of Ryokutō's arm as the right sleeve of his costume ripped from the pressure. Likewise, Dynamite's hands were glowing with explosive sweat, the prelude to another powerful explosion.
Whatever the outcome of the blows, no matter who was left standing, everyone in the Monitor Room knew it was going to end badly.
"Sir!" Kirishima shouted to All Might, who seemed frozen at the sight. "This looks bad, you need to stop it! Sir!"
"Both of you!" All Might began. "Stop th-"
But before he could finish, something caught his attention. Movement from the room housing the weapon drew everyone's attention, seeing Uraraka grabbing hold onto one of the supporting pillars in the room.
Before the class could wonder why she had done that, Ryokutō and Dynamite's blows landed.
BOOM!
SMASH!
While Dynamite's blast connected directly with Ryokutō, the greenet's blow flew upwards, the air pressure slamming into the ceiling.
Multiple screens captured the different perspectives, a few of them showing the damage the hit caused, smashing through multiple floors of the building, including the weapon room. The floor burst open, causing rubble to fly skyward. Uraraka, still holding onto the pillar that was now disconnected to the floor, must have used her quirk on it, for there was no other explanation as to how such a short girl would have been able to swing the pillar, smashing it into the flying debris.
Glasses instinctively raised his hands to cover his helmed face, protecting it from the makeshift projectiles that were launched at him. Of course, this prevented him from noticing Uraraka, who used her quirk on herself to leap over the gap, floating through the air. Releasing her quirk's effect on herself, she collided with the top of the weapon, holding onto it with both arms and legs.
"The hero…" All Might began, just as surprised by the ending as the class. "The hero team…WINS!"
While the class should have been celebrating their classmates' victory, only stunned silence could be heard. After all, who could have predicted an ending like that.
"You all wait here," All Might ordered, moving from his spot by the computer terminal. "I'll go check on your classmates. I've already called for a stretcher for young Midoriya, but it's always good to be sure."
With that, the Symbol of Peace burst out of the door, creating a wind gust in his wake.
"The losing team is nearly unscathed, while the winners are down for the count," the crow-head student stated.
Kórinis could see that what he said was true. While Dynamite and Glasses were practically untouched, Ryokutō and Uraraka were completely out of it, either passed out on the floor or keeled over and throwing up.
"They lost the battle, but they won the war, so to speak," he concluded.
After a few minutes of waiting, All Might returned with Glasses, Dynamite, and Uraraka in tow. Ryokutō was missing, but All Might explained that he was taken to Recovery Girl's office so he could be healed and recuperate. And despite her attempts at catching his attention or gaze, Dynamite simply didn't look at Kórinis. He didn't really look at anything really, his gaze downcast, his expression distant and withdrawn. Whatever had happened between him and Ryokutō, as well as the result of the battle, had really shaken him.
"Well, I'd say the V.I.P. in this battle was Ida!" All Might declared as he started the post-battle analysis.
"Whaa?!" Glasses gasped, just as surprised as everyone else why he had been chosen.
"Not Uraraka or Midoriya?" Asui asked. "Even though they won?"
"I wonder why?" All Might rhetorically asked, gazing over the class. "Anyone know?!"
""I do, sir,"" two voices said, Sarah and Yaoyorozu speaking over the top of each other.
"You go," Sarah said, lowering her hand.
"Oh, um," Yaoyorozu stammered, coughing into her hand. "Well, it's because Ida was the most able to adapt to the scenario. From what I saw, Bakugo's every action was motivated by an obvious personal grudge. And as you mentioned before, sir, using destructive attacks indoors is foolish. Midoriya's performance suffered from the same faults."
Dynamite didn't even respond, simply staring at the floor, only the slightest twitch of his lips showing any indication he was more than a statue.
"Uraraka lost focus halfway through," Yaoyorozu continued. "And her final attack was far too haphazard. Such an attack would have been unthinkable if the nuclear weapon were real."
Uraraka only looked at the ground, though her expression at least showed she was accepting her criticism.
"But Ida formed an actual counter-strategy," Yaoyorozu added, "and he envisioned what the actual struggle would be like. He was only too late in reacting at the very end. The hero team only won because this was a training exercise with exploitable constraints."
The class was stunned silent, the only sounds being Glasses' quiet sniffles from how touched he was by Yaoyorozu's praise, while also being comforted by a proud looking Sarah.
'Not bad, Glasses, not bad,' Kórinis thought to herself.
"I-I'd also add that Ida was a bit too stiff," All Might hesitated, his face tensed, most likely from Yaoyorozu's spot on answer, "but yes, you're correct."
"We've got to start at the bottom and work up!" Yaoyorozu declared, her hands on her hips. "And if we don't earnestly cheer each other on, we'll never be top heroes!"
'Ah, that's right, Shoto mentioned that she was at the Recommended Exams,' Kórinis thought to herself. 'Guess her parent's money didn't buy her a ticket to U.A. after all.'
"Right, now then," All Might began, before pausing as he saw Sarah's raised arm. "Yes, young Kurusu? Did you have something to add?"
"Yes, sir," her sister answered. "While Yaoyorozu did mention Bakugo's foolish actions with his large explosion taking out the side of the building, I believe that extra attention should be focused on Midoriya's final move."
"What about it?" All Might asked, tilting his head. "Yaoyorozu already mentioned that it was a bad move, there really isn't any need to go over established material."
"Correct, but Yaoyorozu forgot to mention one key factor," Sarah elaborated. "Real-world application."
Silence rang out within the Monitor Room as people failed to see what she was alluding to.
"In a real-world scenario, what are the chances of the building that the villains were using being deserted?" Sarah asked.
"Low," All Might admitted, understanding beginning to dawn on his face. "In fact, with people within the building that the bomb has been placed, the villains would have hostages that they could exploit."
"My point exactly," Sarah nodded. "Even if we say that the villains chose an already inhabited location because it made it inconspicuous, that still means that there are those unaware of the event in question. An argument could be made that the civilians would be evacuated, but what is to stop the villains from threatening to activate the bomb. Thus, Midoriya's floor-destroying blow runs the risk of unnecessarily endangering the lives of countless civilians.
"Additionally, even if we assume the best case scenario where all civilians are out of the way and evacuated safely, Midoriya's attack still blew a hole through multiple floors and the roof, launching debris and rubble into the sky. According to Newton's law of gravity, whatever goes up must come down. While in a perfect world the rubble would fall right back into the hole that was created within the building, thus keeping collateral damage to a minimum, a real-world scenario would likely see debris falling outside, potentially damaging property, vehicles, roads and pavements, or even injuring civilians, first responders, and fellow heroes."
The class was stunned silent once again, though Kórinis smirked at the response they had to her big sister.
'Way to rip into the little guy, Sarah,' Kórinis thought. 'Good thing he isn't here, or else he'd probably be looking for a hole to crawl in.'
"Yes, um, well," All Might coughed, "you both did very well in your critique. Even though this is meant to be a training exercise, you both looked to the future, to when you all are Pros. So well done, top marks."
Sarah gave Yaoyorozu a congratulatory nod, a small smile on her lips. Yaoyorozu gave her own hesitative nod before turning back to their teacher.
"Well," All Might began, drawing out the Hero and Villain boxes, "let's see who's up next."
All Might plunged his hands into the boxes, and after a second of deciding drew out the deciding letters.
Alright, full disclosure: I didn't like this chapter, the second half specifically. I love writing character dialogue, both internal and external, but I think having to write from Kórinis' perspective of the Team A VS Team D Battle Trial was painful. I did a bunch of changes and tweaks, and even though I am content with the way it ended, I'm not really happy with it. I think the problem ultimately boils down to the fact there was no other way to do it. I can't do it from the perspective of Izuku, Ochako, Tenya or Katsuki, because LITERALLY NOTHING HAS CHANGED FROM CANON. I didn't feel comfortable rehashing old stuff, which is why Izuku VS the Zero pointer was cut, Izuku's reaction to getting into U.A. was cut (because let's be honest, getting one point isn't going to change a whole lot), and literally all of Izuku's backstory.
Anyway, author rant over. As you saw, we are going to be getting into the other Battle Trials over the next few chapters, and yes, I did say chapters, as in plural. Each fight will have its own chapter, which allows for the spotlight to be on different people, while also giving me a chance to build up the backlog. These chapters should be shorter than the usual ones, which doesn't mean much when my chapters are averaging around 11k words.
Also, full disclosure: Sarah's criticism came right from the heart. It is never addressed much in the franchise, but Izuku at the beginning of the series is an active detriment as a hero. He can only go 0% or 100%, with absolutely no middle ground. Unless you want something turned into a red mist, he's basically quirkless. That also isn't factoring in the environmental damage he'd do. All Might is weaker than 100% Izuku, simply due to the nature of One For All. Yet All Might doesn't have these issues. The answer: All Might holds back. To quote Mihawk, "I don't hunt rabbits with a cannon." Suffice to say, Izuku without any training is near useless, and he will be receiving some advice from our two new characters, because they have something literally no one else in the series has: they know someone with a similar problem. I won't say who it is just yet, but try and guess in a comment. Maybe you'll get a cookie if you're right. The answer will be revealed during the Sports Festival, so you have a good while to think up an idea.
Alright, rants and info dumps over, let's get into some reviews:
Foodmoon, once again thanks for your review. To be honest, I only know about the whole Dekiru meaning from the MHA wiki site, as well as my own research to make sure it was accurate. The idea that there is a regional accent that pronounces 'dekiru' as 'deku' is a cool idea, though I'm not sure where that is. If it's from the Mie prefecture, that would actually make quite a bit of sense, as that's the prefecture that Ochako is from, and apparently she does have an accent. Obviously it doesn't translate well into English, but it's a cool idea anyway.
Secondly, HOLY SHIT, LEONARDO18ANIME, YOU NOTICED ME, SENPAI! All jokes aside, I can't believe someone of your calibre checked out my story, it truly humbles me. I'm really glad you liked my story, and don't you worry, class 1-A, specifically two members in particular, will have quite the reaction to Kimihito and his family. Class 1-A won't be meeting them until the Sports Festival, so look forward to that (I'm also realising how many reveals are scheduled for the Sports Festival…)
Finally, Sakumon16, thanks for your reviews. Bloody hell, you left a few, so let's go through them. First, MWAHAHAHA! Yes, you will be dragged back into the ecchi insanity that is Monster Musume, tremble in fear!
Secondly, yeah, ever since I had this idea, Kimihito having a regeneration quirk was set in stone. There are actually theories in universe that Kimihito has liminal (monster) ancestry, which would explain his absolutely bonkers endurance. Each time he is 'knocked out', he actually dies, but is simply too stubborn to stay dead, causing Lala to investigate. Also with Suu, my reasoning is that even though her body is made out of slime, some functions and capabilities would still remain, such as fertility. And yeah, having seven wives is going to cause anyone to have a few children, especially when some of his women decide to go for round two with child raising.
Thirdly, thank you for liking my craft, but what do you mean you take back what you said? You dare question the monster girl supremacy?! Report to the nearest reeducation camp, if you behave you shall be given a monster girl waifu.
Fourth, yeah, it would cheer up Katsuki to know that he has completed the first step in surpassing All Might, beating his previous record. However, a point I want to bring up is that Katsuki isn't necessarily nicer in this timeline, we're simply seeing him from another perspective. In a few chapters, chapter 10 to be precise, we're going to get a look at why he hates Izuku so much, and no, being quirkless isn't the reason. I wanted to flesh him out some more, make him a complex character. On one hand, what he did in the early days of the series was wrong, no question about it. Even what he did in this chapter was borderline. However, he isn't a one note character, something I hope to build on. Also yes, Sarah and Kórinis are awesome, each of them are going to get their own screen time and awesome moments, and I can finally confirm that I have their romance partners sorted. Kórinis is simple, you can all tell it's going to be Katsuki. Sarah on the other hand is going to be a surprise. I can guarantee that you won't be able to figure out who she will be paired with, because it isn't ONE person, though this won't happen for a while.
And finally, Rachnera running and owning a clothing company simply made sense. In canon, Rachnera made money by selling her silk, so why not make a business out of clothing? And given who she is, making lingerie seems like something she'd enjoy making, even if it wasn't as a job. Mineta is going to get multiple moments of error, so feel free to try and guess when it's going to happen. In terms of Shoto's second cousin, it's Kuu, the daughter of Suu. Enji, better known as Endeavor, is the cousin of Suu, and anyone who knows Suu's mother will probably be able to start to piece the puzzle of their ancestry together. For Salamander, Shoto's grandmother, you'll hear about her in a few chapters, and she will also be making an appearance at the Sports Festival. Full disclosure, her existence probably made one of the largest waves of change in the story, so I'm very proud of how she turned out. Hell, I'm planning to make a oneshot 'What If' surrounding a turning point in history if things with her went differently, but that won't be for a while.
Also, love your profile pic. 'My Elf Wife' is one of my favourite romance manga, so good choice.
Before I go, I decided to start a tradition of doing a bit of a sneak peek for the upcoming chapter. As such, next chapter is going to be called, 'Octopus & Spirit VS Tail and Ghost'. Additionally, due to it being the final week of university, assessments were piling up (40% assessments are so painful). Unfortunately, my body decided that now was also the perfect time to keel over and get sick. Suffice to say, I haven't finished writing the next chapter, so there will probably be a week delay. That and I'll be in Australia for a week, but I should have the next chapter published on the 18th of November.
That's all from me, so see you next time…
- Jevm