Alright next chapter! Enjoy! Been having a little trouble with Pat eon for some reason.
Izuku was slightly excited for his class today. It would officially be his first day attending hero class with 101-B, along with his friends. Izuku couldn't help but glance at the clock ever so often before concentrating back on class, which was currently mathematics with Ectoplasm.
Ectoplasm couldn't help but glance at Izuku, mentally sighing to himself. While it was true that he had voted to kick Izuku out of the hero class, he didn't hold a hate boner that Shota seemed to have on Izuku. In fact, he was just remembering his little conversation with the said man.
'Give him detention. Make it so he can't attend hero class this afternoon. That seems to be overreaching there,' thought Ectoplasm. Izuku so far had been a model student, though it had only been three days since the school year started.
Granted, there had been that confrontation at lunch, but that had been Shota's own fault for instigating that event. There had never been any sort of rule that forbade students from other departments from interacting with each other. That would have been, as Shota would have put it, the height of irrationality to have such a rule. Generally, students would interact with students within their own departments, but that didn't mean friendships couldn't cross departments.
Izuku also had a legitimate reason for his axe against Shota, having been expelled from the Hero Department just to make room for his own apprentice despite scoring the highest in both the written and the practical exam for someone who failed his practical. Quirkless Izuku may be, he did not despair and complain, and found a way to fight despite the circumstances against him. Ectoplasm had met Shota's apprentice, and did not have many good things to say about him, at least from first impressions.
Not to mention Izuku was currently Nezu's own apprentice, meaning he had a lot more leeway than other students than one would know. Dean Nezu…. It was safer not to think about what he could do, otherwise, he would go out of his way to prove you wrong. No doubt he was monitoring the whole situation right now. If Ectoplasm tried to give Izuku detention for anything other than a legitimate reason, then it would be his ass on fire, figuratively and perhaps literally if Nezu had his way.
And finally, there was a bit of a cold war within the staff of U.A. Hizashi, who was supposed to be Shota's best friend, who was acting aloof and cold towards him for his decision. Shota, however, stood his ground, stating that he was right and they would see the wisdom in his choice and the error of the Dean's choice.
"Any questions so far?" asked Ectoplasm as he finished explaining a monomial problem.
Looking around, he saw a good dozen looking dazed but at least writing notes. Tsutsutaka looked like his pompadour was going to wilt, but was still functioning at least.
Then Ectoplasm looked over to Izuku, noticing he was meticulously jotting all the notes down without any look of confusion. In fact, he seemed a little bored from his facial expression.
'Nothing enough to warrant any sort of punishment,' shrugged Ectoplasm.
He knew that if it had been Shota, he would've made up any sort of excuse. It was a good thing that he was not him, though. He would do his job faithfully and not stir up trouble just for the sake of pride. Otherwise, it would be his own ass in the line of fire, both figuratively and literally, if Nezu had a say in it.
Lunchtime
Izuku ate his lunch with his friends and lovers, eager for the first official lesson in heroics. He was not the only one eating eagerly though. The others of 101B were eager to have their first heroics lesson as well with the mysterious Foundational Heroics professor whose identity had yet to be released. They knew that 101A knew, but they were keeping silent on just who it was.
"You ready to kick butt?" asked Ochako as she ate her bowl of rice.
Izuku eagerly nodded as he demolished his Katsudon. He was not the only one though.
"I CAN'T WAIT EITHER!" exclaimed Inasa as he ate his own rice bowl, spraying rice up into the air as he talked and ate.
"Dude, just eat it, don't spray it," said Tsutsutaka as he held up his lunch plate to protect himself, leading to Inasa apologizing with a bow that ended up slamming his face into the lunch table.
While they tried to get Inasa back up, Izuku was wondering why Shota hadn't tried to interfere or pull something out of his ass to stop Izuku from attending the afternoon heroics class.
The reason why Shota wasn't at the cafeteria was that he was currently in a lunch meeting with Nezu, Vlad, and Toshinori regarding future heroics lessons. As much as Shota wanted to skip out, he knew he couldn't as he was one of the homeroom teachers for the freshman year.
"I've been thinking of doing something a little different this year," began Nezu, "As you know, we tend to have alternating days for the hero classes of 101A and 101B, and usually don't do group activities until much later, usually into the second semester. However, this year, I want to make that change. The two hero classes will have more classes merged together. The first is to foster more friendlier relationships between the two classes. The less obvious reason is to allow our new professor some time to adjust."
The others glanced at Toshinori, currently in his true emaciated form. The man had revealed the truth to his new colleagues shortly before the semester started and gave them all enough relevant information about his situation. It was obvious this scheduling change was to allow Toshinori to gradually shift away from the public while giving him enough time to adjust to his new work setting, especially with a short time limit to his All Might form to avoid the truth about his injuries from being discovered.
"I see no problems," boomed Vlad, "Long as Aizawa can control his students, especially his little 'protege'."
Shota wanted to snark back, but a glare from Nezu made him hold his tongue while Nezu lightly reprimanded Vlad.
Izuku walked towards 101B, taking a second to take a deep breath before entering the room. At once, the students inside became silent as they saw Izuku entering, remembering him as the personal apprentice of Nezu, the only student in 101N.
"Izuku, over here!" waved Itsuka, gesturing for him to come towards her group.
Izuku quickly walked over to them, causing the class to fall back into a small discussion once more.
"Are you ready?" asked Ochako eagerly, "What about your costume? Did you also get an allowance for your costume design?"
Izuku shook his head, "The HPSC didn't deign me worthy of having one despite being Dean Nezu's chosen recommendation. He did offer to personally pay for my own costume, but I think I'm mostly set with what I've gotten made."
'Mostly because my masters gave me some really good gear,' added Izuku to himself mentally.
His last visit to the Divine Feathers sect, after managing to survive his life-and-death spar against one of his master's wife, netted him some nice equipment for his level. Though it was worthless in the eyes of the many cultivators there, it was useful for his current level as well as for his world. The demon beast skins that had been tanned and refined into leather armor could stop a bullet, though granted cultivators at the Divine Feather's sect could easily punch through such things with just their fist.
The door could be heard sliding open before a muscled hand gripped the sides.
"I am coming in… Like a normal person!" declared All Might as he entered into the room, his cape billowing with the wind despite being indoors.
At once, everyone began talking excitedly about the fact that All Might was apparently their Foundational Heroic Studies Professor. All but Izuku, who's eyes narrowed at the sight of All Might.
'He still hasn't taken that pill!?' thought Izuku to himself, 'Why hasn't he done so? Did he throw it away, thinking it was useless? Wait, no it looks like he still has it on him. But why?'
Izuku shook his head, clearing his thoughts away as he listened to what All Might was saying. It wasn't his responsibility, and he had already been generous enough to give him the pill.
"Combat Training!" declared All Might as he held out a white piece of plastic with the words Battle on it, "Your homeroom professor already had you try out your costume for a routine patrol, now it is time to test it out in battle!"
All Might coughed for a second before continuing, "If there are any corrections you wish to make after this class, be sure to fill out the proper forms and deliver them to either the Support Department or your professor!"
With a click of a button, the wall began to shift as they revealed shelves with their hero costumes, each labeled with the student number and name.
"Go get changed, and come to Ground Beta when you're done!" ordered All Might before dashing out to the meeting ground.
The others grabbed their suitcases and were about to leave when they noticed there wasn't one for Izuku himself.
"Don't worry about me," smiled Izuku, "The dean already has my costume ready in my locker."
The others smiled, and while a few left, most waited for Izuku to come with them to travel in a group. Soon, they were in their respective locker rooms, separated by gender.
The boys were all quickly stripping out of their uniforms, getting ready to put on their uniforms. While half naked, the boys couldn't help but glance around, sizing each other up in a friendly way. Since they were training to be heroes, most of them were quite fit. Some were either chubbier or skinnier than others, but they still had muscle mass. Yuga was more on the skinnier side, but he still had some muscles.
"Damn, dude, your muscles look awesome! You gotta give me your diet and workout plan!" exclaimed Eijrio, causing a few to look over at what Eijiro was pointing at.
Izuku merely shrugged as he turned around in reply, allowing them all to see why Eijiro was so excited. It became obvious why Eijiro had exclaimed. With his uniform on, Izuku seemed to be more on the leaner build than muscular. However, with his shirt, they could see pure muscles with almost no trace of fat in them at all. As if he had taken the muscular bulky build and shrunken it down to fit the lean build.
"You could grind meat on those abs," noted Eijiro before puffing up, chest out, "But you can't beat my abs! I can actually grind meat and cheese on them!"
With those words, Eijiro activated his quirk, hardening his stomach muscles so they were jagged and stiff.
With that, people began to laugh at Eijiro's joke as they continued to put their costumes on.
Izuku smiled, recognizing Eijiro's attempt to break the ice and introduce himself.
"Did you actually test it?" asked Tetsutetsu curiously from the side.
"Yep! Mina wanted some grated cheese on her pasta dish when we went on a date, and the waiter tried to grate some with his grater, but the thing broke in his hands before he could even try. Before he could get a replacement, Mina just took the cheese and said she had her own personal grater before holding the dish and pasta right before my stomach. I instinctively hardened my stomach before she began grinding the cheese on it. Poor waiter looked flabbergasted at our actions, and almost fell down to the ground in shock when Mina said she liked the extra flavor of her personal grater," laughed Eijiro.
The others laughed as they finished putting on the final touches of their costume. Izuku glanced at his own costume, nodding in satisfaction. He was wearing a forest green jumpsuit that Nezu had commissioned himself despite Izuku telling him it wasn't necessary. Underneath the cloth was a kevlar suit that would help protect Izuku from a variety of attacks. However, that wasn't the main protection. Underneath his jumpsuit were artifacts designed to protect Izuku even further from harm in the form of clothes that he could wear underneath everything. They were far stronger than kevlar, but Izuku appreciated Nezu's efforts despite being denied an official allowance. Izuku doubted anyone in his class could bypass its defense so easily.
Izuku also wore a belt with pouches attached to it, but it was a mere disguise to keep his storage artifact hidden from view that was around his belt, underneath the jumpsuit. He would merely reach into one of the empty pouches before using his storage artifact to pull out whatever he needed. Attached to the belt were daggers that Izuku made, three across each thigh.
Underneath everything else were also hidden weapons that Izuku had made from his lessons under Tang San. Silent sleeve dart on both arms, Tense Back Flower Adornment Crossbow on his back, daggers built into his shoes, right above the soles. All of them were the non-lethal versions, though he had the originals if he needed to swap. His self-made grappling hook, aka Flying God Claw version Modern, could be visibly seen attached to the right side of his body. While the original was a thing of beauty, it was also too bulky to use. Not to mention the technology in his world surpassed the original version's original world. The grappling hook was smaller, more compact, and yet stronger in terms of tensile strength and gripping power. In addition, he also had a rebreather that hung over his neck that he could easily put into his mouth, giving him 10 minutes worth of oxygen.
Overall, Izuku felt prepared to step out into his first class in Heroics.
All Might gave a critical eye to everyone's costume as they walked in. Having gone through several different costume changes as well as working with whom he could call one of his best friends/sidekick on his costume, he had enough experience to judge whether or not there should be any changes to costumes. Already he had written up some suggestions concerning 101A students' costumes and passed them on to Shota to pass them to his students. He had been worried about Katsuki's grenadier bracers being too powerful for a freshman, but upon reading the more detailed description, he relaxed a little. Originally he had thought that it was a one-shot explosion that gathered all his sweat in one go. To see it was more complicated than what he had originally judged was a relief, though he still sent a recommendation to make sure that his equipment was exactly what he requested. He had seen heroes use support gear, only for it not to work as specified, and cause a huge mess.
Even his own gear, which seemed like a simple jumpsuit that fit him tightly, was synthesized with materials able to withstand his might power, easy to suit up and slip clothes over if needed. The belt, which seemed like just an accessory, actually had secret compartments with various first aid equipment to treat minor wounds, or at least help stabilize those with major wounds.
While he understood the aesthetics of some costumes, he felt like some took it too far.
As his eyes wandered, they hovered over Izuku's own costume, immediately looking over it.
'He's prepared for a variety of tasks,' noted All Might, seeing the pouches on his belt as well as the daggers and hook shot, 'Good. He's not trying to be stuck in one position, especially in the front line.'
Clearing his throat, All Might grabbed everyone's attention before explaining their training today.
"Indoor anti-personnel battle training!" began All Might, "Villain battles are usually seen outdoors, but the truly heinous and clever villains are more likely to lurk indoors. Imprisonment, house arrest, backroom deals... all of these almost always happen indoors or in the shadows in this hero-filled society of ours. With that in mind, for this test, you will be separated into 'Heroes' and 'Villains' for a two-on-two team indoor battle! Luckily, unlike the previous class, we have an even number, so this will make it even. Two teams will have a team of 3, and they will be fighting against each other to make it fair."
All Might began explaining the script before finishing it off by drawing lots to determine partners.
Izuku found himself teamed up with Himiko and Yuga, and would be fighting against Inasa, Tetsutetsu, and Toru, with his team being the heroes.
Everyone immediately broke off into their groups, making plans and small introductions if needed.
Himiko grinned as she skipped over to Izuku before twirling in a circle for a second.
"Like my hero costume?" asked Himiko with a grin.
Himiko was wearing a red gothic lolita dress that went down to her knees. On her belt was her support gear, a blood-sucking machine. Attached to the back were two large green tubes with wires connecting to six cylinders armed with retractable needles. Underneath her dress were combat knives, hidden under the dress with holsters strapped to her thighs.
"Is that your permanent one?" asked Izuku, noting that all she would need to really complete the outfit was a hat and perhaps an umbrella.
Himiko laughed before waving her hand in midair, "Eh, kinda and not really. I have a catsuit that's also being commissioned, but that's not done yet. This one will probably be my more public one, while the catsuit will be when I work undercover. Both have my hair infused into it."
"Mademoiselle, it is certainly nice, but it's not as flashy or elegant as moi!" exclaimed Yuga as he somehow sparkled as he posed in his uniform, which was fashioned to look like a knight, though more modernized and made with his quirk in mind, along with rather oversized sunglasses.
Izuku could only chuckle as Yuga introduced himself, along with his quirk Naval Laser.
"So, I hear that you're quirkless?" asked Yuga as he finished his introduction, "You must have endured quite a bit of… harassment."
Izuku noticed Yuga's tone turned slightly dark, raising his eyebrows at that. Yuga must've caught it as he began to explain himself further.
"Merci, I'm sorry if I seem blunt or intrusive," apologized Yuga quickly, "For you see, yours truly, moi, was also subject to that early in my life. I thought I was quirkless when I didn't get a quirk when I was four. It was only when I was six that my parents took me to a Quirk specialist to discover that I truly had a quirk that needed to be unlocked. If you wish, I could see if my parents could find the doctor to see if you have a quirk, or if it is just hidden."
Izuku hesitated for a second before shaking his head, "It's alright. I've no desire to try to raise my hopes, only to be dashed. I'm content with what I can do, thanks to my masters. The offer is truly appreciated though. Let's focus on what we're going to do though."
After a few minutes of conversation, Izuku's team would be going first up against Inasa's team. The two teams left the main monitoring room to head to the respective buildings where they would be carrying out the exercise.
"GOOD LUCK! AND MAY THE BEST TEAM WIN!" said Inasa in a friendly competitive tone as he entered the building with his teammates.
"So how are we going to do this?" asked Himiko as she stretched her limbs, "Stick together or spread out?"
"Luckily there's only four floors," said Izuku as he glanced at the building, "There's no basement in this building, though I wouldn't discount that theory out. We'll have to go through each floor. Something tells me though that Yoarashi and Tetsutetsu are rather straightforward people."
Himiko nodded, "And don't forget Hagakure. She might try to sneak behind us to attack while we're distracted. If we go out individually, she could spy on us and lead us into a trap if we're not careful."
"Ah, but I would sparkle and shine as I break us out of it!" exclaimed Yuga.
"Let's not risk that. Yoarashi scored first in the recommendation exam for a reason," said Izuku sternly, "From what Momo and Setsuna have told me, he can manipulate the air around him."
Soon, All Might announced the start of the battle, allowing Izuku and the others to enter the building.
"Let's go!" said Izuku.
The other two nodded, not minding that Izuku had taken the lead. As the trio quickly found the stairs leading up to the next floor, Izuku slyly used his Purple Demon Eye to inspect the area. Having raised to Mustard Seed level, he could survey his surroundings with ease, even through a wall. It was there that he saw Toru hiding behind a wall next to the doorway, keeping silent as she peeked out. What almost made him stumble though was the fact Toru was completely naked.
Izuku was no stranger to the female body, having lovers in his bed, but seeing a naked woman in the middle of combat was another thing.
'Has she not heard of DNA-infused clothing?' questioned Izuku to himself, 'Or is that not a viable option for her? Could be hard if her clothes are also invisible as well if infused, but there has to be a way to bypass that.'
At the same time, he couldn't help but admire her beauty, unique hair color, and obviously toned body, all while noting that she shaved everything from the neck below... Izuku had to shake his head to break his line of thought, even if he couldn't help notice it.
"I doubt they'll be brazen enough to do the first or second floor, let's look for the stairs to the next floor," advised Izuku.
The other two nodded and quickly scaled up the floors. Toru quickly followed behind them, slowly but silently tapping three times on her communicator hidden beneath her hair to indicate where they were at.
'Not bad,' thought Izuku, 'She's very silent and light on her steps. Too bad she's unaware that I'm not the only one who's sensed her.'
Izuku glanced at Himiko, who had somehow noticed something was off. She kept glancing back behind her, trying to see just what her senses were telling her. Izuku coughed slightly, grabbing her attention before signaling with his hands in front of his chest to avoid having Toru see his hand gestures. Himiko immediately understood his gestures, slyly palming her syringes.
As they reached the third floor, Himiko immediately reacted, throwing the syringe right where Izuku had directed.
Toru couldn't quite react in time to her sudden movements, thus the syringe slammed into her shoulder. Toru winced in pain, but before she could try to pry it out, Himiko was already upon her, slamming her to the ground with one hand on her chest to push her down while her other arm quickly shifted up, pressing down onto where Himiko estimated was Toru's neck.
"Gotcha!" smirked Himiko before noticing something was off. She squeezed her left hand that was on Toru's chest, eliciting a moan from Toru before she squeaked.
"You don't have any clothes on?" deadpanned Himiko, "Why aren't you wearing DNA-infused clothing?"
"I don't know what that is?" squeaked Toru, "And could you stop squeezing my chest? It's embarrassing."
"We're going to have a talk with the professor about the clear lack of oversight in your costume design," said Himiko.
"But first, let's put this capture tape around her," suggested Izuku, pulling out the capture tape to wrap around Toru, signifying she was captured and out.
There was no announcement about it, as it would be foolish to let the other team know they were down a member in the middle of the exercise.
Himiko tugged the syringe out of Toru's shoulder, though not before letting it suck some blood out of her. She figured it could be useful to transform into Toru to trick the other two.
Toru began to descend the stairs, leaving the building to head back to the monitoring room, making sure to mute her mic so she couldn't accidentally cheat.
"Let's go," said Izuku with the other two nodding in agreement. They began to slowly explore the 3rd floor, looking for the bomb, all while peaking around the corner so as to not be surprised.
Soon, they saw Tetsutetsu patrolling the area, looking all around him.
Izuku glanced over at Yuga, signaling him to sneak attack him with his quirk. Yuga nodded before suddenly jumping out into the middle of the hall, standing with a pose.
"Behold my beautiful Navel Laser!" shouted Yuga, not only alerting Tetsutetsu of his position but also giving him enough time to activate his quirk, transforming his whole body into steel.
Izuku almost facepalmed at this. He had meant for Yuga to do a sneak attack, not jump out and shout to the enemy to alert them of his position and attack.
The attack failed to hurt Tetsutetsu, who tanked through it without much trouble.
"There you are!" grinned Tetsutetsu as he charged towards them, "They're on the 3rd floor!"
"Himiko-chan, go!" ordered Izuku, "Take the chance to head to the fourth floor without being seen!"
Himiko nodded, having hidden behind the wall further from them before dashing towards the stairs. As she did so, she drank Toru's blood, allowing her quirk to activate. Gray slime suddenly appeared from Himiko before molding all over her body. In a split second, Himiko took on Toru's appearance while fading out of sight.
Yuga kept blasting at Tetsutetsu, who charged forward, tanking his shots without hesitation.
"Uurrrg, my poor tummy," groaned Yuga as he had to take a break before his stomach gave out on him, and more if he wasn't careful.
Izuku took this chance to blitz toward Tetsutetsu, who looked surprised at the head-on attack but grinned at the seemingly straightforward attack.
"I'll crush you!" shouted Tetsutetsu as he raised his steel fist up for a right straight.
Izuku's hands turned white as he used Mysterious Jade Hands to harden his hands, intercepting the punch.
At first, Tetsutetsu was slightly worried that upon impact that Izuku's hand would be crushed. Then he found out that somehow Izuku's hand was just as hard, if not harder than his own steel skin. Tetsutetsu didn't get the chance to contemplate this as Izuku's hands grabbed his fist and wrist and began to turn.
Izuku swept Tetsutetsu's leg from under him with a swift leg sweep while turning his body. Using Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Izuku turned Tetsutetsu into an unwilling flying steel pole right into the ground. The impact not only created a crater but also sent Tetsutetsu right through the floor. Due to his added density and weight, Tetsutetsu ended up plowing into the first floor.
"This should buy us some time to explore," said Izuku quickly towards Yuga, "Let's go-"
Izuku found himself being interrupted as a gust of wind suddenly slammed into the duo.
"HAHAHA, FOUND YOU!" laughed Inasa as he did a slow menacing walk towards them, acting out like a villain, "NOW THAT I'VE FOUND YOU, SURRENDER HEROES!"
As to emphasize his point, he gestured with his hands, summoning another gust of wind that forced Izuku to lower his center of gravity to maintain his balance while Yuga was sent flailing and flying, only just managing to grab the edge of a door to stop himself from being flung away.
Izuku glanced back before jumping backward, letting the wind take him, surprising Inasa. However, Izuku was in complete control as he bounced off the walls and ceilings, grabbing Yuga before disappearing into a room.
Inasa laughed and was about to follow when he saw two gleams of light suddenly curving around the door, flashing through the air towards him. He immediately summoned a wall of wind to protect himself, sending the objects up into the ceiling. Inasa glanced at the said object to see they were blunted needles aimed for nonvital areas meant to disable if they were sharp.
"Interesting!" grinned Inasa, "You're much better than I thought!"
Izuku carried Yuga into a room before quickly opening a window, sticking Yuga outside.
"Grab onto the ledge!" ordered Izuku as he tossed him up high.
Yuga managed to grab onto the window above them, firing his quirk to break the window before going in. He leaned out to stick his hand out for Izuku, only for him to shake his head.
"I'll run distraction. You help Himiko find the bomb. Remain in communication with each other. I'll try to warn you if I get overwhelmed," said Izuku before sticking his head back inside, closing the window.
Yuga nodded as he quickly ran away to explore the building. Izuku quickly ran through some doors, having memorized the building layout as his hands quickly reached into his pouch.
Inasa came storming into the room, prepared to attack when he saw nobody in there.
"YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE!" shouted Inasa as he began rushing through the rooms to hunt them down.
Inasa rushed into another room just in time to see two more gleaming lights flash through the air. He immediately summoned another gust of wind, directing it with his instincts screaming at him, so he quickly turned around, raising his left arm in time to block an ax kick from Izuku.
"HAHAHA, AS EXPECTED!" cheered Inasa, "LET'S SEE WHAT YOU GOT!"
Inasa threw an uppercut that was backed up with wind, only for Izuku to push off his arm with his leg, making Inasa miss. Inasa barely had time to register anything as Izuku barely touched the ground before blitzing right towards him.
'Fast!' thought Inasa as he tried to hurl another gust of wind at Izuku to blow him away, only for Izuku to suddenly disappear from his view.
Inasa couldn't even hear any footsteps before he took a blow to his body. Coughing in pain, Inasa quickly summoned a whirlwind around him to defend himself, but Izuku had already retreated. As the winds died down, Izuku came rushing forward once more.
Inasa found himself being vastly outmatched when it came to close combat, and quietly reprimanded himself for leaving such an obvious flaw. Still, he was enjoying himself, and the fine control of his quirk allowed him to push Izuku away every now and then. Still, for him to utilize his quirk's full power, he needed free control of his limbs, and with Izuku forcing him to defend himself, he couldn't do so.
"I'll help!" shouted Tetsutetsu as he burst into the room, having to run back up the stairs, "I gotcha now!"
Izuku responded by grabbing his telescopic staff within his pouch and pointing it at Tetsutestu, letting it expand right toward him. Tetsutetsu felt his eyes widen as he instinctively dodged the expanding staff. Izuku twirled his staff before using it to not only attack, but keep both his opponents at bay.
Meanwhile, in the monitoring room, the students were closely watching Izuku fighting two other students, and seemingly winning.
"Are we sure he's quirkless?" asked a student named Sen curiously, "He's taking on two of them at once without even taking a hit, and one of them is a recommended student as well."
"Manly!" shouted Eijiro from the side.
"Those movements," commented Nirengeki, a rather chubby student though with defined upper body strength, "It seems almost impossible for a normal human to have. You'd think he has some sort of flexibility quirk to pull those off."
"Kero, but can he last?" commented a female student with frog characteristics named Tsuyu, "He's sure to tire."
Ochako, Momo, Yui, and Itsuka glanced at each other before snickering at a private joke only they knew. Izuku's rather insane training regime from his masters made it possible to outlast all of them in bed. Though Yang Kai might have given Izuku some advice, having multiple wives to satisfy in bed.
All Might kept glancing at the other screens to monitor the other students, but he was focused mostly on Izuku.
'Aizawa was wrong,' thought All Might, 'The young man is more than ready to prove himself. He may think that without a quirk, Midoriya can't do anything useful, like I had once foolishly thought. But this exercise has shown me that the boy is not only physically fit, but also mentally capable, staying cool under fire while buying time for his team to search for the bomb. Anything he lacks, he makes up for with ingenuity.'
Tetsutetsu had to admit, Izuku was vastly better when it came to close combat. Even with his quirk, he could somehow feel Izuku's attack resounding into his bones.
'How are his hands so durable?' questioned Tetsutetsu, 'It's like punching steel!'
As much as he hated to admit it, Izuku was buying time perfectly. They couldn't overwhelm Izuku in time, especially with two of his teammates missing in action.
"I'll go after the others!" shouted Tetsutetsu as he turned towards the stairs.
As Tetsutetsu turned to leave, he left himself open to Izuku's next attack. Izuku threw two metal balls at Tetsutetsu.
"WATCH YOUR BACK!" warned Inasa, forcing Tetsutetsu to turn and raise his arms to his face to protect himself.
The two balls swirled around itself as they flew, spinning in the air before they crashed into each other. The slightly large ball suddenly exploded with purple gas, followed by several hundred needles. This was the Soul Chasing Cluster Ball that Izuku had only recently mastered crafting, though its penetration power drastically lowered.
"Ow!" hissed Tetsutetsu, "That would've hurt if it was anyone else but me! Too bad, but I'm going!"
He had felt some needles puncture through, but they were only skin deep, and so he ignored them as he ran out of the room, breathing heavily as he used his hands to sweep the needles off his body. Tetsutetsu barely managed to step out of the room before he felt his eyes suddenly feel heavy, his body not moving the way he wanted to.
"I'll get them….. after I close my eyes for a second," said Tetsutetsu before falling face-first into the floor. Luckily, his quirk didn't deactivate until after fell down.
"TETSUTETSU!" shouted Inasa, "WHAT DID YOU DO?"
"He's alright, that was just sleeping gas he breathed in," said Izuku, "You should be worried about yourself."
Inasa gritted his teeth as he was forced to admit that part. Making a decision, Inasa took a blow to the gut that while he tanked, made him want to puke his guts out. Still, taking the blow allowed him to fly back, giving him the necessary space.
"NOW IT'S YOUR TURN TO FLY!" declared Inasa as he threw both hands forward. A powerful gust of wind flew through the room, slamming into Izuku.
Izuku resisted for a few seconds before he flew backward, tumbling onto the floor. Inasa didn't stop as he kept pouring on the pressure as he waved his arms, creating gusts of wind from different directions to disorient Izuku. Many of the students winced watching the scene, imagining themselves in Izuku's position before realizing there wasn't much they could do themselves.
"Hey, isn't this a bit much?" asked Pony softly.
All Might wanted to agree, but the look in Izuku's eyes told him otherwise.
'He's not panicking, nor has he given up. He's waiting for an opportunity. But what can he do?' questioned All Might.
Izuku's girlfriend didn't look worried as well, knowing Izuku had something up his sleeve.
Inasa himself was confused and concerned. He had used this method of fighting style before, and most of his opponents gave up after being tossed around so violently. Yet Izuku seemed so calm about it, never once thinking about giving up.
'He's…. flowing with the wind!' realized Inasa, 'Rather than fight it, he's minutely adjusting himself to the wind flow so he still retains relative control of himself. I need to end this now and find the others before they reach the bomb.'
Just as Inasa was ready to summon a tornado into his hands to end this, Izuku acted upon this moment.
Izuku had been adjusting his position with his right hand on the ground when he spun so the top of his head was facing Inasa. Pushing his shoulder blades together, Izuku triggered the hidden crossbow on his back, shooting out three blunt arrows toward Inasa.
Inasa panicked, not expecting such an attack, and quickly threw the tornado in front of him to block the attack. Two of the arrows flew slightly awry from the winds, but the center one flew straight and true, cutting through the tornado and slamming into Inasa's chest. Luckily, it was blunted, but the impact still knocked the wind out of Inasa. Not only that, but the arrow had a hidden mechanism that upon impact, released a paralysis gas that Inasa unintentionally inhaled as he tried to regain his breath.
Inasa tried to regain control of the situation, only to find himself unable to control his limbs as he collapsed onto the floor.
'I can still fight!' thought Inasa as he tried to summon a gust of wind to attack Izuku, only to freeze when he saw Izuku's staff pointed right at his face.
Inasa paused before realizing he was beaten. Sure, he could try to fight despite Izuku stopping his attack short, but they were only in a training exercise. If it was real, Izuku's attack wouldn't have even stopped, instead knocking him out.
"I give up," sighed Inasa, lowering his voice a bit into the comms.
At that moment, the buzzer rang before All Might's voice rang out.
"All villains are down, and the hero team has secured the nuclear weapon! Hero team wins!" announced All Might.
Izuku helped Insasa back up, promising the paralysis gas was only temporary and would regain function of his limbs soon. He also picked up the still unconscious Tetsutetsu, hefting him over his other shoulder as he dragged the two students out. Yuga and Himiko quickly met up with them and took Inasa off his shoulder before helping carry him out of the building. They soon met up with the others in the monitoring room, where Momo helped wake Tetsutetsu up with some smelling salts.
"Now that our classmate, who can tell me who is the MVP for today?" asked All Might.
"Midoriya/Izuku," said the majority of the class. A few voted for Himiko for her ability to detect Toru despite being invisible.
"Alright, we can discuss more about this later," said All Might, ending the conversation, "We have other matches to get through!"
The other fights quickly finished before All Might assigned them homework for the day. They were to criticize their teammates' actions and their own teamwork, due next week.
"Good work everyone!" said All Might as the last battle had been concluded, "We didn't have any major injuries today! Not to mention you all took it seriously! A very good job on your first training!"
Then, with a wave and flourish of his cape, All Might dismissed them before dashing away.
"Oh, and Midoriya, could you report to Dean Nezu's office? He wants to see you for the rest of the day," said All Might, sticking his head back out before disappearing.
Izuku shrugged as he finished greeting everybody else in the classroom, giving into some small talk before leaving.
As he left, the class began discussing Izuku's tactics and abilities.
"For someone who's quirkless, he's quite capable," admitted Shoji, "Those moves, his ability to plan ahead, and the fact he went head-on against two others and won certainly proves why he deserves a spot on the hero course. No wonder he caught Dean Nezu's attention."
Eijiro agreed, but hemmed a little, "But using those weapons seems a little…. Unmanly."
"I DISAGREE!" said Inasa, returning to his usual loud voice, causing a few students to wince at his loud voice, especially one who's quirk allowed enhanced hearing. A quick glare at Inasa made him clear his throat before lowering his volume.
"Those equipment are as much as a part of him," said Inasa, "I doubt any of us could use it like he can. He must've practiced them just like we practiced our own quirks."
Tetsutetsu nodded, "I didn't like it, but that's just how it is. He's found a way to fight just like the rest of us."
Sen hummed, "I wonder if those weapons of his were provided by Nezu."
Momo intervened, clearing her throat, "Actually, Izuku made those himself. Part of his own training, and he wasn't allowed to use them until he could craft them perfectly and use them without accidental discharge. I helped supply the raw materials, but everything was made by himself."
Ochako nodded, "Yeah, he gave us some to use as long as we showed we could use them properly."
She, along with Itsuka, Momo, and Yui, raised their right arm in unison to reveal a compact metal bracelet that when activated, transformed into the Silent Sleeve Dart. While a majority seemed interested, a few disdained interest in such an item.
Izuku made his way to Nezu's office, pondering about All Might. It was clear the man hadn't eaten the Nine Transformation Heavens pill that he had given to him, as he could still sense that injury on his body.
'Did he not believe me when I gave him that pill?' pondered Izuku before shrugging, 'It doesn't matter. I gave him the chance, and if he fails to grasp it, then let the heavens and earth decide what to do.'
Izuku knocked on the door to Nezu's office, waiting for his confirmation to enter.
"Come in," rang Nezu's voice.
Izuku entered, closing the door behind him before seeing the emancipated Toshinori sitting on a couch with Nezu, still in his hero costume that he had been wearing during class, though clearly it did not fit him anymore.
"Come, take a seat," said Nezu, gesturing to the seat opposite of Toshinori, "Our Heroics Professor wishes to talk to you personally and in private. I will be supervising this meeting as well as acting as a mediator should the need come."
Nezu poured some tea for the both of them before climbing onto his big seat, watching the both of them with his beady eyes.
Toshinori felt his lips dry, unable to say the first words.
'C'mon, you've practiced this,' thought Toshinori to himself, 'You know you were wrong. It's not that hard to apologize!'
Izuku merely raised his eyebrows before taking his tea, gesturing for Toshinori to take his own tea. Thankful for the pause, Toshinori did so, taking a sip of his tea to moisten his lips.
The silent pause and tension was palpable to those viewing, but Izuku merely kept a cool gaze at Toshinori, wondering what he wanted. He had already made his views clear back when they met a year ago.
"If you're trying to convince me to not be a hero, I'm afraid you're just talking to a wall," said Izuku bluntly as he stood up, "Even if you are the number one hero in Japan, I won't heed your words. I'll be leaving first then, I have things to do."
Izuku swiftly began to walk towards the door, his hand grabbing the handle to pull it open to leave.
Toshinori felt his heart pounding, but was unable to say words when he felt something slam into the back of his head hard. It didn't feel like a physical object had hit him though, but rather something psychological or mental. He swore he vaguely heard the words Texas Smash as whatever hit his head, or more specifically, his brain, but it was enough to make him blurt out what he wanted to say.
"I'm sorry for my words!" shouted Toshinori, causing Izuku to pause, "I should have never said such a thing! You were right and I was wrong!"
Toshinori took a deep breath as he saw Izuku still paused, standing there before continuing, "I wanted to apologize to you after that fateful meeting. I truly became a hypocrite at that moment, and it took your words as well as self-reflection to realize what I said was wrong. Unfortunately, I didn't know your name, so I couldn't find you. I knew that you still wanted to be a hero, so I waited, watching every possible entrance exam to the heroics course just to find you."
It was like a dam breaking for Toshinori as every word he wanted to say kept spilling, "I was there watching you prove me wrong during the entrance exam. I was proud of that and ashamed of my own words. When you were unfairly kicked off the hero course just because of your quirk status, I wanted to protest, only to be told I wasn't allowed to vote on the issue as I wasn't officially a staff member, just a mere outsider. I was outraged and filled with regret, seeing this take place and yet powerless to stop it. I was prepared to take you under my own protege somehow, only for Nezu to beat me to the punch."
Toshinori took a second to take a breath as he got down onto his knees, "In the end, I'm merely rambling. What I really want to say is that I'm sorry for my callous and false statements. You've more than proven to me that being quirkless doesn't mean being powerless. While I'm in no position to truly be forgiven, can you forgive this old hero for his words? And thank you for showing me what I've truly been blind to."
With that, Toshinori did a full-on dogeza towards Izuku, his head bowed low onto the ground.
Izuku turned and almost panicked at seeing the number one hero of Japan, a hero whom he had long admired before that incident.
"Please stand up," said Izuku quickly as he tried to pull Toshinori up, but the man was stubborn.
"No. I need to hear you say it," declared Toshinori as he kept to the floor, "Whether you forgive me or not. I was in the wrong."
Izuku sighed as he managed to finally pry Toshinori up to his feet, "There's nothing to forgive. You merely gave your opinion about a question that I asked. That was all."
"But it was the wrong opinion," insisted Toshinori, "Especially when I became a hypocrite! I had the same situation before, and I chose to disgrace my teacher and my own standards by turning you away!"
Izuku raised an eyebrow at that as the two sat back down.
"I suppose I should go over my own history a bit," said Toshinori as he lifted his shirt to show his wound once more, "I mentioned to you that I got this injury about six years ago now, five when we first met. My time has been slowly decreasing ever since then. It was a fight that wasn't publicized, just covered as a natural disaster. Despite preparing for that fateful day, I received this injury from that fight. In fact, I almost lost the fight and almost died. It was only due to my opponent underestimating my willpower that I won when I rushed up to him and threw my last punch with everything I had, crushing his skull into paste. When you asked me that question, I unfortunately allowed my own experience to color my own views, and made the stupidest reply I could. I couldn't see the potential nor the training you've clearly done and prepared. All I saw was someone who did not have a powerful quirk, and wanted to push you away from heroics just because of that silly reason, all in the name of 'saving' you from being hurt."
Izuku's mind was racing through at what event that could've been disguised to prevent the public from knowing just who All Might fought. Shelving that for later, Izuku decided to pursue a different subject.
"Why haven't you eaten the pill I gave you?" asked Izuku, "I told you that it would heal you."
Toshinori laughed, "I doubt a mere pill could heal what intensive surgery and medical care couldn't do. But it serves as a good reminder of my origins and to not be a hypocrite as well."
Toshinori stood up, putting his hand on Izuku's shoulder.
"Remember this," said Toshinori with a serious tone, "Don't let Aizawa and others discourage you from your dream. In my eyes, you've more than proven that you can be a hero. And with Nezu's guidance you'll surpass others….. And hopefully show restraint and not take over the world with him."
Toshinori whispered that last part, more to himself before leaving the room.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
Reminder, I have a pat reon, look up azndrgn making fanfic. Donators get to read my chapters earlier!