100 Percent Hero

Chapter 10: The Reawakening

Now alone to reflect on the day's events, the prodigious esper looked back at the encounters he had with the other students. With Bakugo, he'd already gotten a pretty good understanding of how he viewed the world and the superiority complex he held. It was unfortunate that he'd been forced into this delusion of superiority, and more importantly, that this mindset was directly affecting Izuku. He didn't want his friend to be put down and tormented during his time at U.A. High, and Bakugo was threatening him with physical violence. Hopefully, no more incidents would arise and Izuku could go to school with his mind at ease.

Besides Bakugo, his mind also went to the other students he'd come across in the class. Iida seemed to be a very serious yet well-intentioned young student who wanted to excel in this high school, while Uraraka was a vibrant and joyful soul who displayed great kindness towards others. These were the two students who he'd gotten to interact with the most, and he hoped he'd be able to have good interactions with them in the future.

Shigeo entered the apartment and was greeted with the sight of All Might sitting at his desk and typing diligently on his laptop. The symbol of peace heard the door open and greeted the esper with a smile. "Hey, Kageyama!"

"All Might!" Mob returned the smile and threw his backpack on the couch. "How was your first day as a teacher?"

The number one hero nervously laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "To be honest, I didn't really do any teaching. Today was really just getting acquainted with the school, the facilities and the teachers. I found out that not only are you and Midoriya in the same class, but that you also have Aizawa as your homeroom teacher."

Shigeo's eyes went down to the floor, and he let out a small sigh. "I'm not really fond of him. He was really harsh with all of the students, especially Midoriya."

Toshinori's smile faltered, and he craned his head up to look at the ceiling. "I know. I managed to get a glimpse of the tests your class took, and just as I feared, Aizawa singled out Midoriya from the start."

"Oh, you saw the tests?" exclaimed the esper, "Then did you also see how Midoriya did?"

"Yes, I saw his performance on the ball throw and his very impressive utilization of One for All. And I was also very impressed to see your number one spot on the tests."

"How long will it be until Midoriya won't break his bones anymore?" said Shigeo, immediately disregarding All Might's compliment towards him and focusing on his friend, "I know you said it would take a while, but right now, he's at such a big disadvantage." The esper bent his neck in dread, "I tried to help him by giving him some of my energy, but he refused, and he broke his finger because of it. Why didn't he just accept the energy?"

"Simple: for Midoriya, taking that energy was the equivalent of cheating. Midoriya is someone who wants to do things the right way, and for him, the right way is strengthening his body to fully master One for All."

That explanation didn't serve to relieve any of Shigeo's concerns, and the psychic held his elbows tightly against his sides. "Does that mean there's nothing you or me can do to help him get stronger?"

The symbol of peace pulled in and slowly released a deep breath. "Midoriya has a long and arduous road ahead of him, a road that he has to travel on himself. Sadly, the most either of us can do for him right now is be there to lend him our ears, our emotional support, and more physical training." Toshinori could see the teenager's look of despondency and gave him one of his trademark smiles, not wanting to end this conversation on such a dismal note. "But don't worry yourself so much. Mastery will come to Midoriya eventually, and besides, Recovery Girl will be there to heal his wounds."

"I guess..." The esper slipped his hands into his pockets and walked into the kitchen to get some snacks. It was quite a relief to know that the school nurse had such an impressive power that could heal at such a fast rate, and for now, it seemed that would be enough for his friend. Even so, it was still sad to see Izuku hurt himself so grievously. Maybe tomorrow would be slower-paced and less focused on using quirks. The esper had no idea how wrong he was.