"RISE AND SHINE!!"
All the students groaned when they heard this and dragged themselves out of their beds and to the outside.
Currently standing in front of the children — who were cursing their jobs as heroes — were the teachers for this training.
There was Aizawa who looked just as tired as the students, but that happened all the time so it didn't really faze the students.
Then, there were the Wild Wild Pussycats. There were the first two women who they already had the pleasure of meeting, but there were also two others.
One was a man who looked about 6'3. He was muscular, with short brown hair and a triangle shaped beard. His eyes were blank, with black markings surrounding them. He looked like the other Pussycats but with a brown costume.
The other one there was also a woman. She was about average height with green hair and big yellow eyes. She had three small eyelashes located at the top of each eye. She had pink marks on her cheeks that resembled whiskers, as well as a pink circle around her right eye. She looked like the other Pussycats but with a yellow costume.
They all looked like they belonged together, and that was not a compliment.
Strangely enough, next to them was Deku who was currently sleeping while standing up. He was snoring very loudly without so much as a small ounce of care.
"So that's where he went." Ochako mumbled tiredly.
"Alright everyone," Aizawa called out, getting everyone's attention. "It's time to train. Those who failed the exams will come with me. The Pussycats will be helping you improve your quirks, along with Midoriya."
"Umm, excuse me, sir?" Kendo asked.
"What is it?" He replied while turning his attention to her and the rest of her class.
"Isn't he a student, like the rest of us? Why isn't he training?" She asked confusedly.
"He is training — You."
"But-"
"Don't bother, Kendo," she was interrupted. She looked to her right to see that it was Monoma who did so. "Can't you see, tHis Is cLaSs 1-a'S wAy oF tRyInG tO mAkE tHeMsElVeS FeEl bEtTeR tHaN uS!! WeLl wE aRe StIlL sUpErIoR, yOu ClAsS 1-A sCuM!!" He yelled, going insane mid-sentence.
He was about to continue he before he was smashed into the ground by a giant fist. Kendo then turned to Aizawa to continue the conversation.
"Are you saying he doesn't need training?" She asked politely.
"No," Aizawa denied. "Not training simply because you feel powerful is foolish and irresponsible. I know my student and I know that he trains all the time. The difference is, instead of figuring out his quirk and the best ways to use it, he strengthened his quirk and learns the best ways to use it, through combat. This means that he is ahead of all of you."
"You're welcome to test him with a fight if you're still not convinced."
Kendo's eyes widened a bit before she tried to deflect her earlier statements, "Woah, woah. I didn't mean that I wanted to fight him, I was just curious."
"Well I guess I interpreted it wrong. Too bad, cause you and you're class are fighting him. Those who want to, at least. We need to get this training going soon, anyway.
Kendo sighed and scratched her head. "I guess I'll go and fight him then."
"Don't worry Kendo, I'll help you!" A small and feminine voice called out.
Kendo turned towards this voice to see a short girl with light brown bob cut hair that reaches slightly below her shoulders. Her bangs cover her eyes, but one eye was currently sticking out, showing her pupils which were the shape of cross-sliced shiitake mushrooms.
"Komori? You wanna help me?" Kendo inquired.
"Yes," She nodded in affirmative. "I want to see how strong he is as well."
"Yes, he had some type of strength quirk at the sports festival, but I've gotten stronger and I bet I could beat him now!" A male voice shouted excitedly.
This man had messy gray hair and eyes that were tilted downwards, surrounded by a tan-colored substance. He had no noticeable eyebrows and had sharp teeth, similar to Kirishima.
"You as well, Tetsutetsu?" Kendo questioned in surprise.
"Of course! I'm always up for challenge!" He said excitedly.
A couple other students agreed along with the previous two, but they were all interrupted in their agreement with a simultaneous scoff. The class turned to see their Class 1-A counterparts shaking their head in disappointment and/or pity.
"What is it?" Kendo asked the other class.
"Nothing, nothing." Momo replied with a sigh.
"By all means, go ahead." Mina told them, continuing Momo's sentence.
"It just gives me more time to sleep." Ochako said as she proceeded to lay down and begin sleeping.
"Call me crazy, but it seems like you're suggesting that we will all get defeated if we tried to fight your friend." Kodai claimed as she observed their expressions.
"Acquaintance, actually. I'm still mad at him." Mina replied while slightly glaring at Deku.
"What happened to her?" Tetsutetsu wondered.
"Go on, fight him. Then you'll find out." Kirishima said while shaking his head.
"Now I'm slightly scared." Komori relayed to the others while stepping back a little.
"Relax," Monoma assured her. "They're obviously trying to psyche us out, because they're, lOsErS! ScUm lIkE tHeM DoN't dEsErVe ThE sAtIsFaCtIoN oF yOu bEiNg AfRaId!!"
"Whatever," Aizawa said, interrupting them. "I'll get this started quickly so we can get to training."
"Isn't a full scale battle between a class and a student going to take too long?" The male Pussycat questioned.
"Tiger, if this battle lasts more than 5 minutes, we drop everything and go to the beach."
At this statement, all of Class 1-B cheered. The only ones who weren't cheering were the Pussycats and Class 1-A.
There are two main things that Aizawa is dead serious about. Being a pro hero and sleep. The fact that he's betting for this battle to end in less than 5 minutes either means he's still half asleep, or this kid is something else. Tiger concluded in his mind.
"Alright, it's time to get this thing started." Aizawa announced as he walked up to the still asleep Deku. He activated his quirk and then smacked him on the head as hard as he could. "WAKE UP!"
His attack landed and since he erased Deku's quirk, it actually made impact.
"Ack!" He expressed while rubbing his head. "What the heck was that for!?"
"You were asleep. So I woke you up."
"You could've been nicer about it." Deku grumbled while mentally cursing Aizawa's quirk. Since Aizawa erased Deku's quirk, his instantaneous movements went along with it. While normally it would not have mattered since such an attack wouldn't faze him, since he was asleep this allowed for him to fully dive into unconsciousness, which caught him off guard. Since he was no longer able to control his movements while asleep and because of the shock and disorientation of the sudden change, he was able to be hit.
If Deku didn't know any better, he'd guess that Aizawa had been planning that for a while.
"Anyways," Aizawa interrupted his train of thought. "You're going to be facing off against some students of Class-1-B."
Deku then looked at the students that were lined up to face him. He observed them for a couple of seconds before turning back to Aizawa.
"No."
Aizawa, having expected this, sighed.
"Remember what we talked about earlier?" He reminded the boy.
Deku then stiffened, before having a conflicted look on his face. He eventually gave up and decided to listen.
"Fine." Deku sighed in defeat.
"Alright everyone, back up." Aizawa ordered the spectators.
Deku stood in the same spot with a tired and bored look on his face before speaking.
"Come at me, and make this quick. I'm getting tired of looking at you when I could be sleeping." Deku called out to them in a bored tone. He even yawned.
"We he certainly isn't very distressed." Kendo noted.
"Doesn't matter!" A boy named Kaibara said as he charged at Deku with his arms rotating at high speeds.
His legs were spinning incredibly fast as well in order to boost his speed, presumably because of his quirk. He reared his fist back before shooting it forward for a punch.
Deku caught the punch without even making it look like he was trying.
Everyone besides Class 1-A, Mr. Aizawa, and two of the Pussycats were shocked at how easily Deku dealt with Kaibara's strike.
"W-What?" Kaibara breathed out as he stared in shock at Deku's now slightly interested expression.
"Interesting," he mumbled. "What an odd quirk. Powerful too." Deku said as he tightened his grip on the boy's hand which made his spinning limbs come to a complete stop. "However, not powerful enough."
Deku then proceeded to toss Kaibara over his head while simultaneously yawning. Kaibara landed a good couple of meters on the ground before roughly coming to a stop.
Deku then turned to see Tetsutetsu rushing him with his steel quirk activated and started throwing a barrage of punches at Deku. Each punch landed with incredible force, and yet Deku made no effort to move.
"Remind me," He called out while supposedly being pummeled. "What was your quirk again? Was it steel? Slush? Soup? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if you were punching me with daisies."
"What did you say!?" Tetsutetsu shouted while punching faster. Deku then grabbed both fists at the same time; stopping the onslaught.
"Let me put this in words you'll understand," Deku began as he tightened his grip around Tetsutetsu's steel arms which caused him to cry out in pain.
"Listen Tetsubro, you're just not manly enough." Deku said in his best 'teenage surfer dude' voice before kneeing him in his steel stomach, causing him to fall down in a heap of pity and despair.
He then turned his attention to the other students before walking towards them. As he was walking, some beast-looking man stopped him before charging him to try and overpower him.
Deku met his test of strength with little to no effort before speaking. "You should use your quirk in a more intelligent way. Not every beast roars."
Deku then flipped the boy over his head before slamming him down. He then proceeded to continue on his way, before something ended up impacting his face, causing him to take a step back.
"Twin Impact!" He heard a voice shout aloud.
Deku chuckled a little before turning his attention to where he heard the voice. He saw a chubby boy with short light blue hair and a round face.
"Was that you?" He asked rhetorically. "That was quite an attack. I actually felt that."
Deku then rushed at the frightened boy before appearing in front of him with incredible speed. He reared his fist back and was about to hit the boy, but before he could, some sort of barrier stopped him.
This "barrier" came form a boy who blew out into the air, causing it to create a defense for his classmate.
Deku narrowed his eyes in concentration, "Solid air? Such control over air to be able to create such a thing. This gives me more ideas for Ochako's training! Thanks kid!" He said excitedly before effortlessly breaking the solid air before knocking out both students.
He then turned around before walking toward the other students. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a cluster of small parts rushing towards him. He let them catch him, to see what would happen.
"Got ya!" A feminine voice yelled out in triumph. This voice belonged to the green-haired girl named Tokage.
Then a rock greatly increased in size and was shot towards him, courtesy of Kodai. Deku sighed before flexing his muscles and completely overpowering Tokage's hold and then punching the giant rock headed straight towards him with very little effort.
"What the-" Tokage began before she was interrupted as Deku appeared out of nowhere, in front of her. "Woah, woah! You wouldn't hit a girl, would you?" She tried to reason with a nervous smile. She had never been so greatly overpowered in her life, so she was more than a little afraid.
"You're right, I wouldn't hit a girl." Deku said, which caused Tokage to internally smirk. However, before she could revel in her intelligence, she felt an excruciating pain in her abdomen before blacking out.
"I would knock one out, though!" Deku said cheerfully as he carefully placed Tokage down.
More giant rocks were flying at him as he walked towards the other students, however, he destroyed them without any effort.
"Man, this is getting boring." Deku sulked. He then felt someone touch him, then he turned around to see it was that blonde kid he hated.
"Hahahahahahaha!" He laughed maniacally. "WiTh tHiS pOwEr I wIlL bE UnStOpPaBlE!!"
When he tried to activate Ultra Instinct, a blue, white, and purple combination of heat overtook him, before burning him to a crisp. He looked like burnt chicken that went on the grill for another two hours.
"I could've sworn we've been over this," Deku mumbled as he stared at the grounded idiot, before turning his attention to the orange-haired girl who decided to try and attack him.
She increased the size of her hand before launching it, trying to crush Deku. However, Deku caught the fist easily, once again.
"How odd," He commented. "Such a simple quirk, yet effective."
He then felt a cluster of individual substances growing on himself, before looking down to see that they were mushrooms. He then turned his head to see that it was that Komori girl who did it. He then proceeded to burn off every single mushroom, much to the shock of the girl, before turning his attention back to Kendo.
"I wonder if I could do the same thing as you?" He asked aloud as he brought up his free hand, before covering it in his heat. He increased the amount of heat he was emitting before raising his hand up, causing the heat to rise up and form into a huge ball. The ball changed into a giant fist that greatly dwarfed Kendo's.
He then proceeded to slam it down on Kendo. The attack dissipated revealed Kendo stuck in a human sized crater. Her eyes were completely white, she had a scared and surprised smile on her face as her body twitched from time to time. She was very clearly in blissful unconsciousness.
"Huh. I guess I can." He mused aloud.
The entire place was silent for different reasons. Class 1-A was silent because they were all asleep, the teachers were silent because they were either completely expecting this, or completely not. The rest of Class 1-B were in a similar state. They couldn't comprehend how a student no older than them, could be that powerful.
"Anyone else wanna try their luck?" Aizawa asked Class 1-B who quickly shook their head in the negative.
"Didn't think so."
After their embarrassing, yet expected loss, they all went to their training. They managed to wake up all the knocked out class 1-B members and Deku reluctantly healed Monoma.
The training stated off as regular training, but then it quickly turned into torture.
Let's just say that Vlad King as well as a couple others were not happy with Class 1-B's earlier performance.
"Why do I have to do this again?"
Deku was currently being forced to train with Kendo and help her with her quirk. He was especially upset because he wanted to begin training with Ochako and get started in teaching her a new technique.
"Don't you remember what we talked about earlier?" Aizawa questioned him.
-Flashback-
"Midoriya, during this training camp I want you to help train the kids." Aizawa suggested to his green-haired student.
"Why? I wanna train Ochako!" Deku complained with a pout.
"It obvious that they need training and you are the perfect one to give them that training." Aizawa explained. "It would strengthen our forces greatly if these kids were much stronger than they are now."
"Ochako and I are plenty enough to strengthen our forces." Deku argued.
Realizing this was going nowhere, Aizawa decided to play his trump card.
"What if I get you a bowl of katsudon?"
"Seriously?" Deku questioned. "Do you really think that's enough to sway me?"
"Two bowls!"
"No."
"Three."
"N-"
"With seconds!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
-Flashback End-
"Such a dirty move..." Deku grumbled under his breath before turning his attention to Kendo.
"Good." Aizawa said with a smug smirk which irritated Deku even further. "Make sure you train her well.
"mAkE sUrE YoU tRaIn hEr wElL," Deku mocked under his breath before Aizawa left. With a sigh, he began speaking to Kendo.
"Alright, Kendo? Was it? I'll be training you now, so you'd better impress me, or else I'm leaving." Deku explained.
"Yes sir! Midoriya sir!" She chanted while saluting.
This caught Deku a little off guard, but he chose to ignore it and continue.
"Alright, come at me." Deku beckoned her over.
She enlarged both her fists and came rushing at Deku with them. She tried hitting him, but he dodged both of them with his hands in his pockets. She went from right fist to left fist repeatedly, but it didn't do anything.
"Weakness #1," Deku spoke up as he reappeared directly back to back with Kendo before she could even react. "You are far to slow to hit me with those fists of yours. You'd have a field day if you were facing your imaginary friend. However, I hate to break it to ya, but, I'm 100% real."
She turned and tried to attack him, but he was already behind her before she could even see him move. She jumped back to gain distance and regain her composure. She then charged at him again and shot out her two fists, but they hit the ground as Deku jumped over them with his hands still in his pockets. She used this opportunity to try and hit him in midair with one of her fists, but he stopped it with his left leg, and then proceeded to stand on it without a care in the world. She tried to hit him with her other fist but ended up missing after he back flipped beautifully off of her fist and landed gracefully in the ground; his pockets still occupied.
She tried to rush him with both her fists to attack, but he just powered straight through the attack like a light breeze. His show of strength caused her to take a couple steps back and send her enlarged hands up into the air. Deku jumped up and placed his feet on the large fists and ended up tilting her downwards to make her fall on her back, with her fists near her head and Deku's feet still holding them down while he sat directly on her.
"Weakness #2," Deku announced in a bored tone, not really caring for the blush he saw on her face in response to their current position. "Those fists of yours are too large for the rest of your body to work with. It throws you off balance, takes away from your speed, and decreases your overall power. Because of this, it usually would be smart go for one big shot after devising some kind of plan. However, that brings me to weakness #3,"
As he said that, he applied more pressure on her hands, which made her cry out in pain and release her quirk.
"Your hands may be big, but they're still not nearly strong enough to have any effect on me. I do commend you on how much strength you already possess though, since it may work on other villains already. However, what you still need is training on the other aspects of your body and quirk. You need to get faster, you need to be more tactical, you need to learn how to balance yourself so your quirk won't negatively effect your body as much. That alone will make you stronger, so focus on that before you focus on the power in your fists. Then, you'll be ready to face the threats ahead." He instructed her before getting off of her and proceeding to walk away to let her figure out her own way to train.
Kendo quickly got up and bowed in appreciation. "I thank you for the lessons, Midoriya! I look forward to facing you again after I have improved! I will not disappoint you!"
All she got as a form of acknowledgment was a slight wave as he continued away from her current position.
Now, with him gone, she immediately started to figure out ways to train herself according to Deku's suggestions.
Deku walked throughout the forest, seemingly without a care in the world. Secretly, however, he was sensing the area around him. He could clearly sense the villains that were near the training camp. He could tell the others, but that would prove to be a major distraction and would also tip the villains off.
He decided that if they didn't make a move, then neither would he.
However, if they interrupted the training that could finally give Ochako an actual chance at contending with him, they were going to regret it.
He decided to go and take a nap and wait for the others to finish their training. Training Ochako now would do him no good.
She had to be 100% both physically and mentally for this training.
He proceeded to jump onto a tree and lay down to make himself comfortable on a branch, before dozing off.
.o0O0o.
He woke up a little while later to find the sun setting. He then hopped off of the branch in order to find and head towards the rest of the group.
He sensed that they were a little far away, but nothing that he couldn't handle. He headed towards their location with reasonable speed, as far as he was concerned, and ended up with the rest of the class.
"Hello my sweet sweet Midoriya~kun!" He heard a voice call out.
He turned his head a little and saw it was one of those cat people. It was the blue one, in particular, this time. She was giving him a weird look that slightly unnerved him.
"The rest of the class is busy making their own dinner. Of course you don't have to be apart of that if you don't want too~!" She cooed.
"No, no. I think I'll join them, thank you." He said with a sweat drop as he quickly headed towards the rest of the class.
"Hey Deku!" Ochako yelled towards him from her current situation.
Deku smiled a little and walked towards her, "What are you doing?"
"We have to make our own meals, so we're all working to make our own curry! I think..." she muttered that last part.
"Well don't let me stop you," He said with a smile. "In fact, I think I'll join you."
Ochako smiled at him and moved over to let Deku join her. Then they began helping the rest of the class cook, in order to create a dish for everyone.
The end result was food, but good food was just a little far out of their reach. It was edible and it didn't taste horrible, so at least there was that.
"Where's Kota?" Deku asked, not noticing his presence.
"Oh," Ochako acknowledged. "He didn't want to eat with us today. He went to some secret hideout, or something."
Deku sighed at this information. It seems he was not fully over his blatant disliking of heroes.
No mattter, Deku mentally decided. Nothing a little tough love won't solve.
"I see," Deku nodded as he turned his head to the little girl beside him. "Come along, Eri. We're going to visit your friend Kota."
With that statement, her attention was immediately shifted to her father, "Really!?"
Deku nodded with a laugh and Eri squealed in delight. She couldn't wait to play with her new friend!
"Yay!" She exclaimed as she jumped up and down repeatedly. "I get to see Kota! This will be fun!"
Ochako giggled at her enthusiasm before getting up along with Deku. She kissed him quickly before waving them off, "Don't be too long!"
Deku smiled at her as he picked up Eri and put her on his back for a piggyback ride.
"Don't worry, I won't take too long." Deku assured her as he walked off into the forest, before lifting slowly off of the ground and taking flight.
"Weeeee~!" She yelled out in glee as Deku flew through the air.
Deku laughed aloud at his daughter before speeding up a little. He eventually spotted Kota atop a cliff and then headed towards the boy's location before landing softly.
He gently removed Eri from his back, and before he could say anything, Eri was already shouting out loud.
"KOTA!!" She shouted in delight, while also scaring the living daylights out of Kota. She rushed him without warning and bear hugged him.
"Let...go...of...me...please!" He wheezed out while turning blue. Eri, however, did not hear him and then proceeded to squeeze harder. His face turned an odd shade of purple, and he was actually going to pass out soon. Luckily, he was saved when Deku lifted Eri up, which caused Eri to release her hold on Kota.
Kota stumbled to the ground in relief as he took deep and ragged breaths in order to try and catch the very oxygen that was taken from him just moments ago.
"Hey, kid!" Deku called out, not caring for Kota's current predicament. "Here, I brought food."
Kota finally caught his breath and glared at Deku and turned his head away in disgust. "No!"
Deku, however, didn't like this answer, so he hit the top of Kota's head, causing a large bump to form.
"Ow!" He expressed as he rubbed the oversized bump on his head.
"Sorry, I didn't hear you correctly, what did you say?" Deku asked with a smile. Noticing the vein popping out of his forehead, as well as the visible strain on Deku's smile, Kota wisely reformed his answer.
"Thank you, sir." Kota mumbled as he received the food from Deku.
"Good boy!" Deku said as he nodded in appreciation with his arms crossed.
As Kota was eating the food, he proceeded to ask the question that has been on his mind for a little while.
"So, why are you here, anyways?" He asked in confusion.
"Well, you weren't with the others so I figured I'd find you." Deku shrugged.
"But why did you bring her?" Kota asked, referring to Eri.
"Because she's around your age and you need friends. You can't just go around being emo all the time, it's not a good look for you."
"What would you know anyway," Kota mumbled while turning his head away.
Deku placed his hand on Kota's head and turned it towards him as he began speaking.
"I know a lot more than you think," Deku explained. "The Water Hose Heroes: those were your parents, right?"
Kota's eyes widened at his statement as he stuttered out his next sentence, "H-H-How did you know?"
"I had heard about the situation a while back." He explained. "It said that they died while fighting off a villain and managing to protect the civilians involved. It was an honorable way to die; truly befitting that of a hero. As for how I knew they were your parents, well, I read your mind."
"You can do that!?" He asked in shock.
Deku nodded in confirmation and Kota had to try and process this information before shaking his head in order to focus on the other thing he said.
"What do you mean honorable death!" He shouted. "Death can't be honorable. Death is death! You die, and you leave everyone behind to fend for themselves! You leave without a proper goodbye! Death is the worst thing to happen, and death only happens more with heroes and villains running around! These quirks we have cause so much craziness and destruction that death happens all the time and some are just picked out and looked at as honorable!? I won't believe it!"
"That is ignorance," Deku reprimanded. "Labeling death as 'the worst thing to happen' is ignorance. Blaming the very existence of quirks will not change what happened. It won't bring back your parents, it won't make you feel better, all it will do is turn you into the very people you hate. Some villains had bad fortune from the start and began placing all that weight that was on their shoulders, onto others to try and cope but all they did was make their situation worse. Now, the people around are abandoning them and all they are left with is themselves! Now with nothing left to lose, they are easy pickings for other villains to manipulate, and next thing you know, you have a whole organization of people with similar backgrounds!"
"Death is inevitable. Whether you like it or not, you will die. If death was such a bad thing, then every person would not be forced to experience it. Only those who have no greater outlook on life view death as a bad experience. No two people die the same death; everyone goes at different times. You need to face the facts, kid. Your parents were going to die that day, no matter what they were doing. That's reality. I commend them for sacrificing their lives to truly live up to their titles as heroes."
At this point, Kota had tears in his eyes as he glared harder at Deku.
"You don't know what you're talking about! If it weren't for heroes and quirks then my parents would still be here!" He shouted at Deku.
"No," Deku denied in cold tone. "It's so much easier to say 'if only' or 'what if', but here's the facts: what happened is the only reality. There is no such thing as 'what if', because it did not happen. If it was supposed to happen, then it would have. Saying things like 'if only' is just denying the reality set in stone. Listen, when people die, they die. They completely lose all ties to this world and they officially no longer exist. They become literally nothing but human leftovers. That is the reality of death. The only way to counter this is to keep their memories in your heart. Because if you don't remember and honor them first, no one else will."
Kota wiped his tears as he resumed listening to what Deku had to say.
"You have to understand that death is no joke. Death means having your very existence taken away from this world, leaving nothing left. Some people take death in different ways, but you have to use this as a sign to step up and become strong!" Deku advised him. "If you don't step up and pick up where your parents left off, you'll be disrespecting their legacy and allowing them to truly die off. The truth is, a man only dies when they are forgotten. While their bodies may rot, their existence will only die with those who aren't willing to honor it. You have to keep their legacy running through your veins and into your heart. It is only then, that their presence won't fade from this world, but reside in you."
Kota was shocked at the words he was hearing. He had never thought about it this way. He had never imagined that he could gain the strength of his parents and be able to make them happy by picking up where they left off and honoring them. It made sense to keep them in his heart instead of rejecting them for dying. The tears in his eyes had resurfaced as he began seeing things in a new light.
Eri had approached Kota to hug him for comforting. Kota tried to look manly and wiped away his tears, but he just couldn't stop them from falling.
Deku smiled softly at him, before chuckling.
"Remember, Kota," He called out. "You are their son, so it's up to you to carry on their will. Don't desecrate their legacy, but embrace it. For only you can recreate their strength and presence. Never fear those who oppose you, find strength in the water you live by. Deku advised cryptically.
.o0O0o.
"Alright! This time we'll officially begin your training!"
Deku was currently in an open field with Ochako. He had brought her here the very next morning and insisted on training as soon as possible. He had woken her up at 3 A.M. so needless to say,
She was not in a good mood.
"I seem to be forgetting the part where you told me WHY I'M HERE AT THREE IN THE MORNING!!" Ochako yelled out with tired eyes as she angrily snarled at her partner.
"You should get rid of that look," Deku pouted at her. "It will ruin your pretty face."
"I will murder you."
"Moving on..." Deku silently coughed as he avoided eye contact with her.
"The earlier, the better. Besides, this training could not wait another day. If I didn't take you away earlier, then you would've been stuck with someone else for training. Today we're officially going to begin your real Ultra Instinct training." He announced.
Ochako's eyes widened as she began to focus more attentively.
"B-But I thought it was impossible for me?" She asked in shock and confusion.
"It is," Deku confirmed while nodding his head. "Which is why I'm not going to be teaching you Ultra Instinct."
She blinked twice in confusion before responding, "You do realize you just contradicted everything you just said, right?"
"However," Deku began, choosing to ignore her earlier statement. "I will teach you a technique that — if fully mastered — will utilize all your quirks and strength to be able to finally keep up with me. Of course you'd have to work a lot harder than you think you've been doing in order for that to happen."
Her eyes widened at this information, but then she began getting confused. Hasn't she tried this already?
"The first time you tried to use my power," Deku interrupted her train of thought. "Do you remember when that was?"
"It was at the Sports Festival." She responded.
"Correct," he answered. "That was your first attempt at trying to replicate my power. You tried a full on copy of my quirk by taking on the full powers of the Instincts technique as well as enhancing it with OFA. It was smart — well it would've been if it weren't for the fact that you were basically killing yourself. You could barely move and were running on pure adrenaline. However, you took on a noticeable power increase which was impressive, yet even then, you still couldn't match me, making trial 1: a failure."
"I'm sure you remember the second attempt since it was pretty recent," Deku claimed as he received a nod in response. "The second attempt was during the Final Exams. You showed your increased strength by being able to handle Instincts for longer. However, you still took on Instincts' power with the added OFA. You managed to change your way of transforming by making the power suit your body more and implementing more of your own power that your body was used to, rather than just forcing Instincts into it, which was intelligent. However, Instincts is still Instincts. Meaning if you try and replicate UI in any way, shape, or form and can't handle its full powers, you will only be killing yourself, slower this time. This made trial 2: another failure."
"All in all, you were taking too much power into a body that could not handle it. If you were to try something like that again, you would blow to pieces. Like you were supposed to the first time you tried, had I not have ended the fight before that could happen."
Her eyes widened in shock as she took all this new information in. She could blow up!? Was that true!? She vaguely remembers Deku warning her about this a while back, but she had forcibly chosen to forget that.
"S-So what do I do?" She asked as she began refocusing.
"I'm going to teach you an ancient technique that little to no people know about." He answered. "In fact, the amount of people that currently know you could count on one hand."
"Really?" She asked in wonder as she began thinking of the possibilities for what this technique could be.
"Yes, I will demonstrate soon." Deku told her as he got into a stance.
He put his fists at the sides of his hips with the palm facing upwards. He closed his eyes in concentration before taking a deep breath. He stood there for a couple of seconds before abruptly opening his eyes. Seeing that nothing in particular happened, she was about to start questioning him, but before she could she immediately fell down on one knee and began breathing heavily.
She took deep and uneven breaths as her hands and body began shaking. She felt like she had been choked for hours and was just now finally starting to get back oxygen.
"Wh-at w-was that!?" She stuttered as her eyes were wide open from the experience.
"That was me releasing my power ," Deku explained as he tried to help calm her down. "By being around me so much, you've gotten used to the power I put out, so me releasing it all and turning back to a normal person so suddenly was a little shocking for your body to experience and begin getting used to."
Ochako nodded in understanding and began trying to gain back her composure, "So what were you going to show me?"
"In order for you to begin your Ultra Instinct training, we'll have to go back to square 1," Deku answered. "Keep in mind, this will not be Ultra Instinct. As we've been over before, you cannot replicate Ultra Instinct. This will be your own version that comes from your body's own power rather than mine. So to start, we're going to need to give you a base form. A form you can fight in that you feel confident in winning your battles, but just strong enough for there to be another level of power above it."
"That's why I powered down; so I could properly show you the technique and its power."
Ochako nodded in anticipation as she waited eagerly for Deku to begin showing her the technique.
"The technique is called: Total Concentration."
"What is that?" Ochako inquired with a tilt of her head.
"Total concentration is a breathing technique that allows you to take large amounts of air to be able to fill your entire body with it. This in turn, strengthens your body, increases your speed, and raises your instincts. If utilized correctly, you can slow down or even stop poison and even treat injuries."
"That sounds like a pretty useful technique," Ochako noted with an excited smile. "I can't wait to try! It's a shame no one knows about this!"
"People did know a while back," Deku corrected. "However, they became apprehensive of the technique from the legend that surrounds it."
"Legend?" Ochako inquired with a raised eyebrow. "What legend?"
"They say those who master the technique become demons in human form."
Ochako's eyes widened a little at that answer, "Demons?"
"Yes," Deku confirmed. "This technique gives you the strength of a demon."
"Well if that's true, then I want to learn it even more now!" She said with a cheerful smile.
Deku raised an eyebrow and smiled amusedly at her. "Aren't you afraid of the legend?"
"Demons are strong, right?" She asked Deku. "Then I'll use that strength to become better hero. Power has no labels, if they did then you'd be more of demon than anyone else. You'd be a monster in human form!"
Deku laughed at her explanation and shook his head. He had expected this kind of reaction but it was still fun to see.
"Anyways," He began as he refocused. "I'll show you the technique now, so pay attention."
She nodded and watched him carefully.
"Total Concentration..." He muttered as he began taking a deep breath. "Base Form!"
A couple of veins popped out on his forehead as he snapped his eyes open.
"Activate OFA and come at me." He ordered.
She nodded and activated OFA instantly. She was covered lightly in a pink glow as electricity sparked around her form. She rushed Deku with a OFA fist outstretched and launched it forward at him without restraint. She was more than a little surprised when he parried her strike with a fist of his own. He didn't even look to be struggling!
"When honed to perfection, the strength of Total Concentration can surpass all limitations," He explained as he reappeared behind her, faster than she was able to react. "When trained hard enough, everyday speed seems like turtle movements in comparison," He continued as she tried to turn around and attack, but he was already gone. She jumped backwards a little and spotted him. She rushed him with her enhanced speed and reached him quickly. She then launched a quick kick at his head but he just moved his head backwards and avoided the kick entirely. She tried launch more kicks and punches, but he read every move and avoided them with minimal effort. "Your eyes become clearer and your movements sharper, this allows you a better reaction time and awareness of your surroundings." He finished as he caught the fist she sent at his face, before pulling her towards him to punch her in the gut.
Her pupils seemingly disappeared as she spat out once she received the impact. She took a couple steps back as she held her stomach to try and soothe the pain.
"This is the only technique that you can use that has the potential to rival Instincts." Deku explained. "It has a lot of potential that can be unlocked by you, if you were able to use it. So now, we'll begin your concentration training in order to fully utilize this technique. Before power, you need skill and technique. That is the only way you could be able to keep up with me."
She recovered from her pain and shock as she nodded, determined to learn that technique.
She immediately regretted her determination.
She had thought she had a lot of stamina beforehand. But apparently, it was still insufficient for the amount of stamina needed to begin Total Concentration training.
She was forced to run around the entire training area three times! If she slowed down even once, then Deku would begin shooting energy attacks at her to force her to keep running. She was beginning to question why exactly she was so in love with him. She lifted boulders, without her quirk, and ran around with them while trying to dodge Deku's attacks. She had to dodge a barage of pebbles that were thrown at her while she was in midair, which she thought was impossible. However, according to Deku, "you'd better hope it's possible, or Eri's gonna have Swiss cheese for a mother."
Needless to say, she was more than completely exhausted. However, Deku just healed her every time and forced her to do twice as much. It was an efficient way to train, but still cruel all the same.
"Good news!" Deku chanted to the downed Ochako with cheerful smile, completely ignoring the glare she was giving him. "Since I trained you in a similar fashion beforehand, you are ahead of the game, and therefore can start trying to learn Total Concentration. It may have taken you all day, but hey! It could take some people years!
"Although my healing along with the small powerups you got from each time I healed you, did help," Deku admitted with a soft smile. "It was mainly your effort that brought you here! So take pride in your accomplishments. You should be very happy with your results — I know I am!"
She let a small smile grace her face as she giggled lightly at the prospect of learning Total Concentration. She had hoped that she had done enough to begin learning the technique.
"Bad news, however," Deku began in a much more serious tone, which caught her attention immediately. "The League of Villains are here."
Her eyes widened in shock from this information. She knew she sensed something, but she hadn't been able to pin it down.
"Don't worry," He assured her. "You've done enough, rest now. Let me take care of this."
He picked her up gently laid her out in a hidden field. He had taken the hoodie off of him and placed it on Ochako to keep her warm. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and secured her before stepping away.
"Don't take too long, okay?" She asked softly as she lightly smiled at him. She was beginning to feel the effects of all the training she did.
"Trust me, I won't." He responded with a smile as he turned around to face in the direction of the rest of the class.
"I love you." She told him softly as the adrenaline she as feeling earlier left her body and her exhaustion began overtaking her.
He only chuckled as he heard her cute and soft snores; signaling she already fell asleep.
"Well shoot," Deku said with a smile. "Now I'm in a really good mood, and those idiot villains are kinda stomping on it."
He shook his head in amusement at the events that were taking place. He found it amusing that they thought they could just barge in and not have him react.
"Ochako just wanted peacefulness to train and now that was taken away from her by Handsy's lapdogs." He continued as his smile slowly faded and he lowered his head a little and his eyes narrowed in concentration.
"Now I'm convinced," He began in a much angrier tone. "Disrupting my woman's peace is more than enough reason to completely annihilate them. So that's what I'm going to do."
"And this time, we'll see how many hands 'ol Shiggy can fit on himself now, once I shove the dismembered hands of his cronies right down his throat!" Deku snarled as he flew towards the incoming battle.
"I'll make that idiot wish he goes back to his job as a poster boy for the homeless."