“Of course, one of the most important parts of being a hero is looking good!”
Toshinori clicked a button and from the wall, four panels containing cases emerged. The cases were numbered, one for each student.
“Change into your costumes and meet me at Ground Beta!”
Toshinori vanished in a puff of wind and the class hurried to get their cases. Izuku hung back, knowing there was no rush. He picked up the case for number 10 and followed at the back of the boys as they headed to the changing rooms.
The air was charged with excitement as everyone got to see their costumes for the first time. Izuku shared the sentiment. Hero costumes were awesome, especially when they were practical and helped enhance the hero’s quirk. His own was quite simple. Magic didn’t need support gear so he went with something he knew he could fight comfortably in. His costume was a variation of the training gi he wore with Tataka, except instead of white, it was black. His arms were wrapped up to his elbows in fabric that faded from pale to dark grey, leaving his upper arms bare. The trousers were black like the gi, tucked into grey socks and his usual zori sandals. There was padding to help support his arms and legs, and he also wore a red sash tied around his waist.
The part he was most excited for was the hood. It didn’t look like much, but before Izuku put it on, he wove into it enchantments he’d prepared earlier. Now when the hood was up, no matter what the lighting was like, his face would always be obscured as though in shadows. The only noticeable detail would be his eyes, which tended to glow when using his magic.
Given how simple it was, he was one of the first boys finished, so he left to head to Ground Beta. He didn’t get far before a voice called out to him.
“Mikumo! Wait up!”
Kirishima and Kaminari were running up to him, with Tokoyami and Todoroki trailing behind them. His eyes were immediately drawn to Kirishima, who was completely topless. It served to show off his impressive muscles, but Izuku didn’t know if it was strictly necessary. It looked good though, as did Kaminari’s simple black jacket and white t-shirt.
They followed the directions to a control room, where Toshinori was waiting for them. He gushed over everyone’s costumes as they arrived, saying they all looked the part. Izuku had to agree, though there were some aspects that could be made better.
“Listen here! This is the scenario. Two villains have a nuclear device hidden somewhere in the building. Heroes must enter and either neutralise the weapon or apprehend the villains,” Toshinori explained once everyone was there, “heroes win if they achieve either of the objectives. Villains win if they can capture the heroes or the time runs out! Any questions?”
“Sir, how will teams be determined?”
“How much can we hurt the other team?”
“Isn’t my cape dazzling?”
More questions poured in, and Toshinori quickly grew overwhelmed. He managed to rally himself.
“Teams will be decided based on random lots. This is only a training exercise, and your first one at that. If anyone goes too far, I’ll stop them,” he said, “and young Aoyama, your cape looks magnificent. Now onto drawing lots!”
Izuku drew team D. Looking around, his teammate was the girl with the ear jacks, Jiro.
“Looks like we’re a team,” he said.
“Yeah.”
Once everyone was in a team, Toshinori reached two hands into the box again.
“The first ones up will be … these guys! Team A will be the heroes, and team D will be the villains!”
Across the room, Kaminari and Hagakure both looked excited to be going firt.
“Everyone else wait here! Teams A and D, follow me!”
Toshinori led them down the street to one of the buildings. He gave them each an earpiece and a map, then gave Izuku and Jiro a chance to enter the building. Izuku followed the map to a wide open room containing the bomb.
“Villains! You now have 5 minutes to prepare!”
“So quirks,” Jiro said immediately, “mine lets me plug my jacks into things to increase my hearing range. I can also pump my heartbeat through them as a sonic attack. What about you? From the assessment on the first day, it looks like you can do everything.”
“Not quite,” Izuku said, “but it is pretty versatile. At the risk of stereotyping, it’s probably best if you stay back and scout them out.”
“No arguments here.”
“Then I think this is what we should do.”
“Hero team, you may now enter the building!”
Izuku dropped through a portal to the second floor of the building. Kaminari and Hagakure were below him.
“Alright Mikumo, they’ve just entered the building now,” Jiro told him.
Their plan was a simple one. Jiro was with the bomb and constantly scouting for the other teams location. Izuku would then go ahead and engage them. Technically he didn’t need the guide. He’d never lost Sight of either of them but this was an exercise and Jiro wouldn’t learn anything if he did all the work. The challenge would be Hagakure, but she was likely to split from Kaminari as soon as possible.
“They’re coming up the stairs.”
Izuku waited until they’d fully entered the floor before rounding the corner. Both Kaminari and Hagakure tensed when they saw him, but then the blonde relaxed.
“Surrender villain! Don’t make me hurt you!” Kaminari said, trying to act tough.
Too bad Izuku could See his emotions. Kaminari was incredibly nervous right now. He cocked his head to one side and smirked. His hood was up so neither of them could see it, but the effect was still the same.
“You won’t hurt me.”
Izuku charged forward.
“Hagakure! Go!”
Kaminari was suddenly wreathed in electricity. It shot out of him, spreading in all directions down the corridor. Izuku skidded to a halt and was caught in the edge of it. His muscles seized and he barely held back a grunt. With a little pulse of magic, he flipped backwards out of range of the electricity attack. It went back to running all over Kaminari.
“Looks like I just hurt you.”
“A mild stinging at best.”
Izuku took a step forward and Kaminari unleashed the electricity attack again. This time Izuku was quicker to avoid it, and it never even touched him. So he couldn’t get close otherwise Kaminari would attack, but wait? Why wasn’t he attacking now? That electric attack was powerful, and in the corridor there wasn’t really anywhere for Izuku to go but back. If he kept shooting lightning at him, Izuku would have to work that much harder to counter it.
Unless he couldn’t control it?
He couldn’t. The attacks were never directed down the corridor at Izuku. The electricity went everywhere, as though Kaminari was simply expelling it from his body. He wasn’t directing it, or couldn’t direct it. Kaminari was still grinning, but it was more forced than before. Two big attacks and he was already out? No, not quite. Izuku could See there was still plenty of fight left in him, but he was being careful. The previous discharges had only lasted a couple of seconds each. Was there some limit he couldn’t cross?
Kaminari charged forward this time, getting closer to Izuku before discharging again. Izuku danced back. Once more, the discharge only lasted a couple of seconds. There had to be a limit! Izuku ran at Kaminari. Kaminari panicked and unleashed another burst of electricity. Izuku was quick to make a shield, allowing his magic to flow so that the small amounts of electricity that did reach him passed harmlessly through his body. He pushed against it, and Kaminari panicked further. He continued discharging until he abruptly cut out.
When his eyes adjusted to the normal lighting in the corridor, he saw Kaminari still standing there. He had a dopey, not entirely there expression on his face, his lips quirked upwards into a smile. He was giving two thumbs up, and anyone looking might think he was ok, but Izuku could See more. Inside, Kaminari was embarrassed, guilty, worried, and scared. Very, very scared. He couldn’t just leave him like this.
When after a minute he didn’t come back around, Izuku gently guided him down so he was sitting against the wall. He wrapped some capture tape around his wrist, and Toshinori announced that Kaminari had been captured.
“Mikumo, Hagakure’s one floor below me. Hurry!”
Izuku took one last look at the helpless Kaminari. It wasn’t right to just leave him, but he was in the middle of class and the boy wasn’t going to get himself hurt. Hopefully by the time they finished he’d be back to normal. If not, then Izuku would intervene.
He portaled up to the floor Hagakure was on. He stationed himself by the stairs leading up to Jiro and waited. Eventually, the invisible girl rounded the corner, moving slowly and cautiously and, to Izuku’s ear, not making a sound. Izuku could still See her, so the stealth was wasted on him, but that wasn’t the point. He wouldn’t act unless Jiro told him where she was.
“Anything?” he asked into the comms, very deliberately not looking at the approaching Hagakure.
“Not sure. She’s definitely on the floor with you, but she’s good at concealing her movement.”
“I’m at the stairs, so hopefully I can stop her if she tries to pass me.”
Hagakure continued to creep closer. It was a tricky kind of tension, and part of him wanted to just end it right there, but that would be useless. He wanted his classmates to do well in this trial. He wouldn’t be like Bakugo or Toshinori, who wanted all the glory for themselves. Hagakure was about a foot from him now. Izuku tensed, making it look as though he’d heard something. Just as she was about to creep past him, he held up an arm, blocking her path.
Neither of them moved. Izuku’s posture made it look like he was just reacting to something he’d heard. He didn’t need his Sight to feel the tension rolling off of the girl. Hagakure, very carefully, ducked beneath his outstretched arm, moving so slowly so as not to make a sound. Izuku didn’t move an inch.
Come on Jiro. Give me the word. Tell me where she is so I can do something!
Hagakure snuck past him and started up the stairs. Izuku welled up his magic, just in case.
“She’s on the stairs behind you!” Jiro suddenly yelled in his ear.
That was all Izuku needed. A bright orange whip of energy formed in his hand, and he swung it around. It snared Hagakure, wrapping her up tight.
“Got you!” he said.
Hagakure struggled but he just tightened the rope.
“Alright. I yield. You guys won,” she said.
“The hero team has been captured! Villain team wins!” Toshinori said, his voice echoing throughout the building, “return to the control room so we can review your performance!”
Izuku released Hagakure and she stood. She pressed on her belt and her suit became visible. It was just a bodysuit, but Izuku was so glad she was actually wearing something and wasn’t just naked. Jiro joined them.
“You guys head on back. I’ll get Kaminari,” Izuku said.
He portaled back to the boy and his heart sunk. Kaminari was exactly as he’d left him, but somehow he was even more scared than before, mixed with the blue he couldn’t quite place in Bakugo and Todoroki. He knelt down in front of him, and the blue slowly faded away. It had to have been at least five minutes since he’d left the boy and there had been no improvement. This seemed like a pretty serious quirk drawback. It likely wasn’t within Izuku’s power to heal, but maybe he could give him a little boost?
Izuku tapped the centre of Kaminari’s forehead. A small jolt of magic ran into the boy, flooding his system and filling him with energy. The not quite there expression vanished, and Kaminari seemed much more aware. He flexed his hands and stretched out his legs.
“How did you do that?” Kaminari asked, “I’m usually out for nearly an hour.”
“My quirk lets me manipulate energy, so I just gave you a little boost.”
“Wow. Remind me to stick close to you in the future.”
“Does that happen to you a lot?” Izuku asked.
“I know I should be able to control my quirk better, but it’s a really fine line! I try not to!”
“Hey Kaminari, I believe you,” Izuku said, “I asked because that didn’t seem like it was very fun for you.”
Kaminari gave him a wan smile, scratching the back of his head.
“It’s not really, but I’m used to it now. I can manage.”
If what Izuku felt when he was like that was any indication, that was a lie.
“I could try and help you control it, if you’d like. I can’t promise anything, but it couldn’t hurt, right?”
Kaminari’s jaw dropped.
“Seriously? You could help me?”
“Hold on, I don’t know if I can yet!”
Kaminari’s smile grew and grew.
“Maybe, but you still offered. Most people just tell me I need to get better but they never try to help at all!”
That … wasn’t very good. Were quirk counsellors anywhere good at their jobs? Maybe he’d dodged a bullet by being quirkless.
“Alright then. Meet me after school and I’ll do what I can, but we should get back to class now.”
Luckily they weren’t too late. Iida took one look at Kaminari’s big smile and immediately applauded the sportsmanship. Whose sportsmanship, nobody knew. Toshinori called them all to attention. The four students stood across from the rest.
“Excellent start students! Now then, hero team, please summarise your plan!”
“Hagakure’s super stealthy so I was going to draw attention while she snuck in and got the weapon,” Kaminari said.
“And villain team, your summary!”
“I scouted for the enemy and Mikumo went to deal with them,” Jiro said.
“Very good! Now who do we think is the MVP of the round?”
Yaoyorozu immediately put up her hand and Toshinori called on her.
“I think both Jiro and Mikumo are the MVP. They came up with a simple but effective plan, and fulfilled their roles well. Jiro trusted Mikumo to be able to handle the enemies and Mikumo trusted Jiro to direct him to where he needed to be. While Mikumo was the one to capture both opponents, I don’t think either could be elevated above the other,” she said.
“Um, very thorough,” Toshinori said.
“As for the villain team, there wasn’t much they could have done differently. With Jiro’s scouting, it would have been difficult to sneak up on them, so they needed to plan more effectively for direct combat.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Izuku said, “Hagakure was already hard enough to detect. With Kaminari making a lot of noise fighting me, I’m sure Jiro wouldn’t have been able to hear her.”
He glanced to the girl, who nodded.
“If Kaminari had been able to last longer, then Hagakure might have been able to sneak right past Jiro and won the round, and it’s not a bad thing that Kaminari wasn’t able to do that. We’re only first years, so we’ve still got room to grow.”
The rest of the class seemed to agree, but Izuku’s eyes were drawn to Toshinori. The man was looking at him funnily, and there was something bubbling within him. It wasn’t recognition, but it was unease. Izuku stared down until Toshinori coughed and started speaking again.
“Alright! After an excellent first round, let’s continue with the battle trials! Next up is team B as the heroes and team C as the villains!”
So far, this lesson wasn’t going too badly. Izuku still felt they should have had basic training first, but things had gone well in the first round. That all went out of the window when he saw who was up next. Team B was Kirishima and Uraraka, and team C was Bakugo and Iida as the villains. He did not like the look of glee on Bakugo’s face at the idea of fighting. The two teams walked away and Izuku parked himself in front of the monitors. He kept all four students in his Sight, the entire building thankfully within his passive range. Toshinori returned, setting the teams off.
Izuku would watch everything like a hawk, and if Toshinori didn’t step in when things went too far, then he would.