"S-So... t-t-that was j-just y-your q-q-quirks?" stuttered Hoku, looking at the two in front of him. One was a girl with auburn hair and light grey eyes who was covering herself with a blanket. The other had dark gray hair and dark grey eyes and was under a different blanket.
"Yeah, mine's Sparrow. Pretty basic, I can transform into a sparrow and I can gain wings. His is just turning into a mouse," The auburn-haired girl explained, biting her lip nervously after she finished speaking.
"U-Um..." The graynette tried to stutter something out. He had to clear his throat a little to get it to come out. "C-C-Can w-we s-stay? A-At l-l-l-least j-just f-f-for a-a b-bit?"
Hoku bit his lip, taking a deep breath before asking something, "D-D-Do y-you h-h-have n-names?"
"Nope," The girl popped the p, not making the situation better. "Nobody cared enough to give em to us."
"U-Um..." Thinking for a moment, Hoku's eyes lit up along with the figurative light bulb. "C-C-Can I-I call y-you E-Ena? I-I-It m-means s-s-someone w-who is g-graceful and p-passionate..." Tilting her head and thinking for a moment, the girl nodded. "C-Can I-I call y-you Ch-Ch-Chikao? I-It's f-f-for a c-clever a-and wise p-person..." After waiting a moment, the boy gave a hesitant nod. "W-Well... I-I guess those a-are y-your new names... W-Welcome to the family? I-If y-you w-w-wanna s-s-stay p-permanently o-of c-c-c-course! I-I m-m-mean, y-you d-don't h-h-have to but... I-I would like it if you stuck around..." Hoku trailed off a little at the end, his voice softer than during his panicked stuttering.
The newly named Ena and Chikao glanced at each other, shrugging before engulfing the boy in a hug. "We--"
"-- w-w-w-would--"
"-- love t-to."
"I am...
COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"
Hoku jumped, not expecting for the number one hero to burst into the room. Although he was able to give a small grin moments later, the pro's energy even allowing the shy boy to lighten up a little.
"I teach Hero Basic Training," All Might explained, standing behind the podium with his usual grin. "It is a subject where you train in different ways to learn the basics of being a hero. You'll take the most units in this subject! Let's get right into it! This is what we'll do today-- Combat training!" Unlike what most would think would happen, Hoku actually seemed a bit excited.
Combat, fighting, strategy? Easy as pie. When it comes to fighting, the only thing one needs to focus on is how and when to move and how long to do so. Perfect for Hoku's mindset and quirk.
"And to go with it are these!" The pro interrupted Hoku's miniature mental party, pointing to the wall that opened to reveal cases. "Costumes made based on your quirk registrations and requests you sent in before school started. After you change, meet in Ground Beta!"
"Yes, sir!"
Hoku walked beside Kirishima, letting out a small exhale before putting on his helmet. "They say the clothes make the man, young men and ladies. Be fully aware... From now on... you are heroes!" That simple word got Hoku's blood pumping, making him activate his quirk on his gloves and boots.
His costume was quite simple, just a black skin-tight suit with a biker helmet, gloves, and boots. Inside both the gloves and the boots, there were two small yet powerful springs and a small cube per. The springs allowed the cube to build up momentum, making a perfect area to gain extra momentum on his body even if he wasn't moving. There was also a mechanism on each hip and on his sternum and spine. The helmet calculated momentum automatically, making each object have a small 'counter' on it if he focused on it.
"That's great, everyone. You all look cool!" All Might made Hoku zone back into the activity at hand. "Now, shall we begin, you zygotes?"
"Kosiru!" Hoku jumped, squeaking when pink arms suddenly surrounded his middle and squeezed him. "You look so cool!"
"Mina," Kirishima chuckled, looking at the already familiar sight with obvious amusement. "You're crushing him again."
"Sorry!" Mina giggled, putting the boy down after one last squeeze. "It's just that I didn't expect you to go all black!"
Tapping his index fingers together lightly repetitively showed as a nervous habit before Hoku responded. "T-There's n-not m-m-much t-to my q-quirk... G-G-Going s-simple i-is easier..."
Clearing his throat, All Might started the lesson, "Now, it's time for combat training!"
"Sir!" A suit of armor raised its hand, housing the voice of the boy who called the greenette out during the exams. "This is a battle center from the entrance exam, so will we be conducting urban battles again?"
"No, we're going to be moving ahead two steps!" Indicating the number, the teacher continued his lesson. "Most of the time, fighting villains takes place outside, but if you look at the total numbers, atrocious villains appear indoors at a higher rate. Imprisonment, house arrest, backroom deals-- In this society filled with heroes, truly intelligent villains hide in the shadows! For this class, you'll be split into villains and heroes, and fight 2-on-2 indoor battles."
A girl with green hair clarified something, tilting her head meanwhile, "Without basic training?"
All Might continued his lesson without any slowing, "This is a real battle to understand those basics! However, the key this time is that there's no robot you can just beat up," Hoku bit his lip in thought, trying to determine how to not hurt his classmates beforehand.
"How will wins and losses be determined?"
"Can we beat them up anyway?"
"Will the punishment be expulsion like Mr.Aizawa?"
"How shall we be split up?"
"Isn't this cape crazy?"
"I'll answer all of your questions!" The teacher raised his voice a little to be heard over his curious students. "Now listen here..." He suddenly took out a script, although it was obviously too small for his giant hands. "The situation is that the villains have hidden a nuclear weapon somewhere in their hideout. The heroes are trying to dispose of that. The heroes need to catch the villains or get the nuclear weapon back in the allotted time. The villains need to protect the nuclear weapon for the whole time or catch the heroes."
"The situation feels very American!"
Ignoring the fourth or so interruption, All Might held up a box that said 'Lots' on it, "Teams and opponents will be determined by drawing lots!"
"They're being decided so haphazardly?" The suit of armor started again.
The greenette from day one explained before the pro had a chance to, "Pros often have to create makeshift teams with heroes from other agencies, so maybe that's why?"
"I see. The discernment to look ahead... Please excuse my rudeness!" He bowed at a perfect 90-degree angle, making Hoku worry a little for his spine.
"It's fine! Let's do this quickly!"
Grabbing his slip of paper, Hoku glanced around to see if he could spot the letter 'D' on anyone else's lot. Spying it quite easily, the helmeted brunette jogged over to the suit of armor. "Hmm?" The other turned, reacting to the tap on the shoulder he got. "Are you on team D?" Nodding, Hoku showed the other his slip of paper. "I suppose we will be on the same team! My name is Iida Tenya, what is yours?"
"I-I'm Kosiru Hoku," Somehow managing to only stutter a little, Hoku introduced himself.
"Oi," Hoku jumped again, turning to the ash-blonde who had grenade-like structures on his arms. "You two extras are on team D?"
"Extras?!" Iida obviously felt offended, his voice conveying so. "While we are, I do not believe that 'extra' is a nice thing to call your teammates!"
Before the ash-blonde could retort, All Might resumed the activity, "The first teams to fight will be... these guys!" The pro held up 'D' and 'A', making Hoku glance at the two that he had seen on day one. "Team A will be the heroes, Team D will be the villains. Everybody else, head toward the monitor room."
Gently waving at the two in good spirit, Hoku decided to ignore the growl that came from his other teammate. The three walked with the other team in tense silence, arriving to their building with a heavy weight on all of them. "Villain team, go in first and set up! In five minutes, the hero team will break in, and the battle will start!" All Might ordered, the three starting to walk in before they were interrupted. "Young Iida, Young Bakugou, Young Kosiru, learn to think from the perspective of the villains. This is pretty close to a real battle. Go all out. Don't be afraid to get hurt."
"Yes, sir!"
"If things go too far, I will stop it."
"Yes, sir!"
"Even if this is training, it pains me to become a villain," Iida started a conversation, the three walking into the room with the 'bomb' and random things that could be in a construction zone. "So our job is to protect this?" Iida stopped in front of the 'bomb', tapping on it lightly. "It's paper-mache."
"Hey!" The ash-blonde brought attention back to him quickly. "Deku has a quirk, right?"
Turning around, Iida responded while Hoku started clearing some of the cannon fodder props out, "You saw that extraordinary strength, didn't you? It appears to carry a lot of risk, though... However, you seem to be especially angry when it comes to Midoriya..." That didn't seem to do a thing towards calming the ash-blonde, instead making him literally shake with anger. "Kosiru-san? What are you doing?"
Flinching at actually getting noticed, Hoku put down what he was carrying before speaking up, "T-T-The g-girl's q-q-quirk i-is n-nullifying gravity, r-r-r-right? I-I'd r-rather n-n-not g-give her a-a-a weapon..."
"Now, let's start the indoor person-to-person combat training with Team A and Team D!" The sudden announcement made Hoku jump like everything else did. The ash-blonde immediately stormed off, ignoring Iida's shouts to stop. Hoku simply continued working, knowing that the other wouldn't stop until he destroyed the greenette on the other team.
A few moments into the exercise, Iida decided to use the earpieces the teams were given. "Hey, Bakugou! Give me your status! What happened?"
"Just shut up and defend. I'm really angry right now!" came the harsh reply from 'Bakugou'.
"I'm not asking you about how you feel! Hey!" Iida took his hand off of the earpiece, in obvious disbelief. "He hung up... Going off on his own like that... What is wrong with him?! Jeez!" The sudden shout from the other nearly made Hoku drop the last prop. Taking a quick puff of air and exhaling just as fast, Hoku steeled his nerves before setting down what he was carrying.
"U-Umm," Hoku stuttered a little, making Iida snap his head towards him and the speaker flinch. "I-I think we s-should try our best! B-B-Bakugou m-might've g-gone off on h-his own but... W-We should t-take the exercise l-like i-its r-r-real! Y-You'll a-always have that o-one teammate who goes off on his o-own but, a hero c-can deal w-with that easily. W-We're the v-v-villains here, m-meaning w-we have to g-give the t-t-true h-heroes a run for t-their money!"
Iida nodded before adding on his own two cents, "Bakugou is a natural at being bad, but that fits this training perfectly. Then we must devote ourselves to being villains. That's right. This is another trial to turn me into a man who will not bring shame to the Iida family. Become a villain! Be dyed with evil in order to become a hero!" Hoku couldn't help it, he started snickering and giggling like crazy in response to how dramatic Iida was being. The taller took it the wrong way though. "I am... extremely evil!"
Although, by some miracle, it actually caused the girl to reveal herself from the hilarity of it. "Have you arrive, Uraraka?" Iida continued his act while Hoku sobered, staying silent while Iida monologued. "I knew that you would come here alone the instant Bakugou ran off by himself. Your quirk allows you to make the objects you touch float. That is why Kosiru put away all the things on this floor before you arrived. Now you cannot play your little tricks! You have blundered, hero!"
Uraraka commented under her breath, "He's starting to look... like a villain...!" She tensed up when an intimidating aura started to come from the usually calm Hoku as well. "Him too..!"
"Believe in the unexpected, comrade," Hoku managed to force past chapped lips, reigning back his anxiety so he could operate properly. "Heroes are always tricky, even when you think they can't be."
Iida nodded, agreeing with the statement easily, "Agreed," Suddenly the building started to shake, causing all of Hoku's nerves to leave and replacing them with a fiery passion for battle. "Bakugou, answer me! Did you do that? What in the world did you do? Explain yourself!" Uraraka easily took the opportunity, running forward while Iida charged her, "I won't let you, hero!" Suddenly, the girl touched her own hand and began floating. "Can she make herself float now, too?"
"Release!"
Hoku stepped out of the way, eyeing Uraraka's trajectory and running one way while Iida retrieved the weapon out of her grasp. When she started falling, Hoku touched her boots and activated his quirk. She let out a yelp, not expecting to be tossed into the ceiling and then to hit the ground hard. Hoku turned giving Iida a thumbs up that distracted him. Recovering sooner than expected, Uraraka attempted to touch Hoku's back. Her hand was pushed back with minimum force, although it still alerted the boy. Jumping forward and turning on his heel, Hoku shot himself back to stand next to Iida.
Recovering himself, Iida continued the villainous act, "Your quirk is not a threat if you cannot touch anything. We'll hold out until time runs out!"
The three stood in a standstill, staying like that until Uraraka grabbed a pole and shouted, "Okay!" Moments later, the entire building started to shake. Iida grabbed onto the weapon to keep steady while Hoku did so naturally. A large rush of wind created a large field of debris and separated the pole that Uraraka was carrying from the rest of the building.
"What the--?"
"Sorry, Iida! Kosiru! Improvised special move-- Comet Home Run!"
"You call that a home run?!"
While Iida grew distracted from the debris, Uraraka attempted to use her self nullify again. Using his visor, Hoku 'gladly' let one piece hit his shin. Hissing under his breath, Hoku activated his quirk and flew into the air. Just before Uraraka could touch the bomb, his hands landed on her knees and his quirk came into play. The girl let out a small yelp, not expecting to be shot straight out of the window. Hoku cursed under his breath, forgetting to take into account her weightlessness. In an instant, he was flying out the window too and past the girl. He caught her mid-air, carrying her bridal style while he activated his quirk again.
Rebounding back into the building and landing on his feet, Hoku put Uraraka down just in time for the "Villain Team wins!"
"Well, even if I say that, the MVP for this battle was Young Kosiru!" The teen in question jumped, not expecting such a turnout.
"It's not either of the winners, Ochaco or Midoriya?" The greenette girl of the class asked.
"Hmm, well... Why is that? Does anyone know?" All Might took the opportunity and quizzed the class.
A girl with a rather revealing costume and black hair raised her hand, "Yes, Mr. All Might. That is because Kosiru adapted the most to the context of the training. From watching the match, it appears Bakugou acted on his own because of an obviously personal grudge. And as Mr. All Might said earlier, it is foolish to launch a large-scale attack indoors. In the same way, taking into consideration the damage he received, Midoirya's plan was also rash. As for Uraraka... She let her guard down mid-battle, and her final attack was too reckless. If she treated the paper-mache as a real weapon, she would not have been able to do something so dangerous. Kosiru prepared for his opponent's arrival and prepared his teammate for the same and allowed Iida to do primary protection for the fight of the weapon. Doing so may have made Iida late to respond to the final attack, although he was able to respond himself. Bringing back Uraraka even though it was the end of the exercise would be a great move so that they could capture her and possibly use her as a hostage. Even if they lost, the only reason the hero team was able to do half of what they were able to do is that they took advantage of the fact that this is training. They were practically breaking the rules."
All Might seemed to break down for a moment simply because of the extensive yet in-depth analysis before getting back on track, "W-Well, Young Kosiru could've communicated a little more with his teammate once or twice but well, that was correct!"
She continued using the small chance given, "We should always start with the basics to develop depth of learning. We must strive to devote ourselves wholeheartedly. Otherwise, we cannot become top heroes."
The pro didn't reprimand her for extending her speaking time, instead moving on with the activity, "All right everyone, let's change locations and start the second match. Tackle this training after thinking about we just talked about."
"Yes, sir!"
"Nice work, Kosiru!" Doing the standard jumping reaction, Hoku doubled his action with glancing at Kirishima who praised him.
"T-Thanks..."
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Thanks for reading! This loving cool cat's out! :3 <3
Word count: 2895