Chapter 3
Izuku took in a deep breath as he stood there, leaning against the balcony with an elbow propped on top of the railing while his chin rested upon the open ended palm, taking in the sight before him. How fortunate had he been to have gotten a dorm room which overlooked the main building of U.A. High!? Now, whenever he got up he could look out at the building that had helped train many of the greatest heroes of all times! The school he had fought tooth and nail to get into, beating the odds so that he would be one of only forty students out of hundreds of thousands of applicants to enter into their premier hero course. Starting tomorrow, he would be walking down those very halls! So, yeah, he wanted to savor this moment.
While the sight of the building was impressive, his gaze would at times linger downwards whenever he heard others moving into the building. Looking down, he saw that there were three cars parked near the entrance to the dorm, the doors to the vehicles open as families hauled out large boxes before bringing them into the building.
Staring at them for a moment brought a brief pang to his chest as he thought about his own parents. Not that they hadn't helped him move or were grateful to be rid of him. Far from it! They had hired movers to transport his stuff while they had taken a train, spending the night in a nearby hotel and having a celebratory dinner in honor of Izuku getting into his dream school. Throughout the entire night and into the day, his mother's waterworks had continued to run, nearly flooding the room they had rented and making him glad they had taken a room on the first floor. And when they were moving his stuff into the dorms, well, the janitorial staff here at the dorms had to follow behind them due to the large puddles she was leaving behind. Yes, it had been embarrassing, but Izuku was thankful that his mother was so sad as well as so happy to see her son moving on like this.
As for his father, the man had hugged Izuku multiple times as they set up the room while repeatedly telling him how proud he was of his son. Then he joked, at least Izuku hoped it was a joke, about turning Izuku's room into a study…which only seemed to cause his mother to weep more while pounding Hisashi on the head with both fists.
Now they were gone, having left a couple of hours ago to head back home. Izuku had to admit that, while the idea of living here at U.A. would be an amazing experience, he was going to miss his family. He had never been apart from them for more than a couple of days and now he probably would only ever get to see them during long breaks. Sure he could do video calls and the like, but it wouldn't be the same. But he was sure he would get used to it in time. After all, didn't people his age move out all the time for school? And he wasn't alone. Pony was-
A sudden realization overtook Izuku, causing the teen to push off the railing while his eyes widened. Pony! The last time they had talked was right before he and his parents left the house, Pony was already at U.A. for a day at that point. Before they hung up, Izuku had promised his friend that he would call her as soon as his parents left to find out where their rooms were!
Feeling like he could go into panic mode at any moment, Izuku got off the railing before dashing into his dorm room to find his phone. Rather than the typical shared bedroom, the room reminded him of a studio apartment. At the front of the room, starting at the door and going all the way to the opposite side of the wall, was a small cooking area that consisted of a double burner stove with a microwave sitting on a counter next to it along with a mini-fridge. The rest of the room was decided for his living space, with his bed pressed against the wall close to the sliding door. A desk had been provided for him on which his new laptop sat, plugged in and with the WiFi password already saved into it. There was no bookshelf or anything like that connected to the desk, so Izuku had stacked all of his hero notebooks neatly in a pile in the far corner. As for his pictures, well, Izuku thought it might make him look a bit weird if he ever invited anyone into his dorm room and they saw the massive amounts of pictures of him and Pony. So instead he had only brought two with him: the one of them in their bathing suits and one of just Pony. The other picture on his desk was of himself and his parents taken right before they took him to U.A. Next to the desk was a door leading to a tiny bathroom.
Thankfully the phone was on the desk, plugged into its charger. After picking it up, the teen quickly unlocked it and saw to his relief that no one had called.
Taking a breath, Izuku went to his contacts before pressing on Pony's whose icon was a picture of her smiling. Instantly the phone began to ring and before the third it was picked up.
"Izuku, there you are," came Pony's voice in Japanese. "I was getting worried!"
"Yeah, sorry about that," replied Izuku, scratching the back of his neck as he moved over to the bed and sat down. "I, ah, kind of got a little distracted. You know, being here at U.A. and all. Maybe I should have called you as soon as I got here."
"No, no," said Pony in a dismissive tone. "That was Midoriya family time. I'm sure they would have loved the extra help, but they probably wanted to spend as much time as possible with just you. And I kind of, sort of know what you mean. It took me a while to, er, calm down once it hit me that I was here as well." The two paused, sharing a brief laugh together.
"Glad you're not upset," said Izuku once they stopped laughing. "So, what room are you in? I'm in 610."
"610?" came Pony's voice, excitement radiating off of it. Izuku opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of a door being slammed cut him off. He could then hear the familiar sounds of hooves running over the phone…while at the same time hearing a similar sound outside in the hallway. Before Izuku could piece together what was happening, there was a pounding on his door that caused the teen to leap to his feet. His heart began to pound as he moved over to the door, opening it as another wave of pounding started.
And there, in the doorway, was Pony. She stood there, hand raised and balled into a fist as if ready to begin knocking again. Izuku could see she was wearing the same red, white, and blue crop top that showed off a delicious amount of her stomach that she often wore during their video chats. Below that she was wearing jeans that hugged her strong legs nicely, stopping right at her hooves. Yet the thing that really caught his attention was the sparkle that appeared in her eyes as a huge smile appeared on her face and the sparkle in her eyes.
"We're on the same floor!" she cried out in English, jumping with joy. "I'm in room 604!"
"That's…That's amazing," Izuku managed to say, a smile appearing on his face while his heart began to race just a bit faster. He had known that the U.A. dorms were co-ed so they would be definitely living in the same building. But what were the odds that they would be living just down the hall from each other? Silently, he thanked every deity he could for this.
"So," Pony said in a sing-song tone, switching to Japanese as she did so while placing her hands behind her back as she leaned forwards a bit. "You going to invite me in?"
"Oh, right," exclaimed Izuku, jumping a little before inviting her inside. As Pony walked inside, Izuku noticed that she was swaying her hips slightly as she did, her small tail swishing back and forth in a way that caused his face to turn red. He could feel his pants growing tighter while the primal force within him let out an approving growl, urging him to take her. To make her his! But Izuku fought back that feeling as he quickly closed the door.
"Looks like we have a similar layout," said Pony, breaking Izuku from his thoughts. The green-haired teen looked over to his blonde friend just in time to see her glancing at him, a curious expression on her face as she pointed at the small kitchen area. "Seems a little weird to have that, don'tcha think? I mean, the school is providing us with all our meals so why have a kitchen?"
Izuku shrugged. "Honestly, I have no idea. Lunch Rush is in charge of the cafeteria so I can't really see any sane person passing up a chance to eat a meal prepared by a pro-hero like him. Maybe it's for late night snacks or something."
"Maybe," agreed Pony as she moved a little deeper into the room, hands behind her back as she looked around her. "Wow, you really held back with your All Might collection." She then turned her head, giving Izuku that smile he loved so very much. "Please don't tell me you needed another truck to bring it here."
"It's not that bad," exclaimed Izuku. The walls of his dorm were mostly bare, Izuku having brought only a couple of his All Might posters. Mainly the ones that had slogans like 'You can do it' and other such motivations that Izuku thought he might need. But beyond that and his All Might alarm clock seated on the nightstand next to his bed, that was it. "I just figured that since we were going to be taught by the real All Might, I could leave a few things behind."
Still smiling, Pony cocked an eyebrow at him. "You didn't trust the movers with the action figures, did you?"
"They've valuable!" shouted Izuku in spite of himself. "Ninety percent of them have been discontinued!" Pony merely let out a laugh as she continued to look around the room. The only time she paused was when she spotted the pictures Izuku had on his desk. The green-haired teen grew a little nervous as she stood there, staring particularly at the one from the water park. And as he stood there, he began to grow a little nervous. Had he made a mistake bringing that picture? Had he somehow offended…no, that couldn't be it because Izuku knew she had that same picture hanging on one of her walls back at her house. So what was-
"That was a fun day," Pony eventually said after several long seconds of silence, her cheeks slightly red as she looked down at the floor. "You know, we should really do it again."
"Y-Yeah," agreed Izuku, his face turning red. "I-I think there might be one around here. But if there isn't, maybe we could ask the school if we could use one of the pools. That or maybe head to a nearby beach?" At that, Pony's excitement returned.
"I'd love a trip to the beach!" she exclaimed with a twirl. The horned girl then quickly moved to Izuku, a smile on her face as she quickly took a hold of his hand. "Now to make sure you know how to get to my room!"
"Wh-What?" was all Izuku could say as he found himself being pulled out of his room by Pony, barely able to close his room as they exited. Doors flashed in and out of Izuku's vision as he was swiftly brought down the hall, barely able to read any of the door numbers until they finally stopped in front of one that read 604. Bouncing on her hooves, Pony quickly opened her door before bringing Izuku inside and closing the door behind them.
Now inside someone else's dorm for the first time, Izuku saw that Pony had been right: their rooms were, for the most part, identical. Pony's kitchen area, he saw, already had two bowls of fruit: one containing honeycrisp apples while the other held granny smith. The bed had been turned sideways so that the headboard was pressed against the wall while the foot of said bed faced the desk, making it feel as if the room was cut in two. Orange blankets were draped over the bed with an equally orange rug having been placed on the side. Nightstands had been placed on either side of the bed, with lamps on both that resembled tangled wood as well as a couple of framed pictures and a couple of Pony's manga. No doubt placed there in case she wanted to do a little bit of reading before bed. On the wall above her head was a poster of America's number one hero: Stars and Stripes.
"Doesn't look like you're going to be doing much studying," Izuku said, pointing towards the desk. Sitting on the desk was a large, plasma T.V. that took up the majority of space on it with a blue-ray/dvd player hooked up next to it. Additional book shelves had been placed on either side of the desk, making the place feel smaller. Izuku didn't need to move closer to know that everything in those cases were the girl's collection of anime and manga.
"I plan on doing it right here," explained Pony as she moved to the bed, dropping her behind onto it with enough force that she bounced a few times. "The way I see it, we are going to be working our bodies and quirks to the extreme! We're going to be so sore that it would be harmful to sit in a hard chair, leaning forward as we do our homework. I bet doing our homework or studying will be much more comfortable like this." Without another word, Pony's horns shot into the air while a new set instantly regrew upon her head. The horns in the air then flew around to Izuku's back where they then hooked onto his sides before pushing him face first onto the bed. As Izuku took a deep breath, he felt the rustle of the bed and turned just in time to see Pony had moved to that she laid next to him with their faces inches apart.
"What do you think?" she asked.
Izuku smirked at her. "It's nice, but maybe a little too comfortable. I'd hate to imagine you laying here, trying to study, and then falling asleep using your math book as a pillow."
"That only happened once," laughed Pony, her face a little flushed as she threw a light punch to Izuku's side.
"That I know about," he shot back with a laugh, earning another punch from the laughing girl.
"Then it looks like you'll be spending plenty of time with me in this room to make sure that doesn't happen," said Pony, her voice full of mock authority. "That or I'll just study in your room." Grinning, Izuku nodded.
From there, Izuku didn't know how long they laid there talking. Neither of them knew what their schedule would be, having found out that it would be sent to them via email the morning of their first day. Knowing that there were only two first year hero course classes, the two began to talk about the what-ifs. They knew they were lucky to be on the same floor of the dorms so it might be pushing their luck to think that they would be sharing the same home room. So instead they just hoped that they could be in at least a few classes together. And if not that, then they could just catch up during their. Plus there were plenty of things they could do like working out together or just chilling in Pony's room.
And by the time they were ready to call it a day, stars filled the night sky. But, as he got up, Izuku noticed that one of the pictures by Pony's bed was the same one of them at the water park.
[hr]
"Where is it, where is it?" Izuku repeated this one sentence to himself, over and over again as he walked down the hallways of U.A. at a quickened pace. His hands gripped the straps of his backpack as he moved through the clusters of students hanging around in their grey school uniforms identical to the one he was now sporting. Had he had more time, he would have taken the opportunity to write down some notes on some of the more unique appearances some of them had while trying to figure out what their quirks were.
Izuku wanted to curse under his breath. Perhaps he should have waited for Pony so they could have tried finding their homerooms together. And he would have had it not been for the insistence of his blonde friend who, sadly, had overslept, only being awoken by him knocking on her door for the better part of ten minutes. Not wanting them both to be late for their first day of class, to which she would have been the cause of, Pony had insisted multiple times by shouting through the closed door for Izuku to head on out without her. Now, he wished he had been as stubborn as her, because maybe if they had put their heads together they could have found the classroom. That or they both could have been late together at the very least.
Izuku's eyes widened when he finally, FINALLY, found the massive doors for the first year homerooms. After taking a breath to calm himself, Izuku reached for the door handle only to pause as a loud commotion within could now be heard. Blinking a bit, Izuku leaned forward a bit so as to make out what was going on as he really didn't want to get into any drama on his first day. Judging by the sounds he could make out, there were two of them and both of them sounded male. Most likely his classmates given the tones they were using. One was demanding that someone get his feet off something. A chair? No, desk. The other student shouted out a violent remake that seemed to stir up some old memories within Izuku. Again Izuku blinked. Something about that voice, along with the threat, was somehow familiar to Izuku but he could not quite place it. None of his classmates back in middle school had gotten into U.A. and even if they had, none of them talked like that. So who could this person be?
Curiosity seemed to urge Izuku forward, to open the door and see who this person was. But before he could open the door, Izuku noticed that this was room 1-A. He blinked a moment before pulling out his phone and looking at the email the school had sent him. Upon seeing it, he groaned as he began moving down the hall again. That wasn't his room, he needed 1-B. Whoever that voice belonged to wasn't important enough for him to risk being late on his first day.
Thankfully, Izuku didn't need to go very far as 1-B was just down the hallway. Quickly he entered the much quieter room full of students who were just in their seats. Most turned their heads to look at him, no doubt wondering if the teacher had just walked in the room. But when they saw who it was, they either gave him a curious look or just returned to staring at the board in front of them as-
"Hey I know you!" shouted one student as he suddenly stood up. Izuku, as well as many of the people around the other student, jumped before looking at the silver haired teen as he pointed a figure at Izuku. But it didn't feel like it was accusatory or anything like that for the boy was smiling as he did this, showing off his sharp, pointy teeth. "You're the guy who took down the zero pointer. Dude, I was in the same testing field as you! That was intense!"
Izuku suddenly became aware that many of his fellow classmates were now looking at him with renewed interest. He could feel their gazes, sizing him up to see if he was as powerful as the claims suggested.
"Really," came the voice of another student, one who looked like she had a mushroom growing on the top of her head. "Doesn't really look like the type to be honest."
"You calling me a liar?!" demanded the haired teen as his hand balled into a fist, his angry glare directed towards the mushroom girl. Said just looked back at him before shrugging, a tired expression on her face. Though, from what Izuku could tell from her body expression, it wasn't that she was bored with the conversation. Rather, it was as if she was just tired like she hadn't gotten enough sleep the night prior.
"Anything's possible. It would be foolhardy to judge any of us on looks alone," said another student, whose appearance gave Izuku the image of a beast man. His classmate's uniform was well kept and neat as was the brown fur that covered nearly all of his exposed skin save for his face. He also had on thick, rectangular glasses with black rims. That, along with his expression, gave him a more scholarly look to him despite the large canines protruding from his jaw.
"That's what I'm talking about!" shouted the silver haired teen as he pointed at the beast-teen. The silver haired student then moved towards Izuku, who had remained rooted in place, before extending his hand. "The name's Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu!"
Izuku blinked for a moment before smiling, reaching out with his own hand to shake Tetsutetsu's. "Pleased to meet you. My name is Izuku Midoriya."
"Midoriya, huh," replied Tetsutetsu as they shook. "Not a bad grip you got there. Despite how you look, I can tell you're pretty strong without your quirk."
"Thanks, but I doubt it's anything too special," replied Izuku as he let go of the other's hand. "I mean, yeah, I've been working out for years but my focus has been more into technique."
"Hey, don't go selling yourself too short there!" shouted Tetsutetsu with a savage grin. "I can tell you'd put up a pretty good fight. Hopefully we can-" Tetsutetsu was suddenly cut off as the door opened loudly before a panting figure appeared in the doorway.
"I…made it," panted Pony, head down and slightly bent over.
"Pony?" said Izuku, eyes wide as he couldn't believe what he was seeing was really real. Upon hearing her name, Pony's head rose with a start. Her own eyes went wide as well, those blue orbs staring right into Izuku's green ones. Everything else seemed to fall by the waist side as, slowly, large smiles appeared on the faces of the two teens as they realized what this meant.
Then, in a flash, the two shot towards the other in a move that took everyone else aback. When Izuku and Pony were close enough, their hands went straight to the other's hips to hold the other as close as possible. Not even a second later the two began to jump into the air in perfect synergy, their hair bouncing all over the place as they did. "We're in the same class! We got in! We got in and we're in the same class!" the two began to shout as they continued to jump up and down, Izuku speaking in Japanese while Pony spoke in English. Their jubilation captured the attention of the rest of the class, finding it hard to look away from the two smiling teens. While none of them knew what their relationship was, ranging from family members to friends and even lovers, all would agree that the scene before them was sort of precious. That these two just seemed to wear their hearts on their sleeves in this adorkable moment.
Both Izuku and Pony continued their little dance of joy even as the door opened again, revealing a much larger man dressed in a hero costume. The man's attire was mostly red with silver covered boots that went to his knees, a silver belt, and silver arm gauntlets which one of them had a tube connecting it to his back. The man's skin was tanned, showing that he spent most of his time out in the open with white spiky hair that was cut short. An orange visor covered his eyes, but it was transparent enough to know who he was looking at. And right now, his gaze was focused on the jumping duo.
"Well," began the man, briefly coughing into a fist to catch their attention. "I'm glad to see you're excited to be here. However, class is now starting so take your seats." Though his tone was gruff, the slight smile he gave them was of the friendly sort. Grateful that they weren't going to be reprimanded for acting so childishly, Izuku and Pony gave a sort 'sorry' before heading to the only open seats left.
As for the man, he moved further into the classroom only stopping once he was behind the desk. "My name is Sekijiro Kan and I shall be your homeroom teacher for the next three years here at U.A. Let me begin by offering all of you a well earned congratulations. I have gone over all the footage we have on everyone here who took the entrance exam as well as overseeing those who got in via special recommendation. From what I have seen, there is no mistake in my mind that all of you belong here. That your passing was no accident or stroke of luck. Through your hard work and actions, you have proven to the staff that you have what it takes to become the next generation of heroes. All of you should be proud of that!" Izuku felt himself grinning at Kan's words. Looking around, he saw that others were sitting up straight as they took in their teacher's words with pride on their faces.
"Now your real journey begins," continued Kan, his face becoming far more serious as he looked around the classroom. "Because getting into the U.A. was the easy part. All of that hard work that you used to get into this school will need to be taken to the next level, Plus Ultra style. More so in the hero course than anywhere else! Within this class, it will be the duty of every single one of your teachers to take you to your breaking point over and over again. Every barrier, every limitation you thought you had when you first walked through those gates will be challenged and hopefully shattered so that, when you leave, you will be a better version of the person you were when you came in. We will challenge you like nothing you could have imagined before, demanding you give us your all and then some." As Kan spoke, his voice began to rise with passion that was felt within Izuku. He could feel his hands gripping the desk, holding onto it as if he would be sent flying backwards by his own excitement! Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the others were filling it out too. Some had huge smiles on their faces, leaning forward in their desks as they took in every word this man spoke. Others did their best to remain composed, but Izuku could see it. It was in their eyes, that fire of passion that they all shared. This was why they were here, this was why they chose this school over all the others: to be the best.
"With that said," said Kan, his voice a bit more composed now as he looked down at his desk. "Your position in this class is never fully secure, even in your final year. There are those in the general studies, support course, and the business course who wished to be where you are all sitting. That, for one reason or another, were unable to pass the entrance exam. And during events like the U.A. Sports Festival, they will get their second chance to shine. To show not only us but the entire world that they belong right here in this class. That one of you should be removed."
Kan paused for a moment as he crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes surveying the class as they took in the meaning of his words. For his part, Izuku found himself somewhat conflicted. A part of him trembled at the notion that, after all the work he had put into his training over all these years, someone else might come out of nowhere and take his spot. What would happen to him then? Would he be kicked out or placed in something like general studies? But the other part of him, especially after giving it a moment of thought, caused him to raise his head as a look of determination appeared on his face. U.A. was training them to be the best pro-heroes out there and this was all part of it. To be a pro, you had to keep pushing yourself even when you finally had your own agency. You had to keep improving yourself, keep saving lives and protecting people from danger to stay in the ranks. And if you slipped up, failed too many times or just weren't that active, had a horrible scandal, then you could lose everything you had worked for.
Glancing around, Izuku saw that the rest of his classmates were slowly coming to the same realization as they too grew determined looks on their faces. All of them understood that this was the first lesson they would be receiving here to prepare them for their futures. And, when Izuku looked at Kan, he saw that the pro-hero had a slight smile on his face.
Eventually, a girl with orange hair tied in a side ponytail raised her hand. "Ah, sensei, if something like that does happen, how will you choose who leaves? Will you be kicking out the student with the lowest grades or the weakest quirk?" she asked, breaking the silence.
"Well now," began Kan as he scratched the back of his head. "That's a bit of a tricky question as it will depend on the class. I will tell you this: I consider it a personal failure to boot any of my students. It's my job as your teacher to prepare you, to make sure you have all the tools you need to succeed. As long as I see that you are giving it your all, putting in the time and seeking help when you need it, you'll be fine. But there are times when you need to accept your failures and shortcomings. There is only so much that I can do and the rest is up to you. If you are giving it your all, studying as hard as you can, working with every fiber of your being, and still not making any headway, well, we'll have a talk. A serious one to discuss if you really are fit for this profession. It's not something any of you may want to hear, but we need to be realistic. And I promise that if there are no other options left for you here, then I will do everything in my power to get you into the field where you will better flourish.
"However," continued Kan, his eyes narrowing as his face hardened. "If I find out any of you have been caught cheating, bullying the other students from different courses, or not even putting in the bare minimum of effort then I won't wait till I find another student to take your place! IS that understood?!"
"Yes Kan-sensei," said the entire class as one.
Kan nodded, his face softening. "Good. Now, we have some time before we need to head down for orientation. So how about we take this time to get to know one and other." He then paused, looking at Izuku and pointing at him. "Since you got the highest score in the entrance exam, in this class, how about we start with you? Tell us your name and your quirk."
Feeling the eyes of the class on him once more, Izuku stood. "Ah, y-yes. Hi. My name is Izuku Midoriya. And my quirk is called Bone of my Sword."
Chapter 4
"Come on Izuku!" cried Pony as the two walked away from the dorm building towards the school. Time was on their side, neither hero student moving faster than a light walk with their bags in their hands. "You know I'm right! Just admit it!"
Izuku shook his head. "I just don't see it," he said as he gave a sideways glance at the horned girl as she puffed up her cheeks. "The girl falling in love with the guy just because he saved her life once? I don't know, just feels like a tired cliché."
"It's an awesome cliché," shouted Pony as she swung her arms around, Izuku holding back a laugh at this sight. "If it wasn't, then it wouldn't even be a cliché! Besides, it happens in real life all the time! How many love letters does All Might and Stars and Stripes get from the people they save?"
"I don't think that's the same thing as in the animes you love," said Izuku, giving Pony a small smile before letting out a sigh. "I mean, you are right that there are people out there who do that…which is why All Might's home address is unlisted. The number of stalkers he's gotten over the years is just insane. I heard that a few people even put themselves in harm's way just to see them again." Izuku then shook his head. "Maybe that's why I just don't buy the romance in that anime."
Pony just let out a sigh as they approached the entrance of the school, ready to begin their second day here at U.A. And after the first day, both of them were pumped and ready to go. After the class had introduced themselves, Izuku quickly taking notes about everyone's quirks as they did so, they all headed down to the entrance ceremony. Nearly all of the new students looked excited to be there with some, like Pony, having stars in their eyes as they listened to several of the staff members giving speeches. Izuku, however, had been a bit distracted at first when he saw that one class, 1-A, was missing. Seeing how the other teachers noticed this, some even shaking their heads when they looked to where the missing class was supposed to be, was worrisome.
That is until the star of the show arrived on stage: All Might! Just seeing him in person was almost enough for Izuku's quirk to go off! Almost. His speech was simple and full of some one-liners, but no one really minded it. It was just great to listen to the legend, knowing that in the coming days he would be teaching the hero course.
After that, syllabuses and class schedules were handed out before dismissing the students for the day. While many of their class left the campus grounds, the two instead got a meal in the mess hall where Izuku went full fanboy when he saw that it was the hero Lunch Rush serving them. From there, the pair just took a stroll around the campus, enjoying the perfect weather as they talked. Most of it being their hopes for the year, how the heroes would be teaching their classes, and what heroics with All Might would be like. That last subject seemed to take up the majority of their conversation, the two seeming to try and one up the other with imaginary scenarios. Would they be fighting villains on a boat with the weather turning sour, rocking it back and forth or would they be in the middle of a city on fire trying to save as many people as possible while fending off hidden foes? Both laughed as they spoke, knowing full well that such things were too advanced for first year students. Even here at the top hero school that was known to push their students, all of that seemed a little excessive. But, then again, the school did unleash that zero-pointer on them.
Then when it got late, the two returned to their rooms to get out of their uniforms before meeting up in Pony's room. Now with both of them wearing shorts and plain t-shirts (Pony's shirt showing off a part of her stomach like usual), the two of them laid comfortably on Pony's bed, ready to spend the rest of their free time watching various animes from the American girl's collection. What made it more comfortable for Izuku was that, since her bed was a bit on the small side, the two of them had to get close. So much so that their legs touched, feeling her smooth leg against his own, while he could feel her breast slightly pressed against his own chest. And, maybe it was his imagination, but there were times when he thought he could feel her hand tracing his muscles.
Back in the present, Pony puffed her cheeks slightly as they neared their classroom. "Ok then, what kind of romance would you believe in?"
Izuku felt his cheeks burning slightly before looking away. "Well, I guess…if I had to pick…I really enjoyed the romance in Toradora!"
That caused Pony's eyes to widen before the horned girl rushed in front of Izuku, spinning on her hooves so that she was looking right into his eyes. "Really?" she asked while walking backwards. "I never took you for the type to like a girl like Taiga. I would have thought you would have shipped Ryuji with Minori."
Izuku just shrugged. "That's just how I prefer the romance. I mean, sure, their first meeting got off to a rough start and Taiga breaking into Ryuji's home was a little over the top. But, all the same, I like how they got closer the more time they spent together. Getting to know the other as well as their crushes. Made the whole thing feel more real, I guess. Besides, Minori's randomness began to get a little annoying after a while."
"That's true," said Pony with a smile. At first, her smile was warm and soft only to turn more devious as she placed a hand on Izuku's chest, stopping the green-haired boy in his tracks. "So, if that's the sort of romance that you like, then have you seen Kawaikereba Hentai demo Suki ni Nette Kuremasu ka?" Izuku felt his face turning so red that it might as well have become his quirk, beads of sweat running down his face as he stared at the blonde whose eyes grew with her smile. "You've seen it, haven't you?"
"Yes," replied Izuku, slumping while sighing in defeat.
"And?" asked Pony.
"…I liked it up until the end," said Izuku. "I mean, I like how Keiki got to know all the various girls. Like finding out those other sides to them, learning why they like their fetishes and even participating to a degree. Just with the end with his 'sister'…I just felt a little cheated that they went with that."
"What can you do?" asked Pony as the pair made their way into the classroom, unaware of the eyes upon them and the grins most of the class had.
[hr]
The sounds of flesh hitting flesh filled the gym, feet skidding against the floor as the two combatants fought. Izuku's movements were fluid as he bent backwards to dodge a punch from his classmate Kendo before moving his body to deliver a kick to the orange haired girl's side. The girl saw this, jumping up high into the air to avoid it before raising her own leg up high so as to send an axe kick his way. Smirking, Izuku spun out of the way as Kendo landed, rolling onto the ground before getting back up and facing the green-haired teen. Not willing to give her an inch, Izuku made a leg sweep to which the girl leapt forward with her fist pulled back. Seeing it, Izuku leaned back to allow the blow to miss him, waiting for Kendo to land on the mat they were currently fighting on before leaping to his own feet which he then followed up by swinging his body around to deliver a backhanded blow. Such an attack was easily blocked by Kendo's raised forearm, the girl wincing from the force behind the attack before she countered.
It was in the afternoon, morning classes and lunch having been done with. Which meant it was time for the hero course studies. However, since All Might was teaching class 1-A and it was scheduled to take the entire afternoon, Kan had something special planned for them. He had seen how well they fought robots, but the best way to gauge their fighting potential was to see how well they fought against a thinking human being. Not only would it show him their overall skills, but it would also be a great chance to break in their hero uniforms before they began more intense hero classes. This got the class pumped up as they were then told to get changed into their hero gear and then meet Kan in Gym Delta.
It took the class a half an hour to get changed and make their way towards one of the smaller gyms. The floor of this gym was heavily padded, with dozens of small circles painted onto the mat while an even larger circle was placed in the middle. It was within this middle circle that the students found Kan standing, the man wasting no time in explaining how today's lesson would work. Two students would fight in two different matches, the first being without quirks while the second they would be allowed to use them. Each match would last for ten minutes with the exception being if Kan, who would be acting as the referee, felt one of the two could not continue. As for the rest of the students, they were to sit and watch their classmates with no warning who would be next.
Izuku, dressed in his hero costume, was the first one to be called. His hero costume looked like a Shaolin Monk Kung Fu styled outfit that lacked any sleeves. The top of his costume was green, the full length of it going down to his knees, with white trimming that went across his chest. A white sash was tied around his waist and his pants were white as well. His footwear, red shoes with special insoles, clashed a bit with the aesthetic yet Izuku needed to be as practical with his attire as possible. And it seemed his opponent felt the same way. Dressed in a knee-length teal colored qipao and a black, double-breasted black corset, Kendo looked very much the martial artist.
Now, here they were. How much time had passed since Kan had called the match to start? No one, not the two in the ring nor the students watching them had any idea at this moment, for time had lost all meaning to them. Sweat was beginning to roll down the faces of Izuku and Kendo, their breathing beginning to get heavy, yet neither fighter seemed to mind as they continued to fight each other within the circle they were currently in. They moved in tandem, circling each other as they exchanged blow after blow with excited smiles on their faces. The world around them no longer seemed to exist as the two were caught up in this bout, finding the other to be at the same level of experience.
Then, just as Izuku was about to launch a double kick, Kan called out 'Time!' Upon hearing this, Izuku managed to divert his blow at the last moment, missing Kendo.
"Very good, very good," said Kan, giving the teens a fanged smile along with a nod. Both Izuku and Kendo stood there for a moment panting, the green-haired boy's eyes looking over at his classmates. Most of them were staring at them, gawking as they seemed to be still taking in the skills the two had just shown them. More than one had an expression that nearly screamed 'I'm glad I didn't have to fight either of them'. But one, Izuku noticed, was smiling as she leaned forward from where she was seated.
"Way to go Izuku!" shouted Pony in English, pumping her fist into the air while her blue eyes seemed to sparkle. "You're doing great!" Izuku's heart leapt a little in his chest, not noticing the look Kendo and a few others were giving him.
"Now it is time for the second round," said Kan as he crossed his arms as he spoke. Yet his smile faded as he glanced over to the rest of the class, Izuku following his gaze to see that more than a few students looked ready to object. Then, the teacher turned to look at the pair within the ring. "Unless you two are too tired and need a break."
"I can keep going," said Kendo as she intertwined her fingers, pushing them forward. "How about you Midoriya? Now that the warm up is done, are you ready to get serious?" Her words caused a few people in the class to audibly gulp, surprised to hear her call something so intense a mere 'warm-up'. That she still had plenty of gas in her tank.
Izuku, for his part, chuckled as he cracked his neck loudly. "I was about to say the same thing," he said before getting into his fighting stance. He locked eyes on Kendo's as she too got into her stance.
"Begin!" shouted Kan.
Kendo was the first to move, rushing towards Izuku with her fist pulled back ready to strike. Before Izuku could move, Kendo's fist grew at an alarming speed and did not stop until it looked like he could be held in its grasp. That size was not just for show either as Izuku, who was unable to dodge in time due to both the surprise and the size of the fist, was thrown backwards. At first he rolled out of control, his body reeling slightly in pain, before managing to take control of his movements before landing in a crouched position. He paused there for a moment, feeling a trickle of blood escaping from his lips.
"Not bad," he whispered. "If it wasn't for my quirk, that attack would have broken or cracked a couple of my bones."
Izuku then sprang forward, one of his palms open as he charged towards Kendo. The orange-haired girl pulled back her first once more, her intent clearly broadcasted once more. However, just as she swung her massive fist Kendo let out a howl of pain as blood began to fall onto the mat, Izuku twirling around her. Taking deep breaths, Kendo looked over to Izuku…and her eyes widened in horror. Coming out of Izuku's palm was a long, white spike whose sharp tip was dripped in blood from the slash he had made across Kendo's large hand.
Gritting her teeth, Kendo shrunk her hand back to its normal size, her cut thankfully shrinking as well. With a war cry, Izuku's opponent raised both her fists into the air where they then enlarged. But, as they came down, the green-haired teen moved out of the way, spinning his whole body as he did so as if this were a dance. And before Kendo could lift her fists off the mat, Izuku slashed at her leg giving her another small cut from a second long spike coming out of his other palm.
Rather than shrinking her fists, Kendo flattened her hand before using one of them to attack with a sideways chop. Still spinning, Izuku jumped over the attack while turning his body to the side in order to deliver more cuts to Kendo's fist. But, while he was in the air, Kendo took this moment to grab him with her second large hand. From the shoulders down, the orange-haired girl had Izuku in her grasp where she gave a firm squeeze that made her opponent grunt in pain.
"It ends here!" yelled Kendo, raising her hand high above her head. Izuku's eyes widened, surprised that she could lift him with such ease followed by a swift realization on what the girl planned to do. Thinking fast, Izuku pressed his arms against the massive fingers just as he saw that mat coming closer at a frightening speed. Thankfully, just before impact, dozens of white, thorn-like protrusions exited his skin, digging into Kendo's flesh. The orange-haired girl let out a cry of pain, her grip loosening so as to allow Izuku to escape and land on the mat.
That was close…for both of us, thought Izuku as he looked at Kendo. Blood dripped from her hand as it quickly became smaller, the large gashes and cuts thankfully shrinking with it. If my arms weren't out, I would have had to use those spikes inside her grasp. Even if the wounds shrink, the damage to her hand might have been more severe.
"Time for a change of tactics," said Izuku to himself, the spikes in his palms retracting while the thorns on his arms vanished into his skin as well. Once they were gone, four new white objects shot out from each of his arms. They all came out just above his elbows, moving up a bit before curving back down so they ended at his fist.
Once they were done, Izuku went on the attack. He spun around to gain some momentum once he was close enough to Kendo, slamming one of the white masses against her side. Spit launched out of her mouth, the wind temporarily taken out of her lungs thanks to the attack. But only for a moment as her fists shrunk again as she moved them right between the space between her and Izuku. The boy tried to get out of the way, but her hands simply grew faster than he could move, knocking Izuku onto his back. Kendo was on him in an instant, getting on top of the one who had repeatedly cut her and bringing down her enlarged fist. For his part, Izuku brought up his arms to block, the massive fist colliding with the white masses. Pain filled his arms upon contact, almost to the point where it became numb for a moment, but the mass held firm. And when Kendo lifted her fist to try and punch him again, Izuku slammed his arm against her to knock her off.
"That's enough," said Kan as both of his students got to their feet. Panting, the pair allowed their bodies to return to normal as Kan moved to the center of the circle facing the rest of his class. "Both of you, good job. Kendo, bandage your hands and see Recovery Girl at the end of class. Tetsutetsu. Shishida. You're up next."
Both boys stood as Izuku made his way back to the rest of the class, many of them gazing at the teen in awe. No doubt they were surprised to see such an average, plain looking teen to be such an experienced fighter. That and having a powerful quick. Well, everyone but Pony who was just beaming at him as she bounced in her spot with stars in her eyes.
"That was amazing Izuku!" she declared as Izuku sat down besides her, wincing a little as he did so. "Even more so than the last time I saw you fight at the dojo!" Izuku just smiled as he watched Pony making a few jabbing motions in the air, taking full note of her costume for the first time since they started class…and trying his best not to blush. It resembled a jockey uniform, mostly colored orange and skin tight showing off all her curves. Looking at it, his eyes were drawn to the black belts around her collarbone, biceps, hips, and boots that had stirrups on either side. She also had a horse halter on her head, with a rope dangling from behind.
"Thanks, all the practice really paid off," said Izuku, looking away from the blonde while scratching the back of his head. "Though, I still have a long way to go."
"I think we both do," said Kendo as she suddenly sat down next to Izuku, putting the final wrapping on her hands as she did so. The girl then let out a sigh before facing Izuku, her expression warm despite what happened in the match. "Not a bad match. You were using the Secret Slash school of martial arts, right?"
"You've heard of it?" asked Izuku, eyebrows raised in surprise.
Kendo nodded before turning to look at their fellow classmates and their 'fight'. "A couple of times. Faced a few of their students in a couple of tournaments. Odd that I never saw you there. With skills like that, you could have been a real contender."
"Well, depends when these tournaments were," said Izuku, doing his best not to wince at the scene before him. Both of his classmates showed how limited their fighting skills were, either lunging at each other, throwing wild punches, or in some sort of grappling that anyone with even a beginner level of skill could escape from. "Every summer since I was four, I've had to spend time in America for, well, reasons. Actually, it was because of those trips that I was able to meet Pony."
Kendo turned her head to Izuku, looking at him and then Pony, her face showing that that statement had piqued her interest. "We were wondering about that," she said softly, Izuku barely able to make much out of her words. But rather than elaborating, Kendo turned her attention back to the fight. And when she spoke next it was loud enough that it could be heard clearly. "Well, you chose a good master to learn from. It compliments your quirk well. It kind of resembles Kamakiri's."
"Ah, it's a little different," said Izuku as he glanced over at Kamakiri. The mantis-like boy was sitting there, his eyes training mostly on the fight in front of them. "Bone of my Sword allows me control over my, ah, bones. I can increase their density, making them harder than steel if I wanted. But that's just the start; the bare bones if you will. With all my training, I can reshape any bone I want before pulling it out and then instantly re-growing it." A small chuckle then escaped Midoriya as he scratched his head, remembering the quirk had a less than friendly original name back when he first got it. He was thankful he was able to get the name changed.
"Wait, does that mean you could…" Kendo's voice trailed off as she raised one of her bandaged hands. She then tapped the back of her fist before making a 'shink' sound. Upon hearing it, both Izuku and Pony rolled their eyes.
"Why does everyone always ask that?" asked Pony. At the same time, Izuku raised his head while lowering his head in defeat while three bone claws exited from between his knuckles much like how a once famous Canadian Hero used to back in his head.
"That's pretty impressive…unlike this match," said Kendo, shaking her head as she turned to look back at her two classmates. "This is a little hard to watch, isn't it?"
"It is," agreed Izuku.
"And boring," added Pony, who was still talking in English as she looked at the sight before her with a dull expression. "Sucks that we had the best fight first." Izuku said nothing, silently agreeing with his crush as the three of them continued to watch everything play out before them.
After a while, it seemed that even Kan realized this wasn't going to go anywhere any time soon and ended the match. As Tetsutestu and Shishida separated, the two teens trained in martial arts gave one another a look. As if making a silent agreement, the pair stood and each approached one of the two, with Midoriya heading over towards Tetsutetsu.
"What's up Midoriya?" asked Tetsutetsu, stretching his body and flexing as he prepared for round two. "Come to wish me good luck before I clobber hairy over there with my awesome quirk?"
"Ah, well," began Izuku as the larger teen looked down at him, grinning ear to ear with those sharp fangs of his giving the bone wielding teen a moment of pause as he rethought how he was going to approach this. Unfortunately, this pause as well as Izuku looking away from Tetsutetsu caused said teen's smile to fade.
"You don't think my quirk is good enough to defeat him?!" demanded Tetsutetsu, activating his quirk and turning his body to steel. "Because let me tell you, it's-"
"No, no," said Izuku quickly. "I just wanted to give you advice. You know, to put the odds more in your favor. Every little bit helps, right?"
"Oh," was all Tetsutetsu could say, his anger fading while his quirk swiftly deactivated. "Well, ah, thanks. But how can you help me?"
"Well, when I watched your fight, I noticed that your stance was off," said Izuku quickly. The green-haired teen then spread his legs further apart, gesturing Tetsutetsu to do the same. "See, if you want to get the max power out of lunging attacks, you need to spread your legs apart like this. It'll help launch you forward with more force while also making it easier to brace yourself if your opponent attacks you first. Can you feel the difference?"
"Yeah, a little," admitted Tetsutetsu, moving around a little as he remained in the position. "Wow, thanks for the help man."
Sadly, as much as Izuku wanted to give more help, Kan then signaled for the match to begin as well as telling Midoriya and Kendo to return to their seats. Once the match started, there was a significant improvement in the fighting between the hardening student and the beast-man. It was nothing jaw dropping or anything that would bring them to a higher level of fighting prowess, but it did allow their attacks to give more of an impact.
This continued for pretty much the rest of the lesson. Izuku and Kendo would watch their fellow classmates fight, gauging their skills before deciding what was the best quick advice they could give before their second. There were, of course, a few who didn't need it. Kaibara seemed to be a pretty aggressive fighter who had his own style as did Kamakiri and Rin. But, overall, most people the pair talked to welcomed the feedback. All the while, Kan watched with an approving smile.
Then, when the last match was over, the blood themed hero stood before the class with his arms crossed. "Alright," he said in his gruff voice. "Can anyone tell me the purpose of this exercise? Why I had you fight the first round without quirks and the second with?" For a moment, nobody said anything until Pony raised her hand. "Yes, Tsunotori?"
"Well it's because," began Pony, speaking quickly in English only to stop when Izuku nudged her. It took a moment of her looking at him in confusion before she realized her blunder, taking a deep breath before speaking again. "It's because we can't just rely on our quirks to solve all our villain problems. We need to know how to fight them as well."
Kan smiled, showing off his fangs as he did so. "That's absolutely correct," he said as he gave Pony a nod before turning to address the rest of the class. "There's a saying out there that I'm sure you've all heard: you can't be a one trick pony. Well, that is even more important in this line of work. We deal with villains and natural disasters everyday, most of them on the fly without understanding or getting an intel on the villain's quirks. If your quick is powerful enough, you can power through just about any untrained opponent. But…what would happen if you went up against someone who has the perfect counter to your quirk? For example, Shiozaki, what would happen if you went up against someone with a fire quirk or an acid quirk? Would you pointlessly try to use your quirk, hoping you would get lucky? Or would you run away from the fight, forcing the civilians to fend for themselves?"
"No…I wouldn't…I don't," stammered Shiozaki, a girl with hair that was made of thick, thorny vines running down her back. All eyes were on her at this moment, seeing the confusion and fear she held. Not surprising given how powerful her quirk was. Her fight against the welder Awase had been over in an instant once she had been able to use her quirk, digging her vines into the ground before they erupted out and entangled the black haired teen. She had left the ring with an air of confidence, but now that she was in the spot like this, forced to consider match-ups that didn't favor her, she looked more than a little taken aback by their teacher's words.
"Or, let's say you were put in a position where using your quirks would cause serious damage," continued Kan as he pointed at Fukidashi. "Let's say you use your Comic quirk to create explosions while being underground. You could cause the streets, sidewalks, or whatever was above you to collapse resulting in civilians getting hurt at best or crushed to death at worst. Not to mention what would happen to you. And let's not get into what would happen if there were pipes down there containing flammable gasses and the like." Fukidashi's word balloon head made a gulping noise.
"As such, knowing how to fight without your quirks places you a step above the rest," said Kan. "And when you have a fighting style that best compliments your quirk, well, that's what we like to call Going Plus Ultra. Which was why I had Kendo and Midoriya facing off in the first round. I wanted all of you to get an idea of what you should all be striving for." Another smile then appeared on his face. "And, while I never exactly planned on it, seeing them fight helped all of you to trust them when they offered advice. Well done you two."
As Izuku and Kendo blushed, Kan cleared his throat. "Ok, since we won't have time tomorrow, we'll be using the remainder of the class to decide our class representatives. Do we have any volunteers?"
"That's obvious!" yelled Awase. "It's got to be the classes Big Brother and Sister!"
"Big Brother and Sister?" echoed Kendo as she looked at Awase as the rest of the class began to voice their agreement. "And who are-" Before she could finish the sentence, both Izuku and Kendo felt hands being pressed against their shoulders, pushing them forward to the front of the class where they were then spun around to face them.
"Wait! You don't mean?!" yelled Izuku, instantly catching on to what was going on.
"How are we the class Big Brother and Sister?!" added Kendo who looked just as shocked and confused.
"Good, looks like the class has decided," said Kan as he moved behind them, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "Let's make this quick. How many want Midoriya to be class rep?" A loud amount of cheering echoed through the gym. "Good, good. Now, how many want Kendo to be class rep." People cheered again, Izuku being able to pick up that it was somewhat louder than his. "Very well then. Itsuka Kendo shall be the class rep while Izuku Midoriya will be the vice rep."