To enroll in UA, all future heroes were required to fill out a questionnaire: a description of their quirk, measurements, and costume design preferences. The school entered into a contract with a corporation that created the equipment, and with the assistance of Detnerat and the cheerleading class, the first-year students were given their first versions of their costumes.
Taiko, of course, didn't draw anything. He's as much of an artist as a robot is a ballet dancer. He limited himself to a brief description: a practical, durable, well-designed costume. No circus latex, no shiny oilcloth, just something that wouldn't fail in a real fight. He clearly understood that with experience, the costume would undergo hundreds of modifications, and mistakes are learned only in practice.
And finally, the long-awaited lesson arrived, along with All Might: "Basic Hero Training." This symbol of peace always evoked a strange mixture in Taiko: those standing next to him were filled with awe... and Taiko felt something else. A vibrating tension. An echo of something long ago.
«His aura is the opposite of AFO's... but where does this strange resemblance come from? Holy shit.»
All Might appeared dramatically from behind the door.
— I... walk through the door like a normal person!
The class nearly howled at the sight of Japan's, and even the world's, best hero. When the noise died down, he continued: "Basic Hero Training" is a lesson on the fundamentals of combat. And today they have combat trials. The suits were prepared, everyone had to change into them and report to Beta Field. Everyone was eager to see each other's suits.
...
—They say clothes make the man. Boys and girls, remember, you're heroes from now on! This is amazing, look cool!— the All Might tried to cheer them up. A crowd of strangely dressed freaks, thinking themselves heroes, entered the field.
Taiko held back a laugh. He felt truly ashamed. Aoyama, Mina, and Katsuki's costumes were cringe-worthy. The only normal costumes were those of Eijiro, who looked quite masculine and daring, and Tenya, who perfectly emulated the style of his older brother, Ingenium. Ojiro, the tailed one, wore a simple white dojo robe with some kind of patch on it, probably to advertise his parents' dojo. Several other strangers, whom Taiko wanted to meet in the future, had only a couple of days since their entrance exams, after all.
"Beaked" and "the guy with the full lips" seemed interesting. Izuku, on the other hand, came out in a green suit with a visor mask, and a hood vaguely reminiscent of All Might's spiky locks of hair.
Taiko himself wore light black clothing that completely covered his skin. He wore a black turtleneck with a wide collar that covered his neck, knee pads, elbow pads, and boots with hard soles and toes. The main highlight of the suit was the black and white kimono that reached to his knees, leaving a slit for maneuverability. He wore black cargo pants. His face was completely covered by a balaclava, revealing only one black, blood-black eye.
Taiko prefers close combat thanks to his enhanced blood and training with a staff master, and he has more experience in this than in anything else. Therefore, the suit is designed for close combat, given its lightness and durability. However, he decided not to wear gloves for now, as they make the staff slip very easily. His calloused, trained palms are perfectly designed to hold and better hold a staff.
«Cool, a cheap kimono, too bad it's so cheap.» Taiko bounced on his toes a few times, stretched, and made a couple of deep swings and strikes, ignoring the interested looks of his classmates. — «Well, it doesn't seem to chafe anywhere.» — In reality, a well-made silk kimono is very expensive, and in Taiko's case, they obviously used some synthetic, cheaper and more practical substitute. This makes sense; no one would make a kimono out of real silk just to show off their attire in battle. Although, perhaps there are such show-offs among pro heroes.
Heroes value a distinctive appearance, not just to be popular, but to inspire fear and respect on the battlefield. Taiko adhered to the latter doctrine rather than the former. He had no need for popularity, after all, his enemy, the AFO, is still treading water somewhere.
— Are you wearing a kimono over your pants?— Shoto asked, perhaps because his home was built in the traditional Japanese style and he was as interested in the theme as Ojiro.
—The kimono is more of a cape than a proper garment. The black suit helps you stay hidden longer in dark rooms. Considering most crimes are committed at night, it's a necessity. Aizawa knows this, too, and deliberately sticks to such a discreet color.
—Wait, is that Taiko?
—That's right, a Crimson Riot fan,— Taiko breathed.
—How do you know I'm a fan of his?
—The whole class already knows, Eijiro,— Mina Ashido interjected, dressed in some strange costume, causing Taiko to quietly and disdainfully take a couple of steps away.
...
Taiko stood by the wall, hands in his pockets, his gaze somewhere overhead. Another gathering, everyone in costumes, as if a circus had arrived. His attention was distracted by a black silhouette with a bird's head.
—I think it's time for proper introductions,— Fumikage said evenly, bowing slightly. — We haven't had a chance to talk before. Since we're about to be baptized by fire... perhaps the moment is appropriate.
Taiko blinked, as if pulled from his thoughts, and forced a polite smile.
—Yes... nice to meet you. Honestly, Taiko.
Fumikage nodded.
—Fumikage Tokoyami. I hope we become good classmates.
—Yeah. That would be nice,— Taiko replied, trying to maintain a relaxed appearance. A second later, his gaze returned to the chaos of bright colors and absurd shapes around him. —Although... I'm still trying to figure out... why does everyone look like they're at a jester's festival?
Fumikage raised his head slightly.
—You mean the costumes?
—What else?— aiko waved his hand at his classmates. —Are we going to save people or entertain them? I feel like the only one who didn't get an invitation to the carnival.
Fumikage didn't even look offended—it was as if he'd expected such a comment.
—That's the modern standard. Comic-book style. Bright colors, recognizable silhouettes. It helps people quickly identify the hero and feel safe, even in chaos.
Taiko snorted, not angrily, more tiredly.
— Excellent. The people are in trouble, and we have to look like we'd fit right into a children's picture book.
— Comics aren't as simple as you think,— Fumikage replied calmly. —They've shaped the perception of heroism for entire generations.
— I believe it. It's just that when I was a kid...— Taiko seemed to falter, but continued. — I was more familiar with lines and a lack of toys. So comics passed me by. Heroes were... different, I guess. — Taiko sadly recalled how the miserly Kyudai had been stingy with Taiko's allowance and forced him to work from a young age. Nevertheless, Taiko had become what he was thanks to Kyudai. «The Fool probably spent all his money on research and experiments on Nomu. To hell with him,» — he spat.
Fumikage softened for a moment.
—Everyone's past is different. But we're here now. And we have one path—forward.
Taiko nodded slightly, the tension still lingering in his shoulders.
—Yes. Forward. Whether we like it or not.
They walked slowly toward the exit. The others were already gathering at Test Site Beta. A murmur of voices, flashes of color, some laughing, some posing in front of a mirror.
—Are you nervous before the test?— Fumikage asked.
—If you're nervous, you'll expose yourself,— Taiko muttered. —Nothing will change if I go over it in my head ten times.
—Cautiously and pragmatically,—Fumikage remarked.
—That's called common sense,—Taiko retorted.
They stepped out onto the platform. Against the backdrop of the motley crowd, the two seemed strangely calm: one in a pompous suit, the other seemingly indifferent to everyone else's tinsel.
—Well then,— Fumikage said quietly.— Let's see what we're like in action, not just in talk.
Taiko grinned slightly.
—That's the only thing that interests me here.
And they joined the others, each keeping their thoughts to themselves. Taiko's first impressions of Fumikage were surprisingly pleasant. His attire was different from the others, darker in color, and he had a rather calculating and pragmatic approach. His communication style was brief and to the point. His speech was well-paced.
...
Finally, Izuku appeared, whose costume, to his surprise, wasn't the funniest; it did, however, have some features that conveyed the All Might style.
—So, let's get started.
Iida, in his "Ingenium"-type costume, asked.
—Teacher, isn't this the combat center from the entrance exam? Are we going to have to fight in an urban environment again?
—No, we'll go two steps further. Most battles with villains take place outdoors, but if you look at the numbers, most villains commit crimes indoors: illegal deals, hostage-taking. In society, smart villains lurk in the shadows." In this lesson, you'll be divided into heroes and villains for two-on-two indoor battles. This battle is meant to give you a basic understanding, but this time, your mission won't be simply destroying a robot," All Might explained.
The class began to ask questions.
—Let's go in order. Listen carefully,— he said, pulling out a scenario reference book. —Khm...The situation is this: The villains have hidden a nuclear weapon somewhere in their hideout. The heroes are trying to defuse it; the heroes must catch the villains or defuse the nuclear weapon at the right time. The villains must guard the nuclear weapon or catch the heroes. The teams are chosen by lot.
—Leave it all to chance?— Iida asked doubtfully.
—Professionals often have to team up with heroes from other agencies,— Izuku remarked.
—I see. Forgive my rudeness!— Iida bowed.
—Never mind, let's get started already!— All Might hurried.
Taiko was lucky enough to be paired with Momo, Izuku with Ochako, and Tenya with Bakugo. This assignment would ensure stronger relationships between the students in the future, but also potential conflicts... They would now have plenty to discuss. In particular, Taiko couldn't help but notice how Katsuki reacted to Izuku now, and before. It seemed as if Katsuki was surprised by the very fact that Izuku had a Quirk, and this seemed incredibly odd, but Taiko didn't like jumping to conclusions. Besides, it wasn't his place to interfere in their relationship.
Momo approached him in a rather revealing outfit, to which Taiko only snorted disdainfully and imperceptibly.
—Is such a revealing outfit necessary?— Taiko commented, not particularly interested in the girl's revealing figure.
—It really is necessary. The effectiveness of my Quirk is directly proportional to the amount of skin I have exposed.— A flicker of relief crossed the usually calm and composed Momo's face, likely due to her successful choice of partner. She followed Taiko's gaze past her, and he seemed indifferent to her figure. On the one hand, it was a relief, but on the other, it left her perplexed. While Denki stared, and the other boys stared less blatantly and openly, more reservedly, Taiko seemed completely uninterested. The young woman understood the source of that look with her feminine intuition. Such a look could only come from someone already taken.
—Damn...She is lucky...— some of the students whispered enviously and followed All Might to the point, leaving Izuku and Katsuki behind. They had the misfortune of fighting first.
—Seriously? He's been pitted against Katsuki too often. Is fate playing a cruel joke on him?
Away from the others, Taiko began discussing strategy with Momo. Taiko intercepted her and began to make his point.
—First and foremost, we need to stick to the script for more realistic results. Don't forget, this is a battle simulation. Since All Might claimed this is the villains' hideout, they shouldn't destroy it... And for the heroes, I think the most important aspect will be properly capturing the villains and a strategy that minimizes damage. For both sides, the ability to fight in tight spaces is crucial.
Momo nodded knowingly, agreeing with everything he said. She had no doubt in the first place in the entrance exam's high intellect.
The battle between Izuku and Iida's team was, to put it mildly, too destructive. Katsuki decided to throw the entire plan to the wind and rushed to fight Izuku, but Izuku managed to outsmart him. Bakugou was probably trying to learn more about Izuku's Quirk, but thanks to Ochaco, they managed to win.
—Hmm... It's hardly a victory. If a nuclear bomb were actually planted, I wouldn't risk using such destructive attacks indoors.
—Good point!— All Might gave a thumbs-up for understanding.
—Izuku dodged Katsuki's attacks really well! — Denki Kaminari replied, and most agreed.
Taiko himself was amazed that such a powerful attack, one might even say an ultimate move made possible by the Kastuki suit, didn't tear Izuku apart on the spot. It's entirely possible Katsuki was holding back. No, that's not it. He doesn't allow his explosion to cause too much damage to living beings; in the end, almost all the damage was spared Izuku, hence the massive destruction.
And even that tiny amount of damage was enough to send Izuku to the infirmary.
«Izuku and the infirmary are already associated as an integral part of the training process,» — Taiko joked gloomily to himself.
—Okay, let's change buildings! Team B are heroes, Team A are villains. And try not to destroy any more buildings! — Deep down, All Might thanked Cementoss for preparing so many spare sites.
Shoji and Shoto versus Ojiro and Toru. Shoto showed off his skills for the first time, completely dominating the battlefield with his freezing ability, and he completed the challenge solo.
—The hero team wins!— All Might shouted.
Taiko hesitated, noticing Shoto's suit. «He hid his left side, which essentially symbolized the flame. Inferiority complex? Even the strongest have weaknesses.»
It was Taiko's turn. His team was playing the villains, and their opponents were Denki Kaminari and Kyōka Jiro. The warning lights buzzed, plunging the room into an uneasy gloom. The air smelled of ozone and metal, like before a short circuit.
Momo was fortifying the entrance with thick metal bolts emerging from the walls—cold steel, clanking dully, holding reality in place.
—Don't try so hard,—Taiko snapped, as if the whole thing was tiring him. —I'll finish the fight faster than you can close the door.
—Confidence is cool, but not in our case,— Momo replied dryly. —Electro-resistant gloves,— she handed him the gloves she'd created with her Quirk. — I don't know how powerful his Quirk is, so the gloves could theoretically handle a very strong charge.
He grimaced, like someone who finds it disgusting to voluntarily admit weakness. But he still put on his gloves. Not out of caution, but out of principle, not to waste energy on useless discussions.
When he crossed the threshold, the light ahead was already dimming. The corridors of the training complex receded, and the lamps flickered more and more frequently, as if conserving their power.
Darkness. No smell of reagents, no concrete, no rows of shackled Nomu... but still, subconsciously, memories of his childhood in Kyudai Garaki's underground laboratory surfaced. Narrow corridors, a table and monitors, the whispers of doctors in that damned clinic in the dim light, and the feeling that every movement was being recorded by someone you couldn't see. Those damned looping cameras that couldn't capture all the horror unfolding behind the scenes.
His heart didn't skip a beat, his breathing didn't falter—his body had long been trained not to show fear. But his muscles tensed slightly, and his fingers paused for a moment on the now-defunct belt knife in his holster, once wielded by the Grimm-killer. An unconscious reaction.
AFO. The very one whose existence explained his own. An eternal shadow following him, one he must surpass, destroy, and simultaneously replicate—the perfect enemy, inescapable even in his mind. After that night, Taiko, on the one hand, wanted to avoid any mention of this monstrous man's existence for Quinn's sake, and for their well-established, long-awaited, normal life. But on the other...he dreamed of getting even, but he was so afraid. Gods, how he feared him.
Taiko had replayed hundreds of battle scenarios in his head where he faced AFO, but he always lost. He tried to approximate the AFO's strength as closely as possible during the battle in Jaku, but he understood that having faced it seriously only once, he couldn't piece together a complete picture of its powers. It's not a given that AFO was giving it his all back then.
The boy reached a fork in the road and leaned his hand against the wall. Cold concrete, apparently created by the Pro Hero and teacher Cementoss, bit into his palm. — Now's not the time to think about that,—he sighed.
A faint hum of electricity sounded somewhere ahead. Kaminari was preparing. Kyōka listened to the air. Taiko knew their quirks well; there had been enough time to study the quirks of every classmate. Well, almost every one.
He silenced his thoughts. Distances, routes, impact points—everything fell into place in his head, organized into a calculation. The darkness ceased to be a threat and became a tool again. The darkness oppressed, but also helped.
Taiko moved forward not just to win. To prove to himself that he was not a copy... but a challenger. The one he had always planned. He needed to improve, and how else could he do that except learn himself in battle?
He disappeared into the depths of the corridor to search for his opponents, summoning a staff from an unknown spatial pocket.
— I'm the ruler of the wasps in the darkened hive,
Where the lost and the wicked crawl and strive.
In the shadowed halls where the cursed all sleep,
I'm the King of Hornets. My crown runs deep.
But it was ruined.
Every corridor knows the sound of my name,
I'm the hidden sting in the silent game.
In the black I rise, where the fearless weep,
I'm the King of Hornets…
And I hunt in the deep. — he whispered melodically. His voice continued to hum the song he had made up.
«Damn, I'm like fucking Present Mic, but his dark side»