Ashido groaned as she sat down. "So … many … reporters." They managed to camp in front of UA, or at least on the ends of the street. They got tents and everything. Who wants to spend time near school, that was boring!
"I used the 'it's All Might' line. That took care of half." Kaminari spoke. "Just give them a story and bam, they search for the sucker like mosquitoes to skin."
"Yeah, it got pretty annoying. I had to strip naked, AGAIN." Hakagure pounded on her head. "Lucky I keep a spare in the classroom. Ugh, I don't want to say the support course pervs were right!"
"Forget the support course, they're morons." Jiro spoke. "Well, not as stupid as Jaming-whey."
"Could you drop that for one second please!?"
"Buzz brain then?"
"Jaming-whey it is." Ha! Totally whipped. They'll be dating in two months tops.
"I still can't believe it." Yaoyarozu walked in with Suzuki, oh, spicy. She was so focused she didn't even notice the nails scratching a random desk. "You really worked on First Love Memories?"
"Yeah, it was one of my first jobs I had! I worked on the coloring, and they allowed me to keep a few copies for myself." The class cute boy worked on a Romance Manga? He was going to make some girl (Hagakure) happy.
"Oh, you read that too?" Jiro spoke up. "It was a fine story at first, but I kinda jumped off on arc four."
"I don't see the appeal." Kirishima said, looking at the book. "It's just romance, not much action." She rarely wanted to strangle the red head specifically, but this felt needed.
"Oh, so you didn't reach the part about the space mafia?" Suzuki asked him. "That's when it starts getting intense."
Krisihima was now staring at the book like it was the Bible of manliness. "What else have I missed?"
"So does anyone know who's going to be a substitute?" Uraraka brought up a good question. Aizawa-sensei got fucked during the USJ, they needed someone new and strong to hold down the fort while he rested up.
"Don't know, hopefully some that'll take it a bit easy on us after what just happened." Mineta sighed. "Just one day of no stress, is that too much to ask?"
"Yes." They all turned to Todorki. "If you want a day without stress, go daydream and sleep."
"Yep, so you just learn to roll with the punches." Suzuki agreed horribly. She needed to teach this class how to party!
"Iruma." Mineta stated causally. "Just because you seem to attract danger by existing, doesn't mean it extends to everyone."
"I don't attract danger, I just survive and live." The door was opened by a mummy. "We're not even in Egypt!"
"Quiet down class." … Aizawa!?
"Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" Tsuyu was asking reasonable questions.
"I'm a pro, I've worked injured before." You look like you can barely move.
"I knew it." Suzuki smiled. "You really are a kind teacher." They could feel the mummy man trying to sink further into his bandages. Hah, his homelife was probably terrible, but this boy was just a treat to watch! Now to set him up properly with Hagakure, the girl was starting to get a bit too clingy.
"I needed to make sure you're all prepared." The teacher justified. "You're not out of danger yet after all." They're not!? "The UA sports festival is coming up."
"YES! SOMETHING NORMAL!"
"What's the sports festival?" The cheering stopped, staring at Suzuki. "What?"
"You...you don't know about the most popular sports event in the entire world!?" Ashido needed to yell at him.
"The thing that's televised and watched by millions every year!?" Kaminari continued for her.
"I don't watch T.V. Never had the chance." The uncultured child! So many memes to teach!
"Is there a point we should stop being surprised by his naivety?" Uraraka asked. "Cause I felt trying to talk down the Nomu was the more serious concern." That … was fair.
"The UA sports festival is a tournament." Todoroki explained this time. "It's where students compete for first place in order to get noticed by pro heroes."
"Oh, so it's just a big game then?"
"It's more than just a simple game, Suzuki!" Iida went super strict robot mode again. "It's important for everyone to participate if you wish to advance your career as a hero!"
"And no half assing." They turned to Bakugou. "You give it your all for the win … no effort wasted. Otherwise you won't get far."
"Yeah, he's right. When we graduate, we get hired on as sidekicks to heroes before we start patrolling on our own." Kaminari gave his own two cents. "The Sports festival is the best time to get noticed."
"Yeah, but being a sidekick is as far as most people go. In fact, that's probably where you two will end up forever." She pointed to Kaminari and Suzuki. "You're both pretty dumb."
"Your words cut deep, so very much." Kaminari replied with a frown.
"Oh that's fine, I don't even want to be a hero anyway." The class was quiet enough you could hear a penny drop. They remained in that silence even as the bell rang.
==
Ochako walked with Iruma out of the classroom with Iida, Toru, Iida, and Mineta. Quite a big group they made within only a week, which was good, because they needed all hands on deck for the BOMBSHELL that Iruma just dropped on them. "So … you don't want to be a hero?"
"Yep." He responded with complete seriousness
"And you're in the hero course." Toru asked.
"Yeah."
"And...you don't see a problem with that?" Mineta continued.
"Of course not, we just train to be heroes, it doesn't mean I want to be one." Iruma smiled as if it was simple.
"Suzuki...I'm very, very concerned about you right now, so please, be honest with us." Iida was stiff. "Why did you come to the hero course to begin with?"
"Bunny-sensei found me on a beach and said please while putting all his hopes and faith in me." Right, the other bombshell of him being a complete doormat, that existed.
"And you don't regret it. At all?" Ochako asked. "Or feel the need to switch to another class?"
"No, Bunny-sensei was nice and said please. He put so much time and effort into helping me, so I can't let him down." An epic misunderstanding in the process. "Besides, I wouldn't have met you guys, right?"
"Guys, a minute of your time." Mineta gestured to all of them. "Give us a second Iruma, if you don't mind?"
"No problem." The boy gave an adorable smile and backed out of hearing range.
"Okay, is it just me or does Iruma sound like he's been indoctrinated into a cult or something, because that's the vibe I'm getting off of this guy!" Mineta screamed at them
"Of course not. Cults always worship an eldritch demon or abomination, not All Might." Not the point Iida!
"There's nothing wrong with Iruma-kun! He's just super nice to everyone!" Toru defended.
"There's such a thing as too nice, he admitted to be willing to jump off a roof." Ochako double checked to make sure he didn't wander off, returning an innocent wave he gave. "What we need is to make sure he doesn't do that, understood?"
"Right!" The group agreed. Alright, time to go on danger patrol!
"So what do you guys want to be when you graduate?" Iruma asked when they returned.
"A hero." Ochako blushed and looked away. "I know it's kinda selfish, but … I need the money." She looked down. "It's for my family and-"
"Wait." The boy stopped, staring at her with wide eyes. "Heroes make money?"
"Yes…" Iida looked like he was restraining most of his uptight behavior now that he knew Iruma was asking completely seriously. "It's a profession that hundreds are able to enter into. It's why facilities such as UA exist for us."
"Oh … I see …" He was looking very contemplative. "How much would, you say, they get?"
"About twenty grand if they do a good job." Toru responded.
"In a year!?" Iruma shouted.
"Ah, no, that's around the monthly stipend, though that usually depends on how effective they are on catching criminals and preventing disasters and…" Mineta kept explaining, pausing once he saw Iruma turning blue for a second. "Dude, breathe!"
The boy was gasping in utter shock, looking down on his own hands. "If I become a hero, then I can quit all my jobs, AND help people at the same time." He smiled. "I can even make enough to have personal money! I haven't ever had that." Okay wow, even she felt rich at the moment.
"Wait, wait, wait...you have like twenty jobs, how do you not have money for yourself?" Toru asked.
"Oh, my parents need a lot of it. I actually had to take a lot of overtime to be able to afford my tuition." Iruma answered.
"What tuition?" Iida asked. "The hero course and support course are given scholarships. We don't need to pay a cent."
"… Then who did I give that ten thousand yen package to when I walked through the front door?" He did what!? Okay, change the subject!
"So you're helping your parents out too? I'm doing the same!" Ochako explained. "They're construction company hasn't had many jobs lately, so I want to do what I can to help." Mineta looked like he was signalling for her to stop for some reason.
"Oh really? My parents don't have jobs. I've always supported them." He answered cheerfully. Maybe they were disabled? Might have been a touchy subject. "Oh, I can help you out by lifting some of the heavy stuff." Iruma instantly volunteered.
"Look, there's no need to-"
"No, it's okay Ochako. You're important to me after all." And now her face was red, great, just peachy! Why was he such a cute idiot!?
"Oh, Young Suzuki." All Might rounded the corner. "I wanted to thank you on my behalf, I heard you did a lot of hard work." He held up a bagged lunch. "Want to eat together?" Cuteness overload!
==
Iruma ate his meal in a flash. "Thank you, bunny-sensei. This was super tasty!"
"Of course … glad I swung by Lunch Rush's first." Yeah, Food-sama was great. "Now Young Suzuki, I wanted to talk to you about a few things." Bunny-sensei started. "First off, you mentioned a lack of goals before, so I wanted to offer input."
"Oh, Ochako actually gave me a new goal." Iruma smiled, taking another bite. "I didn't know heroes made so much money, or any at all." Yet another bite. "If I get a job I can quit all my side jobs and help people at the same time."
"That's...well in all fairness that's actually a pretty reasonable goal to have. Can't tell you how relieved I was to quit some of my part time jobs in the past." The man shivered. "Will never forget how much the rock man Larry did for that town."
"Must be a pretty good guy." Iruma smiled. "So the problem now is how to be a good hero. I know you go out and help people, but that's about it."
"Oh yes, another thing." Bunny-sensei looked very serious. "According to reports you tried to … reason with the villain?"
"Reason? I don't think so. I was just talking to him." Iruma thought back to it. "I just didn't want him to touch Tsu. Then he started talking about how much he didn't like heroes and I told him that heroes are just people who help others. After that we agreed people are stupid, he told the big guy to hurt adults, then he walked away." Nice guy, if a bit confused.
"Right….you two….just agreed with each other and he left?"
Iruma thought it over. "Um, yeah. I think the guy's Sensei just gave him some bad advice. There are other ways to deal with something you don't like other than killing and destroying." Bunny-sensei dropped his tea cup. "Bunny-sensei?"
"Sensei… " The man uttered darly, the dark sunken eyes on his face seemed to grow darker. "....Well either way I'm glad you were able to handle the situation without getting yourself or anyone else hurt! Most starting pros struggle to do that on their first try."
"Nothing different than what I normally do." The boy spoke as he finished up his meal. "Oh, do you mind if I get seconds?" He asked the man.
"Oh, not at all, go for it." The man spoke without moving his face. He didn't think it was cold enough to freeze it, so something must be wrong. "I'll be fine, I'm actually heading to a teachers meeting soon, setting up for the sports festival after all." Oh yeah, it must be super tough.
"Yeah, I just found out about the sports thing. Seems like it's super important to everyone." Everyone looked at him weirdly when he said he didn't want to be a hero, and looking back on it, maybe it was silly to say that in a class full of kids who actually chose to come here. "I'm not sure how well I'd do. I've never stood out in something like this before."
"Well as long as you make it to the finals you'll stand out plenty." Bunny-sensei smiled. "Just give it your all, plus ultra, remember." Right … the power to go beyond. Like with the giant monster at the USJ.
"Do you think I can make it that far? I've only been able to cook the chicken right just once against that bird thing, and it didn't even move an inch."
"That thing had shock absorption, even if you went all out you wouldn't have scratched it. Right now I say you could handle …" His master looked the boy over. "Eight, maybe ten percent."
"Wow, that's more than the zero percent I had before. I'm eight percent stronger than I originally was! I actually improved on something! And I'm going to be able to make super strong winds like you did someday?"
"Once you get to fifteen percent, you'll definitely be able to make strong wind attacks." All Might grinned. "Now then, how prepared do you feel now, Young Suzuki?"
"Super prepared!" He smiled. "I'll do it All Might! I'll make sure to stand out more than anybody at the sports thingy! I'll..I'll go beyond for...for you...and the class...and to finally quit all my crappy jobs!" That would leave a lot of free time for him afterwards. What would he do with all that time? Oh well, something to think about afterwards.
==
"Half of my students aren't competing because Katsuki Bakugou blew them up!" Power Loader screamed. "He came charging in and blew them across the campus!"
"Stop allowing so many perverts in your course and maybe I'll consider reprimanding him a little." Aizawa groaned, hatting that he had to speak up louder due to the excess of bandages covering his face. Still better than Recovery Girl using her quirk's full power on him.
"I gave him permission, if you want to blame him then blame me." Midnight stepping into the conversation.
"Look, I'm not mad that he attacked them. Yes, what they did is stupid and it's going against their final grade, reputation, record, and they'll be suspended." Power Loader conceded. "But the problem is he hospitalized them before the Sports Festival."
"As if dealing with the Problem Child isn't enough." Aizawa rolled his eyes. This year was already becoming a headache, and that was discounting the attack on the USJ. "I'll deal with Bakugo later, right now we need to deal with the worst case scenario. The attack completely caught us off guard. Have any of the abandoned villains said anything we can use?"
"They have a 'Sensei'." All Might spoke up. "And the Nomu was a being with multiple quirks. Other than that, we have nothing concrete."
"You were there personally, Aizawa." Nedzu spoke while sipping tea that looked like it was seconds from attacking someone. "Did you gain any insight on the man in charge, or the warp villain?"
"The hand guy definitely wasn't the man in charge, it was more like a man child. His talk with Suzuki made me believe he's been brought about by someone with highly destructive tendencies … why they chose to leave an army in his hands is anyone's guess."
"Yes, that's also pretty concerning." Midnight commented with a worried glance. "From what his classmates said about it, Suzuki and the villain seemed to..empathize with each other?"
"I saw it in action, it was as disturbing as it sounds." Aizawa shivered. "Combined with everything Suzuki says about his life after school, I believe his parents or someone close to him may be manipulating his mental state in a similar manner to Shigaraki." Tomura Shigaraki. They had a name and a face, but there were no records of him, or anyone registered with a decay quirk.
"You're exactly right." Nedzu spoke. "Which is why I sent Tsukauchi to investigate." Finally, the rat was being proactive. "And have deemed it too dangerous for further investigation." … What?
"Wait, are you saying a parents meeting with mister truth or buzz went bad?" Mic asked while leaning over the table. "I thought his quirk was unbeatable at info gathering."
"It is. He even reaffirmed that Young Suzuki isn't lying about anything he says." All Might looked particularly disturbed. Made sense, this was his protege, so he probably was even MORE concerned if what Aizawa suspected was true. "However, he reports that the parents aren't lying either, and that they're both wonderful people who...give good hugs." What the fuck? "It was during the live call I noticed a small hole in his glove, revealing a mark that appeared to be similar to a wasp sting."
"So the Suzuki's may have some form of manipulation quirk. We don't know how strong the range or effect is, and if they didn't even put a quirk registry for their own child, then who knows how effective the influence is." And they couldn't do anything without hard evidence, something that likely would have been lost if they tried to get it.
"I will work out a solution the best I can, in the meantime, it's imperative you all keep a fair distance from the Suzuki case." Nedzu spoke seriously. "Make the lad as comfortable as possible, we don't know how someone as mentally vulnerable as him will take it." They all nod. "Now onto other matters, we have to discuss how they got in. There might have been inside help involved."
"Wait, wait, wait! Are you saying that one of our own betrayed us?" Mic instantly looked appalled. "Wouldn't it have been better if you DIDN'T call everyone here if you suspect one of us?"
"I don't know if it's a teacher or a student, so I want you all on the watch." Bullshit, the rat probably just wanted to see their reactions and pick up microexpressions of panic. Regardless, the idea of a mole made him sick. After all they went through, was someone just going to betray them like that?
"This year is already rounding up to be something else isn't it? And we haven't even reached the Sports Festival yet." Midnight said with a sigh. "Are we certain we can go through with this?"
"Yes." All Might affirmed. "The USJ put those students on the front line, and now a fire has been lit underneath all of them. They're more determined than ever to be heroes." Except Suzuki, who made it clear he doesn't WANT to be a hero, except he also had the ability to help everyone around him and completely dodge danger no matter the situation. Such a conflicting mixed bag of potential.
"Besides, we'll have multiple top heroes on security this year. Heck, even Endeavor is making his way to take a look at his son." Great, two headache heroes this year. What could possibly go wrong?
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY YOU LOSEY EXTRAS!" How could he hear Class 1-A from the otherside of the campus? Maybe Kalego had a point in keeping his classroom isolated from the rest of the school.
==
Ibara heard the crass comment, but pressed onward anyways. She needed to witness her angel in person. Her noble guardian as well as his class suffered from the machinations of sinful evildoers just days prior, and she prayed extra hard that they didn't suffer any form of casualty. There were no hell-spawn squirrels to impede her quest this time.
"Wow, there's an entire crowd of students!" A girl's voice spoke up. "What do they want? It seems a bit overkill for everyone to come here."
"They're checking out the competition, obviously." The crass one growled. "And blocking up the walkway while they're at it!" She finally made her way near the front, as a tired looking purple haired boy walked up to a spiky blond. "Scouting at the competition? At least you know what a future pro looks like. Now move it, extras."
She would've lectured him on the sin of pride and arrogance, but the sleepy student spoke before she could say anything. "You all think you're just that, making your way in here because of your quirks, you forget there's an entire class of people that want to make their way into the hero course, right?"
"I made it to the hero course because Bunny-sensei asked me to, and I couldn't let him down!" A happily holy voice spoke from behind the blonde. There he was, the blue angel from the entrance Exam. "And I got a bunch of rescue points … how many did you get?"
Even the crass one raised an eyebrow at the jab, despite the boy looking curious, as if asking a genuine question. "Are you fucking kidding me? You got in by pitty points alone!?"
There was nothing pitiable about saving people, it was the most noble thing anyone could do! "Yep, a hundred and twenty of them!" He smiled back. A … hundred and twenty? "I beat Bunny-sensei's record with it." Who was Bunny-sensei!?
"You're a cheery idiot, you know that?" The sleepy student bluntly joked. Such a heathen! She'd repent for her anger tomorrow. She needed to punish this sinful man for his blasphemy! "Did you happen to know that if a general course student does good enough, while a hero course student does bad enough, we can transfer?"
"Oh, that doesn't seem fair. Why can't they just let more students into the hero course? Why not have more people out there helping people?"
"Because this is UA, Dodger." The crass one spoke up. "They only take the best of the best. Top thirty six who did well in the entrance exam, and four recommendation students."
"Really...that seems...silly. Isn't this a school? Isn't the point to teach us HOW to be heroes?" The boy questioned.
"That's reality." A student with two hair colors spoke up. "Not everyone can be a hero, despite wanting to be."
"But a hero is just someone who helps people." She understood now...her angel was a truly holy being too pure for the carnal minds that surrounded him. She was truly blessed to have been graced by his presence.
"Regardless of what any of you think, if you don't keep your guard up, you'll lose your spot. Consider this my declaration of war." The sleepy student turned away.
"Good luck! Hope you do your best!" There was no deception in her angel's eyes.
"You're going to lose if you're that soft!" The boy shouted as the students began parting.
"Maybe I should stab him …" An invisible girl spoke quietly. "Come on Iruma-kun, let's get out of here." Ibara saw the woman for what she really was, a sinner trying to corrupt her angel.