Chapter 12: Battle Trials and Tribulations
After the plan regarding his 'quirk' and how he would be allowed to keep his gear on him at all times had been explained to him, Izuku had gone back to class for the rest of the day with only one request in regard to Nezu's offer. Rather than two counseling sessions with Hound Dog per week, he would instead abide by the original weekly meetings, and spend one of his free periods as Nezu's personal student.
Oddly enough, it had been Izuku who had suggested the change, much to the principal's delight and Aizawa's seeming trepidation. Still, he was pleased by the overall outcome of events, even if it had cost him some of his dignity. At least Mirio had been a comforting presence after his little episode; the other boy had even walked with him back to class while Aizawa stayed behind to discuss something with the principal.
"Are you feeling better, Izuku?" he questioned. The boy nodded, offering his friend a genuine smile.
"Yeah, I really appreciate you showing up when you did…actually, why were you coming to Nezu's office in the first place?"
"Oh, well, he had called me when he couldn't get hold of Aizawa at first," Mirio said plainly, shrugging. Izuku hadn't expected the honest answer, and it showed on his face. Mirio chuckled and gently nudged him with his elbow. "Like you haven't noticed us sticking around you even more than usual? Nezu-san knows we're friends, and I'm sure you know how unique the circumstances around all of this are." He gestured widely in Izuku's direction. "It just made sense to have us keep an eye out in case any troublemakers decided to try messing with my little bro. Sorry, by the way, about not being there earlier…"
"I appreciate it but, you know, I can handle myself fine," snorted Izuku, looking up at him, some of the usual pep that came from being around Mirio returning to him. "I don't need constant supervision. I kicked my last bully in the balls after all."
"Izuku, the last time we left you unsupervised for a week you almost blew up your and Mei's little workshop down by the beach," he laughed, and Izuku looked affronted.
"That wasn't my fault and you know it! But, thank you for looking out for me, anyways." They had reached the entrance to his classroom by then, and it seemed that it was time for Ectoplasm's math class. Hopefully they would be done with calculus soon; it had always been so trivial for Izuku. Mirio squeezed his shoulder a little more tightly than normal before they separated, his face unusually conflicted for a moment.
"There's more to worry about than bullies, Izuku-kun. Just promise me you'll stay safe?" Izuku looked at him, something dangerous flashing behind his eyes as he appraised what Mirio had just said.
"Only if you promise you'll tell me everything," he shot out, catching the older boy by surprise, "eventually, anyways. You're a terrible liar, you know." He laughed at that and clapped Izuku on the back, his hand slapping against metal loudly, before he turned to leave.
"I was planning to anyway, Izuku! I can promise you that after the sports festival at least, I should be able to tell you more. Just keep going Plus Ultra until then, okay?" Izuku gave a determined nod in response, which earned another good natured chuckle from Mirio as he walked down the hall. Turning back to the massive door of 1-A, Izuku rejoined his class.
The rest of the day passed in relative peace for him. Mineta had already told his friends about the encounter in the hallway, and had speculated that Nezu had kept him behind in order to thank him personally, which made explaining his tardiness easy enough. Bakugo, of course, was able to tell he had been crying almost immediately, but had chalked it up to the bully's insults about him being quirkless, and Izuku was content to let him think as much. Iida, naturally, had been horrified, decrying the idea that UA would allow such unworthy students in at all, but had been mollified after Izuku had explained the consequences the other boy would face.
Uraraka had oddly been the hardest to reassure, but after a while she had calmed down long enough to accept his explanation. A quick text from Mei saying that she had watched it all over the school's cameras and would have intervened herself if she felt it necessary had helped to soothe the other girl as well, though it made Izuku a little nervous. He bristled slightly at the overprotectiveness of it all, but was otherwise content enough to let his group of friends fuss over him. Even Aizawa-sensei seemed more reserved in his demeanour than normal, and Izuku recalled with some embarrassment how his teacher had to restrain him during his panic.
Foundational Heroics that afternoon had consisted of more combat drilling, as well as a second lesson on quirk usage laws and how they applied to heroics students. Additionally, there was a very stern warning about breaking anti-vigilante laws, and an emphasis on the need for the students to obtain their provisional licenses before the year was out.
His free period saw him in the support lab, testing a pair of heavy mechanical boots for Mei that saw him slamming into a wall at high speed. After recovering and being assured that he still had all his teeth, Izuku excused himself to go to Recovery Girl's office. Once there, the woman directed him to an unused biology classroom which Nezu was choosing to make available to him for his quirk analysis and research.
Wednesday was mostly another day of unfulfilling classes when, finally, All Might arrived at their classroom for his Foundational Heroics lesson with even more energy than normal. After a pointed look at Aizawa, who had simply sighed in exasperation before nodding his head, All Might had produced a laminated card that read 'Battle Trial' in a cartoonish font.
Izuku had smiled at that, excited about finally being able to really test his mettle against the others, but Bakugo's own wicked grin had put him to shame. His friend looked positively gleeful, and the touch of murderous intent behind his expression was not lost on the others, who shifted away a bit in their seats. After being dismissed with their costumes in hand, the students made their way to the locker rooms to change.
Izuku was halfway through changing, his jumpsuit and upper armor already on as he worked on the leg supports he had commissioned when the air in the room noticeably chilled. Idly, he saw that the temperature readout on his helmet had recorded a drop of about a degree and a half, which would be very hard to attribute to the air conditioner malfunctioning. He glanced around and his eyes met Todoroki's, the mismatched pair of gray and blue radiating something off-kilter. They narrowed as the boy realized Izuku was looking at him and his normally neutral face dropped into a small frown. Ice crept up from his boot, completely covering the left side of the white fatigues he wore, finally crawling over his face and turning the blue dot of his eye into a featureless, glowing red orb.
"Deku, hurry the fuck up already!" yelled Bakugo, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he checked the straps on his gauntlets. Kirishima was standing next to him, seeming somewhat uncomfortable with the sudden chill but otherwise as enthusiastic as ever. Izuku thought he might mention adding a shirt made using a similar technique to Mirio's for his costume, but was distracted again by the feeling of his interface tingling. His leg armor, finally finishing its startup sequence, hissed closed and the gentle pressure of the haptic feedback they provided greeted him warmly.
"All done, Kacchan! Thanks for waiting," he called, rising from his seat. His friend made a noise of irritation as he spun to the door and began to march towards ground beta, Kirishima close behind. Iida called for something about order, but Izuku simply laughed it off as he and the others strode out into the mock city. He failed to notice Todoroki's frown momentarily turning into a look of disgust as they passed.
"As you are aware, we've been going over combat basics and safety procedures for the past few classes, but now, it's time to really put into practice what we teach! Ha ha ha ha!" All Might flashed a thumbs up at that, his silver-age costume's iconic blue cape flapping out behind him as he gestured to the training grounds.
"Sensei, this appears to be a similar cityscape from the entrance exam, will we be performing urban combat trials again?" asked Iida. His armor was practically blinding from how dutifully he had polished it now, and his spine was as ramrod straight as ever.
"A good guess, but not quite my young speedster! Today, you'll be moving onto close quarters interpersonal battles! While it's true that most hero work caught by the news happens outside, heroes really spend most of their time in environments like these! What's more, bank robberies and muggings are hardly the worst we have to deal with; the cleverest villains are those that hide in the shadows. Black markets, drug trades, and all other sorts of shady dealings go on behind closed doors every day, so it's important that you're able to operate in these kinds of spaces!" Their teacher simply gave a patient smile as the class exploded into questions, some much more pertinent than others. Izuku had to stifle a snort when Aoyama asked if his cape looked fabulous enough.
"What have I told you all about rationality and wasting time," said Aizawa, striding into view from out of the shadow of one of the mock buildings. "Allow your teacher to explain the parameters of the exercise before you start asking questions and you'll have fewer questions to ask." He nodded towards All Might, who returned the gesture gratefully before pulling a stack of papers from behind him and passing them around to the students.
"Here's your mission briefing, so pay attention! In this scenario, villains are transporting a nuclear weapon through the city, and are storing it in the building you will be assaulting. Hero teams will have fifteen minutes to breach the building, during which they must either incapacitate the villain team or neutralize the weapon." He held up a roll of plain white tape as he spoke, before handing it to the gathered class to pass around. "Whether unable to continue due to combat, or restrained by this capture tape, eliminated participants will be removed from the building by UA medical bots. That's not carte blanche to go nuts though, so keep in mind the well being of your fellow classmates. Now, on the villain side, your objective will be to either wait out the clock, or to capture the heroes! Pretty simple, right?" The class nodded at him, mindful of appearing too excited in front of Aizawa lest they risk expulsion again.
"Well, here's where things will get a little complicated. Teams will have two members each, and your groupings will be drawn by lots!"
"Is that really the best way?" Iida interjected, hand shooting into the air. Izuku sighed, and began speaking before he could stop himself.
"If you consider pro heroes often are called to emergency situations or even police operations with unfamiliar partners, it makes sense why the assignments would be random. Likely, the intent is to simulate the unpredictability of fieldwork. Alternatively, it's likely a good idea to break us up early so that we don't become locked into relying on others that we may not work with in the future, or perhaps as a method of teaching us to deal with seemingly unhelpful quirk combinations being forced to operate together. Hasn't your brother ever had to work with someone he was ill-equipped to be partnered with, simply as a result of circumstances? Furthermore, realities of fieldwork often..." Iida glanced back and forth quickly between Izuku, who had broken down into further mumblings, and All Might who was smiling good-naturedly, and lowered his hand.
"I see, please, excuse my interruption sir!" He chopped the air robotically, and jostled Izuku out of his rambling in the process.
"Worry not young Iida, I appreciate the inquisitive spirit! Now, let's get to the battle training!" All Might rummaged through the boxes as he spoke, quickly assigning pairs together until every student had a partner. Izuku couldn't help but smile devilishly when his name was called. Bakugo moved to his side, and returned the wicked look.
"This is gonna be so much fucking fun," he growled, offering his gauntlet to Izuku, who smacked his own armored forearm into the metal with a resounding clink . Uraraka, who had been paired with Kirishima, took a step backwards and gawked at the pair.
"Hell yeah it is, Kacchan," said Izuku. Behind them, Iida spluttered in surprise.
"Alright Deku, I know you're cooking one up, so what's the plan for dealing with the extras?" Izuku glanced over at him and shrugged.
"I figure our best bet at finding the weapon is to split up and search the building from both ends. I figured you'd want to get into combat as quickly as possible, so I thought you'd take the front door and I'd take the roof. Then we work our way towards the middle and radio the other if we encounter the villains before then." Bakugo nodded, one hand rubbing his chin thoughtfully even as he began to vibrate in anticipation.
"I've got the mobility to make it work, but what about you nerd? How're you gonna get up to the roof, or down to me if I run into them?" Izuku offered a confident smirk as a reply. "Okay, so you've got some toys that'll let you get around too, perfect. What about quirks? You been taking your creep notes?"
"Ah, well, Iida-kun won't be as well suited to tight quarters since he needs a run up to get going at full speed, so he'll likely be guarding the weapon. Which also means it's most likely to be in a more open space, but we should still check the floors as we go, just in case."
"I can pound Glasses into the ground no problem, maneuvering room or not," sneered Bakugo, ramming a fist into his open palm. Izuku continued.
"The wild card here is Todoroki-san, considering he could try and defend alongside Iida, or act as a vanguard of sorts, trying to catch one of us alone to eliminate him."
"I'll beat his ass too." This time small crackles accompanied his statement.
"Possibly," ventured Izuku, looking warily at his friend, "but beyond knowing that it's ice, we don't know the upper limits on his quirk, or the degree of control he has. If he were to lower the temperature enough, he could reduce your sweat production, or even freeze it on your skin as you secrete it." Bakugo glared at him.
"You saying I can't take him, shitnerd?" Izuku mutely shook his head.
"I'm s-saying that you may not be able to use y-your explosions against him, not that you couldn't w-win. My main concern is him r-running away until we run out of t-time." That seemed to be enough, as Bakugo settled back down again, swearing a little under his breath. Izuku recovered his composure quickly. "It's a shame we don't have more time to plan, all things considered. We could probably come up with a better method of attack if we had the time. For now, I think we should split up and radio for assistance if we find them...wait a minute." Izuku's eyes sparkled under his visor as inspiration struck.
"What now, shithead?"
"What if we didn't need to search for where the bomb was at all? How are you with maybe bending the rules a bit?" He gave a quick glance over the rules sheet they had been handed at the start of the exercise. Excited, his eyes flickered over the displays in his helmet, Lynchpin getting to work quickly.
"I'm listening."
The observation room was filled with the tittering of the gathered students, all of them glancing at the panel of monitors that broadcasted the inside of the building. All Might was standing at the front with a clipboard in hand, debating between his desire to be impartial and the pride he was feeling at the sight of Young Midoriya about to engage in his first heroics exercise. For all the world, All Might could see himself in the boy, but there was the undeniable influence of Dave there as well. The boy had done well to study with Melissa and to hone his own considerable intellect, and the results of his hard work would soon be on display for everyone to see. Staying impartial was going to prove very difficult, it seemed.
"Oh, you're here," said Aizawa, grunting a bit. The class turned and found the furry form of principal Nezu suddenly perched on Aizawa's shoulder, wrapped up a bit in his capture weapon. The small creature gave the assembled students a wave.
"Hello, hello, my first years! It's a wonderful day for learning, don't you think?" It was all All Might could do to stop a sudden cough from staining his lips at the sight.
"Ah, principal Nezu-san, what an unexpected delight. May I ask as to the purpose of your visit?"
"Oh dear, I would have thought Aizawa-sensei would have informed you already," sang Nezu, a cup of tea appearing in his paws. "I have taken on Young Midoriya for private lessons on a weekly basis, so I am here to evaluate his current progress in heroics to see where we stand to begin. It seems I won't be needing to cover hacking, at least." All Might made a small choking noise, and the class looked to the principal quizzically.
"Hacking, sir?" The principal had shifted his tea to one paw while looking over a small tablet that cast him in a chilling glow.
"Indeed, it would appear that Mr. Midoriya has gained access to the cameras present in the mock cityscape. Perhaps in the future we will have to amend the rules for this particular exercise to prevent that." The principal's eyes flashed dangerously as he took a sip of his drink. "Regardless, it should prove to have an interesting impact on the course of this battle. Perhaps we would be wise to add information warfare to the heroics course as a standard option in the first year instead of altering the rules. Regardless, I believe the prep time for this bout is about to expire, yes?" All Might glanced over to the digital counter, which was indeed about ten seconds away from reaching zero. He reached over to the intercom and pressed the start button for the mission timer.
"Prep time has elapsed, the hero team may enter the building."
"Prep time has elapsed, the hero team may enter the building." came the voice of All Might over the site speakers. The boys got to work quickly, Izuku readying a grapple from a compartment at his waist and tossing it onto a fourth story window and securing a line to it while Bakugo unhooked several of the grenades at his belt and stomped towards the entrance. Using his own explosions, he broke down the front door before tossing in the collection of grenades he had grabbed, pins tinkling merrily onto the ground as he did so. A cloud of smoke, a flash obscured by a corner, and the scattered sound of explosions emanated from the entryway.
"Alright Deku, distraction's done. The decoy should pop off randomly six more times or so, we got about thirty seconds before it blows out." Izuku nodded to him and tested the rope he had been securing. Satisfied that it would hold their combined weight he looked over to his partner.
"We're good to infiltrate, I take it you're going to want to take point?"
"Fuck yeah I am, just keep up."
"Fine, just keep the explosions quiet as long as you can, we want to keep the villains separated for as long as possible." With that Bakugo began his ascent, Izuku following close behind as they scaled the side of the building. It would have been easier for both of them had they simply used explosions to propel themselves up the side, but that ran the risk of alerting the villains to their position as Izuku had patiently explained. Thanks to Lynchpin's quick work, they knew the bomb was on the third floor in a relatively open environment, though if the live feed in his visor was any indication, Iida was already priming his engines for a fight. Suddenly, the connection was terminated, and Izuku frowned. No, it wasn't that the feed had died, it was that every single camera had been obscured by ice. That was clever of them , he thought.
Just as Izuku reached the window and Bakugo grabbed his arm to help him in as he climbed inside, the ground floor exploded into a shower of snow and ice crystals. The building shook under the sudden impact, and looking down Izuku was able to see ice expanding from every window and door open to the street. In some places the glacier sprung out in giant ragged spikes, but around the doorway at least the creeping frost seemed more limited. At least Todorki wasn't trying to kill them.
"I wanna fight him," growled Bakugo as they surveyed the damage. Izuku looked over to him, noticing the hunch of his shoulders and the almost deranged look he was sporting. "I wanna pound that motherfucker into the ground and show him what real strength looks like." Izuku considered his options for a moment, before settling on the course that he hoped was most likely to win them the match.
"Fine, Kacchan, go kick his ass. We go back to the original plan, but please, please, be willing to disengage and come up to me if Iida is too quick for me to get past. The cameras are out for some reason, so radio when you can." Bakugo looked like he was about to complain but hesitated a moment before snapping his mouth shut.
"Tch, fine, figures you might need me to bail your ass out," he grabbed onto the windowsill and looked back over his shoulder before moving to swing down. "Not like you'll really need my help to curbstomp Glasses anyways, shitnerd. See you in five." Izuku gave him a thumbs up and Bakugo flipped out of the window, unleashing a number of small blasts to turn himself in the air and rocket into the second story after he had fallen a floor. Before he could prepare himself to confront Iida however, Izuku felt the increasingly familiar sensation of the temperature dropping.
Frost spread along the corridor, slamming up behind him and sealing off the windows to the outside as Todoroki stepped around the corner, the ice-covered eye glowing all the more menacingly as the outside light was cut off. Izuku dropped into a combat stance, and radioed his partner.
"Kacchan, it was a feint, Todoroki is on the fourth floor with me, he's sealed off the windows and I'm guessing the stairwells too, move to the third floor and retrieve the bomb."
"Deku! What the fuck!" Bakugo's furious roar in his ear was accompanied by the sound of several explosions detonating two stories below him.
"Be angry later, win now!" he shot back, glaring at Todoroki through his visor. "I suppose you think you've got me cornered, villain," he said, addressing the other boy. He scowled at him, and Izuku wondered if perhaps he was getting a bit too into the role.
"Midoriya," he said, voice all ice. "You shouldn't be here." Izuku suppressed a snort.
"Oh, were you expecting Bakugo? Sorry to disappoint!" Todoroki advanced, ice cracking under his boots at his heavy tread.
"You shouldn't be in the hero course, Midoriya. You're playing at something you'll never be. You're just going to get hurt." The temperature dropped immediately, and for once, it wasn't because of the boy's ice. Izuku felt his face contort into a snarl as his armor responded to his intentions.
"So that's it then," he said quietly, the plating around his arms shifting as steam began to rise from the openings. The orange glow from within the plates of the armor intensified, and the power reserves across his chest began to hum. "You're just another fucking bully, here to teach me a lesson, huh?" The increasingly familiar foreign influence on his mind had him again, his aggressive impulses spiking as he began to see red, and Izuku realized that he didn't particularly care at that moment.
"If I have to break your toys to show you why you can't be a hero, then I don't mind," said Todoroki, raising his arm. "People without the power to stand on their own can contribute in other ways, but being a hero is beyond you. Drop out, join the police or something. I refuse to have the blood of the weak on my hands because they can't accept the reality of their situation." Ice exploded down the hall in a wave, completely filling the space and moving forward at speeds no glacier should. The sound of ice scraping against concrete and shattering in its rush forward was awful, but the explosion that blossomed from Izuku's fingers was even more deafening. The black metal of his gauntlets shone in the reflection of the explosion, and Izuku snarled.
"If that's what it takes, don't make me laugh. Let me show you something, Todoroki. Something that I built, that I designed. This armor of mine, it isn't a toy. It's my power. And frankly," he met the other boy's gaze with his own, so hostile it practically ignited the air. "For all your power, that you stumbled into as an accident of birth, I'm still stronger than you." Plates sprang open at the back of his shoulders, flames briefly visible burning blue, then white hot as exhaust nozzles sprang up around the flames. Blue lightning crackled over his form as the ground beneath his armored feet buckled under the force, there was a flash of heat and light, and Izuku vanished.
Todoroki's instincts saved him as he threw up a fresh wall of ice that shattered under Izuku's flying kick, buying him enough time to duck to the side as the other boy impacted against the opposite wall, springing off with another explosion and coming at him again. A vicious axe kick shattered the ice he had spread along the floor and a good chunk of the concrete along with it, and Todoroki found himself thrown against the opposite wall by the impact, rolling to dodge a punch that sent Izuku's fist through the wall like it was paper. He threw up more ice between them, seven whole sheets a foot thick each before he was at the end of the hallway, separated from the other boy by his impromptu barrier. He took a moment to collect his breath, feeling the frost begin to creep up his skin as he overexerted his quirk. At the last moment, he noticed the orange glow from the other side of the barrier, and ducked behind a corner.
Ice, concrete, and burning heat blew past him and out the side of the building in a deafening roar, leaving the end of the corridor open to the air. Seeing an opportunity, Todoroki created an ice ramp and skated out the opening, forming a bridge to an adjacent building as he went. With a growl, Izuku followed, explosions propelling him along and collapsing the ice behind him before his opponent could finish his construct.
Todoroki fell, twisting in the air as his bridge, free of supports, collapsed into the neighboring building. As the ground rushed up, Izuku appeared beneath him, explosions crackling in his palms as he grabbed the boy and swung him around in the air, spinning twice before releasing him back into the opening they had just shot out of. Izuku dug his fingers into the exterior of the adjacent building, leaving trails in its surface as he slowed his descent and finally came to a stop, panting as he placed his feet onto the wall so he could regain his breath. A moment later he flexed his legs against the building and leapt after Todoroki, leaving a crater in the side of the building as he went.
Bakugo found himself frustrated, not just because Glasses kept blocking his path, or even on account of Fry-Face going after Deku, but because it turned out the nerd had been right about the temperature impacting his sweat production. From the sound of it, and the small tremors that accompanied the battle upstairs, the shithead was not quite having the same problem. What was worse, just as the cold was inhibiting his own quirk, the lower temperature seemed to be boosting the efficiency of Glasses' quirk.
"Your explosions might be formidable, hero, but they won't do much if you can't even touch me," shouted Iida, doing his best to affect a villainous accent.
"I'll blow you to fucking pieces and use the chunks as fertilizer!" For all his threats, Bakugo knew that he couldn't risk using his explosions nearer to the bomb, which was only compounding his disadvantage. Every time he dashed one way or feinted another Iida suddenly appeared, blocking his approach and cackling in that God awful villain impression. A sudden explosion above them shook the entire building, and blew out the glass in the adjacent structures as the shockwave rippled out. "What the fuck, Deku?"
"Your partner may be strong, but it's just you and me here now, hero, and your time is almost up," crooned Iida, arms thrown backward as he dashed forward. Bakugo swore and made a desperate play. Throwing his hands behind him, he let off as powerful a blast as he could manage and sailed over the armoured form of Iida in an arc towards the bomb. His fingers almost grazed the surface when it was pulled out of reach, and he crashed to the ground swearing loudly as Iida hefted the device and dashed away. "You'll never catch me, hero!"
"Like hell I won't," screamed Bakugo, shooting off in pursuit as he finally began to sweat enough to fuel his more powerful blasts, even through the cold. His explosions carried him closer and closer, Iida's speed beginning to flag as his engines started to overheat. When he was almost within range to grab the boy, the ceiling caved in.
Todoroki crashed through the debris, Izuku driving the other boy through the floor as he sent his fists into his stomach over and over. From what Bakugo could see, he was holding back from striking his preferred softer targets, focusing instead on areas that wouldn't take Fry-Face out of the fight, who was himself constantly covering himself in a layer of ice that couldn't quite keep up with the barrage. What could have sparked that rage, he didn't know, but it was clear that Deku was losing his cool.
"Izuku, stop fucking around and go for the capture," he shouted, finally managing to catch up to Iida who had been slowed by having to dodge the incoming debris. Yanking his legs out from under him, the bomb fell away from the pair as both crashed to the floor.
Izuku, seeming to regain his senses at his friend's shout, shook himself and produced his capture tape and wrapped it around Todoroki's wrist before he could recover.
"Todoroki has been captured!" Came the voice of All Might in their ears. At that Iida scrambled away from Bakugo and planted himself between the two and the bomb, doing his best to put up a brave final stand.
Todoroki watched numbly as the pair flanked his partner, breaking him down under combined explosions and a vicious series of attacks from Izuku that brought the other boy to his knees. He continued to watch even as a pair of medical bots arrived to escort him out of the building. The last thing he saw before he left the room was Izuku holding Iida against the floor, arms up behind his back in a firm but painless hold. Bakugo walked over to the bomb and slapped his hand against the shell, taking a moment to spit off to the side.
"Hero team wins!"
Nezu clapped his paws delightedly at the conclusion of the match, cackling at what he called a jolly good showing all around. Aizawa grumbled about problem children into his scarf, and All Might bore an expression of serious concentration.
"It seems we may have some issues to address with Midoriya regarding restraint," grumbled Aizawa so that only the principal could hear.
"Perhaps, and it also seems that I may have some issues to address with the school at large concerning discrimination. Once is a coincidence, twice is a problem, after all." Aizawa sighed.
"He'll know he's the subject if you do an assembly or something," he mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Maybe a change to the curriculum during the social studies courses to include some history on quirk discrimination, or perhaps Japan's activities during the second world war." The principal's musings were interrupted by the return of the four students to the observation room, as well as All Might's boisterous welcome.
"Ah, and here are the students of the hour! Good work all of you, and remember, win or lose, you always come out ahead by learning from the experience!" He clapped his hands together for silence, drawing the attention of the gathered students. "I'd like a guess as to who the MVP of this particular match was, so don't be shy now!" Almost immediately Yaoyorozu's hand was in the air.
"Sir, the MVP in this case was most likely Iida." The boy in question looked startled at this, while Izuku nodded along thoughtfully. Todoroki had returned to his mask of neutrality, and beside him, Bakugo was seething.
"An interesting conclusion, I'd like to hear your reasoning." The girl nodded before launching into her explanation.
"Iida demonstrated the most versatility during the match sir, providing an excellent defense of the primary objective even while outnumbered. While Midoriya's planning and intel gathering were of considerable boon to the heroes, the scale of his attacks in a closed environment risked unacceptable collateral damage, as well as the integrity of the nuclear device. Bakugo's attacks were more restrained, certainly, but unfortunately he wasn't able to provide much support given Todoroki's use of his ice to separate the combatants. In Todoroki's case, working with Iida on defense, or forming a more active vanguard with both team members would have meant overall greater combat effectiveness, as Iida may have been able to provide a counter to Midoriya's speed that he himself lacked. Additionally, once Midoriya broke through his initial defenses, Todoroki seemed unable to find a successful point to counterattack from. That is my analysis of the match anyways." She gave a small cough to indicate that she was finished, with most of the other students staring at her wide eyed. Izuku offered her a shy smile and his thanks for her analysis and Nezu's eyes gleamed at the prospect of taking on a second personal student. All Might coughed to break the ensuing silence.
"Yes, very well said Young Yaoyorozu, there isn't much I would add myself. That seems to be that sorted, so let's move onto the next match! Team A will be playing the villains while team C are the heroes this time. Now, hop to it!"
Tsubasa was on the verge of panic, which for an orderly mind like his, was practically unheard of. He had used his gifted quirk to alter the medical records he had given to Master the day before, not even knowing if it would be possible to do so beforehand. Thankfully, Master's blindness meant that the forgery only had to be capable of fooling the machine that read the documents aloud after scanning them. He was lucky, he thought, that Master had his strange penchant for paperwork; if he had simply given him digital copies of the boy's file, then his quirk would have been unable to alter the documents.
Now though, looking at the feathered mass of the surveillance-model Nomu, he felt his luck was running out. He had connected the creature's internal surveillance equipment to one of his research computers through the port nestled at the back of its neck, and the images he had of the Midoriya boy would be too enticing for Master not to take an interest in. A quirkless child enrolled at UA was bad enough, to see the level of intelligence the boy was demonstrating was another matter entirely. The images from outside the biology lab were particularly damning, considering the boy was progressing in his own quirk research down a different track than Tsubasa had. Master always liked to explore every option.
For the moment at least, he had time. Master was distracted by his latest purchase after that business with the Tower Company. Until he was ready for Tomura to learn whatever lesson he was setting up, he would be entirely too focused on his preparations for his successor to bother going over the footage the Nomu had taken. Still, Tsubasa was aware that he had already crossed the line with Master, altering the medical records as he had. Once he was found out his cover story, as well as his own usefulness to Master, would secure his life but little else.
What was worse, he would be unable to help the Midoriya boy any further. Resigned that even though what he was about to do would be an even bigger risk, he began compiling everything he had on both the child and the nature of Master's operation as it related to him. Satisfied that he had as much as he could, he compressed everything into a single file and began to tap away at a letter, hoping that it would be enough. His hands shook as they danced over the keys and he thought about how much he would miss the family he had made over the last thirty years. There was much to do, and so little time left to do it.