The bus ride back did not take too long, thankfully, since the young students were practically bouncing with energy.
All over the bus were smaller groups who were talking about their respective experiences.
In a small cluster, where some of the girls of the class sat, that wasn't any different. "Seriously, you even captured criminals? Lucky you." Mina exclaimed, after having just slightly misunderstood her friend.
"Hmm, I only helped evacuate people, or helped out here and there. Fighting, though, not really." Jirou tried to clear up the misunderstanding, but Mina was as bubbly as ever.
"That's still amazing though!"
"Hmm, in my internship I mostly just trained or went on patrol… there was only that one time where I went out, hunting some international smugglers…" Tsuyu added, as she recalled her experiences.
""Whoa, that's crazy."" Mina and Jirou both exclaimed in surprise and amazement.
---
Closer to the back, Uraraka, Midoriya, Iida, and surprisingly Shoto sat.
"I still can't believe you guys fought the Hero Killer," Ochaco commented, after Midoriya and Iida had just finished speaking about the encounter with the villain.
"Y-yeah, we had quite a bit of luck there, didn't we Tenya?" Midoriya awkwardly replied, and shifted the conversation over to his seatmate.
"Yes, we were truly lucky for them to arrive in time."
Shoto listened from the side attentively. He had after all, also been there that day, but hadn't been involved in what happened to the Hero Killer, since he was busy helping civilians escape.
Though, one had to know that their encounter with Stain had been changed a bit, to how it had actually happened. In this new version, it was said how Souta had helped bring in reinforcements, in this case, namely Kirishima and Fat Gum, in which case the latter dealt with the villain.
It had been the easiest to fabricate story, for that situation, due to Fat Gum not having been as prominent on the bigger scenes as for example Mirko or Endeavor, and because it more or less fit with the time where Stain was taken down.
Everyone involved had been instructed to go along with this story, and that was also what Midoriya, Iida, and Kirishima had done.
As for Souta's contribution, the chief of police had to remove certain achievements, but of course, left the remaining ones untouched. Mostly, because there was just too much video evidence of his participation.
---
In the last rows, sat Souta and his other friends, namely Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero, as well as Bakugo.
And right now… all were still laughing at the already steaming Bakugo, especially his hair.
It was styled into a perfectly neat side part.
He had been the last one to arrive, and the first to board the bus, which made it even funnier for the others, when they finally found him.
"GODDAMMIT STOP LAUGHING!" Bakugo roared, and as if by magic, his hair went up with a poof, making his hair look exactly as it always did.
"Hahaha, alright alright. But honestly, how was the internship with Best Jeanist? He would've been my second choice, that's why I'm curious." Souta asked, slowly being able to stop laughing.
They had probably been laughing two minutes straight at Bakugo, so a change of topic was only right.
Bakugo grumbled a bit, still resentful inside, but nevertheless answered, "All that bastard did was mess with my hair! He used his stupid Quirk to try and comb it down. As if my hair is the problem! He kept yapping about 'image' and what a 'proper' hero looks like.
And then we just walked around town like some damn models. He wanted me to smile and be polite to a bunch of extras. I'm here to be the Number One Hero, not to win a popularity contest. I didn't learn a single thing about fighting."
From there he stubbornly continued to badmouth and criticize the whole internship, but somehow it didn't really seem genuine.
---
Just like that, the bus ride went on, and eventually ended. Though, different to their expectations, they weren't brought to the dorms, but rather to the training ground gamma's changing rooms.
And upon exiting the vehicle, they were greeted by none other than All Might, while Aizawa-sensei simply vanished into the background. Something relatively easy to do, with someone like All Might present.
"I AM HERE… to evaluate your progress. For that we will conduct a rescue training exercise," the tall man, instantly greeted the students with the same enthusiasm he always showed.
Before anyone could even try to retort, Aizawa stepped forward once more, and commented in his usual monotone voice, "Since today is Friday, it is still considered a regular school day, therefore you don't even need to try, to get out of this training exercise. We know that most of you are probably exhausted, but you aspire to become heroes, and this will be the only class for the day…"
Some who wanted to retort earlier, or at least ask why, were immediately silenced and were now enthusiastic to show their own – as well as see the progress of their friends. The part of it being the only class of the day, most likely, also played some part in it.
"Well then, change into your hero costumes and meat us back at the entrance gate to the training ground, over there." All Might instructed, while pointing to a giant, currently closed, gate in the reinforced wall, surrounding the training ground.
Most rushed instantly towards the changing rooms, but there were two people who hesitated. Iida, and Souta. Iida's hero costume had been damaged a fair bit, when he had engaged Stain, even before Midoriya arrived.
As for Souta, his problem wasn't his suit, which had miraculously survived his quirk on auto mode, but rather his quirk itself. Sure, he still had the OFA strength aspect, at least part of it, but it was now a passive thing, he hadn't yet acclimated himself to.
Neither was he able to fully pull on his flames since their transformation. A few smaller flames had been possible to be created, but beyond that nothing much was ready.
He wasn't sure, if he should tell it to Aizawa before or after the training unit, but ultimately decided for after. His teachers, and even classmates, would definitely notice his flames absence anyway, and it would be easier to ask for help afterwards.
Having made his decision, Souta followed after his classmates, straight towards the boys changing rooms.
Everyone was out in a matter of 10 minutes at the latest, sporting their usual and also familiar hero costumes. Iida meanwhile, wore his gym clothes, since his hero costume still needed repairs from the support department.
All the young students stood before their tall and iconic teacher, who was now going to explain their rescue exercise.
"As this will be your first hero studies class, directly after your internships, we will make something a bit more fun today. A rescue training race!"
The second All Might had finished saying these words, Iida's arm sprang up and he was given permission to speak, "Shouldn't rescue training be done in the USJ, normally?"
"At the USJ, we only conduct disaster training operations there. Also, I just said that we will make it a 'race', and for that, our training ground gamma is perfectly suited.
Alright, with this cleared up, I will continue the explanation. The training ground Gamma is a narrowly constructed industrial compound with many obstacles that make normal travel methods nearly impossible.
For this exercise, you will split into four groups with five people each, of course, one group will only contain four people." All Might made here a short pause, though his signature grin never disappeared from his face.
Then, he continued, "As soon as I will send a distress signal, every person in the group can then start to rush towards it from the edge of the area. Whoever reaches me first, will be declared the winner in that group. Also, another extra point is, to minimize the damage dealt to the surrounding buildings." While saying this, his finger was slowly raised, and pointed directly at Bakugo.
The blonde boy scowled and complained for a moment, before getting quiet again.
"Has everyone understood these rules?"
Following this question, every student nodded. Some with more enthusiasm than others. After all, not everyone's quirk was suitable for such a scenario.
Nevertheless, everyone soon found themselves in their respective groups.
Group 1: Midoriya, Iida, Sero, Mina
Group 2: Shoji, Sato, Koda, Bakugo, Kaminari
Group 3: Kirishima, Jiro, Hagakure, Uraraka, Todoroki (Shoto)
Group 4: Yaoyorozu, Todoroki (Souta), Tokoyami, Asui, Aoyama
With the teams made mostly at random, group 1 already began heading into the compound, while everyone else was led by Aizawa towards the viewing area of the training ground, where an enormous screen was located, which would show everything that would happen inside.
And soon enough, the screen lit up, and group sprang into action...