It was the next day, my second day of U.A. High, and after seeing Nejire off in the hall, it was the first day of following the regular schedule that we had been given before leaving yesterday.
Class started at 8:30, where the first three hours were regular academics, such as language, math, literature, and science.
Then, there was an hour of hero-based academics, such as hero law, paperwork, public relations, Quirk application, first aid, and disaster management… though most of those would be covered in the later years.
Then there was a half hour of lunch, and then two hours of practical heroics training, before having a final hour of personal training.
The personal training was essentially a free period, where we were free to do whatever we wanted, but it was meant to be a time for us to practice our Quirks and techniques under the supervision of our homeroom teachers, who would also be available to give advice.
But that would be for later.
After sharing a lunch with Hagakure, Yaoyorozu, and Jiro, as Nejire had left for her work-study, it was then time for the practical heroics lesson.
And as all of us were eagerly waiting for our teacher… well, we got quite the surprise.
"I am… coming through the door like a normal person!" All Might said, in a very not normal manner.
"Whoa… so he really is a teacher!" Kirishima said.
"That's a costume from the Silver Age, isn't it?" Asui added from in front of me.
"Holy crap! We have All Might for a teacher!" Mineta said.
While most of the class was amazed, I was simply a bit confused.
All Might… should the number one hero really be teaching?
Not that I minded, and I was sure he had a lot of advice, but… shouldn't that wait for until he's retired?
He then briefly went over the class, how it would be where we would actually put our Quirks to use in heroic training exercises in different scenarios, such as rescue, combat, tactics, and coordination.
But for today… it would be a battle trial, where we would be wearing our costumes for the first time.
'Be fully aware, a costume is not just a fancy get-up! From now on, when you put this on, you are heroes!' All Might had said before handing us our cases.
Looking into the mirror, I turned back and forth to make sure everything fit correctly according to my requests.
A simple red full body jumpsuit with light blue accents, with padding around my arms and neck with knee and elbow caps.
I chose the red colour to hide any blood that might end up revealing itself from injuries for both villains and civilians, but as for the light blue… well, that was because of a certain curious fairy-like girl that always popped into my mind.
I also had a pair of black boots with shin guards, and a pair of black fingerless gloves, my fingertips kept bare so I could easily activate my touch-based powers.
Then there was my aviator-style headgear, with built-in headphones that would facilitate communication with others, and goggles to protect my eyes from contaminants.
As for my main weapon of choice, aside from my body, there was my dulled sword hung at my hip, with an easily detachable sheath that could act as a second sword if needed.
Thankfully, the effects of Critical Hit and Kinetic Dampening were able to be used with it, and this way I would have a range advantage while not having to worry about damaging my hands.
Besides, I was also the prefectural kendo champion for the last two years, so I definitely had the skill to use it properly.
Then, there was my utility belt.
It was a basic black one that wrapped around my waist, and it contained all the essentials one would expect.
Capture rope, a medical kit, a marker for triaging and signing, a water bottle, and a pack of lollipops to give to anyone who needed one.
I also planned to have smoke and flashbang grenades as well, but according to the note left in my case, I wouldn't be able to use those without doing a course, so that would have to wait.
And finally… and arguably most importantly… there was the red cape draped over my back.
I wasn't as enamoured by heroics as everyone else my age had been, and instead, I viewed it more logically.
But even I couldn't deny the comfort a hug could bring… and since I wouldn't be able to hold someone in danger while fighting at the same time… well, I hoped that my cape could do the next best thing.
Nejire had said that Togata had the same idea for his hero costume as well.
But still, while a cape was good for that reason, it could easily become a liability in combat by getting caught in something, or being grabbed by a villain, so I made sure to specify that it was easily detachable to avoid such a situation.
"Well well well! Look at you zygotes! They say the clothes make the man! Or… woman… anyway, you all definitely look like heroes!" All Might said as our class came out of the tunnel.
And, well… I had to agree.
Almost everyone's costumes looked quite amazing, with many of them being quite practical as well.
But 'almost'... well, there were a couple exemptions.
First, there was Mineta, who seemed to be wearing a… diaper?
Yeah, I wasn't sure.
And then there was Midoriya, who seemed to be wearing a… bunny costume?
No… on second thought, I didn't even want to know.
"Oh! Lukas! Your costume looks awesome!" Hagakure said, causing me to look to my side.
And as for her costume… it was just a pair of boots and gloves.
No. Impossible.
"Hagakure… please tell me you're wearing something," I said.
"Of course I am, silly!" she said, making a peace sign.
Right… right, it was silly to assume.
The entrance exam was one thing, but there's no way that U.A. would let a girl be naked for her hero costume.
Even if we ignored the moral side of things, the danger aspect was-
"Don't you see these gloves!"
…
"Pff… phahaha! Your face, Lukas! You look so serious normally, but then… hahaha!" she said, laughing into her gloves.
"Hagakure. Tell me plainly. Your costume…" I said, bringing my hand up to massage my forehead.
"Don't worry, I am actually wearing something!" she said, waving her hand. "There's this fabric that can use your hair, I guess? I'm not exactly sure how it works, but they said it's the same thing that the new hero, Mt Lady, uses for her gigantification Quirk!"
I released a large sigh of relief.
"Thank god…" I muttered. "But… why are your boots and gloves visible?"
"Oh… well, they said it might be difficult to do it for the boots, since they aren't only fabric, but as for the gloves… well, I want my teammates and civilians to be able to see me, right?" she said. "Besides, I can just take them off if I need to be really sneaky. And they made my socks extra thick, so going without my boots won't be the worst thing in the world!"
"I… see. Then… with all that considered… it's an acceptable costume," I said, shaking my head.
"Hehe! Thank you!" she said in response, making a 'V' with her gloved hand.
Right… she really was quite expressive with those gloves, though I suppose she must have learned to be like that.
"Now! Let's get right into today's lesson, everybody! But let me start this off with a question…" All Might said. "Tell me, where do you think most crimes take place?"
Kaminari raised his hand.
"Uhh, in a city?" he said.
"Yes! But more specifically, run-ins with the worst villains happen inside buildings, away from prying eyes! Not the usual flashy street fights you see on television!" All Might said. "Hostage situations, underground drug deals, villain safehouses… most of these situations happen inside buildings, where the most intelligent villains linger… So for your first taste of combat, we'll be performing an indoor team battle! With one team of two being the 'villains' defending a bomb, while the other two will be the 'heroes' tasked with disarming it!"
"Without basic training?" Tsu asked.
"This will serve as a battle to understand those basics!" All Might said. "Most of you have already fought robots at the entrance exam, but this time, it will be a real opponent! Now, any questions?"
"How will wins and losses be determined?" Yaoyorozu asked.
"How much can we beat up our opponents?" Bakugo growled.
"Will expulsion be a punishment like with Aizawa-sensei?" Uraraka asked.
"How shall we be split up?" Ida asked, doing his weird hand chop thing.
"How does my cape look?" Aoyama asked.
"That's too many questions!" All Might said, clutching his fist before bringing out a small booklet. "Now… as I said, you will be fighting two against two, with the 'villains' defending a mock bomb, while the 'hero' team will infiltrate and disarm the bomb by touching it… and as for the teams, they will be decided at random!"
"At random? Excuse me, All Might-sensei, is that truly the best way to do this?" Ida asked.
"W-Well, heroes have to team up randomly in the field, so it reflects reality, to a certain extent…" Midoriya replied.
"Ah… that is true! Forgive me!" Ida said.
"No need! Now, as for the teams…"
I wasn't able to remember all the teams, but I did catch mine, at the very least.
Tsu and I would be acting as villains, with our opponents being Todoroki and Kirishima.
Todoroki… his ice Quirk seemed incredible, and he had amazing control over it… but perhaps I could use that confidence against him?
And as for Kirishima… his Quirk was good for taking hits, but thankfully, All Might explained that wrapping capture tape around an opponent would also take them out of the fight, so we could capitalize on his limited mobility…
Now for my teammate…
"Tsu… your Quirk is a frog mutation, right? How are you with temperatures," I asked.
"Yes, my Quirk is just called Frog, ribbit… and as for the temperature thing, I'm guessing you're talking about Todoroki?" she asked, to which I nodded. "In that case… I do have some issues with cold temperatures. I should be able to dodge everything, but if he can lower the temperature of the room to a large extent… then I might have an issue."
"I see… then, I think we should have you focus on Kirishima while I take on Todoroki… we can improve our strategy after watching the first battle," I said, sighing. "Though I really wish we weren't going second…"
"Yeah, ribbit," she replied.
And as for who was going first?
Well, that would be Midoriya and Uraraka against Bakugo and Ida.
And from how Bakugo and Midoriya seemed to have a history… well, I was quite interested in how this was going to play out.
—
As one could have expected, the battle quickly got out of hand, with Bakugo releasing an explosion that tore through half of the floor.
Honestly… he had good control, so why did he do something so stupid and… emotional?
Either way, while Midoriya and Uraraka were able to win, the green-haired boy was quite badly hurt after his final attack, his arm having been pulverized by his own Quirk, and body singed with burns thanks to Bakugo's attacks.
"Oh! Young Tsugai!" All Might said, typing something into his tablet. "I understand your Quirk allows you to heal others, yes? Would you be able to help Young Midoriya?"
"I… yes, I can heal him enough to stay conscious, at least. If I go any further, it would risk running out of energy for the battle," I said.
"Ah! Well, thank you! I'll mark it as a bonus point for your results! After all… I really don't want Chiyo chewing me out," he said, hunching his shoulders.
"Well… he'll still need medical attention, but this should at least allow him to stand on his own," I said, following him out the door.
I would pretend to not hear his more personal reason for asking me to do this.
Kneeling over the collapsed boy as All Might went over to Bakugo, I pressed my hand against his arm as I narrowed my eyes in focus, willing my Quirk energy into him as I activated Empathy Healing.
The effects were immediate as I released a grunt of pain while his arm began to mend back into its normal state.
Fucking hell… what was this guy's pain tolerance like?
Well, he did have adrenaline pumping through him, but still… did he have any protective instincts at all?
"U-Urgh… huh? What… where am I?" Midoriya said as he soon came to.
"You're on the floor. You'll need Recovery Girl to completely heal you, and probably a lot of rest, but for now, you should be fine," I said, getting up from my knees.
"Wait. You… healed me?" he asked, eyes wide as he pointed to himself.
"Uh, what else does it look like?" I asked, shaking my head. "Besides… you need to learn some self-preservation. I can't be healing you like this for every training period, so until you can control your damn Quirk, don't use it. This was a training exercise with no consequence, so what was the point?"
"W-Well you're definitely right about that… but there was a point," he said, eyes narrowing in determination. "I won… against Bakugo, no less…"
I simply sighed with disappointment.
Winning a training exercise… was that worth it?
And could you even call this a 'win'?
Still, thankfully, I had healed him enough that he could walk, even if he was still in pain, and I still had a lot of Quirk energy to spare.
"Oh! And Tsugai! T-Thank you… for healing me," Midoriya said, causing me to look over my shoulder at him.
Haa… why couldn't he be an asshole like Bakugo or annoying like Mineta?
It was hard to want to be upset at someone like him.
"Just… get control of your Quirk, please. For both your sake and mine," I said.
The class once again gathered in front of the observation screens as All Might went to the front, while Uraraka worriedly fussed over Midoriya's remaining injuries.
"Now, obviously we'll need to move to another building for the next team, but for now, let us go through that last battle, all right? Or should I say… All Might?" All Might said, his smile spreading wider at the joke.
No one even breathed a huff, though Midoriya did send him a thumbs up.
Seriously… this was the number one hero?
It certainly made him seem more human, but I could imagine quite a few people being disillusioned if they were to witness this.
"Ahem! Anyway, as for analysis goes, would anyone like to suggest an MVP?" he continued. "Ah, how about you, Young Tsugai? You did seem quite interested in their strategies!"
He wanted me to comment on it?
Well… I guess I could.
"In my opinion… there shouldn't be an MVP for that display," I said, causing all four of those in question to stand up straight. "But if I had one… it would be to Ida. Just barely."
"I-I see… can you expand on that, if you don't mind?" All Might asked.
"Y-Yeah! I mean, it was Midoriya and Uraraka that won, right?" Kirishima added.
"Because it was a result that came solely from luck and not strategy or mindset. Rather, Ida was the only one who somewhat took the exercise seriously," I said, shaking my head. "First off, for this exercise, I am not considering the 'villains' as villains, but rather as heroes that need to defend something, with the 'heroes' in this exercise being villains trying to take it."
"Ah… I was wondering why that wasn't the case as well, to be honest," Yaoyorozu added.
All Might, to his credit, seemed to understand our thoughts, as he scratched the back of his neck in shame.
I see… so he hadn't thought of it that way.
"Expanding on that, I'll cover everyone individually," I said. "First, while Ida took his assignment of defending the bomb accordingly, and did well in eliminating Uraraka's Quirk by removing objects from the room, his composure completely shattered once Midoriya launched his attack, and focused on doors being the only entrance, despite Uraraka's Quirk allowing her to enter through the window if she so wished."
Ida hung his head, though from his eyes, at least he seemed to understand my point rather than dissolve into anger.
"As for Uraraka, the main issue is that she didn't take the exercise seriously. I understand it's only our first day, but when infiltrating the room, she didn't think of it as a villain guarding a bomb that could kill hundreds, but rather as a bad actor in Ida standing in front of a piece of cardboard," I continued. "And as for her tactics… well, as I said before, she could have gone through the window. She could have also left to get objects to use as projectiles when she noticed that the room was cleared of them. Her stealth was broken by a laugh, and her strategy once she was found amounted to a futile chase."
Uraraka's cheeks flushed a bit as she played with her hair in embarrassment.
Okay, maybe I was a little harsh with those two… but these other two more than deserved it.
"Midoriya did well to initially fight without his Quirk, but instead of using his proven abilities in enclosed spaces, he insisted on distancing himself from Bakugo, without even going for the bomb, and instead acting like his fight was with Bakugo himself rather than winning the exercise," I then said. "And not to mention that last punch… ignoring how he destroyed his arm and counted himself as dead in a real situation, the destruction was incredibly risky and is not what should be done for urban combat."
Midoriya's lips curled into a frown as his eyebrows furrowed, hopefully already performing some internal introspection, considering how he seemed to have an analytical mind.
"And Bakugo… he was the worst offender," I said, shaking my head. "Going to fight head-on would have been an acceptable strategy if it was for the purpose of winning, but from how he completely ignored Uraraka, it was likely due to his desire to fight Midoriya directly. Again, forgetting the purpose of the exercise. And then his giant explosion… tearing down half of a floor's walls and risking structural collapse is not something a hero should do unless they're completely out of options, or in this case, a villain."
I could hear his grinding teeth from here, while his red eyes bore into me with quite a bit of hatred.
"O-Oh… well, that is definitely some insight…" All Might said, a little stunned.
"Y-Yeah, but you're being too harsh!" Kirishima said, pumping his fists.
"Yeah! It's our first day, you know. Even if you're the top scorer, it doesn't mean you can expect us all to be perfect," Kaminari added with a shrug.
Haa…
"I'm not expecting you to be perfect. I'm expecting you to recognize that in these training exercises, within the real world, means people getting hurt, or worse, killed," I said, causing them both to flinch. "I won't admonish anyone here for lacking skills or tactics, since that's why we're here to learn… but I am very critical of mindset. And while Ida and Uraraka weren't horrible, the other two were… pretty bad."
The silence that remained after my words was a bit deafening.
Shoot… had I actually been too harsh?
But I thought it was good constructive criticism… and the four of them want to be better heroes, right?
"Ahem! Well, thank you for your words, and I agree that Ida should be the MVP of that round!" All Might said, lightly clapping his hands. "And as for the next team, we have team B vs Team E!"
That was us.
Todoroki was definitely a difficult opponent… but he wasn't unbeatable.
Let's just hope things ended up working out.