Chapter 26 - Running Guts

Author's Note: Heya! Sorry for the late upload, saw some new fics uploaded and couldn't help but read them as well!

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"C'MON, YOU GREEN HORNS! I DON'T HEAR YOU KIDS VOMITING IN DESPERATION YET! PICK UP THE PACE!" Ban shouted from his perched tree, eating an apple while watching his students sweat. 'Who's the first to give this time~? The first few times were Ned, Angela, and Miles.' He thought, and his eyes drifted to Leo, Diana, Alatus, Percy, and Raiden. 'Tough nuts... though I suppose their quirks passively help them out.'

Ten teens, running strenuously in the wake of the early morning. The sun has yet to appear, and this has been their routine for the past month.

It all started on the second day...

[FLASHBACK]

The students of Ban's class were sleeping soundly, still hours away, till their supposed alarms rang. But this wouldn't be a top school without actual hard work now, would it?

And so, Ban proceeded to kidnap Ned and vigorously woke him up. "SWEET CHEEKS! RISE N' SHINE!" Ban bellowed, grinning like a madman, happy to wake up flesh bags that need sleep. 'Hah... It's hard for me to actually be tired, especially with this regeneration. Though waking up people in the morning is fun, can't beat that.'

And inevitably, Ned awoke, having his soul and body rocked to the heavens. "Wha-WHat? ARHHHHH!?" Screaming in confusion and shrieking when Ban dragged him across the school.

Ned, in his confused state, kept spamming portals everywhere, trying to escape. However, Ban masterfully dodges every portal he sees, all the while lugging Ned's shrieking body along.

Reaching an open field of grass, Ban stopped dragging his poor student. Looking back, he noticeably saw his student somewhat thin again. Lost all the fat from his screaming and portal-making.

"T-Teach! W-What was that for!?" Ned said, swiftly trying to stand after the ordeal he just went through. Honestly, he was nervous.

'Does the Academy not allow my Lego Death Star set? Or maybe they monitored the terabytes of porn in my drive? Did they see the octopus swinging dil-!' He was interrupted down his sewer thoughts by his homeroom teacher speaking.

Raising a finger, "First off, your face makes me want to punch you now." Ned, hearing this flinched back. "Second, I want you to teleport your classmates here in 10 minutes. Chop! Chop! No questions! GO!"

Still overwhelmed with everything, Ned created a portal and dived into it, ready to barge into his classmate's rooms.

What happened was Ned furiously banging on his classmates' doors, and once they answered, he would whisk them away through his portal. The funny thing was, he opened the portals beneath them, all landing on their ass in front of Ban.

And in record time, Ned got everyone assembled in under 7 minutes.

"Ned! I swear to Poseidon's wet swamps, if this is some joke, I'll wring the piss from your body!"

"Does air escaping from your lungs feel great?"

"A bit of electricity won't hurt; care to try, Leed-san?"

Colorful threats were thrown at Ned, and Ned couldn't help but look to Ban for an answer and protection. "What? Don't look at me, kid. I told you to bring them here, not chuck them on their asses, HAHA!"

But being the Hero that he is, he gave mercy. *CLAP!* "Alright! Enough! Spare your classmate; he spent enough fat as it is; you're making him healthy!"

Only now did the ten notice Ban, and before they could hurl questions at the undying, he spoke first in seriousness.

"Hold the questions. Let's be serious for a moment." This caught them off guard, but they followed the instructions nonetheless. "Do any of you beats know what the first year of your Hero Education entails?"

The kids looked at each other, seeing if any knew. And when Ban saw this, he answered first, not letting this drag on any more. "Your first year is simply a test, a filter. A test for your body and mind."

"You must keep your physique in top quirked body shape, your mind stable and disciplined after a year of constant rigorous training. We don't want backsies in your second year; we want you ready, and this is the year to be forged. Any questions?"

Multiple hands rose, and Ban picked Alatus, wanting to hear the kid talk more due to his silent nature. "Top quirked body shape, what does that mean?" At that, all other hands dropped.

Ban understood this; the rest was self-explanatory except for this. "It means the ideal body for your quirk. Simply put, will a 1% body fat Ned be ideal when his quirk literally needs his body fat to fuel it? No, right? Of course, you don't have to think of this alone. You, my green students, have resources beyond your imagination. Merely go to the Scientific and Support department, and you'd have numerous PhD-level researchers in the field of quirks ready to be questioned. Just ask nicely. Now... JOG TILL YOU DROP DEAD! THE FIRST ONE WHO LAGS BEHIND GETS MY INTESTINES AROUND THEM!"

Without waiting, Leo ran. 'Intestines. Inside the body. Has blood. I don't want blood. Must run.' He didn't need a reason; he just needed to run to avoid the blood. He's had enough of it.

During the exercise, the victim of Ban's guts was Ned, sadly. And whenever he tried catching up, his classmates, who smelled the iron radiating off Ned's body, quickened their pace even if their lungs burned.

While this happened, Leo strangely made it his life's goal to be ahead by 10 meters from second place.

'No more blood.'

[FLASHBACK END]

Back to the present, Ban casually watches his students. Although he would at times rip his guts out from his body and chuck it at the grounds that his class runs around on.

*SHLLKK!*

*SPHLAT!*

Another gutty intestine landed on the field, adding more red to the green grass below.

Some may say he's insane for doing this. And it's true, he was somewhat unhinged. A life where you slowly watch loved ones wither or die away while you remain healthy and unaging.

However, what Ban's doing is for the best. Getting used to the stench and sight of actual blood will help their first virgin encounter with it. Most would say they would stomach it, but the moment that ranchy iron smell hits the nose, either you flinch, gag, or vomit.

And he's making his class lose that discomfort, making them treat the smell and image like a Tuesday morning.

Only true veterans have the experience to shrug off the smell. And you're a beast if a decomposing body's smell doesn't affect you. Hell, down there right now, some of his days-old guts were releasing a God-awful ammonia smell.

With Leo, he's surprisingly slowing down, catching Ban's eye. "Oh~? Did he finally reach his limit?" But he had to hold that line of questioning. All Leo did was run beside Diana to talk a bit.

And what surprised him was what happened next.

Leo removed his upper uniform, showcasing his goldenly marked sculptured body that was slowly increasing in muscle mass since his first day in the Academy.

He wrapped it around his waist securely and made Diana pull back, restraining his running like a rubber tire's job. Although rather than slowing down, Leo picked up gears and powered through with a skidding Diana, uprooting the grass beneath her feet.

"My, my, that is smart. Both are benefiting from this training since both have strength-based quirks, and with Diana's competitive personality, she would not shout a complaint." Ban said with a smirk, approving of their creativity.

*Step*

*Step*

And from his perch, he was taken out from his musings when he heard steps. Looking down, he saw an exceptionally tall and muscular man with a broad chest, shoulders, arms, and legs standing under his branch. He had blond salary man hair while donning a stubble around his chiseled jaw. Standing at 6ft 7' in height, he made for quite the intimidating figure.

The newcomer wore a red spandex suit with black underwear, gloves, and boots. To finish, he sported a yellow 'i' insignia on the middle of his chest.

"Hey, Ban. I see you're at it again with your training style," Mr. Incredible commented while observing Ban's students running. "Haha! Wanna bet how many would try and quit being under me?" Ban replied.

"Well," Bob thought, remembering Ban's streak. "I'd say two or three, you? But if I'm being honest, Ban, your class got potential. So, if I'm being based on faith, I'd say zero."

"Zero, huh? Sure, why not? I believe zero as well. *Yawn* Still retired, Bob? The world can use a Hero of your caliber in any era," comments Ban. Gazing at Bob from his peripherals.

Hearing this, Bob couldn't help but reminisce about the glory days. The time when he had a slim-waisted and well-proportioned body. With those thoughts, he looked at Ban's body and sighed. 'Damn metabolic bastard, sigh.' "Haha... You know me, Ban. Taking care of the kids. Funny, actually, my eldest has just entered the Academy as well. Working overtime to try and replace your resident Force field wielder."

"Oh, really? What rank is she? With your genes, I would've expected her to be Platinum."

"She's actually in Gold. You should've seen our spar when she went ballistic at how there was another Barrier user like her in the Academy and Platinum at that." Bob smirked, remembering how his little Violet treated him like a ping-pong ball in anger. Though she didn't even leave his muscles bruised.

It's actually a heavily debated rumor how Bob, Mr. Incredible, is a long-lost relative to All Might. Both are blonds with ridiculous strength, but All Might trumps Bob heavily.

"*Chuckle* Tell her I'd welcome her with open arms then." Ban's words stunned Bob. He'd expected him to say how Violet won't make it.

"So, did you tell your class how they could be replaced?" Bob questioned, looking at Ban. "Meh. Why should I? It's logical to be replaced, and they need a rude awakening. At the back of their minds, they think their seats are secured if they play it safe." As he said that, he eyed Arlo.

"Is that so? Welp, better get back to my class; they're training just a few sites away. Nice talkin' to ya, Ban."

"Yeah, yeah, see you too."

When Bob left, Ban was left to his thoughts once again.

'Arlo Fortier; A quirk supremacist who believes people with stronger quirks should lead. However, with his family's background and wealth, he seems to be playing it safe. Always keeping it in the middle, no drive to climb like the others.'

Though, Ban can't fault Arlo for that. If he doesn't get knocked off with that attitude, then good for him. 'To have everything is also a flaw. It breeds contentment in this cut-throat industry, where striving for improvement always has to be constant and is a must.

Then he looks at Leo Morningstar. An enigma. A student that stands out like a sore thumb. Honestly, he feels as if Leo's a Hero's bastard child. The chance of a civilian family giving birth to Leo's quirk is so low that winning the lottery isn't a surprise.

But the thing that makes Ban raise a brow is Leo's drive. It's unordinary. It's like he's being chased and has a timer on his head. Always gives more than 100% in training and strict discipline to his diet. These kids might be ranked Platinum, but at the end of the day, these are hormonal teenagers. And Leo is breaking everything a teen is.

'The strong are the weirdest of the bunch.'

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CHEERS!