9

Chapter 9: Checking Out the CompetitionNotes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Dormitories, ribbit?" Tsuyu voiced the question the whole class was thinking about.

"Yes," Aizawa nodded, placing a pile of papers on his desk. "The plan is still in its initial stage, but it's been ruminated on by the faculty for quite some time."

"But sir, if I may ask, why now? It would make more sense to make an important change such as this from the very start of the year, not some weeks after it's started," Ida pointed out after raising his hand and being allowed to speak.

"True, but the U.S.J. Incident hadn't happened yet," Shota deadpanned, rubbing both of his eyes.

Mentioning the previous week's devastating ordeal threw a veil of gloom over the class.

"The Principal fears that the public release of the event may bring to a sudden rise in Villain activity and increased boldness on their part. We cannot be sure that the League of Villains, as they've identified themselves, won't come back for revenge on your class or other students, and we shall do anything we can to keep you as safe as possible," the teacher continued, terribly serious, as he passed the papers to the first row. "Take these home. It won't be an instantaneous change. We will reach out and visit each of your parents to inform them and let them decide if they wish to leave you under our tutelage. It's a big decision, and I expect you all to be adults about it."

A couple of looks around the room would have been enough to identify who wouldn't have been an adult about it unless firmly instructed to, but any comments on the line of "it will be fun!" were nipped in the bud by Aizawa's glare. Thankfully Izuku could deal with most of his friends' less than proper habits earlier.

"When will we transfer in then?" Hanta asked, raising his eyes from the form after barely skimming the first few lines.

Aizawa turned back to his seat. "The plan is to complete the move during the weekend directly after the Sports Festival. Which, keep in mind, is fast approaching."

As more questions and complaints were brought up by his classmates, Izuku turned to look out of the window, tuning out the rest and letting a small smile make its way to his lips.

- Working fast as always, Nezu. -

"Are all the kids in the Hero Course like him? Gotta say, I'm a little disappointed if that's what you're offering."

Hitoshi spoke with a bit of venom on his every word, enough to irritate but not enough to seem like the one outright picking the fight. "An annoyed opponent is one prone to make mistakes" was one of the first things he'd learned, and he would be damned if he didn't capitalize on every occasion to make his chances grow. If some lucky asshole with a solely combat-oriented Quirk suffered because of their short temper, it just meant one less problem to deal with and possibly one more open spot.

Hitoshi could see the teen with spiky blonde hair gritting his teeth and opening his mouth to retort when another 1-A kid moved him aside, taking his place in front of the door and looking at Hitoshi straight in the eyes.

"Please, don't compare us all to Bakugo. He's got a bad temper and a short fuse," the greenette said, visibly ignoring the shout of "What'd you say shitheel?!" coming from behind him as a redhead and another blonde brought that Bakugo kid back into the classroom.

The new guy raised his hand in a friendly manner. "Midoriya Izuku, Class Representative of 1-A. Nice to meet you."

Hitoshi raised his purple eyebrows for a short moment, surprised, but quickly grabbed the offered palm. "Shinso Hitoshi, General Course. Pleasure."

- But not really. -

"Mm, you came to scope out the competition? You're aiming to join the Hero Course? Want to get us off our high horses?" the teen asked, apparently interested.

The kid was good, knowledgeable. Hitoshi didn't expect one of them to bother learning about the possibility of moving from General to Hero and vice versa.

"Yes. There's quite a few of us who didn't make the cut against the mechs and were stuck in General. Depending on the results of the Sports Festival, they might consider transferring us in..." he said, building up to a little zinger to try and shake the other's composure. "...and I understand that the reverse is possible for you."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Midoriya replied without missing a beat, getting a surprised murmur from the vast crowd gather outside of the class. "Mr. Aizawa has been clear with us from day one: if we've got no potential, we're out. But, as far as I know, none of us will fail to make the cut."

The certainty that the greenette had while saying that got him to roll his tongue in his mouth.

"Is that so? Is this boasting, or is it just reckless bravado?"

Midoriya grinned, keeping eye contact with an abundance of determination. "It's only boasting if you can't back it up."

The two kept staring at each other for a few more seconds before a loud voice called to them from behind the General student's back.

"Ha! Kendo did say you were good at talking big!"

They were approached by a guy with messy chin-length silver hair and really, really thick eyelashes. He was grinning and pointing towards 1-A. "I hope fighting with those Villains didn't get to your head!"

Midoriya stopped, his gaze turning sour as he responded. "Did you think we got to take a nice stroll in the U.S.J. during the attack?" His voice, cold and articulate, caused everybody else to take a second to think about stepping away. "Mr. Aizawa's arm was broken like a twig. Thirteen's back was torn apart by her own Quirk. We risked getting stabbed, burned, electrocuted, and disintegrated. We survived thanks to a combination of cooperation and luck, so we'd prefer if you didn't talk so casually about us nearly dying, thank you very much."

The metal-head stood in silence for a moment before bowing, keeping his head low and arms on his sides. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me."

Midoriya's eyes went back to his previous look, contemplative and analytical, but with a new tint of caring. "Apology accepted. Just be careful from now on. A Hero should know how hard it is to talk about traumas when dealing with civilians."

"Yeah, Kendo would have chopped me for that one. Seems like I've got a lot to learn!" the metal-head said, now friendlier. He seemed genuinely sorry for his blunder.

"Don't we all?" Midoriya turned to look at Hitoshi, and all the students behind him, moving his eyes from face to face. "Listen up. If you've come to scope out the competition, you're welcome to look. We have no need to hide. Just know that we have no intention of going easy on you. We got here with our own strength, and we won't be waiting for you to keep up."

Hitoshi saw the greenette turning to his classmates with a smile, receiving nods, looks of appreciation and a couple of thoughtful stares. "We will always be aiming for the top. Try and see if you can stop us."

There was a weird growl coming from the explosive blonde he'd seen earlier as he met Midoriya's eyes but the latter kept his grin, taking the "killing intent" in stride. The others didn't add anything to the speech, but their silent approval said everything he needed to know.

1-A was more united than he'd thought possible. That made them harder prey to catch, higher mountains to climb.

It made them a challenge.

- Good. Dealing with sheep gets boring as hell. -

Hitoshi nodded to the greenette, wondering if he'd prove worthy of his budding respect. "I'll see you at the Festival, Midoriya."

"Right back at you, Shinso," the other grinned, not leaving his spot on the edge of the door as the crowd dispersed.

"We've only got two weeks, huh?" Denki sighed, leaning on Kirishima's desk with his elbows.

"It feels like we just barely started, and now they're throwing us in the pit!" Mina shook her head.

"Come on, it can't be worse than the U.S.J.," Kyoka stated, hoping to give them some encouragement.

"Indeed! The worst may be behind us, but that is no reason to rest on our laurels!" Tenya boomed, making the girl hide her jacks in her hands.

"Let's do our best!" Ochaco raised her fist, then looked over to him. "What do you say, Midoriya, could we hold another extra training session?"

Izuku looked up to see a dozen pairs of eyes on him. He got up, smiling, but crossed his arms. "We could, but are you sure you want that?"

Tenya addressed him seriously as their faces showed confusion. "Having missed the first one, I would be delighted to partake. But what do you mean?"

"Yeah dude, we'd get to improve super-fast with your pointers!" Eijiro grinned, arms open wide.

He sighed, starting to explain. "What I mean is this: The U.A. Sports Festival is a competition where you and I while be challenging each other for the top spots. I wasn't lying to those guys before; I won't go easy on anyone during contests. Are you comfortable with giving me access to even more insights on your capabilities?"

That seemed to stop them all, as if a cold gust had dropped the room's temperature.

Izuku would have absolutely loved to offer his help. Little gave him more joy that being helpful to his family.

But he also had to be very clear about what they were doing, as he didn't want them to think that he was taking advantage of their time to create strategies to counter them. He'd done that already anyway.

"Well, I suppose it may put us at a disadvantage," Momo thought aloud, "but it is also true that you've already seen what we can do. If you wanted to devise counters to our Quirks, you would have done so already."

He nodded at the correct assumption. "True. I just wanted to be clear about the pros and cons of this. We've got two weeks, which may seem like a long time but it really isn't."

For Izuku, it came as close to being "a long time" as a grain of sand was close to being a desert.

"You could proceed at your leisure and devise new strategies on your own, leaving me and the others in the dark, or you could try your luck with me." Izuku raised a single digit for his next statement to go with his wicked grin. "And beware, I will be aiming for the top spot. Those from the second down are open though."

The chill transformed into heat in response to the issued challenge.

"Oh, you're on!" Eijiro shouted, slamming his hands on the desk and making Denki wobble off. "I'm going to surprise you!"

"You'll eat your words!" the blonde claimed.

"Yeah!" Mina added, pointing her finger. "Challenge accepted!"

"Strong words, ribbit," Tsuyu bobbed her head, "and you can probably act on them too. I'll keep my secrets."

"I'm not one for bluffs," he shrugged, "and I can't wait to be surprised by your ideas."

"Green, I wish I was as confident as you," Kyoka smirked, "but I'll take your training anyway. Second place ain't that bad."

"Considering how much you've offered, I believe I will be joining you as well," Momo said, moving herself next to the purple-haired girl. "I need to work on my creativity and hand-to-hand skills, and it would be harder to do so by myself. I will have time to think of a counter later."

"I don't know guys!" Toru balled up her fists. "I'm trying really hard with moving the laser, so I think I'll focus on that stuff. I think I'm close!"

"Just remember to train your body some more and you'll be fine, Hagakure," he nodded, happy for her, receiving an enthusiastic fist raised in the air with a "Yeah!"

"I'm torn, Midoriya," Tenya crossed his arms, looking down in thought, "but I believe that I may benefit from one session, at the very least."

"Nice." Izuku turned his eyes to Koji, waiting patiently with his backpack on. "You want to do it on your own too?"

The boy shook his head and hands before replying with smooth motions. "No, I'd like to train with you, thank you. I won't have much outside help during the Festival, so I need some time with my friends. "

"Of course, you're welcome to join. What about you, Uraraka?"

"Mmm..." the girl hummed in though for a few seconds. "Ok! I want to keep a few aces up my sleeve, but I can't do that much at home."

"Well, you're in luck. I think today's Cementoss' free afternoon."

She brightened at the prospect of unlimited free heavy weights.

"Well, Midoriya, lead the way!" Tenya spoke as the others said their hurried goodbyes to rush to their own things.

"Ah, just go to Gym Gamma. I'll meet you there in a few," Izuku moved out of the door, ready to rush down the hallway. "There's someone else I've got to talk to."

Notes:

Ah, no Nezu here, but those two sure talked.

And things are moving forward early...

Let's give Shinso a moment before Izuku kidnaps him to get him in the class.

Next, another visit to the gym! Who will be the lucky extra?

Leave a kudo or a comment if you like!

Thank you for reading! 'till next time!