Chapter 14 - Trial Of Battle

(Nero POV)

The following morning, we had a normal class. In fact, it was so normal that I was a little disappointed.

We had standard lessons in all mandatory subjects.

Normal classes continued until noon.

At noon, we were taken to the courtyard and enjoyed first-class food prepared by the Hero Lunch-Rush.

Finally, in the afternoon, our study of the foundations of being a hero began.

•••

Sitting down in the chair, I let out a yawn.

Just as the yawn leaves my mouth, the classroom door opens, and a muscular man enters.

"It is me!" the muscular man shouted.

All Might!

I mentally exclaimed, seeing All Might in his classic uniform instead of his modern one.

All Might's Golden Age hero costume consisted of a skin-tight blue jumpsuit decorated with a red symbol resembling a "Y," designed with a white diamond in the center. The symbol appeared to have wings on the side that extended from the top of the torso before ending at the back, which had a similar red and white design on the white diamond. Large white patches lined with red covered each side of his hips before ending at his lower thighs, and he wore a gold belt with a silver buckle with red eyes. The sleeves on the forearms were gold; each had white lines covered with blue accents on the wrists and spiked fins on the sides of the arms, and his feet were covered in tall golden boots adorned with white and red accents.

This was the uniform of his golden era.

While I was thinking about this, he added:

"...I'm walking through the door like a normal person." All Might said, laughing, as our classroom went crazy.

"I can't believe it's All Might."

"This outfit gives you goosebumps of excitement."

Looks like there are some fanboys in this room.

"Study of Heroic Foundations!" All Might exclaimed, posing.

"In this room, we will build your heroic foundations through various trials!" All Might flexed his large arms.

"Let's get straight to the point." He came out of the pose, showing a card that said "battle."

"THE TRIAL OF BATTLE!!" he announced with a smile.

Apparently, it's impossible to have a single normal day at Yuuei.

An excited smile formed on my face as the room exclaimed.

"TRIAL OF BATTLE?!"

"Exactly! And for our first fight..." All Might opened his arms, revealing a board numbered from 1 to 20.

"We have prepared your costumes and equipment that you requested to use with your quirks!"

At the mention of our costumes, the room became excited.

"Get changed, and we'll be ready! Everyone gathers in Area B. Let us begin our trial battle," All Might exclaimed excitedly.

•••

All the boys went to the locker room to quickly change into their new clothes, then headed to Ground Beta as All Might instructed us.

My hero costume is simple, consisting of a long black shirt made of light material and dark pants. On my feet, I wore black Chelsea boots made with puffy calf leather, and on my hands, I wore a pair of black gloves. Over the shirt, I wore a black overcoat.

(Nero image)

A simple hero costume, but sometimes simple is best.

"Man, you look really good," one of the boys next to me said.

He is a muscular young man of average height with an impressive physique for his age. He has red eyes pointed slightly inward and a small scar just above his right eye. He also has small eyebrows and pointy teeth. His hair is somewhat long, dyed bright red, and spiked at all angles with gel, with two more pronounced tufts appearing on each side of his forehead like small horns.

In his hero costume, he wears two dark red gear-shaped shoulder pads. An irregular strip joins the one on the left to the right of the belt, which has a red "R" placed in the center. Below that, he wears baggy black pants and a half-cape with a torn hem. He also wears dark red boots and thick calf rings. He leaves his chest bare and wears a wire shield around his face, going from just above his hairline to below his jaw, with an extra piece going over the bridge of his nose and some pointed pieces around his mouth that resemble small fangs.

While mine is minimalist, his is full of details.

At least I'm wearing a shirt.

"Yours turned out really good too," I said politely.

"Hahaha! That uniform is the definition of a hot-blooded man," he said, clenching his fist tightly. "By the way, my name is Eijiro Kirishima," he exclaimed excitedly.

"Nero Fujiwara, but just call me Nero."

"That was so cool, you have my respect, Nero," Kirishima smiled, wiping away tears of excitement.

…

"I-I appreciate it." Even for me, this was a little strange.

After this awkward exchange, our group stood side by side.

Without waiting two seconds, a girl appeared in front of me.

The girl in front of me was wearing a one-piece outfit that covered her entire body. Her costume was white and black with pink and blue web patterns in the armpit area. It also had a hood with pink and blue webprints on the inside. On her hands, she wore long pink and blue fingerless gloves over normal gloves separated from the costume, and on her face, she wore a mask. On her feet, she wore a pair of teal Chucks.

Even though the girl in front of me was unrecognizable, her curves still reminded me of someone.

"Hello," I said with a little uncertainty, but I had a strong idea of who it was.

(Gwen Stacy Image)

"Hahahaha! I knew you wouldn't recognize me." The voice was obviously Gwen's.

I should have trusted my instincts when it came to recognizing women's curves.

"Oh! Your hero costume fits you perfectly, Gwen," I said, placing my hand on my chin as I looked at her.

"That's obvious, and I have to admit that although your outfit looks simple, you look great too," Gwen said, moving her arm and pointing her index finger at me.

"By the way, that was a nice compliment, but why are you wearing a mask?" I asked with interest.

"Well, in my country, heroes have the habit of wearing masks. Even though not all of them do, it is still a tradition. And you know how a conservative and traditionalist woman like me can't break that tradition," she said with a shrug.

The moment she said it, another voice came from beside her.

"You are many things, but a 'conservative and traditionalist woman' isn't one of them," Ochaco said with mockery in her voice.

My eyes naturally roamed over my lovely Ochaco in her costume.

Her hero costume consisted of a full-body black suit with a light pink design in the middle of the torso, topped by two black semi-spheres on the chest, and pink stripes starting at the waist. She also wore a deep pink, two-tone choker, pink sleeves with cuffs, matching accessories in light and deep pink, round strappy gauntlets, chunky knee-high boots, and a two-piece belt with a round buckle.

Her attire really emphasized her big "personality."

"Adorable," I said, looking at Ochaco, who instantly blushed at my words.

"No, guys, you are not going to flirt now," Gwen said, crossing her arms to form an X.

I just smiled at her as I reached into my overcoat pocket.

•••

All of the students in class 1-A were at Ground Beta, which was a large replica of a city.

At this moment, Gwen and I were trying to hold back our smiles because, in front of us, Midoriya was in his hero costume, which was heavily inspired by All Might's costume.

Although Midoriya didn't seem to notice as he looked excitedly at All Might, Gwen was using all her willpower not to laugh at the poor young man.

"Well then, let's get started!" All Might said, silencing the students' laughter before explaining the test in detail.

"This will be a double test inside a building! Many people think that most battles happen outside, but statistically speaking, most battles happen indoors! Many other things happen out of sight of the heroes! In this test, there will be two sides: 'Heroes' and 'Villains,' which will be chosen randomly!" All Might spoke fluently and passionately; you could hear the years of teaching in his words... if it weren't for the paper he was furtively reading.

After he said this, several students raised their hands to ask questions.

"How do we know who wins and who loses?" A girl asked as she struck a thoughtful pose.

"Can I destroy everything?" Bakugo exclaimed, eager to get it all over with.

"Can I just lie down and sleep?" said a girl with pale purple, almost graying hair, and blue eyes.

"Wow!" a dark-skinned girl exclaimed excitedly.

"I'M STILL TALKING!" shouted All Might, loudly shushing the students.

All Might coughed and went back to explaining.

"The villains must protect a fake nuclear bomb they are trying to detonate. The heroes' job is to disarm (touch) the bomb or capture the villains! If the heroes capture the villains or disarm (touch) the bomb, the heroes win! But if the villains protect the bomb during the given time or capture the heroes, the villains win!"

After he said this, the teams were randomly chosen.

I ended up on "Team A," and my partner was the black-haired girl from the Yuuei Entrance Exam.

Impressively, "Team F" consisted of Gwen and Ochaco.

"This is serious," Gwen said, looking at the sign with the letter F in her hand.

"Sometimes fate is funny," Ochaco, also holding the sign with the letter F, said with a slightly sarcastic expression.

These two really get along very well.

"The first two pairs to fight are…"

All Might punched both hands into the two boxes labeled "Villains" and "Heroes."

"Team A as heroes and Team B as villains."

My eyes went to Team B, which included a white-haired boy with the other half of his face frozen.

He had an ice-like material covering his entire left side, even his head, with the eye socket glowing red. His attire was plain: an off-white shirt with matching pants and boots, and two golden straps going across his shoulders. He turned to me and looked intensely.

I think I have a fan.

Next to him was his partner, a girl. She was a beautiful, tall 15-year-old with a mature physique. She had long black hair tied into a spiky ponytail, with a large lock hanging on the right side of her face. Her eyes were large but penetrating and dark in color, combined with short eyebrows and a determined expression.

Her hero costume consisted of a high-necked, sleeveless crimson leotard with silver lines at the waist and around the arms, which was open to expose skin from the neck to just below the navel. She wore tall red boots with heels that fell sharply in the center, two gold utility belts around her waist, and a thinner one across her upper chest, below her shoulders.

Her outfit exposed a lot of skin.

I didn't know this girl personally, but I knew who she was.

She was Momo Yaoyorozu.

Why do I know her?

Simple: She is a Yaoyorozu.

The Yaoyorozu and Fujiwara families are the most influential in Japan, and there is a certain rivalry between them, a rivalry that I honestly didn't mind at all.

So, as "Villains," they are our opponents.

I thought, clenching my hand as an excited smile formed on my lips.

•••

The black-haired girl and I stepped into the building and entered through the front door.

She wore a full-body suit that covered her entirely. Her outfit was black with golden details on her boots, chest, and several golden stripes on her arms. Additionally, she wore a golden belt with several pockets.

I glanced at her, who stood silently next to me.

"Hello, I'm Nero Fujiwara."

Upon hearing my words, she tilted her head to the side, remaining silent for a few seconds, before moving her hand and pointing to her throat.

…

I immediately understood her sign. She indicated that she had a speech problem.

My eyes naturally softened because of living for ten years with a very special woman who had muteness.

Without hesitation, I moved my hand.

"Hello! My name is Nero; what's yours?" I asked, using sign language.

An expression of surprise briefly crossed her stoic face before it was quickly erased.

"My name is Cassandra Cain," she signed back.

"A pleasure, Cassandra."

"It's good to see you again, Nero," Cassandra said, using sign language.

Apparently, she still remembers our meeting at the Yuuei Entrance Examination.

I smiled, looking at the stairs a few meters away.

Hmm! This building has several floors. If we went up the stairs step by step, it would take too long…

"Let's take the elevator, Cassandra," I suggested, raising my arm to the ceiling.

Cassandra tilted her head, not understanding what I meant by the elevator.

I didn't say anything else; I just raised my arm with my middle and index fingers up.

The space above my fingers compressed into several layers, and at the tips, a small but extremely bright red sphere was generated. The red sphere generated positive energy, bringing the concept of "divergence" to reality.

Although the red sphere was slightly unstable, the space around it began to repel each other.

"[Red Reversal]," I said, firing the red sphere.

Red pierced the ceiling, destroying each floor above us.

The debris expelled by Red was thrown away as it continued to rise, until it reached the roof, bursting upwards and exploding into the air.

Cassandra once again had a slightly surprised expression on her face.

Yes, I like exaggerations, but this time there was a reason for it; I needed to see the top floors.

When I saw the two "Villains" through the hole I made, I smiled.

I found you.

I thought, placing my hand on Cassandra's side.

"My lady, may I have your hand?" I asked gallantly.

Cassandra looked confused but quickly placed her hand in mine.

At that moment, I used [Mercury] to teleport us to the penultimate floor, where the bomb and our enemies were.

In the blink of an eye, we disappeared from the first floor.