Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The second day of team training had gone, if possible, worse than the first. Our team – Team Four – was charged with defending a crate in the hold of a cargo ship while Team One –Kaibara, Kodai, Komori, Ibara, and Tetsutetsu – attacked. Again, the internal conflicts in my team prevented us from putting up an effective defense. I expected that All Might would offer us useful advice on how to overcome this destructive tension. Instead, he just told us to try harder. I decided I was going to have to do something if the others were going to get anything out of the week's instruction.

Wednesday morning, I asked the other four to join me outside for lunch. We gathered at one of the many outdoor benches. Monoma and Juzo took the bench. Kamakiri perched on the trunk of a nearby tree, anchoring himself with numerous small hooks that extended and retracted automatically, allowing him to move freely without losing purchase. Awase leaned against another tree and I floated between them, closing the loose circle.

"Thank you for coming," I offered, beginning the to discussion. "We haven't been doing very well in the team exercises this week."

"We suck," Kamakiri agreed resentfully.

"Because you won't listen to my plans," Awase accused.

"And there we see the problem in action," Juzo complained. "These two are the biggest hotheads in class. They both insist on being the leader. And neither are willing to listen to anyone else."

"And we're all trying to prove ourselves as good as the Famous Tatari – the Girl Who Captured Stain." Monoma added. He had been a little weird around me since he had a taste of my quirk.

"What a maroon!" Awase actually giggled.

"For an 'hero student prodigy' she's sure not showing anything in these exercises," the insect boy complained. "I expected you'd take down the other team while the rest of us were still trying to find our asses."

Realizing that their problems stemmed mostly from overcompensating for their fragile egos, I tried to build them up a bit. "You four are some of the strongest students in the class. Juzo is a recommendation because pros realized the incredible control over the battlefield his quirk gives him, as well as the way he's trained himself in both the physical and mental aspects of heroing. Awase is the same. His quirk gives him almost unmatched individual capture capability along with pinpoint environmental control. Kamakiri is one of the best close quarter's combatants in the year group, if not the school. And Monoma has shown that there is more to him than one of the most flexible and potentially powerful quirks in the year when his forethought and planning got everyone in the class into the second round of the Sports Festival, without giving away their powers. Any one of you could easily lead this team."

"So what do we do?" Jozu asked. "Who should lead? You?"

"That's not what I'm saying. It doesn't really matter who's leading as long as we can agree to work together. We can draw straws or flip a coin. Even rotate each day. As long as the rest of us agree to work with him and he agrees to listen to us – when there's time."

"I'm not gonna work under you," Kamakiri snarled. I wondered what had sparked such an instant irrational hatred of me in this boy.

I have observed this instant fear or dislike in some others. And the opposite as well, were people seem to instantly trust and support you with no rational justification. I hypothesize that these individuals may have an unrealized spiritual sensitivity that somehow interacts with our unique spiritual aura, driving these exaggerated reactions.

Interesting theory, and worth considering – but not at this moment.

Juzo had, almost surprisingly, come to my defense while I was listening to Emily. I interrupted him. "Two points, Kamakiri. First, I don't want to lead this team. I'd refuse if offered. Second, you don't have to like someone to work with them effectively. That's part of being a professional. I wouldn't be surprised if you and I, and you and Awase, are being tested to see if we can get beyond our personal differences to achieve the mission. We're all going to look bad if we can't."

"For today, since we don't know what the mission is going to be, why don't we shoot for it?" Monoma asked, holding up his fist. The other three boys held up theirs in agreement. A quick couple of rounds of rock-paper-scissors and Juzo was the day's leader. I was happy. I thought him the best choice and, even if his tenure didn't last, the others would have a good example.

"Ok, we don't know what sort of mission we'll see this afternoon," the zombie-faced boy began. "But All Might-sensei mentioned team on team fights, shipboard operations, and large threats from the sea. We've already seen two of those. I am betting he will save the kaiju or tsunami for the last day. So, let's think of the three most likely types of scenarios and make a basic plan for each. Who's got an idea of what we might face?"

"I'd imagine we're going to be facing Team Three - Kendo, Shoda, Kosei, Manga, and Bondo. Two close combat specialists, two defense/area denial specialists, and the most general of generalists." I said.

"How about I copy Kamakiri to give us another close fighter? If I can touch any of them, I can use their powers against them." Monoma suggested.

"As long as you leave the Iron Miko alone," Awase laughed. "We don't need you tripping for the next hour - again." The blond boy blushed.

"So two teams – each with a fighter and a controller," suggested Kamakiri.

"You and me, Monoma and Awase," Juzo said. "Yanagi acts as eyes and ears and can coordinate by radio. If there's a defensive portion of the mission, she can concentrate on that while the two attack teams go after the others. Monoma, if you can get Manga's quirk – and it doesn't lay you out from its sheer weirdness – try taking him down first."

Awase nodded. "Manga, then Shoda. Tubbo don't look like much but he's dangerous."

"He's my friend," I said looking at the boy.

"Alright. Alright. Don't get your …" He trailed off when I added some intensity to my stare. "Damn." He muttered.

We continued the planning through the rest of the lunch break. That afternoon's exercise went much better for us. Though I'll admit I smiled when Shoda took out Awase. In the end we managed to defeat Team Three in a mostly open ground battle on the docks.

After classes were done, I met with Agoyamato, the general education student who had given me the idea for the defense classes and Yuyu, my friendly mentor who had arranged the meeting at my request. We were going to present a proposal to a group of faculty and student leaders. I had invited other students to help make the need plain, but they were to meet us at the Student Council Room. This was the public space for most important or formal student government related meetings.

When we arrived the student leaders and faculty were seated at the horseshoe table in the front of the room. I was motioned to a table facing them. There was a surprisingly full audience – at least two dozen students - many of whom I had never spoken to before. There was even a crew from the school video channel set up in the back and front to record the meeting. From the pointing and staring as I walked into the room, I knew the crowd was more interested in seeing the Burakumin girl that killed a Nomu than listening to my proposal. Still they were here.

I felt a flutter in my stomach. I was not particularly fond of public speaking, and this unnecessary formality was designed to put me at a disadvantage. I took a breath and stilled myself. I felt the stillness settle over me and the spirits in the rooms settled as well.

At the front table were Togata Mirio, representing the Martial Arts Association, Kenranzaki Bibimi, the Student Council Secretary, with Hado Nejire, the chair of the Extracurricular Activities Federation in the center. Seated on her other side, representing the faculty and administration, were Kan-sensei and Hound Dog, the school counselor. Hado was chairing the meeting.

In the audience I noticed Hatsume Mei, a first-year support student, and Saito Asuka, a first-year business student. Both were in the English Study Group and I had specifically asked them to come.

"This is crazy," Agoyamato said, his voice quavering. "I had no idea there'd be so many people here."

"And the cameras," Yuyu pointed. "What's that about?"

"Welcome to the circus that is my life," I answered quietly, turned so neither camera could see my face.

"I'm not sure this is worth it," the tall boy muttered.

I smiled at him and patted his shoulder. I was trying to be more demonstrative and supportive since noticing that I looked far too still and unnatural on the latest round of videos.

Hado knocked on the table with a gavel. "Order, please. Let's have order."

The crowd quickly settled – another difference from my first high school.

"Yanagi-san, you asked to speak to representatives of the student leadership to propose a solution to a problem you have identified. Is that correct?" Hado's voice was serious and friendly at the same time. Her presence was strong – not like All Might, or even Stain, but enough to control the room with only a few words. I was impressed.

"Not exactly." I shook my head and looked around. "I asked to speak to the leaders of a few different clubs and representatives from the different courses to discuss some concerns that have been voiced to me by my year-mates. I want to establish if these concerns are valid and widespread, what solutions might already be in place to address them, and if needed to brainstorm new ideas. While I had not expected anything so formal or so public, there's certainly nothing I'm trying to hide, and the more voices in the discussion the better."

"I see," the blue-haired third year said, looking at her tablet. "Perhaps we can proceed then in a slightly less formal manner." She put the gavel down. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Since the attacks on the UA campus and students in April I have heard several students in the general, support, and business courses voice concern that they were not prepared to defend themselves during those attacks, and are not being prepared to defend themselves in the case of any future attacks."

"Why did they come to you to complain about this?" asked Kenranzaki, a short third year support student with big, curly blond hair and way too much makeup. "Why not go to a teacher?"

"Rather than speculate, why not ask some of them who are here?" I countered, looking to Agoyamato. He stared back at me frightened, then nodded and stood.

"I did go to my teacher," he said, his voice faltering. "Kobayashi-sensei said I should leave that to the pro heroes. They would protect us. The problem is they didn't. I was on that bus with Yanagi-san. Those villains would have killed everyone before the heroes arrived, if it hadn't been for the students that fought back."

"And you were one of these protectors," I said, putting my hand on his arm.

"I tried. But I wasn't good enough. I didn't know what to do. In the end, you had to save me from that metal mouthed monster. That's the problem. I didn't know what to do to defend myself." I squeezed his arm lightly. We had talked about not saying anything about defending others. I wanted to remind him before he went any further.

"Agoyamato-kun was not the only one who expressed those feelings," I said.

"I was on that bus too," Saito said, standing in the row behind the table. "I couldn't even do what Agoyamato-kun did. I felt helpless, afraid I was going to die." He pulled up his sleeve to reveal a fresh scar on his forearm. "I didn't make it out of there untouched. If I'd had some training, I would have known what to do – even if that's not fighting. Knowing how to run or hide more effectively could have saved lives."

"And it's not just that day," Mei said. "I and my family were held hostage in a gondola for two days when I was young. I'm not saying I could have done anything back then. But it could happen again to any of us at any time. I want to know how to use my babies to protect myself when it does."

"We know the laws." This was a second-year business student I didn't know. "We are not talking about becoming vigilantes. Self-defense is allowed under quirk law. And defending yourself without using your quirk is allowed under the older laws."

"Even with All Might and the other pro heroes, the world isn't a safe place," interrupted Shinso Hitoshi, the general education student that made it to the finals in the Sport's Festival. "Just look at Hosu City."

Everyone looked at me.

Hado shook herself and addressed the hall. "How many of you are not hero course students?" Almost everyone in the audience raised their hands. She looked surprised. One thing I had noticed about UA is that many of the hero students self-isolated from the other courses – especially if they weren't in a cross-course club after school. There were no shared classes. It was easy for us to forget we were a small minority at UA, even if we got most of the attention.

"And how many of you agree this is a serious concern?" She continued. All those hands stayed up. I raised mine, as did Yuyu and the big guy. Even the Martial Arts rep and the Student Council Secretary raised theirs. I noticed the cameragirl panning the room.

"Having established this is an issue," I said. "We now have to see if the current clubs, classes, and school resources offer a solution. Togata-san, my first thought was that this might fall under the martial art clubs. Self-defense is often taught at dojos."

The beefy blond blue-eyed boy clasped his hands in front of his face and considered. After some thought he shook his head. "Our clubs are more about competition and traditional arts than about real-world tactics and survival techniques. And the use of quirks during these competitions is strictly prohibited, to the point where many people with mutation quirks, or even legacy mutations, are not allowed to compete. And the competitive associations can be very strict. Agoyamato-kun, for instance, might fall on the line between acceptable and unacceptable, depending on the nature of his quirk."

This unyielding pronouncement obviously disappointed many students in the room. Suddenly Togata seemed to bounce in his seat and beamed a smile around the room. "That doesn't mean that some of the people involved here at UA couldn't work with a new self-defense club."

That turned the crowd around.

I held up my hand. "While I think that may well be where we end up, I want to ask a few more questions first, if that's ok."

Hado gestured, "Please."

"Hero students get individualized instruction on how to use their quirks. Is that sort of instruction available for non-hero students – either in school or outside of it?" Kan-sensei and Hound Dog looked at each other.

"Not really," Kenranzaki, the only non-hero at the high table, answered. "Training non-heroes to use their quirks is frowned upon, as it might lead to vigilantism or other illegal quirk usage."

"Is there no mechanism for students from other courses to take a hero studies class as an elective, or to audit one?" I asked.

"No." she replied. The hero students on the dais looked a little uncomfortable. The faculty even more so.

"No workshops or afterschool programs offered concentrating solely on defensive uses of individual quirks?"

"No."

"As a support student that has been here longer than my year-mates, do you think there would be interest in that sort of offering?"

"Very much so," she smiled. There were confirming murmurs from the audience behind me.

"I think we have shown that there is a need, and no current mechanism to fill that need," I said, speaking to the whole panel. "Now we just have to figure out where to go from here. Togata-senpai had one suggestion – a club focused on real world self-defense. It would need to look at tactical awareness, as well as escape and evasion methods. It would also need to help each individual explore how they can best protect themselves with the resource they have when danger strikes – whether that is quirks, tools, smarts, or physical capabilities. Training on how to avoid dangerous situations should also be stressed. No reason to fight if you can run."

Kan-senei started coughing, while giving me a knowing look.

"But those were just my thoughts on the matter. I was hoping we could brainstorm for ideas and come up with something to put forward to the faculty and Principal."

Once again, the whole room was looking at me. I sighed and sat down. Yuyu patted my back, while grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

Two hours later the meeting broke up. The group had agreed on forming the Defense Association – a club with a curriculum that very nearly matched what I had suggested. As it relied heavily on quirks, it was decided it did not fit under the Martial Arts Association. Instead it would be under the coordination of the Extracurricular Activities Federation directly.

Several of the first years wanted me to be the leader, but Hado pointed out the club needed to be officially approved and chartered before any discussion of leadership could be raised. As I was leaving the room, Kan-sensei called me over.

"Yanagi-san, I think what you are doing will shake up the school." He led me towards his office. "We heroes have a tendency to assume the other students are satisfied under our protection. It was sobering to hear that is not the case. Ultimately, I think this Defense Association idea will prove to be a good thing. I appreciate that you insisted on legal and ethical training as part of the curriculum."

As we sat down at his desk, he paused and looked at me. Allowing me time to speak. I stayed silent. I wasn't sure where he was going with this and wanted to find out. Finally, he shook his head.

"I will take this before the leadership. I think the Principal will eventually agree, though there may be restrictions. One that I am almost certain he will demand is that you not play a leadership role in the club."

That actually hurt. "May I ask why? I'm only a first year and would not expect to lead a club – the English Study Group notwithstanding." I raised that to remind him I was already helping UA students in a leadership role, minor though it was. "But that's different from being forbidden such a role by the school."

"After Hosu City, on top of all the other incidents you have been involved in, the Principal has his doubts about your fitting in at UA. That is one of the main reasons you have detention this weekend. First, and most important, is that you need counseling to address the violence you have experienced in recent weeks. Hound Dog is experienced in this area. He's helped me in the past when I've needed it. Secondly the Principal feels he needs to know more about you and why you're at the center of so much conflict. He's hoping you'll open up to Hound Dog and he'll be able to tell the Principal what he needs to hear."

So much for doctor patient privilege, I thought.

"Until the Principal is more certain of you …" Kan hesitated. "Well, he's not going to be looking to do you any favors. If you want this club to succeed for your schoolmates, you need to step back from it."

"Should I be looking for another school?" I asked. The familiar cold had spread through my body. I had grown very still. The spirits were swirling and spiraling around the room in agitation.

"It has not come to that yet." The teacher's gaze was steady. He wasn't my enemy, but he worked for the Principal. "You need to consider if UA is where you really want to be. And if so, what you are willing to do to stay here."

"Thank you for your honesty, sir. You have given me a lot to think about."