22

Chapter 22: Teacher

Notes:

A little bit more of the internship, and then a some events to spice things up back at U.A. On a side note, my apologies if the jumps in between scenes seem a bit too rough. I personally had that impression when I wrote this, and I couldn't really find a way around it. They are necessary, however, because otherwise I feel like there'd be a bunch of filler if I didn't skip around.

Chapter Text

"Are you sure that he's going to be okay?" Izuku asked, looking at the deformity in the ground.

The question came out as a byproduct of the battle's end. The fight was long over, with Centaur having taken a full retreat by disappearing into the sewers. Despite his size, he was fairly swift, and was easily able to shrink down in order to evade capture.

The actual battle spanned for quite a while. It was true that Izuku and Tokage could do little to the hulking beast that beared arms the size of small vans. It didn't matter that the rest of Centaur's body looked normal, his skin — or rather, hide — proved to hold strong against most attacks thrown at him. 

The man's punches proved it difficult to approach him, and his hulking strength would debilitate others in an instant. It was only as he steadily lost ground in the battle of attrition that Centaur left. The fight resulted in only a few minor injuries, with nothing too serious. The most anyone came to harm was Tokage with her missing limbs. And so now, the heroes were simply waiting for the police to arrive so they could give their statements. 

However, there was still the deformity to consider. The defacement in the pavement was a fairy deep hole in the ground. Pieces of rubble had filled up the space around halfway, the aftermath of the as of now concluded battle between Centaur and Highbrow. The latter was buried deep under the rubble, lodged there by Centaur.

Izuku and Tokage had previously attempted to remove the rubble, yet Edgeshot had stopped them before they could begin.

"Oh, definitely," Edgeshot spoke in response to Izuku's concern. "Highbrow's fought plenty of villains with monstrous transformation and mutation quirks. There was even a time when he nearly got pulverized by Godzillo."

"Godzillo?" Tokage asked, standing to the side. She was missing both her arms this time, but was otherwise in fine condition. "But isn't he a hero? Why would he and Highbrow be fighting?"

"Maybe… Oh!" Izuku exclaimed. "I remember hearing about the hypnotic villain, um, Hypno! He tagged a bunch of heroes with his power a while back. Godzillo was one of them. Are you referring to that incident, maybe?"

Edgeshot nodded. "Indeed I was. That's why I know he'll be fine. He's already fought what is essentially a kaiju capable of bringing down islands. And, well, he survived, didn't he?"

An uncertain look appeared on Izuku's face. "But shouldn't we at least try to help him out?"

"Nope. He'll hate it, trust me. Just as bad as butting into any fights with Centaur. Besides, he's probably not in the best of moods right now. Best not disturb him lest you aim to be a target."

A figure suddenly burst from the hole, form all bulky and bearing muscles up in a predatory stance. "Centaur! Where the hell did you go?!" screamed Highbrow.

"He's gone, Highbrow," Edgeshot informed his sidekick. "He got away again."

The sidekick roared in fury, letting out his anger on a nearby sign post.

Edgeshot, Izuku, and Tokage watched on in interest.

"Heh. Told you," said Edgeshot.

A couple days in and there was still no sign of Centaur. Edgeshot's agency and the police searched far and wide, yet the search proved fruitless. Wherever the villain had went seemed secluded enough that it would hide him for some time.

Edgeshot eventually called the search off for his team, despite the begrudging attitude of Highbrow. Edgeshot then delegated himself to the further teaching of his interns. And that's where Izuku was now.

Izuku zoomed out from behind a pillar, aiming to strike the unsuspecting Edgeshot who was two pillars down. Izuku's fist was met with Edgeshot's open hand; the hand tightened its hold around the closed fist and threw Izuku away to the side. 

"Too loud. Too slow," Edgeshot berated, his eyes covered by a blindfold. "You need to learn to fight without your bugs, just in case. You can't rely on them all the time."

Izuku spun back up, closing in again at his current teacher. Two of his five punches hit their mark, one connecting to Edgeshot's side and another in his chest. Edgeshot retaliated with a harsh kick to Izuku's chest, sending him backwards. Izuku wheezed on the ground, kneeling to catch his breath.

"Come on, Izuku! You can get 'em!" cheered on Tokage.

"Shut it, Tokage," the cloud of bugs next to her said.

"You got it, Izuku!" she replied, nonplussed.

Izuku then took out his eskrima sticks, but those too were parried by Edgeshot, the hero's dagger rising to meet Izuku's weapons. The hero smilied. "We on to weapons now, eh?"

The two exchanged a flurry of strikes, each of their own landing hits. But a large gap of experience separated the two, and it showed. Once again Izuku was on the ground, panting.

"Good job, Midoriya," Edgeshot praised, removing his blindfold. "Eleven total strikes. Sixteen hits is what I'd expect from someone with your skill level, give or take. But we can build upon that over the week."

"Really?"

"Mhm. If you were using your bugs, I'd say that you would have a decent chance of beating me. But," a pause, "that wasn't the point of the exercise. As such, I do have one suggestion. Cushion the soles of your feet more. They'd quiet your steps immensely."

Izuku reacted to this, patting his feet on the ground. Izuku noticed to audible pitter-patter as his feet hit the wooden floor. "Oh! Okay then, Edgeshot. I'll keep that in mind for the next design. I'll, uh, I'll head back to the rest area for now."

"Good," Edgeshot nodded. He looked towards the aforementioned area, then turned back to Izuku to speak. "Make sure you send Tokage over when you get there, she seems a bit busy. I'm going to refresh up on my equipment. And take a bathroom break."

Shaking his head, Izuku made his way towards Tokage. However, unlike before, Izuku found her staring at her phone in a sort of reserved bewilderment.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Hmm?" Tokage hummed, looking up from her phone. Izuku in turn motioned to her device.

"Oh," she breathed. "It's uh… There was a big villain attack not too long ago. In Hosu."

...

"Hosu?" Izuku asked quickly. "What happened?" That's where Iida went to search for Stain.

"A bunch of property damage," Tokage said. "Fire and stuff everywhere. Apparently they even found Native dead in a back alleyway. They say it has Stain's handiwork all over it."

Buzz.

"Stain?" Izuku questioned, confused. Iida. "But he only goes after heroes. What's with all the property damage?"

Buzzing. 

"Ah, that. They're—" Tokage took a look around her, flinching a bit. "They're saying that it was the those League fellas your class met back at U.S.J," Tokage clarified. "It was kind of obvious given the three or so creatures with exposed brains."

"There are more of them?!" Izuku exclaimed. "There can't be! The last one nearly took down All Might! And— And Hosu! That's where—"

Buzzing.

 "Whoa, whoa!" Tokage cried out, placing her hands on Izuku's shoulders. "Just breath. In and out. Calm down, you're fine." Tokage repeated the words to Izuku, becoming a sort of mantra. 

In. Out. In. Out. Izuku followed the sounds of her voice. 

Izuku's breath slowed down, degrading to a much more normal rate. When did that happen?

"Sheesh man, you need to relax," Tokage chastised. "They were pretty weak, apparently," she added. "Endeavor got two of them himself."

Izuku took another deep breath. The bugs around them calmed. "Endeavor, eh?" Izuku gave out a quiet laugh. He sighed. "Thank you for that, Tokage-san. I'm probably… just overreacting, is all."

Tokage pursed her lips. "I told you: Set-su-na. Come on, say it with me, Izuku. Set-su-na. "

"Tokage—"

"Hmm…?" the girl hummed.

"I—Okay. Alright, To-ka-ge-chan," Izuku emphasized.

Tokage blinked. Then her signature smirk bloomed upon her face. "Now that's what I call progression! I'll take it for now, but you better start calling me by my first name by the end of the week!"

Izuku nodded. "Sure, Tok—"

"Tokage, where are you?!" the voice of Edgeshot rang out.

Both of the two turned their heads at the voice. They both saw Edgeshot with his blindfold already on.

"I can tell that you aren't within the boundaries that we set up. You aren't still at the sidelines, are you?" questioned the hero.

"Ah, shoot!" Izuku exclaimed. "I forgot to tell you that it's your turn!"

"Bah, it's fine, Izuku," Tokage said. "I just—"

"Tokage," Edgeshot stretched out, "I'm going to ramp up the difficulty if you aren't here in a minute. Maybe a few more added blades to my arsenal?"

Tokage sighed. "We're gonna have a hell of a week, eh, Izuku?" She then turned to leave, but not before giving the boy a wink.

Izuku watched as his fellow classmate scampered off, resigning himself to whatever the next week was going to bring.

The doors to the train car opened with a loud hiss, its various passengers getting off the train as others took their place. A certain duo of heroes-in-training were no different, the two making their way through the crowd until they finally found a quiet reprieve in an unoccupied corner of the station.

"Whoo! That was quite a trip, eh, Izuku?"

At the voice, Izuku connected to the various bugs within his surroundings, sending them out to find any familiar faces. Still, he managed to share his own — if somewhat mild — enthusiasm with his friend. "Sure was! We certainly learned a lot from Edgeshot," Izuku responded with a reminiscent look.

A couple hits. That green kid from 1-B who could produce blades. Ojiro having a chat with… Hagakure... Probably.

"Oi! Is that all you care about? Edgeshot gave us a whole day off to explore! What about the sights? The bamboo forest! The cherry blossoms! The temples!" 

"Those we cool too," Izuku added. 

"Pfft. Somehow, I don't believe you." Setsuna wrapped around an arm around Izuku's neck, drawing him close. "You were too focused on getting some wasps from that hive we found."

"Was not! The temples were cool! I found a few stink bugs nearby!"

"Ya see?" Setsuna chuckled. "Ah, it's not like it mattered. I sure as hell know that the trip wouldn't have been the same without you. It wouldn't have had that same spark of excitement."

A smile formed onto Izuku's face. "You say that, but I know that you just liked the challenge I provided during our spars."

There was Jiro having just arrived from what looks like Nara. Then there's Ms. Kobayashi from the apartment above us, that old lady who runs the flower shop— Ah, there we are.

"Oi," Setsuna muttered.

Izuku chuckled. "It was fun, Setsuna. But, I've got to go." 

"Aw, so soon?"

"Yeah, sorry. I'll be seeing you."

And that smirk was back on her face. "But of course! You can't avoid since we go to the same school, afterall!"

Izuku waved one final goodbye before disappearing into the crowd. A part of Izuku made him feel a bit guilty at leaving Setsuna behind so abruptly, but Izuku had something he had to do.

As Setsuna's presence moved farther away, Izuku's bugs began coalescing to stalk their target. Izuku slowly brushed his way past the crowds, matching his pace with the other boy that he was watching with his bugs.

When the boy stopped, Izuku prompted his bugs away. He then made his way to his destination, revealing himself to his friend. 

"Iida."

The bespectacled turned to look at looked Izuku, his face morphing to hold a small amount of surprise, and then later shame, at the sight of the other.

"Midoriya," Iida said. 

Izuku let a pause hang in the air before he spoke again. "I heard about what happened in Hosu."

Iida blinked. "Yes," he said slowly. "It was… quite a disaster. Luckily there weren't too many casualties, despite the presence of all the Nomu from the League."

"That so?" Izuku questioned. "I'm glad to hear it. Especially since Stain is still roaming around freely. He could have easily struck down a number of other people."

A gulp visibly appeared on Iida's neck."Indeed," he spoke.

Izuku nodded. "I'm glad to see that you're alright, Iida."

Iida turned away at the proclamation, averting his gaze off to the side. It took him a few moments before he turned his head back towards his friend and forms his thoughts into words.

"I— I apologize for my earlier actions, Midoriya. I admit that I may have been a bit... rash during our last encounter. But I see now that I was entirely at fault with my grudge." 

Iida took a breath, "I… I almost abandoned civilians when the fires broke out, you know? I was going to go look for Stain, but then I remembered what you'd said, and the civilians… I was ashamed at myself."

Izuku slowly nodded. "I understand, Iida. Izuku patted Iida's arm in a comforting gesture. "What's important is that you made the right decision. You saved civilians from the fires, stopped them from being killed by the Nomus."

"But…" Iida started, "was it really alright? In the back of my mind I was still... I— I may have been able to find Native. Maybe then he would've—"

"You would of what, Iida?" Izuku interrupted. "Maybe you'd be killed just after Stain plunged a sword straight through you heart? Or you'd die when Stain would cut off your head? We all know that Stain is powerful. Plustorm, Dargan, Wrench: all heroes who've meant their end by Stain's blade. You would have ended up dead in that alley along with Native. And if that happened, who would've carried on your brother's legacy then?"

Iida sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right, Midoriya."

A smile came onto Izuku's face. "It's alright, Iida. What matters is that you came out all right in the end. Otherwise… heh. Who knows what would have happened?" 

"I haven't studied at all!" screeched Kaminari.

It had been a week since the internships had ended, and everything back in class 1-A had gone relatively back to normal. Kaminari's apparent distress was in response to Aizawa, who had just renotified the entire class of the upcoming finals. The blond's yell was enough to spark the panic of many others in the class as well. 

Izuku, on the other hand, was relatively calm. He wasn't worried about the upcoming exams as much as his more outspoken peers, and he'd only need to spend some time reviewing the material he'd learned in class. The rest of his time would be spent scouting out the city for crime with his bugs.

As the rest of the class stirred to leave, Izuku split his attention. On one hand, he began packing up his things, methodically putting away his notebooks into his backpack. A few wasps came out and grab his pencils for him, which Izuku graciously took. Another part of his mind focused on counting his bugs — seeing how many bugs within his three block radius had died, how many had been born, and where'd they'd moved since the day had begun. He took a pause, however, when he noticed Yaoyorozu standing beside his desk.

"So what do you say?" she asked.

Izuku looked at her, confused. "Huh? About what?"

"Umm… About this weekend?" she supplied.

"I, uh, sorry. I wasn't listening," Izuku admitted sheepishly. "I was with my bugs. Didn't even notice you standing there until now, actually. Could you repeat what you said?"

Yaoyorozu nodded. "Of course. It's no problem, Midoriya. You've already told me how it is when you get all absorbed scrying with your bugs, afterall," she said with a slight smile. Izuku chuckled a bit at his own expense in response.

"Anyhow," Yaoyorozu continued, "I told the class that I'd be holding a study session over at my house this weekend. It's in order to help those who are... a bit behind in their own studies. I'd rather that our classmates not fail the exams so they can experience the summer camp with us, you know?"

Izuku nodded.

"Right," Yaoyorozu said. "Now, the thing is, I know that I'd be able to handle it myself, that's not in question. But in that instance I'd have to divide my attention between everyone that shows up. I... guess I'm just afraid that I wouldn't be enough for them. And I would love it if you'd be available to help out."

Izuku tilted his head to the side. "Help? With a study group? You think I'm qualified?"

"Of course! I've seen your grades during those times Aizawa has us filing and recording scores. Your near the top of the class just like me. And you're the Class Rep! You're entirely capable of doing this."

"..."

"Midoriya?"

"Sure. I'll commit to it, I suppose. But only because you think I'm capable of it, Yaoyorozu."

"Great!" she exclaimed. "Now, we're going to hold it on Saturday. That way everyone will be able to retain all the information for the exams. We'll be going over English and—" Her phone made a noise then, and Yaoyorozu looked at the message that popped up.

"Oh!" she said. "I've got to go now, so I'll give you all the information tomorrow. I wouldn't want to leave Mr. Hinami waiting out by the front gates for too long. Last time he did that a whole bunch of people crowded around the limo to ask about it." 

Limo? Izuku shook his head. Makes sense, actually. The Yaoyorozu family is pretty influential, after all. 

"Bye, Midoriya!"

I suppose that I can hold a study session. It can't be too hard. Besides, I still haven't had the chance to talk to Yaoyorozu about the Sports Festival. Actually, the class is empty now, so I could just—

"She already left."

"Ah."

Notes:

So there was a bit skipping around, sure. I found it necessary, though. Next chapter will be a bit more coherent and and closer together in scenes. Though, I suppose that just makes sense since up next are the exams.

Well, see you all next time!

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