Chapter 9: Battle Trial
Himiko pulled out the costume notes in her case and quickly read them over, smiling as she changed into her black sleeveless bodysuit. "Hey Atsuko! Can I borrow a drop of your blood?"
Atsuko paused as she was changing into her own costume. "Oh? Is this the costume piece you were telling me about?"
"Yep! I would prefer to test it here and know if it works, instead of finding out in the middle of a training exercise." She admitted, embarrassment showing on her face.
"Sure." Atsuko held out her arm, and Himiko took one of her knives out from her costume and carefully scratched her with it, drawing out a thin bead of blood. She captured it on her finger, before licking it off and activating her quirk. She felt the warmth as the slime wrapped her up, and suddenly her classmates were staring at two Atsukos, the only difference being one was in her school uniform while the other was partially dressed in her hero costume.
"Wow, so that's how your quirk works? I saw you use it yesterday but wasn't paying attention to the activation conditions."
"If it wasn't for the clothing, I couldn't even tell the difference!"
"Oh yeah, I didn't really give a good demonstration yesterday, huh?" Himiko beamed proudly as she struck a pose, continuing in Atsuko's voice. "If I drink someone's blood, I can transform into them. As far as we can tell I am pretty much physically identical to whomever I transform into, right down to their voice and clothing. If I can get someone's mannerisms down, you'd never know it was me."
"So that's why you want to go underground?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah, as much as I'd like to be visible, stealth and espionage are basically the total opposite of what the hero billboards are looking for. Plus what's the point of being able to transform if everyone knows I can do it?" She frowned at that, but quickly wiped it off her face. "Now for the drawback - when I copy someone's clothing, my own clothes become part of the transformation and won't be there when I drop it." She felt her cheeks heating up at that revelation. "But, if the support company got this right, that shouldn't be a problem anymore! Now for the moment of truth."
Himiko dropped her quirk and let her transformation dissolve into a pile of grey sludge at her feet. Looking down, her bodysuit had survived, and she cheered. "Totally worth it!"
"But what about the rest of your costume?"
Himiko pulled out a deep crimson victorian-style longcoat and put it on. "Because my brother is a genius, we planned for that when we came up with the design! It's designed so that I can pull everything else off quickly, if I need to transform on short notice." She then pulled on her reinforced boots and looped her mask loosely around her neck.
She glanced around the room at her fellow classmates' costumes. Atsuko was wearing a loose fitting jumpsuit that was primarily black, with stripes the same color as her sky blue hair running down the arms and legs. Accompanying that was a pair of custom dark blue knee-high boots, a pair of fingerless reinforced gloves, and a utility belt that, like most of the hidden pouches in Himiko's own costume, was mostly empty. Finishing the ensemble was what could best be described as a fighter pilot's helmet with part of the back cut off to allow her hair to flow freely down her back. Izuku had insisted that the two of them at least have some type of mask with filtration, and the two eventually agreed to his compelling arguments.
Up next was Emily, who looked less like a hero and more like a scientist. Her hero costume consisted of a pair of grey pants, a white shirt, and a white lab coat. Finishing the look, she was sporting a pair of thick goggles that were resting on top of her head, a pair of comfortable-looking work boots, and a crazy looking fingerless gauntlet on her left hand.
Himiko couldn't help but laugh when she saw the whole thing. "That's some costume you have there."
"Hey!" Emily crossed her arms and gave her best glare, which only made Himiko laugh at her more. "What's so funny?"
"You just - you look like you belong in a lab, not out fighting villains!"
"Well, obviously! Since my parents are both researchers I wanted to honor them and tailor my costume after their profession. It's not like you're any better, little miss vampire."
Himiko made sure her smile really showed off her fangs. "Well obviously, I've gotta keep with my theme as well."
Eventually the rest of the girls finished changing and they walked out to Training Ground Beta, finding Kan and the rest of their class waiting for them. "Yesterday we got you thinking about new ways to use your quirk, and today we will actually have you participate in a mock battle, to give you a feel for using your quirk in an actual fight. You will be partnered off randomly, and then teams will be drawn to determine who is facing who. The scenario is a simple one - one team will take the role of the villains, hiding a bomb inside a building, while the other team will be the heroes, assigned to either disarm the bomb or capture the villains before the time runs out and they enact their nefarious schemes."
After teams were drawn, Kan took the numbered balls back and began inserting half of them into a box - except for 2 of them. "While we are drawing lots to determine which teams face off against each other, we are making one exception. Since both Midoirya and Song have experience learning under Pro Heroes, in the interest of fairness their teams will be paired off against each other first. Give us a good demonstration and show off what you know!"
Himiko gave Emily a predatory grin at that, finding herself happy with this outcome. And judging by the look Emily was giving her back, she was just as happy with this. Meanwhile their teammates looked impressed.
"Man, Midoriya you're full of surprises, I didn't know you learned from a Pro!" Oda said.
"I don't really like advertising it, unlike the loudmouth." Himiko admitted. "Especially since it was the pro hero Vlad King." She saw a few of her classmates look at their teacher in surprise. "I just didn't want people to treat me any differently because of it."
Oda nodded in understanding. "That makes sense."
They were interrupted by Kan calling out to start the exercise. "Villain team, you will have ten minutes to set up and come up with a plan. Hero team, you will be given a set of blueprints for the building to examine during that same time to come up with your own plan."
As their opponents began to walk towards the building to set up, Himiko couldn't help but call out to them. "Hey Song! Just so you know, there's more now!" She saw Emily pale at that revelation and turned to her teammate with a satisfied grin. "Come on, let's have a look at these blueprints and figure out how we're going to handle this."
"Something tells me you already have a plan."
Himiko just grinned. "Well, I do, but it depends on the two of them splitting up. If we can isolate and capture one of them, then I can use my quirk to transform into that person, and from there we can take down the other in any number of ways. Their smartest strategy would be to stick together. I don't really have a plan for that." She admitted.
"Well, you're really good at fighting up close, right? I can help with that."
"What do you mean?"
Oda pointed to the blueprints. "This building has a lot of cement in the walls and floors, I can easily use my quirk to isolate entire areas, it's just a question of - can I actually get my walls up fast enough to split them up."
"That may work. I couldn't use my quirk to get the sneak attack on the second one, but I have other tricks they don't know about yet."
"Of course you do." Oda laughed. "I'm pretty good in a fight, but Song is almost certainly better than me, and who knows what kind of training Kin has."
"I'm pretty sure I can take Song if we can get her distracted." Himiko gave him a confident grin. "We just need to make that happen."
The pair continued making plans until the announcement came down that their trial began, at which point they walked over to the building and entered. The pair made it up to the third floor without incident, but as they made their way to the stairwell they saw Emily standing openly at the intersection leading up to the 4th floor, waiting for them. "There you are! What took you so long!" She calls out, before launching a bright ball of light down the hallway, forcing Himiko and Oda to dodge as it slams into a wall. The scorch marks it left behind a warning about what would happen if they get hit.
"What, can't take a little heat?" She calls out.
Himiko smiled of course she would split up, she's making it easy on us. "Plan A is a go!" she nodded in the direction of the window, and Oda gave her a thumbs up and ran towards it. She saw him quietly open the window and use his quirk on the outer wall, creating a path for himself outside the building, before hopping out in an attempt to flank Emily.
While Oda was doing that, Himiko drew out a throwing knife and ran across the corridor to the other side, tossing the knife at Emily. She heard a yelp and saw one of her projectiles hit the knife, knocking it out of the air. "What, can't you take a little stabbing?" Himiko called back mockingly after she had settled against the wall.
She heard Emily's flustered voice down the hallway. "Why don't you come out and fight?"
"Sorry, I'd rather not give you the chance to hit me with one of your crazy light arrows."
Emily just laughed at that, and Himiko could hear her voice getting louder. Good, come to me. "Remember, I don't need to defeat you, I just need to keep you here long enough!"
"Thanks for the reminder, I'll get right on letting you goad me into something stupid."
"Where's your partner? He's been a little too quiet, hasn't he?"
Himiko could hear the pieces clicking into place inside Emily's head. She looked down at the vial of blood she took from Oda and drank it, activating her quirk. "Oh I'm still here, don't let me interrupt the good time the two of you are having."
"Oh no, please join us. Unless Midoriya's just using her quirk to mimic you?"
Himiko kneeled against the corner. Crap, I did just let her know that part. Just have to get her a little closer. She heard Oda over the radio "Just got back inside, I had to improvise a way back in."
"Just in time! She's onto our plan." Himiko hissed into the radio.
"She's really far away from me, are you sure about this?"
"Yep, further from you means closer to me, and I work better up close."
"Alright on the count of three. One."
"Two"
"Three" Oda threw open the door from his position behind Emily and slammed his hand into the ground, a small wave rippling towards her as he activated his quirk. She turned around and jumped backwards to avoid the stone pillars that were shooting out of the ground, not caring that they were cutting off her escape route. Meanwhile Himiko rolled out from behind the corner and tossed two knives quickly at Emily.
She heard Emily's surprised cry as she unleashed a large bolt down the hallway to stop both of the knives from hitting her, but Himiko was able to dive underneath the blast, crashing into Emily. Unfortunately her momentum wasn't enough to knock her over, but at least it shook her off-balance. As she shot up Himiko threw out an elbow into her opponent's stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Grabbing the capture tape with her other hand, Himiko quickly worked to wrap the capture tape around Emily's wrists, being mindful to make sure that it was below her gloves.
"One down. Good job Midoriya!" The two watched as the temporary stone pillars retracted into the floor, replaced by a happy-looking Oda. "Now we just need to get that bomb."
"Your mistake was splitting up from your teammate." Himiko had a predatory grin as she dropped her previous transformation and looked down at Emily, removing her earpiece. She then bit into her arm as Emily let out a startled yelp. Quickly removing her coat and activating her quirk, she now looked like an exact copy of Emily. Himiko then put the earpiece into her own ear to complete the look.
Oda was grinning as he was looking at her. "Wow, I didn't see you copy my clothes yesterday."
Himiko grins back. "I didn't need to show off everything yesterday, after all. Hopefully I can fool Kin long enough to get to the bomb."
"Song, what happened down there?" Kin asked into the earpiece.
"..sorry, this equipment's having trouble with my quirk. I've taken care of the stabby girl, but the rock boy is following me!"
Something felt wrong about this. "Got it." He pushed up his glasses and withdrew a few coins from the hidden pouch in his sleeve, holding them at the ready.
He heard the rumbling as Oda's stone manipulation quirk was reshaping the walls, presumably to attack Emily as she was racing up to his location. He saw her fly into the room, barely dodging a pillar of stone that was trying to slam her into a wall, with Oda hot on her heels. Kin threw the coins in his hand, massively increasing their density at the moment of release and watched as they destroyed the next wave of pillars as they were forming.
"Thanks for the save!" Emily called, stopping near him. "Now let's deal with this guy!"
Akira slid another handful of coins from his wrist pouch and turned towards Oda, something still feeling off. He threw almost everything at the next wave of pillars, but saved a couple. His instincts were proven right when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Emily quietly moving closer to the bomb, instead of assisting him. He threw his last two coins at her, only for her to dodge out of the way, spinning into a combat stance as she landed.
"Damnit, how did you know?" Himiko called out.
"That was easy, the real Emily left me here to take on both of you at once. The fact that you didn't throw yourself right back into the fight as soon as you regrouped was a dead giveaway." He smirked. "The change of clothes was a neat trick, I didn't expect your shapeshifting to be that detailed."
Himiko sighed "Oh well, time for a new plan. Oda, plan B!" Himiko called out and suddenly Kin heard rumbling as Oda activated his quirk, and he saw entire walls rising up to separate him from Himiko. He attempted to make a run for the bomb, and with a leap was barely able to make it past the wall that was rising up. But he knew it was too late when he stood up, and didn't see Himiko anymore.
Akira was frantically looking around trying to find her when suddenly he heard Kan-sensei announcing through the loudspeaker "Hero Team Wins!" He then saw 'Emily' casually walking out from behind the bomb, before her form started dissolving, leaving a grinning Himiko behind.
"I guess I need to work on my mannerisms for the rest of the class, huh?"
Kin just smirked back. "Yeah you do. It was a good attempt though!"
Himiko groaned as they were leaving school. "Izu's already got a new notebook ready and he is going to ask me so many questions about everyone's quirks, I just know it."
Atsuko just laughed at her. "What, he didn't ask you about everyone's quirks last night?"
"Last night was… complicated." Himiko admits, still unsure about what exactly happened between him and All Might. "He got back late so I managed to dodge that conversation."
"I see, so it was just delaying the inevitable?"
Himiko could swear Atsuko enjoyed her suffering, but their conversation was interrupted by another voice behind them - one she wasn't particularly excited about responding to right now either. "Hey, Midoriya, Hotoko, wait up!"
Himiko rolled her eyes while Atsuko gave her a nudge on the shoulder and they stopped to meet with Emily. "What do you want?"
Emily caught up to them. "Midoriya, I was wrong about you. I thought you were jealous of me." She could hear Himiko snort at that. "And that you had something to prove. It caused me to underestimate you in our mock battle today."
Himiko just rolled her eyes, she was finding it was becoming a common habit where Emily was concerned. "Of course you did, you're just like everyone else in your position - you've got a great quirk and everyone treated you differently because of it. And you think you're better than everyone because of it. And since one of your opponents was going to be fighting essentially quirkless, that made you think you could just take both of us."
Emily looked like she was punched in the gut at that statement - which was not the reaction they were expecting. Her face fell. "I know."
"Why?"
"Your quirk is pretty cool, but you said it yourself - it's best suited for underground work. I- I thought that if I forced you into a straight up fight, you would have no chance."
That actually angered Himiko. "Which completely ignores the fact that I had been training under our homeroom teacher for months! It should have been obvious I was never going to let you have a straightforward fight like that!"
"When I was growing up, between the company my parents keep and going to private schools, I was mostly surrounded by heroes and their children. I just sort of thought that was how things were? We were always comparing our quirks against each other. Everyone was telling me how strong my quirk was - and how easy it would be for me to be a top-tier hero."
"Of course you did, welcome the origin story of any number of assholes."
"Isn't that a step too far?" Emily almost pleaded.
"Is it? Don't you know how many kids get away with whatever they want because of their quirk? Because teachers don't want to ruin their chances to become a hero?"
"No, I don't." She admitted.
Himiko looked at her warily. She was expecting her to be far more defensive than she was acting. "If you want to be a hero you are going to have to pay more attention. I was always treated worse because my quirk is blood-based, I was forced to hide and suppress it to pretend to have a normal life. It wasn't until last year that that changed." She looked at Atsuko.
Emily looked genuinely saddened by that. "I'm sorry." she responded softly. "I never had to deal with that, everyone just assumed I would be a hero. Even at UA these last few days - everyone here is from different backgrounds, but people put me on a different level because I am a recommendation student. You are the first person to actually call me out."
"Someone needed to do it." Himiko grumbled. "And you were right, I do have something to prove. But not to you - I want the next kid born with cute little fangs and a blood-based quirk to know that even they can be a hero if they want to - that their quirk isn't a curse."
"Thank you for telling me." Emily started looking guilty. "I guess I have a lot to think about."
Himiko looked at Atsuko for support, and sighed. She could just hear Izuku in her head telling her what she should do. So she forced out the next part. "Just - think about what kind of hero you want to be, ok? Don't just be a hero because you've been told you have an amazing quirk. We have enough assholes doing that already."
Himiko turned around and began walking away.
Izuku was currently working on one of three new notebooks - his own personal notebook. Sitting next to him was his previous notebook - 'My Hero Career #1.' It was filled with support items and ideas on how to try and compensate for his quirklessness, and recently he even added a section on various types of fighting styles that he could learn.
While that notebook still had useful information, yesterday's encounter changed everything. Right now he was busy copying over all of his notes on All Might's quirk into a brand new notebook, updating the parts that he can without actually writing down sensitive information about One For All or its special properties. He also took special care to copy down every theory he ever had about All Might's quirk, as well as a few others that he had previously read but immediately discounted.
Once the euphoria wore off and Izuku was in the comfort of his bed last night, he realized that there is a huge problem staring him in the face - he's going to need a cover story, and a good one. Not only is he going to have to explain how he manifested a quirk at the age of 15, he's going to have to come up with a good explanation for what that quirk is, preferably without making people think that it was the exact same quirk as All Might's.
His organization was interrupted when he heard Himiko come in, and with all the joy of someone awaiting execution, announced "Izu, I'm home, and we had combat trials today."
Izuku found himself smiling. As much as Himiko teases him about his hobby, and can only take his quirk analysis in small doses, she still supports him it. Even if she complains the entire time. Shoving his special notebook into the back of a drawer, he picked up the second of his new notebooks "Hero Analysis for the future: UA edition #1"
"Coming, Himi!"
He has ten months to figure out a cover story, but for right now, there are 18 new quirks for him to learn about.
Chapter 10: His training begins
For Izuku, the rest of the school week was surreal. He wasn't expecting the level of fallout that was waiting for him when he returned to school the next day. Sure the news reporters didn't release the names of the two kids involved, but once you identified the Aldera school uniform, the identities of the kid who has an explosion quirk, and the kid with the distinctive green hair, were easy to puzzle out for his classmates. As Izuku walked the halls of school the next day, he noticed quite a few people were looking at him with new eyes, and some even looked in awe of what he did. And on top of that, there were even a few people who came up and told him that what he did was super cool, risking his life like that. If only they knew the full story.
On the other side of things, there was Bakugo. From what Izuku could piece together from listening in the hallway, apparently a number of kids in his former homeroom told Bakugo they felt bad for him being the victim of a villain attack. And he didn't take that well - at all. Since homeroom, Bakugo has been going out of his way to make sure everyone is paying attention to him, and that they knew he was strong and how he had everything under control. For that first day, Izuku was worried about Bakugo taking out some of his anger on him. However, after surviving unscathed, since Bakugo seemed to ignore his very existence, he felt the nervous tension that he was used to carrying around leaving. I guess he doesn't want anyone else to piece together what happened. Beyond everyone who already knows, that is.
That new sense of normal continued throughout the rest of the week. After the strangeness he felt on the first day, Izuku found himself quickly adjusting to it, allowing him to get down to more important matters. He began focusing on school work, in preparation for the UA exam, and talking with All Might to lay the groundwork for his training!
In the evenings, Izuku was trading text messages and phone calls back and forth with All Might. Izuku was quizzed on what training he had, as well as his current physical abilities. When Izuku spelled it all out, he realized how far he still had to go. He was always small and wiry, and while he had picked up some useful training in the past few months, it sounded so insignificant when he was actually laying it out for his mentor and idol. How did I ever think I was going to make it into UA in my current condition? Thankfully, All Might was always quick to laugh and assure him that everything was ok! And that he was impressed by the training he had managed to obtain.
Finally, the weekend arrived and Izuku woke up bright and early. Today he was going to actually begin his training with All Might! He could still barely believe it was happening. But before training begins, the two of them have to give the cover story to his mom - and it has to survive contact with his family.
At precisely 8 AM, Izuku heard a knock on the door. He ran to open it, and saw All Might standing there. Or rather, his true form, where he was merely an emaciated skeleton of a man. All of All Might's effort to hide his current appearance worked in his favor today, where he could visit the Midoriya household and not be recognized. Izuku let him in while Inko came to see who their guest was.
"Good morning ma'am, are you young Midoriya's mother?"
"I am, my name is Inko Midoriya. And you are?" Inko knew Izuku was expecting someone, but wasn't expecting him to look like - that.
"My name is Toshinori Yagi, one of All Might's assistants at Might Tower. After your son managed to impress him so thoroughly, he asked me to assist in this young man's training."
"I'm glad he found someone! He has been taking things seriously for a few months - he has signed up for martial arts classes and even has been getting weekly lessons with a pro hero alongside his sister! But now that Himiko has started high school he hasn't been able to find someone to continue his training." Inko admitted.
"It is their loss then. From simply speaking on the phone with Young Midoriya, his determination shines brightly. I can't wait to see how he grows with my guidance."
"Are you really associated with All Might?" Himiko asked skeptically as she came out of her room. "I was expecting someone a bit more… muscular?" She looked towards her mom, who gave a guilty look and nodded in agreement.
Izuku could only grin nervously as All Might chuckled at that. "I agree that my appearance can be surprising to people who aren't prepared for it, but I assure you, your brother is in good hands!"
Izuku nodded furiously alongside him. "Yeah Himi! All Might wouldn't just let anyone train me!"
Himiko crossed her arms and gave All Might a threatening glare. "All right, I'll believe you, but if anything happens to Izu I will find you, and you won't like what happens when I do."
All Might laughed at that. "Young Midoriya, you didn't tell me your sister was as spirited as you are!"
Izuku could only nervously laugh and rub the back of his head because holy crap Himiko was threatening to take on All Might if something happened to him. "Yeah, I think ever since she joined us we have been rubbing off on each other. Oh! And Himi actually started attending UA this year as well."
"Oh really?" All Might looked at Himiko with happiness in his eyes. "I am glad knowing that we have such wonderful people training to be the next generation of heroes!"
"So what do you need from us?" Inko asked, diverting the conversation back to the original topic.
"Nothing much. Your permission to let me train him, and then he will need your moral support for the next ten months. I will be pushing him hard during the days we will actually be training, harder than anything he has done before."
Inko looked fondly at her son. "Izuku was always so happy chasing his dreams of being a hero. If this makes him happy, and lets him chase his dream, then I will help however I can."
Izuku smiled and nodded vigorously. "Yeah! I know this is going to be hard, but it will be worth it, I promise!" He pumped his fist in the air.
A short while later, the two were finally able to escape. After the door closed behind them, Izuku breathed a sigh of relief, much to All Might's amusement. "I like your family, young Midoriya!"
"T-thank you!" Izuku responded happily.
"Now then, we have wasted enough time on formalities, onto the training!"
All Might led Izuku to a pickup truck, and the two of them drove the short distance to Takoba Municipal Beach Park, although 'landfill' may more accurately describe its current state. When they got there All Might led Izuku into the large mounds of trash, where he looked around in confusion.
"W-what are we doing here?"
All Might could only laugh as he switched to his muscle form and jumped on top of one of the larger piles. "This is the site of your training! You see, right now you are an unworthy vessel."
Izuku's face fell. "Wait, what about everything we just did!?"
All Might jumped back down and laughed. "You are taking it the wrong way! While your noble spirit is ready, your body has a long way to go." He took out his phone and took a picture of Izuku. "From our conversations, your current training has been focusing on other aspects of your body - your speed, agility and endurance. While those are important things to have, to properly prepare your body to hold One For All, we will need to build up your strength and muscle mass! Without the proper muscle mass to help your body hold One For All, it's likely that your body would tear itself apart if I were to give it to you in your current state. And then from the sounds of it your sister would also try to hunt me down." He added at the end, to make light of the situation.
"One For All?"
"Ah yes, I forgot to mention that, didn't I?" All Might nervously rubbed the back of his head. "One For All is the name of my quirk - I had meant to explain more about it later today, as well."
"Oh." Izuku felt relieved, but also slightly concerned. "And after my training, will my body be ready for One For All?"
"Yes! Unfortunately, there are some conditions to that - you will only be able to use a fraction of its power at the end of my training. Ten months is simply not enough time to get you into proper shape to use One For All. But, we have a deadline!"
Izuku nodded. "The UA entrance exam."
"Exactly! Once you pass the exam, there will be plenty of time and opportunity for you to build yourself up even further, and gain mastery over my quirk. And then when the time is right I can step down and you will take my place."
"As your successor?" Izuku spoke with a sense of awe in his voice.
"Exactly!" All Might suddenly grew into his muscle form and struck a pose. "Now then! Let's begin!" He returned to Izuku and handed him a stack of papers.
"What is this?"
"Why this is your training plan! Did you think I wouldn't be prepared after I asked you all of those questions this week?"
Izuku looked at it, a weekly schedule, milestone goals, and even a list of recipes tailored for his heavy workout regimens. He would have to go over it himself later. What ended up catching his attention was the plans for the beach itself. "Y-you want me to clear this entire beach?"
"Not the entire beach, young Midoriya! Just a single kilometer of it. You see, one thing that many modern heroes have forgotten is that being a hero isn't just about defeating villains. There are other aspects such as performing community service that are important as well."
Izuku looked around at the mountains of trash that surrounded him. "A-and cleaning this beach is a part of that?"
"Exactly! This used to be a beautiful beach, years ago in my early days. However, over time the ocean currents began depositing trash here, and it quickly fell into neglect. One thing led to another, and people started making it worse by quietly dumping their own trash here, and well, here we are." He swept his hand to emphasize the amount of garbage that was there.
Izuku nodded along, the explanation making sense to him, even if it made him a little sad that people would do that. "And how does this help with training?"
"You see, with all of the trash around, there will be plenty of opportunity for you to exercise different muscle groups." He took the papers back and shuffled to a different page, before returning them. On this new page were notes and diagrams showing how various objects could be used as improvised weights for lifting exercises. "When we pair this with more regular exercise routines, such as morning jogs, your body will begin to build up the necessary strength and muscle mass."
Izuku returned to the first page and reviewed it. "1 kilometer of beach, so that's an average of 100 meters a month." He looked down the beach and tried to picture a single 100 meter segment, and even that amount of trash was daunting. But he couldn't fail! His face filled with determination as he nodded to All Might. "So, where do we begin?"
All Might smiled and laughed, before quickly dashing off to his truck. He returned quickly carrying a bundle of rope. "First, we will use this to create a harness so you can pull that fridge, and then I will show you how to properly pull such a heavy object!"
After a few hours of training Izuku collapsed on the beach for his first break. Returning from his truck, All Might produced a pair of bento boxes and some bottles of water.
Once they were sitting and eating lunch, Izuku pulled out his notebook. "All Might, you said you would tell me more about your quirk. Is now a good time?"
All Might laughed at that. "It's never a break for you, is it? Now that you have begun training it is time to explain more about One For All."
Izuku nodded vigorously. "I was trying to think about what it meant, but its name didn't give any clues beyond the theories I already have."
All Might laughed at that. "Of course it doesn't! Its origins are from a long time ago, near the dawn of quirks, actually! Back then people came up with colorful names - before people realized that simple, descriptive names were far less of a hassle. As for what it is - my quirk gathers the strength of each user and stores it within itself, and then when the time is right, that collective strength is passed onto the next person."
"I see," Izuku put his thumb on his lip as he began thinking. "So in essence, it acts as an energy storage and enhancement quirk, just on a bigger timeline?"
All Might smiled at Izuku. "Exactly! Unlike your average quirk, One For All has stored the strength of generations of heroes! I am currently the 8th wielder of this power, and you will be its 9th."
Izuku's eyes widened at that. "No wonder you are so strong! Your normal physical enhancement quirk doesn't explain the feats you have accomplished!"
"Indeed, and once you have mastered its full power, you will be even stronger than I am!"
Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat at that revelation, suddenly feeling the full weight of his decision. "T-that is a lot of responsibility."
"It is, young Midoriya. I did not choose you lightly. And I hope you understand why I kept you in the dark until I was sure about you."
Izuku nods. "How many people know about One For All? What it really is, I mean?"
"Currently? Besides you and I there are six other people who know about it. Due to its very nature, it is important that once I give you this power, you only tell people you absolutely trust."
Izuku felt the weight on his shoulders growing, taking the advice for what it was - a warning about what could happen if the wrong person learned about One For All.
They cleaned up from lunch and fell into a routine for the rest of the day's training. All Might would teach Izuku the proper way to move a certain type of object to turn it into a proper exercise routine, and then Izuku would practice that exercise until he was comfortable with it, and then they would move on to the next type.
As the sun began going down for the day, Izuku lay on the sand, breathing heavily, when he felt All Might place a bottle of water on his chest. He thanked All Might as he sat up to drink it.
"You did good today kid."
"Thanks." Izuku looked back at the patch they have cleared today. Even though it was his first day, and even though it was only one spot, he could see visible progress.
Izuku felt All Might's hand on his shoulder. "I am glad to see your unwavering determination in the face of a challenge. That will serve you well in the future."
"How so?"
All Might smiled at him. "In the future you will face many insurmountable challenges. And each one will be a test of your strength. In these situations, your true character will emerge, and people will see what kind of hero you are."
Izuku looked confused. "Didn't I already answer what kind of hero I want to be though? I want to be the kind of hero that saves everyone with a smile on their face, just like you."
All Might laughed at that. "That's a good answer, but you're answering the wrong question." He poked Izuku's chest right where his heart was. "That is the kind of hero you want to be, but not the hero you are. It's easy to smile when you're stopping a small-time villain. What happens when your back is to the wall? What motivates you to keep going? What caused you to push through the crowds and attack that slime villain when everyone else refused to act?"
Izuku's eyes drifted to All Might's stomach, and Izuku swallowed nervously. "I - I'm not sure."
All Might gave a resigned sigh, but still smiled at him. "So you've got all this drive and you don't even know why huh?"
"What about you All Might? What made you decide to become the Symbol of Peace?"
He sat down next to Izuku. "Back when I was a kid, it was a different world. Crime was rampant, Villains operated openly, and being a hero was much more dangerous - you kept your identity a secret because you didn't want your life or your loved ones threatened, not like today where heroes do it simply to avoid media attention."
Izuku frowned at that. "That sounds scary."
"It was under those conditions that I met my mentor, and I told her about my vision for a peaceful Japan - one where the people feel safe, and the villains kept to the shadows. She was impressed by my resolve, just as I am impressed by your own resolve, and she made me her successor."
"And you think I have a similar vision?"
"Kid, I know you do. There is no way you would push yourself as hard as you do otherwise." All Might's forced smile became genuine. "I have one more assignment for you. Before I pass One For All on to you, I want you to tell me what it is that drives you."
Determination filling his face, Izuku nodded and pumped his fist into the air. "I will figure it out!"
Himiko was sitting down for lunch with her budding group of friends - she and Atsuko easily became friends with Hideo and Sakura, and the four of them began eating lunch and planning study sessions and hangout activities together. However today, after she sat down she felt the presence of a fifth person approaching the table.
"Would it be ok if I joined you for lunch?" Emily asked, her timid voice a sharp contrast to her normally boisterous personality.
Himiko looked around the table and seeing everyone's eyes on her confirmed what she already knew - they were ok with this, and wanted to know where she stood. With a particular look from Atsuko that made her feel guilty. Dammit Suko, why do you have to tag team with Izu and be so noble?
With a sigh she turned to face Emily. "You can join us, on one condition - you don't make me want to stab you."
Emily let out a strangled cry, and everyone at the table laughed at that, Himiko even found herself grinning at Emily's response as she sputtered back. "H-Hey, don't joke about that! That's not funny!"
"No, I have to side with Midoriya here, your responses to her threats are always going to be funny." Hideo admitted.
WIth a huff, Emily recovered and sat down at the table, the tension broken. "I have been thinking a lot about what Midoriya said to me, and want to start over, if you are willing to let me."
Himiko looked at Emily, at a loss for words. "S-sure, we can start over." She managed to stutter out.
Maybe she misjudged her, after all.
Chapter 11: Her first school festival
On the morning of the first day of the sports festival, a nervous energy filled class 1-B. A little over a week ago, Aizawa-sensei expelled his entire class due to an incident at USJ. Which meant that for the sports festival this year, there was only one Heroics class participating in the festival - theirs. A nervous energy filled the class as they stood in the waiting area, impatiently waiting for the announcement calling them into the stadium.
Once cue, they entered the stadium. Present Mic could be heard over the loudspeaker. "And now, introducing the Heroics students of the sports festival, class 1-B!" And everyone in the class could feel the attention on them.
Present Mic continued. "With only one heroics class right now, will this be their time to shine? Now introducing General Studies courses C, D, and E! As well as support courses F, G, and H!" A few students stole glances at the other classes and saw the same nervous energy coursing through them as well. For the students who had watched sports festivals in the past, the air felt different this time.
The students all met up around the stage erected on one side of the arena as Midnight ascended it. "Oooh, look at all this youthful vigor this year!" She gave a dangerous smile. "I can't wait to see how you all impress me." She pointed out into the crowd. "But first! To give the opening address, the student who scored the highest in the entrance exam from Class 1-B, Habiki Hideo!"
Hideo climbed up to the stand and looked around at the other classes. "I know this year is a little unconventional - but like Present Mic said, this is an opportunity. Since the beginning of the school year, I have learned that anyone can be a hero. It's not just about your quirk, but rather the drive and passion of the person. So for those watching in the stands - I ask that you don't discount my fellow students, just because they're not on the Hero track. And to my fellow first years - now is the time for you to shine. If you want to be a hero, now is your chance for you to stand up and let the world know!"
A loud cheer erupted among all of the first year students, the energy surrounding the general studies and support classes changed somehow after his speech. Hideo smiled and pumped his fist into the air. "Plus Ultra!"
The entire stadium responded "Plus Ultra!" and Hideo returned to his classmates, who were smiling at him and congratulating him on the speech. In truth, he only scored 4th overall in the practical exam, but with Class 1-As absence, he was the perfect student to give the speech this year.
"And now, to introduce the first event of this year." Midnight held out our microphone, and a giant wheel appeared on the screen, spinning only to stop on 'Maze race.' The image of the wheel being replaced by a giant maze.
"Outside the arena is a two kilometer long maze. Your goal as students is to navigate the maze and be the first to the end! But beware, there are a number of obstacles in the maze waiting to slow you down! The first 42 people to reach the end will be moving to the next round!"
As the classes were ushered to the entrance, Himiko felt a hand on her shoulder, and Sakura whispering in her ear. "Stay close to me when this starts." Looking at her out of the side of her eye, Himiko nodded in understanding. Shortly afterwards, the students were standing in front of 5 large gates - the first challenge of the maze.
When the horn sounded to announce the start of the race, Himiko didn't charge forward like the majority of the students. Instead she locked eyes on Sakura and forced her way over to her, seeing their mutual friends all grouping up. Sakura then voiced her plan. "Sorry to hold you all back, but there's nothing in the rules against working together, so I thought it best we handled this as a team?"
"I think I speak for everyone here when I say we're in!" Emily declares, earning supportive nods from the other three. "So, Sakura, you're obviously our navigator, where do we go?"
Sakura pointed to the gates with students still frantically moving back and forth between them as they were forced to double back. "Let's go into the 4th gate, that is the only one that hasn't had students running back out."
The five continued as a group, easily settling into a familiar rhythm. Himiko and Atsuko were scouting ahead, disabling or blocking the traps they found - from nets and mines filled with glue, to the occasional robot from the entrance exam. Meanwhile Hideo and Song were periodically using their quirks to create a shortcut by blowing holes in walls that weren't trapped. And they were all guided by Sakura who is using her hearing to eliminate dead ends.
They were about halfway through when they heard the announcement. "And we have our winner! Mawata Fuwa from General Studies is the first through the maze! But the show's not over folks, everyone else is only halfway through!"
"Fuwa, wasn't she originally in class 1-A?" Atsuko asked.
"Yes, she applied to join general studies after her expulsion. It appears that the school rushed through the process to allow her and about a dozen others back in, just in time for the sports festival." Sakura replied.
Undaunted by the news, the group continued onward, finding more traps and less clues as their group pulled ahead of the other students. They finally made it to the last challenge - an open room, with the goal at the other side, and as they began carefully crossing the room, they saw another group of students - they weren't the only members of Class 1-B who decided to group up.
"Quick, we can still beat them!" They heard Yuki call out behind them as she shifted into her liquid form and began racing across the room as a living wave.
"Guess we were being too careful, go!" Hideo punched the ground and unleashed a massive shockwave forward, triggering a number of landmines and coating most of the ground in glue before he broke into a run.
Himiko found herself running alongside the rest of her friends, dodging and sliding underneath traps that were trying to catch her, meanwhile hearing the sounds of Yuki catching up. She forced herself to go faster, racing across the finish line, only stopping to turn around once she was back in the arena.
"Damn Midoriya, I didn't know you had it in you!" Yuki called out as she reformed into her human form. "Not many people can keep up with me like that."
Himiko was panting, but happy. "We had the distance advantage, if you were any closer I would have been done for!"
"True!"
The two groups of classmates and friends met back up and congratulated each other, looking at their final standings as the board updated.
1 - Mawata Fuwa - General Studies
2 - Kenji Ryo - Heroics
…
5 - Himiko Midoriya - Heroics
6 - Amaya Yuki - Heroics
7 - Habiki Hideo - Heroics
8 - Atsuko Hotoko - Heroics
9 - Emily Song - Heroics
10 - Tomoe Sakura - Heroics
"Yes!" Himiko cheered. "We all made it!"
In the end, all of Class 1-B managed to make it into the top 42. Besides them, an unprecedented six students from the support studies, and 16 students from general studies also made it to the next round - although half of the general studies students were former members of class 1-A, fighting for their right to rejoin the heroics course.
After being given a short break, the students who moved onto the second round were once again gathered on the field, in front of Midnight and the podium. "Well that was an exciting race! And many of you have even learned the value of teamwork. That's great! Those skills will surely come in handy in the next round as well, where you will be teaming up for the elimination match." She gestured to the screen, which changed to a spinning roulette wheel, stopping on 'Capture the Flag.'
"You each will form teams of two to four, and will be given a flag worth a number of points based on your teammate's individual standings in the first race. You will have fifteen minutes to capture as many opposing flags and return them to your 'base' as you can. The top sixteen finalists from the teams that have scored the most points will advance to the finals!"
"So, we're teaming up, right?" Emily was in front of Himiko, a smirk on her face. "I've seen what you've done in our infiltration classes, and there's no way I'm letting someone else poach you first."
Himiko found herself smiling back. "Teaming up worked well last time, I don't see why we should break it up."
"Actually." Sakura spoke up. "My friend from the support course, and some of his classmates made it in as well." Sakura gestured to the group of support students who were waving at her. "I am going to join them for this round. After Hideo's speech, I told myself that I would support him if he made it through the first round."
"Aww, but you're also super strong for this!" Emily was visibly pouting.
Sakura smiled at that. "Exactly. You all are amazing and don't need my help."
Hideo was the next to speak up. "I think I'm going to follow Sakura's lead. I know my quirk won't absolutely destroy this challenge like Midoriya's or Sakura's will, but I think some of the general studies kids could use the experience from our heroics lessons."
"Suko, what about you?" Himiko asked.
Atsuko gave the pair a reassuring smile. "I will team up with the two of you. You'll need someone to keep the two of you from killing each other, after all." Both Emily and Himiko sputtered in indignation, earning a laugh from Atsuko. "But who should we pick for the fourth?"
"If you ladies don't mind, I think I could bring a lot to the team." They turned and saw a pink-haired girl approaching them. "My name is Mawata Fuwa, and I think we could work well together."
After the 15 minutes of pairing up and strategizing were up, the students formed 13 teams in total. They were all ushered off the field. Then parts of the arena floor opened up, and 13 small bunkers rose out of the ground, one for each team. Each bunker was a small structure consisting of 2 front rooms, and a larger back room with a flagpole to hang the flags from.
Himiko looked at her teammates as they walked out to the central bunker - since Fuwa had the highest point total, not only did they have an additional 10 million points on their score, which ensured that whomever held their flag at the end was guaranteed to be in first place, but they also were assigned the central structure. Midnight explained that this was apparently a lesson about heroics that they needed to learn - when you're at the top of the rankings, everyone will be paying attention to you.
Emily's original plan was for a more even split between offense and defense, but with Fuwa and her 10 million points, they decided that Fuwa, Atsuko, and Emily will all stay at the bunker and play defense. With Fuwa's cloud-walking, Atsuko's barriers, and Emily's light arrows, they were confident in their ability to hold their flag. Meanwhile, Himiko's job was to try and cause as much chaos as possible, a task she was perfectly happy with, since it let her show off a bit. After all, if people were busy elsewhere, that meant less pressure on her teammates.
Himiko started by cautiously weaving between buildings until she found a general studies student who was carrying a flag back to their own base. Taking a deep breath, she blanked herself out and ran out, grabbing him in an arm lock and pulling him behind a bunker, out of line of sight of his teammates. She tossed him onto the ground where he landed with a heavy thud, and she was on top of him, pinning him to the ground.
"Sorry about this, but I need a teensy bit of your blood." She bit into his arm, drawing a small stream of blood that she licked up, and in one swift motion grabbed his flag while he was instinctively recoiling at her bite. She stood up and activated her transformation, leaning close to his ear and speaking to him in his own voice. "I suggest you don't follow me."
Taking a moment to put on a slightly panicked face, Himiko jogged back to the student's teammates waving her flag. "You don't know how much trouble I had getting this!" She almost felt bad when they happily let her walk right in through the front door, expecting her to hook the flag onto their own pole. That is, until she realized that they stopped paying attention to her as soon as she was inside. They were making it too easy on her! Making a decision, she dropped her transformation before grabbing their flag and making a run for it. "Sorry about that, thanks for the flag though!"
She heard their shouts of protest and when she looked back saw that one of them was trying to chase after her, but she was too fast and quickly began gaining distance. She also seemed to confuse them by not running towards her own central base. Instead, she was making a bee-line to the bunker Sakura was in. As she approached she saw a support student wearing a motorcycle helmet similar to the one Sakura wears as part of her hero costume, levelling some sort of projectile launcher at her. "Hey hold on there! I'm here to talk to Sakura. I know she's in there and she can hear me!"
Sure enough, the student stopped pointing the launcher at her and ushered her inside, where Sakura was standing in the front room. "I assume you have a good reason to be here, Midoriya?"
"I come with a peace offering!" Himiko offers her the two flags. "If you avoid going after our flag, these are yours!"
"And what is stopping us from just taking them from you and then going for your flag?" The support student behind her asked.
Himiko just rolled her eyes. "Please, you wouldn't be able to stop us from taking all of your flags."
"I am afraid she is right." Sakura said. "Their team would have no problem overpowering us and reclaiming their flag, as well as all of ours."
The student crossed his arms. "They're your friends Tomoe, if you think this truce is the way to go, we can avoid the middle."
"It's a deal, then." Sakura smiled as Himiko handed over the two flags. "Good luck keeping your own flag."
"I'll see you all in the next round!" Himiko called out as she left.
Having secured one temporary alliance, Himiko spent the rest of the time sowing confusion among the other teams. She was happily bouncing around, using her agility and stealth to ambush unaware students and gather a few drops of their blood, and then once she had a few potential transformations built up inside of her she just had fun. She would grab flags from people thinking she was their ally, casually dropped flags to get people fighting over them, and even in a few cases handed flags over to Sakura and Hideo's teammates. It had the desired effect - by the end she had people actively focused on her, and not on her teammates who were comfortably holding down their base.
This continued until the 15 minutes were up. At the end Himiko was tired, but happy as she returned to her base in the middle. She had done her job masterfully - by the end half the teams had turned against each other, and her own team only had to deal with the odd person trying to assault their base and capture their flag.
"Ok, remind me never to get on your bad side." Fuwa sad as Himiko walked into the bunker with a huge smile on her face. "I have never seen one person cause so much chaos before."
Himiko just leaned against a wall. "Thanks!"
"No, I should be thanking you all." Fuwa said as she looked at their 10 million point flag standing untouched. "The three of you gave me the chance that I wanted. I screwed up badly and got expelled for it. I may not deserve a second chance, but I want one anyway."
"If you get back in, you'd better be the best hero you can possibly be, otherwise Midoriya and I will come after you." Emily stated, and Himiko nodded in agreement.
Concern briefly crossed Fuwa's face. "I will keep that in mind."
The team left their temporary base and returned to the rally area where the other teams were also assembling. When they arrived Fuwa broke off to return to the other general studies students while the remaining three met up with their classmates to see how they did. They didn't get long to talk, however, before Midnight returned to the stage. "The points have been tallied and we have our top teams!" Midnight announces, stepping to the side to reveal the scoreboard.
1 - Team Fuwa - 10,000,535 points
2 - Team Ryo - 1,165 points
3 - Team Sakura - 955 points
4 - Team Hideo - 685 points
"The top four teams each had 4 students, so all of the students on these teams will be advancing to the final round!"
Everyone had a moment to cheer and congratulate each other, before Midnight called for silence so she could continue. "And now, it is time to reveal the final game of the festival." With a flourish of her microphone, the screen once again shifted to the wheel, which was rapidly spinning, stopping on 'Sword Fighting' before the image changed to an image of two stick figures swinging katanas at each other.
"Students will be given a reinforced foam Katana to duel with, and the first person to connect 3 times will be declared the winner. Alternatively, you can force your opponent to concede."
"That actually makes sense, given the make-up of the finalists." Sakura noted. "With the number of general studies students here, it would be best to pick something to handicap our class compared to some activity that was more hand to hand combat oriented."
"Yeah, and it forces us to get creative with our quirks!" Emily interjected. "Hideo and I can't just blow people out of the ring, so we will have to show our ability to think on our feet. I like it!"
Himiko was silent as her friends talked. She knew this wasn't ideal for showing off her quirk - but she wanted to try! She just had to figure out how.
"And here are the brackets for the final round!" Midnight raised her microphone and struck a pose, and the screen once again changed, to show the brackets.
Himiko saw her first round opponent, and her throat went dry. This was the worst possible outcome for her.
Himiko Midoriya vs Atsuko Hotoko
"Suko, can we talk?"
Atsuko stood up in surprise. "Himi, shouldn't you be in your own locker room getting ready?"
"Yeah, about that." Himiko bit her lower lip. "I have a favor to ask for our match?"
"If you want me to throw the match, there's no chance." She crossed her arms and gave Himiko a confident grin.
"No! Nothing like that. It's just - we both know this format is going to heavily favor you." Himiko sighed. "I promise to give it my all, but I'm also being realistic in my chances here. We've both practiced together enough to know each other's fighting styles, and the format with our quirks in play just tilts that in your favor. But the real problem I'm having is that even if I somehow manage to win, I just can't see any way to show off my quirk - against you or any of the opponents."
"So before I kick your ass you want me to give you a chance to drink my blood so you can transform?"
"Yep!"
"My, how bold of you." Atsuko giggled as Himiko blushed. The room fell into a heavy silence as she thought it over. "How about this, right when the match starts I let you drink some blood so you can transform. We can even make a show of it. But then after that, we reset positions and begin the fight proper? No dirty tricks while I leave myself open."
Himiko jumped up in the air and cheered. "Deal! You're the best Suko!"
Atsuko's confident grin was replaced by her more gentle smile. "What are friends for?"
"Begin!" They heard Midnight's call to begin the fight, but instead of the two fighting, the crowd was confused when Himiko and Atsuko both placed their weapons on the ground and calmly walked towards the center of the ring, facing each other.
"Are you ready to do this Suko?"
"Yep." Atsuko offered out her hand, which Himiko gently took into her own, and with great care leaned down and bit into her palm. She could hear the crowd gasp as she felt the blood pool in her mouth. Don't listen to them. This is why you are doing this, so that the next little kid doesn't have to go through what you did.
She let go of Atsuko's hand and closed her mouth, swallowing Atsuko's blood and activating her quirk as she felt the warm slime wrap around her, transforming her to match her friend. She could hear Present Mic in the background saying something, but all she could do was focus on Atsuko at that moment, afraid to look anywhere else and see what the reaction was. Atsuko walked over and hugged a shaking Himiko, before raising Himiko's arm in the air and gesturing, as if she was presenting her. "Think that was good enough?"
Himiko flashed her a quick smile. "Yeah, that should do it. Thank you for letting me do that."
"Anytime Himi."
The two walked back to their original positions and retrieved their weapons, before bowing to each other. Himiko let her transformation drop away as she slid into a fighting stance, waiting for Atsuko to do the same, and then she charged.
She tried to feint high and switch to a low strike, but Atsuko was intimately familiar with her fighting style, and had created a barrier that she felt her katana connect with, bouncing off slightly. She barely had time to recover and raise her katana into a defensive posture before Atsuko swung in, their blades bouncing off of each other.
"A feint, really? If that's your opener you're in trouble Himi."
Himiko grinned back. "I'm just warming up." She then swung in with a series of trusts, realizing too late that Atsuko took her left hand off of her hilt until she felt her katana strike another barrier, causing Himiko to lose her balance, the momentary slip up being all her friend needed and Himiko felt the katana connect with her side.
"First point goes to Hotoko!" She heard Present Mic loudly scream over the speaker system and Himiko hopped back to give herself space.
"Are you ready to give up yet?"
"No chance!" Himiko called before she charged again. Ok, normal strategies don't work, time to be a little reckless. She saw Atsuko's sword rise up and could see the barrier forming in front of her, but at the last second she hopped to her left, swinging her sword wildly to her right as she passed, hoping it would connect.
"A trade in points! Midoriya's wild gamble managed to get her past Hotoko's barriers, but Hotoko was fast enough to land a blow as well! The score is now 2 to 1!"
Himiko didn't stop and kept moving, only turning around when she had gained some space.
"Good one Himi! But not good enough!" She was openly smiling, confident in her advantage.
If I can just distract her for one second. Atsuko charged in and Himiko now found herself on the defensive, parrying Atsuko's rapid thrusts. At least she can't use her barriers when attacking. Himiko was at a standstill until Atsuko made the mistake of switching back to swings, at which point Himiko countered with a firm swing of her own, hitting her opponents weapon with more force than Atsuko was expecting.
Now! While Atsuko was distracted trying to regain her grip Himiko made several quick hops around her to get behind her, and attempted to use her blanking technique. Letting her instincts guide her, she swung her sword, connecting a second time, landing a blow on her opponent's shoulder.
"Midoriya manages to tie it up folks! It is now a match point for both of our contestants!"
The two girls both hopped back to give each other space.
"I thought I wasn't good enough?" It was Himiko's turn to throw out the taunts.
"You're getting better!"
Atsuko and Himiko began circling each other, each looking for an opening. Atsuko was now more wary and Himiko could see her rapidly generating small barriers off of her hands as they moved, their telltale shimmer quickly appearing and disappearing as they moved.
Atsuko stopped and got into a ready stance, and Himiko, not seeing the effects of her opponent's quirk, decided to gamble on what worked before, charging in. She was getting ready to dodge to the side again, but suddenly her foot caught on the corner of something. When she looked down she saw the shimmer of Atsuko's barriers, right above the floor of the arena. She turned just in time to see Atsuko look guilty as her katana came down and touched Himiko's back, scoring the final point.
"Hotoko wins! What an intense match!"
"Owww." Himiko landed on her face, her training momentarily forgotten. When she pushed herself up she saw Atsuko looking guilty as she offered her hand.
"Sorry Himi, I know that was dirty."
"It worked though." Himiko grabbed her friend's hand and used the leverage to pull herself up.
"What an incredible display of sportsmanship from our competitors, let's hear it for them!"
Midnight came out to raise Atsuko's hand, the crowd cheering for her while Himiko walked off the field.
As Himiko returned to the bleachers she saw Sakura turning and waving to get her attention. "Midoriya, you did great!"
She looked up and smiled. "Yeah? How are people taking it?" This is the part that worried her, how people were going to respond.
"Really well!" Her friend said, and held her hand out. Himiko walked down to her seat and took Sakura's hand, letting Sakura use her quirk on her.
"You know, a quirk like that would be super useful for information gathering. Nobody would suspect a thing!"
"It's a shame that her method for transformation causes such a visceral reaction, she could be a top ranking hero if it wasn't for the popularity contest aspect."
"I would love to have her as a sidekick at my agency. There's so many applications for a shapeshifting quirk."
"You're right, I feel bad now for my snap judgment when I saw her just bite into her opponent at first."
"I almost wish she didn't have to debut herself on national television like that. Hopefully too many villains don't become paranoid once they learn there's someone with a shapeshifting quirk at UA."
Himiko felt tears running down her cheeks and a smile creep across her face as she let go of Sakura's hand, her hearing returning to normal. "See? For the underground heroes, the match afterwards didn't matter as much as your stunt right at the beginning."
"That's great!" Newfound determination found its way to her face. "And Izu is right, I will just have to show everyone else that blood based quirk isn't bad!"
After a few minutes Atsuko sat down next to her with a grin on her face. "Better luck next year Himi."
Himiko rolled her eyes. "Three weeks in and Hideo's already rubbing off on you. If we weren't in an open arena like that I would have kicked your ass and we both know it."
Atsuko gave her best Aizawa impersonation in her response. "A hero must be prepared to fight in any situation, if you don't like it you can always leave."
Himiko laughed at that and punched her friend's shoulder.
"Seriously though, did our little show work out for you?"
"Yeah, it did." Himiko smiled as she pointed to where the underground heroes were still talking and occasionally pointing in their direction. "It seems that some people actually were impressed by what I can do."
For the early rounds, the matches were an even mix of quick and flashy, and more traditional 'quirkless' rounds where the students couldn't really leverage their quirks to an advantage.
Emily came out strong, a clear favorite of the crowd with her boisterous nature and her flashy quirk - using her light spheres to daze her opponents and knock away their weapons. Meanwhile Hideo's quirk made it painful for anyone who tried to knock his sword aside as it refused to budge.
Unfortunately for Sakura she faced Mawata Fuwa in the first round - Fuwa was able to fill part of the space with fog, which made it difficult for people to watch - but the results were undeniable when she managed to rapidly score two points against Sakura. Sakura's heightened senses made the third point difficult for Fuwa to obtain the final point, as she figured out how to track her when she reformed after her teleport, but Sakura's reaction times couldn't keep up.
In the second round Hideo knocked Atsuko out - they were both playing a game of defense, and unfortunately his abilities to just completely nullify her sword swings won out against her barriers. Meanwhile Emily knocked out a general studies student who was not one of the original members of class 1-A, and Fuwa knocked out the last remaining support student in the bracket.
In the third round, Emily was forced to fight dirty against Hideo, using her light to blind and distract him so that she could weave in and use her speed advantage to ultimately win. Meanwhile Fuwa faced off against another member of class 1-B - Kenji Ryo, who used the endurance provided by his super regeneration to just outlast his opponents so far, but Fuwa's minor teleportation proved to be too much for him in the end.
Then it came down to Emily versus Fuwa in the finals. Everyone in class 1-B was cheering their classmate on. Emily had a good idea of how Fuwa's quirk worked, and as soon as the match started, when Fuwa tried to breath a heavy fog into the arena, Emily released two waves of searing light to cut the fog into ribbons - severely limiting Fuwa's ability to maneuver. Fuwa attempted to refill the arena with fog, but every attempt was met with more waves of light, forcing it to dissipate. With Fuwa denied her maneuverability advantage, Emily was able to press the offensive and score the necessary points, securing her victory in the sports festival.
A pencil was scratching answers onto a piece of paper as Izuku was trying to do his homework as quickly as he could. Today was the first day of UA's sports festival! It was a time-honored tradition in the Midoriya household that he would come home from school, sit down with his mom and they would watch the recordings together. Last year they added Himiko to the tradition, although she was unsure about the whole thing at the time, but she was unsure about everything back then.
This year was completely different - Himiko was actually in it! He knew he was going to pay for it later by pushing his exercise routine off to later in the evening, but he didn't care. He had to see the recording as soon as possible, as soon as she got home! And so with a fervent energy he was racing through his homework, trying to get as much done as he could.
"Mom, Izu, I'm home!" He heard Himiko call out from the entrance of their apartment.
"Hi Himi, how did today go?"
"No spoilers!" Izuku shouted before his sister could respond. She knew what happened, obviously, but he didn't! And he wasn't about to let her ruin his fun by giving everything away.
"I'm happy with how things turned out." Himiko poked her head into Izuku's room, a huge smile on her face. "Get out here so we can watch it! Or I'm going to start talking!"
Izuku just glared at his sister, but quickly broke into a smile of his own as he set aside his homework, trading his school books for his UA hero notebook, and the three of them settled onto the couch. Inko pulled up the recording and got a box of tissues ready as they began to watch the day's events.