Chapter 73: Getting Ready to Train
During the break in the bustling cafeteria, filled with the usual chatter of students grabbing lunch and discussing the latest events, Aoi was sitting comfortably at a table with Izuku, Mina, Uraraka, Iida, and Momo. At the table right next to them were Kirishima, Bakugou, Tsuyu, and Kaminari, close enough for conversations to overlap easily.
Tsuyu, with her usual calm and straightforward demeanor, asked the group:
—Guys, what do you think about this upcoming festival? It's going to be really cool, right? We'll get to show off our abilities in front of everyone and maybe even get recruited by several famous heroes.
Kirishima, pumping his fist with enthusiasm, said:
—Yeah, definitely! So Aoi, are you excited for this Sports Festival? As the strongest in the class right now, a lot of pro heroes are going to be fighting to have you on their teams.
Bakugou, overhearing this from the next table, shouted explosively, his palms sparking slightly:
—What do you mean that perverted aquarium-head is the strongest in the class? I'm clearly number 1 no question about it!
Tsuyu smiled faintly, unfazed, and said:
—But Aoi is stronger. He single-handedly defeated those two monsters during the USJ incident, while you almost got blown up by one punch from it if it weren't for Kirishima stepping in to block it.
Kaminari, nodding vigorously, added excitedly:
—Yeah, Kirishima was really tough in that moment. He blocked that devastating blow even while he was all injured and battered it was manly as hell.
Mina turned her attention to Aoi and asked curiously, tilting her head:
—But Aoi, why don't you seem so excited for the school Sports Festival? Everyone else is buzzing about it.
Aoi smiled casually, leaning back in his chair, and said:
—Well, it's because I'm not really a fan of all this fame and exposure stuff. The spotlight isn't my thing.
Momo, understanding his perspective but wanting to remind him of the practical side, said:
—Aoi, but it's normal and necessary. After all, we have to show our abilities to attract attention from pro heroes who will hire us for internships. So the exposure and visibility are parts we can't really avoid it's how the system works.
Kaminari chimed in, trying to reassure him:
—But Aoi, you shouldn't be worried about that at all, right? After all, you and Shoto already have guaranteed spots for internships, since you're both sons of the number 2 hero in the national rankings. Connections like that open doors automatically.
Momo, Mina, and Uraraka, hearing this mention of Endeavor, looked at Aoi with immediate worry in their eyes. As his childhood friends, they knew all too well that his relationship with his father wasn't very pleasant far from it, in fact.
Aoi looked at Kaminari, smiled lightly to brush off the concern, and said:
—Well, I don't intend to go with my father for the internship. After all, although my quirk is flame-based, as you all know, I use it in a totally different way from what a normal flame user would mainly because it has no heat and can't burn anything conventionally. So interning with my father wouldn't teach me anything useful. After all, we use our quirks in completely different ways. As for Shoto, I don't know what he'll decide. After all, his quirk is normal fire, and he could learn a lot about how to use it with our father in areas with civilians and tight spaces without hurting anyone. So for Shoto to intern with him would be very useful to learn several practical things you only pick up in the field.
Izuku said thoughtfully, analyzing as always:
—It's true. If you can have someone with the same quirk as you teaching you how to use it in certain situations like crowd control or confined areas it helps a lot. And you might even learn some techniques that you'd only discover normally with years of trial and error on your own.
Kirishima said excitedly, flexing a bit:
—So that means Aoi is still fully in the competition? After all, he needs to show his best side to attract heroes who want to recruit him for their agencies.
Bakugou looked at Aoi with a competitive glare and said:
—Number 1 in this competition can only be me. Prepare to lose big time, aquarium head.
Aoi looked at him, clearly amused by the challenge, and said:
—Well, I already have a guaranteed place to go for the internship, so I don't care much about this festival's results personally.
Tsuyu said curiously, ribbiting softly:
—But you said you wouldn't intern with your father. So who called you for the internship?
Aoi said casually:
—Well, I'm going to do the internship with my girlfriend, who is already a pro hero.
Momo, hearing this and knowing the details, asked with a knowing smile:
—Is it going to be with big sister Ryuko or big sister Rumi?
Aoi said:
—Well, I'm going with Rumi. After all, I don't work very well in large teams, and Ryuko already has a well-balanced team where everyone has their specific roles and functions. If I joined, I think I'd end up hindering more than helping with their dynamics. So I prefer to stay with Rumi, who works alone most of the time. And since we train a lot together already, we have great synergy and can fight together without any issues. And it'll also be fun to spend time together kicking some villains' asses side by side.
Kaminari, hearing this, said in a depressed tone, slumping a bit:
—How unfair life is. While I'm here worried sick about how to attract any heroes' attention at all, you're all set on what sounds like a date with your pro hero girlfriend.
Bakugou grumbled:
—Perverted lazy bum.
Aoi looked at him and said teasingly:
—Well, at least I already have a place to go secured. As for you, with your irritating personality, be careful not to scare off every hero finding one willing to put up with you might be tough.
Bakugou shouted, palms sparking:
—What do you mean by that, you pervert? I'll explode you right here!
Iida stood up quickly and said:
—Everyone, let's calm down immediately! We have a more important topic to discuss right now.
Uraraka asked curiously:
—What topic, Iida?
Iida looked at the group seriously and said:
—This festival won't just have our class participating. It'll be the entire school competing against each other. So if we want to stand out and attract attention from professional heroes to be selected for internships, we have to show our unique potential among so many talented people. Therefore, training to get stronger before the festival is something we absolutely should do it's essential preparation.
Momo agreed thoughtfully:
—Well, Iida, you're right. We'll have many rivals in this competition from all courses. So we have to train intensively during this time leading up to the competition to maximize our chances.
Aoi said casually, leaning back:
—Speak for yourselves. I'm fine as is. I'm already strong enough. And unless my idiot father or All Might himself, or at least several of those monsters from the USJ decide to compete, I don't see any realistic way I could lose.
Uraraka said gently but pointedly:
—Well, but don't you think it's better to train anyway, Aoi? After all, we don't know what kind of competition it'll be exactly. Maybe it won't have much to do with raw strength and be more a test of skill or strategy.
Momo added, building on that:
—Besides, if it's a battle format where stepping out of the ring means you're out even if the person can't actually defeat you in a direct fight but if they have a weird enough quirk to push or trick you out of the ring, even if they don't truly defeat you in power, as soon as you step out, you've lost by the rules. And you don't want to lose in front of big sister Rumi, right? After all, if that happens, she'll tease you mercilessly for quite a while probably bringing it up every chance she gets.
Aoi then vividly imagined Rumi laughing hysterically at him after he lost to some weird quirk because of a funny, embarrassing accident—her bunny ears twitching with amusement as she mocked him endlessly.
Aoi then stood up suddenly, newly motivated, and said:
—We should train so I don't have to hear jokes about me for a whole year or longer.
Izuku smiled amused at the reaction and said:
—Well, there's no harm in wanting to train more to avoid that. Do you have an idea of where you all plan to train?
Hearing that, Aoi said:
—Well, didn't we kind of agree earlier that I'd take you guys to train at my house? We can take advantage of this period when everyone is preparing to train for the festival, and you all come train with me there. What do you think about that?
Izuku said eagerly:
—Well, if it's not bothering anyone or imposing, I'd really like to.
Iida said gratefully:
—Thank you very much. This helps a lot with preparation for the competition it's a generous offer.
Mina said excitedly:
—Cool! A training camp is going to be like a sleepover party, right? With everyone staying over?
Uraraka smiled and corrected gently:
—A sleepover party? No, Mina. We're going to train it's serious.
Momo said, intrigued:
—A sleepover party? What should I bring in that case?
Aoi then looked over at Bakugou, Kirishima, Tsuyu, and Kaminari and said openly:
—Well, if you guys want to come too, you can. It's more fun and more effective with more people training together.
Kirishima said pumped up:
—That's awesome! I'm totally in. A training gathering to surpass your limits it's so manly!
Tsuyu said calmly:
—Well, thank you for the invitation. I'd love to participate ribbit.
Kaminari said enthusiastically:
—Of course! It's going to be great count me in!
Bakugou grumbled:
—I don't need your help or charity.
Aoi smiled knowingly and said:
—Well, if your pride is bigger than your desire to get stronger, then refuse the invite. While the others use the custom training room I designed specifically to push limits and get stronger and stronger potentially even stronger than you if you sit it out.
Bakugou, hearing this direct challenge to his drive, stayed silent for a full minute, fists clenched, before saying:
—Well, I don't mind going... if the goal is purely to get stronger. That's all.
Izuku, witnessing this, smiled warmly at seeing his childhood friend being honest and swallowing his pride for growth.
Kaminari said cheerfully:
—Then it's decided! The training camp is officially open.
Aoi smiled and said:
—Well, let's all exchange phone numbers right now so I can let you know about the schedule and where we should meet up.
After a short while of everyone pulling out their phones and sharing contacts, they all had each other's numbers saved.
Aoi then looked at the group and said:
—Well, those of you coming to my house for the first time, don't forget to tell your parents about it beforehand. After all, they don't know me personally yet, and it's better to avoid any worries.
Izuku said:
—All right. I won't forget to mention it.
Bakugou muttered:
—What a pain in the ass. Fine, I'll tell them.
The others also nodded and agreed.
Aoi said:
—Well, then I'll arrange everything on my end—the facilities, schedule, transportation. Then I'll send a group message letting you know the exact day and the place where everyone will meet for the car to pick you up and take you all to my house.
They then heard the bell ring, signaling the end of the break.
Aoi said:
—Well, since everything is settled for now, let's head back to class