THANKS FOR A MILLION VIEWS! FOR THE SUPPORT HERE IS A THIRD CHAPTER!
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The afternoon sun cast long shadows across Class 1-A's homeroom as students filed back from lunch. The energy in the room had shifted. Morning classes were done. Administrative nonsense was handled. Now came the moment everyone had been waiting for.
Hero Basic Training.
The actual reason they'd all applied to U.A. in the first place.
Izuku dropped into his seat near the back, already cataloging the nervous energy radiating from his classmates. Ochaco kept bouncing her leg. Kirishima cracked his knuckles repeatedly. Even Bakugo seemed more tense than usual, his perpetual scowl somehow deeper.
"I still think it's gonna be Thirteen," Toru insisted from her desk. Her uniform shifted as she leaned forward conspiratorially. "My cousin's friend's neighbor works in the support department and she said she saw rescue equipment being moved to the training facilities."
"That's like fourth-hand information," Kaminari pointed out. "My aunt's dog could give better intel."
"Your aunt has a dog?"
"No, but if she did—"
"I believe," Tokoyami's deep voice resonated from his corner desk, "that speculation serves no purpose. The darkness of uncertainty will reveal its secrets in due time."
Everyone paused.
Stared.
"Bro." Kirishima scratched his head. "What?"
"He said wait and see," Shoji translated, his multiple arms folded across his chest.
Tokoyami nodded solemnly. "The many-armed one speaks truth."
Tsuyu raised her hand slightly, drawing attention without demanding it. Her large eyes blinked once.
"I think it might be someone famous, kero." Her voice came out calm, measured. "U.A. has been making lots of announcements lately about new faculty. They wouldn't hire someone unknown for the hero course."
"That's actually smart," Mina admitted. "Asui-chan's got a point!"
"Please call me Tsu," Tsuyu said. "All my friends do."
"WE'RE FRIENDS NOW!"
Mina launched herself across two desks to wrap Tsuyu in a hug. The frog girl accepted this with stoic patience, though her long tongue flicked out briefly in what might have been surprise.
From the front of the room, Iida's hand shot into the air like a missile.
"Everyone! Please maintain proper seating arrangements! The teacher will arrive shortly and we must present ourselves as disciplined students of U.A. High School!"
"Iida," Izuku called out lazily. "The teacher isn't here yet. Relax."
"Relaxation breeds complacency! Complacency breeds failure! My brother taught me that—"
"Your brother sounds exhausting."
Iida's face went through approximately seventeen expressions in three seconds.
"Ingenium is a paragon of heroic virtue!"
"I'm sure he is. Still sounds exhausting."
Jiro snorted from her desk two rows over. Izuku caught her eye. She immediately looked away, her jacks curling defensively.
Cute.
The classroom door exploded open.
"I AM HERE!"
The voice hit like a physical force. Like thunder made sound. Like someone had taken pure heroic energy and compressed it into words.
"COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A HERO!"
All Might stood in the doorway.
THE All Might.
Number One Hero. Symbol of Peace. The man whose smile had protected Japan for decades.
He wore his Silver Age costume, the one from his glory days. Blue bodysuit. Red cape. That impossibly wide grin that had been plastered across every billboard, advertisement, and lunch box in the country since before Izuku was born.
The classroom went completely silent.
Then erupted.
"ALL MIGHT!"
"OH MY GOD IT'S ACTUALLY ALL MIGHT!"
"I KNEW IT! I CALLED IT! MINA YOU OWE ME FIVE HUNDRED YEN!"
Ochaco looked like she might pass out. Her hands covered her mouth. Tears threatened at the corners of her eyes.
Toru's uniform was literally vibrating.
Even Bakugo seemed stunned, his red eyes wide for just a moment before his scowl reasserted itself.
Izuku leaned back in his chair.
So this was the man who had appeared in that hologram message. The one who'd personally delivered his acceptance letter. He looked even more massive in person. More impossibly, unreasonably muscular.
The guy was built like someone had stacked several refrigerators on top of each other and taught them to flex.
"I teach Basic Hero Training!" All Might boomed, striding to the front of the classroom with steps that seemed to shake the floor. "It is a subject where you train in different ways to learn the basics of being a hero! You will take the most units of this subject! Let's get right into it!"
He paused. Drew the moment out.
His grin somehow widened.
"This is what we'll do today! COMBAT TRAINING!"
The class went wild again.
"And to go with that!"
All Might pointed dramatically at the wall. A section slid open, revealing numbered metal cases on mechanical platforms.
"These are your costumes!"
Izuku's breath caught.
His costume.
The design he'd submitted weeks ago. The sketches he'd refined over months. The concept he'd built from the ground up to compensate for his lack of a Quirk.
It was real now. Physical. Waiting for him.
"After you change, gather at Ground Beta!" All Might announced.
The scramble for cases was immediate. Students grabbed their numbered containers with varying degrees of grace. Kaminari nearly dropped his. Mineta struggled to carry his, the weight apparently more than expected. Bakugo snatched his case like it had personally insulted him.
Izuku found his number. Lifted the case.
Heavy.
Really heavy.
The support equipment alone probably added twenty kilograms. Gauntlets. Boots. The reinforced bodysuit. All the tech he'd requested.
This was going to be interesting.
The boys' locker room was chaos.
Steam rose from somewhere. Kaminari had already managed to put his pants on backwards. Iida changed with military precision, folding each piece of his uniform before placing it in his locker.
Izuku claimed a corner spot. Opened his case.
The costume lay inside, perfectly arranged. Black and emerald green, just like he'd specified. The matte black base material looked sleek, streamlined. The green accents formed a sharp V across the chest, tapering down the ribs.
He started with the bodysuit.
The material was something else entirely. Tri-weave ballistic mesh, according to the specs. Tear-resistant. Fire resistant. Insulated against electrical attacks. It clung to his frame like a second skin, highlighting every muscle he'd built over ten years of training.
Not bad at all.
The tactical gauntlets came next. Black forearm guards with green trim. The knuckles were reinforced with some kind of kinetic-dampening alloy. The wrists housed the grappling line launchers. He'd have to test those later. Make sure the support course had calibrated them correctly.
Boots. Heavy-duty combat models with silent-step soles. Magnetic locks in the heels. Shock absorbers.
The domino mask fit perfectly against his face. High-impact ballistic glass, framed in black. The HUD flickered to life as he put it on, displaying a subtle sonar and thermal overlay across his vision.
Nice.
Finally, the utility belt. Flat, segmented dark metal. His "dirty fighting" essentials were already loaded. Flashbangs. Smoke pellets. High-tension wire. Basic first aid.
And the escrima sticks.
Izuku pulled them from their magnetic holsters. Collapsible. Electrified. Balanced for throwing or close-quarters combat. They could link together to form a bo-staff if he needed reach.
[Image of the Suit]
Perfect.
Well. Almost perfect.
He'd requested a more muted green. This was a bit brighter than he wanted. And the shoulder articulation felt slightly restricted. He'd have to submit adjustment notes later.
But for a Version 1? Not bad at all.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE?"
Izuku turned.
Bakugo stood at his own locker, attaching what could only be described as massive, grenade-shaped gauntlets to his forearms. They were huge. Ostentatious. Covered in spikes and vents.
They looked like something a video game boss would wear.
"Support gear," Bakugo growled.
Izuku looked at the gauntlets.
Looked at Bakugo.
Looked back at the gauntlets.
"Those are very large," he said.
Bakugo's eye twitched.
"What's that supposed to mean, Deku?"
"Nothing." Izuku's voice remained perfectly innocent. "Just seems like you might be compensating for something."
The locker room went silent.
Kirishima, who had been putting on his hardening-resistant costume, froze mid-zip.
Kaminari's mouth fell open.
Even Tokoyami, stoic as always, allowed one red eye to widen slightly.
Bakugo's hands began to smoke.
"I'm going to kill you."
"You keep saying that." Izuku adjusted his mask calmly. "Still waiting."
"DIE!"
Bakugo lunged forward.
Kirishima caught him. Barely. His arms hardened as Bakugo thrashed.
"Bro! BRO! Save it for the training!"
"LET ME GO! I'LL BLOW HIS SMUG FACE OFF!"
Izuku walked past them toward the exit.
"See you outside, Bakugo."
He could hear the screaming for another thirty seconds after the door closed.
Ground Beta sprawled before them like a miniature city. Fake buildings. Fake streets. An entire urban environment designed for hero training. All Might stood at the entrance, his cape catching the wind in a way that seemed specifically engineered to be dramatic.
"They say the clothes make the pro!" All Might's voice boomed across the assembled students. "Be fully aware! From now on, you are heroes!"
The class had gathered in costume. Every student looked different. Some were sleek. Some were bulky. Some were...
Izuku's brain short-circuited.
Momo Yaoyorozu stood near the front in what could generously be called a costume. It was red. It was revealing. It exposed her entire midriff, her back, and most of her chest. The design made sense for her Quirk, which required skin exposure for creation. But still.
That was bold.
That was incredibly bold.
Jiro stood a few feet away in her punk-rock ensemble. Ripped black leather jacket. Tank top. Ripped jeans tucked into combat boots. The directional amplifiers on her wrists and boots caught the light.
It fit her perfectly.
Mina's hero costume was a purple and turquoise bodysuit that hugged every curve she possessed. The splattered pattern looked like acid had been thrown across it. A fluffy fur-lined collar sat around her neck.
Very hugging.
Very curvy.
Very Mina.
Ochaco wore a space-themed bodysuit in pink and black. The helmet was designed to reduce nausea from her Quirk. The material was... also quite hugging.
Very hugging.
Izuku needed to stop thinking about hugging.
"You look great, Midoriya!"
Ochaco had spotted him. Her face was pink, though that might have been her permanent blush. She bounced toward him with wide eyes.
"Wow! Your costume is so cool! It looks really professional!"
Jiro appeared at his other side. Her expression stayed neutral, but her eyes traveled the length of his bodysuit before snapping back to his face. Her jacks rose slightly.
She said nothing.
But she was looking.
Izuku noticed.
She noticed him noticing.
She looked away quickly.
"Thank—"
"IZUKU!"
A floating uniform threw itself at him.
Toru's costume was... well. It was gloves and shoes. That was it. Pale blue gloves with pink lines. Light brownish-gray shoes.
Nothing else.
"Where are your clothes?" Izuku asked.
The floating gloves gestured at themselves.
"This IS my costume! Obviously I can't wear normal clothes or nobody would see me fight!"
"Spotlight. You're naked."
"I'm INVISIBLE! It's totally different!"
"Your logic is flawed."
"Your face is flawed!"
Izuku considered arguing further. Decided against it. Some battles weren't worth fighting.
Besides, the mental image was imprinted regardless.
"You look really really REALLY good though!" Toru's gloves clasped together. "Like a real superhero! The mask is so cool! And the green matches your eyes! Well, I assume it matches your eyes, I can't actually see them through the mask but—"
"Hagakure."
"Yes?"
"Breathe."
"Okay. Better. But seriously you look amazing!"
Ochaco nodded enthusiastically beside her.
Jiro remained silent.
But her jacks were still pointed in his direction.
Still watching.
Still not saying what she was obviously thinking.
Izuku smiled.
"Thanks. Both of you."
"Three of us!" Toru corrected. "Jiro-chan's here too!"
"Jiro hasn't said anything."
"She's thinking it!"
"I'm not thinking anything," Jiro said flatly.
"Your jacks are lying."
Jiro's jacks snapped toward Toru.
"Traitor."
"EEEEK!"
Toru hid behind Izuku. Which meant an invisible naked girl was now pressed against his back.
This was going to be a long training session.
All Might clapped his massive hands together, drawing everyone's attention.
"NOW THEN! It's time for combat training!"
The class straightened. Conversations died. Every eye turned to the Symbol of Peace.
"This is the starting point!" All Might declared. "The first step on your journey to becoming heroes! You've spent your lives preparing for this moment. Training. Studying. Dreaming."
His grin widened.
"Now let's see what you can do!"