章 2006: 25
On the one hand, Izuku probably shouldn't have snuck out of the house at dawn to get to UA early and work on the analysis packets for the hero course. On the other, Mei was already in the lab when he arrived, so it couldn't be too bad.
"Making up for lost time?" Izuku laughed when he saw her. "If you missed inventing so much you should have taken me up on my offer yesterday."
"Oh shut-up Izu-kun!" Mei swatted at him, but Izuku simply grinned and sidestepped as she grumbled, "It's not like breaking in when security was down for improvements would even be a challenge anyway…"
Izuku raised an eyebrow, "Are you saying you want to break in another day? Maybe test their new defenses."
Mei's eyes widened, "Do you think Nedzu would give us permission?! I could make so many babies for it and you could practice your hacking and can you ask him..?!"
"Maybe after the sports festival." Izuku laughed. "But don't you still have to fine-tune your support items for that? And we both still have to help Shinso get ready."
"Is that why you're here so early?" Mei asked. "Preparing for the sports festival?"
"Uh…no." Izuku rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I, uh, I couldn't sleep."
Mei looked at him with pity and a level of understanding that made Izuku feel slightly guilty, "Me either. Nightmares?"
Izuku sighed and nodded, "I just...if I had...well, I wanted to come in and maybe get an abbreviated packet done for each student. If they'd had them a few days ago…"
"They still wouldn't have had time to implement your suggestions." Mei interrupted. "You know that, right?"
"I know! But…" Izuku groaned in frustration. "But I just can't help but wonder…"
"If maybe their support items were better, then maybe they wouldn't have had to go throught that." Mei finished.
It threw Izuku for a loop, but for the first time since he'd arrived, he actually looked at the invention she was currently working on. It was something like a taser, but didn't have a powersource, meaning that it was most likely designed for someone with an electricity quirk, one that the user couldn't consciously direct or control. Izuku saw a stack of blueprints under that one, and he guessed that if he looked through them, he'd see one for most members of 1-A and maybe some of 1-B as well, "You couldn't sleep either."
"I just need to make sure they have the best babies they can get." Mei said it like that was all there was to it, but even though he really hadn't known her long, Izuku could still tell she was using pragmatism to hide the tangled mess of emotions underneath. "Isn't that what a support engineer does? Gives a hero…"
"Their best chance." They said together, then ended up laughing.
"We're a mess, aren't we?" Mei asked.
"Yeah, a little." Izuku said. "But hey, where's the fun without chaos. I'll be in my workroom if you need me. I still, uh, I still have that blanket, if you need it."
Izuku felt slightly hot, and figured it was from the lack of good sleep. Mei nodded and turned back to her newest baby, "It probably won't do much good, but thanks."
Izuku nodded and left toward his room when Mei spoke again.
"Thank you." She said softly. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Izu-kun."
Izuku smiled softly, "Me neither."
He left his door cracked open and they spent the time before their classmates arrived in companionable silence, working on their own projects.
Shouto sat in the back row, half listening to his classmates talk about the USJ attack while mostly lost in his own thoughts. When the villains had shown up, he had mostly just been...annoyed? Was that the right word? But it was expected, wasn't it? Villains attacked heroes. It was what they did. It made sense. What didn't make sense was the mysterious third party that had seemed intent on helping them.
Shouto wasn't the only one curious either, if his classmates' before class conversations were any indication.
"It was kinda freaky, honestly." Ojirio told Hagakure, who seemed to be hanging on his every word. "It was like the building came alive all of a sudden and the fire was on my side. Every time I started going in the wrong direction, it would block my path and it would catch any villains trying to sneak up on me before they even had a chance. It was creepy...but in a cool way, if that makes sense."
"Cheat Code is a force of darkness." Tokoyami said seriously. "I cannot describe my experience in any other words than that it was as if a benevolent supernatural entity was haunting the rain itself and bending it to their will."
"Shut up about that fucking coward!" Bakugo exploded and glared at everyone. "If this Cheat Code fucker really wanted to help, he should have shown up in person rather than hiding behind a microphone like a scared little sheep! And he should have let us destroy the damn villains!"
"Come on, Bakubro! You gotta admit it was kinda manly how he protected us like that." Kirishima hit his fists together with a grin. "I wanna meet him!"
And that was the other weird thing, wasn't it? Everyone else who had ended up caught in the zones had said that the building kept fighting them until the very end unless they headed toward the entrance, but Cheat Code had allowed Shouto to get close enough to save Aizawa. Why him? Why not Kirishima, who was arguably kinder and more likely to listen? Was it just because Shouto had a more powerful quirkl? But Bakugo was powerful enough to fight as well, so if it was just about power, he should have been allowed to reach the plaza as well. If it was about effectiveness rescuing, wouldn't Uraraka have been a better fit? She wanted to be a rescue hero and she could have floated Aizawa out of there.
So what made Shouto different? Why choose him out of all of his classmates.
Apparently, that was a question for another day because Aizawa chose that moment to walk in. One of his arms was in a thick cast and there was a large piece of gauze taped beneath his eye, but overall, he seemed a lot less injured than Todoroki had expected. He flinched as the class erupted into loud cheers.
"Aizawa-sensei! You're alright!" Ashido exclaimed loudly. "We were so worried when we saw Todoroki leading you out…"
"It's fine." Aizawa interrupted. "It would have been a lot worse if the villains' full attention had been on me or if Shigaraki had managed to hit me with his quirk, but as it was, the old lady was able to heal most of it."
"Is Thirteen-Sensei…?" Uraraka asked, worried.
"They're still in recovery." Aizawa said. "Let that be a lesson to you to always be aware of your surroundings. Quirks are dangerous, even and esspecially your own. Always expect someone to use every weakness against you. You got lucky this time. The thugs the league of villains sent were low level, and Cheat Code protected most of you from the inner circle, but when you get out onto the streets, you're going to meet villains who are prepared to do whatever it takes to kill you. If you're not prepared for that, leave now."
Nobody left, not that Shouto was surprised. It probably hadn't really hit them yet, he supposed. Shouto didn't leave either. His father could have killed him hundreds of times over if he wasn't so worried about losing his masterpiece, so Shouto was used to the threat of death. Not to mention that the threat of death would become that much more real if he were to refuse to be a hero.
"Speaking of Cheat Code," Tsu asked tentatively, "who is he?"
Aizawa sighed and muttered something that sounded like problem child before addressing the class, "He's an analyst."
Kaminari and Ashido tried to interrupt, probably to whine and beg for more info, but Aizawa silenced them with a glare and Todoroki couldn't help but notice that he didn't activate his quirk like he normally would have so he must not be completely healed yet, "He is an analyst and that is all the information you will be getting. The UA staff has decided to keep his identity under wraps to protect him for now, since I think you each can understand why we wouldn't want villains getting their hands on him, so, no, I will not be telling you who he is. Maybe he'll tell you himself eventually, but until then, you'll just have to deal with your curiosity. However," Aizawa used his good arm to pull a stack of papers from his capture weapon, "he did stupidly decide to be overactive and give you these. Come up when I call your name."
The room instantly dissolved into whispers as Aizawa called up Aoyama and handed him a few papers. He read through them and swore softly in french as the other members of the class were called. When Shouto's name was called, he received a packet with two papers stapled together. The first section gave a brief description of his quirk, while the other sections gave bulleted lists of strengths, weaknesses, and suggestions for improvement. At the end was an imprinted sticker with some kind of logo and Cheat Code's name.
"These are abbreviated analyses of your quirks and fighting styles." Aizawa explained once all the packets had been handed out. "You'll apparently be receiving full versions near the end of the semester, once Cheat Code has had more of a chance to see you in action. He went to Nedzu early this morning, however, and insisted we give you these. Use them wisely. Analysts can be a hero's greatest alley or greatest enemy, depending on how you treat them."
"Whoa dude!" Sero yelled. "These are awesome! There's more where this came from? That's super cool!"
"More like super freaky." Mineta complained. "How does this guy even know so much about us?"
The class looked toward Aizawa for an answer, only to find that he had already cocooned himself inside his sleeping bag and was slumped against the wall asleep, so he'd be absolutely zero help. Shouto looked more closely at his packet and frowned as he read.
Strengths:
Ice PowerIce controlStrategic thinking (?)
Weaknesses:
Left side is left open to attackDanger of hypothermia
Suggestions:
Use fire half of quirk.
The analyst only had part of the picture, but that didn't make Shouto feel any less annoyed at yet another person telling him to use his fire. He didn't have to listen to someone...Shouto froze. Hadn't he decided to trust Cheat Code in part because Endeavor wouldn't have? Ignoring his advice completely would be exactly what Endeavor would do, but he still couldn't use his fire…
There was a loud explosion and Shouto looked up to see Bakugo throwing the remains of his smoking packet out the window, "I don't fucking need this loser to tell me what I already fucking know! I don't have impulsivity issues!"
Aizawa crawled out of his bag, grabbed another packet from his capture weapon and slammed it down on Bakugo's desk, "He mentioned you might do that. Be careful with that one. If you explode it, you won't be getting a third."
Bakugo reached for the papers, sparks already leaping across his palms, but Aizawa snatched the packet out of his reach, "What the fuck, old man?"
"Bakugo." Aizawa said sternly. "If you don't want to be a better hero, or a hero at all…"
Bakugo huffed, but grabbed the papers without setting them on fire and slumped down in his seat, staring at the packet like it had personally offended him. Shouto could relate.
"If only we could actually meet this analyst in person!" Iida lamented loudly. "I have a great many questions on how to improve my quirk's functions and…"
"Suit yourself." Jiro shivered. "It was freaky enough knowing that he could make the ground collapse beneath us at any moment. My money's on him being even scarier in person."
"What a mad banquet of darkness." Tokoyami muttered.
It had already been a long day by the time Hitoshi reached the gym after school and started stretching, considering that Midoriya was probably still trying to pull Hatsume away from whatever invention she was currently working on. Hanging out with the two yesterday had been fun, but his foster parents had yelled at him when he'd gotten home, accusing him of going out and trying to join a gang despite the fact that he'd tried telling them he was going out with friends before he left. Too bad they wouldn't actually let him talk to them. Or at all.
And then all everyone was talking about was the hero course. Those lucky students with the perfect quirks and everything laid out for them without having to fight tooth and nail and convince everyone that he deserved every chance that they did. Even his kidnappers had spent the day focused on them, which was annoying, even though he really didn't have any right to be angry, considering that those two had been involved with the attack. At least they didn't think he was a villain.
Yet.
A slight sound behind him had Hitoshi jumping to his feet and whirling around to see an injured hobo nodding at him approvingly, "Good situational awareness. So you're Cheat Code's extra credit project."
Oh no. Hitoshi froze as he realized that this wasn't just any injured hobo. He was talking to Eraserhead! Eraserhead knew who he was!?!
Hitoshi forced himself to snap out of his...well, his hero worship, for lack of a better word, "Uh, yes, sir!"
Eraserhead looked at him appraisingly, "You're doing physical training?"
"Yes sir!" Hitoshi nodded quickly. "I'm mostly focusing on speed and flexibility for now, since I don't have time to gain a lot of strength before the sports festival, but…"
"But there'll be time for that later if you get into the hero course." Eraserhead finished. "Don't underestimate stealth, either. You'd be surprised how often it can come in handy."
Hitoshi's eyes went wide. Was Eraserhead really giving him advice? He didn't know what to say. What was someone supposed to say when their favorite hero gave them tips?
After a too long moment where Shinso was freaking out, Midoirya burst through the door, his jacket covered in some sort of oil that must have exploded from Hatsume's most recent experiment, "Shinso! Sorry I'm late, Mei-chan...Oh, Eraserhead! I, uh, I didn't know you'd…"
Eraserhead interrupted Midoriya's rambling by bowing and Midoirya instantly turned bright red and started sputtering, "What…? Eraserhead, sir, I...uh, I don't...what?"
"You helped save my students." Eraserhead straightened. "Thanking you is only logical."
"I, uh…" Midoriya looked to Hitoshi helplessly, but he was still reeling from Eraserhead giving him advice! Midoriya turned back to Eraserhead and bowed back, "I apologize for not doing more."
Eraserhead snorted, "I knew you'd be a problem child. I don't know what else I expected." He turned to leave, but stopped at the door and fixed Hitoshi with a look, "You have potential. Don't waste it. It's not going to be easy to claim the extra seat in my class."
That challenge was apparently what it took to snap Hitoshi out of his trance and he couldn't help smirking slightly, "It won't be easy to be a hero either, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to do it."
Eraserhead gave a creepily wide grin and left, allowing the door to swing closed behind him. When he was sure he was gone, Hitoshi deflated, "Midoirya, I think I just met somebody even scarier than you are."
He ignored Midoriya's sputtering denials as he went back to stretching. He had a sports festival to win, after all.
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