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Chapter 6: Training with Cleaners
🕑 Added 2024-05-06 15:25:10 +0000 UTCWell, my fever is nearly gone. I still have a bad cough, but that is very manageable. Also, I made some headway with that Original project, which is not the first, but I feel like it would be a good way to get my name out there. Who knows, with some luck, it could be something I can try and get published once I've got a few chapters down.
As for this chapter, I had an idea for it, but that got scrapped as it's better to save the action like that for later parts, especially since one of my issues with MHA is that it tends to forget the 'Academia' part of the story, and treats the cast like every other shonen does-which means school is a non-issue. The story kept ramping up, and I couldn't really return to school drama. It barely even focused on that side when it had a chance.
“Text” – Normal speech
‘Text’ - Thought
“Text” – Radio/Communication lines
“Text” – None Japanese speech
(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word
Chapter 6: Training with Cleaners
“Izuku, how’s the training been going?” Midoriya turned to see Aoyama approaching him, catching up with him as the two walked towards the school gates.
"Pretty well, though getting used to the cold is challenging." Midoriya replied as he looked at his hand, flexing it a couple of times as he recalled the hours he had spent over the last few days trying to work with Hiroyuki's powers. His latest quirk was more than willing to lend him power, but just because he had access to it didn't mean he knew how to use it or even had a tolerance for it, so in cases like this, he had to slowly build that up.
Aoyama started listing off powers on his hand. “Before you had your base, your fire form, and your darkness form. So it makes sense adapting to ice would be hard.” He noted in French that he was waving at other students as they walked by.
Midoriya hummed but was just as curious as his friend. “How about you?” He imagined that Aoyama was much further along with his training, as he regularly focused more on refining than creating new moves.
Aoyama smirked at the question, boasting. "I've had a top-class quirk for years now, and while it might be hard, I still find ways to improve."
"If you could improve your modesty as well, maybe you'll be the perfect package," Intelli noted as she walked up behind them, her eyebrow raised at Aoyama, who acted like he had been struck.
"You wound me. Why should a man lie when he's as good as I?" Both rolled their eyes at their overly dramatic friend as Midoriya wrapped a hand around her waist. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, which was their way of saying good morning.
“But that does rise the question of training.” She noted, ignoring how some girls whispered about them being the perfect couple or the school icons. They had gotten used to it considering they were the top students.
“Would you like to join?” Izuku asked as she laughed at the suggestion.
"I already do, just not always because my role won't be fighting up front." Intelli wasn’t weak, but she wasn’t a fool. Even if quirks were left out of the equation, she knew what sort of intense work-out the two boys kept up with. She wasn’t complaining, as it made their private moments all the more engaging and stimulating, but that wasn’t worth trying to keep up with them when they worked out. “No, I was thinking we change things up a little.”
"Should we focus more on stamina than strength?" Aoyama suggested that they work on that, as he felt they could.
In return, she gave him a smile that both said much and nothing at all. “What I have planned will work on both, trust me. And it won't just be us. I've invited some of the others."
“The oth…wait, you didn’t.” Midoriya didn’t like the look in her eye as she leaned close to him.
"I already did. It's been too long since we were in the same place, and with a lack of incidents, they all agreed to meet." She stated, which made me anxious. The rest of the cleaners, people like him and Aoyama, were a…cast of characters. He'll give them that. But handling them always left him exhausted in more ways than one.
“At the labs?” He wondered if their training rooms could handle that many, but Intelli shook her head.
“You remember Dagoba beach?” She asked him, which made the boy groan.
“Did you have to remind me?” He muttered as he recalled that place all right. He had taken her there for their first date back in the second year after reading about how the place was this great couple's spot, only to realise when they got there that those reviews were horribly outdated, as the place had become a literal dump. He nearly cried at his idiocy and the fact that he was dating an angel, who only laughed it off before she took him to a nearby park instead.
"We'll be meeting there around 8 a.m. Saturday. I'll explain everything when we're all there." She explained to him, which made him wonder why she didn't just tell them now.
“We’ll be there.” Aoyama agreed with Intelli, who smiled and offered another kiss to her boyfriend as she broke contact with him.
“Great, I’ll see you two later, I need to run some errands before class starts!” She rushed ahead, waving at them as she entered the school grounds.
Line Break
Days later, with the morning sun rising in the distance, the two artificial quirk users walked up towards their destination. The sounds of seagulls and waves slowly coming and going on the beach were only ruined by the fact that they could neither see the sun's rays reflecting off the water nor feel the seawater spray on their skin. Instead, they were met with mountains of trash, some as small as a couple of boxes for stuff like phones or shoes, while other pieces of junk were as large as fridges and even a couple of cars. Accompanying all that was the repugnant scent that had them both holding at their noses.
"Bright and early," Midoriya noted with little optimism. The green-haired boy had decided to wear a long-sleeved green muscle shirt with a brown fur-lined sleeveless jacket, finishing the look with blue jeans and red high-top sneakers.
“Oh, did this place smell this bad the last time you were here?” Aoyama asked, as he had smelled some terrible things, often when out on the hunt, but this place was surely in the top five. Where Midoriya had dressed more casually, Aoyama didn't know the meaning of such. Instead, he wore a slim-fitting white button-up, a rich blue coat with yellow trim, and a pair of black cargo pants with white and blue boots.
“I couldn't tell you; I try to block out that memory," Midoriya replied. The two were carrying bags with their work-out gear, but it was still unclear why this was the sight for their training.
“Hey, is that you guys!” Only to be interrupted when they heard someone familiar approaching. “Hey!” They waved a hand their way, a big smile on their face, though Midoriya doubted he or Aoyama had ever seen him without one. Even from a distance, they could tell the boy-yes, boy, approaching was more significant than the both of them and built like he spent half his day in a gym while he wore casual clothing, that being a pair of brown shorts, red tee, and traditional sandals, this only highlighted the fact he was covered in large, toned muscle.
His buzz-cut hair might have given the appearance of a person who was strict in all areas of their lives, but anyone who knew Yoarashi Inasa knew that he kept his hair like that mainly because he was too hyper to wait for barbers to style it, anything else.
When he got to them, Yoarashi didn't offer a handshake but instead, a double hug, pulling back to his chest with a laugh that vibrated from his chest into theirs. "Yoarashi, somehow I expected you'd be here even earlier than needed." Aoyama told him as he let them down.
"Of course, I would be! The earlier you start something, the faster you can have fun doing it!" Yoarashi replied, getting a soft chuckle from the next person.
"If nothing else, that attitude will serve him well if he gets into U.A." A teenage girl, who was between Midoriya and Aoyama in height, noted that her light pink hair, unlike Yoarashi's, was longer, being shoulder length, and styled as her straight bangs parted to the left, tucked behind her ear and left to fall over her eye on the right. Her eyes might not have had the same energy as them, appearing to be docile and tired, but she was proof that looks could be deceiving.
In terms of looks, she wore a pink knee-length dress with a raised collar covering her neck but exposing her shoulders and arms. On her stomach was a large egg-shaped mark. On her feet, she wore gladiator sandals, her look finished with puffy, cloud-shaped earrings, bracelets on both wrists, and the large white fluffy jacket she had on, which made it seem she was being hugged by a cloud. “Morning, you three.”
While Midoriya and Aoyama greeted her with a wave, Yoarashi was the loudest and most physical as he rushed over and gave her a hug as well. “Morning, Fuwa-sempai!”
Fuwa laughed at the younger yet much larger boy's affection, patting his shoulder as he let her down. "Yoarashi, I graduated this year, remember? You had a tear-filled speech at our graduation and cupcakes for us." She smiled at the memory, as while others could be put off by how intense and passionate Yoarashi got over things, she saw it as an endearing and sweet aspect of his character.
Even if he wasn't good at something, he still tried, much like baking, but not a single member of her graduating grade told him he used too much flour because they knew he made them all himself and baked his heart into them.
"That doesn't change the fact you're still my respected senior who helped inspire my class. I hope to do the same with my underclassmen now!" Yoarashi replied, with the older girl letting out a soft, melodic chuckle as she had complete confidence that he already was.
"Yikes, like this place totally sinks. Why couldn't we meet at the mall or maybe the park?" A new girl walked over, waving her hand over her revolted-looking face. As different as Fuwa Mawata was to Yorashi, Utsushimi Camie was her own person. Her fawn-coloured hair was left long, reaching below her shoulders with portions of it braided. Her dark brown eyes both made her look upset-minded but also made it hard to get a read on what she was thinking about.
Her revulsion only made her plump and glossy lips all the more prominent. She let her curvaceous figure show with her choice of clothing: a sleeveless, form-fitting black shirt, frilly yellow skirt, shin-length black leggings, and white platform heels. To try to soothe her sinuses, Utsushimi pulled some gum and popped it into her mouth.
“Your guess is as good as mine, Utsushimi. You finish that assignment over the week?” Midoriya asked her, with the girl smiling as she continued to chew her strawberry-flavoured gum.
"Yeah, I hunted down our issue and handled it super quickly. Pros didn't even see I was ever there." She gave him a high-five at that statement, as she had been pleased to see the news talking about some stuff fire that broke out in the industrial area of Saitama, but that authorities had no clue what caused it or who put out most of it. They didn't even have a blurred image of her this time around.
“Wow, when was the last time I saw all of you in the same place?” Another voice asked, making Midoriya cringe. He hoped he somehow would have skipped or been busy. "And is that you, Midoriya, old buddy?" The group turned to the next person to arrive, the second tallest guy with black, shaggy hair. However, it was merely so dark brown that it only appeared black. Like Midoriya, his hair was unruly, sticking out in all directions.
His warm brown eyes were a loose diamond shape with a fox-like intelligence and slyness, but that was something he could easily mask with his great acting skills. Not if that was apparent from his choice of clothing, which included a white shirt, a green and black unbuttoned cardigan, jeans, and yellow and green shoes.
“Shindo.” Midoriya awkwardly greeted the older teen, who laughed it off and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
“Oh, don’t be like that! I thought we were friends.” Shindo stated, Midoriya’s eye drawn to the bracelet he wore around his right wrist.
“Shindo! How’s it been?” Lucky for him, Yoarashi stepped in and saved him from that conversation, as Shindo let him do to address the big guy of the group.
“It’s been great, been keeping things clean in my neck of the woods, but I did notice more cops around.” He replied with Utsushimi snapped her finely manicured fingers at that.
“Wow, cut the talk, I wasn’t the only one? I totally thought I bombed or something.” She worked hard to ensure she wasn't seen the last time.
"They've been increased pros around here as well, especially from Endeavour's agency, but that could be because someone was seen by Endeavour during our last hunt." Aoyama nudged Midoriya's side, the boy rolling his eyes at his friend's statement. Even if he had remained unseen like Aoyama had, a quirk had caused visible, real damage in the middle of town. There was no way they would be able to avoid attention after that.
"I had a feeling that it would be you. Did you ask for his autograph or something?" Shindo teased him, and the rest laughed at that as Midoriya let his face fall into his hands. He confidently told them all he was a hero fan, and then Yuga called him a hero otaku. Now, they couldn't get through a single encounter with any of them without someone making a joke about it.
“Stuff it, Shindo.” He kept it shot.
“Good, we’re all were.” Intelli spoke up, walking up with the last member of their group, their newest member, Sekigai Kashiko. The spectacle wearing girl had a similar style of dress to Intelli, as they decided to who for button-ups and dresses for the day. “Let’s get down to the beach before we talk.”
“Do we have to? The place is making my nose bleed.” Utsushimi asked as the group turned to follow Intelli into the trash-covered dump, with Utsushimi muttering that she’ll murder a bitch if her hair smelled funny after this. Popping another piece of gum before following them in.
"Well, Intelli? Is there any particular reason we came here, of all places?" Shindo asked, gesturing to the piles of trash that surrounded them. From them, they could see what must have been rats and other garbage drivers scurrying about.
“It is a rather odd destination.” Fuwa stated. Though she wasn't as in the dark as the rest of them.
"Well, I was thinking the other day, and my first date with Midoriya came to mind," Intelli started. Midoriya groaning at the reminder while the rest snickered at his pain, Intelli ignored it and merely continued. "He only thought this place would be a good idea because of outdated reviews, which got me thinking."
"This entire area is meant to be a beach open to everyone, where people should have fun, dip in the waters, and even have a barbeque. Yet all this trash is here instead. Searching around, I found that the tide has a habit of dumping junk thrown into the sea here, and after that, people started throwing trash here and pretending it all came from the sea." She waved around them, the point being clear as Utsushimi pointed out an obvious problem that covered.
“Like, how would the current get a truck here? That seems like a typhoon’s work.” Utsushimi noted that a literal American-style pick-up truck was sticking out of one of the piles. The thing was covered in rust, missing a wheel, and looked like it had been beaten with a bat even before its last owner decided to trash it.
"I'm still more interested in why someone dumped a truck, to begin with. You could sell it for scrap instead, at least make something out of it." Midoriya added, as seeing all the vehicle remains just made him sad.
Intelli smiled at the two. “Regardless, this place has become a shell of what it should be. So wouldn’t it be heroic to clean this place up as our training?”
“That sounds fun!” Yoarashi replied, immediately on board, but some of the others were still skeptical.
"Community service, you mean?" Shindo pointed out, looking at the lay waiting for them, the kind of stuff that you see prisoners doing.
Intelli shrugged, not denying the statement. "Why not. Isn't the core of hero work helping people? We can't just focus on chasing down quirks and villains. After all, what if a kid thought this was a good place to play and got hurt? I've already seen 8 loose needles."
“And you didn’t tell us!?” Aoyama asked, now hyper-vigilant for any more that he could step on or trip onto.
“I thought you noticed them; not like they’re hidden.” Intelli pointed out one, and it was clear as day, especially now that they were all looking for them. Those that wore open shoes "Either way, I've already drawn up the plans for how we spend the next 6 months cleaning this place up."
She reached into her page and handed them all a set of papers to look over, their names and crude pictures of them drawn on each. Opening them up, they found it wasn't just work-out schedules or informing them who would be where as they cleaned, but a nutritional and sleep schedule as well, with time taken out for school and studying. As they read, they saw it was flexible in case they needed to drop whatever it was they were doing and go on the hunt.
“No quirk use?” When he got to page 3 of the plans, Aoyama noted no earlier mention of how their quirks factored into this. Still, the last paragraph explicitly stated they couldn't use them. It was illegal to use your quirk without a license, but that law was so outdated and rigged that most barely enforced it, and when they did, it was a slap on the wrist. What would someone be doing if they saw them? Report them for using their quirks to clean up public property free of charge?
"Not for the first 3 months. We might all have them but can't let our physical performance drop. Don't worry; I brought plenty of gloves and stuff for us to wear and medical supplies in case you cut yourself on something." Intelli explained that she wasn't excluding herself from this, nor would she put them at unneeded risk. Hence, she spent most of her savings on ensuring they had the best gear she could find and plenty of supplies to treat anything that could reasonably get if they were infected.
“Great…my hair is going to smell like…I don’t even want to know what that smell is.” Utsushimi shuddered as she'd burn through who knew how much shampoo when all this was said and done.
“If it helps, I have face masks.” Fuwa opened her back, revealing she had bought her 2 boxes of medical face masks.
“Please and thanks, fam.”
Clapping her hands together, Intelli smiled at the group. "Well then, if that's all, why don't we change and get started?"
Yoarashi didn't need much convincing as he laughed as he rushed off, looking for the changing area. “Let’s do this!”
“He’s certainly motivated,” Shindo noted, but then he got into a thinking mood. But I have to admit, it would be great bragging rights to clear this place." His fox smile revealed that he had far less than what one would call heroic thoughts.
Midoriya shook his head. “Of course, that’s where your mind is.”
"Says the one who's doing this to impress his girl." Shindo shot back almost reflexively, making the younger boy freeze for a moment.
“Hey, I have other reasons.” He turned back to the devious plotter, who laughed at his statement.
“Do they include impressing Intelli?” Midoriya opened his mouth, then closed it, repeating this a few times before he turned away in defeat.
“…Damn you, Shindo.” He muttered loud enough for the guy to hear, with Midoriya hearing him crackling as they walked to follow after Yoarashi.
Line Break
And with that, their 6 months of training and community service began. As per Intelli's frankly highly detailed notes and instructions, they all took a different part of the beach and cleared it, piece by piece. They started with the smaller piles to give themselves a straighter route to and from the beach when it came to disposing of whatever they collected, carrying or dragging whatever it was to a truck she rented for them to take stuff away. Still, they didn't just toss things because she wanted to be extra about it.
Anything that could be taken to a recycling plant had to be sorted into separate piles: paper, metals, glass, and certain kinds of plastics. This work was not fun for anyone, and at times, it required them to open trash bags. It wasn't even a few days in before they all wore masks and carried air spray to bathe them in so they didn't gag on the horrid smells.
Starting early, they worked throughout the day on weekends and spent 2 hours during the week on it after school. At the end of each session, the driver would deliver their recyclable goods to the appropriate place or just get the trash to an actual dump. But when they weren't straining their muscles, lifting, dragging, or pulling large and heavy loads through the beach sand, they were working on collecting even the tiniest pieces of trash they could find.
Glass required them to get garden tool-sized meshes, which they would work through the sand to collect anything small or otherwise buried. Metals required metal detectors, which, while slow, did help ensure that when they finished a spot, however small, it was clear of junk. It was slow work, as without quirks, even weekends meant that they only gathered around 8 trash bags worth per person. Still, they were making steady progress as paths into the beach became cleaner, the smell that made the place a no-go zone was starting to fade as the sources of it were found and handled.
It wasn't to say that they were all skipping school, quite the opposite as their older members, Fuwa and Utsushimi and as much as it pained him to say it, Shindo. Who was more than happy to help them study for the upcoming entrance exams for university, as they already knew what to expect even if they didn’t give them all the details. But while rewarding in more ways than one, it was still a brutal schedule. When threw in how, at times, they had to drop what they were doing when sent out on the hunt, it was understandable that just 2 months in and the strain was already taking its toll in the form of the group being tired during class.
Aoyama actually fell asleep during English, leaving Midoriya to explain that they had been training and studying harder than normal and how that had been affecting their sleep. Their teacher was concerned by that statement since Midoriya and Intelli looked close to passing out themselves and instructed them to take it easy, which they agreed to take into consideration and then soundly ignored.
In between cleaning sessions, they also found time to train in unarmed combat, with their friends who were already enrolled in hero courses being more than willing to show what they learned, which mainly meant leaving them groaning in the sand or, in Shindo's case, forcing Midoriya to tap out 9 times out of 10. When the time came to use their quirks, they had already cleared enough of the beach that one could see the sea beyond from the stone steps, which got them some love from the locals as a few older folks would stop by and thank them, offering drinks and snacks to keep their strength up or telling them tales of how the place used to look like and what it meant to them.
Good thing, as when they used their quirks, that clean-up process accelerated as people like Yoarashi could both move loads equal to it would take 10 of him to accomplish but also train his fine control, same as Aoyama who created light platforms to load trash into and take in single trips, saving him time. Even Fuwa got in on the action, creating pink clouds; she used them to carry things about for her like servants, even taking naps while her quirk worked to practice how long it could act with simple orders without her conscious input.
The rest who couldn’t use their quirks to clean the beach used them in other ways as Utsushimi focused on creating more detailed, sturdier illusions and often without telling them to test how someone both unsuspecting and suspecting would react. Midoriya trained his ice close to the water, firing into the sea and trying to create constructs, freeze the water into barriers, or even just send ice through the soles of his feet to walk on the water's surface-which ended with him being soaked more times than he cared to count. Sekigai merely kept track of where everything was.
Kids love that part on the weekends and seeing them sparing with quirks. However, they had to keep them back as the cops gave them legroom, as it were, for essentially breaking the law because they were close to or already legal adults and mainly used their powers to serve the community. Add the chance of kids being caught in a training accident, and that could quickly go away.
Line Break
“You seem excited about today.” Shindo noted as he watched his opponent getting ready. Around them, the rest watched the two with eager eyes, but also relieved once as their 6 months of cleaning had gone. They had gone far beyond even their best expectations as the once junk heap was now a clear, bright beach where one could return and take in the sights, the waves, and sun. Or they would; snow might still be a few days off if it wasn't December, but that didn't mean the temperature wasn't freezing outside.
Crouched, Midoriya continued to stretch his legs and knees. Despite the cold, he wore much looser, thinner summer exercise gear. Shindo has worn more appropriate gear for the weather. "It's the day I finally beat you; of course, I'll be excited."
Shindo’s smirk only grew at that response. “Didn’t you say that before, and the time before that?” Midoriya’s twitch only made him happier.
Finishing his warm-up, Midoriya stared his foe down, ready to correct that terrible win/loss ratio between them, hero training or not. "I did, but those were spars without quirks. This time, I can use it." Midoriya tapped his belt buckle, and the warmth he felt from the quirks inside gave him strength.
Shindo instinctively reached for his right wrist, where his bracelet sat as it always did, a similar feeling from it emboldening him. "I like the confidence. Just keep it up for the entire fight, right?"
From the side with the others, Sekigai stepped forward. “Are the two fighters ready?”
“Yeah.” Midoriya replied while Shindo nodded. The spectacle girl looked both over before stating:
"The rules are simple, the fight will be decided best 2 out of 3, and the winner is decided by me, by submission or knock-out. Also, please remember this is a public beach we've been working to clean, so don't do anything crazy." She felt the need to remind them as one never knew when it came to them. Despite being the older of the two, Shindo liked to push Midoriya's buttons; meanwhile, despite knowing that, Midoriya always fell for it.
“Understood.” Still, they both consented, so Yoarashi could fire them both into the freezing ocean if worst came to worse.
“Then begin!” With that, she jumped back. Not giving his foe a second to think, Shindo stomped his foot on the ground, a wave of vibrations shooting out towards Midoriya, who rolled to the side to evade it, but Shindo saw that coming, his foot shifting to face him again, the wave of vibrations through the sandy beach shifting in toe.
Evading once more, Midoriya back-flipped away, increasing the distance between them, the waves chasing after him, and the distance closing as they picked speed. Landing on a rock, he used it as a springboard to launch him back towards Shindo, the distance he had built up meaning little as he felt the power from his quirk coursing through his veins, granting him power that he could never achieve before.
Seeing him coming, Shindo crossed his arms to block the punch. He barely felt it, but the force shifted him back in the sand. Countering his arms, started to aggressively vibrate, seeing what was coming, Midoriya quickly disengaged, but Shindo still caught him with a straight push kick to the chest, his leg aggressively vibrating as well, sending him back a couple meters. Midoriya didn't just take it, however, as he bounced right on back, a right cocked as Shindo raised his arm to counter, the limb starting to vibrate.
That was a feint as Midoriya launched a kick with his left, his shin smacking into Shindo's unprotected side. Tensing his muscles, Midoriya followed through with the strike, his leg extending all the way and knocking Shindo off his feet. Surprised by this attack, the older boy recovered quickly, flipping himself mid-air and landing on his feet. Now that was a hit, he felt.
Laughing a little, he reached for his bracelet in full view of Midoriya. "That was a nice warm-up, wouldn't you say? But I think it's time we stopped playing around." Shindo asked him, Midoriya matching his smile. He grasped his belt buckle with his left hand while his right hand placed a palm over his heart.
“Lets.”
Line Break
And that's it! Yeah, it's a cliffhanger, but if I wrote them taking the fight seriously now, it means showing off more of how their quirks differ from others, which I would really like to save for a bigger moment, not just training; you know? But in all seriousness, we should be hitting the entrance next chapter, which should be up May 20th.
