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A New Existence Chapter 8
🕑 Added 2023-09-06 13:18:30 +0000 UTCWe're back with another chapter, had a good week as I was able to submit some assignments without issue, and I finally watched the third MHA movie, much like the second, it was really good but just like the second-it really fucks with the timeline and canon of the show. I'm not arguing it shouldn't as Horikoshi has already stated the movies are canon, but much like how the second has big events that are never even hinted at in canon-the third movie has all those problems and more, taking place in the same period between seasons 5 and 6.
I mean, I laughed when they tried to explain why they were using Japanese hero students in a global counter-terror op. I get it, you want to use the characters you have and it saves you time from creating an entire roaster of movie-exclusive pros, but by doing so you'll saying that outside a handful of exception-heroes in other countries are either downright terrible or secretly working with the villains which they did with the police in Otheon. The movie doesn’t even mention Star and Stripe despite the whole point of the villain's plans being to eliminate the world's best heroes but again, 90% of the heroes that show up are Japanese so unless they were trying to help AFO take over Japan once more-their plans made as much sense as a bucket made from cardboard.
I know that a 4th movie is coming out and it seems to be set during season 6 Dark Deku arc and if I had to guess-its goal is to address the failings of that arc seeing how we barely got time to feel how bad things are such as seeing the decay of hero society-the more open mutant discrimination, the students grieving the loss of Midnight, Shoto thinking about Dabi and what this could mean for him and his family, Izuku unlocking and learning how to use Fajin and Smoke and lastly Deku’s crumbling mental health. If the movie does address these things, my hopes aren’t that high as there is only so much one can do in 90 minutes.
Chapter 08: Simulation Becomes Reality
“I can’t believe they took so long to all pass; we're training even harder when we get back," Aizawa grumbled, watching as the last of his students barely managed to pass the first part of the exam by the skin of their teeth.
“Oh, Eraser, don’t be like that! You can say you’re proud of your kids.” Joke pocked his side.
“I’m furious.” She responded to his dry retort with a laugh as the first part of the exam was called and the students that didn't make it through but were still on the field started to leave, many of the 3rdyears dejected that they lost their last chance to earn a license while still in school.
“Oh yeah, I can really feel the rage off of yer.” Ms. Joke finished her laugh, wiping a tear from her eye while Eri turned to the two confused.
“Why are you mad? They did good, right?” Her question got the man to pause, much to the amusement of Joke who knew how little experience he had with kids.
“…” He nearly responded with one of his automatic responses to such a question but paused as this wasn’t one of his students or an angry parent, so he had to adjust accordingly which led him to sigh before he responded. “I’m not mad at them, just upset that they didn’t pass sooner, that was too close for comfort.” He expected more from his students, it was why he trained them to the bone day in and day out.
“Oh,” Eri paused to think about his response, trying to make sense of it before she asked another question. “Then why did you lie?”
“Told you!” Ms. Joke laughed at his expense while he grumbled about how Eri didn't know the difference between being angry one failed and angry they didn't meet your expectations.
“Eri, let Aizawa-sensei act like a grumpy cat.” Izuku stepped in to give the man some space as while she found it just as funny as Ms. Joke to see him flounder, they should focus on other things.
“Is he like Matsumoto-san’s cat, Peaches?” Izuku barely stifled the laugh that formed in her chest at the comparison of a seasoned pro and an old lady’s fat cat.
"You could say that, he's a bit grumpy but still a sweetheart." She decided to go with it, if that was how Eri was going to understand it, who was she to try and change that? After all, she wasn’t the most creative with comparisons either.
“Oh, Eraser, she got you down to a tee!” Ms. Joke chuckled.
‘Why?’ Aizawa wanted to go home and take a nap.
Line Break
As the underground hero was getting his chops handed to him by a child, the gathered 100 awaited for the next part of the exam to start, using the time to meet with classmates, learn what they did and when they passed and pass along useful tips that they might have picked up from watching the others fight. “Wait, what do you mean Shishikura didn’t pass?” Yoarashi was one of those, having finally found the rest of his classmates who made it through and learned that not all of them passed.
“Tone it down, Yoarashi, there’s no need to shout.” His senior Mora Nagamasa, scolded him. The second year was covered head to two in thick blond hair that left nothing of his body visible but one didn't need to see his face to see how disappointed he was with his classmate's failure. “As for why he didn’t, it’s because he went ahead without us, acting like he didn’t need help just like I feared he would. You at least have the excuse of being a first year but he should have known better.”
“Do you know who took him out?” Yoarashi asked, a little ticked that where U.A. managed to get all their students through, they fell through but that was just proof of how great U.A. was and fuel to continue to grow.
Mora sighed. “Afraid not, we didn’t get to speak after his knock-out. Though it seemed more like he didn’t want to speak.”
Another of his upperclassmen, one whose face seemed to be a featureless black mask shook his head. “You know him, he’s pride can be his worst enemy. He’s probably salty that he lost a fight he should have won.” As much as Mora wished that wasn't, he that to be the most likely case if he had lost like so many others-he wouldn't have been so frustrated and silent. He could think of one person that he was actively targeting, that same person being not too far from them yelling at his classmate about something.
"Honestly, I would have hoped he handled that issue of his by now, holding yourself and others to a high standard is fine, especially in this line of work but he takes it way too far and acts like he's a teacher," Mora noted, as he had known the boy since their first year and knew more then most how much he could get stuck in his head, and forget the bigger picture if he thought that a rule was being broken, it was the reason he lost out the election for class rep as he was too uncompromising and demanding when it came to what he saw as the image and character of a hero.
“Saddle up, people for the hundred of you that passed, kindly turn your attention to the screen.” Mera's voice cut through whatever thoughts he could have on his classmate as he and the rest of the students turned to the massive screen that hung from one of the walls, on it was a live feed of the battle area taken from must be a camera on the tallest point of the stadium as it managed to capture the entire field.
“The test arena? What’s gonna happen there, an explosion?” Utsushimi Camie, a student who seemed to constantly get scolded by Shishikura, asked. Not a moment later, explosions rocked the arena as the student watched, slack-jawed at how the many buildings, bridges and forested areas were blown straight to hell, collapsing into a growing fiery hellscape as it seemed that they also managed to sneak in flame accelerants and fuel sources as the place looked close to what happens when you release a drunk Endeavour and tell him he’s surrounded by villains.
Utsushimi, seeing that some of the other students were looking her way raised her hands in surrender. “I like, so didn’t think I was gonna be right.”
"Never let it be said that a commission doesn't have money to burn if they'll willing to literally blow it all to hell," Jiro observed as the fires seemed to continue to spread, even to their current location with the only saving grace being that it was slower to reach them than anywhere else.
"I really shouldn't tell my folks that their tax money is helping to pay for this," Uraraka noted.
"After that little shake-up, there's just one round left in the exam, Pass this and you get your license.” They weren’t too sure that they agreed with Mera and the commission on what counted as a ‘shake-up’. “The goal for this exam is simple, you’re to enter the disaster zone after a major incident and save the bystanders that were caught in all the mess.”
“Wait, bystanders? What bystanders?” Kaminari asked.
“I think they’re talking about them.” Kirishima pointed to the corner of the screen which zoomed in on one of the zones, allowing them to make out the dozens of bodies moving the fiery disaster.
“Little kids and old people? What the heck, why are they here?” Sato asked, concerned for their lives.
“This seems like they’re going too far for an exercise.” Tokoyami mused.
Either hearing the growing concern or more likely, having predicted it, Mera added something useful. “Don't worry too much about them, these are specialists who have been trained to act as persons in need of rescue. Say hello to the Help Us Company or H.U.C for short.” The camera zoomed in on some of them as they put on fake blood and dirties their clothes before moving about, getting into position of talking with one another, One that looked like a child waved at the camera, showcasing how they had a hint of a 5-o-clock shadow going for them.
"That's so dumb," Bakugo stated as Kaminari leaned in him, much to his frustration.
"Not really, I mean they're basically actors that assist in hero training. If not them, what can we use? Dummies?" The blonde electric user asked.
"You forgot what kinds of jobs our world can have," Asui noted as it made sense if you considered all that would be needed to train and support heroes. After all, most studios in the entertainment world had contracts with big-name heroes to use their likenesses and body doubles in their productions, After, someone like All Might didn't have the time to both do his job and appear in what felt like half of all hero or action movies in the last 20 years.
“The H.U.C bystanders have dressed like injured victims and are located across the disaster site. We’ll be judging how well you handle them and the situation as you go about your mission.” Mera gave them some of their instructions, cutting through the chatter in the room. “Oh, before I forget, we’ll be scoring you in a point system. If you have more points than the benchmark, then you pass. We're starting in 10 minutes, if you need to use the bathroom or take a breather, now's the time to do that.”
Line Break
With Aizawa, he sat straight in his seat, his eyes glaring at the arena as if the space itself as personally offended him and his family, but it wasn’t without cause as he had seen this kind of place before, even if he hadn’t been present. “It is too familiar for comfort.” His ears could almost hear the screams, the explosions, the fighting that seemed to be happening all over the place all while the bodies continued to pile up.
“Just like Hosu…fires all over the place.” Ms. Joke stated, her earlier amusement at his expense gone, in its place the calm professionalism of an experienced pro as she looked about the place, eying both the destruction and how the H.U.C. agents placed themselves in position, nothing too serious to too close to a fire but she saw a few of them carrying what looked to be oxygen tanks, implying some of their 'hiding spots' were in placed close to smoke, it seemed extreme but…times were changing.
"They clearly don't want a repeat of it happening again and studied that incident extensively to recreate something close to it for them, but still, it seems excessive for rookies," Aizawa noted, he was a taskmaster and expected nothing but 110% from his students, but this-this might have served a greater purpose but it seemed like too much of an ask for mainly 2nd years.
'It makes sense that they'll wish to prepare for something like this in the future, after all, they haven't been able to do anything of substance about the League, and if we know that they're most likely planning something, the commission must know that as well.' Izuku thought to herself, having spent quite a lot of time studying the League before she arrived at U.A., though there wasn't much on them other than how flashy they liked to be, damned the consequences as the 80+ dead from their last attack showed.
But what she could glean from news reports and police filings on the incident her contacts could get their hands on was that the heroes while not at fault, did make crucial errors from time to time, or were too slow to react to the chaos around them. A reasonable thing when so many grew up in a world where All Might was around, she had to hold back the snort as she recalled that she was just like them-believing him a near God and that he would always come to save the day.
'Fraud can't even face his mortality, nor did he save us.' She frowned, keeping the rest of her negativity to herself as she couldn't let others see that. “From what I saw about the Hosu incident, if you take that into account, literally burning away hundreds of millions once seems like a smart investment.” She stated before a thought came to mind.
“Speaking of, Aizawa-sensei,” She looked towards her teacher who spared her a glance. “I know that you’re first trip to the USJ for this kind of training was…interrupted, but did you ever have the chance to return?”
The man signed, not a good sign. “Unfortunately, no. The entire facility was closed for investigations and by the time the police cleared it, we were a week shy of the festival, so most were too busy training themselves.” There was also the issue that some of them didn't want to return so soon after they nearly died there, a sentiment he and the principal decided was cause to leave it voluntary for the moment.
“Seems like an oversight.” Midoriya pointed out.
"It was, but it was ruled that it would be better to present a strong front for the festival in the wake of the League's attack on us. It's only in hindsight that we understand that it was just the beginning of our problems." All signs pointed to the League being far too disorganized and small to act as any real threat, they even captured their big gun during their debut assault on the U.S.J. They were fools to ever assume that as the League only grew bolder after that, as if they were an addict chasing the high.
“So, my classmates are heading into this with an even greater disadvantage?” Izuku asked him.
“That seems to be the case, I wouldn’t be surprised if 30% fail.” Aizawa leaned back into his seat, his emotions regarded the familiar setting calming.
“That sounds generous when the average is 40%.” Ms. Joke added in.
"They tend to surprise you, so I just got used to it."
Line Break
“Hey, you with the collar. Have I…offended you somehow?” Todoroki approached Yoarashi, having decided that he needed to answer straight from the horse's mouth, with Hagakure tagging along for moral support.
Yoarashi, who had been so happy mere moments ago, seemed to lose all that when he heard Todoroki's voice, turning around to confirm he was talking to him just seemed to turn his sour mood murderous. ‘Jeez, you would think Shoto killed his cat.’ Hagakure thought to herself, wondering what could Shoto have done that could have made this guy so mad.
“Oh, I sorry, son of Endeavour. Did I hurt your feelings?” Tododoki’s eyes widened there, not only had he not expected someone to address him through his father, but he had never met someone who seemed to carry so much hate for his bastard of a father.
Yoaroashi’s gaze remained hard and harsh "I just can't help but hate you. Your eyes have barely changed since the last we spoke, they'll still be just like your old man's." Todoroki felt his anger grow and bubble at that, insulted that he would ever be compared to his old man.
Before he could get into an argument with the Shiketsu student, his friend beat him to it. “Hey, that’s totally rude. You haven’t even said when you two last met!”
Rather than back down or apologize, Yoarashi scoffed at her reply. “I don’t need to. He should remember but I’m not surprised he does, people like them never remember anyone that gets in their way.”
“Something the matter, Yoarashi?” Mora asked him, not too far away from where the three were.
“Nope, none at all!” And just like that, his mood reverted to what it was before they spoke as he turned his back on them and walked off.
‘My father’s eyes…’ Todoroki wondered about them for a second, now sure that they had met before but not being able to recall it…just like how his father rarely remembered the people he saved. ‘Do I…really look like him?’ He asked himself, looking at his hand, his left hand.
“Jeez, he was such a jerk. He wouldn’t even say why he’s upset, I bet it’s because it’s totally petty like something Bakugo would yell about.” Hagakure, lacking most of the knowledge regarding his troubled family and poor relationship with his father, came to another conclusion about their little chat.
“What was that about me?” Bakugo yelled from where he stood with the rest of the class, having seemingly missed the conversation but always heard when his name was brought up.
Line Break
“Villains have performed a large-scale terrorist attack spading all of insert-city-name-here. As a lot of the buildings have collapsed, there are many injured in need of rescue and treatment.” With a blare of the bell, the walls of the room that the students were in gave way, allowing them to rush off in just about every direction while Mera gave them one last piece of the puzzle regarding the scenario. “Due to heavily damaged roads and other fire hazards, emergency services have been delayed. Until they can make their way through the chaos, the heroes in the area are to render whatever aid they can in tending to wounded, victim recovery and managing the fires before they take any more lives.”
“Come on, come on, COME ON!” Yoarashi took to the skies, using his quirk to fly towards where he figured there would be the most people in need, though he made sure to be careful with all the fire around messing with the air currents and making it rise. “Let’s do this!”
Many decided to stick in groups, and now that the exam had nothing to do with targeting one another, those from the same school banded together with U.A. being no different. “We’ll head for the closest area and work as a team to save as many people as possible!” Yaoyorozu instructed them as they moved towards the wreckage of what used to be the business district, Shoji and Jiro keeping an ear to the ground to see if they couldn't find anyone on the way there.
But they didn’t make it far before Ashido noticed one of their own breaking off, followed by two others. "Seriously, you're going off on your own again?" She asked as Bakugo left the group and seemed to make his way towards the mountains, followed by Kaminari and Kirishima.
“Dammit, why’re you extras following me again?” Bakugo yelled at the two over his shoulder.
Keeping pace with him, the two replied with a cheeky-ass smile shared between them that made him want to smack it clean off their faces. “Cause we wanna.”
Avoiding a piece of burning rubble, Asui gave her view of the situation. “It might just be a test, but it sure does feel real.”
"Mind the fires, and be on the lookout for explosions, who knows if a gas main was damaged by this!” Ojiro yelled, sidestepping a large crack in the ground as they crossed into the business district proper and saw that it was worse than they imagined.
“There’s also debris to be mindful of, be on your guard and protect one another!” Yaoyorozu yelled back, thinking of all the things she might need to make.
"A high order to be sure. Such an environment isn't one I'm suited for but I shall do my best to endure." Tokoyami replied though he prayed that he would be able to render more aid than he thought he could, but that would require they first take care of the fires.
As they tried to come up with a plan, Jiro picked up something in the distance. “I hear something!” Focusing on it, she led them off the main road down a broken alley to where a building had collapsed, the voice that she heard becoming clear for the rest of them.
“Help me please, it hurts!” They found a small 'child' crying, rubbing at his eyes while he kept pointing towards a destroyed entryway.
“There, it’s a little kid!” Shoji called out as they all made it to him.
"My grandpa, he's been crushed and I can't get him out!" The kind cried, rubbing at his nose and eyes to stem the floor and try and control himself, but was failing miserably.
"This doesn't look good," Sato noted, seeing how badly the kid seemed to be hurt.
“Really, that’s your response to this? ‘This doesn’t look good’ Minus points!” The ‘kid’ dropped the act and immediately scolded them.
“What the-are the H.U.C members the ones judging us?” Sero asked, shocked by the abrupt change in the guy, he knew that they were actors but he didn’t think he could reverse and change himself so fast!
Not done laying into them, their judge continued, pointing at them. "The thing you should do is see how bad my injuries are and see if I can walk on my own or not! I'm breathing funny and have what looks to be a head injury too but not a single one of you noticed? That's shameful!" The group felt a little bad about how they hadn't noticed or acted on that.
“People with a hero license would be able to get all that and act on it in an instant!” That feeling only got worse as the judge continued his tirade, bringing up how much better heroes were at this and to some extent-they knew it as they couldn’t ever recall a pro screw this part of the job-from someone like All Might to even small-time local heroes-when it came to rendering aide, they knew what they were doing.
“I don’t care if you’re first years, your gross lack of training is no excuse for your poor actions, so pay attention newbies because you need to hear this.” He pointed out towards the larger area, a spot they could see through the smoke thanks to their elevated position. From their vantage point, they could make out how the other students were faring and it was safe to say, it was better than they were.
Before them, they saw people working to create hazard zones, putting out fires or at the very least, keeping them back, others helped to remove debris so that someone else could get to the H.U.C. victims, assess their injuries before being escorted away to a zone set up for on the field treatment.
"See how they're acting, they're working together to ensure that they all can do their jobs, quickly and effectively using their skills to their maximum potential, giving advice wherever they can and suggestions on ways to improve or speed things up."
Seeing that they could see what he was trying to tell them, he continued though in a less judgmental tone. "They barely need to talk, they don't need a clear leader, they need their training to know that in this kind of situation, one must rely on their skills first and foremost before they default to the guidance of others as that can slow things down and overburden someone whose job isn't to be command and control."
“You’re not here to provide aide, or to be back-up for someone else. You need to act as the fire-fighters, medics and relief workers all at the same time till others can arrive." He finished off before getting back into character and crying about how it hurts and how they need to save his grandpa. If he found it funny how they still found his acting chops to be impressive, he didn't let it show.
Line Break
After this moment, while the teachers and Izuku couldn’t tell what the H.U.C. agent did, they could tell that he did something good as whatever it was kicked them into high gear as her classmates went about taking in what they were seeing from the others and following suite, making use in their capabilities to help much like the rest of the participates. Yaoyorozu seemed to be commanding them, as expected in her role as class rep and doing a pretty good job at it, a task she was doing while helping by creating stuff like beams and supports. Sato and Sero stayed close to her, using their meta-abilities to help prop up stuff or reinforce the damaged buildings to give others a chance to work.
Jiro and Shoji remained in a support role, using their superhuman senses to find people who might not be responsive while Aoyama was a human torch. Koda seemed to be using small animals like pigeons to aid in the search as well but also helping with on-the-field first aid. Uraraka was floating stuff away from people and working with Tokoyami to handle the fires, and it seemed with each fire taken out, Dark Shadow seemed to grow, perhaps the sentiment meta-ability had a weakness to fire, she'll have to confirm that later. The one that she was told was a direct student to Eraser had left the group behind and was with the field hospital, helping tend to the wounded which made sense as he didn’t have a meta-ability that would be too useful in a search and rescue operation.
All in all, they seemed to be handling things alright, proving that Eraser had reason to believe in how adaptable they were.
As she thought about this and how she'd record this for later, she felt Eri tug at her sleeve, looking towards her little one “Momma?”
“Yes, Blessing?” She turned her attention to her.
“They explained how they’re going to do the test, but he didn’t say what will be marking.” Izuku smiled, happy that her daughter had caught that little piece of information.
"I think that they don't want to spoil it for them," Izuku replied, though Eri still looked confused by it.
“Spoil?”
Aizawa stepped in from there. “Think of it like a test about all that you learned, you do those kinds of things, right?” Eri nodded, recalling the spelling and Japanese language tests, she struggled with those but her momma always helped her understand them. "It's something close to that here. They want to see how they use what they already know in a controlled space. How they practically use their knowledge."
“Is it like when I play ball with my friends?” Eri asked her, getting a nob from the man, though the example was a bit crude.
“Just like that, Eri. When you play ball with your friends, they don’t ask about how you run, how to speak with them, or how you kick-its all about how you use them together.” He finished, letting the girl think about it as he turned back to his students, watching how they branched off even further with some leaving for the other zones to assist there, whereas Bakugo had already made it to the mountain zone with Kirishima and Kaminari.
“Kay.” Eri nodded.
“She sounds to be quite smart for her age.” The group turned to see 2 people approaching them, the one that had spoken seemed to be a middle-aged man with little in the way of distinguishing features other than his rather intense, stressed and nervous eyes. However, whereas he seemed like an office worker-the person standing next to him was far more recognizable, especially to Izuku and Ms. Joke.
“You’re-” The man nodded as he bowed to them, his student doing the same.
“Seung Ken. I’m the homeroom teacher for class 2-A for Shiketsu.” Seung introduced himself to his fellow teachers before gesturing to his student. "This is one of my students, Shishikura Seiji.”
“Greetings.” The boy spoke, though he didn’t say more which they couldn’t fault him for as his beat-up appearance only made it clear why he wasn’t in the field with the rest of his class.
“You came to talk?” Aizawa guessed.
"That was the idea, yes. Seiji is the only one who didn't make it past the first part of the exam, so I thought it would be good for him to speak with other teachers, and take this time to reflect." Seung replied as he took a seat opposite Aizawa while Shishikura sat next to his student, putting three people between him and Izuku.
Regardless of this distance, Izuku still bowed a little in her seat before she introduced herself. “Midoriya Izuku, and this is my daughter, Eri.” Eri didn’t speak only waving as she hid a little in her mother’s side.
"She's quite shy," Izuku stated, though they picked up she didn’t apologize for her daughter’s actions.
"Funny eyes," Eri muttered, though Shishikura still caught it and despite this being the second time that day someone had brought it up, it still ruffled his feathers.
“My eyes are quite handsome!” Rather than take offence to this, Izuku just giggled as she combed a hand through Eri's hair.
“I wouldn’t take that as an insult, Seiji. Where we live, people look all kinds of ways, some very unique." She should know, one of her neighbors was a literal beast of a man, standing as tall as All Might and seeming like he was the cousin to the Minotaur-despite that, he was a florist and a pacifist.
"I'll have to take your word for it then," Shishikura replied, calming himself as he supposed that it wasn’t the worst thing she could have said about him.
"Speaking of taking things, we saw your match. I have to admit, that you dropped the ball quite hard." Shishikura narrowed his eyes at Izuku’s statement.
“Excuse me?”
Not deterred in the slightest, Izuku continued to speak. “You could have passed long before Bakugo, Kirishima and Kaminari wandered to you, but you chose to remain in the field. Why?”
“I wished to test them and see if they were worthy of being heroes as in this time of concern, the world doesn’t need more brutes.” Izuku nodded at that, though in the privacy of her mind, she wished to smack him upside the head. Where did he get off thinking he knew better? Was that why he wasted time? Because he wanted to judge Bakugo's character?
“Seems to be like you were trying to act like an examiner when you’re just another examiner.” She worded her response carefully, keeping whatever irritation she felt for his ego at bay though while neutral in response, he still seemed angered by it.
“She is not wrong, Shishikura. You’re a capable student who should have passed but you allowed bad influences to lead you to make bad choices. You should use this time to reflect on that to ensure this doesn’t repeat.” His teacher stopped him, agreeing with her on her assessment as the boy took a deep breath to calm himself, he had already shamed his school with defeat, he wouldn't do the same by losing his cool.
“What do you mean?” He asked the man who looked down to the field where the rest of his students were going about the test, with Mora seemingly having taken the lead in guiding their efforts.
"It seems to be that you've taken Stain's words to heart." Seung’s response got the older boy to stiffen while Eraser and Ms. Joke spared him a glance, but remained silent.
“Me? That’s preposterous.”
“Is it though?” This silence was shared as Izuku spoke it, asking a question that he might not want to answer, but still needed to be spoken. "Despite the fact Stain is a crazed fundamentalist, what Stain preaches isn't in itself a bad thing. Reforming society to better suit the needs of the many and different people that live in it isn't a bad idea-quite the opposite." Of course, society would be a lot better if the entire thing, not just heroes were changed, but she suspected she wouldn't have much of an audience for such radical solutions with these people.
“If you believe that, would you side with Stain?” Shishikura asked her, his eyes narrowed in such a way that she could immediately tell this wasn’t purely his bruised ego talking, but rather he was simply a firm believer in the status quo, someone that wouldn’t listen to a differing viewpoint, much less change his ways to account for that.
“Shishikura.” His teacher moved to scold him for his accusation, but she shrugged it off, having been called far worse.
“No, it’s not a bad question and my answer would be no," Izuku replied, speaking honestly as she neither wished to see heroes slaughtered like pigs nor believed that heroes were the end-all-be-all of their world. The change she wished for was much different to anything that a madman with a sword could ever see.
“Stain’s beliefs, no matter how good-just aren’t feasible.” She started, looking out towards the field, but seeing more than just the students in action but hero society as a whole. “He believes in a world where only he deems to be like All Might to be like heroes, but most pros aren’t like that. I would be surprised if a third of all pros currently active are like that.” She thought it was much lower than that, maybe around a 10th.
“If we say only a third of all pros could be able to keep working as heroes, then it means those remaining will have to do more than 3 times what they already do just to maintain what we have now; an impossible demand as even the number 2 hero, Endeavour, might as well be a large mountain compared to the Mt. Everest that is All Might.” This wasn't an argument as while the number 2 had surpassed the number of resolved cases that All Might had 4 years ago, he was still nothing compared to the wounded king who even now, remained the pinnacle of heroes and power. A situation made all the worse by the fact the gap between Endeavour and the average pro was comparable to his with All Might. There is simply no way that they'll be able to keep up if only a third of them could work.
“If that wasn’t impossible enough, Stain believes pros shouldn’t be paid for their work to prevent them from being corrupted by greed. I won’t say that pros are immune to bribes, they are,” Her free hand tightened into a fist, something that they could all understand, knowing that she faced that in her past.
But what they didn't know was she was contemplating ways she'd break that wretched woman who left them to suffer. It wouldn't be hard as with her no longer a pro, the commission wouldn't be paying too much attention if she vanished. But that was something for later. "But pros need to be paid, otherwise they won't be able to care for themselves. I mean, sure, it's a noble profession but so is teaching and medicine and no one ever says those people need to not get paid."
"Interesting take on this, but it's one I agree on," Shishikura replied, the teachers remaining silent as the two debated. “It’s why I believe that the Hero Public Safety Commission saw fir to overhaul the entire exam,” He paused too late, bowing his head in apology for his poor choice of words as Eri flinched when he reminded her of her captive. “They understand that we need more pros, nor more than ever, but they wish to ensure that those entering the field are held to a higher standard both in terms of physical power, but also skills. They’re trying to create more All Mights.”
“Maybe…but I don’t think that’s a good idea either.” Izuku, taking a breath to not let her fury at being reminded of that hypocritical waste of a human, shook her head at his assessment. She didn’t believe him wrong, but she believed that the goal was the issue.
“Absurd, how could having more heroes close to his level be anything less than a good thing for society as a whole?” Shishikura asked her, his brow creased.
Izuku, seeing that she had the attention of not just Shishikura but the 3 teachers as well, took a moment to word her answer. “I mean, he’s a great hero-the greatest even but I think part of the reason we’re in this situation is because of All Might.”
“That is a big thing to say, Midoriya. Care to elaborate?” Seung asked her, though his eyes didn’t so much judge her as they did encourage her to speak.
It was this that helped to carry her to say what she wished, controversial as it might have been. “It’s because of All Might’s strength, his speed, his raw power…that so many pros don’t try anymore. After all, when the difference between one and the other is as vast as an ocean-is there any point in trying?”
“I’ve studied pros ever since I was little, I would watch countless fights, countless incidents that are resolved by pros…but I’ve come to realize that too many go on too long, that too many don’t try as hard, or rely too much on their quirks that they refrain from acting that it’s a bad match-up.” She recalled watching the heroes pull back while Bakugo struggled, how none of them could think of a creative way to help him, or even seem to realize his weak point was its eyes.
“That seems like an assessment based on too few examples if you ask me, Midoriya.” Shishikura crossed his arms, a frown on his face.
“Possible, but there is another kind of pro that stems from All Might,” She looked him right in the eye, pure green meeting straight black. “Those who buy into his image.”
“Does this have anything to do with your encounter with the Slime villain from a year ago?” He asked her.
“Yes.” He blinked, surprised by how fast she admitted that, but she didn't see it as a mark of shame-more of awakening as before that day, she too thought of All Might as near deity-like. It was why she was shocked that he could be injured to such an extent, hearing him sound so defeated was so jarring as when he told her to give up on her dreams, to accept that she was just a weakling that could never cut it in heroics, there seemed to have been more in his words, an underlying frustration and exhaustion.
This pause gave her counterpart time to think before he responded. “I suspected as such, but looking back on it, your words do have merit as the pros on the scene could have done more to aide Bakugo before you arrived and intervened,” He admitted. "Though I must admit that I have the benefit of hindsight in my assessment when they did not."
Ms. Joke shook her head there, stepping into the conversation. "You're not wrong. Heroes train every day to contend with unfavorable situations, we don't get to sit out when things are a little tough. If All Might hadn't arrived when he did, things would have ended poorly." Eraser agreed with her on that. He told his students on their first day that was what was expected of them.
“But they did know,” Izuku replied. “The people in the crowd mentioned how that villain was being chased by All Might, that he was sure to arrive.”
“You think that they held back because of All Might?” Eraser asked her.
“Can you imagine a world without him?” She smiled a little when all four of them fell silent, though she couldn’t blame them for that. "He's been around for over 30 years; he's been a pro longer than any of us have been alive. I and everyone else taking this exam can't imagine a world without All Might because that's all we've known. Anyone else than us probably forget what that would be like." Perhaps the older ones, but even among the top ten, most were far too young to truly recall such days if they could at all.
"And it's all coming crashing down." She stated, that it might have been a whisper but it was still heard by them.
“Crushing down?” Shishikura asked her, unknown to both, Eraser sat a little straighter there, having known more about All Might’s condition than most.
Unknown to him, Izuku was very much aware of the failing health of the number one, of his injury and the existence of a villain that could hope to make their false God bleed. “All Might, for all his power-is still human. If he’s been around for that long, it means he’s in his 50s, most pros retire at that age as the years catch up with them. Haven’t you noticed that All Might’s been active less and less these days? He isn’t in his prime anymore and he knows it.” However, she couldn't use that information, not here, so she went with another angle of attack.
Turning from him to Eraser, she looked her teacher straight on. “I’m sure that’s why he took up a job at U.A., he’s trying to prepare us for when he’s no longer around.”
Shishikura nodded, considering her words and the truth in them as while something he never thought about, he had to admit that All Might must be quite old to have been active as long as he had, after all, he was sure that Endeavour had been chasing him his entire career and the flame hero has been around for over 20 years now. “You fear that when he finally announces his retirement, the vast majority of pros will be thrown into the deep end and unable to cope without him as a safety net?”
“Yes. Stain, the League, they aren’t so much creating problems as highlighting ones that were already there and making them worse by doing so.” Izuku replied.
Line Break
“You made ready for the event, Tomura?” Tomura looked away from the warehouse floor to his phone.
“Yeah, that last delivery made it here without issue. It’s nice when the doctor comes through.” He giddily replied, the leader of the League of Villains not being able to contain himself. After Hosu, they finally got some proper press and made some real waves to the point people talked about them and the Hero Killer in the same sentence, how both were threats to society and how they 'hoped and prayed' that the heroes would handle them.
Of course, he knew that he couldn't just sit around and not capitalise on that, but he also knew from the flop that was the USJ that he needed to be smart about it, that he needed to pick a proper target, gather the best party for the job, and hit within a damn good plan of attack as he couldn't just have his party members 'group up and hit it till it dies'.
So, as much as he hated it, he had to remain in the bar and plan, hours a day spent doing nothing but fucking planning, going over the information they could get, calling Giran about possible party members and recruits as well as gear. Then they had to weed out any weak ones as he didn't want numbers for this one, he needed all 5-stars for the dungeon raid he was planning on doing and today was the day, after 3 weeks of planning, they had finished what needed to be prep and gathered in an old warehouse not too far from the target.
“He always does, but he does best when given time to prep what you ask for, do remember that.” The voice on the other end chuckled.
"He said that he'll be able to make us our own venom and hasn't done jack shit about that," Tomura grumbled back as that asshole had been so damn sure of himself, more so after that girl that was the apparent source of the stuff escaped from their supplier but here he stood, 2 months after that bold declaration from the mad scientist with no more venom then they had then.
“Trust me when I say that I’m leaning on him to come up with a solution to our venom problem but till he does, we only have 2 High Ends who have given a dose.” He accepted that and dropped it, but to be honest, he wasn't too bent out of shape about it.
“Thanks, but I doubt we’ll need them right now, after all,” He looked down towards the team of elites he had gathered for this. And among the crowd of 50 villains who he had already had go through a 'quality check' there was the vanguard squad. Among those ace fighters he spotted the smallest of them fiddling with his gun, his gas mask already one. Two more were chatting in the corner, the one in black and white being far more animated while the woman he spoke with polished her magnet. Then there were two psychopaths, animals in human form who didn't speak with anyone-not after the blonde muscle head killed the last guy but hey, if you're dumb enough to approach a battle-crazed muscle head and a crazed cannibal-maybe you weren’t all that.
Last but not least was the dark-haired arsonist, he may hate his snarky, disrespectful charred ass but he knows he was worth the hassle. “I’ve found some pretty powerful party members.” And in just a few more minutes, those heroes will experience all that first-hand.
Line Break
And that is that, I wanted to make sure that end was included as it wouldn't be as impactful. The exercise has also gone through a change as we know that the one in canon was loosely based on Kamino and the aftermath of All Might's second battle with All for One, but here that never happened-instead they experienced Hosu but far worse, so it would make sense that would be the base they used, and since Hosu had a crap ton of fires-the exercise has a crap ton of fires.
When it comes to Izuku's views on All Might, they're to put it mildly-complicated. She doesn't hate the man per se, but she does view his choices with a more critical lens, one of which is his choice to as he put it, build himself up as this unbreakable symbol, she can acknowledge that through it he's done some great things, but he's also not done much to maintain the system once he inevitably retires, and he seems to know that as that was why he chose to continue to be All Might despite his injury because he knew he hadn't prepared the world for the day it's shining pillar would crumble.
At the same time, as she debated with Shishikura, she doesn't believe that it is up to just a few people, in this case, heroes to maintain the world like with Hawks, she's identified the fact that so many pros don't try as hard as they could because of All Might, so making more of them isn't the best solution but rather they need to change the world so that everyone reaches for their best, or as Curious would put it 'Allow them to live their best lives' and ensure that all have a say in things.
