36AU NOTES.
Forgive me Father, for I have sinned!
Look, I tried ok? I legit tried to keep this a one-shot, but the idea kept growing in my head, the militaristic theme too good to pass up. So I'll do another shot. I know it sounds like a drug addict denying wanting a fix, so I'll merely say that I will do what pops up in my head.
Also, [Blood for the Blood God] is in the making, so look forward to it. I only need a suggestion. I have two versions for the chapter to run in:
-One where Izuku "kills" the nomu by crippling the [Hyper Regeneration];
-Or, he weakens the behemoth and All Might takes the cake.
Give opinions, please.
Later!
XXX
The ride to Tokyo was not entirely unpleasant, the chopper had not trembled or made absurd turns to dodge gunfire and attacks. Well, he was the only one expecting such action, little Paz sleeping away on his lap. The elder heroine also seemed to have no problems in her seat.
Not Paz, he mussed in his mind, hands slowly running through the length of the girl's hair. It wasn't that she hated the nickname, but her original name brought her unpleasant memories. Eri, he recalled, codename: "Project Peacewalker" since her rescue from one of the labs under the Shie Hassakai. Her official name now was Midoriya Eri, she was safe under his wing.
The mission had been an undercover work that even now bound Izuku under so much red-tape that he promised one day to rampage through the bureaucratic Japanese Parliament, but his Exo-suit still had restrain-chips in the motherboard. One day, he sighed. One day.
Once the chopper reached Tokyo's HQ and landed, Izuku and Eri were taken to a room and told to wait while their escort was brought here. That meant he had to wait without any true means to defend himself while he waited on the government's word and U.A's backing. Izuku hated unknown factors. They meant that he could not plan for all the outcomes he could think, hence increasing the likehood of something going wrong in a critical moment.
He continued his mental exercises, aware that the room had hidden cameras observing them. Eri was still sleepy, thus doing her best impression of a baby-Koala as she slept the time glued to his chest. Twenty minutes later, his wrist-watch accusing 14:47 P.M, there were a couple of knocks on the door, followed by the slow entry of a few individuals.
Recovery Girl once more led the group followed by a black-haired man (who looked to be done with life) and the weirdest mouse/bear/furry creature he had seen, and Izuku had seen plenty of weird things in the battlefield.
The tuxedo-wearing animal sat on a nearby chair, his paws near silent as he did a motion resembling clapping.
"Hello there, young soldier! You might be asking yourself what or who I am." The creature spoke in a firm, but respectful tone. The soldier fixed his position on his chair, eyes focusing on the beady eyes of the furry animal. "Maybe a bear? A mouse? The correct answer would be U.A's headmaster!" The joke did little to settle the serious mood of the talk, Izuku's dull emerald orbs gaining an even colder tone.
"Good afternoon, Sir Principal. First Lieutenant of the QKL battalion and Head strategist Midoriya Izuku. I seem to be under your orders this time, so I hope to be of use to Japan's most famous hero school." Dry and profession, Izuku slightly dipped his head to his contractor. He was under no illusions here, the moment his performance was not up-to-par with High-tier heroes, Izuku knew that he would be kicked to the curb.
It would not be so bad for him alone, but he had to take care of Eri. She deserved much more comfort and security, things he could only provide if he was employed.
The other man behind the principal seemed to have taken an interest in Izuku, if his renewed attention upon the quirkless soldier was anything to go by.
The principal once more clapped his paws, the dull noise gaining the attention of all present. "It would feel rather stiff if you always called me like that, Midoriya-kun! Just call me Nezu, all the staff does it." With a name he could tag the principal, Izuku nodded to the words, his hands gripping the arm rests of his chair.
"No one calls you like that, principal!" The gruff man said, scratching under his right eye and pulling the ugly scar under it taut. Not that Izuku could call scars ugly, his body was full of them. Memories of the past, reminders of his mistakes.
"That is right, Aizawa-kun. However, would it not be better if you all did so!" Nezu responded to the sass with a light tone. "It would not do for us to scare our most recent employee."
Aizawa huffed, rolling his eyes and stuffing his hands in the pockets of his black attire.
"Enough with the mind games, Principal Nezu! The child needs to rest and I'm sure that Izuku too would appreciate settling in already." Recovery Girl scolded the principal, something that made Izuku raise one of his brows, the black horn in his forehead moving together.
Honestly, he would be fine with waiting even two full days awake. Anything past that would hinder his functions, no amount of training could fix such thing. Eri, on the other hand, was still a growing child and in need of plenty of rest. That being the case, Izuku nodded to the offer from the elder.
"Fair enough! We can discuss all the necessary steps back at school. There are living quarters for staff, so feel free to make use of them. Even if you already have a place to stay, you are still welcomed to use our resources." The principal happily announced, jumping off his chair and making his way to the door. "What are you waiting for, Midoriya-san?"
Izuku slowly rose from his seat, right hand fixing Eri's hold on his shirt. It felt much different, wearing a plain button-up white shirt instead of his usual military fatigues or suits, but it matched with his current life situation.
"Right behind you, sir principal." The military jargon, however, would also be hard to leave behind.
XXX
The living quarters that the principal spoke off where not what Izuku was expecting. That was not to say that they were bad; in fact, the place was great. That ticked his instincts off. There was plenty of space, the modern design fitting for the school.
Everything looked clean and civilian, much different from the extremely practical and dull buildings that he was used to live in, and sometimes built it himself together with the engineers and technicians of his unit.
After a quick tour of the school campus, Izuku was left on what he supposed where the living quarters that principal Nezu spoke of. Modern furniture matched the place, giving it a pleasant aesthetic that itched at his skin. He shouldered his rucksack, the massive thing easily his size, was hauled with one arm as he slowly walked the building, following the map given to him. He began committing the entire place to memory, giving a wide berth from any of the big windows that tastefully enhanced the design of the rooms. It also gave snipers perfect vantage points to pop your head like a watermelon.
He reached his room, the bare essentials already in place. It seemed that they also took his companion in consideration, the two beds and wide space proof of that. The room also had a built-in bathroom, complete with shower and a tub.
The soldier dropped his rucksack beside his choosen bed, carefully lowering Eri on the mattress. She continued sleeping, although it was clear that she preferred her previous perch.
"...Zuku..." Her sleeping voice settled his mind, making him exhale as tension finally left his shoulders. Then, he began his search around the room. Hidden cameras, microphones, heat-sensors and anything that could be used to detect or spy on them; he spared no effort in his search of such devices.
When he found none, even after his hour-long search, Izuku decided that his paranoia was a little too much. The soldier looked over the big window in the room, uneasy about it, but he could not ask it to be removed. Eri deserved to see the pretty sight of the sun rising, and even his paranoia would not deny her opportunities of happiness.
He began unpacking the contents of his rucksack, most of it being clothing items. The dresser fit all their clothes, making him wonder if the fact was a coincidence or not. His musings not taking him anywhere, the soldier began working on the last items remaining in his bag.
There was a knock on the door, Izuku's hand flicking with an involuntary response. His right hand grasped at his hip, where a holster would normally be housing his Five-Seven pistol, and he drew it as if ready to shoot at the door. His left had already opened the case of throwing knives, one spot missing the weapon as it flew at the door and deeply dug into it.
He blinked, realizing that there was no pistol in his hold. Quickly, he reached for the door, opening it as one would do when cleaning it for threats. He found only the man from earlier, Aizawa, staring at the tip of the knife poking through.
"Awfully twitchy, aren't you?" The man asked, making Izuku give an apologetic smile. The soldier grasped the knife, pulling it easily from the door. The man continued standing there, no indication of being intimidated by the action.
"Sorry about that, it is just...reflex behavior." He murmured, lowering his head.
Aizawa shrugged, dismissing him. "Don't mind it. Just came here to ask if you or the girl are hungry. Lunchrush is working on a menu for the students and asked for opinions on taste." He tried to peek inside the room, finding the girl looking at him with worried red eyes. His sight was soon blocked by Izuku, the soldier's eyes regaining the dull glaze that send shivers down the hero's spine.
"We will be there soon." The soldier said, closing the door rather slowly. Aizawa had the vision of the green eyes staring him down as the door became a barrier between them; only after that did the tension became bearable.
That kid is dangerous. Aizawa was not sure what the principal's plans were for the soldier and his protegee, but he became worried for the safety of his students. He rubbed the scar under his eye, aware that they needed help. But is this really the help that we needed? A soldier from a ghost unit that seems on the verge of a psychotic breakdown and murderous rampage? And what is with the girl? Are they siblings? They are different in appearance, but theirs horns are giveways. Quirkless people still have genetic traces of their parents' quirks, even if they don't have the abilities.
The teacher leaned on the hall wall, waiting for the duo to exit the room. The did so in five minutes, the girl wearing a blue skirt and white long-sleeve shirt, while the soldier still was dressed as earlier. The only difference that Aizawa could spot was the strap-on pouch on his left and the empty holster at his right hip.
They exited the room, the teacher nodding to the soldier, and began walking to the cafeteria area reserved for the staff. The soldier and the girl moved ahead, hands together as they talked quietly, and Aizawa hung back, observing the duo for any inconsistencies on their behavior. The underground hero wasn't at where he was by being careless.
Neither did the soldier in front of him. Even while the green-haired man was facing straight or looking at the girl, Aizawa could still fell his eyes glance at him every so often, like waiting to see if he would do something to threaten the girl.
The hero opted to walk ahead, glancing backwards to see if they would follow. His neck felt hot under the staring eyes of the soldier, dead and dull emerald eyes bore into his back. The innocent red eyes of the girl helped sooth the sensation, but Aizawa would do his best to appear non-threatening to the girl, else he'd a feeling he might catch a bullet into his skull.
He hoped that Nezu knew whatever he was messing with.
And that his students were ready for what was about to come.
XXX
Uraraka and her friend Iida were returning to school after the week off the students were given due to the attack on the USJ. The villainous attack had been terrible, some of her classmates ended with serious wounds. That is also not mentioning her homeroom teacher, whom she thought was dead.
Were it not for All Might, their class would have been truly finished. There were also those that shone brightly, even under the pressure of the attack. Bakugou Katsuki, Todoroki Shoto and Itsuka Kendo were the stars of 1-A, the true powerhouses that excelled in ability.
She felt some shame admitting that her legs froze completely during most of the incident, having to rely on her classmates to safely evacuate. She also felt guilty, being one of the few that had not been harmed by the villains.
-Bakugou, even with all his power, had one broken arm when he faced the strongest villain there, a hulking beast of muscle and violence.
-Todoroki ended up with signs of frostbite damage due to quirk overuse.
-Iida himself had the pipes in his legs overheat when he managed to flee and ask for help.
-Yaoyorozu barely escaped a rape attempt together with her friend Kyouka.
-Tsuyu was full of bruises due to fighting underwater against villains to help Mineta.
The list of unharmed was short, Uraraka being one due to pure luck. Even when Iida himself told her that it would never be her fault for their situation, guilty thoughts wormed their way in her mind, telling that she wasn't worthy to be among the Heroics class.
She snapped of her heavy thoughts when one of the girls sat atop her desk, waving a hand in front of her.
"Hey, Ochacho-chan, wake up already!" Mina had mostly been fine during the incident, her [Acid]-quirk offering heavy power and versatility to the girl, as well as an exotic skin color.
"H-hey!" Uraraka weakly responded, a blush dusting her face due to being caught day-dreaming.
Mina leaned close to her friend, offering her a wide grin. "What's getting you? Why the long face?" She asked, barely able to contain her body still. Mina was very energetic, making Uraraka wonder how she managed to stay so upbeat all the time.
"Nothing serious. I-I was just...thinking." Her answer was a weak one at best, but it seemed that the pinkette managed to get the message.
"I get it." Mina scanned her eyes over the class, many students sitting quietly in their places. "Who do you think will be in Aizawa-sensei's place?" She steered the conversation to a different subject, making Uraraka give a small, appreciative smile.
"Makes me wonder too. All Might-sensei also was rather injuried, so..." They managed to chit-chat a bit, tension slowly dissipating around them. The subject was still heavy in their minds, the memory of the fresh wound still bothering them.
The duo's conversation seemed to help the other students release some tension, conversations started sparking here and there. The mood was still one of tension, but they would make due. They were training to be heroes after all!
It took a fraction of a second for the situation to take a turn for the worse. Like gravity was bearing harder specifically around them, an invisible pressure began to descend upon the class. Just like when the mist villain appeared in front of them, the students felt an oppressive aura be directed at them.
Uraraka noticed her hands shaking, rather badly one might add, a terrible weight setting right in her stomach. She tried to steady her shaking limbs, only managing to make the oppressive feeling worsen. Her brown eyes glanced around the room to see if anyone was faring better than she was. The girl felt a bit better about herself as she noticed that no one was well, the guilt forgotten under the sensation of having a rope wrapped around your throat.
She glanced at the big sister of 1-A, hoping that the image of Kendo would give her some courage. The older girl seemed to be in control of herself, if only due to the pain as she was biting down on her lower lip hard enough to draw blood.
Mina looked around panicked, her eyes wet with tears that she seemed ready to shed; Mineta had simply passed out, his eyes wide open and there was foam at the corner of his mouth;
Bakugou was looking all over the place like a ravenous animal, red eyes expecting violence to happen at any moment; Todoroki was already covered in a thin layer of frost, right hand clenched into a fist over his table, the left one hidden under his table;
Tokoyami was still in place, his quirk cowering under his seat and whimpering.
All the students were in various states of distress, the oppressive feeling becoming worse by the second.
Then, the clicking of boots began on the corridor at the side of the class. All eyes snapped into the direction the sound was coming from, sweat building up on Uraraka's brow as she dry-swallowed the lump stuck in her throat.
Whatever it was, it stopped in front of the classroom door. The tension was at its highest point, the [Zero Gravity] quirk user holding both hands over her mouth, else she would vomit the breakfast she had.
The door slid, the person entering the class was mostly...normal. The tension seemed to have disappeared suddenly as whom she supposed to be the substitute teacher reached the podium.
Green hair that was shaved at the sides and ended in a ponytail, dull emerald-colored eyes and a horn stuck in the upper right brow. Black boots and heavy-duty pants, a simple leather belt, finishing up on a long-sleeved button-up shirt and a green tie. The person in front of them looked fairly common, the horn on his forehead being the only attention-grabbing oddity about this man. And he looked stacked.
Not All Might jacked, but he matched the profile of a hero that did much work on the physical side of things.
The man fixed his tie in place, showing his somewhat scarred hands, before he fully focused on them.
"DEKUUU?"
"Good morning, cadets. My name is Midoriya Izuku and I will be your new combat instructor. Aizawa had some business to take care, meaning that your homeroom hours will be under my care. Due to the recent incident with the invasion of the USJ facility, U.A decided that an instructor in battle tactics and unconventional situations was needed to aid your studies. Any questions will be answered in due time." Their new teacher explained, ignoring their resident bomber.
The blond did not take well to that.
"Do not ignore me, DEKU!" Bakugou, even with one arm in a sling, was still Bakugou. One explosion took him close enough to their green-haired teacher, a kick just about to connect to his face. Or that was what was supposed to happen.
So why was Bakugou crumpled on the ground, vomiting his breakfast all over their teacher's boots? When had he reached the ground? Some tried to stand from their chairs, Iida being the first one to reprimand both Bakugou and their teacher.
He immediately sat back in his chair, legs not responding to any order he tried to give them. All it took was one look from Midoriya-sensei.
"Listen well, class. We do not attack comrades! It matters not the situation, we do not attack them. When training, physical contact is inevitable and thus, accept that you will gain bruises; but we do not attack comrades." Izuku said as he grabbed Bakugou by his good arm, the blond still in bad shape.
"I'll be completely honest with all of you. None of you deserve to be here, to be the next heroes that will protect society. Yet, we are stuck with you. Hence the reason why I was called here. To build you to be heroes, to be ready to face the adversity that waits you out there. I'll hit you where it hurts, and the weak ones will fail. Do not expect coddling from me, You will receive none!" The words ran into the students, making every single one widen their eyes. Protests began to leave their mouths.
How could someone say that to them? What did he mean?
Their questions died in their throats, as well as their protests when the dull eyes of their teacher focused on them.
The oppressive feeling.
Death was staring them in the eyes, a mere musing would determine if they lived or died.
The eyes of their new teacher spelled their doom.
"Heroes are the shield that protects citizens from the evils of the world. You have gifts that make that possible. You chose this, the profession of hero. Nobody forced you to be here, you dragged yourselves here. Yet, the first conflict you experience is enough to shake you this bad? But worry not, I'll do my job so that you will be able to do yours in the future."
"Prepare yourselves."