After the battle trial was over, Aizawa declared that Shinso would be joining the hero course next year. The boy was disappointed with his performance to which Aizawa reacted by giving him a brutal dressing down.
"Sometimes, the odds are so against you that you can do nothing about it. What will you do then?"
Shinso had no reply.
"You will still face the odds and try your very best to save civilians. Running away is simply not an option for a hero. It may seem irrational, but, walking the walk is a hero's job. Remember that. A hero who runs away from a villain and abandons the civilians to the villain's mercy is a disgrace."
We entered a routine after that day.
Classes and hero training was the norm.
1B became a lot more friendly with us after that battle trial and my pain over being cheated on by Itsuka gradually lessened.
As winter rolled in, I began waking up dark and early and making myself a cup of latte. My new routine did not go unnoticed and soon, I was joined by none other than Uraraka.
We would just sit in silence and drink our coffee or talk about something absolutely random. I did not mention the hot spring incident again as it made her red and hot like lava, but, there was this... tension developing between us.
I'd wait in anticipation for her to come to the common area every morning. The slight nervousness that I would sometimes feel as my eyes would linger on her for a moment longer, the sweet agony of the closeness of our bodies as we sat on the couch, the slight rise in my heartbeat and the heat that rose in me much more frequently during those months... It was pretty clear what was happening to me.
The icing on the cake... I could sense similar things happening with her.
Even if it was winter, it felt like spring when I'd be close to her.
I tried to create distance between us, fearing something similar happening with her as did with Isuka, but, I just could couldn't bring myself to do so.
Slowly, but surely, the flower named Ochako had blossomed in my heart, bringing life to that which had withered away in the harshness of betrayal.
The comfort of 'normalcy' was much welcomed.
But, along with the comfort came the edge of not knowing what the villains were up to.
Silence is always followed by noise.. Stability is always followed by chaos. The balance had shifted which meant that chaos was going to come with a ginormous bang.
I tried to talk to Nighteye and inqure about his investigation into Kyudai's career but there was little he could tell me as the communication method was not safe. Better be safe than sorry. I could tell the heroes were close, but, I didn't know how close.
As December ended, Todoroki finally got is Provisional Hero License.
I did my Winter Internship with Endeavour to finally settle the beef we had with each other.
"Let me start with saying this... You were a douchebag and I unapologetically hate you for what you did to your own family. The only difference between you and those abusive American husbands who beat the shit out of their wives and children when drunk is that you are Japanese and did all that while you were sober. That makes you worse than those losers."
.
.
.
"I am trying to change. I am trying to be a better man, a better father, a better husband and a better hero. I deeply regret what I did in the past. Everything you have just said is true, even though it was very crass."
I nodded and said with disgust, "You tried to sabotage my internships after the sports festival out of pettiness."
"... Yes.. And I deeply apologize for doing that to you."
I kept staring into his eyes and said after a moment, "I present forward that we act neutral towards each other and act like two professionals. It will take time for me to give you any modicum of respect. You have a long way to go. Your son is my friend and he seems to be getting more comfortable with having you as his father. That gives you the benefit of the doubt."
.
.
.
"... Agreed."
That was how we settled the beef... Talking like men.. not fighting like hooligans.
I focused on the telekinetic aspects of 'Conqueror's will' during that internship. Blocking fire and ice without using barriers, crushing cinder blocks and concrete, weighing bodies down to make them fall.. kinda like focused increase in gravity or atmospheric pressure.
Also, I trained my teleportation to become faster and easier for my head. The difficulty was that I'd feel dizzy after teleporting too many times too quickly. It gave me vertigo... for the first few times. I bypassed that by using 'will of observation' insead of my eyesight to keep track of where I teleported.
I spent my mornings meditating and sensing everything around me. My choice to do so in the mornings was deliberate. I did that in the evening once and the result was highly disturbing. I wasn't a voyeur and couples tend to get... frisky and tickle each other a lot with different body parts in the evening.
My body had fully adapted to 'One For All'. So, what I boosted 'will of observation' with OFA, its range went off the charts! Also, the sheer power of 'Conqueror's will' increased to the point that I could crush a station wagon to the size of a soda can.
The biggest result of my training.. I had found Shigaraki.
I rushed towards the training room where Endeavour was by himself and barged in without warning.
"Endeavour!"
The man was busy burning a bot to crisp as he turned around and said, "Don't you know how to knock?!"
"I've found where Shigaraki is hiding! You need to call in an urgent meeting with other heroes and the police chielf!"
I thought it would be the final showdown... but it was only the beginning.
(BNHA)
A/N: This is officially my longest fanfic now. To think at one time I dropped it and was ready for someone else to adopt it. I'm so happy with how this story has turned out to be.
This is obviously an AU and Midoriya would not be getting the quirks of previous users and nor will their wills be manifesting in his mind.
Thank you so much for all the support till now. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Comment your thoughts. They matter a lot more that useless power stones.