"Where are you going, Midoriya?" Ojiro curiously asked after seeing the greenette's direction as well as his apparel.
"Hmm? Oh, morning run." Izuku answered while turning away from the dorms front entrance to the tailed blond. The former of the two was wearing a new set of gym clothes as his last pair was pretty much done for after the entrance exam. This time, the tank-top was a dark grey color with some black streaks that couldn't be seen unless you looked close enough.
Fashioned in the middle was a cartoonish design of a muscular hand lifting a large dumbbell. In a font that was equally cartoonish, the word 'Gain' was printed just above it. The shorts were of similar fashion; being that they were a dark color with a hint of crimson.
"If that is the case, then I hope that you do not mind a partner." Both Izuku and Ojiro turn to face the newest arrival into their conversation. Iida was steadily approaching with the same training outfit that Izuku saw him using during the entrance exam.
"You want to run with me?" Izuku asked; a little surprised someone was so easily willing to join him.
"Well, of course. It is a part of my training regime to take early exercises before starting the day. Is it perhaps the same with you, Midoriya?" Iida asked with a sense of admiration that a fellow classmate is invested into maintaining a healthy physique. The same mechanical hand movements followed along that the greenette was slowly getting used to.
"Uum, sort of. I usually do it to help me take my mind off things." Izuku left out the part where he had yet another bad run-in with his quirk during his short visit to the dark forest. But technically, he wasn't lying.
"Ah. The art of clearing one's mind is desired trait that all should strive for. Very considerate for a UA student." Iida almost seemed to take pride in that sentence; if him lifting up his chin and puffing out his chest was anything to go by.
Izuku and Ojiro merely side-eyed one another with confused expressions. The latter simply shrugged before walking off.
"Aaalrighty then. Let's get going." Izuku offered to which the taller teen quickly nodded before the two boys finally headed out the door.
..............................…
*A Few Minutes Later*
"It's still quite remarkable that you are able to keep this up for so long." Iida was naturally impressed with Izuku's ability to maintain top speed for such an extended period of time.
From the moment that the greenette departed from his red shoes at the front door, the two runners kept an equal pace across the entirety of UA grounds. The speedster's reaction was based from Izuku letting the other in on another factor of his quirk that allowed him to basically have endless endurance as long as he continuously used it.
Although, there wasn't much to be used as his legs were nothing but bone; allowing him an extra boost of speed and not any muscle that could become fatigued. It was because of this that the black-eyed teen was able to barely keep pace with Iida's third gear.
"I apologize to be intrusive, Midoriya, but that brings me to my next question." The blue-haired student said casually as he was still far from running out of breath himself.
"I might have an answer." Izuku replied. Of course, it depended on the other's question that would depict whether he would be honest or not.
"Your quirk… doesn't make too much sense to me." Iida said back. There was a noticeable hesitance to his words as he seemed to choose them carefully.
"Sort of like how you have actual engines in your calves?" The greenette remarked to accentuate that it was difficult to understand really anything these days with quirks. It may have come off as snarkier than the boy meant it to be, but the other teen didn't seem to acknowledge it.
"Well, that's the thing. From what I've seen and learned about, quirks give their users some sort of enhancement or ability in some way. And while I don't have a doubt your quirk doesn't do the same, I just cannot comprehend how you are able to get stronger when, theoretically, you should be getting weaker." Iida looked to be getting confused just from trying to ask it. Thankfully, Izuku was able to piece together the mess of a question and save them both a lot of time.
"Mmm. I spent a lot of time trying to figure that out myself. You're talking about how my strength is increased, even though I strip away my muscle which should be what gives me my power in the first place, correct?" Izuku deduced. It was true that it took a great amount of time for Izuku to figure that out for himself. While he was able to acknowledge it rather quickly, it was more about discovering its reasons that ended up with Izuku getting his answer.
"Yes, you are right. I mean nothing bad of this, but it is utterly bizarre to me." Iida said afterward. The greenette could understand his curiosity, but whether to satisfy that curiosity was the real question.
Their run continued in a pause of silence. The only sound to accompany them were their own quickened footsteps hitting the ground. With each one, Izuku pondered greatly.
Oh, to hell with it.
"…Okay. You see, my body overall has two sources of power. One is from normal means, my muscles. The second is my skeleton itself. While, I know, a living thing's bones are simply supposed to frame our bodies. Otherwise, we would simply be a pile of flesh and organs with no means of moving around. However, in my case, my skeleton is a source of power all on its own." Izuku explained the tricky and complicated aspect of his quirk. It was for sure one of the more tedious ones to get a hold of, but it was truly useful.
"But, then wouldn't that make you weaker? The combines strengths of both your bones and your muscles should come together as one, no?" Iida fired another question. Thankfully, this was another one that the black-eyed teen could answer as well.
"Not exactly. I actually don't really know the reason for it (that is a lie), but my muscles are more like limiters than anything else." Green eyes could see the confused expression behind those rectangular glasses. "Think of it as this way. My muscles are the breaks to a speeding car." Hopefully using a car metaphor would help shine some light in the taller teen's mind who literally has engines in his legs.
"Ah! I believe I understand what you mean now." Iida somehow managed to use those same hand-chops with his hand while running, but who was Izuku to nag or judge? "It is still peculiar, but undoubtably a powerful quirk indeed."
"Um… thanks." If Izuku didn't know any better, he would think that Iida was praising him. Either way, it was a different feeling to be genuinely complimented for his quirk. The greenette never realized how good it felt now that he was able to think about it clearly.
Too bad it couldn't last long.
"I wonder what that's about." Iida said with curiosity back in his tone. Izuku perked up at that, giving a glance to the other teen before sending his sight to follow Iida's trained gaze.
"The hell?" Straight ahead, both boys could see their homeroom teacher standing along the wall while facing what looked to be an opened gate. Now that they were more aware of their location, both runners discovered themselves to be near the front entrance of UA grounds. Seems they were more lost in conversation than they thought.
It didn't take long before the pair approached the hero.
"What are you doing out here, Sensei?" Iida was the first to question the man as well as to get his attention. Aizawa turned to his right where he found the two slowing down to a walk before stopping a few feet away. He quickly acknowledged Iida before looking to the other.
Izuku noticed the change in his eyes as the hero looked at the greenette for a moment longer than necessary.
Definitely not a good sign.
"I could ask the two of you the same thing. A bit far from the dorms to be running around when class it about to start, don't you think?" While it was meant to be a light scorn, it seemed that the man was distracted. Plus, his last statement brought some confusion to the students.
"But, sir, we have another hour and a half before the first bell." Iida voiced the perplexed looks of him and Izuku. Then, both were even more puzzled to hear the man groan with great annoyance.
"It's only been that long? Sheesh, I could be taking a nap right now instead of dealing with this crap." Aizawa sighed with defeat as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Is there a problem?" Izuku asked seeing as his own interest has been piqued from their teacher's current agitation.
"Yeah, I'm looking at em." Aizawa answered by looking up and directly forward. Looking the same way, the students spotted the mass of people, cameras, microphones, and possibly anything news related. How did they not notice them before?
The media.
"Ah… that problem." The greenette could now feel his teacher's pain. He knew very well just how powerful the media could be. Despite the simple career, their words were meaningful. And if those words were just right, it could do wonders or bring chaos to anyone
Sometimes, he wonders what a different life he would have lived if just a single person would have been able to capture footage or at least a singular photo of what happened 11 years ago.
Oh, there would be hell.
Good thing nothing like that actually happened.
At least… not that that he knew of… hmm.
"Hey look! There are some students right there!" The tri heard someone call from within the bustling crowd. The media immediately diverted their attention from Cementoss who was currently holding them back from the gate and to the two students who looked like dear caught in headlights.
"That's your cue to leave." Aizawa grumbled underneath his scarf; already knowing that the media was going to up their efforts. No surprise, everyone with a microphone starts to rapid fire questions that were all directed to the pair of teens as they began to walk away.
"We shall see you in class, Aizawa-sensei." Iida calls out as his bidding farewell to the hero. Said hero hums in acknowledgment while doing his best not to cuss out the swarm of reporters in front of him. Thankfully, Cementoss decided to take the position of holding them back. "Midoriya?"
The confusion in the boy's voice was enough to spark the hero's own puzzlement. The hero turned around and set his eyes among something that was… starting to become the norm from this freckled kid.
Izuku was locked in place. His whole body was stuck mid-step as the other two males could see him struggling on the spot. There was a slight tremble to his figure. One that was more than visible to the eye. Only Iida was able to see the greenette's strained expression, but Aizawa very well knew that something was up.
Then, without warning, he whips his head back around towards Aizawa. The hero is understandably bewildered by this strange occurrence. Especially since it looked so… unnatural. A sign of passing pain crossed over the boy's face before it turned into that of great concern.
Izuku was looking at something behind him.
The adult turned around once more and set a glare over the crowd of people; not that any of them cared or noticed. But the man was looking for something else.
"Come on! Just tell us where All Might is!" One woman who was beginning to get a lot more cocky than she should be takes one step too far.
The tip of her foot crossed over the detection sensors; activating the gates safety protocol.
It was instinctual for Aizawa to turn his eyes to witness the woman recoil back before the gate could close on her. But just before it could, just past the woman's shoulder, he saw a singular pair of red eyes watching him from the depths of the group.
The gate closed, and the split-second of eye contact was broken.
"Guess that settles that." Cementoss sighs to himself; completely unaware of what just transpired between the other three.
Aizawa turns back to look at Izuku. The concern on his face was replaced by deep thought and worry. Then, his green pupils met the man's. The hero slightly parted his lips to get ready to say the words that were building at his tongue.
Just as he did, the boy quickly turned and walked away.
For a moment, Aizawa debated on stopping him or not.
He decided against it… for now.
..............................…
"I went over yesterday's results from the battle exercise." Back again with Aizawa, he stood at the podium in front of his class. Of course, it was after being a few minutes late as the class teens were beginning to realize was a consistent pattern with their teacher. "And I must say that they greatly vary. Of course, a majority of them were decent. Some better than others, but that's to be expected. Going over the video feed from the exercise showed me that many of you also have problems you need to work on. Bakugo, you're training to be a hero, not a villain. Screaming 'die' at your opponents is not acceptable."
"Tch. I won, didn't I?" Bakugo grumbled while crossing his arms defensively.
"Bakugo." Aizawa said again. This time with a warning in his tone.
"Yeah, yeah! Whatever." The blond finally relented. Although, he was far from convinced that he did anything wrong.
"Good enough. Midoriya." Izuku perked up from having his name called. Meeting his teacher's gaze once more was a little unnerving to the greenette. Especially when he realized the man's eyes harden with a certain mood like he was being inspected. "I was told that you had a rather unique plan. While it proved to work, I by no means condone self-harm in any way. Don't do it again."
"Y-yes, sir." Izuku answered with little to no emotion but couldn't help the feeling that he had somehow dodged a bullet.
"Now that's out of the way, we can move onto our next task. Listen closely, because this is what is going to decide your future." Aizawa couldn't have said it any more mysteriously. The class had no problem doing just as he said and listened close with great anticipation.
'Is it another quirk test!?' Was the collective thought between several of the students who awaited for the answer.
"You need to choose a class representative."
Everyone lost the tension in their bodies as they realized it was just a normal school activity. Not a moment after that, it was a metaphorical eruption amongst the teens.
One by one, student after student, someone else would hop up out of their chair claiming themselves to be the best pick. It was just a few short steps away from being a riot within this small room, and Izuku wanted nothing to do with it. Sure, being the class rep had its perks, but there was no way he was going to take on that responsibility.
"Everyone, please!"
Izuku had to admit, Iida knew how to shut up a classroom. But what was this about?
"Taking on the role as class representative isn't something that anyone can take. It requires a set of skills, knowledge, as well as trust from their companions. On that note, it is only logical that we should decide this democratically. We all should vote to choose our leader." The blue-haired teen had a point. One that definitely seems to be the most viable. Although, it was pretty obvious the boy wanted himself as the class rep seeing as his hand was held the highest.
"I'm not really sure if this is the best idea." Kaminari gave his two cents from among the group.
"Other than the introductions we gave each other on the first night in the dorms, even though that didn't end very well, we still don't know that much about each other. Ribbit." Tsu spoke up. She had a fair point. It seemed too early for anyone to be putting their full trust into anyone just yet. At least, Izuku thought so.
"Then that is exactly why whoever gets the most votes should ultimately be counted as a worthy enough figure to accept that role. Don't you agree with these terms, sir?" Iida answered the girl before turning to the teacher just as the man was zipping himself tightly into his sleeping bag that he's yet again pulled from nowhere.
"I couldn't care less about how you get it done. Just don't wake me up in the process, understand? I expect a conclusion once my nap is over." At that, Aizawa simply falls to the floor in a comical fashion and is seemingly asleep the moment he touches the ground.
'Sweet dreams I guess.' Izuku remarks to himself. Their teacher's methods were a bit unorthodox, but at least things were getting done.
A few minutes later, a slip of paper was resting in the middle of Izuku's bare desk. The white piece of paper had his attention as his mind swirled in deep thought. Despite him not wanting anything to do with being any sort of authoritative figure among his peers, he was willing to choose who that figure could be.
It was just deciding who was the question.
Bakugo was out of the picture. Never was even in there to begin with. One of the recommended students? Todoroki was a hard 'no'. He had power, but from what Izuku could see, no sense of social skills or leadership. Yaoyorozu was a good choice. Hearing about her battle exercise told Izuku that she had a right mindset and was obviously smart.
Uraraka? She was easy to get along with, but Izuku really couldn't see her leading anyone based on his interactions with the girl. Mina was in the somewhere in that field. She was perfect in social awareness and could probably be fairly good at guiding people in the right direction.
However, this is a hero school. Someone of that stature needed to be more serious and hardworking.
Iida was another option that was far up on that list. His mind was always clear and set on the path ahead. Really, he's just been nothing but a perfect student so far. Maybe a little uptight, but someone's gotta keep some of these people in line.
Hmm
Choices, choices, choices.
..............................…
"Son of a- "
"Wow, Midoriya. You ended up tying with Yaoyorozu." Sero was able to interrupt the greenette fast enough before that last word came out. That didn't make Izuku any less annoyed with the situation.
The results of the vote were written on the board. Nearly everyone had one vote: that likely being for themselves. However, there were a few that didn't have any votes and some that had more than just the one. Izuku being one of them with 2 votes and Yaoyorozu who had the same amount.
Something he noticed though was that Iida had just one as well. Izuku had came to the conclusion that Iida was most suited, yet there was only one number in front of his name.
That meant he had voted for someone else. But who?
"How are we supposed to figure this out?" Sato was just as perplexed by this unforeseen circumstance was everyone else. Although, no one seemed to have an immediate answer.
"Give the positions to Yaoyorozu and Iida." Everyone was stunned to say the least when Izuku was basically throwing away his chance at being the class representative.
"But, Midoriya, what would your reasoning to decline the position? It's been made quite clear as of yet that you have the means to stand up to the role." Iida chopped the air with his hand; obviously just as puzzled as everyone else.
"I don't know if you've forgotten already, but I'm actually quite the opposite. Don't you remember what Yaoyorozu said yesterday? I ignored my teammate. Who's to say that I won't do the same to you guys simply because I would have a fancy name and more paperwork?" Izuku's final words were able to silence the class. No one could really argue with his reasons. Plus, they couldn't just force this one onto someone.
Well, looks like they have no choice.
"Class representative is Yaoyorozu and our deputy is Iida. Congratulations." It really didn't sound like a real congratulations, but nobody was going to argue with their teacher.
The selected pair stood at the front of the class, both looking proper and formulated.
"I give my graces to those who have allowed me stand before you all. In return, I shall serve and guide my class to the best of my abilities." Yaoyorozu spoke elegantly. She was undoubtably invested to this position to the fullest. A much better candidate than Izuku ever would have made himself out to be.
Even though it wasn't by his suggested system, Iida stood just as proud next to the girl.
This was sure to be one hell of a time.
..............................…
"I still don't really get why you were so eager to give away the position of rep." Uraraka stated her mind as her words were slightly muffled from the mouthful of rice she was chewing.
"And I still don't get why you would vote for me of all people." Izuku casually said back. It must have been something he said, because both Iida and Uraraka stared at him with wide eyes. "What?"
"H-how'd you know that I voted for you?" Uraraka sounded perplexed in her question. It was with that Izuku caught on to her confusion.
"Oh. You had no vote, so that meant you voted for someone else. And considering that you're sitting at the same table as me and that I was the one to vote for Iida, it was just my best assumption." The boy described to the other teens who had sat the table with him.
"You were the one who voted for me?" Iida jumped in. There was surprise evident in his voice.
"Well, yeah. Out of all the people who I thought were the best picks, I knew you the best. So, I gave you my vote." Izuku once again answered their questions.
"Okay, yeah, but… maybe it could be good experience, you know? Doesn't hurt to learn some things for the future." Uraraka came around to giving her explanation for picking Izuku.
"Mmm… I can't really argue with that. But then again, I don't think it's a necessity considering I don't think I'm going to be the same kind of hero as you guys." Izuku replied. The thought of the decision that has been swimming in his mind resurfaced once again. Something that he needed to ask someone about.
"Kind of hero? What do you mean by that?" Iida questioned. Uraraka showed the same level of curiosity for what the greenette was talking about.
"You know that our teacher, Aizawa, is an underground hero, right?" Upon asking, both the other teens lit up at the realization the moment the dots in their heads were connected.
"You wish to be an underground hero?" Iida exclaimed with a sense of being impressed.
"Oh! I get it. That's really cool, Midoriya. Guess that makes sense why you didn't want to be rep so bad." The girl chuckled to herself. Her hand was placed on the back of her head as she looked to summon a memory. "Aizawa-sensei doesn't always seem that pleased when it comes to teaching us." That was something Izuku could agree on. If anything, the hero had more fun teasing than actually teaching. "Although, I suppose I should get my act together." The brunette mumbled to herself in a more embarrassed fashion.
"Why do you say that?" Iida asked as the two boys looked to her with the expectance of an answer.
"Oh, well, I want to be a really good rescue hero. My quirk is best suited for saving people if you hadn't already guessed. Lifting rubble, carrying injured bystanders, that kind of stuff." The two boys nodded in understanding. Izuku had already knew of the girl's high potential of being in that line of work.
His small mental library of quirk knowledge told him that much.
"It seems like you have this all figured out, Uraraka. Good on you. For myself, I wish to follow in my family's footsteps and pursue an efficient all-around system of fighting crime and, just like you, protect the innocent…" The group fell into a short and somewhat awkward silence as Uraraka and Izuku looked at Iida with a realizing thought. The boy who was the target of these looks was completely lost from the sudden change of the conversation. "Is something wrong?"
"Iida… are your family heroes!?" Uraraka could no longer hold in her excitement as she was on the verge of shouting to the boy. It was then that the tall blue-haired teen realized his previous slip up.
"I'm not really one to keep secrets. Guess its harder than it seems. But yes, you are correct." In his last sentence, Iida did that cliché move of adjusting his glasses with just one finger on the middle part. There was a sense of pride in his voice that confirmed the speedster's confession. Uraraka was firstly amazed by this discovery while Izuku was actually curious as to what family he could be from that was so famous.
Actually, he knew exactly who.
"The famous Iida family." Izuku said simply. Iida looked a little surprised and impressed that the greenette was able to piece it together so quickly. "Honestly, I don't how I didn't figure that out earlier. Your quirk practically gives it away." At his final remark, Uraraka turns to the newly discovered famous member of their group.
"Wow! That makes so much sense now! I had my suspicions about your lineage based on the way you talk." She told the teen.
"The way I talk?" Iida questioned.
"Yeah. You always talk like some fancy smart person. You know, like a fancy smart person would." The two boys raised an eyebrow at the sentence. Of course, Izuku took notice to the male's body language as well as his certain dialect a while ago, but never really paid much attention to it.
"Uh, well, while I don't doubt my own intellect, I wouldn't consider myself as 'fancy'. If I were to give a proper word, then it would…Midoriya?" A newfound concern took over Iida's tone.
"Midoriya?" Uraraka looked confused as to why the taller teen would mention the greenette before turning to figure it out for herself.
He looked… tense. A deep worry came across his strained face. If one were to look close enough, you could see his body was trembling for no apparent reason.
"Midoriya, what's wr- "
*HIGH-PITCHED BEEPING THAT IS LOUD AS HELL AND EQUALLY AS ANNOYING*
"Warning! Level 3 Security Breach! Please evacuate the building in an orderly fashion!" Along with the ringing, there came an automated voice.
Not even before the last word came through the intercom, students all around them were jumping up from their seats and rushing towards the exit.
"W-what the!? Level 3!? What is that!?" Iida managed to catch the attention of the person who just past their table.
"It means that someone was able to breach past the front gates! I've been here for 3 years and this hasn't happened once!" With his answer given, the older boy ran as fast as he could; merging with the building crowd as they all squirmed to one place.
"Come on! We have to go!" Uraraka followed suit as she jumped up from her seat. She didn't so much as take a step before realizing that only two of their group had gotten up. "Midoriya, what's wrong!? Come on!" Ever since before the alarm rang off, the greenette looked stuck in place. However, it seemed that he was finally able to get himself together.
"Y-yeah! Let's go." Izuku didn't speak of why he had reacted that way, nor did he plan on doing so.
All three were stood from their seats as they headed towards the exit along with everyone else.
That was a mistake.
"Ow!" While it wasn't intended, an elbow was jabbed into Uraraka's ribs, nonetheless. The other two teens were having similar problems. Even though Iida was fairly taller than a portion of the crowd of students, he was still but a ragdoll being shoved around in this overpowering flow of traffic.
Midoriya, however, was having a bit of a special problem of his own.
'Now is not the time for this!' Izuku screamed in his own head in hopes that his damn quirk would listen for once. There was no helping him being defenseless against the scared teens around him that struck with elbows and shoulders. After all, he was trying to defend them from himself.
If it didn't look like he was trying to swerve in the crowded swarm, then one would notice his body seemed to be undergoing a weak seizure. This attack coming from within his own body was a painful and confusing one.
Why was is lashing out so harshly out of nowhere? Why was it doing anything that's it's done today? First, it was the front gate, then it was just before the alarm went off, and finally it's just deciding to go full attack mode.
A much larger boy rushed through the group. One would expect that due to his bigger stature, that he would be braver than the rest, but the look on his face revealed him to be nothing but a coward. He shoved everyone that got in his way.
Including the already occupied Izuku.
If he didn't already know better, then the greenette would have thought that the larger boy just attacked him with a mean backhand.
It didn't hurt. At least, it was nothing comparable to the worst he's felt before, but the blunt of it was enough to fling the black-eyed boy against the wall with a thud.
Again, it didn't hurt.
But it somehow made everything so much worse.
Izuku knew this once he felt something slip into his mind.
A word that he didn't hear.
But one that he felt.
I̭͙̭͍̦̱͛ͮͬͣ̀ͭn̸̨͐͟ŝ̤̣̙͖̣̮͎͈͕ͫ̌̑ͬ͗̒͐̐e̢̯̹̭̖͉̣͉̩̪̯̲͕̤̹c̛͙̘͇͈͎͇͙̜̓ͧͤ̄̽̅ͤ͆͜ts̶̊̔̔͐̿̓ͤ̓̐ͭ̊̑
Something within Izuku snapped.
His eyes that only gave off a small feeling that can't really be described changed drastically. Their docile aura was overran by thick wave of inducing fear. Like a flood of dread, it consumed all who stood within the cafeteria. It was as if this fear manifested into an overwhelming hold on their bodies as no one could find themselves no longer able to move.
Fear had truly gripped onto their hearts as they felt as if one small movement would result in their death.
The room became silent and still. Not a single soul knew of the cause for this, but there wasn't anyone who wanted to figure that out. Instead, they found more comfort keeping completely to themselves, even as they felt like the monstrous presence was suffocating them.
As quickly as it came, it was gone.
Held breathes were released, but not a sound was of yet to break this silence. It felt as if they had managed to escape death itself. They were not willing to take the chance of gaining the attention of whatever was able to stop everyone single one of them in a mere second.
From the strong will of one, a voice finally spoke up.
"Everyone, listen!" All turned to the one who had the courage to make himself known. Iida was against the opposite wall made of glass. He stood as tall as possible and had both arms raised high. "None of you have any reason to freak out! Look, it's just the press! See!? Not a villain! Even if it were, you would have had no reason to behave that way! We are UA students! We are the best of the best, so act like it!" Iida was clear and commanding. His authoritative words struck all who heard like a lost flock of sheep being gathered their trainer.
It proved to be just what everyone needed. Tension was lowered and the fear-driven riot was settled. Slowly and calmly, just as it should have been from the very start, everyone made their way out of the cafeteria.
Even if everyone was trying such much previously, the speed that things were moving along were at a greater efficiency that also didn't result in anyone getting hurt.
Neither did it bring back that strange feeling of fear from before.
Iida was ensuring that the rest of the students were getting out safely. That was until he noticed that a specific someone was not joining the others. He spotted Izuku braced up against the wall. It sort of looked like he was holding himself back for some strange reason. The greenette's head was down, so Iida couldn't tell if something was wrong based on his expression.
He did notice, however, that the fingers on his right hand was transformed to bare the claws that Iida has seen a few times now. Each bladed digit was slightly embedded into the concrete wall.
Naturally, the instinct to scorn the boy for damaging UA property crossed his mind, but at the moment, he was more concerned with his friend's unfamiliar state.
"Midoryia. Is something bothering you?" The taller teen asked upon approaching the second male.
"…"
There was no answer. It didn't look to be that he reacted or even heard Iida in the first place. A strange quietness fell between the two of them as Iida continued to find any signs of… anything.
The blue-haired teen went speak once more.
"Not anymore, thanks to you." All of the sudden, Izuku is up and standing straight while demonstrating a relaxed posture. As if nothing was ever wrong in the first place. Iida barely took notice to him slightly hiding his right hand at his side as it quickly shifted back to normal. While he didn't call out the greenette about it, he was sure to remember this reaction all together.
"Hmm, very well. Good to hear that you or anyone else seemed to be seriously injured in the skirmish. We should go join them." Iida firstly found relief to that no one was indeed hurt despite maybe a bruise here or there. Once he suggested for them to regroup, Izuku merely nodded in confirmation as the shorter teen followed suit.
As the two walked, Iida couldn't help but think about what happened earlier. The aura of a dark entity that filled their minds was not unfamiliar.
He has sensed it once before, during the entrance exam. It was nowhere near the same degree as it was today, but the feeling was the too similar to be different.
The only difference was that it didn't feel like Izuku was the source this time.
..............................…
4 figures stood together. All were troubled by what they saw, but each wore their own expression of thought. There were many things that could explain the heap of decayed metal in front of them.
Although, very few of them were actually good.
"Nearly anyone and everyone in this society have remarkable abilities, yet I cannot find it in myself to believe that this was the work of any normal person. Especially by someone from the press." Principle Nezu was one of the 4 who stood at the front gates of UA.
Well, what used to be the front gate. Now, it was nothing but a pile of particles that could be blown away by a single gust.
"Do you have an idea?" Midnight asked with an edge in her voice. The tone was not directed towards her boss, but rather to the simple idea of what the worst-case scenario could be.
"I do… and it makes me beg the question. If this was a villain, was it simply a show of power, or a declaration of war?" Nezu's voice was eerily low. It was obvious that he was serious about this. After all, how could they not be.
As far as they know, everyone single one of their students could be in danger.
A fifth figure stepped onto the front path.
Footsteps approached the 4 as they were alerted of their presence. Turning, they saw a familiar person that could possibly help them with this situation.
"Aizawa. Considering that you're not in class means that you have some important news." Nezu greeted the man. The others could plainly see the underground hero's deep expression. It was because of that they knew he did indeed have a piece of information.
He continued to walk before stopping at the principle's side. His black eyes did not wonder from the pile of dust.
Then…
"Midoriya knew." Just the two words created a tense silence between them. The other staff members of Midnight, Recovery Girl, and 13 flinched at that sudden statement. And what exactly did that mean?
Meanwhile, the white-furred creature seemed to take in the words that were spoken.
"… Do you think he was involved?" Nezu asked. No answer was given yet, but the principle already had a few plans if he learned that a student of his was not as they seemed.
"No. Midoriya reacted negatively. Although I can't perfectly explain it, he was able to sense it somehow. This morning, he and Iida were out running and passed by the gate. Just as they were about to leave, Midoriya looked to notice a presence within the media. I'm not sure what this means, but I'm sure this gives me a better reason to keep an eye on him." The others digested the words that hung in the air for a short period of time.
"Hmm… Thank you for informing me of this, Aizawa. This event and all of its details with be noted; Midoriya included." Nezu told the hero. Just as he finished, a certain look entered the animal's beady eyes. "If he does in fact have bad intentions in my school, then he will quickly find out that he made a mistake."
A cold chill ran down the other's spine.
..............................…
"Rescue!?" Half the class all called out in unison. Once again, excitement filled their voices as some looked to be literally bouncing in their seats.
It made sense considering this was only their second hero exercise. All around the classroom, students were exclaiming their eagerness to use their abilities and how suited they would be. Uraraka and Tsu looked to be especially anxious for this.
Truth be told, Izuku himself wasn't too keen on this part of heroism. The reason that being an underground hero was so appealing to him was so that he could avoid people; the media was at the top of that list. But to rescue people? That would be a different story.
Plus, it really did not help that he was still internally dreading over the one word that plagued the depths of his mind. It wasn't unfamiliar, but neither was it welcome. Once again, his quirk had managed to slip into his conscious mental state. As a result, he momentarily lost control. Not to the point where Grimm would be able take over his body, no. Far from it. But it had fought enough to make its presence known.
Each day, Izuku was stepping into dangerous territory by simply living everyday life. He needed to find a way to get his quirk under control.
Permanently.
Based on the way he was now, the greenette wasn't to sure about the rescue exercise today.
Well, guess he really didn't have a choice. Mainly because their teacher was already pressing the button to open the shelves which revealed their hero costumes.
Oh well, what's the worst that could happen?