Chapter 7: Battle Trials
The next day was a little chaotic. While all Hero Course students were required to take all Hero Course classes, not all of them were at the same place academically otherwise. Izumi and Momo were the biggest outliers, having long since completed enough University-level work that they'd already received multiple degrees. Momo already possessed Associate Degrees in Business and Science, with all of her general education requirements fully covered for Bachelor Degrees in the same. She would be finishing the remaining requirements for both during her time at UA. Similarly, Izumi was in an almost identical situation with degrees in Engineering and Computer Science. Unlike Momo, however, Izumi also had specialized certificates in Quirk Studies. She would not be pursuing her Computer Science degree farther, instead focusing on Engineering and Quirk Studies. Given that her connection to 2B gave her what was essentially a form of Cyberpathy, she didn't really need any farther instruction in Computer Science, making it an easy decision for her.
While Momo and Izumi were the most radical outliers, they were not the only ones with differing goals. No one without a considerable degree of basic intelligence passed the demanding requirements of the UA written entrance exam, which made it little surprise that over half of Group A had already completed at least some University level courses. Often through advanced programs at the quality high schools most had attended. Jirou had enough room in her schedule to take some music courses, Iida was already halfway through a mechanical engineering degree that would help with his Quirk, Sato was taking culinary arts extras, and even Bakugo was taking a few highly specific chemistry classes.
All told there were actually only five out of twenty students in Group A that were not taking classes from other tracks…and that played havoc with schedules. Thankfully, UA was a University for Heroics first and foremost, and had long since figured out how to balance everything. The Hero Course specifically had two centralized blocks of courses, one in the Morning for theory and another in the Afternoon for practical work. Each held sessions three days a week, in order to allow recovery time between days. Shorter, more specialized, heroics related courses were held at various times, with multiple teachers during the remaining two weekdays. This allowed students to slot them in when and where they could, around their other desired programs. Generally, it was possible to take up to two additional classes on a core day, or up to four on a non-core day.
As a result, they spent their morning doing an overview with Midnight. During the two hours of 'theory,' they had covered what they had learned from the Quirk Assessment Test, as well as addressed general questions about everything from Support Gear Requests to the general syllabus for the Heroics department. Afterward, however, they had all split up and hurried to their own interest-specific classes. Some of them were lucky enough to have met up for lunch, with Izumi and Momo being joined by Jirou, Iida, and Tokoyami for their own. For the most part, however, they didn't see each other until they returned to the Heroics department for their afternoon practicals. Which is where they all waited with bated breath to find out who their Special Heroics instructor would be. Sure, Izumi and Momo already knew, having had a couple of meetings between the reveal of his teaching at UA and classes actually starting…but they'd been sworn to secrecy on the subject. And most of the other students seemed to think he was likely to be teaching the upper years, rather than them.
His entrance, therefore, came as a complete surprise to almost everyone. And even Izumi and Momo were taken aback by the way he chose to enter. What with the door suddenly flying off its hinges…
"HERE I AM! BUSTING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A TYPICAL HERO!"
Everyone gaped…except 2B. Her pod form actually slumped a little and played the sound of a palm hitting someone's face. The sound broke the silence, causing Momo and Izumi to nearly do the same thing in reaction…only to be rapidly swept away by the chatter of excited classmates exclaiming over his appearance and the idea of being taught by him. All Might flashed his famous smile, letting everyone get it out of their systems for a few moments, before clapping his hands together with a touch of One for All. Neatly gathering their attention with the mild air pressure that released, he cleared his throat.
"Yes! I'm sure you're all excited for your first day of practical heroics! As I'm sure Midnight has already explained, she and I will be swapping off days. Yesterday, I was with Group B, today with you, and your primary Heroics instructors will be with you in alternating sessions with me. I will focus on special topics, while your primary instructor covers more basic-but-essential forms of training. Today, we'll be diving right into the deep end with…"
All Might held up a plain looking card labeled BATTLE TRAINING. There was an immediate return of excited comments, which he let flow for a few moments, before expertly regaining their attention. After years of managing to more-or-less herd reporters, a classroom of teenagers wasn't that difficult.
"Right! Battle Training! And for that, you'll need something else!"
Raising his other hand even as he lowered the card, he revealed a remote control…and pressed the largest button on it. Around the room, slide-out drawers popped out of the walls. Twenty of them. Each revealing a somewhat large case.
"Costumes! Per your requests, along with any information in your Public Quirk Registry, your initial costumes have been prepared by one of several support companies! Keep in mind, these are early versions, unlikely to be perfectlywhat you wanted…but they are a great starting point! Find your case and head to the changing rooms. Then meet me at City Site Beta!"
With that, All Might was gone as quickly as he'd arrived, having been in the class less than ten minutes total. Something which Momo and Izumi both noted, nodding to themselves as they realized he was carefully rationing his time. It was a disconcerting reminder for the future, but one they were slowly becoming uncomfortably accustomed to. With that thought offsetting the positive mood All Might's appearance had put everyone else in, they were the first two to find their cases. Momo's was notably more compact than the others. But both of them already knew why that was. Grabbing their cases seemed to jump start everyone else, sending them scrambling to find their own so they could all make their way to the changing rooms.
The changing rooms were…heaven and hell for both Momo and Izumi. Despite the knowledge that they were dating and its implications, societal norms ruled here, and none of the girls thought anything of stripping down in front of the two of them. They had both tried to be good previously…but Ashido's loudness and habit of prancing about naked had made it hard from day one. They had both noticed that they weren't the only ones stealing appreciative looks, either. Ashido did so rather blatantly, and Jirou did so quite a bit more circumspectly. Which actually did help them feel a bit less guilty for their own stolen glances. Today, however, any idea of modesty had apparently been completely disregarded by Ashido…who had somehow found her way over, only half dressed, to frown a Momo's mostly empty case.
"What's up with your costume, Yaomomo? I don't think even Midnight's first costume only consisted of a utility belt and a few weapons? And are those…protein bars?"
Trying not to be drawn to the exotically colored nipples on full display, Momo stopped helping Izumi adjust her own costume. Grinning lightly as Ashido got distracted by the movement of her own breasts, preening just slightly at how easily they distracted the other girl, Momo still answered the question.
"Ah. My costume needs are unusual. Here, I'll show you why they didn't make anything for me."
Momo was nothing if not confident in her body, so she didn't hesitate to step out from their little alcove where everyone could see, despite being completely nude at the moment. Having sensed something was up, as well as heard Ashido's loud comment, everyone had looked up…just in time to see Momo light up like a Christmas tree. Izumi noted that it only lasted about three seconds this time, proud that Momo had managed to shave another second off her previous best. She had been practicing it a lot.
The result, of course, left everyone but Izumi blinking. First that was to clear their vision…but then there were quite a few dropped jaws at the high-tech looking Battle Suit that Momo and Izumi had designed. The initial design had been red and gold…but with it being full body, they'd ultimately ruled that a bit too garish. Instead, it was mixed grey and black, with highlights in an electric, glowing blue that gave it a very 'cyberpunk' feel. The glow effect could be shut down for stealth…but really gave the suit some extra pop when it was on. Not to mention night visibility when she wasn't trying to sneak.
The suit was also, notably, very skintight. As in, it was literally all-but-adhering to Momo's skin, having been created from it. It was built up just a little in a few places to conceal what needed to be concealed, as well as provide space for a few of its features…but for the most part it was just Momo-shaped with an extra few millimeters of composite armor. Not having wanted to freak people out, Momo had opted for a visor instead of a full helmet. At least for non-serious combat ops. She could easily switch it out for the full helmet model in a second or two. And for now, it let everyone see her beaming smile as they all gaped at the armor. Predictably, Ashido was the one to break the sudden silence.
"Holy shit, Yaomomo! That's seriously badass! Makes you look hot as fuck, too! Serious 'cyber warrior goddess' vibes!"
That comment actually was enough to make Momo blush a bit, but she was visibly happy with it as well, causing Izumi to suppress a giggle as she went back to her own costume. Strictly speaking, Izumi could actually do something like what Momo had done, using her inventory. In her case, however, it was better to have a created costume first, then convert it to data later. Objects, like her swords, that were summoned out of pure Quirk Energy and Data, cost her a bit of ongoing power to maintain. Objects that were made somewhere else first and only converted later for storage were the next best thing to completely free to take in and out of her inventory. They cost almost nothing to summon and had no maintenance cost at all, not beyond the extremely small thread of power she used to maintain the inventory in the first place, at least.
Sadly, it did mean that her gear wasn't quite up to the durability of what she could summon. It was, however, well beyond what a first year would normally have access to, having been custom made for her with the Yaoyorozu's advanced facilities. It was actually part of the contract for them to be allowed to use some of the materials in her costume themselves, so it wasn't charity, just a mutually-beneficial business deal. The entire costume paid direct homage to 2B, being heavily based on the battle dress the YoRHa Android had originally worn. The only three major changes were the lack of a boob window, the slits at her thighs not going quite so high, and the thickness of the material in places. Specifically, it had been thickened up with a little bit of armor on her forearms and shins, mostly to add impact force, it had to be said. Given that even her base form was provably bulletproof at this point, armor for defensive purposes was a bit redundant. At least for any armor that wouldn't have impaired her movement.
There was one final change that wasn't immediately apparent, as they hadn't been able to replicate the visor with current technology. She would need to summon it, along with a 2B Pod to feed it more comprehensive sensor data. When she did, it would look much like the advanced Hero Scouter that was Momo's visor. In other words, like an actual visor instead of a blindfold. Seriously, even 2B was suspicious that someone designing the original YoRHa models had been a pervert. None of them had been able to come up with any other reason for all their units to appear blindfolded. On that subject, if the look of the Battle Dress wasn't admittedly rather striking, Izumi might have balked at the fetish potential of it as well. As it was, it being a homage to 2B, as well as her slight changes to make it a bit less sexualized, had let her sell herself on it.
Well, that and she liked the way Momo looked at her whenever she wore it. It was distinctly possible that said look had a little something to do with her choice as well. Though if it did, she wouldn't be admitting it even to her girlfriend anytime soon…
...
Once everyone had gotten over Momo's armor transformation, it hadn't taken them too long to finish suiting up. The small delay had resulted in them coming out after the boys. But not by much, with one or two of their male classmates clearly arriving just moments before they had. Fighting an urge to blush as several sets of male eyes lingered on her and the others, Izumi focused on their uniforms to distract herself. As she did so, she started frowning. There were some choices here that definitely shouldn't have made it through the support company's design teams.
Some, like Iida's, were clearly of professional quality. Nearly as much as her own in Iida's case, which made sense given his family connections. Others, though…Kirishima didn't have a shirt. No matter the durability his Quirk gave him, he didn't maintain it all the time. Not having some sort of basic ballistics weave was almost as stupid as if Hagakure had just run around naked, rather than having the DNA coded cloth that had actually been in her case. Making a note to talk to him about it, as well as one or two of the others, she shook off her concern and tried to focus on All Might. Though, as she spotted another less-than-a-good-idea on someone, she mentally filed away the thought that it might also be worth bringing some of the costumes up with Midnight-sensei.
"And here you all are, LOOKING LIKE HEROES! The clothes might not make the man, but those costumes are a reminder for all of you that, as of today, you're no longer just students! You're all Heroes in Training! Now, let's get started on today's exercise!"
Iida had been vibrating in excitement and quickly asked All Might if, since they were in the Mock City from the exams, they were going to do urban combat exercises. A few others tried to interject questions of their own, but All Might quickly silenced them with another tiny air pressure clap, only answering Iida's question directly. Admittedly, the others had all been pretty irrelevant. Or downright stupid.
"Not quite, you man! While most of the crimes the public sees on TV happened outdoors, the truth is that the vast majority of actual heroing happens indoors! Drug deals, home invasions, human traffickers, and heists of all kinds. All are far more likely to result in you confronting villains inside! Which is why, today, we'll be jumping two steps ahead. You'll be split into teams of two, one side playing heroes and the other villains…in a manner of speaking."
As All Might took one of his dramatic pauses, Asui spoke into the moment, throwing him just a bit off kilter.
"Isn't this a little advanced?"
All Might blinked, having lost his mental balance for a moment, but recovered quickly.
"In a manner of speaking…yes! However, throwing you into the deep end serves a purpose. With Midnight's Quirk Assessment, you got a good handle on how dangerous your Quirks can be. Now, since you'll be up against human opponents rather than robots, you'll be forced to confront the difficulty of using your Quirks to disable, without causing serious harm…or bringing the building down on you!"
All Might didn't let his next pause go unfilled, bringing out a small box.
"The other factor is, it must be said, that right now is one of only three chances we'll get this year to put each of you into a truly realistic setting. One where you have a minimum of knowledge on your enemies, and the same sort of limited knowledge on your randomized ally. In the real world, you'll often be paired with a random hero responding to the same crime. Worse, you'll do so with little to no knowledge about the criminals' Quirks. This lesson is primarily one in which we will measure your current ability to adapt. Midnight will go over the results with you in your next theory lesson, so do your best! But don't worry too much if you make a mistake! Like with the Quirk Assessment Test, today is primarily about establishing your personal baselines. We need to know where each of you are at so we can help you improve!"
His explanation seemed to reassure a lot of the class, tension leaving their shoulders. After their day and a half with Midnight, they weren't as touchy as they might have been with Aizawa…but they hadn't forgotten his brutal approach either. Or the fact that he was apparently considered one of UA's best instructors. Izumi felt the relief too, but she'd also noticed something. Asui's comment had derailed part of the explanation. Half raising her hand, she asked a question…
"You said some of us would be playing villains 'in a manner of speaking.' What did you mean by that, sensei?"
All Might actually gave her a quick, grateful glance for getting them back on track. Huh, he must be more nervous than he looked. Maybe he was just leaning on what he'd learned with Group B yesterday? Midnight had mentioned that the classes had swapped days, because of the need to redo Day 1 for their class…
"I meant exactly that! Our scenario is like this…"
The entire class blinked as All Might pulled out a cheat sheet…
"The villains have a nuclear bomb somewhere in their hideout. The heroes must try to foil their plans! To do that, the good guys either have to catch the evildoers, or else recover the weapon. Likewise, the Villains must either capture the heroes, or run down a 15-minute timer. At which time it will be assumed the weapon went off."
All Might put the cheat sheet away, holding up a roll of brightly colored tape instead.
"Both teams will be given rolls of Capture Tape. Wrapping the tape around any part of an opponent 'captures' them. Likewise, anyone I declare as disable is out, no exceptions. As none of you have demolitions training, simply touching the bomb will count as a win for the heroes. Neither team is allowed to destroy the bomb or remove it from the building. The roof does count as part of the building, if you wish, however."
Somehow, Izumi was fairly certain that the caveats were things that had been added because of Group B getting sneaky and bending the rules a few times. She was tempted to find a loophole of her own if she was on the villain team. Doing so on the hero team might be a bit counterproductive to the point of the exercise, sadly.
"Now, back to young Midoriya's excellent catch! While this scenario is one of heroes vs villains…functionally either side could be considered to be the heroes or villains. Can someone point out an alternate scenario that would fit a such a role reversal?"
Everyone hesitated at the sudden audience participation, but after a few moments several students raised their hands. All Might picked Todoroki for reasons known only to him, and the cold-toned boy answer in…very few words.
"If the bomb were a VIP."
That…needed some expanding, even if Izumi got it immediately. Thankfully, All Might was happy enough to do said expanding.
"An excellent example! If, in this situation, the bomb were instead a VIP…than the 'villains' from our first scenario outline would be his protection detail! They would be trying to either outright defeat the attackers, or else keep the VIP alive until backup came. The 'heroes' would instead be 'villains' attempting to kill or capture the VIP. The scenario isn't exact and you should keep the original in mind for your actual assignment. But, when you break down your actions afterward, try to consider it in both directions."
Even the students that had been looking confused at Todoroki's taciturn answer were nodding now, and All Might used their moment of understanding to move things along.
"Now. Each of you needs to draw a ball from our box here, so we can get started. As well as pairing your earpieces to my channel for farther instructions. All of you do have one, yes? I know it's required on the forms, but we had one instance yesterday where someone didn't receive an earpiece suited to their anatomy."
There were quick confirmations that everyone did, indeed, have at least a basic com set. Most of them were attached to Hero Scouters of various types. Monocles, glasses, visors, or built into helmets, in most cases. There were one or two students without an obvious Scouter system. But that was their own choice…even if they were sort of crippling themselves not to have one. They and the network they connected to had become nearly standard issue for heroes at this point. Something that had, incidentally, made Izumi rather wealthy. Numbers were picked, partners found, and then All Might drew from another box to set up who would face who. He didn't announce those, however, so that no one would be given too much of a planning advantage. He then did something that no one expected…but Izumi and Momo probably should have.
"Alright! I'll be up in the control room to run the scenario. There's an open com feed between rooms, so students remaining here, feel free to ask questions so long as they are pertinent. The first Villain team is Yaoyorozu Momo and Kirishima Eijiro, the first Hero team is Mineta Minoru and Asui Tsuyu. Both teams, take the stairs down. Hero team, stop at the room at the base of the stairs. There's an area there for planning, including a blueprint of the villain building for you to use. You'll have ten minutes to prepare. Villain team, you have the same ten minutes, but can head straight out to the building."
All Might briskly chivied the teams on, then vanished up to the control room. Where Izumi was almost certain he would power down to his smaller form to conserve time. It was a neat system, and one which caused Izumi to abruptly wonder if there were more reasons for All Might to teach a First Year class than just his successor being present. After all, First Years would have no frame of reference for his behavior being odd. She spent all of three seconds considering that, before discarding it for the moment to focus on the feeds showing each team…
Oh dear. This was going to be a slaughter, wasn't it? Momo was simply using the massive boost her lipid-to-matter conversion ratio had gotten from One for All to trap the ever-living hell out of everything. And every single trap was disabling in some fashion. Izumi would know, given that those traps were mostly designed by Momo to allow her to fight Izumi, before Momo had gotten One for All. She suddenly felt very sorry for…well, Asui. She'd already caught some comments from Mineta that she hadn't liked. In fact, his comments about Momo made her wish she'd been paired against him. Just so she could make certain he had a proper Fear of Izumi's Rage where Momo was concerned. Oh well, that would have to happen another day. For now, she settled in to watch.
She was impressed, three minutes into the match. Namely, because Asui had lasted that long before getting trapped. Mineta had not. He'd been taken out seconds into the first room by a combination flash-bang and bolo launcher. One of the bolo balls had smacked square into the midget's junk, too. Which Izumi felt was simply Karma at work. Asui's goggles had apparently protected her from the flash, and she'd managed an incredibly agile dodge of the bolos. The sound had clearly caused her some problems, but Momo must have stepped down the power as a precaution, as the frog-girl had been able to continue on, despite her partner's elimination.
Asui had, deftly in some cases and by the skin of her teeth in others, manage to avoid a farther seven traps, before Kirishima had confronted her in the first stairwell. He'd apparently been unwilling to rely on traps alone and had cornered her into a fight, one which Asui had done fairly well in. She couldn't actually hurt him, despite her leg strength, however, and had attempted to escape when she'd realized that fact. Unfortunately, she'd 'escaped' right into another trap, finishing the match in the villains' favor.
The next match had been even more lopsided, with Todoroki and Uraraka facing Aoyama and Sero. The hero pair had been utterly bulldozed by Todoroki's sheer power. The match caused Izumi to frown, as there was effectively nothing to be learned from it. Other than that some situations were essentially unwinnable, she supposed. But that didn't seem like a great lesson for their first day of practicals…
The next set of teams had, thankfully, been a much better matchup. Sato and Iida as Villains had defended from Heroes Ojiro and Tokoyami, and the match had resulted in the first win for the hero side. While Sato and Iida had worked quite well together, neither of them had been able to do more than stall Dark Shadow. They might have done better had they discovered the Quirk's weakness. But as it was they'd been essentially forced into a fighting retreat, using Iida's speed to play keep away with the bomb. Unfortunately, once Sato's Quirk Backlash began to kick in, he's been quickly outsmarted by Ojiro. After that, the trio of Dark Shadow, Ojiro, and Tokoyami had cornered Iida. They'd gotten the bomb just thirty seconds before the buzzer, making it by far the closest match yet.
That match had been followed by Villains Koda and Hagakure versus Kaminari and Shoji. That match had gone…oddly. Koda had summoned help from hundreds of birds, turning the inside of the building into a rather horrifying Hitchcock-film-like environment. Which would have done well against most people, but Kaminari had extremely good AoE effects with his electricity. His control sucked and he'd fried his brain by the time they reached the control room, but he'd kept the current low enough to manage several discharges, basically wiping the birds out. Hopefully only stunning them, or else UA would be low on bird population for a while…
This had left Soji vs the two villains quickly, as Hagakure had managed to slip capture tape on the mostly-shorted-out Kaminari. Unfortunately for the villains, Koji was not a fighter…and Soji could hear Hagakure moving. They'd managed to stall, but only for two minutes before Soji got a tentacle on the bomb, winning for the Heroes with three minutes to spare.
And then it was, finally, Izumi's turn. She quickly found her way into the planning room with Jirou, who was partnered with her as part of the Hero team. Quickly memorizing the building layout provided, she turned to smile at her partner, who was clearly nervous but trying not to show it.
"So, your Quirk is obviously related to your Jacks. You showed off enhanced hearing and the ability to shatter concrete with resonance frequency yesterday, but what about the boots and gloves?"
Jirou's answer was prompt, even if she started fiddling with one earjack as she answered. A nervous tick?
"Amplifiers. My Quirk does some amplification on its own, but not enough for a ranged attack. The boots and gloves let me project sound much more strongly into anything I'm touching. It can shake the ground pretty bad, or really fuck up someone's insides. But both of those are bad ideas here."
Izumi processed that, then nodded. Yeah, shaking the building you were in apart or potentially killing a fellow student were both 'bad ideas.' Hmm…
"I wonder if some of the gear I brainstormed for Present Mic would work for you? The sonic canons in particular would give you a mid-ranged punch. They would actually be a lot more practical for your Quirk too, I think. Oh! And the boost gear!"
Jirou blinked as Midoriya started muttering. Her lips Quirked and she reached out to snap her fingers in front of Izumi's face. Izumi blinked at her…then blushed as she realized what she'd been doing.
"Sonic cannon sounds like a hell of an idea, Green. And I'd love to talk to you about it. But we kinda need to focus on what we actually have right now.
"…Right, sorry. Um…I know a bit about Bakugo's Quirk. He produces a nitroglycerin-like substance from his palms, which he can then detonate at will. Ashido, from what I saw yesterday, seems able to secrete Acid of various potencies from any point on her body. Technically, I could probably just blitz them, but Bakugo is powerful enough that the two of us fighting might bring down the building."
Jirou grimaced.
"Yeah lets…not do that. Any other ideas?"
Izumi hummed, then nodded.
"Yeah, why don't we do this…"
...
The moment All Might told them to go, they put their plan into motion. Jirou and 2B, who was piloting one of the larger Pod designs they'd come up with over the years, headed around the side of the building. Seeing the Pod's perspective via her tactical visor, Izumi waited until they'd reached the blind spot Izumi had spotted on the building's blueprints. It couldn't be seen from the windows of any floor, which meant there was no way for their opponents to see Jirou grabbing the concealed handles in the base of the Pod. Moments after Jirou secured her grip, the Pod rapidly lifted up toward the roof, carrying its passenger along for the ride. Satisfied that part was working out, Izumi grinned and prepared to do her part. What she was planning was more than a little mean, but she still had enough left over ill-will for past-Katsuki that she was going to find it immensely satisfying. Projecting her voice so that everyone in the building would be able to hear it, as well as those back in the waiting room via a surreptitiously hacked speaker, she got started...
"Hey! Boom-boom boy! Do you remember that time where you were running from your mommy, streaking naked through the house, and accidentally set off an explosion right on your dick?! Man, that was hilarious. Good thing you weren't stronger back then or you might have ended your family line for good!"
She could practically imagine Katsuki's face as his brain record screeched. She could certainly hear the faint tell-tale signs of his anger building in the echoes of fire-cracker-sized explosions.
"Or how about the first time you used a curse word in front of your parents? That was even better! Your mom's punishment, forcing you to wear the most girly dress in her fashion catalog for a week? That was hysterical!"
Ah, the explosions were moving now. Predictably straight towards her. Excellent.
"Then there was the time you accidentally walked in on your mom and dad! Were you scarred for life when you saw what your dad was wea—"
Katsuki blasted right out of a second story window, murder in his eyes as he used both gravity and his explosions to accelerate toward her.
"Shut up you stupid nerd-bitch! I'm gonna turn your insides into outsides!"
Izumi almost giggled at the awesome mixture of mortification and rage turning his entire face a mottled red. Despite the impressive speed he'd managed to build, Izumi's reflexes were more than up to the task. With a graceful spin, she moved out of his way with a taunting sort of flourish. After her recent sparring with Momo, he was just so…slow.
"Awww, Kats, not feeling nostalgic? Why, it would positively wound your mother's heart to know you'd forgotten how many of those dresses she had to replace, since you kept earning more time stuck in them by burning the things!"
Katsuki, much like Mineta, had quite a bit of impact resistance granted to him by his Quirk. Combined with a last second detonation to slow him, he'd managed a rough landing. Spinning to face her, snarling incoherently, he lunged, again boosting his speed with explosions. Izumi had to admit, his straight-line speed was more impressive than anyone in class short of her, Momo, and Iida. But, at least for now, Izumi was still the fastest of all of them.
Dodging again was child's play…but this time she didn't just dodge. Instead, she slipped the blunted bokken she'd summoned through Katsuki's non-existent guard. There were obvious and blatant downsides to both of your hands pointing backward, as Katsuki proved the hard way when the air left his lungs explosively. Impact resistant he might be, but physics were physics, and the blade she'd held in place with both muscle and telekinesis had been something of an immovable object to his very-stoppable force. A last second twist of her wrist and application of pressure avoided him getting a serious injury…but also left him spinning through the air, his flight ending as he slammed into the building across the street.
Completely stunned and gasping for breath as he was, not even Katsuki's willpower could get him moving fast enough to avoid having capture tape looped around one leg a moment later. Izumi grinned at him as All Might declared him out, then she took off into the building at a jog. She suspected Jirou and 2B would be able to handle Ashido…but better to make sure she was in place to provide some backup just in case! She'd take a minute or two to arrive, though, in order to give the others a chance to learn from the exercise.
Just as she arrived on the third floor, where her tactical visor was tracking 2B and Jirou fighting the surprisingly agile Ashido…the exercise ended. Ashido had stayed in place just a moment too long, letting the stepped-down concussion rounds that 2B was firing hit her. Jirou tagged her an instant later with her jacks, pumping her heartbeat into the pink girl, the vibrations completely disrupting her opponent's system for long seconds. Long seconds Mina didn't have as Jirou quickly used her own roll of capture tape, eliminating the second member of the Villain team. Izumi cheered, walking through the door to congratulate her, even as All Might announced their victory…
...
After a quick review of the match with All Might, the hero made a flashy exit and the class headed back to change out of their hero costumes. Most were in good moods, even some of those that had lost. Though the few that had been utterly overwhelmed were obviously a bit down. Among the girls, only Asui had been so overwhelmed, and only in a way that had actually shown her abilities in a relatively good light, so the mood in the girl's locker room was quite positive. Not unexpectedly, Ashido was the most talkative.
"Oh man! I didn't even think about what it meant that Izumi has 2B! And unlike Dark Shadow she can run off in one of those drone things! But hey, that fight was pretty cool! I got to show off my awesome dodging ability…and we got hilarious dirt on Bakugo! Was the thing about him almost blowing his junk off really real?"
Izumi was a bit startled at the question, but laughed at the half-naked Ashido prancing into her space again.
"More or less, yes. He was only like five and a half, though. So it really didn't leave much of a mark. I think he was more mad that his screw up let his mom catch him, at the time. Honestly, the dress thing was funnier, since we were seven when that happened."
Ashido's eyes went vacant as she imagined it, then fell away from Izumi's alcove, snickering even as she struggled out of her costume. Speaking of costumes…
"So, I noticed a few of the boys had some…questionable costume choices. Stuff that shouldn't have made it through the approval process by the support company. I know Momo and my outfits are fine, but did anyone else have issues? Remember, Midnight-sensei told us to take note of anything, since today would be the first time we used them."
Everyone answered in the negative, but then Jirou piped up.
"Nothing actually wrong with mine, so far. But I'm curious about the stuff you mentioned before the fight. Sonic canons? I've been trying to figure something out for ranged usage since I first started taking the idea of being a hero seriously. Are those what they…well…sound like?"
Giggling at the exasperated tone Jirou used for the near-unavoidable pun, Izumi cheerfully began talking through the idea. Momo, once she finally managed to reabsorb her suit fully, chimed in with some thoughts of her own…
A/N: Two notes!
First, I don't like canon Bakugo. At all. However, he won't be getting bashed in this fic. Why? Because this isn't canon Bakugo. He's not going to play a super important role, so it won't be obvious immediately, but being separated from Izumi actually ended up being a good thing for Bakugo. He's still a self-admitted asshole, but he's a lot less violent about it and doesn't have a bone to pick specifically with Izumi. The content of this particular chapter was mostly because I found the idea of Izumi's method of dealing with him both hilarious, and a good way to show that Izumi has developed a bit of a mischievous sense of humor...
Second, purely for the curious, the matches were MOSTLY random. I put everyone into a randomizer and kept triggering it until I got the only thing I cared about. Specifically, Jirou being paired with either Izumi or Momo. Regardless of if I add her to the pairing or not in time, I still intend for her to be part of their friend group. And one of them being paired with her during the Battle Trials was a good way to get that rolling. Everything else was randomized and I wrote from there. Apparently, Bakugo and Izumi were fated to face each other, even with a randomizer thrown in. Go figure.
Chapter 8: Midnight's Lessons and New Friends
Their next morning theory lesson with Midnight had been interesting, for the most part. Surprisingly, several people who thought they had done well had gotten torn to shreds by her review. Todoroki, for example, had his performance ripped apart as Midnight pointed out that he had, in fact, actually damaged the bomb. Meaning All Might technically should have disqualified him outright. He'd also hit the building with the weight of several tons of ice, spread over the various floors. Which was fine in a reinforced practice building on the UA campus, but could lead to a potential building collapse in any more ordinary structure. His failure to work with his teammate had only been one more mark against an already terrible performance.
Others, who had thought they did somewhat poorly, like Sato and Iida, had been praised for several things they'd done right. And everyone, regardless of wins, losses, or general performance, had gotten feedback on the things they needed to work on. Even Izumi, who most thought had given an exemplary performance, had been lightly criticized for her choice to give Jirou a chance to shine. Midnight had been clear that, in this specific instance, it had likely been for the best. But that, ordinarily, slowing down just so a partner could have a chance to show off would be extremely bad form. Given Izumi's reasons and the specific purpose of the exercise, the reprimand had been extremely gentle. But Midnight had made sure to highlight it as behavior that would only rarely be tolerated.
On the whole, Izumi had found the review, with multiple perspectives and breakdowns of each match, to be refreshing! In fact, the positive vibe she'd taken from it had carried her through her incredibly boring Microelectronics Engineering class. The class was a prerequisite for the Nanotech and Meta Materials classes she actually wanted to take. And it was one that she hadn't been allowed to test out of. Unfortunately, it was also…hilariously behind Izumi's own, 2B taught, understanding of the material in question. Still, the teacher seemed to have already realized why she wasn't participating that much and was content to leave her be. Or perhaps they were simply used to Hero Course students being distracted? Whichever it was, Izumi wasn't complaining since it let her spend most of the class doing farther analysis with 2B.
That class had led into lunch, which Izumi was grateful for, since her pleasant buzz from the morning had been wearing off. Sadly, it didn't work out this time that she and Momo could break from classes at the same time…but she did manage to meet up with Jirou, Iida, and Sero. She'd known Iida was in an Engineering course himself, but was pleasantly surprised to discover that Sero was as well. Jirou was simply a case of lucky timing, with her own Music Theory course having a similar timetable to the Engineering track students. They all found an easy topic in Izumi's proposed changes to Jirou's costume, with Iida in particular having a very good foundation in Support Engineering. Perhaps they were all a little bit to obsessed with heroics topics…but it was still only their first week at UA. So they could probably be forgiven for being so excited.
That renewed excitement had been quite easy to hold onto through her first afternoon class, given that it was a Theoretical Quirk Sciences course meant to advance her own certification for working with exotic Quirks! And, after that, it was time for their first full Practical Heroics class with Midnight. Izumi was admittedly curious what that would entail…
...
"Alright, class! Today we put you through hell! Or, some of you at least…"
Midnight's smirk was…unnervingly sexy. Though the way she was practically fondling her whip might have had something to do with the effect. And the way she languidly stalked back and forth in front of the obstacle course she'd led them to absolutely did. Izumi privately wondered if she could manage to move like that, mostly for when she knew Momo was looking. She mentally took notes, just in case. Her legs were one of her better features...
"I'm sure some of you have already started to realize that you may not have made optimal choices in your hero uniforms. A few of them, frankly, shouldn't have gotten past the support company…as was pointed out to me by a student. Though I can see it's true now, myself. That issue is going to be investigated, obviously, but this class would have happened anyway."
Midnight looked annoyed for a moment, before shaking it off and continuing her explanation.
"One of the multitude of purposes All Might's Battle Trials served was to throw all of you into an environment where you'd get to test your costumes. That will actually continue in your next class with him, which will be more Rescue oriented. Until you get through that class, we recommend holding off on major changes to your suits, even if you've already had some thoughts. As it is, I'm betting some of you have been having some second thoughts. Which is partly what today is about."
Midnight stopped next to a set of displays, where multiple viewing angles of the obstacle course were shown.
"Today's practical heroics class has three primary purposes. One is to continue our early-term theme of establishing your Baseline. This and your next class with All Might will round that goal out, leaving us with a solid idea where you all are across a wide spectrum of heroics needs. The second and third are related. This course will force you through a full range of agility-required activities with your costumes."
This time, Midnight's grin was sardonic, rather than any sort of sexual. Her tone switched from a purr to amused as she got to the point.
"When I said that I suspect many of you have already have thoughts…I expect most of them will have been negative ones. You've likely had realizations that some part of your costume wasn't thought all the way through. You picked it for looks, or for Quirk compatibility. But you didn't think through all the potential mobility issues. Stiffer materials than you expected. Bulkier accessories. Weight. Lack of defensive or offensive help. Anything at all, really. Very few people get their costumes right on the first pass. Don't worry that you didn't. Today is all about getting you used to moving in your gear and figuring out what needs to change based on what you discover."
Izumi was beginning to realize just why UA was considered one of the very best Hero Universities. Not just in Japan, but in the world. Every single heroics class so far had been designed to be multifunctional. A carefully structured curriculum that wasted nothing. Like today, where getting more baselines would be combined with testing their costumes…and simply getting in some physical training. Which she suspected some of her classmates needed. It would even serve as a reality check to those same classmates. Extra purposes Midnight hadn't listed, but which were easy to see. Even if she regularly did obstacle courses of her own, Izumi was still a bit pumped to see how she did! And to watch the others as well, since it was a prime chance to learn about their Quirks! She ignored the odd looks she got as she pulled a notebook from her inventory and began scribbling away as Ashido was set running the course first…
...
Izumi frowned as she stood at the starting line. Seeing her fail to take a position, as well as her hesitance, Midnight cocked an eyebrow.
"What are you waiting for? If you've trained at N & C, I'm sure this is nothing new for you. And you are one of the only ones I'm expecting to have no costume issues with."
The question wasn't an acquisition, which Izumi was grateful for. It also helped her make up her mind to ask Midnight's opinion on her internal debate.
"Well…that is…I haven't actually used my Quirk fully since we started with these baseline tests. Oh, I used it to provide energy for a few things, like the Shockwave attack during the Assessment Test. But…I've refrained from actually using my complete transformation. I'm trying to decide if I should do so here or not, as there are arguments either way."
Midnight's expression was outright curious now, as were those of several people close enough to hear. Though fully half of the class was on the course at this point. In various stages of completion.
"Ah…I'm afraid that even UA's files on your Quirk are pretty incomplete. It's called 'Automata,' correct? Can you explain why there would be advantages either way you run it?"
Izumi nodded agreeably. She was quite sure Midnight was fishing for information. But she didn't actually mind. She had no intention of revealing everything she could do. But she didn't need to in order to explain the problem.
"At its core, 'Automata' is a transformation Quirk…though one with a lot of extra bells and whistles that confuse that issue. Specifically, it lets me transform into an Android. An extremely advanced one. Even 2B is, for all intents and purposes, A.I. support for running the various systems that my Android form gives me access to. It would be effectively impossible to use something like my Inventory without that A.I. support."
Midnight blinked, looking genuinely surprised. From the noises several of her classmates were making, she wasn't the only one, either. Izumi gave them a few heartbeats to process, before continuing her explanation of the issue.
"The thing is, that one of the many oddities of 'Automata' is its passive heteromorphic advancement. Instead of my body adapting all at once to the Quirk, my body adapts a little bit more each time the Quirk is used. By this point, my 'untransformed' body is stupidly strong, fast, and tough. Most importantly…it costs absolutely nothing to maintain. The changes are permanent and no longer drain Quirk Energy to use. The same is not true for my full transformation. Full transformation boosts my power a lot. But…running all out at full power, I'll be drained dry and pass out in less than half an hour. Probably less than fifteen minutes in active combat."
Midnight pursed her lips, nodding slowly.
"Your issue is that your full transformation is, at least for now, closer to an Ultimate Move than it is your 'baseline.' Measuring it would show us your true maximums…but not your day-to-day usage. Given how powerful you are without triggering this transformation of yours, ninety nine percent of the time you wouldn't need it. Making your effective 'heroic baseline' your untransformed state."
Izumi nodded. Midnight had gotten it quickly. Which didn't really surprise her. The question was what conclusion she would come to. And if that conclusion matched Izumi's or not. She waited patiently as Midnight mulled it over. After twenty seconds or so, her sensei sighed.
"I admit I'm really curious now. But I think you'd be better off running the course in your untransformed state. Both because it will be your day-to-day baseline…and also because I suspect I already know the answer to an important question. Would this course even tell us anything about your transformed state? Or would you just blow through it too easy to matter?"
Izumi grinned sheepishly.
"Probably the latter?"
Midnight sighed, but gestured her to take her place.
"Default form, then. Ready? 3…2…1…"
At Midnight's whistle, Izumi took off…
...
It was as the girls finished showering and redressing that Ashido, who somehow still seemed to have energy, proposed an idea.
"Hey! I know everyone is tired…but I bet that's not going to change anytime soon! And later in the semester, we'll probably be loaded down with homework, too. Why don't we all go hangout…unless some of you have night classes?"
The suggestion got the interest of the rest of the girls, though Asui quickly shook her head.
"I'd love too, but I have to be home to keep an eye on my little siblings before my parents go to work. They both work late shifts."
Uraraka was the next to bow out.
"Sorry guys…but I've got a pretty long commute. Maybe we could do something on a weekend?"
Ashido looked disappointed but turned hopefully to the remaining four girls. Predictably, at least to Izumi, Momo was the first to pounce positively on the idea.
"Oh! We could go out to eat! That way we could all recharge a bit! My family owns a restaurant near here. I could call ahead and have them book us a private room. No need to worry about the cost, since we own it."
Izumi knew she needed to get on top of that, quickly interjecting.
"This time! Momo's parents won't mind her hosting once or twice. But they might be a bit more annoyed if anyone abused it."
They would, too…if they noticed. Which they probably wouldn't. But it was best to nip the idea that Momo was a free ride everywhere in the bud. Her girlfriend was still, somehow, bad at understanding the value of money. At least in what Momo considered 'small amounts.' Which were…not actually small by normal people's standards. Izumi might be rich now herself, but she distinctly remembered being a person of modest means. Momo had never had that experience at all and would be easily taken advantage of if not for Izumi keeping an eagle eye out for that sort of thing. It was something Momo knew, too, since she nodded along with Izumi's statement, looking mildly contrite.
"We…wouldn't want to get you in trouble…"
It had been Jirou that put that forward, but Ashido and Hagakure echoed her quickly. Izumi smoothly answered for her girlfriend, not wanting to ruin this rare chance for Momo to actually make friends. Izumi was an introvert that was happy with just Momo and 2B. Her girlfriend, though…
"She won't be. When she says her family owns the restaurant, she means they own the entire chain. Along with a lot of other businesses. So long as no one is abusing their generosity, her parents won't care. So, for today or for a few study days, it's fine. Just not all the time, yeah?"
That got blinks of surprise from the two visible girls, but Ashido recovered quickly.
"Awesome! Then we can totally do that! I'm starving after running that course sooo many times…"
That was a statement the rest of them echoed wholeheartedly, even as they finished dressing and headed off campus…
...
"Um…Yaomomo…are you really sure it's okay for us to be here?"
Izumi was trying really hard to hide her amusement at the huge eyes on Jirou and Ashido. She even snuck a peak with her visor at Hagakure to confirm that, 'yes,' she was as stunned looking as the other two. The very-unlike-Mina tiny voice the question had been asked in almost undid her efforts to suppress her giggles. Particularly given her girlfriend's adorably oblivious response.
"Of course! Come on, they have the private room already waiting for us!"
Izumi outright bit her lip, trailing behind the other girls to hide her twitching expression as the others uncertainly followed Momo into the side-door of the extremely ritzy restaurant. The Blue Nova was, along with her sister restaurants The White Dwarf and The Event Horizon, the type of exclusive venue ordinary people would be lucky to go to once in a lifetime. All three of them were relatively new, having been one of many new ventures Momo's parents added to the Yaoyorozu holdings when the company moved into the Hero sector. That had only happened with the launch of the Hero Scouter Izumi and Momo had come up with, right around Izumi's twelfth birthday. The Yaoyorozus went on something of an expansion spree alongside the Hero Scan Network's launch, having quietly acquired several support companies in the lead up to launching the Scouter system and its support network. The wider spree after the launch had included offering deals to quite a few Heroes that Izumi and Momo had pointed them towards as being good choices for PR.
Despite only being around five years old, the three restaurants had been smash hits due to the partnership the Yaoyorozu family had offered The Space Hero: Thirteen. Thirteen might never have topped the hero charts, but she was extremely well liked and well known as a rescue hero. That partnership, along with the fact that half of all profits from the three exclusive restaurants went directly to support disaster recovery efforts, had made for incredible PR. It also meant they normally had minimum 3-month waiting lists. At best.
But the small, private dining room that they were quickly shuffled into was a little-known exception. There was one like it at all three restaurants, and it was reserved for specific purposes. Thirteen or the Yaoyorozus could request it at any time. But on all other occasions, it was provided to hero agencies that needed a neutral, clandestine, meeting point for inter-agency planning. The Blue Nova's private room wasn't used for that purpose often, since UA was nearby and usually hosted those sorts of meetings as a matter of course. But Thirteen was also nearby, so the room did see semi-regular use as she treated her coworkers or hosted various events. Thankfully, today it had been free.
Which left a bouncy Momo and extremely amused Izumi watching as their trio of guests gaped and gushed over the insanely high-fidelity rendering of the inside of a Nova, which wrapped around the entire small dining area. Even the floor was made of tough display screens, so it looked like their small platform was hovering in space, amidst the grandeur of the stella phenomena. It was actually, a tiny bit surprisingly, Hagakure who managed to recover first.
"This place is amazing! Holy shit was that a comet that just zoomed past?!"
Well, recovered her voice, at least. Though perhaps not her mental balance. Momo, bless her, simply went with it.
"It was! The room is programmed with 837 different cosmic events that can occur at random. Not quite as many as the main room, which can handle 1,012 so far, but some of them couldn't be reproduced on the smaller screens in here."
That was it, Izumi couldn't hold it anymore. She fell into a giggle fit, slumping in her chair. She quickly became the center of everyone's confused attention, which just made her giggle harder. Eventually, she managed to push past her wheezing giggles enough to explain.
"S-orry…s-sorry. Y-you're reactions to this place were h-hilarious. And Momo not even realizing it's anything special is even more priceless."
Jirou blushed, playing with her jacks, and Hagakure's clothing somehow gave off the feeling of embarrassment as well. Ashido merely grinned, her normal energy returning…particularly as she took in Momo's confused expression. She giggled for a moment herself, before coming to everyone's rescue.
"It is pretty funny. Sorry, Momo, but this place is waaaaay more than any of us expected. I mean, I think we'd all figured out you were rich. And I suppose Izumi's used to you…buuut…this place is sort of mind-blowing!"
Comprehension dawned on Momo's face. She turned to Izumi with a forlorn expression.
"I…did it again, didn't I?"
Izumi reached over to pat her on the head.
"You did. But I don't think anyone is complaining. Just keep trying to remember that things like this aren't normal for most people."
Jirou seemed to recover at the ridiculous scene of a hangdog looking Momo getting head pats from Izumi. Her own lips twitched as she spoke up.
"She blows people's minds with how rich she is, completely on accident, regularly?"
Izumi grinned.
"Yes. Though she's actually a lot better than she was about it. She at least called a regular cab for you guys instead of one of her family's limos, for example. And used the side door instead of just waltzing through the front like she owns the place…which she actually does, technically. They were one of the projects she was allowed to take on as a test of her business training. She succeeded so well that her parents made them part of her personal portfolio, instead of the main Yaoyorozu Groups' holdings."
That got another twitch of disbelief out of all three of their guests, but they were saved from any renewed shock by the food arriving a moment later. Seeing several carts of food being brought in clearly surprised them, but Momo quickly explained.
"Oh! Since I didn't know how much time we'd all have to hang out, I just had them prepare a bunch of samplers for us! Help yourself! Try a little bit of everything, if you want!"
After the waitstaff left, the hunger of famished teenagers overcame their remaining shock, with all five girls falling on the food like ravenous beasts. Momo most of all, given that she needed to recover quite a bit in the way of lipids as a result of her own runs on the obstacle course. She'd eaten one of her high-density power bars already, but those weren't a true substitute for real food. Which led to her piling favorites high on her plate, much to the other girl's shock. It took them a few minutes to notice, distracted by their own food and appreciative comments about how good it all was, but Ashido eventually did process what she was seeing. Only Jirou had eaten lunch with them previously, so her shocked comment wasn't too unexpected.
"Cheese, Momo! Where are you putting that all?! Actually, you too Izumi, even if you don't have quite as much as your girl does!"
Momo blushed, but Izumi just shrugged, seeing no reason to consider it embarrassing.
"It's our Quirks. Momo burns lipids for fuel to create objects, which means she needs a lot of food to replace losses. Same thing for me, really, but in my case it's just general high calorie burn from my altered body. Technically, I can get by without it, but it causes me to lean more heavily on QE and lessens how much I can use my Quirk as a result. So I eat stupid amounts of carbs and protein…and Momo needs lots of fats. Preferably healthy ones so there's less conversion loss."
All three girls consider that, with Jirou chiming in.
"That makes a lot of sense, I guess. I suppose it's just that none of us have adaptations like that?"
Izumi grinned, taking the opening for one of her favorite topics.
"I'd bet you actually do and just don't realize it. Take Ashido for example. I'm betting you really like acidic food? Citrus, pasta, soda and sports drinks?"
Mina blinked, considering the list for a moment, then nodded.
"Those are all some of my favorite things. You think it's because of my Quirk?"
"Almost certainly. Virtually everyone has minor changes to their needs to support their Quirk, even if most people never realize it. They just crave certain things and end up eating more of that because they crave it. Unless you have something really unusual though, or extreme quantity needs like Momo, it's usually just written off as a personal tastes thing."
That got a 'huh' from the pink girl…even as she grinned and took a helping of a pasta dish she hadn't tried yet. Everyone laughed at that and the conversation flowed naturally from there…
...
A/N: A quick note here. I think you can see the pattern developing here in that I'm spending more time and attention than canon did to their training. When I said at the start that I'd thought through switching UA to a University, I MEANT it. Heroics in this story is treated like a degree program in its own right. Training will be shown in snippets like this throughout the story, with more complete explanations than the Manga or Anime gave about the reasons behind each step. That's not actually a criticism of the show or story. They are working with a visual media and need to keep the pace moving more quickly. In a more novel-like format, I have the freedom to expand on things a bit more completely and I'm fully intent on taking advantage of that. I'll do my best not to let it bog the story pacing down as I do so, though!
Chapter 9: A Three Ring Circus and Opening Shots
Izumi and Momo both grimaced as their driver was forced to let them off two blocks before UA the next day. Momo's security team were obviously even less happy than the girls, but trying to force their way through the crowd of media that was covering the entire street in front of UA would only draw attention to them. Which wasn't something any good security team wanted. With a thought, Izumi transformed just far enough to activate a connection to the school's servers, sending a query through them and getting a quick response.
There were, indeed, five additional entrances to the University that were only accessible with student IDs. They didn't show up on the semi-public maps Izumi had first downloaded, likely for security reasons. But her new query, this time using her student ID number, had gotten a more complete map that identified the extra entrances. Noting that the nearest would still be in sight of the media, Izumi took her girlfriend's arm and guided her away, around the side of the Campus. It would be a few minutes of walking, but it was worth it to avoid that mess. Momo looked at her curiously, but didn't protest.
"Side entrance. I queried the server with my student ID and got a more complete map."
Momo nodded, looking relieved.
"Good idea. Should we see if we can spot any of our classmates?"
Izumi frowned, subtly forming a monocle instead of her usual full visor, letting it scan the crowd. It pinged with three hits…but two of them were already trapped in the crowd. Izumi steered herself and Momo toward the third.
"Looks like Uraraka is the only one we can save from that vicious pack of hyenas."
Thankfully, they made it to their classmate before she worked up the nerve to dive into the chaos, though she almost gave them away when she lept half a foot as they surprised her from behind. The brunette grasped her heart as she pouted at them.
"Oh, god! Don't scare me like that. I was already on edge because of…"
She gestured at the crowd and both Izumi and Momo nodded in understanding. Izumi grinned, though it was a bit strained at the reminder of the reporters nearby.
"That's why we came over, actually. I was able to access a more complete map of the Campus with my student ID, and there's a side entrance. It's a few minutes walk…but that's a lot better than dealing with the media jackals, I think."
Uraraka's eyes widened and she nodded with feeling.
"Heck yes! Lead the way, please!"
Izumi's strained grin shifted to a genuine smile as she did just that, leaving the reporters behind.
...
Because it was a non-core day, it wasn't a surprise that more of the Heroics Course students had lunch at the same time. Over half of them had chosen to take Intro to Heroic Law at the same time, a class that ended right before lunch. They'd even been joined by some members of the other Heroics Course group, as well as few Support Course students that needed to know at least basic Heroic Law for planning purposes. It had been nice to put faces and names to a few of the B Group students, though there hadn't been much time to actually talk, and none of them had attempted to join Izumi and Momo's group for lunch. This time, said group included more people than ever before, Iida and Jirou being joined by Asui, Ashido, and Kirishima. More Group A members were scattered around, including Tokoyami, who actually was sitting with two members of Group B. But no one had claimed the single remaining chair at their own table.
That, frankly, was fine as far as Izumi was concerned. This was already far more people that she was used to dealing with at once and she was feeling a tiny bit overwhelmed as a result. Momo, socialite that she'd been raised to be, had no such trouble. Which made Izumi extremely grateful that her girlfriend was more naturally extroverted than she was, as Momo happily managed the flow of their group's conversation. If anything, she seemed outright cheerful to have so many people to talk with, even if only Izumi fully realized it, the majority of Momo's exuberance hiding under the well-trained mask her girlfriend had been brought up to wear in public. Just as Izumi was about to say something about the topic at hand, comparing their schedules as it happened…something else disrupted the peace of the lunchroom.
*ALERT! ALERT! SECURITY BREACH, LEVEL 3! THIS IS NOT A DRILL. ALERT! ALERT! SECURITY BREACH, LEVEL 3!*
The blaring of the alarm was accompanied by red emergency lighting and the shouts of panicked students. Izumi herself went into immediate threat-assessment mode, partially transforming and falling into hyper-cognition mode. The world slowed to a crawl around her, even as she reached out to the UA servers. She grimaced mentally as she found military-grade hardened security firewalls in the process of flaring up all across said servers…but she'd reacted quickly enough that they hadn't all had time to come online yet. The wireless network had been shut down already, but Izumi didn't actually need an active wireless network. The pseudo-cyberpathy she gained via 2B meant she only needed the systems in question to have a connection at all, active or inactive didn't really matter much. She slipped through the security before the firewalls could all finish coming online, tapped into the staff-only channel…and mentally sagged in relief.
She'd known already that a Level 3 Breach meant someone had gotten past the gates, but the staff-only info channel was already filled with the information that it was the Media. They'd apparently broken in past the main gate, which alarmingly looked like it had been completely vaporized. That seemed a bit much for the media, really, but there were no indications on the channel that there were any other breaches. Which meant…
Izumi snapped out of hyper-cognition mode, barely three tenths of a second after dropping into it. Even with so little time having passed, she could see many in the cafeteria moving in panic. It had taken a few seconds for her to process everything and drop into hyper-cognition. Still partially-transformed, she took full advantage to raise her voice above what she could possibly have managed otherwise, without actually shouting.
"Everyone! It's only the media! Look out the east window and you can see them on the grounds! Remain calm and report to your designated evacuation areas so the staff can get a headcount. If you don't know your area, they are listed on the front and back walls of the cafeteria. Barring that, go with a friend and inform the person that meets you at the evacuation area that you're not sure you're at the correct location."
Thankfully, she'd managed to get in front of the panic. Several students on the east wall quickly confirmed the media swarm, as well as the fact that they were already being met by security and some of the teachers. The crowd, now grumbling instead of panicking, reluctantly began abandoning their meals to obey the evacuation instructions, largely ignoring the continued sound of the alarms. An embarrassing number of students were scrambling to find out where those areas were. But, then again, it was very early in the semester.
"Um…Izumi…do you know where our designated spot is?"
It was an embarrassed-looking Mina that had voiced the thought, nearly causing Izumi to facepalm. Her sigh of exasperation caused Mina to blush…and Iida to get in the answer before she could.
"Ashido-san! As a hero student, you should know that we—"
Amusingly, it was Momo that cut him off with a hand in front of his face, raising her voice to be heard to a few of the other heroics students around.
"All heroics students have their evacuation points set as the heroics wing classrooms, in case we are needed in defense of the school. Though that's mostly for older students who have provisional licenses."
Izumi nodded confirmation at that, standing and beginning to carefully cut her way into the crowd.
"What Momo said. Come on Iida. You can lecture Ashido-san on the virtues of the student handbook on the way…"
...
Classes had been cancelled, once the staff had made it to the evacuation points. Those going to the wrong places had been very lightly slapped on the wrist, it was early in the year after all. But otherwise nothing had come of the break-in. Not so far as any of them could tell before Midnight had arrived to dismiss them, at any rate.
It had, however, left Momo and Izumi with an unexpected bit of free time. Free time which had been so unpredicted that the Yaoyorozu security teams hadn't had a chance to snatch them up before Momo had delightedly escaped their clutches for the afternoon. Given the break-in, Momo would probably pay for that later but, at the moment, Izumi was too amused by her happily bouncing girlfriend cheerfully attacking a shopping mall to remind her of that inevitability. Malls weren't exactly Izumi's thing, but getting out and doing 'regular people things' was Momo's favorite activity whenever she escaped her minders. Given that, Izumi wasn't going to protest, instead letting her girlfriend pull her through several different clothing shops…and a hero merch store that was admittedly more for Izumi than Momo. Besides, they had a standing deal for times like this, and Momo was showing signs she was about to pay up. The light blush on her face being the most notable.
Sure enough, the next stop, with furtive looks to and fro from Momo…was a lingerie shop. Izumi grinned as she took over, pulling Momo smoothly inside. Just because Momo could make them anything intimate they needed, didn't mean they couldn't get some good ideas from places like this, after all! Someday, she was going to get her friend into a sex toy shop as well…once Izumi worked up the nerve to go in one herself, instead of just ordering a few things online to be delivered to the small safehouse the two of them maintained above their private workshop. Goals for the future. Fun goals for the future…