Chapter 108: Battle TrialAuthor: Geraint
It was Izuku's turn to throw the ball, and she seemed very nervous. All Might and Ichika were cheering her on from behind the building.
"Young Midoriya, you can do it!""Deku-chan!"
Izuku took a deep breath, then positioned herself.
"SMASH!"
She controlled her Quirk and launched the ball into the sky. Bakugou was completely shocked when the ball soared at high speed. When Eraserhead showed the results, Izuku had thrown farther than him.
"N-No way..."
Bakugou couldn't believe what he was seeing, and then he glared at her.
"DEKU!!" he roared, furious.
Meanwhile, Izuku looked so happy that she ran toward him.
"You've been deceiving me all this time—"
"Kacchan! I did it!"
She jumped and hugged him tightly.
Bakugou froze as he felt something soft pressing against his chest.
"Ugh...!"
"Did you see that, Kacchan? I've been practicing using my Quirk! My hard work paid off!"
He wanted to push her away, but a strange feeling inside him stopped him. One he didn't understand.
"Deku... get off of me," he said, trembling—but not from anger.
"Hehehe... sorry." Izuku let go with a shy smile.
Ichika was behind them, grinning the whole time, clearly enjoying Bakugou's discomfort.
"Oh my... our Kacchan is getting smitten. I'll be sure to tell Mitsuki-san about this."
Bakugou immediately redirected his fury toward Ichika.
"Damn you, Ichika! I've been looking for you!"
Some of Class 1-A turned their attention toward Ichika.
"That's... All Might's son?""He's the Pro Hero who returned to school."
Their reactions were mixed.
Then someone approached him—a serious-looking young man with hair evenly split between two colors: white on the right and crimson red on the left. A large burn scar stretched across the left side of his face, from his hairline down his cheek.
"You're Captain Falcon."
"Hm?" Ichika looked at him curiously.
"I saw what you did to my dad. You made him clean up our backyard."
"That serious look... Ah! I remember now! You're the son of the new No. 1 Hero, Endeavor!" Ichika pretended not to recognize him at first.
"My name is Todoroki Shouto. I will surpass you and All Might! Remember this day, Captain Falcon!"
"Get out of my way, Half-and-Half Guy! I'll be the one to surpass this bastard and All Might!" Bakugou jumped between them.
"Okay, okay, I get it. You two are fired up. But don't forget to enjoy high school life. Life's too short, you know," Ichika replied.
"Shut up! I'm not here to play around!" Bakugou snapped.
Ichika turned to Izuku."Deku-chan, say something too."
"Eh? Me?" Izuku pointed at herself, surprised.
"That's right. Just say something to fire yourself up, like those two."
"I don't know what to say... but I want to live up to your expectations. I want to become a hero, just like your father."
Ichika looked disappointed and sighed.
"Looks like you still have a lot to learn... including your mentality."
"I'm sorry... Ichika-kun."
"It's fine. Just don't forget that you have legs."
"Ugh!"
Izuku was hurt by the comment, not understanding its real meaning.
After the assessment test ended—with the expulsion revealed to be a lie, kind of—Ichika went straight to his actual classroom to deal with paperwork from the Commission, now piling up on his desk.
"Such misfortune," he sighed.
The next day
Ichika's class schedule still placed him with Class 1-A, but this time his companion was Himiko.
"Yay! We're in the same class today, Ichika-kun!"
"Himiko, get ready. Today's the real start of our class."
"I feel like I can overcome anything, as long as you're by my side."
"What if we're not in the same class again?"
"Ugh! Ichika-kun, please don't jinx it! It's boring without you."
"If anyone bullies you, tell me. They don't understand your condition, so I'll bully them instead."
"I'll be fine, Ichika-kun. I can protect myself. Besides, everyone in Class 1-B is really nice to me."
"I see. I hope you get along with Class 1-A too."
"Hehehe... I'll be fine there too, since Toru and Yao-Momo are in that class."
Ichika smiled at her answer.
When they entered the classroom, they were the last ones to arrive. They took two vacant seats in the back.
"We're in the same class as him again.""But he has a different companion this time. That girl's cute."
Some of the boys whispered among themselves.
"Himiko!"Toru and Momo waved at her.
Eraserhead arrived and started the morning classes. It was all general subjects until lunch break.
When Ichika stood up, Himiko walked over to him with a smile.
"I'll give you the drink later."
"Yay!"
Toru and Momo also approached him.
"Ichika-kun, what's for lunch today?"
"Sorry, we're eating in the cafeteria. I didn't have time to prepare anything this morning." Ichika sounded a bit tired.
"Well, that's too bad. How about we try the cafeteria food? It's prepared by a Pro Hero, Lunch Rush," Momo suggested.
"I guess we don't have a choice. But I really love Ichika's cooking..." Toru slumped over Ichika's desk.
"Don't worry, Lunch Rush is a good cook too. He has his own specialty."
Ichika turned to Izuku.
"Deku-chan, want to join us for lunch?"
Izuku was talking with Uraraka and Iida.
"Sorry, Ichika-kun, but I already promised to eat with my friends," she replied.
"Okay."
Ichika glanced at Bakugou, who was also surrounded by others. Then, finally, he turned to Kyouka.
"Gonpachiro! Want to have lunch with us?"
Kyouka nearly fell out of her seat."Darn it! You still didn't get my name right!"
"I remember it clearly. Kamaboko Gonpachiro."
"Huh?"
Momo squinted at him.
"Wrong."
"Eh? Then Shakariki Gengoro?"
"Ichika-kun, you're the worst," Toru pouted.
"Wrong again? Itadaki Tontaro?"
Kyouka trembled in frustration and walked away.
"Ichika, you're not doing this on purpose... right?" Momo eyed him suspiciously.
"Nope," Ichika replied, looking away.
When they reached the cafeteria, Nejire was waving from a table she'd reserved.
"Over here, Ichika-kun!"
"Nejire-senpai."
The five of them sat together, with Ichika in the middle, making every guy in the room burn with envy.
"That guy! He's sitting alone with four girls!""Isn't that the class beauty Nejire-chan from the 3rd year hero course? What is she doing with that guy?!""She's clinging to him!""No way!""The other girls are getting close to him too!""I'm so jealous!"
Ichika could feel the seething stares aimed at him. But he didn't mind—it wasn't the first time. He was used to that kind of attention from Pro Heroes in the past.
After lunch, they returned to class. The next subject was Hero Basic Training, and their teacher was...
"I am... coming through the door like a normal person!"
All Might burst in wearing his golden-age hero costume. He was their instructor for Foundational Hero Studies. The class shivered with excitement just seeing him.
He held up a placard.
[Battle Trial]
The class buzzed with excitement.
Ichika raised his hand.
"Am I exempted?"
All Might laughed.
"No!"
(To be continued)
A/N: Fixed.Umu Umu Umu... x32