The four of us returned back to the basement after our turn was up. There were no awed faces or scared expressions, just supportive gestures from a job well done.
"NOW, CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHO WAS THE MVP OF THIS MATCH AND WHY?" All Might addresses the rest of the class.
Honenuki's arm shot up as he answered without hesitation. "Tetsutetsu. While I don't deny that Shuzenji played a pivotal role in their victory, Tetsutetsu played a crucial part on how he operated so smoothly. If he wasn't causing such a ruckus and had the endurance to keep it up, then Shuzenji would have been hard-pressed to complete his task."
'Oh, you sweet summer child.' I thought mirthfully. 'It would have been easy either way if I didn't care about giving them a concussion. Or burns. Or amputations.'
"Actually, it was Shuzenji who made the plan. I just went along with it." Interjected Tetsutetsu.
All Might nodded. "THE BOTH OF YOU DID WELL IN YOUR RESPECTIVE ROLES. OF COURSE, IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT THE SAME GOES FOR THE VILLAIN TEAM."
"Wait." It was Tokage who interjected this time. "I've been wondering about something. Why did Kuroiro retreat so quickly after just one failed attempt?"
Eyes went to the brooding teen. "Only a fool would charge ahead, knowing that they are fighting a losing battle. I have already fooled him once, to use the same trick twice is simply idiocy. I found it prudent that my ability was ill-suited to oppose someone of his calibre in a direct confrontation."
"A thousand yen on him just chickening out." Awase not-so-subtly whispered to to Kosei next to him.
"NOW THAT THAT'S OUT OF THE WAY, TINE FOR THE NEXT BATTLE!" All Might moved the lesson along, not wanting to see an argument. That or he was watching his time. Heroics foundation might be the last class of the day, but that doesn't mean we didn't have any other arrangements.
The final exercise was Bondo and Itsuka as the villains, against Ibara and Yanagi as the heroes.
If there was a way to describe their match, it was messy.
Bondo and Ibara's quirk clashed horribly. Her vines partially went through his cemedine before it hardened and she was forced to cut it free otherwise she'd get stuck. The Christian girl seemed to not notice that her cut vines were adding in as obstacles and she was forced to break her way in with Yanagi right behind her.
Kendo, meanwhile, was guarding the bomb. She went to a nearby room and destroyed a few walls, using then later on as a projectile weapon. Didn't do that much good, unfortunately, with Ibara destroying those too and Yanagi grabbing hold of the smaller debris and peppering the poor girl.
The match ended in the hero's victory, if you can call it that.
By the end of it all, Ibara was stuck on the floor with Yanagi to the wall after Bondo made a particularly sticky concoction, inadvertently taking Itsuka along with it as she was also stuck on the floor not far from Yanagi. The hero team only won because Ibara technically touched the bomb, even if it was only a single strand of her vine.
We had the debriefing after that match and it was finally over. All Might did is job-well-done spiel and we were allowed to change back and go do whatever.
In the locker rooms, I switched out of my costume pretty quickly. The other wanted to chat around for a bit before leaving but I excused myself in favour of going to the nurse's office to do my thing and check on Manga, which they understand.
As soon as I left the door, there was a fidgeting figure of Kinoko. "C-can I come with you? T-to see Manga-kun."
"Sure." I didn't hesitate to allow that. Everyone has a right to visitation.
While we were navigating the confusing corridors, I didn't need to be a genius to understand what Kinoko is feeling.
"It'll be fine." I spoke without looking at her. "Manga didn't seem like the type of person to hold accidents against people like that." I didn't wait for a reply.
I didn't need to.
A quiet sigh was definitely not just released from beside me.
We reached the clinic and I saw the girl tense from the corner of my eye. Better to just rip-off the bandaid and help the girl, I raised a hand to knock before entering. "Manga! You got a visitor!"
"( ╹▽╹ ) Oh? Who is it?"
"Here." I gently nudge Kinoko forward to Manga that was sitting on a chair next to the bed and left them to whatever they're about to say.
I passed by a bed with the curtains closed on my way to my desk. I picked up a note that was laid on it and laid down my bag. Apparently, granny was out to teach basic first aid class for the first year support course after a few dozen explosions not even halfway through the first week. The note also states that I should- hm?
Making sure I read that right, I stood up and walked over to the closed curtains and opened. Sure enough, Midoriya was lying right there, unconscious with an injured arm and a few minor burns. Granny's note said that his body was already critically exhausted from yesterday and today so she couldn't use her quirk on him. She'd asked that I work mine on him instead.
"Oh, um. Hi. Again." Said the girl who was sitting next to his bed, nervously twirling the extra appendage attached to her ear lobes. "I- uh, remember me from the entrance exams? It's cool if you haven't but can you fix him up, please?"
I didn't answer her with words. Instead, a burst of darkness broke from the cracks of my neck and enveloped Midoriya in his entirety. The effect persisted for a few moments before it dissipated, the freckled teen shooting up and looking around. His gaze went to his side and was met with a hug from the girl that was next to him.
I swiped the clipboard attached to the foot of his bed and closed the curtains behind me. It would do them well to have some privacy.
~~~~~
In all the anticipation and excitement about starting a new chapter in life at U.A., I overlooked the implications of one small detail.
All Might.
With him being a teacher at U.A. while the school kept mum about it before the new school year began, once the students realised this, they started chatting and gossiping and bragging. Even having photos taking like he was some sort of cryptid and posting it online and sharing it with family. It really was just a matter of time before the media picked up on the scent of blood in the waters, a fact that I and every other student was made aware up first thing in the morning.
Some people enjoy the sounds of birds chirping, other enjoyed being nuzzled awake by the warm sunlight.
For the students of U.A.? Apparently we get screaming reporters yelling outside the walls.
"Are the megaphones really necessary?" Drawled Sen who, like the others, were still groggy.
The reporter have been there since early in the morning, shortly before first light of dawn. At first, they just waited patiently for anyone to pass by, but when no one spared them the time of day, they decided to bring out megaphones and speakers, having opted to raise their voices so they can be heard over the wall.
Now it's true that our rooms are insulated from sound for the most part, but that still has limits. Even if someone's ears doesn't pick up on the sounds, the vibrations are enough to rattle a few small items from the shelves.
Because of this, at least half of the class was already awake. However, the only ones fully lucid are me and Manga due to our natures, along with Kendo who was a natural early riser and a coffee enthusiast.
"Could be worse." I answered the teen. "You could be out there, being hounded for whatever it is they want." Me and Kendo took on the role for making breakfast even if it wasn't out turn. We can just swap it out from our previous one slot to make it fair.
Manga was vehemently banned from entering the kitchen, indefinitely.
"I'm pretty sure that's a public nuisance charge." Tokage groaned, not raising her face from the table.
"A misdemeanor case, at the very least." Honenuki agreed with her. "Shouldn't they be arrested by now?"
"They already were." Kendo answered them this time. "This is already the third batch of reporters."
"I had a head flew over earlier and check." I added. "They separated themselves in different groups so certain parties have plausible deniability whenever the authorities arrive. And when a group gets arrested, more of them show up."
"How infuriating. Do they have no shame in doing such deplorable acts?!" Shishida growled while pressing his noise cancelling headphones against his ears. The poor guy's sharp senses being a curse in this scenario.
"(눈‸눈) They're journalists. Of course they have no shame!"
"Annoying as they are, it is still their job." I chimed. "Give it a while and I'm sure it'll pass."
"And what of our schedule?" Shishida huffed indignantly. "I'm afraid that we wouldn't be able to focus for long if they kept up the racket."
"And I'm still tireeeed~"
"That's on you for sleeping at three in the morning, Tsuburaba-san."
"That's hypocritical! You didn't even sleep a wink last night!" He snapped at me. Weird. He usually afraid of me for some reason...
Might be the lack of sleep.
"That's because I didn't need to sleep often." I turned back to the hairy teen. "And don't worry, Shishida-kun. I'm sure the school would act to rectify that concern."
And with good timing, everyone's phones chimed all at once.
A notification sent by the principal stated the morning classes have been cancelled in consideration for any lack of proper rest. The afternoon classes are still up for debate until after they dealt with journalists without escalating the situation more than it already has.
"...So, anyone up for a boardgame?" A lot of eyes fell on Awase. "What? Not like we'll be getting much sleep anyway."
~~~~~
The journalist only started making noise close to dawn so everyone actually had a decent amount of sleep. It was just being woken up by the noise that caught them off-guard. There were probably just overreacting, even Rin woke up as usual and continued on like it wasn't happening.
What was odd however was how Nedzu worded his notification.
What did he mean by 'Without escalation the situation'? Why didn't the cops just bag all of them? Do they have someone that's enabling them?
I wouldn't know the answer.
And frankly, that just sounds like the kind cesspool of intrigue that's more trouble than it's worth.
Those parasites were 'peacefully escorted' outside the immediate vicinity after they finally got their brief interview with All Might. The bloodhounds didn't originally want to leave even under the threat of legal action. It was only after police arrived with squadrons and containment vans and arrested entire groups of them did they turned tail and ran.
What a waste of police resources, honestly.
With them out of the way, afternoon classes proceeded as scheduled. In today's foundational heroics, we reviewed our course of actions during the battle trials and did a step-by-step analysis of what could have gone wrong and what could be done better. We were also told to study about situational and spacial awareness before we do another physical exercise tomorrow.
Classes ended and everyone went about their day of post-class activities. My day at the nurse's office went about peacefully enough that me and granny shared a spot of tea. Without the usual debilitating physical lessons of foundational heroics, there weren't really any injuries that needed mending. So for now, we just enjoyed a moment of tranquility as tomorrow might not be so lull.
Whatever may what come, is a problem for future me.