Chapter 57: A Somewhat Dangerous Class
The training ground buzzes with excited chatter as the students, now fully dressed in their hero costumes, gather around All Might. He surveys the group for a moment before raising his voice to cut through the conversations.
"Everyone, pay attention to me. Now I'm going to explain what you're going to do in this battle test."
Aoi leans slightly toward Mina, keeping his voice low as he whispers:
"But honestly, some of these costumes really look weird. Like Aoyama's—it looks like it came straight out of a low-budget fairy tale movie, complete with all the sparkles and drama."
At that moment, Momo Yaoyorozu, who had been standing nearby adjusting her own costume, turns to him with a slight frown.
"Aoi, it's not nice to say that."
Aoi meets her gaze, flashes a warm smile, and quickly replies:
"I didn't mean it in a bad way. Really."
He takes a moment to look her over more carefully, appreciating the design, and adds with genuine admiration:
"Besides, you look beautiful in your hero costume. It's very elegant and practical. Though... it's just a bit too short, isn't it? Not that I'm complaining."
Momo's cheeks flush a light pink from the unexpected compliment. She shifts slightly, tugging at the hem before explaining calmly:
"You know about my quirk... My hero costume has to be designed like this so I can make the most of it. More exposed skin means faster and more efficient creation."
Mina Ashido, who has been watching the exchange with growing curiosity, leans in excitedly and asks:
"Aoi, so you two know each other? Like, from before U.A.?"
Aoi nods toward Mina with an easy grin and answers:
"Well, yeah. I met her when I was handling some business dealings with her father. He's got quite the company empire. So don't be fooled, Mina Momo here is a super-rich young lady, living in a completely different world from normal people like us."
Momo turns to Aoi, her eyes narrowing playfully as she retorts without missing a beat:
"Don't forget that you're richer than me these days. And even before you started your own company and made all that money, you were the son of the number 2 hero. So you've never really been poor—not even close."
Aoi reaches out and gently pinches her cheeks, pulling them lightly in mock protest.
"Don't ruin my magnificent image of an ordinary, relatable person in their minds! I worked hard to cultivate that humble vibe."
Momo doesn't back down; she reaches up and pinches his cheeks right back, her expression teasing.
"I don't think you have that image at all. Not with everyone here."
Ochaco Uraraka and Mina both smile widely, clearly amused by the lighthearted, familiar banter between the two.
At that moment, Tenya Iida scans the surrounding training area with his sharp eyes and comments aloud:
"Professor, this looks like the same place where we faced the robots during the entrance exam."
All Might flashes his trademark wide smile and responds confidently:
"Not exactly the same setup, young Iida. You're going to go through different training here today. You'll learn how to fight villains in enclosed environments. While battles against villains are more common in wide-open areas, there are also plenty of villains who operate from hidden lairs and secret hideouts."
He pauses for emphasis before continuing:
"Many times in your future careers, you'll have to engage in combat in isolated and enclosed locations. Black market villains, underground gangs, and full-scale criminal organizations—they're all tucked away out of sight. That's why knowing how to navigate and fight effectively in an enclosed space is extremely important for any pro hero."
All Might looks across the eager faces of his students and declares:
"And that's precisely why you're going to split into two teams today: one team of villains and one team of heroes. Then, you'll face off against each other in a simulated battle inside an enclosed building environment. This will give you valuable real-world combat experience in a controlled setting."
He scans the group once more and asks:
"Well, does anyone have any questions before we proceed? If not, we can start right away."
Tsuyu Asui raises her hand calmly and asks in her usual straightforward tone:
"So no basic training or warm-up exercises before we begin, kero?"
All Might nods thoughtfully at her and explains:
"Well, before we teachers dive into formal lessons on advanced techniques and optimal ways to use your quirks, this practical test is an excellent opportunity for us to observe how you're currently utilizing your quirks on your own—and even your natural fighting styles without any prior instruction from us. That way, we can pinpoint exactly where each of you needs improvement and tailor our teaching to help you grow more effectively."
Katsuki Bakugou grumbles loudly, his palms sparking faintly with impatience:
"Cut the crap already. I want to know what determines victory in this thing. Can I just blow them all up and call it a day?"
Aoi glances over at Bakugou, rolling his eyes internally as he thinks: "Man, early-season Bakugou is way too annoying. All bark and explosions."
Iida raises his hand again and asks properly:
"Professor, what exactly will be the objective for the villain team and the hero team during this exercise?"
All Might, looking a bit tired from the rapid-fire questions coming from all directions, holds up a hand and replies:
"Calm down, everyone. One at a time, please. My quirk isn't super hearing, you know."
Aoi watches him closely with a doubtful expression, his mind wandering as he thinks: "I'm not so sure about that... What if there's someone else hidden inside that quirk? It already seems like a crowded apartment with all those stocked powers. If someone like Kurama or Sukuna had to share the already cramped space, poor Naruto and Itadori would have a bunch of loud voices constantly arguing in their heads."
All Might clears his throat and continues undeterred:
"Listen carefully, young heroes. Here's how it will work: the villain team will hide a mock nuclear weapon somewhere inside the building hideout, and the hero team needs to infiltrate the structure and deal with it—either by disarming it or capturing the villains."
Aoi, unable to hold back, comments aloud:
"What idiot villains would do that? If it were me running the villain side, I'd kidnap a large number of innocent civilians and use them as shields to confuse the heroes. Make them focus all their attention on protecting the hostages, too afraid to launch a full attack. Then I'd just wait comfortably for the bomb to go off and send everyone to the sky."
Aoi glances around casually and suddenly notices the entire class staring at him in stunned silence. He raises an eyebrow and asks:
"What's wrong, guys? Is there a problem with that strategy?"
Eijiro Kirishima scratches his head awkwardly and replies:
"Man, that wasn't manly at all. Way too dark."
All Might coughs deliberately to regain everyone's attention and says with a hint of exasperation:
"Aoi, please don't try to help the villains succeed in their hypothetical plans."
Aoi shrugs nonchalantly:
"Well, I just thought their setup plan was kinda stupid and full of holes."
All Might sighs deeply but presses on:
"As I was saying before... The heroes will have a strict limited time window to either capture the villains or make direct contact with the weapon to 'disarm' it. The villains, meanwhile, must protect the weapon until time runs out—or capture the incoming heroes to secure their victory."
He reaches into a nearby box and announces:
"Your battle partners and team assignments will be decided randomly by lottery. No requests or changes."
Iida immediately protests, chopping the air with his hand:
"Sir, but won't that make things unnecessarily harder? Because if partners end up with very incompatible personalities, there could be lots of arguments and friction that increase the overall difficulty in completing the mission successfully."
Aoi jumps in to respond before All Might can:
"Well, Iida, unfortunately, there's no avoiding that in real life. At some point in your hero career, you'll have to work alongside complete strangers or even people you don't particularly like. So this random method of choosing partners must be intentional—to prepare us for handling those situations in the future, right, professor?"
All Might nods approvingly:
"Yes, young Aoi is absolutely correct. You all need to learn how to deal with personal differences effectively so it doesn't interfere when the time comes to carry out your mission."
Iida straightens up and accepts:
"Understood, sir."
All Might begins drawing lots from the box to form the teams. When he reaches team 5, Aoi realizes that Momo has been assigned to the same team as him. He turns to her with a bright smile and says:
"Hey, Momo, we're on the same team! This should be interesting."
Momo approaches him calmly and replies:
"Okay, but no funny business or distractions, Aoi."
Aoi puts on an innocent expression, tilting his head:
"When have I ever done that? I'm a perfect gentleman."
Momo crosses her arms, unimpressed, and says:
"Don't think I've forgotten the very first time we met. I asked what your quirk was, and you completely tricked me—telling me it was powered by girls' kisses and that you needed them to function properly."
Aoi laughs lightly at the memory:
"Sorry about that one, but you were so cute and serious about everything. I couldn't resist teasing you a little."
Momo's face turns red again, and she murmurs softly, almost to herself:
"But that was my first kiss..."
Aoi catches her words, feels a twinge of embarrassment himself, and quickly changes the subject:
"But putting that aside for now, I'm counting on you in this test, partner. We'll make a great team."
Momo recovers her composure, smiles gently, and replies:
"Well, I'm counting on you too. Let's do our best."
All Might's voice booms again as he announces the matchups:
"Let's move on without delay. The first battle will be between Team A, who will play the role of heroes, and Team D, who will be the villains."
Aoi mutters under his breath:
"And Izuku won't escape it this time either. Poor guy."
Momo glances at him curiously and asks:
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Aoi gestures subtly toward the pairings:
"It's nothing major. It's just that Izuku has to face off against Bakugou, who looks like a rabid dog foaming at the mouth right now."
Momo follows his gaze to Bakugou, who is indeed glaring intensely at Izuku with pure fury, and asks:
"What's his deal anyway? Why the hostility?"
Aoi shrugs helplessly:
"Well, I really don't know the full story. Long history, I guess."
All Might gives the final instructions:
"The villain team enters the building first to set up. The timer will start counting down, and in exactly 5 minutes, the hero team will begin their infiltration. The rest of the class will observe and analyze with me from the monitoring room upstairs."
Aoi turns to Uraraka on the hero team and offers a quick:
"Good luck out there."
Then he looks at Izuku, who appears understandably nervous, and adds with a smirk:
"Try to at least leave one piece of yourself intact so I can fix it later if needed."
Izuku manages a tired, nervous smile:
"Well, I shouldn't get hurt too much, right? It's just training..."
Aoi doesn't respond verbally; he simply points discreetly at Bakugou, who continues glaring at Izuku with unrestrained rage. Izuku follows the gesture, sees the intensity, and lets out another tired smile:
"Well... then thanks in advance for your help after the fight, I guess."
Aoi waves it off casually:
"Don't mention it. I've got you."
Aoi then turns and walks away, heading toward the monitoring room alongside the rest of the observing students.
Uraraka looks at her partner Izuku with determination and says:
"Well, let's go. We can do this."
Izuku takes a deep breath, stares up at the imposing training building ahead, and starts walking resolutely toward it.