A week after...
Apparently, a week was all that Class 1-B needed to adjust. Most of them didn't know each other before U.A., and now they're all clingy.
Kazuki just observed them from a distance, hand over his mouth as if he was thinking about something productive. In front of him was Tetsuji, who was dozing off.
"Kazuki," Kendo called him. Her voice was soft, yet his head darted to her seat in an instant.
"Yes?" he asked.
"You looked like you were deep in thought," Kendo said, leaning slightly over her desk. "Everything okay?"
Kazuki glanced around the classroom. Students were scattered in small groups, waiting for Vlad King to arrive.
"Just thinking," Kazuki said.
"About?"
"How everyone became friends so fast. It's only been a week."
Kendo shrugged. "We're getting thrown into combat training every other day. Kind of forces you to figure out who you can rely on." She glanced at Tetsuji, who was now fully asleep at his desk, drooling slightly. "Even if some of them are idiots."
"He's going to get yelled at again."
"Probably." Kendo smiled. "You should wake him up before Vlad King gets here. He listened to you last time."
Kazuki reached forward and flicked the back of Tetsuji's head. The metal-skinned boy jerked awake.
"Wha- I wasn't sleeping!"
"Your face was on the desk," Honenuki said from across the room without opening his eyes.
"That was- I was just resting my eyes!"
Before anyone could respond, the door slid open.
Vlad King walked in, and the room went silent immediately.
"Listen up," he said, not bothering with greetings. "Today's different. No combat training."
Excited murmurs rippled through the room.
"We're doing a joint exercise with Class 1-A."
The murmurs turned into full conversations. Monoma shot up from his seat.
"Finally! We can show those pretentious-"
"Sit down, Monoma." Vlad King said. "This isn't a competition. It's a joint training exercise. Both classes will be working together on rescue scenarios."
"Together?" Tokage raised her hand. "Not against each other?"
"Together," Vlad King confirmed. "Heroes work in teams. Sometimes those teams are people you don't know, don't like, or don't trust. You still have to function. Today you'll learn if you can."
He pulled out his tablet.
"The exercise is simple. Disaster simulation. Collapsed building, multiple civilians trapped, limited time. You'll be divided into mixed teams... both 1-A and 1-B students working together. Your goal is to rescue as many civilians as possible while minimizing damage."
"Teams will be announced at Ground Beta," Vlad King continued. "Get changed. Be there in fifteen minutes. Anyone late runs laps until I'm satisfied."
The class moved quickly. Monoma was yapping about beating 1-A in the locker room to no end.
Tetsuji nudged Kazuki as they changed. "You think they're really as good as us?"
"Probably. Same school, same training."
"Yeah, but..." Tetsuji lowered his voice. "What if they're better?"
"Then we learn from them," Honenuki said from the next locker over. "Not a big deal."
"Easy for you to say. You got second place in our assessment."
"And Hayashi got first. You don't see him worried."
Kazuki wasn't worried. He was curious. Class 1-A had been this abstract concept for a week now, mostly because Monoma wouldn't shut up about them. Now he'd actually see what they were like.
The walk to Ground Beta was quiet. He could see Class 1-A in the distance, also heading toward the training area. They looked... normal. Not particularly intimidating or impressive. Just students.
Last week, on Friday, they gave out forms to get specifications for the hero costumes, and the students had the weekend to go over what they needed.
They gave out uniforms yesterday, so basically, this is the first time they're going to wear them in action.
Class 1-A was interesting.
One student had distinctive red and white hair split down the middle. Another was incredibly tall with multiple arms. A girl with pink skin was bouncing excitedly. And there was a boy with messy green hair who kept muttering to himself while scribbling in a notebook.
"Is that guy okay?" Tetsuji whispered, nodding toward the green-haired student.
"He's muttering something. Can't hear what."
"Weird."
Both classes gathered at Ground Beta. Vlad King stood on one side, and a man in a sleeping bag stood on the other.
The man in the sleeping bag looked half-dead. His hair was long and messy, his eyes bloodshot.
"I'm Aizawa," the man said, his voice flat and completely uninterested. "I teach 1-A. Your teams are already assigned. When I call your name, group up. No complaining. No switching. Work together or fail together."
He started reading names from his tablet without any enthusiasm.
"Team One: Todoroki, Kendo, Yaoyorozu, Kondo."
Kendo glanced at Kazuki before moving toward her team. Tetsuji followed, looking slightly intimidated by the red-and-white-haired student.
"Team Two: Bakugo, Monoma, Tokage, Kirishima."
Several people from both classes winced at that combination. The blonde student... Bakugo, apparently... looked like he wanted to explode something already. Monoma had a manic grin.
"This is going to be a disaster," Honenuki muttered.
"Team Three: Midoriya, Hayashi, Asui, Honenuki."
Kazuki moved toward his assigned team. The green-haired boy looked up from his notebook and smiled nervously.
"Hi! I'm Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you!" He extended his hand quickly.
Kazuki's mind froze for a moment before he shook it. "Kazuki Hayashi."
"I know! I mean, I saw your name on the team list, and I looked up everyone's quirks from the entrance exam data, and yours is wind manipulation, right? That's really versatile for rescue operations because you could create air pockets for trapped civilians or clear debris with concentrated gusts or even provide lift assistance for..." He trailed off, face flushing. "Sorry. I talk a lot when I'm nervous."
"It's fine," Kazuki said.
A girl with green hair and large eyes hopped over. Literally hopped, like a frog.
"I'm Tsuyu Asui. Call me Tsu." Her voice was calm, almost monotone. "Ribbit."
"Did you just say ribbit?" Honenuki asked, joining the group.
"Habit. My quirk is Frog." She demonstrated by sticking her tongue out. It extended about three meters before retracting. "I can climb walls, swim fast, and jump high. What about you?"
"Juzo Honenuki. I can soften anything I touch." He demonstrated by touching the ground. It immediately turned gel-like before solidifying again.
"That's perfect for rescue work!" Midoriya's eyes lit up, and he was already scribbling in his notebook again. "You could soften debris to make it easier to move..."
Kazuki zoned out just in time to not hear everything that Midoriya had to say.
He kept going. Kazuki noticed Honenuki and Asui exchanging glances.
"Does he always do this?" Honenuki asked.
"Usually, ribbit," Asui said.
Aizawa's voice cut through. "Teams, listen up. Each scenario is different. You'll have ten minutes to complete your rescue. Pro heroes will be acting as trapped civilians. Save them. Don't get yourselves killed. And if you cause more damage than you prevent, you fail. Begin."
Team Three approached their assigned building. It was a partially collapsed structure.
Kazuki closed his eyes and focused, sending gentle currents of air through the rubble. Feeling for pockets. Places where the air moved differently. After a moment, he opened his eyes.
"Three locations. One on the second floor, northeast corner. Two in the basement, opposite ends. Those are the places where the civilians are trapped."
The others just stared at him, confused.
"Oh, you used your quirk to-" Midoriya was about to start before Honenuki cut him off, "We shouldn't waste time, let's roll."
"Right!" Midoriya snapped back to focus. "Okay, Asui, you take the second floor. You're the fastest climber. Honenuki and I will take one basement location. Hayashi, can you handle the other?"
"Yeah."
"If anyone runs into trouble, shout. I'll position myself where I can reach either location." Midoriya was already moving toward the building. "Let's go."
They split up immediately.
Asui launched herself up the side of the building, her tongue latching onto a window frame. She disappeared inside with one powerful leap.
Honenuki and Midoriya headed for the basement entrance on the left. Honenuki touched the concrete blocking the doorway, and it turned soft. They pushed through.
Kazuki found a gap between two collapsed support beams on the right side. He created a cushion of compressed air beneath himself and descended.
The basement was a mess. Dust everywhere.
"Help! Someone there?"
A pro hero was trapped under a metal beam about ten meters ahead. Pinned, but not completely crushed.
Kazuki assessed quickly. The beam was too heavy to lift normally. Using direct wind force might shift other debris.
Kazuki knelt beside the beam and placed both hands on it. He created a thin layer of compressed air underneath. Then slowly increase the pressure. The beam lifted. One centimeter. Two.
"Can you move?"
The pro hero shifted. "Almost. Little more."
Kazuki increased the pressure again. Sweat formed on his forehead. The beam rose another few centimeters.
The hero scrambled out. "Good work, kid. Clean technique."
They made their way back up. When Kazuki emerged, Asui was already waiting with her civilian. Midoriya and Honenuki appeared thirty seconds later with theirs.
All three were rescued.
Aizawa checked his tablet, expression still bored. "Team Three. All civilians rescued, zero casualties, minimal structural damage. Time: seven minutes, thirty-eight seconds. Acceptable."
Midoriya looked thrilled. Asui smiled slightly. Honenuki nodded once.
Kazuki felt satisfied.
Other teams were still working. Team One looked smooth. Kendo directing, the Todoroki guy creating ice supports. Efficient.
Then there was Team Two.
"I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!"
"I'M DEMONSTRATING SUPERIOR TECHNIQUE!"
Explosions. Lots of them. Tokage's detached hands were trying to physically separate Bakugo and Monoma. The red-haired student looked exhausted.
"They're doomed," Honenuki said.
"They're not even trying to rescue anyone, ribbit," Asui added.
Other groups were just not as interesting.
Aizawa called time. Team Two had rescued one civilian out of three.
"Bakugo. Monoma."
"Detention. Both of you. In the real world, people would be dead right now because you were too busy fighting each other. If you can't work with people you don't like, you're not ready to be heroes."
Monoma looked offended. Bakugo looked ready to commit murder.
When the exercise ended, Vlad King gathered Class 1-B.
"Mixed results today," he said. "Some of you worked well. Others..." His eyes landed on Monoma. "Need to remember that being a hero isn't about proving superiority. It's about saving lives."
He dismissed them.
As they headed back, Midoriya caught up to Kazuki.
"Hey, that was really impressive. The air pressure technique with the beam... that must take years of practice."
"It does."
"Do you train every day? What's your routine?" Midoriya paused. "Sorry, I ask too many questions."
"You do."
"Right, sorry." Midoriya looked embarrassed. "I just want to learn from everyone. My quirk is kind of new to me, so..."
That was weird phrasing. But not Kazuki's business.
"I train every day. Precision over power."
"That makes sense." Midoriya scribbled something. "Thanks! Maybe we could train together sometime?"
Kazuki considered it. "Maybe." 'Absolutely not.'
"Cool! See you around!"
Midoriya hurried back to his class.
Tetsuji was crashing out in the locker room, absolutely losing his mind.
"Dude, that Todoroki guy is insane. Ice AND fire. How is that fair? I CAN HARDEN MY SKIN!"
"Genetics," Honenuki said while changing. "Probably inherited from both parents."
Kazuki finished changing and grabbed his bag.
Kazuki's phone buzzed. Daichi.
Daichi: hey hows ua
Kazuki stared at it.
Kazuki: Good. Just finished training with 1-A.
Daichi: oh cool
Daichi: sounds fun
Kazuki: Yeah.
The conversation died.
"Kazuki! Come, we're going to the cafeteria to eat lunch!" Tetsuji shouted, with Honenuki right beside him.
Kazuki just stared at them. They were so different from his friends in middle school.
"You coming or what?" Honenuki asked, already halfway out the door.
"Yeah," Kazuki said, following them out.
The cafeteria was busy. Students everywhere, talking and laughing. Kazuki grabbed his usual. Rice, fish, soup. Simple.
When he got to the table, the others were already there. Kendo, Tokage, Shiozaki, and now Tetsuji and Honenuki.
Tetsuji was in the middle of some dramatic story about how Todoroki almost froze him during the exercise.
"I'm serious! The ice came this close to my face!" He gestured. "If I hadn't activated my Metal Skin, I would've been a popsicle."
"You're exaggerating," Tokage said, one of her detached hands stealing a piece of his food.
"Hey! Give that back!"
"Nope." The hand floated away, carrying the food to Tokage's mouth.
Everyone laughed.
Kazuki sat down and started eating. The conversation flowed around him naturally. He didn't need to contribute much. Just being there was enough.
"So Hayashi," Tokage said, turning to him. "That air pressure thing you did with the beam. How does that even work?"
"I create a cushion of compressed air underneath. Then increase pressure gradually until it lifts."
"That's it? Just pressure?"
"Controlled pressure. If you do it wrong, the beam shifts and crushes whoever's under it."
"Yikes." Tokage shuddered. "Remind me never to get trapped under anything."
"No, I won't," Kazuki said dryly.
Kendo smiled at that. "Was that a joke, Hayashi?"
"Maybe."
"Character development," Honenuki said, a slight smile on his face. "He's learning humor."
"I know humor."
"Do you though?" Tetsuji grinned. "Name one joke."
Kazuki paused. "I don't know any jokes."
"See? No humor."
They kept teasing him, but it wasn't mean. It was.. normal.
His phone buzzed. Kazuki glanced at it.
Daichi: yo you should come visit sometime
Daichi: we could hang out like old times
Kazuki stared at the message. Old times. When they'd go to arcades and Kazuki would pay for everything. When they'd get food and Kazuki would cover the bill. When they'd need something and Kazuki would buy it.
He never thought much about it back then. That's just what friends did, right?
But now, sitting here with his classmates, he realized something. Nobody had asked him to pay for anything. Tetsuji bought his own food. Kendo paid for herself. Even when they went to check out the support course, everyone covered their own expenses.
"Earth to Hayashi," Tokage waved her hand in front of his face. "You zoned out."
"Sorry. What?"
"I asked if you wanted to come train tomorrow morning. Honenuki and I are working on combination techniques."
"What time?"
"Six AM. Before classes start."
Kazuki nodded. "I'll be there."
"Really?" Tokage looked surprised. "I figured you'd train alone."
"I usually do."
"But you're coming anyway?"
"Yeah."
Tokage grinned. "Cool. Don't be late."
"Yeah, sure."
...
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