Chapter 4: Frost and Funny Costumes
The next day, the curriculum shifted from the terrifying to the mundane, and then back to the terrifying.
The morning was filled with normal classes. English with Present Mic was excruciatingly loud. Aokiji spent the entire period of "Which sentence is correct?" staring out the window, watching clouds drift by, until Present Mic called on him.
"KUZAN! GIVE ME A BEAT! WHICH PREPOSITION IS WRONG IN SENTENCE FOUR?"
Aokiji blinked, slowly standing up. "The participle is dangling. Like my will to live before lunch."
The class chuckled. Present Mic laughed. "YEAAAH! VERY EXISTENTIAL! CORRECT!"
Lunch was world-class cuisine at the cafeteria. Aokiji bought a simple cold soba and found a table in the corner. He was soon joined by Tokoyami—the bird-headed boy—and Shoji.
"Is this seat taken?" Tokoyami asked, his voice deep and edgy.
"Go ahead," Aokiji said. "You like the dark corner too?"
"The darkness is comforting," Tokoyami said.
"Revelry in the dark," Aokiji agreed, slurping his noodles. I think I found my people. The quiet ones.
Hero Basic Training
"I AM HERE!"
The door burst open, and All Might, the Symbol of Peace, marched in wearing his Silver Age costume. He was massive, radiant, and blindingly American in his design.
"COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A HERO!"
The class went wild. Aokiji had to squint. All Might, the number one hero, he's so bright up close.
"Today we're doing Battle Training!" All Might announced. "And for that, you need these!"
Shelves slid out of the wall, carrying numbered suitcases.
"Costumes!" Midoriya gasped.
Aokiji grabbed case #10. He had sent his design specifications to the support company with a simple note: Keep it cool. Literally.
Ground Beta
Ten minutes later, Class 1-A emerged from the tunnel. The array of costumes was impressive. Bakugo looked like a grenade. Iida looked like a car. Uraraka looked like a space astronaut.
Aokiji stepped out.
His costume was a stark contrast to the colorful spandex of his peers. He wore a pristine white double-breasted suit with a high collar, a navy blue shirt underneath, and white dress shoes. It looked more like high-end formal wear than a hero suit. However, the material was a specialized thermo-regulating fabric that wouldn't crack under sub-zero temperatures.
The only "hero" accessory was a pair of amber-tinted sunglasses pushed up onto his forehead and a yellow sleeping mask hanging loosely around his neck like a scarf.
"You look like you're going to a business meeting," Kirishima commented, admiring the suit. "So manly!"
"It's comfortable," Aokiji shrugged. "And pockets are useful."
All Might explained the rules. Two teams. Heroes vs. Villains. Indoor battle. Capture the tape or the bomb.
He drew lots.
Team A (Heroes): Midoriya & Uraraka
Team D (Villains): Bakugo & Iida
And further down...
Team H (Villains): Aokiji Kuzan & Minoru Mineta
Team I (Heroes): Mashirao Ojiro & Toru Hagakure
"We're villains!" Mineta squeaked, vibrating with anxiety. "And we're against an invisible girl! How do we fight what we can't see? And Ojiro has a tail! A strong tail!"
Aokiji looked down at the purple grape boy. "Mineta. Relax."
"RELAX? We're going to fail! We're going to get beat up!"
Aokiji crouched down, bringing himself to Mineta's eye level. "Do you like winning?"
"Yes!"
"Do you like doing work?"
"No!"
"Then leave it to me," Aokiji said, standing up. "I have a plan. It involves standing very still."
First Match: Midoriya/Uraraka vs. Bakugo/Iida
The class watched from the monitoring room. It was brutal. Bakugo was hunting Midoriya with a terrifying vendetta. The explosions shook the building.
"He's going to kill him!" someone shouted.
Aokiji leaned against the back wall, watching the screens. His expression was unreadable. Bakugo fights with ego. Midoriya fights with desperation. Neither is thinking clearly.
When Midoriya used the Detroit Smash upward to break the ceiling, allowing Uraraka to capture the weapon, the room went silent. Midoriya was broken again. Stretcher-bound.
"That was… intense," Kaminari gulped.
"It was messy," Aokiji said quietly. "Too much damage to the structure. If this were a real building, the civilians on the upper floors would have been compromised."
All Might looked at Aokiji, impressed by the assessment. "Correct, Young Kuzan! While the spirit was high, the collateral damage was excessive!"
Fourth Match: Team H (Villains) vs. Team I (Heroes)
"Ready… START!"
Aokiji and Mineta were in the weapon room on the fifth floor. The paper mache bomb sat in the middle.
"Okay, they're coming!" Mineta panicked, throwing his sticky balls at the floor randomly. "I'm laying traps! Invisible girl could be anywhere!"
Aokiji walked over to the bomb. He sat down in front of it, crossing his legs.
"Mineta," Aokiji said. "Step behind me."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
Mineta scurried behind Aokiji.
Aokiji placed his right hand flat on the concrete floor. He could hear footsteps two floors down. Ojiro and Hagakure were approaching cautiously.
"Ice Age," Aokiji whispered.
It wasn't a blast. It was a wave.
From his hand, white frost exploded outward. It covered the floor, climbed the walls, and rushed out the door into the hallway. It moved faster than a run. It surged down the stairwell, coating the railing, the steps, and the walls in thick, solid ice.
Two floors down, Ojiro heard a cracking sound. "What is th—?"
Before he could finish, the ice wave washed over his feet. It didn't hurt—it just stopped him. The ice rose rapidly, encasing his legs, then his waist, freezing him in place. Beside him, a pair of floating gloves and boots (Hagakure) were similarly caught in the flash-freeze.
The ice continued, coating the entire building's interior in a matter of seconds. It was a winter wonderland.
Aokiji exhaled, a cloud of mist escaping his lips. He tapped his earpiece.
"Villain Team wins," he said calmly. "Targets are immobilized on the second floor. Don't worry, I didn't freeze them to the bone. Just trapped them."
"VILLAIN TEAM WINS!" All Might shouted over the intercom, sounding stunned. "THAT WAS… FAST!"
Mineta looked around at the frozen room, then at Aokiji. His jaw dropped. "You… you did that? You didn't even move!"
"Our work here has come to an end," Aokiji stood up, walking towards the door of the room "Let's go, Mineta."
The Debrief (After few minutes).
Back in the monitoring room, the class stared at Aokiji. He was shivering slightly—the overuse of his quirk dropped his body temperature—but otherwise looked bored.
"That was overwhelming!" Kirishima said. "You froze the whole building!"
"Young Kuzan," All Might said, his smile slightly strained. "That was certainly… effective. However! Can anyone tell me the strategic flaw in this method?"
Momo raised her hand instantly. "Yes, All Might-sensei. While Kuzan-san neutralized the threat immediately, his method was too destructive for his own objective as a Villain."
Aokiji raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"
Momo adjusted her ponytail, her eyes sharp. "You were guarding a nuclear weapon. By dropping the temperature of the entire floor to sub-zero levels instantly, you risked freezing the delicate electronic mechanisms of the bomb. If the detonator froze, your threat as a villain would be nullified. Furthermore, rapid freezing makes concrete brittle. If the Heroes had a strength-enhancing quirk and struck the walls, the entire building could have shattered and collapsed, burying you, your teammate, and the weapon."
Aokiji blinked, then nodded slowly. "She has a point. I didn't think about the bomb's circuitry. I just wanted to stop them from walking."
"Precisely!" All Might pointed a finger at him. "Even as a Villain, you must protect your leverage! Total destruction is a last resort! But, the control you showed to not freeze your classmates to death was excellent! Great work!"
As the class dismissed for the day, Aokiji walked out toward the gate. The sun was setting, casting long shadows.
"Kuzan!"
He turned. It was Midoriya, his arm in a sling, looking exhausted but determined.
"That was amazing," Midoriya said, his eyes shining. "Your control… it's like Todoroki-kun's, but different. You didn't seem angry at all."
Aokiji looked at the green boy. He thought about the broken fingers, the tears, the sheer weight of expectation on this kid's shoulders.
"Midoriya," Aokiji said, scratching his head. "You break yourself to save others. I don't have enough boldness to do so.. Why would you go this far?"
Midoriya blinked. "I.. I wanna be a hero so bad.."
"So much that you will break yourself for?" Aokiji asked.
"I guess so.." Midoriya replied.
Aokiji smirked, a small, genuine smile. "I wish I can't see you breaking your bones again. Learn to control that power."
"I will!"
He turned and walked toward the waiting black sedan.
What a day, he thought with satisfaction. But it's better than mathematics...