Chapter 14 – Heart of a Hero
Izuku Midoriya was walking through the gates of U.A. as he reminisced about the events at USJ. That brought his thoughts back to his injured friend (are they friends? He feels like they are but then again, he’s been wrong about this stuff before). No one has seen hide nor hair of their class president since the USJ incident except Shinso, who told them that Kazuya is fine and recovering.
It’s been well over a week and school had finally reopened and classes resumed. U.A. was under heavy scrutiny from the media for the recent breach in security but Principal Nezu had managed to pacify the concerned masses and quell the public unrest.
The newly created class group chat, who was created by Shinso at the behest of their president, was flooded with many concerned messages about Kazuya’s well being and all he replied was ‘I’m fine. Thanks for the concern :)’
To be honest, that doesn’t really seem fine to Midoriya but he isn’t exactly in a position to say anything.
Midoriya honestly had so much to talk about with Kazuya. Not only does he want to thank their president for doing so much to protect them during the incident, but he also has major questions about Kazuya’s quirk.
Kazuya managed to do so many incredible things with it and Midoriya’s analytical mind can’t help but be intrigued on how versatile Kazuya’s quirk really is. He also heard that Kazuya managed to go toe-to-toe and even defeat one of the major villains by himself, and if that isn't impressive, he doesn’t know what is.
To be honest, he felt himself to be inadequate. Throughout the entire incident, Midoriya could do nothing else but stand and shake in his boots. Sure he managed to help out in the end, but it yet again came at the cost of his own arm. Which immobilized him and proved to be a burden to his friends in the second half of the fight against Shigaraki.
‘Aizawa-sensei was right.’
That was what he realized after he processed the events of the USJ. He needs to learn to control his new quirk as soon as possible, or he’ll find himself falling behind even more.
“-riya? Hey Midoriya!”
Midoriya let out a high pitched squeak at the mention of his name. Recognising the voice that called him, he immediately turned around and greeted the person.
“K-Kazuya-san! Good morning!”
“Good morning to you too.” Kazuya replied. “Are you okay? You looked like you had a lot on your mind.”
“Y-Yeah I’m fine! But what about you? You fell unconscious at the end of the fight and everyone was so worried and-”
“Hmm? Yeah I’m totally good. My quirk runs on stamina and I bit off more than I could chew.” Kazuya explained. “That’s all there is to it. Other than that I’m fine. How about you though? Is your arm good?”
“Yeah, I’m fine too.” Midoriya assured. “U-um Kazuya-san, I just wanted to say thanks for protecting everyone back in the USJ, and sorry that I couldn’t do more to help.” Midoriya said, slightly shrinking on himself.
Kazuya studied him for a while before saying, “Hey it’s fine. Don’t forget that you were one of the key reasons why everyone survived too. I didn’t exactly see anything since y’know, I was unconscious and everything, but Shinso told me what happened after I passed out.” Kazuya glanced at Midoriya as they walked to the classroom. “You saved us, Midoriya. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Mirdoriya looked up at Kazuya with wide eyes, already brimming in tears. He quickly wiped them off before saying. “T-thanks Kazuya-san.”
“Just call me Kazuya, Midoriya. We’re friends, aren't we?”
Midoriya looked into Kazuya in surprise before giving a wide smile. “Kazuya.”
Kazuya just chuckled before his eyes caught sight of the notebook in Midoriya’s hand.
“You’re always scribbling something into that notebook. What is it?”
“Oh, this? Midoriya flipped open his blue notebook. “It’s just a notebook detailing everything I know about every hero and their quirks. Some of them are also my own analysis on their Super Moves, combat strategies, sketches on their costumes, and also-”
“So basically, it's your very own encyclopedia of heroes?”
“Uh, yes.” Midoriya said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. Kazuya is now just staring at he title at the front of the book labeling it as the thirteenth volume of ‘Hero Analysis for the Future’.
Kazuya just shook his head good naturedly. “Mind if I take a look?”
“Sure.” Midoriya handed out his prized possession over to Kazuya, who quickly flipped through it and read some of the entries.
“It’s very detailed, you weren’t kidding when you said you put down your own analysis.” Kazuya said as he studied a particular paragraph regarding Kamui Woods. “This is pretty impressive, Midoriya.”
“I-I-It’s nothing at all! Ahahaha!’” Midoriya awkwardly replied. He mentally berated himself for not knowing how to handle praise.
Kazuya paused as he found himself on a particular page. “This is my entry, so you did analysis on the guys in class too, huh?”
“Y-yeah, everyone has such cool quirks! So I just…you know…”
Kazuya hmm’ed as he studied his own page. On the very top he could see a sketch of himself in his costume. And right underneath it is all the info Midroiya currently has on his quirk and capabilities.
`Quirk: Teleportation Tags. Kazuya’s quirk allows him to teleport, but requires tags that act as anchors to do so. Uses custom-made tri-pronged kunais as weapons
Known Abilities: Expert in hand to hand combat. Expert in short-blade combat. Can instantaneously travel between two markers at high speeds with no visible drawback. Able to teleport whatever object he’s touching without himself (Used in the Quirk Assessment Tests. Unknown if this works on people or just inanimate objects).
Supermoves: Tactile Substitution: Can switch locations with any person or object marked with a tag (Used against Kaminari during Battle Trials). Dimension Blade: ability to warp anything the blade cuts by imbuing quirk properties on the object (weapon gains a red hue/glow when used). Vacuum Sphere: Ability to teleport a mass amount of objects by marking the air? (Needs confirmation. Initial thoughts on only marking solid objects could be reconsidered). No name: Riddle a battlefield with a huge number of knives, gives freedom in teleporting to any location within that space to confuse/attack enemies.`
He can’t help whistle in surprise. The information Midoriya wrote has been pretty accurate.
“You got all this from just seeing me in action for a few days?” Kazuya asked in bewilderment.
“Uh, y-yeah. I mean you did showcase quite a lot during the USJ.”
“But there are still plenty of questions, huh? ` Questions: How does he control at which side of the marker does he appear in? How do you choose which marker you go to? If by any means these markers are tampered with, does that cancel his ability to teleport to that location, or are there any other side effects? What happens to his body when he teleports? Are there any limits to the number of markers he could have at one time? How long does each marker last? What are-` Okay, you really write everything you can think of, don't you?”
“Erm, yes?” Midroiya squeaked out. “I mean, your quirk is really cool and all and I just can’t help but analyze it.”
“Well, I don’t know about the cool part, but most of your deductions have been pretty spot on.” Kazuya chuckled as he returned the notebook to him, which Midroiya took back gratefully.
“Then, is it okay for me to ask you some questions about your quirk?” Midoriya asked excitedly.
“Sure, but just the simpler ones. Can’t show you all my secrets now, can I?” Kazuya said with an amused huff. “We’re still rivals after all.”
Midoriya just widened his eyes at that. ‘Someone as impressive as Kazuya thinks of me as a rival?’
Midoriya just nodded in determination. “Right!”
Midroiya clutched his notebook tighter as he and Kazuya began to walk and talk to class, him answering any questions Midoriya may have. Just talking with Kazuya, Midoriya realizes just how far he needs to go to catch up with his classmates. Unlike his classmates who have most likely trained their bodies and quirks all their lives, he has only started actual training to be a hero for 10 months. It’s a big gap that can’t be easily closed in a short amount of time.
That definitely explains the amount of skill and control Kazuya has over his own quirk. Midoriya remembers how in complete disbelief he was when he saw Kazuya in the USJ. Everyone agreed that Kazuya’s presence during that incident made them all feel safer. He rallied everyone and gave them hope when everything turned to chaos.
Akio Kazuya is a hero. No one would say otherwise.
While some of his classmates like Bakugo, Todoroki, Kirishima, and Tokoyami are strong and powerhouses in their own right, Kazuya must at least be on par, if not better than most of them.
When he thinks about it, he’s not even sure if Kacchan can defeat Kazuya in a head-to-head serious fight.
“You want to be the number one hero, right? Is that your dream?”
“Y-yeah… I wanna be like All Might someday.” Midoriya stated. He is the successor of One for All. He will meet All Might’s expectations to become the next Symbol of Peace.
“Well, in some cases, you already are.” Kazuya said. “I can see why All Might is interested in you now Midoriya.”
“E-Eh?!” Midoriya stuttered as he started to panic. Had Kazuya figured out the secret between him and All Might? Has he found out the truth about One for All?!
“Just like All Might, you have the heart of a true hero.”
Midoriya barely held himself back from sighing in relief. He already got scolded by All Might when he nearly revealed the truth about One for All to Kacchan, he doesn’t really wanna receive another one.
“I’m not all that special, Kazuya.” Midoriya muttered. “I had a lot of help.” He said as he hugged his notebook closer to his body.
“Cut yourself some slack, man. Everyone had help at some point.” Kazuya snorted. “You think I would've been who I am right now without my family or Shinso?”
“I guess you're right… Thanks Kazuya” Midroiya said gratefully.
“Heh, anytime. And it looks like we’re here.” Kazuya remarked as they finally reached the doors of their classroom.
When they opened the door, the duo found themselves to be the attention of the entire class.
There was a brief moment of silence before everyone exploded in a cacophony of noise.
“Kazuya!”
“You’re okay!”
“Good to have you back, class prez! Oh, hello Midori!”
“Ahahaha. Didn’t know you guys were still so worried about me.” Kazuya gave an awkward laugh as they entered the classroom. “I'm pretty sure I texted everyone that I was fine.”
“Yeah but just because you texted it doesn’t mean we couldn’t worry.” Yaoyorozu said. “The last time we saw you, you were in pretty bad shape, Kazuya-san.”
“Yeah, red. You sure you’re all good?” Jirou asked.
Kazuya nodded with a smile. “Don’t worry guys. I’m fine. I’m fully recovered and ready to kick some ass.” He said with a grin.
“Hell yeah! That’s our class prez for ya! So manly!” Kirishima exclaimed boisterously.
“Tch. Shut up, Shitty Hair. If ginger over there got himself injured from fighting a bunch of weaklings, then he’s just another extra.” Bakugo said in his seat. Legs up on the table as usual.
“K-Kacchan!”
“Hey hold on there, if it wasn’t for Kazuya stopping that meteor shower, then all of us would have turned to paste. Even you Bakugo.” Sero came into Kazuya’s defense.
“As if! I could’ve blasted all those rocks all the way to kingdom come If I wanted to!”
“But you didn’t sooooo,” Mina said with a snicker.
“SAY THAT AGAIN YOU FUCKING PINKY!”
“K-Kacchan! Calm down!”
“SHUT UP DEKU!”
“How vulgar…” Yaoyorozu commented, disapprovingly.
“Oh relax sparkplug. Besides didn’t you take down Shigaraki with Todoroki’s help? That’s a pretty impressive feat to me.” Kazuya commented.
“I BEAT THAT SHITTY VILLAIN MYSELF, YOU HEAR ME?! ICY-HOT DIDN’T DO JACKSHIT!”
“I beg to differ. I actually did-” Todoroki stated before being interrupted.
“SHUT UP, ICY-HOT!”
“Yeesh, what’s with all the screaming?” Shinso announced his arrival as he finally entered the classroom. Shinso gave Kazuya a quick up-and-down visual scan before turning back to face Bakugo. “The hell are you comparing yourself to? Feel a little threatened that someone is better than you?” Shinso said with a smirk.
“THE FUCK DID YOU SAY TO ME, EYEBAGS? YOU WANT A PIEC-” Bakugo’s eyes lost his focus as Shinso’s quirk took over.
Everyone was bewildered at why Bakugo stopped moving, before realizing what happened and subsequently roared in laughter.
“Nicely done.” Kazuya said with a grin as he fistbumped Shinso. Midoriya could only look at everything with shock. Kacchan getting teased? That’s something he wouldn’t have thought possible until he rolled in U.A. Not a single person in class actually feels threatened by the blonde, and some like Kazuya, Shinso, and Kaminari have no qualms on pressing his wrong buttons. What’s worse is that he knows exactly how Kacchan will retaliate after all of this is over.
That’s why he’s gonna take it upon himself to defuse the situation before it explodes in everyone faces, literally.
“Uh, guys? I think we should just leave Kacchan alone for a-”
“Hey Shinso! Make Bakugo sing for us!”
“No wait, make him dance too!”
‘What is everyone doing?! You’re making it worse!’
“Guys? I really think we should-”
“Sure.” Shinso drawled in his usual lazy voice. “Make sure to get your phones out and record this.”
Bakugo immediately started singing and dancing, much to Midoriya’s horror.
“This is absolute gold!” Kaminari said as he recorded everything on his phone.
Uraraka couldn’t hold herself back as she is now rolling on the floor while clutching her stomach.
Mina and Hagakure were trying to muffle their laughs but ultimately failed as they joined Uraraka on the floor.
Kazuya and Kirishima were chuckling along the rest of the class before they noticed how distressed Midoriya became.
They looked at each other before they nodded.
“Heheh, all right Hitoshi. That’s enough.” Kazuya said to Shinso as Kirishima started to calm down the rest of the class before approaching Bakugo.
“Ruin my fun why don’t you.” Shinso drawled out before he cancelled his control on Bakugo.
The moment the Brainwashing was dispelled, Bakugo immediately looked livid.
“YOU DO THAT TO ME AGAIN AND I’LL END YOU, YOU HEAR ME?” He screamed to Shinso as he is currently being physically held back by Kirishima.
“Oh come on sparkplug, it was just some harmless fun.”
“Yeah Bakugo! Besides, it was funny!”
“SCREW YOU PINKY!”
“Oh man, this is priceless!” Kaminari cackled as he rewatched the video he took of Bakugo on his.
“GIVE THAT THING TO ME, DUNCE FACE!”
Everyone erupted into peals of laughter as Kaminari sent the video to the group chat.
“DIE! DIE DIE DIE! ALL OF YOU SHOULD EAT SHIT AND DIE!”
——————————————————————————————————————————
Hey lads!
Back from the break at last! With this we’re kickstarting the start of Season 2 of MHA: The Warping Hero.
A little bit of 1A bonding and relaxation time before we get to the good stuff.
Next arc will definitely be the Sports Festival and expect some MAJOR changes to happen there.
That’s all from me!
Thanks for all your support!
Cheers!
Trivia: Be honest, if you had supernatural abilities in the real world, would you use your powers for good or for more villainous purposes?