Bokuboy A bit longer at 3,250 words
“Do you have everything?” Lois asked me as she straightened my tie.
“No, I think I forgot my left nut back in my room.” I joked and she barked a laugh, smacked my shoulder, then hugged me. “Mom, it's only a day school. I'm not moving out or anything.”
“I know... it's just...” Lois stopped talking and closed her eyes.
I reached up and caught the tear in her eye before it fell. “Mom, I love you.”
Lois took a deep breath and sighed as she opened her eyes to look into mine. “You almost look like your father. If you grew your hair out just a little and...”
I smiled and shook my head. “No, Dad's trademark hair flick is all his. I'll follow in his footsteps and I may call myself Superman one day; but, I'll never replace him.” I said and pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “Have a good day at work.”
Lois smiled. “All right, go on. I won't keep you any longer.”
“Mom, you can keep me for the rest of your life.” I said, sincerely.
Lois' lips trembled for a moment, then she leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the lips. “I love you and I want you to show the world what it means to be a real hero.”
“I will, Mom.” I said and she let me go.
I went to the front door and turned to give her a crooked smile, to show that I knew she was watching me, then I left the house and shut the door. I took a breath and let it out, then ran to the train station. I didn't have to take it, considering how fast I could run. The law says I can't use quirk powers without a license, so running to school every day was a bad idea. At least until I got my provisional license.
I made it to the train station with plenty of time and smiled when I saw Izuku already there. “Morning routine?”
“Ten times.” Izuku said. “You?”
“Mei's weights don't work for me anymore.” I said and he chuckled. “What?”
“She's had your upgrade sitting on her desk for about a week.” Izuku said. “She already fixed mine.”
“Dammit! I thought I was outperforming you and kept quiet about it!” I exclaimed and he laughed. “Aw, shut it.”
Izuku laughed even more as we waited for the train to arrive. A few other students were there and must have been in the general course or something, because we hadn't seen them before. One girl looked angry and another one looked like she didn't have any kind of expression on her face.
“Hey, what do you think her quirk is?” I asked Izuku and nodded to the blank faced one.
“You already have a potential girlfriend named Momo. Why are you looking for another one?” Izuku asked, a bit loudly.
“Wha?!?” I asked, surprised.
Izuku laughed and elbowed me.
“Ha, ha. Very funny.” I said and looked back at the girls, only to see that the two of them were staring at us. Or, more specifically, at me. I wasn't one to back down from a confrontation, so I gave an elbow back to Izuku and walked over to them. “Hi, there. I'm sorry if my friend annoyed you.”
Both girls stared at me and didn't say anything. One with the blank expression didn't blink and the one that looked angry didn't actually look angry. She just had her eyes set as if to scowl and didn't complete the facial expression.
“I actually asked him if he knew what your quirk was. It's kind of a hobby of ours.” I said and they didn't respond. “I'm Connor, by the way. Can I ask what your names are?”
Both girls kept the same expressions and I thought they weren't going to answer.
“Yui.” The blank expression girl said.
“Tougi.” The slightly angry girl said.
“It's very nice to meet you.” I said and gave them a slight bow of respect. “What class are you in?”
The girls looked at each other for a moment and then back at me. “General.” They said as one.
“So you're going to UA, too? That's great!” I said and their expressions didn't change. “Do you want to ride on the train together? We're going to the same place.”
“Why?” The slightly angry one asked.
I had to think for a second about that. “Well, my only friend is the green haired guy over there. I've known him since we were babies and I thought it was about time that I should meet new people.”
The girls exchanged looks again and then nodded.
“Please, right this way.” I said and led them over to Izuku. “Don't look at them for too long, Izuku. Mei has eyes and ears everywhere.”
“I know.” Izuku chuckled and nodded at the two girls. “Ladies, it's nice to meet you.”
The girls nodded back and stayed quiet.
“We're actually going into the Hero Course. Class 1-A, actually.” I said and for the first time, the girls reacted with raised eyebrows. “We were surprised, too. We expected to only get support at first and then be split into separate classes.”
“You're blowing it.” Izuku whispered loudly.
“What? How?” I asked and saw the eyes of the girls shift from me to Izuku.
“Too much information. Change subjects.” Izuku advised.
“Oh. Yeah, I guess I'm rambling.”
“Yep.” Izuku smiled. “Here comes the train.”
I looked over to see it approaching and tried not to sigh. “Talking to girls shouldn't be this difficult.”
“Stop trying so hard.” The slightly angry girl said.
I turned back to look at her with wide eyes. “I thought I thought that last thought.”
Her lips twitched into a smile briefly and quickly settled back into a flat line.
The train pulled in and stopped in front of us. I held Izuku back and let the two girls get on first and they picked their seats. I sat beside the slightly angry one and Izuku apologized and sat next to the other girl.
“He really does have a girlfriend. She's in the support class.” I said and the girls turned their heads to look at me. “She's smart and...”
“Change the subject.” Izuku said with a sigh.
“What? I thought I was doing good.” I said.
“Girls don't want to hear about other girls or how great they are, unless it's about them or their friends they trust.” Izuku said.
“Hold on for a minute! How do you know about all of that?” I asked, feeling slighted. I might have been almost fifty in my other life; but, my experience with interacting with teenage girls was decades ago. Not to mention, this was another world and another culture.
“I do other things with my girlfriend besides kiss her. We talk, too.”
“What? When?” I asked. “I've only seen you guys making out all the time!”
Izuku chuckled. “We do that to annoy you.”
“WHAT?!?” I shouted and both girls let out giggles. I opened my mouth to keep arguing, then realized what Izuku just did by breaking the ice with them. Oh, you sneaky devil. I thought happily and let out a long fake sigh. “I knew I was missing out on important things.”
The slightly angry girl lightly pat my hand. “There's hope for you yet.”
I blinked my eyes at her for a second, then I smiled my best smile. “Thanks.”
“Don't push it.” She said and looked forward again. “We're not dating on the first day of school.”
I glanced at Izuku and he nodded, so I spoke. “What about on the second day?”
Her eyes snapped to mine and she squinted her eyes, as if reading my soul. She didn't say anything for a full minute and I thought she would refuse, then she nodded slightly.
I grinned goofily and felt happy that I had successfully asked a pretty girl out on a date... then I sucked in a sharp breath. “I just asked a pretty girl out on a date and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do!”
“You're speaking out loud again.” Izuku pointed out and I looked at him with my mouth hanging open. “Yeah, you really said it.”
“Dammit!” I said and the two girls giggled again.
The train stopped a couple more times and eventually dropped us off near the main UA campus.
“IZUKU!” Mei yelled from nearby and then she tackled him to the ground.
“His mom does that, too.” I said and then Izuku and Mei started making out. “His mom does not do that part, though.”
The two girls gave me an odd look.
“Sorry. Too much information.” I said and closed my mouth and pretended to lock it and tossed the key away.
The slightly angry girl named Tougi had her lips twitch into a smile for a second.
“We should get to school.” I said and helped the two lovebirds up.
We all walked with several other students towards the campus. When we reached the entrance, I turned to the two girls.
“Mei, this is Yui and Tougi. Girls, this is Izuku's better half, Mei.”
“Hi! Bye!” Mei said, kissed Izuku, and ran off.
“O-kay.” I said and turned to the two girls. “It was nice meeting you both.”
The girls didn't say anything and just looked at me.
“We should to get to class. The map said it's on the second floor.” Izuku said.
“Right.” I said and smiled. “Ladies, I enjoyed the train ride and hope we can do it again this afternoon.”
“Connor, you just told them to expect another awkward ride.” Izuku said and shook his head. “I'll see you inside.” He said and pat my arm and walked away.
“But... hold on! I didn't mean it like that! I only wanted to...” I started to explain and the slightly angry girl touched my hand.
“I like udon and meat skewers.” Tougi said, then she and the blank expression girl walked away.
It took me a second to realize that she just told me what to do on our date tomorrow. I chuckled and ran to catch up to Izuku. The general students went to a different building, so I didn't pass the girls as I blurred by the other students and came to a stop beside Izuku.
“You really are trying too hard.” Izuku said.
“Says the guy that had a girl literally tell him they were dating.” I countered.
“She's smart and didn't waste time.” Izuku shrugged. “The stairs are over there.”
We went up them for two flights to the second floor and came out into the hallway that we would frequent for the next year. The class was easy to find, being the one closest to the stairs and the doorway was huge with a big sign above it with 1-A written on it.
“What the hell are YOU doing here?” A familiar voice asked angrily and the figure stood up.
“At least his feet are off the desk now.” The glasses guy grumbled.
“What else do you think we're doing here?” I asked and walked inside with Izuku. “We're going to school and showing you that we could get into UA, obviously.”
“You can't get into UA without a quirk, you useless dekus!” Bakugo spat.
“Who said we didn't have quirks?” I asked and tilted my head to the side.
“Everyone said! Ever since we were kids! You've been nothing! Nothing at all!”
I smiled and glanced to Izuku had a similar smile on his face. “Did you know that no one ever asked us if we had quirks?”
“WHAT?” Bakugo yelled and his hands sparked.
“It's funny, isn't it?” I asked and crossed my large muscled arms that easily showed through my uniform shirt. “You all assumed that because we never openly used quirks, which is illegal without a license by the way, that we didn't have any.”
Bakugo growled and his hands started sparking even more.
“Oh! It's you!” A female voice said from behind us. We turned around to see the cute brown haired girl we had saved during the entrance exam.
“Good morning, Uraraka.” I said and gave her a little wave.
“Hi, Conner. Hi, Izuku.” Uraraka said and walked over to us. “I never got to thank you both for what you did.”
“There's no need.” I said. “We saw someone in danger and acted appropriately. It didn't matter if it was a student, a civilian, or another hero.”
“What if it was a villain?” Bakugo asked with a grin on his face.
“It would depend on if he caused the destruction or was a victim of another villain.” Izuku said. “If he did it himself, we would wait for the proper authorities to come and arrest him. If he was caught by another villain or was just a bystander, we'd help and still have him arrested.”
Several other students nodded their heads in agreement.
“Who are you to judge things like that?” A man's voice asked from behind the teacher's desk.
“When properly licensed, we would be the heroes on the scene.” I said. “It's our job to assess the threat and how to handle the situation.”
“What if higher authority orders you?” The same voice asked.
“The only higher authority than a licensed hero is the police, and that is only if their duties take precedence. All other authority is on the hero's shoulders, unless they are being mentored by another hero and defer to their expertise.” Izuku said. “In the latter case, a licensed hero is still the authority.”
A caterpillar stood up and everyone stared at it until a zipper was heard. I quickly realized that it was a fluffy sleeping bag and it fell away from a scruffy looking man.
“That's both the right answer and the wrong answer.” The man said. “I'll let you figure out what parts are which later.”
“Who are you?” Someone asked.
“I'm the teacher of this class.” The man said and held up a UA tracksuit. “Get these from the cabinet at the side of the room and follow me to the track behind the building.”
“Hey! What about orientation?” Uraraka asked.
“If you have time to waste participating in stupid things, you don't need this class.” The man said and walked out the door.
I elbowed Izuku and we went to the cabinet to get suits in our sizes. We left the class and followed the teacher. The others weren't far behind us and carried their suits to the track area.
“Change in there.” The man said and pointed to locker rooms similar to those at the testing facility.
We changed and came back out to stand in a scattered group.
“You've all done the athletic challenges back in middle school.” The scruffy man said and waited for us all to nod. “Well, you've all been doing them wrong.”
Izuku and I exchanged knowing looks and smiled.
“Kent!” The man spat and I looked at him. “How far did you throw a baseball back then?”
“Almost a hundred yards.” I said and the others gave me appreciative looks.
“Not bad. I assume you worked out?”
“All the time. When people assume you don't have a quirk, they all pick on you and bully those weaker than them.” I said and pointed right at Bakugo. “That right there is a prime example of how wrong the current system is.”
The scruffy man raised his eyebrows at me. “I'd ask you to explain that; but, I honestly don't care.”
I snorted. “I know. None of you ever do, no matter how much I complained and the proof I had.”
The man squinted his eyes at me. “See me after class. I think your attitude needs to be addressed.”
“Are we seeing a guidance councillor?” I asked and he shook his head. “Then I refuse.”
“Excuse me?” The man took a step towards me.
“If you don't have to answer for your own attitude and lack of caring, why should my knowledge of that bother you?” I asked.
“Do you want to be flunked out on your first day?” The man asked me as he grit his teeth.
“If you have that power, which is stupid for a sole teacher to have by the way, then nothing I say will change your mind.” I said with a shrug. “Plus, I got into UA on pure talent and everyone knows that Izuku and I scored the highest on the written exam and the practical exam. If you kick me out now, it'll look really bad on you as a horrible teacher.”
“He's right.” Izuku said and stepped forward. “Your attitude is not conductive of a positive environment to nurture heroes. If you're the example you want us to follow, you are the one that should be flunked out.”
The other students gasped.
“I think the both of you need to stay after class.” The scruffy man said and glared at us.
“I'll give you the same answer. If there's no third party intervention, there's no point talking to you about it. It's not like you're going to admonish yourself and change your attitude.” Izuku said. “You'll just berate us for pointing it out and try to convince us that we're the ones in the wrong.”
“Both of you! Get out!” The scruffy man spat.
“No problem. Like my Mom said, there are tons of other Hero academies that are scrambling to get us to accept after we crushed UA's acceptance tests.” I said and started walking away. Izuku was right beside me and none of the other students said anything. “We'll be stopping by the principal's office to let him know. I hope the school survives the media fallout.”
That only made the man angrier and the students started murmuring.
We went to the locker rooms and changed back into our clothes and left the track uniforms folded up on a bench. No one stopped us as we left the track area and entered the school.
“Why couldn't you be this authoritative with the girls this morning?” Izuku asked.
I stumbled and glared at him. “I wasn't confronting the girls! I was trying to talk to them!”
Izuku chuckled. “That's why your brain shut off and you weren't thinking rationally.”
I stopped walking and stared at him. “Wait, what?”
“Just treat it like you're dealing with an unknown villain that you're trying to figure out and you'll be fine.” Izuku said. “In fact, I'll bet you will get your first kiss from a girl tomorrow night if you do.”
I opened my mouth to argue and then realized I couldn't.
“Come on, the principal's office is on the ground floor at the back of the school.” Izuku said and we walked inside the main building to go to the office.
We were surprised there wasn't a secretary or anything out front and Izuku knocked on the door. There was no answer, so Izuku took out the schedule for the first day.
“There's an orientation assembly in the main hall.” Izuku said and led me there.
We opened the doors and went inside to see the rest of the school of students were listening to Present Mic giving a speech.
“Should we interrupt and go right to the stage?” I asked.
“If we want to make the biggest impact, yes.” Izuku said and we did just that.
Bokuboy A bit longer at 3,250 words
“Do you have everything?” Lois asked me as she straightened my tie.
“No, I think I forgot my left nut back in my room.” I joked and she barked a laugh, smacked my shoulder, then hugged me. “Mom, it's only a day school. I'm not moving out or anything.”
“I know... it's just...” Lois stopped talking and closed her eyes.
I reached up and caught the tear in her eye before it fell. “Mom, I love you.”
Lois took a deep breath and sighed as she opened her eyes to look into mine. “You almost look like your father. If you grew your hair out just a little and...”
I smiled and shook my head. “No, Dad's trademark hair flick is all his. I'll follow in his footsteps and I may call myself Superman one day; but, I'll never replace him.” I said and pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “Have a good day at work.”
Lois smiled. “All right, go on. I won't keep you any longer.”
“Mom, you can keep me for the rest of your life.” I said, sincerely.
Lois' lips trembled for a moment, then she leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the lips. “I love you and I want you to show the world what it means to be a real hero.”
“I will, Mom.” I said and she let me go.
I went to the front door and turned to give her a crooked smile, to show that I knew she was watching me, then I left the house and shut the door. I took a breath and let it out, then ran to the train station. I didn't have to take it, considering how fast I could run. The law says I can't use quirk powers without a license, so running to school every day was a bad idea. At least until I got my provisional license.
I made it to the train station with plenty of time and smiled when I saw Izuku already there. “Morning routine?”
“Ten times.” Izuku said. “You?”
“Mei's weights don't work for me anymore.” I said and he chuckled. “What?”
“She's had your upgrade sitting on her desk for about a week.” Izuku said. “She already fixed mine.”
“Dammit! I thought I was outperforming you and kept quiet about it!” I exclaimed and he laughed. “Aw, shut it.”
Izuku laughed even more as we waited for the train to arrive. A few other students were there and must have been in the general course or something, because we hadn't seen them before. One girl looked angry and another one looked like she didn't have any kind of expression on her face.
“Hey, what do you think her quirk is?” I asked Izuku and nodded to the blank faced one.
“You already have a potential girlfriend named Momo. Why are you looking for another one?” Izuku asked, a bit loudly.
“Wha?!?” I asked, surprised.
Izuku laughed and elbowed me.
“Ha, ha. Very funny.” I said and looked back at the girls, only to see that the two of them were staring at us. Or, more specifically, at me. I wasn't one to back down from a confrontation, so I gave an elbow back to Izuku and walked over to them. “Hi, there. I'm sorry if my friend annoyed you.”
Both girls stared at me and didn't say anything. One with the blank expression didn't blink and the one that looked angry didn't actually look angry. She just had her eyes set as if to scowl and didn't complete the facial expression.
“I actually asked him if he knew what your quirk was. It's kind of a hobby of ours.” I said and they didn't respond. “I'm Connor, by the way. Can I ask what your names are?”
Both girls kept the same expressions and I thought they weren't going to answer.
“Yui.” The blank expression girl said.
“Tougi.” The slightly angry girl said.
“It's very nice to meet you.” I said and gave them a slight bow of respect. “What class are you in?”
The girls looked at each other for a moment and then back at me. “General.” They said as one.
“So you're going to UA, too? That's great!” I said and their expressions didn't change. “Do you want to ride on the train together? We're going to the same place.”
“Why?” The slightly angry one asked.
I had to think for a second about that. “Well, my only friend is the green haired guy over there. I've known him since we were babies and I thought it was about time that I should meet new people.”
The girls exchanged looks again and then nodded.
“Please, right this way.” I said and led them over to Izuku. “Don't look at them for too long, Izuku. Mei has eyes and ears everywhere.”
“I know.” Izuku chuckled and nodded at the two girls. “Ladies, it's nice to meet you.”
The girls nodded back and stayed quiet.
“We're actually going into the Hero Course. Class 1-A, actually.” I said and for the first time, the girls reacted with raised eyebrows. “We were surprised, too. We expected to only get support at first and then be split into separate classes.”
“You're blowing it.” Izuku whispered loudly.
“What? How?” I asked and saw the eyes of the girls shift from me to Izuku.
“Too much information. Change subjects.” Izuku advised.
“Oh. Yeah, I guess I'm rambling.”
“Yep.” Izuku smiled. “Here comes the train.”
I looked over to see it approaching and tried not to sigh. “Talking to girls shouldn't be this difficult.”
“Stop trying so hard.” The slightly angry girl said.
I turned back to look at her with wide eyes. “I thought I thought that last thought.”
Her lips twitched into a smile briefly and quickly settled back into a flat line.
The train pulled in and stopped in front of us. I held Izuku back and let the two girls get on first and they picked their seats. I sat beside the slightly angry one and Izuku apologized and sat next to the other girl.
“He really does have a girlfriend. She's in the support class.” I said and the girls turned their heads to look at me. “She's smart and...”
“Change the subject.” Izuku said with a sigh.
“What? I thought I was doing good.” I said.
“Girls don't want to hear about other girls or how great they are, unless it's about them or their friends they trust.” Izuku said.
“Hold on for a minute! How do you know about all of that?” I asked, feeling slighted. I might have been almost fifty in my other life; but, my experience with interacting with teenage girls was decades ago. Not to mention, this was another world and another culture.
“I do other things with my girlfriend besides kiss her. We talk, too.”
“What? When?” I asked. “I've only seen you guys making out all the time!”
Izuku chuckled. “We do that to annoy you.”
“WHAT?!?” I shouted and both girls let out giggles. I opened my mouth to keep arguing, then realized what Izuku just did by breaking the ice with them. Oh, you sneaky devil. I thought happily and let out a long fake sigh. “I knew I was missing out on important things.”
The slightly angry girl lightly pat my hand. “There's hope for you yet.”
I blinked my eyes at her for a second, then I smiled my best smile. “Thanks.”
“Don't push it.” She said and looked forward again. “We're not dating on the first day of school.”
I glanced at Izuku and he nodded, so I spoke. “What about on the second day?”
Her eyes snapped to mine and she squinted her eyes, as if reading my soul. She didn't say anything for a full minute and I thought she would refuse, then she nodded slightly.
I grinned goofily and felt happy that I had successfully asked a pretty girl out on a date... then I sucked in a sharp breath. “I just asked a pretty girl out on a date and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do!”
“You're speaking out loud again.” Izuku pointed out and I looked at him with my mouth hanging open. “Yeah, you really said it.”
“Dammit!” I said and the two girls giggled again.
The train stopped a couple more times and eventually dropped us off near the main UA campus.
“IZUKU!” Mei yelled from nearby and then she tackled him to the ground.
“His mom does that, too.” I said and then Izuku and Mei started making out. “His mom does not do that part, though.”
The two girls gave me an odd look.
“Sorry. Too much information.” I said and closed my mouth and pretended to lock it and tossed the key away.
The slightly angry girl named Tougi had her lips twitch into a smile for a second.
“We should get to school.” I said and helped the two lovebirds up.
We all walked with several other students towards the campus. When we reached the entrance, I turned to the two girls.
“Mei, this is Yui and Tougi. Girls, this is Izuku's better half, Mei.”
“Hi! Bye!” Mei said, kissed Izuku, and ran off.
“O-kay.” I said and turned to the two girls. “It was nice meeting you both.”
The girls didn't say anything and just looked at me.
“We should to get to class. The map said it's on the second floor.” Izuku said.
“Right.” I said and smiled. “Ladies, I enjoyed the train ride and hope we can do it again this afternoon.”
“Connor, you just told them to expect another awkward ride.” Izuku said and shook his head. “I'll see you inside.” He said and pat my arm and walked away.
“But... hold on! I didn't mean it like that! I only wanted to...” I started to explain and the slightly angry girl touched my hand.
“I like udon and meat skewers.” Tougi said, then she and the blank expression girl walked away.
It took me a second to realize that she just told me what to do on our date tomorrow. I chuckled and ran to catch up to Izuku. The general students went to a different building, so I didn't pass the girls as I blurred by the other students and came to a stop beside Izuku.
“You really are trying too hard.” Izuku said.
“Says the guy that had a girl literally tell him they were dating.” I countered.
“She's smart and didn't waste time.” Izuku shrugged. “The stairs are over there.”
We went up them for two flights to the second floor and came out into the hallway that we would frequent for the next year. The class was easy to find, being the one closest to the stairs and the doorway was huge with a big sign above it with 1-A written on it.
“What the hell are YOU doing here?” A familiar voice asked angrily and the figure stood up.
“At least his feet are off the desk now.” The glasses guy grumbled.
“What else do you think we're doing here?” I asked and walked inside with Izuku. “We're going to school and showing you that we could get into UA, obviously.”
“You can't get into UA without a quirk, you useless dekus!” Bakugo spat.
“Who said we didn't have quirks?” I asked and tilted my head to the side.
“Everyone said! Ever since we were kids! You've been nothing! Nothing at all!”
I smiled and glanced to Izuku had a similar smile on his face. “Did you know that no one ever asked us if we had quirks?”
“WHAT?” Bakugo yelled and his hands sparked.
“It's funny, isn't it?” I asked and crossed my large muscled arms that easily showed through my uniform shirt. “You all assumed that because we never openly used quirks, which is illegal without a license by the way, that we didn't have any.”
Bakugo growled and his hands started sparking even more.
“Oh! It's you!” A female voice said from behind us. We turned around to see the cute brown haired girl we had saved during the entrance exam.
“Good morning, Uraraka.” I said and gave her a little wave.
“Hi, Conner. Hi, Izuku.” Uraraka said and walked over to us. “I never got to thank you both for what you did.”
“There's no need.” I said. “We saw someone in danger and acted appropriately. It didn't matter if it was a student, a civilian, or another hero.”
“What if it was a villain?” Bakugo asked with a grin on his face.
“It would depend on if he caused the destruction or was a victim of another villain.” Izuku said. “If he did it himself, we would wait for the proper authorities to come and arrest him. If he was caught by another villain or was just a bystander, we'd help and still have him arrested.”
Several other students nodded their heads in agreement.
“Who are you to judge things like that?” A man's voice asked from behind the teacher's desk.
“When properly licensed, we would be the heroes on the scene.” I said. “It's our job to assess the threat and how to handle the situation.”
“What if higher authority orders you?” The same voice asked.
“The only higher authority than a licensed hero is the police, and that is only if their duties take precedence. All other authority is on the hero's shoulders, unless they are being mentored by another hero and defer to their expertise.” Izuku said. “In the latter case, a licensed hero is still the authority.”
A caterpillar stood up and everyone stared at it until a zipper was heard. I quickly realized that it was a fluffy sleeping bag and it fell away from a scruffy looking man.
“That's both the right answer and the wrong answer.” The man said. “I'll let you figure out what parts are which later.”
“Who are you?” Someone asked.
“I'm the teacher of this class.” The man said and held up a UA tracksuit. “Get these from the cabinet at the side of the room and follow me to the track behind the building.”
“Hey! What about orientation?” Uraraka asked.
“If you have time to waste participating in stupid things, you don't need this class.” The man said and walked out the door.
I elbowed Izuku and we went to the cabinet to get suits in our sizes. We left the class and followed the teacher. The others weren't far behind us and carried their suits to the track area.
“Change in there.” The man said and pointed to locker rooms similar to those at the testing facility.
We changed and came back out to stand in a scattered group.
“You've all done the athletic challenges back in middle school.” The scruffy man said and waited for us all to nod. “Well, you've all been doing them wrong.”
Izuku and I exchanged knowing looks and smiled.
“Kent!” The man spat and I looked at him. “How far did you throw a baseball back then?”
“Almost a hundred yards.” I said and the others gave me appreciative looks.
“Not bad. I assume you worked out?”
“All the time. When people assume you don't have a quirk, they all pick on you and bully those weaker than them.” I said and pointed right at Bakugo. “That right there is a prime example of how wrong the current system is.”
The scruffy man raised his eyebrows at me. “I'd ask you to explain that; but, I honestly don't care.”
I snorted. “I know. None of you ever do, no matter how much I complained and the proof I had.”
The man squinted his eyes at me. “See me after class. I think your attitude needs to be addressed.”
“Are we seeing a guidance councillor?” I asked and he shook his head. “Then I refuse.”
“Excuse me?” The man took a step towards me.
“If you don't have to answer for your own attitude and lack of caring, why should my knowledge of that bother you?” I asked.
“Do you want to be flunked out on your first day?” The man asked me as he grit his teeth.
“If you have that power, which is stupid for a sole teacher to have by the way, then nothing I say will change your mind.” I said with a shrug. “Plus, I got into UA on pure talent and everyone knows that Izuku and I scored the highest on the written exam and the practical exam. If you kick me out now, it'll look really bad on you as a horrible teacher.”
“He's right.” Izuku said and stepped forward. “Your attitude is not conductive of a positive environment to nurture heroes. If you're the example you want us to follow, you are the one that should be flunked out.”
The other students gasped.
“I think the both of you need to stay after class.” The scruffy man said and glared at us.
“I'll give you the same answer. If there's no third party intervention, there's no point talking to you about it. It's not like you're going to admonish yourself and change your attitude.” Izuku said. “You'll just berate us for pointing it out and try to convince us that we're the ones in the wrong.”
“Both of you! Get out!” The scruffy man spat.
“No problem. Like my Mom said, there are tons of other Hero academies that are scrambling to get us to accept after we crushed UA's acceptance tests.” I said and started walking away. Izuku was right beside me and none of the other students said anything. “We'll be stopping by the principal's office to let him know. I hope the school survives the media fallout.”
That only made the man angrier and the students started murmuring.
We went to the locker rooms and changed back into our clothes and left the track uniforms folded up on a bench. No one stopped us as we left the track area and entered the school.
“Why couldn't you be this authoritative with the girls this morning?” Izuku asked.
I stumbled and glared at him. “I wasn't confronting the girls! I was trying to talk to them!”
Izuku chuckled. “That's why your brain shut off and you weren't thinking rationally.”
I stopped walking and stared at him. “Wait, what?”
“Just treat it like you're dealing with an unknown villain that you're trying to figure out and you'll be fine.” Izuku said. “In fact, I'll bet you will get your first kiss from a girl tomorrow night if you do.”
I opened my mouth to argue and then realized I couldn't.
“Come on, the principal's office is on the ground floor at the back of the school.” Izuku said and we walked inside the main building to go to the office.
We were surprised there wasn't a secretary or anything out front and Izuku knocked on the door. There was no answer, so Izuku took out the schedule for the first day.
“There's an orientation assembly in the main hall.” Izuku said and led me there.
We opened the doors and went inside to see the rest of the school of students were listening to Present Mic giving a speech.
“Should we interrupt and go right to the stage?” I asked.
“If we want to make the biggest impact, yes.” Izuku said and we did just that.
