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When Hitoshi Shinso got called into Mr. Aizawa’s office 30 minutes before the start of the school day, he feared he was going to be scolded for falling behind his classmates in class 2-A. After all, the last hero training had gone horribly wrong for him. Well, not bad per se, it just wasn’t great. He tried a new move but unfortunately, it backfired on him.
But as soon as he entered the teachers’ lounge, he was shocked to see Midoriya seated beside Mr. Aizawa. This perplexed the teenager, were they both in trouble?
“Hi, Shinso!” Midoriya waved at him once his gaze locked on the lavender-haired teenager. His usual cheery self radiated a positive aura in the large space where the teachers of the hero track resided.
“Hi.” Shinso waved back. Hesitantly, as he walked over to where the two sat, he looked at Aizawa, analyzing his stoic expression.
“Hi, Shinso. I’m glad you were able to make it,” He pulled a chair over, “Take a seat.”
Shinso did as told and sat down on the desk chair.
“Shinso, you are not in trouble,” Aizawa started noticing how unnaturally tensed Shinso looked, “We are just here to discuss the next steps of your quirk training.”
“Next steps?” He asked.
“Yes, I talked to Midoriya about it yesterday, and he agreed with this plan of mine. So, as I can recall, we’ve been working on the longevity of your quirk. Essentially, how long you can keep someone brainwashed, correct?”
Shinso nodded.
“Well, now that you perfected making someone talk and having them complete more complex tasks, we are going to step it up a notch,” Aizawa explained. Shinso listened to his teacher’s explanation in astonishment. What was he planning?
“Here, put these on.”
Aizawa handed them both earpieces that seemed to fit comfortably on one’s ear. Shinso took his. He surveyed the device, confused as to what was happening.
“As we tested before, your commands do come through microphones and such. So, to make this work, you will be wearing these at least until heroics class.”
Suddenly, it all clicked in Shinso’s mind. He knew exactly what was about to happen. But he let Aizawa speak in case what he was perceiving was somehow incorrect.
“As for what will be happening, you will be brainwashing Midoriya and keeping him in that state for as long as you can. The goal is to keep him in that state until your heroics class this afternoon. Your classmates will be made aware of this; however, they will be informed of one task. Their task is to do everything they can to wake Midoriya up before heroics class cause if they don’t...well let’s just say All Might and I have a special training planned where Midoriya will play a major role in. I’ll explain that here in a minute.”
Shinso listened intently, taking in Aizawa’s request seemingly undisturbed, although internally, he was freaking out. This was a big ask for him. He knew he needed to work on how long he could keep someone brainwashed, it was something he continued to struggle with. He’s gotten better at strengthening the potency of his quirk to prevent those he brainwashes from snapping out of his control. He’s also made huge strides in making others talk and complete complex tasks such as arithmetic and other actions. But ordering them to accomplish those tasks is only possible when he keeps them under for minutes, but for hours? Can he really keep someone brainwashed that long? Especially when his classmates will be actively working on breaking his classmate out.
Concerned, he glanced at Midoriya who turned to look at him and smiled. The gesture threw him off. Other than being tasked with brainwashing him for almost an entire school day, he couldn’t believe he agreed to be his subject. He is essentially handing his free will to him for almost the entire school day. For most, the idea of losing control of both their mind and body absolutely terrifies them, that’s the reason he’s struggled with training his quirk. But Midoriya has agreed time after time to be his willing subject. Now here he is again, agreeing to not only be brainwashed but be in that state for hours.
“These earpieces will allow you, Shinso, to give Midoriya commands. Since you two don’t sit near each other, you won’t be able to verbally talk to him, so this is the best option. Throughout the day, you will be required to make Midoriya complete his necessary school tasks such as taking notes and answering questions. You are allowed to test out the complexity of your commands. For example, you could tell him to reply with the answer you already have, or you could make Midoriya solve it. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah.” Shinso nodded, conceptualizing Aizawa’s instructions.
“As for lunch, you and Midoriya will stay in the classroom. Your classmates can join you and some may consider it considering the prize they could win if they break Midoriya out of your brainwashing.”
The mention of a prize sparked Shinso’s curiosity, “What prize?” He asked.
“Midoriya, care to explain?” Aizawa alluded, turning to face the teenager.
“Oh, yeah! So, if the class does manage to break me out of your brainwashing, then they will each be gifted with two passes for two excused assignments of their choice. They’ll receive full points on those excused assignments. But we will not be given those passes. But if you keep me brainwashed until heroics then we get those freebies but not the class!”
Shinso’s eyes widened. Those were some hefty prizes which was unusual for Aizawa to give. You would have to hold Aizawa hostage and threaten him to willingly provide such incentives. This meant that the students would be fighting tooth and nail to get their hands on those passes. But what terrified him was that the chances of getting these prizes depended on him and how well he could keep Midoriya under, meaning that Midoriya’s chance of acquiring such a valuable reward was dependent on him. But why was he dependent on him?
Once Midoriya was done with his explanation, Aizawa jumped in, “Think of it as if you were fighting a villain. Say you brainwashed a villain, but their accomplices are doing everything they can to break that person out of your control. If they win, well you lose. But if you manage to keep them under until they are apprehended, well you win.” He explained, “This is the same scenario. However, I did give Midoriya the choice if he would rather side with the class or you and he said he would like to side with you.”
“Wait, me?!” Shinso asked, stunned, looking at Midoriya.
“Yeah! I trust your skills, Shinso! I know you will win this! But no matter what happens, I’ll be by your side.” Midoriya cheered.
Shinso twiddled his thumbs nervously. He wasn’t sure about that. Could he win this?
“Shinso,” The teenager looked at Aizawa, his nervousness obvious, “I know you are nervous, and you may think this is impossible but this is the only way for you to grow as a soon-to-be hero. You need to believe in yourself and your capabilities. I’ve seen you; your classmate has seen you; you are more capable than you think. If you accomplish this, then you might as well be on your way to surpassing your classmates. But even if you don’t, it’ll be a good learning experience.” Aizawa explained.
Shinso wasn’t sure, he was still doubtful, but he was right. If he wants to grow as the hero, he hopes to one day become, then he has to take risks and get out of his comfort zone. That is the only way he can train his quirk and develop his skills. Plus, Aizawa gave him this opportunity that must’ve taken quite some time and effort to prepare so he couldn’t pass up on this.
“Alright then, I’ll do it.” Shinso voiced, confidently.
Aizawa smiled, “Great. Now for what will happen in heroics if Midoriya remains brainwashed. Listen closely…”
Shinso and Midoriya leaned, ready to listen to what Aizawa had in store in the case Shinso held on until the start of their heroics class.
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.
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“…does all of that make sense?”
The two nodded.
“Good, now let’s begin your training. You ready, Midoriya?” Aizawa asked.
Midoriya agreed, his fists clutched with both confidence and readiness, “I am ready!”
“Great. Well, Shinso, go ahead.”
Shinso readied himself. This was going to be a challenge of large proportions, but he was ready. He simply had three things to do, keep Midoriya brainwashed until heroics, prevent him from breaking out, and provide him commands. Once that was done, he could proceed with the plan laid ahead for his classmates’ heroics simulation.
He’s got this. This was nothing. He fought in a big war where he brainwashed a huge monster. If he managed to do that, then he can handle this. He’ll win that prize; he will show his classmates the kind of hero he will soon become.
Shinso took a deep breath and exhaled, “Midoriya,” He let his quirk flow into his words, ready to ensnare his victim, “What’s your favorite color?”
“Well, I really like the color gre—” Immediately, Midoriya’s voice died. His body relaxed and his eyes became clouded and unfocused. He gazed at Shinso, his mind lost in a numb haze.
“Okay, he’s good to go,” Shinso said to Aizawa.
“Sounds good, then let’s go to class.” Aizawa stood up and headed toward the door.
“Okay. Stand up, Midoriya.” Shinso ordered. Midoriya did as he was told and stood up, his gaze unseeing, “Follow me.”
Shinso walked ahead with Midoriya following. Once out of the teacher’s lounge, Aizawa closed the door and walked ahead with Shinso walking behind him and Midoriya following closely behind the lavender-haired boy, absentmindedly looking ahead.
In no time, the three reached the front doors of the class 2A classroom. Various chattering could be heard through the oversized doors, signaling that the students were there, each oblivious to what was about to occur.
Aizawa grasped the door handle and glanced at Shinso, he smiled at the tensed teenager, “You got this. Showed them what you are made of.”
Shinso let out a faint smile, appreciative of the support. His heart was thumping, and he could feel sweat protruding from his palms. He was obviously nervous, more nervous than he expected. As Aizawa opened the door, he took a deep breath.
“You two stay here. Come in once I tell you.”
Shinso agreed.
He’ll win this.
He is a hero.
He will do everything in his power to show them the type of hero he hopes to one day become.
It was a normal day in class 2A. Everyone was in good spirits after their relaxing day off. Some were at their desks, their heads down and resting, hoping to get a few minutes of sleep before the start of the school day. Others were moving around, conversing and laughing with their fellow peers, gossiping about anything new that came up during the weekend.
But something was off. Uraraka noticed it. His friend, Midoriya, was not here.
“Hmmm, I wonder where Deku is?” Uraraka asked Iida, who was standing next to her.
“No idea, he ran off earlier than everyone else saying he had a meeting with Mr. Aizawa. Maybe that meeting is running a bit late.” Iida wondered, equally curious about his friend’s tardiness.
“Hmm…” She then gazed over at Shinso’s desk which was placed directly behind her, “Shinso isn’t here either. Could he be in the same meeting Deku’s in?”
“Possibly. If they are with him then they should be here soon. If not, I’m sure once Mr. Aizawa arrives, we can ask.” Iida implied.
“Okay. I just—”
But before Uraraka could utter another word, the door to their classroom opened. As if on cue, the students promptly made their way to their seats. They all sat quietly—mouths shut—as their homeroom teacher entered, leisurely with his obvious tiredness. He made his way to stand behind the podium. Once there, he eyed his 19 students.
Uraraka, however, saw that something was wrong. Shinso and Midoriya were not there with him.
She was about to speak up, but Aizawa beat her to it.
“You may be wondering where Midoriya and Shinso are. Well, they are right outside the door. Come on in, you two.” Aizawa pointed.
Shinso opened the door and walked with Midoriya following closely behind. Immediately, as soon as their gaze locked on Midoriya, audible gasps spread among the students.
“Wait, why is Midoriya acting…strange?” Kirishima whispered.
Shinso stopped and stood beside his teacher, facing his classmates. Midoriya did the same and stared ahead, his gaze hazy and distant. The expressionless nature of Midoriya’s face sent alarms through the students’ minds.
“Wait, is he brainwashed?” Kaminari asked.
“He must be, I know that look anywhere,” Ojiro said.
“What the hell is happening—”
“Quiet!” Aizawa’s hair stood up and his eyes glowed a bright red, evident of his quirk activation. Instantly, the students seized their talking, “To answer your question, yes, Midoriya is currently brainwashed. He is under Shinso’s quirk. As for why, well, this is part of Shinso’s training that started this morning.”
Some muttering and whispers bounced among the students, each curious as to what this training that Aizawa was referring to could be.
“Shinso will be doing everything in his power to keep Midoriya under his quirk until heroics class. However, you all will be involved.”
“We’re going to be brainwashed as well!” Kaminari shouted, causing some heads to turn.
The sudden interruption caused Aizawa to glare at him, irritated. Kaminari immediately slouched back in his seat.
“No. You all will be involved in another way. Midoriya will be the only one brainwashed, but your goal is to snap him out of the brainwashing. Anything that is legal. You are allowed to use your quirk only if it does not harm Midoriya, your classmates, and school property. If you break that, you will all immediately lose.”
Aizawa paused and pulled a bundle of small-sized paper from under the podium, “As for rewards. If you manage to break him out of Shinso’s quirk then you all win this.” He showed the bundle of paper in his hand, “These here will give you two excused assignments. You will be allowed to use them on any assignments you wish excluding exams. All you need to do is turn one in when an assignment comes, and you’ll get full points on that assignment.”
“No way! Free passes!” Sero exclaimed excitedly, “That’s insane!”
“However, if you win, both Shinso and Midoriya will not get these passes.”
Uraraka raised her hand. Aizawa stopped and let her speak.
“Wait, why would Deku lose if we win? If we break him out of it, wouldn’t that be like us saving him?” She asked.
“You got a good point, Uraraka. I asked Midoriya what side he would like to be on, and he agreed to be on Shinso’s side. So don’t worry, this choice was entirely on his own.”
Uraraka nodded.
“However, the opposite is true. If Shinso and Midoriya win, they will get the passes but not you.”
Gasps bounced among the wall of the class, each bewildered by what Aizawa just said.
“Tsk! So, all we have to do is break Deku out of the dam control and we win.” Bakugo scoffed and smiled, “Easy.”
Shinso smiled at Bakugo’s comment. He must be underestimating him; well, he does not know how much he has been working on his quirk outside of class. They will not be able to break Midoriya out of his control as easily as before.
They are in for quite the surprise.
But if they can use their quirk then that adds an additional challenge for him. He glanced at Midoriya who stood beside him, completely unaware of what was happening before him. The allowed quirk usage was going to make this difficult, but his competitive fire was blazing within him. He was going to win this; he would not go down that easily.
“Now, the training will last until heroics class. If you do not manage to break Midoriya out of Shinso’s brainwashing well let’s just say you will all be in for quite a surprise once heroics comes around.” Aizawa grinded, sinisterly.
The students shuddered at Aizawa’s comment. What did he mean by a “surprise”?
“So, it’s best you wake Midoriya up or you all will be in for quite a time.” Aizawa implied, “Lastly, Shinso and Midoriya do have earpieces on and will be providing orders to Midoriya if he can’t hear him. So be aware of that. Alright, with that said, let’s begin class. You two, go and take your seats.”
Shinso nodded. He gazed at Midoriya, “Midoriya, go to your seat and sit down.”
Midoriya obeyed and made his way to his assigned seat. The class watched as he did so. Then, unexpectedly, as he walked down the aisle of his row, Jirou secretly extended her earlobe and poked Midoriya on the leg. Shinso felt that slight waver in his control, but immediately he strengthened his hold on him which worked. Even with Jirou’s action, Midoriya remained unaffected.
“Dammit,” Jirou whispered.
Midoriya reached his seat and sat down, his moves stiff yet sluggish, like a puppet being maneuvered by a series of strings.
Bakugo glanced at him but quickly turned back to face the front. Then, immediately after, a strong kick was heard from under Midoriya’s desk.
“Wake up, Midoriya,” Mineta commented from behind him. He waited but he did not get a response, “Ah man, I thought that would work.”
Shinso watched as his classmates attempted their various tricks to wake him, but every time they failed. As he made his way to his seat, he couldn’t help but quietly grin at their attempts. He couldn’t wait to see the look on their faces when they faced the challenge, the one they would be involved in once they lost.
“Now, for today’s lesson.”
Shinso pressed a button on his earpiece and whispered, “Midoriya, I want you to act like a normal student at UA which includes putting your backpack near your seat, taking notes, and paying attention to the teacher. I want you do to those actions now.” He watched at the other end of the classroom to see if his command went through and to his shock, it did. Midoriya pulled his backpack off his shoulders and placed it beside his seat. Afterward, he grabbed his notebook and pen, opened the notebook, and stared ahead at Aizawa.
Shinso couldn’t help but be awed at how well Midoriya followed his command which was both vague and complex. However, his excitement didn’t last long. A small dull pain began to manifest in his temples, replacing his inner elation. He quickly ignored it. These headaches were common with his quirk, but he should be fine, as long as he focused, he could fight through the pain.
Once he knew Midoriya was acting like a “normal” student, Shinso grabbed his school materials and listened to his teacher, remaining cognizant of his controlee. Although just to be safe, he fortified the string connecting both his mind and Midoriya’s. He knew his classmates would attempt something while he wasn’t looking, so to ensure he didn’t break, he fortified his control on Midoriya as much as he could.
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.
.
Homeroom ended early so now they had some free time to kill before the start of their next class. Yet, the lengthened passing period provided the perfect opportunity for the students to do anything they wished. They were free to do whatever they wanted, which included completing the task at hand. But, if Shinso could bring Midoriya over to him, then he could better anticipate any stimuli that his classmates may want to impose on him.
Shinso was about to speak but Uraraka interrupted him, “This is quite the training Aizawa put you in, huh?”
“Yeah,” He tried to peek over at his brainwashed classmate. He was still seated, unmoving. But what worried him was Bakugo who was now talking to the teenager. He feared he might do something. He knew how reckless he could be; he worried that his actions might actually wake Midoriya up.
“Hey, Deku!” Bakugo turned to face Midoriya. He gazed at his unseeing eyes and chuckled, “This is quite the situation you put yourself in but don’t think you are going to win.” He lifted his hand, and they began to sparkle, small explosions from his quirk emanated from his palm, “I’m going to beat you and that Control Freak over there.”
“Bakugo! Do not hurt Midoriya! You know what Aizawa said!” Iida stood up and shouted from the other end of the classroom, his hand moving in its usual chopping motion.
“I’m not going to hurt him, dammit. Just going to give him a small scare.” His hand approached Midoriya’s shoulder. Shinso on the other hand was watching, panicked. Quickly, he turned on his earpiece.
“Midoriya! Stop—”
“Oh hey, Shinso!” Ashido appeared in front of him, “That’s a cool earpiece you got there.”
Dammit! Shinso cursed.
Of course, they were here to distract him while Bakugo enacted his plan. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to reach him in time, he did the best thing he could do. He increased the potency of his quirk and tightened his hold on Midoriya’s mind. He prepared himself. He hoped this was enough to keep Midoriya under.
“Time to come back to the land of the living, nerd!” Bakugo let out a small explosion, slightly singeing his blazer. Crazy enough, Midoriya did blink and for a bit, his awareness wavered.
“I’m not letting you out of my hold, Midoriya!” Shinso exclaimed. Immediately, Midoriya’s gaze clouded. The small signs of awareness that were there, were gone. He was back. He was back under Shinso’s quirk.
“Dammit! That didn’t work. Ha! He’s stronger than I thought, well,” More sparks sprouted from his palm, “I guess you need something stronger than—”
“Hello, my little listeners!!” Present Mic busted through the door.
Bakugo quickly stopped and eyed his energetic teacher in irritation.
“Take your seats, everybody! It’s time for some English! And yes, I am aware of Midoriya, you don’t have to tell me. Alrighty! Let’s get this show on the road!” Present Mic exclaimed as he made his way to the center of the classroom.
“You heard him,” Iida commented, “Everybody, go to your seats and stop bothering Midoriya.”
“Aww man, we were so close!” Ashido said as she sat down on her seat, pouting.
“We’ll wake him up, don’t worry.” Sero implied.
“Well, it better be soon,” Kaminari said as he looked at the wall clock, “We have two more classes, lunch, and then heroics.” He then placed his head on his desk, “We need to win this, I could really use those freebies.”
Shinso sat down as he heard his classmates muttering, each upset that they weren’t able to wake Midoriya up. He put his hands on his forehead and took deep breaths. What he just did took a lot out of him, but he did it. He managed to prevent Midoriya from waking up after being provoked by Bakugo’s explosions. If he keeps this up, then he’ll be able to accomplish the simulation prepared for heroics once the class loses.
With one last deep breath, he pressed his earpiece. He was ready to repeat the command, but he was shocked to see that Midoriya was accomplishing all the actions he defined in his previous command. This meant that Midoriya remembered.
This shocked Shinso. This was definitely something he never noticed he could do. Once this was over, he needed to test out how long his suggestions could last without repeating them because this was news to him.
Well, knowing that Midoriya will be okay for the time being he turned his attention to his teacher and focused on the lesson being presented.
.
.
.
Everything was going smoothly. There were a few instances where his classmates would poke at Midoriya, but their actions were unsuccessful. At one point, Kouda used his quirk on an insect so it could crawl up Midoriya’s arm and jolt him awake. But, to Shinso’s content, it did not work.
Class was about to end, meaning that they had one more class, lunch, and then heroics. His win was getting closer and closer. Also, Midoriya hasn’t been asked any questions that would require his quirk—
“Midoriya, could you translate this sentence.” Shinso perked up, his eyes going wide. Well, he spoke too soon.
Instead of eyes going to Midoriya, his classmates stared at him.
Crap.
Shinso had two options, he could have Midoriya translate the sentence himself but use up the energy he needed for later today or he could translate it for him and have him recite it. Making someone talk is still exhausting but not compared to making someone complete complex mental tasks AND talk. It would be impressive if he chose the latter, but he needed his energy. So, he looked at the Japanese written on the board and pressed his earpiece.
“Midoriya, say this, ‘Later today I will be going to study and afterward I will be going to bed’” Shinso said, hoping his response was correct.
As prompted, Midoriya repeated, monotonously, “Later today I will be going to study and afterward I will be going to bed.”
“That is correct!” Present Mic voiced glancing at Shinso.
The teenager sighed.
“All right, that is it for today! I will see you all tomorrow.” Present Mic packed his things and left, leaving the group of teenagers on their own once more.
Each with a growing eagerness to win this challenge.
Shinso on the other hand, was feeling the exertion of his quirk. He has had it active for about 3 hours now and he had about 2 or so more hours left to go. The headache was starting to get more prominent, and he couldn’t ignore how tired he was getting. He reached into his backpack and pulled out his water bottle and some painkillers. He popped a few in and took a few sips of water. He was about to go for a few more sips until a loud shout jolted him, almost making him spit his water out.
“Hey, Midoriya!” Shinso quickly turned in the direction of the shout, it was Sero.
Then, without warning, he released some tape from his quirk and wrapped it around Midoriya, the green-haired teenager who simply sat there, undisturbed. Shinso quickly stood up and ran over to him. Thankfully, he was able to maneuver through the various blockages that were his classmates.
“What the hell are you—”
“Bakugo’s plan didn’t work, so it’s my turn. Maybe a few shakes will wake him up.” Sero explained, interrupting Shinso.
Okay, that isn’t as bad as Bakugo nearly burning Midoriya. This Shinso can handle. He stopped and let Sero continue, prepared to intervene if anything went bad.
“Wakey wakey, Midoriya!” Sero pulled but he did not expect to pull as hard as he expected. What he thought would be a soft shake turned out to be a violent tug. Midoriya tumbled and fell to the ground, his body going limp as he did.
“Sero!” Hagakure yelped, “That was not a shake!”
“Oh, crap! I-I’m sorry, I did not mean it to be that violent.”
Shinso quietly winced, that one he did feel, but thankfully Midoriya remained deep under his quirk, “Sero, please remove the tape.”
“Right!” Sero kneeled beside Midoriya and removed the tape around his body.
“Okay. Midoriya, stand up.”
The class watched as the teenager stood up, some stray tape still on his body, “Any injuries?” Shinso asked as he rubbed his temples.
Bakugo, being the closest, scanned Midoriya. The class watched, nervously, “Nope, he’s fine.”
“Okay, good. Midoriya, sit back down on your desk.” Midoriya followed and sat down on his desk.
“Look. I know we win if he gets injured, but I rather not wake him up and have to explain a possible head injury to him. So please be careful.” Shinso urged.
“Of course! Sorry about that!”
“Tsk! You better be, you almost lost our chance of winning, tape face.” Bakugo sneered.
“Okay, everybody, go back to your seat! Class is about to start.” Iida exclaimed. The students did not argue and quickly made their way back to their seats.
Meanwhile, Shinso chuckled as he made his way to his seat, “Well, better luck next time.”
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Math class was not as exciting. Surprisingly, Ectoplasm did not ask any questions to Midoriya. Also, due to the difficulty of the class subject today, none of the students went out of their way to break Midoriya out of the brainwashing which was a win for him. So, very soon math ended, and the start of lunch came.
The start of the most difficult part of his training.
Before the students could leave for lunch, Aizawa appeared. He glanced over at Midoriya before looking at his students.
“Looks like you haven’t broken Midoriya out of the brainwashing. Well, you have until the end of lunch to do so. However, Midoriya and Shinso will be staying here. Iida and Uraraka, would you mind bringing them their food?”
“Oh, of course, Mr. Aizawa! We’ll bring it to them promptly,” Iida stated.
“Thank you. Also, anyone is welcome to stay here and do whatever you please within the parameters stated. Well, that is it from me, just wanted to check in on you all. Continue as usual.” As quickly as he arrived, Aizawa left the classroom.
“Well, that was quick,” Kirishima commented.
“So, we have a full 30 minutes to try and break Midoriya out.” Todoroki voiced, “With free quirk usage.”
“Safely though!” Iida shouted, “Shinso, we’ll be back with your food, okay?”
Shinso nodded with a faint smile.
“Be right back!” Uraraka stated as both her and Iida left the classroom.
“Ashido and I will be back as well, ribbit,” Tsuyu said, “I’m quite hungry.”
“Yeah! Brb.” Ashido concluded as the two left.
“Same here,” Shouji said.
“Yeah, math was so hard! I need some food.” Ojirou proclaimed.
The surrounding students waved them bye and then focused their attention back on their brainwashed classmate.
“You know,” Kirishima began, those around him gazed at him, “Nobody tried to simply shake him. Like REALLY shake him.”
Shinso stood up and went over to where Midoriya sat.
“Huh?” Bakugo interjected, “You think shaking him is going to wake him up? Tape Boy here literally dropped him to the ground and nothing happened. No. We need something more.”
“I’ve got it! Maybe a small electric volt! That should wake him!” Kaminari vocalized from behind the group huddled around Midoriya.
Shinso’s heart skipped a beat. Would that wake him? Kaminari’s quirk. He was so close to the end, and he could feel the headache getting stronger and stronger. He should avoid that shock. Prevent Midoriya from experiencing that volt of electricity.
Aizawa did say we have free quirk usage as long as it didn’t harm him, the other classmates, or property. Which also included Midoriya’s quirk. So, with that in mind, he had an idea.
“Alright,” Kaminari approached Midoriya’s desk, “Just a small shock and—”
“Midoriya! Use full cowling! Do not let him touch you!” Shinso shouted.
Midoriya’s expression shifted, stunning those around him. Instead of the blank expression he had all day, his face morphed into a scowl. He powered One for All and swiftly, left his desk, avoiding Kaminari’s touch by an inch.
Kaminari stood with his arm outstretched in bewilderment, “You can—you can make others use their quirks?”
Shinso chuckled, “Well, yeah. I guess, there’s a lot you don’t know about me.” He turned to face Midoriya who had migrated to the front of the classroom, “Midoriya, for the rest of lunch, do not allow anyone to touch you. You can use your quirk, but do not harm yourself, or your classmates, or destroy anything in the classroom.”
“That’s not fair!” Kaminari exclaimed.
“Well, I’m eager to win as much as you all do, and well, I’m sorry to say it, but I will.” Shinso proclaimed.
“Not if I can’t say anything about it,” Shinso heard Hagukare speak but when he turned to look at her desk, he noticed that she was not there. To make matters worse, her clothes were laid out on her table.
Which meant—
Shinso froze in horror. But quickly, he acted.
“Midoriya! Use smokescreen!”
Instantly, Midoriya activated his quirk and spewed the familiar purple smoke around the classroom.
“Dammit!” Hagakure’s form became visible through the smoke as the mist maneuvered around her. Shinso was shocked to see how close she was to Midoriya, she was right next to him.
“Midoriya, look to your right!” The young hero did as ordered. As soon as his eyes locked with the transparent figure enveloped in the mist, he acted. He activated his full cowling and sprinter away from her.
“Ahh man, I really thought that would work.” Hagakure pouted.
The door to the classroom opened and both Iida and Uraraka appeared, “We are back! We have—” Iida coughed, “Smokescreen! Why—”
“Shinso managed to make Midoriya use his quirk to prevent Hagakure from sneaking up on him.” Todoroki implied.
“Oh, I see. Didn’t know you could do that, Shinso, but that’s really impressive.” Iida voiced. He walked over to the two unoccupied seats of Shouji and Ojirou and placed the trays down, keeping the trays of their own food on the other hand, “We should let the two eat and we should all do the same. We need our nutrients before heroics.”
“We have 20 more minutes, huh? Darn,” Kaminari voiced, “I’ll be back though!”
Then, little by little the students trickled out of the classroom.
“Thanks, guys,” Shinso gestured at both, thankful for bringing them their food, “Midoriya,” He glanced over at the teenager standing idly at the back of the room, “Come over here and sit on the desk next to me,” Shinso pointed.
Midoriya moved. Thankfully, the smoke was dispersing fairly quickly allowing him to see. He walked along the aisle between the door and where Aoyoma’s row lay. Not surprisingly, Aoyama continued to sit in his seat already eating his own-provided food. At this point, the only students in the classroom were Aoyama, Iida, Uraraka, Shinso, and Midoriya. Everyone else was out acquiring their food. The green-haired teenager walked to the front of the classroom, his glazed eyes set on the desk Shinso alluded to. But as he passed Iida, he did not suspect the leg placed in front of him.
Shinso jumped as Midoriya tripped.
“Oops sorry,” Iida chuckled.
But before he could hit the floor, Uraraka touched him and activated her quirk. Midoriya floated in mid-air, “Did it work?” She asked.
“Midoriya?” Iida called out. However, he did not get a response, “Bummer, well, I tried. Sorry, Shinso, but even if I am your class representative, my competitive spirit is still there. I wanted to catch you two when you least expected it. Good job keeping your quirk active.”
Shinso took a few deep breaths. He didn’t show it but internally he was screaming. It may not have been obvious to the two but that was…close. The unexpected disturbance caught him off guard which caused his control to fluctuate; he could feel Midoriya’s awareness coming back. But before that happened, he pulled him right back in.
However, the sudden exertion of his quirk amplified the annoying headache he was having. He kept his pain in. If he showed his classmates his rapidly increasing exhaustion, they could use that to their advantage.
Uraraka made sure Midoriya was standing comfortably and turned off her quirk. As soon as she did, Midoriya sat down in his seat as if nothing occurred.
“Alright, we’ll let you eat. We’ll be seated on our desk.” Iida explained.
Shinso nodded and grabbed his chopsticks.
“We’ll get you, Shinso! Just wait!” Uraraka exclaimed.
Shinso grinned, “Midoriya, eat your food.”
Midoriya did as instructed. He grabbed his chopstick and ate his katsudon as if he were not currently brainwashed beyond oblivion.
The day is almost over. Shinso thought. Just hold on a little longer.
But he knew that the last remaining minutes would be the hardest minutes of his life.
.
.
.
The students of class 2A were determined. They were not going to go down without a fight. Both Shinso and Midoriya ate their food quickly. Most of the students were back in the classroom, each ready to break Midoriya out of the brainwashing before the 10 minutes were up.
They were all once again huddled around Midoriya.
Tokoyami took a stab at waking Midoriya up. He utilized dark shadow and tossed him across the room. The faces of both Shinso and the other students as soon as the action was enacted were that of pure horror. Screams erupted, but before Midoriya could hit the wall across the classroom, dark shadow grabbed him.
“What the hell, man? You nearly gave us a heart attack!” Kirishima voiced, shocked by what just occurred.
“Looks like that didn’t work.” Tokoyami said, “Our opponent is more formidable than we expected.”
“Tell me about it,” Ashido added, “I mean, dam Shinso, you really went from us being able to break your brainwashing with a simple slap to us not being able to break it with our quirks.”
Shinso smiled, shyly, “Thanks.” He said, not used to the compliment.
“8 more minutes, guys! Someone do something!” Kaminari begged.
“Hmmm, maybe this could work,” Yaoyorozu walked over to the boy, “We’ve all been brainwashed at least once by Shinso and we all know that we are at least semi-conscious while under. So maybe instead of physical distractions, we could implement something different. Maybe something mental, something jarring enough that will force Midoriya out.”
Shinso was intrigued, but he knew that wouldn’t work. Even if he is semi-conscious in there, his quirk lowers the person’s inhibitions and slows down their thoughts to a crawl. Midoriya will not be capable of perceiving such comments unless it’s from his own words. But just in case, he prepared himself if he felt a hint of awareness.
“Midoriya has a strong sense of heroism. So, we could use that.” Yaoyorozu thought hard about what she could say. She wondered, what would force Midoriya to act? Then she looked at Bakugo, who was seated on top of his desk, minding his own business. Once her eyes locked on him, Yaoyorozu smiled.
“I know,” She went over to Midoriya and stood in front of his desk, she eyed the teenager, gazing into his hazy eyes, “I’m sorry for what I am about to say, Midoriya.” She took a breath and spoke, her tone shifting, “Bakugo is dead, and it is all your fault.”
The students, specifically Bakugo jumped, astounded by what she just said. Yaoyorozu did her best to make sure her voice didn’t quiver as she enacted her angered façade.
“If you weren’t so careless he would have survived. You keep thinking he is alive, but he is not, it is your fault he is dead!”
The students were speechless. Bakugo was ready to act and stop her outlandish comments, but before he could, Krishima stopped him.
“What?! Are you just going to stand there as if nothing happened! Say something, Midoriya!”
Shinso watched Midoriya intently. So far, he hasn’t felt anything that would signal him that Midoriya was fighting his control.
“You're completely useless! What kind of hero are you?!”
At those words, Shinso saw something. Midoriya’s hand slightly moved. His eyes widened in fear. He WAS fighting.
Not on my watch. He thought.
He increased his quirk’s potency and lulled Midoriya back into the relaxing state. Enough to force him to give in to the sensation produced by his quirk. His body was screaming but he persevered, he could not let them win. He was so dam close!
Yaoyorozu waited. Surprisingly, she did not notice that brief moment of fighting by the teenager. Shinso, on the other hand, remained stoic, doing everything he could to mask the blatant fear evading his conscious.
“Man, nothing. I rather not saying anything else. That um…hurt.” Yaoyorozu said, her voice trembling, “I-I’m sorry, Midoriya. I’ll apologize to you properly once you wake up.”
“You better.” Bakugo commented, “You know how he feels about the dam war.”
Yaoyorozu nodded in agreement, “Well, we have 4 more minutes. Any last ideas?”
“I can try something but not sure how well it would work,” Todoroki voiced. He stood beside Midoriya and extended his hand. He then placed his palm on his neck, “Maybe some cold will shock him.”
Todoroki let his hand freeze and kept it placed on Midoriya’s neck for a few seconds. He watched him intently, searching for any signs of awareness. Eventually, after he noticed the frost spreading around his neck, he removed his hand and used his other to warm up the area.
“Nothing.”
“That’s fine, at least you tried,” Yaoyorozu smiled.
“Well, there goes our passes,” Kaminari said, disappointedly, looking at the clock, 2 more minutes.
“Okay, everybody lunch is almost over. Grab your cases and start making your way to the changing rooms.” Iida instructed, “Good job, Shinso. Looks like you won this battle! It was a good fight.”
1 more minute.
Their hopes of winning the challenge went down the drain. Shinso could not contain his excitement.
45 seconds.
He survived. He managed to do a challenge that he thought would be impossible.
30 seconds.
“Follow me, Midoriya.” Both he and Midoriya walked over to their cases and grabbed both his and Midoriya’s.
15 seconds.
Time to begin the real fun. He internally said, looking at his brainwashed classmate.
Time.
This should be exciting.
“I’ll see you guys in a minute, Aizawa um told us to meet him somewhere else,” Shinso said to his classmates as they entered Gym Gamma.
“Oh okay, see you soon Shinso.” Iida waved as both he and Midoriya walked into a room near the gym’s changing rooms.
“The hell was that?” Bakugo asked as he followed his classmates in, adjusting his gauntlets.
“No idea, could it be related to what we are doing in class today?” Iida asked.
“Hmm.” Bakugo pondered.
With questions bouncing among the students, they approached All Might who was standing near the mountainous terrain that was created by Cementos. Each one of them were curious as to what they were going to be doing in class today, and why Shinso and Midoriya had to be separated from them. Did the training have to do something with them?
“Let’s just hope it isn’t bad, we did lose after all,” Kirishima said, somberly.
“Man…my excused assignments…gone,” Kaminari said, sadly,
“Hey, All Might,” Uraraka began as they approached their teacher, “Where did Shinso and Midoriya go?”
All Might crossed his arms and gazed at the faces of his worried students, “Well, seeing as you lost in breaking Midoriya out of the brainwashing. Aizawa and I devised this training to simulate a villain attack as a form of ‘punishment’.”
“A villain attack?” Ashido asked.
“Ha! That’s our punishment?!” Bakugo joked, “You know we fought the big bad guy, right All Might? We can handle a punny villain simulation.”
“That we know, so we are stepping it up a notch…” Suddenly, Aizawa appeared from around the corner and nodded at All Might, he nodded in return, “I guess we are ready…Shinso!”
As soon as his name was called, Shinso used his capture weapon and swung up to the top of the tallest mountain peak. His persona cords were firmly around his mouth and his capture weapon was tightly around his fingers. He eyed his classmates below him, his determination glimmering within his eyes.
“Your mission is to capture Shinso. He will be acting as your villain.” All Might stated.
“That’s it, ha! As long as we don’t say shit, we will be okay.” Bakugo commented, “I can brag him in seconds.”
“Although, there is a catch.” Then, shocking the students, Midoriya—dressed in his hero outfit—appeared from around the mountainous structure and stood between the teachers and the students, “Midoriya has been given a particular mission. He has been instructed to defeat every single one of you before you reach Shinso.”
“No way…” Sero gasped.
“Shinso will doing everything in his power to stop you, however, you will also be battling Midoriya. And unlike most training simulations, Midoriya is allowed to use the full extent of his quirks.” All Might described, “You will have 10 minutes to complete this mission.”
“10 minutes!?” Mineta exclaimed.
“Yes, 10 minutes. Most villain attacks last that long and as you noticed, most of the time you don’t have time to plan so just have to act. Now, if you win this, your loss will be reversed, and you will all be rewarded with those passes. Midoriya and Shinso already won the passes, so this will mean that the whole class will gain the reward if you win this simulation.”
“We have another chance!” Kaminari exclaimed, happily.
“But considering who we are battling, and our time, this is going to be hard,” Jirou said.
Iida nodded.
“But if we focus on snatching the controlee, then Midoriya will be easy to defeat,” Yaoyorozu added looking at Midoriya’s stoic expression.
The class nodded.
“We will be watching off to the side. At the ring of the bell, the simulation will begin.” Both All Might and Aizawa made their way to the entrance of the gym, far away from the center but close enough to observe the action.
For a minute, the arena went silent until a frequency disturbed the tense atmosphere.
“Midoriya, the 19 students you see before you are villains. You are to protect me and defeat them in the process. At the sound of the bell, use all the quirks in your disposable to make it happen.”
As if a switch flipped in his mind, Midoriya’s expression morphed from blankness to one of angered determination. He stared at the 19 before him. The students gasped at the sight. The Midoriya that they knew was clearly not there, instead, a dangerous aura glowed around him. They felt it, the viciousness of his current state.
The villainous nature of his current state.
“Dammit! Everybody! Do not take Deku lightly. You all saw him at his strongest, he is unbeatable. Todoroki and I will distract him as much as we can. Everyone else will go and get that Control Freak!” Bakugo began, taking initiative.
“Right!” The class announced synonymously.
RING!!
At the sound of the bell, Midoriya did not hesitate even a second. Quickly, he attacked. He expelled an enormous amount of Smokescreen and shrouded the place in a thick clock of purple smoke.
Coughs erupted.
“Crap! Déjà vu, huh? Spread out, you dam extras!” Bakugo placed both of his gauntlets face down on the ground, and with one strong explosion, he dispersed the smoke. But as soon as he did, he noticed Midoriya floating mid-air with his hands ready to release an air force attack.
“Shit!”
Bakugo rolled away from his target. Midoriya released the powerful air attack, but Bakugo missed it by barely an inch.
Bakugo stood up, but he didn’t get a chance to gain his barring. Soon after the first strike, Midoriya used a combination of Blackwhip and Gearshift and launched a lasso attack at the recovering teenager. But before Midoriya, could land a blow, a large wall of ice blocked the approaching whip. It hit the ice with a thundering bang.
“Bakugo! Are you alright?” Todoroki rushed over to him, making sure he wasn’t hurt.
“I’m fine, dammit.” He walked around the ice wall, his palms crackling with his explosions. But as soon as he turned the corner, he noticed that Midoriya was gone.
“Crap! Where the hell did he—”
“AHHH!!”
A screeching sound emanated somewhere within the mountainous field. Bakugo and Todoroki immediately sprang into action and flew toward the direction of the scream. They reached the source of the sound and were shocked to see three of his classmates, Hagakure, Mineta, and Kaminari, knocked out on the floor.
“Dammit, he already got three. It hasn’t even been two minutes.” Bakugo voiced.
Then, a loud crashing sound roared. Bakugo scanned the area and saw that both Sero and Shouji were currently fighting Midoriya.
“Why are they—shit! Come on, Icy Hot!” Bakugo sprinted over to them. He needed Midoriya to have their eyes on them. They could deal with Midoriya, they were the strongest and the most capable of holding him down. That way his classmates could focus on snagging Shinso.
Unexpectedly, Midoriya stopped as the two rushed over to the impromptu fight.
“That’s our chance, go!” Sero shouted, seeing the open opportunity.
But Bakugo noticed…a faint pink lighting up his body.
“You idiots! Don’t—”
But it was too late. Midoriya powered up Fa Jin, the symbolic pink hue spread throughout his legs. With a scowl on his face, Midoriya jumped and kicked the nearby mountain utilizing his shoot style. The energy produced by the kick was grand, to the point that it created a power burst of air that blew even Shouji off his feet.
The ones attempting to climb the mountain to reach Shinso were swiftly swept by the powerful wind pressure.
“AHHH!!”
Uraraka, who was climbing with her classmates, was ready. As soon as her grip loosened, she turned on her quirk and swam over to Jirou, Kirishima, and Kouda who were free-falling. She touched each one of them and helped them land softly on the ground.
“Thank you, Uraraka!” Kirishima thanked.
“Yeah!” Uraraka looked at the towering mountain, “But, we’re back at square one.”
“WATCH OUT!!!”
Uraraka turned and to her horror, she saw a large slab of rock hurdling their way. But before it could crush them, an explosion resonated, and the rock was broken into small pebbles.
“Get the hell out of here! Unless you want to die! Go and grab, Shinso!” Bakugo urged, directing the comment at the stunned group of teenagers.
“R-Right!” The group got onto their feet and ran off, hoping to find another entry point.
5 MINUTES! The intercoms shouted.
“He’s untouchable!” Todoroki voiced, moving to stand beside Bakugo.
“Yeah, I know. I guess even brainwashed he is just as strong. We need to distract him or better, find a way to restrain him so the others can reach Shinso.” Bakugo shouted.
Midoriya’s earpiece crackled.
Midoriya, ignore Bakugo and Todoroki. Defeat those trying to reach me. The earpiece voiced.
Upon hearing those words, Midoriya glanced at the students attempting to reach Shinso. Kirishima was chipping the cement away with his quirk, while Uraraka was using her quirk to float to the top, with Sero using his tape to help her gain momentum.
In his subdued mind, Midoriya knew what to do. He manifested Blackwhip.
“Midoriya! Over here—”
But before Todoroki’s ice could reach him, he swung away, his destination set on the group of students attempting to reach his controller.
“Bakugo!”
“I know!” Bakugo sprang into action and used his quirk to grab Midoriya while he swung. The green-haired teenager was detaching and attaching each whip to the rocky structures, each moving congruently to maintain his momentum.
Midoriya noticed his childhood friend on his pursuit. Without hesitation, he released Smokescreen once more.
“Dammit!”
Bakugo lost him in the thick purple haze. He used his explosion to disperse it, but nothing, Midoriya was gone.
“MIDORIYA!! NO!!”
Bakugo heard it, his classmates' screams, followed by crashes and loud snaps.
“Crap! Crap! Crap!” Bakugo flew, his quirk working overtime to speed through the dense smoke.
He reached the location of the shouts and to his horror, Uraraka, Kirishima, Sero, Shouji, and Jirou were lying on the ground, groaning in pain.
“Sorry, Bakugo.” Kirishima winced, holding onto his arm.
“AHHH!!” Another shout. It sounded like Aoyama.
“NO!!” That one sounded like Tsuyu.
“Midoriya!! Don’t!!” That one was for sure Ojirou.
“Icy Hot!” The half-hot and half-ice user rushed over to him, “New plan, we’re grabbing Shinso ourselves. That control freak gave him a command telling him to ignore us, so let’s play his little game.”
2 MINUTES! The intercom roared.
Bakugo scanned the newly created battlefield and locked eyes with Iida and Yaoyorozu, both clearly thinking about a plan.
“Hey! Glasses and Rich Girl, get over here!” Bakugo yelled, “Same with you, Goth Bird and Pink Alien!”
“Don’t call me that!” Ashido shouted as she and her classmate rushed over to him.
“Where the hell are the other two?” Bakugo asked, quickly scanning the area.
“You mean, Satou and Kouda? They are probably on the other side of the mountain trying to get to Shinso. But doesn’t seem like they are having any luck.” Iida explained.
All of a sudden, a rock flew past them, nearly hitting the group.
“Listen here, extras. I have a plan, but we need to do this like now!” Bakugo pointed at Yaoyorozu, “Can you create a ramp? One that can launch someone up there.”
“Yeah! I can do that!” Yaoyorozu agreed.
“Then work on it!” The creation quirk user agreed and began to work on the request.
“Ashido and Iida, keep Deku distracted!”
“Understood!” Ashido exclaimed, her acid flowing from her hands. The two ran off to slow down their brainwashed friend.
“Bakugo! It’s ready!” Yaoyorozu exclaimed.
“Good!”
In front of him stood a ten-foot ramp, leading straight to the top of the mountain.
“Icy hot, you need to—”
“Use my flashfreeze heatwave to get you up there. Got it!” Todoroki finished.
30 SECONDS!
Bakugo stood a few feet away from the bottom of the ramp and Todoroki stood directly behind him, “Do it! Now!”
With one large burst of his flashfreeze heatwave, Todoroki pushed Bakugo onto and up the ramp. Then, with Bakugo’s quirk, he sent a cluster attack that sent him flying up to the peak of the mountain.
Shinso, too focused on Midoriya, did not notice the approaching teenager. When he heard the loud explosions that belonged to the sole explosion user in the class, Shinso rushed to the edge to gaze at the location of the sound. His heart skipped when he noticed that it was Bakugo, approaching him, and quickly.
Panicked, he pressed his earpiece.
“Midoriya, defend me! Now!”
Midoriya heard the cry for help. With Fa Jin and Float, He diverged his attention and sped toward Shinso, the green lighting of One for All crackling viciously throughout his body.
“No, you don’t! Heaven piercing icewall!” Todoroki erupted a huge ice wall into which Midoriya crashed, full force.
Shinso was in full-blown panic. He watched defensively at Midoriya, who was lodged in the ice. Midoriya attempted to escape, doing everything in his power to follow Shinso’s command, but to no avail.
Knowing that he was alone, needing to defend his own. He grabbed his capture weapon and adjusted his persona cords. He had 15 seconds, it was all up to him.
“Ha! You lost!”
Shinso scanned his surroundings, dumbfounded. Then he saw it, his sweat, glistening in the light of the gymnasium. Afterward, a spark and immediately after, a boom.
“AH!” Shinso screeched. The explosion blew him off his feet and caused him to tumble to the other side of the edge.
“Oh, crap!” His body didn’t stop. He continued to roll. He tried to stop his rolling, but it was no use. Before he knew it, he reached the edge and his body fell over.
Shinso closed his eyes, wondering if this was where he would be meeting his demise. However, he felt something; somebody grabbed his hand.
He slowly opened his eyes, his body shaking frantically. He looked up, wondering who saved him.
“Dam, that was close.”
It was Bakugo.
3.
2.
1!
THE TRAINING IS OVER!! CLASS 2A WINS!!
Bakugo chuckled, “Guess we won,” With one swift motion, he pulled Shinso back onto the solid ground of the mountain peak.
Petrified, Shinso lay there, taking heavy breaths, rattled by the close call.
“Looks like we won.” He heard Todoroki. Then the ice wall crackled and slowly melted, releasing Midoriya. However, even with the simulation finished, Midoriya continued his rampage.
“Right.” Quickly, his shaky hand reached over to his ear and pressed the earpiece.
“Midoriya, stop—everything that you—are doing.”
Instantly, the commotion stopped, which let Shinso know that Midoriya stopped his fighting.
Knowing that Midoriya was no longer in a brainwashed-induced rampage, he let his arms rest on his stomach, focusing on taking deep calming breaths, working on calming his overactive nerves.
“You’re way stronger than I thought.” Bakugo began as he kneeled beside him, “You managed to control a powerhouse not only for the whole day but to fight us, and well, you got close to beating us.”
Shinso chuckled, “Well, I have to catch up to you all somehow.” He commented.
“Ha! I think you are very much ‘caught up’ in my eyes.” Bakugo said.
Shinso felt like his body was on fire. His limbs felt numb and prickly. Every single part of his body was riddled with exhaustion. He wanted to stop the brainwashing. Free Midoriya so he could rest, but he needed to know one thing.
“Bakugo, is Midoriya in a safe place?”
“Hmm, let me check.” Bakugo stood up and approached the edge. He scanned the area until he saw Midoriya, standing with his classmates who were there with him, “Yeah, he is safe.”
“Good.” And finally, after what felt like ages, he turned off his brainwashing and freed Midoriya.
“Oh god! What happened here!” He heard Midoriya shout.
“Don’t worry, Deku! It’s nothing Recovery Girl can’t fix!”
“But still, they let me go all out like that! I know Shinso had full range, but I did not expect this! Wait, who won the simulation?”
“We did! Bakugo got to Shinso literally with seconds to spare!”
“Haha! As expected from Kacchan!”
“Well, he is back to normal,” Bakugo said gazing at Midoriya who was chattering and smiling with Uraraka and Iida. A completely different person than who he was only seconds ago.
“That’s good.” Shinso replied, “Well, I can’t really move. Keeping Midoriya like that really took a toll on me…so I’ll wait for someone to grab me.”
“Tsk!” Bakugo sat down.
“You know you don’t have to wait for me, right?” Shinso explained.
“Shut up! I’ll do whatever the hell I want.” Bakugo snapped.
“Okay,” Shinso replied with a smile.
.
.
.
Help didn’t take long to arrive. The medic robots reached him and took him back down on a stretcher. Bakugo was offered the same treatment but dismissed them saying that he could get back down himself.
Heroics class ended early so those who were injured, including Midoriya, had time to go to the infirmary to be treated. It wasn’t until the next day that the results were revealed, and the prizes were given.
“First of all, please congratulate Shinso for completing such a difficult and daunting task,” Aizawa said.
A round of applause echoed throughout the class. Midoriya’s smile was beaming from across the room, proud of what his classmate achieved. Shinso, however, was floored. The number of smiling faces, the cheers, and the immense number of congratulations was a lot. Naturally, he blushed in both nervousness and appreciation, thankful for the unwavering support and kindness from his classmates.
“Now, as promised, the whole class will be receiving passes for two excused assignments.”
Another round of cheers.
“They are yours to use anytime during the school year. You’ll be able to pick them up at the end of the school day.” Aizawa then walked over to the door, “That’s all, see you all later today.”
Then their teacher left, leaving the students to their own devices.
Midoriya was the first to stand and quickly rushed over to Shinso, his steps hurried.
“Midoriya?” Shinso asked noticing his new visitor.
“Shinso…y-you—you were amazing out there! I don’t really remember much of what happened but from what Iida and Uraraka told me you managed to keep me brainwashed through all those crazy tricks they had! Not only that, but you were also able to control my quirk! Shinso! That’s incredible! You are absolutely amazing!!” Midoriya preached.
“Oh, um, thank you, Midoriya,” Shinso replied, not sure how to reply to his kind comments.
“I’m so happy you are in the hero course! You are going to be a wonderful hero one day; I just know it!” Midoriya added.
“Yeah, man, like Midoriya said. What you did yesterday was truly insane. Villains will think twice about fighting you.” Kirishima added.
“Like dam, now I know that I need to be extra careful with you the next time we spar.” Kaminari voiced.
“Let’s keep working hard, Shinso!” Midoriya said once more, “To become the best heroes that we can be!”
Shinso nodded, “Yeah!”
He was happy. Shinso was for once, proud of himself. He accomplished something he did not think was possible, and here he was, celebrating with his fellow hero course classmates.
He’ll make his dream possible. He will become a hero, one that saves people with his quirk. He is not a villain; he is nothing like the stereotypes he has received all those years. He is a hero, and he will work hard so he can claim the right to cherish that treasured name.