Running along the top of the containers, I kept my stance lowered as I chased after my target with a growl of frustration. I had already caught three of them and those had been glorious capers of grand proportions. We had bounced from beam to beam, tumbled in the air, and made a performance of it.
This one seemed determined to keep it low to the ground, using only the basic vaults and slides to get through the maze, ducking and weaving underneath the crates and beams that filled the area with small makeshift tunnels and hidey holes. While it showed off that he had honed and trained the fundamentals of parkour, it was boring and repetitive and the most irritating part was that it was working in keeping me from catching him.
Hopping off the container to land on the ground, I began running with quiet steps. He still heard me and sprinted, vaulting over a container to grab the netting that tied down a canvas, climbing up.
Finally! He was taking it higher. Running towards a wall, I kept my course parallel to it so when I hopped towards it, I had the perfect angle to wall-run up it. Grabbing the edge, I swung myself up and around in a spinning vault to land into a runner's crouch. Then I sprinted forward to the canvas block just in time to see the green hair disappear as the target slid back down to floor level, returning to the maze of slides and crawls.
It was an odd experience of having my own run and hide tactic used against me. I now completely understand why so many people wished to brutally harm me.
I had the high ground as an advantage though, so I could easily keep an eye on him and take shortcuts. Though, even that was negated by the number of small purple blobs littering the area, leftovers from the last target's turn. If I touched even one of them, I'd be trapped in place. I could get out, but that took time and a small bit of stripping and every second counted.
"Five minutes! Midoriya, you have fifteen seconds to hide!" Tamao shouted over the intercom, causing me to squat and sigh in defeat. Case in point proven. I feel old letting this whippersnapper get the better of me.
Still, it was nice to see Izuku grinning like an idiot as he scurried onto the top of the containers and hopped over them on his way to his hiding spot. Sticking my hand out, Izuku slapped it as he began running to his next spot. Good for him. The old him would've apologized for ten minutes for winning. His confidence was growing.
Stretching for a bit, I cracked my neck before giving a thumbs up to Tamao signalling my readiness. She cackled evilly as she shouted, "Mineta! You're next! Dandan, he's hiding up on the ceiling upside down."
"Please don't tell him that!" the grape boy shrieked, inadvertently revealing his exact position in the far corner of the warehouse almost directly opposite of where I was.
"Them's the rules, kid!"
It really was. Everytime I switched to the next target, the Watchtower announced their hiding spot. Still, Mineta had chosen a good spot. I could cover the distance easily, but it'd be annoying to close in on him without him forcing me to make a course correction.
You know how in tag, there's that corner situation? Where you're it, and you have them trapped in a corner, but they can go left or right? And it's just feints for days as they try to juke you and you outjuke them? That's what I was dreading. I'd catch Mineta, but it'd be a hassle.
"Oh! It's the third round by the way!" Tamao said off-handedly.
...Never mind, I was being a whiny bitch for no reason. Third round meant I could finally use Rubberman again.
"Ready or not," I shouted, stretching my arms to the steel beams and grabbing on to slingshot myself forward, "HERE I COME!"
"Not ready! NOT READY!" Mineta panicked, frantically using his purple sticky-balls to monkey his way back down the wall. Unfortunately, he was far too slow and I was already on him with that one bound.
Grabbing onto one of the sticky-balls, using my jacket sleeve as a makeshift glove, I tapped his cheek with the marker and smirked, "Got you."
Slumping his chin against the wall, grape-boy murmured despondently, "And I was so close too."
Patting him on the back, I chortled, "Ah well, you'll get the prize next time."
As he climbed down in defeat, he muttered, "And I really wanted that doujin too."
Still perverted as ever. At least he's better now and less… grope-y than he was at the beginning of the class. Who knows, maybe he won't be completely reprehensible by the start of UA if I train him well enough.
As Mineta hopped over the containers to return to the Watchtower, Tamao announced, "Mineta has been caught! Sudden Death is now in action!"
Sudden Death. Now this was where the fun really got started. Unlike the other switches, this one meant that the target, in this case, Izuku, could run out the timer by simply hiding as Tamao wouldn't announce the hiding spot. It also meant that he could try and tag me, winning a prize if he did so. A bit of incentive to not be a filthy camper, so to speak. Tagging me in this case meant tagging my back, a bit of a change from how I had to use a marker on them. It was a tad bit unfair for them with my skills, but the prize was a pricey 10,000 yen straight out of my own pocket. I'd totally play lame and win games.
"Green bean, green bean," I sang softly as I loped from rafter to rafter, getting a bird's eye view of the terrain. Not there. Not there. "Where do you sprout? Why won't you come out when I SHOUT!?"
Hollering that last word, I leapt down from above, having spotted Izuku hiding in a mess of floating crates that had Uraraka's handi-Quirk written all over. Clever of him to try and use them as cover from aerial attack, but I thrived on using obstacles for parkour.
Grinning, I relished the look of… satisfaction? Why did Izuku's face look satisfied? Wait, was that… Shit, that's Sero's tape in his hand and didn't I chase Mineta through this field during the second round!? I did! There's sticky-balls all over these crates and all of them have tape attached! Fuck! It's a trap!
"Sorry, Mr. Tobita!" Izu-- no, the glimmers of the future hero, Deku shouted, hauling ass as he hauled the tape over his shoulder, "But this is our win!"
Bringing my arms up and legs in, I tucked my chin and curled up into a ball to protect myself as the crates smashed into me. I wasn't hurt too badly, the sticky-balls acting as cushions, but I also couldn't move. I floated like that for a moment, a man covered in crates and boxes before dropping like a stone with a mighty crash, grunting upon impact. Uraraka must have disabled her Quirk then.
"Are you okay, Mr. Tobita!?" Izuku shouted, coughing a bit from the dust that had been kicked up from my drop.
I struggled and wriggled before giving up. I could break the wooden crates to get free, but Knucks would yell at me for breaking gym property before taking it out of my paycheck. Sighing in defeat, I groaned, "Yeah. I'm fine."
"Okay! I'm going to tag you now!" Izuku laughed in that adorably embarrassed manner of his.
As I felt him touch my back, I despaired over my wallet. Ah well, it's not like I haven't been mugging criminals on the sidelines these past six months. I had plenty of cash to spare right now.
Digging myself free of the crates was easy. I still sent Izuku ahead and took longer than necessary to rejoin the class at the Watchtower. I needed a bit of time to collect myself. Now that the adrenaline was fading, anxiety was making a comeback and filling everything up. I hate when this happens.
Six months. Had it really been six months since Izuku started coming to my classes?
Actually forget Izuku! I was also teaching Uraraka, Sero, Mineta, Tsuyu, I was teaching a full quarter of class 1A. I shudder at all the butterflies I'm creating You'd think I'd be used to it now, but no. My anxiety just ebbed and flowed these past couple months. I'm glad that Izuku has friends now. It had been a rocky start when after the first class with Izuku, parents withdrew their kids from Knuckledown by the dozens, leaving much of my previously full classes empty. While it was great for my night job, Knuckledown still lost a lot of profit.
Thankfully, class 1A kids were just as nice as they were in canon barring explosive trash. Izuku actually has a decent, if not great, support group.
But all I could think of was the changes. If I remember correctly, and I very well may not be, Izuku was friendless right before UA. I'm glad that he's more confident now, but he might become… too confident. I hated that I was thinking of things like that. Izuku was Izuku. He wasn't some fictional character that deserved to be railroaded on some horrific fate.
But his low self confidence made him ask All Might that question, led to a sequence of events that would accumulate in him achieving One For All. And… And...
I don't know what comes after and. That terrifies me. I mean I know what comes after he gets One For All. If I take fanfiction to be true, I even know some timelines where he doesn't. It's just- I don't- I don't know what I would do if the future didn't play out as it seemed.
Leaning my head down, I took a breath. In and out. Four seconds each. Four times in and four times out. Haaaa... Uuuun..... Maybe I'm overthinking it. If Izuku gets One For All, he gets it. If he doesn't, he doesn't. If he gets into UA, he gets in. If he doesn't, he doesn't.
What matters is that I'm here. I'm an adult and an experienced warrior. I'll take up the slack that he can't carry. In fact, I should take the weight. He's a child. A child raised from youth on the propaganda of heroism and… Gritting my teeth, I reminded myself of what was at stake.
I'll take what they can't carry. I always forgot, but becoming a hero meant becoming a soldier in this world. I fought in Naruhata. Why am I depending on a child to save the day? No. Adults should be the ones to fix it.
...Whelp, that's my weekly existential crisis quota covered. It's always the same pattern, but it always happens. In the quiet lull after excitement, it sometimes all came crashing down on me about the enormity of living in a story. No wonder so many seers and prophets go insane. Knowing the future was heavy even if it was a dead version of it. You'd think living in MHA for ten years, I'd have come to terms with the idea that I had already changed events. Look at the case right now! There was never any drug like Wild Side on the streets and I broke up the Gentle/Brava ship before it became canon.
But nope. I still can't get used to it. Ah well, I've got shit to do. Can't have a breakdown just yet, still got to give the kiddos their grades.
Stretching my limbs to the railing, I pulled myself onto the catwalk that wrapped around the watchtower. Opening the door, I froze when I saw Tamao standing in front of me, waiting in the small hallway that turned into the main room. Scratching my head, I grinned, "Yo! I'm back!"
"Took you long enough," Tamao said before launching into a hug.
I froze. This was a bit out of character for her. We were close. Kind of hard not to be when her father was my mentor and being co-workers. Also the whole Naruhata thing. But this was rare and also awkward. Why was she--
"You okay? I saw you hunched on the container," Tamao whispered into my shirt.
...Aw. She was worried about me. Patting her head, I chuckled, "Yeah. Just had an episode. I'm better now."
Letting go, Tamao punched my shoulder and grinned, "Glad you're doing fine. Kids are inside waiting. The feeds have been compiled and sent to Manami already, so you just got to do the wrap up. Also remember, your train leaves at 7:15. Now move. I've got a Zumba class to teach."
Shaking my head at her antics, I obligingly stepped to the side to let her past and said, "Thanks for helping! Tell the guests to start coming in please." Quietly
She gave me a thumbs up and didn't look back, too cool to do so. Ah, Tamao. Never change. Turning around, I jumped when Izuku suddenly appeared before me.
"You okay? You were out there for a while," he asked, appearing, wringing his hands.
"I'm fine. Just had to take a breather," I comforted him, patting his fluffy green head, Walking around him, I entered the room quietly. Uraraka was sitting next to Tsuyu who clung to the wall upside down. Sero and Mineta were playing a card game that Sero was blatantly cheating at. In his defense, Mineta kept on looking away to peek on the girls. Ah well, at least he's learning to keep it contained.
Grabbing the remote hanging on the wall, I pressed a few buttons to dim the lights and start the cameras. As the rest of my class started in surprise, I clapped my hands to draw their attention and shouted, "All right, kiddos. We're going to start filming in a couple minutes. So best behavior and best faces!"
"Do we get time to prepare at least?" Sero groaned, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand as he set his hand down, "I'm kind of--"
"Nope! Won't be as genuine! So start now!" I clapped my hands as I turned to face the main camera, putting on a hammier persona as I did so, "Aftergame analysis! Normally, this would be the part of the video where I'd give a critique and let you guys know if the new kids passed or not. But for the first time ever, somebody has won Sudden Death! So I have to know, Izuku!"-I pulled him out of the hallway where he had been hiding into the view of the camera's-"Hell's bells, how did you do it!? On your first time playing this game nonetheless!"
"I didn't do it by myself," Izuku admitted, head bowed. Then lifting his head up, he flashed a too pure grin, and began rambling, a long, rapid machine gun rate of fire. I could only stand there, stunned.
When he finally stopped, he was huffing as if he had just ran a mile. It kind of annoyed me that he was breathing harder explaining what he did to catch me than he had after actually catching me.
Holding my hand up, I used the other to massage my temple as I closed my eyes in concentration and began regurgitating the explanation so I could check my understanding, "Izuku, you really need to practice talking slower. I think I got the gist though. You guys planned this and worked together. Kind of figured that with the setup of the trap, but it's nice to have confirmation. I think I even understand how."
Pointing at the main one, I addressed the imaginary audience, declaring, "This explanation is for the viewers though, so let's start! Far as I can understand, the first round, Asui led me away from the trap, so I wouldn't notice the setup."
Mentally, I began editing the video. Now would be a swap to...
Tsuyu, sticking her tongue out with a froggy grin, ribbited smugly, ""Hai, sensei. I let myself get caught at the end, so that Uraraka wouldn't have to keep her Quirk activated as long in the end."-Letting go of the ceiling, she twisted in midair to land into a crouch on the table-"By that point, Sero had gotten most of the trap ready."
Pointing at Sero, I snapped my fingers as I finally understood why I had caught him so early, "That's why you didn't have that much tape left in your elbows! You already used it to set up the trap!"
"Eeyup!" Sero smirked, putting a finger under his chin in an attempt to pose for the camera. I really wish the cameras weren't rolling so I could tell him how stupid the pose was. Trust me, I have experience with how stupid that pose looks. I did it myself, "Sorry about tricking you, but it worked. Getting caught early also cut the wait time down to the third round. We wanted to get you overconfident."
"Mmhmm," Uraraka chimed in, giving a cutesie peace sign and smile with a stuck out tongue that only worked for cute anime girls. "My job was to play the game the right way in the second round! Get you to think that it was a standard game so you wouldn't notice the setup. I started lifting all the boxes in the second round and let myself get caught early, so that the third round would start faster."
Flipping into view to stand on the desk, Mineta posed like a sentai hero, arm raised into the sky. Tracing an invisible arc in the air, he boasted, "And I threw my balls everywhere so you would get used to them. The trap was already set up in the first round, but the second round was to get you used to them! Pavlov baby!," Mineta snapped his arms to his chest and twirled into a dabbing bow, "I also hid myself WAY in the corner in the last round, so that Izuku could get to the trap in time!"
Cringey as fuck. But… strangely adorable. Note to self, make sure to remind Mineta not to act like a perv. He had been surprisingly restrained after the talk I had with him, but once this video gets out and he acts like his canon self… That'd reflect badly on Knuckledown Gym. Ugh, whoever said all publicity is good publicity can go fuck off.
"And why specifically the third round?" I asked, pointing at Izuku, giving him another go at explaining himself.
Taking a deep breath, Izuku tucked his head in, stroking his chin before launching into an intense monologue. "Watching your previous videos where you had your other students run this test, I noticed that you have a tendency to keep yourself airborne as often as you can, staying high off the ground. This was especially noticeable during the third round when your handicap came off and you began to use your quirk Rubberman. With your rubber body, you could conceivably stretch your arms to find any holding and grip anywhere, so it would seem as if you're flying. However, your torso would stay stationary in the air for that small moment of time, unable to change direction. All I needed was to bait you into dropping straight down into a trap and pull it all together in one go."
Okay. That was a bit fast, but… Wow, that was something straight out of anime, with the hero/villain explaining their logic and mindreading. I am so glad that Izuku's a white-hat.
Still, it was finally my turn. Time to be a ham.
"You guys broke the game. A game that I've worked hard to be the champ for. In three years, nobody has tagged me in Sudden Death. And you guys did it. First time playing the game too," I said softly. Lowering my head, I kept my face shadowed and began humming menacingly. Just long enough for each of my students to grow antsy and shrink in themselves. Keeping my eyes shadowed, I growled, "Well. Well. Well. Nobody else has ever really thought to work together. It was all independent before this. I'm half tempted to give all of you a prize! But, you guys forgot that this was an exam. And… My verdict is..."
"You all pass!" I snapped my head up in a grin, relishing in the sudden gasps of relief, "Good vaults, good falls, you all got the basics down quite well. And for your first time using quirks with your parkour?" I shook my head in joy, arms outstretched, "You did amazing! As for the prize? Looks like… All y'alls get the prize! Not the full 10,000 yen because I'm not that rich, but you each get 5000 yen! A group prize of 25,000 yen! My wallet's going to be a bit light, but well done!"
Silence. Then the students leapt up in celebration and high fived one another. Uraraka twirled in the air, lightly abusing her quirk. The boys did a triangular high five while Tsuyu croaked a song of joy. It was a jubilant celebration on their part.
"Don't scare us like that, you shitty coach!" Mineta roared, slapping the table and sending the cards up into the air. Ah, how quickly the tables turn from joy to anger.
I cocked my head and tapped a finger on my chin, innocently asking, "Ah, so you don't want the prize money then?"
Immediately, Mineta snapped into the crispest, most business-like bow I had ever seen. "You're the best coach ever!"
"That's what I thought. Now, I pronounce all of you Advanced Level!" I clapped my hands before gesturing to the camera, "To make it official, pose for the camera and shout the motto of Knuckledown Gym."
"Aw, really?" Sero groaned.
"It's tradition," I shrugged. I wasn't even lying. Well, mostly. They were only the fifth group to graduate to the Advanced level at Knuckledown Gym, but since we've only been operating for three years, four if you stretched it, it could still become a tradition.
I had them gather in front of the whiteboard, bringing out an old and slightly battered DSLR camera on a tripod. FIddling with the settings, I set the timer for fifteen seconds. Mineta squatted on the conference table laying in a classic sexy-man pose. Tsuyu hung upside down from the ceiling while Uraraka floated on the opposite side. Izuku and Sero had stood normally, but then taken poses upon seeing the other three, Sero taking on a spiderman pose with his elbows pointed out instead of his wrists while Izuku took on a strongman pose. Or it might have been an All Might one.
Giving them a thumbs up, I clicked the button and dashed into position behind them, banging my shin in my rush. Grinning through the pain, I started, "When life gets rough."
"You Knuckle DOWN!" my cute little students chorused as one as the camera flashed.
Blinking a bit, I stepped away from them and took apart the DSLR camera. Tossing it to Sero who fumbled a bit before catching it, I began digging underneath the control console and searched for the paperwork. As I did so, I said, "So before I give out your certificates, I have a few questions and announcements. First off, does anybody have any second thoughts about this? Last chance to nix the video going out."
"The Knuckledown Channel routinely averages 500,000 views per video! With their highest grossing video having over 7 million hits!" Izuku's voice shook before shrilling, " I WILL NOT LET THIS CHANCE GO!"
*BANG* OW!
"You okay teach!?" Sero shouted even as I heard him fiddling with the camera.
Rubbing the back of my head, I crawled out backwards, dragging a plastic bin out with me and waved off his concerns, saying, "It's fine. It's fine. Izuku just surprised me."
Letting Izuku tire himself out apologizing, I clicked the lid off and began pulling out the certificates and coughed from the rising dust. Ugh, we have to clean underneath there more often. "Anyways, what does everybody else think?"
Showing the picture off to Tsuyu and Uraraka, Sero shrugged, "What Midoriya said, but calmer."
"I'm going to be so cool!" Mineta huffed, punching the air in excitement.
Tsuyu's voice answered from above, saying, "I'd like to see the video first."
"What Tsuyu said," Uraraka parroted the desire.
"I'm going to be so cool!" Mineta cackled, still punching.
"That's fair," I nodded and began signing the certificates. They didn't really do much. No sudden license, but it was a nice trophy of accomplishment for them to have, "I was actually going to ask you guys to come over whenever you're free to do a short little intro segment. Introduce yourselves and all that jazz. Forgot to ask you guys to do that a couple days ago, but it's not too late now. It'll just be your name, why you came, what the gym has done for you. It's a shameless marketing plug for us, but that's fine right?"
"I never thought I'd be one of the stars in a Knuckledown video." Izuku sobbed.
"There, there," Uraraka sighed, patting him on the back and handing him a box of tissues.
"I'm going to be so cool!" Mineta shouted again, this time kicking the air.
"I'll take that as a yes," I nodded, handing them out to each of them, "Next question! How was your first time using quirks with your parkour skills?"
"It was strange," Uraraka admitted, "But fun!"
"Could've gone better," Sero nodded in agreement, "Wish I didn't run out so soon, but it was fun!"
"We only really won because of Midoriya and his plan," Tsuyu stated blandly.
"Yeah," Mineta nodded before grinning, "But I was cool right?"
Izuku protested, "That's not true! All of you did wonderful!"
Shaking her head, Tsuyu disagreed, "But you were the one who came up with the plan."
"Hey, I was cool right?"
"Tone down on the desperation, Mineta. You're negating the coolness by thirsting for acknowledgement," I sighed. Then stretching my arms above my head, I declared, "Anyways! You all did great. Izuku's plan was great, yes. But it's also because he trusted each and every one of you to do your part. So team effort." Yawning a bit in exhaustion, I stifled it and continued, "And this acts as a segway to my announcement. You'll be having new coaches that are specialized for this sort of thing in the next couple months."
"What!?" all five of them shouted at once.
"Loud," I complained as I dug a finger in my ear to stop the ringing. "Long story short? I have taught you all you needed to know to go to the next level"-I looked at each one of them and smiled proudly-"You know the basics. You honed them further in the intermediate classes. This game was merely a formality. I had already planned to move you up to the advanced level when I announced today's game a week ago. This was a test, but it was a pre-test. The advanced level is where we truly begin to focus on Quirks. At the end of the training, we're going to be doing this game again as your true final. See how you compare."
"But…" Izuku mumbled, looking dejected. Like an adorable green puppy.
"I'm touched that you guys like my teaching so much, but the fact of the matter is that none of yours even remotely match mine. Maybe Tsuyu, but her quadrupedal motion isn't something I'm used to. So the people that are going to be coaching you will have experience working with Quirks similar to yours. In fact, some of them have been substitutes for you already."
They milled about uncertainly before Sero sighed, "I guess that makes sense."
Nodding my head as I listened to the sounds of concurrence from the graduating class, I announced, "Also I'm going on break soon. So there's that."
"What!?" they chorused again.Why so loud!? It's not like I'm dropping something world changing, like, IDK I'm a vigilante?
Patting my chest, I protested, "I have a life too, you know! I'm just going to Naruhata for a month to hang out with some old friends. It's been a while since I've seen them."
This time there was an embarrassed silence.
Rolling my eyes, I grunted, "Any more questions?"
Seeing the nods, I stood up and turned my back to them. Ignoring the confused sounds, I shouted, "Now final question! Parents! Are you PROUD!?"
"Wha--"
Then the families who had been sneaking up the Watchtower dropped all pretense and rushed in, hugging and congratulating the students. The Asui's were all there, crowding Tsuyu in a group hug. Izuku and Inko were hugging each other and predictably crying. Uraraka's mother was hugging her and swinging her around. Mineta was also being hugged by his mother. Huh, the shortness really was genetic. Sero's father was simply putting a hand on his son's shoulder. It was all wonderfully sappy and endearing.
Leaving quietly, I let the families celebrate this achievement. There was a lot I had to do to set up for the viewing party.
I had to go pick up the compilation from Manami for the viewing party later at the main office which shouldn't take too long. But then there was the pizza I had to order. Hopefully, the pupus I had asked the parents to bring would be enough until then. And then I had to run to the ATM to withdraw the prize money. I only brought 10,000 yen and now i had to get five batches of 5000 yen. Also envelopes for them. Fuck, I also had to start packing for my trip. Train leaves tonight and I only have my equipment packed and no clothes.
Why am I such a mess!?
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AN: And that's a quick six month timeskip! Don't worry, this won't have ANY butterflies for sure. I'm sure that Izuku having a friendgroup that meets up at least twice a week for parkour practice, possibly more, won't lead him to growing a backbone against Bakugou sooner.
Nosiree.
