Chapter 234 - 233: The Day

Over the past two weeks, the private training grounds on the outskirts of Hosu City turned into a daily warzone.

Adapting to Arisaka Consulting's support gear took a heavy toll on the agency.

Snatch spent his mornings bleeding his quirk cells and sweat into giant plastic bins of purified silica.

He manually grafted his quirk into the dirt so the heavy backpack container would recognize the sand as his own body.

The first few days were brutal.

Snatch stumbled constantly under the sheer weight of the metal container. Thankfully the two weeks preparation and his lower body got stronger so he was able to adapt to it's weight.

While Lockdown, Taro, ate dirt missing his swings.

And Glass, Rina accidentally melted her practice targets into useless slag.

They kept working.

Snatch spent the last ten days mastering high-pressure sandblasting, using the container's supply to shoot streams of dirt like an industrial water-jet cutter.

He learned how to fire the ammo without losing a single ounce of his own upper body.

Today, they were moving to the next step.

Makoto sat on the hood of Kaito's black car parked near the chain-link fence.

She held a paper cup of coffee, watching the dust settle across the field.

"It really makes no sense," Makoto said casually, taking a sip from her cup. "Police officers were banned from using their quirks even if there is a runaway villain or their escorted prisoner managed to escape or fight back."

Kaito leaned against the front bumper right next to her.

"The government assumes a cop who uses a quirk will panic and burn down a tollbooth during a shootout," Kaito replied. "They leave the quirk fights to the licensed escorts."

Makoto shook her head. She handed the coffee cup down to him.

"Which forces small agencies like Snatch's to carry all the risk," Makoto pointed out. "If a villain team hits a convoy, Snatch has to protect the prisoners, protect the police, and fight the villains at the exact same time."

Kaito took a drink of the coffee.

"That is exactly why he needed my help right?" Kaito smiled.

Out on the field, Snatch aimed his right arm at a thick concrete pillar thirty yards away.

"You already familiar with sandblasting!" Kaito called out loudly across the yard. "Try another technique. Start using that!"

"Okay, Manager.." Snatch nodded.

He squared his stance. He pressed the trigger hidden inside his right palm.

HISS.

The high-velocity mist sprayed from his gauntlet nozzles, coating the air with his bio-adhesive. The electromagnetic grid on his forearms hummed to life.

Snatch pulled his arm back.

He commanded the sand inside his heavy backpack to move.

A thick stream of silica rushed down his arm. He tried to compress the loose dirt into a flat, rigid sword extending from his hand.

The sand clumped together for a split second.

Then the compression completely failed. The shape collapsed, and the sand rained down onto the dirt floor.

THUD.

Snatch sighed. He shook his arm out, turning to look at Kaito.

"It's completely different from using my own body," Snatch yelled back. "When I make a sand construct from my own flesh, it holds together naturally. This external sand just wants to scatter the second it detached from me."

Kaito pushed off the bumper of the car and walked onto the dirt field.

"You spent the last ten days sandblasting," Kaito explained, walking up to the veteran hero. "Sandblasting is just raw directional pressure. A blade requires friction and centrifugal force. You have to make the external grains spin around a central axis so fast they lock together."

"...Hmm" Snatch wiped sweat from his chin. He raised his arm and aimed at the concrete pillar again.

He pulled the sand from the pack. He closed his eyes.

He visualized the microscopic grains rotating violently in a tight circle.

VMMMM.

A low hum filled the air.

The loose sand compressed tightly. It formed a razor-thin, vibrating blade extending three feet past his gauntlet.

Snatch swung his arm horizontally.

SWISH.

The vibrating sand blade sliced cleanly through the air. But failed after a few meters of flying.

SWSHH.

"Still needs a lot of work." Snatch released his breath.

Snatch looked down at his legs, a massive smile spreading across his face.

He finally had lethal, long-range offense using external sand.

Fifty yards away, Taro stood on top of a shipping crate.

"Lockdown, control the line!" Kaito ordered, pointing at him. "Stop relying entirely on the metal reels."

Taro fired a thick cable from his wrist bracer. The wire shot toward a steel crane towering over the lot.

Taro flexed his wrist, sending a microscopic vibration down the tether.

The flexible cable instantly snapped perfectly rigid, turning into a solid steel pole suspended in the air.

He grabbed it and vaulted over the crates effortlessly, landing on his feet.

Near the fence, Rina stood in front of a thick steel barricade.

She wore her new white ceramic gauntlets.

"Condense the heat, Rina," Makoto called out, checking her datapad. "Stop dumping all your energy at once."

"Okay, Makoto-san." Rina held her hand out.

She pressed a single finger against the center of the steel barricade.

She focused her quirk and pushed all her thermal energy into that tiny contact point instead of heating her whole hand.

FSSSS.

The steel turned bright orange, then white. A perfect, coin-sized hole melted straight through the thick metal.

Rina pulled her finger back.

She smiled, looking through the tiny hole. She finally had pinpoint accuracy.

Kaito pointed toward a large, white, medical bio-tank resting under a metal canopy near the edge of the lot.

"Take ten minutes," Kaito told the agency. "Get in the bio-tank if your muscles are tearing or not."

...

Location: Musutafu - Midoriya Apartment

Time: Early Morning (Few Days Later)

Izuku Midoriya lay flat on his bedroom floor.

His arms shook under his body weight. Sweat dripped from his chin and pooled on the wooden floorboards.

"Two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine," Izuku whispered.

His voice strained with effort.

He pushed himself up one last time. His triceps burned.

"Three thousand."

THUD.

Izuku lay onto the floor to relax.

"Meow," Kuro purred, licking his paw.

He rolled over and stared at the ceiling. He maintained this strict discipline for almost four years.

He spent his entire middle school life running and training, bleeding in the alleys, and fighting minor villains and thugs.

Getting an acceptance letter from U.A. High School didn't change his routine. Even when he stop becoming a vigiliante.

Izuku pushed himself off the floor. He walked into the bathroom, stripped off his sweaty workout clothes, and stepped under the cold shower.

Twenty minutes later, Izuku walked into the kitchen.

He wore the official grey blazer, white shirt, and red tie of the U.A. uniform. He also wore a brand new pair of high-end, reinforced red running shoes.

He bought them yesterday using the first monthly incentive deposit he received from David Shield for his apprenticeship work.

Inko Midoriya stood by the kitchen counter.

She walked over and reached up, adjusting his red tie. She smoothed the fabric down his chest.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn't break down crying.

She just smiled.

"Mom," Izuku smiled back gently. "I'm just going to school."

Inko sniffled and wiped the corner of her eye with her sleeve.

"I know," Inko said, her voice shaking slightly. "I am just so proud, Izuku. You look like a real hero."

Izuku grabbed his yellow backpack from the kitchen chair.

Kuro leaped from the living room sofa and landed perfectly on Izuku's shoulder.

A small, laminated U.A. security badge hung directly from Kuro's collar.

Principal Nezu and All Might pulled a lot of strings to approve that pass.

Today marked the first time in the history of U.A. High School that a completely quirkless student was entering the hero department.

Bringing a highly intelligent animal companion onto the most secure campus in Japan just added to the unprecedented record.

"I'll see you tonight," Izuku said, opening the front door.

He walked out of the apartment complex and headed down the street.

The morning air felt cool. Izuku walked the familiar route to Tatooin Station.

Musutafu was a massive coastal city.

U.A. High School sat completely isolated atop a heavily forested mountain on the far outskirts of the region.

Walking to campus was impossible.

The daily commute required a forty-five-minute train ride from the residential districts to the base of the U.A. hill.

The commuter crowds were packed.

Businessmen in suits and students in various uniforms packed the sidewalks.

Izuku reached the station.

BEEP.

He swiped his transit card and walked down the concrete stairs to the underground platform.

The train arrived a minute later.

FSSSH.

The doors slid open.

Izuku stepped into the crowded train car.

He grabbed a hanging plastic handle and turned around to find a spot to stand.

Katsuki Bakugo leaned against the glass doors a few meters down the aisle.

Bakugo wore the exact same grey U.A. uniform. His blazer hung open and his red tie was completely untied around his collar.

They locked eyes through the crowd of morning commuters.

"Morning, Kacchan," Izuku greeted casually.

"..."

Bakugo stared at him.

He gave a single, sharp nod and looked away, watching the dark tunnel outside the window.

Bakugo crossed his arms.

He spent the entire week thinking about the entrance exam.

He dominated his testing sector and crushed every robot in his path. He knew he scored high.

He also really wanted to know Deku score.

Bakugo knew exactly what Deku was capable of.

He just absolutely refused to speak first. His pride kept his mouth shut. He would rather stand in silence for the entire trip than ask for the test results.

TOOOT-TOOOT.

The train rattled along the tracks. Izuku held the strap, letting the silence hang between them.

They rode the rest of the forty-five minutes to the U.A. campus without saying another word.

...

Step. Step

Izuku Midoriya walked down the wide, empty corridor of the U.A. High School main building.

Katsuki Bakugo walked about twenty yards ahead of him. Bakugo kept his hands stuffed inside his pockets, his pace steady.

"Meow.."

Kuro sat comfortably on Izuku's right shoulder.

The black cat looked around the massive hallway, taking in the towering ceilings and the rows of oversized doors.

"Meow.."

PURR.

Kuro let out a low purr.

He jumped off Izuku's shoulder and landed silently on the polished floor.

"Okay... I understand Kuro."

A laminated U.A. VIP security pass hung directly from his red collar.

Nezu had authorized his free roam of the campus.

Kuro flicked his tail and casually trotted down a side corridor, deciding to tour the school on his own.

Izuku smiled, watching his partner disappear around the corner.

"Highschool life begins.."

He adjusted the straps of his yellow backpack and kept walking toward the giant door marked '1-A'.

Inside the classroom, the ice was already broken.

Eighteen students had been in the room for almost forty minutes.

The initial awkwardness was completely gone, replaced by loud, overlapping conversations.

The U.A. acceptance board structured the freshman roster carefully.

The top recommendation student, Inasa Yoarashi, was placed in Class 1-B alongside the fourth and fifth-ranked examinees.

That specific roster shift opened a permanent desk in Class 1-A.

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu secured that spot.

Right now, Tetsutetsu stood in the center of the room with Eijiro Kirishima.

Tetsutetsu had his left arm turned to solid steel. Kirishima had his right arm hardened into jagged rock.

They bashed their forearms together.

CLANG.

CLANG.

"That is so manly!" Kirishima laughed, grinning wide.

"Steel beats rock any day, bro!" Tetsutetsu yelled back, slamming his arm against Kirishima again.

CLANG. CLANG.

Kyoka Jiro sat at her desk near the back wall.

'So noisy...' She twirled an earphone jack around her finger, looking out the window and trying to ignore the noise.

Fumikage Tokoyami sat a few desks away, resting his chin on his hands in total silence.

Near the front chalkboard, Denki Kaminari slumped over a desk.

"I barely got forty-two points," Denki groaned. "Thankfully I passed."

"I got forty-five," Hanta Sero agreed, crossing his arms.

Minoru Mineta nodded rapidly next to them, gripping his hair. 'So many beautiful girls, hehe...'

Mina Ashido stood nearby, chatting easily with Tsuyu Asui and Toru Hagakure.

Everyone in the room already knew the score hierarchy.

Tenya Iida held the ceiling.

He scored exactly one hundred and twenty-five points.

For the past twenty minutes, the rest of the class treated that number like an untouchable record.

SLIDE.

The heavy classroom door opened. Katsuki Bakugo walked in.

Step. Step.

He ignored the loud chatter. He didn't look at anyone.

Bakugo walked straight down the aisle to an empty desk near the back corner.

THUD.

He dropped his bag on the floor, sat down, and kicked his heavy boots up onto the desk surface.

Tenya saw it immediately. He marched straight over to the back row.

"Take your feet off that desk!" Tenya ordered. He chopped his hand through the air. "You are disrespecting the U.A. alumni who sat there before you!"

"Huh??"

Bakugo leaned back in his chair. He looked up at the tall boy with glasses.

"Who cares?" Bakugo sneered. "What middle school did you even go to, extra?"

Tenya gasped. He clenched his fists, highly offended by the casual disrespect.

SLID.

The front door slid open again.

Izuku stepped into the room.

"..."

Ochaco Uraraka stood near the front row. She spotted his green hair instantly.

"...HERE! Midoriya!" Uraraka smiled brightly. She ran over to the doorway. "I'm so glad you made it into the same class. I really wanted to thank you for one of the people who saved me."

Tenya stopped glaring at Bakugo.

He turned around, recognized Izuku, and quickly walked to the front of the room to properly introduce himself.

Yuga Aoyama struck a pose near the window, giving Izuku a sparkling nod.

Rikido Sato and Mezo Shoji sat a few desks away.

Sato leaned forward, resting his thick arms on his desk was also curious about the scores of the two new classmates.

"Hey," Aoyama said loudly.

The chatter near the front of the room paused.

Aoyama continued, pointing a finger at Izuku. "I was a few streets over. I saw the whole thing. You completely decapitated that massive Zero Pointer without taking a single scratch. It was insane, Mon Ami~."

"..."

"..."

The rest of the classroom suddenly quieted down.

Kirishima and Tetsutetsu stopped bashing their arms together.

"I saw it too! It was very manly!" Of course Kirishima also saw the whole thing.

He was a few blocks away when he saw some green-haired examinee fought the giant robot.

Everyone turned around to look at Izuku.

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck.

"I had some help from my support gear," Izuku answered.

"..." Everyone didn't believe it at all.

Uraraka tilted her head. She looked at him with genuine curiosity.

"What score did you actually get, Midoriya?" Uraraka asked.

Izuku looked around. The entire class was staring directly at him.

"I got one hundred and forty-five," Izuku said honestly.

"..."

"..."

The classroom went dead silent again.

Shoto Todoroki sat quietly at his desk in the back row. He kept his face completely blank, but his mismatched eyes locked onto Izuku.

Momo Yaoyorozu sat in the middle row. She slowly closed the textbook on her desk.

One hundred and forty-five points broke U.A. historical records.

Both Momo and Shoto entered the school through recommendations.

Momo and Shoto both realized the exact same thing at the exact same time.

Their families paid the Golden Manager a fortune for specialized Quirk Development contracts.

They absolutely needed every single hour of that upcoming training to stay competitive in this room.

Gulp.

"So insane..." Denki swallowed hard. He looked at Izuku, then slowly turned his head to look at Bakugo in the back corner.

"What about you?" Denki asked, his voice cracking.

Bakugo smirked.

He laced his fingers behind his head, keeping his boots planted firmly on the desk.

"One hundred and forty-six," Bakugo said smoothly.

He got exactly 116 villain points and 30 hero points.

Bakugo was very happy that he got first.

Chaos erupted.

"Wow! Another hundred pointer!"

Mina screamed in shock, waving her hands.

"Manly!"

Kirishima and Tetsutetsu yelled at the top of their lungs about how manly those numbers were.

"What's wrong with this class.."

"My score is below 70 points."

Sero and Denki grabbed their heads in total disbelief.

The noise level in the room doubled in a matter of seconds.

Izuku stepped further inside.

He was not surprised that Kachaan scored that high. Probably there wasn't anyone in his testing site who was able to contend with him.

While Tenya competed with him with villain points.

"Hmm?"

He looked down at the floor near the teacher's podium.

A bright yellow sleeping bag lay flat on the wooden floorboards.

ZIP.

The zipper pulled down slowly. Shota Aizawa poked his messy head out of the sleeping bag.

Uraraka and Tenya jumped backward, completely startled by the grown man lying under the desk.

Aizawa made eye contact with Izuku. He gave the green-haired kid a tiny, almost invisible nod of recognition.

Aizawa remembered the security footage perfectly. He knew exactly how dangerous Midoriya and Bakugo were.

Aizawa stood up. He shed the yellow sleeping bag, letting it drop to the floor.

"It took you lot eight seconds to finally quiet down," Aizawa said. His voice sounded flat and exhausted. "Time is limited. You kids lack rational thinking."

...

Location: Hosu City - Private Training Ground

Snatch stood fifty yards away from a row of wooden training dummies. He held his right arm out straight.

"Pull the sand from the pack," Makoto instructed, standing a safe distance behind him. "Don't just blast it. Compress it."

Snatch pulled the trigger on his gauntlet. The bio-adhesive sprayed into the air.

He commanded the charged silica in his backpack to move.

A thick stream of sand flowed out of the tank, wrapping around his right arm.

"Spin the grains," Makoto called out. "Use the centrifugal compression Kaito taught you. Force the friction."

Snatch gritted his teeth. He focused entirely on the sand coating his arm.

He visualized the microscopic grains rotating around a central axis.

The sand started to spin.

VMMMM.

A low, mechanical hum filled the air. The loose sand compressed tightly, forming a razor-thin, vibrating blade extending three feet past his hand.

"Hold the shape," Makoto ordered.

SLICE. SLICE. SLICE.

"DESERT SWORD!"

Snatch swung his arm horizontally.

The vibrating sand blade sliced cleanly through the air.

It hit the first wooden dummy and tore straight through the thick oak trunk without slowing down.

The top half of the dummy slid off and hit the dirt.

THUD.

"Finally, I managed to use it..." Snatch released his breath.

The sand blade lost its compression and fell harmlessly to the ground as loose dirt.

"Good," Makoto smiled, marking a note on her datapad.

Kaito stood near the metal fence, holding his phone to his ear.

"Principal Nezu," Kaito said.

[Good morning, Kaito!] Nezu's cheerful voice played through the speaker. [Are you busy?]

"I am currently contract with Snatch, Principal." Kaito replied, leaning against the chain-link fence. "What's up?"

[Just a friendly reminder regarding your contract] Nezu said. [Our contract for you to serve as a guest lecturer twice a month for the hero department.]

"I have it on my schedule," Kaito confirmed.

[Excellent,] Nezu continued. [I have you booked to speak in exactly five days. You will be addressing the entire hero class from the first years to third years. You have freedom what you can discuss.]

"I can do that," Kaito said.

[See you Kaito,] Nezu laughed softly.

BEEP.

--<>---

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