Hey guys, long time no see. Sorry for the long, long delay. Life - in both its good and bad moments - just gets in the way sometimes. Writer's block partly played into the delay. Anyway, here's the fifth chapter. I really enjoyed writing this one. I hope you enjoy reading it. Thanks for the support. And please, as usual, let me know what you think.

Just a quick note: I retconned something from the previous chapters about their timetable. In this chapter, they have an afternoon class after their Foundational Hero Studies class. When I have time, I'll update the previous chapters to reflect the change.

Happy new year everyone. Here's to a great 2020 and beyond!

"Midoriya? Midoriya, do you read me? Come in! Come in Midoriya!"

The distressed, panic-stricken voice of the Symbol of Peace reverberated around the surveillance room as he shouted into the microphone. With their eyes collectively glued onto the large monitor screen, Gohan Son and the other students of Class 1-A waited with bated breath for their classmate to answer their teacher's desperate call. Gohan gritted his teeth, his fingers nervously drumming against his thighs as he squinted his eyes at the monitor screen, hoping to make out the visage of Izuku.

As the rumbling aftershock that had followed the main shock of the blast came to a close, the smoke that had been generated from the attack began to dissipate, affording the onlookers of the exercise a clearer view of the battle scene. The aftermath of the massive explosion caused by Katsuki Bakugo's attack had devastated much of the ground floor; a significant portion of the cement wall of the building having been blown apart by the blast, splintering the wall into fragments of stone, brick and concrete that decorated the floor of the room as misshapen rubble and debris.

Once the smoke had fully cleared, Gohan let out a deep sigh of relief as the thin, scraggy form of Izuku came into view. He lay on the ground on his back, but as Izuku struggled to get up from the floor, the half-saiyan saw that with the exception of his tattered hero costume, his green-haired friend had emerged mostly unscathed from Bakugo's attack.

"Man, what the hell was that?" The stunned silence that had befallen the students of Class 1-A was broken by Hanta Sero. "That was freaking insane! That blast was super dangerous - he could've killed Midoriya!"

"What the hell is wrong with that Bakugo guy?" Kyoka Jiro did not bother to hide her exasperation at their hot-headed classmate. "Even if he is playing the part of a villain, that was an incredibly stupid move."

Momo Yaoyorozu nodded in agreement. "Bakugo's employing a foolish and needlessly volatile strategy. He should never have unleashed such a destructive attack like that in an indoor environment, especially within the confines of a narrow hallway."

"The dude's powerful and obviously pretty talented, but he seems like such a total asshole," Denki Kaminari remarked with a furrowed brow, before quickly muttering under his breath. "I wouldn't want to be in Midoriya's shoes right now."

Gohan pursed his lips, and found himself clenching his hands into fists as he watched a cackling Bakugo emerge from the dissipating smoke, elated by the results of his explosive attack. His own thoughts fell in line with the sentiments expressed by his classmates.

The attack that his rash classmate has inflicted against Izuku had been reckless and extremely irresponsible. He had been heedlessly careless and needlessly incautious; there had been no need for Bakugo to unleash such a damaging and madcap attack. As much as it loathed him to admit it, from what he had seen of Midoriya and Bakugo during both the exercise and the apprehension test, it was clear that the latter possessed a martial advantage over his green-haired friend. Bakugo had far greater control of his Quirk, and from the brief flashes of martial prowess he had displayed, was a better fighter than Izuku.

He's so caught up by whatever grudge he has against Izuku that he's intentionally ignoring the parameters of the exercise. His hatred of Izuku is causing him to be irrational.

Gohan quietly gulped. With an Explosion Quirk, irrational thinking was highly dangerous. As Bakugo strode towards a frightened Midoriya, the half-saiyan's heart swelled with pity.

Come on Midoriya, you're gonna have to use your Quirk. You and Uraraka can win this. I believe in you guys.

"Hey guys, it seems like that Uraraka girl is about to make her move against the knight guy." Rikido Sato's observation tore Gohan and much of the class' gazes away from the aftermath of Bakugo's attack to the confrontation between Uraraka and Iida on the fifth floor. Ochaco had taken advantage of the aftershock caused by Bakugo's powerful explosion, and had made a run for the payload as Tenya attempted to contact his partner.

As Tenya drew his attention back towards Ochaco, the brown-haired girl activated her gravity cancellation Quirk and made herself float into the air above Iida. This surprised Gohan, as he had not realised that the girl could make herself float. He had incorrectly assumed that she could only nullify the gravity around other physical articles.

Nearing the mock weapon, Ochaco cancelled the effect of her Quirk, in the hopes of touching it before Tenya could stop her. However, the speed granted by Tenya's Quirk proved too great, curbing her valiant effort. Before she could make contact, Tenya quickly moved the nuclear weapon to the other side of the room. Startled, Ochaco fell hard towards the floor, the sudden stop in acceleration causing her to roll back and slam against the lower wall.

Tenya's Quirk is really incredible. And Uraraka as well. Gohan was highly impressed with the aptitude that both his friends were displaying in this exercise. If it wasn't for his obvious advantage in speed, that type of move would've worked.

Unfortunately for Uraraka, making another dash for the payload would not work. Tenya's Engine Quirk afforded him the ability to move the weapon out of her reach. If she wished to capture the weapon, then she would have to think of another strategy. Without backup, the only way Gohan saw her coming into contact with the weapon was if she managed to somehow subdue Tenya long enough for Izuku to assist her. That would require however for Midoriya to defeat his ash-blonde foe.

Back on the bottom floor, it appeared to Gohan and the rest of the students that Bakugo was continuing to goad Midoriya into attacking him. Izuku seemed to not be falling for his bait, and was instead trying to make contact with his partner. This only seemed to further agitate an already frustrated Bakugo.

"Sir, isn't this situation getting out of hand?" A concerned Eijiro Kirishima asked their teacher, who was staring anxiously at the monitor. "That Bakugo guy is acting real crazy. He might even kill him."

"Not so," All Might said in a surprisingly soft voice. "Despite his fierce postering, it's quite clear that he's not actually trying to kill Midoriya. In saying that, that does not make an attack on that level okay. Midoriya did nothing to necessitate such an aggressive resort."

All Might raised the mic in his hand to his mouth. "Young Bakugo, use that stored up power again and I'll stop this fight. Your team will lose."

On screen, Bakugo seemed flabbergasted by All Might's rebuke. "If it wasn't clear before, then it is definitely clear now. Using such an attack indoors is inviting the destruction of the stronghold that you as a villain should be protecting. A poor strategy, whether it be a hero or a villain. The penalty will be a massive loss in points."

I didn't even consider the villain perspective. Gohan thought. Yeah, it makes sense. A level-headed villain wouldn't want his hideout to be destroyed, even though it's already been compromised by a band of heroes.

The half-saiyan made sure to file that a mental note for his own battle trial. He would have to be careful when potentially using any ki attacks, even if it came to that. Even a small blast of energy could be destructive if not handled properly.

However marginal their effect, All Might's words seemed to somewhat calm Bakugo down. Or at the very least, Gohan felt that All Might's reprimand reminded Bakugo that he was participating in an exercise and not a real battle. Bakugo growled, before launching himself at Midoriya, catching Izuku by surprise with the abruptness of his charge. Before either combatants could land a hit, Bakugo suddenly used an explosive blast to redirect his trajectory in the air, propelling himself over Izuku. Before the green-haired teen could react, Bakugo took the opportunity to blast Izuku in the back with another small explosion.

Gohan and the rest of Class 1-A let out a small gasp of surprise as Midoriya was forcibly knocked forward. As Izuku stumbled, the half-saiyan could not help but wince upon seeing his friend's pained face. That explosion appeared to have really hurt.

"What kinda move was that?" Kirishima asked aloud.

"I'm actually surprised that he was smart enough to pull something like that off," Gohan and several others turned to look at the soft-spoken Shoto Todoroki, who had narrowed his gaze towards the screen. "He doesn't come off with a guy with a strategy, but he's actually quite intelligent."

Beneath his helmet, Gohan frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Shoto inclined his head towards the screen. "Did you not see? He changed his trajectory while midair with a blast that fronted as a smokescreen. That's actually quite clever. A feint attack like that, it requires an extreme amount of precision."

"And a careful calculation of the physics," Yaoyorozu added. "Combining that with the fact that Bakugo has a clear understanding of his Quirk's capabilities, he was able to circumvent Midoriya's counter-attack and successfully lodge an effective blow of his own."

"Man, Kaminari was right. This Bakugo guy is really skilled," Mashirao Ojiro seemed reluctant with his praise. "I'm actually kinda jealous. Even if I had that kinda Quirk, I don't think I would've thought of something like that."

Gohan had to admit that Todoroki and Yaoyorozu made extremely valid points. The fact that Bakugo was able to employ an attack like that spoke demonstrated his tactical sensibilities; an adroit mind that was well suited towards both combat and martial strategy. For a human, Bakugo was definitely an accomplished individual. And Gohan was sure that with the training offered by U.A., he would only grow his talents further.

Before Izuku could recover from the attack, Bakugo lunged once more, striking Midoriya's exposed elbow with a right hook. As Izuku cried out in pain, Bakugo grabbed Midoriya's arm and used his free arm to fire off a series of small explosions from his gauntlet, building enough momentum before slamming Izuku onto the ground.

Damn it. Gohan grimaced as Izuku lay sprawled on the ground. This is getting out of hand. Bakugo's relentless. He's not giving Izuku anytime to strategise.

"This is getting really hard to watch. All he has to do is wrap tape around him, right? He doesn't have to kill him!" Mina Ashido squeaked.

"Midoriya had the advantage earlier on, but now the tables have turned against him." Toru said, her voice filled with sympathy for their green-haired classmate.

"Yeah. I hate to say it, but the poor guy can't match that level of natural talent. Bakugo's just so damn freaking good." Sato remarked.

"Indeed. Even the role of a villain comes almost like second nature to him." Fumikage Tokoyami murmured quietly.

Gohan looked to their teacher. A troubled expression had beset the face of the Symbol of Peace. All Might was staring intently at the monitor screen through gritted teeth, his trembling hands tightening their hold around the microphone. It seemed to the half-saiyan that their teacher was internally debating whether to stop the exercise or allow it to continue.

I don't envy All Might. If I were in his position, I honestly would not know what to do in this situation. Gohan thought solemnly as he turned his attention back to the screen.

"He's running away!" Ashido observed as Izuku quickly scrambled across the floor away from Bakugo, creating distance between himself and his opponent.

"It's not really manly, but he doesn't really have a choice. Midoriya's outgunned," Kirishima inclined his head. "Unless...unless he has some sort of plan?"

"It's definitely possible," Gohan found himself saying. "We shouldn't discount Izuku yet. He can still win this. Besides, he still hasn't used his Quirk."

"Is it even worth it though?" Her eyes fixed on the screen, Tsuyu Asui tilted her head to the left. "From what we saw during the apprehension test, his Quirk severely damages the part of his body that it is channelled through. Right now, even the slightest misstep could do more harm than good. With all the power that his Quirk seemingly gives him...if he does decide to use it, he's gonna have to make it count, ribbit."

She's right. Gohan realised, as Izuku crawled his way to the other side of the room and got back up on his feet. If his Quirk really does injure his body, then he only has one shot against Bakugo.

A glowering Bakugo began striding towards Izuku, and it appeared to the half-saiyan that he was attempting to goad Izuku into fighting him. Although he could not hear the conversation being exchanged between the two former friends, his tactics appeared to have worked; Bakugo's words provoked a frustrated reaction from his green-haired classmate.

Izuku yelled something at Bakugo, the tears that had welled up in his eyes cascading down his cheeks like a rushing waterfall, before running forward. A stunned silence had befallen the students of Class 1-A as Izuku sprinted towards his opponent.

A snarling Bakugo responded in kind, launching himself at Izuku. As the two began to draw close, Izuku pulled back his right arm as familiar-looking red-coloured veins coursed through his arm, which pulsated with glowing energy.

As Bakugo's hands began to steam with heat, Gohan's breath hitched, as he realised that Izuku was attempting to knock the ash-blonde teenager out with one punch. If the attack failed to connect, then he would be vulnerable to a devastating counterattack. One that Gohan was unsure that he could recover from.

"Please sir, you have to stop this!" Kirishima begged to their teacher. "They're gonna kill each other!"

Kirishima's plea seemed to have broken through to a tightly wound All Might. Grinding his teeth, the trembling Symbol of Peace raised his microphone to his mouth and said, "Midoriya and Bakugo: stop this now! Both of you-"

Izuku shouted something into the transceiver device that caused All Might to halt his command. On the fifth floor, Gohan and the other students saw Uraraka grab onto the pillar nearest to her. Before anyone could speak, Izuku hurled his arm into the air in the form of an uppercut. The sudden force created by the vertical motion generated an enormous vortex of rotating wind that wreathed throughout the entire building, shattering the windows and smashing through the multiple floors, before bursting through the roof of the building.

As the tornado of wind swirled dislodged pieces of rubble and debris through the air, Gohan and the remainder of his class could not help but let out small gasps of surprise. No one had expected Izuku to perform such a daring move, especially when faced against a fierce opponent such as Katsuki Bakugo.

Back on the fifth floor, Uraraka used her Quirk to negate the gravity around the pillar that she was holding onto, allowing her to lift it into the air with ease. Class 1-A watched in amazement as a grinning Uraraka swung the pillar, sending the debris that floated between herself and Iida flying towards her startled opponent, who attempted to guard his face. Ochaco used the opening afforded to her to float over the distracted Tenya and grab onto the weapon.

On the ground floor, the thin layer of smoke that had been generated from Midoriya's fiery collision with Bakugo began to clear, allowing Class 1-A to view the aftermath of Izuku's attack. As his friend collapsed to the floor unconscious, Gohan felt his heart flutter with both unease and worry as he saw the damaged state that Izuku's right arm was in.

The deformed limb was nowhere near the worst injury that the half-saiyan had ever seen, but it nonetheless pained him to see his friend in such a mangled and limp state. Although he had only known Izuku for a few weeks, he had quickly come to take a great liking to the good-hearted and earnest green-haired teenager.

Gohan sighed, casting his gaze to the floor. Izuku did not deserve to suffer like this. Though his Quirk was very powerful, he just could not handle the physical backlash. If Izuku did not find a way to use his Quirk with no repercussions - or at the very least minimise the damage it did to his body - then his prospects as a hero looked rather slim.

The implications of such a circumstance saddened the half-saiyan. It would be extremely difficult for Izuku to even make it through the U.A. course without gaining control over his Quirk. He could not even imagine how Izuku would be able to function as a hero with such an awesome yet devastatingly self-damaging power.

The timer on the monitor screen reached zero, signaling that the first match of the battle trials had come to an end.

"The indoor combat training is over. The...the hero team...WINS!" All Might suddenly announced, his loud voice breaking through the stunned silence that had shrouded the surveillance room.

Although his mind was preoccupied with concern for Izuku, Gohan allowed a small smile to cross over his lips. It dawned on him that it had been Ochaco who had ultimately secured a victory for Team A; the hero team had prevailed in their battle against the villain team.

"Man, what a weird way for this to end," Kaminari said. "The losers are practically untouched yet the winners are both on the ground."

Gohan looked up at the screen. Kaminari was correct. An exhausted Ochaco had fallen to the ground, vomiting as a concerned Tenya tried to comfort her. Izuku remained sprawled on the ground, inert as a stunned Bakugo towered over him. Though Bakugo appeared to have been unmolested by Izuku's uppercut, a dazed expression had fallen over his face, his red eyes wide with shock and disbelief. To the half-saiyan surprise, it appeared that the normally explosive ash-blonde teenager was at a loss for words; Katsuki Bakugo was struggling to comprehend the fact that his team had lost the match.

Tokoyami lowered his head, closing his eyes as he said, "How does that old saying go? I guess you could say the heroes lost the battle but won the war."

"This class is so intense." Ashido remarked.

"I hope my match isn't as hardcore as that one." Mineta murmured to himself.

"I feel bad for Midoriya. The poor little guy got slammed. But...I'm gonna be honest, I'm glad I wasn't paired against Bakugo. He would've fried me!" Sero chuckled nervously.

"I just hope that in my match I get the chance to prove my worth! I can't wait to show what I can do!" Kirishima exclaimed, grinning as he slammed his fists together.

"I guess this is what we should expect from our time at U.A." Mezo Shoji muttered under his breath.

All Might cleared his throat, bringing the attention of Class 1-A back to the number-one hero. "Now that the match is over, it is time for review. I will check on Midoriya and have him sent to Recovery Girl' office. While I bring Bakugo, Uraraka and Iida back for their critique, I want you all to think long and hard on how the participants conducted themselves during the exercise as well as their overall performance."

With that, the Symbol of Peace left the surveillance room. As soon as he had left, the students began discussing amongst themselves the outcome of the first match.

Kaminari turned to Ashido and said, "Damn, that really was so intense. I gotta be honest - I really didn't expect the hero team to win. I thought for sure the villains had it in the bag. I mean, that Bakugo dude was owning Midoriya near the end of it. And Iida was giving Uraraka a run for her zeni as well."

"Yeah, I'm kinda surprised that Midoriya and Uraraka managed to pull off a win like that," Ashido admitted. "Bakugo and Iida had them both against the ropes for a lot of that match, but in the end, the heroes were able to steal the victory."

"That Bakugo is a piece of work, but I gotta admit, he's a pretty talented guy," Sato said aloud. "And Iida did a great job as well. If Midoriya hadn't directed that insane attack towards the ceiling, I don't think Uraraka would've been able to break past him."

"There's something that I don't really get. Why did Midoriya wait until that moment in the end to use that Quirk of his? Why didn't he use it earlier against Bakugo?" Hagakure asked the rest of the class.

"Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. He could've saved himself a lot of trouble if he had just knocked Bakugo out earlier." Sero remarked, nodding his head towards the invisible girl.

"It was the only way that Midoriya and his partner had any chance at winning," Many of the students turned once again to Todoroki, who fixed his vacant stare towards the monitor screen. "The way his Quirk seems to work, despite the indomitable power it gives him, the backlash severely damages the part of the body that he directs it to. Imagine if he had used it earlier and Bakugo had dodged his attack…"

Kirishima softly whistled. "He would've been left right open. Bakugo would've absolutely wrecked him."

Asui placed her right hand on her chin, "So…Midoriya either knew beforehand that he had no chance at defeating Bakugo in close-quarter combat, or realised it pretty quickly. With or without his Quirk. He put all his trust in Uraraka. He intentionally sacrificed his arm in order to provide her an opening, ribbit."

"Considering the disadvantage he has, I guess that was the only thing he could do," Shoji said.

"Indeed. Given the circumstances, he has no other choice but to use his Quirk. Yet we must consider the significant amount of damage that one punch did to his arm." Yaoyorozu knitted her eyebrows, her face settling into a dour expression. "There is no doubt that Midoriya possesses a powerful Quirk. As it currently stands, however, his Quirk is a dangerous liability to both himself and potentially those around him. If I am to be frank, I have concerns for his future prospects as a pro hero."

"His Quirk only manifested fairly recently," Gohan found himself unable to resist the urge to defend his friend. "Unlike the rest of us, he hasn't really had any time to get a grasp of his powers. It's all new to him. Given enough time and practice, I'm sure that he'll be able to get a good handle over his Quirk."

"And if he doesn't? What if he is unable to master his Quirk? What do you think will happen then?" Yaoyorozu narrowed her stern gaze towards the half-saiyan. "I don't mean to sound harsh. Nor do I wish to belittle Midoriya's resolve. I truly wish him the best in all his endeavors. But I am simply trying looking at his situation objectively. I understand that the two of you are friendly, but right now, given what we have seen of his Quirk, his chances of passing the U.A. Hero Course look rather slim."

"You don't know that. None of us know that. No one here knows what the future will hold," Gohan insisted. "By the time we graduate, for all we know, Midoriya could easily rise up to be one of the strongest in our class."

"I hate to say it, Son, but Yaoyorozu kinda has a point," Asui croaked softly. "I mean, it's definitely possible that in the future, Midoriya will eventually be able to use his Quirk in a way that doesn't destroy his limbs. But when will that be? By the time that happens, it's likely that he'll simply be too far behind. While the rest of us have progressed steadily through the Hero Course, he'll be struggling to catch up. Maybe...maybe in that case, Mr. Aizawa will actually go through with what he threatened to do yesterday: he will have him expelled from U.A."

"Midoriya definitely has potential though. Especially if he's able to master that awesome Quirk of his," Kirishima asserted enthusiastically. "Even if he fails to pass the first year, that doesn't mean that he's automatically expelled. I mean, if he gets a grip on that Quirk of his, maybe they'll hold him back and have him repeat the year. It'll delay his path to becoming a hero, but he'll still get there in the end."

Jiro shook her head in response to Kirishima. "Do you really think U.A.'s the type of hero academia that allows their students to repeat a year? This place has a reputation for a reason. They demand the very best of their students. I feel bad for the guy, but like Asui said, if Midoriya can't keep up with the rest of us…"

There was no need for Jiro to finish her sentence. The implication of her words was plainly laid out for the entire class to comprehend. U.A. would not give Izuku a second chance. His green-haired friend would need to find quickly find a way to significantly minimise or altogether eliminate the backlash the force of his movements impeded upon him. If he did not, then his dream of becoming a professional hero would come to a sudden and abrupt end.

Damnit. Yaoyorozu, Asui and Jiro - all three of them were right. Gohan lowered his head in defeat. I wish I could help him, but I have no idea as to how his Quirk works. If only I knew. I could give him some guidance. I could even tra-

"I'M BACK!" Gohan's musings were interrupted by the sudden return of All Might. "And I have brought your classmates back with me for a critique of the first match!"

With the exception of Midoriya, the combatants of the first battle trial drudgingly followed their teacher into the surveillance room, disheveled and worse for wear. Although Uraraka had seemingly recovered from her bout of vomiting, she still appeared pale and nauseous. In contrast to her ordinarily bubbly nature, she looked rather dispirited. Similarly, Gohan could see a despondent and melancholic glint to Iida's intense stare. It seemed to the half-saiyan that the failure of the villain team to secure the victory was heavily weighing on him.

The person who caught Gohan's attention the most was Bakugo. He would have thought that the ash-blonde teenager would be ablaze with unequivocal fury, seething and glowering at the class with incandescent scorching rage.

To Gohan's surprise, that was not the case. The normally explosive Bakugo looked absolutely shell-shocked; his crimson-red eyes gleamed with an intense flicker of shock and disbelief as he walked silently into the room. There was no anger. There was not a hint of fervent, uncontrollable aggression. His face was plastered with a dazed, dumbfounded expression. It seemed to the half-saiyan as if someone had knocked the wind out of him.

"My young heroes-in-training, I want you all to know this. It does not matter whether you win or lose. You can always take something away from your performance. Both the bad and the good. You can always work to better yourself." All Might told Class 1-A, before directing the three combatants to face the rest of the class at the front of the room.

"Well, in spite of the results..." A large grin spread across All Might's tanned face. "The MVP of this exercise is young Iida!"

With the exception of Uraraka and Bakugo, the entire classroom gasped. Ironically, it seemed that bespectacled teenager was the most astounded by All Might's surprise announcement.

"But...shouldn't it be one of the heroes instead?" Asui asked, tilting her head to the side. "Since they're the winners?"

All Might placed his hands against his hips, and leaned his upper body forward. "That is indeed a valid question, young Asui. Why didn't I choose either Uraraka or Midoriya?"

The Symbol of Peace raised his muscled arm into the air. "Would anyone care to venture a guess?"

Before Gohan could think on All Might's question, Yaoyorozu raised her hand. "Sir, I believe I can tell answer your question. Iida embraced this challenge wholeheartedly. Unlike Bakugo, Midoriya or Uraraka, he was the only one of the four to truly adapt to his assigned role. Bakugo's judgment was clouded by a personal grudge against Midoriya. As you pointed out earlier, launching a large-scale attack indoors was a foolish move. It could've been disastrous.

"Similarly, Midoriya's plan was also poorly thought out, especially considering the amount of damage he received. He rendered himself helpless. As for Uraraka, she let her guard down mid-battle, and her final attack was far too reckless given the hypothetical stakes. If she had treated the fake weapon as if it were real, she never would have risked using such an imprecise move."

She lowered her hand, and continued by saying, "Iida was fully prepared for his opponent's arrival. He had a strategy and never lost sight of his mission to protect the dummy weapon, even if he was spoiled in the end. Technically the hero team won, yes, but they took advantage of the fact that this was training. They didn't respect the spirit of the trial."

Yaoyorozu concluded her speech by simply closing her eyes. As the expression on Iida's face morphed into one of teary joy and satisfaction, the rest of the class simply stared at Yaoyorozu in stunned silence. Gohan himself was speechless. He had barely had time to even comprehend All Might's question before she had raised her hand in response. Though blunt, the observations that she had offered as her answer were incredibly thorough and insightful, and were clearly indicative of someone with an astute and intuitive mind.

Gohan could not help but stare at the buxom girl. She was really perceptive and observant. And brutally honest.

From the flustered look on All Might's face, it appeared to the half-saiyan that the Symbol of Peace was just as taken aback by her detailed response as he and the rest of the class. "Um, well yes, you overlooked a few things. Young Iida could've relaxed a little bit during the exercise. But otherwise ...you nailed it!"

All Might extended to Yaoyorozu a thumbs-up. "Excellent job!"

But Yaoyorozu was not finished. She turned to face the rest of the class, and placed her hands on her waist. "One should always start with the basics and devote themselves wholeheartedly to learning. That's the only real way to becoming a real hero."

If someone had walked into the room at that very moment, Gohan would not be surprised if they assumed that the tall girl with the spiky black ponytail was their teacher instead of All Might. Yaoyorozu seemed very mature and prudent for her age.

While the rest of the class continued to stare senselessly at Yaoyorozu, All Might withdrew a DynoCap from his pocket and clicked it open, dropping it to his feet. Upon the clearing of the small cloud of smoke, it revealed once more the "HEROES" and "VILLAINS" boxes.

"Alright then, time to blow this joint," All Might said. "We're gonna move on the next match. Think about everything you saw and discussed as you tackle this training yourself."

"Yes sir!" The entire class chorused in response.

As All Might began rifling his hands through the boxes, the three competitors of the previous matchup rejoined the rest of the students.

"Hey guys, you both did a terrific job," As both Uraraka and Iida came over to stand by him, he offered the pair a double-thumbs-up. "And Iida, congratulations on making MVP."

Tenya bowed his head towards Gohan. "Thank you, Son. I must admit, I did not foresee such an outcome occurring. While I am pleased, I was convinced that either Uraraka or Midoriya would be proclaimed as the MVP of the match. Despite the recklessness of their final plan, they worked far better as a team than Bakugo and myself. I did the best I could, but I'm afraid that it was not good enough."

"Nonsense. You did a great job. It's not your fault that Bakugo is such a...hot-head. Like Yaoyorozu said, you adapted to your role the best. You should be proud of your efforts." Gohan told him.

The half-saiyan turned to Uraraka. The petite, brown-haired girl still looked rather glum. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay, Uraraka? You look somewhat pale."

Ochaco nodded. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking Gohan. My stomach was in complete jitters a few minutes ago, but I'm all good now. I'm just...I'm just worried for Deku, that's all."

"I'm sure Izuku will be fine. All Might would have mentioned something if he had suffered a life-threatening injury. The nurse will look after him." Gohan reassured her.

The Symbol of Peace glanced down at the two balls that he had pulled out from the boxes. A wide grin swept across his face as he saw the combination that he had drawn.

He showcased the balls to the rest of the class, announcing, "Match Two will see Team B as the hero team and Team H as the villain team! I ask now for the hero and villain teams to come forward."

Gohan took in a long, deep breath, before slowly exhaling. He couldn't help but be slightly surprised that his team was up so soon, and that both Asui and himself would constitute as the villain team. However, that was simply the luck of the draw. He turned his gaze to his partner, who simply nodded her head towards him. The pair stepped forward and joined Team B at the front of the class.

The half-saiyan took a quick look at the heroes, who both stood beside him. The hero team composed of the powerfully built Mezo Shoji and the chilly Shoto Todoroki. The former's hero costume consisted of a tight blue tank-top decorated with six white markings resembled eyes, connected at the top to a darker, indigo-coloured mask. His belt bore another, larger eye shape embedded into the centre, this time yellow, below which he wore slightly baggy trousers to match his shirt and indigo boots.

Todoroki had adopted a simpler approach. He wore a plain off-white shirt with matching pants and zipper boots, with two gold-coloured straps that went over his shoulders. The most noticeable aspect of his hero costume was that the whole left side of his body - as well as the entire left side of his head - was covered in a material that resembled ice. It was certainly an interesting and rather striking design choice that contrasted visually with the rest of his attire. It definitely helped him stand out amongst the students.

So these two are the ones we'll be facing, huh? Gohan thought as he carefully eyed up his opponents. They both look like they mean business.

If Gohan remembered correctly, from what he had seen of the sturdy Shoji during Eraserhead's apprehension test, he possessed considerable strength and speed, as well as the ability to duplicate his body parts. His partner, on the other hand, had the power to create, shape and manipulate ice. It was the belief of the half-saiyan that both heroes possessed Quirks of impressive stature.

Todoroki's Quirk might be the main issue. Gohan noted, briefly looking at his own partner. Asui appears to have the physiology of a frog. Since frogs are cold-blooded creatures, that means that she's highly sensitive to the cold. In order to neutralise her as a threat, the only thing Todoroki has to do is expose her to sudden cold.

Looking between Asui and Todoroki, Gohan made a mental note to discuss the problem with Asui as soon as he could. They would have to take special consideration of her Quirk's weaknesses when formulating their plan against the hero team.

"Oh man, I didn't expect Son to be up so soon!" Kirishima grinned. "Considering that this is the guy who broke All Might's record, I can't wait to see what he can do. With a Quirk like that, he must be a total beast in combat."

"I still remember watching him destroy all those robots during the entrance exam like that," Kaminari clicked his fingers in order to emphasise his point. "He made it look so freaking easy. The dude's like a total freak of nature. And I mean that in the best way possible."

"The other three have pretty cool Quirks as well. I can't wait to see how Son and Asui matchup against Todoroki and Shoji." Sato said.

"No kidding dude. I gotta feeling that this match is gonna be so awesome!" Ashido exclaimed.

"Good luck Gohan!" Ochaco cast him an encouraging smile.

"Settle down, settle down." All Might cleared his throat, putting a premature end to the discussion that arose following the drawing of the second match.

"Todoroki, Shoji, Son and Asui, please come with me. I'll be escorting the four of you to Battle Building B for your trial," All Might turned to address the class. "Everyone else, please wait here. I'll be back shortly."

All Might once again took his leave of the surveillance room. It did not take long for both the hero and villain teams to trail after the Symbol of Peace, leaving their remainder of Class 1-A to anticipate amongst themselves the outcome of the second battle trial.

In spite of the Symbol of Peace's earnest effort to liven the journey to Battle Building B with some chatter, both the hero and villain teams were unresponsive to his attempts at making light conversation. As such, the trek through the fake metropolitan area was mostly conducted in silence. As Gohan and his partner joined Todoroki and Shoji in following the number-one hero, the half-saiyan found that his mind was abuzz with a smattering of thoughts.

It's really important that I don't show off too much. I don't want to take away from the efforts of others. Especially my teammate. Gohan glanced Asui, her face expressionless as she walked beside him. But her weakness...well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

"Ah, here we are my young charges! Battle Building B!" All Might ushered the four students to stand before the door of a large urban building. "While I suspect that the four of you have already familiarised yourself with the rules of the exercise, I will remind you of them anyway. Young Todoroki, young Shoji, in order to win, you must secure the payload hidden somewhere in the building or capturing your opponents within the 15-minute time limit. Similarly, young Son and young Asui, a victory for the villains would see that you either successfully protect the weapon or defeat the heroes. Do you understand what is required of you?"

In response, the four students nodded. With a wide grin, the Symbol of Peace reached into his belt bag and produced an assortment of items for both the hero and villain teams to view.

"Remember to use the capture tape to neutralise a defeated opponent," All Might gave each student a roll of tape, before moving onto the next article of interest. "I'll give each of you a map of the building. For the villains however, the location of the dummy weapon is marked on your respective maps with a red dot."

Gohan quickly scanned his copy of the map and found that the red dot was marked on the fourth level of the building. Specifically, the payload was located in one of the rooms situated within the middle of the floor. He looked to his partner, who confirmed her recognition of the weapon's location with a slight nod.

"The final piece of the puzzle: transceivers," All Might handed the hero and villain teams their respective transceiver, as well as the corresponding radio earpiece. "These bad boys combine a transmitter and a receiver into one single package. A two-way audio transceiver. Use them to communicate with your partners. If need be, I'll also be able to contact the four of you individually or as a pair."

Gohan stared at the two small electronic devices in his gloved hand, a sudden realisation coming to his mind as he recalled what Bulma had told him about his hero costume. His suit was installed with a built-in communications system that was able to operate as a radio transceiver. He technically did not either the transceiver or radio earpiece offered by All Might. However, he decided against using the comms system. He felt that it would be too much of a hassle to ask All Might for the radio frequency address to link his suit to Tsuyu's device.

With a small sigh, Gohan unlatched the neck hinges located near the bottom of his helmet and took the headgear off, blinking away the expected wave of blurriness as he eyes adjusted to the sudden exposure to sunlight. Tucking his helmet underneath his left arm, he used his right hand to attach the radio earpiece to the outer opening of his ear.

As he put his helmet back on, All Might flashed a thumbs-up at the four students. "Now that we've got that out of the way, it's time to begin. Once the villain pair enter the building, both teams will be given five minutes to prepare. Once I've announced that five minutes has elapsed, the exercise will officially commence."

Beckoning Gohan and Asui to step forward, the number-one hero placed his large, callused hands on his waist and looked down at the hero pair. "Young Son and young Asui, remember that the key to being successful in this challenge is to embody villainy. Keep in mind the things both myself and young Yaoyorozu spoke of in regards to Bakugo and Iida's performance. Be smart. Be logical. Avoid foolishness. Don't be rash and too hot-headed. Work together and coordinate as a team. Think from the perspective of an evil-doer when formulating a plan of attack.

"Your main priority is protecting the nuclear weapon at all costs. In saying that, I have faith that neither yourselves or the hero team will go overboard like young Bakugo. However, if things get out of hand, I will step in and intervene. Do you both understand?"

"Yes sir." Both Gohan and Asui nodded in affirmation.

All Might grinned at the pair, before opening the door to the building. "Splendid. Alright then, you bad guys can go in and get set up. Good luck to you both."

With that, Gohan and his partner stepped inside the building, the door closing behind them, signifying the start of their preparation time.

The hero pair began walking down the narrow, dimly-lit hallway. Gohan glanced down at his map. "If I'm reading this correctly, there should be a staircase situated near the right-end corner of this floor that should take us all the way to the fourth floor. If we-"

"You've already figured it out, haven't you?" Asui asked abruptly.

Gohan turned to look at his partner, his helmeted face concealing a look of befuddlement. "Figured out what?"

"Todoroki. Specifically how his Quirk complicates things. Shoji seems strong, but he shouldn't be difficult to handle. Todoroki's ice Quirk, on the other hand, presents us a huge problem. Especially for me and my amphibian physiology," Asui tilted her head towards Gohan. "When we were walking here, I noticed that you were glancing frequently between Todoroki and myself. It seemed to me that you recognised the problem as soon as All Might paired our teams against each other and that you were trying to figure out a solution."

Gohan had thought that he had been inconspicuous, but that appeared to have not been the case. "Um, yes. You're correct. I didn't want to say anything before since I was worried that Todoroki or Shoji would overhear us."

"That was smart. But since we're alone now, once we get to the fourth floor, we should take the time we have to prepare to think of a way to circumvent Todoroki's Quirk. We can canvas the area and see what we can work with. Otherwise, I'll only prove to be a liability to our team," Asui stroked her chin. "Todoroki is bound to be tough. Did you know that he was one of the four students to have gotten into U.A. High based solely on recommendations? I'll admit I'm surprised that his Quirk's ice-based. Especially considering who his father is, I thought his Quirk would've been related to fire."

"His father? Is he a pro hero?"

"Wait...you don't know? The name Todoroki - you don't recognise it?" When he shook his head, Asui knitted her eyebrows, her dark eyes narrowing in a slight surprise. "He's the son of the pro hero Endeavor."

Beneath his helmet, Gohan's onyx eyes widened. Although the half-saiyan was admittedly nowhere near as knowledgeable about the various Japanese pro heroes in comparison to his classmates and peers, even he was aware of who Endeavor was. He was the number-two hero in Japan; he was second only to All Might himself. From what Gohan had seen on the television, the Flame Hero was a tall, sturdily-built and stern-looking man whose body seemed to be ablaze with streaming orange-red flames.

He didn't appear as frequently as heroes such as All Might or Hawks on the afternoon news bulletin, nor did his harsh and imposing appearance win him much love, but he was still one of the top heroes for a reason. He performed the duties of a professional hero extremely well.

"Wow, really? I had no idea Todoroki was the son of Endeavor," Gohan said, placing a finger on the chin-guard of his helmet. "So we have the son of a top hero in our class, huh? That's pretty cool. I guess we're really gonna have to be on our guard."

"Absolutely. However, as long as we actually work as a team, we should be fine." Tsuyu looked down at her map. "We're nearing the stairway. We should really hurry up. We don't really have any time to waste. "

"Right. Let's go."

Upon reaching the staircase, the two students climbed the flight of stairs until they found themselves on the fourth floor. With the assistance of their map, the villain team navigated through the corridors of the level until they came upon their destination. As the map had indicated, the dummy weapon was situated in the middle of a small and relatively barren room located near the centre of the floor. Save for a few scattered barrels and pieces of debris dispersed across the floor, the only thing of note in the area besides the weapon was a moderately-sized window located on the wall of the far-right side of the room.

"So this is the thing we're supposed to protect, huh?" As the pair gathered around the payload, Gohan lightly tapped his finger against the surface of the large, black bomb. "If I didn't know it was a fake, I'd almost think it was real."

"We have around two and a half minutes until All Might starts the clock, ribbit. We should start planning our defence," Asui clasped her hands together and rested her knuckles beneath her lower lip. "Before we make any conclusive decisions on how we approach things, I think we should consider each other's Quirks and get a rundown on our strengths and weaknesses. Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I saw yesterday during the apprehension test, your Quirk augments your physical body and allows you to fly right?"

Gohan turned his attention away from the weapon and back towards his partner. "Yeah, pretty much. My...uh Quirk is called Superhuman. It gives me super strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, endurance, etc, as well as the ability to fly. I didn't use it yesterday, but I also have the ability to harness and manipulate my life-force energy. I can shoot energy beams and blasts from my hands, and control the level of power and damage that those attacks inflict.

"I can also erect energy barriers that I can use to shield myself from damage. As long as they don't suppress it, I also have the ability to sense the location people by detecting their ki. No matter how faint is it, if they have a ki signature, I can detect their presence and movement."

The short girl pursed her lips. "That's...that's really impressive, ribbit. I had no idea you could manipulate your life-energy. I've heard rumours that that Satan City vigilante the Golden Warrior in addition to his ability to fly can also manipulate ki. I don't think even a hero as powerful as All Might can simultaneously fly and shoot energy beams. The only person I can think of who has similar powers to you is Son Goku. I have to say though, that guy with the grape-head was kinda right when he said you were the Japanese Superman."

"Haha, yeah I've heard that comparison a lot lately. Never really thought about it like that. I guess in some ways my powers are kinda similar to Superman," Gohan chuckled, placing a nervous hand on the back of his neck as a sheepish grin crossed his face. "I don't have heat vision or ice-breath though."

But I am part-alien, and I do have the power to multiply my power ten-to-hundredfold if need be. Gohan thought to himself. But she doesn't need to know that. No one does.

"Well in any case, your Quirk sounds extremely well-suited for an offensive front. I guess that's why you did so well in the entrance exam," She said. "As for me, I guess that you could probably tell by my appearance that my Quirk allows me to do whatever a frog can. If this exercise were in an aquatic-based environment, we would have a particularly strong advantage as my Quirk really works best in water. But I can also stick and climb various surfaces such as walls."

As she finished speaking, Asui opened her mouth, revealing a rather large tongue that seemed to only increase in length as it continued to unravel to the tip of her knees. The seemingly elastic pink organ rose back up and swayed through the air, before returning to Asui's mouth with a slight slurping sound.

"I also have a prehensile tongue that I can extend and use to grasp other objects. Even other people if need be. Right now, it's probably my most powerful asset," The frog-girl explained, before looking down at her webbed feet. "Unlike most other people, however, I'm not warm-blooded, ribbit. I'm really sensitive to the cold. It makes me very drowsy and sleepy and causes my Quirk to stop functioning properly. I can even be forced into hibernation from sudden exposure. I'll venture a guess and say that Todoroki is well aware of my weaknesses."

The half-saiyan watched as his partner began deliberating over their situation. "If I were him, the first step I would take is to make the battle environment completely inhospitable for me to properly function in. It would have the benefit of taking me out of the exercise as well as distracting you from protecting the weapon. Although we're supposed to act like villains, I expect that he's anticipating you to do the heroic thing and rush to my aid. Possibly even panic and lose focus. Once your guard has been dropped, he'll make sure to immobilise you by freezing you with his Quirk, and then win the exercise by touching the weapon before you can break free and fend him off."

Gohan was quite impressed that the girl had thought so far ahead. He had certainly not. "Um, if that's his plan, then wouldn't it be best for you to not be in this room? I mean, I know it's short notice, perhaps you could wait in another room or even on a different level of this building until I've captured Todoroki?"

He averted his gaze and nervously pressed his fingers together as he continued. "Once I've relayed his defeat and made sure the room is free of ice, you could come back and help me take down Shoji. I know it's not the most flashy role, and I really want both of us to showcase our skills in this exercise, but if we coordinate together properly it could really help us win-"

"Under normal circumstances, I would be more open to your suggestions. However, you failed to consider Shoji himself, ribbit," Asui cut in. "He looks tough and muscly, but his Quirk doesn't afford him simply increased strength. From what I saw of him yesterday, it seems that he can replicate body parts on the tip of his hands. I don't know how powerful those replicated body parts are, but let's assume that they grant him enhanced senses. All he has to do is replicate an ear and he could pinpoint both our separate locations. And in that case, Todoroki might just freeze the entire building instead of simply this room."

"Wait...do you really think Todoroki's Quirk is strong enough to freeze the building entire building?"

"It's definitely a possibility. After all, he is the son of the number-two hero in Japan," She inclining her head to the right. "We can't underestimate him. Just as he shouldn't underestimate us. Especially you."

Before Gohan could respond, a sudden voice crackled through his earpiece, causing both his partner and himself to stiffen in surprise.

"Heroes and villains, just a heads up, but you now have forty-five seconds till the start of the exercise!" The booming voice of All Might rang in his ear.

We don't have much time. Gohan looked anxiously around the room, attempting to gauge his surroundings. What are we going to do? If it were just me, I wouldn't be worried. I just don't want my partner to get hurt.

Seemingly sensing his growing unease, his partner stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "Don't worry, Son. I've already thought up a plan. Outside of you simply just attacking the heroes by yourself, it's probably the best chance we have as showcasing our ability to work as a team You said that you can detect the location of a person by sensing their ki, right? Well, I think we can use that to our advantage."

Turning around, the short-statured Asui quickly made her way to the open window and rested her hands against the surface of the window sill. "And if we're lucky, we should be able to defeat Todoroki and Shoji in record time."

Toshinori Yagi, more commonly known as the hero All Might, glued his bright blue eyes firmly on the surveillance screen before him. Only one-and-a-half-minutes remained of their preparation time. As time passed by, he found himself thinking about the outcome of the first matchup of the exercise.

He had expected that the enmity that Bakugo felt for Midoriya would exhibit itself during the match, but even the number-one hero had been surprised by the level of anger and volatility that the ash-blonde teenager had leveled towards his childhood friend. His aggressiveness and remarkable cunning had forced Midoriya to use One For All. Izuku had still not gained control over the Quirk. Though his sacrifice had helped win the match for the heroes, it had cost him his arm.

Midoriya will be fine. Recovery Girl will look after him. She'll have him healed in no time. Toshinori reassured himself. And Bakugo...well, his pride has been wounded. He truly did not expect to lose to Midoriya. I simply hope that he takes the right lessons from his defeat and he learns from this experience.

Bakugo was an extremely talented young man who has the potential to be an outstanding professional hero. He simply needed to readjust his attitude. All Might hoped to be the one to guide him towards the right path.

He keenly watched both the hero and villain teams of the second matchup as they strategised, jotting down notes on his pad. Though the exercise had not started, it seemed to the Symbol of Peace that the villain team had built an immediate rapport with each other that was stronger than that of the heroes.

Son and Asui actually appear to be taking advantage of the time to properly formulate a working strategy. Todoroki and Shoji, on the other hand, don't seem particularly interested in coming up with a plan of attack. All Might noted. It's too early to tell, but perhaps young Todoroki has already planned to exploit young Asui's weakness to distract Son?

He had been anticipating this particular matchup since it had been announced. Although he was very much interested in seeing how Tsuyu Asui and Mezo Shoji would handle themselves, he could not deny that his eagerness for the match stemmed from his interest in seeing the performances of both Shoto Todoroki and Gohan Son.

From what Toshinori could see, the youngest son of Endeavor had very little in common with his father, beyond similar facial features. Whereas Enji Todoroki was hero characterised by his pride, callousness, arrogance and apparent ambition to surpass All Might himself, he did not gather the same impression from his son. Shoto appeared focused and unemotional, burdened with a sullen and rather cold demeanor.

Toshinori would wait to see if the young Todoroki shared the same sense of arrogance and self-centered superiority complex that his father did. Everything he had read from Todoroki's student file, however, seemed to indicate to the number-one hero that young Shoto had the potential to be a rather powerful pro hero.

Gohan Son was a different story. When he had first laid eyes on the teen in the Class 1-A homeroom, he had been immediately struck by his startling physical resemblance to Son Goku. Though he had been able to discreetly observe the teenager's impressive display during the previous day's apprehension tests, he had not actually taken the time to properly scrutinise the boy's appearance.

He had never met the legendary hero. He had only seen pictures and like everyone else the news footage of his climactic battle with the Demon King. But upon entering the classroom, the Symbol of Peace had almost felt like he had seen a ghost.

It wasn't a perfect likeness. For one thing, Son Gohan did not possess a tail. That had almost thrown Toshinori off, but he reasoned that not all children inherited the physical characteristics of their parents. His complexion was slightly lighter than Goku; his skin tone was not as tanned as the monkey-tailed hero and was more akin to the colour of a peach. As well, whereas Goku's spiky hair was wild and untamed, the teenager's short hair appeared to defy gravity, standing vertically upward in a neatly trimmed spiky formation.

Other than those differences, however, it was a near-identical match. Whether he was his father or simply a relative, All Might was convinced that there was a relation between the Son Goku and Son Gohan. Frankly, he was quite surprised that Aizawa and himself were the only members of the faculty who had figured out the familial connection.

He found it both amusing and slightly ironic that Nemuri Kayama considered herself an expert on Son Goku and was teaching the freshmen classes about him, but had failed to recognise the similarity in appearance between Son Gohan and Son Goku.

He would have thought that Nezu would have already deciphered the connection, but the eccentric principal of U.A. High School had not indicated to All Might or the other members of the faculty that he was aware of the boy's potential relation to the vanquisher of the Red Ribbon Army and the Demon King. Then again, it was entirely possible that Mr. Principal was indeed conscious of the fact, but had not decided to divulge his suspicions. After all, it did not seem that Son Gohan or his family wished for any relation to be made public.

Ultimately, it did not really matter if Son Gohan was indeed the son of Goku. He was a student of U.A. High School and had won his placement in the school based on his own merits and skill. And that was all that mattered. All Might was thankful that the administration of U.A. was not marked by nepotism or preferential treatment.

Still, I have to know. I have to talk to him. Even if both Aizawa and I turn out to be wrong, I have to quench this raging curiosity that has caught fire. All Might noticed that the timer passed the final minute and was approaching the forty-five mark. And if he is the son of Goku, I swear that I will not tell another soul. It will be our secret.

All Might desperately wished to know if Goku was still alive. If he was, he wanted to meet the spiky-haired hero and thank him personally for his deeds. He had saved the population of Japan from the warmongering ambitions of the Red Ribbon Army, and then had saved the entire world from the wrath of Daimao. Feats that All Might to his great shame had been unable to accomplish. Even the villainous likes of All For One had been scared to cross paths with Goku.

And if Goku was no longer with the living, then he simply wished to express to his son the gratitude he felt towards his father for his heroic efforts. He had never met the monkey-tailed hero, but he felt that he owed him that at least.

The Symbol of Peace pressed the intercom button and leaned forward to speak in the microphone. "Heroes and villains, just a heads up, but you now have forty-five seconds till the start of the exercise!"

All Might slowly exhaled and placed his hands on his hips. He pushed aside his thoughts and clenched his jaw. He was determined to strictly focus on overseeing the second matchup of the exercise

Behind him, the students of Class 1-A were conversing amongst themselves about the upcoming battle trial.

"I think the villains got this one in the bag. Sure, that Todoroki guy has got a pretty flashy Quirk, but goddamn if Son isn't a complete badass," He overheard one of the students tell the other. "You didn't see him wipe out those bots in the entrance exam. He just flew through the battle area and cleaved through those things with his bare hands. Even the zero-pointer was like nothing to him."

"Sure, Son's Quirk is really powerful, but we shouldn't discount Todoroki. Isn't he the son of Endeavor? He's bound to be pretty tough with a father like that," A female student replied. "And the other two - I think their names were Shoji and Asui - don't seem like pushovers either. That Shoji guy is kinda scary looking."

"We didn't get to see Gohan fight the robots during the entrance exam. He was in a different battle centre to us," Toshinori recognised the voice of the student speaking was that of Ochaco Uraraka. "I'm really eager to see how he does, as well as the others. Gohan seems so strong and powerful. And he's super cool. He's probably a really good fighter as well."

"Aye, I echo your sentiment as well, Uraraka. I am also looking forward to seeing how our friend performs in this trial," Tenya Iida responded to the bubbly girl. "Both Son and Asui seem level-headed enough to play the role of the villain well."

We'll see if you are right, young Iida.

The countdown on the timer soon reached zero. Toshinori pressed the button once more and brought the microphone near his mouth, shouting. "ALRIGHT HEROES AND VILLAINS. YOU KNOW THE DRILL. SHOW US THAT YOU'RE THE EMBODIMENT OF GOOD...OR EVIL! YOU MAY BEGIN!"

As the horn blared to signify the start of the match, the Japanese number-one hero looked back and winked at Class 1-A. "As with the first match, my young heroes-in-training, pay attention to the actions of the heroes and the villains. Think from both a heroic and villainous perspective: what would you do in this scenario?"

He turned back to stare at the monitor with both his pen and notepad in hand. On the bottom floor, Todoroki and Shoji set foot into the building. As the hero pair slowly walked down the narrow corridor, he turned his gaze to the fifth floor where Son and Asui were. Asui stood in front of the room window, while Son was stretching his arms adjacent to the payload.

Asui climbed onto the window-sill and crouched down on the bottom ledge, resting her hands against the side frame of the window in order to hold herself steady. Son stopped stretching and then moved to stand in front of the dummy weapon, before crossing his arms over his chest.

All Might squinted his blue eyes at the screen. What plan have the villains conjured up? Will they be relying on a defensive or offensive strategy?

On the bottom floor, Shoji had stretched out his six arms and activated his Quirk, replicating ears on the tip of his tentacles. All Might realised that he was using his ear-duplicates to detect the location of Son and Asui. A clever tactic; it was one that would ensure that the heroes would not waste valuable time scouring the building to locate the villains or the weapon. As both Son and Asui were in the same room, the heroes were now aware of the whereabouts of the weapon.

Todoroki walked past Shoji and said something to him that caused Shoji to hastily exit the building. All Might furrowed his brow, wondering what the aloof teen was planning. As this was happening, on the fourth floor, Son raised his right arm into the air and clicked his fingers. He then nodded towards Asui, who then proceeded to swiftly shift her hands and feet to the outside surface of the building wall.

"Wait, where's she going?" Eijiro Kirishima asked as Asui slipped out the window and disappeared from the view of the screen. "She's not running away, right? Why is she leaving the room through the window?"

"Monsieur Might, is la dame even allowed to do that?" Yuga Aoyama asked.

"Well...it is technically not prohibited for either the heroes or villains to leave the building. Their respective goals are to capture or defend the nuclear weapon from the rival team. If they must leave the battle zone to achieve either goal, then so be it," All Might stroked his chin. "I must admit that I am slightly puzzled by why young Asui has chosen to climb down the building wall. We'll have to wait and see, but surely it would be more prudent for-?"

Before All Might could finish his sentence, Todoroki placed his hand on the wall of the corridor and activated his Quirk. A large stream of ice seeped from his hand and quickly swept through the corridor. To the astonishment of All Might and the students of Class 1-A, the sudden swell cascaded beyond the first floor and swept through the various levels of the faux-property, rapidly submerging the entire building in ice. It had happened so fast that for a moment, there was a period of stunned silence as All Might and Class 1-A registered what had happened.

"What the hell, that's freaking amazing!" Sato exclaimed as the torrent of ice climbed up to the roof of the building. "He...he completely froze everything in sight!"

"His Quirk is insane," Ojiro said, his voice filled with awe.

"That's so freaking cool. I wish I had a Quirk like that. With a flashy power like that, I'd get all the ladies. And their panties." Mineta murmured.

"Wait...wait guys, look!" An excited Ashido pointed to the large monitor. "Look at Son!"

All Might and the students of Class 1-A shifted their gaze towards the fourth-floor screen. As their classmate came into view, there were several gasps throughout the basement. As the tidal wave of ice flooded the room he was in, Son levitated himself from the ground and floated above the dummy weapon, avoiding contact with the rapid stream of ice that had descended on the room.

I forgot that Son had the ability to fly. All Might scribbled his observations onto his notepad. Even if he isn't Goku's child, what a Quirk that boy has. It must be a combination of both his parent's Quirks. I can only imagine what other amazing abilities he plans to showcase during this trial.

"Given the circumstances, Asui's decision to leave the battle area appears to have been the most practical decision that she could have made." Yaoyorozu suddenly remarked, causing the entire class to turn their heads in her direction.

"What do you mean by that?" Kyoka Jiro asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"The cold!" Tenya Iida cried out, slamming his hand against his forehead. "How could I have not seen it before now? I feel foolish to have not done so. Asui's Quirk appears to grant her frog-related abilities. As amphibians, frogs are cold-blooded creatures and especially susceptible to a sudden subjection to cold. If Asui had been in the room with Son as Todoroki's stream of ice swept through the room-"

"-her sensitivity to the cold would have seriously impeded upon her ability to function in battle. Maybe even take her out of the battle entirely. She would simply have been a liability to Son." Yaoyorozu finished for him.

"Hold on, it seems like you guys are saying that she knew what was going to happen and willingly chose to leave the building to avoid being exposed to the ice," Sero said. "Also, how could she have known the exact moment Todoroki was going to use that ice move? Unless she's psychic or something, that's impossible!"

"I don't believe that Asui is psychic. Frogs aren't clairvoyant. It is my belief that Asui and Son already figured out what Todoroki and Shoji were planning. Either that or they had anticipated that Todoroki would employ a move similar to the one he just did." Yaoyorozu replied.

"Wow, so the villains actually predicted the plan of the heroes?" Uraraka wondered aloud. "If that's true, that's pretty amazing."

All Might leaned forward, his eyes firmly fixed on the monitor screen. While none of the six miniature screens showed where Asui was, he saw that Todoroki was climbing the frozen staircase of the building. Neither he nor his partner - who was casually standing outside the entrance of the building - seemed to be aware of the fact that the villains had not been immobilised by Todoroki's torrent of ice.

Though I suppose Todoroki is due for a big shock when he arrives on the fourth floor.

Although he was supposed to be neutral in this situation, All Might found the thought somewhat amusing.

So Todoroki actually did it, huh?

Using the voice-command Bulma had supplied to him, Gohan activated the heater in his suit, encasing his body with heat. It instantly warmed him up and helped raise his body temperature so that he would naturally adjust to the sudden change in the climate. Of course, he could have easily kept himself warm by raising his ki, but he nonetheless made a mental note to thank Bulma for including an in-built heating system in his hero costume. The CEO of Capsule Corporation had already done more than enough for him by personally designing his costume.

"Asui. Come in Asui. Are you okay?" The half-saiyan spoke into his transceiver as he looked around the room, which had been completely flooded with ice.

Gohan smiled when he heard Asui's voice crackle in his earpiece. "I'm fine Son. I just barely avoided having my legs and knees frozen by Todoroki's ice. I'm on the ground now. Your ability to sense ki really did come in handy. We're lucky that Shoji decided to leave the building instead of accompanying Todoroki to the fourth floor. As long as Shoji doesn't suspect anything and activates his Quirk to find my location, I should be fine. Even the outside of the building is completely covered in ice. I feel a little drowsy, but otherwise, I'm okay."

"That's good to hear," He was genuinely happy to hear that his partner was safe. "You were right. Todoroki used his ice Quirk to completely freeze the building. The dummy weapon is still intact."

"Good. You still remember the plan right?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I'll contact you once I've subdued Todoroki. I'll talk to you soon." Gohan turned off his transceiver and placed it back in his utility belt.

The half-saiyan had avoided having his limbs entrapped by ice by levitating off the ground. He was currently floating above the dummy weapon, waiting for Todoroki to arrive. As he heard the distant and familiar clank of Todoroki's footsteps from outside the room, he tightened his hands into fists and readied himself. Though his face was obscured by his helmet, he adopted a serious expression. He remembered what Yaoyorozu had said about Tenya during her review of the first matchup. Although the villains had lost, Iida had been declared the MVP of the match as he had adapted the best to his role.

Act like a villain, Gohan. He told himself. You've fought many villains. Just be like Frieza. Or Cell. Or even Vegeta.

He decided to espouse a mindset that amalgamated the traits of the various villains that he had encountered during his adventures with the Z-Fighters. And Bulma had given him just the right tool for that.

The heterochromatic Shoto Todoroki stepped through the doorframe, his cold glare immediately transfixed on the floating visage of the half-saiyan. If he was surprised that Gohan had not been immobilised by his tidal wave of ice, he hid it well, schooling his features with the same dispassionate countenance that they always seemed to hold.

"Well well well, Todoroki. You might as well give up and surrender because you've already failed. We villains did not fall for your ploy!" Gohan cackled, having used the voice alteration system to considerably deepen and distort his voice. "Prepare to meet your doom, hero!"

Before Todoroki could even blink, Gohan accelerated forward and charged at the white-and-red-haired teen, rounding his right arm backward as he launched himself at his opponent. Todoroki bent down on his knees and fell into a defensive stance, his torso shifting slightly to the right as he generated a block of ice around his arms. He crossed his arms over each other and brought them up to protect his face from a potential blow. It seemed that Todoroki was anticipating Gohan to punch him in the face.

However, that was only a feint. Gohan stopped his enclosed fist directly a few inches from Todoroki's arms, before seemingly blinking out of existence. He reappeared behind Todoroki and took him by the back of his collar, before pivoting on his feet and slamming his opponent hard against the wall to his right. Shoto grunted as his back collided with the frozen wall, the ice slightly cracking upon the sudden impact. Gohan jumped back as Todoroki slumped to the floor, his face grimacing with pain.

"I underestimated you, Son. I knew you were fast, but I didn't know you were that fast," As he caught his breath, Shoto got back up onto his feet and fixed Gohan with a steely glare. "I should have known that you wouldn't have been encumbered by my ice. I assumed that inundating the building with ice would have taken the two of you completely by surprise. But it seems like both your partner and yourself figured out my plan."

"Yes! Your fatal flaw was underestimating us villains! My partner and I managed to avoid your barrage of ice!" Gohan pointed menacingly at Todoroki. "You are weak, Todoroki! I expected better from the son of Endeavor. I wonder if your father knows how pitiful you really are. You must disappoint him greatly."

As the words escaped his mouth, the half-saiyan quickly realised that that had been the wrong thing to say. Gohan's taunt had touched a nerve. Todoroki's heterochromatic eyes suddenly blazed with anger, his impassive face transforming into one that held barely contained rage.

"I don't give a damn what that bastard thinks! Both of you can go to hell!" Todoroki shouted, stepping forward and slamming his left foot on the floor. To the astonishment of the half-saiyan, a strikingly large mass of ice erupted from the soles of his boots, the sudden aggregation of ice puncturing through the ceiling of the room and engulfing everything in its path as it rushed forward towards him.

Having not been given any time to think, the half-saiyan acted upon instinct and lept to the back wall of the room, charging his hand with ki. The heap of ice wasn't large enough to completely immerse the room in solid ice, but it was big enough to overwhelm and freeze Gohan if he did not destroy it. As the large swell of ice descended upon him, Gohan wound his right arm back and threw it in a vertical line, striking the ice with the top of his glowing fist.

The glacier of ice exploded upon making contact with his fist, completely shattering into a clutter of shards that fell to the frozen floor dancing. The recoil that had been generated from Gohan's punch had caused him to flinch, while Todoroki had been forcefully thrown back against the wall.

Underneath his helmet, Gohan's eyes glimmered with slight annoyance as he stared at Todoroki, who was attempting to catch his breath. Though his hands were protected with gloves, both his knuckles and fingers stung from the sudden bite of cold.

At that moment, the half-saiyan forgot the fact that he was playing the part of the villain and heatedly said, "What the heck was that?"

Todoroki scowled at him. He hurled his hands forward and sent another barrage of ice towards the half-saiyan. Thankfully, the torrent of ice was nowhere near the size of his previous attack. However, at this point, Gohan was not bothered to continue his fight with Todoroki. He planned to end their battle now before another rashly thought out ice attack could potentially compromise either the weapon or the room.

Gohan moved his right leg forward and rose up on his knee, pivoting on his bottom foot and launching a roundhouse kick at the wave of ice. As the ice erupted into pieces, he brought his leg back to the floor and somehow managed to avoid stumbling on the slippery ice. He then used his incredible speed to warp directly in front of Todoroki, surprising the heterochromatic teen.

Before his opponent could react, Gohan grabbed Shoto Todoroki's upper shoulders, pulled him forward and then lightly kneed him in the solar plexus. Pushing him back, the half-saiyan watched as Todoroki doubled over in pain, the nausea of the unexpected hit causing him to retch up a mixture of vomit and blood. Todoroki then collapsed to the floor and quickly fell limp.

The exercise was not over. He still had to eliminate Todoroki from the match with the capture tape. Gohan took the roll of tape from his utility belt. He crouched down on his knees and used one hand to cross Todoroki's arms behind his back. He used the other to cut off a strip of tape. Fastening the tape around his wrists, he made sure that it was tightly bound, before getting back up on his feet.

Gohan looked down at his unconscious opponent, who lay sprawled on the floor. Todoroki would be fine. He had not struck him hard enough to cause permanent damage to either his nerve plexus or abdominal aorta. The half-saiyan was sure that a trip to the nurse' office would make him better.

But what was up with before? Gohan wondered. As soon as I mentioned his father, his mood completely changed. Isn't his father a pro hero? You'd think his father was a villain from that reaction.

He would have to think about that later. Now that he had subdued Todoroki, he had to inform his partner about what had transpired. He used the voice-command to deactivate the voice-alteration system. He did not wish to startle Asui with a deep and heavily distorted voice. As he removed the transceiver from his belt, he hoped that his relay would not interrupt her own endeavor.

"Asui, come in. It's Gohan. I defeated Todoroki and have already captured him," Gohan spoke into the device. "How're things on your end? Do you require any backup?"

There was a pregnant pause as he waited for Asui to respond. Seconds passed, but it was radio silence. Gohan began to grow worried, his nervousness causing him to grit his teeth. Before he could consider the situation, he heard a loud, resounding clattering noise that resonated through his earpiece, followed by a series of grunts, groans and slow, heavy breathing.

"Son...that was really fast. Good job with Todoroki," Gohan let out a sigh of relief as Asui's muffled voice came through. "I could use some of that backup you're offering. Shoji's proving to be far more difficult to defeat than I initially thought. "

"Don't worry, I'm on it," Gohan levitated off the frozen ground and glided towards the open window. "I'll be there in a sec."

Gohan slid through the window and floated to the top of the battle building. He drifted forward to the front of the building and looked down to the base of the building. Near the entrance, Tsuyu Asui and Mezo Shoji were currently engaged in a battle that bordered on close to rivaling his skirmish with Todoroki.

To avoid Shoji's hefty blows, Asui was constantly moving and keeping herself at a safe distance from Shoji. She used her tongue to parry and block his attacks, as well as to keep him away from her. A smart tactic. Asui appeared resourceful, but her slight frame ensured that she would not be able to pose a physical challenge to the hulking Shoji.

Asui managed to wrap her tongue around Shoji's front two arms and tied them together, pulling on them the conjoined limbs hard. Shoji refused to budge however and used his other four arms to pry her tongue off.

Before Asui could retract her pink organ, Shoji grew several duplicate hands and grabbed onto her tongue. He then rotated on his feet and spun around, tugging roughly on her elongated tongue. His partner was forcefully pulled towards Shoji, who used his other arms to grab her by the front of her costume as she neared.

Though it had been fun to observe the battle between the frog-girl and the tall and muscular Shoji, Gohan knew that if he did not intervene soon, she would be in serious trouble. And so he dropped down from the top of the building and landed in front of Shoji and Asui with a resounding thud, cracking the pavement as he touched down onto the ground. As Gohan had expected, his sudden and unexpected arrival startled Shoji, causing his multiple arms to release on both Asui and her elongated tongue.

His partner drew her tongue back into her mouth and quickly retreated to stand by Gohan, whose helmet obscured the grin that had crossed over his mouth.

"Looks like you really did have a handful," Gohan said to his partner. "Good job keeping him at bay until now. How long have the two of you been fighting for?"

"Around the same time that Todoroki and you were fighting, ribbit," Asui answered, keeping her voice low as her eyes fixed firmly on the remaining villain. "So around a minute. I was surprised at how easy it was to ambush him - he was just standing outside the entrance."

Shoji had let down his guard and placed all his trust in Todoroki, letting him do all the work and reap all the benefits. The hulking giant had acted in a manner that they had anticipated. Everything had gone just the way they had planned.

"Son. I'm surprised to see you here. I thought Todoroki would have already secured the bomb by now," Shoji sighed, extending his six arms from his body and getting into a defensive stance. "So Todoroki must have failed, huh? Well, I can't say I'm surprised. I told him that we shouldn't underestimate you, but he didn't listen. I knew I should have gone with him. I had a gut feeling that you sent your teammate out here to distract me from rushing in to help him."

"I defeated Todoroki a few minutes ago. He's out of the game now, Shoji. Just like you'll be," Gohan was surprised to hear his own voice inflected with both confidence and slight arrogance. He could only blame it on his desire to roleplay as a villain. "You should've listen to your gut."

Asui tugged on Gohan's hand, "How do you want to approach this, Son? I think that if you pin him down, I can wrap the capturing tape around one of his arms. That's all we need to win this match."

Gohan flashed her a thumbs-up. "Sounds like a plan. Heads up, I'm going in."

The half-saiyan darted forward and rushed at the six-armed teenager, surprising Shoji with his remarkable speed. Gohan wished to see what his opponent would do. Instead of avoiding his charge, his opponent chose to meet him with a bombardment of punches that the half-saiyan swerved and weaved right past. Shoji then attempted to wrap all six arms around Gohan's upper body, seemingly trying to pin the half-saiyan and lock him into a bear hug.

However, Gohan ducked out of the way and used the brief opening in Shoji's defence to softly elbow his opponent in the ribs, causing him to grunt in pain. Shoji then leaned back and shifted his weight onto his left leg, targeting Gohan with a powerful front kick to the chest. The half-saiyan however sidestepped the attack and quickly grabbed hold of Shoji's exposed right leg, before pushing him back.

As the tall and imposing teen stumbled backward, Gohan struck Shoji's chest with an open palm thrust, before moving behind the off-balanced Shoji curled his arms underneath his armpits. A nostalgic grin spread across Gohan's lips as he thought of his next move. He pulled arms firmly backward, clasping his fingers behind Shoji's coarse neck while pinning Shoji's strong legs with his own feet.

The half-saiyan then forcefully swept Shoji off the ground and slammed him onto the ground, while maintaining a tight grip over his large and muscular opponent. Shoji struggled in Gohan's hold, trying desperately to break free, but Gohan would not budge. His restraint of Shoji ensured that all six arms were no longer able to move as freely as they used to be.

"Damn it Son. You actually got me in a full nelson, huh?" Shoji spoke through gritted teeth, groaning as he repeatedly bucked upward against Gohan's chest. "Not many people can do that. Even my older brother can't keep me pinned. Your strength must really be something else."

After Tsuyu hurried forward and wrapped capture tape around the tip of one of his arms, the half-saiyan finally released his hold over tentacle hero.

"You did a great job, Shoji." He said gently.

Over the intercom system of Battle Building B, All Might's loud and booming voice called out the result. "AND WITH NEARLY TEN MINUTES REMAINING, THE WINNERS OF THE SECOND MATCHUP OF THE BATTLE TRIALS: TEAM H!"

Gohan stood up and extended his hand to Shoji. "I really did mean it. You and Todoroki were awesome opponents. You guys have some really powerful Quirks."

Shoji took the offered hand and was pulled back up onto his feet. "Thanks for the compliment, Son. But...that doesn't change the fact that our team lost. You and Asui...you guys won this match. You guys beat us fair and square. And so quickly too."

The grey-haired teenager and turned his head to look at Asui. "I guess Todoroki wasn't the only one who placed too much confidence in his abilities. I should have been more vigilant. When you first attacked me, you took me completely by surprise. Even after I directed my attention towards you, I didn't take you seriously. I stupidly thought you'd be easy to take down. If I hadn't underestimated you, then perhaps our match would still be going. Maybe even the result would be different."

Neither Gohan or Asui said anything in response to Shoji's remark. In order to spare Shoji's feelings, they did not say it aloud. However, both members of Team H were confident in their opinion that the outcome of the match would not have different, regardless if Shoji had been alert and more focused. He hated to say it, but Todoroki and Shoji had simply been outmatched and outgunned.

Shoji stepped away from the victorious villains, using his four upper arms to rub his two front arms. From the slump in his shoulders and the solemn cast to his eyes, it seemed to the half-saiyan that he was mulling over his teams' loss.

Gohan took the time to remove his helmet, holding it in the space between the crook of his right elbow and waist while using his left hand to comb away at his mussy dark hair. He inhaled, filling his nostrils with warm air, before turning to Asui and giving her a thumbs-up. "It seems like that plan of yours worked Asui. We won."

Asui supplied him a small smile. "Looks like we did. And with time to spare, ribbit."

Before Gohan could think of something to say, he found his eyes being drawn to the sudden appearance of two small chattering robots, who wheeled past the three students and entered the battle building through the door. In between the two robots was a stretcher conjoined at their hips.

"I suppose that's for Todoroki, huh?" Asui raised her eyebrow at Gohan. "You didn't seriously hurt him, right?"

"What? No, of course not!" Surprised by her question, Gohan briskly shook his head. "I knew he wouldn't simply surrender, so I knocked him out. He's unconscious but otherwise unharmed."

Asui slowly nodded. "Don't worry, Son. I didn't actually think you hurt him. At least not intentionally. We don't know each other very well, but I don't get that merciless vibe from you. You're nothing like that Bakugo guy, who despite his talent is too much of an asshole. You're really powerful, but you know how to restrain yourself. And look out for your teammates."

Following the appearance of the medical robots, the three students did not have to wait long for the arrival of All Might.

"Young Son! Young Asui! Excellent job! You defeated the villains and completed the exercise in under five minutes. What a fantastic performance!" The Symbol of Peace was smiling broadly as he marched towards them. "You had both best prepare for a grilling when we return to the surveillance room. Young Asui, when it was discovered where you had gone to upon exiting the building, you can imagine the rest of your classmates' shock when you attacked young Shoji! And when your partner came to assist you! They practically erupted into a frenzy upon your capture of Shoji."

All Might moved directly behind Gohan and his partner and lightly clapped his large, calloused against their backs. "And I can't even begin to describe their visceral reaction to your defeat of young Todoroki, Son! Even I was surprised at how quickly that battle came to an end! A spectacular effort, my dear lad! I can see that my record was certainly not defeated by a chump!"

Gohan's pale face flushed with embarrassment at All Might's compliment. The half-saiyan was not the type of person to seek out compliments or revel in those paid towards him, but he couldn't help but feel a certain level of pride and enjoyment from All Might's commendation. From someone as esteemed and revered as the Symbol of Peace, it meant a great deal coming from him.

All Might looked to Shoji with a reassuring smile. "Do not fret over the defeat of your team, young Shoji. There is no shame in losing. Even the finest heroes of our age are prone to defeat. It's important that you identify your mistakes and learn from them; both the strongest and the weakest among us will always have room to improve. I'm sure even mighty warriors such as Son Goku and Hercule Satan did not start off as the powerful heroes that they have come to be known as today."

He's right. Gohan thought. It took many years of martial arts training - as well as copious amounts of physical and mental body conditioning - for Dad to become as strong as he was. He didn't just start off as the greatest fighter in the universe. He had to work hard for it.

As he contemplated what All Might said, he managed to miss the brief glance that the number-one hero had sent his way.

Shoji bowed his head towards their teacher. "Thank you, sir. I'll make sure to take your words into consideration."

As he finished speaking, the medical robots emerged from the building, with an unconscious Shoto Todoroki laid out on the stretcher. The two robots seemed to be arguing amongst themselves as they rolled away from the battle area with the insensate teenager.

All Might softly whistled, before patting Gohan on the shoulder. "That was a clean strike you got in there, Son. Very controlled and precise. I'm glad you didn't feel the need to use any excessive attacks. Todoroki will be fine. And despite the severity of his injuries, as will Izu-I mean young Midoriya."

The Symbol of Peace then thrust his arms into the air, the seemingly omnipresent grin perpetually spread across his face widening even further as he boomed, "Young Son, young Asui and young Shoji, it is time for a review of the exercise! We'll return to the surveillance room and go over the results. I'm sure your classmates have much to say about the outcome of this match!"

Gohan gulped, feeling the insides of this stomach constrict as the three students began to follow All Might. While he was eager to return to his classmates, he was not looking forward to the inevitable acclamation he would no doubt receive.

Our match didn't come to a flashy end like the first match. Besides Todoroki freezing the building, there isn't really much to talk about. Gohan attempted to assure himself. Surely...surely it won't be that bad? I'm sure All Might was overstating their reaction.

Unfortunately for Gohan, it was quickly made apparent that All Might had in fact not been embellishing their response to the match. If anything, it appeared to the half-saiyan that he had been underselling it. As he stepped into the room, he was immediately surrounded by near the entirety of Class 1-A, with several of the more enthusiastic students practically pouncing on him as he reentered the surveillance room.

"Holy crap, that was freaking amazing!" The yellow-haired Kaminari burst out, slinging his arm over Gohan's shoulder. "Obviously I knew you were powerful, but the way you handled Todoroki was so cool. You took him out with one hit!"

"That was so cool, Son!" Ashido exclaimed, sending a large, warm smile his way. "You just punched that ice barrage Todoroki sent your way like it was nothing. What a badass move."

"I had no idea you could fly. I remember someone mentioning it yesterday, but I thought they were exaggerating. Yet you actually flew into the air. That's so freaking sweet. Is there anything you can't do?" Sero wondered.

"Sometimes, it looked like you were blinking out of existence. You were so fast, Son! I could barely see you when you were fighting Shoji." A female voice, whom he presumed to be Hagakure called out.

"Yeah, she's right. It was so manly!" Kirishima gave Gohan a two-fingered salute, before patting him on the back. "Everything happened so damn fast. It was almost like you weren't even trying."

"Your team completed the exercise far more quickly than anyone in our class anticipated," Yaoyorozu remarked, placing her hands on her hips. "Even I was surprised at how swiftly you captured both Todoroki and Shoji."

"Say Son, do you practice martial arts?" Ojiro asked with an eager grin. "We should spar sometime."

"Wow, you're so awesome Gohan! No wonder you came first in the entrance exam!" Uraraka said loudly, smiling widely at him.

As other students continued to call out and heap praise at his feet, Gohan swallowed down a lump in his throat. The half-saiyan felt completely overwhelmed by the seemingly endless and relentless attention he was receiving. If he was being honest with himself, it was making him rather uncomfortable. he didn't believe that he deserved it. He felt that Asui was the most entitled of the two to bear the praise of Class 1-A. After all, it had been her plan that had allowed them to succeed.

"Settle down everyone. Settle down!" The booming voice of All Might reverberated through the room. "I understand that you are excited about the outcome of the match, but we should make haste! Please, step away and allow your classmates to come through."

The Symbol of Peace's words brought the commotion that had gathered around the half-saiyan to a halt, causing the remainder of Class 1-A to quiet down and pull away. As the three students made their way to stand in front of the room, Gohan flashed their teacher a quick, grateful smile. He wasn't sure if that had been his exact intention, but it seemed to the half-saiyan that All Might had sensed his discomfort and had moved to intervene.

Gohan turned his gaze towards his assembled classmates. Most of the students of Class 1-A were either gawking or ogling at him. Of course, the notable exception to this was Katsuki Bakugo. He had not given much thought to the incandescent blonde since the end of the first matchup, but the half-saiyan had somewhat expected Bakugo to have welcomed him back with a menacing stare glare imbued with absolute fury.

Instead, he was surprised to find that a vacant expression had befallen the face of Bakugo. His stare was impassive and emotionless, the look in his crimson-red eyes blank and inscrutable as he fixed his gaze on Gohan's face.

"Alright, everyone. Now that the match has ended, we'll now move onto the review of the battle trial," Gohan tore his eyes away from Bakugo and looked towards the Symbol of Peace, who gestured his hands towards their assembled classmates. "Before I announce who the MVP is, does anyone have any thoughts, observations or critiques they'd like to share in regards to the match? If so, lay it on us! It's a free forum after all!"

To the surprise of the half-saiyan, with the exception of the vacuous Bakugo, everyone in their class raised their hand. Even their teacher seemed to be taken aback by the number of people who wished to comment on the match.

The Symbol of Peace pointed to Tenya, who cleared his throat and began speaking, "Sir, the overall result of the battle trial clearly indicates that the villain team deserves many commendations for their performance during the match. In contrast to the heroes, Son and Asui worked extremely well together and were able to coordinate properly as a team. In addition, the pair were able to successfully think up a plan that once employed successfully curtailed Todoroki and Shoji."

Jiro raised her hand and spoke up, "As Yaoyorozu and Iida said earlier, sir, the villains were astute enough to recognise that Todoroki's Quirk represented a major problem. If Asui had remained with Son when Todoroki had used his Quirk to freeze the building, she could potentially have been a liability to him and negatively impacted on their overall chance to protect the fact that they were able to predict such an outcome should be applauded. I don't know how they figured it out exactly, but they anticipated Todoroki's plan and successfully countered it. Still, Todoroki's plan was incredibly flawed."

"I gotta say, they were lucky that Todoroki guy decided to go at the weapon alone. They hedged all their bets on that guy being too cocky and so sure of himself." Sato remarked.

A grinning Kirishima tightened his right hand into a fist and slammed it into his left palm. "Asui didn't just sit around and wait for Son to do all the work. She attacked Shoji and kept him preoccupied while Son acted like an absolute badass and used his superior combat ability and flashy powers to take Todoroki down. Mad respect to them both for that. They didn't just showboat either - they made sure to take them down as quickly as possible. Unlike the last match, the villains of this round actually had some idea about how they were going to win."

"Excellent points made, my students," All Might said. "I definitely agree that Team H deserves much praise for how they handled themselves during the trial. Now, what about the heroes? What do you lot have to say about Todoroki and Shoji's performance?"

Once again, near the majority of the class raised their hands, eagerly wishing to make a comment. This time, it was Fumikage Tokoyami who All Might selected to speak. "Sir, Todoroki's overconfidence and severe underestimation of the capabilities of his opponents were what ultimately led his team to lose the match. I'm not saying that they would have won had they been more careful, but if he hadn't been so cocky and reckless, his team might've stood a better chance."

"I agree with Tokoyami," Yaoyorozu nodded to the raven-headed student, before continuing with, "Todoroki's hubris and lack of communication with his partner contributed greatly to the downfall of his team. One of the main components of this exercise is teamwork. In order to win, it is important for the members of the two respective teams to work perfectly tandem with each other to either defend their payload or capture the weapon.

"For the part of the villains, Son and Asui exemplified this perfectly, and this ultimately won them the game. The same cannot be said for Todoroki or Shoji for that matter."

"Yeah, I hate to say it, but Shoji isn't exactly faultless either," The blonde-haired Ojiro remarked, scratching his chin as his thick long tail wrapped around his waist. "While he was waiting outside the building for Todoroki to capture the weapon, he let his guard down. If he had kept his Quirk active, Asui wouldn't have got the jump on him."

Gohan glanced at the hulking giant. Though his face was partially covered, with his head bowed and his eyes closed, Shoji looked almost as crestfallen as Iida had been upon the conclusion of the first matchup.

"Very well put, young heroes. Astute observations made by you all," All Might looked back at the three participants of the second matchup. "My own critique of the match echoes much of what you all have said. Though both young Todoroki and Shoji displayed impressive martial aptitude, their failure of the heroes to work together and account for the capabilities of their opponents was what led to their undoing.

"Contrast this with the willingness of the villains to cooperate and work effectively as a team. The villains did not underestimate the heroes - the two of them even molded a plan that played to their own strengths and worked around their weak points. That's what a smart hero should do. I cannot stress enough that Son and Asui both did an excellent job."

All Might smiled at Gohan and his partner, before turning back to face the other students and continuing. "That is why I have decided to declare both Son and Asui as the joint-MVPs of the second matchup!"

In reaction to All Might's announcement, there were several surprised murmurings amongst Gohan's classmates. From the corner of his eye, the half-saiyan noticed that even Asui herself looked somewhat stunned by All Might's declaration.

All Might flapped his large hands in the air, signaling for the class to quieten down. "Allow me to explain why I came to this decision. For Asui's part, I was impressed by how quickly she recognised that her Quirk's sensitivity towards the cold represented a possible handicap to her team. She removed herself from the battle area, which allowed Son to focus strictly on neutralising Todoroki. Instead of waiting for Son to do all the work, she remained proactive and ambushed Shoji, taking him by surprise.

"However, when she realised that she couldn't defeat Shoji by herself, she didn't balk at the chance to request the assistance of her partner. One of the marks of a true hero, ladies and gentlemen, is knowing when to ask for help in defeating a villain. There has been no hero in the history of mankind who has been able to defeat every villain that has come his or her way. Even I have needed help on countless occasions to defeat a particularly challenging or vicious villain."

All Might extended a thumbs-up to Asui. "Splendid work, young Asui!"

The frog-girl bowed towards their teacher, his compliments causing her face to slightly brighten. "Thank you very much, sir."

She deserves all the praise. The half-saiyan smiled at his partner. She was absolutely brilliant.

"Now, for the part of Son, I must applaud the prowess he displayed in fighting both Todoroki and Shoji, as well as the clear restraint he exhibited," All Might rubbed his hands together. "I will admit, I was initially concerned that he was toying with Todoroki, but it became quickly apparent that his deliberate antagonism was designed to distract Todoroki from contacting his partner or formulating an effective counter-strategy. His anger blinded him from thinking rationally. It also aided in his adoption of a villainous mindset. Excellent work, young lad!"

Like Asui, Gohan respectfully bowed towards his teacher. "Thank you, All Might sir."

As Gohan, Asui and Shoji rejoined the rest of their class, All Might thrust his arms in the air. "Alright! That ends the second matchup. Let us move onto the third battle trial!"

"Yes sir!" The class replied.

As the Symbol of Peace prepared for the drawing of the third matchup, the class began conversing amongst themselves. The half-saiyan felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned around to find Uraraka staring at him, a broad smile unfurled over her face. "You really did such a great job, Gohan. I think it's awesome that Asui and you both were awarded MVP. You both totally deserve!"

"Thanks, Uraraka. That means a lot." A small grin spread across his lips. Her enthusiasm was quite infectious. "Though I have to admit, I think All Might should have solely awarded Asui the title of MVP. It was her plan that we followed to victory. Not only did she predict that he would freeze the entire building, but she also correctly guessed that Todoroki would come for the weapon alone The reason we won was because of her. I didn't really do anything special."

"There is no need to be so humble, Son. Asui and yourself both equally deserve the title of MVP. The two of you played the part of the villain extremely well." Iida, who was standing next to Uraraka, nodded towards Gohan.

A sheepish chuckle escaped Gohan's mouth as he placed a hand on the back of his neck. "I was only following your example, Iida."

As Gohan turned his attention back to the front of the room, he overhead Sero tell Tokoyami, "The first two battle trials were a pretty freaking spectacle."

"Indeed," Tokoyami responded. "The first ended with a pyrrhic victory for the heroes, while the second ended with a quick and decisive victory for the villains. Will the subsequent matches be as exciting?"

"I'm actually really pumped for my match now!" Kirishima said excitedly to Ashido. "My Quirk isn't as flashy as the ones that Son, Bakugo or Todoroki have, but I can't wait to show the rest of these guys what I can do!"

Ashido grinned at the redhead. "Same here! Whether I'm on the hero or villain team, I really want to win!"

"Alright young heroes-in-training. Let's jet on over to the next match!" Gohan and the rest of Class 1-A brought their attention back to All Might, who had already selected the teams. "The third matchup will see Team G as heroes against Team I as villains!"

Gohan quietly watched as the two teams stepped forward and faced the rest of the class. The hero team was made up Kaminari and the purple-haired Jiro, while the villain pair consisted of Ojiro and the invisible Hagakure. He smiled as he put his helmet back on. He greatly looked forward to seeing how the other students of Class 1-A would handle themselves in their respective battle trials.

Although the battle trials that followed did not prove to be as momentous or action-packed as the majority of the Class 1-A had probably hoped for, Gohan had still found them to be quite eventful and interesting. If anything, it had allowed him to get a better grasp and understanding of the Quirks possessed by his classmates.

The conclusion of the final matchup of the battle trials - which had seen the heroes Ashido and Aoyama narrowly lose to the villain team Tokoyami and Sato - had brought an end to their first Foundational Hero Studies lesson. Before sending them back off to their homeroom, All Might had led the students of Class 1-A to the exit tunnel of Training Ground Beta for his final farewell.

"Alright, that's a wrap! Super work, my young charges," Towering above the assembled students, the stalwart All Might grinned down at Class 1-A. "You guys really stepped up to the plate. And besides Midoriya, we didn't have any major injuries. I see that as an absolute win! You should be proud - an excellent first day of training all around."

Beside him, Asui raised her hand, "It's nice to hear some encouraging words after our homeroom class. Mr Aizawa was kinda a buzzkill."

Asui's words prompted a sudden image of their homeroom teacher's frightening smile to flash through his mind. It seemed that Gohan was not alone in his recollection of Eraserhead's behaviour during the Quirk Apprehension Test. Alongside the majority of his class, Gohan found himself nodding in agreement with Asui.

"No worries!" All Might raised his arms into the air, his blue cape flapping behind him. "I was more than happy to bring such staggering positivity to my alma mater!"

All Might then turned to face the exit tunnel and waved his hands towards Class 1-A in a farewell gesture. "But that's all for today folks! I should go check in on young Midoriya! Now...watch how a pro exits!"

And with that, the Symbol of Peace turned around and bolted off down the tunnel, the outline of his hulking silhouette quickly disappearing as he hurried further down the passage. The wind generated from the sudden speed of his exit and the flurry of his cape left a large trail of dust in his wake.

"Wow. All Might's such a badass. Now that guy...that's what I call a freaking superhero!" Kaminari said with a wide grin.

Ojiro nodded in agreement, though a look of dejection slowly spread across his face as he said, "Definitely. Out of all the active heroes today, All Might's easily the greatest of them. But man, I really wish I could run that fast though."

The grape-headed Mineta covered his mouth with his hands and gushed, "Super awesome."

"That's the number-one hero for you. He's so badass!" Ashido rubbed her hands together in an excited manner.

"Man, he's just as cool as Mr Satan!" Sero exclaimed.

Beneath his helmet, a smile unfurled across Gohan's face. The effusive reaction of his classmates only served to remind the half-saiyan as to the widespread adoration and recognition All Might received from the populace of both Japan and the rest of the world. It was definitely not undeserved. Though Hercule Satan was the most popular figure in the world, All Might remained a source of immeasurable influence and inspiration for many pro heroes and hero students.

He had taken up the mantle that his father had left behind in his absence from the living world and had become a beacon of hope and security for the average earthling citizen. His gregarious and affable personality even reminded Gohan of his father.

In his mind, the Symbol of Peace has truly lived up to his reputation.

Before he could think further, Iida stepped forward. He made his way to stand in front of the class and loudly cleared his throat, drawing their attention to him.

"Everyone, please settle down!" Tenya said loudly. "Now that our Hero Studies class is over, we should make make haste and proceed to the changing rooms. Once we have changed back into our school uniforms, we must head back to our homeroom class for our next lesson! We don't want to keep our teachers waiting!"

With that, Iida swirled around and began walking in long, decisive steps towards the exit. Around him, several of Gohan's classmates were clearly unimpressed with Iida's attempt to take charge of the class, with some grumbling under their breaths in annoyance while others barely managed to conceal their snorts. Nonetheless, the students of Class 1-A began following Iida into the tunnel, chatting amongst themselves about the outcomes of their respective battle trials.

As he was about to follow his classmates in their departure of Ground Beta, the half-saiyan suddenly stopped in his step, wincing as he felt an unexpected drop in power.

That drop in ki level...that feels like All Might!

Gohan squinted his eyes in the direction that All Might had departed in, and tried to focus in on the ki signature of his teacher. He breathed a small sigh of relief as he felt the familiar and pulsating ki of the Symbol of Peace. His life force had fallen considerably from what it had been only a minute beforehand, but it had stabilised to a point where it was clear that All Might was neither seriously injured or in any danger of dying.

Nonetheless, the half-saiyan narrowed his onyx-coloured eyes in confusion. Although he could sense that All Might was fine, he was still worried about the wellbeing of his teacher. He could only wonder as to what had caused such an abrupt fall in power.

While he pondered on his teacher's health, next to him, a croaky voice asked, "Is something wrong, Son?"

Gohan turned to his right and found himself looking down at Asui, her large, dark oval-shaped eyes regarding him with a questioning gaze. He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he had failed to register her continued presence. Nor had he taken note of his surroundings. Looking around him, he quickly realised that near the entirety of Class 1-A had already left Ground Beta. The only students who remained in the faux city were both Asui and himself.

Not wishing to burden his classmate with his musings, the half-saiyan simply shook his head. "Um, uh no, there's nothing wrong. Nothing wrong at all. I was just-I was just thinking about today's events, that's all. All the matches were pretty exciting to watch, huh? And everyone in our class seemed really taken by our match especially. I can't help but think that-"

"Why did you hold back against Todoroki and Shoji, Son?"

The half-saiyan blinked, her sudden and unexpected question completely catching him off guard. He could not understand why she would ask such a thing.

"Wha-what? No, of course not!" Gohan stammered, his voice cracking as he spoke. "Asui, why would you think-?"

Asui's mouth contorted into a dry smile. "I don't know for sure if my suspicions are correct or not - since I wasn't there to witness your fight with Todoroki - but I thought it was pretty telling by the way you subdued Shoji. You took him out fairly quickly, sure, but it looked to me like you were putting on a show. And Shoji is a very strong person with a remarkable Quirk. He would be a challenge for anyone of us. He certainly was for me. He was giving it his absolute all against you, yet it almost seemed like you didn't take him seriously as a threat. At least subconsciously."

As an increasingly nervous Gohan struggled to keep his composure, the frog-girl continued, "It's only our second day at U.A. High School. Son. Besides the amazing power you displayed with your Quirk during yesterday's apprehension test, I don't really know anything about you. None of us do. And you don't know anything about me. None of us really know anything about each other, ribbit.

"However, the snippets I gathered from our brief conversations indicate to me that you aren't a particularly arrogant or self-conceited person. A little oblivious about the world, perhaps, but despite your inherent abilities, you aren't pompous or full of yourself. You don't view yourself as superior to the rest of us.

"That's why I believe that when you held back against Shoji, you weren't doing so to mock him or patronise him," Asui tilted her head as she stared inquisitively directly at his helmeted face. "But my question still stands: why were you holding back, Son?"

Gohan opened his mouth to speak, but no sound would come out of his mouth. He did not know what to say. Words completely failed him - his classmate had charged him with an assertion that they both knew to be true. He had tried to make it seem that he was not holding back, but he had evidently failed. He wondered if the other students of Class 1-A suspected the same as Asui?

Asui was far more observant than he had initially given her credit for her. Gohan knew that no matter how much he vehemently he denied it, she would know him to be a liar. And that was not the first impression that he wanted to impart on his classmate.

The half-saiyan closed his eyes and turned away from the frog-girl, taking a deep breath. He had no other choice. He would just have to tell her the truth and live with the consequences. He hoped that she would not tell their other classmates. Or worse, their teachers. He highly doubted that their homeroom teacher would approve. He had even said as much during yesterday's apprehension test. He wanted his students to showcase their full potential.

"You're right. I was holding back against Shoji. And Todoroki," Gohan finally answered, solemnly bowing his head. "You're also right about the fact that I wasn't trying to treat them with condescension. That never even crossed my mind. Arrogance has already cost me so much. I would never do that to anyone. I just...I just wanted to give you guys a chance to show off your abilities. I wanted to give you guys a chance to shine."

Gohan breathed out, before turning his head and looking back at the frog girl. Asui was staring at him with a slightly confused expression. "What do you mean when you say 'give you guys a chance to shine'?"

"Do you remember right before our battle trial started what I saying about my powers? Especially about being able to sense the ki of lifeforms?" When she slowly nodded, Gohan softly sighed, "I forgot to mention one other skill I have that I learnt-I mean, one other ability my Quirk allows me to use. I can sense the power level of a person. You could also call it their battle power or their fighting strength.

"It's pretty complicated to explain - it's kinda like measuring a person's overall physical capability. It's difficult to determine the power levels of most humans. I have to concentrate really hard when trying to read a person's power level because-"

"I think I understand what you're trying to say," Asui sharply cut through his rambling, narrowing her eyes in concentration as she spoke. "You compared your own strength - or power level as you call it - with Todoroki, Shoji and myself. You quickly realised that if you went all out from the beginning, the match would have ended within seconds of starting. You didn't want to steal the limelight away from the rest of us, ribbit. So...you tried to give both the villain team and myself the opportunity to demonstrate our abilities to All Might and the rest of the class."

Asui knitted her eyebrows together. "Am I right?"

Gohan slowly nodded, a look of fear falling over his helmeted face as he waited with bated breath for her to continue speaking. He could not help but feel apprehensive about her response. Would she react in anger or disappointment? He wondered if she even believed him.

Was she planning to tell their classmates and homeroom about their conversation? He could only imagine how their perception of him would negatively change if she informed them of his purposeful restraint.

However, much to his surprise, Asui's mouth stretched out in a small smile. "Son, I understand where you're coming from. I don't doubt that you're more powerful than the rest of us. After all, you were the one who finally beat All Might's record during the Entrance Exam. Even though he was recommended to U.A., I doubt even Todoroki would have achieved the score you did. As I said, I don't think you had any malicious intent, ribbit. I also don't doubt that you were well-intentioned.

"Still...I hope you now realise that it would be unfair and detrimental on both our classmates and yourself if you keep holding back your full potential," Asui said, her voice softening. "Some of our classmates may not be as understanding to your reasoning. They might think you're extremely arrogant and cocky - they might. even believe you to have such a superiority complex that you've already deemed them unworthy of your full power. Again, I'm not saying that you do, but the more ignorant members of our homeroom class may see it differently. It's also unfair to your development as a hero. How are you going to become stronger if you don't try your hardest?"

"I...I think I understand."

But Asui was not finished. "Besides, I actually think showing the true potential of your Quirk would actually serve as a good source of inspiration to our classmates. Seeing someone like you being so powerful would motivate them to become stronger and better skilled. I mean, we all want to be great heroes one day, but we all still have a long way to go until we can even come close to being a professional crimefighter. As first-year students, we have to learn from our teachers as well as our fellow students about what it means to be a hero. We can all support each other in our development, whether it be directly or indirectly."

Gohan could not help but be surprised at how mature his classmate sounded. She was of similar age to him, but the way she spoke reminded him of a fully-grown adult. And a seasoned one at that. Everything that she had said had been rational and well-reasoned. He could not argue with her logic. It would be most unkind to restrain himself in front of his classmates. He had not really given much thought about how the public usage of his abilities would impact on the mindset of his classmates.

Of course, it would not be possible for him to truly use his powers in an unrestrained manner. He highly doubted that Asui was aware of his full capabilities. Yet her words held much merit to them. He could not fully exhibit his powers, but he now realised that he did not have to be afraid of showcasing himself to the rest of his classmates.

Although he could not reveal their origin, he did not have to hide his powers or his capabilities from hero society. He lived in a world where superpowers were the norm. He did not have have to be afraid of spotlighting himself to both his peers and the glare of the public eye.

What she had told him was something that he would definitely take into consideration moving forward.

"Thank you, Asui. I...I really do appreciate what you've told me," Gohan found himself bowing towards his classmate. "You're absolutely right - I can definitely serve as both an inspiration and an influence on our classmates. I promise you: I won't hold back anymore. Next time, I'll give it my all."

Asui smiled at him. "That's all I ask, Son. Not just for my or our classmates' sake, but for yours."

The half-saiyan nodded towards the frog-girl, before gesturing towards the exit tunnel. "We should probably head back and join our classmates. We don't want to be tardy!"

Asui lowered her gaze to the ground, and to his surprise, her cheeks began to redden. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that she was blushing. "Son, there is one more thing I have to ask you. It's...it's a very difficult thing for me to ask, especially since we don't know each other that well. But..."

As her voice trailed off, Gohan furrowed his brow in confusion. She seemed almost embarrassed about what she was about to ask. "What is it, Asui?"

She softly sighed, before saying, "I was wondering...ribbit, I would like it if you would call me by my first name. I would like it if you called me Tsuyu instead of Asui. Or even Tsu would be fine."

The half-saiyan's onyx eyes widened in surprise. Out of all the things she could have asked, that was quite possibly the last thing he would have expected from the frog-girl. "Oh! Um, well uh, I don't mind-I mean, Asui, are you sure that you'd be okay with-?"

"It's Tsuyu, Son," She said quickly. "And if it bothered me, I wouldn't have asked. I'll admit that when I first met you, I wasn't sure what to think. None of us did. At least to me, however, you've definitely proven yourself to be capable. You've certainly earned my respect. I feel like I can learn things from you. I feel like we can be friends. And that's why I'm requesting that you call me by my first name."

"I-I don't know what to say. If-if you would like me to call you by your first name, then I would be happy to do so," A sudden thought came to his mind. "But I'll only do it on one condition: you have to call me by my first name as well. If we're going to be friends, I would like it if we both referred to each other by our first names. I would like it if you called me Gohan."

The frog-girl pursed her lips, his face scrunching into a look of contemplation as she considered his offer. After what seemed like several minutes, she finally nodded.

A smile widened across her face as she responded with, "I...I suppose I can do that. It might take me some time to become comfortable with the idea, but I think I can manage it. Eventually."

With that, the two began walking towards the exit. As they left Ground Beta, the half-saiyan found himself sending a short prayer of thanks to Dende. Whether it had been his intention or not, he was thankful to the Kami of Earth for partnering him up with Tsuyu Asui.

It wasn't long after he had departed the faux-metropolitan-city of Ground Beta that Gohan found himself seated back in his homeroom.

He had not bothered with the facade of returning to the changing room; the watch that Bulma had made him allowed him to change back into his school uniform with a single press of the button. He had simply made sure that no one was watching him before doing so. As such, he found himself alone in the classroom waiting for his classmates to return from the changing rooms.

Such a useful device. It's such a time saver. The half-saiyan mused as he stared down at the watch. which he had decided to keep clasped around his wrist. Bulma never disappoints with her inventions. Still...I wonder why Capsule Corporation hasn't made this standard issue for all heroes? Perhaps she gave me a prototype model for me to test out? I wouldn't put it past her.

The next time that he visited Capsule Corp, Gohan made a mental note to ask her that exact question.

As he placed the prescribed textbook on his table, his classmates began trickling back into the classroom. To his relief, most did not seem surprised by his presence. The majority of students simply greeted him with either a nod or a wave before returning back to their assigned seats, taking out their things for the final lesson. The only one who completely ignored him was Katsuki Bakugo, but that was to be expected.

No one seemed to be in the mood to talk. Many of his classmates looked quite weary - the entire class seemed quite worn out from their Hero Studies lesson.

Class 1-A's final afternoon class for the day was Science. It was taught by a man whose costume resembled that of a stereotypical western cowboy. His face was covered by an old-school tan gas mask, with triangular holes for his eyes and silver ear-defenders wired to the sides of the mask. His dreadlocks - dark brown and shoulder-length - were visible from the side of his mask. He wore baggy dark brown pants with light brown chaps over them, large grey boots, a large red cloak buttoned up at the top and a brown cowboy hat with a thick metallic plate at the front, with a large "S" stamped in the middle of it.

When the man introduced himself as the pro hero Snipe, Gohan assumed that the "S" stood for his name. It seemed the most logical guess.

In any case, the half-saiyan found Snipe to be a rather knowledgeable and thorough teacher. As Science was one of his favourite subjects, Gohan found himself enjoying the lesson, even if he had already covered the material in his studies. If there was one thing he had learned from his tutoring sessions, an engaging teacher could make even the most boring of subjects interesting. And Science was far from boring.

Halfway through the lesson, Shoto Todoroki returned to class. Although his face was pale and his cheeks were slightly sunken, Todoroki appeared to have recovered quite well from their fight. After handing Snipe a note from Recovery Girl that explained his absence, the heterochromatic teenager walked back to his seat, which just so happened to be on the left-hand side of Gohan. As Todoroki sat down, the half-saiyan kept his gaze glued onto their teacher. He did not once make eye contact with him.

For the remainder of the lesson, Gohan made a special effort to not sneak a glance in Todoroki's was. He didn't desire to antagonise his classmate any further than he already had. However, as he jotted down in his notebook what Snipe had written on the board, Gohan's thoughts wandered back to their fight.

Although he had intended to irritate the sullen teen with his provocations, he still did not understand why Todoroki had reacted in such an incensed manner when he had mentioned Endeavor. Was he ashamed of his father? Were they not on good terms? Gohan knew that the relationship between Todoroki and his father was none of his business, but that did nothing to abate his curiosity.

I just don't want there to be any bad feelings between us. Gohan reasoned to himself. Maybe...maybe after the lesson ends, I can talk to him. Clear any bad air. Apologise if necessary.

Soon, their final period came to a close. As the bell rang, Snipe wrapped up their lesson by assigning them homework, before bidding them farewell. Within seconds of his departure, many students of Class 1-A stood up from their seats and began talking to their neighboring classmate.

"Hey Son," The half-saiyan turned to look at Ochaco, who sat to his right with a worried expression on her face. "Do you think Deku's okay? He missed our final lesson. He still hasn't come back from Recovery Girl's office."

Much to his shame, Gohan had been so focused on his relations with Todoroki that he had completely forgotten about the welfare of his green-haired friend. She was right. While Todoroki had been admitted out of the nurse's office, Midoriya had not. He assumed that his injuries were still being treated by the school nurse, for his friend had not returned to their homeroom.

"I'm sure he's fine, Uraraka," Gohan gave her a reassuring smile. "He did take a lot of damage during your battle trial. It's probably taking Recovery Girl a bit more time to patch him up. I'm sure he'll be back in no time."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Ochaco conceded. "Still, I'm gonna wait for him to come back. With how our battle trial ended, I feel like it's my responsibility to make sure he's okay. His things are still here anyway. If he doesn't come back, I'll just take his stuff to Recovery Girl's office and check up on him."

Gohan found Ochaco's concern for Izuku to be rather touching. Neither Midoriya or Uraraka knew each other particularly well, but a bond had already formed between the pair. He wondered if it had anything to do with what had transpired during the Entrance Exam. Gohan didn't know the exact details of what happened, but from the snippets of conversation he had overheard from Midoriya, Uraraka and Iida, Izuku had somehow saved her from the zero-pointer robot. How he had done so with such a volatile Quirk the half-saiyan had no idea.

"That sounds like a great idea. I think I'll stay back and wait for him too." He replied.

As the half-saiyan began placing his textbooks back into his bag, he took a quick look around Class 1-A. While Todoroki - and strangely Bakugo - were packing away their things in silence, the majority of his classmates did not seem too bothered about leaving, preferring to chat amongst themselves about the events of the day.

"Yoh Son!" Within a blink of an eye, the half-saiyan suddenly found his table being surrounded by Eijiro Kirishima and several other beaming students. "I know I'm beating a dead horse, but man, you were totally awesome during your battle trial. I had no idea what I was doing during my match, but you were like the complete opposite. It was so effortless with you. It was so manly! Even though you guys were the villains, you and Asui acted like total pros."

"Yeah, your match was so cool!" Ashido exclaimed, sitting on the corner of his desk with a wide grin across her face. "Your Quirk seems so crazy OP. I like the Quirk I have, but I have to admit I'm really jealous of yours."

"You're so lucky to be blessed with such a versatile Quirk!" Although he could not see her face, Gohan recognised the voice to belong to Hagakure. "Even All Might can't fly like you do."

"With a Quirk like that, you're gonna make pro within record time after graduating from this place," Kaminari said, leaning against his table and shooting him an electric smile.

Overwhelmed once more by the praise he was receiving, Gohan's felt his face flush with embarrassment. "Um thanks, guys. I'm just really lucky to have a pretty good Quirk. Yeah, that's it. A good Quirk."

"Dude, after watching your match, I was wondering something: do you practice martial arts?" Kirishima asked. "You seem to know how to fight, and you've got the build of a martial artist. You know, all sinewy and lean and muscular. I was just curious."

"Um, not at the moment. I used to train with my dad and his friends when I was pretty young," Gohan replied, readying himself for the questions his classmates undoubtedly would have. "I still know the basics, but I don't practice anymore. I'm pretty rusty at the moment. I gave up martial arts training to focus on my studies."

"Oh, that's cool," Kirishima gave him a toothy grin. "I know you said that you don't practice, but if you're ever up for it, I'd love to spar with you sometime. We should definitely train together!"

Not wishing to disappoint the redhead with a refusal, the half-saiyan gave him a tight-lipped smile. "Uh, if I'm not busy, I guess I'll consider it."

"I'd love to spar with you as well. Someone with your speed and strength would be a worthwhile opponent," Ojiro smiled at him. "I was actually wondering something as well: are you a Mr. Satan guy or an All Might guy?"

Gohan grinned. "Definitely an All Might guy."

"Hey Son, I know you're getting bombarded, but can I ask you a question?" When Gohan nodded, the burly Rikido Sato continued. "You're obviously powerful. And you have a pretty amazing Quirk. What do your parents do? Are they pro heroes?"

Gohan weighed the question in his mind. Even though his father was revered as a hero by the majority of superhero society, he had never operated as an officially licensed professional. The half-saiyan found it ironic that despite his father's heroic deeds, under Japanese law, Son Goku was technically a vigilante.

Not unlike the Golden Warrior, I suppose. Though I'm nowhere near as cool as Dad.

Gohan wanted to keep his answer as short as possible, so he simply replied to Sato with, "Um, no. They aren't pro heroes. Just regular people."

"Yeah, that makes sense. After all, if your parents were pros, you most likely wouldn't have had to take the Entrance Exam. Probably would've been recommended to U.A. like Todoroki and that Yaoyorozu chick." Kaminari remarked.

The mention of Todoroki caused Gohan to glance to his left. In the commotion that had encircled the half-saiyan, the heterochromatic teen had quietly slinked away. Fortunately, Gohan turned his head just in time to catch a glimpse of his classmate slipping out of the homeroom, his head low and his backpack slung over his right shoulder.

Damnit. Couldn't he have just wait a little longer?

Gohan shot up from his seat, his sudden and unexpected movement causing Ashido and Kaminari to jump in surprise. "Hey guys, I'll be right back. I just need to do something real quick."

Before anyone could react, the half-saiyan wordlessly brushed past his confused classmates and followed Todoroki out of the room. Thankfully, Todoroki had not made it too far down the near-empty hallway, for Gohan was able to easily catch up to him within seconds of exiting Class 1-A.

"Hey, Todoroki." The heterochromatic teen stopped and slowly to face the half-saiyan. If he was surprised or confused about why Gohan was talking to him, his expression of cool indifference betrayed no emotion or feeling.

"Listen, I don't want to keep you, but I was just wondering if we could talk?"

Todoroki did not reply, merely regarding the half-saiyan with a glazed look in his mismatched eyes of turquoise and grey. Gohan took his silence as a sign to go ahead. "I just want to apologise if I offended you during our battle trial. Like Iida, I was trying to emulate the behaviour of a villain, but I might have gone a bit too far in a few places. If I said anything that might have deeply upset you, I'm sorry. That wasn't my intention."

Gohan gave him a warm smile, before extending out his right hand. "I know I probably didn't give off the best first impression, but I truly don't want there to be any bad feelings between us. In fact, I'm hoping that we can be friends. Your Quirk is absolutely amazing. I'd love to learn more about it!"

Todoroki looked down at the hand that Gohan had held out for him. Although his stare was vacant, behind those thin and reserved eyes, it seemed to the half-saiyan that he was internally debating whether to shake his hand or not.

Unfortunately, when Todoroki lifted his gaze, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I cannot in good conscience accept your offer of friendship. It would be most unwise."

Although he tried to hide it, a look of disappointment fell over Gohan's face. He had not expected Todoroki to reject his hand of friendship so callously. "I...I see. I'm sure you have your reasons. I...I won't bother you any longer."

A dejected Gohan turned around and began to slowly walk back to Class 1-A. However, he had only taken a few steps before Todoroki called out to him. When Gohan looked back at his classmate, Todoroki had placed his hands in his pockets, fixing him an intent stare.

"Son, I want you to know that I don't bear you any ill will for what happened during the battle trial," Todoroki said. "You didn't do anything wrong. As you said, you were playing the part of a villain. It was I who overreacted. I was playing the part of the hero - I should have steeled my emotions and ignored your taunts. Instead, I acted rash. It cost my team the match. I was foolish and weak. And stupid."

He narrowed his eyes at Gohan. "You were the one to finally beat All Might's record in the Entrance Exam. I knew this, yet I still underestimated you. I even saw your capabilities yesterday during our apprehension test, yet I still didn't take you seriously. That was my fault. I made that mistake. However, I promise you that I won't make that same mistake again.

"I hate to say it, Son, but you stand at the top of our class," Todoroki clenched his jaw. "I was operating on the false belief that I stood equal with you, but from where I really stand the truth is quite clear. You're easily the strongest in Class 1-A. Out of all of us, you currently have the best chance at being the next number-one hero. And that is why I have to surpass you. I made a promise to myself that I would be the one to oust All Might as the number-one hero in Japan. A friendship between us would only serve as a distraction. I can't afford to be distracted. I can't let anything get in my way."

And with that, Shoto Todoroki turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Gohan alone in the hallway.

Man, that guy is intense. Gohan shook his head as he watched Todoroki turn a corner and disappear from sight. He sounded so serious about being number-one.

Todoroki had declared his ambition to surpass Gohan. To the half-saiyan, he sounded eerily similar to a certain Saiyan prince he knew all too well. Except unlike Vegeta, Shoto didn't seem completely consumed by arrogance or pride. It seemed to Gohan that he felt that he had something to prove. What that was he had no idea.

"Wha-Gohan? Is that you?" A faint voice called out from behind him.

Gohan turned around, and to both his surprise and delight, found himself facing the ragged form of Izuku Midoriya. His green-haired friend was still wearing his now tattered hero costume, while his right arm was in a sling. He looked exhausted, and his face was besmirched with a few bruises and some dirt, but otherwise, he appeared fine.

"Hey Izuku!" Gohan approached his friend with a welcoming smile. "It's good to see you, man. Uraraka was getting worried about you. It seems like Recovery Girl healed you up pretty well. How do you feel?"

"Oh, um, yeah I uh-I'm feeling alright I guess. I feel a little worse for wear, but I think-I think I'm gonna be okay," Izuku nervously swallowed, before asking Gohan, "Was I really out for so long? Did I really miss our final afternoon class?"

When Gohan nodded, Izuku sighed. "Oh man, Mr. Aizawa is gonna kill me. He's probably going to choke me with his scarf. I'm so screwed for tomorrow."

Gohan waved a hand of reassurance. "You shouldn't worry about that. I'm sure Mr. Aizawa won't give you a hard time. Besides, it wasn't your fault that you missed out on Science. You sacrificed your arm so that you and Uraraka would win. "

"Yeah, but after what happened yesterday, I just don't want to get on his bad side," Izuku muttered, lowering his head. "He already warned me about recklessly using my Quirk. He already warned me about the consequences. I don't want to give him a reason to expel me. I worked so hard to get into U.A. High that I don't know what I would do if I were forced out. I have to get a hold over my Quirk. I have a responsibility. I...I have to get stronger. Not just for my sake, but for everyone around me. I have to-"

Gohan patiently waited for Izuku to finish speaking. It seemed to the half-saiyan that his green-haired friend was talking more to himself than to Gohan. He was addressing his own motivation to become a hero and was internalising the need to learn from his mistakes and become stronger.

Izuku shook his head, before looking up at Gohan with a thin smile. "Anyway, um, how did the battle trials go after I was knocked out? Actually, I'm really curious about yours."

"My match was the one after yours. I was partnered with Asui Tsuyu. We made up the villain team. We fought against Todoroki and Shoji," Gohan motioned for Izuku to follow him back to Class 1-A. "Todoroki froze the entire building and went inside to capture the weapon, leaving Shoji to guard the entrance. Before the match started, however, Asui and I quickly figured out what Todoroki and Shoji were planning to do. While Todoroki was freezing the building, Asui used her ability to stick to surfaces to scale down the building and ambush Shoji, while I confronted Todoroki. I knocked him unconscious, captured him and went to help Asui with Shoji. We ultimately won with time to spare."

When he stopped recapping his match, Gohan looked back at Izuku to see his reaction. His green-haired was gaping at him in disbelief, his widened eyes filled with astonishment. "That..that sounds absolutely amazing! I really wished I have been able to watch your match. You must have been incredible. I really would've loved to see you in action!"

Gohan sheepishly chuckled, placing a hand on the back of his neck. "Eh, I didn't really do anything. It was Asui who came up with our plan. You should give all the credit to her. The other matches were pretty cool. The match after us was Tokoyami and Sato as the heroes against Yaoyorozu and Mineta as the villains. The villain team did a lot better than we all expected, but they ultimately still lost.

Next up were Kaminari and Jiro as the heroes and Kirishima and Sero as the villains. The heroes tried their best, but they were defeated pretty quickly. That whole match was more akin to a jumbled mess. I remember Jiro was really mad at Kaminari about their loss - he apparently didn't stick to their plan. Anyway, the final match saw the hero team Ashido and Aoyama battling against the villains Hagakure and Ojiro. That last one was a really close call actually. Although the villains worked way better as a team, the heroes managed to win that one."

As they had reached the door to Class 1-A, Gohan gestured for Izuku to open the door. "If you want the specifics of those matches, you should ask our classmates. Most of them are still here. I'm sure they'd love to tell you."

When Izuku slid the door open and stepped into the classroom, he was immediately acknowledged by Kirishima, who gave him a wide grin. "Hey look guys! Looks like Son found Midoriya in the hallway. Good to have you back champ!"

Izuku let out a small gasp as Kirishima led a flock of their fellow classmates to him. As several introduced themselves to his green-haired friend, Gohan could not help but smile as they began to shower him with compliments and questions.

"Hey Deku!" Ochaco got up from her seat and rushed towards him, appraising his appearance with some concern. "Why didn't Recovery Girl heal your injuries?"

"Oh! It has to do with how much stamina I'm using." Izuku chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head with his left hand.

Ochaco frowned. "What does stamina have to do with it?"

"Uh, well, I'm pretty sure Recovery Girl's Quirk works something like-" Izuku suddenly stopped, tilting his head to the left as he noticed something amiss in front of him.

Izuku looked around the assembled students. "Hey guys, where's Bakugo? I thought he'd still be class."

The students of Class 1-A exchanged uneasy looks between them before Sero finally answered. "Dude, Todoroki and him already left. After Son went after Todoroki, Bakugo left in a huff. We...we tried to get him to stay back. You know, so we could talk about our results and introduce ourselves properly. He just didn't care to listen."

"That garçon blond was mostly quiet when he left. Gone was that blazing anger. Most puzzling." Aoyama quietly commented.

"Yeah Deku, you just missed him," Ochaco said.

Without warning, Midoriya spun around and rushed past Gohan, causing him to jolt in surprise as he darted out of the room and began sprinting down the hallway.

"Wait, where the heck is he going? He just got here." Sero asked as the echoes of Izuku's pattering steps diminished.

"I think he's trying to catch Bakugo before he leaves the school," Gohan guessed, placing a finger on his chin. "I dunno why. Probably has to something to do with their match."

"Why would he wanna talk to him about that? It cost him his arm, but Midoriya beat him," Asui asked. "Bakugo will probably just try to blast him again."

"That guy is so scary." Mineta's limbs seemed to tremble at the thought of Bakugo.

"Yeah, seriously. I know they went to the same junior high, but damn, he needs to let that one go. Let him wallow in his own rage." Ashido said.

"Childhood friends who have turned into enemies. I think they view each other as rivals. Well, at least Deku does anyway. I dunno about Bakugo." Ochaco murmured to herself.

"With that Quirk of his, it's not much of a rivalry," Asui pointed out. "Midoriya got lucky today. Next time, I could see Bakugo winning over him."

"Midoriya is a total sweetheart compared to that Bakugo," Sato remarked. "If he ever wants to popular like Mr. Satan or All Might, he needs a major overhaul in personality."

The other students began discussing the relationship between Bakugo and Midoriya. Gohan pondered going after Izuku and making sure that he was okay. He quickly decided against it. There was clearly tension between the pair needed to resolve by themselves.

Unless there was a physical altercation between the two, he had no business interfering.

As Iida rushed over to scold Tokoyami for sitting on his seat, Gohan felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and found Kaminari grinning at him. "Hey Son, a few of us were thinking of heading to the mall afterward to check out the new arcade. Before you dashed after Todoroki, I was going to ask if you wanted to tag along."

Kaminari waved towards Kirishima and Ashido, beckoning them to come closer before saying, " It'd be Kirishima, Ashido, Hagakure, you and me. I think I can get Sato and Sero to come along as well. We can all go out for burgers and milkshakes after and just chill."

Gohan was taken aback by the invitation. "Um, well, I don't-I don't really know what to-"

"Come on Son. It would be totally sweet," Kirishima slung his arm around Gohan's shoulder. "We don't really have that much homework, and we don't really get enough time at school to just hang out and relax. There are some really cool games at the arcade that I wanna check out."

Flanking him on the left, Ashido hugged her arms around his bicep and pulled him to her chest. Gohan could not help but blush as she batted her eyelashes at him. "Yeah, it would be really rad if you came along. Besides, it would give us all the opportunity to get to know each other better!"

He initially considered declining. He did not want to incur the wrath of his mother by being heading home late. He especially did not want to be lambasted by her signature frying pan. Gohan, Goten, and even their father had been struck on the head one too many times by Chi Chi for doing something wrong. Considering his hybrid physiology, it hurt a lot more than he would have thought.

However, he recalled what his mother had said prior to his acceptance at U.A. Part of the reason she had allowed him to attend the hero academia was because she wished for him to make friends close to his age. Going to the arcade afforded him the chance to do that. His mother could be harsh and very strict, but most often than not she could be reasonable and accommodating. Those traits had only increased in frequency since the death of his father. Sometimes, he wondered if his death affected her far more than she let on.

Besides, I'll just call her and let her what I'm doing. Gohan reasoned to himself. I won't stay too long either.

"You know what?" After a long pause, Gohan finally nodded. "I'd love to join you guys."

"Kacchan! Wait!"

He had made it just in time. He had to speak to him. He had to let him know. As he ran out of the entrance foyer of the U.A. High's main building, Izuku Midoriya finally caught glimpse of the sulking figure of Katsuki Bakugo. He was walking down the brick pathway with his hands buried deep in pockets. Although Izuku could not see his face, he was surprised to see Kacchan's head bowed so low. It almost seemed as if he was sullen and downcast.

"Kacchan, wait up!" Izuku called out once again, panting as he jogged down the stairs and headed towards his childhood friend.

As Izuku neared, Kacchan finally stopped and glanced back at him, narrowing his red eyes. "What?"

Taken aback by the sudden growl in his voice, Izuku stopped in his tracks, letting out a small gasp. He felt sweat falling from his forehead and down his cheeks, his lips quivering. Although he was incredibly nervous about telling Kacchan the truth, he felt that it was the right decision. Especially given the circumstances. He deserved to know.

There was no point in delaying the inevitable.

Izuku dropped his gaze to the floor, breathing out slowly as Kacchan waited for him to speak. "I wasn't hiding my Quirk from you. It was given to me by someone else. Recently."

Kacchan grunted, causing Izuku to flinch. "But...I can't tell you who I got it from. I know it sounds absolutely insane. I know it sounds like something out a comic-book. Only it's real. The thing is...I don't really have any control over this power yet. I haven't figured out how to make it my own yet. But I'm trying. That's why...that's why I didn't want to use it against you during our match. But in the end, it was the only chance I had at winning."

Izuku gulped, keeping his eyes glued to the ground. He placed his left hand on his sling and continued with, "I still have a lot to learn. I know that. That's why I'm at U.A. High. I'm going to work as hard as I can to gain control of this borrowed Quirk."

The green-haired teen took a deep breath, steeling himself as he looked up once again at Kacchan. "And when I do that, I'll finally beat you with my own power."

Whether it be a reaction of anger or a reaction of surprise, Izuku had thought himself ready to deal with whatever Kacchan threw his way. The look on his face - his red eyes gleaming with a potent mixture of barely concealed rage and utter bewilderment - was not what he had prepared for.

Holy crap! What the hell am I saying. Izuku's eyes widened as Kacchan's face shook with anger. I only meant to tell him I wasn't tricking him.

"How dumb do you think I am?" Kacchan asked, swiveling his body to directly face Izuku. "Borrowed power? Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot. You already made a fool out of me in that damn battle trial exercise. So? Did you come here to rub it in? I lost. And to make matters worse, it was to you."

He slowly stepped back as Kacchan began trembling with anger. "I thought losing to you would be the worst part of my day. I was so sure that it would be. But you know what else happened? That damn friend of yours: Son."

Izuku furrowed his brow in confusion. "Go-Gohan? What does he have to do with-?"

"EVERYTHING!" Kacchan screamed, causing Izuku to yelp out in panic. "I came second place in the Entrance Exam to him. Not only did he double my score, he completely smashed the previous record set by All Might. I thought it was a fluke. I thought the two of you had worked together to cheat the exam. I couldn't understand why you both were so chummy. I couldn't believe a weak, pitiful and bumbling idiot like him would get into U.A. And everyone was gushing over him like he was a god! I thought that was bad enough. But...then I saw him. I actually saw him in action."

Kacchan tightened his hands into fists. "You weren't there. You didn't see. But I did! I saw him fight ice guy and that six-armed guy. That ice guy's Quirk was incredible. I thought he was invincible. Your friend destroyed him! It wasn't even a fight - the ice guy had no chance. Your friend beat them both within seconds. He made fools out of them. I couldn't even defeat you, an absolute weakling, in fifteen minutes. Yet...that bastard took them both down without even breaking a sweat."

"How am I supposed to compete with someone like that? How is anyone? Compared to Son, I might as well be a fly waiting to be squatted," Kacchan slapped his right hand over his forehead, his anger and frustrating tipping over the boiling point. "Crap! I even agree with what that girl said. My attack was so stupid! Damnit! Damnit! Damnit! DAMNIT!"

Kacchan looked up at Izuku, using his hands to wipe away the tears that were swelling in his eyes. "Enjoy that win Deku, because I promise that you won't get another! I'm just getting started! I'm going to end up the number-one hero no matter what. You'll never defeat me again, you bastard! Don't even try. It would be absolutely pointless. I'll defeat you...and your precious friend."

With that, Kacchan swerved around and began walking once more to the entrance.

Izuku breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a slight wave of nausea come over him as he comprehended what had just happened. With all things considered, that had not gone as bad as he expected. At least he was still alive.

"THERE YOU ARE!"

Suddenly, a large gust of wind flew past him. Izuku covered his eyes, protecting them from the dust being blown his way. When he lowered his arm away from his face, he was shocked to find the towering figure of his idol standing behind Kacchan.

"YOUNG BAKUGO! I FINALLY FOUND YOU!" All Might boomed, placing his hands on Kacchan's shoulders. "Pride is an important attribute to have. But while you certainly have the ability to become a pro hero, there's still plenty you have to learn before-!"

"Let go of me, All Might. Right now!" Kacchan snarled, surprising the Symbol of Peace. "I'll be more famous than you and I'll do it without your help. I'm coming for your title, number-one hero."

Kacchan shrugged out of All Might's grip. Without saying another word, he hunched his shoulders and walked away. It seemed to Izuku that Kacchan's brusque rejection had left All Might speechless.

Kacchan's fuse has been lit. There's a fire blazing under him. Izuku clenched his right hand, a look of determination dropping over his face. But that doesn't change what I have to do. I have to become stronger. I have to master One For All. I have to be a worthy successor. Still...Kacchan isn't the only one I have to chase after. I consider him to be a friend. But in the end, if I wanna be the greatest hero and the next number-one, I have to surpass him as well. I have to beat Son too.

Thanks for reading everyone. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I decided to end the chapter with Izuku and Bakugo's talk at the end of Episode 8 of the anime to parallel the conversation between Shoto and Gohan. Both Todoroki and Bakugo view Gohan and Izuku respectively as their primary rivals.

This chapter was the longest one yet and a nightmare to edit, but I loved writing it. The next chapter will detail Gohan's trip to the arcade, Class 1-A's representative election, the breach of the U.A. barrier and the introduction to the U.S.J. I have no idea when I'll upload it. Hopefully, it won't take as long as this one did.

In terms of the pairings, I've eliminated Hagakure and Yaoyorozu. The former would be too weird and the latter is already being done extremely well in The Symbol of Peace and Justice. A lot of people have suggested pairing Gohan with Asui. I admit I didn't think of that at first, but it's actually a pretty good idea. I'm currently deciding whether to pair him with Asui, Kendo or Ashido. I'm leaning more towards the first two.