Chapter Text
Class 1-A's homeroom lesson was coming to a closing point. The students were eager to see one another and start the new day, chatting amongst each other while their teacher cleared his space. Before anything else, Aizawa had an announcement to make.
“Oh, and one last thing.” Aizawa spoke while erasing the chalk on the board, calling the classes attention one last time. “There's an opportunity coming up for you all. This event is called the 'U.A. Road to Success', or the RTS Competition. By winning in the top three, you can gain access to top-of-the-line hero equipment, including costume upgrades and specialized gear. Gear that's in a better standard to that which is given to you as students.” He read off the paper in front of him. A paper principal Nezu had given the teachers that highlighted the event. “And— to make 1st place a worthwhile reward, the student gets an all-expenses-paid internship at a prestigious hero agency anywhere in the world.” Aizawa continued, glancing up at his students. Everyone was buzzing in their seats at the news.
Iida was quick to raise his hand. Their teacher lowered the paper he was scanning down against the lectern. “Yes, Iida?”
“You said this was an opportunity. Does that mean this isn’t mandatory?!” The boy with glasses stood straight up out of his seat, his chair pushed back with a grating screech.
“You can sit down, Iida.” He looked back down at what was in his hands. Iida immediately sat down and eagerly awaited an answer. “To answer your question, RTS is not mandatory, it's just highly recommended for the students.” Their teacher took a big breath. “Besides, many of you aren’t ready.” He simply stated.
“What?! But Mr. Aizawa, we have the experience!” Kirishima questioned, confused. "We've already had plenty encounters with real villains! I could understand how I'm not ready, but what about the others?”
“Saying that a lot of you aren’t ready is an understatement. It could be all of you once I see the list of the pro heroes that are volunteering.” Aizawa rubbed his eyes. He was a little frustrated since this event always comes in the way of his teaching every year.
“Pro… Heroes..?” Kaminari mumbled, just as confused as everyone else regarding the event .
“You heard right.” Their teacher looked over. “It’s not just the pro heroes that makes this difficult, but 2nd and 3rd years could join as well, meaning the experience gap will be shown between them and you 1st years.”
“Now I’m confused. How are the pro heroes involved?” Jiro tilted her head to the side. A few other students nodded. Everyone was looking to Aizawa for answers.
“I was just about to get to that.” He sighed. “RTS is essentially like the sports festival and your finals mixed together. There are three rounds: Round one is a race with all the students that have decided to enter. This is to test your agility, senses, and your intelligence- Much harder than the one in the sports festival.” Simply by stating the first round, Aizawa had already lost a few’s interest in joining.
“For round two, only 60 of the students can continue on. This test will simulate saving everyone. The top 30 are split into a team of 10. Everyone in said teams has to cross the finish line that you have to reach in a timely manner together in order to win. Simple enough, right?” Aizawa looked up and saw a few of his students nod. “Now, to make it difficult, those who aren’t in the top 30 but were in the top 60 have to stop you. The winning teams make it to round three; The final round.”
“This must be where the pro heroes come in…” Midoriya mumbled.
“It will be explained later but for round three, 30 students will do one-on-one battles with randomly selected pro heroes, giving you no time to prepare.”
“Mr. Aizawa! Will you be one of the heroes that fight?” Kirishima shouted.
“No, none of the UA teachers could volunteer.” He placed the paper down. That was all he was required to say. Aizawa grabbed his sleeping bag and got ready to head out.
“Wait! When is um… RTS?” Sero asked quickly before their teacher left.
“About a week from now.” Aizawa smiled while he slid the door open and walked out.
The students exchange glances amongst each other, silent while they collected their thoughts. Before any of the students could talk to one another, their English teacher popped in. “Let’s get this party started!” The blonde yelled. Hopping around to the front then facing the front of the class, slapping his hands on the stand. “Ya ready?” He smiled wider, staring at the students as they looked back. Their expressions were split as if they received either horrible or wonderful news. A few of them were so lost in the moment that they had forgotten they still had English. “What- Is there something on my face?” Present Mic asked as he wiped the corners of his lips once his smile dipped.
“Mr. Aizawa told us about the R…TS?” Momo spoke up for her class.
“Oh, That silly thing? Nah, you kids will be alright.” He shook his head and smiled, hands waving in the air. “The heroes were told to hold back a little bit so they won't kill you.” Mic laughed.
“Kill us?!” The shortest among the class yelled.
“Calm down.” He huffed and stuck his pinky in his ear to muffle the sound of his voice. “Just like with the villains they fight, they hold back. Though, since you're children, they hold back a little more than usual, especially some of the heroes we managed to gather. There's a few that even I wouldn’t go against.” He took a large breath as his smile grew even wider. “Which is why I purposely failed Round One back when I was your age.” Mic shrugged.
He looked over to the students when he realized he had worried most of them. Mic was quick to reassure them with words he spoke from his heart. “Even with the event open to all the students here at UA, you all stand a chance. I believe in you all.”
“Mr. Aizawa said that the experience gap will be prevalent between them and us. Like we don’t stand a chance.” Ojiro said morosely.
“Are you going to let that get in front of you? Let it stand in your way?” Their teacher genuinely asked.
“Well… We haven’t interacted much with the other upperclassmen. We don’t know how much of a chance we have.” Yaoyorozu thought it out.
“It’s worth a try, yeah?” Ururaka spoke up. She was clearly determined to push herself more with the event coming up and was trying her best to hype her classmates up.
“I'd rather not show up and embarrass myself.” Kaminari laughed nervously.
“You too, Denki? But you managed to do great during the sports festival!"
“Hey, listen.” Their teacher calmly spoke to them. “It’ll be worth a shot for all of you, but we can’t force you to participate, only nudge you to do so.” Mic took off his yellow shades, rubbing where they made contact with the sides of his nose. After taking that small break of silence, he placed the shades back on his head. He jumped on one leg and pointed to his students, startling them to attention . “Which is why I have to motivate you young heroes!”
Jiro shook her head. “Yeah, no, I’ll sit this one out. At least we have a break because of it. Maybe some time for personal training.” She sighed, rolling her pen amongst her fingers as she waited for the lesson to start.
“We could always see where we stand when the time comes. I think it'd be great to see other people and how they use their quirks.” Midoriya smiled, having his own reasons to join.
“It also doesn't hurt to try…” Todoroki spoke softly. The others agreed amongst themselves before Mic finally started class.
-
"Alright class." Aizawa walked into the classroom, moving to the front. He was holding even more papers in his hands, tapping them on the surface of the lecturn to straighten them and then setting them down. Picking up chalk, he moved to write on the board:
Scenario 1.
'Villain with a water quirk, known to drown their enemies. Terrorizing the citizens of a mall. How do you capture him? Minimize fatalities, and minimize damages inside.'
"Here is your problem. For this scenario you're working alone. Write down what you would do with these three things in mind." He leaned forward on the lectern, one of his hands holding up his head as he rested his eyes.
The students read the problem and proceed to write what they would do, some double taking the problem while they wrote to make sure they understood it.
Pencils were set down and once Aizawa heard no one was no longer writing, he opened his eyes and sat up. "Who would like to share first?"
"I'd blow him up!" Bakugo blurted out.
"You would end up destroying the Mall's interior and there is no guarantee that you captured him." Aizawa's response made the blonde grumble with a pout.
"I'd capture him with the tape from my arms." Sero held his elbows up, almost as if flexing them.
"That's if you don't capture those who might be in the way. People are panicking and running around everywhere."
Uraraka was the first to actually raise her hand. "I'd stun him by throwing pots at him and then charge forwards to capture him."
"Minimize damages." Aizawa tapped the question, near the part he's referring to.
"Oh, right.." She flushed from embarrassment.
"I would reduce the distance between us and freeze him." Todoroki spoke calmly.
"Good but that's only if it goes your way."
"What?" The boy looked at his teacher in slight disbelief at the criticism, but before he could say anything else, other students began to speak up.
All the scenarios offered were answered in rapid succession by their teacher;
"I gain ground and then tackle him?" Midoriya tilted his head while he spoke.
"Is that a question? Be confident with what you're doing in battle."
"I'd stick him to the ground with my sticky balls 'till the police show up." Mineta smirked.
"They could still use their quirk. They're still a threat."
"I would grab his arm and speed him outside and work the rest out there." Iida nodded to himself, thinking he had thought it out well.
"Exits are clogged from panicked citizens." Aizawa pointed out.
"I make Bolas and toss it at him." Momo said confidently.
"Could work, don't miss."
The response only served to confuse the girl.
"Is there any way you could even win?" Jiro tried to ask politely but her slight sass ended up slipping through her words.
Aizawa chuckled. "Fights are unpredictable, you will never know till you're in it." He turned around and erased the current scenario and wrote down another. He quickly looked at the paper that was only visible to him before continuing writing the problem.
Scenario 2.
'There is a villain roaming the city, hiding in alleyways and killing victims instantly as they walk by. Quirk unknown. You work with two strangers.'
"One person's quirk is Mole - They can dig underneath the ground, but they are very sensitive to light. The other's quirk is Nail Knives... I don't have to explain." Aizawa wrote the side notes underneath the text. Placing the chalk down, he turned back around.
Momo clearly had a question bouncing around in her head. It didn't talk long until she raised her hand.
"Yes, Yaoyorozu?"
"Why are we doing this when no answer is correct? And why aren't we working in groups? Would- Wouldn't that make sense?" She criticized her teacher.
"There's several reaso-"
"Does this have to do with the RTS competition?!" Midoriya interrupted with a stammer.
Aizawa nodded, eye mildly twitching at the interruption, before continuing with his previous point. "When you're a Hero, everything is unpredictable, it's all a matter of luck in the end. As far as the 'Road To Success' competition goes, if anyone joins despite what I suggested myself and reaches one of those 30 slots, you'll have to think on your feet. Every one of those pro heroes went to U.A." He paused and thought for a moment. "At least in the following years." He mumbled.
“But we could still join even if you say we shouldn't?” Ojiro questioned.
"Yes, but back on track now." Their teacher stated while staring at his class before turning his attention down to the sheet of paper in front of him with the written out scenarios.
"Wait, one more thing. How would this help us as far as the RTS Competition?" Uraraka questioned, holding her hands together in her lap.
"Well." Aizawa thought about it, questioning himself whether to give them the honest truth of his worries or water it down. "You have to learn to think quickly in the field. Many of you got the hang of it, but these pro heroes are very experienced and know how to control their quirks well. That's not even including the fact many are exceptionally good at thinking within the second."
"How do we enter?" Another student asked.
"You show up. Now, no more questions, answer the scenario." He sighed, tapping the chalkboard.
-
It's one scenario after the next, the students answering it faster and faster with time. Even if it wasn't necessarily what he was looking for, it's still something.
The students were exhausted, having barely any break since the U.S.J incident. Aizawa sighed once he was done teaching. He quietly dismissed himself and headed to the teachers lounge.
He slid the door open only to be greeted with Present Mic and Snipe. Yamada sipped at fresh coffee, springing to attention at the sight of his friend. "Someone doesn't seem to be in a good mood." The blonde stood up and moved towards the other. Mic smiled and tilted his head down while leaning lower to look directly at him from above. Aizawa only stared ahead, unamused. He silently began to make tea for himself.
"Do we know who all is competing against the students?" Aizawa piped up. Snipe stood up and set a paper down on the counter near Aizawa, prompting the darker haired male to glance at it. It was a handwritten list, one he could recognize to be in All Might's writing. Aizawa took a moment to scan it.
Pro heroes attending RTS competition, confirmed: 29/30::
1) Samite - Appearance
2) Sir Bones - Bone manipulation
3) Mr Sandman - Time Manipulation
4) Urchina - Sharp
5) Pipe Petter - Dance
6) Greenwood- Monster Fist
7) Phantom Heart - Phasing
8) Painted Usui - Chameleon
9) Radiance - Glue
10) Seventeen - Air Erase
11) Harper - Bird Feet
12) Dark Pearl - Vacuum
13) Moonshine - Diamond skin
14) Star Bruster - Shadow burst
15) Day Watcher - Molten whip
16) Toxic - Magnetic Field
17) Party Boy- Balloon thumb
18) Hex - Elephant tusks
19) Cas - Smoke Screen
20) Flashpoint - Glow
21) Mechano - Chaos Bubble
22) Running spots - Cheetah
23) Shibata - Shatter
24) Mane - Elastic Legs
25) Blazer - Flame Hair
26) Nanny Noris - Melatonin tears
27) Eduarda- Spider
28) Splashdown - Water breath
29) Foxtrot - Owl
"Why number them?" He deadpanned and turned to the other two.
"Dunno, looks nicer that way." Present Mic shrugged. That was an acceptable answer.
The darker haired male looked at the list again. "Are we trying to kill them? Mechano and Sir Bones aren't known for holding back, and those are the worst of this list. Half of the heroes on here are beyond good at their quirk."
"It will teach them. Are you going soft, Aizawa?" Snipe genuinely asked.
"No, but I rather not end up with a dead kid. " He glared, setting the paper down. “How come there’s only 29 on the list?”
“The last hero was caught having ties with The League.” Snipe spoke while taking the list in his own hands again. “So, we had to drop him. No worries though, he's currently in custody.”
“Right.” Aizawa sighed deeply, took his tea, and left.