Chapter Text
Under Pressure
Fandom: MHA
AN: I've had this idea for months and I'm happy it'll come to fruition now.
Gran Torino was currently sipping from a juice pouch, sitting on a groaning Izuku Midoriya. The old man was analyzing everything his intern had done prior to his internship. He was fidgety and a nervous wreck, but when he fought him, he showed good control of a promising and powerful quirk, releasing air blasts after air blasts and moving at speeds he would have moved at as a teenager, thanks to the release of air bursts from his feet.
But then there was the problem: whenever he charged at the kid and/or bounced around the room like a monkey, he would lock up and worry about what to do. It was usually when he sensed he was about to charge the kid that he acted. He couldn’t have that. The kid wanted to be a hero didn’t he?!
The hero industry couldn't afford for heroes to have these flaws. It was best if the kid got it out of his system now, then face the consequences later. Torino got to his feet and jumped off him. "Get up, Brat."
Midoriya groaned and slowly stood up, panting.
His eyes focused on Gran Torino. "Okay, I'm ready for more training."
Torino raised a finger. "Actually...there won't be training until further notice." Making Midoriya blink stupidly.
"But....why?" He asked dumbfounded.
"Because of you brat!" Gran Torino yelled at Midoriya, making the hero student shrink and look scared and shocked.
Torino held out a hand before Midoriya could talk. "And don't worry, it's not your skill that's the problem." Then the old man's gaze pierced into him. "It's your mindset."
Midoriya stared at Gran Torino and straightened himself, genuinely confused, but willing to learn. "My....mindset?"
The old man folded his arms and grunted. "Yes. The problem is that you didn't go on the offensive even once. You stood in the same place, and it only took me coming at you to react."
Midoriya furrowed his eyebrows. "Oh."
Torino huffed. "You've got a strong quirk, kid. And you've got decent control over it. But control and power can only get you so far if you freeze like a block of ice. Heroes didn’t have the time to stop and worry. You couldn’t be thinking ‘Will this work’ or ‘What if I don’t save her in time’, villains won't be waiting for you to finish these thoughts. On the battlefield, the only thing you can do is act."
Midoriya felt a heavy weight on himself, looking a little pale as he realized the scope of his flaw and the possible consequences it could cause.
Gran Torino pointed at the door. “So go outside and think about what I said. The time you can use to overthink, is the time you can use to save lives!” he barked.
Midoriya was lying against a wall in a hidden alley, wearing his hero costume, his face full of thought and introspection.
The green-haired student was mulling over what All Might's mentor said, about how he overthought his actions...and he saw with paining clarity, he was right.
The entire time, he was more focused on how to land a hit on him, or what to do, but he froze.
And in fact, this wasn't the first time he's done this. When he and Ka-kacc... Bakugo fought; he was focusing on what procedure to do to fight Bakugo, then just acting. At the USJ, when Aizawa-Sensei was being overwhelmed by the Nomu, and when he fought Todoroki-san.
He gripped his fists tightly. He was right, he did overthink in his battles.
As Midoriya was stewing in his self-criticism, a vision of the past came to him. He remembered how Bakugo was being smothered by the sludge villain, and how..!
How he looked at him with fear in his eyes. And after that, he didn't think. He just moved.
Bakugo was in danger, and despite the risks, he didn't care. He didn't think about it. He only cared about saving him.
Midoriya bounced off the wall, and a new light shone in his eyes. He got it!
Whenever he fought a villain, and every time someone was in danger, he’d treat it as if Bakugo was in danger, and they needed his help, immediately!
"Okay...now to put this into practice," Midoriya muttered. He began running to the back of the building he was facing, eager to implement his new mindset.
Midoriya grunted as he was knocked a few feet away, and used his feet to stomp onto the ground to slow himself. He let out a few breaths and looked back at Torino, his face full of focus.
This time he didn't say anything, as he used Pressure to compress air under his feet and blast off toward Torino, before the man could say anything.
Torino immediately blasted away from him and landed feet on a wall. "I see you've been improving." The old commented. And honestly, it wasn't an understatement. The brat learned fast. He'd expected it to be a day or 2 when he learned how to grow out of that overthinking habit, but he came right at him the next morning for more training. Torino moved to another wall, as Midoriya punched the area he was previously at.
This time whenever he did his strategy of bouncing across the room, Midoriya would move towards not where he was currently at, but where he was gonna be to intercept him.
That was great, the old man thought. This would make the brat way more effective at hero work. But he still had far to go. "Not letting your opponent have a chance doesn't mean you'll win!" He breathed in and blasted air from his feet toward Midoriya.
But what was also significant about his training was the new techniques the brat created, which came from him making choices on the spur of the moment. Midoriya held up his arms in an X-formation, as a transparent, air-tight shield formed around him. "Press Cowling: 5%." Torino's foot slammed into the kid's arms, knocking him back a few feet away, but he only had a few bruises.
Midoriya crouched and exploded toward Torino at speeds he was surprised at, and narrowly dodged Midoriya's punch. He landed on the ceiling. "Nice movement, brat...but you've got legs don't you?!" Gran Torino jumped down and pushed his leg forward for the hero-student to stop...but hardened his face as he spun and struck Torino's boot with his shin, extending his leg to kick him.
Midoriya stumbled, before he was pushed away, but he got a new tip to implement into his fighting style.
Class 1-A was at ground gamma, a week after the internships, and in the light of the infamous Hero Killer's arrest.
Five students were at some point who had a race flag. Izuku Midoriya, Ochako Uraraka, Fumikage Tokoyami, Hanta Sero, and Mina Ashido.
The five students will be competing in a race to see who can get to All Might the fastest." Ryukyu, the homeroom teacher for Class 1-A, told her class. "The purpose of this training exercise is to train your agility, improve your decision-making, and effectively apply your quirk to react to S.O.S signals from civilians, or heroes in trouble."
"What if we're not used to how big or weird the place is?" Denki Kaminari asked, scratching his head.
"Well, Kaminari, a hero doesn't get to choose where their battles take place, or where they need to rescue someone." Ryukyu raised her finger. "For areas like Ground gamma, a hero needs to quickly assess and utilize any unfamiliar unstable environment to their advantage, rather than relying on open ground."
Ryukyu smiled. "This will also help you to make split-second decisions about the best path to the distress signal, balancing speed with safety and efficiency. It will encourage you to think strategically about which route is fastest, rather than just running in a straight line. You barely have the time to stop and think about what to do."
Midoriya looked across the layout of ground gamma, understanding what Ryukyu meant.
"Now does anyone have any further questions?" Ryukyu asked her class. When no one spoke, she pulled out a button. "Now let's wait as the training is about to start."
Class 1A stood near the entrance of Ground Gamma as they watched the five selected students. "So who do you think is gonna win?" Kirishima wondered.
Momo raised her fingers to her lips. "At best, it would be Sero as he has the homefield advantage with his tape quirk. I would say that Tokoyami does with Dark Shadow's elasticity, and perhaps Midoriya too with his pressure burst moves."
Bakugo grumbled at that last part, but he didn't say anything, not wanting to be punished again.
She hummed. "Mina's acid would complement her agility across the labyrinth, but I'm worried for Ochako as her quirk doesn't offer any boosts in movement..." she frowned.
"But she has her jets though! That'll help!" Toru pointed out.
"Oh yes, you do have a point." Momo blinked.
Jiro tilted her head. "I'm honestly betting on Midoriya. Knowing him, he's probably got something figured out." She deadpanned.
As Class 1-A began to discuss the winner, Ryukyu pressed the button, and smoke burst out of the top of the race flag. "Begin!"
The five students got into action.
Sero shot out tape from his shoulders that stretched toward one pipeline, Dark Shadow came from Tokoyami's back, and Ochako put her fingers against each other, and Midoriya crouched...
And he began to float in the air, before rising higher into the air.
All of Class 1A gawked. "WAIT, HE CAN FLY??!!"
Momo blinked and looked at Midoriya in sheer confusion as he began to move toward All Might, with the other students racing to move after him, after their shock. Then she gasped. "Do you know, Momo?!" Jiro said. She knew Midoriya got something figured out, but she didn't think it'd be this!
"He can manipulate pressure," Momo said to the class. "Pressure is the amount of force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area. He's creating a high-pressure zone behind him to push forward and a low-pressure zone in front to pull him. The lower pressure creates a vacuum effect while the higher pressure increases the density or speed of air molecules behind his body to create a forceful push." Momo said in awe as she looked at the retreating Midoriya. "With the complex science of aerodynamics, he's achieving something only so few heroes could achieve!"
Bakugo was shaking with rage. "Damn..." Kaminari muttered in stupor.
Tokoyami landed on a beam of metal as Dark Shadow's arms moved under his stomach. "Dark Shadow:" The hero student... began to float up in the airr. "Black Fallen Angel!"
The Class then gawked again. "HE CAN DO THAT TOO??!!!"