Trump Card (Part 4)

Shoto knocked on Jason's door. "Come in." Shoto entered, shutting the door behind her. Jason was studying for the upcoming pop quiz. Well, it was supposed to be a pop quiz, but Denki had gotten word of it, so now the class had a week to study. Jason spun in his chair and tensed up. "...oh… hey Shoto…?" She smiled. "Why so formal?" She walked over and sat on his lap. Jason looked up at her. He gently reached up and placed a hand on her right cheek. There was a bandage there. Shoto took his wrist and removed his hand from her face. Jason took a deep breath. "...Shoto… I'm so-" "Don't apologize." Shoto smiled down at him. "We get injured in training all the time. Don't hold yourself responsible. This just means I have to train more. We all do." Jason looked away, but Shoto put a hand on his cheek and made him look back at her. "Hey. I would rather get hurt by you now than die later because I was unprepared. I know for a fact that the others feel the same way." Jason slightly smiled. "...thanks babe…" "There he is. Come on. Mina made lunch." They shared a quick kiss before getting up.

Chris opened his eyes as he heard someone walking up to him. He had been in the campus park for a little while, waiting for All Might. Speaking of, the former hero sat next to Chris on the bench. "Sorry for being late, Chis." Chris smiled. "It's nice to see you again, All Might. It's been a while since we talked alone. That being said, your text was pretty vague. What's going on?" All Might sighed as he leaned back against the bench. "...it's been a long time since I got to sit down with you…" All Might looked at Chris. "I have been a terrible instructor. I'm supposed to be teaching you about One for All and how to use it. I'm supposed to be helping you with the skills you'll need to become the Number One Hero. I… I'm supposed to be guiding you down the right path; the path that a Symbol of Peace needs to follow…" All Might stared at the ground. "...Aizawa and I had a conversation. You and Jason have been teaching each other and teaching yourselves so many useful skills, but… your growth as heroes is much slower than it could be if you two were taught one on one…" Chris crosses his arms. "So what? You're a teacher. You need to focus on your job. I get it. I honestly don't have a problem with how things are now. " All Might looked at Chris. "That being said, we're considering pulling you out of UA."

Chris stood up from his seat, turning to All Might with clenched fists. "Excuse me, what did you say?!" It was the first time All Might had ever been terrified of Chris. He put his hands up, trying to calm Chris down. "Wait! Let me rephrase, let me rephrase!" Chris took a deep breath, calming himself down. Then he crossed his arms. All Might took a deep breath. "...I didn't mean removing you from UA entirely… just a few months away from UA with me and Gran Torino. We would spend those months training you to handle One for All, and it will end when you're able to handle 100% of it." Chris thought about it. "...why can't we just do the training here at UA?" "Because you have too many responsibilities here. You're a part of the Fatgum Agency, you have your classes, and you are dedicating a lot of your free time to Ms. Yaoyorozu." Chris sat back down. "...she prefers 'Momo'." All Might adjusted himself so he was more comfortable facing Chris. "At this rate, you'll never master One for All before you graduate. If my estimates are correct, you'll only be at 70% at the end of your third year." Chris stood up. "You're right, All Might." All Might smiled, but then Chris continued. "I do have too many responsibilities. That's why I can't go with you. Not while the League of Villains is hunting us down one by one, and not while Endeavor is still down." Chris turned back to All Might. "Pinky. Creati. Red Riot. Shoto. Endgame. Impact. Us six are the only true line of defense against Shigaraki and the League of Villains, and you want to take me away just as they become stronger than ever." Chris turned his back on All Might. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm needed here." "Chris!" he stopped as All Might shouted his name. "...can we at least resume our one-on-one training…?" Chris smiled back at his teacher. "That is something I am willing to do. Every Thursday?" All Might smiled. "That works for me."

Denki and Tokoyami sat down with their water bottles, finishing up their training for the day. Denki smiled. "I win again." Tokoyami closed his eyes. "Only because you had every advantage going your way. Remember, today was about increasing your voltage capacity. I think you did very well." Denki smiled as he wrapped an arm around his best friend. "Thanks buddy." "Let go of me." "No." A few of their friends walked into the gym.Tokoyami stood up, but Denki pulled him back down. The hawk headed man looked at the blonde. Denki was no longer smiling. "We need to have a talk and you need to be here for it." Iida, Itsuka, and Kyoko all sat on the bench. Denki smiled at Kyoko. "Hey." Kyoko was a dark haired woman with the quirk 'Earphone Jack', which allowed her to connect with different technologies through her earlobes. She also learned how to use her quirk for espionage and combat, since she could send small electrical discharges through machinery and powered her sound based weapons the same way. She glared at the blonde. "Why are we here, Denki?" Denki sighed, once again being shot down by his crush. He quickly recovered and took a deep breath. "We're all fucking losers."

Iida stood up and pointed at Denki. "Watch your language!" Itsuka's eyes narrowed. "Did you seriously gather us here to insult us?" Denki shrugged. "When I said 'we', I included myself. And it's true." Kyoko crossed her arms. "What do you mean?" "Look at us. We're second year students at the most prestigious hero school in the country, arguably the world. We're basically half way done with our training. We're supposed to be on par with heroes by now." Kyoko leaned forward a bit. "...and…?" "We've been embarrassments in almost every single major event so far. What were we doing at the USJ Attack? Hiding and running. Meanwhile, Jason, Chris, Shoto, and Kirishima were saving Mr. Aizawa and battling the League of Villains." Tokoyami nodded. "And in the forest, Jason and Chris fought to their very last breath in order to protect us all." Denki looked down at the ground. "Kirishima was nowhere near the action, but he wanted to get out there and help the class fight the villains." Itsuka leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. "Then there was the Cosa Nostra Raid in Los Angeles a few months back. They toppled one of the most dangerous organized crime groups in the country damn near overnight." Denki nodded and stood up. "That's why we need to be better. Those six think that they're the only ones who can and are willing to stand up to the League of Villains. We can't ever let them think they have to do this alone. It's time we stop acting like students and start acting like heroes."

There were quiet nods exchanged to each other as they all stood up. Denki put his hand out. "So who's ready to put their mind and body through hell so we can catch up to them, and be ready to fight shoulder to shoulder with them the next time the League rears their ugly heads?" Tokoyami put his hand on top of Denki with no hesitation. Iida was next, always ready to protect his classmates. Itsuka took a deep breath and placed her hand in next. She was worried, but she was more scared of what would happen if she didn't help. Kyoko was the last one, but she smiled at Denki. "I hate to admit it, but you're right Denki. We've been preparing for this our entire lives. No way in hell we can back down while we watch others risk their lives." The new team broke and began the first day of what would be several weeks of nightmarish training.