24

Chapter 24: Gym Time – Part VSummary:

Quirk Analysis of:

Nirengeki Shoda - [Twin Impact]

Rikido Sato - [Sugar Rush]

Jurota Shishida - [Beast]

Notes:

Trigger Warning: (Light) Themes of addiction.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

"Shoda, I believe it is your turn," Momo called. 

"You're right," the boy nodded gratefully, stepping up to take his place in front of Izuku, who was taking some small bags out of his backpack. 

"Could you give me a quick rundown? I've got a hunch from our match, but not the whole picture," Izuku pleaded. 

Nodding, Nirengeki started listing what he knew about his power. "My Quirk is called [Twin Impact]. It allows me to create a second impact on any site I've hit before, be it on a person or on an object. I can activate it remotely, and it can become many times stronger than the first hit." 

"'It can become'? Does the strength vary?" 

"Yes," Nirengeki sighed a bit. "The potency of the blow will increase with time but, after I've hit the upper ceiling, it will start to go down, with the added possibility of a random discharge." 

Izuku looked in deep thought for a few seconds. "Are you good at mathematics? Could you compare it to a function?" 

Nirengeki raised an eyebrow, but complied. "Yeah, I think it could be compared to a bell-shaped function. " 

"Gaussian? Hyperbolic secant? Bump? Window? Witch of Agnesi?" he pressed, trying to get the other to feel his own interest. 

"Witch of what?" Sen questioned, barely understanding the word. 

"Agnesi. It's from an Italian mathematician," Momo aided as a frown formed on her brow. "But some of those are from the calculus curriculum we will follow in the coming years, so it's a given you wouldn't know about it." 

"You're too smart, Yaomomo," Mina sighed, terrified by the prospects. 

"Let Sir Shoda concentrate," Jurota shushed them. 

After some moments of thought, the boy answered. "I don't think that the bump and the hyperbolic secant would fit. I'm divided between a Gaussian or a Window, mostly." 

"We can work with that," Izuku smiled, gesturing for him to follow. "We've got a couple of things to try then." 

Moving on to a new testing area, always under Snipe's supervision, the group started timing and valuing the potency of Shoda's impacts on small identical marbles. They kept at it for at least a hundred tries, to get a good, clean sample with as little human error as possible. Once everything was down on paper, Izuku started to explain his calculations. 

"Got it, it's more of a Gaussian curve. Your best outcomes were around the 20-seconds mark, as that's very likely to be the top of the bell. The growth starts slowing around the 14-seconds mark, so if you're in pinch you could always get a reduction of 30% of the time needed for just 17% of the power. If you're really short on time, I'd suggest you to wait at least 5 seconds, as that's when the power begins to ramp up quickly." 

"That's some interesting data, I'll be sure to keep it in mind," Nirengeki bowed lightly, ready to get back into the group. 

"Wait, we aren't finished," Izuku called, tapping on his notes. 

Nirengeki was a really good guy. Class 1-B's Vice Representative had a good head on his shoulders, and Izuku had never seen him refuse to help someone in need, even for the smallest things. He was mature, reliable, and humble. Sometimes though, he was too humble. 

"This data is good, but I think we should push further. Now that we've realized what kind of process guides your Quirk, we can move on to phase two: changing it." 

"Changing it?" Nirengeki sounded astounded, but curious nonetheless. 

"Yeah. There are documented examples of Quirks that rely on time and power buildup going through changes to increase their overall output. There aren't Pro Heroes of that kind here in Japan, but you can find some strong ones overseas. The current n°12 Hero from Spain, Corrida, can 'store' the kinetic energy from one blow she receives, and after waiting for at most ten seconds release it with a cubic increase. The n° 18 from Bolivia, Tumupasa, revealed in an interview that a Quirk awakening during an avalanche changed his output to a Sigmoid function, so that he didn't have to wait for his Quirk to charge, and resulting in him saving more lives." 

"You really do know your stuff about Pros, do you?" Itsuka commented with a grin. 

"Yeah, those are names I've never heard of!" Mina added, since it was rare for people to get interested in Heroes from other countries, especially if they weren't even in the top ten.

He made himself look sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck. "I've studied Heroes since I was able to keep my eyes open practically. And I'm a bit of a nerd, so..." 

"No need for excuses Midori," Toru shushed. "I think that's super useful." 

"An ability refined over years, how marvelous," Jurota agreed. 

- If only you knew how many... - 

"Then how do you propose we go about this?" Nirengeki asked, now deeply interested in the possibility of opening up new interactions of his Quirk. 

"I think it'll take a bit longer, just as Shiozaki's training will. You'll need to understand the formulas perfectly before you're able to apply them, so getting ahead of the program in mathematics could only help you. I think that Mr. Ectoplasm wouldn't mind helping out on his subject." 

"I'll be sure to ask him. Thankfully I don't mind studying," Nirengeki chuckled, as Izuku ignored the mumbling disagreements coming from the less text-book-congenial of his classmates. "Is there something you think I should focus on?" 

Izuku nodded, giving him the two that would give him the best results in the long run. "Sigmoid functions and exponentials," he said, filling the graph he'd used for his current output with the new ones. "A Sigmoid function starts at a higher point than anything your current polynomial could reach, and will stay there longer, effectively maximizing your second hit right from the start. If the parameters are similar, it should start falling after 25 seconds, so you'll have even more time before it gets out of hand. The exponential I fear will be much harder to get a handle on, as it should technically continue rising forever, at the fastest pace possible. We'll need to be careful about it. I don't know how your Quirk would react to that kind of growth, but I know that with it you would be able to get some hits that would rival All Might's strength." 

Half of his audience's faces turned white as sheets.

"Did he just say 'All Might'?" Itsuka asked, incredulous. 

"Oh goodness," Ibara put a hand before her mouth. 

"Man, when those things get out of hand, they're just mines waiting to explode..." Sen muttered, trying to get the point of his scare across. 

"Don't worry, I'm sure he only meant it as a hyperbole..." Momo tried to explain before he interjected her. 

"Nope, that's theoretically what could happen with enough force and time. That's why I said that we'd need to be careful." 

Why coddle them with a false sense of security? They needed to know what each of them was capable of, and understanding where the limits laid was the first step in overcoming them to set new ones. 

Nirengeki was capable of some incredibly destructive hits, he'd seen them with his own eyes. Combined with his tactical brilliance and proclivity for teamwork, it made him a perfect ally. 

One more reason why he had become a target... 

"You failed to protect them..." the voice snickered, drilling the back of his skull. 

- Shut up. - he mentally growled, immediately sensing the calming hand of the vestiges trying to quell him. He thanked them for maintaining his calm. 

Nirengeki need to believe more in himself, and to stop being everybody's doormat. Luckily, he could help in both cases. 

"You can do very great things with your mind and your Quirk, so put them to good use," Izuku smiled, patting the teen's back in a friendly manner. 

Shoda's look was a mix of awe and disbelief, but he gratefully accepted the encouragement. "Thank you, of course I will." 

"Great. I'll be here for a rematch whenever." 

"Maybe in a bit," Shoda chuckled, moving back and calling to the group as the biggest guy in the room took his place.

Rikido advanced hastily, his excitement clear in every step. Izuku had easily noticed how much he'd wanted to improve himself since the Sports Festival, as the loss during the second event had probably left a bitter taste in his mouth. 

"Sato! Here's someone who I could arm-wrestle with," Izuku called with a smile. 

Rikido chuckled. Clenching a fist. "I guess we could, but let's save it for later." 

He turned his smile into a grin. "Actually, arm-wrestling is exactly what we will be doing to see what you're capable of." 

Opening his backpack, he placed the necessary testing materials on a nearby table, moving a chair to either side. 

"What's that?" Toru inquired, looking at the series of small packets and jars. 

"Sugar," Jurota answered after a quick sniff. "Quite a different selection too." 

"My Quirk's called [Sugar Rush], and consuming it makes me stronger," Rikido explained to the ones who hadn't seen him in action.

"Not precise enough," Izuku chided, "but yes, these are indeed fourteen types of sugar. Your Quirk depends on consuming a specific type of resource, so that's what we will be focusing on. To do that, we start by increasing your options." He pointed to each container. "Your regular, or white granulated sugar. Confectioner's or powdered sugar. Fruit sugar. Baker's special sugar. Superfine sugar. Coarse sugar. Sanding sugar. Light and dark brown sugars. Turbinado sugar. Muscovado sugar. Free-flowing brown sugar. Liquid sugar. Invert sugar." 

"Say sugar one more time," Mina cackled, making him stick out his tongue. 

"They aren't even labeled..." Hitoshi mumbled. 

"Are you theorizing that his usual choice of white sugar may not be optimal?" Momo probed. 

He nodded. "Yes. 'Sugar' is too generic, so I imagine there hasn't been any research done by a Quirk counselor on the matter, or am I wrong?" 

"N-No," the muscular boy, mumbled, "nothing of the sort. The doctor just connected the consumption of sugar and the decrease of its presence in my blood to my power spike."

"At least they checked your blood," he rolled his eyes, "but I fear that result from when you were four years old aren't going to cut it. So we will be doing some testing now, and later we'll give Recovery Girl a visit." 

"Sounds fine to me," Rikido agreed, "but what's the problem with the sugar I've taken?" 

"It's not a problem per se, it's just terribly vague," Izuku sighed as a man surrounded by idiots. "Soluble and sweet-tasting carbohydrates are called sugars, and can be divided into different kinds. Simple sugars, or monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose and galactose. Compound sugars, or disaccharides, are bonded molecules of the formers, like sucrose, lactose and maltose. The white sugar you've been using is just a refined form of sucrose, but different processes bring with them different percentages of the starting building blocks, plus some extra added to keep enhance the distinctions. We'll try them all and see what seems to work best." 

"Uh, this may take a while then," Rikido stated, thoughtful. "My usual dose keeps me on the rush for three minutes." 

"Forty minutes of arm-wrestling would make anyone cramp..." Sen shook his head. 

Izuku didn't show any sign of backtracking. "And the dose is?" 

"10 grams." 

"Then we can easily cut those times to a minute each. It'll give us more precise data too. Luckily, I've got a kitchen scale." 

"Is that from the dorm?" Itsuka asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"And where did you get that many kinds of sugar?" Ibara added. 

"It is, sorry. I saw it yesterday and thought it would be perfect. And I've added some to the ordered we made this morning." 

"Mr. Aizawa allowed that?" Hanta tipped his head to the side. 

He shrugged. "Present Mic actually." 

"Ya know, I can see that," Mina clicked her tongue. 

"We'll probably have to let him have a taste of some desserts later on," he chuckled as he weighted the tiny doses. Once everything was in order, the two boys set in front of each other. 

Izuku lowered one of the by then infamous grip-strength measurers before Rikido, while placing his own elbow on the table. His other hand was playing with a pencil just above a page where every sugary concoction was already set in a table. "Oh, I'll also be asking some math questions as we go, just to see how your mind is affected. Momo, would you be so kind as to chronometer us? Shinso, could you keep an eye on the grip tester?"

As the two he had called upon came over, Rikido gulped as he realized he was in the direct focus of his craziness. "I-I'll do my best." 

"Then let's stop the chit-chat and get those muscles working," he smiled widely. "Take your first pick and let's start. I'd suggest the muscovado, the texture is peculiar." 

Fifteen minutes, some tired muscles, thirty wins to zero, and more lethargy later, Izuku had gathered enough data to give a semblance of credibility to his predictions. 

Rikido wasn't as tired as he usually was after their Hero training, but it was clear that the constant change in quality, texture, and taste of the ingested products had been strange to him. 

"So," he began, "these results are very interesting. Your reactions seem to vary more than slightly. The brown sugars, with more molasses, make you at least twenty percent stronger on average, at the expense of even more of your intelligence. More coarse white sugars work similarly to the regular white, but the effect last longer. And I've checked, it wasn't a weighting mistake. On the other hand, smaller grains seem to decrease the strain on your mind by a lot. Fruit sugar gave you the biggest power spike, which makes me think that your strength is directly related to the sweetness of the product, as its index is the highest. Invert sugar, being liquid, may also be a good balanced choice, since the presence of both fructose and glucose keep your mind and body more balanced." 

"That means it's gone well?" Rikido asked, still a bit dizzy. 

"More than well. With enough research, we may be able to get you different sources to let you adapt to more situations. For example, where you to need a lot of power, you would go for more fructose and brown sugar, since molasses seem to enhance your brute strength. Instead, in a calmer situation where you would still need to reason clearly, superfine or inverted would serve you way better." Izuku explained with a smile. 

Rikido would need some time to adapt to his growing arsenal, but he wouldn't be hindered by it if he played his cards right. In a few months, Izuku would provide him with the perfected formulas, newly "discovered" after much testing, of course, to create the ultimate Sugarman-Candies. 

In the meantime, Izuku wouldn't let him neglect his body and mind. Having a Quirk that directly multiplied the kinetic energy produced by his muscle mass, Rikido would never stop working on building and strengthening his vessel, but his brain needed some polishing too. Mens sana in corpore sano and all that stuff. 

"Thank you, Midoriya! I swear I'll manage to get a point on you next time!" Rikido patted his back with joy. 

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Izuku teased, "but you're welcome to try." 

He turned towards the last student from their rival class.

"Shishida, care to join me?" 

"Why, thank you, Sir Midoriya," Jurota responded with pride, taking care to place his glasses in Itsuka's hands to keep them safe. 

"Could you describe to me how your Quirk works? I understand it's a Transformation Type, but I'd like to know more about your abilities in your secondary form." 

The taller boy nodded, clearing his voice. "Of course. My Quirk goes by the simple name of [Beast], and it allows me to metamorphose into the abomination you have all seen the day before yesterday. That form grants me an overall increase in all my abilities at the cost of my caution, similarly to how Sato's Quirk robs him of his intellect, now that I think about it." Rikido looked thoughtful, but put on a sympathetic expression. "Thankfully, my enhanced strength, speed, durability and senses usually allow me to endure most of the repercussions of that bearish recklessness." 

"Mm, I think I got it. When you say senses, is it a generic increase or is it limited? Earlier I've seen you sniff and guess the contents of the sugar packets by the smell and just a hint of colors." 

Jurota seemed a little taken aback by that, stuttering for a moment as his face lit up in shame under the fur. "That was terribly indecorous of me, I sincerely apologize." 

"Nothing be sorry for," Izuku reassured him. "So, does it only affect your sense of smell?" 

"T-Thank you. The Quirk also improves my hearing, but yes, my sense of smell is the one that becomes extremely refined. It is good even in this form, but the increment is considerable." 

"Good, that gives you more options for infiltration and planning," Izuku claimed, stepping closer and lowering his voice. "Though, I have one last question, but I don't know if you'd want the others to hear." 

The other raised an eyebrow, telling him to continue. 

"Are you, perhaps, using some kind of Quirk suppressant right now?" 

The question left the teen's face struck with a look of surprise and worry. "How-?" 

Izuku pointed to his own nose. "You're not the only one with improved senses, and... you're not the only one who has used those pills before. My Quirk can break my legs if I exaggerate, and sometimes my sense can get a bit overwhelmed, so..." 

"I understand," Jurota sighed, keeping his head down, "thank you for sharing, your honesty, and for asking with this courtesy. I appreciate it." He ruminated on his thoughts for a moment before continuing. "I have taken some, yes. I'd prefer for my more... 'unsightly side' not to rear its head when it doesn't have to." 

Izuku nodded, noticing the conflict on the boy's face: both fear of having his secret uncovered, and relief for having someone understand it. 

He raised his voice again. "I'd like to train with you a bit differently, with a fight. But you would also have to follow my directions as we go. Do you think you can do it?" 

"Yes, I have no objections. In truth, I had wished to test myself against the winner of the festival." 

"Well then," Izuku took off and threw away his uniform's jacket, stepping away further into the gym. "Come on." 

After he had imitated Izuku's gesture by removing most of his own clothes, Shishida began to let his body grow, turning more than twice the size of the greenette. With a roar, he launched himself forward, clashing against Izuku's lightning-clad form. 

Despite the connection Jurota had made between his Quirk and Rikido's, Izuku knew that, in truth, the one who was verily closer to his situation was Fumikage. Dark Shadow's wilder and harder to tame side came out in very specific conditions, but it had most of the benefits and drawbacks of [Beast]. In summary: more power, less control.

Fumi had faced his problems with his Quirk with some incredibly rigorous training, mentorships and some much-needed counseling hours. 

Jurota needed something similar, but while the avian-headed boy had taken his time to get acquainted with his shadowy counterpart (how could he not have?), Jurota had tried to keep his Quirk in check every time it wasn't strictly needed. Sometimes, as the hellscape that their first year was bound to be got worse, Jurota ended up turning his reliance onto the pills into an addiction. Because, when it came down to it, Jurota was scared of what could happen when the Beast got out of his control. 

Calling his drawback as 'an increase of recklessness' didn't paint the full picture. [Beast] wasn't a sentient Quirk, no, but it released most if not all of the inhibitions of the boy. It did it slowly, but certainly, as Jurota's power grew. It reminded Izuku of a novel he had read a while ago: the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. 

He didn't wish for the kind and well-behaved teen to lose himself. It had taken more time than that he'd spent with others, but he'd struck gold in the end: In their search, aided by Vlad King, they'd found a most interesting solution. 

But it was another one of those he didn't like handing out directly... though nobody else could. 

Izuku engaged Jurota with masterful precision, countering every hit and keeping the pressure up as he shouted, time and time again, to shift between one form and the other. 

At first, the student was terribly troubled by the request. Half of the time the Beast kept gritting his teeth before giving in as he reminded him about his words by solicitating them with a blow he could only dodge by rapidly decreasing his size. 

As the fight moved on, the intervals between the transmutations slightly shrunk. Shishida was getting more comfortable with the act, and the transition was slowly becoming more fluid. If at the beginning he had needed to turn himself and then charge, now he was trying to increase his reach by growing during his attacks, letting his arms lunge with the added power in an attempt to catch him off-guard. 

It took a while, but in the end Jurota went back to his more human shape, raising a hand to ask for a break. 

Izuku opted to press him instead. Stopping just in front of him, he took two tiny bags out of his pockets, holding them in his closed fists. "What am I holding?" he asked, serious. 

Looking worriedly at his hands, Jurota frowned. "I don't believe I-" 

"What am I holding?" Izuku repeated with an expression that didn't leave room for second-guessing. 

The other teen waited a second before nodding, closing his eyes to concentrate as he breathed in. 

"Coriander... and ginger?" the beast teen tentatively said while opening his eyes, just to meet the front of the greenette's knuckles coming fast. 

"Block!" 

Izuku felt the crunch of Jurota's nose under his tightened hand. 

- Again. - 

The sound of bones impacting. The vibration going through his arm. The laughable pain of a teeth on his finger. 

- Worse than Eijiro this round... Again. -

Eyes closed. Go back. Retry.

His fists went for the other's nose once more.

Two, three, four, five times. Then, finally, came the sixth. 

Something sparked in Jurota's eyes, his size increasing as he moved his head down, meeting the fist with his forehead instead. Izuku let his force fall as the attack reached its objective, causing as little damage as possible. 

For a moment everything was still, then Jurota stepped back, breathing heavily. 

"Midoriya, I must say I didn't expect an underhanded trick like that! I barely managed to transf-" he stopped in his tracks, as he noticed that the greenette appeared to be quite shorter than he'd been a moment ago, but not in the usual way. Confused, he turned to his classmates as he couldn't hear a pin drop. 

"Mm," Yui's voice broke the silence, though most of the group didn't even realize she had been the one speaking. 

"What?" Sen's arms hung limply at his sides as he stared. 

"Wow," Mina exclaimed, not helping in explaining in the least. 

"Momo, could you provide a mirror?" Izuku asked, knowing what was going through the boy's head. 

As she came closer with the requested object, Jurota stared at his reflection. He looked at his hands, finding them bigger, but not big enough. He looked at his stature, seeing that he was taller, but leaner than he should have been. He saw his face, less rough and with less pronounced canines. But the strangest thing of all was that he didn't feel any instinct in his head pushing him to acting rashly for no reason. 

"What happened?" he finally found it in himself to ask. 

"I tested out a little theory," Izuku replied with a kind smile. "I think that you were separating the two versions of yourself too cleanly. I had the same problem before, and I know how difficult it is to handle something if you only have two gears available. It isn't healthy to only switch between zero and a hundred percent, because you're never giving your body the time it needs to adapt." He had taken one of his chopsticks, bending it too quickly for any twist to appear, resulting in two pieces of splintered wood. "By having you switch constantly I wanted to let the wall you had built fall. And look, now we have the proof that you've got intermediary steps to your transformation." 

Because that's what Jurota was seeing in the mirror. It wasn't the teen, nor the beast. It was something in the middle, neither here nor there, with some of the advantages, but way less disadvantages. 

"Say, how does your head feel?" 

Jurota met his eyes as joy rose in them. "I don't- The recklessness isn't there. I feel calm, completely in control." 

"Then I dare say the plan worked," Izuku smiled widely at the guy. "You aren't as big as you could be, but I bet your strength is already a few notches above your starting point." 

"It surely feels like it is," Jurota raised himself to his full height, moving his muscles a bit, testing. "This is incredible, Sir Midoriya. And you believe there to be more?" 

"Why not? I mean, if you have managed to find the middle point between zero and a hundred, who's to say that you can't do the same by mixing a fifty in the middle?" he offered, adding the little piece of data the boy would have to work hard towards. "Maybe you could even find ways to specialize your transformation towards specific aspects. Speed if you need to run, strength if you need to attack, endurance if you need to block, senses when you're scouting. You won't always need the full package deal, right?" 

The taller teen's eye burned with conviction as his mouth formed a wide beastly grin. "Indeed, and if it left me with no repercussion..." 

"You wouldn't need those anymore," Izuku whispered. 

- Never again. - 

Jurota stood still, contemplating, before placing his arms on his sides and bowing deeply. "You have my outmost thanks, Sir Midoriya. I will never forget the help you have offered to me on this day." 

Izuku, fighting a bit of a flush at the over-the-top act, brought him back up with a few pats. "You're welcome, Shishida. It's been my pleasure. Sorry for being too rough in the end." 

"No need for excuses," the boy grinned widely, his beastly teeth in full display, but not threatening. "That was a cinch." 

"I fear Me. Kan will have a heart attack tomorrow," Nirengeki muttered, taking into consideration how a quarter of their class would need a good part of their training schedules reprogrammed, most from the ground up. 

"Would he? Mr. Aizawa just listened, sighed, and told us what we needed to change," Toru said, shrugging. 

"But he's also been dealing with your resident madman from the start," Itsuka said with a smirk. 

"I can hear you, you know?" They ignored his complaint. 

"That sounds like one more reason to lose his sanity earlier to me," Sen chuckled too. 

"We shouldn't joke about that," Ibara sighed, "but I don't envy our teacher." 

"Or our classmates," Nirengeki pointed out. 

"Oh, right. Let us know if you kick all of their asses," Hanta said, receiving a clear "Mm" of confirmation. 

"But speaking of crazy stuff," Hitoshi turned his head to look to the one who had barely made his presence known from the start, opting to stay silent and a few steps behind. "Todoroki, you're the only one left." 

"I assumed you would get a turn too." The two-toned boy replied, his tone neutral. 

Hitoshi shook his head. "I already had mine, I'm just here for the regular stuff. So let Midoriya pick your brain and Quirk, so that we can move on." 

"Be nice, Shinso," Izuku chided with a glance. 

- He really needs to stop antagonizing others for no reason. - 

"Yeah. That's your job," the Fourth stated, being rapidly followed by the Third: "He's not wrong though." 

"You two are impossible," Nana groaned. 

"Todoroki doesn't seem to mind," En muttered. There wasn't much that fazed him. 

- Because he has even less understanding of how to hold a conversation, Sixth. - 

"Todoroki, what do you say? Want to go for the spar I promised?" 

Receiving back a serious nod, Izuku turned to their teacher. "Professor Snipe, could you act as a referee, please? We'll abide by the rules of the tournament." 

The Hero's mask was raised to look at them as the man placed a hand to hold it under the chin. "That would also imply some unrestrained Quirk use. We may need Nezu's approval to-" 

"Approved!" the chimera's voice interjected, cutting the teacher's words and doubts.

"... Fine. Just don't go overboard. We aren't in the open arena and I don't want to see ceiling-high glaciers or more holes in the ground. Cementoss already has enough work to do as is," the teacher said as he got up and walked over the training platform. 

"Thank you," Izuku and Shoto bowed lightly, taking their initial positions. The rest of the students kept themselves behind the Hero, being extremely curious but also somewhat worried about the impending clash. 

"Todoroki, I'd like to see you use both of your sides from the start. The longer you keep going, the better you'll be at balancing them, so don't even try to concentrate on your right." 

Izuku evened his breath, meeting Shoto's eyes. They weren't angry or condescending, just intense. 

The air in the room started to separate cleanly into two halves as Shoto activated his Quirk. 

"Then I want to see you fly, Midoriya. It would be hypocritical to hold back." 

"Ah! Called it!" Daigoro laughed, stomping to let out the hilarity. 

"Makes it fair. Do it," the Second approved. 

"Nana?" Yoichi asked, always one to go for communication first. 

"Let's do this, Squirt," she challenged. 

Izuku's feet left the ground. - Let's. - 

He wouldn't be able to help Shoto as directly as he'd done with the others, since his case was peculiar. His friend had kept half of his power sealed as it grew, and his control of it was risible. Trying to immediately teach him how to condense the halves into Phosphor would be akin to attempted murder. 

What he could help with, instead, was being a goddamn perfect training dummy. 

As the arena got enveloped in flashed of green, white, and red, Snipe asked himself how much extra his colleague would be paid to fix the gym.

It was late when Shota and Sekijiro made it back into the teachers' lounge. 

"Welcome back." Ectoplasm paused the video, a recording of their classes' afternoon training with Midoriya, to let them take a seat. 

"Finally settled the little listeners?" Hizashi asked before flicking some popcorn into his open jaws. 

Shota nodded, going for a spot in the middle of the couch when Nemuri scooted away to make space for him. "... Yes." 

"Tiring?" the black-haired beauty asked, her eyes mischievous but caring. 

"I can't believe we placed forty of them in the same building," he caught the bridge of his nose between his fingers. 

"Forty-one," Ectoplasm reminded him, making him only sigh more. 

"Were there problems already?" Anan, for once without her helmet on, questioned. 

"Ah, you didn't get a turn for check-ins, right?" Snipe asked, continuing after she had shaken her head. "Let's say that the friction between some kids is very apparent." 

"And Mic is just 'a little loud,'" he groaned. 

"Hey!" Hizashi jokingly gave him a push on his shoulder, making him sway. 

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Kan shrugged, having taken the seat left for him. "Kendo and Midoriya seem to have the situation under control." 

"Adorable," Nemuri exhaled. 

"Young Midoriya has acted well until now, and it's easy to see how his classmates trust him. Any rift between the classes will be closed soon enough!" Yagi offered, sounding too sure to be truly believable. 

Shota didn't miss the quick glance Hound Dog had given him and Nezu as the not-a-rat chuckled. 

"I guess we'll see how this experiment turns out, but I'm quite certain that our students won't give us reasons to separate them as per our original draft." 

"They'll be leaving for their internships soon anyway," Ishiyama said. "I suppose that the problem will be postponed until they come back." 

"There's no way they'll be quiet for the week before that," Midnight sneered. 

"Well, if it's just about being quiet I agree. My kids are very competitive," Kan scratched his cheek. 

- As intended... - 

Hizashi leaned forward, going for the offer they kept entertaining themselves with. "Want to bet on it?" 

Ectoplasm, their usual note-taker, started writing down each of their wagers. 

Shota met Nezu's beady eyes for a second. The principal usually left himself out of the betting poll, as his intellect allowed him predictions that were too accurate to be deemed fair play, unless the cards into play were unknowns even for him. The chimera liked following his gut every once in a while. 

This time though, Shota and Inui were the ones with a bit of an advantage. 

"I foresee at least one confrontation in the next two days," the Hunting Dog Hero declared, turning towards 1-B's homeroom teacher. "Kan, your kids have Heroics the day after tomorrow, right?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Then someone will try to start a fight, and it will be on Tuesday," Inui clarified, deciding not to explain further despite the questioning looks of his colleagues. 

"Shota, you're the only one left," Hizashi clarified after everyone had given their stakes. 

He sighed, sinking into the couch. "Add me into Inui's bet, and add a verbal fight tonight." 

"... So it's happening as of now?" 

"Yes," he deadpanned. 

Was it wrong to spill money from his colleagues like that? Maybe. 

But, if Midoriya was telling the truth, he'd need some extra cash soon enough.

Notes:

And that wraps up about half of our students...

The theory behind 'Twin Impact' was inspired by FalseSeraph's fic "Torchbearer".

If you need a graphic representation of the equations, use:

18 * 5 ^ -[ (x-20)^2 / 325 ] for the current power (Gaussian)

25 - [ 25 / (1 + 10^6 * 1.4 ^ -x) ] for the suggested power (Sigmoid)

I will probably be too busy to post anything until the 29th or something, so I'll wish you all a Merry Christmas now.

Up next, 1-A and 1-B get their first night all together... what could ever go wrong?

I love interacting in the comments, so feel free to leave one and speculate.

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