Payback (Hiatus)

Chapter 23 (EDITED)

Edited: 27 October 2003

As soon as Izuku threw the ball, a cloud of dust enveloped him. He had combined his five-element quirk into a single, powerful attack, creating something akin to a typhoon. It consisted of fire, ice, water, earth (rock), and wind.

Once the dust cleared, the class was left in shock, witnessing the sheer power of Izuku's attack. Even Aizawa appeared taken aback by the display. He wasn't entirely sure if Izuku had held back or not, as Izuku seemed surprisingly relaxed. Typically, anyone who released such a tremendous force would be at least a little tired, especially someone of his age, who had rarely used his quirk throughout his life.

(Since you aren't allowed to use quirk in public so the uses of their quirk is limited)

Aizawa continued to stare at Izuku suspiciously, now more convinced that there might be something the young man was keeping from public eyes. Had he secretly been training his quirk? And if so, who had trained him?

Izuku, who could feel Aizawa's penetrating gaze from the back of his head, began to sweat nervously. He had been so preoccupied with his own thoughts that he had forgotten to hold back his full power during the test. As he contemplated his options, a few ideas crossed his mind. Should he break his own arm to feign injury? No, that would be too obvious, and it would draw even more attention.

Then he thought about pretending to be in pain, but he quickly realized that this, too, might raise suspicions. In the end, Izuku decided to go with a simpler plan. He pretended to suddenly feel unwell and forced himself to vomit, hoping to divert attention from his powerful quirk usage.

"Are you okay?" Aizawa rushed over to him as the entire class watched.

"I'm fine. The side effects come a little late when I overuse my quirk," Izuku replied, his face pale.

Aizawa felt a bit guilty for doubting him earlier.

"Is that why you rely on combat skills instead?" Aizawa inquired.

"How do you know about that?" Izuku asked, though he clearly understood how.

"I observed you through the monitor during the exam," Aizawa replied.

"Oh, that's a bit embarrassing," Izuku said shyly and flashed an angelic smile.

"An angel?" Aizawa muttered to himself, momentarily lost in thought. He quickly refocused and continued. "Anyway, you scored 555,555 meters," he announced to the whole class.

"WOAH!" The boys exclaimed in unison.

"555,555 meters? Seriously?" Kaminari asked in disbelief.

"That's amazing," Mineta commented.

"What's this? It looks fun!" Mina said excitedly.

"We can use our quirks as much as we want! As expected from the hero course!" Sero added.

"'It looks fun,' huh?" Aizawa remarked. "You have three years to become a hero. Will you have an attitude like that the whole time?" He questioned.

Izuku gazed at Aizawa with admiration. Since the beginning, Aizawa had been trying to prepare them for the future. He needed to be tough on his students to help them understand the harsh realities of being a hero. Despite his efforts, some students remained stubborn.

Aizawa had been one of the few who had supported Midoriya from the beginning and stood by his side when others chose to turn their backs on him. However, due to his position and the choices he was forced to make, he couldn't help Midoriya when he needed it most. Izuku suspected that Aizawa had resorted to such tactics because he had no other option or was ordered to do so.