Muted Voices (A BNHA/MHA x OC Fanfic)

Chapter 37: Rescue Training and Mineta's Antics

In hero class, we meet out at a training ground designed to look like an industrial park, metal pipes and smokestacks littering the area. We gather in front of the large doors. I stand at the front of the group for a change, between Todoroki and Kirishima.

"I am here!" Our teacher declares, standing in front of our class. "Hope you're ready to return to our lessons! Today, it's hero basic training! Feels like I haven't seen you in a while! Welcome back!"

I nod in his direction, as do a few others, excited to be in the number one hero's presence again. 

"Now then, listen carefully for what's in store," he continues. "We're going to be conducting a little race! Take everything you've learned from your internships and apply it to this rescue training!"

Oh dear, we really didn't do too much with our quirks at Nyikang's agency. I mean, of course I worked on it for a while when Shinso was still in the hospital, but that was to act more as a weapon than something to be used in rescue. 

Iida raises his hand, "If it's rescue training, then shouldn't we be at the USJ instead?"

"Ah," our teacher responds, "that facility specializes in disasters. As I said earlier, this is a race. So, prepare! You're about to step into Field Gamma! Inside is an area full of factories that form an intricate labyrinth. So, good luck finding your way around! You'll be competing in groups of five, each person starts from a different location on the outskirts of the model city. I'll send a distress signal and you do what you must to rescue me. Whoever finds me first wins! But try to keep the property damage to a bare minimum please."

The hero glances over to the side, his finger pointed. I follow his eyeline to see who he's looking at. "Why're you pointing at me?" Bakugo growls, looking away. 

All Might doesn't even bother to answer, instead showing us a projection of how the groups are split up. "Alright! First group, get to your places!"

I walk with the rest of the class to the giant monitor as Midoriya, Iida, Ojiro, Mina, and Sero take their places. I take a seat on the ground between Ochaco and Yaoyorozu, who has insisted that I call her Momo. At this point, all the girls in the class have formed a little group and insisted they all use their first names. I only said they could use mine because I felt out of place, but oh well. Having a few more friends can't hurt. 

Our classmates discuss the logistics of who is most likely to win, but my eyes keep drifting over to Todoroki. He hasn't really made an effort to acknowledge me since hero training has started, but I try to tell myself that he's just focusing on the trials ahead. It's not that different from how he usually acts, so I try not to feel too bummed out. I know I shouldn't freak out. He's not used to having friends and we haven't really had an opportunity to talk anyway. 

All Might calls for the five to begin and immediately, they all take off. Mina uses acid to slide quickly across the ground while Sero uses his tape to project himself into the air. I can't help but think the way he uses his quirk to travel is similar to Spiderman. Ah, Tom Holland. Yet another childhood crush, I think wistfully. I was born at the wrong time.

I force myself to watch and focus on the match. I notice Iida and Ojiro are moving fast and efficiently working around the terrain, but I'm shocked by Midoriya's progress. I know he had said in the hospital room that he had improved his quirk usage, but he really wasn't kidding! His whole body seems to glow green, almost radioactively, with bright green sparks coming off of him as he jumps from obstacle to obstacle. 

Radioactive. Huh, I gotta remember that. I make a mental note. I have a weird habit of matching my friends to songs I think fit them. That in and of itself might not be too weird, but the weird part is that I keep a list. An actual physical list in a journal. And that's not the only thing I keep in there. Sometimes I'll make entries about how I feel that day, described only through songs. To anyone else, reading it might seem disjointed and confusing, but I understand it. I keep the leather-bound book between my mattress and bedframe. Since I do my own laundry, Mic never had a reason to go into my room, so nobody knows about it. I'd been contemplating over Midoriya's song for a while, but I think Radioactive would fit.