Chapter 233 - 3

Chapter III: The Meaning of Plus Ultra

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Izuku yawned once more as he walked into the cafeteria. Last night had been tiring, in more ways than one. He'd gone for another workout with Inasa after they'd been dismissed by Aizawa-sensei, and they'd exhausted themselves pushing hard. The warning from their teacher and the utter fear he put into the lower-ranked members of the class had once more lit a fire under them. And even with his exhaustion, he hadn't quite been able to sleep well, far too wired with new Quirks to analyze. And of course, his alarm had woken him at the crack of dawn for his jog and his light Quirk training.

… In hindsight, he possibly should have skipped it today, seeing as how Aizawa had warned them about more trials today. Then again… Plus Ultra, right?

"Oiiiii!" Inasa waved him over after he'd collected his tray with his breakfast. After some fanboying over meeting Lunch Rush – the Cooking Hero – he'd tried to find a seat. Obviously, his friend found him first, "Morning, my man!" His boisterous buddy greeted, looking none the worse for their late workout the evening before.

"M-morning!" Izuku finished yawning again, "You're too energetic."

"Oh, good morning, Midoriya-san." Yaoyorozu – the girl in his class with the Creation Quirk – greeted him from across the table, "Are you alright? You look really tired."

Izuku blinked. How in the hell had he missed her? Wait, how the hell had he missed the entire group at the table? Next to Momo was Mina, and next to Inasa was Ochaco. Kyōka, Tsuyu, Camie, Tenya, Eijirō, and Denki were also with them, though each were indulging in their own conversations. He sat between Inasa and Kyōka, "M-morning everyone!" he gave out his own greeting, stuttering a little. 'Seriously, am I that tired that I missed them? More importantly, how in the world did such a large group form so fast!?' He hastened to answer her question once he finished thinking, "And I'm okay, Yaoyorozu-san. I'm just really tired."

"Don't tell me you did the usual this morning?" Inasa nudged him with a grin.

Izuku blushed a bit but nodded, "P-Plus Ultra, yeah?"

"What's the usual, Midori?" Mina jumped in eagerly, wanting to get to know her classmates more.

"Uhhhm…" Izuku blushed a bit, "W-well, I do a five-kilometer jog to a beach near my house. While there I do calisthenics and practice with my Quirk. Then some more exercises before jogging back home." Silence. Several of them looked at him with wide eyes. He started to blush a bit heavier, and started poking his fingers together, "I kinda miscalculated though. I didn't get enough sleep the previous night. Too wired, you know?"

"Bravo!" Iida's deep voice made him jump, "Bravo, Midoriya-kun! How wonderful to see a fellow hero-in-training working hard!"

"Yeah, it's pretty cool!" Mina cheered, grinning broadly, "You're getting me fired up, Midori!"

Izuku kept blushing, "A-Ashido-san…"

"Uh, uh, uh!" she wagged her finger side to side, "My name is Mina! Miiinaaa~! You should use it, cutie!"

"C-c-c!" Izuku started to stammer, his earlier blush turning up to eleven, his freckles standing out starkly as his brain seemed to overheat.

Jīrō laughed, "Looks like you broke him, Mina! You can call me Kyōka or Jīrō-chan. I don't really mind." Her earlobes were shaped like headphone jacks and they moved around rapidly, seemingly having a mind of their own.

Inasa laughed loudly, "Don't worry! He'll break out of his shell eventually! He was a stuttering mess before he met me!"

"I-Inasa!" Izuku cried out, 'Traitor!' Not like it wasn't obviousanyway.

"Still," Momo put her hand on her face in worry, as more than one of the other girls wondered how Izuku could have been worse than he seemed now. "We shouldn't make him uncomfortable."

"Nah, this is the best for him, yeah?" Eijirō punched his fists together, "We all should be friends, right? Its acclimatization! You all can call me Kirishima or Kiri! I prefer it!"

"Y-you guys!" Izuku almost teared up at the idea of gaining so many friends all at once. He valiantly held it down though.

"I am a bit confused though, Midoriya-chan." Tsuyu – the frog-like girl – said with her finger resting below her lip, "With your Quirk being psychic powers, why are you doing heavy workouts? Isn't that pulling you in two directions? Kero." She asked, "Oh, and you can call me Tsu!" She smiled at him.

"Ah!" Finally, some normalcy. This he could handle, "Well, a Hero should never be a one-trick pony, right? What if I run into a situation where my Quirk can't help? Or I strain myself so hard that I get Quirk Exhaustion? Heroes should always have a fallback!"

"S-so!" Tears started to pour from Kirishima's eyes, "SO MANLY!"

Izuku smiled, "Plus, I actually enjoy it, and it even helps me with my Quirk. It doesn't make my Quirk itself any stronger, but it's so much easier to move and attack when you actually know what you're doing and not just throwing yourself around with your power. That's-"

"A recipe for disaster." Momo had a smile on her face, "I think you're motivating me, Midoriya-san! Perhaps I should step up my own training too!"

"Oh yeah!" Inasa pumped a fist in glee, "You all should totally join us! Izuku and I work out every day now that I live close to him. It used to be that we could only hang out on weekends. We should totally make a group of it!"

Mina and Momo started to positively sparkle, though for entirely different reasons. Mina was a social animal and loved being in groups with friends. Momo on the other hand, had lived a bit isolated due to her upbringing and relished the thought of finally being with others her age. Plus, this was an opportunity to get to know her peers and even form study groups! "Yahoo! I'm totally in!" Mina grinned broadly.

"I agree!" Momo backed her up, "But why limit it just to working out? We could-"

"Woah!" Mineta – the really short grape – interrupted her, "Are you guys forming a workout group?" He was practically salivating, "All those yoga pants and sports bras! Count me in!" His fingers were wriggling creepily.

"That's too creepy." Mina and Ochaco deadpanned at the same time, Mina's earlier sparkles disappearing instantly.

Camie looked like she had smelled something foul, "Nasty AF. Totally not invited!" She made a shooing motion.

Tsuyu just tongue-smacked him. His head rebounded like a bobble-head. It even made the noise.

"Ahem!" Momo cleared her throat as Mineta walked away dejectedly, "Before I was so rudely interrupted… Ah yes! Why just make it limited to just workouts?"

"Yeah!" Mina cheered, thinking she knew where Momo was going. She didn't.

"We could also form a study group after school to do homework and prepare for classes!" Momo got all bouncy.

'S-so cute!' Practically everyone at the table thought, even as more than a few winced at the idea.

Kaminari took it a step further, actually deflating at her words, "Man, I'm kinda awful at the academic stuff though…"

"We have a lot of it too." Kirishima sighed, pulling out his schedule, "Looks like all of our morning classes will be boring. All the actual hero stuff is after lunch."

Ochaco rubbed her head and chuckled nervously, "I usually do pretty okay as long as I'm not nervous… but when I am… ehehe."

"Ahh, don't sweat it!" Mina laughed, hands behind her head, "We're training to be heroes! It's not like that stuff is that important, right? Who needs the same old lecture on the glowing baby for the nth time?"

Iida gasped, "Ashido-kun, how could you say that?!" He started chopping his hand in her direction, "It was a vital part of history! It is our duty as splendid heroes-to-be to learn where we came from!"

"Ac-actually, mi-Mina!" 'I did it!' Izuku cheered in his head, getting a big grin from the beautiful pink girl, "I don't think you're right! With how strict Aizawa-sensei seems to be, I can imagine them dropping harsh punishments on us if our grades drop too much."

"That's like, totally right!" Camie exclaimed. She was about middle of the pack on academics. She knew she could do better but when she wasn't training, she was gaming, "We like, totes don't know our teachers at all. What if they're all like, super strict like Aizawa-sensei? It'll be GG." The gamers in the group understood the last bit, but the others just looked clueless. The conversation kept moving too, so they didn't really get the chance to ask.

Tsuyu again had her finger below her lip, "I can imagine us being barred from class activities like trips, if there are any. Kero kero."

Mina wrapped her arms around herself, "Brrr… suddenly I feel kinda cold."

"You're not the only one!" Kaminari had his hands on his head, "I tend to get distracted too easily!"

Inasa laughed, "All the more reason for the study group then! My man here goes all out! He helped me a bunch!"

Mina groaned, "But it's so boring!" She whined, slumping a bit.

Momo patted her on the shoulder, "Think of it like this… if you do a little bit of it every day, you won't have to cram and drive yourself spare before tests. I can imagine Aizawa-sensei at least will enjoy dropping pop quizzes on us often."

If anything, Mina slumped even more because she knew they were right. "Yeah, you're right. Fine!" She puffed up a bit, and her pouting was adorable, at least to Izuku, who flushed, looking away quickly.

She smacked a hand on the table, making several of them jump, "But I demand we do fun stuff too! Too much training and studying will just burn us out! What are your hobbies? I love to dance! I could teach you guys!"

"She's wild too!" Kirishima grinned, "It looks pretty fun. Not sure I'm limber enough for it though."

"That sounds really fun, Ashi-" he shook himself, "M-Mina-san!"

Mina beamed at him, causing him to blush again, "Looks like I got Midori's approval! Sweet!"

Kyōka started twirling her earlobe with a blush on her face, although nowhere near as obvious as the one Izuku was sporting. "I… uh… I can play instruments, if anyone is interested. Mostly the bass and guitar, though." She just barely held back a cringe. Why did she have to open her big mouth? Damn it, Mina!

"Woaaah! That's so cool!" Mina was again sparkling in excitement.

"Totes cool! You go gal!" Camie grinned at her, "That would be lit! I'd love to learn the sax!"

Kyōka was blushing brightly at the praise. She totally hadn't been expecting it, with how unrelated to heroism it was.

Ochaco started poking her fingers together, "I was always interested but…" her voice got lower and lower until they couldn't even hear her.

Izuku blinked over at her, "You okay?"

Momo reached over and patted the gravity girl on the arm, "You can tell us. No one will judge." She promised in a gentle tone.

Ochaco sighed, "My family… was never that well off." She admitted, shrinking down slightly as she admitted the next bit, "That's actually why I want to be a hero. I want to give my parents the easy life and retirement they deserve."

"What an honorable wish!" Iida exclaimed, almost standing up! He chopped forward, "Your parents are lucky to have you, Uraraka-kun!" He placed his hand on his chest, "I wish to join my elder brother as a splendid hero!" He almost slapped his hand over his mouth, his mouth having engaged before his brain.

"Elder-" Izuku gasped, "Wow, how did I not realize it before? You're related to Ingenium, aren't you?"

"Wow!" Everyone gasped, chattering excitedly.

"My brother Tensei loves helping and saving people! I admire him a great deal, as the second son." Iida smiled lightly when he heard the lack of judging from his peers, "I must admit I had not wished to relay that information. It just slipped out before I thought about what I was saying. In the past, many have gotten a bit nasty with me when I revealed I was from an established Hero Family. It's a relief to see such stigma won't be an issue here! I set my sights on being a Hero, so I could be like him!" He turned, "What about you, Midoriya-kun?"

Izuku didn't reply at first, leaning back. Slowly, a smile grew on his face, and a matching one on Inasa's. Finally, he spoke, "My entire life, I've admired All Might. He's my idol, just like your elder brother, Iida-kun. I want to follow in his footsteps!"

"Woah, so you want to be number one, huh?" Kirishima grinned, "That's so manly, dude!" He clapped Izuku on the shoulder.

"No." Izuku shook his head gently, confusing most of them, "I thought that was it for a long time, but I know better now. I don't care at all about the ranking." He clenched a fist in front of him and a blinding grin rose on his face, "The Symbol of Peace." An electric current seemed to run through them as they stared at their classmate, straightening their spines and sitting taller, "One day, I want to be able to say, "I am here!" and have the people know they're safe!"

Kirishima burst into tears, "I… I feel myself getting manlier just from your presence!"

"Bwahaha! Now you know how I feel! My man sure has a way, doesn't he?!" Inasa continued to laugh.

"Yes…" Several of the girls were blushing lightly as they... stared at the verdette. The sheer intensity of his drive was enthralling, and the way it made his face look... well, many of the girls were wondering suddenly what it would be like to be the object of that kind of intensity.

But before anything else could happen, the first bell rang. It was time for classes.

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'So normal…' Wasn't a thought any of class 1-A figured they would be having at U.A. High of all places. Especially after the nightmare revelation Aizawa had dropped on them the previous day. Yet the thought came all the same as they stared at the blackboard Present Mic – real name Hizashi Yamada – was writing on. Izuku and Momo had been the most prolific in this class, easily answering many of the questions the other students weren't able to get. Much to the class's surprise, Katsuki joined them in easily answering English questions. Yet no one really generated much in the way of enthusiasm, despite all of their teacher's best efforts. Poor Mina had to keep getting poked just to keep her awake. As dedicated as she was to her goal of being a hero, she would never enjoy things like these. It didn't really matter how useful it was – and really it was beyond useful for any Hero even considering crossing borders and international waters – because it was just so mind-numbingly boring.

Most of them were dreading mornings at U.A. if this was how things were going to go. Normal classes like mathematics and English dominated the early mornings, and by the start of lunch even the most intelligent ones like Momo and Izuku just wanted to get to their lunch breaks. "Jeez, math with Ectoplasm was bruuuutal!" Mina groaned at lunch.

"They've got no chill!" Camie was her sister in misery, "So much homework. Like, chill out, fam."

"It wasn't that difficult," Momo blushed slightly as several glares turned on her, "I'll make sure to help you all out during our group sessions!" The glares vanished, replaced by adoring puppy-dog eyes. "Still, even if it wasn't difficult, I'm welcoming the break. I was getting pretty hungry." Several of her classmates then noticed her practically-overflowing tray of food with no small amount of shock. The smarter ones realized that it was probably due to her Quirk and just shrugged, turning their focus back to their own meals. Once more, Lunch Rush quickly and efficiently served everyone's favorite foods. There were also other venues to choose from, depending on what kinds of foods they wanted, though for some of them they had to actually pay. It was all equally delicious, so really it just came down to preference and money. They restarted their talks from breakfast and continued to get to know each other better.

But all of them were glancing at the clock, and once time started ticking closer to the afternoon practically all of them were vibrating in excitement. The poor mood that had engulfed many of them was gone, and all of them were looking forward to the next class. They eagerly watched the door once they were back in class, waiting for their teacher to arrive. All of them were insanely curious as to who their Fundamental Heroics teacher would be, except for two of them. They just shared secret grins, trying to quirk their ears and listen for who they knew would be coming.

None of them were disappointed.

"I AM HERE…" Everyone's heads perked, and wide grins split their faces as the moment they all had been waiting for arrived, "COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!" Never let it be said that All Might was not a large ham.

"We have All Might as a teacher?!" The class erupted in excitement as All Might walked in, resplendent in his Silver Age costume. The top was predominantly red with white designs, with a blue bottom. He wore golden sleeves and boots with a flowing blue cape. The whole outfit was skintight, showing off his insanely-muscular physique.

"Woah, his style is so different!" Mina was grinning broadly with her shaking fists held tight to her chest. "I swear I'm hearing a theme song right now!"

"You're not the only one." Kyōka smirked, just as excited even if she tried to look more laid back than her excitable friend.

All Might proceeded to chew the scenery right up as he heroically made his way to the podium and put his fists on his hips, "I will be teaching Fundamental Heroics! In this subject, we will be putting all of you through your paces so that you can learn the basics of being a Hero. We'll be here quite often. This class and its subsequent advanced versions will have the most units per semester." He seemed to flex, and somehow managed to make a card appear in his hand, "So let's get right into it!Your first class shall be… Combat Training!" The card had the word 'Battle' written on it.

"Combat?!" Katsuki was grinning broadly, beyond excited. With this, he could wipe yesterday's shame away far faster than he had expected to.

"And for that you need these!" All Might clicked a button and several panels popped out of the wall to the far side of the room. Each of them had five containers labeled from one to twenty.

"In accordance with the Quirk Registry as well as your own written requests... here are your…"

"COSTUMES!" The class shouted in glee. They couldn't wait to see how all of them had turned out.

"That's right!" Their teacher yelled and stood proudly, "After you change, meet at Ground Beta!"

…

He stood alone now, fists again on his hips as he waited for his students to start coming through the tunnel into Ground Beta. His grin widened as he started picking up on faint footsteps, before the first of them broke into the light. "They say the costume makes the hero, young ladies and gentlemen." He eyed each of them and liked what he saw with most of the costumes, "Be proud. From this moment on, you are HEROES! That's great everyone. You all look cool!" He leaned forward a little, "Shall we begin, zygotes?"

Behind the rest of the class, Izuku was the last one running out of the tunnel. He had gotten a little lost in a memory when he first put on his costume.

It was the night before his first day at U.A., and they had just finished dinner – his favorite katsudon as a reward for accomplishing his dream of getting into U.A. High – when his mom had pulled him aside with a brilliant smile on her face, "Izuku, I have a surprise for you! Go into the living room!"

'I wonder what mom wants?' He thought to himself as he sat on the sofa and watched as she disappeared into her bedroom. His eyes widened when she came out and was quite clearly struggling with a large, all-metal suitcase. It was almost as tall as she was and whoever designed the case hadn't thought to put wheels on it. "Mom!" He cried out when she grunted with effort and reached out with his Telekinesis.

She gave off a sigh of relief as the weight was no longer hers to bare and pouted, "Geez, your mom is too out of shape. Here I am giving you a gift and you're the one lugging it around for me." She walked over and regained her cheer, "I hope you like it honey!" She kneeled down and wrapped him in a hug, "I'm so sorry sweetie." Her voice warbled, "Back when all you needed from me was support…" Her voice broke and Izuku hurried to tighten his hug in reassurement, rubbing her back gently. She choked back another sob, "I was so disheartened when they claimed you were Quirkless… I just gave up in my anguish… Even though you needed me, I was too lost in my own hopelessness. I'm so sorry honey!"

"Mom…" Izuku breathed out, tears of his own starting to prickle at his eyes.

"But you never quit, Izuku. You always kept chasing your dreams and look at you now! The top entrant of the year! I'm so, so proud of you baby!" She sniffed and pulled away, a brilliant, beaming, watery smile on her face, "I want you to know I'll always be in your corner. One hundred percent! I'll be cheering you on with everything I've got!" She got up and rubbed her eyes, before patting the large suitcase, "Ever since you showed up that day with Mr. Yagi and told me that you had finally unlocked your Quirk, I've been saving up for this." Her smile turned a little sheepish, "I even snuck some peaks at your Hero Journal for ideas, and asked Mr. Yagi for some advice. I hope you like it!"

Izuku threw his arms around her neck as he stood, "You didn't have to, mom." He sounded a little choked up. "No matter what it is, you poured your heart into it. How could I do anything but love it?"

"Izuku!" She gave him one final squeeze and then stepped away, practically bouncing up and down in excitement, "Well, what are you waiting for?" 

Izuku unclipped the case's locks and opened it up like a double-doored closet. "H-holy crap!" The brilliant grin on his face brought his mom such joy she nearly fell over in happiness.

"Woah! Deku-kun, you look amazing!" The gleeful cry from Ochaco drew all of their attention, and several more exclamations rang out.

"Wow, Midori looks AWESOME~!" Mina's voice rang out as she started excitedly running around him and checking him out from every angle.

"Quite cool. I like it a lot." Momo smiled at him, getting another luminescent blush from the shy boy.

"Jeez, looking at him makes my costume look like a crappy cosplay. I'm a bit intimidated." Kaminari complained in good humor. He was wearing clothes that wouldn't have looked out of place at a rock concert. They looked like regular clothes.

'Why the fuck is HIS intimidating?' One guess only for the one who had that thought.

Izuku's full costume looked to be in a similar style to the one All Might was wearing. It was a full bodysuit and had a cape, but that was where the similarities ended. Rather than being something resembling spandex like the great hero's costume, it looked more like a combat bodysuit that wouldn't have been out of place in one of those really old space-themed video games from the previous century like Crysis or Mass Effect. It was primarily black, but there were some silver accents woven in through the suit. The gloves and boots were bright green, as was the cape and the shoulders, running down to his arms. A bright green bird of prey was emblazoned on his chest. An emerald sash rested on his hips, no doubt for him to create his Psyblade with. And despite looking armored, it was no less skin-tight than All Might's and showed off all of his hard work from the past couple months, which was drawing appreciative glances from all of the girls. He also had a vaguely gladiator-like helmet on his head which seemed to be equipped with a HUD, with large 'wings' that were capable of swiveling pointed up towards the sky. His only regret was there wasn't any red in it, since his mom thought it clashed and looked a bit too tacky.

All Might bit back a snicker, 'Despite the badass look, I'm pretty sure the helmet is a bit too obvious, shonen.'

Izuku was eying Uraraka with a massive blush. Her suit had ended up being skintight, and unlike him she didn't have anything else helping her cover up. Every single curve was accentuated. She was also blushing sheepishly under his gaze, "I should have been more specific. I just wanted a way to put pressure on my pressure points to help me with my nausea when using my quirk. They sent a skintight bodysuit. Maybe I should send it back?" She had her visor flipped up and was rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"No way!" Camie came up behind her and Ochaco practically jumped into the air as she felt the equally curvy girl's arms embrace her, "You totally look hot, Ochaco-chan! I love your suit!"

"U-Utsushimi-san?!" Ochaco yelped, turning around only for her eyes to bug out when she saw the girl's skin-tight leather outfit with the front slightly unzipped and showing off her cleavage. She was quite clearly braless too. "Oh my g-"

"That thing looks awesome, Midori!" Mina hopped up to them, interrupting Ochaco, "Did you design it yourself?"

"K-kinda?" Izuku answered, trying to keep his eyes from wandering. Mina was leaning forward, and her purple and turquoise bodysuit was cut off at the chest and showed quite a bit of her developing cleavage. "I had a basic sketch in my notebook which my mom saw. She spent the last year working with a support company to have it developed." He smiled at the thought, 'She even made sure to request that the underlayer be made of as-fireproof a material as they could find. She's always looking out for me.' He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. "It's a bit heavier than we had planned, but that just makes it good strength training. Plus, I can make it lighter with my psychic powers if I'm in a pinch."

"I see we share that idea in our designs." Iida motioned with his hands. He was wearing a breaking suit of armor, complete with a full helmet that hid his face, "I too wear a heavy costume, though I have grown accustomed to its weight."

"Looks awesome too!" Inasa clapped him on the shoulder energetically. He was wearing a thick, maroon suit with golden buttons. The collar of his suit was decorated with white fur and his cape flowed down to his feet. His right arm was clad in a simple blue sleeve while his left had a tan gauntlet on it. All over his suit were pipes placed at strategic locations to aid him with his wind control. His knees and left shoulder had a white gas-mask-shaped plate attached. On his head was a maroon, Shiketsu-style hat with the U.A. badge over it. Apparently U.A. had wanted to sell them to students but had some legal troubles with their rival school over making it an official part of the uniform. Ignoring the legal issues, Inasa had bought one himself and modified it to his liking, finishing off the look with a pair of goggles, which he currently wasn't wearing. "Really badass! You look great!"

"Alright my young heroes, it is time to get started." All Might interrupted the socializing since he himself couldn't stay in his Hero Form past his time limit.

Iida raised his hand, "Sensei, this is the same site we used for our entrance exams. Will we be doing cityscape maneuvers again?"

"Incorrect!" All Might pointed at Iida, "What we will be doing is indoor, anti-personnel combat training." He pointed up instead now, "You see, despite the fact that what we usually see from villains are outdoor crimes, the most heinous villains are much smarter than that. Backroom deals, the black market, hostage situations, the list goes on. In this Hero Society of ours, the most dangerous villains are the ones who use their brains and try to outwit us. They almost always operate indoors, away from prying eyes like ours."

He clenched his fist in front of his chest, "With that in mind, you all will be split evenly into groups of two! Each team will have either a Hero or Villain designation, and you will be fighting against another team!"

Tsuyu quirked her head to the side, "So no basic training?"

"Practical experience will teach you that!" he declared, "The distinction here is that you won't be fighting disposable robots!"

Momo mimicked his pose with her fists on her hips, "What determines victory?" She wore a very risqué, high-collared, sleeveless crimson leotard that completely exposed the inner sides of her breasts all the way down to her navel with a thick yellow belt around her hips and part of her thighs. A red pair of boots rounded off the look. The look was so hot it had practically caused Mineta's nose to explode from the blood, and Izuku couldn't actually bring himself to look at her, no matter how he tried it was just too stimulating.

Katsuki's Hero Costume consisted of a fitted, black, sleeveless V-neck tank top with an orange X bordering his collar. Around his neck was a metallic neck brace with three holes on both sides. His gauntlets resembled large 'pineapple' grenades. His belt – which also carried grenades – held up his baggy pants with knee guards. Underneath those guards are black, knee-high combat boots with orange soles and eyelets. He also wore a black eye-mask. It was such a perfectly-suited costume for the boy that Izuku couldn't help but goggle as Katsuki asked, "Can I just blow them away?"

"You're not going threaten expulsion like Aizawa-sensei did, right All Might?" Uraraka asked a little timidly.

Iida proceeded to shout, "How will we be dividing ourselves up?"

Aoyama – wearing a knightly suit of armor with red, flamboyant glasses and an astoundingly sparkly cape - nearly got glares from everyone else when he asked, "How fabulous is my cape?" His armor had evidently been altered to act much like his belt, as there were multiple points on it that looked like focusing lenses.

"One at a time!" All Might was almost feeling a little dizzy, "My quirk isn't super-hearing you know!" He shook himself and removed a sheet from his pocket, making Izuku sweatdrop over his mentor bringing cheat sheets to his own classes, "Listen up! The Villain teams will be protecting a nuclear device that they intend on detonating. To win they merely need to allow time to expire while keeping the Heroes away from the weapon at all costs. Alternatively, they can capture or incapacitate the Heroes. And like in reality, the Heroes face an uphill battle. The Hero teams will be tasked with incapacitating both Villains and securing the device."

He looked up to make certain they were all listening, giving his next words added weight. "The bomb is the priority however, so you can bypass the Villains and go directly for the weapon. However, doing so will cost some points, because that means the Villains are still at large and capable of hurting people or coming up with more dastardly plots. There is a strict time limit of fifteen minutes per battle, and it is the Heroes who are racing the clock. To keep things from being boring, every battle will be in a different location so everyone is going in fresh. If you're not up first, don't bother trying to memorize the layout."

He took out a box with a hole on top and presented it to them, "Your teammates will be decided through… lots!"

"Is that really the best way?" Iida questioned him in confusion.

It was Izuku who answered though, "Actually, it makes a lot of sense. In the field we will sometimes have to pair up with other Heroes who we potentially know nothing about. Anything can happen during emergencies and pairing up with Heroes from different Agencies happens all the time."

"I see! Excellent analysis Midoriya. Forgive my impertinence!" Iida bowed to All Might, who shrugged him off.

"No worries, Iida-shonen. Let's get to it!" He turned and pumped a fist into the air. One by one, the students walked up to the box and pulled a lot out. In a matter of moments, the teams had formed.

Izuku ended up being paired with Mina, much to her delight and Ochaco's disappointment. The gravity girl was paired with Iida. The next team was Momo and Kaminari. Following them was Tsu and Kyōka as well as Katsuki and Yūga Aoyama. Camie – and Izuku was seriously starting to wonder what was with all the beautiful girls in his class wearing such amazing costumes? – was paired with Hanta Sero and the Invisible Girl Tōru Hagakure with Kirishima.

Kōji Kōda got paired with Inasa who was nearly praying that he be matched up against Shōto Todoroki, who was partnered with Minoru Mineta. The final team was the tall Mezō Shōji with the bird-headed Fumikage Tokoyami.

"Yahoo!" Mina bounded up to him and slung an arm around his shoulder, making him flush and tremble at how close she was, "I get Midori! This is going to be sweet!"

"Ah!" Izuku managed to squeak out, "A-A-Ashido-san!" His face was on fire, 'So close! And she smells so nice!' He was trying very hard not to just completely freak.

"Awww!" Mina pouted, puffing her cheeks a bit, "What happened to Mina, Midori? Miiina~!"

"S-sorry Mina!" he squeaked, which got a beaming grin from the girl, even as he almost started to hyperventilate.

"Yahoo! Looks like we got some fun matchup possibilities!" Inasa clapped Kōda on the back, ignoring how the very quiet boy was sweating worse than Izuku was at the close proximity. He just rapidly nodded his head, completely mute. Inasa then smirked over at Izuku, "Good hunting, my man. Would be fun to go mano-e-mano again!"

Izuku escaped his Mina-induced paralysis a bit, raising a fist with a challenging grin towards his friend, "Bring it!"

Kaminari walked up to Momo with a grin, "I think I like this pairing. I can think of at least one way where we would work well together."

"Hmm, I think I know what you're planning." She smiled back, her mind already in overdrive. Of course, the sheltered, naïve girl didn't even notice Kaminari's actual meaning fly right over her head. The boy looked a little crushed, even if he tried to shrug it off and match her enthusiasm.

Before more socializing could occur, All Might grabbed their attentions once more, "Yes, yes, I'm sure you're all excited for the matches to begin, so let's not waste any more time!" The lots had been redistributed into the boxes, with five going into the Hero box and five into the Villain box. All Might reached in, and pulled out the first two spheres, "And our first combatants are… Team C vs Team F! The Villains are Asui and Jīrō, up against the Hero team of Kirishima and Hagakure!"

He gestured to Tsu and Kyōka, "You ladies will be heading in first and preparing the bomb. You will have aid from the U.A. robots to move and place it quickly if you need it. There will be a ten-minute grace period for both teams to plan and prepare as needed. The fifteen-minute timer will begin to count down immediately once the Heroes are allowed to enter, so take care not to procrastinate!"

All Might now grinned, fists on his hips, "And most importantly, remember this is to give you all practical experience, so you must not hold back! The Villains should try to embrace a villainous mindset and pretend to be the real deal! You can't have any doubts and must give it your all! That said, remember that this is just training so take care not to go TOO far. I will only step in if I feel I need to. If I declare the exercise over at any point for any reason, it is OVER. Is that clear? And be mindful that the provided Capture Tape can only be used once! Use it wisely, because you only get one per team."

"Yes!" The four from the first group answered the teacher and then sped away towards their assigned testing zone.

"The rest of us will watch through CCTV!" All Might declared and ushered them all into a room with a massive bank of monitors, "Do take notes and talk amongst yourselves as we watch. There will be after-action reports."

"Yes sir!" The rest of the class answered back.

Inasa walked over and clapped Izuku on the back. "What do you think of the pairings, my man?" The other students' attentions were drawn too, and most of their breakfast group came over as well.

"I think Kirishima and Hagakure-san are very lucky that they're the Heroes for this trial." Izuku admitted.

"I agree." Momo said softly, her hand rubbing her chin, "Kirishima – from what I remember of the Quirk Apprehension Test – is very much built for… err… what was the term…? Tanking?" She blushed slightly, having never been very big on video games. She hoped she remembered the right word. "In any case, he struck me as an up-front fighter. He would be at a massive advantage in a straight fight, but at least one of his opponents is mobile to a degree I'm not sure he's trained enough to match."

"That's what I was getting at." Izuku replied with a nod of his head, "If the teams had been swapped, I think this could have been a very lopsided match. Especially since we only need to touch the bomb, not actually disarm it or anything. Tsu could easily have just smacked it with her tongue. With the teams like this, they don't have that easy win. It's a matter of whether she can play keep-away with the bomb better than Kirishima can bulldoze to it."

"Hey, aren't you guys discounting Tōru-chan and Kyōka-chan?" Mina asked, slightly indignantly.

"Yeah!" Ochaco popped in, "She's invisible! She could easily sneak in and touch it!"

"Of course not!" Momo looked affronted, "But I think you're overvaluing her invisibility. Jīrō-san's extremely acute hearing may actually be powerful enough that she can just pick Hagakure-san up no matter how quietly she steps. Not only that, but her sonic attacks are something Kirishima-san cannot defend against."

Inasa piped in with his signature grin, "I think Kirishima and Hagakure's best chance is to just go in as loudly as they can. Give Kyōka so much to listen to that she can't pick up Hagakure. That's the only way Hagakure will be able to sneak to the bomb."

"Yeah, a quiet infiltration is the worst move they could make. They'd be playing right into the Villain's hands." Izuku nodded along.

"Excellent analysis, you zygotes!" All Might grinned, "Let's see how right you are! Battle Trial I begin!"

-]|[-

A few minutes beforehand, Kirishima and Hagakure had been strategizing and sharing their ideas. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't really decide on a strict game-plan. Kirishima was overconfident in his ability to tank and simply overwhelm their physically weaker opponents and wanted to go in right through the front door. Tōru wanted to go in through one of the upper floors. And in the end, they made the decision to split up once it was announced.

Kirishima – as promised – ran right in and made a lot of noise while Tōru showed some vaguely impressive athleticism – far more than the rest of the class had honestly expected out of her, what with her poor ranking during the Quirk Apprehension Tests – by climbing up to the third floor and scampering in through the window after cutting a hole through the glass and unlocking the latch. How she hid said glasscutter with her, *ahem* lack of costume was a mystery best left unexplored.

The building was essentially a small storage facility with an attached set of offices. She stealthily moved through the facility, hoping that the noise she could hear from Kirishima – and she could hear a lot of it – was enough. She creaked a door open and peered inside, seeing that there were a lot of crates stacked up. Perhaps the bomb was behind them? She eased her way in, and immediately felt two little things jab into her and her whole body seized.

"What a shame, Hero! You fell right into our trap!" Kyōka stepped out from behind a set of crates, her earlobes extended with the jacks stabbed into the invisible girl. "We assumed at least one of you would want to drop in from the roof. I can hear your every move!"

Tōru backed up, trying to be silent and move away, but Kyōka pinpointed her as if she was just standing there naked, ironically. "But Kirishima is making so much noise! How could you hear me?"

"You think this is the first time someone tried to overwhelm my hearing?" She snarked, "Please, if every little explosion could send me to my knees, I would have been captured long ago!"

"Then I'll just have to do it myself, Villain!" Tōru ran forward, whipping out the capture tape and reaching for her opponent. It was the only way. She just had to pray she was physically stronger than Kyōka, because she was clearly trapped otherwise.

"Too bad!" Kyōka had an evil grin on her face, "So sad." Her jacks plugged into the speakers on her costume and a loud, warbling blast of sound engulfed Tōru. The girl let out a little scream as she grabbed her ears. Even her tummy was starting to feel weird. Kyōka ended her attack and dashed forward, whipping out her own capture tape. She wrapped it around Tōru and tightened it, trapping her arms to her chest.

All Might's voice rang on the intercoms, "Hagakure has been captured and is out of the match! Please exit the arena!"

Kyōka leaned over and grabbed Tōru's capture tape, "Better luck next time, Hero." Of course, her actions, which entailed releasing Tōru with a bit of a blush – after all, Toru might be invisible, but that didn't mean Kyōka couldn't feel the other girl's body - were completely contrary to her words. She stalked away silently, leaving the beaten, pouting invisible girl to walk down and out of the building dejectedly.

…

Elsewhere in the building Kirishima had almost immediately found their objective but did not think to call it in to his partner. He crashed into a room that was full of crates, and he could see the nose of the bomb pointing to the roof behind a set of the crates. He Hardened his body and barreled forward, but started to slip and slide almost immediately, "Woooaaah!" he cried out as he crashed to the floor and continued to slide right into the crates. The entire stack tumbled down on him as he broke right through them.

"Kero, kero, kero!" The absolutely most adorable-sounding evil laughter in existence rang through the room, "You'll have to try harder than that, Hero!" Tsu was hanging on one of the walls, more like a spider than a frog if he were honest with himself.

Kirishima punched through the rest of the crates and hesitantly got up, worried about more of whatever that slick substance was. "What the hell was that? That's something I would have expected from Mina!"

"Kero, kero! I won't be monologuing for you. Come at me, Hero!" Tsu shot back, before leaping nearly across the room and away from the bomb.

It appealed to his pride to beat her, especially after his fall, but that wasn't what his idol would have done! "Nice try!" Kirishima laughed as he turned away and started racing for the bomb, Hardening his skin as he ran.

At first, he thought he might have been better served to stay un-Hardened, since it slowed him down. Then Tsu's tongue whipped out of her mouth and extended its full distance, wrapping around his leg and tripping him. He bashed his head on the floor and was suddenly very thankful that he had protected himself with his Quirk beforehand.

But Tsu wasn't done. She whipped her head around and her tongue dragged Kirishima with it, flinging him into and right through a wall. "So, you're smarter than you look, Hero! But you're too slow to get past me on your own! Kero, kero!"

"Damn!" Kirishima broke right back in, "If I can't get around you then I'll go through you!" he raced forward to engage with Tsu, displaying his great strength as he leapt at her, his landing cratering the wall behind her as she dodged. He kicked off the wall right after her and tried to give her a hard punch.

But Tsu backflipped away, landed, and performed an epic-looking spinning-back-kick that knocked his arms away. An instant later her tongue flashed forward to smash right into his face. But he only grinned as he turned back to her, "You're too weak, Villain! Your hits can't hurt me at all!"

The announcement that came over the intercom a second later on the other hand, definitely could. "Hagakure has been captured and it out of the match! Please exit the arena!"

"What!" His eyes bulged, "Shit!" He Hardened a bit more and started trying harder to beat Tsu.

But she was just too fast. Every single punch and kick he threw were dodged with grace. The Froggy girl made it look easy. Of course, none of her retaliatory strikes could hurt him in the slightest, but he couldn't make any progress towards the objective. Every time he tried to break away from her and run towards the bomb, she would just yank it away. Even when he faked moving towards it and prepared a hard backhand to try to injure her tongue, he was only able to get a pained grimace from her when his blow connected, and she didn't let up at all.

Once when he hit the same point on her tongue he'd already tagged Tsuyu recoiled just enough for him to dive for the bomb, but his opponent still out-speeded him used her tongue to pull the bomb out of his reach once again. She set it back up in a completely different side of the room, and before he could move she had grabbed a piece of rubble he'd created and whipped it at him.

"Damn it! I'm running out of time!" He took a step forward, and then crashed to his knees as he was engulfed by sound, his hands flying to his ears as his eardrums began to almost pulsate with the noise slamming into him like a physical force.

"Yeah, looks like your time is up, Hero!" Kyōka grinned as she stepped in, her leg-speakers blasting her heartbeat at him at several decibels too high for him to handle, "Great job Tsu!" She flung Hagakure's Capture Tape to her partner.

"Kero!" Tsu ribbited and caught the tape with her tongue, before easily wrapping up Kirishima with it.

"Kirishima has been captured! Both Heroes have been incapacitated! Asui and Jīrō are the winners!"

Jīrō grinned and pumped a fist in the air before raising a hand to high-five her partner, "Great job Tsu!"

"You too, Kyōka-chan!" Instead of taking the high five though, she pulled Kyōka into a hug, which Kyōka, after a start, returned warmly, before they broke off, going to free their enemy.

"Drat, I lost!" Kirishima didn't look too bummed out, but he was clearly disappointed with his performance. "You two were just overwhelming! That was a great match!"

"Thank you/kero, kero!" The two young ladies replied, one of them smirking at him.

-]|[-

Moments later however, Kyōka had her face in her hands, which did nothing to disguise her earlobes dancing in embarrassment or the hints of red on her neck. When she spoke, her words were muffled, and no one could really understand her. "Gah!"

Hagakure was giggling happily, "So, you like acting huh, Kyōka-chan?"

The rest of the class didn't have access to any microphones, so they hadn't been able to hear anything, but they could see everything, and that was enough to embarrass Kyōka, especially with Hagakure telling everyone how she had acted out her part.

"Settle down!" All Might commanded. His time limit was going to rear its ugly head if he didn't keep the class on pace, "Time for the after-action reports! Who would like to go first?"

"I was very impressed with Jīrō-san." Momo said, drawing another blush from the punk-ish girl, "Her hearing must be absolutely phenomenal and her ability to be selective with what she hears must be too. Kirishima-san was making what must have been a severe racket and she was still able to pick Hagakure-san up."

"Yahoo!" Inasa was pumped right up and holding on to the hope his team would be next, "Tsu-chan performed great too! She was able to keep Kiri away from the bomb no matter how hard he tried to go through her or even around her! Despite that, our little Rockstar should still get the MVP! She not only captured her opponent but still managed to think to take the other team's capture tape!"

Kyōka was now reaching Izuku-levels of blush, 'It's official. I'm going to die of embarrassment.'

"Agreed! Well done, young lady!" All Might beamed at her, "But don't get discouraged – young ones – if you aren't the MVP. Remember! You're all here to learn and improve! I saw good things from all of you, and all of you have great potential! It will be up to us – the staff AND your classmates – to bring it out of you! Take this for what it is meant to be: a learning experience! Whether you won or lost, always take the time to learn and improve!"

The class hung on to his every word and started to realize more than just the obvious why this man had been the top hero for so damn long.

"But we're burning daylight! So! Let's get to the next matchups!" All Might – ever mindful of his time limit – tried to move things along.

But Mina wasn't done, and she raised her hand, "Wait, I still have something to say about the Hero team too!"

"Oh, my apologies young lady! Go right ahead." All Might yielded the floor to her, a bit chagrined that he had tried to end things too quickly.

"Right! I did see some things I liked from the Hero team. When Tsu-chan tried to bait Kiri into fighting her and drawing him away from the objective, Kiri ignored her and went right for the bomb like he should have! It may not have worked out, but I thought that was great!"

"Ah shucks, you're making me blush!" Kirishima chuckled slightly, thumbing his nose.

Iida let out a gasp, "I had noticed that too! My sincerest apologies for not thinking to mention it!" he bowed deeply to Kirishima.

"Whoa, whoa, settle down buddy. It's cool!" Kirishima was now actually blushing and looking a little bashful.

Tsuyu spoke up next, "I thought Tōru-chan did pretty well too, all things considered. It was a pity she was matched up against Kyōka-chan. Her hearing was even more impressive than I had thought it would be. Tōru-chan managed to get into the building sneakily and if it hadn't been for Kyōka-chan, she could have staked the whole place out or even bugged it without any of us even noticing. Her stealth is a little scary. Kero, kero!" She smiled in the invisible girl's direction.

Hagakure glomped her in response, "Thanks Tsu-chan! You're so sweet!"

"Excellent! My apologies for trying to move things along too quickly. I did not mean to overlook your own performance and am glad young Ashido interrupted me! The Hero team indeed performed admirably. Perhaps next time, they shall be victorious!" All Might smiled at the hugging pair, and flashed Kirishima a thumbs-up who returned it with a grin, not at all bothered, "But the show must go on!" Rather than reaching into the box, All Might pointed at a screen which flashed, and four students gained determined looks, "Looks like we have the Villain Team A vs the Hero Team B!" Off to the side, Katsuki let out a growl of both fury and disappointment.

"Yes!" Mina cheered, "We're up, Midori! Let's go for shock and awe!"

"I think that's my line!" Kaminari grinned, letting a few sparks of lightning flow on his hair.

Inasa clapped him on the shoulders, "Show them what you got, my man!"

"You'll do amazing, Deku-kun!" Ochaco beamed at him, "Go and show everyone what you can do! It'll be like whoosh, and shing!" She started miming him with his sword, getting chuckles out of everyone.

"Good luck, Midoriya-san, Ashido-san." Momo flashed them a smile that was no less determined than their grins. She turned to All Might, "Sensei, with what my abilities entail, am I allowed to use my Quirk for support purposes before our countdown has actually started? I ask because I imagine many of our missions will be assigned beforehand or we would at least have some time to think while en route."

"Hmmm…" All Might rubbed his chin, "Yes, I shall allow it, provided you make no attempts to actually use anything until the exercise has begun."

Her answering beaming-grin may have been beatific, but it also served to put a chill down several spines.

-]|[-

"So, what do you think, Midori?" Mina asked as the two of them stood beside their bomb. The area they had been given to defend as the Villains had been a bit of a surprise. There had been a 'tiny' lake in one of the city's areas, and they were supposed to plant the bomb in a set of warehouses/offices in a pier-style location. As if they were doing their damndest to make the scenario feel 'real,' the bomb had even been put into a shipping container, which they had just opened and officially begun their timer.

On the way to the combat zone they had been given a map of the compound they were to defend, and Izuku had nearly put Mina into stitches as he fired up one of his mumbling sprees, complete with frantically-fast writing into a notebook he had summoned from… somewhere. The pink girl had been giggling the entire jog there. But now, she was very serious as she pointed down at the map. "I say we put it into the second floor of this building."

Izuku tapped his chin, "I feel like that's a bit too obvious, M-Mina. It is the biggest one, after all. I feel like Yaoyorozu-san would think to look there first. Or would she know that I know that? But then, would she try to double-bluff me, knowing that I know that she knows that?"

"Oh jeez, you two are really our big brains, huh?" Mina teased with a grin, "I see your point, that is probably too obvious. But would that even matter with All Might giving Yaomomo permission to create stuff beforehand? We have no idea what kinds of spy gear she could make, or if trying to hide the bomb would even work. It would also give us the biggest chance to play keep-away with the bomb, and give us the most amount of room to maneuver in. None of the other buildings look like they have areas we could barricade the bomb behind."

"Great catch!" he smiled at her, earning another sweet grin which made him flush a bit, before he got back on track, "I say we go with that building, but put it on the third floor instead. While they potentially have more mobility than I'm assuming, that would all be tied to items Yaoyorozu-san can make. If they try for a rooftop insertion, either one or both of them would have to expend more energy getting there and it would delay them a bit." She flashed him a thumbs-up in agreement, "So that leaves defense."

"I don't think so." Mina said, shaking her head, "With her Quirk's capabilities, I feel like that would leave them too much leeway. I think we need to go on the attack." She raised a fist, "We're supposed to be Villains here, right? Neither of our Quirks are really good for booby-trapping the place or creating a safe zone. At best I'd be able to use some slick acid to try to mess with their balance. And on the other hand, I'd say hers is perfect for defeating that kind of strategy anyway. I say we hunt."

"Villain, huh?" Izuku mumbled, his mind flashing to his former friend, who very much had an attitude which was not heroic, no matter his desires. Kacchan definitely would not be standing still waiting for them to come to him. 'Plus, All Might is the largest ham in existence. And I did say I'd be his successor, right?' He thought to himself.

"I don't agree with leaving the bomb unattended. I say you stay as the last line of defense. With your strength, speed, and nimbleness, I think you could beat either of them one-on-one. Your acid could very well be a good counter to his lightning, and you could certainly melt anything she throws at you. Meanwhile, I could always teleport back if you need help."

"Yahoo!" She said, deliberately mimicking Inasa in her excitement, "I'm all over it, Midori-dude! Let's get these Heroes. Mwahahaha!"

…

From where she and her partner waited, Momo watched the clock they were set next to attentively. She had a bag over her shoulder and was itching to open it and reveal its contents. She had gone behind a container – one which she had been assured had no cameras aimed at it by All Might. Even though she had pasties on her chest to conceal her modesty if she needed to open her leotard, she wasn't about to go giving the rest of her class a free show if she didn't need to. Just in case one of them fell off – and had created the items she had wanted. Once done, she brought back her bag of goodies to her partner who thankfully had not tried to peek. "How do you think they're going to play this?" She asked him.

"I'm not sure." Kaminari replied, not bothering to try to flirt anymore. His earlier attempt had been ignored (to the point where he wasn't sure she had even noticed), so he didn't think there was a point. She was too intensely focused on the match, which was pretty sexy anyway. "Their personalities don't seem like they would mesh in a team setting. Midoriya is shy but appears determined and meticulous. Ashido on the other hand seems like a free spirit and a bit wild, though in a good way. I feel like they would make a mistake the same way Kirishima and Hagakure did."

"That's too presumptuous." Momo chided, "Everyone who is in this course has earned their spot, and Midoriya won one of the top spots on the Assessments. We shouldn't assume we've seen all of them or compare them to the other group. Their Quirks are far more compatible than Hagakure-san and Kirishima-san's."

He grimaced, "Which puts us back at square one, because I have no idea what they're going to do."

Momo frowned slightly as she looked around the battle zone. "I say we split up once we have located the bomb. I don't think they will bother trying to create a multitude of traps and defenses. Neither of their Quirks are really suited for it, beyond Midoriya-san being able to possibly lift enough crates and such to form a wall around the bomb. I think one of them will be out to attack. Most likely Midoriya if that ability he displayed in the Fifty-Meter-Dash was any indication."

She turned to look at him. "I think you'll have to draw his attention away and allow me to breach. I'm more confident in my ability to face her and you to face him." He nodded, and she turned back to the clock. "Five…four…three…two…" She adjusted the strap and readied herself, "One!" She yelled and practically ripped open her bag, allowing what looked like military-grade drones to fall out.

"Holy shit!" Kaminari's jaw dropped and he nearly drooled as he took the remote from her, "Do you have any idea how much I wanted one of these when I was a kid?" He slammed the joystick forward after turning it on but saw – much to his disappointment – that he'd been given the camera-on-wheels one, rather than the flying one. His little tube with wheels crashed into fence, "Ack!"

"And that's why I get the flying one." At his distraught look Momo giggled for a moment, before focusing and expertly flying the drone, showing him this wasn't the first time she'd used this construct. "We need to locate the bomb within the first three minutes. That gives us twelve to get to where we need to be and attack. Hurry!" She watched the screen intently, walking forward into the compound and inadvertently putting herself in severe danger if this had been a real terrorist situation. She was well into the open.

Kaminari hastened to follow, his little drone making little noise as it sped towards the first building. He drove it through a small vent in one of the walls – musing this felt JUST like that really old game Rainbow Six Siege – and kept searching. "Nothing in the first one." He said, crossing it off their list with the tablet-screen, which was linked to Momo's.

Momo flew her drone to the farthest building and switched the camera to an x-ray camera. "Unless they have a way of fooling the camera, the farthest one is empty too."

"You don't think they really did just put it into the biggest building, right?" He asked her.

There was a moment's pause, before they both directed their drones as fast as they could, "Target found." She said a bit dully, cursing herself, "I don't know if they outsmarted us or if I outsmarted myself. Good call, Kaminari-san." They started to run, "You take the front entrance. I'll go behind and hit them from the roof. The bomb is on the third floor! Wait!" She yelled as they separated. He jerked to a stop, and she held her hand to her stomach. The rainbow glow of her Quirk shone, and then she tossed something to him. His eyes widened, and he grinned madly as he felt the fully-charged battery teeming with power for him to consume. Before he could thank and praise her, she had already raced off.

Momo swiftly moved behind the building, taking a moment to regain her breath and think about what she needed. It took her roughly twenty seconds, but she drew a grappling-hook-gun from her stomach and aimed it up. The rope went taut as it hooked onto the roof, and she tugged on it a few times to make sure it was secure. Another ten seconds had her putting on a harness and clipping the thick nylon to herself. It took her another minute of climbing, but she made it in. they had eleven minutes left, which she was pretty pleased with.

She put on a pair of rubber gloves and tried the door, which was unlocked to her surprise. She descended down the stairs.

…

From where he and Mina had been waiting, Izuku opened his eyes. "They're here." He had been sitting in a meditation pose, floating in the air much to Mina's delight.

"Your Quirk is so cool! I wish I had it!" She whined a bit, before shaking herself rapidly. "Erm, anyway, that didn't take them long."

"But longer than I thought it would! Looks like your reasoning for this building was spot on." She grinned in response to his words, even as he righted himself and dropped down to land on his feet. "Remember the plan. Make sure you call me if you need to!"

"Good hunting, Midori, and have fun playing the Villain!" She cheered and resolved herself to wait and prepare herself.

"You as well." Were his last words before he was gone in a flash of light to meet Kaminari.

This was actually perfect for their plans. They were more confident in her ability to handle Momo than him, since they weren't actually sure if her acid could block his lightning. He would trust his partner to handle the very talented young woman she was facing.

He appeared in a room he'd previously canvassed and threw out his senses. He knew Kaminari would need to pass by here to make it to the stairs, so he started preparing a force blast. Then, right as he felt the blonde coming into range, he thrust his arm forward and the air warped as his Air Cannon blasted into the wall.

On the other side, Kaminari was immensely thankful for two things; First was the fact that his lightning-based abilities enhanced his senses to the point that he could speed up his perception to make it feel like he was watching things around him in slow motion in a pinch. Secondly, the fact that he had managed to hide that fact from his classmates thus far. As the wall exploded, he wasted no time at all in high-tailing it out of the blast zone in a burst of intense speed. As he somersaulted and landed, he turned to stare at his opponent, 'Holy shit, that was too close!'

"You shouldn't have come, Hero!" Izuku purposefully loosened the lightbulbs above, throwing the room into semi-darkness and leaving his green eyes flashing ominously. Kaminari nearly crapped his pants, "You just brought two more souls to be incinerated!"

'H-he's taking this so seriously! And holy shit, is he good at it!' Kaminari nearly panicked, the sight of Izuku's glowing eyes creeping him the hell out. But this was what he was training for, wasn't it? Gritting his teeth Kaminari shouted, "Not if I have anything to say about it!" He aimed his arm forward as it began to spark. A big crackle of lightning raced forward, forcing Izuku to dodge.

"Good! You have some fight in you! I'd hate for it to be boring!" Monologuing and taunting had two purposes; one was to get into his opponent's head – which he was honestly finding to be fun now that he was trying it for himself, and it made him understand his mentor Toshinori a bit more – and the other was to run down the clock.

"I'll show you boring!" Kaminari roared as his right arm started to crackle. Three distinct balls of lightning started to swarm on his jacket, growing larger quickly, "Lightning Rockets!" He yelled as they fired forward, far slower than the bolt he had sent earlier but still pretty fast.

Izuku thrust his arm forward in reply and another force blast raced to meet his foe's attack. The two attacks collided and seemed to merge in midair, before detonating with staggering force. Kaminari was flung back and landed on his back with a thud, while Izuku was merely lifted into the air and forced to backflip, feeling as if a giant palm had just tried to push him through the air. He started to float rather than touching down, even as the hallways they were in rumbled a bit as walls crumbled. Parts of the ceiling started to rain down as well.

'Shit, I can't fight him well in this hallway. There's not enough room.' Kaminari groaned as he got to his feet, 'Sorry Momo, you're on your own. I have to keep him here or there's no way we win.' With that, he flung himself into the next room, literally bursting through the wall and sending more debris flying. The next room was much more spacious, which was more to his liking. He could move here.

"Trying to get more room to maneuver, huh? Bad idea, Hero! That kind of move aids both of us equally!" Izuku followed him in, floating without a care in the world, his cape flaring behind him. He smirked at the blonde menacingly, "And giving me rubble to work with?" The destroyed bits of rock and plaster and even some steel they'd created during their thus-brief fight glowed green and lifted into the air. Kaminari came very close to shitting himself, "That's an even worse idea!"

Kaminari threw an arm forward and a translucent shield of pure lightning formed in front of him as Izuku shot the wreckage forward at high speeds. Kaminari grunted with each hit on his shield, the impacts absorbed but his energy draining as he did so. He charged up a couple balls of lightning in his hand, and the moment the barrage stopped, he flung them at his enemy.

Izuku swung his cape forward, and then performed what amounted to a shield bash to knock the Lightning Grenades away. But that only got Kaminari to grin, "Jackpot!" The attacks stuck to Izuku's cape, whose eyes widened in fear.

BZZZTTTT!

Crackling waves of electricity engulfed Izuku, who screamed in pain as his body flashed. The network of his nerves could momentarily be seen on his skin, and he fell to the ground, muscles twitching. His cape was smoldering now, covered in black patches where the fabric had burned under the intense heat.

Seeing this Kaminari grinned. "Thanks for trying to bat away my Sticky Grenades, evildoer! I win! You won't be able to move anymore!"

But as he raced forward to end the fight with the capture tape Izuku's eyes flashed as he took control of his body using telekinesis. He drew his Psyblade and swung upwards, making his opponent panic as he threw himself to the side. The psionic blade of wind practically sliced to room in half. "You should have made sure I was down before gloating, Hero!" he growled as he held his sword in front of him.

Kaminari rolled near a pipe and grabbed it. The item started crackling with electricity as he ran forward, "Why the hell won't you stay down!?" He roared as he performed an overhand smash with the pipe, lightning exploding from it upon impact with the floor when Izuku dodged, scorching the tiles.

"Die!" For a moment Izuku channeled his inner Kacchan, and immediately decided that that was a bit much, even for just acting. He still swung his Psyblade at his enemy, and an instant later tiny bolts of lightning escaped as the weapons clashed.

Now, Kaminari's strength was definitely superhuman due to his Quirk. Not to the level of an actual Quirk meant to grant super strength, but it was still very much enhanced beyond normal human level. He was just built tough.

That said, Izuku's psionic strength was on a whole other level. The flat of his blade swiftly knocked the pipe away and the impact nearly wrenched Kaminari's shoulder out of its socket. The follow-up roundhouse to the blonde's midsection nearly took him out of the fight entirely. spittle flew from his lips as he crashed to the ground, rolling a couple times.

"You were better than I expected, Hero!" Izuku intoned sharply as he watched Kaminari struggle to move. He likely had broken a rib, and he felt immensely bad for his classmate now that the moment was over, "Now stay down and await your demise!" he turned and made to leave the room to go hunt Momo.

…

Elsewhere, Mina waited impatiently, practically bouncing on her heels as she waited for something fun to happen. She could hear the loud bangs and crashes from below, indicating her partner's fight with one of their opponents. That had the downside of not being able to hear much else happening close to her. She had no idea if he had engaged both of them or just one – that was definitely a miscommunication on their part, and one she couldn't rectify at the moment because she didn't want to risk distracting him – or how the fight was going. But she had faith in her teammate and knew he would definitely win.

Her musing was rudely interrupted as the door freaking blew open. "Holy shit!" She screamed in a little fear as she took cover behind one of the crates. She was so glad they had placed the bomb far away from the door with some crates to provide defenses. "Was that a fucking breaching charge?!" She screeched, before noticing some items being flung through the door.

Mina's eyes bugged out and she thanked all the shooters she played with Kiri as she recognized the flashbangs and gas grenades Yaomomo had just thrown through the door. "Oh no you don't!" She expertly aimed the balls of acid she threw forward, dissolving the grenades into mush.

Her plan ruined, Momo rushed through the door and ripped off her gas mask and earmuffs. "Surrender, Villain! The authorities may be merciful if you lay down!"

"Hero bitch!" The fake-villainess snarled, "How the hell did you get your hands on a breaching charge, flashbangs, and gas grenades?"

"I made them, of course!" Momo declared, fists on her hips, fighting back a pout, feeling a little hurt at the insult, despite knowing that this was really just a game they were playing. "You shouldn't have turned to a life of crime! I'll capture you here and now!" Their talking had served its purpose by then, allowing Momo to reach above her shoulder and pull a Bō staff out of her neck.

"Ah crap!" Mina chided herself for giving Momo time to do that. She gathered acid in her hand and flung it at the well-endowed girl, but Momo just dodged most of it and swung her staff to block the rest. Mina's eyes widened as she saw no effect on the staff, "What? Why isn't it dissolving?"

Momo smirked, "I covered it in a layer of plastic, of course. Your acid might be powerful, but it is still acid. And acid does not eat through everything!"

"Grrr!" Mina growled, "I'll just have to do this the hard way then!" She flung herself up and forward, somersaulting in the air and dropping an axe kick right towards Momo's head. The black-haired young lady gaped at her athleticism for a moment, before blocking with her staff. The impact nearly caused her to drop her weapon and her knees buckled a bit, but she recovered and parried. Mina fell to the floor with her move but landed on her hands and proved her skill at break-dancing as she started throwing kick after kick towards Momo, flinging acid at her opponents where she could.

Yet Momo had recovered from her initial surprise and matched Mina's moves with her own. Both of them quickly proved they belonged in the Hero Course as they began a deadly dance, swinging, parrying dodging, summersaulting around one another. Both of them were extremely flexible and far stronger than they looked. Mina was quicker and more flexible, but Momo was no slouch herself. The two were stalemated, throwing mostly kicks but a few punches or staff strikes as well, both of them concentrating on dodging more than setting up a stronger attack. Everything was dodged or blocked as if they were performing, rather than fighting.

Mina threw a roundhouse towards Momo's head, who dodged it by a hair and retaliated by swinging her staff at Mina's head. Mina dodged by performing a split with the same motion as she completed her kick, and her slick acids meant it was easy for her to use the momentum to continue to spin, throwing herself onto her hands acrobatically and starting to windmill. She got lucky and nailed Momo on the hand then, forcing her to drop her staff and hiss in pain.

The taller girl backpedaled as tiny little ball bearings started to drop from her body, pinging on the floor like a waterfall. She thanked the heavens that these were easy to create en masse.

"Oh crap!" Mina yelled as she had to stop moving and land back on her feet, before she had a banana-peel moment on the tiny balls. No way even she could keep her balance there. But she tested a theory that the covering Momo used on her staff to stop her acid was too difficult to make in a rush and spread her acid out. The metal balls immediately dissolved.

But they had accomplished their goal, which was to give Momo breathing room. She pulled a thick-mesh net from her stomach covered at the ends by little weights and flung the net at her opponent. "Nice try!" Mina yelled as she flung acid at the trap. The attack melted the mesh straight away.

But that had just been a distraction. Momo now flung herself at her opponent before she could counter, bearing the both of them to the floor. On the ground the taller, stronger Momo straddled her classmate's hips with her own and yanked the Capture Tape out, trapping Mina. "Shit!" Mina yelled, as the intercom announced that she was out.

"G-good fight!" Momo panted as she scrambled off Mina and extended her hand out.

…

As Izuku turned away, Kaminari reached into his pocket for Momo's parting gift. He started absorbing the electricity within, and not only felt his strength return but even his injuries started to heal. As Izuku whirled back around, Kaminari blasted him with one of the biggest bolts of lightning he'd ever launched. Izuku's teeth clenched in pain as he was electrocuted, his body spasming. This time it was a direct impact, not three weaker ones half-absorbed by his cape.

Kaminari slumped as he again ran out of juice, before his eyes widened at the sight in front of him. "Holy shit, you're still not down!?" He yelled incredulously.

Izuku was smoking lightly as he shakily raised a hand. Kaminari was then engulfed in green and launched into the air, before slamming down on the ground again. Once. Twice. Three times. And then Izuku crashed to his knees next to him, opening his eyelids to stare inside, breathing a sigh of relief. Kaminari was out like a light.

"Ashido has been captured! Kaminari has been incapacitated!" All Might's voice rang out.

"Oh no!" Izuku yelled, before teleporting away.

In the room with the bomb, Momo's fingers were just about to brush her target when she was engulfed in an emerald glow and flung away. "No! The weapon!" She screamed, before hitting the ground and rolling. She shakily used her arms to push herself back up and observed the still-smoking Izuku shakily get to his feet too. Kaminari must have done a number on him.

"Sorry Midori!" Mina yelled from her place on the floor, "I got caught!"

"Don't worry, you did great, Mina!" Izuku shakily reassured her. He grimaced in pain as he spasmed again. His body then started to glow as he started to puppet himself once more. Izuku knew he couldn't allow the pain to slow him down. He still had to beat Momo. But that didn't mean that it wouldn't hurt even worse when they were finished.

Momo scrambled to her feet and grabbed her staff. They were both pretty weary at this point, so she could only hope he was more tired than she was. She rushed forward, engaging with her Bō. Izuku raised his Psyblade and met her evenly. Within a few parries Momo started to panic as it quickly became clear that she wasn't a match for him in strength or speed. She had always prided herself on her ability with her staff, but she wasn't making any headway at all.

She swiped at his head, which was blocked by his own weapon. She immediately reversed and tried to take his legs out with the other end, but he simply flipped over it – and her – and landed behind her. She dove for the bomb rather than turning, but felt cloth wrap around her leg instead, knocking her to the ground. She caught herself on her hands, but before she could do anything else, she was dragged back and flung away from the weapon, whereupon she shakily got back to her feet. Momo saw the cloth of his sash flapping a bit, before it straightened out and became a blade once more and he started running for her.

She backpedaled and started her ball-bearing rain again, but Izuku immediately turned it on her by grabbing the balls with his telekinesis and flinging them at her like buckshot. She had to bite back a scream of pain as she was pelted with her own creations, covering herself as best she could.

Then Momo had to dodge out of the way of a kick, and her panic started to grow as she couldn't get enough breathing room to use her Quirk for anything that could help her. She had to double down on the staff, flinging herself back into a close-range fight and trying to knock his block off, but he was just too good. He blocked and parried everything, and she started slowing down as exhaustion reared its ugly head.

And then the announcement came, "Time is up! I repeat, time is up! The Villains are victorious!"

"No!" Momo wailed, as she fell to her knees, propping herself up with her staff. Small tears appeared in her eyes as she bowed her head, "I… I lost…"

Izuku crashed to the floor, panting as he caught his breath and allowed his muscles free reign once more. He was back to twitching under the effects of his electrocution, grimacing in pain. But he saw Momo looking despondent and twitched his way over to slump next to her. "You were amazing!" He said in admiration, putting a hand on her shoulder, "You were probably a hair away from winning!"

She blinked at him adorably, her mouth open just the tiniest bit. "B-but?"

"Yeah, you totally outsmarted me!" Mina chimed in, still wrapped up in the Capture Tape. She stuck her tongue out and had a silly look on her face, which made Momo giggle a bit, "I thought I had you then bam, straddled!" She leered at the bustier girl playfully, "I'll be on top next time!" She then watched gleefully as both Izuku and Momo practically went iridescent at that, causing Mina to howl in laughter "Bwahaha! You two are too cute!"

They both joined her with small, nervous giggles of their own, before Izuku shook his head. "Come on. We should go get our evaluations." He said slowly, grimacingly pushing to his feet before offering Momo his hand.

She swallowed, before taking it and getting to her feet, "T-thanks." She murmured with a slight, shy blush, going over to Mina and freeing her.

"Seriously though, I didn't suspect a thing!" Mina praised her after giving her a quick hug, "That was an awesome trick with the net. And the ball bearings were badass too! I never would have thought about doing something so simple in a fight! But Midori was so badass too! He was like whoosh and then-"

While Momo didn't really feel like she had done enough, as she listened to the energetic girl babble excitedly, she started feeling like maybe things weren't so bad. 'I-is this what having friends is like? I think I can get used to this!'

-]|[-

"An excellent bout, young ones!" All Might praised them. Recovery Girl had obviously been on standby for the Battle Trials, so she had already given them a few kisses. Their injuries were all healed, much to Izuku's relief. Being electrocuted was not fun. "Now it's time for the after-action reports! What say you?"

The room exploded in a cacophony of sound, almost everyone wanting to be heard. "Kaminari and Midoriya are so strong! I'm so glad I wasn't paired against either of them!" Hagakure's voice rang out.

"So manly!" Kirishima was again crying with a fist shaking in front of him.

"I see you too can revel in the dark, Midoriya-san. Kaminari-san looked terrified." Tokoyami intoned, remembered Izuku's intimidation attempt against Kaminari.

"Whahaha! You were chewing the scenery up, my man!" Inasa clapped Izuku on the back, "You looked like you were having a blast!"

"Ehehehe…" Izuku bashfully rubbed the back of his head, "It was a little fun, actually…"

"Wow Yaomomo!" Ochaco was bouncing near the Creation Hero-in-Training, "Your Quirk is so awesome! I couldn't believe it when I saw the drones!" The girl in question was once more blushing from all the praise she was receiving as Ochako went on. "Deku-kun had to try so hard just to keep you away from the bomb!"

"One at a time, one at a time!" All Might pleaded, looking for raised hands. His eyebrows rose, "Todoroki-shonen, your thoughts?"